by Dawn, M. K.
Gunner bared his teeth. “How many?”
“I haven’t checked. Didn’t want to get them riled up.”
“Allow me.” Gunner eased the door open and poked his head out before quickly closing it again. “Motherfucker.”
Britney whirled around. “Seriously?”
Gunner seemed taken aback. “Excuse my harsh language, but there are a shit ton of infected out there.”
“I don’t care about the language,” Britney snapped. “I just can’t believe after everything we’ve been through, everything we’ve survived, and yet a broken leg is how my son is goin’ to die. And not because we couldn’t find the stuff he needs to heal him. No, no, no. It’s because we can’t outsmart a bunch of blind, mindless monsters.”
Axel wasn’t sure he agreed with her on the mindless part but kept his opinions to himself. She felt trapped, helpless, just the same as he did, and she needed to get it off her chest. But going off wouldn’t get them out of there. They needed to stay strong if they wanted to survive.
“There has to be a way out.” Axel refused to give up. They’d made it this far. “Gunner, how many did you see? What was their location?”
“It’s not like I took the time to count them all. There’s a handful by the stairs. More scattered about.”
“Take a guess.”
Gunner threw his hands in the air. “Twenty. Thirty. Something like that.”
Britney’s brow furrowed. “No way we can kill them all. They’re too fast.”
“We need a distraction.” Gunner grabbed an IV stand. “This should work. There’s metal railing along the wall. I’ll get their attention and lead them away from the stairs.”
“No.” Axel tried to take the stand away. “That’s suicide.”
Gunner stepped away from Axel and moved closer to the door. “I’ve lived a long and happy life. The kid deserves the same.”
“But—” Britney went to argue, but Gunner stopped her.
“This is my choice. I’m leaving this room and going to Pied Piper these monsters out of here. You need to be ready to go when the hall clears.” Gunner cupped Britney’s wet cheeks. “It’s going to be okay. We’re all going to die. Might as well go out a hero.”
She choked out a laugh. “Isn’t that a line from a movie?”
Gunner kissed her forehead. “Close the door behind me.” Then he burst out of the room, a gun in one hand and the IV stand in another.
The infected growled and rushed for him as he slammed the stand against the metal railing while sprinting down the hall.
As Britney wept silently beside him, Axel waited in agony for the noises to fade. When he was certain he could no longer hear them, he cracked the door open. “Hall is clear. Let's go.”
He took her hand and they rushed toward the stairwell they’d come up. Axel shoved open the door and stumbled inside, hitting the railing so hard it knocked the air from his lungs. Leaning over to catch his breath, he gulped in air.
“Are you okay?” Britney rubbed his back.
Axel caught movement from the bottom of the stairs. He watched in horror as a horde of infected caught a whiff of their scent.
“Go!” Axel pushed Britney up the stairs.
The color drained from Britney face. “Fuck!”
Claws against metal pierced his ears, but he didn’t dare look back. Based on the sound, they were gaining at inhuman speeds.
“Door! Now!”
Britney flung it open and took a sharp right, allowing Axel to slam the door behind him. He pressed his back against the door and dug his heels into the rooftop gravel. “We need to lock this door somehow. Do you have anythin’ we can stick in the lock?”
“There're some tools in the backpack. A knife. What if we break the tip off inside the lock?”
Axel tossed the bag at her feet. “Find something.”
She unzipped a small outside pocket and pulled out a Swiss Army knife. “Can you scoot over just a little so I can get to the lock?”
“Give it to me.” Axel opened his palm.
“You can’t hold the door and mess with the lock.” Britney fell to her knees beside him and stuck the tip of the knife into the small keyhole. “It’s too big. It won’t turn.”
“Use the screwdriver.”
Britney stared up at him. “This isn’t goin’ to work unless we can lock it.”
The infected slammed into the door, and Axel’s body flung forward. He regained his footing and held his ground. “I don’t think I can hold them much longer.”
Britney spun around. “There has to be a way off this roof.”
“Not going to matter if we don’t hold them inside long enough so we can get down.”
“Maybe there’s something up here we can us.” Britney jumped to her feet. “I’ll be right back.”
“Hurry.” Axel could feel the weight of the door pressing against his back. If the infected figured out how to turn the handle, they’d be screwed.
“I found a fire escape!” Britney came running back with a chair in hand. “And this. We can prop it under the door handle.”
“I don’t know how long it’ll hold them.” Axel scooted over so she could wedge in the old metal-framed chair.
Britney’s eyes locked with his. “There’s only one way to find out.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Britney’s heart contracted as Axel stepped away from the door. “Should we wait to see if it holds?”
Axel grabbed her arm and wrenched her backward. “No.”
“No?” She allowed him to drag her away.
“It’s not going to hold.” Panic laced his voice. “Where’s the fire escape?”
Britney couldn’t stop herself from peeking over her shoulder. The door still held, but the way the hinges whined each time the infected rammed into it, it wouldn’t be long until they broke through.
“Brit!” Axel tore her attention away from the door. “Where’s the fire escape?”
“Follow me.” She darted to the right, past the red-and-white helipad and around the solar panels. “This is where I found the chair. I guess they used it while waiting for patients to arrive.”
A booming crash had them both looking over their shoulders, but they didn’t dare stop until they reached the access point of the fire escape.
“This is just a fucking ladder!” Axel’s pupils were huge. “Shit.”
“Please don’t tell me after everything we’ve been through, you’re afraid of heights?” Britney planted her foot on the first step and pressed against the aluminum. “It’s secure. We have to go.” She could hear the infected getting closer.
“I’m right behind you.”
They started down the stairs at a rapid pace. Above them the infected growled and snapped their teeth, desperately searching for their prey. Thankfully, without the use of their eyes, they had no way of knowing where the pair had gone. As long as Britney and Axel kept quiet, they might make it to the ground undetected.
The infected’s constant threat had Britney flying down the stairs. Midway down, she lost her footing. She cried out, wrapping her arms around the ladder. Overwhelming fear washed over her as the reality of how close she’d just come to falling sucker punched her in the stomach.
“Are you okay?” Axel called from the step above her.
She laid her forehead against a rung, out of breath. “I slipped. Oh God. I almost fell.”
“Britney,” Axel called out to her, but she couldn’t move. “Look at me. You’re all right now. We’re almost down. We got to keep mov—what the hell? Is that Gunner?”
She frantically searched the parking lot until she spotted him sprinting away from the building, close to the same spot they’d entered. “Do we call out to him?”
“I don’t know. If the infected hear us….”
“Wait. I think he sees us.” Britney flapped her arms the best she could through the spaces between the steps.
“Shit!” Axel gasped. “One’s behind him.”
“What do we do?” Britney whimpered, pointing and waving, trying to get Gunner to look behind him.
But it was too late. The infected jumped on Gunner’s back, knocking him to the ground.
Axel aimed his gun. “I can’t get a clean shot.”
Britney sobbed as she watched him fight the monster off, but it overtook him in a matter of seconds, biting and clawing at his exposed skin.
“It’s going to turn him.” Axel choked on the words.
Gunner’s head fell to side. He stared up at them, not pleading for help like she would have expected but with sheer determination. As the infected’s teeth ripped into Gunner’s skin, he reached for his gun. A shot rang out, and the infected dropped dead.
“We have to go to him.” Britney started back down the stairs. It wasn’t right, letting him die alone out there.
“Stop,” Axel ordered. “There are more.”
Dozens more came out of nowhere, drawn in by the sound of the gun. “Poor Gunner. Do you think he knows what’s about to happen?”
Another shot rang out. Closer this time.
Britney let out an involuntary scream as she watched blood spill from Gunner’s fresh chest wound.
“I couldn’t let him suffer like that,” Axel muttered. To himself or her, she couldn’t be sure.
The pain in his eyes gutted her, but there would be time to mourn when they got home. “What now?” With the infected on the roof and now on the ground, they were stuck.
He slung his rifle back over his shoulder. “Maybe we can break a window, find somewhere inside to hide until they leave?”
“Axel.” As she listened to his plan, she’d kept her eyes on the infected on the ground. “They’re moving this way.”
“Son of a bitch.” Axel hit the ladder. “We’re out of time. We need to get inside. Now!”
Britney kicked the window nearest to her to no avail. She lifted her leg to kick again when something slammed against the window. “Shit! Infected inside too. We’re trapped.”
“Listen, Britney. I want you to take the backpack.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
He cocked his chin to the infected on the ground. “We need a distraction. You need a distraction.”
Britney didn’t like where this was going. “Whatever you’re thinking, the answer is no. We get out together or not at all.”
Axel shifted around to the back of the ladder and climbed down so they were face-to-face. “Get back to Blake. He needs you. They all need you.”
“They need you too,” Britney pleaded. “Don’t do this.”
“Take it.” Axel shoved the backpack into her hands. “I’m going to lead them away, and then you make a run for the truck.”
Britney heaved the backpack onto her shoulders. “You better run like hell, because I’m coming to get you.”
Axel kissed her, a kiss that ended too soon. “I love you.”
“I love you.” This wasn’t the end. It couldn’t be. “Don’t give up.”
“Don’t look back.” Axel made his way down the stairs, slowly this time.
The infected moved closer. If he made too much noise, they’d be there in a matter of seconds and he wouldn’t be able to make it the ground.
For a split second, she considered screaming at the top of her lungs, calling attention to their location so Axel couldn’t continue his suicidal plan. But as selfish as she wanted to be, Axel was right. Blake, Molly and Carson needed her to come home. They’d already lost too much. She feared losing her too, losing Blake, would be a blow the other two would never come back from.
Focused on the infected moving in, Britney had forgotten about the ones on the other side of the window. Forgotten how strong they could be when their prey was nearby.
Glass shattered behind her, and she screamed, losing her grip on the ladder. She slid down the slick metal, scrambling to regain her hold.
“Got you.” Axel caught hold of her before she hit the ground, and she slammed her forehead into the bottom step.
The world faded in and out as a hot, sticky substance seeped down her face.
“Shit. You’re bleeding.” Axel set her feet on the ground and wiped the blood from her eye.
Britney’s head throbbed. “How bad is it?”
“Nothing a few butterfly bandages can’t fix.”
“Good.” Britney forced her eyes open and her stomach turned. “Now what?”
Her screaming had sent the infected into a frenzy. From all directions—ground, roof and window—they were trying to grasp the ladder.
“Do you think they can climb?” Britney did her best to whisper, but the infected made so much noise she could barely hear her own thoughts.
Axe pulled out his gun and fired, killing one that’d gotten hold of the ladder. “I wouldn’t put it past them.”
“I’m sorry.” Britney was doing her best to hold it together but failing fast.
“We’ll find a way out of this.” Axel pointed his gun at the first-floor window. “Do you see any movement inside?”
Britney squinted. “We’re too far away, and the tint is too dark. I can’t be sure.”
“The infected on the first floor followed us up the stairwell to the roof.” Axel’s eyes met hers. “What do you think?”
“I—” A distant sound caught her attention. “Do you hear that?”
“What?”
“That sound.” Britney nodded toward the ground. “Look. The infected hear it too. It sounds like a horn.”
“A horn? Like a car horn?”
“There it is again. Where is it comin’ from?” Britney couldn’t see anything, but the sound grew closer. “I see something! Comin’ around the building!”
“Holy shit, is that an RV?”
Britney’s muscles trembled at the sight of the classic Winnebago truck/camper combo barreling into the infected and stopping next to them.
A man dressed in camo and wielding a shotgun opened the door to the camper. “Come on! Come on! Move it!”
“Thank you.” Britney fought the urge to hug their savior as she and Axel climbed in the back. They still needed to get out of there.
“Have a seat at the table,” he directed them as the driver took off. “I’m Dale. Is there anyone else?”
“This is Britney, and I’m Axel.” He slid into the bench seat next to Britney. “And it's just us. Our friend was killed.”
Dale sat across from them, his gun still propped at his side. “Do you mind me asking what you two were doing there? It’s a known hotspot for the undead.”
“We didn’t know that.” Britney looked to Axel, who nodded. “But we needed medication for my son. He broke his leg, and it’s infected. If we don’t get to him soon, he’ll die.”
“Where you headed?”
Britney swallowed. “Myrefall.”
“Give me a second.” He left the table with a walkie-talkie in hand and went to speak with the driver, coming back a minute later. “Just sit tight, folks. As soon as we get a safe distance from the hospital, we’ll pull over.”
“Pull over?” Britney didn’t understand. “Why?”
A big smile spread across Dale’s face. “You’ll see.”
***
The thirty-minute drive was agonizing. The worst scenarios played out in Britney’s head. Shallow graves. Execution-style murders. Being fed to the infected.
Axel tried to reassure her that everything would work out. If these people wanted to kill them, why risk their lives to save them in the first place?
She knew he had a point, but her brain didn’t do rational well. It jumped to the most horrible of conclusions first, then laughed when nothing bad happened.
Dale pulled back the curtain that separated the cab from the camper. “We’re pulling over now. Wait here.”
“Should we be worried?” Britney had to ask.
Dale chuckled. “You have a hard time trusting people, don’t you?”
“You have no idea.” Axel nudged her. “It’ll be fine. W
e still have our guns.”
“True.” And she wouldn’t hesitate to use them if it meant getting back to her son.
The back door opened, and Britney sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of the beautiful African American woman climbing inside. “Makayla?”
“Who?” Axel asked.
“Thomas and Patty’s daughter.” Tears blurred Britney’s vision as the women embraced. “My oldest friend in the world.”
“I can’t believe it’s you.” Makayla wiped away her tears. “When Dale said Britney from Myrefall, I wanted to believe it was you, but I just couldn’t. Not until I saw you. And here you are. With Axel, is it?”
“Sorry.” Britney grasped Axel’s hand. “Yes, this is Axel, my….” Funny how they never thought to define their relationship, even though they’d been sharin’ the same bed, same room, for months. Husband didn’t fit. Neither did fiancé. But for some reason boyfriend didn’t feel like a strong enough description.
“We’re together.” Axel shook her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too.” Makayla’s eyes darted to Britney. “Your head looks awful. I need to close that gash.”
“Dale gave us the first aid kit so I could clean it, but there was nothing in there to hold it together.”
Makayla dug around and pulled out a second kit. “I keep all the good stuff in this one. Have a seat.”
“Thank you.”
“I can’t believe you’re here.” Her gaze danced to Axel and back. “What about John? The kids?”
Britney dropped her head. “John didn’t make it. The kids are waiting for us back at the farm. Blake’s hurt. Fell and broke his leg a few days back, and it’s going septic. We have to get back to him as soon as possible.” She lifted her head and looked into her friend’s eyes. “Will you come with us? Please, Makayla. You’re a nurse. You could help him. Stay with us.”
“I’ll go back with you and help Blake,” Makayla said as she cleaned and bandaged Britney’s forehead. “But stay? These people are my family now, and they need me. I can’t just abandon them. Plus, Tyler has made several friends within our group. I can’t take that away from him.”
Britney was thrilled to hear Makayla’s son had made it. She already knew the fate of her husband, James. He was the doctor Axel had shot when he tried to steal her truck with her kids still inside. But they would get to that later.
