Brent Acuff - Undead Nation 02 (9 page)

Alex stopped at the corner of the house behind which the humvees were parked and peered around. The sounds of the zombies swarming around the building that hid them was unbelievable. There had to be dozens of zombies milling around the building looking for a way in. Alex turned back to the Corsairs -- he still laughed inside every time the thought about the name that they had chosen -- and shook his head. Donovan moved up from the rear to switch places with Alex. He too looked around the corner of the house and was disturbed by the scene before him.
 

"Well," Donovan whispered back to Alex, "what are we going to do? We are a long way away from where we need to be, and we can't really get there without those humvees."

Alex shook his head and looked back over his shoulder at the group behind him. "We need a plan," he said in an aside to Donovan.
 

Liam was the next to work their way to the front of the group. "What's the hold up?" he asked.

Alex nodded his head in the direction of the humvees. "Company," he said. Liam eased away from the wall and looked around the corner.
 

"Damn," he whispered.
 

"You said it," Alex agreed. "We need and idea."

"Well," Liam said looking around the area. "Our first idea should be to get inside so we are not exposed to wandering eyes." He pointed to the house which they were hiding behind and said, "Let's get in there. Then we can take a few minutes and hash things out."

Donovan and Alex looked to one another and nodded in agreement. "Okay, sounds good. Let's go. Same plan for clearing the house as yesterday. Silencers only," he ordered to the men.

"Ooo..." Liam cooed. "I just got a great idea. Let's get inside."

The team moved in silence back down the side of the house and around to the front. The door was locked. "So much for an quiet entrance," Donovan said. He moved to the side of the door and peered through the window. "I don't see anything moving in there, but if we break down the door, something is going to hear it."

"Here," Liam said, pushing his way to the front of the door. Reaching into the pocket in his cargo pants, Liam pulled out a small cloth roll. He unrolled the object to reveal various tiny screwdrivers. "I'll be just a minute," he said and set to work picking the lock. Within a minute the sound of a sliding deadbolt greeted the team and they entered the residence cautiously. Each man moved about the house clearing the different rooms and closets and securing the doors and windows. The house was a one story building and took little effort to completely cover. Only the doctor, with the young boy Rod in tow, remained in the entryway guarding their entrance.

"Clear," came the calls throughout the house and everyone returned to the main room just off the entry.

"Ideas?" Alex asked of everyone there. Most of them shrugged their shoulders not knowing what to do.

"I need to see what's in the garage," Liam said. "I just hope I can find something there that I need." He winked at Alex. "You guys take a load off, and I'll be right back." Liam padded off towards the garage while everyone else watched his exit.

"What do you think he has in mind?" Donovan asked Alex.

"Not a clue," Alex answered. "And often, I wish he wouldn't explain it to me. That man's mind works in mysterious ways." Alex shrugged his shoulders and grinned indicating to Donovan that there was nothing to do but wait until Liam returned. "Alright, in the meantime we need to be watching the back of this house in case something actually saw us coming in. Four on the back, two on the front, the doctor and Rod are to remain right here."

Rod puffed up his check and started to protest. "I can help..."

"No, you can't." Alex stopped him quickly. "You're just a little to impetuous for my taste at this time. Moreover, from what I understand from the doc here, you have been through some pretty traumatic shit." Alex gave the boy an encouraging smile. "I don't need any of those neuroses making an appearance right now."

Dr. Cahn placed a caring arm around the boy and said, "There will be plenty of opportunities for you to help out in the future. For now, let's stay put like we are supposed to."

The boy huffed, but relented. "Fine," he grumbled.

Fine minutes passed before Alex heard Liam coming in from the garage. He called for Alex to come and see what he had done, and he sounded triumphant.
 

"Check this out, man." Liam held up his Kriss Super V carbine for Alex to see. It took a moment for Alex to realize what Liam was showing him.

"What did you do to the barrel?" He asked.

Liam lowered the gun, a wide smile on his face. "I took the suppressor from the Glock and modified it to fit the Kriss."

"You what?" Alex exclaimed.

"I modified it," Liam answered. "Just slightly. Look here," and Liam unscrewed the suppressor from the end of the carbine. "This is the mount that was on the end of the Glock. It is what holds the suppressor in place, right?"

Alex nodded his agreement. His brow was furrowed in concentration as he tried to figure out what Liam had done before he explained it all.

"Well, I took it off the Glock and checked to see if it would fit the Kriss. Since they are modeled somewhat on Glock parts and accept Glock magazines, I thought it would be worth a shot," Liam said.

"And it worked?" Alex sounded skeptical.

"Oh, hell no," Liam chuckled. "The threading on the Kriss is smaller than the Glock, but everything else would fit."

"So how did you get it to fit?" Alex knew that Liam would have made it work, but he couldn't quite figure it out.
 

"It's pretty technical. I can explain...or you can just trust me when I say it'll work." Liam smiled at Alex know which choice he would make.

"Trust," Alex said and clapped his friend on the shoulder. "How long will it take to refit everyone else's?"
 

"Now that I know how to do it?" Liam thought, "an hour...tops."

"Get to work," Alex said giving Liam's shoulder another squeeze.

-----

Just as Liam had promised, in forty-five minutes he had retrofitted everyone's carbine to accept the suppressor. The few additional suppressors that were in their packs were used as replacements on six of the team's Glocks.

"Anyone placing money as to if these are going to work or not?" Marshal's tone was doubtful, but oddly playful at the same time. Alex wasn't sure if the man was being negative or just trying to rib Liam.

"They'll work just fine," Liam shot back. "Anyway, you're going out there first."

"Like hell I am," Marshal said.
 

"No one's going out there," Alex cut in before their raised voices drew any attention. "We're going to work from here. Everyone on the roof. We'll take pot shots from there."

Luke and Shawn high-fived one another at the thought of dropping a few of the zombies outside. "It's sniper time," Luke exclaimed.
 

The team headed out on to the front porch and proceeded to boost one another to the eves of the house. Crouching low, each man worked his way to the top of the roof line and peered over the edge. A moment of bad luck struck as one of the zombies, trying to push past another saw their heads appear over the roof. Its moan was quickly joined by the dozens of other zombies present around the building.

"Shoot 'em!" Alex ordered and the roof line erupted in gunfire. Zombies drop with each successive pop of the carbines, their sound greatly muffled by the modified suppressors which Liam had rigged. As the ranks of the zombies thinned, the pops of the carbines began to slow and eventually stop all together. Every man remained still and quiet as they searched for additional targets. Distant moans of zombies throughout the neighborhood filled the silence left in the wake of the gunfire.

"We need to move," Alex commanded, and without further prodding the Corsairs slid over the roof line and down to the eves on the back side of the house.

"Careful going over the edge," Dr. Cahn pleaded as he flipped to his belly to lower himself.
 

Once on the ground, Luke, Shawn and Marshal began moving towards the building that sheltered their vehicles.

"Hang on, guys," Alex said. "This is going to be pretty dangerous..."

"You've got to be kidding," Marshal interrupted. "They're all dead. Let's go."

"Shut it, Marshal," Alex ordered. "Those zombies are all down, but unless it was a shot to the head that destroyed their brain, those things are still dangerous. They don't get wounded, remember? All it takes is for one to reach out and snag you..."

"And pop, pop...you're dead by my hand," Donovan finished. "No cure; no recovery. Remember that before you get careless, Marshal." There was a glean in Donovan's eyes that looked almost wistful, as if he were hoping for someone to slip up.

"Watch your steps, gentlemen. And don't take chances." Alex moved forward of the team. He kept his eyes on the bodies in front of him while listening for any moans that were approaching too fast. Each man followed in his footsteps. Slowly, and extremely carefully, the team made its way to the humvees.

A crash sounded from the teams right and eight carbines raised in its direction. The moan from the zombie was cut short as all eight shooters opened fire. "We need to go," Alex said with some urgency. "Let's get to the humvees, and be careful where you step."

The team continued making their way through the corpses towards the vehicles, this time with more urgency after the arrival of the moving zombie. Sporadic pops from the carbines sounded behind Alex as those zombies which still moved and twitched were dispatched for good. Reaching the entrance to the building housing their humvees, the team spread out on each side of the doorway and prepared to enter. The sounds of zombies approaching echoed off the walls and Trapper called out a warning.
 

"Contact," he said an raised his carbine in the direction of a knot of zombies appearing around the corner.
 

"Save it," Alex ordered. "Everyone inside and be on the lookout for deaders in there. It'll be dark, so be careful to check the inside of the humvees before getting in." Alex looked from the approaching zombies to each face of his team. "No mistakes, gentlemen. We can't afford to lose anyone."
 

With those words, Alex pulled the handle of the buildings door and swung it open. Donovan planted himself in the doorway, carbine raised to destroy anything that stood in his way. A zombie stood blocking the door, the rotten smell of its flesh filling the air.
 

Two pops issued from Donovan's carbine before the zombie could even make a sound. Rotted black blood and gray bits of brain matter exploded from the back of its head and the zombie fell backwards into the building. "We have contact," Donovan warned before entering the building. Shawn and Luke followed quickly behind and the three men fanned out through the building. Reports from the men's carbines only served to validate Donovan's assessment.
 

The doctor and Rod entered next with Trapper bring up their rear. The guns of the doctor and Trapper were held low so as to prevent an accidental shooting of the three already inside. The boy, Rod, was unarmed. The consensus of the group was to not arm the boy until it could be determined that he could handle the responsibility.
 

The remaining four men stayed outside to provide cover for the entry team while the building was cleared and vehicles secured. Their carbines swept the yard they had crossed as they assessed the threats coming at them from that direction.
 

More zombies were filing into the yard, drawn there by the gunfire and moans of the now dispatched zombies. Their progress was hindered by the bodies of the dead now littering the yard, but they continued to move in the team's direction far faster than Alex would have liked.
 

"Call out your targets," Alex ordered and each man trained their sights on a target of opportunity.
 

"Front center," Liam called.
 

"Right," and "left" came the calls from Hayden and Marshal.
 

"Make them count, guys," Alex said in a low voice. "Fire."

Almost as one, all four of the carbines rang out, each bullet finding its target down range. The cycle repeated twice more before the all clear was given inside the building.
 

"Everyone inside," Alex shouted. Alex stepped out from the building and began to fire in rapid succession at the oncoming horde. "Move!"
 

Each man filed through the doorway as Alex backed into the building, his carbine ringing out with every pull of the trigger. When his carbine clicked on empty he ducked inside he door and Liam pulled it closed behind him.
 

"Everyone inside the humvees," Donovan shouted the the team. Bodies lay everywhere throughout the building. The entry team had been thorough, but it was evident that taking the building had been no walk in the park. Shawn, Luke and Donovan were slapping home fresh clips as they stood by the open doors of the car in order to cover the team's escape.
 

"How are we going to get out of here?" someone asked to no one in particular.
 

"We're going to drive out," Alex answered casually. "That way," he said pointing to the roll down bay door of the building.
 

"Someone's got to open the door?" Marshal asked with concern.
 

"Get in!" Alex yelled. Slamming the doors closed, the humvees roared to life in the confines of the small building. "You'll want to buckle up," Alex said with a smile.
 

Liam clapped his friend on the shoulder knowing full well what Alex had in mind. He grabbed the radio and pressed the call button for everyone in both cars to hear.
 

"Welcome to Flight number 666. This is Liam here, your jovial host for today's travel. We will begin our trip in just a moment, but first some safety features.
 

"In the event of rapid cabin depressurization, please put your head between your knees and kiss your butt goodbye. You're fucked."