Free Rotter Apocalypse by Scott M Baker Page B

fuck up this arrangement on the Boss, go ahead. Let him break your legs and throw you out of the compound so the deaders can get you. I ain’t gonna be deader food so you can get your rocks off. Clear?”
    Snake averted his gaze. “Yeah.”
    “Good.” One Eye stepped back. “Now, guard the door. I’m going to the loading dock to see what the holdup is.”
    As Snake walked away, Doreen sat on her ankles. She glanced over at Sandy and Sarge to see how they were doing. Sarge made eye contact and nodded his approval. Sandy winked. The three of them had held up pretty well considering they had been hostages for two days.
    It began during the escape from the rotters on the Golden Gate Bridge. They had been ahead of the others when the living dead swarmed the group. Sarge ordered them to keep moving forward, telling them that was what Pandelosi would be ordering the others to do. They made it to the banks of San Francisco without incident only to be ambushed by five members of the Deader gang. Their captors disarmed them and brought them to an apartment complex a mile south of the bridge off of Baker Beach. The complex had been fortified with a makeshift wall of Jersey barriers and chain link fences, with an old school bus parked across the entranceway serving as a gate. They had been escorted to a windowless room in the basement and had remained there until an hour ago. No one had bothered them during the duration of their captivity, at least until now, which had suited Doreen fine. The only contact came from those who had brought them their breakfast and dinner, and then Snake and One Eye who had arrived an hour ago to prep them for the transfer. With luck, they would be out of here in a few minutes.
     
    *  *  *
     
    Natalie crouched in the back of the tractor trailer by the sliding door, holding the M-16A2 in her hands and placing the stock on the floor to steady herself. Ari, Amy, Stephanie, and Josephine gathered around her, in addition to one hundred soldiers from Alcatraz who had been inoculated with the Zombie Virus vaccine.
    The voice of Jim, the truck driver, crackled over their headphones. “We just pulled onto Lincoln Boulevard. We should be at the Deader’s compound in a few minutes.”
    Beside Natalie, Captain Endo, the platoon leader, spoke into his microphone. “Copy that.”
    The soldiers readied their weapons. Each of the Angels had a look of determination on their face, although Natalie could detect traces of fear in their eyes. She understood their trepidation because she felt it, too. They were used to battling rotters. This would be the first time they would go into combat against humans. Thankfully for the Angels, the plan to attack the compound was simple. These prisoner exchanges had gone on for so long that security had become lax. In the beginning, the Deaders had examined every truck before allowing it inside the compound. Since Fogel hadn’t wanted to do anything to endanger the hostages’ safety, he had never used the transfers to launch a rescue mission, and over time the procedure had become so commonplace that the gang stopped checking the trailers. Endo planned on using that trust to his advantage. Once inside the compound, the unit would secure the area, take down the Deaders, and rescue their missing people.
    The truck slowed, turned left, and rolled to a stop. They all listened to the conversation over their headphones.
    “Hey, man. It’s good to see you again.”
    “Thanks,” said Jim. “How’s your deader situation been?”
    “The motherfuckers have been all riled up after the commotion on the bridge. What happened out there?”
    “Some survivors coming in from Oakland got into a gunfight with them and shot up a propane truck. Blew out the center span in the process.”
    “Fuck.”
    “Tell me about it. The deaders in our section are still stirred up,” said Jim.
    “I hear you. Let’s get this over with so we can get you on your way.” The voice changed in pitch.