Stunned, the woman took a step back, her hand moving to her stinging cheek.
“Sir,” Loto said, still trying to thin the crowd of dead around them, “we’ve got problems.”
Henry turned to see that they were completely surrounded by the dead.
~*~
Whispering Springs, Nevada
“Miranda, please don’t look at me like that,” Dan said, stepping closer to her.
Miranda took a step back, scared, and Dan thought she looked like she was ready to bolt.
“I promise that none of what you just heard on the radio is true, and we can prove it,” he said.
“He’s right, Miranda,” George assured her. “I know the man who’s responsible for the plague, but neither Dan nor I had anything to do with it. We’ve got the proof on a DVD if you want to see it.”
She didn’t look quite as terrified as she had a moment earlier, but Dan still hated seeing the distrust on her face.
“Please, Miranda, just give us a chance to explain,” he said.
“I want to believe you, but I’m scared,” she told him, still looking like she was ready to run at the slightest provocation.
“I understand,” Dan said, “but do you really think that either of us could have done this?”
“I don’t know what to think,” she said. She paced the room for a few minutes then shook her head. “No, I don’t think you did it. We’ve spent a lot of time together the last few days, and I think I know you both well enough to believe that you’re telling me the truth. I’m sorry. I just panicked when I heard the broadcast. Please tell me what’s going on.”
“The reason we didn’t tell you earlier is that it might put you in danger,” Dan said, after getting the thumb drive out of his backpack. “I want you to think it over before we tell you everything. If someone comes looking for us, they may ask questions, and they might not be nice about it.”
“I want to know,” she said, without hesitation.
“Can you copy this?” Dan asked, handing her the thumb drive. “If we’re going to tell you what we know, you might want a copy, so you can pass the word on to others.”
They went into her office, and she copied the contents of the file onto an external hard drive.
“Don’t give it an obvious name,” Dan said.
She renamed the file The Sound of Music and saved it with some movie files.
George smiled when he saw it.
“Let’s go watch it,” Dan said. “I have a DVD if that’s easier.”
“I have a computer hooked up to the TV,” she told them. “We can use the thumb drive.”
~*~
Lansing, Michigan
“Loto,” Henry said, thinking quickly, “punch a hole in the crowd here. We’ll head for that restroom.” He pointed toward a small building in the middle of the park.
Loto sprayed a few bursts of lead, dropping bodies until it was clear enough to run through. As Henry distanced himself from the mob, Brandi followed closely behind him.
Loto, on the other hand, was falling back. He not only had to keep the path ahead clear, but he had to pause to take out the ever-growing number of dead that were closing in around him. When Henry and Brandi reached the park restroom and hurried inside, Loto was well behind them, fighting for his life. Henry watched the man’s eyes grow large as the steel door began to close.
“What are you doing?” Brandi asked.
“I’m saving our asses,” Henry said. “Loto will have no choice but to run, and the deviants will be drawn away from us by the gunfire.”
“What if I hadn’t kept up with you?” Brandi asked.
“Then you’d be dead, too,” he said, callously. They waited silently as the gun shots diminished in volume then stopped all together. Henry smiled when he thought he heard a scream in the distance. A few minutes later, he cracked open the door to find that his plan had worked. The dead were gone.
“Now what do we do?” Brandi asked.
“We walk back to the colony,” Henry said. “Keep your eyes open for a weapon.”
“Like what?” she asked. “It’s not like we’re going to find a gun just lying in the street.”
“A board, a pipe, hell, even a rock would be better than nothing,” Henry said, rolling his eyes. “Something tells me you’re not very street savvy.”
“Oh, I know how to get what I want,” Brandi said. “I just use my ass . . .”
“Your ass means nothing to these deviants,” Henry interrupted. “You’re just a five minute meal to them. If you want to increase your already minuscule chance of surviving, you’ll keep your eyes open and your mouth shut. And if you see a zombie, let me know, quietly. I don’t want you shrieking and bringing the entire infected population of Lansing to us.”
Brandi said nothing as Henry plodded along, searching the ground for a weapon. The area was residential, and it looked fairly normal except for the overgrown lawns and a few boarded up windows.
Several minutes into their walk, Henry spotted a scattering of bodies, all showing evidence of massive head injuries. The rotten stench persuaded Brandi to give the corpses a wide berth while Henry chose to walk through them. Bending over, he picked up a metal bar and wiped it on the clothing of one of the cadavers. He hefted the bar in his hand, giving a satisfied nod before heading away from the grisly scene to where Brandi was standing.
“You almost looked like you knew that was going to be there,” Brandi said, noting the heavy pipe in Henry’s hand.
“Something killed all these deviants,” Henry said, “and fortunately for us, the killer became the victim.”
“So one of those dead guys is the one who killed all these zombies?” Brandi asked.
“No. He or she is probably still around, half eaten, looking for fresh meat. That would be us.”
Brandi shivered at the thought, hurriedly following Henry as he continued down the street.
~*~
There was no doubt that the gunshots had been heard. As Lindsey fought her way down the street, she found herself heading toward a mass of the dead. She would have had a difficult time fighting her way through such a large crowd with the best of weapons. Unarmed, her chances of survival were slim. To make matters worse, she could hear voices behind her, maybe just one street over. They were coming for her.
She hesitated for a moment, debating on whether to take her chances with the growing horde or to face imprisonment and torture at the hands of her human pursuers. As two men raced around the corner in her direction, she made her decision and turned to face the dead.
~*^*~
~58~
Lansing Compound
Lee lifted his head when he heard the radio again.
“The woman just ran into a horde,” one of the voices said. “Looks like she’s trying to get herself killed.”
“Don’t let her do it!”
“We’re going after her.”
Lee stood, wondering if there was anything he could do. He considered going out on foot to help bring her back, but the others would probably already have her by the time he got over the wall. There would be no benefit to taking the chopper out because they already knew where she was, and the sound would only draw more of the dead to the area. He sat down again in frustration when he came to the same conclusion that he’d reached earlier. There was nothing he could do until it was time for Lindsey to be extracted. After that, it would just be a matter of convincing the others that he was supposed to take her to the farm compound to join Henry.
Reynolds knew that he’d sold his soul when he’d agreed to the old man’s plan in a moment of jealousy. Now he only hoped that he could do something to make up for his mistake.
~*~
Lansing, Michigan
“How far away do you think the walls are?” Brandi whispered loudly enough that she may as well have been talking.
“A couple of miles,” Henry said. “We’ve been really lucky not to have run into any . . .”
Brandi screamed,
which turned the heads of several creatures that had been clawing at a boarded-up home. Losing interest in their previous endeavor, they began to stagger toward the duo.
“I told you not to scream,” Henry growled.
“I didn’t mean to,” Brandi explained. “I didn’t expect to see them there, and I was startled.”
Henry jogged across the road toward a line of trees that followed a gentle slope down to the river, and Brandi followed. When they reached the trees, Henry ducked down, motioning for Brandi to do the same. A few feet behind them flowed the river.
“Why don’t we just jump into the water?” Brandi asked.
“Because we can’t see what’s in the river,” Henry snapped. “I know from experience that water is not a barrier. Now shut up.”
They waited quietly as the lumbering dead searched for the couple, eventually losing interest and returning to the boarded-up home.
“We’ll follow the walking path along the river as long as we can,” Henry said. “At least we’ll be fairly hidden. And if you decide to scream again, I’m going to leave you to die.”
Brandi remained silent, but the look she gave the old man told him what she thought.
~*~
Lindsey was well aware of the risk she was taking, but she didn’t feel that she had a choice. Certain death at the hands of Henry or one of his underlings was not an option she cared to entertain. At least the dead were slow, and they didn’t shift mental gears quickly, if at all, so she had a chance against them. She easily dodged around them, and by the time they grasped for her, she was already out of reach. She had spent enough time outside with the dead to know how to stay alive. The key was to keep moving, but with a large crowd like the one she was in, that was easier said than done. The nearby voices of the guards gave her the nudge she needed to push on. The two men behind her were helping by dropping some of the walking corpses around her, though Lindsey hoped she’d never get the opportunity to thank them.
She ducked under the arms of a tall ghoul, wincing when her bandage brushed against the dead flesh. She was sure that she’d broken some of the stitches loose while climbing over the walls, and she didn’t think it would take much for her to become infected through the long gouge in her arm.
She swerved around a dead man in a suit, and once she saw that her path was a little clearer up ahead, she risked a glance behind her. The men were getting closer, so she put on some speed in hopes of losing them. She could run for miles without tiring, and that was exactly what she planned to do.
As she got close to the next intersection, Lindsey realized that something was wrong. The dead were turning away from her and focusing their attention down the cross-street.
“Damn,” she muttered, guessing that someone was trying to intercept her. She cut over to the far side of the road, ducking down a little as she hit the intersection. Being of average height, it wasn’t too difficult to lose herself in a crowd under normal circumstances. In her current situation, it was impossible. The closest of the dead began to turn toward her, quickly drawing the attention of her human pursuers. She only made it halfway across the street before she heard a male voice off to her left, causing her to break into a run again.
The sound of footsteps behind her urged her to go even faster, which wasn’t easy while dodging moving bodies. A quick look back told her that most of the others were falling farther behind, but one man was breaking through the dead and gaining on her. When she saw the red hair and realized that it was Wayne, she knew that she was in trouble. She put on a burst of speed, but within moments, her right arm was roughly grabbed. She spun around and shoved at the guard as hard as she could with her injured arm, but he quickly locked his arms around her and yelled for the others to hurry. The dead were moving in.
“I’ve got you now, you bitch,” he seethed.
~*~
Lansing Compound
“Wayne’s got her,” the voice said over the radio.
The words gave Lee a little comfort but not much. His fists were clenched as he thought about the damage that Wayne had already done to Lindsey. It wasn’t likely she’d escape more abuse from the man on the trip back to the compound.
Lee shook his head, wondering just what the hell he’d gotten her into. He picked up the radio and told the others he’d be doing the extraction. Duffle bag in hand, he headed out the door.
~*~
Lansing, Michigan
Lindsey fought to free herself as Wayne tried to hold on to her and keep the dead back at the same time.
“Quit struggling, or I’ll choke you unconscious,” he growled.
When the others arrived, they jumped in to help clear out the dead, but there were too many for the small group to handle easily. Lindsey noticed that the guards were all using firearms, and she wondered if they hadn’t learned yet that silent weapons were often better around the dead. Maybe they didn’t spend much time outside the walls.
“How the hell are we going to get her back?” Wayne asked. “She won’t cooperate.”
“Carry her,” someone said.
“I can’t carry her and fight at the same time,” Wayne snapped, “and I don’t trust you assholes to watch my back.”
“Drag her ass,” Brett said. “I don’t care, but let’s move!”
“Screw this,” Wayne said.
He wrapped his hands around Lindsey’s throat as she continued to try to fight him off.
“What are you doing?” Brett asked, eyes going wide.
“We’re not getting her back as long as she’s conscious,” the guard said, tightening his grip.
Lindsey’s lungs began to burn as she desperately attempted to pull Wayne’s hands away. She tried to knee him in the groin, but he saw it coming and twisted his body, never letting go of her neck.
Brett glanced at one of the other guards who shook his head.
“If you kill her, Henry’s going to do the same to you. He wants her alive,” Brett said.
“She’ll be fine by the time we get back,” Wayne said, squeezing harder.
“Sorry, but we’re out of here,” Brett said, turning away.
His friend hurried to join him.
“Get the hell back here!” Wayne yelled.
Growing lightheaded, Lindsey continued trying to pry away the man’s hands, but he had a death-grip on her neck. The world began to grow gray, and Lindsey closed her eyes as her hands fell to her sides.
Wayne let her fall to the ground, turning to look at the two men who were running off. He lifted his sidearm and aimed carefully, firing off two shots.
“What the hell, Wayne?” yelled one of the remaining guards. “You just shot Brett and Seth!”
“No shit,” Wayne snapped. “They’re traitors. The dumb asses told me they were planning on running. I let Henry know, and he was going to kill them. This way they can make themselves useful and buy us some time.”
~*~
Lansing Compound
Lee was sitting in the helicopter, preparing to leave, when the next message came in.
“We lost her,” Wayne’s voice said. He sounded out of breath, and it quickly became obvious that he was running.
“Find her!” the captain snapped back. “Don’t come back until you do.”
“No, I mean she’s dead.”
Lee told himself he’d heard the words wrong. Cold fear washed over him as he grabbed the radio, holding it closer to his ear.
“What happened?”
“We got overwhelmed,” Wayne said. “They got Brett and Seth, too. You need to get us out of here.”
“Bring the woman’s body. Henry will insist on it.”
“There isn’t enough left to bring back. She’s in pieces. Right now there must be two hundred of those deviants huddled around her.”
“All right . . . we’ll get a chopper out there to pick you up.”
Lee dropped the radio, numb. It was all for nothing, then. All of his plans to bring Lindsey to the walled community and protect her had only le
d to her death, and it was his fault. He pulled out his pistol and held it to his head, closing his eyes.
~*^*~
~59~
Lansing, Michigan
On their journey through the trees, Henry and Brandi encountered more of the undead. Fortunately, two of them were floating down the river, and the current kept them safely away. Three more came at them, one at a time, and Henry had no trouble dispatching each one with a blow to the head. When a bridge over the water blocked their path, Henry abandoned the river and trudged up the bank, peering through the trees into the neighborhood.
A slow smile came across his face as he recognized the golf course. He had wanted to include it inside the community walls, but the higher-ranking members of the Vigilarre had denied him his wish in the interest of saving time.
“Where are we going now?” Brandi asked. “I’m lost.”
“I’m not,” Henry said. “I believe your friends stopped just a couple of blocks down this road. I’m hoping they’re still there so we can catch a ride.”
“Are you serious?” Brandi asked. “You do realize that you’re not their favorite person, don’t you?”
“They won’t see me,” Henry said. “They’ll see you.”
~*~
Marla sat curled in Moose’s arms. “I’ve never met anyone like you,” she said. “Most guys would have had my clothes off within a minute.”
“I was like that before,” Moose said, slightly blushing. “Snake says that if you really respect a girl, you won’t push her.”
“So you respect me?” Marla said, lifting her head off his shoulder.
Dead, But Not For Long (Book 2): Pestilence and Promise Page 51