Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 3): Salvation (14 page)

“Harvey!”
His head lifted, and he passed Lizzy as she ran down the hill toward our
makeshift airfield. “Get squads one and four on defense, and put two and three
in the fields around us. Spread them out. The Yellowstone militia just got hit
with what was possibly chlorine gas. Pay attention to which way the wind is
blowing.”

“Will
do.” He likewise hurried off, shouting orders as he went.

“Are we
going to die like them?” asked Mary in a whisper.

“The gas
sinks,” said Carlson. We have the high ground, and there’s a good wind here.
Even if they have a way to get it to us, which I doubt, we’re in about as safe
a position as there is.”

We were
too far away to hear the helicopters engage the enemy, but Mary kept us
informed. She also said that Captain Briggs was trying to pull everyone back.

*
* *

Forty
six more dead. Yellowstone had already lost ten percent of its population and
near the entirety of its core militia, along with the bulk of the more reliable
volunteers. The results of the first day’s fighting was bad enough. This took
it well into the unacceptable range. Most of the regular military was among the
fallen, and Lieutenant Gikas was among the dead. Captain Briggs was the only
officer left.

Of the
wounded, many would likely die. The stuff had been heavily concentrated, aimed
at quickly filling the depression the militia was passing through. Lungs began
to burn, causing a few deaths. The inability to breathe properly or to see,
coupled with the extreme panic this caused, resulted in a complete breakdown of
discipline and order. The men ran, trying to get out of that green mist. Enemy
snipers began to shoot, and it was often their bullets that were the true cause
of death. Rocket launchers were also used, directed at clumps of soldiers and
any wounded who were being treated by medics.

The
helicopters prevented the prophet from taking full advantage of the situation,
and they killed quite a few. One nearly got hit by a rocket, with perhaps a
dozen being fired into the air all told, but it passed by harmlessly. This
barrage did not deter the pilots as it had so many times in the past. They kept
firing their miniguns, and one dipped low, trying to disperse the gas with its
blades. It might have helped. I don’t know.

And
while I’m thinking of the prophet, let me say that we had no idea where he was.
He hadn’t been seen in weeks. We thought he was somewhere in the area, but he
had been steadfastly avoiding the battlefield. Crying shame he hadn’t been
where we could put a bullet in his belly.

Briana
was going to have a hard time with this. She’d had to inform the families who’d
taken shelter with us of all the deaths following that first big fight. This
one would be worse, and it wasn’t the numbers that were so bad but rather the
method in which these brave men and women died.

*
* *

“I
should have seen this coming.”

“Don’t
go there!” Lizzy slammed both meaty hands into my chest, knocking me off my
feet. I landed on a chair. “Not your fucking fault!”

“We knew
they were running to nothing. I should have realized it was a trap. They’ve
done that before. They’ve done it lots of times.”

“Exactly!”
Her eyes were smoldering. “They did it in Salt Lake City. They did it in
Rawlins. We did it to them in Casper. Traps are the normal here. No one else
thought about it. Why should only you have to?”

Mary
nodded her agreement. There were tears in her eyes.

“We were
cocky and arrogant. With our fancy weapons and limited training we were going
to slaughter them, despite the odds, despite their numbers, despite the fact
they won nearly every other fight they were ever in! I should have argued with
the Yellowstone folk, had the military send their bombers and drop incendiaries
over the entire area. That would have put an end to it.”

“And
probably burned down half the state and every cabin in this place!” Lizzy was
not backing down. “We all made the decision to fight them in the forest. Might
not have been a really fucking bright idea, but we can’t change it now.”

“Still, I…”
I struggled to regain control. “What is happening, as best we know?”

“The
wounded are all out of there, those we could get to,” said Carlson when no one
else answered. He had been helping Mary. “Some were left behind.”

“We sure
about that?” I asked.

“In that
mess? It happened. We pulled out fast, and they have control of the ground. The
headcounts will let us know for sure.”

He was
likely correct.

“Where
is Captain Briggs?”

“Don’t
know.” This was from Lizzy.

“Mary,
get on the radio and track him down. I want to know how many militia
Yellowstone has and where they are. Lizzy, get the Pave Hawks in the air. Have
them fly over that area and see if they can spot any stragglers. Tell them to
shoot the raiders if they happen to see any. I don’t care if they waste
ammunition or even hit. Keep them scared.”

I fell
back to brooding while waiting on the others. It turned out Captain Briggs was
only a quarter mile from us, having abandoned his line which could no longer be
defended due to a lack of manpower. He was considering setting up a fire base
that, combined with my position, would prevent the raiders from marching into
Yellowstone.

Of the
Yellowstone militia, which started with just under two hundred people, there
were forty three still capable of fighting. Many of the wounded would recover
in time, but for now they only had two operational platoons. That was it. As for
the Black Hills, we had four squads with thirty nine people, thirty five of us
and the four Yellowstone volunteers. There was also myself, Lizzy, the twins,
and Mary. That took us to forty four fighters. Carlson wasn’t in any condition
to contribute, and he was better used blowing things up anyway, if we ever got
the opportunity to do so. Ignoring the pilots, we had eighty seven combat ready.
That was all.

We had
no clue how many raiders were still alive. They had been mauled. That was a
certainty, but it was unclear what their initial numbers might have been or how
many we had purged from this existence. I had no doubt that they still
outnumbered us, but it couldn’t be by too large a margin. Between what Captain
Briggs killed on his march and the Pave Hawks adding to the slaughter, they had
to be falling apart.

“Dad?”

“What is
it?”

“The
pilots called in. The raiders seem to have left the area where the gas attack
was.”

“They
see something?”

It was
bad. I know it was bad. It was going to be bad. This was a bad day all around.

“The
bodies of our guys, the ones we didn’t get out, they, um…”

I rose
and put my hands on her narrow shoulders. “What did they do?”

“They
were stripped naked and impaled, all of them, and it was in a clearing where
the helicopters could see. Everyone’s dead. Also…” She swallowed. “…some might
have been alive when they did it. They don’t know for certain, but a few of
the…”

“Those
fucking bastards!” Lizzy grabbed a chair and sent it spinning into the nearest
tree. “Did they shoot any?”

Mary
shook her head. “They were all gone. Our guys just saw the bodies. One of the
pilots wants to know what they should do?”

“Tell
them to survey the area several miles out as best they can. Get Kimberly and
that fancy heat sensing stuff of hers in the air too, if she isn’t already. If
they see anything move, blast it. Just make sure they are back and refueled
before dark. Go ahead and let Captain Briggs know too, if he doesn’t already.”

“We need
to cut those boys down,” said Carlson.

“They
stay where they are. We’ll get them – I swear to God and all the saints and
angels in Heaven that we will – but the odds of it being another trap are just too
much. The local militia is wrecked and demoralized. We’re not much better. One
more disaster, and the people are going to shatter.”

“We can
always pull back to the Black Hills,” offered Mary.

“It
would be more defensible,” agreed Lizzy. “They won’t be able to hide from our
helicopters and planes, not like they do here. It’s all open around us, and we
can fit all the Yellowstone folk there easy enough.”

“Do you
think they would pursue?” I asked. “The prophet knows what will happen if he
goes into the open. They wouldn’t have a chance. No, those… They would just
scatter again, and we would have a repeat a few years from now when they came
back looking to get even. We can’t keep doing this. It has to end.”

Interlude – Briana’s Story

“What’s
going on?”

“Just
received a call from Melody down on the southern edge,” replied Harlan. “More
raiders were spotted. They haven’t come close like the last time, but they are
definitely checking out our border defenses. They moved out of her view,
heading east.”

Placing
Asher on the floor, Briana withdrew one of his toys from a pocket. “Here you
go.”

He
gleefully grabbed the plastic figure. “Thank you, Mommy.”

“Get one
of the planes over there to take a look. Maybe they can find out more.”

“Already
done, per your prior instructions.” He was grinning.

“Then,
Harlan dear,” began Briana, “why did the messenger tell me to hurry up and get
right over here. You might be inside the citadel wall, and not all that far
away, but it’s still a pain to drop everything.”

He
shrugged. “I said to let you know we saw some raiders. I never said you had to
come yourself. As it is, I don’t have much information yet.” He paused. “Is
that why you brought the baby?”

“Not
baby,” stated Asher stubbornly. “Big boy.”

“That’s
right,” cooed Briana, patting him on the head affectionately. She looked at
Harlan. “You have to watch what you say. Little ones pay way more attention
than people think. And, you are so lucky it isn’t bath time yet, or I really
would be upset.”

“Maybe
you should get a live in housekeeper,” he suggested, “at least while Jacob and
Mary are away.”

“The
thought has occurred to me. You know, I’ve gotten a bit spoiled having Jacob
around. He’s always ready to play with Asher or do any of the baby chores, and
Mary’s good for babysitting pretty much anytime.”

“You
could always ask Steph,” he suggested.

“Please.”

The
redhead remained unmarried and unattached. Nonetheless, Steph had a brood of
adopted children to look after, the first being Johnny who had been with us
from almost the very start. As far as Briana was concerned, she was the ideal
mother, never shirking her duties and always spending plenty of time with the
kids. When she managed to sleep was unclear, as was how Steph maintained her
sanity. Still, the woman seemed happy with her life.

“Yeah,”
agreed Harlan. “Steph might be a little busy. Talk to her though. I bet she
knows someone who could help out until Jacob gets back, if the regular ones
aren’t enough. Plenty of people have the time, now that all the crops are
planted.”

“Maybe.
Anyway, where is our plane?” asked Briana, changing the subject back to the
matter at hand.

He
connected with the pilot in short order and referenced the map tacked to the
wall beside him. “Coming up on the area in less than ten minutes.”

“Hopefully
they’ll see something.”

The
older man didn’t comment. The raiders had either been very lucky, or they were
waiting for the planes to fly over before moving. Briana could only get so many
in the sky at once, and they tended to travel in large circles in order to see
as much as possible. Since they rarely deviated from this pattern, there was a
brief period after they passed when the raiders, or anyone else, could act with
impunity. It was less than ideal.

In this
case, the raiders either returned to their hiding place or found some other
cover. When the Cessna passed overhead, there was nothing to see. The pilot
hung around the general area for over an hour before heading back to refuel,
but there was no sign of any breathers. A handful of zombies were spotted,
however, stumbling along a farm road miles off.

*
* *

It was
later that same night, shortly after midnight, when my wife learned what the
raiders had been doing.

“For
goodness sake… Renee, what do you want?” Briana stifled a yawn. “And what time
is it?”

“There
are zombies moving straight toward us, several thousand.”

“Thousands?”
My sweetie headed back to the bedroom, the commander of our militia in the
Black Hills following close behind. “Where are they?”

“Melody
just reported in. They’re heading right for her. She’s up high and well hidden,
so she doesn’t plan on moving. They shouldn’t notice her or even come all that
close.”

The
nightgown was tossed, and Briana removed a pair of jeans and a lightweight
sweat shirt from the dresser.

“What is
she doing on watch? Melody was there this morning, wasn’t she?”

“She
traded part of her shift with Christia. She was due to be replaced in about a
half hour.”

“Bad
enough they’re sitting there doing nothing for twelve hours at a time.” Briana
shook her head. “As long as they aren’t falling asleep, I guess it’s okay.”

“The
zombies should turn away from the barriers,” continued Renee. “They always have
before, but it is a big enough group that you need to know. I’m about to head
down there myself to take a look. Ronnie is going to fly me.”

“He’s
awake?” asked Briana.

“Should
be. I sent Tony to get him, and I got Tony heading this way to keep you
updated. The two of us have satellite uplinks. I’d give them to the lookouts,
but we only have so many and they all seem to be in Yellowstone at the moment.”

“Well,
it’s not like… Hey! Are you making some sort of derogatory comment about my
husband?”

Renee
smirked. “Me?”

Briana
began to glower, which did nothing to lessen the other woman’s amusement.

“Be sure
to pump Ronnie full of coffee,” she said, giving up on the dirty looks,
“especially if he’s going to be flying in the dark.”

“Will
do.”

*
* *

“What do
you mean the barricade is gone? How can it be gone?”

Tony had
announced that bit of news as he entered the house. Briana was waiting in the
living room, sitting beside a table upon which rested a large topographical map
of the area. The town and all the secondary valleys and outposts were clearly
marked, as were the outer walls and obstructions.

“Melody
just told us. The zombies are following the raiders. They were keeping very,
very close to the things, no more than fifty or sixty feet ahead, usually less.
The bastards didn’t break away until the last moment when they drove up and set
some bombs with real short fuses. Those went off before we realized what they were
doing. Right now, the wall and screens that blocked US-385 are history.”

Briana
began to mutter under her breath. “How many are inside?” she asked, a few
seconds later.

“The
raiders rode their bikes through the entrance they made with the zombies
following. Pretty much the entire horde, moving north.”

“Are
they coming here?”

“No
idea,” admitted Tony. “I sent someone to the valley wall to alert them to the
threat, and I let Renee know what was happening too, in case she hadn’t heard.
Want me to go ahead and sound a general alarm?”

“No.”
Briana began to tug on her hair. “It won’t do any good to wake everyone up, not
yet anyway. If Harlan’s not currently in the radio room, find him, and have a
couple of the teenagers wait outside in case we need them to take messages back
and forth or for whatever.”

*
* *

The next
few hours were eerily quiet. The zombies poured into our home unopposed, tromping
along the highway in the darkness, which was just as well since we had next to
nothing in that general area. The raiders were a bigger concern. No one knew
how many were present or where they might be. Renee ended up sitting atop a
ridge with several militia members and volunteers impatiently waiting for the
sun to rise. It was a dark night with no moon and scattered cloud cover. She
couldn’t see anything and wasn’t about to risk running into a horde of monsters
under those conditions.

The sun
did peek over the horizon eventually, as it must, and events began to speed up.
To start with, the zombies had separated into two groups. One was milling about
the town of Custer. Those were of no immediate concern. The town had long ago
been stripped of anything valuable. A few items, such as extra vehicles, were
stored there, but nothing that might be needed in the short term. Those vermin
would be eradicated later.

Far more
pressing was the second band of the shambling dead. These had drifted along a
back road toward one of the valleys used to raise livestock, guided by a single
raider. That news came in too late for Renee or anyone else to react, and the
butcher managed to get close to the low lying wall and drop another explosive
device next to it. A breach was formed, and he shot off at an angle. Some of
the zombies followed the raider, but most poured into the valley drawn by the
sight and sound of the inhabitants rushing to see what happened.

The
struggle lasted four minutes, maybe less. There were far too many of the dead,
and the nineteen people residing there, along with two guests who had been
spending the night, could never hope to hold them off on their own. They
quickly pulled back, passing the cabins where they lived in favor of one of the
steeper hills. Rudy, the settlement’s resident expert rock climber, was one of
those visiting – he had planned on doing some climbing the following day with a
friend – and he was instrumental in getting everyone to safety.

Spotting
a suitable ledge, he screamed for the others to follow. Finding the easiest
route took only moments, and Rudy quickly got the folk twenty five feet up the
cliff face, albeit with some difficulty. The ledge was long and in most places
six or seven feet wide. Everyone could fit. There was even ample room to lie
down. The zombies tried to follow of course, but the uncoordinated, awkward
things could barely manage to get up a ladder. They had no chance of scrambling
up a mountainside.

The
livestock, as was typical, shied away from the dead. They moved to the far side
of the valley and milled about, ignored by the shamblers. Eventually, a few
began to graze, but the animals never relaxed, not while so close to creatures
they understood to be wrong.

“Renee
is moving in with most of the active militia,” said Tony. “She’s going to get
to the people who are trapped.”

“Any
chance of reaching them by helicopter?” asked Briana.

Asher
was in the kitchen eating some waffles and watching a Disney DVD, and she suddenly
found herself in wholehearted agreement with Harlan. Having the boy around had
never been an issue before, but this was the first time Jacob and Mary, not to
mention Lizzy and the twins, had been absent for a prolonged period. It was so
easy to hand Asher off to one of them if she needed to do anything. Briana truly
had become spoiled. Even before they relocated to the Black Hills, during the
time Jacob was off fighting in Wyoming, there had been no problems. Everything
was so cramped back at the settlement in the Nebraska National Forest that no
one thought twice about having children underfoot. Also, Asher had been a
newborn and didn’t do much other than sleep, burp, and make dirty diapers.

“Not
enough room for Ronnie or any of the others to get close. Our Pave Hawk could
lower a harness and pull them up one by one, but that would take time, and the
crew hasn’t practiced it yet. It might be more dangerous than just leaving them
there for the time being. The wind is picking up too.”

“Fine.
Keep the chopper ready in case we do need to collect them.” Briana glanced at
her map. “What about Renee? What else has she done?”

“She has
been killing every zombie they come across. Her plan is to clear that valley or
at least pull the things away from the ledge so our people can get out.” Tony
paused and put a hand against the earpiece he was wearing. “Raiders just
attacked. Four of them from atop a hill. Renee’s shooting back.”

*
* *

“Casualty
count?”

After
news of what was happening became common knowledge, Steph appeared with Laura
at her side. They’d taken Asher off Briana’s hands, much to her relief, so he
could play with some of the other children. Steph also forced Briana into the
washroom so she could get cleaned up while relaying any messages from Tony who remained
in the living room. Briana was not at all pleased at being told what to do.
After all, she was the boss. Personally, I can relate. I’m often forced to do
all sorts of things I rather avoid.

In this
particular instance, Steph’s primary concern was that Briana might get sick. With
our system of scavenging just about everything while producing next to nothing
and our doctors forced to use expired medication, or if very lucky one of the
handful of poorly manufactured drugs from Hawaii, sanitation and preventive care
are considered extremely important. Briana was pregnant and had barely slept
the night before, both risk factors. Steph completed the abuse by forcing my
wife to park herself in a chair, accompanied by a direct order to not pace back
and forth.