Escape The 1st Omnibus: WTF Books 1-3 Read Free Page B

some large rock formations yet still able to see the road and the approach to the ambush site.
    The men were exhausted. Brad told them he would take the first watch and instructed the others to get some rest. He walked over to check on PFC Ryan. He was still hot with fever and unconscious. The wounds around his forearm had grown a deep purple in color and angry streaks had begun to snake up his arm. It didn’t look good. He was still laid out in the back of the Humvee. Quietly, Brad closed the door and walked past Eric and Méndez who were sleeping off to the front of the truck.
    He climbed on top of his MRAP and slowly scanned the horizon with his night vision scope, looking for any danger. Finding none, he settled into a comfortable position and carefully watched the road. The desert had become quiet and lonely in the twilight hours, the shadows growing as the sun slowly dropped behind the distant mountains.
    Later, in the darkness, he heard moans and crowd noise coming from the road. Through his scope he could see the mob from Bremmel moving toward the convoy ambush site. The group paused when they reached the vehicles. Brad felt the hairs stand on the back of his neck while he waited to see what they would do. He looked behind him and could see that the rest of his men were also up and looking at the road.
    The mob suddenly started moving again and continued to follow the road which led to the village that Brad and his men had patrolled earlier that day. Brad was relieved that the crazies didn’t appear to be good trackers. Once again it became quiet; a strange sensation in itself for this part of Afghanistan where jet aircraft or distant explosions were normally heard all through the night.
    Brad watched for an hour more and then woke Henry to take over. He climbed into the back of the MRAP and drifted off to sleep to sound of Henry shuffle around on top of the large vehicle.
    He woke to the muffled sounds of screaming. Instinctively, he knew it wasn’t his men; it was a loud howling moan, almost inhuman. He jumped out of his MRAP and saw his men gathered around the Humvee.
    They were stone silent in disbelief. Inside, PFC Ryan was clawing at the doors and tugging on the handles trying to get out. Ryan’s face was a mask of rage.
    “I don’t know what happened, Sergeant! I heard a noise in the Humvee and when I got close Ryan saw me and just started screaming. He’s going crazy in there. There is no way in hell I’m going to open the door,” Cole said.
    “It’s okay, Cole, you were right not to open it or let him out. I’m not sure what’s going on, but looks like he may be infected with whatever turned those people on the road,” Brad answered.
    “What do we do with him?” asked Cole.
    Eric stepped between the men and the Humvee. “We can’t kill him like the others. He’s one of us.”
    Cole raised his hand and pointed at the vehicle, “He’s making too much noise. He’ll attract the crazies. We have to shut him up!”
    “What the fuck do you mean ‘shut him up’?” countered Eric.
    “I mean if he doesn’t stop screaming, he is going to get us all killed,” Cole shouted back.
    Brad just looked on. “He’s right,” he said, raising his hand, “and we’ve got to silence him.”
    Eric stood his ground in front of them and pleaded, “Wait, how about you guys open the door, I’ll tackle him, we zip tie him, and cover his mouth. We don’t know what this is. Maybe it will wear off. Maybe there’s a cure. We can’t just kill him without knowing.”
    After a heavy pause, Brad replied, “Fine, we’ll do that then, but let’s get it done quickly.”
    The men gathered around the Humvee door on the far side. The plan was for Cole to open the door and when Ryan ran out at Brad and Méndez, Henry and Cole would drop a canvas tarp over him and wrestle him to the ground. Meanwhile, Eric would apply the restraints to his wrists and then gag him.
    As soon as they opened the door, Brad knew their