Dead America The Northwest Invasion | Book 6 | Dead America-Seattle [Part 4]

by Slaton, Derek

  Davila raised an eyebrow. “Where are we headed?”

  “The bridge is seven, eight blocks due west of here,” Jinx replied. “Mostly through residential areas. When that crowd starts moving north, we haul ass towards the bridge.”

  Jarvis nodded. “Rally point?” she asked.

  The Corporal shook his head. “No clue,” he admitted, “but it’ll be on this side of the bridge. We’ll be on the lookout for you, so we’ll signal when you are getting close.”

  She nodded again and turned to Burch. “You want shotgun, or in the back?”

  “You’re not going to let me drive?” he asked, putting a hand on his chest in mock offense.

  Jarvis put a hand on her hip. “I’ve seen you in the shower, and unless you have a boyfriend you aren’t telling us about, it’s obvious you have no experience handling anything big,” she quipped. “Now come on.”

  Burch simply shook his head as the others snickered, unable to come up with a viable comeback. He climbed up into the passenger seat as the engine roared to life, rumbling loudly before settling into a nice rhythm.

  “We’ll see you at the bridge soon,” Jarvis said through the window, and then popped the truck into gear and peeled out. She did an impressive burnout as she drove the behemoth out from the lot and onto the road.

  “Okay, we give them five minutes, then we move,” Jinx said, folding up the map and putting it back in his pocket. “In the meantime, we gotta give the other teams a heads up.” He pulled out his walkie talkie.

  “Let’s just hope they are in a position to hear it,” Davila said. He pointed into the air, signaling the constant stream of gunfire in the distance.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Jarvis drove up to the main road, zombies streaming out from the main part of the neighborhood. “Need you to keep your eyes peeled,” she said.

  “For what?” Burch asked.

  “Anything we can use to draw these things away,” she replied as she reached the top of the street. She barely paused as she cut the corner tight, and the truck rolled over the edge of the sidewalk, taking out two zombies easily.

  Jarvis let out a satisfied yell as the creatures flew backwards onto the grass. The main road was littered with ghouls, all moving towards the ship. There were about a hundred or so stretching out several hundred yards, with more coming out from the side streets. She put the pedal to the metal, prompting Burch to hold on to the ‘oh shit’ handle at the top of the door.

  “This is gonna get bumpy,” she warned, and began weaving back and forth on the road, cutting a path through the spread out zombies.

  Bodies flew everywhere, some crushed beneath the gigantic tires. There were so many smacks on the vehicle that it sounded like a high school band drum section that was horribly out of sync.

  Burch looked down every side street as they went, seeing they were fairly packed as well. When they crossed the fourth road, he straightened up.

  “Stop stop stop!” he yelled.

  Jarvis slammed on the brakes, skidding to a halt and smacking into a few more zombies. “What is it?” she asked.

  “Back it up!” Burch instructed.

  She threw the truck into reverse and went back until he held up a hand, and they were parallel with the side street.

  “Half a block down,” he said, pointing. “Down on the left.”

  Jarvis peered past him down the road, and a smile broke out on her face. There was a gas station on the left side, right across from the neighborhood. A few dozen zombies stood between them and the target.

  She nodded slowly. “How much time do you need to light it up?” she asked.

  “There’s no power, so going to have to use brute force to get into the gas line,” Burch replied. “Probably some fuel left in the surface line, or I can open up the load valve on the ground and drop something in.”

  Jarvis pursed her lips. “Once the gas is out, how long?” she asked.

  “Thirty seconds?” he replied. “Got to set a little bit of a fuse, or else we’re going up with it.”

  “All right,” she replied, and laid on the horn, getting the attention of the ghouls near the station. “Anytime you want to start shooting,” she teased.

  Burch grabbed his assault rifle and hung out the window, popping off a few rounds towards the station. He aimed at the ground and a car on the side of the road, resulting in some nearby noise for the ghouls. Finally, the bulk of the creatures were heading their way.

  Jarvis punched the gas and pushed through the crowd that had gathered in front of the truck, taking a few moments to pick up speed. She glanced in the rearview, seeing that only about twenty percent of the horde was following them.

  She made a hard right turn on the next street, still plowing through zombies on the road.

  “Where are you going?” Burch asked.

  “Taking the scenic route to buy you time,” she replied, heading up two blocks before turning back towards the station. She circled back onto the road.

  The diversion had worked somewhat, the bulk of the zombies walking towards the main road, however about ten ghouls were stubbornly hanging out near the station.

  Burch readied his weapon, but Jarvis shook her head.

  “Put that away,” she said, “your only job is getting the station rigged to blow. I’ll cover you.”

  He nodded before pulling out his knife and reached down to grab an old ratty tank top from the floor below. He cut it into a long strand and held it up. “Let’s do it.”

  Jarvis hit the gas, speeding up the road. As they grew close to the gas station, she swerved, hitting two zombies and sending them flying back onto the road, smacking their heads wetly against the pavement.

  “Move it!” she barked.

  Burch leapt out of the passenger seat, stumbling as he fell the four feet to the ground. He regained his footing and then tore for the fuel pump.

  Jarvis opened her own door and stood on the step. “Come get some, motherfuckers!” she yelled, and carefully aimed and fired, striking a few zombies in the head and drawing the majority of the others towards her. Two ignored her and shambled towards Burch, so she reached back inside and slammed on the horn.

  Burch startled, glancing back towards her. She pointed to the two zombies, and then tried to pick them off, but it was a difficult shot from the truck at that distance. He waved her off, and she nodded, turning back to fending off the rest of the zombies near her.

  He tried the first pump, tugging at the fuel line and finding nothing. “Shit,” he muttered.

  He tried two more, but there was nothing left in the line. He looked around for something heavy, finally seeing a slim metal sign sitting between the pumps. He rushed over and picked it up, using it as a battering ram on the pumps.

  Jarvis laid on the horn again, and he glanced over, the two zombies much closer. He pulled his handgun and quickly dispatched them, and then watched as his partner fired off a few more shots from the truck, clearing the immediate threat to them.

  Burch smashed the pump a few more times before throwing the sign down in frustration with a clatter.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” Jarvis yelled.

  He shook his head and turned to her. “The lines are dry,” he called back, “but if I can get into the pump, the internal lines lead straight down to the main tank.”

  She looked up the road at the hundred or so zombies that had been attracted to their gunfire and headed their way. She looked back at Burch, who had run over to the far side of the parking lot, struggling to undo the metal cap to the refueling tank.

  Jarvis hesitated for a moment, contemplating her next move. She glanced in the rearview mirror, seeing another large group of zombies headed their way too.

  “Fuck it,” she muttered, “if it doesn’t work at least it’ll be spectacular.” She honked the horn a few times, but Burch ignored her, struggling with the cap. She backed the back end of the truck up and lined it up with the outermost pump, and revved the engine, honking the horn again.<
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  Burch didn’t break his concentration.

  She shrugged, giving up and flooring the vehicle in reverse. The tires screeched, and the truck sped backwards towards the pump. The back bumper hit in a vicious strike, knocking the pump clear off of the moorings. Gas spewed out, filling the parking lot with flammable liquid.

  She moved the truck up, vaguely able to hear Burch screaming obscenities as he ran towards the truck, his ranting coming out in an unintelligible fast stream.

  “What’s that?” she asked, putting a hand to her ear as he jumped into the passenger seat. “Can’t hear you. I was too busy fixing your problem.”

  Burch shook his head. “You’re a crazy fucking bitch, you know that?” he asked breathlessly.

  “Why do you think I fit in with this unit so well?” she asked.

  All he could do was smirk, knowing she was exactly right.

  “So, light this puppy and let’s get the fuck outta here,” Jarvis said, jerking a thumb over her shoulder. “We got a lot of company headed our way.”

  Burch looked up and down the street, noticing the horde coming from both directions. He balled up the shredded tank top and lit it on fire, tossing it out the window. The fireball landed about five yards from the ever expanding pool of gas.

  “Might want to get a move on,” he urged, “we don’t want to be anywhere near here when that thing goes off.”

  Jarvis peeled out of the parking lot, headed away from the main road towards the smaller pack. As she started to plow through them, there was a gigantic explosion behind them. They checked the rearview mirrors, seeing a fireball engulfed in smoke rise a hundred feet into the air.

  “That oughta get their attention,” Jarvis declared.

  Burch laughed. “If Captain Odom asks, it was Jinx’s idea,” he suggested.

  She shook her head vehemently. “Hell no!” she declared. “He isn’t stealing credit for this one.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Jinx led the group of four through the neighborhood, taking shelter in a house to examine where they were. He studied the map with Davila looking over his shoulder as the other two kept watch out the front and back of the house.

  “Pretty sure we lost that pack,” Rollins reported. “A couple of them just wandered by and didn’t even so much as look our way.”

  Jinx nodded. “Good,” he replied, “let me know if that changes.” He studied the map, tracing his finger along the route they’d taken to get to the house. “Did we go five or six blocks?” he asked.

  “Pretty sure it was five,” Davila replied.

  “Okay, that puts us here,” the Corporal said, pointing. “Just a block away from the shopping district and three away from the bridge.”

  Davila nodded. “We didn’t have that much resistance getting up here,” he said, “so hopefully the bridge isn’t too bad.”

  “The gunfire from the ship isn’t too present up here,” Jinx replied, “so hopefully it won’t alert too many of them.”

  Davila raised an eyebrow. “And if it is?” he asked.

  “Then let’s hope Jarvis keeps that truck in one piece,” the Corporal replied, folding up the map and returning it to his pocket.

  “Speaking of them, any idea how we’re going to signal them?” Davila asked, stepping back as his superior got to his feet.

  Jinx nodded. “I say we get to the shops the next block up and see what we see.”

  “Stein, how we looking on the backside?” Davila asked.

  “Yard is clear and haven’t seen anything on the next street,” came the reply. “Could be hiding behind the houses, but none of them have walked by.”

  Jinx checked his weapons. “All right, let’s get moving,” he instructed. “We have a half block of houses until the stores. If it’s crowded, find the first place with multiple exits we can get into. If it’s not, let’s find the most useful.”

  He headed for the back door, his team in tow. They readied themselves, doing one last sweep of the yard.

  “Silent if possible,” he said. “Light them the fuck up if not.”

  The soldiers nodded as the Corporal opened the door and led them out. They rushed through the backyard to the next set of houses by the first row of shops across the street. Jinx paused at the first house and looked out.

  There were half a dozen standalone shops, none of them in mini-mall style buildings. They were mostly a few small consignment shops, all of which were built into existing homes.

  “Ain’t this all nice and quaint,” Stein murmured.

  “Yeah, just dress up the zombies in formal wear and it can be a real tourist trap,” Rollins added.

  Jinx held up a hand. “Come on, let’s move up,” he said quietly.

  He led them across the street, moving swiftly so that they didn’t draw too much attention to themselves. They sidled up next to one of the businesses, and he noticed one of the zombies had seen them and wandered towards their position.

  “Rollins, hang back and handle it when it gets here,” Jinx instructed quietly. “Davila, let’s see what we’re working with.”

  The duo moved to the back side of the building, which butt up against another. They inched their way up to the corner, peering out over the road.

  There were a few dozen zombies on the roadway and in the parking lots of the businesses. They were spread out well, covering about a hundred yards. Across the street was a large grocery store, and on either side were mini-malls packed full of random stores.

  “What do you think, grocery store?” Davila asked.

  Jinx shook his head. “No, too many of those things around,” he murmured. “We need to stay mobile.”

  On the right they saw the front edge of the bridge, but the bulk of it was blocked from view by the buildings.

  “Stay here,” the Corporal said quietly, “I’m going to scout the bridge.”

  Davila nodded as Jinx carefully moved out in front of the building, creeping along the wall as close as he could. He darted down a few buildings before ducking down the alley, taking cover. He scanned the area, happy to note that none of the corpses had taken notice.

  From this vantage point, Jinx could see the bridge, and that it was sparsely populated with zombies, maybe fifty or so running the entire length of the structure. At the far end was the main shopping district, and there was a lot of movement down the street and on the side street running along the bridge.

  If we can get to the other side, we can push through and start causing some trouble, he thought to himself. Pleased with what he’d seen, he worked his way back to the others. His footsteps attracted the attention of a few zombies on the road, and they turned, moaning and shambling towards them.

  Jinx reached the others just as Rollins jammed a knife into the skull of a zombie. Davila kept an eye on the two that were giving chase to the Corporal, relieved that it was only a duo and not more. Stein joined them as Rollins kept watch on the back end.

  “How did it look out there?” Davila asked.

  Jinx leaned in. “Bridge is spread out pretty good,” he replied, “and the other side has some significant resistance, but I think we can push through.”

  “Especially if Jarvis has that truck still purring,” Stein added.

  Jinx nodded. “We still need to find a way to signal them.”

  “I got that under control,” Davila said, and pointed to a small fireworks stand off to the side of the parking lot. “Get their attention, and give us some more firepower.”

  The Corporal grinned. “I like it.”

  All of a sudden, a gigantic explosion in the distance rattled the windows of the buildings beside them.

  “What in the fuck was that?” Stein gaped.

  Jinx raised his eyebrows. “Looks like Jarvis is having some fun,” he said.

  Davila glanced out and saw the two zombies that had been heading their way had changed their trajectory and were moving towards the explosion. They leaned against the building, watching as they shambled by harmlessly.

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p; Jinx raised a fist. “They’re going to be here soon,” he said. “Let’s get over to the fireworks stand.”

  The soldiers looked out, noting several of the zombies in the street turning towards the explosion in the distance. Jinx waited until there was a significant opening, twenty yards between groups, and then broke cover.

  He led his team across the street towards the grocery store, running hard. A few of the zombies spotted them and changed course to follow, but only a handful.

  “Keep moving,” Jinx instructed, “we’ll worry about them later.”

  They reached the parking lot and rushed the fireworks stand. It was a small building, a converted mobile home. The three others stood guard as Jinx worked on the door. A dozen zombies wandered towards them, but none were closer than forty yards.

  Jinx jiggled the door handle, finding it locked. Rather than worry about picking it, he drew his knife and shoved it into the mechanism. The cheap material shattered as he gave the handle of the blade a good hard smack.

  “We’re in,” he said, and then opened the door cautiously, keeping the knife at the ready. He stepped inside, finding the building abandoned. Sunlight pierced the cheap curtains hanging over the windows, revealing a treasure trove of consumer grade explosives.

  Jinx looked around and found some roman candles, grabbing a pack and tossing it to Davila. “Start lighting them up to signal Jarvis,” he suggested.

  The private ripped the packaging opened with excitement, brandishing his lighter and sparking up the end of one of the candles. “Man, this shit makes me miss the fourth of July,” he said.

  The fuse ignited, quickly vanishing into the handheld device. He aimed it high and towards the road, and soon the first colorful ball of flame shot out. It arced high, landing on the road and burning for several seconds.

  “Ten bucks says you can’t hit one of the zombies,” Rollins said.