by S. Ganley
The warbling tone that sounded in his helmet receiver told him that the cutters fire control radar was searching for them. If the tone turned from a stuttering warble to a solid it would tell him that they had a target lock on him with at least one of their weapons. Glancing out of his cockpit window he saw that Huntress had automatically started a series of erratic turns as both of them altered their course to put more distance between them and those weapons. Crusher was impressed to see how well his wingman was coming along, most novice pilots would not have started such maneuvers until instructed to do so. She had a lot of potential and he hoped that they all still had some kind of future left where she could really put those skills to use.
Once they were clear of the effective range of the cutters main gun, Crusher keyed his radio again, "Bertholf this is Navy flight. We have detected activation of your weapons systems. You are ordered to stand down immediately, deactivate your targeting systems and steer clear of the exclusion zone. Failure to comply will be met with force without further warning. State your acknowledgment and intentions." He had dropped the professional tone from his voice and exchanged it with a much more forceful one that he hoped got the message across that he was deadly serious in his warning.
"Incoming!" cried Huntress over the radio.
Crusher craned his neck back towards the cutter and saw a small puff of white smoke blossoming out from its stern. A second and third eruption of smoke followed in quick succession. Seconds later, the first shell exploded harmlessly in the air almost a quarter mile short and just a little behind them. The shells were much more accurate than Crusher had anticipated, even though they were still out of range the explosions tracked their movements through the sky in a smooth arch as they kept themselves on the outer fringes of the guns maximum range. There was no longer any need to try raising the cutter on the radio again, their answer was crystal clear.
"Guntrain this is Champion 56, we are taking indirect fire from the cutter. We have moved out of weapons range and are maintaining station still in visible contact with the ships. Request instructions." Crusher informed the carrier.
There was a pause and a click over the radio that he recognized as another station coming on the line, "Champion 56 this is Cheyenne. Maintain your current heading and altitude." Nothing followed that command. Crusher understood the ominous message that had been conveyed, the order had been given to destroy the cutter.
Almost sixty seconds after contact from the Cheyenne he saw the cutter begin to roll hard to starboard and increase speed to maximum. A frosty spray of white sea churned high in its wake as it began a radical series of sharp evasive turns. The main gun depressed to an angle just above the choppy seas out in front of it and the cannon began firing in rapid succession at targets moving to low and fast for the eye to discern. The helicopter on the aft landing pad of the cutter lifted into the sky and assumed a course directly toward the distant carrier, Crusher knew that they would next be ordered to deal with that situation and adjusted his course to put them into an intercepting vector. They would continue maintaining a standoff distance until the fireworks show was over and then move in and deal with the helo. Fifteen seconds later he picked out the telltale jet wash of half a dozen sea skimming Harpoon anti-ship missiles streaking in for the kill. The resulting explosion was nothing short of spectacular, the cutter was hit with three missiles all along its starboard side. The explosions ripped the superstructure free from the frame of the ship and sent pieces as large as buses skittering along the surface of the ocean out to several hundred yards. Seconds after being hit, the cutter came to a dead stop as smoke and fire leapt high into the sky above the twisted and mangled remains of the dying vessel. As Crusher and Huntress moved further to the east on a course that would allow them to intercept the helicopter, they spotted another pair of large explosions. Crusher was surprised that a strike on the two civilian vessels had been authorized, it wasn't something he had expected. He turned away from the smoke pyres marking the deaths of so many sick and injured civilians and tried not to think about how all they had wanted was a little help from their armed forces who they had mistakenly thought were still sworn to protect them. He understood the necessity of taking those ships out, ultimately it was probably a much more merciful death than what they would have otherwise faced. But it still made him sick to know that he had just been party to the slaughter of so many unarmed and defenseless civilians from his own country.
"Guntrain this is Champion 56. Confirm strike on all three ships, they are dead in the water and going down at this time." He reported. "A single MH-65c Dolphin was launched from the cutter prior to the strike and is now en-route towards the exclusion zone. Request instructions." That last part was unnecessary, he knew what would be expected of him. But he wanted someone above him to be the one to give the actual order.
The reply was terse and to the point, "engage and destroy."
He clicked his microphone twice to acknowledge the order.
"Huntress, stay on my six and back a little. I will take care of this one." He didn't relish the idea of shooting down yet another defenseless aircraft and preferred that her conscious stay as clear as possible with this.
The helicopter had dropped just above the waves and was pushing forward at an impressive speed, but it was not match for the F-18 stalking it. Crusher's advanced suite of targeting systems had no trouble picking out its target from the backdrop of the ocean. He selected his cannons to conserve their supply of missiles for a later day. Pushing forward on the throttle it took him only seconds to close the distance to within range of his multi-barreled Vulcan auto-cannon. The computer system lined up the shot for him and all he had to do was give a two second squeeze on the trigger to send a stream of 20mm rounds spurting out in a flash of tracer fire that resembled a solid laser beam. The beam crossed the path of the helicopter and signaled its end with a brief flash of light and smoke as the small craft exploded into hundreds of pieces scattering its remains over the sea below. By the time Crusher and Huntress overflew the spot where they had last seen the helicopter, they were able to see one large chunk of rotor as it slipped silently under the waves.
Crusher turned them back onto a flight path that would put them into the carriers landing pattern, signaled a successful attack and then instructed Huntress to follow his lead as they returned to base.
#
The ride back to the park was solemn, each of them remained quiet and lost in their own thoughts. Miranda checked Cameron's arm and came to the conclusion that it was not broken but was at least sprained and would keep him from doing any heavy lifting for some time. The Percocet was kicking in and it was obvious that Cameron was no longer feeling any pain. She thought that he would end up sound asleep before too long and it was a good thing they didn't have far to drive. There was still a little hike ahead of them to get to the Ranger Station, but Cameron assured her that he would be able to stay awake and make it the rest of the way on his own power. Emily was regaining her color but was starting to offer complaints about pains in her back and legs. Miranda was once again glad for the short drive, after a period of rest it was likely that the woman's muscles were going to stiffen up to the point that she would barely be able to walk without assistance. Carrying her through the woods to the Ranger Station, along with all of their supplies, was not a thought she relished. Surprisingly, Doug offered not a single complaint, although he was clearly shaken up and worn out from their ordeal, he spent his time reassuring his wife that she was going to live while also refusing to pamper her. Miranda heard him whisper in Emily's ear for her to just "suck it up" and stop being a liability for everyone else. He was had clearly accepted their situation and the difference with how he now dealt with his wife was something to be proud of.
Garrett kept his eyes fixed tightly on the road ahead, while leaving Doug and Cameron’s neighborhood he had to do some fancy driving and a lot of swerving to avoid zombies that descended on the road around them. As they put two or three streets b
ehind them signs of zombies dwindled down to only a few here and there in yards and strips of woods. Garrett had lost friends in combat before, he had even mourned the loss of a brother to street violence after a night of hard drinking in a bar in downtown Baltimore, Maryland only a year earlier. However, none of those losses hit him as hard as Calvin. Over their years in the military together and after they both left the service, they had formed a bond that was closer than family. Forged over the blood and tears of lost comrades on the field of battle, the relationship between them was one that could never be understood by others who had not walked in their shoes. Losing Calvin also meant losing an important part of himself and Garrett did not think he would ever be the same again. Not only was Calvin's loss a great personal blow, but to the group as a whole it meant they were much weaker.
It was only a four mile drive from the edge of the neighborhood to the park entrance, the main road remained clear of obstructions and they only noticed five or six undead over that distance. Entering the park, Garrett steered them onto the service road that would take them to the spot where Kyle's patrol car should still be parked marking the start of the path to the Ranger Station.
"STOP." Miranda cried out when they reached the start of the last bend before they reached their destination.
Garrett didn't waste time asking questions and instead mashed the brake pedal hard against the floor sending them skidding several feet into the grass beside the road.
Following Miranda's gaze Garrett peered through a break in the trees between them and the bend in the road. Kyle's patrol car was visible through the trees and walking around it in slow circles were four zombies. They didn't seem to have noticed the approach of the Range Rover and appeared content to simply stagger back and forth where they were for the time being. Garrett knew they could probably just stay parked where they were and cut through the woods to pick up the trail further down and out of sight. But he also could see a couple problems with that idea. The biggest issue would be the possibility of those zombies hearing them crashing through the woods and coming to investigate. Carrying their supplies through the woods would make it even more difficult to be stealthy and even without carrying anything he doubted that Emily or Doug would be very nimble while trying to pick their way through branches, tangles of tree roots covered in leaves and the rough terrain inherent with that kind of travel. They would be at a disadvantage if confronted with zombies in the woods where the trees and foliage would allow them to get uncomfortably close before Garrett and the others realized they were nearby. That same uneven terrain that would give Doug and his wife difficulty in navigating would work against them if they were forced into a close fight. The other troubling issue was that there were zombies that close to the shack to begin with. There was nothing else this deep in the park that could possibly be of interest to zombies, the only rational explanation for their presence was that they had somehow figured out there were people back here.
Garrett decided that the best course of action was to deal with the four zombies before trying to push on to the Ranger Station. With the zombies on the road and grass near Kyle's patrol car they could sneak up fairly close to them along the edge of the trees. Garrett did not want to resort to firearms if it could be avoided. The sound of gunfire would echo through the forest for a long ways and bring even more attention to their location. That left him with using the collection of knives and other edged weapons they had with them. The downside to such a plan was that he would have no choice but to recruit at least two others to help him. There was no way he could get all four zombies with a knife on his own. At best he thought he could handle two, but by the time he finished with the second the other two would be all over him. With Calvin gone, his only remaining option was to draw on the resources he had with him to team up on the zombies. Miranda was his first choice, the woman was a fighter and wouldn't let him down. He hated having to put her in danger like that, but he also knew that he could count on her in a pinch. Two on four was still not the kind of odds that he wanted, his only other realistic choice would be Doug. In any other circumstance he would not want the man involved in a situation involving hand to hand battle, but in this case he really had no other option. Cameron was too young to rely on, he was also injured and flying high on pain medication. Emily would be useful only if he wanted to provide a tempting distraction with a juicy meal.
All of them stepped out of the Range Rover with the exception of Emily who refused to leave the safety of the vehicle. Now that she had recovered from their ordeal in escaping her house she was starting to return to her old self and self-preservation was once again becoming her number one concern. Ignoring her, Garrett presented the rest of them with his plan and reasons for not just trying to pass by the group of zombies without mixing it up. He appointed Cameron their rear security when the boy tried to step up and volunteer to join their attack. Cameron was barely able to keep his eyes open at that point and his words were coming out a little slurred as the medication kicked in. Garrett instructed him to remain by the open driver’s side door of the Range Rover. If he saw anything suspicious he was to tap the horn twice and they would abort their attack and return immediately to the truck and regroup with a different plan. Miranda had volunteered to run a little further up the road where she crouched behind a tree and was keeping an eye on their targets while Garrett talked with everyone else. Doug had not been as difficult to convince as he had anticipated. The man had expressed misgivings about just how useful he would be but had stood tall and offered his assistance in any way possible.
When he was satisfied that Cameron would be alright on his own with Emily, Garrett led Doug over to where Miranda was keeping tabs on the zombies. Miranda reported that other than those four she had not noticed any others nearby. It only took Garrett a minute to pick out the best opportunity to hit them. There was a brief period when three of them had their backs to the line of trees they were watching from. The forth would be almost facing the woods, but if Garrett got that one first and silently, they should be able to get the others from behind before they realized there was danger nearby.
Using hand and arm signals, Garrett directed Miranda and Doug to follow him as he crept through the woods towards the point where the zombies would be most easily accessible once they turned away from the trees. Doug managed to only break four branches and tripped once along the way, each time they all froze in place expecting four blood thirsty zombies to come crashing through the brush towards them. Garrett was amazed when they reached their ambush position undetected. Doug was breathing hard and a little uneasy on his feet from their short trek through the woods and Garrett motioned for him to sit on the ground at the base of a nearby tree to catch his breath. Despite Doug's ineptness with outdoor skills and lack of any trait that would cause anyone to mistake him for a fighter, the man still had guts. Garrett admired him for that and knew that it may be just that single factor that allowed him to stay alive when others would die.
Garrett used the time waiting for Doug to catch his breath to study the zombies and make sure they were maintaining the same pattern he had observed further back on the outer edge of the trees. Three of the zombies were males and judging by the remnants of their khaki uniforms he pegged them for former park rangers. The fourth zombie was a black woman, probably in her forties and dressed in the remains of work clothing that identified her as some type of office worker. Her shoes were missing and the torn and filthy stockings that extended from her professional looking skirt told him that she had most likely been wearing footwear that slipped off easily, not something one would have on their feet if they intended to take a hike in the woods or conduct any other activities in the park. He found her presence in the park a little odd. The outbreak happened at a time when the park offices were most likely closed so she wouldn't have worked there. It was possible that she had fallen victim to the virus or a bite during her commute to work and turned undead somewhere nearby. But even if that was the case it was strange that she would
find her way into the back woods so far from pockets of civilization. Their understanding of zombies was that they seemed to move towards the most likely locations where they would find prey, the park should not have been high on that list. Garrett worried that the presence of the woman may be an indication that they may not be as safe in the park as he had hoped. Whether it was their ability to pick up smells over a great distance or some other factor that drew them here, they would have to start considering moving out sooner than he had anticipated.
Doug whistled softly to get Garrett's attention then gave him a thumbs up to show that he was ready. Even with that positive sign from the man, Garrett could read his face and saw a great deal of self-doubt building. The longer they waited to get his over with, the better chance that he would lose his nerve and not follow through.
Garrett tightly gripped the handle of his knife and used it as a pointer to show both Miranda and Doug which of the zombies he wanted each of them to deal with. He planned on taking the one facing the woods himself and then swinging around and taking care of the next closest one immediately afterward. Doug and Miranda would handle the two further from his first target. He considered giving the task of taking out the woman to Doug, but then decided against it. His only reason for it would have been her physical small physical stature in comparison to Doug’s. They had all learned since the start of the outbreak that zombies were stronger than any of them no matter what their size, sex or stature. No matter which one Doug was assigned to deal with, if they were able to make use of their body size against him, it was a fight he was going to lose anyway. He also considered that if Doug was given the woman to attack it was possible that her fairer sex would be an issue for him and he may hesitate at the last moment. Miranda would take care of the woman, Garrett knew that sex would make no difference to her. She had already proved that she was more than capable of handling herself.
