No Flesh Shall Be Spared by Thom Carnell Read Free Book Online Page A

headed down the road in a two-by-three formation toward the house.
    "Shit, Sarge, how many more of these Sweep and Clears are we going to do?" said the man they all called "A-Rab." He was one of those guys who was always complaining about how much work they all had to do, the conditions, the weather. It was always too hot or too cold or too wet or too dry for A-Rab. The Dog said once that A-Rab was the only guy he knew who could be getting laid and still find a way to complain about the pussy. All of it was whiny-assed bullshit, but carrying the M249 SAW as he was, he’d proven himself a valuable asset to the team. The gun could cut just about anything—living or dead—in half with a burst of its firepower. When you found yourself in shit as deep as this, that kind of weaponry made the difference between life or death; between being taken along or left behind.
    "Can the chatter, Son. I have neither the time nor the inclination to listen to your bullshit today," Masterson hissed in clipped tones.
    A-Rab looked down, dejected; his diaper having been suitably spanked.
    The six men continued to walk silently down the dirt road, each one carefully checking every shadow and shade for even a hint of motion. Once they’d seen to it that the area was clear, they began to relax and talk amongst themselves, albeit in low, hushed tones.
    "Hey, Bruce," Lance said to the small, Asian man whose real name was William Takahashi, "did you get a quick one from that broad you were sweet talkin’ at that last compound?" Despite the fact that Takahashi was of Japanese heritage, the men had given him the nickname "Bruce" after Bruce Lee who, William theorized, was the only Asian guy they all knew.
    Takahashi smiled broadly. "Let’s just say that she was very grateful at our having rescued her from the top of that water tower."
    "Yeah," laughed Lance, "but did she show you her appreciation."
    Bruce winked and grabbed at his crotch.
    "The only thing was…" Ray Dog whispered back over his shoulder, "she was horny again an hour later."
    The group laughed and for a moment it almost felt as if things weren’t so dire. For a second, they collectively forgot how bad things had gotten over the last few weeks, forgot about how most of the people they had known and loved were now dead. Dead or walking around with their faces torn off and trying to eat anything still left alive.
    For a second, they were just a group of guys hangin’ out and shootin’ the shit.
    Then, Masterson spoke and brought all of that to an end.
    "Stow it, Ladies," he said in a whisper that to the men’s ears seemed louder than any scream. "We’ve got movement."
    As one, the men dropped into a crouch and immediately broke off into the brush on whatever side of the road was closest.
    "By the shed… on the right," hissed Masterson.
    Lance directed his attention toward the small shack that looked like it was a combination utility shed and place for a gas-powered generator. The squat building had the same look as the larger ones far off across the homestead: colonial and just a step out of time.
    For a moment, things looked pretty normal. The birds chirped in the trees, the grass swayed in the soft breeze and none of the dumbfucks could be seen. Things looked clear. Then, just below the rise of the hill where the shack stood, a small blur of color could be made out.
    Then, another.
    "Sarge, you amaze me sometimes," Bruce said quietly. "You sure you don’t have E.S.P? I mean, the way you track these fucks makes my head spin."
    "Well," grumbled Ray Dog from the back of the pack, "I guess that makes you a dis-oriental."
    The men all chuckled under their breath.
    Suddenly, three of the reanimated dead staggered around the side of the shack. Two of them were men; white guys dressed like they’d worked as farmhands on this or a neighboring spread. The other was a woman who looked as if she’d almost been pretty once, in a plain sort of corn-fed way. But now something had gotten to