The Deadland Chronicles | Book 4 | Siege of the Dead:

by Spears, R. J.

  “Do we have anything we can put against this hole?” Jo asked. “Anything. If we can plug that hole, maybe we can move the bulldozer to the gate.”

  “Not that I can think of?” Bonds said, but it was clear to see that his thoughts were clogged with terror.

  Clayton yelled up, “I can drive the Humvee against the hole.”

  “It’s not big enough,” Jo said. “They’ll climb over it.”

  “You got a better fucking idea?” Clayton asked as he spread his hands out from his side.

  Jo closed her eyes tightly for a moment, knowing the decisions that they made right now might make the difference between whether they all lived and died. No pressure. None at all.

  “Do it,” Jo said as she opened her eyes.

  Henry turned to Kent and asked, “Can you move the bulldozer to the gate?”

  Kent looked surprised even though he must have known it was coming. He said, “Sure. Yeah.” He headed off toward the bulldozer.

  Henry turned to Bonds and said, “Can you get anything to place behind the Humvee - boards, lumber, anything?”

  “A lot of that has been used up reinforcing the walls,” Bonds replied.

  Jo moved into next to Henry and said, “Have them rip some doors off a building. Get anything we can use.”

  “Sure, sure,” Bonds said while shaking his head up and down, reminding Jo of a bobblehead doll.

  Henry said, “While this gets in motion, we’re going to need everyone focused on the hole in the wall. Can you get your people to do that?”

  Bonds stood in place, staring at Jo and Henry, looking like a statue. He turned around and started shouting orders for everyone along the wall to target the area around the opening in the wall. It was a challenge because the wall curved away, but every able body in the vicinity trained their rifle on the zombies clamoring outside the crack.

  Henry looked back at the gate and the gap seemed wider than just a minute before. A few of the people had moved down to ground level, taking up positions just inside the gate.

  Hands clawed at the gate, shaking it violently. One wily zombie slipped its entire upper body through the crack, flailing its arms desperately in the air, trying to get at any human inside, but those humans were smart enough to stay out of reach. Those humans also had guns and filled that zombie full of holes. Still, its body fell on top of the other dead zombies, clogging the gap between the doors.

  “We’ll never get that door shut again,” Henry said.

  Jo turned to look and had a sinking feeling that Henry was right.

  “We’ll see,” she said.

  By then, Clayton was in the Humvee and had it positioned to take the place of the bulldozer once it was moved. From what Henry could see, Kent would pull back the bulldozer and Clayton would slide the Humvee in, placing the passenger’s side of the vehicle as close to the wall as he could. Everyone knew that the zombies would do everything in their power to climb over it, but they were all out of options.

  “Come on, Kent!” Henry yelled. “Get that thing moving.”

  Jo admired Henry’s maturity, years beyond what it should be. It was easy to see that a lot of his father had rubbed off on him.

  “Once that bulldozer moves out, we need to pour fire on that hole,” Jo shouted down to the people Bonds had collected for the task.

  The rumbling of the bulldozer engine was so loud that Kent was forced to use hand gestures to communicate. Through a series of gestures, he indicated that he would move the bulldozer on the count of three.

  When Henry looked down, he saw Clayton almost leaning on the steering wheel of the Humvee as he prepared to fill the gap that opened up when Kent moved the bulldozer. Shooters positioned themselves on each side of the bulldozer, some kneeling on one knee, all with their weapons targeted at the jagged crack in the wall.

  Kent stuck his hand in the air with three fingers extended.

  Henry felt the tension level go up as people focused on the front of the bulldozer. Everyone was so keyed up, Henry desperately hoped that none of them shot Clayton in the Humvee by mistake.

  Kent revved up the engine of the big mechanical beast and smoke billowed out of the smokestack on the back of the bulldozer. He dropped one finger, leaving two remaining extended. The next one fell and Henry leaned forward, preparing for what would happen next.

  The last finger fell and the bulldozer engine roared. The machine jerked in place for several seconds, seeming to resist going into motion, but when it moved, it was like a locomotive rolling down the tracks.

  The zombies wasted no time and surged into the uneven and jagged hole in the wall. The shooters laid on the fire and the leading edge of the dead took bullets to their torso, heads, and shoulders.

  As soon as the bulldozer reached a distance away from the wall wide enough for the Humvee, Clayton gunned the engine. The Humvee shot the vehicle forward, literally running the passenger side along the wall, generating the unholy sound of screeching metal against the bricks.

  Bullets pinged off the side of the Humvee as overeager shooters failed to stop shooting in time. Fortunately, most of the shots bounced off the side of the vehicle, but one shot made it inside. Clayton cursed and ducked down as the bullet bounced around. It finally settled somewhere in the back of the vehicle.

  The wall of noise from the shooting settled down, and was replaced by the sound of hands pounding on the side of the Humvee. The zombies did whatever they could to gain some traction to climb on the vehicle.

  Kent rolled the big dozer toward the gate as the zombies outside continued to excerpt more and more pressure on the broken gate. It began to tilt inward at the top, the bottom of the gate pushing outward. To Henry, it looked as if it might tip completely over at any second. A zombie pushed his torso through the gap, wriggling like a snake to get through the opening.

  But like before, the shooters took it out, filling it with bullets. Its body dangled in the air, bent at the waist until its head slapped against the gate, leaving a bloody mark at the point of impact.

  A series of pops sounded from the direction of the Humvee. When Henry looked, he saw Clayton climbing out of the driver’s window and firing back at a zombie that had managed to clamor onto the top of the Humvee. His bullets blew off the top of the zombie’s head and sent it back into the crowd of undead behind it.

  A loud mechanical roar came from the gate as Kent powered the bulldozer forward, but it seemed to be moving at the speed of a humongous turtle. Henry was almost certain it would arrive too late, but Kent must have found another gear because the dozer lurched forward.

  Just as much as he feared it might not make it to the gate in time was as much as he feared it might just burst through it with the speed it was going. But somehow, Kent managed to stop the beast as the blade barely kissed the gate instead of breaking it down.

  Henry felt his body slump forward in relief. They had done it. They had pulled off a maneuver that no one thought would work.

  Chapter 83

  Taking It to the Enemy

  “Where am I going?” Navarro asked as he looked out the visor window of the MAV, giving him the narrowest of views. He didn’t like the picture because it only showed a whole mess of zombies coming right at them. He was piloting the vehicle forward, creeping into the field at less than two miles an hour.

  Before Eli could answer, Gardner leaned forward in his seat in the back of the MAV and said, “We should get the hell out of here. That’s where.”

  “We’re safe inside this...this tank,” Eli said. “They can’t get inside.”

  “But we sure as shit could get caught up on a pile of them,” Gardner said, his voice got squeaky by the end of the sentence. “That happens, and we’ll bake alive inside here or die of dehydration.”

  “We won’t be out here that long,” Eli said, and there was a remote calmness to his tone.

  “Well, if you don’t tell me where we’re going in the next five seconds, I’m with Gardner, and we’re getting the hell out o
f here,” Navarro said.

  Eli leaned closer to Navarro to get a better view through the small visor window. After two seconds, he lifted his arm and pointed directly ahead, and asked, “You see that building on the left there?”

  The building in question was a solid two-story affair, looking formidable. There was no telling of how old it was, but Eli guessed it had gone up seventy to eighty years ago, based on its building materials, made solidly of brick and steel. But what was most important, was it was the last place he had seen the smart zombie after it had fired on them with a rocket launcher.

  There were mostly open fields around the building, which meant it was highly likely the creature was still there. Or maybe hiding inside?

  “Yeah, what about it?” Navarro asked.

  “Do we still have shells for this thing?” Eli said.

  Gardner replied, “A few.”

  “Load up,” Eli said, then continued, “Navarro, line us up with the building.”

  “What the hell are you thinking?” Navarro asked.

  “The smart one,” Eli said, “When he fired on us, the shot came from the back of the building on the left side of the building.”

  “Yeah?” Navarro asked, but there was more than a little annoyance in his voice.

  “We’re going to take that building down on top of him,” Eli said.

  Gardner asked, “Are you out of your fucking mind?”

  Zombies surrounded the MAV, slapping their hands onto the MAV, trying to find a way to climb onto it. Then they had to find a way to get inside to get at the delicious human flesh inside. Navarro cut the vehicle to the left and picked up speed, peeling zombies off the side. At least one fell and went under the tires, the weight of the MAV crushing the creature to a pulpy mess.

  “That thing has a rocket launcher that could knock a hole in the wall,” Eli said. “He does that, and they get inside. Then we’re all dead. Everyone.”

  “There’s got to a better way,” Gardner said. “Like one where we are inside. We can blast it from behind the wall.”

  “But we won’t know for sure if he’s dead,” Eli answered.

  Navarro tilted his head and said, “I can see the logic in that -- in a fucked up way.” He paused for a moment as the MAV plowed through a cluster of zombies, sending them either rolling off to the side or under the wheels. Neither was pleasant for the zombies. Then he said, “Gards, load up the cannon. We’ve got a fucking building to knock down.”

  Gardner hesitated for a moment but knew he was just along for the ride. The sooner they took down that building, the sooner they got back inside.

  Neither Gardner nor Navarro saw the thin, tight smile on Eli’s face as he cradled the gas canister in his hands. If the rockets didn’t get the bastard, the gas surely would. He just wasn’t sure how he’d deliver the gas in a way that didn’t kill all three of them if they had to go that route.

  Navarro got them to within seventy-five feet of the building as the zombies swarmed around the MAV, making it nearly impossible to see out of the small front window.

  “Dammit, I can’t see a damn thing but these fucking zombies,” Navarro said.

  “Can’t you do something? Like, shoot them?” Eli asked.

  “Sacrifices were made on this baby to get the big gun,” Navarro said. “That’s all we got.”

  “Can we use that to clear the way?” Eli asked.

  “That uses up one of our shells,” Gardner said.

  “How many do you have?” Eli asked.

  “Hold on,” Gardner said. Then he made a show of counting them. “A baker’s dozen, thirteen.”

  “How many will you need to take down that building?”

  “Six, maybe eight, if I place them in the right spot,” Gardner replied.

  “More than enough,” Eli said. “Let’s get this show in on the road.”

  Gardner thought Eli made it sound all too easy when he wasn’t doing jack shit to make it happen, but Gardner defaulted back to the idea that he just had to get this done. Then they could get back inside to safety.

  He quickly loaded the first shell in a series of mechanical actions, ending in a final metallic clunk, then said, “Hold onto your seats, gentleman.”

  Not knowing what to expect, Eli reached down and braced himself on his chair as he was told. Navarro put his head back against the headrest, and Eli followed his lead and did the same.

  Gardner said, “Three, two....one.”

  No matter how much he prepared, there was no way Eli was ready. It felt like the epicenter of an earthquake landed right on top of him. And that was right after a thunderclap went off inside the MAV.

  The vehicle rocked backward as if a giant had kicked it with a steel-toed boot. The shell smashed its way through the zombies standing in front of the MAV with a devastating effect, ripping them apart. Because it all happened so fast, it was as if the zombies evaporated, only in the process, they left blood everywhere.

  Before Eli could recover, Gardner said, “Aiming for the left front of the building.”

  Navarro leaned in toward the shell-shocked Eli and asked, “You sure this smart asshole is behind this building?”

  All Eli could do was nod, but he did it emphatically.

  “All right,” Navarro said. “Gards, let it fly.”

  Gardner fine-tuned his aim, and the whole explosive process happened again, rocking Eli’s world along with the building itself. Only this time, the left front of the building exploded outward, sending bricks, wood, and other debris flying with such incredible force that it knocked zombies flat onto the ground. Some were killed by the flying debris, while others laid on the ground with pieces of wood and other objects sticking out of their backs. The sheer concussive force of the blast rattled so many of the zombie’s brains that they were killed.

  Navarro let out a war-whoop and said, “Hell, yeah! Let’s go again.”

  Eli was speechless, but Gardner went back to work, only this time he targeted the right front of the building. After he locked in his aim, Gardner fired again with the same spectacular and devastating results. Bricks flew into the air, and a dust cloud billowed out of the building, rolling across the zombies.

  In Eli’s estimation, it looked like they would take down the building a lot faster than Gardner had said, as it looked as if the building were already wobbling. Still, Gardner loaded up another shell and let loose with more devastation.

  The next shell hit dead-center, slicing into the brick facade, and exploded deep within the recesses of the building. The concussive force of the blast sent zombies flying, their bodies rolling across the ground. Very few within the immediate blast area made it back to their feet.

  The building began to sag in on itself, the upper floor compromised by the shelling.

  “One more will take down the front,” Gardner said as he loaded up the next shell. He made an adjustment to his aim and said, “Here’s another one for the Gipper.”

  The next shell slammed into the intersection of the first and second floors and effectively broke the back of the structure that held the front of the building up. It wasn’t a slow collapse, either, as the second floor fell into the first. A giant plume of dust rolled out toward the MAV, obscuring the view of the building.

  Zombies paid little attention to the utter carnage behind them. They headed for the thing, making all the commotion, which happened to be the MAV. They stumbled out of the cloud and rammed into the side of the MAV, clawing and pounding at it.

  “I need to be able to see if we got the damn thing,” Eli said. “I can’t see shit. It could be making a run for it.”

  “Hold your pants on, princess,” Navarro said as he worked the controls of the vehicle, putting it into reverse and heading backward.

  Eli could swear he felt the vehicle rise up as they backed over and crushed zombies into the ground. Once Navarro had made thirty feet of backward progress, he cut the wheel to the right and moved up toward the building again. The dust cloud had started to settle, revea
ling what was left of the building, which was just a bare skeleton of the front half. The shelling had ignited small fires within the building, sparkling with orange and yellow.

  While he tried to hold it back, Eli felt a sense of eager anticipation. As if they might just be able to actually take out this sad excuse for a creature. As if he might just be able to save his people.

  That’s when he saw a bright flash from what was left of the far side of the building. They were so close to the source of the flash that he didn’t even have time to open his mouth before something exploded on the front of the MAV. The vehicle rocked backward from the impact, and Navarro screamed in pain. Eli felt a surge of heat sweep into the cabin, and he was thrown from his seat, slamming against the right side of the vehicle.

  Stunned, he swam on the edges of consciousness, hearing Navarro yelling that he couldn’t see anything and Gardner screaming away.

  The loudest thought echoing in his head was that they had come so close. It couldn’t end this way. It just couldn’t.

  Chapter 84

  One Step Ahead, Two Steps Back

  Clayton fired directly into the faces of zombies trying to climb their way onto the Humvee. They had nearly gotten up and onto the roof of the vehicle. Clayton knew that it was only a matter of time before he ran out of bullets, or one of them made it up to him on the roof of the Humvee. And that’s with some of Bonds’ people firing from the sides.

  “I need something to block this hole!” Clayton shouted. “And I need it now!”

  Jeff and another man hustled across the wide courtyard toward the Humvee carrying a heavy metal door between them. It was a double-wide door and looked about as heavy as a piano.

  A lone zombie slapped a hand onto the roof of the Humvee, then snatched onto Clayton’s ankle, gripping it tightly. It was a strong one with a vice-like grip. Almost before he knew it, Clayton was on his back and being yanked across the Humvee.