"Fine, I'm fine." She made herself look around, wanting to know how many of the others were looking. She furrowed her brow when she noticed half the group was gone. "Where is everyone?"
"At the hospital looking for supplies. They left about half an hour ago."
Ally rubbed her face. How had she not woken up? Why was she still so groggy? Her hand rubbed over the wounds on her neck and fresh blood trickled down when she broke the scab. Was she infected? Sick? From the way Kevin was staring at her, she knew she looked scared. She needed to calm him down; no need for both of them to worry. Taking a deep breath, she focused on his eyes and for a brief second, she saw something dark lurking in them. She clenched her fist, annoyed the feeling from her nightmares was blurring into reality.
"I guess I was more tired than I realized. Thanks for letting me sleep."
"No problem. I knew you'd do anything to avoid the talk."
"You got me. That's why I went on all those supply runs, as well," Ally said, but part of her knew what she was saying wasn't in jest.
"Ha, ha."
She readjusted her position and realized Sean wasn't next to her. Her body tensed. Kevin put a hand on her shoulder.
"Relax, he's over there talking to one of Neal's people."
Watching Sean laugh at something a girl said made her feel better. She knew he probably missed his friends, and though he hadn't asked what happened, she suspected he knew. She tangled her fingers with Kevin's and leaned on him. They fit together nicely, and for a few minutes she let herself relax.
"Ally, not that I want to ruin what's one of the best moments of my life, but can I ask you something?"
She nodded, hoping it wasn't the question.
Kevin pulled her closer and nuzzled her ear. "Do you think Daniel is on the level?"
She thought about it for a minute. "Why?"
More whispering, what would look like pillow talk to prying eyes. "Three of the men lost today were Victor's. It seems convenient to me."
"I don't trust anyone, but other than stealing a few bits of food, I haven't seen him do anything questionable."
Yells got everyone to their feet. "It's Daniel and John, they've got supplies. Open the back up." The men on the crates pointed to a button beside Ally's head.
She hit it and the metal barrier slid down. Daniel ran with two other men, bags slung over their shoulders, zombies hot on their heels. Ally grabbed her Micro Galil and started taking shots at the immediate threats. Beside her, Liam did the same. Soon, there were five people firing. Bodies fell, most shots hitting their mark. Then it happened. Tony, trailing behind them, stumbled when a bullet tore through his leg.
He fell to the ground, ignored by Daniel and the other man, John. Time sped up for her, more shots, more ghouls heads snapping back, Daniel and friend pulled to safety as the truck moved and the back end went up.
Liam grabbed the bags and walked to the front of the truck with them. Daniel had a hand on his side, gasping for air. John, who Ally recognized as one of the men who cheered on the beating of Tony, seemed unfazed.
She examined Daniel, no sweat on his brow, when she helped him onto the truck his hands were warm and dry, his face was its normal color, none of the redness an adrenaline rush provided, and his breathing, while labored, seemed fake.
"Good thing you made it back. You okay?" she asked while placing a hand on his wrist, finding his pulse steady.
"I'm fine, but we lost Tony and George. A group of bastards hit us as we were leaving. No choice but to run. Needed the medicine," Daniel said.
Ally realized the only people left from the facility were her, Sean, Kevin, and Ben. Fear seized her and she wondered where her big friend was. She searched the area until she found him behind Sean. Like always, he was watching over people for her.
"That's a tough break. It's a shame about all that lost medicine."
"Yeah," Daniel said, breathing normally, all pretense of being winded gone.
Daniel went to the front and slid the metal plate back into place. No speeches, no mention of surviving to honor their memory, just gone. She looked back at Kevin, who raised an eyebrow. Her nightmare surfaced once again and she wondered who killed Joseph if Victor didn't.
A few drops of rain fell. Ally stared at the sky, wondering what the hell they were supposed to do. Scraping sounds erupted from the wall behind her and two thin pieces of something shot up and then titled toward one another. She watched in fascination as they meshed together making a roof.
"Sorry about the darkness folks, nothing we can do about it."
Ally concentrated on the voice, but couldn't put a face to it. Someone sat next to her and she felt a box of ammunition placed in her hand. The same voice, only lower this time, whispered in her ear. "Watch your back."
As if I wasn't paranoid enough.
"Ally, what's going on? I can't find you," Sean said.
She picked up her Micro Galil and used the flashlight on the end to find Sean. They made their way to one another, settling in their back corner. Kevin joined them and Ben's deep voice rumbled close by. She didn't like being in the dark, figuratively or literally.
Holding Sean close, she knew without a doubt she could be like them, cruel, mean, and anything else required if it meant protecting what was precious to her. She hoped no one made her prove it, but in a truck full of people she didn't trust and who probably didn't trust her, the odds weren't in her favor.
The remainder of the trip to Phoenix consisted of various supply runs, only a few yielding anything of use. Ally went on as many as possible with Daniel to try and get a better idea of the man. Ben came along also, but she guessed it was to watch her back.
Each run Ally went on, everyone came back. The others weren't so lucky. Two people from Neal's group died, and one from Daniel's.
During a scavenge in a small town in New Mexico, Ally had tried to approach Daniel and talk to him about what the plans were when they reached Phoenix. He said he'd let everyone know as soon as he spoke to Jerry.
"Here, I figured we better enjoy this before someone kills me in my sleep," Kevin said, handing her a mug of hot coffee.
She wrapped her hands around the cup enjoying the warmth. She inhaled and savored the aroma. "You're too good to me, so I wouldn't let anyone kill you while you sleep."
Kevin put an arm across her shoulder and laughed. "I wish I could do more for you, but you'll have to settle, for now. And we both know it's only a matter of time before one of Daniel's men does something."
Ally sipped her coffee, thinking about everything. They'd left the facility only a few days ago, and nine people were dead, seven of which had been Victor's men. Thoughts and suspicions plagued her about who'd killed Joseph, and there was nothing she could do about it. For the time being, she was dependent on Daniel, but when they arrived in Phoenix things were going to change.
Daniel stood, the small opening connecting the front to the back slamming shut behind him. He kicked a few people who weren't standing and walked down the center like a General inspecting his troops. Ally swallowed the rest of her coffee, hoping it wasn't the last cup she'd ever have. When she stood, Kevin joined her, but when Sean tried she kept a hand on his shoulder and shook her head.
"We'll be arriving in Phoenix in a few minutes. Jerry's ready to let us into his compound. He told me we need to beware of the bastard population. They're more aggressive than we're used to. Get ready."
He went back up front, and Ally was left with a nervous feeling in her stomach. She'd never spoken to Jerry directly, all her information coming through Neal. She sneaked a look at one of the slats in the back barrier and caught sight of a mountainside. When the truck turned, thousands of cars came into view. Zombies walked around, fighting with one another, she even saw one attack and start to eat one of its fellow undead.
At the end of the path they needed to drive, she spotted an opening. She'd heard of an abandoned university that had a stadium built inside a mountain. A noise to the right side of the
truck caused some to back away, others opened the roof and positioned themselves on top of the crates. Ally wanted to stop them, knowing nothing good would happen.
Liam looked down at the others. "They're attacking the truck, get ready for another–"
The force of the hit pushed Ally off her feet. Some of the women from Neal's group screamed and huddled in the middle of the truck bed.
"Sean, get down."
The sounds were coming from higher places on the truck and Ally realized the damn things were trying to get in from the top. "Liam, get down and close the top."
"Are you crazy? We need to defend ourselves."
"Liam—"
Her words died on her lips as two bastards climbed over the top. One reached in a dry, muscular arm and grabbed the man next to Liam. The man held onto the side, screaming as Liam fired several rounds into the bastard's head with no result. Ally pulled out her machete and took a stance in-between Sean and the visible attackers; she knew it would be seconds until they came from all sides. The second zombie flipped over the side and landed on one of Daniel's men. The thing roared, paying no attention to the bullets entering its body. It reached out and grabbed the man by the collar and jumped out.
"Someone shut the damn top," she yelled.
More cries and screams as two more zombies approached. One in front and one on the left, and then a third one at the back. Liam lost his hold and his friend went over the side, already dead. Ally heard a thump behind her and turned to face the bastard. Kevin stood still. Ally lunged forward and swung her machete into its neck. A quarter of an inch in, it felt like she'd hit a tree trunk.
It grabbed the blade and yanked it out, almost wrenching her shoulder from its socket at the sudden movement. Sean screamed, a woman cried, and Liam yelled. None of it mattered. More hands reached over the edges. Ben tackled it to the ground.
"Could use some help here," the big man said.
Ally searched for anything to use. Kevin hefted the axe and swung it, almost taking off Ben's head.
"Give me that," Ally said.
She swung it with both arms to lodge the blade into the zombie's spine. She wriggled the weapon free, ready to swing again when Liam appeared with a rope of some kind and a Ruger. He aimed at the zombie, a hook lodging itself into the fleshy part of its thigh. Liam fired again hitting the side of a building. A second later, the zombie flew out, and Liam hit the button sealing the roof.
Chapter Twenty-One
"Everyone okay?" Daniel made his entrance from the front, none the worse for wear.
"We lost Simon and Doug. Those damn things jumped in here. What the hell is going on?" Liam said.
Ally kept silent, more interested in what Daniel would say.
"Jerry warned us. You should have kept the top closed. That's why it's there, to keep you safe."
Liam snorted and shook his head. A few of the others looked away.
"I told you. Jerry said we'd be up against something new here. Now, if you're done whining, we have to shake a few loose and get into the compound." Daniel turned to leave. "Liam, I want you up front."
When the door slid shut, Ally wondered if she would see Liam again. The undead moved toward Kevin and the truck lurched to the left, right, left, right, right, and almost flipped over. She held on to a bench and used her body to protect Sean.
Explosions and the sounds of large weaponry outside made everyone cower and cover their ears. Ally paid attention; the more she remembered, the more prepared she'd be. Her gut told her they were entering into something other than a safe place.
She wanted to talk to Neal, but one look at him told her it was a lost cause. The man was shattered. Whatever happened to him at the place they took him from had done him in.
Metal ground against metal and Ally felt the truck lurch. Shouts behind them and the slamming of a gate made her feel like she was in a prison. The back of the truck slid down and Daniel stood there, a blood-soaked Liam next to him.
"We're here. Jerry wants us to exit the vehicle with our hands up," Daniel said, and Ally didn't have to use much imagination to see the cringe on his face.
Ally jammed her stuff into a bag and layered clothes on top before shoving it under the bench. An intense feeling of unease made her skin crawl, and she couldn't place it until she exited the truck.
They were surrounded by a few hundred men, each one carrying an automatic rifle of some kind, military grade. The room was some sort of entry, full of cars and trucks, fresh tracks behind one of them. The men were well-fed but dirty, and not a single woman was visible in their ranks.
Daniel twitched and Ally realized someone standing to the side of the truck had a Glock pointed at him. Whatever Daniel had planned for their entry into Jerry's compound, she was sure this wasn't part of it.
A lanky man with greasy skin stepped forward and smiled. Ally noticed his yellowed teeth and stringy hair. A stiff wind could knock the guy over; she didn’t think he weighed more than a hundred and forty pounds. She hoped he was as stupid as he looked.
"You must be Ally Lane. Neal didn't tell me much about you, said you held back a lot. However, Daniel was a wealth of information, so I'm taking precautions. I'm Jerry, your new leader." He motioned the man on his left forward. He had a patch over one eye and was missing two fingers on his left hand. "Put her and her big friend there in restraints, lock them in the cafeteria."
"Why are you taking her away? Please, don't," Sean said.
Ally's heart stopped when Jerry aimed a compact Jericho at the boy's head. In a flash, she grabbed the hands of the man in front of her, slipped the cuffs onto his wrists, kicked his right knee so hard it bent backward, and had the rifle at Jerry's head. The man she'd kicked screamed, the sound of hundreds of guns cocking echoed around the room as they were aimed at her head.
Jerry smiled. "I'm impressed."
"You shouldn't be. You caught me on an off day. Aim your weapon somewhere else."
Jerry did as she asked, the only problem being she now looked down the barrel of his weapon.
"Come on now, let's be adults. You know you can't win. I'll let the boy go with you if he's so important."
"Fine. I want him, too," she said, tilting her head toward Kevin.
"Deal, but your big friend is going to go somewhere else. The others will provide enough entertainment. In fact, I'm going to put you somewhere special so you can see what we're doing here."
The man she'd kicked locked the cuffs extra tight and grinned when she winced. Ally absorbed as much as she could of her surroundings.
* * *
After a day and a half she knew where the doors and windows were, how many men, and the patrol schedule. Where the others were was a mystery; she hoped they were still alive. Jerry had stopped by earlier in the day and told her tonight would blow her mind. From the manic way he presented himself, she knew it would be horrific.
"Ally, what do you think's going to happen?" Kevin asked, his voice low.
"I don't know. Can you get this?" Ally motioned to the can of food in front of her; even thought she was in a sealed room with no weapons and hundreds of armed guards, they still felt she needed the cuffs.
Kevin hid his fear as well as did Sean. Since they had been deposited in the rectangular room, Sean had stayed in a corner and Kevin paced. The view concerned her. The field, which had long before succumbed to toxic rains and drought, had dark stains on it under that looked like crucified bodies. If half of what she suspected Jerry was capable of ended up being true, they were in trouble.
The food smelled rotten but she forced it down, making sure the others did, too. They needed their strength. A few minutes later, Jerry entered, a dozen guards with him.
"Hope you enjoyed the meal. Nothing like food a couple decades past its shelf life. Now, if you're up to it, follow me."
The guards got them to their feet, up to it or not. They exited left, walked thirty feet, entered a stairwell and went down two flights, exiting onto the field. Jerry led them across.
"Ally, join me. I want to tell you about this place, what we're doing, and how you fit in."
The guards let her jog to catch up and no one batted an eye when she came shoulder to shoulder with him.
"How are the others?"
"Fine, for the most part. Daniel is not pleased, as you can imagine. He's a bit of a control freak and from what his men told me, he's not a very nice man."
Ally spotted snipers, wondering how many more were hidden from view. Jerry could have thousands of people at his disposal in a place this size. Her escape plan needed tweaking, perhaps an overhaul.
"And Neal and his friends?"
"They told me everything they knew, though nothing of use. Tonight, however, Ben is invaluable. You see what I'm doing here is important work, groundbreaking."
Ally felt her insides go cold. "I've heard that before, right before a lot of innocent people were killed by a madman."
"Well, no worries then. I haven't been called crazy in months. You cut the tongues out of a few heads, and you would not believe the effect it has."
Ally remained silent. The center of the field was filled with men dressed in black uniforms, and civilians in rags. Whatever was going on here, she wanted no part of it. What she thought were bodies on crosses turned out to be zombies chained in place. She shivered at the sight.
The escape plan definitely needed work.
"What are they doing up there?"
Jerry stared in awe at the writing creatures. "They keep the balance. I figured out why this happened. We screwed the world over, took advantage of it, and raped her of resources time and time again. These are not mindless beings like the word zombie conjures. They are the great equalizer. They determine who is fit enough to survive and smart enough to learn."
Ally noticed a mechanism with six chains going out to six crosses. Sparks flew as a lever released and the ground split open, revealing an underground compartment. A cage had been placed on top and she watched in horror as Ben and Neal were raised. More sparks and the zombies' chains were given enough slack so they could attack their prey.
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