Deadlocked 6

Deadlocked 6 by A.R. Wise

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Authors: A.R. Wise
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yards away, in the opposite direction of the approaching squadron. "It can give us cover if they start firing on the trucks, and they'd have to double back to take shots at us if they see us after passing over."
    "Unless they've got snipers in there, which I bet they do," I said.
    "You got a better plan?" she asked as if annoyed that I spoke out against her idea. There was a time when she was easier to deal with, back before a zombie attacked her son. Nowadays, she was impossible to debate with once she decided on a course of action. It was better to just go along with her than to argue.
    "No, darling. Calm down and get your ass over that hill." I was moving barefoot on the craggy earth, and I saw that Celeste was suffering the same. She was stumbling through the weeds and rocks, yelping as she clomped down on the unforgiving terrain. "Come here," I said as I knelt at her side and scooped her up. She was light as a doll, and flopped over my shoulder. Her hands slapped against my bare back and she writhed in protest.
    "I can run. I can handle myself," said Celeste as she continued to hit my back.
    "Damn it, fine." I put her down and grimaced as I shook my head in disappointment. "How come every girl I meet these days is a headstrong, do-it-yourself, take-no-prisoners type? Where the fuck did the princesses go?"
    "They got eaten," said Kim. "Now shut up and get your ass over here, both of you."
    The earth was hot on my belly as I lay between Celeste and Kim on the far side of the hill.  The sound of the helicopters' approach rose above the gentle sloshing of the stream as we hid in the weeds, anxiously spying on the squadron.
    "This is bad," said Kim.
    "What?" I asked. We had to speak louder as the squadron approached.
    "They never fly during the day."
    She was right. In the twenty years since the apocalypse, I'd never seen the military performing any tasks during daylight. They were very cautious about keeping their activities, and even their existence, a secret. The Rollers often had to convince other survivors that there was any military presence at all in the area.
    "They're pissed," I said.
    "They must think we have their pilot."
    Harrison's friend, Ben, brought down one of the helicopters the night before, and the pilot had survived. We took him prisoner when we evacuated, and were eager to get a chance to find out more about him as well as anything else we could learn about the military presence near DIA. In all our time patrolling the area, this was the first time we'd ever captured any of them alive.
    The roar of the helicopters made whispers inaudible, and I took out my pistol to prepare for a fight. "You ready?" I shouted at Kim, but I didn't need to. She was always ready, and flashed her Smith & Wesson at me as proof. She smirked, and I swear she looked a little excited.
    I met Kim when she was five years old. A friend of mine had promised her mother that he'd protect her, so we went to an island out in Georgia to rescue her from a group of psychos that had kidnapped her. When we got there, she'd been stabbed and was all but dead. A mad scientist named Courtland had been doing tests on her, and had injected her with something that I'd been afraid would kill her. We tried to bandage her up, but I was sure she was a goner. My buddy and I were about to head out of there when he was blindsided by a guy with a bat. Because of that, it fell upon me to protect the girl, and I've never really stopped.
    Kim and her sister became my kin. Their mother is like a sister to me now, and her daughters are like my own. I've never had kids, although my wife and I have been working on it for as long as we've been together. Laura lost her husband at the start of the apocalypse, and I've always felt like it was my job to help take care of her family. Not that they needed it. Those three girls are the toughest group of chicks I've ever met, and I'd wager they've saved my ass far more times than I saved theirs.
    "Stop staring at me like

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