Quigley and Grace had the back doors of the truck open and were swinging the littlest kids up into it while the older ones clamored in as fast as they could. On either side, the zombies were closing in.
Sarah screamed.
Alice turned, two zombies had Sarah, tugging her into a swarm. As she screamed, another zombie joined in and then another. Soon five zombies were tearing into her, pulling flesh from bones. Cale’s steps faltered and Alice tugged hard on his arm. He kept moving as Sarah’s screams abruptly cut off.
“Look out,” Alice called as a zombie lurched for Quigley. He spun and fired, catching the thing with a spray of bullets across the chest and head. The beast dropped to the ground, but another one followed close behind.
“Down, Grace!” one of the civilian men called. He fired over her head, dropping another zombie.
Grace stood, looking shaken. She turned to thank the man who had just saved her life. A zombie was already on him, clawing at his shoulders and pulling him away
“Markus!” Grace called. She took a step away from the truck, then hesitated, remembering her own rules. She turned and lifted another girl into the truck, forcing herself not to look at the young doctor as he was pulled away.
The truck’s engine caught with a roar, sending sputtering smoke out its tail pipe. On either side, the zombies pressed close to the truck. Most headed for the back, eager for the meat they could smell there. Grace hopped into the truck. She reached back to pull up another kid only to find Corwin lifting the boy up to her. Grace smiled to see he was still alive. As they helped the last few kids in, it became apparent there wasn’t any more room.
“It’s full,” Grace called to Quigley, firing past him into the crowd of zombies. She took a few out, but not enough to help. There were too many.
Alice came up beside Quigley and Corwin. “I have to get to the front,” Alice yelled over the gun fire.
“Take the kids,” Corwin said. The three children in question were cowering in fear beside the truck, all of them under ten, and crying uncontrollably as they stood frozen with fear.
“What about you two?” Cale asked, edging toward Alice.
“Someone’s got to be a hero today,” Corwin answered with a maniacal smile.
“Oh, you shithead,” Quigley yelled. He dropped a few of the closest zombies and sighed. “Take the kids, we’ll shut the doors and cover you as well as we can. We can try to hop on the back when you get going. Tell that Zero fuck to honk when he’s going to pull off.”
“Alright.” Alice bent to pick up one of the little boys. He clung to her with a death grip. Beside her, Cale scooped up the other two. Alice didn’t like it; he wouldn’t be able to use either of his guns. She held her hand gun in front of her and turned to the passenger side of the truck. “Clear a path.”
Quigley knelt and sent a rain of bullets through the zombies at knee level. They fell to the ground and Alice was able to take off toward the front. As she ran over the zombies they tried to grab her, teeth snapping at her ankles. One got a good hold on her pant leg, and she fired a shot into its head. She kept going, feeling sick as their bodies tore and snapped beneath her feet.
“Damn it!” Cale swore, and there was a burst of bullets. Alice reached the cab and tossed the boy to Zero who pulled him safely in. Alice looked back at Cale in time to see a zombie falling away, gunned down by Quigley’s bullets. His dead hands kept their grip on one of the kids though, and he fell screaming with the zombie to the ground. The other zombies were on him in seconds.
Cale didn’t waste the distraction. He shoved the last kid at Alice and pushed them both up into the cab. He let out a quick fire of bullets into the zombies and climbed in after them, slamming the door.
“Honk the horn and go!” Alice yelled to Zero over the crying of the two boys. They huddled against her.
Zero fumbled with the steering wheel. It was locked in place. “Shit,” he swore and began to push buttons on the dash. There was a loud burst of back feed, and then music blared to life from every speaker in the truck. It nearly deafened Alice. The zombies instinctively stumbled back a few paces, apparently startled by the noise. Zero punched the correct button and got the wheel moving. He leaned on the horn and stomped on the gas.
The truck lurched forward, slamming into zombies that stood in the way. Out in the street, Zero did his best to keep the truck under control, driving as fast as it would go, which didn’t seem to be above forty. It was enough. Four blocks later they were zombie free.
19
Chicago Streets
“Turn here,” Alice said. Zero made a mad turn onto another street, empty as far as they could see.
Alice relaxed as the children’s crying began to taper off. Zero let up on the gas; too many obstacles in the road. Deserted cars, downed trees, and abandoned belongings littered the street.
“Fuck,” Zero swore quietly, shaking his head. “We lose anyone back there?”
“Yeah,” Cale answered gruffly. He didn’t look at Zero or Alice, only stared out into the wasteland the city had become.
“Turn off the music.” Alice reached forward and pressed the button. The music faded into welcome silence. “No need to announce where we’re headed any more than we already have.”
“Right.” Zero held the wheel tight with both hands.
“Take your next right,” Alice said. Zero nodded. He took the turn more carefully than the first.
Alice guided Zero to the road that would take them to Coda, while Cale brooded silently beside them. He glared straight ahead, teeth clenched. He kept feeling the tug as the zombie pulled the boy from his arms. Though no one would blame him for the child’s death, it still hung heavily on his conscience.
“Just stay straight now until we see it.” Alice sat back wearily as they pulled onto the freeway. “It shouldn’t be long.”
She shut her eyes and leaned her head back on the headrest, trying to shut out everything for a few minutes. The truck rumbled along under her as fast as Zero could wind through abandoned vehicles.
Cale almost smiled at the sight of Alice sleeping. They would most likely run into trouble at the base. It would be good for her to be rested. He did his best to sleep as well, but he saw that boy’s damn face every time he closed his eyes. Instead of resting, he settled in to watch the barren landscape crawl by out the window while the two surviving boys slept peacefully across his and Alice’s laps.
The trip went slowly. The highway was littered with an obstacle course of deserted vehicles. Zero was all over the road, swerving this way and that to avoid the other cars, but thankfully they saw few zombies. Cale noticed Zero glance down at Alice with a warm smile and bit back jealousy. They deserved whatever happiness they could find for however long they could find it.
“You’re going to take care of her, right?” Cale asked softly.
“Huh?” Zero glanced away from the road for a moment, confusion clouding his eyes.
“Alice. If it’s just you and her, you’ll take care of her, right?”
“Of course,” Zero said. “She’s something special. Just being near her a feel like I’ve won the consolation prize for the end of the world. Like everything’s gone to hell, but you get a pretty girl.”
Cale smiled, but didn’t say any more. He could give Alice up to someone who loved her. It sucked, but he could move on.
As the sun dipped toward the horizon, Coda came into view in the distance. Cale’s heart sank. Zombies crowded around it.
“Alice.” Cale elbowed her in the ribs, and she jerked awake. Her eyes snapped open, her fight or flight reflexes on point.
“Huh? What?” She looked around the cab and counting heads without even realizing it. Everyone was still there, the boys were sleeping quietly, and that set her heart rate back to normal; obviously there wasn’t any immediate danger.
“We’re coming up on Coda.” Zero jerked his chin toward the windshield. “And we got company.”
Alice turned slowly to look out the wind
shield. In the growing darkness it was only the headlights that allowed her to see the mass of zombies gathered in front of the base. They hadn’t yet turned to face the truck and remained focused on the base for the moment, but there was no telling how long that would last. Alice swallowed hard. There were fewer zombies than back in the city, but they were all standing between them and safety.
“Can we drive through them?” she asked hopefully, but with without expecting that they would be able to.
“Doubtful.” Zero confirmed her fears with a short shake of his head. “This isn’t a tank. We can get close, but we’ll have to fight our way in I’d bet.”
“We won’t all get in that way.” Cale shook his head. “We’ll lose more people.”
“You got a better idea?” Zero snapped back at him in frustration. “Because we’re coming up on go time.”
“This is Coda base, come in please,” A voice gurgled from the CB radio on the dash. For a moment no one did anything but stare at the small radio, too surprised by what they were hearing to react. “Again. This is Coda base, do you copy?” That snapped Cale from his surprise, and he grabbed the radio.
“We copy, just a bit surprised to hear you.” He grinned, absolutely giddy to hear there were survivors on the base. “Good to hear you though.”
“And you,” came the reply. It was a warm male voice. “How many are you?”
“About fifteen at this point I think,” Cale replied, honestly not sure what the count was.
“You think?”
“Don’t know how many we’ve lost on our way here,” Cale answered flatly, aware how heartless it sounded. “We got a bunch of kids.”
“Ah hell. Alright you just keep coming the way you are. Plow through as many of those things as you can. When you stop, we’re going to stun them. You’ll have a minute and a half or so to get in here.”
“Stun them?” Cale asked.
“Stun them,” the man confirmed. Cale was dubious, but they were out of options. He asked the most important question he could think of.
“You gonna fuck us, sir?” Cale asked.
The reply was preceded by a short laugh.
“No sir, not on this fine evening. Just do what I say.” The radio went dead. Silence filled the cab as they drew closer to the base.
“You think he’s telling the truth?” Zero glanced over at Cale, who sat deep in thought, gripping the radio tightly.
“I don’t really have any idea.” Cale sighed and cradled the radio. “I don’t see that we have any option but to believe him though. Do as the man says.”
“Alice?” Zero looked at her, Alice paused, not liking that they were looking at her for a final opinion on the matter. She felt like too many lives were in her hands.
“Do as he says.” She hoped it was the right answer. “If whatever they have planned doesn’t work we’re no worse off than we expected to be.”
“We got enough gas to keep going a few hours,” Zero said. He wanted to make sure they explored all the options.
“We don’t know where we would end up.” Alice shook her head. “This is our best bet.”
“Alright.” Zero punched the gas.
The truck gave a lurch, and then an unhappy roar as it picked up speed. Alice’s heart began to flutter as she realized there would be no turning back. Gently, she shook the two boys awake. Over the roar of the engine, she explained to them what was about to happen. The boys only nodded solemnly. Both looked as if they were on the verge of giving up, and she vowed to make sure they stayed safe. She wouldn’t let them down the way she’d let down Simon.
She glanced at Cale as she assured the boys, noticing how tight his jaw was. She wanted to reach out to him, hold him and make sure he knew the other boy’s death had not been his fault. With the truck roaring forward, it wasn’t the time. She could only hope he would press on and not let the loss of the boy weigh on him too harshly. Ahead of the truck, the zombies shuffled to turn their way, some tried to move aside, but it was too late and they were too slow.
“Here we go,” Zero said quietly. They plowed into the first line of zombies.
The truck jerked and bounced as zombies went flying away from it, or fell and were driven over. Even as some of them fell, others pressed against the truck from the side, oblivious to the danger. None of them seemed to notice or feel pain whether it was their foot being run over, or their leg being crushed. None noticed if the zombie next to them was pulled under the truck.
They ran over a particularly big guy and the truck began to sputter. The man had to have weighed three hundred pounds when he was alive and the impact felt like running into another car. After a few feet, the engine began to smoke, and the truck puttered to a stop. Immediately, they were boxed in on all sides by the zombies. Their leering faces pressed to the windows, hands pounding on the windows like dying heartbeats. Only about twenty feet lay between them and the walls of Coda, but it might as well have been miles. Alice tried to turn the boys from the sight of the zombies so close up, but they kept turning back.
“Those assholes better keep their word,” Cale muttered to himself as he stared at the base. A zombie flung its fists against his window, making Cale jump. He turned to look at the sea of bodies around the truck. It wouldn’t be long before they were able to break through the glass. When that happened, the fight would be over.
Blinding floodlights illuminated the area, giving the hollow eyes and worn bodies of the zombies a gruesome look. Alice and the others instinctively covered their eyes, then blinked rapidly, letting their eyes grow accustomed to the light. Alice looked past Cale to see that the zombie that had just been banging on his window was now standing, arms raised, ready to beat down again.
“They’re not moving,” Alice said. She scrambled to reach past Cale, and threw open his door. It hit the zombie. The thing took a few faltering steps backwards before standing still again. None of the other zombies made a move for the truck.
“What the hell?” Cale muttered. He hurried out of the cab. First he helped the kids down and then Alice, while Zero followed. “Get the kids to the gate. We’ll let the others out.”
“Okay,” Alice said and took the boy’s hands. They followed with dragging feet toward the gate. It was slowly rising, creaking as it went.
Alice tried not to touch the zombies, but it was almost impossible not to brush into them and it was faster to push them aside. There were so many. In the harsh light it was hard to imagine them as ever being human. She ducked past the outstretched arms of a gruesome looking woman. Half her head was gone, probably blown off with a shotgun. Blood and brain matter spewed out and down onto her shoulder but it hadn’t been enough to stop her. One good eye stared vacantly toward the lights. Alice glanced down at the boys, who gripped her hands tightly. Both had tears washing silently down their cheeks as they clung to her.
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the others coming. They seemed to be moving too slowly; even from where she was the gate appeared impossibly far away. In reality, she reached it quickly. The gate opened only three feet and even the boys had to duck to get under. They stood in relative safety, watching as the others hurried towards them.
“Come on,” Alice encouraged softly. Jake reached the gate, ducked under, and reached back to help the boy behind him.
One by one, the survivors ducked under the gate. Ian and Corwin stood outside the gate, encouraging the kids forward. Grace followed them, and then Quigley. Alice had to restrain herself from hugging him; she thought he had died. Zero and Cale brought up the rear, and the zombies seemed to strain towards them. As Cale ducked under a zombie’s outstretched arms, it slowly opened and closed its hands, but Cale slipped by just out of its reach. Alice bounced on her toes, heart in her throat as she watched.
“They’re waking up!” Alice finally shouted as one of the zombie’s arms fell to his side. He gave his head a slow shake and turned, sniffing the air to find where the men had gone.
Zero slipped under the gate wit
h Cale behind him as it began to lower. Half a second after Cale was clear, it slammed into the ground. The gate locked in place with a clang. Alice hugged Cale, and then Zero in turn, crying silent, happy tears that they were both safe. She lingered a moment in Zero’s arms, enjoying the feel of their strength around her before pulling away. She blushed as she checked on the children.
Zero grinned as Alice stepped away, a warmth spreading through him as he watched her check the children for bruises or cuts. He couldn’t remember meeting anyone quite like her. Not that that was saying much, he couldn’t remember much of anything. It almost made the whole zombie business worthwhile. In the life he had been leading, he never would have had a chance with her. One of the spotlights turned, shining down on the group. Zero shaded his eyes and looked up toward the light. The group huddled close.
“Hey man, think you could turn those things off?” Zero called. There was a short chuckle and the lights went out.
Alice felt disoriented a moment, as she stood waiting for her eyes to adjust. The darkness seemed absolute, the moonlight insufficient. Behind her the zombies rustled, scraping against the gate as they tried to reach the people inside.
“Might want to take a few steps away from the gate,” the same man from the radio spoke in the darkness.
They all shuffled forward. The zombies were pressed to the bars now, arms flailing to catch hold of someone. Alice shuddered and turned toward the voice. She could barely see the man climbing down a ladder on the wall.
“Who are you?” Grace asked, her voice commanding and even.
“That’s not really important anymore is it?” the man asked. “You all will want to follow me.”
“We don’t know that,” Grace answered, but it was a lie. Where the hell else would they go?
“Well you do what you want, but food is this way.” The man continued walking.
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