Total Apoc Trilogy (Book 2): Fighting the Hordes (3 page)

            So we hurried over to the gas tanks, remaining hunched over.  We quickly checked them.  It was too dark to see the gauges, but they felt full.

            "How many do we take?" I asked.

            He shrugged.  "All of them, I guess.  We have room."

            I grabbed two tanks and stood up.  Ralph did the same, and we turned toward the boat.  Olivia stood up, pointing just to the north of us.

            "Watch out!" Olivia cried.

            "Halt!"

            We froze.  I slowly turned my head to find an old bearded man with a six-shooter aimed at us.  He caught my eyes and scowled at me.  Slowly, I put the tanks back down and remained crouched in the off-chance I could dart away.

            "You boys going somewhere?" he said.  "Put the gas down, kid.  I don't want to shoot your scrawny ass, but I will."

            The old man forced us to kneel with our hands behind our head.  Then he shined a flashlight on us, looking for weapons I guess.  Finally, he turned the flashlight on Olivia, who lifted her hands up in defeat.

            "Get up here, girl," he commanded.  Olivia reluctantly complied, and was forced to kneel beside me.  "If you kids move, I'll just shoot your damn asses.  Ya hear?"

            "Yes, sir," I said.

            I heard, but if he gave us half a chance we were out of there.  I looked left and right, and got a nod from each of my friends.  We were all on the same page.  Going back to the NML Zone was not an option.  Besides, the patrol expected Connor to hang us as an example.

            He kept the gun on us, half-stepped back into the store, and pulled out a walkie-talkie.  Then he moved over in front of us.

            "Hey, this is Barney.  I got the escapees from the north buffer trying to steal a boat," he said.  "Send someone over to pick them up."

            He was looking straight at Olivia, pointing his revolver at her.  We had to run for it, but he'd kill her right off.  Then he lowered his gun to lift her chin with the barrel.  My heart thundered in my ears.

            "Seriously?" the voice on the other end said.  "You caught them?"

            "Yep.  Three of them.  Two boys and a pretty little girl," Barney said.  "They almost got away."

            "We're right there," another voice said.  "We got it."

            Barney's aim didn't waver.  A moment later two patrols converged on us, and our escape attempt was at an end.  Deepest despair threatened to consume me.  I could almost feel the noose tightening around my throat.

Chapter 3

            The holding cell they left us inside was hot and muggy.  The only light was a kerosene lantern, which just generated more heat we didn't need.  All we knew was someone named Jake radioed the men returning us to the enclosure, ordering them to take us to the town jail instead.  Honestly, I'd rather be locked up than be hung by the neck, or even forced to fight their battles again.

            There was a stainless steel commode and a single bunk mounted to the wall.  It was obviously a one man cell.  We gave Olivia the bunk and all crashed.  The concrete floor wasn't comfortable, but I was asleep almost before my head touched the ground.

            "Hello, boys and girls," a large man with a neatly trimmed beard said, waking me up.  He stood just outside of the cell door.  I guessed he was about six four and two hundred twenty pounds.  While he had a touch of gray, and looked to be in his late thirties, earlier forties, he looked quite fit and capable.  "I'm Jake Falkner."

            "So?" I said, sitting up and making sure the others were awake, too.

            Ralph and I got up and sat to either side of Olivia on the bunk, and then we all glared at him.  Jake didn't seem too concerned.  I noticed he was wearing a tactical vest over a brown t-shirt, camo pants, and combat boots.  He had a large knife and black pistol holstered on the vest.  It was similar to the vest they took from me after we were captured.

            "Would it matter if I could save you from being hung for treason?"

            "Treason?" Ralph said.  "Is that what you call escaping from slavery?"

            "It's not slavery," he said, though looked uncomfortable.  "It's just forced service.  Like the draft."

            I almost laughed.  Men could convince themselves of anything to justify their actions.

            "Bullshit.  Call it what it is," Olivia said.  "Slavery.  We're human pit fighters defending you cowardly jerk-offs."

            I held my tongue.  Despite being just as angry as my friends, Jake had opened a door to escaping execution.  I'd at least hear him out.  He noticed, since he turned to me.

            "What about you, Kyle Holt?"

            Just knowing my name wasn't impressive.  They interrogated us extensively when captured.  We had no reason to lie, so answered their questions.  Being honest didn't help us in the least.

            "I'm listening," I said.

            "I am told you came down from Carson," he continued.  "Do you know the city well?"

            "Yes," I said.  Still didn't have a reason to lie, though I was starting to wonder if I should anyway.  "I have no reason to help you, though.  You've not treated us with any respect, dignity, or goodwill."

            "You know, once the Federal government reestablishes it's authority, you guys will probably be arrested and put on trial for war crimes or something," Olivia said.

            Jake gave the faintest of shrugs.  "Possibly, but unlikely.  I've not seen any evidence the government survived with enough resources to do shit in our lifetimes."  He caught my eyes.  "Do you know where the Army Reserve armory is located in Carson."

            "Of course.  Everyone knows that," I said.

            He looked pleased.  "Good.  I'd like to recruit you and Mr. Daniels to guide our expeditionary force to it."

            "What about me?" Olivia cried.

            "This is a raid," Jake replied.  "It's a combat mission, so only men."

            I shook my head.  There was no way.  The enclosures were brutal for everyone, but especially for women.  Unsavory men took advantage of them.  There was no law and punishment in the NML Zone.  Ralph and I protected her, and each other.  Even so, we all got our asses handed to us several times, but we still managed to keep their hands off of Olivia.

            "We're a package deal," Ralph said.

            "Exactly, we won't leave Olivia behind," I said.  "Maybe you don't understand how dangerous it is for women in the NML Zone."

            He considered that a moment.  Jake didn't appear pleased with how it was going so far.  Did he think we were so desperate to live that we'd jump at any chance to save ourselves?

            "I could arrange for her to stay in here until we got back," Jake said.

            "Right.  And they would toss her back into the NML Zone as soon as we left, if they didn't hang her for trying to escape," I said.  "I don't trust any of you.  You've shown us absolutely no honor or human compassion."

            "Buy a road map," Ralph said.

            Jake turned around to leave.  That pretty much sealed our fate.  I couldn't imagine them not hanging us now.  Not after we flatly refused to help them.

            "Besides, I was in the Army Reserve," Olivia lied.  "I'm the only one who has been inside the armory."

            That surprised me.  I did manage to keep my face neutral.  Olivia was in ROTC back in high school, but not in college.  Maybe she'd visited it while in ROTC.  And then I remembered that she'd gotten a tour of the armory for the video gaming company we worked for.

            Jake slanted a curious look back at her.  He turned around, but didn't approach the door.  Suddenly, I saw opportunity, a chance to live, and maybe more.

            "So she might have more military training than you," I said.

            Jake snorted.  "Hardly," he said, looking truly offended.  "Marine Corps.  Twenty-two years.  Four tours of Iraq and two of Afghanistan."

            "Okay, we'll give you that one," Olivia said.  "But I have one tour of the Zombie Zone, fighting zombies cross-country and then inside the NML Zone.  I have more zombie experience."

            He opened his mouth, paused, and closed it.  Jake gave her a single nod.  "I'll give you that one."

            "Good.  We stick together," I said.  "If one of us goes, we all go.  As a Marine, you should understand our determination to leave no one behind."

            That last comment struck home.  Jake looked from me to Olivia to Ralph.  We stared back with determination.  He gazed off into space a long moment, and finally sighed.

            "Fine.  I don't have time to argue with you," he said.  "We're pulling out before sunrise.  We want to collect all of the arms and ammo at the armory.  Are you in?"

            We looked back and forth between each other, and finally reluctantly nodded.

            "What do we get out of it?" I asked.  "You get led straight to the armory, with a guided tour by Olivia.  I assume you are going for a smash and grab of all their weapons and ammo."

            "Exactly," Ralph jumped in.  "We want our freedom."

            "We guide you there, and afterwards you let us go our merry way," Olivia said.

            "Everybody wins," I said.  "And you don't have to feed us afterwards."

            Actually, the prospect gave me a thrill.  First, a big ass Marine was asking us for help in a combat mission, and then we'd be free to go home.  Depending on the condition of the roads, we could accomplish that mission in one day.

            I didn't bring up the very real possibility that the armory was already looted.  It was a free-for-all in Carson after the initial bio-weapon attack.  Of course, the armory was in that area near downtown that took the brunt of the attack.  Everyone in that area was probably turned into zombies, so there might not have been anyone to loot it.

            That brought up a new worry.  What if we found the armory looted and empty?  Would Jake go back on the agreement if they failed to get what they wanted?  Would we end up back inside the NML Zone anyway?

            "I can't actually promise you freedom to leave Emory.  That would take the mayor and city council vote to do," he said.  "I can offer you freedom as a citizen of Emory upon our return.  You would join our little Army instead of returning to the buffers."

            That didn't sit well with any of us.  But I had an idea, so spoke up before Ralph or Olivia told him where to shove it.

            "Deal," I said.  My friends gasped.  I walked to the jail door.  "We'll need better clothes and weapons.  Have any of the others going on this raid fought the zombies outside the city walls?"

            "Not like you have," Jake said.  "That's another reason I wanted you on this mission."

            "We fight best as a team, so we need to stick together," Ralph said.  "Maybe assign us to a crew-served weapon?  It'd be awesome to fight walkers with an M60 or .50 Cal."

            Olivia and I stared at Ralph.  Was he really that eager to go back out and kill zombies?  The idea of being on a crew-served weapon did have some appeal, but fighting zombies still scared me.

            "Actually, I can do better than that," Jake said.  He turned around and shouted.  "Aaron!  Get them out of this cell and into some BDUs.  They're coming with us."

            "Some food would be nice," Olivia said.  "And not that thin ass soup you served us in the NML Zone."

            Aaron was our jailor.  He was standard issue cop type, clean shaven and ramrod straight.  Hell, he still wore his uniform, complete with badge, pistol, and night stick.  He, of course, didn't look happy about letting us go.

            Jake left, while Aaron unlocked the cell and motioned us out of the holding cell.  What a relief that was!  At least it wasn't raining, but the sky was still clouded and angry looking.  He then led us across the street and two blocks down to an old and very large Quonset hut structure that housed the town's Army Surplus store.

            "We can have anything we want, Aaron?" Ralph asked.

            "It's Officer Hanks," he said.  "Only take what you need."

            I don't think Officer Hanks liked us.  Didn't matter.  We were three geeks in a candy store.  The video game company we worked for before the end of civilization specialized in military and vigilante games.  We loved to depict real military gear in the games, so to actually have a store full of it was glorious.

            "I've always wanted some Army camo," I said.

            Everything was used, so it was more like a second hand surplus store.  So first we found Battle Dress Uniforms, or BDUs, that fit.  Mine was desert camo, while Ralph found a pair of standard green BDUs, and Olivia found some Jungle fatigues.  Her shirt was camo, but her pants were olive drab.  We all found used combat boots that fit, though I didn't like the idea of wearing someone else's boots.  What if he had athlete's foot or something worse?

            We each took a "steel pot" helmet and liner.  Aaron gave us web gear with a holster, canteen, and some magazine pouches on the pistol belts.  We each took a pair of Aviator sunglasses, too.  By that time Officer Hanks was looking at us like a bunch of shoplifters.

            "Now what?" I asked after we took turns in the store's bathroom, filling our canteens as well as peeing and pooping.  There was actual toilet paper.  "Are we going to get something to eat now?"

            "Do I look like a cook?"

            Gunfire erupted off in the distance.  The cop didn't flinch.  I tensed up.  For the last ten days gunfire meant a big zombie attack was about to hit us.  Officer Hanks led us out of the store and I was able to determine the fight was just on the short bridge.  That was the bridge we'd have to cross to get on the highway back to Carson.