The girl looks at her for a second. “Kate?” She looks at John, and the tension on her face relaxes. “John, is that you?!” She grabs ahold of him and hugs him.
John looks at Kate, confused and unsure what to say. The girl abruptly releases him once she must have realized the awkward length of time it was. She steps back and smiles at Kate.
“Sorry, it’s Amanda . . . from the Zoo. And sorry for the overzealous hug.” She looks slightly away obviously to avoid eye contact.
Kate grabs John’s hand while sidling up to him.
“Not at all, Amanda, and it’s nice to see you as well. So what’s goin’ on around here?” John looks around the room.
Amanda’s face goes from happy to sad instantly. “Everyone’s panicking, and no one knows what to do. Someone went out to look for help and came back saying he ran into, and I quote, ‘a fucking zombie-looking mother fucker.’ He said it tried to attack him, but he was able to get away.”
John looks at Kate and sees that she appears as horrified as he feels at the thought of Infected making it so deep into the Ark already.
He tries to keep the ramifications of the situation from creeping deeper into his mind as he attempts to redirect his thought pattern toward something more productive. He looks at Amanda with determination in his eyes. “Amanda, I need you and a few others to get all the children and elderly into their apartments and lock them down. Then tell every able man, woman, or teenager, to meet in the common area. They must have already had weapons training and be in stable condition and not freaking out.”
Amanda looks around the room, searching for someone. “Evgeni was helping me earlier, but now I can’t find him.” She looks at John. “But don’t worry, I’ll find him and a few others; you can count on us to get everyone safe and locked down.” She looks around the room and then smiles. “Oh, wait. Here he comes right now.”
Evgeni walks up and freezes when he looks at Ena.
Ena smiles at him and reaches out her hand. “Long time, old friend. Nice to see you.”
Evgeni’s mouth gapes for a second before he responds. “I . . . it’s, ah, nice to see you as well. How . . . why have you revealed yourselves?”
“It’s okay, Evgeni; we no longer have to hide anymore.”
Evgeni looks at John and then at Ena, but doesn’t say another word.
John’s brow furrows as he glances between Evgeni and Ena. “I take it you two know each other?”
Ena looks at John and smiles. “Something like that.” She looks at Evgeni and Amanda. “Now I think you two need to get going. Time is of the essence.”
Evgeni and Amanda both glance at each other before taking off through the crowd and soon disappearing.
John decides not to waste anymore time trying to figure out what just happened before turning around to everyone standing behind him. “Everyone split up into pairs and do exactly what I just told Amanda. Is there anyone who didn’t hear me?”
Everyone shakes their head while glancing at each other. They discuss a quick plan to meet back in one hour, and once enough people are gathered they’ll head to the armory.
Kate looks at her husband. “You need to make an announcement, John . . . calm these people down.”
He glances at her and then looks around the room and exhales loudly. He then finds a table in the center of the room and jumps on top of it and yells at the top of his lungs, trying to get everyone’s attention, but only a handful of people stop and look up at him.
A loud whistle coming from behind him catches him by surprise. Spinning around on the table and almost losing his balance, he sees his wife with two fingers in her mouth. She whistles again, and almost everyone in the room stops and looks around.
John smiles at Kate and then looks at the crowd and says loudly, “People, please calm down . . . panicking is just going to make things worse. Now, I need all children and the elderly to make their way to their housing. All able men, women, or teenagers with prior weapons training, please gather back here in an hour, but in the meantime, please help out where you can and just make sure you’re back here after residential lockdown. Thank you all for your cooperation, and try not to panic. Thanks.” He hops off the table and people start moving about, but this time in a more orderly fashion.
He walks back over to the group and smiles when he sees the look on his wife’s face. “How was that?”
She grabs his face and then kisses him softly on the lips. “Well done, my knight.” She kisses him again.
Maggie clears her throat. “Hey, lovebirds. Pete and I will clear the daycare area and start from there and work our way back. But first I need to see my parents and family.” She looks at Peter and then at Kate and John.
They both look serious when they turn toward Ena, Nye, and Tye, all standing in a row waiting patiently. They agree that the three of them will stay together and help out where they can.
Before they run off, John asks them again if they will tell him who they are, but again, they respond by saying that they don’t have enough time and will tell them later. John nods his head and then looks at his wife right as they vanish into the crowd.
They kiss one more time before taking off with Maggie and Peter and immersing themselves into the crowd. They follow the crowd for a while until they are able to break away and make their way to a separate part of the housing area to where their family is.
Once they get to their housing, both John and Maggie find their family and they all embrace for a while. The reunion is forced to end early as soon as someone reminds the group of what they have to do.
They say their reluctant goodbyes before they leave the housing area, and Maggie and Peter split off. Kate stays with John as they move through the housing area trying to spread the word to as many uninformed people that are still left, but it seems to both of them that the word has already spread.
After an hour, they return to the common area where a group has gathered and are waiting anxiously for directions.
John and Kate make their way back to the same table as before, and John hops up again. Once the crowd chatter subsides and he gets their attention, he explains that they will be heading to the armory, where everyone will be armed. He tells them that seventy-five percent of them will be heading out not only in search of Infected, but to attempt to close the open blast door. The rest will head back to this area and protect the citizens.
The crowd chatter starts up again when he jumps off the table and rejoins his wife and the rest of the group.
John takes his wife’s hand as they move through the crowd toward the way they came and stop at the door so he can get his group ready.
John walks through the door, stops in the hallway, and listens once everyone behind him quiets down.
He waits and listens for anything that sounds out of the ordinary, but soon realizes everything sounds out of the ordinary since he doesn’t know what ordinary is. He sticks his neck out, while pointing his ears toward the strange sound coming from down the hall.
When a thud forces John to jump back, creating a ripple effect with some people standing behind, Peter steps up and gets next to John. “You mind if I take point while you just feed me directions?”
“By all means, Pete.” He holds up his hand to show the way, while taking a step back.
“Alright. But before we head out, we need a couple armed people to take up the rear once the group goes by.”
“We can do that,” Ena says.
Peter looks at Ena and then at John. “We need someone armed.”
“Oh, don’t worry, they’re armed.” He looks at Ena. “You’re on . . . and thank you.” John nods to her, then looks at Peter. “Let’s roll.”
Peter gives him a quick nod, and then moves out while pointing his rifle down the hall. He moves swiftly, while systematically clearing all doorways and out-coves along the way.
He continues along the corridor, but stops when he gets to a corner and puts up his fist, displaying the hold sign. The group bumps i
nto each other trying to stop, and that creates a loud noise. Peter waves his hand in a downward motion, trying to get everyone to quiet down while he continues to peer around the corner.
“Contact,” Peter whispers to John and then flicks the safety off on his rifle. He crouches down, aims around the corner, and sees multiple Infected heading right for them. “On me.” He stands up and then steps out into the hallway with both John and Maggie following.
Peter doesn’t wait for them to get into position before pulling the trigger and firing at the oncoming Infected, who are getting close. They screech and scream with every pull of the trigger and start to move in a more aggressive manner as some start to run.
John and Maggie soon fire their rifles at the Incipient sprinting toward them. The gunfire is deafening and painful with every shot, but the bodies slowly begin to fall.
Peter yells out for them to hold their fire, and then slowly walks forward once clear. He moves closer to the pile of bodies, pulls out his knife, and plunges it into the back of the head still attached to just a torso that was still crawling.
He pulls out the blade, wipes it off, and then motions for them to move forward. They continue on to the armory without running into any more Infected.
Once at the armory, they instruct everyone to gather as much ammo as possible after finding the rifle or handgun that they are most comfortable with. He then tells them to put on bulletproof vests, which raises everyone’s curiosity. So John proceeds to explain the entire situation about not only the Infected, but the military has infiltrated the Ark, as well.
Everyone in the room gets quiet.
John walks into the center of the room surrounded on all sides by both men and women, with most looking like they just got the wind knocked out of them. “That’s right, people. Open blast door, and we don’t know if more of those things are pouring in this place every second that goes by. But, people, I don’t need to tell you how serious this is, and that each and everyone of us will be not only fighting for our home . . . but for our family and friends’ lives that are depending on us to protect them . . . because they can’t protect themselves.” He walks around the room, not making eye contact with anyone in particular. “I’ve never been a man of violence, nor do I condone anyone who is . . . but when it comes to defending your family and home . . . well, then, I say, protect the helpless with every breath still left in our bodies, as it is our obligation and our duty to defend those we love . . . and we’ll die doing so if need be!”
People around the room yell in agreement while raising their weapons as John prances around the room, getting everyone fired up.
“Alright! I want anyone younger than twenty-one, along with a few adults with the least amount of training, to head back to housing and set up defensive positions starting with the common area and then any and all access points that lead to the halls.”
Some of the younger adults look let down about having to go back, but most look relieved. After a few of the dads have to talk their sons into not being able to come with, they soon agree and move out toward housing.
The rest of the group finishes gearing up as John and Peter discuss their makeshift plan that consists of numerous groups taking multiple levels that lead to the main ramp and clearing them one by one. It’s soon decided that groups of six or seven people will start at the lowest possible ramp access level and work their way up. They try to keep the groups an equal male to female ratio, along with matching weaknesses and strengths whenever possible.
Once each group is assigned a level, they are sent out, starting with the lowest level first.
John’s group gets the last level since they are the last ones, and follow closely behind the last group that exits the room.
Suddenly, gunshots can be heard coming from up ahead, sending a panic down the line. The gunfire stops no sooner then it began and is instantly followed by screams and yelling and more panic.
Kate drops John’s hand and takes off, forcing John to yell out for her to wait, but he knows it’s no use and quickly follows behind.
“Move! Outta my way!” Kate yells as she pushes her way through the clogged hallway.
John stumbles for a second and loses sight of Kate within the commotion. He claws his way to his feet and starts getting more aggressive with how he moves past everyone. He eventually finds his way to Kate, who is kneeling in front of a body laid out in front of multiple other victims while people argue and clutch at each other.
“What the hell happened?” Kate doesn’t wait for a response and continues to work on the body while others start to move in and help as well.
Someone explains that a couple of Infected came out of nowhere and the front group panicked and mostly shot each other trying to kill the beasts.
John drops his head and starts to say something, but Kate jumps up, covered in blood. “We need to get these people to medical.” She turns to the guys behind him. “Go back to the armory and check the back where the first aid station is; there should be a few stretchers. Go.” She turns back to her husband right after the men take off. “I have to go back with the medical staff. I can’t go with you.” She bends down and starts working on the person while she yells out commands to those helping.
John bends down next to her. “I’m not leaving you again. That’s not going to happen; I’ll come with you.”
“Not going to happen, John. You need to go ahead with the plan because those people need you, just like these people need me. Now, go . . . now!” She moves around the room doing triage on each person while telling the helpers what to do.
John stands there while the stretchers pass by and they load the people up.
Both Maggie and Peter say, “let’s go,” but John can’t leave. He doesn’t want to leave his wife’s side ever again, but knows she’ll make him do it, no matter what excuse he comes up with.
The men walk by with the stretchers followed closely by Kate, who stops and gives him a quick kiss on the lips. “I love you, John, and I know I’ll see you soon. But take care of our home first.”
She takes off before he has the chance to say he loves her, and he regrets it as soon as she’s out of sight.
All the groups move out, leaving John, Maggie, Peter, Ena, Nye, and Tye behind. They confirm their plan before moving out.
Chapter 31
Dave and Martin both attempt to yell out commands to whoever is around them, but the gunfire overpowers every word that comes out of their mouths. Bullets pepper the surrounding cars, sending people ducking for cover with every glass-shattering explosion that disintegrates any window still left intact.
It seems like for every new person that shows up to join the fight, someone else gets taken out by either gunfire or the Infected in the area.
Dave empties another clip and ducks behind a car to reload. He reaches for another clip on his vest, but doesn’t feel any left. He looks around on the ground at all the dead bodies and is shocked by the amount of blood that seems to cover everything.
He looks up at his brother firing his rifle up the tunnel at their attackers, looking like a man possessed.
Martin stands next to him firing his weapon with equal intensity and fierceness as his brother, yet not looking nearly as psychotic.
Dave’s eyes almost close from pure exhaustion as soon as he finishes sliding down the car and onto his butt. His head jerk wakes him from a micro nap, and his eyes attempt to adjust.
Suddenly, something catches the corner of his eye and alerts him to the oncoming Incipient running straight for them. He pulls out his pistol while yelling out for them to move, but they don’t hear him over the gunfire, and an Infected launches itself onto Martin, taking out both him and Jason.
Dave is able to move out of the way right before they collapse to the ground with the Infected on top. Von attempts to help, but multiple undead jump on him and take him out.
Dave aims his gun at the beast on top, but quickly loses the clean shot. He turns to aim at the other Incipient head
ing for them, but one is on top of him before he knows it and knocks the gun out of his hand. He instantly flips the creature onto its back, but then another leaps on him and bites onto his vest as they topple to the ground. He pushes off the ground torquing his body while spinning in mid-air with the creature on his back, slams on top of it, forcing it to release.
He leaps for his gun just as two more undead jump on him right when he reaches it. He’s able to elbow one, while the other snaps its jaw right next to his head.
Just as he goes for his knife, the Infected is kicked from his back followed by close-range gunfire. He looks up to see Peter standing over him for a brief second before he ducks for cover as soon as the gunfire spackles their backdrop.
Peter waits for it to stop raining concrete before he raises his head and looks at Dave. “Are you hurt?”
“No. Check on my brother!” Dave looks around and sees a pile of bodies right where his brother was. He and Peter crawl on hands and knees over to the pile of at least three dead bodies. He rips them away from where his brother must be, while Peter puts a blade in their foreheads but stops on the last one.
Dave looks at Jason lying motionless but with eyes closed. He leans over and pinches his brother’s nose, then blows a breath into his brother’s lungs, raising them up just as he jolts alive with a cough while gasping for air.
He looks at Peter, who’s moving away from the body that he soon recognizes as Martin’s, not moving, and with his throat ripped out. Peter slides over to them and then looks behind them.
Dave looks in the same direction and sees Maggie, John, and the strange- looking people in what appears to be some kind of glass looking bubble. They’re banging on it, obviously trying to get to them, but whatever they’re in won’t let them.
Bullets spark off the top that only makes some inside duck down. Dave attempts to adjust his eyes to better see what he’s looking at, when Peter grabs his vest.
“We need to displace. Help me with your brother!” Peter yells in his face and then grabs Jason and starts pulling him toward the group. Dave gets up and then helps drag his brother across the floor while trying to stay low.
The Ark Series (Book 3): The Ark of Alliance Page 16