Warpath: Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse Read Online Free

intently. Good . After the
speed and manner in which Camp Williams fell to the dead, it was apparent that
Beeson had articulated clearly to the soldiers under his command that
complacency would not to be tolerated.
    Waiting patiently, Cade removed his black ball cap and
relaxed on the crutches, settling most of his weight on the rubber pads
pinching his underarms. And as the sergeant scrutinized his ID, he studied her
uniform. It was the newer Multicam style with multiple different earth tones
intermingling over a mostly tan background. The left shoulder sleeve
insignia—an olive drab star on a black shield with a full headdress-wearing
Native American centered inside of the star—indicated she was Second Infantry
Division. Cade guessed that she had probably been stationed at Fort Kit Carson
before Z-Day and had been sent here only recently in order to help Beeson’s
Boys (Green Berets of the 19th Special Forces Group) fortify the outpost.
He watched her dark eyes flick rapidly back and forth over the laminated
plastic document, searching it front and back. During the process, he noticed
her look up twice, presumably comparing him with the picture.
    “I’ll be damned,” she finally said, handing the ID back, a
broad smile cracking her steely veneer. “ The Cade Grayson?”
    Nodding, Cade donned his cap, snugging it low, nearly
covering his eyes. Then, changing the subject, he glanced at the chevrons on
her chest and addressed her by the name on the tag secured by hook-and-loop
tape to her blouse top. “Can I ask you a question, First Sergeant Andreasen?”
    “Fire away,” she answered at once. “And you can call me
Laurel.” She shouldered her rifle and assumed a relaxed stance.
    “What’s with all of the shooting this morning?”
    Her smile faded. Then she said grimly, “The Zs have been
crawling out of the pits and getting to the fence. Not a lot of them ... but
enough to cause me a severe case of the pucker ... if you get my drift.”
    He nodded but said nothing.
    Andreasen went on, “Only takes one or two muzzle flashes to
bring them up from the Interstate. So, if we can, we wait until first light ...
put them down all at once.”
    “Why don’t you have suppressors for your weapons?”
    “A couple of SF teams headed out to recon Salt Lake a week
ago and took all that we had with them. Who am I to question what the 19th
does? Anyway, the colonel probably figured they needed them more than us,” she
explained. Then, no sooner had the words rolled off her tongue, she remembered
that he was no longer a captain in the United States Army, leaned close and
added quietly, “But I shouldn’t have told you any of that.”
    “Knowing how Beeson trains his boys, they’ll be back.
Besides, communication’s been dodgy since the Chinese satellites attacked our birds.” The sergeant’s face went slack at this bit of news. “But I shouldn’t
have told you that,” he said with a conspiratorial wink.
    A Humvee passed them by, throwing up a turbid cloud of dried
grass and ochre dust.
    Waving away the choking haze, Cade asked, “How are the Zs
getting out?”
    She adjusted her helmet. Fixed her red-rimmed hazel eyes on
his and said slowly, “On the backs of the others.”
    “On the backs of the others?” said Cade, barely masked
incredulity riding his words.
    The sergeant nodded then looked towards the fence
subconsciously.
    “They’re learning?”
    She nodded again.
    Holy hell , thought Cade. His gaze was drawn to the
fence. He stared at it, thought for a second and finally said, “Thanks for your
time, Sergeant.”
    “Thanks for all that you’ve done,” she replied. “And I’m
truly sorry to hear about Desantos and Gaines. They will be missed.”
    Cade nodded but said nothing. He cast another worried glance
towards the fence and then fixed his gaze on the motor pool where he could just
make out the top of the massive Ford in the distance, the sun bouncing off of
its black paint.
    ***
    Three minutes