by A. J. Sikes
“You couldn’t have saved her. None of us could.”
“It’s not that. I’m not sad about it. I’m pissed off.”
“Huh?”
“All she needed was an opportunity,” Jo said.
Dom turned where he stood and clapped a hand on Jo’s shoulder. “Leigh wasn’t like that, Jo, and you know it. She didn’t go out just to go out. She was always thinking about other people, even if it meant forgetting herself.”
“I know,” Jo said. “But she could have let us know first. We didn’t even get a chance to change her mind.”
Jed simply nodded and put his eyes back on their six.
Didn’t have more than two seconds to change her mind. Or Mahton’s. We’d be down one more at least if we’d tried. We might all be dead if it wasn’t for them.
Silence filled the hallway between Jed and the firefighters. As much as Jed wanted to say something else, offer some sympathy or show he understood what they were feeling, he knew that his words would just made it worse. He wasn’t sure they’d hear him anyway. They were all carrying shotguns and pistols now, and it looked like the first time any of them had ever held a gun. Except for Jo, who had the funky grenade launcher and an M9 tucked into her belt. She might have been torn up inside, but she held the thump gun like it was second nature.
Sergeant G and Reeve came forward, next to Jed’s position. Sergeant G turned back and faced the group.
“We’ve lost people, but we still have our mission. We move out to the hide. Regroup, resupply, and get everybody some chow. Then we go after the ones who did this to us.”
“I’m all for stopping them,” Matty said. “But wouldn’t it be better to wait until they show up again? I mean we could get back to wherever you’re holed up, but then just wait it out. See if they come around?”
“We don’t have that kind of time because the people Tucker gave to the monsters don’t have that kind of time. Everybody pick up empty magazines on the way out. We need to reload and be ready for what’s outside. Welch, you got point.”
“Errr, Sergeant,” he said and stepped forward, clearing the corner and going back into the remains of the battle that took Leigh and Mahton.
☣
Gallegos held in the anger and pain as they passed Mahton’s body. Reeve stooped down and lifted the slim chain off his neck. He held it in his closed fist for a moment before standing and putting it in his pocket.
On the way to the stairwell, they picked up close to a dozen empty magazines. She had the team hold at the top of the stairs, with Welch and Reeve watching both directions for any signs of the sucker faces.
Only five of the magazines were serviceable. The others were damaged by shrapnel from the grenade, or the sucker faces’ claws. Gallegos showed the firefighters how to use the speed loader, and they did two mags for now.
“We top off completely at the hide. Right now Reeve and I have a full magazine each, plus one spare. Welch, you have a full box in the SAW plus two in the bags, oorah?”
“Rah, Sergeant.”
“Good. We’re saddled up. Let’s move out.”
Welch led them away from the scene of the battle and down the stairwell. Even with the new equipment they’d scavenged, Gallegos had to fight to hold in the shakes and screams that kept tearing at her inside. Her adrenaline drained away, leaving the shock of battle to settle over her, pushing her down. She fought against it, holding her head up proudly, just like she had in the sandbox. She’d done everything she could to make sure they all got away. The monsters found a way to be one step ahead.
And they took two of ours with them.
Beside her, Reeve was his old self again, weapon up and watching the path ahead.
“They snuck up on us,” he said. “They always made noise before. Always.”
“They changed,” Luciano said from behind Gallegos. “Fucking things changed. It ain’t the first time.”
Gallegos signaled them all to keep quiet and move out with a purpose.
We knew they might change. Command told us to watch for ‘new variants’ right before they launched Reaper. Sure enough, they changed, and Luce says it ain’t the first time.
I bet it won’t be the last.
Downstairs, Jed crossed the entrance to the parking lot. He scanned the shadows outside for any movement. He didn’t see anything, but had only given himself a second to be in the open. Before he waved the others to follow him, he slid back along the wall of the little dayroom and took in as much of the parking lot as he could.
After two weeks of staying quiet so the monsters wouldn’t hear them at Meg’s fire station, it was weird to suddenly feel such a heavy silence all around him. It should have made him feel safer, happier, he thought. Every street they’d been on out there had the scattered remains of monsters killed by the chemical bombs. And getting into the stronghold had been almost like going home for Jed. It was another fire station, and that was the closest to home he could imagine now.
But the sucker faces got in, and now Mahton’s gone. And Leigh.
“Welch, I want you to post at the truck. Watch for enemy. Reeve will come out and drive the truck back here to the steps. Stay tight with him. We’ll load in from here. Keep exposure to a minimum.”
“Oorah,” Jed said.
Thinking about being outside on his own, he felt the silence of the city put him on edge even more. He scanned the parking lot one more time, and every high point he could see from his position. He said a quick prayer for his squad’s safety and moved outside.
At the bottom of the short steps, Jed cut left and posted by the hood of the dirty white truck. He inspected the grill first. When he didn’t see any wires or obvious signs of a bomb, he moved around the truck to the left, checking it as best he could. Reeve had done a quick check of it when they’d arrived, but Jed wasn’t going to have them all taken out because of that cowboy’s mistake.
If Tucker had left a trap on the vehicle, Jed wanted to make sure he saw it before anyone else came close.
None of the side windows were whole anymore. Pebbles of safety glass lined the frames. The windshield was intact except for a crack that started in the passenger side corner and went up to the top. Shorter cracks split off like veins from the main line. Jed checked the interior, gave a quick look into the bed, and went down on his knees to check underneath. He didn’t see anything suspicious, so he stood and moved back to the steps.
“Looks clear, Sergeant.”
She waited just inside the stronghold with Reeve on the opposite side of the door.
“Good lookin’ out, Welch. Stay by the truck.”
Jed grunted a Rah and went back to the truck, posting by the hood and monitoring their perimeter again.
Reeve came out behind him and jumped into the driver’s seat. He fired up the engine and flashed a thumbs up. Jed peeled away from the hood to stand by the passenger door, weapon up and scanning their perimeter. Reeve called over to him.
“I’m gonna back it up to the door. Stay with me and stay frosty. Rah?”
“Errr.”
Jed stepped away from the truck. Reeve wheeled it around to aim the tailgate at the steps. Jed kept pace with the vehicle, using it as cover on one side.
If the hit is gonna come, it’s gonna come. Can’t stay covered from every directon. Just gotta stay sharp. Stay frosty.
Splintered wood and shattered stone filled his view wherever he looked. Rubble and mounds of earth surrounded the parking lot. And all of it carried the threat of another ambush, or one of Tucker’s snipers. Even though Leigh had told them Tucker was bluffing, Jed couldn’t shake the sensation of being watched every second he was outside.
Reeve crawled the truck back to the steps, letting Jed move at an easy pace while he watched out for the enemy.
Tucker. The monsters. They’re all the same now.
The truck stopped and Jed stayed by the passenger door. Reeve jumped out and ran inside. A beat later, he and Sergeant G came out. They posted at the botto
m of the steps flanking the firefighters as they came out.
Dom and Luce had their shotguns up and moved to the rear cab of the truck. Matty came next carrying the trauma bag against his hip and his shotgun held tucked against his side. Jo came out last with the grenade launcher up and ready. The firefighters all moved fast, but with every passing second, Jed felt like an hour passed as the dead city surrounded them and threatened to add them to the body count.
One by one the squad climbed into the extra cab, until only Jo was left outside.
☣
“In the truck,” Gallegos said, waving the firefighter on. But Jo shook her head and went to the tailgate. She hopped onto the bumper and into the truck bed in a single movement.
That’s all right. She needs to be out in the action. And if that thump gun does work, we need her out back with it, not stuffed in the cab.
Gallegos watched the others all crouch low in the rear cab, staying out of sight as best they could. She moved around the truck and directed Welch to move up to the front. He did and rested the SAW on the hood, roving the muzzle around their perimeter and the roof of the stronghold. Gallegos did the same, watching the debris around the parking lot for any signs of Tucker or the sucker faces.
The ruins around them stared back, empty, lifeless, and silent except for a howling wind that snuck through the cracks and found its way under Gallegos’ collar.
“Reeve, let’s move.”
He stepped forward and climbed into the driver’s seat again. Gallegos moved up to the passenger door.
“Let’s go, Welch,” she said. “Hop in back with Jo. If Tucker shows his ass, I want to finish it quick so we can get on with the mission.”
Welch moved out and Gallegos climbed into the truck.
“Back home?” Reeve asked.
“Rah. Back to the hide. Secure our position, resupply. Then we patrol underground. Find the hive and get our people back. With the big one dead, the sucker faces around here should be easier to take down.”
“Oorah on that,” Reeve said. “I hope you’re right.”
Gallegos grunted an Errr.
Mission first, everything else second.
Right now, her mission included keeping her people alive, saving anybody trapped underground, and killing the motherfuckers responsible for making them prisoners in the first place. They might be dead, or they might be alive. Whatever condition they were in, she wanted their captors in her sight picture, and from the looks on everyone else’s faces, she knew the rest of her squad, new members and old, felt the same way.
☣
Jed hopped onto the tailgate and scooted into the bed. Jo sat against the cab with the grenade launcher held across her chest. Jed sat to her right with the SAW resting on his knees.
The motor started up and Jed watched the dead city spin around him as Reeve positioned the truck to reverse through the breezeway. For a second, he thought Jo would be blowing them a hole through the gate, but he felt Reeve put the truck into neutral. Sergeant G jumped out and headed for the gate.
“Eyes out,” she said as she ran by the bed.
“Rah, Sergeant.”
“Why do you all say that?” Jo asked.
“Rah? It’s just what we say. It’s easy, you know? You could say a whole sentence, or a whole paragraph. Or you could say Rah.”
“I think I get it.”
“Rah?”
She let out a quick laugh and said, “Rah.”
Jed grinned and dared Tucker to reveal himself. If the guy was telling the truth about having snipers, then he and Jo were sitting ducks. Even though that scared him to think about, he was part of a squad again. He had brothers and sisters around him, bearing the burden. The way Jo looked at the city around them, holding the grenade launcher, Jed figured she was ready for whatever came next. Then he noticed her white knuckle grip on the weapon.
“Hey, Jo,” he said. She looked him in the eye. Her shoulders were tight, and she blinked fast as she stared back at him. Jed had never been here before, facing off against another person’s fear and knowing it was up to him to help.
“Hey, it’s just the shakes, Jo. You’ll be good. Keep your eyes cool and easy, you know? Stay frosty. Try to see as much as you can, and don’t forget to breathe.”
Jo let out a breath and coughed. “I didn’t even—,” she said.
“I know. That’s why I reminded you.”
Sergeant G was at the gate and yanking it open. Jed clapped a hand on Jo’s shoulder. She was still a little tense, but she’d fought back the flight response. He gave her a nod and a grin, and went back to monitoring their perimeter.
If you’re out there looking at us, Tucker, just take the shot. Show us where you’re hiding and it’ll be the last thing you do.
☣
Gallegos motioned for Welch and Jo to watch through the breezeway. At the gate, she paused to listen for another truck motor. The city was still and quiet, and that made every sound echo all the more. Fearing what that meant for their escape, Gallegos grabbed the gate and took three breaths before she pulled. The tangle of metal plates and wire squealed against the pavement, and it only moved a few inches before snagging on the ground. She, breathed in and yanked on it again, moving it a little more. With each screech of metal on stone, she expected Tucker’s black truck to slam into her, or for a swarm of suckers to flood the parking lot.
Inch by inch, Gallegos cleared them a path. When the breezeway was open, she got her weapon up and back pedaled to the truck, slapping the wheel well as she passed the bed. “Move out!” she shouted. The truck rocked as she leaped into the passenger seat and Reeve put it in gear. Gallegos said a silent prayer that Welch or Jo would see the enemy first and that their aim would be true.
Reeve reversed them through the breezeway and they left the ruins of the stronghold behind. The street outside was empty and quiet, and no sniper fire came slamming into the truck.
We’re out. We’re going to make it!
Reeve cranked them around to face toward 3rd Avenue. The truck pitched forward. For a brief second, Gallegos wanted to smile. Then she pictured Leigh’s and Mahton’s bodies in the hallway upstairs, and imagined other people from Operation Reaper trapped underground with the monsters. Her half-grin faded to a scowl and she felt the burn of rage in her chest.
We’re coming to get you. Hold on, Marines. We are coming.
☣
They turned the corner toward where Jed had come across Pivowitch and his squad, and where Tucker’s partner showed up with the prisoners later that afternoon.
Please don’t be there. Please just be somewhere else, hiding like the fucking rat you are.
Yesterday was Jed’s first real effort at prayer in as long as he could remember. He’d never spent much time in churches except to say goodbye to one of his friends who got taken out by some punk on the block. When Reeve took them onto Lexington, he turned right, bringing them up beside the buses lying on their sides in front of the depot. The street was quiet and Jed thought for once his prayers were being answered.
We made it back to the hide. We’re good.
Jed let himself relax, but the calm only lasted a second. He spotted Tucker’s black truck sitting silent two blocks behind them.
“That’s them,” Jo said. She had the grenade launcher up, but didn’t have the sight raised. Jed reached over and flicked it up. He opened his mouth to tell her how to aim when Tucker’s headlights flashed and small arms fire popped and rattled through the neighborhood. Jed spotted muzzle flashes in the high rise apartments next to the depot. Rounds zipped in, pinging into the truck bed. Their truck roared forward, away from the kill zone, and Jed forgot about helping Jo with the launcher. He lifted the SAW and squeezed the trigger, filling the dead streets with the heavy chop of the weapon as Tucker came racing after them.
Jed’s view shifted as Reeve swerved them around craters, dead monsters, and debris in the road. The tires barked against the ragged pavement. Jo slammed up against the wall of
the truck bed and Jed grabbed for her arm to make sure she didn’t go over the side. Then they were up on the sidewalk and back on the road just as fast. Tucker kept coming. Jed lifted the SAW and spit a trail of bullets behind them, but none of his shots hit home. With the shifting range and constant swerving, he couldn’t get a good bead on the black truck.
Tucker’s passenger leaned out with a weapon and fired. Jo dropped down and slid toward the tailgate. She grabbed hold of Jed’s left boot and held the grenade launcher tucked up tight against her. Jed let himself slide down in the truck bed next to Jo. Cracks of gunfire came from behind them. A few rounds impacted on the tailgate, but most of the enemy’s shots went wide or overhead.
Good. They can’t aim any better’n me with all this juking and shit. Still, they can get lucky just like anybody else.
“We gotta stay against the sides of the bed,” he said to Jo.
She nodded, pushed away from him, and grabbed one of the tie down hooks inside the bed. Jed scooted backwards and did the same. It wasn’t much to hold onto, but it would help.
More rounds pinged against the truck. Jed let go of his handhold so he could lift the SAW to send back a burst over the tailgate. Reeve had them swerving too much though. Everything Jed sent back at Tucker just disappeared into the ruins on the side of the road.
“I can’t hit him! Reeve, get us around a corner and hold up!”
The truck took a hard left and Jed and Jo reached for the bed walls to steady themselves. She put a foot out and braced against his hip, holding him against the hump of the wheel well.
“Can you aim better if I hold you steady?” she shouted.
“I’ll try.”
Tucker’s spotter popped off a few more shots as the black truck rounded the corner they’d just turned. Jed lifted up on his elbow and took aim. He fired one burst and then another. Some of the shots hit the truck, but Tucker still raced after them. They were only about fifty yards behind Jed and the others now, and closing fast.
☣
Gallegos fought to keep her eyes on the sideview mirror while she slammed around in the front seat. The firefighters behind her stayed as low as they could with three of them stuffed into the extra cab. Now and then they would shout or grunt as they were rocked into each other.
