by Derek Slaton
The next half block was clear, and he tore up onto a large expanse of grass, dodging the random stragglers grunting about in the foliage. At the other end he turned east, running full tilt for the river.
He skidded to a stop in the middle of the road by the water, eyes darting up and down. “Fuck. How far down was that dock?” he muttered frantically, and then took a chance on heading south. He moved quickly down the road, occasionally peeking through the tall grass at the water to keep an eye out for the boat or the dock.
Around a bend he froze, a few dozen zombies tightly packed in the road about thirty yards away. They turned to face him almost in slow motion, and he could barely move as their gauzy eyes seemed to lock on his heaving chest.
“Shit,” he breathed, and then one of the zombies screamed.
Tony turned and faced the river, rolling his shoulders and bouncing from foot to foot. “I swear y’all better fuckin’ be there,” he grunted, and then sprinted to the bank, throwing himself as far out into the water as he possibly could.
The chilly river was a shock to his system, but his survival instincts took over quickly and he breached the surface, taking in a deep lungful and focusing on getting away from the shore. He backstroked about twenty yards out, hoping that would be enough distance in case any of the zombies decided to take a dip after him.
The current picked him up, and he began to simply tread water, keeping his head up as the river did all the work of carrying him to what he hoped was safety.
Around a sloping bend, he caught sight of a boat ahead, and his heart leapt into his throat. “Mandy!” he screamed. “Vernon! New guy!” He waved a hand and then had to put it back down to keep himself afloat in the rapidly quickening current, but heard cries of excitement from his crew.
They managed to grab the dock on the way by, holding steady as Tony floated down to them. Mandy held out her oar and he gripped it with white hands, Vernon and Phil reaching down to help him into the boat.
Mandy wrapped a blanket around his shivering form, rubbing her hands up and down his arms frantically.
“Glad you made it,” Vernon said, voice thick.
Tony smiled, teeth chattering. “M-me too.”
Phil knelt down in front of him, raising an amused eyebrow. “You do know my name is Phil, right?”
“S-sorry,” Tony replied with a trembling shrug. “The hypothermia must have killed that brain cell.”
Mandy grabbed the shivering man’s face and planted a firm kiss on his pale lips. “I’m going to warm you up proper tonight, cowboy,” she promised.
Vernon shook his head. “One step at a time, you two,” he warned. “We gotta get to the casino.” He headed to the ignition and fired it up, his shoulders feeling a little lighter that they hadn’t lost yet another member of their team. He popped the boat into gear and they headed towards their new home.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Nadia led the lineup of refrigerators along the wall on the second floor of the atrium, spear first. At every hallway, she leaned around the corner to make sure there were no surprises, and then her team of fridge-pushers followed behind her once the coast was clear.
It was a slow journey to the escalators, but a safe one, and they stopped against the far wall, staying out of sight from the zombies below. The shield doors leaned to their left, having been brought down already on their previous run.
“Okay, Doug, Victor, Solomon, you three take the right side,” Nadia said quietly. “The rest of you take the left. As soon as you get the first one down, Victor and Luke grab your doors and plug the hole in case any of them climb over.”
“I thought you said these things can’t climb?” Victor worried.
She shook her head. “Depending on how the fridges land, they might be able to get by. I’d rather prepare for that possibility, right?”
“Fair enough,” the older man replied.
“I’ll take center position, call out what I see, and spear any that get too close to the top,” she added. The group nodded and slowly wheeled the brightly-colored appliances forward, standing behind them and ready to heave. Nadia backed up where they could see her, and gave a silent countdown with her fingers. As she hit zero, they rushed.
The sound of thumping feet and squealing wheels alerted the zombies on the casino floor, and a few of the closest ones turned and tore up the escalator immediately.
“Push!” Victor screamed. The trio gave the fridge such a great heave that the appliance tumbled end over end, crushing several of the ascending zombies. About two-thirds of the way down, it wedged itself on its side, clogging traffic.
On the left side, however, Gregory, Luke, and James were having a hard time pushing theirs, as the zombies were pushing back on the other side. Nadia leapt up onto the center median, stabbing down into one of their heads.
“Keep pushing!” she barked at the boys, taking down another zombie in its eye socket.
“It’s not moving!” Luke cried. “We’re caught on something!”
James knelt down and wrapped his fingers under the bottom of the fridge, yanking upwards to flip the whole thing over. The momentum broke the three barrier zombies back, folding them in half, the appliance flipping twice before standing straight up on the escalator landing.
Nadia jumped down to finish off the mangled moaning corpses, and then scrambled back up just as Victor and Luke secured the top of the stairs with shields.
“How we looking, girl?” Victor asked as he ducked down, bracing himself against his door.
Nadia watched intently as the zombies struggled to get around the appliances. One managed to get on top of the one on its side, but leaned too far over and slid back down into the sea of its brethren below.
“I think once we get the next ones down, the zombies aren’t gonna be able to get up here,” she said firmly.
Doug and Gregory approached with their second fridge, and Victor moved his shield aside to give them access. They shoved it down, and it slammed into the other one on the right side, nestling in to create a nice big barrier.
“Yeah, they ain’t getting over that,” Victor said, peering over his shield.
Nadia shrugged. “If it’s all the same, we’re gonna stand guard,” she said.
“Fine by me,” the older man agreed. “I’ve had my fill of lugging heavy shit all over the place.”
“You want us to get the other one?” Doug asked.
Nadia shook her head. “No, you two head back to town and start rounding up the citizens. Hopefully Mister Kenneth has them packed up.”
“But where are we going to house them?” he asked, scratching the back of his head. “We still haven’t cleared out the upper floors.”
“We’ll worry about that later,” the young girl replied. “Right now, we need to get them out of that town before unwelcome guests start arriving.”
“Fair enough,” Doug agreed. “Come on, Gregory, let’s roll.” He waved for the boy to follow, and they headed back towards the hotel at a brisk walk.
James and Solomon stepped forward on the left side and sent another fridge down the escalator, this one creating a nice sideways barrier against the upright one at the bottom. Luke slid his door back into place, closing up the gate as the duo went back to grab another appliance.
“Miss Nadia,” Victor declared, raising his chin. “I believe I owe you an apology. I completely underestimated you.”
She grinned at him. “Yes, yes you did.” She put a hand on her hip and he shook his head with a chuckle, holding up his hand. She gave it a loud high five.
“Alright, make room,” James barked. “We’re coming though.”
Victor moved his door to let the next fridge roll through. It flipped a few times and smacked back a lone zombie that had managed to wriggle up on top of the other two.
“So… Nadia?” James asked as he took a breather, staring down at their handiwork.
She turned to him. “Yes?”
“What else do we need to do to secure this flo
or?” he asked.
She shrugged. “This should be it. The upper floors are secure because the emergency exits open towards the stairwell. Those things won’t be able to get them open.”
“And when the time comes,” James continued, “do you have any idea how we’re gonna clear those?”
“My plan was to wait on the raiding party to get back from Arkansas and let them handle it,” Nadia admitted.
James laughed. “That is a good goddamn plan, lil’ lady.”
“I thought so too.” She nodded.
The older man smacked Solomon on the shoulder. “Come on boy, we got one more of these to do.” He motioned to the last fridge behind them.
As the final appliance tumbled down, cementing a barrier that would keep them safe, Nadia couldn’t help the flush of pride at how she’d done what her daddy had tasked her with.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Vernon killed the engine as the casino loomed into view, spotting a dock in the shadow of the tall building.
“Man, it’s crazy how many of those things have already gotten to the bridge,” Phil breathed, gaping at the few hundred zombies clustered around the destroyed bridge on the city side.
Tony nodded, finally a bit warmer and drier. “Doesn’t look like they’ve reached our side, yet. Hopefully Nadia and the others got our people to safety.”
“If I know my girl,” Vernon piped up, “she’s probably shootin’ craps on the casino floor while everybody gets settled.” He forced his voice not to tremble with his bravado. Their last attempted at the casino had been a tragedy, and he feared for his daughter and everyone else.
“If anybody could do it,” Mandy said gently, “it’s that kid of yours.”
Phil leaned out and grabbed the rope from the dock, securing the boat before hopping out to pull it right in. They readied their weapons and followed him, Vernon bringing up the rear and lifting his walkie talkie to his lips.
“Nadia, it’s daddy, you there?” he asked.
The group waited at the shoreline as the silence dragged on.
“Nadia, baby, you there?” Vernon tried again.
His heart began to pound in his ears at the lack of response. Panic rose in the back of his throat, and he thought he might scream if-
“Vernon, good to hear your voice, old friend,” Mister Kenneth drawled over the radio.
Vernon immediately clicked the talk button. “Is my daughter okay?”
“Why don’t you come on up to the casino and see for yourself?” Mister Kenneth sounded nothing but jovial, and the group relaxed, for the first time all day.
“We’ll be right up,” Vernon replied, throat thick and eyes moist. He brushed past the group, leading them up the path to the casino.
As they came around the outer courtyard, they spotted a few dozen trucks lined up by the retro hotel. Several townsfolk unloaded supplies, leading the less mobile people inside and giving directions.
Tony grinned. “Looks like she did it, Vernon.”
Mister Kenneth emerged from the front doors, pausing to direct a few men with big crates, and then waving at the approaching group.
“I’m so glad y’all made it back safely,” he bellowed, spreading his arms.
Vernon pressed his lips into a thin line, and the deacon’s gaze faltered when he realized they were two short.
“Are they?” he asked simply.
Vernon nodded in silence.
The group took a moment, finally able to just take that moment, and Mister Kenneth clasped his hands together.
“Their sacrifice won’t be in vain,” he said firmly.
Vernon took a deep breath. “No, it won’t.”
“Come on,” Mister Kenneth urged, “there’s still lots to be done.”
He led them inside, up and across to the second floor of the casino. People hurried around, putting together makeshift bedding in the hallways. The whole place was abuzz, people everywhere with makeshift spears made out of knives and metal rods.
Mister Kenneth motioned to the railing, and the quartet peered down at the horde below. They milled about, around a mountain of refrigerators, a set of people at the top of the escalators standing behind a barricade made out of doors.
“What do you think, daddy?” Nadia asked from behind them. “Did I do good?”
Vernon whipped around and scooped his daughter into the tightest hug he’d ever given her. “Oh, girl, you did so good! How… how did you do all of this?” He pulled back and stared down at her. He was in awe of the young woman she’d become.
“You raised me to think on my feet,” she replied with a sly shrug. “Which is exactly what I did.”
He blinked back tears. “That’s my girl.”
“She did real good, Vernon,” Mister Kenneth added. “If we take our time, we should be able to clear out the main floor within a few days. They don’t have another way up here, and it sounds like we’re gonna be stuck here for quite a while.”
“We weren’t able to bring over the supplies,” Phil piped up. “Do we have enough to get by?”
Mister Kenneth grinned. “Don’t worry, my new friend. We have about ten days worth of food, and running water. Once we get the floor cleared, there’s months of food stocked up down there.”
Fresh moans echoed, and the group looked up to see some zombies flailing their arms over the railing above.
“Looks like there’s still some work to be done, girl,” Vernon declared, feigning disappointment. “What was your plan for them?”
Nadia smiled sweetly at her father. “Wait for y’all to get back and delegate.”
He let out a deep belly laugh and pulled her back into a hug. Some things would never change.
END
Coming Soon: The Second Week continues as the soldiers from the Heartland continue to ride the rails on their journey to the northwest.
The Dead Series
The Initial Outbreak Series
Dead Texas: Day Zero
Dead Texas: No Comfort
Dead Texas: Lonesome Road
Dead Texas: The Journey West
Dead America: The First Week Series
Carolina Front Books 1-3
Operation Bismarck
The El Paso Invasion
Heartland
Portland
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