by mike Evans
“I’ll try but only if you let me fire the main gun on this, holy shit we’re going to make those guys regret ever coming here!”
“I probably need both of you to help me get this thing rigged onto the tank. There’s a few rear bolts that I'm going to take out and then attach them through some binding that I’ll put on the back. When it’s time we put a hole in this thing and let it run. It has to hold fifty or more gallons I’d think if we are smart with when we start it that we should be okay. The people we drag behind it should make a pretty good mess once their road rash begins. Greg once you and I are close enough to that base, we fire off some welcome to the neighborhood shots. If any of them survive that they’ll have sniper fire coming from all directions, the dead coming through the gates, and when it looks clear you on a machine gun with bullet proof armor in front of you. How does that sound?”
McQuaig said, “Well, excuse my French but it sounds like those fucknuts are going to regret ever coming to our base. That is worse than day one and I can’t think of many times I have wanted to or been able to say something like that. Don’t get me wrong they deserve every single drop of spilled blood ten times over but it still seems like a horrible thing to experience.”
“That’s what they get for listening to bad ideas. If this guy is some sort of psycho then I want you to watch fence lines, McQuaig, there’s no telling if he is going to stay and fight or if he is going to run. The last thing we want to do is send hell down on him only to have him make it out and regroup,” Clary said.
“If I see anyone going for anything to get themselves free then I won’t give them any chances at all,” McQuaig said. “I don’t care if it is their back or chest facing me they’re getting one good one to the chest. There is no sympathy today, none of them deserve it. They’re all responsible in one way or another.”
Clary got the bolts out that they needed and within a half hour of give and take he had the very large plastic drum attached with a backup beneath it. As he got it tightened the rest of the way he was looking at his watch with his good eye. He was thinking about it but Greg saw him and said it out loud. “You think that they’re still alive, Clary? They’ve been gone a while and it isn’t that far away from here.”
Clary shrugged and said, “I don’t know, Greg, the only good thing that has happened today was still having one eye left to use, but that only came about because of death and destruction. We can’t afford to lose too many more people. I do know that for a fact.”
Greg went to call them on his radio but Clary shook his head. He said “They’ll be back soon. If not, we know where they were going. We could always drive out there in this and try and pick them up. There’s little those things are going to do short of tipping it over and I don’t even think those things are that strong. If they are then I say the next go around we take shells with us and go until they’re gone. This could do a hell of a lot of damage. They know how to make a call if they are in need of help.”
Greg said, “I know you are supposed to learn how to drive first, but I think maybe it might be a good idea since we have so many of these that you teach me how to drive one when it isn’t imperative that we are fighting for our lives. I swear to God I won’t do anything stupid if you show me how to drive one.”
“Yeah, if you are going to teach him how to shoot off and fire a tank, then I don’t think I'm going to feel really good about sleeping again…like ever, horrible drivers plus tanks don’t go hand in hand and I feel very confident about that.” McQuaig said.
“Relax, McQuaig, we will be just fine. He isn’t going to be driving around in one of these until I trust him like I trust myself. You think I’d let him go driving around in one of the most, if not the most, dangerous things on this base? I'm almost blind, not stupid, there’s a big damn difference, girl.”
McQuaig nodded slowly thinking how relieved she was. When they were done they gassed up the tank knowing they would have more than enough fuel for the trip there as well as back. When it was set to go they took a Humvee around back getting as many machine guns and ammunition as he could in the rear of it. He said, “I plan on having all of this work done before they get back. I don’t want to fight in the dark. They know where we’re going to better than we do. If we can take them while the sun is up we’re going to have a much better chance of succeeding on this little outing we got going for us. It never makes sense to fight out of your element and you kids haven’t had any real fights with other people. I really hope that everyone is up for it; there is no choking once it is time to take the shot. It isn’t the same as killing the dead. That shit can come back and get you. Believe me there’s been some serious pieces of shit that Aslin and my team had to take down at one point. They were the scum of the Earth and I can still remember pulling the trigger on each and every one of them, and the decimation that took place after the pull. I don’t worry so much about Shaun and you but there are a lot of people who don’t nearly have the firing time that you do.”
Greg clapped him on the shoulder. He wasn’t trying to make Clary feel any better but still felt a little guilty for saying it. “You realize that only, like, four of the kids left have shot one of the guns, and only a handful of times.”
Clary was mouthing four when McQuaig said, “Six, including Greg and Ricky. He forgot about him. Six is better because it is closer to a dozen and if we count you and Aslin then we’re good to go. Don’t you feel better now, Clary?”
Clary smiled uneasily, shaking his head, and was extra thankful for the large guns on the tank. “You know, considering the fact that we have this thing sitting here…yes, I do feel a little bit better.”
Greg said, “We had less than this when we left Andy’s if you remember. Shaun and I were going to head downtown by ourselves and with just the two of us. It isn’t about numbers it's about being smart when you’re doing it.”
“Christ, did you just tell me how to think and what to do? When did you start getting responsible, Greg?”
Greg shrugged as he walked back to the Humvee. “I don’t know; it seems like it snuck up on me, Clary.”
“It always does, smartass, it happens to the best of us, honestly. I was you once, you know; fast cars, faster women, and no good decisions anywhere in the vicinity. It's kind of amazing I don’t have any of you running around.”
“You know, I heard that in a movie that’s probably as old as you, Clary.”
“McQuaig, can you take Greg around for one more lap? We want to make sure when we come home tonight that we have as little to worry about as possible.”
They nodded and both got back in the truck. Greg yelled, “Don’t miss me, Clary,” as they drove away.
Clary double checked everything including the ammo and couldn’t have felt better about the situation they had going for them. The fully stocked tank made everything a little bit better. He stared at the radio wondering what in the hell was taking Aslin and the others so damn long.
Chapter 22
Shaun and Aslin pulled down flight after flight full of containers filled to the brim with bags of blood. When they made it to the garage they repeated the process. Aslin sat on the step taking a minute to breathe. He said, “I’m getting too old for this shit. I mean it! We gotta get those things killed while there is still time for me to be able to enjoy the time.”
Shaun patted him on the shoulder, “You hang in there. If we can keep getting as much of this blood everywhere we go then we’re going to be able to get rid of these things before we know it. Do you think that it’ll really work, that we’ll be able to spread the word and make a dent in the dead?”
“I can only say yes, Fox, the idea of going the rest of my life fighting these bastards is more than I can handle. I’m not going to continue dealing with it. At some point we need to win or lose, but no one is going to need to last an entire lifetime like this. It isn’t any life to live.”
“So, you’d just quit at some point if we don’t make it?”
“Nah, I’d never quit but I tell yo
u what…if I’m too old to fight there is a damn good chance I'll try and make it to an island somewhere and figure out a place that I can live out the rest of my days in peace.”
Shaun kept moving getting the blood in the bus. When he had it there he came back to Aslin tossing a few bags in his hands. He said, “I’m going to go up top, you radio up when you have the bus ready and I'll toss them, and once it looks like they’re going to go there and give us a break I’ll haul ass down here. Sound good to you?”
Aslin pushed up off of the step nodding. “You know the thing that sucks is that this damn day is still not even close to being over. When I was in my twenties I’d be taking a big ass bite out of today and asking for more. Now I need a nap and I’m sick of this shit. I still think that it’s ridiculous that we’re fighting fellow living, breathing, humans. We have enough for everyone and we’d be kicking ass and taking names, but they had to be douchebags and now look where we are.”
Shaun shrugged and said, “Can’t save the world without cracking some eggs. We can’t have an entire apocalypse without a few assholes. There wasn’t a shortage before the zombies came so we must’ve had a few slip by. What is it you old guys say that the good die young and-”
“The bad live forever. You get going and I’ll be ready when you are. You are going to be the one running things someday so you might as well try and get your plans ready to go now. Everyone looks up to you. Probably going to even more so especially as we rebuild, again.”
“I don’t want to lead anyone, but if they’re going the same way that I am then they can do whatever they want as far as following me. I just want the dead gone. You guys just stick around so I don’t have to be in charge this young. There’s no way I could handle that on top of everything else going on.”
“Shaun, good leaders never want to be in charge. If they asked for it, they weren’t worth a shit. You won’t really know what I mean until it’s too late and you’re there, kid. When it comes…just go with it. The nice thing is you’ll either soar or fall, and it won’t take long to figure out which way you will go. You don’t have much to worry about though, I think.”
“Okay, well great, that was what I needed to hear. You let me know when the bus is ready to go and we’ll go from there. How does that sound?”
“Like we almost have a half ass plan put together. It's all guessing isn’t it, everything we do, and we have no clue what these fuckers are going to do?”
Shaun said, “It’s better that we at least think about it. These could all be going horribly wrong. I’ll take luck any day of the week.”
“Amen to that, Fox. Now, get your skinny ass moving.”
*****
Shaun sprinted up the stairs keeping away from the hallway filled to the brim with the dead. Shaun pushed up to the room peering over and seeing that there had to have been hundreds. He thought about how many magazines he had on him figuring he could probably take them out within a half hour, but where there were hundreds now- there could be thousands more if he started firing off shot after shot. The dead would replace their fallen brethren and sisters. Shaun laid out the bags of blood along the edge of the roof making sure not to drop any of them. When he looked for a spot to chuck them into the distance he saw one of the dead staring back. His eyes seemed to be almost black and he did not blink; he was the only one in a sea of the dead staring at Shaun, or that seemed to even notice him sitting up there.
Shaun threw the first bag and watched as it soared outside of the circle of the dead splattering on the sidewalk. The blood bag exploded when it hit painting the street with it. Shaun felt hope as the blood wafted up into the air. The dead that were still fighting to get in slowly began to raise their heads looking around for the sweet nectar floating in the air.
When they turned to run the alpha released a guttural cry. It sounded no different from any other screaming that Shaun had heard from the thousands of dead in the past. The Turned stopped dead in their tracks. The ones that did not stop did so when the alpha made its way out of the crowd.
The dead seemed to part for him as if he were Moses in the Red Sea. When he got to the ones that were licking the blood like dogs in the street he picked the first up lodging a hand elbow deep into its skull and ripping it back out full of brain. The Turned went limp and when the others looked at it they stopped pushing and walked slowly to get back in line.
Shaun watched this in awe and the intelligence of this one scared him like never before. He radioed Aslin, “Hey, Aslin, they have a leader for this group. You will never believe what they just did.”
“Just get moving, Shaun, and toss some bags. I got the bus up and running, lucky for us the damn thing is filled to the brim with fuel. They must have had a busy week ahead of them and had it ready.”
“You don’t seem to appreciate the severity of the words coming out of my mouth, Aslin. I just launched a blood bag off the roof, and when they ran for it one of the Turned screamed and they stopped. Those that didn’t got their brains pulled out of their heads.”
“Can you still see it? Is he the only one that looks like he is in charge?”
“Yeah, so far it looks like there is just one. The blood thing might not work if they have these in every group.”
“But the important thing is you can see him, right?”
“Yeah, but-”
“But fucking nothing, shoulder your rifle and put two in its head. If another one looks like it's going to step up, you take them out too. Use your sniper rifle; we don’t need any extra sound that isn’t theirs. God knows how many dead are around this part of town. You got any questions, or are you already picking up your rifle?”
“I’m on it.”
Shaun clipped his radio and unfolded the bipod on the bottom of his rifle. He found the dead who was still staring at him. When Shaun found him in his sights he screamed one last scream. Shaun fired one shot sending it through the front of its skull, and when it came out the back it covered the dead standing behind him, and the darkness in its eyes became covered with blood and brains dripping from the newly created hole.
Shaun sat down for a second actually thankful that it went down. For a moment he wondered if it would work, or if it had been killed. Screams erupted from below that were almost deafening even on top of the roof. Shaun grabbed a blood bag slicing the top off it trying to get as little on himself as possible, and tossed it off the top letting it cover those in the middle. The dead started ripping at those covered in blood, tearing flesh from their skins and skulls from their necks, anxious for a taste.
Shaun watched for a moment thankful that it might work, and when he was confident that the command from the dead only lasted as long as his breath did he launched four more bags off the side of the building. When they smashed into the ground painting it a crimson red the dead flocked to it quickly seeming content and back to their normal blood hungry selves.
Shaun threw what he had left as far as he could and as the wind picked up they went further and further down the street in search of the scent. The only ones left near the building were the dead that had been torn into multiple pieces. When Shaun was sure that they weren’t going to leave the blood anytime soon, and that there were no dead watching him like the alpha, he turned and sprinted down the stairs taking them three at a time, almost biffing it a few times and going down head first.
When he was close to the garage he said, “Aslin, hit the opener for that door. We are out of here; I’m coming down the last flight now.”
Aslin let out a sigh, smiling with relief. He had not been completely sure that this was a good plan but nonetheless it had turned out okay. He watched the door as it rose. The empty parking lot void of dead was not what he saw. It creaked and screeched as it rose to the top. The dead that had been fighting to make their way to the front of the pack to get a taste of the blood that they so desperately yearned for were still there.
Shaun saw the feet as the door rose; he wasn’t stupid or cocky about his speed. He dropped to
the ground switching his gun to semi-automatic fire and started taking out kneecaps. The dead collapsed to the ground and began pulling themselves by their arms in a bloody army crawl. The dead saw Shaun and the temptation of a meal kept them moving towards him.
He fired off shots until there was nothing left of their skulls. The door was now fully up and the dead that had been fighting their way up to the blood gave up when the gunfire erupted. The bullets that had struck had passed through the kneecaps that belonged to the targets and ended up fifty yards away lodging themselves inside of the dead straggling behind.
Shaun sprinted towards the bus pulling two grenades as he did. Aslin was already pulling the bus out the door and Shaun launched both of them one after another into the middle of the dead. Aslin started to say something but Shaun had timed them so that when they got to their destination it was time for them to go off. Fireballs rose as they exploded and sent pieces of the dead in every which way that they could. Limbs, skin, and guts hung from light poles. Aslin put his foot to the floor pushing the engine for everything it was worth. The force of the bus momentarily sent Shaun on a collision course with the floor but he righted himself gripping one of the seats on either side.
Aslin yelled, “Hold on to something, would you! We aren’t slowing down until I make it through all of these dead.”
“Don’t slow down for anything! I don’t care what happens. You get in the street and you don’t stop moving until we get back to the base!”
Aslin did as he was told and within a minute pieces of the dead were plastered to the front of the bus. The dead were in tow directly behind them with no sign of them giving up any time soon. The massive bus was too big to gain the speed they needed. There were too many randomly abandoned cars in the streets slowing them down when they needed to put distance between them and the mob of the dead.
Aslin was watching them nervously and said, “You think you could do something about the dead back there?”
