Chapter 49: Army
Everyone looked up to see over a dozen military helicopters roaring overhead. A swarm of drones detached from beneath their fuselages, scattering and diving deep into the various streets. Their mounted machine guns spat fire, and the sound of strafing, RAT-A-TAT-TAT, instantly tore through the silence.
The zombies, drawn by the piercing sound of gunfire and engines, swarmed like a tide toward the drones. The horde originally gathered in the middle of the street was successfully diverted.
"The military rescue has begun!"
Miles Dawson exclaimed, pointing excitedly at the aircraft in the sky.
Kevin Keane ushered everyone into a building along the street. "Let’s get upstairs and hide. The horde is about to scatter."
The group cleared out the few scattered zombies in the stairwell and made their way to a gym on the fifth floor.
Blake Blue used his Gold Element superpower to break the lock. After everyone was inside, he sealed it shut again.
As soon as they entered the gym, everyone immediately went to the floor-to-ceiling windows to watch the scene below.
After the drones had diverted most of the zombies on the street, dozens of armored vehicles slowly rolled in from the end of the road. Their heavy tires crushed the zombie bodies to pulp.
Behind them, military trucks formed a long line. Over a thousand soldiers leaned out from the truck beds, strafing the street with their rifles. Muzzle flashes flickered continuously as zombies fell one after another.
Combat engineer squads jumped out of their vehicles, using cutting torches and hydraulic shears to clear roadblocks and wrecked cars. The shriek of metal on metal mingled with the ceaseless gunfire.
A loudspeaker on top of an armored vehicle broadcast a continuous message: "Attention, survivors within the perimeter! We are a rescue team from the Central Military Region. A temporary safe zone has been established in the city at the National Sports Center. All survivors who hear this broadcast, please proceed there immediately! The barriers for the Kensington Base are under construction. All survivors should stay as far away from the city center as possible!"
The broadcast repeated several times, and quite a few people appeared sporadically in the windows of the tall buildings, but there was little cheering.
"What took you so long! We’re starving to death!" a middle-aged man roared, pounding on the glass.
A woman, holding a crying child, wiped her tears. "The gunfire is so loud... what if it draws in more zombies?"
Others hurled abuse at the soldiers, complaining about the slow rescue. Their curses intertwined with the sounds of gunfire and the roars of zombies from the street below, creating the most absurd symphony of the apocalypse.
The soldiers had no time to pay them any mind. They focused only on their precise marksmanship, pushing forward with the cleanup, step by step.
The cleanup was a massive undertaking. The group was stuck upstairs, and it looked like they wouldn’t be able to go back today.
Luna Dawson took a radio telegraph from her space and had Kevin Keane contact Lynn Shelby back at their base to report they were safe. He also told her about the military’s rescue operation.
Luna Dawson had been worried about losing contact with her family if communications went down. So, on Evan Olson’s suggestion, she had purchased some radio telegraphs and walkie-talkies, which now came in handy.
Looking around, the gym contained nothing but cold equipment.
The zombie outbreak had happened in the middle of the night, and this place had been closed at the time. Aside from some dust, it looked clean and tidy.
Luna Dawson stored all the gym equipment in her space. She then set up a camping table and six camping chairs by the window. She also let Rollo out.
Rollo was incredibly excited the moment he was out, and he explored every inch of the gym.
"Let’s sit and rest for a bit. It’s getting late, and everyone must be tired after such a long day."
Luna Dawson told everyone to sit down. She then took out a few bottles of ice-cold Cola, spicy duck necks, cumin beef slices, and tiger-skin chicken feet and placed them on the table.
Miles Dawson picked up a tiger-skin chicken foot, his eyes shining. "Sis, I knew it! We never have to suffer when we’re with you!"
Rhonda Dawson, on the other hand, was curious about the safe zone. "Is the National Sports Center far from here?"
Blake Blue checked a map and said, "Over twenty kilometers. It’s pretty far from the city center. It’s a decent location for the authorities to have chosen."
Luna Dawson suggested, "After the army sweeps through, the remaining zombies won’t be as hard to deal with. I want to go check out the mall."
Blake Blue added in a low voice, "I also have a feeling that something there is attracting the zombies."
Kevin Keane was staring, mesmerized, at Luna’s hand as she held a chicken foot, until Blake Blue nudged him.
He snapped out of it. He also picked up a chicken foot and said decisively, "If you want to go, we’ll go. We’ll head out tomorrow morning."
Evan Olson, meanwhile, was scanning the area with a pair of binoculars. "There are actually quite a few people on the floors above us. They’re all watching the army’s progress clearing out the zombies, just like us."
Blake Blue remarked with a sigh, "I’m afraid the military and government departments are only now finishing up clearing the zombies from their own ranks and defining each unit’s responsibilities. The main effort is likely focused on rescuing survivors and building the walls. I wonder when the inside of the base itself will finally be cleared."
Luna Dawson looked at the others. "Don’t worry, everyone. At least the country is still taking action."
Everyone nodded, quietly waiting as the army slowly cleared the street.
More than two hours later, the vanguard began to move on. They were replaced by soldiers from a dozen or so military trucks who came to finish the job. Armed to the teeth, they moved down the street prying open skulls with daggers. Seen from afar, it was a rather cute sight.
Miles Dawson stared blankly at the scene below. "I’m so jealous. I wish we could just pick up heads like that."
Luna Dawson said, "Tomorrow, you’ll all have your fill of bullets. The army has already cleared out a lot of them, so even if we use firearms, we won’t attract too many zombies."
Kevin Keane laughed. "Our little boss is so generous."
Blake Blue analyzed, "Guns and ammo are still effective against people and zombies in the early stages, but they’ll probably become pretty useless in the mid to late stages. We should use them to kill as many as we can while they’re still viable."
Seeing that the state machinery was still functioning, Evan Olson was in a good mood. "Yeah, you’re all right. We don’t have to worry about a horde tomorrow. Let’s kill to our hearts’ content."
As the sky darkened, Luna Dawson set up three inflatable tents and six sleeping bags in an empty area of the gym.
Once everything was arranged, she hung up lights inside and outside the tents.
Luna Dawson was in a great mood. "To celebrate our first night sleeping out, go ahead, tell me what you want to eat. You can make requests."
Miles Dawson was the first to speak up. "I want barbecue!"
Rhonda Dawson said with a smile, "I’m actually in the mood for instant noodles. Feels like it’s been a while."
Hearing this, Luna Dawson readily agreed. "Oh, you’re right! We’re camping, so instant noodles are the perfect fit."
The others all agreed, saying they would be happy with anything.
A moment later, a portable cassette stove and a grill pan were set up on the table. Beside them were platters of marbled beef, beef ribs, beef tongue, pork belly, and an assortment of small sausages, and finally, a vegetable platter and drinks.
Kevin Keane brushed a thin layer of oil onto the grill pan. Once the oil was hot, he laid the meat on it and began to grill it slowly over low heat.
Rhonda Dawson set up another pot next to the grill and started boiling instant noodles and ham sausages over high heat. When she sprinkled in the spicy beef flavor packet, the overwhelming aroma of the noodles assaulted their senses, and everyone couldn’t help but swallow hard.
As soon as the noodles were cooked, everyone eagerly served themselves a large bowl. Miles Dawson even started eating directly from the pot.
Lifting a bundle of noodles with chopsticks, the glossy, reddish broth ran down their curved path and back into the bowl. The sight alone was tempting, and the flavor was exquisite.
After each of them had a bowl of noodles, their stomachs no longer felt so empty, and they finally began to properly savor the barbecue.
The rich, smoky aroma from the rendered fat of the grilling meat wafted straight to their noses. They picked up a piece, dipped it in the dry spice mix, and the moment it entered their mouths, everyone’s taste buds were instantly satisfied.
The greedy worms in their bellies were only pacified after several pieces of grilled meat. Luna Dawson wrapped a piece of meat in a lettuce leaf, adding a slice of garlic and some spicy cabbage, stuffing her cheeks until they puffed out.
Kevin Keane sat across from Luna Dawson. Watching her eat with such relish, he couldn’t help but find it amusing.
Rollo sat nearby, staring intently at the meat. He would whimper from time to time, a long string of drool hanging from his mouth.
Luna Dawson quickly took two pre-packaged, cooked steaks from her space. She pretended to flip them on the grill for a moment, then put them in a dog bowl to satisfy his craving.
In the little dog’s mind, anything on the humans’ table was a state banquet.
Checking the time, they saw it was almost eight o’clock at night. Together, they cleaned up the mess on the table, stuffing everything into a large garbage bag.
Luna Dawson stored it in her space as well, planning to take it back for Little Tiger to devour.