Wayne moved to the doorway. "I'll go next." Without another word, he grabbed the inside handhold and swung himself around the outside of the cab. Even faster than Zeke, he disappeared.
D-Day moved next to Jen and grabbed the back of her shirt. "I'll hold you just in case. When you're ready to go around the corner, nod at me and I'll let go."
"Got it."
Jen grasped an inlaid metal handle just inside the doorway and positioned her right foot beneath it. D-Day grabbed her shirt. "Any time you're ready," he said.
Jen took a deep breath and flung her left arm and leg out and around the outside of the car. Her hand slid down the side and ran into a handhold but she couldn't hold on. Her heart banged like a bongo drum as her left side fell from the car. Lifted by the back of her shirt and pulled in, she was able to keep her balance and ended up back in the car.
"Don't know if I can do this," she said.
D-Day's eyebrows lowered. "Bullshit. Don't even think that. Did you feel anything to grab on to?"
She nodded. "About a foot lower than where my hand landed."
"Then now you know what to expect. Go again."
Jen licked her chapped lips. She bent her knees slightly, then leapt. Her hand slapped the smooth metal side of the car and slipped down. She curled her fingers and a split second later they slid into the handhold. She scrambled with her left foot and found a narrow outcropping to prop it on.
Looking up, she saw the handholds Zeke had talked about. Zeke stood on top of the roof and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Don't come up yet. Move to your left so that your right foot and hand are on something stable outside of the car."
Jen nodded. A couple of feet to her left were similar handholds. Jen nodded at D-Day and he released her shirt. She gulped. No safety net.
She gingerly brought her right foot to her left, then her right hand to her left. Arms trembling, she concentrated on the handholds on her left and moved her left hand to one and gripped it. Then her left foot to the one below it.
"I've got it," she yelled.
Zeke's beaming face looked down and he clapped, then motioned for her to climb.
Jen grabbed a handhold above with her right hand, pulled herself up, then found another with her left.
She stabilized her feet.
The train hit a sharp corner and Jen slipped, her feet flying out with the centrifugal force of the turn. Hanging only by her fingers, they began to slip.
15
Caught by the wind, Jen's leg's swung out from the train. She gritted her teeth and concentrated on keeping her tenuous grasp.
Her legs slammed into the side of the car again and she winced. Don't think I can take another one.
Zeke and Wayne knelt at the edge of the roof, stretching their arms out, but she needed to be a couple feet closer.
Someone grabbed Jen's legs and she looked into D-Day's eyes. He hung out the door with one arm and had the other encircling her legs, preventing them from flopping in the wind.
"I'm going to give you a push," he yelled over the train's racket. "Only one chance for this."
Zeke hollered to her, "When he pushes, reach for our hands."
Jen nodded and looked back at D-Day. Fear froze her.
"You can do this," D-Day said. "You've got more balls than most men I've known. Don't overthink it, just reach for their hands."
Jen took a deep breath and swallowed.
"On the count of three," D-Day bellowed. "One...two...three."
He swung his body around still holding on to the doorway and threw her upwards. She reached out with both arms, and Zeke and Wayne grabbed them as D-Day let go of her legs. Her weight pulled on them and Zeke seemed to slip, but he regained his balance.
They pulled her close and she found footing and pushed as they yanked her to the top of the car.
She lay on her stomach, panting, the wind taking her breath away.
Zeke bent down to her. "You okay?"
She nodded. Wayne put a hand on her back. "Take your time."
She'd regained her breath by the time D-Day pulled himself onto the roof. He helped her stand, but said nothing.
"Thank you," she said. "Thank you all."
"Enough of this bullshit," D-Day said. "Let's get this train stopped."
Zeke led the way, hopping to the next car with ease. Jen recalled him practically flying over the empty space between two buildings in Spokane. Mine didn't go too well. Good thing these cars are a lot closer together.
With no more slips, they made it to the first car in minutes. Jen peered over the side.
The door to the engine stood open. A rail above it caught her eye. She pointed. "We can grab that and swing right in."
Zeke squinted his eyes against the wind. "We don't know what's in there. I should go first."
Wayne put a hand on his shoulder. "I should go first this time. If there are zombies in there, they'll go for me and you can swoop in behind them."
Zeke frowned.
"I don't trust anyone to cover my back more than you," Wayne said.
"OK." Zeke gave one of his grins.
Wayne climbed down to the bar. He squatted, facing the engine, and pushed off. He swung into the door and disappeared.
Zeke scrambled down and mimicked his brother's actions, vanishing inside in one fluid motion.
Wayne stuck his head out. "All clear."
Jen eased her way to the bar and took a minute to compose herself before she swung in. She tumbled onto the floor and stopped just before rolling into the wall. Wayne helped her up, then turned to examine a panel with switches and buttons.
He's stopped asking if I'm OK every few minutes. Maybe he'll work out after all.
D-Day landed on his feet like a cat. A big, hairy cat with lots of muscles.
Zeke pointed at the floor. A wide streak of blood painted it to the doorway. "Guess we know what happened to the engineer."
Jen pulled out her phone and called Howell. She put him on speaker phone.
"You all make it?" Howell asked.
"Of course," Jen said. "What have you got for us?"
"I've got an engineer standing by," Howell said. "You're about ten minutes out from Kingston, so I'll conference him in. Just a sec."
Jen peered out the window. Trees zipped by. Few buildings.
"Howell here. Do I still have you, Jen?"
"Yup."
"Reynolds?"
"I'm here."
"Who's going to play engineer?" Howell asked.
Zeke jumped up and down with his hand up. "Me. Me."
Jen and Wayne exchanged amused glances. "Zeke will stop the train."
"Give Zeke the phone," Howell said. "Take it off speaker so it'll be easier to hear. We don't want any mistakes on this."
Jen handed Zeke the phone and he glided to the controls, nodding his head and speaking into the phone.
"What's the Kingston area like?" Jen asked.
Wayne rubbed his nose. "A few roads and lots of trees, but the University of Rhode Island is nearby, so there could be a lot of people in the crosshairs."
"Sounds like a shitty tactical plan," D-Day said.
Jen put an arm around the gruff biker. "Thanks for the helping hand back there."
He didn't push her hand away or make a fuss, but his cheeks reddened.
"What branch of the military did you serve in?" Wayne asked.
D-Day's expression froze. "Army."
"My friend Mark was in the Army, too," Jen said. "Flew helicopters, then got screwed over by an officer and ended up doing convoys. Said he spent a lot of time waiting for an IED to explode underneath him."
One of D-Days eyebrows rose. "Convoys are the second craziest things to do."
"What's the craziest?" Jen asked.
"What I did. EOD."
"Defusing bombs?" Wayne asked.
"Yup. Convoys spent their time trying to avoid the explosives. We spent our time getting to know them. You can't do that job if you're sporting a full deck."
<
br /> Zeke joined them, the phone still to his ear. "Brace yourselves. We're about to stop."
Jen found a corner and slid to the floor. She braced her feet against a console.
Wayne sat next to her and D-Day stayed on his feet, watching out the window.
The train slowed. Not much, but it definitely slowed. Zeke had the phone glued to his ear and he worked the console. The train's speed dropped until it was barely chugging along.
Zeke looked back. "Hang on."
The brakes were applied and Jen resisted the pull forward. Loud squealing and hydraulic sounds came from outside and the train slowed to a stop.
"I did it," Zeke yelled.
Jen took the phone from him and switched it back to speaker. "Howell, you there?"
"Haven't left. Everyone OK?"
"Of course, but I'm beginning to wonder if there's anything Zeke can't do."
Zeke grinned. "I've done it before. I had the best train simulator on my computer back home."
"What about the state troopers?" Jen asked. "Are they in position?"
"Checked with them minutes ago," Howell said. "They're ready. They've taken up position in the terminal."
D-Day grunted. "Guess it's time to get the show on the road. How about opening the car doors, Zeke?"
Zeke hurried to the console and pushed a button. "Done deal."
"Which one did you open?" Howell asked.
"Which one?" Zeke repeated. "All of them."
"Shit," Howell said. "There are ten cars and each carries sixty-two people. That's a ton to set loose all at once. I expected you to open them one at a time and let the troopers mop them up before you opened another."
Growling came from outside. Jen stuck her head out and looked back at the cars. She pulled her head back in. "They're pouring out of the cars."
"Close the damn door," D-Day said.
Jen pulled to slide it closed, but it didn't budge. D-Day and Wayne joined her, the three of them grunting and straining, but the door was frozen open.
"Find something to hide behind," Jen said. "And stay quiet."
The console that sat in the middle of the floor provided the best coverage, and Jen joined D-Day and Wayne there. Zeke squeezed between two consoles on the other side. He's the only one skinny enough to fit.
The zombies approached and the gunshots started. Jen peered around the console. Hundreds of zombies passed by. Several of them were dropped by bullets, but the rest went into a run.
Something tells me they don't have enough state troopers to take care of that.
A few minutes passed and no more zombies passed by. Jen crept to the door and peeked outside. The horde was attacking the terminal. Looks like the troopers have their hands full.
She stood on her tiptoes and peered out the front window. The zombies had massed and were pushing toward the terminal. But that doesn't look like six hundred and twenty people to me.
She turned to Zeke. "I think a bunch of them are heading into the trees."
Something ran into her back, whiplashing her neck and slamming her into a console. She fell to the floor with a heavy weight on her chest.
16
Jen's lungs emptied from the impact. She gasped for breath and choked on the graveyard fumes from the zombie.
D-Day grabbed the zombie's hair and yanked its head back before its snapping jaws could clamp onto her throat. The biker's machete cleaved the zombie's skull and it slumped.
Wayne knelt by Jen's side. "Come on. We have to go."
D-Day threw the twice-dead corpse out of the door and Zeke took up a position next to him while Wayne pulled Jen to her feet. She leaned on him and almost fell, but he wrapped an arm around her waist and kept her up.
Gunshots from the terminal increased.
"Now," D-Day yelled. "Head for the troopers."
Zeke let out a whoop and jumped out of the engine room, his katana over his head. D-Day hopped down a second later.
Wayne led Jen to the doorway. "I'll help you down."
Jen pushed him. "I can do it myself."
He grinned and climbed to the ground.
She jumped, almost losing her balance as her feet hit the gravel, but Wayne stayed back.
In full ninja mode, Zeke sliced an arm off one zombie, then spun and beheaded another. In contrast with his grace, D-Day bulled his way through the horde. He slammed the machete blade through one zombie's skull, then kicked another away before he bashed a third in the temple with the machete's handle.
More zombies fell as bullets flew from the terminal.
The terminal.
Jen pulled her tomahawk and stumbled toward the yellow building. Zeke and D-Day were keeping the front edge of the horde back and she was going to take advantage of the head start.
Coming around the front of the engine, a large woman with long steel-gray hair lurched toward her. Jen timed the zombie's movements with her own and swung sidearm, punching the pointed end of the tomahawk into the zombie's skull just behind an eye. The zombie fell against the engine and slid to the ground. I'm getting the hang of this weapon.
Wayne rushed to her and she let him lead her to the terminal's far side, where the troopers were positioned. They ceased firing as Jen and Wayne got closer then rushed out to help them to safety.
Jen leaned against the building, finally catching her breath. She looked up as Zeke and D-Day dashed around the corner.
"Is that everyone?" a sergeant asked.
Jen nodded. Five troopers shot into the horde. "Are there more of you?"
"On their way," the sergeant said.
"You've got to be kidding," D-Day growled.
Slipping the tomahawk back in its holster, Jen walked out from the side of the building. The horde of about fifty zombies stampeded toward them. She pulled her pistol and emptied a magazine of fourteen rounds, only killing five. Shit. Still shaky.
D-Day, Wayne, and Zeke joined her, and the charging horde was destroyed in minutes.
The sergeant walked over. "Thanks for the assist."
"That's not all of them," Jen said.
"What do you mean?"
D-Day nodded. "She's right. That was about one car's worth. And there are ten cars."
"They had to have gone into the woods," Zeke said.
The sergeant walked away and spoke into a radio, his face grim. He came back a minute later. "You folks need to get somewhere safe while we clear the area."
Jen scowled. "I need to get something out of the train first. Then we'll start it back up and finish the trip to Boston."
"I'm afraid that's not going to happen," the sergeant said.
Jen removed her badge from her back pocket and held it up. "I'm afraid it is."
The sergeant's jaw tightened, but he gave her a curt nod.
Jen strode toward the train. Feeling like my old self again.
D-Day took position on her right and Wayne lined up on her left. Zeke took the rear.
Jen stopped outside the doorway to the first car. "Zeke comes in with me and you two stand watch out here."
D-Day nodded. Wayne frowned and nodded.
Jen entered the car with her tomahawk cocked back. No sign of anyone.
Zeke crept up the aisle, and Jen followed. She checked the seats in each row, and the floor beneath them.
They reached the front of the car. "Nothing," she said. "I was sure it was here."
She strode to the door and stuck her head out. "Not here. Going to the second car."
Wayne and D-Day positioned themselves by the outside door to the second car.
Jen stepped through the doorway between the cars and walked down the aisle checking each seat. She stopped about halfway through and squinted at something on the floor at the other end of the car. Is that what I think it is?
"Found it." She ran to the pouch. It lay next to the doorway to the third car.
She knelt and picked it up. The strap was missing the buckle. "Sure as shit, it must've been stripped from my waist during all the action."
Pulling the zipper open, she looked back at Zeke walking toward her with one of his big goofy smiles. His jaw dropped and his eyes threatened to pop out of his head. "Jen." He sprinted toward her.
Hot coals burned into her forearm. She jerked her head around. A chunk of flesh and muscle had been ripped away, the grotesque wound wet and bloody. The edges of the wound turned black and spread up her arm as she watched.
A legless zombie lay on the floor chewing its prize.
Jen scrambled backward, then lost her balance and slammed to the floor. Zeke dashed past her. "No," he screamed.
His katana flashed and removed the zombie's head in one stroke. He knelt next to Jen, holding her wounded arm. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I was supposed to protect you."
D-Day and Wayne rushed in and came to a stop, their eyes telling Jen what they were thinking.
"You have to kill me," she said.
Wayne looked away. D-Day's eyes grew cold and steely. He's working himself up to it.
A burning shock of pain exploded throughout her body and she screamed, her back arching. "The poison's moving fast. Do it now. I don't want to hurt any of you."
Zeke turned away for a moment, then back. He held a hypodermic needle.
Another flood of fire traced down Jen's spine. She gasped. Unable to speak, she shook her head at Zeke. Don't waste it.
Tears streaming from his red-rimmed eyes, Zeke plunged the needle into Jen's undamaged arm and depressed the plunger.
The serum entered her veins as cold as glacier water. The fire in the other arm had reached her shoulder. The icy serum shot up her vein and into her heart just as the poison reached the beating organ.
Jen screamed as they collided. Her heart seized and her body convulsed. Searing pain covered every inch of her body and the smell of dead flesh invaded her mind.
I'm turning.
17
Jen floated in pitch black nothingness. No sense of sight, sound, or touch. Am I dead?
A voice in her head answered. "No. You are with us."
So I'm alive? Who are you? Where am I?
"You are neither dead or alive."
Zombie Uprising Series (Book 4): The Hybrid Page 8
