I shook my head and made my brain focus on the task at hand—getting that chopper’s attention.
The helicopter must have seen us because they made a beeline straight toward Roz’s house.
There was one side effect of our antics and shouts of joy. The horde below had gone into a frenzy. They pressed in on the sides of the garage and howled for our blood. A pair of shufflers flung themselves at the building like we were a side of bacon left out for their morning meal.
The chopper slowed as it neared us. It was green and had large side doors. One was open and had a machine gun pointed out just like they were in a war zone – and that wasn’t far from the truth.
The pilot and co-pilot were hard to make out, but I was sure one of them nodded in our direction. A face appeared behind them and studied us intently.
The wash of the blades as the helicopter came to hover in front of us blew Joel Kelly’s FDNY cap off his head. He waved but the pilots didn’t wave back.
The chopper swung to the side and my gut twisted.
“No!” I screamed. “Don’t leave us!”
Roz jumped up and down but I couldn’t hear her over the rush of wind.
The side door came into view and with it, the big machine gun. I thought for a crazy moment that they were about to open up on us.
The man that I’d seen a few seconds ago leaned out and waved. He was tall and had dark hair laced with grey. He looked like Gunny, but this man was older. He waved again and we waved back. I felt dumb for it, but it was the best I had in place of a hug and a wet kiss. I’d save that for after we were rescued.
The helicopter hovered just out of reach, then the guy hanging onto the doorway motioned for us to get down. I didn’t need a second invitation and dropped to a crouch on my sore ankle. It screamed in pain but I pushed it to the back of my mind.
The man produced a bullhorn and fiddled with the buttons. A woman dressed in combat gear moved beside him and said something. He nodded at her and then lifted a bullhorn.
“Stay down just like that. When we get close make your way onto the craft. When you are onboard sit down and don’t move. Got it?”
I gave the thumbs up. He nodded at us and then yelled something at the pilots.
Roz knelt while she talked to the kids. Christy looked at Craig and gave his hand a quick squeeze.
The dead around us went into a frenzy. The shuffler that had haunted us all night tried to leap onto the helicopter but it was a good twelve feet off the ground. The down draft from the blades flattened a couple that were on shaky limbs, or worse, were missing them entirely.
The horde moved in on us again and pressed against the side of the garage. They beat at it and moaned. Even with the immense noise it was truly a fucking chorus of the damned.
Joel prodded Craig and pointed at the edge of the roof. Craig took Christy’s hand and together they crept toward the side of the building. He kept his hand in front of his face while she stayed low and let Craig take most of the wash. When they were close enough to step on to the strut, a guy inside reached out, grabbed her arm, and hauled Christy inside.
Craig collapsed when Christy was gone. He didn’t move, just sat there with his legs folded under his butt.
The dead went into a fresh frenzy when they saw their prize getting away. The shuffler howled and gibbered. He leapt at the building over and over until he was bloody. The other’s pressed from all sides.
Roz was next with Joel helping her toward the end. They tried to prod Craig but he pushed hands away.
The building shook and a corner of the roof swayed, then collapsed as the wall beneath it gave way. Roz made it to the helicopter strut and was helped on board.
The roof tilted but didn’t go down. I grabbed Craig and hauled him to his feet.
“Come on. We’re almost there!” I yelled.
He nodded once and said something but I couldn’t make out the words.
Hands helped him onboard as the roof tilted again. I leaned forward and barely kept my feet. One quick glance over my shoulder told me that this was going to be a very short day if I didn’t get my sorry ass on the chopper.
I grabbed my backpack and swung it over my back. The huge wrench got me right in the kidney. I almost doubled over in pain. Then I moved to the edge of the roof and prepared to avoid being zombie chow.
There was a moment where Joel and I met eyes. He prodded me onboard, but I did the same. We stared back at each other like a pair of idiot heroes in a buddy action movie. I didn’t feel particularly heroic. All I really wanted to do was get on the helicopter, get to somewhere safe, and take a long shit because my sphincter was not up to the business of me being scared to death all the goddamn time.
Joel pushed and I advanced on the chopper. It was only a few feet away but below was a mass of dead like I’d never seen before. All eyes were on me as I stepped toward the helicopter strut.
The older man’s hand came out and I got one foot on the strut while my other was still on the roof. That’s when the damn thing gave in. Joel managed to make it to the edge but the second wall crumbed to kindling beneath us.
The shifting caused me to end up stretched between two worlds with hell directly underneath. Someone grabbed the guy in the transport, and with that as an anchor, he hauled me, screaming, into the helicopter.
Joel held on for dear life, and behind him came the dead. The collapsed roof had created a perfect platform to serve him up like dinner. The Z’s moved up the newly created ramp while Joel looked on in horror.
“We can’t risk it. That building’s gonna collapse any minute and probably take us with it!” The woman in the chopper yelled over the “whump whump” of the blades.
The older man looked at us. I had taken a seat on the floor but when I saw Joel’s panicked face I came to my feet.
“You can’t leave him. He’s saved all of us more than once.”
“Sorry, son,” he said and leaned over to say something to the pilot.
I didn’t think. I pushed him to the side and stepped back onto the helicopter strut. I used the machine gun barrel as an anchor and stretched out for Joel.
“Get off! I can’t shoot if you’re in the way!” the woman said.
“Good!” I bellowed back.
I reached over my shoulder and ripped the huge wrench out and swung it around to lean out as far as I could.
Joel got one hand on the wrench head. Another garage wall went down and took the roof with it. Z’s scrambled for purchase but slid down the platform with arms and legs flailing.
Except for one.
The shuffler was nasty. He had long strands of hair but they weren’t enough to cover his head. They hung over his face like wisps of white cotton. I shuddered because he made a leap, mouth open, and managed to reach the edge of the garage wall that Joel was balanced on.
I pulled as hard as I could and Joel came along for the ride. The man grabbed my arm and pulled me in. I pulled Joel along until he was on the helicopter strut. The engine screamed above us as all of our weight settled and pulled the transport closer to the collapsing building.
Joel got his hand on the side of the chopper and pulled himself inside. I struggled against the tilting chopper and managed to get one leg in before the shuffler leapt.
We were rising when it caught the strut and managed to hold on. The helicopter tilted once again and suddenly I was looking down at about a hundred hungry mouths.
“Asshole!” I yelled and kicked the shuffler in the face. I did it again and he fell away into the crowd.
They hauled me in and all I could do was collapse as my heart thundered within my chest in rhythm to the blades above us.
After a few deep breaths I looked up into the face of a grinning Marine named Joel Kelly.
“I am not cut out for this fucking hero bullshit!” I yelled.
“Me either, man. But I love you just the same.” He clapped my shoulder one time then took a seat.
The old man looked us over appraisingly b
ut didn’t say a word.
“Thanks for saving us,” I said after I’d managed to catch my breath. “I’m Jackson Creed and my gay lover there is Marine Sergeant Joel Kelly.”
The man nodded at us.
“I’m not his gay...whatever, man. Thanks for picking us up.”
“You folks were about to be zombie chow.”
“Yeah. Not much choice. We were stuck up there until you came along.”
“I’d like to get real friendly but we gotta make sure you’re safe. This won’t take long so save the introductions. I’d hate to shake hands and then have to blow your brains out.” He grinned, but there was no humor behind the gesture.
The guy nodded at the gunner. She slid a silver metal box about the size of a briefcase out from under the metal bench. The guy took it from her and opened it to reveal a computer display. There was a camera attached by a bunch of wires. Shit looked like a science lab experiment.
“We just need a picture of your eye,” he said and extended the camera.
“A picture?”
“Yep. We figured out how to spot the virus. Doesn’t always set in right away. I’ve seen guys walk around infected for three days before turning.”
“Damn,” I said and submitted to a shot.
The flash was bright and left me blinking furiously for a few seconds.
We took turns opening an eye wide while he snapped a shot. After each picture he typed something on a keyboard and waited.
“Where’re we headed?” I asked.
“We have a base but it’s not much. Damn zeek’s nearly overrun it every day. All the ammo in the world and we can’t keep clear of them. Piles and piles of the dead. Never smelled anything so foul in my life.”
The sound of the rotor overhead was a constant throb against the cabin as I peered over the lid of the silver box to see if I could get a peek at the display.
“What’s going on out there?” I asked.
“Out there? Out in the world you mean? How long you boys been stuck out here?”
Roz cleared her throat.
“Sorry miss.” He smiled in her direction.
“No problem.” She grinned back but it was just as empty of humor.
“Almost two weeks. Our ship crashed into the base. We’ve been on the run ever since.” Joel filled in the details.
“I’ll tell you what’s going on out there.” He looked at each of us in the eye. “The worst things you can imagine. When you think it can’t get worse, it does. When you think that humanity can’t get any worse, it does. And when you think the damned Z’s can’t get any nastier.”
The man stared hard at the screen and then swallowed.
“They do.”
“Are we good?” Jackson nodded toward the screen.
Craig and Christy looked on with wide eyes. They were huddled together on the hard metal bench.
“Oh, we’re good.” The guy smiled.
He moved toward the door opposite the machine gun and looked outside.
“Don’t be scared, kids.” He smiled at Christy and Craig. “Come here, bud. I’ll show you something that will make you feel better.”
Craig had been slumped against the wall. He stared into space like she hadn’t heard the man.
“Here you go.” The older man smiled and produced one of those juice boxes with the little plastic straw glued to the side. It was all I could do not to leap across the tiny space and tear it out of his hand.
Craig made a little noise and slipped off the bench.
I slid my backpack off and pushed it into a corner and got a glance at our rescuer’s boots. Instead of military issue he was wearing something out of a cowboy movie. Were those snakeskin boots? Talk about an action hero come to life.
Joel had lost his assault rifle in the excitement and looked like his best friend had died. Glad that wasn’t true, since I was probably the closest thing to a best friend he’d ever had.
“So who are you?” I asked over the loud thumping of the rotor blades.
The smell of gas and oil filled the cabin but it was whisked away in a blast as air as the man that had rescued us slid the door open.
“Hey man, that’s loud.”
The guy didn’t say a word. He grabbed Craig by the back of the neck, and pulled him all the way off the bench. He looked at the guy in silent shock, but his silence turned into a scream as the man threw Craig out of the doorway.
“The fuck!” Joel Kelly came off the seat just as I tried to stand. He reached for a non-existent side arm. I went for my bag because I was going to haul out eight pounds of metal and bush his fucking head in!
The machine gunner pulled her gun but Joel did some Marine shit. He swiped her arm up and locked his hand over hers. She didn’t sit around for that and fought back.
Christy hauled off and threw a poorly aimed punch but the guy slid aside and knocked the girl to the hard floor.
“Knock it off back there!” The pilot turned his head to shout at us.
I ripped my wrench free of the backpack but there was no room to swing it in the tiny cabin.
Roz stared on in shock and then covered her face with her hands and sobbed.
The guy who had just tossed Craig to his death pulled out a huge gun and pointed it at my head. My resolve deflated, as did my grip on the wrench. The fight went out of me. I was done. The days of running and hiding piled on top of the escape, combined with Craig’s sudden death nearly made me pass out.
“Stop this!” the guy yelled. “Stop it now or there’s gonna be a lot more blood.”
“Ouch, bastard!” the gunner said.
“Sails! Enough!” the man with the huge gun pointed at me said.
Joel Kelly managed to get the gun away from the gunner, Sails, and none to gently. He got a look at the big barrel pointed my way and he relaxed his grip on the woman and lowered the gun.
She must not have taken too kindly to Joel’s rough handling because she slapped him.
“He’s trying to help. You don’t know what’s going on here, asshole,” she said and rubbed her wrist.
“What about what’s going on here? He just tossed a teenage boy out the goddamn door. That’s what’s going on here. I don’t know how you people are used to dealing with civilians but you don’t just kill them.”
“You don’t? Is that right, son? How many have you killed since this all began?”
“I killed Z’s. The dead. I didn’t kill innocent people.”
He kept the gun pointed at my head but turned the box to face us and lifted the lid. A laptop screen was set into a hard foam backing. The screen had an image of the inside of an eyeball. I’d seen something like this when I got my eyes checked a few years ago.
“What the fuck are we looking at?” Joel rubbed his face where the gunner had smacked him.
“This is your friend that I just tossed. See the dark spots? Those are dead cells. A lot of dead cells. In a few more days or maybe hours – hell, could be minutes, he would have turned. You want a Z in here? You wanna be stuck with a monster in this tiny little box? No you do not.”
“Craig was fine!” Christy went crazy.
She lashed out and caught the guy across the nose with the back of her fist. It wasn’t a great shot, but it got the job done. The man fell back and a shot rang out in the cabin. I sucked in a breath expecting a bullet to be lodged in me, but it wasn’t. The shot went high and punched through the canopy.
The man pushed Christy against the wall hard, and she collapsed like a sack of potatoes.
Joel wanted to go nuts; I saw it in his eyes and the way his fists clenched on the bench seat. The gunner ripped her gun tight then put it to Joel’s head.
“Listen to him. He knows what he’s talking about.”
Something coughed and the helicopter shuddered. A light flashed in my periphery and then alarms sounded. I didn’t need to, but I followed everyone’s eyes to the top of the chopper where a hole whistled air. What were the chances?
“Oh shit!”
Sails said.
The pilot punched buttons and swore. Our ride swayed one way and then the other. I got slammed against the door and then went flat so it wouldn’t happen again. When the chopper tilted to the side I got a look at a huge stadium filled with white tents. Figures moved around the location, but from their wobbling, I assumed none of them were alive. I wasn’t sure, but thought it was probably the old Balboa stadium.
Joel held on for dear life as the chopper went into a slow spin.
The pilot did something because we managed to straighten out for all of two seconds before our craft hit the ground. Hard.
I was lifted into the air and smashed into the deck. Breath left my body and I had a hell of a time getting it back.
The gunner had been smashed against the side of the craft and lolled in Joel’s lap. The man who’d saved us seemed to be the only one unharmed. He grabbed Christy’s form and ripped the door open. The pilot swore, hit some buttons and then ditched.
“This way!” The guy yelled to us as he kept his hold on Christy.
I struggled to my knees while Joel got Sails out of the door. The pilots fell out one after another and then they were on our feet.
I snatched up my backpack and hit the ground right behind them, staggering on my already aching ankle.
No time to rest. No time to worry about the pain shooting up my leg in waves.
“There. It’s not far!” The guy picked up Christy and shrugged him over his shoulder. He pointed at a fence
Joel smacked Sails, none too gently. She stirred, looked at him and snarled. Jeez. She looked like one of them for a second. Girl would be cute if she wasn’t pointing guns and hitting people.
On the run again? That could mean only one thing.
I looked back and there they were.
There were at least fifty of them. Maybe more. Howling, screaming, and moaning, they walked, crawled, and dragged body parts. They were covered in blood and filth. They were the worst of the worst and they all wanted us.
Not only that, but two shufflers came at us.
Z-Risen (Book 1): Outbreak Page 13