“Dodge, turn her towards the door,” Tessa yelled over the noise from the other room. Without any questions, Dodge turned so that he was pushing the woman toward Tessa. Tessa took a better grip on the bat and swung with all she had. The bat connected, issuing a hollow, wet crack and the woman dropped to the ground.
“Jesus,” Dodge breathed. He stepped away from the woman for a moment to catch his breath, and then stepped back to her. He held out his gun. As she lay twitching on the ground, he fired two more rounds into her head.
Simon held back a zombie even as another one went after Zeke. He wasn’t having much luck. The zombie was a full grown man, not a huge one, but he had a good two feet on Simon. Simon backed up the stairs as quickly as he could, looking for anything he could hit the man with. If he tried to shoot the thing, he was sure he’d end up shooting someone else in the small stairway. With no other weapon in sight, Simon swung halfheartedly at the thing with the hand gun. The zombie grabbed his wrist and bit down on his forearm.
Simon screamed in pain. He sank to the steps as the thing shook its head. Blunt teeth tore the skin on Simon’s arm and worked their way into muscle. With no other choice, Simon switched the gun to his left hand and fired into the zombie’s skull. For a moment the tearing continued, and then the zombie’s jaw relaxed, flapping open as the thing fell half on the stairs and half on Simon. Black spots dotted Simon’s vision as his injured arm was crushed between their bodies.
Simon glanced over the rail and watched helplessly as the other zombie tore into Zeke’s throat. It latched on, teeth puncturing skin, shook its head, and bit deeper. Zeke’s scream echoed in the stairwell. He beat at the thing, his hands flailing wildly as he tried to push it away. Tech ran over and kicked the zombie in the stomach. The thing paused for only a moment, looking over its shoulder and baring its teeth. It was all the time Tech needed; he fired a round through the thing’s skull. The zombie flopped lifeless to its side.
“Ah, shit,” Dodge swore as he came back into the stairway. He turned and fired a single shot into the remaining zombie. It collapsed on top of Tommy. “Check him!”
Dodge went down on his knee beside Zeke. He pressed a hand to Zeke’s throat in an attempt to stop the blood.
“My-” Zeke gurgled, spitting up blood as he tried to talk. He reached for his leg, arm flopping uselessly around his thigh. “My leg.” Simon barely heard the words through the blood. Zeke tried to shove Dodge away so he could sit up.
“Lie still,” Dodge barked. For once, Zeke listened. He looked up at Dodge with surprise.
“My leg,” Zeke gurgled again and wiped his mouth. His hand came away red. He looked at his hand a moment with surprise. Realization dawned on him. “No, no, no, no, no.”
“Your leg’s okay,” Tessa told Zeke. She knelt beside him across from Dodge and took his other hand. “You just need to stay still, okay?”
“Okay.” Zeke nodded. The small movement pushed more blood through Dodge’s fingers. Dodge looked amazingly calm as he continued to press his hand to the ever quickening flow of blood.
“Tommy?” Dodge asked.
Tessa bit her lip and shook her head. She turned her focus to Zeke, her voice thick and her eyes glistening. “You’re gonna be okay.”
Simon could tell just from her voice that it was a lie, but he hoped Zeke would believe it for however long he had left.
“Simon?” Zeke wiped at his mouth again. “Where’s Simon?”
“Here,” Simon said. He pushed himself up as well as he could, wincing as his arm caught on something that pulled on the wound. He tried not to cry, but his voice still came out thickly. “I’m okay.”
“Okay.” Zeke nodded again and shut his eyes. He coughed, blood spurting up onto Dodge’s face. Dodge winced and turned to wipe his face on his shoulder. “Oh, God.” Zeke’s face contorted with pain.
“Stay with us man.” Dodge used his free hand to wipe at the rest of the blood on his face.
But Zeke was coughing again, and the blood flowed too freely from his neck. He began to wheeze as the blood flowed into his lungs and coughed as it choked him. In a mercifully short time, he lay still. Dodge slowly pulled his hand away from Zeke’s neck and stood looking down at him. The blood flow lessened without a pulse to propel it. Keeping his eyes on Zeke’s face, Dodge reached blindly for Tessa. He pulled her up with his clean hand and led her away from Zeke.
“Is he dead?” Simon asked, still fighting back tears, both from losing Zeke and the pain in his arm.
“Yeah.” Dodge pressed his lips together tightly. “Tommy too.” At the foot of the stairs, Tech stood, staring numbly at Zeke and then at Tommy. “Get that thing off Simon, will ya?” Dodge ordered.
Tech scrambled up to Simon, looking relieved to have something to do. Together they managed to roll the zombie off without hurting his arm too much. Simon fumbled to find his glasses before he stood on shaky legs and looked over the rail to where Zeke lay. His eyes drifted to Tommy, but he didn’t even look human anymore. He swallowed hard and walked down to Tessa and Dodge. Tessa took his arm in her hands and examined it closely. The zombie’s teeth had torn right through the thin sleeve of his shirt and into the skin. Tessa tore off the lowest bit of his sleeve and wrapped it around the wound.
“Hold that tight,” she ordered and Simon nodded. He still felt numb to it all as he wrapped his hand tightly over the shirt; it was warm with his own blood.
“What now?” Tech asked from where he sat on the stairs. He looked ready to puke again, his skin pasty.
“We make sure there are no more zombies in there.” Dodge motioned to the door. “Then we take care of the dead. Simon, you okay to do this?”
“Yeah,” Simon said. “My arm’s not too bad.”
“I didn’t mean that,” Dodge replied, looking hard at Simon. It was clear he was talking about Zeke, not the zombies, or the wound.
“I’ll be okay,” Simon said again, trying to put more force into it even though he hardly believed it himself. He wanted Dodge to believe it.
“Okay, weapons ready. We don’t check behind any more closed doors,” Dodge said, and they stepped into the room.
The woman Dodge killed still lay in the middle of the room. A small pool of blood spread out around her head, matting her hair to the floor in a sticky mess. They stepped over her body, each tensing with the fear she was not quite dead. She didn’t stir. They headed deeper into the place.
The room they entered looked like a lounge, with two couches and a coffee table in the center and a long counter on the far side. Beside that was one door which would most likely lead to a closet. They went cautiously down the only hallway; none of the doors were shut. They found two bedrooms, each with two sets of bunk beds all ready to be slept on. The end of the hall opened up into a large lab. Three big tables were covered with supplies for projects and experiments they couldn’t begin to imagine. Past that room there was another small hallway that ended in a circular room. Computers and televisions lined every available inch of it.
“Clear,” Dodge said, lowering his gun. “What the hell is all this?” He looked at Tech, who was already looking around at the computers with something akin to awe.
“I don’t know. I’d have to do some snooping,” Tech said, enthralled by the lure of so many computers. He reached out tentatively and pressed the power button on the closest one. It whirred silently to life, and Tech smiled.
“Okay, you stay here and play with all this,” Dodge said, taking charge again. “Simon and Tessa will stay with you. I’ll go get help to clear out the bodies. Tessa, do you have the key card?”
Tessa paled as she searched her pockets. “No.” She looked panicked and pushed past Dodge, practically running back to the stairs. After a quick look to make sure things were clear she stepped out the door. With a sigh of relief they all felt, she pulled the key card from the slot.
“Good,” Dodge said with a grim smile. “Close the door and sit tight. I don’t want people seeing you all torn up.�
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“Okay.” Simon nodded.
“Tessa, can you help me pull this one out of here?” He nudged the woman’s body with his toe and it rocked lifelessly.
They each took her by an arm; her head lolled backwards, eyes staring up at them with the far reaching gaze of the dead. They pulled her into the stairwell.
“Good,” Dodge said and they let the woman drop. “I’ll clean this up and we’ll figure out what to do next.”
Simon stood at the door and watching Dodge climb the stairs. Only when he’d disappeared into the lab above did Simon shut the door.
“They’ll be back,” Tessa said, trying to reassure him.
“Yeah.” Simon nodded absently, his mind on other things. “Not Zeke though.” He felt cold thinking about Zeke and wished he had let himself cry before. Now it seemed as if his tears had all dried up, plugging the pain inside him. “Not Tommy,” he added as an afterthought.
“No,” Tessa agreed softly. She put her hand on Simon’s shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.” Simon shook his head. “Can I just have a minute?”
“Of course.” Tessa leaned in and kissed Simon on the cheek. Simon pulled away. He couldn’t help but think he had been right all along. He was useless. His dad had been right.
With that thought, the tears finally came, spilling down his cheeks in waves that shook his whole body. Zeke was dead, and it was all his fault. Holding himself tightly, Simon sank to his knees. Everyone he cared about died. Simon felt Tessa wrap her arms around him and he shook her off.
“Go away,” Simon sniffed. “Just go away.”
“No.” Tessa wrapped her arms around him again, holding tight even when he tried to shake her off. “I’m not leaving you.”
“You will.” Simon’s tears made his voice so thick he was surprised he was getting the words out. “You’ll die, just like everyone else. Everyone I care about dies.”
“I will not,” Tessa said. Simon felt her kiss the back of his head and it started a new wave of tears.
“You’ll die,” Simon said again. “If I care about you, you’ll die, and it’ll be all my fault.”
“Simon.” Tessa shook him. “I will not die, and if I do, it won’t be because you cared about me.”
She held him tightly, waiting for his tears to stop. Simon wanted to fight with her, to throw her off and warn her to never touch him again, but he needed her. He needed the comfort she was giving and her promise not to leave him. So he gave in and let her hold him. When he’d stopped crying he pushed himself up and wrapped his arms around her, clinging to her as if his life depended on it.
When he finally pulled away, Simon wiped at his face, embarrassed to have lost it in front of her. He stood, still using his sleeves to clean himself up. When Tessa offered him her hand, he hesitated only a moment before taking it.
They walked slowly into the computer room and sat on the lone couch to wait. Across the room, Tech clicked away at the keyboard, moving from computer to computer, gathering any information he could.
18
Chicago Underground
Alice glanced at her watch for what felt like the millionth time. Fifteen minutes had passed since Corwin stepped through the door. She went back to watching the door handle, willing it to move. Beside her, Cale was still comforting Sarah as Scott cleaned her leg. It only took one glance to see the wound was badly infected. Sarah cried as the doctor poked at her leg, trying to determine how deep the damage went.
“Seems stupid, doesn’t it?” Zero asked, leaning on the wall beside Alice. “Girl gets through all that and a cut on her leg could be her downfall.” Alice was glad he had the sense to speak softly; she didn’t take her eyes off the door handle as she answered him.
“As long as we get to Coda, she’ll be fine. They’ll have medicine there. Anything she needs.”
Zero nodded, watching the girl. “I hope you’re right. I’d hate to see someone her age die from something so small.” He paused, and they both watched Scott and Sarah for a moment. Cale saw them looking and gave them an embarrassed smile. Zero grinned. “Seems like he’s not used to being such a hero.”
“Luckily you have no problem with it.” Alice leaned sideways to bump her shoulder against his and smiled. Zero smiled quickly, but looked away.
“I ain’t done nothing heroic.” Zero shook of his head. “I’ve been meaning to ask; if we find out where that transmission came from, you gonna come with me and Cale?”
“No.” Alice shook her head, hardly giving it a thought. “The kids need me here.”
“The kids got a lot of people here,” Zero pointed out. “A whole mess of adults looking out for them.” His fingers wrapped around hers and squeezed gently before letting go. “We’d like to have you along. I’d like to have you along.” Hearing him say it made Alice want to giggle like a twelve-year-old, and she turned back to the door to hide her smile as she answered. Her fingers seemed to tingle from his touch.
“I’ll think about it.” Alice checked her watch. Zero was a welcome distraction from her growing unease at Corwin’s absence. “Where is he?”
Almost as she said it, the handle turned, rattling slightly. Grace opened the door and Corwin glided through, not a scrape on his body, and a wide grin on his face.
“Miss me?” Corwin asked as the door clicked shut. Despite everything, Alice had to smile.
“What did you find, soldier?” Grace’s tone turned Corwin serious again.
“There’s an abandoned delivery truck half a block up from the subway entrance. It will be tight, but I am sure we can fit.”
“Keys?” Grace asked with a curt nod.
“I didn’t risk showing myself to find out.”
“Can anyone hot wire a vehicle?” Grace asked. Tentatively, Zero raised his hand. A self-conscious grin spread across his face.
“I think I remember doing it once or twice,” Zero said. “Maybe more.”
“Then you’ll drive,” Grace said. “We herd the children out and get everyone into the back of the truck. Anyone doesn’t fit will be stuck in the front. Alice, I want you up front with Zero. Do you remember how to get to the base?”
“Yes,” Alice said. “I could do it in my sleep.”
“Good then. We get to the truck as quickly as possible; only engage if you have to. Wounded and casualties are second priority. Are we clear?” There was a short grudging silence before everyone nodded.
Grace nodded back once. She opened the door and stepped through. Weak beams of light drifted down the subway stairs to the platform they now stood on. These only spread a gray haze over the otherwise black area, but it was enough to get the group from one end to the other without falling. They followed Grace. The group flowed in a tense knot, eyes and ears open for any sign of movement.
The high ceiling arched away into the blackness, and Alice had a hard time not imagining a million things that could be hiding there. The zombies hadn’t yet shown the skill to even open a door, but she had the insane fear that they were in the rafters waiting to jump down. Alice shook her head, trying to get rid of the image. She glanced back at the children. They moved with focus, though the fear etched in their faces couldn’t be ignored. Beside her, Cale was helping Sarah along, and even she was managing to stay silent. Alice was sure whatever was going on in Sarah’s mind could make her own fears seem like daydreams.
They reached the foot of the stairs without incident. Alice gave a quiet thanks to whoever was the patron saint of people running for their lives. Grace motioned Zero up to the front. They slowly began to climb the stairs. Even though it was barely fall, the solid concrete surrounding them was cold to the touch and seemed to radiate that cold as they climbed. Alice shivered, not sure if it was from fear or cold. She had a distinct feeling of being watched. She turned, but only saw Jake staring at her, concern in his eyes. He looked almost embarrassed for a brief second, then gave her an encouraging smile.
Jake looked at the stairs under his feet.
That was the second time in only a couple hours that he had been caught staring at Alice. He wasn’t sure if it was worse for her to catch him, or for that God damn Cale with his hero complex to catch him. He had to put that from his mind though. If he didn’t focus on the present he might not live long enough for it to matter that anyone saw him staring.
The air coming down the shaft was tainted with death and rot. Underneath that was the scent of fresh air. It tasted sweet after weeks of being locked inside the hospital. They’d die outside at least, thought Alice before she stepped onto what had once been one of the busiest streets in the city. At first she didn’t see any movement, but only a few steps into the open she saw them. The zombies lurched out of alleyways, store fronts, and side streets.
“They were waiting,” Cale whispered, gripping Sarah’s arm to pull her along. It seemed farther away than it really was. Sarah began to wail, her body falling against Cale so he was almost carrying her as he struggled forward.
Zero had begun to sprint at the first sign of movement and was nearing the truck as Quigley stepped off the stairs, bringing up the rear. Grace glanced back. Cale was falling behind as he tried to support Sarah.
“Leave her,” Grace yelled in a voice that would accept no argument, but Cale continued to pull Sarah along.
Alice spun, racing back towards Cale. Jake caught her arm as she passed him, pulling her to a halt.
“Are you crazy?”
“I’m not leaving him,” Alice said.
“He isn’t worth it,” Jake said. Alice glared and shook him off. She was going to get herself killed for that asshole. Served them both right. Jake ran for the truck.
In a moment Alice was at Cale’s side. She slapped Sarah across the cheek. It wasn’t hard, but it was enough to snap the girl out of her panic. “You run now, or you’ll die.” Alice barked, surprised by the sound of her own voice, flat and careless. “Come on.”
Alice took Cale by the arm and began to run, pulling him along behind her so he had to let go of Sarah. The girl had no problems keeping up with them. She only limped slightly as she followed on their heels.
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