Blue Plague: Decisions, page 11
“You said you were going to tell everyone that was only a joke to get you to smile, Bruce,” Angela whined.
“I forgot,” Bruce told her.
Angela stomped her foot as Stephanie kept her face buried in Bruce’s chest to hide her smile. “Bruce, you and Stephanie better set the record straight,” Angela warned.
“I will, only if you help Stephanie go for ten in a row,” Bruce answered.
Hearing that, the smile fell off Stephanie’s face as she stepped back, “What? Are you insane? Do you want to kill me?” Stephanie yelled out. Since the gunfire had died down, those close to them turned to see what the yelling was about.
Bruce smiled at her, then at Angela. “Let’s throw ‘im off the bridge,” Angela offered.
“No, we better keep him, he’s kind of important,” Stephanie told her.
“Okay, but he has to paint our toes at the dinner table when we get home,” Angela said and the grin fell off Bruce’s face.
“Gotcha,” Stephanie told him and they both hugged Bruce.
“Come on, let’s get some food. What are you two going to do about your news broadcast?” Bruce asked as they arrived at the RV and grabbed plates and coffee.
“We’re going to do them from the field. You aren’t mad about that, are you?” Stephanie asked, looking at Bruce.
“No, it’s a great idea. It lets people know they aren’t alone. Just don’t give information about us. Which one of you came up with the idea?” Bruce asked.
“We both did but we wanted Gopher to do it. He said no, that hot beautiful women needed to do it. I told him it was radio, not TV, but he wouldn’t listen,” Stephanie asked.
Laughing, Bruce looked at both of them. “So now I’m married to big time famous people,” he said.
“No, we’re married to the famous person. Bruce, we had to start up two more ham radios to keep up with the traffic,” Angela said as a young man came out and handed Angela and Stephanie a stack of handwritten notes.
“Where did this come from?” Stephanie asked.
“I’ve been writing for the past four hours, taking notes from Mission Control,” the young man replied.
“You can’t receive printouts?” Stephanie asked, shocked.
Bruce cleared his throat. “Ah, Stephanie the world did collapse. Fax machines are dead, baby.”
“Bruce, faxes were in use before the phone. We have the setup, already why aren’t we using it?” she demanded.
“Baby, we really don’t need faxes out in the field,” Bruce admitted.
Stephanie narrowed her eyes at Bruce, making him uneasy. “Baby, if you have the technology, use it,” she told him in a low voice.
Bruce keyed his radio, “Jake and Matt, please come to the RV,” he called out. When they ran up Bruce told them what he wanted and they just looked at him.
“You called us off the line to set up a fax machine?” Jake asked.
“Basically, yeah,” Bruce answered.
“Dad, I’m getting some food. Since we don’t have a fax machine to set up I’m going back to the line,” Jake told him, not believing his dad.
“What do we need to set one up, son?” Bruce asked again.
“A fax machine,” Jake answered as he walked away to get some food.
“And what else, smartass?” Bruce called after him. But Jake refused to answer.
Matt looked at Bruce. “Just a fax machine, Daddy Bruce.”
“Yeah, but how do I tell it to talk to one at the farm. I’m not stringing up a phone line,” Bruce told him.
“You don’t have to. You can use the radio or one of the satellite links in the RV,” Matt said.
Bruce took a step back. “We have satellite links to use for faxes?” he asked in disbelief.
“Yeah, Daddy Bruce, it’s just information,” Matt answered.
“Why in the hell would we have them?” Bruce yelled out.
“So we can fax back to Mission Control,” Matt replied.
Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose. “So if I find a fax machine, I can plug it up in the RV and use it?” he asked.
“Yes sir,” Matt replied.
“Matt, I want you and Jake to go and get a fax machine,” Bruce told him.
Matt just shrugged his shoulders, “Okay,” he said and walked away.
“Bruce, you can’t send them to go and get a fax machine,” Angela told him.
“The hell I can’t. If they get it, they have to hook it up,” Bruce told her as Willie walked up. Bruce looked up at Willie. “I swear if you say something about a fax machine I’ll pull the hair off your nipples,” Bruce warned.
Hearing that, Willie froze, “Dude, you pull the hair off my nipples, just shoot me first,” he said as his hands covered his chest.
“What is it, Willie?” Bruce asked, taking a bite of food.
“How are we getting out of here, Boss?” Willie asked.
Bruce just shook his head. “The same way we got here: drive,” Bruce told him.
“Ah Boss, I don’t mean this in a bad way but have you noticed the piles of bodies around us?” Willie asked.
“I might have glanced at them once or twice,” Bruce popped off, not feeling very hungry anymore. Max was, and as soon as Bruce lowered his plate the food vanished.
“Bruce, the pile is up to seven feet tall in places and stretches for almost a quarter of a mile on the road. The end of the pile is almost a mile away,” Willie told him.
“Duh Willie, we aren’t driving over them. We have the semi with the big plow on the front for a reason,” Bruce informed him.
“I don’t think that will work, Boss,” Willie informed him.
Bruce drew a breath to start yelling as Stephanie chimed in. “He’s right,” she said. Bruce let out the breath and looked at her in shock. “Well he is, it only takes ten infected to weigh a ton. Remember they are denser than we are. Your front is a hundred and twenty feet across—” Stephanie started to explain as Bruce held up his hand.
“My truck can make it through,” Bruce told her.
Stephanie shook her head, “Bruce, even with your plow, the truck is pushing something that weighs more than itself.”
“You two go and get ready for your news broadcast and let the ‘Man’ show you how it’s done,” Bruce said, stomping off.
“He’s going to try it,” Angela said.
“Doesn’t matter, that truck will get stuck,” Stephanie replied.
“Third Platoon, make a hole so I can get us out of here before people start crying. Keep me covered please!” Bruce yelled over the radio.
“Hey Boss, did someone eat your smiley pancakes?” Ted asked.
“Hell yeah asshole!” Bruce yelled back. He walked over to the plow truck and climbed inside. After the glow plugs turned off he fired it up. The squad’s trucks were still pulling out of the way as he charged at them. Seeing Bruce was not going to stop, the drivers floored it. The last truck was barely missed by the plow.
The truck hit the wall of bodies at ten miles an hour, throwing Bruce into the steering wheel, but it still plowed gamely through the bodies. Bruce made it eighty feet into the pile before the wheels started spinning. Backing up until he was out of the pile, Bruce then slammed it back in low and stomped the gas. The truck lurched forward and hit the pile again with a crash but plowed ahead another eighty feet.
Several blues were still coming at the bridge and when they saw the truck they roared and charged. None ever made it close as they were cut down, but they did try. On his third attempt Bruce made it another hundred feet. He backed out of the pile. Putting his seat belt on this time, he stomped the gas and lurched forward again. This time he hit the pile at twenty miles per hour. The truck pushed forward seventy yards and started losing momentum. Bruce tried to put his foot through the floorboard and the tires started to smoke as the truck continued to slowly plow through. The entire team was just staring at the spectacle.
Most were sure the only reason the truck was still moving was it was too scared of Bruce to stop. With determination, the truck plowed a path through the bodies and Bruce backed it up through the path he’d created. When he was back on the bridge he jumped out of the gore-covered truck as a team came over with power washers.
Walking over to the stunned group, Bruce popped off, “I told you it could make it.” Nobody said anything as he walked by. “Stephanie and Angela, get in the RV and do your news broadcast. Drivers, I want you to sleep, we leave in four hours. Jake and Matt, go get me a fax machine and take half of First Platoon with you. Let Buffy drive!” Bruce yelled out over the radio.
Jake groaned and heard a small squeal from the other end of the bridge. Looking up, he saw a little blonde girl dancing on top of her truck. “You had to make him mad,” Matt said, looking at Jake.
“Don’t you start, damn it!” Jake shouted and stomped back to First Platoon.
“You could’ve just been nice like me and answered his questions but noooo. You had to be a total ass and walk away. I stayed and answered his questions, asshole. Now we have to let Buffy play GTA over Little Rock in a twenty-ton truck!” Matt yelled after Jake.
Angela and Stephanie watched the two walk off, yelling at each other. Angela turned to Stephanie and asked, “Should we say something to them?”
“I’m not saying shit to anyone else here,” Stephanie replied as she walked over and climbed into the RV.
Bruce had walked to the edge of the bridge and was just looking out over the river. Willie approached him. “Ah Boss, don’t throw me over the bridge, I was just making a statement,” Willie told him.
“What is Gamma doing?” Bruce asked.
“They made it to Pine Bluff at 0300 and have loaded half the convoy up already. The blues have not been much of a problem for them like they have been here. They are reporting about ten thousand kills so far.”
“How much are they getting there?” Bruce asked.
“Mike reported that they will load all the trucks to max, which will be four thousand tons. They found about five hundred military personal with about the same civilians,” Willie answered.
“Does he need more time and trucks?” Bruce asked.
“No Boss, he says most of the stuff they are leaving we can’t use. They have booby- trapped the chemical stockpile with six tons of explosives and put signs up warning people not to open the doors,” Willie told him.
“That’s good. I really don’t want chemical weapons. I would really just like to blow the damn place up but that’s not an option,” Bruce said, still looking at the river. “When are they moving here to the Air Force Base?” Bruce asked.
“Mike reports that Gamma will be pulling out in three hours when the convoy heads home. The next convoy will link up with them as they head here,” Willie answered as First Platoon drove past them on their mission.
“What’s the area around us like now, including the base?” Bruce asked.
“A few infected but most are walkers. They shouldn’t have much trouble at the base,” Willie replied as they heard one of First Platoon’s trucks run over a car.
“That driver is going to have fun today,” Bruce said, grinning. Willie just looked at him, not understanding. “Buffy can’t reach the pedals so she sits in his lap telling him which pedal to push,” Bruce informed him. Willie wanted to say something but decided not to as Carl and Ted walked up.
“Little Buffy is having a blast. Danny called back saying the driver was starting to cry,” Carl told them.
Bruce keyed his radio, “Buffy, quit scaring the driver or I won’t let you drive anymore,” he called out.
“Aww Daddy,” Buffy whined, then yelled out, “Get your damn foot off the brake, pussy, and stomp the gas!”
“Buffy, I mean it,” Bruce warned over the radio.
“Daddy, it’s not my fault the blues are trying to hide behind cars!” she yelled back and they heard a crash over the radio—then the sound reached them without the radio.
“Buffy, that is not a tank you’re driving. If you break my truck you’ll push it back here,” Bruce told her.
“Are you crazy? You see how big this thing is? Get your damn hands off my steering wheel!” Buffy yelled out. Bruce was fixing to reply when Buffy came back over the radio. “I’m not kidding, you touch my steering wheel again and Herman is coming out!” she yelled at the driver.
Jake yelled over the radio next, “Damn it Buffy, slow down! You have a car stuck under your truck already!”
“That’s a little punk car, that doesn’t count!” she yelled back and there was another crash over the radio. “I got all of them, did you see that!” Buffy yelled out as the sound of the crash reverberated back to the bridge.
“Buffy, you just ran through a trailer!” Jake yelled on the radio.
“I got them bubba!” she shouted with glee.
“Jake, Buffy’s truck just shit out a Honda Civic,” Matt called over the radio.
“I can see Matt!” Jake yelled back.
“Don’t pop off at me, butt muncher!” Matt yelled back.
“Will you shut up? I’m trying to deal with a psycho preteen here!” Jake yelled out.
“Jake, you quit yelling at Matt and be nice to Buffy or we throw down, shit for brains!” Danny shouted over the radio.
“Danny, back off of Jake, he’s under a lot of stress!” Mary yelled at her.
“Hey, I will monkey stomp both of your asses, Mary. Don’t yell at me!” Danny shouted back as they heard another crash over the radio.
“Danny—” Mary started and Bruce turned his radio off. Looking at the others, he saw they were still listening over their ear buds.
“If my kids make it back alive, tell them they’re grounded. If my driver wants to, switch him out with someone. I’m going to take a nap. Wake me up at 1500,” Bruce said and headed to the RV. Climbing inside, he found everyone listening to the kids argue. Turning around, Bruce headed for the bunker truck and laid down. Even with the headache he had, he fell asleep fast as Angela and Stephanie went on the air.
Several million were listening as the two women came on the radio. Stephanie gave the weather report for the nation, then told how Omega had wiped out a million blues. She didn’t say where but described the scene for those over the radio. Then Angela came on, telling the movements of the sixty biggest hordes they were tracking. The largest was over twenty million and was moving down the coast toward Georgia. She mentioned that a horde of five million was moving across Nebraska along Interstate 80.
In the government facility, the colonel called the UAV back and sent for the general.
For the rest of the hour Stephanie and Angela talked about how to survive and advised the people to always be ready to move if the need arose. They went over how to travel silently, to make a suppressor, and charge batteries so people could listen to the radio. Many survivors listening held loved ones close with something they thought was gone: hope.
Chapter 10
Willie chickened out and made Angela and Stephanie wake Bruce up at 1500. Bruce sat up, looking at the two who had serious looks on their faces. “What?” he asked.
“Bruce, you have to talk to the kids,” Stephanie told him.
“Did they try to kill each other?” Bruce asked, throwing his legs off the cot.
“Not yet, but I’m not counting that out,” Angela told him.
“Okay, so what’s going on,” Bruce asked, standing up.
“The only ones talking to each other are Buffy and Danny. The others are off by themselves,” Angela told him.
“Well what happened?” Bruce asked. As Stephanie took a breath to explain, Bruce stopped her. “Never mind, I don’t want to know,” Bruce told her. Picking up his rifle, Bruce looked at the two. “You two can say something to them,” Bruce told them.
“Bruce, if we did we would have to yell and scream. You can use the Daddy voice without the headache,” Stephanie told him.
“What if I already have a headache?” Bruce asked.
“Bruce, go fix it. This is your fault anyway!” Angela yelled out, stomping her foot.
“How do ya figure that?” Bruce growled.
“You got mad at Jake and it went downhill from there,” she answered.
“So because the earth is round and the sky is blue it’s my fault the kids are fighting?” Bruce said, looking at her as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Cross your arms all you want, I’m not scared of you,” Angela snapped.
Stephanie grabbed Angela’s shoulders and pulled her back, then stepped in front of her and looked at Bruce. “Bruce, Angela is just saying the kids don’t need to be fighting out here in the middle of a mission. It could get them hurt.”
Bruce sighed and walked out of the trailer. When he left, Stephanie turned to Angela. “Are you fucking crazy? Don’t try to piss him off, he has enough to worry about,” she snapped.
“What, he won’t hurt me!” Angela popped off.
“I know that dumbass!” Stephanie shouted.
“Who are you calling a dumbass?” Angela shouted and stood up her full four foot ten inches.
“You!” Stephanie shouted. “We came up here because Bruce was starting to do stupid shit because it made us mad. What the fuck do you think he’s going to do if he gets mad at us?”
Angela’s mouth fell open as shock spread over her face. “Oh shit,” she said.
“Yeah, oh shit,” Stephanie told her. Angela spun around and took off running with Stephanie hot on her heels.
When Bruce climbed out of the truck he headed to First Platoon. He saw Jake on top of one RG working on something and Matt on another, working away. Bruce could see Mary, Mindy, David, Danny, and Buffy. The only ones together were Danny and Buffy. Bruce walked over to the RG and saw that Jake was putting something on the top. As he got closer Bruce realized they were speakers, or more appropriately, megaphone speakers.
Reaching the RG, Bruce looked up at Jake. “Did you put in the fax machine?” he asked.
“Yeah!” Jake popped back.
Bruce let it slide as he asked, “What are the speakers for?”
“What do you think they’re for?” Jake snapped.
Those closest would swear Bruce floated to the top of the RG, nine and a half feet off the ground. Jake saw his dad come at him and knew he had screwed up big time. Bruce grabbed him by the vest and lifted Jake up over his head. Bruce looked at him as he screamed, “Who the fuck do you think you are talking to boy! I will kill you and make another one just like ya! I’m your father and can kick your ass all day long with both legs broke, an egg beater shoved up my ass with a crazy monkey on the crank wheel!” Bruce sat Jake back down on the roof of the RG and yelled, “Get your ass on the ground before I throw you down there!”
