“Sarah, are you okay?” Steve asked.
Surprisingly, Sarah acted more angry than distressed. “I’m fine. They grabbed me in your room.”
Billy and Steve walked steadily over to Collin’s bed, making sure both he and Alex were okay. They were careful not to take their eyes off of the attackers.
The room was at a standstill.
Robert held up Steve’s journal and began to read in a mocking tone. “‘May 22. We couldn’t have asked for a better day to go out and look for berries… blah blah blah… I really love spending time with Sarah… blah blah blah… I didn’t fire at the deer, and it felt strangely liberating… Robert’s stupid ass tried to shoot at them, but he missed, of course. I really don’t think that guy knows how to shoot a gun… he really is useless—’” Robert stopped reading and chucked the journal across the room. “Stupid fucking diary. Come on, you know how this works. Put down your guns, before you make me do something you’ll regret.”
“Fuck you!” Billy raged, switching his aim from Corey to Robert, then back to Corey.
“It was so perfect. Why could you guys not just die!” Robert shouted. “And now it’s come down to this. So put your guns down, or everyone dies, including your little princess here.”
Steve knew that he and Billy were outgunned, so he slowly lowered his gun. Even though he was a fantastic shot, three guns were more than two, and he couldn’t risk Sarah—or anyone else, for that matter—getting killed.
“Steve, what are you doing?” Billy asked. “We can take them!”
“No, Bill, we can’t risk it. Put yours down too.”
Reluctantly, Billy tossed his shotgun on the bed.
“Good boys,” Robert said, gloating. “Now, what to do with you. You’ve been a thorn in my ass since you got here. What do you think, guys? Should we just shoot them and be done with them? Or take them outside and leave them for the undead to feed on? So many choices. What to do?”
Out of nowhere, the castle alarm sounded, sending an ear piercing sound through the compound. Everyone covered their ears to muffle the volume.
“Brian, go check and see what’s going on!” Robert ordered.
Brian stumbled through the door. Outside, people were running around like scared ants. Those inside the room could faintly make out the sounds of gunshots over the alarm. Less than thirty-seconds later, Brian charged back in the room. “Infected are here, and the gate won’t close all the way!”
“What? How did they get in?” Robert asked.
“The gate. You told me to open it!” Brian stuttered.
“You idiot! That was back before we took over—”
Robert’s attention was completely on Brian, so Steve seized the opportunity. He unholstered his Sig and squeezed off a round into the upper bicep of Robert's gun arm, inches from Sarah’s head. Sarah stomped on Robert’s foot and freed herself, ducking away to the cousin’s side of the room. Corey turned and fired at Collin, but Billy jumped in the way and took the round in the chest. Robert and Corey made a break for the door, and Brian locked the others inside.
“Billy!” Collin called out. He scooted closer to the side of his bed to check on his cousin. To Collin’s surprise, there was no blood, and Billy was pulling himself up. “I don’t get it…”
“Bullet proof vests,” Billy said before letting out a pained moan. “Well, kind of. My chest feels like it got hit by a truck.”
“Everyone else okay?” Steve asked, quickly assessing the situation.
Everyone nodded.
Sarah unstrapped Billy’s vest and examined his torso. “The Kevlar stopped the bullet. There’s going to be some nasty bruising, but you should be fine.”
“You took a bullet for me, Bill,” Collin said, sounding shocked.
“It got stopped, but yeah, I guess so. I was kind of hoping for something a little more life-threatening. You know, to even the odds,” Billy said, smiling at Collin.
“Don’t worry, asshole, we’re good in my book.”
The commotion had awoken Alex, who was now dazed and confused about what had happened. He explained how Corey had tried to take him out back in Paso Rio, along with the rest of the plan. The others couldn’t help but laugh.
“Little late to the party, eh?” Billy joked, patting Alex on the leg. “We know everything.”
“Oh, my bad. It’s not like I got shot and escaped an entire city of zombies or anything like that,” Alex retorted.
“What are we going to do, Steve?” Billy asked, replacing the smiles with straight faces.
“First things first. We have to get everyone out of here. We’ll be sitting ducks in here, for Robert and for the infected, if or when they breach. Collin, Alex, can you guys walk?”
After hearing the news, Alex sprang to his feet and pulled the IV from his arm. “Someone got a gun for me?”
Billy tossed Alex his favorite 9mm. “Catch.”
Collin was fully awake, but still limited by his wound. “I’ll need a little help.”
Sarah rushed over and helped Collin to his feet. She grabbed the IV and a few bandages and put his arm over her shoulder.
Steve was in charge, and everyone was fine with that. “Sarah, I want you to take Collin to the RV. Alex, you cover them. Billy and I will go see what’s going on. We’ll rendezvous at the RV in five.”
###
The Eye was in chaos. The Paso Rio horde had made its way to the castle walls and had started to crawl under the partially opened front gate. Able-bodied men ran toward the infected with guns in hand, ready to defend their home, while the women and children hurried to designated hiding places.
Robert, Corey, and Brian dashed to Mark’s room. Robert knew they had two choices: stay and fight and then face Mark’s wrath, or leave while they had the chance.
“All right, guys, gather whatever you can carry,” Robert said, grimacing at the pain in his arm. “We are leaving, now!”
1638 hours
Steve and Billy rushed to the gate to join 2d Lt Goessling, Jeff, and a few others in the fight. One by one, the infected squeezed under and ran toward to the men, only to be met with a flurry of bullets. But for every one zombie they gunned down, it seemed that two more appeared in its place. With Mark nowhere to be found, the others looked to Travis, the only other man with real military experience for leadership.
“Firing lines, now!” Travis ordered to the other five men. “Three rows of two. Rotate after each reload! And for the love of God, will someone find Mark?”
Steve ran up next to Travis and fired three very quick, very lethal shots. “Travis, what the hell is going on? Why can’t you close the gate?”
“We tried, but by the time we got there, the dead ones had piled up so high it wouldn’t close.”
“Travis!” Jeff yelled, interrupting the two. “We are going to need a hell of a lot more ammo, and now!”
“I know, I know!” the second lieutenant growled. He tapped on Jeff’s back, taking his place on the firing line. Before he fired, he turned to Steve. “We need to find the colonel and get him here ten minutes ago! I don’t know if we can hold them off!”
“I’m on it! Hold strong!” Steve yelled over the fire. He rushed over to Billy, who was putting down his fair share of infected. “Bill, we need to find the colonel and get as many out of here as we can.”
Billy shook his head. “Sorry, cuz, I can’t just leave and not do anything. I can’t let these guys get away with this. They tried to kill both of you. I’ll meet you at the RV, but don’t wait if you can’t.”
Before Steve could protest, Billy darted to the other end of the compound.
“All right, Travis, you guys do what you can. I’ll be back ASAP!” Steve said, running toward the colonel’s room.
1646 hours
Billy kicked open the door to Robert’s room ready to fire, but the room was empty. He continued his hunt around the second story of the Inner Eye, breaking down door after door. Each empty room was fuel for the angry hell he intended t
o bring down on Robert.
“Where the hell are they?” he screamed, coming out from the last door. His next move was to search the bottom floor, but he stopped at the side railing. Below, he saw Corey holding a cache of food he had stolen from the kitchen.
“You’re fucking mine,” Billy said, swinging the shotgun strap over his shoulder. Without thinking, he leapt from the second story and landed on Corey’s back. Both men’s weapons, along with Corey’s purloined food, flew to the floor. Slowly, the large-bodied men staggered to their feet. The impact had knocked the wind from them both, but they were ready to fight.
“What the fuck,” Corey cursed, coughing up a storm.
“Payback time, asshole,” Billy said. Then he rushed him.
###
The colonel’s room was locked, so Steve shot through the wood to the side of handle and kicked the door open. He saw Mark tied up in the corner and rushed over and cut him loose. With Steve’s help, Mark lifted himself to his feet.
“Steve, what’s going on? I heard the alarm—”
“Sir, we need to go, now. The castle has been breached, and it’s only a matter of time until it’s completely overrun.”
“Robert!” Mark said angrily through clenched teeth. “Hold on, I need to grab something,” he said, limping to the far side of the room. He grabbed a bag from the shelf near his bed and quickly filled it with two large binders and something else Steve couldn’t make out. “Now we can go.”
Rather than waste time asking questions, Steve grabbed a rifle from a nearby rack and tossed it to him. Together, they ran back to the war zone.
###
The resistance was failing fast.
Jeff retreated to the back of the firing lines to reload, and Matty Finch, a former IT freelancer with zero weapons training, replaced him at the front. After two shots, Matty’s gun jammed, and he panicked. He tried to release the misspent bullet and took his eyes off the gate. He didn’t see the infected boy in full sprint toward him.
At the last second, Jeff looked up and pulled Matty out of the way, sustaining a bite to the hand. Jeff kicked the boy back and fired at the child-zombie point blank. Matty’s gratitude was beyond words.
Jeff knew his clock started. He grabbed a handgun and rushed the gate, wanting to distract and kill as many as he could. And it worked, for a whole twenty-seconds, until he was blindsided and taken to the ground by two burly men. The teeth ripping through Jeff’s flesh was excruciating, but only for a moment.
Travis witnessed Jeff’s heroics and eased him out of this world with a single bullet to the head.
Matty vowed he would never forget Jeff.
After the brave act, Travis was forced to pull the rest of the shooters back, forming a scattered half-circle perimeter. Like Matty, most of the men weren’t very good shots. Before today, some had never even picked up a gun.
Just when the defense thought all hope was lost, Travis looked back. “Mark!”
“I want everyone to gather those still alive and get to the cars. We are leaving immediately!” Mark shouted.
The vehicles had always been Mark’s contingency plan. It wasn’t a great plan, but the military had taught him to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. He had never thought the worst would be this bad.
Steve picked off all the threats in the compound in seconds, exhausting the entire magazine from his M16, and then pulled out two grenades. He passed one to Mark, and the two hurled them over the gate. The explosions blew the next wave back, buying them some time.
On his way back to the RV, Steve cast a glance to the southern section of the Inner Eye. He saw Corey’s bloody corpse, and a few yards away, Billy’s body, hunched over and motionless.
“Bill!” Steve screamed. He wasn’t sure his pleas were drowned out by the gunfire, or if he had lost another cousin.
###
The fight had been pretty evenly matched. Corey’s two extra inches of height and thirty extra pounds of weight stood strong against Billy’s superior muscles and experience. Corey landed a few body punches and an uppercut, but Billy managed to deliver a few hooks of his own.
After Billy’s last jab, Corey shuffled back and wiped his face. Both men were bloodied, and their bodies ached, but it was a fight neither would back down from.
“Come and get me, fucker!” Corey said, spitting out a stringy mixture of blood and saliva.
Billy obliged and rushed again, this time tackling Corey to the ground. In a half-mount, Billy tried throwing three consecutive elbows, but Corey moved his head out of the way just in time each time. Miraculously, Corey gained leverage after the last missed attempt and kicked Billy off.
Corey rose to one knee to catch his breath. Billy scrambled off his back and mimicked his enemy’s stance. They were both beyond exhaustion. Both knew the fight couldn’t go on forever. To the side, they spotted each of their weapons. Corey rolled over and reached for his rifle, and Billy dove for his shotgun. They fired simultaneously, ending the fight.
The shotgun blast tore through Corey’s chest, blowing him back and killing him instantly. Billy stayed in a kneeling position, taking in the craziness. He had killed a living person, but for one reason or another, felt no remorse.
“Now we’re even,” he said, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Remembering his unfinished business with the other two, he tried to stand but fell back.
Corey’s shot hadn’t missed. The rifle slug had pierced Billy in the stomach. The adrenaline masked the pain, but his shirt was soaked in blood and more poured out by the second. Billy knew his clock had started ticking down, but found that he didn’t care. He didn’t even try to fight it. He lay back and let fate come. His only regret was that he couldn’t finish the other two.
At the smell of blood, an infected man ran over and bit Billy in the arm. Billy punched the man in the face, dislodging his clamped teeth. As the man stumbled back, Billy chambered another shotgun round and blew its head off.
“Fucking asshole,” Billy whispered, hunching over on his knees, using the shotgun for support. He had, in fact, heard Steve’s call for him, but the onset of shock was overwhelming. The warrior inside him yelled back, but he was physically too exhausted. He was losing too much blood. It was a matter of time until the inevitable.
1654 hours
Steve and the colonel arrived at Sweet Tooth and prepped their exit strategy. The compound’s only remaining survivors, Travis, Matty, Joey, and two others, reached the RV seconds later.
“That’s everyone who made it?” Mark asked.
“Yes, sir,” Travis replied.
Alex stood in the doorframe of the RV. “I hate to be a buzz kill, but are you guys ready? We need to get the hell out of Dodge! And where’s Bill, Steve?”
Billy was out for blood, and his vengeance, as far as Steve knew, had led him to a bloody end. Steve knew that if he told Alex the truth, Alex would panic and leave the group to see for himself. “He said he’ll be here,” Steve answered, choosing his words carefully.
“Wait!” Sarah said. “Where’s Jenny? I left her in your room to hide when Robert took me!”
“Damn, I told her to go to your room,” Steve said, remembering his own instructions. “Okay, you guys get ready. I’ll go grab her!”
The grenades had only bought the survivors a few minutes. By now, the undead had pushed their way through the pile of bodies under the gate. Slowly but surely, they were taking over the castle.
###
While the gunners were distracted with the infected, Robert pulled the military truck around to the other side of the compound. He would have chosen something smaller, but it was the first one he had checked for keys. He tossed a bag of supplies in the back while Brian stood in front on lookout.
“Come on, Corey, where are you?” Brian said, tapping his fingers on the hood of the truck.
Robert snatched the keys off the dash. “We need to leave now, before it’s too late.”
“Rob, you can’t! Give Corey another minute! He�
��d do the same for us, damnit!”
Robert thought for a moment. “He’s got two minutes, then we are out of here!”
Together, they sat inside the cab, waiting, watching the clock tick.
###
Steve made it to the guesthouse, but a gang of infected followed steps behind him. He noticed Robert and Brian waiting in the truck, but as much as he wanted to run up and empty a few rounds through the windshield, he couldn’t; his mission was Jenny. Steve slammed the guesthouse door shut and locked it from the inside.
“Jenny! It’s me, Steve,” he called out, checking the two small rooms. “Where are you?”
Jenny crashed into Steve, hugging him so tightly that he stumbled back, off balance.
“Jenny! Thank God you’re okay!”
“You told me to wait, so I did, but I’m scared. What are we going to do?”
“We have to leave,” he said, taking her by the arm.
A group of eight infected had reached the guesthouse and began to break through with no mercy; knocking down the wooden door and smashing through the windows. For Steve, blasting his way back through was not an option. There were too many of them, and he couldn’t risk Jenny getting hurt. The first two infected ran at them with arms open. Steve pushed Jenny aside and put them down with two three-round bursts from his M16.
“Jenny! Go to the bathroom, now!” Steve ordered, shooting at the rest.
Jenny listened without question, and Steve backed up to the bathroom, shooting at as many as he could. He slammed the door shut and braced it with his back.
“What are we going to do, Steve? We’re trapped in here!”
The bathroom was small, containing only an old porcelain tub, sink and toilet. Jenny was right: they were trapped. Steve scanned every inch of the room, desperately searching for an out.The window! It was small—big enough for Jenny to fit through, but not Steve. At best, he would get halfway through before the infected barged in and tore him to shreds.
The Longest Road (Book 1) Page 26