Dead State (Book 5): Evolved

by Shupert, Derek

“Come on, come on,” Bill urges as he keeps a watchful eye on the chasers.

  I grab the Glock from the dash, and throw my door open. I slip out of the bucket seat and drop to the pavement. The yowls of the infected rushing down the street sends a wave of panic crashing into me. I’m more confident against the chasers in a two-ton vehicle than I am on foot.

  Cassie and Duke slip out on Bill’s side. He reaches down into the floorboard of the backseat and retrieves his pack and sniper rifle.

  I secure the rucksack to my back, and hold onto the Glock like my life depends on it.

  Duke barks, going ballistic from the other side of the Jeep as the infected charge this way. I race toward the front of the Jeep and skirt the bumper.

  Cassie and Duke barrel around the other side with Bill flanking them. He’s got his rucksack strapped to his back and sniper rifle secured across his chest.

  “Here!” Bill shoves a silver-plated pistol in Cassie’s hand as he moves past her.

  We bolt from the Jeep in a mad dash, and chase after Bill through the early morning murk. Our boots hammer the pavement in rapid succession. Quick, strained breaths escape our mouths as we run for our lives. I peer back over my shoulder to the horde that blows past the Jeep.

  “They’re still coming!” I yell out, warning the others.

  Bill points to the street we’re approaching. He moves off to the right and looks back to us. “I’m going to draw them away. You two haul ass down that street. It’s two blocks over, and you’ll run right into the base.”

  “I thought you said no more splitting up,” I say, winded.

  Cassie and Duke skirt the corner of the building without stopping. Bill continues pounding the pavement straight ahead as I follow behind them. We slip behind a parked car in the middle of the street to hide from the infected. Crouched down behind the white hatchback, I heave like I can’t catch my breath. My lungs hurt, among the other points on my body that throb without pause.

  Bill’s thunderous voice roars at the mass of chasers. I peer over the hood of the car as he gives me one final look. “Come and get some, you sick bastards! I’m right here! There’s plenty to go around!”

  The taunt only stirs the crowd of infected into more of a frenzy. The shrills boil to a fever pitch. I want to yell at Bill, and scold him for doing the opposite of what he said. We were supposed to stick together. Damn him.

  Bill vanishes down the street. The chasers charge after him. Focused on him, the mob of infected don’t look our way.

  Anger swells inside my gut. I ball my fingers into fists and punch the side of the car multiple times. “Damn it!”

  Cassie grabs my forearm. She shoves it down while staring at me. “Stop it, James!”

  I pull my arm away, and cradle my hand. The knuckles are red and throb with a dull pain. “We were supposed to stick together.”

  Cassie leans against the driver’s side door and peers through the window. “The coast is clear. I don’t see any infected. We need to move while we can, though. Come on.”

  I grumble under my breath as we slip away from the hatchback. We run down the street as fast as we can. I listen for any reports of gunfire, but hear none. Either Bill has escaped the clutches of the infected, or he is being torn apart.

  His decision to draw the chasers away gnaws at the back of my mind. He did it to buy us some time. For that, I am grateful.

  Not too much farther. We’re almost to the military base.

  That’s what I keep telling myself as we hit the next block and sprint along the sidewalk. Cindy is within reach, and I’m not going to let her slip away from me. Not ever again.

  The road up ahead branches off in either direction. Beyond the street is a thicket of tall verdure and dense trees that is still cloaked in partial darkness.

  Cassie points at the T in the road and looks to me. “Which way did he say to go again?”

  I’m clueless and can’t think. I try to remember what Bill said, but can’t. My mind is a mess. “I don’t think he actually said!”

  It’s a fifty-fifty shot of getting it right, or wrong.

  The building next to me blocks my view of the street. Same for the other side of the road. We slow down as we approach the blind corners with weapons up and ready.

  Cassie holds Duke back by his collar as I creep toward the building’s edge. I crane my neck and glance down the street in the opposite direction. There are no buildings or structures that I can see that would hint at a military base.

  I toe the edge of the building, and peer around the corner. A tall chain link fence, with barbwire coiled along the top, spans the length of the sidewalk. Set off within the interior of the secured area is a large building. Multiple smaller units reside toward the back half of the property. That has to be it.

  “This way.”

  We make our way down the street. I take point while Duke and Cassie flank me. A handful of dead chasers lay in the middle of the road. Their bodies have been crushed by something of considerable weight. A vehicle perhaps? I’m willing to bet that Ranger had something to do with this.

  I sweep both sides of the road for any threats. More infected lay motionless on the pavement and sidewalks. Pools of blood stain the concrete. The chasers do not respond to our presence.

  We slip through the narrow gap between two cars, and hop up to the curb. We move at a good clip down the sidewalk next to the fence.

  There’s a sign up ahead that is partially covered by the tall blades of grass growing unchallenged. The closer we get, the more I’m able to make it out.

  United States National Guard Armory.

  Bingo.

  “This has to be it,” I say.

  Cassie peers at the sign and nods. “Agreed.”

  I step away from the fence, and look it over. Three rows of razor wire run along the top of the fence. “How the heck are we going to get inside? I don’t think we’ll be scaling this thing.”

  Cassie taps me on the shoulder, then points past the guard station near the entrance of the base. “There. Looks like the gate is open.”

  It’s worth checking out.

  We sprint down the sidewalk. I stare off through the diamond-shaped links of the fence at the guard station. It looks empty from here, but I can’t be sure. The large window on the front of the small building is busted out. The broken pieces of glass litter the base of the structure.

  We skirt around the outside of the fence, and step out onto the pavement.

  Side by side, we approach the guard’s station. Duke and Cassie take the right as I approach from the left. The exterior of the building is riddled with bullet holes. Shards of the busted window crunch under my boots.

  Duke lowers to the ground. His ears stand on end and twitch. He stops, then sniffs the ground.

  Cassie trains her sidearm at the open door. She leans to the right and cranes her neck. She looks to me, then points to the interior of the station.

  I nod in return and approach the door. I grab the handle, and pull it open. The hinges squeak. I peer inside the cramped space. Sprawled out on the floor, a soldier lays prone on his back with a chaser draped over his chest.

  The top of the soldier’s head has been gnawed on. Fragments of his skull are busted and missing. Copious amounts of dried blood cover the desk and surrounding walls.

  Cassie peers inside at the ghastly scene, then turns her head in disgust. Duke sniffs at the decaying bodies, then backs away. I push the door shut and move on.

  We follow along the drive toward the open gate. Both sections of the fence are damaged. The gray steel bars are bent and contorted.

  Fragments of busted plastic lay scattered about. One of the broken pieces looks like it may have come from a headlight.

  “Guess they came charging through here in a hurry,” I state. “Come on.”

  We follow along the driveway that opens up into a parking lot next to the main facility. A handful of cars are scattered among the grounds. Their steel bodies are covered in holes, and the window
s are shattered. Uniformed personnel and infected lay spread out over the area.

  Toward the rear of the base is another fenced off area that doesn’t appear to have been breached by the infected, or the living. What scant few military transports and other armored vehicles remain are lined up in nice, neat rows.

  “There,” Cassie says while pointing to the rear of the main building. “I think that’s their ride.”

  A black SUV is parked on the curb with its doors wide open. They didn’t even bother turning off the lights, which still shine against the cream-colored wall of the building. Although, with the sun dawning a new day, it’s not as bright.

  A half dozen hostiles could be all that’s left for us to contend with. Judging by the size of the SUV, at least from here, I’m inclined to think it’s going to be less than that. Like my dad used to say, “Plan for the worst but hope for the best.”

  I dart across the parking lot with my Glock trained at the interior of the vehicle. I skim over the dead bodies we pass by for any signs of life. Despite them being covered in blood and gaping wounds, I’m still mindful of them.

  Cassie leaps up onto the sidewalk with Duke glued to her side as they scope out the front entrance of the building. A dinging sound plays from the SUV, indicating that a door hasn’t been shut.

  My fingers reposition over the grip of the Glock as I scan over the interior of the vehicle. The front seats are clear. So are the back.

  I spot something that looks familiar tucked under the passenger seat.

  Wait. What is that?

  It looks like a, doll. Cindy’s doll. Her favorite.

  “What’s wrong?” Cassie inquires as she her and Duke walk up to me.

  “Cindy’s doll. It was left behind.”

  I push the back-passenger door open farther, and peer into the rear of the SUV for any threats. I retrieve the stuffed toy from under the seat, and hold it in my hands.

  A wave of memories floods through my head as I stare at the dingy toy. Cindy playing in her room, speaking to her dolls that she had set up around a table while serving them tea. Then she’d act like a monster, and stomp through them like a hungry beast.

  I shake the fond memory from my head, then stuff the doll inside my coat. I back away from the SUV, and glance over to Cassie.

  “Can we get in through the front, there?” I ask.

  Cassie shakes her head, then nods at the shattered glass doors that are boarded up with plywood.

  “It’s locked or something. They wouldn’t budge.” She points to the thick pane windows on the lower level that are tinted and hard to see through. “Worst case, if we can’t find a way in, we can always shoot out one of those windows there. Not the best idea, I know, but we may not have any choice.”

  There has to be some other access point. I skim over the structure from right to left. Aside from the front entrance, I don’t see any other ways for us to get inside.

  Cassie walks past me along the sidewalk.

  “What is it?” I ask while turning to see where she’s going.

  “The fence down here,” she retorts without breaking her stride.

  I slip around the bumper of the Jeep, and follow after her and Duke.

  “We’re not going to be able to climb that fence,” I advise, stating what I figured would be an obvious observation. “Even if we could, Duke wouldn’t be able to, and I’m not leaving him out here alone.”

  “Well no duh, James,” Cassie hisses. “I wasn’t talking about climbing over the fence.”

  She moves to the edge of the building where the fence curves and meets the outer wall. There’s a smaller gate that is unlatched and ajar.

  “How the heck did you spot that?” I ask bewildered.

  Cassie points to her eyes, then smirks. “Good vision, plus I’m pretty observant.” She swings open the chain link fence and brings her pistol to bear. She heads inside the fenced off area that spans the length of the sidewalk.

  Duke follows along by her side. I check the parking lot one last time for any chasers before following along. I secure the gate. We don’t need any infected flanking us.

  I jog after Cassie down the walkway. I peer out through the fence to the military transports stationed in the expansive lot. Through the gaps among the armored vehicles, I stare at the outer buildings for any signs of infected, or unscrupulous heathens.

  From what Cassie said, it looks like the base is abandoned. After those bombs drop, there won’t be anything of use here anymore.

  I spin around and check the way we came in. At this point, I’m a mixture of cautiousness and paranoia. I always feel like there’s something watching me.

  Cassie stops on a dime, then holds up her hand. She turns to face me and places her finger over her lips. She points toward the building and what looks to be an entrance.

  I move up alongside her, and check it out.

  There’s a single black-steel door with a large hole where the handle should be. It looks like it may have been shot out.

  Cassie advances toward the door and stoops down. She leans in close and peers through the hole. She cocks her head to the side and trains an attentive ear.

  “I think they’re in there,” she whispers. “I can hear people talking.”

  I tap her shoulder. “Here. Let me have a look.”

  Cassie moves off to the side. She pats her leg which brings Duke to her.

  I take a knee in front of the door, and look through the jagged edges of the hole to the interior of the building. It’s dark. I can hear the voices close by but can’t make out what’s being said.

  A hint of light sweeps out into the hallway and shines on the wall from one of the offices to my left. Two armed men emerge from the room, and stop in the middle of the corridor.

  “Can you hear what they’re saying?” Cassie whispers.

  I catch fragments of words but can’t piece them together. I shake my head no.

  A light trains at the entrance, and I scurry for cover. I lean against the wall, and stare at Cassie. My heart beats faster, but I remain calm, and in control. I wait for a few seconds before taking another look.

  The armed men walk off down the hallway, and disappear around the corner. I grab the edge of the hole in the door.

  “All right. They’re gone. Let’s move.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

  Cassie gulps. A naked fear lingers on her face. She’s scared, and rightfully so. I feel the same trepidation creeping up the back of my neck, but hold it at bay. My sister is counting on us, and we will not let her down.

  “We’re going to get through this. All of us. I promise,” I assure her.

  She nods in a manner that is less than convincing. “I know.”

  “You ready?” I ask.

  Cassie exhales and bows her head. “Yeah. I’m good.”

  I pull the door toward me, testing to see if it’s latched in place. It doesn’t resist. I step back, and pull it open farther, mindful of any lights that may spring up from the corridor.

  Thankfully, the hinges remain silent. I grab the edge of the door, and push it open far enough for us to slip through.

  I head inside with Duke and Cassie trailing behind me. The door closes on its own, but doesn’t rest within the jamb. I dig my hand into the pocket of my coat, and retrieve the flashlight. I thumb the button on the side which brings the light to life.

  The strident beam washes over the dull white walls and dirty tile floors. I listen for any footfalls or voices. For now, it’s silent.

  We venture down the passageway, steady and alert. Cassie takes the left while I sweep the right. Duke fills the space between us as he sniffs the floor.

  Each office we pass is checked with a quick pass as we stay on the move. I imagine those armed men have already swept this area, but it pays to be vigilant.

  Each empty office is in complete disarray. Papers litter the floors, and the furniture is shuffled about in an odd manner. Some of the offices are locked. We test the doorknobs. They don’t g
ive. I gently rap my knuckle against the door, hoping for a hint at Cindy’s voice, but get nothing for my efforts. We leave the rooms be and move on.

  My heart thumps. Every step I take makes it pound harder. I’m anxious and scared, not only for us, but for Cindy and the others.

  The squeaking of shoes playing off the tile floor from up ahead stops me cold. Duke’s ears twitch as he hones in on the noise.

  “Did you hear that?” Cassie turns away from the office she’s looking over and nudges my arm with her hand.

  I nod. “Yeah. Sounds like it’s heading this way.”

  We stand in the middle of the hallway with our weapons trained at the dimness before us. The gleam from a light comes into view. I lower my flashlight, and press the tip to my stomach.

  Duke growls under his breath. It grows louder the brighter the light becomes. We need to take cover.

  I flag down Cassie with a wave of my hand. I point to the office next to her. She tilts her head and darts inside the dim space. Duke stays in the middle of the hall, refusing to budge. His ears fold back as his growling intensifies.

  “Duke, stop and come on. We have to be quiet.”

  One of the armed men comes into view just as Cassie steps out and grabs Duke by the collar. She drags him inside the office and vanishes within the gloom. I panic and move without thinking. I push open the partially cracked door near me, and slip inside the dark space as the light brushes down the hallway.

  I close it back to where I think it was and lean against the wall. The Glock trains at the opening of the office as I wait for the man to pass by. I purse my lips, then breathe out the tension swelling inside me.

  His footsteps creep closer. The shifting of his weight buzzes in my ears. The sharp, sour smell of burning leaves fills my nose. Cigarette smoke. It’s a disgusting scent that I’ll never forget.

  He stops just shy of the office I’m in. The light washes over the woodgrain of the office door. I gulp which sounds loud enough for him to hear.

  The tips of his black boots materialize at the entrance. He reaches out to the door and presses his fingers against the surface. A tattoo of a snake twisting around a dagger is visible from under the sleeve of his coat.