The Armageddon Series | Book 4 | Pandemic, Part 4

by Thomas, Nick S.

  “Nobody will drag their heels if we have a ride out of here,” replied Lisa assuredly.

  “All right, then, is everyone in?”

  “We’re not all soldiers like you two.”

  “You are now, Wallace. If the last few days weren’t enough, you had your trial by combat this morning. It’s not even a choice anymore. You’re a fighter or you’re dead.”

  “We’re with you,” Lisa said.

  “So how we doing this, Boss?” Kurt asked.

  “And when?” Lisa added.

  Bobby went on, as though he’d already had a plan well calculated.

  “No time like the now. The gunfire this morning brought a lot of those things down to the loading bay out back, but the main street looks pretty empty. Two squads of three. I’ll lead Alpha to the Unimog.”

  “I’ll take Bravo,” insisted the Corporal.

  Bobby nodded in appreciation.

  “All right, then, we need two volunteers for each. This is all we can afford to risk. We’re heading in different directions, so we have the best chance of at least one team making it.”

  “And if one doesn’t?”

  “Then they seek refuge as best they can, Wallace, and the others will do their best to retrieve them once they’ve got transport out of here.”

  “That is some big risk,” insisted Roger.

  “Yes it is, but we ain’t gonna gain nothing without a few risks,” replied Bobby as Kate took up position beside him.

  “Then I guess we’re in,” insisted Lisa.

  “Everyone on the same page?”

  Nobody resisted.

  “Then we need four volunteers. Good fighters who can be quick and quiet,” added Kate.

  “I’ll do it.” Without hesitation Kurt came forward and joined Bobby.

  “I’m in,” declared Roger to everyone’s surprise. They’d all seen how competent he’d been in the fight that morning, and so nobody argued it as he took up position on Bobby’s squad also.

  “Yeah,” added Tyrone as he came forward to join the soldier.

  Adam suddenly perked up as if his commitment was being brought into question.

  “I’ll do it,” he replied as he came forward to all their surprise.

  Kate looked wary of accepting him, but Bobby nodded in agreement.

  “Remember, you’re in this together. It doesn’t matter what you think of each other, this is for all of us,” he added, trying to reduce the risk of further conflict.

  “And you screw this up, and I’ll shoot you myself,” added Kate.

  Both of them smiled, and yet she remained stern as though she clearly meant it.

  “All right, we head out the front door together. I want everyone else on those doors ready to help if we hit trouble early on. Any sign of a horde, and we return to base without hesitation, you hear? We cannot win this in a straight up fight.”

  “Yeah, we hear you, Bobby,” replied Tyrone.

  “Once it’s clear, we go on our way and do whatever we have to, both to get those vehicles and to stay alive. No firearms, they won’t help. We either do this quiet, or we’re dead.”

  It was a terrifying prospect.

  “When do we set out?” Roger asked.

  “One hour. Get some food and water in you, and rest your bodies. This morning was more than enough excitement, and we need to be on top form if we are going out there.”

  “We could wait another day.”

  “Another day and we’ll be out of food, Lisa. I want to be out of this damn place before that happens. Get a little rest, and then let’s get out of here for good.”

  They did as ordered, but there was great tension amongst them even as they tried to rest from the battle they’d faced that morning. Bobby was resting up against a window surveying the street out front when Lisa approached him. The rest sat about trying to make conversation and feel as normal as they could.

  “You know there is more risk than just what you’re taking, right?”

  He shrugged.

  “There may only be six of you going out there, but also the best fighters we have. If we lost you, the rest of us are, well…” she stuttered.

  “Better lose a few of us than all of us. Whatever happens, you’ll be fine.”

  “You really believe that? You think if you can’t make it through all this that the rest of us have any chance,” she replied, looking to the resilient Corporal.

  “Honestly? I don’t know, but you’ve proven you’re a fighter. This isn’t my game either. I was trained to fight a war, not whatever this is.”

  “But you’re way better prepared for it than the rest of us, and so is she. Come back to us, because we can’t make it without you.”

  “I don’t plan son dying.”

  “Don’t you?” She seemed to delve deeply into his psyche.

  “You think I want to die?”

  “I think you were suffering deeply long before any of this began, and that leads people to dark places, trust me. So, tell me, what is it?”

  He looked uncomfortable, but she still awaited a response.

  “You were locked up in that hotel with the rest of us for months. Difference is I had someone to share that time with, even if I lost him to whatever this madness is. But you’ve been alone for a lot longer than that isolation, haven’t you?”

  “How could you know that?”

  “Because I know what loss feels like. I lost a lot of family to this bullshit pandemic, long before I lost my boyfriend. I feel that pain. For me it’s raw and recent, and yet I feel you carry the same for something long since past.”

  “Where did all that come from?”

  “Psychologist, or aspiring to be before all of this.”

  “Yeah, you’re not wrong, but some pain if best left buried.”

  “But it isn’t, is it?”

  He shook his head in acknowledgement.

  “Is that why you’re here, so far from home?”

  “Kinda.”

  “Who did you lose?”

  “Everyone, in one way or another,” he replied solemnly.

  “We gained you, though,” she replied with a smile.

  “Not the place to be in all this though, is it?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “In the middle of a city in a country with no guns? You kidding me?”

  “You think they’re having an easier time of it over there? In the US, I mean.”

  “Maybe not in the big cities, so many people close together it’s probably just as bad, but outside of those places, I figure folks will have had a better chance of it.”

  “Is that why you want us to leave this city?”

  “Damn right, it’s the right thing to do. Even if we’re stuck using tools as weapons, at least we’ll even the odds up a little.”

  She nodded in agreement as he checked his watch.

  “It’s time!”

  Weapons had been laid out on a table for the six to choose whatever they wanted, although Kate still held onto her rifle.

  “Come on, you know we can’t be doing any shooting out there. No matter how bad things get, that’ll only make it worse,” argued Bobby.

  She begrudgingly laid it down as they each took their pick of the weapons.

  Every one of them took at least two each after having seen the risks of one being buried in a target. Bobby took his small hatchet and a hammer.

  “You know what I’d give for some real weapons right about now?”

  “I know a place,” said Kurt.

  “You’re serious?” Kate asked.

  “Not for guns, but something better than this. It’s on our route.”

  “Why didn’t you mention this before?”

  “Because, Adam, we weren’t leaving the building. What good are weapons a few blocks away while we’re stuck in here?”

  “All right, we’ll see what we can do, everyone ready?”

  “Every one of them looked scared, even those who were staying behind, as the prospect of cont
inuing on without Bobby and Kate was daunting.

  “Ready for this?” Bobby asked.

  “Not really.” Kurt handed out a radio to each team, and one to Lisa as the seemingly de facto leader in place of them all going, a fact that clearly rubbed Wallace up the wrong way.

  “Channel four, keep the volume low, and only make contact if absolutely necessary, do you hear?” Bobby said as he slipped it into the top pocket of his jacket.

  “You still sure about this?”

  “We have to try, Lisa. This is one fucked up situation. Beyond anything any of us have seen before. It’s time we got the hell out of it. Let’s move.” He led the way to the stairs with the whole group close behind.

  “We have to get a clean break. We head out into that street outside and see if we can get a clear run at it, but if we see any kind of trouble we can’t deal with then and there, we bug out, you hear?”

  “And what then?

  “We look for another chance, Kate. We need this, but there ain’t no point in dying for nothing.”

  Chapter 3

  Bobby pried open the door so gently it barely made any noise at all. The rest of the survivors waited around him with weapons in hand; ready to defend the building that had become the fortress that had kept them safe. He peered out across the deserted streets. There was no sign of life, just the bodies of both humans and Crazies that had been left behind after several battles. He finally opened the door wide and stepped out onto the street. It felt alien to him, as though he were stepping into a minefield, and just as scary. It was the last place on Earth he wanted to be, and he had to keep telling himself to put one foot in front of another as they were all depending on him. Kurt braced the door with his foot to let the others through until Lisa took the strain for him.

  They all looked around in disbelief for a moment, as if expecting to be rushed by a horde any second, and yet rubbish and debris blew past in the wind and all was peaceful.

  “Shut the door, but be ready to open it again, hey?” Bobby said to Lisa.

  “Good luck,” she smiled, pulling it quietly shut and latching the lock on.

  Bobby depressed the talk button on the radio.

  “Lisa, can you hear me, over.”

  He could barely hear it come through on the radio Kate was carrying, but enough to know they were working.

  “We hear you, over,” said Lisa.

  “All right, everyone knows what they have to do. Stay out of sight, kill quick, and quiet, and don’t take any chances you don’t have to.”

  He gestured for them to go on. The two groups separated and began to move. Bobby quickly got to a light jog but hunkered down to move as quickly as he could without attracting attention. He led them to a small alleyway that was well out of sight. They were relieved to find it was empty besides three lifeless bodies of the poor souls who’d fled there before them.

  “You know where you’re going?” Roger asked.

  “Yes.”

  “How?”

  “You think I didn’t study maps of this area in the last few months?”

  “No, why would you?”

  “Didn’t you see the way the world was going? There was always a good chance it was all going to hell. Can’t say I ever saw this coming, but needing to bug out was always a possibility.”

  “Bug out?”

  “Don’t you watch any movies?”

  “Not the kind you do apparently, Kurt.”

  “Shhh,” insisted Bobby as he led them forward. He stopped cautiously at a bend ahead and looked around. He froze, for two Crazies were loitering in the next ally. He studied them for a moment. They seemed to be lost, as if they had nothing to do and nothing was compelling them to move or anything. They just swayed back and forth. He ducked back into cover.

  “Targets?” Kurt asked.

  “Two.”

  “Shit,” muttered Roger.

  “Save your worries for when we face some real trouble. We can handle two, no problem. I saw you pull off more in that garage this morning,” replied Bobby.

  “Because I had to.”

  “No difference here. You want out of this damned city?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then you have to fight. We go in quick and hit them hard. No mistakes, no messing about, we drop them, you hear?” He readied his weapons, a small axe in his right and a claw hammer in his left. He couldn’t help think how ridiculous it felt after using firearms for his whole career, but that was the life he now led, “Let’s go.”

  He rushed out and sprinted the distance towards the Crazies. They didn’t even notice him until they were a few paces away. The closest one turned and reached for him, but he smashed his axe down into its head. Roger ran at the other as he’d got out ahead of Kurt, and he held his axe over his head to deliver a devastating blow, but he failed to bring it down in time. The creature grabbed hold of him and lunged at his face. Bobby swung the claw back of his hammer into the shoulder of the Crazy and hauled it back from the stricken businessman. He gladly seized his opportunity to bring his axe down as he’d intended, splitting its head in two all the way to the jaw. As the body dropped to the floor, he triumphantly pried the bloody weapon from the body, but Bobby didn’t look impressed.

  “You want to get us all killed?”

  “Sorry.”

  “You can’t swing that late on a weapon that heavy, or they’ll be right up in your face.”

  “Maybe this wasn’t the best weapon to have brought along.” Roger looked at the hefty fire axe which had served him well so far, and that was clearly the only reason for choosing it.

  “Don’t worry. We’ll get you sorted soon enough. That shop isn’t far away,” insisted Kurt.

  “What kind of shop?” Bobby asked.

  “You’ll see.” Kurt led them forward to the end of the alleyway, and then looked out either way for trouble, “Coast is clear.” He smiled and pointed across the street to a shop called ‘Warrior Gifts.’

  “Are you shitting me?”

  “What, Bobby, you think we were heading for a Walmart full of rifles?” Kurt joked.

  “Something better than that.” Bobby stared at the garish looking tourist shop. Kurt looked down at the baseball bat in his hands and the axes and hammers they were using.

  “This is what we’ve got, and you’re complaining?”

  “All right, all right.” Bobby gestured for Kurt to lead the way. They crossed the street quickly, still seeing no signs of life. A car had struck part of the storefront, and the window was blown through.

  “Quietly,” Bobby said, looking at the shards of broken glass.

  They carefully made their way through and followed Kurt. He led them past piles of tartan and kilts, finally stopping before a wall of swords and other weapons.

  “Ah, you see, behold,” he declared with a smile as though they’d found a hoard of gold. He stepped behind the counter and reached up for a huge two-handed sword. He took it off the wall with a huge grin on his face, “Eh, you see? How badass is this?”

  But there was a glimmer of movement from a doorway behind the counter, and a Crazy came running for him. He noticed too late, and it pushed him back, pinning the weapon to his chest. He shrugged it off, pushing it back with all his force, and bringing the gigantic sword down onto the Crazy’s head with everything he could muster. Yet the blade snapped off, leaving nothing but a minor gash in the creature’s head. Kurt was stunned, yet Bobby’s axe flew across the room, striking it in the head. The beast dropped down dead, and Kurt breathed a sigh of relief.

  “I…I don’t get it,” he said, looking at the hilt of the sword, which was all he had left of it as the rest lay on the floor.

  “This is a tourist shop, what did you expect?”

  “A sword, that’s what I expected.”

  Bobby chuckled.

  “There are a few things we can use here, though,” he said, looking across at the wall.

  “How can you tell?”

  He took a short steel mace of
f the wall. It was handy and robust. He handed it to Roger.

  “Here, this will do what you need it to, all the hitting power but quicker, and grab one of those dirks while you’re at it,” he said, looking to some fine quality long Highland daggers.

  “How do you know what to look for?” Kurt asked.

  “These shops, they buy mass manufactured junk. Some of that junk is little better than a paper sword, but some of it is reasonable, if you know what to look for.”

  “What about that one?” Kurt pointed to what looked like the best sword on the wall to him. It was a cheap looking cruciform sword more akin to a fantasy novel than the crusader’s weapon it was pretending to be.

  “No.”

  “What? Why not?”

  “Look at the blade, you see how shiny it is.”

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s stainless steel.”

  “Isn’t that a good thing?” Kurt asked naively.

  “For some knives, sure, but not a blade that long. It’ll shatter worse than that last piece of junk you used. You want a sword, you take that one.” He pointed to one basket-hilted Highland broadsword hanging in a shoulder belt. Kurt took it from the wall and drew it from the scabbard to find it was razor-sharp.

  “This is a good sword?”

  Kurt smiled. “Not by any decent standards, but it’ll cut shit all day without breaking.”

  Kurt looked impressed and gladly threw the belt over his shoulder. He sheathed the sword, while keeping hold of his trustworthy bat.

  Bobby took hold of a pole weapon as tall as he was, with what looked like a giant butter knife blade on the end and a metal hook behind it.

  “What on earth is that?” Kurt asked.

  “A Lochaber axe,” replied Bobby with a smile.

  They both looked dumbfounded.

  “Don’t you know about your own history?”

  “No, the question is why do you?”

  “You shitting me? I’m American, we’re obsessed with this country.” He took the large weapon in both hands and swung it about, looking mighty happy with himself.

  “Yeah, this’ll do,” he said, as he noticed a belt with metal loops hanging from it. He wrapped it about his waist and dropped his axe and hammer into the loops.

  “All right, let’s do this.”