Part 32 (1/2)

”You can sure spray some lead around with it, that's for sure. You have lots of clips?”

”A dozen filled.””Use it for close-in work.”

”You think they'll get that close tonight, Ben?”

”I have a hunch they're going to be right on top of us before this night is over.”

Ben told Corrie to pa.s.s the orders to eat now, go to the bathroom, and then get into position and stay there.

”About forty-five minutes until dark” Ben said.

”They might hit us then, or they might make us sweat for half the night. No way of telling.”

”It's the waiting that gets to me.”

”It gets to us all. That's something you never get used to. At least I've never talked to anyone who has.”

Conversation waned as dusk settled in. At full dark, all talk had ceased.

”Forward posts reporting the creepies are in sight and coming on strong,” Corrie said. ”No pun intended.”

Ben chuckled at her reference to the creepies'

hideous body odor. ”Tell the forward people to fall back now and join the main group.”

”Yes, sir. Recon says the ground is covered with them. Like ants. Says they've never seen so many creepies.”

”They got out of the city somehow,” Ben said.

”Probably used the sewer system.”

”What now?” Linda asked nervously.

”As soon as they hit the outer perimeter bangers, flares will go up. We'll kill several hundred right off the bat. By that time, they'll be in this compound area and it'll get tough.” He pointed to a windowless frame. ”Take that spot and keep your cool.

They're going to be crawling all over us in about two minutes. Literally so.”

”The thought of that makes me nauseous.”

”Puke now, then. ”Cause you won't have time in a couple of minutes.”

The perimeter bangers went off with sharp, cracking pops. The flares went up, lighting the night sky.

”Jesus Christ!” Ben said, looking at the ma.s.s of inhumanity coming at them.

There appeared to be thousands of them.

Chapter Seven.

The heavy machine guns of the Rebels opened up.

The creepies crawled over the dead and dying carca.s.ses of their fellow creeps and came on in a wild screaming suicide charge. No Rebel was outside on this night. Every man and woman was in a building, all working as teams, using both first and second stories when they were available.

There was really no need to aim during the first few minutes of the charge, for the Night People were ma.s.sed everywhere one looked. Ben held back the trigger on his Thunder Lizard and let it bang, taking some small satisfaction in watching a line of creepies slam to the earth, the .308 slugs tearing the life from them.A creepie leaped through the windowless frame to Ben's left. Linda fired over Ben's p.r.o.ne position, the little Uzi rattling and spitting. The creepie was st.i.tched from shoulder to face and fell back outside, dead.

Ben had taken his eyes off his perimeter for only two heartbeats, but during that time a creep had grabbed the barrel of Ben's M-14 and was trying to wrest it from Ben's hands. Ben pulled the trigger and the slam of .308 slugs literally tore the creep's hands loose and knocked the slime backward, his chest mangled and his clothing burning from the muzzle blasts.

A flamethrower-equipped tank unleashed a long spray of burning liquid, the thickened gas catching a group of Believers and igniting them. They ran screaming in all directions, b.a.l.l.s of stumbling, howling fire in the night. They ran for a few seconds, then pitched forward to the ground, dying as the intense heat bubbled their brains.

Jersey was calmly picking her targets, and her aim was deadly accurate. Every time she squeezed off a round, a creepie hit the dirt, dead, dying, or badly wounded.

Cooper was behind an M-60 machine gun, Beth helping to feed the belt. Corrie had left her radio and was using her M-16, laying down a killing field of fire.

Several creepies managed to get on top of the building directly across from Ben's position. Ben lifted his walkie-talkie. ”501,” he radioed to a tank commander. ”Blow the top off that building directly across from my position.”

Cannon roared and the old wooden building began disintegrating from the top down. An incendiary round was fired, setting the wooden structure on fire, adding more light to the night.

Creepies began jumping from the building. Rebel fire cut them down before they could run for cover.

Buddy heard a choking cry from behind him. Two creeps had leaped into the building and were on Corrie, riding her down to the floor. He ran to her, grabbing one creep by the head and savagely twisting it. He heard the man's neck break and hurled the cannibal across the floor. Corrie had managed to work her weapon around and triggered off half a clip into the second creep's belly. He screamed as the lead tore into his guts. Buddy grabbed him and flung him outside.

”You all right?” Buddy asked.

”I am now,” she replied.

The two of them turned their attention to the battle raging inches away from them.

Ben left his Thunder Lizard and began throwing grenades. ”Get some Big Thumpers going!” he yelled.

Within seconds, half a dozen 40mm grenade-launching machine guns began hammering, hurling their deadly little anti-personnel grenadesinto the night. With a kill-radius of ten yards, the Big Thumpers were awesome in any kind of fight.

Ben heard sc.r.a.ping sounds on the roof of the building his team was operating out of. He glanced at his son.

Buddy nodded his head. Father and son lifted M-14 and Thompson and held back the triggers.

Within seconds, fast-fading starlight was struggling past a thickening cloud cover and through the roof; the creepies” blood was staining the ground where they'd fallen in death.

”I think it's beginning to rain,” Linda said.

Ben grinned at her. ”We all need a good shower.

Did you bring any soap?”

”Very funny, Ben. Hysterical.”

Then there was no more time for talk as the creepies regrouped and launched another attack against the Rebels. They came screaming and cursing their rage, throwing themselves against and into the buildings in a wild suicide attack. The Judges had worked them up into a fury, all of them know ing they had no future with Ben Raines alive.