“Ummm excuse me. If you happen to see my friend in there, please help her get out. She's about my age. Wearing a black dress. Probably running from two gangers with guns. She ran up into the Arch to save me and the rest of our group.”
“If we see your girlfriend we'll grab her.”
He didn't correct her designation as his girlfriend, even though it wasn't true. He liked how it sounded, but it made him even more depressed at how things had transpired.
After a few more minutes of preparation the policemen gathered near the small tunnel entrance and were working the radio. Presumably coordinating with the group inside.
“Liam, do you have any weapons?”
He wasn't sure if he should tell the cops that he was packing a gun, but decided now was not the time to be worried about getting himself thrown in jail for concealed carry of a weapon without a permit. He knew better than to whip out a gun, so he used his words instead.
“I have a small pistol, yes.”
“OK, listen. Your job is to guard this exit so when we come back out we find your friendly face, and not anyone else. Do you understand?”
“I'd really rather go with you guys.”
Officer Jones grabbed one of the radios from one of his cohort and tried to give it to Liam. Liam pulled the police radio he'd been using earlier out of his backpack, showing he was already plugged into their radio net.
Jones continued. “I understand son. But trust us. We'll get it done. We need someone here to keep this door open or we'll be cut down when we come out. Make sense?”
Liam couldn't argue with the logic, though his heart still envisioned saving Victoria. That wasn't going to happen if he was parked here at this entrance as a glorified greeter.
“Don't use your radio unless absolutely necessary. But you can listen so you know when we're coming back.”
“Understood.”
Through it all Hayes had kept his distance from Liam and the police. He figured the man would want to help young Liam protect this exit, but he made no effort to move much past where they had placed Grandma near the exit of the railroad tunnel.
He's probably thinking about making a run for it.
The air outside the train tunnel was thick with gunfire, though the odd angles of the sound waves inside the tunnel made it hard to know where it was all coming from.
Liam also thought he could hear an increase in gunfire coming from the other end of the railroad tunnel. That is, from the spooky and dark section north of where he stood.
Why did I even suggest this?
Hero stuff. Remember?
4
Jones went in first. He had to go in on his knees and elbows since the space was too low for him to crouch and walk. He dragged the battering ram with him. The other three men entered the same way, though one of them was dragging a large black bag as well. Liam imagined it was a bag of weapons.
He checked his pistol on his hip, then stood on the wall next to the opening, holding the radio close to his ear so he could listen in without blaring it to the whole tunnel. There were other people about, but none were anxious to interfere with this operation.
The radio chatter began almost immediately.
“Jones here. We are through the grating and are in the maintenance room. No sign of the enemy. Moving to hallway. Out.”
A few minutes later a much shorter transmission, in a whisper.
“Jones here. In position. Be ready in five minutes. Out.”
Liam knew the basics of the plan, but had no idea of the tactics they would use to extricate those inside the museum. He tried to be patient and wait the five minutes. The radio chatter had completely stopped.
The void gave him time to think of how he could do something stupid. He thought about going up the tunnel himself, then ascending the stairs to try to catch up with Victoria and see if he could help. But he knew that by now she was probably down the other leg of the Arch if she kept running once she got to the top. If she got to the top. Ugg. Why did he have to think that?
But then he thought about where she could have come down. Was there a room on the north side of the Arch which was a maintenance shed like the one in the south? If so, was there a grate and a tunnel over there too? Did that duct come out on the other end of this same railroad tunnel? He almost started running up the tunnel right then and there. But he looked the other way toward Grandma. She was silhouetted in the harsh light of the tunnel exit, but he could see she had woken up and was talking to Hayes. Would it be smart to leave her alone and try to force his way into danger?
He couldn't make up his mind.
Then the radio blurted.
“Go! Go! Go!”
There were loud noises on the net, then it went silent again. Finally a long series of beeps and boops echoed from the device.
From inside the duct leading back to the Arch there was a lot of gunfire, followed by a lull.
“Infected have overrun both entrances.”
What the hell?
Then the screaming started getting uncomfortably loud in his own railway tunnel.
Looking north into the darkness, the tiny speck of light to the north was filled with thrashing people now. He couldn't make out any details, but the sound of gunfire was rolling in waves down the tunnel, as were the screams. Zombies were already here in the tunnel, though not very close as yet. Would he be called to defend this exit from a tide of the undead? It seemed unlikely he could make much difference given the small caliber of his gun. He suddenly felt very inadequate, and laughed at the foolishness of thinking he could get Victoria through the other exit—if it existed.
“This is Captain Osborne. We have all our people clear of the museum. We are heading for the train tunnel now. Out.”
Liam knew someone should be coming out soon.
More gunshots up the tunnel. To his dismay a bullet ricocheted by him, oblivious to most of the others. This was getting very dangerous. He took one step into the smaller tunnel, mainly to shield himself from stray bullets. He worried Grandma had no such shielding.
He was startled to death when someone tapped him on the back. It was a teenage girl, but not Victoria.
“I was told to come down this tunnel. Where do I go now?”
Liam was once again without words. He didn't want to send the teen out into the railroad tunnel because of the stray bullets but he knew she was the first of many people who would be coming through this exit so he had to move her out.
“Just go out and sit on the far wall. Keep your head down.”
The girl did as she was told. Liam also vacated the small tunnel so he could let her out. Soon there was a stream of kids, young adults, and the elderly coming through. Everyone who survived up in the museum was now pouring down. Everyone but the cops. He assumed they'd be bringing up the rear.
About fifty people eventually made their way into the railroad tunnel, and most took up positions crouched down along the far wall. The screaming in the north part of the tunnel had become fever pitch and much closer. Liam was on the cusp of praying for the appearance of some of the police officers to help stop the tide rolling down the railroad line. He could hear patient chatter on the radio. They were still OK on the inside, but what was taking so long?
A long ten minutes later a group of officers poured out of the tunnel, including Jones. His group did not include any of the three men which joined him going in. He found Liam and asked for an update of what was happening in the tunnel. The sound of screaming was very close from up north, and many people had run by and were congregating near the south entrance, as if unwilling to expose themselves to the outside yet.
“I think there are infected up the tunnel. I've been hearing gunshots and screaming almost this whole time you've been gone. It's too dark to see for sure. As if to prove his point Jones used his flashlight to look up the tunnel, but it was consumed in the large space. There were still lots of people moving up on the north end of the tunnel, though it was hard to distinguish who or what the
y were.
A few minutes later several more officers streamed out. This group included at least two of the guys that went in initially with Jones.
There were now about ten officers in the railroad tunnel. They split up to provide a line of defense inside the tunnel as well as a lookout or two near the exit to the south.
More officers were trickling out of the small tunnel, but he had yet to see the captain. Liam saw some of them grab people off the wall—probably family—and make a run for it out the tunnel exit. For some reason that simple act of desperation chilled him to the bone.
Minutes later several female officers emerged, including the one who was hopped up on speed earlier in the day. She didn't even notice him when she came out. The officer immediately headed to the civilians on the wall, apparently searching for someone.
Then some injured officers came out, dragging a couple wounded guys who couldn't walk out on their own. It looked like they had gunshot wounds.
Then no one came out for a long time. Besides wondering when the bombs would fall, it gave Liam plenty of time to think about all the grisly ways Victoria could have died at the hands of her pursuers. It gave him seemingly endless time to wonder about the far side of the main tunnel, as he was positive a wave of infected people was in the tunnel and coming for him. The gunshots and screams told him there were still people alive in that direction, though he couldn't tell how close they were.
Finally, he heard the captain.
“We have her. We're coming out.”
A couple minutes later a gaggle of officers came out including one who had no shirt on and looked like he had just run a marathon. The second-to-last person out of the tunnel was someone Liam recognized.
He hugged her the second she cleared the roof of the low tunnel. He couldn't help it. She didn't fight him, and seemed visibly relieved to be in his arms. She looked exhausted, which he guessed was true if she went all the way to the top again. She also had several abrasions on her face with dried blood below her nose—like she had been punched hard a couple times.
While he was trying to figure that out, the last person emerged. It was the captain. He looked terrible. Covered with blood, his arm had a bandage around his bicep, and he was straining to get out of the tunnel with a limp.
Once he cleared the tunnel he looked at Liam.
“We meet again Liam. Thank you for what you did here today. Your plan saved my people from certain death in there. Officer Jones told me of your situation and that of your friend, so I sent up my best runner here—he pointed to the guy with no shirt on—to see if he could find your girlfriend. He found her at the very top. Somehow she managed to incapacitate one of the bad guys on the steps, but the other one beat her up pretty good I'm afraid. He was so distracted hitting her he never saw my man coming. We brought her back down. It was the least we could do to return the favor. You are a real hero Liam.”
Liam stopped hugging Victoria long enough to walk over to shirtless guy to shake his hand. He really wanted to go back and hug Victoria again—she's alive thank God!—but his survival senses were pegged to the wall right then. Gunfire outside was intense and constant, people out there were running hard toward the water of the river as he looked out, and the screaming and gunfire inside the north part of the tunnel was also becoming obnoxiously loud—the turmoil was moving closer. The smell of gunpowder was thick. The war from up top was raging everywhere.
We've run out of time.
As if to prove his point, a zombie slithered out of the tunnel behind the captain and bit hard into the back of his ankle.
5
The captain turned around and shot the bloody being several times in the back, and in the back of the neck. The bullets got the attention of the thing attached to his foot, and when it let go, the final series of shots went into its head. Liam could only stare in horror as its head exploded.
The loud bangs and sudden violence of it brought him back to the moment.
The captain looked down at his leg and pulled up the bottom cuff of his pants to reveal a very tall tactical boot. Then he gave a relieved chuckle and looked directly at Liam with real pride.
“Don't worry son. I've been fighting zombies my whole life.”
What does that even mean?
The question was on his tongue but Osborne was already onto the next crisis. He was giving orders to his men, shouting above the cacophony of the engulfing disaster. Liam's ears were still ringing from the sound of the captain's point blank shots, so he simply grabbed Victoria's hand and pulled her up the tunnel to where Grandma was sitting. She and Hayes looked like they were waiting for the bus, but she was clutching Liam's backpack in a way he recognized as fear. Victoria stood next to him, but was swaying.
Liam guessed there were about twenty officers still in the fight. Most of them were facing the dark of the tunnel, using their lights to observe the din in that direction. Sometimes people would run by screaming, but more often now it was a zombie that slinked out of the confusion. The far exit had become mostly obscured by dust and smoke from multiple concussions of weapons. More than a few times bullets ricocheted to Liam's end of the tunnel, but no one was hurt by them—yet.
Once the captain had his men where he wanted them in the tunnel he moved to the opening on the south end. He put two of his female officers in charge of using zip ties to try to secure the exterior gate of the small service tunnel, and told them to be ready to shoot anyone coming out of that tunnel now.
He saw Liam and his friends and stopped to see how they were doing. He also let them know they were going to need to help out when the time came to run—which he said was going to be soon.
“This tunnel is about to get dangerous. We have to move somewhere more secure. Get ourselves room to breathe. Can you both shoot?”
Liam nodded in the affirmative, but Victoria was silent.
She turned to Liam.
“I'll take that second pistol if you aren't using it. I don't want to ever be unarmed again.”
Liam looked at the captain. “We'll both be ready sir.”
Osborne gave him a small salute and then began walking away. He caught himself when he saw Hayes didn't have a weapon.
“You have any kind of weapon?”
Hayes claimed he was too important to risk his life fighting like this. He painted himself as a valuable resource in fighting the disease for the CDC and thus needed to be protected. Liam was listening as best he could to the exchange, and was just about to tell the captain that Hayes was only a driver for the CDC, but the veteran officer wasn't fooled.
“So important you and your friends were willing to spend your time getting drunk in the candy store? I don't think you're as important as you think you are. Neither the zombies nor the gang members will be stopping to ask for your credentials—you can bank on that.”
He moved away quickly, meeting up with the remaining officers now guarding the large opening at the head of the tunnel.
Hayes looked back at Liam, but he avoided his gaze by pretending to talk to Victoria.
Why didn't he just tell the truth?
He realized he just picked up an important life lesson. In a world where no one can check credentials, anyone can be anyone.
6
The final plan was kept simple. About a quarter mile to the south the train tracks entered another short tunnel before they left the Arch grounds via a long trestle. The captain figured if they could reach that tunnel, it would put them in good shape to keep moving to the south, out of the worst of the massive scrum taking place all around them. It would also get them clear of the impending military assault. He mentioned that as a casual addendum, as if unconcerned they were nearly out of time.
Some of the officers expressed concern at leaving so many people to their fates up top, but the captain made it clear where their loyalties were now.
“I know you all took an oath to serve and protect your communities. I did as well. But our communities are gone. What we have now, pretty much
everywhere except this little bubble containing us and our families, is anarchy. Our community is now down to our families, and the friends we pick up along the way.” He nodded in Liam's direction.
“Our only hope of seeing another day is to get out of this fighting so we can take a breath and figure out what comes next.” He cinched a bloody rag around his upper arm, gave a grimace in doing so, and continued with his pep talk.
“I want us all to move as fast as we can over to that next tunnel. This one is about to push us out anyway with all the shooting and screaming behind us. I'm sure we can hold them off for a while, but we only have the ammo in our pockets—so if we're going to make a move, we have to do it now.”
“Grab your families and line them up here. We leave in five.”
Liam was checking his weapon, ensuring the safety was still on, and reminding himself how to click it off when he needed it.
Victoria was holding her Mark I, but was still in a daze.
He leaned over to her.
“Hey, you OK? Have you ever fired a pistol before?”
“Yes. My dad took me and my sister to some indoor shooting range back in Colorado several times. We didn't shoot a gun like this one, but we did shoot pistols with magazines.”
“That's good. That means you'll have no problem with this. In fact, this is probably much easier to shoot than anything you used with your dad. The trigger is very soft. My dad did something to modify it so “even an old lady could fire it” as he would say. You just gently squeeze this trigger here and point it in the direction you want to shoot. I'll warn you though that the ammo we're using is very light duty. It will do fine against any petty criminal, but I don't think the infected will even feel this unless you pop them through the eye or nose. Or, if you are at point blank it should go through their skull. My dad and I talked about these guns last summer and he said they were deadly in the proper hands, but you really have to know what you're doing. I wish now he had just given me a bigger gun.”
“Wow. My parents gave me Bibles for my birthdays. Yours gave you guns. Kinda cool actually.”
Sirens of the Zombie Apocalypse (Book 1): Since the Sirens Page 17