Brad was counting the trigger pulls in his head.
Nineteen, twenty, twenty-one
—he knew it would be time to reload soon. But before his bolt locked to the rear on an empty chamber, he ran out of targets. He opened his door and stepped out into the road. The strong cordite scent of expended rounds hung over the primals’ stench. He could see a hundred-foot path of dead bodies, and had started to walk forward to examine one when he heard Brooks yell.
“We have another wave approaching! Reload and make ready.” Brad dropped his near-empty magazine and loaded a fresh one before leaping back in the vehicle. He looked up, put the dot on the face of the lead runner, and waited for it to get into range. The primal fell to Sean’s rifle before Brad could pull the trigger. He pivoted to the right, finding another runner.
One, two,
he said to himself as he pulled the trigger and watched the primal drop.
Three, four, five.
And another fell.
This group was larger, and they had gotten to within fifty feet of the Defender when Brooks threw a grenade as hard as he could into the mob.
“Frag out,” Brooks yelled.
Brad watched Sean pause in his shooting to duck his head just before the grenade exploded, then he rose back up to continue working his rifle on the mob. The frag grenade hadn’t killed many of them, but it did manage to knock several of them off their feet and tripped up several more. Knocking them down was just the leverage the team needed to gain an edge and finish them off.
This time when the firing stopped, they rapidly loaded back into the truck and sped down the road around the primals’ corpses. They didn’t see any more in the pass as they made their way onto the road leading to the river valley. When they reached the end of the pass, Brooks pulled the vehicle to the shoulder and Sean stepped out with his binoculars to scout the valley.
The terrain ahead of them was very green and miles wide. They could see the river and how it flowed through the center of the city. Sean traced the river south with his binoculars through the valley and spotted the fork in the road. Just as the colonel had said, several large masses were on the eastern side, trapped there by destroyed bridges. Scanning further, there appeared to be one main road along the western bank of the river. For the moment the approach looked clear, with only small packs of stragglers in the streets. Sean walked back to the Defender and approached the team.
“Okay guys, we’re going to roll through town weapons hot. I can see bad things on both sides of the river, but the eastern bank looks the worst. With the condition of the road, we can get through this valley in about ten minutes,” he said.
“Cloud said to stay away from the eastern side?” Brooks asked.
“That’s correct, we’re going to hit this fork in the road and stay on the approach running along the west bank until we get out of the city. Brooks, you drive hard, man; no stopping. If we have to hit them, slow down to under thirty so you don’t crush the fenders,” Sean said. “Keep your windows down and armor and gloves on. I don’t want glass getting broken. Remember, controlled shots. Priority targets are those in front or to the sides, we can outrun the rest. Do you have any questions?” he finished.
“What if they mob the road? Are we going to shoot at them?” Hasan asked.
“If the road is blocked, then Brooks will hit a side street until he is free to break south again. I’m hoping the weapons fire will draw the crazies to where we
have
been, instead of where we are going. I realize it’s a risk, but those things will be moaning anyhow, so going silent won’t help us,” Sean said. “If there are no more questions, top off all of your magazines and let’s mount up.”
Brad didn’t say a word during the brief. He didn’t have a good feeling about this op. It was clear that the colonel wanted them to move through the city, and the intel did appear to be solid. Brad just didn’t get the urgency. Why it was so important for them to get through the valley today? Why couldn’t they wait until things cooled off more? He moved back to his spot in the rear passenger side of the Defender, topped off his M4 magazines, and pulled the spares he kept in his rucksack.
He sat in the back seat and positioned all of his extra magazines in the pocket attached to the seat in front of him; after that he made sure the twelve magazines in his vest were secure. Brad checked the slide on his M9 to verify a round was chambered; then he pulled the Sigma pistol from his pack and eased it into a strap on his protective vest. Lastly, Brad removed the suppressor from his M4 and placed it in his day bag before putting in his ear plugs. He had a feeling things were going to get noisy.
Brad looked to his left and saw that Hasan had made many of the same preparations. Hasan looked nervous, which made Brad smile. Brad was sure he looked just as bad; he looked at his outstretched, gloved hand and could see it shaking. Brooks took notice of what Brad was doing and grinned at him.
“Hey don’t worry about the shakes, bro, that’s just your body getting loaded full of adrenaline,” Brooks said. “Worry when they
don’t
shake before a fight anymore.”
Brooks pulled the Defender to the center of the road looking down into the city. He paused there for a moment and looked at Sean.
“Is everyone ready for this?” Sean asked.
Brad gave a reluctant thumbs up, and Brooks revved the engine. Sean gave Brooks a nod, and the Defender leapt forward and down the hill toward the city.
They were making good speed when the first of the primals came into view: a skinny man dressed all in white. It was standing just on the corner of the road as if it was waiting for a bus. When the primal saw the speeding vehicle, it put back its head and let out the moan. At first nothing happened, but after a few long seconds, Brad watched in horror as all down the street primals ran from doorways and out of hidden alleys.
“Remember gentlemen, head shots will kill them, but any hit that fucks them up counts. Just keep them off of our vehicle,” Sean shouted over the roar of the engine.
They were beginning to form a mob, but were not very well organized. Instead of running into the street to block the vehicle’s path, they ran directly at the Defender. This was an advantage to the team. Because of the speed at which Brooks was driving, they were able to get past many of them. Brad watched several run from a side street and he raised his rifle. It was next to impossible to get good shots through his optics, so he reverted to his iron sights and attempted to put lead on the target.
He fired as fast as he could, watching rounds hit them in the chest and sides. Some were knocked down but others kept running. He dropped his empty mag and loaded a fresh one. He saw a group of them just clearing a wall. They were moving fast and on an angle that would meet with the Defender. Brad focused on the lead runner and fired two quick shots. He watched the runner’s neck snap to the side as it veered off the path, tumbling and rolling into others. Brad took sight of another and put on heavy fire, missing several times. He saw the thing stretch out its arms to grab him. Brad flinched back in his seat as the primal flew by and crashed into the rear side of the vehicle.
Brooks drove on. Keeping a straight track, his speed was approaching fifty miles an hour but he didn’t take it above that; Brad knew he didn’t want to hit a primal at terminal speed and destroy the vehicle. Sean had dropped his heavy rifle, had his MP5 shouldered, and was laying controlled shots into the faces of the advancing crazies. Meticulously, he pulled the trigger and they went down, tripping up others behind them.
Now they were pouring from the streets like bees from a hive.
“We have a problem,” Brooks shouted over the barrage. Brad looked up and saw the street ahead was beginning to fill up with the things.
“Cut right at the next street. We can find a way around,” Sean ordered.
“Hold on!” Brooks yelled as he hit the brakes and turned the wheel hard to point the Defender down a side street. He hit the gas and plowed through two primals that were able to get in front of the vehicle. Brad was rocked forward into his seat and turned to the side just as one of them crashed into his side of the Defender. He saw the arm of the primal reach past his face, grabbing at anything within reach. Brad pulled back his rifle and pointed at the sternum of the creature. He shoved the rifle forward, listened to the hot barrel sizzle on its naked chest, and fired twice at point blank, knocking the primal back.
Three more fell in front of the vehicle as Brooks cut the wheel hard to the left and into a southbound street. Brad looked left past Hasan and saw the passing alleys were filled with the creatures that were now changing direction to get back at the team. Brooks drove fast, outrunning several of them. More than once he had to brake hard just as he hit one and launched it out of the way. Brad’s M4 barrel was cherry red from the speed with which he had been firing, and he was down to the last spare magazines that he’d put in the seat pocket.
“There! That’s the road that leads out of the valley,” Sean pointed. Brooks put the pedal down and aimed for the side street. As he made the turn, he hit the brake hard and slammed the Defender into reverse. Brad bounced off the seat in front of him and quickly determined the reason for Brook’s hasty maneuver. The street was filled with them. Brad looked behind and saw that they were quickly becoming surrounded.
Brooks raced the vehicle in reverse up a side street and cut down another to try to stay ahead of the mob.
“Hold on everyone, this is going to get ugly,” he said as he pulled the emergency brake and cut the vehicle hard, spinning them in the opposite direction. Brooks pressed the accelerator all the way to the floor. The Defender roared again and picked up speed as it crashed through waves of primals.
“We’re not going to make it out,” Sean yelled. “Brooks! Look for a place to hold up.”
Brad tried to pretend he hadn’t heard the exchange and concentrated on firing out of the jumping, rolling vehicle. He knew his fire wasn’t very effective so he slowed his breathing and tried to aim before taking every shot.
“Duck!” Brooks screamed just as he cut the wheel hard to the right and crashed the Defender through the front of an open shop. The vehicle exploded through the block-and-glass storefront, coming to a rest against a lunch counter with the ass end of the vehicle sticking through the wall.
The room was filled with smoke and dust. Brooks and Sean were already out, putting lethal fire on the mob trying to squeeze past the sides of the vehicle. Brad tried to open his door but it was pinched shut. He couldn’t reach the buckle of his seat belt, so he pulled his karambit and cut himself free, then dove through the window. Brad hit the floor hard, head first, and he tried to right his body. The firing was loud and Brad could barely hear Sean and Brooks calling out targets to each other.
Brad, back on his feet, reached through the vehicle, grabbed Hasan’s arm and dragged him across the seat. Hasan realized what he was doing, turned and rolled through the open window. Brad looked around the room and saw an open stairway leading to the roof. He pointed Hasan in its direction, then went to the base of the stairs and fired over the top of the Defender and into the crowd. Hasan ran past him and called from the top that the roof was clear.
Sean looked back, nodded, and as he pulled the pins on two grenades, yelled, “Fall back to the roof, frags out!” He tossed the grenades and Brad saw Brooks throw two more. Both men peeled away from the entrance and charged up the stairs to the roof, pushing Brad in front of them.
They reached the top just as the four grenades exploded in rapid succession. The blast threw a cloud of dust across the street in front of the store. Brad looked over to see Brooks slapping a small, shaped demo charge at the top of the stairs. “Fire in the hole!” Brooks yelled.
Brad lifted himself up and ran for the far corner of the roof. Just as he reached it and ducked his head, the loud
THUMP!
and concussion rolled him over and into the wall that lined the roof.
He must have been knocked unconscious because he found himself laying on his back looking into the sky. His ears were muffled through the ear plugs, but he could still hear the frenzied moans and screaming of the primals. He rolled to his belly, lifted himself to a knee and looked around. There was a large hole in the roof where the stairs had been. Brad resisted the urge to look over the wall, knowing he would find the screaming mass below him. He dropped to his ass and leaned against the wall. Hasan was farther down, sitting in the same position with his rifle across his lap. Sean and Brooks were standing and looking into the hole.
“Good, you’re awake. Are you hurt?” Sean called out to him.
“Fuck if I know, I can’t feel shit right now,” Brad yelled back at him.
“That’s called shock, bro, embrace it, ‘cause when it wears off you’re really going to feel like shit,” Brooks said.
“What’s going on?” Brad asked.
“Well, current situation is F.U.B.A.R. (fucked up beyond all recognition). The demo charge on the stairs has stopped them. Unless they learn to fly or make a fifteen-foot primal pyramid, I think we’re safe for the time being. But we ain’t getting off the roof,” Sean said.
“I’m going to choke the shit out of the colonel, if I ever meet him, for sending us through the city,” Brad said.
The battered team sat and listened to the primals below. The creatures’ strategy hadn’t changed; they would just pound against the walls of the building and moan. They paced below like dogs that had treed a scared animal, looking up and howling in frustration at the men they knew were on the roof. The team avoided looking over the edge; if the primals saw them they would become frenzied and more would be drawn in. When they did risk a peek, they found the tops of hundreds of heads pressed against the rear of the Defender, waiting for a turn to squeeze into the broken storefront.
The hole in the roof was nearly fifteen feet to the floor, and the stairs had been blown clean away. Nothing would be walking up them today. Structurally, the roof was hurting from all of the abuse thrown at it. It creaked and groaned when they walked, but it was still standing and that was all that mattered. The outside walls were made of stone and block, and they were high, too high for the primals to climb and too strong for them to push down. They were secure in their hide as long as the building stood.