“Good point,” I said. “Come on. I’ll tell you and the Captain at the same time. That way I don’t have to do it twice.”
With that, we headed back towards the office. We walked this time, each lost in our own thoughts. I was sure that he was thinking I was out of my mind, but the evidence was right in front of him. If they could believe me about the Hrimthurssar, then they might understand the urgency of the situation. If they didn’t, then they might think I’m insane and not want to risk following me back to Bennett Springs.
Yeah, this couldn’t end badly at all.
Chapter Twenty One
Under Siege
“It doesn't take a hero to order men into battle.
It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.”
- Norman Schwarzkopf
After a long explanation of the difference between the Einherjar and the Hrimthurssar, I was sure that they were going to have me shot for being a lunatic. They both sat in silence for a long moment without saying anything. I could see that they were both thinking about what I had said. I wasn’t sure if they believed me or not. I wasn’t sure if I would have believed me, if I had been in their shoes.
I stood there, waiting for them to say something and sweating bullets. I didn’t have a shred of proof or evidence to back my story. There wasn’t any reason for them to take me at my word, nor was there much hope really. After I thought about it, I realized just how crazy it had to seem to them. Not only did it disagree with everything that they had been told in school, it also fell completely outside their religious beliefs.
I was ready for the worst, but not sure what I was going to do if it happened. Could I fight these men for the simple reason that they didn’t believe me? I knew that I had to do something, because I promised I would get these people to the POMCUS before the Fimbul Winter set in. By my calculations, the time for that was running out swiftly. If we were lucky, it was only a matter of a few weeks before the temperatures dropped far enough that it would start to snow. It wouldn’t quit for three years.
“Suppose we believe you,” started Parkes, “What then? Do we just take your word for it and attack the underground facility?”
“No,” I replied. “The last thing I want to do is engage them. I want to get the fuck out of here before they come after us.”
“And these rimthusser guys,” said Masterson. “Are they just going to let us walk out of here?”
“It’s Hrimthurssar,” I corrected, “and no, I doubt it. If they know we’re here, they will try to destroy us. We either need to get the fuck out of here right now, or be prepared for them to hit us.”
Bursting through the door, a soldier came running in with a panicked look on his face. He was obviously out of breath and sweating profusely.
“Sir!” he wheezed. “We have a chopper inbound.”
We all headed out the door at a run and heard the beating of the rotors for ourselves. I could tell from the sound of the blades that it was a military chopper. Civilian choppers sound totally different. From the sound of it, I would guess it was a Blackhawk. I would know that sound in my sleep.
I looked up to see that it wasn’t going to land inside our perimeter. From the looks of it, it was heading for the air strip. If they landed there, they would be swarmed by the dead and ripped to pieces. We had to do something to stop them before it was too late. Hopefully, the pilot would see the danger and not land. We couldn’t take that chance, though. We had to warn them.
“Get me a radio,” I bellowed as we ran for the tower.
The soldier reached into the pocket on his vest and handed me a SINCGARS handset. I wasn’t sure what frequency that the pilot would be on, I just hoped that I would find the right one in time. The lives of everyone on board that chopper depended on it. Selecting the emergency broadcast frequency, I keyed up the mic and began transmitting.
“Unidentified helo, this is Major Grant,” I called. “Do you copy, over?”
Static returned over the comm, so I tried again.
“Helo, do you read?” I yelled. “You cannot land at the air strip, over?”
Just as I was about to give up and try a different frequency, I heard a voice crackle from the handset. I stood there with my mouth open when I realized that I knew that voice. The blood in my veins ran cold and I nearly dropped the radio.
“Hello, Grant,” said Grimnir. “Nice of you to be concerned, but I assure you that we are in no danger.”
“Son-of-a-bitch,” I whispered.
“Who is that guy?” asked Masterson.
“That’s the asshole I told you about that I fought at the Arch,” I replied. “I thought I’d seen the last of that prick.”
“Apparently not,” said Captain Parkes. “He sounds alive to me.”
“I’m sorry to deprive you of your victory, Grant,” said Grimnir in a smarmy tone. “But once I gain access to this facility, I plan to deprive you of more than that. I will have more than enough power at my command to finish you off, once and for all.”
“Yeah,” I replied, “keep telling yourself that. I beat you once, I’ll do it again.”
“I’m done fighting you directly,” he replied. “This time you will find out what we are truly capable of.”
I climbed the ladder as fast as I could and pulled my telescope from my pack. Bringing it up to my eye, I watched the Blackhawk circle, then land in a spot that the dead had cleared for it. Then I watched in horror as not only Grimnir and Vigdis emerged from the chopper, but three other Hrimthurssar that I hadn’t seen before.
The three were all nearly as big as Grimnir and carrying massive weapons. Not only did they carry heavy melee weapons, they also had guns and armor on as well. One of them carried a massive spiked mace while the second one had a large battle axe. The third one carried a long spear and war-hammer stuck in his belt. They exited the aircraft and headed straight for the building that housed the entrance to the facility.
“Look at those sons-of-bitches,” muttered First Sergeant Masterson. “Those bastards are massive. They’re bigger than the guy who was driving that big black truck.”
I turned and looked at the captain. He was putting down his own binoculars and shaking his head. They had both seen how the dead followed their commands and parted for them to pass through. There was the proof that they needed to believe me. If they still doubted what I had told them, they certainly didn’t act like it.
“So now what?” asked Parkes. “If these Hrimthurssar get inside there, what happens next?”
“They will use whatever is in there to kill all of us,” I answered darkly. “But they won’t stop with that. They will continue until all of humanity is either dead or turned into the living dead.”
“How do we stop them?” asked Masterson.
“We find a way to beat them before they gain access to that compound,” I said. “If we can cut them down, we might stand a chance.”
“But there are thousands of the dead over there under their control,” said Parkes. “We don’t have the manpower to take on that many of the dead.”
“We may not have much choice in that,” said Masterson. “The dead are coming this way.”
“How long before they have us surrounded?” I asked.
“Not long,” he replied. “There’s no way we can get everyone loaded and moving in time. This place is about to be under siege.”
“Sound the alarm and get everyone who can fight out here and armed,” I yelled. “Get them moving, NOW!”
The First Sergeant shouted, “You heard the man, get moving!”
Two soldiers ran for the makeshift barracks and the alarm was raised. In seconds, men and women began pouring out of buildings while pulling on combat gear and carrying weapons. First Sergeant Masterson sent one of his men to gather my people and get them armed. We were going to need everyone before this was over.
By the time everyone had been roused from buildings and grabbed their gear, the dead were already moving to surround us. The
First Sergeant had been correct. There was no way that we would have had enough time to evacuate. It was time for battle.
As we all began taking places on the perimeter, Captain Parkes began organizing the civilians who couldn’t fight into ammo teams. They might not be combatants, but they could bring ammo and water to those who were going to be doing the fighting. There was no time for conscientious objectors in this fight. You either did your best to help in this battle or we would all join the ranks of the dead.
I fully expected the dead to try to scale the walls, but was shocked to find that they only surrounded us and blocked off all possible means of escape. Once they were in position, they just stood there awaiting further instructions. We were trapped like rats and there was nothing we could do about it.
I glanced over at the vehicles. There were enough Humvees and MRAPs to get most of the people inside of them, but there was no way that we were going to smash our way through that many of the dead. Not without a tank or something heavy. The problem was that we didn’t have any tanks or bulldozers. What we did have was The Bison.
“What about busting out of here?” I asked, looking over at the Captain.
“Possible,” he said. “But won’t they just follow us?”
“Yeah, they will,” I replied. “We need to not only break through, but to cause enough damage to the dead to make sure pursuit isn’t really a concern.”
“How do we do that?” asked First Sergeant Masterson. “That would take a shit-load of explosives. We just don’t have that much on hand.”
“What about the power plant?” asked Captain Parkes. “That should have more than enough boom for the job.”
“I thought the base was supplied by off-site generators?” I said, shaking my head.
“Not the base generators,” explained Parkes. “I meant the generator to the research lab. Not only could we deal a massive blow to the dead, but we could prevent them from getting access to the lab’s research.”
“We can’t get to the entrance,” I said, frowning. “Let alone get inside before they do.”
“That might not be true,” said Parkes. “There could be a way inside, but we’ll have to send a small group. There’s a ventilation shaft that we had to check and verify it was secure. If we can get in through that, we should have access to the facility.”
“Where is it?” I asked, smiling hopefully.
“Behind the post hospital,” said Masterson.
“Then how the fuck are we supposed to get to it?” I said, angrily.
“There’s a way out of here, but it’s risky,” said Parkes. “There’s a maintenance tunnel that runs from the motor pool building to the far side of the parade grounds. It opens beneath the main supply building.”
“How is that risky?” I asked.
“We’ve never cleared it,” answered Masterson. “We sealed our end and put heavy equipment in the way so it couldn’t be forced open. For all we know, the tunnels might be crawling with the dead.”
“Alright,” I said, nodding. “It’s worth a shot. I’ll take a small team and try it. If we get through, we’ll head for the air shaft. Does anyone know how to overload the power plant once we get to it?”
“Lieutenant McBride should be able to do it,” said Parkes. “He was a combat engineer before all this started.”
“Alright, I need to keep the group small,” I said. “We’ll need to be able to move fast and silent, if we have a shot at pulling this off.”
“I can send any of my men with you that you need,” said Parkes.
“I’ve got someone else in mind,” I said. “Let’s go talk to my people.”
We headed over towards the motor pool building and found where they had set up a staging area. Christina Wilder had taken over the logistics of ammo and supply distribution for the defense. She had them all organized into teams and had pre-loaded several push carts to deliver whatever was needed. They all looked up and smiled when I walked up.
“Wylie,” called Christina. “It’s good to see you, finally. I guess you’ve been busy, though.”
“A little bit,” I said, smiling. “I need to talk to everyone.”
“I’ll get everyone together,” she said, and started making arrangements.
In very short order, everyone was assembled and waiting for me to begin speaking. I stood there and waited until everyone was quiet and focused on me to begin. I explained what was going on and what we had planned. They all listened with rapt attention and waited until I was finished before they asked questions. That was good because it let me get through the briefing as fast as possible.
“Who is going with you?” asked Bergelmir.
“Well, I was planning on taking you, Marko and Butcher,” I said. “We are all well versed in guns and melee weapons.”
“What about me?” asked Bridgett. “You said that I’m one of the Einherjar, too. If you are all going, then so am I.”
I wanted to tell her that I didn’t want her to go or that she wasn’t ready, but that wasn’t fair. She was Einherjar, so I couldn’t deny her the chance to earn her place. Despite the fact that she was younger than my son, I knew that if Odin had chosen her then I had no right to second guess that.
“Alright,” I agreed reluctantly. “You’re in. But you follow my lead and if I say run, you’d better damned well run.”
“Fine,” she said, grinning. “But I’m still going.”
I sent one of the soldiers to get us each one of the portable SINCGARS handsets and set them all to the same encrypted frequency. I set one to the same frequency for both the Captain and the First Sergeant. Then we all set to loading out our equipment and double checking our weapons. My own weapons were loaded out to capacity and I replaced the inserts in my body armor.
With interceptor vests, helmets and full combat gear on all of us, we looked more like a commando team than five of the chosen of Odin. Suddenly, this seemed like the course of action that we had been destined to take from the beginning. After all, there were now five of the Hrimthurssar as well. It was time for a reckoning.
Once our equipment had all been checked and double checked, we headed for the basement of the motor pool. It took several minutes to remove all of the heavy equipment that they had stacked in front of the tunnel entrance, but once it was clear we took up positions and got ready to move.
“Alright,” I said, nodding at the group. “Me, Marko and Lieutenant McBride will take the lead and engage whatever targets we encounter. Bergelmir and Butcher, you cover our backs.”
“What about me?” asked Bridgett.
“You stay in the middle,” I said. “I want you clear to assist with whichever team needs it. If we run into too much resistance in the tunnel, you can help us cover our fallback to the doors.”
“Got it,” she said, scowling.
I knew she thought that I was still coddling her, and maybe I was to an extent. But the truth of the matter was that I knew those of us in front were the best with firearms. Bergelmir and Butcher were our heavy hitters and could cover our backs with either blade or gun. Bridgett wasn’t much of a shot with a gun but she was lethal with her bow, and for that she would need room to fire.
Switching on our tactical lights mounted beneath the barrels of our weapons, I nodded for them to open the door to the tunnel. With a groan of rusty metal, the doors swung outward and revealed the darkness of a concrete tunnel beyond. There were pipes mounted to the walls and lights mounted every ten feet. The problem was that the power was off and the tunnel was in complete darkness.
I noticed that the tunnel ran off in both directions, so I swept to the left while Marko and McBride swept to the right. My tunnel was clear as far as I could see and I didn’t hear gunfire erupt behind me so I assumed it was clear that way as well.
“Clear!” I snapped.
“Clear,” replied both Marko and McBride.
“Which way?” I asked, glancing at McBride.
“Left,” he said, pointing the direction that I wa
s covering.
“Let’s move out,” I said, and began walking in a slow tactical advance.
The tunnel was wide enough that the three of us could walk abreast of each other and cover more area. Other than the sounds of our footfalls and breathing, the only sound in the tunnel was the steady dripping of water. Behind us, the doors began to groan as they locked them behind us. I could hear the locks being dropped into place and knew that we were now sealed inside. If we had to come back this way in a hurry, I hoped that they could get those doors open fast enough to let us in before we were swarmed.
We continued to advance and I could see an intersection coming up about twenty yards ahead of us. I had assumed that the tunnel was a straight shot to the supply building, but there seemed to be a network of tunnels down here. I glanced over at McBride and got his attention.
“How many tunnels are down here?” I whispered.
“I’ve never been down here before,” he said, “but they date back to World War Two. They connect most of the original buildings.”
“Try not to get us lost,” I said, grimly.
“Will do, sir,” he replied. “If the map is correct, we just keep going straight.”
I slowed down as we approached the intersection and motioned for everyone to stop. I motioned for Marko to check to the right while I panned to the left. I held up three fingers and shook my hand slowly as I counted down. After I reached one, we both stepped out into the corridor and started sweeping the tunnels.
I froze when I saw there were undead crouched over, eating rats. They looked up with glazed eyes when the light took them by surprise. I shot the first two before the third one had time to react. When it did, its lips curled back revealing blackened gums with ragged bits of flesh still stuck between the teeth. The way it opened its mouth, I knew instantly it was a Shrieker.
Before it had the chance to release its blood-curdling scream, I shot it in the forehead and emptied the contents of its skull onto the concrete wall behind hit. I was about to say clear when I heard Marko’s M-4 open fire. I had the only suppressed weapon and the sudden sharp report of the 5.56mm round in the confined space was nearly deafening. A second M-4 engaged and in seconds they ceased firing as silence again reclaimed the darkened tunnels.
Ragnarok Rising Page 41