by TW Gallier
"Hey, boss!" Aaron shouted from the first 5-ton to roll out of the motor pool. "We started five, but only had four drivers. You want to send someone to get the other one?"
"I got it," Brett said, and took off running.
A moment later three more 5-tons rumbled out, followed a moment later by Brett. I ran over to ride shotgun with Aaron, with the others each going to a truck. With Cash's death, I was down to nine men counting myself. And everywhere I looked I saw zombies and soldiers.
Chapter 16
Jenny
Ritter yanked his trousers back up and ran to the window behind his desk. I pulled my jeans back up and followed fast on his heels. We gawked for a second at the carnage out on the runway. Helicopters and gas trucks were blowing up left and right. I saw men on fire running around.
Machine gun fire was coming in from two directions, including behind us. I could see the tracers in the fading light. Did Roger and the other men survive the ambush? Or was it a rival force here to take out the competition?
"What the fuck?" Ritter growled. "Manning!"
I didn't know who Manning was, but I knew I only had seconds to act. While he fastened his trousers and belt, I looked around. There was a brass lamp on his desk. I grabbed it, yanked the cord free, and swung with all my might. I struck Colonel Ritter in the back of the head.
He dropped like a rock and didn't move.
Looking around frantically, hearing utter chaos outside the door, I spotted his rifle behind the desk and leaning against the wall. I had to step over him to reach it, and a soldier came charging in as I did so.
"I'm here, sir!"
We both froze. His eyes then dropped to my naked breasts. I rushed forward, snatched up the rifle, and spun around to face Manning. He was going for the pistol on his hip. Aiming for center of mass, I pulled the trigger. Nothing. Cursing, I racked the charging handle and opened fire.
Manning kind of danced around a second, and finally dropped to the floor. Blood began flowing out from his body, but I spotted more men outside the door so opened fire on them. Then I heard the colonel groan.
I had to get out of there fast, so I ran over to my discarded shirt. Ritter stood up, leaning heavily on his desk, and then we both froze. I stared into his eyes and saw realization dawn, followed by rage.
"I'm going to kill you and your brats!"
So I shot him five times. Ritter collapsed behind the desk. I hurried over and saw him gasping on the floor. My head filled with all he and his men had done to us and other women.
"Rot in Hell, you godforsaken bastard."
And then I shot him in the head.
I heard noises outside the office door. Running to the door, I sprayed the room beyond with automatic fire. The few men there quickly ran away. None of them had weapons that I could see. Damn Army office workers.
I took the time to fasten my jeans and pull on my shirt. I stuffed my bra into my back pocket. I didn't want to traverse half the country, fighting all the way, without some support. And then I did a quick search of the office to find Ritter's load bearing harness with full ammo pouches. I even took his Kevlar helmet.
Small arms fire intensified outside. It sounded close. Despite that, I was eager to go out. I didn't know for sure if it was Roger or not, but anyone was better than those soldiers. Besides, I was afraid of what the guards in the hangar would do to the women and children still in there.
Running out of the headquarters, I spotted scantily clad women huddled against the hangar walls. My eyes found Fiona, and then I spotted men moving away from them and firing at soldiers. I didn't know the first few men, and then I saw Charlie.
"Roger!" I cried. He turned to face me. My heart sang and I got chills. "Yes!"
"Watch out behind you!" he cried, pointing off to my side.
That's when I noticed the zombies coming around the building. Roger started running my way, while I turned and fired into the mass of monsters descending upon me. One of them grabbed my arm, and then another lunged at me.
A man I didn't know plowed into them, knocking the zombie holding my arm away. I backed away and started shooting again.
"Jay's in trouble!" Roger called. "Save Jay!"
Mike and Charlie started running our way, too. The man who saved me cried out angrily, but was dragged down.
"Shoot me!" he cried. "Don't let me be a zombie!"
It became a mute point when a zombie ripped out his throat. Jay would not rise again.
Roger, Mike, and Charlie opened up, killing all of the zombies around him. I ran towards them, and Roger waved for me to keep running. The men turned and ran with me.
"We got the women in the two mess halls," Roger said breathlessly. "We have to get the rest. Are there any other hangars beside these three that women and children are kept?"
"Not that I know of."
I spotted five Army trucks coming up the runway from the other end. Another group of men was attacking the few remaining helicopters and the men around them. I didn't recognize any of them. They looked like bikers.
"You found help?"
"Yes," Roger said. "They're here to rescue their women and children, too."
We arrived at the hangar with the rest of the women and children. My children and friends were inside. Fiona and the other women were crouched over along the closed bay door. I ran straight to the small door in the bay door and tried the knob.
"It's locked," I said. "Be careful. There are armed guards inside."
Roger pounded on the door. "Help! Let us inside!"
I heard Sergeant Coleman answer. "Who is it?"
My husband dropped to one knee, angled his rifle up toward the door, and fired a dozen shots. Then he used his rifle butt to smash off the knob, before he and two bikers began kicking it. The door quickly succumbed to their onslaught and swung open.
"Get down! Get down!" the men shouted as we engaged the other guards.
Sergeant Coleman was sprawled spread-eagle on the ground. Dead. He had a surprised look on his face. I checked for a pulse, just to make sure, and then took his key ring. While the men chased the guards into the back of the hangar, I rushed over to the cage holding my children and friends.
"Keep an eye on the door," I said. "Warn me if any soldiers or zombies come inside."
The number 12 was written in permanent marker beside the lock. I found the key with a 12 on it, and it opened the lock. Kate was first out and hugged me fiercely.
"Grab the dead guards' weapons and ammo," I said, handing the key ring to Sara. "Open the other cages."
Harlan suddenly slammed into my leg, his little arms hugging my waist tightly. He was crying, which made me start crying. Timmy and Spooky rushed up and threw their arms around me then. I passed my rifle off to Sonya to be with my children.
Chapter 17
Roger
"Watch out, Roger!" Charlie shouted.
I threw myself to the floor as soldiers opened fire. The floor was carpeted in the office area of the hangar. The sheetrock walls erupted in countless impacts above me. I swung my rifle around and engaged.
"Someone hit them with a grenade," I shouted.
I heard a wild scrambling deeper in the office area of the hangar. Then, Poof!
"Get outside!" a soldier screamed.
Ka-boom!
40mm grenades in enclosed spaces are loud. Like make your ears ring loud. And my ears were already numb from all of the gunfire.
"Don't let them get away!" TareBear shouted.
We all took off after them the second we heard a door open. I fired into closed doors and the walls to either side as we passed, just in case any of them were hiding. We found one dead and two wounded as we passed through. The wounded were promptly shot, but not by me. I still cringed at the very idea of killing wounded enemy, though knew it was prudent under the circumstances.
Ratta-tat-tat-tat! Ratta-tat-tat-tat!
I dove to the floor again. "Get down!"
Dust and debris filled the air as the guards t
urned to fight.
"Grenade!" one of the bikers shouted.
Poof!
Ka-boom!
"Outside!" a soldier shouted. "Go! Go! I'll hold them."
I took aim at his head. He was only twenty feet away. For the briefest second all came into focus and I could see his rank insignia. Sergeant/E-5. Buck sergeant. One side of his face was bloody and his blue eyes seemed to really pop in the shadow of his helmet.
I pulled the trigger and a three-round burst punched into his head.
The sergeant was slammed back against the wall, and slowly slid down while leaving a bloody streak on the wall. I heard the front door open and numerous feet running away.
"Don't let them get away," I said, taking off running. "Charlie. Mike. Terrel. Check the other offices."
While those three veered away into the hallway, I led the others toward the open front door. I could hear shouting and gunfire outside. I spotted the escaping soldiers through a window. They were frantically fighting off zombies.
"Shoot the soldiers," I commanded. "Let the god-damned zombies eat them."
God help me, I wasn't feeling merciful. Not only did those men gladly kidnap and abuse our women and children, but they were their guards, too. For some reason that made them worse in my mind.
We rushed out into the small parking lot between the hangar and the fence. Zombies were all around. I could see more surging through the gate we opened. They'd already gone past us and the next hangar over where they were fighting with unarmed soldiers in a tank motor pool. I could see zombies crawling all over the M1 Abrams tanks.
We stood in line just outside the door and opened fire on the few remaining guards. We mowed them down fast, and watched the zombies pile on and start ripping the flesh from their bones. There couldn't be a more gruesome sight on earth.
"It'd be so great to have a tank," TareBear said.
I glanced at the tanks. There seemed to be even more zombies than before. I no longer saw any living soldiers, but at least two soldiers had been bitten and turned into zombies. Getting through all of those zombies and getting a tank would be next to impossible, but having one would give us an undeniable advantage.
"Do you know how to drive and shoot one?" I asked.
"No."
"Neither do I." We all paused to open fire on all of the zombies rushing us. "Get back inside and lock the door."
I continued firing three to five round bursts as the men slowly backed back through the door. I was last one through, and TareBear immediately slammed the door closed. Zombies began pounding on it and the nearby windows. Those windows wouldn't hold long.
"Charlie! Are you okay?"
"We're better than fine, Roger. We found a small cache of weapons and ammo."
I hurried down the hall to the room they were looting. It had to be the guards' arms room. There was a single rack of M-4s and some boxes of ammo. We all grabbed all we could carry and headed for the main hangar.
"Start loading magazines," I said. "Ladies, anyone who knows how to shoot a rifle needs to take one of these."
A couple of the women in my group still weren't armed, so I gave them rifles. Mike, Charlie, and Paul started loading empty 30-round magazines. Everyone else sought out their wives and girlfriends. Jenny led our women over to help load magazines. I joined them.
"TareBear, can y'all at least guard the door while getting reacquainted?"
He laughed. "Consider it done."
TareBear barked some orders. Men and women hurried to the front and back of the hangar. He came over to me with a woman.
"Roger, this is my wife Taryn."
"Hello," I said, extending my hand. She ignored my hand and hugged me instead. "Okay. And this is my wife, Jenny."
Jenny hugged TareBear. "Thanks for helping save us."
"Hey, if you guys are done wife-swapping, can we get a little help here?" Mike asked.
"The battle rages on out front," Charlie said.
"Daddy!" Timmy cried as he raced up.
"Guess not," Mike grumbled.
I dropped to my knees as Timmy and Harlan slammed into me. It was all hugs and kiss and tears for a moment. Then I spotted Spooky hanging back. I opened my arms and she raced up to throw herself into my arms.
"It's going to be all right, baby," I said.
"If you make me cry," Charlie muttered. "I'll kick your ass."
Timmy and Spooky helped us load magazines. Harlan could do it, but he just hung onto me instead. We quickly loaded every magazine. They were distributed to everyone, including those not carrying a weapon. The unarmed women and older children could carry ammo during our escape. You can never have too much ammo.
Even better, we found cleaning supplies for our weapons.
"Shits getting hairy out there!" one of the biker women shouted from up front.
"Yeah, it's time to get the hell out of Dodge," I said. We all moved to the front. "Listen up. We're going to turn left outside the door. There are two more teams of us in that direction. We'll hook up with them and leave. It's going to be loud and dangerous out there. I need the unarmed women and children to stay as close to the hangar walls as possible, while the rest of us defend you." I paused, expecting questions. Everyone just looked grim. "Follow me."
The armed men and women went out first in a mad rush. We setup a small perimeter so the rest could emerge. Zombies threw themselves at us. For a second I thought the horde would overrun us, but our sustained fire slowly decimated them. Their line fell further and further back as women and children exited the door and crowded next to the wall.
"Move out," I called, starting to trot northward toward the next hangar.
It was the hangar with tanks parked on the other side. There was a line of Bradley Fighting Vehicles parked on our side of the hangar. Soldiers were still trying to fight their way into them. I spotted one crew about to achieve success.
That would not be good for us.
"Mike and Charlie!" I shouted. I pointed at the Bradley. "Stop them!"
As my two friends raced forward, I noticed we had another problem.
"Stop!"
Zombies were coming up the grassy gap between the hangars. Me, Vince, and TareBear stepped up and started shooting. Once most of them were killed, I told Vince and TareBear to hold their ground as I continued to lead the rest of us northward.
A helicopter exploded, and then some soldiers came running towards us from that direction. They opened fire on us. Women and children screamed in terror and pain as they were gunned down. A couple of the bikers and armed women dropped as well, as the rest of us turned and returned fire. That firefight was intense for a long moment, but our superior numbers won the day.
"Help the wounded. If you have to leave the ammo, so be it."
I had to turn away when I spotted two women clutching dead children. My three kids were thankfully unscathed, but the thought of them being shot and killed rattled me for a second. I noticed Jenny and other parents with haunted looks in their eyes.
"My whole family is going to have PTSD when this is all said and done."
The Bradley motor pool had calmed down. Most of the zombies were heading towards the burning helicopters and all of the dead bodies lying around out on the tarmac. It seemed their bellies were first and foremost on their diseased minds. There were dozens of dead soldiers and zombies between the hangar and line of Bradleys, all surrounded by zombies gorging themselves on bloody chucks of meat.
My stomach soured, and I heard a few members of our group puke. The stench of burning human flesh didn't help.
"Dante's Inferno looks like paradise compared to this place," Jenny said. Then she pointed forward, a look of excitement spreading across her face. "Trucks! Look!"
A sense of relief flowed through me. That had to be Sean in those five 5-tons coming around the bend. That bend was about the halfway point to the north gate and freedom. Unfortunately, there were a whole lot of soldiers and zombies between us.
And then I heard screa
ming behind me. More zombies slammed into us from behind.
Chapter 18
Sean
"Where to, Sean?" Aaron asked.
We were accelerating down the runway. I could see the control tower burning near the big bend in the airfield. There were zombies rushing in behind us, and I could see more ahead. The runway we were on intersected another just ahead, and all of the burning helicopters were on that runway.
"We have to turn off into the grass," I said. "Head for the concrete pads in front of the hangars."
Roger was supposed to lead the women and children from hangar to hangar and until we all met up. I tried to find them in all of the chaos, smoke, and explosions. Soldiers and zombies were running in all directions.
The muzzle flashes of fighting men filled the area in front of the most distant hangars. I couldn't tell if it was soldiers fighting the zombies, or Roger's Team fighting soldiers and zombies. Coop's team was in the grassy area between the hangars and the first runway.
"Aaron, head for Coop's team," I said. "We'll pick them up first."
Coop and his bikers suddenly turned away from the burning helicopters and took off toward the control tower. I didn't see any threat coming from the runway. In fact, it looked like all of the soldiers and pilots were dead. Zombies were rushing towards the dead, and had already begun feasting on them at the other end.
Then Coop's group opened fire on some soldiers I'd overlooked. Aaron hit the brakes, while I studied the new threat. At first I thought they were defending a hangar on the north side of the tower, but quickly recognized it as the fire station. Unarmed soldiers were running towards the fire station from all directions, and armed soldiers were coming out.
"That's their arms room!" I shouted. "We have to help Coop capture it."
Coop's M60 and SAW gunners were laying waste to those poor soldiers. I think most of them were mechanics, cooks, and other support personnel. It seemed they wanted to escape more than fight. They had no unit cohesion. They were reduced to rabble with guns. Our three-prong attack, followed up with zombies, had them confused and frightened.