She started to walk away from Robert.
“I’m going to get her some water.”
Robert’s head jerked. “What? Why?”
Shelly rolled her eyes and said, “Because she’s probably thirsty.”
Now Robert lowered his voice. “Are you kidding me? What the hell is this about?”
“You wanted her to cooperate and I got her to do that. You want her continued cooperation? Then let me just pretend to be a friend until she dies. Okay?”
Robert shook his head.
“It’s only for a little longer, Robert. She’ll be dead in a few hours anyway. Show a little compassion.”
Robert closed his eyes and rubbed the stubble on his face. The mental and emotional fatigue bored dark circles under his eyes. His once-moppy and playful hair was now a mess, much like the rest of his temperament.
“Fine,” he said. “But we’re not stopping if she has to piss.”
Shelly tried to hide the alarm on her face. Oh shit. She’s going with you?
She breathed deeply and slowly. “Right,” she said. “So she’s going up with you guys?”
“It’s what my dad wants,” Robert sighed. “But honestly, I can’t argue over that. Why leave her here? And with whom?”
“Well, I can easily stay with her,” she started. There was a flicker of suspicion in Robert’s face and she immediately said, “But I totally get it. She should go with you guys. Easier to account for her in case of any surprises.”
“Exactly,” Robert said, and any suspicion that had been there before was now gone.
“Well,” Shelly said as she turned to leave, “I’ll go let her know we’re going to the summit.”
“Hey,” Robert said. He held out a ring with two keys. He flipped one of them upward. “This one is for the door.” He then flipped the second key. “This one is for the cuffs.”
“Oh,” Shelly said, stunned. She hadn’t expected him to entrust her with either key.
“Obviously, she stays cuffed.”
“Of course.” She took the key, then asked, “Is this okay? With your dad, I mean.”
“Yeah, it’s fine,” he said. “Just be quick. And water only. No snacks.”
“Sure,” Shelly said, and she walked away.
Chapter 34
A key entered the lock and the handle turned slowly. Grace tensed and felt her knuckles become cold as the blood left her balled-up fists.
A cool wave of relief passed over when she saw the woman, Shelly, enter the room, but it was short-lived. Shelly appeared tense herself, and it worried Grace.
“What is it?” she asked.
Shelly wasted no time.
“They’re taking you to the summit.”
Grace’s heart began to beat rapidly. This wasn’t what they discussed earlier.
“No… I can’t go back there. I can’t see it. You promised this wouldn’t happen!”
“Shh,” Shelly whispered. “They’re going to hear. Besides, I never promised you wouldn’t go back to the summit; I only said we would get off the mountain alive.”
“Well, a trip to the summit doesn’t sound very promising.”
Shelly sighed. “I know. Believe me, it’s not what I thought would happen. I expected them to keep you here.”
“I guess they don’t trust you as much as you thought,” Grace snapped, and then felt guilty for doubting her. “So, what do we do now?”
Shelly placed her hands on her hips and looked at the floor.
“I don’t know.”
“What?” Grace stared at her in disbelief. “Okay, I know we were going to have to make some of this up as we went along, but you must have expected this might happen!”
“I’m sorry!” Shelly hissed. “Look, I have been making this up as I go along, and I didn’t know how any of this was going to go down, but it’s worked out so far. We just need to roll with it and look for another opportunity.”
Grace scoffed. “Roll with it? That’s the best you’ve got?”
“Hey, we’re still here, right?”
“Yeah, you’re still here. I’m awaiting my execution on top of a mountain.”
“Come on…” Shelly pleaded.
“I guess it’s kinda poetic,” Grace said. “…since that’s where my husband died.”
“Hey!” Shelly implored. “You’re going to make it. We are going to make it. I already told you, I’ve got a guy out there who’s going to help us.”
“Oh, right… your boyfriend.”
“He’s not my boyfriend, he’s just… a friend.”
Grace noted the defensive tone of Shelly’s voice. She even heard the hesitation to call him just a friend, as if he meant something more to Shelly, but she wasn’t ready to admit it.
As Grace looked into Shelly’s eyes, she saw an internal struggle happening that hadn’t been there before. Shelly was hiding something and Grace started to think they might be able to use it to their advantage.
“He’s not, though,” Grace said. “Is he?”
Shelly’s brow furrowed as if to indicate she did not understand the question.
“He’s not just a friend…” Grace continued.
Shelly folded her arms and leaned against the table. She nearly spoke twice, but reconsidered. Her noncommittal expression and uneasy posture were all too significant, and Grace felt a surge of confidence.
“There’s something between you two,” Grace insisted.
Shelly finally spoke. “Honestly, it’s not like that. He’s just--”
“No, no,” Grace said. “He likes you. Doesn’t he? This is good. It means he’ll fight for you. He’ll fight hard.” She watched a thin yet frail smile form on Shelly’s lips and nodded as she confirmed the discovery. “Yeah,” Grace said, “you’ve got him. And I’ve got you.” Shelly’s eyes finally met Grace’s. “And you’ll fight for me, which means he’ll fight for both of us.”
Shelly sighed heavily, before saying, “Yeah.”
Shelly had feelings for this unknown man and Grace knew those feelings were genuine. She assumed it was likely a complicated situation from the way Shelly was uncomfortable talking about it, which made sense since the first time Grace saw Shelly she had been with Robert.
Grace recognized the look of someone who had just acknowledged the beginning of something special. It reminded her of how she felt about Charlie and how that feeling helped guide her ever since his death. If the feelings between Shelly and this mystery man were even half as strong as Grace’s were for Charlie, it was enough to convince Grace she had a chance. Enough to convince her that leaving this room and going back to the summit could turn into fruition.
Grace put her full trust in Shelly.
“Okay,” she said.
“Okay… what?” Shelly asked.
“When do we leave?”
PART FOUR: THE SUMMIT
Chapter 35
“Get your hand off me, bitch!” a male voice barked.
Grace stirred violently as her arm was lifted and shoved into her body. Exhausted after a night full of interrogation followed by unsuccessfully trying to sleep in a chair with her head resting on a metal table, she had fallen asleep in the van.
Now her eyes darted around.
“Where am I?”
“Don’t worry about that.” A man sitting in the front passenger seat turned around and she recognized Tom’s face. “Just don’t go kicking the seat. And keep your hands to yourself.”
Grace looked over and another man, the one who shoved her away, shot her a hate-filled glare. Grace didn’t recognize him but didn’t care to get to know him, either.
“Tom,” said Shelly, who sat on the other side of Grace. “Come on, she just woke up.”
“Whatever.”
“It’s fine,” Grace said. The man next to her harrumphed, as if Grace would be the last person to determine what was and was not permissible behavior.
Her wrists ached and she saw they had been bound together by plastic cable ties. The skin und
er the ties was raw. Her captors had not been gentle when they restrained her.
“You okay?” Shelly asked.
Grace blinked away the sleep and nodded.
“We’re heading up the mountain,” Shelly said.
Grace squinted as she glanced out the window.
“I don’t even remember getting in the van,” she said turning back to Shelly. “How…”
Shelly lowered her hand discretely, and with her thumb and two fingers, she pantomimed a syringe.
It took Grace a few moments to figure it out.
“What! You assholes drugged me?”
“Take it easy,” Tom said from up front. “You’re still alive.” Then he looked at the driver and grinned. “For now.”
“Guys, really?” Shelly chided. “She’s disoriented. Give her a break.”
“Oh, she’ll get a break, all right,” said the driver. “A permanent one. As soon as we find that husband.”
Grace saw the driver’s reflection in the rear-view mirror and immediately recognized Robert’s father, James.
“Sleep good?” he asked.
Grace ignored him and stared at the passing scenery.
“Aww, no witty comeback? Is it something I said?”
“Fuck you,” Grace spat out.
“Well, that’s not very clever.”
Grace turned and stared at the face in the rear-view.
“Fuck you with your passenger’s fist. That better?”
James scowled at her through the mirror. “Watch your mouth, lady.” Then he looked back at the road.
Grace turned to Shelly. Their eyes met and Grace could see Shelly was trying to hold back a smile. Then, without knowing it was going to happen, Grace burst out into uncontrollable laughter. She was loud, and her body rocked back and forth. Shelly maintained her composure lest she come out of character in her and Grace’s endeavor.
“Enough!” Tom shouted.
“Can you imagine?” Grace said between laughs. “Your hand up his ass, coming out with whatever this bastard ate from the trough this morning!”
Tom pulled a pistol from his side and aimed it at Grace.
“I said enough!”
Grace settled down and cleared her throat several times.
“Yes, sir,” she said with disdain.
Tom faced the road again. Grace giggled a few more times and Tom whipped his head around.
“Last one,” Grace said. “I swear.”
This time, Tom ignored her for good. Grace looked over at Shelly, whose face was buried in her hands, but Grace could tell she was trying hard to hide her amusement.
James then asked, “Everything okay back there, Shel?”
He had not responded to the laughter until now, but Grace was sure he had been watching through the mirror.
“Yes, Mr. Verhoven,” Shelly said.
The van was silent and Grace watched as James held eye contact with Shelly. “Good,” he said after a few moments, and his eyes went back to the road. “You know,” he continued, “I’m aware you and I haven’t been on the greatest of terms in a long time.”
“I know,” she said, and Grace noticed a somber quality to her voice.
“But this discovery of yours… you surprised me, Shelly. Now I admit, I doubted Robert when he assured me you would be up for the task. But I think Robert was right about you.”
Grace looked to Shelly who subtly shook her head, as if saying, ‘Don’t listen to him.’
“You’ve made me proud,” James said.
“Well… thank you, sir.”
“Please, call me James.”
“Okay, s--uh, James. Thank you.”
A burst of static played on the two-way radio and a voice came through: “Dad, Tom… you there? Over.”
James nodded to Tom, who took the radio from the center console.
“Right here, Chief. Whatcha got? Over.”
There was more static between transmissions, then:
“We’re at the summit. Place looks deserted. Shouldn’t be hard to find this guy. Over.”
“Just what I wanted to hear,” James said under his breath.
Tom smiled, then spoke into the radio: “Roger that, Chief. We’ll be there in five. Over.”
“Copy that. Over and out.”
Tom put the radio back in the console. Then he turned to Grace.
“This is gonna be a lot more fun for me than it is for him,” he said.
“Mm,” Grace mumbled. “Well, I sure hope I don’t fail to meet your expectations.”
Tom winked. “Trust me, you won’t.”
Any amusement she felt from laughing at their expense disappeared. Tom had just revealed himself to be viler than she originally thought; it was the first time Grace feared that the men might have intentions of harming her in other ways. She turned to Shelly, who shook her head slowly and mouthed the words, “Won’t happen.” Grace nodded and tried to wipe the fear from her face, but it was too late.
“Oh?” Tom said. “That finally get your attention?”
Grace said nothing.
“I thought so.”
As much as she trusted Shelly, Grace could not ignore the fact that Tom was a big man. Surely he wouldn’t have a hard time fending off two unarmed women, especially not with a group of armed men behind him.
Grace stared at the back of the driver’s seat and waited for the ride to be over, but not before having to listen to one more of Tom’s threats.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll make sure it hurts. A lot.”
Chapter 36
A Week Ago
Grace heard a terrible scream from behind her. She turned and saw Rose being attacked by the fifth zombie. It had bitten into her shoulder.
“Shoot it! Shoot it!” Rose screamed.
Charlie ran to her. He stood over the zombie and fired his last shot into the back of its head. The zombie immediately went limp and Charlie pulled its lifeless body off of Rose. Blood sprayed from the wounds on her shoulder and neck as she lay there.
“I didn’t see him,” Rose said. Her voice trembled. “I got the other one, but I didn’t see him. I--”
“Shh, it’s okay now,” Charlie said. He threw an ominous glance at Grace.
She knew it would never be okay for Rose, whose head bobbed up and down as she went into shock.
“Rose,” Charlie said, his voice soft but firm. “You’re going to turn. So we’re going to have to ki—”
A loud crash from inside the store turned their heads.
“That’s more of them,” Rose said, her voice just above a whisper. “They’re coming in from the stockroom.”
Charlie looked around, as if weighing their options.
“Just go!” Rose demanded. “I’ll take care of them.” Charlie looked at Grace. He seemed as unsure as she.
“Go!” Rose insisted. “I promise! I’ll take care of them.”
With no bullets left and no idea how many more zombies were coming, Grace knew they had to go.
“I’ll take care of myself after!” Rose promised.
“Let’s go,” Grace said. “She’ll at least slow them down and then she’ll kill herself before she turns.”
Rose nodded emphatically. Grace could tell Charlie had little confidence it would work and that Rose would easily succumb to the zombies, but Grace was right about one thing: Rose would likely slow them down.
“Okay,” Charlie said. He turned to Grace. “Grab the machete.” He got up and ran to the display of ice axes and pulled two off the wall.
“Help me up,” Rose said.
Grace held Rose’s left arm. Charlie tucked the ice axes into his belt and held her right arm. They stood her up next to the counter.
“They’ll have to come through me before they get to the door,” Rose said.
“All right, let’s go,” Charlie said. He ran to the door and Grace started to follow. She stopped and looked back at Rose. She stared deep into her eyes. She couldn’t bring the words to her lips, but Rose
acknowledged what Grace wanted to say.
“It’s okay,” Rose said. Her voice was now calm, even soothing. “Besides, it looks like you were right all along.” She was referring to when Grace told her that being alone in this place was not good for Rose, whether she wanted to believe it or not, and that she would eventually wish she had people around her. A half-smile creased her bloodied, painful lips.
Another loud crash in the stockroom.
“Grace, come on!” Charlie said. He was standing by the front door.
Grace looked back at Rose one last time. Grace nodded, mouthed the words thank you, and ran to the door.
Rose watched Grace and Charlie until they disappeared from view. She then turned and moved weakly toward the door to the stockroom.
Having worked at the summit store for many years, she could see the inside of the stockroom in her mind. Based on the noise coming from the other side of the door and the speed with which the zombies moved, Rose was able to quickly determine where the zombies were in relation to the door and approximately how much time she had until they burst through it.
Twenty seconds. Maybe twenty-five.
She pressed a hand against the open wounds on her neck and screamed when she applied pressure. She leaned against the edge of the counter, supported herself with her other hand, and made her way back toward the stockroom door. She stumbled along the way and found other means of keeping herself upright: a stack of footwear boxes on display, an end-cap of canteens, and a row of hiking poles until she finally reached the cash register.
Fifteen seconds.
Her stomach dropped and her eyes saw halos. She felt faint, as if her knees would buckle below her, but she continued to press forward toward the door. Then she saw something useful.
There was a large filing cabinet. It was about three feet tall by about two feet wide and another two feet deep. It was filled with mainly stock orders and the belongings of other employees. It would be easy to move.
Ten seconds.
Standing upright, the cabinet was too narrow to fill the space between the stockroom door and the cashier’s counter. However, Rose could create an effective wedge by tipping it on its side. She sized up the gap and quickly surmised it would only leave an inch or two of space if and when the zombies broke the door open.
Dead Summit: Containment Page 17
