“Anyway, we took all the food to the kitchen. Then we loaded all the guns and ammo into gear bags and stashed them in my room,” said Southard. “When do you want to make your run?”
“We only need one Humvee,” I said. “We’re not going to convoy out there. We’re going in full scavenger mode and looking for any vehicle or equipment we can beg, borrow or flat out steal.”
“Why not take two Humvees?” asked Spec-4.
“Because they’re going to need them here.”
“Good point.”
I went over to the iced tea machine and poured myself a cup. Then I downed it in one long pull. With a sigh, I refilled it and sipped the second one.
“I’m going out to prep the other Humvee,” said Southard. “They took the ones with working SAW’s. I’m gonna yank off that busted one and replace it.”
“Watch out for the gore on the roof,” I said. “Don’t get any of it on you.”
“Already taken care of,” he replied. “We went out earlier and took the hose to it. We may not have power but the water pressure’s holding just fine.”
“Outstanding,” I replied, smiling for the first time since we started talking.
“Hey,” he chided, grinning, “one of us has to do some actual work around here.”
With that, he headed out the door. Once he was out of earshot, Spec-4 grabbed me by my arm and pulled me towards her.
“Ok, Wylie,” she said. “What’s wrong? You look like shit and smell like whiskey.”
I had been expecting this since we first got into the break room.
“I’m fine,” I lied, again. “I’m just taking it a little hard, losing Weaver and Griffith.”
“They were good guys, but they knew the risks,” she said. “Besides, you had no way of knowing that we were walking into a trap.”
“I should have known,” I hissed.
“How?” she demanded. “Are you psychic, now?”
I just glared into my tea glass, but didn’t answer.
“We did everything we could,” she said, softly. “We were expecting zombies, not a military unit. Next time, we’ll deploy differently. Take an ambush into account.”
“We’ve ran into looters before. I should have prepared for it.”
“We’ve ran into idiots before. Just a bunch of wanna-be thugs and meth-heads that couldn’t spell tactics, let alone use them. These guys were different. They were coordinated, well-trained and they were ready for us.”
“Next time, we’ll be ready for them,” I vowed.
“So, what do we do next?”
“Are you coming with me?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Wouldn’t let you leave without me,” she replied, without hesitation. “You go, I go. Same goes for Southard.”
“Cal’s in no shape to go. He’ll have to stay here.”
“Yeah, he’s not going to go anywhere for a while. Besides, Maddie’s keeping him sedated.”
“That’s probably for the best. The big ox would probably try to come with us, anyway.”
“That’s what friends do.”
“Yeah, but this is my fight,” I said, softly. “I can’t ask any of you to risk your lives on this one.”
“The way I see it, we’re just rescuing another group, this one a little farther away. We’re coming with you. Deal with it, slick.”
Together, we headed out of the break room and returned to our shared quarters. We grabbed all of our gear and bags and headed out the door. Lieutenant Murdock was standing there when we turned around.
“Going somewhere?” he asked, nonchalantly.
“To the lake, sir,” I replied. “I thought I might do a little fishing.”
“Were you planning on leaving without saying goodbye?”
“No, sir, we were just loading the gear. We need to change out radio batteries and get some food and water to take with us.”
“Hmm,” he said, “that’s good. The new Sheriff just checked in and they were successful in their mission. They should be back any minute.”
“Did they lose anybody?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“Just one. Andrews was swarmed by a group of Sprinters as they made a break for the vehicles.”
“Andrews was a good guy. He started here right after I did.”
“Webber tried to go back for him and had to be dragged back to the Humvee,” said the Lieutenant.
“That must have been tough,” I replied.
Webber was one of the biggest guys on our shift. Nice guy, quiet and slow to temper. But when he got mad, heaven help you. He was one tough son-of-a-gun.
“I’m sure it was. I’m sure the Sheriff will have the entire story for us when he gets here.”
“Yes, sir, I’m sure he will.”
With that, we headed for the Release door and on out into the Intake parking area. Southard was already out there packing the Humvee. He’d even attached the trailer to the back. Chuck was thinking ahead.
“Nice job, Chuck,” I said. “Good thinking on the trailer.”
“You said we’d be going into full scavenger mode. I just wanted to make sure we had room for anything we might find along the way.”
“Good plan,” said Spec-4.
We tossed our gear into the back of the Humvee and headed back inside when we heard the gate start to open.
“Jesus,” snapped Southard. “Thanks for the fucking warning, 700.”
“Lock and load,” I yelled. “Be ready for anything.”
I brought up my M-16 and pulled the charging handle. My pistol was already on my belt and I knew it was loaded. I had four magazines for the M-16 in my right cargo pocket. Southard just worked the action on the SAW he’d been mounting and dropped into the turret. Then he swung it around towards the gate. Spec-4 locked and loaded her M-16 and nodded to me. I motioned for her to sweep to the right of the gate, while I went left.
By the time we were in position, the gate was open wide enough for the first Humvee to come inside. It was instantly followed by the second one. I could hear Southard already on the radio yelling for 700 to shut the gate. Behind them, I could see a small group of zombies coming after the Humvees. About twenty zombies were out by the road, but almost a dozen Sprinters were almost to the gate and it was shutting way too slowly to stop them. Southard couldn’t get a shot, since the Humvees were in his way, but Spec-4 and I were clear to fire.
“Light ‘em up!” I yelled, and opened fire.
Spec-4 didn’t hesitate. I had my weapon on single shot and Spec-4 had hers on three round burst. In less than a minute, we dropped the advancing Sprinters just as they were reaching the gate. I finished off my magazine into the crowd out by the street, just as the gate finally locked shut.
“Zombies in the wire!” screamed Spec-4. “Zombies in the WIRE!”
I spun around in time to see four zombies standing up from behind the two Humvees. They’d been clinging to the back and now they were inside our perimeter.
“Goddammit!” I screamed, as I started changing mags.
Spec-4 was trying to change hers as well, when I saw the look of panic in her eyes. She didn’t have another magazine and the zombies were heading right toward her. Her warning scream had gotten their attention. I slapped another magazine into the well and dropped the bolt.
“Get down!” I called to Spec-4.
She didn’t wait for another invitation. She ducked her head low and ran for the front of the Humvees. Unfortunately, all four of the zombies were Sprinters and were right on her heels. My first round took the closest one in the back of the head. It went down hard and stayed down. The other three ran right into Chuck Southard’s sights. The SAW came to life and he cut them to pieces, in one long burst. The rounds that punched through them blew the control box to the gate apart and knocked numerous holes in the fence.
“Cease fire!” I yelled, knowing it was already too late.
The gate was finished and there wasn’t anything we were going to be able to do about it.
The control equipment was a smoking ruin. The gate was going to have to be opened and closed manually, if at all. I drew my pistol and put headshots into the ones that were still twitching, and then turned to look at Southard with a raised eyebrow.
“Aw, shit,” he stammered. “Sorry about that.”
“I’d rather lose the gate than one of us,” I said. “You did the right thing.”
That didn’t seem to make him any happier, but he accepted it with a nod. I turned to the Humvees and motioned for them to stay inside. Spec-4 approached me shaking her head.
“Sorry, Wylie,” she said. “I changed uniforms after my shower and didn’t put extra magazines in my cargo pocket.”
“Just don’t let it happen, again,” I said, smiling and tossing her one from my cargo pocket.
Without a word, she changed out the magazine. When she was ready, she nodded at me. Then we moved towards the Humvees to clear them before anyone got out. It was possible to have one or two Crawlers clinging to the undercarriage. Once we were satisfied that they were clear, I gave them the thumbs up. Then they all piled out, looking a little worse for wear. Right about then Medical came running out of the Release doors to check everyone. Sheriff Daniels came over to me, looking worn and haggard.
“Is that what it’s like every time you go out?” he asked.
“Pretty much,” I said. “Every outing is bad. Some are worse than others.”
He looked at me with a grim look in his eyes and nodded.
“And you keep going back out there?”
“Someone has to,” I said, softly.
Daniels patted me on the shoulder and headed for the Release doors. Spec-4 and I went back to loading our own Humvee. Southard reloaded the SAW and climbed inside, shutting the turret behind him. I stood next to the driver’s door and checked my go-bag. I had my Mossberg lying on top and the MP-5 tucked inside. It was loaded with ammo.
“Here,” said Southard, handing me one of the AA-12’s.
I nodded in appreciation and hefted it. Then I grabbed my trusty Mossberg and tossed it to him.
“Stow that in the back,” I said. “I’m switching shotguns. Toss me some extra magazines for this and a shit-load of those Winchester Elite’s.”
“Got it,” he replied.
“I’m going to go change out all of our radio batteries,” said Spec-4.
“Good,” I replied. “I’ll grab some MRE’s and bottled water.
“Already taken care of,” said Southard. “There are four cases of each in the back seat.”
“Outstanding,” I said.
“And, Wylie,” he added.
“Yeah, Chuck?”
“Sorry about the gate,” he said, dejectedly.
“Don’t sweat it,” I said. “If 700 had actually warned us they were opening the gate, we’d have been better prepared.”
“You’re not pissed?” he asked, surprised.
“Sure I am,” I replied, smiling. “You killed the fucking gate. You want me to have that control box mounted so you can hang it in your room?”
Southard grinned and flipped me off, then went back to work.
“So what do we do about the gate?” he asked over his shoulder.
“We Mad Max it,” I replied.
“What are you talking about?” he asked, turning to face me.
“Remember in the movie Mad Max,” I said, “they were holed up inside that refinery. They hooked up an old school bus to the gate and drove it back and forth to work the gate.”
“Will that work?” he asked, surprised.
“I don’t see why not,” I replied. “We’ll hook one of the patrol cars to the gate. It’ll reinforce the gate plus allow us to open and close it.”
“It also means that we’ll have to send someone out to manually open it, from now on,” replied Southard.
“Well, that much is gonna have to happen no matter what we do. You killed the control motor,” said Spec-4, walking up to us.
“Yeah, I know,” he replied, angrily.
“Hey, I’m not mad about it,” said Spec-4. “You did it to save me. I’m glad you opened fire.”
That seemed to mollify Southard somewhat. He turned around and went back to work packing the Humvee. I headed over towards the gate, loading the AA-12 on the way. Spec-4 followed me, not saying anything. I could hear numerous zombies pushing against the gate on the outside.
“What are we looking at?” asked Spec-4.
“I’m trying to figure out how to jury rig the gate,” I replied, without looking up.
Spec-4 stopped and watched me as I paced back and forth the entire length of the gate. Then I examined the ruin of the control box. It had taken a bunch of hits and was literally ripped to shreds. It was knocked free of its mounting and lubricant was all over the ground. Only one bolt attached to its mounting bracket and the drive-chain was lying on the ground.
I reached down, grabbed the frame of the control box and pulled. The one remaining bolt was holding fast, so I started rocking it back and forth. After a few tries, it broke free and rolled loose. Then I dragged it off to the side and out of the way. Once it was clear, I went over to one of the parked cruisers and checked the ignition. The keys were inside, just as I’d hoped.
I hopped inside and fired up the engine. Then I backed it out of the parking space and turned it around. Spec-4 seemed to get the gist of what I was doing, and started guiding me to line up on the gate. With her help, I pulled right up next to the gate. I could only get so close, thanks to the side-mount mirror and had to pull away from the gate to adjust that. I got out and took the butt of my AA-12 and knocked the mirror completely off of the door.
With that accomplished, I moved the car right back along side the gate. This time I got close enough to hear the metal scraping against the side of the cruiser. Once I was satisfied with the positioning of the cruiser, I killed the engine and climbed out.
“Now what, Sarge?” asked Spec-4.
“We figure out how to attach the cruiser to the gate. Any suggestions?”
“Do we have a welder?”
“Nope,” I replied, patting my pockets. “I must have left it in my other uniform.”
“Then, no, I’ve got nothing.”
“We could hook the drive chain to the front bumper,” said Southard, walking up behind us.
“That might work,” I said. “But I want it to be solid. We need more than one anchor point or it might rip free.”
“We could use leg irons to chain the back bumper to the gate,” said Southard.
“That’s good,” I said. “That might do the trick.”
“I’ll go inside and grab all the leg irons I can find,” he replied, smiling.
He turned and jogged off towards the building, leaving Spec-4 and I alone at the gate. Well, alone with the scratching sound of a dozen or so zombies just outside. I headed over to the front bumper of the cruiser and pulled the drive chain from the gate to me. Then it was just a matter of wrapping around the frame.
Ragnarok Rising: The Awakening (Book One of The Ragnarok Rising Saga) Page 48
