Dead Life (Book 3) (8 page)

              “He was at Fort A.P. Hill.  Did he say what happened there?”

              “It was about to be overrun by zombies.  They bugged out.”

              “Did he say anything else?”

              “No, your sat phone died.  It's got a charger that plugs into the cigarette lighter.  Did you ever think of actually using it?”

              “It was fully charged when we left the store.  I thought it would be okay for a few days.”

              “It's been a few days.  I plugged it in.  I'm going to bed.”

              Al went inside and left me alone.  It was a clear night and the moon was almost full.  The woods had been cleared around the cabin so if anything came at us, I should have plenty of time to do something about it.  The rest of the night I spent walking around the cabin.  If I walked real slow, it took two minutes to do a lap around the cabin.  Then I'd pace back and forth in front six times, do another lap, and then sit on the steps for five minutes.  I must have done this a thousand times before the sun came up.  I waited another hour and then woke everyone up.

              Al and I wanted to get Les' plane gassed up and back to his farm so we could get back on the road.  Gina was getting anxious to find out if her dad was okay and she really wanted us to get a move on.  The ride back to the house was an eventful one.  Zombies were making their way down the heavily wooded road towards the cabin.  Les made the mistake of taking the lead in his truck.  The trees lining the gravel road to the cabin were so close to the road that they left no room for me to pass Les' truck.  He was forced to run down at least a dozen zombies on the way back to his house.  When we came out of the woods and into the open field that held Les' house and airfield, I was shocked at the number of zombies that had made their way to the home.

              We spent the next hour killing the unending line of zombies making their way to the farm.  They  reminded me of snails.  It was if they were following each others slime trail to us.  Al and I talked about it and we decided it probably wasn't our smell they were following.  Instead, they followed each others.  Once one zombie found you, others would soon follow.  It made sense to me but who really knew.  All that mattered was that these fuckers were everywhere.  There was no way Les, Marla, and their kids would be able to stay here.

              Gina and I took Les back to the plane and helped him gas it up.  The ride back to the plane was a slow one due to the fact that we had to shoot dozens of zombies along the road.  I radioed back to Al letting him know what was going on.  There would be zombies coming at them from the other direction and they'd need to watch for them.  We got to the plane and Les gassed it up while Gina and I watched for zombies.  There were only a few by the plane so we took care of them with our swords.  I had to admit, Gina was pretty good with hers and I was getting better with mine.  She took down three of the zombies with quick head chops then ham stringed the next two and severed their heads as they lay on the ground.  I was more comfortable taking them out while they were still standing.  When you dropped them by taking out their legs, there was always the risk of dulling your sword by hitting the ground with your blade after severing the head.

              We helped Les turn the plane around to give him a clear runway down the highway.  He got the Cessna airborne and Gina and I got in the Hummer and headed back to the farm.  We didn't encounter any more zombies until we got to the road heading to the farm so the return trip was a quick one.  When we got back, Les and his family were busy loading both planes with whatever possessions they could fit.  They had another farm fifty miles south of here and were going to try staying there for a while.  It was further from populace areas and they hoped for better luck staying there.

              Once we had both planes loaded, we said our good-byes and they prepared to leave.  Les would fly one plane and Marla would fly the other.  Everyone in the family knew how to fly a plane.  Even the youngest girl knew.  What a life that must be.  They lived in the country, owned two farms, ran a dust cropping business, and flew planes where ever they wanted to go.  Cindy said Marla had told Gina Les had won a few million dollars in the lottery a few years back and they decided to escape the city life.  They bought the two farms, got their pilot's licenses, and started the dust cropping business just to keep busy.  Les hated the city but didn't mind hard work.  The farm was just starting to show a profit when the plague hit.  Life sucks like that.

              Les invited us to go with them.  We declined, having other places to get to. Les and Marla said good-bye and flew off.  The planes turned and made one last pass overhead, each dipping their wings in a final wave, then headed south. 

              “Are we going to stay here for a while?”  Rick asked.

              “No, we need to make up some miles today.”  I replied.

              “The we'd better get going.”  He said.  “There's a bunch of zombies headed our way.”

              I looked down the road and saw the group of zombies headed our way.  Two were running full out and six more were stumbling along behind the runners.  Al pulled his pistol out, nonchalantly shot the two runners, and turned to walk to the truck.

              “Cindy, are you coming?”  He asked.

Chapter 10

Day 4

              Sergeant Adams came running into my tent a few seconds later shouting that there were zombies in the barracks with the people from the Pentagon.             

              “During the night, a convoy of vehicles from Fredericksburg was let into the fenced area up the road. There was about sixty people in all. No one bothered to check the refugees when they came in and I'm guessing that somebody in the group was infected.”

              “Get the men together and let's get over there. Make sure everyone brings their rifles. From now on we stay armed at all times.”

              My tent wasn't far from the road leading to the barracks so I grabbed my assault rifle and ran over. The guards at the gates were staring down the road leading to the barracks. It was only a quarter of a mile away and they looked nervous like they were expecting trouble at any moment.

              “Open the gate. We need to get over there.”

              “Sir, my orders are to not open this gate for anyone.” One of the guards said.

              “I'm changing those orders.”

              “Sir, you can't override Colonel Bradley's orders.”

              About this time the rest of my unit arrived. There were thirty men in all. They looked tired and frightened.

              “Corporal, I need you to get Colonel Bradley on the phone. Right now.”

              “Yes sir.”

              By then the rest of the men and women that had been left behind to guard the airfield started arriving. I looked around and realized I was the ranking officer on sight. It would be up to me to get something done. To tell the truth, I had no idea how to run a combat command. Up until two days ago all I'd done was sit at a desk. Everyone was looking to me for instruction. I couldn't help but be nervous. I needed to be sure of myself. To gain the trust of these men, I'd need to act swiftly and with confidence in my decisions.

              “Sergeant Adams I want you to gather our unit. As soon as I can get this gate open we're going over. Get them ready. Who's in charge of getting the towers manned?”

              A sergeant I hadn't seen before stepped up. “I am sir.”

              “How many men have we got here?”

              “There's one hundred and seventy five of us sir.”

              “How many trained on the machine guns?”

              “I have forty five qualified on the 50 caliber.”

              “Pick twenty, two for each tower, and get them ready. As soon as I get this gate open, I want them up there as fast as possible. The rest I want between the two lines of fencing spaced evenly along the perimeter. When the zombie hordes get here, I'm going to have the electrical fence powered down. You men will use your fire power to support the machine gunners.”

              “Sir, the fence hasn't been electrified.”

              “Why the hell not?”

              “The grid went down and our generators don't have enough juice for the fence.”

              “That's great. Your men that are inside the fencing will have to be careful. Don't fire into the fence. If we cause breaches in the fence, the zombies will get in here and we'll all be dead. Try to put the barrel of your rifle through the fence before firing. Pick your targets and aim for the head. The only way to stop them is to destroy the brain.”

              I glared at the remaining guard. “Where's that corporal. We don't have time for this.” He did his best to avoid eye contact.

              “Sergeant, divide your men evenly into ten groups. Load ten trucks with ammunition and set up by each of the towers. The trenches should divert the zombies into firing lanes. Concentrate your men into those areas. The ground between the trenches is mined. That should slow them down and thin them out a little. Have your men support each other. They'll need to be mobile and be able to move to areas that have the most activity.”

              The corporal I'd sent to contact the Colonel finally returned. “Sir, I can't get hold of anyone.”

              “Where is the Colonel?”

              “He looked to the barracks and said. “Over there.”

              “You get this goddamn gate open now.”

              “Yes sir.”

              The corporal opened the first gate and was headed for the second when I saw headlights headed from the barracks in our direction. A jeep pulled up to the gate and was let through. The General and the Colonel were together in the jeep. They stopped and Colonel Bradley got out. General Simmons sped off. He was headed to the airfield. The Colonel walked over to me. I could see he'd been wounded. There was blood on his left shoulder. His shirt was soaked through. Blood was running down his arm and dripping from his fingers

              “Captain, walk with me.” He said. “We let someone infected with the virus into the compound. They must have turned during the night. We heard screams coming from the building with the Fredericksburg refugees in it. Someone opened the door and the zombies came pouring out. I only had about twenty soldiers in there guarding the barracks. They didn't stand a chance.”

              “As soon as the shooting started, the General forced me into a jeep with him. The son of a bitch ran like a scared rabbit. He's on his way to an air craft carrier right now.”

              “Sir, we need to get up there and help those people.”

              “There's nothing we can do for them. When the shooting started, all the barracks emptied out. People were trying to get out of the compound. If they had remained inside they might have had a chance of getting out alive. The ones that aren't already dead have been bitten and will turn soon. The virus has mutated and the infected are turning faster. The people from Fredericksburg hadn't been here two hours before all of them turned into zombies.”

              “Didn't they know they were bringing infected people into the compound?”

              “There was a lady that had a little baby wrapped in a blanket. She was acting strange. Wouldn't let anyone see the baby. I think the kid had already turned and she didn't want anyone to know. That's all I can figure. The rest seemed okay otherwise.”

              One of the helicopters lifted off. “There he goes. Good riddance. The man is a fucking coward.” The Colonel said.

              “What now sir?”

              “You're in charge. In case you hadn't noticed I've been bitten.”

              “I was afraid of that.”

              “I can feel it already. I don't have much time left. The bombers are gone.  They've been diverted. The General wouldn't tell me where they were going. I do know they won't be back. You have two Chinooks left. The pilots are good men. If the airfield gets overrun, have them get as many men out of here as possible. The rest will have to go by truck. I have no idea where you should go. We lost communication with the outside around ten o'clock last night. You should be able to raise someone on the radios aboard the helicopters though. Last reconnaissance says you have somewhere around ten thousand zombies headed this way from the north. You have two, maybe three hours before they get here. From the south there is over thirty thousand coming. They won't be here for at least six hours.”

              “I think you'll be able to hold off the first group. The second I'm not sure of. You might want to try taking on the first horde from the north. Then evacuate the base and head that way to avoid the horde from the south. After that I wouldn't know what to tell you. You'll figure it out. I really wouldn't stay here though.”