56.
Last Alarm
Chapter 52
"The Alamo"
Part Seven
"And maybe remind the few, if ill of us they speak..."
"That we are all that stands between the monsters and the weak..."
_ Michael Marks
Time: Zero Dark Thirty
Location: Takagi Manor – Front Terrace of Takagi Mansion
Z-Day Times Five
As he watched in silent awe at the ongoing firefight through the eyepiece of his Leupold Mk IV riflescope, for perhaps the one hundredth time Kohta Hirano wished that he too could be standing amongst the small band of fighters fighting fiercely against the huge wave of Infected pouring over the stone walls near the front gate of the mansion.
A military otaku to the core, the scene unfolding before his young eyes was like nothing he had ever imagined, nor could even the most intense video game he had ever played equal the intensity of the fierce firefight going on before him as he watched the life and death drama unfolding before his eyes, his desire to take part in the conflict becoming almost overwhelming with each passing moment.
Adding to Kohta's eagerness to take part in the fight was the fact that despite the overwhelming odds that the former *American Navy SEAL and the Takagi guards were faced with, the small band of fighters nonetheless appeared to be without fear in the presence of such a terrifying enemy as they calmly fired their weapons at each grotesque figure that presented itself without letup.
It was a sharp contrast to the wild, panic fire previously displayed by the civilian "volunteers" who had fired their weapons on full automatic in all directions with no visible effect on the Infected whatsoever, before the frightened men had then turned tail and ran back up the hill towards the mansion in a blind panic.
And for an impressionable teenage boy with such an extreme fondness of all things military as well as a continuously growing sense of hero worship for the former *American SEAL standing there with the Takagi guards kicking ass and taking names as he blasted away at the Infected with his M4, Kohta's emotions were running at such an all-time high that the teen could actually feel himself growing lightheaded with excitement as he continued to observe the fierce battle going on before him.
Yet despite the murderous rate of fire being thrown at the Infected by the Takagi guards and the American security contractor, it was now becoming quite obvious that the sheer numbers of Infected scrambling over the stone walls far exceeded the abilities of the shooter's ability to keep them at bay, and Kouta knew that it wouldn't be long before the tables would begin to turn on the small band of fighters and they would soon run the risk the danger of being overrun.
And as the moments passed with the Infected continuing their relentless efforts to scramble over the stone walls, the hero worship that had been swelling within Kohta quickly began to turn ito anxious concern.
And then after a very short while later, the concern Kohta had for his American friend immediately turned into an overwhelming sense of fear and dread.
"Fall back, Cxxxxxxx-san...!" Kohta said nervously under his breath as his finger automatically drifted from the receiver of his rifle and onto the trigger itself without his even realizing it. "...you need to fall back, now!"
But to Kohta's dismay, the American was apparently not aware of just how dire the situation was for he and his men, and it wasn't much longer before a large group of the Infected fell over the wall in a heap and then began to shuffle towards the small group of men faster than they could shoot them down as Kohta's finger unintentionally began to apply pressure to the trigger of his rifle.
*Unfortunately, Kohta is still convinced that Jim is a former member of the U.S. Navy SEAL Teams no matter how hard Jim tries to convince him that he isn't. This will be a running gag throughout the entire series.
Time: Zero Dark Thirty - (A few moments earlier)
Location: Takagi Manor –Jim's position - Several Yards from Front Gate
Z-Day Times Five
"CHANGING!" I yelled out to the Takagi guards standing next to me as I dropped my empty double-magazine set-up from my M4 and then dropped it into the dump pouch hanging on my belt before reaching for a full mag from one of the pouches on my tactical vest and slamming it into the magwell of my M4 as I then slapped the bolt catch and once again began double-tapping the heads of each of the Infected attempting to climb over the walls in front of us.
In all honesty, I really wasn't all that sure if any of the men other than Ogata understood that I was changing mags or not, but my actions had been done more out of reflex than anything thanks to the countless number of combat drills I had participated in during my training days with GREEN Team back in Nevada when I was still learning the basics of what it takes to be an effective member of the team.
And so despite the fact I had never at any time trained with the group of men standing next to me before, it still made no difference whatsoever in the way I was currently performing since everything I was doing had now been so thoroughly ingrained into me that it was now reflexive.
And to be honest, despite the desperate situation we were in, I was actually a little proud of the way I was handling myself right now, after all, I had been drilled extensively on how to effectively shoot and reload my weapon under extremely strenuous conditions whether it be while I was on the run, while lying supine, while lying prone, while standing still, while on one knee, while on both knees ...hell, while standing on my freaking head, you name it, I was taught it.
And by the time Andy and the others were satisfied that I could function as a member of the team under fire, those drills had been so thoroughly burned into my brain that I was actually thrown out of the bunkhouse one night after abruptly screaming "CHANGING!" in my sleep and scaring the crap out of everyone.
But from the look of things, it seemed that I had nothing to worry about, as I took a quick glance over at the group of well-disciplined men fighting alongside me, and heard the guards sounding off in the exact same way I did whenever they reloaded their weapons as I watched with satisfaction as a big heap of bodies began to pile up on our side of the wall.
Oh yeah, we were doing just fine.
And because we were all doing such a great job of kicking ass, despite the fact that there were thousands of deranged cannibals trying to eat us just a few yards away, as silly as it may sound, at that particular moment I was so impressed with myself that I actually begun to feel like I really had missed my true calling as a member of the Spec Ops World, especially after seeing as how all those drills I'd been subjected to seemed to actually be paying off.
Hell yeah, at that moment I was feeling about as immortal and bad-ass as bad-ass can be, never mind the fact that the enemy we were engaging didn't carry weapons and weren't shooting back at us.
But it wasn't very long before that immortal feeling I was having quickly began to fade away when I suddenly realized as I was burning through my third 30-round magazine that despite all my training and the combined efforts of the Takagi guards, the fact remained that the flow of Infected pouring over the wall did not appear to be slowing down no matter how many we took out.
And that rapturous confidence that I had felt all but disappeared completely the moment I realized that if we weren't able to turn the tide and quickly, there would be no choice for us but to fall back, and in one hell of a great big hurry too.
The problem with that however, was that other than the small tent city almost directly behind us and the mansion itself, there really wasn't any place we could fall back to.
And it was that little morbid thought that was going through my head at just about the same time my third mag ran dry and the bolt locked back with a loud "CLACK!"
Shit.
"Dammit...will you f_cking assholes die already?!" I swore out loud as I loaded up my fourth full magazine and then poured round after round from my carbine at the Infected, the panic really beginning to build up in me now as they continued to pour over the wall like friggin' ants with no signs of letting up as I burned through my fourth magazine.
And as the bolt carrier on my carbine once again locked open on an empty chamber, it occurred to me then that we might very well run out of ammo long before the Infected would ever get the hint that maybe climbing the walls of Takagi Manor for a quick bite was a really bad idea.
Cursing like a sailor as I dropped my empty mag into my dump pouch and reached for a full one I heard Ogata shout something in warning as I snapped my head up just in time to see what could only be described as a shitload of Infected suddenly come pouring over the wall like some frickin' levee had just burst.
"Oh shit!" I swore under my breath as I hurried to load another fresh magazine into my M4 as I watched in horror as the Infected fell down to the ground in a great big heap and then those that weren't having their heads blown off, then slowly began to pick themselves up off the ground and started shuffling towards us faster than we could bring them down.
Time: Zero Dark Thirty
Location: Takagi Manor – Front Terrace of Takagi Mansion
Z-Day Times Five
It had all started on the first day of the Outbreak when she had first called him, "uncle" as she watched the American about to do away with one of her former teachers whom the American security contractor had accused of assaulting one of her fellow students and leaving him to die at the hands of the Infected, all in a selfish effort to save his own life.
Even now five days after that incident had occurred, young Saeko Busujima still could find no explanation as to why she had addressed the American as "uncle" at that particular moment, the man being a complete stranger with no ties to her, or anyone else for that matter.
Being of no consequence however, Saeko had quickly dismissed her addressing the stranger in such a manner as a mere slip of the tongue under extreme circumstances at the time, and had thought little of it afterwards.
But after all that happened to the small group of survivors in the following days afterwards, eventually even Saeko had to admit to herself that there was no denying that the bond between the American mercenary and herself had undeniably grown stronger, which had eventually grown to become a source of friction between herself and Saya's parents, much to Saeko's surprise.
But no one was more surprised than Saeko herself the moment she had addressed the American as "dad" earlier, something that had filled her heart with such joy the moment her words had escaped her lips, and then in an instant, had also immediately filled her heart with a crushing sense of guilt at the thought of her actually betraying her love for her real father, Hiroyuki Busujima, whose fate was still unknown.
But as she watched the American and his men on the verge of being overwhelmed by the wave of Infected pouring over the front gate, what feelings of guilt Saeko had been feeling immediately disappeared the moment she realized that it made no difference whether she viewed the man as her "adopted father" or just a kind man she would always remember fondly as "uncle".
Right now the reality was that the man was in serious trouble, and unless something was done to help the American and his men, and quickly, she might very well be on the verge of losing the only "family" she might very well have left in the world.
"They're going to be overrun...!" Saeko shouted as she reflexively attempted to draw her katana from its scabbard when she suddenly felt a strong hand close over her arm, preventing her from withdrawing the sword fully as Saeko turned her head and glared angrily at the person who had stopped her.
"LET GO OF ME!" Saeko shouted in anger as she tried to yank her arm away from whomever had clamped their hand over her arm and was holding it in an iron grip.
"DO NOT BE SO HASTY, CHILD...OR DO YOU TRULY WISH TO FOOLISHLY THROW YOUR LIFE AWAY?!" Soichiro Takagi's voice boomed as glared at Saeko angrily for a moment before releasing her arm, as he then turned his head and spoke sharply to the tallest of several men standing nearby.
"Kaneda-san, you men go down and relieve Ogata-san and the others down there at the front gate, and make haste...!" Soichiro said his voice like thunder as the tall man bowed quickly and then along with the men standing around him, hurriedly ran down the small flight of stairs out onto the grounds below.
"That's not going to be enough, Takagi-sama...!" Saeko protested as she angrily shoved her katana back into its scabbard with a loud "SMACK" and glared angrily at Saya's father as Takashi suddenly felt himself growing nervous at Saeko's completely unexpected display of rage directed towards the Lord of Takagi Manor. "...we need to send as many people as we can down there or they'll all be killed!"
"We have sent more men than we can spare already, Busujima-san..." Soichiro Takagi replied with growing anger in his voice. "...to send any more would compromise the safety of everyone else here."
"Saeko's right, Takagi-sama..." Takashi replied reflexively moving over towards Saeko's side in an effort to calm the growing tension growing between the two warriors. "...those men that you just sent aren't going to be enough to help Jimu-san and the others to keep the Infected out for very long!"
"Takashi-chan, THINK...!" Yuriko snapped with authority at the teenage boy in an effort to calm the two teens, as well as her husband, who was visibly growing more irritated with each passing second. "...if we send every armed person we have left down there and they are all overcome, then there will be no one left to protect everyone else!"
"I understand that, Takagi-sama...!" Takashi said exasperated as he then glanced over at Saeko and met her eyes for a long moment as Saeko suddenly smiled and then nodded her head in silent agreement at the unspoken words said between them, as Rei fumed in jealous rage nearby.
"I realize that you are already doing all that you can, Takagi-sama..." Takashi said as he then removed the Hk P7M8 pistol he had been given from its holster and gazed back at Saya's parents with a look of serious intent on his face. "...and that's why Saeko and I are both volunteering to go down there and help them."
"WHAT!" Saya's parents as well as Saya and Rei shouted in horrified shock as Kohta merely grinned in response from behind his rifle.
"DUDE...COUNT ME IN!" Kohta shouted as he flashed Takashi a toothy grin and gave a thumbs-up as everyone including Saya turned and stared open-mouthed at the chubby teen.
"You children are insane...!" Soichiro said scowling disapprovingly at the three teens. "...have all of you lost your minds!?...this isn't some sort of a game, this is life and death!"
"We know that, Takagi-sama, that's why we_. " Takashi began but was abruptly interrupted when he suddenly felt Saeko's hand on his shoulder as he then turned and glanced over at her in confusion for interrupting him.
"Save your breath, Komuro-kun..." Saeko said her voice frigid as Takashi suddenly felt his blood turn cold at the terrifying look in her eyes.
"Your words are wasted on this man." Saeko said as Yuriko and Rei gasped in surprise at Saeko's rudeness as Saeko brushed past Takashi until she was standing directly in front of Saya's father.
"Despite your condescending opinion of us, Takagi-san... the truth of the matter is, we are not children..."Saeko began as she glared defiantly at Saya's father who visibly bristled at the hate-filled look in the young woman's eyes that was directed towards him, as well her intentionally insulting him by addressing him as Takagi-san, instead of the more respectful honorific of "sama".
"But you are correct about one thing, Takagi-san..." Saeko continued still defiant with no visble signs of fear on her whasoever as Saya's father towered above her. "...this is no game."
"This is life and death..." Saeko added her eyes like steel, her voice unwavering as she spoke. "...and our friends down there are doing everything they can to keep death from coming upon all of us standing here."
"But right now, the lives of our friends, are the ones that are in mortal danger..." Saeko continued her voice rising in volume. "...and unless something more is done to help them, their lives will be ones that will be lost needlessly!"
"THAT WAS THEIR CHOICE!" Soichiro thundered finally losing his patience as he glared at Saeko with eyes filled with rage as everyone around them gasped in shock at the bluntness of his words.
"They knew the risks they were taking when they volunteered to defend our home and everyone taking shelter within these walls!" Soichiro added the rage in his voice continuing to build as Yuriko moved towards her enraged husband in an effort to get between him and the angry teen but stopped when her husband turned and flashed a warning look at her to not interfere.
"And since they are willing sacrificing their lives so that everyone may have a chance to survive this ordeal..." Soichiro added turning his attention back towards Saeko and lowering his voice somewhat but still visibly angry. "...the very least you children can do to honor their bravery is to not stupidly throw your own lives away!"
"But..." Saeko began still defiant as Saya's father suddenly took a threatening step towards her, his eyes blazing.
"ENOUGH...!" Soichiro roared as he glared at Saeko with rage-filled eyes. "...my patience with you and your friends has been put to the test long enough, Busujima-san!"
"Out of respect for my former teacher, I have allowed you and your friends to remain in my home despite your repeated acts of childish behavior..." Soichiro said in a voice so filled with rage that Takashi thought the man's head would explode. "...and I can see now that it was a mistake on my part to show such leniency towards all of you, when you have all proven to me time and time again that you are completely incapable of being trusted."
"BUT NO MORE...!" Soichiro roared as he turned his head and glared at the rest of the teens as Takashi and the others shrunk back instinctively at the hate-filled gaze being thrown at them. "...from this moment on you will be treated no better than the others who have sought refuge here, who have themselves already proven that they cannot be trusted, either!"
"Yoshioka-san...!" Soichiro called out to the Security Chief who was still busy with helping his men trying to keep the panicked mob under control as Yoshioka snapped his head around at his Master's call and then immediately rushed over, leaving his men to deal with the mob on their own.
"Hai, Takagi-dono...!" Yoshioka said as he came running up and then bowed quickly as Soichiro raised his right hand and then pointed his finger at each of the teens.
"Yoshioka-san, I have decided that the weapons that these children are currently in possession of are to be confiscated, immediately...!" Soichiro said as each of the teens flinched as if they'd been slapped.
"I beg your pardon, dono?" Yoshioka said glancing over at the teens with visible confusion in his eyes at his master's sudden change of heart regarding the agreement that had been made with the American earlier over the teens being given weapons.
"Did you say that you wish me to confiscate their weapons, Takagi-dono?" Yoshikoa asked as he noticed the teens exchanging shocked looks at each other while Yuriko suddenly hung her head in silence as if ashamed of the entire spectacle.
"Yes, I did..." Soichiro said as he then turned his head and glared at the teens coldly. "...I'm afraid under the circumstances, I have decided that they can no longer be trusted with such weapons in their possession."
"The daughter of Busujima-sensei and her friends have finally proven to me once and for all that they lack the maturity I once thought they might be capable of..." Soichiro went on as Takashi glanced over at Saeko and noticed that her face remained completely devoid of emotion despite the direct insult that Saya's father had made at her. "...and as soon as their weapons are confiscated, I want you to secure all of them inside the mansion, immediately."
"It will be done, Takagi-dono..." Yoshioka said with a bow, still visibly confused by the sudden turn of events as he glanced over towards the front gate where the firefight was still going on strong. "...do you still wish to evacuate your wife and the children if Matsudo-san is able to repair the Humvee in time?"
"Hai..." Soichiro replied glancing over at the front gate as well for a moment before turning to face Yoshioka again. "...but with a change of plans."
"Change of plans...?" Rei said aloud but then immediately shrank back in fear at the ugly look Saya's father gave her as she instinctively retreated behind Takashi.
"Yes, Miyamoto-san..." Soichiro said coldly as he continued to gaze intimidatingly at Rei and then the other teens. "...a regretful decision on my part, but under the present circumstances, absolutely necessary, nevertheless."
"And while I do not feel that I need to explain myself to any of you..." Soichiro added glaring at Saeko who still appeared aloof. "... I will indulge all of you, this one last time."
"It was agreed earlier by Cxxxxxxx-san and I that should indeed he and his men be unable to hold off the Infected by the time Matsudo-san was able to make repairs to your vehicle..." Soichiro went on, turning his attention away from Saeko as he then stared coldly at each of the teens while he spoke. "...then it was decided that Yoshioka-san would take his place instead, and evacuate all of you to safety."
"WHAT?!" Saeko blurted out loud, the emotionless look on her face replaced with one filled with unmistakable shock and then anguish at Soichiro's words as Yuriko and the others gasped in shock at the implication behind what Soichiro Takagi had said.
"I don't believe this..." Saya said her voice hollow as she gazed at her father as if seeing him for the first time. "...you're just going to leave Jimu-san out there?"
"You...you can't do that...!" Saeko sputtered in disbelief as she glanced over at the shadowy figure of the American still fighting in the distance and then back at Saya's father, her eyes now pleading. "...you promised that_."
"I PROMISED YOU NOTHING, CHILD...!"Soichiro roared angrily interrupting Saeko as Yuriko immediately moved up and placed her arms on her husband in a desperate effort to calm him, which had little effect on the angry man as everyone flinched at the man's sudden burst of anger.
"But I did promise your father...your real father, to see to your safety if anything should ever happen to him, Busujima-san..." Soichiro spat lowering his voice slightly at his wife's insistence although his tone was still venomous. "...and I will do so despite your misguided loyalty to that miserable gaijin you so foolishly remain loyal too."
"Yoshioka-san...!" Soichiro said Takashi, Rei, and Kouta glanced at each other nervously. "...you have your orders."
"Hai, Takagi-dono..." The Security Chief replied as he then reluctantly walked over towards Kohta and then held out his hands as Kohta stared at the Security Chief with wild eyes, looking very much as if he was about to completely freak out at the very thought of having his weapon taken away from him again.
"Hand it over, son..." Yoshioka said curtly as Kohta glanced over at Takashi with pleading eyes just as everyone heard Saeko suddenly take in a sharp intake of breath.
"Hirano-san...don't you dare!" Saeko said in a frigid voice as everyone's head snapped around in response and Takashi immediately gulped nervously at the wild look in Saeko's eyes as she took a step forward towards Saya's father and then stared at him unblinking as she spoke.
"While I truly do appreciate all that you and your family have done for my friends and I, Takagi-dono..." Saeko began as she then bowed her head and raised her katana slightly in a show of respect towards Saya's father before she then stood upright and gazed back at him with a look of unmistakable contempt. "...your low opinion of my friends and I, is not only unjustified, it is insulting."
"And as regards my love and loyalty to my father Busujima, Hiroyuki, and the man whom I now call my father, Cxxxxxxx, Jimu-san..." Saeko added her eyes narrowing. "...that is not, and has never been...any of your business!"
"So if your hatred for Jimu-san is so great that you refuse to deal with the fact that I am his daughter now...!" Saeko said her voice growing louder as she spoke. "...THEN THAT FAULT IS YOUR OWN!"
"But I for one will not stand here and watch my father die before my eyes if there is some way I can help prevent that from happening!" Saeko said defiantly as Takashi and the others shuddered uneasily at the growing fury in Saeko's eyes as she continued to glare angrily at Saya's father.
"And make no mistake Takagi-san, I will kill anyone who tries to stop me." "Saeko said her voice seemingly chilling the air around her as everyone's eyes widened in shock at the unveiled threat towards the Lord of Takagi Manor.
"Therefore I strongly advise you and Yoshioka-san to step aside, Takagi-dono..." Saeko said as everyone gasped in horror as the young woman crouched slightly in an offensive fighting stance and then placed her right hand over the handle of her sword as she pushed the hilt of her katana forward in a threatening gesture towards Saya's father as Soichiro Takagi finally lost all control of himself.
"AFTER ALL THAT MY FAMILY AND I HAVE DONE FOR YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS, YOU DARE BARE YOUR FANGS AT ME, YOU INSOLENT BRAT?!" Soichiro roared angrily as Yuriko rushed forward to calm her husband who roughly shoved her away as he took a threatening step towards Saeko who merely narrowed her eyes in response as Rei immediately grabbed Takashi and hurriedly pulled him away from the two warriors about to do battle with one another.
"THAT MAN IS NOT YOUR REAL FATHER, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Soichiro roared angrily in response to Saeko's challenge as his hand reached for the handle of his own katana.
"AND IF YOU GIVE ME NO CHOICE OTHER THAN TO BEAT THAT FACT INTO YOUR STUBBORN SKULL LITTLE GIRL, THEN SO BE IT!" Soichiro roared drawing his sword, with murder in his eyes just as a loud explosion sounded from near the front gate as everyone immediately ducked reflexively in response to the unexpected blast.
"What the devil_?!" Soichiro muttered aloud as everyone straightened themselves and glanced in the direction the explosion had come from and watched in open-mouthed shock at the sight of a large cloud of dust billowing upwards towards the night sky as objects that had also been shot heavenward by the force of the blast began to fall to the earth.
"Oh my g_...Takashi, those are body parts!" Rei said raising her hand to her mouth as if she were about to throw up as Takashi and the others watched in horrified fascination as the objects that were undoubtedly severed limbs began to fall to hit the ground with a sickening thud while other assorted body parts fell with a wet splash.
"JI-SAN!" Saeko shouted in horror as her heart dropped at the sight of the American and his men lying prone on the ground without any movement coming from any of them when a loud whoop suddenly sounded in her ear as she turned her head and stared in the direction of the person who was yelling.
"AHHHHH, HELL YEEEEAAAAH, SEALs ROCK, BAAAAAAAABYYYYYYYY!" Saeko heard Kohta whooping with glee as she frowned at him in confusion and then immediately turned her attention back towards the front gate in time to see the American roll over onto his left side and then hurl a small object at the remaining Infected who had not been affected by the earlier explosion.
*"HOOOYAAAAH, JIMU-SAN!...HOOYAH!" Kohta shouted with glee over and over again and waving his fist in the air just as another loud explosion rocked the ground underneath their feet as everyone watched the remaining Infected suddenly disappear in a large cloud of dust and severed limbs.
*(HooYah! – Battle Cry of the SEAL Teams- Unfortunately, Kohta is still mistakenly convinced that Jim is a SEAL and is cheering him on)
Time: A few moments earlier
Location: Several Yards from Front Gate of Takagi Manor – Jim's position
Z-Day Times Five
"F_CK YOU!" I roared as I squeezed the trigger of the KAC "Masterkey" shotgun mounted underneath my M4 at one of the Infected who had gotten a little too close to my position while was in the middle of trying to reload my M4, as the man's head practically disappeared in a spray of blood and gore from the impact of the double-ought buckshot round and it's body then fell heavily to the ground.
"We're not going to be able to hold here much longer..." I muttered under my breath as I then hastily reached for another full magazine and slammed it into the magwell of my carbine and continued firing at the horde of Infected, knowing without a shadow of a doubt that we were mere moments away from total disaster.
"Dammit...!" I swore out loud as I began banging away at the Infected again. "...I'm really getting sick and tired of this "Battle of the Alamo-20XX" bullshit!"
And as I burned through another magazine of ammo, the irony of what I had just said suddenly struck me when I suddenly remembered about the time when I had first read about the famous battle as a boy, and how my imagination grew wild at the image of thousands of Mexican soldiers scaling up the walls like ants as the less than 200 Texans tried their best to beat them back with tomahawk and bowie knife when the fighting got to close for rifle fire.
And even though the battle was in actuality, a military defeat for the Texans, the whole "David and Goliath" image that the famous battle portrayed appealed to me greatly.
And like most young boys in Texas have done at one time or another, I also remembered how I used to play "The Battle of the Alamo" with the other kids at school, pretending to be one of the heroic Texans who fought valiantly against the imaginary Mexican army until the final assault came where we would all be overwhelmed and finally fall down upon the ground, "dead."
But up until now, what actually happened in that battle had all been left up to my imagination, and never once in my entire life did I ever actually believe that I would ever experience being in such a one-sided battle myself, almost 200 years later.
But as I tossed my fifth empty magazine into my dump pouch and reached into one of the pouches on my tactical vest for another, I realized that not only was I in a situation almost exactly like the Texans experienced at the Alamo battle back in 1836, but the horrible truth was, our situation was actually much, much, worse.
Back then, the less than 200 defenders of the Alamo who fought so valiantly against such overwhelming odds somehow managed to bring down perhaps over one thousand enemy soldiers in the process, despite only being armed with single-shot, muzzle-loading firearms and cannon.
In the end however, despite their best efforts, it took only two attempts by the Mexican Army to climb over the walls and finally overwhelm them, slaughtering them all down to the last man, and then cutting their bodies to pieces afterwards, out of vengeance.
We on the other hand, were barely a handful to begin with, and now with most of our "volunteers" having already run off to parts unknown leaving only six of the Takagi guards and myself to hold the line against an unknown amount of Infected with only the small arms we had on hand and no heavy weapons whatsoever to speak of.
Yup, we were the very definition of the word "screwed".
So far we'd been pretty fortunate, being that so far, the Infected had only attempted to climb the walls nearest to the front gate and not attack us from anywhere else along the walls.
Given our small number however, we were still pressed hard-pressed at trying to keep the Infected from clambering over the walls as we continued to pick them off as fast as we could.
But there was no denying that as we went through magazine after magazine of ammo without any sign from the Infected that they were thinking about giving up their relentless attack, the horrible truth was that all we were doing was delaying the inevitable.
And unlike the Alamo defenders, when the killing finally stopped after the last Texan had fallen down dead, the Mexican army had shown mercy and allowed a small handful of women and children to be spared from the slaughter.
Personally, I believe the reason those people were spared had nothing to do with General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna's sense of morality, but more than likely had to do with destroying what remained of the tiny Texan Army's morale once the survivor's told the tale to General Sam Houston.
For us however, there would be no one left alive to tell the tale of the battle at Takagi Manor, and all that would be left of us when it was all over would be piles of greasy bones, huge patches of blood, and numerous piles of zombie poop left behind for anyone to try to figure out what had become of us.
That didn't mean I wasn't going down without a fight though, and sure as shit, there'd be a hell of a lot of spent ammo casings around my carcass before these assholes got to me.
But just as I decided that our situation was hopeless and was about to give the order for everyone to fall back, an idea suddenly popped in my head and I immediately swung my M4 over my shoulder and let it hang by its sling as I then reached over and pulled off one of the grenades hanging from my vest.
"Any problem on earth can be solved with the proper application of high explosives." Was a line from the movie Valkyrie that just happened to pop into my head at about the same moment that I realized that we weren't making much headway with holding off the Infected with simple small arms fire, and perhaps a different tactic needed to be implemented.
And as I prepared myself to throw the grenade, I was hoping more than anything that there was some smidgeon of truth behind that particular line that that actor had said in the movie and not another bit of movie dialogue that really sounded cool, but in reality, was just another steaming pile of Hollywood bullshit that some stoned-out-of-his-mind screenwriter wrote in between tokes on his roach.
Because if in the end it really did turn out to be all bullshit, then a great, big steaming pile of zombie shit is exactly what every man, woman, and child hiding behind the walls of Takagi Manor was destined to become if my next course of action failed.
Oh well...
"GRENADE!...GRENADE!...GRENADE!" I yelled at the top of my voice as a warning to Ogata and his men that I was about to toss a grenade and to take cover (just in case Andy had perhaps skipped over that part of their training) as Ogata and his men quickly glanced over at me with anxious eyes and then immediately stopped firing their weapons and went to the ground as I pulled the pin out of the grenade in my hand and swung my arm back over my head.
"FRAG OUT!" I shouted as I pitched the heavy M67 grenade in my hand directly at the large group of Infected coming at us as I hit the dirt myself and watched as the grenade sailed into the crowd of Infected and bounced once before going off with a nice, little "WHUMP!" as Infected and parts of Infected went flying everywhere in a huge cloud of smoke and a spray of blood.
"Oh shit...that worked better than I expected." I said to myself as I looked up and saw little bits of Infected flying everywhere, the power of the grenade giving proof to the fact that what the actor had said in Valkyrie wasn't Hollywood B.S. after all.
"STAY DOWN!" I shouted to the Takagi guards still lying prone of the ground who had been on the verge of getting back to their feet as I then rolled over on my left side and grabbed another grenade from off my vest and pulled the pin just as chunks of Infected began to rain down upon us.
"FRAG OUT!" I shouted again as I lobbed another grenade in the same direction as the first and then flattened myself on the ground, actually feeling the ground vibrate as the other grenade went off with a loud "WHUMP!" as we were once again covered in dust as more of the Infected began to fly heavenward before coming apart in midair and then began raining down to earth.
"American-made M67 grenade, baby!" I shouted out gleefully to Ogata with what probably looked like a psychotic grin on my face as we both glanced over to where the crowd of Infected had been and saw only a pile of broken bodies and parts of bodies.
"F_cking A...any problem on earth can indeed be solved with the proper application of high explosives!" I shouted to Ogata as we watched a still-smoldering object that had once been a human head roll on the ground between us like a cricket ball and then come to a stop as the smell of burning, rotting flesh wafted over us.
"Hell yeah, when just saying "F_ck you!" ain't getting the point across!...hee! hee!" I said cackling like a maniac as if I had just pulled a really great practical joke on someone at the firehouse as Ogata suddenly made a face as if he wanted to puke at the sight of the severed head grinning at us from where it had stopped rolling, still smoldering like some grotesque lump of coal.
There are times that in moments of great stress people will react in ways they never would have otherwise and many times in my career that was most certainly true, although I'd never resorted to laughing like a madman before like I was now.
However, in this case the reason for my jubilation in the face of such horror had nothing to do with me cracking up under the stress of the situation, rather, it was actually quite the opposite.
The fear that I'd had just mere moments ago that we were all about to die was gone, and in its place, the same huge surge of confidence that I had experienced earlier had come back...with gusto.
The grenade attack had successfully stopped the surge of the Infected for now, but the fact remained that unless we did something to completely decimate the Infected and quickly, the Infected would once again begin to surge forward, and with our limited arms and ammo, we wouldn't stand a chance.
And that being the case, I decided to take a page out of the good ol' Naval Special Warfare manual and put it to good use.
And in case you're wondering, the page I specifically had in mind was the one that dealt specifically with what tactics to employ when a special operations team of any branch of the service, is suddenly engaged by an overwhelming force of unknown size and strength.
Being that most Spec Ops teams operating all around the world are usually made up of between four to eight men equipped with limited arms and ammo, there are usually a couple of things that the operators of that team can do without the benefit of long-range artillery or air support to survive such an encounter with a larger hostile force.
"Plan A", which is often the more favorable tactic by most Special Operations teams, is basically a strategic retreat and regroup involving all team members opening up with their weapons and maintaining a suppressive rate of fire before a signal is given whereby each team member then turns and "peels" back to a designated rally point, which is exactly the kind of tactic that I had practiced endlessly with GREEN Team back in Nevada.
Me however, being the SEAL Team fanboy that I am, I happen to like the more "kick-ass-take-names-all-of-you-are-about-to-f_cking-die" approach used by my all-time favorite frogmen, which I believed at the time was a much more appropriate tactic in our particular situation.
"Plan B"...attack.
HooYah...
"Any of you guys got any more grenades?!" I shouted to the rest of the men lying nearby as I then scrambled to my feet and began to take out the remaining Infected left untouched by the grenade with my M4 as several more Infected began to poke their heads up over the wall.
"I have three!" Ogata replied still looking a little green as he and his men also jumped to their feet and once again began picking off the Infected climbing over the wall.
"I have three as well!" The other guard Adachi, whom I had been introduced to earlier along with Ogata, shouted as he was changing mags on his Skorpion machine pistol.
"Awesome, Ogata you're with me!" I shouted to Ogata as I fired the last few rounds in my magazine and then dropped the empty mag and tossed it into my dump pouch.
"Adachi-san...!" I shouted as I slammed a fresh mag into the magwell of my M4. "...toss your grenades over to Ogata and cover us!"
"What are you going to do?!" Adachi shouted as he tossed his grenades over to Ogata, a look of confusion on his face or perhaps fear, I really couldn't tell which at the time.
"We're gonna try to cut these guys on the other side of the wall down to size and see if we can buy us some more time...!" I shouted in reply as I slapped Ogata on his shoulder and we both began to move toward the disabled JGSDF vehicle. "...just keep them off of us as best as you can!"
"Wakatta!" Adachi replied as I heard him shout something to his men in Japanese while Ogata and I moved forward with our weapons at the shoulder until we were about thirty feet away as the bodies of the Infected continued to fall in large heaps on either side of the truck thanks to the covering fire from Adachi and his men.
"Hold here!'' I shouted to Ogata over the noise of all the gunfire as I reached for another grenade hanging off of my vest.
"FRAG OUT!" I shouted to Ogata as I pulled the pin off of the M67 grenade in my hand before pitching it over the wall on the left side of the disabled vehicle, once again grateful for the fact that I had gotten rid of all the smoke grenades and signal flares that I was originally going to take with me on my earlier scrubbed mission to link up with the JGSDF at the treatment plant and had replaced them all with about a seven grenades from the cache that Yuriko Takagi and her men had found as the sound of a loud "WHUMP!" sounded from the other side of the wall and a bunch of Infected scrambling over suddenly disappeared in a spray of blood and body parts.
"Ogata-san, take out any of the guys still crawling around here on the ground, I don't want any of these assholes biting me on the leg!" I yelled at Ogata as I pointed towards several of the Infected who were still attempting to crawl towards us despite having had parts of them blown off by the force of the grenade.
"FRAG OUT!" I shouted as Ogata immediately began to pop a round into each of the Infected's heads as I tossed the grenade over the wall and we heard another loud explosion of the grenade going off and even more body parts and blood shot up into the sky.
"So far so good." I thought to myself as I readied to grab another grenade when I suddenly noticed out of the corner of my eye that a bunch of Infected that had apparently only been wounded were suddenly beginning to crawl towards us from underneath the disabled JGSDF vehicle.
"SHIT!...OGATA-SAN, UNDERNEATH THE TRUCK!" I shouted in warning as I quickly reached for my M4 and capped off a few rounds at the Infected on the ground before they could get to their feet as I noticed Adachi yelling at some of his men who immediately increased their rate of fire, which could only mean that things were really going to shit fast.
And as I dropped my M4 down and let it hang by its sling as I reached for another grenade, it was at that exact same moment that I knew it was all but over, and the confidence I had that we could somehow reverse the inevitable, died right then and there.
The sad truth was, that no matter what we did or how many Infected we smoked, it was like trying to plug the holes in a frickin' sieve while some asshole with a garden hose was pouring water into it at the same time.
Until now we had been lucky, because the way the mansion had been situated on top of the hill, the surrounding terrain and local residences formed a kind of bottle-neck at the front entrance of the estate making it difficult for the Infected to gather in large numbers anywhere else other than the front gate.
And up to this point, the truck had provided a perfect barrier for the weakened front gate both in weight and height, preventing the Infected from clumping up high enough to try to scale over it.
Unfortunately, while the truck provided an effective barrier because of its height, the walls surrounding the entire mansion being only six feet high, did not.
And to make matters worse, unlike the walls surrounding the mansion on either side which were built along the hillside where the steep natural terrain made any type of approach from other sections of the mansion extremely difficult, the front and back gates were built on level ground which was why the Infected had been spilling so easily over the walls near the front gate in the first place.
And try as we might, there was just no human way possible that we could effectively hold the walls of Takagi Manor against the enemy we were currently facing with our limited arms, ammunition, and manpower, and no visible signs of rescue from anyone as far as I could see.
The Infected however, were extremely difficult to kill unless it was a head shot, had unlimited numbers as far as I could tell, and didn't need guns and bullets to kill every man, woman, and child within the walls of Takagi Manor in the most horrible fashion imaginable.
And that being the case, there was no denying the fact any longer that wouldn't be long before the Infected would start to spread out all along the walls of the sprawling estate and begin spilling over the walls from different locations.
And with only a handful of us to defend the mansion, there was no way we could spread out enough to cover the entire mansion and keep the Infected out with any hope of success.
Yeah, no doubt about it, it was all but over.
As shitty as it was to admit, the only thing we could do now was continue to hold the Infected off long enough to get everyone out of the refugee camp and into the relative safety of the mansion and try to hold out there until either help arrived or the Infected would eventually lose interest and migrate somewhere else.
Yeah, and if you believe that last part about the Infected losing interest in us and shuffling off bye-bye, I got some ocean front property in Arizona that I'd like to sell you.
"FRAG OUT!" I shouted in warning to Ogata as I tossed the grenade in my hand over in the direction of the rear of the disabled JGSDF vehicle where it went off and a number of Infected trying to scale the wall on that side suddenly disappeared.
"FRAG OUT!" I shouted again as I tossed another grenade on our side of the wall where a bunch of Infected had managed to scramble over despite the murderous fire coming from Adachi and his men.
"ADACHI-SAN...KEEP POURING IT ON!" I shouted as I suddenly noticed with horror that Adachi and his men had apparently used up all the ammo in their Skorpions and were now using their handguns to fight with.
F_ck me...the shit had really hit the fan now.
Talk about your worst case scenario, now that the Takagi men were down to their handguns and with maybe only a couple of spare magazines each to reload their weapons with, there was no way we could effectively hold our position for more than a few seconds more as I reached for my last grenade that was hanging off my belt and tossed it over the wall.
But this time, unlike the previous grenades I had used which were M67 fragmentation grenades, the grenade I had just tossed was an evil little sucker affectionately known in military circles as a "Willy Peter" grenade which was a container filled with high explosive material and a deadly addition of phosphorus flakes which burned at thousands of degrees when exposed to air.
And what made this particular grenade such a cold-blooded weapon of war was the fact that because it burned at such a high degree of temperature, the stuff and could not be extinguished with water and would continue burning so long as it was exposed to air, leaving any victim unlucky enough to have been blasted with one writhing in absolute agony until either help or death came for them.
But considering that our enemy didn't feel remorse or even pain for that matter, my conscience didn't bother me one bit as I heard a loud "WHUMP!" come from over the other side of the wall followed by a sudden bright shower of sparks as the explosive material in the grenades flung the phosphorous flakes into the air and blanketed the Infected on the other side of the wall.
I could tell by the smell of burning flesh and licks of flame glowing on the other side of the wall as the clothing the Infected wore began to burn that the "Willy Peter" grenade had done its job as I gestured to Ogata to toss me one of his M67 grenades and then I pitched it over in the same spot that I had thrown the "Willy Peter" grenade as a loud "WHUMP" sounded on the other side and once again I saw burning body parts go flying through the air.
"I'M OUT!" Ogata suddenly shouted out to me as I turned my head and noticed him transition from his Skorpion machine pistol and reach for the Colt 1911 pistol he had in a leather holster strapped to his waistband.
"HOLD ON!" I shouted to Ogata raising my hand up as a signal for him not to draw his sidearm as I then pointed at the grenades he had hanging from his waist belt.
"TOSS TWO OF YOUR GRENADES OVER THE WALL HERE, AND THEN TWO MORE OVER BY THE FRONT GATE...!" I shouted as I as I then lifted my carbine to my shoulder. "...I'LL COVER YOU!"
"GO!" I shouted to Ogata as I then began to pick off any Infected still trying to climb over the wall on either side of the disabled vehicle as Ogata tossed all four of his grenades over the wall as Infected and parts of Infected went flying through the air in all directions as each grenade detonated one after another.
"OGATA...HAND ME THAT LAST GRENADE, AND FALL BACK!" I shouted to Ogata after the last grenade had gone off as he tossed me his one remaining grenade and we then both turned and ran back to join Aachi the others as I shoved the grenade into an empty pouch on my vest and then dumped the now empty magazine left in my carbine and replaced it with a fresh mag as we ran up to rejoin Adachi and his men whom I could plainly see by the locked back slides on their 1911s, were now completely out of ammo.
"Do you think that stopped them?!" Adachi said in a low voice as Ogata and I dropped to one knee beside them huffing and puffing both from the exertion of the fight and the adrenalin rush.
"Only in our dreams, brother...only in our dreams." I replied sourly as I gazed back over at the bars of the front gate and shook my head in dismay as I watched the Infected began to once again build up in large numbers on the other side of the front gate.
"We may have managed to buy ourselves some time by blowing a few dozen of them to hell..." I said with a tired sigh as we watched the Infected began walking over the pieces of their fallen brethren and then began to push forward against the heavy steel bars of the front gate as before. "...but the truth is the only thing we really accomplished here was to delay the inevitable."
"I'm sorry guys,but there's just no way to sugar coat it..." I added glancing over at Ogata and then the rest of the guards and immediately began to feel sorry for all of them having fought so courageously against such an overwhelming enemy only to end up losing the battle in the end. "... this place is lost."
"No way in hell can we hold them off much longer at this point." I said glancing up towards the mansion just as several more Takagi guards suddenly came running up to us out of the darkness and one of them, a tall skinny-looking fellow with one hell of an impressive uni-brow, then briefly exchanged a few words in rapid Japanese with Ogata.
"What's up?" I asked Ogata, as Ogata quickly held up a finger for me to wait a moment until the man had finished talking as Ogat then grunted at the man in response and then turned and spoke a few words to Adachi and the rest of his men.
"Kaneda-san has informed me that he and his men were sent here to relieve us..." Ogata said as I watched all of the guards with empty weapons suddenly getting to their feet. "...however, he also says that on the way over here he noticed that the Infected are coming back in greater numbers and suggests that perhaps we should all consider pulling back."
"Oh really?...Gee, why didn't I think of that?...Duuuuuh." I muttered sourly under my breath as I glanced over at the front gate at the horde of Infected pressing against it, knowing that we maybe only had a few more seconds left before the Infected would build up enough in numbers to begin scrambling over the walls again.
"Problem with falling back right now Ogata-san..." I said gritting my teeth as I heard the bars of the front gate begin to groan again from the weight of all the Infected pressing on it. "...is that until we can get everyone in the camp evacuated into the mansion we have no choice but to hold off these pricks for as long as we can until everyone's inside."
"Which is gonna be damn hard to do without ammo..." I said flatly gesturing towards all of Ogata's men who were all desperately patting themselves down in search of any extra ammo they may have left in one of the pockets of their clothing.
"Agreed." Ogata replied glumly, as he gazed down at his empty pistol and then gripped it in his hand in such a manner that made me think that he was seriously thinking about chucking it at the Infected just out of sheer frustration.
"Hey, we did our best, my friend..." I said feeling sympathy at Ogata's frustration as I clapped my hand on the younger man's shoulder. "...even if we had an entire battalion stationed here, there's just no way that we could have successfully held a place of this size against all that, without air support or heavy artillery."
"And all things considered..." I said with a grim smile as the moans of the Infected began to grow louder. "...I'd say we did pretty well considering what we were up against with only a handful of us here to do anything about it."
"But fact is, there's no way we can hold them off much longer..." I said removing my hand from Ogata's shoulder as I scanned all along the wall on all sides for any signs of the Infected approaching from elsewhere. "...and right now I think the best thing we can do is try to save as many lives as we can, while there's still time."
"How do we do that, Cxxxxxxx-san...?" Ogata said glumly as he waved his empty pistol in frustration. "...my men and I are completely out of ammunition and the Infected are already attempting to scale the walls as we speak."
"Tell the guys who just got here to spread out on both sides of me, about three meters apart..." I replied as I waved both of my hands in a "chopping" motion on either side of me. "...and tell them we're gonna do just like we did before and hold the line right here for as long as we can."
"Yokai..."Ogata replied as he barked a few orders at the guards whom had just arrived and they began to position themselves three meters apart on either side of me.
"The rest of you head back to the mansion and "ammo up"..." I then said to Ogata jerking my thumb over my shoulder after his men had gotten into position and signaled that they were ready. "...and while you're there, tell your boss we're in deep shit down here, and they need to haul ass and get the rest of those "civies" still left in the camp indoors pretty damn quick, cause there's no way in hell that we're gonna be able to hold these bastards off much longer."
"Hai...!" Ogata acknowledged with a quick nod of his head as he quickly shot off a few words to Adachi and the rest of the men in Japanese who immediately nodded their heads in response and then began to run up the hill towards the mansion.
"As soon as we re-arm ourselves, Cxxxxxxx-san..." Ogata said as he arose and prepared to follow his men. "...I promise we'll come back and help you."
"Negative!" I said shaking my head in response as Ogata paused and looked back at me with a confused look on his face.
"By the time you guys start heading back, we'll already be out of ammo ourselves, Ogata-san." I said as I began to remove the full magazines in the ammo pouches on the right side of my combat vest and placed them into the empty pouches on the left side of my vest in order to make reloading my M4 easier as well as to take stock of how much ammo I had left.
"So you can forget about coming back for us, because our asses won't be here for much longer. " I said gritting my teeth as I realized with dismay that in the heat of battle, I had already burned through eight of the ten thirty round magazines I carried in my combat vest as well as the double-mag set-up I normally carried.
In the span of only a few minutes, three hundred rounds of the four hundred and twenty rounds of 5.56 ammo that I normally carried with me was gone, without my realizing it.
Andy and the rest of the guys on GREEN Team had told me that like most Spec Ops guys have, to always keep a careful count of your rounds as much as possible so that you don't burn through mag after mag of ammo and suddenly find yourself left with nothing to fight with.
Problem with that is, when engaged in a fierce firefight, that whole "count your rounds" bullshit goes out the window as you become completely focused on the battle at hand and don't have time to count "one, two, three" every time you pull the trigger as bullets are whizzing by your ears.
And sure enough, I too had been so focused on the battle itself that before I knew it, three hundred rounds representing roughly three quarters of my ammo was spent, leaving me only two full magazines carrying thirty rounds apiece and the sixty rounder Surefire mag left for my M4 to fight with.
Andy and the other guys had always told me that no matter how much ammo you carried, a good firefight will burn right through all that if you're not careful which is why you seldom ever see anyone in Spec Ops firing their weapons on full automatic unless they're breaking contact with an enemy force and "peeling".
And like I had been trained with GREEN Team back in Nevada, I had only fired my weapon in single-fire mode, because if I hadn't enforced such strict fire discipline like I had, I would have run out of ammo even sooner.
Still, that didn't take away the fact that I was still stuck between the proverbial "rock and a hard place" what with me being low on ammo already and the only two places I could get ammo was either the spare magazines I kept in my pack which was currently sitting in the trunk of the still-as-of-yet disabled Humvee, or out of the large cache of ammo located back at the mansion.
Either way, staying here any longer than a few more minutes was not an option with only two 30-round Magpul magazines and the 60-rounder Surefire mag left for my M4 to fight with, plus the six, 18-round magazines of 9mm ammo that I kept for my Sig P226-NSW pistol.
Altogether, I had exactly 228 rounds of ammo left to fight with which was far less ammo than the Takagi guards carried for their Skorpion machine pistols and Colt 1911s.
And that being the case, the odds weren't looking too good that I'd be able to help the remaining Takagi guards hold out long enough for the rest of the civilians to gain shelter into the mansion before the walls were finally breached and all hell would break loose and the blood would begin to flow.
Yessiree folks, if I were to use the standard US Military Situational Awareness protocol to describe the situation we were in and get rid of all the fancy-shmancy words and color codes normally written therein and substitute them with the words "shitty" to describe the low end of the scale and "crappy" as being the high point, I'd say our situation could best be described as "full, blown-out, explosive diarrhea."
Yup...I don't think anyone on earth could have described it better.
"Just focus on getting everyone inside and securing the mansion, Ogata-san, and don't worry about us!" I said trying to shake off my morbid thoughts as I reached into one of the smaller pouches of my vest and grabbed three shotgun shells from within and reloaded the "Masterkey" shotgun attached to the picatinny rail handguard of my M4.
"We're only staying here until we're down to using our pistols, and then we're hauling ass back to the mansion ourselves, so get a move on and get those people indoors!" I said as I loaded the last shotgun shell into the chamber of the "Masterkey".
"Wakatta, Cxxxxxxx-san...!" Ogata said as he stood up and turned to run after his men when I noticed him suddenly hesitate a moment and then turn his head and give me a strange look before he then silently turned back around again and then began running up the hill after his men.
And as I watched him go, it suddenly occurred to me that the look Ogata had just given me before he left was the exact same look I had seen in all those war movies I watched as a kid where one soldier is giving his buddy one last look of silent farewell before he grudgingly runs to safety while the hero bravely covers his retreat against the enemy before finally dying heroically in battle.
"Well shit, that's a comforting thought..." I said bitterly under my breath as I racked the action of the "Masterkey" and then gave a "thumbs-up" to the men on either side of me before I noticed movement towards the wall again as I saw a disfigured hand suddenly reach up and grasp the top of the wall followed by the head of one of the Infected as the creature tried to pull its way up over the wall.
"Get ready, guys." I said aloud, not knowing if any of men standing around me understood my words or not as I raised the muzzle of my M4 up and aimed the glowing green tritium sights of my weapon at the head of the Infected man as several more of the Infected began to pop their heads up along the wall as well.
"Hold!" I said aloud as I noticed all of the men around me began aiming their weapons towards the walls on either side of the front gate as we all waited for the Infected to present themselves a better target for us so as not to waste ammo.
"Hold..." I repeated to the men as we all watched in silence at the nightmarish scene of the Infected slowly pulled themselves up over the wall, the air filled with the blood-curdling sounds of their wail-filled moans mixed with the gnashing of their teeth.
"Learn from me son, and help me run the business and we'll do great things together..." I muttered sarcastically under my breath echoing the very words my father had uttered to me so long ago when he had tried to convince me to be a carpenter like himself and failed when I decided to become a fireman like my uncle, which had ultimately driven an even bigger wedge between both of us that I doubt would ever be removed.
"No, not me, I had to be a hero and save the f_cking world..." I said bitterly as my finger tightened on the trigger of my M4 just as the Infected man I was aiming at suddenly gave one mighty heave and lifted himself up over the wall, exposing his entire torso in my sights.
"Ahhh, f_ck it, I still wouldn't have changed a frickin' thing." I said chuckling to myself as I opened fire and the Infected man's head exploded and he disappeared on the other side of the wall as the guards followed suit and opened fire on their intended targets as the heads of the Infected began to disappear in a spray of blood and gore as they were hit and their headless bodies began to topple heavily off the walls.
"Just need to give Ogata and the others a few more minutes to get everyone inside..." I thought to myself as I continued to fire my M4, single-shot, at the head of each Infected that presented itself as the rest of the guards did the same, each of them displaying an impressive display of discipline and marksmanship that would have even made old Andy proud.
Aiding our marksmanship was also the fact that at that exact same moment, by some strange coincidence, the inky jet-black darkness that had enveloped the entire city was suddenly pierced by the brilliance of the full moon peeking through the thick clouds that had settled over the city like a blanket.
Thanks to the EMP knocking power out all around the city, up until now the only illumination we had throughout the entire battle had come from the soft glow of all the lawn torches positioned all around the grounds of the estate which didn't really illuminate things very well.
And to make matters worse, the blinding muzzle flashes of our weapons didn't exactly help us out much either by pretty much destroying what remained of our night vision as we fought against the Infected.
However, now with the added aid of the moonlight allowing us to get a better visual of our targets, the Infected began to drop like rocks at an even faster rate than before now that our weapons fire was becoming more effective.
And as we continued to fire away at the Infected, it suddenly occurred to me that unlike earlier when we had barely been able to keep the Infected from swarming over the wall, to my surprise, it seemed now that the Infected did not appear to be nearly quite as aggressive as they were before as I noticed that the number of Infected trying to climb over the walls had decreased dramatically than before.
"Must have blown some pretty huge gaps in their ranks with those grenades..." I thought to myself as the bolt on my carbine locked open and I immediately dropped the empty mag from my M4s magwell and stuffed it into my drop pouch. "...either that, or maybe they're finally beginning to lose interest in us."
"Yeah right..." I muttered sarcastically as I reached for my last full 30-round magazine from its pouch on my vest just as a loud "SNAP!" sounded over my head causing me and the guards standing on both sides of me to duck our heads instinctively.
"What the hell...is someone shooting at us?!" I swore aloud as I immediately turned my head around and gazed in the direction of the mansion where the shot had come from, just in time to see the muzzle flash from a rifle erupt from on top of the terrace near the front of the mansion as another loud "SNAP!" sounded again over our heads again.
Normally when a team of skilled operators encounters a situation where they are suddenly being fired upon, said team typically would not have just stood out in the open with their thumb up their ass like we were doing, since most experienced combat vets would have immediately recognized they were being fired upon and immediately taken cover and returned fire before eventually taking out any would-be sniper stupid enough to have fired on them in the first place.
And while I was definitely nowhere near the level of even the most greenest of SpecWar Operators, even I realized that given how high the shot had passed above our heads, unless the person who had fired that round was the absolute worst shot in the world, then it was reasonably safe to assume that we were definitely not the intended targets of the person who had shot over our heads.
And as I glared angrily in the direction of where the shot had come from, I knew there was only one person within the walls of Takagi Manor skilled enough and crazy enough to have fired that shot over our heads at some unknown target without hitting us in the process.
That still didn't mean I wasn't going to throttle him later once I got my hands on him.
"KOHTA...YOU STUPID, TRIGGER-HAPPY, LITTLE SHIT!" I swore aloud as I turned around and slammed the magazine into my M4 as the rest of the guards said some pretty ugly things in Japanese before turning their attention back towards the task at hand.
"If we survive this, I'm gonna frickin' kill that kid!" I swore under my breath as I opened fire on the Infected again, my mind completely focused on buying as much time as I could for Ogata and his men to get as many people evacuated from the refugee camp as they could.
And because I was so focused on the mission at hand, I made a serious mistake that ironically, I had preached time and time again to many a young rookie firefighter to never do when we get so focused on one thing that we completely overlook something else that should have been obvious right from the start...just before it kills us.
And while admittedly, there was a hell of a lot going through my mind at that particular moment what with the thousands of Infected trying their damndest to get at us and me almost out of ammo, it should have been obvious from the very start that something was wrong when I realized it was Kohta shooting over our heads.
Granted, we were in the middle of an intense firefight at the time, but even then I should have realized that while Kohta was a serious gun nut, I had never, ever, seen Kohta display any signs that he ever had an itchy trigger finger, nor had he opened fire even once at the Infected the entire time that we had been fighting them.
On top of that, I had personally seen the kid shoot, and damn if he didn't hit what he was aiming for when he squeezed the trigger which should have been my next red flag that something wasn't right when the bullet he had fired didn't just pass over our heads... it had passed way the hell over our heads.
That being the case, if I had been a seasoned combat veteran with highly acute instincts and not just some old fart of a firefighter playing mercenary in a foreign country in the middle of the zombie apocalypse, I would have realized then that what Kouta had been aiming at was something a hell of a lot farther away than just the jumbled bunch of Infected scrambling over the wall a few yards away from us.
But because of the fierce firefight I was engaged in plus my tunnel vision, I didn't realize that there was something horribly wrong going on at the time, which my friends standing there on the veranda at the top of the hill were trying so desperately to warn me about...
And because I had been so quick to dismiss Kohta's intentions as nothing more than his wanting to indulge in his gun fetish and cap off a few rounds, I knew nothing about the unimaginable horror that was racing towards us with all the crushing strength and deadliness of a tsunami...
No, I had no clue whatsoever.
Not that it really mattered much anyway, because truth was, by the time Kohta had fired that shot...
It was already too late...
Author's Notes:
It has been several months since the last time I had posted a new chapter and I'm sure many of you were probably wondering whether I had given up on finishing Book One or that I was even alive afterall this time.
Happily, I'm still alive and kicking folks and I'm extremely happy to have posted this latest chapter of Last Alarm-Book One for all of you to enjoy.
I couldn't have done this however, if not for the help and encouragement of my good friend Poynton90 who helped me get through a serious case of writer's block and made it possible for me to finish this latest chapter.
The remaining chapters of Book One are pretty much laid out already, so it shouldn't take as long for the remaining chapters to be finished like it did this one...hopefully.
Thanks again to you all for your support over the years...the end is in sight and it should be epic, so hang in there!