“She says she's not stupid,” Rick said.
“Sorry, meet us at the rally point. Good luck.”
“Thanks Al, good luck to you guys too. Be careful.”
We got our gear together and got ready to head over. Each of us carried a pistol, Uzi machine gun, and a sword. I watched them pull away. Most of the zombies followed them down the road. From what I could see there were about thirty of the undead left. We waited about five minutes and started over.
“We're going to need to make this quick,” Al said.
I looked at him and he directed my attention towards the tanker. Some of the horde had lost interest in the fires and were headed back to the motel. A few sprinters were running in our direction.
“Did you see that?” I asked Gina.
“Fuck 'em. Let's do this,” she said.
“Spread out. Give each other plenty of room. Use the guns as a last resort.”
We left about twenty feet between each other and went to work. I took the center, Gina went left, and Al went to my right. I think there was a reason this group of zombies didn't go to the explosion or follow the Hummer. They were in pretty bad shape, not a sprinter in the bunch. They just shambled at us and we chopped them down. We didn't have one close call and in less than five minutes they were finished.
The glass doors to the office were shattered. There was no chance that anyone could be alive in there. Gina and I went in anyway. If her dad and Chong were in there our quest would be over. The office proved to be clear, no zombies, no dead bodies. Every door on the first floor stood open or was broken down so there was no reason to bother with any of those rooms. If her dad had been in any of the rooms he was long gone. Besides we didn't have time for a room to room search. We were pushing our luck as it was. The horde was moving back this way and time was running out.
The office was next to a breezeway leading to the back of the motel and the stairway was next to that. The stairs had been clogged with furniture and mattresses to keep the zombies from coming up. Someone had secured everything with rope and then somehow climbed to the second floor. Al began hacking at the ropes.
“Check the back, hurry,” Al said.
Gina and I ran down the breezeway. This was a big mistake. As I rounded the corner I ran headlong into three zombies that were in much better shape than the ones we had just finished off out front. I actually only ran into the first one. My momentum knocked the two of us back into the other two zombies, knocking the four of us to the ground. It wrapped it's arms around me and pulled my face to it's mouth. I got my arm up under the zombies chin and push the bastards head back. I was able to keep it's gnashing teeth from my face. The smell coming from it's mouth was horrible. Chunks of flesh were stuck between the broken teeth of the creature and some sort of black goo was drooling from it's mouth on to me. The only thing stopping me from vomiting in it's face was the on going battle I was fighting for my life. I held it's head back with one arm and pulled my pistol from my holster and started hitting the zombie in the face with it. Then Gina stepped up and gave it a good kick in the head knocking it off of me. She already had her sword out and she finished the three of them off before I could get to my feet.
“I should have stayed with Al and helped him clear the steps. I sure wasn't of any use back here.”
“Don't sell yourself short. You did a hell of a job knocking them down.”
“Thanks,” I said, then I slapped her on the ass. “Looks like it's clear back here. Let's go help Al.”
“Dad keeps a ladder back by the shed. We may need it.”
There was a steel shed just across the back parking lot so we ran over and got the ladder that was hanging on the side of the building. I carried it back through the breezeway. Al was still in the process of cutting the ropes and cussing up a storm while he was at it. He heard us coming but never turned around to look at Gina and me. He just got madder and hacked harder at the ropes.
“Who ever tied this shit up did a hell of a job. We aren't getting up there any time soon. I can tell you that,” Al said, hacking at the ropes. “That horde is going to be back here soon. We don't have time to get back to the truck and get the ladder. Does your dad have one?”
“Yeah Al, I've got it right here.”
“God dammit. Give me that.”
Al yanked the ladder out of my hands and placed it against the railing for the walkway to the second floor. The ladder was one of those extendable painters ladders so Al extended it up past the rail and started up. With all of the activity that had been going on in the past hour you would have thought someone would have come out of at least one of the rooms by now. The walkway remained empty. Al went up the ladder, went over the rail and drew his pistol. He held the top wrung and motioned for us to follow. Gina went next and as soon as she cleared the top rail I followed.
“Get your pistols out,” Al said.
“I saw the shades on one of the windows down there,” Gina said, motioning down the walkway with the hand she held her gun in.
Al started in the direction she indicated with Gina and I following behind.
“Don't linger in front of the doors or windows,” Al said. “We don't know who's up here yet.”
We went past two of the rooms. Then about five doors down one of the doors opened and someone walked out. Gina's dad Pete, the man we had come all this way to find, was standing right in front of us. As soon as I saw him I could tell something was wrong. He was bleeding from the mouth and both eyes were nearly swollen shut. Pete was a big man and from the little I knew of him not the kind of guy easily subdued. From the looks of things someone had given him a hell of a beating. He held one of his hands up about waist high, indicating that we were to stay back. Gina tried to push past Al but I grabbed her from behind to stop her.
“I knew you were still alive kiddo. Looks like your son was right Steve,” Pete said.
“Are you okay Pete?” I asked.
“Yeah, we had some trouble a few days ago but everything's fine now.”
“Let me go,” Gina said, trying to pull free. “Daddy what happened to you?”
“Stay back little girl. We've got the infection down here.”
“I don't care. We went through hell to get here and get you out of here,” Gina said, pulling her arm from my grasp and looking back at me. “Don't touch me again.”
Al stood between Gina and her father blocking her from getting to him. She tried to push past, but he stood firm.
“Don't be stupid girl,” he said under his breath. “You're going to get him killed.”
“Honey, I'm glad you're still alive, but honestly, you've got to leave.”
I heard something behind me and glanced back over my shoulder. A door was coming open right behind us.
“Steve, Gina, I need you to crouch down,” Al said.
As we crouched down Al drew his other pistol and pointed in the face of the man that was coming out of the room. He now stood with his back to the rail facing the wall. The gun in his left hand in the face of the man behind us. The one in his right hand aimed in the direction of Gina's father. His attention split between the two targets.
“You need to stand real still mister,” Al said to the man behind us.
I was looking at the man that had just come out of the room when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye behind Pete. Someone came out of the room Pete had just come out of. He brought up a pistol, pressed it to the back of Pete's head, and grabbed the back of his shirt pulling him to him.
“I told you it wouldn't work Pete,” the gunman said. “You need to drop your guns, friend.”
“I'm not your friend and that's not gonna happen,” Al said.
Then things happened really fast. I heard Pete say “not my daughter too you son-of-a-bitch” as he pulled away from the man holding him hostage and turned towards him. Gina screamed “No!” and the gunman put his pistol under Pete's chin and pulled the trigger. That's when both of Al's pistols fired at the same time, killing th
e men in front of us and behind us.
Gina ran past Al and knelt beside her father. She pulled his ruined head to her breast and sobbed. I must have been in shock or something. All I did was stand rooted to the spot looking at the dead bodies that lay around me.
“Snap out of it Steve. I need your help. Clear the room he came out of,” Al said, motioning to the body that lay at my feet. “I'll get the other. Be careful. Can you do that for me?”
He didn't wait for an answer. Al rushed past Gina into the room. I went into the room behind me and looked around. It was a standard motel room, one room and a bathroom. I stumbled through the room and looked into the bathroom. Fortunately both were empty. If someone had been waiting in there for me there probably would have been another dead person to deal with; me. I came out of the room and found Al crouched down next to Gina. He was trying to comfort her. I don't think she heard a word he said to her.
“The room is clear,” I said, as I walked up.
“Thanks buddy. There's an oriental lady in there on the bed,” Al said, and cocked his head at the door. “She's been dead for quite a while.”
Gina gently placed Pete's head on the ground and stood up. She went to the body of the man that had killed her father and kicked him in the head. Then she pulled her pistol and emptied it into his chest.
“Did I hear you say Chong is in there?”
“Yeah, she's in there but don't go in,” I said.
“It's okay. I pulled a sheet up over the body,” Al said.
Gina and I went in and stood beside the bed. Chong had been tied to the bed. I could see her arms were up over her head. Ropes came from under the sheet and were tied to the headboard. Her feet were sticking out from under the sheet and her ankles were tied spread eagle. These ropes were tied to the bed frame. Beside her I could see where Pete had been tied next to her body. I wondered how long these sick fucks had him tied next to her corpse.
“What now?” Gina asked.
“Now, we need to get out of here,” Al said, from behind us. “I just checked. We have five maybe ten minutes tops. Then the horde will be on us.”
“I know we don't have time to bury them,” I said. “Gina, are you okay with burning the bodies?”
“Yes, dad wanted to be cremated anyway.”
“Steve we gotta hurry. Let's bring him in here and put him on the bed. Then you go to the truck and get a gas can. I'll come with you and cover you from the street. Gina just wait here.”
We carried Pete's body back into the room and put him on the bed next to Chong. After making sure that Gina would be okay there by herself we went down to the parking lot. Al stayed out in the street in front of the motel and I went to get a gas can from the top of the truck. Before I got back to Al I could hear him shooting into the horde. When I ran back I could see that we only had a few minutes to get out of here. He was busy taking out the sprinters that were closing in on us. Gina had come out onto the second floor walkway and had her rifle out firing into the horde. She was covering Al's back. Zombies were coming at him from both sides.
I hurried up the ladder and ran past Gina. When I got to the room I saw that she had cut the ropes that had Chong tied to the bed. She had pushed Chong's body closer to Pete and had placed their hands together. Before I poured gas on them I ran back out to Gina.
“Are you done in there honey?”
“Yes, just do it.”
I went back and doused the bed in gas, poured some around the bed, and made a trail leading out of the room. I slapped my pockets and realized I didn't have a lighter. I was going to have to use my gun to start the fire. By now Al was firing nonstop and Gina was having a hard time covering his back. The sprinters were gone and the horde was almost on him. I told Gina to get down the ladder and that I would cover Al until she got down there. She climbed down the ladder and ran to Al. They stood back to back with one another firing their rifles on full automatic.
“Get to the truck!” I hollered.
Their only chance was to leave now. Gina looked up at me and shook her head no, still firing into the approaching horde. I don't know how many times they had changed their magazines but I knew I only had three left. They had to be almost out. Both of them had been firing longer than I had. Al threw his rifle around his back and drew his pistol in one hand, grabbed Gina with the other, and pulled her along with him as he ran for the truck. I continued firing in front of them, taking out as many of the zombies closest to them as I could. Gina ran out of rounds and drew her sword. They fought their way through the horde and made their way to the truck.
After they crossed the street and made it to the row of buildings between the motel and where the truck was the horde thinned out. They had made it. Al threw the passenger door open and climbed in. Gina followed him in, closed the door, and looked back at me. I gave her a thumbs up and waved. She sat staring at me, tears streaming down her cheeks. Al started the truck and pulled away before they were surrounded.
I was alone in a sea of zombies.
Chapter 5
A huge explosion rocked the area just as we came into the clearing where our ride out of here awaited us. I looked back toward the installation and a fireball rose into the sky momentarily erasing the predawn darkness. The rotors were spinning and the door to the chopper stood open. We climbed in and immediately lifted into the night sky. As we cleared the trees I could see the sun was about to rise on the eastern horizon. To the west I could see the fire from the missile silo. I motioned to the gun mounted in the door of the chopper and quickly put my headset on. John manned the machine gun and I had the pilot circle over the fire. Seeing no movement on the ground we headed to the northwest in the general direction of Fort Leonard Wood. Our pilot informed me that there was an airport not far from our location where we could stop for refueling.
I moved to the front and sat in the co-pilot's seat. The pilot had several maps in the cockpit and I went over them while I filled him in on everything that had happened that night. He told me that just as we got to the chopper he heard a voice over the radio saying, “see you in Fort Leonard Wood”. At the time he thought it was one of us. Now he realized it was the doctor. The thought of that bastard following us all the way to Missouri made me sick. Not only would we have to battle our way through what was in front of us we'd have to constantly be watching for him coming at us from behind.
“Did you get all that John?”
“Yeah I heard. Let's hope he goes full zombie soon and forgets all about us,” he replied.
“Well if he doesn't I've got first shot at killing him,” Lily added. “That fucker had his hands all over me. Speaking of which, is there a shower on this thing Lieutenant?”
“Yes there is. It's right outside that door where the machine gun's mounted.”
“I'll use it later. Right after you,” Lily said.
“Maybe we could go together, save water,” he replied.
“Alright you two that's enough,” I said. “Let's get back on task. We're coming up on a city. That's not Birmingham is it Lieutenant?”
“No sir. That's probably Hoover. Birmingham is just north of here.”
“I didn't think it was, it's too small.”
We were flying low trying to stay off any radar General Simmons might be using to try and track us. Up ahead the heavily wooded terrain we had been flying over gave way to a more rural setting. I could see farmland in the distance. As we approached a house in the middle of a field of corn attracted my attention. It wasn't so much the house but the hundreds of zombies that surrounded it that drew my interest. I had the Lieutenant fly in for a closer look. On the roof three people stood waving frantically to get our attention. A fourth stood at a hole in the roof fighting off the zombies that were trying to get at them.
“John, Lily get ready. We're going to do an extraction,” I said into my headset. “Take us down Lieutenant.”
“We don't have a hell of a lot of fuel left, Captain. Make it fast.”
“Just get us down t
here. I'll talk you in.”
I hurried to the back of the chopper. John and Lily already had the door open and were in the process of throwing out the rope ladder. The chopper had a winch but none of us knew how to operate it so we would just have to make due with the ladder. Our pilot lowered us as far as he could on his own and I talked him in the rest of the way. The Chinook is a big chopper. It makes a lot of noise and moves a lot of air. The sound of the rotors drove the zombies on the ground into a frenzy. The backwash from the spinning blades nearly knocked the woman and two small children off of the roof. John stood by the ladder and Lily manned the big gun. I stood next to her and could barely hear her yelling for the man to get away from the hole in the roof. Of course there was no way the people on the roof could hear her if I could just make out what she was saying standing right next to her. I was talking the Lieutenant in and motioning for the man, who I could now see was swinging a shotgun at the heads of the zombies that were trying to climb through the hole and onto the roof, to get away from the hole. He finally looked up and saw me just as one of the children grabbed onto the rope ladder. The man crouched down and crab walked toward us. John got hold of the first little girl and Lily opened fire. The big gun cleared the hole in a matter of seconds. Then a thought occurred to me. I tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention and told her to hold her fire.
The backwash from the rotors combined with the slant of the roof was too much for them. They were too uncoordinated to do anything to try and adjust their balance. As soon as they gained the roof they stood and tumbled down; either falling back into the hole or off the side of the roof. By now the man was to the ladder and was able to help the smaller of the two children to the ladder. John pulled the smaller girl to safety and the woman started up. We were occupied with getting the woman in the chopper when I looked down at the man and drew my pistol from my holster. He looked up at me with a frightened look on his face, thinking I was about to shoot him. I fired over his shoulder taking out the zombie that was about to grab him from behind. He glanced back, realizing what had just happened, and started up the ladder.
Dead Life (Book 4) Page 5
