Corrina’s lips pressed together. Her eyes met Cole’s before darting away. She knew there was something wrong inside her. And she knew that Cole knew. She just didn’t know if he would try to kill her, too.
Just then, he didn’t want to kill anyone. He was tired of killing.
Hamilton wasn’t. “We need one more and it ain’t gonna be me.” His eyes were hard on McGuigan.
Beneath his rags, McGuigan said, “Fuck you, Ham. Fuck you to hell. This is your fault. You and that stupid mobster started all of this. For what? For what!” His screech hit a high note that set everyone’s nerves on edge.
“We’re not turning anyone who doesn’t want to be turned.” Cole straightened, bending his aching back. He did his best not to look at Corrina. If she turned, would he use her? It was what they were both thinking. “We need some of their blood.”
He went to Campana and put out his hand for the gun. After a moment of hesitation, Campana handed it over. He looked as though he expected Cole to shoot him with it.
“Ham, you get the door and I’ll shoot.”
“Fuck that. I’ll shoot and you get the door. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m fuckin’ injured here.”
Cole pointed to his leg. “And I’m not? Yours look like scratches. Malachi what’s-his-name was just playing with you.”
In the end, Hamilton refused to touch the door and Cole was forced to open it. It fell open, dropping a Dead-eye down practically on top of Hamilton. He bellowed curses and fired Cole’s Riker into the beast. Meanwhile, Cole was fighting to close the round door.
Like the tentacles of a giant octopus, half a dozen black scaly arms reached blindly down for him. They groped and tore and pulled at anything they could grasp, and that included the door itself. Even as one of the creatures was shoving its snarling head down through the black mass, another two arms had caught hold of the door and were trying to tear it off its hinges. From their angle, they could only pull.
The creature had its head caught between the door and the edge. Cole leaned away, afraid that it would come bursting off the stalk of its neck. But there was a sudden shift above the door and the head popped back out of sight. Quickly Cole slammed the door fully shut and rammed the spike home. For a few moments, the metal door trembled under the fury of the attack. Gradually, the Dead-eyes found something else to vent their fury on and left the door.
By then, Cole was kneeling over the Dead-eye that Hamilton had killed. There was old trash in the room and he had found a shard of wood from an ancient orange crate. He dipped it into the creature’s black blood and went to Campana first. “It’ll work faster if we put it in your wound.”
Cole scraped the black blood into Campana’s belly wound. He did the same for Hagy saying, “I’ll make sure your kids get the money.” She made him memorize her address which was not a real address at all. It was a series of tunnels that led to Devil’s Gorge, which was a vast subterranean cavern located deep beneath Harlem’s ancient subway system. Cole had assumed that only trogs lived there.
Once she was infected, Cole stood. Two wasn’t enough. The governor had very specifically stated he wanted at least three Dead-eyes. He found McGuigan staring at him with his single blue eye.
“No,” McGuigan said. He was very much alive and was going to cling to life with the last ounce of strength he possessed.
“I won’t,” Cole answered. There was still Corrina. It was logical that he should use her when the time came. The idea made him sick. He glanced over at her. She was looking back and forth from Hamilton to Cole, suspicion stamped on her features. With her tattoos and anger, she seemed more than half zombie already.
Spiritual pain outweighed his physical wounds and he turned toward the trap door. He would get another Dead-eye. It would take her place…and somehow it would be okay. He forced himself to think that would be true. “I’ll be right back,” he told them. “We need another.”
“Don’t!” Corrina snapped. “It’s not worth it. There’s too many of them out there. You…you have choices.”
“I’m not one of those choices!” McGuigan snarled.
She wasn’t talking about him. She was talking about herself. Corrina was giving him permission to use her. Cole balled a fist and punched the earthen wall above her head. Dirt showered down on her, but she didn’t care. As always, she glared defiantly at him.
No one noticed the glare. Hamilton was eyeing McGuigan, noting the blood and the bites. “What if he turns on his own? He’s fair game then, right? It’s just a question. Hey, if I turn you guys can use me. What would I care?”
“If a person does turn, will they feel it?” Corrina asked, speaking softly. “Do you think it’ll hurt?”
McGuigan’s furious stare took on a faraway dull aspect. He nodded under his rag bandages. “There’ll be a headache. A bad one. That’s the main thing. Some subjects claimed to have joint pain. They said it was like glass in their elbows and shoulders. Then they become agitated. You know, angry. They get angry over nothing. Then…” He paused to swallow loudly before adding, “Then they get hungry.”
This killed the conversation. After a while, Cole and Hamilton limped up the tunnel a little ways and found it empty and dark. “We should do McGuigan,” Hamilton whispered when they had reached a point where the darkness was complete. “You know he’s fucked. There’ll be no parade for him, and there ain’t no way he’s gonna get his job back. He’ll be a slag in a year, I guarantee it.”
“I don’t care. There are Dead-eyes all over the place up top. We can get one of them.”
“We? Fuck that. I’m not going to get them. Those dart guns suck and I’m in no shape to fight anything. That fuckin’ bastard Malachi and that fuckin’ spear. I hope to God they ate him.”
“I’ll get one by myself if I have to.” It was the only thing he could think of. He couldn’t let Corrina into the Krupp facility, at least not officially. When the governor “discovered” the Dead-eyes he would likely do something political, something designed to maximize his image as a tough leader. Cole guessed that he would drag Hagy and the others kicking and screaming out into the bright light of day and have them executed in public.
Cole couldn’t let Corrina die that way and if that meant facing a hundred zombies, then he would face a hundred zombies.
“Maybe we can infect McGuigan without him knowing,” Hamilton whispered.
“Fuck off,” Cole muttered and then limped back to the little room. He decided against going back up the ladder right away. Time was becoming precious, but there was still plenty of it left for him to die a dozen times over, which was what would happen if he went up top. As the minutes raced by, he spent them tearing rags into long strips and braiding them into rope—he doubted he would have the chance to hunt down the manacles and he needed something to restrain Hagy and Campana.
Not that either of them showed any sign of changing. According to McGuigan, who had studied Dead-eyes academically, there was a four-hour incubation time, which meant they would be cutting their nine o’clock deadline exceptionally close.
Perhaps because of her smaller size, Hagy showed the first sign of aggression. Out of the blue she screeched at Campana, “You did this to me! You fuckin’ rat bastard!”
Both Cole and Hamilton breathed sighs of relief at the outburst. McGuigan wouldn’t look out from his rags. “Shut her up. She’s giving me a headache.”
“It’s our lucky day,” Hamilton said, nudging Cole.
“Did you do any…”
Hamilton elbowed him harder. “No. He got bit in the fuckin’ face. Take it as a win for once.”
As much as Cole didn’t want to see McGuigan become a zombie, he really didn’t want to try to wrestle another of the creatures down into the room. It would be testing his thin, thin luck and so far, his luck had failed him at every turn.
From then on, Hagy, Campana and McGuigan got progressively angrier, while at the same time, Corrina became quieter and withdrawn. Her eyes had darkened, but only so mu
ch. They were no longer grey. The irises and pupils were both deep black and there was a light film over the whites, but other than that she was herself.
Cole became almost giddy, though he kept it to himself. He couldn’t help wonder if she was partially immune? Or if a second booster would cure her completely? He had no idea and wasn’t about to ask McGuigan who had begun to fly into a rage over anything.
While they could still be controlled, Cole tied up the infected three and readied hoods for them. He waited to put them on only because they were still semi-lucid and it didn’t seem right. It was minutes after he finished trussing them up that his luck took its first hit.
“What are we going to do with her?” Hamilton asked out of the blue, jutting his chin at Corrina. “I’m in no shape to carry anyone and I’m going to need your help keeping the dinks in line.”
“No one needs to carry her,” Cole said. “She’s uh…well the swelling’s down and she should be fine.” Her legs were crossed in front of her and if either of her injuries pained her, she didn’t show it.
Hamilton sneered in her direction. “I’m sure she’s a tight little lay, but no pussy is worth this. I’m not saying that you have to abandon her forever. You could leave her here. Just for a few days is all I’m say…hey, what’s with her eyes?”
She had turned a fierce gaze at the police officer and in the dim light her eyes were obviously darker than they had been.
“She’s one of them!” He looked at Cole in disbelief. “You knew all this time and you didn’t say anything? Are you trying to get us killed? What the fuck? What the ever-lovin’ fuck! You know you can’t hit that now. Get yourself another kiddie.”
“That isn’t what this is about,” Cole snarled. He was itching to punch Hamilton in the face. but held back only because Hamilton still held the Riker. “She’s harmless. For one thing, she hasn’t turned all the way. She might be sort of immune. And either way, she’s too small to hurt anyone.”
McGuigan suddenly lurched between them, He stared with mad black eyes at Corrina. “No! No! She’s not harmless. She’s a demon and you guys can’t see it. The child zombie is king. They rule the others and the others obey. They are the destroyer of worlds; of armies! You have to kill it. Kill it now before it’s too late!”
Chapter 35
Hamilton laughed at McGuigan and shoved him back down. Cole expected him to snarl and growl and curse blindly, but McGuigan only stared with surprising sobriety. “I’ve read the old reports, Cole. I know. I know everything. The children are the true terror.”
“Shut up!” Hamilton barked, kicking the man in the thigh. “Crazy is not what we need right now.” He turned to Cole, wincing and rubbing his leg where Malachi had stabbed him. “Don’t listen to him, Cole. You don’t have to kill her. What’s one more zombie, right? But you do have to leave her behind. She may be cute now, but you saw them out there. They’re disgusting. That’s what she’s going to become.”
“We don’t know that. Look at her. She was bit over an hour before these guys and she still hasn’t changed. She hasn’t shown any real anger or any of that. She even saved me out there. I think she’s immune.”
Hamilton gave her a long look, his lip curled, lines of irritation creasing his forehead. She stared back, looking as though she’d like nothing more than to tear his face off with her teeth. “You got something to say, bitch?” Hamilton asked. Cole stepped forward, his fists balled. Hamilton stuck his hand out. “Hold on. I just want to see how immune she is. If she can’t take a little joking then we’ll know.” It was painfully logical. What was more painful was listening to Hamilton call her every name in the book. He made fun of her hair, the slag on the side of her face, and the fact that she was an orphan. Worse than any of that were the insinuations that she was sleeping with Cole.
Amazingly, she kept her cool throughout the nasty diatribe. She also kept a dart in her right hand hidden next to her thigh and gave herself repeated jabs with it. Eventually, the sedative had her yawning. “Go be a dick somewhere else. I’m tired.” She crossed her arms and closed her eyes.
“Yeah, alright,” Hamilton said. “But I’ll be watching you.”
“And you call Cole names? You’re the real perve.” She then yawned and a minute later fell asleep.
Hamilton pulled Cole aside. “You saw her eyes. She’s turning! Maybe she’s turning slower but she’s still turning. I think we should tie her up.” Clearly, he meant that Cole should tie her up.
“I will, but only if we see aggression.” Of course, by then it could be too late. He was pretty sure that he was being stupid about her and yet he owed her too much to throw her aside now.
She only slept an hour before the other zombies woke her. Hagy, McGuigan and Campana were gone, and in their places were frothing diseased creatures that bucked and squirmed and raged.
“We should dart them,” Hamilton said. “Just not a full dose. And we need to hood them.” Again, by “we” he meant someone else.
“I’ll do it,” Corrina said. Cole gave her a dart and stood back. Fearlessly, she stepped forward and instead of darting Hagy, Corrina kicked her. “Stop moving, damn it!” Unbelievably, the Dead-eye stopped and cocked her head at the girl. Hagy’s now black eyes searched Corrina’s face, and her flaring nostrils breathed in deeply. Corrina popped the hood on her head.
Hamilton stared, disgust and wonder fighting for supremacy on his face. “What the fuck?” he whispered to Cole. “I thought McGuigan was off his rocker but look at that.” Corrina went to each in turn, kicking and then commanding. She then barked them to their feet. Blindly, his hands tied behind his back, Campana tried to come at Cole, but Corrina pushed him against the wall.
“Not yet,” she said into his ear.
“How are you doing that?” Cole asked.
She had no idea. She ordered and they answered, there wasn’t anything magical about it.
“That dumb fuck McGuigan knew,” Hamilton said. “He said the kids were like demons and he wasn’t wrong. Do you think it’ll get worse?” Cole wasn’t sure how this was a bad thing. They had a zombie wrangler who could control the dead with just the power of her voice.
“Well, I think it’s bad,” Hamilton went on. “What if she makes an army of them? She could take over the city if she wanted to. Stupid McGuigan. He sure took a bad time to change.”
Cole thought he had taken the perfect time to change. Although Corrina was part zombie, she wouldn’t pass the governor’s sniff test. The dead would have to look and act like the dead for him to be satisfied. “It doesn’t matter now,” Cole said, glossing over what was a frightening discovery. “We have to go. We only have an hour left.”
Fortunately, they weren’t far from the Holland Tunnel, which was only a little over a mile in length. Cole led the six of them down Campana’s tunnel. Hamilton took the rear, lagging twenty feet behind. Hood or no hood, he didn’t want to be anywhere near the Dead-eyes if he could help it. He also wanted to be in the best position to run away. They weren’t exactly being quiet.
The Dead-eyes moaned as they were pulled along. Hamilton tried to get Corrina to shut them up but the beasts only moaned louder at the sound of his voice, and they wasted five minutes trying to get them pointed back in the right direction. They didn’t listen well as long as either Cole or Hamilton were too close. The creatures’ base instincts were to kill when the living were near.
When it was just Corrina, they responded so quickly that it seemed like the Dead-eyes wanted outside direction. It was as if they could not come up with independent thoughts on their own but could react to stimuli.
On one level it was interesting, however that level was buried deep under the pressing need to survive.
The narrow tunnel ran as straight as Campana had said. The far end opened into the basement of one of the few standing houses left in the Rad Lands. Most of the first and second floors had fallen in, creating a great mountain of broken boards, old moldy beds, chunks of dressers and dented-in appliance
s, all of which was covered in a thick layer of soft grey ash.
Just to the left of the tunnel entrance was a short cement staircase that ran up to the side of the house. Cole lifted a canted little door and looked out, gun in hand. It had been twenty-three hours since they were this close to the river and unlike then, the Rad Lands were alive with the dead. They wandered up and down the dark streets and lurked in doorways like demonic shadows.
“Fuuuck,” Cole said. “It’s like Grand Central Station out there.” He sagged back, his leg throbbing, his joints aching, his head swimming. For a long minute he stared at the half-hidden shadow beasts and as he did, he felt the life drain from him. There was no way they would get past all of them unless “someone” did “something.” That someone would have to be him, and that something would involve running, climbing and fighting. A soft moan escaped him. Running, climbing and fighting were beyond him now. After hours in the little room beneath the atrium, his body felt like it had begun to seize up.
Corrina came up the stairs and squinted, her little button nose squinching up. It made her seem like she was still the child he felt the need to protect. But she was not that any more. “There’s a lot of ‘em. Too many.”
Too many for what? “No. You’re going to stick with Ham and the Dead-eyes. I need you to wrangle them to the tunnel. I’ll create some sort of diversion.” He didn’t know what sort, and he didn’t want to think about it.
When he stood, he groaned.
Hamilton rolled his eyes. “What’s the use of you getting killed for nothing? Send the girl. She’s already dead. They ain’t gonna hurt her. And look at her. If you forget the eyes, she’s looks better than ever. She ain’t even barely limping anymore.”
Dead Eye Hunt (Book 2): Into The Rad Lands Page 34
