As the last boy turned to run, she jumped on his back, wrapped her legs around his waist and started machine-gunning the blades in and out as fast and as many times as she could. She opened wound after wound until her hands were slick with blood. He struggled to get away from the savage girl, flailed his arms and screeched in pain and fear. Halfway down the stairs he fell just as Gordon’s hand cannon started blowing away chunks of drywall and splintering the railing.
39
Party Crashers
Gordon emptied the gun but wasn’t sure if he hit her or not. He fumbled the cylinder open and tried to remember where he put the extra bullets.
“Don’t just stand there, get that bitch!” he screamed at the transfixed boys. The gang tore their eyes from the bloody body tumbling down the stairs and snatched up the weapons that were laying around. A few baseball bats, some knives and clubs. Gordon had the only gun; the rest were locked away.
The glass in the French doors exploded as Zero crashed through with the cubs were right behind him. Their noses sought the familiar scent of the girl. Swan smiled when she saw them.
“Kill!” she screamed. “Kill them all.”
The wolves obeyed.
The double front doors exploded inward as Otis burst through, a wild, painted bear and a demon with a Warhammer on his back. He roared and it felt like the whole house shook to its foundation as he bellowed in rage. He tossed a couch aside, sent it flying across the room and stuffing filling the air.
Gordon’s gang broke and ran. They ignored his screams to attack and scattered as more animals poured into the living room. The wolves slid on the slick tile floors of the kitchen, their claws fighting for traction as their teeth found meat and bone.
The back door exploded off of its hinges and the mob of boys running for it tried to backpedal and find another escape. Two massive polar bears added their roars and challenges to the cacophony of chaos and the tattooed twins swung saw bladed axes at wild eyed drunks trying to slash at them with butcher knives. One of them slammed Analise off the polar bears back with a hockey stick, another threw a microwave at Tobias. The kitchen island splintered when Daisy crashed through it, the hanging rack of pots and pans went flying and added to the deafening noise. The microwave caught Tobias across the chest, knocked him out of the saddle but he landed on his feet. He let loose a primal scream and extended the axe to its full reach as he swung. It slashed across the boy’s midsection, the ragged saw blade’s teeth sliced deep through his chest, breaking ribs, cutting lungs and tearing loose long strands of flesh. He dropped the toaster he’d been ready to crush Analise’s head with and fell gasping for breath. The twins leaped over him and ran into the melee in the living room. Daisy and Popsicle snapped the baseball bat and ignored the desperate slashes of a hunting knife as their long claws and sharp teeth broke bones and ripped limbs from screaming bodies.
Vanessa flung her spear and it pinned a boy to the wall who was swinging a barbed wire bat at Donny’s back. She grabbed a chair as she ran through the splintered door, slammed it into the chest of a boy with a hockey stick and drove him backwards over a coffee table. Yewan pounced with claws and fangs and his shrieks of terror turned to gurgling, blood filled sobs. Harper’s morning star whistled as it whirled above her head and found target after target with its spiked ball. The triplets held back at the entrance like they were told, icepicks in hands and their foxes at their feet snarling warnings to anyone that came near.
The house was absolute chaos. The attack hit the gang so hard and so fast it broke their will in the first few seconds. How did they fight wild screaming children with painted faces and bears and wolves to battle with them? Roars and snarls and screeches of pain filled the air. Breaking dishes, breaking furniture and breaking bones. It was the sound of war. Gordon fumbled the bullets, managed to get some in the chambers but his trembling fingers dropped them as all around his army was slaughtered. He wanted to scream and run but there was nowhere to go. Kodiak battered Spike out of the way with his hammer, snapping an arm and pulverizing ribs. The boy was jerked off his feet by a half-grown wolf as he bounced off the wall. He fell and the others tore into him, savaged him like a rag doll.
Kodiak roared a battle cry and cocked the hammer back to end Gordon once and for all. He wanted his face to be the last thing the despicable scumbag ever saw. He swung but Gordon flipped the cylinder closed on the Smith & Wesson and squeezed the trigger. Jamie fell into him, the panther was slashing at his face and knocked Gordon’s aim off. The gun boomed and plaster exploded from the ceiling. He ignored the howling pair, aimed again and pulled the trigger. Harper sprang over an easy chair and swung her morning star at the boy with the gun. The spikes slammed into his shoulder dug deep into the bone and she jerked him off his feet. Kodiaks hammer whizzed past his face, narrowly missed splashing his brains all over the wall as he was pulled off balance. Gordon screamed, squeezed the trigger as he fell and a bullet tore through Kodiaks armor, skimmed a rib and buried itself in an upstairs hot water heater. Kodiak sucked in breath, hit the floor and rolled behind a broken couch. He kept moving forward. Attack, attack, attack was the only thing going through his mind. He ignored the burning in his side and pushed himself to his feet. They had the momentum, they were winning, they couldn’t let Gordon’s gang have a second to regroup and bring out more guns.
Harper had the morning stars chain wrapped around her arm and when Gordon fell, she stumbled over a body and was jerked off her feet. He rolled into her and before she could shove away, the hot barrel of the gun pressed against her cheek. He pulled her on top of him and held the hand cannon firm. She stopped fighting, afraid he’d pull the trigger, and held still. All around them the battle was dying down. Mostly because all his men were dying or dead.
You might live through this yet. His father told him. Stop struggling. Be calm, you have the upper hand now.
The roars of the bears became heavy snorts when they stopped ripping people apart. The snarls of the wolves become low growls when they had nothing left to kill. The panther stopped screaming when there was no more blood to spill. Kodiak held his hammer, watched Gordon’s beady eyes as they darted around the room and waited. Vanessa joined him, the spear in her fists still dripping blood. Gordon tried to make himself small under Harper, tried to shrink so they couldn’t see him but the gun buried in her face didn’t waver. His finger never left the trigger. He didn’t have to shout a threat, he didn’t have to yell I’ll blow her head off. They knew he would. One by one the animals quieted and sniffed or pawed at the dead as the children joined the circle around Gordon and Harper.
“Don’t hurt her, Gordon.” Kodiak said when the injured boys’ eyes finally rested on him. “We’ll let you go. We’ll trade your life for hers.”
“Damn right you will,” he said. “Drop your weapons. All of them.”
Gordon’s eyes danced madly. He loved the carnage. He reveled at the sight of the priceless paintings that were splashed with arterial spray and the shards of pottery from antique vases that littered the floor. He raged and rejoiced at the sight of his gang, dead and dying. So much blood, so much destruction! It was all because of him. He had caused it all. This was power! A voice in his head was screaming at him to pull the trigger. It urged him to paint the walls with Harper’s brains. To aim the gun at Swan and Kodiak. To blow their faces out of the backs of their heads. He had the power. He had the gun. It competed with the scratch, scratch, scratching sound that tried to drown out the new voice. It screamed in glee, it screamed in terror, it screamed from insanity. The voice that sounded like his old man harrumphed and silenced the others. Don’t be a fool. It said. You don’t have enough bullets to kill them all.
His eyes darted from kid to kid. They were fanned out around him, flanked by their stinking animals but one by one they laid down their arms. Spears, hammers, axes and knives. Even the little kid slid their bandoleers of icepicks over their heads and dropped them to the floor. God, he hated them. His old man’s voice told him he
didn’t have any options. He couldn’t win this one. He needed to step away from the table, walk away from the opposition with his life and destroy them later.
“Pull your spike out of my shoulder,” he told Harper, and didn’t move the gun from her cheek as she worked it loose.
He sucked air between his teeth and scrunched his eyes tight at the pain.
“Now get up, slow and easy.” He growled.
“Don’t you brats get any smart ideas,” he said as they stood. “I’m only half a sneeze from blowing her away.”
He backed slowly away from the kids and the carnage, out the broken back doors and onto the patio. He had to think, had to get away from the smell of death and spilled guts. He needed fresh air. The children stepped over bodies and pieces of bodies. They tracked through the blood and even weaponless they frightened him. Painted faces and gore-soaked bodies advanced, even the smallest of them was splashed in blood and it dripped from her hands.
“Let her go and you can leave. We won’t stop you.” Kodiak said. “You have my word.”
“This is my house.” Gordon nearly screamed. “I’m not going anywhere. Your word is garbage, as soon as I turn my back, you’d sic your animals on me.”
He calmed himself and jerked Harper closer. “No. I’m staying right here. You’re leaving.”
They were unarmed and ten feet away, he was getting some of his confidence back. They couldn’t do anything; he had the power. He gave the orders.
“Fine.” Kodiak said “Give us Harper and we’ll leave.”
Gordon swung the gun towards the boy he hated so much. He could shoot him, he really could and then get the gun back on her before they charged him. They’d stop. They could talk some more and he’d do it again, this time Swan. He smiled at them.
“I make the rules here Mr. High and Mighty. Not you. Now get on your knees. Beg for her life if you want it so bad.”
When Kodiak hesitated, he whipped the gun around, slammed it viciously against her head and she cried out. A snort shattered the silence above them and Gordon looked up. Bert had been reaching his long neck over the fence to pull the tender leaves from one of the potted trees when he heard his mistress. He remembered the boy who tormented him and swung his head at him. He was hurting his human.
Gordon shrieked and threw up his hands to protect his face. Bert smashed into him, sent him flying and they all heard the crunch of bones. The gun flew out of his hand and he crashed into the patio table, tumbling it over. He moaned in agony, tried to get to his feet but fell over the umbrella. When he looked up again, spears were inches from his face and he froze, eyes wild and searching for his gun. Harper stroked Bert’s long jaw as he sniffed her, ran a sticky, wet tongue through her hair then went back to his leaves.
“What do we do with him?” Vanessa asked, her spear ready to thrust, her hands willing but her heart was hesitant. The enemy was beaten, broken and unarmed. It wasn’t an honorable kill.
Swan crouched to his level, stared into his frightened eyes.
“Let the wolves have him,” she whispered. “He was going to turn his dogs loose on me.”
Gordon cradled his broken arms and pushed backwards to get away from the bloody black faced girl.
“Make him walk the plank.” A voice came from behind them.
They whirled on the women picking their way through the destroyed house and cooling corpses. They all looked like they might throw up and worked hard not to look down and not to trip.
Zero growled, the cubs joined in and Yewan crouched to pounce.
“It’s okay.” Swan said as Misty and the other two joined them on the patio. “She helped me.”
Calming hands quieted the animals as they stared down at the boy who had caused them so much pain and heartache.
“What’s walking the plank mean?” Landon asked.
Misty pointed at the diving board and the pool half full of milling undead.
“No, you can’t.” Gordon said and tried to get to his feet. “You can’t, it’s not fair.”
Swan laughed and pulled the knives from her behind her back.
“I think it’s very fair,” she said, her voice bitter with hate. “I’ll gut you like a fish then toss you in, it doesn’t matter to me Gordy. Either way you take the walk.”
“Noooo,” he said, and tried to back away, but more sharp blades poked at him, Donny’s spear joined Vanessa’s and urged him to the edge.
The hungry voices from the pool started keening and reaching their arms skyward.
“You can’t do this,” he cried as he struggled up the steps and onto the bouncy board. “You can’t. It’s not right!”
“Tell that to Murray.” Kodiak said and two spears flew straight and true, both found their marks, punched through his chest and stuck a solid foot out of his back. Gordon coughed and toppled over.
Richard and his uncle were the first to reach him and tore into his flesh. The others joined in, pushing and jostling for position as Gordon tried to scream in horror. Harper pulled the triplets away, they had already seen too much. The rest of the tribe turned their backs, they didn’t need to see any more death either. Maybe this would be the last one.
Misty, Sasha and Trish watched until the end. Until he reanimated, staggered to his feet and turned a single hungry eye upwards. The children examined their animals for cuts and scrapes and hugged them tight, praised them for being so good. Misty hit the button and the cover closed slowly over the keening faces, locking them in darkness forever. Tobias leaned against Popsicle and idly stroked the big bear behind the ears where he liked it but his eyes were on the heavily tattooed and pierced Sasha. He thought he might be in love. Analise elbowed him in the ribs but he ignored her. He couldn’t look away from the beautifully inked woman.
40
Kodiak and Misty
Kodiak, Donny and Tobias went through the house as the girls talked to the older women and introduced them to the companions. The found blood trails and footprints leading away from the killing ground. Some went upstairs, some went out of the front. Some of the gang had survived.
“Should we go after them?” Tobias asked but there wasn’t any eagerness in the question. Now that the battle rage was over, he was sick of the bloodshed.
“No.” Kodiak said. “I’m done with them; they won’t come after us again.”
They joined the others on the patio and tried to imagine the horror the poor girls had been through. The scars from cuts, cigarette burns and the lost looks in their eyes told him all he needed to know about their ordeal. Each of them bore fresh bruises, many of them over old bruises that were yellowed.
“What will you do now?” he asked.
Tasha shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s been made clear we can’t come with you.”
She cut her eyes to Swan who had an unforgiving look on her face. She didn’t have a whole lot of sympathy for the women. They hadn’t been chained up. They hadn’t been in a cage. They could have escaped at any time. “This place has fences, it keeps the zombies out.” Misty said “There’s nowhere else for us to go, I guess we’ll stay here.”
Harper stepped up beside Kodiak. “That’s not true. We’ve learned of a place. A safe place down south, a town, fortified and filled with good people. They have electricity and food and room for all of you. There are empty homes and jobs. It’s a fresh start and everyone is welcome.”
Trish and Sasha came in closer. “Really? There is really a place like that? Where? How far is it?”
“Not here.” Misty interrupted and gestured at the pool and the house full of bodies. “Let’s go someplace else.”
She headed for a house at the end of the block and the strange entourage followed her. She fished a key from underneath the doormat, unlocked the door and flipped on the lights. The children and most of the animals followed the older girls inside. Bert busied himself grazing the ornamental trees in the yard as Ziggy started snatching bugs out of the air that were attracted to the light coming from the house. It wa
sn’t lost on Kodiak that they hadn’t wanted to check on the dead or the injured. They hadn’t wanted to help any of the wounded in Gordon’s gang.
“Gordon kept this house a secret from the others. It’s fully stocked with food and supplies. He brought me here to…” she paused and didn’t finish the sentence.
“Anyway, this was part of his escape plan if things went bad. He was paranoid the others would turn on him, that’s why he didn’t let them carry guns. There’s a Hummer in the garage, loaded down with food and weapons and about a dozen gas cans on the roof rack. He’s been here a lot lately and he made me come most of the time. I had to cook and clean and… things. There’s one of those old timey radios in the basement, I think he called it a Ham, and I overheard him talking to some people on it a couple of times. They were from up north somewhere. He was trying to join up with them but he had to give them something first. They wanted supplies and people to work for them. I think he was going to give them you and probably us, too.”
“Is there a first aid kit here? Sasha interrupted.
“In the Hummer. I’ll get it.” Misty said and hurried off.
The Feral Children (Book 2): Savages Page 22