by Dana Fredsti
Lil hid behind her hair, letting me do most of the talking. I described our route out of Big Red, including our leap over the Slinky of Doom and subsequent trek into town through the woods.
“We did our best to stay out of sight,” I explained. “Figured we didn’t want to draw any attention to ourselves going in or out.”
Both Paxton and Simone nodded.
“Go on,” Simone said. I couldn’t read her, either.
I described our adventure, keeping it as short and succinct as possible. I felt like I was narrating a History Channel show. “Zombies were a way of life in the twenty-first century...” But when I described how many zombies had converged on downtown, Colonel Paxton frowned.
“That matches what we’ve gleaned from aerial recon, and it’s not good.” He paused, then continued. “I would have thought they’d have gone through their available food source by now, and wandered out of the area.”
I felt Lil wince.
“Maybe there are still a good number of survivors holed up somewhere in town,” I suggested. “Most of the zombies were headed down Maple Street before we attracted their attention.”
“Good point,” Simone said. “Is there a school or church, or some other establishment where people might hold out for an extended period of time?”
Lil emerged from her veil of hair.
“There’s the Albertson’s shopping center,” she offered. “That would provide food. There’re a few other shops, too, like a coffee house and a hardware store.”
“There’s an old Lutheran church down that way,” I added. “One of the old-fashioned stone kind. And the fire station.”
“All viable possibilities,” Simone said.
Lil shot me a sideways glance.
“We have to get those people out of there, right away,” she said.
Simone looked at her with compassion.
“It’s not as simple as that, Lily—”
“Lil,” my partner-in-crime snapped back. “Call me Lil.”
Simone nodded, unfazed.
“Very well,” she continued. “Lil, we have limited personnel, without the option of bringing in any more. And judging from what you’ve told us, we would be bound to incur casualties if we tried to mount a rescue operation.”
“But wouldn’t it be worth it to save those people?” Lil’s voice crackled with anger. “We’re being asked to put our asses on the line every day! Why can’t the military spare a few more soldiers to help us?”
Whoah.
Simone heaved a weary sigh.
“I know it seems unfair, but it won’t do us any good to rescue a group of survivors, only to have the zombies find their way back to campus and swarm en masse before we’ve had a chance to reduce their numbers.
“It could mean death for everyone here,” she added, “as well as any survivors we bring back. That won’t do anyone any good.”
“Professor Fraser is correct.” Colonel Paxton tapped his fingers on the table. “We need to clear the zombies out entirely, before they discover there’s more food to be had here, and swarm us.”
Swarm? It was the second time they’d used that word. I don’t like the sound of that. But Paxton moved on.
“How did you get past the zombies when you were returning to camp?” he asked. “Why didn’t they follow you?”
Once more Lil and I looked at each other. Somehow it felt wrong to rat out our rescuer, especially given his attitude about the military, but it seemed just as wrong to withhold information. It’s not like the guy had done anything wrong, after all. If anything, he’d saved two of the Zombie Squad’s precious wild cards.
Lil retreated back behind her hair, abdicating responsibility. I gave a mental shrug and spoke up.
“Well... erm, we had help.” I then proceeded to spill the beans about our rescuer, playing up his heroics. I also talked about how he had been threatened on the borders of the quarantine zone.
“He took an old logging trail so we could get back in without being seen. Dropped us off outside the Admin building.”
The Colonel wrinkled his brow. But for some reason, he didn’t pursue it.
“Are you certain none of the zombies followed you?”
I shook my head.
“No. Coming out of the middle of town, he drove like some sort of insane Nascar driver. And the trail itself was pretty small and winding, so I don’t see how any of them could’ve kept up with us—or figured out where we went.”
Colonel Paxton nodded.
“Did he tell you his name? Where he came from?”
“We asked, but he wasn’t talking.”
“He wasn’t interested in coming back here with us, either,” Lil said.
“He was the survivalist type,” I added. “Kind of like Burt Gummer in Tremors, but better looking.”
“Ah, yes. Very helpful, I’m sure.” If Colonel Paxton had seen Tremors, I’d eat my helmet. Actually, about now I was hungry enough to consider eating anything if it had been sautéed in enough butter.
Colonel Paxton stood up, signaling the end of our conversation. We’d gotten off light, and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why.
“Go get some dinner,” he said. “We’ll see you back here after you eat.” We got to our feet. “You’ve brought us some valuable intel, ladies. But if you leave campus again, without direct orders, I will have you placed under arrest so fast your heads will spin. Is that clear?” His voice remained amiable throughout.
“Can you do that?” I asked. “Arrest civilians?”
“Young lady, I’m the commanding officer, and this is a military operation. I can do anything I like.” He smiled, yet somehow he sent a chill down my spine, and I realized I’d been underestimating him.
Never again.
Simone’s face was carefully neutral.
Lil and I scurried up the aisle and out of the room.
“Do you think he was serious?” Lil’s eyes were huge.
“I’d lay money on it,” I said. “So unless you’ve got more cats stashed away in town, I think it’d be a good idea to take him very seriously.”
After eating a rushed dinner, we hurried back to the lecture hall. The rest of the wild cards sat in the front row—all except for Kaitlyn, who was sitting by herself several rows back.
She really ought to wear black, I thought, and just become a full-time Goth. She sure as hell took herself seriously enough to qualify. Sure, this was a shitty situation, but what was the point of alienating everyone around you?
I truly did not understand the bitchy enigma that was Kaitlyn.
I plopped down next to Mack, who gave me his sweet smile as I sat down. Lil cozied up between Kai and Tony. I noticed Tony checking her out as she did so. He’d gotten rid of any visible piercing—no more barbells or hoops. But he still had the steel post in his tongue. I only knew because every once in a while he’d click it against his front teeth in a nervous tick.
Simone, Colonel Paxton, Gabriel and Captain Gentry sat at the table up front. Gabriel and Gentry looked fresh out of the shower and comfy in jeans and T-shirts. It took some effort to focus my attention on Colonel Paxton as he began the briefing.
“Our original plan was to send you into Redwood Grove tomorrow, to start clearing out the town,” he said. “But recent intel has made us revise this strategy. There are substantially more flesh-eaters there than we anticipated. The numbers need to be culled, yes, but we’re going to start further afield and try to lure some of the zombies out of the town proper. Then we can dispatch them accordingly.
“By circling around and approaching from the far side of town, we hope to eliminate a substantial number of them, and avoid the possibility of leading a swarm back to Big Red.”
“A swarm?” Mack raised his hand. “What constitutes a swarm?” He frowned. “How many are we expecting to find?”
Paxton looked at Simone and raised his eyebrows. She fielded the question.
“It depends entirely on the situation,” she said
. “Depending on the number of humans versus the number of zombies, it can mean hundreds, if not thousands.” Simone shook her head. “If they move in unison, toward a single food source, it’s a frightening sight.”
Kai shrugged.
“We kicked the asses of hundreds of the suckers here on campus,” he said. “What’s the big deal?”
“The zombies on campus were spread out,” she replied, “their attention focused in different areas. A swarm takes on a sort of hive mentality. We don’t know why it happens, but imagine the difference between a thousand bees all buzzing around different flowers in a field. Then imagine that same thousand honing in on the same flower. Or person.”
Kai squirmed.
“Okay, I get the picture.”
Colonel Paxton nodded.
“If the zombies trailed you back to campus, a big enough swarm might break through the barrier. And we don’t have the manpower to destroy that many—not all at once. If the situation got out of hand, we’d have to call in an air strike.”
“Nuke it from orbit,” Tony muttered. “It’s the only way to be sure.”
“If need be, young man.” Paxton wasn’t joking. “If need be.”
“What happened to the whole ‘wild cards aren’t expendable’ thingy?” Kai looked as if he’d been betrayed.
“You didn’t really buy that shit, did you?” Kaitlyn wore her usual expression of disgust. If she hadn’t been so determined to be a bitch, I’d have had sympathy for her point of view. I mean, things really sucked in a world where the dead came back to life and ate your friends and family.
Kai leaned back in his chair and shot her a nasty look.
“Yeah. I bought that shit,” he replied.
Kaitlyn snorted derisively.
“Then you’re an idiot,” she said. “Of course they want us to feel special. Why else would we risk our lives, day after day, just to take care of their problem? We die, they can always find someone else.”
Okay, I’d officially had enough.
“Jeez frickin’ Louise,” I snapped. “This isn’t just ‘their’ problem. It’s everyone’s problem, and if we’re the only ones who can get down and dirty with the zombies, of course we’re special. God, Kaitlyn, I know you’re a bitch, but I didn’t think you were stupid.”
She sprang to her feet, fists clenched.
Oh yeah, go ahead and throw the first punch, I thought. Just give me an excuse.
Simone cleared her throat. Loudly.
Kaitlyn sat back down without another word, and I kept my mouth shut. Simone looked at both of us.
“Thank you.” How she found it in her to be polite, I’ll never understand. “We do not have time for this sort of divisiveness. Of course you’re important to us.” She paused, then continued. “But if the only way to contain this infection is to eradicate the hot zone, then we may all be deemed acceptable collateral damage.”
Colonel Paxton shook his head.
“We’d do everything in our power to get you all out of here first, believe me.”
And I did. It made sense, especially when you considered Simone’s extensive body of knowledge. How could they have a Zombie Squad—excuse me, DZN—without her? It would be like the A-Team without Hannibal.
There went my brain, off-roading again.
Gabriel and Gentry took over the discussion.
“Here’s the plan,” Gentry said. “We’re going out as one team to a truck stop called Bigfoot’s Revenge, on the far side of Redwood Grove. We’ll start there, then fan out to the residences on the outer perimeter of town.
“While we search for survivors, the zombies we engage will raise a ruckus. This should draw more of them out of town and thin out their numbers enough that we can get to any survivors. And then—hopefully—we can get back to Big Red without being swarmed.” He looked at all of us.
“Any questions?” No one said a word. “Good. Let’s get this show on the road.”
With that, the briefing ended.
Word must have leaked.
Shortly after we went to our room, Lil and I had a parade of visitors wanting to meet Binkey and Doodle, both of whom had obtained unofficial celebrity status.
Our fellow wild cards showed up first, with the not surprising exception of Kaitlyn. Mack seemed especially happy to have something on which he could lavish affection, and both cats responded with non-stop purring. So much for the myth that cats are “mysterious and aloof.”
The evening turned into an impromptu party, with med techs, soldiers, special ops, and other personnel, all bearing wine, beer, or munchies of some sort. Even Dr. Albert stopped by, still wearing his white doctor’s coat. He had a can of StarKist tuna in hand.
“For the cats,” he explained.
Colonel Paxton was absent, as was Gabriel, but Simone showed up briefly, looking as weary as I’d ever seen her, yet somehow managing to appear impeccably groomed.
Maybe that’s her wild card power.
No surprise, Jamie accompanied her. What did surprise me was the shy smile she gave me when she came in.
“I love cats,” she murmured, heading straight for Binkey and Doodle.
“These felines are, in a word, rotund,” Simone observed, sitting on the edge of Lil’s bed and scratching Binkey under the chin.
“Lil was worried that they would starve to death,” I said. I grinned at my roommate, who was sitting on Tony’s lap and drinking a local microbrew—her third already. I myself resisted the urge to drink more than one beer. Nothing says “stupid” like zombie hunting with a hangover.
“Nonsense.” Simone raised an eyebrow at Doodle as he stretched out a lazy paw. “You, my feline friend, could live off your fat longer than a camel could live off its hump.”
Doodle yawned, unimpressed.
Simone scritched his tummy absent-mindedly as she turned toward me and dropped her voice so that only I could hear.
“You realize what a foolhardy thing you did, don’t you?”
I shrugged and nodded.
“Yeah. But I’d do it again.”
It was Simone’s turn to nod.
“I know.”
“Hey.”
We both looked up to see Gabriel standing there. Lil waved at him from Tony’s lap, splashing beer on Kai.
“Gabriel!” she cried. “Meet Binkey and Doodle!”
Jamie moved aside and Binkey allowed Gabriel to rub his belly, followed by Doodle. Their purrs rumbled above the conversations in the room. “Affection sluts” didn’t even begin to do them justice.
“It’s getting late,” Simone announced. “Probably best if everyone gets some sleep. Tomorrow is not going to be an easy day.”
Jamie immediately got to her feet. Gabriel clapped his hands together to get everyone’s attention.
“Lights out!”
“But I want another beer,” Lil said, upending her now empty bottle with a pout.
“Here, here!” Tony raised his own bottle and chugged it.
“That’s enough!” Gabriel said. “What you’ll face tomorrow will make a sweep of the campus look like a walk in the park. We need you in top mental and physical condition.”
Kai got to his feet in an effortless move that belayed the beers he’d already consumed.
“Well, when you put it that way...” With Lily still on his lap, Tony tossed his empty bottle in the trashcan, grabbed another full one from the little table, and popped the top.
Gabriel grabbed it before he could take more than a sip.
“You’re pushing it,” he said, and there wasn’t a trace of amusement in his voice.
Tony scowled at him.
“C’mon, man,” he protested, “It’s a free country. We’ve earned a couple of brews.”
Gabriel stared him down. Tony tried staring back, but lowered his eyes after only a few seconds.
“You suck, Tofu.”
“Yeah, Joystick, I guess I do.”
“That’s X-Box,” Tony grumbled.
Lil looked a litt
le pie-eyed as she slid off Tony’s lap, wobbling slightly. I got the feeling she hadn’t done a hell of a lot of drinking before becoming a wild card. Grabbing a bottled water, I twisted off the top and handed it to my loopy roomie.
“Here, kiddo,” I said.” I’ll get you some ibuprofen.”
Lil took the water, but frowned.
“I wannanother beer.”
“And I want world peace, so we’re both shit out of luck tonight.”
I ducked into the bathroom and grabbed the ibuprofen out of the medicine cabinet, shaking four into my hand. Two for me, and two for Lil. As I put the bottle back, I noticed a brown prescription bottle next to the toothpaste—some drug called Clozapine with the name Lily Kiputh on the label.
Huh. Wonder what these are for?
Shutting the cabinet door, I dry swallowed my pills and rejoined the dwindling party, making sure Lily took her dose with what was left of her water.
“Let’s go, troops,” Gabriel commanded. I stood by the door with folded arms as he herded the rest of our visitors out.
“You really know how to kill a party, don’t you?” But I smiled as I said it.
Mack stopped for a quick hit-and-run scritch for both of the cats, and then a hug for me.
“You done good, kid,” he whispered.
Then it was only Gabriel in the room.
“Get some sleep, okay?” And then he was gone.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
* * *
The next day dawned way too early for my taste.
And it dawned without a hint of sunlight. The trees and buildings were masked with the kind of fog filmmakers conjure up by using machines. All that was missing was the blue backlighting. It was also one of those thick, drippy fogs that soaked hair and clothes after just a few minutes. Shitty for the work at hand, but great for the skin.
All the wild cards were stuffed into a Chevy Suburban, the back row of seats folded down to make room for our gear. Gabriel drove and Gentry rode shotgun.
We took the main road leading down toward Redwood Grove, then cut to another one that bypassed the town and headed twenty miles west to Bigfoot’s Revenge. There we would start our search and destroy, and if we attracted any undead attention, it would be easy enough to lead them away from campus. At least, this was the working theory.