by J. W. Vohs
Now came the most difficult moments any soldiers had to face: the wait for imminent battle to commence. Everything the Allies could think of to kill hunters had been prepared to the best of their people’s ability and knowledge, but the wisest among them knew that there was no way they’d prepared for every contingency. Things would go wrong in the looming battle, and people would die because of it. Some soldiers would break and run when confronted with their first sight of the horde, and entire phalanxes would be endangered due to the gaps the runners left behind. Some bombs would fail to detonate, and a number of fighters would stumble and fall during retreats. Spears would break, and guns would jam. In other words, the fog of war would descend upon the battlefield when the killing began, and nobody could be certain as to what would remain when the fog lifted.
Luke and Gracie had been assigned to Carter’s command on the right flank in the phalanx fighting in front of the bridges. They would be joined by David, Blake, and Lori from their Ohio team. All of the Fort Wayne troops, including Zach and Maddy, as well as Chad Greenburg’s men would stand with them to anchor the center of the phalanx defending the ground in front of the bridge. To their left was the 2nd Utah Division, while on their right were the troops of what was being called the Mississippi Brigade. All of the locals were part of that force, as were the Louisiana troops and the fighters from the Cairo area. The brigade had just over two thousand soldiers, most of which, it had to be admitted, were of dubious quality when it came to standing in a shield wall and slugging it out with tens of thousands of hunters. Training had been intense over the past week, and though Jack was outwardly pleased with the preparation of the Mississippi Brigade, he still transferred three battalions from Hiram Anderson’s 2nd Utah to shore up the locals.
Stephen Carlson’s 1st Utah Division, with a half-strength 1st Battalion and HQ unit in reserve, would be fighting to hold Highway 61 north of Vicksburg. Jack would be out there with them until they were forced back into the city, an eventuality everyone was hoping would take a few days to occur. When Carlson was forced back, his remaining forces would take up positions on the second defense berm, where they could hopefully provide some cover for the first retreat when it finally took place. Once they were back inside friendly lines, Jack would move to the top of the wall guarding the I-20 Bridge and do his best to coordinate the actions of all units under his leadership.
One last command conference had been held in the meeting house even as the 1st Utah was marching out to block Barnes’ main approach. Jack went over the entire, complicated plan one last time before addressing the gathered soldiers. “In the end, all of our planning will be reduced to you and your soldiers standing in shield walls against more hunters than you’ve ever seen in your life. At that point all we can do is stand and fight. Tell your troops not to worry about what they see and hear around them; Ulysses Grant once said that all battles appear to be lost when you’re in the rear areas. Especially for the units positioned in front of the bridges, you’re going to have retreating soldiers passing through your lines. This is part of the plan, but some of your troops are going to be freaked out by what they see when this happens. They’ll be stepping aside for fighters who are wounded, beaten, and scared, but again, that’s expected. If we stand our ground out there we will win. Any questions before I head out to catch up with Carlson?”
Nobody raised a hand, so Jack finished his impromptu speech. “God be with all of you, and good luck tomorrow.”
As the meeting broke up, David made his way to Jack’s side, trying to corral Luke as he did so. In the end he only found Jack, and big brother was in a hurry to get going. “You all right, David? You look a little pale.”
David shook his head in annoyance, “I’m fine. Look, I was really hoping to have a chance to speak to you and Luke together, before we head out to what might be our last battle.”
Jack didn’t try to hide his annoyance. “Tell me what you have to say now, and tell him once you find him.”
David once again considered how to broach the subject he’d been putting off since they all arrived at Vicksburg. He’d rehearsed several options in his mind over the past few weeks, but at this moment he couldn’t recall any of them. “Uh, you remember your high school girlfriend?”
Jack stopped in his tracks. “You seriously think NOW is a good time to reminisce about my high school girl friend? While I could never forget Maggie, let’s save the walk down memory lane for later.” When David didn’t move, Jack prodded, “Don’t you have some place to be?”
Just then an officer from the 1st Utah appeared at Jack’s side and saluted. “Sir, General Carlson reports that the division has reached the forward positions with no opposition. His scouts have located the enemy vanguard about three miles to the north. He expects an attack shortly after dawn. I’m driving out there now, sir, if you want to join me.”
Jack nodded. “Just give me a minute; I’ll be right there.”
The western soldier saluted once again. “Yes, sir, I’ll be waiting outside to escort you to the Hummer we have waiting.”
Jack returned the salute before turning back to David. “Why are you still here?”
David held up his hand, “Hold on just a second. I just want you to know that I recently found out that Maggie kept a secret from you all those years ago. She was pregnant when she broke up with you, and she had the baby.”
Jack looked at his brother with an expression somewhere between anger and astonishment. “And you waited till now to tell me this? Did they survive the outbreak?”
“Maggie died a few years ago, but your son survived.”
“My son? Jesus, David, I’m sure you’re trying to give me some good news, maybe a reason to fight harder than ever, but I’m already as committed to survival as I can be. I can’t process this right now, and I don’t need the distraction. If we make it through the coming battle, you can tell me all about it. First, we need to kick Barnes’ ass.” With that, he trotted off toward the waiting hummer.
Luke and Gracie wandered along the waterfront, looking in on the various gatherings to get a feel for the spirit of the troops. Everywhere they went they found the soldiers to be subdued, but determined and anxious to get it over with. Finally they came across a huge gathering of the Louisiana fighters and their families, apparently finishing up an outdoor church service in spite of the low temperature and pressing need for final arrangements. A handsome, middle-aged pastor had led the singing and given a brief message, but now he yielded the pulpit to the tall, fierce-looking patriarch of the TV-show family. The man gave off an aura of confidence and competence, and now Luke learned more about the travelling community’s leader as the old man bowed his head and led his people in one last prayer before battle.
“Heavenly Father,” he began speaking in a powerful baritone, “we thank you for your love and many blessings. You’ve brought us through monsters and hunger to this time and place, where we will now fight the leader of this great evil plaguing the land. Lord, we go into battle confident that we are doing your will, and knowing that means that we cannot lose anything but our earthly bodies in this crusade. Our souls already rest in your loving hands. Give us the strength of Sampson and David as we go forth to slay these abominations, Father, even as we march into battle shouting, ‘Great is the Lord, His love endures forever’. The Hebrew armies of old fought beneath that declaration, as we will all do tomorrow. We humbly give ourselves over to thy will, Father. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
The gathered families and soldiers all reverently repeated, “Amen,” after which the meeting slowly broke up as the people headed off to their quarters for what might be their last night together in this life. Luke and Gracie held hands and moved against the crowd to try to reach the leader, finally arriving at his side after politely pushing through hundreds of soldiers and their loved ones. The lean, hardened old man was staring at Luke long before the teen and his fiancé reached him, looking rather perplexed as he studied the young warrior.
Finally Luke was close enough to extend his hand, “We enjoyed your prayer.”
“Thank you, son, how else can I help you?”
Luke shrugged, “I know you and your soldiers have been assigned to our right flank tomorrow; when I saw you here I thought I’d take the opportunity to introduce myself. This is my fiancé, Gracie.”
The big man took her hand in his. “Yep, the little lady who thought up a big idea for the bridges.”
He smiled as he looked at them both, “I suppose you’re wantin’ to know if my troops will stand their ground tomorrow?”
Luke shook his head slightly, “I wonder about everyone when it comes to that; few people have ever seen anything like the horde that’s headed this way.”
The heavily bearded old man unexpectedly changed the subject. “So who are you, son?”
Luke looked confused, “I’m Luke Seifert, I’m with Jack Smith and the Indiana Company.”
“That’s not what I’m askin’. Two times I’ve seen you now, and both times somethin’ in my spirit has given a little leap in my belly.” He moved slightly closer to gain a better angle for looking into Luke’s eyes. “You know that place I’m talkin’ about?”
Luke smiled, “Yes sir, I do. I seek God first in nearly everything I do, including participating in this war. I believe that killing the infected is what I was born to do.”
The old man smiled back slightly as he stroked his beard in thought. “I think you were born for more’n just killin’ the infected. God has a big plan for your life, son, I can see it all over you.”
Luke blushed uncomfortably, and was ready to say thank you and be on his way, but the old man seemed to read his mind. “Hold up a minute, before you go, I’d like to say a blessin’ over you. That alright?”
Gracie answered for him, “Of course it’s alright. We both thank you for your kind words.”
Luke looked over at Gracie and pulled her close before he bowed his head. The old man placed a callused hand on each of them and murmured a prayer, “Lord, bless these two mighty warriors as they carry out your will. Bless them with love for one another and all people, Father, so they will always remember why they so often must suffer in the crucible of war. Help them to always remember that their cause is just, and that there is no higher calling than defending the weak and oppressed. Amen.”
As Luke and Gracie quietly murmured their thanks, the old man looked intently at Luke one last time. “I can’t say what the rest of the Mississippi Brigade will do when the horde comes, but my warriors won’t leave your side. Count on it.”
Jack had embedded himself with the 2nd Utah Battalion, deciding to fight in the phalanx blocking Highway 61 for at least part of the next day to get an idea of what they were facing. After a nervous night spent trying to get a little sleep with the horde just a few miles away, Jack welcomed the coming dawn even as it arrived with the sound of helicopter rotors moving toward the human position from the north. The 1st Utah Division was blocking the road in two prepared locations just five hundred meters apart. Each phalanx entered the battle with eighteen hundred soldiers deployed on just a sixty-meter front, giving the formations a depth that Jack and Carlson hoped could offer effective resistance to the pressure that would be brought to bear by Barnes’ army. There were numerous places where buildings or other clearings lay near the highway, and the depth of the phalanx would be reduced accordingly at those spots, but in general the road had a tunnel-like feel to it. The marshy forests to either side of the four-lane road were heavily wired at regular intervals where the western infantry intended to make their stands in an effort to try to prevent the hunters from flanking them through the trees. The two phalanxes planned to leapfrog one another as they grudgingly gave ground before what was ultimately expected to be an irresistible enemy push, but the western vets were determined to make the vile enemy pay dearly for every inch of ground they captured.
Barnes wasted no time as the night sky finally began to lighten from the eastern horizon. He had shown no desire, up to this point, to push his hunter-army toward human positions at night, so every minute of daylight was important to his plans. As expected, the Blackhawks appeared before any flesh-eaters were sighted. Two of the helicopters roared above the highway at top speed, apparently keeping the loss of one of their birds at Pickwick in mind as they conducted their hasty reconnaissance. A few minutes after the choppers flew overhead, more of them could be seen flying loops to the north, and as they steadily drifted closer to the Utah phalanx, the first moans and howls could clearly be heard by the tense soldiers standing in their lines.
Against Carlson’s strong objections, Jack was standing in the third line of the lead formation. He expected the first two lines to be fully occupied with their shields as they struggled to slow the enemy push. While they were doing that thankless job, he would be using his trusty halberd to stab and hack to death every hunter he could reach with his favorite weapon. Carlson had argued that the overall commander of the Allied forces should be far to the rear, coordinating the defense and managing the reserves. Jack agreed with him in theory, and intended to do just that once Highway 61 was no longer defensible, but he believed that the soldiers gathered here in Vicksburg needed to see him fight.
As a historian, Jack knew that the great generals of the past had usually earned the respect and obedience of their soldiers by exposing themselves to the same dangers and hardships the troops had to endure. His people back home knew that he had done just that many times, but the vast majority of the army gathered near Vicksburg had never seen Jack in action. Today they would. Carlson had ultimately agreed with Jack’s reasoning, albeit with great reluctance and a written chain of command sent back to the bridges in case he and Jack both died out here. Once that was accomplished, Carlson put the matter behind him like the professional officer he was and prepared to lead his forces into battle.
The circling Blackhawks reached a point where they came no closer, except for one fast-moving bird that popped up over the horizon and flew directly over the 1st Utah before veering east over the trees and almost immediately disappearing from sight. The tension in the lines was palpable as Jack stood with the soldiers waiting to receive the horde’s onslaught. As he surreptitiously peered from side to side, he could see final prayers being whispered, armor straps being double-checked, and jaws furiously chomping on the bubble gum everyone seemed to have plenty of. Minutes later the first of the flesh-eaters appeared at the top of a slight, curving rise in the road, and when they saw the humans standing before them they charged with a furious howl.
Jack’s experienced eye could immediately see that these hunters weren’t of the same caliber as those he’d faced at the bridge in Brandenburg. Some of these creatures were missing forearms or had faces covered in scar tissue. Others were limping along on fused knees or ankles, while many more seemed plain anemic compared to the prime beasts Barnes had fielded in Kentucky. Jack had to assume that the general still had his best killers available, but Luke was right when he warned that Barnes would round up stray infected on the way to Vicksburg and use them to absorb most of the lethal defenses. Maybe, Jack thought, the heavy losses inflicted at Brandenburg, Pickwick, and during the guerilla campaign were finally having some effect on the horde. Nevertheless, the tens of thousands roaring down on the phalanx right now were still dangerous flesh-eaters that would have to be killed, so Jack pushed all thoughts aside except those pertaining to killing monsters.
Jack had been in many battles and individual combats with the infected at nearly every stage of their development, but he’d never been part of a collision as powerful as the one that occurred between the leading elements of the 2nd Utah Battalion and the vanguard of the horde. Barnes’ elite hunters probably would have hit the shield wall shoulder-first, trained to win first and eat later. These new recruits attacked with an opposite mindset: here was food, let’s get it. The flesh-eaters came in all hands and teeth, but with tens of thousands pushing from behind they still hit the phalanx li
ke a Mack Truck.
As the westerners pushed back with all their might, Jack found that he was basically immobilized from the waist down, shields from behind smashing him against the forward ranks that were being forced back a few steps by the fury of the enemy assault. But he didn’t need his legs to use the halberd effectively, and he began thrusting the spear-tip of the fearsome weapon into the face of every hunter he could reach. Within thirty seconds he’d dropped a half-dozen of the creatures, which accomplished nothing but to make room for more monsters to take their places. Jack killed them too, and then he went to work on the next group to appear.
Fortunately, fighters all along the forward ranks of the phalanx were systematically destroying the flesh-eaters as they mindlessly grabbed for arms and legs in the vain hope of pulling a human to the ground where they could go to work with their teeth. A few competent monsters got lucky and managed to snatch one of the soldiers from the formation, but most of the casualties being inflicted upon the troops were broken bones caused by the violent collisions between such large masses of bodies. As mounds of corpses rapidly grew higher in front of the phalanx, more and more hunters were able to leap over the front ranks of the formation and land upon soldiers who basically were keeping their heads down and pushing with their shields. These agile monsters were almost always stabbed to death with short swords before they could bite anyone, but as their falls were broken by human bodies, they were inflicting concussions and fractures.
