“They’re in trouble,” Hartman said.
Ibarra pulled out his handgun. “Let’s buy them some time, then,” he declared, and fired into the glass, demolishing the window.
He grabbed a ball of explosive, armed it, and chucked it as hard as he could towards the horde. They watched as it vanished into the middle of the pack.
“I’d cover your ears,” he warned, and then pulled out a detonator, hitting the trigger.
The blast was forceful, sending dozens of ghouls into the air, and knocking easily a couple hundred to the ground. A hundred or so near the front weren’t affected, but at least the rest of them were slowed.
“Let me know when they get moving again,” he said, and handed over a block of C4. “If I’m tied up, arm it and chuck it, and I’ll detonate it when you’re ready.”
Hartman nodded, and Ibarra went back over to the front window to watch the battle raging below.
Meanwhile, on the ground, Bartlett continued firing at the zombies trying to get around the edge of the vehicle. Several managed to do so.
“Barr!” she cried. “I need help!”
Barr spotted the zombies coming around and immediately hopped out of the SUV. She quickly raised her weapon and began firing, clearing out the handful of creatures that had come around. Casey looked back, completely unaware that there were zombies coming up on his rear.
“Thanks,” he said, eyes wide at his unknowing danger.
Barr nodded and moved back towards her vehicle, when she noticed it beginning to move. The tires squealed a bit as they slid across the road.
“Jesus christ,” she breathed, “they’re going to push through.”
She let out a loud two-finger whistle, getting the attention of Benton, who was concentrating on the zombies on the other side of the barricade. He turned and saw the SUV shifting and immediately started getting out of his.
“Bartlett, we gotta move!” Barr cried, and the Private in question crawled out of her vehicle as it began to slide as well.
The three soldiers convened beside Casey, who opened up his fifty-cal on some more zombies coming up. Korver and Galindo came running back from the on ramp.
“Why are you out of position?” the Corporal demanded.
Barr pointed to the SUVs, which were sliding even more now, a few arms sticking through the gaps that grew larger by the second.
“Shit,” Korver growled, and immediately looked up to the window, waving his arms frantically to get the attention of Ibarra. After a few seconds, he saw a flashlight blinking on and off. “We got two minutes to get the fuck out, let’s move!” he barked.
The six soldiers ran towards the on ramp, dozens of zombies pouring around the side of the SUV blockade. Several of the troops began firing, holding them at bay as they moved off of the road.
Korver pulled out the detonator and got it ready. “Fire in the hole!” he yelled and hit the trigger.
The soldiers were momentarily staggered as the blast hit them, blinking and shaking their heads. Looking down the on ramp, the explosions had reduced the ghouls there to red paste.
They ran as hard as they could, avoiding limbs and trying not to slip on the slick pavement. When they reached the bottom of the ramp, there were about fifty zombies standing in between them and the garage.
“Light ‘em up!” Korver cried, and the group formed a firing line, moving swiftly.
The soldiers fired as they went, creating a path for them to run through. As they tore towards the garage, the chop-chop of the Apache helicopters cut the air overhead. A few seconds later, the whirrrr of multiple mini-guns spun up, unleashing a flood of bullets onto the interstate above. A few explosions from the SUVs being decimated added to the cacophony.
“Get to the garage!” Korver screamed, leading the team across the street to the building, taking out several zombies with his gun as they went. He was the first to reach the door and immediately lifted it up.
Galindo and Benton reached it next and helped him get it high enough for everyone to slide underneath. Once everyone was clear, they let it slam to the ground before the zombies could catch up to them.
“That was one hell of a run,” Galindo said, swiping his palms together.
The Corporal clapped him on the back as he caught his breath. “Yeah, let’s never do that again,” he said.
“No argument there,” Galindo agreed.
Korver dusted himself off. “Everybody okay?”
“Ears are ringing like a motherfucker,” Barr admitted, “but other than that, I’m good.”
The rest of the group nodded, muttering in the affirmative.
“Come on, let’s get upstairs and see how it looks,” Korver said, and led the group trudging up the stairs to the fourth floor, muscles exhausted. “Ibarra, what’s the situation?” the Corporal asked when they entered the cubicle farm.
“Wholesale slaughter,” the Private replied brightly.
The nine troops stood at the window, all of them marveling at the sight. Thousands of zombies lay on the interstate, a heaping mass of rotted flesh, coating the road for several hundred yards. The only real sign of movement was the fires burning from the exploded SUVs.
Korver looked further down the road, seeing more ghouls coming up from the downtown area. They took a few steps onto the corpses and ended up slipping over, the uneven terrain of carnage difficult for them to navigate.
“Isn’t perfect,” Galindo mused, “but should be enough to hold them off until reinforcements arrive.”
The group continued to stare off in silence. Each of them took pride in completing their mission, but wore heavy shoulders at the price paid to make it happen.
CHAPTER NINE
Most of the group had found a place amongst the cubicles to curl up for a nap. All but Korver and Galindo, who sat by the window overlooking the highway. The car fires had long since burned out, but several fires raged around the city, illuminating the night sky. The additional moonlight gave them a good view of the carnage below.
A few hundred zombies had managed to navigate the killing fields, stumbling and slipping the entire way. There were thousands lined up behind them, most of which just stood around, not bothering to push the issue.
“Think we should call in another airstrike?” Galindo asked.
Korver shook his head. “Nah, the situation is pretty solidified down there,” he replied. “Somebody has bound to be in a worse situation than us out there.”
“That’s true,” the Private agreed. After a few moments of silence, he asked, “You think we’re really going to be able to set up shop here in Seattle?”
The Corporal paused, pursing his lips for a moment. “I think we’re going to take it over,” he said slowly. “Judging by where the fires are, it looks like they’re almost to the water.”
“I know that,” Galindo replied, shaking his head. “What I mean is, do you think we’ll be able to make it work?”
Korver shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know,” he admitted. “There are so many variables to think about. Power, food, clean water. All that shit is way above my pay grade. I’m just here to kill zombies and occasionally do some heavy lifting.”
The Private chuckled. “Well, you did a hell of a job today, Corporal,” he said.
“Tell that to Potts, Parra, Waller, and Marin,” Korver replied, voice cold as ice.
Galindo chewed his lip for a moment, taking a beat to remember his dead comrades. “You got the rest of us through, though,” he finally said. “Couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Yeah…” Korver drew out the word, but wouldn’t look at his companion. “Maybe.”
Before Galindo could reply, the Corporal’s radio came to life.
“Corporal Korver, this is Captain lay, do you copy?” the Captain came through.
Galindo rolled his eyes. “Better late than never, I suppose,” he muttered.
“Right?” Korver agreed and then raised the radio to his lips. “Copy, Captain. What’s your twenty?
”
“We’re a block away from the target building,” Clay replied. “Wanted to get input on the best entry point.”
The Corporal scratched his head. “East side of the building, there is an underground parking garage,” he explained. “The gate to the left is unlocked, just have to pull it up and get inside. We’ll meet you down there.”
“See you in a second,” the Captain said.
Korver sighed and got to his feet. “All right, let’s be the welcoming committee.”
They made their way down to the garage. As they exited the stairwell, soldiers were pouring in by the hundreds.
“We’re looking for Captain Clay,” the Corporal said to a nearby soldier.
The Private saluted him. “Right this way, sir,” he said, and escorted them to the Captain who was by the door, barking out orders. Sporadic gunfire cracked outside.
“Let’s get a move on, men!” Clay cried. “Get inside and secure this door!”
“Captain, these men are looking for you,” the soldier said.
The Captain turned away from the door and extended his hand. “You must be Corporal Korver,” he said. “Good to finally meet you.”
Korver shook his hand and nodded. “Likewise,” he said. “This is my right hand man, Galindo.”
“What’s the situation here?” Clay asked.
The Corporal jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Interstate is blocked off, at least for the time being,” he explained. “We were able to get enough of them packed together for an Apache run, and the bodies on the ground have made it difficult for the others to press on.”
“And how secure are we in here?’ the Captain asked.
“Fourth floor is secure,” Korver said. “Rest of the building is unknown. We blocked off the stairwell doors, but that’s all we had the firepower for.”
Clay turned towards his troops. “Sergeant Sierra,” he yelled, “front and center!”
A young rough and tumble man rushed up, stopping just short of them. “Yes, sir?”
“I need you to assemble half a dozen teams of ten,” the Captain instructed. “We need to sweep this building floor by floor, and clear it of any threat. The fourth floor is already secure, so leave it be. I expect this to be done within the hour. After that, we need to get firing positions set up in every direction.”
“Yes, sir!” Sierra declared.
Clay nodded. “Get a move on,” he said.
The Sergeant rushed off, yelling out for various Corporals to fall in.
“Show me the battlefield,” the Captain said, motioning for Korver and Galindo to lead him up.
The trio headed up to the fourth floor, leaving the troops in the garage to do their own thing like a well-oiled machine. When they reached the window, Clay looked out, appraising the carnage on the interstate and the lack of any major push by the zombies on the far side.
“That is some damn fine work, Corporal,” he declared.
Korver nodded. “Thank you, sir.”
“Limited resources and you completed the mission,” the Captain continued. “Not sure if we could have done it any better if we had made it here on time.”
The Corporal nodded again. “Appreciate that, sir,” he said. “Now, what can we do to help?”
Clay admired the man with a smile. “Even after the day you’ve had, you’re ready to keep pushing,” he said, and glanced around at the exhausted team napping, completely unaware of what was happening in the room. “You and your troops are to get some sleep. If I see you before zero-eight hundred, I’ll put you on latrine duty for a month.”
Korver cracked a smile before saluting. The Captain saluted back and shook his hand once again.
“Get some rest, Corporal,” he said. “We’ll take it from here.”
As he vanished into the stairwell, the two soldiers breathed a sigh of relief.
“That is one order I will do gladly,” Galindo declared, and patted his friend on the back. “Get some rest, friend,” he said.
“You too,” Korver replied, and turned back to the window, giving the war zone one last look as his companion went to find a place to crash.
It was a lot to take in, a lot to process. Finally, he let out a big sigh, and laid down on the ground, ready to put the horrors of the day out of his mind.
There would be a lot more work to be done in the morning.
END
Up Next: With the battle won Captain Kersey joins the President and his team to discuss what comes next in Seattle Pt. 10.
Dead America The Northwest Invasion | Book 11 | Dead America: Seattle [Part 9] Page 7
