Read The Dead Series (Book 3): Dead Weight for Free Online

when a 7.62 round from one of the snipers shattered its skull. A half a dozen more followed its demise as they emerged from the woods and were dropped by the accurate rifle fire of the men and women along the perimeter. No more appeared, so the soldiers held their fire instead of shooting blindly into the woods. Fire control was mandatory, since the only ammunition available was what had been stored on the base and what they could scrounge from the area around it.
    The flow of electricity was cut and t he gate opened as Jones and his men approached. When they were through, it was closed and secured, and the fence charged again. Safe, the men of the patrol dropped to the ground, breathing heavily. As Cage approached, they started to get up but he waved at them to stay where they were.
    “Report,” he ordered after giving Jones a minute to catch his breath.
    T aking a swig from his canteen, he said, “We ran into the shit as soon as we hit the outskirts of Russellville. There were Z’s all over the place. We also saw a group of at least four to five hundred more heading this way, sir.”
    Cage digested this. These new Z ’s, added to the ones already around the compound, spelt trouble. He’d read reports about bands of the dead numbering in the tens of thousands roaming the country in search of food. If a force that size showed up and hit the base, there would be no stopping them. They would overwhelm the electric fence and the defenders in a matter of minutes.
    Nodding at Jones to continue, he listened as the Lieutenant said, “We were playing hide and seek with them for hours. The radio antennae broke off about a half an hour into the patrol, so we had no way of calling it in. We’ve spent the whole time just trying to make it back here. We didn’t lose anyone, but it was close. Had to give a few of them a brain buster when we were creeping through the woods, sir.”
    Cage nodded at the slang the men used for sneaking up behind one of the dead and shoving a knife in at the base of its skull and up into the brain. It was the best way to dispose of them without alerting any others that might be around. It was a silent way of killing the dead and was supposed to be used only in situations of extreme noise discipline, but Cage knew it was also how they initiated new men into the unit. Newbie’s were sent out by themselves and had to make a kill in this way before they were accepted into a squad. The nose or ears were taken from the body to prove they had done it.
    “Got even worse news, sir ,” Jones continued. “We had to circle the whole compound trying to find a way in, and we ran into Z’s everywhere. Before, they were only on two sides of us, but now we’re surrounded. It’s almost like they’re waiting for something. We watched them milling around like they do, but this was different. They kept looking at the compound and moaning as if they were in pain.”
    Cage raised an eyebrow but said nothing about this new development. He noticed that the men and women around him were listening intently to Jones report and decided that until he figured out what was going on, the less said the better. Rumors flew around every day, ranging from word they were being relieved, all the way to the United States was folding under the onslaught of the dead, and he didn’t want to add fuel to the fire.
    “Situation normal then,” he told Jones loud enough for those close enough to hear, “everyone on the face of the Earth is surrounded. Write it up and bring it to my office.” In a lower voice he added, “Don’t talk to anyone about this until we get a chance to figure out what’s going on. Tell everyone in your squad to keep their mouths shut too.”
    Jones nodded and got to his feet. Gathering his m en, he headed into the compound.
    After ordering the guard around the perimeter doubled and the power to the fence cut, Cage dismissed the extra troops and headed for his trailer. As he walked, he contemplated the