They all looked around and noticed a few handfuls of people huddled in the bushes and trees as near as possible to the bridge. There were other people moving by the power plant. They weren't coming out to greet the train. More likely they were watching this new development at the blockade. If those people weren't being allowed to cross, what hope did Liam's group have?
The engineer paced around a bit. Then spoke to his wife.
“Is there any way we can back up the train and cross downtown? Is it still open?
She shook her head no.
“There are some routes through the city we might be able to use, but I bet they all end just like this one. No one wants to let any of us city folk come into their turf.”
Liam considered his options. He looked at Victoria for strength and then had an idea.
“Victoria and I will go talk to people guarding the bridge. We'll see if they are letting anyone across. Maybe they just don't want the train to cross?”
It was a lame excuse he knew, but he wasn't running on much sleep. He very much did want to talk to them so he could figure out what he should do next to protect Grandma and Victoria. He thought of finding a boat. Maybe swimming across in secret to get something that floats so he could get Grandma across on that. Maybe they could wade across at some point. He knew the river got shallow in lots of places. There was a solution.
Hayes, who had been in the background during most of the recent action and discussions agreed with Liam. He offered his services as a CDC employee to try to help get them across.
Liam knew this was Hayes' plan since they were all on the JB bridge, but he couldn't very well stop the man from walking with him. The engineers and their family were content to wait in the safety of the engine.
A couple of the police officers had dismounted from the train and wanted to meet on the bridge as well—but Hayes was very persuasive, arguing he was their most senior government official and could get them across. Too many new people would constitute a threat for the people over the river. Better to take it slow...
Liam said nothing to that. It could very well be true.
The trio started walking out onto the bridge.
“I guess you two never leave each other's sides huh?”
“So what. What's it to you?” Victoria spoke as she raised her hands high in the face of the police ahead.
“No need to get snippy. Just making small talk.”
“That's far enough!”
They stopped about fifty feet from the officers in the middle of the bridge.
“By order of the Mayor of Arnold, Missouri, you are ordered to turn around and return to the safety of your homes.”
Liam had a thought. He spoke softly to Hayes.
“I'm from Imperial. It's just south of Arnold. They might let a local through.”
“It's OK kid. I got this.”
“I'm Doctor Hayes and I work for the CDC. I'm under direct order of the President of the United States. I order you to allow me to proceed on foot to complete my duties relating to this pandemic!”
The officers actually laughed.
“Congratulations! You just won me fifty bucks. I bet sarge here one of you would pull that 'I'm with the government' bull.”
“I can prove it. I have ID!” He pulled out his wallet and waved it in the air.
“No thanks. We aren't taking any chances with that Ebola-crap flying around.”
“Don't you idiots know the plague is everywhere? It's already on your side of the river. I guarantee it.”
Liam gave him a nudge. “Be nice!”
“Pass. Our orders are to stop everyone. We have family here and aren't taking any chances.”
Hayes took a moment, appearing to think.
“What about locals? My friend here lives in Imperious, to the south of here.”
Liam spoke up. “Imperial!”
“HAHA, nice try! Look I don't care who you are. I had to send a sweet little group of nuns packing, so my sympathy meter is in the toilet. You people aren't getting across this bridge.”
“Just allow me to come over. I'm perfectly healthy. These others aren't important. I'll make sure you're rewarded by the Federal Government.”
One of the officers stepped forward. He was dressed in the black uniform of the local constabulary. Liam noticed he was the only one holding an AR-style tactical rifle. The big scope was unmistakable. He seemed to take it personally.
“Are you bribing us?”
He lowered his rifle, pointing it at the ground, though there was a message there.
Hayes gave a huff, as if he wasn't used to being turned away from anywhere he wanted to go. Then he spun around and started walking back.
Liam felt spent. He didn't know what they were going to do next.
Victoria asked the officers, “Is there any hope? We have a whole train of families, kids, old people. Can you at least give us an idea how to survive?”
Victoria's plea, and Hayes' retreat, seemed to placate the lead man.
He slung his rifle back over his shoulder and took several steps in their direction. Still a good distance away.
“Look. There's nothing we can do. Our orders are very clear to hold this bridge and prevent the plague from reaching our neighborhoods. Reach our families. I feel for you. I really do. But if I let you across and the plague kills my best friend's baby girl, I'd never forgive myself.”
He took another couple of steps.
“You guys can hole up in that power plant. It has strong doors. Lots of room. Good for defending yourselves. It has a chance. We might even be able to get some food to you.”
It sounded like the most reasonable thing Liam had heard all day.
Not ten seconds after the offer was made, the shots started to echo from the back of the train. Liam and Victoria knew what that meant.
“Thank you for your offer. Really. But those gunshots mean the walking plague has caught up with us. We can't abandon his grandma. We have to fight.”
With a small wave of her dirty hand, Victoria was off and running.
Liam, with nothing to say, and nowhere left to run or hide, spun around and followed her.
The final battle was at hand.
4
Liam was quickly ahead of Victoria. She may have been a runner, but her shoes really slowed her down. He was running to rescue Grandma. He wasn't stopping for anything.
He ran past Hayes, who was near the front of the dead train—presumably to remount the engine and continue doing nothing useful for them.
He ran past the two engineers and their family—standing at the door of the Valkyrie's engine room. One of the little ones waved down. Liam had a fleeting thought he could ask the engineer to back up the train again, but that would only doom grandma sooner.
Liam yelled to the others as he went by, “Zombies are here! Train is blocked ahead.”
Liam repeated himself as he ran by all the cars of the train. He could see the confusion of those left alive. Stay on the train and fight until overwhelmed, or get off the train and hope to escape. Liam wasn't looking back to learn which choices they made.
His only concern was Grandma.
The tracks were bullet-straight here, so he could already see the last car. The zombies were widely spread out behind the train, but they were much thicker a bit further down the right-of-way. Some of them were faster than the others. Those advance zombies were being picked off by the remaining shooters, but any fool could see guns would be useless in a matter of minutes.
This is it.
Liam had never really appreciated the concept of death. Not even in any of the many situations he'd survived the past several days. He knew he'd been in a bad spot with that robber, but he didn't have time to think about death until after it happened. Now he was staring at Death as it walked toward him. It felt like walking along the edge of a high cliff over a bottomless pit. He felt the anxiety trying to blossom. Would it force him to cower in a clump of flowers like he did on that first day?
Man up Liam!
It was the voice of his stern father in his head.
He scrambled up onto the flatcar in one fluid running jump. Unlike his fiasco jumping the fence in Grandma's yard, he wasn't doing it to look cool. He was doing it to save lives. He was instantly pulling her out from under the trailer, apologizing profusely for being rough. She wasn't complaining though, he was glad of that.
She was the only living person still on the trailing car. She'd been aware of that too. Perhaps assuming she was left for dead her Rosary was out in her hands, and she had a speech of sorts worked up for Liam.
“I've been very proud of you Liam. You've really grown into a man the last few days. Now you have to let me go. We can't both survive this. You need to run with Victoria. I told her you would run with her.”
Liam didn't even acknowledge the statement. He slid off the side and pulled her off the car and into his arms. He was surprised how light she was.
He set her down, put his arm around her waist, and started walking away from the horde.
Something in him solidified. He was adamant he was not going to abandon this woman and run. He couldn't explain the sentiment. It certainly wasn't logical, but it wasn't baseless emotionalism either. He felt compelled to save her. Like everything would be OK if he could get her to safety.
In seconds Victoria was with them. She grabbed Grandma on the other side and the trio made even better time. Not quite a run, but a very fast walk.
Don't look back.
As they passed each car they noted that some people were choosing to stay and fight. Others were running like mad to all points on the map. Some were heading to the nearby Mississippi river—perhaps hoping to swim to safety. Some were heading up the steep wooded slope on the other side of the train. Hoping to outclimb the pursuit. Neither way was realistic for Grandma. Liam knew their only hope was the bridge. Ahead. Not a great hope either.
The survivors made short work of the advancing stragglers, but the rest of the tide was now enveloping the train, starting with the flatcar they'd just vacated.
Since no one was left on that one, they moved forward. Always forward. Devouring.
Liam could hear shots ringing out behind them. Very close.
As they walk-ran along the train, so did the undead. Screams of people who got caught. Curses of men and women who ran out of ammo. The drone of a huge pack of angry, feral, zombies.
Some who jumped off the train to escape returned as they realized what was heading their way. But many people who had abandoned the train had the same idea as Liam. They were gambling their lives on being able to cross the smaller river to their front.
Don't look back.
Liam and Victoria were moving as fast as their legs would let them. He was shocked to realize there were fewer and fewer gunshots behind them. Liam figured they had finally run out of ammo. They'd been shooting at targets all morning.
He saw several police and a few of the remaining gang members and their families in a tight group ahead of them—running for the bridge. Finally he saw the engineers and their family. Everyone left alive from the train was making for the only direction suitable for the very young, the very old, or the slow.
They reached the midpoint of the train and saw most of it was now empty, save the scattered few who chose to stay put. For the most part, those folks were hiding and unwilling to shoot and call attention to themselves.
There were fewer and fewer shooters to blunt the washing wave behind them.
They walked as fast as Grandma could go with two extra people to help her along.
As he approached the Valkyrie, Liam dropped Grandma's weight onto Victoria and told them to continue on without him for a minute. She had no time to argue because he was already climbing the side of the diesel. The pair moved on, though slower because Victoria was supporting most of Grandma's weight. Liam wasted no time. He honed into the precise point where the engineers and crew stowed their gear. The item he had spotted earlier was still there. He grabbed it, tucked it into his waistband, and ran back outside and along the railing. He ran forward, hopping to the dead engine at the very front. Once he reached the absolute front of the entire train he flew over the handrail, hanging on just long enough to slow himself so he could deftly drop the last few feet to the ground. He willed himself to ignore the infected wave approaching him.
He pumped hard as he ran toward the two women. Victoria and Grandma were entering the nominal safety of the bridge. He was relieved his diversion didn't slow them down significantly. He knew what he did was reckless, but it felt right and necessary.
He closed the distance. Waiting in front of him, just on the cusp of the bridge decking, were all the remaining police officers and gang members. The one man that stood out from the whole group was a shirtless guy with a pair of bandoliers over both his shoulders, forming a distinctive “X” on his chest. It was filled with vibrant red shotgun shells. He had the shotgun itself lying over his shoulder as he was waving them in. Liam had no idea if it was a cop, gang member, or civilian—just a man looking to defend his mates.
Never look back!
He crossed the last fifty feet of rail before the reaching the bridge and was entering the protection of the men and women standing their ground on the edge. An explosion of shots rang out, making Liam almost soil himself at the shock. Some of the zombies were much closer than he thought possible, given his speed. The fusillade gave them all some breathing room. But the end was already written unless they could all get over to the other side.
Liam caught up with Grandma and Victoria and they continued running over the bridge, passing all the survivors left from the train. There were several he recognized as the “new people” from the pit mine. He recognized lots of kids saved from the Arch grounds. Now almost universally in tears. There were a few older people, though no one even close to Grandma's age. And a group of nuns were there. Where did they come from?
Liam and Victoria had started carrying Grandma, without realizing it. They reached the very furthest point on the bridge before the Arnold Police told them once again to stop.
They were near the midpoint of the bridge. As they helped her down, Liam knew she had passed away. He wasn't sure how he knew, but he knew.
Victoria, having no such premonition, took it much harder when she realized—
“NO! NO! NO!”
She burst out in tears, the emotions of the morning piling on, and released a torrent of expletives a good Christian girl shouldn't know.
Her ire turned immediately to the men blocking them.
“You could have saved her! Can't you see that you stupid bastards? We are all going to die for your worthless rules. The plague can't be stopped. Look! It's here right now and you're standing there with your hands in your pockets! Damn you all.”
She collapsed over Grandma and began crying profusely.
Liam considered getting his gun out and going over to help the men fighting off the huge flood of infected. They were still holding out, mainly because they had chosen the most advantageous spot to group up—but it was still inevitable given the sheer disparity in numbers.
The lead police officer blocking the bridge closed more of the distance to Grandma. He was near enough to see it all. Victoria physically hugging her. Liam standing over her with tears in his eyes.
What do I do now?
For the first time in a long while, he was out of ideas.
Chapter 18: Shadow Government
Marty woke up with an exclamation of incredulity. She was lying next to a large frozen waterfall. Not frozen in ice. Frozen without motion. The ground under her body was lush with green grass, and there were several trees and bushes in her vicinity, but the primary feature was the waterfall tumbling into a crystal clear natural pool. Around her on all sides was darkness.
Her amazement multiplied when she looked up. Beaming down from the heavens were a nearly infinite number of stars. To Marty's eyes they had to be part of an elaborate illusion. Sh
e swore she could see each one clear enough to see planets spinning around them. The number of visible points of light was beyond reckoning.
Her husband or angel—she wasn't sure which—was sitting cross-legged not far from her.
“Hello Marty. You've made it to the end of the line.”
“Am I dead?”
“Why do you always think you're dead? No. I'm pleased to say you still aren't dead. I meant you made it to the end of the rail line.” He chuckled a little bit and continued.
“You passed out while you were running with your two young friends. I don't think they realized you had surpassed your limits. They now believe you are dead.”
“Poor Liam. I'd hate for him to think that, though I get mistaken for dead a lot these days.”
“It's no wonder you are so loved. You never think of yourself.”
She couldn't help but think of her deceptions of not telling Liam about Angie or about shooting the robber. She was feeling guilty from her sins of omission.
“Don't trouble yourself with minor things like that. You made a legitimate decision to protect your great-grandson. Though looking at how hard he tried to save you just now I think your plan backfired.”
“I think he wants to prove to Victoria he can protect me.”
“Perhaps. But maybe he wants to prove to you, that he can protect you.”
“I guess we all lose. We're all going to die aren't we?”
“You mean eventually? Yes, I'm afraid you are all going to die. But are you going to die today? That is less clear.”
He stood up, offering a hand. Her body was strong in this place, so she was able to take it and be on her feet in a flash.
He guided her to the clear pond with the waterfall above it.
“Can you guess what this waterfall is?”
“Of course not, but it is beautiful. The stars are beautiful too. What is this place?”
He walked slightly ahead of her, and began speaking while looking up at the waterfall. He wouldn't answer her question.
“Do you know what makes you so important?”
“No, I've been kinda busy lately to be introspective.” She gave a tired laugh. Her body might be refreshed in this place, but her mind was still saddled with the death and destruction of the last four days.
Sirens of the Zombie Apocalypse (Book 1): Since the Sirens Page 26
