“I’m not sure you can tell anything from her this far away,” I said.
“You’re not good at reading women, are you?” she asked.
I concentrated my attention on Kara, trying to discern any cues from her. To tell you the truth, there was no way to really understand her intent because she was still over a block away, but something in her body language was off. I didn’t like it at all, but no one said I had to. (The world can be cruel that way.)
“Well, they’re coming, and we should probably do something about it,” I said.
“Why?” Richard asked. “We’ve loaded all the stuff from the loading dock up here. If they find a way in, they won’t make it up the stairs. The door is locked.”
A voice inside my head said, Regular, dumb old zombies could never break a lock, but certainly a smart one could.
I kept that thought to myself for obvious reasons. “I still need to go down to see if there’s a chance I can get her to come in. Maybe I can get her to Doctor Richter’s team, and he could do something.”
Doctor M cleared his voice and said, “Richter said he’s only just begun making progress. I’m not sure you should take such a risk.”
“Besides, and we’ve talked about this,” Alex said, “there’s the little problem of getting through a few hundred thousand zombies. And then doing it again.”
“I can’t just stand around and do nothing,” I said, feeling an anxious energy swelling inside me.
A small voice spoke behind us, “Maybe I can talk to her.”
When I turned around, I saw Naveen standing next to the table.
I looked to her and said, “It’s too dangerous, honey. Kara’s not in a good place right now.”
“And that’s the reason you don’t need to go down there,” Alex said. “At least not to the ground floor. There are a thousand windows down there. Anyone of them could be smashed in by someone with half a brain.”
I didn’t like what she was saying, but that didn’t make it not true. My heart ached because I just wanted to be able to reach out to Kara. To talk with her. To reason with her. To hold her. Anything that might turn this whole mess around. That was the first step. Get her back on our side again. Then I could come up with one of my patented plans to get us to Cincinnati.
My grandmother used to always say that ‘where there is a will, there is a way.’
Of course, Grandma Hendricks never had to face down a few hundred thousand zombies and travel a hundred miles across the deadlands and then face down another few hundred thousand more deaders.
“They’re getting closer,” Doctor M said, and his voice sounded pinched.
They had entered the plaza on the west side of our building with Kara in the lead. She moved with a measured purpose, her fists clenched tightly. All her undead friends marched (badly) behind her.
She made it to the center of the plaza and pulled to a stop. Her undead parade came to a halt behind her, and it was an eerie picture. Kara stood still, her gray face contorted in what looked like rage and a breeze blew her silver-gray hair from side to side. She slowly raised her head and looked up at us. At me.
Even at this distance, her eyes were filled with a malice I had rarely seen before and never from her. Rage radiated off her in an almost palpable way. It was such a force, I barely recognized her anymore, and my heart broke a little more.
Alex must have caught the same thing. “Let’s see what she does.” She clearly knew that Kara was in charge of this little party. “I think it’s a bad idea to head down to the first floor to meet her.”
“I concur,” Doctor M said, his voice shaky.
I did, too, but I couldn’t give up on Kara. Not yet.
Kara lowered her head and started toward the building again. It wasn’t a charge, but more like a purposeful stride. She headed straight toward the windows with her zombie followers in tow.
Ordinary zombies would flail at the windows or pound or slap at them, but they rarely made any meaningful progress against triple pane, tempered glass windows. And they didn’t have the sense to pick up a brick, rock or some tool to wail on the window until it broke.
But there was an extraordinary creature down there now. One that could think and reason. I couldn’t bring myself to call Kara a zombie. She was still inside that hard and mostly dead exterior. I just had to find a way inside it.
What that secret key was eluded me at that moment. Any solution seemed a million miles away.
We were all pressed against the glass, doing our best to get a view down at the front of the building where Kara and her undead friends were headed. They marched forward like a flood of death.
“Look!” Richard said. He didn’t need to say anymore. We were all transfixed.
Kara had slowed and looked onto the ground for something. It quickly became obvious that she was searching for something. It wasn’t apparent what that object would be, but it was clear to me that she would find something. There were any number of objects down there just lying about.
And she did. As she moved forward, she scooped up a long piece of twisted metal. It was a part of the burned-out hull of Kilgore’s helicopter. The chopper was on its side, blackened, looking like a dead prehistoric beast scorched by the flames of a volcano. Maybe even a dragon if you let your imagination run wild.
As she walked, she hefted the piece of metal, testing it for feel and weight. It must have met her approval because she didn’t toss it aside. She just kept on striding toward the building, her zombie friends in tow.
Due to our limited sightline, she walked out of view, but there was little doubt what she was about to do. This became evident a few seconds later, when the sound of breaking glass reverberated across the plaza.
“Oh shit,” Richard said.
Chapter 32
Encounter on the Way Down
“I don’t know what we’re going to do when we get there,” Alex said as we ran toward the central stairwell. We had hastily grabbed weapons and ammo before trekking down.
Our party consisted of Alex, Richard, Brother Ed, and me. That left a very nervous Doctor M behind with only Lori to defend him. I actually think Naveen might have been the best defender among the three of them. While Kara and I had done what we could to keep Naveen out of harm’s way, she had seen action before.
“We might be able to separate Kara from them,” I said.
Alex had the lead, but when she opened the door to the stairwell, she stopped in the doorway and turned toward me. “Joel, you need to hear me. Kara is the one letting all those dead things inside. She is leading them. I think you need to get the idea that you can do anything for her out of your head.”
I put up a single hand in a stop sign gesture and said, “I hear you, but I can’t give up on her. Not yet, but I won’t do anything to jeopardize any of us.” Alex continued to stand in the doorway, blocking my forward progress. “I promise.”
“Okay, but I’m watching you,” she said as she stepped aside.
She moved out of the way, and we rushed down the next two flights of stairs, ending up on the third floor. We had no idea which stairwell Kara would lead her zombie herd up, but no matter what, we had a long narrow corridor that we had to traverse. This led to another one that spanned north and south that would take us to either stairwell.
We started down the corridor toward the front of the building. The dim light of dusk leaked in from the front windows, giving the hallway a diffuse glow. We made it about halfway down the corridor when a silhouette appeared at the intersection ahead.
It was clearly a man. He had his legs spread solidly apart, sending off the unambiguous signal to us that this was a challenge. The message was, none shall pass.
Alex skidded to a stop, and we all jammed up behind her.
“Who is that?” Richard asked.
“It looks like Casper is back,” Alex said, raising her rifle.
I was beside her and reached out and pushed the barrel of her rifle down. “You heard what Richard and Bro
ther Ed said. I’m not sure that’ll work with whoever this is.”
“What are we supposed to do?” Alex asked, sounding exasperated. “Sweet talk him out of the way?”
“He is standing in our way. I know the clock is ticking, but let’s take a couple of moments to see what he wants,” I said as I stepped out in front of our group and moved down the hall toward the silhouette.
It held its ground as I made my way toward it. The closer I got, the more detail I could make out from the figure. It definitely was a man. He had dark-colored hair, and I thought I could make out that he was wearing a military uniform of some sort.
I made it to within ten feet of the man when I finally pulled up. I’d like to say that I wasn’t afraid of him, but I was. I had faced down a lot of the living dead, but this was my first ghost. I had no idea what to expect.
I did what I did best and started talking. “Who are you?”
The man didn’t say anything, but pulled his legs together and, for some reason, that took away some of the overt hostility he had been putting off. “My name is Private First Class, Juan Soto.” He snapped it off as if he were reporting for duty.”
That was easier than I thought. “What are you doing here?”
This was when any of his confident demeanor disappeared. He began to sway back and forth and brought a hand to his face. “I don’t know.”
If you ask me, he seemed a little lost.
“How did you get here?”
My eyes had finally adjusted to the dim light, and I could make out his face, and his expression looked puzzled.
“I was with some soldiers. Something happened, and I blacked out, and I ended up here. I don’t know how. Maybe I had a concussion. I know something terrible happened to me. I just know it.”
“What do you want?”
Soto looked at me, and his expression was a juxtaposition of sadness and perplexity.
He said, “I don’t know. I just know I don’t belong here.”
“Then why don’t you leave?”
He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out for a few seconds. Then he broke through whatever was holding him back. “I don’t think I can, and I think it’s because of you.”
I heard soft footfalls coming up behind me, but I didn’t look back. It was bad enough to have to deal with zombies, now I had to practice psychotherapy on a ghost.
Brother Ed spoke from behind me. “When I saw you downstairs, you said it should have been me. Why did you say that?”
Soto switched his attention from me to Brother Ed. “I sensed your spirit about to leave your body, but something happened. You remained. I think I might have been able to leave if you had died.”
“Hold up there,” Richard said from somewhere over my shoulder. “So, you’re saying that if Brother Ed had died, you’d be released or something?”
“I don’t know that for sure, but I know I’m trapped here, and it has something to do with you.”
“We don’t have time for this little séance bullshit or whatever it is,” Alex said.
“Wait. I have one more question,” I said I took a step toward Soto. “Why did you do it?”
He stared at me implacably for a few seconds.
“You know what I’m talking about,” I said. “Why did you open the door and let the zombies in?”
His body language shifted again as I watched him clench his fists, and his eyes narrowed.
“I know you blame us,” I said, and I felt as if I were mirroring his anger. He was the reason Kara got bitten, but I knew I had to tamp down my feelings. There was no going back and changing what had been done. “I saw you in a truck with a man named Kilgore. Did you serve under the Colonel?” I didn’t say I saw him in a vision. No use muddying the waters with that.
“Yes,” Soto said.
“There you have it,” I said. “He’s the one that fucked you over, not us.”
“You know, you’re trying to reason with a ghost,” Alex said.
“I saw an episode of Paranormal Ghosts where they exorcised a ghost once,” Richard said.
I snapped my fist up in the air to tell them to be quiet for one more moment.
“Your fight is not with us,” I said. “It’s with him.”
Of course, the big problem with that argument is that Kilgore was dead. I had killed him, but I didn’t know if that would work in our favor or not, so I kept that to myself.
Soto lowered his head for a moment, then it was as if the strength went out of him. He slowly collapsed to a crouching position with his head in his hands.
“I don’t know what to think,” Soto said in a pitiful voice. “I just know I don’t belong here.”
There’s no other way to describe it, but he just disappeared. It was as if some special effects artist just faded him away. Somehow, I felt as if we hadn’t seen the last of him.
“Way to go, Joel,” Alex said. “I think you talked him to death.”
I shot a quick look over my shoulder at her, then said, “Somehow, I don't think we've seen the last of him. Anyway, we need to split up. Alex and I will take the south. Brother Ed and Richard head north.”
Alex and I cut left and headed through a long hallway that led toward the south stairwell. While we ran, I heard the sound of footsteps on a staircase. I just wasn’t sure what one it was until Alex and I got closer to the south stairwell and it looks like we had picked the winner.
We slowed and came to a stop outside the door. Both of us leaned toward the door and listened. Footsteps were coming up. Lots of them.
Chapter 33
This is How It Ends
They were coming up, and I hoped to God that Kara wasn’t with them, but in my heart, I knew she was, and she was probably leading the band.
“Is the door locked for sure?” Alex asked, her voice breathy and tight.
I reached over and grabbed the door handle and tried to open it. It was locked and did not budge.
“Will that hold them?” she asked.
“Them, yes. Her, I’m not so sure.”
“Should we call Brother Ed and Richard down here?” she asked.
“No, the door will hold or it won’t,” I said. “Have them come back to the middle corridor and tell them to wait for a signal from us to head up or not. If all those zombies get through the door, it will take more than the four of us to handle them. We’ll have to retreat.”
“But won’t they follow us up?” she asked. “Kara knows the way.”
Something unspoken passed between us, and I knew the question that was behind her eyes. Could I shoot Kara?
I knew Alex had come to like Kara, but I also knew she had it in her to take Kara out. She had put down Rebecca when she had turned, and Rebecca had been her partner. Kara threatened all of us. Alex would do what she had to. I knew it, and she knew it.
“One step at a time. Okay?”
The sound of footsteps was getting closer by the second. I could now hear the moans and grunts of the zombies headed our way.
“You know, it really sucks that she let them all back in,” Alex said as she tried to get an angle to see through the head-height portal window in the door.
“Let’s live through this,” I said. “Then we’ll take care about that.”
I had a lot more to worry about than just that. I know survival should have been at the top of my priority list, but the woman I loved was out there. I wanted to and had to do whatever I could to save her.
Some would say that you can’t save others until you save yourself, but I guess I wanted it all. I wanted to survive this mess and for Kara to be whole again and in my arms. Was that too much to ask?
I guess it was because Kara appeared in my view, trudging up the stairs with a whole lot of zombies behind her. As I looked on, I saw that her face was contorted in an angry mask.
“Joel,” Alex said, but there was no authority in her voice. It was as if someone had drained out all of her normal bravado.
“I know,” I said, my mouth fel
t dried out.
Kara’s gray eyes pierced me as she slowly came up the stairs toward the landing. I followed her all the way up, never dropping my stare.
She made it to the landing and stood there, holding me in her gaze. The zombies followed and stacked up behind her. They didn’t look aggressive like they usually did, but I wasn’t sure they knew that tasty humans were behind the door.
Alex was nearly leaning over my back to get a look through the window, but I shrugged my shoulders, and she fell back.
“Please, let me handle this,” I said.
“I don’t know how you can.”
“I don’t think she will,” I said. “I’ll talk to her.”
“Joel, look at her face. Her eyes. I’m not sure Kara is even still in there.”
“She is. She has to be.”
“Joel, we can’t let her through that door. We just can’t. She’ll bring them all up to the lab and…” She trailed off. “I can’t let her do that.”
Alex raised her rifle and aimed it at the portal window. I had little doubt that she had Kara’s head targeted.
I shot up a hand and knocked the barrel to the side. “Please. I’m begging you. Just give me a chance.”
“If she gets through that door, we’re all done. I can’t let that happen.”
“I won’t let it happen either,” I said as I raised my pistol and wiggled it back and forth.
“Okay, but make sure you don’t.”
I heard her take a step back. By then, Kara was approaching the door. She moved in a slow and purposeful way, and she locked her eyes on mine.
I leaned in toward the portal window and said her name, feeling a relentless ache in my heart. “Please, Kara, let me help you.”
She brought her face close to the portal window, and it was easy to see she seethed with a rage that was about to explode.
“Look what you did to me,” she said in that unearthly, inhuman voice that chilled me to my core.
“I know,” I said, fighting the tears behind my eyes. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“You did this to me. You made me into this.” She stepped away from the window and slapped a hand across her cheek, her nails raking gouges in the skin. Small trickles of reddish-black blood oozed out of the wounds.
Books of the Dead (Book 8): The Living Dead Girl Page 16
