Damon and Victoria jumped on the back of the semi and hitched a ride. His mind was racing. Chloe said that she was going to be at the Welcome Center, and the restaurant that the two teenagers were eating at was very close to the gate. His fatherly instincts screamed to protect her, but he had to protect everyone this time. There was no time to check the Welcome Center.
By the time they got there zombies were already weaving through the cement barricades they had set up. The perimeter was breached. They stumbled over each other to get to the screaming survivors. The bloody driver of the burning car crawled out of the wreckage only to be tackled by three hungry zombies. His screams died in seconds. Harper and Riley were already fighting. The big marine was bleeding from his leg. Damon figured it must have been from the crash because Harper was in charge of watch that night at the Welcome Center or that was what he hoped. Damon watched as he tore his sleeve off and tied it tightly around his upper thigh. He quickly started firing again as the driver's body reanimated and went for him. Riley put it down from his perch on top of a green truck that was parked in the Welcome Center parking lot. His rifle bursts were steady and measured. A blonde haired woman was pulled to the ground screaming next to the chain-link.
Marco parked the semi along the opening in the chain-link and wasted no time getting out of the cab. He tried to run towards Damon, but a zombie skittered under the trailer and grabbed him around the ankle. Marco tripped. Damon tried to cover the Latino but was rushed by a group of zombies to his left. When the mechanic looked back, Marco's arms was already bleeding. The Latino shot the zombie that took a chunk out of his arm but was caught from behind. Damon watched in horror as a zombie landed a bite on his neck. The zombie tore back and held the dripping piece of meat in his teeth. Damon's shotgun blast ran in his ears as he gunned down the creature. Victoria stood by his side firing his black pistol expertly in to the crowd. Damon was able to pull Marco to temporary safety. He held his neck with his hands. Blood flowed from his mouth. “Shit, Homes...they got me.” He coughed up more blood. “Don't let me turn into one of them.”
Damon shook his head. “I can't-I just can't, not again.” “You have to.” More blood came up. I know. “But Marco...”
More zombies were stumbling towards them. They came from under the trailer. Victoria looked back at the mechanic. “Damon!”
“Just do it. It's okay, Homes.”
Damon looked at his friend. “I'm sorry it had to be this way.” “You got me out of that hell hole. I would have died in there anyway. One way or another I was zombie food. At least out here I had some fun. Plus, I got to spend some time with the ladies, if you know w-what…I…mean” He coughed. Marco's light brown skin was turning gray from loss of blood. Damon was running out of time. He took the pistol from Victoria so that he wouldn't completely obliterate his friend. The mechanic raised the pistol and closed his eyes. He squeezed the trigger. A shot rang out that made his shoulders jump.
He quickly gave Victoria the pistol back. She had tears in her eyes. There was no time for feelings. She started firing into the crowd again. The car accident caused more of the chain-link to become unsteady. It was pushed to the ground by the stampede of the dead. Damon reloaded his shotgun. A zombie lunged at him, but crumpled when it lost a piece of its head. Damon risked a glance. It was Chloe. “Get the hell out of here! I'm not risking your life. We already lost one.” She looked stunned. “Go back to the station!” He shouted. The zombies seemed to be attracted more to him now. It was probably because he was standing in a pool of Marco's fresh blood.
“I'm not leaving you again!” She argued after putting another zombie down. She looked like an adult today more than ever before. Another body crumpled.
Damon saw Tyler standing dumbly behind her. He thought he saw a wet mark on the teenager's pants. His face was ghostly white. “Tyler get her outta here! Now!” He hesitated. Damon thought that Chloe probably could take the boy if she had to. He had to give the teenager a little motivation. “Or I'll kill you myself!” That snapped the teenager into motion. He grabbed Chloe's arm and drug her kicking and screaming away from the battle. Damon thought she might actually shoot the poor boy. Damon turned back to the mess in time to see another patrol member become zombie chow. They were becoming more and more outnumbered because the dead were coming back to life. Their ammo was dwindling fast. “Let's move to Riley!” He grabbed Victoria's arm to move. They had to climb over multiple cement barriers to get to him but then had to fall back.
Riley had been forced from his perch. The truck was nearly surrounded. They piled on top of each other to get him. Damon was still one cement barrier away when a zombie dressed in a Limon inmate jumpsuit bit down onto Riley's exposed hand with a wise-like grip. “NO!” Damon screamed. In a swift movement he ran, grabbing the sword from Victoria's back and launched himself over the cement barrier. He flew through the air, and in a downward arc he severed the tall marine's hand that was still in the zombie's mouth. With another swing he cut the zombie's head off.
Riley could only scream as Damon dragged him to the burning car. Victoria shot a zombie and two more that lumbered towards the mechanic and marine. She covered Damon as he rolled the tall marine over. His bleeding stub flopped towards the fire. Damon grabbed his arm. “Hope this works. This is gonna hurt Buddy.” Without stopping he put the end of Riley's arm into the orange flame. The marine's eyes snapped open, and he screamed again after punching Damon with his good fist. The marine passed out. His blond curls were soaked in sweat and blood. Damon dragged his unconscious body back farther.
The zombie charge had slowed but didn’t stop. They pushed through the chain-link or crawled under the semi. He reloaded his shotgun and stood protectively over the marine. He looked around quickly and cursed. Where the hell was Harper? He fired into the crowd that was crawling under the trailer. Victoria was using her sword with deadly skill. Her body was beautiful as it swirled and ducked. Beautiful like an emerald viper, Damon thought. He noticed that they were the only two left fighting. Everyone else had either fled or died. “You see Harper anywhere?” He asked Victoria from over his shoulder. They were back to back now.
Damon heard the engine of a vehicle behind them. Tires squealed as the vehicle came to a stop. The mechanic glanced over his shoulder passed Victoria. He saw Harper balanced on top of one of the Humvees that was parked outside of Vail. On top of the Humvee was the .50 caliber turret. “Happy to see me?” He thundered.
“Couldn't be happier.” Damon pulled Victoria down to him and over the tall marine's unconscious body and covered their ears. He watched as Harper leveled the zombie onslaught. Bullets tore through the attacking zombies. Some were severed in half by the force and quantity of bullets. Each shot thudded in Damon’s chest. He was happy he wasn’t on the other end of the barrel.
When the deafening roar ceased the only thing left was blooding pile of corpses. “Thata girl...” He patted the gun. “Served in every major war since WWII, why not the Zombie War?” He stopped when he saw the tall marine’s body. “What happened to Riley?” Harper asked when he jumped from the Humvee once he was convinced that all the zombies were dead, dead. He rushed over.
“He got bit.” Damon said simply. “Help me get him to the truck.”
Harper hesitated. “Uh, Damon...” He stopped when he saw the marine's missing limb. “You cut off his hand?” “Yeah. Hopefully before the infection could spread. We're gonna take him to the hospital and see what happens.” He looked at Victoria. “Gather what is left of the patrol and check the perimeter. We need to get this fence closed up too.”
“Be careful.” Victoria said and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
“You too.” They gently eased Riley into the back of the Humvee. Harper got in the driver’s seat, and Damon crouched next to the unconscious marine in the backseat. They left the crash site. Damon and Harper pulled up to the hospital. It took them at least fifteen minutes to convince them to unlock the doors. They strapped Riley to a bed in the
emergency room. A nurse tended to his stub. Damon thought the marine was going to be thrilled when he came to only to find that the only color of wrap left in the hospital was bright pink. “Take good care of him. We'll be back as soon as we can.” The nurse nodded, and the two left.
Their first stop after the hospital was back to the gate. They got out of the truck to assess the damage. The SUV had pulled down a good section of fencing the size of his Silverado. Harper thought it would be a good idea to drop the semi-trailer on its side then push it close to the fence since they didn't have any more. They would secure the chain-link still standing to the trailer. In the morning they would get more fencing from somewhere in Vail. Damon was sure they would find some commercial property with tall fencing. Damon made sure the Humvee stayed put just in case they had any more problems and took the blazer back to the station.
It took almost two hours for the two to maneuver the trailer into place and another thirty minutes or more to test it to make sure no other zombies could get through. While they checked the trailer, Victoria and what was left of the patrol stopped by to report they only found two stray zombies, and all the survivors were still locked in their homes. “Good. Make sure to tell them to stay inside until we can clear the streets for sure in the morning.”
The sky let loose soft rain drops. As the night wore on, it became a heavy downpour. Lightning streaked across the black sky followed by deafening thunder that shook the ground. The mechanic didn’t complain. The rain extinguished the fire caused by the wreck. Damon and Harper pulled into the fire station parking lot. Chloe answered the door after just one knock. Before the two were even through the door she asked. “Where's Riley?” Her green eyes were big with worry.
Damon hung his head. “He's in the hospital.” “What?” “He was bitten.” “Oh No! No!” She sobbed.
“I cut his hand off as it was happening.” He held her to his chest. “We're gonna wait and see what happens. Hopefully we got it in time.”
Chloe dried her cheeks with her bare arm. “When can I see him?” She sniffed. “Not until morning. He's sleeping anyway. Plus we got to make sure the streets are safe before anyone goes out.” Harper walked inside the fire station and sat down on bench followed by Chloe.
“Where's Marco?” Damon shook his head. “We lost him...” He muttered.
“Shit...” Damon heard Harper say. The big marine wasn't close to the inmate, but he was still part of their group...a member of their family. He scratched his fingers over his sandpaper head. Damon moved to a chair at the middle table and sat.
“They pulled him down when he was getting out of the semi. We couldn't kill all the zombies around him. I was able to get to him after, but it was too late. They had already taken a couple of bites out of him.” Damon stopped. “He made me kill him...” He spoke into the table.
Harper nodded but said nothing. Chloe looked like a ghost. She held her tabby cat close to her. “I think I'm gonna go to bed now.” With her shoulders slumped she walked up the stairs with Lucky meowing in her arms. She stroked the cat, her mind numb.
Damon smiled weakly when the door opened. It was Victoria. She sat down at the table across from Damon. The woman had dark circles under her eyes. She was exhausted. Her skin was covered with blood Damon knew wasn't hers. “I'd kiss you if you weren't so dirty.” She said to Damon.
He must have looked just as bad as she did. “Same here. It’s a shame about your dress.”
She laughed. “Eh. I’m sure I can find something else. I'm glad you're okay.” She ran her hands over Damon's. Harper let himself out and went to stay with Liz. He was sure that the woman would be fretting after the call went out that zombies were attacking. He said his goodbyes and left. Damon looked over to Victoria who watched the big marine leave. “How about we wash up?” He asked pulling Victoria to her feet. Victoria smiled shyly and followed Damon to the showers.
Chapter 51
The sun rose over the safe zone while Damon and Harper took one of the trailers to the outer parts of Vail to find more chainlink. They struck gold at a local power company. They were able to take the chain-link gate and enough fencing to fix the parts that fell down. It also provided them enough to make another holding tank since their other one was destroyed.
When they returned volunteers helped them move the semitrailer and put up the new fence. It took only half a day to complete; Damon was happy to have the help. He wished that he had it when they originally put up the safe zone. After they completed the fence it was time to take care of the dead. Victoria thought it was a good idea to bury the safe zone dead in the cemetery by the church, and then take the rest to the construction zone. Damon agreed with the plan and started the long process of loading bodies on the trailer to take to the cemetery grounds. They lost a total of twenty people in the attack. He took a moment over Macro's body. His eyes were closed, which Damon was grateful. He was sorry that the Latino perished in the battle. He liked the man a lot, and he was sure going to miss his cooking.
It took them into the next day to finally dispose all of the bodies. They had a service at the cemetery for all the survivors lost. When the service was over Chloe was able to convince Damon to visit Riley. The nurses said that he woke up that morning, and Riley was not happy. Chloe smiled all the way to the hospital. “I can't wait to see him.”
“I hope he's not pissed I took his hand.”
“You saved his life.”
“True. At least he's not a zombie.” Damon pulled into the hospital under the ER overhang. “Here we are.” Chloe barely waited for the mechanic to shift into park before jetting out of the cab. “Chloe!” Damon followed the bouncing teen. Her ponytail disappeared around a corner. As soon as Damon opened the doors he heard Riley. The marine was shouting at a nurse.
“-you can take that IV and shove it up your-” “Riley!” Damon bellowed.
The red faced nurse hustled out of the room. She left the IV on the table. “Let yourself die from infection then!” The white curtain billowed as she passed by Damon.
“So much for bedside manor...” Riley muttered. “That kinda stops after an apocalypse. Riley, why are you acting crazy?” Chloe plopped down at the end of his bed. Riley's wrinkled forehead and nose relaxed when he looked at the teenager. “I hate hospitals. They creep me out, and I absolutely don’t dig needles.”
“You're afraid of hospitals.” She laughed. “You were attacked by like a million zombies last night, and you weren't afraid then.”
“That's different.” Chloe shook her head. “You gotta have antibiotics though or you could die. Who knows what bacteria got in there when Damon chopped your hand off?”
Riley's head snapped to Damon who was leaning in the doorway. “Oh yeah. Thanks Fucker. Now I don't have a left hand.” “Would you rather be dead?” Damon asked shrugging his shoulders.
“I guess not, but now how am I gonna tie my shoes...or play the piano.” “You don't play the piano.” Chloe said. “Well, we'll never know now.” He joked.
“And we’ll get you some Velcro shoes.” Damon smiled. Riley flipped him off with his remaining middle finger.
“And this must have been your idea.” He pointed to the pink wrap on his stub.
Chloe shook her head vigorously. “I seriously had no clue, but I think it’s cute.” “Just let the nurses help you. I promise you'll be out in a few days.” Damon said. He was happy the marine didn't wake up a zombie.
“So what's the damage? I mean besides my hand.” “You missed it Riley. Harper got to use the Humvee turret.” Damon said.
“When did he get that? I didn’t know he was working on it…that Fucker. Ha! Well that lucky bastard.”
“It saved our lives.” “I bet it did. That would have been awesome to see it tear through those deaders.” Riley closed his eyes for a second and held his bandaged stub. “Shit…this hurts.”
Damon crossed and uncrossed his arms. “We lost twenty...including Marco.” “Shit...” “We finished burying everyone before w
e came here. I have to say I’m glad you weren’t one of them. At least we got the fence secured again.” Chloe's stomach growled. “Now I guess we are going to get something to eat.” Damon said.
Chloe patted the marine's leg. “See ya for now, Riley.” Damon and Chloe walked out of the room. They passed Riley's nurse, whose face was back to a normal color. Damon heard Riley yell for the nurse. “I'll take that IV now!” With a sigh the nurse left the station and disappeared into the marine's room
Chapter 52
Summer enveloped the town of Vail and the safe zone. The warm breeze caressed Damon's cheek while he sat on the rooftop waiting for Victoria. His feet scraped against the black asphalt. He looked over the gleaming rooftops that consisted of his safe zone. All evidence of the battle had been erased. The survivors managed to rebuild the half of the Welcome Center that was destroyed. Damon scanned the perimeter. His eyes passed over the gardens that were started in the spring. People were fishing in the river. One of the fishermen yelled when he pulled a trout to the bank. Things were starting to look up. Riley had gotten out of the hospital a few weeks before and was learning to live without the use of his left hand. He practiced shooting with Harper every other day. It was slowly improving even though Riley believed he was just as good as before. The crossbow he stole from Keith’s earlier in the year finally had a purpose.
Riley moved in with Kya at the apartment building, and Liz officially moved in with Harper. It was just Damon and Chloe at the fire station now, even though Victoria stayed over almost every night. Chloe transformed the woman's quarters into her own person bedroom. She pushed nearly all the full beds together to make one padded island in the center for sleeping.
He turned to the mountain side. The area around Keith’s cabin looked the same as it always had. Damon wanted to know how his brother was fairing. He had long forgiven him for kicking them all out. He knew now the difficulty accompanied with having extra mouths to feed. In Damon’s case it was two-hundred thirty-one. At some point he planned on making his way back up the dirt road and checking on his older brother. Hopefully when that day finally came Keith wouldn’t shoot him.
Zombie Revolution Page 29
