The Orpheus Trilogy (Book 2): Orpheus: Homecoming

by Dan DeWitt

  They were nose down in the river.

  The second thing was an agonizing pain in his left knee. His hands dropped into the water to quickly assess the damage, frightened that he would find nothing where his lower leg should be. His leg was intact, but he'd bet anything that he blew out some ligaments during the impacts. He tasted blood in the corner of his mouth and checked his head. Again, everything was mostly intact, although he had several deep cuts that would require stitches, if he lived long enough.

  In the passenger seat, Iver Thompson was limp against his own seatbelt. Orpheus pushed his shoulder and said, "Hey. Hey." Thompson didn't respond, and his body, briefly displaced by Orpheus' shove, returned to its original position. Orpheus hit him harder and yelled. This time he was met with a fluttering of eyelids.

  Thompson turned his head towards Orpheus, an act which seemed to require great effort. He slurred, "What the fuck hit us?"

  "Don't worry about that now, we gotta get out of here." Orpheus used his right arm to brace himself against the dashboard and readied his legs to swing out from under him as soon as his seatbelt was released. His body weight put so much strain against the latching system that friction held it in place. He took a deep breath and pushed backwards with his arm while pressing the release button again. This time, the belt flew free and he fell until his chest was stopped by the steering wheel.

  The blow caused him to cough several times. His chest hurt, but no blood. "Graceful," he muttered. "Can you move?"

  "Fingers and toes are good. Everything else feels like it blew up. Can't get my seatbelt off."

  Orpheus twisted to face him. "Quit your bitching. You wanted a story." Orpheus looked at the water level. It was coming in too fast. The engine was dead, but the battery power was still running. That meant that they still had power windows, but possibly only for a short time. He twisted again and put his back against Thompson's deflated airbag. The river water enveloped his whole torso. "I have to do this fast. It's going to hurt. On the count of ...” Before he even got to one, he shoved Thompson backward and pressed him into his seat so he could release his seatbelt. Thompson screamed in pain, and Orpheus knew he wasn't being dramatic. He was busted up pretty good.

  The latch was stubborn, and mangled. Orpheus unsheathed the tomahawk and used it to saw at the seatbelt. It was meant for chopping, but the blade was incredibly sharp and made short work of the belt. Thompson pitched forward and landed on Orpheus, who took a moment to slide the tomahawk back in to avoid an accidental impalement.

  Orpheus found the window button and said, "Take a deep breath."

  Thompson's first attempt failed and he coughed violently. There was no doubt that he had several broken ribs.

  Orpheus said, "Slower this time. And no matter what, you have to hold it. When this water rushes in, it's going to want to rip that breath from your lungs."

  Thompson nodded while he slowly drew air in. He winced non-stop, but seemed to get a good lung full. Orpheus didn't wait any longer and hit the button. Water rushed in sideways as soon as the window was open just a crack, and Orpheus had to follow his own advice to hold his breath. The window went down with agonizing slowness, but it finally disappeared into the door.

  If history was any indicator, Orpheus would have just enough room to get out. Just.

  The water had already reached the back seats, and Thompson was completely under. Orpheus slid out from under him and wriggled through the window. Thompson had the presence of mind to put his arms through the window. Orpheus grabbed them by the wrists, braced his feet against the door, and pulled the other man free. Orpheus kicked and swam as hard as he could for the surface. In reality, they were only under by a few feet, but it felt like a hundred. When their heads broke the surface, they each took a big gulp of air, Orpheus's much less painful than his companion's. Orpheus got them oriented and swam/tugged them to shore, where they collapsed.

  Orpheus knew how vulnerable they were and struggled to his feet. His left knee threatened to give out under his weight, but held. He reached down for Thompson and asked, "Can you walk?"

  Thompson was on his hands and knees, breathing shallowly. "Christ, everything hurts, but I think so." He allowed himself to be helped to his feet, then yelled, "Look out!"

  Instinct compelled Orpheus to draw his weapon as he spun. He released Thompson, and the reporter collapsed to the ground again, on the edge of unconsciousness.

  The warning had been just in time. Two zombies, both female, had found them. They were emaciated to the point of absurdity, but still lethal. They ran at their prey. It took Orpheus five rounds to get off two head shots, but the zombies dropped. More movement came from his right, and he spun to face that, too.

  "Whoa! Hold your fire, Cap!" Hedley held his hands out in front of him as he descended the embankment. "Holy shit, are you guys okay? What's with the other vehicle up there?"

  Orpheus didn't say anything and didn't lower his weapon. He stood unsteadily on what amounted to one good leg.

  Hedley said, "Hey, I know you're shaken up, but it's me. I'm glad I found you."

  Orpheus felt a tug on his pant leg. He wanted to look down at Thompson, but the young man was just using Orpheus's uniform to steady him while he got to his feet. No matter what happened, Orpheus would never, ever question the kid's heart again. Thompson stood as straight as he could and said two words. They were barely more than a whisper.

  "The video."

  Orpheus made the connection. "You doctored the video." Orpheus's tone was surprisingly casual given the weight of the accusation.

  Hedley kept his hands in front of him, but a smile crawled across his face. "Took you long enough to figure it out."

  "What the ...? You douchebag!" Thompson asked.

  "Shut up. If you'd bothered to look at the video closely enough, you would've seen that I took the doctor zombie from one of those stupid cable movies you love so much. You were just so eager to see what he wanted to see. Double Pulitzer and all that shit."

  "Why?" Orpheus asked. The only reason he hadn't fired yet was due to him not wanting to attract any more unwanted attention. He was afraid that the zombies may already be coming, and he didn't want to waste his ammo. Yet. He caught a brief flash of movement through the trees, but he couldn't be certain that it wasn't just a function of his injuries.

  "Because you killed my stepfather. He texted me that he was getting on a chopper, but never made it home. I did the math, and it's something to take personally"

  Orpheus thought about clarifying that Trager had been the one, but it didn't matter. "He fucking deserved way worse than that. Look around you. He did this."

  Hedley's demeanor immediately changed. He dropped his hands, and by the time they made it to his sides they were fists. "That's a goddamn lie. He tried to stop it."

  Orpheus actually laughed. "This was his show, you dummy. The outbreak. The coverup. Everything."

  "Bullshit! He was working on a cure!" He unballed his hands and calmed himself. "And I came here to get it. I deserve that much."

  Orpheus could have continued to argue, told him that they had a cure almost immediately and everything that had happened on the island was an effort to study and weaponize the virus, but the guy wasn't listening. He instead opted for a simple truth. "Then you've wasted your time. The cure died with him."

  "No."

  That one-word denial said everything to Orpheus. "We're getting out of here. You do what you want to do."

  "Look at you two, you can barely stand. You'll never get up that embankment without help. And I'm not helping."

  "Then we all die."

  "All I have to do is wait. You have to actually commit murder, and then you're still fucked."

  The movement that Orpheus had seen earlier caught his eye again. This time there was no mistaking it. There were three zombies picking their way through the brush. They'd break through in a few more seconds. Hedley didn't see it, as he was completely focused on taunting the man with the gun. Orpheus was gambl
ing that the zombies would go for Hedley first.

  He lost that bet.

  The zombies came at the two injured men, undoubtedly attracted by their bleeding injuries. Orpheus had no choice but to forget about Hedley and turn his attention to them. He brought them down efficiently, but had left himself vulnerable. He heard another gunshot and felt a searing pain in his right shoulder and dropped his weapon. The impact knocked him off balance and he dropped to his uninjured knee, which was a small mercy. He made an effort to not land on his injured compatriot, but Thompson was no longer with him.

  He watched the reporter put everything he had into one burst as he streaked for his cameraman. Hedley changed his aim from a kill shot for Orpheus to the new threat, but Thompson came in just low enough. Hedley's first round sailed over his head, and the next flew skyward as Thompson crashed into his waist.

  Thompson had bought them a few seconds, but it wouldn't mean anything in a few more if Orpheus couldn't get up.

  Move, you old fuck, move.

  He pushed through the wounds and covered the thirty feet of dirt between him and the two tangled bodies as fast as he could. The gunshot wound was barely noticeable, but his knee was howling in protest. It gave out on him a few yards shy, but he managed to use his momentum to cover the rest in a stumble. Thompson received as much of the impact that Hedley did, but Orpheus didn't have time to concern himself with him at the moment. He couldn't let Hedley get to his feet. The last time he was in a fight for his life like this, he'd been in one piece and able to go toe-to-toe. But now, in his current state, that would mean the end.

  Hedley threw an elbow that connected with Orpheus' chin. Orpheus saw stars, but he rolled with it and managed to flip Hedley onto his stomach. Orpheus fell on top of him and wrapped his good arm around the man's throat.

  "There always a cure, you dumb shit! But your father was a fucking lunatic!" He applied more pressure and began to choke Hedley out. Whether or not he'd kill him was up in the air.

  He's damaged, Orpheus thought. God knows what his old man may have done to him.

  He relieved a little bit of the pressure and allowed Hedley to draw in a few sputtering breaths. Orpheus didn't relinquish the advantage, though. He wrestled Hedley backwards and to his knees, then to his feet.

  Orpheus started to walk Hedley to the embankment.

  "What are you going to do? Leave him?" Hedley asked in between rasps.

  Orpheus was busy asking himself the same question. Thompson hadn't moved since his heroics. He was probably still alive, but he couldn't possibly be more vulnerable. Orpheus figured that he could make it up the embankment, and then probably drive Hedley's Jeep down to at least get Thompson into a shelter of sorts while he figured something out. It was risky, but so was every other option. "Shut the fuck up," he said as he kept an eye on the tree line. "Someone from the school will find us."

  Hedley stopped walking. "Keep telling yourself that."

  The sudden stop almost made Orpheus fall over, but he righted himself. "What?"

  "The school's gone. You think that Falcone was the only one with a trigger?"

  Orpheus didn't want to believe it. His kids. His friends.

  Not again.

  He didn't have any more time to worry, as he saw more zombies fighting through the growth. He could kill them, but experience had taught him that these first few were probably the fastest ones that had broken from a large horde, a horde that would be here soon. If any of them were still alive to see it.

  Hedley had asked him if he could commit murder.

  Orpheus, having no other options, proved that he could.

  He freed his tomahawk and drew the blade across Hedley's throat. The wound was deep, but not immediately fatal. It took a moment for Hedley to realize what had been done to him, then he began thrashing. Orpheus let him out of the headlock and pushed him away, but not before slashing Hedley's back with three quick, vicious strikes.

  He didn't want Hedley to die. His blood was the most important thing.

  The zombies broke through, and Orpheus once again found himself making a pretty big gamble. He hobbled to Thompson's prone form and tried to bring him around.

  Thompson surprised him yet again by already being conscious. "I'm awake. Just figured I'd rest while you handled things."

  Orpheus helped him sit up and prepared to fire if necessary. "We're going to have to move again. How are your legs?"

  "If you hold me up, I can run. Can you?"

  "I guess we'll find out."

  Hedley moved in an erratic pattern, trying to staunch the flow of blood from his neck.

  It was horrifying to watch.

  Thompson said, "Asshole's making himself a big target."

  Orpheus said, "Wait," as they both stood up, however unsteadily.

  This time, the gamble paid off. The zombies immediately attacked Hedley en masse. He fell under their crushing weight and screamed for a brief moment while he was being torn apart.

  "Go," Orpheus whispered, and they took off as fast as they could in the opposite direction. "Fast" was a relative term. Orpheus was holding Thompson upright while simultaneously using him as a crutch. Every step was absolute agony. Something in his knee was shredded or detached.

  "Where we headed?" Thompson asked, already winded.

  Orpheus was even more winded. "Cabin," was all he could muster. He estimated how far out they were. Maybe thirty minutes if they could keep up this pace, which was in serious doubt.

  In the first few moments of their escape attempt, they managed to slip by the zombies heading toward the feast. Those were a hundred feet away and separated by dense brush, so they never noticed the pair of humans limping the opposite way. However, the farther out they got, the more they got noticed. They'd picked up pursuers.

  If they both had been at a hundred percent, they would've escaped clean. The zombies weren't adept at picking through the brush, they just pushed through it however long it took.

  The injuries were the equalizer. The only reason they were still alive is because they'd been spotted a lead.

  A lead that was already dwindling.

  Thirty minutes, Orpheus thought. Just keep pushing.

  Ethan's Birthday Gift

  Ethan screamed into his radio. "Say what???"

  "I said we lost the school!"

  Ethan swore and slammed his foot down repeatedly on the roof of the Rhino. A soldier popped his head through the hatch to check on it, then thought better of engaging the lieutenant and slipped back down.

  "How the fuck...? Wait, I don't want to know! Are you safe?"

  Lena said, "Me, Jen, Tino, a handful of others are all that's left. We're heading to the pier. There's an emergency evac coming via ferry."

  Another Rhino pulled alongside Ethan's. Tim appeared on the roof and stepped over to Ethan's side.

  "When?"

  "As soon as it gets here. An hour, maybe. I've been told that we need to be waiting for it, and that it won't wait long." Lena stopped talking, and the silence said a lot.

  "What are you not telling me?"

  "The op has been declared a failure." She paused again. "They're going to light the island up, and this time leave no doubt. Anyone left is SOL."

  "Fuck!" He gave Tim a look that said, Can you believe this? Again? "Okay, we'll be there. Sit tight."

  "You talk to Jameson?"

  "Yep," Tim said. He flipped open a road atlas. "Here's where your dad's Jeep is. No sign of him, but someone's dead down there."

  Rachel and Fish arrived at about the same time, and joined them on the roof via external ladder. The four of them huddled around the map.

  "Hedley was the guy?" Fish asked.

  "Apparently. Lena and Jen put it together, found an old photo of him with Dr. Doom."

  Tim said, "We need to stop trusting anyone but us. It's always bad news."

  "Agreed. Everything from this point stays off of the radio." He handed each of them a burner phone. "Lena and Jen have one, too. My dad's idea
, of course. And I thought he was being paranoid." He held up the map. "My dad's last known location. He may or may not be travelling with someone. We have no idea how long ago he crashed or which direction he would've headed. Ideas?"

  "Jameson can't find anything?"

  "First thing we tried, Fish. The forest canopy is still too dense, and we have no idea if he was even looking in the right place."

  Rachel took the map from Ethan. "I know where this is. We've been here before, babe."

  "Really?"

  "Yeah, on our way to your dad's friend's cabin. Remember? You wanted to ...” she looked at the others and blushed, “... have relations ... on the bridge."

  Ethan chuckled. "That I do remember. What I don't remember is the way to the cabin. I mean, no clue."

  "Me, neither."

  "Hold on a sec." Ethan pulled up his GPS app on his phone and scrolled through the saved searches. "Of course not. That'd be too easy."

  "Oh, my God," Rachel said. "Do you remember why we went to the cabin?"

  "Yeah, to celebrate my birthday. I wanted to celebrate early on the bridge."

  Rachel was getting excited. "What did I get you for your birthday? The thing you were dying to use?"

  Ethan squinted, then his eyes grew comically wide. "Hot damn!" He grabbed her face and gave her a hard kiss. "What a great idea!"

  "Care to clue us in?" Tim asked.

  "We need to get to my dearly departed truck, which is probably surrounded by zombies still. We'll take my Rhino and send everyone else to the pier for evac."

  "You don't want any backup?"

  "Backup won't help, Rach, especially when we'll be constantly worried that one or more of them is trying to fuck us. And we have guys who need medical attention." He turned to Fish and Tim. "This is crazy dangerous. I can't ask you two to come this time."

  Tim gave a dismissive look and said, "Shut up and let's go."

  Fish clapped. "Now we're getting back into familiar territory. I prefer the 'us against the world' stuff.'"

  The soldiers quickly transitioned into the three Rhinos. They were shouts of protest and offers to help, but Ethan invoked his rank and ended it quickly.