Dead America-The Northwest Invasion Box Set | Books 1-6

by Slaton, Derek

  Davila glanced over his shoulder just in time to see Rollins fire off a few more shots, taking out the last of the would-be attackers.

  Jinx grabbed a large brick of firecrackers. “All right, saddle up,” he said. “I think that’s as good as we’re getting with those.”

  Davila tossed the mortar device back into the truck and climbed up as Jinx lit the firecrackers and tossed them out onto the asphalt. He smacked the roof of the truck, and Jarvis took off again.

  As they picked up speed to ram through the next batch of zombies, the firecrackers went off, loud sustained snapping filling the air.

  “Hey Jarvis, once we’re through,” Jinx called through the window as he exchanged a fist bump with Davila, “stop at the next safe area so we can keep this up.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Jarvis drove the truck around slowly as the boys were on the ground, setting up fireworks to go off. There were a few hundred zombies on the main road headed towards them, but nearly a football field away.

  Rollins aimed his assault rifle down the side street, firing off a few shots and taking out some nearby zombies that were attracted to the noise.

  Davila and Stein set up a row of mortars on the roadway, lighting them up at the same time to send up a barrage of explosives, hoping that the combined noise would draw more zombies in.

  Burch found a metal dumpster in an alley, running up to it and throwing in a brick of firecrackers. A few moments later, there was a loud metallic echo reverberating through the alley. When he looked back, he saw smoke rising from the dumpster, and Jinx approached, chuckling.

  “Well, if that isn’t a metaphor for the last month,” he said.

  Burch snorted. “No shit.”

  Jarvis honked the horn to get everyone’s attention, coming to a stop. “All right, really starting to draw a crowd up here,” she announced. “Let’s get moving to the next site.”

  Jinx walked up to the window, and she handed over the satellite image of the area, where she’d put several red X marks on the map, showing locations to the west of the bridge.

  “So where we at?” he asked as he surveyed it.

  Jarvis pointed to the locations as she spoke. “About six blocks due west of the bridge,” she explained. “I think we need to put some significant distance between us and the bridge this time.”

  “Agreed,” the Corporal said. “If there are any on the other side of the bridge, they aren’t going to care about the noise we’re making this far out. We need to focus on keeping the ones here occupied.”

  Several gunshots erupted from the other soldiers as they cleared out nearby ghouls coming from alleys and stores. Neither Jinx nor Jarvis even flinched at the noise.

  “If we can find someplace we can rig to blow like that gas station, that would be ideal,” the Corporal mused.

  Jarvis shrugged. “I haven’t seen any yet,” she admitted, “and from the looks of it, we’re about to get into some residential areas for a bit.”

  “Couple of house fires, maybe?” he asked. “Might get lucky with them having gas instead of electric.”

  She shook her head, smiling. “You were totally a little arsonist as a kid, weren’t you?” she asked.

  “Yeah, pleading the fifth on that one,” he replied.

  A few more gunshots went off, and then the rest of the team clambered hop into the truck. Jinx used the back tire as a foothold and hopped into the bed with Davila and Rollins.

  “So, what we doing next?” Davila asked.

  Jinx jerked a thumb over his shoulder as he sat down. “Start a few house fires,” he replied, “see if we can’t get a gas explosion.”

  “Hell yeah,” his friend replied with a grin, “I’m in.”

  Jarvis drove the group a few blocks up, smacking into several clusters of undead on the road while the fireworks in the background attracted more ghouls from every nook and cranny on the roadside.

  The neighborhood was middle-class, with nice brick homes stretching along the tree-lined streets. Jarvis drove up to an intersection, with houses stretching in every direction, and slowed to a stop. As the boys hopped out, she hung out of the window.

  “Hey Jinx, I got an idea,” she said.

  He approached her. “Let’s hear it,” he said.

  “We got plenty of those fireworks, right?” she asked, motioning to the back of the truck. “We should set some of them up by the windows and doors of the houses you’re setting on fire. It’ll be like an extended fuse on ‘em, so we can get a little more bang for our buck.”

  Jinx nodded and whirled his hand in the air. “You heard the lady,” he declared, “let’s set us up some extra party favors!”

  Davila and Rollins grabbed large handfuls of fireworks out of the back and followed the other three up to the nearest house. As they set them up along the windows, the Corporal led the way inside.

  He smashed open the front door, assault rifle raised. There were two zombies in the kitchen, staggering towards them, and he quickly put them down.

  “Burch, check the stove, see if it’s gas,” Jinx said. “Stein, keep watch.”

  The men leapt into action as the Corporal pulled a blanket off of a shelf and stretched it over the couch. He pulled out his lighter, but then Jarvis’ horn sounded.

  “Everything okay?” Rollins called.

  Jinx furrowed his brow. “Not sure,” he replied, and then looked out the window.

  Jarvis stood in the driver’s side door, frantically waving her arms to get him to come over.

  “You boys finish this up and get the fire going,” he instructed. “I’m going to go see what the problem is.”

  He headed out the front door and walked casually towards the truck. Jarvis hopped out and ran over to him, unable to wait for him to reach her at his slow pace.

  “Christ, what’s up?” he demanded.

  She held out the walkie-talkie, thrusting it at him. “It’s Dickerson,” she said.

  Jinx immediately raised the device to his lips. “Sergeant, it’s Jinx, what’s going on?”

  “Thank Christ,” Dickerson gushed. “We’re pinned down and in need of immediate backup.”

  The Corporal’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean, you’re pinned down?”

  “We ran into a shitload of these motherfuckers and got driven into a house,” the Sergeant explained. “We’re completely surrounded and there’s hundreds of these things. Don’t know how much longer we can hold out.” There was deafening gunfire before he let go of the button.

  “We’re on the way,” Jinx replied immediately. “Where are you?”

  “North side of town, three, maybe four blocks due east of the hospital,” Dickerson replied. “Don’t have an address, but when you see the shitstorm, we’ll be in the middle of it.”

  Jinx nodded firmly. “Hang tight Dickerson, we’re on the way.” He lowered the radio, jaw clenched.

  “I know we need to help them,” Jarvis said slowly, “but what about our mission?”

  The Corporal shoved two fingers in his mouth and let out a piercing whistle, his team immediately rushing out of the house.

  “What’s up?” Davila asked as they approached.

  Jinx took a deep breath. “Sergeant Dickerson and his team are in a heap of trouble,” he replied. “We’re going to go bail them out. Davila, Rollins, can you two handle the house fires?”

  “Absolutely,” Davila replied immediately.

  Jinx held out his hand. “Map.”

  Jarvis reached into her pocket and grabbed the paper, slapping it into his hand. He unfolded it and quickly studied it, seeing a large white-roofed building in the middle of the green residential area.

  “Okay, I want fires every half-block, alternate sides of the street,” he began. “Pull out the fireworks that you can and use them.” He pointed to the white-roofed building. “Rendezvous at whatever this building is ten blocks to the west. Given the location, it’s probably a school or community center. If it’s too dangerous, meet one block to the w
est in the corner house. Now let’s move.”

  Davila nodded and pointed at his teammates. “Burch, Stein, help us unload the fireworks,” he said. “Just dump them in the street and we’ll find a wheelbarrow or something to get them moved.”

  The four soldiers rushed off to do so as Jinx and Jarvis studied the map.

  “We’re six blocks south and a few blocks to the west of the hospital,” the Corporal mused as he pointed to the map. “So they’re somewhere in this area. I think if we come up to this road, we should be able to find them.”

  Jarvis nodded, but cocked her head. “And what do we do once we find them?” she asked.

  “Haven't thought that far ahead,” Jinx admitted, and shoved the map into his pocket. “Now let’s move.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  The drive to the north side of town was tense, the soldiers on edge, worrying about what they were going to find. Jarvis slowed down as they reached the neighborhood and slowed to a stop after Jinx smacked the side of the truck.

  “We should walk from here,” he suggested, “we have to be close and don’t want attention on us until we’re ready for it.”

  The quartet readied their weapons, and the Corporal made sure to grab the walkie talkie and stuff it into his pocket before leading the group away.

  The neighborhood had a handful of zombies milling about, all of them headed northward. There was sporadic gunfire in the distance, but it was muffled, sounding like it was from inside a building.

  “That’s gotta be them,” Jinx said.

  The soldiers moved quietly, creeping quickly but as lightly as they could. They got off of the main road, walking between the houses, letting the grass soften their footsteps. Jinx made sure to be cautious, stopping at every corner of each house, not wanting to end up surprised with a bad situation.

  After a couple of blocks, the Corporal finally spotted the target house across the street. He motioned for the team to be silent, leading them to the back porch. He pulled out his knife and slid it into the lock, slamming down on the handle with his hand to use brute force to open it.

  He moved inside, motioning for Jarvis to cover the other hallway. As soon as she set foot on the carpet, a zombie lumbered out from a bedroom, and she kicked it in the chest, knocking it to the floor. She shoved her boot into its throat and stabbed it in the forehead, then finished her sweep before rejoining the others in the main room.

  “We’re clear,” she said.

  Jinx waved to the team from the front. “Window,” he said.

  They moved to the front window, standing on either side of it so they could see out without being visible. The situation across the street was dire. The entire front of Dickerson’s house was covered with zombies, stretching twenty-five, thirty ghouls deep.

  “I’ve played concerts with fewer people,” Stein murmured.

  Jarvis shook her head. “That’s what you get for playing in a shitty band.”

  “Hey now, I…” Stein began, but then shook his head. “Yeah, you’re right, we were shitty.”

  Jinx pulled out the walkie talkie, raising it to his lips. “Dickerson, do you copy?”

  “Jinx, where are you?” the Sergeant replied immediately. “Not sure how much longer we can hold out. The front door is starting to crack under the pressure.”

  The Corporal peered out at the crowd. “We’re across the street.”

  “All right,” Dickerson replied. “First order of business is going to be moving some of these fuckers away from the door. Too many are pushing on it, and we can’t hold it up much longer.”

  “Ten-four,” Jinx said. “Give me a minute to come up with a plan.”

  “Understood,” the Sergeant replied. “We ain’t going anywhere.”

  The Corporal lowered the radio, studying the area. “Ideas?”

  “We got some fireworks left, we can try and peel them away,” Burch suggested.

  Jinx shook his head. “Too many of those things are engaged, they aren’t going to break away for some firecrackers,” he said.

  “We could fire the roman candles into the crowd?” Stein piped up. “Start lighting some of them up?”

  Jinx pursed his lips for a moment. “That’s a plan of last resort,” he replied. “On the one hand, it might work, but on the other hand it might set the house on fire.”

  “With our luck it would be the latter,” Stein muttered.

  “I could plow the truck through them,” Jarvis suggested. “If I build up enough speed I should be able to make it from one side to the other, cut their numbers in half.”

  Burch shook his head. “But that would only be temporary,” he said. “Plus, if you don’t make it across, we’d have to walk back, and I’m already getting enough exercise for the day.”

  “So you don’t want to do my plan because you’re a lazy fucker?” She raised an eyebrow.

  He shrugged. “And because it’s a temporary solution.”

  Jinx studied the landscape, paying special attention to a large thick tree on the other side of a fence that was parallel to the horde and just up from the front of the house. “I like the idea,” he said.

  Burch blinked at him. “Really?” he asked. “You want to risk the truck?”

  “Nope, and we’re not going to,” the Corporal replied, shaking his head. “But I like the idea of cutting their numbers in half.”

  Jarvis raised an eyebrow. “So if we’re not going to use the truck, how are we going to do it?”

  Jinx smirked and pointed towards the giant tree he’d spotted. “Who wants to be a lumberjack?”

  Jarvis put a hand to her forehead, laughing in exasperation. The other two shook their heads in disbelief.

  “All right,” Burch finally said, smacking his thighs as he stood up. “I’ll check the garage.”

  Stein jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Pretty sure we passed a work shed on the last block, I’ll go check that,” he said.

  “I’ll let Dickerson know what the plan is,” Jinx said.

  Jarvis snorted. “That should be a fun conversation.”

  The Corporal chuckled as he lifted the radio to his mouth. “Dickerson, come in,” he said. “We have a plan.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  “Are you out of your fucking mind?!” the Sergeant demanded.

  Jinx shrugged. “Might have been accused of that from time to time,” he drawled. “Nothing was ever proven, though.”

  “Jokes. You got jokes,” Dickerson snapped. “That’s great.”

  “Look, there’s only four of us with limited resources,” Jinx shot back. “We’re in a serious ticking time bomb scenario right now, and I have the only pair of wire cutters, as it were. If you have a better idea, I’m all ears, but unless I’m mistaken, if that idea takes longer than ten minutes, you and your boys are toast.”

  There was a long pause on the line before the Sergeant finally asked, “Have you even ever cut down a tree before?”

  “No,” Jinx admitted sheepishly, “but I watched a lot of those lumberjack competitions at two A.M. on ESPN Two back in the day. Pretty sure I got the angle concept down.”

  There was a torrent of gunfire from the house, and then Dickerson came back. “Fuck it man,” he said. “Do what you gotta do.”

  “We’re on the move, good luck, Sarge,” Jinx said.

  “Same to you,” Dickerson replied.

  The Corporal put the walkie talkie away and he and Jarvis stood up. As they walked to the back door, Burch entered, hands empty.

  “Nothing?” Jinx asked.

  Burch shook his head. “Not even a lawnmower,” he replied. “Guess whoever lived here was livin’ high on the hog and hiring someone to cut the grass.”

  “Good life if you can get it,” Jarvis added.

  Stein came busting in through the back door, holding a giant chainsaw above his head. “Leatherface bitches!” he cried. “Yeah!” He waved it around for a moment and then lowered his arms when he realized nobody was reacting. “I mean… Texas Chainsaw Massa
cre? Nobody?”

  “Chainsaw killers are a lot more effective when the saw is actually on,” Jarvis said, crossing her arms.

  Stein’s shoulders slumped, and he held out the weapon to Jinx.

  “Okay, we’re moving three houses up, cutting across the street, and working our way back,” the Corporal said as he took the chainsaw. “From this vantage point, the yard looks pretty clear, as that fence is holding them back. That’s probably going to change real quick once I fire this thing up.” He motioned to the soldiers as he spoke. “Jarvis, you cover our rear, Stein and Burch, you clear out as many of those things beside the house as you can. If this thing lands right, we may only have a short window to get them out. Everybody clear?”

  At the affirmative, he nodded and led the group outside. He ran up several houses as quickly as he could, adrenaline pumping with the clock. He peered around the corner of the third house, seeing that the road and yard straight across was clear.

  Jinx darted out, carrying the chainsaw upwards while the others kept their assault rifles aimed and ready. They got across the street without any problems and moved across the front yards of the houses, working their way back to the tree.

  When they reached the target yard, they hopped the four-foot tall wooden fence, landing safely in the private yard. As Jinx rushed over to the tree, the others did a quick sweep to make sure the area was clear.

  The Corporal took a knee, readying the chainsaw, waiting for his team to get in position. Once they gave him the all-clear, they all braced to unleash fury.

  Jinx pulled the starter cord on the saw and it roared to life, but then fell silent. The noise was enough to attract the attention of several of the zombies on the other side of the fence. They turned, moaning and pressing themselves against the wood. Jinx pulled the cord a second time, failing again, and Stein and Burch opened fire, popping off in three-round bursts, dispersing hot lead in a wide arc and dropping several of the ghouls.