“We could use some fucking help!” Robert shouted again. He gestured to the stockroom. “There’s more inside. Two of our guys went in. I’m not sure if they…” His voice fell off as he struggled to find the right words, but Kyle knew.
“I got it!” Kyle said. He raised the radio to his lips. “James, it’s Kyle! They’re under attack! Two men went inside the stockroom, heading your way! Over!”
Chapter 45
“Copy that!” James replied. Then he pointed toward Liam and two other men. “You three, get in there, now!”
The men took off and James pounded on the outside of the door.
“Open up!” he shouted. “We’re here!”
There was a series of loud crashes inside. Then a pounding on the other side of the door. After that the click of a dead bolt could be heard, along with a slide lock. The door burst open and a young man fell to the ground as he rushed out. James, Sam, and Peter aimed their weapons at him.
“Don’t shoot!” the man said out of breath. “There’s one more coming, I think.”
James lowered his rifle and looped an arm under the man’s shoulder.
“Son, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I think so…”
They both saw the bite wound at the same time. The young man been bitten through the sleeve of his shirt and fresh blood flowed in intersecting currents down his arm. The young man’s face filled with terror.
“Oh no! No, no no…”
James fired a single round into the young man’s head. Sam and Peter watched him fall to the ground, his blood oozing onto the asphalt in quick pulses.
James pivoted and aimed his rifle into the open door. He eyed Sam and Peter, who seemed frozen and in shock.
“Gentlemen!” James yelled. “Look alive! Weapons ready! We’ve got--”
Before he could finish his sentence, a zombie came through. It stumbled over the deceased young man’s feet and started to go down, but its hands reached out and clawed onto Peter’s arms. Peter, with only limited time to react, tried to spin away from the dead man, but his feet twisted together and he fell hard, his rifle firing harmlessly into the air. His elbow shattered upon impact with the ground and a disgusting sound of bone breaking into mush and fragments mixed with an awful cry for help.
“Get it… get it off me!”
Sam tried to pull the zombie away, but its dead fingers locked into the fabric of Peter’s shirt. Sam yanked again at the zombie’s waist, but the zombie buried its mouth into Peter’s back. As Sam pulled it away, Peter’s painful moans turned into horrific shrieks. The zombie’s teeth had torn through Peter’s shirt and were now peeling away strands of flesh from Peter’s skin like bloody string cheese.
Chapter 46
Liam reached the front of the store and entered with the two other men. The carnage they encountered inspired terror, but Liam remained focused. His ability to compartmentalize had grown over the last twenty-four hours, far beyond his own expectations, and he exploited that ability now in order to complete the task at hand: to locate Shelly and Grace.
A feeling of dread quickened his pulse when he didn’t see either of them.
“Liam!” Robert called. He was negotiating his way through and around piles of bodies, and nodded toward the open stockroom door. “Tom went inside. See if he needs a hand.”
Liam had a clearer path and raced toward the door. He wanted to ask about the women—about Shelly, mostly—but decided it would be unwise to do so at this time.
He stepped over two bodies and then jumped over the cashier counter. He raised his rifle, his chin against the stock, and entered the stockroom.
The room felt dank and smelled of rot and gunpowder. Smoke filled the air and made it difficult to see. There was no organization—shelves had fallen and merchandise littered the floor. Liam stepped carefully over boxes and clothing.
“Identify yourself!” barked an unseen voice somewhere within the cloud.
“It’s Liam. Are you hurt?”
“No! Are you?”
Liam recognized Tom’s voice but was surprised to hear it filled with hysteria.
“No,” Liam said. “James sent me to come help.” He thought about Shelly again. “Is anyone else in here?”
“Are you kidding? They’re all in here.”
Liam knew what he meant. His eyes stung from the smoke and tears formed, but he was finally able to make out some shapes besides the fallen store products.
There were just as many dead in the stockroom as there had been in the store.
“What happened?” Liam asked.
Tom squatted next to an unconscious man and pressed two fingers against his neck. He waited with an expression full of hope. A few seconds late, he shook his head in sorrow.
“A shitload of moaners were trapped in here somehow.”
“Oh, god…”
“When we opened the door,” Tom continued, “they just flooded into the store. We barely had time to fire. There were so many… it was hard to put them all down and a lot of us got taken out. When that happened…”
Tom sighed heavily and Liam could tell the ordeal had taken quite a toll on him. Tom, the badass. Liam had never seen him like this.
“When that happened,” Tom continued, “we had to take them out, too.”
“Jesus…”
Liam looked around and his eyes told him the rest of the story. He was happy to have not been involved with the ambush, but concerned he hadn’t been there to assist Shelly if she needed him. As hard as he searched the bodies, he still didn’t see her or Grace. He began to think about how to ask if she was okay without giving away his motive.
“Did you find him?” Liam finally asked.
“Who?”
“The girl’s husband.”
“Oh,” Tom said. “No idea. I think that’s what Robert’s doing now.”
“Doing what?”
“Rounding up the bodies in the store to see if the girl can confirm which one is her husband.”
Liam was puzzled, and a little nervous about telling Tom what he had discovered about the two women.
“Uh… she wasn’t in there.”
Tom’s face went blank. “What?”
Liam shrugged. Tom was about to say something else when they both heard Robert’s voice out in the store.
“Where the fuck are they?!”
“Oh shit…” Tom muttered. He climbed over the field of debris and death. Liam turned and was out the door before him.
Robert saw Liam and immediately pointed at him.
“Tell me you saw them!”
Liam played dumb. “Saw who?”
Robert steamed, “Who the f… Shelly and that bitch! Did you see them?”
“I thought they were in here,” Liam said.
Robert kicked angrily at a box on the floor. “Motherfucker!”
“Whoa, Robert,” Tom said with concern that turned into an accusation. “Is your girl switching sides on us?”
Robert shot him a look that might have killed a lesser man.
“Don’t you fucking talk about Shelly like that.”
Tom held his arms out. “Well, where the hell is she, bro? And why?”
Robert stepped toward Tom until barely the air separated them. Tom was easily six inches taller, but Robert was not afraid.
“You say one more fucking word,” Robert said in a low voice, “and I will end you. Right. Now.”
Tom cocked an eyebrow, hardly intimidated or amused. “Whatever you say, Chief.”
“You’re damn right,” Robert said.
A soft voice from another part of the store finally offered, “I think I know where they went.”
Three pairs of eyes fell on Kyle at once.
No, Liam thought. By his estimation the diminutive Kyle was attempting to appeal to Robert’s better nature by providing the location of Shelly and their captive.
Robert shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe Kyle chose now to finally give up this information.
&nbs
p; “Well,” Robert said. “Let’s have it.”
“I saw them running through the parking lot,” Kyle said. “They’re heading for the cog.”
Liam suppressed his anger.
The cog railway, he thought. It was brilliant, really. After all, neither woman had keys to either van. Those remained with Robert and his father, and they certainly weren’t capable of walking down together, but they could get down via the cog.
Then again, would either of them know how to start it? Liam no longer doubted Shelly’s resourcefulness, but even he didn’t know the first thing about operating a mountain train.
“I fucking knew it,” Tom said angrily under his breath.
“Shut your mouth!” shouted Robert. Then to Kyle he said. “Are you absolutely sure?”
Kyle nodded. “Yeah, no doubt. They’re gonna try to escape on the cog.”
“All right then,” Robert said. “We need to get moving.” Then to nobody in particular, he asked, “Where’s my dad and the others?”
“They must still be out back,” Liam said.
“Okay, well”—Robert gestured toward the stockroom—“let’s go through there.”
Robert walked through and the others followed.
Chapter 47
They squeezed by tipped-over shelves and through the exterior door. Once outside, the four of them saw two of the elders kneeling on the ground.
A third lay on the ground between them.
Liam couldn’t see who was on the ground, but he recognized Sam and James from this angle and knew immediately his father had been hurt.
“Dad? Dad!”
Sam and James stood and parted, and Liam stared down at the man who had been a terrible father to him for nearly his entire life. He found it hard to get emotional and yet ironically he felt guilty for not bursting into tears upon seeing his father lay near-lifeless on the ground.
It was his father. Regardless of his feelings toward the man, he should feel sad. Shouldn’t he?
He’d felt far more sadness when Ryan died than he did now, which was indicative of their father-son relationship. They never talked about their emotions. They had become distant by the time Liam was a teenager, and perfect strangers after he graduated college. Liam had learned to keep his father at more-than-arm’s length for his entire adult life, and his father had seemingly been okay with it.
Peter was his father, though, and while Liam always wanted to live a life that didn’t include Peter, this was never how he wanted it to be.
Liam wasn’t old enough when his mother died to be able to remember her, and he only grew up with one parent, but he still turned out to be a very successful and strong man. Whether that was the result, or in spite, of his father’s parenting, Liam still found it in him to afford the dying man some credit.
He dropped to his knees and took his father’s hand. He squeezed hard. His father was pale, almost chalky. Liam knew was close to death… and probably close to undeath, too.
“It’ll be okay, Dad,” he finally said. His voice was soft, comforting.
Peter’s breaths were labored. He would be dead within minutes, maybe even seconds, but he squeezed Liam’s hand one last time.
“Ah… Unh…” Peter groaned as he fought to stay alive.
“It’s okay,” Liam said again. “You can go, Dad. We’ve got this.” Then, more as an affirmation to himself than to his father, he said, “I’ve got this.”
His father stared at him and his eyes strained and reddened as his life made one final push from his body. Then his eyes softened and the light that had been there a few seconds ago no longer shone. He was gone.
Liam felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Liam,” Sam said. “Let me do this.”
Liam let go of his father’s hand and stood. They exchanged no words as Liam stepped back and Sam took a position over Peter’s body and aimed his rifle.
Liam looked away and into the distance, and his thoughts immediately went to Shelly and Grace at the cog.
I hope you find a way to move that thing…
He’d ridden the train plenty of times as a child and knew it was very slow, almost an hour trip to the base of the mountain. Even if they did get it moving, the vans would make it down in less than twenty minutes. James and Robert would have time for a beer before the cog ever got there.
Christ, Shelly… what were you thinking?
His thoughts froze and he realized he hadn’t heard Sam fire the rifle yet. He turned and saw Sam standing over his father. Sam’s face was full of tears. The rifle shook in his hands and he blinked rapidly to clear his sight.
Liam reached out and put his hand over the barrel of the rifle, then he lowered it toward the ground.
“Mr. Mackenzie,” he said softly, but Sam didn’t respond.
“Sam!” he said, much louder this time.
Sam jumped a little and eyed Liam curiously.
“Let me,” Liam said. He grabbed the rifle and Sam let go.
Liam then took aim at his father’s head. Peter’s eyes were still closed and he didn’t stir.
He was not a monster.
He was not a monster. He was just a man who made too many poor choices in his life.
Before he squeezed the trigger, Liam steadied the rifle and closed his eyes. He felt the recoil in his shoulder, but he never saw the bullet punch through his father’s head.
Chapter 48
The men hustled across the parking lot. The summit was not large and the cog wasn’t far away. Robert had filled in his father on the women’s whereabouts, courtesy of Kyle.
“Good boy, Kyle,” James had said. “You’re turning into a good man, you know.”
Kyle remained quiet.
They still hadn’t been aware of the ruse concocted by Shelly and Grace—with the exception of Liam—and James was certain it was the man for whom they had searched on the summit that was with them on the old mountain train, ready to take them down.
They rounded the cafeteria and stopped. The cog stood still on the track only fifty feet away.
“Excellent,” James said. “They’re not going anywhere.”
“Stupid bitches,” Tom added.
“Okay, gentlemen,” James said, “I’ll bet anything that asshole is waiting inside with the two ladies.” To Robert, he said, “I’m sorry Shelly turned out to be a traitor, son, but at least we know she’s unarmed.”
Robert kept his eyes down and didn’t respond.
“The other woman,” James continued, “is injured. That means the only person we need to worry about is the guy, and he’s probably armed to the teeth.”
“But how do we know he’s in there for sure?” Sam asked.
James eyed him indignantly and Sam’s face flushed with embarrassment.
“Anyway,” James continued, “that doesn’t mean we get sloppy and careless so let’s surround the train on both sides and I’ll decide who enters. Got it?” The men nodded their heads. “Good, then let’s go.”
Chapter 49
Shelly and Grace had holed up in the lower kitchen of the cafeteria and listened to the distant sound of gunfire. They both prayed for the safety of Liam, of which there had been a good chance since he was outside when the melee began, but there was no guarantee.
Then the shooting ended.
Were all the zombies gone now? Did any of the men survive? Did only some of them make it out?
We’re never going to escape this place, Grace thought. I can barely walk… Shelly doesn’t have keys to either van. It’s only a matter of time now before they--
“Stop,” Shelly said, as if she could read Grace’s thoughts. “Don’t make that face, not yet. We’re still alive.”
It was true. Together they had managed to prolong this effort much longer than either expected. When Tom and Kyle captured her in the woods the day before, Grace had been certain it was over. Then again when she was in the interrogation room… and again when they reached the summit. But here she was clutching onto the same faint
glimmer of hope that had faded much yet still remained.
Grace nodded.
“Thank you,” Shelly said. “I really need you to stay positive.”
Grace shut out all the dark thoughts and tried to summon every bit of optimism she could. It was possible Liam escaped too and was not far behind them. It was also possible that Liam might have convinced a few others to help their cause.
Then came the sound of muffled footsteps outside the cafeteria, and all hope swirled around and ran out of her like water down a clear drain.
“They’re coming!” Grace hissed. “They’re here!”
“Shit,” Shelly whispered. “I think he saw me.”
“Who?”
“Kyle. The short one.” She was shaking now.
“Oh no…”
“I didn’t want to tell you,” Shelly said. Her hands rose and fell unconsciously at her side and she could no longer stand still. “But when we were running over here, I looked back and saw him enter the store. He had to have seen us.”
“Okay,” Grace said. “Okay.” She tried to wield enough energy to consider a more ideal outcome. “Uh… m-maybe your guy is still out there! Maybe it’s him!”
“Right,” Shelly said as if she had considered this but didn’t truly believe it until Grace mentioned it. “Yeah. Yeah, Liam’s out there.”
“And if he isn’t,” Grace said matter-of-factly, “well, we knew this wouldn’t work with just the two of us.”
Shelly finally stopped shaking. “True.”
Grace placed a hand on Shelly’s forearm. “Thank you.”
Shelly tilted her head toward the ceiling and her eyes began to fill with tears. She took a deep breath that turned into a sob.
“I’m sorry I got you mixed up in this,” Grace added.
Shelly snapped a look at Grace, her emotions spilling over her nose and lips.
“No!” she demanded. “This was my idea. This is not your fault. Do you understand? This is on me.”
Grace nodded quickly.
“Don’t you ever apologize to me,” Shelly said through her tears.
“Fair enough,” Grace said.
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