Generation Dead Book 2: What You Fear

by Joseph Talluto

  Logan just stared, and I wondered what was going on in his head. To give him some more room, I said, “That’s the gun he used to get you and your sister out of the city, and the one he used to keep you safe as he took you to Starved Rock.”

  Logan held onto the gun, and turned around. Over his shoulder, he called out.

  “Thanks. I’ll be seeing you.”

  Jake watched him go. “Wonder why he hates us?”

  I shook my head. “I think he just hates me.”

  Julia came up behind me and put her arm around my waist. “Everything okay with Logan?”

  I shrugged. “It’s the same. Let’s get these corpses out of here and get moving. God knows where another outbreak might occur in the next ten minutes.”

  Chapter 16

  We used the flatbeds to haul the bodies away. It was convenient as hell to just toss them up and roll them away. I’d have to remember that one.

  Returning to our truck, we did a quick tour of the city and found that there were a few more zombies that were just now coming out of their homes. I was about to stop and deal with them when Jake called out.

  “Keep going, faster! Get to the end of the block!” He yelled.

  I gunned the engine and fairly flew down the street, but it was hard because I didn’t know what I was chasing or running from.

  “Turn left!” Jake pointed and started scrambling in the back seat for a gun.

  “Hey! Watch it!” Julie protested Jake’s rummaging.

  “Give me the carbine, dammit!” Jake cursed.

  “Here, you jerk!” Julia shoved the gun in his face. I was very uncomfortable with the fact the muzzle was behind my ear when she did that.

  “See that car going away?” Jake asked as he rolled down the window

  “Yeah?”

  “Get close. I think they’re the ones who were spreading the virus,” Jake said, sitting out on the edge of the window.

  “How do you know?” I shouted, the roar of the engine loud in the cab.

  “I saw them run out of a house. If they try to run, they’re guilty,” Jake said, shouldering his weapon.

  Julia spoke up from the back seat. “Maybe, they’re running because a big black truck is chasing them.”

  “Shut up, will you?” Jake said.

  I swerved a little and he shifted enough to grab onto the handle above the door inside the cab.

  “All right! Sorry! Try not to kill me, Aaron.” Jake’s apology sounded sincere given the fact I was ready to dump his ass if he was rude to Julia again.

  Julia, for her part, put a hand over the seat and rubbed my shoulder in thanks. I kissed her hand and got back to chasing the car in front of me. It was a small, two-door car, the ideal kind for travelling, since it used very little gas and was nimble enough to go around obstacles.

  The car sped off, and I hadn’t a hope of catching it with my big truck. I just hoped Jake’s shooting had improved.

  “Must be them, hang on!” I shouted. I slammed the gas pedal down, not really caring I was practically dumping gas in the street. I wanted to catch someone alive to answer some questions about these outbreaks.

  “Whoa!” Jake shouted, momentarily slipping a little. He recovered quickly and aimed at the rear tires with his rifle. We were bouncing enough that I figured he wasn’t going to get a shot, but Jake found a way. He just kept the gun aimed at a general point and let fly.

  Fifteen shots later, the back passenger tire blew with a neat explosion, and the car careened sideways. I slowed down and parked the truck in the blind spot of the car, jumping out and grabbing my rifle. Jake ran to the side and started shooting at the windows, taking care that his shots wouldn’t hit the people inside. That was a trick Julia’s dad had taught us. Someone who was trying not to get shot would more likely surrender if they thought you were more than willing to ventilate their hides.

  It should have worked, but it didn’t. These guys had rolled out of the vehicle as neat as you could hope for, and dashed off into the homes. They paid us back for wrecking their car by firing over their shoulders, causing us to duck for cover by our vehicle. Rolling behind our truck, I didn’t have a chance to shoot back, and when I did look for a shot, there was no one in sight.

  “Well, shit,” Jake said, changing the magazine on his rifle. “That didn’t go well.”

  I just shook my head. “Get in the damn truck, I’m going after them.” I checked to make sure a round was chambered, my knife and ‘hawk were secure, and my sword was in its place on the truck. I pulled another Beretta out of the gun box on the truck, slammed a full magazine in it, and took off.

  I could hear Julia call out as I ran, but there wasn’t anything to say at that point. I needed to make up precious time and hoped I wouldn’t get shot.

  Chapter 17

  I ran right after the pair, following the same path. The trail followed a sidewalk, and I thought I was getting close when something went “Whap!” right past my left ear. I heard the shot immediately after I ducked instinctively and kept running, hoping my next move wouldn’t be met with another bullet. I saw some movement over to my right behind a small home, and I ran in that direction. Another shot sounded, but I had no idea where the bullet went.

  Running through the space between two homes, I saw a pair of small-looking people climbing a fence and disappearing over the edge. They were cutting through backyards, and trying to get to the sidewalk on the other side. If I let them through, they may have enough time to ambush me when I came after them.

  I cut to the right, quickly climbing a wooden fence, and bolting across the yard. I ducked under a rusty swing set, and used a small table to launch myself over the next fence. I landed heavily in the adjourning yard, just missing a trampoline. I ran around the rotted thing, and grabbed the plastic fence that closed off this yard. Swinging my legs over, I ran as fast as I could, cutting through the gate to the front yard. I figured I was one house over from where I thought they would be.

  I rounded the house and pulled up short. The two were there, and one was on one knee, waiting for me to climb over the fence they just vacated. I wasn’t about to walk into that trap, so I took a second to catch my breath and look over my enemy. They were small men, both wearing black clothing from head to toe. Their faces were covered with scarves, and I couldn’t see any facial features. The one with the rifle kept aiming it at the fence, and I decided to make things interesting.

  I took out my tomahawk and measured the distance between them and me. I was a long throw, but I had made longer ones. I took out my gun and kept it in my left hand. I didn’t care of my first throw killed or maimed, I just needed them down and surprised.

  A low growl came from the south and right before I cut loose, something caught their attention. Our truck came tearing around the corner, grinding the gravel and making a lot of noise. From my little corner, I could see Julia driving and Jake was shooting from the window.

  The pair by the mailbox was struck stupid for a second, but it was enough to do a lot of damage. Jake managed to send enough bullets their way to hit one of them, and the other never hesitated, he just took off across the street, darting in between the houses.

  I ran out to the one left behind, and even as I approached, I could see it was a waste of time. Blood poured out of a shot to the head, and this one wasn’t going to tell me anything. I was mad enough to yell at Jake when Julia pulled the truck up alongside.

  “Will you leave the next one to me?” I shouted, starting across the street after the second person.

  “Have at it, you ungrateful prick!” Jake retorted.

  “Can’t get answers from a corpse, idiot!” I yelled back, running through the same two houses as the man did before me. I vaulted another fence, this one being closer to the ground and made out of metal. The wood fences were in rough shape, mostly rotten and green with algae. I had a feeling if I hit one hard enough, I’d go right through. Trouble was, I wasn’t confident enough in my luck to let that experiment take place. />
  I saw a leg slip over the fence in front of me, so I knew I was closing in. I stretched my legs and gave it all I had, using a child’s slide as a step. The fence was tall. Nevertheless, with my momentum, I grabbed the top and swung over, pulling out my tomahawk as I landed.

  Across the yard, a black figure was getting close to the fence. I didn’t know what he might be thinking. That fence was tall, and would have been trouble to scale in the best of circumstances.

  Just as he jumped for a handhold, I let fly with my ‘hawk. It embedded itself in the wood next to the man’s head, causing that one to drop to the ground. He spun around, pulling two thin-bladed knives from their sheaths somewhere on his back.

  I wasn’t about to get into a knife fight. First of all, anyone who does will get cut, period. I don’t care how good you are, you’re going to get cut. Second, I leave knife fights to Jake. He seems to like them, the weirdo. Last, I have no idea if those blades have zombie goop on them, and a scratch could still kill me. I slid to a stop and pulled my pistol.

  “Gunfight,” I said. “Put them down.” I waved the barrel of my gun at the knives which were still pointed at me.

  I had to give the guy credit. He thought about it for a long moment. I could almost see the thoughts and calculations going on in his head. However, my father didn’t raise a fool. I was far enough away to avoid any tricks with flipping knives at me, and I was close enough not to miss if I had to shoot.

  In the seconds it took for my enemy to make up his mind, I looked over my enemy. He was about five six, with a narrow build, slender shoulders and waist. This was a really small guy, so he had to be good with those knives. He was wearing a black vest, black gloves, shirt, and pants. His face was concealed by a balaclava, and his eyes were hidden by sunglasses. In the dark, this guy would have been little more than a shadow.

  “If you don’t drop those knives, I’m going to start by shooting you in the knees. Then I’m aiming for your elbows. Get my drift? In one piece, or bloody and broken, doesn’t matter to me,” I said, taking a small step forward.

  He didn’t say a word; he just threw the knives to one side. Then he surprised me by reaching back and grabbing the handle of my tomahawk! He jerked forward, and stopped suddenly as the ‘hawk went nowhere. I had thrown that baby pretty hard, and it wasn’t going anywhere without effort.

  I fired twice into the ground at his feet, kicking mud up at him. He stepped away from the tomahawk, but stopped as I fired again, keeping him from reaching the spot where his knives were.

  “You’re trying my patience, bub,” I snarled. “I’d as soon kill you for what you’ve done to this community, but you’re going to give up some answers first.”

  He said nothing; he just looked at me with those dark, sunglass eyes. I could hear the truck moving slowly down the street, passing in front of the house whose yard we were currently occupying.

  “Put your hands on top of your head and turn around,” I said, stepping closer. I eased the slack on the trigger of my gun, making sure it would only take a small amount of pressure to send my friend to oblivion.

  He did and I moved in, first pressing the muzzle of my gun against the back of his head and grabbing the collar of his shirt. Any false move and he was going to be very dead.

  Chapter 18

  We moved to the gate, and without warning, I slammed him into it, splintering the wood around the latch and blasting our way through. His hands came off his head, but I rapped him with my gun barrel and the hands returned. This one was a thinker and given the lives he had taken without a second thought, I wasn’t taking any chances.

  Walking past the faded lawn ornaments, I waited until we were seen by Jake. I wasn’t about to take a hand off my prisoner and flag down the truck.

  “Nice work, Aaron,” Jake said, coming around the truck. He kept his rifle on the man in black, so I took my hand off the man’s collar, stepping to the side to be out of the line of fire in case the prisoner started something.

  When I moved, I saw the man relax slightly, which told me he was going to try something but my moving kept it from happening. Gonna have to watch this one, I thought.

  To save myself trouble, I ordered the man to take off his vest. “Nice and easy. Any sudden moves and I won’t play nice.” I was worried about another syringe or some sort of infecting device.

  The man’s hands didn’t move. I had to admit it was a little irritating to be ignored like that. I knew he was planning something; this just seemed to be a stalling tactic. I walked around to the front of the prisoner, and without warning, I punched him in the gut. The man folded and went to one knee, gasping for air. I stepped back and looked at Jake. Something seemed wrong, though. The man wasn’t making the right noises. The gasping seemed very high pitched for some reason.

  Before I got too curious, Julia stepped in. “Wait a minute, Aaron.” She pushed me aside, and with the tip of her spear on the man’s chin, she raised his head. I could almost feel the hatred coming from behind those sunglasses, but I was stunned by what Julia said next.

  “Take off the mask, bitch, or I’ll open your throat.” Julia shifted her stance so her hands were closer to her body. All it would take was a small thrust and several inches of sharpened steel would end all resistance.

  Slowly, the hands went to the neck and pulled the balaclava and sunglasses off. Bright blue eyes stared at Julia as shoulder-length and nearly white hair tumbled out. I was surprised as hell to see I had been chasing a girl. At the same time, I felt a little guilty for punching her.

  I got over it quickly enough. The girl got to her feet and spat at the two of us, much to Jake’s amusement.

  “Fucking heroes, huh? You’re wasting your time. You’re all going to die. This is just the beginning. You can’t stop us all.” Her words contrasted sharply with her elegant features. She had high cheekbones, which framed a pert nose, ending with a full-lipped mouth that I could see men fighting over. Julia caught me looking and gave me a stare that promised uncomfortable silence in her vicinity very soon.

  Jake was staring, too, although I had a feeling he was wondering if the one he shot had been a girl, too. I gave him a chance to find out.

  “Why don’t you go check the other one for syringes or whatever it was they were using to infect people last night. Be careful,” I said.

  “Got it.” Jake jumped in the truck and sped off, doubtless wanting to get to the body before someone else did, and started the whole outbreak again.

  Julia smirked at the woman’s predictions, but then she turned serious. “Take your vest off. My blade is still contaminated from finishing off the zombies you made. Don’t make me scratch you.”

  That earned Julia a sneer, although I noticed the woman kept her eye on the spear as she worked to get her vest off. Once it was removed, she casually flipped it to Julia. That move was a diversion as she jumped forward, striking out with her foot and landing a blow on Julia’s hip, knocking her back and causing her to lose her grip on her spear.

  I whipped up my gun. “Hey! You looking to get killed?”

  The prisoner laughed as Julia sprang to her feet. “Who might get hurt, pretty little bitch?” The woman taunted. “Too bad your boyfriend has a gun or I’d teach you what it means to get hurt, right before I kill you.” Her beautiful features were turning very ugly as she said this.

  Inwardly, I groaned. I knew Julia enough that she was not about to let this challenge pass, even though it was the smarter thing to do. Julia brushed the grass from her rear and pulled out her gun and knife. She held them out to me while never taking her eyes off her adversary.

  “This may be a bad idea,” I whispered, taking the weapons.

  Through gritted teeth Julia hissed. “She deserves worse.”

  “That’s my point,” I said. “Don’t kill her. We need what she knows.” I backed away, keeping my gun pointed in the general direction of the woman in black, but away from Julia.

  Our prisoner shook her pretty, evil head. “Think I
’m a fool like you, stupid girl? Big boy shoots me if I win or run. No deal, although the chance to tear your pretty little face to shreds is so tempting.” She crossed her arms and smiled, striking a taunting pose.

  Chapter 19

  Julia didn’t say a word; she just walked up to the other woman and slammed a fist into her face. The prisoner’s head snapped back and she fell backwards to the sidewalk. She lay there for a moment while blood streamed out of her nose. If she had been expecting Julia to bluster or talk, she found out the hard way.

  Julia stepped back and shook her hand a little, waiting for the other woman to regain her feet. The white-haired girl scrambled to her feet, blood streaming from her nose. The blood had gone down the sides of her face, giving her the appearance of a deranged clown as she bared her teeth.

  “I’ll kill you for that, bitch.” She spat blood and raised her hands, shifting forward to the attack. Her stance was classic sparring, pretty effective against untrained foes.

  Julia threw a look at me. “Stay out of this one, Aaron,” she said as she shook her hands and looked over her opponent.

  I looked again at the other woman. She was resting lightly on her feet, with her hands slightly away from her sides. She had a sneering smile on her face, but that was the only part that was smiling. Her eyes were cold and emotionless, and I knew she would kill without hesitation. I knew also that despite Julia’s admonitions to the contrary, I would step in if I had to.

  “Make it quick,” I said. I wanted this over with, but I also knew I couldn’t stop Julia. At least, not without some serious conversations later.

  “I will make it quick, big boy. Better say…” The woman never finished what it was I was supposed to say. Julia had leapt forward, ducked, and lashed out with her own booted foot, which slammed into the other woman’s upper chest. It was a classic move used against zombies, since it knocked the dangerous ends away from you, and not into you like a kick to the stomach will. Aunt Janna perfected that one, much to Uncle Duncan’s delight.