Ragnarok Rising: The Awakening (Book One of The Ragnarok Rising Saga) (32 page)

“Dumb and Dumber,” whispered Spec-4
, smirking.

I suppressed a chuckle.

“We can make introductions later, I suppose,” said Maddie. “Now, let’s go rescue your officer-friends.”

I fired the engine back to life and put it in gear.
Giving it some gas, I pushed against the fence. It creaked and cracked, then broke outwards. With a lurch, we were through and into the rough field beyond it. I took it slow and avoided the trees. I didn’t expect to see any zombies out here, but I wouldn’t rule it out completely. It wasn’t long before the land started sloping down.

“Oh, by the way,” said Maddie.
“There’s a creek back here. It might have some water in it, too.”

She wasn’t kidding.
I slowed down to go through some bushes and the front of the Humvee dropped into the water. A wave of water came over the hood and splashed against the windshield. I kept steady pressure on the gas pedal, despite an initial panic. The big diesel kept right on chugging as the wheels found the bottom of the creek and dug in.

When I caught traction and kept going, the water leveled out about a foot below the bottom of the windows.
I kept steady pressure on the gas and didn’t let up. Slowly, we crossed the creek. It was slightly wider than the length of the Humvee. Without bogging down, we crossed the creek and climbed the opposite bank. I released the breath I didn’t realize I was holding once we were back on solid ground.

I looked back to see Southard preparing to follow.
The big Bronco sat up a little higher than the Humvee, but we had a wider wheel base. Chuck would have to be careful. I stepped out of the vehicle and pointed at my radio.

Then I keyed up and said, “Take it slow and easy, Chuck.
It’s deep, but not too bad. Put it in four-low and keep the gas steady. Don’t get stuck, because I ain’t swimming for you.”

“Got it,” he replied.

I watched as he shifted the gears and got ready. Then he slowly released the clutch and headed across. Learning from my crossing, Chuck hit it at a steady pace. In less than a minute, he was crawling his way up the bank on our side of the creek. He pulled up behind me and gave me the thumbs up. I walked over to his window and he rolled it down.

“Nicely done,” I said.

“Thanks. I have to say this Bronco is sweet.”

“Glad you like it.
Let’s get moving.”

I headed back to the Humvee.
I checked my watch and noticed that it was pretty much time for the extraction team to arrive. I stopped in my tracks and cocked my head. I could faintly hear the sound of rotors. It was also the top of the hour. I debated on contacting Sergeant Daniels, but thought better of it. If the extraction team was monitoring radio frequencies, they could triangulate in on our position. I really didn’t want that. I was turning to say something to Southard about that when the radio came to life.

“Sergeant Daniels to Grant,” said the radio.

I sighed, and keyed up. “Go ahead.”

“What’s your status?”

“We’re almost to your location. We should be there in a few minutes. Maintain radio silence until we get there. I’ll explain why later,” I said, quickly.

“Got it,” he replied. “Out.”

I jumped back into the Humvee and shut the door. Just as I did, four zombies stumbled out of the brush and came at the vehicle. They immediately went for the windows. Fortunately, they were banging on the windows of the Humvee, not the Bronco. Our windows were bulletproof, the Bronco’s weren’t.

“Thank God, they didn’t show up a few seconds before,” I said
, sighing. “They would’ve had me.”

“I didn’t think we’d see any out
here in the brush,” said Spec-4, wide-eyed.

“Me either,” I replied. “But we can’t afford to let our guard down, like that.
What I just did was stupid. From now on, we cover each other. Even if we think it’s safe.”

“Absolutely,” she said.

I put the Humvee in gear and gave it some gas. Southard followed suit and soon we left the zombies behind us. They were unable to move quickly in the heavy growth. I blazed a trail and kept my eyes open for obstructions that might damage a vehicle. I also watched for the library, itself. I wanted to make certain that any more zombies would meet our bumper, not Southard’s. Besides that, I knew the Humvee could take some serious damage. I wasn’t as confident about the Bronco.

When I began to see the top of the library, I changed course to come out along the south edge of the building.
I knew the west side of the building had a metal fence and the south side was unfenced. In another three minutes, we arrived at the edge of the parking lot. There were only three cars in the lot. Two of them were civilian and the third was a cruiser with a smashed front end.

It looked like Sergeant Daniels and the others had been in an accident, and then drove the vehicle as far as he could while searching for a place to barricade.
There were about forty zombies gathered at the front of the library, banging on the glass doors. They weren’t making any progress, so I didn’t think that they were a dire threat to our officers inside. It also meant that we wouldn’t be going in those doors. Well, not without a fight.

I reached into my rucksack and pulled out my binoculars.
Then I did a quick look around and seeing no zombies in the immediate area, I got out. Spec-4 hopped out of the passenger door and covered me. I started panning the binocs around to our west, over where the extraction team should be. I saw three helicopters, moving away from us. They were going west. I couldn’t help but wonder what was in that direction that was within fuel range of those choppers.

“Extraction teams are moving away,” I said.
“At least the choppers are.”

“Good,” said Spec-4.
“Do we risk using the radios, again?”

“I’d say we can
try it,” I said, getting back into the Humvee.

Spec-4 climbed back in and locked her door.
While she checked over our equipment, I grabbed my mic and keyed up.

“829 to Sergeant Daniels.”

“Go ahead,” was the immediate response.

“What’s your position inside the building?
” I asked. “How close to the front doors are you?”

“We barricaded the front doors.
We’re actually closer to the back.”

“Good,” I said.
“You have about forty zombies trying to get in the front door, but I don’t see any in the rear. What happened to Brewer?”

“He turned,” said Daniels
, coldly. “I put him down.”

“Understood
,” I said, grimacing. “Do you want to meet us at the back door?”

“Yeah,” he said. “We can do that.
We’re all pretty banged up, though. Do you have a medic with you?”

“I’m afraid not.
Our EMT is back at the jail. I have a first aid kit, but no medic.”

“Maybe I ca
n be of some help,” said Maddie, putting her hand on my shoulder.

“Are you a medic?” I asked
, smiling back at her.

“Not quite,” she said, returning the smile.
“I was a trauma surgeon before I retired. I may not be up to snuff on performing surgeries, but I think I can handle some first aid.”

I grinned and winked at Maddie.

“You’re a gem,” I said. “I’m so glad I found you.”

“Sarge,” I said into the radio. ‘Scratch that last comment.
We have a doctor with us.”

“That’s good news,” Daniels replied.
“None of us made it out without an injury.”

“Head for the back door and we’ll meet you there.

“Copy that,” he replied. “Out.”

I put the Humvee back into gear and hopped the curb.
Then I turned and headed towards the back door. This was enough to get the attention of a few of the zombies. Unfortunately, one of them was a
Shrieker
. Within seconds, they were all looking at us and turning to come our way. Four of them were
Sprinters
and caught up to us before we reached the back door.

“Do not come out the door!” I yelled into the radio.
“Repeat, DO NOT COME OUT THE DOOR!”

“Got it,” said Daniels. “What’s going on?”

“They saw us,” I said, evading the first
Sprinter
.

“Understood,” he said. “We’ll await further instructions.”

The rest of the
Sprinters
were onto the hood of the Humvee, in seconds. They started banging on the windshield and trying to get onto the roof. The fourth
Sprinter
was now scrambling up the back of the vehicle and onto the roof.

“Southard,” I yelled into the radio.
“Get away from here. Get clear!”

“Are you sure?”

“Move your ass!”

“Copy,” he said, and I could see the Bronco turn and bounce back into the field, then circle wide to the east.

I slammed on the brakes and knocked three of the four
Sprinters
off of the hood. The fourth was hanging onto the turret or the M-249. The three that rolled off were fair game, though. I hit the gas and munched them under my wheels.

“Shake that other thing off the roof!” yelled Maddie.

I was really starting to love that lady.

“I’m trying,” was my reply.

I turned the wheels hard to the right and punched the gas. I slid around and almost struck the curb, but avoided it at the last second. The crowd of zombies was fanning out, some following Southard and some coming at me. I had to get their undivided attention, so they didn’t overwhelm the unarmored Bronco. This was not turning out the way I had planned it. I spun in a complete circle, knocking two more zombies out of the fight. But the one on the roof held tight. I could see his legs flopping around, so I knew he was still up there.

“Tenacious little thing, isn’t it,” said Maddie.

“Let’s find out exactly how tenacious,” I replied and slammed on the brakes.

We screeched to an abrupt halt, and it threw the zombie clear. It hit the ground in front of the Humvee and rolled to a stop.
I swear I intended to just run it over. I really meant to. Instead, I jumped out of the door with my M-16, in hand.

“Wylie, you moron,” yelled Spec-4, bailing out the passenger side.

I snap fired and shot the zombie on the ground in the chest, then adjusted and shot it in the head. Spec-4 started firing into the crowd that was advancing on us. I spun around and joined her, taking careful aimed shots at the advancing crowd. I was a little more concerned about it than Spec-4, since they were on my side of the vehicle and less than ten yards away.

We cut them down to less than ten of them, but they’d made it to less than five yards away.
I dropped the M-16 to dangle around my neck by the strap and drew my Beretta. It was about then that I realized I had made a big mistake getting out of the vehicle. I couldn’t shoot them all before they got to me, and I was standing with the door open. I did the best thing I could do, at that point. Discretion being the better part of valor, I dove back inside and shut the door.

“Get in,” I yelled to Spec-4.

She dove inside, just as they hit my window. Once her door was shut, I yanked it into gear and punched the accelerator. We leapt forward and over the zombie I had shot first. Once we were clear of the crowd, I drove directly into the group that was pursuing Southard. I crunched six under my wheels and spun around to make another pass.

“You are insane,” shouted Spec-4. “Absolutely insane.
What the hell were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t
,” I admitted, shaking my head. “That was pure stupid at work.”

“You won’t catch me arguing,” she said, and gave me a harsh look.
“You scared the hell out of me.”

“I’m sorry,” I said.
“I’d like to say I won’t do anything stupid again, but I know me. It’s really just a matter of time.”

“I’m learning that about you,” she said, smiling.

“Well, I
can
promise it won’t be boring.”

“That’s for sure,
” she agreed.

“Once we’re clear, hit the turret and use the 249 to take them out,” I said.

“Good plan. Just don’t let any of them get close enough to get on.”

“Deal.”

I turned the wheels again, and headed away from the crowd. Once I was clear, Spec-4 crawled into the turret and popped it open.

“Jesus!” she exclaimed.

“What is it?” I said, turning towards her.

“When you shook that last one loose, he left his arm behind.
It scared me half to death when I saw it.”

About that time, I saw an arm go sailing over the hood and land on the parking lot.
Seconds later, the M-249 came to life. She walked her fire through the crowd that was coming towards us, cutting them down like wheat. Then she quit firing and spun the turret towards the second group. The chatter of the machine gun began again, and the second group literally went to pieces.