Dead Horde: Necrose Series Book Two

by Tim Moon

  “How did you plan to get to Molokai?” Ben asked.

  “The same way that I hoped Keanu had gone,” Kaholo said. “By airplane.”

  “Do you know if they’re flying people out of Hilo?” Keanu asked.

  “I have no idea. When it was clear the unit was in the dumps, I came back home to wait for you.”

  “Well, what are we waiting for?” Ty asked. He rubbed his leg near the bandage. He’d been listening intently to the conversation. “Let’s go to the airport and find out.”

  Everyone looked at him like he was crazy.

  Chapter Thirty

  As they rounded the corner of the house, Vanessa heard a loud click. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a man holding a gun pointed at her head. At the same time, a man in a suit stepped out from side of the garage. He walked toward her and Steve, holding a matte black pistol waist high, pointed at them. Vanessa didn’t know guns well, but she thought it had an unusually long barrel.

  Her voice caught in her throat. She wanted to yell at Steve to run. Her body betrayed her so badly that she couldn’t get a squeak out.

  “Good evening folks. We need to go inside and have a little conversation with you,” said the man from behind the garage.

  “Move,” said the man aiming at Vanessa’s head. “Let’s go, nice and slow.”

  She noticed that they looked almost identical - suits, sunglasses, dark hair, and similar athletic builds. The only distinguishing feature to tell them apart was their height. The one from the garage was slightly taller and the shorter one had a slight southern drawl.

  “C’mon now, turn around slowly and go to the door,” the short one said.

  Steve looked at them. “Please, you don’t have to…”

  “Stop,” the tall one said, cutting him off. “That’s where you’re very wrong, Mr. Edwardson. We do have to. Now move.”

  They reached the door and Steve began to whimper. He didn’t want to go inside because he knew it would be the death of him. His hands were shaking.

  Vanessa’s stomach roiled. This was her fault. Her lack of attention to detail gave Black Tide the window of opportunity they needed to find them. Now they’d both pay the price.

  She reached a tentative hand forward to grab the door handle and pulled open the screen door. She took out the key to unlock the backdoor. The key slid into the lock with a slight thunk.

  They walked into the kitchen and the short one told them to sit.

  “This is your fault,” Steve growled at Vanessa. “This is your fault.”

  “Don’t pass the blame, Mr. Edwardson,” the tall one said calmly, closing the door behind him. “You stole and shared information that wasn’t yours. In violation of your employment contract, I might add.”

  There was no way she was going to go down like this. Black Tide already killed her brother. She had to make sure they paid for that and all the others they’d killed. She had to.

  From there, everything moved quickly. Vanessa pulled out her chair, pivoted and flung it at the man behind her. He stumbled over it with a curse. One shot went off, punching a hole in the floor. She tried to grab Steve’s wrist, but he pulled free of her grasp.

  She heard one of them yell, “Put that bitch down” as she ran crouched over and slipped into the front room.

  Vanessa turned toward the staircase, glimpsing Steve in the kitchen staring at her wide-eyed. He’d been too scared to move, but it was now clear that he realized his mistake.

  “Mr. Edwardson,” the tall man said. “Your contract is now terminated.”

  Vanessa glanced back just as Steve’s head jerked sideways, ejecting blood and brain matter across the tiled floor. His eyes were wide and fixed on her even as his body collapsed into the gore spreading across the tile. Her scream cut off as two loud blasts went off behind her. Bullets slammed into the doorframe beside her and the wall in front of her.

  The scent of gunshots mixed with spaghetti and death.

  As Vanessa cleared the first steps leading upstairs, she heard the shorter man chasing her. She knew that she couldn’t stop for anything. As she stormed up the stairs, two bullets ripped into the wall inches behind her.

  For a moment, she wondered why she ran upstairs, but pushed the doubt out of her mind. Focus was key if she was going to survive. Vanessa sprinted down the hall, turned into one of the two small bedrooms and slammed the door behind her. She opened the window and glanced out. It was clear, so she climbed out of the window and onto the roof below that formed the roof of the porch.

  She ran along the roof as the bedroom door slammed open in the room. A shot smashed the glass of the window and another cracked past her head. Vanessa gasped despite her focus on the edge of the roof. She veered to the right and closed the distance.

  Four feet…three feet…two feet…jump…

  She leapt from the edge of the roof clearing the neighbor’s fence, praying that her childhood gymnastics skills had been retained enough to survive. Vanessa landed in the grass on the other side of the fence and rolled a couple of times. Little of the grace she’d had as a young girl remained, but she hadn’t broken anything. Her feet stung from the impact and her hip ached, but she could move and movement meant life.

  Someone was walking along the sidewalk. The person seemed slow, perhaps enjoying the comfortable fall air. She yelled, “Help!”

  The person turned and started toward her with a groan.

  “Shit! Shit,” Vanessa said, shocked to be facing one of the infected. She slid to a stop in the grass, falling hard on her ass. They’d spread this far already?

  Instinctively she angled away from the man and sprinted between her neighbor’s house and the next one. A wet slap sounded behind her followed by the sound of a body falling. She glanced back and saw the infected crumpled in the driveway.

  Her mind screamed at her to keep moving, don’t look back, don’t hesitate, and just keep going.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Ty was adamant about leaving right away for the airport.

  “We have plenty of time,” he said.

  Kaholo shifted in his seat.

  “I think I glossed over my trip into town,” he said. “I don’t want to candy coat it, so I’ll just say it plainly: Hilo is royally fucked. Making it to the office was not easy and coming back was even worse.”

  “What happened?” Charlotte asked.

  “These…infected, right?” Kaholo asked.

  Charlotte nodded at him.

  “So, these infected seem to enjoy grouping up. They move slowly, but it’s easy to get backed into a corner. I was almost boxed in. Like I said, when I showed up everyone there was infected and I had to fight them off,” Kaholo said, spreading his hands. “Driving home, avoiding the clusters of infected, was a chore. There was no easy way through town. Those things are everywhere.”

  “But we can make it,” Ty said. “We’ve done it before.”

  “This is a much bigger town,” Anuhea said.

  “How far is the airport from here?” Ben asked.

  “It’s not far. With no traffic, it would take maybe twenty minutes to get there. Avoiding the infected, I’d say it’d take close to forty minutes.” Kaholo leaned forward on his elbows and took on a serious look. “The airport is basically right in town. If those things are roaming about, my guess is that the airport is overrun. I wouldn’t hold out too much hope that it’s still an option.”

  Ty groaned at the proclamation. “Come on, man. We can’t know that for sure.”

  Ben stood up, feeling the need to stretch his legs. He paced around the living room, looking at family pictures and various knick-knacks that Kaholo had on display. In one picture, Keanu and Kaholo stood side-by-side in their uniforms. They looked sharp and formidable.

  “We need to take stock of our gear and, if we decide to go, we need to plan our trip to the airport,” Ben said. “The Humvee can’t fit another big guy. No offense.” He glanced at Kaholo. His t-shirt stretched nearly to the breaking point over his
bulging biceps.

  “None taken,” Kaholo said with a smile. “Mamma didn’t make tiny men.”

  Keanu raised his hand for a high five. Their hands smacked together loudly.

  “So we take another car. That’s no problem,” Ty said. “Ben, you know how fast things can fall apart. We shouldn’t wait.”

  “And if we go tonight and the airport is overrun, then what? We would end up luring the infected back here,” Ben said with a growl. “That’s if we don’t run into more assholes like the ones at the roadblock.”

  “How does that change if we wait?” Ty threw his hands up in the air.

  “We would have time to lead the infected away and escape. We’d have time to evaluate our options-”

  “What options?” Ty shouted.

  The air was thick with tension. They only had maybe an hour or two of daylight left. If Hilo was anything like Kona had been, and the airport turned out to be a bust, they would be driving around in the dark, drawing the infected down on themselves.

  “If we get caught out there in the dark…I don’t think any good can come from rushing.” Ben stopped pacing and looked around the room. Everyone other than Ty looked agreeable.

  “This is crazy. Your thinking is completely backwards, it’s too risky to wait. Every minute we wait, the chance that we can fly out of here decreases. How do you not see that?” Ty asked.

  “Your leg needs some attention and you should probably stay off of it. A night of rest will do you some good,” Charlotte said.

  “Oh, shut up. I’m fine.”

  “Hey!” Ben glared at Ty.

  “Let’s all take it down a notch,” Keanu said, patting the air with his hands.

  Ty turned to Kaholo. “Do you think we can get there and check it out before dark? And if it turns out to be a shit show at the airport, would we have time to get back?”

  Kaholo let out a big breath. He looked around at the others. “It is possible, assuming we don’t run into any delays or accidents.”

  “But it is possible.” Ty crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Ben.

  “In the spirit of democracy, perhaps we should take a vote?” Chadwick offered.

  Chadwick had been so quiet that Ben almost forgot he was even in the room.

  “Another vote? Seriously?” Ty’s face grew red.

  “I’d rather not vote again. If Kaholo thinks it’s possible, maybe we should consider checking out the airport today,” Ben said. As much as it pained him to admit it, Ty had made some good points. “There is more risk if we wait to check on the airport. We haven’t unpacked anything, so we’re basically ready to go. If there are any problems we can lead the infected away and circle back here.”

  “Are you sure?” Charlotte asked.

  Ben shrugged. “No, not really. I think it’s a coin toss at best.”

  After more discussion, the group finally decided to give it a shot. Waiting carried as much risk as not waiting. The situation with the infected wasn’t going to improve anytime soon. So, they decided to make a run to the airport.

  As before, they piled into the vehicles. Except this time, Ty rode with Kaholo because Anuhea didn’t want him in the Humvee. She was still pissed off at him. Ben wasn’t sure they had spoken in days. Not since Ty abandoned them in the burning airplane.

  Could Ty say or do anything to fix a breach of trust like that? Ben watched Anuhea and decided that was likely a no, especially after the drunk driving incident.

  Since she knew Hilo, Anuhea would drive, with Keanu operating the machine gun as usual. Kaholo would follow in his truck, an older Toyota Tundra. Charlotte, Oliver, and Ty would ride with Kaholo since it was more roomy and comfortable. The Humvee would lead the charge with all the firepower.

  Keanu had even given a short lesson to Chadwick on how to fire the M4. He said he went shooting once in Africa. Although it was a hunting rifle, he felt like he had a good idea how things worked.

  “If we run into any trouble, we meet back here, right?” Ben asked Kaholo.

  “Yes. We don’t want anything following us, so take a scenic route to get here, but yeah.” Kaholo nodded.

  “Thanks for everything so far,” Ben said. He offered his hand to the big man again.

  Kaholo shook it. “No, thank you for helping out Keanu.”

  “Cut out that sappy shit, ladies. Let’s go,” Keanu said, looking down at them from the turret.

  “I guess we have our orders,” Ben said with a smile.

  Kaholo chuckled.

  Ben unslung his rifle and climbed into the passenger seat beside Anuhea. Once Kaholo gave the signal, the rolled down the driveway and pulled out into the street.

  The first half of the drive was largely uneventful. On one of the main streets, they saw clear signs of the infected. Bodies littered the ground. Black smoke curled into the air from fires that were dying. Small groups of infected were spotted, but they were too slow to cause any problems.

  Other than a few intersections with car wrecks, they passed through town without a hitch. Ben wasn’t sure what time it was. He felt certain that Kaholo’s twenty to thirty minute estimate was spot on.

  Ben saw a large green sign that pointed toward the airport. They were close.

  “Cross your fingers,” Ben said.

  Anuhea smiled and turned toward the airport.

  The road curved toward the parking lot, past a post office, and a UPS store. All of them looked empty. Ahead of them was a row of green-roofed buildings that were similar to Kona.

  Right away, it was clear that the airport was not operational. Like Kona’s airport, there was evidence of a battle against the infected. Car windows were shattered, bodies slumped against cars, and infected could be seen wandering among the buildings and parked cars.

  “Goddamn, it’s almost as bad as Kona,” Anuhea said. Disappointment was clear in her voice.

  Flies rose off bodies as they drove past. Infected heard or saw them and began to shuffle out to the road.

  Chadwick gasped as they drove past a dead old woman lying on the ground next to a pet carrier. Something furry lay inside. It didn’t move.

  A cold, sinking feeling drained any remaining hope that Ben had. Somewhere deep down inside him, he’d known the airport was a long shot at best, but he’d refused to listen to it. Instead, he’d opted for hope, a false hope that crumbled and blew away like dust on the wind.

  Behind them, Ben could see Charlotte staring out of the window at the scene. A scene that mirrored so many that they’d witnessed. There were no survivors, no transportation, and no hope. There was nothing for them at the airport except danger.

  “Get us out of here,” Ben said in a dull voice.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Anuhea turned off the narrow road, tearing a path through the grass. The road in front of the airport looped around in a giant oval, like a racetrack. Anuhea pulled a U-turn in the grass along the road rather than risk ending up trapped among the cars, emergency vehicles, and bodies in front of the airport. They raced back the way they came in.

  Kaholo followed suit although at a slightly slower speed to avoid rolling his big truck.

  An infected woman from the parking lot crossed the grassy area. They sped toward her and she trudged forward to greet them with arms outstretched. She stumbled at the edge of the road. Ben hoped she would fall, but she kept her balance and moved just fast enough to step out in front of them.

  The woman’s body thumped against the steel grill, tossed aside like trash. Black blood splashed up on the windshield in front of Ben. He grimaced as it trickled off to the side as the wind spread it around, blurring his view.

  “It was always a risk,” Anuhea said. She glanced at him briefly. More infected were in their way, drawn out behind them as they had sped toward the airport. Now they posed a potential barrier on their return trip.

  Ben didn’t want to hear it, but he knew. So, he turned and stared out of his window. Trees blurred past. They needed a way off the island. No plac
e would remain safe for long. Eventually, the infected would find and destroy whatever life remained.

  Ben was lost in thought, his mind searching furiously for a solution to their problem, or more specifically, his problem. He wanted his friends to stay safe, but none of them needed off the island as much as he did. They just saw it as their best way to survive.

  Ben’s window exploded with a loud crack, sending cracks racing across the glass. He shouted in surprise and nearly pissed his pants as several other shots struck the Humvee. Keanu spun the machine gun toward the direction of the shots and let loose with a long burst.

  “It’s them! They’re back,” Keanu shouted down at them. He fired another burst and their attackers.

  “Who is it?” Chadwick asked, shouting to be heard above the noise.

  “The road-blockers,” Ben shouted back.

  “Bloody hell! What do I do?”

  “Nothing right now,” Ben shouted. “Sit tight.”

  Chadwick cursed again and gripped his rifle nervously.

  Ben shot him a wry smile before he turned back around. The windshield was a mess of wind-dried blood and he couldn’t see shit out of the side window. With about a million cracks, it was worthless.

  “I can’t see shit,” he said in frustration.

  Anuhea swerved in the road. The tires growled in protest as the whole vehicle swayed sharply. The she turned hard to the right. Ben heard tires squeal behind him and hoped it was Kaholo following along.

  “What’s happening?” Ben shouted.

  “We’re being chased,” Anuhea shouted back.

  “No shit.”

  “Don’t ask stupid questions.” Anuhea gritted her teeth as she turned hard again.

  Bullets pinged against the Humvee’s metal armor. The sound was loud inside and they all flinched a little.

  Anuhea gunned the engine and they sped forward. She took another hard right and this time their tires squealed. Ben nearly fell into Anuhea’s lap. He had to put both of his hands out to keep from being choked to death by his seatbelt.