03 Deluge of the Dead by David Forsyth Read Free Book Online Page B

would be using the bridge to reach the safe haven during the storm and didn’t want them to have to wade through infected corpses. 
    Once clear of the bridge they turned towards the approach to the east-bound side of the Harbor Freeway, where they came to an abrupt halt.  The view in front of them was unbelievable.  Every eastbound lane was packed with bumper to bumper abandoned vehicles, as were the shoulders.  It was total gridlock for as far as Carl could see.  Trying to clear a path through that mess could take weeks.  However, the westbound lanes were much clearer.  Carl could see only scattered wrecks on that side of the freeway, along with a few wandering figures that he assumed to be zombies.      
      “Okay,” Carl said over the radio. “Let’s bust through the K-Rails and clear a path up the westbound lanes.  That side will be easier for those headed towards the port to enter anyway.”  He received several confirmations and watched as the Cat turned to knock out twenty or thirty feet of the center divider to allow the rest of the vehicles to cross into the opposing traffic lanes.  Of course there was no opposing traffic, just empty lanes dotted with abandoned cars and trucks. 
    They made good time for the first mile or so, pausing only briefly to clear an accident scene.  The Marines kept busy by dispatching the occasional zombie that appeared on the nearly deserted westbound lanes.  They spotted many more zombies on the eastbound lanes, hundreds of them roaming through the traffic jam, but the fence along the center divider kept them from interfering with the progress of the expeditionary force. So the Marines didn’t waste ammo on them.  O’Hara had made it clear that his men should conserve ammunition and only fire at Z’s who posed an immediate threat to the mission or the lives of other survivors.
    Rounding the curve at the northwest end of the port they encountered the first real obstacle.  A big rig hauling a large shipping container was laying on its side, blocking most of the lanes.  The Cat moved forward to push the container aside.  This proved to be easier than it might have been because it was an empty container on it’s way back to the port after being unloaded somewhere inland.  However, once the that obstruction was cleared it revealed a seemingly endless traffic jam that had formed behind the accident site.  Carl cursed as he used the radio to call the Sovereign Spirit and ask them to send the helicopter to scout out the extent of the gridlock and the possibility of detouring around it.  As he waited for a response from the ship he got a call from the Sergeant Major.
    “I have an idea, sir,” said O’Hara. “Let me see what this Amtrac can do to clear a path.”  Without waiting for Carl’s reply the big amphibious vehicle moved towards the shoulder of the road and angled its bulldozer blade to deflect obstacles into the center lanes. Carl was pleasantly surprised at the effectiveness of this approach.  The dozer blade on the nose of the 30 ton tracked vehicle pushed the line of abandoned vehicles aside with ease, sandwiching them towards the middle of the freeway and opening a lane along the shoulder with hardly a moment’s hesitation.  However, after 50 yards or so the pile of vehicles shifted and blocked its path with a pile of wreckage that even the AAV was hard pressed to move.  Not to be deterred, O’Hara directed the driver to reverse, turn off the road, through the bushes, and pivot back into the pile of crushed vehicles, smashing them all back away from the shoulder. 
    “Not bad,” said Carl over the radio. “At this rate we might even average a few miles per hour.  Let’s hope it clears out further up the highway.” He was just about to sign off when he spotted movement in the traffic jam.  Dozens of zombies were converging on the Amtrac. “Head’s up everyone.  We’ve got company. Looks like we have attracted some attention,”