“Where are you going now?” Danny sounded worried.
Mathias realized he had probably been extremely worried for him when he had gone out to look for Alice. “LeBlanc just wants to talk to me about something in the employees’ lounge.”
“Why?” Danny frowned.
“No idea,” Mathias shrugged, telling him the truth. He would know soon enough though.
Danny nodded and Mathias shouldered his own rifle. LeBlanc may not have taken his, but he wasn’t going to leave his own behind. He went through the metal door once more and this time, headed to the employees’ lounge. As soon as he stepped through the door, LeBlanc held his pistol out to him. It was in the same manner as in the woods.
Mathias looked around the room. “I don’t see any infected little girls.” It was probably way too soon for a joke like that, but LeBlanc was starting to piss him off again.
“It’s for me,” LeBlanc told him, not meeting his eyes.
“What do you mean?” Mathias frowned.
“I’m infected,” LeBlanc said this without emotion, which was the weirdest part.
“No,” Mathias shook his head. “No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am.” LeBlanc looked up at him finally. His face was dead serious. “Back at Bishop’s place, when I went to back the ambulance up against the garage.”
He put the pistol down on the table and rolled up his sleeve. There were clear teeth impressions there.
“It barely broke the skin, so I knew I had some time,” LeBlanc told him. “I’m glad I got to see you reunited with your brother. But now you have to do it.”
“No,” Mathias shook his head. “You’re fine. Even if you’re not, you should still have another day left.”
“I can’t risk it. I don’t want to become one of those things, especially if it happens while I’m next to one of you guys. I can feel it, Matty. I can feel it spreading through me and into my brain. I remember what they were like back at the White Box. How savage and stupid they were. I don’t want to be like that. When I woke up this morning, hearing that scream, I wanted to check it out. Not because I was worried about the screamer, but because I wanted to be there, I wanted to watch, to see the carnage. It’s already affecting me. I don’t want to be one of them.”
“Why me?” It was hard, but Mathias tried to accept the facts his friend was telling him. He knew from the beginning that this could happen. “Why do I have to be the one?”
“Because you’re my friend,” LeBlanc laughed, but in a pained way. He picked up the gun again and held the grip out toward Mathias once more. “I can’t do it myself. I thought about doing it while you were taking that dog to see the body. I held the gun to my head and everything, but I couldn’t do it. Someone else has to, and I’d rather it be a friend I’ve known for several years than someone I met in the last twenty-four hours.”
“I don’t want to do it.” But Mathias took the gun anyway. LeBlanc was one of his oldest friends. When one got transferred, the other always ended up transferring not long after.
“Of course you don’t.” This time LeBlanc really laughed. “Why would you? Why would anyone other than a pure psychopath? I know I’m asking you the hardest thing in the world right now, and I’m being selfish not to do it myself. Just do this one last thing for me, Matty. Think of your brother if you must. You don’t want me changing while I’m sitting next to him in the car, do you?”
Mathias shook his head. He knew LeBlanc was using his weakness against him.
“Well then, let’s get it over with.” LeBlanc stripped off his flack jacket, his gloves, even his belt. He placed them in a pile on the table. “You might be able to use those,” he explained.
Mathias took a shaky breath then raised the pistol to the height of LeBlanc’s head. His hand shook badly. LeBlanc stepped up to it, his forehead only a centimetre away from the barrel. He closed his eyes.
“Don’t miss,” LeBlanc breathed out.
Mathias’s hand suddenly went steady as a rock, and he pulled the trigger.
* * *
LeBlanc’s head rocked back, a dark red hole suddenly appearing in his forehead. His eyes half opened as his knees gave out, and he sank to the floor. Mercifully, he landed on his back so that the exit wound wasn’t visible. Mathias didn’t move. Couldn’t move. Couldn’t think. Everything stopped.
The door burst open behind him. Someone had come running because of the sound of the shot. Probably Bishop.
“Cole,” she gasped. It was Bishop. “What did you do?”
Mathias managed to turn his head to look at her. “He was infected,” he managed to get out. His eyes were hot and stung; he hadn’t cried in years. Not since his sister’s funeral.
Bishop had been pointing her rifle at him, but she lowered it now.
“He said he got infected just outside of your place,” Mathias told her, his own voice sounding strange and distant to him. His vision was blurred from the tears. “He lasted as long as he could. He said he could feel it though. He wanted me to do it. He didn’t want to become one of them.”
Bishop then did something he didn’t expect. She walked up to Mathias and wrapped her arms around him. Mathias gave into her hug, wrapping his own arms around her and letting her take part of his weight. He buried his face into her shoulder, suddenly overcome by heaving, racking sobs. His mind couldn’t actually comprehend what his body was doing. It was still detached from it all, wondering what the hell was going on. What happened? What was happening?
Finally, he regained control of himself and stepped away from Bishop. He wouldn’t meet her eyes and turned his back to her.
“Those were his.” He dropped the pistol onto LeBlanc’s gloves, belt, and jacket. “He wanted us to have them.”
“Okay.” Bishop’s voice was soft, in a way Mathias had never heard it. She took all of the items off the table, including the pistol, and left the room.
Mathias looked down at his friend’s body. He understood now why he couldn’t shoot Alice. He sympathized with her too much. He could see too much of himself in her. That was sad. That a mercenary could see so much of themself in a five-year-old little girl.
“Mathias?” Danny’s voice came from the doorway.
Mathias turned and tried to give him a smile. “Hey, buddy.”
“You okay?” Danny looked at the body.
“Yeah. I’m okay.” Mathias wasn’t, but a part of him could already tell he would be. This wasn’t the first time he had to deal with death. Not by a long shot.
“I saw a blanket-like thing in the shop if you want to cover him up,” Danny said.
Mathias thought of how LeBlanc had positioned Alice. “Yeah. I think that would be nice.”
Mathias went with Danny back into the shop, slinging an arm across his shoulders. In the shop, McGregor didn’t spare him a glance, even though Bishop must have told him what happened. He just kept working, which Mathias appreciated more than the look of concern Bishop gave him. Seeing her worried about him made him worry. Strange.
Danny found the blanket. It was this scruffy thing that seemed to be made out of felt, but that was fine. They carried it back to LeBlanc. Mathias wouldn’t let Danny anywhere near the head due to the blood, but he allowed him to help shift LeBlanc’s legs into a better position. Once he was roughly straightened out, Mathias unfolded the blanket and draped it over him. His feet and hair still stuck out but that was all right. The Cole brothers stood over the body a moment, then, at the same time, turned and left.
“I saw that you’re carrying around a pistol.” Mathias mentioned to Danny as they entered the machine shop and started to chain up the door again.
“Uh, yeah. I got it from that Bishop lady’s house,” Danny said nervously.
“I’m not mad,” Mathias told his brother. “In fact, I’m glad you were smart enough to think to take it. I’ll teach you how to shoot if this place we’re going to is as safe as I’ve been told.”
“Cool,” Danny smiled widely. “But… Would
you mind if Alec taught me as well? He was a sniper.”
Mathias gave an impressed whistle. “A mechanic and a sniper. You clearly fell into good hands.” He said this loud enough for McGregor to hear him. He would have to find the time to thank him properly, but he didn’t know how he could do that. A simple thank you was not nearly enough. He didn’t think anything would be good enough.
“A sniper?” Bishop raised an eyebrow at McGregor. “You wouldn’t happen to have your rifle with you, would you?”
“It’s in my bag.” McGregor gestured with a quick flick of his head. He was focused solely on his task.
Bishop opened the rucksack and looked inside. She laughed like a kid in a toy store as she pulled out the large gun. Obviously, she knew more about it than Mathias did. What an interesting pair for him and his brother to have fallen in with.
37:
McGregor
Alec McGregor dismantled the garage lift, piece by piece. It was a stubborn bitch at times, but he kept at it. This was something he could do.
He had not been having a good morning. He awoke to Alice’s screams, and he could do nothing about it. He couldn’t keep up with LeBlanc and Mathias as they went to investigate. He couldn’t be there for her at the end. He hoped the other boys handled it well.
He felt so stupid. Someone should have been watching. They discussed someone keeping guard in case a zombie got in, but they had decided that anything getting in would make a hell of a lot of noise. They didn’t think about a five-year-old sneaking out. He should have realized. She clearly didn’t understand the danger.
Then, there was what had just happened with LeBlanc. When they heard the gunshot, it terrified them. It was unexpected, especially in its singularity. Bishop had dashed out before him. Again, he couldn’t keep up. He did leave the shop that time, however, Danny sticking closely behind him. They had found an odd sight. Mathias appeared to be crying on Bishop’s shoulder, while LeBlanc’s dead body lay on the floor behind him.
At that point, Alec had quickly left. It wasn’t his place to see such a thing. His brother was one thing, but a total stranger? Alec went back to work on the lift. Bishop came in later and told him what Mathias had told her. Alec understood the reasoning behind it.
LeBlanc did take the coward’s way out by not doing it himself, but he understood that too. After his accident, there were a few times his own guns had looked mighty appealing, but he could never bring himself actually to do it. Thinking it was one thing, doing it was another. He briefly wondered if he could do it if he got infected. Although it wasn’t like he would have to worry about hurting the others. They would just have to stay out of arm’s reach, or roll him down a steep hill.
On the floor next to him, Shoes sighed loudly. The dog had been following him around since he came back, looking like the saddest animal in the world. The poor old guy was in mourning. Alec leaned over, gave him a quick scratch behind a floppy ear, and then went back to work.
The lift was terribly rusted, and Alec had to scrape much of it off to get at the screws. He enjoyed that part, though. The scraping and prying was an excellent way to take out his frustration.
He felt like he was at war again. People kept dying around him, but he couldn’t stop. Others were counting on him to keep pushing forward. They could all mourn the dead later, but for now, they had to keep on surviving. Survival was all that mattered. Alec may have lost one of his charges, but the other was still around. His big brother had somehow shown up, but Alec didn’t know if he was the best one to be taking care of him. He didn’t look like he knew how to. Alec would probably have to look out for both of them on some level.
Bishop, though, she seemed capable of handling herself. She wasn’t inhuman, registering the deaths around her, but she stayed solid and seemingly unfazed. Alec wondered if that was because she was a survivalist or because she was a doctor. Or maybe it was just some inner strength she had. So far, she was coming across as a remarkable woman.
She also met Alec’s first criteria for a woman; she was good looking. She had straight, white teeth, smooth skin, a small, slightly upturned nose, and well-defined eyes and cheekbones. He had yet to determine the colour of her eyes as they seemed to shift depending on the light, and the light in the shop was terrible. Her long brown hair was tied back into a French braid, and Alec wondered what it would look like in the sunlight.
He knew he spent too much time thinking about it. Women were a weakness with him. He had been doing really well until Bishop showed up. He figured if he was going to die before they made it to the supposed safe grounds, it would be because of her.
* * *
There was a great clang as the last piece came unhinged.
“I believe we’re good to go,” Alec tossed aside the tools he had been using.
“Did you check that the engine starts?” Bishop asked, as she put his rifle back into his bag. The sight of her holding that was probably going to stick in Alec’s head for a while. Both because it was an unusual sight and because he had never met a woman so interested in his guns before.
“I couldn’t without risking waking the kids,” Alec told her.
Danny gave him an annoyed look. He still didn’t seem to like being called a kid even though, since his brother’s return, he had basically regressed to one.
“Got the keys?” Mathias asked next.
“No, but they’re most likely on a pegboard somewhere nearby. If not in here, then out in the office.” Alec thumbed toward the metal door.
They all searched the shop, but the keys were nowhere to be found. Eventually Mathias went out to look for them in the office. He found them and quickly returned.
“Doesn’t look like there’s any more zombies out there right now,” Mathias commented heading toward the car.
“Doesn’t mean there aren’t any right outside that roll up,” Alec gestured to the garage door as he rolled over to the trunk. He knew the engine would start. He had fixed it himself. He had been good at three things his whole life; shooting, fixing engines, and pleasing women. Although that third one had taken a beating lately.
Mathias sat in the driver’s seat and put the key in. He turned it over, and the engine roared to life. At least it roared as well as a twelve-year-old car with a knock could roar.
“Wicked,” Danny grinned broadly.
“I’m driving,” Bishop ordered Mathias out of the driver’s seat.
“Yes, ma’am.” Mathias popped the trunk first then climbed out.
Danny helped Alec bring the bags to the trunk. “Is your chair going to fit in there with these?”
“I think one or two bags are going to have to sit in the back,” Alec sighed. He was not looking forward to lifting himself up again. His arms and legs both still ached from all the work they had done the day before.
“Hey, Mathias?” Alec gave up trying to do it on his own. “Can you help me get in the car?”
“Sure thing.” Mathias walked over. “What do you need me to do?”
Alec wheeled up to the front seat. “Just give me a bit of a boost.”
Mathias grabbed his one arm and helped lift, while Alec used his other to pull himself onto the front seat.
“You must be having a hell of a time,” Bishop commented.
“Thanks for noticing,” Alec grumbled.
“Actually, I’m impressed,” she continued. “A lot of people in your situation wouldn’t have made it nearly this far.”
Alec didn’t comment, but that did make him feel a little better. Probably only because it was coming from her, though.
Mathias shut his door for him and walked his chair back to the trunk. Alec watched in the rear-view mirror as Danny showed his big brother how to collapse it. He clearly adored the guy and loved being able to show off some new knowledge. Alec could see the resemblance in the boys. Judging by Mathias, Danny had a good chance of growing up to be halfway decent looking. Mathias wasn’t anything like movie star quality, but he had a face that wouldn’t scare any
one off either. The bigger Cole even had some old acne scarring in the same place that little Cole was getting his.
They argued and debated about the best way to pack the trunk until Mathias played the ‘I’m older’ card. They packed the trunk as best they could. Danny’s backpack and Alec’s rucksack had to share the backseat with them. Danny peeled Shoes up off the floor and sat down with him behind Bishop. The dog grumbled.
“Everybody good to go?” Mathias asked, closing Danny’s door.
The other three in the car gave a thumbs up.
“Nobody needs to pee or anything?” he grinned.
Nobody said anything. Alec had a feeling though, that about ten or twenty minutes out, they would need to pull over for a bathroom break. Everyone just wanted to leave this place and fast. Nothing good had happened here since the sun had come up.
Mathias walked up to the door and placed his ear against it. He was listening for the sounds of zombies outside. Smart guy. Then he leaned down and grabbed hold of the rubber strip again. The door lifted easily this time, but noisily. Mathias quickly hurried back to the car and jumped in behind Alec. As soon as his door was shut, Bishop pulled out of the garage.
“How are we on gas?” Mathias quickly asked before they could hit the road.
“Don’t worry, I checked,” Bishop waved off his concerns, “we have a full tank.”
“That still won’t get us all the way.” Alec knew the distance.
“No, but I know where all the gas stations are between here and there, so we’ll be able to stop and get some before we run out.” Bishop knew the distance better than he did.
“That’s why we ended up here last night,” Mathias added as he shifted the bags to get comfortable. “We were running low on gas, and Bishop knew about this place.”
Alec nodded. Then he had a thought. “You call her by her last name too, huh?”
“I’m pretty sure she’d kill me if I used her first name,” Mathias sounded like he was only half joking.
“I don’t even know it.” Alec looked over at Bishop, expecting her to tell him.
Survival Instinct: A Zombie Novel Paperback Page 66