“Ya know, Floyd? I’m startin’ to see a pattern here, and I don’t like it.”
“Me neither. No doubt as a tourist spot, this place was heavy with brain-eaters. I think it’s pretty obvious the military used some powerful shit to try and stop the infestation.”
“I was thinkin’ the same thing. Colonel Trowbridge said they had RPGs that could take out a city block, but this is much bigger than that.”
“I’d say a tactical nuke. Army probably swept in soon after and wiped up whatever brain-eaters were left and burned ‘em. That would explain why there are no bodies of any kind. And that would also explain the Super Z’s we ran into. Musta happened pretty quick. Otherwise, there would have been a run on that gun store. Looters would have stripped it bare.”
“That would explain somethin’ else, too,” Mikki said, ominously.
“What’s that, Mikki?”
They were just coming up out of the other side of the pit. Mikki toggled one of the forward cameras and zoomed in. She pointed to the monitor and said, “It explains that!”
Floyd looked and saw several vehicles like Behemoth up ahead, along with a number of tanks. Real tanks! The military had clearly occupied this entire area, but for whatever reason, they weren’t entirely successful. About a hundred Super Z’s were standing around, inert. Many were holding machine guns or pistols as if they were now glued to their bodies.
“Tanks!” Floyd exclaimed, pointing out the obvious.
“You’re welcome,” Mikki answered. Floyd groaned. “Oh, come on! I had to say that! Maybe they’ll think we’re one of ‘em,” Mikki offered. “We’re in one o’ their trucks. Or whatever this thing is.”
“Technically, it’s a TAV: tactical assault vehicle.”
“Yeah, whatever. I like your name better. ‘Behemoth.’”
“Yeah, me too. Well, they don’t seem to be paying attention to us yet. If they know how to fire those tank cannons, though, were dead.”
“We could just go around, Floyd.”
“Yeah, but then we’ll never know what we’re dealing with. Let’s play this out.”
‘OK, Floyd. When did we have a brain transplant? You’re startin’ to think like me now. That’s freakin’ scary.”
“You’re right. That is scary. I guess we’re rubbin’ off on each other.”
“I like rubbin’ off on you, but later, OK?”
Floyd laughed. “Damn girl, you never pull your head out of your crotch, do you?”
“At least it ain’t stuck up my ass! OK, Floyd, head on up there. Easy does it, big fella!”
She patted him on the shoulder and sat in the chair next to him, watching the monitors. With the cannon aiming mechanism in front of her, she practiced using the trackball to spin the turret around and lock onto the other vehicles. If necessary, she could alternate between loading the cannon and jumping back to the console to aim and fire. Unlike the side machine guns, the cannon was a single-fire weapon.
Floyd moved forward slowly. He checked the power gauge and they were still at almost 50 percent, with two spare batteries in the back. They should be able to get out of an emergency, if one arose.
The Super Z’s didn’t notice their approach until they got within about 250 feet. Then they started to get active, moving in their direction. When Behemoth got within 50 feet, something clicked inside their Super Zombie brains that recognized the vehicle as a threat. Probably Mikki locking the cannon on their vehicles as a target, Floyd thought, too late.
At nearly the same instant, the nearest 10 zombie soldiers opened fire. Machine gun bullets and small arms fire bounced off the sides of the vehicle. One ricochet took out the head of one of the attackers, which sent Mikki into a fit of laughter as she watched at the monitors.
As she continued to watch, one by one, the Super Z’s ran out of ammunition. She still kept “firing” for a while, until they realized the guns weren’t working. Some looked at their weapons in confusion, but one after another, they threw them to the ground.
That didn’t end the attack, however. One took a flying leap at the vehicle and smashed himself against the side before falling to the ground where a giant tire crushed him. Mikki commented, “Apparently these things ain’t quite as smart as we thought, Floyd!”
“They’re smart enough,” Floyd answered, pointing to the monitor as the others jumped onto the vehicle. “Make sure that hatch is locked!”
“Shit, how do I do that?”
“I don’t know, check it out!”
There were no cameras on top of Behemoth, but they saw several bodies go past the outside cameras on their way up to the turret where the hatch was. Mikki flew up the ladder and quickly scanned the inside of the hatch. They should have thought to check that earlier!
“I found it!” she called, throwing a lever that latched onto the wheel that opened the hatch.
It was none too soon. The hatch wheel started turning violently, if only half an inch back and forth. Apparently, these things were smart enough to open more than just a doorknob. If Mikki hadn’t flipped that lever, there was no way she would have been strong enough to hold that wheel in place with her bare hands.
Floyd spun Behemoth around and a couple Super Z’s flew off. Someone on top was still working on the hatch wheel, so Mikki moved to the turret control panel and spun it around 360 degrees as fast as it would go. The cannon barrel knocked the creature off and onto the asphalt. By now, of course, the creatures had started howling and every other brain-eater in the area was headed their way.
To remove the rest of the fleas stuck on Behemoth’s back, Floyd steered straight for a Subway sandwich restaurant and plowed right through it. A few moments after emerging from the other side, the building collapsed in on itself, crushing the few creatures that had survived the initial collision.
Soon, the next wave arrived. Like the first batch, several fired weapons at them until they ran out of bullets. Fortunately, the cannons in the multiple tanks and assault vehicles remained silent. Either none of the Super Z’s were inside, or they didn’t quite have the capacity to aim and fire that kind of complicated equipment.
Mikki grabbed one of the side machine guns and started firing, blowing away anything that came within sight on the small screen that companied each gun. It was hard to get a good bead on a target with Floyd spinning the vehicle around. Moreover, each gun had limited movement. She had to move between each of the four weapons to get a good shot, but by that time, either Behemoth or the targets had moved. After a short while, she gave up.
“Hey, Floyd! Ain’t it time we went bowlin’ again?”
“I got a new game. It’s called ‘Steamroller.’”
“Ooh! I like the sound of that game.”
Floyd ran over every Super Z possible. It wasn’t that easy, since they were pretty fast and could jump out of the way. He had to head in one direction, then spin around to crush whoever was following him. Eventually, Mikki told him to just round them up, then head back up the road and park sideways.
Floyd made a big circle throughout the area, making sure that every creature knew he was there. Then, he hit the gas (figuratively speaking, since Behemoth didn’t actually use gasoline) and got a good lead before he slammed on the brakes and spun sideways. Now Mikki had a good line of Supercreepers to shoot at! She took a position at one of the machine guns and started firing. Floyd joined her and took over the other gun on that side. The bullets ripped through several bodies at a time, dispatching most of them, but about 20 recognized the danger and took a different course. They headed for a small building nearby, opened the door, and jumped inside. Apparently, they still understood the meaning of “strategic withdrawal” (in the military—not contraceptive—sense).
Mikki was ecstatic. “Finally!” she exclaimed, rushing to the turret control.
She clicked a button to lock in the building and fired. Even inside the steel monster, they heard and felt the cannon blast. About half of the building came crashing down. Just to be safe , she q
uickly loaded another shell and fired again, to level the other half. She zoomed in with the camera to confirm nothing was moving in the smoking ruins.
“Well, that went well!” she said with a smile.
Chapter Fifteen
“Goddammit!” Floyd cried, as he checked under the vehicle. “More body parts to clean off!”
“Occupational hazard, Floyd.”
“So when did you do that?” he asked, pointing to the F+M logo on the side of Behemoth.
“When we left Grant Boys.”
“Cool! I like it!”
“Good, ‘cause I ain’t washing it off!”
Mikki spent 15 minutes helping Floyd pick Super Zombie pieces and other debris out of the axles behind the tires. As they laid on their backs under the truck, Mikki commented, “I wonder why those first army dudes we ran into didn’t turn all Super Z? Here, this might come in handy.” She tossed a severed hand in Floyd’s direction.
“I’m guessing that was a National Guard truck,” Floyd answered, completely ignoring the hand. “They were probably called up from the reserves and didn’t get the injection. Or they did get it and it didn’t work. Remember, Colonel Trowbridge said it flat out killed some people and didn’t work at all on others.”
“Yeah, and he said the rest turned into nasty-shit creepers.”
“I don’t believe those were his exact words, but yeah. Here, there’s trouble afoot.” Floyd dug out a boot from the axle and threw it at Mikki. It still had a zombie foot in it. “That should be it for now. Let’s go check those other tanks and stuff.”
“Right!”
Floyd drove them back to the makeshift military compound near one of the other tactical assault vehicles. The place seemed to be deserted, but they brought Bonnie and Clyde, just in case. Climbing up onto the nearest vehicle, Mikki covered Floyd as he popped the hatch. They peered inside to see four Super Z faces peering up at them.
“Shit!” Floyd shouted, slamming the lid again.
“One more time, Floyd,” Mikki ordered, pulling the pin from a grenade.
He opened the hatch just enough for Mikki to throw in the grenade and slammed it shut a split second later. The Super Z’s were already at the ladder inside. Three seconds later they weren’t. They were all over the inside walls. Floyd opened the hatch again.
“Happy Mikki? You got to throw a grenade and make a helluva mess at the same time.”
“Feelin’ pretty good, Floyd. Let’s grab the batteries outta this thing and whatever ammo is left. I’m down to five cannon shells.”
“Well, we can’t have that, can we?”
“Nope. We know something else now, too. These Supercreepers is smart enough to use guns and stuff, but this level of technology is too much for them. That’s a good thing. A damn good thing.”
“I reckon so, Mikki. ‘Cause they’re deadly enough the way they are now. Which tells me we need to step up our game. We need to start training.”
“Training? Like how?”
“Well, you know I was into paintball because of all the plastic armor I had when we met. My buddy at work who got me into paintball was into all sorts of other stuff, too. He was a nut about mixed martial arts and Japanese sword fighting and stuff. I wasn’t into it nearly as much as he was, and now I wish I had paid more attention, but I remember enough.”
“So if you know all that karate stuff, how come you let that Supercreeper drop kick your ass like that?”
“It wasn’t just karate, and I didn’t say I was very good at it. Frankly, I never took it that seriously. It was just for fun and stuff. And besides, that brain-eater caught me by surprise. Who the hell knew they could do that? That’s why we both need to train. We both need to practice. Otherwise these things are gonna tear us to shreds and it ain’t gonna be pretty!”
They pulled 15 cannon shells, two batteries, and several magazines of 9mm rounds out of the vehicle, then moved on to check the others. Two of the other Obamas were empty, but three more had Super Z surprises inside. Most of the batteries they found were dead, but five still had some power left. Pushing a button on each of the cells revealed that none were at greater than 60% capacity, however.
After loading as much as they could into Behemoth without taking up too much room, Floyd began teaching Mikki some moves. He started by teaching her to block. She made a joke about “wax on, wax off,” but he ignored it. He taught her to block various hand punches and kicks, then taught her how to perform a jump kick herself. Mikki called it the Flying Zombie Kick.
For all her jokes, Floyd could tell that Mikki was taking the training seriously enough. After a while, she really got into it. Both of them understood how important it was. They were in a whole new world now with the appearance of the Super Z’s, and they were not about to be caught unprepared again.
After taking turns attacking each other and defending for an hour or so, they took a food break. Then Mikki pulled out the swords and Floyd worked with her on effective sword technique. They propped up some of the less mangled undead bodies and practiced slicing off heads and appendages until they ran out of body parts.
When they were done, Floyd checked out his maps and planned out their return to Emerald Valley Campground. Depending on how long the batteries in Behemoth lasted, there should be no problem getting there and back. They were fully stocked with food, ammunition and hand grenades in an impenetrable vehicle. They didn’t even have to worry about siphoning gasoline every chance they got.
As Floyd poured over his maps, Mikki tried the radio again. After about 20 minutes, she was just about to give up again, when she heard Bob’s voice.
“Floyd and Mikki? Yeah we’re here. Where are you?”
“According to Floyd’s map, somewhere in Anaheim, California. We’re just about ready to get back on the freeway. We picked up a pretty nice military vehicle with plenty of firepower. And it has a radio in it. That’s how we’re talkin’ to you. How is everyone there? No more trouble from the raiders?”
“Nah, no trouble of any kind. Some of our group have been itching to get on the road. They didn’t want to wait until you got back. A couple were pretty convinced you were never coming back. That you abandoned us.”
“Ha! The Sourpuss family, no doubt.”
“Excuse me? Who?”
“Never mind.”
“Well, anyway, most people were too afraid of what might be out there to leave, and Ranger Martin insisted we all stay together.”
“Just tell everyone we’re on our way. Depending on the road, we should be back within a week or so. We’ll check in every day around this time, if that works for you.”
“Sounds good. I’ll leave the radio on around this time.”
“Hi, Bob!” Floyd called out from his chair.
“Hi, Floyd! Good to hear your voice!”
“Tell everyone we’ll be there as soon as we can!” Then under his breath, Floyd added, “We got nowhere else to go.”
“OK, Bob, we’re signing off now,” said Mikki. “Talk to you tomorrow.”
“You got it. Stay safe out there!”
“We do our best!” Mikki assured him. She deliberately didn’t tell him about the Super Zombies. Not yet, anyway. And there was no such thing in this world as “staying safe.” She had learned that the hard way.
Chapter Sixteen
Without having to worry about anything killing them in their sleep, Floyd and Mikki traveled by day and slept at night. They would have been locked in a passionate embrace every night as well, but it wasn’t the right time of the month for Mikki. Instead, they laid out their sleeping bags so they could sleep together on the floor. It was good to get out of their battle armor for the night and wash themselves a little with the bottled water.
Floyd held Mikki tightly as she tucked herself into his strong arms and buried her head in his chest. She loved the profile of his face when she looked up at him. He loved the cute little smile on her face when she slept. In the morning, they dressed and trained for another two hours
in the early morning light before hitting the road again.
It was almost too easy. They drove up Harbor Boulevard to the 91 freeway, which took them east back to the 15 north. They easily pushed aside or rolled over everything in their way, clearing a path for the Happy Campers to make it back this way from Emerald Valley. Mikki sat next to Floyd, zooming in and toggling around the various cameras to scan for trouble.
Whenever she saw a car with creepers in it, she pointed it out to Floyd who drove over it and crushed it flat. They wanted to eliminate as many threats as possible for the return trip, since they would have a couple dozen campers to protect, including women and several children. They were determined not to lose a single person on the way back to NCH.
“Of course!” Floyd mumbled, pointing out the collapsed section of the freeway ahead. “It’s always some damn thing.”
“Well, cleanup crew ain’t been around for a while. You wouldn’t want our lives to get boring, now would you?”
“I’d settle for boring once in a while.”
“Yeah, right! That’s why you didn’t stay at NCH.”
“Boring is one thing. Trapped is another.”
“Whatever, where are we, Floyd?”
His face buried in a map, Floyd answered, “Looks like Norco. That should be Second Street up ahead. Oh shit!”
“What?”
“Well, there’s a little college nearby, an Old Folks Home, a rehabilitation center, and guess what else? A Naval Surface Warfare Division.”
“Oh crap! More Super Z’s!”
“That’s what I’m thinking,” Floyd confirmed.
“What the hell is the navy doin’ in the middle of freakin’ nowhere on land?”
“Cheap real estate?” They both chuckled a bit, then Floyd continued. “There’s a big lake, but it’s too small for a submarine or a battleship.”
Floyd & Mikki (Book 2): Zombie Slayers (Dawn of the Living) Page 7
