Jess scanned further ahead looking for obstacles. Deep inside he hoped Rick would make it to the military. He focused on a Humvee pickup three blocks from Rick’s current location.
“There’s a Hummer a few blocks from him. Look at the long brown building on the right. I think there’s men sitting in it.”
Ty looked past the small figure walking on the street. He didn’t have binoculars so it was difficult to see what Jess was seeing.
“Let me see the binoculars.” Ty said
“Hold on. I think the guys in the Hummer spotted him. Shit, he must have twenty of those things following him. It almost looks like that Michael Jackson video. The one where he dances with zombies.” Jess found humor in the situation as he snickered.
“Let me see.” Ty asked again
“One minute. The men in the Hummer are approaching him. They’re saying something to him. Damn, those things are still following him.”
Ty pushed his face against the window in an attempt to see what was going on. He could make out Rick because he was wearing a white t-shirt and he could see the zombies following him. He squinted to see Rick clearly and watched as he fell to the ground. A second later the sound of gunshots were heard.
“What the hell happened?” Ty asked looking over to Jess.
Jess lowered his binoculars. He glanced over to Ty with a distraught look. “They shot him!”
“What?”
“You were right. We need to get the fuck out here. They’re going to kill us.”
“Give me the binoculars.” Ty demanded.
Jess handed the binoculars over and walked quickly from the room. Ty spied the scene unfolding four blocks from the Bixter Building. Gunshots continued. The soldiers quickly eliminated the threat before them. Several more soldiers rushed from the long brown building joining in the slaughter. Near them the body of a man in a white t-shirt lay in a puddle of blood. Ty lowered his binoculars feeling a cold chill rush over his body.
***
Rick’s last minutes on earth were liberating. He strolled from the safety of the Bixter Building right past the hungry undead. He hit the streets with one purpose, to find the military and join up with the winners. He was no longer concerned with the fools he left behind. He was now in charge of his own life. Ahead of him soldiers stepped out of a Hummer. He waved to them.
“Hey guys. I’m here to help.” The last words Rick ever spoke. He was shot between the eyes. Brain matter exited the large gaping wound in the back of his head covering the ground below his dead body. He wouldn’t be returning. Still, during his last minute on earth, he felt alive for the first time in a long time.
***
“We have to leave now.” Ty said.
“What, why?” Katie asked. Her mind had drifted thinking of happier times before the event. She missed most of what Ty and Jess discussed in front of her earlier.
“The soldiers shot Rick for no reason.”
Katie stood up quickly. Not only did her head hurt, she could still feel the remnants of the large bruise on her tailbone she suffered the first night of the infection. She winced as sharp pains ran through her body.
“Are you sure? Maybe he did something. Maybe he threatened them.”
“They shot him in cold blood. There’s no way he threatened them. Hell, Jess watched them do it.”
Katie grabbed Ty’s hand. “Why would they do that? They’re here to help us aren’t they?” Katie asked, her mind now racing.
“I don’t know but I had a bad feeling about this. I tell you, I watched way too many scary movies when I was young and every time the military was involved it was bad. It’s like life imitating bad art.”
Katie stood looking out the large window. Once again her whole world had been shaken to its core. In a short time she had become comfortable in the Bixter Building with Ty. She felt as safe as she had ever had in her life here with Ty and Sugar. She wanted to close off the outside world and live forever within the thick walls and large windows of the Bixter Building. Everything was crumbling down. She buried her head into Ty’s shoulder.
“Why does this keep happening? Why can’t we catch a break?” Katie’s words came out a bit garbled. Her emotions were catching up with her. She didn’t want to fight anymore. She just wanted to rest and grow old with Ty and Sugar.
“I don’t know. I do know we have to get out of here now before the Army gets here. Jess is already gathering his stuff and we need to do the same.” Ty said as he gently pushed Katie away and looked deep into her brown eyes. Immediately she realized they were in serious trouble.
Katie took a deep breath speaking in a matter of fact manner. “I’ll gather my stuff. Rick already loaded the truck with a bunch of supplies.”
“I’ll be down the hall. We should be out of here in less than a half an hour.” Ty opened the door then stopped. “I love you Katie. I’m not just saying that because of this fucked up situation we’re in. I really do love you. I’m only sorry it took all of this bullshit to bring us together.”
Katie stood stunned at his sudden heart felt confession but smiled and pointed to her wrist indicating the clock was ticking. She didn’t have to say “I love you” back. Ty knew it.
Down the hall Jess loaded the remaining weapons and re-checked them as fast as he could. In the corner of the office sat three small duffle bags loaded with supplies ranging from canned food, clothes, and medicine, to weapons and ammunition. One bag contained nothing but dog food for Sugar. During the event Jess had developed a soft spot for Ty’s dog and wanted to make sure she wouldn’t go hungry. He discovered she really liked lamb and rice flavored canned food in which he had a duffle bag full of.
Ty stood at the door with two large duffle bags and Sugar by his side. “You ready?”
“Right behind you. Where’s Katie?” Jess asked.
“Packing in her office I hope.” Ty said grabbing one of Jess’s duffle bags.
The two men walked down the hall to Katie’s office. Inside Katie stuffed the last of her belongings in a backpack and grabbed a shotgun off the desk. She looked up seeing Ty and Jess standing in the doorway. Sugar trotted inside the office and nuzzled up against her leg. She reached down scratching Sugar behind the ears smiling at Ty.
“Time to get the show on the road.” Katie slung her backpack over her shoulder and racked a shell into the chamber of the shotgun. Ty looked over to Jess and shook his head.
“At least she’s ready.”
“You know it brother. Mountains here we come. I really want to get in some skiing this winter.” Jess said laughing nervously as he walked down the hall to the stairwell. Ty and Katie followed closely dragging several duffle bags. The group reached the stairwell and began their final decent from the top floor of the Bixter Building. Stopping at each floor, Ty stepped out into the hall peering through the windows scanning for zombies in the surrounding streets along with any military movement. He spotted the two helicopters hovering in the distance then he saw the caravan. We have to get out of here now. The caravan was still quite a distance from the Bixter Building but appeared to be heading in their direction.
“The military’s on the move. They have a shit load of vehicles and those damn helicopters and I think they’re heading our way.” Ty stepped past Jess and Katie walking as quickly as he could without tripping down the stairs.
The parking garage was silent. The zombies that had gathered around the gate earlier in the day followed Rick to his death and their subsequent destruction. The group loaded their remaining supplies into the long bed of the Ford F-350 and stashed their firearms in the cab. Ty and Katie sat in the front seat while Jess took a position behind Katie with Sugar next to him. Jess unzipped a large duffle bag full of ammunition setting it at his feet within reach. Ty started the truck remembering, “You need to open the gate.”
Katie looked at Ty shaking her head.
“You’ll be the death of me yet.” She smiled as she hopped out of the truck.
“Do you really lo
ve her?” Jess asked from the back seat.
“More than you’ll ever know. Listen. We’re heading straight for Viola and the hunting cabin I told you about. I need you to be sharp. Remember, it’s going to be hard up there. It’s going to be cold and we’ll probably run out of food before the winter lets up.”
“Don’t worry, Ty. Anything is better than sitting in this building waiting to die.” Jess replied as he looked over the weapons in the back seat.
“Thank you Jess. I wish things were different. I really do. I wish we were sitting on your patio pounding beers and watching the game instead of fighting zombies.”
“I know. But look on the bright side. You would have never met her.”
Before Ty could answer he heard the gate opening. He looked back at Jess in the rearview mirror seeing dread in his eyes.
“Show time.”
Sixty-Eight
The Bell OH-58 Kiowa hovered above the roof of the Convention Center. The pilot stared down at the survivors gathering on the roof. He raised his hand and gave the high sign to the soldier prepared to repel to the roof below. The soldier exited the helicopter and slid to the Convention Center’s roof and the awaiting crowd.
“Who’s in charge here?” the soldier asked.
“I am.” Gates walked forward. “Col Gates, retired. What’s the situation soldier?” Gates demanded.
“Sir. The situation is good. I have a secure line from our commander. Lt. Col Hutto.” The soldier reached into his satchel and retrieved a black satellite telephone. He handed the telephone to Gates.
“Hutto will call you with instructions soon.” The soldier attached the line to a harness strapped to his body and gave the high sign to the helicopter. He was swiftly hauled away off the roof.
Gates stared down at the satellite phone for a moment and then pushed the green key. He held the phone to his ear.
“Hutto.”
“This is Col Gates, retired. Commanding the surviving civilians of Redding California. I understand you are here to help.”
“I am Lt. Col Hutto of the United States Army. I am the commander of Kilo Company tasked with creating a secure pocket for society within this fallen city. Redding has been designated a Renaissance city and as such will be secured. I will need your cooperation to help ensure this process succeeds.”
“Understood. What is the plan?”
“A military caravan is mobilizing as we speak. Our clearing team has determined a route of least resistance to your location. ETA four hours.”
“Very good. The civilians will be excited and relieved.”
“Before we arrive I will need you and the men in your charge to gather all the weapons and ammunition and store them on the roof. Have all the survivors ready to line up in front of the building. They will be searched but this is precautionary only. Once we have secured the immediate area the survivors will be given their arms back. I can’t stress enough that this is for everybody’s safety including my men. I will contact you one hour before our arrival. I greatly look forward to meeting you, Col. Gates.”
“Understood. I too look forward to a face to face meeting.” Gates clicked the phone off and stared out over the city watching the helicopter hover in the south. Multiple gunshots echoed through the valley. Gates smiled at the thought of the United States Military destroying the walking dead. He looked over and waved one of his sentries over.
“We have work to do before they arrive.”
***
Hutto set the phone down on the desk amongst a large pile of paperwork. He pushed back from the desk rubbing his eyes. He hadn’t questioned his orders throughout this entire mission until now. The man he spoke to on the other end of the cellular phone was a military man, retired at a high rank and deserving of respect. Still the orders were clear. All humans, dead or alive were to be eliminated for the mission to succeed, no matter if they were former or active military. Hutto removed a small bottle of Aspirin from the desk drawer and swallowed two with a warm glass of water. He stared back down at the phone for a long moment then picked it up placing it in his pocket. He exited the command trailer with his head hung low.
Sixty-Nine
The drab green bulldozer cleared the abandoned vehicles blocking the street with ease. The clearing team had worked efficiently and was well ahead of schedule. The sentries had encountered several pockets of zombies that proved no more than target practice. One runner did catch a young sentry by surprise and took a large chunk of meat out of his forearm. Both were terminated. The clearing team retrieved the body of their fallen comrade, called in the loss and simply moved on. Now the team sat within a half mile of the Convention Center radioing in their progress. In the background the Kilo Company radio operator could hear gunfire.
“Bulldog one, are you encountering heavy resistance?”
“Negative base, just a few Walkers. Target practice.”
“Copy Bulldog one. Kilo Company will be mobile within the hour. We will be traveling route “B”, I repeat route “B”.
“Copy base, we’ll be standing by.”
***
Hutto walked to the front of the caravan and slid into the passenger seat of a Humvee M1114. Two more roof gunner equipped Humvees pulled ahead of Hutto’s command vehicle and led the caravan as it began the slow decent into the middle of the city. Throughout the south end of the city the nine remaining Search & Terminate teams began maneuvering towards the Convention Center. The two lead Humvee’s slowly negotiated the city streets passing by large piles of debris recently pushed aside by the clearing team. Multiple rotting bodies littered the sidewalks and streets. The caravan added to the body count. Walkers approached from all directions attracted by the large cluster of moving vehicles. Runners were less frequent.
Hovering over the caravan, the two helicopters constantly surveyed the surrounding areas. The pilots radioed back and forth watching for groups of zombies, survivors, and other moving non-military vehicles. Kilo Company heard stories of small pockets of survivors fighting back against the military using vehicles as rolling bombs. Over twenty soldiers were killed in the lower west side of Sacramento during a battle with sixty some odd survivors held up in an old warehouse. Word came down from the top brass after the Sacramento incident authorizing extreme prejudice in executing any human, dead or alive. One commander, during a briefing Hutto sat in on, called the mission the “Modern Trojan Horse.”
“Our caravans will ride into the cities as saviors only to sack said cities. We will be welcomed.” The commander explained. Hutto enjoyed the historical reference and at one point during the early days of the mission found a USC hat in a gas station store. The hat now sat atop his desk proudly displaying the Trojan Helmet.
Kilo Company sat near the entrance to the main parking lot of the Convention Center. Hutto’s sharpshooters began dropping wandering zombies one by one. Hutto contacted Gates using the satellite phone.
“Gates.”
“I’m sure your spotters on the roof have alerted you to our arrival.” Hutto stated.
“Affirmative.”
“We will have the parking lot cleared in under thirty minutes. Make sure all weapons have been collected and have the survivors ready to come out and line up. We will have to get an accurate head count and start processing them.”
Gates listened to the satellite phone snapping his finger to catch a sentries’ attention. He waved the sentry over and covered the mouthpiece of the phone.
“Round up the weapons and ammunition as I explained and move them to the roof. Gather the rest of the sentries for assistance. When you’re done leave your weapons behind as well.” The sentry snapped a quick salute, not even close to military regulation, but a salute nonetheless. Gates snapped a quick salute back then waved for the sentry to hold up for a moment as Hutto continued speaking on the other end of the phone.
Gates kept his hand cupped over the mouthpiece of the phone. “I’ll address the group shortly.” The sentry nodded his head. The call ended. “Ga
ther the sentries and meet me at the top of the staircase.” The sentry again nodded, then left the room. Gates walked out into the hall stopping to think of what to tell the survivors. He had taken full control of the Center when he killed Littleton but the shock of that killing was still fresh. He thought for a moment then walked to the head of the staircase examining the group below. Soon his armed sentries joined him.
“May I have everybody’s attention? You are aware the military is nearby and they’re here to help us. It seems this nightmare may soon be over. I must ask for your cooperation in a sensitive matter. It has been requested all weapons and ammunition be collected and stored in a safe location. I too will give up my weapon.”
A low grumble rolled over the main floor.
Gates waited a moment for the survivors to calm down. “This is simply a precaution. I have been in contact with the commander of the liberation force sent here to help us and this is his request. Our property, including weapons and ammunition will be returned as soon as possible. This will be a simple process and once it is complete we can rebuild our city and regain the lives we once had. I ask for your cooperation. The United States Military asks for your cooperation.”
The grumbling amongst the survivors escalated to all out shouting. Littleton’s followers screamed for their own freedom and the right to leave the Center. They were opposed by survivors ready to give up their weapons for a shot at freedom. The screaming match continued for well over a minute then was silenced by Gates discharging his sidearm into the ceiling.
“Listen up. My men will be down on the main floor in just a moment. I expect full cooperation. There will be dire consequences for those who oppose this. Weapons and ammunition will be placed on the floor and you will back away and allow my men to do their jobs. I just want this thing to end. I am tired…and I want to go home.”
Welcome to Necropolis Page 28
