Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 3): Salvation (5 page)

“Not
relevant. We’re all used to hiking through the wilderness, so we don’t need the
trails, best if we don’t draw attention to them in the first place. I really think
we should keep the settlements out of the fight, if at all possible. If we end
up in a stalemate or the prior peace somehow continues, then the people you
sent our way are going to return. They will be a whole lot safer and all around
better off if the raiders don’t know where they are living, and the odds they
will find out go up big time if we are going back and forth all the time for
gear or supplies. And, like I said, they are too far away from where we intend
on doing the fighting to make going back and forth feasible. I suppose we could
let the raiders come closer before…”

“Best to
fight on their ground,” interrupted Briggs. “We have more room to maneuver and
temporarily withdraw, should that prove necessary or beneficial. And, just to
be perfectly clear, we are not going to receive any support from outside unless
the situation becomes dire. The last transmission I received said there is substantial
movement of the living in parts of Asia and Europe previously believed lost.
They might have been surviving in bunkers or hardened facilities and just now
surfaced. They are also likely responsible or somehow involved with the attacks
there. Because the government lacks the resources to operate on multiple
fronts, the fight around Yellowstone is being left to the locals.”

“Jacob.”
He looked at me. “You are highly skilled at organization and defense.”

This was
true. It was a result of being mildly obsessive-compulsive and possessing a
deep rooted disdain for chaos.

“You
will have command of the forward base, or bases as it might be, utilizing the
militia from the Black Hills. We’ll go ahead and establish those, leaving the
settlements as a fall back point. Setting them up will be your first task. The
Yellowstone forces, which are more familiar with the area, will take up a
position several miles in advance of you. They are going to act as a screen
while we determine what the enemy is planning. That will also allow Jacob’s men
to act as reserves.”

Mary
shifted uncomfortably, but I’d already been informed that my team would be
secondary. While Briggs was a lot younger than me, and nowhere as charming, the
man had years of combat experience in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He was better
suited for leading the offensive, even if my daughter preferred I do it.

“Can’t
see them with the planes, not where they are supposed to be anyway.” That was
Kimberly, one of the senior pilots in Yellowstone. “I don’t know how much we
can help with telling you what they’re doing, other than about their scouts who
are running around in the open areas.”

“You
won’t have any trouble once we get the new heat sensing equipment in place.”

Technology
is a wonderful thing.

“It came
in the last air drop,” continued the captain, “and it will be installed within
a few days. You’ll also receive instructions and training on the proper use.”

I raised
a hand, but didn’t wait to be acknowledged. “I’m going to need a few who’ve
been living here to show my guys around. You’re right that we don’t know the
area as well as the locals, and that’s something we need to change.”

“Shouldn’t
be a problem. Now, rules of engagement…”

“We kill
them,” declared Mary. “No prisoners.”

Briggs
frowned. “There are rules…”

“None of
which apply,” I said, also interrupting. “The law in the Black Hills is that
anyone wearing one of those jackets is to be shot on sight, and that policy
will be enforced by everyone I bring over. There will be no half measures.”

The
raiders consistently wore heavy denim with distinctive patches sewn on the
back. Only the prophet stood out, and that was because he favored black leather.

“They
won’t surrender,” I added. “Not a one has ever given up, that we know of. They
don’t leave any of their victims alive either. We are talking about a very
single minded, fanatical group. The raiders will run away if they’re losing,
but that’s the best we can hope for.”

There
were plenty of nods at this.

“And we
have nowhere to put them if they did surrender,” I finished.

“Valid
concerns,” conceded the captain. “But if the opportunity arises, take
prisoners. They may provide useful information.”

Mary
looked as if she was going to say something, but I squeezed her arm. Torturing
a few to make them talk was something to consider, and by torture I mean just
that. Briggs would likely disagree with my methods, but he didn’t have to know.
Yes, taking prisoners might be acceptable.

The
group meeting lasted only a few more minutes. It had been arranged to discuss
general strategy so the residents of Yellowstone knew and understood that
concrete actions were being taken to keep them safe and to allow for any input
or ideas. The actual planning would be done behind the scenes.

*
* *

“Is
there a reason the girl is here?”

“I’ll
have you know that I am not a girl,” snapped Mary.

“Yes,
you are,” said Dale.

Tara
nodded.

“You are,
Mary.” I looked her up and down. “It’s pretty obvious.”

“You’re
all being mean.” She sounded quite annoyed. “That’s not what I meant, and you
know it.”

The
twins looked at each other, then at her. I don’t think they were grasping her
point, which did nothing to improve her mood.

“Captain,
Mary is basically an assistant. She keeps notes, writes out orders for me, relays
instructions, that sort of thing. Since she is in the middle of everything, she
gets to stay. Saves me the trouble of telling her later.”

He
nodded slowly and glanced at the twins before giving the slightest of shrugs.
The pair really should not have been present, but Briana told them to never let
me out of their sight. The siblings, loyal to the core, would not permit me to countermand
my wife.

“My own
XO, Lieutenant Gikas.” He gestured at the young man standing to his left. “Now
to business. This flat stretch provides easy access both to the park as a whole
and to the portion of Idaho where the raiders are lurking.”

I
glanced at the large topographical map lying atop the table. “You can get
through in other places, a few of which have roads.”

“Yes,
but those would result in a longer route to the Yellowstone settlements and are
easier to obstruct or guard.”

“So, we
put a forward base in this centrally located and harder to defend spot. Lacking
any better options, they will likely decide to come right for us. Makes sense.”
I paused. “We should go ahead and fortify the airstrips your planes have been
using, maybe spread them out more too. The ones in the Black Hills are far
enough out of the way that I’m not worried about them getting attacked.”

“That’s
being worked on already,” remarked Briggs. “We want the birds close enough to
provide support. Unfortunately, there aren’t that many runways or suitable
stretches of road available.”

“I’ll
send in more fuel too, by truck. That’ll come through the northern route. I
know you’ve been running short, and the tanks at Ellsworth and around Rapid
City are still full.”

The
lieutenant made some notes. “How many pilots can you provide?”

I
thought about that for a few seconds.

“Ronnie
– that’s our senior helicopter guy – stays at home, along with most of our other
helicopter pilots. We use them to move people and gear between the valleys and
to respond to any threats or emergencies. I also want them to keep practicing
with the Cobras and Pave Hawks. I will bring Xavier though. He’s licensed for
both fixed-wing and choppers. The man can stay with me at the forward base.
I’ll have him bring a helicopter too, regular kind, so you don’t have to worry
about me commandeering one of yours. Actually, he’s gonna be the only pilot.
The others will take over the patrols of Wyoming and surrounding area.”

“That
would free up all the Yellowstone people,” said Briggs, “but we may need them
at some point.”

I
shrugged. “Consider them reserves. They can be here in a few hours if need be.”

“We will
require the attack helicopters too,” commented Gikas.

“Not
yet,” I said, slowly. “With the prophet keeping his people in the woods, it’s
hard enough to make use of the civilian craft. There’s no reason to let him
know what we have or how many, and if they are necessary, they too can be in
Yellowstone in just a few hours.”

“Yeah,
Lieutenant, no trying to steal our helicopters.” Mary gave him a practiced
glare, one she learned from Lizzy.

“I’ll
set up a large fuel dump at the airstrip in Montana where our pilots sometimes
meet. We can pick a few other spots too. If they can refuel in several places,
the effective range will go way up, and we can place them even closer to cut
down on response time.”

“We can
decide on the locations later,” said the captain. “What about your militia?”

“I’ll go
back and fetch them after we settle on where I’m building the base, in case I
need to bring any particular supplies. The Black Hills aren’t completely
fortified yet, so I have to leave a fair number behind to oversee the work.”

“And
keep zombies out,” added Mary.

“That as
well.” I tried not to sigh. “We’re seeing more each day. So far it’s been
manageable, and I’m not overly worried. They can’t break into our valley, but I
want them kept out of the Black Hills altogether so we’re free to move about.
Anyway, I’m going to bring around seventy people, and, for the most part, these
will be among the best I have. A few of the most experienced have to be left behind,
along with the soldiers you assigned us way back when. That should be
sufficient to keep our home safe. Worse case, they can hold the line while we
all fall back to the Black Hills, should Yellowstone be overrun.”

“I don’t
see that happening,” argued Captain Briggs.

“You’re
probably right, but Salt Lake City and the Ranching Collective thought the same
too, once upon a time.”

“And
they had to run away,” concluded Mary. “We know. We were there, and we ran away
with them, as fast as our legs could carry us.”

“You
aren’t outgunned this time,” said the lieutenant. “Before, you were fighting
with rifles and pistols with next to no heavy weapons. That has been remedied.”

“We will
be outnumbered though,” I pointed out, “and you can’t say what weapons they
might have found in the meantime, might be as good as what we got.”

Neither
soldier tried to deny this.

I rubbed
my eyes with one hand. My allergies had been bothering me, and being in the
forest was not helping. “I’ll have seventy people, all of whom know what they
are doing. Each will have a M-16, some with attached grenade launchers. I’ll
bring in several heavy machine guns too. The twins here will head up my sniper
team. In addition to the M-16s, everyone will have a sniper rifle as well.”

“We like
to shoot people when they aren’t looking,” explained Mary. “We practice that way
more than normal fighting.”

“There
are times when it pays to be sneaky,” admitted the captain.

“In some
of the battles we had, way back when, we found that a handful of snipers hiding
in the rear or off to the side really helped.” Personally, I love snipers.
“Since it worked so well, we made sure everyone in the militia was taught to
shoot that way. Not everyone can stare through a scope and watch as their
bullet kills another person…”

“Most
can’t.” Mary rolled her eyes. “Weenies.”

“It
works against zombies too, and most can drop them without it causing too much
mental anguish. The people I’m bringing will be ones I know or think can kill
real people, if they have to, but a lot have never been in this sort of fight
before.”

“It’s
the best we can do,” said the captain. “How long do you think it will take to
get them organized and over here?”

I leaned
up against the wall. “If you need them right away, I can spend a day driving
home, a day getting sorted, and be back the following afternoon. If you prefer,
I can take a little longer and gather up the aviation fuel and anything else
you may need and cart it over all at once. We could set up the refueling
stations on the way as well, if there’s time.”

“A week
or two shouldn’t matter. With snow on the ground, here and there, and the
raiders still gathering their forces, I think it’ll be a while before they move.
Spend tomorrow getting a feel for the area where I want the forward camp
constructed. Then, you can head back.”

*
* *

The spot
in question was near the western edge of the park, close to where it brushed up
against the Targhee National Forest. While the raiders couldn’t simply drive
into the heart of Yellowstone from that location – there were no roads – they
could head either north or south to get around us, but I doubted they would do so.
The prophet was not an idiot, and he had to know, or suspect, that we’d secure any
secondary routes. In fact, we already had sentries keeping watch, and the
bridges and roads were mined. We could destroy them whenever we chose, along
with anyone unfortunate enough to be using them at the time.