“Go go go!” he cried, and Frank leapt into the vehicle, the tattooed woman holding the back door open. Freeman dove in and she pulled the door shut just in time, the zombies slamming into the side of the vehicle.
“I’m in, let’s go!” Freeman yelled, and Jason floored it.
The ride was bumpy but they made it out to the road safely, speeding off down the road. It was deathly silent for a moment, as everyone tried to process what they had just survived.
“So,” Jason drawled, “that was a hell of a thing, wasn’t it?”
Frank huffed as he climbed up into the front seat. “Jason, what did I say about small talk?”
“Sorry,” the driver replied with a nod. “We’ll be at the stadium in ten.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Looks like word is getting out that trouble is on the horizon,” Sergeant Long said, inclining his head at a few people hastily throwing bags into a hatchback across the street.
Terrell sighed. “I feel kind of bad for them, because there’s not really a place they can go that would be safe.”
“Well, if you think about it, you could say the same thing about us.” Long took a deep breath. “Well, you, at any rate. Not really going to be my problem soon.”
“Keep your head up Sarge,” Terrell replied and clapped his companion on the back. “Those science geeks have been known to be wrong before.”
Gunfire spattered in the distance.
Terrell’s radio crackled.
“Sarge, was that you?” Coleman asked through the radio, from inside the grocery store.
The Sergeant lifted the mouthpiece. “Negative, Coleman. Civilians down the street.” They walked to the edge of the grocery store parking lot as more shots rang out. “Y’all may wanna wrap this load up, because we might have incoming.”
“We’ll be reading to move in five, Sarge,” Coleman replied, and there was a slick.
Long raised an eyebrow. “Five minutes is a long time, Graham.”
“Be ready to move,” Terrell replied in agreement. “We may have to cause a diversion to buy time.”
A young couple tore around a corner a few blocks down, followed by a man with an AK-47 shooting wildly behind them. He emptied the clip and then swung at a pursuing zombie, but the horde that appeared around the corner overwhelmed him, swallowing up his screaming form.
The two soldiers stood next to each other, popping off assault rifle shots to attempt to take down the zombies chasing the still running couple.
“We can’t take them all out!” Long cried.
Terrell grabbed his radio. “Coleman, keep the men hidden, we’re gonna divert them away from you.”
There was a crackly affirmative, just as a second zombie horde burst out of a side alleyway and leapt onto the escaping couple.
“Light ‘em up!” Terrell cried as the screaming people fell to the pavement, and the soldiers switched to full automatic, unloading full clips into the horde. It didn’t drop all of the zombies, but enough to slow them down as the duo fled.
They rushed down a side street, stopping every so often to fire another full mag into their pursuers. Once a few blocks from the grocery store, Terrell lowered his shoulder to break through the front doors of a sporting goods store, smashing the lock in the process.
Long quickly secured the door with a set of zip ties from his pocket, and then moved through the store to find something sturdier. Terrell swept the dark store, handgun drawn. As he rounded the second aisle, there was a shuffling in the dark and a screech. He opened fire, having to shoot a few extra times due to lack of light. He managed to shoot his attacker in the throat, but it wasn’t enough and the zombie barreled into him, sending them both to the floor.
He managed to grab the zombie around the neck, and force it up, giving himself some wiggle room. He rolled, throwing his opponent to the side, and scrambled up, kicking the zombie as hard as he could in the face. At the telltale crack of its neck, it collapsed, and he stomped hard on the back of its head to just to be sure.
“You alright, Graham?” Long called.
Terrell nodded. “Yeah, I’m good. Bruised my pride more than anything,” he replied as he finished his sweep. “If my trainer saw me get taken down like that he would have given be a Pai Mei level beating.”
“I won’t tell if you won’t,” came the reply as the Sergeant finished securing the handles with a bike chain.
Terrell laughed. “How’s the door? I didn’t break it too bad, did I?” He approached his partner.
“I’m pretty sure those chains will hold for a while,” Long said. “Gonna be noisy as hell, though.”
“Hopefully if we stay out of sight they’ll eventually move on,” Terrell replied. His radio clicked.
“Sarge! Sarge?” Coleman asked through the speaker. “You boys alright?”
“Yeah Coleman, we’re good,” the Sergeant said. “Down a few blocks at the sporting goods store.”
“Well you give us a minute, and we’ll be down there to get you out,” the Corporal instructed.
“Negative Coleman, you get those supplies back to base,” Terrell replied firmly.
“Sarge?!”
“That’s an order, Coleman,” the Sergeant cut in. “Those supplies are the priority. We’re locked up tight here, so we’re safe for a while. We’ve pretty much depleted our ammo so we aren’t in much of a condition to fight anyway. Hit me back when you drop them off, and we can arrange a pickup. Because I don’t know about Sarge here, but I sure as hell don’t wanna do a three mile run through the city.”
Long barked a laugh. “With this humidity? Hell no.”
“You got it, Sarge,” Coleman said reluctantly. “Y’all be safe.”
“Y’all too, Coleman,” Terrell said. “Graham out.”
“I think there’s some lawn chairs in aisle six if you’d care to join me for some lounging,” Long motioned over his shoulder. “I think we’ve earned it.”
Terrell nodded and clapped him on the back. “I concur, sir. Lead the way.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Frank leaned forward to survey the hundred or so cars parked at the front entrance to the stadium. There were people crowding around everywhere, pleading to be let inside.
“Mother of god,” Freeman breathed. “Didn’t take long for us to get found out.”
The tattooed woman, whose name had turned out to be Marie, peeked around the back of Frank’s seat. “Why aren’t they letting them in?”
“Because we don’t have the resources to keep them alive,” the Sergeant replied. “We let them in and we all starve. I wish we could save everyone… but we can’t.”
She flopped back in her seat, letting the cold reality sink in.
“I’ll take the long way around to the back loading dock,” Jason said.
Frank nodded. “Good call. Freeman, radio in to Bill and let him know where we’ll be.”
“On it,” the Corporal replied, and did so as Jason drove the Humvee around the block. There were no civilians around the loading dock, and they managed to enter the gate unnoticed, soldiers quickly shutting it behind them.
“Sergeant Kyle,” Bill greeted as they exited the vehicle. “The rest of your team is on their way with the care packages.”
“Thanks,” Frank replied. “They have the blood testing kits?”
The old man nodded. “That they do.”
“Good,” the Sergeant said. “I have a few more nurses here, as well as the good Doctor.” He stepped aside and motioned to the dark haired man, pale and nervous looking in the early morning light.
“Doctor Mullins, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Bill said, extending his hand to shake. “If you and your team would like to follow my assistant here, he’ll get you set up.”
The doctor shook his hand, but didn’t move. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”
“As soon as I get these boys back on the road, I’ll be in to give you a full lay of the land,” Bill promised. “Sound good?”
; “Sounds good,” he agreed. “Marie, can you grab the laptops?”
The tattooed woman nodded, turning to one of the nurses. “Can you please follow the doc, here? I’m going to be heading back out with these boys.”
“Whoa, wait a second.” Frank put his hands up. “You’re not coming with us.”
Freeman raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, we already have to babysit our driver, we don’t need any more dead weight.”
“Dead weight?” Marie snarled. “Motherfucker I was a combat medic. Did three tours in Iraq and another in Afghanistan. With the exception of your Sarge here, I’ve taken more fire than anybody else in this building. And yes, I’m including your limp dick condescending ass in my assessment there.”
Freeman blinked at her intense glare and then took a step back, shrugging. “Well, she certainly has the balls to run with us Sarge, but it’s your call.”
“Marie, I appreciate your service and have no doubt you can handle yourself,” Frank began, “but my team is solid and we don’t need you out there.”
“You and your men ever use a blood testing kit?” She raised her chin. “You know how to identify a false reading? What about a failed test?” She paused as they glanced at each other, speechless. “Look, I don’t have all of the information you do, but I’m not a moron. I know what Doctor Mullins’ research focuses on, and I know all too well what went down at the hospital. And with your emphasis on the blood testing kits, it sounds like you could use my help since one fuckup could seriously ruin your day. Or am I wrong?”
Frank took a deep breath, and then let it out slowly. “Bill, get this lady some gear.”
“Yes sir,” the old man replied, and headed off.
“Just so we’re clear,” the Sergeant said, “you follow my orders just like you’re back in the desert. Understood?”
Marie nodded. “Understood.”
“Hey Sarge,” Corporal Owens entered with Bill, carrying a bunch of gear. “Good to see you made it back in one piece.”
“Good to be back,” Frank replied. “So, what did you bring me?”
“Fresh stock of ammo, already mag loaded,” Owens said, rummaging through the pile on the table. “Full assortment of grenades, as well as twenty C-4 charges. And a few hundred blood testing kits we borrowed from the hospital.”
“Well, that should be enough to get us through any door we come up against,” Frank said.
Bill put his hands on his hips. “I thought it might.”
“Alright boys, load it up,” the Sergeant instructed. “Two Humvees, we’re leaving the transports here until we get the engineers secured.”
The old man raised a hand. “Sergeant, if I may make a suggestion.”
“Have at it,” Frank said.
“If that crowd out front is any indication, this place is going to be a madhouse sooner rather than later,” Bill began. “If we don’t move the transports now, we may not be able to get them out of the garage without risking a breach. We can always ladder people in if we get surrounded by those creatures, but it’s a moot point if they’re stuck in storage.”
“I understand that, but I don’t like the idea of them being exposed to city streets,” Frank replied. “It could take us hours to secure everyone we need to.”
Bill set a tablet on the table, and pulled up a map of the city. He highlighted a building in the downtown core. “This is your target,” he said, “the convention hotel. Seven blocks away right here is the city bus lot. Their service started about two hours ago, so the lot is going to be mostly deserted. I can send a few of the grunts over there with them to park until you need them. It’s not totally secured like the stadium, but it should hold for a few hours.”
“Make it happen,” Frank agreed, and clapped him on the back. “I’ll radio when we’re ready to move.”
The old man saluted as the Sergeant headed over to the lead vehicle. He hopped into the passenger seat, nodding back at Marie, Freeman, and Owens.
“Alright Jason, to the hotel,” he instructed.
The driver grinned. “Yes, sir. Tell your boys to keep up, cause we’re gonna be moving.” He popped the Humvee into gear as soldiers opened the garage gate and peeled out, the other vehicle close behind. They tore down side streets, encountering no resistance as they squealed tires around the city. There were rogue zombies here or there feasting on a body, but no large groups.
Jason slowed down as a massive wreck came into view at an intersection a few lights up.
“Shit,” he muttered. “Hoping we could get closer before having to get on the main drag. Hang tight.” He took a sharp left and drove for a few blocks before making a hard right. On the main street, there was complete chaos. People ran around everywhere in the streets, zombies tearing after them. There were several busted cars, smoking and some overturned. Bodies littered the street. Jason slammed on the brakes.
“What the hell are you doing, man?!” Freeman cried. “We gotta move!”
The driver froze, unable to even breathe at the carnage before him.
“Jason, where is the site?” Frank asked gently.
His mouth moved up and down like a fish before he could make any noise. “Uh… it’s…”
“Jason!” the Sergeant said sharply.
He jumped in his seat. “Five blocks up, two blocks left.”
“I want you to floor this thing, drive through anything that comes across your path,” Frank said firmly. “Do it, now.”
Jason took a deep breath and then punched the accelerator, screeching the tires and launching the Humvee up the road. He wove in and out of the wreckage, wincing anytime he clipped a body that he hoped was a zombie and not a person.
“You’re doing good Jason, just two more blocks,” Frank said. They crossed the final intersection just before a car speeding in the other direction, and Marie shrieked as it smashed into the second Humvee.
“Stop the car!” she yelled.
Freeman turned around as the opponent car spun around, totaled, the Humvee’s front axle completely dislodging. “Back it up, back it up!” he cried.
Jason slammed on the brakes and popped into reverse, the soldiers preparing their assault rifles. He stopped a few feet from the accident, and Frank and Owens hopped out, immediately taking down three zombies that ran towards them from the sound of the crash.
Owens surveyed the car, the passenger down for the count with a massive bite wound in his neck. Frank ran over and ripped open the driver’s side door of the busted Humvee.
“They really need to put airbags in these things,” Webb groaned as he rolled out of the vehicle onto the pavement.
Frank hooked a hand under the Corporal’s bicep. “Yeah, you’re alright, on your feet soldier, we gotta move.”
Gardner staggered out of the backseat. “Where we goin, Sarge?”
Jason cried out from the driver’s seat and Freeman and Marie swung around to see a zombie horde running up the street towards them.
“We gotta get off the street, now!” Freeman yelled, and Frank motioned to a set of double doors.
“Get into the mall!” he screamed, and led the way across to the Overstreet Mall. He burst through the doors, gun at the ready, sweeping the small area as everyone scrambled inside. Gardner and Reyes ran up the set of shut down escalators to secure a sentry position, just as a zombie latched onto Owens’ arm.
Freeman dispatched the zombie quickly, brains flying back out onto the street as they pulled the Corporal inside and slammed the doors.
“Son of a motherfucking bitch,” Owens moaned, clutching at the chunk taken out of his arm.
“Just hang tight soldier,” Marie said firmly as Freeman and Webb secured the doors against the banging horde outside. “I’ll get you fixed up.”
“Look at the bright side,” Freeman squeezed his wounded comrade’s shoulder. “At least you don’t have to worry about getting infected twice.”
Owens grimaced and shook his head. “Man, this just ain’t my fuckin’ day.”
�
�Cole, Webb, move up,” Frank instructed, and they barreled up the escalator to help the other two stand guard. “Owens, you good to go?”
He nodded as Marie finished wrapping his arm. “Yeah.” They helped him stand up and turn to the escalator as shots rang out.
“Contact!” Webb screamed as they pumped lead downrange. Frank led his group up quickly, half a dozen zombies running full tilt towards them. Some of them fell, but many of them gained ground.
“Hit the cafe!” Frank instructed, leading the charge with Freeman to the corner of the corridor. They did a quick sweep as Marie grabbed the hook for the rolling gate and jerked on it.
“Clear!” Freeman declared.
Frank whipped around to face the oncoming horde. “Clear!” he agreed, and the soldiers still outside firing backed towards the cafe to safety. Cole and Webb continued their suppressing fire as the others scrambled under the door.
Cole shoved his comrade towards the cafe while still providing cover fire and Webb slid underneath. He turned around just in time to see the zombie horde take Cole down, tearing him to pieces as Marie slammed the gate down and locked it.
“Cole!” Webb screamed, and punched the metal in frustration. “What the fuck, man?!”
Owens put his good hand on the Corporal’s shoulder. “He did the same thing I would have done,” he said gently. “We were both handed death sentences this morning, and we both want to go out doing something meaningful.”
Webb nodded and took a step back from the gate as the zombies smacked into the gate, teeth gnashing and hands clawing.
“How are we getting out of this one, Sarge?” Freeman asked as he flopped into a booth.
Frank set his rifle on the bar. “Not sure Freeman,” he said. “Not sure.”
CHAPTER NINE
Dead America The First Week (Book 1): Carolina Front Page 4