Brent Acuff - Undead Nation 03 by Revenge Page A

Once sufficiently achieved, the six returned to their original stations, desperately trying to thin the numbers of dead surrounding their location.
    "Where are the fucking helicopters?!" Alex yelled over the gunfire to Dr. Cahn and Martin Howard. The two men had been trying unsuccessfully to reach the Tulsa camp for some time.
    "No dice!" Martin yelled back. "We can't get anyone on the wire! We're stuck!"
    "Dammit!" Alex cursed and returned his attention to his line of fire. Two more pulls of the trigger dropped two more zombies.  
    "I think we've been ditched!" Liam yelled to Alex. "I think you're right; we've been had."
    "I believe 'fucked,' was your expression," Alex said jokingly. Neither of them laughed.
    Guns continued to crack as the Stryker team fought for their lives. No one talked and no one complained. Everyone worked like the machines they had trained to be and as people who were desperate to live. Minutes passed, then hours. Slowly the number of zombies thinned. Everyone just hoped that their ammunition would hold out long enough.  
    "Clear!" Martin called from the south corner of the press box. "Clear," called others as the Styker team cleared the perimeter of any immediate threats. Once all members of the team had checked in, everyone visibly relaxed before clearing their rifles and checking their equipment.  
    "Ammo check," Alex called. The numbers concerned everyone.  
    Liam let out a low whistle. "Five hundred rounds? That's not going to last us very long. Definitely not another fight like that one." Heads nodded around the circle, and all eyes fell to Alex for direction. Alex stared at the ground, silent and lost in thought.  
    "We have to tell them, Alex," Hayden said. Alex's head snapped up and he glared at Hayden.  
    "We've been abandoned, Alex. They have the right to know." Donovan's look was stern and challenged Alex to go against him. Still Alex remained silent.  
    "What are they talking about?" Theresa asked. "What aren't you telling us?"
    "Commander Travis knows that we have been receiving sensitive information."
    "JJ!" Alex yelled, stopping the doctor. He shook his head forcibly, but Dr. Cahn continued.  
    "Travis knows something is up, but he doesn't know what," Cahn continued, never taking his eyes off Alex. "Yet. If he starts digging, he'll find out."  
    "But worse than that," Liam cut in. "Someone knows we're from New Hope." That revelation brought concerned murmurs from everyone. "One of the airmen from the helicopter that brought us in. I don't know who he is or how he knows, but he does. And I'd be willing to bet that he is the reason we are still here."
    "Where is our extraction?" Martin asked, a waver of fear in his voice. "I saw helicopters come in for the other Stryker teams. Where was ours?"
    "And where was the train, for that matter," Jenero Croft added. "This whole mission went to hell pretty quickly after we landed. Do you think that it's because of one guy thinking he knows who we are?"
    Alex nodded. "I do. If he was able to get word to someone with the ability to pull strings, then I think we have been abandoned here in the hopes we won't make it back."
    "How long have you known this, Alex?" Theresa accused. "Our lives were put in danger, and you didn't think it important to let us know that we had been compromised?"
    "Knock it off, Theresa," Donovan interrupted. "None of us knew anything until just a few hours ago. We decided, in the interest of keeping everyone focused on the task at hand, to keep the information quiet until we made it back to base camp."
    " If we even made it back to camp," Theresa sniped.  
    "Then it really wouldn't make a bit of difference, would it?" Donovan said with a touch of anger in his voice. "Nonetheless, we are here, without a way back, with minimal ammunition, and we've most likely been compromised. I think we've got more important issues than arguing about who knew what when."
    "And just what ARE we going to do?" Jenero asked. "We can't