Tainted Reality (The Rememdium Series Book 2) (13 page)

The orders were simple: terminate all untested citizens. He was a trained warrior and had been taught to bury his own personal feelings about instructions from his superiors, no matter how much he disagreed with them. Fortunately, he was right there with the brass on the current mission. If the world stood any chance of surviving the outbreak turning people into lurching, blood-thirsty monsters, drastic measures needed to be taken.

It was simply an added bonus Gerald would be allowed to seek retribution against those who’d killed and injured personnel under his care—and locked up the remaining members of his battalion like wild dogs.

Though a slight time deviation of the plan happened because of the crazy, backwoods militia bastards, their stay of execution was almost over.

Gerald was still riding the high from wiping out any possible infection from the citizens at the hospital. The few cops bent on guarding the medical personnel from the dead, let them right in. It took less than ten minutes to sweep the small hospital and remove any and all potential threats.

“Sir, how can you be sure the store is where they took them?” Private Richardson asked.

Gerald snorted while raising the binoculars to his eyes. He scanned the area up ahead, noting every detail, including how many vehicles were in the parking lot. He spotted two uniformed cops on the roof before they disappeared down the hatch. “You just confirmed what I’ve known for years.”

“Excuse me, sir?” Richardson asked.

“Anyone born after 1985 is dumber than a box of rocks. Seriously! Think, Private. Where else in this small town would they go? It’s a bit cold to gather at the park.”

Gerald noticed Richardson’s cheeks fill with pink from embarrassment. The boy cleared his throat then responded, “Uh, well, I—”

“That’s why you’re a grunt and I’m in charge. Jesus, your brain’s been fried from too much sitting on your ass with your face buried in electronics! Let me spell it out for you. They weren’t at the hospital or jail when we picked up the others, so the next logical gathering place for such a large group would be…?”

“Walmart. Got it. Smart thinking, sir.”

“Watch and learn, Richardson. When hunting your prey, you must not think like a predator. You must slip into the weak mind of your quarry and
think
like they would. Those fools believe they are safe inside the brick and mortar monument to capitalism. This is actually going to be easier than back at the school,” Gerald muttered.

“You bet. Taking them all out at once is much simpler and certainly less time consuming than a handful at a time,” Davenport added. “Just one request, sir?”

Gerald already knew what the request would be, so he turned and faced Private Davenport in the backseat. His gaze fell to the bandaged wound on the boy’s shoulder. Gerald nodded. “If the little panty-wastes have the balls to come outside, or survive our initial attack, they’re all yours. Promise. I’ve got my target set in my sights. He’s going to wish he broke my neck rather than my nose.”

“Appreciate that, sir. I’ll make sure they regret killing Martina and shooting me.”

“Sir, we’ve got a problem up ahead,” Richardson muttered.

Gerald turned back to the front. He could hear the fear in Richardson’s voice and it pissed him off to no end. “Ignore them, Richardson. And stop sounding like a whiny female and drive. They’ll follow the noise of our vehicles, just like the rest of the lurchers from the jail.”

“Exactly, which is why I thought we should—”

“Private! Grow a pair, will you? I want them to follow us. Use your brain, fool. There’s no telling how many armed rednecks are waiting for us inside the store. We know for sure two hundred. They could’ve picked up more on their ridiculous quest to save people who’ll be dead soon. They’ll have plenty of guns and ammunition, considering where they are. We need the extra distractions. They’ll focus on killing those lurchers, not us. Perfect cover.”

Richardson’s face blanched. He gripped the steering wheel so hard his fingers turned bone white. Gerald refused to look at the wimp any longer and motioned for him to stop. Rolling the window down, he waved to the five Humvees behind them. In seconds, the vehicles all stopped, forming a tight grouping of what was left of the 1st Battalion.

Leaning out the window, Gerald yelled, “Can’t ask for a better escort, boys and girls! Standard takedown format, two-by-two. We’ll make a lap of the location first, making sure the lurchers surround the place. Bennett, you got the rocket launcher prepped and hot?”

Corporal Gary Bennett answered, “Yes, sir, as requested. May I speak freely, sir?”

Gerald could tell Bennett was about to challenge his authority, as he’d done in the past. A wave of fury burned in Gerald’s stomach. “No. We’ve got our orders and it is time to implement them.”

“Sir, we should just return to the base as ordered. There’s no need for this. They won’t make it long anyway,” Bennett added.

Sweat from anger burst from his skin, dripping down Gerald’s forehead onto his stained jacket. Pulling out a field knife, Gerald held it up so Bennett could catch a glimpse of his little visual aide.

“Me and my friend Millie here are in charge now, Corporal. If you want to try and challenge that, speak to her first. I guarantee you it will be a one-sided conversation—and one you won’t enjoy. Those redneck fuckers locked you up in
jail
, or don’t you remember that? Left you to slowly starve to death—or worse, had those lurchers made it inside—before we rescued you. Took your guns and left you sitting in the wind with your ass cheeks hanging out. Pick your side, son. Right now. Remember who freed you, and who left you behind bars.”

“I can’t…I just can’t do this. It’s wrong. Not again. The hospital was bad enough. The memories of killing innocent civilians will haunt my dreams forever. I signed up with the Guard to help people. Please, sir, won’t you reconsider? Isn’t there any other…?”

Gerald’s touch with sanity snapped. Before Richardson uttered another sound, he was on him. The blade was thick, sharp, and honed to perfection. With one swift stab, the cold steel penetrated the soft tissue at Richardson’s temple, sliding in as easily as a hot knife through warm butter. When the hilt of the weapon reached the boy’s skull, Gerald jerked the handle, scrambling the kid’s brains.

Pulling the blade free, Gerald reached over, unlocked the door, and kicked Richardson’s limp body out of the front seat. Scooting over to take his place, Gerald looked back over to Bennett. “Any of you other pussies want to express your opinions before we head out?”

No verbal responses, only blank stares of shock.

“Good. Time to move out. Follow my lead. Let’s finish up our directive then head home. After what we’ve been through today, we deserve a bit of rest and relaxation.”

Gerald put the Humvee in drive and led the way toward Walmart, not even trying to dodge the dead and dying littering the highway. Glancing in the rear view mirror, he noticed some of the lurchers stopped, distracted by closer meat.

A few stragglers unwilling to join the party wouldn’t matter.

There were hundreds of others who would, and they were following the Humvees like flies to rancid meat.

DEFENSIVE MANEUVERS - Saturday - December 20
^th
– 2:35 p.m.

Walt Addison crouched down on the roof, peering through the scope of the rifle. Turner was on his left, Martha on his right. Though the situation was dire, Walt took comfort at the knowledge he was surrounded by his family in case this was the end. Less than five feet away were Curt, Bailey, Allsop, Newberry, and a few others, each fully armed. Footsteps crunched behind him. Walt knew they belonged to tens of others who’d secured weapons and scrambled up to help.

“I count forty-two inside those six Humvees,” Curt whispered after lowering the binoculars. “Dammit! I told you we should have taken their weapons!”

“We ain’t cold-blooded killers like you, Curt,” Martha shot back. “But I guess that’s gonna change here in a few minutes.”

“Chief said not to shoot them unless she gives the order,” Turner added.

Curt set the binoculars down and slunk to his belly. He trained his rifle on the closest Humvee. “Yeah, well she ain’t here to stop me.”

“Wrong,” Reed Newberry said. “I’m here, and I swear Curt, if you fire one bullet in their direction, I’ll take you out myself.”

“So much for workin’ together as a group,” Turner muttered.

“Y’all need to remember which group poses the biggest threat,” Walt said. “Those corpses out there can’t be reasoned with. The alive ones can. For Parker’s sake, let’s hope she knows what she’s doin’.”

The rooftop fell silent. All eyes were focused on the horde of dead on the fringes of the parking lot. Another large group was closing in from downtown. There were too many to count. Walt guessed around three hundred.

Studying the movements of the Humvees and the dead, Walt concluded the soldiers were using the corpses as a distraction. Just like Bailey and Allsop mentioned earlier, the troops didn’t seem interested in taking out the bodies. It looked like they were luring them to follow. “Jesus—those bastards are usin’ the dead to distract us!”

Kyle Pender stood, yanking a set of keys from his pocket. “You’re right, Walt. So let’s fuck up their plans.”

“How?” Martha asked.

“Pull them away and get them to converge in one spot. It worked before,” Kyle responded. “They seem to love my unit. Hold your fire until the majority decide to check it out.”

Kyle clicked the fob. His patrol unit lit up, blaring, beeping, sirens wailing, and lights flashing. Walt’s eyes widened as the group at the edge of the parking lot turned their focus away from the Humvees and ran toward Kyle’s car.

“Damn good idea,” Walt said.

“Steady. Wait until I give the signal,” Kyle said, smiling.

In seconds, his unit was no longer visible as the dead surrounded it, clawing, growling, gurgling at the noise.

The Humvees turned into the parking lot, yet the undead didn’t seem to notice.

“Now!” Kyle yelled.

A hail of bullets rained down from the rooftop. Heads exploded and bodies crumpled to the ground. Soon, the area around Kyle’s car was covered in dark mahogany, the fallen bodies stacked almost three feet high. Their former neighbors, friends, and complete strangers went down in less than a minute.

Ears ringing from the noise, heart pounding from the excitement, and flashbacks of his time in the military, Walt blew out a burst of air after the last bullet fired. “Good job! That’s one group down.”

“Yeah, but the others behind the Humvees didn’t take the bait,” Reed said.

“Probably because most of them were grunts,” Curt added. “They’re dead, yet still blindly followin’ orders. Sacks of shit.”

“Quit yakkin’ like a bunch of proud hunters and get to reloadin’!” Martha urged. “Those Humvees only stopped while we were shootin’.”

While the group reloaded, Walt’s stomach remained in a tight knot. He knew what was coming next and thought the chief’s plan was foolhardy and dangerous. Men like Lt. Pack couldn’t be reasoned with.

Period.

Of course, the stubborn woman wouldn’t listen to reason. Not that Walt was surprised by Parker’s attitude, for it was part of who she was. When she gave her little speech, he fought hard to keep from cringing. Though he agreed with a good majority of the words, when she mentioned rationing supplies—and waiting for more to arrive—Walt almost laughed.

The woman was delusional if she thought things would ever return to normal.

Thoughts about Parker’s lofty ambitions vanished when he spotted her frame in the parking lot.

And the Humvees inch forward.

She’s toast. Dammit! They’ll mow her down before she gets a chance to say one word.

“Hold your fire!” Reed shouted.

Walt’s fingers shook. He gripped the butt of the rifle, hoping Parker’s daughter was still inside with the children.

He didn’t want the girl to watch her mother die in front of her eyes.

Regina used the barrage of gunfire as the cue to slip out of the side door in automotive. While handing out weapons, Kyle told her his plan to lure the dead to his unit. She knew it would work and sure enough, it did.