The Renegades (Book 3): Fortress

by Jack Hunt

  “Do you know much about this area?” Elijah asked Thomas.

  “There is a town not too far from here. Do you think they followed us?”

  “If they were on our trail they would have caught up by now. But that isn’t to say they won’t go out looking in the morning. We should get some rest. I’ll take the first watch.”

  I watched Thomas close his eyes and grimace. Elijah leaned back using the weight of a branch to support himself. If he rolled to the right or left, he would just roll onto rope.

  “Ben, I’m sorry about earlier,” Elijah said.

  I snorted. “Am I meant to believe that?”

  “Believe what you want. Just don’t knife me in the night.” He smiled then closed his eyes. While they slept I climbed up higher. The tree towered above others. As I got higher I began to see above the canopy. The night was lit up by a full moon. Its silvery color cast shadows on the trees. I could see the highway in the distance, hundreds of cars lined it like they were stuck in a traffic jam. I thought about Salt Lake and whether or not it had been a good decision to come with them. There was no way of weighing the pros and cons. The fact was there were no pros to anything. You could be alive one minute and dead the next.

  My thoughts drifted to what Elijah had said. He knew what happened the day it all went down. He was there.

  His gang and several others had got into a firefight. Reports came in quickly of gunfire. The tip about a drug bust came at the same time the war between two rival gangs came in. Rolling up in front of that factory we had expected to find two gangs going at it, instead we found Elijah and his men fighting off what could only be described as mutilated humans. No amount of bullets was stopping them. They would drop and get back up.

  In that factory, the three of us remaining fought back the dead until I made a break for the washrooms for cover. I could hear my men screaming, desperately trying to get in and I left them out there. I just froze.

  I grimaced at the thought of that night. A noise below brought me back into the present moment. I looked down, holding my assault rifle steady. A skin-eater came into my line of sight then stumbled out of the clearing. There wasn’t one time I didn’t feel nervous around those things. For as much as you saw them daily, you couldn’t get used to them. The fast ones were the worst.

  A wave of tiredness washed over me. My eyes ached, my jaw felt stiff. I climbed back down to the others and nestled myself among the rope. I tugged on it hard to make sure it was tight before doing my best to stay awake. I don’t know when I drifted into a slumber, I’m just glad Elijah woke me. I felt his boot kick my leg.

  “Hey numbnuts, you were meant to keep watch.”

  I blinked then groaned. It was dawn when we untangled the rope and lowered ourselves down. I wasn’t keen on sticking around or heading back to the fortress. We just needed to regroup, find some food, and then reassess the situation. There was no way of knowing if the others survived. All of us knew the risk involved.

  We plodded through the forest, the rain still had not let up. It continued to beat down. At least in the tree we had some partial cover but now we were getting drenched to the bone.

  “Fuck this rain.”

  Elijah chuckled to himself. I was glad I was amusing him.

  There was no way of knowing where we were exactly. Thomas only had a rough idea. He had used the sun as a way to determine that we were heading east.

  “How’s the leg?” Elijah asked, watching Thomas limp along.

  I don’t think he was worried about the leg as much as how much it was slowing us up and potentially would be a risk if Z’s showed up.

  Eventually the forest ended. No more pushing through brambles and getting tangled up in thin branches. We were in the open on a highway and faced with more Z’s than we could ever hope to kill. Crouched down we moved swiftly, while Thomas hobbled.

  “How far do you think this town is?”

  “Maybe ten minutes from here.”

  He pointed in a direction. It didn’t matter that it was only ten minutes away. With Z’s filling up the roadway, and having to walk in and out of the forest to avoid detection, it might as well have been the other side of the country.

  The sun was beginning to break through the lower half of the trees. My gaze fixed on a tall water tower.

  “Let’s cut through the forest again.”

  “Really? We just hacked our way out of it.”

  I twisted around. “You want to walk through them?” I gestured over my shoulder to the crowd of ugly motherfuckers moaning up a storm. The ground was soaked. The mud covered our clothes as we crawled along the road, under vehicles and stayed as quiet as we could when Z’s walked by. Finally we managed to roll down into a ditch and make a break for the other side of the road’s tree line. Shafts of light burst through the trees as daylight chased away darkness.

  We dashed through the torrential downpour of rain, keeping our eyes fixed on the tower as some indication of the town. The decision to pick up the pace had nothing to do with the thought of being followed by Z’s or the military. It was all about getting out of this damn shower and staying warm. Panting hard and gasping for air we pressed through. My jacket was soaked. My feet felt like they were in a puddle of water. Any hope of staying dry for the day was lost.

  We eventually made it to the town. It was eerie to see no one except Z’s wandering around the streets. Trucks and cars had been abandoned, the doors open. Blood streaked the roads and windows. Bodies lay decomposed. We kept moving, as if trying to outrun the numbness of a cold night. The stores had to have food or clothes. All we needed was to get warm and get a bite to eat. Some brain food and then we could figure out our next step.

  Stopping at a corner I peeked around and looked down the street. All the stores were squished together. Four blocks. I spotted a diner. It was a block away on the other side of the road.

  The wind was howling and blowing paper like tumbleweed past us as we crouched down behind cars. When we felt it was safe we made a break for it. A group of six Z’s saw us. I didn’t even think to use a knife. I was too damn cold, I didn’t think my hands would have been able to grip it well enough. I punched a few bullets into their skulls and we sailed past them. When we reached the diner I didn’t hesitate to go inside. There was no banging on the outside just in case. We wanted out of the rain so badly, we were willing to face whatever was inside.

  Now we must have been the unluckiest bastards in the world right then. It was if every local town resident had decided to spend their last moments on earth eating Martha’s apple pie. Upon bursting in, we ground to a halt, fixing our eyes on the undead.

  “Holy shit.”

  My skin crawled as fifteen grotesque farmers looked at us. Now the advantage we had on our side was that these guys were fat fuckers in life. Even if they had been fast at one time they weren’t moving fast now. Elijah must have been thinking the same as me as he let out a laugh. We raised our guns and just began peppering the tops of their heads. Like shooting the heads off chickens. We didn’t stop until the floor was covered in zombie brains.

  Brains squished beneath my boots as I stepped on them. Hunger had taken over all sense of thinking right. It always did. When I was hungry you couldn’t get one decent idea out of me. Then to top it off I became a real grumpy bastard without food.

  “Check behind the counter. I’m going out back. Elijah, come with me.” I didn’t want to have to tackle any more Z’s than I had to. I slapped another magazine into my rifle and kicked open the door, knocking a Z back.

  “Heads up.”

  I spun my rifle over and smashed it into the Z’s face. He must have been the cook. He was still wearing his white apron and had grease, blood, and shit all over it. I kept driving it into his skull until he stopped moving.

  Tired, cold, hungry, and wet was not a good combination.

  We shuffled into the kitchen out back and dropped two more Z’s who were crawling around without any legs. The tiled floor was streaked with t
hick wads of guts that had dried. It looked like really bad roadkill. We didn’t talk to each other. We didn’t need to. It was all about food right now. I opened a large industrial-size fridge that was completely empty. Someone had obviously taken everything. Likewise Elijah started going through the cabinets and slamming them each time he found nothing.

  “Fucksake, I would kill for even one egg. Hell, I would eat it raw. Anything, even a fucking packet of M&M’s.”

  “What about this?”

  I had gone out back and found a few cans of beans in the pantry.

  “Whoever cleared this place out didn’t take everything.”

  We were just starting to feel a smidgen of hope when Thomas called out for us. I burst into the eating area through the double doors ready to lay down some serious heat to find him crouched down behind the counter.

  “Military.”

  “What?”

  Then my ears registered the sound. It was subtle at first then as clear as day; the sound of an engine. Elijah dropped down with me. We peered over the top and out of the window, which had a sign for a morning breakfast deal of $1.99 for eggs and bacon.

  “How the hell did they get here so fast?”

  “Maybe they were tracking us in the night.”

  We stayed low and prayed they didn’t come in. A jeep passed by with five soldiers inside. All of them were armed. We scrambled to get into the back kitchen.

  “How many more do you think there are?”

  “It doesn’t matter. We need to get the hell out of here.”

  I moved to the exit door. I pressed on it and peeked outside. The alley was full of Z’s. There was no way in hell we were going to get through them without firing off rounds.

  We shuffled our way back into the eating area, making sure not to get any higher than the counters. My mind had gone into overdrive. There was no telling if they were going to come in here or even if they were looking for us. But I wasn’t planning on taking any chances.

  “Okay, think, think,” Elijah said.

  “Yeah, that would be easy if I had food in me and didn’t feel like I was bathing in a river.” I just wanted to get out of these damn clothes.

  “Don’t these places have apartments above them?”

  We cast a glance around the place looking for a back door that might lead up to the apartment. Elijah disappeared through a doorway, then returned waving for us to follow.

  As I came through Elijah was holding a decapitated head of a Z in front of me. Moving its jaw up and down like a puppet, he seemed to find our situation quite amusing.

  “What do you think our chances are?” he said to the Z’s head, then moved its jaw and spoke like a ventriloquist. “Not sure, but my guess is you are seriously fucked.”

  I ran my hand over my face. The moment I saw Elijah in the car I should have known it was going to be a big mistake coming along.

  GOOD GUYS

  Elijah, Thomas, and I were heading up the stairs, when we heard them enter. Their voices carried through the café. It was mostly laughter and conversation about what they wanted to do if they found any females. A wave of fear crept over me. Perhaps they spared the others or executed them.

  Inside the apartment above the café, it was empty. It remained in the same state that the occupants had left it in. A coffee mug sat on the counter, along with a half-eaten piece of toast that now had mold growing on it. Dirty clothes were tossed all over the place. It was a shithole. There wasn’t much to the place. A square living area with a large window that faced the street, it had an open concept with the kitchen off to one side, one bathroom, a bedroom, and a guest room.

  As we walked on the wooden floors we did our best to not let the floorboards creak but it was impossible. It was like trying to tiptoe through a minefield of broken glass.

  “Where are we going to hide?” Thomas asked.

  “I’m opting for the shower, you can find your own hiding spot,” Elijah said.

  “Don’t be idiots.” I moved over to the window and peeked out to get a better look at what we were up against. I had expected to see several trucks and jeeps; instead all I spotted was one vehicle. Was it possible that there were only five of them?

  As I was thinking I heard a loud voice below us.

  “I’m going to check upstairs.”

  The sound of boots pounding against each step got louder. Without saying a word, I gestured to Elijah to take Thomas into the bathroom. I moved into position behind the door. I pulled my Glock and waited. My pulse was racing. As the door opened I raised my gun. The tip of an assault rifle was the first thing I saw. After, the soldier’s arms, then head. The moment he came into view I placed the gun square against the side of his temple.

  “Don’t make a fucking sound.”

  “Okay, okay.”

  With my other hand I reached and took the assault rifle from him.

  I took a glance down the stairs; there was no one else behind him. I closed the door while keeping my gun pressed hard into his head. Elijah and Thomas came out providing additional cover. The guy knew he didn’t stand a chance so he didn’t put up a fight.

  “How many of you?” I asked.

  He swallowed hard. He was a young guy, baby-faced with a mustache as if that could compensate. He couldn’t have been older than nineteen.

  “Five.”

  “Including you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Where are the others?”

  “What others?”

  I pressed the barrel harder into his temple. “Don’t fucking play with me. Your platoon?”

  “We deserted. We’re not with a platoon.”

  “Where did you come from?”

  I kept all of my questions short and straight to the point. Right now I just needed to assess the level of threat. I motioned to Elijah to keep an eye on the window.

  “I said where did you come from?”

  The kid hesitated. “We were stationed in Denver.”

  “Why are you here?”

  “We got overrun. A few of us managed to get out. We heard over the radio that there were others nearby, we were going to meet up.”

  “Do you know them?”

  “No.”

  In the silence we could hear the other men downstairs.

  “They are going to wonder where I’ve got to.”

  I tried to think. This situation was so fucked up. I had no way of knowing if he was telling the truth and even if he was, whether or not they were a threat.

  “The remarks you were making about women downstairs.”

  “Ah, that’s just Marvin. He makes jokes all the time. Guy wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

  Suddenly there was shout. “Dixon, get your ass down here, we’re moving out.”

  “Guessing that’s you.”

  He nodded slowly.

  “Listen, I won’t say anything. Believe it or not — we are the good guys.”

  “Yeah, I’ve heard that a lot since this shit kicked off.”

  “Then you know that we don’t have any beef with you.”

  I gripped hard on the back of his collar. “All I know is that right now if I let you loose, I could have war on my hands and after last night I’m a little tired of fighting G.I. Joes.”

  “You’ve seen the others?”

  “If you’re referring to the ones that wiped out a community and took our friends, then yes.”

  He shook his head.

  “No, they wouldn’t do that.”

  I swapped a look with Elijah. We both knew the risk. I had to make a decision. There was no easy way around this. If we shot him here, they would hear it. If we knifed him maybe we would get lucky and they would only come up one at a time. But more than likely all of them would come up and it wouldn’t end well.

  “Fuck. Listen up. We are going down. I swear if you even attempt to break away I will shoot you. Do you understand?”

  “Yeah, yeah,” he said nervously.

  Elijah came over. “What the hell are you doing?”<
br />
  “Getting us out of here.”

  “By facing them?”

  “You have a better idea?”

  “Yeah. Yeah I do.”

  “Then I’m all ears,” I replied.

  Elijah stared back absently.

  “I thought so,” I added.

  We readied ourselves and began descending the steps. I kept a firm grip on the back of his collar. I had my Glock pressed tightly up against the back of his skull. Elijah and Thomas had their assault rifles on the ready either side of me. At the bottom of the stairs I breathed out hard expecting the worst. We had few options. It wasn’t like we could negotiate our way out. We had to use one of them. It was unfortunate for this guy but shit happens.

  “Now Dixon, push the door open slowly and keep your hands up. Make even a single move in the wrong direction and I will end you.”

  As the door opened and we shuffled into the café, I noticed the other four were sitting at a table eating food. They were all around the same age as Dixon. The moment they saw us they jumped up. It was intense. Chaotic for a moment. Shouting for them to put their weapons down. They were telling us to do the same.

  “We don’t want any trouble.”

  “Sure looks it,” one of them spat back.

  “Now this is how it’s going to go. You toss us over the keys to your jeep, you hand over your weapons, and I don’t blow you friend’s brains all over the place.”

  One of them started getting antsy with his weapon. His eyes swept us. I could tell he was trying to figure out if he could take one or all of us down.

  “You don’t want to do that, kid. Put it down.”

  “Listen to him, Marvin,” Dixon said.

  There was a long pause as he considered and weighed his options. If he managed to shoot one of us, his friend would be dead. Reluctantly he placed the rifle on the floor.

  “That’s it. Now kick them over here.”

  The rifles slid across the shiny waxed floor.

  “Now your handguns.”