Riders of the Apocalypse (Book 3): Eat Asphalt

by Alex Westmore

  The chaos caused by those in the Fuchs resounded with huge explosions. At first, Dallas thought the Beast may have been blown up by the tank, but then more explosions followed and she realized the Fuchs was taking out their vehicles.

  Guards and regularly dressed men were running everywhere. There were too many to shoot, so when Dallas and Hannah got to the street, she surveyed their position. It would be impossible to make it back to the Fuchs. There were simply too many people between them and the safety of the Beast, which was blasting everything in sight. She’d have to find another route.

  “Come on!” she yelled, pulling Hannah onto a side street she hoped was free of guards.

  She hoped wrong.

  As she turned down one street with Hannah, four guards leveled their rifles at them.

  “Run, Hannah!”

  The two of them wheeled around and began hightailing it back. Hannah ran faster than Dallas expected her to, and as they bolted through the gritty streets toward another warehouse, Dallas felt the hot bite of lead as it pierced her side, knocking her off her feet. Her rifle clattered uselessly to the street, and as she struggled to get up, she knew she was done. Her weapon was too far out of reach, and as she struggled to get up to her hands and knees, she thought about how deeply she loved Roper and how they would never get to go home together.

  Home.

  Was that the last thought people had before they died?

  “Run…Hannah…”

  The last thing she saw before unconsciousness wrapped its cold, dark arms around her was Hannah dropping to one knee and firing a rifle much too big for her.

  “Don’t shoot, it’s me!” Burnett cried, waving her arms as she ran toward the Fuchs.

  “Hold your fire!” Butcher shouted. “It’s Burnett!”

  Hunter released the gun and grabbed his bow, picking off men who hadn’t retreated far enough away yet.

  Thwup.

  Thwup.

  Thwup.

  When the ramp lowered, Burnett ran into Einstein’s arms as Fletcher and Zoe covered her with their bows, firing at an inconceivable pace and hitting their targets a good eighty percent of the time.

  “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.” Burnett collapsed into Einstein’s arms. “Dallas…is…still…”

  “I got you. We got you. You’re safe now, Burnie. Where is Dallas?”

  The ramp rose and Hunter reached down for the largest ammo, loaded it and depressed the trigger. The resulting explosion was incredibly loud and rattled the Fuchs and everyone in it.

  Hunter then turned on the vehicles and blew them to bits.

  “Where is she?” Butcher asked, pushing the Fuchs forward. “Where did you leave her last?”

  “Shooters above!” Zoe yelled to Hunter, who scrambled down the ladder and grabbed a rifle.

  “I’ll need help taking snipers out,” Hunter said on his way back up the ladder. His father wasn’t far behind him.

  “She headed down that street,” Burnett said, pointing.

  Butcher pushed the Fuchs down the street, running over dead bodies along the way and live bodies not smart enough to step aside. Hunter and Fletcher shot anyone still outside the warehouses while Zoe continued to shoot through the small rifle opening on the side of the Beast.

  “That’s where JB lives,” Einstein said, pointing to a blue warehouse. “Fucking dumb ass redneck good for nothing hillbilly piece of shit.”

  “Light her up,” Butcher ordered when she realized the shooters were fleeing toward the tank.

  “They’re making their way to the tank!”

  “Let ‘em. This is where the rubber meets the road, boys and girls. Kid, I sure as shit hope you know what you’re doing.”

  Einstein nodded. “I do. Trust me on this. I’ve got this. I did exactly what Luke would have done.”

  “Hang on everybody. If this doesn’t work, we’re screwed…and we’re done being screwed.”

  Once the men were in the tank, they swiveled the gun toward the Fuchs. There was a slight pause…once second…two…three…and then the tank imploded, sending metal pieces high into the air.

  “It worked!” Fletcher cried out as he slid back down the ladder. “I’ll be damned, kid, you were right about how to kill a tank.”

  “Take these fuckers out,” Butcher growled. “Every last one of them.”

  Fletcher lightly touched Butcher’s shoulder. “We need to get out of here, Butcher. I know how badly you want to hurt these folks, but we need to go before they regroup.”

  Butcher shrugged off his touch. “I’m not leaving without her. I’ll bulldoze every goddamn building if I have to, but we’re not leaving here without her.”

  “No one said you had to, but this place is gonna burn to the ground any minute now. We need to put some distance between them and us. Pull them away from Dallas.”

  Butcher looked over her shoulder at Fletcher. “You want me to leave her? I can’t fucking believe this.”

  “No, Butcher, I don’t. I just want you to lead them away from here. Pull out Butcher, while you can. We can’t help her if we get caught.”

  Einstein was nodding. “They’ll regroup for sure. They have rocket launchers and other weapons that could take us out. Let’s get out now. Take this fight out to the open. Give Dallas some breathing room.”

  Zoe pulled back from the gun slot. “The kid’s right. They’re reorganizing. I got a bazooka at three o’clock!”

  Hunter jumped into the turret and swung the gun around spraying bullets and killing the men trying to load a rocket launcher.

  The warehouses were burning quickly now, driving everyone out to the streets amid the smoke and ash.

  “Where is he?” Burnett asked Einstein. “Where is that fat fuck?”

  “I don’t see him,” Einstein said. “But when I do, we’re gonna light him up. I promise.”

  When a warehouse door opened to reveal a military transport mounted with several machine guns, Butcher floored it, breaking through the front gate and heading away from the area and out into the open.

  “Zoe?”

  “They’re following,” Zoe replied. “I got one military transport with shooters.”

  “We’ll get them far enough away and then turn and fight. Hunter?”

  “Launcher ready to go!” Hunter cried from the turret.

  Butcher looked over at Einstein. “We’re not leaving her. You guys were right, though. We just need some space to maneuver.”

  He nodded. “Play it smart, Butcher. These assholes are well trained assholes.”

  “Hold on!” Butcher yelled, whipping the Fuchs around in a one-eighty that kicked up dirt and debris. “Everyone get ready. Let’s kill these motherfuckers and send the ashes back to Hell.”

  When Dallas woke, it was dark out and she was lying on her stomach on a pile of burlap. She remembered running with...with a little girl…and then…had she been shot?

  Struggling to get up, Dallas felt her side burn as an answer.

  “Take it easy,” a disembodied voice said softly. “You’re in a warehouse about five blocks from the compound. Hannah and I couldn’t carry you any further.”

  Dallas winced as she tried sitting up. Two pairs of hands helped her. “Hannah?”

  “She’s right here. We are safe for the moment.” Sanchez said. “Thank you for saving my daughter. I...I don’t know how to thank you.”

  Dallas reached for her side. It was bandaged but she felt the heat from her wound through the gauze. “You already did by helping Roper escape. Was I shot?”

  “Yes. Right after your friends came. The whole place is in chaos.” Dallas smelled the air.

  “It’s burning?”

  “Oh hell yeah. Nearly complete and utter destruction of two warehouses. Once your people got to your vehicle, they wreaked major havoc. The last I saw of them, they were scrambling out of the compound with a military transport in pursuit.”

  Dallas felt lightheaded and struggled to get up. “They…got the Beast? I have to
get to them.”

  Sanchez put her hands on Dallas’s shoulders. “What you have to do is rest. I got the bullet out but you’ve lost a lot of blood. Besides, we can’t go anywhere at night. Not with Hannah. Those things’ll be all over us.”

  “They...here...now?”

  Sanchez nodded. “Oh yeah. The compound is in complete disarray. The men are trying to reconstruct the gate. Who knows how many of those things have wandered in? It’s not safe out there.”

  “JB?”

  “Last I saw, he was ordering two of the remaining Jeeps to go after your friends.”

  Dallas felt so weak, but she found enough energy to chuckle. “Go. After?”

  “Yeah. Did you...did you kill his son? That’s what I overheard when we were dragging you in here. You didn’t really kill his son, did you?”

  “Yes. I did.”

  “Oh shit. Then you grabbed a tiger by the tail, my friend, and its snapping and snarling at everyone.”

  As Dallas slowly faded to black, she whispered, “Uh-uh. That’s where you’re wrong…The tiger is driving the Fuchs.”

  Butcher forced the eleven men from their Jeeps and lined them up in the light from their vehicles. It had been easy enough in the dark to stop and secure the Jeeps, thereby making these men their prisoners.

  Butcher didn’t want prisoners.

  She wanted Dallas, and more.

  Much more.

  “Okay, gentlemen,” Butcher said, striding in front of a line of men who had been cable tied together. All but one were tied together. The free man stood with his fingers interlocked behind his head. “Here’s the deal, Tex, and I’m only offering it once. Be very clear about that. I want my friend, Dallas, returned to me alive before dawn. I also want JB, Sarge, and—” she turned to Einstein.

  “Clint.” Einstein said his name like a cuss word. “Fucking asshole douche canoe Clint.”

  Butcher nodded. “Clint. Right. You deliver them to me, you’ll save yourself and your buddies here.”

  “JB’ll never give her to you. Ever.” Tex stood a little over six feet tall and wore body armor, cowboy boots, and a grey cowboy hat.

  “Maybe I’m not making myself clear here, Tex.” Butcher got right in his face. I’m giving you two hours to bring these people to me. Every half hour you do not return with someone, I’ll shoot one of your friends here. At the end of two hours, I will kill the rest.”

  “Fuck you.”

  Butcher raised her Sig and blew off the face of the guy standing closest to him.

  Every man took a step back, eyes wide.

  “Is there anyone else who would like this little task?”

  Three guys raised their hands.

  “You. What’s your name?”

  “Paul, ma’am.”

  “Okay Paul. I hope you’re smarter than your friend here. In thirty minutes, one will be like that faceless bastard on the ground. All you need to do is bring me one of those people, then the clock starts again. Is that clear?”

  He nodded.

  “Now, in case you think you’re going to bring other people up here, let me remind you how easy it was to take your Jeeps out. If I see two sets of headlights, I’ll kill everyone here first, then I’ll blow the vehicle to bits. Understood?”

  “What if he bolts?” One of the men asked.

  “Well then, he’ll just have to live with your deaths on his conscience. Until we find him.” Butcher glared into his face. “Let me paint the picture for you, Paul. If you run, we will find you. When we do, I’ll toss you in that fucking zombie cage and watch you fight for your life. Don’t play me, Paul, because when daylight comes, we’re bringing that whole piece of shit compound down. You and your pals have a slender chance to live through it. And if you think we are all there are, you are seriously mistaken. I will personally hunt your motherfucking ass down. Are we clear?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Good.” Butcher cut him loose. “Now—take that motorcycle and get going. Your time starts right now. Two hours. Go.”

  Paul started the bike and rode down the hill.

  “You’re a stupid bitch if you think he’s coming back,” Tex grumbled.

  Butcher calmly raised her Sig and shot him in the face. “Anyone else have anything to say to me?” When no one said a word, she nodded. “You’re smarter than you look. Have a seat, gentlemen.” She waited for them to sit down in the still warm dirt.

  “Out here?” One of them said glancing around to the left and right. “Those things’ll be here any minute.”

  Butcher grinned. “Yes, they will. You’d better hope your pal Paul doesn’t bring help. I think you are all shitting your pants because you know he will, won’t he?” Butcher heard a twig snap. “But you see, that’s just what I’m counting on. JB will send out his best men, thinking this is his chance to get us. But you know what’s funny about that? When they get here, all they’re going to find are your half-eaten bodies.”

  “Wait. But you said—”

  Half of the men started speaking at once.

  “Yeah…about that.” Butcher stepped within a foot of the line of men. “What you assholes have done to the people I love is unconscionable. Unforgivable. You make me sick to my stomach and you’re going to pay for what you’ve done. Every last one of you.”

  Another sound announced the arrival of more undead.

  “Your people killed two of my family. My family...for no reason. No fucking reason at all. Ergo, you are all going to die and die horribly.”

  One guy broke ranks and rushed Butcher.

  He landed dead on the ground from a crossbow bolt through his eye before he could take two more steps.

  “You and your psycho leader are all going to die,” Zoe said. “And I, for one, am going to enjoy watching you pencil-dicked motherfuckers get eaten.”

  “Wait. Please. There must be something we can do. Anything. Please.” One skinny man begged.

  “Yeah. Let us join up with you guys. We can help. We really can.”

  Butcher laughed out loud as she saw the first zombie round the corner. “Your dinner guests have arrive. Good luck, fellas.” With that, she and the others retreated to the Fuchs, which pulled up the ramp as the men tried to make a run for it, stumbling over each other and falling to the ground.

  “Remind me never to piss you off,” Hunter said softly.

  “This is nothing short of war. We don’t have time or room for prisoners. Those fuckers have no loyalty, no moral fiber, and no guts. They deserve what they are about to get. Good riddance, I say.”

  They all gathered around the tiny glass window on the back ramp of the Fuchs and watched as the man eaters attacked the line of screaming men tearing them apart and eating them.

  “I’ve seen enough,” Burnett said. “Can we go now?”

  “Yeah. We’ve got other issues to worry about. Einstein, will that trap of yours blow for sure?”

  He nodded. “Trip wire twenty-five feet from the men. The first vehicle to trip it will be blown to bits. The second mine will go five seconds after that.”

  “Excellent.”

  They rolled along in silence for a few minutes as everyone gathered their gear.

  “Everyone weaponed up?” Butcher asked, slowing down.

  “Roger that.”

  “When we see the vehicles leaving the compound, that’s when we go in. I’m sure he’ll send out whatever vehicles we didn’t blow to bits. This is personal and he’s gonna make the mistake of sending out too many men.”

  Einstein checked his seldom-used sidearm. “They’ll never be expecting us to return. They’re arrogant that way.”

  Butcher grinned as she turned the Fuchs’s lights off. The sounds of men screaming reverberated through the night air along with explosions.

  “That is exactly what I am counting on.”

  The familiar moaning and scratching woke her just as Sanchez leaned down and whispered, “We have to get out of here. They are everywhere.”

  Dallas nodde
d and struggled to her feet, feeling her side burn. “What’s going on out there?”

  “Honestly? I heard the sound of our cars taking off. I think JB’s men are going after your friends.”

  “The tank—did they—”

  “They destroyed just about every vehicle on the compound. A couple of emergency Jeeps were back behind JB’s place. I’m guessing they left in those.” Sanchez and Hannah helped Dallas steady on her feet.

  “That would be a foolish thing to do,” Dallas said, standing unsteadily on her feet. “He must think I’m with them. He’s blinded by his need for revenge.”

  The moaning and shuffling were louder now.

  “You did kill his son.”

  “Oh, and I am so not done with the killing.”

  Sanchez nodded. “I understand that, but your people are coming for you. Surely their safety is more important to you than vengeance.”

  Dallas looked away. “We need to head west. The train runs by here, right? We have to get to the rails.”

  Sanchez hefted a bag onto her shoulder and helped Hannah with hers. “About a mile or two down the road.”

  Dallas nodded. “We need to get there.”

  “Tonight? In the dark?”

  “We can’t stay here. Those things will be all over here for the dead bodies. What time is it?”

  “Almost four.”

  Dallas nodded. “Should be light out soon enough.”

  Sanchez handed Dallas a rifle and a machete. “Your friends—”

  “Know what they’re doing. They’ll be meeting us as soon as they can, but with the fires and the man eaters, we’re sitting ducks if we don’t get out of here. We have to get a move on.”

  “Can you walk?”

  Dallas smiled weakly. “Don’t really have a choice.”

  Sanchez’s eyes softened as she gazed into her face. “I can see why you both lasted this long. You’re cut from the same cloth.”

  “Did you—did you see her with them? Did she come back?”

  Sanchez shook her head. “But then, I didn’t see much once the shooting started because I was running to get Hannah.”