by Thomas Baker
"Loyalty. Revenge. Maybe just their backs are to the wall. Regular civilization is gone. I've seen people do extreme things to survive out there. To go through all this trouble to get you, someone might be veryill. Or all of them."
Childs rubbed the side of his face. "Not only did I sustain a head injury, I think I'm in shock. It's just so unbelievable. I tell you what. We can talk about this later. When I have time to appease your fantasy?"
"Think about all the people here, counting on you. Later may be too late." Hannah grabbed his arm but Childs just shook it off. He walked out the door. Hannah looked over at Gus. Gus looked back at her and shrugged his shoulders.
"So much for paradise, welcome back to the jungle." Gus shook his head.
As they were walking out, they bumped into Lindsay, who was walking in. Today the hair spilling out of her puff ball hat was an almost eyeball searing shade of red.
"I got here as soon as I could. I had to take over guard duty after, you know, what happened to Roy. So how's JT?"
"Mr. Hardwired To Self Destruct? He's fine," Gus said when Hannah didn't answer. "He's tough, like these old mountains."
"Yeah, you probably know he's as hard as stone," Hannah said, then she instantly wanted to take it back.Shooting off her mouth in such a childish manner appalled her.
Lindsay didn't look angry. In fact, she giggled. "Why Hannah my dear, you always seemed so innocent. Maybe I 've misjudged you."
Hannah told herself to stop it. Jealousy and cattiness weren't her style. She wasn't going to accomplish anything by acting this way. In fact, she could use Lindsay's help she realized. Seemed like Childs still wouldn't listen to her.
"Dr. Childs stitched up his bullet wound. We were all ordered to go, so JT could sleep. He'll be fine, no thanks to himself."
Lindsay let out a yawn. "Okay. That is so good to hear. It was stressful, sitting up at the shack, not able to find out. I could definitely use some sleep too. Let Parka out to go potty. I need to get her a dog treat or something special. She deserves it after last night."
"Before you go, can I ask you something?" Hannah nervously asked.
"I'll leave you ladies to your girly gossip. Sleep always sounds good. Catch you on the flip side," Gus said and walked away.
"I can tell you while we walk to your place if that's okay." Hannah stated.
The two walked away from the clinic. Hannah glanced back at it once more, sending up a small silent prayer for JT to be okay.
"Go ahead, ask me." Lindsay clearlywasn't interested in beating around any bushes.
"Okay. So you know, I haven't talk to anyone about this yet except for Gus and Linda. Childs knows because he was there. I warned him about this. I told him I ran into Roy acting all strange and he could be up to something since he couldn't stop talking about how much Dr. Childs sucked and how his Dad was the best."
"Roy's been saying that crap since Childs got here." Lindsay interjected.
"That's pretty much how Childs brushed me off and look what happened."
"You got a point. Continue."
"Gerald was the guy who almost got away and seemed to bein charge. I've got a hunch once his friends or followers or whoever find out we killed him, they will come for us. Except his time it will be a war. They will avenge his death and they will get the doctor."
"Whoa. That's quite the leap, isn't it? Anyway, what's that got to do with me?" Lindsay seemed unconvinced.
"You live here, don't you? Sorry, sorry that came out wrong." Hannah found herself trying to play defense now. Why was everyone here so dismissive of her? Was it because they had been sheltered from what it was like out there now, beyond those walls?
Lindsay just shook her head. "You know, I told JT I thought you were stuck up. I can see now you're not. Not exactly. You got a good head on your shoulders."
"Thanks, I guess. I'm sorry it's a lot to throw on someone who is basically a stranger. Please, will you help me? "
"Let me ask you something first. Why don't you just leave?"
Oh, JT's been running his mouth. And you, you would like it if I left. Hannah clamped down on her anger. She wasn't going to be a hypocrite and judge JT for his outburst then have one of her own. Besides, she didn't need to justify her change in mind to this woman. Hannah decided Lindsay was a dead end. She turned to leave.
"Sorry," Lindsay called out to her back. "Now what I wanted to say didn't turn out right. I think you're right. I was just wondering why you care. Is it something with JT? You got some issues still going on between you two, don't you?"
"I don't think it's any of your business and if it was, now isn't the time to talk about it." Hannah chewed her lower lip.
"Fair enough. You know what, you've convinced me it's a possibility. What do you want me to do?"
"Get as much guard duty as Childs will let you. Anything suspicious at all, you let me know. If you think we should leave, because there seems to be no getting through to Childs, you will tell me. Can I trust you to do that?"
"You can but if things are going sideways, I'll want to leave myself." Lindsay put her hands on her hips.
"You do your part well, you're welcome to go."
Satisfied Lindsay was on her side Hannah was about to leave. She had one more thing to say. "I don't know what is going on between you and JT and I don't want to know. He is still my friend though and I don't want anything to happen to him. Underneath that new exterior is still the JT I first met. He saved my best friend and me when the Outbreak started, like a knight in shining armor."
"Funny, that's close to the same thing he said about you," Lindsay gave her a friendly smile. "I'll see you later, oh and Hannah, I'm glad we talked."
Hannah stood there watching her unnatural red ponytails bounce away.
Hannah sat in the overstuffed brown chair by the window, sipping her hot cocoa. Her Bible laid open on her lap but for the moment she was entranced, staring out the window. She had on her mind the events of the last couple of days since Roy was killed.
She blinked when she heard the now familiar sound of gunfire. Something she had only heard before the Outbreak in a movie or a video game was now a common real life occurrence. Calmly she set down her book and cup, went to the door, and pulled on her winter coat.
She opened the door, alert to any immediate attack. The biting cold smacked her in the face. She grabbed her rifle and scouted her immediate area. Not seeing any attackers or anything out of the ordinary, she stepped out on to her porch.
The whole street to the south of her house was chaotic. People were running here and there. She rushed down her porch steps onto the compacted snow and was nearly run over by three men riding horseback.
Not only was the sound of the gunfire now increasing, but the sound of an explosion echoed through the valley. Hannah thought it sounded as if it had come from the front gate.
She wondered if the day had come. Lindsay had been feeding her regular updates but didn't have much to report each day. She thought it likely that it was happening now without warning. Much as she feared. She had said as much until she was called a nag. They had taken no extra precautions. It was unfortunate for all the townspeople that Henry and Childs wouldn't listen.
JT emerged out from between two buildings down by the corner from her house. He was sloven and disheveled. He didn't even have a weapon in his hand. It hurt her heart to see him fall apart so badly. After the gunshot wound she thought he would clean up his act. Instead, he still drank but had more bouts of sobriety than not. This didn't look like one of them. Another explosion sounded off, a little closer this time.
"JT! Come on! Get inside!" Hannah ran over to him and guided him by his hand back to her house and ushered him in.
"What's going on?" JT said, his speech slightly slurred.
"If I had to guess, Gerard's people. Stay inside and out of sight. I'll come back for you here when I can."
She would go to the front gate. Along the way she would gather up as many people as she could to fight.
She ran down the street without a glance back. Without warning, she found herself with her ass in the snow, looking up at the clear blue sky. An explosion had rocked the ground, causing her to lose her footing. She scrambled up, mad her pants were now wet. She took off again towards the front gate. She rounded a corner in time to see a dump truck plow through the constructed wall like a child's toy crashing through a wall made of toothpicks. Debris went flying everywhere. A few people along with it.
Hannah ducked down behind a pine tree, the only close cover. She took some shots at the dump truck. Bullets pinged off its metal side. Two small objects flew out of the back and then explosions went off around her.
"Holy shit!" she yelled out.
Bullets whined around her. She made herself as small as she could behind the tree. Snow was hanging in the area, obscuring a clear view around her. Damn these guys, why couldn't they just have left us alone.
That's all she wanted anymore. To be left alone. She let out a cry, ran from the tree to the closest building, firing shots until she was dry. She bared her teeth in a brutal grin as she saw one attacker go down.
"This looks like the post-post-apocalypse." Said a voice beside her. She spun to see JT, grinning like it was Christmas morning. He had one of the army bases assault rifles held against his chest.
"Jesus JT, you scared the shit out of me! That's a good way to get shot again. I thought I told you to stay back and wait for me!"
"Who are you my mom?" JT was practically dancing on the balls of his feet. JT popped around the corner, fired some shots, and popped back.
"Can you believe this shit?" he said.
Snow puffed up where JT had just been. Crystals danced in the air, sparking sunlight into tiny rainbows.
Hannah sighed. "JT, if we are going to do this, let's get focused. We have to take these bastards down before they kill all of us."
JT's exuberance went down a notch. "Shit, they've already got some of our people?"
Hannah nodded solemnly. Another explosion shook the area.
"We have to stop the dump truck first. It's the biggest threat."
"Hannah, I have a crazy idea. I'm sure you could pull off the shot. I'llget their attention. You flank them and get the driver."
"And get yourself killed, you maniac? What has gotten into you?"
"I'd do anything to protect you Hannah, you know that. It's just too bad we didn't find any bullet-proof vests anywhere along the way. Now go!"
JT leapt awkwardly across some snow drifts up to his knees, before making it into the clearer shoveled part. He fired his rifle the entire time, taking out two ski masked men who rounded the truck at the wrong time. "Wolverines!" he shouted.
Hannah's heart felt like it would hammer right out of her chest. All the attacker's attention went to JT. A few of the townspeople arrived and were following in JT's direction.
The truck backed up, crunching snow and debris in its wake. It straddled the road sideways now, giving Hannah a clearer shot into the cab. She wasted no time as she knelt, braced herself, aimed, and fired. Glass exploded and a bright red fountain squirted out of the driver's head, painting the cab's interior. The truck stopped. A grenade came flying in her direction. Hannah rolled, hugging her rifle tight to her body, praying to escape the blast. It landed far away from where she was, deep in a snow pile. A muffled bang and then a geyser of white powder rained down on her.
Taking rapid and shallow breaths, Hannah got back to her feet. She had lost her hat somewhere along the way and her ears now had a cold, burning sensation. She scanned the battle.
In the time it had taken her to get up, JT had pushed the former driver out and was now rocking the truck forward and backwards. Hannah saw a grenade fly up and fall back into the bed.
"JT!" she screamed, even though she knew she was too far away for him to hear. Seconds stretched out and then the grenade went off.
The wholeentire back end of the truck lifted into the air as the fuel ignited from the blast. Pieces of the truck went flying in multiple directions and rained down across attackers and defenders alike. Black smoke, thick as fog, rolled out in waves.
Hannah's eyes stung but now was not the time for tears. She raced to where the stunned forces of the town were regrouping outside a little local hotel. She found Josh in the group.
"That blast probably didn't get all of them. Are more people coming?"
Josh coughed and then moaned. He had nicks and scratches along his face and neck. "Child's got his guards with him so I think this is about it. I don't know why I came. I don't know what I expected myself to dodown here."
Hannah spotted Gus. He must have seen her at the same time.He waved over to her and then pointed in the sky. Flying up from the acidic, sooty cloud was a bright red light.
"What you reckon that means?" Gus said, after he made his way to her side.
"Nothing good."
Figures came stumbling out of the smoke. Three, then four, then six. Two were standing near each other. One turned, shot the other, then ran with a limp down the shoveled road into town.
"That's got to be JT!" Hannah shouted, incredulous. "Let's get out there and cover him!"
Hannah was already at a sprint, not waiting to see if someone followed her. The others started shooting and Hannah fired back. One attacker fell, then another. She reached JT and took put his arm around her shoulder. Lindsay was right behind her and took the other. They pulled JT back while the others provided cover fire.
The first building they came to they had to stop to catch their breath.
"Damn it, JT. Scaring me again," Hannah said, punching him in the shoulder. "How did you make it out of there?"
JT was grinning again, like he hadn't almost gotten blown up. "I heard one of them say 'oh shit' right after slamming on the brakes, so I dove out the door and ran to the other side of the wall. I still about got shish kabobed by a piece of a muffler."
The tremendous sound of metal screeching against metal and the collision of large objects caused the three to turn in unison.
"You'vegot to be shitting me," Lindsay said, a gasp. "They got another dump truck up here?"
It had backed in at what must have been its top speed. It splintered off more of the makeshift wall and broke the other smoldering dump truck in two. What had been a cacophony of chaos had fallen to a hush stillness as the town defenders wondered what was coming next. There was a whine and the dump truck's bed rose. It tipped up, spilling out its contents onto the now reddish, pinkishsnow.
Hannah inhaled sharply through her open mouth. "Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?"
What the truck had dumped out were squirming and twisting to their collective feet.
"Guess we should be lucky it was only a medium-sized dump truck or there would be even more zombies." JT said, sounding more sober.
The dump truck rolled forward, leaving its deadly cargo behind. A quick count by Hannah totaled about thirty zombies. Eleven were in the streets. She had fought with worse odds. The fortunate thing was the distance between them. Then an idea occurred to her. What if they had done the same thing at the other end of town? Damn, they needed some way to communicate. She hated the thought of splitting her team up. Hated the thought of getting bitten in the back even more.
"Lindsay, take four people with you and check the other gate. Make sure they didn't pour some out there. If it's clear, you fly back here. We'll need you."
Lindsay said nothing. She nodded and crossed the street. She spoke to four others, and they raced off through town.
Hannah turned her attention to the remaining five people: Josh, JT, Gus and two others whom she didn't know.
"I'm guessing we have all had experience with these things so if we are careful, we will make it through this. We have space and they are slow. Let's team up in twos. JT, you wild man, you're with me."
"Ohhh, JT is in trouble," Gus teased. "He has to go sit by the teacher."
"I don't mind," JT gave a suggestive smile.
"Men, c
an't live with them, can't feed them to the zombies," Hannah said, straightfaced.
"Hey," Gus said, indignant. "That's my catchphrase."
"We going to keep doing the comedy routine until we've all had bites taken out of us or are we going to kill some zombies?" Josh interrupted. "I'll try to help. I'm going to need a weapon."
Gus pulled out his hatchet and handed it over to Josh. "Like a good boy scout I'm always prepared." Josh looked at it was a sick grimace.
"Hey buddy," JT said. "It's okay. You won't even have to do anything unless we screw up and they get close. Just make sure none of them get us."
Gus gave Josh a slap on the back. Josh wrapped both hands around the handle and tried to look tough.
Hannah got serious again. "Two left, two right, two down the center, you guys hang back. Let's try not to have any friendly fire. Not sure how we are on ammunition, so make these shots count. Go!"
Hannah sped off with JT limping along beside her, keeping up as best he could. The silent mob ahead steadily came down the main street. The tall snow piles on either side was like fencing and it kept the zombies pinned in, herding them along like cows. That gave Hannah an idea.
"JT, speed's not your thing. See if you can get up on one of those snow piles. Should give you clearer shots at range."
"I will rain down death upon them, my captain." JT saluted.
Hannah sprinted and then ducked down in the front of an abandoned car close to where the pack was forming up. She knelt, thinking how this place was lucky they had come here. Gerard's people probably thought this ploy would kill anyone remaining. Little did they know the experience her, JT, and the rest had with zombies.
Reminding herself not to get to prideful, she took a deep breath, cleared her mind. She looked down the sight and pulled on the trigger in a smooth motion. The crack sounded and a zombie's head exploded. It's now motionless body dropped. The zombies behind it walked over the body like it wasn't even there.
Hannah felt creeped out by the zombies again. She could see there mouths working like always yet no sound came out. Then a Runner broke from the pack, straight towards her. The sound had attracted it, of course, her rifle had boomed in the enclosed space.
