secure
the hatch and wait for me. I want to see if any of those things set off the
next set of mines.”
The men follow his order, and continue down the hallway. He
checks the ammo clips in both his rifle and sidearm, and then waits. After
three minutes, he decides that nothing is approaching, so he turns to go back
to the bunker. He stops, only momentarily, when the sound of automatic weapon
fire echoes off the walls, followed by screams of agony and terror.
He begins to run toward the sound, turns the corner and runs
right into a zombie. The force of the impact knocks the creature to the ground,
and he instinctively levels his weapon and sends three bullets right into its
face. The sound of his weapon immediately attracts the attention of four more zombies,
and they begin to stagger toward him. He begins to back down the hallway, when
he hears one of the mines explode, behind him, over his shoulder.
Operating only on adrenaline and training, he fires a quick
burst into the lock of the first door he passes, slams his shoulder into it and
slips inside. As he is closing the door, he tosses two fragment grenades toward
the four approaching zombies. After a quick visual assessment, he drags a desk
and a couple of chairs in front of the door and then backs into a darkened
corner.
The grenades successfully eliminate the four zombies, but
the sound resonates all the way back to the bunker. There is a group of zombies
inside the bunker that are just finishing off the rest of Captain Hellatoni’s
squad, some of them start to walk toward the sound of the explosion; and some
manage to stumble into the darkened passageway leading outside.
Chapter 34
The trip back to Syscorp takes closer to half an hour. The
small group of soldiers, minus two, is deployed in a makeshift defensive
perimeter. Mike is sitting on the hood of a jeep, impatiently waiting for a
report from the two soldiers he sent forward to investigate the outer wall of
the compound. He is rolling a hollow point .45 caliber bullet across the
fingers of his right hand. Over the knuckle, under the finger, over the
knuckle, under the finger; he could do this over and over, picking up speed
with each pass.
The bullet falls, clinking off of the jeeps hood, when a
burst of loud static resonates out of the radio sitting next to him. The two
soldiers report back that the secret escape hatch is open, and protected by two
trip-wired land mines. Mike tells the soldiers to return, and bends down to
pick up the bullet.
"Hey Mike is everything alright? Did the men find
anything up around the wall?" Jimmy asks approaching Mike.
Mike looks up at Jimmy, the bullet now traveling across his
knuckles again. "The hidden escape door is open; it appears as if Captain
Hellatoni and his men followed protocol by booby trapping the opening. They
tried to reach Captain Hellatoni on the emergency hailing frequency, but got no
answer."
Jimmy sits down next to Mike on the Jeeps hood. "So
what are we going to do Mike? We have a group of men that did not make the
retreat back here with us; and we have a group of men inside the building that
we've lost contact with. Are we just going to leave them all behind?"
The bullet begins to fall from Mike's hand again but this
time he snaps out with his other hand and catches the bullet before it lands.
"No, Jimmy, I don't think that we will." Mike is on his feet walking
towards the soldier with the satellite phone; his right hand is already
subconsciously sliding the bullet back into the clip from which it came.
"Corporal, I want you to get on the phone to the President
and tell him that the building appears to be secured. You tell him that I am
going to lead a team inside the building to get positive confirmation and that
we're going to need an additional hour to reach the extraction point." He
grabbed the walkie-talkie from his belt and barked into it, ordering the
perimeter soldiers back to base camp. “Jimmy, I am going to take half the squad
into the
the hatch and wait for me. I want to see if any of those things set off the
next set of mines.”
The men follow his order, and continue down the hallway. He
checks the ammo clips in both his rifle and sidearm, and then waits. After
three minutes, he decides that nothing is approaching, so he turns to go back
to the bunker. He stops, only momentarily, when the sound of automatic weapon
fire echoes off the walls, followed by screams of agony and terror.
He begins to run toward the sound, turns the corner and runs
right into a zombie. The force of the impact knocks the creature to the ground,
and he instinctively levels his weapon and sends three bullets right into its
face. The sound of his weapon immediately attracts the attention of four more zombies,
and they begin to stagger toward him. He begins to back down the hallway, when
he hears one of the mines explode, behind him, over his shoulder.
Operating only on adrenaline and training, he fires a quick
burst into the lock of the first door he passes, slams his shoulder into it and
slips inside. As he is closing the door, he tosses two fragment grenades toward
the four approaching zombies. After a quick visual assessment, he drags a desk
and a couple of chairs in front of the door and then backs into a darkened
corner.
The grenades successfully eliminate the four zombies, but
the sound resonates all the way back to the bunker. There is a group of zombies
inside the bunker that are just finishing off the rest of Captain Hellatoni’s
squad, some of them start to walk toward the sound of the explosion; and some
manage to stumble into the darkened passageway leading outside.
Chapter 34
The trip back to Syscorp takes closer to half an hour. The
small group of soldiers, minus two, is deployed in a makeshift defensive
perimeter. Mike is sitting on the hood of a jeep, impatiently waiting for a
report from the two soldiers he sent forward to investigate the outer wall of
the compound. He is rolling a hollow point .45 caliber bullet across the
fingers of his right hand. Over the knuckle, under the finger, over the
knuckle, under the finger; he could do this over and over, picking up speed
with each pass.
The bullet falls, clinking off of the jeeps hood, when a
burst of loud static resonates out of the radio sitting next to him. The two
soldiers report back that the secret escape hatch is open, and protected by two
trip-wired land mines. Mike tells the soldiers to return, and bends down to
pick up the bullet.
"Hey Mike is everything alright? Did the men find
anything up around the wall?" Jimmy asks approaching Mike.
Mike looks up at Jimmy, the bullet now traveling across his
knuckles again. "The hidden escape door is open; it appears as if Captain
Hellatoni and his men followed protocol by booby trapping the opening. They
tried to reach Captain Hellatoni on the emergency hailing frequency, but got no
answer."
Jimmy sits down next to Mike on the Jeeps hood. "So
what are we going to do Mike? We have a group of men that did not make the
retreat back here with us; and we have a group of men inside the building that
we've lost contact with. Are we just going to leave them all behind?"
The bullet begins to fall from Mike's hand again but this
time he snaps out with his other hand and catches the bullet before it lands.
"No, Jimmy, I don't think that we will." Mike is on his feet walking
towards the soldier with the satellite phone; his right hand is already
subconsciously sliding the bullet back into the clip from which it came.
"Corporal, I want you to get on the phone to the President
and tell him that the building appears to be secured. You tell him that I am
going to lead a team inside the building to get positive confirmation and that
we're going to need an additional hour to reach the extraction point." He
grabbed the walkie-talkie from his belt and barked into it, ordering the
perimeter soldiers back to base camp. “Jimmy, I am going to take half the squad
into the
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