“You don’t say,” Ray replied with a grin. “According to this map Sanctuary is about fifteen miles from here. Depending on how we get ahead, we should be there tonight or tomorrow morning.”
“Tomorrow morning?” Scott asked in an astonished tone of voice. Ray realized that Scott wanted to get to Sanctuary as soon as possible. Every step that brought them closer to their goal might get him nearer to Jane and Sam. However, they could not afford to be careless.
“Don’t forget that we don’t know the area–and most of the time we‘ll be going uphill,” Ray replied. “We shouldn‘t be taking any chances. It‘s better to arrive a bit later, but safely.”
“There are two towns between here and Sanctuary, if we follow this route,” Nika said and traced a line between Redstone and their goal with her finger. “Vertigo and Reefe. We could stay there overnight, if necessary. And if it‘s safe enough.”
“Let’s do that.” With these words, Ray led the group forward, with Watson by his side. Nika, Screw and Scott followed right behind. All of them seemed nervous about what Sanctuary would offer them.
For the first two hours they followed a paved street that meandered through the pines of the White Mountain National Forest. While it was still pretty chilly, the sun rose higher in the sky, and the walking was strenuous enough so that no one felt cold anymore. The few undead they encountered were either too far away to pose a threat, or they were silently eliminated. The overall mood was improving, as there seemed to be no imminent danger.
“Wasn’t your ex-wife supposed to be in Sanctuary?” Screw asked Ray after he had caught up with him. The black mechanic had also noticed Scott’s eagerness to get to Sanctuary and see if his family was there.
“At least that‘s what I’ve been told.” Ray cast a furtive glance at Nika to see whether she could hear their conversation and if she showed any reaction. Nothing.
“Does that mean you don’t really believe it?” Screw insisted.
“To be honest, I don’t know what to believe. The person on the photo was Melissa, but I don’t know, when or where it was taken. I hope to find out soon.”
Screw nodded. “Do you think the people in Sanctuary know they could potentially be infected?”
“Hard to say. My first guess would be they don’t have a clue. On the other hand, they might have sources of information we know nothing about. The fact there hasn’t been any radio contact with Fort Weeks for several weeks is a bad sign, though.”
“Are you trying to say that...”
“I‘m not trying to say anything. I only know what Sarah Mitchell would have done to the army base once she was a zombie, if it hadn‘t been for Nika. And the eleven men and women now in Quarantine could be just as dangerous, if they‘re not strictly guarded.”
“But Sarah was a hemophiliac,” Screw replied. “The probability that someone at Sanctuary also has this disease is not incredibly high.”
“You‘re right, but it‘s not impossible. Even if no one mutates into an alpha zombie, it would be enough if a regular undead creature infects many survivors.”
“Alpha zombie,” Screw repeated. “Somehow I think that term is stupid.”
“Call them what you want. I just want to christen them.”
„Ray, Ray, Ray. Your blasphemies are going to be the end of you sometime,” Screw answered in a friendly tone.
“Demon alcohol already tried that and failed,” Ray said with a smile. Then he remembered that he had been dry for thirty-six days. After his relapse at the gas station, he had felt the urge for booze in some situations, but never really got close to taking up drinking again. This was something he could be proud of as a long-time alcoholic.
After walking for an additional three hours, they took a break in a small glade.
“We should be getting to Vertigo soon. At the next fork in the road we have to go right, then we‘ll see the town in a large clearing,” Ray said, while he studied the map and chewed on a piece of jerky.
“It‘s shortly past 1:00 p. m.,” Scott said, while looking over Ray’s shoulder. “Reefe is about two hours beyond Vertigo, and our destination is another three to four hours north of that. If we continue making good headway, we could reach Sanctuary tonight.” His voice sounded excited.
“What‘s that?” Nika asked and pointed to a symbol on the map shortly beyond the town of Vertigo.
“It says these are the so-called Waterfall Caves. It seems to be the only direct route from Vertigo to Reefe, which was used as a smuggling route by Indians in the old times. There‘s a cave extending for about a mile that starts behind a waterfall. Legend says that treasures and valuable goods used to be stored there.”
“Who knows, maybe we’ll find a treasure,” Scott laughed.
“What do you have in mind–a picnic basket?” Ray joked.
Scott had to laugh, too. He drank another sip of water and put on his backpack.
“Thanks, I’ve had enough for now. Let’s go on.”
36Vertigo
When they left the dense forest via a dirt track, they saw a large clearing covered in knee-high grass and some old log cabins at the end of it. Considering how few buildings there were, Vertigo could hardly be called a town. There was only a narrow paved road leading to the cabins. Besides the cabins, there was also a large house at the rear of the clearing, behind which a roaring waterfall cascaded into a mountain lake. The way the noonday sun shone from a cloudless sky and was reflected in the water, it might have been called an idyllic scene. Yet, Ray had no time to enjoy the picturesque landscape of the small mountain village as he stepped out from under the trees. He was focused on two objects that did not fit into this scene at all: Military helicopters.
He walked quickly toward the two Bell helicopters that looked very similar to the one they had used to fly to Redstone. Both of them were deserted, but showed no exterior damage.
“Looks like you were right,” Scott remarked. “The rescue troops must have landed here.”
Ray nodded. “It appears so. This was probably the last location outside of Sanctuary where they could easily land.”
“Then why didn’t we land here?” Scott asked.
“I wasn’t taking any chances. The coordinates of Sanctuary don’t help much in these densely wooded areas, so we needed additional information. That’s why we landed in Redstone. That way, we could evaluate the situation before searching the forest. Since Screw found the map, we now have a much better idea of where to go. The fact both helicopters are here shows us that we are on the right track.”
“This still doesn‘t explain what happened to their crews,” Screw said.
“We‘ll probably find out,” Ray replied and walked in the direction of the cabins. The others followed him.
When they reached the large building near the mountain lake, Ray was sure there was no danger here. The cabins, as far as he could tell, where uninhabited. They probably were only used as lodging during the tourist season. On the track between these buildings were several zombie corpses, which probably had been eliminated by the rescue troops. The large house they stood in front of most likely had been a tavern, judging from the large bar Ray could see through the window. After going around the building they discovered a long footbridge that crossed the lake to a flight of stairs on the other side leading upward. A wooden sign told them the Waterfall Caves were that way. The roaring of the water made it hard to talk to each other.
“We have to go up there. The entrance must be behind the waterfall,” Ray yelled.
“Okay, let’s hurry. The dog is already getting nervous,” Nika replied.
When Ray looked at Watson, he saw that his four-legged companion was trembling all over. He did not seem to like being on a wooden bridge. Ray picked him up and walked ahead. At the stairs the noise was so extreme that the others placed their hands over their ears. Nika tapped her comrades on the shoulders and signaled them to stick cartridges into their ears. This helped a little bit, but they still felt almost deaf when they d
iscovered the cave entrance behind the waterfall. They ran into it and Screw switched on his flashlight.
“It‘s as dark in here as the inside of a bear’s ass,” Scott grumbled.
“Let‘s move quickly through the cave,” Ray replied nervously. His ears were still ringing when he pulled out the cartridges. “We have to postpone our treasure hunt for another time.”
The cave was surprisingly large, nearly ten yards in diameter and had a long passage, almost as wide, which must have been the old smuggling route. Screw did his best to light the path ahead of them well, but the cone of light was almost swallowed by the surrounding darkness. At several spots smaller corridors seemed to branch off to the right or left, but they all agreed that they should not deviate from the direct path. They had been walking through the darkness, when a sudden cry of pain made everyone flinch.
“FUCK! Damn it!” It was Nika.
“What’s up?” Screw asked and immediately turned the flashlight in her direction.
“I have no idea, but I stumbled over something. What kind of shit is lying around here?”
When Screw shone his light at the ground in front of Nika, she wished she had never asked that question. She saw the remains of a human corpse in a military uniform.
“What the...?” Scott managed to say, but then everything happened really fast. With a shrill scream, a figure launched itself at Screw and pushed him down. Ray would swear later that the creature fell from the ceiling, even though he had no proof for this assumption. After the attack, Screw lost the flashlight and it rolled several yards to the side, and now only a weak light shone into the passage. They could see very little. Another blood-curdling scream echoed through the cave. Then they heard surprisingly agile steps on the stones, without being able to locate exactly where they were coming from. Ray knew they were in great danger from a very mobile opponent who had no problem finding a way in the dark. Ray himself could not see for more than a foot or two in front of him.
To make matters worse, Watson now started to bark like mad, and they could no longer hear the attacker’s footsteps. The next thing Ray perceived was a horrible wail of pain uttered by Scott, who was standing about ten feet behind him.
“Damn it, what‘s happening here?” Nika yelled. She was quick-witted enough to pull a chemlight from her backpack and activate it by breaking the inner chamber so that the chemicals mixed and lit the surroundings with a pale green glow. She saw a horrible scene: A total of four corpses were lying in this section of the cave, all wearing military uniforms. What was much more gruesome, though, was the sight of the potential murderer: An extremely thin, sinewy zombie stood over Scott, ready to maul him. But when the chemlight came on, it ran screaming from the glow and disappeared into a side corridor. Watson raced after the monster.
“Watson! No!” Ray grabbed for his dog and managed to hold him by the dog collar. He hectically examined his friends who were lying on the ground.
“Scott, Screw, everything alright with you?” Ray noticed Scott was bleeding heavily from an arm and was moaning loudly.
“I wasn’t bitten,” Scott groaned. “I cut my arm on a rock.” He pointed at a sharp edge of the rock, where even in the dim light a piece of his parka and red blood were visible. Scott pressed his other hand against the wound.
Screw wasn’t moving at all. Just as Ray wanted to lean down, the chemlight went out. The heard another shrill cry of triumph, followed by quick, short steps in their direction.
“Nika–another one!” Ray yelled, even though it was not necessary. Nika already held two more chemlights in her hands and threw then between Ray and the area where the steps of the creature were coming from. The zombie immediately stopped. For a brief moment they could see the narrow face of the undead in the greenish glow, and it was hard to imagine that this creature had once been a human being. The teeth were clearly visible, twice as many as normal, and they looked more like knitting needles than human teeth. The almost bald head was very deformed, and the eyelids were completely missing, making the beast look as crazy as it acted. Ray knew they did not have much time. In the darkness they stood no chance of surviving the next attack. He quickly slid the backpack off his shoulders. The he jumped over Screw and rolled to the flashlight lying near the wall. The two chemlights were starting to already flicker, when he picked up the flashlight and aimed it straight at the attacker. Instead of assaulting Scott, the zombie spun around and tried to flee again. Ray pulled out his silenced Beretta and fired three shots. The torso of the undead jerked back three times, and brutish wails filled the cave. But the creature did not fall down or flee, but instead jumped at Ray and knocked the flashlight out of his hand, which then went out. Just as the zombie wanted to attack him, Ray rolled sideways and evaded him at the last moment. Now it was pitch-dark.
“This is the last one!” Nika yelled and threw another chemlight toward the monster, but the beast was no longer at the location where Ray had believed it to be. Only Nika could see the zombie standing right behind Ray, who was trying to get up. The undead creature had opened its devastating jaw and was aiming for the back of Ray’s neck.
“Ray, behind you! My God!” screamed Nika, but it was already too late. When Ray looked at Nika’s eyes, he realized he did not stand a chance. This was how his life would end. In a dirty smugglers’ cave. Just when he got angry that this would be his last thought, he heard another fierce cry of pain behind him, followed by the frantic growling of a dog. When he turned around, he saw that Watson had sunk his teeth into the neck of the undead and was holding on. Ray kicked backward against the shin of his skinny attacker, which immediately snapped in two. When the zombie fell on its knees, Watson bit it again and again. The Rottweiler needed less that ten seconds to complete his attack and the monster no longer moved.
In the fading glow of the chemlight Ray picked up the flashlight. Fortunately, it still worked when he switched it on. Then he looked after his friends. Nika was already sitting next to Scott, who was conscious, but rather dizzy.
“He really got hurt, and his arm is bleeding a lot.”
“Are you sure he hasn‘t been bitten?” Ray closed his eyes when Nika answered.
“I don’t think so. His sleeves don’t have any bite marks. It really looks like he cut his arm on the edge of that rock here. We need to put a bandage on it right away.”
“There is a first-aid kit in his backpack. Can you take care of that?” Ray handed the flashlight to Nika and leaned down to Screw. The chief mechanic of Fort Weeks was slowly coming to and grimaced.
“Ray, damn it... my leg. What happened?”
“It’s okay, big boy. What about your leg?”
“It’s the knee... it feels as if someone filled it with red-hot nails,” Screw groaned.
“Let’s first try to get you up,” Ray replied. He supported his friend and pulled him up, and Screw winced in pain again.
“Ahhh... what the hell? I can hardly put weight on my leg.”
“You‘ll have to try. We have to get out of this cave as fast as possible. Who knows if this monster lived here with some friends.”
Meanwhile, Nika had treated Scott. He looked pale and did not say a word, but signaled with a short nod that they could go on now.
Ray and Nika supported Screw as best as they could. Ray gave the flashlight to Scott, who aimed its light at the passage in front of them. Then the group dragged itself forward.
37Duke’s Test
After a short while, Fuller came back into the house and was as calm and collected as ever. Jenna looked at him and smiled, as if she wanted to buoy him up, though she did not know exactly what had bothered him. Fuller inspected the loot and nodded his approval. He was about to say something, when the heard an ear-splitting noise outside.
WHOOOOOM. They were startled, and some went to the window to see what this was about. A sound like an explosion or an impact shook them. Fuller’s two-way radio crackled. “Mis... ...uller... attacked... ...iant zombie. What... we do? Oh my... it is c
oming back... Help!”
Fuller reacted quickly and radioed all teams out there. “Attention, all teams. Take what you have and come back to the vehicles. I repeat. Attention, all teams. Retreat at once to the vehicles!” He hoped all could hear him and turned to his people in the house.
“Everyone out and back to the vehicles. We have to split as fast as we can.” While he was talking, the first shots and screams could be heard outside. Most screams were uttered by humans, but now and then there was a deep thundering roar more reminiscent of an angry gorilla. He knew his crew would only fire their weapons with good reason. When they stepped out on Main Street, more and more undead were lurching in the direction of the noise. Some team members were coming out of side streets and ran toward the vehicles.
Fuller calmly tried to send another radio message, but most of the members of the outside team were too panicked to listen. He ordered Jenna and Duke to follow him. Then he sent Danny and Pam to the off-road vehicles. They were supposed to get the machine guns ready. More and more zombies emerged from old stores, side streets and houses. Fuller drew his sword. He smashed the blade with a straight blow directly into the skull of the first zombie that turned to him. Then he kicked against its chest, so that the beast slid backward. Duke and Jenna followed him as fast as they could. While Fuller searched for the source of the noise, a wooden gate about ten yards to his right burst into a thousand pieces. They all looked in this direction, though they had to first shield their eyes because of the flying splinters. When they opened their eyes again, most of them thought they were hallucinating: A colossal zombie raced out of the gate and across the street, with one shoulder ahead like a quarterback. Fuller had hardly enough time to see details, but he noticed the impressive stature. The zombie was about 6 foot 5 and had enormous arms. It grasped one of Fuller’s people and ran at an incredible speed to the other side of the street, holding him in his arms. Before anyone realized what was happening, the body of the man collided with the sturdy wall of a house. They heard the gasp that pressed the air from his lungs, followed by an even louder sound of breaking bones. They stood thunderstruck and could hardly believe their eyes. The undead giant triumphantly spat and roared in rage. The beast raised two fists over its head and smashed them against the wounded man. This blow was enough to shatter his skull and break the remaining bones in his body.
Evolution Z (Book 3): Stage Three Page 15
