For the moment, Mick felt relatively safe enough to catch his breath. They sat lined up in the main hall of the school, backs against the lockers. He could tell Cindy was exhausted by the way she leaned against him.
He wondered what time it was, he lost his watch during the fighting. Later, what happened to them that night would be known as the Midnight Massacre, another sad chapter in the history of Shady Oaks. For now though, it felt as though hours had passed since he left Brooke back at the camp.
He was still feeling unbelievably guilty about not telling Cindy and he glanced over at her, unease in his eyes. As though she felt his gaze, she turned her eyes up to him and gave him a weary smile. He returned the smile and hugged her to him. She rested her head on his shoulder with a tired sigh.
He smiled to himself when he heard Cindy's breathing deepen and become regular with sleep and as he listened, he felt his eyes grow heavy. Despite his resolve to stay awake, he dozed off, his head coming to rest atop his wife's.
He came awake with a start. Sean had him by one shoulder and was gently shaking him.
“What is it?” he managed to croak out. He cleared his throat and sat up, careful not to disturb Cindy.
“We heard from Nelson,” Sean whispered as he sat on his haunches. “His men were scattered and they took heavy casualties. Those that are left are headed this way. When they get here, we're going to regroup and figure out what to do next.”
“What does Sears say?” Mick asked with a yawn.
“He says to get everyone ready to go, he's not sure how long we'll be safe here. He's even thinking we may need to leave town and head back up the mountain for now.”
That brought Mick fully awake. The situation must be even worse than he thought. “Give up Shady Oaks? We can't do that, especially after so many fought so hard.”
Sean held up a hand. “Hang on there! No one said anything about giving up. He thinks it might be a good idea to go back because it will give us a safe place to formulate a good plan of attack. Everyone will get a chance to rest and get something to eat before heading back down, too.”
Mick nodded, he could see the logic in that plan. “So, what else is he thinking?”
“Well, Nelson wants to stay and fight, see it through to the end. There's a lot of his men as well as some of ours who would like to continue on.”
Mick stood and walked over to the nearest window to peer out. “The fog seems to be clearing, if we are going to head back up the mountain now might be the best time.”
Sean joined him. “You're probably right; I'll go check to see what's been decided, if anything.”
Mick watched his son walk away and sighed heavily. He glanced back out the window. He really couldn't see much, it was still too dark and foggy. The fog would provide them with cover if they needed to move out, if it was lifting he knew there was a full moon and they would have a lot of trouble staying undetected. He was glad staying or going was one decision he didn't have to make.
Within moments, Sean exited a room down the hall and headed his way. “Looks like we're going,” he said when he reached his father's side.
Mick nodded without replying. Father and son stood together silently, both gazing out the window without really looking at what was beyond the glass.
“We're really in a pickle, aren't we?” Mick said at last.
“Yeah,” Sean responded softly. “When Scott and I first came to help out at Shady Oaks, the zombies were kinda spread out in groups and easily taken care of. Now they seem to be smarter and with a huge mass of them swarming us at every turn we can't get the upper hand. We need to get out of here so we can formulate a winnable plan.”
“Or we need a miracle,” said a voice behind them. Mick turned and Cindy, wide awake, grabbed him by the hand.
“Or that,” Sean said with a grim smile. “A miracle would do, that's for sure.”
****
Charlie slammed so hard into Samuel's back that it almost knocked the breath out of him. Samuel stumbled over Jenny, who was still on her knees in front of him, and he went flying. Charlie struggled to hang on and wrapped his arms around the other man's chest in an effort to pin his arms at his sides. The bodyguard hit the floor head first so hard it knocked him out. Charlie lay atop him for a moment, breathing heavily. He couldn't believe their good luck. He turned to look at Jenny.
“You all right?” he managed to gasp out. She was getting up and dusting herself off.
“I think so, that was crazy,” she remarked.
“That was lucky,” he replied as he slowly eased himself off the inert man. “Go get Jake while I tie this guy up, okay?”
Jenny nodded and Charlie fished around in his back pocket for the cord he tucked in there earlier. As he began to work, Jenny returned with Jake at her side.
Jake's eyes widened. “What in the world have you two been doing while I've been busy?”
“Oh, just taking out the bad guys,” Charlie said with a weak laugh as he bound the still unconscious man's hands together. “Malcolm's over there,” he said with a nod.
Jake's mouth fell open. “You're not kidding, are you!” He walked over to see Malcolm strapped to the other side of the desk. He chuckled and shook his head.
“A little help here?” Charlie asked. Both Jenny and Jake rushed over and together they drug Samuel over by Malcolm and using more duct tape, secured him to the other side of the desk.
Charlie stood. “I'm going to grab Beth and the others, be right back.”
Within moments the tent was full of people all trying to talk at once. Charlie smiled to himself and stepped outside, he wanted to take a minute while he had one to give Mick a call.
He was surprised when his friend responded almost immediately.
“Charlie, I'm glad to hear from you so soon,” Mick said. “So how is it going?”
“We managed to get Malcolm and his bodyguard, everyone is fine. Brooke is still sleeping, Jimmy is with her, and Jake says we should have her results by dawn.”
“Good to hear, I've really been worried,” came the reply.
“I'm surprised I was able to reach you so easily, I figured you'd be in the thick of it by now.”
Charlie heard the end of a dry laugh before Mick replied. “Well, we were in the thick of it, we were overrun and had to hoof it over to the high school. They're debating now what to do, some want to come back up the mountain to regroup and do some more planning.”
Charlie was surprised. “I know there were a lot of zombies in that building, but with all the manpower down there, they should have been easily taken care of.”
“I saw the zombies up there, too and you're right, I think we could have taken care of them. What you didn't see is about twice that number ended up here, I think they actually attracted more zombies on their way down. We're guessing there could be as many as four hundred in town right now.”
Mick whistled softly, the most they ever dealt with was under half that. “Why don't you let me know what the final decision is, we can either come down there to help or get things ready if everyone comes back here.”
Even though Charlie couldn't see him, Mick nodded. “Will do. While we're both waiting, I'm thinking that it's time to tell Cindy what happened to Brooke.”
“Don't worry, Cindy's not the type to place blame on something like that.”
Mick sighed. “I know, but I still hate having to tell her, knowing how upset she will be. She'll want to head straight up there and I'm not sure that's such a good idea just yet.”
“Well, like I said, keep us posted,” Charlie said. “Talk to you soon.”
“Copy that.”
Mick turned and saw Cindy standing right next to him. By the quizzical look on her face, he knew she heard at least some of the conversation.
He glanced around the hall, everything was quiet for the moment, which meant now was as good a time as any to come clean.
“Were you saying something about Brooke?”
Mick sighed again and too
k her by the arm, leading her toward an empty room. “Come with me, I need to tell you something.”
****
Charlie took a few minutes to pass on everything Mick told him. Then he turned to Jake.
“I'm thinking we need to do some rearranging. Why don't we keep Brooke and Jimmy here and move everyone else over to the other big tent? We can move those hospital beds over here and we can move Brooke to one instead of that tiny cot she's on now.
“Probably a good idea,” Jake replied. He grasped Charlie by the elbow and leaned in. “Listen,” he said in a low voice. “Is there anyone in Beth's group who would be up to disposing of those nasty zombies in the crates before anyone else goes in there?”
“I'll ask,” Charlie said. “Let me go talk to them about what we're planning and see if someone will volunteer to put them out of their misery, then put them out in the field with the others.”
Soon everyone was busy with a task. Hunter and his father took Malcolm and Samuel and put them in the holding cell in the office building. The rest busied themselves with getting furniture moved around and Jake oversaw moving Brooke to one of the hospital beds as soon as it was set up. She stirred and moaned, but didn't wake.
After checking her vitals, Jake gave a satisfied nod and disappeared behind the plastic partition. Charlie assumed he was checking the tests. Once again, Charlie found himself saying a silent prayer that they would be able to give Brooke the vaccine and she would be all right.
He went to the other tent and found an older man and his son who agreed to dispose of the crated zombies. While they were at their grisly task, he walked out to survey the field. The fog was lifting and it was easier to see what needed done.
He went back to the main tent and soon returned with one of Malcolm's flatbed trucks. There was no way they could leave all the contaminated bodies near the lake. From previous experience, he knew they needed to be moved, burned, and buried.
He removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. After donning a pair of gloves he found in a large tool box behind the cab, he started dragging bodies over.
When Beth, Hunter, and several others approached he heaved a sigh of relief. They were all wearing gloves, some carried shovels, and a few were now armed with rifles. Beth set a lantern on the bed of the truck and smiled at him.
“We finished moving everything around and Hunter saw you out here. Figured you needed some help.”
“I sure do, you have perfect timing,” he said as he returned the smile.
As they were finishing up, the two crated zombies, now headless, were added to the pile in the truck. After a quick discussion, it was decided to take them down the hill away from any water source. Hunter volunteered to handle the burning and burial and Charlie happily agreed, he had other things that needed his attention. As he watched them load up and drive away, Jenny joined him.
“Will the day ever come when we don't have to do that anymore?”
Charlie sighed and put an arm around her shoulders. “I think so. Maybe after we get Shady Oaks cleaned up again we'll be done with all this, especially if we have a vaccine for this thing.”
“That's what everyone is hoping for. Jake wanted me to tell you that the next time you talk to Mick or anyone in town, be sure to tell them if someone is scratched or bitten to isolate and secure them until we can get them up here to see if they can be treated.”
“Good idea, we can probably save a lot of people,” Charlie replied. “One other thing, remind me tomorrow morning to have a few men sweep this field to make sure we didn't miss any creepy crawlies.”
“Got it,” Jenny said. She turned and gestured toward the tent. “I'm going back, are you coming?”
“I'll be there in a few, think I'll see if I can get Mick on the walkie and see what they've decided. That way I can come in and let everyone know what's going on.”
To his surprise, Sean was the one who responded, telling Charlie that Mick gave him his walkie before going off with Cindy to explain what happened to Brooke.
“I see,” he replied. He was glad he wasn't in Mick's shoes at the moment. “We've been busy up here getting things ready in case everyone heads this way, do you know if anything's been decided yet?”
“As a matter of fact, now I'm hearing we are staying put for now. There's a plan in the works, but haven't heard what it is yet.”
“All right, let your dad know we talked, okay? Oh, and one other thing, pass the word along if anyone is scratched or bitten they need to be isolated then brought up here so they can be tested to see if the vaccine will work for them. We don't need anyone dying needlessly because they think there's nothing that can be done.”
“Good thinking, will pass it on. Talk to you soon.”
“Copy that,” Charlie responded. He looked toward the tents as he clipped the walkie back into place. Now that they had the situation fairly well under control he felt the urge to head down to Shady Oaks. He hated the idea that his friends were in danger and he couldn't do anything to help them other than offer a little advice.
He saw a figure emerge, switch on a flashlight, and head his way. Jake gave him a grin as he lowered his light and came to stand beside him. “Jenny told me you were still out here; I'd like to ask you something.”
“Ask away,” he responded amicably. The more he was around Jake; the more he liked the young doctor.
“I've been talking to the doctors and scientists who've been working for Malcolm. I don't agree with what Malcolm had them do, but what you and I would consider the really bad ones, they were weeded out awhile ago. These men that are left are dedicated to finding a vaccine that everyone can benefit from. I'd like to keep working up here if possible and I need their help.”
Charlie stood for a moment looking up at the sky, where a few tentative stars seemed to be dodging in and out of the clearing fog. He glanced at Jake.
“I can't promise you anything, Jake. Whether directly responsible or not, a lot of people were hurt or lost their lives. When the time comes we'll have to decide what to do with them on an individual basis, but I would say that their dedication puts them in a somewhat favorable light.”
At Jake's crestfallen look, he said, “I'll pass on what you've said to the captain and the others, I'm sure they will be interested in what you have to say.”
“Guess that's about the best I can ask for right now,” Jake said reluctantly. “Please emphasize though that I need these men and their research.”
“I understand how important they are and will pass that along.”
“So, have you heard from Mick yet?”
“As a matter of fact, I just finished talking to Sean. Let's head back inside and I'll pass on what he told me.”
He noticed headlights coming up the dirt road, bouncing up and down and skimming the tree line. Hunter was back sooner than expected and met them at the entrance to the tent.
“We found a good spot and it's going to take a good while for all those bodies to burn,” he said as he nodded toward the southeast. Charlie followed his gaze and made out a faint red glow through the trees. “A couple guys stayed behind to watch the fire. We're planning to go back sometime tomorrow to bury the remains.”
“You mean sometime today, it's past midnight,” Charlie said. “Let me know when. I'm thinking it would be nice if I can manage to get the captain to let one of his chaplains come up here to go with you to say a few words.”
Hunter nodded. “Good idea, maybe we could even have a little service of some kind.”
Charlie nodded and gestured with his flashlight toward the tent. “After you.”
A sudden wave of fatigue washed over him. Coffee was definitely needed before he did anything else. He followed the others inside and made a beeline straight for the kitchenette, which was directly on the other side of the plastic divider. He sighed with happiness when he saw a full pot in the coffeemaker.
Jenny was standing nearby talking to Beth and she glanced at him and smiled. He smiled back and pointed.
>
“Coffee. Need some. Now please.”
The two women chuckled as they watched him scurry over and grab a paper cup, quickly filling it with steaming coffee. He began to blow then sip the hot liquid, grimacing as it burned his tongue, but it had the desired effect. He could feel the heat course through him and it helped chase away the fatigue.
“I guess Jake talked to you?” Jenny asked. She gave him a questioning look.
He nodded and took another sip. Ah, heaven in a cup he thought. He looked at his daughter. “We talked and I told him I would pass on his request, but I'm in no position to make any decision, especially right now.”
“Understood,” Jenny remarked.
“By the way, I heard from Sean and I need to get everyone together, let them know what's going on in Shady Oaks. Why don't we head back to the main room.”
As he turned to go, he heard his walkie crackle to life and after a moment, Mick's voice came through. As he pulled it free, he held up a hand. “Would you mind going on and getting everyone together while I take this?”
“Sure thing,” Jenny said. She stopped and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before stepping through the plastic.
He hadn't expected to hear from Mick so soon and frowned. Sometimes no news was good news and with Mick calling him back so soon, it made him nervous.
He took a deep breath and pushed the button. “Charlie here.”
****
He still sat with his back against the cold and damp stone wall of the basement. He thought there was more than enough room for them, but he was wrong. So many came, and many more were on their way. By daylight the building would be unable to hold any more, which meant they would be milling around outside where they could easily be seen.
Instinctively, he knew they had to move, if they were discovered now they would surely be destroyed. He really wanted to stay put, he was satiated from feeding and his distended stomach made it difficult to move. With a groan, he placed a mottled and gore-covered hand against the wall and slowly pulled himself up.
Zombified (Book 2): Shady Oaks Page 18
