Transformation: Zombie Crusade VI (12 page)

Luke pulled up another bucket and sat down across from the exhausted teacher. “Listen, there are walled-settlements along the Red River all the way back to Shreveport. My fighters are preparing for a battle here; we’re going to clear the area of infected. Once that’s accomplished, we can give you an armed escort downstream and hook you up with one of the communities that have figured out how to make a life for themselves. They’ll help you.”

Billy liked the sound of that. “What do you need me to do?”

Luke smiled. “Double your rations for the next day or two, and close this place up tight until I return for you.”

Julian had been listening, and he looked from Billy to Luke. “Please, don’t leave us, Captain.”

“Hey, I WILL be back for you,” Luke assured him.

Even Billy looked dubious, but he tried not to show it. “I have two bullets left to cover your retreat back to the highway; there’s no way you’re gonna get back to the river by yourself.”

Luke seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, then he stood up and pulled his axe. Without a word, he spun and tossed the weapon toward a wall more than fifty feet away. He threw the axe so hard everyone momentarily lost sight of it in the gloomy basement, finding it again only after the blade came to rest within an old oaken support post. Luke patted the quiver hanging over his shoulder and held his bow forward for emphasis. “You wouldn’t believe how fast and accurately I can use this thing.”

“But today, up on the highway. . .”

Luke smiled as he slowly shook his head. “I do appreciate your gesture of support, but if that small pack had attacked I would have killed every one of them in less than ten seconds. By the way, most people have taken to calling the well-developed infected ‘hunters’—at least most people where I come from.”

Billy stared at Luke for a few seconds, trying to figure out what all the young officer before him might be capable of; he found it hard to believe that anyone could be so unconcerned about facing a pack of flesh eating monsters. “Whatever you call those creatures, they’re deadly as hell. If you plan on playing hero in the upcoming battle, will you please tell your people we’re here before the fight, just in case?”

“Sure I will; we won’t leave you guys behind. No matter what you hear or see out there over the next day or two—and we’ll be making noise to pull the hunters away from the city—just stay hidden down here until we come for you. Deal?”

Billy still wasn’t convinced that Luke would be willing and able to return, but he finally sighed and held out a hand once again. “Deal.”

Luke left Texarkana an hour later than he’d planned, but he was certain that he had a much better understanding of the enemy situation in the area than he’d had before he left camp at dawn. Billy and his students had explained the conditions in the city with a clarity that impressed the experienced fighter. Determined to maintain a continuous watch from the top of their building, the youngsters had kept meticulous notes on their observations since the outbreak began. They were certain that there were no more than a few hundred hunters in and around the city, a number that had been dropping steadily since the end of summer. The influx of refugees had completely stopped over the past few months, and there simply wasn’t enough protein to be found in Texarkana to support a large number of packs. One fact they were all certain of, however, was that at least three times that number of infected were still haunting the grounds of the depot a few miles to the west. People from all over the area had continued to pour into the Army base in spite of warnings spreading among survivors of the dangers waiting there. Though the monsters were finally moving out into the nearby rural areas, the observers were certain that those creatures continued to include the city and depot in their wanderings.

Luke suspected that Texarkana and the Red River Depot were outliers according to the new normal in the world; there were too many hunters in this area for the pre-virus, human population to have sustained them for this long. Another factor to consider was that the city hadn’t suffered much fire-damage, especially when compared to other cities he’d seen or heard about from survivors. He could see why so many refugees had tried to flee to this area: there was little food to be found in the Texas countryside. Of course, the people themselves had become food, but apparently new waves of migrants hadn’t been deterred by, or simply didn’t know of, the fates of those who’d arrived earlier. Now, the region had settled down. The hunters were being forced to feed off of domestic and wild animals, and the people who’d survived had learned the hard way how to avoid being eaten.

He figured that his force could handle at least five hundred hunters from an exposed position, but if they could fight from prepared defenses they could stop a lot more than that. He was developing a mobility doctrine that would eventually allow his soldiers to fight in the open and avoid being trapped behind walls or forts, but they were far from ready to pull off something like that right now. As far as clearing the depot was concerned, there were two main problems to overcome before they could occupy the Army base for salvage operations. First, they had to lure as many of the infected into a pitched battle as possible, and second, they had to kill most or all of them. The morning’s encounter had reminded him that hunters had been learning the prudence of retreat when confused or afraid. He’d seen this type of behavior before and would almost certainly see it again; the creatures wouldn’t press a hopeless assault to the bitter end as they did in the early days, unless the Blackhawks were pushing them. Sometimes the retreats were welcome, but here his troops needed to keep the monsters from escaping.

CHAPTER 11

              Luke returned to camp by mid-afternoon and found Gracie, Zach, and Maddy in the “headquarters tent,” conferring with five platoon leaders. Gracie made eye contact with Luke as soon as he walked in. She then addressed the group, “Let’s go over this one more time, from the beginning, now that Captain Seifert is here. Then we can break for a
late
lunch.”

Luke listened carefully to their plans while saying little. He appreciated the fact that the platoon leaders were taking an active role in hashing out the details; he needed his subordinates to develop experience and confidence. “I like the idea of using air-horns from motorcycles; if we set a few of those off right by the depot, even the hunters in Texarkana will be able to hear them.” He added, “From what I saw of the highway to the bridge, it shouldn’t be very hard to make sure there’s a wide enough path for the bikes. Do you know where to find air-horns around here?”

“The Super Walmart,” Gracie replied. “The engine noise from the motorcycles may be enough without them, especially if we whoop and holler and ride around in circles, but I’m not sure we can trust that. We need to be as loud as possible, so air-horns are perfect, plus I don’t think looters would’ve had much interest in them.”

Luke nodded. “I think finding what we need to prep the bridge and being able to get everything into position quickly will be the trickiest part.”

Zach had been uncharacteristically quiet until he asked Luke, “So how do you think we can make our plan better?”

“Post plenty of your best troops where the cabs meet the trailers: those are your weakest points. The fighters you have in those places need to be competent with more than pikes and spears; they’ll probably end up using swords and knives by the time this is over. Oh, and make sure your avenues of retreat are open and easily accessible.”

“That’s like telling us to wear raincoats when it’s raining,” Gracie observed sourly.

Luke agreed, “Gracie, you and the others are obviously ready for this; you don’t need me to tell you what you already know.”

“We already have a couple scavenging teams working close to camp.” Maddy volunteered. “The platoon leaders are giving people their orders, and we’ll make as much use of today’s daylight as we can, but first can we please eat some lunch? I’m starving.”

Gracie sighed. “Fine, but let’s meet back here in half an hour.”

Luke didn’t have much to say as he and Gracie dined on MREs in their tent; he couldn’t stop thinking about the boys hiding out in the school basement. For an instant, he wondered what happened to the thousands, perhaps millions of people who’d been completely unable to defend themselves against the flesh-eaters. But he knew what happened to them. The possibility of the kids he’d met this morning being eaten alive after managing to survive for the past six months was nearly unbearable.

Gracie noticed Luke’s preoccupation and sensed that it was about something beyond the approaching battle. She reached out and laid her hand on his arm. “What’s worrying you?”

“I’m not worried; I’m just thinking about some of the people I met in Texarkana.”

Gracie looked concerned. “You trust the intel they gave you, right?”

“Without a doubt,” Luke replied, “and I made them a promise that we’d evacuate them as soon as we clean-up the infected around here. You should meet them Gracie, most of the kids are disabled, some pretty severely, but—”

Gracie cut him off. “Why are you building this army again?” She didn’t want either of them to get distracted by sentiment right now. She was determined to keep Luke focused on the approaching battle and the bigger picture.

Luke frowned in frustration. “Don’t patronize me.”

That wasn’t the response Gracie wanted. She didn’t try to hide the anger creeping into her tone. “Just answer the damn question.”

“You know the plan,” he retorted.

“Yeah, I do. And we both need to stay focused on it right now.”

Luke decided not to be baited into a disagreement; he forced himself to calm down. “Please just get to your point.”

“We’re about to draw thousands of hunters down onto two hundred and fifty rookies who are to become the core of an army we’re building to liberate the world, and you’re all distracted by a handful of survivors in Texarkana.”

“Hey,” he protested, “the plan you guys made is solid, we all know it. The students I met this morning are completely helpless.”

“If they’re so helpless, how have they managed to stay alive for this long?  Do you think they’ve just been lucky?”

Luke was surprised to realize that Gracie had a good point; the survivors in the school had been far more than lucky. Luke smiled slightly and acknowledged, “I see what you’re saying, but I thought you were supposed to be the soft-hearted one. I guess we’re starting to rub off on each other.”

“Aw, I’d like to take credit, but you’ve always been a sucker for kids and animals.” Gracie scooted over next to Luke and leaned against him. “Just try to stay focused on the battle right now.”

Luke put his arm around Gracie. “What’s your plan for me, specifically?”

“The troops will feel better if you’re somewhere they can see you.” She offered.

Luke shrugged. “I’ll hook up with the troops who’re supposed to close the trap; they’ll probably end up hard pressed at some point.”

“Good idea” she agreed, “at least then you can give the pretense of command.”

“Pretense of command?” In one fluid move, Luke pinned Gracie to the ground. She squirmed as he tickled her. “Who’s in charge here?” he teased.

“You’re . . . not . . . staying . . . focused . . .” Gracie wheezed between peals of laughter.

Luke stopped the tickling, but he kept her held fast to the ground. “I don’t think I heard you say who’s in charge here yet.”

“Oh, whatever,” Gracie conceded breathlessly. “You’re in charge. Now can we get back to work?”

Luke stood up and lifted Gracie to her feet. “Sure thing, but I can’t think of a better plan than what you guys have designed, and I can’t control the execution of it; that’ll be up to the company commanders and their platoon and squad leaders.”

Gracie quietly shared what had been weighing on her heart all day, “Chances are good that we’ll lose people this time.”

Luke maintained a stoic façade. “How’s your medical unit shaping up?”

“We have one doctor, who worked in a general practice before the outbreak, a physician’s assistant, and three nurses. One of the nurses worked in surgery for two years.”

“Supplies?”

“We’re ready for war; we even have IV’s and stuff like that.”

Luke tried to repeat something Jack had told him many months before. “I don’t want to lose anybody, but we all know it’s just a matter of time before we do. Unfortunately, learning to deal with combat injuries and death is part of becoming a good soldier.”

“I’m sure our troops have seen plenty of both long before we found them,” Gracie replied sadly.

“Certainly,” Luke concurred, “but they were a rabble on the run. We’re trying to transform them into conquerors.”

Gracie wiped away fresh tears. “Well, we better get to it then.”

The mission to find semi-trucks for the bridge defense wasn’t going as well as had been hoped. The troops were conducting the operation extremely quietly and carefully, precautions that prevented any hunters from detecting their presence, but finding usable trucks was far more difficult than predicted. Many of the vehicles’ diesel tanks were empty, probably due to post-collapse siphoning, but battery failure was also widespread among the fleet of tractor-trailers. Zach had led his entire company out in search of vehicles, accompanied by a squad of mechanics from Gracie’s command, but after two hours of searching they had just two semis running. The noise actually brought a motley looking pack of eight down on the oversized company, but the unfortunate creatures had no idea what hit them as they were almost instantly chopped to pieces.

Finally, one soldier came up with an idea for getting more trucks in operation, but he needed a generator and battery charger. The solution to the problem was so simple that Zach was surprised, and a little bit irritated, that he hadn’t thought of it himself. The generator would pump fuel from underground tanks as well as power the battery chargers. With their new plan in mind, the final mission before night set in was to be conducted at the local discount-tool store. The relatively untouched business had both of the needed items, and when the search resumed next morning, five more trucks were charged, fueled, and ready to roll within two hours. The number of vehicles was lower than had been hoped, but without the location of another truck-stop everyone agreed that searching for individual semis wasn’t an efficient use of time.

Maddy and Gracie were busy with their own defensive preparations while the truck-search was taking place. Barbed wire and chains were being scavenged from every imaginable source; they would be used to block access below the trailers. Other crews were searching for lumber with which they could construct reasonably stable fighting platforms over the cabs, whose hoods were barely half the height of the trailers. Finally, selected teams of soldiers were drilling with crossbows, trying to figure out who should be the shooters versus re-loaders when the hunters attacked. As full dark enveloped the bustling troops, marksmen for the looming fight had been determined and more than enough materials procured.

By the time Zach’s people came rolling up with their seven semi-trucks a few hours after dawn, the young women had their troops and building materials ready and waiting. The first order of business was the destruction of several dozen hunters chasing Zach’s convoy. For this task, the crossbowmen were given an opportunity to show their stuff. They needed a second volley, but every flesh-eater was on the ground before coming into spearing-range. The kill-zone wasn’t going to be as large as the three officers had originally planned, and seeing the semis actually in position revealed a great many tactical concerns related to the shapes of the vehicles. Only careful preparation would prevent hunters from exploiting the cabs, open spaces beneath the trailers, and a number of railings and tiny folds in the metal that would help the creatures climb toward the defenders. Nevertheless, by mid-afternoon the trucks were in place, fighting platforms between trailers were constructed, and space under the trailers was filled with wire and chains. Thirty-two crossbowmen would be shooters, and each of them would head a fire-team that included three loaders. With over a hundred bows in the small army’s arsenal, the marksmen would hopefully be able to maintain a steady rate of fire as the hunter-packs rushed into the trap.

With more than half of the day’s light already gone, the decision was made to spend the rest of the afternoon making final adjustments to the plan and fight on the morrow. Gracie, Maddy, and three squads of their best soldiers were going out to find the noisemakers needed to attract the infected to the bridge, while Zach was leading a group to recon the route north from the depot in order to ensure a reasonably open road for the scouts. Luke decided that he would actually stay behind while Gracie went out into dangerous territory, knowing that sooner or later he’d have to get used to such behavior occurring on a regular basis. Maddy and Zach were good, but Gracie was the best officer under Luke’s command. He had to trust her with more responsibility for the day might come when she would have to lead large numbers of soldiers on her own.

He walked out to the bridge and took his time looking over every aspect of the defenses with a critical eye, whereas earlier he’d given the preparations little more than a cursory observation. The trap had been expertly prepared. Seven semi-trucks formed a large U-shape that stretched across the northern half of the span, with a kill zone more than a hundred and fifty feet long. The modifications to the undersides of the trailers were so extensive that Luke doubted a squirrel could pass through the entanglements. Elevated platforms constructed with solid lumber had been built over the cabs so that they sat relatively level with the tops of the trailers. As with the areas under the trailers, the open space beneath the structures had been filled with chains, wire, and long wooden stakes.

    Luke grew pensive for a moment as he considered the rain of death that would soon fall on hundreds of hunters trapped in this carefully designed kill-zone. For some reason he couldn’t explain, the thought of all those creatures being destroyed made him feel like the monster. The infected in this area had to be eradicated; there was just no way around that. He doubted that the refugees hiding in the school were the only survivors in Texarkana and the surrounding region. In addition, his growing army had a need for the vehicles he was sure they would find in the depot if they could gain safe access to the base. The hunters that had settled near the city were genetically and experientially determined to seek out and devour human beings, and that was something Luke couldn’t allow to continue. If the creatures could have been relocated to an unpopulated wilderness and somehow made to stay there, he would happily let them live in peace. But that wasn’t reality, so the hunters had to die.