This is the End (Book 2): Not Dead Yet

by Lisa Biesiada

We were just passing the main terminals when all hell broke loose. Looking behind me, the horde had caught up with the zombies that had already been wandering the tarmac and we were right in the crosshairs.

  I looked for any that were faster than the others and tried for headshots when I could. Shooting a gun while running with a recently no longer dislocated shoulder was probably my worst case scenario, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. We had given up on being quiet considering we were essentially sitting ducks out in the open as we ran for all we were worth towards the hangers.

  There were so many zombies to my left and behind me that the sheer number was awe-inspiring. I didn’t do well in crowds of regular people but put me in a swarm of people that wanted to eat me and I might just lose the last shred of sanity I clung to.

  Starting to fire in earnest, they were fast closing the gap between us and them and we were starting to lose momentum. The hangars were still far enough away I thought for a moment there was no way we would make it when Earl threw something over my head that went sailing into the first wave of the onslaught. He kept running, so I did too but almost tripped when the explosion took out a large number of the group that had been closing in us and I realized it had been a grenade.

  Earl had grenades? Who else had them? Why didn’t I get one?

  Putting aside my jealousy, I picked up the pace as we closed in on the nearest hangar. There was no way in hell we’d make it to another one before the horde caught up with us so I could only hope it had a plane we could use.

  I reached the small metal door just in time to fall through it as Earl and Brian closed it behind me. It was near darkness inside, the only light coming from skylights in the insanely high ceilings and considering the storm raging, even that light was muted.

  Our panting was deafening as we all tried to catch our breaths from the couple of football fields we’d just run across to get here. It was dark, but I could easily make out the shapes of the two planes in the warehouse with us.

  “Brian, will either of those work?” I asked through deep breaths as I tried to calm my heart. The faster it beat, the more my shoulder hurt so it was in my best interest to calm the fuck down.

  He looked at the two, gaze settling on the one in the far corner. “Let’s go see.” He jogged over to the little plane, grabbed the staircase on wheels and pushed it up against the door.

  Everyone else followed but I stayed by the door, peering out the little window in the event we’d been followed. There were several dead around the door and a few were banging on it, but it didn’t seem any could get through it. I bolted the little deadbolt just in case and started towards the others.

  Through the dust particles, I could see the large hangar door on the other side of the building, in the direction the plane was pointing. Looking up at the first one as I passed, I briefly wondered why he hadn’t picked this one until I caught sight of a large gas truck still hooked up to the second one.

  Keeping my gun out, I searched the darkness for movement that didn’t belong to us, but the half-eaten bodies scattered about the ground weren’t going anywhere.

  I tried not to look at one as I passed by; the flies swarming dizzily around the ribs jutting out with bits of meat still clinging to the bones and not much else. The smell hit me though, and it took all my willpower to hold down what little I’d had to eat as I sped up to pass it.

  Catching up with the others, Jack, Ty and Bash were busy disconnecting the gas hose and I could see Brian in the cockpit doing whatever it was that pilots did. The hangar was large and I was willing to bet there was another entry point we’d missed.

  I reached the staircase and yelled up to Brian, “Is it good? Can we use it? We need to get out of here fast, there’s bodies in here which means the dead aren’t far behind.”

  He poked his head out the door, face lit up with an impish grin. “The tank’s full and the log records show the engine checked out fine since the last time it was flown. Let’s go!” Darting back inside, he raced back to the cockpit and fired up the engine.

  “So how exactly do we get the plane out of here?” Chloe startled me as she came to stand next to me.

  We both stared at the closed hangar door for a moment as Penny herded Johnny and the dog up the stairs. Earl came to stand next to us and stared at the door.

  “Any o’you a track star?” He asked, arms crossed over his chest and one hand stroking the stubble on his chin thoughtfully.

  He met my confused stare at his question before continuing. “Someone needs to open the door and race back here before the horde reaches us.”

  “I’ll do it.” I hadn’t even noticed Ty coming to stand with us and looked at him in shock as he casually shook his bangs out of his face.

  “No, none of the kids.” I said, crossing my arms across my chest and prepping for an argument.

  “I ran track, Angie. I can make it there and back faster than those bumbling losers.” He smiled at me with his crooked grin and winked. I knew that look; that was the “hold my beer” look we all got before very bad decisions were made.

  I started to protest when Jack and Bash joined the discussion. “Are you sure you can make it?” Jack asked Ty, one hand on his shoulder. He looked like a coach asking a player if he could still play after an injury.

  Ty turned and inspected the distance again for good measure. It was maybe 50 yards round trip plus he’d have to get up the stairs. Shaking his hair again, “Sure, no problem.”

  Earl came forward, “Ok, then go stand next to the door. When Brian gives the signal, pull it open as fast as ya can and git yer ass back here.”

  Ty nodded solemnly and I almost thought he was going to salute, but he left it at “Yes sir” and ran to the hangar door to wait for the signal.

  I wanted to argue, but the banging on the small door we’d come through was getting louder, as was the rain hitting the roof; we were out of time. I swallowed a sigh of disagreement and started up the stairs and into the plane.

  Ducking through the door, I looked around seeing about 10 seats and the opening to the cockpit. I didn’t waste any time, just moved to the front and sat down next to a window and buckled my seatbelt.

  The others were situated around me and strapped into the little rows while Bash was up front with his dad and Earl in the seat just outside the cockpit. We’d left the door open and the stairs waiting so Ty could get in fast.

  The craft rumbled beneath me and the blood froze in my veins. I couldn’t see Ty or Brian or hear anything over the engine and my own heartbeat so I closed my eyes and waited.

  I was about to open my eyes and ask what was happening when I heard a commotion behind me and turned around in time to see Ty fall through the door and Penny closing it against the bodies that had followed.

  Ty’s face was red and he was grinning ear to ear as he sat down and buckled his seatbelt. I shot him a death stare before turning my attention to the zombies crowded below our plane as we drove out of the hangar.

  The horde had reached us completely and instead of concrete, the tarmac was now made up of a sea of bodies, rolling like waves around us. The ride was bumpy as I could only assume we were running many of them over on our way to the runway and I almost threw up at the sheer size of the crowd. The little window didn’t give me much of a view, but there were literally so many people, dead people, trying to climb up the side of the plane that I feared for a moment they would overtake us.

  I started to draw my gun when all of a sudden the engines got even louder and we started racing through them. My teeth were clattering in my skull from the bodies we were running over and just as I thought we weren’t going to make it, it became still and my stomach dropped down to my toes as we lifted off the ground.

  The earth was getting smaller through the little window, but it only gave me a greater vantage point to see the crowd; there were thousands. Thousands of zombies covering the airport and surrounding area to the point where I couldn’t make out the distinction of buildings
anymore, just bodies everywhere. I closed the shade and leaned my head back against the seat. We’d made it. Just barely, but we’d made it nonetheless.

  Chapter 7:

  When I felt the plane steady itself, I opened my eyes to find everyone glued to the windows. Except for Jack, who was busy smirking at me.

  “You ok?” He asked through his devilishly handsome grin.

  “Peachy.” I replied, giving him the finger. Ty had moved up front and was busy talking to Brian and Bash in the cockpit while Earl sat there nodding his head at whatever they were saying.

  “So where exactly are we going?” I half-yelled towards the front of the plane.

  Earl turned to look at me. “There’s a disease research center just outside of D.C. That’s where we’re headed.”

  “But isn’t the CDC in Atlanta?” I hoped that wasn’t where they wanted to go; I’d seen enough ‘Walking Dead’ to know that was a terrible idea.

  Earl shook his head, “Naw, there’s a smaller facility not far from a military base that has a better chance of still being up and running. It’s not advertised but I remember making a few supply trips there.” He scratched his chin and I watched his eyes glaze over from the memory.

  “But that was a long time ago, right? How do we know it’s still standing?” I didn’t want to burst anyone’s bubbles, but I’d just as soon turn us around and head for the Bahamas than go to another military outlet. A chill danced down my spine in agreement. After what we’d been through, I was pretty thoroughly convinced the military and the government were evil and I’d rather be eaten alive than deal with them again.

  Earl looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging. “We don’t know it’s still standing for sure, but it was built into the side of a mountain, so I’d guess it’s still pretty well fortified. Plus it was a well-kept secret and the best chance outside of NORAD we have of finding anyone who can make heads or tails of what you are.”

  His eyes looked pointedly at me and I couldn’t stop myself from shrinking into my seat a bit. I broke the stare and looked at Jack. He was watching the conversation with interest and when he caught me looking he just smiled and winked. I knew he was trying to reassure me, but fuck. The very idea of being near the military made my skin crawl with a thousand ghosts of bugs I’d killed in my life. I’d rather face Jigsaw than another uniform.

  “Ok,” I started, sitting up straight again. “How long ‘til we get there?”

  Brian was obviously listening in because he half-turned to cast me a glance. “It’s about a 3 hour flight, depending on the weather.”

  “What do you mean depending on the weather?” I slid the shade on the window next to me open to be met with some extremely angry looking storm clouds.

  “Well that storm over the airport appears to be stretching an unknown distance and considering I don’t have a tower to radio for weather alerts, we’re basically flying blind.”

  “Oh.” I said and sat back in my seat again. So what he was really saying is we were now in a tin can thousands of feet above solid ground flying through a storm whose magnitude we had no way to gauge on our way to a military establishment where they would likely turn me into a lab rat, running circles in a wheel for the next piece of cheese. I should’ve stayed home.

  I didn’t ask any more questions I didn’t want the answers to, I just tightened the seatbelt across my lap and stared out the window at the storm we were flying through, and trying not to let the jerking of the plane upset my stomach.

  I listened to the boys in the cockpit talking about plane stuff and tried to sleep. Penny, Jack and Chloe giggling over something Johnny had said was somewhat soothing as I tried to relax. My shoulder along with all the other body parts I’d abused today were making their presence known in no uncertain way and all I really wanted in that moment was a heating pad and a cupcake.

  Shaking woke me up. My eyes snapped open to see the lights in the plane had been replaced with eerie orange emergency lights and I looked around to see everyone strapped to their chairs silently clasping the armrests until their knuckles were white.

  I had no idea how long I’d been out but something was definitely very wrong. “What the hell is going on?” I asked anxiously.

  “We’ve hit some turbulence, the storm is getting worse,” Ty yelled back to me from the front.

  “What do you mean it’s getting worse? Can we fly around it or over it or something?” My heart was pounding and my palms started to sweat. I could hear 7 other hearts racing and feared the worst.

  Ty shook his head at me, “No, without ground control to tell us where to go to avoid it, the only choice we have is to go through it.”

  I looked out the window to my left to see a wall of clouds so dark I had to wonder if I’d died in my sleep and we were currently en route to Hell. I turned my attention to Jack, who was still sitting in the chair across from me and caught real fear on his face.

  “Jack please tell me this is normal and we’re going to be ok,” I pleaded.

  His brows furrowed and I could tell he was debating on how much to tell me. I took his silence as my answer and slid my backpack behind me and my arms through the straps. I checked the safeties on the 2 guns I still had on me, making sure I wasn’t going to be shot if something were to happen.

  “Did I ever tell you about the time I got stuck in an elevator with Marilyn Manson?”

  I didn’t even try to conceal the surprise on my face at Jack’s question. “No…” I answered in question.

  Jack cleared his throat and looked out the window with me. “Yeah, I was in some building in New York, for what, I don’t recall but the elevator stopped a few floors after this really tall, lanky guy got on. After it stopped we just stared at each other for a solid minute until we realized who the other was.”

  “Jack, how exactly is this relevant?” I didn’t want to be rude, but I didn’t think this was the moment to start name-dropping.

  “Well, we got to talking and it turned out we had some things in common.” He stopped and looked at me then back at the window. “I guess it wasn’t a very good story after all.”

  I looked at him and the concern on his face and smiled. “It’s ok Jack. If I were about to die I’d be telling random stories too.”

  I didn’t have a chance to say anything else as alarms from the cockpit started going off and my stomach lurched as the plane dove forward and we started to fall.

  Brian was shouting something about making sure the seatbelts were tight as the masks dropped from the ceiling. Just like the brochure in the pocket on the wall next to me had instructed, I pulled the mask down, slipped the elastic band around my head and breathed into the little bag.

  There was screaming but it was all drowned out by the sound of thunder and metal being twisted. I wanted to close my eyes and let death come for me but the lids wouldn’t close and I was stuck staring wildly around the plane at the terror on the faces around me. The lights were flashing and casting a sickly glow over everyone so I returned my gaze to the window.

  A wall of clouds was still the only view. I could make out thin lines of lightning streaking through the mass which reminded me of one of those electric current balls. The kind you put your hands on and the electricity moves to wherever you’re touching it.

  The plane suddenly stopped shaking and it seemed we were hovering. The instant stillness was jarring and I peeked another look up front to see if maybe Brian was about to tell us we were in the clear.

  “Hang on!” I heard him scream just as we started in a dizzying spin and losing altitude. I turned back to the window to see clouds rolling by so fast it looked like we were inside a cotton candy machine.

  I was so terrified that I was calm and the whole thing seemed like it was lasting forever. It wasn’t until I started to see trees whizzing by sideways that I realized we’d been caught in a tornado. A motherfucking tornado.

  “Oh my fucking god we’re in a fucking tornado!” I looked around confused for a moment trying to f
igure out who was yelling and bit my tongue when I realized it was me.

  I looked across to see Jack’s face mirroring my terror. “Jack, I’m sorry I’m an asshole and if there’s an afterlife, I hope I see you there.”

  Tears leaked out of the corner of his eye as he looked at me. His hazel eyes were so big they took up half his face and he looked 20 years older in that moment. “Angie, I-“

  The wall next to us was suddenly no longer there and I felt myself being pulled out of the plane like I was stuck in a vacuum. The sounds of screeching metal, trees being broken and screaming were all I could hear as I struggled to keep my eyes open against the dirt being whipped in my face.

  Falling. I was falling and still strapped to a chair and knew that this was it. This was how I would die. Not alone in my apartment only to be discovered weeks later when the neighbors smelled something. Not torn apart by rabid zombies in any of the places we’d been through. Not laying on the cement floor of that cell with blood running down my face and thighs. No, I would die in a plane that had been caught in a tornado and crashed WhoTheFuckKnowsWhere. Well, it could’ve been worse.

  I started to smile as I continued my free fall; chair bouncing off trees and limbs until my bones shifted when I hit something hard and then it was just black.

  Something was licking my face. I opened my eyes to see Roscoe’s face above me, licking mine for all he was worth.

  “Ugh, stop.” I moaned, turning my head away from his tongue bath. There was dirt in my mouth and I started to spit it out when I realized I was still very much alive and strapped to my chair, which was now lying on the ground.

  I shifted and stretched to see if any body parts were broken and/or missing and other than a few aches and pains, I was seemingly ok. I couldn’t see the bottom half of me, so I reached down and patted my way to my thigh, grateful to find my machete still in its holster. Pulling the knife out, I wrestled to get the blade under the nylon across my lap and started a sawing motion until the strap broke and I rolled out of the chair onto the dirt.