Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 3): Salvation (16 page)

She
nodded and scurried off.

“What’s
wrong?” asked Mary. “They aren’t being pushed back. We have to have them
outgunned. It sounds like it.”

My
daughter and the twins were clumped around me. As before, I was right behind
Harvey’s squad, in the general center of things.

“They
aren’t advancing either.” I dropped to a crouch. “Come on. I need to see what’s
happening.”

Tara and
Dale were quick to take the lead, and I followed their route, moving between
intermittent pieces of cover. Mary was beside me, her Uzi held tightly in both
hands. It was only twenty or thirty yards to where members of squad two were
lying prone, and I slid into a thicket so I could see what was going on,
hopefully without the enemy spotting me in return. Yes, I know we make near
constant use of brambles, undergrowth, and any other thick vegetation we find,
but the tactic really does work, even if removing the splinters and burrs later
is a nuisance.

“The
ones on the right are falling back,” I observed, “but not by much. I think
their actual facility or whatever is more to the left near squad one. Mary, go
tell squad three to swing around and move forward. We’re facing the wrong
direction.”

As with
Lizzy, she kept low to the ground and made certain a good number of trees remained
between her and the mass of bullets. The raiders seemed to be in more of a
panic than usual. They were shooting in our general direction, often neglecting
to take aim. That was not like them.

The
twins unslung their sniper rifles, separated so they were no longer next to me,
and began picking off targets. I know I’ve said it time and time again, but
those two are spectacular shots. They don’t hesitate. They do not panic. Tara
and Dale are as close to killing machines as a person can get, and they proved
this once more. With seven raiders cut down in a matter of seconds, and the
others not seeming to realize this came from snipers instead of the militia
firing their M-16s, the enemy’s ranks began to waver.

Squad
three suddenly rushed forward. Seeing this, Harvey shifted his men as well. The
line moved, putting all our guns against the area the raiders seemed so concerned
about protecting. They apparently realized their danger because the assholes
pulled back.

“Advance!”
I shouted.

No one
on squad one or three could have heard me, but Harvey did. He glanced back to
ensure I was the one yelling before he was up and running forward. I really
should have used the radio to give the order, and I followed up in that manner.

“Dad!”
Mary returned and fell into step beside me once more. “No one over in squad three
is hurt.”

That was
good to know. I hated losing people. I hated having them get hurt too.

“Go
check with Lizzy and see what the status over there is.”

As she
darted off, we broke into one of the rare clearings that speckled this area of
the forest. My militia stopped immediately, remaining within the tree line and
the scant protection and cover it provided. The raiders were in full retreat.
They crossed the eighty or so feet to the opposite wood and dove behind some
boulders. The way they moved led me to believe there were no mines or obstacles
– they had fled in a spread out mass, seemingly without any sort of plan.

I
brought my binoculars up and began to scan the horizon. To their rear was a
hill. On either side, among the trees, were a series of campfires. They weren’t
burning but did consist of carefully constructed circles of rock. A few chairs
and folding tables stood nearby. I saw no one, but there was some sort of movement
on the slope.

“Tara,
Dale, they may have people up high. See if you can get them.”

Both
Mary and Lizzy returned shortly after. Lizzy was bleeding, with my daughter
screaming that she needed to hold still so she could get a bandage on her.

“Cut it
out already! It’s just a graze. I’ve had them before.”

“Lizzy,
let Mary tape it up and tell me what’s going on.”

Grumbling,
my friend allowed the sixteen year old to cut away part of her sleeve with a
boot knife and slap a thick gauze pad on the outer edge of her shoulder.

“You got
some holes in your armor,” I pointed out.

Lizzy
glanced down. “Fucking good thing this stuff is sturdy. All that happened to me
was getting knocked on my ass. I think I walked right into it.”

If not
for the military issue body armor and helmets everyone wore, our earlier losses
would have undoubtedly been worse.

“Stop
moving!” shrieked Mary.

She
relented, but not without some disgruntled muttering.

“How’s
squad one?” I asked.

“Two
down, nothing critical, but Carly might have a concussion.”

“Some
went into a cave,” announced Dale.

“What
cave?” I was looking through the binoculars again.

“Right
of the rocks.”

The
entrance was behind the rock outcropping the raiders were using for cover,
largely hidden from view. There was no way to tell how far back it went or if
it opened up elsewhere.

“If they
were sheltering inside, it might explain why Kimberly and the others so rarely
saw people here. This could be a permanent base or a supply drop.”

“I don’t
want to charge that,” said Mary. She’d finished with Lizzy.

More
raiders came outside, joining those shooting at us, and these were carrying
heavy machine guns.

“Mary,
radio… No. Go tell squad three to move to the side and back so they have more
cover. Lizzy, do the same with squad one. Both of you take a look and let me
know what you see. I’ll be on the radio calling in the Cobra.”

Harvey
was already pulling back. It looked like the others were doing the same, but I
definitely wanted them moved so we had better cover.

“I got
squad one,” shouted Mary, already on her feet.

“What?”
demanded Lizzy.

“You can
have Tim ask you ten times if you’re okay,” came the faint reply.

“That
fucking boy…” Lizzy was also moving.

Dale
struck one of the machine gunners, but another directed his fire at us. I
rolled to the side and tumbled down a gentle slope as dirt kicked up around me.
That had been close, but I was completely out of sight now. It turned out the
twins had done the same, although they were crawling to the side in order to
get back into the fight. Enough of this shit. I got on the radio and called for
the last of our secret weapons, the Cobra.

While
waiting for it to arrive, we kept up a steady rhythm. There was no attempt to
advance into the open – charging machine guns is pretty damn stupid – and I
didn’t try to circle around, aside from having the outer squads spread out even
more. Even with this level of caution, the casualties were rising. Several more
were injured, one woman with shrapnel slicing across her eyes. Fucking grenade
launchers. She would never regain her sight. Two others were killed. Yeah,
there was no way I was ordering anyone to charge that position. I couldn’t even
evacuate the injured. The only nearby place to land a helicopter was directly
in front of us.

“It’s
almost here,” said Mary. “I got the pilot on the line.”

“Tell
him to swoop in and blast the raiders in those rocks and make sure he knows
they have heavy weapons. He needs to do it fast.”

The
information was relayed, and when the Cobra shot over our heads, a few feet
above the trees, it opened fire. 70mm rockets struck the raiders. The bastards
never had a chance. Their machine guns, along with the bodies manning them,
were torn apart or flung aside. One or two managed to make it into the cave. A
few others on the outer edges ran for the trees. The gatling gun opened up
next, finishing off anyone still moving and sending several hundred rounds
directly into the cave entrance. The pilot then pulled up, taking the
helicopter away and to the side.

“Wow,”
said Mary. “That was way better than the Pave Hawks.”

No
arguing with her on that count.

“And we
have two of them at home.” She turned to me. “Don’t you think we really should
have sent them here?”

“Probably,”
I answered, “but the captain never argued when I said I wanted to hold them
back as reserves or a surprise.”

“That’s because
we are sitting on most of their women and brats, and they want to make sure we
can protect them,” said Lizzy. “But, what are we doing about that cave? I don’t
know how we can inside without losing a whole lot of people.”

“We
don’t either,” said Tara.

Dale
nodded his agreement.

“Mary,
ask the pilot if he has missiles ready to fire.”

“Sure does,”
she replied, a few seconds later, “four of them.”

“In that
case, it’s time to use them.”

The
Cobra dipped back down into the meadow, drifting left as the pilot maneuvered
the craft so it had a clear shot at the entrance. All four TOW Missiles were
fired in rapid succession. The ground shook, and the hillside began to the
shift. First it was a few rocks, some boulders. Then the entire thing
collapsed. When the dust cleared, the cave was gone.

*
* *

“How
many do you think were in there?” asked Harvey.

Following
the destruction, he and the other squad leaders had joined us for a quick
meeting.

“Mary,
get Xavier over here to pick up the wounded. Have him drop off more ammo too.”

“It
might be someone else. He’s been running stuff to Captain Briggs.”

“No idea,
Harvey.” I wasn’t particular as to which pilot came to carry my people to the
hospital. All that mattered was that they got there fast. “We’ll find out later
when we start digging.”

“Fucking…”
Lizzy cut herself off, glowering at no one in particular.

“Unless
we get pushed out of here, we need to know,” I explained. “If it’s a few, then
we have to worry about more of them being around. If it’s a lot, this might be
coming to an end, finally.”

“It’s
quiet now,” said Harvey. “The ones we missed have run off, and I don’t think
they’re coming back. We might have the time.”

With no
dissent, I ordered the area secured. Several sharpshooters placed themselves on
the hill, and others formed a tight perimeter. The meadow provided a solid
landing zone for our choppers, and numerous trips were quickly made, shuttling
people and gear back and forth. I got in touch with Captain Briggs, asking if
he needed us to head that way. The answer was no. He had things well in hand
and was every bit as curious about this cave as I.

*
* *

It was
an hour before sunset when the captain decided it was indeed over. The last of
the raiders facing him had reached a stash of dirt bikes and other vehicles,
loaded up, and fled west. Briggs made no attempt to follow. A few minutes later,
I got attacked. That’s right, there is always something bad to color the good.
Well, it really wasn’t all that bad.

Somewhere
between thirty and forty tried to reach the cave. I wasn’t certain if they knew
it was destroyed or not, and my people spotted them first. There was a brief
firefight, with our snipers used to full effect. Most of the enemy turned tail
and ran. Nine were killed. We suffered two more wounded ourselves, nothing
dire, and these got evacuated out. The raiders were very interested in whatever
was inside. My desire to learn what it contained was growing.

*
* *

“Anything
from Kimberly?” I asked.

Mary
shook her head. “The bad guys are still in Idaho, up in the mountains. She sees
a few from time to time – so do the others – but they are all spread out doing
something. I have no idea how many there are.”

“They’re
out of the fight,” I decided. “They can’t have very many left. The prophet, if
he’s still alive, can’t hope to beat us now, at least not at this moment in
time. How goes the work?

“Squad
three’s taking their turn,” said Mary. “I can see Tim digging, all dirty and
sweaty.” She seemed quite satisfied.

“How
close are they getting?”

“No
idea.” Lizzy leaned back in her chair. “When I finished my last shift, we were
clearing rubble. There’s a lot of that. Going faster now, than the top work
did.”

“That
was a pain,” I conceded, “but having another rock slide would suck.”

Three
days and counting. Hopefully it wouldn’t take much longer. I was never one for
sitting around doing nothing. Still, I was able to use the excuse of being in
charge to avoid having to dig myself. Actually, it wasn’t an excuse. I was busy
with paperwork. Even in the zombie apocalypse there is paperwork. That’s how
you know the world truly is screwed. The good goes away, and everything that’s
exceptionally evil remains.

“Hey,”
continued Lizzy. “We got some of them coming this way. Maybe they finally found
something.”