Desolation (27 page)

The south entry chain-link fence slowly rolled open.

A few infected corpses staggered out from the nearby buildings
outside the base and hobbled towards the open gate, snarling, attracted by
the gunfire.

Andrew and Jerri ran through the open fence with the shamblers
close on their heels.

 

Witt pressed the red button, closing the fence behind them and
keeping the shamblers at bay.

 

The shamblers shook and rattled the chain-link fence, moaning
and snarling.

 

Safely inside, Andrew opened the gatehouse door and walked
inside, coughing on the coppery stench of blood.

 

Jerri followed behind him and rocked Jacob gently in her arms,
shushing him.

 

Witt looked around the decimated gatehouse and shook his head.

“Something isn’t right,” Witt said. “I thought that the Air Force
abandoned this place a long time ago.” He pointed down at the two
corpses on the wall. “Look at their uniforms. They’re neat, pressed, and
these men are well-groomed.”

“Yeah, what’s so weird about that?” Andrew asked, trying to calm
Witt’s suspicions. “Old habits die hard.”

Witt shook his head, troubled. He picked up a green book
marked Daily Log from the desk and threw it on the floor at Andrew’s
feet.

“Deserters don’t keep daily logs,” Witt said. He chuckled and
narrowed his eyes at Andrew. “You knew that the military came back
here, didn’t you?”

Andrew sighed and shook his head.

 

Jerri eyed both men with suspicion, cradling Jacob against her
chest.

 

“Witt,” Andrew explained, “they never left in the first place.”
Witt crossed his arms over his chest and let his rifle hang off of
his shoulder.

“And you didn’t bother correcting my assumption?” Witt asked,
narrowing his eyes. “You just let me waltz into a fully-staffed military
base?”

Andrew held his hands out at his sides.

 

“What do you want me to say?” Andrew asked, exasperated. “I
needed your help to find this place.”

 

Witt scoffed.

 

“You could have just
asked
me for directions,” Witt said, shaking
his head.

 

Andrew frowned.

 

“I was just going to ask for directions,” Andrew explained. “But
your offer of supplies was too good to pass up.”

 

Witt held out his hand, angry.

 

“Yeah well the offer has expired,” Witt said. “Give me my shit.
I’m leaving. You can keep your fucking base.”

 

Andrew didn’t move and simply raised an eyebrow.

“We’re really past that point now thanks to you, Witt,” Andrew
replied calmly. “Things were going great until you pulled that bullshit at
the front gate. Now as far as the soldiers here are concerned I’m a raider.
Now I need your help shooting my way through the base.”

Witt closed his hands into a fist and stepped towards Andrew.

“I wouldn’t have done that stunt if you had been honest with me!
If I knew that this place was still operational then I wouldn’t even be
here!”

Andrew sighed and stepped back, holding his rifle with both
hands, ready.

 

“Now we’re arguing in circles,” Andrew said. “We’re here now
and we have to deal with it.”

 

Witt looked down, troubled. He shook his head and looked up at
Andrew.

“Why didn’t they leave when the army pulled out?” Witt asked.
Andrew gave him a quizzical look and raised an eyebrow.
“Excuse me?” Andrew replied.

“Why did they stay behind in a wasted city when all of the other
troops left? What is so special here that they stayed behind to protect it?”
Witt asked as he stared into Andrew’s eyes.

Andrew glanced away briefly.

 

“How should I know?” Andrew asked as his eyes found Witt’s
again.

“You’re lying to me,” Witt said, narrowing his eyes. He unslung
his rifle and crawled up onto the console, sending glass shards chattering
down against the floor. He crouched near the shattered window and
peered out into the street, trying to make sure that the coast was clear.
The corpses that been gathered outside had all shuffled away towards the
gunfire happening at other entryway.

“Where exactly do you think you’re going?” Andrew asked as he
stared at Witt in disbelief.

 

Witt turned towards him and shook his head in disgust.
“Home,” Witt said with a scowl. “You can keep the supplies and
shove them up your ass for all I care. I’m done with you.”

 

Witt hopped out of the gatehouse and sprinted down the street
towards a nearby alleyway.

 

Andrew’s face seethed red with anger and his grip tightened
around his rifle.

 

Jerri blinked and looked over at Andrew.

“Now what are we going to do?” Jerri asked, cradling Jacob’s
putrid corpse. She caught a whiff of the child’s odor and quickly held him
away from her face. After they were settled, she would change his linen
and bathe him.

Andrew shook his head as he paced in the gatehouse. He heard
the shouts and screaming soldiers outside along with the haggard moans
of the dead. The gunfire was tapering off. He knew that they had to get to
the plane before it took off without them.

He reckoned that only a skeletal crew remained. It would be risky,
but not nearly as bad as it could be.

 

Besides, Witt’s shambler distraction would help soften the
numbers.

 

“We have to keep going,” he finally said as he stared at her. He
opened the gatehouse door and stuck his head outside.

 

Three soldiers wearing heavy armor and helmets were running
towards the gatehouse, breathing frantically.

 

As soon as they saw Andrew they froze and raised their weapons
at him.

 

Andrew quickly ducked back inside just as the soldiers opened
fire, chipping away at the wooden door frame.

 

“I told you I heard gunfire this way!” one of the soldiers yelled in
a gruff smoker’s voice.

 

“Radio it in!” another solider shouted.

 

“Control’s not responding,” the third soldier answered.

“Fuck it!” the soldier with the smoker’s voice growled. “Just drop
him!”
“Get down!” Andrew yelled at Jerri as he dove on top of her,
knocking her down onto the ground and covering her with his body.

The three soldiers outside opened fire and swept their rifles sideto-side.

 

The bullets punched through the gatehouse’s drywall and sent
sparks flying as they shattered light fixtures.

Andrew kept Jerri low against the ground, shielding her with his
eyes squeezed shut. The bullets flew just inches over his body and
peppered the control console.

Jerri stifled her own screams and tried to cover Jacob’s ears as she
trembled underneath Andrew.

 

The soldiers stopped firing and dropped their empty clips on the
ground.

As soon as the hollow clips made their distinctive noise as they
struck the pavement, Andrew hurried back onto his feet and grabbed his
rifle. He bolted towards the door and leaned outside.

The soldiers were creeping their way towards the gatehouse as
they reloaded their rifles. As soon as they saw Andrew they froze–
Andrew opened fire on the soldier standing in the middle of the
group.

 

The gunfire tore through the center of the man’s chest and
created a fine mist of red behind him as the bullets erupted out his back.
The slain soldier collapsed onto his knees and fell against the
pavement flat on his face, dropping his weapon beside him.
Andrew aimed at the next soldier and fired blindly.
The burst of gunfire struck the soldier in the knee and he
crumpled against the ground, screaming.

 

The last soldier standing, the one with the gruff smoker’s voice,
finished reloading a fresh clip and fired at Andrew.

Andrew jerked back into the gatehouse just as a burst of gunfire
struck the pavement where he was couched just seconds ago. His heart
beat madly in his chest. He huddled against the dead console operator
who lay on the floor.

The soldier crept towards the gatehouse, rifle shaking in his
hands. He stopped a few feet away from the door and keyed his radio.

“Corporal J. Ramirez to Base Command!” the soldier said into his
radio. “Command, we have a second breach! Marauders have breached
the perimeter! Do you copy, over?”

The radio crackled with static in response.

 

Suddenly one of the dead console operators was flung out of the
open door, limbs flailing.

 

Ramirez, nearly jumping out of his skin, opened fire on the limp
corpse as it struck the ground.

 

Andrew’s distraction worked. He quickly stepped out from the
cover of the doorway and opened fire on Ramirez.

Ramirez convulsed as the bullets tore through his body. Gurgling
on his own blood, he dropped his weapon, stumbled backwards, and
collapsed on the ground.

Andrew leaned against the door frame as his chest rapidly rose
and fell. He wasn’t a trained killer and he knew he got lucky. If he had
been out in the open he would have been killed for certain. He squeezed
his eyes shut for a brief second and then opened them, trying to gather his
thoughts.

Across the way he saw what looked like a small cluster of
dormitories that encircled a grass courtyard and a flagpole with a tattered
American flag. Long, windowless buildings that looked warehouses
surrounded the dormitory area, each of which were connected by a series
of roads.

On the road nearest to the gatehouse, a green military personnel
carrier sped along one of the roads as it weaved back and forth. The cabin
of the truck was engulfed in flames and the infected clung onto all sides of
the vehicle like tenacious spiders. The infected bashed their closed fists
against the windows and tried to pound through the sides, snarling like
rabid animals.

As the vehicle sped past the gatehouse, two infected soldiers lost
their grip and tumbled out onto the asphalt just a few yards away from
Andrew.

The engulfed vehicle increased speed until it broadsided one of
the aluminum warehouses. The vehicle erupted into a massive fireball and
flung the flaming infected off in all directions.

Andrew flinched and covered his eyes as the shockwave and
immense heat struck his body, nearly taking away his breath.

The two infected soldiers on the ground near him got onto their
feet and started to shamble towards him with blood dribbling out of their
mouths.

Andrew quickly composed himself and fired at one of the
advancing soldiers.

‘
CLICK’
His rifle was empty.
The soldier lunged at Andrew, swiping his arms in front of him.

Andrew spun the rifle around and slammed the butt of the rifle
square into the soldier’s face.

 

The soldier, nose askew, stumbled backwards…

 

Andrew dropped the rifle and drew one of his pistols. He quickly
pressed the barrel against the soldier’s and pulled the trigger.
The back of the soldier’s head exploded and slathered his
companion behind him with gore. The shot soldier collapsed instantly.
Andrew leveled his pistol towards the second soldier and fired
twice.

The first shot missed but the second shot struck the soldier in the
throat and ruptured the man’s spinal cord. The soldier gurgled and fell on
the ground, convulsing madly.

Andrew walked up to the soldier and pointed the gun down at
the man’s head.

He pulled the trigger.
The soldier’s legs flailed one last time and he lay motionless.

Andrew holstered his pistol and ran towards Ramirez’s corpse
and took the man’s military-grade assault riffle along with all of his extra
clips.

He heard clanging and moaning behind him.

Andrew spun towards the closed gate and saw that the gunfire
and chaos had attracted thousands of rotten corpses to the chain-link
fence. They were pushing and pulling on the gate, desperately trying to get
through.

Jerri emerged out of the gatehouse and kept Jacob covered in his
shawl. She looked over at the gathered mass of bodies by the gate and her
eyes widened.

The gate wobbled violently and the metal ties were starting to
snap off as the structure started to break apart from the sheer numbers
pushing and pulling against it.

“Andrew…” she stammered.

 

Andrew shook his head, mouth agape, and ran to her, grabbing
her wrist.

 

“We need to go
NOW
!” he shouted as he pulled her towards the
base’s dormitory compound.

 

As Andrew led Jerri away, the gate toppled down behind them
and the massive horde shambled after them into the base.

As Andrew crossed the street and got closer to the dorms, he
couldn’t help but think of a college campus that had been ransacked. The
barracks had their doors torn off of the hinges and most of their windows
shattered. A few buildings burnt out of control. Infected meandered in
and out of the buildings as they pleased, stumbling after the terrified
fleeing soldiers who were half-dressed and ill-prepared for battle. For all
the soldiers knew they were supposed to be evacuating later in the day;
they did not expect a sudden fight with the undead. Open suitcases,
scattered papers, and loose clothing littered the manicured grounds and
surrounded the flagpole that sat in a circle of grass in the center of the
courtyard and cement benches were situated around the expanse of the
courtyard.

Throughout the base, the alarm wailed endlessly and
inadvertently attracted more infected from the walking dead.
Andrew made a beeline towards the courtyard, toting his newly
acquired rifle. Jerri kept close behind with Jacob.

A Humvee plowed through a row of hedges next to one of the
dorm buildings and skidded to a stop in the middle of the courtyard next
to the flagpole.

Andrew quickly took cover behind one of the cement benches
and pulled Jerri down next to him.

Six soldiers wearing riot gear and gas masks hopped out of the
Humvee and started systematically executing everything that moved.
Within seconds, the infected that were staggering in the courtyard were
dropped.