“Nope, still not quite there are you,” he said, in a very condescending tone. “Well, you’re out of time and out of chances. We have been looking for you for so long and now that you’ve been caught, it is time for you to face justice. Martin will be most pleased to see you.”
Siobhan glared at him, she knew that she was in serious trouble yet anger was the only emotion that consumed her. Anger and rage. She spat a mouthful of bright red blood at the man’s feet.
“But,” he added. “I think what you need is some street justice before we take you in.” Grasping at his crotch he thrust against his hand and sniggered. “I’m going to fuck you stupid, right here right now. And when I’m done maybe the boys will want a turn too. It gets pretty lonely out here don’t it boys?”
Devious, vulgar laughter came from the henchmen.
Josh gritted his teeth, feeling that he had to do something and struggled violently against the ropes that bound his wrists. The barrel of a rifle side-swiped him, clocking him on the side of his head knocking him over. A fresh cut wept blood down his temple and over his cheek.
Siobhan finally felt her lungs fill with air again and she inhaled deeply. It hurt, it hurt a lot. Lifting her head she managed to sit upright and stared right into the face of the man in front of her.
“Shaaauuun!” she screamed, as loud as she possibly could.
His eyes burst wide open. She had taken him completely by surprise and for a split second fear gripped him. His bravado returned quickly for she was restrained and he felt there was no way she could hurt him. None whatsoever.
“How touching,” he said, turning to the two oafs guarding Josh and Colin. “She remembered my name. Well,” he started to unbuckle his belt, “feel free to scream my name out as loud as you like you little bitch, over and over and over again while I’m fucking you.”
Without warning Siobhan lunged. She moved quickly, cat-like, catching her captors’ off-guard. Squirming through their loosened grip as they laughed she broke free to take full of advantage of their brief lapse in concentration.
Shaun screamed as Siobhan unleashed a frenzied attack. Her perfect white teeth latched firmly onto his ear and she bit down hard, piercing skin. With a twist of her head like a rabid dog she pulled hard, ripping it clean off. The whole thing happened in the blink of an eye.
Grasping the side of his head Shaun tried desperately to stop the bleeding. Lost his balance and fell to his knees, doubling over in pain. Screaming.
With Shaun’s blood dripping from her mouth and his ear between her teeth Siobhan started to giggle uncontrollably, there was a certain degree of satisfaction that accompanied the chortle. Spitting the ear to the ground she burst into full blown laughter.
Drawing her boot back she kicked as hard as she could and connecting with tremendous force against his Adam’s apple. It was crushed on impact. Shaun crumpled in a heap to the ground gasping for air, he was dead in minutes from asphyxiation.
Siobhan gave no resistance as she was recaptured, smiling contently as a large first bore down her. Right before she blacked out the tough Irish girl mentally marked off a name from a list in her head.
Gerard took in a deep breath. Through the sight mounted on his rifle he focused on what lay in the crosshairs, slowly panning around the buildings ahead of him.
His forehead leaked sweat as he concentrated hard in the hot afternoon sun. From his vantage point crouched on the roof of the vehicle he gave the all clear to the others.
Zoe radioed it in.
Inside the closest building the rescue squad had just finished a full sweep and were making their way back to the entrance. So far they had found no trace of Josh’s group. Not in this building, nor any of the last dozen they’d searched. They were all starting to feel a little despondent; it was as if the others had simply disappeared from the face of the earth.
Central Parade was deathly quiet. A gentle breeze that had accompanied the rescue teams that afternoon swirled dust and debris in short intermittent bursts. Weeds on the sidewalk danced to and fro before standing at attention once again.
Bright sunlight reflected brightly from a window, momentarily blinding Gerard. A glowing white light balled in the center of his darkness as he held his eyes shut for a few seconds in an attempt to refocus. When he reopened his eyes the ball of light remained, burning brightly. A hundred yards up the road through the blur he caught sight of movement in a doorway. He recognized the shapes.
Tyler was first out followed closely behind by Stuart, rifles at the ready treading carefully. Signaling with a cutting motion cross his throat, Tyler indicated to those waiting that this current search had yielded nothing. Still blinking trying desperately to shake the ball of light Gerard raised a hand in acknowledgement.
Zoe radioed it in.
Raj pulled the Merc up to where the two young men were waiting at the doorway taking special care to avoid the many obstacles that littered the road. Tyler and Stuart took up position at the front of the vehicle walking on as Raj edged the SUV forward. The whole thing resembled a presidential detail and they were the lead car in the motorcade.
They stayed on the main drag for another half hour. The road was packed with abandoned cars, taxis and busses and it was slow going that afternoon getting their vehicle through. The sun was merciless, making it hot hard work. A heat haze shimmered over the sidewalk in front of them.
There had been no sign whatsoever of the missing trio. According to Jon this was the area where Josh and the others were most likely to be, if indeed they were still around. Everyone held out hope that they were holed up somewhere along this route waiting to be rescued.
Rounding the huge sweeping bend on Central Parade, they suddenly froze in their tracks. Raj slammed down on the brake pedal, bringing the Merc to an abrupt stop. The scene confronting them was complete and utter chaos. Up ahead hundreds of creatures were clambering over the top of one another in a desperate attempt to squeeze through the front door of the Central Bank.
In every sense it resembled the frenzy of a Black Friday Sale of days gone by. Those at the front in the bottleneck were being crushed by the sheer weight building up behind them. Despite being the first in line, they were the unlucky ones who were now slowly being pushed through the metal grill as if it were a sieve.
Moaning.
Mouths lay wide open. Those in the rescue squad had been so preoccupied with their mission, they had dropped their guard and stood there frozen with fear. They had marched straight into the largest swarm of the undead that any of them had seen in a long time. There was little time to react, but they needed a quick response.
Fight or flight.
Rational thought backed their first instinct. With far too many creatures to count let alone fight, they had no other choice but to retreat. Tyler cautiously took a step backwards, then another. Creeping silently retracing his footsteps Stuart followed suit. Their hearts thumped loudly rattling against their ribcages.
Raj leaned forward and peered through the windscreen. Hundreds of the ghastly undead savages cut across his field of view. Glanced into his rearview mirror to see the other vehicle driven by Zoe off in the distance, turned to look over the seat behind him for a better view then slid the SUV into reverse.
Beep!
Beep!
Beep!
Raj slipped the vehicle out of gear with his heart beating a million miles an hour. Turned slowly back to face the throng then realize his worst fears, the sound of the reversing alarm had carried to the swarm, alerting them.
“Oh bugga!” he said.
Raising its head a creature not far from them stopped, propped and listened. Sniffed the air. It did not take long for it to pick up the scent of human flesh. Giving a savage growl it straightened its stance, bared its teeth and snarled.
Dragging its feet the creature, who looked like he was once a bike courier started to shuffle towards the men.
Tyler gulped loudly, silently he continued to make his retreat. Wondered for a br
ief moment what had become of his life and whether he would survive the day.
One by one more of the creatures picked up the scent. Survivors had noted that the only one of the senses that was actually enhanced or improved when humans turned and became the undead, was that of smell. There was no logical explanation for it, but this was a completely senseless world they lived in. Creatures could seemingly detect the smell of human flesh from a considerable distance, once they had locked in on a target they were relentless in their pursuit.
Driven by their craving for flesh and blood and an insatiable appetite for entrails and human organs, the swarm began to peel away from the bank building. They headed straight towards the rescue group shuffling and moaning.
For the most part survivors believed now in the legend of Zombies. They came to understand that the oxymoron of the name ‘living dead’, was both a false depiction and the truth at the same time. These creatures, the living dead, zombies, whatever name that anyone cared to give them, were very much alive. They were very hungry too.
“Get in!” Raj yelled, taking control of the situation. He was considerably older and much wiser than his two colleagues and when he spoke with authority like this, people listened.
Doors slammed. The two pedestrians dived inside and the SUV reversed away quickly, whining as it sped from danger.
Raj scanned the landscape as he weaved through the ditched vehicles looking for an escape route. “There!” he exclaimed, spying a laneway which he knew from memory would connect to a road behind the bank. Hoped and prayed that the way through was not blocked at all.
Instinctive driving skills flooded back to him, despite it being some time since they had been called upon in a situation like this. Raj swerved sharply to avoid an old Toyota saloon, seconds later he stood on the brakes bringing the Merc to a screeching stop. His passengers were slammed back in their seats before being flung forward violently.
Without warning he swung the wheel to the right, slid the gear into drive stomped on the accelerator and then sped forward. They immediately veered off the thoroughfare. Creatures bounced off the side of the SUV falling to the ground, only to be crushed under the wheels of the pursuing vehicle.
Raj floored it motoring down the narrow laneway. All three of those inside bounced in their seats as the wheels plunged through potholes and plowed into loose debris at speed. They emerged less than a minute later reaching a large parking area behind the Central Parade office building. For the moment they were free from any immediate danger.
“Stop!” Tyler yelled.
Raj applied the handbrake bringing the vehicle to a skidding halt.
“What the fuck!” exclaimed Stuart, who had been bouncing around in the rear like a pinball.
“We need to think about this,” said Tyler. He turned from his front passenger seat to the other two.
“Think about what?” replied Stuart, rubbing his neck.
“About why there were so many creatures out the front of the bank building. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Fuck knows. Making a withdrawal?”
Raj got it. “Ahhh… now that is a very good question Mr. Tyler.”
“I mean,” Tyler continued, “they were wedged in there pretty tight. They looked as if they were after something.”
“Or someone…”
“Josh!” Tyler exclaimed, at a whisper.
Stuart finally understood where Tyler was going with this. Penny dropped and he nodded.
“Raj, where is the rear entrance to the bank?” Tyler asked.
The tall Indian man did not answer straight away. Instead he thought for a moment before releasing the handbrake and edging the SUV forward slowly. Weaved carefully through several abandoned vehicles, passed a dumpster. “Up ahead… there,” he said, pointing over the hood.
Tyler leaned forward, peering over the rims of his glasses. On a grey wall in large letters next to its logo the words CENTRAL BANK revealed its location.
As Raj pulled up outside the building Tyler leapt from the vehicle darting off with rifle in hand with Stuart in hot pursuit. Moments later the second group arrived and everyone joined the two lads at the rear exit.
Tyler stood at the front of the stairs staring through the wide open rear door. Gerard crouched over a pool of blood on the ground, touched it with his index finger rubbed it with his thumb. “Its fresh,” he said slowly.
Squeezing his eyes closed Tyler inhaled deeply and sighed heavily.
13
The Zoo
Siobhan opened her eyes slowly, lids falling again heavily almost immediately. Every inch of her body ached and even the slightest movement was agonizingly painful. She felt like her lungs were ablaze, wincing with each short breath she took. The bitter tang of blood and sweat had filled her mouth which tasted disgusting. Tried to spit but was unable to move her jaw as the pain was too great. Reaching to her face she used the back of her hand to wipe off a tiny river of crimson saliva that had dribbled from her lips over her chin.
Coughed. Lungs flamed.
Through bloodshot eyes she peered into the darkness, desperately trying to focus. The hum of the engine filled her ears and Siobhan guessed they were moving as every so often she would bounce in her seat. It hurt to move and she grimaced in agony. Her vision blurred, eyes grew heavy, she was feeling dizzy and faded quickly losing consciousness again.
Josh felt her head fall on his shoulder and tried as best he could to shuffle closer to her on the steel bench so as to be better able to support her weight. As far as he could tell they were seated in the rear of an army transport or troop carrier of some kind. Inside the interior was quite dim due to the back flap being closed firmly, but he could still see clear enough making out the two armed oafs who sat opposite.
A body lay at his feet, it had not moved for the entire journey. Josh recognized the dead man as Shaun, someone whom Siobhan had talked a lot about back at the compound. She expressed her deep-seated hatred for him and for his henchmen on a number of occasions, each time becoming filled with emotion. As an important and high-ranking member of the 4Horsemen clan he had been instrumental in the brutal death of Lisette. Whilst Siobhan had finally gotten her revenge Josh knew that the three of them were now in a whole world of trouble as a result. He had a feeling that their already bad day was about to get a whole lot worse.
After leaving the bank Josh had tried to keep track of both direction and time, it proved to be a fruitless exercise and he had given up after twenty minutes. At a guess he figured that they had been on the road for about an hour, maybe more and it had been slow going at times, swerving, weaving bouncing. He had no idea in which direction they were heading.
A large canvas rucksack lay at the feet of the guards opposite him from which Josh recognized the handles of his two hockey sticks and Siobhan’s sword protruding from the open zipper. The weapons were just out of arms reach if he was capable of stretching forward but he was heavily restrained and unable to move his hands. He sighed and turned to check on Siobhan who was out cold on his shoulder.
Eventually the driver changed down through the gears and the truck slowed. Josh felt the motor over-rev, smelled the stench of diesel in the air and suspected that they were heading up an incline. A short time later they came to a complete stop.
From outside came the sound of footsteps surrounded them. Suddenly the canvas flap at the rear was flung open, bright light streamed in. Unable to shield their eyes due to their restraints Josh and Colin turned their heads from the glare closing their eyes tight. The burn was intense.
One by one the three prisoners were dragged from the truck by their armpits before being unceremoniously dumped in a heap on the linoleum floor of the large foyer. They wriggled like worms to right themselves on the cold hard surface. Siobhan eventually came to and was the last of three to sit upright, barely conscious and dazed.
The last memory Siobhan had was of watching Shaun die, the full recollection taking a few moments to come back to her. She sat watch
ing this vivid mental movie inside her head over and over, reliving the moment she avenged Lisette and crossed another name from her list. Her lips were dry, parched and cracked from the beating she had taken yet she smiled as best she could.
The lobby quickly became a hive of activity with men in black suits scurrying everywhere. Muffled voices murmured all around echoing dully. At the main desk the four henchmen stood engaged in animated conversation with another man, seemingly of a higher rank. He remained seated listening intently, nodding his aged head.
Josh tried hard to listen in to all the talk, but the men were just out of earshot. It was obvious to him that the three of them were clearly the topic of their conversation, them and Shaun. He struggled with his bindings which were cutting into his wrists, felt a kick in his ribs from the guard standing over him. Relented.
Suddenly the mood in the room changed. The man at the desk slammed his fist on the desk rattling it loudly causing everyone in the foyer to jump, he was clearly distressed. Turning to face the recent arrivals a look of pure hatred and fury emerged through his wrinkles. Unclenching his fists he pointed directly at Siobhan then through gritted teeth he muttered something to his henchmen.
Silence descended. Eyes stared.
Standing, the man’s chair scraped loudly on the hard floor. He squinted through piercing black eyes glaring at the trio that had been bought before him. Turning to Siobhan he furrowed his monobrow, which contained many out of control hairs that protruded like antenna. A beak nose, eyes positioned too close together above it and a long, pointy chin gave the withered old man a bird-like appearance.
There was nothing physically imposing about the man, nothing whatsoever and everything about him was grey. Hair, whiskers, monobrow, outlook. As he hobbled towards the prisoners it was clear however that he indeed held a position of elevated importance and status at this place. He was afforded the appropriate levels of respect and recognition someone in his position deserved and demanded.
“Well,” he said, in a creaky voice, breaking the silence. It did nothing to ease the tension, only serving to heighten it. “Ahhh... public enemy number one, Siobhan... hmmm.” He spoke in a calm and controlled tone. “Welcome home my dear, it has indeed been a while. We’ve all been waiting for you.” Two rows of chipped teeth appeared as he gave a wicked smile.
Dark of Dawn 4Horsemen: Book one in the Dark of Dawn Series Page 15
