Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 3): Salvation (13 page)

The bird
took off, and I could just make out the sound of its weapons rattling. Then I
saw it rise high into the sky and head east toward the heart of Yellowstone
National Park.

“That
helped,” said Mary, “but squad four can’t extract on their own. They have too
many wounded.”

“We are
moving south to join four,” I declared. “Squads two and three take the lead
with one as rear guard.”

Being in
essentially that position to start with, no dramatic maneuvering was required.
We marched off.

*
* *

It soon
grew quiet in our area of the forest. The raiders pulled back after getting
hammered by the Pave Hawk, although they appeared to be shadowing our movements
from a safe distance. I briefly considered attacking after the sun went down.
We had night vision goggles, but I knew from past encounters that the raiders also
had access to such devices. It was too risky, and my people were exhausted and
hurting. In the end, we marched back to the hilltop fort. Squads five and six
were promptly sent forward a mile and a half to hold the ground and keep an eye
out for the enemy, should they launch a night assault of their own.

The
morning showed no change. The raiders had withdrawn all across the board, and
the Yellowstone militia, which had forcibly pushed them back in the north,
likewise returned to their original positions. Captain Briggs was found. He’d
been shot in the arm, but it was a minor flesh wound. More pressing was his
satellite uplink being destroyed. Trapped for hours between some hills, we had
been unable to receive regular radio transmissions.

With the
captain now on his way to the supply base, Lieutenant Gikas was assuming command
of the line. The raiders are big on licking their wounds between fights, so we
likely had a little time before it flared up again. Lacking substantial
reinforcements, and with plenty of our own casualties, it was decided we spend
the day reorganizing.

Due to
losses, I was forced to restructure the squads. We now had four of them. Squad one
held ten people. Squad two, still under Harvey’s command, had eight. I was treating
this as my command squad so Tara and Dale helped fill the gap. Three had ten
people as well. Four had seven of ours and the four auxiliaries from
Yellowstone. Tim Myers was now in squad three. He had been in five previously
and missed out on that first battle. The men from Yellowstone who flew in on
the Pave Hawk had been shifted to the front lines. Of the sixty militia members
I brought, thirty five were alive and well, or suffering only minor injuries.
Of the twenty five casualties, thirteen were dead, eight seriously wounded, and
four critically injured.

*
* *

“How
many did we kill?”

I had no
clue and hadn’t attempted to count the bodies when I was in the field, but it
was something I wanted to know.

Captain
Briggs took a sip of his tea. “It’s not certain by any means, but somewhere
around three hundred, more wounded. They just don’t know how to quit. No real
fear in them either. Most opponents would have broken and run long before – I
am referring to the northern section where we were solidly advancing. Anyway,
Yellowstone lost fifty seven. Another forty two are in the hospital but most
will pull through. These are primarily from the south. The raiders apparently
transferred many of their men there just before the fighting began.”

“Yeah,”
I said, dryly, “but don’t worry, the South will rise again.”

Lizzy
snorted but didn’t stop her work. She was composing letters to the families of
our fallen. I would have done it, should have, but she insisted. Her view was
that I didn’t have several hours of free time and this couldn’t wait. The
letters would be flown back in the morning accompanied by some of our wounded.
The pressure on Yellowstone’s limited medical staff was far too high.

“We’re
still attacking first light, right?”

“Yes,”
replied the captain. “I want you as reserves again. You did good getting in and
stopping them cold, especially with me out of touch. That will not happen a
second time.” He scowled at the thought. “We are going to advance along the
entire stretch, small units that can come to each other’s aid. If there’s an
opening, I’ll let you know. As down as your numbers are, you can use all three
Pave Hawks to fly everyone in.”

Getting
a lift was preferable to marching several miles on foot.

“How are
things in the Black Hills?” he continued.

“Could
be worse. Some minor trouble, but Briana said it was sorted out.”

Mary
rolled her eyes.

“Not
what I heard,” commented the captain.

“We lost
far more here, and all of the Black Hills issues are probably done with.
They’ll be okay. As to us, I’m worried about how much territory we’re trying to
cover. We have a wide front and only a few hundred men. They have over a
thousand, maybe, along with any family members inclined to join up. And, while
I do acknowledge that our losses were almost all in the south where the units
got swarmed outright, we still took too many casualties compared to them. It
should be ten to one in our favor, not the four to one we think it turned out
to be.”

“Don’t
worry. It’ll be finished tomorrow.” Captain Briggs seemed certain of that.
“Those choppers will be parked here tonight, so you make sure they’re ready to
go at a moment’s notice.”

*
* *

The
remainder of the afternoon passed slowly, and we spent far too much time
dwelling on those we lost. Carlson was pissed about being too old to fight. He
swore repeatedly that his experience in Vietnam would make a difference. He
knew how to fight in the jungle, and the forest was nothing compared to that.
Lizzy was moody. Even Mary, the perpetually upbeat teen, was quiet. She
generally stayed close but did speak with Michael briefly, when he was likewise
free.

As to
the subsequent attack, well, Captain Briggs launched it the next morning as
planned. The Yellowstone militia advanced and met the raiders who were more
evenly spread out this time, but it proved indecisive. The enemy seemed
determined to avoid a straight up bashing match. They pulled back, moved
around, slipped into ditches or the like. Essentially, there wasn’t all that
much fighting. A few people were killed, more injured, but the numbers were
slight. It seemed an absurdity after what we had just gone through. The entire
matter was frustrating. More annoying was the raiders keeping to the trees. We
had overhead flights, which helped with spotting, but there were no convenient open
areas that would allow the combat choppers to engage to full effect.

And what
about the third day of battle? That was more of the same, except the militia
withdrew around lunchtime instead of tromping all over creation until sunset.
Then the raiders suddenly moved against our set defenses. The fox holes were
deep, however, and the men more than ready. They killed a few, apparently angering
the prophet’s followers who tried harder, and more were efficiently disposed of
before they finally retreated.

*
* *

“Mary, what’s
happening?”

As
before, my daughter was listening to everything, sorting the data for our
benefit. The Yellowstone militia was moving forward with the majority grouped in
the center. After the beating the prophet took trying to break our line, it was
unlikely he would attack again, at least right away. The captain decided to
force his hand and hopefully rout the raiders so our aircraft could pick them
off once they were driven into the open. How I wish our pilots were not
civilians. Men and women with proper military training could make full use of
these machines. The thick foliage and inability to physically see the targets
wouldn’t matter nearly as much, but you have to work with what you got.

“Seems
like most of the bad guys are facing them. They’re shooting in this area.” She
tapped the map. “The raiders are downhill and pulling back.”

Lizzy
nodded. “Good. Having the high ground will help Briggs.”

“It
should,” I agreed. “Anything about them needing us?”

“Nope.”

I
sighed. Waiting to see what role we might play, if any, was almost as stressful
as the actual fighting. More importantly, I wanted this conflict done with. It
had gone on for so long. There had to be a conclusion at some point. These
people had to be dealt with. It had to end.

Our four
squads were on or around the hill with their gear close at hand. They seemed
ready to make a go at it, but that was to be expected. The vast majority had come
from the Wyoming and Utah settlements, places destroyed by the raiders, and every
single one had lost friends to these people.

Glancing
at squad three, I noted that Tim Myers was looking my way. Rather, he was
staring at Mary. That ended soon enough, and he began writing in his journal.
Quite a few kept them. The things helped pass the time and provided an outlet
for emotions.

“Anything
yet?”

“You
just asked me,” she retorted. “Stop asking every two minutes!”

“Sorry.”

“We want
to fight,” said Tara.

Her
brother nodded.

“Not
yet,” I replied. “Honestly, we can’t move until something happens and we know
where to go.”

Neither
seemed pleased, even if they managed to maintain that blank stare which was
such a part of their being.

“Lizzy?”

“I got
nothing.” Her tone was a mix of apprehension and abject boredom.

“Okay,”
said Mary, “they are still moving forward, but it’s slow. The raiders are
fighting, and the area behind them has a lot of people coming and going. It
might be a base of their own. If so, it’s nowhere near as nice as ours, since
we have the best one ever.”

“Nothing
is better than our base,” I agreed.

*
* *

An hour
later the good news ended, and it was Yellowstone’s turn to get screwed over.

“The
raiders are running!”

“You
sure, girl?” asked Lizzy.

Mary
nodded fervently. “Just heard the captain say to pursue. They were fighting,
and some started to pull back. Others saw, and they started to go too. Then
they were all running.”

That
sounded good, and we knew quite a few had been killed during the firefight. The
losses had to be hurting.

“A few
are still shooting, but it’s not that many. I think we’re going to win.”

“Keep
listening.” I looked at Lizzy. “Tell the squads we may be going in soon to help
mop up. Can’t say for certain, but if they run in different directions more men
are going to be needed to track the bastards down.”

She
grabbed a handheld radio, not bothering to get up and tell the squad leaders in
person. Lazy. Or, more likely once I thought about it, Lizzy didn’t want to
miss anything Mary might say.

“They
are definitely running. Lieutenant Gikas has several platoons and is right on
their tail. Captain Briggs just ordered their flanking units to increase the
pace.”

“How
many of them are dead?” I asked.

“From
what they’re saying, lots and lots. We have some hurt too, but they’re all in
the back by Captain Briggs. Some helicopters are on the way to pick them up. I
bet Xavier’s going.”

With the
Pave Hawks placed in my care, currently sitting behind our little outpost, we
were in a position to quickly reinforce the local militia. That being the case,
Xavier and our news chopper were given the task of helping evacuate the
injured. You could squeeze seven or eight inside, not as much as with the
military choppers but it was workable and meant they remained available for
combat missions.

The
twins stepped closer, probably hoping they would finally get to do something.

“Any
mines go off?” asked Carlson.

“Not
that I heard,” answered Mary.

Lizzy
and I looked at each other.

“They
would have mined their fucking base,” he said, “if it is a base.”

“Then
it’s not a base,” I countered. “Maybe just a rallying point. If they are
situated elsewhere, they might still get reinforcements. Mary, get Kimberly on
the line and tell her to keep an eye out for any big groupings, that we don’t
think their base, or bases, are where the fighting is.”

“Hey,
guys…” Mary began to fidget something fierce, pressing both hands against the
headset she was wearing. “…is a green mist bad?”

“Chlorine!”
Carlson turned the word into a vile curse.

She
continued to listen. “People are choking. I think… They’re all talking at once!
I can’t figure out what’s happening!”

“Chemical
weapons,” I muttered, softly. “Lizzy, get those birds in the air and over
there. Have them shoot anything wearing a jacket, anything on the raider side
of the gas. I don’t want those monsters to have a chance to follow up on this.”