The antidote was a failure. She was going to turn.
Why was someone banging on the door?
The mattress shifted as Mom crawled from the bed. “Colton. Thank God.”
“How is she?”
“Not good.” Mom’s voice shook. “We’ll know soon.”
He took Chalice’s hand in his and knelt beside her. “Open your eyes. Look at me.”
She forced her eyes to open. His face blurred. “I love you.”
“I love you.” He touched her forehead with his. “Keep looking at me. Whatever happens, I want you to know I was with you until the last minute.”
*
Colton glanced at the camera on the wall, grateful for the almost pitch black room. Chalice couldn’t see him, not really, but neither could anyone watching surveillance. There was enough light for him to see the glistening of her eyes. The heat of her skin when he touched her shocked him. He’d never witnessed anyone turn before.
“Get me a cool rag for her head.” The least he could do was make her as comfortable as possible. His heart ached with every shuddering breath she took. He should put her out of her misery, but Rachel had said that Eric had gotten sick after being bitten, and survived. He had to believe that Chalice would, too.
For the next hour, he moped her face, her neck, her arms. Every bit of skin he could reach got a wipe with cool water from the sink. When he tired, Marianne took over.
Over the next hour, Chalice’s breath came in short gasps, sometimes stopping altogether. He was going to have to watch the woman he loved die. He rested his head on the mattress and closed his eyes.
“Colton.”
He jerked awake. Chalice’s hand clutched his. “You’re alive.”
She gave him a weak smile. “I am. It’s time to let the others know that the antidote works. Sort of.”
He cupped her face and kissed her. “I’m so sorry I fell asleep.”
“I know. A really bad idea. If I would have turned, you would have been my first victim.” She struggled to a sitting position. “Is that dinner?” She motioned to a sandwich on the bedside table.
“Your Mom brought it in. She never gave up hope.” Colton rubbed his hands down his face, knocking away the last signs of sleep before handing Chalice the sandwich.
“Of course, I didn’t.” Marianne grinned from the bathroom doorway. “I’m glad to see you up.”
Colton pushed to his feet. “I guess it’s time to let those in control know about our deception.” Dread coursed through him, much as the poison had through Chalice. “I’ll be back.”
He marched across the dark base and informed a guard that he needed to see the president immediately. When the soldier argued, Colton insisted, saying the president would be more angry at not be woken, than he would be if they disturbed him.
The guard grumbled and led Colton to the top floor of the main building where he rapped on a steel door. “Mr. Morgan to see President Balch. He said it’s important.”
The General opened the door. “It had better be.”
Colton shoved past him. “It is.”
“You, sir, are insubordinate.” The General scowled.
“I’m not one of your enlisted men. Don’t treat me as such.” Colton crossed his arms.
“Gentlemen.” The president, wearing a plush navy robe, entered the room. “Sit and stop bickering like a couple of old women. What did you need to see me about, Mr. Morgan?”
They sat in a couple of stuffed armchairs. Colton did his best to ignore the glares sent his way by the General.
“While we were out yesterday, Chalice was bitten. Rachel Moore—”
“What?” The General jumped to his feet.
Colton glared. “Rachel gave us vials of the antidote before we left. Chalice spent the night seriously ill. We weren’t sure she would pull through, but she did. The antidote works.”
The General yanked open the door. “Get Miss Moore. Now!”
“This is wonderful news.” The president leaned back in a leather easy chair. “I’m sorry that Miss Hart was the one to test this on, but now we know. We’ll make sure your people are the first to receive the vaccinations.”
Colton leaned forward, balancing his elbows on his knees. “Those of us who went yesterday, have received the injection. We were told that if we returned, we could have anything we wished.”
“Of course.”
“I want three transport trucks and ten soldiers to leave with us in the morning to pick up the rest of my people and the supplies we have.” Colton kept his gaze locked on the president’s. “When we return, my people get the injection immediately. No excuses.”
“Very well. Do you have any objection to the soldiers going with you receiving the antidote before they go?”
“No, sir. I insist they do.”
The soldier returned with Rachel. The General grabbed her arm and yanked her into the room. “What right did you have inoculating these people without my permission?”
She stiffened. “You were sending them into dangerous territory. What was the harm?”
“Chalice was bitten,” Colton said, standing. “The antidote, after several hours of intense sickness, worked.”
She sagged against the sofa. “It worked.” She covered her face and sobbed. “I needed someone to test it on, but had no idea it would be one of you.”
Colton hugged her. “She’s going to be fine. Thank you.”
“Still,” the general said, “there must be some sort of discipline for acting outside of my orders.”
Colton whirled. “No.” He poked his finger into the man’s puffed out chest. “You are not in control here. We are. You didn’t risk your life yesterday to make this a safer place, we did. What possessed you to think that keeping a herd of the undead around the place you live a smart idea?”
“It kept people out. We were able to keep our boundaries safe with minimal manpower.”
“It’s better to have those things as far away from here as possible.” Colton stared into the man’s eyes. They reminded him of a shark he’d seen in an aquarium once. Dead, lifeless, focused on its prey.
“I insist you come with us tomorrow.” Colton smiled. “I doubt you’ve really seen what those things can do.”
“I have twenty years of military experience.”
“Not like this, you haven’t. Wear thick clothing and don’t forget to get your shot.” Colton nodded at the president and marched from the room. He’d find out what the man was hiding behind his stony mask.
He hadn’t felt this good in a long time. Not since he’d bested the bully at school who ridiculed him once for being a foster child. The General was nothing more than a schoolyard bully, and Colton had stopped caving in to those types of people a long time ago.
5
With a fresh bandage on her shoulder, tight because of her leather, Chalice headed to the main ground of the base to join the others headed home to pick up their friends. Three large army transport trucks waited by the gate. Next to them stood stoic faced soldiers.
Rachel went to each one, injecting them with the antidote that had saved Chalice’s life. “Thank you,” she said, wrapping the other woman in a hug.
“I’m so sorry it was you who had to be the guinea pig.” Tears sprang to Rachel’s eyes. “How do you feel today?”
“Remarkably well.” Which was astoundingly true. Other than soreness in the bite area, she couldn’t tell she had spent an entire night flirting with death. “Make sure you have enough of that wonder drug for our friends.”
Rachel nodded. “I’ll have just enough time. It takes three days for the incubation period of whatever combat virus the scientist discovered. That, mixed with Eric’s blood, is what will save this world. Poor man. I’ve taken so much of his blood, he looks like a ghost.”
Chalice laughed. “Just keep reminding him of the good he’s doing and make sure he gets the best steaks for supper.”
“Remember, men,” Colton said, pacing the line of soldiers
. “This antidote will protect you from a bite, but not from being torn apart. The only good thing that will come from that is you won’t come back as one of them. Stick together and never turn your back on the undead. Their primary goal is to eat you.”
The General, his face seeming to be set in stone, marched beside Colton. He never glanced once at the soldiers chosen to go on the mission. When he turned in Chalice’s direction, he glared. She shuddered at the look of hatred in his eyes. Why? She’d never done a thing against the man.
Had the horror of the world deranged him? Given him a sense of power he had no right to claim?
She turned her head and climbed into the trusty Hummer. She ran her hands over the dashboard. The battered vehicle had carried them through a lot of tough situations, even before the steel reinforcement on the doors and the front bumper that could take down an elephant. She sighed and sat back. When had she gotten so sensitive to an inanimate object? Maybe almost dying did that to a person.
“Ready?” Colton slid into the front seat.
“Very.” Chalice smiled. “Let’s go get our friends.”
“Where is the General going?” Mychal asked from the back seat. “It looks like he’s trying to get out of coming. He’s nothing but a coward.”
“Hold on.” Colton exited the Hummer and jogged to where the General was about to enter the building.
From where Chalice sat, it was clear the two argued, one young, one middle-aged, both stubborn. She didn’t know what the General believed, but she did know Colton. He could be as tenacious as the undead when he wanted to be. Her money was on him.
She grinned when Colton and the General marched toward the Hummer.
Colton opened the back door. “Mychal, you have company.”
“Great.” Mychal turned to stare out the window. “Maybe I should stay here with Mom.”
Chalice laughed. There was no way her brother would stay behind. Not when adventure and danger waited. He enjoyed the adrenaline rush too much.
“Why the reluctance, General?” She turned in her seat to get a better look at him. “Are you even a real general?”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Of course, I am.”
“Hmm. My grandfather was in two wars, and there is no way he would back down from a fight.” She tilted her head as beads of perspiration dripped down the man’s temples. “Especially, when the people he loved were in danger. What kind of hold do you have over the president? If you aren’t military, which I strongly believe, why would the leader of the free world assign you that position? You might as well answer. You’re stuck with us for a few days.”
“Fine. I’m a computer programmer. I was in the white house when the order to evacuate came down. I stole this uniform so I could go to the safe bunker with the president.” He shrugged. “On the first day we stepped out, I saved his life. So, yes, I have come face-to-face with the monsters.”
“Then we come along and threaten to mess up your pretty plan. The undead you had surrounding the base was as much to keep the president in as it was to keep others out, right? Then no one could figure out what you were up to.” She turned back to the front as Colton drove out the gate. “You’re nothing more than a parasite, sucking whatever you can get from those around you. Good luck, General. You’ll need it in the next few days.”
Colton cast her an appreciative glance and squeezed her hand. “Ouch. You’ve quite a bite.”
“I don’t care what masquerade he plays. I only want a safe place for us. We did well with the mall, but armed soldiers are even better. Don’t worry, General. We don’t want to take your place as the president’s right hand.”
“I’m not worried about a couple of kids.” He crossed his arms and glared out the window.
He should be worried, especially now. Chalice eyed a large group of the undead milling on the highway. He was about to get his first taste of what living on the outside was like.
Chalice reached for the walkie-talkie on the dashboard. “Do not fire your weapons unless absolutely necessary,” she told those in the transports. “If you can’t run them over, use your bayonets.”
“It looks as if the attraction of the base full of people is still working, General,” she said. “You should be happy.”
*
Colton took the walkie-talkie from Chalice. “Slow and steady, guys. They’re no match for the transports. Not this many, anyway. If you have to fight, do it through the holes in the trucks or slits in the windows. Do. Not. Roll. Down. Your. Window. Only use the space you need. They are amazingly strong.”
“Won’t they overturn us?” Sergeant Mason’s voice, raised an octave or two, came across the airwaves.
“Not a crowd this size. Keep it together.” Colton set the walkie-talkie back on the dash.
If they were already seeing a herd of the undead, what would they see the closer they got to the mall? He tightened his grip on the steering wheel and focused on the truck in front of him. One transport truck in front and two behind should keep them safe enough. If the soldiers didn’t panic.
Mychal rolled his window down and thrust a machete between the eyes of a man in army uniform. The General made a gagging sound.
“Dude, if you throw up, I’m tossing you out,” Mychal said.
“I’m fine,” he said, his voice wavering.
The Hummer bounced over a body. The transport in front took care of most of the undead, mowing them down like blades of grass. Occasionally, one would latch onto the side of the truck and was swiftly cut back with the blade of a bayonet thrust through the wood slates. If one of the soldiers lost his head and cut through the netting covering the truck beds, there would be nothing between the soldiers and the undead but two by fours.
“Once we have your people,” the General said. “Do you think we could impose on your group to lead a team out on regular intervals to dispose of these things? Surely, over time, they will die off.”
“Let’s get through today first.” The steering wheel jerked to the right as the bodies in the road piled up. “We’re going to have to get out from behind this truck or we’ll be stuck.”
“That will put us in the open,” Chalice said. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” He steered to the side of the road, knocking a few non-breathers into the ditch.
“Sprinters.” Mychal pointed out his window.
“What in the hell are those?” The General’s voice lowered.
“That’s the newest breed of what plagues this earth. Get your knife. They’re going to come after us.”
“Why us?”
“We’re the most vulnerable.” Colton peered into his rearview mirror. “Remember, only roll your window down far enough to thrust your knife.”
“Oh, God.”
Four sprinters hit the truck with the power of a small automobile. The Hummer rocked, but stayed on all four tires. Shots rang out from the transport trucks.
“Tell them to stop shooting!” The General turned. “If they miss and hit one of our windows, we’re dead.”
Chalice grabbed for the walkie-talkie, relaying his message, then grabbed her knife. “We’ve got this, Colton. Keep driving.” She thrust out her knife, missing the undead man.
He latched onto her leather-covered arm. She cried out, then slashed again, her knife sinking into its temple.
Colton grabbed a pistol from between the seats and aimed out his window, pulling the trigger. Another one down.
“We got them,” Mychal said. “No thanks to Mr. Military here.”
“I told you I wasn’t really a soldier.” The General slumped back in his seat. “I’ll do better next time.”
“Good,” Colton said. “We can’t afford dead weight. What’s your real name?”
“Dean. I’m Dean Perilla, computer expert.” He rested his head back against the seat. “I’ve been living a lie for so long, I don’t know how to be anything else.”
“Then start being honest. You can’t lead soldiers if you haven’t been one yourself.�
�
“You’re doing it.”
“I was thrust into this role when the virus was released.” Colton shook his head. He almost wished for the days when no one knew him, and he was responsible for no one but himself. “If you don’t learn to fight, you won’t live. The children at the mall who are big enough to hold a weapon have had to do their share of fighting.”
“Remarkable.” Dean took a deep breath. “I can’t step down now. These men need the order I represent, but I could use a man like you as my right hand.”
Colton smirked. Things could change in the blink of an eye. One moment, he was a threat. Now, the same man who viewed him as such wanted his help. He’d think about it once they had the rest of their group.
Most of the undead lay smashed under the wheels of the trucks as the small convoy drove down the highway. Stragglers of non-breathers shuffled down the sides of the road, following whatever instinct guided them. Would they end up where the massive amount of undead were trapped, or stay and gather at the fences surrounding the base?
Would life be easier at the military base or would a new set of problems beset the small group of survivors? Colton mentally pictured the fencing around the base. How could they improve it and still allow access to the outside world to hunt and scout for supplies?
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” Chalice asked, laying a hand on his arm.
He eyed the teeth marks in her leather shirt. “Are you bit?”
She shook her head. “It didn’t go through.”
Relief flooded through him. He didn’t want to experience another night of watching her suffer as she’d done the night before. “I’m thinking of ways to make the base safer.”
“Nothing is getting through those fences,” Dean said. “You saw how many of those things were there when you arrived. They barely made a difference.”
“I’m thinking more of keeping out the undesirable living.”
6
The mall was surrounded. The air filled with the groaning of the undead.
Chalice leaned forward and peered out the window. It didn’t look as if any had gotten inside, which meant their friends were probably okay. Still, getting through the horde was going to take some work.
The Zombie Awakening (Complete 6 Volume Series, plus prologue) Page 37