I couldn’t bear to look down at the creature writhing beneath me, so I focused on the blue sky and the tree line in front of me. I slid across the ice and tried to ignore the ravenous zombie under the ice, banging its head on the hard surface like some kind of heavy metal head-banger: Thud...thud...thud...thud. Ignore it, I said to myself. Don’t look at it. Just crawl faster.
I crawled past it in no time, but more looked up at me. My jaw dropped when I saw a rotter with no eyes and no lips. It just had empty eye sockets and a smashed face, like someone had beaten it. It licked the ice like it was enjoying a lollipop with its black, mangled tongue. I crawled to the left to avoid the nightmarish thing.
As we slithered along, our teeth chattering, a waterlogged zombie with dark, black rings around its eyes and multiple cuts on its face clawed the ice, determined to break through for a snack. Its black nails were grotesque, and half its cheek was ripped off, exposing flesh. What really freaked me out was that its face was swollen to the size of a beach ball. As I peered at it, it moaned, then sliced its jagged nails into its own face in frustration, slushing off layers of sagging, rotting skin. I looked away in horror.
I kept moving, but I couldn’t stop shivering, a result of the cold and the fear that were threatening to overwhelm me. I tried everything to fight off the vivid images in my head, but the ones beneath me were just as terrifying—and far more real.
Suddenly, a crunch pierced my ears, and a zombie’s icy hands wrapped around my boot. When I instinctively jerked, the ice shifted.
CRACK!
“Dean!” Asia said, with a deep frown planted between her brows. “Don’t move, or we’re good as dead.”
Fear crippled me. I knew she was right, but I couldn’t just let the thing make a drumstick out of my leg. I reached for my gun and fired, nailing its hand in one shot. The zombie let go and fell back into the watery abyss.
I inched faster and stopped momentarily when I realized how weak the ice was. Another zombie took full advantage of the situation, popping its head up directly in my path, mere inches from my face. Instinctively, I reached for my gun and blew its head off, spraying blood and gore everywhere.
The ice vibrated with every punch the zombies delivered, trying to escape from their icy prison.
My mind raced. “We’ve gotta log-roll to shore,” I said. “This is taking way too long.”
Asia nodded in agreement.
I began rolling across the unstable ice, being careful not to let my elbows or knees or the toes of my boots hit it too hard as I rotated around.
After a few dizzying moments, I heard Asia shout in joy. “The ice is pretty solid now!” she said, crawling on her hands and knees. “It’s a good seven to eight inches. I think we can walk the rest of the way.”
I couldn’t see through the ice anymore, which was comforting. I stared ahead at the coating of new snow, glistening like diamonds under the warm rays of the sun. I slowly scrambled to my feet, testing the ice with the weight of my foot. Then I gave the ice a few good whacks with my gun, listening for a deep thump. When I heard it, I smiled; there was no hollow sound, and that was a good sign the ice was firm and solid. It seemed pretty sturdy. I held out my hand and helped Asia up, and she embraced me in a long hug. It was such a relief to know we’d be able to walk upright, without having to see zombie bodies bumping up and down beneath us.
She looked into my eyes. “Thank you, Dean...for saving my life back there.”
I touched her face. “I’ll always have your back, Asia.”
Her lips trembled, and she gazed into my eyes. “I know...and I’ve got yours.”
I hugged her, rubbing the hard stress knots in her shoulders with my palm. As she clutched me and buried her face in my chest, my arms encircled her in a strong grip. “You’re my family now,” I said with heartfelt intensity.
“And you’re mine.”
Off in the distance, I heard more zombie moans.
Asia heard them too, because she clutched me and buried her face in my chest. “Dean, I’m so cold,” she said. “We need to hurry up and get off this lake, away from these zombies, and build a fire.”
My labored breathing eased, though my lungs still burned and my head pounded. “I’m freezing, too, but building a fire will take too long. We’d have to find dry enough wood, and most of its covered in snow. We’re not too far from Fairport. Besides, it’s not safe out here, and the smoke might draw a crowd.”
“Like zombies, hybrids, or Z’s men?”
“For all we know, Z’s men could be guarding the perimeter of the city, waiting for us. We can’t risk a smoke signal.”
“Let’s just get our butts to Fairport,” she said. “We can take the back way in.”
“Can you walk?” I asked.
“I’m numb, but I can do it,” she said, letting out frosty breaths. She tried to smile confidently, but her shaky voice gave her away.
“I can carry you if you need me to.”
Her mouth set in a hard line. “No way. Not a chance, buddy.”
“Still playing the macho card, huh?” I asked.
She smiled. “You better believe it. As long as I’m breathing, I’m not gonna let somebody coddle me. Just let me get dry first. She began picking up fresh snow and rubbing it on her clothes.
I wrinkled my brow in confusion. “What are you doing?”
“It’s a trick I learned in survival class. Light snow is really absorbent and will suck away moisture. It’ll help me warm up.”
I wrapped my arm around her to steady her, and we walked together through the frozen landscape. I wished I hadn’t soaked my jacket, though I was glad it had come in handy to pull Asia out of that lake. The cold seeped into my bones, and I was sure I’d never been so cold in my life. My lips were numb, cracked, and blue, and my body trembled from head to toe, but I dared not complain about it because I knew Asia was even worse off.
Just as we cut through a patch of twisting trees, we heard a low growl coming from a nearby shrub.
Asia used her high-tech vision, and a horrified gasp broke from her. “There’s at least a dozen or so.”
“We’re so close to home,” I said.
My breathing was labored, but we steadily moved along and went a different way. We pushed through the thick undergrowth, moving quickly and quietly, like frozen ninjas.
As much as Asia didn’t want to admit it, she was getting weaker by the minute. Fortunately, luck finally smiled on us, and we didn’t have to fight any more zombies. I was thankful for the break, because I had never felt so miserable in all my life, and everything seemed a blur. I wouldn’t have been very valuable in hand-to-undead hand combat.
Chapter 26
As soon as we reached the city, thankfully unabated by zombies or fiends of the more human variety, we hurried to the apartment complex, eager for a warm fire, dry clothes, blankets, and some food. Lucas carried Asia up to our apartment, and she didn’t bother trying to shoo him away.
I tried to tell the others what happened, but they insisted that we warm up first. I took sips of hot coffee, and Kate threw thick blankets around us. It was so good to be home and alive. The place was freezing, though, so Val and Kate got a huge fire going and made beds for us in front of it. It had never felt better to put on dry clothes, and Val was a real mother hen, waiting on us hand and foot.
I glanced around and realized one familiar face was missing. “Hey, where’s Claire?” I asked.
“Guard duty, on the other side of the complex,” Val said. “We’ll make sure she knows you’re back.”
Asia looked over at me. “This ain’t the Hyatt or anything, but we sure are getting the five-star treatment.”
Val smiled. “It’s the least we can do. Now, here’s my version of an electric blanket,” she said, throwing a huge red blanket over us after she’d warmed it by the fire.
“It feels wonderful,” Asia said.
I squeezed her hand. “We made it back...and alive at that.”
Triumph f
lickered in her beautiful, dark eyes. “I know. I still can’t believe it.”
I smiled. “Yep. We’re survivors...again.”
She smiled back at me, then closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Nick came over and sat next to me. “Don’t worry, little bro. I’m not gonna give you a lecture...yet.”
“Nick,” I said, “I need to talk to Max. It’s important.”
“Whatever it is, you can tell me,” he said.
I bit my lip hard, certain that my brother would be none to happy to hear I’d jumped into an enemy truck and sneaked into enemy territory.
“Just tell me. I promise not to chew you out.”
I sighed deeply, then spilled the whole story to him, from start to finish, leaving nothing out.
His eyes grew wide, and he immediately left the apartment to inform Max of what we’d found out.
A short while later, the doctor made a house call. Asia and I both had frostbite, and my left hand was in pretty bad shape, but Asia was also severely hypothermic. “She’ll need lots of rest and keep her warm,” he said. He also started an IV on her and gave her fluids. The IV drained by gravity and was hung on a silver pole next to her. He wanted to give me one too, but I refused. No use wasting our precious supplies when I didn’t think I needed it.
After the doctor left and another knock came at the door, Val checked the peephole, then smiled slyly and opened it to let Max in. I could tell by the way they looked at each other in that moment that Asia’s suspicions were spot on.
“I’ll give you guys a few minutes,” Val said, then put on her coat and left.
“How’s Asia?” Max asked.
“She’s sleeping. She needs her rest.” I sat up and looked at Max. I still couldn’t believe he was dating my sister and was hiding it from me.
“Dean, you and Asia risked your life for our community,” he said, “and I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”
“We knew we’d never get an opportunity like that again, so we jumped on it.”
“You did well. I’m getting ready to head out, but I’ve got a few questions, and I wanted to make sure you’re both okay. I also wanted to personally thank you.”
“I can’t let Z take over this town,” I said. “He enjoys killing innocent people.”
“You’re a brave man, and that’s hard to find these days.”
Max couldn’t believe the lucky break and was assembling teams as we spoke. When he questioned me, I gladly told him everything I knew.
“I’d like to go too,” I said.
“Not without clearance from the doctor,” Max said.
“What?”
“Dean, you’re a mess. You barely survived. Right now, what you need is rest.”
“Are you leaving right away?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“It’s a dangerous mission,” I said.
“Yes,” he said firmly.
“Then maybe you oughtta kiss my sister goodbye, just in case something goes wrong,” I whispered under my breath.
Max looked at me in shock. “What do you mean?” he asked, trying to play dumb.
“Cut the crap, Max!”
“Dean, I—”
“Just admit it. You’re dating my sister.”
“She told you that?”
“No, but Asia mentioned it, and I know she’s right. I’ve seen the way you look at each other, all googly-eyed.”
“We’ll discuss this later,” he said sternly, a bit embarrassed.
“Yes, we should...because you’re way too old for her.”
“Your sister is a grown woman, Dean. For goodness sake! She’s twenty-four years old, not a child.” He blew out a breath and walked out the door.
Clearly, it was a touchy subject for him, but he didn’t tell me not to say anything, so I contemplated whether I should tell Nick or not.
Suddenly, a wave of dizziness washed over me, and I remembered I hadn’t eaten in what seemed like ages. I was weak, thirsty, and exhausted, and I knew I’d have to let Max fight that epic battle without me.
They all left with Max except Kate. She handed me a bowl of hot soup. I enjoyed every hot bite. On the last supply run, I got my hands on a portable gas burner. We didn’t need electricity, matches, lighter, or batteries. It ran on an eight-ounce Butane canister. We used it only on special occasions, as we didn’t wanna burn through all the Butane. So we either cooked outside on the fire like my good old camping days or we used this gas burner.
Kate handed me a glass of cold, thin milk.
I smiled. “Thanks.”
“I put a jug of water outside on the windowsill to make cold milk from powder. It isn’t as good as the fresh stuff from Max’s cows, but the cows aren’t giving a lot of milk right now.”
“This is great,” I said. “When did you get this?”
“On the last supply run, I hit the jackpot. I got some instant mashed potatoes, toilet paper, and, uh...some oats and pasta and even pancake mix.”
“Pancakes? Sounds awesome.”
“Well, we’ve got a gas burner now, so maybe this Sunday, I’ll make a pancake breakfast for everyone.”
“Mmm. Sounds great.”
She looked at me and smiled. “To tell you the truth, Dean, I’m more excited about the toilet paper than I am about the pancakes.”
I laughed. “Yeah, it’s sad that we live in a world where toilet paper is a hot commodity. It’s really wiping me out,” I said with a wink.
“Oh geesh. We need to keep you away from Lucas.”
“What? I thought that joke was absolutely Charmin’!”
Chapter 27
When morning came, Nick returned with news: Max and his teams had destroyed the compound outside the city. “Z had a few men stationed there, but most of them were gone. It doesn’t matter though. We took out that compound and got the tank, even if it doesn’t work. We also got our hands on the arsenal of weapons he was storing there.”
“And Z? Did you get him?”
Nick shook his head and looked at the floor. “Nope. The coward ran back to his warehouse.”
“So why didn’t you guys take it out with him in it?” I asked my brother.
“Because there are women and children there,” Nick explained. “Max just wanted to get the weapons away from them. He’s not a murderer, Dean. He just wants peace.”
Lucas shook his head in frustration. “If ya ask me, that Z needs to be exed out, at all costs. This is never gonna stop with that psychopath running things.”
“Max hopes our assault and looting will send a message,” Nick said.
Lucas chuckled. “A message? It’ll just piss him off even more.”
“But Max spared him,” I said. “That should count for something, right?”
“Not when you’re dealing with a crazy man,” Nick said.
“So what now?” I asked.
“We see if Z backs off.”
I cocked a brow. “I don’t see that happening.”
“Then we take him out,” Lucas said, “and I won’t lose any sleep over it when we do.”
Just then, Val walked in. “Max is gonna check out the other compound to see what’s over there. Any volunteers to join him for a little field trip?”
“I’m in,” I said.
***
I hopped in the truck with Max and Val, and Nick, Claire, Asia, Kate, and Lucas hopped in another vehicle. They were going to approach the compound from a different direction than us. We took off, speeding over bumps, and crossed into the danger zone to assess what we were dealing with.
Max put on the brakes when we were close to our target. The teams behind us stopped and waited for his command. He jumped out, and I pointed my gun into the vegetation as he glanced around, but I didn’t see any sign of zombies.
“We have no idea what’s over that ridge,” Max said. “Z’s men could be waiting for us—or maybe not. We just don’t know. It’s best we check it out first.”
“I can scout it ou
t,” I offered.
“Not on foot. Too dangerous,” he said.
It wasn’t windy, but it was freezing outside, and I was thankful for my hat and leather gloves. Max’s men were stationed all around us so nothing could sneak up on us, and that was also a relief.
Max walked to another truck and pulled out an oversized remote-control helicopter, about two feet by two feet. “This will give us a real edge,” he said.
“A toy?” I questioned.
“Not just a toy, my friend. This little beauty is equipped with a camera, and I can see the images on my iPad. We’ll be able to see what’s down there without having to risk going in unaware.”
“It’s pretty amazing, Dean,” Val said. “Max showed it to me earlier. We flew it high in the sky and took video of the apartment complex. Everything looks totally different from up there, almost...peaceful and normal.”
“I saw you two out there laughing, and I wondered why you were playing with a toy.”
Val glanced up at Max and grinned like a silly schoolgirl.
“You mentioned an iPad, but how does that work without the Internet?” I asked.
“The satellites still work, so we don’t need Wi-Fi or anything. It’s equipped with a gyroscope and a high-resolution digital video camera.”
I smiled. “Spyware, huh?”
“Yep. The camera is already built-in, right underneath the cockpit.”
“Can I fly it?” I asked.
He smiled at me, made sure the helicopter was ready for takeoff, and carefully set the high-tech gadget on the ground. “Perhaps another time.” He hit the button on the remote control, and the whirlybird took off into the air.
“And we’re off!” Val said.
I stared at the iPad in Max’s hand, a live feed, as if we were actually sitting in the pilot’s seat. The little copter flew high and fast, and the image was sharp and clear, giving us a valuable bird’s-eye view. Our jaws dropped when the helicopter whirled out of sight and we saw a herd of zombies on the iPad screen, stumbling around in every direction.
Trepidation Page 18
