“Meat sack!” Caslow stamped his foot again, coming dangerously close to being grabbed by several pairs of grasping hands. “Come on. There’s a hot meal here if you want it.”
The rotter snarled. Realizing there was food in the bus, it shuffled up the ramp. Others followed.
“It’s working,” Caslow called out to Robson.
“Get up here where it’s safe.”
Caslow ignored him. He stood by the open door, calling out to the living dead. A horde gathered around the back, with scores of hands reaching for him. With all the attention drawn to Caslow, only a few rotters gathered around the front of the bus, which would make their exit easy. When the rotter in the hospital gown reached the top of the ramp, Caslow moved toward the front and hovered a few feet from the gate. Two more climbed the ramp.
“Get your ass up here now!” ordered Robson. “We need time to close the cage.”
Caslow raced into the driver’s area, slammed the door shut, and dropped the two-by-four between the brackets to lock the door into place. As he finished, a set of fingers thrust through the openings in the rebar, the tips brushing against his face. Caslow yelped and jumped back, stumbling down the exit stairs.
“Relax,” said Robson. “They can’t get to you.”
“Are you sure?”
“If I’m wrong, then we’re both fucked.”
Rotters continued to enter the school bus until it was half filled, those farther in back shoving against the ones already stacked up along the cage. More and more fingers reached through the openings in the rebar, scraping off strips of decayed flesh against the metal. The hospital gown rotter chewed at the metal to get to them, each bite dislodging decayed teeth from rotted gums. The moaning was deafening, although it did not bother Robson as much as the stench and the insects. Jostled about by the pushing and shoving, dozens of flies and a few wasps that fed off of the decayed flesh flew into the front part of the bus and buzzed around his head.
Caslow gagged. “Aren’t we ready yet?”
“Not until we’re full.”
“Do we really need so many?”
“Trust me,” Robson swiped his hand in front of his face, providing a momentary reprieve from the insects. “You’ll appreciate them soon enough.”
Glancing into his rearview mirrors, Robson noticed an increasing number of rotters along the side of the bus, with more gathering near the front fenders. One of them reached the folding exit doors and slapped the glass, leaving a bloody streak along its surface, and making Caslow jump again. Robson checked in back. The rear was more than three quarters full. He would have liked to collect more, but thought better about it. He didn’t want to get hemmed in.
Robson shifted into first gear. “Let’s go.”
“Thank God.”
The school bus lurched forward and stalled. Caslow freaked. “What the fuck happened? Are we stuck here?”
Robson shifted into first, this time applying more gas to compensate for the extra weight. The bus lurched forward again, and this time the gears caught. It inched across the parking lot, gradually pulling away from the horde. Those rotters still on the ramp fell off, tumbling onto the others around them. The rest staggered after the bus, arms outstretched, grasping at the escaping prey.
“Lift the ramp,” Robson ordered.
Caslow grabbed the chain and pulled. Robson maneuvered the bus through the approaching rotters. By the time he reached the main street, he had it in third gear and Caslow had the ramp fully retracted.
Ten minutes later, they met up with the rest of the team outside of Dover. Jennifer and DeWitt walked over when the bus pulled up. Robson opened the folding door, and Caslow ran out, fell to his knees, and puked. A cloud of insects followed him. Jennifer and DeWitt stepped back several paces.
Jennifer placed a hand over her mouth. “Jesus, that smells horrible.”
“Try being in here.”
“No, thanks.”
Robson gestured toward Caslow. “Get him and follow me. You know what to do when we get there.”
DeWitt replied, “Roger that.”
“See you guys on the other side.” Robson closed the door to the school bus and headed for the storage facility outside of Barnston.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
Price had made his final round of the facility and was heading back to his office when he heard Carter come up behind him. “Got a minute?”
“Sure. Walk with me.” When Carter fell in beside him he asked, “What’s up?”
“We’re ready to go. Most of the camp will move out right after breakfast. I’ll stay behind, oversee the cleaning and loading of the cooking gear, and then take care of the whores.”
Price arrived at the door to his office and reached into his pocket for the keys. “What about their cooking skills?” he laughed.
“They cook as bad as they fuck. Once we get to the new place, I’ll train someone else on kitchen detail. Besides, those bitches have been nothing but trouble. One of them has begun mouthing off to me, so I made sure they’ll have a nice going away party. My way of saying thanks. Tomorrow morning, once the others have departed and they’re done loading up everything from the kitchen, I’ll shoot ’em, including the little brat.”
Price unlocked the door and entered his office. “What’ll you do with the bodies?”
Carter closed the door behind him. “I’ll dump them somewhere along the road on the way to the new compound. I’ll tell Meat that we got a flat tire and they ran away while I was fixing it. It won’t be a problem. I’ll keep him busy with chores until he finds another cunt to shack up with.”
Price sat down behind his desk and offered Carter the chair in front. “What about the Line?”
“We’re just going to leave them.”
“You’re not even going to put them down?
“Why waste the ammo? They’ll be dead in a few days.”
“Man, I thought I was heartless.”
Carter smirked.
“You seem to have everything under control.”
“Thank you.”
Price reached into his desk drawer and pulled out the half-empty bottle of whiskey. “So let’s you and I celebrate by finishing this off.”
“With pleasure.”
* * *
From his position behind a clump of bushes on the hill overlooking the storage facility, Simmons scanned the compound with his night-vision scope. He noticed an unusual lack of activity. In addition to the normal twin guards at the main gate, plus the one who made his rounds through the facility, he saw only two men entering the main office and three women wandering around near the rear of the compound. Good. That would give Robson the element of surprise.
Swinging his sniper rifle to the right, Simmons scanned the far end of the hill looking for Wayans. After a few seconds, he found his friend prone behind a rock formation, using a small boulder for cover. Wayans was examining the compound through his scope, ready to rain down hell on the gang.
* * *
“What does Price want to see us about?” asked Lisa as they walked to the rape room.
Karen nervously ran her hand through her close-cropped blonde hair. “Did we do something wrong?”
“I don’t know any more than you do,” Tracey snapped. “Carter said Price wanted to see us and show his appreciation for all we’ve done.”
Lisa was confused. “Then why not call us to his office?”
“Ask him yourself when you see him.” The anger in Tracey’s voice shut Lisa up. It did nothing to assuage her own concerns. She hoped the move to the new community would also mean a change for the better in their circumstances. After all, if the guys lived less like animals, maybe they would also act that way. The entire kitchen staff had been talking about it for the past few days. This might actually be a good thing.
Any confidence Tracey had in a better future fell apart when the three women entered the rape room. Most of the gang members stood around drinking beer. Earl looked at Tracey and the others an
d grinned. “The entertainment’s here, guys.”
Karen tried to run. A burly guy in a leather Harley Davidson vest who had been standing by the door slammed it shut and blocked it with his body.
“Jake,” she pleaded, “please let me go.”
“Why, you in a hurry? The party’s only beginning.”
Two guys stepped up behind Karen, grabbed her by the arms, and dragged her over to the table. They held her down and pinned her shoulders, while two others grabbed her by the legs and ripped off her jeans. Karen screamed and kicked, trying to shove them away, which only made her attackers laugh. A line formed in front of her.
A tall gang member with a beer belly clutched Lisa by the arm and tried to drag her to the table. The teenager lurched free and spit in his face. He punched her in the mouth, breaking Lisa’s nose and shattering her two front teeth. The tall gang member clutched the back of her neck and slammed her face down on the end of the table not being used, pinning her there with his left hand while he used his right to unzip and pull down her pants. Lisa offered no resistance.
Seven gang members neared Tracey. She backed up. Someone clutched a handful of her hair, and she saw it was Jake standing beside her. Yanking down, he forced Tracey to her knees. Earl stepped in front of her and unzipped his pants.
“Carter says you have a real dirty mouth, girl. Let’s see just how dirty it is.”
* * *
The three-vehicle convoy raced through Barnston. For the hundredth time since leaving Dover, Jennifer checked her rearview mirror. The school bus maintained a steady pace behind her. She wanted to call Robson on the radio even though he had ordered a strict radio silence to be broken only if they needed to abort. Jennifer refocused her attention back on the main road.
Just north of town, the convoy slowed to make the left turn onto Parade Road. DeWitt pulled his Humvee onto the shoulder and waited, with Jennifer doing the same. Robson slowed the school bus to a crawl and cautiously made the turn, careful not to flip the vehicle because of the excess weight. Once on Parade Road, he picked up speed and drove past. According to the plan, they couldn’t follow for another three minutes. Knowing what Robson was about to do, those would be the longest three minutes of her life.
Jennifer watched the bus’ taillights until they disappeared.
* * *
Lee fought back his tears. He knew he would never see Windows or little Cindy again because of how she acted when she had fed him dinner. She had a sad tenderness to the way she cared for him, the way she chatted with him, the way she held his cheek for a few extra seconds when she wiped his mouth. What cinched it was the hug she gave him just before she left, a gesture she had never done before, and that confirmed she would be making her escape tonight. He was happy for Windows, and prayed she and Cindy would make it.
However, their success would condemn him to a life of loneliness because only Windows had ever shown him any kindness.
Bowing his head, Lee sobbed.
* * *
Dravko crouched in a ditch opposite the main gate of the storage facility. The heat signatures of the humans tied to the perimeter defense burned bright against the cold night.
“They look delicious,” said Tibor.
“Can it,” Dravko snapped. “We promised Robson we’d help him.”
“Half those people won’t make it through the next few days.”
“I said no.”
Tibor growled. “If we were fighting with them inside the compound, at least we’d have a chance to feed.”
Dravko didn’t respond, although he agreed. A part of him hoped some of the gang members would try to escape.
* * *
Meat rolled over on his sleeping bag and wrapped a fat arm around Windows. His erection strained against his pants and pushed against her ass.
“Come on, baby. It’s our last night in this dump. Let’s celebrate.”
“That sounds great.” Windows could already feel herself heading into that cold, emotionless void that allowed her to survive the constant molestation.
Meat stood up and slid off his pants. “Tonight I want a three-way.”
“I’ll get one of the other girls. Do you have anyone particular in mind?”
“Yeah.” Meat pointed to Cindy. “Her.”
Windows’ fight-or-flight senses cranked into overdrive. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah. She’s watched us enough times to know what to do. Besides, she’s the only virgin around.”
Windows glanced over at Cindy, who sat in the corner of the unit, her legs pulled against her chest until the knees touched her cheeks. The girl’s eyes widened with fear. Windows turned back to Meat. “You promised you wouldn’t touch her.”
“I never made no such promise. I’ve just never wanted to tap that shit until now.” Meat spoke slowly, his tone deep and menacing. He picked up his pants as he spoke and slid out the belt through the loops. “She’s gettin’ fucked tonight. It’s your choice whether it’s gentle or not.”
Windows stiffened and placed herself between Meat and Cindy. “I’m not going to let you tou—”
Meat slapped her across the face with the belt. The buckle hit her left cheek, gouging out a chunk of skin. Pain and shock shot through her body. Meat wrapped the belt around his right hand, with the buckle on the outer knuckles.
“All right, ya cunt. I’m goin’ to beat the fuckin’ shit out of ya, and then you’re gonna watch me take the bitch’s cherry.”
* * *
Robson breathed through his mouth, though it barely helped. The stench of decay had become so thick inside the school bus he could taste it. When he did open his mouth, flies crawled in. He had already swallowed back vomit half a dozen times, as well as God only knew how many insects. When he broke through the woods at the end of Parade Road into the open and saw the storage facility off to his right, his relief was palpable. He didn’t have any fears about entering the battle of his life. He just wanted to get out of this rolling carnage house.
Veering right, Robson pushed his foot down on the accelerator, shifted into second gear, and steered toward the main gate of the outer defense perimeter. The bus slammed into it at over sixty miles per hour. The cowcatcher hooked the gate in the bottom right quadrant, slicing through the chain links and impaling the metal frame. Because of its momentum, the bus ripped the gate off its hinges and bent it over the hood. The upper left quadrant curled over and crashed into the driver’s side windshield. Robson closed his eyes. He heard the shattering of glass and the scraping of metal against metal. When he opened them again, a piece of the upper gate support and the barbed wire strands stuck through the windshield.
Ignoring the damage, Robson kept his foot pressed on the accelerator and aimed for the metal security gate built into the brick wall of the storage facility. The bus slammed into it, and Robson felt his senses being overwhelmed: the sudden deceleration distorting his equilibrium; the pain of the seat belt digging into his chest and shoulders; the sound of metal grinding against metal; of rotters being tossed around the back; of flies and wasps being stirred into a frenzy; and of people yelling. When Robson opened his eyes, he was staring into the barbed wire. The crash had shoved the gate section through the windshield until it sat only a few inches from his face. He had busted through, and the front third of the bus sat inside the storage facility.
Robson unbuckled and slid out of his seat. He opened the folding doors, and then spun around and lifted the two-by-four from its mounts. The cage door popped open. Grabbing his AA-12, Robson jumped off the bus.
“Freeze, motherfucker!”
Two gang members stood ten feet away, their weapons aimed at his face. Cries and yells could be heard all over the compound. The larger of the two men leveled a Remington hunting rifle at Robson.
“Drop your weapon and get on your knees!”
“Whatever you say.” Robson tossed his gun back and to the side so it landed beside the bus, and knelt down.
“Jesus Christ!” said the you
nger guard.
“What’s wrong, Billy?”
“That’s him!” He gestured with his shotgun at Robson. “The one I was telling you about. That’s the guy with the vampires down by—”
The first rotter stumbled off the bus.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
The two guards shifted their weapons from Robson to the lead rotter, a male in a soiled hospital gown. Robson used the opportunity to drop to the ground and roll under the school bus, grabbing his AA-12 in the process. The guards ignored him, concentrating on the main threat. They each fired a round, blasting apart its head and upper torso. It tumbled off the stairs and dropped to the ground, and two more took its place. The guards also took these down. While Billy reloaded, three more of the living dead staggered off the bus.
* * *
Price and Carter heard the school bus approaching seconds before it slammed into the outer gate. Both men jumped out of their seats and headed for the compound. Price saw his guards get the drawdown on the driver and heard Billy yelling, “That’s him! The one I was telling you about. That’s the guy with the vampires down by—”
Price could barely control his anger. “Shit. Those motherfuckers came for us.”
“And they brought hell with them.” Carter pointed to the first rotter stumbling off the bus before taking off toward the rear of the compound.
Price ignored his second in command, focusing instead on the intruders.
* * *
From his position on top of the hill, Simmons watched the opening minutes play themselves out. He had to admit that so far this crazy scheme seemed to be working. Robson had inserted a dead horde into the compound and, as expected, now faced the compound’s security detail. That’s why he and Wayans were there.
Rotter World (Book 2): Rotter Nation Page 25
