“For the locks. I almost forgot.” He apologized and scurried back to his bedroll.
I looked at the others and put the keys in my pocket.
Well, I guess I’m the warden now. Just get it over with. These people made their choices; it’s not my problem anymore. Sunny makes the calls for them now.
Claude cowered when I approached. I went for him first. Moving like a whisper through the trees, I came up behind him and locked the end of a chain around his neck. It clicked shut and he started crying into his hands. Victor stood and puffed his chest.
“Next.”
I held the next chain out to him. He took it and stared me down as he put the improvised shackle around his neck and reached for the padlock. I wagged my finger at him and clasped it shut myself. I pointed down and he sat while I locked the other end of the three chains to a bolt high in the wall. Margot muttered obscenities at me from where she crouched against the wall.
“Do you want to make this easy and fast or annoying, slow, and painful?”
She turned away from me.
“Fuck you, leech.”
“Okay then. Have it your way.”
I flung the third chain around her throat and pulled her to me. Her brothers jumped up and were choked backwards in their advance. Margot fought against the strangle hold. I snapped shut the discolored bronze lock and tossed her to the ground. The woman gasped to catch her escaped breath while her brothers huddled around her.
“Cooperation makes everything easier. You don’t see Claude or Victor in any discomfort do you? Learn something.”
“Why don’t you just kill us? Waiting and being dragged around by shackles is worse than just ending it.”
I gawked at Claude.
Didn’t think he had the guts to say anything for himself.
“Because I don’t make the decision anymore. If you want to die, stop eating. I doubt anyone will mind the extra rations.”
I ignored the man’s sobbing and leaned against the door. Cal nodded at me. Daemon and Reggie were already asleep with the rest of our team. Only Cal, Nurse, and I stood watch for the first half of the day. I peeked at the wandering zombies occasionally through the bullet-holes across from my post. Sagging jaws, missing limbs, and exposed ribs paraded past.
Too many to clear in one night. We could be stuck here for weeks.
When Daemon took over my watch, I slept with my head against his chest. He ran his fingers through my hair until I dozed off. A lullaby of desperate groans and hungry moans serenaded me.
CHAPTER 23 FEBRUARY 3RD - YEAR 2
Gentle shaking roused me. I opened my eyes and stretched.
“What time is...”
A hand muffled my words. I saw its owner.
Daemon, why is your hand on my face?
He cracked the door and pointed outside. I sat up to see the mass of Dead had converged on some unlucky souls. Over a hundred fleshies roamed the parking lot chomping on bits of the deceased men. They tore chunks from one another and lapped at the gore on dry weeds that separated the asphalt into islands.
Oh. That isn’t good.
Our crew was all awakened and gearing up. They massed in the center of the room. The triplets pulled at their chains and gestured to be set free.
They could be a good decoy to get us out of here.
As though she could hear my thoughts, Margot panicked and began to attempt to force the loop over her head. Small cuts marred her chin and jaw from the efforts. I hurried to her side and took her hands off the chain. My whisper was closer to a growl.
“Leave it alone. You are all staying in custody so stop adding blood to the aroma of the room.”
She slunk back to the ground. Claude rocked and covered his ears to block the sound of the zombies eating the strangers. Victor never even blinked; he just sat calmly waiting by the wall.
I returned to the group. We spoke as low as possible and tried to hide the worry from our voices.
“We need a way out of here that isn’t just running out the door.” Sunny said.
“We go outside now and we’d be run over by them fleshies.”
I gave Bubba a pat on the back in agreement. We stood encircled looking to one another for good ideas. Vincent and Chase scanned the room for clues. Reggie surveyed them and glanced at the prisoners.
“Three of us could fly out those three and drop them away from the building to keep the horde busy devouring their surprise buffet. We drain them first and the Dead take care of the bodies while allowing us an acceptable window of escape.”
“That’s an option. What else have you got?”
He frowned at me.
“What do you mean? Let’s just do it and run like hell.”
“No. It has to be the best option. If we are going to burn through the extra feedings, extra help hauling materials, and the moral feeling of purposely sacrificing people it should be a last resort.”
Chase turned red.
“They stopped being people when they tried to kill my wife and unborn baby. I vote we do it.”
“Do you really think that will give us enough of a window to get through this huge swarm; there are hundreds of them, maybe thousands, in this area. There’s a better way, we just need to find it.”
“Listen to Squirrel.”
Sunny’s voice cut the tension in half and brought air back to the room. She rubbed her stomach and caught her husband’s eye. Chase relaxed and waved me on.
“Oh, I don’t have the answer; I just know that we’re missing one.”
I could feel myself blush from the looks I received. Daemon wandered around the room, craning his neck to see all the angles.
Okay, time to figure this out fast. What are you missing?
“Why not just go up?” Daemon stood fixated on a ceiling panel. “We’re surrounded on all sides but not below or above. Tunneling sounds like a lot of work to end up in the center of the flock, so why not up?”
Holy shit, he’s a genius!
“Perfect, Daemon. We make a hole in the roof and survey the situation. We can take turns culling that mess into a manageable quantity.”
“Or even setting fires away to distract and flying our counterparts in the opposite direction.” Cal added. “We could probably manage to ‘leap-frog’ everyone from roof to roof until we can clear the city. Well thought, Daemon. I’m actually quite proud.”
The front door was barricaded and I grabbed a crowbar from the arsenal. Daemon snatched Sunny’s spear and we began to force our way up. Reggie and Cal took their turn feeding and covered us for our turns. The ceiling took only a minute but the poking and jabbing at the roof itself took nearly an hour.
The Dead converged and slammed against the walls of our fortress with their broken bodies. We worked faster and harder, ignoring the noise level; they’d already heard the destruction. The corpses piled up until the trampled were high enough to block the lower bullet holes. Our living allies could only wait and watch.
“I see sky!” Daemon dropped down with his announcement. “We’re through, just got to tear a section down. Stand back.”
He rejoined me and we yanked portions down until a three foot chasm was visible. I fell to the floor, landing on my face.
More practice with flying and control. Yeah, need that.
Chase helped me to my feet.
“Meant to do that.” I stood and dusted off my clothes. “Let’s see if the bikes will fit through it.”
Reggie grabbed one of the transports and glided up to the gap. He shook his head and lowered the vehicle smoothly to the ground. He grinned at me.
“That’s how you come back down. Now up with you and add some more of the heavens to our view.”
Cal chuckled and rose with me to expand our escape route. Twenty minutes later we had our entire group assembled on the roof away from the hole. We stared in disbelief at the scene before us.
Dead piled up into ever-growing ramps along each wall; the bottom layer being crushed into oblivion as others cl
imbed with witless abandon towards us. A thin layer of snow coated those rendered immobile. Shattered limbs dragged through the fresh powder, leaving a trail of grime and ichor. A sea of walking corpses reached for us as the sky turned from violet to blue-gray to black.
Reggie held the chains for the triplets as we took it all in. The Nurse stepped back and slipped on the frost. He stayed on his back mumbling prayers. No one moved to help him up again; he would rise when he was ready to face this reality. I looked at Sunny.
“Leap-frogging sounds good to me. Any thoughts?”
A little of the color returned to her face as she buttoned up her heavy coat.
“Just get us out of here.”
“Will do.” I turned to Cal. “Wanna pick a solid roof we can aim for? Daemon and you can take the first couple of people and then we’ll go from there.”
“Are you so certain that the Dead will not follow?”
“Not enough will be able to track our movements in the dark. Besides we can always toss some flammables in the opposite direction before each take-off. Should serve as a decent decoy; these things aren’t exactly Einsteins.”
“Keep a good eye on those three.” He dropped his voice until I strained to hear. “They’ll not go easily when they have the opportunity to destroy one of us. We need to hold them to carry them to our destination; close proximity could be hazardous.”
I snickered and tossed the Roman a roll of duct tape.
“Already thought of that. Duct tape fixes everything.”
We picked out our destination and the leap-frogging of our team began. Sunny and Nurse were first. Daemon flew the Nurse piggyback style while Caelinus carried Sunny like a new bride. Bubba, Garret, and Vincent each threw a Molotov Cocktail as far as they could behind the building. They erupted into flame and soon dozens of zombies were blanketed in fire. The stench of smoldering decay drifted on the breeze and set us couching.
We better do this fast or I’m going to puke. Hell, I wonder what it’s like to puke up blood instead of food; can’t be good.
The distraction peeled off about half of the crowd below. I prayed to the dark sky and radiant snow that it would be enough. The clanking of chain-links caught my attention. I shifted my view and saw Victor and Margot rising and holding their restraints between their arms. They crouched for the assault on Reggie; he was watching the progress to the adjacent rooftop.
“Behind you!” I leapt towards the commotion.
Reggie wheeled and caught Victor just as the chain wrapped around his throat. Victor fought to choke the ember-eyed Undead. Reggie drove his elbow into the man’s solar plexus and overtook him as I reached Margot. She shoved the rusty steel loops into my mouth as I bared my fangs at her. With a smack to the cheekbone, she stumbled and I pulled the chain into the air.
Reggie slurped on the last of her brother’s blood behind me as I hung Margot in midair. Claude screamed and begged for their lives. Chase held the end of his chain while Vincent and Bubba subdued him. I listened to the woman gagging; it would only take a few more moments to put her out of our lives.
Be smart. Don’t let your anger or feelings get in the way of getting the job done. Don’t waste her life. Put her down.
“Dammit.”
I lowered her and tossed the chain to Reggie. He’d already changed back to looking normal. The others watched me while Claude pushed free and hugged his sister. She said nothing but watched me like a cat watches its owner eating chicken. I walked over to Victor’s remains.
“We’ve got the decoy for our next run.”
I lifted the end of the chain as Daemon and Cal returned.
“Troubles, Squirrel?”
“Nothing unexpected. Can you send Daemon and Reggie on the next run? I’ll lure the fleshies away with my fancy new cadaver pendulum.”
“Put him down now.”
Chase walked over to Margot and slapped her mouth.
“She’s had plenty of reasons and chances to kill you. Shut up or I’ll sew your mouth shut for you. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve done it.”
Claude pulled Margot behind him and tried to quiet her. She gave over to tears and Reggie took the reins of the pair. Chase stood beside him.
The next several trips were marked by me dangling Victor’s body over the scrambling Dead; the Pied Piper of Zombietown USA. I led them into ditches and obstacles to lessen their numbers. Each time I hauled up the shredded remnants of the man and returned to the Foodland. The remaining siblings had their hands and feet taped together and were carried without further difficulty.
Our night was spent this way until we reached the far side of town around 5AM. We’ve set up a shelter for the day in the woods beyond the road. Tape covers the mouths of our captives. Claude and Margot seem resigned to their fate. I wish I felt bad, but I doubt it would do me any good to care about the lives of two people when almost everyone I care about has already died.
CHAPTER 24 FEBRUARY 4TH-18TH - YEAR 2
The last two weeks have been difficult; every urban area we pass is overrun and most of the rural areas have pockets of hostile survivors. At sunset today, I had to help bury Claude. His ribs showed and he shivered no matter how many layers he wore. It was the cough that did him in; he began hacking up blood with his phlegm before he passed in his sleep this afternoon.
Probably the last peaceful death I’ll ever see.
Margot stood over the shallow grave we dug from the frozen earth. Her eyes were sunken and her lips cracked. Bubba offered her a flask he’d recovered a few days prior. She ignored him and knelt beside his spindly form.
“Just drain me. Please, let this all be over.”
She spoke to no one in particular, but all faces drifted to me nonetheless. I glanced at my fellows; I hadn’t drained anyone completely in over a week, but the other three had filled up four days ago when we crossed a family armed like a Mexican cartel.
“Fine. Call it mercy. You’ve only got a day or two left before this hunger strike of yours puts you down.”
The crew retreated to the bikes and left the camp shovel. My canines slid into her carotid artery with ease. Her blood was warm as it gushed over my tongue and sent shivers of sensation through every cell in my body. I closed my eyelids and let the sanguine fluid quench my thirst and appease my frenzied mind.
The light went out too quickly. I sucked harder to get the last dregs of nourishment from the weather-ravaged body. A strong hand carried me back to the winter’s night. I relinquished my grip and looked to my right.
“Daemon, what are you doing here?”
“Came to help you clean up.”
“You mean you came to make sure I didn’t get overwhelmed by the immense festival of energy particles and recede into my mind?”
He picked up the shovel and tossed aside a scoop of soil.
“Exactly.”
We worked to give the woman a hasty burial and rejoined our comrades for the night’s journey.
###
“Chase, can you give me a hand moving this gear into my trailer?”
A bag of cookware crashed to the ground beside Sunny. Her husband waved her off and lifted them along with the blankets she still held. He planted a kiss on the lady’s forehead.
“No, but I can put them into my trailer. You’ve got enough to tow; just take care of yourself and our baby.”
He finished the task and started to redistribute the rest of the supplies as evenly as possible. Sunny snuck a few items back into her trailer while he was busy. I laughed and ignored the distant sounds of gunfire.
Sporadic and small caliber; miles away and not an issue. Enjoy the moment.
We mount our bicycles and begin the night’s travels. Daemon and I aren’t the only ones who giggle as Cal learns to ride a bicycle; the trailer helps keep him from tilting over. We’re heading towards the shooting, but Reggie is flying ahead. When we are within a couple of miles of the gunshots, they cease and the only sound is the creaking of the ice as we ride over the frozen
ground.
Reggie is standing on the road two miles ahead. He bears an M16 and a strand of grenades is flung over his shoulder. To his left is a figure wobbling in the shadows. The scent of blood is not present. Reggie spies Cal ‘parking’ the bike against a stack of wood.
“Caelinus, why did you run your bike into this man’s pile of kindling?”
“Reggie, don’t start. These seats are not exactly comfortable.”
“I just don’t think plowing into a stranger’s firewood is a good way to stop a Schwinn. Haven’t you thought of using your brakes?”
“Go to Hell.”
The Roman dismounted and adjusted himself in as dignified a way as he could. Daemon bit into his lip and grinned. Sunny and Chase smirked while Bubba just shook his head and followed his boyfriend to meet the new arrival.
“Who’s this feller?”
“Some jerk who was shooting an automatic weapon at beer bottles. He says he’s out here alone. No name yet.”
I sized up the man huddled on the ground. He swayed while sitting and wore cargo pants with a long-sleeved shirt. The aroma of whiskey surrounded him.
“What’s your name?”
Bleary eyes met mine.
“Why, you gonna put it on my gravestone? Or do I even get a grave?”
“No one is planning on killing you. And if we did, yeah, I’ll write it on a grave marker for you. So, what’s your name?”
He squinted at me and harrumphed.
“Most people call me Allen, but you can call me whatever you want pretty lady.”
His eyebrows lifted twice and he smiled widely. Daemon was suddenly beside me.
“She’ll call you Allen. I’m Daemon.”
Allen fell shook his hand and fell over.
“Protective little bloodsucker ain’t he?”
I helped the man to his feet.
“Yes, Allen, he is very protective of me. So why were you shooting at bottles?”
He gave me an incredulous look.
“How else am I supposed to get zombies to find me?”
Our group studied him and shared glances in turn.
Nova Nocte (Book 2): Quarantined in Chaos Page 13
