Infected
Page 14
Back in the kitchen, the soldier named Anthony had the door open. He looked at Emma and said, “Well?”
“I think they went upstairs. Stairs are loaded with creatures.”
Weiss, who was carrying her mother, said, “We go now or we die.”
They slipped out the back door, Emma and Rob keeping Kayla between them. The soldiers were up front, weapons raised. Weiss and the others brought up the rear. The driveway was around the corner to the right. They reached the corner and saw the crowd of zombies that was climbing into the sewing room. Beyond the crowd was the ambulance.
The soldiers opened fire, the sound of rifle fire deafening. They cut down the freaks until there was a pile of bodies.
They made it to the ambulance, getting Emma's mom and the boy in first. The rest of them piled in back, Weiss getting behind wheel. As Weiss started up the ambulance, the zombies from the front of the house moved in, pale snarling faces pressed against the windshield. From the back of the rig, Emma looked out the rear windows and saw them crowded around the ambulance. They were ten deep.
The ambulance began to rock, as if the things were trying to shake their prey loose. Emma heard glass break and one of them had smashed through the driver's side and was trying to pull Weiss from his seat.
One of the soldiers – Matthews – said something into the headset that jutted from his helmet. He looked around and said, “Apaches coming in hot. Everyone down and hope they don't tear us up.”
Emma got down, her arm around Kayla. Rob had his arm around the two of them. She heard the rumble of choppers and then the din of heavy machine guns opening up, followed by high-pitched screeching.
When they stepped outside the ambulance, Emma's stomach rolled. Severed arms, legs, and heads littered the ground. The grass had turned a shade of dark red. The rest of the ground resembled the killing floor of a slaughterhouse, with the odd length of intestine or jellied internal organ smeared on the ground. The Apaches had done their job with deadly efficiency.
Sam stood up, helping Trudy as he did so. The door had almost buckled in and then he'd heard the din of helicopters over head and the high-pitched wine of what he assumed was the chopper gunners opening up. The beating on the door had stopped and now Sam went to the door and pressed his ear against it. Quiet from the other side.
“Are they all dead?” Trudy asked.
“I hope like hell they are.”
He listened for another moment and eased the door open, shotgun pointed in the hallway. It was empty.
“It's clear.”
“Maybe they ran outside when the choppers came,” Trudy said.
“In that case they're the dumbest sons of bitches I've ever seen.”
They walked downstairs, finding corpses in the living room. The stink coming off them was unbearable. He went on the front porch and saw the others standing in what could only be described as a pile of blood and guts.
Weiss and Lori stood outside the ambulance. He had his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder.
“It almost pulled you out of the ambulance.”
“Thank God for the U.S. Army. The damn thing just about disintegrated when the bullets hit it.”
“Mike, if any of those things got out...”
“Don't say that.”
Rob walked Kayla away from the scene of the slaughter, arm around her. He pressed her close so she wouldn't see the dead lying on the ground. She'd already seen enough tonight to last her a lifetime. Emma came up next to him and slipped her hand in his.
“Kayla, why don't you sit in Mommy's car, okay?” You'll be safe there.”
“'Kay,” she said.
As they reached the car, someone clapped a hand on Rob's shoulder. He turned around and said, “Yeah?”
It was Matthews. “I hope you're not planning on leaving.”
“What if we were.”
“You can't. By order of the U.S. Government. Those are my orders.”
“You can't keep us here,” Rob said.
Matthews raised his rifle. “Sheriff, I'll need your sidearm. There's troops on the way here. You'll all need to be debriefed.”
“Debriefed?”
“I'm sorry. But I have orders. Now give me the gun.”
To Be Continued
Look for Book Two of The Dead Land Trilogy
Coming Summer 2012