Charlie took a quick glance at everyone; all of them were panting and sweating. Mick and Jimmy were trying to calm Brooke while Jenny and Jake sat holding hands and talking quietly. Sean reached outside and gave the truck a couple of hard smacks, Scott had already started the vehicle and the truck lurched forward.
"Going to be a rough ride," Sean said as he turned to face them. "So hang on and sit tight."
Charlie scooted closer to Sean and asked, "What did you see back there?"
Sean threw a quick glance at the others before turning his attention to Charlie. "I saw our guys slowly retreating," he paused and swallowed. "And that's why," he said in a low voice as he pointed toward the camp.
They were in a spot on the road where the trees were sparse and what Charlie saw sent shivers down his spine. There were zombies all over the camp and halfway across the meadow, apparently they weren't bothered by the zombies tethered to the ground. He saw a few trip and fall, only to slowly get back to their feet and continue on. Sean was right, but now the soldiers were retreating at a much faster pace.
"Are we going to make it out of here?"
"Oh, we'll make it," Sean remarked with resolve in his voice. "We may have to get out and hike back to town, but we will make it."
Charlie didn't like the thought of having to walk all the way back, but he liked the thought of being surrounded by zombies even less.
"I hope so," was all he could think of to say as he watched the zombies spread out and move ever closer toward the roads.
****
Cindy and Judith looked up in surprise as Mark and Harry burst through the front door with such force that it slammed into the wall, leaving a hole where the doorknob punched through.
"We have a bad situation, I'm going to ring the bell," Mark said in a rush. He waved toward Harry as he spun on his heel and raced out the door. "He'll fill you in!" he shouted over his shoulder.
As both women stared incredulously at Harry, he tried to grin, but failed miserably. He sat down on the edge of the couch next to Cindy.
"There's not much time, so I'll make this quick," he began with a shake of his head. "We ran up to the lake and found a huge camp up there; Mark tells me it's the Connor Group. By the time we got there, Captain Sears and his men had control of the camp. Before that though, we ran into Mick and he explained to us what was happening."
"Mick! Did you say Mick was up there?" Cindy asked in amazement. Then her eyes narrowed as she looked toward her friend. "Judith, our hunch was right, they did head up there."
Harry nodded. "Charlie is with the other people who were held hostage, but they all seem to be fine."
At their relieved looks, he continued. "We were able to talk to Mick, but only for a few minutes. He warned us that most of the Connor Group is headed this way, they plan to take over Shady Oaks."
Cindy's eyes widened in amazement as she digested what he said and Judith gasped loudly.
"We need to warn everyone about what we're dealing with here!" Judith declared as she jumped up and headed for the door. "We've had drills for zombies, not for people coming after us!"
Harry held up a hand. “Wait, I have a favor to ask.” As Judith hesitated he said, “Could you please find Bitsy and your son, and send them back up to the farm? I'd like to see them both safe and out of town.”
“I can do that,” she replied. “They're at my house putting up the eggs, I'll stop there first.”
"Grab Megan and Darrell, too," Cindy said hurriedly as she stood to retrieve her pistol and Mick's shotgun. "I'll run by Rose and Dexter's to make sure they know and can pass it along."
With a curt nod, Judith turned and rushed out the door. Cindy hesitated for a second when the church bell began to ring, and then she disappeared down the hall.
Harry stood and walked over to the door, leaning against the jamb to look out. There was already a flurry of activity as people began to leave their homes and congregate around what Harry assumed was city hall and most likely the sheriff's office. A big man in a police uniform that seemed to be two sizes too small for him pushed through the crowd and started yelling orders; from Mark's description of the man he surmised he was staring at Dexter.
He turned as Cindy reappeared and thrust a rifle toward him.
"I am assuming you're familiar with firearms," she said as he examined the gun. She handed him a box of ammunition, which he slipped into a jacket pocket.
"Unfortunately, yes," he murmured as he examined the rifle. "Never did care for guns, but my father insisted that we, Bitsy's father and I, learn to hunt. Gabe took to it, but I never did enjoy the sport."
"Now you need to know how in order to survive," Cindy replied as she checked her pistol before placing it in the holster on her right hip. She shouldered Mick's shotgun and nodded toward the door.
"Let's get going."
Harry opened the door. "After you."
****
He was out and somehow knew where he wanted to go. In the dim recess of his mind was an image, an echo of a memory which drew him. He still retained some basic intelligence and cognitive thinking, which gave him a definite advantage. Another plus, since he was one of the test subjects given fluids, he was able to think and not be driven by need alone.
He used the power of his thoughts and emotions, such as they were, to force the others to follow him. Once he had been someone people looked up to and admired. The embroidered name tag on his white lab coat, now torn and heavily stained, once identified him as Dr. Robert Jamieson. Now tattered and half torn off, what was left of the tag simply identified him as "Rob."
After he was bitten by one of their test subjects and turned, a few of the doctors in Malcolm's employ jokingly called him Dr. Brainiac, Dr. Cerebrum, or Dr. Synapse. Cruel men, they led him around like a prize pony until they tired of their games and experiments on him. Then they tossed him in with the others and forgot he ever existed.
Not that it mattered, he didn't care about anything other than to satisfy their ever-present thirst - it was what they all wanted - it drove them on and was always foremost in their collective thoughts.
Although he wasn't as needy as the others, but he could feel the beginning pangs of thirst stir within him. He knew where to go to find what they needed, but at that moment the others were attracted like lethal magnets to the people all around them, so he relaxed and let them have their way. For now.
Chapter 14
Charlie and Mick exchanged worried glances as they moved at a snail's pace down the poor excuse for a road. Charlie knew if they didn't pick up the pace the zombies were going to cut them off.
Daylight was slowly fading, within the hour it would be dark and they needed to get off the mountain before then.
He was startled from his thoughts as Sean opened fire on two zombies standing by the side of the road. One fell straight to the ground while the other spun in a lazy circle before dropping.
"Nice shooting," he muttered.
"Thanks," Sean replied, his eyes never leaving the zombies in the meadow.
The truck suddenly came to a screeching halt, throwing Charlie into Sean and sending them both sprawling onto the truck floor. Sean had the presence of mind and the training to keep his rifle pointed up and away from them. He rolled to his side and immediately crouched back down next to the tailgate. Charlie followed his example by rolling over and he quickly took his seat again.
They heard the driver's side door open and Scott quickly dropped the tailgate. "Zombies on the road ahead, we're going on foot so we can avoid them.”
Without a word, Sean jumped out and turned to help the others while Scott kept watch. Once everyone was out, Scott turned toward them.
"Stay really close, try to not make a sound, and no talking - we need to sneak past these guys if we're going to make it out," he said in a low voice. "We don't have much time until it gets dark so let's see how much distance we can put between them and us before then."
Mick stepped forward. "Do you think we should ch
ance a walkie call to your Mom? Let them know what's going on here?"
"Dad, I'd love to, but we can't," Scott said with a shake of his head. "If Malcolm's men hear our conversation, they'll know we're on to them and that could cause them to attack the town sooner. We want our people ready and waiting for them so they lose the element of surprise."
"Gotcha," Mick said forlornly. He didn't want to admit it, but he needed to hear Cindy's voice, wanted to hear her say everything would work out.
"Okay, line up in this order - Brooke, Jimmy, Dad, Jenny, Jake, and Charlie - with Sean at the rear," Scott said as he maneuvered them around like they were puppets on a string. Once they were lined up he grinned. "Do you feel like you're in grade school again? Sorry 'bout that, but there's a method to my madness. Okay, let's go."
Scott turned and began to walk quickly down through the trees and Mick realized that with a little luck they should come out right by the pickup. Taking a chance, he scurried up to his son.
"I know you said to stay in place and no talking, but if we keep going this way we'll run into the pickup and we can take it out of here," he said in a loud whisper as he tried to match his son's stride through the woods.
"Awesome," Scott replied. "Will try to head right for it then, now you better get back in line before Sean decides he needs to come up here and find out what's going on."
"All right," Mick huffed and slowed his stride until he could fall in behind Jimmy.
He got back into step with the group and they hurried through the trees for several seconds before they heard gunfire and shouting directly off to their right.
Mick turned his head toward the sound and didn't see Scott slow down and hold up a hand. He plowed right into Jimmy, almost knocking them both to the ground.
"Oh wow, so sorry," he whispered, clutching Jimmy by the arm to steady him.
Scott turned and trotted past them to confer with his brother again. After a few words were exchanged he motioned for everyone to join them. Once huddled together, Scott nodded in the direction where shots were still going off.
"I think we've got a problem," he began in a loud whisper. He looked up over Jimmy's head to make sure they were safe before continuing.
"We don't know where the zombies are now and we're almost in total darkness until the moon comes up. Sean and I think it best if we go on our own. We haven't gone too far off the road, so we will drive up here then come and get you."
"Where do you suggest we go?" Charlie asked in a low voice. "I don't see any place that we would be safe."
"Well, there is one place," Sean murmured. He slowly raised his gun and pointed it in the air. "Up there."
Mick looked up with the others and heard Brooke groan.
"We don't have a lot of time, so let's do this. Ladies first," Scott said as he walked over to the nearest tree, a nice oak with plenty of branches for them to sit on. He put his hands together to give everyone a boost and being scared of what was around them, it took less than a few minutes to have everyone in the tree.
When Mick looked down at his sons and saw them grinning up at them, he wagged a finger. "I know what you're thinking so don't even go there."
Sean played innocent, opening his eyes wide and holding out his hands. "Hey, we weren't thinking that you all look like a pack of monkeys up there!"
Scott snorted and shook his head and he moved away from the tree. "C'mon, we need to see what's going on," he growled at his brother.
Sean waved at them. "Be quiet up there and no moving around, we don't want those things spotting you," he said before turning to join his brother.
"Be careful!" Mick hissed. Sean waved again without turning around.
Mick watched them talk again for a second before they separated and began to use the trees for cover as they went in different directions. He could see them dart here and there until the forest eventually blocked his view.
He was always amazed at how they could operate without even communicating; they always seemed to know where their twin was. When they were younger, they loved to play paintball and they almost always decimated their competition.
Mick heard a branch crack and looked up in time to see Brooke easing down to another branch right above him. He held out a hand to help steady her and she gave him a small, nervous smile in return.
"Dad, I'm scared," she said in a shaky voice.
He patted her hand reassuringly as he glanced around them again. He was about to reply when gunfire erupted once more, only it was much closer this time and he could hear men yelling to each other.
Mick initially felt foolish for having to hide up in a tree, but now he wondered if they should go even higher, a low stray bullet could hit one of them while they were sitting on the lower branches. He waved at Charlie who was sitting almost directly opposite of him on the other side of the tree trunk.
Charlie saw him immediately and waved back. Mick leaned forward so his whisper would carry further. "I think we need to go higher, the way they're shooting down there we could get hit."
Charlie nodded and slowly made his way to his feet. He tapped first Jenny and then Jake on a foot and pointed up. Fortunately they both immediately understood what he wanted and began to slowly make their way up the tree.
Mick turned to Brooke. "We need to get higher, get Jimmy to give you a hand up."
Brooke nodded and turned toward Jimmy. Tugging on his jeans to get his attention, she held her hand up to him when he looked down. "Dad says we need to go higher," she said in a loud whisper.
Jimmy bent down and grasped her hand to pull her up. She placed her right foot on a higher branch and began to pull herself up with Jimmy's help. Shots rang out even closer, causing her to jump in fear.
Mick watched in horror as her foot slipped off the branch and she reflexively jerked on Jimmy's arm for support. Together, they both lost their balance and slid past the branches before free falling to the ground below, Jimmy falling headfirst.
Mick heard Jenny gasp and everyone froze for a moment before scrambling down. Brooke seemed to be uninjured and crawled over to Jimmy, tears streaming down her face as she stroked his cheek and frantically whispered his name over and over.
Mick dropped down beside her and as he put an arm around her, Jake knelt down to check Jimmy. They all watched as he worked swiftly; first he checked for a pulse then ran his hands up and down Jimmy's arms and legs. He looked up at them.
"I'm going to try and wake him so I can determine if he has a neck or spine injury before we move him. If I can't wake him up we'll have to chance it because we sure can't stay here."
"This is all my fault," Brooke sobbed into Mick's shoulder. "If I had been braver and not such a baby we wouldn't have fallen."
Mick gave her a reassuring hug. "You slipped, it was an accident and I think you've been plenty brave. Most people would have run screaming into the woods after experiencing what you've been through."
Jake made a fist and with moderate pressure gave the young man a sternal rub; he called his name and rubbed his fist into Jimmy's chest again.
"What's he doing?" Brooke asked as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
Jenny, who was sitting on her haunches on the other side of Brooke, leaned over and whispered. "He's trying to get him to wake up, what he's doing is painful, but won't hurt Jimmy."
To everyone's relief, Jimmy's eyelids fluttered and he gave a low moan of pain. Jake placed a hand on his forehead to keep him from moving.
"Jimmy, do you have any pain in your neck?"
Jimmy's eyes opened and he was silent for a moment as he looked at everyone clustered around. "Umm, no pain there, but my butt hurts."
Everyone grinned and Jake chuckled as he slowly turned Jimmy on his side. After a quick exam he stood and motioned toward Charlie.
"Help me get him up."
Slowly they stood Jimmy up and held him there for a moment. When he tried to take a step he gasped in pain and grimaced.
Jake frowned. "I think you may
have done some damage to your tail bone," he said while reaching down to grab his backpack. "But we don't have time to stand around here anymore."
He nodded at Mick. "Can you and Charlie help him? I think we should get moving."
"Sure thing," Mick said as he gave Brooke a quick hug and releasing her, stood and hurried over to put a steadying arm around Jimmy. Jenny and Brooke got to their feet and after shouldering their bags, stood together.
Jenny asked in a low voice, still mindful of what surrounded them, "So where do we go?"
"The only thing I can think of is we go back to camp. We can tell by the gunfire and other noise that those things are moving off, it might actually be the safest place around here now."
Mick thought for a moment and nodded. "You've got a point, I sure don't want to try and make it down the mountain with those things crawling all over."
"Not to mention possibly getting shot by accident," Charlie hissed. He nodded toward the camp. "Let's get going."
They slowly moved out, moving from one tree to another and mindful to stay away from the meadow as they made their way back.
As gunfire and shouts erupted again, Mick mentally crossed his fingers and hoped they would make if back safely. His thoughts turned to his sons; they would have to find some way to let them know their plan was changed, if he needed to break radio silence he would. There was no way he would let Sean and Scott drive unaware into a group of zombies with armed soldiers right behind them.
Shaking his head, he tightened his grip on Jimmy and tried to focus on the task at hand.
****
They were on the move, which was exactly what he wanted. All he had to do was think the thing, and it was done. When he was still alive, he and his peers found it amazing how the zombie brain had changed. No longer burdened with rational thought and other cognitive functions, a form of mass telepathy emerged based on need, and their only need was to satisfy the thirst.
Zombified (Book 2): Shady Oaks Page 9