Dead America The Third Week | Book 10 | Dead America Carolina Front Part 6 Read online

  Coleman and Miles finished their food and gave Xavier an apologetic shrug, before returning their plates to June and Ruth and following the Captain. Hoyt stood at the pickup, using a metal gas container to refill it.

  “Done with your shift for the night?” Terrell asked as he approached.

  The guard nodded. “Oh, yes sir,” he replied. “Was just getting this truck gassed up in case someone was doing a run today.”

  “Would you mind terribly if we borrowed it?” Terrell asked.

  Hoyt smiled, shaking his head. “Oh, not at all,” he replied, and tossed the keys over.

  “I’ll do my best to bring it back in once piece,” the Captain said, jingling the keys in the direction of the beat up old truck.

  Hoyt chuckled and patted the fiberglass. “Well, if you don’t,” he said with a wink, “I have full confidence that you’ll do your best to commandeer me another one tomorrow.”

  Terrell grinned. “I mean, if you’re looking for a new ride,” he said, leaning in conspiratorially, “you just let me know the make and model you want. I’ll hook you up.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” the guard replied with a nod. “You boys be safe today.” He gave them a little tip of his hat and then headed off, swinging the gas can in his hand.

  Coleman and Miles peeked into the small front cab, and then Coleman cried, “Shotgun!”

  Miles dropped his head and shook it, snapping his fingers before clambering up into the bed. “Just be sure you take those bumps easy,” he said, pointing a finger at Terrell. “I’d rather not go flying out the back today.”

  “Oh, you’re no fun,” the Captain quipped, and got behind the wheel. He honked the horn a few times, and waited for the guards to open the gates before punching the gas to drive out of the city.

  Xavier watched the truck disappear over the horizon, frowning in concern.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Terrell sped up highway 701, about halfway to their destination. The drive had been relatively quiet, with only the occasional zombie wandering out in the fields as they went by. The area was sparsely populated, with the towns they passed through having populations under a hundred.

  Coleman looked over at the Captain, raising an eyebrow at the blood still staining his knuckles. “You doing okay, Cap?” he asked tentatively.

  “Just peachy,” Terrell replied, with a hint of sarcasm. “Why do you ask?”

  “Well, you still have blood on your hands from yesterday,” Coleman said, motioning to the steering wheel. “I would have thought you’d have washed it off by now.”

  The Captain shook his head. “Oh nah, it’s all good,” he replied. “That’s from this morning when I paid a visit to the guys who were always watching the town.”

  “Ah, gotcha,” Coleman replied, nodding with relief. And then it hit him what Terrell was insinuating, and he blinked with surprise and a hint of amusement.

  The truck came around a corner, with a long straightaway. Up about a half a mile on the left was Hobbton Middle School, a decently sized one-story building. Both soldiers noticed movement in the front parking lot, where there were a couple of SUVs.

  Several figures, at least four or five, moved briskly.

  “That doesn’t look good,” Coleman muttered.

  Terrell nodded, banging on the back window. “This ain’t a school day and those ain’t soccer moms.”

  Coleman scrambled for his gun, and Miles sat up, looking through the windows as Terrell sped up. When they reached within a couple hundred yards of the school, their concern was validated when they realized the figures were half a dozen men aiming weapons in their direction. Within moments they opened fire, a bullet ripping through the front windshield.

  Terrell jerked the steering wheel to the right, sending the truck veering off of the road. He hit a ditch and flew through the air, sending Miles into the air and out of the bed. The truck landed awkwardly on its passenger side wheels, and Terrell overcompensated turning the other direction. They flipped right over, sliding across the grass.

  “You good?” Terrell barked.

  Coleman looked around. “Good,” he said, but his eyes widened as he searched for his friend. “Shit, Miles.”

  Before Terrell could respond, bullets peppered his side of the truck. “Your side, go!” he yelled, and Coleman forced open the dented passenger door. He crawled out, tightening his sniper rifle on his back and clutching his assault rifle. Terrell squirmed out after him, looking around at the empty field beside them with no cover.

  “I don’t see him!” Coleman said, studying the area for any sign of Miles.

  Gunfire continued to rain down on them, and they pressed their backs against the upside-down truck, still frantically looking for their friend. Finally, Coleman pointed to some tall grass in the distance moving towards the road at a fairly good clip. Then it got to the ditch, they watched Miles crawl out, remaining concealed from the gunmen.

  “That’s one crafty son of a bitch,” Terrell said, shaking his head.

  Miles turned and gave them a thumbs up, motioning that he was heading across the street to flank their attackers.

  “Let’s give the man some cover, then,” Terrell said, checking his gun.

  Coleman pulled out his scoped hunting rifle, and crawled on the ground to the back of the truck, which was resting flat on the ground. He peered through the scope, seeing half a dozen men set up in an ambush line behind the two SUVs. He motioned to Miles to let him know he was about to get cover.

  Coleman aimed carefully, seeing one of the gunmen pop up over the hood twice and fire. He honed in on where he anticipated the head to pop out again, and as soon as his enemy emerged, he fired, splitting the guy’s head open like an overripe melon.

  Miles moved in as soon as the gunmen all ducked for cover after their friend exploded spectacularly. He got across the road before diving to the ground in the thick tall grass in the lot beside the school.

  Coleman continued to aim downrange at the enemy, waiting for another one to pop up. When one finally did come into view, he quickly aimed and fired, but the bullet glanced off of the hood of the car, narrowly missing and grazing the shooter’s arm.

  The five remaining men retreated back into the school, giving Miles a chance to strike. He aimed from about forty yards away, squeezing off several rounds from behind as they broke away from their vehicles. One round ripped through a leg, dropping a guy to the ground. The rest of his friends rushed into the building, leaving their screaming comrade for dead.

  Miles dove from his hiding spot and tore towards the school.

  “Cap, let’s roll,” Coleman said, leaping to his feet and running after Miles.

  Terrell followed him, rushing across the street.

  As Miles approached the school, gun raised and ready to strike, the wounded man lifted his rifle with one shaky hand, trying to aim it in his direction. Miles was so focused on the school windows that he didn’t have time to adjust his aim, instead diving to the ground as the man fired, aiming high.

  Miles readjusted his aim, but before he could fire, Terrell leapt onto the hood of the SUV, aiming his rifle down at the wounded enemy and popping a couple of rounds into his back. Coleman, meanwhile, set up beside the school door, in case anyone decided to come out.

  Miles peeled himself up off of the ground, jogging up to join the other two.

  “Damn man, you all right?” Terrell asked as he reached them.

  Miles nodded, rubbing his forehead. “Yeah, just getting the sense you need to let someone else drive,” he teased. “That’s two wrecks in two days there, Captain.”

  Terrell chuckled and gave the soldier a playful smack on the chest. When Miles winced, the Captain’s brow furrowed and he shot him a questioning gaze.

  “I’m good,” Miles assured him, waving him off. “Let’s do this.”

  “Good to see you’re in one piece,” Coleman said as they reached his position.

  His friend grinned. “Wasn’t for a lack of trying on
their part.”

  “You had a better view, what are we up against?” Terrell asked.

  “Looks like five guys, consumer grade weapons,” Miles said. “Hunting rifles, shotguns. Didn’t look particularly skilled with them, either.”

  Coleman snorted. “Guess they aren’t used to things shooting back at them.”

  “So what’s the play?” Miles asked.

  Terrell motioned to the doors and lifted his chin. “We go in and take them out with extreme prejudice,” he declared. “They wanted a fight, well, they’ve got one.”

  The two soldiers nodded in concert with their Captain. Terrell inclined his head to Coleman as he raised his assault rifle, ready to lead them in. He threw open the door and Terrell moved through it, gun at the ready.

  The hallway was dark, illuminated only by the light behind them and the doors at the far end of the building. As soon as he got inside, Terrell moved up and his two partners flanked him a few feet behind.

  There were doors on either side of the hallway, leading to classrooms all the way down. When they approached the first set, Terrell took a knee just ahead of them, scanning to make sure they weren’t ambushed.

  Coleman tried to his door first, but it was locked up tight. He turned to Terrell and shook his head to signify no. Miles tried his, and it unlatched. Coleman moved over to back him up as he threw it open.

  It was dark inside, with the metal shutters all closed. The little bit of light from the hallway didn’t do much to show them what was there, however a single gunshot gave away the position of the men hiding in the corner.

  The bullet hit the cinderblock wall beside Miles, causing him to dive for cover behind the teacher’s desk. Coleman fired off a three-round burst in the direction of the shot. Both men stayed frosty as they moved across the room. As their eyes adjusted to the dim light, they saw that Coleman’s bullets had found their target, and older man with a well-groomed beard.

  Miles gave him a swift kick in the head, making sure that he was down for good, and then joined Terrell in the hallway.

  As Coleman headed back across the hall, Terrell glanced at him for a report. The soldier held up one finger and then drew it across his throat.

  Four more, Terrell thought, and continued to move towards the next set of classrooms. As they got a little closer, the left side door flew open up ahead and two gunmen leapt into the hallway. Before they could fire, Terrell popped off one shot, catching one of them in the chest. The other one dove into a doorway across the hall.

  “Miles,” Terrell said, and fired off a few more shots, keeping the hiding man behind cover as Miles rushed up, pressed against the wall.

  When he got right beside the doorway, Terrell stopped firing. After a moment, the gunman came out to try to squeeze off another shot, but Miles was waiting, and fired a point blank bullet into the enemy’s temple.

  The door at the very end of the hallway opened, and three men emerged. They fired off a few panic rounds, and the soldiers fired back. But the distance, darkness, and instinct response fire caused them to miss and gave the enemies a chance to slip out the back door.

  “Move up!” Terrell barked, and they rushed in formation, getting to the double doors. They burst outside to see the gunmen fleeing across the field, headed towards a line of trees a few hundred yards away. “Coleman,” he said.

  His partner drew his hunting rifle, lining up a shot on his first target. “Not a fan of shooting people in the back,” he said, and squeezed off a shot, dropping one of the men. “But if they get to cover they can warn their buddies we’re coming.” He lined up another shot and fired, killing the second man. “And I don’t know about you two,” he continued, lining up another shot. “But I am damn tired of getting into massive firefights.” He squeezed the trigger one more time and dropped the third running man, ending the battle.

  “We didn’t start this fight,” Miles said, running his hands over his head.

  Terrell snorted. “But we sure as shit finished it.”

  “Now we just gotta hope that one of the three inside have the keys to the SUVs out front,” Coleman said, slinging his rifle over his shoulder. “Be a real shame for one of you boys to have to wander out into the field to search them.”

  Miles raised an eyebrow. “And why would we have to go?”

  “Customary,” Coleman replied with a smirk. “Whoever does the tagging, doesn’t have to do the bagging.”

  Miles rolled his eyes. “Is that some sort of sniper code?” he teased.

  Terrell and Coleman shared a glance and then shrugged at each other, chuckling.

  “Yes, yes it is,” Coleman declared, and clapped Miles on the back as Terrell led them back inside to begin the key hunt.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Terrell drove the group up in one of the relatively undamaged SUVs. The tinted windows were all intact, unlike the one they’d left behind. Thankfully one of the guys inside had had the keys, so Miles didn’t have to go running across a field to check dead bodies.

  “Town can’t be more than half a mile up,” he mused as Terrell pulled over on the side of the road approaching the interstate.

  “Well, let’s go see what we can see, then,” the Captain said, and drove on the grass until they reached a dense set of trees. They found a gap large enough to pull into, giving them cover. Everyone hopped out and started walking north through the woods towards the town. As they began their journey, gunshots echoed in the distance, and they all tensed up.

  “If they aren’t shooting at us,” Coleman began, “then what the hell are they shooting at?”

  They listened closely, hearing a constant stream of bullets, followed by nothing. Terrell motioned for the duo to push forward with him, but after a few more minutes the gunfire started up again.

  “If it’s zombies, they must be really spread out,” Miles said quietly.

  They continued moving through the trees, finally reaching the edge of the dense wood. They were a few hundred yards away from the edge of town, across an empty field.

  “Coleman, you’re up,” Terrell said in a low voice.

  The sniper looked up at the tree above him with some big, low hanging branches. “Give me a boost,” he said, and Miles linked his fingers together, creating a step to heave the soldier up to the lowest branch.

  Coleman gracefully hopped up several branches until he was about ten feet from the ground, and then pulled his rifle from his back, peering through the scope. He scanned the area, noting a hive of activity in the town. There were several groups of armed men running in formation around the roundabout in the center, with a few men standing in the middle who appeared to be yelling at them.

  Another group raised their weapons after getting some instructions, before raiding a barricade that looked a lot like the ones they had back in Clinton. They squeezed off a few rounds, taking out dummies on the tops of the makeshift barricade before helping each other over it. Coleman’s breath hitched as they stormed a nearby building, firing even more shots.

  His stomach dropped, rolling over a few times and filling him with dread. He knew what they were training for. And what was worse, they appeared to actually be pretty proficient at it. He shuddered and then continued to scan the area, seeing each road into town had a checkpoint with two guards standing at each one. He saw a small warehouse outside of town with a water tower, and that seemed to be it for the area.

  He shouldered his rifle and hopped down to join his comrades.

  “How we looking?” Terrell asked, crossing his arms.

  Coleman’s gaze darkened. “It’s a training facility.”

  “Training for what?” Miles furrowed his brow.

  “An invasion force,” Coleman replied, taking a deep breath as his friends’ faces went pale. “They have barricades that look like ours, and they’re getting damn good at getting over them.”

  “Did you see any civilians?” Terrell asked, jutting out his chin.

  Coleman shook his head. “No, just armed men training to
do us harm.”

  “So what’s our best way in?” the Captain asked immediately.

  Coleman cocked his head. “Every road has a couple of guards, but since we’re in one of their vehicles, we should be able to catch them off guard.”

  “Especially with three of us,” Miles agreed.

  “I actually had other plans,” Coleman said, and at his comrades’ confused expressions, pointed to the water tower in the distance.

  Terrell grinned. “A little cover from above never hurt anybody,” he said, clapping the sniper on the shoulder. “Let’s move.”

  They hurried back through the trees to the SUV, and rolled out to the highway leading to town. They stopped off at the warehouse with the water tower, and Coleman hopped out of the passenger’s seat.

  “When I get going, you take out everybody,” Terrell said through the open window.

  Coleman saluted him. “If they’re moving, they’re getting a bullet,” he promised.

  Moaning erupted from behind them, and the sniper turned, noting a few zombies behind the fence of the warehouse.

  “Might need to give me a minute,” he said.

  Terrell looked at his wrist, playfully pretending to tap a watch that wasn’t there. “You got sixty seconds,” he said.

  Coleman grinned at the challenge, and broke away from the SUV, rushing to the fence while drawing his knife. He jammed it through the opening into one of the zombies’ eyes, before repeating it on the other one, dropping both of them in a matter of seconds. He glanced back over his shoulder and gave a thumbs up.

  Terrell stuck his arm out the window and waved, and then hit the gas, peeling out.

  Coleman shook his head and then scaled the fence, landing hard on the ground and sprinting over to the water tower. As he came around the side of the building, there were a few zombies standing between him and the fence. Rather than kill them, he lowered his shoulder and dashed forward.

  “You boys are gonna have to wait,” he grunted, and barreled through them, darting for the ladder below the water tower. He huffed as he moved as quickly as he could up the tall structure.