These Dead Lands: Immolation

by Stephen Knight

  “There are several sets of rails with a lot of cars just sitting there waiting, but what’s important about this switch yard is that it is specifically a container switching facility. All those cars have containers on them, some of them double stacked.” The AMP walked up to the screen and pointed out specific features as she provided narrative for the imagery. “This set of tracks is where they load and off-load the containers from the semitrailers to the railcars. You can see the two big yellow gantry cranes, here and here, that can pick up the entire container with the semitrailer still attached, or just the shipping container itself, and place it on the railcar. From what we can tell, these other sets of rails with cars all have containers on them, also. The shortest set has at least a hundred railcars on it, and the longer one looks to have between a hundred fifty to two hundred cars, all ready to go. I have one of the analysts actually counting the cars from a still shot, so I’ll be able to give you the actual numbers of cars on each set of rails, along with an estimate on the number of containers on each one. All you have to do is hook up engines to those cars and pull them back here.”

  Hastings liked what he was seeing. “That’s outstanding.”

  “There’s more, sir,” the AMP said. “From what we can tell, there are six engines sitting in the yard. It looks like they have three engines linked together on these two tracks and then two more engines down here at the south end of the yard.”

  Hastings looked at Ballantine. “Carl, can you send someone to get our locomotive engineer? I want him to look at this and give his opinion.”

  “I’ll have a runner get him right now, sir.” Ballantine hustled out of the room.

  “Sir, it gets even better,” the AMP said, moving her pointer to a different spot on the screen. “If you look at the edge of the yard here, you can see a lot of semis sitting in the parking lot and on the access road, most without trailers. I’m guessing about ten to fifteen. The yard is full of empty trailers capable of hauling containers as well. So you also have a large number of semis and container trailers, all in this immediate area. And if that isn’t enough for you, a block south of the yard, there are more semis and reefer trailers.”

  The AMP used her radio to call the Ground Control Station. A moment later, the drone’s camera rotated to surveil a new site. “Okay, take a look right along here, sir. This entire block? It’s all warehouses and yards full of parked semis and trailers. If you want semis, sir, you have more than you can shake a stick at right here. And right behind those yards is Three Twenty-Two, if you want to bring any of them back here.”

  Hastings could feel the smile creeping onto his face. Damn, this is looking too good to be true. “This is all good news. Thanks for calling me down to see this. It’s going to change my plans considerably.”

  The AMP smiled. “Oh, hold on, sir. Don’t change anything yet because that’s not all. Just west of the rail yard, we spotted a heavy equipment rental place on Paxton Street, which is the same street that passes in front of the rail yard. Check this out.”

  She spoke into her radio to the GCS again, and the camera view slewed to the right and zoomed in on a new location. “There appears to be a whole yard of front loaders and backhoes and other heavy equipment on site. Again, just sitting there, waiting for someone to come by and make use of them. I thought you might be interested in that, too, sir.”

  “That’s really good to know,” Hastings said. “Good call. You’ve got a round of beers on me.”

  The AMP grinned and rubbed her hands together. “Well, sir, can I get you to consider throwing in a couple of steaks? Because if you look about two hundred meters east of the equipment yard, you’ll notice some storage tanks. The analysts tell me those are ethanol and fuel tanks. So you have a fuel source right down from the rail yard as well.”

  Hastings shook his head in amazement. “At this point, I might have to buy you an entire cow instead of just a couple of steaks. This is fantastic. We couldn’t have asked for anything better. You have any other good news for me?”

  “Well, sir, just east of the rail yard on Paxton Street, there’s a Wal-Mart super center and a Sam’s Club about six hundred meters away. I don’t know if that’s of interest to you or not, but I thought I’d mention it.”

  Hastings laughed. “Well, at least you know where your dinner’s coming from. I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for mentioning it. Are there any areas where we could land Chinooks?”

  “Yes, sir. I’d say we could set a few birds down on the tracks in the empty section of the rail yard. And farther down here, past the Sam’s Club, at the very far end of the yard, you’ll see these two huge parking lots. I’m guessing those are overflow lots. They look to be about eight hundred feet long by two hundred feet wide. Bonus points for us, since they’re completely empty at the moment.”

  “This is all majorly good news. It’s going to mean some planning changes, but this is one of those times when I’m glad I have to change a plan,” Hastings said.

  Ballantine returned with the train engineer in tow. “Sir, Lieutenant Munn.”

  “Thanks, Ballantine,” Hastings said. “Lieutenant Munn, I need you to take a look at this video feed of the Rutherford rail yard. It looks like it has everything we need and then some, but I want your opinion.”

  Munn looked at the live video feed on the screen, watching as the Shadow flew an orbit around the rail yard. He made some encouraging noises as the drone flew an entire circuit. Finally, he nodded. “Yeah, I’d say this has everything we need, and most of the work is already done for us, sir. There are more engines there than at Reading, and they look to already be in tandem. All we have to do is move the engines to the other set of tracks and connect to those two lines of cars.”

  “How long will that take?” Hastings asked.

  Munn rubbed his chin. “We’ll need to still spend some time on the objective, but it won’t be nearly as long as it would have taken at Reading.”

  Hastings nodded. “That’s good to hear, and what I was hoping you’d say.”

  “I’ll still need security in place so my team can move around the yard, and that place is a lot bigger than the other yard. Is that going to be a problem, sir?”

  “That won’t be a problem. We’ve got plenty of troops on hand. I’ll make sure we have security in place before your team is even on the objective.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Munn looked at the display again. “It looks pretty calm down there right now. I see only a handful of the dead moving around. Let’s hope it stays that way. As soon as we start up the engines and powering on equipment, the noise is going to attract a lot of attention, and there aren’t a lot of places for people to take cover if we get caught out there.” The older lieutenant frowned. “I’m just wondering where they all are. I expected to see more roaming around.”

  “I share the same concerns,” Hastings said, “but don’t sweat it, Lieutenant. I’ll be sure to set up a corridor of outer perimeter security that will give you plenty of advance warning if reekers start coming out of the woodwork. We’ve got some experience with this kind of stuff.”

  The radio came to life as the sound of gunfire erupted in the distance. “TOC, this is OP Two. We’re in contact, estimated one hundred plus, request QRF be launched now.”

  The TOC became a hive of activity as people reacted to the observation post’s contact report and scrambled to put things in motion.

  “Where’s OP Two?” Hastings asked.

  The TOC sergeant major answered, “OP Two is the southern end of Fisher Avenue. My guess is they are coming off of 81. That area is pretty open, not a lot of trees, just open field.” The gunfire continued to grow in intensity, and it didn’t sound as though it was going to let up anytime soon.

  “Sergeant Major, if it’s okay with you, my guys will be rolling with the QRF as soon as I can notify them,” Hastings said.

  “Roger that, sir. Staff Sergeant Connor is in charge of the QRF detail. I’ll let him know to expect you.”

  �
��Tell him my guys are just along for the ride. It’s still his show,” Hastings said as he and Ballantine hurried out of the TOC.

  “Carl, have the guys mount up in two of the gun trucks,” Hastings said when they were outside. “And have everyone else loaded up in the other vehicles ready to roll if we have to un-ass this place quickly. I’ll let your family and Diana know what they need to do, then I’ll meet you outside. Don’t roll without me.”

  “Wouldn’t think of it, sir,” Ballantine said.

  *

  Kay Ballantine heard the gunfire along with everyone else, and the racket caused a riptide of fear to roll over everyone in the barracks. The din of combat meant only one thing: after allowing themselves to believe they were finally safe inside Fort Indiantown Gap, the nightmare had found them once again.

  Josh and Curtis bolted upright in their bunks. When the soldiers at the front of the room reached for their weapons, both boys ran to Kay, fear evident on their faces.

  “Mom, what’s going on?”

  Kay hugged them close to her sides. “I don’t know, Josh, but don’t worry. Just make sure you and your brother are ready to go if we have to leave quickly.”

  Diana was already up and moving, grabbing up items and stuffing them into a backpack. Kay watched her for a moment, and when she saw the Asian woman adding diapers and MREs to the bag, she was relieved. I guess the zombie apocalypse can bring out maternal instincts in anyone.

  Diana looked up then and saw Kay staring at her. “What?” she snapped.

  “Nothing. Just keep doing what you’re doing.” Kay turned and began gathering her family’s belongings, not that there was much packing to do. Carl had insisted they keep things buttoned up as much as possible, in case they had to bug out. She was just surprised that bugging out might be coming so soon. If we’re not safe here surrounded by all these soldiers, where will we be safe?

  By the door, Hector Guerra had the rest of the troops getting squared away. When the solid NCO spoke, his voice was loud and commanding. “Get it on and be ready to move in five. Stilley, Tharinger, make sure the vehicles are running and ready to move ASAP. Reader, Hartman, make sure both heavy weapons are up and ready to go.”

  The door opened, and Captain Hastings strode into the room. Kay’s heart leaped when she saw her husband step in right behind him. Hastings hurried past the men, headed toward Kay.

  Carl turned to Guerra. “Guerra, have two of the trucks and the men ready to roll to OP Two on the southern end of Fisher Avenue. You know where that is?”

  “Not OP Two, specifically, but I know the area you’re talking about.” Guerra motioned outside. “Doesn’t sound like we’ll have any problems finding it.”

  Ballantine nodded. “Good. Don’t leave without the captain. He’s with you.”

  “Roger that.”

  Hastings stopped in front of her. “Kay, you and boys need to get your gear together and prepare to move out.”

  “What’s happening?” she asked.

  “There’s an attack at one of the observation posts at the edge of the post. I don’t know the full specifics just yet, but it’s a pretty big force, and all this racket is going to draw more of them in. You’re not leaving just yet, but get ready for it, okay?”

  “Okay,” Kay said, feeling herself go numb.

  The shooting outside hadn’t slacked off. In fact, it seemed to be increasing.

  “Are we going with our daddy?” Curtis asked. His eyes were as big as saucers as he looked up at Hastings.

  Hastings reached out and touched the boy’s cheek. “Not just yet, champ. But don’t worry. You won’t be far from him. I promise.”

  “See? I’m here already,” Carl said as he trotted up to them. He put on a happy face for the boys, but Kay could see the worry in his eyes. He nodded to Hastings. “I got them, sir.”

  Hastings marched over to where Diana was still gathering her stuff.

  Carl took one of Kay’s hands. “Everything’s going to be okay. Just make sure you and the boys are ready to leave if things get bad.”

  “Carl, how am I going to know if we need to leave?”

  “I’m giving you an MBITR.”

  Kay shook her head. “A what? An emitter?”

  “MBITR. A one forty-eight.”

  Kay looked up at her husband, completely clueless. “Carl, what is a one forty-eight? Is it a weapon?”

  Her husband snorted. “No, babe. It’s a radio.” He pulled a black box that looked like a walkie-talkie on steroids from his belt. It had a huge whip antenna that wiggled back and forth.

  “I don’t know how to use that,” Kay said.

  “It’s not a big deal—it’s pretty much just like a normal walkie-talkie. You turn it on here”—he showed her the power switch—“and then, you just listen to it. We’ll use call signs. You’ll be Kilo for Kay, and I’m Charlie for Carl. Curtis is Charlie One and Josh is Juliet. Now, if you need to talk to me, just press here”—he pointed at the side button—“and after it beeps, begin to speak. When you’re done speaking, say ‘over’ and let go of the PTT.”

  “PTT? Carl, what are you talking about?”

  “The push-to-talk button.” Carl pointed at the button on the side again. “That’s just what we call it for short.”

  Kay felt flustered. While she’d been an Army wife for their entire marriage, she had never been particularly interested in military equipment. She’d learned how to shoot and had paid extra attention to emergency procedures, not because she found any of it fascinating but because she had two young boys to care for. “Carl, I don’t know…”

  “Babe, I don’t have time for this right now. Just do what Hastings told you, and listen to this radio. Okay?”

  Kay took the thing from him. She regarded it for a moment, hefting it in her hand. Push the button to talk. She could handle that. “Okay,” she said. “Okay.”

  Carl gave her a quick kiss before bending down to do the same to his boys. He hugged them all then turned to grab the rest of his gear.

  Kay put it down on the bunk. She looked over at Diana and Hastings. The captain was helping the woman with their bags. Diana held the rifle they had taken from the roughnecks who had killed Kenny’s parents. Hastings finished his work, glanced up at Diana, then reached down and touched Kenny’s head. The boy didn’t acknowledge the contact; he just kept looking at his flapping hands and burbling nonsensical sounds. Hastings paced over to his bunk, grabbed some gear, and hurried back to the front of the barracks. Kay saw Diana watching him go with a curious expression on her face. Worry? Fear? Kay didn’t know what to make of that.

  Carl followed the captain. “Listen to the radio,” he said again over his shoulder.

  All the soldiers left the building, leaving the women alone with their young charges.

  *

  Observation Post Two was at the intersection of Fisher Avenue and a much narrower road named Biddle Drive. Containers had been set across Fisher Avenue, blocking it off. What used to be decorative stone pillars on the side of the road by the Fort Indiantown Gap sign had become part of the barricade set up to channelize the reekers.

  The engineers had been busy. They had set up a series of wire obstacles arranged in depth along the open area off the road, all the way to the wood line. The obstacles continued down Biddle Drive, along with more containers blocking off the smaller side roads down Biddle. The trees had done well at slowing the reekers down, but they weren’t stopping them completely.

  As Hastings rode up with his men, he could see the excavator’s mulcher arm moving about almost frantically. The noise was loud enough to be heard over the gunfire.

  At various points along the line, reekers were caught up in the wire obstacles. Several had made it closer by walking over the fallen bodies. The sheer volume of zombies, coupled with the leapfrogging effect, had allowed groups of corpses to penetrate parts of the wire obstacles and get closer to the OP and along parts of Biddle Drive. The situation wasn’t out of control just yet, but the pot
ential for that loomed large. Hastings could see that if they didn’t stop the oncoming tide of the dead marching up Biddle Drive, things were going to get dicey.

  Fortunately, a large group of the reekers had been attracted to the sound of the excavator mulcher on Fisher Avenue, which meant their time would soon come to an end. A long strung-out line of zombies advanced toward the road, but the din of defending soldiers’ gunfire had also caused smaller clumps of reekers to continue toward the road.

  “Crusader One Seven, stay at the OP and lay down fire with the Mark,” Hastings said over the radio as his Humvee barreled down the road. “I’m headed down Biddle to mop up any of the squirters coming through the QRF’s lines. Over.”

  “Roger, Crusader One One,” Ballantine replied.

  Once Hastings’s Humvee turned off Fisher and headed down Biddle Drive, Reader immediately opened up with the .50 caliber. Reekers were coming out of the wood line as unaccompanied individuals—singletons, in military parlance—and more were standing in groups on the shoulder of the road, seemingly confused by the sheer volume of noise coming from every direction. Fifty-caliber rounds tore through them, ripping off limbs and body parts. Those that hadn’t taken a shot to the head slowly squirmed on the ground, trying to get back on their feet. The ones still standing turned toward the oncoming Humvee, and Hastings wondered if they were happy to finally have a target.

  “Watch your fire, Reader,” Hastings called over the vehicle’s intercom. “We have friendlies along this road.”

  “Roger,” Reader replied, but the distinctive rhythm of the .50 caliber continued as he sent fire into the wood line.

  Hastings heard the familiar sound of an M-134 mini-gun behind them and wondered who was shooting it. The ripping blare of short and long chainsaw-sounding bursts competed with the racket coming from the excavator mulcher, but the mini’s chatter was still discernible over the din.

  The QRF had arrived right before Hastings’s team, and they were trying to fill in the gaps and pick up the slack, but several reekers had slipped through and were staggering about on the road.