Slowly, they made their way toward the front of the older RV blocking most of the freeway. As they came up to the large back window, three creatures lunged toward it and began pawing at it from within.
“Damn. I was thinking an RV would be a nice addition to the cramped Hummer.”
Dallas shook her head. “Too slow and uses too much gas.”
“But it might have been nice for a night or—”
“What in the hell?” Roper said, staring at something in front of the RV. WhenDallas came up behind her, she covered her mouth.
Stopped perpendicular to the traffic was a school bus. “A school bus? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It does if your community didn’t believe the news reports. It’s not like our country has ever experienced marital law bef—”
Just as Butcher was about to finish, a dozen childlike zombie faces appeared in the bus windows snarling and spewing and clawing at the closed windows for Butcher. Their dead eyes focused solely on her.
“Holy fuck,” Butcher said, taking a step backward. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
The three women simply stared as the zombie children moaned and banged on the glass. “How are they...are they locked in there?”
Roper maneuvered around the last few cars and looked into the door. The bus driver’s half-eaten lay on the step. His remains prevented the door from collapsing in, thus trapping the mindless zombie children inside.
Returning to Dallas and Butcher, Roper shook her head. “Dead body is blocking the door. I guess we’ll never know if he was trying to escape or prevent the kids from escaping.”
Butcher looked behind her. “Looks like he wasn’t successful either way.”
“Yeah. Someone got to these drivers.”
“Can you even imagine? Kids foaming at the mouth, wanting you to open your car door. How could you not?”
“Well, it was the last thing these folks did.”
Suddenly, a gunshot came from behind them in the direction of the Hummer. As they turned to run, three zombie children, all girls, moved toward them from between two cars. Zeus growled low, his hackles standing up.
“Hold tight,” Butcher said. “They want me. Let them come at me.”
When all three little girls were clear from the vehicles, Dallas and Roper shot all three in the head.
“Come on!” Dallas said, running back to the Hummer. “We are outta here.”
As soon as the Hummer was in view, they all stopped, knowing this was it. Parked behind the trailer was the yellow pickup.
Butcher grabbed Zeus’ collar and ordered him to sit. Roper and Dallas slowly raised their rifles in the air at the outlaws.
Three outlaws in the back of the truck had their weapons trained on the women. The leader, their driver, stood with his sidearm pointed at Einstein’s head. He wore a dirty bandana around his neck and wore reflective sunglasses.
“You ladies are a tough buncha bitches to pin down, so instead of following your trail, we decided to head you off at the pass.”
Dallas took a step forward, her eyes cutting over to Cue who neither held his weapon nor had one pointed at him.
“Your boy here managed to get off a shot. You oughtta teach him how to shoot, you know? Shoots like a pussy.”
“We’re not responsible for your guys dying back in that town,” Dallas said. “We’ve got no beef with you.”
“Oh, I know. They were stupid, but they were just following my orders. We want the Hummer. Plain and simple. This time, you’re giving it to us or shit’s goin’ down.”
“You guys could have any car you wanted. Why bust our balls for this one?”
“We’ve taken some cool cars, too, but none of them tell us the whereabouts of those mass murdering dickhead soldiers.”
“There is no radio comm.—”
“Bullshit. You just don’t know the right frequency. What can you expect from a bunch of dykes?”
Butcher commanded Zeus to stay before stepping next to Dallas. “Let them have it, Dallas. It’s more of a hassle than it’s worth.”
“Listen to her...Dallas. Give us the keys and we won’t pop your boy here.” Einstein barely shook his head, his eyes darting over to Cue.
“What about the horses?”
“We were thinking they’d make a good meal.”
Suddenly, Roper whipped her rifle around and had it pointed at the leader. She began walking slowly toward him.
Butcher and Dallas had theirs trained on the three shooters so fast, no one had time to think.
“You touch those horses or harm them in any way, you’re a dead man.” Roper moved forward. “You can shoot the boy or shoot me, but either way, you won’t live to tell about it.”
“Hey, whoa, now hold on.” The leader grabbed Einstein as a human shield and pressed the muzzle to his temple. “I’ll kill him. I really will. Don’t fuck with me.”
Roper stopped and aimed. “Then you are a dead man standing right now.”
“Shoot her!” he ordered, but Butcher and Dallas moved closer to the truck, rifles aimed at three young men whose attentions were now divided.
“Put your weapons down, fellas, and you can walk away from this. I’ll give you to the count of three. One.”
“I’ll kill him! I really will shoot this kid in the head. Do you want to be responsible for that?”
“Two.”
“Okay, okay. I can see you’re not kidding around,” the leader said. “What if we let your horses go? The horses for the keys.”
“The horses and the boy for the keys.”
“You gals ride a tough bargain. We’ll let the horses out, you toss the keys on the ground, and I let the kid go.”
Roper shook her head. “Uh uh. You let the horses and the kid go. We’ll toss the keys and let you live.”
He laughed. “You ladies just don’t know who you’re fuckin’ with, ya know? In college, they called me Crazy Castleman because I’d do anything for a buck. I’m crazy enough to just blow his brains out and let my guys take you three out.”
The number three did not go unnoticed by the three of them. It made Dallas smile.
“I let the horses go. You toss keys. The kid will get them and start the Hummer. Once it starts, he’s free to return to the bosom of the mommy clan. Final deal.”
Roper saw Dallas nod. “Fine.”
Butcher did not move her mouth when she whispered, “Peanut’s in the Hummer.”
“What’s it gonna be, ladies?”
Dallas leveled her gaze at Einstein, hoping beyond hope the teen would read what she wanted him to do. “This could be a bloodbath, Castleman. Is that what you want?”
“What I want is the Hummer.”
“All guns on Castleman,” Butcher ordered, and without question, all three aimed at him. “The horses first. Then the keys. Then the kid walks away. You do anything but retreat into the Hummer, and you’re the first collateral damage. Are we clear?”
Castleman laughed, a sound that came out slightly maniacal. “Clear? Crystal clear. I love Jack! His ‘Here’s Johnny’ is one of the best lines ever. Right up with Clint’s ‘Do you feel lucky?’ Well, do ya punk? Tell me...do you feel lucky?”
“Just let the horses and the boy go.”
With a pivot jerk of his head, one of Castleman’s men opened the trailer gate and let the horses out. All four horses scattered, with three making a beeline for the hills.
“Now, the keys.”
Dallas kept her rifle pointed at him while she reached into her pants pocket for the keys. She tossed them about ten feet away, or nearly equidistance from Castleman, who shoved Einstein toward the keys, still pointing his revolver at the teen.
“Don’t be a hero, kid. Just start the Hummer and then back away.”
Einstein picked up the keys and got into the vehicle, looking into the back of it once the door was closed. The Hummer started ten second later.
With the Hummer started, Einstein bowed his head as he walked back to Da
llas’s side, as if unfazed by the handgun pointed at him.
“Smart boy. Okay fellas - Delray, you and the noob come with me.” Keeping his gun trained on Einstein, Castleman backed away toward the Hummer. “I’da killed that kid. You know that, right?”
Dallas didn’t offer so much as a nod as all three women tracked him with their rifles. When Cue started after Castleman, Dallas frowned and said, “Where the hell are you going?”
Cue smiled. “I’m the noob. I’m going with these guys. You people just don’t have a God damned clue and I can’t take it anymore.”
Before Dallas could say another word, Einstein said softly, “He’s the one who got the drop on me.”
“You spineless motherfucker,” Butcher growled. “You sold us out? For what?”
Cue Ball picked at his teeth with a nail. “Survival. Mine in particular. Thanks for the ride. I’ll be sure to take good care of her.”
Butcher dropped her weapon and lunged for him, when bullets pinged all around her feet, causing her to stop.
“So long, girls.” When Cue got in the Hummer, Castleman signaled to the guy in the truck, who honked three times.
“In case you had a stupid idea of coming after us, I’ve left you with...well...with a full plate.” Laughing like Batman’s Joker, Castleman backed the Hummer up and sped off, followed by the guys in the pickup.
“I’m gonna kill that motherfucker myself,” Butcher said.
“I’ll get the horses,” said Roper.
“We are going after her, aren’t we?” Einstein asked.
“Of course we are, but first, we gotta find Safety, get the horses, and—” The moaning arrived seconds before they did.
“What the hell?” Roper turned as the kids from the bus barreled toward them. She put two down before Butcher and Dallas even knew what was happening.
“Get behind us!” Roper yelled at Einstein as she blew open the head of a little blonde girl with blood all over her chin.
“Start backing up,” Dallas ordered. “I had no idea there were so many.”
Because of their smaller stature, some of the kids made it around bumpers of the dead vehicles before anyone could see them.
“Run, Einstein! Stay on the road but get the hell out of here!”
“But—”
“Go!”
Dallas looked at Butcher. “You too. Get out of here. Stay with him. We’ll find you.”
Butcher hesitated until she saw a boy hobbling after Einstein. She put him down with two shots before taking off.
“Follow me.” Dallas made a run for the RV, knocking zombie children back with the butt of her rifle as she went. None were reaching for her nor did they follow her.
Climbing on top of the RV, she started picking off the kids as they cleared the traffic jam. With Roper next to her, they kept shooting at the two dozen or so kids and several adults following after Butcher and Einstein.
The more they shot, the more that came, and Roper knew the two of them weren’t fast enough to get them all. The child zombies moved faster and jerkier than their adult counterparts.
Butcher knew this as well, and she stopped to make her final stand. “Keep going, kid!” she shouted.
Einstein hesitated. “There’s too many,” he said before going back for Butcher.
They were coming from every side...kids, and a couple of adult drivers, walking right for them...moaning and shuffling, reaching out with hideous fingers where bone shown through shredded flesh.
“Come on, Butcher! Run for it!” Einstein tugged on her sleeve. “Behind you!” Dallas called out.
Butcher wheeled around barely in time to blast a zombie’s face off.
“They’re boxing us in. Come on!” Einstein turned to run, but a zombie lunged for him, knocking him to the ground and clacking its teeth at him as it fell on top of him.
Einstein kicked and punched until Butcher crushed the zombie’s skull with the butt of her gun, but it was too little too late. They were everywhere.
They were surrounded.
Pulling him to his feet, Butcher knew it was too late to run. There were simply too many of them.
For their part, Roper and Dallas kept plugging away, but the children continued to move more swiftly than the adults, making them use more ammo, take more time.
“B-Butcher!” Einstein cried.
As Butcher turned to crush the skull of the male zombie that had tackled Einstein, its teeth chomping near his face, a streak of black caught the corner of her eye. She watched in stunned silence as Safety came up and over the guard rail, lowered his shoulder, and barreled into the zombie on top of Einstein. Safety hit the creature so hard, its head popped off. In speed belying his size, he rose and smashed his meaty fist into the next nearest zombie face.
Butcher swung her rifle around, connecting with two man eaters and creating a large enough space for Dallas and Roper to safely pick off the remaining zombies circling around them.
“Run!” Butcher yelled to Safety, who pulled Einstein to his feet and pushed him in the direction the horses had run.
“Get to the hills!” Safety cried, stopping to deck two stragglers who’d been shot but not incapacitated. “Keep runnin’!”
As Einstein took off into the hills, Safety turned back to Butcher, who was backing away as she shot. “Gimme the rifle,” he demanded. “Go after Einstein.”
Butcher hesitated, then handed Safety her rifle before sprinting off after Einstein.
It took another five minutes for them to dispel the remaining eaters. When Safety’s rifle ran out of ammo, he used it like a bat and busted skull after skull until there was nothing but a pile of dead, man-eating children at his feet.
With the freeway littered with tiny bodies, Dallas and Roper joined Safety on the road.
“Fuckers,” Roper grumbled.
“Was Einstein—”
“Don’t think so. Couldn’t hardly tell.” Roper licked her parched lips.
For a moment, the three of them caught their breath.
“Those hillbillies ambushed us and set those eaters free.” Safety shook his head. “I managed to get our gas can filled, though. I left it back there once I heard the shooting.”
“Grab it and let’s get the hell out of here.”
“Where we going?”
“Where else? We’re going after Peanut.”
They retrieved all of the horses and started after the Hummer in less than fifteen minutes.
“They didn’t have much gas,” Dallas said. “And I’m guessing they’ll head for the nearest group of cars. They’ll need to siphon just like we did.”
“Taking the horses is a smart move, Dallas,” Butcher said as they trotted along the crest line of the hills running parallel to the road. “They won’t hear us coming.”
“Maybe not, but they’ll hear us when we get there.” Roper’s voice was hard and cold. “And don’t even think about using diplomacy, Dallas. We need to go in there and end this once and for all. Once. And. For. All.”
“I have to agree with Roper on this one, Dallas. The line in the sand was drawn. They crossed it. Time to wipe them and the line from the sand.” Butcher checked her weapon. “It’s kill or be killed now. I say we pick the former.”
Dallas looked over at Einstein. “You feel the same way?”
He nodded. “Cue-Ball pulled his rifle on me. He wanted to go with them at any cost. Had he not been a traitor, we might have been able to at least get Peanut from the Hummer. As it is, I managed to cover her up with a blanket on the passenger seat floor. I don’t think their leader ever even saw her.”
“Was she scared?”
“I’m not sure. When I brushed up against her, though, she was really warm and sleeping soundly.”
“We should never have left her in the car. She must have overheated.”
“Why wouldn’t Cue tell them she was in there? What do they have to gain in keeping Peanut?”
“Leverage,” Butcher remarked. “If we go after them, lik
e we are, all they have to do is threaten to kill her.”
Dallas tried to keep Merlin at a slow trot since Zeus was picking up the rear. “If they stayed on the main road, and didn’t stop to get gas, they should be up here shortly.”
Roper put the binoculars to her eyes and surveyed the area. “Bingo. One Hummer in the middle of the freeway about six hundred yards ahead.”
“Any signs of the truck?”
“Negative. I’m guessing that they sent it on to get gas. I see one guy pacing back and forth outside the Hummer. No sign of Peanut.”
“Okay then. We need to approach cautiously from four different locations in order to make it difficult for them to pin us down with two rifles.”
“Looks like the guy out on the freeway is...Cue-Ball.”
“Armed?”
“Uh uh.”
Dallas held her hand out for the binoculars. “That’s odd. Why would he be outside the vehicle without a weapon? Is he guarding it?” She took the binoculars from Roper and looked through them. “He’s pacing like a maniac.”
“Where are the others?”
Dallas couldn’t see anything through the small rectangular back window of the Hummer. “Can’t tell.”
“Then I suggest we send two down to the Hummer while the other two watch for the truck. And by watch, I mean shoot at. And by shoot at it I mean kill every mother fucker in it,” Butcher said. Dallas stared at her.
“This is war, Dallas. It’s time we put a stop to them hassling us, and all people like them understand is violence. Hardcore, in your face, violence. I am not asking permission to kill them, Dallas.”
“You’re outvoted on this, babe,” Roper said, taking the binoculars back. “And we’re burning daylight talking. It’s agreed: those boys must die and Cue-Ball with them.”
Everyone but Dallas nodded.
“They’re no different from the zombies. For all we know, they could have kicked Peanut to the curb, and then what? She’s out there alone? No, no mercy this time. This time, we’re lowering the boom.”
Realizing she was outvoted, Dallas sighed. “Fine. We secure the Hummer, get Peanut, and then finish the hillbillies off once and for all. Roper and I will ride down to the Hummer, approaching from north and south. Butcher, you watch the northbound freeway, Einstein and Safety the south. You see that yellow pickup, fire off two quick rounds to let us know they’re on the way.”
Riders of the Apocalypse (Book 1): Ride For Tomorrow Page 26
