Transmission: Voodoo Plague Book 5 (11 page)

We kept driving east until I was reasonably satisfied that
we were clear of the worst of the danger presented by the city.  A sign ahead
said we were five miles from a junction that would take us back to I-40.  I had
been wondering if anyone had sent a helicopter to look for us since we were now
severely overdue, but with the state of affairs in Little Rock I expected
everyone had bigger problems on their plate. 

Rachel had played with the navigation while I drove and it
was looking like she had found a route that would bypass the chaos behind us. 
The problem was that it took us way south of where we needed to be in the event
the Colonel had dispatched searchers.  I suspected he was getting pretty tired
of sending out search parties.

The compromise I’d arrived at was to find a place for
Rachel, Dog and me to shelter for the night.  If by morning we hadn’t seen or
heard any sign of a SAR flight, we’d take the new route and keep working our
way west.  Now the problem was going to be finding a safe place to spend the
night.  Not that the big Lexus with its cushy leather seats wasn’t comfortable,
it was, but I really wanted to stretch out.  I can, and have, roughed it with
the best of them, and sleeping in the SUV could hardly be considered “roughing
it”, but it still wouldn’t be as good as getting my exhausted body completely
horizontal for a few hours.

Rachel and I had discussed my plan and she was in
agreement.  I think she would have agreed to any plan that let her get some
sleep.  From the corner of my eye I kept seeing her head slowly tilt forward
until it suddenly tipped and she’d jerk herself awake.  Dog was the only one of
us that seemed alert, his head thrust between the two front seats, eyes bright
and ears straight up.

We reached the junction and I slowed, reading the small
forest of signs that occupied all four corners of the intersection.  There were
ads for tourist attractions, restaurants, truck stops, a strip club and motels. 
A motel would be the ticket!  It looked like all of them were back along I-40,
so I turned north and drove the short distance back to the Interstate.

When we reached the junction with the freeway, it looked
like every other Interstate exit in the middle of nowhere across America whose
sole purpose was to serve weary travelers.  There were four gas stations, a
large truck stop, three fast food restaurants and two motels.  Everything was
dark and as I pulled to a stop to survey the area I couldn’t detect any
movement. 

I gave it 10 minutes, sitting there idling and waiting. 
After the time was up there still wasn’t any movement.  No infected males
slowly stumbling towards us.  No females pounding on the glass.  No razorbacks
slamming into the vehicle.  This was about as good as it was going to get.

“Which one?”  I asked Rachel.

“That one.”  She pointed at the motel on the far side of the
Interstate.  It looked the same as the one that was closer to us, but I didn’t
bother to ask her why.  I’ve been married a long time.  You learn when to just
go with the flow.

Driving into the dark parking lot I steered the SUV in a
semi-circle so the headlights would sweep across the front of the building. 
The motel was a local enterprise, not affiliated with any national chain, or at
least not any chain I was familiar with.  It was a one story building that
formed an “L”, 25 rooms bracketing the parking lot on two sides.  There were
four cars sitting in the lot, only one of them with Arkansas plates.

At this point, four cars most likely meant a minimum of four
infected.  If we were lucky they had been killed before turning and there
weren’t any infected to deal with, but I never count on being that lucky.  I
pulled the Lexus over so it was facing the office, which had a small extension
behind it.  The manager probably also lived at the motel, explaining the
Arkansas license plate.

When I pulled up the headlights lit the interior through the
glass door.  Having already seen us, three infected females were pressed tightly
against the glass.  They were obviously a mother and her daughters, the two
girls not even teenagers yet.  Rachel caught her breath when she saw them and I
muttered a curse.

“Let’s try the other one.”  I said after a long, quiet
moment of looking at the small family.  I really wasn’t in the mood to shoot a
couple of little girls, even if they were infected.  Rachel nodded and I spun
the wheel and took us back over the Interstate.

The other motel was part of a chain, Motel 6 if it matters,
and they hadn’t left the light on for me.  It had a lot more rooms and three
stories.  All of the room doors faced the parking area and I repeated my
semi-circle with the headlights.  Half a dozen doors standing open.  An even
dozen cars were sitting in the motel’s parking lot, all of them with out of
state plates.  There was a small road that ran around the back of the building
and I slowly eased us around the corner to see what was back there.  Dumpsters
and a couple of old, beat up cars with Arkansas plates.

“What do you think?”  Rachel asked, sitting up straighter
and looking around.

“I think I’m rethinking the idea.  I’m tired and not making
good decisions, but if we go into one of those rooms and even a small herd of
infected show up, we’re trapped.  This is block construction and there aren’t
any windows on the back side.  The only way out of a room is through the front
door.”  I said slowly, looking around.

“But would we be easier to find sleeping in this?  If we’re
in one of the rooms and quiet, they won’t know we’re there.  Just like the
house we stayed in back in Atlanta.  That big herd just passed us by.”  Rachel said
in a quiet voice.

I sat there thinking about it for a few moments, then
decided she had a good point.  I made another circle with the Lexus, scanning
for anything approaching.  Satisfied it was all clear I put it in reverse and
backed up to the only open door on the first floor, getting our vehicle as
close to the room as possible.

We stepped out and I led the way, rifle up and ready, Dog by
my side.  He was quiet and calm, which reassured me, but I still took my time
approaching the pitch black room.  Dog stayed quiet and after a couple of
moments of listening I clicked on my flashlight. 

The room was small but surprisingly clean and the
furnishings were moderately new.  And it was empty.  Dog trotted ahead of me,
stuck his head into the bathroom then came back and sat down in front of me. 
If that’s not confirmation that there’s nothing to worry about, I don’t know
what is.  I still checked the bathroom.  Just in case Dog was slipping.

My guess was the occupants of the room had left in a hurry. 
There were so many possible reasons that I didn’t bother to even think about
them all.  They had left their luggage and clothing behind, as well as all their
toiletries on the small bathroom counter.  I waved Rachel inside and retrieved
our packs from the Lexus.  By the time I made it back into the room and closed
the door, Rachel was already in the bathroom with the door shut.

I heard her test the water, which was still on, then a
minute later the toilet flushed and the shower turned on.  I stood to go tell
her to turn it off, afraid the water flowing through the pipes would make too
much noise, but changed direction and quietly stepped outside.  I couldn’t hear
anything, took a quick look around and went back inside, bolting the door and
wedging the back of a chair under the knob.

Taking the flashlight off my rifle I set it on one of the
night stands, pointing at the ceiling and turned to its lowest power.  It gave
us enough light to see, but wouldn’t be visible from outside with the heavy
curtains pulled tightly closed.  I sat on the edge of the bed and slowly started
unlacing my boots.  I had briefly thought about getting in the shower when
Rachel was done, but I was too damn tired.  I just wanted to sleep.  Wanted
some relief from all the aches and pains that were the results of injuries over
the past month. 

A couple of minutes later I heard the water shut off.  A few
moments after that the bathroom door opened and Rachel appeared, completely
nude.  Water on her skin glistened in the light as she walked into the room,
her long hair wet and dark.  I caught my breath and stood up to meet her,
staring like a teenager the first time he sees a girl without her clothes. 
Yes, I’d seen Rachel nude before, several times in fact, but it’s different
when someone is naked because they want you to see them that way.

Rachel moved to me, not stopping until her body was only a
few inches from mine.  Smiling, she looked me in the eye and placed both her
hands flat on my chest.  Her eyes were huge, drawing me in so that nothing else
in the world mattered.  I was having a hard time breathing.

“I’m very tired, but I can probably stay awake for a few
more minutes.  Probably about long enough for you to shower and come crawl
under the covers with me.”  She went up on her toes, leaned her head in and
gave me a soft, lingering kiss on the lips.  I think I forgot to breathe for a
few minutes.

My head was spinning with emotion and desire.  First I
hadn’t been breathing, now I was nearly hyperventilating.  I was even hearing
voices.  Rachel was still smiling and starting to step back toward the bed when
the voice spoke to me again.

“Dog Two Six, Boomer Three.  Do you copy?”  The signal was
weak, partially cutting in and out, but I finally recognized Captain Martinez’
voice and remembered I still had my radio’s earpiece stuck in my left ear.  Are
you fucking kidding me?  Now?

“Dog Two Six copies.”  I said, my voice husky and filled with
emotion.  “Good to hear your voice, Boomer Three.”  I lied, looking at Rachel
with a sad smile.

She was still smiling, but now there was a sardonic quality
to it as she turned and walked into the bathroom.  She paused; giving me a
good, long look at her body, then softly closed the door.  Dog sat up and
nuzzled my hand, got his ears scratched, belched and lay back down.

While I told Martinez where to find us, Rachel got dressed
in the bathroom.  I sat down on the edge of the bed, head still spinning at
what might have been, and pulled my boots back on.  Lacing them up I looked at
Dog and realized that I had never had him on a helicopter.  I would have to
keep a close eye on him and make sure he didn’t get frightened and take off.  I
didn’t think he would, but you never know what’s going to trigger fear in a
dog.

Rachel came out of the bath, walked over to where I sat and
pushed in against me, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling my face
against her chest.  Tilting her head down, she kissed the top of my head, gave
me a squeeze, then sat down on the bed to pull her boots on.  Thank God we
weren’t going to have to talk about it!

It wasn’t long before Martinez radioed that she was two
minutes out.  I asked her to do a check of the area with FLIR before we exited
the safety of the room.  She sounded like she thought I was off my rocker when
I asked her to also pay attention to any animals she spotted, but didn’t
question why.

“Dog Two Six, you’ve got eight tangos about half a klick
east of you on the freeway, and it looks like there’s two large dogs at the gas
station across the street from your location.”  I still didn’t hear a
helicopter and guessed she was flying the Stealth Hawk we’d liberated from
Kirtland AFB.

“Copy, Boomer Three.  Those dogs most likely aren’t dogs. 
We’ve got a razorback problem.  Got a door gunner with you?”

There was no reply for a few moments.  Then, “Affirmative on
door gunner, but we don’t know what a razorback is, Dog Two Six.” 

“Big, dangerous, wild hogs.  Trust me, you don’t want to
meet one.  Just do me a favor and light them up so we can get out of here.”  I
replied.

“Copy, sir.  One pig roast coming up.”  I could hear the
grin in her voice.  I was probably going to hear more comments about being a
big, bad Green Beret, and how I was afraid of Miss Piggy.  Hell, I used to
watch the Muppets.  Miss Piggy scared the crap out of Kermit!

Rachel and I had kept preparing while I’d been talking to
Martinez.  Now we were standing close to the door, boots laced up, packs on and
rifles ready to go.  A few moments later I heard the ripping sound of a
minigun.  It fired three bursts, then fell silent.

“All clear, Dog Two Six.”  Martinez called.

“Copy.  We’re coming out now.”  I answered and pulled the
door open. 

I went out first, Dog tight to my right hip.  Rachel was
learning, and as I moved with my rifle up and to our left, she stayed right
behind me with her rifle covering our right flank.  We moved out from under the
cover over the walkway and along the side of the Lexus.  Now I could hear the
Stealth Hawk, but it was a low thrum and about ten times quieter than a normal
Black Hawk.

Pausing at the driver’s door of the SUV, I unlocked it,
reached in and put the keys in the ignition then closed the door without
relocking it.  The vehicle had allowed me to find and save Rachel and Dog, and
there still might be other survivors wandering around that were in need of transportation. 
I didn’t need it any longer, so I’d decided to make a deposit into the bank of
good karma.  Hey, it can’t hurt.

“Dog Two Six, do you see a clear area for pick up?  Don’t
want to risk not seeing power lines.”  Martinez called.

“Stand by,” I answered, looking around.

A Black Hawk needs a minimum of 50 meters of clear space to
safely land.  I assumed a Stealth Hawk would have the same basic requirements. 
The road to our front was wide enough, but a row of utility poles with both
power and phone cables ran down the far side.  No way was a helicopter coming
in there without tangling its rotor in the wires. 

There were small buildings and various types of obstacles in
every direction I looked except for one.  The truck stop, 400 yards down the
road.  Behind the main building was a massive parking area where truckers could
stop and get some sleep.  A couple of semi trucks with trailers were sitting
dark and abandoned, but there was enough space for two or three helicopters to
set down at the same time.

I directed Martinez to the area and when she acknowledged,
turned to head back to the SUV.  Why stay on foot, exposed to attack, when we
could drive the short distance?  I had just started to walk back to the Lexus
when dog growled.  I froze in place and pressed my eye to the scope, scanning
for what he’d detected.  Trotting through the breezeway that broke the building
into two sections were five razorbacks.  They were closer to the SUV than we
were.

Rachel had frozen as well, standing close to me, but not so close
that she couldn’t effectively use her rifle.  Moving very carefully I placed a
hand on Dog’s head to quiet him and keep him from charging.  The breeze was
blowing in my face, so we were downwind from the hogs, and hopefully they
wouldn’t detect us and would go on about their business.

Removing my hand from Dog’s head I held steady aim on the
lead razorback as the small group moved into the parking lot.  I didn’t like
our odds one bit if they spotted us.  I’d seen how fast they were, and even
with two of us I doubted we could bring down all five of them before they
reached us.  Rifle steady on target, I pivoted to maintain my aim.  Without
warning the lead hog came to an abrupt stop, the other four bunching up behind
him.

They had moved parallel to us and it couldn’t be our scent
that had alerted them.  The wind was still wrong for that.  Almost as one, all
five razorbacks turned their heads and looked back in the direction they had
just come from.  A heartbeat later Dog growled again, and eight infected
females at full sprint appeared in the breezeway the hogs had just come
through.  They most likely had heard the helicopter and minigun and were
charging in looking for something to attack.

They saw us and started to change direction, but the
razorbacks grunted and engaged.  The speed of the hogs was breathtaking.  They
covered the distance to the females in seconds, slamming into bodies and
slashing with their razor sharp tusks.  Four females went down immediately.  A
fifth narrowly dodged her attacker and tried to continue on in our direction
before being knocked down and disemboweled.  Five infected females killed in a
span of only a few seconds. 

But there were still three of them, and not caring about the
carnage being wrought on their sisters, they screamed and zeroed in on us.  I
snapped off two quick shots, Rachel firing once, and all three of them dropped
dead to the pavement.  Unfortunately, the sound from our suppressed rifles was
loud enough to alert the razorbacks to our presence. 

Ignoring the dead and dying females, they turned towards us
and charged.  From the corner of my eye I saw Dog leap forward to meet the
attack, but I didn’t have time to try and stop him.  Flipping the fire selector
to burst mode I started putting rounds into the charging swine.  Rachel was
still close to my left side and had also changed to burst, the expended brass
from her rifle bouncing off my head every time she pulled the trigger.

The lead hog stumbled and fell and I shifted my aim.  He
might not be dead yet, but he was hurt badly enough that for the moment he
wasn’t a threat.  Another one went down from Rachel’s fire, then another that I
had targeted tumbled to the asphalt.  Two were still charging at full speed,
inside 40 yards, when Dog met them.  I aimed for the one closest to Dog, hoping
to slow or disable it, but held off pulling the trigger for fear of hitting the
wrong animal.

As Dog began fighting the razorback I targeted the last hog
and pulled the trigger.  Rachel was also targeting the same one and six rounds
slammed into its head at the same time.  Its front legs buckled and it fell,
skidding to a stop no more than 10 feet from us. 

Dog was snarling as he fought, the hog squealing and
grunting as it tried to get its tusks into the fight.  It kept spinning,
swinging its head around and slashing, but Dog was faster, avoiding the tusks
that would tear him open.  He would dash in and bite the razorback’s rear leg,
clamping down and twisting, trying to break the limb.  Both animals were moving
fast, swirling around each other as Dog kept pressing the attack, then moving
away before the hog could touch him.

I wanted to fire and end the fight before Dog was wounded or
killed, but had no shot without risking hitting him.

“Dog!  Come!”  I shouted, rifle at the ready. 

I didn’t expect him to listen and was so surprised when he
disengaged from the fight that I almost didn’t fire.  Almost.  I pulled the
trigger four times as soon as Dog was clear, all twelve rounds hitting the
razorback in the head and neck.  He snorted, shook his head and tried to take a
step forward but collapsed and died.

Dog trotted over and stood between Rachel and I, facing the
dead hogs.  I kept my rifle up and Rachel quickly ran her hands over him, check
for injuries.

“Not a scratch on him.”  She said, sounding surprised.

“Good.  Let’s move.”  I said, heading for the Lexus. 

I kept my rifle up and aimed at the bodies, infected females
and razorbacks, circling wide around all of them.  We piled into the SUV and a
moment later roared across the parking lot and onto the road to the truck stop
where Martinez was waiting for us.  Reaching the Stealth Hawk I left the keys
in the ignition and the doors unlocked when I got out. 

Rachel climbed in first, moving past the door gunner who was
alertly maintaining watch on the area, minigun ready to fire if needed.  When
Rachel was inside she turned and called to Dog who bounded forward and leapt
into the aircraft like it was the most natural thing in the world to him.  I
followed a little more slowly than Dog, climbed aboard and slid the side door
shut. 

With the door closed, Martinez goosed the engines and we
shot off the ground.  I wasn’t prepared and lost my balance, falling onto my
ass in the middle of the deck.  The gunner handed me a headset and I slipped it
on, ignoring Rachel’s laughter at my tumble. 

“What took you so long, sir?  I was about ready to come
looking for you to make sure you hadn’t gotten lost.”  I should have been
irritated, but something about Martinez always made me smile when she’s being a
smart ass.