Mace of the Apocalypse

by Daniel J. Williams

  From outside the gate the shrieks returned, and as Mace and Jim made their getaway through the fence, the creatures burst through the side gate, eagerly attacking and ripping apart the lifeless bodies of the teenagers.

  Chapter 62

  Back at the hospital Mace was being treated for his wounds as Jade rounded up a posse for an assault on the hotel. Jacqueline was just leaving Mace’s room as Father McCann walked up.

  “How is he?”

  She smiled. “He’ll live. He took a round in the butt and the arm, and he’ll have a scar on his face, but overall it could have been a lot worse.”

  Father McCann smiled pleasantly and touched her arm as he passed her into the room. Mace was facing the wall on his stomach, a pillow resting underneath him, a large bandage on his exposed rear. Father McCann couldn’t help but laugh. “Well the good Lord finally answered my prayer. It wasn’t quite the manner I’d asked for but the Lord does work in mysterious ways.”

  A grin spread across Mace’s face as he heard the words. “You old fool, get out of here before I show you the full extent of my wounds.”

  Father McCann laughed and looked at Mace’s rear. “It seems right that I speak to you in this manner, since every time we speak I always feel like I’m talking to an ass.”

  Mace half turned, grinning from ear to ear and threw a pillow at Father McCann. “Will you get out of here; It hurts to laugh. I swear I’m going to shoot you, and it won’t be in your foot.”

  Father McCann continued to smile at Mace, until the seriousness of the situation brought a sober reflection. “What’s to happen next?”

  At the tone, Mace’s smile disappeared as well. “We’re going to finish this. We have no choice.”

  Father McCann shook his head sadly. “They’re just boys. It seems like such a waste.”

  Mace groaned as he pushed himself off the bed, then turned and faced his friend, a huge bandage covering the side of his face. “Like I said we have no choice. It’s come down to us or them.”

  One made it back. A full report was given before the soldier’s throat was cut. Kevin was furious at the failure and immediately plotted a showdown.

  Chapter 63

  Yvette slapped Jim across the face. “What do you mean Rob’s dead!? Why didn’t you tell me earlier? How could you let me go on thinking he was alive?!” Yvette’s face was streaming with tears and she turned away, putting her hands to her face to cover the emotional outburst. Jim’s heart collapsed as he stared at her, feeling guilt and remorse for not saying something earlier.

  “Yvette, I didn’t know how to tell you. I didn’t want to hurt you.”

  Yvette turned back towards him and anger flashed through her tears. “Oh yeah, this is much better now! What did you think; it was just going to go away? That I’d just forget about my brother?” She stared at him and a thought occurred to her. “Who else knew about this? Who else knew that Rob was dead?”

  Jim felt like a deer caught in the headlights. He didn’t know what to say but knew he had to say something. “I told Mace when I first got here. I just think he wanted to spare you” He could see her eyes bulge and he flinched as she cried out harder.

  “This is not right! I should have been told. My brother is dead. Do you know what that means to me? That is just not right!”

  Yvette stormed out of the room, leaving Jim alone, stunned and guilt ridden. He assumed she was going to find Mace and he wished he hadn’t said anything. He and Mace had become friends and he didn’t want to blow the trust he’d built with him.

  Yvette wasn’t looking for Mace. She walked right out the main doors of the hospital headed for the Embassy Suites. She had an overwhelming sense of loss and needed to know what had happened to her brother.

  Chapter 64

  Mace’s eyes were slightly glossy from the painkillers as he pulled out the Marlin, the large hunting rifle with the scope. He was surrounded by a group of fourteen men, as well as Jim and Jade in one of the patient waiting rooms that had become the weapons room, and they all remained deadly serious and quiet. He turned to face them, his eyes growing clearer as he focused on the task. “We should have the element of surprise on our side. We need to hit them hard and fast. We’re not looking to take prisoners; we’re looking to end this.”

  His eyes scanned theirs as he spoke, looking for any hint of reservation or uncertainty. He found none. Nodding towards Jim, who stood in the corner, he said, “According to Jim, there were over thirty boys when he left. We took out eight a little while ago. That means we could be facing up to two to one odds.”

  He lowered his head and jacked a cartridge into the chamber of the Marlin. Looking up, he scanned their faces again. “I don’t know if we’ll all make it back. What I do know is that we’re going to get bloody. They’ve infected themselves and are extremely dangerous.”

  No one said a word nor needed to, as the tension, fear and anger in the room cast an unmistakable shadow. Jim felt awkward and ashamed, wishing he were anywhere but here as the tension of the room spilled over and felt stifling. No one looked at him and he couldn’t bear to look at any of them, keeping his eyes trained instead on the floor. He wanted them all to get out of the room so he could privately ask Mace what he had said to Yvette. He hadn’t seen her since she’d left him in the daycare center and was worried about her state of mind.

  Roy, one of the men present who had assisted Mace in the removal of Rob from the hospital, checked the .38 he had picked up from the South San Francisco police department. As he stared down the barrel of the gun, he spoke without a hint of emotion. “I’ve got two kids. I’m not going to lose any sleep over making their lives safer. I also don’t want to have to worry about them joining their ranks.”

  He finished checking the gun then tucked it behind his back. “Let’s put this one to rest. Enough talk; let’s finish it.” A few men grunted in approval and they began spilling out of the room, the anger and tension hovering over them like a specter.

  The hospital appeared deserted, as most people had left the grounds in fear or gathered in rooms for prayer for those who were leaving. The goodbyes had already been said; the distraction of family was nowhere to be found: The permanent removal of the problem army the only task at hand.

  Chapter 65

  Jade watched as the men departed, a heaviness weighing her down as she absentmindedly rubbed her belly. She and Mace had briefly discussed the ensuing attack, with Mace decisively ordering her to stay put. She missed being involved in every action and went back to her room, putting on her protective vest and slipping the derringer inside, deciding that she would just trail the party and serve as backup if anything went wrong. The health of the baby would come first. She’d stay out of the initial skirmish.

  As she left her room Father McCann, who had been asked by Mace to keep an eye on her, met her. She could read his mind as soon as she saw him. “Don’t try to stop me, Father Jack. I’m tired of being told what to do. I’m just going to hang back in case they need help. That’s all.”

  Father McCann nodded and a wary smile crossed his face. “I know. As much as I’d like to stop you, I know I can’t. That’s why I’m going with you. We’ll both get involved if need be.”

  Chapter 66

  Mace’s party cautiously approached the hotel, moving quickly and quietly through the streets, keeping an eye out for any spotters, people, or roaming infected. As they turned the street towards the hospital, Mace spotted something up ahead and held his hand up, stopping a good 100 yards from the hotel. There was something in the middle of the street directly in front of the hotel, but he couldn’t quite make out what it was.

  He lifted the Marlin and adjusted the Scope’s crosshairs, bringing into focus the object he had spotted. His blood went cold and the rifle wavered a little in his hands. “Oh My God.”

  Through his scope, he could see a large chair set directly in the middle of the road facing their direction, and strapped to it gagged with duct tape, was Yvette. He could see blo
od smeared across her cheek and tears on her face. He lowered the scope, surprised, and tried to think of a plan.

  From behind him, Roy prodded. “What’s going on? What is that?”

  Mace just shook his head. “They know we’re here. It’s a set up.”

  The first shot rang out almost immediately. Mace thought they had been approaching under cover but saw the flash and realized there was a sniper set up across the street in an office building. The street leading up to the hotel was lined with large trees on their side, giving them cover from the hotel windows, but leaving them bare and exposed on the other.

  Mace dove for cover behind a tree, yelling for everyone to do the same. He looked back and saw George Fuller, husband and father of three, sprawled on the pavement on his back, dead eyes open and facing the heavens, a pool of blood snaking from his head to the gutter. Mace felt an explosion of anger and gripped his weapon tightly, as a second flash gave notice of more incoming fire, followed immediately by flying tree bark as the sniper tried to take out another member of their party.

  “Stay down!” he yelled as he ran forward, ducking and dodging as he tried to stay close to the trees and get a better position. Pain was shooting through his lower half as his bullet wounds ached and bled. He could feel a trail of blood running down his leg from the exertion and knew he’d blown Jacqueline’s patch job. He felt dizzy as he slammed up against a tree, finding momentary cover as he heard the covering gunfire from his party and the ping of a bullet as it ricocheted off the tree he was hiding behind.

  He carefully lifted the Marlin to his shoulder, peeking the scope out to scan the office complex. He spotted the sniper in a second floor office and sighted the scope, lining up the crosshairs and gently squeezing the trigger. He could see a patch of concrete break up to the right of the window and he moved his hand up to the scope, twisting it a few clicks to the left.

  Another flash appeared from the window and a blast of tree bark split from the tree a few inches above his head. From behind him, he could hear gunfire as members of Kevin’s army tried to come at them from the rear of the hotel. He could hear returning fire from his party and saw the sniper change his position to take a shot at one of his group. He could feel sweat dripping off his nose as he moved out a few inches to take a better aim. He held the gun steady as the sniper saw his movement and swung the rifle back in his direction. They seemed to lock scopes for a split second before Mace, through the telescope, witnessed two infected rush the sniper from behind. They tore into his face, the sniper’s look of agony and surprise quickly replaced by rapid squirts of blood as his eyeballs were gouged out of his head.

  Mace lowered the rifle, quickly scanning their immediate area. “The gunfire is drawing them out,” he yelled. “Look out for infected!”

  Jade and Father McCann heard the first shot and realized something had gone wrong. “They shouldn’t be there yet,” Jade said as she stared in shock at Father McCann. In the distance, they could hear Mace shout and a volley of shots.

  “Shit!” Jade started running towards the sound but Father McCann called out, stopping her.

  “We should find a different route. If they’ve run into trouble won’t we just be following them into it?”

  She thought for a second and nodded in agreement, realizing he was correct. “Let’s try cutting through the back. Can you run?”

  Father McCann started hobbling after her. “Not as fast as you, but I’ll get there eventually.”

  Mace swung back around, aiming the scope at the advancing youth. There were fifteen or so, and he took five quick shots, knocking two of them down. One of them slowly rose to his feet a few seconds later and Mace realized they were wearing vests, probably stolen from one of the local police departments. Mace lined up the sights and fired once more, hitting the kid in the face and putting him down for good. He looked away from the scope, nausea turning in his stomach as he continued to see the picture of the damage in his mind.

  The site next to the hotel was marred by ongoing construction and boys began diving behind mounds of rocks and building materials. They also seemed to behave recklessly as they continually jumped out and opened fire on Mace’s group without regard for safety, their feelings of invincibility leaving them vulnerable to bullet holes and bloodshed. Within a few minutes, a number of them had been wounded or killed.

  From somewhere around the area, the shrieks began.

  “Their coming,” Mace said to himself as he lined up his scope for another shot.

  Jim suddenly took off from the group and headed towards Mace, gun waving and screaming, “Yvette, we’ve got to save Yvette!”

  Mace grabbed him as he ran to pass and brought him down next to him. “Stay down, damn it! You’re an open target.” He glanced around quickly, looking for any sign of infected or approaching gang members. “We can’t leave them unprotected, not yet.”

  Jim pointed back at the group of men. “They’re winning! I wouldn’t just leave them. They’ve got it under control.”

  Mace looked back at the group and realized that Jim was right. George Fuller was the only one down. All of their group were wearing protective vests and were well armed as well. He scanned the construction site and could see at least eight bodies lying in the rubble. He was about to turn his attention away when he spotted movement behind one of the debris piles. It was an infected, moving fast, hurdling over obstacles towards one of the Kevin’s soldiers. He squinted at it, raised his rifle, and found it through the scope.

  He zeroed in, waited until it attacked, watching in disgust as it ripped open the throat of the gang member. Blood poured like a geyser from the wound. Mace paused, staring at the infected’s face for a second, mesmerized by it’s blood-filled eyes before squeezing the trigger, watching as a spray of blood exploded out the other side of its head. He spun back around and sat down with the gun between his knees, staring at the pavement. He slowly raised his head. “Alright. Let’s make it quick.”

  He pushed off the ground with Jim close behind, racing towards Yvette. More shrieks filled the air and Mace could hear his men scream a warning about infected. From behind him, they were coming fast. Mace turned, raising the Marlin as three infected came from different locations. He got the first shot off, putting one down before the second one was directly on top of him.

  He swung the rifle at its head as it collided into him, and they both went down hard. The marlin went flying out his grip, and he rolled away from the creature as it clawed at him. Jim fired repeatedly at the third one, hitting it with numerous shots to its torso, slowing it down enough for him to take aim at a solid head shot that send it crumpling to the ground.

  Mace was scrambling for the Marlin as the infected grabbed a hold of his leg, it’s mouth inches away from digging into flesh. Jim rushed up from behind, firing a shot into the back of its head as its teeth made contact with jeans, stopping it before it could pass any infection.

  Mace jumped up, grabbing the Marlin and hobbling as the pain from his wounds passed down his torso. He kept looking at the doorway to the hotel, expecting to see some type of resistance, but no one emerged.

  The closer they got to Yvette the clearer her anguish appeared. She was tugging at her restraints and trying to scream through the duct tape.

  They got within twenty feet and Mace could see the terror in her eyes as she continued to struggle frantically against her restraints. He noticed her continually staring down by her feet then staring back up in their direction. He slowed down, finally stopping as he yelled at Jim to stop. “Something’s wrong! Hold on! Keep your eyes peeled!”

  He took one last look around their surroundings, noticing nothing menacing before concentrating back on Yvette. Gunfire still popped down the street and he made out the shriek of another infected. He was anxious to get back and provide any assistance he could.

  He noticed a heavy metal standing ashtray close to the sidewalk and another identical one directly across the street on the other side. They were both about five
feet in front of Yvette. Mace crouched down and studied the ground in front of her, finally catching a glimpse of fishing line as it sparkled in the light. He looked back at Yvette and could see her eyes lose some of the look of desperation. She seemed to relax a slight bit.

  He followed the path of the line to the ashtray and noticed that it hugged around it, and then continued on back behind her chair. He raised his head and took another look around, still waiting for some type of resistance, before walking quickly around the ashtray to see what lie behind the chair. It was a shotgun positioned directly at the back of Yvette’s head, propped up on a stool and securely duct taped in place. The fishing line was tied to the trigger.

  “Fuck me.”

  He motioned to Jim and Jim hurried around the ashtray, meeting him behind the chair. “It’s taped to the chair. We’re gonna have to cut her loose. We’d better be careful.”

  They stepped over the fishing line and Mace crouched down in front of Yvette, who was searching his eyes for security and good news.

  “We’re gonna cut you loose. I need you to stay very still.”

  She nodded and closed her eyes, a tear squeezing out the right side. Mace pulled out a pocketknife and began carefully cutting at the duct tape around her arms. That’s when he noticed the folded note pinned to the middle of her shirt. His faced scrunched as he stared at it, realizing this was all just another set up.