One of these days, but not tonight!
He all but launched himself at the ladder and dragged himself up to the opening above. It wasn’t an easy feat, considering he hadn’t holstered the pistol but kept it in his right hand. Clang-clang-clang! as the gun banged on the metal rungs as he climbed up as fast as he could, with what little strength he had left.
Fresh air overwhelmed him, and for a second or two Keo had almost forgotten what it smelled like. He didn’t so much as climb out of the escape hatch as he grabbed the top and pulled himself up, then rolled out of the hole and onto the cold grass.
He was on his knees in no time and looking around, the SIG in his hand. Sticks of grass around him glowed against his yellow light sticks.
Where was Lara?
Where was Bunker?
Where were the girls?
Where was anyone?
The first thing he saw were ghoul bodies among the grass. They were spread out, some of the limbs poking up from the ground, locked in place in rigor mortis. That explained the tainted smell that Keo was just now noticing. The stench of ghoul presence didn’t completely overtake the fresh air, but it was noticeable, especially now that he’d gotten a half dozen lungfuls into him.
The moonlight made it easy to see his surroundings. Maybe it was the fact he’d been underground for so long (No, it hadn’t been that long, it’d only seemed like it.) but the ambiance topside made everything clear as day.
He got up onto his feet and jogged across the woods, following the trail of bodies. They led him toward the clearing, with ghouls falling to the right and left of him. Bunker and the others must have had to shoot their way through. They’d done a very good job of it, considering he hadn’t stumbled across one of their bodies yet.
Or Lara’s.
Thank God he hadn’t seen anything that even looked close to Lara on the ground yet.
Stay that way.
Stay that way!
There, the clearing, up ahead.
Forty meters…
Thirty…
Something popped out of the bush in front of him, and Keo almost shot it. Almost.
“Jesus Christ, Bunker,” Keo said.
Bunker grinned, the whites of his teeth showing brilliantly as he stepped out of his hiding spot. He was holding his AR and was alone. “Scared ya, hoss?”
“Goddammit,” Keo said. Then, “Where’s Lara?”
Bunker nodded toward the clearing. “Waiting with the others.”
Keo glanced around at the dead ghouls in the woods around them. “Everyone okay?”
“It got hairy for a second or two, but then they just stopped and it was a turkey shoot. They just stood there even after we started picking them off.”
Keo didn’t bother asking him when the ghouls stopped moving. He already knew the answer: It would be the same time Jackson and Sadistic started fighting.
He walked the rest of the way to Bunker instead. “You guys all clear?”
“Pretty clear,” Bunker said. He glanced past Keo at the open hatch. “What happened down there?”
“I’ll tell you later,” Keo said, and continued on to the clearing.
“Might wanna get rid of your light show.”
“Oh, shit,” Keo said. He pulled the two light sticks off his vest and tossed them as far as he could into the woods. He didn’t need them up here; if anything, they were now liabilities and, literally, lit him up like a Christmas tree.
Bunker fell in beside him. “There was a Blue Eyes. It dropped through the hatch after I opened it and vanished down the tunnel. It was moving so fast I didn’t even know what it was until it was gone.”
Keo nodded. “It was Jackson.”
“That was Jackson?”
“Yeah.”
“So what happened?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
“You already said that.”
“Yeah, well, stop asking.”
A figure stood up from the shadows as he neared the clearing. He recognized the soft blue eyes when they moved over to meet him halfway.
“You okay?” Keo asked.
Lara didn’t stop until she was hugging him. He embraced her back, pulling her and her belly closer to him. He never wanted to let either one of them go, ever.
“You okay?” he asked again, whispering into her ear this time.
“Yes,” she whispered. “I’m okay.”
“Both of you?”
“Both of us.”
“We’re all okay, too, thanks for asking,” Bunker said as he walked past them.
Three other shadows stood up from the grass and stepped forward until moonlight highlighted their faces. Wilson and Gummy, along with Abby. They all looked to be in one piece. Even Wilson, who was favoring one side, and whose face was noticeably paler than the last time he saw her.
Keo pulled back from Lara and looked her up and down. She did look fine despite everything that had happened in the tunnel. There was obvious bruising along her throat, but her voice sounded unaffected.
“You sure?” he asked.
She nodded. “I’ll be fine. We’ll all be fine.”
Keo looked past her at Bunker, standing at the clearing looking out in the direction of the ranch. “What’s out there?”
“Nothing,” Bunker said. “The leftover nightcrawlers boogied just before you showed up. Either they’ve had enough or…” He shrugged. “I don’t know. They just took off.”
“How many were still up here?”
“Not many. A dozen? Maybe a little more. Nothing we couldn’t have handled even if they had gotten frisky.”
“And the house?”
“Still there. But my guess is it won’t look quite as intact up close.”
Keo and Lara walked to the others. He reached over and took her hand, and squeezed. She looked over at him and smiled, and he thought it was the greatest smile he’d ever seen. In fact, he almost forgot the stink of dead ghouls clinging to every inch of them, or the thick black liquid dripping from parts of their faces. There was some in Lara’s hair, but Keo didn’t care. She still smelled and looked like heaven to him.
“You sure you’re okay?” he whispered.
She nodded. “Yes. Stop asking.” She put her free hand over her belly. “But I don’t think the baby likes all this activity.”
“He’ll get used to it.”
“Or she.”
“Or she,” Keo said with a nod.
They’d almost reached the others when they both heard the familiar whup-whup-whup of machineries above, and looked up. Keo didn’t bother reaching for his holstered pistol, and neither did Lara. They both knew what it was.
Bright spotlights shone through the tree crowns and washed over them, followed by the underbelly of a metal flying machine seconds later.
A helicopter.
Not just one, but two of them.
Keo and Lara hurried to the end of the forest and looked out as the aircraft swooped past them and glided toward the main house. There was a lot of moonlight to see with but not enough for him to make out what kind of helicopters they were, or pick out any markings along their sides.
“Oh, wow, helicopters,” Wilson said. “I haven’t seen helicopters in a long time.”
Bunker looked back at Keo and Lara. “You think they’re here because of all the ghoul action?”
“Maybe,” Lara said, but there was clearly something else on her mind that she didn’t want to say.
“Lara?” Keo said. “What is it?”
“The radio message I sent out earlier, when we were underground. I thought it didn’t reach anyone, because I didn’t get any responses back. Maybe…”
“It did reach someone after all.”
“Yes.”
“Welp, we’re gonna find out pretty soon,” Bunker said.
Keo looked over to see what he was talking about.
One of the helicopters had broken off from its path and was making a wide U-turn. A few seconds later, it righted itself—and
flew in their direction.
“I think that means it saw us,” Bunker said. He looked back at them. “Any suggestions?”
“Let’s see what they want,” Keo said. “Besides, we need to get Wilson some medical attention.”
“What if they open fire? That’s not going to do Wilson any good. Or me, for that matter.”
“They’re not going to open fire.”
“You sure about that?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, but if they do open fire, you’re going to have to give a speech about how great I am at my funeral.”
“No promises.”
Bunker smirked, then slung his rifle and stepped out of the clearing. He waved both hands in the air to get the helicopter’s attention. Not that he had to, because by the way the spotlights turned toward him—then flashed over him—the pilots already knew he was down there.
Wilson, Gummy, and Abby followed the rancher out into the open, but Keo and Lara stayed behind.
“What if it’s them?” Lara asked.
“We can’t hide from them forever, Lara,” Keo said. “Sooner or later, this day was going to come. Anyway, it’d be nice to know if the baby’s going to be a boy or a girl.”
“That’s true, I guess.”
“Besides, there’s no guarantee anyone on that helicopter is going to know who you are. You’ve changed.”
“Have I?”
“You’re not the woman you once were.”
Lara pursed a smile. “So I guess this means I’m Edna again…right, Bob?”
He chuckled. He hadn’t heard that name in a while. “I’ve missed being Bob.”
“Well, come on then, Bob, let’s see what they want.”
They walked out of the clearing to join the others.
As the helicopter descended to the flat ground, Keo glimpsed the inguz rune decal on the aircraft’s side. It was, as he’d guessed, a Black Tide gunship, complete with a soldier manning a mini-gun along the side hatch.
A pair of dark silhouetted shapes hopped out of the opening, followed by a third. Only the first two were armed with rifles, and they fanned out as the third strode confidently toward them, one hand on their head to fight off the wind generated by the helicopter’s still-spinning rotor blades.
“Nice helicopter,” Bunker called out to the figure.
It was a man, wearing the blue colors of Black Tide. “Thanks. Got this one on layaway. Still trying to pay it off, so don’t shoot it. I can’t afford the insurance.”
“Don’t worry about that; my left arm barely works.” He nodded at Wilson. “And she needs some medical attention, if you can spare it.”
“We can spare it.” The man turned and waved to the helicopter.
A fourth figure jumped out and ran over.
The man walked the rest of the way and shook Bunker’s offered hand. Meanwhile, the fourth person, a woman also in a Black Tide uniform, arrived to look over Wilson.
“Ghoul problem?” the man asked Bunker.
“And then some,” Bunker said.
“We’ll try to help you take care of that, too.”
The man looked past Bunker and zeroed in on Lara and Keo, standing near the back.
“Hey,” Lara said.
“‘Hey?’” the man said. “That’s all you got to say to me? ‘Hey?’”
“Long time no see?”
The Black Tider walked around Bunker and over to them. “You know, they told me someone was calling for help using our old designated emergency channel, but I didn’t believe it. After all, there’s a reason it’s the old designated emergency channel. Only a few people still alive even knows of its existence.”
“Nice to see you again,” Keo said as he shook the man’s hand.
The man’s familiar sandy blond hair was shorter and in a buzz cut, but there was no mistaking that mischievous smile.
“Fuck you, Keo,” Danny said. “I should have known you’d be the one to steal Lara from us.”
“It’s not his fault,” Lara said, before she hugged Danny.
He grabbed her in an almost bear hug back, and refused to let go.
“Hey, hey, careful, she’s—” Keo started.
“I’m fragile these days,” Lara said, pulling back from Danny before Keo could finish.
“Bullshit,” Danny said. “You’re the least fragile person I know. Keo here included.”
“I’m not the woman I once was.”
“I call bullshit on that, too,” Danny said. He looked past them and at the nearest dead ghoul corpse. “So you guys still need my help, or what?”
“Maybe,” Keo said. “There’s a few things I could use a hand to clean up.”
“‘Clean up?’ What do I look like to you, Mr. Clean?”
“I have an underground shelter and a tunnel that may still be full of ghouls that I need to sweep. Then there’s the possibility of a ghoul collaborator running around out there. Also, maybe some hostages in the area. I could use some manpower if you can spare it.”
“We’ll see about that,” Danny said.
The medic had taken Bunker, Wilson, and the others over to the helicopter, where two others jumped down to assist her. Keo, Lara, and Danny walked across the knee-high grass to join them.
“How is everything?” Lara asked.
“Is that a serious question?” Danny said.
“I’m sorry. I really am.”
“You should be.”
“I had to do it. I don’t know how to explain it, but… I just had to go, Danny. After Darby Bay…”
Danny sighed. “I know.”
“Do you?”
“Yeah, really. Why do you think I never really tried to find you? I did enough to convince the others that I was, but Carly, me, and the old gang, we agreed to let you go live your life. We knew you didn’t want to be found.” He looked over at Keo. “And you…”
Keo raised both hands and took a quick step back. “Hey, I just did what she told me. I’m innocent in all of this.”
“My ass,” Danny said. “Besides, you can do something to make it all up to me. Both of you.”
Keo exchanged a nervous glance with Lara.
“Like what?” Keo said to Danny.
“Let’s talk back at the CP,” Danny said.
“Danny,” Lara said.
She stopped, and Keo did too.
Danny turned around. “Come back with me, if just for twenty-four hours.”
Lara shook her head. “I can’t, Danny. I just can’t. I’m sorry.” She put her hand over her stomach.
Danny saw where her hand was, and it took a few seconds for him to put the pieces together. “Really? I thought you’d just gained some weight.”
“Yes, really. So I can’t go back. Not now. Maybe never.”
“Just give me twenty-four hours. That’s all I ask.”
“What’s twenty-four hours going to change?” Keo said.
“A lot has happened since you guys left. I’ve been trying to hold it all together, but…” He shook his head. “I need you guys. Just give me twenty-four hours to explain why. After that, and if you still want to leave, I’ll fly you back here myself.”
Keo and Lara exchanged a quick look. He could see the doubt in her eyes, but also the softness she had for Danny, for the things they’d built back at Black Tide together. Those things, he knew, would never completely go away.
Lara turned back to Danny. “Twenty-four hours. And no one knows we’re there. I mean it, Danny. No one.”
“Does that include Carly?” Danny asked.
“Not even Carly.”
The Black Tider nodded. “All right. It’ll be just between the three of us.” Then he smiled, bright white teeth shining mischievously in the moonlight. “So does this mean the band’s back together?”
Lara sighed. “For twenty-four hours.”
“Yes!” Danny clapped his hands once, then turned around and jogged back to the helicopter like a kid running to get his favorite flavor of ice cream.
Lara and Keo walked after him, slowly. He saw the same look of instant regret on her face that he knew was also on his.
He pursed a smile anyway. “It’s just twenty-four hours. What could go wrong?”
She reached over, took his hand, and squeezed. “Right. What could go wrong?”
Road to Babylon (Book 9): The Ranch Page 27