For emphasis, Dexter pulled out a large knife and flashed it above his head. “I used this bad boy on a zombie and took him right out.”
Mick shuddered, he though he heard Dexter proudly tell the story many times. “If you can, take the head clean off, at the very least try to stick 'em in the eye to get at the brain.”
A loud whistle got their attention. “All right ladies and gents, that's our signal to look sharp. Here we go.”
Mick glanced down at the knife holstered on his hip as he swung the rifle he was handed earlier off his shoulder. He wasn't certain he could drive a blade into a person's eye, even if they were technically dead.
As the line of soldiers began to advance with Dexter's group following, the zombies soon came into view, and the ensuing barrage of gunfire was frightening as well as deafening.
Breaking into a cold sweat, he tightened his hold on the rifle as he raised it into position and moved slowly forward.
The idea was to literally mow down the zombies with massive firepower. That plan almost immediately went out the window. The whole mass turned as one and surged forward when the soldiers opened fire. As zombies fell, the ones behind them continued on and within moments everyone was in slow retreat, but still shooting steadily.
Mick felt the beginnings of panic start to overtake him and to his relief; he spotted first Scott and then Sean coming his way at a quick jog. Within seconds, they flanked him.
“Come with us!” Scott yelled in his ear. Mick nodded and they began to move back toward the street at a faster pace. He noticed that both of them now had M9 bayonets, or multipurpose knives, attached to their M-16s in case of close quarter fighting. He carried the same knife because of Sean's insistence that it was not just a weapon but an invaluable tool.
Both his sons raised their weapons and began firing as they continued to carefully move backward. From his peripheral vision he could see men scurrying back and forth as they fired on the swarm before them.
As he raised his own rifle, a strange sound came from behind the apartment building and for a brief moment, everyone paused. He squeezed his eyes shut when a beam of light temporary blinded him. He felt a strong wind wash over them and he looked up and pointed.
“It's Harry and Mark!” He shouted excitedly. As a zombie lurched toward him, Sean stabbed it in the head and drove it to the ground where he put a bullet right between the eyes for good measure. He looked up.
“Great timing,” he said with a wink at Mick.
The Huey came down even lower, and the zombies flocked toward it with arms upraised. They were fascinated with the noise and light, forgetting everything else around them.
Another light emanated from the chopper, illuminating the ground directly below. When they swung around, Mick was able to make out a figure, which he assumed was Mark, sitting on the floorboard. As zombies continued to flock toward the hovering Huey, Mark began to mow down zombies with the mounted .50 caliber machine gun.
On the ground, Captain Sears and Nelson's men quickly fell in together and began to inch forward in a line, slowly heading toward the zombies under the chopper. Mick was glad that Sean and Scott decided to stay by his side, with all the chaos and commotion he wasn't sure what to do.
Corporal Riley ran up to Sean, shouting something into his ear as he thrust a plastic bag into his hands. He spun around and jogged the other way, Mick watched him stop in front of Dexter and hand him another bag. Mick peered over Sean's shoulder as he opened the bag. Sean pulled out a handful of blue latex gloves and quickly handed a pair to Mick.
“The captain wants us to make sure any zombie down on the ground is dead and if not, we're to dispatch them. Then we need to drag them over and roll them into the ditch for the time being.”
Mick nodded and as he fumbled with the gloves, watched the carnage occurring before him. Looking down, he shook his head as he finished getting on the gloves. He wondered if there would ever come a time when life would get back to some semblance of normalcy for any of them. There were times when it seemed as though they were getting a handle on their situation, then something like Malcolm's men or this massive zombie horde comes in and disrupts everything.
Scott nudged him in the ribs, for which Mick was grateful because he hated when he thoughts turned morose. His son handed him a large hook and Mick groaned inwardly.
Their group began to slowly move forward again. Whenever Mick came upon a zombie, he carefully checked for head wounds. If there were none, he quickly ran the blade of his knife through an eye or ear before hooking the corpse near the collar bone and dragging it quickly to the ditch where he jerked the hook free before rolling the body down to join the others.
No one talked, everyone focused on the grisly task before them. Beside, who could talk with all the shooting, moaning, and shouting going on at the same time. Not to mention the noise and wind from the chopper.
Despite it all, Mick managed to concentrate on the task before him. The dew-covered grass was slick and got worse as zombie blood, gore, and no telling what else covered the ground. Everyone was slipping and trying to walk carefully, which was difficult when dragging bodies across the yard.
He lost track of time and glanced up in surprise when Sean put a hand on his shoulder. He looked around, hook still in hand. Only a few zombies remained on the ground. The Huey slowly lifted off and headed in the direction of the soccer field. The sudden silence felt strange, for several seconds no one moved, they just stared quietly at one another.
Without a word people began to slowly move off, most heading back toward the school. Scott joined them and Mick found himself once again between his sons as they followed the main group back.
At that moment, all Mick wanted was to have his family back together, a hot shower, and his bed...in that order. He knew that all of those things were possible, but more than likely still several hours away from obtaining, so he squared his shoulders. As he passed the huge mound of reeking bodies now overflowing from the ditch, he yanked off his gloves and almost angrily threw them on top.
The first person he saw as they neared the school was Cindy. The fog was gone and illuminated by the moonlight; she was standing on her tiptoes obviously watching for them. They locked eyes and she waved furiously. She gave Judith a nudge and nodded in their direction. Judith turned to look and she smiled. Cindy grabbed her by the arm and together they jogged over.
She wrapped her arms around Mick's neck and hugged him hard. Reaching out with one hand, then the other, she grabbed each twin and pulled them into a family hug. The four of them stood together silently, before someone clearing their throat interrupted the moment. Mick looked over Cindy's head to see Dexter standing next to Judith.
“Sorry to break up your little family reunion, but we still have some business to attend to,” Dexter said grimly.
“We're going to touch base with Sarah and Denise, then see if there's anything we can help with,” Sean said with a wave of his hand. Mick watched them walk off then turned to Dexter.
In characteristic Dexter style, he puffed out his chest before speaking again. “I need you and Cindy to go with Judith and start getting the injured people together. The captain wants anyone bitten or scratched moved up to the camp. He said if you can help with that, he'll see to it that you and Cindy go with the first group so you can be with Brooke as soon as possible.”
Mick glanced at Cindy and Judith; they both gave him a nod. He looked at Dexter. “Absolutely, just point us in the right direction and we'll get right on that.”
Dexter pointed toward the other end of the parking lot. “Go all the way down, there are people down there already setting up some kind of triage. I'm heading down to get everyone out of the shelter, when they're all moved I'll come help.”
He turned to go, then paused and turned back. “Speaking of Brooke, I'm sorry about what happened and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for her.”
Before Mick could reply, Dexter turned on his heel and hurried off.
�
�Well, that was nice,” Cindy said, clearly surprised.
“Sure was,” Mick agreed. “Sometimes Dexter can be full of surprises.”
Cindy had one arm linked through Mick's and she linked the other through Judith's. “Shall we get going?”
As they walked, she glanced up at Mick. “Sounded like things got kind of bad over there, I'm so glad Harry and Mark made it, we could hear the chopper over here.”
Mick paused. “Yeah, it was bad and they pretty much saved the day.”
Judith grinned. “Cindy had the foresight to call them up on the walkie. They wanted to drive back earlier, but she asked them to wait just in case. Sure enough, the fog lifted and they were able to come in and help.”
As they approached, a figure stood and waved. “Who is that?” Mick asked, squinting.
“Not sure - oh, it's Megan!” Judith said excitedly.
Megan trotted over to them and after giving Judith and Cindy a hug, she stepped back to look at them. “Darrell's been scratched,” she said solemnly as she gestured toward a group of people huddled together. “We're waiting with the other wounded.”
Mick winced. “We're here to help, and will be taking everyone up to the camp for treatment soon.”
“That's what we heard,” Megan replied as she turned to head back.
As they followed Megan, Cindy asked, “We lost track of Casey, is he here?”
Megan froze in mid-step for a moment before moving forward again with a shake of her head. “He didn't make it,” she whispered loud enough for them to hear. She didn't turn to look at them. “I really don't want to talk about that right now, it was awful.”
Cindy hurried over to put an arm around her friend. Judith bowed her head and gave Megan a pat on the back. Mick followed behind as the three friends murmured to each other, heads together as they walked. He was sick of people dying and hoped it was finally over.
He stopped when he heard the sound of a large vehicle approaching. As the military truck pulled up, he saw Sean in the driver's seat. The back gate swung down and Scott jumped from the back and approached them.
He was relieved to see them; he wanted to get Cindy up to Brooke as soon as possible. As another truck pulled up beside the first, Sean whistled to get everyone's attention.
“Let's get a move on, I want anyone who is badly injured or was scratched or bitten to have first priority, the next truck will take everyone with minor injuries.”
After a quick hello and many reassurances to a nervous Darrell, Mick and the others helped get both trucks loaded.
“Let's go,” Scott said as he offered a hand to help Judith get into the back of the truck. Once she was safely inside he turned to his parents. “Sean's already in back, you're with me,” he said curtly as he slammed the gate shut.
Within moments they were on their way up the rutted and bumpy dirt road. Cindy sat between them and feeling her gaze on him, Mick turned and gave her what he hoped was a confident smile as he put an arm around her and gave her a gentle squeeze. Finally they were on their way, and he knew they were all thinking of was getting to Brooke as soon as possible. He closed his eyes and forced himself to relax, if he didn't he was afraid he'd start blubbering like a baby.
****
Brooke slowly opened her eyes and yawned. Someone was holding her hand, but she couldn't see who it was. Everything was blurry; she rubbed her eyes and yawned again loudly.
She jumped when everyone standing around her bed chuckled. Cindy was holding her hand and Mick stood by her head on the other side. Next to him was Sean and Scott. Jenny, Charlie, and Jake stood together at the foot of the bed. Jimmy was still resting his back, but he was in the bed next to her.
“What's going on?” she said, slurring the words slightly. She frowned and rubbed her eyes again as her memory started to return. She looked up, now everyone was slowly coming in to focus and she noticed the other beds full of patients. “Did I miss something?”
Mick glanced at his wife over Brooke's head, the relief he was feeling was mirrored in her eyes and they smiled at each other.
“A little, we'll fill you in later,” Mick said as he gently ruffled her hair.
Although Jake was very busy, he took a few more moments to quickly check her vitals. Earlier, after administering the vaccine to Connor, he started the process of bringing him out of the coma and was pleased that the boy was responding quickly with no complications. Darrell's scratches turned out to be minor and Jake thought he'd be fine, but was still testing him to make sure if he needed the vaccine he could be treated.
Jake gave her a big smile. “You're going to be fine.” He held up a finger. “As a matter of fact, you can go home as soon as you are up and able to move about on your own.”
Brooke's eye grew big with happiness and she sat up. “I can't wait!” As she moved, she grimaced and looked down at her leg under the thin blanket. She looked up at Jake.
“That leg will be sore for a few days, keep it clean, take all the antibiotics, and you'll be running around again in no time.”
Brooke nodded and as everyone began to disperse, Brooke asked for Jimmy. Cindy moved out of the way so Brooke could see. Jimmy, lying on his side, gave her a goofy grin and a wave. Megan and Darrell, with one arm securely wrapped in bandages, stood next to their son and were talking together in low voices.
“Can you move him closer to me so we can talk, please?” she asked her brothers.
They immediately took hold of Jimmy's bed and slid it closer. She grabbed his hand and as they began to share their experiences, Mick saw his chance to go outside. He wanted to check with Dexter, who was still in Shady Oaks, as to whether it would be safe to bring Brooke home later that afternoon. He grabbed Cindy's hand on the way out and gave her a gentle tug. Smiling, she turned and went with him.
Exiting the tent, he paused and put an arm around her. The sun was rising, turning the sky from a murky purple to a deep blue. Although incredibly tired, he took a deep breath of the fresh, clean air and smiled.
Together, they had survived another day – and together as a family they would continue to fight if they had to. Saying a deeply felt prayer of thanks, he stepped out into the bright new day.
****
His luck wouldn't last forever, but for now victory was within grasp. He would never know that he would become a legend, he would be given outlandish names by story tellers and a few would stick, such as the Zombie King, and Destroyer of Men. Every man, woman, and child around would know the stories and pass them on.
His horde would rampage, causing chaos and death, but only for a short time. The vaccine, quickly followed by a permanent cure, would severely impede on their success.
He would fight to the bitter end, but instead of going out in a blaze of glory, he and his zombie army would eventually fade away until seen no more.
That time was yet to come, however. Surrounded by his brethren, he turned hungry eyes toward another town. He seemed to smile, his mottled and rotting lips curled back to reveal broken and jagged teeth, with bits of stringy flesh caught between them and a few dangling down to his chin.
For now, the world was still his for the taking. With a slight nod, he gave a mental command and they surged onward.
THE END
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Zombified (Book 2): Shady Oaks Page 20
