Beverly reacted like cold water had just been thrown in her face. Her eyes blinked rapidly as she grabbed Gary’s shoulder and spun him around.
“What?!” she screamed.
“I will be able to run back up the stairs, but they won’t. Then I get back in the truck and it’s off we go,” Gary said, offering a smile that he hoped would seal the deal but which failed miserably.
“And what will I be doing while you’re playing mad dash with the neighbors, Gary?” Beverly said.
Gary kept his smile as his last line of defense and looked at Beverly.
“You stand to the side of the door, and open it. I’ll stand in front, distracting them. When it’s all clear, you run to the truck and wait for me. Easy P-”
Beverly pointed a finger at Gary’s face. “No, Gary! Not Easy Peasy!”
She stormed over to the door shouting the whole way.
“Not Easy Peasy, Gary!”
When she got to the door, she put her back to the wall and with her left hand grabbed the handle. Gary took up position in front of the door. He felt the blood turn to water in his veins. The reaction was immediate as the Zombies began to clamor and push at the door when they saw him. Gary rubbed the sweat from his palms onto his pants and nodded to Beverly.
“Okay… Now!” he said.
Beverly reached over with her right hand and flipped the deadbolt then pulled the door open. She held the door tight against her, sheltered in the triangle of space between the door and wall. Through the broken glass she watched as Gary disappeared down the stairs. Beverly counted ten Zombies not four plow through the door and after Gary. When the last one disappeared below, she shoved the door away and sprang for the exit. She didn’t take the time to look around, but flew to the driver side door and jumped inside the truck.
Gary raced down the stairs. With only four zombies to contend with, he figured he would not have to run too far before running back up the stairs. He got to the bottom and ran half way to the terminals before he turned his head to ensure that the Undead had all made it down. The water in his veins threatened to flood his pants as he saw that the four had turned into a lot more. He yelped and then quickened his pace, banking to the right and around the far end of the line of terminals.
He looked to his side and felt some relief that the Zombies, rather than negotiating the stairs, had come tumbling down them and were slow to get to their feet. Then he kicked himself for feeling relieved that Zombies had chased him down the stairs in the first place. They shambled to their feet and renewed the chase around the line of terminals. Gary ran down the back side and aimed left toward the stairs. The last of the Runners followed Gary around the line of Terminals as Gary emerged from the other end and headed for the stairs. Like an Olympic hurdler, Gary bounded up the steps. When he got to the top he stopped and looked back down. He burst into nervous laughter as he watched the Zombies fail to negotiate the stairs. They fell prostrate as they attempted to mount the incline. His enjoyment of the moment was short lived as he watched them first fall, but then begin to clamor over each other. Like ants building a bridge with their bodies, the Zombies did not stop, but simply pushed forward over each other, advancing up the steps in a ghastly struggle.
Beverly sat hunched in her seat and stared out the windshield at the open door of the Western Interconnection building. She kept a death grip on the steering wheel and revved the engine as the seconds ticked away with no sign yet of Gary. Her emotions, stretched to the breaking point, finally snapped. Beverly reached down and put the truck in reverse. She was about to pull away when Gary came running out of the building. The passenger door flew open and Gary threw himself in, spilling into Beverly’s lap.
“Did it work?!” Beverly screamed.
Gary braced himself against the dash with one hand and wiped his stringy hair from his face with the other.
“Well, sorta. They definitely have trouble with stairs, but they know about the buddy system just fine,” Gary said, not taking his eyes off the front of the building.
Beverly knit her brow in confusion, but did not stop to clarify. She stomped on the gas. The big truck rumbled away from the building, flattening a group of three shufflers behind them. Beverly cranked the wheel and headed for the Eastern Interconnection.
The Eastern Interconnection building loomed in the distance. Gary turned and grabbed the door handle, preparing to jump out. Rather than slowing the truck and bringing it in close to the front entrance, Beverly stepped down harder on the gas. The big engine roared as it dawned on Gary that they were not slowing.
“What are you doing?!” he screamed.
Beverly kept her eyes straight ahead. “You know women. We love to make an entrance!” she said, gripping the steering wheel even tighter.
Beside her, Gary held onto the handle above his head and put his left foot on the dash, pressing himself back into his seat as he braced for impact.
“I DON’T know about women, I’m a Nerd, remember!” he shouted.
Beverly shook her head. “Aww, come on, Gary. I thought Nerds read stuff!” she said.
Gary took a sharp intake of breath as the view of the building filled their windshield.
“My studies have shown that the stuff in books about Women is highly unreliable!”
Gary’s voice rose several octaves as the nose of the truck plowed through the front of the building, coming to a rocking, tumultuous stop at the top of the stairs. Beverly looked around at what she had done. A pleased look came over her face as she calmly undid her seatbelt.
“Okay, we’re here. Let’s do this,” she said, grabbing the bolt-cutters and jumping out of the truck.
On the passenger side, Gary still clung to the strap over his head with his right hand. His left hand and foot were still stuck to the dashboard. He stared out of the windshield as the adrenaline pumped through his system.
“Insert snarky one liner about women drivers here,” he said as the dust settled and debris fell from above, bouncing off the hood of the truck.
“Are you coming?” Beverly called from the front of the truck.
Gary stared at her through the windshield for several seconds, then tentatively opened the passenger door and crawled out. He stood by the side of the truck and looked back at the hole they punched through the front of the building before turning and following Beverly down the stair.
“That really worked out better than I thought it would. Those things can’t get around the truck to get inside, and we don’t have to go back out to get in the truck. Talk about your drive-thru, huh?” she said as she bounced down the stairs.
Gary stared in shock at the back of Beverly’s head as he followed her down. Outside, the Dead pushed and clamored at the rear of the truck to no avail.
Ninety seconds later, Gary and Beverly came racing back up the stairs. Beverly jumped behind the wheel as Gary climbed in next to her.
“Alright! One more like this and we are home free,” Beverly said as she dropped the truck into reverse. The truck lumbered out and away from the eviscerated building, cutting a wake through the Clamoring Dead as they fell on either side and were crushed into the dirt.
Beverly and Gary bounced across the yard towards the Texas Interconnection. The wave of positive energy that filled them just seconds before drained out of Gary as they approached the building.
“Oh, crap!” Gary said.
“What?” Beverly said as she began to accelerate the truck in anticipation of her grand entrance.
“Well, remember how I said that Texans thought they were better than everybody else which is why they had to have their own grid?”
“Yeah,” Beverly said.
“Well, Texans like to build monuments,” Gary said.
The racing engine of the big truck dropped to an idle, an audible cue matching Beverly’s sinking feeling as they slowed to a stop in front of the Texas Interconnection building. Out in front and blocking any chance of the truck plowing through the front sat a huge stone monument to t
he history of energy in Texas.
“We can’t even pull close to the doors because of that thing!” Beverly said.
Gary leaned over and looked out the driver side window at the building.
“Well, I guess we walk from here,” Beverly said, unbuckling her seat belt.
She was about to reach for the door, when Gary grabbed her shoulder. Beverly turned and saw Gary looking at the driver side mirror. She spun her head around and saw what Gary was looking at in the mirror. Behind them a horde of Undead came rolling towards them.
“Shit!” Beverly screamed and hit the gas. The truck jumped forward, gaining speed as it raced away.
“What now, Gary?! How bad do you want to save Texas?” Beverly asked.
“Texans are people, too. Maybe they will build a monument to us!” Gary shouted as he looked at his own side mirror, watching the horde drop away.
“Okay, what do you want me to do?” Beverly asked.
Gary thought a moment, then looked out the back window of the cab and saw the bucket lift.
“Quick, pull around to the back of the building. I have an idea!” Gary said.
Beverly looked sharply at him but didn’t question. She turned the wheel and headed around to the back of the building.
“What are you thinking, Gary? Is there a door we can ram through back here?” Beverly asked.
The question was answered for her as she rounded the corner and saw that the whole length of the building was an edifice of concrete block. Midway down was a single steel door.
“Unless you have a key, we’re not getting in that way, Gary,” Beverly said.
“Pull up parallel to the building, close. I’m going to go in through the roof,” Gary said.
“The roof? How-” Beverly’s words were cut off as Gary thumbed back at the bucket lift.
She looked out the back window at the lift then turned and stomped on the gas. Beverly raced to the back of the building and ran the truck parallel to the wall as Gary instructed, almost tearing her side mirror off before coming to a stop. She looked to her side and realized she would not be able to open her door because of how close she was to the wall. She turned and reached for her bolt-cutters, but they weren’t there. Beverly looked up sharply at Gary.
“Gary, what are you doing?” she asked.
“Someone has to stay down here in the truck. If the truck is surrounded and we’re both outside we won’t be able to get back in and we’ll never get back to the main building,” Gary said.
“Fine, then let me go!” Beverly said.
Gary shook his head. “No, Bev, whatever happens, you have to get away from this place. If I don’t come back out, or if you get surrounded and it starts to look bad, you need to get out of here, okay?” Gary said.
“But what about the locks, Gary? You need me to cut the locks,” she said.
Gary smiled. “I’ll be fine. I’ll just have to use the force, you know, like Luke when he was attacking the Death Star,” Gary said.
Beverly was about to protest further but Gary slipped out of the truck and slammed the door. Beverly turned in a panic and watched as Gary climbed the back of the truck and hopped into the bucket lift. Seconds later she heard the whine of hydraulics as the lift began its slow ascent towards the roof. Movement caught her eye and she looked in the passenger side mirror. An army of the Dead was running towards the truck.
Nine
Beverly turned from the side mirror and looked out the back window. The lift stopped moving and she felt the truck bounce as Gary climbed from the bucket onto the roof. The wave of Zombies washed around the truck and began slamming their bodies into it. To Beverly’s relief, the truck’s rocking was impeded by its proximity to the wall. She looked through the windshield and out the passenger side at the sea of ruined faces and gnashing teeth moving in around her. A cacophony of moans was the soundtrack of the horror that assaulted her as they surrounded the truck and closed in. The faces became lost to view as they pushed against the truck and soon all she could see were clamoring arms and grasping hands pawing up at her.
Gary raced across the roof. Panic seized his heart as he heard the moaning Dead below, amplified off the concrete wall of the building. He knew the Dead were assaulting Beverly and tried to push the thought out of his mind, that more than likely she would not be there when he came back out. He had other, more pressing matters to attend to as he ran up to the door. He skidded to a stop and dropped the bolt-cutters. Raising the crowbar high over his left shoulder he was about to hit the door handle when he paused. A thought occurred to him. It was a trope in movies for the hero to be about ready to smash the door lock, then pause and try the knob, only to find that it was unlocked. Gary lowered the crowbar and grabbed the door handle. It didn’t budge.
“Figures,” he said.
Gary raised the crowbar high over his left shoulder and held his breath.
“Use the force, Gary,” he said, then brought the crowbar smashing down on the handle. There was a metallic sound and the handle was a bent and mangled mess at his feet. Gary watched the door swing open.
“The force is strong with this one,” Gary said as he grabbed up the bolt-cutters and ran down the steps leading to the main breaker room below.
Gary’s confidence was bolstered by his attack on the door lock. The thought that it was just a cheap door lock, more a formality than anything, and not a deadbolt sprang to his mind and his confidence wavered. He knew he was not strong, that Beverly had to to cut the locks for him. He lived in his mind, not his body and most days he was fine with that. Today, at this moment he was not sure that what he had would be enough.
Gary reached the bottom of the stairs and raced over to the row of terminals. There, as if mocking him, hung the five large padlocks. He dropped the crowbar and stepped up to the first lock. Gary took a breath, closed his eyes and tried to focus. Images of the Jedi, swamp planets, and little green curmudgeons filled his mind as he felt the bolt-cutters in his hands. He began to squeeze the handles on the cutters and met resistance. After several seconds, his shoulders and arms began to ache. Undeterred, he took another breath and squeezed again.
“Use the force, use the force, use the force,” Gary chanted to himself.
He squeezed harder on the cutters, his arms burning. The cutters slipped off the lock and Gary fell to the floor. He lay there breathing, with pain in his arms. He almost wanted to cry as he sat up and rubbed his shoulders.
“I’m such a loser!” he shouted.
He thought again of his Paladin, his mind scouring any resource he might tap into that would allow him to do what he needed to do. For a second he thought it might work, then remembered his Paladin was on the chopping block for a cowardly act and Gary’s confidence failed him. His Paladin was not a coward, he did what he thought was right for the good of his people. These thoughts were another false start and Gary sat slumped on the floor. He would sit there until Beverly was forced to flee, then he would wait for the inevitable.
“You’re no Paladin, you’re no Jedi knight, Gary Sykes. You’re… you’re… that little nerd from Ghostbusters… Louis somebody,” Gary muttered to himself, his head in his hands.
Several seconds passed, then Gary chuckled to himself. “There is no Dana, only Zuul.”
Gary looked up the ceiling, and in a fit of anger and frustration at the world and himself shouted. “There is no Dana, only Zuul!”
Gary was pissed. He felt an energy course through him. He stood and turned to the row of terminals. “There is no Dana, only Zuul, you motherfuckers!”
He picked up the bolt-cutters and marched up to the first lock. Gary placed the blades onto the shank and squeezed. His face turned red and the burning returned to his shoulders.
“There is no Dana, only Zuul!” Gary said, more grunting than shouting.
The handles began to come together and then there was a tinging metallic sound followed by a ‘clunk’ as the shaft snapped and the big lock fell to the floor.
“
Yeah! There is no Dana, only Zuul!” he shouted again, then moved on to the next lock.
Gary jammed the bolt-cutters on the lock and shouted his new mantra. The lock snapped and fell away. Gary was in Berserker mode. He moved down the line and the pattern repeated. A moment later, the last lock fell to the floor and Gary surveyed the field of battle. Open terminal doors and busted locks stared back at him. He raised the bolt-cutters above his head and shouted.
“We came, we saw! We kicked its ass!”
Gary stood with his hands on his hips and shook his head.
“Ghostbusters. Who’d a thunk it?”
His euphoria gave way quickly to the present reality and he started flipping the breakers in each of the boxes. With the last switch flipped, Gary ran back to the stairs. He got half way up then turned and looked back down at the vanquished terminals.
“If anybody asks, it was the force,” he said to himself before turning and racing back up to the roof. As he burst through the door and scanned the edge for the bucket lift, his heart sank. The lift was nowhere to be seen. Beverly was gone.
Inside the truck, Beverly careened and bounced across the yard. She had no way of bringing the lift back down and it gave the truck an awkward balance. She had held out as long as she could for Gary, but the press from the horde got to be too much. She had started to fear that the Dead would get so thick around her she would never be able to get away. It was touch and go when she finally decided to thin the herd. The truck had spun its tires in the gravel for several uncomfortable seconds before getting traction and lumbering out into the yard. Now Beverly once again used the truck as a weapon and mowed down as many of the Runners, Walkers, Shufflers, and crawlers as she could, all while keeping one eye on the roof for Gary.
Gary ran to the edge, confirming what his eyes were telling him. Where the truck had been, now was only torn up gravel and crimson stain. He was about to turn and slump down against the waist high ledge and wait to either starve to death or to be a meal for the hungry down below when he heard the truck horn. Gary looked up and couldn’t believe his eyes. In the distance, Beverly was racing the truck parallel to the building. She had her left arm out the window and was waving at him. Gary watched in joyful bemusement as Beverly guided the truck into a pack of Zombies, sending them flying, before she turned the truck toward the Interconnection. Gary stared in disbelief as the mangled truck came toward him. Behind the truck, an even larger pack of Undead gave chase. Gary knew it was going to be close and crawled up onto the ledge of the building and waited for Beverly to make her approach.
Substation: The Last Stand of Gary Sykes (Human Extinction Level Loss Book 2) Page 7
