Winter Apocalypse: Zombie Crusade V (9 page)

“Agreed!” he shouted back, but he knew it was too late before he had a chance to turn around. In his peripheral vision he saw that the ferry had continued to build speed, and would cross into the channel in less than a minute. He knew Carolyn saw it too when he heard her cry out.

“Oh my God,” Carolyn wailed as the ferry sped into the channel and immediately sliced through a pier before sideswiping the bow of a giant  container ship that had been docked parallel to shore to accommodate its size. Having lost much of its momentum, the ferry ran aground before reaching the large tug boat moored midway down the channel. 

The experienced priest anticipated each step of the unfolding disaster. He watched as the giant freighter, freed from its mooring and dragging part of a pier off one side, gracefully reoriented itself to float diagonally toward the crash site. He knew what was coming next; the marina was long enough to accept big lakers, but nowhere near wide enough to allow one to come in sideways. He shut his eyes and waited for the next inevitable crash. He didn’t have long to wait, and, just like that, the shocked humans were cut off from the river they needed to return home. 

CHAPTER 8

Jack and Hiram arrived at the communications center in time to hear Carter signing off with Deb. He told his wife that she was the strongest person he knew, and that he loved her. Then he rested his forehead in his hands and sat unmoving, like a statue, until Jack cleared his throat.

“Hiram told me there’s a blizzard going on, and they’re evacuating. It’s definitely some sort of attack from Barnes. Did Deb say anything else?”

Carter lifted his head and looked at Jack. “Simmons says he can get the kids here by train, the rest are buggin’ out to Middle Bass if they can make it. I wasn’t just tryin’ to boost Deb’s confidence; she’s got what it takes to get ‘em outta there.”

Jack nodded. “Did she say anything about Andi?”

“She said Andi’s girls were headed to the train with my mom. She didn’t mention anythin’ specific ‘bout Andi.”

Hiram excused himself and stepped outside to talk with a small group of soldiers who’d been waiting to speak with him before Carter continued, “We need to let David know ‘bout Christy—she’s in lockdown at the ranch.”

“Why didn’t they just go to the Castle?” Jack wondered.

Carter slapped himself in the head as he remembered the second piece of bad news. “Doc Redders and everyone else at the Castle’s trapped in the basement; a second force led by helicopters overran the walls at the same time Fort Wayne was attacked.”  He slammed his fists down on his knees and growled, “We shoulda seen this comin—”

Jack grimaced. “I know.”

“We all missed it,” Carter said quietly. “I don’t think Barnes expected us to kick his ass down here, and I know he’s hurtin’ from it, but I’d bet my right arm that he was plannin’ on attackin’ Fort Wayne all along. And now he’s got even more of a score to settle.”

Jack sat down in a chair across from Carter. “I agree. I’m open to suggestions—what does Barnes expect us to do, and how can we use that against him? We need to divert his attention back to us.”

“If Deb got to the pilots, and if they could fly in the weather, they’ll be headin’ here soon—with any luck ‘bout three hours. As long as we can find some fuel ‘round here, we should be over the Maumee this afternoon with plenty of daylight left to find ‘em.”

Hiram poked his head in the door. “All the commanders are waiting over at the meeting house; we need to get over there and come up with a plan. I’m leaving two of my best soldiers here to man the radio and let us know immediately if we get any calls.”

Jack and Carter were on their feet and out the door in a heartbeat, and the men set a brisk pace as they hurried to the meeting house.

Everyone was talking when Carter opened the door to the large cabin that had become the headquarters building during the defense of Vicksburg, but when Jack entered the room an instant silence fell over the crowd. He figured that the gathered leaders would be looking to him for an immediate solution, but other than anxiously awaiting the arrival of some Blackhawks flying in from Indiana, he had no plan to offer. Thankfully, the Utah contingent again proved to be stalwart and insightful allies.

Stephen Carlson, commander of the 1
st
Utah Division and de facto leader of the defense of the entire state, quietly took charge of the situation. “Sit down, Jack, you too, Carter.”

The two men sat down at the front of the room as steaming cups of coffee were handed to them by one of the Utah stewards. As soon as they were settled, Carlson continued speaking. “Jack, we all know what you’re going through right now, and our hearts are with you; we all love that boy. Carter told us that you’d have your wits together, but we started working on some ideas while he was bringing you up to speed on what’s happened up north tonight. You have any questions about the general situation at Fort Wayne and the Castle?”

Jack finished a sip of coffee and shook his head. “Give me your ideas for addressing the problem, General.”

“All right,” Carlson replied before going on. “A blizzard pounded the western and plains states before hitting the Midwest. Our forecasters back in Utah are predicting that this storm is going to pull down a huge blast of arctic air that will slam into a warm front pushing up toward Missouri right now. I don’t know what the winds will be with this new system, but northern Indiana could get over another foot of snow tomorrow night. After that, we think the temperatures are going to drop below zero for days. The people on the Maumee are in grave danger, and that’s just from the weather. We have no way of knowing if Barnes’ forces will try to send packs of infected against them along the route to Toledo.

“As you know, Hiram left an understrength company back there to help guard Fort Wayne and the Castle. But we have to assume that most, if not all of our troops defending the breech in the wall are lost to the refugees for the time being. There’s just no way that more than a few of them could have extricated themselves from the fight once they were exhausted and out of ammo. Another platoon is trapped in the basement of the Castle. The bottom line is that very few experienced soldiers are with the civilians on the river right now.

“When your pilots get here, a hand-picked squad will board a chopper and hopefully find the fleet before nightfall. I assume that you and Carter will want to be on that bird.”

Both men nodded in agreement, and Carlson looked at his watch before continuing his briefing. “I’m sure you’ll have no shortage of volunteers to fill out the rest of your team. For our end, just under a thousand troops from the 2
nd
Utah Division are boarding the next train to Fort Wayne; Hiram will join them as soon as this meeting is over. The remaining Indiana soldiers will also be on the train, under the command of Stanley Rickers. Their force will secure Fort Wayne, at least the headquarters building and as much of the surrounding area as possible. If the hunters have moved out of the settlement, and without food there’s a good chance they’re already gone, that wall will be patched up within a few hours of our arrival.

“Simmons thinks it will take at least a full day to make it to Fort Wayne, maybe more if the tracks have to be cleared in places. But if all goes well, by some time tomorrow you should have the option of returning to the settlement if that seems to be a better choice than trying to make it all the way to Middle Bass. Also, as soon as Hiram can spare the troops, he’ll send as many downriver as possible to help protect the civilians. While all this is going on, I’ll keep the rest of the Utah troops here in case the Indiana attack is a feint and Barnes strikes here again. Plus, we can coordinate our counterattack more efficiently from here through our radio contact with Cairo and our control of the river.”

Carter turned to Jack, expecting him to respond to Carlson’s plan. He didn’t like the faraway look in his friend’s eyes, so he offered his own assessment. “I think an attack here is purty unlikely; Barnes just don’t have an army ‘round here anymore, but I like yer reasonin’. We gotta be prepared fer anythin’ from now on.”

Carlson looked at Jack and shrugged, “That’s the best we could come up with in such a hurry; do you want to go with it or figure out something else?”

Jack yielded a small smile of gratitude. “All I want to do is thank God again for the day Gabe Fox put us in touch with you.”

Carlson bowed his head with what Jack knew was true humility. “We have a blood covenant with you now, Jack. The people of Indiana, Vicksburg, and all the river-groups that fought with us here are family to us. You know I’m a wayward Mormon, but ties of blood, honor, and loyalty are absolutely sacred to those who follow our faith. We will always have your back.”

Jack choked up for a second, but his voice was flat when he responded, “And we have yours. We go with your plan.”

Jack left the meeting and headed back to Luke’s cabin. He needed to let David know what was happening in Indiana, and he had to say his final goodbye to his son. He knew he’d have to decide who to trust with the task of making sure that Luke wouldn’t come back as one of the monsters, but he had a few hours to figure that out.

Jack knocked lightly on the cabin door before letting himself in. Luke appeared to be sleeping peacefully as Gracie lightly pressed cold rags on his forehead and neck. David was in the kitchen, but as soon as he saw his older brother he practically leapt over the table.

“Where have you been? What’s going on? What did Hiram say?”

Jack didn’t know where to begin. “First of all, Christy’s fine. She’s out at the ranch with her mother.” He knew that he wasn’t being totally honest, but he really couldn’t offer David much information about his pregnant wife. He decided to focus on Fort Wayne. “Deb called, and the Fort Wayne settlement is under attack. Somebody blew a breach in the wall and sabotaged the detonator on the bridge. Choppers were leading the infected to the settlement, even in the middle of a blizzard. The settlement is evacuating now.”

Gracie gasped, and David was speechless for a moment. He looked Jack in the eye and recovered his voice. “How do you know Christy is fine? If Fort Wayne is under attack, Noble County won’t be safe for long.”

“Deb talked to Christy—they were locked-down at the ranch, and they hadn’t seen or heard anything unusual. I think Barnes is focused on the main settlement for now, and the weather is slowing everyone down.”

David narrowed his eyes. “If I ask Carter, will he tell me the same thing?”

“Go ahead and ask him,” Jack snapped. “He’ll tell you that Barnes managed to put one over on us, and that we practically handed him the settlement. Deb’s there, and his mom, and Andi and her girls—”

Jack stopped when he saw Luke open his eyes. The young man motioned for water from Gracie, looked directly at Jack, then hoarsely asked, “What’s the plan?”

Jack sat down and took Luke’s hand. “Deb’s following the evacuation protocol. Simmons is getting the kids to a train and bringing them here to Vicksburg. We’re hoping at least one of our choppers will be able to make it here, so we can refuel and head north later today. Carlson is sending close to a thousand Utah troops to Fort Wayne by rail. They should be able to repair the wall and take back the fort.”

Luke nodded weakly. “You need to go.” Then he turned to David. “You need to go too.”

“He’s right,” Gracie agreed. “Luke and I have each other here; I won’t leave his side. We know what we have to do; and you know what you have to do.”

Jack wondered if Gracie was planning on trying to take Luke somewhere away from people after he turned. It didn’t really matter; he wouldn’t leave the responsibility of shooting Luke to the boy’s new wife. It was a horrific task, but Maddy and Zach would have to bear the burden. Gracie would trust them; they could get access when the time came, and she’d never see it coming.

“Jack—Jack, where’s your head at? I asked you if you think I should stay here or come with you to Indiana?” David was staring expectantly at Jack, and Jack was starting to feel nauseous.

“Luke’s right, you should come with us.” Jack avoided looking at Gracie and focused his attention on Luke. “I wish we had more time . . .”

Luke raised his head and put his hand on Jack’s arm before rasping, “I know, but more than anything else, and I mean anything else, you need to stop Barnes and save Indiana.” He fell back on his pillow and closed his eyes.

Fort Wayne had once been called Kekionga, a strategic Native American town fiercely defended by the Miami and other tribes. The banks of the headwaters of the Maumee had run red with the blood of English, French, American, and native warriors many times in the past. But the heroes of this night fought with valor that their forebears would have been astonished to witness. The soldiers fighting at the bridge grew weak from exhaustion, hunger, and increasingly, wounds from the unceasing hunter attacks. For over two hours the fierce westerners held the wall against ever-increasing numbers of infected. The troops killed hundreds, as thousands closed on their position. A score of fighters died as they were pulled from the line and torn to pieces. Still, the defenders stood their ground and paid in blood for the time the evacuation needed, a red currency splashed across the ever-falling snow on this night of terror.

The intersection of Coldwater Road and U.S. 30 in Fort Wayne had been the city’s most dangerous crossroad for years before the outbreak, but as Christy approached the junction in the blizzard she found a different sort of threat waiting: a massive, snarling pack of hunters. By the time the monsters became visible in the truck’s headlights, there was simply no room to outmaneuver the beasts. As with all major roads in every American city, these two thoroughfares had been left gridlocked with crashed vehicles and pieces of rotting corpses following the outbreak. In the days after Fort Wayne’s collapse, fires had cooked the mess before humans finally returned to the area. Months passed before a one-lane trail through the carnage had been carved out along the highway; the city road was still blocked. As were the parking lots of all the businesses surrounding the intersection. The small group of refugees had no choice but to try to fight their way through the monsters.

Christy was still thinking about the dire situation they were in when Sal’s voice came over the radio. “Do you think this’s part of the horde attacking the settlement?”