Military Against Zombies (The Against Zombies Series Book 2)

by Alathia Paris Morgan

  “Looks like we have three different ways out of the house if we have to run, but they’re all on the same end of the house.”

  “Yeah, I’m not liking that, but let’s put these lawn chairs around the porch so that it’ll make some noise if anything comes around.”

  For once in my life, I was less worried about human intruders than dead ones.

  “Dibs on the shower,” I called out as I entered the house to a chorus of groans.

  “Hey, I’ll try not to use all the hot water. At least we don’t have to worry about stepping out of the shower and straight into the dirt.”

  “Dinner should be ready in about twenty minutes, ma’am,” Steve called down the hall after me.

  I didn’t bother to acknowledge him as the door shut behind me, allowing me a minute to take a deep breath. Being a leader was something I sincerely enjoyed, but it also meant that I couldn’t ever let go and truly relax. The few moments that I had when I was off duty were nice, but it was rare that we weren’t on a mission, so relaxing meant not getting shot at that particular second.

  Even though I trusted my men, I still locked the door and leaned my gun in-between the toilet and the shower for easy access. It had been three days since we’d hit the States, and this was the first time I’d had a chance to clean up.

  My clothes slid to the floor in a dirty heap, but since I had no idea if there was still danger out there, I went ahead and put my clean uniform on the sink in case I had to get dressed quickly.

  The shower curtain slid to the side, revealing a basket of ducks waiting on some little kid to come back and play. I’d started the water when I noticed there wasn’t any sign of shampoo or soap in the tub, so I opened the upper cabinet, taking a guess that it had been put out of reach from small children.

  Ah, pay dirt. I put everything out on the counter, overwhelmed with so many choices. This woman had certainly enjoyed her alone time. Peach had always been my go-to scent at home, so I grabbed a shampoo and conditioner with that scent.

  Blocking out everything was hard, but I knew if there was trouble, the guys would yell, so I let the warm water do its job of releasing tension while I scrubbed the world off.

  Temped to linger, I turned the water off as my stomach grumbled.

  “Yeah, I know a home-cooked meal is next on my list of wants,” I cooed, trying to comfort my stomach.

  My clean clothes felt so wonderful. I was tempted to leave my hair down to dry but didn’t want to step out of my command persona, so into a ponytail it went.

  A knock sounded as I perched my boot on the tub to lace up.

  “Ma’am? Dinner’s ready,” Tom called through the door.

  “Thanks, I’ll be right out.” I straightened and looked in the mirror one last time to make sure my hair didn’t have any flyaways.

  Shouldering my gun and pack, I opened the door to a heavenly smell.

  All five guys were hanging out in the kitchen with drinks, waiting on me to arrive.

  “Steve, say grace and let’s eat.”

  I dropped my pack on the floor by the kitchen, leaning my gun against the wall.

  “Did I stutter?” I looked at Steve, and then around at the shocked expressions on the men’s faces. “What? Don’t tell me you’ve never said grace before?”

  “It’s not that, ma’am. You’ve never asked us to do that. Do you think this is a suicide mission?” Rick asked nervously.

  “Certainly not. Let me set the record straight, this is much more dangerous than anything we’ve faced overseas in any area. We’re home in the States. It feels comfortable, normal, but it’s not, and the longer we feel this way, the more likely we are to let our guard down and be killed by those infected.”

  I didn’t want to scare them, but we weren’t all going to make it through this new phase in our history.

  “There was hot water for a shower and now I’m about to sit down to an amazing meal. This is serious. We may not have electricity and water for very long. In the larger cities, most of those people there don’t know how to survive, and since I’m sure there aren’t any truck or deliveries, things are going to hit the fan quickly. It’s already been a week with the entire country hostage to this virus. They’ve watched their loved ones get sick and die, only to have to suddenly attack them. I can’t imagine how people will be able to come back from this.”

  The grim faces looking at me assured me that they had heard what I’d been trying to say. I bowed my head.

  “Bless this food and keep us all safe. Amen.”

  Relieved sighs made the silence seem loud, until I spoke up to break the ice.

  “What, did you think I was going to preach at you? Eat. That’s an order.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Since I’d been the last in the room, I made a quick sweep through the ‘fortifications’. We had a good line of sight out the front windows, and the glass doors in the back were like a shining beacon with all the light and noise we were making. After the meal, we would have to cover it and turn the lights out. I wasn’t going to take a chance on having those things come to find us. Despite my grand speech, I desperately wanted to live through the night.

  Our walkies went off as a round of check-ins started.

  “Dog-tired reporting in. Safe and settled.”

  “The cats’ meow is purring over here.”

  Each group tried to outdo the other until the entire company had called in, including ours.

  “All clear at the lookouts. Stay put until morning unless you hear gunfire, but don’t leave your spot unless the spot is called in. It’ll be hard to see out here in the dark when we have no idea where those things might be. Over and out.”

  “You heard the man, let’s eat. Then we can secure things while one of you takes over the bathroom. I saw a washer and dryer, so we can try and get a clean set of clothes out of this deal.”

  “Hoorah.”

  The evening passed quickly with each of us taking a watch, but as my head hit the pillow on the mattress we had dragged into the living room, I felt a peace. Even if it wasn’t the most luxurious accommodations in the world, it was still home.

  Brad

  The wheels of the plane might have landed, but the deaths of our teammates weighed heavy on our hearts. This was such a meaningless kind of death that could have been prevented.

  After an invasive physical, all those that weren’t sick were told to stay in quarters for at least twenty-four hours. Hot showers were welcomed by all, but not being able to go to the mess hall and eat hot food was going to bring out more problems.

  While it seemed that the military was desperate to help control the larger cities, they were taking more precautions to keep us from spreading this sickness to innocent people.

  I would normally think that this was its own slice of heaven, just being able to sleep without worrying that someone might start shooting at me. Now I’d have to sleep with one eye open so that one of my teammates didn’t eat me.

  “How long do you think they’re going to keep us locked in here? As much as I hate deployments or going on missions, it’s better than standing around with our thumbs up our asses,” Doug complained as we rejoined the others from the plane.

  “Eh, I think as long as no one shows signs of becoming sick tonight, they’ll ship us out pretty quickly. My Cousin Patti’s group literally got off the plane and left in Humvees.”

  “Man, that’s harsh,” Evan spoke up from the bunk on my right. “I was upset because we had to stay here, but after what happened on the plane, at least we’re not having to fight any of those zombie things yet.”

  I just shook my head. Did this guy really not get that those things had been part of our unit? They’d been people we knew, but everyone dealt with things in their own way, so who was I to judge?

  The door flew open, banging as it hit the wall. “Ten-hut!” the sergeant called out before the staff sergeant came through the doorway.

 
This couldn’t be good because the staff sergeant didn’t make house calls unless it was important.

  “Since you’ve all been confined to barracks, the cooks decided in a rare show of compassion that food will be delivered tonight and in the morning before you move out. Everyone will report at 0800 to the infirmary to be cleared. You will then proceed to follow B Company to Nashville and back them up in keeping the peace. The president has declared martial law, so we are now in charge of all domestic areas. Stay safe out there and guard each other’s sixes. Dismissed.”

  The staff sergeant and sergeant disappeared as quickly as they had appeared, leaving a ton of questions behind.

  “Martial law?”

  “Nashville? What happened to Charlottesville?”

  “At least we get to eat something besides MREs.”

  I sank back down on the bed, torn between relief that I would only be a few hours from Emma, and frustration that I couldn’t go straight to see her and our baby. Cell phones might still be working, but what could I tell my wife? ‘Hey, honey. I’m in the States, but they won’t let me come see you.’

  That would go over great, and even though the world might be falling apart, the Army wouldn’t be as lenient if I gave her information that was still considered need to know.

  A groan slipped out, causing Doug and Evan to notice that I wasn’t happy.

  “What’s wrong with him?”

  “He’s upset because he can’t play soldier in front of his wife. He actually has to go battle these things,” Doug scoffed at my moment of despair.

  “Is he always such a wuss?” Evan snickered.

  “No,” I shot back. “Just wait till you find someone you want to spend your life with, and then be told that you have to go out and fight things trying to kill you for no reason whatsoever.”

  “Lighten up, man. We both know that, we were just trying to have a little fun.” Doug threw his body onto the bunk over me.

  “Sorry,” Evan offered. “I had no idea.”

  I waved him off. It wasn’t really about anything that he or Doug had said.

  “Everything’s just catching up to me,” I spoke to the mattress over me. “Let me know when they get here with the chow, will ya?”

  “Sure, man,” Doug replied, but all he heard from me was a snore.

  Morning came all too soon, and our unit was cleared to head out and follow B Company. The transportation trucks went in the path cut only twenty-four hours before by the other group, and the countryside was empty.

  Normally, only one company would be sent out at a time, but since we were down a few men from sickness and death, they’d added to our company and combined three units, so we were moving with all the bodies they could send.

  I’d never seen maneuvers like this in the actual States before unless it was on a base, which meant that it was getting real.

  Nashville was about a six-hour drive, depending on traffic, but we were the closest base to the Midwest. Our base had already sent reinforcements in several directions. We were closer to Jackson Mountain on the base, and this assignment was going to take me farther away.

  “Did you hear the reason that Nashville’s being run over with these ZITs?” Doug casually started the conversation, hoping to keep us occupied.

  “Back up—what’s a ZIT?”

  “Zombie Infected Thing. They’re not just infected humans anymore, and undead seems weird, so they’re things. They’re moving, walking things that act like zombies. I’ve seen enough movies that zombies is an accurate description.”

  “Can’t argue that, man,” Evan agreed, slapping Doug on the back.

  “So, you were about to tell me why we’re being sent to Nashville? You always seem to have the 411 into the top brass’s plans.” I scoffed at Doug, but in reality, he had a unique way of finding out information way before the lower troops did, and nine times out of ten, they would be right on target.

  Doug glanced around, leaning closer so that only Evan and I could hear him.

  “The rumors say that the hardest hit cities with the sick are those that had international airports. Of course, the other airports were infected by proxy, but the biggest sources started in the larger, more popular cities.”

  Evan frowned. “Why didn’t they just shut down all flights?”

  “They, the government, homeland, whoever, did close everything, but it was too late. So many were carrying around this virus even if they weren’t immediately getting sick. They were infecting others who weren’t immune. Thus, our ZITs began popping up all over. It spreads faster than a normal sickness does because once a human is dead, it becomes a ZIT. A bite from a ZIT is fast, or if death occurs, then they turn around and bite someone else.”

  “Again, Doug, your powers of gathering intelligence are amazing. It’s saved us more than once, so I’m going to take your word for it. What did you hear of Patti’s group? Did they make it through?”

  “Oh, yeah. Word is they stayed in a smaller town on the outskirts where it was safer last night. They should’ve connected with the guard about the time we got out of the inspection line.”

  I leaned back and watched as the familiar roads sped by, thanks to Patti’s team clearing the path for us.

  Nashville was a huge metropolitan city that under different circumstances, would be just another place to save from the bad guy, only now it was growing into something from a horror movie.

  The convoy pulled into the warehouse district, which was apparently where the center of operations had settled.

  It was a hive of activity as the trucks pulled up. They told us to unload and gear up.

  “Attention! All the new arrivals have fifteen minutes to use the facilities, gear up, and report back for your assignments.”

  I looked around as groups of volunteers and civilians worked to setup cots that were being unloaded from Red Cross trailers.

  “Company D and Company E will work together and start an extensive sweep of the neighborhoods east of here and work your way out until dark. Companies F and G, you will start your sweep west. Bring in anyone that won’t make it a few more days without food or water. They cannot be sick. There isn’t enough room for the entire city, but we are looking for those in immediate need. Large buildings will have to be entered at the discretion of your unit leaders. We can’t do a house to house search until we get the crowds of ZITs taken care of properly.”

  When the staff sergeant mentioned ZITs, I knew that Doug would be impossible to live with for a few days.

  He continued. “Carry only what you need, and three times the normal amount of ammo. These things are not stopping unless you blow their heads off. Don’t let them take a bite out of you. It’s a death sentence. Let’s get this done.”

  There was a scramble to grab the extra ammo we needed and load back up on the trucks.

  It was mid-afternoon, but the streets were empty of people. We stopped at a street filled with apartment buildings. No one was hanging out of the windows or talking loudly. It was a strange sight to see in the middle of the day for this part of town. There were always gang bangers and small children wandering around the elderly, who were their babysitters.

  “Form up in teams of six. You heard the sergeant, we can’t do full sweeps, and yet we can’t have buildings of ZITs attacking us when we come back. Open the doors with caution because there may be people inside that are armed as much as we are. Do a bottom floor only sweep for ZITs. If nothing stands out and you don’t hear anything from the upper floors, head out the back door and on to the next building. These areas are going to be some of the worst, but let’s keep our heads on a swivel and meet back here in two hours unless you run into trouble. Unit with the highest kill record gets the better sleeping arrangements.”

  Subdued “Hoorahs” came from the men around me as we prepared to bring hell to the things attacking our homes.

  The inside of the apartment buildings were darkened, depressing atmospheres, ironicall
y bringing a welcome relief from the spring heat and humidity.

  I could hear the sounds of people behind the doors of a few apartments, but no one opened the doors or attempted to come out into the hallways.

  The few infected we found were just shuffling around in the dark, making it easy to take them out without a fight, until we made it to the third building.

  “Hey, hold up.” Corporal John, or Ghost as he was affectionately known, halted us. “Do you hear that?”

  The groans were faint, somewhere above us, but definitely needed to be taken out before they could grow larger.

  “Doug, you and Brad take the stairs and I’ll cover these two. Evan, Salt, and Diaz, take the other stairs and let’s secure our sleeping arrangements for the night, gentlemen.”

  Doug normally took the highpoint, and since he was taller and I went low, Ghost made sure to have our backs.

  The second floor only sported one ZIT, but the sounds were growing louder the higher up we went. We regrouped and headed up another flight, only to come in contact with about twenty ZITs bottled up in the stairwell.

  “We’ve found some in our stairwell,” Ghost cautioned quietly. “Stay back and let them come to us so we don’t get overrun. Do the same on your end, team two.”

  The poor lighting continued to flicker, making it hard to see if it was a shadow or an actual ZIT. The first set of pops rang out, causing the ZITs heads to come up and stop their progress up the stairs.

  Now the shitheads were coming toward us quickly.

  I took out the first three, and Doug got the ones behind them, but as they moved out of the way, more fell down the stairs now that the bottleneck had opened up.

  “We may have to retrace our steps and give them a chase through the halls, just so they don’t cut off our exit.”

  They were coming too quickly to answer Ghost, so we concentrated on shooting. This group wasn’t getting any smaller.

  “We’ve cleared our side and are proceeding up to the next level. We’ll take them out and clear them out down to you.” Salt’s voice could barely be heard over the groans, as the sounds brought more toward us.