Defensive Instinct (Survival Instinct Book 4)

by Kristal Stittle

  When they turned to head back to the holding containers, they had gained two more volunteers who would rather risk the zombies than that bridge.

  ***

  Back at the holding containers, Evans first went to the one that had held him, which was still open. As he explained what was going on, the guards left to go take up positions elsewhere, adding weight to the truth of what Evans was telling his people. Danny watched as Evans studied the faces of every man and woman who exited the container. Two of them he stopped and turned back inside. The pair looked pissed and ready to argue, but the constant zombie groaning and a severe expression on Evans’ face kept their mouths shut. Opening up each container, Evans repeated the process of explaining and picking out people he was worried about. Those denied the chance to fight, he moved into the same container and locked the doors. Once that was done, Evans found a ladder leaning against the side of the holding containers.

  “Danny,” he whispered, waving him over.

  Danny had been standing apart from everyone, simply observing. He walked over to Evans to see what he wanted.

  “Is this ladder going to be used to get people on top of these?” he asked, gesturing at the containers that had held his party.

  “Most likely, yeah,” Danny replied.

  “What happens to the ladder afterward? Is it dragged up there?”

  “Yes, to keep any zombies from using it.”

  “I want it put into the container I put the aggressors in. They may pose a threat to your people if armed, but I don’t want them trapped in that box with no way out if something goes wrong.”

  “I’m sure we can arrange that.”

  “If my own people can be stationed up there, then we can put the ladder next to that opening I saw in the roof. That way, they can decide if and when the ladder needs to be lowered.”

  Danny thought that sounded like a good idea and said as much. He still didn’t know why Evans was keeping him nearby; it wasn’t like Danny could make any actual decisions. Maybe he was just being used as a source of information and happened to be the closest person free at the time to follow him around.

  Once the aggressors were secure inside the container, Evans led the party members to where Karsten had indicated. As promised, their weapons were waiting for them. Danny stood to the side once more, watching as they silently went through the gear, picking out what belonged to whom. The weapons that had been taken from the aggressors and the non-combatants were divided equally amongst the fighters, and they dug through the contents of their carts for more ammo. Danny noticed several people hastily putting together packs of food. It was a good idea in theory, but he thought they would just weigh the people down. If a zombie came over the wall, that would mean it could climb in some way, so getting trapped on top of a container was unlikely. Danny guessed that maybe the packs of food would be useful if they found themselves hiding on the inside of a container, but if there was no way to draw those dead away, the food would only prolong the inevitable. Danny wondered where the carts were going to be put afterward.

  Once everyone had collected what they wanted, some carrying all that they could, Evans led the party back to where Karsten was waiting. Everywhere he looked, Danny could see people moving about. On top of containers, people settled into their assigned positions, winces rippling through nearby folk whenever a particularly loud footstep fell upon the metal boxes. Everyone was being extra cautious not to drop anything. At one point, Danny spotted one of Misha’s dogs staring down at him, but couldn’t see his owner anywhere. On the ground, people scurried to and fro, delivering messages in sign, checking that all the containers were secure, putting loose solar panels away, and collecting more ammo. The horse containers were currently open, the veterinarians settling in with food and water; they would need to wait out whatever was going to happen, administering the remaining sedatives as needed. The stables were the only structures Danny didn’t spy someone on top of. As they approached Karsten, Danny could make out the toilets; there were even people gathering on top of them, including an old man, who probably hadn’t seen combat since the Diana sank, carefully climbing a ladder to join a young teen who must have just recently finished her gun training.

  “Thank you for helping us, and in turn yourselves,” Karsten whispered, allowing those near the front of the group to quietly pass his words to those in the back. “Once this is all over, you’ll be free to leave with all of your equipment. We’re also prepared to discuss your joining us here if some of you would like that, but for now, we have to get through this together.” Karsten looked directly at Evans. “Did you share the plan with them?”

  Evans nodded. “I have a request for placement of my people.”

  “Let’s hear it.”

  “I want to have only my people on top of the containers we were held in, as well as that building next to it. If something goes wrong, I want them to be able to decide when my people locked in that container should be let out.”

  “All right, but make sure everyone knows to stay on this side of the roof peak so that they’re not spotted. Some of my people are already climbing up there, but I can reassign them. It doesn’t sound like you want to be up there yourself?”

  Evans shook his head and offered no explanation.

  “Danny, can you go clear the people off the community centre, and send them to me for a new placement?”

  Danny nodded curtly and hurried over to the building. Just inside, Jon and some of the other slingers were making sure the food supplies kept in there were secure in tight containers being strapped to the wall to prevent any from tipping over. If the zombies were going to come over the outer wall, they didn’t want the creatures finding their way into the community centre and contaminating their food. Danny wondered how the other slingers were doing. He guessed the same as him: nervous, but focusing on a task they had been given in order to get through the wait.

  At the side of the holding containers, Danny attracted the attention of someone who had just climbed up on top. The sun was now adding some colour to the sky, making it easy for the woman to see and understand his signing. She was confused and annoyed by what Danny said, but passed on the message to the others who had already climbed up there, carefully moving between the solar panels. One by one, they made their way back down and headed toward Karsten. Danny followed after them once he was sure that the community centre roof had been cleared.

  When Danny returned, Karsten held a notebook that he and Evans were huddled over, quietly talking to one another. Occasionally, Evans would speak to one of his men standing on his other side, who then left to deliver orders to another of their party. Alone or in small groups, members of Evans’ party peeled away from the collective to set up at their assigned locations. The last group of people, the largest, was finally sent to the community centre.

  “I’m going to check on my people crossing your bridge,” Evans told Karsten.

  “That’s fine. We’ll start the assault when you tell us that they’re across and the bridge is disconnected.”

  Danny could see the respect the two men had for each other as Evans nodded, then turned to run off. It was weird to think that they had been shooting at each other less than twenty-four hours ago.

  Time to find the others, Karsten signed to Danny.

  Danny didn’t need to ask who he was referring to; he simply replied that he had seen some in the community centre.

  It didn’t take long to round up all the slingers. None of them had slept heavily, and all had gotten up the moment the sky began to lighten. Most of them had found jobs near their meeting spot, keeping their minds occupied and hands busy. Once they were all together, they moved toward the wall, urging people still on the ground to get up on the containers and haul up the ladders.

  When the box of grenades came into view, Danny felt his throat dry up and his bladder loosen. He had to excuse himself to go pee on the side of the wall, and he wasn’t the only one. When he returned, he saw the women signing to each oth
er, grateful that they had thought to go earlier and trying to joke to each other about the unpreparedness of men. All the smiles were forced, however.

  White and Tommy had joined them, even though they wouldn’t be slinging. Tommy didn’t want to separate from his friends; White explained to Danny that he was going to help him load his sling. Danny was grateful that he wouldn’t have to worry about his injured shoulder screwing him up at a critical moment.

  The metal box had been waiting for them. Tommy opened it and handed out the grenades, while Freya positioned everyone, spreading out the best slingers who had the extra explosives. Danny was situated between Bryce and Katrina; White worked with him briefly to find the best place to stand that was out of the way, but close enough to load the second grenade quickly.

  Karsten stood with his back to the wall, looking at the nearest container. Danny knew he was waiting for a signal from someone telling him that everyone was off the ground and all but one of the ladders were up. After that, they’d just be waiting on Evans. Danny again ran the path through his mind, reminding himself that he had to head around the nearest container row to get to the ladder. Not having been part of the discussion, he didn’t know why the ladder wasn’t situated as close as possible, but he couldn’t distract himself with thoughts of that now. After getting up the ladder, he was to fall back to the second row, his injury forcing him to use a pistol instead of a more accurate rifle.

  Danny watched as White loaded the first grenade, making sure the handle was outside the leather as Freya had shown him. The former police officer was going to pull the pin and duck out of the way, giving Danny seconds to let it loose over the wall. The wall looked so much higher than usual. Under normal circumstances, that would be comforting, but these weren’t normal circumstances.

  Trying to swallow the lump in his throat, he looked over at Bryce’s battered features. Bryce noticed, and nodded in his direction, trying to appear brave but the wideness of his eyes, even the swollen one, gave him away. Katrina didn’t look back as Danny turned his face to her. Her jaw was set tight, the muscles in her neck standing out. Her entire body was perfectly still, save the hand that held the sling. That, she swung gently back and forth, the grenade moving in a small arc.

  Danny had to remind himself to breathe.

  29

  Evans Is Relieved

  As Evans watched, the last of Karsten’s men unhooked the bridge from the shore, walking out into the water with it to make sure it drifted away. All of Evans’ party members who had needed to cross, were now safely on the island. He would never tell a soul, but Evans was glad the gigantic horde of zombies had come. It had been stupid and foolish to allow Arman’s anger to whip up the others, to let them seek vengeance over a mistake and a misunderstanding. That had been the easiest route at the time; Evans had never been very good at persuading people to change their minds, especially ones so steeped in anger. Having met Karsten, and having seen how he organized his people, Evans knew that they never stood a chance in the assault. Sure, they would have managed to kill a few, but that would only have justified the container people’s potential slaughter of his party. He was glad that they were now working together, that a future friendship could be established. This would make a good camp at which to resupply during his travels, a safe place to rest. That is, if everyone survived this plan of theirs.

  Once the dock man was satisfied that it was floating away, he slogged back out of the salt water and headed toward Evans. As he neared, Evans picked up the man’s bundle of weapons that had been left beside him to keep dry and handed them over. Together, they made their way to the ladder that had been left down for the two of them.

  Evans climbed up first, not because he distrusted them to haul it up before he could climb up, but because he had farther to go once on top. He walked across the neat rows of containers, having to take long steps to reach the ones that had been placed sideways between them. Yesterday, when Evans was escorted to the holding container, he had seen that these were living quarters and knew that some of these containers had been recently moved to make travelling between them easier. They hadn’t been able to move enough, however, so occasionally Evans had to traverse ladders and boards that had been laid across the gaps. He crossed these slowly, unsure of his balance and the way they sagged in the middle.

  There was at least one person, sometimes more, on every container and they were all armed. Evans wondered if some of them had more ammo than others, or if the bullets were evenly distributed. Considering he didn’t spot any ammo caches anywhere on the containers, he guessed that they had few enough bullets for everyone to be carrying them in their pockets. Here and there dogs wandered about: big dogs, little dogs, and the dogs that had surrounded Arman were standing and sitting amongst the legs of the people. All of their fur stuck out, many ears were flattened, and several curled their lips in silent snarls, not liking the zombie sounds and smells permeating the air. Several times, Evans spotted cats. They were huddled and bunched near the edges of the containers, some looking like they were trying to determine if they could jump down from that height. There were a couple of odd animals around as well. One man had a ferret wrapped around his shoulders; another woman stood beside a harnessed badger. Where the badger might have come from, Evans had no idea, but he kept his distance as most people seemed to be doing. He wondered how many more animals, how many more pets, were entrusted to the security of the containers. They would die slowly if the humans were killed. Evans briefly wondered where the horses were being kept, and whether that black and white cat was around somewhere as he hadn’t seen it since being released.

  As he approached the container nearest the slingers—balancing across a ladder to reach it—he noticed a drop in the number of people. Spaces had been left for those still on the ground, but there also weren’t a lot of volunteers for the front line. Evans had volunteered; he wanted to see how the grenade throwing went with his own eyes. He also wanted to know the moment the zombies came over, if that was going to happen. Only two dogs were on this shorter row of containers: one of the dogs was the old, grey muzzled German Shepherd that had attacked Arman, while the other was younger, some sort of splotchy-coloured breed he didn’t know. They stood in his spot, as close to the slingers as possible. Looking at the line of grenade throwers, Evans spotted the man who had been defended by the dogs and understood why they were there. Not wanting to risk being snapped at, he placed himself next to the furry beasts instead of trying to move them.

  Meeting eyes with Karsten, Evans nodded. As far as he was concerned, they were ready. Over his shoulder, his large sword hung sharp and ready, while in his hands rested his shotgun, extra ammo weighing down his pockets. The sun had finally made its way above the horizon, turning the eastern sky pink as Karsten touched the shoulders of those on either side of him. Evans noted that one of the other slingers was Boyle, the container yard’s second leader; Evans hadn’t seen him since being led into holding. Other slingers included the small group who had warned them of the zombies, and all three people who had been captured by Evans’ party. He guessed that because they were trusted and trained to go over the wall and deal with the zombies and people out there, they were trusted to handle this vital operation. The rest he didn’t recognize, although one man on the end stood out as he held a bow and arrow as opposed to a strip of leather. The line looked to Karsten, who held up his hand that wasn’t holding the sling. Tension filled the air, as everyone who could see it, knew what it meant. Then Karsten’s arm dropped.

  Pins were pulled and slings whirred. The bowman drew back, pulling the pin out of his grenade with his teeth by tugging on a string that had been tied to it. They loosed almost as one, the grenades arching up and over the wall. The moment they were visible to the zombies beyond it, their sounds became more agitated. Evans wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t been listening for it. They couldn’t be heard for long because the grenades all exploded with sharp cracks and rumbles. A gout of gore was flung into the air
so high, Evans could make out body parts, one leg landing on top of the highest container and then bouncing and flopping over to the lower one like a dead fish.

  The sound of the zombies was like nothing Evans had ever heard. He had almost gotten used to the constant noise they had been making out there, but that was only some of them groaning for the hell of it. Now, every dead thing outside that wall was creating a racket, screaming, groaning, moaning, and gasping, their instincts telling them to alert others that life had been found.

  The second round of grenades was less organized, more staggered as they reloaded at different rates. A lithe black woman was ready far sooner than the others, her second grenade going up and over all alone. It was soon followed by the bowman’s second shot, and then a couple of the others. As they blew up, tearing the dead to pieces, the first of the distant fireworks screamed up into the air. Evans could barely hear it, and its fiery flower of light was diminished by the ever-increasing sunlight. It’s too far, he thought.

  One grenade went awry. Evans didn’t know who had thrown it, but it hadn’t been freed of the sling fast enough, and didn’t have the same amount of power behind it as the others had. It cleared the top of the wall, but just barely, before it exploded. Instead of tearing zombies to shreds, the explosive force hammered into the containers right where two of them joined. The doors that had been barred between them were blasted open, making the wall suddenly shorter in that location, allowing Evans to see out toward the containers he had snuck through with his party. Any patch of ground he might have otherwise spied between there and the wall was covered with the dead, and all of them were surging toward him.

  When the slingers were out of grenades, they ran for the edge of the row Evans stood upon. Only the bowman stopped at the corner, drawing a regular arrow to protect those coming after him if need be. A couple of people had three grenades and loosed them when ready; all but the black woman. She stood staring at the opening, her grenade resting in her sling with the pin still in place.