“A clink. Like a stone hitting metal.”
“I see, and have you seen either Dean or Vanessa?”
“Yup, I saw them. They were trying to sneak in same as you, and now they’re waiting for you inside,” Johnson said. “Is this some sort of game you kids are playing?”
Chas laughed. “You could say that, and Emily won.”
“Emily? But she hasn’t been near here.”
“Actually, she threw a stone or something in my direction and slipped right by you while you were distracted with me,” Chas said.
“Why that sneaky little bird. I can’t believe she got one over on me,” Johnson marveled.
Chas ducked into a warehouse where her friends waited with Julia. “Well, Emily. You did it. You won.”
“Thank you,” Emily said with a huge grin. “Ready to forfeit your Sunday pudding?”
“A deal’s a deal,” Chas said, sticking out her hand.
They shook on it before turning to Julia who waited impatiently. “Sorry, guys, but I just got word that we’re going out again. I won’t be able to train you today. In fact, none of us can.”
“None of you? Why not?” Chas asked.
“Because we’re all going. Alvarez, Sanchez, Davis, me, the lot. By all accounts, this is a big mission, and a big escort is needed. We’re leaving in an hour’s time.”
“Big meaning dangerous,” Chas said.
Julia nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
Sudden fear rushed through Chas’ veins. “What if you don’t come back?”
Julia smiled. “Don’t worry about me, Chas. I can handle myself. So can Alvarez and his team. The ones I’m most worried about is you.”
“Me?” Chas asked, feeling confused.
“I meant all of you. The camp as a whole,” Julia replied.
“Why? What’s wrong?” Chas asked.
“With us going on this expedition, the guards here will be short-handed. With the number of attacks we’ve been experiencing lately, I’m worried you might be in danger.”
Chas thought about. The attacks on the camp had been growing over the past few days, and the alarms now went off almost daily. It was if the zombies were being drawn to the safe camp, as if they knew there was fresh food waiting just beyond the fence. “Are the zombies hunting us?”
Julia began pacing up and down, a sure sign of her agitation. “The scientists think the zombies are growing desperate for food. So desperate, that they’re roaming far and wide looking for anything to eat. They’ve already stripped the towns of anything living. The only things still alive out there are feral dogs, cats, and those clever enough to stay out of their way.”
“That sounds pretty bad,” Chas said, “and if a few know we’re here, it’ll draw more of them.”
“That’s right, but it gets worse.”
“Worse?” Emily asked, pushing her glasses up her nose.
“Recent raids have reported that the infected are grouping together and forming hordes. These hordes are big enough to bull-doze over anything in their path, even…”
“Even the safe zone,” Chas added for her.
Julia nodded. “Ammunition for the machine guns are running low, and once it’s gone, it’s game over, I’m afraid.”
Emily sat down on the nearest chair with a thump. “Well, that’s just perfect. What do we do now?”
“Alvarez and I have been discussing this for a while now, and we came up with a plan. The problem is, we’ve only begun implementing it, and now that we have to leave, we can’t finish what we started.” Julia stopped pacing and looked at Chas and her friends. “We’re leaving it up to you now. You’ll have to save the camp.”
“We?” Chas asked. “What about Major Brown? We can’t even breathe with him in the area.”
“Yeah, if you haven’t noticed, the guy loves us about as much as a wet fart,” Dean said, adding his two cents to the pot.
Chas blinked. “A wet fart? Where did that come from?”
Julia exploded into laughter, followed by Vanessa, and soon, all of them joined in, the tension relieved somewhat by Dean’s comical choice of words. The moment was all too brief, however.
Once their laughter died down, Julia was able to answer Chas’ question. “Major Brown is accompanying us. In fact, he insists on being with us in case of a big discovery. His nephew as well.”
Vanessa snorted. “Trust him not to miss out on anything that might mean a promotion.”
“I think there’s more to it than that. I think he’s counting on the base being attacked and overrun while he’s gone,” Julia said. “That’s why he ordered Alvarez and the others to accompany him.”
“Why would he want that?” Chas asked. “He lives here too. This is the safest place for miles.”
“Think about it, Chas,” Emily said. “The Major hates it here. He wants to be closer to the bigwigs of government. As long as we’re here, he has to look after us, but if we’re gone…”
“They’ll recall him back to Washington,” Chas said, understanding dawning on her.
Julia nodded. “That’s what we suspect. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the one drawing the zombies here.”
Chas shook her head, horrified at the thought of so many people dying for one man’s ambition. “What a monster.”
“So, what’s the plan?” Emily asked. “If we’re to survive what’s coming, you need to tell us what to do.”
“Huddle up and listen closely,” Julia said. “We don’t have a lot of time.”
Chas and the rest moved in closer as Julia relayed the plan she and Alvarez had cooked up. Afterward, she pressed a bundle of keys and papers into Chas’ hand. “We had these copied, and each is marked, as you can see.”
Chas tucked the keys into her pocket. “Are you sure this will work?”
“It has to. In the meantime, Alvarez and I will do our best to get the expedition cut short. We’re expected to stay in the field for ten days, maybe more, but we’re aiming to come back within two. Also, Johnson is staying behind on the pretext of being sick. He’ll help as much as he can.”
“How will you get the Major to come back earlier? Especially if he wants the base to fall while you’re gone?” Chas asked.
Julia shrugged, her expression grim. “By any means necessary. I promise you, Chas. If we can come back early, we will. I won’t stand by and let this place fall to the zombies. Neither will Alvarez.”
Chas nodded. “I’ll look out for you.”
“You do that. Two, three days, max.” Julia hugged each of them in turn. “In the meantime, follow the plan and stay strong.”
Chapter 16
Chas and her friends stood by the gates and watched the research convoy leave. It was a much bigger group than usual, bristling with personnel and guns while the supply trucks groaned beneath the weight of their loads.
Sergeant William Holt and the army went first, followed by the CDC and its scientists. Major Brown didn’t deign to look at them as his vehicle drove past, though his nephew waved at them with sick merriment. If everything Julia suspected was true, then he likely knew what was going to happen to the safe zone and everyone in it. What kind of person can be happy over the death of so many innocent people?
Julia, Alvarez, and his group went last. The grim-looking soldiers saluted them as they passed by, and Chas had to bite on her lower lip to prevent herself from running after them. She feared not only for their lives, but also the camp’s, and it was with hollow regret that she watched them disappear into the distance, a cloud of dust their final goodbye.
Once they were gone, the gates clanked shut, and the remaining soldiers of the National Guard dispersed along the fence line. To Chas’ eyes, their numbers were pitiful, and the importance of the plan became crystal clear.
“Right, guys. You heard Julia. It’s up to us now,” Chas said, turning to her little group. Looking at each of them, she reflected that she couldn’t ask for better friends, but couldn’t imagine how they were going t
o pull it all off.
Johnson must’ve caught on to her uncertainty, because he gripped her shoulder and said, “Relax, girl. You can do this. All of you. Besides, you’ve got me so there’s no way you can screw this up.”
Chas laughed. “I guess you’re right. We do have you, the world’s greatest sharpshooter.”
Johnson tipped an imaginary hat at her. “So, have at it. What’s first on the list?”
Chas took a deep breath. “Here goes. Johnson, you’re in charge of defenses. It’s your job to rally the remaining soldiers, rotate them, and equip them. Keep us safe for as long as possible. Ideally, we want to keep the safe zone intact for Alvarez’s return.”
“I’ll need some sort of authorization or the other soldiers won’t follow me,” Johnson said.
“Not a problem,” Chas said, extracting a paper from the bundle Julia had given her. “Here’s the order, signed by Alvarez himself, appointing you as his second-in-command.”
Johnson accepted the paper. “Thanks.”
“We’ll also need you to smooth the way for us with regards to the rest of the plan. Nobody is going to listen to a bunch of teens.”
“What do you need?” Johnson asked.
“Julia and Alvarez’s main idea was for the entire base to fall back to a secondary position on top of the mountain in the event of a disastrous attack. With its guard tower manned by an automated machine gun, sniper towers, and only one narrow entrance, it will be much easier to defend should there be a breach. It means, however, that we’ll have to shift a ton of supplies up there and rig up a barricade.”
“That’s a massive undertaking,” Johnson said. “Do we even have time to do all that?”
“And what about living quarters, water, electricity, and the infirmary? How will everyone live if they have to move up there?” Emily pointed out. “There isn’t much on the mountain. It’s mostly bare rock, and Julia didn’t mention any of that.”
“No, there isn’t much up there,” Chas admitted. “That’s why we all need to work together on this and come up with solutions.”
“What do the plans say?” Emily asked, nodding at the papers in Chas’ hands.
“I haven’t had a chance to look at them yet,” Chas admitted.
“Let me,” Emily said, extending her hand, and Chas handed over the plans Julia and Alvarez had drawn up with a sense of relief.
Emily rifled through them, her eyes scanning the sprawling script at a rapid pace. “Johnson, we need you to arrange a meeting with all the head honchos as soon as possible. If we’re going to do this, we need to work together, and according to Julia, they’ve already spoken to most of these people anyway.”
“Who do I need to talk to?” Johnson asked.
“The supply master, head engineer, head mechanic, and cook for a start,” Emily said. “We can meet with them at the infirmary at five this afternoon. Apparently, your mom’s in on this, Chas. She’ll arrange with the Head Surgeon and set aside space for us to talk in private.”
“What do I tell them?” Johnson asked.
“The truth. You can also give them this. It’s a letter from Alvarez for each of them,” Emily said, handing the letters to Johnson. “If you can think of anybody else, invite them too.”
Chas checked her watch, a recent addition to her wardrobe. “That’s in an hour’s time. We’ll need to hurry.”
“Right, I’m off. See you at the meeting,” Johnson said, before hurrying away.
“What about us?” Dean asked.
Emily shrugged. “There isn’t much we can do until the meeting.”
“Not true. We can inspect the base and the mountain to see what we’re working with,” Chas said.
“Good idea,” Dean said. “We can make a workout of it too and do it at a jog.”
“I like the sound of that,” Chas said. “Ready?”
“Ready!” everyone cried.
“Then let’s go.” “Chas set off at a steady jog, leading her group down the fence line and around the entire base.
It was a good thing they did because it made them aware of exactly how many miles of borderline they had to defend with only a handful of soldiers. It became even more obvious to Chas that the Major had planned it on purpose. He knew what he was doing when he took Alvarez with three-quarters of the remaining soldiers with him, leaving only a few to guard the base.
“I can’t believe he left us all to die,” Chas mumbled while rage bubbled through her veins. “I really hope the zombies get him.”
After covering the fence, they jogged through the base itself, running past the dorms, the schoolroom, the kitchen and mess hall, the parking lot, and warehouses. After that, they headed to the infirmary, circled around it and investigated the mountain pass.
It was a narrow, winding pass that led up to the top, broad enough for one truck at a time. The rocky walls spread downward in a rough v-shape that housed the infirmary on one point and they hydro-station on the other which abutted to the river. Between these two buildings lay another warehouse and open space.
They paused to rest for a few minutes, and Chas looked at her watch again. “We still have twenty minutes left. Fancy a look at the top?”
“Sure,” Dean said.
“Why not?” Vanessa added.
“Might as well,” Emily said, her face sweaty but determined.
She led the way up the mountain, pushing her legs hard to keep up the pace until the steep, narrow passageway flattened out into a big flat area dotted with bushes, stunted trees, and clumps of grass. On either side, it fell away to rocky cliff faces impassible to zombies. Two guard towers stood sentinel over the single passageway, one of which housed a couple of snipers and the other an automatic machine gun. Two long low buildings occupied one corner of the space, but that was about it.
“Well, we’ve seen it all. Ready for the meeting?” Chas asked.
The others agreed, and they made their way back to the infirmary where Vivienne waited impatiently. “The other people are already here. Where have you been?”
“We took a tour of the safe zone, Mom. Sorry, we’re late,” Chas said.
Vivienne’s eyes traveled from one to the other. “You couldn’t even be bothered to wash up before you came here? Shame on you lot! Come with me.”
Clucking like a mother hen, she led them to the bathroom where they washed away the worst of the sweat and dirt. After that, they entered a small room occupied by a single long table with chairs, a water cooler with cups, and a whiteboard on the wall with colored pens in a tray.
A bunch of people were already seated at the table and heads now turned toward the group of teens who barged in liked they owned the place. Frowns adorned the sea of faces, and Chas decided that a confident but polite manner would be best.
She slowed down and nodded at each person before pouring herself a glass of water at the cooler. Taking a seat, she waited for her friends to join her. Once they were all seated, she said. “I apologize for being late, but we thought it best to take a tour of the base first to see what we’re working with.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re finally here because I don’t have all day. Some of us have work to do,” one woman said. She was middle-aged, wore a jumpsuit similar to their own streaked with motor oil, and was deeply tanned.
Chas looked at her mother. “Could you introduce us, please?”
“All right,” Vivienne said. “This is Mrs. Galway, head mechanic.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Chas responded.
“This is Dr. Steward, the head surgeon.”
Dr, Steward, an attractive woman with dark hair and eyes nodded in return, her face stern.
“Mr. Lange, head engineer,” Vivienne added, pointing to a bald-headed man with red cheeks.
“Johnson you already know.”
Johnson smiled at Chas, the corners of his eyes crinkling, and it was a relief to see a friendly face.
“This is Mr. Peters. He’s in charge of the hydro-station, while Mr. Wells over th
ere is head of the electrical department, and Miss White is the head cook.”
Both Peters and Wells were young, maybe late twenties, and didn’t look too bothered by the teens. Each nodded in reply to Chas’ greeting, as did Miss White, a lady in her sixties with a cloud of white hair. Chas knew her quite well, having worked in the kitchens often, and though not overly friendly, the Cook was pleasant enough.
“Finally, this is Lieutenant Steele, the supply-master,” Vivienne concluded.
Steele stared at Chas with narrowed eyes the color of molten steel, lending credence to his name. He didn’t reply to Chas’ greeting, and she wondered if he was going to be a problem. Swallowing, she wondered how to proceed.
Luckily, Johnson stood up. “Listen, you all know why we’re here. You’ve read the letters written by Sergeant Alvarez and some of you have spoken to him already. If you have any reason not to be here, or any objections to the teens being here, you’d better say your piece now.”
Peters raised a hand. “I have no issue being here or with the kids. I know what we’re up against, and I’m here to help.”
“Same here,” Wells said.
“I know exactly what we’re facing,” Lieutenant Steele said. “I just don’t know what they’re doing here. This is a matter for adults.”
“I agree,” Dr. Steward said.
“So it is,” Johnson agreed, “but as you know, we are running low on numbers thanks to that weasel Major Brown. These teens have been training under Sergeant Alvarez and Private Paige for weeks now. They can be relied upon to help if nothing else.”
Chas nodded. “That’s what we’re here for. We simply want to help where we can, and I believe we could be of great use to you.”
Vivienne nodded with approval, a slight smile hovering on her lips. “If we’re to survive what’s coming, we’ll all need to pitch in. Every single one of us including the Red Rock survivors. We’re all in this mess together, aren’t we?”
“Perhaps,” Dr. Steward said.
For a moment, Steele said nothing before giving a curt. “Fine. They can stay and help…for now.”
“Now that’s sorted out, what’s the plan here, so we can get on with it.” Mrs. Galway said, shifting with restless energy.
Gen Z Boxed Set Page 22
