A gunshot went off to his rear, his ears ringing as the zombie gripping his arm flung backwards, skull spraying gore over those pushing forward to take his place. Another shot hit the one in front of him and he felt a gush of wind by his scalp as the bullet passed by. If she was off by even an inch—
He had room to bring his axe around and he whacked the zombie on the left just above his left temple, embedding the handaxe once more. It was too late to worry about gunfire, so he brought up his AR-15 and pulled the trigger, not really aiming. The answering fire on his left told him that Rosilynn had decided to do the same. He hit most of them in the torso, or shoulders, doing nothing but backing them up a few steps, but he was also taking steps backwards so that he was shoulder to shoulder with Mykala. When he was no longer worried that she’d shoot him by accident, he began focusing his aim, rather than shooting out of panic. Within twenty seconds, all but one was lying on the ground in a horrific mass of flesh and bone.
The blue shirted creature that Mykala had identified as Renny was still apparently on his feet and stumbling towards the front grill of the Humvee. “Are you sure that’s him?” he inquired with concern, taking in the pale Hispanic male and the iPod hooked to his waist. He could hear music over the dragging earbuds, but couldn’t quite make out what it was.
The man had been shot in the throat and had a large chuck of flesh missing on the left side of his neck. Head lolling to the side, the creature glanced their way and almost looked like he began to smile. Bits of flesh showed through a large rip in the man’s pants, and the leg drug almost like it was doing nothing more than holding him up, not really functioning.
“Wait!” Mykala suddenly screamed, making Rosilynn pause as she prepared to kill the walker with her upraised sword. She walked around him and stood within ten paces of the approaching monster. Her hand appeared to tremble and he was sure she was about to drop the gun it was holding.
He tensed, ready to fire if needed, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from acting until he absolutely he had to. “Mykala? We don’t have time—,” he began.
Her arm rose, steadied, and a last gunshot nailed Renny in the right eye, sending him to the asphalt with an unremarkable thud. “Yes, it was Renny. Hard to mistake the man that tried to rape me. He got distracted, went to handle a newcomer that had just been caught, otherwise he would have. If Robert hadn’t shown up when he did—,” she trailed off, tears streaming down her face.
Stepping forward, he embraced her, hand reaching down and taking the gun from her lax grip. “Okay, okay. I believe you. He can’t hurt you anymore. You took care of it.”
Rosilynn’s movement drew his attention and he turned his head, a hand stroking Mykala’s long black hair, and watched as she lifted her phone to her ear. “Hey, Joseph. No, listen. The man we thought was leading the attack, he’s dead. No, I don’t know who’s attacking the wall, maybe some of his people. Okay. We are a mile out. No, Todd doesn’t think that’s wise. Have Matt at the main compound ready to receive us in case we need help getting inside. We’ll think of something,” she finished, eyes flashing his way as she ended the call. “You want to try and hike in from here?”
He shook his head. “The maintenance roads that the construction crews used, they are a bit overgrown, but the trees haven’t begun to rise yet. We can probably make it, get to Compound 2, and take the tunnel from there.”
Rosilynn was silent as she analyzed what he was saying, lips pursed. “You know, I have no clue where that is. I wasn’t here when you and Sean began the construction phase.”
“It’s okay, it’s only a mile further up the road. If we have to, I’ll walk beside the Humvee and try to find it on foot, you can follow after,” he offered, breaking away from Mykala and trying to meet her gaze. “You going to be all right? You’re pretty handy with that gun, probably saved my life. We could use you for this. And it’s not like I can just leave you behind if you aren’t. More of the undead could be heading straight for us right now.”
The younger woman nodded her head. “I just need a moment.”
“All right, just take it in the back of the Humvee okay? We need to get moving,” he said as he gripped her shoulders lightly, then moved to climb back into their vehicle.
“I don’t understand what’s going on,” Rosilynn admitted, as she slid into the driver’s seat. “Could we be wrong? Could the cameras going off just be a glitch? Is there even an attack happening?”
Shaking his head, he kept silent. He didn’t have answers for her and she knew it. All he could do was speculate and until he knew more, that could be just as dangerous as flying blind.
Rosilynn hit the gas, the Humvee bouncing over the corpses of undead littering the road, and began moving forward once more. There wasn’t enough room to go around and when it came to that group of assholes, who really cared anyways, right?
Chapter 14
Uninvited
Joseph
Compound 1
He glanced up at the tower that lorded over the compound and swore under his breath. Pushing the button in his ear, he opened his com channel. “Casey, Roxanne, what’s your twenty? Why is no one up in that tower?”
The rest of the group was fanning out along the southern wall as instructed and none of them seemed to notice that he’d come to a stop just outside the tunnel entrance. The call from Rosilynn already put him on edge and he was getting a sinking feeling that something terrible was about to happen.
“Casey, Roxy? Where the hell are you?” he asked again.
Now heads were turning. The others were linked into the same frequency and the urgency in his voice was alerting them to sudden danger.
“There’s no one up there,” Nick’s voice informed him, the youth standing on the wall, hand blocking the sun as he peered up at the tower. “I do see a weapon standing up though, think it’s Casey’s.”
The stoner was a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them. He wouldn’t go anywhere without his weapon; especially with what was attached to it. “Okay, look alive people. Something’s up.”
Gunfire erupted from the direction of the fuel tankers and the other side of the hangar, making him jerk with surprise. Raising his rifle, he took a hesitant move forward but froze when he felt the barrel of a gun press to the back of his skull.
“Why don’t you just stay right there and watch the show?” a husky voice purred, making his blood turn cold. He recognized that voice, and though his entire soul knew that it was impossible for the man to be standing behind him, he knew for absolute certainty who it was; Sean.
Fighting the urge to resist, he watched helplessly as the firefight ensued. People were scrambling down the wall, fighting to get to cover. Hooper got hit in the shoulder, propelling him back over the wall and out of sight. Valerie screamed in horror, her weapon forgotten. As she turned to find her husband, she took a shot to the side of the head, then tilted over the side after him.
Sabrina and Alicia had managed to get down and take a covered position behind the remaining Humvee, trying to fire at their attackers, but unable to concentrate on any one position. Whoever was attacking them hadn’t broken from cover yet and seemed content to keep it that way.
Manny was in the process of running down the ramp when a bullet tore into his right leg, pitching him to the ground. Tommy had been scrambling by and slipped, landing on his ass and narrowly missing a shot that tore into the wall where his head had been. The eleven-year-old screamed in terror and threw his hands up, trying to cover his head, but it would do little to deter a bullet if it came to that.
“Sean, you need to stop this. Those are just kids,” he spoke calmly, trying not to let his fear override his senses.
“Then you should have left them back at the other compound. They’re fair game,” the man growled.
Anger swelled in his chest. “Come on man, this isn’t you. You’re not a cold-blooded murderer. Stop this and we’ll talk.”
“The time for talking has passed. I told you wha
t would happen if you came looking for me. Monica and her group are in Washington right now. I’ve got eyes on them, so don’t dare try to deny it. You people couldn’t leave well-enough alone,” Sean told him passively, as they watched Michael fall dead from a shot to his throat, hands gripping frantically as his lifeblood began streaming out.
There was a swishing noise from his left flank and both men froze, heads turning towards the sound; Michelle had exited the tunnel to the rear. She had told him on their way over that she had forgotten something, medical supplies, and would be along as quickly as she could. What she was holding was not a first aid kit, but a rocket launcher. Smoke floated out of the end of the weapon and an explosion rocked the compound. A wave of intense heat buffeted them, making them stagger, and he was instantly on the move.
As Sean reeled backwards, Joseph dropped his rifle, reached for his side-arm, and pointed the weapon directly at the man’s head. Sean had recovered enough to hold his own steady and the two men remained fixed in place, eyeing each other, daring the other to pull the trigger and end it.
Screams erupted behind them and he knew that Sean’s men had been using the tankers for cover, secure in the knowledge that no one would be stupid enough to fire at them while they were behind there. They needed that fuel, and now it was nothing but a cloud of dense black smoke blanketing the entire compound; rising slowly into the sky. There were still shots ringing out on both sides, and he looked the writer sternly in the face, “call them off.”
“Fuck you,” Sean returned, hand not giving an inch. “Tell your people to stand down and maybe I’ll let some of them live.”
“Yeah, I’ve seen the limits of your mercy first-hand. Don’t think I’ll take that option,” he returned.
Michelle had gotten to her feet, having tossed the rocket launcher aside and drawing her weapon. “He told you to call them off.”
“Jim, get all the kids safely within the underground rooms and tell Zeke to get ready to blow the tunnel,” he said into his open com. A fumbling voice on the other side acknowledged and he smiled at Sean. “I’m betting not many of your men survived that blast. You designed this place, you tell me, where do we go from here? Anything happens to us and that tunnel gets blown to hell. You’ll be stuck out here.”
Sean rolled his eyes, but refused to back down. “You know me, always have a contingency plan. I’ve planned for this—type of insurrection. We’ll be fine. You, however, will be dead.”
Three men broke from the corner of the hanger, pushing Casey, Roxanne, and Nick in front of them, guns pointed at the back of their heads. “Lower your weapons.”
“Nick!” Michelle blurted, her hand wavering.
“Just shoot him already!” Casey exclaimed. “He is responsible for the end of the world. It doesn’t matter—.”
The man behind Casey pulled the trigger and shot him in the head. Then the man brought the gun around and pointed it at Roxanne. “Last chance. Lower your weapons or I’ll kill you all.”
“I’d listen to the man,” Sean advised.
He glanced down at the dead body of his friend and listened to the petering off of gunfire to his rear. Making a quick decision, he dropped his weapon and motioned for Michelle to do the same.
“Good,” Sean remarked, keeping his weapon trained on him. “Captain, secure the rest. I want them lined up right here.”
“Yes, Sir,” the man that shot Casey replied, ordering the remnants of his men out of cover.
Those remaining on his side had ceased firing and he could see the terrified looks on Sabrina and Alicia’s faces as they were marched from behind the Humvee and in their direction. Brian and Sandy were similarly roused from the oil drums they’d been hiding behind. Sam and her daughter Tammy were being pushed forward from the front gate and the ramp they’d used for cover.
“Sir, blond older female and younger one, looking to be a daughter, appear to be DoA. As well as an older couple that had tried to make for the tunnel. The man on the ramp bled out, the boy having taken a shot as well. Nine confirmed dead,” the Captain reported in a detached voice. “Eight on our side, three wounded.”
Seven men loomed over them as they were all forced to their knees, guns held ready. He could hear Nick sobbing and knew that he’d just lost all of his grandparents and his Aunt during the firefight. His heart went out to the boy, but there was nothing he could do. Either way, it might not matter for long.
“You’re a real son of a bitch, you know that?” Roxanne thundered at Sean, as he began strolling in front of them like the piece of shit he was. “Those were innocent people you just killed.”
“And Todd’s parents if I remember correctly,” Sean grinned. “Can’t wait to shove that in his face. Where is that asshole anyways? He leave you all to fight for him while he cowers behind the cameras. Is he watching this right now?” He then turned and waved at the camera positioned over the tunnel entrance and smiled broadly. “I sure hope so. Don’t want him to miss a thing.”
Truth was, he didn’t know where Todd was, but he wasn’t going to tell Sean that. Maybe he and Ros were advancing on their position right now, trying to find a way to save them. Giving them up was not an option.
“Well kid? Where’s your Pops?” Sean asked, kicking Nick in the leg.
Neck grunted, but did his best to stay upright. “Go to hell.”
Sean laughed. “Oh, you’re Todd’s son all right. Maybe I should let him watch while I kill you? Think that will get his ass out of hiding? What do you think?”
“Leave him alone!” Michelle wailed, face full of terror. “He’s just a boy!”
Smirking, their tormentor walked back her way. “You know, you’re not jailbait anymore. Not that that kind of thing matters anymore. Maybe when we get done here, I’ll save you for myself. Make you my concubine. What do you say?”
Michelle hawked a loogy on the man’s boots and Sean broke out laughing. “Oh, this family never ceases to amaze.”
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Roxanne shot at him, trying to draw him away from the lustful look he was giving the younger girl on his right.
“Actually, it does,” Sean countered, raised his weapon and shot Roxanne in the head.
Nick puked as her body slammed into the ground in front of him, blood oozing onto the tarmac.
“You bastard,” he muttered, hatred flowing freely within.
“Where’s Todd?” Sean asked the couple at the far left of their group. Brian straightened his back, face defiant. “I’m not playing around. Tell me or end up like them,” the man growled, waving at the two dead corpses bleeding out around them.
Brian lifted his chin and kept silent.
Sean’s gun began to rise.
“Wait! He’s not here! He and that nurse chick drove south days ago. They haven’t gotten back yet!” Sandy screamed, fear taking over. “Please, don’t—.” Two shots rang out and Brian’s body fell on top of Sandy’s in one last lover’s embrace.
“What the hell did you do that for? That’s some bullshit! She told you what you needed to know!” Sabrina spoke up, her voice furious.
“Two less mouths to feed,” Sean smirked, then began walking Sabrina’s way. “Speaking of which, you and your little friend—.”
The Captain coughed. “Sir, if I may. Maybe it’s not the best idea to kill all the women?”
Sean paused, then his grin grew wider. “Good point, Captain. I take it you’ve taken a shine to this one? Seems full of spitfire, sure you can handle her?”
“She’ll get in line,” the Captain returned with a severe glance at the fuming woman kneeling before them.
“The hell I will,” Sabrina spat back. It was in that instant that he realized, if they got out of this, that was the kind of woman that he wanted to be with. Though, it was kind of late to realize that now.
Sean laughed, “you’re going to have your hands full. Now—.”
He never got to finish what he was going to say. A bullet tore into his shoulder, driving hi
m back, and before the rest of the men could turn to face the new threat, they were cut down with a sudden eruption of gunfire.
Jerking his head towards the tunnel entrance, he watched as the paramilitary group emerged, Bill at the lead, guns blazing. One of Sean’s men got a gun raised, but was instantly cut down, his body joining the already expiring corpses at his feet.
The gunfire suddenly stopped, Bill’s hand signaling them to cease fire. “Sorry we’re late. It’s a hell of a hike.” The older man came over and extended his hand, helping Joseph up off his aching knees.
Several of his men were double checking to make sure their attackers were dead and one paused standing over Sean’s body to the rear. “This one is still breathing.”
“Don’t kill him!” Joseph ordered, feeling the rage ebbing to do otherwise and infuriated he couldn’t act on it. “We need what he knows!”
“Joseph, this is Jim, can you hear me?” a voice broke in over the coms.
He put a hand up to his ear, wondering how much the old man had just witnessed, not to mention the other children on the other side of that camera. “Yeah, what is it?”
“We’ve got incoming from the northeast. Looks like military helicopters,” Jim told him in a shaky voice.
“Shit,” he cursed, looking at Bill, then at those lying dead around him. “I really can’t handle anymore right now. Raise Todd, see if he can meet them. I’ve got people to check.”
Shots rang out as the paramilitary guys swept the runway, most coming from back where the tanker used to be. A shrill whistle pierced the air and Bill’s head jerked in its direction. “Be right back. You got this?”
He looked down at Sean. He had been zip tied with his hands behind his back and was lying on his injured shoulder, blood slowly flowing out of him. No one seemed eager to stop the blood loss and he wasn’t about to do it himself. “Yeah, go ahead.”
The Rotting Souls Series (Book 4): Charon's Coffers Page 9