The Last Bastion of the Living: A Futuristic Zombie Novel (22 page)

“Find a way past it, Vanguard!” Omondi ordered.

“Looking!” Maria
’
s fingers swept back and forth over the map, her eyes skimming over the information swiftly. “No weak spots. They
’
ve closed in around us.”

“Brace yourselves!” Omondi called out.

The wall of bodies struck the carrier
,
shoving it completely around. The soldiers inside braced themselves as the torrent of
Inferi Scourge
assaulted the carrier. The howling cries of the
Scourge
filled Maria with dread as they pounded against the sides.

Cormier quickly activated the protective shields that slid over the cockpit windows
,
blocking out the view of several
Scourge
trying to scramble over the plow
, but only managing to cut themselves in half
.

“Dead in the water,” Cormier groused.

Silence filled the carrier as the soldiers awaited their next order. Denman
’
s gaze was fastened on the readouts coming in from the soldiers. Maria didn
’
t need to be told that the brain scans were all showing mass activity. Her head felt like it was about to explode. They had been positive they could make it to the gate without being overrun. They were only halfway there.

Omondi turned off his console and it folded back into the floor. Swiveling around in his chair, he looked into the faces of the forty men and women watching him.

“We walk,” he said simply.

A few people exchanged nervous looks.

“We
’
re
Inferi Boon
. We get out and they see that
w
e
’
re
not...human and they will leave us alone. All they want to do is infect us. Make us what
they
’
re
, but
we a
re
already the walking dead. There is nothing to fear.” Omondi unbuckled himself and picked up his bolt weapon. “Let
’
s get moving.”

After deactivating her console, Maria slid out of her harness and joined the other soldiers as they prepared to disembark.

“We
’
ll have to go out the top to avoid being crushed,” Omondi said, motioning for Jameson to climb up and open the heavy hatch above them.

The young man quickly scaled the ladder to
obey
.

“Everyone keep together. Once the
Scrags
no longer
identif
y
us as potential victims
, they will most likely remain where
they
’
re
standing. We
’
re going to have to push our way through.” Omondi
’
s eyes trailed over the soldiers crowded around him. “Nothing like an early morning walk, right, Vanguard?”

“Absolutely,” Maria answered. She hung her bolt weapon over her shoulder and forced a wry smile. “I hear the view is pretty at this time of the day.”

Omondi chuckled.

With a loud creak and a clang, the hatch folded open and the stench of the
Inferi Scourge
filled the enclosed space. The
Inferi Boon
Special Ops
had
a
diminished
sense of
smell, but
a few winced as the pungent scent of death washed over them. Maria was glad she didn
’
t have to breathe. Since they didn
’
t have to worry about breathing in any biological or chemical weapons, their armor was lighter due to the lack of air filters. Maria wished they had left them in.

“Let
’
s go!”

Jameson
’
s legs vanished through the hatchway as the soldiers fell into line. Maria took lead with Omondi right behind her. The bolt weapon on her back bounced against her hip as she moved and she adjusted the strap one last time before pulling herself onto the roof of the carrier. As she stood and surveyed the area, she was sure she was in hell.

The sunrise filled the sky with deep oranges, reds and pinks
,
making the clouds appear on fire. The twisted, snarling faces of the
Scourge
spread out as far as she could see. The sheer number was almost incomprehensible.

“We got a lot of heads to bash,” Jameson said beside her, grinning.

“Yeah,” she answered in an awed voice.

Making her way across the top of the vehicle, she pulled out her binoculars and pointed them in the direction of the gate. As expected
,
there were less
Scourge
up by the entrance to the valley, but the
creatures
from the southwest had compacted into a horde
that
was heading toward the carrier. Glancing at the display on her helmet visor, she saw it was empty of any new orders. They were truly on their own.

Omondi joined her, standing with his feet apart to keep steady on the rocking carrier. “Getting to the gate is going to take longer than we thought.”

“Oh, yeah,” Maria agreed.

“Why aren
’
t they calming down?” Jameson asked. “They can see us, right?”

Twisting around, Maria saw that most of the soldiers were now on the roof, weapons ready, trying to stay balanced as the pitching of the carrier grew more violent.

Omondi glowered into th
e howling faces below him, then
at Maria. His dark eyes held an unspoken question and doubt.

The crowd was even more raucous now that the soldiers were visible. The carrier was rocked hard to one side and a few people fell to their knees.

“Sir?” McKinney called out, his face strained behind his visor.

Coleman, at his side, leaned over to stare at the crazed creatures below. “Sir,
they
’
re
not identifying us as
Scrags
, sir!”

Omond
i moved
so his back was to the soldiers and looked at Maria questioningly. She didn
’
t know what to say. The
Inferi Scourge
were out of control below them and the carrier shuddered under their assault.

Again the carrier lurched to one side
.

Maria heard a strangled cry.

“Coleman!” Cruz screamed.

“Coleman fell!” Mikado shouted.

There was a mad scramble to grab the fallen soldier. Maria reached the side, falling to her stomach, just in time to see Coleman dragged
into the crowd. The
outline of his comrades peering down at him was
reflected in his visor just before he disappeared under the tumult of gnashing teeth and tearing hands.

“Our helmets! They can
’
t see our faces!” Maria tore at her helmet clasps, trying to get it off.

Around her the
Inferi Boon
Special Ops hastily tore off their helmets. Maria
leaped
got to her feet and
faced
the crowd
. The
Scourge
below her stared up at her, mouths agape, then
started to fall
silent.

“Spread out! Let them see you!” Omondi ordered.

Slowly, the
Inferi Scourge
howls
faded
as the crowd of undead saw their own kind standing above them. The need to bite and infect was what controlled their violence and as they identified the soldiers as
Inferi Scourge
, the need dissipated. Maria could literally see it in their faces as their jaws went slack and their gazes dropped.
A low moan swept over the crowd
.

“We need to get Coleman,” Denman said from behind her. “Do you think it
’
s safe?”

Together they moved to the spot where Coleman had fallen. Cruz was already there staring in silence at the
Scourge
clustered around the fallen soldier. Slowly, the
Scourge
that had attacked Coleman drew
upright
, falling into their torpor state.

“Mother of God!” Denman exclaimed. He scaled down the side of
the carrier and into the crowd
.

Maria followed, her hands shaking. She had caught a glimpse of what lay beneath the feet of the now quiet
Scourge
. Beside her Cruz and Omondi were also climbing
to the ground
. She dropped the last few feet, knocking aside the
now
still
Scourge
. Shoving a few more away, she knelt next to Denman. The gloom was thick near the ground in the shad
ow of the carrier and the undead
. Denman had activated a light on his armor and was examining Coleman.

Examining t
he pieces of Coleman.

The armor was old and the many sharp fingernails and teeth had managed to rent tears along the seams of his arms and legs. One arm was completely torn from his body, another was a mangled mess. Numerous bites covered each.

Coleman
’
s mouth was moving, but no words were coming out of his lips. There wasn
’
t a throat to push air through, no larynx to speak. His neck had been torn open, bits of flesh strewn about his head. His spine was exposed and that was all that connected his body and head.

Omondi swore under his breath. Cruz gasped, but didn
’
t say anything more. She knelt next to Coleman and rested her hand on his forehead through his shattered visor.

“I can
’
t save him,” Denman said in a stricken voice, looking at Maria. “Do you understand? He may be able to survive as
a Boon,
but we can
’
t fix this. No medicine can put him back together. We can
’
t resuscitate him like this.”

“We
’
ll
med-pod
him back,” Omondi decided.

Denman ro
se to his feet and shoved a few
Scourge
out of his way to draw closer to Omondi. “I
’
m out here to fix wounds that may occur from physical rigors of the job or accidents. Nothing like this was supposed to happen. The SWD was clear on my directives. Any mortal wounds are to be considered fatal. I am supposed euthanize anyone with this sort of massive injury.” He shook his head, agonized over the situation. “Dear God, he
’
s already dead. If not for being
Boon
...”

“Is Coleman okay?” a voice called from above.

The soldiers were lined up along the edge of the vehicle attempting to watch. The forest of
Scourge
standing over Coleman blocked their view.

“No, he
’
s not,” Denman answered in a bleak voice.

Omondi
glared at Denman, his jaw flexing as though he was chewing over the words he was going to speak. He briskly
gestured for Cruz to stand back.
Shoving
Scourge
away as she obeyed her commanding officer, Cruz stared at Coleman with sadness in her gaze.

Maria moved to stand at her side. It was a strange relief that she couldn
’
t cry in this terrible moment. Coleman
’
s eyes followed her and she averted her gaze.

“Chief Defender
Omondi
, I need to take care of this now. It
’
s not right to leave him like this,” Denman persisted.

Omondi
’
s dark eyes glowered at Denman, then he gave a quick nod.
“Do it.”

Falling to his knees, Denman opened the medical kit that hung from his waist. He withdrew what looked like a smaller version of the bolt weapon.

“Coleman, I
’
m truly sorry,” Denman said softly as the
Scourge
moaned and swayed around him. With more care than Maria expected, Denman turned Coleman
’
s head, the last bits of muscle strung across his ruined neck tearing apart. Pressing the weapon against the base of Coleman
’
s head, Denman hit the trigger. The bolt punched through the soldier
’
s skull and whirred as the blades inside destroyed Coleman
’
s brain.