Chalice’s shot him in the leg. “I just got the doctor his guinea pig.”
Colton glanced at her. “What?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
The other two men grabbed Jim by the arms and pulled him between the front of the van and the building. They fired several shots before running away, leaving their friend behind.
“I’ll go get him.” Amos opened the door just far enough to squeeze his large bulk through and dragged Jim inside. He tossed the man’s weapon to Mychal. “Looks like you got your wish, my friend. You’re inside.”
Chalice explained what Doctor Hooper wanted Jim for.
Colton’s eyes widened. “That’s sick.”
“You can’t do that to me!” Jim scooted against the wall.
“We can’t find a cure without experimenting.” Chalice frowned. “I agree it’s inhumane, but this man would not have hesitated to kill one of us. What if the doc’s antidote works?”
When had she grown so cold? So callous? “This is a living person we’re talking about.”
“I only need his blood.” Doctor Hooper stepped up. “I’m sorry I didn’t make myself more clear earlier. I can do the preliminary test with tubes, but eventually, I’ll need living people to test my theory on.”
Chalice cocked her head. “I’m willing to sacrifice someone wanting to kill us for the sake of all mankind. You should be, too.” She waved an arm toward the toy store where the daycare had been set up. “They won’t have a future otherwise.
Colton sighed. She was right. No matter how awful it sounded, someone would have to possibly provide the ultimate sacrifice. He helped Jim to his feet. “Let’s get you to the clinic.”
When had they stopped becoming a group who helped, to a group willing to kill?
2
Chalice stood in the doorway of the clinic as Doctor Hooper and his nurse, Kendra Watts, dug the bullet out of Jim’s leg. The man bit down on a rolled rag in his mouth. They had nothing with which to dull the pain. His moans chilled her blood. But not as much as the shocked look on Colton’s face when she had presented the doctor’s plan.
“Sometimes we have to make tough decisions,” her mother, Marianne said. “Just like when I pretended to be dead in order to keep you and your brother and sister from caring for someone burned as badly as I was.”
Chalice still had a hard time forgiving her mother for the deception. For months, she’d thought them alone, until Colton found her mother hiding in an abandoned house. One side of her body bore the scars of fire, yet the other looked as smooth as the day before hell broke loose. “I don’t like making these kinds of decisions.”
“When you and Colton decided to start adding to your little group, you put yourself in that position.”
“I suppose.” She faced her. “Do you think the doctor’s experiment will work?”
She shrugged. “I hope so. It would be nice to protect our people, wouldn’t it?” She grinned. “Talk about power. We could decide who gets the antidote and who doesn’t. Restart this world with good people.”
“I don’t want to play God. Either everyone gets the antidote or no one.” She marched away. Of course, they were all worrying about nothing if the doctor wasn’t successful.
Her next stop was the kitchen. Lana Colman, the woman who had graciously welcomed them all to her farm until they were overrun with the undead, emerged from the back room. “Someone needs to make a supply run. We’re getting low on canned food and fuel. I’ve been trying to cook as little as possible, but if we don’t find some soon, I won’t be able to cook at all.”
Chalice didn’t know if there were any places with food left. They had to go farther, and stay gone longer, each time they made a run. “I’ll tell Colton.”
She ticked off in her mind who could go and who could stay. Her and Colton could take Amos, Mychal and Eddy, leaving the others behind, but that made the foraging group smaller than she liked. Especially, with the new breed of undead roaming the countryside. Eric might be a good one to go, since bites wouldn’t affect him. But, if something happened to him, the doctor might never succeed with his experiment. Chalice sighed. They’d take Lady and Buster, the two dogs made a good warning system. She’d have to pray their party of hunters was large enough.
“I want to go with you.” Faith stepped into place beside her. “I can fight now.”
“Stop sneaking up on me.” Chalice glared. “You can help guard this place.”
“It’s boring here.”
“Help Alyssah with the little kids.”
Faith sighed. “The boys have all the fun.”
“Killing, even the non-breathers, is not supposed to be fun. I can’t risk taking you out there. Not with the fast ones.”
“Fine.” She shuffled away.
Chalice watched her go, before resuming her trek to find Colton. She didn’t trust the girl to not follow or hide in the Hummer. Maybe she could enlist Mom’s help in keeping her busy.
She found Colton in the weapons room. “I heard,” he said.
“I could only think of five of us to go,” she said. “I’m afraid of leaving a skeleton crew to guard this place.”
“I agree.” He met her gaze. “Everyone else has a job here. Bill and Sarah can lead them in our absence. Will you be ready at first light?”
She nodded, leaning against the doorjamb. “Are you upset with me for agreeing with Doctor Hooper’s plan?”
“I see the reasoning in it, but I don’t have to like it. I don’t want us to lose our humanity, Chalice.”
“I don’t either. But if we don’t find a cure, there won’t be any humanity. Rachel and the doctor are our best hopes.”
“Ammunition is getting low,” George said, exiting the closet. “Go sparingly.” He waved his stump toward the guns on the table. Colton had cut off the man’s arm shortly after meeting him to prevent the poison from a zombie bite spreading. Even with one arm, George was one of their best fighters and an excellent shot. He could help lead the others in the event of an attack during Chalice and Colton’s absence. “Add that to your list of things to find.”
Colton pulled a map from the wall. “Let’s see if there is anywhere we haven’t looked.”
“Maybe outlying homes? Those higher up in the mountains?” Chalice peered over his shoulder.
“The speeders are thicker up there. Should we risk it? There’s no telling who else we’ll run into up there. I’m sure there’s a few survivalists.”
“Then, they’ll have weapons. Besides, it’s the only place we haven’t checked. The town is cleaned out.” Survivalists wouldn’t take kindly to others stepping on their turf. She really wished they could spare a few more people to go with them. “What do you think about taking Larry with us?”
“We can ask,” Colton said. “I’m not sure how much good he can do, but I won’t force him. He does know how to shoot, and we can use all the help we can get.”
“Do we have any other choice?”
He folded the map and stuffed it in his pocket. “I guess not.”
*
Larry, after an hour lecture on how he needed to stay behind and tend the garden, changed his mind and agreed to accompany the scouting group. With a pistol on his hip and a butcher knife in his hand, he climbed into the back of the Hummer. “Y’all keep me alive.”
“We’ll do our best.” Colton grinned at Chalice who sat in the passenger seat. Amos and the boys squeezed into the middle seat. “No, guarantees.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” He wrapped one arm around each dog and settled back.
Two hours later, they stopped in front of their first farmhouse. The place seemed deserted until Colton opened his door and planted one booted foot on the ground. A bullet kicked up the dirt. He withdrew.
“Go away.” A man’s voice drifted through an open window.
Colton glanced at Chalice. “Should we see how many people are here? I’m not adverse to increasing our numbers if they can pull their weight.”
“
Maybe. Either they’re good people who want to come with us or the type we want to leave behind. I’ll get out. They might react better to a female.” She exited the vehicle and held her hands over her head. “We’re only looking for supplies and survivors. We don’t mean you any harm.”
“We might mean some harm to you, young lady.” The man said. “How many are with you?”
“Five people and two dogs.”
“You don’t look like you’re starving. You got a camp somewhere?”
“Yes, sir, we have a safe place.” She glanced at Colton and shrugged. “If he doesn’t come out, we’ll leave.”
The door opened and a man in his forties stepped out. “It’s me and my two boys. One is nineteen, the other twenty-two. I’ve got a truck that runs and some supplies. You looking to add to your numbers?”
Colton climbed from the Hummer. “That depends. How long have you been holed up here?”
“Since day one. Lost my wife the first week from that killer flu.” He kept his gun cradled in his arms. “We’ve had a few no-gooders come by, but we run them off. We’ve been lucky to see only a few people at a time, but we’re sitting ducks out here by ourselves.” His eyes narrowed. “You ain’t no older than my youngest boy. You the leader?”
“Yes. Don’t let my age fool you.”
“Age means nothing anymore. Come on out, boys.” His sons joined him on the porch.
“You mind if I come in and see what you have to offer?” Colton crossed his arms.
“How do I know you ain’t just casing the place to see what you can take? I told you we have guns, ammo, and some dry food. The wife put up a lot of cans and jerky before she took sick. How many you got with you in that camp of yours?”
“Seventeen, not counting kids. We’re headed up the mountain looking for supplies. You’re welcome to come, but if I sense anything that makes me uncomfortable, we’ll leave you behind.”
“Give us an hour to pack up. The names Will Jackson. My sons are Bobby and Junior.” The man motioned for the young men to head inside.
Colton grinned at Chalice. It was always a good thing when they found three more who were willing to fight with them instead of against.
An hour later, the Jackson three loaded into an old Chevy. In the truck bed were three boxes of food and ammo, two goats, and a three-legged hound.
Colton shook his head. It wasn’t much, but it was more than they had with them when they arrived. He climbed back into the Hummer and headed for the next place.
As they traveled, their numbers grew. Soon, four more vehicles followed behind with an assortment of survivors and supplies. Bill and Sarah were going to blow their tops when they saw how many more mouths there was to feed. At least they hadn’t collected anyone under the age of fifteen.
“We should stop for the night,” Chalice said. “We’ve been driving for hours and instead of finding a large stash of weapons and food, we’re collecting people.”
“Not entirely a bad thing.”
She smiled. “No, I know you have a dream of a society existing again someday. Did you see the way Mychal and Eddy looked at the two teenage girls?”
“Kind of the way I look at you.” He leaned over for a kiss. “Can’t make a new world without men and women.” He cupped her cheek and stopped the Hummer on what might have once been a well cared for dirt road. “We’ll sleep here.”
“Have to get rid of those, first.” She pointed out the window to five undead milling around. “They look like the slower version.”
“Let’s do this quietly,” he told the others. “There’s no need to announce our presence. No fires, so if you’re hungry, it’s a cold supper tonight.”
They all climbed out, each taking a zombie and disposing of it. Colton turned to the others. “We don’t shoot unless we have to. Save the ammo. Everyone sleeps in the vehicles tonight. I’ll keep first watch.”
“You’ve been driving all day,” Amos said. “I’ll keep watch.”
Colton nodded. “Thanks. I accept your offer. Whistle if you need me.”
For a group of more than fifteen people, they readied themselves for the night with little noise, accepting Colton’s leadership with no questions. He settled back into the Hummer and rested his head on the headrest. It was always a gamble bringing in more people, but if they were willing to live as a community, who was he to say no? Time had proven there was safety in numbers. Back at the mall, they’d be kept separate from the main group for a while, until they could prove they wanted to be a peaceful part of the community.
He closed his eyes. He might as well get some sleep while he could. While Amos would gladly keep watch all night, Colton couldn’t ask it of him. They all needed their wits about them, whether dealing with living or dead.
A soft knock on the window jolted him awake. He rolled it down.
“We got company,” Amos whispered. “And it’s of the living variety. Something doesn’t feel right. They’re sneaking around like they don’t want us to know they’re here.”
“Head to the others and tell them to be prepared for anything.” Colton eased open his door, then leaned over to wake Chalice. “Get your gun and wake the boys.”
“What’s happening?”
“We’ve got the beginnings of a fight on our hands.”
3
Vehicle doors opened. Within seconds, anyone able to hold a weapon used the door as cover and aimed their weapons toward the trees.
“I don’t see anyone.” Chalice strained to peer through the dark.
“They’re out there. Look at the dogs.”
She glanced to where Lady and Buster, hackles raised, stared toward the front of the convoy. Buster emitted a low growl. Colton had taught the dogs well. With the non-breathers attracted to sound, the dogs rarely, if ever, barked.
“Should we have everyone get back in their cars and back out of here?” She asked. A gunfight was the last thing they wanted at night.
“Yeah. I’ll let everyone know.” Bent over, Colton made his way down the line.
Car doors shut. No one used their lights, maneuvering by the illumination of the moon instead. Once Colton arrived back at the Hummer, he and Amos climbed in and they began their long backward drive off the one-lane road.
Chalice kept her eyes peeled and her gun ready. People who were unwilling to show themselves rarely meant anything but trouble.
“Let’s head home,” she said. “We’ve had a good scouting trip. We can drop off the younger people and make another run in a few days.”
Colton nodded. Back on the main road, he led the group back down the mountain.
A large herd of the undead blocked their way. “Now what?” Chalice shuddered. “There’s nowhere else to go but ahead or back up the mountain.” She didn’t know which was worse … the milling undead or the living unknown.
“We’ll have to go through them. Windows up.”
Everyone rolled their windows up. “Slow and easy,” Colton said. “I hope the others know how to plow through a crowd like this.”
“That Prius in the middle of the line will never make it,” Amos said. “One or two of these things, and that plastic car will be toast.”
Chalice glanced behind them. The Prius held a family of five. “The children, Colton.”
“Damn it.” He slammed his hand against the steering wheel. “Hold them off if they get too close.” He opened his door and exited, running back to the vehicles following. Soon, everyone maneuvered around the Prius, keeping the car in the center of a bus and the trucks. A rusty Chevy, outfitted with an oversized grill and bumper, took up the rear.
Colton slid back into the Hummer as the first of the horde reached them. “That’s the best I can do. Let’s see if the scooper grill Bill put on this thing works.” He pressed the gas pedal.
The zombies in front of them were mowed down, but there were still plenty that rasped along the side of the vehicle, slapping their hands against the sides and trying to bite through the glass. Chalice pulled
her long-handled knife from her belt and rolled her window down just far enough to stab through. Those in the back seat did the same. However many they could take out now would be that many less to torment the cars following.
She stabbed one through the eye socket. Putrid blood splattered across her hand. The scent of rotting flesh drifted into the vehicle. “There’s so many.” She gagged as her next victim’s eye exploded under her knife. Fluid dotted her face.
“Here come the sprinters.” Colton slowed to leave only inches between their rear bumper and the Prius following them. The other vehicles moved closer, until those in the smaller car could have reached out their window and touched one of the others.
Three of the faster breed of undead raced toward them, pushing their slower compatriots aside. One jumped on top of the Hummer, its nails scratching against the metal. Someone behind them screamed.
“Got one of top of the Prius. The other one is clinging to the bus like a leech,” Amos said.
Colton rolled down the rear window. “Take them out.”
Amos aimed, and fired. The zombie on the Prius fell to the road. The Chevy rolled over it. Two more shots and the sprinters were finished.
“Looks like one of the windows on the Prius is broken.” Amos straightened in his seat. “Any more of those things get through and that family is goners.”
“Get us out of here, Colton!” Chalice shoved her pistol into the mouth of a zombie latched onto her door. “Larry, shoot out the back window at anything that gets through. Mychal, move back there and help him.”
Mychal moved to the back, spear and gun in hand. “Move it, man.”
Larry rolled into a ball and moaned. “I should have stayed at the mall. I’m not cut out for this.”
“Idiot.” Eddy climbed over him. “Trade places with me. You’re worthless.”
Larry scrambled over the seat as if his rear was on fire. Amos shoved a knife in his hands. “At least stab out the window.”
“Oh, okay.” Larry rolled his window all the way down and shoved his hand out. A zombie latched on to it like a pit bull. His screams reverberated through the Hummer.
The Zombie Awakening (Complete 6 Volume Series, plus prologue) Page 29