Dead America The First Week (Book 3): Carolina Front Read online

  DEAD AMERICA: CAROLINA FRONT

  BOOK 3

  BY DEREK SLATON

  © 2018

  The Dead Series

  The Initial Outbreak Series

  Dead Texas: Day Zero

  Dead Texas: No Comfort

  Dead Texas: Lonesome Road

  Dead Texas: The Journey West

  Dead America: The First Week Series

  Carolina Front Book One

  Carolina Front Book Two

  CHAPTER ONE

  Day Zero, +2

  Corporal Coleman sat behind the wheel of the idling transport truck. His ears rung from the shock of it, the breach, the crash, the death all around him. Blood trickled down his face from where his forehead had struck the steering wheel when he’d crashed into the infirmary.

  There was a growl and a moan and Coleman snapped his head to the side, pressing himself against the driver’s side door at the sight of a zombified Martinez still buckled into the passenger’s seat. Blood was congealing around his lips, his eyes dead and devoid of soul.

  The Corporal swallowed hard, clenching jaw as he drew his handgun. His heart pulsed in his ears, drowning out the moans and bangs of the corpses outside of the truck behind him.

  “I’m sorry, Martinez,” he whispered, as he took aim. “I wish it could have been different.” He pulled the trigger, and his bullet tore through his partner’s right eye. Blood splattered against the passenger window, and the zombie Corporal slumped in his chair, finally at peace.

  Coleman muttered a quick prayer under his breath and drew in a deep lungful of air, letting it out slowly to compose himself. Survival instinct kicked back in with a vengeance, and he looted his fallen friend for ammo and tested the accelerator at the same time. The truck was boned from the accident, and barely revved, let alone moved.

  He raised his radio to his lips. “Hey Cap, do you copy?”

  Terrell leapt up from his chair at the sound of Coleman’s voice coming through the radio, and grabbed his communicator, near fumbling it with hope.

  “Holy shit, Coleman, y’all okay?”

  “I am,” the Corporal replied. “Martinez turned and I had to put him down.”

  Terrell grimaced. “I’m sorry man. That had to be tough.”

  “Just doing what needs to be done, Captain,” Coleman said solemnly. “Just doing what needs to be done.”

  The Captain nodded, and then got back on track. “So what’s your status?”

  “Well, we slammed pretty hard into whatever this building is,” the Corporal replied. “The cab is inside and I’m surrounded by one, two, three… let’s just call it more zombies than I want to deal with.”

  “How about the grunts in the back?” Terrell asked, chewing his lip as he looked out the window.

  “Hold that thought,” Coleman said as he turned and banged on the hatch that led from the cab to the back portion of the transport. “Yo! You guys all right back there?” he yelled, but there was no answer. He banged again and waited a moment, for either a reply or just groans.

  He cracked open the hatch and peered in, eyes widening at the sight of the back door of the transport having been ripped clean off. Half a dozen zombies feasted on two fatigue wearing men, but they froze and shrieked when they noticed the Corporal gaping at them.

  He slammed the hatch and secured it, wincing at the thump thump of zombies smacking into the door to try to get at him.

  “They’re fucking dinner, Captain,” Coleman replied. There was a moment of silence in which he envisioned Terrell maybe punching a wall, and then a click and crackle.

  “You got any way out of there, man?”

  The Corporal looked to both sides of the cab that were crawling with zombies. He squinted out the passenger window where the roof of the infirmary was a bit caved in.

  “I just might, Captain, give me a sec,” he said, and popped the top hatch on the cab. He pushed up carefully, meeting a little resistance as debris from the roof fell aside for him. He looked around and realized that there was a crawlspace in the top of the building that he could access, and sunlight peeking through a hole in the roof. He lifted his radio again. “Pretty sure I can get to the roof.”

  “That’s fanfuckingtastic news, Coleman,” Terrell replied with relief. “If you can get up there, maybe you can give us a lay of the land. All we can tell from our vantage point is that there’s a sea of death out there.”

  The Corporal nodded. “On it, Cap.”

  He fully climbed onto the roof of the transport cab, and holstered his handgun as he got to his feet. He took his assault rifle and flipped it around, smashing the butt of us against the little hole in the roof. After a few hard strikes, more and more sunlight filtered through onto his face, eventually creating a hole big enough for him to climb through.

  He slung his rifle back over his shoulder and climbed up out of the attic, standing on the angled roof and looking around at the desolation below.

  “All right,” he croaked into his communicator, “I’m on top and it looks like your vantage point was pretty accurate. There ain’t nothing good going on here.” He walked carefully across the roof, taking it all in.

  Fort Bragg was in chaos. Blood-stained zombies in army fatigues staggered out of the barracks, clearly freshly undead. The front gate hung wide open, a flood of zombies still wandering inside to try to get in on the party. The yard was dotted with clusters of creatures feasting on the soldiers that weren’t able to make it to shelter in time.

  He turned when, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a flashing light coming from a nearby building surrounded by zombies. “I might have something here,” he reported, and then walked to the other edge of the roof for a better view. He squinted and realized that it was a soldier in the window, turning a flashlight on and off rapidly. “Looks like we got one barracks that wasn’t breached,” he said, and waved.

  “Any idea how many?” Terrell asked.

  The soldier waved back as Coleman took out his own flashlight and used morse code to ask the Captain’s question. The reply came and the Corporal relayed it slowly as he translated into the radio.

  “They have thirty-five troops inside…” he said, “but are limited with their ammo situation.”

  Terrell sighed back. “Ain’t that par for the fucking course today,” he replied. “All right Coleman, hang tight.”

  “I’ll just be up here, soaking up some rays,” the Corporal replied, and lowered himself to the roof, leaning back and curling his hands behind his head.

  Terrell strode into Wagner’s office, the man still shellshocked in the corner.

  “Colonel Wagner,” the Captain said loudly, “we have some good news. One of the barracks wasn’t breached. There are thirty-five survivors.”

  The Colonel’s head snapped up, his eyes puffy and red. He swallowed hard, and got to his feet, smoothing his uniform down with trembling hands.

  “All right… I’m sorry,” he stammered, and then took a deep breath, blinking rapidly and clenching his fists. He cleared his throat. “Let’s figure out a way to get those boys to safety.”

  “I don’t have a solution yet, but I think I have a way for us to find one,” Lynch piped up from his desk, and motioned to the far counter housing a large drone.

  “I like the idea,” Wagner replied, “but how the hell are we gonna launch that thing? Don’t you need a flat surface? I doubt those creatures are going to let us waltz outside.”

  Terrell cocked his head, inspecting one of the windows. “How far away from the building do you need to be?” he asked.

  “Four, maybe five feet?” Lynch said. “I can
get up enough speed on it and launch away from the building. Should limit the potential of a crash.”

  The Captain nodded. “Y’all got a folding table?”

  “Should be one in the store room,” Lynch replied with a nod, and scurried off to look.

  Terrell shoved one of the large floor desks against the wall beneath one of the windows. He climbed up and opened the sliding window from its top clip, high enough that the zombies outside couldn’t reach him. He propped it open and Lynch reentered with the table.

  “Now what?” he asked.

  Terrell held out his hands. “Give it to me, and put your drone on the end of it,” he instructed, and the Corporal nodded his understanding. He handed over the table and powered up the drone before setting it gently on the end of the table. Terrell rested the plastic on his shoulder, and gently extended it out the window.

  Lynch stared up at the Captain in awe.

  “You can launch it anytime now, Corporal,” Terrell urged, and Lynch blushed when he realized he’d been gawking.

  “Sorry sir, here we go,” he replied, and turned to the monitor. He used a joystick and triggers to liftoff, and once it was clear Terrell pulled the table back in and hopped down to the floor to huddle around the monitor with Wagner.

  Lynch flew high so they could get a complete look of the base, the ground blotted completely out of view by the horde. There were two intact buildings, and Terrell raised his radio to his mouth.

  “Hey Coleman,” he said, “which building had the survivors in it?”

  “Northwest of my current position,” he replied, and they saw him wave up at the drone from his relaxed position on the infirmary roof.

  “Ten-four,” Terrell replied, and pointed to the other building on the monitor. “Move the drone over to that one.”

  Lynch complied, and the building came closer into view, about twenty feet below. He focused the camera to see several troops in the window, waving at them.

  “Do we have any way of signaling them?” Terrell asked.

  The Corporal shook his head. “Negative.”

  “Well, let’s assume they have as many in there as the other barracks,” the Captain mused. “So that brings us up to what, seventy we need to evacuate?”

  “Let me see what’s at our disposal,” Lynch said, and moved the drone over to the helipad. There were a few transport trucks sitting there. “What do you think, can we fit seventy in there?”

  Terrell grinned. “Hope you boys don’t mind getting cozy with each other.”

  “That’s great and all,” Wagner piped up, “but how the hell are we getting over there?”

  “Do me a favor and point the camera down towards the ground as you bring it back this way,” the Captain instructed.

  As the Corporal moved his controls to accommodate the request, it appeared that about a third of the zombies were actively pursuing the drone.

  “What kind of range do you have on that thing?” Terrell asked.

  Lynch tilted his head back and forth. “About five hundred yards, but I only have about ten more minutes of flight time,” he replied.

  As he spoke, the zombies seemed to lose interest in the buzzing machine and wandered off in search of a living meal.

  “We’re going to need something louder if we’re going to clear the camp,” Terrell muttered.

  Lynch pursed his lips. “If we had a helicopter pilot there’s one over by the maintenance hangar.”

  “It’s no good, the guidance system is busted and won’t be in until next week,” Wagner replied. He paused at the questioning stares from his comrades and then sighed. “Granted, that may be pushed back a bit.”

  “Can it be flown without a guidance system?” Terrell asked.

  Wagner shrugged. “You’re not gonna know where you’re going.”

  “That works out, since we don’t have a destination,” the Captain replied. “Anything else wrong with it?”

  “That’s the main thing, although I can’t promise there’s going to be much gas in there,” the Colonel warned.

  “So, we won’t know where we’re going or how far we can get,” Terrell said, rolling his eyes with a ghost of a smile on his face. “But other than that, we’re good?”

  Wagner returned his smile. “Yep.”

  “Peachy,” the Captain quipped and listed his radio to his mouth. “Hey Coleman, you still remember how to fly?”

  CHAPTER TWO

  “It’s been a few years, but I’m pretty sure I can get us airborne,” Coleman said into his radio, groaning as he sat up from his comfortable lying position. “Where’s the bird at?”

  “Outside the maintenance hangar, about a hundred yards northwest of your current position,” Terrell’s voice came back.

  The Corporal looked out towards the hangar, raising an eyebrow at the hundred or so zombies between it and him. “Hey Captain, I’m not one to poke holes in your plan, but I think I see a slight flaw in it.”

  “You ain’t underestimating me there, are you Coleman?” Terrell asked, amusement laced in his tone.

  The Corporal shook his head with an exasperated smile. “Well, Cap, from where I’m sitting it’s going to take a hell of a magic trick on your part to make these fuckers disappear.”

  The drone buzzed up to him and seemed to taunt him in the air.

  “You just sit back and prepare to be amazed by Terrell the Magnificent!” the Captain bellowed through the radio.

  Coleman deadpanned at the little camera on the drone. “If you are banking on me being your assistant, just know right now that I don’t look good in sequins.”

  “That’s easily the most disturbing image my mind is going to see all week,” Terrell replied, “and that’s saying something.”

  The Corporal chuckled. “Just doing my part, Cap.” He watched the drone flies by him, and held his middle finger out directly into the camera as it went. The drone lowered down to about eight feet above ground level, and several of the zombies screeched at the noise. It moved away, causing most of them to follow it towards the maintenance hangar.

  When it reached the vicinity of the hangar, it cut towards the front gate to try to draw as many as possible away from the helicopter.

  “That was impressive, Captain,” Coleman admitted, “but there are still about twenty in my way.”

  Terrell chewed his lip for a moment, watching the monitor showing the drone’s camera feed. “Hang tight, and get ready to run,” he finally said into his radio. “And for the love of god, don’t take off without me!”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it, Cap,” Coleman replied.

  Terrell leaned over Lynch, squinting at the screen. “When you get to the street, see if you can find a high-end car. The ritzier the better.”

  The Corporal raised an eyebrow. “Sports car? Sedan? SUV?”

  “Doesn’t matter,” the Captain replied, “just as long as it looks expensive.”

  Lynch flew the drone to the front gate, a throng of zombies in tow. It ducked out into the street and he turned right and left in his search, finally fixating on a cherry red sports car.

  “Got one,” he confirmed. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Smack the drone into it as hard as you can,” Terrell replied.

  Lynch gaped. “If I do that, it might destroy it,” he warned.

  “Were you planning on taking it with you to the rally point?” the Captain asked.

  The Corporal looked to Wagner and back. “Um. No?”

  “Then crash it into the car,” Terrell insisted, and Lynch shrugged.

  He hovered the drone above the car, and then executed a perfect nosedive straight into the hood of it. The force of the impact set off the car alarm, loud bleating echoing throughout the base. Most of the remaining zombies perked up at the noise, screeching and rushing to the gate.

  “On the move, Captain,” Coleman’s voice rang through.

  Terrell nodded. “Right behind you, Coleman.”

  The Corporal ran to the edge of the roof
and turned around, dropping down to hang from his hands. He swung towards the wall and sprung off it on the way down, landing lightly on his feet and taking off running as soon as he did so. A straggling zombie took notice of him as he bolted for the hangar, and took off running towards him like a free safety chasing down a receiver.

  Just before they were about to cross paths, Coleman stutter stepped, stopping just short of the zombie’s path, shoving it in the back as it flew past him. The ghoul stumbled and fell face first into the dirt as the Corporal continued his sprint, putting significant distance between them.

  A few other zombies nearby took notice of the fleeing man and took off after him, but he made it to the chopper and hopped inside. He slammed the door just in time for rotting flesh to slap against the outside. He flipped the engine on, and peered out to see Terrell running at full speed about fifty yards away, a few zombies of his own chasing him.

  As he got closer, Terrell let out a scream and the three zombies assaulting the helicopter came running for him. Just before they reached his bolting form, he leapt into the air and executed a stunning flying knee into the lead zombie’s chest, sending it toppling back into his brethren. The Captain stumbled but righted himself just fast enough to fling his way up into the chopper and slam the door.

  “Good to see you, Captain,” Coleman said, as casual as if he were discussing the weather.

  Terrell nodded, chest heaving as he raised his hand and whipped it in tight circles. “Likewise. Now let’s get this bird in the air.”

  “Yes sir!” Coleman replied emphatically, and flipped a few more switches. “Hey Cap,” he said, furrowing his brow. “We seem to be missing the guidance system.”

  Terrell pointed straight up. “We’re going that way.”

  The Corporal shook his head and chuckled before taking off. One of the zombies managed to hold fast to the side of the chopper, but fell from about fifteen feet in the air, crashing into its buddies like a bowling ball into a set of pins.

  “Stay as low as you safely can and try to attract as many of those things as possible,” Terrell instructed. “Lead ‘em out the gate.”