“All right boys,” Jarvis declared, clapping her hands together, “hop in, we’re going car shopping.” She got into the driver’s seat and shot Jinx a salute. “See you soon.” Once the other two were secure, she did a burnout, kicking up dirt as she sped off towards the retail area in search of cars.
The three remaining soldiers coughed, waving their hands in front of their faces to avoid breathing in the dust.
“That’s on you, Burch,” Davila gasped.
“Yeah I know,” he replied, “just couldn’t resist.”
Jinx whirled a hand above his head. “Train tracks, let’s do it,” he said, and led his team across the vacant lot to the property line.
They looked out towards the Super Center, the massive store sitting no more than thirty yards from the water, which ran on both the back and left side of the store. Two hundred yards to the north was the rail bridge, a rusted out truss bridge stretching over the water. There were a handful of zombies on their side of the bridge, which was a far cry from the transportation bridges half a mile further to the north.
Jinx pulled out the binoculars and scanned, letting out a low whistle as he did. “That doesn’t look like fun,” he muttered, and handed off the device to Davila.
The Private peered through the binoculars, checking out the bridges packed with hundreds of zombies each, easily close to a thousand between the two. “Yeah, that rail bridge is a good call,” he said, lowering the device. “But how are we going to pull them off of it and over to the store?”
Jinx smirked and reached into his bag. “Remember how I said I got us a few things for the mission?”
“Yeah?” Davila raised an eyebrow.
Jinx pulled out a hand grenade, tossing one over to his teammate.
A grin broke out on Davila’s face. “Oh now we’re cooking,” he declared.
“Figure it should be loud enough to draw them over to us,” Jinx said, “maybe take out a fast food joint or two in the process.”
Burch nodded. “Find one of those flame grilled places and set off the gas, too.”
Jinx rubbed his hands together. “Let’s go see what kind of trouble we can get into.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Jinx led the trio across the bridge, Davila playfully walking along the rail like a kid balancing. The other two strolled across the beams, enjoying the brief bit of quiet before the coming battle.
“Man, I used to do this all the time when I was younger,” Davila said as he moved gracefully across the rail. “My brothers and I would walk for miles on the tracks, even going over to the next town some days.”
Jinx shook his head. “I had the benefit of growing up in a neighborhood where I was the youngest kid by about five years,” he said. “So when the rest of the kids hit high school, my only options were to wander around alone or play video games.”
“What did you pick?” Burch asked.
“If Jinx ever bets he can beat your Galaga high score,” Davila cut in, “just save time and hand over your money.”
The Corporal shrugged. “On the plus side, my hand-eye coordination is next level.”
“What about you, Burch?” Davila asked, stretching out his arms to keep his balance. “Happy-go-lucky childhood, or sad glowing screen childhood?”
Burch shook his head. “Neither,” he admitted. “Been working since I was fourteen and haven’t stopped since.”
“Christ that’s sad,” Davila said with a sigh. “Yo, Jinx, can we pick him up a Gameboy or something at the Super Center before we head out? Hell, it’ll even be my treat.”
Burch barked a laugh. “Nah, don’t need a Gameboy,” he assured his friend. “But if you come across a bottle of scotch…”
“That’s a man with priorities,” Jinx declared, snapping his fingers. “I dig it.”
They went quiet when they reached the end of the bridge, seeing a couple of zombies wandering by, stumbling over the side of the rail. Jinx motioned for the other two to move up to take them out quietly, while he covered them with his rifle.
The duo broke rank, rushing forward with their knives and stabbing into the zombie’s skulls as the creatures tried to get up. Jinx walked to the end of the rail bridge, sweeping the area carefully. There were a couple dozen zombies spread out in the area leading up to the Super Center.
They took a knee in the field across from the parking lot, surveying the situation. Jinx pulled out the binoculars and scanned the lot, honing in on a flame-grilled burger restaurant at the far end near the road, with forty to fifty zombies in their path and a couple hundred more on the road leading to the nearby bridge.
“Gonna be one hell of a run,” the Corporal murmured. He passed the binoculars to the others, who took turns looking at the scene.
“Maybe we can get into the Super Center and find something useful in there,” Davila suggested.
Jinx pursed his lips. “Hold that thought,” he said, and broke rank, running up to the building and hugging the wall.
He crept along it and peeked around the corner, checking out the thirty or so zombies milling about the front entrance. He grimaced and then darted back to his team.
“Well, that idea’s out,” he said quietly.
Burch cocked his head. “How bad?”
“Thirty, maybe a few more,” Jinx replied. “Won’t be any problem to take them out, but if we do, the ones from the road will swamp the restaurant.”
Davila held out the binoculars. “So, straight to the restaurant then, huh?” he asked.
“Only play I see,” Jinx agreed. “We run up, hit ‘em hard, and get inside. In and out in sixty, then run like hell to the front entrance of the Super Center.”
“We should be bringing enough noise that it’ll pull them away from the entrance,” Burch pointed out.
Davila nodded. “You’d hope, at least.”
“Get inside here,” the Corporal said, “blow the windows, and pull the fire alarm.”
Burch’s brow furrowed. “The power has been out for weeks now,” he reminded his superior.
“These Super Centers have to fire backup power supplies for fire systems,” Davila explained. “We just have to hope that the backup battery hasn’t gone dead.”
Burch pursed his lips. “And if it has?”
“I’m not opposed to blowing more shit up,” Jinx replied.
Davila grinned. “One track mind,” he said, “love it.”
“Okay,” the Corporal said as he pulled his rifle from his back, “three-round bursts, don’t stop moving to aim, go right up the center of them. Burch, you’re on burner duty, get that gas flowing. Davila, you sweep the room. I’ll take care of the exit route. We good?”
The trio readied their guns and then Jinx broke cover, his teammates a few yards to either side of him. They moved quickly, almost at a full sprint, running towards the group of zombies near the restaurant. They were about forty yards between the first zombie and the eatery, moderately packed in.
Jinx fired first, clipping two ghouls in the head, and they pushed through. Davila opened fire, aiming slightly to his left to attack a trio that had turned their attention towards them. Burch let rip on his group just to the right, doing his part to keep the alleyway open.
The gunfire was intense, with all three soldiers releasing trios of shots one right after the other. The zombies began to move towards them, arms outstretched and mouths open with excitement, and the gaps began to close.
When they were within twenty yards of the restaurant, the pack started to get closer together, shoulder to shoulder as Jinx approached.
“Everybody forward!” he barked.
On his command, both Davila and Burch aimed forward and the three of them sent a couple dozen rounds towards the front facing group. The bullets ripped through the decrepit flesh, sending a large number of them tumbling to the ground.
Several still remained standing, so the Corporal lowered his shoulder and plowed through, creating an opening for the trio to rush in.
The si
de of the restaurant was ten yards away, and only a couple of ghouls remained in the way.
“Cover the rear!” Jinx yelled, and his friends turned to fire at the creatures now chasing them.
Jinx stopped, aimed, and fired a burst towards the two zombies in front of him, blowing the backs of their heads clean off. He turned his attention to the large window on the side of the building, sacrificing another three bullets to shatter it to pieces.
“We’re in!” he cried, and tore through the window. The other two soldiers joined him in rushing inside.
Burch immediately rushed to the back, and as soon as he saw it was clear, he made his way to the gas grill burner. He flicked on the switches and quickly blew out the starter flame before taking a quick sniff.
“Oh yeah, we’re hot,” he declared, and darted back out into the main room.
Davila finished his sweep, and Jinx stood at the window opposite the broken one, looking out at the Super Center.
“Gas is flowing,” Burch said, and then jumped as a few zombies smacked into the open window.
“The Super Center crowd is headed our way and looking pretty thinned out,” Jinx reported. “You boys ready for another run?”
Davila nodded. “Lead the way.”
The Corporal fired a single round at the corner of the window, shattering it. The three soldiers hopped down into the parking lot, doing a quick sweep. The closest zombie was thirty yards away, about halfway between them and their target.
“Fire in the hole, boys!” Jinx yelled, and pulled the pin from the grenade, chucking it back through the window towards the kitchen.
The trio immediately sprinted for the Super Center, firing as they tore through the lumbering mass. Jinx fired two bursts, with the third pull of the trigger resulting in a click. He lowered his shoulder, driving himself into the closest zombie and driving him back.
As he did this, the grenade detonated, igniting the gas. The entire building went up in a spectacular display, sending plumes of smoke and fire into the air. As it happened, Davila moved up to cover for the Corporal, firing several bursts into the zombies ahead, clearing up room for them to move.
The three men did more ducking and diving, narrowly avoiding outstretched rotted hands as they approached the front of the building. The soldiers quickly reloaded, and Jinx grabbed the door handle, finding it open.
“Open twenty-four seven,” he said with a grin, and then slipped inside cautiously.
Davila flicked the lock closed behind them, and the trio crept forward into the front of the store. It was well lit, thanks to the large windows at the front. Jinx moved for the register row, checking every aisle for zombies. He had to fire a few shots here and there, switching to single burst mode, picking off the occasional stray that broke away from the pack. When he reached the end, he saw no other zombies nearby, and headed back for his team.
Burch and Davila looked out the front window, watching the raging fire that had once been a restaurant, and a couple hundred zombies coming from the road towards the inferno.
“How’s it looking out there?” Jinx asked.
Burch shook his head. “Seeing that restaurant burn like that is really making me miss grilling,” he said.
“One day chief, one day,” Davila said wistfully.
“Come on let’s clear out our path to the back, we’re not out of this yet,” Jinx said, raising his rifle.
The three men broke away from the window and began moving swiftly through the dark in the store. They had their flashlights out, aiming them down every aisle they came across, luckily finding nothing. After a quick trip, they get to the loading dock doors.
Jinx gave a silent countdown from three, bursting through the door on one. They quickly swept the back area, seeing nothing but bare concrete flooring with several boxes stacked up.
“Burch,” Jinx said, “check the door and make sure we’re good to go. Davila, find us a fire alarm.”
The two soldiers rushed off to do their assigned tasks, while Jinx looked out the double doors leading to the store. He shone his flashlight around, making sure no ghouls were headed in his direction.
Burch opened the back door, looking out to see only a few zombies wandering around the back of the store. He gently shut it and came back over to the Corporal.
“Coast is pretty clear,” Burch said, “we can get back to the rail bridge.”
“What about the water?“ Jinx asked.
Burch shook his head. “We can go that route if we need to as well.“
“Just worried about that southern bridge,” Jinx admitted, furrowing his brow. “With all this noise, we’re going to be pulling zombies up from the south.”
Davila approached from the back. “Got us a fire alarm switch.”
“Good, so here’s the plan,” Jinx said, waving them towards him. “I’m going to take a position by the front windows, you’re going to pull the alarm, then I’m gonna open them up. That will draw those things in and make it more difficult for them to wander back out. We get out the back, swim across, then wait for the other troops to do their jobs.”
Davila nodded. “I’m ready when you are.”
Jinx readied his gun. “Let’s give it a few more minutes,” he said, “give Jarvis time to locate some vehicles. We move in five.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Jarvis drove Rollins and Stein around to some of the businesses a few blocks away from the main road. The zombie resistance was minimal back there, as most of the ghouls had opted to stay on the main road.
“Got one over there,” Rollins said.
Jarvis slowed to a stop as Rollins pointed to an SUV sitting in front of a shop.
“This will make what, three?” Jarvis asked.
He nodded. “Yeah, that should be enough to fill in the gaps on the first bridge,” he mused. “A few may be able to wander out, but not enough to make a difference.”
“Stein, cover him,” she instructed.
The two men hopped out of the truck and raced over to the SUV. Rollins immediately began patting his hand underneath the back wheel well.
“Come on, come on, no whammy,” he muttered, and then let out an excited whoop when he felt a small metal box connected to a magnet. He pulled it out and slid it open, revealing the key. “Oh, how I love trusting, naïve people.” He clicked the unlock button, and the SUV beeped. “Come on Stein, let’s roll.”
His partner headed over to the passenger side and opened the door, immediately jumping back. There was a badly decomposed corpse inside, belted into the seat. The flesh had started to melt away from the body due to the extreme heat in the car over the previous month.
The zombie slowly shifted, letting out a low gurgling moan, struggling to even move without most of its body mass.
“Yeah, this one is all you, buddy,” Stein said, wrinkling his nose.
Rollins looked in through the driver’s side and sighed, shaking his head. “Can you at least stab it in the head for me?” he asked.
“Don’t say I never do anything for you,” Stein retorted. He pulled out his knife and jammed it into the zombie’s temple, ending its miserable existence.
“All right, watch out,” Rollins said, and reached in to unbuckle the corpse. He gave it a shove and the mass of gunk flopped out onto the road. Melted goo slapped everywhere, and Stein sighed as a bit sloshed onto his boots.
“Dude, really?” he whined.
Rollins shrugged. “I told you to watch out,” he said as he got into the driver’s seat. “Now you getting in, or what?”
Stein stared down at the slimy passenger seat. “I’ll hitch a ride with Jarvis,” he said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder.
Rollins shrugged and started up the SUV, opening all the windows. “Baked zombie, ugh,” he muttered as he nearly gagged on the putrid stench in the car.
He popped the vehicle into reverse and pulled out, Jarvis and Stein following close behind. As he drove, there was a gigantic BOOM in the distance. As he parked in the lot a few bl
ocks down from the bridges, he spotted a giant plume of smoke rising on the horizon.
“Jinx certainly doesn’t disappoint, does he?” he said to himself and got out of the vehicle. The zombies on the bridge began to wander towards the noise, the nearby ghouls in the store parking lots joining them.
“Quit yapping to yourself and come on,” Jarvis barked from the truck. “We need a couple more cars for that other bridge.”
Rollins leapt out of the SUV, leaving the key in it, and hopping up into the back of the truck. Jarvis peeled out of the lot and headed back towards the residential area.
“Where are you going?” Stein asked.
“A few blocks further back,” Jarvis replied. “That explosion is going to get everything closer all riled up.”
She went for six blocks, reaching a cozy tree-lined street. They looked around, trying to find vehicles to borrow.
Stein pointed to a house with two sedans sitting outside. “That’s our winner,” he said. “Two cars, meaning they probably never got out. Just gotta find the keys and we’re rolling.”
“Good enough for me,” Jarvis replied.
She parked the truck in the driveway and all three got out. They rushed up to the front door and Jarvis nodded to Rollins. He gave the door a forceful front kick, rattling it pretty well but not opening it. He tried again, but the door stayed fast.
“Jesus Christ,” Jarvis muttered, “let me at it.”
She shoved him out of the way and gave the door a good boot, which freed it from the latch. Stein chuckled.
“I loosened it for her,” Rollins insisted.
His friend shook his head. “Yeah, I’d totally go with that.”
“Move,” Jarvis urged, and the duo snapped back to it, quickly moving into the spacious bungalow. They took up position in the living room, keeping an eye on the hallways. They could hear movement at the far end of it, sounding like several hands banging on a door.
“Company down the hall,” Stein reported.
“Watch that,” Jarvis replied. “Rollins, kitchen.”
He moved into the kitchen, scanning the walls for any key ring holders. She did the same in the living room and finally found two sets of keys hanging by the front window.
Dead America The Northwest Invasion | Book 6 | Dead America-Seattle [Part 4] Page 6
