Buffy let out a loud shriek of joy as she continued driving over blues, Bruce looked ahead and saw a bridge over the interstate with blues on it. “Blues on the bridge ahead, they’re going to drop on us,” Bruce called over the radio as he opened up with the fifty.
The whole bridge erupted as the rest of the vehicles opened up. Not one blue lived through the onslaught. As Bruce lowered the fifty to start shooting the ones in front of him, Buffy took off down an exit ramp chasing blues. “Buffy, get us back on the interstate!” Bruce yelled over the radio.
“One of them is running away from me Daddy! I’m going to flatten his ass!” Buffy yelled out.
Bruce looked up and could only see blues running at them. Then Bruce noticed a blue man was in fact, running from them. The blue man was having trouble getting away with all his blue friends running at the truck. Bruce lowered his M-2 and blew the man apart.
“That one was mine damn it!” Buffy yelled.
“Then you should’ve got him. I didn’t like the way he was looking at you. Now get us back on the road,” Bruce told her as Danny and Mindy opened up with M-240’s sending out short burst of 7.62’s into blues.
“You heard him, step on the damn gas, you’re being a pussy and stop crying!” Buffy yelled at the driver over the intercom.
When they reached the interstate with the rest of the team everyone but Buffy formed a firing line, Buffy was trying to hit every blue on the road and so far was doing an outstanding job. “Buffy, that’s enough. When we reload you can run over them, now get back in line!” Bruce called over the radio.
The driver reached around Buffy to grab the steering wheel after hearing Bruce. “Touch it and Herman comes out to play!” Buffy warned. The driver dropped his hands as Buffy pulled back in line. Running down the interstate abreast, the vehicles opened up with everything, wiping out the blues. Just as Bruce’s M-2 went dry he heard a pop to his left and looked. Jake was standing on the Stryker and had launched a Javelin, at what, Bruce had no idea. Looking to his right Bruce noticed a truck stop a mile off the road. Grinning Bruce yelled, “Hell yeah!” Jake had sighted in on a fuel truck and when the war head exploded, it set off an eight thousand gallon bomb. The blast wave hit them knocking over many blues, and Buffy tried to run over each one.
“Damn it Jake! Call out when you do something like that. I almost shit my pants!” David yelled over the radio.
“What do you mean ‘almost’ I did shit mine!” Carl yelled out. “I thought the blues had done popped some nukes on our ass,” Carl told everyone.
Mike came over the radio, “Lake Charles heard that and they’re heading to you. Omega, you have cleared just about every town between Lafayette and Lake Charles. Bruce don’t you think you need to tone it down just a little.”
“Tone it down, are you kidding? Buffy is trying to win a stuffed animal in this game she’s playing running over blues. Jake has a serious hard on that I can see from here after shooting the Javelin and Danny and Mindy are in a shooting gallery with the M-240s!” Bruce yelled over the radio reloading the fifty.
“Jake, you better not have a hard on shooting that damn rocket!” Mary yelled over the radio.
“Mary, your father can hear you talking like that over the radio!” Mike snapped.
“Close your ears then Daddy, my husband has a hard on over a weapon!” Mary screamed.
“Jake, you better not or I’ll cut it off and kick it around on the ground,” Mike warned.
Mary gasped hearing that. “No Daddy, don’t do that,” Mary cried over the radio.
“Mary, I don’t want to talk to you for a week after that,” Mike said. “Bruce, since you don’t want to rein it in we’re sending you something you might like. Kill the hundred or so around you and stop a mile past the bridge ahead of you,” Mike told him.
“Slow down and kill those around us,” Bruce called out as he went to work with the fifty, firing two and three round burst blowing apart blues. Seeing one run at them across a field on the right Bruce sighted in on it and was fixing to press the trigger when he heard a ‘boom’ and the blue disappeared in a mist. Looking behind him his LAV gunner had shot the runner with the 25mm. “And y’all say I cheat!” Bruce yelled out.
They pulled up to the bridge stopping a mile past it. Bruce formed everyone into a firing line and waited. He could see six miles down the road and could see a horde coming at them. Bruce keyed his radio, “RV, what does it look like ahead?”
“We have two micro UAVs up and it looks like a horde of about hundred and fifty thousand,” the RV surveillance reported.
“What you don’t trust us anymore?” Mike called over the radio.
“You wanted to cut off my son’s tally whacker. You may have an alternative motive,” Bruce informed him.
“He was hurting her feelings, getting wood blowing stuff up!” Mike yelled.
“Well Mike, I have to admit, I was aroused by that explosion,” Bruce admitted sheepishly.
“Okay, I’ll let him off this time then,” Mike said.
“Can we go now? My butt itches,” Bruce asked seeing the horde a mile away.
“Not yet, look behind you,” Mike said.
Bruce turned around and saw a twin engine Cessna lining up on the highway. “Are you kidding me? I don’t want to leave!” Bruce yelled over the radio as the Cessna opened up with the mini-guns.
Two streams of red tracers shot out from the Cessna’s nose. Bruce turned around and watched the pilot walk the streams from side to side over the road. The horde just melted under the fire as the Cessna flew down the highway and his guns ran dry.
“How many did he hit on that run?” Bruce called out.
The RV team called back, “Sir, if you want just hit we’re guessing about twenty thousand easy. He may not have killed a lot but the ones he hit aren’t moving too fast.”
“Alright Omega, get ready to roll,” Bruce called over the radio.
“Did I say I was finished? Don’t move yet,” Mike called over the radio.
Bruce was fixing to say something when he heard the rotor blades. Looking off to his right Bruce saw six Apache’s coming over the tree tops and settle behind the line of vehicles. Turning around Bruce saw a few runners coming at them still half a mile away. The 25mm chain guns opened up on two of the Apaches and the wall of runners disappeared into a mist of body fluids. Two other Apaches opened up with their 2.76 inch rockets each dumping their seventy-six rockets into the horde. Then the rest took turns firing the 25mm chain guns and dumping rockets.
When the last one emptied its rocket pods it lowered down to the road and Bruce saw Steve wave at him. Smiling, Bruce waved back as the Apaches peeled off heading home. Turning back to the horde Bruce could see nothing standing and little moving.
“RV, what did they leave us?” Bruce called in a dejected voice.
“Not much, there might be ten thousand moving but less than a few hundred that can walk,” the RV reported.
“Okay, let’s move forward. I want rifles used, we will have a lot of wounded up here and I want them all shot,” Bruce called over the radio. Omega rolled forward and the destruction was breathtaking to Bruce. Body parts were everywhere as the team rolled forward shooting the wounded. Bruce had to get on to Buffy several times as she swerved over the highway running over blues. Finally, tired of yelling at her, Bruce told her to pull forward of everyone and run over the damn things.
The driver, whose lap Buffy was sitting in, was getting sick as she would creep up on a blue and roll over it slowly. Then Buffy started a game of trying to hit the head with the tire. The man pushing the pedals threw up ten minutes into Buffy’s game. Bruce started shooting any that were walking in the legs just so Buffy could run over them. The carnage only lasted for eight miles taking them two hours.
When they rolled into Lake Charles Bruce called over the radio, “I’m going to the hardware store.”
“Daddy, you have two sets of brand new tools and you don’t even know what half of them
do,” Danny called back.
“Yes I do. I just haven’t told you, so you could figure it out,” Bruce lied.
“Whatever Daddy, why are we going to the hardware store?” Danny asked.
“To get a power washer and bleach so we can wash off the blood on the vehicles,” Bruce told her.
“Okay,” Danny said, thinking that was a good idea.
They rolled into Lake Charles finding a lot of walkers which was now turning into a game between Matt and Jake. They were aiming for eyes now growing bored with just hitting them in the head. The convoy rolled up to the door of the mega hardware store as Bruce climbed out the back. Stopping at the locked door of the store Bruce yelled out, “Someone pick the damn lock please!”
“Just bust the window,” Buffy said beside him.
“Absolutely not, the tools might get cold,” Bruce told her as Jake picked the lock on the inner and outer doors. “Squad one and two with me everyone else guard our ass. Now everyone stay with me and if you have to shoot a runner do it, just don’t hit the tools,” Bruce told them.
“Daddy, I’m really worried about you and your obsession with inanimate objects. It seems just a little morbid,” Buffy told Bruce, causing everyone to stop and look at the twelve year old.
“Stephanie has so corrupted her,” Jake admitted.
“That does it, you’re not studying with Stephanie anymore,” Bruce declared.
“Oh yes I am,” Buffy told him as she turned her nose up at Bruce then looked away.
Bruce ignored her grabbing a flatbed cart and told Danny and Buffy to grab buggies as he headed inside. Not smelling blues they relaxed but didn’t let down their guard. Bruce headed over to the washer and grabbed two huge gasoline pressure washers then headed over to the cleaning isle. They grabbed all the bleach filling up both buggies. Not able to resist, Bruce headed to the tools and found a cordless nail gun. Bruce grabbed two, extra batteries and boxes of nails. Then looking around he grabbed more tools and like some of the others he had, he didn’t know what they did, but they looked cool as hell.
They loaded the stuff on the vehicles careful not to touch the front or anywhere near the tires. When they were loaded up Bruce looked at his map and took them to the I-210 Bridge and parked. The water truck extended its hose into the lake as Bruce and Conner set up the pressure washers. It was dark when they started washing off the vehicles. They put the tube for the soap in the bleach as they started blowing off the vehicles with the dirty water running down the bridge. David had joined in on the game with Matt and Jake hitting blues in the eye.
Bruce watched with his monocular as David hit a walker four hundred yards away and from his reaction Bruce figured he got the eye. When Jake sat down and braced his rifle on his knee looking down the road Bruce wondered why Jake was doing that for targets four hundred yards away. After Jake fired, Bruce didn’t see any go down but Jake yelled out. Bruce looked past the group at four hundred yards and saw another group nine hundred yards away, and one was lying on the ground.
Grunting, Bruce went to the LAV grabbing his AR-10 putting on the thermal scope and went to the other side of the bridge to shoot blues. This side was way out of his league. Conner, Ted and Carl with a few others were sniping on this side for the same reason, this was the minor league side. Bruce sat down beside them turning on his thermal scope. That was how the rest of the night passed, blues dying by sniper fire to sounds of laughter.
Back at the farm team Omega was being broadcast to cheers of joy. The clan had watched the team wade through three hordes, and then watched another wasted from the air. Now they were watching the team play its sniper game during supper. For the past ten months they had watched the blues and gangs rule the land, now they had an army out there fighting back.
Another UAV much higher up had watched also as the team fought its battles.
Chapter 11
Bruce woke up at 0510 and headed to the RV to get some food. He found everyone outside the RV eating before the heat of the day started. Grabbing his plate and coffee Bruce moved to the center of the bridge. Bruce looked on top of the RV and saw the flag with the Omega symbol flying.
“Everyone let me have your attention please!” Bruce yelled causing everyone to shut up and look at him. “Today we’re hitting the back roads heading around Ft Polk then we will turn towards Alexandria. We will stay at thirty miles an hour. I want the blues to catch us, if we get in some shit we will speed off and regroup. We will stay operational for the next forty-eight hours. Squad leaders rotate your squad to let them sleep but we will stay moving. Today, we’ll be dismounting so remember your helmet with your face mask and gloves stay on period. Remember, our business is to kill,” Bruce told them.
Then Ted yelled out, “And business is good!” making the team cheer as they all ran for their vehicle.
Angela and Stephanie were sitting at the table feeding the kids as Omega pulled out. They would look up at the monitors as a UAV followed the team. When the kids were fed they took them over to the school. Walking out of the school they noticed a large tent next to the cemetery. Curious, they walked toward it and saw Paul run over to them.
“Don’t go in there,” Paul said as he stopped beside them.
“Why not?” Stephanie demanded.
“Henry is doing something in there and throws shit at you if you try to get in,” Paul told them.
“Henry?” Angela asked.
“Henry Lee, the man who always wanted Bruce to take Monday off because he was doing too much,” Paul told her.
Angela remembered the man who had also gotten a letter as she smiled, “Well what’s he doing in there?” she asked.
“I have no idea, but two days ago he came in with a truck then put a tent over the truck. After that all we have heard is grinding and hammering. The only one that he let in was Nancy and she told everyone that Henry was off all work schedules and no one was to go in,” Paul told them looking at the tent.
“I’ll just ask Nancy,” Stephanie said.
“She won’t tell you. Mike asked and she wouldn’t tell him. When he said he would just go and find out, Nancy told him she would burn the red shoes. Hearing that, Mike announced that anyone caught going in would pull shit detail for a month,” Paul informed her.
Angela grabbed Stephanie’s arm, “Come on Stephanie, let’s go to the gym and workout. We’ve missed way too many,” she told her pulling her to the gym.
The two worked out and felt much better as they showered then headed to mission control. On the way Stephanie stopped and looked at Angela. “Angela why aren’t we on any work details or guard duty?” Stephanie asked.
“Mike and Nancy won’t put us on one. I asked yesterday,” Angela told her.
“That’s not really fair to the clan,” Stephanie responded.
“Hey I said the same thing but did they listen? Oh no,” Angela told her.
“Well let’s do something,” Stephanie told her.
Angela just shook her head, “Mike said all we can do is go over inventory and run mission control, other than that he had to approve it.”
“He can’t do that,” Stephanie said.
“Uh, yes he can, and did,” Angela informed her.
“Why do you think he did that?” Stephanie asked.
“Two reasons, first he wants us close if Bruce starts doing stupid shit. Second because he doesn’t want anything to happen to us. I heard him tell Nancy if anything were to happen to us they would lose Bruce,” Angela said. Stephanie just stood frozen in place, “What?” Angela asked looking at her.
“Several months ago Bruce told me he wasn’t worried because he knew he was going to die of old age. His greatest fear was that he would be alone, out living everyone he loved,” Stephanie told her.
“So?” Angela asked.
“What if Debbie told Mike in his letter that one or both of us are going to die?” Stephanie wondered.
Angela grabbed Stephanie’s arms, “You promise me to take care of the kids and Bru
ce?” she asked.
“You know I would. Now where is Mike?” Stephanie asked.
“Mission control, the only time he leaves is to eat and sleep. He wants to keep an eye on Bruce,” Angela told her.
“Come on,” Stephanie told her and took off running to the house.
Angela followed her at a dead run in the heat. They ran through the back door down into mission control. They found Mike in the command module watching a monitor and looking at a map. Mike had a headset on and looked up as the two burst into the room.
“If you tell me that motherfucker bothered you two today, I swear I’ll pull the skin off his body,” Mike said looking at them.
“Damn, you do love us,” Angela said grinning.
“You thought otherwise?” Mike asked shaking his head.
“We love you too Mike but we want to talk to you,” Stephanie told him.
Mike set the map down on the table then pulled off his headset and sat down, “Okay, what do you want to talk about?”
“Did you let Nancy read your letters from Debbie?” Stephanie asked.
“No, Debbie said Nancy could when Bruce read the red notebook,” he replied.
“Mike, what did Debbie say about us in your letters,” Stephanie asked.
“That you two were our hope that would make Bruce hold on to his sanity,” Mike told them.
“Is that all?” Stephanie asked.
“No,” Mike replied honestly.
“Did Debbie say we were going to die?” Stephanie asked.
Mike stood up so fast his chair hit the floor with a look of shock on his face. “Hell no, and if either of you tell me that you had a dream or premonition about your death, I swear I’ll shoot myself right now!” Mike declared with his hand dropping to his pistol.
Taken back by his outburst, they both jumped back. “Ah, no Mike, we just wondered why you and Nancy are treating us like glass,” Angela told him.
Blue Plague: Rage Page 10