Chapter Fifteen: Gravity Dog has Skills

You just have to wake up and smell the breakfast sausage. Spicy, savory, a little bit of sage, and enough cholesterol and saturated fat to stun a bear. If you want a reality check, go poke a sleeping grizzly. If you are looking for subtle insight, ask Gravity Dog…

Jonny Cosmic crawled on his belly like a worm, so painted with mud he had achieved the ultimate camouflage. He was smart enough to know that the cold, wet coating would mask his infrared signature. To the zombies, he was effectively invisible. The only reason I was able to find him at all was that I knew the route he had taken. I guess you could say it was etched in my brain.

He had crawled underneath row after row of electrified razor wire, his slim human form giving him a distinct advantage. Crouching low now, he approached the air vent opening that sprang from the mud like a square white mushroom. Jonny’s next task was to blast the protective grating open with a smaller charge, before releasing a hand-launched SKANK-79 missile directly down the shaft to the fusion reactor core many feet below. He had but one missile—I had three remaining in my backpack launcher. The smaller first explosion would alert the zombies. Would he be able to fire the missile in time?

Without hesitation, he blew the cover off the airshaft. Instantly, flares were launched, a siren wailed, and previously hidden searchlights began to sweep the pre-dawn darkness. We were a fortunate distance away from the zombie barracks, but the undead Super-Mart forces mobilized quickly since they never slept. Plasma bullets began to snap and crackle around Jonny as he primed his missile for launch. I couldn't believe how quickly his fingers flew across the keypad, setting the launch code. A rapid-fire spread of projectiles shattered the concrete enclosure next to his head, and he fell to the ground, the missile at his side. The zombies were almost there.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned how fast I can run. Cat, rabbit, zombie—none of them are a match for Gravity Dog. I can keep it up for a long time, too. The funny part is that I was never artificially enhanced in that area. Good bloodline, I guess. I shot like a bolt from my place of concealment, running down the hill to the razor wire Jonny had just crossed. No way could I get under the wire quick enough to help him, not with a fully alerted garrison of zombies on the move. I had to try something else.

Still running, I launched one of my missiles. It is always amazing to watch them streak away, fast as thought. I never get tired of that. My first missile arced high overhead and vaporized about half the massed zombies in one shot. Yes, I have skills. Running parallel to the fenceline now, I turned while scarcely slowing down, leaped into the air, and fired a second missile at the razor wire itself. It tumbled along the ground, shredding the wire as it passed, before exploding in the midst of the deadly tangled briar patch of steel. Shards of torn metal flew past my head, but I was still running. I had cut the path for Jonny’s escape.

I skidded to a stop and turned, doubling back. I had the complete and total attention of the zombies now. I raced back and forth along the tattered fence, barking like one of my primitive forebears and hunching my butt low to the ground in an expression of defiance. No training could prepare you for this; no briefing could instruct; no download could compel. I was a dog of war, feeling the wind in my ears, and the stinging heat of zombie plasma bullets nipping at my beautiful tail. I would destroy all my enemies, and bury their miserable bones at my leisure.

Faster and faster I ran, taunting my foes, teasing my future victims. I was invincible. Without warning, I veered hard and charged directly into the path I had cleared with my missile. I had but one missile left, and I intended to launch it down the shaft. Colonel Orion would have to wait until another mission to push the button of my personal destruction. A few more feet to go and I would be out of the wire and right alongside Jonny and the shattered airvent. I jumped up and flew through the air, more eagle than dog, to clear the last of the ruined fence. That’s when the plasma bullet hit me in the side.