Free World of Ashes II by J.K. Robinson Page A

Scouts doing an MP’s job at a smaller bridge across the lake, the main line clogged by a FEMA checkpoint. This secondary bridge was meant for military traffic, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep civilians off of it.
    “This is Sergeant Graystone, 3-5 BSTB, 3 rd Brigade, Ten Mountain. Does anyone read me?” Graystone said into the mike.
    “ This is 4/25, West Virginia Guard. Do you have a callsign? No names over the net .” The voice responded. It was shaky and high pitch, whoever was on the radio was not a combat veteran and the chaos had them in shambles.
    “No. I’ve got two Green Tag Patients who need priority passage. The Romney checkpoint is being attacked, we can’t stay in this traffic line.”
    There was a pause, a new voice taking over. “ You’re going to have to wait your turn, Sergeant. The small bridge is for priority military transportation only. The checkpoint is still moving, you’ll be through it in no time. ”
    Wendy threw the radio out the window. Not the best idea ever, but she was pissed. Kaylee started crying, turning around and watching out the back window for the crazy people to show up. They were pretty far from the last checkpoint already, but time and distance don’t mean much to a child. They decided to leave the Aztec when it overheated in the queue, taking what water they could and following the stream of refugees walking across the main bridge.
    Tall trees surrounded the picturesque lake town hat was now overrun with the desperate and needy. A small one lane bridge to the far left of them was the one the Cavalry unit had told them to stay off of, and upon seeing it Graystone dragged them toward it. No one stopped them, just figuring the sergeant was escorting them somewhere on official business.     
    An LMTV stopped in front of Daniel before the curve that split either into a small parking lot for launching fishing boats, or across the bridge. The driver told them he was taking Green Tag wounded to a hospital and that there was room for more. He’d probably stopped because he didn’t want to see Kaylee walk across such a low bridge with see-through iron decking. Lots of these men in uniform were fathers and mothers themselves, even if their higher ups had no soul, these guys were all heart. Wendy accepted his excuse for them and climbed aboard with Kaylee in her lap.
    The men in the truck were all non-infected wounded, or Green Tags. The obvious opposite would be a Red Tag, but none of those were docile enough to even be tagged, let alone transported. Daniel recognized one of the men from the Romney checkpoint. He was looking down, apparently uninterested in Sergeant Graystone or Daniel and Kaylee. Wendy recognized him too and tapped him on the head to get his attention.
    “Oh, hey Sergeant.” He said, leaning against the stock of his M4, the barrel planted in the floor of the truck. His leg was bloody, the pants cut away to reveal a bandage and splint. “Good to see you made it too.”
    “How did you get here so fast?” Graystone didn’t understand.
    The LMTV stopped a few feet down the bridge, suspended over the water. Daniel thought he might become sick. If he had one irrational fear that could shut him down, it was of being on a collapsing bridge. Perhaps most of that fear was of heights, but this bridge was barely ten feet off the water and the anxiety was worse than ever.
    “They landed a medevac bird in the town square. I was getting lunch just after you guys. I got attacked, but they didn’t bite me. Just tore me up real good.”
    “Couldn’t have happened to a nicer bunch of people. Where’s the rest of your unit?” Daniel asked.
    SPC Macon looked away. Either he didn’t know or he didn’t want to say. All he did say to Wendy was, “You ain’t gotta worry about Big Sarn’t no more. I saw him runnin’ through Main Street, blood pourin’ down his mouth… Those fuckin’ eyes, man…”
    “Get some rest.” Graystone turned to