She pressed her lips into a thin line. “He was a good man.”
The man took his left hand off the gun and held it in his right. “We’ve lost a lot of good people lately.” Tammy pressed her lips together. “We buried your friend, too.”
This got her attention. “Thank you. I felt guilty not doing it.”
“They turn into one of those things if you don’t… better to burn the bodies. Sorry, I know you won’t want to hear that, but you should know.”
“Thank you. Do you live here?”
“Temporarily. My wife and I and a couple of others. We were passing through, heading north and we came across this place. Seemed pretty quiet—still a few zombies wandering in and out like last night.”
“You call them zombies?”
“They come back from the dead, don’t they?” A silence unfolded as Tammy thought of the word. It seemed too geeky to be real. She preferred the infected. “Where you headed?” the man asked.
“Port Arthur. You heard anything about it?” He shook his head. “Apparently it’s fenced off and has all sorts of protection.”
“Sounds ideal. We have no plans to move yet.”
“I should get going,” Tammy said. “Thanks… for your help last night.” She opened the minibus door.
“Sorry we couldn’t get there in time for your friend.” Tammy nodded. “Hey, one more thing.” The man came a little closer. “Watch out for the fast ones.”
The fine hairs on the back of Tammy’s neck stood up. “What fast ones?”
The man looked off into the distance, his eyes narrowed, jaw tight, as if remembering a bad experience. “Most of them are slow and bumbling and, if you’re quick enough, they won’t get you. Some of those seem to have a little bit more sense. They watch sometimes, as if they are thinking.” He paused and swallowed. “And then there are the fast ones. They’re smart. Damn smart. They think as much as we do. They’re strong and very, very aggressive.”
Tammy swallowed a dry throat at the thought. He voice came out scratchy. “I haven’t come across one of them yet.”
“Pray you don’t. Because they run fast, and they generally don’t leave you alone until one of you is dead. Their eyes can glow red in the dark, too.”
Tammy shivered. “Thanks for the advice. I’ll stay alert.”
She climbed in, closed the door, and wound the window down with a squeak. There was a moment when she expected the minibus wouldn’t start, but the key turned and the engine whirred into life. She gave the man—whose name she still did not know—a smile, and crept the van forward. He tapped the back window ledge and wished her good luck.
34
January 12, 2014
10:44 am
Latrobe, Tasmania
“Stay back,” Sam said.
He started towards the man and raised his hand. Juliet realised she hadn’t even spotted the metal bar he held. The man lunged at Sam, poking the long-bladed knife towards his chest. Sam darted sideways and swung the bar with two hands, striking the man’s shoulder. He grunted and cursed and leapt at Sam again. This time the blade made contact. Sam staggered backwards holding his left forearm.
The grubby man in the hi-vis shirt made another thrust for blood. Sam jumped back, narrowly avoiding the hit. He recovered, though, and swung and missed with the pipe, throwing himself off balance. Despite his grubby, derelict appearance, the man was quick, and came at Sam, who had tangled himself up, and he went down trying to avoid the knife. The man dove onto him, but Sam used the bar horizontally to deflect the weapon.
Screaming, Meg ran at the hi-vis man with a handful of rocks gathered from the path.
“You get away from him!”
It startled the man, and he looked up, drawing the knife around in case Meg came too close. She skidded to a stop in the gravel, threatening to lose her footing in a slide. It gave Sam the time to move. He shoved the man aside and crawled away like a crab.
Meg tossed the rocks at the attacker and retreated. He growled at her and, again, went after Sam, who scrambled to his feet. The man stabbed the knife at him. This time, it deflected off Sam’s hip as he fought to regain balance. Sam twisted the metal bar around, striking the man in the groin. He grunted and dropped to one knee, his free hand reaching for his testicles. Sam was quick, barrelling another strike into the side of the man’s head. He fell onto his face and went limp. Sam stood over his attacker, chest heaving. When it was clear the man wasn’t getting up, he turned to Meg and said, “Thank you.”
Meg, who always had a word to say, could only manage a nod.
“Come on,” Sam said, waving them on as he lurched away.
They were more cautious now, Sam leading and Juliet close behind. They jogged on, hunched over, scanning the road and buildings for movement. A gunshot sounded far ahead. Sam stopped. Juliet hunkered to the ground. She twisted around and saw the others had done the same.
“It’s all right,” Sam said. “Sounds like the fighting has moved to the front gate.” Another shot sounded as they stood and jogged on.
Juliet looked ahead for the broken section of fence. “The place is just up here.”
They veered off the road into the trees. Tangles of brush and vines grew in thick clumps, masking the view to the street. The sounds of movement drifted over, and she hoped the infected were there in numbers, waiting for their chance.
“What’s your plan then?” Sam asked.
“We’ve got these,” Juliet said, pulling the wire cutters from her pocket. She pointed along the fence line. “There’s a spot up there, near that little building. The fence is broken. We cut a little more, and the whole section will collapse.”
“Let the infected in,” Sam said, as though the idea had just popped into his head, and he was pleased with himself.
“Right. Total chaos. That’s our only way out.”
For the first time, Sam smiled, and it lit up his face. “Let’s do it then. Give these fuckers a post-Christmas present.”
On they hurried, ducking under overhanging trees and stepping over clumps of weed. The closer they drew to the damaged section of fence, the more Juliet’s heart rate increased. This was it. They had suffered for days in the dreadful holding tank, not knowing their fate, waiting for an opportunity. Now they had it. She felt the responsibility of the people around her, even Sam, who had tried to help her. She had dragged Jessica and Meg from the hospital with her. As a younger woman, Lory had fallen into her care.
They reached the damaged area of fence near the small brick supply building. In the distance along the gravel road, Juliet spotted men hiding behind buildings and cars. They appeared to be concentrating on something even further along, towards the main gates.
“Whose men are they?” Jess asked.
“Red’s. Ponytails men are up near the front gates where they pulled you all out of the car a few days back. But both sides are spread about the place. That’s the thing, you head off in the wrong direction around here, you’re likely to get shot in the crossfire.”
Scrub had been cleared so the men could work on repairing the fence. They had left their tools behind, a large box containing the same item Juliet had stolen amongst others they could use. How close had they been to fixing this? she wondered. A few more hours, and the opportunity might have disappeared.
Juliet took a sweeping look around to make sure none of Ponytail’s men were sneaking up on them. It was clear, for the moment. They had to act now.
Wire cutters in hand, Juliet moved closer to inspect the damaged section of fence. The wire sheeting had come away from both the post and core wire centre. Several tiny hooks that held the fence to the central wire hung loose. That was good.
From the toolbox, Sam took an almost identical pair of wire cutters. Beyond the broken fence, a single infected woman watched Juliet from thirty yards away. “Come on,” she said. “Come a little closer.” The infected started towards them.
“Make some noise,” Juliet told the others. “Walk up and down t
he fence and get their attention. We need more of them here so when the fence comes down they can get inside.”
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Meg said.
“We’ll just have to stay back,” Sam said and turned to Juliet. “Let’s do this. I want to unleash hell on these fuckers.”
Juliet said, “Ladies, keep a lookout, won’t you?”
Sam and Juliet stepped up to the barrier and began to cut the wire down the fence in two vertical lines. It would be a simple process—far simpler than Juliet had imagined, but the wire was tough and she was forced to use two hands just to make the first snip. After half a dozen cuts, her fingers and thumb ached, but the fear of not finishing before Ponytail’s men arrived kept her going. If that happened, the plan would be foiled and they’d be shoved back in that holding tank. Or worse, the night in the rec room would recommence, and they might never recover from that.
The first infected arrived and tried to get through the fence. The wire bumped and buckled, making cutting difficult. Juliet had to stop and step back. A moment later, Sam did too.
“We have to get it away.” Juliet scanned the rough scrub around the base of the fence and spotted a longish stick. She snatched it up and handed it to Meg. “Use this to keep it back.”
“No,” Meg said, and handed it off to Jessica.
The blonde woman did a good job poking and prodding the infected woman so she could not press too close to the fence. When Sam and Juliet had completed two-thirds the cutting, the fence flopped over and touched the ground inside the lot.
“Out of the way now,” Sam said, scurrying back. Juliet and Jessica followed.
The first infected pushed the wire down. It wasn’t the free-for-all Juliet had hoped, but they began to step through the gap. The third one tripped and went down. Others pushed their way in, ignoring their fallen comrade, who awkwardly climbed to its feet.
“Watch out,” Sam said, buffering the others from the growing number of infected.
The group moved back as though someone had released a venomous snake amongst them. Juliet hit the gravel, unable to believe they had done it; it was happening and now they had to make it work for them. It seemed the diversion the others had undertaken worked. Two streams of infected worked their way towards the opening from the roadway.
“Jesus,” Sam said, bouncing on his toes as if he was ready to run. “It’s working.”
“Where do we go?” Meg asked.
“Just keep moving backwards away from them,” Juliet said. “When they’re all inside, we work our way around to the gap and get the hell out of here.”
There were enough infected inside the lot to cause trouble now, all rotted faces and dangling flesh, dirty clothes and grubby skin. Men, women, teenagers, even the odd kid. The numbers went from manageable to overwhelming in a matter thirty of seconds. The group scattered, Juliet and Sam running in one direction towards the front entrance, Jess, Meg, and Lory the other.
“Hey!” a voice commanded. “What the hell are you doing?”
One of the men Juliet had seen fixing things in the lot appeared on the pathway outside the rec room. He wore a blue trucker singlet, dirty black shorts, and dark safety boots. He caught sight of the infected, and his expression filled with surprise, then terror. “What have you done?” Two more men appeared in the doorway. One sprinted towards the front entrance.
The man in the blue trucker singlet ran towards Juliet and Sam. For a moment, she thought he was going to attack her, but he ran past. Nimble for a larger man, he darted in and out of the infected, working his way towards the fence. He spotted the open toolbox and swooped down on it, reaching for something in the top shelf. He grabbed the hammer, but before he could turn around into a fighting pose, the infected had attacked. He tumbled forward and fell onto his knees. A skinny man with holes in his cheeks dived on him. The man began to scream and swung the hammer at the thing’s head. Another dropped onto the ground beside him and started to eat his leg.
Juliet glanced at the other man still standing outside the rec room. His mouth hung open, but he had not moved.
It was chaos now. There must have been twenty-five infected inside the yard with layers of them on the street pushing to get in. There was no way they could get near the fence, let alone out onto the street. Meg, Jess and Lory ran down the road towards the holding tank.
“Wait!” Juliet called, but they all kept running.
The first man was dead. The other man who had sprinted away towards the front entrance had returned with several more. They stood back, shocked at what was happening. Then one of them spotted Sam and ran towards him.
“You!” he shouted, blue chequered shirt flapping, fists balled at his sides.
Sam turned to face him. He started to speak, but the man ran straight into him and they tumbled to the ground. A bony infected woman in a dress went for them. Two infected men followed, forming a brawl.
The dead began to spread about the lot. Juliet thought about rushing in to help Sam, but two sickly faces came for her. She had no choice but to turn and run and hope the numbers cleared soon so they could manage an escape. So far, they had avoided any issues because they’d kept back, but as soon as it cleared, they’d have to make a run for the gap in the fence.
35
January 12, 2014
10:25 am
Dunalley, Southeast Tasmania
“Sure you don’t want me to come?” Dan asked.
Jim put a hand on Dan’s shoulder. “You’d sure make the job easier, mate, but I need you to look after Lana now.”
“No worries,” Dan said, swivelling the golf club like a rotating fan.
They walked to the car, and Lana climbed in the backseat.
Glen slipped one leg in. “That’s the building,” he said as he held onto the back door, pointing at an old red-brick place on the other side of the street. Curtains were drawn on every window. It looked ominous.
“I want to come, Dad,” Lana said, climbing out of the car. “I can help.”
“No. Stay here with Glen and Dan. Be ready for us. We’ll probably come out of the building running, and I need you all to be ready to go.”
That settled it. Jim gave her another hug and a kiss on the forehead. When they were all settled in the Territory, he strode across the street, feeling like a gunslinger going to a shootout. His gut was tight, and his legs felt a bit like jelly. He’d had his share of confrontations with these things and it never grew easier. Maybe it was the thought of reuniting with his daughter that gave him the courage to go forward.
The single infected standing at the front of the building eyed him as he approached. Others further down the street showed no interest, but they were there, and if he created a commotion, they’d come for his flesh. Within ten yards, the sickly-looking man outside the window turned and ambled towards him. Jim swung the shotgun around and gave it one in the head, the same way he’d seen Mac and Smitty do when they ran out of bullets back at the school. It fell and Jim was pleased at his efficiency. Whilst he was nervous about the outcome now, he certainly felt less anxious around the infected.
He did a final sweep as he reached the building. On testing the ornate black door handle, it squealed with age, but surprisingly, opened. Jim slipped inside and closed it softly, the dusty redwood floorboards creaking. The room was modest; a beautiful set of stairs followed the left wall and curled around at the top with an open, empty door barely visible on the first floor above. Ahead, to the right of the stairs, a small table and mirror hugged the wall, a short hallway leading to a larger, more brightly lit room beyond. Another door beckoned immediately on his left, leading away to what looked like a dining area. Jim walked to the centre of the room and listened for noises to help him decide which way he might go.
A shadow moved in the room at the end of the hallway ahead. Jim stepped backwards over the creaky floor and raised the gun. A noise sounded from the doorway on the left, and he snapped his head sideways. A large lady in a dress lurched at
him. He leapt back and swung the gun around, no choice but to fire. He pulled the trigger, and the woman’s face exploded in a bloody mess. She dropped to the floorboards with a thud.
From upstairs, feet plodded over the boards and several infected bustled out of the doorway and down the stairs. The shadow at the end of the hallway turned into another infected, all pale skin and lesions amongst tufts of mangy hair. Jim kept moving back until he found himself pressed flat against the front door. There was a shout from the first floor. It sounded like the word help, and it might have been a female voice. Jim convinced himself it was Cindy.
He ran forward to the base of the stairs, where a delicate man in glasses and eyes the colour of watermelon greeted him. He leapt the last two steps, and Jim blew his face off at point-blank range with a single shot. Another took its place. Jim stepped sideways and struck it flush with his elbow. The thing thumped against the wall and folded like a camp chair onto the bottom step. The shout for help sounded again.
“Hang on!”
As he climbed the steps, more stumbled down at him. Six shells left in his pocket; he couldn’t use them all yet. He did the old trick of turning the weapon around and smashed the next infected in the face with the butt of the shotgun. It fell past him and tumbled to floorboards below.
“Help!”
Driven by the conviction of it being Cindy, Jim pressed on. She was in the room at the top of the stairs. He bounded up two at a time, dodging those too slow to react, shoving the ones that he couldn’t avoid. They fell in a pile, and he wouldn’t think about how he was going to deal with them on the way back down.
On the wide, flat landing at the top, Jim found a body. The kid wasn’t infected, but his lifeless eyes and the savage gash around his throat told Jim he was dead. Jim reloaded the gun with two shells, then stepped over the kid and headed straight for the next available doorway. He entered the small bedroom and stopped just inside, frozen with terror at the sight. Cindy sat on the bed, pressed into the corner with her hand stretched out, holding a small knife. Over her stood one of the infected. Cold terror flooded Jim. He stumbled back as the thing’s dark eyes flashed. It was the same kind of infected as the one that had almost killed him at the school. Thick muscles bunched and rippled under the shirt. Its shaven head turned and looked at Jim. If he fired now there was a chance he’d hit Cindy.
Invasion of the Dead (Book 5): Resolve Page 22
