Once we were done, I kissed Quinn, then pulled the truck back onto I-80. Ben snored behind me. By the time he awoke, the truck was parked on the shoulder and pointed east, the sun directly overhead. We placed him in the driver’s seat and handcuffed his hands to the steering wheel.
“What the…?” He screamed and jerked at the cuffs, attempting to free himself.
I opened the driver’s side door. “This is as far as I go.”
Ben pulled at the cuffs again. “What do you think this is going to accomplish? I don’t know Liet very well, but I’m sure he’ll come after you.”
“No, he won’t. He doesn’t know where to look for me.”
“He’s going to kill me for letting you go. He specifically told me to never let you out of my sight.”
I shook my head. “You’ll be fine. Just deliver the fuel. Nothing will happen to you.”
“You know that’s not true. You know he’ll torture me to find out where you are.”
“Well, luckily for you, you have plausible deniability. He knows who he’s dealing with. You’ll be fine.”
“How do you know that?”
I shrugged and closed the door. The window rolled down and I turned. Ben poked his head out.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Well, I’d suggest not lingering for long. There are a few zombies roaming around over here.” I jumped into the Wrangler, and we waited for Ben to head down the highway before turning around and driving west.
CHAPTER 24
By the time we made it back to the ranch, the radio had been blaring with obscenities from Liet for fifteen minutes. I chuckled to myself as I sat and picked up the hand mic.
“I’m sorry, Liet, you’re not coming in too clear. Can you please repeat that last thing you said?”
“I’ll rip your head off the next time I see you. You fu—”
I turned the radio off. “We’ll give him a couple hours to calm down.”
We went to the living room where Bill, Kyle, and a few others gathered. I sat on the couch, and Quinn stood in front of the fireplace. He placed his hands on his hips.
“We have a mission, and I think it’s time we attacked North Platte.” He cleared his throat. “The original plan was to have simultaneous attacks in both Nebraska and Florida, but that’s impossible to accomplish. There’s no way to communicate with Krista’s contact down there, and the worker’s don’t have much time left. If we can take control of the city, we can barter with The Families and eventually topple them. Here’s the plan.”
***
We were up the next morning before the sun. We traveled in four vehicles, three of which carried four passengers each and headed to North Platte.
The fourth car was occupied by Bill and Kyle, and they were going to Florida to let Tanya know what was happening. We didn’t want her to hear about the uprising and think that was the sign for her to attack.
The temporary chain-link fence extended almost seventy miles both north and south from North Platte, and we were going to enter the area on the far end. It was pathetic, really, since crews worked twenty-four hours a day and they hadn’t made it past the towns of McCook and Thedford. I suspected since Liet was such a control freak there would be guards at both areas. I was sure he didn’t want anyone sneaking into North Platte without him knowing about it. I assumed if anyone was dumb enough to sneak out, they let them go.
Once we got past the wall, though, the real challenge would start. North Platte was surrounded by another chain-link fence, guard towers, and land mines. The majority of the towers were empty because Liet didn’t have the soldiers to fill them, and the mine fields were relatively new. After the zombie incident in town and the lack of soldiers to fill the towers, Liet put the fields in. Only he and a few of the workers knew exactly where the mines were. I hadn’t even known they’d existed until I’d heard some of the female soldiers talking about it while I was chained up. It made our plan more dangerous, but not impossible.
It took us two hours to make it to Casper. From there, we traveled on I-25 to US 20 and drove to Valentine, which took another five hours. It was a straight shot south from Valentine to Thedford to North Platte, and it only took two hours, but we had to be cautious. We were going to hit the city near mid-afternoon, and that meant we’d be very conspicuous. The plan was to park a few miles outside the city and walk in. A few zombies lurched around on the road, but they’d be easy to take care of. Out of all the obstacles we were going to face on that trip, the roaming zombies were the least of my worries.
We pulled over a few miles outside of Thedford and scanned the area. Through the binoculars, I saw a crew of five workers and two guards. I handed the glasses to Quinn.
“We’ll need to get over there quietly,” I whispered. “The guards have radios, and we don’t need them spoiling our surprise party.”
Quinn lowered the binoculars. “One of us should approach head-on while the others sneak around the back. I’m sure they won’t call in a lone straggler, and that will keep their attention so the others can get into position.”
I nodded. “Okay. Who’s going to walk right up to them?”
“Anyone but you.”
“You know, it might be a better plan if it is me. I know most of the guards, and they probably know what Liet did to me. It might be enough of a surprise for me to show up that it’ll take them off guard.”
“Or they might have been instructed to shoot you on sight.”
I scoffed. “By the time I’m close enough for them to recognize me, it’ll be too late. At least it better be. I expect you to quickly get yourself into position.” Without waiting for a response, I pulled the handkerchief out of Quinn’s back pocket and covered my face. Running, I headed toward the guards and workers.
I was winded by the time I made it to them, and I placed my hands on my knees to catch my breath. I played up my tiredness a little, hoping the guards wouldn’t see me as a threat. They kept their guns on me, and the workers slowed their work to see what was going on.
“What are you doing here?” one of the guards asked.
I pulled the handkerchief off my face. “I was…I was being pursued.”
The guard lowered his weapon and squinted. “Krista? Is that you?”
I took my chance and stomped down on the barrel of the gun. Yeah, the guy was dumb enough to walk right up to me. The weapon clattered onto the ground, and the other soldier readied to fire. I pulled my gun out of the holster and pointed it at the guard’s head.
“I’d drop it if I were you.”
With hesitation, he set it on the ground and then put his hands up. The workers stared at me wide-eyed. If they had any intentions of harming me, they were quickly diffused as the rest of the caravan pulled up behind them. They were completely surrounded. Quinn jumped out of the vehicle before he bound the guards’ hands with some rope.
“That was easy,” he commented.
I placed my hands on my hips. “Unfortunately, getting into North Platte won’t be.”
I watched as the workers dropped their tools and approached the group.
“What’s going on?” one of them asked. “Are you going to liberate the city?”
I stared at him for a moment. “That’s the plan.”
“What can we do? We want to help.”
I glanced at Quinn, then turned back to the man. “Some of these guys here will go with you. Take the guards and head back into the city. Gather as many people as you can and tell them to meet you at the storage shed. We’ll have weapons waiting for you.”
The workers nodded enthusiastically and jumped into the trucks. Once they were out of sight, we climbed into our vehicles and continued south. I hoped they’d be smart enough to gag the soldiers and keep them tied up in the truck while they went through the inspection line like normal. If they weren’t, it was going to make our job that much harder. I was sure they were that smart. They had to be. We had enough to worry about with the land mines.
Acc
ording to the stories, land mines were scattered all around town. Where they’d gotten them and how many there were, I didn’t know. We had to be careful. We pulled our Jeeps off the road and continued south at a snails pace. One of the men sat on the hood and poked the terrain in front of him with a stick, looking for mines. We hadn’t traveled very far when the man signaled for us to stop. Quinn and I were in the Jeep behind him, and I poked my head out the window.
“Find something?” I called.
The response came in the form of a cloud of dust and rocks that exploded from the ground. I’d never seen a mine explode, so I didn’t know if that was normal. I stared out the windshield, waiting for something—anything—to happen. After a few seconds, the dust settled. I opened my car door, surprised there hadn’t been a loud bang that would indicate explosives. Cautiously, I tiptoed to the front vehicle, my gun in hand. As I rounded the back of the Jeep, a moan resounded from the front of the car. A zombie clawed furiously at the man on top of the hood, and I noticed the gaping hole in the ground with a board attached to a spring. I raised my gun. My first shot hit the creature in the chest. It knocked it away so the man could get away, then I placed a round in its skull. I was about to ask the man if he was all right when the ground rumbled.
Hands and heads poked through the soft earth, and I looked around in horror. I grabbed the man by the arm and jerked him to his feet.
“Get in the Jeep!” I ran back to my vehicle and climbed into the passenger seat.
Bodies bounced out of the ground as the springs were activated. It literally rained corpses. Several of them hit the Jeep with the vast majority landing back in the field. As soon as they could get on their feet, we were going to be surrounded by hundreds of zombies. The Jeep in front took off like a rocket, and Quinn followed behind them. Several creatures smashed into the side of the vehicle and were crushed under the tires. It only took us a few minutes to outrun them, but no one drew an easy breath until the zombies were spots on the horizon.
“Oh, my god,” I breathed. “He buried zombies instead of mines.”
“Well,” Quinn commented, “it’d definitely deter someone from approaching on foot.”
I chuckled, trying to relieve the stress that tensed my muscles. I was just beginning to calm down when four small bangs resounded and Quinn slammed on the brakes, cursing under his breath. I looked out the windshield as the front Jeep skidded to a crooked stop. All of the tires were flat. How did that happen? I looked out my window at the ground. Barely visible under the dirt, twinkling like glitter in the sun, was buried razor wire. I looked at Quinn.
“And that would deter anyone from approaching in a vehicle.”
The people from the first Jeep piled into the back of Quinn’s. We crept across the razor wire. We made it through, but had to change two of the tires. Thank goodness Liet was shorthanded. If he had guards in the tower, we would have been dead in the zombie field. If they really wanted to toy with us, they could’ve shot us while we changed the tires.
“What else do you think he has in store for us?”
“I don’t want to know,” Quinn replied.
The caravan drove for thirty minutes before we encountered Liet’s next obstacle. The field before us was strewn with pike fences, razor-wire fences, and zombies tied to stakes. We stopped on top of a hill and surveyed the area.
“Well, I can tell you right now we’re never going to get the Jeeps through there.” Quinn sighed with exasperation.
“Then we hoof it,” I said. “We didn’t come this far to turn back now.” I turned to the others. “Grab as much ammo as you can carry, and make sure you have something to chop the zombies’ heads off.” I headed to the trunk of the vehicle to grab supplies.
As I loaded extra magazines into my belt, someone gently touched my arm. I looked at the man who’d been on top the Jeep.
“I’m afraid I’m not going to make it to North Platte with you,” he said softly.
I placed my hands on my hips. “Why?”
He held up his arm and showed me the bite wound. I sighed and looked at him with sympathy. My hands fell from my waist. I opened my mouth to speak, but I didn’t know what to say.
“I’m glad I could make it this far,” the man said. “Good luck.”
Before I could speak, he headed over the hill. I felt nauseous when I heard the gun shot, but it was the best way for him to go. I gave him a moment of silence, and in my mind, thanked him for his sacrifice. I took a deep breath and focused on what lay ahead. We still had a job to do. I finished loading up with supplies.
We stood at the top of the hill as a group and looked down at the obstacle. We turned to each other, nodding our readiness, and headed into the field. The first things at the bottom of the hill were pikes set together in an X-shape with barbed wired running between the Xs. They were too close together to step over or slide under, so we had to cut them. Zombies were tied with leashes right behind the wire, and they strained to get at us. Their moans reached deafening levels. We cleared a spot, and Quinn got to work cutting the wire. After he finished, we moved through the fence one at a time. Those who went through first took care of the next wave of creatures, taking down as many of the undead as they could.
The next level of the field was a ditch filled with muddy water. More zombies were tied to stakes, but since the ground was so soft, some of them pulled them out and moved toward us. We gathered into a group, our backs to each other, and moved through the water as a circle. We fired as the walking dead came near us, trying to conserve as much ammo as possible. Someone behind me screamed, and I glanced over my shoulder. A zombie latched on to her thigh, and blood soaked through her jeans. She pounded on the creature with the butt of her gun, but it didn’t let go. I turned to fire, but the group kept moving, pushing my arms up and out of the way.
“She’s gone,” someone shouted. “Keep moving.”
I turned to face the next onslaught of undead. I fired until my magazine ran dry. I went to grab another, but my belt was empty. I holstered the gun and flipped out my arm swords. Several others ditched their guns and grabbed their blades. The final part of the field was razor wire stretched taught over thorn bushes. Zombies were strapped in laying positions under the wire. They reached for us, slicing their arms to shreds on the barbs. We stopped and surveyed the area.
“We’ll have to use them as stepping stones,” Quinn said.
My heart leapt into my throat. I wasn’t about to step on a zombie. “What?”
“We kill them first, then we use them as stepping stones. If we go one at a time, we’ll be fine.”
He stepped onto the chest of the creature closest to him and whacked off its head. Unsteadily, he went to the next and repeated. I followed him, watching my footing and the creatures next to me. One of them grabbed my ankle, almost throwing me off balance and into the razors, but I steadied myself. I chopped off the hand, and then continued on.
We made it through the field and up a small hill. I collapsed onto the ground, panting. I thought we’d be in North Platte by noon, but after running the gauntlet, it was early evening.
“Maybe we should camp here for the night. Finish the siege in the morning.”
Quinn lay next to me and scanned the area with the binoculars. After he was done, he handed them to me. I rolled over and put them up to my eyes, scanning the fence and guard towers. My arms were so tired they shook under the weight of the glasses. Nothing. We’d be able to get into the city undetected. From there we had to make it to the storage yard, get the guns, and hand them out to the workers. Easy.
“Looks like fortune is on our side,” I whispered.
Quinn smiled. “It’s about time.”
“You remember which storage shed I told you the weapons were in, right?”
He nodded.
“Okay. See you soon.” I gave Quinn a quick kiss before heading into the city.
I cautiously walked down the street, but I didn’t try to hide. No one knew I was there, so I wasn’t e
xpecting to get caught. I walked right into the courthouse without any problems. Outside of Liet’s door, I pulled my gun out of the holster. What good was it going to do me? I had no bullets. Granted, he didn’t know that. Hopefully the threat alone would be enough to get Liet to do what I wanted. I hesitated for a moment, then kicked the door open. He sat behind his desk and jumped at the sound. He reached for his weapon.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
His hand froze in midair. “What are you doing here?”
“Something that should have been done a long time ago.” I motioned with my gun for him to put his hands up.
He scowled. “What are you going to do? Take over the city? You think your compassion is going to get the wall built faster?”
I shook my head. “It’s not about the wall. It’s about taking back what’s ours.”
Liet scoffed. “You can’t kill them all. There are too many. You start hunting zombies and you’re going to lead a lot of people to their deaths.”
“That’s what they want you to believe.” I stepped around the desk and grabbed the gun out of his belt. I placed it in my waistband and motioned for him to move.
He stood from his chair and walked toward the door, his hands raised. I followed him, smiling to myself. I didn’t think it would work, but it had! I was celebrating in my mind when someone slammed into me from the back and jerked on my hair and clawed at my face. I grabbed the person by the back of the head and flipped them over my shoulder. A woman I didn’t recognize landed in front of me. Angry, I pointed the gun at her. I couldn’t have shot her, but they didn’t need to know that. However, the slight hesitation on my part was enough. Liet took the advantage and kicked the gun out of my hand before punching me in the face.
Life After The Undead (Book 1) Page 23