The only light in the stairwell came from the small vision panel in the metal door. Ike looked up the stair case, which got progressively darker as it went up, and began creeping up the stairs. He followed his left hand, which held the .45, and kept his sledge hammer at the ready in his right.
At the top of the stairs, he could make out the metal ladder bolted to the wall. He tucked the .45 into his belt and climbed up. When he opened the hatch, sunlight flooded the dark stairwell and the man’s bald head filled the opening.
“Great,” he said, trying to climb through the hatch onto the ladder.
“Whoa, whoa,” Ike said. “Slow down.”
Ike pushed the man’s foot up and then climbed onto the roof. He knelt next to the open hatch and looked at the sunburned man.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Jerry,” the man replied. “Come on. There’s nothing up here. Let’s go.”
“Just take it easy, Jerry. I need to take a look around. Besides, you don’t want to go down there alone; the place is crawling with zombies. You shouldn’t go anywhere alone.”
Ike crawled to the edge of the roof and looked into the triangular courtyard formed by the three intersecting buildings. The zombies were still roaming the yard and checking the abandoned businesses for new victims.
A different kind of movement caught his eye at the opposite corner, on a second floor catwalk connecting two of the buildings. Without binoculars he couldn’t be certain but the two people he saw did not look like undead. One was a blonde woman who appeared to be carrying a machine gun and the other was a man, following behind her.
They didn’t see him and he decided that it was probably best to not announce his presence yet.
“Okay Jerry, let’s go,” Ike said. “I’ve got some friends out under the bridge waiting for me, we’re going to go get them and bring them back in.”
“What? In here?” Jerry said. “Are you crazy? You see all the zombies here.”
“I know that, but there are nine of us, you’ll make ten. We’ve got weapons and we’ve got functioning brains. We also have the element of surprise. I think we can re-take the compound.”
“I think you’re crazy. I’m not sticking around to get killed.”
“Where are you going to go? You’ll be alone and without a weapon. How far do you think you’ll get?”
Jerry looked into the courtyard, then back to Ike. He blinked twice.
“Shit,” he said. “Okay. I’m with you.”
“Good man,” Ike said. “Let’s go.”
Ike scanned the compound one more time and took a look at the far catwalk; the people were not in sight. When he turned around, Jerry was already halfway down the ladder. Ike followed, pulling the hatch closed behind him.
For a brief instant the stairwell was dark, and then the light returned.
Ike realized immediately that the downstairs door had been opened.
“Son of a bitch,” he muttered. “Jerry, close the damn door.”
“I didn’t open it,” Jerry said from the foot of the ladder.
“Shit,” Ike said, jumping to the floor and taking out his .45.
He leaned over the rail and saw two zombies shuffling into the stairwell toward the stairs.
“This is getting old,” he said, pointing the .45 at the lead zombie.
The click echoed slightly in the stairwell.
“You’re out of bullets?” Jerry asked.
Ike showed him the bandoliers criss-crossing his chest.
“No, I’m not, but I don’t have time to reload. We’re going to have to do this the old fashioned way.”
He tucked the .45 into his belt and hefted the sledge hammer.
“Stay behind me,” he ordered.
“Don’t worry about that,” Jerry said.
Ike took the stairs two and three at a time, until he met the lead zombie halfway up the first flight. He swung the sledge hammer and caved in its skull. He immediately swung at the second one, crushing its skull and sending it flying over the rail to the floor.
“Let’s go,” he said to Jerry. “Keep up.”
He pushed through the door and bolted from the stairs, Jerry hot on his trail, and rejoined Darlene and the others at the bridge piling.
“I was about to come back after you,” Darlene said.
“We ran into a welcoming committee in the stairwell,” Ike said. “Two more down.”
Ike filled three clips from his bandoliers and put one of them into the .45. He racked the slide and tucked it into his belt.
“What’s our next move?” David asked.
“There’s an ass-load of zombies in there, I won’t kid you,” Ike said. “I’m guessing at least 30, but they’re mostly just roaming around, searching the ground floor businesses for victims. I think we can catch them by surprise.”
“Whatever we’re going to do, we shouldn’t wait to long,” Shelly said. “Angela could go into real labor any minute.”
Stew
Stew let his wife drive so he could defend them if he had to, riding shotgun with the katana at the ready. Barbara was sprawled in the backseat, cowering.
"You need to sit up and be prepared," Stew said to the bank woman. "If we get overwhelmed, you'll need to move with us."
"They just stayed there and are probably dead," Barbara said quietly. "They didn't even try to reach us."
"It's just as well. The wife was bitten and I would have had to kill her. I'm sure her big husband would have been pissed and tried to save her. Then he would have died, anyway."
"How can you be so callous?"
"It's part of the reason I'm still alive. I'm not unfeeling. I'm just focused, and it's a good thing. In this world you need to make split-second decisions. I have a wife to protect. And everyone I come into contact with, if possible. While you are in this car and under my protection, I will lay down my life for you. But not stupidly. We are going to survive, and we are going to find a safe haven. You just have to believe, and trust me."
Stew went back to looking ahead, watching Bethany as she scouted a block in front, slowing at each intersection as they made their way west. The goal was still to reach Route 1 and then head north to St. Augustine.
Bethany made it another two blocks but stopped short.
"No," Gerri said quietly.
Coming right at them was a horde of zombies, silently walking east.
"Turn around," Stew said. He looked to his right and saw zombies emerging from the woods. "Back it up before they surround us."
Bethany was already making a U-turn with the bike and shaking her head as she came up next to them. "They're everywhere up here. We might need to go back to Palm Coast Parkway and go north from there, skipping Route 1 for now."
By the time they turned the car around and followed the motorcycle, Stew could see they were out of another option: Palm Coast Parkway was filling with zombies in either direction, the library grounds filthy with undead.
He pointed east. "Head back the way we came until we can figure it out."
"How far?" Gerri asked.
Stew didn’t look at his wife. "As far east as we have to go, until we can find a side road to turn on that won't get us in trouble." Stew didn't want to say it, but right now they were screwed. They were being pushed back east, which is where Bethany had come from. He was sure it wasn't safe, but at this point he'd rather go into the unknown and hope for the best than fight insurmountable odds.
When they backtracked and drove past the bank, no one said a word. The parking lot was packed with undead, coming from all directions. Stew thought he caught a glimpse of Shawn and Becky, now part of the pack. When they passed, the zombies turned as one and began to follow on foot.
Bethany wove in and out of single zombies in the road, and Gerri did her best to steer clear, but she clipped a couple as she drove at about thirty miles an hour. Stew thought, if he were driving, he'd be running them over. The more they could kill the better, although, he was realistic enoug
h to know they'd never make a dent in the dead population. Everyone was dying and coming back with nasty teeth and a hard-on. They could only hope to cut a swath of them away and find a place to hide. Stew didn't even want to contemplate how many zombies were just in this immediate area.
They got to the bridge spanning I-95 but Gerri couldn't turn to go south because of the flood of zombies on the exit ramp. She followed Bethany's path as she stuttered in and out of undead on the Harley, Gerri bumping a few along the way.
"Don't be afraid to knock some of them down," Stew said to his wife. "But don't hit them head-on. We don't need to get stuck."
"Yes, sir," Gerri said and glanced at her husband with a smile. "I'll just keep following the motorcycle and hope she knows where she's going."
"I hope so, too," Stew said. He was getting worried. They passed the turn for north on I-95 and Stew wasn't surprised to see it packed with zombies. Luckily, Palm Coast Parkway wasn't filled with zombies but there were enough to make them slow down as they drove. At the next intersection, Bethany shot through and several zombies got behind her in pursuit. Gerri smacked into them, bodies flying in the air.
"We're going the wrong way," Gerri said. "I thought this way was blocked?"
"Right now we're going the only way we can go. Hopefully, A1A will be open enough so we can head to St. Augustine." We need to head north and to safety.
The road was hard going as there were trees on either side, with zombies stumbling from both sides to block them. Gerri stepped on the gas to keep up with Bethany, who was weaving in and out again but getting through. When she went by, engine revving, it also drew the attention of the zombies, and Gerri slammed a few in the back or side as she went but the path was clear.
They got to an intersection and Stew could see the destroyed toll booth leading to the bridge ahead, but the bridge itself was packed with zombies, all spilling down to get them.
Bethany hesitated for a second before cutting to her right and onto the side road, zombies in slow pursuit.
Stew wondered where she was headed. When she skidded to a halt and turned back, Gerri had to slam on the breaks.
"I'm going to run her off the road if she does that again," Gerri said.
"Give her plenty of room. She knows what she's doing," Stew said, trying to sound confident even though he was anything but. He watched the Harley drive up on the grass to the right of the toll booths, Bethany going into the small side parking lot and slowing down.
"What is she doing?" Gerri asked.
Stew smiled. "She's drawing them to her, so we can drive through the toll booth. Punch it before more swarm." He hoped she wasn't doing something stupid, because if they got onto the bridge and were surrounded they'd have nowhere to go. They'd be sitting ducks.
Gerri drove through the tollbooth, a zombie inside the booth itself stepping out just in time to get ripped in two by the car, the side mirror shattering as it connected with the zombie. Gerri flinched and the right side of the car nicked the side of the tollbooth as they exited, sparks flying.
"Follow her!" Stew yelled, seeing the motorcycle careening back onto the grass and to the right of the base of the bridge.
Gerri cut the wheel and slammed headfirst into a zombie, tossing it into the air. It came back down, shattering the windshield and making it impossible to see out of.
Before Gerri could hit the brakes, they slammed into the water fountain just outside European Village. The windshield, with zombie still intact, came loose. Stew pushed it out with the katana. "Is everyone alright?"
Barbara, who'd been quiet for most of the trip, pushed open her door and started running the way they'd come.
"Stop! Where are you going?" Gerri yelled, exiting the car.
Stew could see the brake lights of the Harley as Bethany drove right into European Village. "We need to follow her on foot," he yelled to his wife.
"What about her?"
Stew watched as Barbara ran back to the tollbooth, zombies surrounding her.
"She's dead. We're not. Let's move," Stew yelled, not surprised to hear Barbara's screams a moment later.
Crista
Zombies in front of them. Zombies behind them.
Crista and Tiki began to run back the way they'd come, aware the hallway would be packed with undead at any moment.
"We need to get back to the apartment and wait for them to calm down again," Crista said. "This is getting ridiculous."
"I'm going to agree," Tiki said.
There were only three zombies in front of them, and Tiki barreled through with his fists, Crista kicking them on the floor for good measure as she went past.
Her eyes did a double-take. "Wait," she said.
"We don't have time, we need to keep moving," Tiki said.
Crista bent down and picked up the AK-47 still strapped around one of the zombies. She checked it and smiled, looking up at Tiki. "It's loaded."
"Let me have it."
"No way. You'll shoot yourself. I found it."
When the zombies stirred on the ground, Crista shot all three in the head, the kick of the machine gun fooling her at first. She recovered, getting a better two-handed grip on the weapon.
"Behind you," Tiki said.
Crista turned and opened fire, aiming for the head and dropping each zombie as it tried to slowly get to her. "This will even some odds. Let's get back on the catwalk and cross."
"No way, let's just get back to the apartment."
Crista smiled and kept shooting. "I'm the one with the gun. I say we go this way. You don't even have a shitty chair leg anymore."
"Lead on, killer," Tiki said.
Crista took a step and shot, took another step and shot. She was back on the catwalk and putting the zombies further and further in front of her. She just hoped she didn't run out of shots, trying to conserve them and only tap on the trigger. "You need to find us weapons."
"Another AK-47 would be sweet," Tiki said behind her. "Otherwise, we might need to yank off an arm to fight with."
The catwalk cleared, Crista moved into the hallway. There were only five zombies in front of her, and she opened fire, hitting the first three before her weapon clicked empty.
"I hope you found something," Crista said. She turned the AK-47 in her hand to use as a club. "Unless one of them is also carrying a box of ammo or a pistol or two, we're screwed."
"Don't shoot," someone yelled from down the hall and behind the remaining zombies. "We're alive."
"Is that why you're talking?" Tiki asked.
Crista clubbed the first zombie in the head, the stock of the AK-47 cracking in her hands.
Two men stepped out of an apartment, brandishing chair legs, and attacked the other zombie and brought it down.
"Hey, is that Ambroz and Cesar?" Crista asked, using the broken weapon to finish off the zombie.
Ambroz waved. "Can we go back inside and continue this conversation?"
Crista and Tiki followed the men inside. The door was closed and furniture was pushed against it.
"When we heard all the shooting, we thought the military was here to rescue us," Cesar said.
"No such luck." Tiki pointed at a broken chair. "Mind if I grab a leg?"
"Help yourself," Ambroz said. "We assumed everyone escaped on the boat."
"We stayed and helped them to get away. Now we're trapped, and we need supplies and some food. How are you two doing?"
"Not great. I think we need to lie low until the zombies wander off somewhere else," Ambroz said. "Of course, shooting an AK-47 in a small hallway and the sound echoing for a mile probably doesn't help."
"Have you checked all the apartments on this side? I didn't think anyone was alive," Crista said. "Maybe there are more survivors."
Ambroz nodded. "We know of at least one other guy, and he lives next door. He came out but only to yell at us for making too much noise."
"Then we can add him to our allies. We need to get him over here so we can get him involved." Tiki sat down on the co
uch pushed against the door. "The more the merrier I always say."
"He's a little… weird. But we can try," Cesar said. "Maybe he has food and weapons."
They heard something bang against the door and everyone went silent.
After a few minutes, they couldn't hear any noise coming from the hallway.
"I think we hang out here, catch our breath, and then get out there. We either need to leave European Village or secure it," Crista said.
Tiki laughed quietly. "We can't put European Village back together with only four of us. Even if the weird guy next door is in, we're never going to be able to do it. Eventually, the zombies will either move on or find and eat us."
"You're so positive. Gotta love your enthusiasm. Infectious," Ambroz said.
"Look, all I'm saying is this: if we go out there, we stand a chance of dying. If we stay here, we stand a chance of starving to death and then dying." Tiki stood up. "Shit, I just confused myself. I guess we need to find food no matter where it is, and then eat it and stay alive. Oh, and don't get bitten and raped by zombies would be high on the list as well."
Crista pulled off a chair leg and slapped her open palm with it. "I say we get out there and do this."
"Stand and be counted," Ambroz said.
"Onward into death," Tiki said.
"There's something wrong with you, man," Cesar said to Tiki.
Ike
“Okay,” Ike said. “We’re going to move between the cars until we get to the limo. From there it’s through the entry way and into the courtyard. Let’s keep it quiet and try to use surprise to our advantage.”
The group nodded their understanding.
“Shelly,” Ike continued, “you and Angela stick close to Brewski.”
They stopped at the first car, a rusted out red Kia. Ike leaned into the open trunk and came out with a crowbar. He handed it to Jerry.
“Swing for the head and don’t be shy,” he said.
Jerry looked at the crowbar and nodded. “Okay,” he said.
Dying Days Ultimate Box Set 1 Page 44
