“I don’t know if we have a few more minutes. We need to get moving.”
“Hang on, I think I’m getting close. Hells, yeah!”
The engine hummed to life.
Chrissy grinned. “See, I’m more than just another pretty face.”
Daniels smiled, “You certainly are.”
Something about the way he said that caught Chrissy’s ear. She’d have to revisit this at a later time. Was he expressing interest in her? No time to think about that now.
“Don’t go celebrating yet,” Daniels admonished. Aren’t you missing something?”
“Missing?” She looked around to see what he might be referring to. “What do you—? Oh. Ha. Yeah.”
There was no steering wheel.
“How do we steer this thing?” he asked.
She frowned for a moment as she looked around. “Ah. I think I know.” She put her hand on a domed area of the “dashboard” just to the right of the control surface. “What, you never used a trackball before?”
She grinned. “This is so cool!” The surface was solid, yet yielded to a gentle touch. She pushed with the heel of her hand, and the vehicle began moving forward. Pulling back with her finger tips slowed it down until it stopped. She pushed again and found that the speed remained constant once she stopped pushing. “It’s like cruise control!” she gushed. “And a little pressure to one side or the other turns the thing. It’s like power brakes and power steering, but it doesn’t require any effort at all. A five-year-old could drive this thing.”
Daniels smiled. “Well, right now you’re the five-year-old. So drive. Get us the hell out of here. The interstate is a couple miles ahead and then we can boogie. The next town is only about twenty miles from here, but there’s no telling how the roads are up ahead.”
“You got it, boss!”
* * * *
“Sir!” Senior CommTech YoldWab ran up to Unit Commander GlebTorl. FronCar stood beside him. “Sir, we just got an Alert call from Subregulator SlokZerl. It was somewhat garbled. It sounded like he said something about indies and weapons, but there were loud noises in the background, from projectile weapons, I presume. We attempted to clean up the call by canceling out the weapon sounds as much as possible.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“Yes, sir.” YoldWab held up a storage device and waved his hand over it. SlokZerl’s voice repeated the message.”
“It sounds to me,” FronCar said, “as if he was warning us that they’d found the armed indies.”
“I agree,” said GlebTorl with a nod.
“Have you attempted to confirm with the Regulator?”
“Yes, sir. He’s not responding, and neither is anyone else from that vehicle.”
FronCar frowned. “Bring up a satellite image of the vehicle.”
The CommTech returned to his console and after a few seconds, a holographic image of the street where the vehicle sat appeared overhead. There was a large fire nearby. It was enough to show the vehicle, but not much detail.
“Live feed.”
A moment later, video footage replaced the still image. Nothing moved.
“Thermal.”
The visible light view was replaced with one in shades of gray. The intense glow of the fire washed out the image. The back of the truck appeared as one large gray blur.
“How many men were on that truck?”
“The usual nine, sir.”
“There appear to be a lot more than nine people on that truck.”
“Yes, sir. Perhaps it was swarmed by feral indies.”
“Perhaps. But SlokZerl mentioned indies with weapons. That doesn’t sound like a feral pack. What are they up to?”
No one had an answer to that question.
Then, after a few seconds, the vehicle began to move. Then it stopped. It started again, slowly at first, and then faster.
“What is that fool of a driver up to,” GlebTorl asked. “Doesn’t he see all the indies on the back of his vehicle?”
FronCar shook his head. “I don’t think he’s driving. Look how indecisive he appears. The driver doesn’t appear all that experienced.”
GlebTorl laughed. “Sir, surely you’re not suggesting that an indie is driving the thing? That’s absurd!”
FronCar raised an eyeridge. “More absurd than indies firing projectile weapons and setting booby-traps? Dr. ZemBleth did say that they might be as smart as we are.”
“Once, maybe, but not any longer.”
“I think the proof is right there in the vehicle.”
“If you think they’re indies, then shouldn’t we send another vehicle after them, or even an air strike?”
“Perhaps. But we can always resort to that later. The vehicle has a transponder and we have a satellite feed of their every move. Let’s watch for a bit and see what they do. This could be quite educational. Perhaps they’ll even lead us to more ‘smart’ indies.”
Chapter Nineteen
It had proved relatively easy to escape the city. The aliens hadn’t yet extended their perimeter to that corner of the city. Chrissy merely had to find roads clear enough to avoid dead ends. Now they were several miles outside of the city, heading east.
“Jeez. What is it, monsoon season around here? This is taking forever.” Chrissy squinted through the windshield. “I feel really bad for the ones in the back.”
The cloud cover had thickened until it blotted out the moonlight, and then it started to pour again. At least the lightning provided occasional flashes of light to see by. The vehicle automatically triggered the rain repulsion field that kept the window clear, and Chrissy was able to turn up the headlights and roof lights to maximum. Even so, visibility was still limited. After playing with the controls a bit more, she found one for the thermal and ultraviolet sensors. Those superimposed the image ahead on the inside of the windshield, making it much easier to tell what was ahead.
The heavy rain would have caused her to drive slower even under ideal conditions. The real problem, however, was all the wrecks in the road. There were plenty of places where she could weave from lane to lane to avoid the pileups, and other places where she could drive on the shoulder, or even on the grass to one side or the other. But there was no way around the jackknifed tractor trailer on the bridge.
“Now what?” she asked. “I can try to back up to the previous exit, but we’re not getting across this river without out a bridge.”
Daniels smiled. “What, this magnificent vehicle isn’t a boat, or a submarine, or a hovercraft, too?” he laughed.
That brought a smile to her face as well. “Not that I noticed while dabbling, but I haven’t found the user’s manual yet. Maybe there’s something in it about that.”
“Yeah, if only you could read alienish. I guess the only option is to go back to the last exit and then run parallel to the river until we find another bridge somewhere.”
“Yeah, but how far out of the way will that take us, and which way, left or right?”
He shrugged. “Beats me. We’ll figure that out when we come to it.”
“Okay, backing up it is.”
* * * *
“What do you mean you’ve lost them?” FronCar stood over the seated CommTech.
“Sorry, sir, but the cloud cover and rain is so heavy the satellite can’t penetrate it, with thermal or ultraviolet, and the lightning is interfering with the radar imaging.”
“What about the transponder?”
“We’re still receiving intermittent signals, but only every few minutes. Once the storm passes we shouldn’t have any trouble reacquiring the transponder, and then we can focus in on it with the satellite again.
“Good. Keep watching for the signal. I want to know as soon as it’s reacquired.”
* * * *
Chrissy and Daniels decided to go southeast along the river, hoping for another bridge not too far away. But after a few minutes, they entered a small town with a used car lot at the outskirts.
“What do you think
, Chick, should we give the poor people in the back a break and find some other sort of transportation?”
“Good idea. I see several SUVs. That would give us the best chance if we have to go off-road. Pull up to the gate. Do you still have your lock picks?”
“They’re like American Express. I don’t leave home without ‘em.”
“Good. You work on the padlock and I’ll see if anyone here knows how to hotwire a car. We’re gonna need five or six of them. And then we need to find some fuel.
* * * *
“Signal reacquired, sir. We still don’t have visual, but the signal is southeast of the original heading.”
“Excellent. Keep a close watch on their direction in case we lose the signal again. MemKar damn this weather!”
“Will do, sir.”
* * * *
As it happened, Moose and one other passenger had experience with hotwiring. Jesse hunted around behind the dealership’s garage for fuel. He knew that dealers always had a gas pump on the premises so they could put a few gallons in each car they sold. Fortunately, there was still electricity in this area, or they would have been out of luck.
It took almost half an hour to get all the SUVs started and fueled. Jesse also found a couple of five-gallon gas cans, filled them up and put them in the back of two of the vehicles. It wasn’t much, but it might make a difference at some point.
Finally, all the vehicles were ready to go.
Chrissy walked over to Daniels and asked, “So what about the cool alien truck? Do we just leave it here? It seems like a shame.”
“Hmm. Good point. I don’t think we can afford to leave it. If the aliens find it, they’ll know a human drove it out here and they’ll search the area for us. Maybe it’ll be a week before it’s found, but maybe only an hour. Who knows. I think we need to ditch it somehow.”
“Okay, but how?”
Moose, having overheard the conversation, approached. “Sarge, didn’t we pass a boat shop a mile or so back? I think it had a slip there. We could dump the thing in the river. Make it harder to find, maybe.”
“Great idea. You and most of the others go on ahead, looking for a bridge. I’ll take three with me and follow Chrissy to the boat slip, then pick her up and we’ll catch up with the rest of you.”
“You got it, Sarge. See ya in a few.”
* * * *
“Sir?” CommTech YoldWab approached FronCar with trepidation.
“What is it?”
“Sir, I think we’ve lost the signal.”
“Again?”
“Maybe for good this time. It’s been quite a while since the last ping, and the storm is letting up. We should be picking up a strong signal by now, but nothing.”
FronCar pursed his lips in frustration.
Unit Commander GlebTorl stepped forward. “If I may, sir?”
“Hmm? Yes, Commander?”
“If we scramble an attack flight, we might spot the vehicle before it gets too far away.”
“Excellent idea. Give the order. As for you, CommTech, keep monitoring all satellite sensor frequencies in case either of you pick up the transponder signal again or see the vehicle. Pull in some other techs to help if you need them. I don’t want to lose that vehicle, or the damned indies in it.”
“Yes, sir.”
* * * *
“That’s more like it,” Daniels said. The five SUVs ahead of them turned left onto another highway. Blinking red lights appeared to float in an arc high above ground level far to the left. That could mean only one thing: a bridge.
Three minutes later, the convoy was over the bridge and across the river, heading east.
“I never thought I’d say this, but it’s damn good to get out of the city. Maybe we can find a quiet place to hole up for a while, with no aliens and no Zoms.”
Chrissy sighed. “Wouldn’t that be nice for a change?
* * * *
“Attack flight leader to Control.”
“This is Control, Leader. What’s your status?”
“Control, we’re approaching the last recorded position of the vehicle now, following the road southeast along the river at minimum speed. Still no sign of the vehicle or the transponder signal.”
“Acknowledged, Leader. Keep following the road for now.”
“Acknowledged, Control.”
Several minutes passed in silence.
“Flight leader to Control.”
“This is Control. What’s your status?”
“Control, we’re picking up a faint transponder signal, but no visual.”
“Leader, attempt to triangulate its position. We still have no signal at our end.”
“Acknowledged. Attempting to triangulate.”
The three ships increased their separation side-to-side and front-to-back. After a few seconds, they got a lock.
“Control, we have a lock, but you’re not going to like it. Transmitting the coordinates now.”
“Received, Leader.”
After a few more seconds, “Leader, you’re correct about the popularity of the results at this end. Are you absolutely certain the vehicle is in the river?”
“Acknowledged, Control. I made a low-altitude sweep of the location and was able to see it just under the surface. The water must have been blocking the signal.”
“Acknowledged, Leader. Do you see any bodies in or around the vehicle?”
“Negative, Control. But the river current could have swept them away.”
“Acknowledged, Leader. If these indies are able to drive one of our vehicles, there’s the possibility that they transferred to one or more indie vehicles. Sweep the area for moving vehicles. If you see any, your orders are to neutralize them and then return to base. We’ll scan the area by satellite and forward any vectors to you.”
“Acknowledged, Control. Neutralize and return.”
* * * *
Daniels pulled into the abandoned barn behind the other SUVs. After crossing the bridge, they’d continued on for another forty miles before spotting the farm just off the road. The farmhouse had been ransacked and the windows broken, so it wasn’t safe. But the barn appeared intact.
It had been a long and tiring day for everyone. The rain had finally ceased, and the barn was relatively dry inside. Plus, they had some snacks and drinks they’d picked up at a convenience store along the way. At least that gave them something to eat. They had hay for bedding, and they were able to secure the barn door to keep out predators—and Zoms.
What more could they ask for?
* * * *
“Uncle Jay, what’s the matter? Aren’t you feeling good?”
She stood over where Jay lay curled up.
He coughed and sneezed, over and over, scaring Amanda. He said nothing.
She went to where her blanket was and sat in a corner with the blanket pulled up to her chin. She began to cry.
Over the next few hours, Aunt Suzi and all but one of The Pack fell ill. The coughing and sneezing went on, nonstop, for hours more.
Amanda was terrified.
“Uncle Jay, please don’t die. You and Aunt Suzi are all the family I have. If you get bad sick, who’ll take care of me?”
He didn’t respond.
Five-year-old Amanda hugged her knees to her chest and began to sing to herself. “A, b, c, d, e, f, g…”
* * * *
“Control, this is flight leader.”
“Acknowledged, Leader.”
“We’ve searched the entire area on both sizes of the river for two hours. There is no sign of anything moving. Should we keep searching?”
“Negative, Leader. We have no sensor signatures, and see nothing moving but your ships. Return to base. We’ll let the virus take care of them.”
“Acknowledged, Control. Returning to base.”
* * * *
The next morning, Amanda awoke to find six of the Zoms dead. Four others, including Uncle Jay and Aunt Suzi breathed, but didn’t move. The one member of The Pack who hadn’t g
otten sick was gone.
“Uncle Jay, Aunt Suzi, please wake up.” She shook them, but they didn’t respond.
Amanda started to cry, but then stopped. She needed to look for some food and maybe some medicine to help her family. It was a long walk to the medicine store, but she was a brave little girl. She wasn’t scared at all. She knew the way.
Four blocks from the medicine store, she turned the corner. There was a truck full of those scary golden people coming her way. She froze.
A hand yanked her backwards.
She started to scream before she realized that it was Uncle Bobo—her name for the one member of The Pack who hadn’t gotten sick.
He picked her up and ran behind a parked car. They waited as the golden people drove past. They hadn’t seen her.
He picked her up again and ran back to their lair.
When they arrived, they found the others eating parts of the Zoms who had died overnight.
Uncle Jay grinned at Amanda with blood running down his chin. “Good.”
“Eww!” she said. “I don’t like it when you eat our family.”
She turned away from the sight and then, after a minute, turned back. “I’m glad you’re all better now. I don’t like it when you’re sick.”
She went back to her blanket and sat. “We saw some of those scary golden people. There are a lot of them now. Maybe we should move somewhere where there aren’t so many of them.”
Uncle Jay and the others kept eating, but she thought maybe he nodded in agreement.
“Good. After you eat we can find somewhere else to live. And then I’ll teach you “Old MacDonald had a Farm. You’ll like that one. It has funny animals.”
* * * *
FronCar, frustrated with the escape of the indigenes who had stolen the Drahtch vehicle and killed its occupants—and perhaps were responsible for killing the squad and platoon earlier—stepped up the efforts to spread the virus far and wide. Battle pods landed throughout the continent wherever large populations of indigenes were seen, and sent out vehicles to dart as many of them as possible. Over the following weeks, the same process would take place in all the other continents as well.
Aliens Versus Zombies Page 17
