Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 3): Salvation (9 page)

Alan
slithered off.

“They do
have reinforcements coming!” exclaimed Steph. She had been staring through her
binoculars, scanning the horizon. “At least ten, maybe more. They’re a ways off
but moving fast.”

While
the others present were technically farmers and ranchers, each had been raised
with a gun in his hands and knew exactly what he was doing. Meanwhile, Alan
wormed his way close enough to take a shot. He took one man in the thigh. That
fellow lost his balance and tumbled down the slope. The other made a break for
it. Neither lasted more than a second and a half before the snipers brought an
end to them.

“Make
that thirteen more,” clarified Steph. “Definitely thirteen. They’ve slowed and
are spreading out.”

The
raiders had formed up abreast to one another with ten to fifteen feet between motorcycles.
They continued their approach but suddenly came to a stop a good seven hundred
yards from the tiny stone wall. Several began to scan the area with their own
binoculars.

“Come
on,” snarled Renee. “Just a little closer. That’s all I ask.”

The gang
members apparently decided not to risk it. They turned around and rode off.

Steph got
to her feet and brushed the dirt from her blouse and jeans. “They know where we
are now, and they’re going to tell the others.”

“They
know someone is here,” corrected Renee. “They can’t know it’s us, not yet
anyway. And it’s not like we are the only group of survivors left.”

*
* *

“What do
you all think?” asked Briana.

She was
meeting with Marcus, Steph, and Renee in the citadel’s large courtyard. Asher
had already been put to bed for the night and was being watched by one of the
older ladies in the community, a popular and trusted babysitter.

“They
will come for us,” said Marcus. “They always do. It’s only a question of when.”

“They
can’t know how many are here or where we are exactly,” replied Briana. “For all
they know, it was just a traveler on his way somewhere else who shot their
guys.” She held up a hand to forestall the protests. “I know they’ll assume
someone is living here full time, or at least that the odds are good enough to
merit some further investigation. But, it’s still speculation and guesses. On
the other hand, they know for certain that people are in Yellowstone. They have
to or they wouldn’t be massing for an invasion. The raiders are going to attack
them first and then move on to us, just like they did with Salt Lake City
before going after Wyoming.”

“Far too
risky to assume that’ll be the case,” argued Renee. “If they have a good sized
group anywhere nearby, they may attack. There were always lots of them, enough
for two fronts, especially if they think we are only a small group, say the
typical twenty or thirty people, hiding out in the mountains. At the very
least, I expect them to try to scout the area.”

“Our own
planes haven’t spotted them,” added Briana. “They were off doing checks
elsewhere, and by the time they were called back, the raiders had vanished. I
had them circle around to the opposite side before landing, so we wouldn’t give
away the location of the airstrip. Hopefully that’ll keep them from thinking
we’re connected to Yellowstone too. They are bound to put the dots together
eventually, but there’s not much more we can do to prevent it, aside from
grounding the planes.”

“That
would be worse,” said Steph.

“Probably
holed up in a house or building somewhere,” grumbled Marcus. “Want me to get
some people together and go looking? Not that many structures around here which
would serve. We might be able to find the bastards, kill the entire lot.”

Briana
hesitated. “No, I don’t want anyone going out. Odds are too high they would
ambush you, being rather good at it.”

There
were nods of agreement.

“Besides,”
she continued. “I’m sending you to North Dakota tomorrow.” She looked at the
others in turn. “Harlan got a message from the guys over on the islands. They
spotted a good sized community, maybe three hundred people, with one of their
satellites. Being the closest, we get to make contact and see if they need help
or not.”

“How far
is it?” he asked.

“Harlan
has the details. We can go over them in a little bit.”

“What
about the raiders?” prompted Steph. “We can’t ignore them.”

“Never
that, but we aren’t really in a position to do much. I think we need to
increase our watches though. Can you do that, Renee?”

The
woman ran some numbers through her head. “Since they are bound to notice the
planes, we should just go ahead and increase the flights, maybe have the pilots
do wide circles around the Black Hills before and after the longer runs. I
don’t have near enough people to watch everything – never did – but I can make
sure the most vulnerable areas are covered twenty four hours a day. It’s going
to be twelve hour shifts too. That gets really, really dull after a while.
Minds start to wander. Even being careful, someone might get through.”

“All
right,” said Briana, apparently not liking what she heard. “Go ahead and
increase the watches. You should probably set up some response groups too. We
can keep the full time militia members in the main valley, those not on watch,
and fly them over in the helicopters if we need them. How about using the
ranchers and farmers for back up? The food valleys are all around this one, and
the people there are closer to the borders than us.”

Renee shook
her head. “I’ve already figured on using some of them for the watches. I can’t
have that many militia members spread out, too much of that already. I’ll station
a team to the south, maybe eight men, and have another to the west. Those are
the most likely areas the raiders would come from. A third will be here in the
valley. What’s left will be at our existing watch posts. If anything shows up
needing more firepower to deal with, well, it’ll be me grabbing whoever is
closest and shoving a gun in his hands.”

“I can
spread the news first, Briana,” suggested Steph, “get the rumor mill going
about how the raiders tried to sneak in. Word of the attack is already making
the rounds, but I’m sure I can make it seem more dire than it is.”

“That
would help with getting volunteers,” agreed Renee. “I need to work on some
rosters, get a firm grip on what I’ll be needing, watching definitely, likely
some full time militia too, until Jacob gets back.”

“Girl,”
said Marcus, addressing Steph, “for all we know it might just be that dire.
Best for the people to be worried. Last thing we need is them thinking the
portion of the militia still here is all it will take.”

“Have
the soldiers hold a new round of training for everyone,” added Briana. “Make it
mandatory. That should help with the taking it serious thing, and it won’t hurt
if we do get hit. Or would you rather they fight instead?”

“Tough
call,” considered Renee. “They’re mostly instructors by training. I take that
back. David is a seriously experienced vet, but he’s all banged up and can’t
fight anymore, not in this terrain. I think we’re better off with them handling
the training. They know more about that than any of us.” She sighed. “All the diehard
combat guys are off in Yellowstone.”

“That is
where they expected the war to be,” pointed out Steph. “From the very beginning
it looked like they would get attacked first.”

“Yeah,”
agreed Marcus. “It made sense.”

“Okay
then.” Briana slapped Renee on the shoulder. “Get our lot organized. I’ll make
an announcement tomorrow afternoon that the raiders know we are in the Black
Hills and have begun scouting the area in force. We will have to make
preparations so we can respond if they attack and that it will inconvenience
people so be prepared to put up with it, blah, blah, blah.”

“They’ll
do what they have to, Briana.” Marcus tipped his cowboy hat. “I would leave off
the blahs if I were you. Not good form for a politician.”

“I am
not…” She looked over at Steph. “Do you think I’m a politician?”

The
redhead shrugged. “Well, you haven’t actually been elected or run a campaign
making all sorts of promises you don’t plan on keeping, but you do talk and act
like one.”

“Oh,
God.” Briana felt sick to her stomach. “And to think, making fun of them was
one of my favorite pastimes when I was in high school. I even made jokes about
the kids running for student council.”

“Karma,
girl.” Marcus laughed. “That’s what it is.”

Chapter III

The rotating
patrols continued for over a week without incident. Two squads went out at a
time, generally sub-divided into four groups of five each. Ranging as far as
twenty miles a trip, my people were quickly familiarizing themselves with the
terrain, and I was confident this would provide us with a significant advantage
over the raiders. Lizzy, forced to deal with all the duties of an XO, only went
on a single hike. Carlson didn’t go anywhere. In contrast, Mary was gone nearly
every day. There wasn’t anything I really needed her for, so she had my
blessings. The only time she demurred was when Tim Myers asked her to accompany
his team. Mary said she would love to but that all the paperwork she’d been
neglecting had reached the breaking point. As it turned out, she spent the
afternoon drawing pictures and doodling in a notebook.

The
twins were hovering more than usual, which I found bothersome. It wasn’t their
mere presence – I was used to that – rather, they seemed on edge, more so than
the others. It took me a while to figure it out, but I think their uneasiness
was based on the unusual stretch of quiet we were experiencing. The raiders had
delayed in the past before attacking but never for this long. What were they
doing?

Of the
squads not patrolling, most spent their off time hanging around our little
supply base. Some worked on the defenses, primarily digging additional trenches
or creating obstacles in the meadows and open areas around the hill. Others
relaxed and took it easy. Every so often we would haul supplies to the west
where Captain Briggs had deployed the bulk of the Yellowstone force. He had
close to two hundred people with him, each of his platoons commanded by a
battle hardened, professional soldier.

Keeping
them fed proved easy enough. The people of Yellowstone brought us whatever was
required. I then had this sorted and stacked, ready to be forwarded whenever Captain
Briggs made the request. It was a very different role from what I’d previously
experienced. I was used to being at the forefront of the conflict.

Briana
was happy with the situation, something she made very, very clear when we spoke
via satellite. You know, the last time I was in the field, we went weeks
without exchanging words. Now, with our impressive technology that I can’t
begin to understand, we have the ability to speak pretty much anytime we want.
I would feel guilty talking to my sweetie so often while the others in my
command have far less access to their loved ones, but a great deal of our
communications were related to day to day affairs in the Black Hills which
needed to be addressed.

Our
overhead flights were continuing without pause. Kimberly usually went up at
night, taking full advantage of the equipment installed in her Cessna. Others
passed by during the day to examine the area with cameras and the naked eye.
The raiders were digging in as well, setting up their own strong points and
keeping to whatever cover the trees provided. Xavier participated a few times
but more often used our helicopter to move personnel around Yellowstone.

*
* *

I was
bored. Do you recall the week or so of patrols I mentioned just a few
paragraphs earlier? Well, that quickly doubled. Nothing was happening. It was
getting so bad that I had complained to both the captain and the lieutenant, with
Lizzy adding her voice as well. Yes, I realize we were outnumbered, but we were
armed to the teeth, controlled the sky, spent more than a year training under
the watchful eye of true experts, and possessed fully armed military
helicopters as a secret weapon. My opinions were politely disregarded. Then
something finally occurred. I would jump up and down shouting yippee, but it
wasn’t anything good.

“Lieutenant
Gikas just called,” announced Mary.

I set
the field manual I was reading on the table. “What’s up?”

“A
hunting group vanished. There were nine of them, six adults and three kids ages
ten to thirteen.” She began to fidget.

“Any
trace?”

“Nothing.
Well, they found their pickups. One had an elk in the back. It had already
started to go bad, so the theory is that they’ve been missing pretty much from
the moment they left.”

“Where
were the trucks?” asked Lizzy.

She was
examining a map of the park. I think Lizzy was trying to identify the best
route to visit all the geysers and boiling pools in the shortest amount of time,
or something like that. Such meaningless busy work was becoming the norm.

“South
side, all the way down near the park entrance. None of the baddies went through
there – they have watches in place – so no one knows what to think.”

“They
don’t know what to think?” began Lizzy. “They don’t know! Of course they know!
That fucking piece of shit prophet did it! You know what a miserable sack he
is.” She stiffened and took a deep breath. “They got people looking, right?”

Mary
nodded. “Mostly those who live around there. The lieutenant wanted to know if
we could send Xavier and a squad or two to help out, in case they come across
anyone with guns. Captain Briggs doesn’t want to pull people off the line.”

“I’ll go
search,” said Lizzy. “You’re in charge, so you can’t. I have to get out of here
anyway. I’ve been sitting on my ass too long.”

In truth,
it hadn’t been that long, but she dealt with boredom even more poorly than me.

“I’m
taking Harvey’s group and squad four. Both are here and not doing anything
important.”

“Make
sure you have an uplink with you,” I cautioned. “Keep me informed on what’s
going on, and be ready to get recalled if I need you.”

“Sure
thing,” muttered Lizzy.

“I want
to come,” said Mary.

“Not a
chance, pipsqueak.” Lizzy poked her in the chest with one stubby finger. “You
keep an eye on Jacob. Get the twins to help.”

“They
already are,” I pointed out.

Tara and
Dale were standing just outside the large tarp we’d raised to keep the sun and
rain off our heads.

“Then
make them do it even more.” She glared at me. “It’ll keep that pair out of
trouble.”

“They
never get into trouble,” stated Mary. “Tara, do you ever get in trouble?”

The
woman regarded my daughter briefly before turning away.

“See,”
concluded the teenager, “they agree.”

“Right.
You’re loonier than Jacob.”

“Am
not!”

“Ladies,”
I interrupted, “please cut it out, both of you.” I ignored the pair of dirty
looks sent my way. “Lizzy, go get the squads organized. After Xavier is back
from his current flight, get him refueled. Then you can head out. Mary, pull up
the patrol schedule. We need to switch to only one squad going out at a time.
That leaves us three for carting supplies or whatever else might come up.”

“I’m on
it.” She stepped on Lizzy’s foot as she walked by, agilely avoiding the slap
sent her way.

“Let her
go.”

My
friend hesitated.

“I mean
it. No following Mary so you can get back at her. Look, everyone is getting restless,
even her. At least you get to go out and do something productive.”

“Well,
yeah.”

“Don’t
tell Briana I said this, but I can hardly wait for the killing to start. I want
this done with, and I’m not sure how much more sitting about I can handle.”

It was
Lizzy’s turn to fidget. “You’re the one in charge. You gotta set an example,
and if you start acting up it’s going to cause real trouble.”

I looked
out at the bustling camp. We had trenches and ditches, barriers and obstacles,
what could very well be the most elaborate latrines ever seen in the field, and
a giant checkerboard in one corner. Someone had cut old sheets of plywood into
circles two feet across and painted them red and black. The lines were done in
yellow. So far, just about everyone had played a game.

“I’m
good. At any rate, this is either a nasty, unfortunate accident or something
worse. You be careful out there.”

“It’s
something worse. A couple of people might have an accident, but not that many,
not all at once.”

“Probably.
I would think someone would have called in or that one would have come back for
help if so. You can bet Briggs thinks the worst. He wouldn’t have requested two
of our squads otherwise.”

*
* *

Lizzy
and her search teams found nothing, not a single damn thing, excluding a pack
of wolves munching on a deer and an irate bear that put a dent in the hood of
her truck. It ran off after she fired a few shots into the air. Personally, I
would have likely killed the animal, taking its skin for a rug and several
hundred pounds of meat for our stores. My friend was far more sympathetic. I
think it’s a result of watching too many
Care Bears
cartoons as a child.

While
her efforts were wasted, the missing group was eventually discovered, that is,
parts of them. One of the Yellowstone scouts patrolling the no man’s land which
spanned roughly three miles between the raiders and the line Captain Briggs had
created called it in. The lieutenant grabbed me shortly thereafter, and we
hiked to the spot.

“That’s
horrible.” Mary turned a sickly shade of green.

The
twins remained expressionless. They were the only ones.

“More
than that,” I muttered. “What happened?”

“We
don’t know,” admitted Lieutenant Gikas. “Our man found them like this, decapitated
with the heads mounted on steel spikes.”

“They’re
in a row,” added Mary.

“Each is
exactly three feet, four inches from the next. We measured. I don’t know if
this has any significance.”

“Not
that,” she clarified. “I meant by size. The heads are biggest to smallest.
Those poor little kids. God, see how they’re watching us.” Mary spun to the
side and began vomiting.

“We
noticed that as well,” continued the lieutenant. “With nine of them it had to
be deliberate.”

“You
have the most experience with the prophet,” began Briggs. “Any idea what he
might be attempting to relay with this setup?”

“As far
as I can tell, the spacing and order means nothing special, other than
indicating they took their time. Being so close to our lines, the prophet could
be trying to prove he can get at us anytime he wants.” I paused. “Or, the
person who placed them here is obsessive compulsive in the extreme and was
incapable of just sticking them in the ground. Actually, that might be more
likely. There are a lot of mentally ill and outright psychotic people in that
bunch.”

“They seized
people in the south, got them all the way here without us seeing, along roads
filled with zombies, and did this.” The captain was in a fury, but he kept his
voice level.

“They
likely went through the trees, either on foot – they had more than enough time
to march here – or on their dirt bikes. I’m betting they were killed near the
spot they were taken. We’ll find the bodies there. They never bothered burying
or burning the corpses of those they killed before, so they were probably left
where they fell.”

I tried
to think of anything else that might be relevant. It was difficult with the
endless clicking of teeth breaking the silence.

“Do we
need to leave them up any longer?”

“No,”
stated the captain, harshly.

“Dale,
would you?”

He
responded to my request by carefully plucking the zombified heads from the
spikes and placing them on the ground. This was followed by the soft pop of a
silenced .22. The twins generally carried such weapons should secrecy be
desirable or necessary.

“How
many know what happened?” I inquired.

“The
scout told several others before reporting,” explained Lieutenant Gikas,
“apparently couldn’t help himself. The news is everywhere.”

“This is
going to cause trouble, lots. It’s been quiet for a couple years now. Plenty of
worrying, no doubt, but nothing like this has happened since Wyoming and Utah
fell. You might want to rethink Yellowstone’s security. I’d say no more people
going off on their own at the very least.”

“A hunting
party of nine is not going off alone.” The captain motioned at one of his men.
“Take them back and see that they get a proper burial.”

“You’re
right,” I admitted. “Still, I bet they weren’t taking any special precautions,
and why would they? The group was far from where the enemy is. They were within
the park too, and all the entrances are being monitored.”

“You
have to kill them.” Mary wiped her face with the back of one hand. “You find
them, and you kill every last one.”

The
captain’s eyes indicated he was in full agreement. It was hard not to be once
you saw their handiwork with your own eyes.

“We will
be moving soon, very soon. I want to ready the aircraft and make some
modifications first. Three days at most.” He turned to me. “Jacob, get your
people in place. See if you can check out the village southeast of you too.
Give them any ideas or help you can. They are the only one within a few hours
walk of the supply base and the one most likely to get hit if things fall
apart. We’ve spoken with them at length, but this increases the threat.”