Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 3): Salvation (12 page)

Following
this, they’d been told some private discussions were in order. That was typical
and to be expected, so no one was offended or concerned. Marcus took his people
off to one side where they waited, as the hours slowly passed.

“The top
folk were all normal too,” pointed out Marcus.

“Yeah,”
acknowledged Arlene, “but they did go and speak with the robed ones the minute
they finished with us.”

“They
talked to everyone,” he corrected, “normals too.”

“The
cultists first,” she countered.

“Just
wish they would make up their minds already,” complained Tyler. “It’s getting
dark, and I’d like to be settled before the sun goes down.”

“We are
on an island.” Arlene laughed. “Place is every bit as secure as the valley. No
real worries.”

“You
know that’s not true. Water isn’t enough,” he retorted.

While
the reasons were unclear, it was well documented that zombies are denser than
water and if immersed will promptly sink. They can walk along the bottom and have
been known to shamble out of lakes or rivers, usually at the worst possible
moment. Water also has zero effect on their bodies. They do not become
waterlogged, nor does it hinder them, aside from slowing their movement.

“They
have walls,” she said, pointing at the one nearest. “Not as good as ours, but
still tall enough.”

“If we
have to stay the night, we stay,” declared Marcus. “Wouldn’t be the first time.
Can’t expect people to decide something so important right off the bat. And
we’ve always been given a safe place to sleep. No reason to think this will be
any different.”

*
* *

“Sorry
to have kept you waiting so long,” said Dennis Alongi, spokesman for the Lake
Sakakawea group.

“Not a
problem,” replied Marcus, as politely as he could manage. He was rather pissed
at having to wait so long, until a few seconds shy of nine o’clock to be exact,
without anyone even checking to see if they might be hungry, which was an issue
seeing how their supplies were all on the shore in the SUVs. “Has anything been
decided?”

“We’re
happy to know others are still alive, but we don’t see any reason to join you.
We have fortified our island, and no one is going hungry. Moving to a warzone
would be worse. It’s not going to happen.”

“The
fight won’t last long, but whatever you want. Just head south to the Black
Hills or over by Yellowstone if you change your minds. Our lookouts will spot
you quick enough. You’re a little hard to get to for regular trade, but we can
try to set something up.”

There
was a time when our existence in the Black Hills was a closely guarded secret. Due
to ever increasing contact with Yellowstone and the raiders having found us,
even if they did not know it was us they found, probably, hopefully, the time
had come to be a little more open. Additionally, if they did decide to head our
way, it was best they know where to go. Wouldn’t want a bunch of folk getting
lost, not with the countryside so dangerous.

“It’s
late, and I’m sure you’re all tired,” continued Dennis. “Why don’t you stay the
night? We have some dinner for you too, if you don’t mind joining me.”

“Sounds
good.” Arlene fluffed her dark brown hair with one hand. That was the extent of
her freshening up. The woman was on the extreme side of low maintenance.

“Sure
does,” added Marcus. “Lead the way.”

He
guided them to an open pavilion in the shape of an octagon. There was a wood
roof with shingles, and four of the sides were covered with lattice. A dozen
tables and a small presenting stand had been placed inside.

“We’re
big on community celebrations” commented Dennis, in way of explanation when the
group’s eyes settled on the mix of musical instruments. He took a seat and
motioned for the others to do the same. “We have some venison stew coming,
fresh vegetables, fresh bread, and cake. Again, I am sorry about the delay and
about ignoring you. Our talks took longer than they should have.”

“What’s
the deal with the guys in the robes?” asked Alan.

“Call
themselves The Brotherhood. I know it’s not very original, but they’re good
guys. My brother’s in the group. Lots of prayers, lots of hard work. They don’t
like assuming responsibility. They say it gets in the way of communing,
whatever that means. Although, with the time some of us spend settling disputes
and doing everything else, I suppose they’re right.”

“Seems
weird,” muttered Alan, mostly to himself.

Marcus wasn’t
particularly distraught that this group was going to stay put. They were well
established and should be fine. Also, he could just picture Lizzy’s reaction if
they did show up. She had serious issues with anyone nuttier than herself, considering
herself to be about as far from the norm as a person could get and still
maintain the level of rationality necessary to survive the zombie apocalypse.
Others would be just as bad, though for different reasons. The Black Hills was
almost uniformly Christian, primarily Protestant with a substantial minority of
Catholics. Father Nicholas remained the sole preacher in residence, and he held
Mass almost every morning and non-denominational Bible classes nearly every
night. There would be plenty who would be troubled by a strange, new age type
faith.

“Ah,”
said Dennis. “Here we go. You’re all going to love the stew. It’s one of our
specialities.”

“It does
smell good.” Arlene took a long sniff before dipping her spoon in. “And it
really is quite tasty. Any chance you’ll share the secret?”

“I’ll
ask the cooks, but don’t hold out too much hope.”

All four
dug in, and Dennis had a second serving brought out as soon as they emptied their
bowls.

“Try
dipping some of the bread,” he suggested. “We use honey when baking, so it’s
sweeter than most.”

“Okay,”
slurred Arlene. She started to lean to the side but caught herself. “Sorry. Got
a bit lightheaded there.”

“Not a
problem,” replied their host. “I know you’re all tired, and it is late. Again,
I’m sorry about everything dragging on.”

Marcus
was feeling it as well, so he didn’t comment when Arlene set her head on the
table and closed her eyes. After all, it wasn’t like he hadn’t done the same on
occasion back at home, and it had been a trying day. However, Alan beginning to
nod off and Tyler looking to follow did cause a stir. Those two usually kept
going like the Energizer Bunny. He tried to rise to his feet but found he
couldn’t.

“Guys,
wake up.”

Dennis
was smiling. It lacked the pleasant charm he’d displayed earlier.

“Ah,
damn.” Marcus reached for his pistol, but someone came from behind and easily
plucked it from his grasp. Losing his balance completely, the large man slammed
into the floor. “You son of a bitch.”

Chapter IV

What a
mess. We are talking about a total and complete, nastily steaming pile of
chaos, with pain and fear mixed in for good measure. The fighting began with
the Captain Briggs, Lieutenant Gikas, and the other soldiers under his command
going on the offensive and leading the Yellowstone forces through no man’s
land. The enemy caught wind of what was happening and moved to intercept. Due
to the structure of deployment, not to mention that the forest was full of
dense underbrush, the battle itself consisted of many separate engagements,
often miles apart. Understanding what was happening was difficult. Getting into
position to help was even harder.

With
both the captain and lieutenant out of radio contact, I was forced to assume
strategic control. Now, I know what had been planned, so it wasn’t like I was
clueless. However, I was at the supply base. I couldn’t see anything firsthand and
was in contact with less than half of the Yellowstone militia. Here’s what I
did know. To the north, we were making progress. The raiders in that area never
managed to get organized and were being forced back. Things were less rosy in
the south. One platoon walked into a trap. At least ten men were killed
outright, more were missing, and only three had managed to escape, to the best
of our knowledge which was, like I said, limited. They were retreating east and
claimed they were being pursued. Other units had moved to help but found
themselves under fire.

“Lizzy!
Get squads one through four ready to march.” I was glaring at the map, as if that
would make the slightest difference. “Mary, are there any Yellowstone people in
this area?” I indicated a large swatch with my finger. “Anyone at all?”

“Their
third platoon had to pull north. They have lots of wounded and are trying to
get behind the lines there.” She was wearing a headset allowing her to listen
to all the communications. “Everyone else seems to be falling back.”

“Where’s
Carlson?”

The old
man stepped forward. He’d been standing off to the side. “Right here, Jacob.”

“Go
check all the claymores and explosives, just in case this reaches us.” I
spotted our pilot running past with a machine gun in his arms. “Xavier!”

He
stopped and turned my way.

“Where
are you going with that?”

“Dale
said to put it between the big ones in the front.”

I waved
him off. The twins knew their business.

“I got
Harvey moving those squads to the side,” said Lizzy. “The other two are going
to take up defense of the hill. That’s what you want, right?”

I
nodded. “See if Tara and Dale have anything to say and then get with Carlson.
I’ll be leaving with the first four squads in a few minutes. You are in charge
here.” I turned to my daughter. “You’re staying put too.”

“But…”

“Don’t
even think about arguing. You keep listening, and you keep me informed of everything
that is happening. Those friends of yours are staying too. Where are they?”

“Dale
has them crouched down behind the light machine guns he just moved,” answered
Lizzy.

Hopefully
they knew how to operate the weapons. I wasn’t certain how much training they’d
received.

“Keep
Xavier on standby. I want him ready to move people or pick up wounded, whatever
might be needed. Give him one rider with a M-16 and grenade launcher. Mary,
call up the Yellowstone people and make sure their military choppers are ready to
go. They are not to take off, not unless I or Captain Briggs gives the order,
or if the raiders do break through. If they get here, in the open spaces around
this hill, have the pilots shoot the living shit out of the bastards.”

What
else? Was there anything I was missing? I turned to the map again.

Lizzy
reappeared a few minutes later with the twins trailing. Both had sniper rifles
slung over their backs and M-16s in their arms. Despite my misgivings, quite a
few of our militia emulated the pair. Add in all the bandoliers, satchels, and
fanny packs we used to carry extra ammunition, and we were capable of operating
without bulky backpacks. When you came right down to it, you couldn’t carry
nearly as much, but the fighting was only a few miles away. We should be able
to resupply.

“Mary, anything
new?”

“I got a
call from another unit requesting help. They said they were being chased. I
think they’re over in this area.”

That was
close, closer than I’d anticipated.

“We’re
heading there first,” I announced. “Tara, Dale, you two stay with me. Lizzy,
I’m depending on you to make sure those assholes do not get their hands on
Mary.”

She gave
me a curt nod. When it came to fighting, I could always depend on Lizzy, and
she would go down before she let Mary get captured, killing her as well if
necessary. Not being taken alive was rule number one when dealing with the
prophet. What they did to prisoners was horrific.

*
* *

“Squad
one is to the north, about four hundred yards out and a hundred ahead of you.
They’ve seen nothing.”

Mary was
getting regular updates from each team’s radio man, including GPS coordinates.
I’d made certain each squad had two of the encrypted satellite uplinks. The
leader was carrying the other.

“Three
and four are south of you,” she continued. “Four hasn’t seen anyone and is
moving ahead like one. Three is even with you and right in the middle with five
hundred yards between them and you and them and four.”

I was
traveling with Harvey’s team. From the little we knew, we had to be getting
close.

“Dad! I
just heard from the Yellowstone guys who are running. They should be passing
between you and squad three any minute now, and they said they are still being
chased.”

“One and
four continue to advance but move in toward the middle,” I ordered. “Two and
three angle in to meet. Let’s see if we can catch them between us.”

Tara
grabbed my shoulder, holding me back so the men and women of Harvey’s team
could move ahead. She was right. Keeping myself in the forefront was a bad
idea. I was supposed to be in charge, and I couldn’t do my job if I was
fighting for my life. It made perfect sense, and I hated it.

The
sound of gunshots was evident a short time later, coming due south from my
position. Harvey’s team began to move faster, spreading out as they went. I
hurried to follow, then paused beside a large tree. The militia members in the
front had dropped to their knees and were shooting. I could just see two men
limping past. The squad medic intercepted them and began treatment. It appeared
both were wounded.

Raiders
came immediately after. Realizing more militia had arrived, they darted from
tree to tree or ducked behind boulders. That made sense, but it was
overshadowed by their clothing. The idiots were wearing their denim jackets. At
least my people were in camouflage, all of which had been supplied by the
military or taken from Ellsworth Air Force Base. It was, being camo after all,
a whole lot less noticeable than the dirty blue the enemy seemed obsessed with.
Maybe the prophet insisted they keep the jackets on all the time, some sort of
reinforcement of their unity or whatever.

“Squad
two is fighting, and squad three just reached the battle and is joining in. You
are less than two hundred yards apart, so be careful. Most of the raiders seem
to be to your west. Kimberly flew over a minute ago and said there are at least
a hundred of them. One and four are both moving in. They can flank in a few
more minutes.”

I loved
getting regular summaries from the pixie, and it meant I didn’t have to try and
make sense of it all myself. There was just too much information to sort
through, especially during a battle.

Tara
unslung her sniper rifle and took up a prone position. Dale followed a moment
later, after setting his M-16 down.

“Keep it
to the west,” I cautioned. I didn’t want the .50 caliber rounds hitting anyone
in squad three on accident. “Focus on heavy weapons and their snipers.”

With the
thick foliage, finding targets would be difficult. The conflict was also more
subdued than I expected, with neither side rattling off bullets willy nilly.
There was too much cover and not enough ready targets. Additionally, my people
had drilled over and over not to waste ammunition. Rapid fire was only to be
utilized if we wanted the enemy to keep their heads down, such as right before
a charge.

The
machine gunner in Harvey’s squad had his weapon assembled and ready. He had yet
to fire, but I could see his backside sticking out of a rather dense shrub.
There was a good chance the raiders would overlook him, at least until he
opened up.

Tara
fired her weapon. I didn’t see anyone drop, but she shifted aim and let go a
second time. Dale held his position, waiting patiently.

“Squad
four just engaged,” said Mary.

I was
tempted to change the setting on my receiver so I could listen in directly, but
I restrained myself. She would keep me informed, and, yes, I realize a proper
military commander would likely do things differently, that they would not even
consider such a convoluted system, but this worked for us. It prevented
distractions. Besides, there were only four squads present, forty people. We
were little more than an oversized platoon. It was sufficient.

“They
are not being attacked by the same group that you are fighting,” she continued.
“The ones hitting them are coming from the other side. Kimberly is coming for
another flyby. I’ll have more information then.”

“Squad
four, try to hold your ground. If necessary, withdraw north to squad three’s
position.” I squatted lower, keeping my eyes on the fight. “Squad one, pick up
the pace and come flank the raiders we’re engaged with. Mary, have one of the
Pave Hawks ready to take off and the others on standby. There’s enough open
space behind us to land. They can drop off any Yellowstone militia that wants
in the fight and pick up the wounded. I will be calling for it soon.”

Harvey’s
squad slipped back about fifty feet. A few of the raiders advanced, coming into
the open. The machine gunner, who had not moved, lined up his targets, and the
belt fed weapon promptly cut down five of the enemy. Four appeared to be dead,
but one was writhing in the dirt, screaming. I ignored him. The machine gun was
then scooped up and carted to another spot, just seconds before some rounds
slammed into the bushes where the fellow had been hiding.

“Squad
three, move closer to squad two,” I ordered. “Where’s squad one?”

“A
hundred fifty yards north of squad two,” answered Mary, a few seconds later. “They
can see muzzle flashes and people moving. They’re about to hit the northern
flank of the raiders.”

I heard
them open fire. It seemed they’d managed to get awfully close without being
detected. Later, I would learn they killed or wounded somewhere around twenty
men without suffering a single casualty in return. Unfortunately, the raiders
had reinforcements too, and they were starting to trickle in.

“Send in
the Pave Hawk. I want it to blast the raiders nearest us. Then have it land
behind me and pick up wounded. Anyone unable to fight is to move toward me as
soon as the chopper starts firing. Wait for it.”

Most of
the injured were lying behind whatever cover was available. The raiders were
too close to risk moving them just yet.

“Four is
in trouble,” warned Mary. She sounded worried.

I
switched the setting on my radio from hearing only Mary to hearing everything.
“Squad four, give me an update.”

“We’re
pinned. Got three dead included Shauna.” She was the squad leader. “They’re all
around us.”

“Mary,
how far are they from me?”

“Only
three hundred yards south and a little to the west, but there’s a creek running
between you. Kimberly said it was pretty deep – she just passed over – and her
spotter thinks there’s about fifty of them around squad four. There’s more
coming your way too.” She paused. “Pave Hawk is almost there.”

The
helicopter roared over our heads a few seconds later. With the enemy wearing
their patch covered jackets and us in fatigues, it wasn’t all that difficult
for the pilot to determine where the battle line was. Brass casings poured from
the sky as the chopper raked the area in front of us. Tara and Dale began to
fire more rapidly as raiders leapt to their feet and tried to flee.

The
enemy pulling back, the pilot swung around and landed behind us. Militia
members immediately began to help the wounded. There were more than I cared to
see, and several appeared unconscious or worse. Six men exited the chopper. I
didn’t recognize them, but they had to be part of the Yellowstone crew. I waved
them over. Maybe it really would be best if we made use of proper uniforms or created
some sort of insignia to help identify everyone.

“Over
there with squad three. You are going to be working with them.” Of the teams
present, they had lost the most. “Mary…” This was into the radio. “…have the
helicopter swing south and fire at the raiders hitting squad four.”