we in?” I pointed over to the kitchen where we'd come from while Steve took off one of his boots, lifted it over his head and pegged it across the gap and right into the window.
A head came out, looking around and Steve started jumping around pulling on me to do the same. The head looked up and I recognised it as Harry in the moonlight. He raised a hand holding a boot and pointed at us, we met this with nods and gestured for them to stay put. “We'll head over in the morning.”
I sat down and Steve plopped down next to me, “What if zeds get in? Or those bandit-y types?”
I laid back and looked at the massive ship looming overhead. The rain having died down allowed for it to be bearable to be outside for the first time in days, “The guys can handle a few zeds, and the bandits will have to make a lot of noise to get through the streets.”
Steven opened his mouth to speak again, “Just... Shut up, please, I don't want to talk anymore.”
My eyes closed and my mind drifted to what the suit had said, he hadn't seen Kate...
Kate, that's all that mattered. I could almost feel her lips on mine. Tears started to well in my tired eyes as I fell into a deep sleep.
I'd been taken back to base, the first time I saw her, the first time she smiled at me, our first hug, our first kiss, everything was so bright.
I was somewhere else, a bedroom, I could hear the bustling sounds of a busy street, she was laying there next to me, looking into my eyes, “Good morning sleepy head.” I took her all in, her hair, an absolute mess, she did her cute little yawn and stretched, a baggy patterned shirt wrapped her as she grabbed all the blankets and snuggled in, “Let's just stay in bed today.”
I lifted myself and rested on my elbow, “We can't do that silly, big day today.”
She rolled over and smiled at me, “John...”
I dropped back to my pillow, “Yes darling?”
She looked more seriously at me. “John.” I looked at her waiting for her to finish, “John!”
It wasn't her voice. My eyes shot open, Steve was shaking me awake, “John! Look!” He pointed at the sky and I saw a helicopter. My heart swelled, and then the tail exploded, it started plummeting toward the Earth. “No!”
My eyes shot open again and I was on the roof, it was morning, I ran over to the ledge and threw up for a solid five minutes before collapsing onto my knees, “John? You alright?”
I shook my head, “I'm getting that fuel today.”
Fuel
We made it over to the apartment without incident, where I changed out of the soaked shirt and into a dry white one with a dark brown leather jacket over the top.
My mind jumped to Wolfgang, dancing like an idiot, I missed my old team. Even though we'd only known each other for a few days they’d felt like family.
Steven pulled me out of my moment of remembrance, “You saw what those guys are capable of, those were cages with people back there, now you're going to steal from them? Not even them, just him!”
I was barely listening to him, I was busy in my own mind, but he was owed a response of some kind, “We handled that situation just fine. Harry, I need your help, I need a truck, something that can carry a tanker, seen anything?”
The look of confusion he had maintained since our arrival in the early morning with our story remained, “Um... Yeah, there's a rig not far from here, not sure how many hits it can take, but it's the only thing not completely flooded.”
I nodded, “Thank you. And your sword, I'll be needing that too.”
Steven grabbed my shoulder, I turned, expecting more anger, but got a face of genuine concern, “Look, they weren't ready last time. They'll know you're coming. Just... Don't die.”
I smiled lightly, “Is that ever NOT the plan?”
He laughed a little, “What am I going to do in this plan?”
I clapped him on the shoulder, “You and Mark go to the airport. Find me a transport, something to fit the tanker.” I caught the sword by its hilt as it flew toward me, “Harry, I'll need you to take the truck and get the tanker, I'll work on keeping them off of you.”
I could hear the snarls outside building up, “We need to do this now or never, before they can regroup.”
I was met by nods, Marcus scooped up the duffel bag, “I am genuinely looking forward to this.”
I opened the door and prepared to take the first steps for this plan, “That's because you're crazy Marcus.”
He looked at me with a slight irritation, then smiled and nodded, “Yeaaah, a bit.” I grabbed my pistols off of the small circular table and slid them into their holsters under my arms.
As we made our way down the set of stairs a large glass panel door came into view while zombies shuffled passively in the street past the thin glass barricade, “Mark, there's a car a few metres to the left, I'll clear your way and you use it to get to the airport, we'll meet you there.”
I took his heavy breath as an answer, “Stick to the plan and this'll be gravy.” I put my hands on the door, forcing everything from my brain but the plan. This was the first time I'd really put Harry in danger, I was not looking forward to it. I moved my shoulders to adjust the chest holster which rarely left its place.
Finally a thunder clap pushed me out the door, the sword in my hand. It moved as if it had a life of its own, cleaving into the dead immediately in front of the door. I moved left and saw the blue hatchback, even before the outbreak this car had clearly seen better days. Rust around all the windows, cracks to compliment and a sizable dent to the passenger quarter.
Marcus was already at the driver side door trying the handle, I sliced another zed down the middle, “Break the glass!”
Harry pushed passed me brandishing the baseball bat, “But what about the rain?” He kept trying the handle, more zombies were coming.
The three of us protecting him brought out in unison “Break the fucking window!” He pulled out his pistol and brought it down hard onto the lower corner closest to the lock causing the whole sheet to crack. He punched through and unlocked the car, swinging the door into an oncoming zed.
He proceeded to hot-wire the blue junker, what was only about a dozen zombies was quickly becoming thirty. The rumble of the engine starting almost smothered by the snarls.
“Go!” Steven jumped in the passenger seat and they were off.
I watched as hungry mouths moved in on us, Harry and I were backed up against the wall, I put the sword back into its scabbard.
“Guns,” Harry started scrambling through our duffel, “guns...” A zed darted at Harry but I caught it by what little brown hair it had and threw its flailing body back into the crowd, “Guns no-!”
Harry tossed me my rifle, “There, gun, shut up!”
I pulled the trigger and watched a head explode, “Shoot and move Har!” He fired his shotgun into the crowd and we started right, “Where's the rig?”
I put the sling around my body while we followed the wall, “Two or three blocks down here, it's parked in an alley.” The small horde was getting smaller, for once it felt like the ones we were killing weren't just getting replaced. By the end of the second block I'd swapped the clip once and there were five left, “Here she is.”
Now, that car was bad, but this truck was a train wreck. I'm still not sure how Harry got it started but he did, “This is where we split up, I'll go on foot and get their attention, don't come until you hear gunfire, good luck with your... duct tape mobile.”
Harry just smiled and wove me off. I slung my rifle over my shoulder and began the walk to the park.
I'll skip to where I'm banging on the gate.
“Oi! Let me in!” Two guards showed up, guns raised to their shoulders, “Hi lads, the boss in?” One of the men nodded, “...Right, are you going to let me in?”
The other, visibly terrified, shook his head while I rubbed mine and let out a sigh, “You know that I'm going to come in any way right?”
This time they both nodded, “Yeah, how about thi
s, you tried your hardest but I overwhelmed you both.” They looked at each other and then shook their heads, “I understand, sorry fellows.”
Before they could let out a round I'd leaped over the gate and into a tree above them and dropped down behind them, bringing their heads together with just enough force to knock them out.
I started looking around at the guards moving in, “Hmm, officer's tent... officer's tent...” I spotted a large tent decorated with an assortment of skulls and tinsel, “That'll be the one, 'scuse me.”
The guns around me all cocked at the same time, I slowly raised my hands, “You do realise you're standing in a circle around me, that means you're all going to shoot each other.”
There was a mumbling going through the crowd for a few moments before a voice rang out, “They may not be the brightest bunch, but they get the job done.”
I turned to face the suited man, “Good to see you again.”
He smiled and signalled for his troops to lower their weapons, “And you, so, you want the fuel.”
I brought my arms down, “That I do, I've got one of my men waiting with a rig to collect that tanker of yours.”
He rose his hand, “I'm well aware of your plan John, kill me, my men, take the fuel, then bring down that flyey thingy. Here's what I'm thinking, skip the first two steps and just take it down, we can kill each other later, I can answer for my crimes then.”
This... this was not sticking to the plan, the suit then had a look of glee and realisation slip across his face, “Right! How is Harry
The Mulligan Planet Page 28
