Brent Acuff - Undead Nation 02 (13 page)

Liam crossed through the upper room floors to meet up with Alex and Dr. Cahn. "How goes things on this side of the fort?" Liam asked.
 

"Not as bad as expected," Alex said with more cheer in his voice than he felt. "How about you guys?"

Loam nodded reverently. "Tired. Hungry. Ready for some sleep." He smiled up at the two. "Looks like it's time for you two to go on a break. Shawn and Marshal will he here in just a moment. I know it's asking the impossible, but we all need to try and get some sleep if we can. It's been a long day, and tomorrow is shaping up to be something worse."

As if on cue, the sullen face of Marshal entered the room, followed closely by a slightly more upbeat Shawn. "Catch me up," Shawn said through a yawn.
 

"Same as it's been all night. Steady stream of deaders, but nothing that is beyond what we can handle. Try and use any other means of dispatching them than the carbines. We are going to need all the ammo we can get, I'm afraid."

Shawn nodded intently, taking in Alex's report and processing what he was being told. He looked up at Alex and smiled. "Try and get some sleep, you two. There's a pretty good spot inside the hall closet. The clothes there keep out some of the noise."
 

Alex chuckled and thanked the man. "Appreciate it. If you guys run in to trouble, don't be heroes. Come and get us, okay?"

The two men nodded and waived off Alex's concerns. "We'll be fine," Shawn ensured them. "We'll wake you in a couple of hours."

Without another word, Alex and Dr. Cahn stood and made their way to the upstairs hall closet. "See you in a couple of hours," Dr. Cahn said.
 

"You too," and before anything else could be said, both men were fast asleep.
 

The cycle of awake and sleep continued throughout the night. Alex's assessment of the situation was proven mostly right, only having to be woken from sleep once during the long night to help fight back a particularly large wave of zombies. As dawn broke across the sky over Taylor the Corsairs prepared to head into the sight of the outbreak -- Austin.
 

-----

"God dammit," Alex cursed as the Corsairs struggled once again to fight back a large mob of zombies attacking their small convoy. "Where are they all coming from?"

The question had been asked more than once this morning. Soon after leaving their temporary shelter in Taylor, the team came under attack by ever increasing numbers of zombies. It was not lost an any of the men, that the closer they got to Austin, the worse the situation got. "We're going to have to think of something else," Liam said in an aside to Alex. "This isn't working. These damn engines are so loud that we are just announcing our presence to every dead and living thing for a mile."

Alex swerved around a particularly large knot of walking corpses as he tried to get them through the tangle of cars that was US-290. "You're not going to like what I have in mind," he called back to his friend. The carbines of his crew popped from above his as each man in turn stood in the roof's gun port and emptied their carbine into the oncoming horde.

"Holy shit," Hayden almost whispered from up top of the Hummer.
 

"What?" Alex began to ask, but cut himself shot at the sight that greeted him. Hundreds, maybe thousands of zombies began to crest the rise in the US-290 overpass. The bodies were so closely packed together that some were forced over the guard rails of the highway by the jostling of the group, only to fall thirty feet to the concrete and asphalt below.
 

"Back up! Back up!" someone yelled at Alex and he immediately flew into motion. Hayden was still up top, furiously waving at the second vehicle to reverse course, a request that was made all too apparent when Alex's Humvee suddenly lurched backwards in their direction.
 

"Get down here and button us up!" Liam yelled to Hayden. He pulled at the young man's legs and reached to secure the cover once Hayden was safely inside. "This isn't good," Liam said to Alex. The second Humvee slammed into a car, sending it skidding sideways into the retaining wall. There was a sickening crunch of metal and glass and the rear of the vehicle crumpled on impact.

"Stop!" Hayden shouted and Alex was able to jam on the brakes before ramming into it.
 

"Come on, come on!" Alex yelled in the rear view mirror. Returning his eyes to the scene in front of him, Alex's blood nearly froze.

Walking corpses packed the 290 flyover and jostled with one another in order to be the first to reach their living prey. The front line of zombies was no more than twenty yards from them, and the gap was closing faster than Alex thought. "Get up there and get them off us," Alex ordered to no one specific.

"Get some diesel, we'll burn them out," Marshal said in a panic.

"No!" Alex yelled. "Those damn things are too close. They'll be on us before the drop. Pop them with the carbines."

Hayden and Marshal squeezed themselves through the top hatch just as quickly as they unbutton the hatch. Their carbines cracked as quickly as they could pull the trigger. Clips dropped in through the hatch when then clicked on empty to be replaced with fresh ones that Liam fed up through the hatch.

"What the hell is going on back there?!" Alex was screaming at the second vehicle. "What are they doing?" he said, this time to Liam.

"Shit if I know," Liam answered back. Alex slammed his fists on the steering wheel and threw the Humvee into park.
 

"Keep them off me!" he yelled to the shooters up top and rolled out of the Humvee.

"Alex!" Liam yelled, but Alex was out the door headed back to the second vehicle. He pulled his Glock from its holster, taking aim at a zombie stumbling forward from behind the stalled vehicle. Alex pulled the trigger and the zombies head exploded before the body crumbled to the ground. A second zombie moved around a wrecked vehicle and was quickly put down by the .45 caliber bullet that ripped through its head.
 

"What the fuck is going on..." Alex started to yell as he reached the stalled vehicle, but stopped short when he saw the scene through the window. Dr. Cahn and Luke were desperately trying to drag the limp body of Shawn out of the driver's seat. Donovan slid past the limp form into the driver's seat. He looked out the windshield and jumped when he saw Alex standing there.

"What are you doing?!" Donovan yelled through the windshield. Alex swung his pistol up and squeezed off two more shots. "Get in the car!"

Alex didn't wait to be told a second time. He took off as fast as he could heading back to the lead vehicle. The pop, pop of the carbines continued, accentuated by the yells of Hayden and Marshal to get inside. Without breaking his stride, Alex jumped into the driver's seat and slammed the gears into drive.
 

The second Humvee's tires squealed as the fought for purchase on the asphalt. Moving faster than anyone would have believed, the vehicle spun in a tight circle, slamming a parked car towards the retaining wall before completing its track. The Humvee took off through the tangle of cars like a shot.

"Get down!" Alex yelled to the gunners up above as he slammed on the accelerator. The vehicle shot off in reverse, glancing off cars and the guard railing as they sped off in pursuit of the others. "Shit!" Alex cursed as he clipped a car more than he expected to and was sent skidding hard into the guard rail. The back tires lifted off the ground and the engine revved into the red line. As the rear of the vehicle fell back down, the spinning tires caught enough of the guard rail concrete that it propelled the Humvee's tail end over the rail.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Marshal yelled. The Humvee's backwards movement stopped, but the vehicle swayed precariously on the edge. The Humvee creaked and groaned as it rocked back and forth on the guard rail. Everyone in the car remained motionless.

"Uh, guys?" Liam said. "I think we need to, um, exit the vehicle."

"I couldn't agree more," Alex said, trying hard not to move anything except his mouth. The hungry moans of the zombies crept closer as they prayed for the car to settle. "Grab the bags. We're getting out."

"Leave the bags," Marshal argued.

"We'll never make it without supplies. Dump them out the doors." Alex chanced a look over his shoulder. "Let's get to the other truck."

Hayden sprung into action and began passing bags over the seat to Liam and Alex. The bags were quickly deposited out the side doors while Marshal sat gawking at them.
 

"Move your ass, Marshal," Liam barked at the man and and tossed a bag back in Marshal's lap. The act snapped the man into action and he threw open his door to empty the vehicle. The sudden movement in the truck overbalanced the vehicle and it shifted backwards.
 

"Everyone out!" Alex ordered and the men dove out onto the pavement. Metal squealed as the vehicle shifted again, the weight holding it in its place now gone. The Humvee popped and cracked and slid over the guard rail to fall to the highway below. A few seconds passed before the sickening crunch of metal and glass echoed up from below.
 

Tires screeched as the remaining Humvee now sped to help their stranded comrades. Skidding to a halt six feet from the stranded men, the doors of the vehicle flew open and its occupants spilled out, carbines popping as they spread to cover the retreat of their comrades.
 

"Let's go!" Alex yelled to the others and grabbed the bags on the ground around him. Each of the men kept low to the ground as they dashed for the waiting vehicle. "Get the bags in the back," Alex yelled over the sounds of the battle all around them.
 

"Let's go," Donovan called to the shooters and everyone piled in to the Humvee. The vehicle was not designed to carry eight men, plus all of their supplies, but the Corsairs made it work.
 

"Get us out of here!" Alex shouted. Donovan threw the Humvee into gear and slammed on the accelerator. The vehicle lurched forward, rushing at the oncoming horde of zombies before Donovan cut the wheel and fish-tailed to face the opposite direction.
 

The Humvee accelerated do the on ramp, slamming into random zombies that crept from between the parked cars. Reaching the bottom, Donovan circled around the guard rail to head back west. He jammed on the brakes and skidded to a halt on the frontage road. "Holy shit," he whispered.
 

The others moved to look out the windshield to see what had caught Donovan's attention. The intersection before them was completely jammed with the walking dead. The decomposing bodies shuffled and jostled with one another as they fought their way through the mass, trying desperately to reach Alex and his team. They were everywhere.
 

"Burn them," Alex said in a low voice. "Torch the fuckers."

"But you said that was a bad idea just a second ago," Marshal whimpered. Alex turned to the man with anger flaring in his eyes.
 

"We're not going that way," he said coldly. "Now, torch them."

Flaming bottles of diesel rained down on the approaching horde. The bottles shattered, igniting and throwing their contests in every direction. The decomposing bodies went up like torches as the Corsairs sped away.
 

-----

The sun was quickly setting and darkness was starting to fall over the group. The Corsairs had ditched the remaining Humvee after crossing interstate highway 35 and making their way in to the heart of downtown Austin. The engines were too loud and drawing too much attention from the zombies in the area. They were now on foot, sneaking through back alleys and side streets, slowly making their way to their destination.
 

"We need to find some place to hide for the night," Marshal said. The man had been repeating this phrase ever since his objections at ditching the Humvee had been ignored. The entire team was quickly losing patience with the man.
 

"We are less than a mile from the compound," Alex said. "We're not stopping until we make it there." He turned back to the man and said, "So shut up and stop bitching." Bringing his attention back to the team in front of him, Alex quietly spoke to Donovan on point. "How much longer do you think, Donovan?"

Donovan glanced down at the GPS system in his hand. "Depends on if we run into anymore deaders," he said over his shoulder. "Best guess, forty-five minutes to and hour."

Alex looked up at the darkening sky and grimaced. "It's going to be dark before we get there. Everyone needs to be especially careful. Anything wandering around out here is going to be harder to spot."
 

"Which is why we need to find a place to hide for the night." Marshal's fatalistic attitude had finally gotten the best of Alex and he turned on the man, weapon trained on the man's chest.
 

"Shut up, Marshal. Shut the fuck up, or so help me I'll put the bullets in you myself." Everyone in the team watched the scene playing out, not sure if Alex was going to shoot him or not. Marshal's eyes were wide with fear.
 

"Just wait...just...just." Marshal sputtered as held his hands out in front of him.
 

"Just shut up," Alex said and lowered his carbine. He turned his back on the man and started walking again. "Let's go."

The team continued on their course in silence, no one wanting to draw Alex's anger, even though they all felt the same towards Marshal. The stress was getting to everyone, and they were all struggling with keeping their sanity together.
 

"Movement," Donovan whispered back to the group and everyone froze in place. In the silence, the group could hear the shuffling of feet up ahead of them. Donovan turned back and held a finger to his lips indicating for everyone to stay silent. He lowered his carbine to hang at his side and silently unsheathed the Kbar from his thigh.

A hand on Donovan's shoulder made him pause and look behind him. Alex stood there, shaking his head. Donovan's eyes flicked back to the zombie crossing in front of them, pleading for Alex to let him go and kill the creature. Alex leaned forward and whispered in his ear. "Not worth the risk. Let it go."