Hounded | Book 3 | Hounded 3

by Douglas, Ellie

  In less than fifteen minutes, they were done and back in the truck. Gabriel was back in Hazel’s arms as she began to dress him. She then wrapped him in a nice soft blue blanket that had pictures of white bunnies throughout, a matching baby hat, and booties.

  The women had completed their snatch and grab, shoving as many items into bags as they could. They took only ten minutes and had been on the truck before Bellamy’s group. Once again, they were on the road.

  They arrived at Battery Park without significant incident. Bellamy got off the truck and headed toward a ferry that was bobbing up and down gently on the water. He climbed onboard and called out for Oliver and Nakos.

  CHAPTER 36

  RUN LIKE THE WIND

  Ryker looked around the hostel, knowing he’d have to make several trips on a continuous basis for food until the apocalypse ended. In his mind, it was starting to sound more and more tempting to have gone with Bellamy. He now understood why the others wanted to go back. He didn’t know if they’d made it or not. All he knew was that he had a strong desire to head to the ferry.

  Grabbing another coffee, he stood in front of the remaining four and said, “I think, given what we have here and what’s available out there, that it would best if we did make our way to the ferry, if they’re still there. What do you say to that?”

  “It’s all very well, Ryker, but what if they’ve already left? How are we supposed to get to the island?” Marvin asked as he toyed with the flashlight.

  Ryker’s face blotched up again, turning him red and patchy looking. His eyes looked into his empty cup. As he refilled it he said, “Well, it’s a chance I’m willing to take. We have gear to protect ourselves. I say we run like cheetahs and hope like hell that they’re still there.”

  “I guess we could come back here if they’ve already left. or find another place to shelter in until they return for supplies. I heard Bellamy say they’d be doing that,” twenty-three-year-old Lee said as she began taping up her legs. Ella helped her and then they helped Lois, while Ryker and Marvin helped each other.

  They got the metal armor on, reinforced it with the tape, put the motorbike helmets on along with the leather jackets, swung their backpacks on filled with food, water, and extra weapons, and took off. They ran right down the middle of the street, not stopping for anything, jumping over debris. Lois tripped, but the others didn’t notice. None of them realized she’d fallen. Her foot had snagged on some wire hosing, and as she tried pulling herself loose, a zombie dog appeared to her left.

  In her panic, she pulled harder. But the wire dug into her leg, tightening it around like a spring coil. The more she pulled, the tighter the wire wrapped around her leg. She forgot she had the helmet on. With the visor down, her screams were muffled, so no one could hear her.

  The others were long gone. They didn’t stop. Sobbing, she fogged up the visor. She pulled off the helmet and screamed as loud as she could. No one came. No one heard her. She reached down to her leg, wishing for a chainsaw. She’d rather chop her leg off than be eaten alive.

  “They didn’t stop!” she cried out.

  Two little Pug dogs wandered toward her. They stunk to high heaven. Lois gagged on the smell. Another bigger dog headed toward her, an Eskimo dog of sorts. It was white in parts where its fur hadn’t completely gone. The rest of its body was stained in charcoal-like globs, and the sores… Lois hadn’t seen one up close before, and it shocked her. “Those sores,” she said out loud. “Those sores!” she kept repeating.

  As her mouth went to repeat it again, the Eskimo zombie dog bit down on her face, pulling out her cheek with a shake, twist, and vicious yank. She felt a violent tug, and then a snap as her face heated up like molten lava. Blood poured and splashed, gushing into her open mouth. The two zombie pugs tried biting her legs, the metal armor making it difficult.

  Lois tried to escape the biting. But as soon as the zombie Pugs couldn’t get any meat from her legs, arms, and torso, they too were on her face. One latched its jaws over Lois’s nose. She could hear the cartilage breaking as it pulled back, shaking and twisting, until it tore the tip of her nose off. More bright red liquid spewed outward, covering her chest and the dog’s faces.

  Lois pinched, slapped, and pulled at the dogs. All she got in return was decomposed parts of their bodies, along with matted fur. She flung her arms wildly about, smacking the dogs in the head, desperately trying to get them off her.

  The bigger zombie dog opened its mouth wide. As if in slow motion, Lois watched it clamp around her chin, and her lower jaw vanished inside the thing’s mouth. It applied so much pressure that she felt as though she was being hit with a baseball bat. The force of its bite cracked her back teeth, while her front teeth projected right out of her mouth like tiny little nails, shooting outward before falling to the ground. The sound it made inside her mouth put her into so much shock that her body shook violently like she was suffering from a seizure. Then her body quieted and she lost consciousness.

  The Eskimo zombie dog finished ripping her chin apart. The zombie Pugs had squeezed under the bigger zombie dog and were now fighting over an eye. With their powerful scalpel-like canines, it didn’t take long before both of Lois’s eyes were drawn out and the tendons and muscle they were attached to had been chomped right through. Like whitewater rapids, Lois’s blood drenched the dog’s faces as well as her own.

  Little bits of spiked bone fragments were dropped to the concrete. The Eskimo dog began shredding the temporal bone, working its way to the other side through her skull bone. The crunching noise was like heavy steel boots walking over broken glass. All three dogs made their way through Lois’s head, reaching the tip of her neck and spinal bones and sucking out the marrow like powerful vacuums.

  The bigger zombie dog attempted to bite through the metal and tape. Eventually it succeeded, breaking some of its remaining teeth in its frenzy to get to the flesh beneath the armor. Like sharp scraps of metal with pointed, filed tips, the zombie’s teeth broke through her chest armor and ground through to the flesh, shredding, tearing, and pulling muscle away as Lois’s blood, still warm, sprayed across the dog’s face in a twisted line.

  It tunneled its head deep into her chest, pulling out bits of her ribcage. It gained access to her lungs and obliterated them in two bites. It went back for more, while the zombie Pugs took an arm each. With the force of a wild buffalo, they tore the tape and metal away, found the still-warm flesh, and gnawed on it until there was nothing left but a pile of shattered, splintered bones. When they finished her entire body, they went back to hunting for more bodies to devour.

  It wasn’t until Ryker reached Battery Park that he stopped. He turned to check on his group, and discovered that Lois wasn’t there. None of them could see her anywhere. Ryker saw the ferry moving. They made their way to it in a fast run, pulling off their helmets and dropping them to the ground in a panic to be heard.

  “Over here!” Ryker screamed out, his arms waving above his head as he jumped up and down.

  “Stop!” Marvin hollered so loudly that his voice hurt. They all jumped up and down, waving madly and screaming for the others to stop the boat.

  Rose saw them first.

  “Stop the boat, there are people back there!” she yelled.

  Bellamy was just able to recognize Ryker. He ran from deck to deck, reaching Tylor and getting him to stop the ferry. Marvin, Ryker, Ella, and Lee dove straight off the dock and swam toward the ferry. Three dogs jumped in after them. In a panic, Lee screamed and splashed around, finding it hard to move in the metal armor. Forcing herself to move away from the dogs, she kicked her legs out.

  Calloway had lowered a lifeboat into the water. He got in and made his way to the group. The dogs that had jumped in couldn’t swim, and they were further hindered by their greedy mouths biting at the air. Each time they snapped at the air, they’d sink, but then come back up and repeat the biting and sinking again. Hungrily, they tried to make their way toward all the noise, but continued to sink.
Ryker knew if the dogs ever made it back to land, they would reanimate. Their zombie brains weren’t dead.

  Calloway helped the swimmers into the lifeboat and they rowed back to the ferry. Once onboard, the others helped them get the metal armor and tape off. Tylor was given the go-ahead, and they began their journey to Liberty Island.

  CHAPTER 37

  CAT AND MOUSE

  Another twenty-four hours had gone by, and the hunters hadn’t found another living soul. Dreadlocks had extracted information from Liza, confirming that a large group was heading to Liberty Island. She told them they went into the tunnel, knowing it would give the group more time.

  Another sweep was conducted in the tunnels, and evidence was found indicating they had indeed used it to get to the docks. The hours mounted up, pissing Dreadlocks off. Heatedly, he used the satellite phone to update Clarke, his latest report ending in a hang-up. Dreadlocks waved his arms and the men quickly gathered around him.

  “Get in. We’ll go straight to the docks, find us a boat, and head on out to the island.”

  Once the others had gotten in, he got in. Dreadlocks drove aggressively toward Battery Park. The Humvee sideswiped debris along the way, tossing the three passengers around like turbulent winds. Liza was squished on top of the three men in the back. Each time Dreadlocks bumped over something, she’d fall forward and roll off their legs. Many hands would grab at her, bringing her back.

  Dreadlocks spied the firetrucks and parked the Humvee next to them.

  “I want to know whether there are any of them still hiding. Go see, and keep your damn eyes peeled for a boat.” He spoke so slowly it sent shivers through Liza, who could hear him from the Humvee, where she lay bound and gagged.

  Dreadlocks made his way around, stopping for a smoke and watching the water as his eyes stared toward Liberty Island. A few feet away, he saw movement and then heard a woman screaming. Two of his men were quickly heading toward the sound.

  The men reached the area before Dreadlocks and swiftly took care of the dogs. One of the men’s arm had gotten chewed, crippling him from holding his automatic weapon. He sat down heavily as liquid dripped, splashing the grass. The other men held tightly to the woman.

  “Get up, you lazy son of a bitch,” Dreadlocks ordered as he kicked the man’s feet.

  “My hand, my fucking hand, it’s almost all gone!” he wailed, gripping it tighter around the wrist.

  Dreadlocks looked down, aimed his .44 Special at the man’s head, and without changing his expression, shot him.

  “You’re no good to us,” he said menacingly, swiftly turning to the woman that the men were forcefully restraining. The woman looked around widely. Her brunette hair clung to her cheeks and her wide eyes reddened as her face grew whiter with terror. She didn’t know what was worse, the dogs or these men. Her clothing was mere tatters of threads hanging loosely to her underweight frame. She flinched as Dreadlocks inched himself nose-to-nose with her.

  Without warning, Dreadlocks punched her in the stomach while he spoke, his words hanging in the heat of air for a lingering moment.

  “Where are the others hiding?” Dreadlocks asked while his arms pointed left and right in a wide circle. The woman looked confused, and her lips quaked. She mutely shook her head, shaking water from her eyes. The tears spilled down her cheeks.

  “Speak, or my fist will slam you again.”

  “I… I have no idea what you’re talking about, or who.” Her body automatically cringed in anticipation of his punch.

  Dreadlocks turned his back to her, hocked up a loogie, and spit it out. When he turned around, he watched the woman’s face screw up in disgust.

  “You think that’s disgusting? Just wait ’til I cough up another and spit it right in your face. Now, tell me where the others are!”

  “I’m telling you the truth. I don’t know of anyone else, I swear.” Her eyes held onto fear like a frost holds onto thin blades of grass.

  Without warning, Dreadlocks sent the woman careening with a powerful punch to her lower stomach. She toppled backward, and then her body was snapped forward forcefully by the men still holding onto her. Her head bent down as the wind was knocked out of her. Trying to regulate her breathing, she was instantly brought back up to standing.

  Dreadlocks paced a few feet forward, turned, and went back across the grass, pausing right in front of her. His intimidating stance had her crying again. Dreadlocks nodded to the men holding her. They stepped away and the woman’s knees buckled. She managed to stay upright with a swaying motion to her body as Dreadlocks continued to eye her.

  The two men walked toward the trees. Finding a bench, they sat and waited for further instructions. One of them lit up a cigarette, and the other got off the seat and lay down on the grass, closing his eyes for a quick nap.

  “I will ask you one last time.” His voice grew louder. “Where are the others hiding?”

  “I told you, I don’t know of any others. My family was holed up here – a husband, and a baby boy and girl. The dogs killed them all. I’ve been alone ever since.” She dared not tell them about her other daughter, Grace. She prayed hard that Grace would remain hidden in the bathroom.

  Dreadlocks removed his Army green beret, pulled at a lock of hair, and then replaced his beret. His look grew fierce as his hand knotted into a fist. The woman watched his movements as she looked wildly around for an escape.

  Liza had been frantically cutting away at the ropes that bound her hands. A bit of metal on the floor served as a knife. She pulled and pushed. She could feel the rope loosening, could hear it tearing, and little by little it began to give way. She would crane her head up to peek out, and saw that no one was looking her way, Dreadlocks had his back facing the Humvee. Several minutes later, she had the ropes cut.

  Rubbing her wrists in circular motions to ease the pain, she then pulled the gag from her mouth and looked around for a weapon.

  Nestled in the back seat of the Humvee inches from her feet was a little wooden box which stuck out from under the driver’s seat. She pulled it all the way out and pried it open.

  Inside was an M9 pistol. She had some shooting experience, enough to know what to do. She picked it up and checked the magazine. It was full, so she slammed it back in. Liza crawled up onto the back seat, rolled the window down and took aim at Dreadlocks.

  Through the scope, she had Dreadlocks in her sight. As she squeezed the trigger, her breath stopped, her eyes closed, and she jumped back a little. Her eyes sprang open and she crawled back to the window, peering out to see Dreadlocks on the ground. She’d gotten him in the back of the neck. The two men came rushing forward.

  The woman screamed and rushed into the street, running as fast as her wobbly legs could carry her. Liza wanted to yell at her to stop, but it would give away her position. She ducked down, put the gag into her mouth and her hands behind her back, then lay still as a mouse.

  When the men stuck their heads into the window, they saw her as they’d left her. Quickly dashing to the corner of another building fifty feet from the Humvee with their guns out and ready, they screamed for the shooter to show himself. No one showed up other than a pack of dogs. The men started shooting but were no match for the sheer number of dogs.

  Liza pulled the gag out of her mouth once more, crawled onto the back seat, and looked out the window. A smile spread across her face, before fear grabbed at her. She lowered herself down and kept quiet, knowing that the dogs would wander off once they finished their feasting.

  Every few minutes, she popped her head up to look. Her eyes watched the men being torn apart, and then her eyes searched for the woman. She hadn’t gotten more than forty feet.

  More dogs had taken her down and were gourmandizing her in a violent craze. The woman was not only split apart, she was vaporized right before Liza’s eyes.

  Once the pack of vicious decomposing biters wandered off, Liza jumped into the front seat, ready to drive herself away from the carnage. The sat phone began to buzz, a
larming Liza. It was lying face-down on the passenger seat. She just stared at it. Then she picked it up and dropped it as it buzzed some more. She picked it up again, but this time she answered it.

  “Hello.”

  “Who the fuck are you?”

  “I’m the one who just killed your ugly goon, that’s who!”

  “Really, bitch? You and whose army?”

  “Me, myself, and I, that’s who.”

  “You won’t be alive for long, bitch. I’m sending more men.”

  Liza panicked and hung up. The phone rang again, but she ignored it. It continued to ring, so she picked it up and tossed it out the window. She puffed on her inhaler as she felt tightness suffocating her chest. She wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth or not. She’d never heard the goon give away any location, so it satisfied her enough to stay put.

  Hungry, tired, and scared, she rummaged through the men’s belongings and found some peanut butter cups and cans of Pepsi. She scarfed the lot while looking out the window, seeing nothing but darkness, which made her even more petrified. Exhausted, she lay on the back seat and slept.

  She woke to the sun penetrating through the glass. As she wiped her eyes clear, she saw a small figure running. Rubbing her eyes again, she followed the figure as it darted behind some buildings. She wasn’t sure if it was human or dog. Reluctant to know, she turned her eyes away. Everywhere she looked she saw disaster, and suddenly she felt very alone.

  CHAPTER 38

  LIBERTY ISLAND

  The boat’s engines whined and water churned as Tylor brought them to a bumping stop. Calloway lowered the boarding ramp. Harry, Oliver, Bellamy, Ethan, Ryker, Noah, Mason, and a few others disembarked, their eyes surveilling the area, wide and with alertness.