Outbreak (Book 1): Emerald City

by Jay K. Anthony

  Goddamn Matt and his hand-cannon! Luke thought and aimed his shotgun at the first zombie. “Matt!” he screamed and pulled the trigger. “Zombies!” The shotgun blast went low and caught the first zombie in the chest. It knocked the monster backward into two of the others and all three tumbled to the ground. Luke fired the automatic again and the head blew off of another zombie. Suddenly Matt’s .44 magnum joined in and another zombie went down.

  “Damn,” Matt said as he stepped out of the garage. “Where did they come from?”

  “They came through the gate,” Luke said, panting as adrenaline coursed through him. He’d lost his cigarette in the excitement and looked around for it on the ground. He sighed when he saw it had been crushed in the combat. Damn it, he thought and pulled another from his quickly diminishing pack. I’m going to have to ease off a bit, he thought. I’m going through these too fast.

  “I’m thinking that damn explosion over on the coast must have stirred them all up,” Matt said. Luke nodded as he lit up.

  “Probably,” Luke agreed. He noticed two of the zombies were still moving around. They were trapped under the body of the one he had shot first in the chest. Luke wanted the zombies dead, but he didn’t want to use any more ammunition, so he started looking around for something heavy. He found a shovel beside the crane and picked it up before he stepped up to the nearest moving zombie.

  “You alright?” Matt asked.

  “Yep,” Luke said with his cigarette clenched between his teeth. He brought the shovel down on the head of the zombie like he was splitting wood. The zombie’s head exploded into gore.

  “Nasty!” Matt said. “When you’re done here, I think I found something we can use in the garage.”

  “Works for me,” Luke said and slammed the shovel into the second zombie. He looked up as Matt disappeared into the garage. Luke went to put the shovel down when the zombie he had shot in the chest started moving and crawled at him. Goddamn I hate these things. Luke stepped on the zombie’s arm and stood over the monster. He brought the shovel head back like a golf club. “Fore!” he yelled and swung the shovel head in a loop which caught the zombie straight in the face. The zombie’s head erupted and gore splashed onto the concrete. Luke felt part of the splatter hit his chest and he looked down to see a chunk of something thick and bloody stuck on his shirt. He knocked it away with his hand. Aww, that is disgusting, he thought and took a drag on his cigarette. Something did not taste right and he spit it from his mouth. It laid smoking on the garage floor and Luke stared at it. Blood was on the filter. He gagged and spit. He used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe his face and saw that he had gotten blood splattered on his face. That is even more disgusting!

  “Luke!” Matt yelled from beside the destroyed door of the garage. “Get over here.”

  Luke looked over at Matt and saw him standing with a heavy chain in one hand and a glass bottle of whisky in the other. Now, that’s what I’m talking about, Luke thought and dropped the shovel onto the back of one of the corpses. He picked up his shotgun and walked over to Matt.

  Matt handed Luke the bottle of alcohol. “Don’t drop that,” he said with a grin.

  “Oh, I won’t,” Luke said. He wasn’t much of a drinker but the idea of having a shot about now sounded outstanding. “Want to open it now?”

  “In a minute. I want to load up this chain and grab a few more things.”

  “That’s a hell of a chain,” Luke said motioning to the thick and heavy links Matt was holding. “What do you figure they used that for?”

  “Don’t give a shit,” Matt said. “I just know what we are going to use it for. Take it and that bottle to the truck. I’m going to use the hand cart to get a full barrel of fuel. We’ll need it later and I don’t want to have to keep making runs over here.”

  “You got it,” Luke said as he took the chain and went to the tow truck. He set his shotgun in the front seat and lit a fresh cigarette while he waited. Matt arrived and he had the fuel barrel plus a hand pump and hose to move the fuel from the barrel into a vehicle. “Perfect,” Luke said. After they loaded the barrel, Matt went to the driver’s side and Luke got into the passenger seat.

  “Where’d you put that bottle of whiskey?” Matt asked. Luke pulled it from behind the seat and held it up with a grin. “Fire it up!” Matt said and Luke tore away the seal on the bottle cap. He twisted off the top and took a swig. It burned fiercely, so he chased it with another quick drink.

  “Hot damn!” he yelled as Matt turned on the truck and drove them out of the junkyard for the second time in as many days. As soon as they were back on the road, Matt took the bottle from Luke and took a long drink. He grimaced, cursed, and took another swig before he handed the bottle back to Luke. Luke could already feel the warmth of the whiskey spreading through his body. That feels fantastic, he thought and took another drink. He felt his body relax for the first time in three months as the alcohol did its magic. I could really get used to this, Luke thought as he tilted the bottle back to take yet another drink. Matt hit a pothole just as Luke was about to swallow and he choked. Matt started to laugh as Luke coughed and spit whiskey all over the dashboard of the truck.

  “Aww, you wimp!” he laughed. “Give me that.” He grabbed the bottle from Luke and took another long drink. “Damn, that’s good!” Matt said and passed it back. It was going fast, so Luke put the bottle to his lips and chugged.

  “Save me some,” Matt laughed and reached for the bottle while he swerved to miss an abandoned car stalled in the street. Luke reluctantly handed him the bottle. He’s drinking and driving, Luke thought and started to laugh. No such thing as driving under the influence now. All the cops are zombies. He laughed harder, drunk and happy.

  “What the hell are you laughing at?” Matt asked, but Luke was laughing too hard to speak. Matt shook his head. “You’re drunk.”

  “Ya think?” Luke sputtered out with a chuckle.

  “Okay, enough of the booze then. I need you upright enough to help me get this gate down,” Matt said taking another hit from the bottle before putting it on the floor between the seats. He stopped in front of the building with the garage full of armored trucks underneath. Luke looked around amazed. Here already? he thought. Kind of crazy we found it at all actually. He started to chuckle again.

  “Put a sock in it and let’s get this done,” Matt said and turned the truck around so he could back down the ramp. When they were stopped, Luke jumped out of the truck and felt his head spin from the alcohol. He stumbled and had to grab hold of the door to keep from falling.

  “You got it, Boss,” Luke slurred in his best Ted impression. Matt gave him a dirty look but went to work connecting the chain from the back of the tow truck to the gate. Matt got back in behind the wheel of the tow truck and rolled it forward to pull the chain tight. “Do it, man!” Luke cheered, feeling fantastic. Matt floored the gas pedal of the truck and the rear wheels started to smoke as the truck did a long burnout. Luke watched the gate and it slowly began to bend in the center. A moment later the tow truck lurched forward and the entire door ripped off of the garage. Matt drove the truck up the ramp and Luke chased after him. Once Matt stopped in the street, Luke disconnected the chain from the gate just as Matt jumped out from behind the wheel. They loaded the chain into the back of the tow truck again and Matt backed the truck down the ramp to park it in front of the first armored truck. Luke’s head was swimming from the alcohol as he staggered a zigzag down the ramp after the truck. He lit a cigarette to help him focus and concentrated on getting the job done. He was pretty sure he had never drunk so much so fast in his life and he was feeling it now. And, it feels great, he thought as he reached the bottom of the ramp and stumbled around the tow truck. It was all he could do to keep his balance as he walked into the garage.

  The space was bigger than it had appeared when he had first looked through the gate, but he was having trouble seeing anything now and had to work hard just keep his eyes focused. Okay, get it together, he thought. He w
as drunk and he knew it, but he also knew that if he passed out on the concrete, some damn zombie would come along and eat him alive. The thought sobered him up quick so he put both hands on the back of the truck and focused on Matt as he worked the tow truck’s controls to lower the tow arm. Once Matt had the arm in place, he ducked under the front of the armored truck and connected the rig into place. It looked to Luke like Matt knew what he was doing and quite frankly, Luke just wanted to sit down, so he stumbled back to the passenger side of the tow truck. He poured himself into the seat, too relaxed now to even sit up. He leaned against the inside of the door and felt the tow truck tilt to the rear as Matt raised the tow arm to lift the front of the armored truck. A moment later Matt was climbing in behind the steering wheel. He looked at Luke. “Man, you are wasted,” he said.

  Luke squinted to look over at the two Matt’s sitting at the wheel. “Huh?” he asked. Matt laughed and picked up the liquor bottle from between the seats. He took a long hit and started the truck. He drove them up the ramp and took a left. Luke looked out the passenger window and was surprised at how dark it had gotten. He watched as the buildings flew by in a blur when suddenly he heard Matt swear and jerk the wheel. Luke looked out the windshield and there was a zombie standing in the middle of the road. Matt plowed into the poor son of a bitch and slammed on the brakes. The whiskey bottle Matt had been holding, flew out of his hand and hit the dash before dropping and landing between Luke’s feet. Luke forgot about the zombie as he watched the liquor spill slowly out of the bottle. Not much left, he thought. Who drank it all?

  “Hey! Wait, is that the ocean?” Matt asked. He sounded very drunk.

  “Hell if I know,” Luke replied.

  “Shit,” Matt slurred. “I think I made a wrong turn.”

  Luke looked out through the front windshield at the sun as it approached the horizon and his head swam. He thought about having a cigarette, but closed his eyes instead. He rested his head against the passenger door window again and enjoyed how cool it was. He had no idea where they were and decided he was well past giving a shit.

  TASHA

  Ortiz drove the team along the streets of Seattle, following Williams’ direction as he took them along side roads and alleys to avoid obstacles on the highway. She did not drive fast, but quick enough to stay ahead of any creepers who came out of hiding to chase the truck as it went by. They were soon back on the main road and Ortiz picked up speed. The miles quickly ticked by. We just might actually make it to the base, Tasha thought as she looked out her window and watched the buildings of the once great city go by. They drove past a bay and Tasha saw there were some broken down and abandoned ships there. What would it be like to get in one and just sail away? Tasha wondered. It would be so nice to be anywhere else but here. Then she saw some creepers milling around on the decks and changed her mind. Maybe not so much fun after all.

  Next they passed alongside an enormous series of warehouses with a crazy tall fence around it. Some kind of prison? Tasha wondered. “Hey, what is that place?” she asked as she pointed out the window at the buildings.

  “Bowman boatyard,” Williams replied. “He was a little crazy about security.”

  “I guess so,” Tasha said.

  Ortiz roared past the warehouses and through the toll booths at the beginning of the downtown bridge. They started up the rise of the onramp when Ortiz slammed on the brakes.

  Tasha heard a thump from the bed of the truck. “Dammit, Ortiz,” Tanner complained loudly from the back. “What the hell?”

  “Bridge is closed,” Ortiz yelled back. “Ain’t no one going across this thing today.”

  “Of course it’s out,” Williams said with a grimace. “That’s how my luck is running.”

  Tasha looked between the front seats and through the windshield. She saw that the entire center section of the bridge had been destroyed by a large container ship. Ortiz is right, she thought. Bridge is most definitely closed.

  “I think it’s too far to jump,” Cleveland commented.

  “No shit,” Williams said as he picked up the radio handset and called Command. He asked for a pickup, but after a few minutes of bickering back and forth, he put down the handset. “Son of a bitch. We are on our own,” he stated. “Bridges are all out except the East-West to Mercer Island. We have to go all the way around.”

  “How long you figure that will take?” Ortiz asked.

  “Not sure,” Williams replied and pulled out a worn and faded map of Seattle which he had folded up in one of his chest pockets. Tasha and Cleveland leaned forward to watch Williams trace a line with his finger from where they were on the bridge to down and around the south end of the inlet. “It's going to add at least twenty miles … so probably a couple hours with all the crap we keep having to go around.”

  Tasha sighed. I knew it was too good to be true that we were almost there.

  Just then Tanner slapped the side of the truck with his hand. “I don’t know what you guys are screwing around with in there but we have incoming,” he yelled. “Vegetable, two hundred meters. Looks like just one and it has a limp.”

  “I got this,” Ortiz said. She released the parking brake, slammed the transmission into first gear and hit the gas. She pulled the truck in a tight 180 and accelerated back down the bridge. The single creeper’s right leg was twisted badly with its foot pointed backward. It hobbled toward them, swiping the air with its hands and growling. Ortiz lined up to hit it.

  “No,” Williams said and shook his head. “Go around. We can’t risk another breakdown.”

  Ortiz nodded and drifted wide to the right hand side of the road as they passed the creeper. The zombie immediately turned around and started limping back after them. Ortiz drove the truck down the bridge and back through the same toll gates they had entered through, just minutes before.

  “Take a left here,” Williams instructed and Ortiz took the turn so fast it squealed the tires.

  “Hello!” Tanner called from the bed of the truck as he was knocked around.

  “Sorry!” Ortiz yelled but Tasha could see her smiling.

  “Cut through here,” Williams pointed. “It will save some time.” Ortiz drove through a large open gate, lined with barbed wire at the top, and accelerated past a shot up old sedan. “Stop!” Williams ordered, but it was too late. The front two tires exploded a moment before the rear two did the same. The truck slid to a screeching halt as the tires shredded and the truck ground along on the rims. “That was a trap!” Williams shouted.

  Suddenly gunfire erupted from the warehouse across the lot and the front windshield of their truck splintered and cracked. Everybody ducked. “Get out, get out, get out,” Williams ordered. Cleveland threw his door open and dove out onto the pavement. Tasha crawled across the back seat with her rifle and climbed out to kneel on the ground next to him. Tanner jumped down out of the bed of the truck with his SAW machine gun and crouched down behind the back bumper. Tasha saw Williams and Ortiz were already taking cover behind the truck’s hood. Another burst of gunfire raked the vehicle. Tasha curled up to make herself as small as possible. She had no idea what kind of gun the other guy was shooting but it went very fast and it only took a second for the firing to stop.

  “Second floor window!” Ortiz shouted and opened fire. Tanner pulled the trigger on his SAW and the machine gun roared.

  “Moving!” Williams yelled as he sprinted across the street, reaching the sidewalk unharmed. He had his rifle aimed up. “I can’t get an angle!” he called out. Another burst of gunfire. Tasha ducked again. I have to stop hiding, she thought. I need to help. She looked up and scanned all of the second floor windows, but she could not see anyone or anything. Ortiz let off another blast of rounds from her rifle.

  “Where is he? I can’t see anything,” Tasha said.

  “Watch for a muzzle flash,” Tanner replied.

  “A what?”

  “Reloading!” Ortiz called out.

  Tanner looked at Tasha. “When he shoots at us, t
he weapon will make a flash,” he said.

  Well that’s stupid, she thought. “So, we have to wait for them to try to kill us before we can know where he is hiding?” Tasha asked.

  “Yeah,” Tanner replied and winked at her. “War is hell, right?”

  “Get ready to move!” Ortiz ordered.

  “She talking to us?” Tasha asked.

  “Yes,” Tanner replied and aimed his machine gun at the windows. “Cleveland! You ready!”

  “Waiting on you,” Cleveland replied.

  Gunfire erupted again from the building. “Shit,” Tanner said and ducked down behind the truck.

  Tasha held her position and saw flashes of light coming from one of the windows on the second floor. “I see his position!” she yelled.

  “Get down!” Tanner yelled, so Tasha ducked back beside him.

  “What kind of gun is it?” Ortiz asked.

  “You’re asking me?” Tasha asked. Ortiz frowned. She looked at the other two guys.

  “Hell if I know,” Cleveland said.

  “Doesn’t sound military,” Tanner replied. “Something from the street.”

  “When they reload again, be ready to run,” Ortiz said. “I’ll cover you.”

  “Got it,” Tanner said just as the shooting stopped.

  “Go!” Ortiz yelled. She stood up and opened fire at the second floor of the warehouse.

  “Let's move!” Tanner yelled at Tasha and he took off from behind the truck, running across the street. Seeing no other option, Tasha sprinted after him, followed by Cleveland. Tasha’s heart was racing and she listened for the roar of the other gun but the only gunfire she heard was from Ortiz. They made it across the street and crouched next to Williams.

  “Ortiz!” Williams called out. “Stay there!”

  “Where else would I go?” Ortiz yelled back.

  “What’s the plan?” Tanner asked.