Doomsday Pillars

Chapter 61 - Sea Of Flames

Hundred upon hundred thousands of zombies are no joke! There are at least half a million of them gathered around the airport. Even after the APV machine guns, the grenade launchers and hours of fighting, Alex's groups were only able to kill one-tenth of them. The zombies kept flowing to the area non-stop. Considering the population of the South section, there should be at least two million zombies, about one-third of them are here. This presents an ideal opportunity to eliminate them at once, Alex wishes to clear up the Bali island as soon of possible. That way they can move on and help other islands that are in need. But this is not the time to be greedy, he's more concerned about the safety of his men.

"EVERYONE PREPARE TO LEAVE"

Thirty injured men being carried by the other thirty. There were still ninety other men fighting, but Alex doesn't want to take any chances. He gave all the spare assault weapons and handguns from his storage ring to the soldiers, enough to arm two dozen of them. There wasn't much ammo left, but it should make charging out easier. At a moment like this, Alex really wished he has a higher grade storage ring. The one he has on is only a low grade piece and half of its space is taken up to store the golem..

"WE ARE GETTING OUT OF HERE! FOLLOW THE GOLEM TO THE DOCK!"

BAAAAMMMMM!!!

The golem blasted a hole on the wall, making a decent opening towards the East shore. Alex fling over some more grenades outside.

KABOOOMM!!... KABOOOMM!!... KABOOOMM!!...

A good few hundreds of zombies blown to bits and thrown back by the explosions, effectively paved a getaway for them. The golem immediately advanced ahead of them and steadily crushes all the zombies in its path. All the other men quickly followed.

DRATATATATAT... DRATATATAT...

.

They soon burned through what was left of their ammunitions, but fortunately it was enough to create a larger opening for the group. They then swiftly moved out of the warehouse. Alex stepped in as the rear guard, he wanted to make sure that nobody gets left behind. After retreating about a hundred meters, Alex press on the switch for all the C4 around the airport.

.

.

KABOOOMM!!... KABOOOMM!!... KABOOOMM!!...

KABOOOMM!!... KABOOOMM!!... KABOOOMM!!...

Fire and smoke rises up all over the airport vicinity.  There were 2 dozen of those C4 planted. It could only kill a few hundred of the zombies, but these explosions should slow them down a fair bit and also the loud noise would drag in more of those zombies.

Within those few minutes, even before the dust settles, the groups were ready with a defensive stance on the dock. The dock is only 10 meters wide and extends 400 meters to the sea. It is considerably easier to defend this area, as all the normal zombies were unable to swim, that left them with only one narrow opening to defend. Captain Adnan then set off a smoke grenade, yellow smoke immediately covered all of the dock and into the air.

Alex picked up the com of the two-way radio.

Lt Com Karra : "Sorry we are late, there was a little complication"

Alex : "You can explain later Commander, we are standing by the dock with the yellow smoke"

Lt Com Karra : "Position confirmed ETA 10 minutes"

Alex : "You know what to do Commander, execute according to the plan"

Lt Com Karra : "Roger that!"

"Target confirmed"

"In 3.. 2.. 1.. Fire!!"

The Fatahilla destroyer fired its main cannon.

<Bofors 120mm>

Barrel length:  8.05 metres

Shell: 23,5 kg

Caliber: 120 millimetres

Elevation max: +80°

Rate of fire: 40 rpm (per barrel)

KABOOOMM!!... KABOOOMM!!... KABOOOMM!!...

KABOOOMM!!... KABOOOMM!!... KABOOOMM!!...

40 rounds of explosive bullets.

Where the airport terminals used to be, just in a blink of an eye, now was nothing but fiery rubbles. There were at least tens of thousands of zombies killed this way and even more from the falling wreckages and fire. All the spectators witnessed this with astonishment and unspoken relief.

The 10 minutes mark finally arrived, the destroyer managed to dock and the group board the ship safely. It has a capacity of 150 men. Between the soldiers, survivors and the Navy, they all numbered 180 men, so it is currently carrying its exceeded capacity limit. But it should be fine for a short voyage.

Alex went into the bridge and meet the commander. To his surprise, Lt Com Karra has a bandage on her shoulder and there, too, was a body on the floor covered by a white sheet.

Noticing his line of sight, Lt Com Karra went on to explain, "This is the body of my young Lieutenant... it's my fault Tory died.

There was an argument which quickly turned chaotic. Sergeant Joni panicked, drew his gun and accidentally shot the young Lieutenant Tory. It was a critical shot to her heart and she died instantly. The second shot was a miss but the third shot hit Commander Karra's shoulder. Watching it escalate, all the other Navy took took charge, they grabbed and contained the Sergeant. All of them regretted having supported the crazy sergeant, but by then the Commander was unconscious and the Navy was unsure if they should keep going or abandon the mission. Fortunately, the Commander shortly came to and they made the right decision..

Hope we don't cause to much damage?!"

"We settle what to do with them later on!" Alex responded calmly. "Now it is time to execute the second attack!"

<Bofors 375 mm twin anti-submarine rocket launcher>

Caliber:  375mm

Barrels:  2

Maximum firing range:  3,625 meters

Detonation mechanism:  Acoustic Proximity Fuse

This weapon was originally created for submarines but the technology can also be used for shooting a target on land with a maximum range of three kilometers. Because the EMP is down, the automated targeting is unfunctional. It will be unreliable to shoot underwater, to a specified target nonetheless. But in case of shooting on land with such a wide target should be a piece of cake.

SHUUUTTT!!!... SHUUUTTT!!!...

KABOOOMM!!... KABOOOMM!!...

"Reload.. and Fire!!"

SHUUUTTT!!!... SHUUUTTT!!!...

KABOOOMM!!... KABOOOMM!!...

Tens of thousands of zombies eliminated by this blast and thousands more from the fire that follows. The Bali Airport have now turned into an impressive sea of flames.

All the leaders currently gathered in the command room of the Fatahillah destroyer. Alex, Lieutenant Aria, Commander Karra, Captain Adnan, and Rama. All except Major Sandi who currently is under medical treatment.

"What should we do next?" They looked at each other then naturally the sights landed on Alex.

"There's nothing much we can do for the Denpasar city, but the Nusa Dua island to the South could use some help. Commander Karra, you can send all the injured and the civilians back to the Bay city and to the main base for treatments. Captain Adnan will bring the rest of the soldiers to board South of here and help the Nusa Dua people. We shall organize transport for the Nusa Dua people using the steel transporter ship, back and forth to the Bay city"

"What about me?" Aria asked.

"I have a specific  plan for you and Rama. What do you think master Rama, do you want to accompany me back to Denpasar city?"

"Yes.. of course!" Rama said with light in his eye, always welcoming new challenges.

Before leaving, Alex used the two-way radio to talk to his wife and check on his daughter, Tiffany, who apparently was still unconscious. After hearing that Tiffany's condition was stable, he was slightly assured. With that tinge of hope Alex moved on to the next task.

Together with Aria, they geared up with more weapons and ammo. Rama, in the other hand, decided to use a spear and a shield. Alex then took out a little leather pouch, in it lays 6 spirit stones. These are the stones Alex gathered during the previous fights. Alex thought about major Sandi who was already in his 50s and Commander Karra who clearly needed some physical booster. He handed the stones to Karra, Adnan, and Sandi, 2 pieces each. Alex purposely elevate their strength as team leaders, as the survival of the whole members depended on them. The two stones would potently do just that!

"..."

"....What about me?" Aria looked pissed! She has seen Alex give away stones to many people.. except her!

.

.

"Yes.. of course... I'll give you some too.. soon!"

Aria stared at him in the eye and raises 5 fingers...

"..."

"Yes.. sure... as many as you want.."

Alex then headed down to the ramp and jumped out of the ship. Aria, Rama and the golem followed right behind him as he swiftly move between the flames. With a smaller group, it's easier for Alex to move around dodging and killing zombies. Alex aims to kill more mutated zombies, gather more spirit stones as well as training their teamwork.