The NEXT Apocalypse (Book 2): AFTER Life: Purgatory by Chute Robert Chazz

Author:Chute, Robert Chazz [Chute, Robert Chazz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Dystopian | Zombies
Publisher: Ex Parte Press
Published: 2018-08-24T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

CHLOE

The LAV commander keyed his radio. We could hear Alphonse spit out a short code sequence. Then he said, “Follower 1, this is Big Dog. Our route to Waypoint 2 has some tall poppies along the road.”

“Big Dog, how many poppies along the road? Follower 1.”

“Enough, Follower 1. They don’t look infected but they are not friendlies. What’s your ETA? Big Dog.”

“ETA, less than a minute behind you, Big Dog.” There was a long pause. Then, “Crowd control or cleanup?”

“Roger, Follower 1,” Alphonse said. “We’ve got a priority package to deliver. My orders are to scare them out of the way. Come in easy.”

The two LAV crew seemed amused. “Orders. Heh,” Jerry said. “You know that won’t work. They better bring a hammer.”

“Clean up on aisle five,” Tom said. “Gonna need a big mop.”

Later, when I had time to think about what happened on Lakeshore Boulevard, I’d remember how robotic that exchange was. It was as if Alphonse and the man from Follower 1 were clockwork, like they’d done this a thousand times and they expected they’d do it a thousand times more. It was as if they were talking about taking out the trash in a coded language just one step away from reality.

The clatter of a heavy weapon erupted from the front of the vehicle. I thought of Daniel Harmon, unconscious and oblivious, strapped to a stretcher on the side of the personnel carrier. I wished I were asleep, too.

Jerry must have caught my worried look. “No worries! This LAV III is equipped with two machine guns. My fave weapon of all time is the 25 millimeter Bushmaster but the machine gun will do the job just dandy. What you hear is Alphonse letting the pedestrians ahead know that, despite what they may have thought, we surely do have the right of way. Backup is coming to make sure we keep this route clear. Don’t get nervy. The commander is firing warning shots. We aren’t going to kill anybody who gets off the road.”

I didn’t know whether to believe the crewman. What I imagined was being a refugee on the road, running from the disaster. If I saw an armored personnel carrier, I’d want to climb aboard and get inside. I’d beg for mercy to get inside to safety. I’d probably block the road and count on human empathy to save me and my family. And I’d probably be disappointed.

Muffled screams reached us. On the front camera feed, I saw a woman in a striped shirt shouting, but I couldn’t make out the words. I could hear her rage and fear, though. That much came through.

She raised her arms to show her hands were empty, blocking the way, refusing to move. More people flooded in from both sides of the road to stand with her. They stood to demand answers. They wanted help. They needed rescue. She said something more that I took as a question.

Her answer came in gunfire.

Then, spang! A single shot hit the LAV.

“We’re taking small arms fire,” Tom said.

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