They both gave a too-quick affirmation which forced a laugh from the captain.
“Step over to officer Jenkins to my left and she'll get you squared away. And thanks in advance for doing a tough job.”
Liam had no chance to think about what just happened because Jenkins grabbed them and took them deeper into the area dedicated to the police force and their families. She began talking at an insane clip, as if she were on caffeine or speed or something.
“Thank you both for doing this. Here is a radio you'll need that to report back. I see you don't have the most comfortable shoes on. We'll try to find you a pair of sneakers. And...”
She babbled on for a full minute and Liam didn't understand nine words out of ten she said. He caught some points about guns and tactical deployments and one or two lines about the failed power situation. He wanted to stop her for clarification, but one look at her eyes told him she probably didn't remember what she had just said. They just walked along next to her as she lead them down a long hallway, then down a short stairway, and then to a metal door that was propped open. She handed Victoria a radio, which she said was on the proper frequency. She gave her a quick lesson on how to use it, and then tossed a spare flashlight to Liam, saying they would definitely need it. She then said goodbye and started running back up the hallway.
Victoria yelled at her backside.
“But what are we supposed to be doing?”
Jenkins stopped in her tracks but didn't come back. She paused and took a deep breath as if trying to steady herself in a whirlwind.
“Oh yeah. Sorry I thought I already told you. You have to climb the stairs of the Arch, get to the top, then look down into the park and report what you see. You two are our secret weapons. Go quick! Good luck.”
She was off and running again.
They cautiously entered the space behind the metal door, which was some kind of maintenance area. There was an obvious stairwell leading up, which was the unmistakable path up to the top. Liam with the flashlight went first. Victoria said she was able to see well enough bringing up the rear.
The long climb up the dark stairwell gave Liam plenty of time to wonder if the girl behind him was thinking about their mutually confusing interaction with the police captain. He knew his mind should be focused on survival and getting Grandma to safety and being smart about reporting from the top of the Arch—but he couldn't stop thinking of the big distraction behind him. They had both disavowed anything more serious between them. He didn't even realize something could be serious with her until he was saying there wasn't.
Why does she mean that much to me?
Behind him, the distraction gave no clues.
3
There are 1076 stairs leading to the top of the Arch. A world-record holder could climb to the top in less than seven minutes. Liam saw this information on a metal plaque commemorating the event at the base of the stairs.
“I think we can beat seven minutes, don't you Vicky?”
“Oh don't call me Vicky. I hate that name. And yes, let's go for the record. I need a real challenge these days.” She sounded very tired, as if heading up the dark tower had brought her demeanor down too.
Liam wasn't sure how to interpret her tone or what she had said.
What am I doing wrong?
He clammed up.
To pass the time, Liam tried to visualize the arch-shaped building they were now climbing. He'd been up in the Arch many times, but had never gone up or down the metal-framed maintenance stairs. They were off limits to the public. Instead, the monument was designed to allow patrons to reach the apex of the Arch using small trams—a sort of sideways subway with egg-shaped cars so small only 5 people could squeeze into each one. The builders installed a set of metal steps up each leg which could serve as an escape route if the trams broke down. It was closed to the public because it wasn't easy to climb all the steps, nor was it particularly safe—with steep ascents and harrowing descents going the other way. Today there was no power to run the trams, so the only way up was the lung-busting stairs.
As they neared the top they found themselves stopping frequently to catch their breath. It became obvious why the captain chose the two most athletic youngsters to even try this assignment. After minutes of silence, Liam needed to respond to her.
“I'm sorry I called you Vicky. It seemed to upset you.”
“No, I'm sorry. I had no right to get snarky with you. My life has been,” she paused here while she took a few steps, seemingly thinking it over, “sucky lately. You can call me anything you want, really, as long as you don't call me by that particular name. Fair?”
“Totally. I'll just stick with Victoria. I really like your name.”
Try not to sound like an apple polisher!
At long last they came to a door with a small window centered about two-thirds of the way to the top. A low light was coming through the window, indicating daylight was ahead. He turned off his light as he peered through. He was looking out into the tram unloading zone near the topmost observation area. He used the time to recover his breath and rest his muscles.
Liam took a long time. So long that Victoria tapped him on his back to get his attention and find out what was the hold up.
Liam turned around and put his finger over his lips to suggest silence. Then he pointed to the window and sat down hard on the topmost step. Victoria took her turn and spent a similar amount of time studying the scene.
Then she sat down next to him.
Liam was an emotional mess. The whole climb up he was desperately clinging to the flashlight, unusually afraid of the crush of pure black around them. His misstep with Victoria made him feel alone on the ascent. He thought reaching the top would be a relief. He now felt lower than ever. Seeing the scene through the window further beat down his mental fortitude. And he had no way to deal with the new problem. He felt a tear slide down his face and tried to wipe it away quickly. He didn't know if Victoria had been looking at his face, but the motion was unmistakable. The sniffle didn't help. She took his hand and they sat in silence for a few minutes. Her touch gave him strength, though he couldn't explain what exactly he was feeling at that moment. Protective of her? Was she protecting him? Were they helping each other cope?
“You want to know something funny? I left my gun downstairs. I put it in my backpack last night because I didn't want to sleep with it tucked into my pants. I figured it would keep waking me up as I rolled around on the hard floor. I really wanted to get some good sleep after our day yesterday. Everything happened so fast with the police request I didn't think about grabbing my pistol again. I thought I was going to be the hero and protect you and Grandma, but I'm turning out to be anything but.”
She squeezed his hand and then let go as she began talking.
“Do you want to know something funny too? I never got my replacement shoes. I was hoping she'd find sneakers to go with my cocktail dress!” She pointed down to her dress pumps with the heels broken off. “I tried walking the steps in bare feet, but the metal grating made it unbearable. I'm surprised you didn't hear me yelping while I was trying it out. Too bad that cop on speed wasn't able to get me those shoes huh?”
They both had a quiet laugh at that, breaking the tension.
“OK, we can't go back down without trying to get in there. I don't think I could climb these stairs again. I say we think of a plan to deal with this guy and then do what we came here to do so we can go home.”
Liam replied, “I agree but what should we do? Once that thing sees us it is going to pursue us forever.”
They discussed their limited options and settled on the only viable plan available to the weaponless pair.
Liam took up a position next to the door while Victoria opened the door and yelled loudly at the dead park ranger. The man began moving down the curved floor above them in the tram unloading area, picking up speed as he came at his loud-mouthed prey.
The ranger came through the door at a good clip; Victoria crouched
down behind the door and held it open. Liam, standing behind the door and above Victoria saw the ranger come through. It really didn't take much of a push to keep his momentum moving toward the steep staircase in front of him. He tumbled face-first down the flight while Victoria and Liam passed through the door and slammed it shut. It took about thirty seconds for the ranger to regain his footing, climb back up the stairs, and then wail at them through the small glass window. They had successfully switched places with a dead man.
Looking up the final stretch of the Arch, they could just see the apex with all its windows for the observation ports. They could not see the companion tram-unloading area over the top and down the other leg.
“I wonder if there are more undead on the other side?”
“All we can do is move forward and deal with things as they come. You ready to reach the top of this bitch?”
Liam realized he probably shouldn't have used that word in mixed company, but Victoria didn't seem to mind.
“I'm not one for cussing, but yes, after what we've been through I'm not going to be picky. Let's climb this female dog!”
Together they went over the top.
4
There were no more zombies on the other side. There was a lot of blood on the floor however. The best guess they could come up with was the ranger had attacked someone in the observation area and the injured party or parties had made it to the steps going down the north leg, leaving the ranger to wander around in this confined space until fresh meat showed up.
“My god there is a lot of blood up here.”
Liam's stomach turned at the sight of so much blood, remembering Angie's cat didn't help either. Or the foot. But he was able to keep his proverbial lunch down, a fact he was very grateful while in the presence of Victoria.
“Let's stay away from that tram station for now as it could be slippery.”
Liam agreed, but added, “We have to go down one of the sides. We know at least one zombie is waiting for us in the south leg. I wonder if there are any in the north leg?”
“We'll save that as a delightful surprise for when we're done up here.”
Liam thought to himself he'd like to be more prepared, but he had to admit there was really no way to know which was safer. Might as well focus on the task at hand. Victoria seemed to handle the chaos better.
They both moved to the topmost section of the Arch—designated with a marker stating they were 630 feet above the ground.
The interior of the observation area is about the width of a typical subway car or municipal bus. The floor has the same curvature as the top section of the Arch as seen from outside, but the windows are slanted at about 45 degree angles away from the interior and sit on a low shelf, so that when you look out the narrow portal you are practically lying on your belly. Small children often lay down on the windows, usually with a concerned parent holding their legs as if the glass was about to blow out.
The slanted windows gave Liam and Victoria a glorious view of the entire Arch grounds, as well as clear views in all directions with the exception of directly north or south, as those were blocked by the legs of the structure itself. To the west was the sprawl of downtown St. Louis. To the east was the river and numerous bridges linking Missouri with Illinois. One massive bridge to the north was new and modern-looking with twin piers rising high above, providing anchor points for hundreds of bundles of suspension cables. Liam, always thinking of his books, remembered a similar bridge from one of his zombie paperbacks. The name Steubenville stuck out. The heroes in that story died blowing the bridge. He shuddered at having to do such a thing. He wondered if he would ever have to resort to such desperation.
They got their bearings and focused their attention on the western half of the park, nearest the city. There were people on the riverfront side, but the captain had said the infected were coming almost entirely from the city side. Looking down, they both realized how hard it was to see particular people.
“Binoculars would have been a great thing to have up here.”
Victoria responded, “and a catered lunch would have really made this climb worthwhile.”
She gave him a big smile as she pulled out the radio and called down. Liam was relieved when a man answered the radio, and not the crazy-fast talking woman who sent them up here.
“This is Victoria and Liam. We're in position up in the Arch.”
After ensuring she wasn't still on the air she said to Liam, “I'm not sure what the protocol is, do I say 'over' when I'm done?”
Liam shrugged as he had no idea either.
The radio crackled, “This is Arch base. We want you to report if any of the lines are compromised. If you see a line buckling with too many...crazies...let us know before the line collapses and we'll send help to that position. Over.”
They both looked out again, trying to see if any of the lines were breaking. The muzzle flashes on the exterior lines of defense made it easy to see that outline. At that moment everyone seemed to be holding the plague at bay. Liam was happy to see the lone tank moving back and forth along a frontage street, using its mass to crush the undead in front of it. There were three Marine vehicles, each parked between buildings so they could send round after round down the long street corridors. Each time they lanced out, a small thread of plague victims would evaporate.
“No sir. We don't see any problems areas yet. Over.”
“Roger that. Please report in if anything changes. Out.” Victoria put the radio down.
“So how long do wait up here?”
Liam had no answer. But he could spend all day up here with Victoria if he had to.
His enthusiasm was tempered when he remembered Grandma was still downstairs, alone.
They settled in and waited. Each took turns moving to different windows to try to see if anything happened that would be of interest to the police below. It wasn't long before they made their first call.
“Hello Arch base. This is Arch—”
“What are we calling ourselves?” Victoria keyed off the mic, and wondered aloud.
“Arch summit?”
“—this is Arch summit. We are seeing a mass of zombies to the north pushing back the line up there. It looks pretty serious.”
“Thank you Arch summit. Will do. Out.”
They both watched as a small group of men and women moved through the crowd to a point on the northern line. Neither could see what happened in any great detail, but they agreed the line returned to where it was, and appeared stable.
“It's like white blood cells going to fight a virus.” Victoria said. “We are in charge of sending the white blood cells where they're needed. They attack and push back the deadly virus.”
Liam appreciated her analogy but looking down on the entire scene he thought she had it backward. Infected were stumbling down roadways as far as he could see. The little clump of cells below—mankind—was resisting the endless white blood cells being sent by the zombie host now controlling the rest of the city. It made Liam feel the futility of the thin ring of defense upon which they were depending for their very survival.
We have to get out of here.
For now though, he had a job to do.
A little later they noticed a single barge tow floating free in the river. From high above they watched it collide with the pylons of several upstream bridges, pausing on each leg as it scraped by, and then resumed its trek downriver. At the point closest to them on the water, they could see directly into the sunken hold. Even from such distance the tight mass of infected inside was easily recognizable, all moving without purpose in their open-topped prison. The boat avoided the last two bridges out of downtown and was quickly drawn away by the current.
“Well, that's one way to get rid of them.”
Hours went by as they watched.
Then the applecart went flying.
Victoria struggled to key the radio and make her call.
5
“Hello Arch base. Come in. This is Arch summit.”<
br />
It required a few repeated calls, but someone finally answered. It was a woman, but it wasn't clear if it was Jenkins again. They requested Victoria's report.
“We are seeing a large mass of people on the north side moving toward the south. They are shooting live people. We can see flashes of guns down, aimed at each other. Crowds are running away but there are just too many people down there to escape. I say again, these are people shooting other people—not zombies.
“Crap. Hold on a second. Over.”
The radio was silent for a long minute.
Liam and Victoria continued to look down. The mass of renegade people had come in near the water of the riverfront, where the cordon was thin. They were moving directly for the Arch.
As if learning the fact at the same time, the radio crackled, “We see them. They are here. Looks like several gangs and other criminals. No Boy Scouts out there. You guys better get down from there. Out.”
“That's it?” Liam didn't know what to expect of their mission. Did they give the police the information fast enough to make a difference?
One last look down they could see the cordon was holding most of the way around the park, but in the north it took confusing twists and turns. It was destabilizing. Liam had read about this a hundred times in his books. The point where mankind does something stupid to allow the infection to destroy a perfectly good sanctuary.
“OK Victoria, now it's time to think about which side we are going to go down. Do we choose door A and go back down the way we came, with a raging sick ranger to deal with? Do we choose door B and go down the blood-filled stairwell with an unknown number of zombies? Oh and as a special bonus, we can come out at the base of the north side where even now a gun-toting crowd is closing in?”
“Can I choose door C and jump out a window please?”
“They gave me a parachute, so yeah.” Liam gave her a big smile because she was also smiling.
Sirens of the Zombie Apocalypse (Book 1): Since the Sirens Page 14