Ragnarok Rising: The Crossing (The Ragnarok Rising Saga) (4 page)

“See that you do,” said
Top. “We need those supplies.”

Heading over to the Humvee, I stowed both duffel bags in the back with the other gear. Once I had the back secured, I headed for the driver’s seat. Spec-4 slid into the front passenger seat and left the back for Elliott and Southard. We all butt
oned down and secured the doors. I then fired up the engine, letting it idle for a few moments.

Weasel-face was on the forklift and moved the big cargo container that served as a gate into the Underground. He was already putting it back in place before we
reached the top of the ramp. Corporal Winston and Webber were on gate duty and motioned us through.

“God
-speed,” said Winston, over the radio.

“Copy that,” I replied and waved as we drove past them.

Once we cleared the perimeter fence, I could feel the old familiar feeling fall over me. It was the same feeling I got when I cleared the Main Sliders before taking a duty assignment, before all this started. It was what my friend Ian Shane had referred to as “getting our game faces on.” It was now very real and we had to be alert. Even Elliott was now very quiet and constantly scanning the area. I noticed that he kept his M-4 across his lap with his hand resting on the stock.

Spec-4 noticed it too and gave me a quick smile. She didn’t miss much, if anything. I realized just how much I’d come to respect and rely on her. She was a great soldier and invaluable to us. She’d saved my bacon more times than I could easily count. I’d saved hers a few times, myself. I wasn’t keeping score, but I was pretty sure I still owed her a few. I suddenly had the feeling that I was going to get my chance to repay her.
Sometimes I just hate my gut instinct.

― G.K. Chesterton,
The Ballad of the White Horse

We drove in silence for almost half an hour, passing a few abandoned cars on the sides of the road and quite a few empty houses. We were traveling on the back roads, east from Springfield. I knew this road would take us out near the small town of Strafford. Under normal circumstances, the trip wouldn’t have taken more than fifteen or twenty minutes. Unfortunately, these were far from normal circumstances.

I didn’t see any signs of movement, either living or dead
, as we drove. Somehow, instead of making me feel better it just made things worse. I was keeping my speed down to give me more reaction time to anything that appeared. I was glad I did, too. It had proven itself invaluable on a number of occasions.

As we began to round a curve in the road, I saw a roadblock up ahead. There were two vehicles blocking the road. It had to have been one of the roadblocks that we set up on the day this all began.
A Nathaniel County patrol car and a National Guard Humvee blocked the two-lane highway.

I didn’t see any sign of the officers or the guardsmen, but I also didn’t see any sign of the dead. I let off of the gas and started slo
wing down, coming to a complete stop about ten yards away from the roadblock. Putting it in park, we sat idling in place as I pondered the sight ahead of me.

“Why don’t we just go through the ditch?” asked Elliott, pointing to the sides of the road.

“Do you see those yellow strips in the grass?” I replied, gesturing.

“Yeah,” he answered. “What are they?”

“Spike strips,” answered Southard. “If we hit those, we’ll lose our tires.”

“Oh,” said Elliott. “That wouldn’t be good.”

“Besides that,” said Spec-4, “if I know your dad, he’s planning on scavenging both vehicles.”

I smiled without turning towards her and shook my head.

“No,” I replied. “I’m going to scavenge one and
take
the other. Chuck, hit the turret and cover me.”

“On it,” he said, reaching for the release on the turret hatch.

Seconds later, he was behind the SAW and worked the bolt. I waited for him to pound on the roof to let me know he was ready. When the signal came, I nodded to Spec-4 and we climbed out at the same time. Elliott was right behind us, bringing his weapon up to his shoulder as he stood.

“Stick close to us,” I said over my shoulder. “If things get ugly, get your ass back in the Humvee. Your mother will never forgive me if I let you get bit.”

“She won’t be thrilled with me if you get bit, either,” he replied, grinning.

“What about me?” asked
Spec-4, smiling.

“I’ll bite you,”
volunteered Southard.

We all chuckled as we moved towards the vehicles, weapons at the ready. I motioned for Spec-4 to sweep to the right while I went to the left. Elliott followed behind me with his weapon tight against his shoulder
, sweeping the ditch. I approached cautiously and stayed well away from the front bumper of the Humvee as I headed for the other side. There was a lot of expended brass on the ground, but no weapons. I didn’t see any bodies, but there was a lot of dried blood. Glancing inside the Humvee, I didn’t see anyone or anything.

“Clear,” I said, loud enough for Spec-4 to hear me.

“I’ve got a couple bodies over here,” she replied. “There’s nothing moving. I’m clear.”

I glanced into the patrol cruiser as I walked past it, heading for where Spec-4 was standing. In the ditch, I saw four bodies, one of which was in jail black BDU’s. They must have been there since the first day. Although the bodies were
badly decomposed, I could clearly read the nametag on the officer’s uniform. It read Landon and had Corporal stripes on the sleeves.

Ray Landon was on my shift. He was one of the people that were unaccounted for
and presumed dead. I had always hoped we’d find him alive and well, barricaded inside a house or something. Ray was a good man. A devout Christian, he was always the first to offer his hand if you needed help. I had the utmost respect for Ray. He was my friend and a damned good man.

I knelt beside him and began praying. Although I wasn’t praying to his God, I hoped he wouldn’t be offended that I was praying for him to mine.
Ray deserved better than lying in a ditch, but the best I could do for him right now was to offer a prayer for his passing into the next world. I wish I could do more.

When I finished praying, I quickly checked Ray’s belt for anything we could use. His pistol was gone and his magazine pouches were empty. His handcuffs and pepper spray were still on his belt, so I stripped it off and tossed it to Spec-4. She caught it and laid it on the trunk of the patrol cruiser.

“Goodbye, Ray,” I whispered, and stood up.

Just as I was starting to turn away, I noticed that Ray had something clutched in his hand. I bent over him and opened
it as gently as I could. Clutched in his palm was a gold cross with a broken chain. With a grim smile, I placed the cross on his chest and stood up.

Spec-4 was smiling at me as I turned back to her. She obviously approved of my decision. Elliott, however, was concentrating on something at the edge of the road about twenty yards from where I was standing. I nodded at Spec-4 and we headed over to see what he was looking at.

“What did you find, son?” I asked.

“Blood trail,” he replied, not looking up.

When I reached him, I could see in the soft soil on the edge of the road that there had indeed been something bloody dragged this way. I could see the faded tracks of two people with the drag marks between them, leading away from the road.

“It looks like
two people survived and carried off someone who was wounded,” I said, pointing at the tracks.

“There’s a farmhouse beyond those trees,” said Spec-4. “I caught a
glimpse of it when we first stopped.”

“What do we do, now?” asked Elliott, nervously.

“We get that other Humvee started and check out the farmhouse,” I replied. “If there’s a chance that anyone is alive, I want to try to find them. If they’re dead or turned, we’ll take care of that, too. There should have been five or six people assigned to this roadblock and I only see one body from an officer. If the others had fallen here, there would be more uniforms.”

“Unless they turned,” observed Spec-4, frowning.

“Yeah,” I admitted. “That’s possible. Still, if there’s any chance at all…”

“I know,” she whispered. “If there are
any of the guardsmen still alive, then I’m sure I know them. They’d be from my unit.”

“Alright, then,” I said, turning back towards the roadblock. “Elliott, get rid of those spike strips. Wilder and I will try to get the Humvee started.
Chuck, cover us and let me know if you see anything coming our way.”

“Got it,” said Southard, slipping
on his sunglasses.

The sun was a blazing disk in the morning sky, promising a warm day to come. The sky was virtually cloudless and there was a slight breeze. Had it not been for the dead returning, this would have been
a perfect day. Under different circumstances, I would have gotten up early and taken my sons fishing. I really hoped that things would one day be safe enough for us to do that again. It was moments like that I cherished.

Spec-4 covered me as I swung open the driver’s side door of the Humvee. A quick sweep of the interior revealed nothing. Whoever had abandoned it had cleared it out before they left. The only thing in the back was two fuel cans, both full. That was good news for us. At least we’d have plenty of fuel to run both vehicles.

“Go ahead and search the cruiser while I try to get this thing going,” I said to Spec-4 as I slid into the driver’s seat.

“On it,” she replied, and headed off.

I activated the ignition and breathed a sigh of relief when the lights on the dash lit up. When they turned green, I engaged the starter. It coughed and sputtered, before coming to life. I let it idle to warm up the engine after sitting for so long. Spec-4 leaned into the door and smiled.

“Looks like we have another vehicle,” she said with a wink.

“Looks like,” I agreed. “We’re going to need it if we find any survivors.”

“Why w
ouldn’t they take the vehicles?” she asked, her brow wrinkling.

“I don’t know,” I replied. “That’s what I would have done.
”

“That’s what we
did
do,” she said, chuckling. “Why walk through zombie territory when you have an Up-armored Humvee?”

“Maybe they didn’t have time,” said Elliott. “If they were being chased by the dead, they might have just run for it.”

“No way,” said Spec-4. “They took the time to clear out both vehicles and carry their wounded. They had plenty of time.”

“We’ll ask them when we find them,” I said. “Elliott, do you think you can drive a Humvee?”

“Sure, dad,” he said, grinning.

Spec-4 gave me a questioning glance.

“I want him to drive so that Chuck is free to get into the turret,” I explained. “I want you in the turret of the other Humvee that I’ll be driving.”

“Fair enough,” she said, smiling. “Think he can handle it?”

“Elliott,” I said, “you stay behind me. Let me do the rough stuff. I’ll make the holes and clear the path. If you think you can’t handle it, tell us now. No one will think any less of you.”

“I can do this, dad,” he said, confidently.

“He’s your son, alright,” muttered Spec-4. “Let’s just hope he’s a better driver.”

I just smiled and slid out of the seat.

“She’s all yours, son,” I said, gesturing towards the steering wheel.

He grinned as he slid behind the wheel and I took a few moments to explain all of the controls. He listened intently and repeated things back to me as I pointed at them. I already knew he was a good driver, but a Humvee handles differently than my old Ford pick-up.

“If you have any questions,” I said, “ask Chuck. He’s an expert on these things.”

Southard climbed out of the turret of our Humvee and headed for the passenger side of this one. Once he was inside, I stepped back to let him close the door. Southard flashed me a smile and a raised thumb.