by Gary Hickman
Priest whistled loudly, stuck his finger in the air while moving his hand in a circle, the hand sign for mount up. They ascended back in the air and Priest relayed the plan to the team. “Doug, try to get us past Fort Wayne, because we already know what that place is like.”
The sky was blue, with no clouds, and was as peaceful as Priest had ever seen it. The peacefulness almost made you forget about everything that had happened. It offered a facade that everything was ok, that everything would be ok, the past long forgotten. It made you think the events of the last 48-72 hours were nothing more than a nightmare and something that no longer existed while you were in the air. He knew that wasn’t the case, but pretended for a few moments and enjoy the serenity while it lasted.
The aircraft was a sight, speeding along the highway only 30 feet off the ground. Much of the vibrations had gotten increasingly worse, and Doug was struggling to keep the helicopter flying straight. The tail rotor shaft was vibrating so much it made their teeth rattle in their skull. None of the vehicles that had come across were operational. Just a few multi car crashes, some burned out husks and a few vehicles lying in ditches that would take way too long to pull out even if they had the means to do so.
During the flight, Priest had found a map in the helicopter and was tracking their progress as best he could. By his calculations, they were getting close to Muncie Indiana and had discussed this should be a suitable place to find other transportation. They had agreed to do a flyby of the Delaware County Regional Airport to see about acquiring another helicopter. They flew within sight of the airport and took in the scene. The raging fires were not there, the littering of bodies and debris were absent, and no chaos was clear among the tranquil scene. Doug and Priest just looked at each other in amazement.
“There is no destruction, no anarchy, no infected that we can see. It is calm down there.” Priest surmised. “It doesn’t give me a warm and fuzzy.” They came closer to the airport where the rest of the team could now take in the view. Priest was surveying the area, “Ok, with the lack of obvious trouble visible, but do not let your guard down…. same tactics, same training, HUA?”
They responded, “HUA.”
Allison looked confused, “HUA?”
Shaw turned to her, “Yeah, HUA. H-U-A. It stands for hear, understand and acknowledge. In the military, it’s a question and a response.”
“Oh,” she said. “I get it. Hua, Sir,” she proclaimed. Priest snickered.
Doc scrunched his face, “He’s not an officer, he’s not a sir. He is a Sargent. He works for a living.”
“Ok, I’m confused. I talked to Captain Webb back at the terminal. So, he doesn’t work? Are you saying he is lazy?” Allison questioned. Doc did a face plant into his hand.
Priest spoke, “Yeah, that’s correct. He’s a lazy piece of shit and doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground.”
“Why do you follow him, if he doesn’t know what he is doing?” She said with a serious look on her face.
“Well, we felt sorry for him because no one else wanted him,” Priest continued.
“Well, that was nice of you,” Allison with actual sympathy in her voice. Everyone giggled, rolled their eyes or shook their head.
Doug performed a few fly byes but no other aircraft was out on the flight line. “There may be something parked in one of the two hangars.” The airport was a small local airport, but there were two small hangers, two maintenance and support buildings, along with a small diner attached to the terminal.
“How is she handling?” Priest looked at Doug.
“To be honest, my arms and legs are like jelly trying to hold this pig as straight. I won’t be able to hold it much longer.”
“Ok, set it down in the middle of the flight line. That is give us enough distance to react to anything threatening.”
Doug nodded and brought the aircraft down while spinning it a few times to clear the area before setting it down.
“Ok, team deploy. Doug, keep it running in case the shit hits the fan. Allison, you stay in here, we may be hauling ass back here.” She nodded hesitantly.
Priest exited the helicopter, “Ok, on me.” Priest took point followed by Doc and then Shaw. They strode quietly to the left of the two hangars. The pedestrian door was to the left of the enormous hangar doors. Both of the hangar doors were closed.
Priest tried the door, and it was unlocked. He nodded to Doc and Shaw. Shaw was ready to breach and with that M48 was ready to inflict some serious damage. They breached the door and found a few small luggage carrying carts. All three exited and stalked over to the office area where a figure stepped out. Immediately they trained their guns on the figure.
The figure spit on the ground, “What ya’ll doing here, pointing those damn things in my face?” A man about 65 years old was standing there staring at them. He was wearing old work boots, jeans, a flannel shirt, suspenders, and an old faded Indiana University ball cap that hiked up and toward the back of his head. He sounded like he was from down south as opposed to Indiana.
“Sorry, Sir,” Priest spoke up as they lowered their rifles. “What are you doing here?”
“I work here, what the hell are you boys doing here?”
He was a cantankerous old shit, Priest thought. “Sir, are you aware of what is going on out there?”
“Yep, at least what I understand about it. Everybody else skedaddled. That’s why all the aircraft are gone.”
“Why haven’t you left yet?”
“Well,” he spit, “I really don’t have any other place to go, and besides, I ain’t messin’ with all that shit with evacuating and whatnot. Being shoved in a shelter with a hundred other people, I can’t stand. No, thank you. So, I guess you boys are heading out too?”
“Yes, sir. Trying to make our way back to Fort Campbell,” Doc answered.
“Yep, you got a little way to go. So why you here? Need fuel or something?”
“Well, sir, our helicopter has some mechanical problems, and we landed here to see if we could repair it or maybe find another aircraft,” Priest answered.
“Well, there is nothing left here, but I could look at what you got out there.” The old man said.
“Thank you, Sir.” Doc ran out and motioned for Doug to shut it down. They all walked out as Doug and Allison exited.
Priest motioned to the old man, “Doug, this is… Sorry Sir, I didn’t catch your name.”
“Names Henry Gerald Thompson, but everybody calls me Tug.”
“Tug, I’m Priest, this is Doc, Shaw, Doug our pilot and finally Allison.”
“Hmm, Miss Allison, you look familiar.” He looks at the helicopter and sees News Channel 8 on it. “Ah, that’s where I’ve seen you.”
“Oh, you watch our news?” She asked.
“Sometimes, you’re all right, but that Steve Atkins fella on there is a complete jackass. Don’t know is ass from a hole in the ground. Just saying.”
“You’re not wrong, Tug. He’s an asshole in actual life.” Tug’s eyebrows went up. He showed something that could pass for a smile and tipped his hat to Allison, “Ma’am.” He walked over with Doug to survey the damage.
Priest addressed the Team, “Get some chow and check your gear, one stays on watch.” Shaw motions for Doc to eat and that he’ll stand watch until he’s done. Priest pulls out a protein bar and offers it to Allison. She takes it and then he pulled out one for himself. Doc gives one to Doug and offers one to Tug, but he turned it down.
Priest watches as Doug and Tug talk about the damage and then walk over to him. “So, where are we with this?” he asked the two.
“Well,” Tug started, “That shaft is done and I would
n’t get back in the air with that damage.”
Doug added, “Yeah, it’s much worse than when we inspected it on the highway.”
“So, it looks like we will go the vehicle route and drive the rest of the way. Tug, do you have a vehicle we can borrow?” Priest asked.
“You know, I had a nice pickup with 4-wheel drive and a crew cab. Funny thing is, with all the low crime we have here, I always left my keys in it.” He takes his hat off and scratches his head. “When people were bugging out, some sum bitch stole it.”
“Damn, sorry about that,” Priest said.
Tug shook his head, “Shit, my dumb ass fault. You know, there is one vehicle I have here, but it’s not the best for traveling. It runs and I guess with what is going on with the world, you all could take it.”
“Great, where is it?” Priest said.
“Follow me.” Tug walked over to the right-hand hangar and entered the pedestrian door. Seconds later, the hangar doors opened, and a loud sound like something being started reached their ears and the next thing they know, a huge bright lime green truck rolls out.
“What the fuck?” Shaw exclaimed.
Tug steps off of the truck. “Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the E-One Titan 4X4 Airport Rescue Fire Fighting vehicle. It has a 675 hp Cummins diesel, with 4-wheel drive, self-sealing tires and room for 6 if you squeeze in tight.”
The Team looked at the vehicle in awe. The tires alone were five feet tall, and the vehicle looked like something the US Army had, which they called a HEMTT.
Tug was beaming like a father showing off his newborn baby. “They use this for firefighting at the Indianapolis International Airport. They sometimes deliver the vehicles here to get checked out, serviced and graphics applied before they ship them down to Indianapolis.” There was just silence as the team just gawked at the truck.
Shaw was half drooling as the beast mesmerized him. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” His eyes were full of wonder.
Doc was snapping his fingers at Shaw. “Hello, hello? He’s gone.”
Priest turned to Tug, “Well, it’s not a Ferrari, but I believe it will serve our purposes, especially if we run into any infected. Ok, team, mount up, Shaw, you’re driving.” Shaw let out a giggle like a little schoolgirl and the rest of the team looked at him with confused looks.
Priest motioned to Tug, “Sir, I really would like for you to come with us. You said yourself there is nothing here for you anymore and we don’t know how soon the madness will take over this area. We have been through its multiple times and it ain’t pretty. There is no way I could have a clear mind if we leave you…” Priest stopped because Tug had walked away. “Tug, where are you going?”
“To get my bag and my guns. You going on long winded like that, we’ll be dead by the time you shut up,” Tug grunted.
“Son of a bitch,” Priest muttered under his breath. He continued to mumble as he got into the passenger front seat, “… bitching old fart… pain in the ass… just say you’re going… crusty ass motherfucker.”
Minutes later, Tug appears with a couple duffle bags and three guns, two rifles and a shotgun. Allison sat between Shaw and Priest. Tug and Doc manned the windows in the back because they had rifles with Doug was in the middle. “Ok, Shaw, let’s roll out.” Shaw rubbed his hands together in excitement, grabbed the steering wheel and pulled out, heading for Louisville, Kentucky. He was whopping like a kid as they started down the road.
CHAPTER 18
The pounding on the door was getting louder, and he was trapped. There just isn’t any other way to put it. No ammo, no food and no water made the situation hopeless. The only thing he had left in his possession was his combat knife. He might take out two, three, maybe four. There is no way he could kill as many infected as were on the other side of that door.
Darkness surrounded him and he was in a room he didn’t recognize. This seemed to make the situation even more hopeless. He felt lost, and he was totally baffled by how he found himself in this situation, even more hopeless. His mind was muddled, but that wasn’t important now because he had bigger issues to address.
The pounding was constantly getting louder. Was it because there were more fists pounding or was it because the rage was increasing in the ones already at the door? He didn’t know, but he was sure that the door wouldn’t hold much longer. Think, come on, think, there has to be a way out of this.
His eyes were used to the dark now, so he could somewhat see the room. It was empty except for another door on the far wall. That’s it, has to be it. There is no other way out. The door the infected were pounding on was rattling and sounded like it was about to be ripped off its hinges. He had no other choice, but to run for the other door which he does puts his ear up to the surface. Listening for any sounds, he hears nothing.
Another knock to see what stirs on the other side of the door and again hears nothing. The infected started breaking through the door he had originally come through, so that decision was easy. Salvation had to be on the other side of that door.
He reached, twisted the handle and jerked the door open. Without warning, a swarm of infected charged through the open door and took Webb down. They started sinking their teeth into his face, neck and arms as Webb screamed, trying to fight off the dog pile on top of him. A faceless man with nothing but an enormous mouth and giant serrated teeth lunged and bit out half his throat. The blood gushed out of his body along with his life.
Neville almost ran off the road, responding to the scream and jerking movement from Webb. “Whoa, whoa, Captain. You all right?” Webb was breathing heavily and was wide eyed. He was trying to gain his bearings as he closed his eyes and slumped back in his seat.
“What a fucking nightmare,” he exhaled. “How long was I out?”
“Couple hours, I guess.” Neville was looking at him with concern.
“Where are we?”
“We just passed through Bowling Green.” Neville answered.
“Seriously? That means we have an hour left.”
“Yeah, Captain. You think the rest of the team is ok?”
“I sure hope so, but getting Dr. Costa back to Campbell is the highest priority. As soon as we deliver her, we resupply, grab another chopper and go after them.”
“Copy that.” Webb turned around to check up on everyone. Dr. Costa and Shin were both asleep. Best to leave them that way, Webb thought.
They got close to Fort Campbell and Neville stopped the truck. “Jesus Christ,” he muttered as he stared out the windshield.
Webb saw it as well and tried to process it. They all exited the truck with their eyes wide and disbelief written on their faces.
The sky over Fort Campbell was black with smoke. It reminded Webb of the Saudi Oil Fields that the Taliban had set on fire. Even from this distance, they could see the overwhelming number of fires blazing out of control and the debris floating on the air current the fires generated.
“Did we enter Hell?” Dr. Costa added.
“Sure as hell looks like it,” Webb answered. “No pun intended.” No giggles, snicker or chuckles followed as everyone was in shock.
Just then, a police siren wailed in the distance. It got louder, as if it was coming in their direction. “Maybe we will get some information from these guys,” Webb said. They could see the police car coming up the road about a quarter mile away.
“Hey Captain. Does it look like that cop car is swerving all over the road? Looks like they’re drunk.” Neville said, his hand shielding his eyes.
“Yeah, but I’m liking it. Neville, get some eyes on that car. Shin take up a defensive position. Doctor, head behind the truck but put about 20 feet between y
ou and it.” Webb took a knee and sighted on the car.
Neville was prone and had his scope trained on the car. He attempted to zoom in on the vehicle, but it was difficult because of the constant swerving. His skills as a sniper to track moving targets was what he was best known for. He dialed in and could get enough of a picture to assess the situation. The view of bloodied bodies, wide eyes and laughing faces was all he needed to make a determination.
“Sir, those are not normal cops. Looks like infected to me. I am seeing lots of blood and laughing faces in that patrol car.”
“I trust your judgement, so take them out before they reach us.”
“Will try, Sir. With that zig zagging going on, it makes it difficult.”
Neville took aim and tried to lead the car in its hectic pattern. Bang! Neville puts a round through the windshield, but misses the two in the car. Bang! Another miss. The police car speeds up toward them once the shots begin and they were getting close.
“Neville, how you doing?” Webb asks in a heightened tone.
“Can’t seem to get a bead on them, sir?”
“Ok gentlemen, let’s get ready to receive some guests.”
The Team set up in a defensive position. “Let them get a little closer and then give them shit.” The car was driving erratically as it came into range.
The passenger began leaning out the window and firing a rifle in their direction. Shin had to take cover as a couple rounds landed right in front of him. Those rounds kicked up asphalt that peppered Shin’s face. Webb riddled the passenger side of the car.
“Ah… Ça c’est bon,” Neville grinned as he sighted the infected leaning out the passenger side window. Bang! A round flew from Neville’s muzzle and found the chest of the infected. He jerked back and lost his balance off the open window. As he flipped back, he fell and rolled under the rear tires of the police car. The tire caught the side of his face, crushing the side of its skull and ripping the skin off. The face of the passenger was flung to the side of the road like a discarded piece of trash.