Road to Westville
CASSIE STOOD IN A TIGHT circle with Amanda and Stephenson on the cabin porch. To the west, the sun sat low in the sky. It was almost time to leave for Luma.
“Stay close to Leo,” Stephenson said. “He’ll protect you.”
“Remember our shooting lessons,” Amanda said. “When the time comes, don’t hesitate to pull the trigger.”
“Look out for snapping turtles in the river,” Stephenson said. “I got bitten by one of those things once. It sucked big time.”
“Make sure you get out of the water before you exit Nick’s Cove. Otherwise, you could get swept out to the ocean,” Amanda said. “There are jellyfish out there. And sharks. And the riptide, you know?”
“Luma Bridge is probably crawling with Soviets.” Stephenson shivered. “Let the soldiers go first. You should stay at the back of the group.”
“Guys.” Cassie held up her hands to forestall any more advice. “I promise I’ll be careful.” She gave them both smiles, her throat suddenly tight. “Thanks for caring.”
“Of course we care!” Amanda grabbed her in a hug. Stephenson joined them, the three of then standing together.
“Remember that tournament in Santa Clara when we had to go up against those snobby kids from that fancy private school?” Amanda asked.
“Yeah.” Stephenson grinned. “One girl cornered Cassie in the bathroom and tried to intimidate her by talking crap to her face.”
“Cassie kicked her ass on the chessboard.” Amanda beamed at her through misty eyes.
Cassie smiled at the memory, tears pricking her eyes. The days of high school and chess tournaments felt like a million miles ago. Why did her friends act like she was saying goodbye forever?
“I’ll only be gone for a few days,” she said, doing her best to comfort them. “Probably two days. Three at the most.”
“Luma just seems so far away,” Amanda whispered. “It feels like you’re going to another planet.”
“Just another town.” Cassie tried to make her voice perky. “Just pretend I’m away at a championship tournament you guys didn’t qualify for.”
That cleared out the tears. Two sets of eyes narrowed at her.
“You wish,” Amanda said.
“There wasn’t a single championship tournament all three of us didn’t quality for,” Stephenson said. His voice lowered. “But you were always the best player, Cassie.”
“Time to go, Cas.” Leo came up behind her and rested a hand on her shoulder. “Sorry to break up the goodbye party.” His eyes were sincere as he spoke.
“Just—bring her back in one piece, okay?” Amanda said.
Leo gave them a solemn nod. “I will.”
His words warmed Cassie. She leaned into him as he slid an arm around her. Stephenson and Amanda swooned at the sight.
Together, Leo and Cassie filed down the porch steps. Jennifer, Bruce, Spill, and Griggs waited for them, each of them already on a bike.
“Did you remember the dry bag?” Nonna asked Leo. “The bombs can’t get wet.”
“All the bombs are in the dry bag.” Leo tugged the strap of his backpack for emphasis. He had his hunting rifle, Soviet machine gun, and a .22. From the looks of him, there was no mistake that he was going to war.
“See you soon, Leo,” Dal said. He and Leo exchanged brotherly slaps on the back.
Lena threw her arms around Leo’s waist. “Be safe out there.”
“You, too.” Leo broke away and grabbed his bike. He was ready to move.
Cassie straddled her bike, feet resting on the pedals. With one last wave at her friends, she rode away down Pole Mountain. Spreading out around her were Leo, Jennifer, Bruce, Spill, and Griggs. It was up to the six of them to destroy the bridge and eliminate the Russian colonists.
“No big deal,” Cassie muttered to herself. “All in a day’s work.”
She wore a heavy backpack. Besides water and some food supplies, it was crammed with extra munitions magazines and a first aid kit. A Soviet machine gun hung around her neck. Leo had also outfitted her with a long knife and a 9mm.
Once they hit the main road, Leo led them west along the narrow country lane. Cassie glanced in the direction of the Craigs, where a few cattle could be seen grazing. The family farmhouse looked lonely and sad in the distance.
They pedaled in silence and soon entered the more heavily wooded area of Westville. Redwoods, bay trees, and pines grew on either side of the road. Bats flitted through the dusky light.
“That was pretty radical when you trumped Leo with chess queen trivia and convinced him to let us be part of the mission,” Jennifer said. “He’d have sidelined you for sure. He would have tried to sideline me.”
“I wasn’t trying to trump him,” Cassie replied. “He just wants to protect us, but we all have to do our part.”
“You’re right about that.” Jennifer grimaced as a bat swooped past her face. “God, I hate bats.”
“You shouldn’t hate bats. They’re important pollinators.”
Jennifer shook her head. “They’re creepy.”
“They’re cute. They’re sort of like tiny cats with wings.”
“More like icky mice with wings.”
“We’ll just have to agree to disagree,” Cassie said.
We’ll just have to agree to disagree. From a not-so-distant past, Cassie heard her mom’s voice.
Cassie had been standing in the bathroom pulling her hair into its customary ponytail, attempting to tame the frizz with liberal amounts of Aquanet.
You should really do more with your hair, her mother complained. It’s so plain all the time.
It’s fine, Mom, Jennifer said, bumping their mom out of the way as she joined Cassie in the bathroom.
Cassie will never get a boyfriend looking like that.
We’ll just have to agree to disagree, Mom, Jennifer said.
“Mom is a bitter person,” Jennifer murmured, obviously recalling the same memory as Cassie.
“Is, or was?” Cassie asked.
Jennifer sighed. “I don’t know.” Then, more to herself, “She’d probably have a heart attack if she knew you were with Leo.”
That made Cassie smile. Not the part about about their mom having a heart attack. The part about Cassie being with Leo. She was secretly starting to think of him as her boyfriend, though she hadn’t been brave enough to say it out loud to him yet.
The two girls were far enough behind the boys that Cassie thought it was safe to talk. “He said you threatened to stab him in the heart with one of your high heels.”
“I did.” Jennifer smiled as though recalling a fond memory. “I could tell he liked you right away. I was trying to get him to do something about it.”
“Why doesn’t it bother you?”
“That you guys like each other? Why should it? You’re my sister. He’s my friend. I love you both. You deserve to be happy.”
Cassie absorbed her words. “Thanks, Jen.”
“No prob. Besides, I always knew you had a crush on him. You used to follow him around the house with your tongue hanging out of your mouth when we were dating.”
“Did not!”
“Did too.”
Cassie felt her face grow warm. Maybe she had been a little obvious in her infatuation back then. Well, could anyone really blame her? Leo was awesome.
“Just do me a favor, okay?” Jennifer said.
“What’s that?”
“Don’t get pregnant.”
“Jen, we haven’t—we aren’t—”
“I’m not prying. It’s none of my business and you don’t need my permission. Just promise me you’ll use protection, okay?”
“Okay.” Cassie fell silent. This was embarrassing to talk about, even with her big sister.
They reached the outskirts of Westville. A scattering of homes, motels, and restaurants sprang up on either side of the road.
There were bodies everywhere.
Cassie squinted into the gloom. It was gett
ing hard to see beneath the trees, but she was able to detect evidence of nezhit infection on the closest corpses.
How many days had it been since the invasion began? Cassie had lost count. It felt like years, but it had probably been a little over a week. Enough time for the zombies to start dying off.
“It’s happening like the Russians said it would,” Jennifer said quietly.
The smell was ungodly. Cassie was torn between breathing through her nose or through her mouth. She should have thought to bring a bandana.
The farther they advanced into the tiny riverside town, the more corpses they saw. There were dead lying in the doorways of buildings. They dotted the road, creating an obstacle course for their bikes. Crows and vultures had already moved in. They hopped among the bodies, pecking at the infected flesh.
“Do you think the birds can get infected?” Jennifer whispered.
God, Cassie hoped not. “Most viruses don’t cross between species.”
“Most?”
“Most.”
Jennifer pedaled faster. Cassie kept up with her. They soon caught up with the guys.
“Those fuckheads did a good job of wiping out this community,” Griggs said.
“They did,” Leo agreed.
“The Russian bastards need to die.” Bruce’s eyes had acquired a dangerous glint ever since Anton had ridden off with Tate. Cassie did not envy any Russian who came up against him.
“How do you think they plan to dispose of all the bodies?” Spill asked. “They have four busses full of people on their way here. They’re going to need the clear the bodies out.”
“Not our problem,” Leo said. “Yet.”
Cassie knew what he meant. If they survived—if their country emerged intact from this war—there would be thousands of dead to dispose of.
Her mind flashed back to pictures she’d seen of Auschwitz in her history book, of the giant crematoriums where the Jews were burned. Was that what waited in the future for America, except for zombies corpses instead of Jewish ones? It wasn’t so different, Cassie realized. Both were murdered innocents. They’d just died from different means.
Something loud clanged off to their left. Cassie’s head swiveled as she scanned the land that darkened around her. Something was out there.
“Move faster,” Leo ordered. “We need to get out of sight.”
Cassie leaned into her handle bars, pedaling as fast as she could. Rancid air flowed over her. She was sweating from both exertion and fear.
Another crash sounded from their left, though farther behind them this time. A second later came a growl.
Cassie looked behind over her shoulder in time to see a mutant leap out of undergrowth. It looked like a female. Her chest was distended with corded muscle that had torn her shirt. Her right arm was grossly deformed, the muscles swollen to three times their normal size.
The mutant’s eyes glowed in the dark like an animal’s. She fixed her gaze on the bikers and charged down the road in their direction. She flowed through the night like a shadow, her limbs barely making a sound as they struck the pavement. She ran on all fours like an animal. Her lopsided muscle mass barely slowed her down.
“Mutant,” Cassie hissed. “There’s a mutant!”
“I see it. Keep pedaling.” Leo spun his bike around and slammed on his brakes.
Cassie put her head down and followed orders. Even though her heart clenched as she flew past Leo, she didn’t want to mess up his plan. To her surprise, Jennifer stayed with her. So did Bruce.
“Faster, Cas,” Jennifer huffed between short breaths.
Shots cracked. The mutant kept coming. Spill and Griggs had stopped beside Leo, all three of them shooting.
It was hard to see. The mutant moved freakishly fast. The guys never let up. The mutant was fifty yards away when she finally howled and crashed to the ground. Leo fired one more shot. The thing went completely still.
Cassie didn’t let up on the pedals. Her heart pounded in her chest, and not just because she was pedaling hard. She had thought Hillsberg had been scary. At least it had been daylight when they attacked there. Riding through the dark, forested town of Westville was creepy as hell.
Chapter 33
Adventure Depot
LEO REALIZED HOW ISOLATED they’d been from the true horrors unfolding around them in West County. In a little over a week, their world had become a slaughterhouse.
He jumped back onto his bike and pedaled after Cassie, Bruce, and Jennifer. Up ahead in the gloom, he saw the wooden sign for the Adventure Depot. It was at least twenty years old. The paint was faded, peeling, and barely legible. If Leo hadn’t known what to look for, he would have ridden right by it.
They dropped their bikes as they pulled to a stop in front of the old shop. It was nothing more than an over-sized shed. The canoes and kayaks sat in several large stacks off to one side, wedged between old-growth redwood trees.
“Everyone, grab a kayak,” Leo said. They were lighter than canoes and would be the quickest way to paddle down the river.
The Adventure Depot backed up to the waters of the Russian River. Depending on where you were, the river was anywhere from twenty to fifty feet wide. This late in the summer, the water was low enough that a few small, rocky islands cropped up.
It was a short walk through the trees down to the river bank. Leo had thought the smell along the highway was bad. Nothing prepared him for the carnage along the water.
It shouldn’t have surprised him, he supposed. All creatures needed to drink. Why should the nezhit be any different? On top of that, the tourist economy was robust along the river. Lots of people came to camp or spend the day swimming.
There had been hundreds of zombies here at one point. As Leo picked his way among the bodies, he tried to imagine what it must have been like during the initial invasion. This town had clearly been overrun. Cassie would have been among the dead if the Nielson house hadn’t been tucked back in the woods.
“Keep your eyes out for mutants,” he said. They’d be idiots to think they were alone out here. Statistically, with so many dead zombies, there had to be a number of mutants around. And they hadn’t exactly been quiet when they killed the one on the road.
They reached the water without incident. Leo waded in first in his jeans and farmer’s work boots. The water was chilly, but not unpleasant.
A dead body floated by. Leo pushed it away with his paddle, keeping it away from his people.
“Leo!” Jennifer’s sharp hiss drew his attention.
She pointed downstream to where two deformed figures made their way out of the trees.
Shit. Mutants. They stalked toward the water, eyes fixed on Leo’s group.
“Everyone, get into your kayak,” Leo whispered. “Stay together. Griggs, Spill, help me shoot them as we paddle by.”
He waited until everyone else was paddling downriver before climbing into his kayak. Leo pushed with his paddle, quickly catching up with the others.
There wasn’t much of a current this time of year, but the paddles quickly pulled them abreast of the mutants. Leo had his .22 in hand. The two creatures were nearly to the water’s edge, but for some reason, they didn’t attack.
“Do we shoot?” Spill asked, frowning as he took in the mutants’ hesitation.
“Only if they attack,” Leo said. Gunfire would just draw more attention. They’d made enough noise back on the road. It was better to get away quietly if they could.
A growl rippled out from a mutant. Eyes glowed in the growing darkness. Leo felt the two creatures homing in on them. He raised his .22, ready to fire. Griggs and Spill are both poised, ready to fire.
But the mutants didn’t enter the water. They broke into a lope, running alongside the river and keeping abreast of Leo’s team.
“Should I shoot them?” Griggs asked.
“Wait.” Leo watched the mutants. They stayed a solid five feet away from the water. Why was that?
The riverfront abruptly ended in a tall cliff t
hat climbed nearly two hundred feet into the air. The top was studded with redwood trees. The river cut around the cliff. As soon as they rounded the bend, the mutants disappeared from sight. Leo heard them growling in frustration, but they didn’t follow.
“Did you see that?” Jennifer said. “They stopped. They didn’t try to swim after us.”
“They wouldn’t even get into the water,” Cassie said.
“Maybe they’re afraid of it.” Griggs lowered his weapon.
Leo filed away this piece of intel for later examination. He didn’t know what it meant, but it could be important. It could also be an isolated incident. The next mutants they came across might not hesitate to charge into the water after them.
The current continued to suck them along. They made good time, their paddles softly cutting water. The moon and stars came out, bathing the water in cold white light. Leo’s eyes quickly adjusted. He watched the river, alert for portages. He did his best to steer around any he saw. A few times their boats scraped against the rocky bottom, but they never stalled.
Cabins dotted the riverside, many of them with their own private docks. There were bodies in the water, along with floating pieces of garbage often found on the river. More bodies were on the docks. The air was ripe with the smell of rot.
He kept his ears peeled for any sound of Russians and mutants. A few times, they heard cars on the road that followed the river. He could only assume it was Russian troops driving around, though he couldn’t fathom what they were doing out here at night. They’d effectively wiped out Westville and probably all the other small communities along the river.
They’d been paddling for nearly two hours when Cassie spoke up. “Leo, did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“I heard it,” Spill whispered. “It sounded like a mutant.”
Several long, low growls reached Leo’s ears. A shiver crawled down his spine.
“Where are they?” He lifted his .22 in one hand, gripping his paddle in the other. “Anyone see them?”
The growls sounded again. This time, there were more of them.
Leo swung his head back and forth, peering into the darkness. Where were they? Could they be up in the trees? Could they—
Zommunist Invasion | Book 2 | Snipers Page 18