“Hurry, we need to get outta here before more come,” Emma urged. “I’ll help you across.”
“Belinda goes first,” Kurt said.
“I’m closer,” Ted interjected.
Seizing Emma’s hand, Ted prepared to jump. His soft, doughy physique was a worry. He honestly did not look capable of making the leap.
“Ted, it might be easier if you do what I am doing. Straddle the gap then shift your weight so you can reach the handhold over there.” Emma pointed to the metal grip near the edge of the roof. It was wrapped with leather to provide a better hold and protect against the heated metal surface.
Ted tossed a look at Emma that said he was not someone who liked to be told what to do. Clearly agitated, his fingers dug into her hand as he prepared to jump. Emma took a deep breath, hoping that the harness could hold both their weight if he fell.
“Ted, just do what the lady is telling you to do. Stop making things difficult,” Kurt said, instantly making the situation even tenser.
If the middle-aged man didn’t like Emma telling him what to do, he sure as hell did not like the younger man giving him orders.
“It’s only three feet,” Ted retorted with a snarl on his thin lips.
With those words, he made a desperate leap across the gap. He wasn’t in the best shape to begin with, but if he hadn’t been so weak from dehydration, the heat, and lack of food, he might have had a shot at cleanly making the jump. His feet landed on the curved edge of the roof and he started to slip. Instead of releasing Emma’s hand and reaching for the handhold, he jerked her toward him, causing her to lose her footing on the building. Thinking fast, she threw all her weight toward the bus as she fell. The harness tightened around her torso, squeezing the air out of her lungs. Her gloved hands gripped the line as her body slammed into the curved edge of the roof of the bus, her legs dangling over the side. The impact stunned her and left her gasping with pain. Her knees and feet throbbed from where they impacted with the grate over the window. Expecting to feel the hands of the undead on her at any second, she kicked her feet violently while attempting to hoist herself upward.
There was a loud thump and then someone gripped her wrists. Raising her head, she saw Kurt pulling her onto the roof. It took some effort on both their parts to get her safely onto the bus. He was weak from days of exposure and she was gasping to force oxygen back into her lungs.
“Stupid asshole almost got both you killed,” Kurt grunted.
“Did they get him?”
It was the only reason Emma could think of as to why the zombies hadn’t grabbed hold of her when her legs had been dangling over the edge.
Kurt shook his head. “No, but he has their attention. I’ll get the idiot.”
Emma glanced over her shoulder and saw that Ted had managed to grab one of the handholds and hook his knee over another. His other leg dangled dangerously close to the grasping hands of the zombies teeming below. Getting to her feet, Emma edged forward on the shuddering bus to help Kurt drag Ted to safety.
Throughout the entire ordeal, the gunshots never stopped as the team did its job thinning out the zombies in the gap between the building and the bus. Emma swept her gaze over the area long enough to see numerous corpses dotting the ground. More zombies staggered out from the trees. They were in bad shape, most likely stragglers from the herd. Nonetheless, zombies in large numbers were a serious threat. The team was running out of time and needed to leave soon.
Digging her fingertips a little harder than necessary into Ted’s soft arm, she helped Kurt pull him fully onto the roof. Ted crawled to the hatch and disappeared inside without even a word of thanks.
“Asshole,” Kurt grumbled.
“Scared asshole. Now to get Belinda.”
“If you give me the harness, I’ll get her,” Kurt said.
“You sure?”
“I’m taller and have longer legs. I’ll straddle the gap and lift her across to you.”
“Sounds good.”
Emma started to unbuckle the harness, but was distracted when Juan climbed through the hatch. He glanced at her and Kurt briefly before rushing forward, preparing to leap across to the building.
“No! Don’t! It’s not safe!” Kurt cried out.
It was too late. Juan jumped, sailed easily over the gap, and landed with a resounding thud on top of the roof next to where Belinda was cowering. There was a loud cracking sound and then the roof crumpled beneath them.
21
People are Stupid
The roof of the building partially crumpled, creating a dangerous makeshift slide that disappeared into the darkened depths of one of the restrooms. With a scream, Belinda disappeared from view into the bathroom below. Somehow Juan managed to hook his fingers around the lip of the corrugated metal panel as it pitched down at a slant.
The thunderous noise of the roof collapse immediately caught the attention of the zombies. Redirecting their focus from the people on top of the bus, they surged through the entrances into the two separate bathrooms.
Emma froze, unable to fathom the stupidity of her fellow Texan. The tall man was trying to reach into the building, which was a good sign that Belinda was among the living. Next to her, though barely able to stand on his feet, Kurt started forward.
Emma caught his arm. “You’re too weak to help them. I’ll do it.”
The young man started to protest, but was distracted by the appearance of Monica climbing out of the hatch.
“Kurt, get below and help thin out the zombies. Emma and I will help my damn fool cousin and Belinda,” Monica said.
“We got this, Kurt. You already did your best to help her. Now it’s our turn.”
Kurt reluctantly retreated through the hatch while Monica leaned over and hooked a new harness to the roof of the bus. Pulling it on, she gritted her teeth, the fury in her eyes obvious. She was a powerful-looking woman with muscular arms and legs beneath her clothing. There was a good chance that between the two of them they could rescue both people as long as the zombies hadn’t reached Belinda yet. Only a minute or two had passed, but that was all it took in the zombie apocalypse to lose a life.
“We need to get Juan back over onto the bus and then get Belinda. You know, if she is alive.” Monica glanced toward her cousin, who was yelling down into the bathroom and completely ignoring them. “Sorry again about my ridiculously stupid cousin.”
“I understand desperation. I would’ve done anything to save my loved ones.”
“My loved one is an idiot.” Monica worked feverishly to finish securing her harness while shooting worried looks in Juan’s direction.
“Let’s save your cousin’s ass and chew it out later.”
With a grim expression, Monica finished her task. “That sounds like a plan to me.”
The other woman probably didn’t fully understand how lucky she was to have the chance to save someone she loved. Emma envied her.
The walls of the structure were about a foot thick and provided a ledge to stand on. Monica made the leap across to the building with astonishing surefooted finesse. Maintaining her balance, she extended her hand toward Emma.
“I’ve been working on the construction crews, so this is a cakewalk. Just don’t look down and you’ll be fine.”
After making sure she had enough slack in her line, Emma took Monica’s hand and stepped across the gap. It took all her willpower not to look at the swarm of zombies fighting to enter the restroom. When she was sure of her footing, she pushed off from the bus. It took her a second to catch her balance. In that time, her heart almost came to a complete stop.
Monica placed a stabilizing hand on her arm. “Gotcha. You’re good. You’ve got this.”
Emma cautiously dropped into a kneeling stance to study their predicament.
The corrugated metal roof had been bolted to supports. There had been three panels lying side-by-side and in the collapse two panels had wrenched apart. This was the only reason Belinda was still alive. She’d dropped into a
stall, while one of the panels had fallen outside of it and was wedged against the stall door. The stainless steel walls of the stall shuddered under the violent assault of the zombies crowding into the bathroom.
Juan held onto the inclined roof panel with one hand while reaching with the other toward Belinda. She was standing on the toilet stretching to catch his hand, but her small frame was far too short to close the gap. Exhausted from her ordeal, she swayed on the toilet seat. The door to the second stall was open and it was filled with the dead. The dividing wall was starting to dent under the desperate beating of decaying hands.
Juan wasn’t in a great position either. The panel holding his weight rested against the top of the neighboring stall and was bent at an angle, so that his legs were suspended over the undead crowd. He was in just as precarious position as the woman he was trying to save. How he had expected to rescue Belinda made no sense to Emma. He was clearly on the verge of losing his grip and falling. There wasn’t a plausible way he could reach Belinda and hoist her up.
“Juan, we’ll get her! You need to pull yourself up onto the roof! You’re just dangling dinner over the zombies and making the situation worse! Get up here!” Monica barked out with an authority that Emma appreciated.
“I need to save Belinda!”
“You’re being a fucking moron, Juan de la Torre! Get your ass up here before you get both of you eaten!”
The writhing bodies beneath Juan’s feet were growing more agitated by the sound of human voices. Time was swiftly running out for everyone, including the rescuers. They had to move fast. Emma tested the remaining intact roof panel. The metal was scorching hot beneath her gloved hand. It groaned as she leaned some pressure on it, but remained in place.
“Those rusted bolts are holding,” Monica pointed out. “But I don’t think it will support too much weight.”
Emma tested her safety line again. She had just enough slack to implement her quickly forming plan. “I’ll have to risk it. Crawling onto it will get me close to where she is so I can lower myself down to get her. Once I have her, you and Juan can hoist us up.”
“Did you hear her, Juan? Get up here and help!”
Perhaps some sense penetrated his thick skull and it had registered in Juan’s mind that he was in just as much danger as Belinda. Or maybe it was the prospect of being part of Belinda’s rescue. Either way, Juan made an effort to catch the edge of the roof with his other hand. The twisted panel holding him up made it difficult, so his cousin moved to assist him. Monica straddled the top of the wall so she could brace herself as she leaned over to help.
Fear etched onto his expression, Juan desperately reached for his cousin’s hand. Kicking his legs in an attempt to propel himself upward, he only managed to stir up the zombies beneath him. That worked to Belinda’s benefit by temporarily distracting the undead from their attacks on the stall she was trapped within. Emma had planned to wait until Juan was safely on the wall and then climb down, but she decided to take advantage of the zombies focusing on him.
The top of the stainless steel stall partition was only a few feet below her perch. In normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be difficult to lower herself and climb down into the stall with Belinda, but currently the space around it was completely crammed full of the rotting, foul-smelling creatures.
Belinda sank against the wall and slowly slid down until she was crouched on the toilet lid. Head craned, she watched Emma, her gaze pleading for rescue. Emma cautiously rolled onto her stomach and lowered her legs over the edge of the roof, her feet searching for purchase on the top of the stall divider. Inching slowly downward, Emma clutched a peak in the corrugated metal. The last thing she wanted to do was lose her grip and fall. It was a relief when her heels hooked over the top of the partition. With a grin, she lowered the rest of her body into the building, squatting down so she was below the roof. Emma’s appearance over the heads of the zombies immediately sent them into a new frenzy. Their hands started to hammer against the divider beneath her, rattling her, and only her grip on the roof above kept her from pitching into them.
The situation was far worse than Emma had realized. The constant press of the zombie bodies against the stalls was forcing the partition to gradually slant toward Belinda, and already a few brackets had torn free from the wall. Only the collapsed roof panel, the fact the stalls were floor-length, and sheer luck had kept Belinda out of the reach of the zombies.
“This whole thing is about to come down on us, Belinda. I need you to take my hand right now so they can hoist us up.” Emma didn’t look behind her to check on Juan’s progress. She had to trust that he would make it to safety and that his strength combined with Monica’s would be able to pull them up.
At first she thought Belinda was going to ignore her, since she appeared frozen with fear, but slowly, the woman forced herself to stand. Bracing her hands against the solid wall behind her, Belinda climbed onto the seat. Emma’s fingers dug into the corrugated metal roof to keep steady while stretching out with one hand toward Belinda. The partition Emma was perched on rocked under the onslaught of the zombies. Belinda was about to grasp her hand when something gripped Emma’s ankles. Tossing a startled look over her shoulder, she saw a tall male zombie scrabbling at her boots. Before she could decide what to do, he pulled Emma off balance and she tipped forward. As she fell into the stall, the line tightened sharply around her torso. Again, her breath was nearly knocked out of her, but she was secure. Emma grasped Belinda, jerked her into her arms, and the two women dangled over the toilet as the stainless steel partition started to bend toward them.
“Pull us up!” she shouted, hoping Juan and Monica were ready to rescue them.
Her answer was a sharp yank on the line.
“We got you!” Monica replied.
“Hold on to Belinda!” Juan called down.
In painful, jerky tugs, Juan and Monica pulled the two women up. There wasn’t too much distance from where they hung to safety, but every second was terrifying as they dangled helplessly, protected only by the slowly-collapsing stall. When they neared the edge of the remaining section of the roof, Emma dared to plant her boots on the stall divider to hold them steady. A few rotting fingers scrabbled on the soles of her boots. Juan leaned over and gripped Belinda’s wrists, dragging her up and out of sight in one swift motion. The roof panel shuddered beneath their combined weight.
The metal partition gave way beneath Emma with a loud groan.
“Shit!”
Emma quickly pulled her knees up to her chest. Holding onto the line, she rapidly swung over the zombie heads toward the wall. She kicked up her legs just before she struck it, but only managed to hook one ankle onto the top. Because there wasn’t any slack in the rope, she was unable to maneuver to safety and was stretched tight in a precarious position above the rampaging zombies below.
Behind her, the stainless steel partitions crumpled with a loud metallic moan, wrenching the dividers away from the walls so the brackets tugged free of the cement. The destruction sent a tremor through the entire building. A substantial amount of the zombies were instantly trapped beneath the falling debris. The undead thrashed about, attempting to free themselves, but only managed to become more entangled with the limbs and clothing of their companions.
“Emma, we’ll get you! Hold on!” Monica yelled.
A second later the remaining part of the roof caved in on the zombies below. Emma’s safety line was snagged on the edge of the corrugated metal and she was wrenched from the wall. She swung over the heads of the downed zombies and slammed into the other wall.
Trapped at the far end of the bathroom opposite the open doorway, she could see the exterior of the bus. The zombies knocked over from the collapsing roof were struggling to get up, giving her a little precious time. It took only a second for her pistol to be in her hand. She immediately aimed at the zombie closest to her. It was male, fresh, and on its knees a few feet from her. With a howl, it lunged toward her. She put a bullet through it
s brain and straightaway aimed for the next nearest zombie.
“There’s no way in hell I’m dying here,” she muttered.
Just as she was about to unstrap herself from the harness so she could risk running over the fallen zombies for the exit, she was hoisted upward. A second later, Juan set her on the top of the outer building wall and steadied her with his hands. She noticed they were bloody from where he had gripped the rope while pulling her up. The line remained caught on the fallen roof, so Juan swiftly helped her unbuckle the harness.
Glancing over her shoulder at him, she managed to rasp out, “Thank you.”
Juan gave her a brief nod and pointed to the bus where Monica was lowering Belinda through the hatch. “We gotta go.”
Emma gratefully took his hand and he pulled her to her feet. He guided her along the narrow pathway back to the bus. She broke her own rule and glanced down once or twice. The tilted heads of the zombies below pivoted as she moved along the wall to safety. They raised their gnarled hands toward her and moaned in unison. A chill swept down her spine. She wouldn’t have made it if she’d tried to run for the doorway.
When they reached the gap between the building and the bus, Juan grabbed her under her armpits, swung her over the heads of the zombies below, and tossed her onto the bus. She landed with a hard thump on the roof. It took only a few seconds to climb through the hatch into the safety of the bus. Juan dropped down behind her. Emma noted his eyes instantly sought out Belinda. Rune’s words echoed in her mind, but she muted them.
“Arnold, get us out of here,” Nerit ordered.
The bus started backward, Arnold skillfully maneuvering through the growing herd of zombies. The older dead splattered against the rearguard, splitting apart like overly ripe melons. The newer, faster dead attempted to grip onto the sides, desperate to reach the living inside.
As The World Dies | Book 4 | After Siege Page 17