Apocalypse Empire (Book 1): Apocalypse Origins

by R. A. Neely

  Greg and James started teaching a crash course in Krav maga. They were expecting anyone to achieve proficiency on such short notice but they might learn something that could save their life. They taught the guards in the evening and taught a second course in the evening when everyone was done with their chores. Not everyone took it seriously but they welcomed the activity. The electricity was gone after all.

  At the end of the first week there was a definite change in the trailer park. When they'd first arrived, Greg had sensed a desperation of sorts. People were scared and just doing what they could to survive. With the changes his group had implemented, people seemed a little less scared. Having a concrete plan in place seemed to go a long way in easing their fears.

  They were sitting down to dinner at the end of the week discussing their progress when Jackson asked Richard a question.

  "It's been three weeks. Do you still think Dawn is going to come after us?"

  Richard nodded. "It's just a matter of time. We've been making more supply runs the last few days, she isn't gonna accept the competition for resources. You guys deciding to stay probably messed up her plan. Too many people know that you're still here. But I know she's still planning something."

  Greg shrugged. "I'm not complaining. The more time we have to prepare the better."

  The group made small talk after that and went their separate ways for the night. Greg and Richard decided to do a perimeter check and see how the guards were doing.

  "I'm glad you're here," Richard said as they walked. "You're definitely the right man for the job."

  Greg chuckled. "I don't know about all that. Just trying to keep everyone safe."

  "Exactly. You're not in it for the glory. You genuinely want to keep everyone safe. I've seen you making the rounds, talking to people. I think this is gonna work out great. I'll handle security while you deal with everything else," he finished with a chuckle.

  Greg laughed. "Now the truth comes out. You just wanted someone else to do all the work."

  Richard laughed. "This will be good. We'll get out of here and find someplace up north, away from the Dawns of the world."

  They reached one of the trailer homes set against the fence and Richard called out in greeting. "Ryan, how's it going tonight?" Richard frowned when he didn't hear a response. "Ryan?"

  Greg climbed the ladder on the trailer home and made his way onto the roof. "He's been shot," he said quietly, "crossbow or something."

  Richard cursed. "She's attacking tonight. Oh no."

  "What's wrong?"

  "The fence down here has been cut. This is gonna be bad."

  Greg climbed back down and joined him at the fence. Sure enough, there was a man size hole cut in the fence. Greg looked up. The sun was setting. The infected would be out in force soon.

  "Can we move this trailer?" he asked. "That should cover the hole until we can get it fixed."

  "No time," Richard said nodding beyond the fence.

  Greg looked and saw half a dozen infected slowly making their way towards them.

  "They've already seen us," Richard said. "Their cautious for the moment. We've been shooting any that get near the fence. I need to you run and get some help, Greg. I'll hold them here for as long as I can."

  Greg shook his head. "I'll stay with you. We can take six between the two of us. Plus, they can only come one at a time."

  "And if we fail? That'll be a whole bunch of infected loose in the park and no one would have any idea what's coming. Plus, the fighting will probably draw more infected."

  Greg nodded. He didn't like it but Richard was right. "Alright. I'll go get help and make my way back."

  "No," Richard said. "Don't come back. We leave now. You get everyone loaded and get the hell out of here."

  "I'm not leaving you to die."

  "Yes you are. That's why I signed you on, remember? You try to stay and we might all die. Get them outta here!"

  Greg took off sprinting and Richard unslung the rifle from his back. He'd probably die in the next few minutes but he would not go quietly. He'd take as many of these demons to hell with him before he died.

  One of the infected came in range and Richard squeezed off a shot that took it in the forehead. He smiled grimly as hit the ground. The other infected jumped back a bit but started making their way forward again when there weren't any more shots. Normally, there'd be at least three guys firing into a group like this but Dawn had killed their guard before he could raise the alarm. Richard let off another shot, striking one in the chest and knocking it to the ground. He couldn't fire indiscriminately, he needed to make every shot count.

  A howl in the distance told him other infected had heard the noise and were on the way. He fired another shot and dropped another infected. Three down but more were on the way. He took his shots carefully and managed to take down the remaining infected before they could reach the fence. He took no victory in it though. Already, he could see more infected coming his way.

  Greg sprinted until he saw one of the guard and came to a stop. "We're under attack! Get to the west fence. Richard is over there alone!"

  The guard unstrapped his rifle and ran in the direction Greg had indicated. Two more guards nearby heard the exchange and headed in that direction as well. Greg quickly made his way to Gio and saw her legs sticking out from underneath a car.

  "Gio!"

  "Yeah?" she asked as she slid from underneath the vehicle.

  "We're under attack. We have to leave now."

  "What's going on?"

  "Someone cut the west fence. Infected are attacking right now."

  Gio shook her head. "But I'm not done. We don't have enough vehicles for everyone."

  "We'll have to make do. We need to leave now and save as many as we can."

  Gio nodded. "Alright, let me get my tools together."

  "Greg! Greg!" someone yelled. Greg turned and saw one of the residents running towards him. "The north gate! There's a bunch of infected over there."

  "Alright, I'm on my way. I need you to find some others and help Gio get packed up. Then spread the word. We're getting out of here. Just like we practiced mind you. No panic."

  The man nodded and headed off to do as he was told. Greg took off running again and headed towards the north gate. Along the way he ran into James and Laura. "James," he called as he came to a stop. "I need you at the north gate, there's a breach. Laura, get the kids then help everyone get loaded up." Laura nodded and took off in the direction of the trailer they had been staying in.

  Greg sighed as he took off again, James right on his heels. They should have had a better communication system, walkies or some such. How many people would be lost while they tried to spread the word? Greg reached the north fence and cursed when he saw what was happening. There was an even larger hole here and there were a dozen infected inside the park with more on the way. There were half a dozen guards fighting off the infected but a few were already on the ground unmoving. Greg drew his pistol and machete and launched himself at the infected, trusting James to watch his back.

  He couldn't fire his pistol indiscriminately because he didn't want to hit one of his people by mistake. As he reached the melee, he saw an infected about to bite into the arm of one of his people. A well placed kick to its side sent it sprawling and Greg quickly followed up with a strike to its throat. Turning, he saw another infected coming towards him. Greg ducked under its swipe and placed his pistol to its stomach. Three shots sent it towards the ground screaming in pain. Greg saw an infected with its back turned and stabbed it through the back. He kicked it away to free his machete and looked around for another target.

  James was laying about with his asp and the rest of the men looked to be holding their own now. Greg looked past the fence and saw that more infected were nearly on them. He was about to lend a hand to finish off the remaining infected when her heard someone running towards him from behind. He turned and saw Lisa. If he recalled correctly, she was one of the women that watched th
e kids. "Greg! There's infected over by the kids. We need help!"

  "James, hold things down here. I'm going to help the kids."

  "On it," James replied as he finished off the last infected with a solid strike to the head.

  Greg followed the woman to the trailer and saw four children cornered against the wall of a trailer home by several infected. Carol stood in front of them and there were a number of infected at her feet. The infected were hanging back for the moment, likely wary of Carol's gun but that wouldn't last for long. There must be another breach around here he thought. He turned to the woman. "Find a guard and have them find that breach. They're coming in from somewhere." At her nod he launched himself at the infected. This would be close quarters, he wouldn't risk the pistol with the kids and Carol so close.

  He struck down the first infected from behind and had already put down the second before they realized something was wrong. The two remaining infected turned towards him and attacked. He kicked the first infected in the chest and sent in to the ground and ducked under the swipe of the second infected. He stepped back to give himself some space and smiled grimly when he heard a gunshot close by. Glancing over, he saw that Carol had finished off the infected he had kicked to the ground. Turning back to the one in front of him he blocked a swipe with the machete and countered with a punch to its throat. The infected grabbed its throat as it tried to breathed and Greg finished it off with a two handed blow to its head.

  "You alright?" he asked as he pried the machete from the infected's skull. He took another moment to clean it on the infected's clothing before sheathing it.

  Carol nodded. "We're fine now that you're here. What's going on? Where did all these infected come from?"

  "Someone cut holes in the fence. They took out some of the guards before they could raise an alarm."

  "Oh no," Carol replied.

  Greg nodded. "We're getting out of here. Let's get you guys over to Gio. I'm not letting you walk around with an escort."

  Carol nodded. She put the safety on the gun and tucked it into her waistband. "Come on guys. It's time to go. Just like we practiced." The kids nodded tear stained faces and followed as they lead the way to the vehicles.

  Richard fired his last round and smiled grimly. He'd lost count of how many infected he'd killed but it would be over soon. He was out of bullets but he could hold out awhile longer. They could only come at him one at time through the hole in the gate. He stepped over the bodies of infected and stood directly in front of the hold. He hoped Greg was doing his part. Gunfire from other parts of the camp told him this wasn't the only breach but he didn't dare leave this spot. The more infected that were running loose in the park meant the more people that would die. An infected approached the hole and Richard stepped forward and thrust quickly into its throat. He smiled as it fell to the ground holding its throat. Now, he only had to do this about twenty more times to take care of this next wave.

  Jackson kicked the infected in the knee and it fell to the ground. He quickly stepped away and Shirley stepped forward and gave it two solid blows to the head with baseball bat she'd found. Jackson turned to face the next infected and blocked its swipe, a thrust to its throat sent it crashing to the ground. Jackson hoped some help would show up soon. He and Shirley were holding their own but it would only take one slip up for it to all be over. The people they were guarding weren't any help either. He glanced at the half a dozen people cowering against the side of a trailer home. He shook his head in disgust. This was literally life and death and they couldn't be bothered to defend themselves? Shirley knocked an infected to the ground and he quickly finished it off. She was breathing heavily and probably wouldn't be able to do this for much longer.

  "Take a breather," he said. "I'll do the next few alone."

  "I'm fine," Shirley replied breathlessly. "I'm not gonna sit here cowering while you do all the work."

  Jackson smiled. "Alright then." He ducked under a swipe and stabbed the infected in the stomach. It bent over in pain and Shirley stepped forward and gave it a solid blow to the back of the head. A second blow while it was on the ground stopped it from moving. Jackson sighed as more infected appeared around the corner. He was starting to get tired himself. Just as the infected started towards them, he heard several shots in quick succession. Each shot put an infected down. Looking in the direction of the shots he saw Greg lowering his pistol.

  "You guys alright?" he asked.

  Jackson laughed. "You have great timing. We're fine now."

  Greg nodded. "We're leaving. Get them over to the vehicles," he said nodding towards the people cowering near the trailer. "Be careful. There's infected loose everywhere. Someone cut holes in the fences." Greg left them to look for anyone else that needed help.

  Jackson nodded. "Alright," he said looking towards his charges, "you heard the man. It's time to go."

  A few of them shook their heads. "You heard what he said. There's infected out there. We should stay here until the fighting is done."

  Shirley stepped forward. "Get up or stay here by yourselves. We'll fight to keep you safe but we're not gonna die because you're stupid!"

  Jackson nodded. "We're leaving now. Come, or don't." With that said, he nodded to Shirley and they started walking towards the vehicles, weapons at the ready. Most of the people got up and followed although one stubbornly refused to move.

  "You guys are crazy. I'm staying right here."

  Jackson shook his head as they walked, "Idiot."

  James elbowed the infected in the throat then turned to hit one that had tackled one of his fellows to the ground. Fortunately he'd intervened before the man was bitten. The man scrambled back to his feet and nodded his thanks. James finished off the first infected with a solid blow to skull and took a look around. He didn't see any other infected for the moment and sighed in relief.

  "Anyone bit?" he asked looking around.

  Everyone shook their heads and James nodded in satisfaction. This morning had reminded him of that day in the hospital and he was glad to see everyone still standing. James directed a few of the men to remain at the gate and took the rest to see if anyone else needed help. There were still sounds of gunfire coming from several areas of the trailer park so the attack was still underway.

  Greg made his way back to the area where Gio was stationed. He nodded in satisfaction when he saw the group directing people into vehicles. "Great work guys," he said as he reached them. "I want you guys to go with this first wave. I'll stay here to make sure people can reach the vehicles."

  Jackson and Shirley both nodded while Carol and Laura shook their heads. "I'm not leaving without you," Carol said.

  "And I'm not leaving without James," Laura added.

  Greg wisely remained silent and nodded. He could tell by the look in their eye that this wasn't a fight he could win. Greg directed a few nearby guards to accompany the group and the first wave of vehicles started making their way out of the trailer park towards the meeting point. Greg noticed that he didn't hear any more gunfire and hoped that meant the attack had been repelled. A few minutes later, James arrived with some guards in tow.

  "Looks like we're clear," he said.

  Greg nodded. "Did you check the west fence? That's where Richard was when this all started."

  "I didn't know," James replied. "Everything was clear there when we walked by. We checked the whole park."

  "Alright. Let's head that way. We can also look for stragglers so we don't leave anyone behind."

  A few minutes later Greg was standing over Richard's body. He was surrounded by the bodies of the infected. They'd taken him down but it didn't look like a single one had gotten past him. That heroic bastard Greg thought shaking his head. He also saw the bodies of the guards that had come to help. From the position of their bodies it looked as if they had arrived after Richard had already fallen. They didn't run though, they held the line for long as they could. A howl in the distance caught Greg's attention and he looked beyond the fence to see
more infected.

  "Time to go," he announced, "I hate the idea of leaving Richard's body here but he wouldn't want us risking ourselves for sentiment. Let's head back." Greg led the group back towards the vehicles and they knocked on trailer home doors as they went. This turned up a small family of four but it looked like most of the other people had made it out in the first wave.

  Greg road in the lead vehicle with Caro, James, and Laura. They left the trailer park and started taking the main road towards the expressway. They were nearly out of town when they were forced to come to a stop. There were several cars blocking the road with a number of people standing in front. Greg exited the vehicle and everyone else in the caravan followed suit.

  "I'm assuming that's Dawn up there," Greg said after everyone gathered around.

  "How do you want to play it?" James asked.

  "I'll meet with her. Hopefully we can do this without a fight but be ready." He looked around at the remaining guards in the group. "I don't know who exactly did the deed, but I'm pretty sure someone cut the fences on Dawn's order. Anyone have a problem if we have to fight?"

  All the guards shook their heads fiercely. They'd gotten lucky today that they'd only lost Richard but they were happy to exact some payback on whoever was responsible. Greg walked towards the group of people and Dawn came to meet him halfway.

  "We heard the gunfire," she said, "is everyone okay?"

  "Really?" Greg asked. "You orchestrate the whole thing and have the gall to ask if we're okay?"

  "I see Richard has poisoned you against me. Where is he by the way? Did he make it out in that first group?"