“Pull to the left. Park across the road.”
“What? Why?”
“I’m assuming we’ll continue on foot. If we need to retreat, this truck makes the perfect thing to hide behind,” she offered. “Plus, it’s not like there’s any traffic to block.” she added, shrugging.
“Alright” Sarah replied, nodding in agreement. With the truck rocking heavily as it moved forward unevenly, she pulled the wheel hard to the left, bringing the truck around until it was perpendicular with the road. Glancing in the mirror she made sure there was about the same amount of space behind them as there was in front, then stopped the truck. Taking a deep breath, she turned off the engine and applied the parking brake
“Alright,” Serafina began, opening her door slightly. “Seeing as how we didn’t see that white Mercedes yet, I’m assuming they continued on down this street.”
“Makes sense,” Sarah replied, nodding. “So you want to continue on foot?” She was hesitant to leave the children and Richard behind, but she owed her life and that of her children to the woman’s husband and the young man with him.
“Absolutely,” Serafina answered, nodding as she looked down the street. “My husband’s out there.”
“Alright.” Leaning back again, Sarah called out to the group in the back. “Jennifer, grab your gun and let’s get going.”
“Okay!” The dark-haired young woman replied.
Serafina and Sarah circled the truck, meeting at its rear, where they opened the heavy, steel-reinforced doors. When they did, Jennifer slid forward and hopped down from the cargo area, landing smoothly on the asphalt of the street. Seconds later, Ashley and Brenna followed suit, taking up positions on either side of Serafina.
“What are you - ”
“We’re coming, too.” Ashley stated flatly.
Sarah looked at Serafina.
Shrugging, Serafina nodded approvingly. “Stepchildren,” she explained, bringing her arms up and placing them around the two girls.
Sarah smiled. “Okay, then.” Turning and looking into the back of the truck, where Jason and Olivia sat near Richard, she said, “Kids, I’ll be back in a little bit. Keep an eye on Grandpa Richard -”
“Call me Uncle,” the old man said, turning his head to look at the blonde woman. “Grandpa makes me feel old,” he explained.
“You are old,” Sarah replied, smiling. “Alright, kids, like I said, keep an eye on… Uncle Richard while we’re gone. We’ll be back soon.”
“Don’t go, Mommy,” Olivia called out, her eyes filling with tears.
“I’ve got to, sweetie. The men who saved our lives need our help.” Looking at her son, she raised her eyebrows expectantly. In response, the young man slid over and placed his arm around his little sister.
“It’s okay, Ollie,” he told her, using the nickname he’d given her. “I’ll be here with you. We’ll play Go Fish, okay?”
Olivia nodded slowly, never taking her eyes from Sarah. “Okay,” she replied, before asking her mom, “You’ll be back soon?”
“Real soon, sweetie.”
“Okay.”
Looking at her son, Sarah said, “Jason, lock the door, please,” before closing the heavy door, sealing them in. Turning back to the others, she swallowed, then looked at Serafina, who’d quietly taken charge of the group.
“Weapons check,” the woman said, before removing her handgun from her waistband and checking it.
As Sarah checked her pistol, she glanced at the two young teenagers. Her eyes widened at what she saw: Ashley had a high-powered, long-range rifle, while Brenna carried a beautifully carved wooden bow.
“You two are experienced with those?” she asked, incredulously. She’d expected the girls to simply be coming with them to provide support in the form of extra eyes and ears. These girls were ready for battle.
Ashley’s confidence showed in her smile. “Definitely. My dad taught me how to shoot.”
When Sarah’s eyes met Brenna’s, the girl explained her possession. “Our neighbor in Big Bear, a really nice lady named Janice, taught me.” She held up the bow proudly. “She also gave me this bow she made.”
“Wow,” Sarah replied, admiring the craftsmanship.
“I know.” Beaming with pride, she stared at the bow for a minute before slinging it over her back and looking towards her stepmother.
Serafina took a breath, then nodded towards the far end of the street, where a long, three-story high building stood. “I guess we’re headed that way.”
The five of them began walking towards the end of the street with a determined pace, eager to find Daniel and Paul. With the long unbroken fences on either side of the street, few cars were parked there, leaving minimal places to hide. They knew at least one vehicle that they were looking for - the Mercedes-Benz SUV - so they sought to find it first. Though it would be better for everyone if Daniel and Paul weren’t where the SUV was, at this point it seemed likely that they would be.
They’d covered half the distance between where they’d parked the truck and the end of the street when they heard the sound of a gun being fired rapidly, accompanied by glass breaking.
“What the?” Serafina said aloud, her brow furrowing in concern. She knew neither Daniel or Paul would be firing a weapon like that. Without hesitating, she said, “Let’s go!” before withdrawing her gun and breaking into a jog. The others followed suit immediately, keeping pace with her as they closed in on the sound of the shooting.
Serafina’s eyes darted left and right as she ran, looking for signs of danger as they covered the distance, but the street remained empty.
Soon they heard the crazed screams of the infected coming from where they’d heard the gunfire. From what they heard there were dozens and dozens of them, more than they’d ever seen together at once.
And they were getting closer.
Had they attacked Daniel and Paul? Had they killed them?
Even worse, were Daniel and Paul among the horde, having been turned by a bite or a scratch from one of the infected?
She wasn’t sure how she’d react if she saw her husband in that state. She wanted to believe she’d do the right thing and put a bullet through his head - it’s what he’d made clear he wanted - but she wasn’t sure she’d be able to pull the trigger. There was little chance the girls would be able to, either.
‘Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,’ she said to herself as she ran. ‘Stay positive,’ she reminded herself. Daniel had proven himself to be skilled and resourceful when fighting, and it was unlikely that he’d let his guard down.
When they reached the intersecting street, where the road offered only left or right turns, she slowed, putting her empty hand out to indicate to the others what she was doing.
Walking forward, her eyes widened as she looked down onto the parking lot. Two men, both clearly injured, were running for their lives, desperate to stay ahead of a massive group of infected men and women of all shapes and sizes.
“Oh my god…” Sarah said from her spot next to Serafina.
There were no less than fifty of the infected chasing what Serafina had determined to be Daniel and Paul.
Thank God they’re still alive.
Now we have to get them out of this.
“Shit. Is that them?” Sarah asked.
“Yes,” Serafina replied, before adding, “We either take those infected down, or they take us down.”
“Good point,” Sarah said, nodding.
Ashley racked a round into the chamber of her rifle.
Brenna brought her bow around and notched an arrow.
Sarah and Jennifer flicked off the safeties on their guns.
“Alright,” Serafina said, pointing down at the teeming mass of infected. “We’ll wait until Dan and Paul are close enough that we can safely shoot over them. Then we just start taking out as many of those things as we can.”
“What if we can’t get them all?” Jennifer asked.
“We have to.”
P
ointing out locations, she put them in different spots so that they could attack the horde from multiple directions, ensuring none would break free from the pack and work their way around the edges to attack them from their flank. If she were being honest with herself, she didn’t know where she’d learned the tactic, she just knew that it made sense.
Raising their weapons, the group waited for her command.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY
San Mateo, California
Reed’s mind reeled as he stared at the man in front of him. He’d seen him fall under the rush of dozens of infected, then watched from above as a grenade exploded where the man had been taken to the ground. Just as the rest of SEAL Team Eight had, the man had sacrificed himself to ensure Reed completed the mission, obtaining the information Doctor Roberts had gathered so that it could be analyzed back at the lab in Virginia.
Reed had wept openly at the deaths of Serrano and the others, feeling personally responsible for their deaths. He’d lost hundreds of hours of sleep as he sought to deal with the guilt he’d felt over their deaths, his mind reliving their deaths one by one.
Dash’s voice, filled with fear as he fired his weapon on full automatic at the rush of infected that overpowered him….
Spider, falling to his death under the weight of two infected men, who’d thrown themselves at him, uncaring of what happened to them…
JJ, pressed up against a wall, a jagged piece of metal protruding from his forehead, part of the fire extinguisher bottle he’d accidentally punctured with rounds from his rifle…
Skee, who’d suffered a fatal injury when the fire extinguisher exploded but refused to stop to deal with it as he rushed Reed away from the horde of infected that chased after them, only to die a mere three hundred yards away from the aircraft that had come to retrieve them…
And finally this man, who’d yelled at Reed, sending him to the aircraft as he remained behind to hold the infected at bay long enough to let him escape.
He’d died there.
But somehow he was here.
Before Reed could put together the question he wanted to ask (simply, ‘how?’), the man spoke.
“Holy shit. Doc?”
Reed nodded. “Chili? How?”
“Later, Doc. Let’s get you out of here first.”
“Wait,” Reed replied, looking towards where Mason lay. “Help him first.”
Serrano nodded, then moved towards the man. Kneeling at Mason’s side, he nodded reassuringly. “Let me take a look, okay?”
Mason nodded weakly, relaxing his grip on his midsection, allowing Serrano to pull his hands away.
“Hmmmm….” Serrano said, examining each wound. “This one looks like a flesh wound. This one,” he pointed towards a bullet wound nearer to the man’s center, “is trouble. All I can do is help stop the bleeding. We need professional help with this one…”
Reed tuned Serrano’s voice out as his mind tried to grab his attention.
Something was wrong.
Something was...missing.
No.
Not something.
Someone.
Reed’s mouth opened to shout a warning just as the sound of a gun boomed inside the confines of the plane’s fuselage.
Serrano’s body was thrown backwards, away from Mason and into the seats opposite where Reed had been seated. His eyes blinked repeatedly in surprise as he grimaced, looked down at the bullet hole in his uniform on the upper right side of his chest.
The man Reed heard referred to as ‘Steve’ climbed over the wreckage that marred the forward section of the aircraft.
Sommer’s eyes narrowed as he looked down at Hank, lying dead in a pool of blood. Anger rose inside him as he took in the sight of the black man staring up at him and the Mexican man in the camouflage uniform that he’d shot.
‘Fucking parasites,’ he thought. ‘Wetbacks and niggers. Goddammit!’
Looking at the two men, it wasn’t lost on him that they both wore the uniforms of the United States military; one in Army camouflage, the other in the Navy’s version. Even worse, the black man wore the insignia of a colonel.
‘Time to clean house a bit,’ he thought, bringing his gun to bear once more. He pointed it towards the Mexican man first, then changed his mind. He despised black people even more.
Adjusting his aim, he swung the gun over to point it at the colonel.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE
East Palo Alto, California
Daniel and Paul had just turned away from the black Toyota truck when they heard the sound of gunfire behind them. Instinctively, they threw themselves to the ground, covering their heads with their hands as the shooting continued. The glass front of the building shattered seconds later, sending glass falling to the ground with a massive crashing sound.
“That can’t be good,” Daniel muttered, wincing in pain at the stress he’d put on his tightly wrapped side. The bleeding had slowed, but he could still feel its wetness spreading.
“Was there another gang member?” Paul asked, his eyes wide with fear as he looked at Daniel.
“Don’t know,” Daniel replied, keeping his voice low. “But the noise will likely attract - ”
Enraged shrieking came from inside the building. Seconds later, crashing sounds accompanied the sound of feet pounding on the tiles.
“Run!” Daniel hissed, pushing himself to his feet. The sudden movement brought an explosion of pain in his side, making him double over as he struggled to put weight on his left leg. Paul’s arm came under him and helped him stand straighter.
“Come on!” The young man said, exerting himself as he tried to help Daniel move forward. He was noticeably limping as he favored the knee he’d banged on the steps earlier, but he refused to let go of the older man, pulling him along.
“I can do it,” Daniel said, sliding out from under Paul’s arm. He pushed himself forward, running awkwardly as he favored his entire left side. He kept his left arm pinned against his side as he ran, trying to keep the muscles and flesh there from pulling against the wound. His left foot barely touched the ground as he sought to minimize each impact, occasionally being reminded that anything more than a tiptoe sent pain shooting up from his thigh to his hip.
Paul remained by his side, though it was clear to him that even with his injured right knee, the teenager could easily leave him in the dust. Looking back over his shoulder, he was relieved to see that the infected hadn’t emerged from the building yet.
That relief wouldn’t last long.
Crossing the small road that ran between the first parking sections, they were entering the second section when Daniel heard the unmistakable sounds of the infected getting closer.
They screamed with rage at the sight of their prey nearly halfway across the parking lot.
Charging after Daniel and Paul, they snarled as they gnashed their teeth.
They huffed, trying to pull in more oxygen as they ran with inhuman breakneck speed, pushing their bodies harder and harder, trying to cross the distance as quickly as possible.
They lashed out at one another as they grew enraged at those in their way.
“We have to go faster!” Paul screamed, his eyes wide in terror.
“I’m trying!” Daniel yelled, pushing himself harder. ‘Fuck it,’ he told himself as he allowed his left foot to come down hard, grunting each time the pain grabbed him. There was no way around it. He needed the power the second leg provided.
Even so, it was quickly becoming clear that they would not be able to outrun the infected. He didn’t need to look back to sense that they were closing in. Fast.
Seeing the end of the third and final section of the parking lot ahead, they ran with everything they had.
‘Then what?’ Daniel asked himself, wracking his brain for a plan. They couldn’t outrun them, there was no way to hide, and there were too many to fight off.
They were screwed.
One of the infected lunged out, flying forward with its arms ext
ended, reaching for Paul. Its right hand caught the tail of the teenager’s shirt, slowing him momentarily as the thing landed on the surface of the parking lot.
He screamed.
Reaching over, Daniel grabbed the young man’s arm and yanked him forward, pulling him away. The fabric tore leaving the creature with little more than a small prize.
But they were out of time.
Daniel looked at the row of parking spots that lined the edge of the parking lot, then looked along the embankment that separated the parking lot from the sidewalk and street above. There numerous small bushes dotting its length, but between a few the grass had been worn away by pedestrians taking shortcuts through the landscaping. Spotting the one he thought would work best, he angled towards it, then glanced towards the street above.
The barrels of multiple guns were pointed down at them.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-TWO
East Palo Alto, California
“Get down!” Serafina yelled.
Daniel’s eyes grew large as he heard the command. Glancing to his left, he saw a Honda Odyssey minivan sitting in the last stall of the section, next to the aisle that ran perpendicular to the one they were on. The rear sliding door was hanging open, and from what he could see, it appeared that the van was empty. Reaching out, he grabbed hold of Paul and yanked him in that direction.
“Now!” Serafina screamed.
Daniel pushed Paul forward, into the van, then dove in after him. Looking back, he saw the enraged faces of countless infected rushing towards them. Reaching for the door’s handle, he heard the first gunshot a split second before a young white woman was stopped in her tracks as a bullet struck her in the chest. She fell sideways and backwards, only to be trampled under by those behind her. Daniel threw the door shut and pressed the button for the lock.
After that, it was pure thunder as guns fired round after round, steadily firing upon the masses.
Jumping towards the driver’s seat, Daniel pressed the master control for the door locks, engaging all of them. As he looked towards the rushing mob of infected, he saw they were twenty yards away and steadily closing. He also realized there was little chance the windows of the van would be sufficient to protect them.
Surviving Rage | Book 2 Page 75
