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

“You okay?” Ram shouted down at Jesse as he batted off the flaming splinters and hot metal chunks that had landed on them.

  “I’m good.” Jesse glanced up at Ram and coughed. “You?” She asked rolling onto her side away from where the barrier was burning. Everything seemed to be muted from the blast. Jesse quickly pulled herself up into a crouching position.

  “I’m just swell!” Ram yelled back, though he didn’t realize he was yelling, the explosions had killed their hearing. It was then he noticed the familiar outline of the infected as they stumbled around the burning walls. “Shit. We need to move! Come on!”

  Ram picked up the bug out bag Jesse had dropped and slung it over his shoulder. He then quickly grabbed Jesse under the arm and helped her to her feet. Jesse started to question him when he put his finger to his mouth and glanced to the left. She followed his eyes to a group of cannibals that had been drawn in by the sounds of the rocket attack. Right now, both of them were fortunate the flesh eaters were distracted by the roaring fires and the water spewing from the broken fire hydrant. A couple of the infected were even totally engulfed in flames and walking around amongst the rest of them. The scene was horrifying to Jesse, nightmarish. She slowly turned back to Ram and nodded in understanding.

  The old guard gave her a fast smile in return then rolled his eyes to the right. Jesse looked over his other shoulder to see another crowd of infected milling about, hungrily searching for the source of all the commotion. She stiffened at seeing the numbers of infected that were now gathering about across the street. For now, the huge flames, smoke, steam, debris, and abandoned vehicles were momentarily enough in providing cover for the two. In a low steady tone, Ram told her, “There is a dead Korean behind you.” Jesse reflectively reached for her pistol. Ram instantly stopped her from drawing the weapon. “He is dead.” The old guard said slowly and quietly. “Must have been hit by some of the debris. Commie left his bike though. Come on.”

  “Okay.” Jesse swallowed as she moved behind Ram, still keeping her eyes warily on the ever-growing packs of infected. The two hurried over to the downed biker, who was obviously dead, a twelve-inch sliver of steel had penetrated his helmet visor and knocked the prone rider to the ground. The thin, hard steel protruded from the front of the unmoving soldier’s white helmet. A puddle of blood formed around his head. Ram hurried past the Korean and quickly grabbed the matte black KTM 500 by its handlebars and stood it upright.

  While her partner was dealing with the motorcycle, Jesse hastily searched the soldier's corpse for anything useful. She found four fully loaded .9mm magazines and a radio. Apparently he’d lost his handgun when he slid across the asphalt, his rifle lay next to him but it was also bent and broken. The Korean must have hit the ground really hard. The radio was clipped on his vest cover but it too appeared damaged beyond repair. Satisfied with the dead man’s extra ammunition, she swiftly shoved the magazines into her backpack. Jesse would later add the rounds to their own dwindling supply.

  Ram was easily able to get the dropped motorcycle started, seeing there wasn’t any real damage to the bike other than cosmetic, which really didn’t matter anymore. He was just glad the damn thing ran. The two of them needed to beat feet out of this town that had been nothing but bad luck. He shook his head cursing the Korean patrol that had spotted them and chased them into this armpit of civilization. Ram glanced over his shoulder to see Jesse finishing her body search of the dead North Korean.

  “You check his prison wallet?” Ram chuckled as Jesse just rolled her eyes at that. Ram glanced over her shoulder to see several of the flesh eaters had finally taken notice of the two and were sprinting in their direction. “Jesse!”

  “Coming Pops!” Jesse shouted as she raced over to where Ram was and jumped on the rear of the black dirt bike. Her slung rifle jabbed Ram hard in the back as she gripped his waist tightly. The old guard grunted loudly at being poked by Jesse’s weapon, he shook his head and grumbled, “Just swell!” then hit the throttle as the fast motorcycle sped away from the advancing infected.

  Chapter Fifty

  BEATS SITTING AROUND HERE JERKING OFF

  Outside Salton City, AZ

  “Where are those fucking Warthogs?” Wez asked Candy as he watched the UN helicopter start to rocket the town below it. He glanced down at his watch then impatiently shook his head. He dropped the binoculars to his chest, pulled off his ball cap, and ran a hand through his sweaty mop of blonde hair, the sergeant felt a sense of helplessness as he watched the enemy aircraft begin it’s deadly attack on the inhabitants of Salton City. He replaced the well-worn ball cap and rolled over onto his back. If there was anything the Combat Controller hated, it was waiting and watching as others died or were injured. His partner, Candy, had just finished talking to the airbase and still held the handset in a closed fist.

  “On hold amigo, base has something else going on. The sortie was recalled. They told us to just stand by.”

  “Standby? That’s a long freaking time.” The Air Force Tech sergeant rolled back onto his stomach and glanced back through the binoculars. “I fucking hate standing by. Sure in the hell isn’t doing those folks over there any good.”

  “What is going on down there, Wez?”

  “That freakin UN bird is blowing the shit out of the town. Looks like they just unleashed a rocket pod. The whole place is going to be a crater before our guys get here!”

  “Fuck, brother.” Candy pulled his monocular from his plate carrier and saw the ongoing carnage for himself. “Why? What the fuck is so valuable down there? Freaking podunk town in the middle of nowhere. Are they clearing out the infected?”

  “Norks don’t clear the infected.” The sergeant said quietly. “They’re probably getting their jollies just shooting American civilians.”

  “UN fucks.” Candy nodded and looked back over to the ATV the third member of their team was guarding. “Brother, we have to take care of those UN pendejos ourselves. Let’s light that mutherfuckin bird up! We have the M240.”

  Wez mulled that over for a quick second then nodded back at Candy. “Beats sitting around here jerking off waiting for sorties that ain’t coming. We just need to get close enough to take that bird out. Throw enough lead at them, we can probably fuck them up real good. We can try and David and Goliath those dickwads.”

  “That we can do, essay. We have the motherfuckin sling shots.” Candy said slapping a gloved hand on the barrel of his slung M4 .

  “Yes we can.” Wez quickly got to his feet and as he shrugged into his pack he shouted over to where FNG was guarding the Maverick. “Hey, new guy! Start up the Mav, we're going to do some bird hunting!”

  “What?” FNG could barely hear what the sergeant was yelling from the distance they were at. “What?”

  “Just move your ass airman!” Wez shouted at the other soldier as he motioned for him to get in the driver’s side of the camouflaged ATV. “Just fucking start up the Mav!”

  “Wez, how about we paint a Little Bird on the side of the Maverick? You know, like fighter pilots do.” Candy asked the Tech Sergeant as they sprinted back to the ATV. “I think that would be a badass move essay.”

  ”That would definitely be cool Candy. But, let’s make sure that fucker doesn’t kill us first.” “Don’t be so negative bro. We got this, piece of cake homie.”

  Chapter Fifty-One

  DESK MONKEY

  Salton City , AZ

  Sergeant Woo-Jinn hunkered down behind the unfinished brick wall of a fast food restaurant that more than likely would never be built. The four-foot wall gave some protection to the six North Korean soldiers that knelt down behind it, trying to escape the helicopter's senseless rocket attack on the fence line. Two of Kang’s motorcycle unit soldiers were also next to them, using the bikes as some kind of cover. As the ground rocked beneath them, Woo-Jinn could see the young sergeant Hahn, shiver in his boots. The older man smirked at once, amused at Hahn’s fear and angry that the foolishly overconfident Kang put him under the inexperience
d NCO’s command. The sergeant outranked Hahn by two years. Just another slap in Woo-Jinn’s face, a reminder of his failure to capture that dog Ramacher. The ground shook again as more of the rockets impacted against the barrier. Woo-Jinn reached out and gripped the shivering sergeant’s shoulder. Hahn wasn’t a bad soldier, he was just untested, never in any kind of combat, what Woo-Jinn considered nothing more than a desk monkey.

  “It will be okay Hahn.” The older sergeant said. “This will be over soon.” The other soldier seemed to relax a little at the more experienced soldier’s words. “Besides, that’s our pilot up there, despite Lieutenant’s guidance, he knows what he’s doing.”

  “Yes.” Hahn smiled weakly and nodded. “When the attack is over we’ll move east.”

  “What about the fence line. There’s Americans over there.”

  “Not our concern.” The ground rolled a little from a rocket impact. Debris struck the brick wall causing the men to jump a little. “We need to find the American. The Lieutenant can go out on his little side mission. Our debt to our country is to bring in the dog Ramacher. Kang can shoot as many westerners as he wants, we need to complete this. You with me Hahn? Too many of our brothers have died looking for him. The dog is here, in this town. So close.” Woo-Jinn curled his fist. “Can I count on you, sergeant?”

  “What about Lieutenant Kang?” Hahn asked, wide eyed.

  “Let him do whatever thing he is off doing. We catch Ramacher and we will forever be heroes of the people. You understand?”

  “Yes.” The sergeant nodded. “Yes.”

  “Good, Hahn.” Woo-Jinn patted him on the shoulder. The helicopter had moved away from the area of the fence line that was nearest to the Korean soldiers. The rocket attack had ceased and now the aircraft’s mini guns were engaged. The sergeant shook his head and smirked, Kang must really be on a tear, he thought to himself. Good, let the idiot be a victim of his own folly. Woo-Jinn stood, flames and black smoke rolling behind him.

  “Listen up!” He said, quickly taking command of the other soldiers. “We are heading east, away from the helicopter attacks. Follow me and we will catch that American dog and all of you will be heroes of the people.” The men glanced around at each other, then over to Hahn for reassurance.

  “It is true. We follow Sergeant Woo-Jinn’s lead and we will have the American.”

  From there right there was the whine of a motorcycle engine. The North Koreans quickly turned to see one of their bikes with a man and woman on it quickly speed by. Woo-Jinn focused on the man driving the cycle. He instantly recognized it as the dog Ramacher. The sergeant saw the American give him a fast look and mouthed the words ‘fuck me’ as the fleeing bike tore off down the road.

  “Ramacher!” Woo-Jinn shouted as the bane of his existence swiftly disappeared from sight. The sergeant ran over to one of the motorcycle soldiers, who was starting to mount up, engine idling. Woo-Jinn shoved the white helmeted soldier off the bike and onto the ground. The sergeant grabbed the handle bars before the motorcycle was dropped and jumped onto the seat. Without looking back, he opened the throttle wide, tires screeching, he roared off after Ramacher and Jesse.

  “Woo-Jinn!” Hahn shouted after the fleeing sergeant, he turned to the other motorcycle soldier. “Don’t just stand there, go after them!”

  “Sergeant.” The soldier nodded, gave his cycle less partner a ‘sorry’ look and sped off in pursuit of the other bikes.

  “Come on.” Hahn reached down to help the soldier, whose bike had just been taken by

  Woo-Jinn, to his feet. “At least maybe we can catch up with them. Save us some face before that liar Woo-Jin steals all of it for himself.” It was at that moment the younger sergeant caught a whiff of foulness in the air. He instantly knew what it was, the infected.

  “Sergeant Hahn!” One of the soldiers shouted as at least two dozen or more of the flesh eaters hungrily sprinted across the street toward their position.

  “Shoooot th-them!” The sergeant screamed in a high-pitched whine as the soldiers were quickly swarmed by the rabid infected.

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  TURD PIE

  Salton City, AZ

  Ram turned the bike down a side street that was filled with three or four dozen skeletal remains of those that were killed at the beginning of the outbreak. The infected and scavenger animals had done a pretty good job at removing the flesh and intestines. Most of the bones were pretty far scattered out, a few though, were still at least half intact.

  The material from their clothing now shredded into threads. A handful of vehicles were parked on either side of the street. Half of the cars had their doors wide open, probably left that way by the people whose remains now lay spread out around the road. Ram slowed the black KTM so he could navigate the street, careful not to run over anything that might puncture the bike’s tires. Jesse held loosely onto the older man’s waist with her right hand, while she had a tight grip on the Glock in her left. Any of those UN cocksuckers got close enough, she’d unload on them.

  “What a fucking mess!” Ram shouted back to his partner as he navigated the debris laden street. Both of them cautiously looked around for any of the Korean soldiers or infected. “That asshole back there was the same clown that chased us into this turd pie of a town.”

  “Turd pie is right.” Jesse said glancing over her shoulder for their pursuers. “Just get us out of this fucked up maze. Maybe we can hide out in the desert for a bit.”

  “You know, right about now that sounds fan-fucking-tastic!” He pulled the bike up onto the weed covered sidewalk to avoid a mass of jagged bones and a fiat that sat in the middle of the street. “We just keep getting less and less vehicles to drive. Pretty soon it will be a fucking scooter we’re riding!”

  “Don’t jinx us Ram.” She patted him on the back. “We've done a pretty good job screwing ourselves over as it is.”

  “Yeah, I don’t want to end up skateboarding our way out of this place.”

  “Right?” Suddenly Jesse heard the familiar sound of the pursuing Korean motorcycles. She quickly looked back to see the black KTM’s turning down the street, both bikes slowed down to avoid the rubbish and bone strewn roadway. Bringing her pistol up, she thumped Ram hard on the shoulder.

  “What-”

  “The ass clowns are back!”

  “Ah, freaking swell! Hold on!” Ram gunned the throttle and steered the bike in between the narrow space of a mailbox that lay on its side and a couple of upside-down shopping carts. The KTM jumped off the sidewalk and into the street. Months of using the old Seca 650 had really honed his skill on a motorcycle, same with Jesse.

  “Fuck!” Woo-Jinn cursed as he tried to avoid all the debris, not wanting to put himself out of the pursuit. He could hear the other biker’s engine revving right behind him. The sergeant knew the man was much more adept on a motorcycle than he was. Woo-Jinn had only ever ridden a scooter twice in his life and he knew the other rider and his quarry by far outmatched his abilities on a motorcycle. Woo-Jinn truly believed if he didn't catch Ramacher, that narcissistic idiot Kang would definitely have the sergeant executed.

  Frustrated, he impatiently waved the other soldier forward. “Get them!” Woo-Jinn shouted at the other biker. The helmeted rider nodded and swiftly sped past Woo-Jinn, deftly avoiding all the wreckage and litter. The sergeant hoped the other soldier could at least slow Ramacher down so the slippery dog wouldn’t again escape. Giving his KTM a little gas, he slowly weaved around and through the broken human remains beneath him.

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  3 POINTS OF VIEW

  Salton City, AZ

  “Fire your missiles!” Kang shouted over at the pilot, Guen. More return fire had come from the other areas of the remaining fence lines. Rounds smacked up against the fuselage and windscreen. The assault from the civilians on the ground only served to infuriate the Lieutenant, his initial pursuit of Ramacher all but forgotten. “Take down the whole fucking town!” He spat, his head still aching fr
om the round that had grazed him.

  “Lieutenant…” Guen started to protest.

  “I’m in command of the mission! Do as I say Guen!”

  “Yes sir.” Guen just nodded and pulled back on the cyclic, raising the altitude of the aircraft. The door gunner continued to sporadically fire on anything he could see moving below them. After a few well aimed rounds struck the floor and the seat next to him, the sergeant had joined in the commanding officers quest to destroy the Americans in the town below.

  Guen swept the helicopter wide to the left then dropped down and began a run on the fence line. The pilot glanced over at Kang, who gave him a curt nod.

  “Missiles away.” Guen said, sending two Hellfire missiles toward the fence line below. “Yes!” Kang shouted, almost gleefully.

  The explosion from the Hellfire missiles rocked the streets of Salton City almost causing Ramacher to lose control of the motorcycle. He jerked the handlebars to the left trying to balance them out and keep them from sliding across the broken asphalt. Concrete and other small pieces of debris thrown in the air by the missile attack pelted them as Ram steered the KTM away from the chaos and onto a main road. Jesse gripped him tightly as she prayed they’d make it out of the town alive and in one piece.

  “Hold on!” Ram yelled over his shoulder as he gassed the bike’s throttle, sending them rocketing down the street. Both of them could feel the heat from the burning town. As Jesse looked back she could see the pursuing Korean soldiers had been slowed by the rocket strike. That and the infected were now showing up to the beleaguered fence line, drawn by the helicopter attack, looking for a meal. That was one less threat they had to worry about.