"Whatever, yes, but it's your death warrant." Emilio surrendered.
"Glad we understand each other. Now spill the details." Gus commanded.
ENTRANCE
JT stole a glimpse over the short concrete walls amongst the hail of gunfire. Through all the chaos happening and the heaviness of the fog and mist that set in, he still made out the glow of an open door into the building. He guessed it was little more than a hundred yards from where he sat. Everywhere he looked, everyone's attention was on the zombies. JT didn't give it a second. He jumped over the wall and dashed in the dome-shaped hangar’s direction.
JT couldn't believe his luck as he breached the door, still keeping his head low. He stood there a moment, catching his breath and trying to decide which way to go. He observed some people filing into a doorway across the hangar and followed them.
When JT made it through the door, shock hit him. He found a number of people buzzing around like bees in a hive. There were people shouting over each other while pulling out and loading an impressive amount of weaponry. He took shelter among some large wooden crates that sat upon a pallet. JT wondered just how many people lived in this community based on how many he currently watched and how many were outside trying to fend off the undead army.
JT made himself small as he tried to get closer. A sudden noise somewhere behind him caused him to jump. He looked back and gasped. Linda and a well dressed Hispanic guy emerged from a door. JT swallowed the urge to call out to her. He watched as they rushed towards the door JT entered moments ago.
A giant crash, the screeching of tires and metal on metal made JT whirl around so hard he smacked his nose on the edge of one of the crates. A tow truck skidded to a stop as debris from the truck and the wall it had just plowed through flew everywhere. He couldn't believe his eyes. Hannah and Lindsay jumped out and laid down fire as they ran for cover themselves.
Linda didn't show the same restraint that JT had. When she spotted Hannah, she called out to her, waving her arms. Emilio didn't stop to welcome anyone and ran through the doorway. The people in the hangar realized what was happening and began firing at Linda, Hannah and Lindsay. Pieces of the wood crates were splintering off as the bullets hit.
Hannah screamed when JT grabbed her and pulled her to the ground.
"Hell of an entrance baby." JT said looking at Hannah. She instinctively gave him a quick kiss, relieved to see him still alive. JT glanced back to where Linda had been. She wasn't there now. He wondered if she had made it through the door unscathed.
"I hate to break up the reunion but we have to move." Lindsay shouted above the noise as she started firing off rounds at people who were nearing the crates.
Hannah and JT took her cue, and they too got into firing positions and started exchanging gunfire. Their ammo dwindled down as they tried to hold their ground. Realizing this, JT contemplated a plan in his head after a quick survey of the area.
He spotted a small yellow set of steps leading up to where Linda went. JT pointed it out to Lindsay and Hannah. They wasted no time making their move while JT brought up their rear, using up the last of the ammunition he had.
They made it to the higher landing where Linda had been just as the undead horde started spilling through the hole in the wall Hannah and Lindsay had just created moments before. As awful as it was, it was the perfect distraction they needed as a majority of the people inside turned their guns on the zombies. They seized their chance and ran through a door marked stairs and made their way down, trying to distance themselves from the ensuing clash.
FUDD
Gus got turned around as he thought he was following the directions Emilio gave him. Anxiety filled him. He had to find his way up to where Madison was being held. He could hear the building rumble, a combination of gunshots, screams, and inaudible noises. There were no windows or view points where he was at which lead his mind to wonder what was happening above him. He only hoped Linda wasn't a part of whatever it was.
Judging by what Emilio had told him, he had to be closing in on the stairs that would lead him to this Cash guy's lair. He was in the middle of his thought when one of Killian's men in black walked around a corner loading his shotgun. He froze there shocked, just as much as Gus was to see him.
The other guy came to his senses first as he pumped his shotgun and aimed it at Gus. Gus reacted by charging him. He was a man not much more than his own size, and the two of them went to the ground in a heap as Gus grabbed onto him.
Each of them fought to get the upper hand as they rolled around on the ground. While the man in black's hands struggled for the shotgun, Gus's hands found their way around the man's throat. Gus squeezed with all his might as the other man gasped for air before falling lifeless under Gus's grip. What a fucking waste.
Gus searched him and found another handgun with an extra clip and a knife in addition to the shotgun and some extra rounds for it. As he was removing the holsters Gus had an idea cross his mind.
After realizing how close in size they were, Gus stripped the guys clothes off. He left the black hoodie on and layered the all black tactical gear over it. He grabbed the man's ball cap, placed it upon his own head, pulled it low and then put his hood up before he continued on. He was hoping to blend in with the guards, but felt like Elmer Fudd in a leotard.
Gus' butthole puckered a couple of minutes later, as a few more of Killian's men rushed past him. The guards navigated the corridors, but thankfully his plan worked and they paid him no mind.
Hairs rose on his skin when he came through a set of doors and found himself at the cages where everyone was being held. There were no guards to be found, and the prisoners were restless as they rocked their chain-link enclosures. The walls swayed as they shook them.
"Stand back!" Gus shouted above the noise to Child's and the others from Colorado as he aimed the shotgun at the lock hanging on the gate. The blast echoed through the concrete room, making some of their ears ring in protest.
The people fled out of the cages like gushing water from a busted pipe. It was a free for all as people ran each other over getting out. Gus grabbed onto Childs and Josh by the shoulders just in time, as they nearly got swallowed up in the fray.
They waited for the room to clear and then Gus handed them the shotgun and one of the handguns, keeping only one handgun and a knife for himself. He told them to make a run for it and that he wasn't leaving without Madison. They looked at him with concerned stares before doing as he said and off towards the growing, frantic sounds of chaos.
CHILDS
Hannah wasn't sure, but it sounded like some zombies had made it into the stairwell behind them. They descended the stairs in a calm panic, intending to take them to who knows where.
They were rounding a landing between flights of stairs when the door to that floor burst open. People clamored out, almost knocking JT down the next set of stairs. He grabbed the metal rail to steady his balance. Many faces in the crowd murmured at the sight of running into JT and Hannah, but none stopped for long. They filed like a line of rabid ants up the stairs.
"Anyone else think it's a bad sign that everyone else is headed up and were the only three going down?" Lindsay asked above the noise.
"Just keep an eye out for Gus, he might still be down here among his people," Hannah answered.
"Look, I don't want to be Debbie The Downer here but that man, the one who was running up top with Linda. That's the same asshole from the grocery store. Whoever he really is, if he has Linda then there's a real chance we're already too late for Gus." Lindsay tried to soften the harsh blow of her observations towards the end.
Hannah and JT didn't respond, but traded worried looks. Their gaze broke when Josh and Dr. Child's came through the door at the end of the group. The five of them stood there frozen in place. It was Childs who shattered the stunned silence.
"JT? Hannah? You're really here? Lindsay, you... you're alive?
Before anyone answered, a single shot rang out. Child's tumbled end ove
r end past JT down the stairs. JT dropped into firing position as Josh dove out of the doorway. One of Killian's men popped around a corner and right into perfect sight of JT. He returned the favor and ended him with a single round.
Josh and Lindsay hurried down the stairs ahead of JT. They checked on Child's. JT already feared the outcome based on the blood pooling around his contorted body. He looked as if he had gotten stuck midway through a somersault against the wall. Josh rolled him onto his back and gasped at the large exit wound through his forehead. Echoing sounds of more men approaching down the hall reached them. He and Hannah leaned against the door.
"The time for mourning Childs will have to wait," JT told them. Sorry Child's.
Lindsay pulled Josh away from the dead man. To JT, he seemed in a silent state of shock. It came back to him how Josh wasn't a tough person when it came to fighting and dying.
JT spotted the metal box housing a fire hose on the wall to his left. He told Hannah to unreel some of it and they tied it through the large metal loop handle of the door as tight as they could. JT and Hannah then ran down the stairs to join Josh and Lindsay. Josh still stood there silently, his jaw slack.
"We have to move right now!" Hannah barked out as the people on the other side of the door slammed against it. The hose tightened, but they knew it wouldn't hold much longer.
"Josh! Come on!" Lindsay plead as she pulled Josh towards the next set of stairs leading down. Hannah and JT joined her in trying to force him along.
"No! Not down! Gus! Gus is still here, he's heading up, we saw him, he told us so." Josh stammered out the words so fast it took them a second for it to sink in.
The sound of the hose giving way as the door shoved open a little further left no room for contemplation.
"Back up it is then," JT said as he grabbed Hannah by the hand and the four of them ran up the steps. They reached the next landing two flights up when they heard the door give way beneath them and instead of climbing the last two flights they ran through the door and sprinted down the dark hallway, all their aches and pains protesting along the way.
BRIGADE
Killian sat perched on a stool at the shooting bench he installed in case of this very scenario. He watched the bedlam happening beneath him through the scope of his high powered Barrett M95. He picked off zombie after zombie with clean headshots. A smile swept across his face as the dead continued to drop to the floor at a steady rate.
He took a quick break from putting sizable holes in the heads of the undead to glance back at Madison. The little girl sat there looking unphased by the madness. Killian already decided that if the time came, he would have to use her as bait to distract some zombies long enough for him to make his getaway.
It pleased Killian, how well his crew handled the sudden impact caused by Hannah and Lindsay intrusion. He also wondered just how long JT spent sneaking around his camp. The man had to have arrived separate from the girls, because he hadn't gotten out of the tow truck with the two women.
He underestimated the group once. He wouldn't again.
Killian returned to scanning the crowd below as numerous people began rushing out a doorway. The sudden loudness from the crowd almost immediately gained the attention of any nearby members of the drool squad. The fleeing prisoners had no means of defending themselves as some zombies headed right for them. A majority of the people panicked and ran for the gaping hole in the wall left by the tow truck.
Few were smart enough to scoop up any weapons dropped or laying useless next to the downed members of Killian's brigade.
A tug on his arm drew Killian's attention as he looked down at Madison with a big, fake smile. "Well hello there pretty princess, what can Uncle Cash do for you?"
"I see people I know now, are we leaving soon too?"
"Yes sugar we are as a matter of fact, just as soon as some of those crazed maniacs down there clear us a path. So you just sit tight and have a couple more of them there chocolate chip cookies." Killian said the words with a wink and a smile as he pointed at the side table next to his chair where a small plate of cookies sat.
SEEK
Agitation rose in Gus. How in the Sam hell did I get so turned around?
All the corridors looked the same. He continued his search for the door that would lead him into the hangar. From there he would charge Killian's hiding hole.
Gus had just stopped a moment to take a swig of water out of a bottle that sat on a table in the hallway next to some dusty, fake plastic flowers in a ceramic vase.
"Don't make any sudden moves asshole." The voice of a man demanded from behind him followed by the feeling of a gun barrel press against the back of his head. Gus raised his hands in surrender when the man grabbed him by one of his wrists and twisted it up behind his back.
"You two search him while I keep my gun drawn on him." Gus heard the all too familiar female voice.
"Hannah?!" Gus's voice cracked as a giant ball of emotion grew in his throat.
Gus got spun around and found himself face to face with JT. He put his hand over his heart. His mouth stood open like a dumbass fish. Once he recovered, he wrapped up JT in a giant bear hug. Hannah leapt forward and got in on the action as both Gus and JT enveloped her. Hannah and Gus both had tears streaming down their faces as they pulled back, looking at each other. How did they find me? That's gotta be a story.
Gus ruffled Hannah's hair after they broke apart and gave her a peck on the forehead. What the hell am I doin'? He smashed her in a hug again. They were both sights for aching eyes. Hannah grimaced and clutched at her stomach for a moment after he let her go.
"You okay darlin'?" Gus' concern seeped into his voice. Had he squeezed her too tight when he embraced her.
"Yeah, just cramps, ya know girl stuff," Hannah responded. "Gus, why are you dressed like that? We almost shot at you. Why are you alone? Where's Linda? We saw her a little while ago but we couldn't get to her."
"I will answer all of your questions kids, but first I have to find a little girl named Madison. The son of a bitch who runs this place took her from me. He's keeping her in some suspended makeshift apartment in the main hangar."
"The main hangar is just above us, it's where we came in, where we saw Linda." Lindsay offered.
"Okay, let's go." JT pressed.
"Tighten your reins there a tad, JT. I say you and Hannah come with me. Lindsay, you and Josh find my Linda if she is still here, please."
"Let's do this," JT answered.
He was happy none gave a second thought to his request. As a unit they took off for the stairwell up to the main level of the hangar.
DESTROY
Gus pointed to the sets of metal stairs leading up to what Gus suspected was Killian's pad. They paused before entering the fray between them and the stairs.
"Good luck," JT said to Josh and Lindsay.
"Josh, when you find my girl, don't be running off with her. I'd hate to have to hunt you down." Gus gave a big wink. The guy needed all the pumping up he could give. At least he had Lindsay with him.
"Don't worry, Gus. I'll knock the teeth out of anybody that so much looks at her funny." Lindsay smacked one fist into the palm of the other hand. The two took off for the door they had last seen Linda near.
The war waging in the hangar was a little less intense now. Enough zombies lurked around though to keep the people who stayed too busy to fight their group. They monitored the situation, waiting for the chance to make a break. The zombies that remained were not only Runners, but some of the new jumping kind. They moved from cover to cover and then lunged on top of there unsuspecting prey. It reminded Gus of velociraptors from the Jurassic Park movie. He dubbed these new zombies Jurassic Pricks.
"JT, make sure nothing pounces on us. I don't want to be a new chew toy."
"You got that right. I won't let anyone slobber on you but Linda."
"Nice," Gus chuckled. "We better go. No telling what's going on up there. We need to put a stop to whatever it is."
&n
bsp; A small fire spread out from around the crashed tow truck. Gus realized how that turned out a best-case scenario. The thin smoke would help hide them as they made their way across. A couple of shots at a few shamblers in their path to the stairs cleared the way to their destination.
Gus stared up at his mortal enemy, the stairs. With a sigh of resignation, he started up them. He led the way with Hannah in the middle and JT bringing up the caboose.
"When did Gus become a grandpa?" JT mumbled to Hannah.
"Hush, you. I think it's sweet."
The trio reached the summit of the stairs without incident. They stood on the doorstep of what they assumed was Killian's quarters. Gus looked back at JT and Hannah. He gave JT a nod. His friend reciprocated.
He gave the door a try, opening it in one swift motion.
Inside, Killian sat like a king in a high backed recliner. He smiled after they entered. Without a word Killian reached down beside his chair, picked up his sledgehammer, stood with his chest puffed out, and raised his weapon to rest on his shoulder.
"Gustavo! And this must be the infamous Bonnie and Clyde in the flesh. THE JT and Hannah." Killian smiled like a proud father at them. JT and Hannah turned to Gus with confused glances.
"Where's Madison?" Gus got straight to the point. Killian let out an airy laugh before answering.
"Goddamn Gus! You are one rabid Huckleberry Hound! Don't sweat it friend, I took care of her. I mean I didn't think your little cheesepuff should see me have to whip your old wrinkly ass."
Gus rushed Killian and swung, missing by miles. Killian side stepped him with ease and gave him a boot in the ass as his momentum carried him by. Gus recovered and grabbed his handgun. He didn't even get it out of the holster before Killian latched onto his wrist, dropped his sledge down and swung it upward, clocking Gus right in the mouth with the handle end. Gus stumbled backwards.
The Outbreak Series (Book 4): Deadlocked Page 17
