“I’m in.” He said firmly. Chris got to his feet as well.
“Me too. What the hell; it might actually be fun.” Jamie quipped.
Balboa and Buffey got up as well, going to Joe and standing beside him in a show of alliance to his suggestion. Rickey, who had awoken to the sound of Joe yelling, came into the room, stood beside his father, and hugged his waist. He was obviously all up for the idea. Buffey held Dakota who let out a long yawn followed by a tiny baby fart. “I think he’s all in too!” Buffey exclaimed before bursting into laughter. The only person who had not joined Joe in the middle of the living room was Ashleigh.
“Let me see if I got this straight. You’re suggesting that we steal a train, something that none of us has any idea how to drive, arm it up with a couple of machine guns, then head on down to the Gulf of Mexico. Then we are gonna fight a horde of undead zombies along the way all so we can hook up with the United States Navy and get out to sea to a ship that might not even be there? And all so we can just sail off into the sunset to some damn oil rig?” Ashleigh asked the group.
“Yeah.” Joe said
“Yep, pretty much.” Ronnie answered.
Buffey looked down at Dakota, then back to Ashleigh. “That’s the plan.”
“Okay. I’m in.” Ashleigh said, finally letting a smile creep out.
CHAPTER 4
The hearty breakfast that the crew ate combined with a sense of purpose had given them new life. Joe had set in motion the events that got them all working through the day, trying to get all of the preparations needed for their long distance train ride. Joe spent most of the day going over the logistics of what they would need both individually, and as a group. Seeing as how they had five vehicles at their disposal, four of which were capable of holding the bulk of their supplies, they need not worry about space requirements. The second train engine or the first boxcar would handle all of the items they needed and then some. The second train would be used for a sleeping area as well as foodstuffs. They decided to make a fuel run, if possible, to the gas station near the train tracks. Joe had made the mistake of not checking the fuel levels of the primary engine when he had the chance, but if necessary, they would run the second engine as a backup. Joe was not able to ascertain the fuel capacity of the train; however, they would be taking approximately 3-4 tons of gear and train cars, which left them with an average of 120 miles per gallon. The larger ambulances Joe drove at work were capable of holding 30-35 gallons of fuel; he thought the train would surely have that much capacity. That left them with a total of 3,600 miles worth of fuel at the very least. The logistics of the trip were giving Joe a headache so he checked up on his cohort’s activities.
Balboa was giving an impromptu lesson on the use of the Ma Deuce to Ronnie, Jamie, and Chris. He showed them how to load, unload, and fire the massive .50 caliber machine gun, as they would be the ones most likely to use it. Ashleigh had relegated herself to making a tally of the supplies that they had and the ones they would have to resupply on the way. She had guessed a half-gallon of water per person, per day for a total of 28 gallons for a weeklong trip. They had more than enough food considering that there was one entire vehicle full of nothing but canned goods and dry goods, however, water was going to be another thing. They did not have enough for what they had planned for, which meant a stop or two along the way. Joe told Ashleigh not to worry too much about it, that they would make a necessary stop for water if the time came. Balboa had two cases of MRE’s as well which would feed an average person for nearly a day in a pinch. They had 24 MRE’s, which would be enough food for one person to have one a day for three days. Satisfied that they would not be lacking in goods, Joe went back to his railroad map. The rail map was a bit confusing, but from what he could tell, the best route would take them within a few miles of Kessler Air Force Base in Mississippi. The base seemed like the most likely place for them to make contact with the Coast Guard or Navy, and if they could not then the base left several alternatives for them. If the entire project turned out to be a pipe dream then at least they had something to fall back on.
Joe wandered about aimlessly for a while, keeping an eye on his friends and their activities for the day. The vehicles were loaded throughout the day, and meticulous lists were kept for all of the items that were stored therein. Food, medicine, water, ammunition – it was all accounted for. He had to give kudos to the work that his people were doing, they worked hard through the day into the evening. When they were satisfied that all items were accounted for he called them into the living room to discuss the nuts and bolts of the operation they would take on tomorrow morning.
“Okay, here’s how it’s gonna go down.” Joe said, scribbling the plan on a page in an old school notebook of Rickey’s. “Balboa, you and Chris are going to go to the second boxcar behind the engine – here.” Joe pointed out on the crudely made drawing. “After you get there, disconnect the car from the next one. I don’t have any info on how to do that much, so you guys will have to try and figure it out pretty quick, but from what I understand it is just a big pin more or less, so it shouldn’t be rocket science. While you guys are doing that, I will get into the first engine on the train and get it started, and then I will cut it off. Reason being, if the independent brake or the main brake of the train decides to let loose, I don’t want this damn thing rolling away with our supplies and not us. That shouldn’t take too terribly long. Ronnie – you and Ashleigh will start loading the supplies out of the vehicles. Take the food and water and put them into the first boxcar. Take a decent stash of food, water, meds, and all of the ammo and split it up between the first and second engines. We will be living for the most part in those two. If you find yourself with nothing to do, just get anything unloaded into the cars as quickly as possible. Going back and forth between the engines is something I want to avoid as much as possible, but it can be done. The fuel cans that we are gonna try and get filled with diesel are going into the second car. Once we have the second boxcar disconnected and the supplies loaded into the engines, we will pull the train forward, very slowly. Once we start doing that, we are gonna attract some attention. Jamie that is where you come in. You will be on watch for the duration. If you can kill ‘em without firing your rifle, then do it. If it gets too thick we will ditch the next part of my plan which is to pull the Humvee into the second boxcar.”
“Whoa, wait a second. What happens if we can’t get the Humvee into the boxcar? I mean, like, if it won’t fit?” Chris asked.
“Then we grab the Ma Deuce and the ammo for it and toss it in instead. I would like to have the Humvee simply for the fact if we stop anywhere we will be able to check out the area in a vehicle instead of on foot. The Ma Deuce has to come. If we run into a hairy situation, I want to know that we have the firepower to get through it. If we have time and if the Humvee won’t fit, we will drop the second boxcar the first chance we get. No sense in having extra baggage when it comes to our fuel consumption. We will leave tomorrow around noon, unless anybody has any objections.” No one did.
Joe finished his spiel and continued looking over the documents that he had procured from the train. The idea of driving the train still scared the hell out of him, so he studied the manuals carefully. The train had a throttle much like a car as well as two braking systems, one to stop the train and an independent brake to slow and stop the cars. Seeing as how they would not be taking much in the way of freight he did not worry incessantly about the braking system. They would not be stopping suddenly for anything regardless of whether they wanted to or not. A 200-ton train did not exactly stop on a dime, anyway.
The evening passed without much discussion among the group. By the time the sun was setting, every member of the group had been given a lesson in how to use all of the equipment that Balboa had brought along. Everyone was well versed in the use of the machine guns as well as the M4 and grenades that was among their arsenal. As the evening wore on more, everyone settled in and, for the first time in days, relaxed. The
cars in the front of the house had proved to be a useful deterrent for the few undead that had braved the line of defense. Chris was able to get around some on his injured leg and had taken out three of the ghouls through the course of the evening. The dead were oblivious to the fact that they either could not, or would not, climb over anything. The zombies just came at the line of cars and relentlessly beat on the hoods or tried to walk through them, neither option being fruitful. Chris had taken his compound bow, stood behind of the row of vehicles, and silently taken out each one that had managed to get close. He was no Robin Hood when it came to archery, but the zombies that were less than ten feet away had each gotten an arrow in the eye. Ronnie had joined Chris in helping retrieve the three arrows, providing a limitless supply of ammo for it, as well as giving Chris some much-needed target practice with it. He had not used the bow very much the entire time he had it, so a little extra practice couldn’t hurt.
Chris had volunteered to take the first night shift watch as well. Balboa had insisted that he take the watch instead of Chris, but Joe had talked Balboa into taking the night off, at least for tonight. They had a big day ahead of them and Joe needed Balboa on his “A” game. Balboa had hesitantly agreed and was asleep in a matter of minutes once his head hit the pillow. He had taken a single sleeping bag that he had used while trying to wait out the disaster at the Reserve unit, and laid it out on the floor. Joe and the others had welcomed Balboa into their group with open arms and were very glad to have him aboard. He had already proved useful in his night watch abilities so far, and more would be needed before they would reach Mississippi. Jamie had taken up residence in the floor as well, leaned up against the wall with a pillow, propping himself up.
Joe left his sleeping friends in the living room and made his way into the bedroom. The bed was occupied by Buffey, Dakota, and Rickey. The boys were sound asleep, but Buffey was awake, gently stroking Dakota’s hair. She looked up to Joe and smiled.
“He’s sound asleep finally. After a good bottle and a little coaxing, he finally gave up and fell asleep.” She said, grinning.
Joe returned the smile. “I’m just glad that he is comfortable.” Joe whispered back. He smiled in spite of himself, he knew that, come tomorrow morning, that life was about to get a little more difficult for the little guy as well as for him and his people. Buffey had made a makeshift papoose for him to be carried in earlier in the day, making carrying him in a desperate situation much easier. Joe pecked Dakota and Buffey on the cheek and let them sleep. He went into the living room and took up residence in his recliner again. Ronnie was already fast asleep on the couch, as well as Ashleigh. Balboa was in his sleeping bag on the floor, also dead to the world. Joe eased himself into the chair and drifted off to sleep in a matter of minutes.
The night crept up on them slowly, like a tiger stalking its prey. The false sense of security that daylight provided had left them had left as quickly as it had come. Joe was snoozing soundly when he heard someone wake and leave to go outside. He could not make out the figure walking out the door in the darkness, but thought it was Ashleigh. She undoubtedly had taken a shift on watch and was probably going out to relieve the next person. Joe settled back into the chair and pulled the blanket over up close to his face. The cool September night had taken away his warmth, and he wanted it back. He fell into an uneasy sleep, he could never go to sleep while he was cold, and tonight was no different. His unsettled sleep was again interrupted after what felt like only a few minutes. This time, however, he knew exactly what had awakened him.
Zombies.
Joe scrambled quietly out of his chair and went towards the unmistakable sound of hands clawing at the sliding glass door at the back of the house. Joe could not make out how many of the ghouls were at the back of the house, but it sounded like more than just one or two. His attention was averted when he heard the same clawing-on-glass sound coming from his right at the far end of the house. The door leading to the bedroom at that end had been closed off because of the floor-to-ceiling windows at that end. Joe now heard the same sound coming from them. He darted towards the couch and woke Ronnie, Jamie, and Balboa up from the floor. All three men protested being awakened so early, but after they heard the same unnerving sound from outside, they quickly changed their tune.
“Who’s on watch? Can’t they hear this shit?” Balboa hissed, feeling around for a flashlight. He found it and turned it on into his hand so as not to attract any more unwanted attention.
“I think Ashleigh is. I thought I saw her going out a while ago to relieve Chris. But I’m not a hundred percent sure.” Joe said, looking for his flashlight as well. All three men instinctively grabbed an M4 and checked the clip. All three were loaded and ready to go. Joe grabbed a roll of duct tape from the countertop and haphazardly taped the small flashlight he had to the end of the M4. He handed the roll to Ronnie and Balboa and told them to do the same. They both did then clicked the lights on, bathing the room in bright, white light. Joe pointed his rifle towards the sliding glass door at about the same time that he saw a bloody, mangled hand slowly open the door from the outside.
“Shit!” He exclaimed, dropping his rifle and grabbing the handle of the door to keep the putrid-smelling creature that had hold of it from coming inside. Joe struggled with the door handle as Balboa and Ronnie tried to position themselves behind of Joe to take the creature down then the door budged open slightly more, revealing a haggard, curly haired zombie snapping at them from outside. The creature growled and snarled, letting out more putrid stench as it did. The zombie snapped its teeth at Joe as he fell back, the door handle broken off in his hand. Balboa did not hesitate, cutting the zombie down with two quick headshots. The sound of the gunfire woke the rest of the house up as Joe heard Dakota begin to scream from the back of the house, as well as unintelligible chatter from Buffey and Rickey. Joe quickly reached over to the sliding glass door and tried to close it back when another zombie appeared directly in front of him. He slammed the door shut on the zombie’s fingers as it reached for the door, severing what was left of its hand. Ronnie reached across Joe and tried to latch the lock for the door, and could not. The zombies hand was preventing the door from going all the way closed. Joe was about to let the piece of mangled flesh drop out of the way when the flashlight from Balboa’s gun met the yellowed eyes of one, then two, then several more undead clambering onto the porch.
“Oh my God.” Balboa managed out, dazed by the overwhelming urge to run away.
“Get everybody out! Now! Make a run for it and meet up at the train!” Joe screamed. Balboa hesitated, aiming his rifle at the zombies. “NO! Don’t shoot out the glass! Ronnie and I will hold ‘em off as long as we can! Get everybody NOW!” As if to punctuate his seriousness, the glass shattering noise from the back of the house drove it home. The floor-to-ceiling windows in the far bedroom were breached. The zombies had obviously figured out that they could get into the house and it was lost. The dead would not stop until they got what they wanted from inside the home. They were hungry.
The undead assault continued unabated as Balboa rushed out Buffey and the boys. She did not want Joe and Ronnie left behind and was begging them to come along right now. Joe told her to go and they would meet up. “I promise we will be fine. Now go!” He shouted. Buffey reluctantly left after much convincing by Balboa and he hurried them out of the house. They ran out the door and towards the waiting vehicles. Chris and Ashleigh appeared from out of the bed of the pickup truck, fumbling with their clothes. Balboa shot them a disapproving stare.
“I hope like hell that was worth it, now get your ass in gear! We gotta go!” They both silently agreed with him and began getting into the vehicles they were designated to. Buffey rushed over to her minivan and got Rickey and Dakota fastened in. She then got herself in and fired the van up, staring back at the house in the hopes that she would see Joe and Ronnie coming down the steps towards them any second. She did not. Balboa and Jamie both got into the Humvee; Chris and Ashleigh into Chris
’ pickup truck and did the same, each engine firing up. Chris paved the way out of the driveway, running over a walker as he did so. Buffey's van was into behind it, hammering out of the driveway. Balboa and Jamie fell in line behind of them as well, stopping to see if Joe and Ronnie had made it out yet. Several shots rang out from inside the house as the two men left inside were fighting their way out. Balboa watched for a few seconds more. The beams from their flashlights lit up the house as well as the flash of an M4 being fired. The muzzle flare got closer to the front door as Joe and Ronnie shot their way out of the house and finally out the front door. Both men ran out the front door and towards the last remaining vehicle, Ronnie’s truck. The two men jumped off the front porch and landed on the soft earth below it.
“Stay down!” Balboa screamed as he opened fire on the horde coming out the front door of the house with the Ma Deuce. The huge .50 caliber rounds tore through zombie and house alike, shredding to bits anything that got in its way. Zombie heads and limbs were exploded as the rounds hit home on every part of them as the unaware creatures tried in vain to get at the men. Balboa fired in bursts of three seconds or so four times. After he was satisfied he had the threat suppressed he hollered for the men to get into their truck. Joe and Ronnie were still a bit shell-shocked after the barrage from the .50 cal but managed to get themselves and their rifles into the cab of the waiting pickup truck. Ronnie fired up the truck and grabbed his seatbelt. Joe did the same. Their mission had begun too early, but they had no choice. Each vehicle peeled out of the driveway and onto the blacktop, headed for town.
Six Feet From Hell: Books 1 - 3 Page 19
