by Allen Gamboa
"Bah!" Nico shoved the scientist to the ground. Doctor Fulci went to help her and was struck in the back of the head by Kata. Fulci found himself on the ground next to Moreno.
"No heroes." Kata kicked Fulci hard in the side. The scientist groaned then put his hands up in surrender. "Good, good."
"Don’t damage her," Nico said. "She is mine. I earned her."
"You will earn my wrath if you don’t get your ass out there and get me one of those vehicles!"
Nico groaned and stood up. "I’ve got this!" He kicked Yuri in the butt. "Come on, Little Flower. Do not get me killed."
Yuri sighed heavily and got to his feet. He looked uneasily at Kata. The female mercenary frowned and shook her head.
"Don’t worry, Misha, I will tell your mother you were very brave." Yuri flipped her off then turned to follow Nico into the makeshift parking lot. "That is my boy!" Kata smiled. "Growing some balls."
"Balls are not going to get us home, Kata," Arkady said, watching the two mercenaries scurry toward the police Jeeps. "Ivan, Vasily, keep them covered. Watch the buildings."
"Da." Ivan said as he and Vasily moved into kneeling positions and scanned the area with their rifle sights.
"We need to get moving," Orlac said anxiously.
"Yes, we do, Doctor," Arkady said, rolling up the long sleeves of his gray uniform shirt. His thick forearms were covered in tattoos. "Keep quiet. I am procuring us a ride as we speak."
"No, no. I mean we have to hurry!"
"Doctor …"
"Listen. This whole island is going to be bombed!"
"Bombed?" Kata and Arkady both turned to face Orlac.
"What do you mean?" Arkady asked as he gripped Orlac by his lab coat's lapels. "What do you mean?"
"I … I …" Orlac sputtered and choked as the Russian commander gripped his lapels tighter. "Nuke! They are going to nuke the whole island."
"When?" Arkady released Orlac, causing him to stumble. "When, Doctor?"
"I-I don’t know. Soon, I guess," the doctor said, trying to catch his breath.
"Bad. Bad," Kata said, shaking her head.
"I suggest we hurry then." Arkady smiled. He heard the groan of an engine turning over and faced the parking lot again. An old green station wagon with Nico and Yuri in front was heading in their direction. Thick, black smoke trailed behind the beat-up vehicle. "Come on!" Arkady motioned the rest to follow him.
"Nothing but the best," Dmitry chuckled.
"What the hell?" the commander asked Nico as he approached the driver's side.
Nico shrugged. "The Jeep's batteries were dead, and the old truck was too low on gas. Beggars can’t be choosers." He popped up the back hatch of the old station wagon. "Get in, Doctors. We have a plane to catch!"
CHAPTER 50: MISTER PIETRO'S WILD RIDE
"I think I’m going to be sick, Captain!" Sergeant Wu turned a pale shade of green, the old school bus rocking violently as they cut a path through the jungle. Wu had a white-knuckle grip on the top of the seat in front of him. Brooks held tightly onto the hand strap as the tin can on wheels bounced them around. She looked back at the others on the bus, but they seemed to be undisturbed by all the movement. Obviously, they had ridden with Pietro many times before. Brooks was starting to feel a little sick herself. The captain threw Sister Anne a quick look. The young nun had her arms around two of the children and was holding them tightly, trying to be comforting. Lis couldn’t imagine herself being in her position. Anne must have a lot of faith; this "cakewalk" had really stretched hers. Brooks glanced at her dive watch and saw it was getting late. The drones would be here soon. These kids, their parents, Sister Anne, and Pietro would all have been forgotten and vaporized. She bit her lip. Hell, they all still might be.
"You think the major and the rest are alright?" Wu asked, stifling a nasty burp. "Think they made it?"
"It’s a tough crew of operators." Brooks bounced as the bus hit something and kept going. "Hale's probably waiting on us right now."
Wu nodded and closed his eyes. "Never did like rollercoasters."
"Just sit tight, Sergeant. This ride will be over soon."
"Not soon enough." Wu said, feeling the power bar churning in his stomach.
"Captain?" Sister Anne asked from behind.
"Sister Anne?" Brooks jerked around as she turned to face the nun.
"Thank you for saving us." She smiled brightly. It almost made the captain feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
"We aren’t out of the woods or the jungle yet, Sister."
"I know, but at least we’re not still stuck inside the chapel." She affectionately squeezed the children to her side. "God sent his angels down to rescue us. We prayed."
"Well, I do believe in praying, Sister, but Sergeant Wu and I are as far from angels as one can be. Just do us a favor and keep praying."
"All the time, Captain. All the time."
"Me too," Brooks said quietly as she bounced around some more inside Mr. Pietro's wild ride.
The bus sputtered and broke free of the jungle. It struggled to pull itself up over a grass-covered berm then slid heavily down the other side, crashing onto a paved two-lane road. Without skipping a beat, the old driver kept the even older bus moving.
"Fuck!" Wu cursed. He looked over to see one of the kids staring at him wide-eyed. "Sorry, sorry!" He smiled weakly, feeling a little embarrassed by his outburst.
"Nice driving there, Pietro." Brooks sat down in the seat behind him. The few bumps on the shoddily paved road felt like heaven.
"See, Capitaine, I told you I would get you there."
"You did," Brooks nodded. "You did good. I thank you, and I’m sure Sergeant Wu thanks you. How far to the airport, Pietro?"
"Not far at all!" His smile disappeared as he gave the side mirror a quick once-over. "Capitaine, we have company!"
"What now?"
CHAPTER 51: SMELLS LIKE A KIEV WHOREHOUSE
The archaic station wagon sputtered along the unevenly paved road, trailing thick, black smoke. Dmitry sat behind the wheel of the old vehicle, while Yuri was stuffed in the middle between the driver and Arkady. Kata, Ivan, and Vasily were jammed in the back seat; the three scientists and Nico were shoved in the rear of the aged wagon. Weapons and gear were also crammed into any available spaces in the automobile. The smell of sweat and unwashed bodies permeated the cramped interior, though a heavy odor of dead fish almost concealed all the other odors. When they had stumbled upon the old station wagon, the rear compartment had been filled with dead swordfish. Arkady and Dmitry had tossed all the fish carcasses out, but the smell lingered.
"Damn, Arkady!" Dmitry sneezed. "Smells like a Kiev whorehouse in here!"
"No, Dmitry.” The commander's window was open, and the barrel of his AK-74 jutted out from it. "Smells better."
"I like the smell!" Nico smiled lewdly while gripping Doctor Moreno’s arm tightly.
"Does it make you homesick, Nico?" Kata chuckled.
"Da," Nico nodded. "That’s why I’m feeling so horny. Hurry and get us to the plane, Dmitry." He looked over at the female doctor, who was crying, and smiled wider. "I am horny!"
"Trying." Dmitry pounded the wheel with his free hand. "This piece of American shit won’t go any faster!"
"Oh." Yuri covered his nose with his hand as a nasty smell wafted across the front seat.
"Thought you got rid of all those fish?" Vasily asked the commander.
"Da," Arkady said, watching the road and enjoying the breeze that flowed through the open windows. "Vasily, it could be worse."
"Worse?"
"Yes." Arkady pulled out a cigarette and stuck it in his mouth. "You could be in the back stuck smelling Nico’s cock."
Vasily pursed his lips and nodded. "That is true."
"Hey!" Nico shouted, a little hurt.
"Bah, you know your diseased cock stinks." Arkady waved him off. "I’m surprised it’s still there." Arkady turned around in his seat to glance back at Nico. "It is still there, right? It
didn’t fall off in some South American alley, did it?"
"Fuck you, Arkady!" Nico gripped Moreno tighter, causing her to whimper. "Is nothing wrong with my cock!"
"Except that it belongs to you!" Kata snorted. "Poor little appendage!"
Nico almost moved to backhand the other mercenary but thought better of it. Kata was tougher, meaner, and more skilled at killing than he was. If Nico struck her, she wouldn’t hesitate to shoot him where he sat. Instead, Nico slapped Doctor Moreno across the cheek.
"Enough!" Arkady shouted. "Give the poor lab rat a break."
About a quarter-mile ahead of the Russians, a big, yellow blur burst out of the thick jungle and crashed down onto the road. Dmitry frowned as he recognized it as some kind of old school bus. The bigger vehicle sputtered than roared off in the direction of the airfield. Arkady sat up straight in his seat and tossed his cigarette out the window.
“That’s gotta be the Americans,” Yuri said, trying to pull his rifle up into some kind of position for action.
“You fucking think?” Arkady growled. “Dmitry, speed up!”
“Yes, yes!” Dmitry stepped hard on the accelerator. The car shook and groaned but seemed to move a little faster.
“Nico! Kata! Vasily! When we get close enough, blast the shit out of that bus. Nobody’s getting that plane but us.”
***
"Russians!" Wu said, looking out the window of the bus' emergency exit door. "Captain?"
"Everybody down on the floor!" Brooks said as she moved to the rear of the bus. "Pietro, you keep us moving. Don’t stop for anything!"
"Yes, Capitaine."
"Down," Brooks said, trying to gently place one of the little girls on the floor of the big vehicle. "Lay face down, and don’t move," she said softly in French. Sister Anne helped the rest of the parents and the children to the floor. "Sister," Brooks said in English, "there’s going to be some shooting, so keep everybody down. These are bad guys here, and we can’t let them take us. Understand?"
"Clear as a bell," Anne said, trying to be brave for the others.
"Good." Brooks turned to Wu, who was smashing a couple of the rear windows with the butt of his rifle. "We have to try and stop them, Sergeant."
"Of course." Wu checked his magazine. "It was getting to be too much like a cakewalk, Captain."
"What the hell is a cakewalk anyway?" Lis asked as she racked a round in her mini-14.
"Like musical chairs." He raised his rifle to his shoulder and tried to get a bead on the fast-approaching station wagon. "But with cakes."
"Oh." Brooks raised her rifle to her shoulder and quickly glanced down at the others. "Cover your ears, children. This is going to be loud," she said in French.
***
"Close enough!" Arkady yelled as the ancient vehicle started to close the gap between them and the Americans. With the butts of their rifles, the commander and Yuri smashed out the front windshield. A sudden influx of warm air filled the inside of the old station wagon, momentarily taking all the bad smells with it. Nico climbed out the open back window and rested his rifle on the roof of the automobile. Nico bet this was what a real American cowboy felt like: wind in his hair, thrill of the chase, big fucking gun. Suddenly, gunfire erupted from the rear of the bus.
"Shit!" Dmitry said, trying to swerve away as bullets crashed into the hood of the station wagon.
"Dmitry!" Nico shouted, trying to hold onto the roof of the zig-zagging vehicle.
"Kill them!" Arkady shouted and opened fire on the bus through the open space where the wagon's windshield had been.
***
"Crap!" Wu ducked down as bullets smashed the outside of the bus. He knelt down behind a seat and returned fire. Gunfire from the station wagon tore through the old transport's windows. Glass and sheet metal peppered the adults and children on the floor. Brooks' rifle ran dry, and she quickly changed out magazines.
"Just keep shooting!" She told Wu. "Knock these assholes back to hell!"
***
Yuri winced as hot casings from both Arkady and someone in the back seat hit him in the neck and face. The roar of all the weapons was deafening and so distracting that all his shots went wide, missing the bus completely. Nico fired until he heard the familiar sound of the chamber locking open. Dropping the empty magazine, he slammed in another. As the wagon started to pull alongside of the bus, he fired low, hoping to hit anyone hiding inside.
***
Wu pitched backwards and smacked heavily onto the floor of the bus. Above all the sounds of battle, Brooks heard the sergeant's body fall hard against the back of a seat then hit the deck with a horrible thud. Wu’s rifle clattered to the floor next to the nun. The captain knelt down behind a seat, totally dumbstruck. Bullets slapped all around her, and the screams of the children were ringing in her ears. She had to do something quick, or they were all going to be killed. Sister Anne crawled over to Brooks and grabbed her shoulder.
"I got him!" She nodded in Wu’s direction. "I’m a nurse. You just kill those sons of bitches," she said in an angry Texas drawl.
"Thank you," Brooks said, quickly reaching into her pocket and handing her a battle dressing. The nun took the bandage and crawled over to where Wu lay rolling around on the floor, grabbing his badly bleeding face. Brooks turned back to the rear of the bus and swiftly moved on her hands and knees towards the emergency door. Drawing a bead on the wagon through a broken window, she opened fire.
***
"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Dmitry cursed as Brooks’ rounds pounded the old automobile's hood. He jerked the wheel hard to the left, and the station wagon moved out of the captain’s line of fire. The occupants of the ancient car all bounced off each other as the driver tried to evade the gunfire from the bus. Nico held tightly to the rack on the rooftop as Dmitry’s maneuver almost rolled him off the rear of the wagon. Gritting his teeth, Nico pulled himself up and fired off a three-round burst into the back of the school bus.
"Faster, Dmitry!" Arkady yelled as he changed magazines. The exposed side of the bus was starting to look like Swiss cheese. "Get to the driver!"
"Trying, Arkady!" Dmitry swallowed, wiping sweat off his face with his free hand. "This bastard won’t go much faster." He stomped on the gas pedal, and the station wagon sputtered for a quick second. Then, with a loud bang from the rear, it took off like a bat out of hell. Dmitry smiled as they started to pull alongside the old bus. "Just needed a kick in the balls!"
"Shred the fucking bus!" Arkady shouted as all guns opened up on the bigger vehicle.
***
Brooks fired a few more rounds at the rapidly advancing station wagon before it swerved around to the left side of the school bus and out of her view. Shells started to perforate the left side of the bus on their way towards where Pietro sat. The captain knew the old bus driver had only seconds before the Russians bullets found their mark. Crouching as low as possible, she stepped over both Wu and Sister Anne then bolted for the front of the bus. Rounds hammered the seats all around her as the children screamed and cried.
"Pietro!" Brooks yelled as she fired out of the windows at the carload of mercenaries. "Pietro, get your ass down!”
"Capitaine …" Rounds zipped through the driver's side of the bus. Pietro quietly let out a groan and pitched forward across the big steering wheel. The speeding school bus swerved to the left, then to the right, then flipped over on its side and, with a sickening crunch of metal, slid several feet before it crashed into a clump of small trees.
***
"Yes." Arkady set his rifle down between his legs. "Good."
"Finish them off?" Kata asked from the back.
"No, keep going!"
"Hey!" Vasily felt Ivan's face against his neck. Without looking, he shoved the other mercenary away. Ivan flopped into Kata, who angrily shoved him back at Vasily. Irritated, Vasily gave him another violent shove. "What the fuck?"
Kata cursed then elbowed Ivan hard in the ribs. The mercenary didn’t budge or make a sound. Kata looked ov
er at Ivan, about to give him a molten round of fuck yous when she noticed his stomach and chest were covered with blood. She could see some of his exposed ribs and organs.
"Ivan is dead," she said matter-of-factly.
"Dead?" The commander looked back and saw Ivan's exposed insides. "Yes, he’s very dead. Toss him."
"Toss him?” Yuri asked.
"Yes, it is bad enough in here. We don’t need the shit smell." He looked back at Vasily. "Toss him."
"Yes, yes." Vasily opened his door and, with the help of Kata, threw Ivan's body out of the fast-moving station wagon. The dead Russian hit the road with a sick splat, rolled for a bit, then stopped face up, a broken, bloody mess.
CHAPTER 52: ANY PROBLEM?
"Not good! Not good!" Clarke mumbled in disbelief as he watched forty or more of the deaders trying to get inside the upside-down Humvee. As those flesh-eaters tried to break into the lightly armored vehicle, more were continuing to stumble and roll down the trail. Wickham quickly looked back at the troops in the rear of the Pit Bull and yelled over to Sergeant Newman.
"Alby! Alby! The major’s rig just rolled over."
"No fucking way." Newman pushed his way forward to the cab and took a fast look out of the windshield. "Shit, L-Tee!" Without delay, he spun around and started barking orders to the remaining men in the vehicle. "Cord and Gonzo, get your asses on the roof and take out as many of those undead bastards as you can! L-Tee, you go up top with them. Clarke, stay aboard and keep the engine runnin'. The rest of ya, grab yer weapons and come with me!" The others quickly clutched their rifles and stood up. "As soon as the blokes on top open up, we’re going to make a run on the Hummer and pull their asses out. Jefferson, grab the M-60 from the back locker. Blow any of those dead fucks away when I pop open the doors! Any problem?"
"No, Alby, just open the damn door!" Jefferson grinned as he shoved a wad of gum in his mouth.
"Good." Newman smiled. He could feel the adrenalin starting to kick in again. That was good because he was just starting to feel himself coming down. Wickham, Cord, and Gonzo hurried up the small ladder to the rooftop of the Pit Bull. Suddenly, there was the roar of the men's rifles from above. Newman nodded and gave the door a good shove.
