Chapter 11: All Hell Broke Loose
The base was a war zone with buildings burning, sporadic gunfire, bodies everywhere, some still, others moving, and one sound that caught Roland's attention immediately; the sound of a helicopter starting up. The snow had stopped during his time in the cell and he could clearly see the massive green Chinook helicopter warming up, he also saw the two soldiers half dragging, half carrying Emily and Cory's girlfriend towards the open loading ramp. It was at least five hundred meters from where Roland was standing to the helicopter and he could hear Emily screaming at the soldier who had lifted her up on to his shoulder as she pounded on the armor covering his back. "Let me go! Where's my friend? Where are we goin'?"
"Emily!" Roland yelled as he started running across the snow-covered cement, tripping over what he hoped weren't bodies as he went.
"Roland!" He heard her hopeful scream as the ramp was raised and the helicopter lifted off covering Roland in a miniature blizzard.
Collapsing to his knees Roland watched the helicopter lift off into the night sky and quickly disappear to the east. Lowering his head, he could feel his eyes grow warm and moist as he realized the only person he knew in a world gone mad was gone and he didn't know if he'd ever see her again. He felt Cory's hand on his shoulder, the other man's words muted as if in a dream, felt Eve's muzzle push against his hand but he never moved. Roland had lost all will to go on and he didn't care if he died there on that spot, everything he had been through, everyone he had tried to save, it had all been for nothing. Cory's hand began shaking him violently and Eve began barking and suddenly a sound he had come to despise pierced through his self-pity like a full metal jacket slug and something changed in Roland. It was like a fire that was smoldering in his chest suddenly blazed to life, fanned by the moan of one of the undead making it's way towards the easy prey slumped on the ground. Blinking to clear the tears that clouded vision he found the world coming back into sharp clarity. Eve's loud barking, the moan of the creatures and Cory's panicked shouts. "Come on dude, get up we gotta get out of here!"
Something black was half buried in the snow a few inches from Roland's right hand and as he wrapped his hand around the cold steel grip of the Browning Nine Mil a new resolve cemented itself into Roland's head. The girl's weren't dead, his family might still be alive and he was going to be damned if he was going to let anyone else down! Rising from his pity party like a phoenix from the ashes Roland stared at the trio of creatures making their way slowly across the snow towards him. The only light on the base was from the various fires burning throughout the flickering lights playing over Roland's gaunt features and making his green eyes blaze. Bringing the Browning up he sighted the first creatures forehead and squeezed the trigger, repeating with the second and then the third, a bullet punching a hole in the head of the last one as the first finished falling. Cory was staring in amazement when Roland turned around to look at him. "Holy shit, dude. That was bad ass."
Roland looked at the three fallen corpses then back to Cory. "Come on we need to get out of this base before their friends arrive, any idea where the vehicle pool might be?"
Cory pointed to a hangar style building that was completely engulfed in flames. "I'm guessing that was it."
"Looks like were walking, there's a dealership not far south of here and if were lucky it won't have been destroyed." Roland slid the clip out of the Browning seeing he had six bullets left. "Maybe we can stop by an armory on our way out of here."
The base was basically deserted except for the dead bodies and it took a while to find the armory, a wicked smile crossing Roland's face as he shot off the lock and kicked in the door. The armory had been basically untouched by the devastation that had torn apart most of the base; only a few bullet holes in the walls and a shattered window but the weapons had remained untouched. A row of military backpacks on hangars hung by the door and Roland grabbed one with an ill concealed smile as he looked at the rows upon rows of weaponry. Roland looked down at his watch it was December 24. "Last minute Christmas shopping Cory, everything must go."
Cory raised an eyebrow. "Dude, what happened? Five minutes ago I couldn't get you to move, then you go all Matrix now you're making jokes?"
Roland smiled, his oversized canines glinting in the dim light. "We're not gonna abandon the girls but first we need to get out of this base before it's overrun."
"Overrun?" Cory had grabbed his own backpack.
"Think about it, everyone of those monsters from here to Fort Mac is probably on their way here and we've seen this is not a good place to be so we should load up and head for the city." Roland grabbed several spare magazines for the Browning as he spoke.
"What about the girl's how are we gonna find them? That helicopter is long gone by now.' Cory had wandered down a row of assault rifles and pulled and FAL from one of the racks.
"After the majority of the horde passes well come back and check the command bunker for any hint on where Colonel Stonedecker may taken them. SWEET!" Roland had spied something he always wanted at the end of a row of submachine guns; a P90 PDW with red dot sight, tactical light, and laser sight already attached.
Startled by Roland's outburst Cory raised the FAL to his shoulder looking around. "What?"
"Sorry, just found something incredibly sexy." There was a box of full magazines and a shoulder strap on a shelf beneath the P90.
"You scared the shit outa me dude." Cory began throwing ammo for the FAL into his backpack.
Roland also grabbed a C14 Timberwolf sniper rifle, a second Browning Nine Mil, and a combat knife. After he realized he had too much to carry Roland found the solution against the back wall; there were several black combat vests and a pair of thigh holsters. Once he had all he gear distributed between the holsters, vest, and backpack Roland glanced over to where Cory was staring into an open crate. Cory was carrying a Browning Nine Mil and the FAL his backpack sagging from the magazines filling it. Walking over to the crate Roland saw what Cory had been staring at; it was filled with two dozen fragmentation grenades. Roland's smile grew as he reached into the box and hefted one of the grenades; it felt good in his hand. "Grab as many as you can and let's get moving."
"Are you serious?" Cory said looking at the pear sized explosive in Roland's hand.
"Deathly." Roland hooked the grenade onto his vest and reached into the box again taking five more.
In the end the each took six of the grenades and as they were getting ready to leave Roland saw a fifty-caliber machine gun propped against a far wall. "I'll be back for you." He whispered.
"What was that?" Cory asked.
"Nothing, let's get going."