100 Days in Deadland (27 page)

“Why can’t anyone just leave us the fuck alone?” Clutch growled as we drove back to the church two days later.

I reached out and intertwined my fingers with his. “That’s because we’re irresistible.”

Neither of us laughed. I wasn’t any more comfortable with the idea of tying ourselves to Camp Fox than Clutch. When Tyler had called in on the radio this morning and said he needed to meet with us, a rock had formed in my stomach and had been expanding ever since.

As we rolled up to the church, we found two Humvees waiting for us.

When Clutch turned off the ignition, the back door on the first Humvee flung open, a nearly full-grown coyote jumped down and a teenager with a wide grin stepped out.

My eyes widened. “Jase!”

He waved wildly and met me midway with a bear hug. Clutch came up from behind me and patted him on the shoulder. “Damn, it’s good to see you, kid.”

Jase took a step back. “Man, when Griz told me you guys were okay…well, it’s just good to see you. Really, really good.”

The golden coyote sat behind Jase, and I grinned. “I see Mutt’s turned out all right.”

He bent down and picked up the furry canine, and she licked his cheek. “Yeah, she’s a regular zed hunter now. She comes with me scouting.”

Clutch frowned. “You go on scouting missions?”

“Yeah.” Jase nodded back at Tyler, Griz, and Tack, who were now walking our way. “They asked for folks to join up after the attack. Eddy and I are on Captain Masden’s squad.” He stepped to the side, making room for Tyler, while Griz and Tack stood back with their rifles ready, scanning the area.

Tyler smiled at me. “It’s good to see you again.” He held out his hand, and I shook it, having a hard time returning his smile.

Tyler didn’t even try to shake Clutch’s hand. Tyler never liked Clutch, and Clutch still held a grudge against Tyler for abandoning me in zed and Dog country. I wasn’t angry. Not anymore. Tyler had simply been trying to do the right thing in a world where all the old rules had changed.

I still wanted to punch him.

“What do you want, Captain?” Clutch said.

Tyler gave a thin smile. “Always to the point, Sarge. I respect that. Griz said he filled you in on our current situation with Doyle and his minutemen.”

“He said you guys were at war,” Clutch said.

Tyler chortled. “It’s been more like a hunt than a war. Though, Jase might have found a game changer.”

“How’s that?” I asked.

“Your boy here came across one of Doyle’s outposts.”

“When are you going in?” Clutch asked.

“Tonight.”

Clutch narrowed his eyes. “But you’re not here for a briefing.”

“You’re right, Sarge. To be honest, we’re tight on resources. Before the outbreak, we didn’t have many troops with real field experience. And Doyle’s attack on the Camp put a hell of a hurtin’ on us. You’ve served two tours, Sarge. I need you out there with my men tonight. It’s not a request.”

I watched Clutch turn and pace the sidewalk. When he returned, he ran a hand through his short hair. “What’s the SITREP?”

“From what Jase and Southpaw reported, this isn’t Doyle’s primary camp, but we believe he’s running out of multiple small camps instead of one larger camp now. Nevertheless, the camp Jase and Southpaw found would be a critical hit from a payback perspective. The payload is three fuel tankers, which we believe constitute all of Doyle’s mobile fuel reserves. We could really use that fuel at Camp Fox, so we can’t go in with guns blazing and risk blowing the trucks sky-high.”

He motioned to Jase who handed Clutch his iPhone. After Clutch scrolled through the pictures, he handed the phone to me. Three fuel tankers sat side by side at a rest stop. Calling it an outpost was an exaggeration. There were no fences, hardly any people, and only the single building. If the trucks were lined up, I would’ve driven by without looking twice.

“As for tangos,” Tyler continued. “We’re looking at no more than five guys on duty at any time, but they’re likely patched into Doyle through handheld radios we provided the militia awhile back. I think Doyle figured this place is far enough north that we wouldn’t find it.”

“Which rest stop is this?” Clutch asked.

“It’s about twenty miles north of Chow Town, just south of the ethanol plant.”

“I know the place,” Clutch said.

“I’m leading the mission, and I’m taking my entire squad with me. That makes ten of us. With you, it’d be eleven.”

Silence boomed, and I noticed Clutch watching Jase. “If I do this, both the kid and Cash are on my team.”

Tyler nodded. “I was planning on that.” He turned to me. “Since you’re not ex-mil, I couldn’t make you come along, but your assistance is appreciated.”

I gave a tight nod.

Tyler faced Clutch and continued. “Griz has Alpha team. You’ll take Bravo team. That brings our total to twelve troops for the mission. It should be an easy in-and-out.”

Clutch shot me a strained glance before turning back to Tyler. “Hoorah.”

Tyler smiled. “We head out at zero-three. I’ll make sure you both have clearance into Camp Fox. We meet inside the front gate. Got it?”

“Cash and I need weapons and gear,” Clutch added.

“Roger that,” Tyler said. “Those are two things we still have in good supply. Ammunition is another story.”

“How low are you?” Clutch asked.

“If we’re careful, we might have just enough to take Doyle down. But we’re going to have to get creative with the zeds.”

Clutch nodded and headed back to the truck. I shot Jase a quick smile before following.

We drove away, and neither Clutch nor I spoke until after we passed by the farms we’d looted a few days earlier. “I guess it’s official. We’re with Camp Fox,” I said.

Clutch took in a deep breath. “Yeah, guess so.”

My eyes widened. “Wait. Turn around.”

He hit the brakes and did a one-eighty. He frowned. “What’d you see?”

I hurriedly pointed to a house with a couple rustic tin buildings. “Turn in here.”

He pulled into the drive. “Is that—?”

“Yeah.”

He stopped the truck next to the old tree, with dozens of red apples dangling from it. I shot him a wide grin before we both rushed out to the tree. The apples were high, and I had to jump to reach one. When I bit into it, tart juices splattered, and I groaned. “
Mm, so good
.”

Clutch didn’t reply. He was too busy chewing on his own apple.

It had been so long since we had fresh fruit. These tart apples were meant for pies, but they tasted like heaven. Clutch finished his before I finished mine and grabbed another apple. I tossed my core, and he held the apple out to me. I grinned, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him into a long, sugary kiss.
Bliss.

I pulled away to find Clutch wearing one his rare smiles.

My smile fell at the same time the blood in my veins froze. “Watch out!”

He twisted around just as the zed tackled him.

I reached for my shotgun and realized I’d left it in the truck.

I pulled out my knife and ran at the zed snapping its teeth at Clutch, who was holding it back. I grabbed its legs and yanked it to the side, got to my knees and shoved the knife through its cheekbone. Clutch was next to me, stabbing it through its eye. Jumping to my feet I turned around to find at least a half dozen more heading our way, all looking less than friendly and more than hungry.

“We’ve got trouble,” I murmured.

“Truck” was all Clutch said, and we both sprinted back to the still-running vehicle.

As Clutch tore out of there, I watched the zeds through the back window. They stood under the apple tree, watching us, as though daring us to come back.

I turned back around and sighed. For more apples, I just might.

“You’ll stay at my side and do everything I say,” Clutch said on our way to Camp Fox. “This situation could go FUBAR in a flash. I don’t like you this close to the action, but I’d rather have you with me than alone at the park.”

I yawned, then saluted. “Yes, Sergeant Bad Ass,
sir
.”

He muttered something under his breath. I grinned and went back to scanning the dark landscape.

It took us two hours driving without headlights and around the ever-growing numbers of zeds to get to Camp Fox. By then, my nerves had amped up a million levels. I’d fought against zeds plenty. This was my first time playing the aggressor against other people, and I felt sorely unprepared.

At the Camp’s front gate, we found a friendly reception and load of gear and weapons waiting for us. Clutch helped me gear up before fastening on his own armor. As I checked out my new sniper rifle, Tyler drove up with a Humvee full of troops with faces painted black.

They stepped outside and we all formed a circle around Tyler.

He looked over everyone, and then threw me a plastic container. I unscrewed the lid to find what I guessed was dark face paint. Clutch dipped two fingers in and started wiping it across his face, and I did the same.

“Sarge, you’ve got Tack, Southpaw, Cash, Eddy, and Jase,” Tyler said. “Everyone else is with Griz and me. Here’s the plan.”

****

Two hours later, Bravo team lay flat on the grassy hill behind the rest stop, waiting for Tyler’s signal. To my right, Mutt, an honorary member of Bravo, was sprawled out next to Jase, seemingly unconcerned that shit was about to hit the proverbial fan. Eddy was on Jase’s other side, one of his legs shaking. To my left, with Clutch between us, was Southpaw, the other sniper in Bravo. Tack was silent and unmoving next to Southpaw, and I couldn’t tell if he was even awake.

Clutch looked like he was analyzing the situation, and I turned my attention back to my target. There were two guards on the backside of the rest stop, one on each corner. Southpaw and I each had our assigned target in our sights for the past ten minutes. Just waiting for the signal.

We each had a role in the straight-forward mission:
Go at them from both sides. Take down the guards. Smoke out any hiding in the rest stop and neutralize. Grab the fuel trucks and reclaim any weapons and ammunition.

Clutch tensed, and I suspected he was getting the call from Tyler. Camp Fox had been ill-equipped for war, leaving only the three mission leaders with headsets.

“Bravo. Received.” Clutch turned to Southpaw and then to me. “Green light.” He paused for a three-count while we each readied to fire. “Green light,
go
.”

I inhaled. As I exhaled, I pulled the trigger. My target fell to the ground, unmoving. My shot was echoed by Southpaw’s rifle, and his target collapsed.

“Nice.” Clutch held up two fingers and motioned back and forth.

Show time.

Clutch took the lead, with Tack, Jase, and Eddy lined up one by one in trail. Southpaw and I stayed behind to take out Dogs before they posed a risk to our guys, though I suspected Clutch’s motive was to keep me out of danger, leaving Southpaw behind to cover me.

The rest stop, right off the interstate, was a smart location for moving large trucks. Instead of fences, every forty feet or so, there was a zed, buried up to its knees and chained to the ground.
Interesting defense
.

Lights erupted from an amped-up pickup truck and its horn blared.

“Shit!” I muttered.

“Guess the surprise is up,” Southpaw said from my left, sounding none too happy.

Alpha team reached the rest stop as soon as the first Dog emerged. Clutch took him out with a clean chest shot.

Clutch slammed against the building, nearly dropping his gun. It was then I noticed the Dog he’d shot wasn’t a man at all but a young woman. As Clutch leaned against the building, I wanted to shout, s
he’s a Dog, goddammit!
Instead, I fired off a shot at the next Dog coming through the door.

The shot snapped Clutch out of his stupor. He pulled up his rifle, shot a glance my way, and headed back into the fray. Jase fired off several shots, and I heard him yell. Mutt took off running and jumped onto an injured Dog trying to flee. The coyote tore at his throat and clawed at his skin until the Dog’s screams found silence.

Clutch pressed his hand to his ear. He made a hand motion. Eddy and Jase ran toward one of the fuel trucks, with Mutt on their heels. Four of Alpha team met them at the trucks, and a pair climbed into each of the three trucks.

Heavy engines roared to life, and the lights on the fuel tankers came on one by one. As they started rolling, Southpaw and I continued to lay down fire whenever we saw a Dog.

Clutch held up a hand and shouted, “Pull back. Company’s coming!”

When Clutch and Tack reached our position, Southpaw and I sprinted with them into the darkness. Bullets zinged past us and I wanted to dive for cover but kept running.

Southpaw stumbled, and I stopped to help him. He was trying to pull himself back up while holding his side.

“South’s down!” I yelled, bending down to pull him up. Clutch moved me out of the way and he and Tack grabbed the fallen soldier.

I fired off cover fire as the guys ran past me.

“Haul ass, Cash!” Clutch yelled.

I fired off three more shots and reached the guys as they were loading Southpaw into the back of the Humvee. We climbed inside, and Clutch took the driver’s seat. He was cussing at Tyler, but I couldn’t make out the jargon.

But I did notice the onslaught of headlights in the distance, and they were coming right at us.