The Hunt Chronicles (Volume 1): Awakening (22 page)

I raised my Glock and squeezed off a shot, hitting Jared in the jaw and spinning his head to the left.  But it wasn’t enough to stop him.  Running and shooting was something I definitely needed to work on, especially with a big can on the front of my barrel.  I fired two more times, one shot completely missed, and the other took off his ear.

Just as zombie Jared got to his feet, his head lurched to the side.  Flesh and blood sprayed the side of DJ’s truck as zombie Jared collapsed to the ground.  Fish had jumped on the back wheel well of our diesel, and was still aiming over the bed of our truck when I looked to see where the shot had come from.

The big man finally exited the vehicle, and looked down at Jared.  He took a second to process what had happened and seemed to understand.  Jenna ran up to the scene and was shocked at the sight of her recently deceased friend lying on the ground with several gunshots to his face.

DJ seemed frantic and pushed aside what had just happened.

“Move your fucking truck!” he shouted at Fish.  We all just stared at him a second, wondering how he could just ignore the significance of what just happened.

“A scab is in the compound!  MOVE IT!” DJ commanded, as he got back into his truck and revved the engine.

Fish jumped in our vehicle and backed up before I made it to the door.  DJ gunned it, passing Jenna just as she got into her truck to follow.

“Are we still going with them?” I asked as I closed my door.

He turned and eyed me.  “Sure you haven’t had enough for the day, kid?”

“I’ve had enough for a lifetime,” I said, feeling tired and worn.  My adrenaline had been up and down all day, and my body couldn’t take much more.  “But…”  I should have stopped before my ‘but’ got me into more trouble.

“Alright,” he said, “
Let’s do this
.”  I was pretty sure he was mocking me from earlier that day.

We were a little ways behind them, but their compound wasn’t that far away.  There wasn’t much in the way of houses or anything off the main road except a church and a small gas station.  The houses weren’t far away, just a little to the west, but there was thick vegetation blocking them with the occasional poorly made side road leading in their direction.  There wasn’t much to the east except thick brush and trees.  I was happy to note that very little green had been eaten off the trees.  That had to be a good sign. 

We pulled up to an Ace Hardware just as Jenna’s truck entered the gate.  I knew there was a second one on this side of the city, but unlike the one I met Fish in, this one was a standalone building.  It seemed like a good location.  It was just outside of the main part of the city.  Close enough to do scavenging runs, yet far enough away to avoid the hordes of zombies Fish and I saw at the Kmart Plaza.

Just before the store and to the north was a burned down church.  Only about a quarter of the building remained standing.  Other than that, there were mostly wooded areas surrounding the location. 

There was chain link fence that had been reinforced all the way around Ace Hardware.  On the south side was a rather large, pink plastic flamingo as tall as a house.  Taller wooden panels of privacy fence and plywood were wired to the original fence which increased the height of their perimeter.  The front gate, which was something they added on after they confiscated the area, was a combination of four-by-fours and metal fencing.  It was definitely scrapped together in a hurry, but all in all, wasn’t too shabby.

I could see the windmills Jared had told me about.  They were off to the left and rear of the building.  I could only count four but there could have been more out of view.  Near the wind generators were two RVs.  Both seemed to be in decent condition.  Behind all of that was the large cell phone tower Lt. Campbell had mentioned.  I could see loosely slung thick, black cables running up the side.

The inside of the compound was a mixture of chaos and order.  Some areas were neatly set up while others seemed to be heaps of trash or junk.  Two HUMVEEs were parked side by side near the building.  One had a large metal box on the back.  Those were common for communication HUMVEEs and were like tiny mobile offices.  The other was normal with the back open for loading equipment.  Boxes and crates were evenly stacked along with tools and other equipment.  Further back along the side were gaggles of gear randomly placed and in disarray near a U-Haul.  You could easily tell where the military’s equipment was. 

We raced in behind Jenna and Fish slammed on the brakes as we came along the side of her truck.  Boomer, of course, was excited to be stopping in a new area.  Dumb dog. 

Behind us, a man dressed in Army fatigues closed the gate and ran our way.  DJ was already out of his truck and over talking to a group of people.  One of them was Lt Campbell.  The rest of them finally joined up and were talking as Fish, Boomer, and I got out of our truck and walked up on their discussion.

“So they’re safe?” DJ asked frantically as we approached in mid conversation.

“All the non-coms are locked up in the U-Haul,” Campbell said, trying to calm him down.  “But Kayla is missing.  We’re pretty sure we have the bastard trapped inside.”  He motioned over to the hardware store. 

There was no question
who
the bastard was.  I looked at the group.  Daniel was there along with Chad, Jenna, and Preacher.  One of the group members was a young black girl, armed with a rifle that I was sure was a .22 long barrel.  There was an older man, probably in his sixties that was balding and had a white beard that reminded me a little of Santa Claus, with his large pot belly and red windbreaker.  He was holding a semi-automatic pistol.  The soldier in fatigues wore the rank of Private First Class with the name ‘Trent’ and couldn’t have been over twenty years old.

“If it got Kayla, then she must be-” the young black girl said dreadfully, but was cut off by Campbell.

“Don’t assume, Jada,” he said, in a harsh but hopeful tone.  “We go with what we know.  If Kayla is in there, she might be hiding from it.”

“The Lieutenant is right,” Preacher told the young woman.  “The Almighty wouldn’t have put Kayla in danger unless he had his reasons.”  I noticed Fish rolled his eyes.  I hoped others didn’t see that.

Santa Claus made a rude comment under his breath that I guessed was directed at Preacher.

“Right, Preacher,” the Lieutenant said, though he did not sound all that confident.

One by one, the people we hadn’t met yet turned their eyes to us.  Campbell took notice and motioned in our direction.

“This is Fish and Christian.  The ones we told you about,” the Lieutenant said, motioning us closer.  “Are you here to help?”

“Depends on your plan, LT,” Fish answered.  He wasn’t trying to sound like a dick, but it still came out that way. 

Campbell grimaced.  It was then that I knew this man didn’t really have a lot of experience.  He may have had everyone there outranked, but the guy probably hadn’t even made it to a deployment overseas.  Sure, he had tactical training in leading men into combat like all officers, but that was training.  Reality was different.  Even a pogue like me knew that.  Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of good officers in the military, but this guy seemed a little green.

I heard plenty of stories from soldiers coming back from ‘outside the wire’ as they liked to say.  Either Lieutenants were smart and took the advice of their platoon sergeants, or they were idiots on power trips.  I was about to see what type of Lieutenant this Campbell was.

The officer looked around at the people that surrounded him and focused on DJ.  There was some silent communication between the two of them.  I’m not sure if everyone noticed, because it was pretty subtle, but I caught it.  Campbell was asking him a question, and DJ answered with a slight nod in Fish’s direction.

Campbell seemed to work out something in his head, and then turned to Fish.

“Master Sergeant, you have the expertise in these types of situations.  I would welcome any tactical advice you could give us.”  I knew Campbell wasn’t stupid.  Not just because he asked for Fish’s advice, but there was something in the way he asked.  It showed good leadership to his men, yet at the same time, put Fish on the spot and took away some of the responsibility from the LT.  That is, if Fish agreed.

Fish stepped to the side and examined the building.

“How many exits?” he asked anyone who would answer.

“Three,” the man I referred to as Santa Claus answered.  “We blocked a fourth one off a couple of weeks ago.”

“Roof access?” Fish continued.

“Only by a ladder on the outside,” Campbell said.  “Gardner is up there now.  All exits are being guarded by the rest of our shooters.  Two on each.”

I could see two soldiers who I later learned were Private First Class (or PFC) Vanerka and Private Manns near the front door.  They were about twenty feet back from the glass.  That should have been a good enough distance to shoot the scab if it made a break for it.  I imagined the other exits were guarded in a similar fashion.

I could see Fish was thinking about the situation.  His brow furrowed as he gazed around the group of survivors.

“Has anyone here killed a scab yet?” he asked.

Only Santa Claus spoke up.  “I shot at one once.  Not sure if I hit the SOB, though.  It was fast.”

“Yeah,” Fish mumbled.  I don’t think he was agreeing with Santa Claus, but was expressing his disappointment in this group’s lack of experience. 

“Alright, I need two volunteers to join me and the kid here to clear that place out.”  At first, I wasn’t sure that he was referring to me, until everyone looked in my direction.  Before anyone spoke up, or before I could protest, Fish continued, “and those two volunteers are DJ and Daniel.”

Chapter 18

The Wolf, the Raiders and the Predator

April 19
th
  Late Afternoon

“Can I talk to you a minute?” I asked Fish, glaring at him.

He nodded as if he knew I was going to ask.  We walked about halfway to our truck with Boomer close in tow, as if the canine had something to add as well.  I could hear the group start to talk in low voices as we made it out of earshot.  They didn’t want us to hear them either.

“I’m not trying to sound like a coward or anything, but there are six soldiers over there.  Don’t you think they would be better suited?” I asked.

“You were a soldier too,” he pointed out.

“Sure, years ago!” I returned.

“Look, kid,” he said, “you’ve actually fought a scab before.  Did you happen to notice the crest on Campbell’s collar?”

I shook my head no.

“Army Intelligence.  Those boys over there don’t know shit.  Your ass has seen more than they have.”  It was a very logical argument on his part.  I, however, did not care. 

“I may have fought a scab, but she whipped my ass, remember?”  I started to sound like a chicken pleading my case.

“Kid, it’s not you that I want with me,” he said, eyeing Boomer, who was standing next to me.

“You want to take my dog?” I asked, a little pissed. I couldn’t believe the nerve of him, especially after what happened at the store earlier that day.

“Yep,” Fish responded.  “Your mutt won’t go with me, especially after I tossed him out of the truck.  I need you with us to control him and track the bastard down.  You know his tells and the dumb dog listens to you.”

So, I was not really part of the plan, Boomer was.  He wanted to put him in the line of fire… again, and me along with him.  For some reason, that offended me, but that was nothing new coming from Fish. 

It made perfect sense, of course.  Boomer was great at sensing zombies and scabs, and I knew the way he acted around both of them.  But that didn’t mean I wanted to storm Ace Hardware looking for one. 

I started to think about the girl they talked about.  If there was a chance she was still alive, we could save her.  I was scared, but I remembered one thing, I was with Fish.  I guess if I was ever going to do something this stupid, it was best to have him with me.  I was still confused on why he wanted DJ and Daniel, though.

“Why DJ and Daniel?” I asked.  “DJ is a little out of shape to be running around in there, and Daniel… well, he’s their medic.  If he were to get hurt…”

“DJ was a Marine.  Even if he’s never seen combat, he’s better trained than those pogues,” Fish said, jabbing his thumb in Campbell’s direction.  “And he’s big.  Remember, scabs will fight you hand to hand, and they’re as strong as bulls.  He can handle himself.”

“And Daniel?” I asked.

“Did you notice that the scab we fought didn’t try to bite you?  I know she chomped on Judy, but I’m assuming they like their meals dead, or close to it.  If it hurts one of us, it will be nice to have someone around who can patch us up.”

“And that girl, Kayla,” I reminded him.  “If she’s hurt, Daniel can be there for her.”

“Yeah…” Fish said dryly as he looked away from me.  “Come on.”

We started walking back over but were met by Campbell and DJ before we made it to the rest of the group.

“Mind if I ask your plan?” Campbell inquired.  I knew why he walked out of hearing range of his group and came over to us.  He didn’t want to seem weak in front of his people, and just in case he and Fish disagreed on anything, it would be kept between them.

“Simple,” Fish answered, “we go in there and clear the place.”  Fish had a talent for frustrating people by talking down to them.  At least I knew I wasn’t the only one.

“I get that,” Campbell said irritably, “but just the four of you?  That’s insane.  Why don’t you take some of my men and leave Daniel out here.  I can put a team together and go through a secondary entrance.  There’s no way that scab can handle all of us.”

“Really?” Fish said condescendingly.  “I saw a skinny little scab throw Christian around like a rag doll.  We shot the bitch twice and she kept moving as if nothing happened.  These things are predators.  Not the animal kind, but the ‘movie’ kind.  They hunt, formulate strategies, and use weapons.  They like to get in close and fight hand to hand.  The more people we send in there the more of a cluster fuck it will be.  We’ll be lucky if we don’t accidently shoot each other as it is.”

Campbell seemed a little taken aback by the way he was talking to him.  I had a feeling this wasn’t the first officer the Fish had berated.  The Lieutenant composed himself.

“If they’re that tough, I doubt just the four of you is enough,” Campbell pressed.  “What the hell are we supposed to do if you guys don’t make it out?”

“Burn the fucking building down,” Fish said in a harsh tone.

“And it’s five,” I chimed in, earning a look from the three men as I grabbed a piece of jerky and fed it to Boomer.

“I’m not going to lie,” DJ said, ignoring my comment, “I’m scared shitless to go in there, but I will.  I saw a scab reach out of a window and grab a two hundred pound man.  He was there one minute, gone the next.  I know they’re strong and I’ve heard plenty of stories,” the big man shook his head, “but you need to give us an idea of what we’re doing before I put my fat ass on the line.”

I could tell Fish had a higher opinion of DJ than Campbell, which I thought was a little unwarranted.  Perhaps it was because the Lieutenant was green, or maybe because he was Military Intelligence.  There was usually a rift between line troops and the people who told them where to go and what danger they were facing.  From what I heard, the intelligence that was given was usually less than accurate.  I didn’t think Campbell wasn’t a fool, though, and I thought he deserved a little more respect from Fish.  But as usual, I stayed quiet and kept my thoughts to myself. 

“Alright,” Fish said, looking more at DJ than Campbell, “the four of us, plus the pooch,” he added with a glare in my direction, “go in through the main door.  The front windows should give us some decent light to make entry.  I’m pretty sure the scab will be somewhere in the darker areas.  It will be hiding and waiting for us to make a mistake.” 

“This dog,” Fish continued, pointing at Boomer, “can sense or smell those things.  Christian is his handler, so we need him to guide us.”  He stopped for a second and looked over at the group of survivors staring at us.

“Daniel, get over here,” Fish called out. 

Daniel took a moment and frowned at his friends.  After the brief hesitation, the medic lightly jogged over to us.

“Come to your senses yet?” Daniel said, jogging up.  He was trying to be funny, but I could tell he was nervous.

“Put a tampon in and listen,” Fish said.  All three of them looked at him, stunned.  I was so used to his insults by now, I barely noticed.  He ignored their stares and continued.  “Like I told them, we go in through the front.  That scab shouldn’t be there.  Christian and Boomer will track the scab and that Kayla girl.  With any luck, she is still alive and unsullied.  If she’s hurt, you’ll be there to take care of her.  If she’s bit…” he paused, glaring at all of us, “I’ll take care of her.”

Each of them stared at him hauntingly and DJ appeared to be relieved to hear Fish say that. 

I remembered what it was like to kill a friend.  I’ve seen DJ’s dark side when he beat the crap of Chad, but I’ve also seen his good side.  He didn’t seem the sort that would easily kill someone he was close to, not to mention this group had been together longer than we had known Judy.  Fish may have sounded cold to them, but I knew him better than that, and knew why he didn’t want to see someone go through the change.

“Campbell,” Fish continued, “you distribute all of your shooters at the exits, just in case we flush this thing out.  They flee if they get wounded or feel out matched.  If it tries to make a run for it, you shoot, and don’t quit shooting until the thing stops moving.  Even then, shoot it a couple more times.  If anything or anyone comes near one of the doors, you don’t hesitate to give the order.” 

I realized what Fish just did.  He knew the Lieutenant had to keep a high level of esteem among his group.  As much as Fish didn’t seem to respect the Campbell, he knew the Lieutenant had his responsibilities.  By Campbell going to the others and issuing mandates, he would still seem to be in charge.  Only the five of us knew it was Fish pulling the strings on this operation. 

Campbell seemed to understand this as well.  He gave a curt nod of agreement and thanks to Fish.

“What if it’s
us
running through those doors?” Daniel asked.  “Do we give out a ‘ka-kaw’ or similar mating call?  I’d rather not have a welcoming barrage of lead.”  He was trying to be serious, but the way it came out combined with his jovial face made me smile and suppress a chuckle.

“We don’t leave until the job’s done,” Fish said.  “Christian will carry the radio.  We’ll let the LT know when the building is clear.”  He glared at Daniel, “That means you DO NOT run.  Stay with us at all times.”

“Okay, I get it.  No running.  I’m not much for exercise anyway,” Daniel joked.

“Did any of you get a look at the scab?” Fish asked, ignoring the medic’s dry humor.

“I took a shot at it as it ran into the building.  Missed him, though,” Campbell said.  “The thing was fast.”

“What did it look like?” he asked.

“Well, he was tall and shirtless,” Campbell described.  “There were scars and gouges all over his chest and face.  Jeans were ripped up to his knees.  Short brown hair.  Probably about two hundred and twenty pounds.”

I let out a whistle, earning a ‘grow up’ look from Fish.

“What about its beard?” Fish asked.

I thought that was a weird question to ask.  I mean, did it really matter?

“Umm, probably a couple of weeks’ worth of growth I’d guess,” Campbell replied a little awkwardly.  I think a few of us were wondering why that was important, but no one asked.

Fish thought about that for a moment.

“Maybe you should go get your people ready, LT,” Fish said, in a surprisingly respectful tone.

The Lieutenant nodded, “Let me know when you’re ready,” then he walked over and explained the situation to his group.

Fish’s eyes followed Campbell until he was out of earshot, then looked back at the three of us. 

“Get this straight,” Fish said harshly, “whatever horror stories you’ve heard about scabs, there is a good chance they’re true, or damn near close.  Daniel, you’re going to use Christian’s Glock.  Christian, grab the MP5 out of the truck.  It has a silencer already attached.” 

At first I was confused, and then realized he was talking about the submachine gun he gave me back at the Walmart.  I had heard of MP5’s and knew they shot 9mm rounds, just like my Glock.  Any warfare gamer knew that.  I handed my gun over to Daniel.

“You ever fire one of these?” I asked him.

“Nope,” he said, and nervously took the gun from me.  “Patched up the end result a few times, though,” he joked.

How could someone still be alive a month into the zombie apocalypse and still not have fired a gun?  They probably kept Daniel out of harm’s way as much as possible.  He was the closest thing to a doctor they had.

“We’re only going to go in with suppressed weapons.  I’m not dealing with the concussion of gunshots and the company it will bring down on this compound,” he said, referring to nearby zombies that may hear a gun battle.

Fish nodded toward DJ’s AK-47, “That Kalashnikov is going to be the best one we have.  These things can take a few bullets and keep moving, so the higher the caliber, the better.  Christian and Daniel’s pea shooters will just slow it down.  I think they still need organs like every other living creature, but I’m damn sure they don’t feel a lot of pain.”

“What’s the marching order?” DJ asked.

“Christian is up front,” Fish replied.  “DJ behind him, then Daniel.  I’ll bring up the rear.  If the shooting starts Daniel, you get your ass in a corner and stay there.  The only reason why your weapon should be pointed in any direction except down is if the three of us are dead, you get me?”

Daniel nodded.  “Down, dead, point, got it.”

“Alright, guys, gear up.  We make entry in fifteen mikes.” With that, Fish started walking over to our truck.  After a brief glance at the other two, I followed him to get my new gun.  Boomer galloped behind me.

Fish was loading up his gear while I removed my AR-15 magazines and replaced them with the four MP5 mags I grabbed off the motorcycle jacket guy. 

I had a feeling it was from a police unit, probably SWAT.  The silencer was built into the gun, and it had both a laser sight and a flashlight.  It also had a red dot sight, but the battery must have died a while ago.  I didn’t really need it because I could see the iron sights through the red dot window. 

The magazine that was already in the gun was full, along with the four I had in my vest.  Each mag held thirty rounds.  That was a lot of shooting.  Fish commented to me that I should leave it single fire until I got the scab in my sites, then switch to auto.  I complied and practiced switching from single fire to auto for a few minutes to ensure I didn’t mess up when and if a firefight ensued.