Tribulation by Scott Nicholson

Author:Scott Nicholson [Nicholson, Scott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Haunted Computer Books
Published: 2019-03-20T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

That could’ve been me.

Rocky’s first instinct was to mourn the loss of his compatriots and vow to seek revenge. One zombie still bowed over a fallen soldier, kneeling like a penitent taking sacrament. It thrust a slimy giblet into its maw and chewed eagerly, oblivious to the arrival of fresh prey.

Even though the target was at the edge of effective range, Rocky dropped to one knee, sighted, and fired. The shot thwacked the creature a glancing blow and one arm flopped crazily by its side. It continued gnawing at the red meat, strings of drool and sinew dangling from its chin. Rocky ignored Sonia’s shouts and fired again, this time striking the deader in the lower spine. It dropped down onto the soldier it had been feeding from, its spine severed, and still it rammed its teeth into the human’s shoulder. Sonia tugged on Rocky to get his attention, but he brushed her off and released a three-round burst, a screaming yellow tracer helping him hone his aim.

The zombie’s head erupted and spewed gore across the pavement and at last it grew still.

“You just fucked up,” Sonia said.

“Zombies at three o’clock!” Tanner yelled.

Rocky shifted his aim to the right. A cluster of deaders shambled out of the mist, clotted blood painting their torsos pink. They came from between buildings, around vehicles, and out of the tiny residential yards that stretched beyond the business strip. The group was caught out in the open, just like the ill-fated platoon. Rocky wondered if they’d all panicked when they’d seen one of their own fall victim to the feeders.

“If we open fire, we’re going to alert any other units in the area,” Rocky said.

“A little too late for that, don’t you think?” Sonia said.

“I couldn’t help it.”

“I know.”

“We may as well find out whose side the army’s on,” Knocker said. “Better now than when we’re banging on the gates of Promiseland.”

“Assuming anybody’s still there,” Tanner said. “If the deaders have infiltrated this deep into the Zone, they might’ve already beaten us there.”

“That would suck,” Arjun said. “Ingram could chopper out of there in a heartbeat if he was in danger.”

“I don’t think so,” Meg said. “That’s his church, his home, his castle. That would be showing weakness to his followers, and I don’t think he’d ever admit defeat.”

“Probably because no one can defeat him,” Sydney said. “I mean, if he’s really the Antichrist.”

The zombies were still about sixty or seventy yards away, and Rocky ordered everyone to take positions and hold their fire. The group could’ve retreated and sought a more secure position, but that would take them farther away from Promiseland. And the longer they waited, the more deaders they’d have to fight.

The group spread out in an uneven line, behind vehicles, walls, and signs. Rocky was pleased they all gave themselves room to maneuver and run if necessary. This was a different kind of warfare and traditional tactics didn’t apply. He suspected the slaughtered platoon had not grasped this harsh new reality.

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