The Last Bastion of the Living: A Futuristic Zombie Novel (2 page)

“Unbelievable,” Ryan said in awe
,
watching the action below.

More machines landed and extended their walls. Turrets slid out of the tops of the squat forms and opened fire on the
Scourge
swarming toward the newly erected perimeter glinting in the sunlight. The new walls latched onto the machines landing as the tiltrotors above performed a graceful ballet
, while
the Maelstrom Platforms alternately fired. A few hundred meters had been carved out of the
Scourge
masses by the time the final machine extended its walls.

Maria swallowed hard as the tiltrotor dropped in altitude and flew toward the wide expanse of bloody land that had been cleared. Already
,
the
Scourge
struggled
to reach the new perimeter. The Maelstrom Platforms fell silent as the tiltrotors
ferrying the
troops headed into the fray. The energy expenditure for the Maelstrom Platforms was high. Each individual bullet was ignited by an energy spark and with so many platforms firing
,
the already strained grid was forced
to go
dark in some areas of the city.

The turrets on the mobile wall continued to fire below
.
The tiltrotor began to descend into the new staging area, and
Maria lost
sight of the
Scourge
.

Glancing toward her friends, Maria could
see the tension in their faces.
Ryan gave her the thumbs up while Lindsey blew her a kiss.
The jolt
of the landing
reverberated
through her legs, then Maria
was free of her harness and hurtling out the hatch.

The
Scourge
had long ago
trodden
the grass and foliage as they had milled around the wall. The ground beneath
Maria
’
s
feet was a muddy mix of pulverized flesh
, b
one and dirt. As she rushed to her position amidst the rest of her squad, her boots sloshed through the gruesome mess. Shallow craters pockmarked the ground were the salvos of the big guns had impacted. The remains of the thousands of bullet rounds flashed in the sunlight before being trampled into the mud.

The
military engineers were busy at work ensuring the new perimeter was erected properly while reinforcing the locking mechanisms. The steel mesh comprising the walls was supposed to be the strongest ever created.

The troops spread out along the perimeter as the howl
s
of the
Scourge
filled the air now that the
Maelstrom Platforms were silent
. Other weapons and equipment continued to be offloaded as
The Bastion
soldiers quickly erected their new base outside of the city.

A tiltrotor dropped a heavy payload in the designated spot near Maria
’
s squad. Maria and Ryan grabbed a crate by both ends and lugged it toward the new, high wall. Popping the latches on the container, Maria felt sweat starting to pool between her breasts and slide down the back of her neck.
Her armor
’
s cooling unit was obviously not working properly.
Ryan and Maria punched in a few codes into the panels on both ends of the container and darted back as it rose up into a catwalk that attached automatically to the mesh perimeter.

Scaling the ladder, Maria felt her chest tighten as she neared the top. Reaching her post, she hooked her safety line onto the catwalk, then finally dared to look upon the enemy.

The
Scourge
panned into view, screaming and thrashing about as they rushed over the shattered remains of their comrades. From above, the new wall looked terrifyingly thin and vulnerable to the crush of bodies swiftly approaching.

“Keep them back from the wall!” a voice barked in her helmet.

It was Chief Defender Reichardt. He stood in the center of the claimed territory directing the deployment of weapons and equipment.

Maria raised her rifle and took aim at the creatures surging toward the new perimeter. The turrets continued to fire as the soldiers who had never faced true battle stared into the faces of the
victims of the
ISPV plague
. This wasn
’
t a holographic projection in the training rooms, but the true, deadly
Scourge
. Their cloudy eyes,
tattered clothing
, tangled hair, and seeping wounds were the o
nly indicators that they weren
’
t human. Maria could now vividly understand why the
ISPV
victims had originally been perceived as wounded living beings. How easily their cries must have been interpreted as appeals for help.

“They look so human,” Maria muttered. Her trigger finger hesitated as the face of a young woman filled the scope. Her muddy blond hair and dirty face obscured a pretty face. The
Scourge
woman looked horrifyingly alive as she screamed.

“Keep then back from the wall!” the order came again.

Maria realized she wasn
’
t the only one hesitating in firing. Beside her Ryan kept readjusting his aim.

The crowd was now a few hundred meters from the walls.

The news vids flashed through Maria
’
s mind, images of the
Scourge
attacking the living...

The sharp bark of Ryan
’
s weapon released her paralysis. Squeezing off a shot, she saw the young woman
’
s face disappear in a gout of blood. Immediately, she aimed at the next
Scourge
and fired. It was woefully easy to keep pressing the trigger once the first few rounds had been fired.

The air hummed around her as another
aircraft
set down more of the mobile wall units. Behind her on the sodden ground, she knew the military engineers were swiftly hooking the units together and preparing to expand the wall again. The tensile strength of the expandable walls would prevent collapse, but Maria was leery of the mesh-like structure into which Commandant Young was placing so much faith.

Beside her a turret died and a soldier rushed to reload it. The one just beyond Ryan also went silent. Maria felt her stomach clench as the
Scourge
gained
ground now that the two turrets
had
ceased firing
.

“Hurry with those turrets!” Chief Defender Reichardt
’
s voice barked through the feed.

Maria switched her weapon to full auto and strafe
d
the
Scourge
charging the wall. Ryan and the other members of her squad followed suit just as Vanguard Stillson gave the order.

“Expanding the wall,” a voice announced
over the feed
.

Maria
focused her
attention to demolishing the
Scourge
below. Blood, bone and viscera poured onto the dry soil. The
Scourge
slipped and fell over their brethren, but kept coming.

The turret beside Maria sprang to life again, but the
Scourge
had advanced further than anticipated
in the mission briefings
. It was a matter of seconds before they hit the wall.

“Beginning wall expansion.”

“This is a bad idea,” Maria muttered, gripping the handhold next to her.

The catwalk shuddered as the military engineers activated the mobile wall units. The connected catwalks also came to life, the treads pushing forward as the wall expanded. A cluster of the machines were connected to the apex of the wall and
rolled
forward as the wall unfurled like a
blossoming flower. Maria crouched
, glancing over at Ryan. He tried to get off a few shots before giving up. It was too difficult to
aim
with the wall moving. The wall shuddered as it met
in an unyielding mass of flesh,
and Maria clutched the handhold with both hands.

“We need the Maelstrom Platforms loaded and firing!” Chief Defender Reichardt
’
s voice commanded.

The overwhelming wave of the
Inferi Scourge
pressed against the perimeter and the engines whined furiously as they tried to gain traction on the slippery ground. A few tiltrotors roared overhead as the
flight
crews strafed the crowd, but most of the air support had already retreated to the safety of the city. The fuel reserves were too low to keep the tiltrotor fleet up in the air
for extended periods of time
.

Commands barked over the feed as the tiltrotors firing at the
Scourge
were ordered back to the city. The mobile wall trembled again as it continue
d
to unfurl. The treads of the units rolled over the sodden ground, struggling over the pockmarked terrain. The turrets continued to fire bursts as the
soldiers
feverishly reloaded them.

The massive Maelstrom Platforms finally opened fire, pulverizing the
Scourge
a hundred yards from the expanding perimeter.

“The simulation wasn
’
t this bad!” Ryan shouted, trying to fire over the edge again.

The muddy, bloody
,
sloshing ground was gumming up the treads. Maria could feel their catwalk shuddering as it struggled through the muck. Scanning the staging area set up behind the mobile wall, Maria
saw
panic beginning to spread as some of the mobile units strained to move for
ward. The units
were synchronized to move out in formation, but a few were already lagging behind. Some of the depressions that had been carved out of the ground by the Maelstrom Platforms were deep
and several of the machines whined as the viscid mud clogged the treads.

Maria
gripped
the handhold and managed to get to her knees. Firing at the
Scourge
,
she fought the fear threatening to
engulf
her. The display in her helmet was filled with a flow of information that was scrolling too quickly to even read. Another burst from the Maelstrom Platform sent clouds of blood into the air, the wind sweeping the bloody mist over the fighting soldiers.

“Fuck me!” Lindsey shouted, trying to clean off her helmet visor.

“Keep firing!” Vanguard Stillson shouted. He was moving along the inner catwalk,
laboring
to stay on his feet.

As Maria reloaded her w
eapon, Vanguard Stillson fired
on the
Inferi Scourge
as the roar of the Maelstrom Platforms sounded. Maria felt Stillson
’
s hand briefly on her shoulder as she opened fire again, then he moved on.

A massive shockwave rippled through the perimeter wall, tossing soldiers off their feet and onto the catwalk, or over the wall into the
Scourge
horde below as one of the mobile units twisted around in one of the deeper craters and wrenched another unit completely about. The torsion between the two units sent another shudder through the perimeter wall and Maria clung to the catwalk as Ryan fell on top of her. Together, they rode the catwalk to the ground, tumbling into the mud. Maria immediately scrambled to her feet and gasped.

The steel mesh had torn free of one of the units and the
Scourge
were shoving their bodies through the frayed opening. The squads closest to the breach opened fire. The mesh wall shimmered as it wavered under the onslaught of the undead. The mobile units continued on their designated course to their next position
,
ripping
another hole in the mesh wall
.

“Fall back!” someone ordered as the
Inferi Scourge
shoved through the widening opening
s
.

Ryan grabbed Maria
’
s shoulder and dragged her toward a section where the fallen catwalks formed a barrier along with some of the unpacked supply units
. Lindsey scrambled to follow
. The squads formed a line, shooting at the
Scourge
c
oming through the gap
. F
or several agonizing minutes, they were successful at holding
the howling creatures back
.

“Tiltrotors are
e
n route!” a voice intoned in her helmet.

Sweat poured down Maria
’
s face as she reloaded. Ryan lobbed several grenades toward the breach as Lindsey fired over Maria
’
s head.