“God damn, they got that place lit up like Wrigley Field during a night game. Only I doubt they’ve got any peanuts… popcorn or crackerjacks.”
Cade grinned. He kind of liked the pilot’s gallows humor.
The base was visible for fifteen miles around.
“What you see is Camp Williams, 19th Special Forces garrison. Look for the parade ground or a training field for a landing spot, both should be lighted.”
Duncan piped up over the intercom. “My boy, they have got that base so lit up, I don’t think there is a nook or cranny where a shadow could hide.”
Harry felt the Black Hawk slow and Duncan start the descent. It was evident why the base was awash in light.
“Holy mother of God” Harry exclaimed.
Cade had seen the same thing but his reaction was not a verbal one. By his estimation, there were hundreds of the creatures trapped in a massive trench running the length of the garrison. The closer they got to the parade ground the better he felt about what he was seeing. A blinding flash, followed by licking flames made Cade wince and cover his eyes. When he regained a semblance of normal night vision he could see multitudes of burning undead. The ghoul-filled slit carved into the earth was hard to comprehend.
“Hope y’all brought you some mustard… because we got us a weenie roast.”
“Duncan, those used to be people. Can’t you take this a bit more seriously? Maybe find a little sympathy for them?”
“Not a shred, Harry old boy. That’s why I’m not going to be one of those critter’s dinner. As we used to say in Nam, kill em all and let God sort em out.”
As the Black Hawk made firm contact with the ground a shiver ran through the airframe.
“Been awhile hasn’t it?”
“Cade, this ain’t like riding a bicycle. The relearning curve is much steeper. Give me a few more hours and I’ll have this whore doing back flips and landing on feathers.”
Thinking he was stuck with a couple of frat boys, Harry muttered under his breath, “I’m through with you two jokers.”
Duncan kept the rotorblades turning just in case they needed to effect a quick escape. Cade jumped out and sauntered, head ducked under the whirling rotor blades, towards the group of armed men heading his way. He knew the garrison commander from when he was with the 19th at Fort Lewis. Major Greg Beeson was a straight shooter (literally). He had trained snipers earlier in his career. They exchanged salutes and Cade asked him about the moat around the base.
“We had our engineers carve the trench with the dozers. When enough of the dead are assembled, a couple of boom boxes are set up near the pit, usually blaring heavy metal. They really love Metallica.”
“That’s what I call asymmetrical warfare,” Cade quipped.
“It’s pretty straight forward. They come in waves for some reason and so far they are pretty predictable. All we do is give it some time, and like lemmings, they do the rest.”
They walked and talked. Cade explained how they came to possess the helicopter and who his travelling companions were, finishing with the bad news about Boise and the Air Guard base there. Cade cut to the chase and told his old instructor about his missing family and his unstoppable desire to locate them. Major Beeson informed Cade they had intercepted a call for help from Fort Bragg; it had been broadcast over the entire net. The base had been compromised and overrun. He didn’t know about casualties, or how many had gotten out alive. The message gave no hint as to where the survivors, if any, were relocating to. After a long conversation Beeson indicated Cade could use any of the base assets to further his mission.
The Major offered sanctuary to Duncan and Harry. He told the aviator that he was welcome and his expertise was greatly needed. B Company was on deployment in Afghanistan when hell opened up and the dead arrived. Only half of C Company was able to return. Major Beeson was confident the base could hold its own as long as all of the undead residents of Draper didn’t come calling. Duncan agreed to stay on, “For love of country” as he put it. Harry intended to leave at first light; he was feeling lonely, useless and a little restless. Not good for an old man’s psyche.
Duncan ignored Cade’s outstretched hand and instead embraced him in a surprise bear hug. Cade reciprocated, looked the old warhorse in the eyes and said a simple “Thanks.”