Amos’s eyes widened, then he fell.
Sergeant Mason raised his rifle and fired. Dean fell next to Amos.
Chalice crawled to the side of the man who had saved them so many times. Tears streamed down her face. “We’ve got to get him to Doctor Hooper. He can save him.”
Colton motioned for the soldiers to load Amos into one of the trucks. “We’ll meet you back at the mall. Hurry!”
He raced for the Hummer. Chalice started to follow, then darted into the house they’d chosen, returning with Faith and Trinity. Where had those two come from?
They hurried to the waiting vehicle while Mychal and Eddy roared up on two motorcycles. The lecture hovering on Colton’s tongue about shirking duties would have to wait.
“Close the gate behind us,” he told them, sliding into the driver’s seat of the Hummer. He shifted it into gear and sped after the army truck.
“I can’t bear it if Amos dies,” Chalice said, crying into her hands. “He’s the closest thing to a father I have.”
“He won’t die. He’s tough.” Colton prayed he was right. How could a simple cleaning operation have gone so wrong?
They screeched to a halt in front of the mall. Colton rushed to open the doors as four soldiers carried Amos inside. “Get Doctor Hooper!” Colton led them to the doctor’s office.
“I’m here.” Hooper cleared off a table. “What happened?”
“Stabbed in the stomach.” Colton stepped back, and turned to the soldiers. “Go to the food court and get something to eat. We’ll start emptying this place as soon as Amos is ready to travel.”
“Tomorrow,” the big man rasped. “I want to recuperate in the bed inside that pretty yellow house I picked out. Kendra can nurse me.” He reached his hand toward the pretty woman who had once been a school nurse.
She leaned over and kissed him. “Let the doctor look at you before you start making grand plans.”
When had those two found time to get together? Colton shook his head. Amos was gone as much as he was. It didn’t leave much time for romance unless the woman you cared for came along. He smiled sadly. Still, love found a way.
“Give me some room.” Doctor Hooper cut Amos’s shirt away, then bent over his abdomen. He straightened and laughed. “What’s this surprise you’ve got under your shirt?”
“My secret weapon.” Amos pushed to his elbows. “I’ve seen how those things rip a man’s stomach open. I didn’t want to make it easy for them. The cowardly fool only nicked me. I knocked myself out when I fell to give the soldiers room to shoot. Hit my head on the truck’s bumper.” He held up a thin metal grate he had tied around his midsection.
“Did it knock any sense into you?” Kendra crossed her arms, but the smile on her face belied her attempt at scolding.
“Not much.” He glanced over her shoulder to where Chalice entered the room. “How are you, missy?”
“Great, thanks to you.” Chalice wrapped him in a hug. “I guess we need to go tell the president that his so-called general is dead.”
Colton wrapped his arms around her waist. “In the morning. We’ve done enough today. I’m beginning to wonder whether we’ll ever get married.”
“That day is coming very soon.” She put her hands over his and leaned her head against his chest.
He could stay that way forever.
Gunfire erupted in front of the mall. The dogs’ barks rang through the building, echoing off the walls.
Colton sighed and released Chalice, then raced to the entrance.
“Done.” Sergeant Mason grinned. “A couple of those fast ones thought they’d sneak up on us. Drawn by the firing at the park, no doubt.”
“Thank you.” Colton glanced around the mall. “With Dean gone, I’m not sure what you’d like to take from here.”
“We don’t need half of your supplies like that greedy man wanted. The base pretty much takes care of all our needs. The children need the stuff more.” He scratched his head. “I wouldn’t mind one of them houses to stay in every once in a while. I’d like to get to know Marianne a bit better. Any woman who has gone through what she has, and can still keep a smile on her face is worth spending time with.”
Colton clapped him on the shoulder. “I can’t think of a man I’d rather spend time with my future mother-in-law than you. You’re welcome to any house you want. So are the other soldiers, if they’d like.”
“I’ll spread the word. Some of these fellows weren’t soldiers before this all happened. The General, I mean, Dean, drafted them. They protect him, he would feed them. It worked.” He glanced around them. “I don’t like that crowd of monsters holed up in the canyon. We’ve some napalm I think we could put to good use. Why chance them getting out?”
“That sounds like a perfect plan to me.”
8
“You’re going to do what?” Chalice heard him, but she couldn’t believe what she heard.
“Sergeant Mason had a good point.” Colton tilted his head. “The base will be overrun if those things somehow get out of that canyon. We can dispose of the bunch in one fell swoop.”
“Isn’t that dangerous? Why do you have to go?” She twirled her finger in the condensation left on the tabletop from her drink. Occasionally, Lana Colman, the woman in charge of the kitchen, would use enough fuel to make ice. Usually, when Chalice and the others returned from a successful trip.
Colton shrugged. “I’ll be in an airplane.”
“I’m coming.”
“You need to stay here.” He sat in the chair across from her. “I can see how tired you are. Stay and rest.”
“I can rest when I’m dead, which, once these monsters are gone, might be a long time from now.” If she ever felt safe again, like before the meteors hit unleashing hell, she’d sleep for three days. “Do we even know whether the napalm will work?”
“Why wouldn’t it? Even the undead can burn.” Colton pushed to his feet. “Mychal, Amos, and Eddy want to come, too. Said they’ve had to fight for their lives so many times, they want to watch the things in the canyon die. It’s going to be a crowded flight.”
“When do we leave?”
“Within the hour.” He turned and marched away.
She downed the rest of her soda, and stood. Despite the weariness weighing her down, hope sprouted in her heart. They were getting closer to the end of the plague that wiped out most of humanity. Life might not be the same for years to come; cleanup alone would take a long time, but the children she hoped to have one day might get to experience a life free from the fear of getting ripped apart.
She grabbed her sword from where she had leaned it against a pillar and headed to the armory. It was protocol for them to return their weapons when they returned so George could make sure they were cleaned. She didn’t want to head out, even in an airplane, without a gun.
As she passed the open door to the garden, laughter rang out. She glanced outside.
Faith and Trinity were stabbing sticks into zombies crowded at the fence. “That was a good one!” Faith high-fived the younger girl.
“Get away from there.” Chalice stormed forward and disposed of the two undead at the fence before glaring at the girls. “You know you’re supposed to alert an adult when those things are around. If they had gotten inside, you’d be dead.”
“We’re working.” Faith squared her shoulders. “Same as you. We got rid of three of them before you showed up.”
“Get inside.” Chalice grabbed her arm and pulled her into the building, closing the door behind them. “Go watch the babies.”
“That’s all we ever do.”
“School will be starting soon. Then, you’ll be doing that.”
“That’s worse.” Faith stomped her foot and headed down the hall, Trinity following.
Chalice shook her head and continued to the armory. Colton had chosen not only a pistol, but a long range semi-automatic weapon. “Going to war?”
“We don’t know what’s going to happen once we drop those bombs.�
��
“You think it will release a horde of burning undead?”
“No, but what if some get out or we encounter some on the way? A pistol won’t dispose of any from the air, and I’m not letting any more of those things wander the earth than I need to.” He kissed her cheek. “See you at the front door.”
Chalice chose to stick to a handgun. If those things got out of the canyon, they were all goners anyway. Mom was still at the base helping Rachel and Eric. Chalice would have to go after her, despite the overwhelming odds. Their chances of survival under those circumstances were very slim.
After donning her cleaned leather clothing and attaching a multitude of hand weapons and ammo, she joined her brother and headed for the front of the mall. She put an arm around his shoulders. “I’m glad you’re coming with me. If something happens …”
“Nothing is going to happen.” He tightened his belt. “We’re going to drop some bombs and be with Mom by supper time. Why do you worry so much?” He stared into her eyes. “We’ve made it this long, Chalice. Keep the faith. If you falter, you’re dead.”
“Then I won’t falter. Have you ever had to doubt me in a fight?”
“No. Let’s keep it that way.” He stomped away, leaving her to follow like the younger sibling, instead of the big sister. When had her brother grown up?
*
Mychal worried about his sister. She hadn’t been the same since Hanna died. Neither had he, come to think about it. The death of his little sister left a hole. She’d had more hope for the future than any of them. He knew that’s why Mom had chosen to stay at the base. She couldn’t bear to be at the mall where Hanna had once laughed and played.
Chalice and Mom could live in the pretty houses that chosen, but he was going to enlist in the military. He wouldn’t stop fighting until every last one of the undead lay rotting in a mass grave.
The rest of the group, mostly soldiers, milled around the double front doors. They would all pile into one of the transport trucks and head to the base for a bomber plane. Mychal wouldn’t have minded a military uniform, but in intense fighting situations, his leather was best. Maybe he could get a uniform to wear over his leather.
He jogged with the others to the truck, leaving Colton to converse with Bill about their plans and what might need done at the mall in preparation for moving to the houses when they returned.
“Hey!” Mychal dashed to one of the soldiers. “Any chance I can get a uniform?”
The private eyed him up and down. “You’re dressed better for this than we are.”
“I want to join. I might as well look the part.”
The soldier shrugged. “There’s an extra shirt in the truck. You’ll have to wait for the rest until we get to the base.”
“Done.” Mychal climbed into the back of the truck, waving off Chalice’s curious glance. “We aren’t taking the Hummer. We’re all riding in here.”
She glanced at Colton, who nodded, then joined Mychal in the truck. “What’s with the shirt?”
“I’m joining the military. Might as well start right now.”
She sighed, but stayed silent. Instead, she sat and bent over, staring at her shoes. “You’re a man now, even at seventeen. Do what you want.” She looked up. “Wait. You’re eighteen now. Do you realize we missed your birthday?”
He shrugged. “No one felt like celebrating after Hanna died. Least of all me.” He forced a grin. “When are you and Colton getting married?”
“As soon as this last fight is done.”
*
They pulled into the base the next day. Colton jumped from the back of the truck and marched to the president’s quarters. He might as well tell him his right-hand man was dead.
“Mr. Morgan.” President Balch glanced up from his desk. “I am glad to see you alive and well.”
“Sir, I’m sorry to tell you I can’t say the same about the General.” Colton squared his shoulders. “He tried to take Miss Hart captive and steal our supplies. Sergeant Mason had to shoot him.”
The president exhaled sharply. “That man always did have a screw loose, but he saved my life once. Did he tell you?”
“That he did, but not how.”
“Sit. I’ll tell you why I’ll grieve his death.” He raised a hand to stop Colton’s protest. “I never liked the man, but I am sorry he’s dead.”
He leaned back in his chair as Colton sat in a padded one across from him. “Once we knew there was no escaping the meteors, I was ushered to a safe location, deep under the ground. We took as many of our personnel as we could. Dean Perilla was one of them. A brilliant man with computers, but quite the coward, thus the reason his saving my life meant so much.
“Anyway, once the sun came out, we came here, to this base. There were a few survivors holed up in the buildings, but a lot of those things wandering around, too. Even with an armed escort, we were outnumbered.” He steepled his fingers. “Everyone was given a weapon; knives, sticks, anything that would pierce a man’s skull.”
Colton nodded in understanding.
“After a few days, we thought we had the undead either caged on the other side of the fence, or disposed of. I was taking a simple trip to the port-a-potty when Mr. Perilla was coming out. One of those things can from around the building and grabbed me. Before he could sink his teeth into my neck, Perilla shoved a pike through its head. I made him my general at that moment, thinking him braver than I’d given him credit for.” He gave a sad smile. “Once the men started following his orders, and I found out he wasn’t so brave, it was too late. I couldn’t tell the men he was a fraud and coward, could I?”
“I suppose not.” Colton took a deep breath. “We have plans to napalm the canyon this afternoon, sir.”
“Are you leading the charge?”
He chuckled. “I’m going to leave that up to Sergeant Mason, if you don’t mind. I’m not a military man.”
“But you are a smart one. If the world is full of young men as brave as you, we’re going to be all right.” He stood and offered his hand.
Colton shook his hand. “It’s an honor for you to say that. Once we’ve napalmed the canyon, I’d like a truck to help transport our supplies to a housing development we’re moving to.”
“Take whatever you need. Even men. They know their way back.”
“Thank you.” Colton left and headed for the lab. He wanted to make sure Rachel and Erick had enough of the antidote for the rest of their group.
Marianne rushed toward him, pulling him into a hug. “Is everyone okay?”
“Everyone is fine.” He returned her hug. “The antidote ready?”
She nodded. “At least for what we need. Rachel and Eric are staying on to make enough for the soldiers, then they’ll join us at our new home. The president knows where to find her if they need more.”
“We’re heading out today to take care of those in the canyon,” he told her. “We’ll be in a plane, so we should be safe enough. We’ll return for you when we finish.”
“I’ll pray.” She patted his cheek. “Watch out for my babies. It’s hard being the one left behind.”
“I know, but we’ll be fine.” He leaned into her hand, then turned to go.
It was easy to spout words of comfort, but facing hundreds of the undead was different. They’d do their best to survive, fight with everything in them, but it wasn’t over until they returned safely home without losing anyone.
He jogged to the runway and boarded the bomber along with the others. He chose a seat next to Chalice and buckled himself in. Once upon a time, he’d contemplated joining the Air Force. But now, all he wanted was a quiet, peaceful life with the woman he loved.
Someday. There had to be a someday, right? A day without fear? A day without the undead roaming the land. It was coming. They just had to survive until then.
9
The plane circled the canyon. The undead below craned their necks to watch, if they could even see. Sometimes, Chalice thought maybe they were drawn by
sound and smell, with limited sight. Still, the scene below was horrifying enough to chill anyone’s blood.
“Get ready, folks. I’m dropping the bomb.” Sergeant Mason pressed buttons on the console. “You’re going to see some fireworks.”
A grinding noise came from the belly of the plane, then a whistling. Chalice stared out the window. The bomb fell and exploded, rocking the plane and spraying everything on the ground with fire. Still the undead shuffled until their bodies would no longer hold them. She watched until the canyon was nothing more than a speck.
“Circle back around,” Colton said.
The plane turned. “Holy Mary, Mother of God.” Sergeant Mason’s hoarse words drew Chalice’s attention to the front of the plane.
The explosion had blown out a portion of the constructed canyon wall. While most of the undead had burned to ashes, there were enough of them spilling through the opening to overrun the base once they reached it.
“Mom.” She met Mychal’s worried gaze. “We’ve got to get those at the base out of there.”
“Let’s fly like the wind.” Mason banked hard to the right.
“How long do you think we have?” Chalice grabbed Colton’s arm.
He shrugged. “A couple of hours?”
“If that,” Mason said. “Then, we’ll incinerate the base and rid the world of those bastards once and for all. That mall of yours will make a good enough military base for the time being.”
Half an hour later, they landed, the group racing for the buildings. “Get every plane and truck ready to go,” Mason ordered. “Mass evacuation.”
Soldiers scattered like mice, some running into the buildings, others for the vehicles. “We’ve drilled for a situation like this,” Mason said. “They know what to do. They can clear this place of everything essential within an hour. Get your people. I’ll tend to the president.”
Chalice burst into the room where she had fought for her life. Had that really been less than a week ago? Her mother sat in a chair reading a tattered paperback.
“A horde of undead is headed this way,” Chalice blurted out. “We’ve got to go. This place will be overrun in less than two hours.”
The Zombie Awakening (Complete 6 Volume Series, plus prologue) Page 39