A crack of semi-automatic fire erupted from behind the commercial building and the small group raised their weapons in alarm. One of the perimeter guards, Luca thought after a moment, waving his hand for his soldiers to continue. Only one fired, he pondered. Only one of the dead?
Several more shots and a quick shout sounded from the faraway corner of the long building. The sound came from along the far edge of the perimeter fence and the chain link shook and filled the air with a jingling sound. Luca looked to the perimeter in alarm, thinking for a moment they had been betrayed before his eyes adjusted to the movement. He turned to his men and smiled as he pointed and barked orders.
“Check the entrance, wait in the lobby. You, get the truck inside the gate and close it. Get rid of the bodies.” The leader threw the SMG over his shoulder so it hung from his back by the sling. He stepped quickly into the growing darkness on the edge of the property and saw what he expected.
There were easily twenty corpses lined up on the outside of the side fence. He chuckled and called out to the two soldiers he had sent to check the perimeter.
“Startled you, da?” he questioned. The growls of the dead intensified as they struggled to move. The men hesitated before answering in the affirmative. “Yes, our friends have unique ideas,” he continued. “I feel we can learn much from them.”
Approaching the fence revealed the surprise his comrades had left. They used long pieces of rebar to puncture each reanimated body through the midsection until they reached the 90-degree bend at the end and became trapped. Then, it looked as if they passed the straight end of the rebar through the fence and bent it so the corpses were trapped. They were like dead sentries lined up along the back wall. Luca saw the first one in line had the top of its head blown off, no doubt by his nervous troopers. Now, with him crunching through the gravel on the interior of the barrier, the dead creatures were twisting and tearing their own flesh as they struggled to reach him. Anybody approaching from the main road would have been greeted by a line of hungry corpses, likely sending them in search of an easier bounty. Protecting my assets, he thought, for our lucrative future together.
He drew his pistol and touched it to the corner of his brow in salute before walking along the line, shooting each creature in the head in a steady cadence. He paused and reloaded before finishing the last three in line. After the last shot fired, he looked at the fallen corpses and admired the ingenuity and bravery it must have taken to recruit and set up the dead in this manner. Only a moment passed before he quickly marched away, eager to inspect their bounty.
“Sir, the office areas are clear,” the wide-eyed soldier declared as Luca entered the glass-fronted entrance to the shop. A bell attached to the door chimed as he joined the two remaining members of his detachment. He looked around at the dirty lobby. There were a couple chairs and an old television filling up most of the floor space. The rest was taken by a long counter topped with a dingy computer monitor. Posters and papers were nailed and taped to the walls haphazardly. A narrow set of steps led up from the corner of the room, next to a small restroom door. A single glass push door led out to the set of work bays.
“Upstairs clear?” he asked. He got a nod in return. “Did you check the bays?” A shake the other direction.
“No, sir. We waited for you.”
The boy was right to wait. Luca pushed past and tested the door. It opened easily. He pushed it wide and took a long step into the darkness. The two young men followed him, allowing the door to clap shut behind them. It was almost pitch dark inside and a faint noise, like a whimper, was barely audible from the farthest bay door. Luca turned and instructed the men to open the closest garage, for some light, so he could see what was left to buy his loyalty.
The door flung open, spring-loaded to make it easy to rise to the top of the tall shop. Evening light spilled in, bathing the vehicles lifts, tools, and storage shelving in an eerie blue tint. The colonel chirped a laugh when he saw the crates of weapons and green boxes of ammunition lined along the exterior wall. There were two crates labeled M136 AT4 set alongside a rack of M4 rifles.
Thunder rumbled outside as Luca saw the source of the noise he had heard. He grinned again, glad for the relationship he had built between himself and the Neighbors. They seemed to have paid in full for Luca’s collusion in attacking the remote outpost south of town. This was proving to be a profitable relationship. He called to the young soldiers.
“Progulka s drugom v temnote luchshe, chem hodit' v odinochku pri svete. We prepare for our next move. It’s time to return the favor.”
Chapter 24
- Stone Wedge
Stone Wedge
Hal Kahn walked in the rear of the staggered column, just behind Captain Louis, having lost the brief argument about attempting to jump start a vehicle from the nearby dealership. The group had walked away from the seafood restaurant in low spirits, having left two of their own behind to what most thought would be a certain end. Once the alarm stopped, the restaurant would be directly next to the unending assemblage of the dead. Kahn felt he would never see Specialist Teddy Jones again, let alone Ty with his extensive injuries.
Private Lars’ mechanical expertise became the reason they didn’t attempt to start a vehicle. He said even if they could find a battery with a charge, the gas might need to be drained and changed out before it would combust, and they didn’t have the time before dark. They decided to hike around the big parking lot of new cars, through the box store lot, and over a slatted fence into the residential neighborhood that contained their target address. Jesse studied the license with the picture of David Wither as they all vaulted the heavy duty barrier, which served to provide the neighborhood with unneeded security before the outbreak but great protection from any wandering dead that might exit their looping march close-at-hand.
Jesse led, having warned them he didn’t know exactly which street it was and being greeted with tired groans from Louis and Wiggs. Behind the searching leader were Ice, Deb, and Daisy in a close cluster. They were followed by the two Wiggins and then a large gap between them and Sergeant Kimble. The big guy lagged behind in a slow gait, and the group ahead kept stopping to wait for him. Pacing the rear were Lars, Louis, and finally Kahn.
The neighborhood was quiet, and the crew marched with little conversation. Strangely, the sky hadn’t turned completely dark when the colors from the sunset faded. Kahn was fascinated, watching the cloud cover move away in the bright gray air before being replaced by an unnatural shade of yellow. It was odd, almost like daylight was still shining even as dusk settled and the sun disappeared. It was as if the deepening gray was causing the saffron sky tint to intensify. The brightness was unusual, but not worrisome. It provided much needed illumination as the group hiked through the abandoned district.
Kahn’s feet ached. Jesse called for a quick break and the group sat along either side of the road on the small curbs, drinking water and chatting softly. Kahn went to adjust the tightness of his boot laces and saw a glint on the ground. He reached down and picked up the small, clear object. It was a small, intact lens from a pair of glasses. He flipped it over in his hands, trying to imagine how the solitary lens could have arrived on the ground on the side of the road. How hopeless to lose something so essential.
There were deep scratches in the surface and a smear of dried reddish-brown marred the lens. Kahn tossed it away in disgust.
“Let’s go,” Jesse called, eliciting some more tired grumbling. “Not much farther, see? All the streets along this row are Stone-something. Stone Ridge, Stone Way, Stone Circle. This is the row we’ll find our street.” He pulled the license out and held it out, showing the address. Kahn stood and took it. Jesse began walking away, leaving the remaining nine to follow. It was easy to read in the yellow glow of the evening sky.
David Wither
8020 Stone Wedge
He placed it in his pocket and fell into step with the rest of the group.
The golden sky had faded several
shades during their short break and now, as they looked to each street sign along the row, black clouds began to rumble and flash ominous streaks of blue across the summer sky. After covering only two more blocks, fat raindrops plopped on the hot surface of the road and the shadowy hikers. Visibility went to almost nil abnormally fast, and the crew felt nervous electricity in the air. Late summer thunderstorms like this were often violent and unpredictable. The cold drops began to splatter the group of ten, hitting skin with stinging force. The temperature had dropped quickly as well, leaving them wet and increasingly cold as they trudged along, pushing against the gaining wind.
A flash of lightning illuminated the group ahead of Kahn like a strobe. There was an almost instantaneous crash of thunder and Kahn watched Ricky grab his head and scream in fear. His brother and Lars both took an arm, trying to calm the big guy and having little success. Jesse, Ice, Daisy, and Kimble walked ahead of the struggling brothers. With the leaders in the front focused on making it to their destination, Deb, Kahn, and Captain Louis closed in on the raging episode occurring in the middle of the road. Ricky was calming down with the attention, but jumped as another thunderous crash shook the air around them. Louis was trying to call out to the separated group. They were almost a block ahead at this point and the growing storm prevented them from hearing. A third strobe-like flash lit the neighborhood and Kahn froze in fear.
Just ahead of Jesse, Daisy, Kimble, and Ice were several dark outlines walking through the downpour. Kahn called out to no avail. He screamed look! to the comrades near him as another flash illuminated the walkers again. This time he was able to see the details. Slow, shambling movements with gnashing teeth. The creature in front, a man with no shirt and lumps of flesh eaten from his midsection, reached forward toward the unsuspecting people. Two hugely overweight figures with swaying globs of fat flanked the shirtless corpse. Kahn screamed into the gale before remembering the weapon, Ty’s weapon, slung over his side. He spun it around and up to his shoulder, releasing the safety with his thumb. He took aim in the darkness, waiting for another flash of light.
The booming crash and dazzling illumination occurred at almost the same moment as Kahn pulled the trigger. The explosion of the 9mm bullet from the carbine’s barrel was silent compared to the cacophony from the rain and thunder. He looked again at the darkness and waited for another opportunity. When the next flare lit the sky he saw his friends were now alarmed by the presence of the hungry biters. It was hard to tell in the split second of vision, but it looked like they were in the process of shooting. He ran, not sure if the rest of the group was following or left behind. He sprinted blindly through the darkness and falling precipitation. The thunder of his boots on pavement made it feel like the storm was penetrating his legs and up his spine. By the time another flash lit his way, he could see Kimble was wrestling with one of the fat corpses and Ice was attacking the one with no shirt with the butt end of her carbine. Just a snapshot, like a photograph, appeared as he ran.
Ice’s opponent took a blow across its jaw, shattering teeth and tearing the soft flesh of its face. As it fell sideways away from the blow, Jesse shot a round through its temple. Kahn heard the shot and ricochet as the bullet passed through the skull and deflected off the pavement. Kahn reached Daisy huddled in the intersection of two neighborhood streets as Jesse raised his rifle to the lone huge creature stomping through the rain and fired three shots. Its head exploded and the hulking frame collapsed forward and seesawed into a resting position, arms and legs flailed in a star-shaped pattern on the dark road. In the instant the second creature fell, Jesse turned and ran to Kimble and the third creature. It was big, and Kimble was using his own large midsection to keep the creature away. The two figures spun around each other on the far corner of the intersection, too far for a clean shot with Kimble so close.
Jesse reached the two bodies and made a flying leap, swinging his rifle like a club into the side of the walking corpse. The two separated, falling into the grass of the nearby yard. The fat deader tried to roll over and get up, but it was using its newly broken arm to hold its weight and the useless appendage kept collapsing. Kimble scrambled away on his heels, having lost his rifle in the fight. Jesse put his foot onto the massive belly of the beast and fired multiple times into its face and head. By the time he stopped and Kimble stood, Daisy was shaking Kahn’s shoulders. He turned to her in shock.
“Hey! Hey!” she yelled. He looked at the panicked grimace through the wet hair plastered wildly on her face. She was pointing as she hollered, so Kahn followed her display with his eyes. “Stone Wedge! Stone Wedge!” She screamed it over the din as everybody arrived.
“Jesse, Stone Wedge!” Kahn repeated, and Jesse wiped his face and nodded.
“Okay, it can’t be far. Let’s find the house and get inside for shelter. You okay? You? You?” Jesse nodded toward Ice, Kimble, and the rest of the group as he asked their status. He was greeted with quiet nods as the group spluttered in the gaining storm.
They broke into a deliberate jog along the left hand side of Stone Wedge. Kahn was just behind Jesse in line and the rest fell into route step. They kept a watchful eye as the group passed several houses, eyeing numbers as they went. The group passed six, and then eight houses before starting to spread out and slow. The three biggest, Kimble, Wiggs, and Ricky, lagged in the rear with Ice as she tried to keep them moving at pace. Finally, Jesse called out and stopped in a wide, straight driveway.
8020 Stone Wedge. David Wither. What are we going to find? How will your house lead us to your father? Kahn’s thoughts burned his senses. No matter what, we find Llewelyn, and the Neighbors, and we kill him. We kill them all.
Daisy took his hand and dragged him toward the front door. Jesse flung open the screen door and pushed himself into the heavy front door, shaking it on its frame. Daisy cried wait! over the loud noise of the storm. She reached past Jesse and tried the knob. It gave way and the door swung wide open into a pitch black home.
They piled in, all ten of them, and stood in the little entryway as Deb turned and closed the door to the elements. The white noise of rain and thunder rattled the house, and for a minute everyone just stood together recovering and allowing their eyes to adjust to the dark. Kimble took a seat at the dining room table in the adjacent room, scraping the chair legs on the wood floor and making a loud, wet plop as he sank into the spot. Lars joined him first, then the Wiggins.
“Come on,” Kahn whispered. “We’ve got to search the house.”
“I can’t hear anything over this storm,” Jesse replied. Daisy shushed the whispering pair.
“What was that?” She took a step into the second adjacent room and it opened into a living room with a big flat screen television and reclining sectional. The house had been ransacked with random stuff scattered all over. Food wrappers, cans, kid’s toys. She crept forward to peek down the long, dark hallway, listening for whatever she had heard.
A piercing scream from the hall shattered the silence as something ran to Daisy and gripped her midsection before anyone could react.
“Mommy!”
Chapter 25
- Hurricane
Hurricane
Paleotempestology, or the science of studying past hurricanes for patterns that could predict future weather events, was a field that ceased to exist once the dead began to walk the earth and eat the living. For that matter, meteorology and climatology also disappeared. The National Hurricane Center scientists stopped coming to work when the Director died and reanimated in the parking lot the previous summer. If the Miami, Florida, facility was still operating as Hal Kahn and Jesse Diego entered David Wither’s home, the workers within would be monitoring the third of what would become ten subsequent Atlantic hurricanes during a hyperactive and catastrophic season.
This particular hurricane began as an area of low pressure in the Southern Atlantic near Cape Verde ten days prior to its eventual landfall. As the storm advanced, it intensified into a tropical depression while crossing
the Bay of Campeche near Mexico City. It turned north and rapidly traveled across the Gulf of Mexico becoming first a tropical storm and then hurricane by the next day. The following day, it grew to a Category 3 and 4 storm as it approached the Texas Gulf Coast.
The unnamed and unmonitored hurricane made landfall between the cities of Port Aransas and O’Connor, Texas, with sustained winds of over 130 miles per hour.
Condos and hotels on the coast were ripped to shreds by the intense winds and rain. Cities along the coast were ravaged by the storm. Buildings fell while abandoned boats were blown onto the shores and into city streets. A dock with hundreds of luxury yachts was torn from the sea and pushed inland, along with the formerly beautiful vessels, shattering storefronts and scattering debris to the wind. Coastal towns from Corpus Christi to Houston sustained what would have been billions of dollars of damage prior to society’s collapse.
The dead were swept away by the thousands. In Houston, as floodwaters began to rise through neighborhoods that had never before flooded, creatures that had been roaming for months continued to trudge through the wind and rising waters. By the end of the day, so many had been caught in the flood that the water churned more with their movement than with the rain.
The dead don’t drown. Thousands of bodies sank as water filled their unused lungs and dragged them to the streets below. Chemicals from vehicles left behind, shattered industrial facilities, and spilled oil and gasoline containers joined the rot from the corpses. Houston became a cesspool for the dead.
There were several safe outposts still intact before the hurricane hit. The living population numbered in the thousands across the coast, and small communities of a few dozen were well-equipped to last through the weather had the floodwaters not breached the safety of their walls and fences. No group was desperate enough to drink water brought by the storm, but nobody escaped the toxicity in the air and in the ground. Nor were many able to escape from collapsing buildings, gusting wind, or flooding.
Nation Undead (Book 2): Collusion Page 17