"Where are you going to go?" Sandra asked.
"Back to Noah's Ark,"
"So you are with them..."
"I want you to meet me tomorrow," Sarah said, changing the subject.
"Where?"
She tried to come up with a place that they would be familiar with. "Do you know where the Marriott is?"
"Yeah, the one downtown right?"
"That's right. Meet me there at noon."
"Okay," Sandra said, looking at her brother.
"Now get going," Sarah told them. "And don't lose that bag. I need those explosives."
"Got it," Tommy said, gripping tightly onto the duffel bag. The two of them nodded at Sarah and crawled out the other side of the semi-trailer, fleeing into the night.
Sarah started to crawl after them, and she looked over her shoulder one last time to see if anyone was coming.
Wayne was standing right behind her, staring at her.
18
Wither
She crawled back out from under the semi-trailer and stood up, reluctantly facing Wayne.
"I thought I told you to stay in the house," he said.
"I'm sorry... I..." She was at a complete loss for words and didn't know how to explain herself. How long had he been standing there, and what did he see? What did he hear?
They stood there staring at each other for what felt like an eternity, Sarah still scrambling to explain herself while Wayne just pierced her with a steely gaze.
Kenny walked outside and clapped Wayne on the shoulder before noticing Sarah. "What's she doing here?" he asked, suspicion coming over him.
"She snuck out of camp and followed us," Wayne said.
"Well what do we do with her?"
"She's coming with me." Wayne grabbed her by the arm and pulled her over toward the destroyed gate that used to stand between the two tractor-trailers at the front. "Get the rest of the men in position on the flanks," he told Kenny.
"You got it," Kenny said before taking off, throwing one last suspicious glance at Sarah.
Wayne pulled her across the street and between two houses as Kenny filed all of Noah's men, save the snipers on the roof, outside and hid them between houses surrounding the west side of the camp. Wayne called one of the men over and told him to watch Sarah. The man nodded and stood behind her, making sure she didn't go anywhere as she impotently remained still, her thoughts racing. Wayne went off and joined the men in the streets, and they waited for their cue. They waited for fifteen minutes without anything happening, but then finally there was movement.
A disjointed group of Zed's men that had gone off to take down Delroy ran down the street that was surrounded by Noah's troops. There was only a tiny fraction of them remaining, and they were exhausted and had panic painted across their faces as they glanced over their shoulders. When the camp came into view and they saw it in flames, they paused in shock and horror before sprinting for the warehouse, not seeing the snipers lying prone on the roof.
"What the fuck!" one of them shouted. "Come on!" He rallied the rest of the men to follow him.
Wayne and Kenny waited until they got closer before they gave the order; they wanted to make sure every remaining soldier was within range. When that time came, Wayne flashed a signal at Kenny, who was on the roof with his snipers. Kenny silently relayed the message to them and they opened fire.
The first line of men got cut down, falling to the ground with large chasms ripped through their bodies by the .50-caliber bullets.
As soon as the men behind them realized what was happening, they immediately turned around and started to flee back the other way.
"Shit! Turn back! Turn back!" one of them yelled.
"Now!" Wayne called.
All of the men waiting on the flanks filed down the street and closed them in on the sides, opening fire on them.
Some of Zed's men tried to return fire, but most of them ran for their lives. They headed for the end of the street where they had come from, and some of them threw down their guns so they could run faster and escape.
But then the men they were fleeing from in the first place came down the street and boxed them in. The larger contingent of Noah's men that had joined Zed's to assault Delroy's base returned and started filling up the street.
Zed's men ran around in a panic as they were quickly gunned down. The tremendous hail of bullets echoed like thunderous cannon fire. Hundreds of bullets turned their bodies into Swiss cheese and they fell to the ground. Their blood copiously poured out and pooled along the ground, flowing over the asphalt and running off into the drains lining the side of the road.
When they were all dead, Wayne called his men off and they ceased their fire. He barked out another order and a group of them approached the bodies to confirm they were dead, kicking them and putting a few more rounds into each one to be sure.
Sarah was forced to stand there and watch the whole thing. She could feel the guard's presence behind her, and she didn't dare to look back at him. If she could tell that he was distracted for a single moment, she would run off in a heartbeat. The fear of what Wayne might have seen kept eating away at her and her heart rate didn't slow one bit. She truly felt like a prisoner waiting for her fate. When Wayne brought her back to Noah and told him what she did...
Noah's men finished checking the bodies, and Wayne and Kenny lined them up and they marched back to Noah's Ark, taking all the spoils of war with them. Wayne personally grabbed Sarah by the arm and held onto her the whole way back. Her legs felt weak and shaky and there were a few moments when she thought she may collapse, but he continued to pull her along like a minnow helplessly stuck on a fishing line.
They reached Noah's Ark and the guards on the wall opened the gates for them. They poured into the camp and started to line up at the bunker to drop off their gear, some of them heading straight to the infirmary for their injuries.
Sarah looked up as the door at the top of the catwalk swung open and Noah appeared. He stood there for a moment, barely visible in the moonlight, and it seemed like he was still for a long time, looking straight at her. She knew she was imagining it, but that didn't comfort her any.
He started to descend the stairs and she considered trying to break away from Wayne and running, maybe using the gun from Zed's camp that she had stuffed in her pants and escape before they shut the gates. But she stayed in place as if bewitched by a spell and transfixed to the spot.
Kenny went off and attended to the returning men and Wayne stayed in place by the front gates with Sarah as Noah approached.
"Sarah?" he said. He looked at Wayne. "What's going on?"
"I found her following us to Zed's camp," Wayne said.
Noah's face turned stern. "I told you not to go," he said to Sarah.
She looked down in shame and fear. She waited for Wayne to tell him that she snuck explosives out of the camp with two survivors, but he kept quiet about it for the moment.
Noah looked disappointedly at her as he slowly shifted his attention back to Wayne. "Give me a rundown."
"It was a success," Wayne replied. "We wiped out Zed's camp with only minor casualties. The rest of the battalion told me that the operation at Delroy's was a success, and that he's dead. Our men hung back and let Zed and Delroy's men fight it out, then they came in and cleaned up. We got the rest when they fled back to their camp. Only about a dozen casualties all together."
"That's good," Noah said. "Why don't you help get the men taken care of and we'll talk later?"
"You got it," Wayne said and he left to join Kenny.
Noah looked at Sarah. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Are you hurt?"
"No," she said softly, trying not to look in his eyes. His very sight repulsed her and the sound of his voice, once smooth and rich, now sounded like broken glass slicing into her eardrums.
He walked up to her and started patting around her body, inspecting her for injuries. She closed her eyes and tried not to shutter. "Join me in my office for a minute," he said. "C
ome on." He grabbed her by the hand and led her up the stairs, pulling her into his office and shutting the door.
He rubbed her arms up and down and she still looked at the ground. "Hey, look at me," he said. He placed a finger under her chin and lifted it. She was stubborn, resisting him at first, but his strength won out.
She darted her eyes to the side of him, delaying as long as possible before finally letting them fall on his. It was like his entire appearance had changed; no longer did she see a handsome and firm man, nobly doing his best to eke out a life for all of them; now his eyes looked sinister and deceitful, his face pale and ugly. A small smile turned up the corners of his mouth and it looked like the mask that he had worn the entire time had fallen and his true self was starting to show.
"Sarah, I didn't want you to stay in the camp tonight to keep you from doing anything; I wanted you to stay so that you would be safe. I hope you understand that."
"Yeah," she said quietly, looking away from him again. His touch was revolting and she couldn't keep it in anymore. Her whole body started to shiver and he pulled her in close and hugged her.
"Hey, it's okay," he said. "I know it's cold in here, but I'll keep you warm."
He held her head against his chest and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to cry or make a sound. She wanted to throw up all over him, but she knew she had to keep it together. He finally released the pressure on her and pulled her head up again. He leaned in to kiss her and pressed his lips on hers. She kept hers tightly shut and he started to open his mouth and lick the outside of her lips with his tongue.
"What's wrong?" he asked, pulling away.
"Nothing," she said quickly. She leaned into him and closed her eyes, trying not to arouse his suspicion.
He went back in and started kissing her tightly-closed lips again before she relented and opened her mouth slightly. He stuck his tongue inside like a crowbar, prying her lips apart, then he wrapped a hand around the side of her face and went to town, passionately rolling his tongue around her mouth and aggressively kissing her.
She reeled backward from his grasp, trying to suppress a gag. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm just really tired."
"Oh," he said, slightly confused. "Well maybe you should get some rest."
She nodded and turned for the door. Noah watched in confusion as she left his office and walked down the hall.
She moved down the aisle along the beds in the dormitory and headed for hers. As soon as she was hidden behind the curtain, she collapsed onto the bed and started sobbing silently. She bit the pillow to suppress a scream and her whole body broke out into a flash sweat. It felt like she couldn't breathe, like she was going to suffocate and die. She writhed on the bed in absolute agony as the panic attack tormented her. She was trying so desperately not to make any noise, and she didn't know if she would be able to go on like this; she didn't know how she would even have the mental strength to face Noah again.
Eventually she settled down and was able to breathe without feeling like she was choking. She took the handgun out of her pants and hid it in one of the drawers in her dresser, then she lay on her back staring at the ceiling as tears streamed down her cheeks. She was awake for hours, unable to fall asleep or think about anything else, but finally her eyes started to droop and she fell into a merciful sleep.
She awoke the next day and felt a lot calmer. Her thoughts immediately went back to everything that happened the night before, but the stifling sense of anguish and urgency had softened. The horrific images of death were burned into her memory, almost more vivid than the room around her as she lay in bed. The screams played on repeat in her head and the smells returned to her, filling her nose as if she were still there in the burning warehouse. She tried to pretend it was all a bad dream, but she knew it wasn't.
She thought about Noah, about how he lied to her about everything from the moment she arrived. She knew now that he had no interest in making the world a better place; he was only interested in conquest, manipulating others into getting what he wanted. The way he manipulated Zed and Delroy was truly brilliant, and it underscored his psychosis. He was no different than the bandits—no, he was worse than the bandits. The bandits were just savages, but Noah was cold and calculating. She had wondered how he could keep someone as brutally heartless as Kenny around, but now she knew. She knew Wayne and Kenny and everyone else Noah got to do his dirty work were just as bad as he was. All those men knew what was going on last night and they all partook with no crisis of conscience. She considered the look of remorse that she saw on Wayne's face the night before when she stumbled onto him witnessing the senseless destruction, but he still participated in some of the slaughter and was just as guilty as the rest.
And how far would Noah go? How much did he really want? He already had a small army and an absurd amount of military equipment... it was only a matter of time before he would grow too big for anyone to stop him.
She turned her head to the side and saw the rose he had picked for her sitting in the vase. The stem had gone limp and hung over the edge of the glass, and the red rose petals had darkened and dried out. The rose was dead, its life come and gone quickly like the love she had for him.
She knew exactly what she needed to do.
She got out of bed and washed up, keeping an eye out and trying her best to avoid Noah. She slipped into the cafeteria and quietly ate an omelet with salsa in the corner by herself, then returned her plate to the kitchen staff and went upstairs. She took a deep breath and leaned her head into Noah's office.
"Noah," she said, trying to keep it together.
He looked over. "Hey, what's up?" he said as he stood at the window looking out over the landscape.
"I'm still feeling pretty tired today. I'm going to go back to bed for a while and get some more sleep. I just thought I'd let you know so that no one disturbs me."
"Okay," he said after a moment. "I'll let you get some sleep."
"Thanks," she said, and she slipped out of the doorway.
Noah stared at the empty doorframe, turning what she said over in his mind.
She walked back into the dorm and lay in bed for a while, biding her time. She looked at the sun when she had gone down to get breakfast and tried to estimate how long it would be before it would reach its apex in the sky. When the time came, she grabbed her coat, then she peeked out into the hallway and skulked out the back of the building. She made her way to the shed as inconspicuously as possible and almost got inside before someone grabbed her by the arm.
"Sarah!" Jenny said, her face worn with worry.
"What?" Sarah asked, her heart pounding. She didn't want to be seen out of bed, and she didn't want to be stuck out in the open having a conversation.
"I need your help," Jenny said. "It's about Mark. Kathy's been hounding me and him lately and she won't leave us alone. Can you talk to her?"
Sarah looked around anxiously. "I can't, I'm sorry!"
"You can't?" Jenny said, her face falling.
"Not now, I have to go!"
"Where are you going?"
"I'll help you when I'm finished, okay?" she tried to bargain. "Just don't mention this to anyone and I'll help you just as soon as I'm done."
Jenny was confused and intrigued. "Okay," she said slowly, then she turned and left, the suspicion on her face quickly dissolving back into worry.
Sarah slipped into the shed after giving one last glance around to make sure no one else had seen her. She pulled the shelf away from the wall and saw that everything was just the way that she left it the night before. She slid the panel away and ducked through, moving everything back into place as best as she could before backing out of the hole.
She looked up at the top of the wall and saw a guard standing directly above her. He stared off at the tree line of the woods and she pressed herself flat against the wall, trying not to be spotted. The guard lingered for a minute then turned and walked along the wall. She took the opportunity and darted forward into the woods. When
she was well out of sight, she changed direction and headed for the Marriott.
19
Trigger Fingers
On the way to the hotel, she felt sick to her stomach. She was nervous and angry, fearful and disgusted, but also hopeful and free. Walking down the empty streets on the peaceful morning, she looked off in different directions and imagined all the places she could go; she was already outside the walls of Noah's Ark, and provided she could get past the bandits guarding the perimeter of the city, she could go anywhere. But she wasn't ready to leave just yet. It would be easy, but it wouldn't be right; Noah was dangerous, and if she was in a position to do something about it, she had to do it.
She slipped through the shattered door into the Marriott hotel just as the sun reached the top of its arc for the day. The familiar lobby that she visited before stood empty and quiet. There was no sign of Sandra and Tommy yet.
She looked around to see if they were hiding, poking her head behind the buffet counter and glancing in the kitchen. The zombie that she had killed still lay on the floor, its blood black and dried all around it. She looked at the piano in the corner of the lobby and thought about the "Funeral March" that she had played on it, suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of sadness. She sauntered over to it and softly tinkered with the keys, playing an odd and disjointed melody.
"Oh, it's you!" someone called.
Sarah jumped and snapped her head up, looking at the stairs at the back of the lobby.
Tommy stood on the landing halfway up the stairs and looked up toward the second floor and motioned for his sister to come down. Sandra trotted down the stairs and they both greeted her.
"You were already here?" Sarah asked.
"Well you wanted us to come here and we needed a place to stay for the night, so it just seemed obvious," Tommy said, brushing his hair out of his face and adjusting his glasses.
A Rising Tide (Zombie Apocalypse Series Book 2) Page 18
