The Reckoning - 02

by D. A. Roberts

  The Sprinters were distracted by the smell of fresh blood. I only hoped that the asshole with the badges was still alive when they got there. My last glimpse of them was of a feeding frenzy in effect, as we slid around the corner and headed back towards the jail. Minutes later, we were back inside the vehicle sally port with the gate shutting behind us.

  We had another able-bodied fighter with us. I was hoping that she was going to be a valuable asset, not turn out to be a danger to us all. She could have valuable information that might help keep us alive. If nothing else, we could find out if the military was still planning on taking us all out to “contain” the virus or if that was a rogue operation.

  My instincts told me she was on our side. She fought alongside us and didn’t argue when I started giving orders. Technically, she had no reason to listen to me. I hoped that was a good sign. But then again, I’ve been fooled by beautiful women before.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Phase Two

  “To the legion of the lost ones, to the cohort of the damned.”

  - Rudyard Kipling

  Once we made it back inside the jail, I made the introductions all around. Jade genuinely seemed happy to meet everyone. Southard didn’t go out of his way to be friendly, but I didn’t really expect him to either. I poured Jade a cup of coffee and took her into one of the interview rooms. Once we were inside, I shut the door and motioned for her to have a seat.

  “Is this an interrogation?” she asked, smiling. There was a cautious look in her eyes.

  “Not at all,” I reassured her. “I just wanted to talk without anyone interrupting us. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”

  “Should I ask for a lawyer?” she said, over the top of her coffee cup.

  “It’s not like that,” I said. “I just want to know what’s going on out there from the military’s point of view.”

  “That’s easy,” she replied, serious now. “We’re basically screwed. There aren’t a lot of us left. Containment didn’t work and we lost a lot of good people trying.”

  “Yeah, us too,” I said, raising my coffee cup in her direction.

  “Once the dead started rising,” she said, staring into her coffee, “we recalled everyone we could. Even the reserves. It didn’t help. By the time we figured out that they weren’t alive anymore and center mass shots weren’t effective, we’d already sustained heavy losses.”

  I listened without interrupting her, letting her continue her thoughts.

  “We lost major cities, bases and even entire states. Hell, we pretty much lost everything west of the Mississippi River.”

  “You mean there are safe zones on the east coast?” I asked, excited for the first time.

  “I wouldn’t exactly use the term safe,” she replied, looking up at me. “We’ve managed to hold a few places that are difficult to get to. We blew the bridges to Manhattan and hit it hard. The last I heard, they were holding out. We air drop supplies in to them when we can.”

  Her expression changed, growing darker and pained.

  “We lost a lot of good people doing it,” she said, almost in a whisper. “My fiancé was one of them. He was a pilot, too. He flew Cobra Gunships. He went in after a downed pilot and got swarmed. I heard it all on the radio. He tried to take off, but they piled on his landing skids and it caused him to lose control. They say he died in the explosion. I really hope he did.”

  I didn’t know what to say. The pain and emotion were raw on her face.

  “Do you want to try to contact your unit?” I asked, trying to sound comforting.

  “Not much point,” she said, wiping her eyes. “We don’t have the resources to go after a downed pilot. When one of us goes down, they assume we’re dead. No search and rescue ops unless we’re carrying valuable cargo.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “I think you’re stuck with me,” she said. “Even if I could get in touch with my chain of command, they won’t send in any more aircraft since I got taken out by a SAM[9] launch.”

  “We heard rumors that they’re planning on bombing major cities to wipe out the dead,” I said, cautiously. “Is that true?”

  “I think so,” she said. “I don’t get the bomber’s briefings, or anything. I’ve heard that they’re targeting population centers.”

  I bit my lip to avoid cursing.

  “If it’s any consolation to you,” she said, “they’re supposedly trying to keep as much infrastructure intact as possible. Then they’ll have equipment in place once they try to retake the area.”

  It made sense. Why destroy places like factories, hospitals and utilities if you didn’t have to? The less you had to rebuild, the faster you could recover when this was over. At least someone was still planning on making a recovery. I had my doubts that it would even be possible. Either way, if the cities remained intact, then we had places to scavenge for supplies.

  “The plan was to hold as much ground as we could and wait for the dead to fall to decay,” she said. “We’re not sure how long that will take.”

  “We’ve noticed that they aren’t decaying at anything close to a normal rate,” I said. “Granted, we’ve only been able to observe for a few days. If we’re right, they could last for years. Maybe even longer than that.”

  “That’s not good news,” she said. “We might never recover, if that’s true. We can’t hold for that long. We’re going to run out of ammo, equipment and most importantly, manpower.”

  “Us too,” I said. “We’ve got to get out of here. Maybe go someplace where we can set up a sustainable community.”

  “How are you going to do that?”

  “Find an area we can defend and set up a perimeter,” I said. “Then we start growing our food and scavenge for whatever we can’t grow or produce.”

  “It won’t be easy,” she said.

  “The alternative is to just give up,” I answered. “I refuse to do that.”

  “We’ll, I’m in,” she said, “if you’ll have me.”

  “Glad to,” I replied, smiling. “We could always use another trained hand.”

  “Who’s in charge?” she asked.

  “Sheriff Daniels,” I said. “He’s hurt, though. I’ve been running field operations.”

  “You saved my butt,” she said. “I won’t forget that.”

  “I’m sure you’ll have the chance to return the favor before this is all said and done.”

  “Deal,” she replied, extending her hand.

  I shook it and smiled.

  “Welcome aboard,” I said.

  “What’s next?” she asked.

  “We’re in the process of finding a new base of operations. The jail isn’t going to hold forever. Besides that, I don’t like those Freemen knowing where we are.”

  “I don’t blame you,” she agreed. “Any idea where you’re going to relocate to?”

  “Yeah,” I replied. “Matthews and I used to do security before joining the department. We both worked a detail in the Springfield Underground. It’s an underground warehouse facility. If we can seal it off, we can hold it for a good long time. It has a big fenced off area above ground where we can grow food. Below ground is warehouse storage for several companies. One of them has a few hundred thousand square feet of cold food storage.”

  “Won’t it all be bad, by now?”

  “I doubt it,” I said. “For one, it’s below ground. The temperature stays constant. Also, it has its own generator system with a massive fuel tank. I’d guess that it can run for months.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” she said.

  We headed out of the interview room. Spec-4 was waiting for me when we came out. She looked a little apprehensive. I just gave her a smile and nodded. Sanders came walking up behind her.

  “Cal, will you take Jade to the break room and get her some chow?”

  “Sure, Wylie,” he said. “No problem.”

  Jade headed off through the Main Sliders with Cal. I waited until they were shut before I turned b
ack to Spec-4.

  “Well, is she on our side?” she asked, quickly.

  “I think so,” I replied. “I offered to help her try to contact her Chain of Command, but she said they will have already written her off for dead. They don’t have the resources to mount a Search and Rescue.”

  “Did you ask her about the Evac-centers?”

  “No, but I got the feeling that she didn’t know much about it,” I said. “I think that they gave up on containment.”

  “Still doesn’t make it right,” she said. “There were children there.”

  “I know,” I said. “But I can’t blame her for it any more than I could blame you.”

  “Good point,” she said. “So, is she staying or is she going to try to make it back to her unit.”

  “Staying, for now,” I said. “I don’t think she has any reason to go back.”

  “So, now what?”

  “I want to get a team together and go scout out the Underground. If we can clear it and close it off, we can hold out there for long time. How about you, Matthews, Southard and I make a run out there and see what’s going on?”

  “Sounds good,” she replied. “I’ll go get the others together and check the Humvee.”

  She headed off down the hallway while I headed up towards Master Control. I found Sheriff Daniels sitting at one of the control boards talking to the Lieutenant. They both looked up as I came in. Daniels smiled and the LT nodded at me.

  “How’s it going, Wylie?” asked Daniels.

  “Surviving it, sir,” I replied. “So far.”

  “Well, that beats the alternative,” replied the Lieutenant.

  “True, sir,” I said, reaching for the coffee pot.

  “You planning on going back out today?” asked the Lieutenant.

  “I was thinking about it, sir,” I said. “I want to go scout out the Underground. If we can take it, we will be able to hold it for a while. Also, it’ll be safe if they decide to bomb us unless they hit it with a Bunker Buster.”

  “Who are you taking with you?” asked the Sheriff.

  “Wilder, Southard and Matthews,” I replied, sipping coffee. “They’re assembling now.”

  “When are you planning on leaving?” asked the LT.

  “As soon as they’re ready,” I answered. “No sense wasting daylight. I have no intention of being out there in the dark.”

  “You sure you don’t want to take a bigger team?” said the Sheriff.

  “I guess I could take two Humvees,” I replied. “That would double our firepower. It would leave you guys short, here.”

  “We’ve got plenty of people who can shoot,” said the Sheriff. “You’re the one short-handed on field capable people.”

  “Alright, sir,” I said. “We’ll take two teams.”

  I turned to head out the door and the LT called after me.

  “Be careful, Wylie.”

  “I will, sir,” I said, without turning around.

  I took the stairs two at a time and met Southard at the bottom. He had his gear on and was holding one of the AA-12’s.

  “I thought you might want one of these,” he said, holding it out to me.

  “No thanks,” I said. “They’re great, but they burn the ammo way too fast. I’ll stick with the Keltec.”

  “You’re call,” he said. “We’re all ready.”

  “Let’s take two vehicles,” I said. “We can take more people.”

  “Who else do you want?”

  “Bowman, John, Jade and Winston,” I said.

  “I’ll round them up,” he said, turning back down the hallway.

  I took a few minutes to break the news to Karen. She wasn’t happy about it, but she didn’t argue, either. That was good. She understood that I was going to be facing danger a lot. We all were, before we could finally be safe. Safe might never be attainable. Safer might be a better word. The jail was a good base of operation, but there was no way to sustain us. We needed a place to grow food. Scavenged canned goods would eventually run out. If we weren’t prepared for that, then we would starve.

  By the time I finished talking to Karen and replenishing my ammo supply, the others were assembled by the Release Door. I saw that Jade was still wearing her flight suit, but had snagged an Interceptor Vest and weapons. Southard tossed me a black ballistic helmet when I got close to them.

  “What’s the brain-bucket for?” I asked, glancing at it.

  “With those idiots out there, we’d better be ready for enemies that will shoot back. The damned zombies may not be our biggest problem, right now.”

  “Matthews,” I said. “You drive the second Humvee. I’ll take the lead. Spec-4, Southard and Jade are with me. You get Bowman, Winston and John.”

  “No problem,” he said, slipping his own helmet on his head.

  “What do you think we’re going to find when we get there?” I asked Matthews.

  “Last I knew, Josh Kidman was still the site supervisor out there,” he replied. “He’s one of the most paranoid people I know. If I know him, he’s already sealed off at least part of the Underground.”

  “Think we can get in?”

  “I think I still know my way around down there,” he said, grinning. “I think we’ll get in. Let’s just hope he secured it before it was overrun. I don’t want to clear zombies out of a network of caverns, in the dark.”

  “Me either,” I replied. “OK, folks, we stick together. This is a recon mission. We’re not going to engage unless we have to. I’m going to assume we’re heading in to a hostile environment, but that might not be the case. If the place has already been secured, there’s a good chance it might have been secured by the Freemen. If that’s the way it is, we leave. They had the firepower to take out a fighter jet. That means they will have the firepower to take out an up-armored Humvee.”

  Shane, Halsey, Gunny and Webber joined us. They were all wearing armor and carrying weapons. They were going to be the gate team. They’d cover us while we exited the sally port and secure the gate behind us. They’d also stay armored and ready for our return, to let us in and cover us if we brought company. As I headed for the door, Gunny stopped me.

  “Here,” he said, holding out my hammer. “I thought you might need this.”

  “Thanks, Guns,” I said, tucking it into my belt.

  I noticed that he’d rewrapped the handle with 550 cord and braided the thong. It looked great. I nodded my appreciation and patted him on the shoulder.

  “Just don’t lose it,” he said, grinning. “That thing might save your life.”

  We lined up around the Release door and filed out tactically. The vehicle area was clear, but we always swept it when we went out. The one time we didn’t sweep it would be the time when there would be zombies inside the wire. I wasn’t planning on losing anyone because we got complacent.

  Once we were sure the intake area was clear, we headed for our vehicles. The sally port team got into position with Shane in the gate/car. I fired up my engine and pulled up to the gate. Matthews came up right behind me and gave me the thumbs-up in the mirror.

  “700, how does the outside of the gate look?” I asked, keying my mic.

  “We count six outside the gate,” replied 700.

  “All teams lock and load!” I said into the mic. “Southard and John get on the SAW’s.”

  Southard hit our turret and I could see John pop out of the other turret in the mirror. I waited until Southard hit the roof of the Humvee to indicate he was ready. Gunny, Halsey and Webber got into position and readied their weapons. Then I flashed Shane the go signal. Immediately, the gate began to slide open. It was over in seconds. Webber, Gunny and Halsey cleared the gate without the SAW’s ever having to engage.

  As soon as they ceased firing, I punched the accelerator and shot out the gate. Matthews came right on my heels. I could see the gate closing behind us, but I didn’t wait for it to secure. John and Southard climbed back inside and secured the turret hatches. I knew that in order to get to th
e Underground facility, I was going to either have to pass the hospital or the college. Both were swarming with the dead. We were going to have to take a circuitous route. It wasn’t going to be easy.

  I headed south and followed the route we’d taken with the bus. There were zombies around, but I kept the accelerator down and sped through the area as quickly and safely as I could. Matthews had no trouble keeping up with me, riding less than twenty feet off my rear bumper. I turned east when we hit Trafficway and kept going. The road was clear enough to navigate without slowing down.

  As we shot through the intersection at National and Trafficway, I could see two trucks that were backed up to the grocery store to our right. They hadn’t been there before. Someone was making a raid on the store. I caught a glimpse of a few of those modified SUV’s. They had to have seen us, but we didn’t slow down. I wasn’t planning on a firefight with them, now. Not if I could help it anyway.

  “I think those were the same assholes we ran into earlier,” said Southard.

  “Couldn’t be the same ones,” I said, smiling. “I’m pretty sure we took them all out.”

  “You know what I mean,” he said. “More of those Freemen douche bags.”

  “Safe bet,” I agreed. “We’re not going to go introduce ourselves to find out.”

  “What if they follow us?” asked Jade.

  “They won’t,” I replied. “They’re after the food, not us.”

  “I hope your right,” she said.

  “Me too,” said Spec-4. “I don’t want to tangle with them again, if we can avoid it.”

  I kept driving until I could see the bridge where we’d ruined our SAW the last time we’d gone under it, by having a zombie drop onto our roof. I didn’t see any movement on top, so I kept the speed up and headed for the bridge. I could see a few bodies on the ground beneath the bridge, but nothing that would slow us down. Once we cleared it, I released the breath that I’d been holding. I heard Spec-4 do the same. I winked at her and smiled.