Mathias led them through the prison to a large cellblock. There were a lot of people milling about in the open cells. Light was provided by a string of small bulbs along the floor. Misha figured they must be hooked up to a generator; they flickered a lot. Some of the other people also had their own lights for added illumination. All of them looked like refugees: frightened and huddling together in small groups.
They passed by one particular cell where a boy, a woman, and a man in a wheelchair were sitting. Rifle surprised Misha when he dashed straight to the man in the chair, put his paws on his lap and licked his face, whining with joy.
“Rifle!” the man cried out, overcome with emotion. “Oh, Rifle, my boy! What a good boy you are! Hello! How did you get here?”
“He was in a cell with him.” Mathias singled out Misha.
Misha didn’t know what to say when everybody looked at him. He actually felt like running, but the idea of running without his furry brother was sickening.
The man in the wheelchair rolled over to him. “I’m Alec McGregor.” He held out his hand.
“Misha Jovovich.” Misha shook the offered hand.
“You took care of my dog. I don’t know how to thank you.” His sincerity was overwhelming.
“Well, he helped take care of me, so I guess we’re even,” Misha said awkwardly and looked at his feet.
“All right, so you’re Misha.” Mathias turned to the others. “Joshua I figured out. What are your names?”
“I’m Tobias.” He shook his hand.
“Abby.” She shook it as well.
“Well, like he said, that’s Alec. That’s my brother, Danny.” Mathias gestured to the kid. “And Josh, I guess you already know Riley.”
Cender was grinning at the woman. “He calls you Riley and you haven’t ripped his balls off yet?”
“It’s a long story,” the woman sighed. “What happened to your leg?”
“Also a long story.” Cender, or Joshua, or whatever, crutched his way to the bed and sat down next to Riley.
The cell was very cramped with all of them in there, but it seemed like the safest place to talk about escape plans. Those with large bags placed them on the top bunk to make space.
Misha jumped when something brushed past his leg. He looked down to see a squat little dog with big floppy ears. The two dogs started sniffing all over one another.
“That’s Shoes,” Alec told him. “Don’t mind him, he’s harmless. Just a ball of skin really.”
Misha nodded, but internally, he thought the ball of skin remark was kind of disgusting. Rifle seemed to have an all right opinion of the other dog though, so he relaxed somewhat. One of the last things he wanted to do was separate a dogfight.
“So there’s bad news.” Mathias went on to tell them about the experiment theory. They all seemed to take it very seriously, clearly trusting this Mathias guy.
“You have it wrong.” Everyone in the cell jumped when a voice came from the door. They all turned to see a Keystone merc standing there, listening in on Mathias’s theory.
“James,” Mathias frowned. He clearly had met the man once before. Misha thought that maybe they had worked together at some point. Whatever it was, hands tightened on weapons around the cell, but he had nothing with which to defend himself.
The merc, James, put his hands up in a defensive posture. He looked around nervously; making sure no one else could hear him. “Look, you have it wrong. They don’t plan on killing everyone here.”
Mathias raised his gun, levelling it at James’s chest. “Why should I believe you?”
“’Cause I know more than you,” James scowled. He stepped closer to the group and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. “I don’t have long, so I suggest you shut up and listen. We ran into you in the woods because we’ve been tracking you. There’s a tracer built into your gun. I’m not sure which one, just finding that out was hard enough, but it’s there. They have no plans to kill the people here, more like turn them into slaves. They’ll need people to work in their new order. For now though, everyone here will be kept safe. Except you, Cole. They still plan on killing you. You’re to be the example of what happens to traitors.”
“Why are you telling us this?” It was obvious Mathias still didn’t trust him.
“Because I knew Chant too.” James looked around again. “That split faction thing I mentioned wasn’t complete bullshit. Some of us do disagree with what’s happened, and what’s still happening, just none of us are in a position of power. I don’t care what you do with this information. I just thought you should have a fighting chance. I would have said something earlier, but there was always someone else around, someone watching. I can’t help you get out of here; I won’t put myself at risk. I need to stay here if I hope to find a way of getting the rest of these people out. Me and the others working with me have been turning a blind eye to your group. You don’t have that much time. They plan on killing you some time tonight. Find your own way out, and ditch the rifle.”
James suddenly turned and left before anyone could say anything more. Misha glanced out of the cell and saw another merc walking down the hall. He ducked his head back inside and hid behind the others, just in case they might recognise him.
The other merc walked by without even glancing at them.
No one said anything for a while. What they had just learned didn’t really make a difference. They still needed to bust out. Their timetable had just been established.
* * *
“All right, so we need to figure out how to get out of here and ASAP.” Riley was clearly a commanding type, breaking up everyone’s thoughts. Misha hoped she wasn’t too bitchy. “We know of the exit we came in through, but are there any others?”
“I asked around about that,” Alec told the room. “Seems there’s one through the guard tower but I’m betting it’s heavily guarded. That seems to be where most of the soldiers hang out.”
“Even if we do go through a door, there’s all those zombies outside,” Danny mentioned. “Anywhere we go over the wall there will be zombies as well.”
“Maybe there’s a spot where there aren’t any, or at least only a few we can outrun,” Mathias suggested.
“Have you tried to outrun a hoard?” Tobias half laughed. “It’s no picnic. Besides, we have one man in a wheelchair and another on crutches.”
“Is there a way to distract them to one side of the building while we go out the other?” Cender suggested. Tobias got an uncomfortable look about that, but didn’t say anything.
“That could work actually,” Mathias nodded. “If we could cause an explosion on one side that would draw both the zombies and the guards over there, then we could slip out the other side.”
“What do we have that can create such an explosion?” Riley asked. “I left my grenades and C4 at home.”
Misha didn’t think she was kidding about that, which scared him a little. Still, he was more afraid of the guards.
“Did you pack some gas in the bags?” Mathias asked her.
“Yeah, there should be a small canister in each bag, including LeBlanc’s.” Riley stood up to the top bunk to reach the bags she was talking about.
“Who’s LeBlanc?” Cender asked.
“Someone who didn’t make it,” Mathias told him. His tone of voice suggested they shouldn’t ask about it.
“So how do we get them to explode?” Abby asked.
“Why explode them?” Danny wondered. “Just spray it over the wall and light it on fire. They run to fire, remember Alec?”
“It’s true, the zombies do seem drawn by fire,” Alec agreed.
“Well, we don’t want to be in the area when it goes up.” Riley found the small gas cans and handed them to Mathias. Although cans seemed like the wrong word. They were more like squeeze bottles.
Misha couldn’t help but be in awe of how prepared these people were. They had so much stuff. He didn’t even have a shirt.
“Molotovs,” Misha said, “make Molotovs
and sling shot them with something.”
“That could work,” Mathias nodded. “We make three Molotovs and our fastest runners launch them and make a mad dash to the others.”
“We should do some recon,” Alec suggested. “Everyone should split up and search the place. Decide where the best place to hit is and what our best routes are.”
“I agree,” Mathias nodded. “Everyone else in agreement?”
Everyone in the cell nodded.
“Then let’s go.” Mathias grabbed his pack. “Bring your stuff. We don’t want to risk anyone pilfering it, but we’ll meet back here in, say, twenty?”
Everyone nodded again and grabbed their bags. Except for Misha, of course, who didn’t have one.
“Rifle, go with Misha,” Alec told his dog.
Misha gave the man a confused look.
“It’s obvious he likes you,” Alec laughed, “and besides, you look like you could use the company.”
Alec rolled off the other way. He had clearly missed his dog desperately the way he kept stroking his fur as they planned, but he was willing to keep leaving him in Misha’s care. Misha was touched on a deep level. Someone was willing to trust him so completely on a first meeting even though he had no trust for them. Maybe he could alter that somewhat.
He walked off through the prison, Rifle in tow. He also seemed to be followed by the dog Shoes. Apparently the little, short-legged thing liked him, or Rifle, enough to wander off with a stranger. Misha didn’t mind as long as he kept pace. In fact, he felt safer having both dogs with him. He had no weapon, but dogs could be intimidating. Although it’s not like anyone would attack him. He had nothing to steal.
As he searched the prison, looking out through every window he came across, he did his best to avoid the mercenaries. He didn’t know if any of them would recognize him so he tried to avert his face, and blend in with the other people whenever one showed up.
Misha couldn’t find anything of use. He didn’t even really know what he was looking for. He had suggested the Molotovs on a whim; he didn’t actually think they would go for it. He was about to give up and head back when a bird flew by the window he was looking through. His eyes followed its path up to a section of the roof. Then his jaw literally dropped. There, up on the roof of another section of the prison, was a goddamn helicopter.
* * *
When everyone gathered back in the cell, Misha told them all about what he had found. The grin on his face stretched ear to ear from excitement. It took a few tries for him to get it out because, in his elation and haste, he kept slipping into Russian. Finally though, he managed to get it all out and fill them in. He had even found the staircase that led up to the roof, although it was being guarded.
“That’s great,” Mathias grinned. “Although there’s one problem. Can anyone here fly a helicopter?”
“I can.” Riley raised her hand. “Although I haven’t flown in a long time and am probably rusty. It would be best if I had some sort of co-pilot.”
Everyone looked around hoping someone would say something. No one did. Well, almost no one did.
“I can do it.” Everyone turned and looked at Danny.
The kid was clearly not even old enough to drive a car, let alone a helicopter.
“I’ve wanted to be a chopper pilot for a few years now,” Danny explained. “I did a lot of online research. I was hoping to go for my license as soon as I was old enough. I’ve never actually flown one, but I think I know enough to co-pilot.”
No one said anything. No one knew what to say. They didn’t really have any other options.
“You sure, Danny?” Mathias asked him.
“Yeah,” Danny nodded. “Also, it’s probably that prototype from Keystone you told me about. The Ostra class one. Remember how you got those files for me? The ones you weren’t supposed to have? I have those things memorized.”
“Apparently your thievery paid off.” Riley looked at Mathias. “I have a co-pilot.”
“This is a dumb idea,” Alec sighed, “but then again, most of what I’ve done in the past thirty or so hours have probably been dumb ideas.”
“So we don’t need to use the Molotovs then,” Abby smiled.
“No. We still need them,” Mathias told her. “We can take out the guard, sure, but they’ll be bound to notice when the chopper blades start up. We still need to throw the Molotovs to distract them. Also, maybe it’ll get these people realizing that this place isn’t as safe as they keep saying it is. Might give James a hand if he does plan on moving these people out eventually.”
“All right,” Riley nodded. “Let’s work out a bombing route then.”
* * *
Everyone discussed what they had learned about the layout of the prison. Misha had taken out his map, which was apparently Riley’s map, and they used the back of the paper to sketch out what they could crudely. Abby seemed to have perfectly memorized all the parts of the prison she had covered, which was useful because she had been checking out the area around the guard tower. It was also at this time that Misha learned he had been heading toward the same place everyone else here had been going. Apparently they were all going to Riley’s brother’s and then from there to Riley’s family cabin.
In the end, they decided that fire bombing the tower was the best idea. The smoke would help protect them from any gunfire the tower would aim in their direction.
The runners were decided as Mathias, Tobias, and Misha. Riley had argued that she could probably outrun at least one of them, but Mathias wouldn’t let her. She was the most valuable member of their group; they couldn’t risk her being taken down. She knew better than anyone did where they were going, she knew how to survive, and she was the pilot. She needed to have the blades whirling before the runners even reached the helicopter. She also needed to be prepared to leave someone behind if they weren’t faster than the guards. Misha thought she seemed to be cold enough for that job.
The first thing they had to do was take out the guard. Mathias handled that quite well. He walked up to the guard, pretending to be one of them, and the moment he was close enough, he slugged the guy. There was a brief scuffle, but the element of surprise allowed Mathias several good shots to the man’s head. The man was either unconscious or dead when they found a closet to stuff him into. They tied him up first though, just in case.
Alec started to make his painful way up the stairs with Abby and Danny’s help. Mathias had first given Danny a big hug, saying it was just in case. Riley dragged up the chair loaded down with Mathias’s, LeBlanc’s, and Tobias’s bags. None of the Keystone guns was among the equipment she hauled; they had given those to some very confused but thankful people. Cender brought up the rear with his crutches and his own bag. Shoes waddled up one step at a time, chuffing along. The old dog looked exhausted but he was still pushing on. Rifle whined at the bottom of the steps and looked at Misha.
“Don’t worry, bratishka, I’ll be up there with you soon enough.” Misha kissed the dog’s head, right between his ears. “Go follow your master now. He looks like he could use the help.”
Rifle trotted up to the first landing, dragging Alec’s bag behind him. They had tied it to the big dog’s harness with some rope. He then looked back at Misha. Squeezing his skunk toy once, which he carried in his mouth again, he headed up after the others.
The three runners made their way to where they needed to be. Mathias carried the prepared Molotovs wrapped up in Misha’s firefighter jacket so no one would notice. Misha’s scrawny torso didn’t actually stand out in this place. There were quite a few people in odd attire, either mismatched, partly missing, or inappropriate. They passed a whole group of teenage girls in pyjamas. Misha figured they must have been having a slumber party or something when they were forced to flee. Some folks were like the rest of his group, with large packs filled with stuff, while others were like Misha, having barely more than a pair of shorts.
They reached their target window and opened it up. A few windows had alread
y been opened because the place was rather stuffy and with no AC, it was starting to get really hot as well.
Tobias and Misha kept an eye out for guards while Mathias used a pair of small wire cutters to cut free the mesh that covered the outside of the window. It was hard work and Misha heard a lot of cursing spew forth from Mathias. A few times, they had to stop as a guard walked by. They could never be sure if it was one that worked with James or not. Even if it was, they still couldn’t be sure they could trust James. They could only hope that none of them noticed that the guard from the stairwell was missing.
“Okay, we’re good,” Mathias told them.
The guys gathered around and picked their Molotovs. Although the gas had originally been kept in plastic bottles, they had found two empty beer bottles and an empty wine bottle to pour it into. Apparently, either some guard or some refugees had been drinking. The glass should shatter nicely. Misha and Tobias picked the beer bottles, leaving the larger bottle to Mathias.
Each of them had a lighter, Misha using the crusty one from the car, and the others using the ones they had gotten from Riley. She was like a human Swiss army knife, it seemed.
“You guys ready?” Mathias looked both Tobias and Misha in the eyes.
Tobias nodded.
“I think I’m about to piss my shorts, but yeah,” Misha agreed. He hoped these weren’t the last two people he ever saw. His mind raced through everything that could go wrong, including accidentally igniting himself.
“Okay,” Mathias nodded, “light ’em up.”
v:
Survival Instinct
Forrest was a pilot for Air Canada and had been at Toronto Person International airport when it hit. With its close proximity to Leighton, Toronto’s major outbreak occurred not much later than theirs did. Forrest had gotten stuck on the tarmac with no place to go. He had already dropped off his passengers and was supposed to taxi to another gate to pick up more. Chaos had broken out all over the airport and he and his co-pilot could only sit and listen over the radio as the tower was attacked. In the end, the co-pilot and the rest of the crew had gotten off, thinking that either it was the best option or else to go find their families. Forrest didn’t have a family to check on. He had stayed on the 747, eating the in-flight meals. If he needed more food, he could go raid the other planes. Sitting on the airfield meant he had a clear view all around him. Any zombies that had noticed him and had tried to harass the plane had eventually run off in pursuit of a rabbit or deer that was unfortunate enough to find itself on the runway.
Survival Instinct: A Zombie Novel Paperback Page 73