Dead America: Lowcountry | Book 4 | Lowcountry [Part 4]

by Slaton, Derek

  Ace raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never been in here,” he pointed out.

  “Not for lack of trying,” the Sheriff said. “I know you’ve started shit in my county, yet somehow always slipped away. That isn’t happening this time.” He motioned to the officers behind him. “Boys, get their guns if you don’t mind.”

  One of them grinned as they stood up. “With pleasure,” he said. Once they’d collected the weapons, he asked, “So, what do you want to do with them now?”

  “Well, they came in here to be with their giant-ass cousin,” Brandt said with a smirk. “I say we take ‘em there. Plenty of cages they can get comfortable in.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Dante and Lily watched on the monitor as the Sheriff and his three men captured their companions.

  “Fuck,” she muttered.

  He shook his head. “Don’t worry, we’ll get them out,” he assured her.

  “Oh, I know,” Lily replied. “I’m just upset that I have to save his dumb ass.”

  Dante smirked as he picked up the potato gun, holding it out to her. “Come on, let’s go get ‘em.”

  They headed out of the office, walking down the hallway. Rather than go for a straight assault, they went towards the holding cells in the back, ducking into a small office a few doors before the main gate to the cell.

  “You know what we’re doing, right?” Dante whispered.

  She nodded. “Yep.”

  They laid in wait for the seven men to come closer. There was a glass panel on the door, which Dante positioned himself to see through while remaining behind cover. He watched as their friends walked by first, followed by Brandt, and then the shotgun officer and two others.

  Dante nodded to Lily, and she returned it, ready to roll. He peered out towards the gate, watching as Brandt unlocked it. As soon as it was open, Dante motioned to Lily, and she opened the door.

  He moved swiftly, stepping out into the hallway and firing twice, hitting the two officers in the back, striking their vests and knocking them to the ground. The shotgun-toting officer turned and fired, prompting Dante to keep rushing across the hall and crashing through the door.

  He hit the ground hard, forcing the gun out of his hand. He scrambled to get it, but the light darkened behind him as the shotgun-wielding officer stood in the light.

  “You just fucked up, buddy,” he declared, and raised his weapon.

  Dante took a deep breath as he stared down the barrel, but then the officer’s face exploded, and he slumped to the floor. Lily stood behind him, holding her handgun.

  “Get ‘em!” Brandt screamed, and a few bullets hit the doorframe, forcing Lily into the room.

  Dante scrambled across the floor, grabbing his gun, and ducking out the door at the wounded officers approaching the door.

  They retreated, firing blindly, forcing Dante to slide to cover across the hall.

  “I don’t know who you are, but I’m assuming you’re with these three assholes!” Brandt screeched down the hallway. “You have five seconds to throw out your guns, or else I’m going to blast a hole through this motherfucker’s head!” He cocked back the hammer on his revolver and pressed it against Maddox’s head.

  The redneck chuckled at the massive size of the weapon. “Compensating for something?” he drawled.

  The Sheriff shoved it into his temple even harder with a growl. “One. Two… three…”

  “Okay, we’re sliding out the weapons,” Dante called, shoving both handguns out the door.

  The two officers, still nursing the bruising they’d taken when they were shot in their vests, moved up at the motion from the Sheriff.

  They moved cautiously, together. The first one reached the door and turned towards Dante’s room. “Let me see your hands,” he demanded, finding Dante sitting up against a desk casually. “Let me see your hands!”

  The large man casually raised his arms, looking past the officer for his friend to make the turn into Lily’s room. As soon as he did, Dante curled his hands around, giving two middle fingers to his attacker.

  “Motherfu-” the officer cried, but was cut off by the blast of Lily’s potato cannon. The officer at her door fell as the shrapnel ripped through his face, the rest smacking into the back of Dante’s officer.

  Dante didn’t waste time as his attacker doubled over in pain and rushed him. The officer tried to recover and raise his weapon, but Dante grabbed his wrist and pushed it down, sending a bullet into the floor.

  He delivered a sharp uppercut, catching the officer under the chin and stunning him. He reached back, grabbing him by the back of the head and pulling him close, sending a headbutt to the bridge of his nose, the impact causing his attacker to drop his gun.

  Staggered, the officer was helpless as Dante choke slammed him into the floor, his head smacking against the cement and knocking him woozy.

  As this happened, the other three in the hallway took on Brandt. The blast startled him, giving Tate an opening to shove his arm away from Maddox’s head. Maddox ducked as well, but Brandt still pulled the trigger, missing but partially deafening his captive.

  Tate held the gun arm in place, and Ace wrapped his arms around the Sheriff’s neck, cutting off his air supply.

  “Let go of the gun,” he snarled, “and I let go of you.”

  Brandt struggled to hold on, but finally relented, dropping the revolver. Ace held on for another few seconds, just to prove a point, before finally letting go. Tate shoved the Sheriff against the wall, holding him in place by the throat.

  “You move, I squeeze,” he said firmly. “And I’m not as nice as Ace here. I won’t let go.”

  The sheriff nodded jerkily.

  “Jesus motherfucking tap-fucking-dancing christ that hurt!” Maddox bellowed, rubbing at his ear viciously. “I think my eardrum is gone!”

  Tate rolled his eyes. “Suck it up, brother,” he drawled, “one less ear to hear that nagging girlfriend of yours with.” He spotted Dante emerging from his room, and called, “You two all right?”

  Dante ignored him, focusing on Lily as he walked across the hall to her. She sat against the far wall, staring off into space in shock.

  “Are you okay?” he asked gently, kneeling down in front of her. When she didn’t respond, he put his hand on her shoulder. “Lily, you did good,” he said. “We’re safe now.”

  She looked up at him and then wrapped her arms around his shoulders for a beat, taking in a deep breath before getting emotional. “I’m good, I’m good,” she assured him, and looked past him at the mess in the hallway.

  “You saved my life back there,” Dante said, snapping her away from looking at the dead bodies. “Twice.”

  She smiled. “I figured if you were going to make me save that asshat, I was going to save you as well,” she said. “Give me some good memory of today.”

  He chuckled, and she joined in, dissolving the tension in the room.

  “Hey, are you two all right?” Tate called again.

  “Come on, we’re not done yet,” Dante said, standing and holding out a hand to her.

  Lily took it, getting to her feet, and they headed out towards the others.

  “We’re good,” Dante called to the others, “you boys okay?”

  “Yeah,” Tate replied. “We’re gonna have to listen to this one whine all the way home, but other than that we’re golden.” He inclined his head towards Maddox, who was still rubbing his ear and moaning.

  Dante looked at the ground, picking up the shotgun and his handgun before grabbing the other woozy officer and shoving him down the hallway towards Brandt. Lily collected the rest of the weapons from the dead bodies.

  “What do you say we go get Francis?” Dante asked.

  The group walked down the hall to another gate, and Tate forced the Sheriff to open it. Around the next corner was the cell block, and Francis sat inside, six heads stacked up nearly in the corner. Six headless zombie corpses lay in the hallway.

  “It’s a good thing we risked our liv
es to come rescue him,” Ace drawled. “He might not have been okay otherwise!”

  Lily rolled her eyes. “He still needed to get out of the cell,” she said, poking him in the ribs.

  “Hell at this point, I’m kinda surprised he didn’t bend the bars,” her cousin shot back.

  “Get his keys,” Tate said.

  Maddox ripped the keyring from Brandt’s belt and opened the cell next to Francis. “In you go, Sheriff douchebag,” he said with a flourish.

  Tate shoved him in, and Dante guided the still wobbly officer in after him. Maddox slammed the cell shut and locked it.

  “You’re making a huge mistake there, buddy boy,” the Sheriff growled.

  Maddox smirked. “Oh, am I now?” he asked. “Doesn’t look like it from my perspective.”

  Brandt leaned on the cell door, staring menacingly through the bars. “You should know my officers are out there, and they’re going to come find me,” he hissed. “And when they do, I’m going to hunt you down, find the deepest hole in all of the Lowcountry, and throw you in it.”

  Maddox made a puppet out of his hand, pretending to mouth along. “Blah blah blah,” he mocked. “And how many days have you been thinking that while locked in that little office, huh? Do you have even the foggiest idea of what’s going on out there?” He leaned in, smirking. “Nobody is coming for you. Any officers you have out there are probably already dead, and if by some miracle they aren’t, they sure as shit aren’t risking their lives coming to rescue your ass. The world outside is dead, and the people who are still alive couldn’t give two shits if you ever get out of that cell.”

  The Sheriff clenched his jaw, eyes finally showing a flicker of fear. “So you’re just going to let us die in here?” he asked. “Lock us up like animals to starve to death?”

  “Yup,” Maddox replied brightly. “That’s what you were going to do to us. That’s what you were doing to Francis. Why should you be any different?” He hocked a big loogie into the Sheriff’s face. “That’s for breaking our deal, asshole.” He headed off towards Francis.

  Brandt reached through the bars towards Dante, eyes wide. “You’re not a part of their group,” he pleaded, “don’t throw your life away, son.”

  Dante stared down his nose at him. “If you do get out of here,” he said in a level tone, “hopefully you’ll have learned your lesson and will honor future deals.” He headed off, Lily beside him, raising her hand to flip off Brandt as they moved away.

  Maddox unlocked Francis’ cell door, throwing it open.

  The beastly man sat on the edge of his bed, which was barely enough to accommodate even half of him. He was leaning forward, elbows on his knees, in such a casual pose Dante almost wanted to laugh.

  “You ready to blow this joint?” Maddox asked.

  Francis cracked a smile and stood up, joining the group. Dante, Lily and Ace stood in awe, even the tallest barely coming up to his pecs.

  “Good to see you, cousins,” Francis said, his voice a deep rumble. “And new friends.”

  Tate motioned to the others. “This is Dante, Ace, and Lily,” he said.

  The trio nodded politely and said hello in unison.

  “Is it true what you told the Sheriff?” Francis asked, turning to Maddox. “Is it really that bad out there?”

  The redneck nodded. “It’s actually a whole lot worse,” he admitted. “So I hope you’re ready to bust some heads.”

  “Oh, I’m ready,” Francis replied, cracking his knuckles. He glared at Brandt. “And if we don’t leave now, I’m going to get started.”

  Tate clapped him on the back. “Let’s get going, then.”

  The group headed off, and Maddox hung back, dangling the keys in the air in front of the Sheriff. He turned and shot them like a basketball into the cell across from them, grinning as they splashed into the toilet.

  “Always thought I could have gone pro,” he quipped, punching a victory fist into the air. “Well, enjoy starving to death, asshole,” he declared, and then glanced at the officer who had finally sat down on the bed. “Oh, and if I were you, I’d make the first move. Because this dick is totally going to kill you in your sleep and cannibalize you.”

  The officer’s eyes widened, and Maddox laughed, sauntering off. Brandt kicked the bars and screamed curses, but they fell on deaf ears.

  CHAPTER TEN

  The trucks pulled up to the school outside of Hardeeville, and it looked like it had been abandoned for ages. The grounds were overgrown with tall grass and weeds, the front door completely ripped off, and graffiti covering just about every square inch of the building.

  The group hopped out of the trucks, standing in front in a line to appraise the situation.

  “Looks like a grade-A shithole,” Ace drawled.

  Maddox grinned. “Yeah, but it’s our grade-A shithole,” he said, smacking the other man on the shoulder.

  “There any signs of civilization around here?” Dante asked.

  Tate shrugged. “Couple of mid-sized neighborhoods about half a mile away,” he replied. “Other than that, there’s not much.”

  Dante nodded. “I think we should proceed like those people evacuated and took refuge in the school,” he suggested. “Come too far to get caught off-guard now.”

  They nodded and collected their weapons from the vehicles.

  “Well come on,” Ace finally said as he handed Dante the crowbar, “let’s go check out the farm.”

  They walked up to the school, staying cautious as they approached the door. Both Dante and Tate took the lead, heading in first to aim their guns down the hallway as soon as they entered.

  The environment hadn’t been kind to the building, with all sorts of dead grass and leaves as well as trash blowing down the long corridor. There were lockers running along both sides of the hall, the ones closest to the door showing signs of significant rusting as they were close enough to get rain when the wind was blowing.

  As they walked, they made sure to check every classroom, most of which were empty, however some desks remained. There was graffiti on most of the walls, and signs of squatters and drug usage littered about.

  “Looks like quite the party spot for the local teenagers,” Lily said dryly.

  Maddox shook his head. “Doesn’t surprise me,” he replied. “Cops don’t give a shit about this place. Came out here a few times when I was in school. Hell, pretty sure some of this graffiti is mine.”

  Lily looked to her left and found a large painting boasting Iron Maiden Rules! with a crude drawing of their mascot. “This can’t be yours,” she drawled. “Not only is everything spelled correctly, but it’s also great taste in music.”

  He opened his mouth to retort, but there was a loud moan. Everyone froze at the noise, except for Francis, who stepped forward and smacked a locker with his open palm. The thin metal crushed inwards, sending a loud echo down the hallway. The moan intensified, followed by footsteps pounding the floor.

  A moment later, a zombie tore out of a nearby classroom, heading straight for them. Francis stepped a few yards away from the group, readying himself as the others watched, transfixed.

  The ghoul raced straight towards him, and he reached out with his large hand, grabbing the creature by the throat. He picked it up off of the ground, its limbs flailing about, before grabbing its waist and pile-driving it straight into the ground.

  The zombie’s head completely vanished, shattering into a thousand pieces, coating the floor with blood and brain. The giant straightened up, swiping his massive palms against each other, a smug smile on his face.

  “Told you he was worth rescuing,” Maddox declared.

  Ace nodded, eyes wide. “You weren’t fucking kidding, brother.”

  They continued to the end of the hall where the gymnasium was. They looked through the windows into the darkened room, with some stay beams of sunlight piercing through the skylights.

  “So much for natural sunlight,” Maddox muttered.

  Ace grinned. “Maybe we ca
n have big fella here punch some holes in the wall.”

  Francis glared at him, and the redneck shrank away.

  “I’m sorry,” he stammered, holding up his hands.

  The giant smirked and clapped him on the back, shaking his head.

  “Well, let’s go check it out,” Maddox said, and pushed open the door. As soon as the door scraped across the dirty floor, moans and a chorus of footsteps echoed towards him.

  “Shut the door, shut the door!” Tate screamed.

  Maddox quickly pulled the door shut, and a few seconds later, a dozen or so creatures crashed into them.

  “Jesus, where the hell did they come from?” he gasped.

  Dante peered over their heads, spotting an exterior door that was slightly ajar, held together with a chain. “Look like the back door,” he said. “They got in a chained it shut.”

  “And what, they just sat in the dark?” Maddox asked, throwing up his hands.

  Tate shook his head. “Probably had a camping light or something,” he replied, but then waved his hands in front of his face. “Doesn’t really matter, though. We just gotta figure out how to clear ‘em out.”

  “I’m sure as hell not opening the door again,” Maddox replied. “As soon as they get a handhold, they’re gonna throw it open.”

  Dante tilted his head back and forth. “Just getting it open a little would be good enough, though,” he said. “We have the ammo, so we could shoot through the cracks and take them out one by one.”

  “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to get that close to the door and have them be able to grab me,” Maddox replied. “Or hell, pull me ion.”

  Ace shrugged. “Why don’t we just shoot through the glass at them?” he asked.

  Tate leaned in, looking close and knocking on the pane a few times. “Safety stuff,” he said sullenly, shaking his head. “It would take a lot to punch through it, then we have the problem of getting them to line up in front of them. With the door open, they’ll be trying to get in, but we could be waiting a while.”