Escape From Metro City

by Mandel, Richard

  "Do you know the layout of this place?" Lisa said as they walked together, both of their weapons at the ready and always looking around for any possible foe.

  "No," Cy admitted.

  "Me neither."

  Cy laughed softly. "Well, if it's like most such places I've been in, the local weapons and ammo store will be in the back somewhere, away from street side, or even down in the basement if this place has one. We'll probably find the radio room on the way."

  "Hey," Lisa said, pointing down the hall. There was a large sign to one side with a large map of the place on its top half, a lengthy legend below it on the bottom half, and the word DIRECTORY in big bold letters at its top. She chuckled. "How 'bout that? Cover me."

  Cy did as she asked. He kept between her and the rest of the hall, looking in both directions and sweeping it with his aimed weapon, while she read the room lists on the sign. After a quarter-minute or so, she spoke. "No basement. Everything's on one floor. Oh! Found the Radio Room. It's Room 105, three doors down and at the end of the hall ahead. No listing for the weapons store, but I did find one for the Firing Range. That's Room 112, in the back like you said. There's an fair-sized room next to it which only says Storage. That's Room 113, and I'm guessing that's the weapons store."

  Cy grinned. "I'd say your guess is right. We got lucky again."

  "Yeah," Lisa said, looking at him and grinning also. "Let's hope our luck holds."

  It didn't. They were about halfway down the hall, heading for the Radio Room, when five zombies popped out into the hallway at the far end. Three of them came from the last door to the right, while two came from the last door to the left. Within a split second two more came out of another side door to the left closer to them, while a lone zombie came through the hallway's only other door on the right. Every one of them turned down the hall and began running towards the humans as fast as their various obvious injuries and virus-numbed minds and bodies would let them. Cy and Lisa immediately raised their weapons and began firing. They didn't stop shooting until the last of the zombies fell only a dozen or so feet away from them.

  Lisa took a long breath, let it out again, and then looked at Cy. "That far door down there on the left," she said. "That was the Radio Room." Her words came out flat and dull, as she stated an obvious and unavoidable fact.

  "Yeah," Cy said grimly. "Let's go see anyway."

  It was useless and they knew it, but they did it all the same. The pair carefully picked their way through the bodies lining the hall, watching just in case any of them were only playing possum, until they made it to the open door of the Radio Room. One look inside was all they needed. It was in shambles. Everything that could be broken had been, every cable that could be ripped out or torn in two was, and the smashed microphone for the transmitter was halfway sticking out one of the room's ruined speakers. Lisa looked at Cy and he back, and then snorted. "Hope the weapons store is in better shape."

  "Me too," Cy answered.

  The door across from the Radio Room opened into another long hallway, which ran a ways and turned again to the left before it dead-ended at the Armory's double back doors. The pair of rooms they sought, the Firing Range with its accompanying Storage Room (presumably the weapons store) were at the end of the hallway to the left and around the turn. This time, there were zombies already moving down the hall in their direction. They could see at least four fatigue-clad ones and two in the remains of civilian garb, and there were the sounds of more around the turn. It was the same as before. Cy and Lisa immediately opened fire, gunning down zombies until there were no more left to gun down. Only when the last one was dropped did they stop shooting and begin to pick their way down the hall.

  "Damn," Cy muttered as he walked beside Lisa. "We're gonna use up all of our ammo getting back out again, if we don't get more."

  "I know," Lisa said evenly, keeping pace with him as her eyes darted everywhere, looking for any possible threat. "Maybe this time we'll get lucky."

  They did. The label on the door looked unobtrusive enough: ROOM 113 / STORAGE. Fortunately it was unlocked. Opening the door revealed weapons storage cabinets and shelves stocked with ammo crates. It was fairly obvious that a lot of what had been in there had been removed, presumably to deal with the Outbreak, and that probably also explained why the door was unlocked when it should have been locked. All the same, there was still plenty left of almost everything for Cy and Lisa to replenish their supplies.

  "Good God Almighty!" Cy exclaimed. He let Lisa go in first and he followed, closing the door and turning its deadbolt behind them. "Looks like we've got everything we need!"

  "It's about time things started going our way," Lisa agreed, as she moved to one of the ammo storage shelves and immediately began pulling boxes of 5.56mm NATO standard assault rifle rounds. "I'll reload our M-16 clips. You see if they've got anything else in here we can use."

  Cy left his own empty clips with her and then began to thoroughly search the room. "Yeah," he said as he did so. "I hope we take more out than we used getting in."

  "If we do, then I hope we get something bigger in which to carry it," Lisa observed, her fingers working nimbly as she reloaded one 30-round M-16 ammo clip after another.

  "Got you covered there," Cy said, as he scooped up a couple of somethings from one of the shelves and held them towards her. "Here, catch," he called.

  Lisa put down the clip she was reloading, then caught what Cy tossed to her. It was an Army rucksack, the kind that is worn around the waist and behind and under a field pack. She grinned back at him. "Good find!" she said, setting it down and resuming her reloading again.

  "You got that right," Cy said, as he quickly donned the second one, then resumed his search of the room. A half-minute or so later, he turned and spoke. "Hey, can your AK take these?" he asked, holding up an oversized rifle round.

  "What is it?" Lisa asked.

  "M-14 round," Cy answered. "I know they're the same caliber, 7.62mm."

  Lisa shook her head. "Too long. Won't fit my clips. An AK round is shorter."

  "Oh," Cy said with disappointment, as he put the shell back in the box where he had found it. "Sorry." He looked around again. "I don't see any M-14s in here."

  "I wouldn't take it if you did," Lisa said. "Uncle Ray once told me that it was a battle rifle, not an assault rifle, and you should never use an M-14 like an assault rifle because it wasn't designed for that, but both the M-16 and AK-47 were."

  "Uncle Ray?"

  "My mom's older brother, better known as my gun nut uncle. Gave me all of my weapons training, and with my dad's permission and blessing. He and dad were good friends. Anyway, Uncle Ray was a sergeant in the Marines and he fought in Vietnam. He said the M-16 was too light and didn't pack enough of a punch, but he took it because that's what they issued him and it was easier to handle." She gave him a grin. "Anyway, thanks for looking."

  "No problem," Cy grinned back.

  Lisa nodded, and then she began reloading ammo clips again, talking as she did. "Now that I've got an M-16 like yours, I can save the AK, what ammo I've got left, and its bigger bite for when we really need it."

  "How'd you end up with an AK anyway?" Cy asked, as he opened another box full of loose M-16 rounds and began to pour them into his new rucksack.

  "It was originally Uncle Ray's," Lisa said, still reloading. "He said he picked it up from a dead gook in Vietnam, because he was tired of messing with his M-16 and it jamming on him half the time. That's the story he told, anyway. He saw how fascinated I was with it once he got back and it arrived, and promised it to me once I was old enough and knew how to use it responsibly. That's why I have it now. Don't ask me how he managed to keep it, Cy, or how he got it over here once his tour of duty was over. Frankly I don't want to know."

  "I know what you mean," Cy chuckled. "My grandpa's got an SKS rifle he brought home from Korea the same way." His eyes now lit up as he spotted the stenciling on a crate in one of the far corners. "Hullo, what do we have here?" he sai
d aloud as he rushed over to take a look.

  "What'd'ya find?" Lisa said with interest.

  "These," Cy said, as he opened the topmost crate, then pulled out two cylindrical objects with handles that had pins stuck through them. He held them up for her to see.

  "Grenades!" Lisa exclaimed. "Good find, Cy! How many, and what kind?"

  "One full crate," Cy said. He looked around a bit. "Don't see any more." He now looked at the crate stenciling. "Frag-apples, looks like."

  "Best kind, for what we need," Lisa grinned.

  Cy nodded. "One crate, twelve frag-apples, six apiece. I can hang 'em off of my gear harness, but what about you?"

  "I can do the same off of my firesuit, if I need to," Lisa said, as she resumed her reloading again. "All the same, see if there's another harness in here for me."

  "Will do," Cy said, as he put the two grenades back into their crate, and then picked up a long cylindrical object with a stock that somewhat resembled a clip-fed shotgun with a barrel three times its normal diameter. "Holy hell," Cy said, as he looked his find over. "I haven't seen one of these except in training manuals."

  "What's that?" Lisa said, looking up again. She spotted what Cy was holding. "Is that the launcher for those grenades?"

  "Yeah, except it's not a regular M79," Cy said. He gave Lisa a look. "It's a China Lake lever-action grenade launcher. They're called China Lakes after where they were first developed. They never became standard, as the Army preferred to stick with the simpler single-shot M79, so they never got issued. I wonder how these guys wound up with one."

  "No way to tell," Lisa replied, "but I wouldn't question it. I'd take it along with the grenades." She set down the newly refilled clip she was holding, the last of the ones she had been reloading, and then began to rake as many loaded ones as she could into her new rucksack. "All done. Give me a minute and then I'll come help you."

  "Right," Cy said, as he slung the China Lake around and over the shoulder opposite of his M-16, and resumed his search again.

  They talked as they worked their way through the various crates, boxes, and supply lockers. "I've got another question for you, Lisa, if you don't mind."

  "Shoot," Lisa said, and then grinned. "But not with your gun."

  Cy grinned as well before he spoke. "Okay. If you were at the racetrack when the Outbreak went down, that means you were outside of town. You had to come back in to be with me now. Why did you come back, knowing what was happening here?"

  Lisa stopped her searching. She looked down, and Cy saw a wave of sorrow wash over her face. She quickly composed herself again before speaking. When she did her voice was flat and dull, devoid of all emotion, and her face was a mask of stern formality, as if she were a newscaster reading a report. "That's the other half of my story, Cy. I came back for my little brother. He was staying with my Uncle Phil and Aunt Jocinelle in town so he could spend some time with his cousin Buddy, who was their son. They were really good friends. I came back because I hoped there was a chance I could save him, me being armed and all. It was foolish and it was stupid, but ..." and with this she looked up at Cy, "... I had to try. You know, like you guys with that convoy?"

  "Yeah. I know," Cy responded quietly.

  "Only when I got there," and here Lisa almost choked on her words, "I was too late. My aunt and uncle had already turned by the time I got there. They killed Buddy and they killed my brother, and they almost killed me before I killed them."

  Cy's eyes opened wide with the horror of Lisa's news, and then he looked away. "I'm sorry," he said in a rather small voice.

  "Thanks." Lisa took in a deep breath and then let it out again. "Don't worry. I cried myself out last night. I'm not going to cry again. It's over and done with. Time to move on." She then pointed to a nearby locker that was marked SMALL ARMS. "Maybe we ought to get some pistols while we're here too."

  "We don't want to get too loaded down," Cy pointed out, as he followed Lisa to the small arms locker.

  "I think I've got enough room left for a pistol with some ammo," Lisa said, as she opened the locker. Her eyes lit back up as she turned to Cy. "Well, well! There's still some in here, and with the ammo to boot." She pulled out two well-worn but well serviced Colt M1911 .45 automatic pistols and then handed one to Cy. "See if there's any holsters, Cy."

  "Will do," Cy said. He was back half a minute later with both holsters and ammo belts, as well as an extra gear harness. "For you, Lisa," he said, as he presented it to her with a flourish.

  "Thanks," Lisa said, smiling for the first time since her sad revelation. She had already pulled out four boxes of .45 ACP ammo for filling the pouches on their belts. "Any truth to the rumor that the Army's going to ditch these for modern nine millimeters?"

  "That's the story," Cy said.

  "Bad idea," Lisa said, shaking her head. "The Colt .45 automatic is one of the best handguns in the world. You hit a guy with a round from one of these, and he not only goes down but stays down. You've got to hit 'em two or three times with a nine millimeter."

  "Yeah, but nine millimeter is NATO standard," Cy replied. "Also don't forget that most of the forty-fives that the Army has are decades old and wearing out fast. They need a new gun and soon, and they want it to work with the same ammo that our NATO allies have. I also hear they're working on some new rounds that will make a nine millimeter work almost as good as a forty-five."

  "That I'd have to see for myself," Lisa said doubtfully. She finished adjusting her new gun belt, and then looked around. "Say, you didn't happen to see any more body armor in here like what you've got on, did you?"

  "No, but I wouldn't recommend what I'm wearing," Cy said, as he finished fitting his own pistol and began to fill his new belt pouches with pistol ammo. "This is a leftover from the early years in Vietnam. It works, but it's made out of ceramic sheets. It's not very flexible, and you ... well ...." He smiled, and Lisa smiled back in understanding. "The only other thing the Army's got that would work with you ladies is made from layered nylon, but it isn't that much better than a flak jacket and those only protect you against loose shrapnel. I would have got one of those, but Supply had run out of them by the time they got down to the 'Rs" in our detachment. That's how I wound up with this thing instead. Anyway, what you want is Kevlar body armor, like the police use. It's lighter, more flexible for what you need, and does almost as good of a job as this old stuff I'm wearing."

  "Point taken," Lisa said, as she finished fitting her new gear harness and began to hang grenades and other gear from it. She then picked up her AK-47 and slung it over one shoulder. She did the same on the other with her new M-16A1, moved it around so she could hold it in a walking carry, and then looked at Cy. "So what now?" she asked.

  "We go back out and see if we can get one of the radios in the vehicles outside to work," Cy said. He slung the China Lake behind him and hefted his own M-16A1. "That's the only way we're going to be able to call out from here."

  Just then there came a slow banging noise from the door. Both Cy and Lisa whipped about, weapons raised and at the ready. The door held, but the banging continued. The two gave each other a look, then slung their weapons to one side and finished filling their rucksacks as fast as they could. It took them only a minute or so, but the banging continued nonstop the entire time.

  "Sounds like our undead friends are back," Lisa said evenly, as she closed her own rucksack, quickly put it on, and then slung her M-16 back around to the ready.

  "Yeah, and we're pinned in here," Cy responded.

  "Not as long as you got that thing," Lisa said, pointing to his China Lake.

  Cy nodded and swapped weapons. "Let's get to the far end of the room," he said, "so we won't get caught in the blast."

  "Right with you," Lisa said, falling in beside him.

  Seconds later there was a muffled roar as the door to the weapons storeroom was blown away from the inside. Both its remains and multiple zombie body parts littered the hallway beyond. Smoke billowed from the room, and ri
ght behind it came Cy and Lisa. They rushed through and down the hall, heading back out of the building the way they had come in, but they were forced to stop once they had passed the door back into the main hallway. It had filled with new zombies eager for prey, and they began to move towards the two humans who had appeared in front of them. Cy and Lisa resumed firing with their M-16s, slowly but surely working their way though an ever-growing pile of zombie bodies beside and behind them.

  "Where the hell did they come from?!" Lisa exclaimed, as she pulled an empty ammo clip from her weapon, slapped in a fresh one, and began firing again.

  "These look like some of the ones that chased me through downtown," Cy said loudly above the chatter of his own weapon. He kept up a steady stream of fire while Lisa reloaded, and then it was his turn. "There's been enough time for them to get here since we arrived, and I'm guessing the main horde is not far behind them."

  "Aw, hell!" Lisa half-shouted back, so she could be heard above both the zombies and the assault rifles. "New plan! Forget the vehicle radios! There's too many of them! Let's just get to my 'Cuda and get outta here!"

  "Right!" Cy called back.

  They had almost made it to the front doors when a group of four fatigue-clad zombies appeared outside from both sides, as if to block their way. Cy quickly switched weapons, swapping assault rifle for China Lake, and hit them with a grenade. The explosion not only took care of the four zombies, but blew the remaining door off of its hinges and opened a wide swath through the hundred or so zombies half-shuffling and half-trotting towards the Armory. Cy and Lisa raced through and into the opening, coughing at the smoke and opening it up even more with their continued assault rifle fire. They cleared a path to Lisa's car, Lisa jumped in first and got the car started while Cy covered her. As soon as it was running Cy dived in, Lisa gunned the engine, and then they took off. She hit at least three zombies on the way back out of the now gateless front entrance, leaving long splatters of blood on the hood, front grille, and fenders of her 'Cuda, but that was all. The 'Cuda's tires squealed as Lisa swung around and away from the zombies, then peeled down the opposite end of the street at full throttle, the 'Cuda's Hemi roaring as it raced away.