The Armageddon Series | Book 4 | Pandemic, Part 4

by Thomas, Nick S.

  Gunfire rang out either side of him as the other two advanced past him, firing as they went. Kurt no longer held back, carefully taking aim as if he were at the range. He moved from one target to another with determination and conviction. They all knew what was at stake. Kurt went for the chain that would lower the door manually while Bobby went right to the middle of the opening to fend them off. He shot one in the face and hauled the body through. He then dropped down to a prone position where he could get a view out to the ramp beyond.

  He could still hear the cries of the Crazies and the fight raging on all around him, but he had to have faith in the others to watch his back. He knew he could have only a few rounds left in his magazine and couldn’t spare the time to reach for another, so he picked his shots as carefully as before. He shot one in the face, and as he looked to the next target, he found it had previously been a police officer and was still wearing a sturdy helmet with visor. He lowered his muzzle and shot at its knee, blowing it out and sending him crashing down to the ground, in what would be a horrifically painful injury for a human. But it merely began to crawl towards him with the same mindless and murderous intent.

  Kate dropped down beside him and took aim at another. Bobby looked back at the pile of bodies, and the rest of the survivors finished what was left of them in a brutal fashion. The plan had worked just as he had hoped, although as he looked back to the ramp, a wave of Crazies appeared, drawn to the sound of the gunfire. The shutter was lowering but slowly.

  “Get a shift on!” Bobby yelled.

  “I’m trying!” Kurt pulled the chain as quickly as he could. Shot after shot rang out until finally Bobby was empty. He reached for a new magazine, knowing it would do no good if the mob reached them before that shutter was down.

  Kate sighed as she leapt to her feet, leaving her rifle on the ground and went to assist Kurt. Bobby slammed in the new magazine and primed one into the chamber. He fired at the nearest Crazy, and then another, but the mob was now ten metres away, and the one with a shot knee was about to reach the doorway. He took aim at its arms, which the creature was using to propel itself forward. He shot one of its hands and the elbow of the other arm. It still flailed to try and advance but could get no leverage. The cries of the bloodthirsty mob were terrifying, and yet he could still hear the battle raging on all around him. He took aim at the mob, knowing it would be hopeless, yet feeling he had to do something no matter how desperate things were.

  As the horde finally closed the distance, the shutter slammed down before his eyes. The heavy steel shutter barely moved as they crashed into it like a wave against a cliff face. His pulse was racing, and he breathed a sigh of relief as he rolled over and got up. As he did so, he found a Crazy running at him as the group fought off the last of those contained inside with them. He didn’t have time to lift his rifle, and it crashed into him, pushing him back against the roller shutter door. He could feel the reverberations at his back of those trying to claw their way in, but he had more pressing concerns. The one in front of him had his rifle pinned to his chest and was jumping at him as if to bite at his face. As it lunged to the left of his neck, he used its weight being off balance to turn out and away from the door. He threw the Crazy over his shoulder so it crashed down flat onto its back. He smashed the stock of his rifle down into its head. The skull split open and blood poured out across the concrete floor.

  He looked up and saw the last two Crazies beaten down as the group worked together.

  “Everyone okay?”

  Kurt had a swollen eye and Roger a shallow but long gouge down his face, and yet there was a triumphant feeling amongst them all. They’d finally all worked and fought together. The group dynamic had changed, they could all feel it, and it was for the best. But still the hammering of the Crazies loomed over them. Everyone was panting from the exertion and stress of what they had been through, but there was also relief.

  “Ain’t no way they’re getting through that.” Kurt banged on the heavy-duty shutter.

  “Not unless someone opens it, no,” growled Bobby in an accusatory manner. He looked about them, and nobody was going to admit to it even if they were the culprit.

  Chapter 2

  They made their way between the bodies they’d left behind, giving each one a heavy strike to the head to be absolutely certain they were dead. They were all painfully aware that they could not afford another mistake like had happened with the door.

  “That was close,” said Kate.

  “Yeah, a hell of a lot closer than it should have been.”

  “You think one of them opened it?”

  “I don’t know, could be.”

  “But who?” she pressed.

  “Someone who wants out.”

  “But why? It’s suicide to go out there alone.”

  “You assume people always do the smart thing. Trust me, they don’t,” he replied cynically, though he seemed to include himself in the statement as if angry at some underlying issues seemingly long buried. She didn’t care to press it any further, as none of their former lives mattered anymore.

  “What are we going to do with all these bodies?” Adam asked.

  “Seal the doors and leave ‘em,” replied Bobby.

  “But the stench, and the rot.”

  “We won’t be around long enough to worry, but if you want to carry them upstairs to toss out the window, be my guest. But a word of advice, don’t go looking for work that don’t need to be done.”

  “Bobby, you got to see this,” insisted Kurt.

  Bobby lifted his rifle and followed as if expecting trouble, but he was around a workstation with a rack of radios.

  “Good find.”

  “You tried reaching out to anyone yet?” Adam asked.

  “They won’t have the range to reach the base I was stationed out of,” replied Kate.

  “Yeah, but there might be others out there.”

  “So what, if the Army can’t or won’t get to us, who will?”

  “Damn right, Kurt, we’re on our own, but these could help a lot,” declared Bobby.

  “They’re all fully charged and ready to go,” replied Kurt.

  “All right, grab them all and the charging stations, too. Let’s have a root around and see if we can’t find anything else useful, then we shut the doors and never return.”

  They split up, going through the room for anything they could find, with only a few tools that could be used as weapons. They were all glad to see the back of the blood-soaked garage as Bobby pulled the doors shut, wrapped the chain back around them, and latched a padlock on it.

  “You so sure we’re going somewhere anytime soon?”

  “We have to, Lisa. If nothing else we need food.”

  Bobby led them back up to the shop displays that had been their home and refuge for a few wild days. Everyone was tired. The action had not lasted long, but it was tense and stressful, and it had taken it out of them all. They put their weapons down and slumped onto the beds and chairs, but not Bobby. He took up position to address them.

  “Listen up!”

  They wearily turned their attention to the Marine, but few got up. There was a collective exhaustion, not just with the morning they’d had, but every hellish day they’d lived through. The severe lockdown conditions had brought them all to an emotional low point, but the violent and overwhelming days they now lived through seemed like a new kind of hell. Far worse than any of them could have imagined. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for the reveal of a horrifying realisation.

  “This building is safe, but only while we remain in it. We can go and scavenge for food, but every time we do it’ll be damn dangerous. The fact is there are too many of those things out there because we’re in the middle of a goddamn city.”

  “What are you suggesting?”

  “That we get the hell out of here, Adam, to somewhere with less of those things. Somewhere where there are fewer of them that we can handle without being mobbed.”

  “Wha
t about the troops, my base?” Kate asked.

  “If we’re leaving, then we can get you to them.”

  “You could be safe there with us,” she added.

  “Really? Because we all saw what happen to the Army when they ventured out into the wild,” snapped Bobby.

  “At least they have more guns,” muttered Wallace.

  “And how much good did it do them? What about when the ammo runs out?”

  Kate found it hard to argue, well aware of how difficult a situation they all faced.

  “Let’s face it, the longer we stay here the harder it’s gonna be to get out. Whatever supplies we can find will get scarcer, and there are probably other pockets of survivors like us competing for the scraps. This morning could have gone very differently. It could have been the end of all of us. How many more events like that do you think we can survive?”

  There was silence for a few moments as they took a step back to think of the big picture beyond the next few minutes and hours, as they had been so far.

  “What are you suggesting?” Lisa asked.

  “We already spotted our tickets out of here. Two vehicles that could carry us out of the city limits and to somewhere more manageable.”

  “Not gonna be easy to get to them. You’re talking about many blocks. We haven’t gone beyond the street below, and it’s been hell,” replied Wallace.

  “And yet we have to. We have to take those chances just to go and find supplies to keep us alive another few days. Then what? Keep taking the same risks over and over, how long do you think that will work for? We get out now while we’re still alive and have our strength and our damn ammo,” replied Bobby.

  It was a terrifying prospect, but being stuck in it all was almost as bad.

  “And the risks?”

  “High, Lisa, as they will be any time we step foot outside this tower. But I’d rather that risk made a difference. If I’m gonna die, better it be now doing the best we can, than slowly being whittled down and dying in despair a few weeks or months down the line. I’m sick of this damn city. It’s time to get out.”

  “You really think it will be better somewhere else?”

  “No worse, certainly. I don’t know any more about what caused this than any of you, but I do know we can’t handle those things in large numbers, and that is exactly what we have to face if we stay in a big city.”

  “Maybe people are holding out in the rural areas?” Kurt asked.

  “Yeah? And maybe they’re all dead because they didn’t have a building to lockdown in.”

  “What the hell would you know about country living, Tyrone?” Adam snapped.

  “Why, you think ‘cos I’m black I don’t know shit outside the suburbs?”

  “No, because you’re city trash. What were you before this, a drug dealer?”

  “And what if I was?”

  “Enough!” Bobby roared.

  “You will trust your life to this piece of shit?” Adam asked.

  Tyrone rushed towards him angrily, but Bobby leapt in front of him and held him off.

  “Enough!” He pushed Tyrone back, “I don’t give a goddamn what any of you were before this shit show. I care what you’re willing to do to get out of it. We need as many hands on deck as can be managed. You don’t have to like the people you stand beside, but I expect you to not cause more trouble for them.”

  “You expect? Who are you to demand anything?”

  “He’s the man that kept us all alive,” replied Lisa solemnly.

  “Bullshit,” snapped Adam.

  Bobby put down his rifle, drew out his axe, and put it on a table nearby.

  “What are you doing?” Lisa asked.

  He kept his eyes on Adam as he answered.

  “I won’t have this group endangered because of whatever bullshit this is. It ends now. You got a problem with me and how I am running things; you come here and settle it right now. I won’t wait to be stabbed in the back.”

  “I don’t have a beef with you.”

  “Yes, Adam, you do. You are looking for trouble. I don’t know you any more than I know him.” He pointed at Tyrone, “All I know is we are in this together. We fight together and we work together, or we’re all screwed. Either drop this petty bullshit, or fight me if that’s what you have to prove. Or fight him,” he added, looking to Tyrone once more.

  Adam shook his head and backed down. He clearly didn’t want to get physical with either man who looked more than eager to put him in his place.

  “Enough of this! We are in this together, don’t you understand that?”

  “That doesn’t mean we can trust him, Lisa!” Adam yelled.

  “You’ve given me no good reason to trust you either. You’ve been a complete arsehole!” He was silenced in astonishment, “So what if he was something before all this began. I don’t give a shit. All I know is you’re the one causing trouble here.”

  Adam look around for support from the rest of them, but he found none. They were all tired of his nonsense and aggravating aggressiveness.

  “She’s right, you know. It doesn’t matter what any of us were before. We’re in this together now, and if we can’t stand together, we’ll never make it,” insisted Bobby.

  “And if he gets us killed? He could have been the one who opened that shutter, you know that right?”

  “So could you,” replied Bobby.

  “What?”

  “You’ve not exactly given us much reason to trust you,” added Lisa.

  “Ask him, ask him if it was him!” Adam yelled angrily.

  Bobby looked angry but also weary and eager to resolve it, so he looked to the other man.

  “Well?”

  “No, man, hell no. I don’t want to face those things any more than the rest of you.”

  “Bullshit!”

  But Bobby grabbed Adam by the collar and held him at arm’s reach in a vice-like grip.

  “It’s time we started trusting one another, do you hear? If you can’t accept that, then you can leave.”

  “You would kick me out and leave me to die because of this?” he asked, as if expecting it to sway them all in his favour.

  “Damn right, I would. The kind of doubt and conflict you are sowing is the kind that gets people killed. If you don’t stop it, the price will be far higher than one life.”

  He looked to the others in hope that they were as horrified by Bobby’s threat as he was. Yet he found no support at all.

  “It’s time to move forward,” insisted Lisa.

  Adam didn’t look happy about it, but he knew he didn’t have much choice.

  “Don’t let this happen again. We’ve got far bigger things to worry about than this crap, do you get me?”

  Adam grunted in approval as Bobby let him go.

  “So that’s the plan?” Lisa could see Bobby had given it plenty of thought.

  He took a deep breath as he readied himself to reveal it, knowing it would be far from popular.

  “Way I see it is this. The moment either of those engines fire up it’s gonna draw attention, and we don’t have a whole lot of ammunition.”

  “What are you suggesting?” Kurt asked.

  “That we move to both targets simultaneously,” added the Corporal.

  “That’s right,” replied Bobby.

  “You want us to split up?” replied Wallace angrily.

  “Yes. Fact is we can’t handle a mob, no matter how many of us are side by side. So, we send out two small groups. We minimise the risk of casualties and maximise our chances of moving quietly across the blocks we need to. We move to secure both vehicles simultaneously. We return here and get everyone out in one.”

  “That’s crazy,” replied Roger.

  “Yeah, every part of our day is now.”

  “How will you even start those vehicles? You think the keys will be waiting for you?”

  Bobby chuckled.

  “You think keys can stop us?” Tyrone asked.

  “I’m sorry, I’ve never
had to steal a car before,” replied Roger.

  “We can get those vehicles running all right,” insisted Bobby.

  “And fuel?” Toni asked.

  “They’re both works vehicles. They won’t have come into the city without a good amount in the tanks,” replied Kurt.

  “And getting through the hordes of those things?”

  “We know we can handle them in small numbers, Lisa. We work calm and quiet. Stay out of sight, don’t make any noise.”

  “And you think that’s possible?” Matt asked.

  “So long as everyone keeps to the script, yes.”

  “If it is, why don’t we just walk on out of the city as a group?”

  “Too many of us to move quietly, Lisa, and every extra block we take increases the risk of being spotted. I’m not gonna lie. If one of the groups is caught out there by any more than a handful of Crazies, they’re probably fucked.”

  “And you want us to take those risks?” Wallace asked.

  “I’m not asking any of you to do anything I’m not going to. I know this is risky, but every move we have is. This way we risk as few of us as possible, with a big payoff if we can make it happen.”

  There was silence as they all contemplated the daring mission.

  “What do you say? This is our chance to get out of this shithole, are you with me?”

  “I am,” replied Kate.

  “And Matt, his leg still ain’t good,” insisted Lisa.

  “That’s why we’ll bring the vehicles here. All we’ve got to do is get him from the door to the vehicle.”

  “That prison truck has an emergency roof hatch. We can load from the top out the first floor,” said Kurt.

  “Good, that’s a good option if we need it, but I sure hope we don’t. With any luck, we can get both vehicles, and put enough space between us and the hordes to load up and go. But it will have to be quick. When we get back here, we need to be loaded and gone quick, like thirty seconds kind of quick.”