Zombies! (Book 6): Hold The Line

by Merritt, R. S.

  The rest stop was empty when they arrived. There was a nice green field in the back that looked out over a lake. Bryan took one look at the place and went back to the truck to grab the trenching shovel. Kyler followed him and grabbed one for himself as well. They spent the next couple of hours digging three graves in the hard earth.

  Tired and covered in dirt Kyler spun around when someone behind him coughed. Bryan came up out of the hole he’d just finished and grabbed his rifle.

  “The prodigal son returns. Looks like your luck is still about the same as the last time I saw you.” A familiar voice from the past boomed out.

  Kyler smiled when he saw it was Chief Presly standing there with a small group of battle-hardened looking rovers.

  “How’s it going Chief. This is Lt. Parsons.” Kyler said pointing at Bryan who was standing up to come over and talk to them.

  “Sorry sir. We would’ve saluted but you appear to be slightly out of uniform.” Presly said with no trace of actually being sorry detectable in his voice at all.

  “We’ve lost some men transporting Kyler here. We were ambushed a couple of hundred miles back towards Charlotte. Would you and your men mind waiting while we finish burying our dead.” Bryan said. He somehow managed to make it sound somber and military while standing there in a pair of boxers and covered in dirt from his head to his toes.

  “Yes sir. We’re here to help to with whatever you need.” Presly said somberly.

  “If you can bring the bodies over, I’m going to go get dressed to say a few words. If you wouldn’t mind helping us bury them, I think you can be on your way and I can be on mine after that.” Bryan said.

  An hour later Bryan was driving away in the battered Expedition. He was headed back to the warehouse to see if Branson had survived the snake bite. Kyler was in a crappy blue Corolla headed for Virginia Beach. That’s where Presly told him Commander Hartsfield had moved his operations to. Kyler sat in the back thinking through everything that’d happened to him since he left the settlements to be a spy in the first place. He couldn’t think of anything earth shattering that he’d learned. Had it been worth all the risks he’d taken? Had it been worth the lives of the men who’d just died escorting him back here? He guessed he’d find out once he was questioned.

  One thing was for sure. He was glad he’d been a part of helping Caitlyn and her family escape. That was something he could be proud of no matter what.

  Chapter 32: How Do You Like to Vacation?

  Walking into Janet’s small office enhanced the feeling that they were about to be sold a bill of goods. Randy felt like they should’ve spent some more time out in the parking lot talking about how they were just going to take the free gift and leave. Kelly was looking ready to be sold. She sat down and leaned forward attentively. She was obviously ready to learn as much as she could about the settlements. Janet was pulling out some papers that looked like they may actually be brochures. Randy steeled himself for the inevitable small talk.

  “Do you mind sharing how you got here? I’m not being nosey but sometimes it helps us to know what you’ve been through to make sure we offer up the best positions for you and your family.” Janet said looking at them expectantly. Kelly was fixing to launch into their story when Randy leaned forward to interrupt.

  “What if we just want to leave and not be a part of any of this?” He asked.

  “No problem. You’re allowed stay here and sponge off us for up to a week then you have to be on your way. We do ask you to move out of our territory if you’re not going to join up with us though. Would you like to hear about what we’re doing here in the settlements or are you planning on moving along to somewhere else?” Janet asked politely.

  “We’d love to hear about the settlements. We’ve been through a lot to get here. If you guys really have something good, then we’d want to consider being part of it. We’re a little cautious about being asked to join up with a group. A big part of our backstory’s the Brotherhood trying to force us into their weird little world.” Kelly said.

  Janet flipped open a MacBook and got ready to type. Evidently, they were using the power of the sun for more than just the lights. Kelly started from the very beginning. She skipped over the killing they’d done to get off Block Island but for the most part she told the truth. It was cathartic for her. Randy listened and augmented her story when appropriate. Hearing her telling it all out loud he realized how phenomenally lucky they were. From the looks on Janet’s face she thought they might be pulling her leg on some parts of it.

  Kelly talked for almost two hours. Janet let her talk without interrupting while quietly typing notes into the computer. Caitlyn stuck her head in at one point to see what was going on. Janet told her where she could take the kids to go get lunch. When Kelly finally finished talking Janet spent some time getting what she referred to as the ‘resume stuff’. She was pretty excited about Randy’s computer background. She asked him a ton of very specific questions. Once she’d gathered all their information, she passed them the papers she’d been shuffling around on her desk when they walked in.

  Janet opened her mouth to go over the papers. She shut it again when a soldier entered the office after a quick knock on the door. The soldier glanced over at Kelly and Randy sitting there before addressing Janet.

  “The crew that went out this morning got into some trouble and fired their weapons across the inlet. We may have to evacuate. Make sure you’re watching for the alert. Can you brief these guys on what they need to do?” The soldier asked. Janet nodded and said she’d take care of it. As quickly as the soldier had appeared, he vanished back out the door. Kelly and Randy looked anxiously at Janet wondering what was going on. Before Janet could say anything, Kelly stood up and walked over to the door to check on the kids.

  “They’re good.” She told Randy. The kids were all outside the door in the little play area Janet had setup out there. Kelly sat back down and waited for Janet to tell them whatever the soldier had asked her to brief them on. The paperwork Janet had started to explain was forgotten about for the time being.

  “One of the guards ran into an issue and fired their weapon. It happens every once in a while. It’s why we make everyone paddle in from the other side of the lake. What it means for us is the base has gone into a high alert status. We have some ways of knowing if the Zombies are coming for us or not. If they are then we all leave out the back door and make a run for the beach. There are two big pontoon type boats back there we’ll take to an island where we keep supplies in case something like this happens. Any questions?” Janet asked.

  “Yeah why don’t we go now?” Randy asked. He didn’t really see a reason to hang out and see if the insane infected swarmed the warehouse. To his mind they should go ahead and hop in the pontoon boats and get to the island. They could watch for the Zombies swarming the warehouse from a nice safe distance.

  “We used to take off right away. Now we wait. We have early alerting systems rigged up. The problem is if we head over to the boats every time there’s an issue, we eat up all the gas pretty fast. Not to mention starting the boats up actually makes even more noise making it more likely the infected will show up at the warehouse. Also, honestly, it’s not super comfortable over on the island. We’ve setup some of those big green tests with crates of food and supplies, but it stinks over there. The tents smell moldy. The food sucks and it’s either freezing or way too hot and humid. Really big mosquitoes over there too. The general miserableness is what motivated us to hook up the early warning systems. If the lights start flashing, we have about three to five minutes to get out.”

  “What happens after five minutes?” Kelly asked.

  “The boats cast off. They’re super close so getting there in time shouldn’t be an issue. You just need to be ready to move right away. Keep your go bag on you all the time. Keep your kids within an arm’s reach all the time while we’re on alert. If it makes you feel more comfortable you could go hang out on the dock until the threat’s over.�
�� Janet said.

  “Well hopefully the lights never flash and we’re good to go.” Randy said leaning back in his seat.

  A generic looking LED light that’d been run into the office and was positioned by the door began to flash. Kelly whacked Randy hard in the back of the head. He looked at her with a pained expression on his face.

  “You jinxed us!” Kelly said accusingly. Not giving Randy a chance to react she jumped out of her chair and ran out to make sure all the kids were there. Janet reached behind her desk and grabbed a backpack that she shrugged herself into. She raced out of the room behind Kelly waving at Randy to grab his stuff and follow them.

  Randy grabbed his and Kelly’s packs and ran out the door behind Janet. He immediately looked to see if Kelly had the kids together and ready to go. It looked like Myriah and Zoey were missing.

  “Where the hell are Myriah and Zoey?” Randy asked loudly shoving himself into the harried conversation Kelly was having with Caitlyn.

  “Caitlyn let them go to find more Zebra Cakes.” Kelly said. Her voice dripping with displeasure. Caitlyn looked confused and scared. Tears were forming in her eyes.

  “Take the other kids. I’ll go get Myriah and Zoey and meet you at the boat.” Randy said. Not waiting for a response, he pulled out his pistol and jogged in the direction of the break room. That was the only place he knew of that had a big box of snack cakes sitting out for the taking. Kelly grabbed the rest of the kids and followed Janet to the other side of the warehouse.

  Randy sprinted towards the breakroom. He was moving so fast he missed the turn. Once he realized his mistake he had to turn around and go back to find the room. Men were running all around him. A few yelled at him to turn around and go to the boats. He just yelled back that he had to find his kids and kept going. A couple of them asked if he needed help and he just shook his head and kept running. He was wondering if he should’ve asked them how to get to the boats as he rounded the corner to the breakroom.

  The big box of snack cakes was overturned in the corner. An avalanche of individually wrapped treats flooding the area under the communal table. Other than that, the break room was empty. Randy turned and ran out of the break room towards the area they’d been given as living quarters. Lights were flashing on and off all over the inside of the warehouse. Strings of LED Christmas lights as well as some strobe lights. There were no audible alarms of course since those would’ve pretty much guaranteed the base being located by a wave of the infected. Randy jogged past a solider going the opposite way.

  “Have you seen a couple of little girls?” He asked when the soldier looked over at him.

  “No man. You better get the hell out of here. You sure they’re not already outside on the boats?” The soldier asked slowing down.

  “I don’t know.” Randy said. The blue partitions surrounding their sleeping area were only about ten feet away. “I’m going to check in here then I’ll roll out if they’re not there. Which way are the boats?”

  “I’ll go with you.” The soldier offered. Randy told him thanks and ran to the other side of the partitions. He gazed at the messy cots covered in pillows and clothes. No sign of the girls having been there anytime recently. The only other place he could think of they may be was the blocked off area in the back that served as the public rest rooms. He ran in that direction without checking to see if the solider was tagging along or not. The girls weren’t anywhere around the restroom area.

  Randy started yelling the girls names loudly while he searched. He stopped yelling when he thought that he heard a response from across the floor. He sprinted in the direction he’d heard the noises come from. The soldier grabbed his arm from behind and spun him around.

  “Hey man! Your girls are probably on the boat already. We need to get out of here and you need to stop yelling!” The soldier said forcefully. Randy shoved him away and continued running in the direction he’d heard the noises coming from. It was coming from an outside door. Someone was banging on it.

  “Myriah? Zoey?” Randy asked loudly. The only answer back was a loud inhuman shriek. The soldier grabbed Randy by the back of his jacket and yanked him away from the door.

  “We’ve got to go man. Your kids are on the damned boat! We’re leaving. Follow me or stay in here and die for no reason.” The soldier didn’t wait for a response. He turned and started flat out running towards the doors on the other side of the warehouse. Randy stared at the door that was being hammered on for a second then turned and followed the soldier. He was moving slower since he was looking around in all directions as he ran trying to see if he could spot any sign of the kids. He knew there was a much greater chance they were already on the boat than there was that they were still in the warehouse somewhere, but he couldn’t force himself to leave without knowing for sure.

  More screeches and pounding echoed throughout the cavernous warehouse. Keeping his eyes open Randy pounded along in the direction the soldier had disappeared in. He ran around a tarp covered boat and watched the soldier open the door in the back. He hoped that door led to the pontoon boats and his family. The guard turned and waved for Randy to hurry up. Randy poured on the speed. His new plan being to run to the pontoon boats and check to see if the kids were all there. If they weren’t then he needed to make sure he had enough time to get back to the warehouse to find them.

  The door led out to a passage in between the giant metal shelves used for storing winterized boats. The lake was only about thirty yards away. He just had to get across a concrete parking lot then go down a steep hill. Two big pontoon party boats were floating around by the end of the dock. The boats were filled with the people who’d been in the warehouse. Randy couldn’t tell from this distance if the kids were on board or not. He was going to need to get a lot closer to be sure.

  The guard he’d been following was running flat out for the boat. Randy poured on the speed to follow in the man’s footsteps. Out of nowhere a person shaped blur rocketed into the guard in front of him. The guard and the Zombie who’d just attacked him hit the concrete deck in a tangle of arms and legs. The guard rammed his fist into the Zombies neck as hard as he could to keep its teeth away from him. The Zombie was whipping its head around wildly as it struggled frantically to sink its teeth into the uninfected meat in front of it.

  Randy pivoted to run help the guard. When he was close enough, he put the barrel of his rifle on the back of the Zombie’s head and pulled the trigger. It took him longer than it should’ve because the Zombie was moving its head all over the damned place. Randy didn’t wait to watch the guard get up. Assuming the man would figure it out Randy turned and resumed running for the boat. Screeches were echoing all around them now. The gunshot attracting the Zombies like moths to a bright flame.

  Making it to the concrete ledge he looked over the edge and saw that there were a couple of Zombies already running along the pier towards the pontoon boats. The guards on board the boat immediately cut them down with automatic fire. They obviously weren’t going to risk the Zombies making it onto one of the boats. The adrenalized Zombies could easily leap the twenty feet of lake separating the boats from the dock.

  Randy jumped off the ledge, hit the ground and resumed running. He completely ignored the random bullets whizzing by him. He hoped they realized he was a regular human and not one of the infected. Screeching split the air as a mob of Zombies began streaming over the side of the ledge towards the boats. Randy put his head down and really started pumping his arms as he ran. His rifle was swinging around on its strap banging into his chest and arms with every stride. He realized there were too many Zombies between him and the dock, so he cut to the left to try and go around them. If he could just get in the water, then he could swim for it.

  A heavy weight landed on his back. He lost his footing and hit the ground face first. He slid in the dirt for a few feet under the weight of the infected teen body surfing on his back. The teen was holding on with both hands. It plunged its face down to take a bite out of his neck. The g
uard from the warehouse appeared and shot the teen in the head before continuing to run past Randy. Randy figured that was fair since he’d done the same thing for the man. Also, neither of them would even be in this situation if it wasn’t for Randy being an idiot.

  Heaving himself to his feet Randy kept on running. Up ahead he saw the guard turn back towards the warehouse. Seeing that there was no way to get to the water without attracting more Zombies Randy followed suit. Zombies started noticing the two of them. The people on the boats were doing a nice job of making noise trying to distract the Zombies but it wasn’t going to be enough. They’d let off plenty of gratuitous rounds as well as sounding the horns on the boats. One of them had even managed to get some rock music blasting across the water. Randy hoped some of the shots he was hearing were thinning out the herd chasing them.

  The guard ran through the open door into the warehouse and spun around to pull the door shut. The hard-wooden door bounced off a surprised Randy’s forehead. He’d expected the guard to wait for him to make it into the building before closing the door. Looking over his shoulder to see how close the infected were he’d run straight into the closed door. The knock to his head made him take a couple of steps backwards with his head ringing. A wave of nausea threated to put him on the ground. He heard screeches getting danger close to him. Not really able to see through the pain in his head he sent a solid wave of lead in the general direction of the infected. As soon as his firing pin clicked on an empty chamber he turned and tried to open the door. He was praying like crazy that the soldier hadn’t locked it.