The hills rose up dramatically from the sea at this small town of Zavalal, the white sands of the beaches were inviting and Utah wished he could spend some down time here, just laying about for a few days. Several large three story homes, white washed with red tile roofs poked out of the green trees and bushes, it was a larger town than the map indicated, but held a direct road to Stari Grad and Hvar. He eased the motor down and found a shallow bay that the anchor would hold the smaller Yacht steady on. Grabbing his Rifle from the floor, he dialed up the scope setting on the big .50 cal and started scanning the beach and then each house close to them. He checked his watch, 4:30 pm local time, no one was moving from what he could tell, to early for dinner, to late for lunch, something was wrong.
" Anyone see anything, Good, bad, out of place ?" Utah spoke out loudly, just short of a yell.
The girls all nodded in the negative, but Barett and Rick just stepped into the bridge with him. With the girls all standing on the front deck of the boat, eyes glued to various scopes or binos, Rick spoke up, low and serious.
"Its way to quiet, nothing is moving, granted we have a limited view, but all the boats at the dock are still tied up, none of the local fisherman are out on the water, no one is on the beachs. It's a literal ghost town, nothing moving." Rick nodded towards the four white fishing boats still tied to the end of a private dock.
" I'm with Rick on this one, the town got hit, and good. There is that one new power boat tied up with the other older fishing boats that looks out of place a good place to begin our search for answers. But I think we are safe to say they saw what we saw last night. We sure could use a Helo right now, I say if we find some sort of air transport we take it, never know when it will come in handy. Are there any good airports on this island ?" Barett pointed to another dock that held a long nosed red and white speed boat, next to some old wooden fishing boats.
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Utah nodded in the negative.
" Next island over has a small airport, just some private helo pads from the intel on Hvar. Looks like this little resort town got hit pretty hard, lets play this tight, don't share anything with the others, just the three of us."
Utah stared out at the front bow at the group of women, and wondered how long before they turned on each other or the princess. In the breifing that Shelia had given him the day before she was insistant that he save the princess, but gave him no details about why she was so important, now he was beginning to wonder what was at play around him.
She also insisted that he make it look like it was his idea to save her and not tell the others. Last night he pretended like he cared for her, but that wasn't true, she was just part of this job, and it made him sick. He wondered how Dave could decieve people so easily, and not have it come back to haunt him. He always said he never looked back, first rule of espionage.
Utah eased the boat around the bay, then pulled out into the middle. Dropped the anchor and turned the motor off, letting the boat bob softly in the water.
"Alright, lets ready for land fall and see what we can find. Roach stays with the boat and is in charage. Roster, Me, Psy and Z go in first, once we have cleared the town and found a ride the rest will follow. Ok then lets roll."
Maria seemed disappointed that she wasn't on the first team, and had to stay behind with the other women. She shot Utah a glance that said so, he ignored it and moved on. This wasn't some training mission snub, it was hard core tactics and he needed shooters. Besides he wanted her to get all the intel she could from the others. He still didn't know anything really about the princess, Carla was still a wild card and a potential mole, and Bianca was a unknown. These were the last people he wanted with him on a run into a hot spot. He had seen some bodies in the street from his sniper scope and knew the scene would be ugly once they were on the ground in the narrow cobblestone streets.
The afternoon heat in the armor and combat gear was making him sweat, now that the breeze from the moving boat had stopped, and he knew the town would be worse. Barett was right about finding some air support, having a birdseye view would help things out, but it would be the biggest give away that some one was on to the invasion of zombies. To bad they didn't have any drones, or eyes in the sky for this one, it was all old school from here on out.
Rick fired up the motor on the small ski boat on the aft deck and slid it out into the water. Everyone piled in that was headed to shore and Barett pushed them out from the Yacht and gave them a all clear signal before heading back to the bridge to scan the shore line for them.
Rick did a short buzz down the docks to make sure it was all clear then came up next to the speedboat and tied up. Utah was out first, before Rick even had the motor off, followed by Psy and Z, Rick rolled up last.
The sounds of water lapping at the dock and birds on the shore were all that greeted them, so far.
Utah took point and moved quickly down the concrete and stone marina, till he came to a spot behind the stone wall and stairs that lead up to the main promenade. He looked back at the others, Rick was watching back out to the boat at Barett, Psy and Z were looking out over the top of the wall scanning for movement. Each of the men worn a black spandex and microfiber balaclava to cover their faces. Even through they were meant to pull sweat from your head and keep you cool the direct sunlight was heating them up and making Utah sweat already.
"Alright, the plan is to find us some GOOD ground transportation, secure the dock area and move all of us out of here and head to the brothel to see if we can find out where Roman is at. Do not engage in a firefight we don't haft to be in, I'm sure that we will need to conserve all the ammo we can."
Utah spoke quietly back to the others, they nodded and prepped their weapons and gear for the run across the open ground of the promenade.
" Ok, we all stay together, no seperation or 'John Wayneing" it."
Utah headed out first from behind the wall followed by the others, as they ran at full speed to the cover of a ancient stone and wood faced building facing the bay. Seeing that the doors and windows were still intact and the place looked like some sort of shop, Utah moved on. He had decided that this was not a house by house, room by room kind of mission. He wasn't looking for surviors or intel here, just a ride. The people that may have lived were just going to need to fend for themselves when this whole thing blew over.
They moved quickly from one point of cover to the next up the main road, looking down alleys and streets for a suitable transport.
About two blocks from the Marina Utah paused and pointed forward to a narrow street that lead off from the just slightly wider main road.
Rick pulled up next to him as he signalled.
"You seeing what I'm seeing."
He pointed to the thick stone corner just in side the shadowy side of the street.
Rick Nodded.
" Yep, thats a big pile of casings alright, looks like there was a pitched battle here. I say we take a closer look and see what happened." Rick was hoping that someone else had gotten in on the zombie hunting as well, but even still he wanted to know who or what had guns on the island. From the intel briefing they had gotten, there was little to no military presence formally on the island. The local police force spent most of their time fining drunks and tracking down pick pockets. It was considered a low crime area, as far as violence went.
Utah scoped out all the windows and rooftops around them and then signaled the group to move forward.
Rick feel back to the rear postion and kept a vigilant eye on where they just came through.
As they approached the corner to the alley, Utah could see that several hundred rounds of ammo had been used here. He reached down and picked one up. It was a light weight Russian round, favored by their elite counter terrorist and special forces units. The casing was mostly engineered HPDE with a coated steel base for the primer. They were used to reduce weight on long humps away from camp. He had used a similar version of ammo in training, ones made for the H&K's or M4 carbines, they were not cheap, this was not casings from the local Police or hunters. Down the alley way lay the bodies of four Yak zombies, bullet ridden and starting to gather flies from the blood and heat.
Utah approached the closest one and looked down at its hulking frame. They seemed less meanacing in the daylight all dead and silent. He was identical to the ones they had shot in the old church, almost perfect clones of each other.
" Looks like we have company on the island boys, don't know if they are friendlies or not, but the grouping of shots on this guy tells me, we've got professionals here."
Utah backed away from the body and scanned the windows and doorways for signs of life, but nothing moved. Down the alleyway fifty meters or so, broken car glass littered a spot now void of a vehicle, that had been parked there, based on the impression of glass and tire skid marks on the cobblestone.
"They have a set of wheels to, I suggest we find the same. Lets try to find out who they are, and stay out of their way...till we need to. Role up and move out, Rick take point, I'll take rear guard."
It was two more blocks of quiet steady movement and the occasional shredded remains of some unlucky person until they came across what Utah deemed a good ride. Sitting on a narrow driveway that looked to steep to be practical for anything but a motorcyle or fourwheel drive, was a delivery truck. It was a Toyota Tacoma, white with a custom shell on the back, tall and bulky looking but professionally done, some sort of pool cleaning and service company from the logo on the shell. The truck was new, in good shape and could fit them all, besides it was local and would fit in better if the real authorities showed up at some point and they needed a good cover for escape back to the boat.
Utah signaled for the group to search the area and secure this spot, he needed time to get the truck cleaned out and ready to role, plus he wanted Rick to Hot-Wire it for him.
Psy and Z took the back and front and set up good look out postions, keeping an eye out for movement and the other Shooters they had seen evidence of.
" Ok, Rooster do your magic and get us rolling in this thing, I want to be back at the dock in less than five minutes, clocks ticking."
Utah baited Rick, knowing that he was always willing to show off his Rogue skills.
Rick smiled, looked in the window, checked the door and found it open then slid in. Utah went to the back and checked the hatch to the shell, it was unlocked and he flung it open, rifle in one hand ready to shoot anything that came flying out. Only hoses, nets and various other pool cleaning tools greeted him. Tossing them to the ground he started clearing the back area of its contents. He was only half way into tossing the contents of the shell when the truck roared to life. The Tacoma was a crewcab, V6 and the owner had done some modifications to the exhaust and motor, and it sounded mean for a little truck.
Utah poked his head out of the back and caught Ricks eye in the side mirror, he just smiled back and gunned the motor a little.
Utah tossed the last of the pool equipment from the back of the truck and jumped out. Doing a 360 degree scan of the surrounding buildings and area, he walked up to the drivers door and tapped lightly on the window. Rick rolled it down and nodded to Utah.
" Transport all checks out, half a tank of fuel left according to the gauge. Figure that gives us around 200 miles of casual driving, less if we need to do some evasive moves.Dude left the keys in the ashtray, guess he wasn't expecting a Zombie Apocalypse."
Rick added sarcastically.
"They never do." Utah added ruefully.
" According to the maps the main road out is through a tunnel, I want to check that out before we pick up the others. If its unpassable, we will need to find a alternate route, hence the reason I choose the four wheel drive truck."
" well, its a good choice either way, Do you want to A-team this out, or drive it as is ? "
Rick was hoping to build a ram across the front grill, cut a hole in the shell roof for a gunner position, and similar things.
Utah nodded in the negative.
" Nope, no time for that. I think the minute we bring the girls to shore all hell will break loose. What is your feeling about that ?"
Psy and Z were just far enough away not to be able to pick up the low voice conversation, he hoped.
Rick responded in a similar low voice.
" I don't want to suspect anyone, but there are too many coincedences not to see what is going on. I have Maria trying to squeeze the others for information, but I think we are dealing with a ship full of professional liars, all of them, even the princess."
Utah nodded in agreement.
" Yep, thats a bigger problem than all the zombies, and probably just as deadly. Ok lets mount up, and head to the tunnel."
Utah assigned Rick as the driver, put Psy behind him in the back seat, while he took up the front passangers seat. Utah had bungee corded the rear top hatch open and set up a gunners position for Z in the back. He had opened the windows from the cab to the shell so they could talk. From these positions they had most major vectors on the truck covered, improvised convoy escort style.
Rick eased the truck out onto the street while the other three scanned for unfriendlies.
" Consider any other traffic as hostile and treat it as such. Once at the tunnel we check for alternate routes, clear the site, make contact with Roach and do a quick return before things change."
Rick nodded his acknowledgement, never letting his eyes leave the road.
"I was going to treat everyone as a hostile anyway, I'm glad we agree. Just wish I could be a shooter to."
Rick stated flatly, he knew the minute they ran across the truck he was to be the driver, Utah didn't even need to ask him, they knew each other that well.
" What if they are wounded or scared locals on the road ?" Psy spoke up from the back.
"To bad for them, they should have stayed inside....this ain't no Wussed up U.N. mission, do you see any blue helmets in this truck? No, I didn't think so. If you hesitate to shoot, you will be walking back to Hvar, got that."
Utah spat out in a all to familiar, I'm the fracking leader here and you Will follow orders, voice.
Psy nodded from the back seat, then stared back out the window, gun at the ready. Utah knew it would be crappy to shoot some kid or woman just trying to escape the horror, he also knew they could be a trap or blow the whole mission because they took to long, it sucked, but it was reality.
Rick eased the truck up the hill towards the tunnel, travelling down the center of the road.
It wasn't long till they reached the tunnel.
Utah and Rick eyed the tunnel, after winding up the switch backed narrow road to the entrance he should have guessed how ugly it was going to be. Barely able to get more than a small utility van through, the one lane tunnel streched far back into the mountain. It was ambush heaven, one way in, one way out narrow and dark it was the worst possible tunnel to travel through. Several dirt roads had split off into the terraced fields as they ascended to the tunnel, but none were clearly marked, or showed up on any maps they had.
" Crap Sandwich, looks like this place comes straight out of a 80's horror film. Zombies on a secluded island, snipers in towers, long dark tunnels with only one way out. What say you Deacon ?" Rick contuinued to curse in several different languages under his breath.
" Well, just because the situation went from FUBAR to a Cluster Failure doesn't mean we are out of luck. This still looks like the best way to Hvar and Stari Grad, the dirt roads are a bigger risk and at best will set us back hours, possibly leaving us lost and ineffective. We handle this just like any other mission with complications, we adapt, we improvise and shoot to kill. Any better ideas than running the tunnel at top speed and hoping for the best ?"
Utah paused, the truck was silent.
"Yep....I feel the same way. It's a total Goat F..., but it's ours. We stay in Control, we determine the outcome, we change the game. Ok, Rooster turn us around and take us back to the bay. It's time to shake the tree's and rake up the leaves to find out where all the zombies went, they have got to be going somewhere."
Meanwhile back at the boat Barett was scanning the shoreline from the door of the bridge. The yacht gently bobbed in the bluegreen clear waters. He had watched the truck wind its way up the hill, then start back down the narrow road, past the occasional red roofed house and lavander field terraced with stone walls. It was a true tourist paradise, warm and sunny with stoney and then sandy beaches.
He had been watching clouds form on the south of them, it looked like a good storm was brewing, but he had no local knowledge, or weather channel like information to let him know how this would effect anything. He would inform Utah of the weather, though he doubted that would change their plans.
The town itself was no more than a cluster of large houses and a few shops, then it quickly spread up the hillside in a scatted pattern of redtiled roofs and stone walls. The ground was dry and stony, with the local trees and bushes throwing vibrant green againest the browns of stone and dirt. The whole time he had been watching the area, nothing stirred. The zombie attack was in someway a sort of Genicide for this little town, it reminded him of the Unification war he fought in with his brothers when he was just 17 yrs old. Entire towns and families just wiped out, it was a familiar pattern with the E.o.H.
Barett called out to the rest of the girls on the bow who were in some sort of quiet conversation about him and his brothers. Thanks to his advanced hearing he caught most of it, when they spoke english. Maria had been working hard to get some details about the Princess and Bianca, by making up stories about the brothers, most of which were not flattering in Baretts mind.
Rick came out alone in the speedboat, while Utah and the others stayed on the shore, keeping the Pier secured.
" How's the Tunnel look ?"
Barett questioned Rick as he grabbed the tow line tossed to him.
Rick shook his head in the negative, swore in Korean and then Spanish, and made a face of disgust.
" It's a real thrill ride, total Goat F... , long narrow tunnel, no where to turn around, Perfect ambush spot. So we are going to do the sensible thing and drive straight into the trap full speed, guns blazing, see what happens."
Barett nods in understanding.
" So the other options were that bad then ?"
"Yep, that bad. No worries though there are other operators with Russian ammo that came through here, at least four, maybe up to six or more, less than a dozen. Shot up some Tango's, 'borrowed' a ride, didn't stop to get any souvenirs, real bad asses from the signs of it. Just to make you feel a little better about the whole OP."
Rick left the motor running and waved Maria over to him, while Barett tied the rope loosly to the Yacht.
Maria swaggered over to them, swaying her hips in a seductive rythm just for Ricks benefit, perhaps a little for Baretts as well.
"Whats up 'Big Boy' ?" She breathed out like it was a invitation to do something really nasty, than a question.
Barett swore in his head, part of him was jealosy that Rick was tapping that, the rest of him knew that she was more crazy than he would ever put up with, but he would be willing to try.
" Orders from Deacon are to take everyone off the boat on this trip, minus Roach and Carla. Then come back and load up all the gear and them, we leave the Yacht anchored in the bay for a small amount of security. He wants to know if you are comfortable bringing the other women on shore, or if there are risks we need to evaluate?"
Rick was implying heavily, but the meaning was clear. Did she discover something that would endanger the mission or anyone Utah cared about, life.
Maria paused for second, shifted her hips and pouted her lips. Barett recognized it as her thinking face, she was trying to figure out how to say something in english he figured.
Maria sighed, her chest heaving beneath the tight black tanktop. Its low cut front showing off her naturally large cleavage. The girl was definatly distracting, and she used it to her advantage. Several times Barett had watched her do similar things while she was slipping a bug into a coat pocket, or stealing a ID badge. He was trying to watch her hands and face more than her breasts to see what was going on.
She slid something to Rick when she bent over to kiss him on the check, giving Barett what would have been the perfect down shirt shot, if he had been looking there.
She looked up at him, noticed his was looking at Ricks hand that was concealing the usb thumb drive and smiled weakly.
"Hey, it was worth a shot at least." She distracted by drawing the attention away from Rick and the usb thumb drive.
" I have something for you as well."
"I'm sure you do, but aren't those reserved for Rick in private..."
Barett chided back, the usual banter with her was always laced with sexual inunedo.
" No, they are free to be used how ever I see fit, they are like Candy bars to him, entertaining but not a full meal. I gleaned some info off your 'girlfriend' there. Ex-military intelligence officer in Swiss army, now 'Lose prevention investigator' for major Banking firm, has a blackbelt in kempo and some other black ops skills, and Daddy issues. Just your type. The others are all spooks of some kind or another, even the princess. The USB is your girlfriends she was hiding in her tampon box in her personal gear, so it must be important."
Barett just nodded at her, he was sure she was hoping it contained codes to secret accounts with millions of dollars in them. He did to.
"Ok, lets load up and roll out, we have places to be."
Barett started passing some hydration packs to Rick while the girls struggled to put on the heavy armor and combat gear before getting in the boat.
Rick quickly moved everyone but Barett and Carla to the dock then turned around and headed back.
Carla looked at Barett, his face covered in the thin black balacalva, armor and weapons covering his body, all black and threating as he stood motionless on the wooden deck.
" Do you think I'm that dangerous?"
She pleaded with him more than asked. Even though Rick was percieved as her 'Handler' by the govenment, Barett had developed a close relationship to her on a platonic level himslef, but he was still guarded with her, it was just his nature.
" Nah, no more than the rest of us, unless you have something you want to tell me...."
He paused letting the question linger, giving her a chance to think and answer.
It was quiet on the back deck of the yacht while they waited for Rick to return. The warm ocean wind was increasing, and the windsock on the pole snapped and cracked indicating a shift in the wind. They stood silently on the boat, staring at each other for a second, then she shifted her weight from one foot to the other and ended the contest.
" No, you know all that I know, I wish I knew more."
She turned away and looked out to the sea, then back to the dock at Rick.
Barett knew she was lying, and she knew, that he knew.
" Ok then, no worries, but just in case." He reached into a pouch on his vest and pulled out a small, black plastic, two way radio.
" Keep this with you at all times, Deacon has assigned me as your personal bodyguard. If we get seperated, make contact with me IMMEDIATELY and I will find you, what ever happens out there, I need you to stay with me."
She nodded, a look of appreciation and relief flooded her face then disappeared as quick as it came.
The sound of the speedboat motor drew close and ended the conversation as Rick eased the smaller boat up to the side of the yacht and tossed the rope to Barett.
Barett held the boat steady while Carla climbed in. As soon as she was seated he started tossing Rick duffle bags full of ammo and equipment, and one cooler full of food and water.
"Planning on coming back ?"
Rick questioned Barett in a sarcastic tone.
"Nope."
Was his flat, and dry response.
" Yeah I was afraid you felt that way, Deacon and the others seem to think the same way, shame really, she's a real beauty. Did you booby trap it then ?"
Rick asked with genuine concern, even though he already knew the answer, it was decided that morning by Utah that all evidence needed to be tightly controlled. 'Besides' he said 'there are at least a hundred other boats to borrow if we need to.' Rick protested lightly then gave up, Utah was right.
" Just one ride, all the eggs in one basket, then?"
Barett nodded towards the dock and the truck.
Rick looked at him and smiled a sly and devious look.
" More like a Agatha Christie novel than a Aesop's fable."
Rick off handedly commented while steering the boat towards the dock.
Barett reflected on Carla's comments to them about being Part of a Prophecy. Utah had dismissed it as heresay and gainsaying in her presence, but had talked openly with Rick and Barett about it later. He knew that it weighted on him, but had found the whole thing slightly comical, Until now.
Carla sat in the back of the boat while Rick drove and Barett scoped out the shore line, almost expecting zombies to come running from the tree line towards them, like orcs in the Lord of the rings movies. He watched intensely, but nothing changed, on a certain level he was disappointed.
The boat touched the dock at the same time Barett leapt from it with the rope and had it tied up while the others gathered around and started moving equipment into the truck.
Soon they were on their way, Rick at the wheel of the truck, Utah in the front passangers seat with the princess between them. In the back seat Psy sat behind Rick, Carla in the middle and Barett behind Utah.
Z had his Gunners spot at the tailgate, with Maria and Bianca on either side, sitting on Duffle bags in the shell, the side windows opened for shooting purposes. The little truck whined as Rick kept the RPMs up while they climbed the winding road up to the Tunnel.
" If anyones a spiritual person, start praying now, because this will be the closest you will get on this earth to the gaping jaws of Hell."
Utah shouted out, then laughed darkly as the innocent looking mouth to the tunnel came into view.
" Damn the torpedo's and full spead ahead, Mr. Rooster."
Utah pointed forward with his gun, as Rick punched the gas pedal.
The truck leap forward into the darkness of the narrow tunnel opening, for a brief moment the darkness blinded them, then the dim lights of the tunnel interior and headlights of the truck threw illumination on the curving cave like road ahead.
Shadows leap out then disappeared as the truck speed dangerously down the tunnel, once or twice Rick clipped markers on the side of the tunnel as he far exceeded the safe speed limit of this road.
Each time something clicked or snapped outside the truck, everyone but Utah, Rick and Barett jumped in their seats. Having done this kind of escort service type of road warrior trip before, you would wear yourself out in no time being that tense.
The end of the tunnel appeared as a dot in the distance, then quickly began to enlarge as Rick up shifted and brought the truck up to 'insanley fast' for the road speed. Barett peered over at the speedometer, it neared 100 kilometers an hour, he double checked his and Carla's seatbelt.
He caught Utah and Rick doing the same, that gave him a bad feeling deep inside his gut, something he had felt many times before, it always turned out for the worst.
Rick flipped down the sunvisor, up shifted one more time and punched out of the tunnel entrance.
The flash of sunlight accompanied by the loud crack of C4 explosives and the twisting screech of metal all seemed to happen at the same time.
Utah went into a crash position, letting his armor and helmet take the impact as the explosion flipped the truck over onto its roof, and pushed it over the edge of the road, and down the hill, sliding and crashing through the brush and trees, before slamming to a stop almost 200 meters from the tunnel entrance.
The explosives were rigged to trap someone inside the tunnel, traveling at a much slower speed. As luck would have it, they were traveling at three times the expected rate, and headed the opposite direction. That accounted for the fact the truck was in mostly one piece, and why it flipped tailend over front down the hill.
The front tires were still spinning when Utah kicked out the passengers door and stepped out on the dirt, gun ready. The world still spun a little, but he could handle that, it wasn't the first time he'd been in a wrecked car, upside down on the side of a road.
The road was 150 plus meters up the hill from him, which he watched with one eye while he yanked what was left of Baretts door open. Barett smiled darkly at him and passed the dazed but mostly unhurt Carla out to Utah, then crawled out himself. Rick was standing on the other side of the truck now, scoping out the surrounding area, shotgun at his shoulder, waiting for the anticipated follow up attack.
Psy was dangling upside down in his seat belt, not moving well, still in a bit of shock at what happened. The Princess was sitting just inside the passengers door on the roof. The airbags had deployed correctly, and with the seatbelts everyone up in the cab seemed to be alive. Psy was trying to cutting himself free while Utah and Rick headed back to the crushed shell. The back hatch was missing along with the tailgate, gear was spread all down the hillside below them. Maria was laying on the roof of the shell in a pile of gear and weapons, knocked out. Rick rushed into her and checked her neck before moving her head. He had enough emergency training to know what to do. She was alive and breathing on her own. He signaled the 'OK' to Utah and worked to check out the rest of her for broken bones and other wounds.
Utah stared at the debris field before him. Just before the accident Maria and Bianca were up by the cab, facing backwards. But Z was right at the back, where only twisted metal and pieces of red tail light plastic were.
Barett wandered up next to him.
"How bad is it ?"
Utah swore in five languages before coming back to english.
"Looks like we are missing two, Bianca and Z, plus a lot of equipment...and transport...It was a bad decision to go this way.....get Carla to help you look for them while I secure the area above, your the best one to help if we find anyone alive."
Barett nodded and grabbed Carla's hand helping her around as they started down the hill.
Psy looked over at Utah, a sad and helpless plea on his face.
Utah nodded the go ahead for him to look to, then he ran up the hill to the road to make sure they didn't get ambushed again.
It didn't take long to find Bianca, she was rolled up againest a tree trunk about 50 yrds from the truck. Carla was the first to her and was checking out her eyes when Barett jogged over.
"How does she look?"
He asked while looking over her body for signs of breaks or wounds.
" She's not bad, looks like she was thrown from the truck pretty early, left wrist is probably broken, along with some ribs. The gash above her eye will need stiches, and the left shoulder looks dislocated. Good news though is, she's breathing on her own, and her necks not broken. I can take care of her, you best go find Z."
Barett nodded and looked around at the debris field of equipment and truck parts, trying to quess where he'd gotten thrown to.
He'd seen auto accidents where they had entire search parties looking for someone thrown from a car, for hours , before finding the victim, they didn't have that man power or time here and now.
Walking down the hill a few meters his senses pricked up, and he caught the smell of blood and oil on the slight breeze, it was mixed with feces. He knew that was a bad sign. Grabbing his gun into his right hand and looking back up the hill towards Carla then to Utah he inched closer to the scent, following his nose.
Coming around a large green bush he saw the trail of guts and blood lead down to the mangled corpse of Z, his intestines pooled around him like spaggeti noodles.
His chest was rising shallowly as Barret approached, the gurgle of air as it fought with the blood in his lungs was distinct, they were the sounds of a dying man.
Barett followed the trail of blood back up the hill to a tree that was snapped off about twenty feet up. It had disenboweled Z when he hit it after being ejected from the truck. It was a gory sight, sure to attract all kinds of Scavangers.
When Barett turned back around, Z was dead. He said a warriors prayer for him and placed stones over the body after removing his tags and weapons. Climbing the hill back up to the truck he saw Rick and Utah standing up higher on the road, the others were gathering up supplies and helping the wounded sticking close to the Truck.
Barett moved around the perimeter and up the hill to the road quickly without making eye contact with the others.
"What is the situation ?"
He looked at Utah and Rick, knowing most of the bad points already.
" Ride is a complete Cluster F***, half of the equipment is ruined, most of the food is lost..but we have plenty of water. Psy is catatonic, just sitting there staring at the trees. Maria is hurt, but should be able to walk, Carla is ok, little shaken but not physically damaged. What did you find ?"
Utah quized him, his eyes constantly moving, scanning the area for threats.
"Z is dead, ejected badly from the back of the truck, Bianca is immobile right now but should recover quickly, I'm good and have a full pack, plus some extra gear. It's all clear on the lower side for now, when do we move out ?"
Utah scratched his head under the helmet, and checked his watch.
" Five minutes, gather what we can take with out loading us down to much, gurney up the wounded that can't walk, and plan on humping it to the next town, searching for transport. We have a date to make, and we CAN'T be late."
Barett and Rick nodded, they knew that there was someplace Utah needed to be, and the whole mission was balanced on this meeting...but he had yet to tell them all the details for some reason.
Rick took guard Duty up on the road with Maria, while Barett and Utah gathered up equipment and weapons with the others. Psy had gathered up some stuff but was mostly milling about when Utah approached him.
"Get your S**t together solider, and do it now, this isn't what Z would want to see, we need to get a move on, NOW."
Utah grabbed him by the collar and stared into his face, doing his best drill instructor glare, searching his soul through his eyes.
" Your the cause of all this, your the one that killed Z ....we are all going to die, its hopeless."
Psy stated mildly then started babbling on in his native tongue.
"Then you are dead already....pack up your s**t and head out, your no good to us here."
Utah turned and walked away, Carla just sat there staring at him, but he ignored her. He had seen this before in other soliders, either Psy would snap out of it, or the PTSD would make him dangerous to the rest of them.
Psy picked up his gear and headed down to where Z's body was.
Carla approached Utah, her faced a jumble of emotions spilling out of her eyes and down over her red lips.
" Deacon, how can you just let him walk away like that, condemning him to such hell, and certain death?"
"You don't understand....I am really saving his life, and probably the rest of ours as well. He's broken, and there is no dishonor in it, he fought well,but it's been to much. If I let him stay he will be no good to us, and will hesitate at the next conflict, which would get him killed. He has a much better chance of survival here, alone, than with us. What you saw was a act of mercy, not malice."
She eyed him suspiciously, her brain working out all the angles.
Then her body relaxed, the tears stopped and she smiled sweetly at him. He stared her down till she moved away from him and went back to work.
"Damn woman." He thought, " she is going to drive me crazy."
Barett was caring Bianca up the hill slung over his shoulder in a firemans carry, while the Princess hauled a duffle bag full of gear behind him.
Utah tossed the last of what he wanted into his personal pack and headed up the hill to the road. Carla followed behind, turning around when she reached the road to stare back at Psy, who was sitting on a rock staring off into space.
" Feeling guilty about leaving a man behind ?"
Barett whispered to her while Utah and Rick checked the map and surveyed the road ahead.
"Yeah a little, I know Deacon is right, but some part of me feels its wrong to leave a man behind in his shape."
She was still looking down at wrecked truck and debris field while she talked.
" We don't really want to talk about the alternatives, but the security level of this operation requires some extreme measures."
Barett nodded towards the rolling hills and the sea.
"We need to keep moving for now, it will all work out."
"How can you be so sure, I've never been in such dire circumstances, it all seems so hopeless. What is your mission ?"
She baited him a little, hoping he would slip up and share more with her.
"Can't tell you that, its on a 'need to know' basis. Don't worry, just stick with me and pretend were on a really dangerous hiking trip...or vacation, thats how I deal with it."
Barett lied, even though he had been having some fun, they were in deep s**t and everyone knew it.
Utah looked up from the map and waved Barett over. Laying the now awake Bianca on the ground next to Maria and Carla he walked the 30 meters over to the road signs and his brothers.
" What's up?"
"We need to get to Jelsa the bigger port town, which is about 10 kilometers away, first real town is Pitve about 8 kilometers from here, everything else is just hills and weeds. We think that staying off the main road is the safest, move slow but steady and see if we can find any Transport.
What I need from you is a good evaluation on our injured guests, can they make it or not, and how much will they slow us down ?"
Barett paused for a second, thinking over his response carefully.
" I think they are all good to move out, Maria is in the worst shape, she will need some help, Bianca is in the next worse shape, less help, but not in any marathon running condition. Carla and the Princess are clean and clear physically, mentally just a little shaken. I still have a full med pack, plus some extra goodies for just such extremes. Do you want me to administer the " Samson " injection to the girls?
Utah's brow forrowed under the helmet.
"How many injections do you have ?"
"Just the four given to me at the Base. In theory I am to test vitals and the like and make a record, like you can do that in combat. But just the original four is all I have."
Barett responded, even though Utah had been there when the serum was given to them by the R&D guys in the secret government lab, Barett was the one trained fully on its effects because he was the team medic, but everyone was run through a version of the training on the Serum.
The 'Samson' serum was a cocktail of drugs designed to overcome the effects of bullet wounds and physical damage and shock, it was touted to be able to greatly increase the healing process as well, with only temporary side effects.
Utah smiled and then turned to Rick.
"Do you feel comfortable about Roach giving Maria the injection ? I want a 75% dose given to Maria and a 25% dose given to Bianca. That will save the remaining three for us, and get us up and going. What do you think ?"
Rick paused for a second, his long reddish hair whipping around in the slight breeze.
"Nah, she should be good, go for it."
Utah nodded at the girls, then to the guns they had slung over thier shoulders.
"Remove any weapons from them, until we know the full effects, just give them light loads of supplies to carry if this works."
"Roger that, what is our destination and ETA."
Barett responded in a crisp military tone.
"We need to be in Jelsa before dark...no matter what!'
Utah said darkly.
"That gives us approximately 3 hours, lets get cracking and hope the serum works, we could use a break on this mission."
Barett wandered back to the group and opened up his med pack, checking out Maria and her vital signs he pulled out the needle and showed it to her. She recognized the dark fluid in the needle and nodded a ok in response, closing her eyes.
He slid the needle gently into the vein on her left arm and pushed 75% of the serum into her before quickly removing the needle and cleaning the tip with a alchol swab.The immediate side effects were thirst and hunger and Rick was ready for that with a plastic bottle of water and a powerbar.
While Rick attended to Maria as she gobbled down the water and food, great beads of sweat rolling off her forehead and soaking her shirt, Barett moved over to Bianca.
"Trust me ?"
He smiled charmingly to her as she stared past him at Maria.
"What did you give her ?"
Bianca looked nervously at him them back to Maria and Rick.
" A little something to easy up the pain and help her recover faster, we need to be on the move, so Deacon decided to give her some of the good stuff. He wants you to have some as well. It will ease the pain, increase your healing ability and make it easier for you to travel with us. Are you willing to take the shot ?"
Bianca hesitated, pulling back from him a little. Her body language indicated that she had some reservations about what he was trying to give her.
"I'm not so sure about all this Roach, I've heard about these kind of drugs before, getting you all strung out. Then you never recover, a drug addict your whole life."
" Right, interesting point. But this could keep you from dying, give you a fighting chance, your choice. Deacon was willing to share something to help you recover and survive, but I'm not here to force you. I do suggest that you take the injection."
Barett paused to let her think, using his best charm and impress skills to help her decide on her own to take the shot.
After a few seconds of watching Maria she simply raised her left arm and rolled up the sleeve.
"Ok, do it, but my life is in your hands." She said, a timidness to her voice, and fear in her face.
Barett complied with out saying another word, gently working the needle into her vein and then squeezing the plunger.
He grabbed a water bottle from his pack along with some dried fruit.
"Here, drink this, and eat these, it will help with the side effects. We need to get moving so give me all your equipment and weapons until the serum takes full effect and the sweats stop."
Barett eased the rifle off her shoulder and then removed the pack with ammo and gear.
It took a few minutes for the sweats to stop and the nausea to past but soon the girls were up and moving. Maria still had the bandages and splints on, but was moving on her own. Rick had her pack strapped to his, with guns dangling from every available connection point.
Barett had also attached Bianca's pack and weapons to his. Checking both the girls vitals and pupil dialations, he walked over to Utah after stowing his med kit.
" Looks like they are good to go, we can move out anytime now. I sugest we get as many miles in while the pain meds are still good, they will wear off the fastest. Then I think the girls will slow down, best guess is 60 to 90 minutes before we see a decline in performance."
Barett whispered to Utah, while they nodded at a map he was holding.
"Good, lets move out now then. We have stayed to long here anyway, that explosion is due to draw some sort of unwanted attention. I'll take lead, Rooster takes rear guard and you stay in the middle with the girls, if anything changes you let me know, right away. Lets move in a single file line, low thru the hills, straight towards Pitve, off the road."
Utah drew a line with his finger on the map, indicating the rolling hills they would cover for the next 6 kilometers.
Barett signaled to Carla and the Princess to move over towards Utah and him while Rick helped Maria and Bianca.
As a group they followed Utah down the paved road for a half kilometer before heading out on some rocks and off into the dry hills and trees, leaving little evidence of their paths direction behind.
Once in the hills Utah picked up the pace, several times motioning for the rest of the group to hurry up, as he worked a line through the low trees and shrubs, occasionaly crossing a lavander field.
After 30 minutes of marching Utah stopped them for a break. All of the girls immediately sat down, shirts soaking from sweat, and coated in a fine layer of dust.
Barett, Utah and Rick took up a triangle formation around the girls, looking out towards the hills and rocks for movement or unfriendlies. Maria was sucking back the water Rick had given her, while she downed another two power bars. Bianca was drinking steady and eating some beef jerky while Carla and the Princess just sat and stared at the hills.
"How are you feeling ?"
Maria asked Bianca.
"Much better, I hardly feel any pain, besides the unquenchable thirst and hunger I feel a little stoned. Surprised really that I can hike at all after that accident."
Carla streched her neck and back, with a groan.
"I am beginning to wish they'd share with the rest of us those meds, if we live, my chiropractor will have a heyday on my spine from that car wreck."
They all nodded at that statement, and drank some more water. Barett was just starting to walk over to the girls when he heard gunfire from the direction of the road they had come from.
Everyone froze, waiting to see if it started again. There was another long burst of automatic fire, then a group of short bursts. It was quiet for a full 90 seconds before another short burst and then nothing.
Utah scanned the hills with his scope then moved to the group.
"Let's roll, we will run for a full minute then walk fast for two, then run for a minute....we need some distance between us and the truck....keep your water in your hands."
They moved hard through the dry hills, sweat soaking their clothes. Maria was falling behind after each running rotation, till Barett was helping her along on the last stint.
" Deacon, time for some R&R." He said, then motioned to Maria and Bianca.
Utah stopped at a low stone wall and motioned for the others to come around to the shady side and sit. The lavander field on the other side was fragrant and beautiful at the top of it was a dirt road leading up to the hills crest and a stone out cropping.
Utah pulled Barett aside with Rick.
"What's our situation ?"
Rick looked back at the girls then the path they took through the woods.
" I think were being followed, or at least shadowed, possibly its Psy, and he may be followed by someone else."
Rick spoke up first.
"Yep I second that, and looks like Maria and Bianca are not up for all the running, we could lose our pursuers but not with the girls."
Barett added in.
Utah nodded then furrowed his brow, his thinking face overpowering his combat face.
" Ok, lets get to that Rock outcropping on the top of the hill, see what the escape route is and then wait and see. Rooster I want you to go back and booby trap our route and trail, Roach and I will take up support positions on the top. Once we see what were up againest we decide to fight or flight. Rooster meet us back at the rock out cropping ASAP."
Utah moved off to the girls while Rick started off into the woods back down through the animal trails and then dissapearing into the dusty forest.
Barett pulled out his sniper rifle and sucked back some water from his hydration pack. Using the range finder on the scope he started mentally noting distances, then counting his steps while threading his way to the top, completely ignoring the girls who were panting up the hill in front of Utah, behind him.
Barett was just setting up his sniper spot next to a carved stone effigy, when Utah hopped over the tall Stone wall. The hill top was a old observation post that went all the way back to the time of the greeks, according to the historical marker Utah was using as his weapons support.
He clicked out the small folding tripod on the short Barreled .50 BMG, layed out his pack to steady his postion and started noting distances and wind speed while scoping out the forest.
The lower elevations were thick with rolling heavy brush and low trees, broken up by terraced fields of Lavander and Grapes. Once the hill climbed up the stoney ground to the top, the hill had only low brush and rocks covering the ground, until nothing but rocks and short grasses were at the top, It reminded Utah of home.
Behind them, and down the hill was a small village, with a tall steepled church on the hill above the scattered houses and farms.
"Ok,we hold here as long as possible, so get some rest. When its time to move we run to the church, rest, then hit the main road and go to Jelsa." Utah spoke out to Barett and the others without lifting his eye from the scope.
The Princess and Carla were sitting againest the far wall, while Bianca and Maria were kneeling down besides Barett.
Rick came sprinting out from the tree line, B-lining it up the hill towards them. He had made it about 50 meters over the open ground when the first explosion blew dirt into the air. A second later another explosion sent dirt and rocks into the air mixing with the dust cloud from the first explosion.
Then from the tree line a horde of bent over fast moving zombies broke into sight.
Immediately two shots rang out from the hill top as Utah and Barett fired at the approaching abominations.
These ones were different from the ones the day before. They were more bent over and animal like, with long snouts and large teeth, more like werewolves than zombies.
Maria and Carla were grabbing rifles off of Baretts pack when they looked over the wall at the encroaching horde.
"What the Hell are those things?"
Maria exclaimed as she charged the handle on the M4 carbine.
Barett never moved off his rifle scope, firing two more rounds in quick sucession.
"Don't know, more of the same I suppose. Wait until they get closer to fire, hold for my signal."
He fired two more quick shots, inbetween Utah cracking off another round with the BMG.
The first five Werewolf like zombies behind Rick were down, giving him some room. He had covered almost 150 meters before the next wave came from the treeline. Utah and Barett were steadly knocking them back, and the second wave was more wary, holding back and using cover.
They had spread out some, and were working thier way up the hill slowly.
On the far right of the hill something small and unaturally quick moved from the tree line and off into the low bushes and grass, working its way around to a flanking postion.
"Did you see that ?"
Barett exclaimed to Utah.
"No, what was it ?"
He said surprised that he had missed some from his position on the left side of Barett.
"I don't know, but it moved super fast and controled, Looks like its trying to flank us, I've lost sight of it now."
Barett cracked off two more rounds trying to keep the other Werewolf like zombies pinned down while Rick made it the rest of the way up the hill.
" You two go around to the back wall and keep a eye out for that thing, don't let it get close to us. Yell at me if it gets closer than 200 meters."
Utah Fired once more, dropping a Werewolf zombie, its dying howls making a chilling sound in the dry air.
Maria and Bianca slid over to the back wall and peeked over the stones. The small town of Pitve was on the other side, down in the sloping hills a kilometer or so below them. Maria popped the scope covers up and started scanning the tree line below them, just Right of Barett's postion.
The clouds were starting to fill the sky, dark and brooding, they only increased the shadows on the ground making it hard to distiguish shapes in the brush.
Bianca had a H&K MP5, and was waving it around trying to use the EVO scope to find anything coming after them up the hill.
Barett and Utah were firing controled shots down the hill, slowly weeding down the Werewolf Zombies. They were howling from the forest now, not willing to come out in the open ground, having watched more than a dozen of their friends die there.
It wasn't long before Rick came hopping over the stone wall. He immediately turned around and placed a rifle on the wall scanning for tangos coming after him. But the field was clear, even amid the scattered howls of the Wolves.
Utah looked up from his scope at Rick.
" Glad you could join us, took you long enough."
" Yeah, I stopped to get a few pictures of the sights, before heading up here for the picnic, nice place, whats the situation?"
Rick bantered back with Utah.
" Eleven Tangos Down, Multiple unseen targets in the cover, but they've failed to advance. Unlike the previous zombies we've encountered who had no reguard for the dead or their own lives. These seem to be tracking us, and have some signs of intelligence and organization. Roach spotted a fast Tango moving around to flank us, the girls are trying to confirm. Situation normal all ***k up."
"Roger that, still planning on moving to the Church now, or do we wait and see what the tangos do ?"
Rick shot a look over at Maria, and smiled while talking to Utah.
She smiled back, then went back to scanning the area below her.
Utah thought for a second, then shook his head.
" We need to keep moving, Time is our biggest threat yet. The girls seem to be holding up good. Lets booby trap this place and move on in two minutes if the assault dosen't start soo. If I think they are doing what I would do, we should have at least a five to ten minute window before they start slowly making their way up to us, testing our defense. You go first with the girls, Roach next and then I will follow."
Barett started to pick up his rifle when the howling started up good from the Werewolf zombies, reaching a fevered pitch, then just stopping.
Utah looked at Barett then over to Rick.
"Ok, Never mind,.... dig in, looks like this thing starts now."
He slapped two full mags for the .50 cal BMG on top of his pack and set up the Kriss .45 cal. across his back.
" Everyone get your gear together and grab a gun. We may need to leave here in a big hurry."
Utah hollered over his shoulder.
Rick tossed M4 carbines to the Princess and Carla while Barett slide over Bianca's pack to her.
The clouds were starting to darken the sky, sending a shadow over the entire hill and forest. The wind started to whip up the dirt and dust from the ground sending it up into the sky, as the temperature started to drop slightly.
To the far right a Werewolf Zombie leapt from the tree line to scurry behind some large rocks, then another from the far left did the same.
Utah fired at the first, the round hitting the rock and dirt where he jumped, making a cloud of brown dust. At that signal the treeline broke with the beasts, running and jumping from place to place seeking cover, while making their way up the hill. Utah was dropping one every time they broke from cover, but that allowed another three or four to advance. Barett and Rick were doing the same, as the body count racked on the WereZombies side the distance was getting smaller, and they were getting closer.
The wind increased and a light rain came whipping in sideways across the hilltop. Utah had moved to his second clip and was starting to reach for more ammo in his bag.
By now the girls were braced on the rock wall taking shots themselves, mixed in with the brothers.
Barett looked up from his scope when Bianca slide up next to him.
"Where's Maria ?"
Barett questioned her, raising his voice over the howl of the ever increasing wind and rain. The light rain was growing into a real downpour, as big drops of water started to soak everyones clothing and equipment.
Bianca pointed down the wall to Ricks position, where the tall red head was leaning againest the wall taking random shots down the hill herself.
Barett swore and looked at the back wall, now completly undefended. A cold shiver ran down his spine, and it wasn't from the rain.
The clouds and rain cast a horror film color across the whole scene, dark and brooding with long shadows. Breaking from the conflict at the front Barett rushed to the back grey stone wall, and slapped the tripod to his .338 sniper rifle on the ledge. Rain whipped across his goggles as it came in sideways over the top of the wall. Wiping the water away with the back of his hand he sensed more than saw the small club coming at his head.
With no chance to dodge the blow he rolled with the strike, across the wall and down to the flagstone floor of the old fort. A furry of fast strikes came at him, silent and controled. He parry most of them, but was stuck several times in the ribs and head. Trying to strike back he was blocked at every move. The small brown furred man was dressed in light brown pants and shirt, holding a weighted short club in his hand, with a dull metal band around the end. His other hand held a small injection like gun, the trigger already depressed.
Barett tryed to shake the numbness from his head, but couldn't break free. Remembering his training on being drugged he settled down and tried controlling his heart rate and breathing. He was out of the fight for now, until the mystery drug ran its course.
He watched as Rick was hit from behind, with the club, then with the injection gun. He rolled on to the ground across the floor from Barett a look of surprise etched into his face, his shotgun across his chest clutched in his hands.
Maria and Carla were hit quickly with the injection gun and dropped without resistence.
Utah noticed the scene and drew his handgun, leaving the big .50 BMG resting on the stone wall.
Firing twice at the small brown haired man and watching him dodge at incredible speed, Utah backed up two steps putting some distance between them while firing twice more to keep him distracted.
Utah watched as the brown haired man dodged his shots, moving inhumanly quick. Seeing Barett and Rick downed so quickly his attention was brought to the mans left hand which held the injection gun. His mind worked out the details almost instantly.
He back stepped and fired a quick series of shots designed to distract rather than kill the man.
His mind was working out a plan when the Princess screamed behind him, he didn't turn to look.
The Brown haired man smiled as he stared past Utah to the Princess behind him, then he moved lighting quick at Utah.
Utah ignored the swinging club, knowing he could take the damage, concentrating as best he could on the left arm and shoulder of the brown haired man.
The club came down on his helmet with a vicous crack, but Utah pressed forward againest the attacker anyway. His left arm up to provide some cover to his face. He moved in, striking out, in close at the shoulder joint with a tight knuckle punch. The Brown haired man was fast and good, but had gotten cocky, and Utah was faster and stronger than he looked.
His fist struck the flesh and bone, making a sick snapping sound.
Two more steps in and Utah was pushing the man up into the air with his body, tossing him straight into the pouring rain.
Spinning him in a arch and down again. He was good and landed on his feet the left arm dangling uselessly from his body. He moved again at Utah swinging the club in a sharp arch towards Utah's skull when the report of a M4 sounded at the same time blood and bone burst from the brown haired mans chest. In the fight Utah had switched sides with the man, putting Bianca and the Princess between Utah and the man. That put his unguarded back to the girls.A fatal mistake.
The Brown haired man fell on his face, the pooling blood seeping into the spaces between the flag stones of the floor. Bianca stood behind him with the M4 Barett had given her, the barrel still steaming in the cool rain. She had the steeled and black eyes of a killer, some one who had done this before. Utah mentally noted that, but was grateful she had pulled the trigger. His helmet was cracked in two and he could feel the warm blood running down his neck. The Brown haired man had gotten in at least a half dozen strikes on him compared to Utahs one, and he could feel it.
Bianca held the gun up again, pointed it in Utahs direction and fired a full mag burst. He ducted and rolled, coming up with his back up pistol, ready for a gun fight with her. But the Werewolf zombie coming over the wall to his left changed all that.
The Kimber compact .45 cal bucked in his hands as he fired twice at almost point blank range into the chest of the first one to his left, then one final shot to the head.
The second Werewolf zombie over the wall behind the first got the same treatment, two to the chest, one to the head. Blood, brains and rain covered the stone walls and floor completly now. Bianca had reloaded and was firing over the wall at incoming Tangos while the princess was wildly spraying the area to Utahs right with the M4.
Utah stepped up to the wall and looked over, only to see one massive set of jaws and fur coming right at him.
He fired the last round from his Kimber into the beasts chest and dropped the gun coming back up with his combat knife in hand. The two collided in a mass of blurred punches and kicks. Rolling on the flagstone floor, Utahs helmet came bouncing off and slide across the floor breaking in two pieces as it struck the wall, the smell of fresh blood causing the animal to howl primally. At that break, Utah thrust the knife up through the animals throat and into his brain, driving the ten inch long blade all the way to its hilt. In a fit of anger and adrenalin Utah twisted the knife 90 degrees and ripped it out sideways, half decapitating the beast. Kicking the animal off him he staggered to the wall to survey the scene below him.
Bianca and the Princess were still taking random shots at half moving beasts, but for the most part the Werewolf Zombies were dead or dying. The last big guy bleeding out on the stone floor next to Utah was probably the leader, one of the last to dash from the trees it looked like. The Rain was still coming down heavy and cool, but the killing field was bright and red below him. It wasn't the worse he had seen in his years of combat, but it was a scene of carnage that would be burned into his memory nonetheless. Grabbing a bandage from his med-pack he wrapped his bleeding scalp and signalled to the girls to cease-fire. They needed to conserve ammo, in case of a second wave. Utah doubted there would be one, but nothing was certain on this island.
Bianca dropped her spent magazine and loaded a fresh one from Baretts pack, charging the weapon but not firing. The Princess ran her weapon dry and then just stood there staring down at the dead below her. At least thirty bodies lay in various positions across the hillside.
Utah went to Rick and checked his vitals, they were low but steady. The same was true with Barett, Maria and Carla. He picked up the injection gun and looked it over.
It was definately a E.o.H design, a small blue cylinder of liquid was visible in the handle, three forths empty. Sliding the strange gun into his pocket he went over to the limp body face down on the floor.
Utah grabbed the brown haired mans neck and snapped it, just for good measure, then went through his pockets. Several more exotic weapons were concealed on his person, all of which Utah slide into his own pockets for later inventory and examination. A small high tech two way radio caught his attention and he left it out after finding no ID. The man was without a doubt a professional.
Bianca stepped over next to Utah, her eyes still scanning the trees as she spoke.
" You ok, there is a lot of blood coming from your head wound?"
There was sincerity in her voice, and genuine concern.
" I thought you were going to shot me, when I shot that first guy coming over the wall behind you."
Utah smiled weakly at her.
"Head wounds bleed like that, I'll be fine. Don't worry about that. It was just training and adrenaline that made it look that way, no worries, I wouldn't shoot you."
He lied, in part, about the last bit.
" I think its time we move out from this spot and find some dry shelter. I hope we can move everyone safly. Gather up the useable weapons and leave the rest. I'll take Rooster and Roach, you two take the other two. Lets take a short five minute rest then head out."
Utah staggered over to the .50cal BMG and checked his last clip.
Utah leaned on the stone wall and caught his breath. The cool rain was helping his nausea from being struck in the head so hard, luck he had the helmet on, to bad it was brocken now. Slipping on his pack he pulled out a energy drink mix and drank in down fast.
Nothing moved in the open field or forest below, yet he still felt uneasy about being up here, exposed in a bad way.
Bianca stepped up next to him on the left side and the Princess on the right. They looked scared and tired, blood and gore covered thier feet, wet clothing clung to thier bodies. From the outside they looked like stray pets locked out in the rain.
" we can't lift them safely to get Maria and Carla down the hill, you don't look like you can carry both Roach and Rooster with thier equipment down either. It may be best to stay and hope they come out of it soon ?"
Bianca spoke for the both of them, while the Princess just nodded her head.
He wanted to move from the hill, he knew they should. But the girls were right, they couldn't make the move. As bad as the rain and hill were, moving could turn out to be total ruin.
"Ok, looks like we stay till we can move, the minute we are able, we go. Pull our guys together and get them under some ponchos to keep them as dry as possible, do the same for yourselves first. I'll clean up the area of bodies, see if we can look less obvious."
The girls nodded in agreement and went to work, pulling out ponchos and getting Rick, Barett, Maria and Carla up againest a wall next to each other for warmth and protection from the elements.
The rain continued to drizzle, much lighter than before, while Utah threw the bodies of the Were zombies and the brown haired man over the wall on the front side. He worried about them being contaminated now that blood was everywhere, on everything, impossible to tell who's blood was who's. At least the Were-Zombies smelled better than the Yak ones.
Carla came out of the drug stupor first, and fast. She was only out for 4 minutes or less when she started moving and talking. Barett came out of it next a full five minutes later, then Rick. Maria was talking but having a hard time moving still when Utah stood up and shook the rain off his Poncho.
He could tell they were all waiting on him, for leadership and a good plan. Feeling better himself with the short rest and some extra food in him, he knew it was time to move out, for better or worst.
" Ok, We need to move out, while we still can. First stop is the Church about two kilometers from here. We rest there, ditch any equipment we no longer need and search for another mode of transportation. We should make it to Jelsa before dark and be able to find a secure place. As for information, the Brown haired man was using some E.o.H equipment, pretty high tech. Appears that they wanted us alive, or some of us at least, thats good for us. It means they are willing to pull a few punches, bad news is this whole thing is not random, we are being actively pursued.
That means we are in 'Escape and Evade' mode for a little while till we can get some back up.
So first lets get to the church, dry up and do evaluation on weapons, ammo and gear. Roach will do a full check up on everyone at the church. Rooster will secure the grounds and I'll see if there is a decent ride in town."
Utah paused, waiting to see if there were any questions. The group was silent. Barett and Rick started packing up the scattered gear and weapons, the others followed.
Soon the group was headed down the hill to the church.
The group stumbled and slipped down the muddy hill towards the old Church. The Rain picked up again, beating up the dirt until the ground and sky started to look the same. Utah lead the way, looking back every few seconds to see how the group was doing. He was angry with himself and the whole situation. He had always prided himself on being ahead of the curve, being able to read the situation and get the better of his opponents. Even though he had a hot temper and quick fuse, he had alway prevailed. But this situation, it seemed like all the forces were combined againest them, and he didn't know why or how to fight back, and that was driving his frustrations.
He stopped the group when they got to a small stone outbuilding used to store what looked like landscaping equipment and the like.
They huddled under the eaves of the building out of the rain. Watching out across the valley and back up the hill to the stone mounument.
" Ok, Roach, Rooster and I will secure the Church. The rest of you stay here, watch the hill and cover for us."
Bianca and the Princess nodded and took up positions on either corner of the building while Maria and Carla kept an eye out on the hillside.
Rick and Barett were still a little groggy but getting better, Utah acted like nothing was bothering him at all and ran forward to a firing position to cover the others while they moved forward to his postion.
Utah reached the front door and paused, it was locked. He signalled for Barett to join him while Rick covered them. Barett reached the door and looked at the antique lock. fortyfive seconds later the door popped open, as Barett smiled and put his lockpick set back in his pack.
Rick joined them, as they entered the darkened chapel vestibule, which opened quickly into a high ceilinged chapel. The wooden benches empty and quiet, their footsteps echoing off the white plastered stone walls.
The place was deserted. They did a quick sweep, but there wasn't much to the building. Behind the choir seats there were two small offices and a storage room with chairs and music sheets, and the like.
There was enough dust on the pews to indicate no one had been in here for at least two weeks or more. They checked all the windows and the back door, but all was secure. Going back out as a team with Utah in the lead, they swept the perimeter of the building, it was clean as well.
Utah signaled for the girls to join them inside the building while Barett Scurried up the bell tower to play look out.
Looking like wet cats coming into the house after being caught in the rain, the girls quickly made their way down to the church and into the dry chapel.
Shedding the wet ponchos and packs, each one claiming a dry bench to spread their cloths and equipment out on. The girls quickly made themselves at home, trying to warm up and dry out.
Utah sat down in a chair by the slightly open door, watching the houses below. He was changing out his head bandage, the bleeding having stopped, leaving only caked blood. When the princess wandered over next to him.
"Wow, you are healing fast, thats incredible!"
Utah looked up, slightly amused.
"Really, dosn't everyone heal like this."
He said nonchalantly, hiding the fact he had heard that hundreds of times in his life. He'd never thought much about it as a kid, because his brothers were the same. It wasn't till they were drafted into the Unification War at 17yrs old that he started hearing that from the doctors and medics. They seemed genuinely surprised, and perplexed. Some even speculated that it would shorten his life expectancy, others guessed it would lengthen it. But nobody really knew much at the time.
He didn't really care either way, he thought like Barett did about it. Warriors were meant to die on the battlefield, not in old folks homes. So the chances he was breed for old age seemed slim.
"Have a seat your highness."
He said while pulling a second wooden chair over by him with his foot.
She smiled at him and sat down. Running her hand gently over his scalp along the wound.
"I must thank you for saving me again. That is the second time you have risked your life, to save mine. I think you are due a big favor."
She moved closer and kissed him on the forehead.
"Thanks your highness, but I think perhaps we should wait until things are safer. Rooster does, on the other hand, have something he would like your help on when we get off the island."
Utah gently took her wandering hand and placed it in his, just to keep her from stealing anything from him. It was a old habit, but a good one, 'Trust No One'.
"Please call me Sophia, only servants call me your highness. What can I do to help 'The Rooster' ?"
She inched closer, allowing her thigh to press againest his. Utah knew all the signs of seduction, and decided to play stupid and distracted. He wasn't sure if it was genuine or not, but offending her and causing tension in the group would be bad, it was best just to play along, and he decided to enjoy himself along the way.
" He needs a place to park the yacht for a few months, just in case. Private, covered if possible, but no questions asked kind of situation. I know it's a little out of the norm, but we just need a Non-government location till we can sort out some things."
She frowned a little, thinking for a second, then her face brightened up.
"I know just the place, it may take a few days to arrange, when I finally get back home. I can do that for you, and the Rooster. Then you must come and spend some time seeing my town, it will be great fun.Yes...perfect."
She faded out, her mind working out the details.
Utah released her hand, glad he was able to distract her. IT was time to find some Transport, another ten minutes and they needed to be on the move.
The time went by way to fast, the warm dry air in the church helping to ease slightly the fatigue of the last two days. Rick left Maria on the bench she was laying on resting and walked over to the front door and Utah.
"What's the situation ?"
Rick casually said.
"Same, same...good news is Sophia said she has a place for a boat for you. If you don't mind spending some time in Monaco as her guest."
Utah smiled at Rick, then winked.
Sophia piped in excitedly.
"Yes, you can stay in the guest house on the beach, we can see some sites, eat some of the best food you've ever had..it will be a great time for all..you can even bring Roach and Maria, if you like. But Deacon must come, and then perhaps he will tell me his real name."
She winked at Utah and nudged Rick in the ribs.
"Deacon is his real name, don't know why he was named that, besides all the preaching he does. We used to call him 'Father Deacon" but that becme redundant."
Rick bantered back in a playful way, surprised at her energy level.
"Anyyywwaayyy we have uh some things to talk about, if you don't mind..."
Rick implied heavily.
"Of course, yes please...go ahead."
She wandered off to the nearest bench and laid down pretending to rest. Rick looked over and shook his head, knowing full well she could hear everything anyway.
"SO, you ready to go out again ?"
Rick questioned, already knowing the Answer. It didn't matter how crappy Utah felt, they still needed to move on, and finish the mission.
"Yep, lets roll. Roach is our look out, just you and me on this little excursion. We keep in sight of the Church. There are two homes with Garages that are close I want to check out. First ride we find that can get us to Jelsa, we take."
Utah rolled his pack onto his back and pulled the Balaclava back over his face and head, concealing the bandage around his head.
They moved quickly out the door, into the rain. Going down the hill towards the center of town. Running from building to building for cover and shelter from the rain.
Once they were far enough from the Church Utah paused under a stone outbuildings roof eave and pulled out the small black radio like device he took from the small brown man.
Flipping open the rubberized case he studied the small digital screen underneath. The blinking dot on the gps like map was right over the old Church. He handed the device to Rick.
"What do you make of this ?"
Rick studied the device, rolling it over in his hands and pressing buttons on the sides and face.
" That is one expensive piece of equipment. But what I see is a tracking device, indicating the Church up the hill as the location of the bug. Besides that it has a satellite phone built in, and a microprocessor, Camera, etc. Built into it. I totally want one, way James Bond. It has no markings, or noticable serial number. I would lean E.o.H on its origin."
He handed back the small black device to Utah.
"Who is it tracking and how ?"
Utah shook his head.
"That I don't know, it could be any of the girls, I'm leaning towards Bianca or Sophia..but Carla is also under suspicion as well. Based on my fight with the Brown haired man I'm leaning towards Sophia personally. They made a strange kind of eye contact, I don't know what that was about."
Rick nodded and stared in though a cracked double door.
"Looks like we have a car in here we should check out. Do we take them all with us, or divide and find out who's got the bug?"
Utah thought for a second, then pulled the doors open in a quick yank.
"We all stay together till Jelsa, then we divide and decide."
A little blue Fiat Uno sat in the garage, on the left side of it a small 49cc scooter leaned againest the stone wall. They both showed good wear with numerous dings and dents across them. Rick opened the door to the fiat and smashed the steering column cover off with the butt of his gun. Cutting wires with his multi-tool, to hot wire it, he soon had the little car running. Utah had kick started the little scooter, its key long since lost, a security cable hung around the handlebars loosely, its unused safty lock tossed to the dirt floor by Utah.
Rick backed the little car out of the garage and pointed it up the hill towards the church. Throwing a thumbs up signal to Barett in the tower, he waited till Utah was out of the garage and headed up the hill before following.
Rick reviewed in his head what he knew about E.o.H tracking devices.
It dawned on him that all GPS devices that were hooked up to a satellite system, could also be tracked themselves. He was sure that would be the case with the little black device Utah had. Whick meant that they were being tracked right now themselves.
He didn't like that thought. He would talk to Utah about that when they got to the Church.
Barett was at the door, gun ready by the time Rick got the little car stopped in front of the Church.
Utah Hopped off the small scooter and pointed Barett to it.
"Take Carla and stick to our tail, the rest will just have to squeeze in the backseat.'
He moved inside the door past Barett Waving to the girls, signaling the move out.
They moaned in reply and started to gather up weapons and packs. The Church smelled like a wet dog thanks to their drying gear and mud clad boots. Pools of water soaked into the ancient wood, and metal guns scratched the wooden pews. Somehow he felt like they had violated the house of worship though he could tell it no long was used much for those purposes. It was a odd dicademy in Utah's personality, the Saint and the Solider, all wrapped up in one. Unfortunatly he realized that he was a much more dedicated Solider than Saint, something that made getting to sleep hard on quiet nights. Luckily he had very few quiet nights in his life.
He grabbed a pack full of extra gear and his almost empty .50 cal and hide it behind the choir seats, along with some other items not needed right now.
The girls were all piled into the back of the Fiat, by the time he made it back to the front door. He looked back in, then locked the door and pulled it shut behind him.
Barett had secured his pack to the front handlebars of the little scooter, and with ponchos pulled in tight, sat ready with Carla on the back. The tires bulging from the weight of extra passenger and gear.
Utah gave the thumbs up and piled into the passengers seat of the fiat, laying the Criss .45cal on his lap, and pack on the floor under his feet.
The little car groaned and stuttered when Rick moved out from the Church, but soon got up to 30 kilometers a Hour as they started following the road signs to Jelsa.
The rain continued to fall, the dark clouds releasing their payload onto the lone travelers below. The narrow road wound through the hill area, as puddles formed in the darkening dirt on the sides of the road. Barett wiped the water from his goggles and followed close behind the Fiat, the downward sloping road at least helping him keep up on the overloaded scooter.
Utah sat in the passengers seat of the older model Fiat Uno, thinking deeply about the implications of having a tracer bug in or on one of the group. It could be anything, equipment, clothing, jewelry, inside them. He hated to think about the implications, of there being a increased risk to the team. But they were canon fodder to the Generals in this battle. He needed to change things, and bring the fight to who ever this tracer really belonged to.
Hopefully the town of Jelsa would give him the oppertunity to do that.
Rick looked over at him, he was trying to comunicate without speaking, it was to bad they weren't telepathic, it could come in really handy.
He could tell it was about the GPS tracer and the Girls fighting quietly in the backseat.
They were starting to get on each others nerves, based on the mean banter in the super cramped, so called back seat.
Utah rolled down the window to add some fresh air to the stale cigerette and coffee stained interior of the car, and was hoping that the cold and wet breeze would change the subject in the back seat away from whose elbow was in whose ribs to,"Shut the window were freezing back here."
It didn't work. The cold wet wind only seemed to iritate them more, so he rolled it back up.
He looked at the map again, Jelsa should be only a few more turns ahead. He hoped they could at least make it to the first building they could secure, before a fist fight broke out in the back seat.
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