Eric looked around at the soldiers and couldn’t help but notice the girl standing next to Warrant Smith. Her face was badly swollen. Her lip was split open and there was dried blood underneath her nose. She looked like she had gotten into a fist fight with the warrant, who didn’t look much better. Her camouflage jacket was way too big on her. Her hands didn’t even reach the bottom of her sleeves. She looked like a kid wearing her father’s jacket. She stared down at her feet. She was wearing a pair of blue jeans and white sneakers. Eric thought she may have been a soldier, but she wasn’t dressed like the others. Eric pushed his way through the crowd and made his way over towards Warrant Smith. As he got closer he realized the poor girl was Tina.
“Tina?” Eric almost whispered. He knew that she shouldn’t have went with Ted. “Tina,” Eric said louder, getting her attention. She looked up, her eye nearly swollen shut. A single tear rolled down her cheek.
“Mr. Jones I’m glad to see you,” Warrant Smith said, but Eric ignored him. His only concern right now was Tina.
“Tina what happened to you?” Eric tried to embrace Tina but she backed against the wall, a frightened look on her face.
“It was Ted.” The warrant spoke for Tina. “I need to tell you something.”
Eric studied the fresh wounds on the warrants face. The blood was still fresh and wet on his face. “Go ahead, I’m listening.” Eric figured that Smith and Ted had gotten into a huge fight and now Ted was gone. Good riddance he thought to himself.
“Your mother is in Grand Falls being held captive by the Silver Skull Cartel,” Warrant Smith said calmly, almost irritating Eric.
“What do you mean? Why would they want her?”
“Tina said they are being made to work in the drug labs. They have a lot of innocent people held against their will. We are going to stop them, but I will need all the help I can get.” The warrant looked over Eric’s shoulder at his soldier.
Eric didn’t have to think about it. “Of course I will help.” Eric needed to rescue his mother from those terrible people. Eric had a run in with a member of the cartel once before and they were evil incarnate. The biker had murdered an innocent man for sport and laughed about it during the trail. His lawyer had found a technicality in the prosecution’s gathering of evidence and had the case thrown out.
“I need to tell you something else.” Warrant Smith reached out and placed his hand on Eric’s shoulder.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:
A NEW PLAN
Warrant Smith laid his hand on Eric’s shoulder, not knowing how he would respond to the news of his father’s passing. Eric looked like he had been through hell over the last few days. His eyes didn’t have the same spark they did when they parted ways just a few days ago. He could tell by Eric’s roaming eye that he was surprised by his own appearance. His lip felt like it was burst open, his head was pounding and his eye felt like it was swollen shut even though he could see out of it. “I need to tell what happened to your father. Maybe you should sit down.”
Eric brushed Smith’s hand away gently. He walked over to the chair and sat down. He bowed his head into his chest, bracing himself for the news. “How did it happen?” Eric stuttered.
“He saved our lives.” Warrant Smith tried to soften the blow. Jack did save their lives in a way, but Eric didn’t need to know that his dead corpse fell against the wall and opened up an escape route. “He saved your mother.” There was no way he was going to tell Eric that it was her fault. If she could have just kept her calm everyone would still be alive, however they wouldn’t be here right now either.
“Did he get bit?” Eric looked up at the warrant with tears in his eyes.
“No, he didn’t get bit. He was shot by a member of the cartel.” Warrant Smith needed to direct Eric’s hatred towards his cause. It was the truth, but he felt bad for manipulating him into helping. He could have left Eric alone, but he thought that not knowing was just as cruel.
“Those fuckers are going to pay.” Eric slumped back into the chair. “You say you need my help. You got it.” Eric looked lost, staring blankly into the future.
“I have a plan. It’s going to seem unnecessary, but you need to trust me. The Silver Skull Cartel is heavily armed. The vikings said that there are hundreds of them that crossed over into St. Anthony. They are heavily armed and have no issues taking a human life.” Warrant Smith spoke calmly to Eric, expecting him to break down at any moment but he appeared to be in shock. “The plan is going to sound crazy, so if you need some time to process everything let me know.”
“Go ahead. We’re not going anywhere any time soon.” Eric pointed to the window. The wind howled outside, rocking the foundation of the building.
“Well, some of us are heading back to Corner Brook to gather supplies. We have weapons and ammo left behind.” Warrant Smith had also left his jeep, with a mounted Gatling gun, behind. “Others are going to scout around the outskirts of Grand Falls and set up a defensive perimeter.”
“So where will I be going?” Eric asked.
“You are going to help around the outskirts of Grand Falls so you know your way around then I have another part of the plan that I need help with.” Warrant Smith wasn’t sure if his plan would work. He had tried it before in Corner Brook and if it worked again it would be the key to their victory.
“All right.” Eric sounded uninterested and distant, as if he didn’t seem to care about anything.
“I need you to head towards Gander and help lead the herd of zombies there to Grand Falls. The vikings have already agreed to do it, however I need someone I can trust.” Smith didn’t know the vikings and their outlandish ways weren’t buying any of his trust. He would feel much better knowing that Eric would be there. Revenge could be the greatest motivator of all.
“You want me to lead a pack of shambling corpses from Gander to Grand Falls? That will take days.” Eric sounded impatient.
“It will take days, and I think it’s exactly what we need to give us the advantage. We will let the cartel expend their ammo on the herd and tire themselves out. When they think it’s all over we will strike hard.” The warrant knew they couldn’t win in a straight up gun fight. Even with their superior training, the Silver Skull Cartel would be able to handle the army with ease.
“I need you to promise me one thing,” Eric said.
“What’s that?”
“We kill them all,” Eric snarled.
The soldiers had finally opened the door to the offices and Tina welcomed the personal space. The reception room was getting overheated and she was starting to feel claustrophobic. Warrant Smith had led her to an empty office and let her have her personal space. Now she was sitting underneath the desk. She felt safe there. If anyone looked in through the window they wouldn’t be able to see her. She wanted to cry and scream out in anger at the same time, a fountain of emotion bottled up inside just waiting to explode.
The whistling wind drowned out the mummers of the soldiers next door. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but they all sounded so angry. Eric had went with Warrant Smith. He was handling the loss of his father exceptionally well amongst the others, but Tina could see the sadness in his eyes. She had overheard Smith’s plan and she wanted to be there when they headed back to Grand Falls. She needed to make sure Ted didn’t survive the assault. She wanted to finish what she had started; she should have never let him live. She thought about the twins and what kind of danger they would be in now that Ted had gone completely mad.
A knock on the door frightened Tina. She stiffened up and bumped her head against the top of the desk. She wasn’t sure if someone was looking for her or if it was someone looking for some peace and quiet. Another rattle rocked the door. A voice calling out her name sounded familiar. “Hello.” Tina responded timidly.
“Tina, can I come in?” Eric’s voice called from the other side.
Tina crawled out from behind the desk and walked over to let him in. She opened the door and Eric was standing there with a
sad look on his face. The urge to close the door was strong, but the defeated look on his face was too much to ignore. “Come in,” Tina said reluctantly.
“I’m sorry this happened to you.” Eric sat in an old wooden chair, the arms worn down and dull compared to the rest of the furniture in the room.
Tina walked around the large, misshaped desk and pulled out her big boss office chair. The desk was made from a thick cut tree, the rings preserved by the varnish used to stain the wood. “I’m sorry for your loss.” It was the first time Tina had acknowledged what had taken place back in that awful room. She had spent hours trying to block it out of her mind, she knew that she couldn’t run from it if she ever wanted to confront Ted. This was his fault and he needed to pay for what happened.
Eric covered his mouth with a clenched fist, his eyes squeezed shut. “It’s not your fault.” He mumbled through clenched teeth, choking back tears.
Tina looked around at the cork boards on the walls. They were filled with various maps hung up with thumbtacks. The walls were painted an off-white colour and the floors were maple hardwood. The room reminded Tina of the old fisheries wardens office where her father would work during the off-seasons. “It wasn’t your fault that Ted did this to me.” Tina hated herself for sticking with Ted, even after he showed signs of becoming unhinged long before Grand Falls.
“I should have killed that monster after he got bit on the beach. No one would have known he was immune to the virus,” Eric said, bitterly.
“You’re a good man, you did the right thing at the time.” Tina remembered Eric when they had been at Pinch-gut Lake. He looked so different now. His eyes had grown cold and his scruffy beard made him look mean.
“That’s the problem now a days. It may be the right thing to do in that moment, but it can come back to haunt you the next.” Eric looked up at the ceiling. “You have to do the best thing for your survival, not the right thing.”
Tina thought about what he said and wanted to disagree with him, unable to find a point she could use to argue with him. She had done the right thing with Ted, but if she had chosen to stay behind with Eric everything would have been different. His father would still be alive and they probably wouldn’t be involved in the pending war that was brewing. Warrant Smith had talked about fighting for the Republic of Newfoundland with his troops and there would only be misery fighting for control of the island. They should have run away from all of this madness before it was too late.
They both sat there in silence, studying the maps on the wall and avoiding eye contact with each other. A loud rap on the door went unanswered until the second knock on the door. “Who is it?” Tina asked, annoyed.
“It’s me. I need to speak to Eric.” Warrant Smith’s voice echoed from the other side of the door.
Tina looked over at Eric, who nodded his approval. “Come in.” The door swung open and Smith closed it behind him as he walked into the office. Tina noticed that the warrant had a cardboard box cradled in his arms. “Please tell me you found some food.” Tina eyed the box intently.
“It’s not much, but it should hold us over until we the storm passes.” Smith laid the box on the table. “It’s starting to clear up now. It shouldn’t be much longer until we can get moving again.”
Tina leaned forward in the chair and dragged the box across the table. Inside was an open silver can filled with a dark red paste and noodles, a bag of cheese puffs, and a trail mix bar. “Is all of this for me?” Tina’s mouth started to water as the smell of the sauce wafted up to her nose. The warrant nodded his head but seemed occupied with something. He leaned over to whisper something into Eric’s ear that caused him to stand up swiftly. “Is something wrong.”
“Everything’s fine. I just need to speak with Eric. I want to discuss something with him in private.” Warrant Smith and Eric both left the room without saying another word. Tina looked under her desk, thinking about going back underneath to hide, ultimately she decided to stay in the comfortable chair. The trauma she suffered in Grand Falls was starting to fade away. She felt safe now that Eric was around. He had always kept everyone safe and knowing that he was going to be involved with Smith’s plan made her feel confident they would be victorious. Tina closed her eyes and leaned back in the chair. After putting her legs up on the table she quickly dozed off into a deep sleep.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:
UPSTAIRS
Eric needed to get back to check on Dana before they started their mission. He knew she would want to come with him and he was going over the reasons she couldn’t inside his head. Hank and the other vikings were nearly fifty meters ahead of him on the road, but Hank would hang back to check on him every hour or so. Eric didn’t feel like talking to anyone and he was glad that Hank respected his privacy. The snow had stopped falling sometime during the night and now the sun was beaming high in the sky. A frigid cold wind cut through Eric’s parka. The horse followed in the hoof prints ahead. Eric barely needed to guide it along. The horse trotted along in the deep snow, its hooves unable to reach the pavement below anymore. Snow draped over the trees all along the highway on either side. The mountains looked like giant icebergs towering into the sky in the distance.
Hank turned his stallion around and waited for Eric to catch up. The three vikings didn’t wait this time. They kept plodding ahead through the deep snow. The horses were getting tired now. Eric could feel its mighty chest rising with each laboured breath. “We must be close now.” He called out.
Hank nodded his head in agreement. “We are just a few kilometres away now.”
“Great. My horse could really use a rest.” Eric patted his horse and rubbed its neck in appreciation.
“We could all use a rest, but I’m afraid we won’t get much.” Hank kept his horse in stride with Eric’s. They were riding side by side now. Snow-covered trees lined the road as far they could both see. The bright blue sky overhead was almost blinding.
Eric knew that Warrant Smith would be waiting for them in Grand Falls in less than two days and it was going to take a lot of hard work before this plan was all over. He debated if all of this would be worth it. “You’re probably right,” Eric agreed. “That’s why it’s important we make the most of our time.”
Hank laughed. “You worried about the warrant’s plan?”
“Aren’t you?” Eric didn’t want to admit it, but he didn’t like the odds of coming out of this alive. He knew that the plan could work, however every last detail was going to have to fall into place perfectly.
“Of course I am. I don’t like detailed plans.” Hank looked over at Eric. “I find I work best when I have room to change. His plan will only work if everything goes exactly as he expects.”
“That’s what I’m worried about.” Eric admitted. “There is no room for error.”
“Then we have to make sure we have an escape plan,” Hank said, as the walls of the compound came into view. “That’s why I’m glad you didn’t tell him where we are staying.”
Eric had no plans on leaving Warrant Smith during the attack. He also didn’t want to put Dana in any possible danger. If something happened to Eric at least no one would go looking for her in St. John’s. Hank’s plan made perfect sense and Eric was glad that they would be heading there soon. He just hoped he would be alive long enough to meet Dana there after all of this was over.
Snow drifted up the side of the door. Sasha had tried to pick the lock but didn’t have any success. Dana looked around for something to break the window with, the ground and everything on it was buried underneath the snow. The sun peeked out from behind the passing clouds. A strong breeze blew the snow from the rooftops and down the front of her jacket. “You ever pick a lock before?” Sasha turned around with a frustrated look on her face.
Dana shook her head. “Can’t say that I have. Maybe we can find another way in.” Dana walked over to the window and tried to push it up, it wouldn’t budge. “We could break the window.” Dana suggested.
“Maybe as a
last resort, someone may need to use this cabin. There isn’t enough room in our cabin for anyone else and I think we are going to have company soon.” Sasha started to walk around the cabin, checking a bedroom window to no avail.
Dana headed around the corner. The back of the cabin didn’t have a single window or door they could try. She walked back to join Sasha when something buried underneath the snow at the base of the cabin. Snow had nearly hidden the basement window but someone had left it open and the snow drifted into the cabin. “Sasha over here,” Dana called out as she got down on her knees and started to shovel the snow out of the way with her hands.
Sasha walked over and got down beside Dana to help uncover the window. “Good eye. I walked right past it.”
The basement was bare pavement and had been used to store various lawn tools for the compound. A ride-on lawn mower sat along the back wall next to a ramp. Shovels and hoes had been left leaning against the walls. “It looks safe.”
“You should wait here. You might tear a stitch trying to climb down there through the window.” Sasha shifted her body into position. She rolled onto her stomach and dangled her legs inside the basement window. She gave Dana a nod before she eased herself down into the room, her feet banging off the floor as she dropped down.
“Are you okay?” Dana asked.
“I’m fine. I just wasn’t expecting it to be such a big drop.” Sasha answered. She walked over to the corner and grabbed a garden hoe. “You wait there. I’ll unlock the door for you.” Sasha headed up the stairs and disappeared from view. Dana walked over to the door and waited for Sasha to unlock the door. It didn’t take long before she could see her shadow through the white drape covering the window. The lock clicked open and Sasha pulled the door open. “This place gives me the creeps.”
Zombies On The Rock (Book 3): The Republic of Newfoundland Page 12
