Zombie Theorem (Book 1): The Culling, page 24
“They should be here in the next 5 minutes. Saw the forward force hunkered down. I think they should go unseen. I don’t think they know we moved out of the camp.” Apache informs us.
A sound like non other rips from north of us. At first you can hear the APC engines, but then a loud growl growing in volume vibrates the air around us. My bladder feels like it’s about to release, along with my bowels. They feel watery, and I fight to hold them from escaping. “Breathe Dan. You can’t fight if you don’t breathe sweetie.” Apache rubs my back and I blow out a breath I had been holding. I hadn’t noticed till my eye sight felt like it was starting to darken, and Apache alerted me. I take in slow small breaths and start to feel a little calmer.
“APCs coming around the bend, keep weapons tight and your heads down. If anybody falters now, I will kill you myself.” Kuppers informs us over the radio.
I look at Apache and she shakes her head. “He is tied into the NG net also. That little message was for them, not us. Just do as we say, you’ll be ok.”
Brian brings his gun to his shoulder and Apache and Doc copy his move. I bring my M4 to my shoulder and stare over the iron sight, and watch as the infected come into view, some are running to keep up with the APCs, the ones coming in behind them are much slower. I feel my breathing start to speed up, but I will myself to breathe slower and deeper and to calm. I watch as our team click off their safeties, I reach up find mine and flick it to single shot and bring my messenger bag full of magazines to my front so I get to them when the need arises.
The infected follow the APCs down the entrance road to the camp, everything looks like it is going to plan. Of course a certain entity known as Mr. Murphy, raises his head and says “Oh you think things are going well? Well we can’t have that can we? How about we whip up a wind that carries your scent, to the infected?” The rear 100 infected, or so, stop and turn their faces into the wind. Oh my god, did they all turn like a flock of birds? They lift their heads into the air and start moving slowly toward our little hill hideout. I feel a burning rising in my chest, like my heart is about to explode. Apache shoulders me again and gives me a “really again?” look. I let out the breath I had been holding and try again to calm and breathe normally. The infected can’t seem to figure out how to climb the little cliff in front of them, instead they push against each other causing a small ramp to be created by the infected in front being squeezed and pushed down. The infected in the rear start to make their way onto the hill by climbing over the ones in front.
“Stay calm do not fire yet. The main Ridder force has not appeared. I’d like to bring them in closer before we start making noise, over.” Kuppers orders over the radio.
The infected stop after they reach the hill and just stand there. They haven’t seen anything to attract them yet and the wind has died down, taking our scent from them. The radio comes alive again. “Ridder is coming around the bend, but they have stopped in their tracks when they saw the infected horde on the hill. Let’s wait and see what they do. First Sergeant, let me know when your team has Ridder in your fire lane. We will do this on a two front attack then when the infected are done, we will back you up, over.” Kuppers reports.
I reach up and wipe my head and face. Gee the sun is up but with the wind you’d think I wouldn’t be sweating buckets. Could it be from nerves? I take my eyes away from the infected and look back toward the Beast thinking of little Angel. “What are you doing?” I whisper to myself. “Get back to paying attention. You are gonna kill yourself if you keep this shit up.” I say to myself. Apache slowly turns her head to me giving me a bewildered look. I shake my head no to her, and bring my attention back to the infected.
The whole hill force stays quiet and doesn’t move an inch, all heads are kept low and hidden. The infected look like they are losing interest and some of the ones in the rear turn and walk off the cliff back toward the main force. Till they see Ridders group ahead. They then start shuffling in that direction, growling and moaning, hands held out in front of them, clawing at the air as though they can reach the intoxicating flesh. The rest of the infected on the hill turn and follow their horde. They fall onto their faces and don’t seem to care. They just stand back up and move on. We stay silent and mesmerized at the zombie’s actions. The radio clicks on. “Kuppers, this is First Sergeant, seems the infected are shuffling back toward Ridder, and they don’t seem to know what to do. Is it possible they don’t want to give themselves away thinking we are still down in the camp, over?”
The zombies start getting unsettling close to the Ridder troops and they look nervous. Someone on their line opens fire and starts shooting his gun at the horde. He is taking body shots not head shots though. More and more people on their line open up on the shuffling infected. They now start making head shots and taking down the horde, but not fast enough. The horde reaches their line and now hand to hand the Ridder group tries to retreat. “Forward snipers, open up, do not let Ridder retreat from the herd. Maybe the infected can take some out for us, over.” Kuppers orders over the radio.
Far away shots can be heard and Ridder seems to be confused on what to do. To their left is a cliff they cannot climb, to the right is a cliff falling to the ocean. Behind them they are taking fire, before them is the infected. Panic seems to set in and they scatter. Some push back on the unseen force, firing on them blindly, while the others open up with all their weapons on the infected. Kuppers lets them take out half the herd before he has his forces start taking shots, but telling them to wound the soldiers not kill them. Thus leaving them to fight more of the dead.
I wonder where the APCs are and if they have been radioed to get into the fight, and alerted to our positions. My questions are answered as one of the APCs with the M240 comes roaring up the road and starts firing into the horde. First Sergeant’s troops start pouring fire into the APC, trying to stop it or destroy it. Kuppers orders over the radio. “I wish we would’ve had time to name teams, Force on the hill to the ocean side disengage and keep cover but find those other APCs and report, over.”
Doc raises and takes off in the direction of the soldiers called out by Kuppers to lead them on their mission. The APC on the street turns its fire onto the First Sergeant’s team keeping them pinned down and out of the fight. The hill force shifts fire and starts taking shots at the APC. Ridders foot soldiers start to reorganize and sharpen their fire on our forward forces trying to keep them pinned down. Loud explosions rip the day and I watch as someone in the Ridder force triggers some kind of rocket and it races out to the forward positions, exploding, maiming and killing men. With the forward forces taken out, Ridder soldiers concentrate their fire back on the horde attacking them. They take aimed shots now quickly eliminating the danger. They advance using the APC as cover. “Everyone open up on the APC or the troops if you have a shot.” Kuppers orders.
Apache raises slightly and starts firing toward the troops she can see. Brian raises the M14 he got from Senshi and had never given back. He is taking shots at the APC trying to find a weak point. I raise my M4 and start pulling the trigger toward the soldiers I can see. I try, breathing naturally and calm, but I feel like I’m panting, my shots start going wide and wild. Someone’s shot, probably Brian’s, takes out the M240 on top of the APC, disabling it and halting the murderous fire.
Just as soon as we make a step forward, another APC comes rocketing out onto the highway, using its body to protect the Ridder soldiers allowing them to bring their rifles into the fight. NG troops start to fall from well-aimed shots from Ridder. I watch as men fall screaming, and holding onto various body parts. I watch as one man grabs his belly and tries to hold onto his insides from falling out. I drop my M4 onto its sling and take off running through the gunfire. I can hear Apache and Kuppers yelling over the radio for me to get down. But I ignore them, I slide up to the down soldier and meet his eyes. They are filled with pain and panic. I grab his shoulder straps and start pulling him back toward our position. The man is screaming for me to leave him to save myself. But I can’t quiet the voice inside me telling me to save this man. I keep low bent over and pull the man back closer. Apache appears next to me and grabs one of the straps I’m holding and together we pull him back to a quieter safer area. A medic comes running up and drops to his knees looking over the damage and starts pulling these giant bandages out of his pack and gets to work trying to save the young man. Apache grabs me and pulls me back and toward our shooting position. She grabs my rifle and shoves it into my hands and out toward the battle raging on. I look into her eyes pleading with her to let me do what I can to help. She raises her rifle and starts firing quick shots toward the APCs and Ridder soldiers. She stops and looks down at me and motions me to copy her moves. I replace the magazine as fast as I have ever done so, and raise it, taking aim and firing shot after shot toward the battle.
I drop my eyesight and look over our soldiers. I see another fall, grabbing his arm off the ground and looking around as gunfire erupts around him. I stand a little taller, replace my magazine again, and pour out rounds after rounds toward the Ridder troops who are firing on the soldier. I crouch lower but keep up my firing, replacing magazines as needed and duck walk toward the hurt soldier. I make it to him and kneel over him, keeping up my rifle fire. Suddenly another rifle is firing on my targets and allowing me to help the fallen soldier. I grab him and pull him back stopping every couple of feet to fire, trying to keep the murderous gunfire away from us. The other rifle starts up again and gives me the breathing space I need, I grab the man’s straps again and pull with all I have. I drag him back and two medics come up to take over the dragging. I bring my rifle back onto the targets and start firing again. I make it back and find Apache had been covering me. I know we had only been in the gunfight for less than five minutes but already I feel like it had been hours. Suddenly the .50 cal APC shows up and starts unloading in our direction. Boulders are being pulverized, and the ground around us is being ripped up.
Our forces start to collapse backward, looking for cover from the deadly .50 firing at us. The Ridder soldiers seem to be recovering quickly and now they start moving out of their cover. Coming up on the hill and taking better shots at us. The other team being led by the First Sergeant hadn’t fired any shots for what seems like forever. I pray they are still alive and just finding a better position. Suddenly a very loud gun opens up from across the highway hitting the APC with the M240 on it. Holes magically appear in the armor. The APC with the .50 on it shifts its fire, to the same position the big gun was firing from and rains death down on it. I hear a sound from above and look up seeing two Blackhawks that aren’t ours, show up and pour their metal hell down on us from their door gunners. We are being pounded on and eliminated fast from the air and the APCs out in front. I feel hopelessness and dread pouring out of me. I watch as Senshi is hit in the chest and knocked down to the ground. I scream and start firing again from my M4. I have no idea when I had stopped firing. I look around me and see that everyone is down, covering themselves from the fire. I watch as the Ridder force moves forward on our hill.
A hatred I had never felt before, blows through my mind and body, I start taking shots at the Ridder troops and slowly start making my way to Senshi. He is family, I must help him, that is what we do. We take care of each other even in the face of certain death. I make it halfway when my rifle runs dry and I have no more magazines or ammo. I drop it to the ground and bring my shotgun around to my front. I take aim and let off two quick shots taking a man down. I make it to Senshi and fire off the rest of my ammo. I reach down into my bag and frantically search for more shells. I find 6 more, and load the gun as fast as I can. I drop one but my hands have gone on automatic. I kneel over Senshi and kept firing until the gun runs dry. I reach into my messenger bag but don’t find anymore shells. I drop the gun onto its sling and pull my side arm and blow through the magazine as fast as I can pull the trigger. I drop the mag, pull another from my vest pouches and reload and start firing again. Suddenly the entire air is hot and the ground rocks and rolls and I am thrown into the air. I collapse on top of Senshi and something flies through the air and slams into my head. As my vision slowly starts to dim, I think of Angel and how I am breaking my promise to protect her. I hear someone screaming, not sure who, could it be me? I try to fight back, but the darkness covers my eyes, something hits my arm and back, I feel intense heat and pain flooding through me. I try again to fight back against this darkness and climb out of it bit by bit, only to be thrown into the air again and landing hard on Senshi. This time the darkness grabs me and pulls on me harder dragging me down into a hole, then I felt nothing.
THE END
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Summer 2016, Coming soon!
By James Wallace
Zombie Theorem The Siege Book 2.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
James Wallace, Zombie Theorem (Book 1): The Culling
