Chapter 205: Northern Settlement

The people in the settlement had gotten used to the loud skies.

The first fighters sent half of them running for cover. Several more pairs followed throughout the week, sometimes passing north and sometimes leaving distant explosions behind from the direction of Saicine.

People still looked up when the engines came now, but nobody abandoned the fields anymore.

This morning, however, the warning came from the southern barricade.

"Vehicles approaching from the south!"

A second shout followed.

"Military vehicles! A lot of them!"

Farm tools were left where they stood. Children were called away from the road while the few people with rifles moved toward the barricades.

Edwin Vale stepped out of the old municipal building.

"What’s with the damn noise this early? Even those planes aren’t this irritating."

A younger man hurried toward him.

"Mayor! Armored vehicles coming up the highway."

"Then what the heck are you people arming yourselves for? You planning to drive them away with those guns?"

Vale reached the southern barricade and pushed through the gathering crowd.

"Move aside. I still have eyes."

Guardian APCs were already visible along the highway, with tanks following farther behind.

One of the men beside him raised his rifle slightly.

Vale slapped the barrel down.

"What did I just fucking say?"

"But we don’t know who they are."

"And shooting at them will help?"

The man fell silent.

"If they wanted this settlement, you’d be arguing with a tank right now. Use your head."

The lead APC stopped several hundred meters away while most of the column continued north.

Vale folded his arms.

"At least somebody taught them manners."

Several soldiers dismounted. A man eventually approached with two others behind him and stopped before reaching the barricade.

"You’re responsible for this settlement?"

Vale stared at him.

"No. I simply enjoy standing in front of armed convoys before breakfast."

One of the soldiers behind the man looked away.

"Mayor Edwin Vale. Who the hell are you?"

"Company Leader Felix Voss. Sixth Mobile Company."

Vale glanced toward the column.

"That yours?"

"I thought the tanks made that fairly obvious."

"I’ve met convincing idiots before."

"Then I’ll spare you the suspense. They’re ours."

Vale pointed south.

"Same people who’ve been flying those damn fighters over us all week?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Good. I finally have somebody to complain to."

Felix raised a brow.

"That bad?"

"First time, half the settlement thought another war started. By the fifth, I just wanted whoever planned the route to find another landmark."

"I’ll pass it along. Can’t promise anything if this remains the safest route."

"Forget it. You people have your protocols anyway."

"Getting it out of your system still helps."

Vale looked toward the continuing convoy.

"So what do you need from us?"

"Road information. We’re heading for Saicine."

Vale’s expression changed.

"How far?"

"Anything your people know."

"We don’t go near Saicine anymore, but three days ago two trucks made it about twelve kilometers north. There’s a bridge before the road climbs toward the ridge. Still standing. One lane’s blocked, but they got through."

Felix immediately raised his communicator.

"Six Actual to forward element. Civilian report. Bridge approximately twelve kilometers north remained passable three days ago. One lane obstructed. Confirm before heavy vehicles cross."

"Forward element copies."

Vale watched him lower the communicator. The joking tone disappeared the moment something useful came up.

"Anything else?" Felix asked.

"Highway’s been quieter lately. Probably because of your damn planes."

"Coast?"

Vale frowned.

"People disappear when they go there. Sometimes we hear things near the water. Nobody bothers checking anymore."

"Keep it that way. Stay away from the coast and keep the highway clear when military traffic comes through."

"Yeah, I’m old. Not senile."

"Good."

Vale looked at the convoy once more.

"Well, judging from all that, you’re about to get busy."

"We are."

"Aight. Don’t let me keep you."

Vale turned back toward the settlement while Felix returned to his company.

Felix returned to the Guardian APC.

The rear doors closed behind him.

"Six Actual to forward element. Status on the bridge."

The reply came almost immediately.

"Crossing located. Engineers inspecting now."

"Copy."

He settled back into his seat.

Several minutes later, the first report arrived.

The bridge was intact.

Most of the obstruction Vale mentioned came from two abandoned vehicles and part of a fallen utility pole covering the eastern lane. The Engineers had already begun moving them aside while Scouts crossed on foot and checked the opposite approach.

No infected concentration waited beyond it.

Felix transmitted one order.

"Continue once Engineering clears the lane."

"Forward element copies."

The Sixth Mobile Company kept moving.

The settlement disappeared behind them soon afterward.

Farmland continued along both sides of the highway for several kilometers, broken occasionally by abandoned houses, small commercial buildings, and vehicles that had been pushed aside during earlier reconnaissance.

The farther north they traveled, the easier it became to see where the Raptors had been working.

One intersection had a crater beside the road where several burned vehicles remained scattered across the adjoining lot.

Another concentration farther ahead gathered around a row of damaged buildings before a missile struck the center of the block.

Though nothing moved there anymore, the highway itself remained usable.

Felix watched the route through the APC’s forward display while reports continued arriving from the Scouts.

Most were short.

Scattered infected.

Abandoned vehicles.

One damaged section of road.

No major obstruction.

The Engineers cleared anything that could slow the heavier vehicles while the forward elements continued farther north.

By late morning, the terrain began changing.

The farmland narrowed as low ridges approached the coast. The highway entered a long cut between elevated ground before climbing gradually toward the northern approaches Raptor Seven and Eight first recorded.

A familiar engine noise passed overhead.

Felix glanced through the viewing port.

Two Raptors crossed north at altitude.

Several minutes later, an explosion rolled back from somewhere beyond the ridge.

Another followed.

Felix looked toward the forward display.

"Still busy."

One of the Army Soldiers across from him glanced toward the ceiling.

"That means we still have infected to shoot at."

"You don’t like a little walk in the park?"

"Don’t like wasting wastable bullets every day."

The highway continued climbing.

The forward Scouts reached the highest section first.

Their report came through before Felix’s APC reached them.

"Six Actual, forward reconnaissance."

"Go ahead."

"Saicine visible."

Felix straightened slightly.

"Contacts?"

"Scattered infected along the northern approach. No major concentration on the highway. Survivor barricades remain occupied on the ridge."

That matched the latest reconnaissance.

"Any reaction?"

"Movement behind the barricades. No fire."

"Maintain distance. Don’t approach the survivor position until the road is secured."

"Copy."

Felix changed channels.

"Opening elements, maintain current spacing. Engineers continue route verification. Do not approach survivor positions without authorization."

Acknowledgements followed.

The APC climbed the final stretch.

Saicine appeared beyond the ridge.

The city looked different from the first Raptor recordings attached to the expedition brief.

The northern roads were comparatively quiet. Burned groups of infected remained near several intersections, while impact damage covered sections of the lower neighborhoods farther south. Some buildings had lost entire walls. Others remained standing between blocks that had been hit repeatedly during the previous week.

Smoke still rose from one section near the lower commercial district.

The harbor lay beyond it.

From this distance, the water looked harmless. The like that one would choose for a beach vacation.

The Guardian APC slowed near the forward position.

Several Scouts had already dismounted beside the road while Engineers examined the wider shoulder and adjoining ground for the first temporary staging area.

Farther ahead, improvised barricades blocked two roads climbing toward the survivor-held section.

People watched from behind them.

Felix looked toward the city again.

"Six Actual to forward element."

"Forward receives."

"Secure the northern approach first."

"Copy."

He closed the channel.

Behind the Sixth Mobile Company, the rest of the opening force continued north through the corridor.

The road had held. The northern approach was open.

Saicine was finally in front of them.