A sharp scream from above penetrated their senses and all three looked back to the top of the rappel. Daisy’s blonde hair sparkled as she gripped the edge of the concrete barrier in obvious fear before another panicked shriek reached them.
“Is she okay?” Kahn shouted, half to himself and his partners on the ground and half to the faraway group above.
“Hey, she’ll be fine. Deb is awesome at this. You can’t help her from down here and it doesn’t help to shout,” Jesse reassured Kahn.
“She taught Ricky how to do this, and he’s got the mentality of a child,” Ice added. Kahn understood but still felt a shock of nervous energy up his spine as he watched Daisy struggle on the top of the rope. He didn’t think about the danger when he was doing it himself, but now with her agitated shouts he was worried. He held his breath as her body moved and she came to her feet on the narrow edge. She was nodding but he couldn’t hear what was being said, and then she took her first unsteady steps backwards and away from the safety of the road. Kahn watched, still breathless, as she jerkily moved down the rope until she was free of the wall and continued to lower herself. It seemed to take forever but her movements changed and became more steady as she got closer. When she was ten feet up Kahn began to reach, catching her as she slid the last few feet.
“Are you okay?” he asked. She smiled and just wrapped her hands around his neck. They held each other, comfortably nestled in each other’s grip, until Jesse cleared his throat and pulled Daisy’s harness. He rolled his eyes at the two as he reconnected the harnesses and sent them back to the top. Kahn pulled Daisy away to the far corner of the building to avoid the falling rope.
“I can’t believe I did that,” she said excitedly. “I didn’t think I could do it. I looked down.” She dropped her eyes in embarrassment.
“You did awesome,” he replied. “I’m glad you’re okay. You seemed really afraid up there.” He smiled, face to face with her. They both felt the euphoria of relief at the rappelling ordeal and that they were talking to each other again. Kahn hadn’t spoken to Daisy since he revealed they had become friends under his false identity. He wouldn’t have blamed her for hating him, but they both seemed to get over it in their moment of joy.
“I was, but I’m worried about Ty. He acts tough but he’s afraid of heights. He told me,” Daisy took a half step, reaching forward and holding Kahn’s hand in her own. Kahn felt a flush of excitement and time seemed to slow down. They were close to each other, and he saw every detail of her face. Her soft, slightly flushed cheeks and barely parted lips. Her blue eyes and blonde hair. He felt himself drawn to her, almost unconsciously.
“Break it up, ya’ll,” Ice interjected, breaking the spell. Daisy released Kahn’s hand and they both took a step away from each other. “Your big friend is next!”
Chapter 22
- Gray Skies
Gray Skies
It was a long wait until they saw Sole Kimble start to climb onto the edge of the highway barrier. His first move was to take a long look down, and even from afar Kahn saw the big man’s strong facade show the cracks of strain for the upcoming activity. He disappeared from view for a few minutes, and the four on the ground began to get nervous.
“What if he won’t go?” Daisy asked.
“He’ll go. Deb’s got this,” Jesse replied.
In the next moment, Kimble’s big boot flung over the edge of the wall and his uniformed hip popped up and rested on the edge. They saw Deb’s face next, her small figure guiding his big frame into place. He seemed unsure, but deliberately followed her direction as he formed his L-shape and took his first unsteady steps backwards. He was huge compared to Daisy, and Kahn was nervous about his ability to hold his own weight. Ice seemed to read his thoughts.
“As long as he listens to her and doesn’t let go, he’ll be fine,” she said. They watched, helpless to do anything else, as he first walked and then freefalled down the rope. His movements were jerky and he only came down a few feet at a time, but he was doing it. A few minutes later, they caught him and sat him on the ground. He was breathing heavily and Kahn could tell he was on the verge of collapse.
“Holy hell, big man. How’d you get into this?” said Jesse, trying to remove the harness from Kimble’s body. The straps were loosened all the way for the waist and legs and the canvas was bunching up on his flesh. Kahn helped Kimble lay fully on his back as Ice and Jesse worked off the equipment.
“Ya’ll got any water?” Kimble croaked. Everybody shook their heads, so Kimble just continued to rest. After they removed the harness, Daisy helped get him to another, more shaded part of the roof so he could recover. Kahn watched as Wiggs came over the top confidently and easily slid down the rope. He had a bottle of water in his cargo pocket so he joined Daisy and Kimble and shared with the bigger man. Once again, the cycle of connecting and hoisting the harnesses occured. Instead of tossing the rope down, the dwindling group above took a few minutes to connect the rifles and pistol belts to the line before carefully lowering all the weapons to the crew below. Ice and Wiggs moved and sorted them before his brother Ricky came over the edge. Daisy asked if he was worried and Wiggs dismissed the question as ridiculous.
There was no reason to be concerned. Ricky kicked and whooped in joy as he lowered himself down. Deb shouted instructions but Ricky moved quickly to the roof and landed with a smile and hug from his brother.
Captain Louis came next and Quentin Lars followed after another harness dance. The sun flamed in the cloud-filled sky, blasting more color than Kahn had ever noticed before. It was like the wind and weird cloud cover was causing more brilliance in the early part of the sunset. It was beautiful, but they all knew their safety was limited to daylight. As soon as the sun disappeared, the alarm’s noise would no longer keep the dead occupied. He had no idea if the uncoordinated creatures could make it up the smooth, steep ramp that kept them contained like cattle in a chute. He hoped for them to be far away before they found out. He listened carefully over the talking and movement of the rest of the crew and could barely make out the groaning, gnashing sound of the dead trapped nearby. Kahn shuddered and walked back to watch the final descents.
Only Jones, Ty, and Deb were left to come down. Lars, Daisy, Kimble, and the two Wiggins climbed down the interior ladder to the restaurant. It was rank, but they found a few untouched cans of food and some bottles of water in the display up front. They had eaten and distributed the goods to the rest of the team. While doing so, Daisy reiterated to the group that Ty seemed really nervous about the rappel and very afraid of heights. He hadn’t yet joined Jesse’s patrol when they set this up several months ago, so he was as new to it as everybody else. He was a tough teenager, but not immune to fear.
Jones came over first, smoothly sailing to the rooftop. Kahn noticed Ty’s face did not peek over the edge to watch the older man’s descent and he started to feel a greater sense that something was wrong.
“See,” Jones yelled up. “It wasn’t that bad!” There was no response from above as Jesse retrieved and prepared the harnesses for the last pair of rappellers. It took much longer than usual for the rope to twitch and the equipment to rise up. It also took longer than usual for the rope to fall back down. Jones and Louis had a rare alliance over the amount of time it was taking.
“It’s getting late,” Captain Louis said. “That alarm turns off at night, right? They need to get a move on.”
“Boy’s scared,” Jones confirmed.
“Nothing we can do about it right now,” Jesse replied. But he looked nervously up as well, anticipating a frantic hike to their target after Ty and Deb joined them. As it was, the alarm would cease before they would be able to make it to the Wither home. They all watched for any sign of the teenager.
Finally, his leg kicked over the edge much like Kimble’s had earlier. There was an audible sigh as the watchers on the rooftop exhaled. Ty was shaking his head and mouthing something to Deb. They saw her replying and nodding, holding his shoulders and try
ing to entice him over. He had a death grip on the rope with both hands until she peeled his fingers apart and reminded him to keep one hand in the small of his back as a brake. The group watched as Ty finally made it to the edge and stood in the proper L-shape. Even from this distance, they could tell he was shaking in fear. He rapidly shook his head from side to side, refusing to move. Another minute of coercing led the young man to take his first steps down. His body threatened to fold in half as his back descended faster than his feet, but Deb talked him through moving his stance and stepping backwards so he was steady again. He took a couple more steps and came to the edge of the wall.
He stayed for a while, stuck in place, before Deb’s reassuring voice gave him the confidence to step off the edge. He swung forward and his chest and face hit the edge of the concrete and he dropped a few feet before he remembered to catch himself with his brake hand. He swung back and forth, like a pendulum, recovering from the shock. As he rotated, Kahn saw his face was damaged and he had blood running out of his nose. The scared teenager shook his head a few times and looked up to Deb. Her shouted encouragement did nothing to help him move. He just hung still, stuck on the line.
The people on the ground watched in stunned silence as Ty kicked frantically, trying to resume his position. All he accomplished was to exacerbate the speed of his back and forth motion. They gasped and yelled when he let go of the rope with his brake hand, tumbling upside down before gripping it again and stopping his wild descent. He cried out as he slid a few moments with bare hands burning on the cable. He ended shaking and hanging at about the halfway point, his blood slicking the line.
Deb flung herself over the top, sending a shiver down the rope like a wiggling snake. She barely paused before throwing herself over, moving fast.
It was too late. Ty let out a cry and released the rope. He flipped back over and fell straight down the line as the helpless onlookers shouted in terror. Jones was the only one who wasn’t frozen in shock. He dove forward, trying futilely to catch the young man. But his velocity was too great and Ty crashed a meter from the edge of the roof with both feet. A sickening snapping noise rang out as his body hit the deck and bounced. Both of the carabiners on the harness snapped and Ty was catapulted by his momentum into a cartwheel and off the building. His body disappeared from view just as Deb reached the surface and scrambled out of the rappelling seat.
Jones flung himself down the ladder and Deb, Kahn, Jesse, Daisy, and Ice ran to the edge of the roof and looked down. Ty’s twisted body lay in a parking space. His legs were bent in unnatural directions with obvious breaks from his hips to his ankles. They watched as Jones ran from around the corner and slid next to the boy. Daisy turned and sobbed into Kahn’s chest and Deb kept repeating nononononono to herself, holding her head in disbelief and terror.
“He’s alive,” Jones yelled, looking up at the roof as the remainder of the crew came around the corner and ran to Ty’s broken body. “Barely breathing. He has blood coming out of his ears. Help!” Daisy pushed herself away from Kahn, realizing she was the only person that had medical training and Jones was yelling at her. She and the others on the roof quickly scrambled down. After a minute, they all stood or knelt in the parking space. Daisy quickly evaluated him and then instructed Jones and the others to assemble a makeshift stretcher from one of the restaurant’s tables. Ten minutes later, Ty was unconscious on a tabletop inside the seafood place. He had a cushion behind his head and a pool of blood dripping onto the table. His once-gray pants were dark with blood from the compound fractures within.
Jesse, Kahn, Kimble, and Deb stepped aside to discuss their situation. After a few silent moments of respect, Kimble spoke.
“He doesn’t look too good. What’s the plan now?” he asked. Deb shook her head, eyes red from crying.
“I can’t believe it. I thought he was going to be okay. He was scared, but showed me he knew how to do everything. It’s all my fault,” she sobbed.
“It’s not your fault. He just-- lost control. None of us could have saved him,” Jesse replied, crossing his arms.
“You’re talking like he’s dead. He’s not!” Deb’s fiery eyes burned toward Jesse even as she tried to keep her voice down.
“He might as well be. We need to put the boy out of his misery,” Captain Louis’ thick accent spoke the words with no shame as he joined them. Deb turned her hate toward him and flung herself into the front of his uniform, striking him in both shoulders.
“No! He’s not dead!” she shrieked. Jesse and Kahn pulled her back and fresh tears sprang from her eyes. They all waited in depressed silence and watched as Daisy walked up to them, blood on her hands. Jones walked with her and the rest of the crew filled in behind, making a rough circle with Jesse and Daisy in the middle.
“So,” Jesse asked. “How is he?” She shook her head.
“Bad,” she paused and wiped her hands on her jeans. “Both legs are beyond shattered. Broken in so many places I can’t begin to splint them. He probably has a concussion and multiple compound fractures. At best. At worst his brain is bleeding and his back is broken. Even if we had the ability to bring him to a hospital, recovery would take months. And he’s probably paralyzed for life.” The group continued their shocked silence until the captain reasserted his earlier dark statement.
“That boy is gonna die, and he’s going to take us with him. It’s almost night and those things are going to stop chasing each other in circles when that alarm stops. It would be a mercy.” Deb screamed back at him again and the whole group broke out in alarmed shouting. Jesse tried to hold Deb back as she flung herself at the officer until Daisy screamed stop over the melee. She sighed and continued.
“He’s right,” she said. Deb choked back a guilty sob and Jesse placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Daisy turned to Kahn and frowned. “Ty isn’t going to make it. We can’t leave him here, and we can’t bring him with us. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Captain Louis is right. It would be the right thing to do.”
“No, wait,” Jones stepped through and faced Daisy. “I understand what you’re saying, but we ain’t just gonna put him down like a horse with a broke leg.”
“I’m sorry,” she replied, letting her eyes drop.
“But, I know we can’t bring him with. So I’ll stay. I’ll stay with him,” Jones reached forward slowly and took Daisy in a gentle embrace. “Thank you.” He turned to Deb and hugged her as well as she let loose a sad cry. The whole group stepped forward as first Jesse, then Kahn, the Kimble and the rest shook Jones’ hand or patted him on the shoulder.
“You don’t have to do this,” Kahn said as the door opened and the group began to gather their supplies and walk out the door.
“No, I don’t,” Jones said. “I’m just a cook, man. My whole career I’ve served soldiers before serving myself. Thousands of them, and I loved the feeling it gave me. They were heroes, and I kept them going,” he turned, looking at Ty’s broken body with a long sigh. “Well, this kid didn’t have a chance to be a hero. He deserves more than this. The least I can do it stay with him. Until--” Jones trailed off.
“We’ll come back for you,” Jesse reassured him. “We’ll come get you and Ty both and bring you home,” Jones nodded.
“I’ll be here. Ya’ll get going now, before I change my mind.” They loaded up weapons and continued their exit, leaving Jones standing over Ty. He held the teenager’s rifle before shouting for Kahn.
“Hey, man. Take this,” Jones held out Ty’s 9mm carbine rifle and the belt of magazines. Kahn nodded and took both, working the belt around his waist. The two men shook hands again.
“Thank you for this,” was all Kahn could manage before Jesse popped back in the front door and yelled for him.
“We’re losing light. We need to get going,” he said.
Kahn looked once at the broken body of the young man lying on the table. The evening was approaching, and the sky was turning a shade of deep blue outside the plate glass window above Ty’s h
ead. Kahn released the other man’s hand and walked to the exit. Jones called out as the door shut.
“Garcia! Be safe!” Jones sank into a chair, watching the sky darken and listening for the alarm to cease.
Chapter 23
- Bounty
Bounty
“You, and you,” Colonel Dimitri Luca shouted over the diesel engine. “Patrol the outside perimeter.” His icy Russian accent cut through the noise of the mercenary’s chatter and the two men he indicated jumped out of the back of the truck immediately. The others followed, watching the nearby buildings carefully.
Luca indicated for several of the men to follow him, and he clicked the safety of his submachine gun off. He and three others tramped through the dried out landscaping toward the outer gate of the abandoned business. They stepped off the brown grass onto the wide driveway and walked in formation toward the open gate.
Shadows draped across the asphalt from the setting sun and the building was nestled in shadow. The heat of the day was subdued from the overcast sky and Luca predicted a summer rain storm soon. He planned to be inside this building and in possession of his promised payment before the weather turned.
“Sir,” one of his soldiers whispered. The colonel glanced at the man, a young kid with an upturned nose and bulging, frightened-looking eyes. He was pointing his rifle forward at a figure staggering out of the shadowy edge of a box truck. Luca tapped the kid twice and a single shot rang out, downing the creature.
Six more hidden figures turned and moved toward the gunfire. Their instinctive reaction to the noise brought their outlines from the shadows and made them clear targets. For a moment, he listened to their breathy growls and shuffling steps. He allowed the closest to get within a few feet before Luca ordered the men accompanying him to open fire. Measured, single shots fired from each weapon and the half-dozen walkers fell to the ground.
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