Fire From the Sky: Firestorm

by N. C. Reed

  Mark picked up the phone and rang the switchboard.

  “Home Plate,” Leanne answered at once.

  “Connect me to Tower Two, please,” Mark asked.

  “Stand by,” Leanne plugged the call into the switchboard.

  “Two,” Samuel Webb answered at once.

  “Sammy, can you see them?” Mark asked at once.

  “Just now got 'em,” his brother replied. “We count six so far. . .no, seven. They're coming right at you.”

  “How are they armed?”

  “Rifles and shotguns,” Samuel replied. “Eight now,” he added.

  “All right. We're about to open fire. I don't want to wait until they're on top of us.”

  “Let us shoot first and then you fire as soon as we do,” Samuel suggested. “That might keep you from giving away your position.”

  “Got it. Go for it.” Mark replaced the handset and looked at Bryon.

  “Samuel and Gary are about to shoot. When they do, we start shooting too.”

  “Yeah,” Bryon's head bobbed up and down. “Yeah.” He couldn't do this. He was so scared he couldn't keep his rifle from shaking in his hands. His mouth was so dry he couldn't spit.

  “Look, you need to get it together, okay?” Mark tried to calm the boy down. “We are in some deep shit here, kid, and it's just us and the guys on the tower.”

  “I'm good, I'm good,” Bryon kept saying everything twice. Mark just shook his head and grabbed his rifle.

  “Get set.”

  –

  “On three,” Samuel whispered as he and Gary Meecham both took careful aim.

  “Ready,” Gary assured him.

  “One. . .two. . .th-” Both men fired.

  “Got him,” both said at the same time.

  –

  Mark heard the rifles and saw two men fall backwards in a spray of blood. As soon as that happened he opened fire on the man nearest him, putting two rounds in him before he could recover from his surprise at seeing his friends fall.

  Mark shifted targets and put another man down before they all hit the ground trying to find cover. He heard rifles from behind him again but couldn't see if they had managed to hit anything. He heard a knocking noise to his left and looked over to see Bryon Jessup shaking so bad that his rifle was banging against the sill of their foxhole.

  “Kid, steady up!” he hissed. “We have got to keep them from moving into the Square!”

  “I got it,” Bryon nodded, still shaking like a leaf in a wind storm. “I can do it.” But he couldn't.

  Mark had argued against the kid being in the hole with him, but he had been overruled. Everyone assumed that no attacker would get past the defenses below thus there was no reason not to assign Bryon there. His age wasn't considered since there were six boys only a year older than he was that were actually on the security team. If they could do it then so could Bryon the boy's father had assured him. And now it was way too late for Bryon to get away or for Mark to get someone more steady into the bunker to help.

  “Kid, for God's sake get with th-” was as far as Mark got. He felt a sledgehammer blow against his chest, the force knocking him backwards into the rear wall of the foxhole. From there he fought to stay on his feet, unsure of what had happened. But his feet wouldn't stay beneath him and his legs wouldn't hold him anymore.

  “Wh-” he tried to speak but suddenly had a mouthful of blood. He slowly slid down the wall, grasping for anything that would steady him.

  “Ber. . .Berni. . . .”

  “Mark?” Bryon Jessup was frozen in place. “Mister Webb?” Not knowing what else to do he picked up the field phone and spun the crank.

  “Home Plate,” Leanne answered at once.

  “Mister Webb is shot!” Bryon yelled into the phone.

  “Who is this? Where are you?” Leanne asked. “Stay calm and tell me where you are. Is this Sentry Four?” she looked at the tag on the switchboard.

  “S-s-sentry Four!” Bryon shouted. “Mister Webb is shot!”

  “All right, I’ll try and get some help up there right away. Can you stop the bleeding?”

  “I. . .I don't. . .he's shot!” Bryon was losing it.

  “Do the best you can until we can get some help up there,” Leanne gave up, realizing that whoever it was, she suspected it was Bryon Jessup, he wasn't going to be able to get it together enough to talk to her. “I have to ring off now. Try and protect yourself until help arrives.”

  “Mister Webb?”

  –

  “Doc from Home Plate,” Tandi heard.

  “Go for Doc,” he replied shortly, still working on Corey. He had taken one round high on his arm and had over a dozen ugly splinters buried in his face from the logs overhead. The kid was a bloody mess.

  “Sentry Four has a casualty,” Deuce told him. “Probably Mark Webb. We think Bryon Jessup is with him but he's in a panic so it's hard to get information from him.”

  “It's gonna take a minute or two to get up there, assuming I can make it at all,” Tandi replied.

  “Roger that.”

  Doc swore as he quickly finished a slap and dash fix on Corey. Grabbing his bag, he slapped Kade on the shoulder.

  “I gotta go, kid. He should be okay. I-” he cut off as Nate slid into the foxhole, followed by Titus.

  “We heard,” Nate said. “Titus will go with you and I’ll stay here with them.”

  “Thanks,” Tandi nodded. “C'mon Tee. There's a buggy behind the shed.”

  “On it,” Titus nodded. The two wiggled out of the hole and took off, Jody Thompson once more trying to cover for them as Nate and Kade laid down suppressing fire.

  –

  Clay was trying to cover his front alone and keep track of everything else at the same time. It was a big job and he wasn't doing it very well at the moment. Corey was hit and down and now it sounded like Mark Webb was down hard and the Jessup boy was alone in that spot.

  To make matters worse, their enemy was starting to marshal themselves. The defenders had made a huge dent in the numbers against them but the opposition was still strong enough to do a lot of damage. Clay needed a game changer but he was stuck where he was for the moment. There was too much happening for him to see over when he was fighting at the same time.

  Fortunately, there was help that he hadn't counted on. In all that had been happening the last two days he had overlooked someone.

  –

  Bryon Jessup almost jumped out of his skin as a huge shadow fell over him. He tried to get his rifle around only to have it jerked from his hand.

  “Stop that,” Brick said at once though there was no real emotion in his voice. “Get over there and try to stop his bleeding,” he pointed to Mark Webb. Brick was pretty sure there was no point but the kid needed something to do and didn't need to have a rifle in his hands.

  “O…okay,” Bryon Jessup nodded shakily and scrambled over to Mark Webb's body. Brick turned his attention to the front of the foxhole. He set the boy's rifle aside and pulled his own rifle up to the firing slit.

  -

  Brick had been at Leon's house in a position to help support Victoria Tully and Zach Willis when he had heard Leanne Tillman call Tandi and tell him about Mark Webb. He had hesitated for a minute but then Leon had told him to go.

  “You're closer,” the Old Man had told him. “Get over there and see if you can help. We’ll be fine.”

  “All right,” Brick had nodded. Marla and Janice were there and both women knew how to shoot. It should be okay.

  He grabbed his rifle and began hoofing it toward the cabins. It was slightly up hill but Brick had walked this area more than once getting the lay of the land. He made his way up behind Leon's house, keeping north of the road until he was opposite the cabin area. Crossing the road, he had made his way to Sentry Four with little difficulty. It was almost anti-climatic until he had seen Mark Webb.

  Brick had seen enough fatal wounds to know that Mark Webb was beyond help. He also knew that Tandi would have to t
ry, if for no other reason than to satisfy Webb's family and friends. Meanwhile someone had to cover this position.

  And that was something Brick could do quite well.

  –

  “Keep down, kid,” Brick warned the Jessup boy. “Try to stop the bleeding and stay down. It’ll all be over soon. And Doc is on his way.”

  “I don't think he's breathing,” Bryon said softly. “I think-”

  “Stop thinking and just try to stop the bleeding,” Brick told the boy. “Quiet now.”

  Two men to his left came off the ground at a run. They made four steps before he had shot both, putting them down hard.

  “How many were in front of you?” he asked.

  “Uh. . .t-t-ten, I think.”

  “And how many had you hit?”

  “N-n-none for me,” Bryon replied. “M-m-mister Webb hit one or two, and Samuel hit one and Mister Meecham hit one.”

  “And I got two just now,” Brick muttered to himself. He decided to assume there were at least five left.

  He heard an ATV somewhere to the north, probably Tandi Maseo trying to get to Sentry Four. He tried to keep an eye out to see if there were any tangos between the bunker and where he expected the medic to try and get across the road. He heard the engine stop suddenly and realized that Tandi was going to try and cross the road on foot.

  “Kid, I need you to get over here and be a lookout,” he told the Jessup boy. “Watch for the medic and tell me when you see him coming.”

  “Yes sir,” Bryon nodded and moved across the bunker to the other side. Brick didn't know if the boy would be able to spot Tandi Maseo or not, but if he did then the enemy could too. Brick needed to know that.

  Two minutes later Tandi Maseo and Titus Terry slid into the foxhole, causing Bryon Jessup to nearly screech in fright. Both ignored him as Titus moved to take a position alongside Brick while Tandi went immediately to Mark Webb. It took his less than ten seconds to realize there was no point.

  “He's gone,” the little medic declared, his voice sad. “Took a round right through the chest, not far from his heart. I doubt even a trauma center could have saved him.”

  “He's dead?” Bryon Jessup gulped.

  “He is,” Tandi nodded. “What else is going on up here?” He turned to Brick.

  “Handful of zombies to our front,” Brick nodded without taking his eyes off the ground in front of him. “At least five hale and hearty. Three or perhaps four down when I got here, and I took two since then.”

  Tandi picked up the field phone and rang the switchboard.

  “Home Plate,” Leanne answered immediately.

  “Leanne this is Tandi. Can you tell me what's happening at all?”

  “Nothing you probably don't already know,” she admitted. “The main thing seems to be that our attackers are gathering out in the road under cover of their vehicles. Heath is busting them up but whoever is in charge seems to have things going better over there.”

  “Copy that. I'm available if there's more wounded.” His voice was heavy and Leanne didn't miss it.

  “I take it Mark is gone,” she said softly.

  “Yes.”

  “I'm sorry to hear that. I’ll call if there's need,” she said.

  Tandi replaced the handset and took a deep breath, letting it out in one long, slow exhale.

  “Looks like they're rallying behind the cover of their vehicles,” he informed Titus and Brick. “No count, but several apparently. There must have been a ton of these assholes.”

  “Cowards run in groups,” Brick nodded.

  “Is he really dead?” Bryon Jessup asked hesitantly.

  “Kid, you need to get over there in the corner, sit down, and be quiet,” Brick kept his tone calm, but firm. “You're not helping so at least stay out of the way.”

  “Yes sir,” the red-faced teen murmured as he did as ordered.

  “Is it that bad?” Tandi asked Brick, knowing the other man would understand what he was asking.

  “It's that bad,” Brick assured him.

  “Movement!” Titus said urgently and opened fire. Brick was right behind him. Five men had rose from the ground running, and two of them fell back, shot. The other three kept running and Brick shot another. Titus fired again but missed and the two remaining runners hit the ground again out of sight. From above and behind they heard two high powered rifles fire, and then fire again. Thirty seconds later the field phone rang. Tandi answered it.

  “Who is this?” the unknown voice asked.

  “This is Tandi Maseo in Sentry Four.”

  “This is Gary Meecham in Tower Two,” the caller identified himself. “We got those last two. As near as we can tell that was it for that bunch. How's Mark?”

  “Mark is down,” Tandi said carefully. “Do you see any movement to our front at all?”

  “Not at this time. And none around our position either.”

  “Roger that. Look for us to exit and move down the hill shortly. Can you have two more people sent to this position?”

  “It’ll take a couple minutes or so,” Meecham warned.

  “That should be fine. Brick is here to hold the fort.”

  “What about the Jessup kid?” Meecham asked. “Is he down?”

  “No, but he's not able to contribute,” Tandi again chose his words carefully.

  “I see,” Meecham replied after a few seconds. “I’ll need to find someone. . .suitable.” Meecham also chose his words carefully to avoid saying that he'd need to find someone other than one of the Webbs.

  “Roger that. Me and Titus will probably move down the hill shortly. If we're careful we can flank those guys below. Take some heat off the others.”

  “Be careful,” Meecham said and rang off. Tandi replaced the handset and stood. “Titus, let’s get ready to head down and see what we can manage. Brick, Mister Meecham is gonna send you some help as soon as he can round some up.”

  “That's fine,” the big man nodded. “When they get here I’ll probably move back to Leon's. I can provide some cover fire from there.”

  “Good deal. We're moving.” He shouldered his pack and nodded to Titus. The younger man followed him out, and soon the two were outside. They took the time to make sure all the attackers were indeed dead before heading down the hill with one last wave to Brick.

  “This was my fault,” Bryon Jessup muttered.

  “Shut up, kid.”

  –

  “Bryon ain't gonna make it at this, man,” Titus said softly.

  “No, he's not,” Tandi agreed. “Too bad about Mark Webb. He was married, too.”

  “Yeah.”

  –

  Gary Meecham arrived at the small bunker five minutes later accompanied by Marcy George. At sixteen she was the same age as Bryon but she was the only other person available that wasn't a Webb. She looked a little green at the gills at the sight of Mark Webb but got it under control and moved to take her place at the firing slit.

  “I got one of the Webb brothers to take my place,” he said to Brick. “What's the situation?”

  “Quiet for now, and Tandi and Titus will be between here and any enemy forces by now,” Brick reported. “They also did a Zeke Eradication out front, so you're clear for now.” Meecham nodded his understanding, allowing Brick to explain that the two others had killed any wounded to leave the post and the cabins clear of any threats for the moment.

  “If you're sure you've got this I'm going back to Leon's house,” Brick said. “From there I can cover the fighting position in front of the cutover. They're alone right now other than Heath.”

  “We can handle it,” Meecham promised. “Marcy is solid,” he looked over and winked at the girl, who smiled shyly but said nothing.

  “You need to get him out of here if you can,” Brick pointed to Bryon Jessup. “Send him to the shelter.”

  “Will do,” Meecham nodded. “Better to keep him here,” he changed his mind after a few seconds. “If he goes to the shelter then people will be asking him wha
t happened. The wrong people,” he clarified, and Brick nodded.

  “Whatever you think. I'm gone.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  -

  “Things are about to get real,” Zach all but whispered. “I think everyone they have left is gathered over there now.”

  “Makes it easier to kill them all,” Vicki told him. “They're probably gonna try and rush us. Get in close and try to overwhelm us with numbers. By now they know how few of us there are.”

  “Are you trying to scare me?” Zach asked calmly. “Cause if you are, it's working.”

  “I doubt that,” Vicki laughed. “It looks like this bunch was about half zombies and half decent. Most of the decent ones are still left and most of the tangos on the ground are probably the zombies.”

  “Zombies?” Zach asked, puzzled. “That's a new one for me.”

  “It's just another term for enemy,” she shrugged. “Usually it means exactly the kind of people I was just talking about. Useful idiots that make defenders burn up ammo and ordnance before the better troops try to storm a position.”

  “I see,” Zach nodded. “Still trying to scare me then.”

  “When they come, let me have the center with this,” she patted the M249 affectionately. “You concentrate on keeping our flanks clear. Don't let them get around us. This baby should make them go to ground, but there's no telling how close they can get before that happens. Distance is our friend right now.”

  “Got it,” he nodded.

  “Vee, Gunner, this is Doc,” they heard Tandi call. “Tee and I are moving down the hill opposite your position. We're trying to make sure this side is clear and find a position where we can support you with flanking fire.”

  “Roger that, Doc,” Vicki replied for them. “Expecting a mass attack at any time now.”

  “We’ll try to make it into place before then,” Doc promised. “Clear.”

  “Well, that will help,” she said, bracing the SAW on the sill.

  “Sure will,” Zach agreed. “Any idea how many are over there?”

  “More than ten, less than a hundred,” Vicki quipped. “Relax, we can handle it. Trust your training and your instincts. Just ease into it and go with the flow!” she winked.