Zombie Theorem (Book 4): Aces Mortis

by James Wallace

  “No way would Allah, allow these wretched things to inhabit the earth. This is something man created,” Lupo shook his head and put his hand into one of his pouches grasping his Koran and taking solace from it.

  “I will take care of this,” Hashkeh moved forward.

  Butch extended and arm and blocked Hashkeh’s progress. “The boy has been my charge since he joined the team. I will take care of this,” he dropped his pack, shoulders, and sighed deeply. He walked forward to the writhing Blakk and looked around for a weapon. He found a large rock and hefted it high over his head. Butch was not a religious man, in fact, he was as close to an atheist you could get. Even under murderous fire, he always kept his cool. He made the saying ‘there are no atheists in foxholes’ a lie. But he hesitated for a moment thinking back to a prayer his Christian mom would recite to him every night when she tucked him into bed and whispered it under his breath. “Lord, look over the ones we love, and keep them in your heart at their most needed time. Amen,” with that he brought the rock down with all his might and crushed Blakk’s skull in. Bits of bone, tissue, blood, and brains exploded out the sides of the head. Butch lowered his head for one quick second, then strode over and grabbed his pack and passed by the team. He entered the shelter, laid down and using his pack as a pillow, in minutes, he was asleep.

  Chun and the rest of the team stood in silence, staring at the lifeless body of Blakk and his destroyed head. Hootie was the first to break the trance, he removed his entrenching shovel from his pack, and approached the body. He said a quick prayer and then dropped to his knees and attacked the earth. The rest of the men joined him, and together they had a suitable grave dug. Hashkeh said a quick prayer in Navajo as did Lupo and Hootie in their own beliefs. Even Chun got into the act, he was never a religious man but his adopted father taught him to honor his fallen men. They placed Blakk’s body along with the litter, and covered him in his poncho. They filled in the hole and marked the impromptu grave with a wooden marker.

  The day passed quietly as the team napped in the shelter. Chun had decided to wait until everyone was rested to bring them up to speed on what he found during his little jaunt. He ate another protein bar and napped on and off. But he was too wound up over Blakk’s death and the whole situation, that the deep sleep his body craved so much was elusive. By fourteen hundred hours he rose from his spot and hunched over, made his way outside, stopping only to kick boots, waking up the men. He stood outside under the shade of the trees from the midday sun and stretched his back and cracked his neck. He was dreading what the rest of the day would bring. The men streamed out of their shelter and went through their stretching routines, even Butch joined in, but he was not his usual self. He stayed quiet as he went through his stretches, then stepped away from the group and relieved himself against a tree.

  “Alright men, take a knee,” Chun stayed standing so he could address the men. “Yesterday I left the team and moved up the small mountain. The view it allowed me was not a good one. I could see part of the base, or what was left of it. Whatever happened to Blakk and the rest of the men back at the compound does not seem to be a secluded occurrence. The base looks like it was hit pretty hard, if I was pressed to make an educated guess. I would say the place was bombed, there was also a downed C-130, lying on its side blackened from fire and a damaged Blackhawk sat nearby. I think maybe we should avoid the base and go with plan B,” he looked each man in the eye and mentally judged their wellbeing at hearing the news.

  “Are you telling me that the U.S. military bombed one of its own bases?” Butch scratched the top of his bald head. “That just sounds ridiculous, this thing must be out of control if they would do that. So, what’s the plan, Lt?”

  Chun pulled out a map and folded it into a square, showing a small circle he had marked on it. He stabbed his finger down under a city named Vondale.

  “It’s a hell of a forced march, what is that twenty miles?” Rascal asked.

  “Yeah, but now we are in the mountains and trees so we only need to stop for quick rest breaks and water. We should be able to cover that distance in a day or so,” Pico judged.

  “Longer, these mountains are slightly too high for us to climb over. We will need to work our way around them. That should add close to half a day of time on our journey. I could do it in a day but I have you guys to slow me down,” Hashkeh answered with a rare smile on his lips.

  “Why don’t we hump it to the base and see if we can’t scrounge up a Humvee of some other kind of transport,” enquired Lupo.

  Chun shook his head no. “We are a good ten miles from the base, and we have no ammo for our useless weapons. I could see movement down there, and not organized like normal. Our best bet is to move to this town and secure a vehicle. Then move east into California and head for the Seal base at Coronado. See if any of our brothers are still alive and kicking. Maybe link up with them and figure out the next step,” Chun made a good case and the men all nodded their heads in agreement.

  Butch stood up and swung his pack back on, pulling on the straps, snugging it on his shoulders. “Then let’s stop wasting time jawing. The Lt gave an order, get your asses up and move out. Hashkeh take point. Rascal you have rear duty,” an angry determined visage plastered itself to his features. Eyes narrowed and jaw set.

  Chun twirled his right index finger in the air and the men stood and gathered their belongings. Hashkeh looked at the map one more time and checked his GPS, strapped to his wrist. He gave a thumbs up to Chun and Butch and moved off at a jog. Lupo went next, followed closely by Butch. The rest of the team kept up the pace easily. They could jog all day through this kind of terrain without bitching, it was what they were trained for. When they came to obstacles they worked their way around, above, or went right through it. They stopped three times during their jog, once to get water at a small stream, and again to consume the last of their protein bars. When the sun went down, they tightened their line and those with batteries still working in the night vision gear donned them and led the way. As the sun came up, Hashkeh put his hand up and then clenched his fist. Giving the hand signal for halt. He forked his fingers, pointing them to his eyes and then out in front of him. Indicating he had spotted something, he took his pack off and handed it to Lupo, drew his knife and gave the wait here hand signal, then dissipated into the dark. Moments later the team heard snuffling coming in front of them.

  As quickly as the sound came it went. Moments of silence trickled by until a high squealing sound came from nearby then was silenced, followed by a whistle. Lupo moved out toward the whistle still carrying Hashkeh’s pack. As he stepped from a line of bushes, he found Hashkeh stringing up the back legs of a huge wild boar from a tree. He tied off the line and buried his knife into the boar’s mid-section and ripped down, exposing its guts and organs as they and copious amounts of blood poured out from the quickly emptying cavity. Forming a steaming pile of refuse. The team stood around in silent appreciation of Hashkeh’s skills.

  “If someone could donate their poncho I can butcher this animal and we can take some of the meat with us to cook and consume,” Chun pulled his poncho out from a side pouch on his pack and laid it out on the ground.

  Hashkeh made quick work butchering the animal and placing the choice cuts of meat onto the poncho. When he was done, his hands were covered in blood, he used some of the water from a container he had kept on his belt to wash up. His hands were stained red from the blood but he ignored it and put his tactical gloves on. Chun busied himself folding the poncho up and tying it to his pack.

  Butch passed by the men as they bunched up in a group. “Let’s keep moving. I’m taking point,” the men looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders, falling into line and marching on.

  They moved quietly but as quickly as they could through the underbrush and over rocks and uneven ground. Butch gave up the point after they stopped six hours later for a break. Chun took the lead and led them another three hours until they stumbled upon a small clearing o
n a rock shelf looking down into their little valley. Hashkeh found a small cave and climbed inside, starting a small cooking fire and roasting the boar from earlier, as the rest of the men sat back and took quick naps or stood guard for the rest. Chun leaned against a stunted tree and closed his eyes, letting the exhaustion threatening to affect his judgment finally take over. Butch sat next to the opening of the cave and sat with his knees pulled up against his chest, his hood pulled down over his head and let his mind roam. He was dealing with the fact that he had just killed one of his own men. A hand gripped his shoulder and with lightning speed he pulled his seven-inch blade Kabar from his sheath attached to his tactical vest and spun shifting himself up on his knees and stopping inches from Hashkeh’s throat. In a flash, Hashkeh knocked Butch to his back and snatched his Kabar from his hand and held it high, blade pointing down.

  “It’s just me Butch, calm down.”

  Butch closed his eyes for a moment and reopened them, he was back in control again. “Sorry Hashkeh, was having a dream, I think.”

  Hashkeh examined him another moment then helped him to his knees and offered his blade back to him, pommel first. Butch took in a deep breath and reached with a slight tremor in his hand, taking it and sliding it back home in its sheath. He dropped his head and rubbed his face in his hands. Hashkeh watched Butch’s actions and paid attention to his body language and his demeanor. He put his hand on Butch’s back and patted it lightly. Butch took a moment to put his emotions in check and catch his breath, he raised his head and looked into Hashkeh’s eyes.

  “You okay, buddy?” Hashkeh kept his voice low so the rest of the men around would not hear them.

  “I’ll be fine,” Butch took the time to put a cap on his emotions and screw on his will power. He gave Hashkeh a weak smile and crawled back to his original resting spot.

  “Just wanted you to know, the pig is done cooking. I suggest we move to a new spot before we eat and bunk down. The smell of the meat cooking and the slight smoke from the fire may have given away our location,” Hashkeh roved his eyes over the flat area outside the camp and pinpointed the rest of the men.

  Butch groaned slightly and worked his way to his knees and then slowly to his feet. “I’ll go get the men ready to go, pack up the food and take point,” Butch slid his pack onto his shoulders and adjusted his straps. He trudged his way down the path and stood in the middle of the men. “Up off your asses, grab your crap. We need to force march out of this area. Hashkeh has the grub and is taking point. The next stop we will fill up our bellies, hydrate and rest. Then we will get out of this God forbidden desert, find some guns, transportation, and go find our webbed footed brothers,” The men climbed onto their feet and followed down the path Hashkeh left for them.

  Chun put his hand out and stopped Butch before he could move out. Butch dropped his head and stared at Chun’s hand with a hard look written on his face. As the realization of whose hand it was on his chest hit him, he relaxed his posture and met Chun’s eyes. “Everything okay with you, Butch? You look like you are lost brother,” Chun removed his hand and handed Butch two blue pills. “These are Stims that I grabbed from the loadmaster on the C-130 we dropped out of. Pop them down the hatch get your head screwed on and let’s move out,” Chun turned his back on Butch and walked away before he could answer him.

  Butch looked down at the pills and thought about them for a bit, then popped them into his breast pocket. “I’ll save these for when I really need them,” he mumbled to himself. He took in a couple of deep lungful’s of air and shook his head, clearing the webs. He moved his feet, moving down the path, and after his men.

  An hour later they had scaled a small hill and set up camp. They feasted on roasted boar, drank their fill of water from a stream they found before they made their trek up the hill. Butch ate quickly, drained his water and sacked out immediately on his pack. Hashkeh removed Butch’s Kabar and weapons and put them next to his pack, before passing out himself. Chun set the watch to make sure the resting men could rest up, and then passed out himself. The sun was just cresting over the tops of the nearby mountains when Butch cracked open an eyelid. He laid there listening to his surroundings and working out in his head where the hell and what the hell he was doing. It came to him like a punch to the gut, when he remembered crushing in Blakk’s skull, and the creatures who had caused all this back at the original objective. He moved slowly, cracking his back and neck as he pushed himself to a sitting position. Hashkeh was sitting next to him and smiling at him. In his hands were a collection of Butch’s weapons. Butch looked them over and smiled back. “Thanks for your support, Hashkeh,” Butch took the weapons and put them back in their holsters.

  Chun came over and kneeled down in front of Butch, looking him in the eyes. He stared for a while, searching Butch’s eyes for something. Not finding it, he got back to his feet and offered his hand. Butch took the offered hand and got to his feet. “I take it you got everything under control?”

  Butch gave Chun a tired smile and nodded his head. “That’s an affirmative, Lt.”

  “Good to hear. Get the men ready for our last leg of the trip. Just over this peak is the objective. I want Lupo and Rascal on point, post Hashkeh in the rear. I want to move out in five minutes, Chief.”

  Chapter 2

  Butch snapped off a salute, pivoted on his right heel and proceeded to give orders to the men. Lupo and Rascal jumped to their feet and after a couple of minutes of conversing, set off in the direction of the objective. Chun and Butch followed close behind as the rest of the men got in line. Hashkeh looked around the peak, taking in the noises and trees around them. Not finding anything, he took off at a jog and reached the formation quickly.

  Three hours of quick time marching brought them to the outskirts of the objective. Lupo and Rascal ranged out into the city as the rest of the men set in the bushes, watching the houses and buildings in the area. Hashkeh moved off with Pico, working their way around to the north side of town. They reported in over the radio that the area was clear and they had not seen any movement. Chun ordered them to stay in position and continue their recon. Rascal came running back to the team and slid to a stop next to Chun.

  “Town is empty as far as we can tell, it is as if the entire town got up and walked off.”

  Chun scratched his chin for a moment and thought about the situation. “Okay, let’s move in,” he looked to Butch. “Have Hashkeh and Pico find the highest building and get to the roof. They are to call out any movement no matter what it is.”

  Butch nodded affirmative and clicked on his radio. “Hashkeh, I want you and Pico on the highest roof you can find. Keep a sharp eye out and call out any movement. I am designating you Perch. Over,” Butch listened to the response and followed Chun and the men as they moved through the town.

  They stuck to the shadows and near the buildings, keeping their silhouettes low and staying out of visual contact with anything out there. They moved quickly to Rascal’s position that he held by the post office, overlooking the town square. Butch took a knee and scanned the vicinity. The quietness of the town was starting to unnerve him. But he fell back on his training and followed the mantra he learned so long ago when he graduated Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL or BUDS training as a wet behind the balls trainee. Master Chief Kevin Um, or as Butch called him, Sea Daddy, taught him. Stay low, keep your trap closed, ears and eyes open. Report all you see and stay frosty.

  Butch reported clear back to Chun, who had been next to him scanning down a different street. Chun motioned for Rascal and Hootie to move down the south side of the square. Then motioned for Lupo and Dio to move down the west side. They moved out as Chun and Butch stayed where they were, watching the team and protecting their rear. As the teams made it halfway down their directions, Butch and Chun moved down the middle of the square making it to the center of a little park set there. They took position next to a small fountain and hunched down. They continued watching the teams as they finished their circuit of the stre
ets bordering the square and park. When they met at the corner of the north-east corner, they stopped and took knees, watching the streets and buildings. Butch and Chun moved up to the team and took knees with the group.

  “Report!” Chun ordered.

  Rascal piped up first. “Area is clear, no movement. On this block, three stores down is a camping store, a bar next to it.”

  Dio reported next. “Gun store, on the first street we came down, smack down in the middle of the block. The red brick building. I tested the door and it moved, so I don’t believe it is locked. Makes getting in easy and quiet. No movement observed from our recon, Sir.”

  Butch listened to the report and moved his head back and forth to the different stores. “We do not need the camping store or the bar. Even though I could really go for a double of Makers 46. I say we send Rascal and Hootie out to find us transportation while Hashkeh and Pico stay in overwatch. The rest of us will secure the gun store and kit out,” he looked to Chun for his orders.

  “You heard the Chief, men. Move out,” Chun gained his feet under him and moved off towards the gun store with Dio close on his heels. Butch touched knuckles with Lupo and they moved out, following Chun. They reached the door quickly just as Rascal and Hootie disappeared around the far corner of the square.

  Butch clicked on his radio. “Perch, Butch, how do you read me. Over.”

  The answer came back quickly and Butch explained what they were doing. Hashkeh said he had eyes on Rascal and Hootie, and Pico had eyes on them. Chun hunched down with his hand resting on the door of the gun store, looking back at Butch when the door moved out against him. Chun took a step back quickly letting go of the door and drawing his MK3 Navy Knife from the sheath on his chest rig and flipped the blade around, pointing it out from the bottom of his hand. A man stood blocking the door, wearing a denim long sleeve shirt with a badge announcing his name was Chuck. Chun relaxed his demeanor and dropped his knife hand. The man lurched forward and grabbed Chun by the shoulder and pulled him off balance and toward Chuck’s snapping jaws. Dio moved outrageously fast and slammed the fifteen-inch Bowie blade into Chuck’s ear canal and then twisted the blade. Chuck stopped moving instantly and Chun was able to retreat another six inches. Dio placed his right foot against Chuck’s side and pushed with all his might while simultaneously pulling his Bowie knife back toward him. It came free and Chuck’s body bounded off the open door and collapsed to the ground in a heap.