Zombie Infestation

by LJ Bushman

  I tried to block out the sounds of her muffled sobs. Lori would get ahold of her emotions soon. She’d always been able to do that. It was one of the things I admired about her. The rage about what had happened to her threatened to overtake me in a tidal wave of grief and fury. It filled my chest until I thought colored smoke should be hissing out of my ears. Blood pounded in my temples and a headache trumpeted its way through my skull. Combined with the rage from the kidnapping, I might actually lose control in the middle of this mission. There was always a first for everything. Now wasn’t the time for it.

  I leaned down to the side, still guarding the door with my gun, and took the .22 pistol from my ankle holster and handed it to Lori, who nodded. The tears were gone from her eyes. Bruises covered her face. I remained pissed, and it didn’t matter if it had been the kidnappers or the guy I’d just dropped. It should have never happened. I nodded and looked away without saying anything.

  I wiped the blood off my knife on the bedspread while we waited. Minutes ticked by like a slow motion scene from The Matrix. Patience was not, and never would be, one of my virtues. The time did give me a chance to tamp my rage back down.

  Just as I started thinking the kidnapper overcame his ego and sent for help, I heard a creak of leather. His boots. I smiled. Yes, the idiots who dared to touch me and mine were all going to die today. I kept my gun ready, which was more tiring than the movies made it look. In my other hand, I took the knife and held it by the blade, arm cocked back, ready to throw.

  His gun came around the corner first. It was an old trick for the inexperienced to fall for, but not us. I’d worked with Lori and we’d practiced together so much, we didn’t need to talk to each other. I held my breath and sensed Lori doing the same.

  When we didn’t shoot, he came around the corner with his head, his body following. I threw the knife. It hit his left eye socket, clear, viscous eye fluid and blood squirting out as it penetrated to the hilt. At the same time, Lori shot him in the heart, followed by a shot through his neck as he fell. I moved over and grabbed his weapon. Lori took it.

  “You might want to turn the other way. I have to make sure he doesn’t come back.” I pulled the knife out of his forehead.

  Lori stared down at the guy, a hard look on her normally gentle face. “He’s one of the men who brought me here. That’s the other,” she said, pointing at the first guy who’d come in. “I want to see you kill him. Really kill him, I mean. I know he has the virus. He brags how supremely awesome he is because of it.”

  “Are you sure?” I wouldn’t deny her closure, but I sure as hell didn’t want to give her additional flashbacks over it, seeing so much violence up close and personal. All of the practice in the world couldn’t prepare someone for taking a life, even when it’s justified.

  “If I don’t, I’ll have nightmares for the rest of my life. I know too much about the zombies to believe he’s truly dead. Do it before the virus brings him back.” Determination shook her voice, and a drop of fear.

  I’d let her watch, but God help me if she couldn’t handle it. I agreed with her logic and would want the same, but hoped she was right about herself. I squatted and noticed a half-eaten foot sticking out from the bed like an old, forgotten sock. That could have been Lori.

  I grabbed a handful of the kidnapper’s hair and stretched his head forward to get a clear shot, then rammed the knife into the back of his skull, severing the spinal cord just below the brain. Severing the cord and hitting the occipital brain lobes was the only way to ensure a zombie stayed down, in any stage of the virus. Another lesson I’d learned the hard way in the early days of my zombie fighting career.

  Crouching over the other mercenary, I gave him the same treatment. Lori’s face remained stoic. We’d all have some serious issues when this was over. I’d find a way to deal with it. After all, it wasn’t as if we could go to the local psychologist for help. We killed zombies who’d kidnapped my kids. Please help us. Yeah, the world was so not ready for our problems.

  “They’re holding Seth and Kyle over in the main warehouse,” she said.

  “I know. An Agent Joseph Connelly is there with them. I insisted on seeing you, all of you, before I’d deal.”

  “Why do you still have all your weapons? I don’t like this.”

  I wasn’t happy with the situation either. “No idea. But they’re going to pay for the mistake.”

  The two of us stepped over the bodies and walked out of the house. It surprised me there weren’t more people running at the sound of the gunshots. If anything, the place was quieter than when I arrived. I slipped my knife back into its necklace sheath.

  Moving with purpose, guns ready, we headed to the warehouse bay doors I’d originally entered through. We stopped on either side. I signaled for Lori to wait while I checked out the situation. No sense throwing her into the lion’s den until I was sure we were going to get to leave soon.

  Taking a breath, I stepped in.

  Chapter 15

  I closed my eyes so they wouldn’t have such a hard adjustment to the light when I stepped in and kept my back to the wall. Opening my eyes again, I looked at where my kids had been standing.

  Damn and double damn.

  Agent Robins held a gun aimed at Agent Connelly from the landing. The workers were gone and the other guards were nowhere to be seen. My kids stood about two feet from Joseph—too close for comfort if Gene took a shot.

  “What the hell is going on here,” I asked, hoping Lori would take the hint and stay outside. I stared hard at Andrea. “Maybe I forgot to mention that my kids’ caretaker was off the menu as well. It’s an oversight that won’t happen again.”

  “Where are Ryan and Harold?” she demanded.

  “In Hell, if there is any justice in this world. As well as the fucking asshole supposedly watching Lori. You guys have a sick way of running things. Tell me, bitch. Why did you let me keep my guns? Not that I’m complaining, mind you. It made it infinitely easier to do what was necessary. And what in fucking hell did you think you were doing giving a woman, any woman, to a monster like that?”

  “She was interfering with the boys. She needed to be punished.”

  Her reply stunned me so much, I was literally speechless. I knew she was cold, but this went beyond cold.

  “So having one of your idiot minions rape an innocent woman is an appropriate form of punishment now.”

  “We reward our faithful,” she said, as if she believed it appropriate.

  “Your fucking faithful have been rewarded. A more fitting one if you ask me,” I said with a deliberately taunting smirk.

  Robins tensed. I prayed he didn’t accidentally pull the trigger. From here, I couldn’t tell how much pressure he held on his gun.

  “If you shoot him, or hurt my kids, you will have nothing left to bargain with. You’ve already broken faith giving Lori to those beasts. Don’t push me.”

  Andrea reached over and put a hand on Robins’ forearm. “Finger off the trigger. We don’t want any accidents now, do we?”

  Robins looked at her and smiled. There was obviously some subterfuge in her choice of words. The implications weren’t particularly inspiring, and the reality probably a lot worse.

  Robins continued to point the gun at Joseph and the kids, but at least he’d pulled his finger off the trigger and rested it on the trigger guard. “You’re right, Andrea. We don’t want any unfortunate events before we’re ready. Especially since those fool guards failed their test.”

  Shock laced through me. I tried to keep the emotions off my face. Test? That would explain why no one had taken my weapons. They were testing their men for weaknesses and possibly me as well. Were they testing to see if I had more powers than I pretended? Shit. They thought I had the virus. A different form that didn’t show up in their testing. All of the sudden, everything made sense. Fuck.

  They’d wanted me from the get-go. Not just any writer. Robins was in the perfect position to make sure I floated to the top of the pil
e of choices. I had to question our hypothesis about there being anyone on my side with this new information. Kind of took the wind out of the sails if no one was secretly rooting for me like we thought after the hotel incident. I didn’t have time to think through all the possibilities. I needed to get my kids out of there.

  “Joseph, I think the Special Agent Gene Robins is through with taunting you and threatening my kids. Why don’t you take them outside and get them buckled up in the car? Lori can go with you.” My voice was saccharine sweet, but I thought they were bright enough to get the hint—my kids leave unharmed or else.

  Joseph moved toward my kids and reached a hand out to Seth. Kyle took Seth’s other hand and they walked to me. When they reached me without Robins or Andrea saying or doing anything about it, I began to wonder what waited outside for them. No, Lori waited outside and would’ve shouted a warning. What the hell were they up to?

  Joseph stopped when the kids and he were out the door and stared at me. A tic worked in his jaw showing his anger. I didn’t need to be psychic to know he wanted to fight Robins and Andrea. He’d promised me, though.

  “Thank you,” I mouthed.

  A raw look of pain slashed his features just before he turned and took the boys out of sight.

  I breathed easier for a moment, but I wouldn’t feel good about anything until the car was out of the woods—out of the country, to be exact. I kept my weapon trained on Andrea who’d started to move back to the office area.

  “Don’t even think about it,” I said cheerfully. I’d bet money my tone, more than my words, stopped her.

  “Why not?”

  “We’re all going to stay here like a nice, happy family until I’m sure my kids are safely over the border. Since it took hours for us to get here, we have a couple of choices. We can stand here with our guns raised and tire ourselves out, or you two can come down here and you’ll sit in those chairs along the wall. When I’m satisfied they’ve had ample time to cross, then we shall see what happens next. What will it be?”

  They’d sent the rest of the workers home early when I left to see Lori to get rid of potential witnesses. Since the workers hadn’t left the way we’d been brought in, there had to be a back road out of the place. With everyone gone early, the other guards who were in on the real project were probably due for nightshift, but not immediately. I hoped. I’d killed the day shift. Unless their replacements had a meeting scheduled before the next shift was due to arrive, I should be safe. I didn’t want to think about what would happen if I guessed wrong.

  To my relief, they came down. I didn’t trust them, but it was a lot easier to hold the gun level than aiming up. I tracked Andrea as she came down the stairs. She was higher on the totem pole, maybe she had sexual power over Special Agent In Charge Of Hitting On Women or because she was the boss’ lieutenant.

  Robins slowly pointed his gun to the floor when they reached ground level. Mine remained up until they’d seated themselves. I found a table to lean against and let the gun drop lower. I’d be in a world of hurt when the nightshift guards arrived, but it would be worth it if my kids were safe.

  The minutes ticked by, possibly counting down the last seconds of my life. I had little hope of getting out of there alive. Sooner or later, Andrea’s Tweedledee and Tweedledum pals would show up. They’d been itching to get their hands on me ever since I bested them at the low-rate hotel where they’d tortured Joseph. It had been more than obvious at the meeting once I made it into Mexico.

  After an hour, I couldn’t stand the silence. I wanted answers. “Who’s your boss?”

  They jumped at my voice, which sounded loud in the empty warehouse. Andrea simply stared back at me. We’d already had this conversation. Gene wasn’t so serene.

  “What the hell do you care? You’ll be dead before he comes around.”

  I raised my eyebrow. “You think so? What purpose would my death serve? Too many in the FBI know about me. You can’t simply sweep me under the rug.” And now I could rule out roughly half of the adult population. That was a start.

  “That’s what you think,” he said with a smirk.

  Part of me wanted to wipe that smirk off his face and ask him how he got infected. The wiser part of me shut up.

  We went back to staring at each other across the way. This time I made sure to keep my thoughts positive. Every minute that passed was another minute closer to my children leaving the country, where Joseph could better protect them.

  I didn’t dare let Andrea or Robins use a phone or other communication device. I didn’t relish the idea of being at the whim of these mad scientists, but someone needed to stay behind to ensure the zombie army wasn’t alerted until my kids were safe. The plan had been worked out in my head before we arrived. Joseph had likely figured that out by now and was pissed as hell.

  Thinking of how torqued off Joseph would be that I hadn’t shared my plan made me smile. He’d get over it. He had better resources for a rescue. If I’d followed his archaic, although sweet, notions of how things should go, he’d be the one here holding a gun. It would’ve left him trapped without much chance of a rescue.

  Even if I could get someone at the FBI to believe one of their agents was being held against their will, they weren’t likely to believe another agent was to blame. Between Robins and the yet unknown mole, the incident would be buried, along with Joseph’s body.

  No, I had to be the one left behind. A writer of some popularity couldn’t just disappear. Too many people knew I’d headed to Texas, if not the exact route. It should give Joseph the leverage he needed to keep it from getting swept under the rug.

  I decided to press the issue, remind them I’m not an unknown. “Which one of you yahoos is going to take me home?”

  As expected, they both laughed.

  Andrea responded, “It’ll be a long time before you see your home. If we decide to let you live.” Maybe I was supposed to feel threatened, but she was too smart for stupid mind games. A helluva lot smarter than Robins—despite his supersized dose of smarts from the virus.

  “I’m sure you’ll let me live. I’m an author, not a homeless person. People will notice when I’m gone. So what’s your plan, really?”

  Something flickered in her eyes. She gave a miniscule nod of her head; I took it for a touché to her enemy. If she didn’t find rape a justifiable form of punishment, we would’ve gotten along better.

  Robins wasn’t happy with me and like many a man before him, tried to bluster his way through the conversation. “We have plans for you. You’re going to live if we say so and you’re going to do exactly what we say if we let you go home.”

  Andrea hit him on the back of the head and gave him a dirty look. Unlike Robins, she didn’t assume I wasn’t as smart as they were. I saw her begrudging respect the moment I’d shot her in the knee. She was the only member of their group I’d met who didn’t underestimate me. Probably my little act at the hotel when we met. Plus, she hated men. That was my take on her treatment of them. Sex was about power to her, judging from how she used it.

  Putting their internal conflict aside, I now knew they were going to let me live—if I cooperated. In the meantime, they planned to do something to ensure my continued cooperation. What, I didn’t want to know. I doubted I had long to wait and find out. I wished I was home with a Mike’s Hard Lemonade and a good book, my kids doing their homework or playing at the park.

  How did Robins and Andrea think they were going to control me? I had my kids back and killed the people responsible for their kidnapping. Andrea was pretty sure of herself. If only Robins was so sure of their plan, I’d dismiss it easier. Andrea was a long-range thinker. And cold. Like letting me keep my weapons and telling me where my assistant was, for a test she’d obviously planned. Her people, dispensable. Her ruthlessness allowed her to rise high in the organization. She probably knew things that would make my toes curl—and not in a good way.

  My ears picked up the sound of diesel engines. Trucks? Or semis? We wer
e too far off the beaten path for it to be coincidental if it was a semi. My heart rate sped up. My time of taking it easy with only the two of them to worry about was up, test or no test. They’d take my weapons this time. Speaking of.

  “Why use me to test your men? Why test them at all? They kidnapped for you, they were obviously loyal.”

  “They’ve become slow and lazy. They disobeyed a direct order to have their own fun,” Robins said with obvious pleasure. “As much as I enjoyed helping them finish the job, they should’ve obeyed and done the girl we picked for them. Instead of a new recruit, we ended up with a second dinner.”

  I had to swallow three times to keep the bile from rising and coming up on my shoes. He admitted to cannibalism without batting an eyelash. The blood drained from my face. The world spun. He laughed at me.

  “Tough bitch has a weak stomach, Andrea. Our job may be easier than you anticipated after that cluster fuck involving my coworker.”

  I glared at him. What an idiot. Despite Andrea’s higher rank and obvious callousness in sending Lori off to such a brutal punishment, Robins taunted her and ripped her down in front of me, disobeyed orders, and reminded her about the mess in the hotel with Joseph.

  I foresaw a nasty death in his future. Sooner rather than later, if he didn’t learn how to keep his mouth shut. The look Andrea leveled him with said it as clearly as a neon billboard.

  “And what job would you be referring to?” I said, as if not remotely worried about anything they had planned. Quite a feat after his blatant talk of eating women. I swallowed the lump of fear in my throat.

  He chuckled; the sound sent shivers up my spine. “We have our orders. They involve you, pain, torture, and obedience. That’s all you need to know.”