Nano Z by Brad Knight Page B

shrubbery, mud and several feet of fast moving water. He liked his chances on top better.
    How are you going to do this? We can’t on foot. So…
    “Get back in,” said Mack as he got in the SUV. Amber climbed down and joined him inside the vehicle.
    Mack drove towards the bridge. He went slow and turned the headlights on, as the sun was falling. Amber sat in the passenger seat and checked her gun. She wondered if she could still shoot straight with one eye. Over the engine, she could hear the crows and vultures outside. They were feasting on the carrion that covered the elevated path over the Red River. Thick black smoke rose over the arch of the bridge. It was an ominous sign, but one they’d have to ignore.
    “Okay, here’s how we’re going to do this. I’m going to go out first, see what’s out there. Then when its safe and I’ve figured out what to do, I’ll signal you and you’ll follow.”
    “Yeah…that’s not gonna happen. C’mon Mack you should know better by now.”
    She’s right, I should know better. But I don’t.
    “I’m smaller and quieter than you. I should go,” suggested Amber.
    “You also are a little blinder.”
    “Only a little. You’re big and strong, that’s what I like about you. But it also makes you less sneaky. Trust me big guy, I’m a ninja when I want to be.” Amber gave Mack the look that children perfect in order to get their way.
    You should probably let her go. Not only is she right, but if I don’t let her go she’ll turn into a little monster.
    “Fine. But if you see any meat puppets, you come right back. Understood?”
    Amber smiled. Then she hugged Mack. It caught him by surprise, made him jump a bit. She didn’t care.
    “I’ll be as quiet as a mouse. I promise.” Amber was about to get out of the SUV when Mack stopped her.
    “How many bullets do you have left?” asked Mack. He made sure that he made eye contact.
    “Two.” Amber didn’t need to check. That number was burned into her mind.
    “You make damn sure that you save at least one of those.”
    “For myself?”
    Yes. You don’t want to be ripped apart by those monsters. I don’t want you to be ripped up by those monsters. “It’s better than the alternative.”
    “It won’t come to that. I promise.” Amber gave another reassuring smile and got out of the black SUV.
    Nervous didn’t even begin to describe how Amber was feeling. The moment the car door closed she realized that she might’ve made a mistake. And it was a mistake that could possibly cost not only her life, but her humanity.
    Mack parked not far away from the bridge. He stopped right before the line of cars that were once trying to cross it. As a consequence, Amber had to make her way through numerous possible hiding places for meat puppets.
    Amber crept towards the bridge entrance. Above her was a sign with its name in maroon letters. There was an empty toll booth beneath that. She looked inside. A long smear of blood went across one of the windows. It was empty.
    There was a gate that Amber had to duck under before getting on the bridge. She was mindful of not banging into it. Any noise at that point could prove to be fatal. Caution was warranted and practiced. Up above her, Amber could hear squawking. The buzzards were circling the area around the bridge. Vultures meant the dead, or soon to be, were nearby. That realization made her even more nervous.
    The smells on the Red River Bridge were putrid. A now familiar corpse aroma was mixed with ozone from still running cars. There was also the smell of burning rubber, cloth and flesh. It wasn’t until Amber got to the highest point did she know where that burning scent came from.
    At the other end of the bridge was a little slice of hell on earth. A dozen or so vehicles were on fire. Vultures feasted on what looked like barbecued people. Overturned by the exit/entrance was a military vehicle, a Humvee by the look of it.
    With a loud clang, like metal against metal, a vulture