Zombie Killers: Ice & Fire by John Holmes, Ryan Szimanski Read Free Book Online Page B

laughed. “Tough crap. You know what it’s like fighting Z’s. Climb a hill and build a wall, brother.”
    He had a point. Putting a firebase in a lowland area invited you getting overrun. The Army had taken to actually putting temporary “killing posts” in the middle of a town or city, pre-made out of shipping containers, with a ton of ammo and a platoon of soldiers. They sat there and shot Z’s till they ran out of ammo or were about to get overrun, calling fire support all around, then got evaced out. It was great for clearing an area, but one in twenty got lost. No thanks. Firebases sat way up on a hill, with serious defenses, and were designed to provide communications, fire support, and whatever else was needed to sustain the clearing operations.
    “Why are you calling it Firebase Tillery?”
    “Buddy of mine, Kiowa pilot, went down in Iraq in ’09. Brave dude.”
    “Understood. I forget sometimes about what happened before it all went to shit.”
    “Yeah, well, we all do. Least this way Josh gets remembered.” We were both quiet for a few seconds, thinking about friends we had lost in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hell, before everything shut down, I think a couple thousand troops got left in the Stan. I hoped they made it home, or at least set themselves as bad ass warlords in what was left of Asia.
    “OK, the S-3 wants you guys outside St. Johnsville by sun up two days from now, so I suggest you get walking. UAV Intel says there is a very heavy concentration of undead around the town for some reason, and the S-2 wants to know why.”
    “How about a ride in one of those helos?” I had to ask.
    “How about you shit in one hand and wish in the other, and see which fills up first?”

Chapter 15
    I sat looking at a DeLorme Atlas, tracing a route to St. Johnsville. A year ago, we could have driven it in twenty minutes, cruising down the Thruway. Now, walking from Ilion to St. Johnsville, we had a number of routes to choose. Military Decision Making Process, add up all the pluses and minuses, pick the best one. Or so it worked in theory. I called Doc over to help me figure it out.
    “Option One, we cut back across the river, take Route 5N through Herkimer straight to Saint J.” He studied the maps for a minute, and then shook his head.
    “Nah, that’s a wash. We would have to cross too many bridges, which are choke points. Herkimer was a big city, probably more than a thousand undead in there. Hills cut off our escape routes.”
    “Agreed. The only plus is that it’s got the least amount of elevation change, so best time. Plus it goes close past Firebase Tillery.”
    “Which we’re not stopping at this time.” I ignored the dirty look from Jonesy.
    Doc traced his finger across the map. “OK, Option Two. Straight down the river, following the contours.”
    “Definitely out. No continuous roads, and in this weather, crossing a creek, we might have someone break through. Hypothermia is no joke.” Some of us were carrying almost a hundred pounds of weight.
    “Well, last option. We take the Thruway.”
    I thought about it. “Well, here’s the pluses. Wide open fields of fire. Even terrain, so less likely to have injuries. Likelihood of encountering Z’s is slim. Open areas for evac. The downside is elevation. There is one hell of a hill between here and there.”
    “And that is a problem how?”
    I looked over at Brit. “How is she going to handle it? That’s almost 30 clicks; say little less than 20 miles, with some serious uphill. She hasn’t rucked anywhere before except for a weeks’ training back at SAD. ”
    Doc looked over at her too. “Well, she either hacks it, or she doesn’t. She’s pulled her weight so far. I’ll keep an eye on her.”
    “OK, Thruway it is, then.” 
    We headed out cross country, walking around the remains of the town of Mohawk. In the distance, across the river, Herkimer was a burned out shell. I had done some research on google before we left, checking out what