by Rescue
"And what is that," Alex humored the older man.
"Bullshit!" Jimmy Wayne proclaimed and slapped the table. "I've gotten pretty good at it. And do you know what I see sitting across the table from me?" The man paused again, but Alex simply raised an eyebrow at him, not wishing to give him the satisfaction he was looking for. "I see bullshit," Jimmy Wayne continued. "You boys may be heading to Austin, but that's not the only reason you are going there."
Jimmy Wayne took a long pull from his beer and set the mug down with a satisfying sigh. "Everything's gone to hell in this world, boy. Especially in Austin. We get people coming through here all the time as they try to get away from the mess that's there. Why are you so hell bent on getting in?"
Alex paused before answering. "Just trying to get family out..."
"Bullshit," Jimmy Wayne muttered and took another slug of his beer. This time, there was no smile hiding behind the whiskers of his beard. "There's something seriously wrong if you are going there. And why all the military hardware? You boys with the government?" Jimmy Wayne looked hard at Alex and the man's suspicions were starting to make Alex uncomfortable. His unease was lifted slightly when Liam, beer in tow, pulled up a chair next to Alex. Liam extended a hand to the older man which he shook firmly.
"I'm Liam Beard," he said, introducing himself.
"Jimmy Wayne," the older man bellowed, his jovial nature back in his face.
"Well, Jimmy, thanks for the beer..."
"Jimmy Wayne," the man corrected. "Hated being called Jimmy when I was younger."
"Okay, Jimmy Wayne it is," Liam said with a smile as he took a deep drink of his beer.
"Well, sir," Jimmy Wayne said to Liam. "I can't seem to get a straight answer out of your friend here, so maybe you can be of more help."
Liam looked to Alex with a confused look that soon turned into frustration. Turning back to Jimmy Wayne he smiled and said, "What can I help you with?"
Alex shook his head and in a low voice said, "Liam, no."
Liam turned his gaze back on Alex, his smile now gone. "We are in the shit, man. What harm is it going to do us, huh? We've had three people killed..."
"Liam!" Alex snapped, but his friend just continued.
"There's no harm, Alex He's not a government spy." This statement elicited a chuckle from across the table.
"You sure about that?" Jimmy Wayne asked. "You boys remember to bring your tin-foil hats?"
Alex was not amused by the comment, but Liam was. He laughed hard and slapped Alex across the shoulder. "Damn, man" That's what we forgot!" Both Liam and Jimmy Wayne laughed at their own jokes, releasing some of the pent up tension they were feeling. When the tears stopped, Liam spoke again.
"What do you need to know, or want to know for that matter?" Alex started to get up from the table, but Liam pushed him back into his chair. "You can fill in the details," he winked. "In case I forget any."
"He doesn't seem too terribly talkative tonight, or friendly," Jimmy Wayne said to Liam while eyeing Alex cautiously. "You want to keep him around?"
Liam kept facing Alex as he answered, "Yeah, he needs to be here for this. Ask away."
Jimmy Wayne asked his questions to Liam and Alex, and both men answered honestly, if not cheerfully in Liam's case. The story of their initial flight out of Austin, forming the Hew Hope colony, and the arrival of Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Hill. Jimmy Wayne listened carefully, asking more questions as he thought of them and nodding in the appropriate places. The beer flowed freely and as it did, so to did Alex and Liam's tongues. Before long it became somewhat difficult to keep the men on the track of the particular question that had been asked.
"That's some story," Jimmy Wayne said when their tales finally reached their arrival at Rosebud. "I was afraid that Bremond was doing what you said they were. We've heard stories from survivors coming out of there, some just barely alive." The man just shrugged his shoulders and looked at Alex and Liam. "It's hard to believe stories like that, you know? Things like that just shouldn't happen in times like these. People should be pulling together, not killing one another." Jimmy Wayne paused for a time, lost in his own thoughts. "Shouldn't happen."
Once it was obvious that Jimmy Wayne was done with his questioning, Liam slapped his friend on the back. "Well, Mr. Jimmy Wayne, the conversation was stimulating, the beer much needed. Now, we need to get some sleep tonight. We'll gladly take some of the night shifts..."
Jimmy Wayne shook his head and waved away the offer. "Not necessary, son. We're doing pretty good here on our own, and you boys look like you could use some down time. We'll put you up in some of our bunks for the night. You'll be safe there, even if the beds aren't the most comfortable that you've ever seen."
Alex spoke up now. "We don't want to take any bunks away from your men. We can camp by our hummers..."
"Not in this town you won't," Jimmy Wayne objected. "You're here in Rosebud. We take care of family." He extended a hand to Alex and then Liam. "And you boys, well, you're family. Now come on. I'll get you guys squared away."
-----
The Corsairs slept well that night. Safe in their bunks, showered and fed well, every man slept the sleep of the innocent. And overslept.
It was well into the afternoon before the first of the men woke and around two when the team was ready to leave. Alex was packing the last of their equipment back into the hummers when Jimmy Wayne walked up.
"I wish I could talk you boys out of going in there," he said nodding his head in the direction of Austin. "It ain't going to be pretty. Not pretty at all."
Alex shook the man's hand. "I can't thank you enough for all of your help and hospitality. I don't know how we can repay you."
"No need, young man. No need. Just remember us here in Rosebud and take care of your own. We all need to stick together." Jimmy Wayne gave Alex one more slap on the back. "You boys take care, alright?"
"We will, Jimmy Wayne. Stay safe." Alex shook the man's hand one last time and climbed into the driver's seat of the lead hummer. The engines roared to life and slowly rolled their way towards the southern city limits of Rosebud. Soon they were approaching the south end blockade and each man looked with longing at the city they were leaving. None of them realized that it would be the last time in a long while before they could ever feel as normal again.
-----
For almost an hour after leaving the city of Rosebud, Alex was very aware of the lack of zombies in the area. He attributed this to the presence of Rosebud nearby, probably drawing the vast majority of the deaders out of the empty spaces in the countryside. The men were grateful and a bit sad at the same time. The absence of zombies meant that the citizens of Rosebud were constantly under attack the the dead. They prayed that the city would be able to care for themselves.
Random zombies began appearing about two hours out from Rosebud. Their distinctive shuffle made them easy to spot. Normally Alex would have simply bypassed these, leaving them for nature or some other person to deal with. But after the hospitality of the previous night, the Corsairs now went after these deaders with a vengeance.
Alex was heading for another of the zombie wanderers when Hayden spoke up from the back seat. "Did you hear a gunshot?" he asked. Everyone in the Hummer shook their heads, not believing that he had only heard the back firing of one of the Hummers.
"There it is again," Hayden said and began to look out of every window trying to find the source of the shots.
The Hummer lurched as Alex slammed into the wandering zombie and ground the creature under its wheels. "You're hearing things," Alex said to his brother in law. "Probably just one of the Hummers..."
"Stop the car!" Hayden yelled.
"What?!" Alex snapped back. "Why?"
"For God's sake, stop the damn car!" Hayden was frantic now and desperate for Alex to listen.
"Alright, alright," Alex agreed and slowed the Hummer to a stop. He reached for the handset and called back to the second vehicle. "Apparently we are going to stop for a mi
nute," he said. "Hayden's having an issue."
"Shut up and turn off the engine," Hayden commanded. This elicited a surprised look from Alex. "Just do it!"
Rolling his eyes at Liam, Alex reached for the keys and killed the engine. The sounds of hungry moans immediately filled the empty space. Moans from the dead punctuated by cracks from a rifle.
Everyone's head was moving now, looking for the source of the gunfire. The rolling hills of the Texas Hill Country obscured the horizon, making it difficult for the team to see very far in the distance.
"Where is that coming from?" Liam asked to no one in particular. The sounds of the gunshots echoed through the open space making it impossible to determine a point of origin.
Alex and the others stepped out of their Hummer, hoping that they would be able to hear better. The men from the second Hummer came out to meet them. "Where's that coming from?" Dr. Cahn asked Alex.
"No way to tell," he answered in frustration. A few tense moments passed before Hayden broke the silence.
"Look," he said quietly. He was pointing to something out in front of the group, and sounded like someone who was caught up in deep thought. The men turned and saw a zombie shuffling across the road. Donovan stepped forward and raised his carbine in the corpse's direction.
"Don't," Hayden said quickly, pulling the barrel of Donovan's gun towards the ground. "Just wait a minute. Haven't you all noticed something odd?" The men all looked to one another and shook their heads, not really sure what Hayden was getting at.
"The last few zombies we've come across...hasn't anyone noticed that they are all headed in the same direction? They've all been headed east."
Each man paused to think about Hayden's realization. It dawned on Alex suddenly what the man was talking about and he looked to Hayden questioning. "That's our direction. They are all headed to the same place. They are all headed to towards the gunshots."
Hayden nodded with satisfaction and relief. "That's what I figure," he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
Alex nodded his head decisively. "Then we're going that way too. Everyone back to the Hummers and check your equipment. This could get ugly." The Corsairs climbed back into their Hummers and turned off the road to the east. A single pop from Donovan's carbine dropped the lone zombie as they sped through away.
-----
"Holy Mother of God," Hayden gasped as the Humvees crested the rise of a small hill. "There has to be thousands of them," he said in nearly a whisper. "What are we going to do?"
The sounds of gunshots echoed from the house and the men could see a lone figure standing on the roof firing indiscriminately into the massive crowd of zombies surrounding the house. The dead bodies were so packed into one another, that it seemed to shift and roll like the waves of the ocean.
"What do you mean, 'what are we going to do?' We're going to get the fuck out of here, that's what." Marshal's voice broke in panic at the thought of going near the massive horde of dead. "Those guys are screwed, man. There's nothing we can do for them."
Hate greeted Marshal's cowardice. "We are going to do something, you sniveling son-of-a-bitch. And you are going to help." Liam spoke with barely controlled rage. "I can't believe what a chicken-shit you are..."
"He's right," Alex broke in. His voice was soft and distant and he turned to meet the shocked look of his friend. "He's right, Liam. There is nothing that we can do..."
"We can sure as hell do something!" Liam snapped at Alex. "We can't just leave those people there to die."
"And there is no way that we can get to them," Alex said coldly. "There are too many deaders around that house. We might, just might, be able to make a dent in that mass, if we were to use every bullet we've got. And not miss a single one," Alex added as an afterthought. "But then we're screwed..."
"We can try something!" Liam yelled.
"And condemn our families?" Alex told his friend. "Are you willing to make that sacrifice? Because that is what you will be doing. Sacrificing your family and mine. Not to mention everyone else's in this group." Alex paused and looked hard at his friend. "I'm not willing to make that choice..."
"Neither am I," Marshall interrupted. "Now, let's get out of here."
"Shut up, Marshal," Alex said. "Nobody's ever going to ask you...anything!"
Marshal slunk down into his seat. "Fuck you," he mumbled under his breath.
Liam smoldered in the seat next to Alex, anger and frustration clouding his face. "There has to be something. We can't just leave."
Alex sighed and put his head on the steering wheel. "I'm getting out," he announced to everyone in the Hummer and opened the door before anyone could say anything. He stretched his back and walked to the back of the Humvee. Donovan and the others climbed down form the second Hummer and joined Alex. Eyes darted between the zombie horde raging to the east and Alex.
"What's the plan?" Shawn asked, looking to Alex for an answer.
Alex never stopped pacing behind the car to answer the question. His arms were crossed and he stared only at the ground in front of him. The group looked from one to another with questioning looks on their faces. "I vote we get out of here." Marshal's voice grated on everyone's nerves, but was the only thing that made Alex stop in his pacing.
"You little prick," Liam began, but was again stopped short by Alex.
"Just ignore him, Liam," Alex groaned. "He's not worth it. He's..." Alex threw up his hand and groaned in frustration. "There's nothing we can do!" he yelled to the sky. Worried looks were thrown his direction and he groaned loudly again. Throwing his hands in the direction of the besieged house, Alex yelled again. "There is nothing we can do. Whoever is in that house if screwed, and there's not a god-damned thing that we can do!"
"We don't have to get them out," Dr. Cahn's voice cut through Alex's rant. All eyes turned on him, not really sure they had heard what the doctor said. He shrugged his shoulders and repeated himself. "We don't HAVE to get them out. We just need to give them a chance."
"What do you have in mind, doc?" Donovan asked. His forehead creased in concentration as he tried to figure out what Dr. Cahn had in mind.
"We help them the same way that we help the people of Fairfield. We take some of the threat away and give them a chance. It's not much," the doctor admitted, "but it is better than that." Dr. Cahn inclined his head towards the house with its lone gunman on roof. "It'll work, Alex. Trust me."
Alex stared into the distance, looking past the horde of dead trying to reach their prey inside the farm house. He nodded his head over and over, talking to himself in a low voice. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. It'll work, just like Fairfield. We'll just have to do a little more work to entice them..." His eyes cleared and he looked straight at the doctor. "It'll work, doc. We can give them a chance."
-----
The Humvees roared towards the mass of corpses that writhed at the walls of the farm house. A man stood in the top hatch of each vehicle, their faces covered against the onrushing wind as they steadied their carbines on the roof. Each man waited patiently until they were close enough that they couldn't miss. Alex and the second driver headed straight for the center mass of the gathered dead, their horns blaring ceaselessly.
First one zombie turned to face the new threat. Then another. Soon dozens were turning away from the sole prey atop the house, now desiring this new opportunity. One by one they began to move away from the farm house, thinning the ranks of dead as they ventured out as single individuals to attack the approaching vehicles. The gunmen opened fire.
The head of the nearest zombie exploded in a cloud of bones and brain matter. A second fell and a third, some shot cleanly through their brain pan while others were knock to the ground by the force of the round hitting them. A second later, the Humvees tore through the outer ranks of the dead.
Body parts shattered and severed on the reinforced bumpers of the military vehicles. Their speed reduced only a fraction as, one after another, the zombies threw themselves at the Humvees, only to be ripped to
shreds by steel and rubber.
Only yards before reaching the main gathering of the dead, each driver cut off from their path of destruction, turing in opposite directions to continue their attack on the deader horde.
The guns cracked. The engines roared. The corpses died for a second time, this time not to rise again. And as the Humvees finished their ruinous pass through the gathered dead, the zombies followed the prey. They followed the Corsairs away from the farm house. They followed them to their annihilation.
-----
Smoke and fire drifted across the hills outside of Taylor, Texas. The Corsairs looked on the blaze with grim satisfaction, smiles gracing the faces of the men. Even Marshal was proud of himself. Their plan had worked, as far as they could gather. Countless numbers of the zombie horde that had besieged the farm house had followed, leaving a handful to remain. Alex had led the zombie horde on a wild goose chase for the remainder of the day, leading them as far away from the beleaguered homestead as possible. They then set fire to the swarm, and now watched them burn.
"Do you think they'll make it?" Dr. Cahn asked Alex as they watched the flames lick and consume their victims. Corpses fell and remained still, as others climbed over them only to be consumed by the hungry fire.
"I'm not sure, doc," Alex said with a satisfied grin on his face. He looked to Dr. Cahn and continued. "But I'd like to think that we gave them a chance. I'd like to think that we help someone survive, if only for a little time more." He turned to face the doctor head on and held out his hand. "Thank you, Dr. Cahn. Thank you for helping me not make the wrong choice. The choice to leave them there to die."
Dr. Cahn took Alex's hand and shook it firmly. "You would have done the same. Eventually, but the same none the less."
Alex looked towards the setting sun. "Time to get indoors. I've got a funny feeling that tonight is going to be rough."
