Deadrise 2: Deadwar (9 page)

“Look, we are not your enemy. We are from a community about fifty miles from here. Do you know where Kittewa is?” Hughes nodded suspiciously. “That is where we are. We are out looking for supplies, other survivors. My people are going to be eager to meet you. If you wish, you could be relocated.”

One of Hughes people leaned over and whispered something to him. Hughes nodded, looking at Smitty conspiratorially once again.

“How do I know you’re not calling in a larger force to attack us?”

“Why would I do that?” Smitty asked.

“You are raiders. You said so yourself. Maybe you want what we have?”

“There are easier pickings. Besides, humans are an endangered species. We have enough to worry about without us killing each other.”

“You got that right.” The suspicion seemed to drain from Hughes.

“We will meet with your people, but we are going nowhere. This is our home. God has delivered us to this place, and we have sacrificed much to keep it safe.” Smitty could tell by the look on the faces of the Mountain View residents that not all shared Hughes sentiment.

“Fair enough.” Smitty and Hughes shook hands. Hughes might well be insane, but that would be for the Rainbow Lake Council to figure out. Smitty grabbed the walkie-talkie from his belt. “Chico, call home, give a report. Tell them to get someone out here to meet with these people ASAP.”

“Right, boss.” Chico’s voice crackled back over the mic. Moments later, Chico radioed back that Captain Turner had dispatched a pair of squads from Evanston to Mountain View, and that the Council would be sending representatives by helicopter within the hour.

“The Council?” Hughes asked, his suspicion rising once again.

“It is how the people of our community have chosen to govern themselves. I would try to explain it but I’m no diplomat, but one will be along shortly.” Smitty could hardly believe the words coming out of his mouth...

It was just past two in the afternoon when Smitty and his crew finally rolled out of Mountain View. They had spent the past two and a half hours mingling with the inhabitants of the community while Jenkins, Patty Marshall and Sheriff Busley met with Hughes and his people. The people of Mt. View were a mixed lot, much like those at Rainbow Lake; one hundred people with shattered lives, banded together trying to stay alive in this hell on earth.

Once outside Mountain View, the forest and the mountains seemed to melt away into the background, replaced by grass and scrub covered hills and wide-open country. The wonderful view made the fifty-mile ride to Green River pleasant enough, and only a few zombies were scattered along the highway, and the occasional vehicle parked along the side of the road.

Each abandoned vehicle they passed was a potential piece of salvage. So were the zombies when you got right down to it. Many of them wore jewelry, and Smitty surmised that would always be valuable, regardless of the state of the world. Many zombies were also carrying prescription medicine and illegal drugs in their pocket and purses, holdovers from their lives before they became walking dead. The potential for power and profit in this new world boggled Smitty’s mind. All one needed was the tools and the gumption to use them, and anything you wanted was there for the taking, like a great big pussy just waiting to get fucked. It brought a smile to Smitty’s face every time he thought about it.

Two miles outside Green River they came to a tiny airfield with a small control house at one end and a row of barn-sized hangars on the other. Half a dozen zombies could be seen staggering about, but they would be easy enough to deal with. Smitty signaled a halt to the bikes, and they all pulled to a stop on the access road beside the control station. Smitty wanted to assess the situation one more time before they advanced into the city. Green River was about the same size as Evanston, with a pre-dead population of about eleven thousand. But whereas Evanston had been primarily a mining and refinery town, Green River was an important railroad hub and major tourist center year round. At any given day of the year, there were one to five thousand visitors, which would translate into a larger number of zombies.

Smitty climbed out of the truck, stretching his knees and back until they popped. Augie and Wild Billy had dismounted from the bikes and were approaching the nearest zombie, a naked, bloated woman, with machetes in hand. Smitty pulled his last joint from his cigarette pack and lit it up while Angel and Chico approached. Bear stayed up in his gunners perch.

“Those two are going to get themselves eaten.” Chico said with a laugh as he watched Augie and Wild Billy hack down the female zombie.

“Your one to talk. You always egg them on.” Angel said.

“Like they need much convincing.” Smitty said, exhaling smoke and passing the joint to Chico.

“So how are we going to do this?” Angel asked.

“There’s going to be a lot of deadfucks. More than we can handle if we go right at them. But if we try and sneak into the outer edge, maybe into a residential district, we might be able to hit a few houses. Even if we can’t make a full on raid today, we still scouted a few other prospects along the way. Not to mention the contacts we made at Mountain View.”

Augie and Wild Billy finished hacking down the few remaining zombies at the airfield, and then they all set about searching the hangars while Bear kept watch in his gunner’s perch. They found a pair of gas pumps that proved empty, a couple of small Cessna crop dusters, (airworthy or not they couldn’t tell) a junked helicopter, a backhoe-bulldozer combination, and a WW1 style biplane. Of all three planes, the biplane looked in the best condition. As Smitty examined it closer, he noticed it was not an old airplane from that era, but rather a modern replica, engineered from lightweight, space-age materials.

“I think Jenkins would be interested in this.” Smitty said.

“You and the General getting to be awful close.” Angel teased. “You gonna invite him into the pack?”

“Gimme all the shit you want, brother, because I know what's what. The General is the true power in Rainbow Lake. Forget about that Council bullshit, because that’s all it is, is bullshit. The General has all the guns and ammo. The General has the tank. And don’t think for a second that the rest of those Militia pricks won’t back his play one hundred percent. They know where their bread is buttered. So we have to play the game. Me and the General are going to be friends."

“It never hurts to have friends.” Angel said, and they all got a good chuckle out of that.

They left the hangars, walking back toward the truck and bikes.

“We need to get us a forty foot flatbed with a ramp. Transport a forklift on it as well.” Smitty said when they were all assembled.

“What are you talking about?” Augie asked.

“All this good salvage. I know the Council will want those crop dusters. And I’m sure they can get a spare part or two for the helicopter from that junked bird back there. What about all those vehicles we passed on the way up here? We ain’t going to get any of it for ourselves unless we get a way to transport it back home. The Council sure as shit ain’t going to cut us a finders fee.”

“I’m sure we can pick one up back in Evanston.” Wild Billy said, trying to lighten Smitty’s suddenly dour mood. Raids were supposed to be a good time. Rape and pillage baby, rape and pillage.

One?” Smitty snapped back. “You’re all going to start driving one. This is the last time we take the bikes out on a raid." There were groans of protest, but none of them dared defy him. The one that came closest was Angel. He stared Smitty straight in the eye, his tattooed face set in stone. But Smitty met his cold gaze with one of his own, and after a few seconds Angel nodded and lowered his eyes.

“Don’t you think I wish it could all go back to the way it was? The endless party, the open road, I miss it as much as any one of you. But those times are over! The world has changed! Back in the old world, we were outlaws and outcasts! But in this new world we can be kings! Just like our Name same! ” Smitty glared at them all, daring them to back talk...but they all nodded, lured by the promise of riches and power.

As they started back to the vehicles, the crack of a rifle rang out, and Angel let out a scream of pain and fell to the ground clutching his left leg. Another shot rang out, whizzing by Smitty’s ear.

“Take cover!” Smitty screamed, pulling a 9mm pistol from his hip and charging for his truck with Chico right on his heels. Augie sprinted for his bike while Wild Billy reached down to help Angel to his feet. More gunfire rang out, chewing up the ground around the fleeing figures.

“Behind you!” Bear screamed from his gunners pod and began firing over their heads. Smitty chanced a look over his shoulder as he ran, ice filling his veins at the sight of a superzombie, clad in full military combat gear, clutching an M-16. He turned his eyes forward; putting everything he possibly could into running. Even as he did, he almost froze in his tracks at the sight of another superzombie stepping out from behind the trailer of his truck. He aimed his 9mm and fired as he ran. It took three shots chewing into the side of the trailer to track his aim to the creature, and he continued firing even as he ran forward, screaming a battle cry at the top of his lungs. The superzombie raised its M-16 to fire at him, but by pure chance one of Smitty’s shots hit the base of the M-16’s barrel housing, shattering the plastic casing to pieces, rendering the weapon useless.

Augie reached his bike and jumped on, freezing for a moment as he saw the superzombie charging towards them along the row of hangars, M-16 raised and firing. Just as he started up his bike, a bullet from the charging superzombie caught him square in the chest, drilling through his sternum and out his back. He let out a gurgled yelp and fell from his bike.

“Augie!” Wild Billy screamed as he set Angel against his chopper. Wild Billy pulled his AK-47 from the sidecar and spun to fire at the advancing superzombie.

Chico reached the passenger door of the truck and heaved it open, climbing up into the cab and pulling the door closed behind him. He lay flat on the seat just as the windshield of the truck shattered, showering him with shards of broken glass. He reached for his sawed-off shotgun that he had left on the cabin floor.

The superzombie coming from behind the truck tossed the useless M-16 aside and reached for a sidearm, charging Smitty. Smitty emptied the remainder of his clip into the head and chest of the superzombie, blowing away chunks of flesh and spraying thick black ichor, but it did little to stop it. The superzombie would be on him in seconds, and Smitty made a futile attempt to reach across his body with his free hand and pull his machete. He knew it wouldn’t be in time, and the superzombie would get its hands on him and implant him with a slug or worse.

The sawed-off barrel of a shotgun suddenly jutted from the driver's window and fired. At less than two feet, the blast pulverized the superzombie's head like rotten cabbage. The body staggered aside, stumbled and fell to the ground. Losing its head wouldn’t kill it, but it would disorient it for some time, which was just the opening Smitty needed to climb into the driver’s seat of the truck.

“Augie!” Wild Billy screamed again, squeezing off several more 3-round bursts. He stood over his fallen comrade, his face a mask of murderous rage.

“He’s dead Billy! Let’s go!” Angel called from his bike a few feet away. He had climbed into the saddle and started up the engine.

“He’s not dead!” Wild Billy screamed, seeing Augie’s eyes look at him and his bloody lips move.

“Get on board or get left behind!” Angel screamed, revving up the engine of the bike.

“Motherfucker!” Wild Billy screamed at the top of his lungs, emptying his AK-47 at the advancing superzombie before jumping into the sidecar. Angel gunned the engine, and the motorcycle sped away, its tires squealing on the pavement as Angel raced for the interstate.

Smitty started the engine of the truck and pulled away with a squeal as well, casting one last long look at Augie’s fallen form. He was writhing on the ground, trying to sit up but his body was unresponsive to his brains commands. He was as good as dead; Smitty only wished he could put a bullet through Augie’s brain to spare him the horror of reanimation. Why the hell Billy or Angel hadn’t he didn’t know.

From his gun pod up top, Bear continued to fire his fully automatic AK-47 at the superzombie. It paused in its tracks, Bears bullets impacting with its torso as much as the ground around it. The superzombie raised its M-16 up at Bear and he barely had time to see the puff of smoke from the M-203 grenade launcher attached to the bottom before the grenade impacted with the roof of the truck less than two feet from him. There was a blinding flash and a deafening roar and his entire world turned to a raw current of pain. He became aware of someone screaming, and realized it was his own voice. His vision slowly returned, and through a bloody haze he could see a large piece of metal protruding from his stomach, and a jagged, bloody stump where his right hand used to be.

When the superzombie reached Augie, he was indeed still alive. He was trying to scream, but all that would come out were coughs of blood as he slowly drowned on his own fluids. But he was coherent enough to notice the superzombie as it knelt down beside him and laid one of its black leathery hands upon his chest, holding him flat to the ground. Its lidless eyes were an amazing shade of blue, red rimmed in blood. Its lipless teeth worked back and forth, clacking together around its black, swollen tongue. Augie tried to close his eyes, but found that he couldn’t. The superzombie opened its mouth wide, and stuck its tongue out, holding its head over Augie’s chest. Through the pain and haze of his impending death, Augie saw something wriggle on the tongue, something green and slimy, no more than two inches long. With a final flutter it dropped from the creature’s mouth and landed on Augie’s chest. The pain from his bullet wound suddenly flared white hot, stealing the last breath Augie would ever take right from his lungs. His eyes rolled up into his skull and his body began to convulse as his veins began to swell greenish black…