We were losing ground fast when they stopped coming down the stairs, and our last shots dropped those in front of us.
“Thanks for the assist, guys. How’s it looking up there?” Ghost helped make sure that all the bodies were dead as we moved forward, toward the stairway again.
“Guys? Team two? Do you read me?”
I met Ghost’s eyes as I aimed my pistol at this teenager’s head when his arm twitched.
“Crap. Let’s go.”
As we hit the landing, the welcome sound of Evan’s voice whispered, “Corporal, we have a problem. Get up here, asap!”
Taking the stairs at a run, I made it to the last floor, only to see a huddle of children at the end of the hallway by the window.
“When the gunfire stopped, we could hear a baby, sir, so we busted in the door and found these.” Evan pointed to ten children ranging in age from babies to about sixteen years old, all girls.
One of the girls kept trying to shush the baby, while the other little ones looked at us with tearstained faces.
“Thank you for rescuing us. We’ve been in there for two days, ever since those things followed us. They just wouldn’t leave the hallway, and we couldn’t leave the kids alone.”
“We need to get you guys down to the trucks before dark comes and we’re all stuck here. Let’s put the ones that can walk behind us, and two of us can carry the smaller ones.”
At least they all had shoes on, and looked like they were ready. The girls had backpacks on, showing they had been trying to leave their home. They would’ve been eaten alive.
“Double check everything. If anything moves, take it out. Go down the other stairs since there aren’t as many bodies that way.”
We formed a strange sort of pack with armed military men trying not to scare the children, but watching for an attack from anywhere. Our situation still hadn’t quite set in the way it was supposed to because we’d just come from a firefight, and it didn’t even dawn on us to check outside before we opened the door leading out.
The weight of the ZITs that slammed against it caught a few of them with their arms hanging in the doorway.
“That way’s out unless we can get another unit to come and clear it out for us. But I’m betting they’re all occupied,” Diaz announced cheerfully.
“Thanks for that update, motherf…” Doug trailed off when he remembered the children.
“We could try the other entrance over in the other hallway,” the girl with the baby suggested. “You could sneak up on them so we could escape.”
Exchanging glances, we all seemed to agree that she made a convincing argument.
“All right, you heard her. Evan, take the lead.”
This time, we checked things out before we opened the door and left Ghost, Evan, and Diaz with the kids while we took out the group in front of the other door.
Twenty bodies and a smoking gun muzzle later, I opened the door, motioning the children out. It was a lot closer to dark than I’d thought, and everyone picked up the pace back to where the trucks were parked.
One other team had made it back, giving us more numbers to protect the kids.
“Hey, Brad, looks like your group grew while you were gone,” Clutz called out while helping lift an elderly woman into the truck.
“I could say the same for your group. Where’s Mike?”
Clutz made a cutthroat gesture.
Uneasy that we’d lost a man, I groaned. It hadn’t even been one afternoon and it could have been us because of our stupidity.
The children were excited to see other people, and chattered happily while we took up positions, watching and waiting for the other teams to come back.
“We should walk down the street and see if we can help any of the other units bring people back to the trucks. If there are any other groups, it’ll take less time if we can back them up,” Diaz suggested hopefully.
“Clutz, I’m going to take three of my guys and go see if we need to extract anyone. Have you got this buttoned down?”
“Yes, sir.”
“All right, move out again. It’s getting dark fast.”
Gunfire sounded over to the right, and we took off running toward the noise.
We met the other three teams two streets over, and they had about thirty people moving toward the trucks, but they weren’t going to make it because of the hundreds of ZITs chasing them.
I needed someplace that I could shoot down into a crowd. There were a few parked cars, so I braced myself on the roof of one and started picking off ZITs that were closest to those fleeing. When the others saw what I’d done, they followed suit and we kept the ZITs back as the team with them herded their charges to the trucks. Once we were clear of live humans, I let loose into the lumbering bodies. Head shots were more difficult, but we couldn’t waste bullets just to fire into the crowds.
Salt was on the top of a truck next to me, and I could hear him counting. “Fifty-one, fifty-two…” At least this time, he’d have proof instead of salting his story with partial truths.
“Keep shooting, men. We need to give them a chance to get everyone into the trucks before we retreat,” Ghost shouted from his perch a few vehicles over.
It didn’t seem to matter that a few from the other teams had stopped to help us, since the things were still coming.
I’d already used two out of my three backup ammos, and even with all of us, it was going to be close.
“Ghost, I’m out!” Salt yelled.
“Me, too!”
“Well, shit. Fall back, now!”
The jump to the ground jarred me, but I didn’t waste any time in running to the truck, firing behind me, hoping that it slowed the ZITs pursuit.
Engines were fired up and the other teams were adding the last stragglers as we rounded the corner at a full run.
“Go!” Ghost waved to the drivers.
They pulled out as we scrambled into the last truck with the gate hanging down.
The sun’s last rays faded as we raced away, finally leaving the ZITs trying to catch us.
Even though we’d used most of our ammo, there was still a good portion of the ZITs left. The noise of our retreat and the truck engines had drawn more from other places, and they were now congregating at the entrance to the housing district.
I could only hope that they didn’t send us back to the same place tomorrow because anything that stepped foot out of the buildings overnight didn’t have a chance against those zombies.
As we drove into the compound, we passed another group that were setting up watch around the warehouses. I didn’t envy them in the least.
We pulled up at the warehouse doors and gratefully handed our living off to the civilians that had gathered to get them organized and settled for the night.
ZITs – 1
Company D – over 300.
Zombie count for our unit was about three hundred, if used ammo was a correct measurement. At this rate, the zombies would overtake us long before we could clean them out, but we had to try.
Linc
After I drove away from the town, I knew that I was going to have to tell Jessica and Tracy the truth. Well, as much as I could anyway. This was so going to hurt my chances at getting laid tonight, but I had to make sure that everyone was safe.
At the gate, one of the guys raised a hand in greeting, but didn’t leave his spot hidden by a few well-placed bales of hay.
I acknowledged him, and instead of heading for the gate, I pulled over even with his position.
“Pass the word to the other three that we need to meet in the next hour. Some idiot has decided that he’s going to control the town and may pay us a visit if he doesn’t like the way I act around him.”
“So we should stay undercover as long as possible? Even if you get into trouble?” Josh asked, staying close to the ground.
“Just make sure that the group here is safe. I’m going to have to tell Jessica about the four
of you, but that’ll mean you get some home-cooked meals in exchange. Plus, with all of the extra kids, it was only a matter of time before they found out about you guys. I still don’t want you out in the open in case Jim Danvers comes calling, but you’ll be able to help train the older kids, along with Jessica and Tracy, about how to stay safe.”
“You think he’ll come out here?”
“I do. He won’t be able to stay away now that he’s remembered that I’m out here. His thought will be to get me out of the way, and then he can have Jessica and the farm.” I shook my head regretfully. I didn’t want to fight anyone if I didn’t have to, but I was certain that he would be out within the next day or so.
“I’ll pass the word along and have the other three meet you so that someone’s still on lookout.”
“Well, I’ll be at the cabin, but I can only hope I’ll make it in one piece. Jessica and Tracy aren’t going to be happy with what Cooper and I have been doing.”
Josh tipped his hat toward me with a grin. “I sure don’t envy you that conversation.”
I pushed the bike up toward the gate, opening it just enough to get through. It was unlocked, but I closed it shut and slid the chain around it. The lock clicked shut, but it wouldn’t hold up against someone who was determined to come through with a vehicle. It might make them think twice, but a pair of bolt cutters would only buy us a few extra minutes.
The barn doors were shut, which was good since the kids were outside playing. Even though it had only been a week since the four cousins had arrived and met Jessica’s two for the first time, they had all become fast friends.
It felt like I was dragging my feet, but I knew that Jessica and Tracy needed to know as soon as possible. They had also been out there, and I needed to know what things had been like out in the real world.
They were sitting on the porch watching me walk up to them.
“Did you get your mom settled back in town?” Tracy asked innocently.
“Yeah, I did. There was a problem, though, Jessica. Do you remember Jim Danvers?”
“Yeah? What’s that dumb man done now?” Jessica hadn’t had much use for him since he’d been trying to catch her eye for the past few months that her husband had been gone.
“Well...” I tried to begin, but just couldn’t do it.
Jessica got up and stepped down until she was eye level with me.
“What’s wrong?” Her eyes showed that she knew it was more than just some townie with a self-inflated ego.
“He’s chased off the police force and the mayor isn’t going to stop him. There are barricades at the roads stopping anyone from coming inside with bites, or anyone who’s sick. He’s made all those that’ve even sneezed in the last few days stay at the clinic.”
“Crap. Now that he’s got the power, it’ll go to his head. Did he let your mom back into town?”
Jessica’s forehead scrunched up in a frown.
“Yes, but we had to show them that we didn’t have any bites. Thankfully, they didn’t think about making us strip, but give them time and they will. I don’t think he wanted to make too big of a scene in front of everyone. Although, given a chance, I have no doubt that he’ll come after me, and thus for you and the farm.”
“Do you really think he would do something like that?” Jessica’s hand went to her mouth in shock.
“I give him a day. Since it’s close to evening, he’ll wait until tomorrow, right about breakfast time, so that we wouldn’t be watching for him.”
Now Jessica was pissed, as she started to pace the porch in front of me and Tracy and me.
“Why can’t he just give up? I don’t like him, I’m interested in someone else.” She sent a covert glance in my direction, not even pausing to make sure her sister didn’t catch onto it.
“Once he manages to take me out of the equation, he assumes that you’ll see him as the hero for saving you. There’s something stopping him, and he’ll just find a way to get me out of the picture. Which brings me to something that you both are not going to want to hear.”
Jessica’s head whipped around toward me, as Tracy leaned forward expectantly.
Knowing it was better to just get it over and done with, I figured that it couldn’t hurt to blame Cooper just a little bit.
“Cooper thought that you needed to have a protected place to come in case things went bad and he had to leave for his job. He hired me a few months ago, when you and Jessica found each other. He wanted me to keep an eye out for any problems and start working on making sure that this was a safe place he could bring his family.”
“That son of a…” Tracy trailed off in case the kids were close enough to hear her.
“I feel like he knew something was going to happen and wanted to get a jump start on getting things set up. So I hired four guys to help out, and we’ve been taking turns watching out for you guys since he’s been gone.”
“You mean, this whole time, you’ve been working for Cooper instead of me?” Jessica spat angrily.
“Nope. I’ve been working for you with a bonus from Cooper. Jessica, when he suggested that you needed a field hand and my background would be helpful if anything ever happened, it was godsend. I was going crazy trying to fit into society. When I left the military a few weeks before that, I thought I’d find a job and everything would be just fine, only it didn’t work out that way. Everything I applied for made my skin crawl because I would have to be nice to people instead of trying to kill them.”
I paused to gather my thoughts instead of just spewing all of my pent-up frustrations onto the already worried women.
“When I found out that I would be doing manual labor and would only have to talk with you occasionally, that suited me perfectly. My mom already lived nearby, and it would allow me to keep an eye on her without smothering her. The unexpected bonus was getting to work for such a beautiful boss.”
Since neither one of them had torn my head off yet, I figured they didn’t hate me yet, so I continued.
“These past few months have been therapeutic for me. The guys out there helping me guard all of you were recommended by Cooper and are all ex-military. When Tracy showed up, these guys were all at my cabin the next morning before I woke up. I don’t want to hide things from you, and in case something happens with Jim, they’ll be a good defense.”
Jessica exchanged a look with Tracy, and she must have gotten an okay because she turned to me.
“I don’t like the fact that you had ulterior motives, but Cooper knew something that he didn’t see fit to tell any of us. He’s going to have a lot of explaining to do whenever he comes back.”
She fixed me with that ‘mom’ stare. “Is there anything else that you’re keeping from me about who you are?”
“No, ma’am. I’ve been up front with you about everything from my end. I still have a few things that I know about Cooper.” I threw an apologetic look Tracy’s way. “I can’t tell you anything about him because it’s not my things to tell. When he comes back, he’ll tell you if he can without jeopardizing national security.”
Tracy just grinned at my statement. “Oh, he won’t be jeopardizing anything but his life if he doesn’t tell me the whole truth. He promises me, no more secrets, and then he hasn’t even been gone for a full day when more stuff comes out.”
I started to speak up in his defense, but Tracy cut me off.
“Don’t apologize for him. He got himself in this mess and at the moment, you’re only in warm water. He’s just jumped from the boiling pot into the fire and he doesn’t even know it. This is going to be so much fun if he comes back safely.”
“He will. He has the best team with him available, and hopefully, they’ll have a solution before things get too crazy. If he doesn’t get this sickness handled, then we are going to see a lot more men like Jim who are willing to take advantage of the situation.”
“Can you show us what we need to do before Jim shows up tomorrow?” Jessica aske
d hesitantly.
“Well, there’s one thing in our favor, and that is that he’s not remembering that your sister and her children have moved in with you. So let’s be real nice to him and invite him to breakfast when he shows up. I think we can make him feel real welcome, especially if Trevor can spill his drink on him. The others can be really obnoxious and start fighting so that he’ll think twice before wanting to take over here at the farm. In fact, a little smoky air with burned toast might not be the worst idea when we see him drive up.”
Tracy got up and placed an arm around Jessica’s shoulders. “I think you’ve found a winner in this one. He just might be able to keep the farm intact without starting a war to do it.”
“Uh-huh. You’re just planning to pick his brain so that you can exact your revenge on Cooper when he gets back.” Jessica grinned mischievously. “But I think we can come up with something to make our current problem think twice before he messes with our kids. It’s not like he can send them off to boarding school.”
“You get the men together once it gets dark and we can go over somethings once the younger kids are sleeping. We’re going to have to be ready for those zombie things, and even though I don’t want the kids to have to do what we did today, they need to be prepared. If any of them get sick, we’ll have to make sure one of us can do what will need to be done.” Jessica seemed to be processing everything, but when she walked over and kissed me in front of her sister, I knew everything would be just fine.
“Yes, ma’am. We’ll be here in a few hours. See you then.” I turned around, feeling a sudden urge to whistle as I made my way to the trail between the house and my cabin.
The evening with Jessica didn’t go exactly as I’d planned. We did spend time together, but it was going over our best defensible positions with the men and seeing what they had brought back from their run to town.
I tried not to drool when I saw the number of guns and ammo they’d managed to acquire in one trip. I might have to send them out again, but now that people were realizing this was serious, they were going to start hording.
Military Against Zombies (The Against Zombies Series Book 2) Page 5