Five Roads To Texas (Book 10): Salvation Read online

  Salvation

  A Five Roads to Texas Novel

  Allen Gamboa

  Contents

  Salvation

  Chapter 1

  CAT PERSON

  Chapter 2

  FLESH GOBBLERS

  Chapter 3

  HOT .223 DEATH

  Chapter 4

  OUTHOUSE AT A GRATEFUL DEAD CONCERT

  Chapter 5

  ALL KINDS OF SHIT

  Chapter 6

  CATCH OUR BREATH

  Chapter 7

  PLANNING FOR A RAINY DAY

  Chapter 8

  BANANA HAMMOCK

  Chapter 9

  LET’S SEE YOUR STUPID FACE!

  Chapter 10

  VODKA AND BAD DECISIONS

  Chapter 11

  EAT A DICK

  Chapter 12

  MEALS REFUSING TO EXIT

  Chapter 13

  NOTHING PERSONAL

  Chapter 14

  RIDING DIRTY

  Chapter 15

  I BET THAT WASN'T A COMPLIMENT

  Chapter 16

  “13”

  Chapter 17

  TWO WANGS ARE BETTER THAN ONE

  Chapter 18

  POUND CAKE

  Chapter 19

  NECRO DENTISTRY

  Chapter 20

  B... BE AWARE!

  Chapter 21

  DIDNT YOU GET THE FUCKING MEMO?

  Chapter 22

  PRINCESS

  Chapter 23

  HEY BRUCE LEE!

  Chapter 24

  CAN YOU HOLD YOUR MUD?

  Chapter 25

  Y’ALL COME BACK NOW, YA HEAR?

  Chapter 26

  THE GREATER GOOD AND ALL THAT BULLSHIT

  Chapter 27

  STOP AND ASK FOR DIRECTIONS

  Chapter 28

  WHO ARE THESE ASS CLOWNS?

  Chapter 29

  SHRIVELED MANHOODS

  Chapter 30

  LOVE REMOVAL MACHINE

  Chapter 31

  A LITTLE PAIN IS INCENTIVE

  Chapter 32

  POTATO JUICE

  Chapter 33

  TEAT SUCKLING-LIEUTENANT

  Chapter 34

  ROAD DOGS

  Chapter 35

  I DON'T WANT YOU BREAKING A HIP

  Chapter 36

  SOME DAYS JUST SUCK

  Chapter 37

  THE SUCKING

  Chapter 38

  “WELL, FUCK…”

  Chapter 39

  THAT JUST MAKES MY BALLS ACHE

  Chapter 40

  SHE WASN'T BAD LOOKIN

  Chapter 41

  EPIPHANY

  Chapter 42

  BRRRRRRRTTT!

  Chapter 43

  QUIT DICKING AROUND

  Chapter 44

  AMERICAN GUINEA PIG

  Chapter 45

  DON'T WANT NO SKANKS OR SECOND COUSINS

  Chapter 46

  NO BUENO

  Chapter 47

  WAX ON, WAX OFF

  Chapter 48

  IF YOU WANT SOMETHING DONE RIGHT

  Chapter 49

  JUST SWELL

  Chapter 50

  BEATS SITTING AROUND HERE JERKING OFF

  Chapter 51

  DESK MONKEY

  Chapter 52

  TURD PIE

  Chapter 53

  3 POINTS OF VIEW

  Chapter 54

  NOW I HAVE THAT SONG IN MY HEAD

  Chapter 55

  SOUNDS DELIGHTFUL

  Chapter 56

  CALIGULA’S FIST

  Chapter 57

  THIS PLACE SUCKS

  Chapter 58

  PERFECT END TO A SHITTY DAY

  Chapter 59

  JESSE

  Chapter 60

  VIOS CON DIOS

  Chapter 61

  SURVIVALIST CHRISTMAS MORNING

  Chapter 62

  IT’S HIM

  Chapter 63

  SALVATION

  Chapter 64

  BLOOD BAG

  Chapter 65

  HUMAN CENTIPEDE

  Chapter 66

  GLORY HOLES

  About the Author

  The Five Roads To Texas Series

  Copyright

  All rights reserved.

  This book or any portion thereof

  may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Printed in the United States of America

  Copyright © Allen Gamboa 2020

  First Printing, July 2020

  Dedication

  Thanks to all you magnificent bastards! You all made this series possible.

  Allen Gamboa

  Salvation

  A Five Roads to Texas Novel

  Allen Gamboa

  Chapter One

  CAT PERSON

  Somewhere in Arizona

  “Well, fuck me.” Ram lay flat in the waist high weeds that lined the berm next to the battle-damaged overpass. The hulk of a burnt-out Stryker vehicle straddled both lanes of the highway. A couple months of not being maintained had created a small jungle along the roadway that was strewn with garbage and abandoned cars. The former Corrections officer shaded his eyes from the afternoon sun with the palm of his hand. He and Jesse had been siphoning gas from the vehicles that were deserted along the highway. The heavy rumble of engines from below the underpass had brought their refilling mission to a sudden halt. 100 yards away, sat two armored personnel carriers. Several blue helmeted soldiers quickly exited both the vehicles and were now standing facing away from the overpass. Scratching his new growth of beard, Ram glanced over at the black-haired female who lay on the ground next to him. “What the hell are they doing?”

  “Taking a leak.” Jesse Moreno said as she watched the soldiers through the monocular that Ian and his team of mercenaries had given them. The two had quietly maneuvered their way about a football field length behind the two armored vehicles, “It’s apparently true what they say about, well... you know.” She said rolling onto her back in the high growth of weeds and grass.

  “Maybe we should go down there and have a talk with them while they got their hands full?”

  “Believe me, none of those hands are full.” She gave the monocular to Ram. “Have a looksee. Those HMG’s are facing in either direction. I can’t tell if they have anyone manning them.”

  “Just swell.” Ram said as he focused the monocular on the personnel carrier’s turrets. One was pointed in their direction the other to the east.

  “We head over there and they might just cut us down thinking we were infected.”

  “Crap.” Ram shook his head then slid back a little ways from the edge of the berm, pulling his backpack and the Mini-14 along with him. “Maybe Ian was right after all. I thought, or I had hoped, he was full of shit about the North Koreans.”

  “Well, it was hard to believe at the time. We really can’t say they’re Koreans. I mean, they do have the UN helmets.” Jesse added, staring up at the cloudy sky. “With the virus and all the infected running around, it seems like anything is now possible. They could be part of some kind of multinational “save America force.” “

  “I guess we should just let those dickheads drive away then?” Ram said, hopelessness and disgust in his voice.

  “ Unless you want to end up looking like a piece of Swiss cheese. Those guns on those vehicles are no joke, Ram. They call them Heavy machine guns for a reason. Besides, like I said, they could just be here to help.”

  “Yeah. Since when has the UN helped anyone?�
��

  “True.” Jesse nodded, having seen her fair share of UN fuckups during her overseas tours with the Navy.

  All of Rams old shitty range scores suddenly flashed through his head making him painfully aware of their predicament. He’d been fairly accurate at shooting the infected but this here was a whole different beast. “So, we just let them drive away then.”

  “If they open fire on us I don't think minis are going to make a dent in that armor. You ever want a chance at seeing your family again, we walk away. Swiss cheese or live another day.” Jesse gave him a sideways glance. “Your choice Ram. I’m all in whatever you choose.”

  “Fucking Ian. Put this invasion shit in my head.” The old guard said under his breath. His earlier fallout with the mercenary leader seemed meaningless and childish now.

  “Ian had his own agenda anyway, Ram. The guy was a mercenary. Who knows what the fuck he was really thinking.” Jesse said quietly as she watched carrion birds slowly circle something nearby. “We could have taken some of Ian’s bigger weapons, but you were in such a hurry and being an immature ass that we left it all behind.” She chided him when suddenly one of the black bird shapes were replaced by the expanding outline of a descending aircraft. “Shit! Ram, get down!”

  “I am down!”

  “Behind the damn truck!” Jesse said, raising her voice. She grabbed her partner by the shoulder and half pulled, half drug him behind the shot-up carcass of a lifted Silverado that had a big Confederate flag sticker in the back window. Before he could voice a protest, Jesse pointed overhead. Ram glanced upward as the familiar roar of the twin turbo fan engines filled the sky.

  “Oh, fuck!” This time Ram grabbed Jesse and shoved her underneath the gray primer covered truck. He gave the attack aircraft a final glance then quickly joined his partner beneath the old four-wheel drive.

  The desert camouflaged A-10 swooped down on the two armored UN vehicles and quickly unleashed its deadly 30mm cannon on them. The familiar brrrttt sound of the plane’s deadly weapons system filled the sky above Ram and Jesse. The six soldiers suddenly noticed the approaching aircraft but it was too late . The blue helmeted soldiers were all but vaporized in a mist of red as the deadly rounds chewed them apart. Several of the A-10’s armor piercing and incendiary rounds struck the personnel carriers, easily slicing through their armor and setting them on fire. The low flying aircraft slowly turned and made another pass, this time the 30mm cannon solely focused on the damaged vehicles. The two carriers erupted into flames as the A-10 ascended back up into the sky. Shockwaves from the exploding vehicles rocked the Silverado and rumbled through both Ram and Jesse. They could feel the uncomfortable

  heatwave from the destroyed armored personnel carriers as it rolled over them. Then suddenly, it became oddly quiet as the A-10 disappeared into the mid-afternoon clouds. The only noise was the crackling of the fire and the occasional popping sound of ordnance cooking off from inside the armored husk.

  “At least we know the Air Force is still around!” Ram shouted above the ringing in his ears. “Is that a good thing ?” Jesse asked grinning as she joined the older man in the temporary tinnitus club.

  “Yeah, well I don’t see any Navy destroyers rolling up to save our asses. And that fucking Army helicopter in Scottsdale shot up the damn HEMTT and all our crap!” Ram said bemoaning the loss of the big truck and the food and survival gear that the mercenary Ian had given them after their less than friendly parting of ways. The HEMTT was a fucking beast, and even though it was great to have during all this bullshit, the vehicle seemed to draw a lot of unwanted attention. While Ram and Jesse had unassed the truck and gone out on foot to scout a way through a congested area, an Army attack helicopter had spotted the HEMTT. Apparently seeing the vehicle as some kind of threat, the helicopter destroyed the HEMTT with a single rocket. Ram and Jesse always wondered why their vehicle was attacked, now they could see there was definitely something else in play.

  “Makes no sense Ram, besides that A-10 pilot probably didn’t even know we were here.” She glanced down at the thick black clouds of smoke wafting up from the remains of the two burning armored vehicles. “He was just focused on them.”

  “Yeah.” Ram agreed. “Why would the Air Force attack a UN patrol?”

  “What is a UN patrol doing here in the first place? And why the hell are our military shooting up anything big that moves?”

  “Ian.” Jesse said quietly. “I think maybe your buddy Ian was really on to something Ram.” “Shit.” The dark-haired man glanced back down at the two flaming vehicles, not wanting to admit the smug merc may have been in the right. “Those dead soldiers might have some gear or weapons we can use until we make the safe house. Obviously their vehicles are a bust, but the UN guys the Warthog splattered may have something we can salvage.”

  “Sounds good.” Jesse nodded as she pulled an old granola bar out of her tac vest and started to unwrap it. “We just need to let those personnel carriers cool down a bit. I don’t want to get killed by some stray ammo exploding .”

  Ram carefully crawled out from underneath the cover of the Silverado, reluctantly followed by Jesse. Feeling a little relieved, he scanned the area with the monocular. After a few seconds Ram dropped the spyglass to his side.

  “We need to go Jesse!”

  “What?” She asked with a mouth full of granola bar. “All that damned noise has alerted the locals.”

  “Shit!” She jammed the rest of the bar into her vest, slung her rifle and grabbed the monocular from out of Rams hand. Dozens of the nasty infected seemed to have suddenly appeared from nowhere. The mobs of crazies were drawn out by the one-sided firefight. Earlier, to ensure there were no surprises, Jesse and Ram had made sure the vehicles near them were clear of any of the infected. Those swarming the wreckage of the armored vehicles must’ve come from further down the highway. “Looks like they’re between us and the bikes.”

  “Just freakin Swell.” Ram, wished they had the motorcycles with them as he checked his rifle. Satisfied it was good to go he knelt down next to the front fender of the truck, hoping for a better look at the approaching mob. “Why don’t we just lay chilly and let them pass?”

  “Sounds good. Hopefully they’ll settle for that big bowl of UN soup that your Air Force buddies left behind.”

  “Hopefully” Ram nodded. What seemed like many lifetimes ago, he had once been an aircraft mechanic in the Air Force. Ram had worked on A-10’s just like the Warthog that had dusted those UN soldiers. “We still need to get some fuel.”

  “Crap.” Jesse said just above a whisper. “Maybe we can see if this bad boy has any gas in it. While those fucks are enjoying that moveable feast down there, we can check it out. It looks as though it was disabled instead of running out of gas. She finished as she eyed the driver side that was smashed and wedged into the concrete barrier of the bridge.

  “I don’t know Jess.” Ram glanced back at the big truck. “Think we should risk those shit bags picking up on any movement or sound?”

  “Just be real quiet Ram.”

  “Yeah.” Ram rolled his eyes at that. “So you’re going to bet our safety on me quietly, quietly sucking the gas outta the General Lee here. Don’t you know who I am?” The older man said, glancing back and forth between Jesse and the approaching mob below them.

  “Never mind.” Jesse said as she unslung the Mini-14. “You’re like a freakin bull in a china shop. We can just lay up here and wait until those shit stains pass.”

  “Sounds good to me.” Ram said as he tapped Jesse on the shoulder and crawled back underneath the big truck. The pony tailed woman followed, grabbing her rifle and sliding in next to him. Ram rolled onto his side and laid his weapon down beside him. He quickly pulled a stale Baby Ruth bar out of the front pocket of his dirty jeans.

  “Want some?” Ram asked as he tried to quietly unwrap the candy bar. Since being injected by Doctor Sanjay’s various attempts at finding an antiviral, Ram found he could pretty much eat anything he wa
nted.

  “No thanks, still got some of this granola bar left.” She said, drawing the half-eaten bar from her vest. Jesse took a bite then rolled onto her stomach and focused the monocular on the nightmare that was unfolding below them.

  The mob of twenty or so infected had sprinted, ran, or stumbled their way past the burning UN vehicles and found the giant puddle of Korean soldiers. The crowd of crazed people practically dove face first into the pool of human remains. Jesse watched as the things that used to be normal, civilized people fought and clawed at each other for the still warm remnants of the UN soldiers. The infected gobbled down anything they could, some scooped up the thick blood in their hands and eagerly drank it. A month ago Jesse would have been mortified at the sight of the bizarre cannibal orgy below them, now, sadly, it was a daily occurrence.

  Chapter Two

  FLESH GOBBLERS

  Arizona

  Ram lay on his side next to Jesse chewing on the stale Baby Ruth bar. He was grateful that he didn’t have the monocular. From his position, Ram could barely make out the crowd of flesh eaters greedily swimming around in the bloody mess. During their travels he’d found the infected feasted on anything living or recently killed. The closest thing he could compare them to was a damned plague of locust, devouring all the warm flesh in their way. The former prison guard remembered when, during a bad hail storm, he and Jesse had taken refuge in a deserted Petco. Inside they had stumbled upon the remains of a raid by the infected. The insatiable things had broken into the animal cages and what little they left behind was just horrifying. Ram had seen his share of the terrible deeds people do to each other during his career in Corrections, and he was also not an animal lover by any means. A fact that always drove his kids crazy. Ram had always told them that “making sure they were watered and fed was more than enough responsibility.”