“Ugh, oh great,” Sophie said. “My butt is so sore!” She jumped out of the car and grabbed her bottom, hopping around to showcase its soreness. Kala chuckled at her and a moment later Devon joined her. Dylan yawned as he climbed out to stand next to the kids.
“New game plan?” he asked Kala.
“Same plan, just doing some rearranging,” she smiled and handed him the shotgun, which he immediately opened to be sure it was loaded.
Devon and Sophie were still hopping around.
“All right you two crazies,” Dylan called out, getting their attention. “I want you to run as fast as you can to that sign over there,” he pointed to a deer crossing sign twenty-five yards away. “Then run back. First one back gets a prize!”
Devon and Sophie took off after one another, racing for the sign. Kala thought it was a wonder they didn’t tumble over and split their heads open. When they were almost to the sign Kala turned and looked over at Andrea, she was watching the kids too. Then suddenly, Andrea’s face contorted and she screamed.
Kala spun around to see Dylan take off sprinting toward the two kids. They saw him and giggled madly, having each touched the sign and now running back.
Dylan didn’t speak, he ran straight toward the kids. He didn’t answer their shouts, or Sophie’s frightened squeal as he raised the shotgun.
Boom, boom, boom!
Three rounds burst from his barrel in a deafening roar. Devon fell to the ground covering his ears, and Sophie kept screaming. Two of the three zombies that were chasing after the kids went down, one missing his head, the other with a basketball sized hole in her chest. They had come out of the woods as soon as the kids were far enough that Kala’s group could not easily reach them.
Dylan leaped over Devon, left Sophie screaming by his side and swung the butt of the shotgun, catching the mangled figure that was still charging them. He struck its face squarely and the creature fell over, but that didn’t stop it. The zombie leapt to its feet and lunged at Dylan, but he had already pumped another round into the chamber, and from his hip, he fired. Just as the creature leapt toward him, the twelve-gauge boomed again and the desperate creature’s face was blown off its body.
Dylan turned with his chest heaving, to see Kala and the others running toward them, their mouths agape in shock. Andrea scooped Sophie off the ground and Tom picked up Devon, rushing them back to the SUV. Kala reached him and took his arm. He was trembling.
“Dylan,” she said, but he was unresponsive. “Dylan,” she shouted, shaking him. His eyes slowly turned to her. “Come on, we need to vacate.” He nodded and let Kala lead him to the truck. “Dylan, that was totally badass man, you were like freaking Rambo.”
She looked up and saw a faint smile form.
“I guess I am pretty badass.”
They didn’t waste any time loading up. The kids went in the far back with Andrea. Mae sat in the center of the middle row, sandwiched between James and Tom, who each had a rifle loaded and ready. Dylan, her right hand man, took his co-pilot’s seat next to Kala and silently loaded four replacement cartridges into the shotgun. She smiled at him and patted his leg. He gave her a look that said, whew. She nodded. It had been too damn close.
They came across one more double K-rail barrier before entering the city. There was a small residential area around the center of town that had been ravaged. Doors were busted in, and windows were broken on the ground floors of almost every residence they passed. Kala didn’t know if it was looters, militants, or the zombies.
She steered carefully around the parked cars that lined the road on either side. It was treacherous, there was only a few inches of clearance on either side of her big vehicle. At last she reached the core of the city, where a highway overpass crossed overhead and several abandoned fast food restaurants called out to them longingly.
“Oh what I wouldn’t give for damn cheeseburger right now,” Tom grumbled behind her. Kala chuckled.
“I’d about kill for a big steak from Longhorn’s.”
“Fried alligator,” Dylan interjected, “with spicy ranch sauce.”
They were quiet for a moment then, “I’m hungry!” Devon shouted from the back seat.
“Me too!” chimed Sophie. Dylan rolled his eyes. “We’re all hungry baby, we’ll eat lunch soon.”
“At the cafeteria?” Devon asked.
“Hopefully.”
Kala passed under the highway and a black shadow darted out toward the car. A moment later the half-dead creature dove onto their hood, clawing its way up toward the windshield. Kala didn’t panic, she had played this game more than once. With a quick, “hold on,” she slammed on the brakes, sending the dead one flying to the ground in front of them, then she gassed the engine and the Infinity's twenty-four inch tires crunched through the zombie’s remaining bones. She hurried forward, weaving around cones and cars. She saw more dead ones in between buildings, looking up as they passed. Some of these didn’t even give chase. Their bodies looked too frail to even support the little amount of life they needed for animation. Others did chase them. These were stronger zombies, fresher ones, she thought.
“James, incoming for you,” she called over her shoulder.
“I see her,” he responded coolly. Kala didn’t know where James got his calm nerves, but he had them, and she appreciated it. James usually acted on the side of very cautious, but when she called upon him to act…
James rolled down his window and extended the Kalashnikov. He drew a steady bead on the approaching woman. She was a big woman, had to be two hundred pounds and moving fast enough to put a good dent in the car if she hit it, maybe even disable the doors.
“Kids eyes covered?” he asked Andrea.
“Yes.”
The AK-47 shook in his arms as he fired off a four-round burst. They all hit center mass, one lead projectile piercing the big woman’s heart. She tumbled forward onto the ground a few yards away from the SUV.
“Good shooting,” Dylan said.
“Yeah, but I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.” James shook his head, “It’s a shame, it really is.”
Kala drove on. There was another blue sign advertising “Hospital” and pointing to the right. Only this sign had a big red circle with a line through it over the word hospital.
“Well, that looks ominous,” Dylan said softly, looking at the sign.
Yes it does. She couldn’t stop here, there were just too many of the infected, so Kala continued slowly making her way through the warren of crowded streets toward the hospital. Two more turns and they saw the tall grey sides of a building with a burning heart and cross hung on the side. Sacred Heart Hospital. Kala slowed and stopped the SUV.
There was no entrance on this side of the building, only the flat gray wall. Several dumpsters were overflowing with waste that would never be collected. She could go no further because the road leading around either side of the hospital was blocked with debris, so she was stuck in this perpendicular intersection. She let the big SUV idle for a minute. Her previous optimism was waning. Just nerves, she told herself, but was it? She kept thinking about the sign they had passed. Should they just move on? Dylan placed a hand on her arm and Kala noticed she was shaking a bit.
“We’re already here Kala, let’s check it out,” he said calmly.
Kala searched his eyes for support and found the strength she was lacking. She smiled, letting his confidence refill her own. She looked into the back. “Kids stay here. Andrea, Tom, Mae; arm yourselves and keep watch. We’ll be back in five minutes to let you know if it’s clear.
Five minutes turned out to be a long shot.
As soon as they got out of the vehicle, a foul stench hit them.
“Oh god, what is that?” James asked, stifling a gag.
“Smells like rotten vomit,” Dylan offered.
Kala looked over to the dumpsters. “It’s decomp. The bacteria in the atmosphere are breaking down whatever dead organic matter they can find. Which in this case smells a lo
t like meat.” She had a feeling there was more than just trash stuffed in those dumpsters.
“This city is dead, Kala.”
“Well, the living dead anyway.”
Dylan, James, and Kala wove their way through the piles of refuse littered along the narrow access road, making their way to the front of the hospital. Kala led the way, holding the Kalashnikov she was growing fond of, out in front of her. As they neared the corner of the building, the debris cleared away and they could see a full parking lot. Kala peeked one eye around the corner, breathing shallowly.
“I don’t see anything,” she whispered. The entrance was forty yards ahead. It was a large, covered, drive-in entrance meant for ambulances to pull up quickly and unload patients. She turned back to Dylan and James. “It’s only about forty yards.”
“But?” James prodded.
“But, there’s no cover at all. We’ll be wide open from here to the door.”
Dylan frowned. “You’d think there’d be all sorts of cars and shit in the way, wouldn’t you? You don’t think it’s been intentionally cleared, do you?”
“If it was, that could mean there are people in there, maybe people that could help us, a refuge,” James said, with hope in his voice.
“Or…” Kala said.
“Or it could be some kind of stronghold for militants,” Dylan completed her thought. “Forty yards of clear firing, a kill zone.”
James blew out a breath. “I don’t trust any of those damn militia types, I haven’t met a decent one yet.”
“Well, to be fair,” Kala said, “we’re those militia types too.” She held up her rifle to make the point.
“You know what I mean, Kala. There are a ton of those freaks out there that have just been waiting their whole lives for something like this to happen, for an excuse to reign in the absence of power.”
“I’m going in,” Dylan said firmly, ending the discussion. He broke the barrel on his shotgun to once again check that it was ready to fire, then he took the lead position and motioned for the others to get behind him. He held up three fingers, then two, then spun around the corner. Kala and James followed right behind. They sprinted for the door...and made it about ten yards.
The asphalt in front of Dylan erupted in a shower of black pebbles and sparks. He skidded to a stop, with Kala crashing into him, and James flying over the top of them both, landing in a heap. Kala rolled to her crouch position, bringing the AK-47 up to her shoulder. Then there was silence for a moment. Her heart dropped as a megaphone boomed down from above. Kala swiveled to look up into the second and third floor windows. They were militia all right. On the third floor, in four windows spaced between the building’s edge and the entrance were armed combatants. They wore dark camo and held AR-15s at their shoulders.
“Set your weapons on the ground and lay flat on your stomachs. Do this and we will spare you.”
The deep voice on the speaker chilled her. She glanced over at Dylan, who was also in a crouched position, his shotgun aimed at the third floor. It would be useless at this range. Shit, what the hell had she gotten them into? And the kids? The kids were back there in the car.
“Do not move!” the megaphone boomed again. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw James, he was standing and slowly approaching her position. She held her hand up for him to stop.
“Kala,” Dylan murmured. “How good do you think these guys are?”
“No idea, but with the advantage of an elevated shooting position, they don’t even have to be that good,” Kala said. Dylan grumbled at this, his young face looking harder and more impenetrable each day.
“What will they do if we surrender?” James called over. Kala realized they could speak freely without being overhead.
“Probably execute you men, then take Andrea, Mae and me as brood sows and raise the kids as their own,” Kala’s stomach lurched even as her own words left her lips. She glanced down at the watch on her wrist. They’d been gone over ten minutes now, Andrea was going to be freaking out, but not as much as she would be when these assholes came for her and the kids.
“We cannot surrender,” Kala said coldly.
“They’ll kill us all, Kala,” James reminder her.
“I’d rather go down fighting.
“What’s a brood sow?” Dylan asked.
“A woman they keep around to pump out babies for their leader.”
“Shit,” Dylan moaned.
“Right?”
A rifle round pinged off the ground a foot in front of Kala’s face.
“Enough talking. You have till the count of ten and then we will execute every one of you. 10 - 9…”
“We need a distraction,” Kala said, and then it happened. Someone started laying on the horn of the SUV, its loud bellow filling the air, then they heard gunshots. As soon as the horn went off, two of the gunmen swiveled their heads toward it. Perfect. Kala unloaded on the building, firing madly at each occupied window. She might not hit anything, but the men would be forced into the defensive.
Dylan and James opened up as well, and the world was filled with a storm of lead and thunder. Bullets rained down on them, but with the shooters trying not to be targets, the focus they needed to be accurate was lost.
“Run!” Kala screamed, and the trio took off, still firing into the windows. “Get up next to the wall!” They slammed into the wall, where it was difficult for the shooters to get a bead on them, then sidestepped quickly to the corner. They had almost made it when James cried out.
“Kala! Someone’s coming out of the entrance!”
It was more than one someone. Three military types were charging straight toward them.
“Get to the chopper - I mean, SUV!” Kala screamed as she knelt down. She emptied her spare clip into the charging men, watching with satisfaction as two of them dropped. Then she turned and ran as bullets peppered the air around her. She rounded the corner and saw to her amazement that the SUV had been turned around so that now it was facing back out the way they came. Tom was in the driver’s seat, looking terrified and watching her approach. He made hurrying signs with his hands.
Come on, as if I’m not already running! Kala thought. Her heart was pounding like mad, and her breaths were coming up so short on oxygen that she started to smell ammonia in her sinuses. Dylan had made it to the truck and now he leaned over the hood, firing rounds at the attackers that were rounding the corner behind her. His shots scattered the men, and sent them diving to the sides. Kala made it to the open back door and dove into the Infinity. Tom jammed the gas down with Dylan and Kala still struggling to pull their doors closed.
“Get off me!” Sophie cried, and Kala saw that she had dove on top of the girl, squishing her into the seat.
“Did you get any food?” Devon asked.
James busted out laughing from the back seat, a high, maniacal sound, and soon the whole car, except the kids, were laughing along with him.
Tears streamed down Dylan’s dark face as he laughed, and Tom just grinned merrily.
“Tom, how did you know we were in trouble?” James asked.
“When you guys didn’t come back after five minutes, I snuck out and peeked around the corner of the building. You guys were running like hell for the door, then there was a bunch of gunfire. I didn’t really know what to do, but I thought if I could get the car ready to roll and create some kind of diversion you might have a chance.”
James let out a whistle.
Kala looked into the back at Andrea, who shrugged and winked at her. Thank god for small miracles, or big ones.
*****
Dylan was still staring up at her as Kala drifted back from the memory. She patted his cheek and he twitched a little. She realized he had fallen asleep with his eyes open. She saw recognition float back into him. He attempted a weak grin. Kala felt so lost. Something about the memory from Jamestown was tugging at her mind, but she couldn’t quite get her head around it yet. What did Jamestown have to do with this place?
“We
need a distraction Dylan,” she muttered. His eyes slipped shut then popped open again. Andrea had found an intact Xanax pill, which Kala had given him. That coupled with the high proof grain alcohol, and he was barely conscious. “Go to sleep, hon, I’ll figure it out,” she said to him softly. She scooted off the bench seat and wriggled her way out of the door. Dylan’s eyes fluttered open.
“We need a rabbit,” he said dreamily.
“A rabbit? Like to eat?” Kala chuckled. “I’ll get right on that, buddy.”
Dylan moved his head from side to side. “A rabbit,” he repeated. “The fox always chases the rabbit.”
“You’re wasted Dylan; I’ll talk to you in the morning.” Kala climbed out of the car and pushed the door closed. She slid down to the ground and fresh tears started to form in her eyes. She didn’t want to lose him. Death is a part of life, she reminded herself. Kala told that voice in her head to kindly shut the hell up. She wasn’t going to lose her friend, not while she still had her life to give.
Sophie was giggling over by the fire with Devon. Andrea sat cross-legged, watching the kids. Tom sat next to her, holding her hand. Maybe they could take care of Sophie if something happened to Dylan and me, she thought, then pushed the thought away. She wouldn’t let anything happen to Dylan. It was dark now, and Kala called over to James.
“Grab your rifle and come take a walk with me.”
He nodded and kissed Mae on the cheek, then rose and followed her as she wound through the dark trees. The delicious smell of the earth filled her nose while she was in the small forest, making her homesick for her father. Then they reached the edge, and Kala gasped.
“They have electricity!” James exclaimed.
“Indeed they do,” Kala murmured. The borderlands in front of them stretched in darkness for a little more than a quarter mile, but the guard posts on the fenced area had huge spotlights on them, which panned the area without stopping. They must be motorized, she thought, noting the perfect timing of the lights, leaving only a tiny bit of ground in darkness in the last quarter mile to the fence.
A Dark Evolution (Book 2): Deranged Page 17
