Little Stevie pulled on his mother’s sleeve. “Aren’t we going to pay for them?”
Miriam faltered, not sure how to respond. Alissa jumped in.
“We are, just not right now. We needed these jackets to stay warm and the store is closed, so we’re borrowing them and will pay the owner later.”
“We’re not stealing them?”
“Of course not.”
Little Stevie thought for a moment. “Shouldn’t we leave a note for the owner so he doesn’t think the jackets were stolen?”
“That’s an excellent idea.” Miriam leaned over and kissed the top of his head. “I love you.”
Little Stevie waved her away.
“Do you want me to leave the note?” asked Alissa.
“Please.”
“I’ll be out in a few.”
Alissa watched from the door as Nathan loaded the clothes into the back seat of the Ram and Miriam led the kids back to her vehicle. She always wanted to have children someday, grateful that it had not happened since the world had gone to shit. She smiled as Little Stevie excitedly told his dad about his leather jacket. Miriam a hugged him before ushering him back in the Land Rover and switching places with her husband up front.
How did Miriam do it? How did she handle knowing her kids were in constant danger and yet still act around them like nothing had changed? Alissa didn’t know if she could put on such a front. Then she had a flashback to Sophia on the roof of the hospital in Boston and how she had lied to her, telling the girl help would be coming. The contentment she felt a moment ago drained away, leaving Alissa feeling cold and empty inside. She headed for the pick-up.
Nathan had laid the last of the clothing on the back seat and closed the rear door. “You ready?”
Alissa nodded, suppressing a sigh building inside of her. She headed around the front of the pick-up. “Let me drive for a while.”
“You sure? I don’t mind.”
“I need to get my mind off of things.”
Nathan tossed her the keys. Alissa caught them and slid into the driver’s seat.
A minute later, she pulled out of the parking lot and continued north, picking up Route 109 and heading toward Moultonborough.
* * *
A mile south of Moultonborough, Route 109 merged with Route 171. Alissa slowed down enough to safely make the merger and then sped up, heading for the city at over sixty miles per hour.
Nathan studied the map spread out across his lap. He glanced up, noticed the speedometer, and went back to plotting their route.
“You might want to slow down. You don’t want to hit a deer and wreck the car.”
“I also don’t want to be caught outside after sunset when the no-travel order goes into effect.” She drove by an increasing number of residential houses on either side of the road. “We’re almost into the center of town. Where do we go from there?”
“This road ends in about a mile near the airport. Turn right onto Route 25.”
“Gotcha.”
Alissa approached the intersection and slowed when she spotted an accident blocking the roads. A National Guard transport hauling an Armored Personnel Carrier had been pulling out of the road leading to the airport when an Audi Q3 Quattro ran into it, crushing half the roof beneath the carrier. An ambulance sat twenty feet away from the accident scene, its rear doors opened and facing the other two vehicles. Splotches of blood stained the asphalt behind the ambulance and a few deader corpses, their heads blown apart, lead a path from the accident toward the airport. Nothing living or living dead could be seen in the nearby area. Alissa stopped thirty feet from the ambulance and shifted into park, but kept the engine running.
“What are you doing?” asked Nathan.
“There could be a trauma kit in that ambulance.” She slid out of the pick-up, taking her shotgun with her. “I’ll be right back.”
Alissa draped the sling across her neck and raised the Mossberg, making a wide arc behind the ambulance in case anything lurked inside. Nathan also got out and followed a few yards to her rear, scanning the area for any signs of danger. Alissa climbed into the back of the ambulance and searched around until she found a large orange EMS/EMT bag lodged behind the stretcher. She removed it and opened the zippered pouches. All the contents were inside. Alissa closed it up and jumped out onto the street.
“I got it. This will come in handy if one of us gets seriously injured.”
“Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.” Nathan motioned toward the pick-up. “Let’s get going.”
Halfway back to the pick-up, a car horn blared. They tried to determine the direction it came from. The horn blared three more times. It came from the Audi lodged under the APC carrier. A bloody hand rapped its palm against the passenger window.
Nathan continued toward the pick-up. “It’s a deader.”
“Since when do deaders know how to use car horns?” Alissa rushed over to the Audi.
Nathan swore under his breath and joined her.
A young woman in her early twenties sat in the passenger seat. As Alissa and Nathan approached, she stopped blaring the horn and yelled, “Help me. Please.”
Alissa reached the car first. “Relax. Everything will be fine. How badly are you hurt?”
“My legs are pinned under the dashboard. I can’t feel them below the knees.”
“We’re going to get you out. Hang in there.” Alissa made eye contact with Nathan. “Can you open the door?”
“I’ll try.” Nathan tried pulling on the handle, but the door was stuck. Slinging the MPX K over his shoulder, he clutched the handle with both hands and placed his left foot on the chassis for leverage.
Before he could do anything, a terrifying sound broke through the stillness.
The howls of deaders closing in on their prey.
Chapter Eight
“Shit!” Alissa slung the trauma bag over her left shoulder and raised her Mossberg.
“We’ve to get out of here.”
“No!” screamed the trapped woman. “You can’t leave me.”
“Try getting her out. I’ll see where they’re coming from.”
Alissa climbed onto the trunk of the Audi and then onto the deck of the carrier, scanning their surroundings. As she did, Miriam called on the cell phone. Alissa answered it.
“We hear deaders.”
“I’m checking on that now.”
“Is everything okay up there?”
“Someone’s still alive in the car. Nathan is trying to…. Jesus Christ.”
“What?”
For a moment, Alissa could not answer. The sound of the blaring horn had attracted every deaders in the area. Twenty or thirty rushed down the road leading from the airport, including two in paramedic uniforms. Some wore flight suits. Most were National Guardsmen who had been reanimated. It did not pose as great a threat as the one racing south along Route 25, almost one hundred strong and composed mostly of National Guardsmen, most still wearing their helmets and Kevlar vests. Headshots were not going to work with this horde.
“What’s going on?”
Alissa yelled loud enough so both Miriam and Nathan could hear. “We have two packs of deaders closing in fast.”
“Head back to the pick-up.” Nathan yanked on the door.
Alissa jumped from the carrier to the trunk to the ground and bolted for the Ram.
The woman inside punched the window. “You can’t leave me!”
“I’m not.” Nathan yanked on the door several times. On the fifth try, it popped open. Nathan examined the woman’s legs. The accident had collapsed the dashboard onto her knees, pinning her in.
“Is it bad?” She began crying.
“I’m going to try and pull you out. It’s going to hurt.”
“It’s better than being eaten.”
Nathan slipped his hands under her arms, grabbed her shoulders, and pulled. The woman screamed in pain. Nathan let up.
“Don’t stop,” she gasped. “Get me out of here.”
/> Nathan tried a second time. This time her screams were accompanied by two other sounds.
The snapping of her knees under the pressure.
And the growling of the first deaders as they ran around the front of the carrier and rushed the Audi.
Alissa reached the pick-up and spun around to check on Nathan. She gasped, not only because a pack of deaders were closing in on him but also because thirty or so of the horde had veered off and were heading straight for her.
She tossed the trauma bag into the cab and climbed into driver’s seat as the first deaders reached the pick-up, swarming around the front and making their way down either side. Alissa closed the door as a deader reached for her, catching its arm between the door and the jamb. Every time she slammed it, more deader hands forced their way in. One of the living dead in an Air National Guard flightsuit pushed through the gap, clawing toward her. Alissa punched it in the face as hard as she could with her left elbow, shattering several of its teeth. The thing persisted. The Mossberg hung around her neck, although she had no room to aim it. Wrapping her finger around the trigger, she emptied the entire chamber into the deaders attempting to get inside, shredding the torso of the deader in the flightsuit and getting a few lucky head shots on others, obliterating their skulls.
Alissa pushed against the corpses but could not shove them away, there being too many pressing against them on the other side. A few began to scale the pile and push into the cab.
“Is Aunt Alissa going to be okay?” Little Stevie asked from the back seat.
“Yes,” Miriam lied. “Now go back to playing your game so you can tell her later how far you got in it.”
Miriam fought back tears. This was no way for someone to die, especially someone who had offered her family safety and brought them this far.
“Should we help them?” whispered Steve.
“We can’t take down that many by ourselves.” Miriam suddenly figured out a way to help her friends.
She raced the engine and laid her hand on the horn. Most of the horde surrounding the pick-up turned in her direction and charged.
Nathan could not pull out the young woman. When she saw the deaders round the front of the truck, she cried out, “Don’t let them get me.”
Nathan pulled his M&P 40 out of its holster, aimed at her head, and fired three rounds, splattering the inside of the Audi with blood, bones, and brain matter. He spun around and jumped onto the car’s trunk as the pack reached them. Five went after the young woman, crowding their way into the passenger seat, tearing off chunks of flesh and stuffing it into their rotting mouths. Three attacked Nathan. A deader in Kevlar and a helmet grabbed Nathan’s ankle as he hopped from the trunk to the roof, knocking him face first onto the car. Nathan rolled onto his back and, with his free foot, kicked at its face, the blows landing on its helmet with no results. He aimed the M&P 40 at its head.
“Hey, asshole.”
When the deader looked up, Nathan fired. The bullet struck the deader in the mouth, passing through the head and blowing off its helmet and the back of its skull. It released its grip and slid down the fender, collapsing on the road. Before the others could get to him, Nathan climbed to his feet and jumped onto the carrier’s deck. Over twenty deaders gathered along the right side of the truck, clutching for the meal out of their reach.
Nathan switched out the M&P 40 for the MPX K, set it to single shot mode, and fired a round into the face of a deader wearing a paramedic’s uniform. The head exploded and the corpse dropped onto the asphalt.
“This is better than the shooting range.”
Miriam waited until the deaders were a few yards away. She shifted into reverse and backed along the way they had come down, her attention focused on the dash-mounted rearview camera. Over sixty of the living dead followed the Land Rover.
Alissa heard the commotion. Much of the horde raced off after the SUV. With the weight of the mass pushing against the pick-up significantly lessened, she shoved some of the corpses out of the cab. As quick as she cleared the opening, other deaders stumbled over the bodies to get to her. Alissa removed her Glock and brought down two National Guard deaders with double taps to the face. Those remaining around the pick-up scratched at the windows trying to get in, a few inching toward the door. Alissa kicked and pushed away the bodies, pausing long enough to administer two shots to the head of any deader that came too close.
She had nearly cleared away the corpses when the last two deaders charged the cab. Alissa aimed and fired. One shot rang out before the bolt locked in the open position. Both deaders stumbled over the pile, one catching itself on the top rim of the door, the other falling into her lap. Before it could bite, Alissa grabbed the front of its helmet with her left hand and lifted it off her. It thrashed around, desperate to sink its teeth into flesh.
With her right hand, Alissa shifted into drive and pressed her foot on the accelerator. The pick-up shot forward, the rear wheels bouncing over the corpses. The deader clasping the door lost its grip and dropped away. The one trying to get at her tripped. She released the helmet. It slid away, smashing its face on the running board before bouncing off and rolling into the street. With the opening clear, she slammed shut the door and stopped, the front fender less than a yard from the ambulance.
Alissa assessed the situation. She had taken care of the living dead around her. Miriam had drawn away most of the horde. That left only the twenty or so gathered around the carrier, and Nathan took care of them one at a time, although he needed help. She could not get to him from the right side of the carrier because the ambulance and Audi were in the way, so she would have to go around the other side.
Picking up the cellphone, she called Miriam.
“Are you safe?”
“Sort of. Where are you?”
“About a quarter of a mile to your rear.”
“Rejoin us. When you get to the intersection, take a right. I’ll be right behind you.”
“Gotcha.”
Alissa broke the connection, shifted into reverse, and backed away from the carrier. When she had room to maneuver, she circled around behind the vehicle.
Miriam ended the call and pocketed the cellphone. She stopped and shifted into drive. The horde, one hundred feet away, closed rapidly.
“You kids buckled up?”
A chorus of yes came from the backseat.
“What are doing?” whispered Steve.
“Getting us out of here.”
Miriam slammed her foot onto the accelerator. The Land Rover lurched forward, the back skidding slightly. A moment later, the vehicle slammed into the closest deader, a female in a green flightsuit. It rebounded onto the hood and slid across, careening off the right fender. She steered from right to left and back again; the fenders struck most of the deaders, tossing them to the sides. Some fell under the tires, the Land Rover bouncing over the bodies and shaking everyone inside. The Kevlar vests banged against the SUV’s body, denting the metal in dozens of places. Rotting hands reached out, clutching at the passing vehicle, hoping to grasp their prey, leaving only bloody streaks across the glass. Miriam prayed none of the warning lights were lit on the dashboard. When she raised her eyes, a deader in a paramedic uniform charged. Miriam increased speed, slamming into it and knocking it under the wheels of her Land Rover. She did not care if she killed or incapacitated these damn creatures. She needed to get past them and to safety.
After several seconds that seemed like hours, they made it past the horde and headed for the intersection. Miriam checked on the kids in the rearview mirror.
Kiera leaned back against her seat, her face pale, appearing as though she might vomit.
Little Stevie smiled. “Can we do it again?”
“Maybe later, hon.”
Switching her attention back to the road, Miriam swerved right onto Route 25, racing past the accident. She saw no sign of Alissa or Nathan.
Nathan watched the deaders swarm the Ram, certain Alissa would extricate herself. At one point, he ai
med at the pick-up, ready to put Alissa out of her misery if the pack broke into the cab. Thankfully, she fought her way out of the situation. She backed up and drove off. For a moment, he thought she had abandoned him, a thought he chastised himself for when she maneuvered around the rear of the carrier and pulled up close to the deck. Smart move on her part. Nathan switched his attention from the deaders along the right side of the carrier and began taking down those on the left. For every one that he killed, another took its place, inserting themselves between the two vehicles and preventing him from getting into the pick-up. He shot three; two slipped into their spot.
Alissa rolled down the passenger window a few inches. Half a dozen dead hands clutched at the glass.
“Jump into the bed,” she ordered. “I’ll drive you out of here.”
The cover remained on, but he should be able to keep his balance for a few minutes. “Don’t pull away too fast or you’ll lose me.”
Alissa gave him a thumbs up and rolled up the window, having to pause when the three deaders did not remove their fingers. Nathan withdrew his sidearm and placed a single round into the back of their heads, dropping them. The window rolled up all the way.
Nathan jumped from the carrier onto the enclosed bed of the pick-up, dropping to his knees so he would not tumble off. Half a dozen deaders grasped for him, their hands clutching at his clothes. He kicked and brushed them away, knowing that if one of them got a grip he would be done for. Holding on to the gap between the bed and the cab with his right hand, with his left Nathan banged on the rear.
“Let’s get out of here.”
Alissa shifted into drive and slowly accelerated. The pick-up moved forward several inches, strained for a second, and rolled back. She tried it again with slightly more gas. The Ram moved a few inches than rolled back. One of the deaders must be stuck under the front tire. She could not roll down her window to warn Nathan because five of the things banged against the glass. Praying he would not be taken by surprise, Alissa accelerated again, this time pushing the gas pedal halfway to the floor. The right front tire hit the body and bounced over it. She could hear the crunching of its ribcage even over of the frenzied din. The truck lurched forward. The rear tire rolled over the deader’s crushed abdomen and became caught in the cavity. Alissa applied more gas. She heard the tire buzzing, like being stuck in snow, only this time the rear wheel threw up blood and tissue. The other tires clutched the road, dragging the pick-up forward and steering it into the carrier. Alissa shifted into reverse, backed up, shifted into drive, and accelerated, repeating the process until she created a rocking motion that she hoped would free her.
Nurse Alissa vs. the Zombies (Book 2): Escape Page 7