They all kept a watchful eye in the last direction they had spotted the person on the roof, but they made it to the alleyway behind the store without incident. As they made their way up the alley, they heard noise coming from one of the nearby dumpsters. It was a low grumble accompanied by occasional thuds from inside of it. JT was the one who crept up to the dumpster and looked down into it. In the dumpster's bottom, caked in maggots, was the upper body of a zombie. It was missing one arm, and its lower half was missing from the waste down. It looked up at JT but it put little effort into moving. Like it was withering away. It was depressing to look at, so he closed the lid and informed the girls they should just move on.
It amazed JT as he watched Hannah maneuver her fingers into the crack of the door and pull it open. There was no handle on the outside, only a key lock and a sign that read "For Deliveries Only" Hannah gave him a nod and he readied his weapon and stepped inside. The backroom they entered was a small room not much bigger than a storage closet and an even smaller bathroom the size of a public bathroom stall.
JT told the other two to wait as he opened the next door to check the store itself. His jaw almost hit the floor when he emerged. Across the afternoon light coming through the windows he saw an untouched oasis. Like a place frozen in time. It just looked closed, not like it had endured the end of the world. His mouth watered as he looked at the rows of theater sized box candy along the checkout area and the full cooler of drinks.
"Holy Shit."
Those were the only words he could mutter as he stared. Hannah and Lindsay poked their heads out to check on him when they too caught a view of what deserved his words. The two joined JT at his side. Even given the grim hand dealt them all three looked at each other and laughed as they grabbed boxes of candy and bottles from the cooler. Warm or not, they were like unsupervised young children in a candy shop.
"Umm... guys.." Lindsay said, getting Hannah and JT's attention. They turned to her as she pointed towards a corner area of the store set up like a little living room. There were three couches in a U shape and a television. Hannah grabbed onto Lindsay and the two of them jumped onto the couches, giddy like it was two middle school girls at a slumber party. JT grinned at the two of them. He checked the front door to find it secured and then made sure the backdoor they came in got locked. After that he too went over and with a huge smile, let himself fall onto the couch beside Hannah.
WITS END
Gus paced back and forth in the tiny, dark room he and Linda were being kept in. Every once in a while he would have an outburst and beat on the door, yelling obscenities along with it.
Linda did her best to hold it together. She wasn't a fan of small spaces to begin with, but being locked in the dark and not knowing what they were doing to Madison had her on the edge of an emotional breakdown.
"That son of a bitch, who the hell does he think he is? If he harms one single hair on that little girl's head I will slit his damn throat myself." Gus kept repeating those words aloud, rubbing his hands together.
They had heard nothing since the thugs had thrown them in the room. It seemed days passed, even though it had only been a few hours. Gus let go of his embrace of Linda when the sound of footsteps and movement approached. A shadow formed through the light creeping under the door.
"Gus, can you hear me through this door clearly?" Gus didn't recognize the man's voice.
"What the hell do you want?" Gus asked, a bit puzzled.
"Look man, I'm not here to have a conversation with you. I need you to listen. Just say a simple yes if you understand."
"Yes." Gus replied while pulling Linda back in tight.
"Ok, good. Now listen close. I am going to slide my watch under this door when I am done talking to you. You need to wait exactly one hour and then open this door. I will unlock it before I leave. When you come out, you'll be in a hallway. There is a door at the end of this hall, go through that door and go up three flights of stairs as fast as you can. Once you do that, go through the only door on that landing. Take a left and then enter the second door on the right. It's an office. Underneath the desk you'll find a knapsack with food, water, two handguns, and a knife. Say yes if you understand my directions thus far."
"Yes." Gus had never felt so anxious in all his years.
"Good. Once you're in that office, lock the door behind you. Only two people have keys to it so you will be safe there if everything goes to plan. Keep the watch with you, if it gets to be two hours from the time you leave this room you're on your own. That means something went wrong. If not, here is what you should expect. I will come to that office after I find the little girl and I will lead you out of here as quickly as possible to a vehicle and then you'll be on your own and you will need to get away from here. Do you understand all of these things?"
The voice on the other end sounded familiar, but wasn't one of his friends from town. "Yes, but how in the hell am I supposed to trust you?" Gus asked.
"Because you have no other choice and on that note, Gus. If you try anything funny, I will put a bullet in both your heads. We only have one chance at this and it has to happen while the place is in a frenzy looking for your friends. No more questions, just say yes and we will get this party started."
"Yes." Gus had barely finished the word when the shiny gold watch the guy from the pens had worn slid under the door. Gus fumbled with it as he picked it up, and noted the time. The lock clicked over and the man ran off down the hallway.
SOLID SNAKE
Lindsay awoke with a startle at the sounds of vehicles out on the street. Disoriented, she rubbed her face, unsure of where she was or the time.
She sat up and noticed JT and Hannah still snuggled up sleeping on one of the other couches. She had no idea how long they had all been asleep, but they dropped the ball, leaving no one on lookout.
Gone was the late afternoon sun that had helped light up the video store. It was almost dark out now. She did her best silent shout to get the other two up.
They responded, groggy, and looked to Lindsay as she pointed towards the front of the store and then to her ear. Hannah and JT were quick to pick up what she was warning them about as they rolled off of the couch onto the floor and gathered up their weapons.
Lindsay snuck along beside the low aisles that held the movies and peered around the corner out one window. She counted seven men all clad in black, grabbing weapons from the two vehicles they arrived in.
"All right boys you know the orders from Mr. Cash, we don't go home until we find these three people. Emilio said it's two women and one man. One woman was shot in the leg and wounded. Remember what we were told. The male is expendable, but he wants the women alive. Now let's get to kicking in every door and checking every possible hidey hole." The man who gave the orders was a large, muscular guy with a thick salt and pepper beard.
The three of them gave each other worried looks as the men outside started to fall out. One of them made a beeline right towards the video store. They didn't have time to respond, so they reacted and swiftly moved for the back door. They didn't know if they should see it as a blessing or a curse when they noticed the misty fog coming back to settle in.
JT was the last one out and had no more than closed the back door when he heard the glass break from inside the store followed by the sounds of someone trashing the place. JT urged them along as they headed up the alley.
Lindsay nearly stepped out right in front of one of the men hunting for them, but saw him at the last minute. They ducked into cover beside a toppled over long-haul trailer. Another man called out to him from the other direction.
"I have an idea, but you'll have to trust me." JT said, looking to Hannah. She didn't know what to say, so she just nodded in agreement.
JT headed to the right, moving at a snail's pace. He turned passed another trailer, this one still attached to its semi. The fog made it so he could only see to the end of it, so about fifty-two feet.
He made it past the trailer and went left. The
next two trailers no zombies hanging on them. That was a lucky break.
He took another right and paused. Across the street he could make out a city bus. At both ends hung zombies, each with two spikes impaled in each of their shoulders. Each had the bells hung around their necks. These two zombies looked in rough shape, rot and decay had taken a toll on them, much like the dumpster diver they had found in the alley.
JT made sure everything he carried was secured tight and that the safety on his rifle was off. He crabwalked sideways, pausing a few seconds between each step, careful to try to not make a single sound. He held his breath as he passed within arms length of the first zombie.
It didn't stir as he slogged side to side underneath it. The stench of decay invaded his nostrils. He could only take in the details of its grey sagging skin and whited out eyes for so long before he sunk the knife Hannah had given him into its head and cut the rope that held the bell, careful not to let it make a noise before he continued on.
The second zombie was in even worse shape than the first. It looked as though soon it would rot right off the metal spikes pegged through its shoulders. He could count each pockmark in its cheeks. As JT made his way closer, he thought this zombie was no longer reanimated as it did not stir. He inched closer and reached up to cut the bells off this one as well. Right as the blade reached the rope the zombie raged to life and began snapping down at him, when its mouth opened maggots fell out into JT's face and hair. "You motherfucker!" JT silently screamed the words as he reached up and planted the knife between the eyes of the zombie. He then finished retrieving the bell before wiping at his face and hair to make sure no maggots were still on him.
Satisfied he had gotten them all off of himself, he was about to make his way back to where he had left Hannah and Lindsay when the sound of gunfire and the glow of muzzle flashes erupted. JT dropped to the ground in a full blown state of anxiety.
"They're over here!" A man yelled. "Don't let them get away!" Another voice boomed in the distance.
JT wanted to get up and sprint to where they were last. He forced himself not to. He jogged to the end of the semi and looked out just in time to see two silhouettes moving through a little pavilion area before vanishing behind a gazebo type structure.
Footsteps closing in drew his attention away from them. He looked to his left as two men rushed towards the same area. JT grabbed the bells and decided it was time to adjust his plans. He clanged them with all his might as he crawled underneath the trailer. JT smacked his head going under as more bells rang to life after him, followed by growls and groans.
"This way!" Again one man shouted, trailed by the sounds of even more footsteps coming in his direction. The first of the men rounded the trailer as JT held his position. Two more men followed him. They headed in the same direction as even more bells sounded to life in the misty distance.
TICK TOCK
Gus stared, with Linda over his shoulder, at the glow in the dark hands of the watch as it ticked to the one hour mark. When it reached the time, he took in a deep breath. He grabbed Linda with one hand and reached for the door with the other. He pulled it open, ready for an attack, and poked his head out. The hallway looked clear, so he wasted no time pulling Linda along towards the door he directed them to. The two of them made their way up the stairs and to the office without issue. He couldn't hide his surprise when they found the pack stashed under the desk. Everything he promised was inside. In addition to a flashlight and two black hooded sweatshirts.
Gus and Linda made quick work of the food and water before putting the hoodies on and checking the weapons. There were two loaded handguns with an extra clip each and a combat knife that for a fleeting moment made Gus think of Dusty. That felt like centuries ago when they all had first been together.
After checking over everything, Gus glanced down at the watch. The seconds dragged like hours as they ticked by. Linda encouraged Gus to sit with her in some chairs around a circular table in the room's corner. It took some convincing, but he eventually relented and joined her. He placed the watch on the desk and the two of them sat their holding hands, waiting for the hour to strike or for some to come to the door. Whichever came first.
WARZONE
JT was about to come out of his cover when yelling erupted, followed by lots of gunfire out in the night. It sounded like sudden and complete chaos, and it was getting closer. He made a break for the gazebo, hoping to find Hannah and Lindsay hiding there. His stomach sank when the only thing to greet him were some empty park benches. He noticed the gunfire and the screaming ceased. The marching of what sounded like an entire platoon of zombies replaced it.
JT looked back to the street through the white planks of the fence surrounding the gazebo. Through the haze of the intensifying mist and fog, he saw the undead filling the area. He wasted no time locating a walkway going between some buildings and made a break.
The sounds of padding feet closed in behind him as he snaked his way through abandoned and wrecked vehicles littering the streets as he tried to put as much distance as possible between the dead heads and himself. He kept stealing looks behind him and about fell on his ass when he almost ran into the waiting arms of a zombie tethered to the ladder rack of a truck. If it had not been for the cowbell around its neck, he would have run straight into its silent, waiting arms.
The undead woman locked him up in a grapple, raging against its binds like a rabid dog. JT fought to escape its grasp. He got a arm clear and drove his knife into the side of its skull with one fatal motion.
The zombie sank down, lifeless again, as far as the ropes would extend. JT looked back and listened as one more deathly scream cried out followed by a lone gunshot. Then silence, except for the sound of zombies and the occasional ding of some variety of bell. The noise was getting closer; he knew he had to move.
Dammit Hannah, where are you?
He headed to the end of the next block and took a left. He jumped behind the nearest vehicle as he realized he had double backed to the compound area. This time however there was a flurry of activity. People were moving around the outside area like they were an infantry getting into position.
JT spotted a smaller size pickup with a topper over the bed. He scuttled over, dropped the tailgate, and crawled in. The gate only clicked shut a moment before several zombies trickled by. A couple slow ones at first, then several Runners, then a blur as it became too congested to tell much.
JT made himself as flat as possible in the truck's bed. Shots rang out again, as if the compound had turned into the front line of a war. Every so often a zombie would smack against the truck. It teetered each time. More than once the crunch of a bullet hitting the truck caused him to jump. He knew he couldn't stay here for long if this kept up.
JT got up on his hands and knees and watched out the rear window of the topper. A nightmare came into view. Zombies were everywhere, some downed, several still pushing on. The area surrounding the truck was clear for now.
"Fuck my life, now or never." JT said aloud to himself as he pushed open the topper, reached through and released the tailgate. He got out fast and ran towards the compound, using vehicles as cover until he reached a small utility room surrounded by four concrete slabs. Here he hid from both the living and the dead.
SNAKE
Linda and Gus were getting nervous at the sounds of all the gunshots outside. According to the watch, they still had another thirty minutes to wait it out before their prison break partner said they would be on their own. The thought had no more than crossed their minds when the jangling of someone wrestling with keys appeared at the office door. Gus and Linda leveled their aim on the door.
Emilio stepped through, closing it quick behind him. He was out of breath. He had changed his clothes into one of the sharper looking black suits he adorned when he would stand upon his little tower and bark orders at his people.
"You?" Gus asked, trying to control the level of anger in his voice. "Why in the hell would you want to help us out
of here?"
"Your friends, Hannah and JT. Things happened, and they saved my ass. Look I'm not saving your life here Gus, but I am giving you both a fighting chance but shit has hit the fan and we have to go now." Emilio answered back.
"Wait, go where? Where is Madison?" Linda asked concerned.
Emilio looked down at the floor before answering. "I... I didn't have time. Cash has her in his quarters. There's nothing we can do for her now if you want to make it out of here alive."
"To hell with all that bullshit hombre! We ain't leaving here without that little girl come hell or high water." Gus didn't even realize he was jabbing the gun in Emilio's direction until Linda pushed it with care towards the ground.
"Do you hear all that noise? There's an entire pack of dead outside. We've never seen a pack so big but it's a perfect chance to escape you fool. Your friends, the ones who you thought might come looking for you? They're out there somewhere. If you head up to rescue that girl you won't walk out of here alive, old man." Emilio retorted.
"Let me be clear here, slick. I ain't no cactus expert but I know a prick when I see one so here's what you're going to do. You're going to tell me how to get to that little girl and you're going to show Linda how to get the hell out of here." Gus was forceful.
"Gus, no..." Gus cut Linda off before she could say anymore.
"Your turn pal, you just say yes if you understand."
The Outbreak Series (Book 4): Deadlocked Page 16
