“Oh ye of little faith,” I said, grinning.
Just before I made it to the street, I turned to the right and into the grass. I drove through the grass and into a parking lot behind the motel. I bounced over the curb and slowed to a stop in front of the building. Southard slowed to a stop on my left.
“Why are we stopping?” asked Spec-4.
“Because we’re here,” I said. “Do you mind covering us from the turret?”
She rolled her eyes, but slid into the turret without complaint. Southard gave me a shrug and a mouthed “What the hell” as Sanders hit the turret, as well. I scanned the area quickly, and didn’t see any zombies within fifty yards of us. Grabbing my M-16, I climbed out the door and started around the front of the Humvee. Southard followed my lead.
“Why are we stopping here?” asked Southard.
“I’ll show you,” I said, and headed for the door of the lawyer’s office.
I was almost to the door when I heard a voice from inside.
“It’s Grant,” came Sullivan’s voice.
I’d recognize her voice anywhere. She had a husky voice, like Kirsty Alley. I used to tell her that her voice was so husky it could pull a dog sled.
“I think we’re better off with the zombies,” said Kubichek.
“That’s fine,” I yelled back. “If you guys want to stay here, I’ll just be on my way.”
“Hang on,” said Sullivan. “I think I’d prefer to leave these luxurious accommodations and go with you.”
“Give us a sec to clear the door,” said Kubichek.
“Gotcha,” I said. “Chuck, let’s cover the area.”
We both took up positions with weapons at the ready. It wasn’t long before I heard the door behind us pop open. Sullivan came out first. She had her pistol in her hand, and was smiling from ear to ear.
“It’s lucky that you’re married,” said Sullivan. “I’m so happy I could kiss you.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I’d take one from you, but Kubichek better stay back.”
“Come on, give us a kiss,” said Kubichek, coming out the door behind Sullivan.
“If you insist,” I said. “Southard, kiss him for me.”
Southard just flipped me off and grinned.
“Let’s get you guys loaded up. Do you have any other gear to grab?”
“You see it,” said Sullivan. “We dropped our shotguns to run faster. They were out of ammo, anyway.”
“Where’d you drop them?” asked Southard.
“A few blocks west of here,” said Kubichek. “But I don’t recommend going after them. They’re close to MSU campus, and it’s crawling with zombies.”
“Yeah, we saw it,” said Southard. “I don’t want to go back there, either.”
“Ok,” I said. “Forget the shotguns. Let’s get out of here. We’ve got guns and ammo. Load up as soon as we’re inside.”
“Koob,” said Southard. “You ride with me. Sully, you go with Wylie. That keeps the firepower even.”
“Good call,” I said, and headed back to my Humvee.
We all piled inside as a group of zombies came around the far side of the restaurant across the street. The little all night steakhouse was a Springfield landmark. I’d had the steak and eggs with biscuits and gravy there many a late night. Both after the bars had closed and after getting off duty on a late shift. Their food wasn’t amazingly good, but it would fill your belly and it didn’t cost you an arm and a leg. I was really going to miss that place.
“We’re going to have to drive through some yards and driveways to get through,” I said, and put the Humvee into gear.
“Do you want me inside or on the turret?” asked Spec-4.
“Come on inside,” I said. “With any luck, we won’t need you up there.”
She dropped back inside and sealed the hatch, then slid back into the front seat.
“You’re pretty good at that,” said Sullivan.
“I’ve had a lot of practice, lately,” replied Spec-4.
“Where are my manners?” I said. “Elizabeth Sullivan, this is Chrissy Wilder.”
“Call me Sully,” said Sullivan. “Everyone does.”
“You can call me Wilder or Chrissy,” said Spec-4. “Wylie calls me Spec-4, most of the time.”
“Hey,” I said. “I try not to do that, but some habits die hard.”
I drove across the street and through the parking lot of the steakhouse. The zombies were still near the back of the restaurant, so I was heading for the front. Southard followed me, but Sanders stayed on the SAW. He kept the barrel trained on the zombies as we went around the building. I had to pick my way between the sign and a city bus that was in the outside lane.
On the other side of the restaurant was a church, and we bounced into their parking lot. I guess a lot of people sought refuge in churches when they heard that the zombies were coming. This one was no exception. There were close to fifty zombies on the front steps. I shot past them before they could come after us. Southard stayed right behind me, but several of them almost reached his vehicle. Sanders opened up with the SAW and cut most of them to ribbons as they drove past.
We cleared the church and bounced into the parking lot of a Stop ‘n’ Rob. I considered trying for the gas in the ground tanks, but thought better of it. There were almost forty zombies behind us and we were way too close to the college campus for my comfort. The cars on Glenstone had thinned out some, so I decided to try my luck. I shot through an opening and started weaving between abandoned cars. They were far enough apart that I could get to almost 30 mph. Southard kept about four car lengths between us. If I hit something he’d have time to stop.
As we crossed a set of railroad tracks, I could see a large group of zombies trying to get into a coffee shop on the right. There had to be a reason they were so intent on getting inside.
“I wonder what they’re so interested in?” said Sully.
“That’s what I was wondering.”
“Should we stop?” asked Spec-4.
“Hang on a sec,” I said, and keyed my radio. “Sanders, can you thin out a few of those zombies? Try not to hit the coffee shop. There might be people inside.”
“Got it,” he said.
The chatter of the SAW started in almost instantly. Sanders worked the machine gun back and forth, expertly avoiding the front of the building. In a few seconds, he thinned them down to a half a dozen. A few seconds after that, they were all down. Some were still moving, but none of them could stand.
I stopped in the middle of the road and looked around. A few zombies were making their way towards us from farther down the road, but the closest was about thirty yards away. I jumped out of my door and brought my M-16 up to position. I started squeezing off rounds. Sully popped out the passenger door with an M-4 that she’d grabbed from the extras we’d brought with us. She started taking out zombies with expert precision. I hated to admit it, but she was a better shot than I was.
Southard and Koob popped out of the other Humvee and took defensive positions, as well. We’d pretty much eliminated all of the zombies in the immediate area, but that didn’t mean we were going to let our guard down. When Sanders stopped firing, we all looked at his handiwork. He’d turned the zombies into so much mangled flesh. I could see a few of them working their mouths, but nothing was moving beyond that. Very few arms or legs remained attached to torsos. As soon as he stopped firing, the door of the coffee shop opened. Two men came out, each holding a baseball bat.
“Who are you guys?” asked one of them.
“Sheriff’s office,” I called back.
“Oh, thank God,” he replied. “We have women and children inside.”
“How many?” I asked.
“Six women, ten children and two other men, both wounded,” said the other man.
“Are they bitten?” asked Sully.
“No,” said the first man. “Just hurt.”
I went around to the back of the Humvee and opened it. I took out the bag
of weapons we’d confiscated from the meth-heads. Then I headed towards the men.
“Take these,” I said. “This should be enough to protect you with. We don’t have the room to take you all with us. Do you have a vehicle?”
“We did,” he replied, taking the bag. “Thanks for the guns.”
“No problem,” I said. “What happened to your ride?”
“We crashed a couple of days ago when everything went to hell,” he replied.
I nodded, and started looking around. It didn’t take me long to spot what I was looking for. A FedEx truck was sitting in the parking lot of the Stop ‘n’ Rob, next door.
“Let’s get your people loaded into that FedEx truck, over there,” I said. “We’ll cover you. Once you’re loaded up, you can follow us. Can any of you drive a truck?”
“I can,” said the first man. “I drive, well, I drove for Hi-lo Dairy.”
“You’ve got the job, then,” I said. “Let’s get your people loaded up and moving. All that gunfire will have attracted a lot of attention. We can formerly introduce ourselves later.”
The two men ran back inside to round up their people. In less than a minute, a small crowd of people started coming out. It was mostly kids. Two of the women were helping the two injured men. They were having a hard time carrying their weight.
“Wilder,” I said. “You drive. I’m going to follow them over to the truck and cover them. Sanders, Sully and Koob will come with me. You and Southard follow in the Humvees. Stay close in case we have to get out of here in a hurry.”
“Got it,” she said, and disappeared back inside.
Seconds later, she was in the driver’s seat and shutting the door. The two civilian men had gotten weapons out and were loading them. I took point and Sully, Koob and Sanders covered the area. I headed towards the truck, but had to keep my pace slow so everyone could keep up. Outside the Stop ‘n’ Rob were about a dozen zombies, most of them former gang thugs.
I almost smiled as I started taking them out. Sanders and Sully followed my lead and we cleared them out in seconds. It seemed like an eternity but it couldn’t have been more than a minute later, we made it to the truck. I motioned for everyone to stay back while I swept the truck. I swung wide as I made my way towards the cab and I was glad I did.
Two zombies in FedEx uniforms lurched out as soon as they saw me. I shot one in the forehead and Sully got the other one right through the ear. Cautiously, I looked inside. My heart almost stopped beating as I looked into the back. I sighed in relief when I saw it was clear.
“Clear,” I called out.
Sanders yanked open the back door. It was full of packages, but we quickly started tossing them out the door. We emptied it in no time. It didn’t take long to load everyone into the back of the truck. Once everyone was on board, Milkman (that’s what I nick-named the dairy guy) fired up the engine.
“How much gas does it have?”
“Almost three quarters of a tank,” he replied.
“Good,” I said. “Follow us and stay close. In fact, I’ll take the lead, you follow me and we’ll have the other Humvee behind you. That way you’re covered from both sides.”
“God bless you guys,” he said. “I don’t know what we’d have done if you hadn’t showed up.”
“I’m just glad we did,” I said.
“Are you taking us to the Evac-center?”
“No, it’s gone,” I said. “We’ve been taking survivors to the jail. We’re pretty well dug in, there.”
“We’ll follow you,” he said.
“Good,” I said, and walked back to my Humvee. “Stay close. Let us handle the fighting, if at all possible.”
Spec-4 was still in the driver’s seat, so I slid into the passenger seat and locked the door. Sully climbed into the back seat.
“Which way?” asked Spec-4.
Keep going south,” I said. “We’re only a couple blocks from the motorcycle shop where the SPD officer is held up. Once we get him, it’s back to the jail.”
I keyed up my radio.
“Southard, you cover the back of this convoy. We’ll take lead. Keep the truck between us. It’s up to us to protect those kids.”
“Got it,” he replied.
Spec-4 pulled forward and the big FedEx truck slid in right behind us. The Humvee is a wide bodied vehicle and the truck would have no problem fitting through any hole that we could. Southard fell in line, driving tail-end Charlie. Traffic was still thinned out enough that we should make it all the way to the bike shop. We’d just have to go slowly, and not just because of the truck.
There weren’t a lot of zombies in the area, since most of it was businesses. I expected to see a bunch of zombies gathered around the front of the bike shop, but there were only a few. We pulled into the parking lot and stopped. Koob, Sully and I popped out our doors and started dropping zombies. There weren’t all that many, so it didn’t take long. Then we started walking towards the front doors of the store.
It hadn’t been barricaded, but it was thick plexi-glass. There hadn’t been enough zombies to break through it. Then I saw movement inside. It was the SPD officer and he was shuffling our way. We were too late. It was painfully clear that he was already a zombie.
“Aw, crap,” I said. “He’s one of them.”
I drew my pistol and shot the lock out of the door. Then I pulled it open and put one round into the head of the former officer. He fell to the floor, not moving.
“Well, I guess we leave,” said Koob.
“Not yet,” I replied. “Grab all the leather jackets you can carry and load them into the Humvees.”
“Why?” asked Sully. “This really isn’t the time to accessorize, is it?”
“It’s not for looks,” I replied. “The leather should be bite-proof, if it’s thick enough. A good leather jacket will work like armor.”
“Good call,” said Koob.
We took all of the leather they had. Not that they had a huge stock, but there’d be enough to outfit a few people with some kind of armor against bites. It would be better than nothing. I tossed Southard a pair of chaps that looked like they might be his size. He caught them and grinned back at me.
“Here,” I said, grinning at him. “Just wear pants beneath them.”
“What?” he said, chuckling. “You don’t want to see me in ass-less chaps?”
“Not even on a bet,” I replied.
“Eww,” said Spec-4, shaking her head.
Then I took the time to kneel next to the fallen officer and remove his badge. There wasn’t really much I could do for him, but I would make sure that his badge would be remembered. I whispered a silent prayer for him, hoping that he would now find rest.
“Sorry we didn’t get here sooner,” I whispered.
I took his duty belt off of him. It held a radio and two sets of hand-cuffs. It also held his Asp and a can of pepper spray. His Glock was in the holster, but it was out of ammo. His extra magazines were missing. I tucked all of that under my arm and headed for the door. Once we were all back inside our vehicles and ready to roll, I took the driver’s seat back from Spec-4. Not because I was a better driver, but because she was better on the SAW.
Ragnarok Rising: The Awakening (Book One of The Ragnarok Rising Saga) Page 40