Before they made it across the yard his walkie went off. It was Riley. “Damon. Can you hear me?” The zombies stopped. Slowly they turned towards the two with heads cocked to one side.
“Run!” He shouted. He and Chloe ran to the door, and Damon tried the knob. It was locked. He couldn't hold in his profanity. Damon could feel the zombies’ attention on them. They were running out of time quickly. There was a window that stood about five feet off the ground. Damon used the butt of his shotgun to break it out and clear the edges of glass. Chloe didn't question when he hoisted her onto his shoulder and through the window. His breath was heavy when he started to get into the window. Damon felt a presence behind him but he pulled himself into the house without looking. Something caught his right foot. A hand, he was sure of it. Damon kicked hard, connecting with the zombie's face. He heard it grunt as it hit the ground, allowing Damon to get the rest of the way through the window. He found himself slumped over a white toilet bowl. The bathroom walls were painted with blood. Damon didn't waste any time getting to his feet. Chloe stood protectively at the door pistol drawn. They could hear the zombies pounding on the door and walls. Damon unclipped the walkie-talkie from his pocket and pressed the red button. “Damn Riley you almost made us zombie chow.”
“Sorry. Where you guys at?” Damon told him the house number. “We are on our way to you and Harper. The truck is surrounded. There are zombies everywhere.”
“The blazer too.” “Shit.” He looked out the dining room window. It pointed towards the Silverado. The street was pretty much clear. Only a few dead stood dumbly in the street, “Nevermind. We are going for the truck. I think most of them are trying to get in to where we are now. We'll come for you and Harper. We lost Marco too.”
Riley smacked his lips in the speaker. “Harper and me got separated too. And I'm fucking stuck on a roof.” “Christ Riley…We'll come as fast as we can.” He looked at Chloe. “Let’s go.” He turned the walkie off before opening the door. They took to the street sprinting to the truck, dodging the various zombies. Damon put a bullet in the brain of one zombie that was leaned against the driver's door. Damon and Chloe climbed in.
The teen sighed with relief. “That was close.” Suddenly a zombie slammed its decomposing face against the passenger window. “Go!” She screamed not able to take her eyes off of its snapping jaws. Damon stepped on the gas and ran down the remaining zombies in the street. Now it was time to find his friends.
Harper ducked behind a red mustang; his rifle was dangerously close to being out of ammo. He was separated from Riley when they were sweeping the third house. It was full of undead college students. It was challenging enough to navigate over the turned over coffee tables and beer empty beer cans. He was downstairs and Riley the opposite when the horde came. He wondered if the zombies were from the hotel because of the commercial attire worn by some of them. The big marine had to jump out the master bedroom window. It was more like jump through the window.
He evaluated the cut on his right forearm. It was deep. He cursed. Probably going to need stitches and antibiotics. He cursed again. When the coast was clear Harper bolted between two garbage cans, and then behind a tan house. From where he was sitting he could see Riley perched on the roof of a ranch style home. The marine paced across the shingles with his arms crossed. Harper could see him snap up the walkie. There was no way to signal the marine without drawing unwanted attention to himself. He looked down the street. He was getting close to the blazer, just a few hundred feet and about as many zombies. He cursed again. That was when he heard something behind him.
Riley watched as the zombies attempted to climb the siding trying to get him. They tore pieces of the beige vinyl away in their attempts littering the ground. He didn't like being alone. It reminded him of when he was running after he left Harper and the Sarge and when he was away from home for the first time. He thought he would have had a woman by now. Why was he thinking about that now? He couldn't be sure. The tall marine was deep in thought when he heard a moan. It was too late. Riley whirled around and was face to face with the walking corpse of a woman probably in her late twenties. Her skin was ashen gray. There was bite visible on her left hand. Her black mouth sagged open. She lunged at him, knocking him over the side of the roof. The zombie fell to the grass below flattening two others.
He was able to catch the edge of the white gutters. They bent under his weight, screws and brackets tore away from the wall. His body fell closer to the ground. Thankfully, enough brackets held keeping him suspended in the air. Soon they would give way, and Riley would fall into the crowd of zombies below. Creak. Creak. Snap. “Oh shit!” When the last bracket gave way, Riley closed his eyes. Expecting to hit the ground, he was surprised when a hand wrapped around his wrist. Riley snapped his eyes open, and Marco's tattooed face appeared over the edge.
“Got you, Homes.” He wrapped his other hand around the marine's wrist. “Even though I should let you fall for being such an asshole to me all the time.” He pulled Riley up. Riley hurriedly brushed himself off acting like it was no big deal.
“Really? No fucking thank you?” Marco snapped. “Whatever. I'm outta here. Check you later, Ese.” “Wait.” He paused. “Uhh...thanks. We need to get to the blazer. Hopefully, the deaders are gone by now. Most of them I think are underneath us.”
Marco hesitantly accepted the marine's apology and waited for his next move. “Where’s that big mother at?” “Lost him…”
“Shit…”
The houses were close enough to a long storage unit that would lead them straight to the blazer. They could run along the rooftops to drop close enough to the blazer, and then they could find Harper. Riley took the first jump. He made sure that Marco got over okay before he ran down the length of the storage unit. A zombie managed to get up on the roof with them. Before it could reach out for Riley, Marco kicked it hard in the chest and sent it flying off the roof. They heard its skull crack against the pavement. Riley nodded his head in gratitude. “There it is. Let’s go.” Riley lowered himself to the ground. Marco landed behind him. The two climbed in the blazer while the zombies were still gathered around the house they used to be on. Thankfully Harper left the keys dangling in the ignition. Now it was time to find Harper and the others. Riley thought silently. The tall marine wasn’t shy about running over every zombie that strayed into the street.
Damon and Chloe slowly rolled down the streets of the suburb only speeding up to run down zombies. They saw no sign of Harper or the others. The blazer was gone. He turned on the walkie. “Riley, you there?”
“Right here.” Riley’s voice sounded through some static. “We got the blazer.” “You found Harper?” “No…Marco.” He didn’t sound all that excited.
“Oh. Me and Chloe are in the Silverado and looking for the big guy. Call us if you find him.”
“Roger that.”
Chloe looked at Damon with concern painted across her face. “We’re gonna find him right?” She squeaked.
I don’t know. “We’ll find him.” Hopefully. They turned down another street. This one was lined with small homes packed so close together they were nearly on top of each other. Damon noticed very few zombies on the street, which could have been good or bad news. He hoped they would find Harper soon. He didn’t want him to end up locked in a freezer again…or worse. Chloe scanned each yard frantically with her watering green eyes. “There!” She pointed down the road in between two white houses. Harper was running full speed out onto the front lawn. Chasing after him were three raging sprinters, big ones…and not big ones like Harper, but WIDE ones. If Damon wasn’t so concerned about his friend’s safety at that moment he would have found it hilarious seeing three fat zombies after the marine like a fat kid running behind an ice cream truck. “Hurry up Damon! They are gaining on him!”
Damon yanked the steering wheel to the right, and the truck bounced when he went over the curb. A playhouse shattered on the bumper of the Silverado as he made his way over yards swervi
ng around fountains and retaining walls. Dirt and grass kicked up the sides of the death machine. Harper saw them coming and ran with all he had left. He lost a lot of blood from his arm, and his strength was failing. Damon knew he couldn’t stop the truck completely. He saw the other zombies shambling after Harper too trying to keep up with the sprinters. Harper jumped over the bedside when Damon slowed the truck down. The mechanic felt the truck bounce when Harper landed. One of the sprinters held onto the tailgate as Damon sped away. Harper landed a hard kick to its ugly face, and it went tumbling onto the pavement. He looked in the rearview and saw the big marine with his back against the cab. His head rested against the glass. Damon watched as the marine’s chest heaved up and down. He saw the big marine’s arm was bleeding.
When Damon rounded the corner they saw the blazer moving down the road. “We got him Riley.” He said over the walkie. “We got ‘em.”
“Right on!” Riley let out a hoot. “Where to now?” “Back to headquarters. We need a better plan.” Damon furrowed his brow and steered the truck back to the fire station. When both vehicles pulled back into the fire station parking lot Damon could feel the tension. Harper jumped out of the bed holding his injured arm and stormed inside. Damon hadn't seen the big marine pissed before, but he was sure that he was going to get a full display once he stepped through the door. He watched Riley park the blazer and follow the marine. The dark circles under Riley's eyes told Damon that he was exhausted. His gaze was haunted. He stayed quiet when Marco tried to talk to him. Even the Latino seemed a little irritable. It wasn't until they were inside when Harper exploded. “I'm fucking tired of this!” He boomed. His voice echoed throughout the truck bay. Damon was surprised that the big marine exploded like he did. He was always so chill. It was strange, and unlike Harper to act the way he was.
“What are we doing Damon?” Riley asked. His voice was calm, but serious. He stood next to the red-faced marine. “Do you actually think we can pull this off without someone getting bit?”
“I'm tired of sticking my neck out there for some pipe dream.” Harper tied a rubber tourniquet around his arm tighter. Damon punched the door closed sealing them inside. “I never asked any of you to stay! It was your choice, not mine! Oh and by the way wasn't it you and your Mad Fucking Leader who kidnapped us? If I remember correctly we were going to be executed like those maggot ridden deaders if those things hadn't attacked.” He looked down at Chloe who hugged her golden eyed cat. “Chloe would have been killed.”
“Me and Riley weren't part of that and you know it.” Harper seemed to relax slightly, but the mechanic could tell he was still pissed.
“Whatever. If you want to go, then go. Go find somewhere to hide. Maybe you'll survive long enough to starve to death or maybe you'll end up lunch.”
“There's nothing we can do about the zombies. There will always be zombies no matter what we do...what does it matter anyway?” Harper barked.
“My parents were eaten by zombies!” Chloe shouted. Lucky sprinted out of her hands scratching her arms. “Right in front of me!” She stood with her small hands balled into fists. Her green eyes were squeezed shut as if she was reliving the terrible day her parents were killed. Harper and Riley didn't look at her. “That's why it matters. I'm tired of being scared of being eaten. Don't you want to walk down a street without being attacked? I don't want to be zombie food.” She looked at Damon who stood with his arms crossed and wondered if he didn't want her to talk anymore. Seeing no objection she continued. “I want to see people. More people, my age. Damnit! Maybe I want a boyfriend.” She gazed back at the marines. “Don't you want girlfriend? Even just to have women to look at other than in magazines for crying out loud.”
“I'm tired of being alone.” Damon confessed. Chloe sat down on a cot by Damon's feet. “I killed them.” Damon sank down next to her. It squeaked under his weight. “I killed my wife and son. Michael was his name. He was only eight. He was bitten at school on the freaking playground. I stupidly thought it wasn't a big deal. If I only I knew then what I know now. He changed...while my wife was sleeping next to him. He ripped her throat out...” Chloe shifted uncomfortably. It seemed like she was just hearing the story for the first time even though she already knew what happened to his family. “She changed too. I locked them in my garage for days not knowing what to do. I prayed for a cure. I prayed to hear something from the government…or the military.” He stopped for a second, not looking up from his boots. “Finally, I shot them and buried them in the backyard. I have no one else. All I have now is Chloe.” He muttered. “And you guys.”
Harper stormed out of the bay not saying a word. Riley’s shoulders sagged, and he walked out the door. He perched up on the fire truck parked in the back of the lot. “Sorry, bro.” Marco said awkwardly and disappeared.
“I don't know if I have it in me to finish this Chloe.” He nearly whispered. “If the guys leave...” Chloe slipped off the cot and knelt in front of him gathering his big hands in her own. Damon noticed that she looked wiser beyond her years. Her eyes had seen horrors that couldn't be fathomed by some. “You have to do this...for both of us.” Tears fell from her haunted green eyes. “Please. I'm tired of being scared. My parents didn't leave me...they were killed...by tho-those freaks. They were trying to save me...but-bu-” She collapsed into sobs.
“Chloe. I'm sorry.” Damon wrapped his arms around her and pulled the teen to him. “It's okay. I got you now.” He kissed the top of her head. “I won't let anything happen to you.”
Chloe fell asleep on the cot next to him in the truck bay. Damon picked her up in both arms and carried her to the barracks. It was something that he used to do with Michael almost every night. He was pretty sure the behavior was automatic. Riley and Harper did not return. He didn't know if they were going to ever come back. He couldn't be sure. When he got up to the barracks, Marco was already passed out on his cot. The creeping depression sensation crawled up Damon's spine and onto his shoulders as he sat in the silence. He took the pistol out of his jeans. It was glittering black in the low light. His easy way out was in his hands. All he needed to do was pick it up and squeeze the trigger.
A vision of his wife passed in front of him. Her golden hair glowed in the florescent light blowing in wind Damon couldn’t feel. Her body suspended over the titled floor. Her blue eyes pierced into Damon's soul. His body shook. He reached out to touch Amy, but his hand passed through her. Tears fell from his eyes when the mechanic bowed his head in his hands. Suddenly everything became too overwhelming. He was unable to suppress the feelings anymore. He raised the pistol to his head. Before he pulled the trigger his eyes went dark. The mechanic passed out onto the cot with his feet still on the floor and pistol in his hand.
Chapter 34
The next morning Chloe awoke suddenly. It must have been a bad dream. She couldn’t remember anything. She turned to see Damon lying with the pistol loosely in his hand. She took the gun and set his on the metal nightstand. When Damon finally woke up Chloe said nothing about it, but she did wrap her skinny arms around his waist. He awkwardly returned the hug and went about his morning ritual. Shower, dress, do something meaningless for the rest of the day.
Damon puttered about the fire station and checked over the Silverado. Harper hadn’t graced them with his presence, yet. The mechanic assumed the big marine left. Riley had returned sometime during the night with an empty bottle of Irish whiskey. Damon couldn’t shake the thoughts of his family. They seemed to haunt him in everything he did. He didn’t know if he would go out ever again. They still had two walls to finish, all the bodies to get rid of…and the zombies. He decided that he wasn’t going out today. None of them would.
Another day came and went with Damon sleeping in. On the following morning Chloe came for him. “Wake up Damon.” She kicked him the butt. “We got to finish this.” She pulled his blanket back. He held onto one corner as if shielding himself from any responsibility. “Get your ass up. Riley and Marco are coming. They are alread
y in the truck.”
Damon hesitantly cracked a mahogany eye. “They are? What about Harper?” Chloe bowed her head. “Haven’t heard from him.” After a few moments of Damon’s lack of movement, she tore his blankets completely off. “Come on! We ain’t quitin’!” She held the blanket against her hip.
Damon reluctantly got up and passed the teenager by with a pat on her shoulder. “Let’s go then.” Sooner or later the teen always got her way.
Outside the fire station the air was cold. Before long it would be winter. They had to have the fence done before the ground froze. He looked at his friends sitting in the Silverado. The driver’s seat was empty. “Thank you.” He nearly whispered.
“You owe me a new iPod by the way. I didn’t want to bring it up before.” She joked. “That reminds me. The zombies were really attracted to the sound. I think we could use it against them…like strap cellphones or iPods to bombs or somethin’.”
That idea excited Riley. The marine seemed to be back to his old self again. “That would be awesome! The zombies would be all like.... UUUUHHH RRR around the bomb, and then it would totally exploded and turn them into mush.” He did his best zombie impression, which Chloe thought was downright hilarious. “Only I don't know how to make a bomb.” He glanced at Marco.
“Don't look at me, Ese. What about you Damon?” Damon shook his head. “No bombs. If you need a motor or transmission fixed then I'm your guy.” “Harper knows how.” Riley said. Damon wrinkled his forehead. “Don't worry, the big man will be back after he's had his piss and moan party all by himself.”
Damon wanted to believe the tall marine but wouldn't get his hopes too high. Deep down he knew one day he was going to run out of luck. Damon would have to be a freaking leprechaun to be lucky enough to get Harper back. When they got to the suburbs the zombies were gone, only the bodies remained.
Zombie Revolution Page 21
