Goddamn Marine. I moved ahead to block his aim because I wasn’t going to watch him gun down another squid. If this guy was in shock from the accident, I didn’t want these trigger-happy gun jocks shooting him just because he couldn’t walk right.
Then the sailor attacked me.
I batted his arms aside and wished to hell I’d never gotten in Joel’s way. The blood-splattered guy was crazy and he reeked of shit! He grabbed for me, but his hands didn’t have enough fingers to get a hold on my shirt. He swung his other arm like a club and caught me across the temple. I briefly saw stars, but I’d been hit harder by one of my brothers and brushed it off.
I pushed him back but he swung his arms up again and opened his trap. Oh, fuck me, but that was some horror. His mouth was filled with broken teeth and blood. His tongue dangled out on a strip of muscle and flopped against his chin. He snarled and groaned but couldn’t get his tongue back in. It would have been funny as shit if he hadn’t been attempting to eat me.
I staggered backward and almost fell, but Joel really did have my back.
Joel used his body to keep me from falling and then pushed me off. That was all I needed.
I swung because I was scared. Of course, at that point I’d only seen the things on the ship and they’d frightened me, but I was also in denial, like the whole event wasn’t really happening. Yet here was another of the crazy things and he wanted to kill me, not talk.
He drooled red saliva. When he tried to snarl again, blood bubbled out and something pink fell out of his mouth. It smacked the ground and I was left to stare at a piece of partially chewed human skin.
That’s when I lost it. I swung the wrench with a cry and hit the bastard across the side of his head. The tool weighed about eight pounds, so it was practically a battering ram.
He dropped and didn’t move again.
“Nice work,” Joel said.
I wanted to puke. I’ll never forget that sound, man. I’ll never forget what it felt like to hit a human like that. I was horrified and I was disgusted.
More gunfire all around us and then another series of jets roared overhead. I ducked but looked up as they departed. A few seconds later, the sounds of explosions reverberated in the direction of the city.
Joel looked troubled, gestured for me to follow, and moved out.
They were hitting the city? Good Christ, how far had this spread?
We came across the crash a few minutes later. The Humvee had struck the side of a building filled with ship parts. Whoever had been on top of the military truck was smashed against the wall in a smear of blood and gore that would haunt my nightmares for days to come. Shit! This whole damn day was going to necessitate a hell of a lot of therapy.
A soldier rolled out of a rear door and fell onto the ground. He didn’t move for a few seconds. We stared at each other and then back at him. From the angle he lay in, it seemed obvious that his hips had to be broken. Legs just couldn’t be in that position. He twitched and I was afraid he was one of them, but he got one hand under his body and lifted himself up a few inches so he could look at us. Joel moved in, gun trained on the guy.
“Help,” the man said. He was dressed in camo and had a host of magazines and bulging pockets on his upper body.
“Damn. What happened, brother?” Joel moved in and helped the guy roll over.
“Everything. I’m hurt bad. Can you get someone to help? Please? Take me to medical or get a chopper.”
“Hold on. We’ll do our best. I promise,” Reynolds said. He dropped beside Joel Kelly and me and took the hurt man’s hand in his.
Blood spread across the fallen Marine’s tactical vest. Reynolds leaned over and opened it to reveal that something had penetrated his chest. He took a gurgling breath and then sighed.
“This is not good,” Reynolds said.
“It’s bad, man. I can’t even feel my legs.”
“Help’s on the way,” Joel said.
Was it? I didn’t hear the sound of sirens or see the flash of red lights.
“It’s worse than that. Ah, shit. Just gimme a gun and one shot, then go. Get the fuck out of here and don’t look back.”
That’s when I saw it. The sleeve of his other arm was ripped open and blood, fresh and crimson, coated the fabric. He’d removed his belt and cinched it just below his elbow. The man had been bitten, and assuming that what had happened on the ship was “the new normal,” this guy was so screwed.
“What happened?”
“It’s all messed up. So royally messed up. Were you here when it started?”
“No brother. We were on a ship. Just got here.”
“Shit. Lucky you. It’s a virus of some kind. Whole city’s gone crazy. We heard the same stuff hit other bases.”
“What’s your name?”
“Norvell, Mike Norvell. Guys used to call me Big Papa.” Mike choked on a glob of blood and spat it out.
“Tell me about the base, Norvell.”
“You guys need to go,” Norvell gasped and then frowned. His body stiffened and he looked about as miserable as anyone I’d ever seen in my life.
“You’re going to be alright.”
“The tourniquet slows it down but I can feel it. It’s like my blood’s filled with sand.”
“Sorry we can’t do better by you, man. But please. What happened?”
“It happened so fast. Something docked that wasn’t supposed to, some ship from overseas. They quarantined it, but something happened. A few days later the first cases showed up. Then rumors. Rumors of the virus at other seaports and military bases.”
“What? Like an attack?”
I unholstered the gun at Norvell’s side, held it up and ejected the magazine. I took out all but one bullet, pocketed what I was pretty sure were 9 mm rounds, put the magazine back in and racked a shell into the chamber. I held the gun out to Reynolds. He took it, stared at it for a few seconds and then put it in the guy’s hand.
Norvell coughed up another blast of blood and that seemed to be enough for Reynolds. The Marine got to his feet and moved back. Mike “Big Papa” Norvell thrashed on the ground. His eyes bulged so much I thought they were going to explode. He shook as he lifted his hand and just barely managed to put the barrel of the gun under his chin.
We all looked away when the shot snapped across the area.
Joel got up and went to the vehicle. He rummaged around and then came out with a rifle and a small backpack. He put the items on the ground and hunted around again. He came out with a pair of handguns, then placed four magazines on the ground.
Joel had a crap load of gear laid out. The guys, still soaking wet from the dip in the ocean, strapped on as much as they could, to a soundtrack of squishing noises. Reynolds slung his little machine gun behind his back, picked up one of the rifles and checked it. They tossed me a handgun. I did as I’d done with Norvell’s gun because I wasn’t a complete idiot when it came to weapons. I did a quick inspection, counted how many rounds I had in the Smith and Wesson, then added a pair of magazines to my pockets.
We moved out toward the center of base. Why? I had no idea; I was just along for the walk in hell. Before we departed, Joel looked over the HUMVEE just to make sure it was toast. Didn’t take a fucking mechanic to see the damage was beyond any of us or a shop, a week, and a hell of a repair bill. The front end was completely destroyed from hitting the corner of the building, but the seats were also covered in blood, and that was reason enough for me to stay out.
Two buildings later, we ran into a shit storm.
Someone had set up a barricade of cars, trucks, and fences to block at least one cross-street. Joel jogged the perimeter and then dashed back a minute later. He shook his head, so we looked back the way we’d come.
Joel was in the process of hauling ass around the corner of a barracks when he ran smack into one of the creatures. It was missing part of a foot and toppled over when Joel struck him. The Marine didn’t hesitate; he splattered its brains all over the road with two quick shots.