Zombie Dawn Outbreak (16 page)

Winchester moved up to the Sergeant, shouting over the gunfire.

“We need to retreat, Sarge,” he screamed.

Sergeant Black knocked down three of the walking corpses with an accurate series of bursts from his M4 and then slammed in another magazine.

“No shit, son. Is your radio still working? Last I heard was that we have evac coming in to the LZ in fifteen minutes.”

“I’m just hitting static,” he shouted over the din of the firefight.

From all four directions the undead locals were now shambling towards them. The real problem though was the number of insurgents who were using them as cover to get closer to attack the marines. Sergeant Black needed no encouragement to leave the scene.

“Come on marines, follow me!” he shouted as he moved off to the left and into the alleyway.

The other seven followed in quick succession with Winchester covering the rear. As they rounded the first corner they ran into three of the walking corpses. Without stopping Black smashed the first one down with the butt of his M4 and then fired three short bursts into each of them. In literally three seconds they were past the bodies and moving deeper into the back streets. An RPG whistled by, missing the unit and hitting one of the houses a short distance away. The shock of the attacker being so close forced the marines close to the walls of the buildings but they kept on moving, firing at any targets as they emerged.

They now turned left onto a long alleyway that ran parallel to the main street. From what Black remembered this route took them almost directly back to the LZ. He signalled to the marines to keep moving whilst he spoke to Torres.

“You got any power left in your phone?” he asked, expecting to hear him bitch and whine about the battery life issues once more.

Torres flipped the phone out of a pouch and held it in the shade of the wall to view the screen.

“Yeah, Sarge, I’ve got one bar of power and a signal.”

“Fuck yeah!” answered Sergeant Black.

“Call HQ, tell them they’ll be coming in hot. We need extraction from the LZ in eight minutes, no later. Got it?” he continued.

Torres nodded and hit the emergency contact the marines were all given in case of radio issues. At least one good thing had come from watching Heartbreak Ridge all those years ago!

The rest of the unit kept moving, they couldn’t afford to stop as the number of the walking corpses in the town seemed to be increasing, with the majority right behind the marines. More of the creatures appeared ahead, blocking the alley with their numbers. Just as the marines were about to change direction a three man group of insurgents appeared just feet from the walking dead. With a scream, the first was dragged down, teeth and hands tearing at his body. The other two tried to run but fire from the marines stopped them in their tracks.

The insurgent was still screaming yet the marines did nothing. Fernanda, in contrast to the others, aimed her rifle down the street and pulled the trigger but the barrel was knocked up by Winchester, the bullets blasted off harmlessly into the air.

“What the fuck!” she shouted.

Sergeant Black towered in front of them, “Fuck em! It’s time for payback, come on!”

He moved off down a narrow alley to the right and then took a hard left, still moving in roughly the same direction as before so they could reach the landing zone. As the insurgent started to disappear from view, Winchester gave him one last glance. The man was reaching down for something. Before the marine could respond the enemy soldier vanished in a flash of light and smoke, he’d obviously decided to use his suicide belt.

“At last, a fucking use for the bastards!” he muttered to himself.

He rejoined the survivors as they continued their retreat to the landing zone. Tracer fire hit down the alley, as more insurgents moved in to surround the beleaguered marines.    Two of the riflemen were cut down before the rest could take cover. As they returned fire the telltale smoke trails of two RPG rockets blasted towards them.

“Come on!” shouted Sergeant Black as he lifted himself up and zigzagged down the narrow alley and into the open space beyond.

The marines followed, each firing short bursts behind them at the distant targets. As Sergeant Black left the outskirts of the town he slid down behind the first rocks he found. Lifting his weapon he fired repeatedly into the pursuing enemy, now unclear whether they were walking corpses or the Taliban. Either way they needed to die. The rest of the marines tumbled out of the dust and debris filled alley, first Torres, then Fernanda and then a massive blast. The entire alley disappeared in flashes of fire and smoke as multiple RPG rockets peppered the area. More gunfire hit the scene and it looked like nobody else could possibly survive.

Black, Torres and Fernanda all took cover in the rocks, taking pot shots at any targets as they emerged from the many alleys and lanes in the town. They were down to their rifles and M4s, no machineguns now left in their hands.

Sergeant Black lifted himself up carefully, still watching for survivors. The sound of an aircraft, possibly a helicopter could just be heard coming from the south. He turned to see how far away it was, by his estimate they had probably two minutes till it reached them. The LZ was literally thirty seconds jog from their position in the rocks though there was no sign of the marines or the LT.

Another explosion blasted the edge of the town. The three kept low, avoiding the debris and more frequent rifle fire. As the smoke and debris cleared an injured, but still standing, Winchester staggered out.

“Holy shit!” shouted Torres as he ran down to help the man.

Sergeant Black gave Fernanda a grim look.

“We need to get to the LZ, you give Torres a hand, I’ll look for the LT,” he ordered.

Black moved up to the ridge and the LZ whilst the other two marines moved down to help Winchester.

Black scrambled up the ridge, making it to the top in just seconds. He was astonished to find the position deserted. There were no weapons, equipment or marines. He scanned the area quickly but still no sign. As he turned to check on the progress of Winchester he spotted movement in the small blockhouse. He looked carefully, spotting the shape of a man inside. Without pausing he ran to the building and kicked open the door. Inside was the cowering figure of Lieutenant Wade. The Sergeant leaned towards him and grabbed the man, yanking him up and then dragged him out of the room.

“Sir, where is 1st Squad?” he shouted.

Lieutenant Wade muttered something incomprehensible. Sergeant Black, now lacking patience simply ignored the muttering and shouted at him.

“Where the fuck are they, Sir? Where are my men?”

The aircraft was now just a few hundred metres away. It was another of the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. It circled the position and gunfire poured from the rear ramp position where a marine manned a machinegun.

The other three survivors were now up with Sergeant Black, watching both the Osprey and the distant town for hostiles.

“Sarge!” shouted Torres, pointing to the main street.

He turned to see a dull red Toyota Hilux pickup tearing down the road. On the bed of the truck were half a dozen insurgents, all heavily armed. The ground around the marines now threw up tonnes of debris as the Osprey came in low to land, its rear facing the marines and the gunner still shooting.

“Get in!” shouted Black as he led the group to the ramp.

In just seconds the marines were aboard and the aircraft was already climbing steadily away from the town. The gunner fired a few more shots then stopped as they moved out of range.

Lieutenant Wade sat alongside Black in the aircraft and had already started to regain some of his composure, now that the unit was safe and leaving the area. He looked around the aircraft and was about to speak when he uncontrollably spasmed. With a heavy cough a mouthful of congealed blood dripped out of his mouth onto the floor of the craft. Winchester and Torres moved back inside the Osprey whilst Sergeant Black lifted himself up to face the officer.

“You been bitten, Sir?” he asked suspiciously.

The officer looked at his left arm, cradling a wounded arm.

“It’s your fault you fucks. You abandoned me!” he cried.

Torres made a move towards him to punch the man, only to be stopped by Fernanda.

“He’s not worth it, man. Leave it for his court martial!”

Wade seemed disinterested by the unfolding drama. He looked around at them all.

 “Court martial? Fuck you all, fuck you all, you disobeyed my orders!” he whined.

Sergeant Black pointed out through the open cargo ramp at something.

“Holy shit, did you see that?” he asked.

Wade turned around for a better view, squinting at the bright light from the unrelenting Afghan sun. Black gave a brief look at the filthy and exhausted marines, spotting the nod from Fernanda and with one swift motion slammed his boot into Wade’s lower back, knocking him out of the cabin and down the rear ramp. Wade turned around trying to grab at something, anything that would stop him falling. It was too late though and with one last stumble he fell from the rear of the Osprey, tumbling to the arid Afghan terrain below.

Fernanda watched him fall, shouting as she watched him drop, “Die you spineless fuck!”

It took only a few moments for Wade’s body to hit the ground, the impact on the hard ground instantly breaking his back. Blood spurted from his mouth and he choked on the blood in his lungs. He had just seconds to live and yet he struggled to look up at the bright sky. The mortally wounded officer spotted something approaching, it was the red Toyota.

As it stopped nearby a number of insurgents approached leaning down and pulling at him and his equipment. With a cough and one last splutter he died.

As the Taliban soldiers stripped the officer of his webbing and equipment the oldest noticed movement in the body. He leaned in closely, pushing the head back with his Kalashnikov. The man’s face was pale and blood was dripping from his mouth. Before he realised what was happening the American lurched forwards and sank his teeth into the militant’s throat.

Bristol, England

Driving through the suburbs of the city was a truly depressing sight. All around them were bodies, both dead and walking. Cars were scattered about the streets, the odd building was on fire, rubbish was scattered everywhere. The creatures were less of a problem now that they were in a car, but they couldn’t drive forever. Gary was driving as quickly as he could, considering the circumstances. Too slow and any chance of saving his family would be at risk, too fast and the danger of a collision or damage to the underside of the car increased.

“Get a fucking shift on, mate!” shouted Matt.

“Don’t push me, I’m going as fast as is sensible,” said Gary.

“Fuck sensible, put your foot down!” shouted Matt.

“Quit whining like a little girl and start taking this seriously!” shouted Gary.

As they approached a four way junction two vehicles raced past in front of them, with no caution for any other potential survivors. They were probably some of the few survivors in the area, but it was now every man for himself. As they passed the junction they could see a large scattering of creatures in the direction from where the vehicles had come from.

The area was eerily silent as they drove down dirty and bloodied streets, evading the creatures they encountered. It was a busy city that they were used to working in, now there was just the sound of the odd car that people were using to escape the devastation. They could hear the odd scream from shops and houses that they drove past, but it was too late for those people.

“We’re just a few streets away now, so be ready,” said Gary.

“For what?” asked Matt.

“Honestly I don’t know, just be alert,” said Gary.

Turning the bend they found a several car pileup. A minibus was overturned and some other cars had smashed into it, there was no way through. Gary brought their car to a standstill, whilst thinking of the best response.

“Go around?” asked Matt.

“No, it’s only a short walk from here, and the car has too little fuel to get us far after we get to the house anyway,” said Gary.

“Fucking wonderful,” said Matt.

“Yeh, well come up with a better solution and we’ll do it,” said Gary.

“Alright, alright, let’s get on with it,” said Matt.

Gary cut the engine and the two men got out with their weapons. It was quite clear that any idiot could outrun these zombies, but the idea of being stuck on foot in a city full of them was a frightful thought.

“Stick close and follow me,” said Gary.

The two men walked up to the crashed vehicles and looked into the wrecked Mondeo that was closest to them. The driver was still sitting in his seat, keeled over the steering wheel. Matt looked in to see if the man was still alive, a natural instinct from their day job. His elbow guard knocked the pillar of the door and the driver suddenly twisted and looked up at Matt. The copper quickly leapt back in shock as he realised that it was a zombie. Fortunately, the creature was firmly trapped within the damaged vehicle, held in place by the steering column crushing its torso into the seat. It pulled in every direction to try and get free, desperate to reach the men.

“Jesus that was close,” said Matt.

“No shit, next time don’t get near to anything resembling a person without prodding them first,” said Gary.

“Fair play,” said Matt.

The two men climbed onto the bonnet of the car and used it as a stepping stone to get over the wreckage before them. Gary hoisted himself onto the overturned minibus to get a better look at their surroundings. He stood up on the chassis of the vehicle. Looking around he could see no signs of life, only a few staggering creatures.

“Mate, what are the chances your wife and kid are alive?” asked Matt.

“Don’t talk that way, we’ll know soon enough,” said Gary.

“And what if they’re zombies?” asked Matt.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” said Gary.

“You reckon you can handle it?” asked Matt.