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

  Ram quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned over to where his partner sat unconscious. “Jesse!”

  “Don’t move!” A blonde woman in a worn leather motorcycle vest, stuck the sawed-off barrel of a Mossberg shotgun in the open driver’s side window of the Durango. “Don’t fucking move!” “Look,” Ram stopped and raised his hands. “My friends hurt, I need to help her.”

  “You need to not move, asshole.” The blonde, whose arms were sleeved with colored tattoos, kept the shotgun pointed at Rams head.

  “Asshole?” Ram said, genuinely offended. “Look, help me get my friend out of the car. She’s injured.”

  “Fucking shut up, asshole!” Another man with a Moe haircut and face tats, shoved the barrel of a .22 Marlin through Jesse’s window. “Do as Tarot says and you and your chick will be fine.” Tarot? Figures, Ram thought to himself. These two didn’t look like they wouldn’t put up with much lip, so he just nodded slowly.

  “Good.” The woman said as she eyed the Mini-14 tucked into the seat next to him. “Slowly back out and keep your hands in the air. Don’t be reaching for that rifle.”

  “Alright. We’re all friends here, I guess.” Ram said slowly and carefully backed out of the Durango. He could feel the weight of the Beretta on his hip and wondered if he could draw it before they could get a shot off.

  “Don’t even think about it, Grampa.” The younger woman said. “Grampa?”

  “Out.” The woman jammed the barrel hard into Rams back as soon as he had vacated the SUV. Tarot shoved him against the side of the Durango, and with her free hand, pulled the handgun from Ram’s holster and shoved it down into the front of her dirty jeans. “Body armor? You cops or soldiers or something, old man?”

  “Uh. no.” Ram said, unable to decide if he was more angry at the pops remark or the shotgun in his back.

  “Next time you drive the crash truck.” A third man, who was called Red because of his long auburn hair, rubbed his forehead where he’d struck the steering wheel of the moving van. “How’s the woman?” Tarot asked the Moe haircut biker called Crow.

  “She’s breathing. Looks like she took a good knock.” Crow, a former paramedic, quickly felt for a neck pulse. “I think she’ll be okay. Probably just got her bell rang pretty good.”

  “Looks like they have a shit load of goodies in back.” Red hungrily eyed the pelican cases that were stored in the rear of the Durango.

  “Listen,” Ram said trying to turn his head to see Tarot. The female biker kept the shotgun barrel tight against the back of his neck. “You can have all this shit, just let us go. We have some Korean soldiers chasing us and we need for you to just let us go.”

  “Thank you for being so generous, but we’ll be helping ourselves to your stuff.” The other two bikers chuckled at that. “Don’t worry about your friends either. We have plans for them too.” “Just fucking swell.” Ram grumbled. “Look...”

  “Grampa, what are you doing with all this shit?” Tarot asked, cutting him off. She was looking over Ram’s shoulder and into the Dodge, the Shotgun still wedged into the back of his neck. “Grampa? I’m a little tired of everyone calling me old. I’m not that fucking old.” And having said that, Ram made a quick decision. Without skipping a beat, he swiftly brought his right arm down hard and with speed he didn’t know he possessed, gripped the barrel of the shotgun, shoving it away from him. Surprised, Tarot squeezed the trigger, the shotgun bucked in her hands. The load of double ought caught the long-haired biker, Red, in the face. Now, faceless and almost headless, he silently collapsed to the ground. Ears ringing, Ram used his virus enhanced strength to turn and shove Tarot roughly to the asphalt. He easily yanked the weapon free from her hands as she fell.

  “Fucker!” Crow shouted as he ran around the side of the SUV, rifle at the ready. Before he could fire, Ram fired the second load of double ought into his chest. The failed paramedic flew backward, crashing down onto the asphalt. Ignoring the man’s screams of pain, Ram tossed the empty shotgun out of Tarot’s reach then bent down and roughly reached into the front of her jeans and removed his pilfered Beretta, making a quick mental note to clean it later. Ram stepped back and aimed the Beretta at the female bikers face.

  “Roll over on your belly!”

  “Fuck you old man!” Tarot spat. “You ain’t getting shit from me! I ain’t gonna fuck you either! I bite! Gramps”

  “Gross. No, I don’t wanna fuck you.” Ram shook his head. “Look, I don’t hit women but I really won’t have a problem starting with you! Now roll over!” The woman let out a string of curses as she slowly rolled over onto her stomach. Ram reached over to the faceless Red’s corpse and ripped a strip of material off his blood-soaked T-shirt. He holstered the handgun, then using the cloth as a restraint, tightly wrapped it around Tarot’s wrist. Ram quickly finished it off with a slip knot. “Stay here!” He patted her on the back then stepped away looking over to the passenger side of the Durango.

  “I told you to watch out for those potholes.” Jesse said, walking around the back of the SUV still slightly dazed.

  “You missed the party Jesse.” Ram let out a breath, still keeping an eye on Tarot, who was unsuccessfully trying to break free of her makeshift restraints.

  “Looks like you did alright.” Jesse glanced down at the two dead bikers then at the woman on her stomach. “The Dodge is toast.”

  “Yeah,” Ram nodded. “You okay?”

  “I’ll be fine.” She rubbed her bruised face. “I’m... I’m good enough. Who’s your new girlfriend?” “You two are fucking dead meat! Especially you grandpa!” Tarot shouted with a mouthful of drool. “Cottons gonna fuck you both up real good!”

  “Shut up!” Ram growled at Tarot, then looked back over at Jesse. “This waste of bad DNA tried to hijack us. We’re going to need some new wheels.”

  “Yeah,” Jesse, still a little groggy, turned and looked at the moving van that the bikers had used to crash into them. Red left the big vehicle idling so the low rumble of the engine caught Jesse’s attention. “How about their rig?”

  “Beggars can’t be choosers.” Ram nodded. “You wanna drive and I’ll load up as much as I can? Looks like you could use a break from moving too much.”

  “Sure.” Jesse hurried over to the passenger side of the Dodge and grabbed the rest of their gear. “What about your new best friend?”

  “Leave her.” Ram popped open the rear hatch of the Durango and started to grab out some of the pelican cases. “She’s no good to us.”

  “Fuck you!” Tarot cursed as she tried to roll onto her side. “My gang will chew you up before you can get out of here!”

  “Ram is right, Shut the fuck up!” Jesse tossed their gear and rifle into the cab of the old moving van. Climbing inside, she quickly checked the fuel gauge. “Everything looks good Ram!” Jesse then leaned out the cabs open door and watched for any threats. “We have half a tank of gas.” “Good.” Ram had raised the back door of the moving van and was hurriedly shoving equipment from the damaged Durango inside.

  “Hey!” Tarot had finally succeeded in turning onto her side. The biker could see the older man was wasting no time in loading up their moving van. Tarot figured Cotton and the other bikers would have been there by now. She was now beginning to seriously worry about Bunny and the others.

  “You... you can’t leave me out here! Those things will get me!”

  “You didn’t give a shit about us, why should we give a shit about you?” Ram said, shoving a couple of gas cans into the rear of the moving van.

  “I can get you past my club. They’ll let you go if you have me with you.”

  “Ain’t that nice.” Ram continued loading cases and gas cans into the other vehicle. “I think we’ll take our chances.”

  “Please…” Suddenly gun fire erupted from down the block behind them. Ram drew his Beretta as he recognized some of the reports sounded like the Koreans' weapons. All this noise should have drawn the infected, if any were in the area.

&nbs
p; “Ah!” Tarot chuckled. “You cunts are in for it now! Bunny’s gonna kill you! Kill you slow!” She chuckled. “Maybe even feed you to those fucking cannibals!”

  “Shit.” Ram holstered his handgun and quickly tossed some more cases into the moving van. As he loaded up as much gear as possible, he continued to look out for the infected or any remnants of Tarot’s gang. The old guard realized he couldn’t get all their equipment out of the Dodge before the rest of the bikers showed up. Letting out a loud groan of disappointment, he grabbed the handle of the moving vans rear door and slammed it shut. After making sure the back was secure, Ram slapped it with his right hand then hurried over to the driver’s side of the moving van. He smiled seeing that Jessie had grabbed up their bug out bags and the extra ammo pack.

  “We need to split Jesse. The lady has some friends coming to back them up! I couldn’t get everything out of the Dodge but I got about half.”

  “Lady?” Jesse snorted. “Half is good enough. Sounds like they’re mixing it up with our Korean buddies, so I guess now is as good a time as any to go!” Ram gave her a thumbs up as she shut the driver’s door behind her.

  “You assholes are gonna eat some big dick now!” Tarot shouted at them as the gun fight continued in the distance.

  “Lady, you need Jesus!” Ram shook his head then sprinted over to the passenger’s side of the moving van.

  “Fuck you, you old prick!” Tarot shouted after him.

  “Do I look old to you?” Ram said climbing inside the cab and slamming the door shut.

  “What do you care what that skank thinks?” Jesse said, shoving the moving van into reverse and glancing at the vehicle's side mirror. “You’re only as old as you feel.”

  “You didn’t answer the question.” Ram said as he checked his Mini-14 and other personal gear. “Hold on.” Jesse said, spinning the steering wheel to the right. The moving van bumped and shook as it crossed over a strip of sidewalk then back onto the asphalt. “I don’t want you breaking a hip!”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  SOME DAYS JUST SUCK

  Salton City, AZ

  “Turn here!” Sergeant Woo-Jin thrust out his arm to point at the side street the Americans had made a turn onto. Corporal Ha-Jun knew his commander was getting tired of lagging behind their target, but he also knew Woo-Jin was torn between following orders and his own need for power and glory. Before the Corporal could turn the vehicle, the hood and windshield of their SUV were hit by gunfire. Slivers of glass peppered the two soldiers in the front of the Tahoe as rounds smashed through the safety glass. Ha-Jun ducked down in his seat still trying to steer the SUV while bullets zipped wildly around him.

  “Fuck!”

  Woo-Jin tried to pull his weapon, but he found himself sliding downward toward the boot of the Tahoe in a mad attempt to escape the sudden and unexpected fusillade of deadly bullets. The soldiers in the rear of the Tahoe weren’t safe either as gunfire erupted from all sides. The Sergeant could hear the back windows explode inward, followed by the screams of his patrol. He could hear the loud reports of fire being returned from some of his men in the rear of the vehicle. Woo-Jin cursed aloud as he tried to make himself as small as possible in the boot of the besieged SUV. Wincing, he looked over to see Ha-Jun was as low as he possibly could get in the driver’s seat while still trying to maintain control of the speeding vehicle.

  “Corporal!” Woo-Jin shouted, trying to get the driver’s attention. “Corporal!”

  Ha-Jun was too focused on trying to escape the ambush to notice the repeated calls of the Sergeant, who was folded up in the bottom of the SUV. More rounds impacted heavily against the Tahoe. The Corporal finally lost control of the vehicle, causing it to swerve then flip.

  “Well, shit. Look at that.” Bunny said from behind the cover of a long dead Prius. He raised the old M-16 over his shoulder and watched the upside-down Tahoe slide about two hundred feet to a stop.

  “Whoo hoo!” Vinnie, who stood next to Bunny holding a Benelli shotgun, gave a loud war cry as he watched the overturned vehicle grind its way across the road.

  “Hope this is worth it!” Cotton shouted from his hiding spot on the other side of the street. He carried an M-16 at his side as he moved out of cover and into the roadway.

  “We’ll see.” Donnie followed his boss toward the wreckage of the Tahoe. The older biker carried a tricked-out AR-15 at point shoulder, he kept the barrel aimed at the vehicle in case any of the occupants decided to not surrender. Donnie was more worried about all the noise the ambush had made than any problem the men inside the distressed vehicle posed to them. The biker knew the ruckus would eventually draw out the hungry infected and that would be a bigger issue than the wounded men in the SUV. Donnie hung back a little and watched the surrounding area for any of the hidden flesh eaters.

  The rest of the bikers were more concerned with the wrecked Tahoe than the infected. The men surrounded the SUV, not getting too close in case any of the passengers decided to shoot it out with them.

  “Where’s Tarot?” Bunny asked Vinnie as they moved a little closer to the wreck. “Fuck if I know. Maybe she’s playing with them a little.”

  “Yeah.” Bunny nodded. “You’re probably right. She does like to play.” He grinned lewdly.

  “You inside the vehicle!” Cotton shouted at the overturned SUV. The biker leader had raised his rifle, pointing it toward the front of the Tahoe. “Come on out and we’ll let you walk out of here with what you have on!” The other bikers had to resist chuckling at that, they all knew Cotton intended on killing them.

  Woo-Jin found himself lying in an upside-down version of the SUV. He tried to shake the fog from his head, in the distance he could hear someone was yelling at him in English. Running a shaky hand across his bruised and bloody face, the Sergeant had to pull himself together. He’d taken a pretty good knock during the crash so everything was still a bit hazy. The airbag had deployed, but Woo-Jin had been underneath the steering wheel when it did.

  Still hearing voices outside the vehicle, he glanced over to where Ha-Jun should be seated. The Corporal was crumpled up on the ceiling but he was in such a twisted position, the Sergeant knew the soldier was obviously dead. In his blurry vision he could also see the lifeless lumps of his patrol spread out on the inside of the capsized vehicle.

  Being captured by a gang of American thugs didn’t sound like it would work out in the Sergeant’s favor, Woo-Jin quickly decided he wasn't about to let himself be taken prisoner. His own rifle had been thrown clear of the wreckage and the Sergeant couldn’t see Ha-Jun’s weapon anywhere inside the front of the vehicle. With a trembling hand he unsnapped his holster and slowly removed his pistol. He’d never really been in combat before, never fired a shot in anger. Now, he thought to himself in his impact scrambled brain, now he would make his country proud.

  “Shit, is that an M4?” Bunny asked as he pointed to the rifle that lay a few feet outside of the upside-down SUV.

  “Hell ya.” Vinnie nodded. “They got some heavy shit in there!” “Looks like most of it’s out here now.” Bunny added.

  “Fuck us!” Bull said, a little too excited as he eyed all the Korean patrol’s gear that had been thrown out of the Tahoe in the crash. The biker also noticed the blue helmets that had been flung outside the vehicle with the rest of the loose equipment. “Those guys are UN. My brothers unit worked with them in Somalia.”

  “UN?” Donnie sighed as he still watched their surroundings. This was just getting better and better. “What the fuck is the UN doing here?”

  “Hell if I know?” Bunny shrugged. “Those stupid fucks sure had a lot of shit!”

  “Ours now.” Vinnie said greedily, his beady eyes focused on the treasure spread across the street.

  “That’s why I said HAD.” Bunny giggled.

  “Alright!” Cotton shouted, a little more wary now at the discovery of the rifle. “Hands out first or I will fucking shoot you!” The bikers, except for Donnie were all inching closer to the wrec
kage, greed getting the better of their base instincts.

  “Shit.” The older biker said under his breath. The horrible funk of the unwashed infected hit Donnie as he watched the area behind his covetous biker brothers. His rifle already loaded and ready to go, he slowly slipped his finger lightly onto the trigger. Before he could focus on where the nasty odors were coming from, a loud, terrifying screech came from a building somewhere to his right. Donnie half turned to face the sound when another scream came from his left.

  The other bikers froze at the familiar sound of the crazed cannibal’s eerie rally cries. The bounty before them suddenly vanished as they realized their greed had put them in grave danger. “Fucking creeps!” Bunny shouted as he quickly turned to his left to face the oncoming infected. “Get some cover!” Cotton shouted a little too late as crowds of the infected poured out of alleys, buildings, and abandoned cars. The biker leader suddenly heard the sound of Donnie’s AR-15 as he fired on the charging flesh eaters. His instinct to flee swiftly vanished as he saw a group of the infected had cut them off from their cycles.

  “Watch out Bull!” Vinnie screamed as he blasted two of the charging infected with his shotgun. Bull had frozen for a quick second allowing just enough time for one of the flesh-eating monsters to crash into his back and send him flying to the asphalt. Before he could get up, two more of the infected were upon him, tearing and ripping through his clothing and at his exposed skin.

  Woo-Jin had stopped any futile attempt at shooting it out with the bikers when he had heard the screeching of the attacking infected. The Sergeant knew the Americans would be preoccupied with surviving, taking their focus away from him. That was good and bad. Laying on the roof of the upside-down SUV, he could see some of the nightmarish action that was taking place just feet away from him.

  Woo-Jin held the pistol tightly against his chest as he tried to peer out of the crushed opening that used to be the driver side window. Careful not to breathe too loudly, the Sergeant cautiously crawled over the limp form of his very dead corporal. Woo-Jin tried to not make any noise that would alert the crazed cannibals that lurked outside the vehicle, all the while trying not to make eye contact with the young soldier’s dead stare.