“Well, we have a location now,” said Mr. Hardin once the nerd had left. “Do you have a plan?”
“I never really have a plan. I just kinda go with the flow and hope for the best,” I answered.
“I wish I could change your mind about this,” said Mr. Hardin. “I don’t see how you can beat him. He’s just too good at killing.”
“How about his buddies, how good are they at killing?”
“They’re incredible at it,” answered Miriam. “However, Max has apparently done some experimenting with them in the last few years. We’ll probably never know why he’s done what he’s done to them, maybe they weren’t keen on following him anymore. Anyway, whatever he’s done to them…let’s just say…they aren’t exactly operating on all four cylinders.”
“So they’re stupid?” asked Dudley. Everyone kind of chuckled at that.
“They can follow orders from Max to the letter,” answered Miriam. “But yes, they’re rather stupid now.”
“Well at least we’ll have an easy time,” replied Dudley. “Jax is fucked, but we’ll make it through a bunch of morons rather easily.”
“Once the fight is on and they’re coming after you,” said Mr. Hardin. “Whoever has the bigger IQ won’t make much of a difference I can assure you. His men are excellent warriors. Just look at what the four of them did to Crass’s complex up the street.”
“How were you feeling with all that you had just learned?”
Well, I wasn’t happy with the way things were, that’s for sure. It didn’t make much of a difference though, I needed to kill Max in order to save my wife and that’s what I was going to do.
“What about the gypsy girl…I forget her name? Did you have any plans for her?”
Not really, I mean…we certainly didn’t want her dead. That would just spread the curse to one of her relatives somewhere and this entire outbreak of zombies would start all over again somewhere else.
“What happened next?”
Ah, we went to the war room. This is where Mr. Hardin actually became an asset. The first thing he did was hand out ‘bite suits’. These things are probably the greatest invention ever. A zombie can’t bite through them. They’re somewhere between a green and grey color and they feel rough and light, like a soldiers normal uniform. If you look at the texture though, they are actually made of these little millimeter sized squares all bunched together. It’s weird.
We all pulled on the fatigue pants and shirts with this strange material, along with combat boots, utility belts and a thick utility vest with a wide, high collar that came almost to our chins. These vests were also very light weight and the collars would keep our necks protected. All of us but Georgie turned down the helmets.
Next, we got a look at the weapons. This was my favorite part, since I had lost everything but my tomahawk. Which I still have by the way, I even passed the row of new tomahawks, still in favor of my old faithful, but I did find a nice leather loop to fasten it to my belt on the right hand side. I found another SOG seal pup knife and went for that immediately. Miriam surprised me at that point, by handing me my old sheath complete with my Swiss army knife still in the front pocket. That went on my left hip, complete with the brand new knife.
I picked a silenced Glock to go on my right hand thigh. In fact, we all chose silenced weapons. I didn’t grab any rifles, I saw another 30.30, but decided against the noise it would make. Georgie grabbed a silenced .50 caliber sniper rifle and Kingsley chose a sawed off shotgun just in case.
I spent way too much time trying to replace the folder knife I had lost, but eventually found a Cold Steel Ti-lite. It’s a fighting folder with a four inch blade and just looks like it was made to cause damage in a fight. I loved it immediately. To this day I carry one as my backups backup.
“Can I see it?”
Immediately, the General pulled a knife from his pocket. The quills that formed a cross guard between the handle and the blade snagged on the pocket as it was being removed and flicked out the blade. The motion happened all too fast. It was then, that I realized that was the point. Jaxon leads a violent life. His weapons are chosen with deadliness and survival in mind.
As we walked to the helicopter, Mr. Hardin was still complaining about us not being ready. He was complaining about how we were headed for trouble. Obviously, we ignored him. He wasn’t happy about letting us go, but he never once tried to stop us. He basically said that his job was to make sure we succeeded in our goals and came back alive. It wasn’t his job to stand in our way.
I was beginning to like that man, but I wasn’t sad to leave him behind since he was acting like such a negative Nancy.
We were in a nice black chopper this time. It made very little noise and had none of those running lights. We had all grabbed these little radio ear pieces so we could talk to one another if we split up after the chopper. We could also speak with headquarters as well. They were small and looped over our ears, so they didn’t annoy me.
Everyone was arguing about where to land and what to do. I was trying my level best to ignore them all as I tried on a pair of half-fingered leather gloves that I found inside the chopper. One thing about doing what I do…I get the coolest stuff for free.
Suddenly it occurred to me.
It came as I was thinking about all the free stuff I had just received. Immediately, I tapped my earpiece to turn it on.
“Mr. Hardin,” I asked. “Can you hear me?”
“I can hear you perfectly Jaxon,” he answered almost immediately. “What’s up?”
“Is Max familiar with these bite suits?”
“Certainly, both he and his men have used them regularly for the last ten years.”
“How many do you have on hand?”
“I think there’s about twenty left,” answered Mr. Hardin.
“Turn around and go back,” I told the pilot.
It took less than five minutes to return to base, pick up the suits and get back into the air. The ride was quick; everyone was waiting for an explanation. I ignored them and enjoyed the quiet. Suddenly, we were over the Abraham Chavez Theater. I told the pilot to take us five streets away and land on top of the biggest building he could find.
I made Georgie and Javie carry the suits as we left the chopper. I grabbed some repelling rope and so did Dudley.
“Did you repel out of the chopper?”
No, I just wanted the rope.
The sun was coming out as we looked over the edge of the roof and the morning air was rather cool. The building was only two stories high and we’d already attracted attention. The zombies had apparently managed to find their way back Downtown. Then again, I’m not exactly sure if it was the same group of zombies that we led away from Downtown, or an entirely new group, but regardless, there were hundreds of them screaming up at us from the street.
“Why’d we land so far away from the Abraham Chavez Theater?” complained Georgie.
“I thought it might be a good idea that Max doesn’t know exactly when we’re coming if that’s okay with you?” I replied.
Everyone had a nervous little chuckle at Georgie’s expense and we were off.
It was easy enough to shoot out the lock on the door leading into the building. It was more difficult to find our way to the first floor. The building was a maze of offices. It took about fifteen minutes. I began to curse up a storm. Georgie began to complain loudly about carrying the bite suits. The helmets were clanking around together in his arms. If I wasn’t so worried about my wife, I’d have been laughing my ass off.
Finally, we were out of the building and shooting at all the zombies that were in the alleyway in which we exited. I’d chosen the clearest side, but when you’re dealing with that many zombies…well, no side is exactly going to be easy going.
It took awhile, but we made it into the next building, through the next building and across the street. It was a mad sprint down the road and to the left a few more blocks and suddenly, we were inside a small shabby building that w
as facing the Abraham Chavez Theater.
Outside of the building, the zombies that were able to follow us were banging to get in. There were even more of them now than when we first landed. This was actually a good thing for once. I was going to need those zombies…or at least some of them.
“Jax,” said Georgie. “What are we going to do if they get in here?”
“You mean what are you going to do?” I answered. “We aren’t going to be here. Now get your ass on the roof.”
The building wasn’t that big. If I remember correctly, it was only three or four stories. I put Georgie on the roof and told him to shoot anything that got in our way. Then, I went back down to the others who were waiting on the next floor down. We spread out the schematic of the building and took a look at where all the security cameras were located.
It took a long time, but we finally figured a route that would get us where I wanted to go.
“But Jax,” said Dudley as he pointed to our destination on the schematic. “If we head there, we’ll be trapped. If we move around the corner, the next camera will catch us.”
“That’s fine,” I answered. “We’re not going to that next corner; we’re going up on the roof.”
“Ah,” said Kingsley. “That’s why we brought the rope.”
“Part of the reason,” I answered. “Go ahead and attach the grappling hooks to the ends of the ropes, after that, it’s going to be your job to carry them. Javie, it’s your job to carry all the bite suits since Georgie is staying here.”
Kingsley wasn’t happy and grumbled something under his breath. Javie made a funny gesture to complain about carrying the suits, but it wasn’t really serious.
“Alright, on our way over there, only use the silenced pistols. No shotgun Kingsley. When we get to our target area, start throwing the grappling hook up to the roof, as soon as the hook is secure, start climbing. Can you climb with all those suits Javie?”
“It’s kinda heavy,” he answered.
“No problem, we’ll help pull you up. Just don’t drop the suits.”
Just like that, we were running towards the Abraham Chavez Theater. From our direction, we were approaching the building from the side in an effort to avoid the cameras. When we were close enough, I saw that the cameras were indeed moving. That was a good thing. I wanted Max’s men to be watching out for our approach.
The bad part of the run was how much ammunition we wasted just getting there. The zombies were waiting for us. The stink of them filled my nostrils and my pistol was all too soon emptied. My tomahawk came out immediately and I started having flashbacks of the fence as I hacked our way to our destination.
The very thought of ever having to confront more zombies had filled me with dread from the moment I was safe at my parents cabin right up until I met them on the street at this very moment. The second I began killing them, it once again became sort of like second nature to me. My nerves were gone. I was vaguely aware of how odd that was, but didn’t have the time needed to think about it. In retrospect, I think it had something to do with confronting that which was terrifying me. I think Skie was right when she said I was the type of man that needed to face his fears head on.
Anyway, enough of that, the point is, I was back to being me.
As soon as we were in a clear view of Georgie, he started shooting. He had a lot of ammunition, so I wasn’t worried about him running out. Dudley and I ended up taking out all the zombies in our way and Georgie took out all the ones that came too close to our flanks.
I can’t tell you what a beautiful sight it is to see when a bullet from a .50 caliber sniper rifle meets a zombie. It often looks like a bursting water balloon that someone filled with red water. I loved it. Sometimes he even took out three or four zombies with one shot.
With Dudley and I in the front and Kingsley and Javie bring up the rear with the suits and ropes, we made it to our target area in less than three minutes. Kingsley was gasping for air. He’s a smoker unfortunately and I was worried about whether or not he could make the climb to the top of the building.
The Abraham Chaves Theater, from where we were approaching has a large dome kinda thing and I wanted on top of it. You know how all those modern theaters tend to have those odd designs that would be ugly as hell on a normal building, but end up looking kinda cool on a theater?
“Yes, I get what you’re saying.”
Well, I’m guessing it’s about three stories high. Quite a throw for the grappling hooks, but I was confident I could do it. The trouble would be getting there.
“Wait a minute…before you go any further, I have a question.”
What’s that?
“What happened to Merrick?”
Oh yeah, I left her with my parents. It was going to be awhile before more security details were going to arrive. Miriam had told me that it could take up to an hour, not long, but long enough that I wasn’t going to leave family alone without some protection. My dad went and loaded his gun and I left Merrick to play watch dog. She didn’t like it of course, she hates being left behind, but she really makes a great watch dog.
So anyway, we zigged and we zagged all through the front of the theater. There were steps, low walls and patio’s everywhere. We kept low when we had to, but my worry was that we’d meet too much opposition from the zombies before we could arrive at our hidden wall.
I was finally able to pop another clip into my Glock. That made things easier, but as I looked over the low wall that we were all crouched behind, I saw what looked like thousands of zombies headed down a side street towards our destination. They hadn’t seen us yet, so they weren’t running. They were probably responding to the screams of their comrades and possibly our smells.
Wow, and I mean wow. We really had to make it to our destination before they figured out where we were.
Finally, we reached a spot where we had to sprint the rest of the way because once we left the shelter of the staircase we were using for cover, we’d all be in plain sight and the horde would charge.
Dudley tapped me softly on the shoulder as I drilled a zombie in the head with my pistol. I turned to look where he was pointing and saw the sad pretty girl in the dress. She was still chained to the ground, but this time she was sitting. She didn’t look very well at all, but she was watching us with a very still face. Like she was curious about what we were doing, but too tired to do anything but watch.
Dudley went to toss her his water bottle, but I grabbed his hand and pointed to a camera that was facing her. It would alert whoever was watching those cameras to our presence if suddenly their captive gypsy girl was drinking out of a water bottle she shouldn’t have.
I reached out towards Kingsley and he handed me my grappling rope. I nodded to everyone; we watched as Georgie took out a group of zombies coming from behind and bolted towards our destination.
I moved so fast, I had to put out my hand to stop myself from colliding with the wall. I threw my grappling hook and missed. The second time, it hooked solid. Dudley was successful as well, but Kingsley and Javie were having trouble. The pounding feet of the rushing, screaming and advancing horde of zombies was making the ground shake. They saw us just as quickly as I thought they would. My adrenaline kicked into overdrive as I grabbed the ropes from both of them and started throwing. I caught Kingsley’s immediately, but I had to calm myself down before I was able to get Javie’s hook to stick.
I snapped at Dudley to get his ass up the wall as I tied the end of Javie’s rope around his waist and told him not to drop the suits.
I scrambled up my own rope and made it to the top of the theater in just a few seconds. Dudley was right behind me. Kingsley was trying, but he kept slipping down the wall. The guy was exhausted. Here’s a little tip for all would be zombie fighters…don’t smoke. I told Dudley to help him and I began to pull Javie up the wall.
Javie did his best to climb with his feet, but his hands were too full to offer much help. The zombies hit the wall with a loud thud and Javie and K
ingsley were only inches away from death when the wall vibrated with the force of their impact.
A few moments later and all of us were safe on the roof of the Abraham Chavez Theater.
We took a few moments for everyone to calm down and get their strength back. We didn’t have to worry about cameras on the roof, because they were all pointed downwards, so we were able to walk around as we pleased. I actually encouraged this, because I wanted as many zombies as we could get on the ground.
It was then that I ordered Kingsley to start making nooses out of our ropes. I rummaged through Dudley’s backpack until I found his duct tape and waited until Kingsley had all the ropes finished.
“Alright,” said Dudley. “What the hell are you planning?”
“I’m planning on taking out Max’s men,” I answered. “He messed with them somehow and now they’re kind of stupid right?”
“Yeah,” answered Dudley.
“Well, I’m going to use that against them. Max is expecting us to try and sneak in obviously, so he has a man in the control room watching the camera monitors. I’m guessing that the other three are located at the not so obvious entrances. Don’t count the front entrance or the rear entrance…those are too obvious. I’m talking about the one in the parking garage, the one on the side of the building for deliveries and the one on the other side of the building.”
“Sounds feasible,” said Dudley.
“Well, I’ll repel to the control room and take out that guy. Then, we’ll release some captured zombies wearing bite suits wherever his other men are to distract them. My guess is that because they’re so stupid, Max gave them simple orders like ‘take them out when you see them’. When they go after the zombies, you guys can come up behind them.”
“Won’t we have to deal with all the zombies afterwards?” asked Kingsley.
“No,” I answered. “Just shoot Max’s man and then relock the door.”
“Did they agree to your plan?”
They agreed to it, but they didn’t really like it. I have to admit though, that it was a little off the wall and it certainly wasn’t going to be any fun catching all those zombies and dressing them up like us.
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