The Zombie Train The Transport Corp

Chapter 41: Into The Meat Grinder

Engineer's log No 30 10/16/23

Today the war starts for me. Me and Will have been sent to the eastern front, with our newest weapon: an armored train. Along with the Panzerzug Grenadiers led by my brother, we'll be heading to reinforce their position. Hopefully we'll lead the charge. That's all I can say, take care.

Marvin Jerez
Secretary of Transportation

In the cold air, only our repeated chuffing could be heard. All the song birds were huddled in their nests as we rumbled by.
I sat in the warm cab with my hand on the throttle, luckily we didn't have to sacrifice the steam heat. I kept my eyes glued ahead, watching the scenery pass through my tiny window.
"So... You've killed before?"
I paused a second, "Yeah."
"How was it like?"
I hesitated, "I've never killed without purpose. As long as my family or friends were safe, I done my job."
"But... how was it like?"
I looked at Powell, his eyes meeting mine. I could tell he was nervous. I looked back, "When you see the round impact him, it feels like you're gonna throw up. Once he hits the floor, you move on. Nothing more you can do. Nothing more then duty."
"Oh..."
I saw the city slowly come into view. I closed the throttle, putting my hand on the train brake. I let them come on, before releasing them again, before I applied them once more. We slowly came to a stop, I looked out, seeing Daddy on the gravel. I slid open the window.
"The reservists have arrived!"
He laughed, "Climb down! I have some work for you!"
"Alright!" I closed the window, turning to Will. "Kept it above 100 for me?"
I opened the doors to the cold October breeze, I slid on my red, leathery, Palma jacket, stepping down. I met him in one of the military tents set up, he had a map of the general area between King City and Paso Robles. I saw he had blue army men for us, red men for known enemy positions.
"They've been stakeing us out, we've had waves of them coming every thirty minutes. Whittling us down. We haven't gotten the manpower or the advantage to attack, until now." He put a toy train next to the three army men over King City. I smiled. He pointed to a red guy near the tracks. "This one camp has been giving us a lot of trouble, try and neutralize it, then maybe we can push up to the others."
"So... just shell the area?"
He nodded. A wicked smile grew across my face.

"Fire!"
The shockwave hit me square in the chest, almost knocking me down.
"Reload!"
The empty, smoking brass was set up against the wall of the car. Two men came with another shell, setting onto the hoist. They leveled it with the breach, before slamming it home.
"Up!"
The gun was aimed again.
"Fire!"
The ground moved underneath me as the carriage rolled back. The explosion from the previous shell echoed through the valley.
"Scouts said we're right on the money!"
Another explosion shook the car as another round was on its way, I jumped down. Two more rounds to go. As I started walking, another round sounded. Uprooting it's own little bit of hell. I couldn't help but smile as the polished steel shimmered in the sunlight, contrary to the weapon barrel that stuck out above the car.The "flaps" open to allow the weapon unimpeded arcs of fire. Once the fire mission was over, the angle would be lowered and the roof closed again. Until next time.
The scouts were reporting mass panic among the campsites, our train was more than just an artillery piece, it was a weapon of terror. My smile quickly faded. If it caused the enemy this much trouble, you bet your a*s they'll do everything they can to destroy it. But it was my train, my engine, my crew. I would do everything I can to keep everyone and everything in my possession safe.
It was gonna be a clash of titans, I hope I have the upper advantage.