“Oh god, that’s sick,” Nolan said as he shook his head.
Jason turned away as the screen was filled with the spray of arterial blood that sprang from the young zombie’s torn open neck. Jesus, he thought, why the hell did I watch that?
“That’s it,” Clint said, and picked up his walkie-talkie, speaking rapidly into it. A moment later, a gunshot roared through the forest and the bear’s head snapped back as a bullet smashed through its thick skull. The four hundred pound animal flopped to the ground next to its kill.
“What the hell happened?” Nolan asked.
“I have a guy out there, we had to put it down. Who knows if this disease can be transferred by consuming the infected. We can’t take the chance.”
Nolan nodded acceptingly.
Clint spoke into the radio one more, “You'll have to burn the bodies. Yeah, I know, just do it.” He set the radio down on the desk. “All right, show's over, get the hell out of here.”
The show is definitely over, Jason thought, as he followed the others back to their offices.
Chapter 18
Kala kissed Sophie on the forehead and backed out of the tent. She zipped it closed and turned to see Andrea coming out of her own tent where she had just put Devon down for the night. James and Tom waited for her by the fire. It wasn’t much of a fire anymore, just smoldering coals, but it was warm, and the smell of burning wood was comforting to her. Before taking her place by the fire, Kala peeked into the dark SUV. Dylan was lying still inside, asleep. Good, he needed the rest, and just maybe his body would hold out long enough for her to get him help.
Turning back to the fire, she saw the others were all looking in her direction expectantly. She let out a deep breath as she sat down. Her brain had been working overtime ever since she and James had witnessed the ill-fated border run that left a Jeep and its occupants in a flaming pile of debris. It felt good to exercise her brain again, to problem solve on a large scale. She had an idea, and over the last hour that idea had solidified and the skeleton of a plan was made. She was excited, but the others were anxious. She just needed to make them see.
“Tell us, Kala,” James said. Mae was leaning on his shoulder but watching Kala intently.
“They have electricity beyond the border,” she began. The group nodded. James had reported back that much. “Electricity means there’s still infrastructure in place. And if they still have an intact infrastructure, they’re going to have hospitals, food pantries, grocery stores, and homes not filled with zombies.”
Kala saw the interest peak on Andrea’s face. Tom spoke up with the obvious problem. “And they also have soldiers, guns, and an attack chopper.”
James nodded. “And they are not afraid to kill. It seems our military has finally gotten serious about securing the nation.”
“It’s a stopgap at the very most,” Kala retorted, then shook her head and waved her own comment off. “Sorry, anyhow, I know how we can get across the border.”
“Do we really even want to do that? Can Dylan really be saved?” It was Mae asking in her soft, slow voice.
“We have to try.”
“What’s your plan, Kala?” Tom asked.
“Misdirection.”
“Huh?”
“The great magician Houdini was able to convince his audiences that he was performing magic by directing their attention away from his secret tricks, the end result was that the audiences perceived his illusions as magic.”
“Jesus, Kala, this isn’t a stage, and we aren't magicians, what the hell are you talking about?”
“The fox will always chase the rabbit. All we need is the rabbit. How often do you think cars will try to cross the border like that one tonight? Often? Maybe even several each night?”
Tom shrugged.
“Maybe,” James said.
“The chopper is our fox, and when it sees a rabbit, it will give chase.”
“And when it does,” Mae said softly, “we make our run for the border.”
It was quiet around the coals as they looked from Mae to Kala. Kala nodded. “That’s right, Mae. They won’t be able to go after us both, especially when we rig up the truck to run with no lights.”
“If our rabbit is on the road getting shot at, where are we supposed to be?” James asked. His doubtful voice was laced with curiosity.
“We go off-road. We drive through the burned out clearing. When we get close enough for their lights to pick us up, we’ll have to gun it and charge the fence.”
“Holy shit, Kala,” Andrea said, uncharacteristically incredulous. “That clearing has all sorts of tree stumps and rocks and stuff. And you want to charge through there with no lights?”
“Will the truck even be able to break through the fence?” Tom asked. “Because if we hit it and don't break through...we’ll be sitting ducks.”
“I don’t know for sure Tom, but I think it will.”
“Kala, honey,” Andrea said softly, “none of us want to see anything happen to Dylan, but is this the right thing to do? To put us and the kids in mortal danger to try to get across?”
“It’s the only chance he has,” Kala responded as she looked around the group. She knew they were weighing his life against their own.
In the silence they heard an engine approaching. Kala glanced down to make sure their coals were dim enough not to be seen, then a moment later headlights flashed by on the road toward the border. Everyone turned to watch the light disappear behind the trees. Kala watched their faces as two minutes later, the heavy beat of rotor blades roared through the air. Andrea shook her head.
“Jesus,” Tom whispered as the sound of the helicopter’s cannon erupted in the night. They heard tires screech and an explosion, followed by a flash of light barely visible through the dense trees.
“Kala, if we fail, every one of us will die,” Andrea said, letting the weight of her statement sink in. “Even the children.”
Kala nodded, “That is correct.”
“What do you think Dylan would say about this idea?” Mae asked. “Maybe we should ask him, since it is him we are trying to save.”
Kala was thankful for the dark as her face turned a little red. What would Dylan say? He was a boy, a young man, would he want them to save him? He had so much life left to live, so many years of living that would be cut short if he wasn’t given help. He would want to live, wouldn’t he? Or would he forbid it, because of the danger to the rest of them, to his sister? She didn’t want to ask him, she wanted to save him.
“All right, well, I’m going to bed. Let’s talk again in the morning.”
Kala slept fitfully, plagued by her plans, terrorized by worry. Twice more during the night she heard the chatter of the helicopter’s chain gun roaring away as more travelers tried to make the crossing. Was she crazy? She was. The probability of success for this mission was pretty low. They stood as much of a chance of being killed as they did of escaping. The memory of her friend Abigail came drifting into her head. Abigail running away from her. She was infected, injured. She was running toward her parents’ plane, only wanting their love, their comfort in her final hours. Then the sniper’s bullet blasted through her, and all of her life emptied out onto the dry tarmac of the Miami International Airport.
As Abigail died, Lukie’s face replaced hers. Kala held his small broken head in her hands, crying and trembling as she sang him one last song, You Are My Sunshine. Her father had mutated, bitten by an infected spider or mosquito, she did not know which. When he changed, he attacked her mother, beating her head in until it broke apart. Then he came downstairs to kill the rest of them. Lukie had been his second victim, running to his father with love and concern in his eyes, only to have the big man, who had turned into a mindless zombie, toss his frail body into the paneled wall of their basement, breaking his bones and stealing his life. Kala herself had killed her own father, shot him in the face with a fifty caliber handgun. But that was only after he bit Abigail, starting the infection that would have cl
aimed her life if the bullet had not done so first.
Kala woke early, earlier than the sun, to find that Sophie had draped herself over her and was drooling peacefully on her chest. She lay her head back, not at all minding the closeness. Sophie was a bit of a crazy one, as many young children are, but she was sweet, and so very kind. It was actually Sophie, in these last few weeks, that had softened Kala’s heart and cooled the anger that coursed through her. Kala had lost so much, they all had, but just being with the little girl was soothing, therapeutic. There was good in the world, there was kindness in humanity. If only in our children, she thought, if only in those not yet spoiled by life. They are worth fighting for.
“What kind of life could we live here?” she whispered. “If we stay here, we will be taken, either by the infection or by the dead ones. I don’t know how long their kind will persist, but long enough to destroy us all I am sure.” She carefully stroked a hand over Sophie’s thick, curly hair. “I don’t want you to grow up without Dylan, Sophie, he’s the only family you have left now.” And, she thought, I don’t think I could raise you alone.
Kala left the camp alone as dawn broke. She took the Kalashnikov and headed out into the trees. The quiet morning air soothed her overburdened mind. She stepped lightly as she wove around the large tree trunks, her careful nature ingrained in her from a young age, while hunting with her father. What would her father have done here? He was a smart man, a practical man. Her father would have said that the risk was far too great, trying to cross here. But her father also cared more for his family than any other thing in the world. If it were Kala, Lukie, or her mother lying in the back of the car with a bullet hole in their leg, he would have done anything to save them. Well, her father was dead now, as was Lukie and her mother. Dylan and Sophie were her family now. She was their wife, their mother, and their protector. She would take care of them, she would save them, no matter what.
She crept to the edge of the forest and surveyed the landscape. She was surprisingly pleased with what she saw. As the rural highway left the cover of trees, it traversed the open no man’s land until the road intersected with the new border fence. Just after it left the tree line, however, the rolling ditch on the east side leveled out into nothing, leaving a smooth separation between road and earth. We can drive off the road right there. It was all about the timing. They would have to wait for their rabbit vehicle, then follow it as it entered the kill zone, but turn off into the cleared ground before they ended up on the same intercept path as the helicopter.
Each time they saw it, the chopper had come from the west, so if they traveled east as their rabbit went straight, they should be able to fade into the black of night before the fireworks began. Then they would creep along the open field with no light until they were near enough to the fence to gun the engine and charge it. And then just hope to god they could break through. There was enough clear space that they could make it across the opening...if they had lights, but they didn’t, and Kala had no idea how they would avoid running into the stumps of clear-cut trees. I guess I’ll have to cross my fingers for that.
She looked out at the fence through her binoculars. Long vertical supports had been laid out, there were hundreds of them. Once those supports go up there's no way we’ll be able to break through. She followed the fence line over to the east and found the crews working on the supports. They were still a few hundred yards off. She didn’t think they could install that many in one day, she was pretty sure. She didn’t want to accept that maybe they could, because if she accepted that, they would be doomed. Hold on Kala, hold on to hope.
Hope is for fools, she scolded herself.
No, hope is for optimists, I’ve just never been one of those. She lowered the binoculars and let out a long breath. Her eyes squinted a little as the sun began its climb in the east. This was it. Tonight would be the night.
She retreated back into the cover of the trees, mindful of any overzealous snipers out there. The soldiers knew they were out here; she had been observing them from the tree line for a couple of days. How long before they took preemptive action? They must know Kala was trying to work something out. If it were her over there, she would send the chopper over their camp right now to smoke them all out of existence. Well, be thankful not everyone’s a tactical asshole like you.
God, shut up. I thought I left you back in Florida.
And yet you’re still talking to yourself.
Kala shook her head and turned, walking slowly back toward their camp. She had taken ten steps when she heard the engine start, their engine. What the hell? She broke into a run, heedless of the noise she made, or the sharp brambles that whipped over her legs and arms. She leapt over a fallen log, losing her footing for a moment in a mound of pine needles, then vaulted back up and sprinted. Ten more seconds and she would be at the camp. She saw the tents, she saw the truck, then skidded to a stop at the edge of the trees and pulled the AK-47 up to her shoulder. Someone must be trying to steal the car, but why were they hanging around? Sophie! Would they take the children? Her heart beat madly in her chest as she crept out, expecting to see armed assailants ravaging the camp.
What she didn’t expect to see was mutiny.
They must have been waiting for her to leave. Andrea and Tom were scrambling around the campsite, collecting gear and tossing it into the SUV. Tom wore the AR-15 slung over his shoulder on its strap. Kala was only thirty feet from them and stood silently, as if she were observing a frightened doe grazing on soybeans. They had already torn down their tent and stowed it. The SUV still contained their small stores of ammunition, and the bright red cooler they were hauling water in was sitting just in front of the rear lift gate. It appeared they were ready to go, because Andrea was trying to corral Devon into the car, but the boy was running around, playing with Sophie.
James and Mae’s tent was still up and there was no evidence they were even awake. Then she saw Dylan. He was lying on the ground by the remnants of their fire from the night before. His head had been propped up with a sweatshirt. He appeared unconscious. It was to be a clandestine getaway - with all of their much needed supplies. Finally, Andrea snagged Devon’s arm and hissed at him, dragging him to the car. She looked over to Tom and called out, and Kala heard her words perfectly.
“Tom, get Sophie too!”
Kala marched out from the trees with long, even strides. The assault rifle was already at her shoulder, and she maintained her sighting as she moved. Andrea saw her when Kala was only fifteen or twenty feet away. She shrieked.
“Tom! She’s back!” Tom spun around toward her, reaching for his rifle.
“I don’t want to kill you, Tom,” Kala said coldly, as she continued her forward march. Tom was only ten feet in front of her now, a shot even a child could not miss. Andrea was fifteen feet to her right, at the rear of the SUV. “You, Andrea,” she said without shifting her gaze. “I do want to kill.”
Sophie had stopped her playing around and stared at them with her mouth forming a big “O.”
“Sophie, get in our tent right now,” she told the girl.
“But Kala-”
“Right now, Sophie,” she said sternly. She had never spoken crossly to the girl before now, and Sophie hung her head and stomped to their tent, ducking inside. Kala was sure there would be tears in her eyes. She felt bad because she wanted her bond with Sophie to be one of trust and love. Love means discipline, her mother had told her, usually when she was being punished. That one never really made sense to her.
Andrea made a quick movement and Kala fired, sending a bullet whizzing inches from Tom’s face. His eyes widened and his face visibly paled. “The next one will be through his fucking face, Andrea, now drop what you’re holding.” The single-shot muzzleloader pistol Andrea had just picked up clunked onto the ground.
“Now Tom, listen to me very carefully-”
At that moment, James burst out of his tent, holding the double barreled twelve-gauge. He was shirtless, and wore only some boxer
briefs over surprisingly muscular legs. “What the?” he said as he paused in mid-stride. His eyes moved from Kala to Tom and then Andrea. Then he saw Dylan lying on the ground and the spark of realization must have hit home. He placed one palm under the barrel of his shotgun but did not raise it.
“Kala,” Tom said. “This idea of yours is insane. You’ll get us all killed. And he probably isn’t going to make it anyway.”
“Get back in the tent, Sophie,” Kala said as she caught the little girl peeking out through the corner of her eye.
“You can do what you want Kala, but we need to do what’s best for our family, for the children,” Andrea said, a well-practiced desperation in her voice.
“Come on James, you know we’re right,” Tom said, glancing over to the young man as he stood outside his tent. Mae now stood right behind him. When he tried to shush her back, she stood rigid, her pale eyes sucking up every detail. “She’s lost it, call it young love, or psychosis, I don’t care. We can’t let her go through with this, man. Help us, please!”
Kala never dropped her sights from Tom’s face, but observed James from the corner of her eye as he processed this new information. Mae stepped up to his ear and whispered something so softly it was carried away by the wind. After a moment he nodded, and Mae slipped back into the tent behind him.
“Tom, lower the rifle to the ground by its shoulder strap. Do not touch the stock.”
Tom didn’t move, his eyes flicking between Andrea and James.
“James, please, listen to reason. She’s on a suicide mission. Come with us. We can start over together, make a life and take care of each other. Now is the time to stand with us,” Andrea said. Each word made Kala twitch just a little. She could not believe the betrayal, it cut through her so deep, but she could not let those thoughts rise up now, or the sadness and anger would completely overtake her.
A Dark Evolution (Book 2): Deranged Page 19