He felt a rush of pride, then remembered he was mad at his parents. Sort of.
Victoria continued, “Where do I put it? I don't exactly have pockets in this dress.”
Liam took off his belt and handed it to her.
“I don't need it. Trust me.”
He then gave her his holster, which fit the belt and the Mark I perfectly. She wrapped the belt around her midsection, then dropped her gun into the snug holster. A little snap could hold it in place, but Liam suggested she leave it open as she'd likely need the gun soon.
“It ain't pretty I'm afraid, but it will keep you in the fight.”
Victoria looked up at him with wet eyes.
“I'm so sorry Liam. I just left you guys in there. I thought I knew what I was doing, but I couldn't outrun those two... They caught me at the top. I fought like hell... but paid the price.” She gave him a tired smile, though her swollen lip and bruised cheek made it visibly painful for her to do so.
Liam was about to respond, but she kept going.
“I was so sorry to leave you guys. But I had to save you. I needed to save you.”
She leaned into Liam, and rested her head on his shoulder and began to cry.
Liam attributed it to her trauma up in the Arch, but she clarified.
“I don't want to die in this horrible place. I want to see open sky again. I want run to the next tunnel. Then never stop. I want to survive. I want you to survive. I want Grandma to survive. Someone has to survive.”
Liam didn't know what to say. He'd never had a girl crying on his shoulder, and his emotions were in upheaval for so many reasons.
The smoke.
The noise.
The tension.
Then the earth rumbled. Everyone looked around like frightened deer in headlights. Then they got serious about moving closer to the exit.
The police had nearly gathered everyone together.
The captain yelled at the top of his lungs.
“ONE MINUTE!”
Liam gently pushed Victoria off his shoulder and held her in front of him. He was able to look her in the eyes and make a promise.
“I'm not going to let you go. We're going to get through this together. I promise.”
Should I kiss her? Would I be taking advantage of her?
His mind was unable to process all the permutations of emotions swirling around his head and heart at that moment. He was frozen.
Victoria gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, solving his mental dilemma. And then, wiping the tears from her eyes with her free hand she yelled to Liam.
“TOGETHER?”
Liam echoed with “TOGETHER!”
He tucked his Mark I in his waistband. His pants were tight enough it would stay there pretty well. He felt he could take on the world.
They each took hold of one handle on the back of Grandma's wheelchair and pushed her into position along the side of the tracks, facing south out the entrance. The rear guards of officers had closed the distance to be with the main group. Children were hanging on to their parents, the youngest were carried by those with the strength to hold them. Most kids were crying from all the commotion and noise. Behind them all was a seething mass of plague victims coming out of the dark and smoky tunnel. There were no living people left to delay them.
The captain and a vanguard of officers with shotguns were standing right at the cusp of the portal.
With a flourish the captain turned around to everyone and gave his most rousing and succinct speech of the day.
“RUN LIKE HELL BOYS AND GIRLS!”
With that, they all plunged into the chaos.
Chapter 13: The Hole Nightmares Fall Out Of
Liam found himself under the wide open sky for the first time in nearly a full day and was a little disoriented by the bright sunshine, heat, and fresh air. The open air amplified the noise of gunfire, panicked screaming from every direction, and the angry howls of military aircraft of all types above them. He stumbled a little as he pushed one half of Grandma's wheelchair along the rocky railroad grade.
Victoria was on the other handle of the chair, while Grandma did her best to hang on with one hand while also hanging on to Liam's backpack. On any other day the scene would likely have garnered a few laughs by anyone who saw them, but not today.
Today they were surrounded by a few dozen men, women, and children making a break from one tunnel to another—and thus the trio working the wheelchair wasn't even considered unusual.
Liam noticed many details in the fresh air. A couple pulling along a young teen girl, who was in turn pulling along a small border collie that wanted nothing to do with the run. A nun, black habit and all, with jogging shoes easily outpacing almost everyone. A young police officer, barely older than Liam it seemed, pausing to fire at nearby threats with his sidearm.
The railroad tracks run along a shallow trench below the main park surrounding the Arch. Liam couldn't remember seeing the railroad tracks from the park above, so he figured they were designed to be well camouflaged. He could see the gigantic stone staircase which wrapped around and over the tunnel ahead. It helped people get from the park, over the tracks, and down to the nearby riverfront. The tunnel itself was a couple football fields-length ahead of them.
The remnants of the civilian and military cordon around the park were running down the hill from up top, either using the big steps, or dropping off a short wall onto the tracks, and then either turning into the tunnel or continuing forward toward the water of the river. Liam couldn't see much in the direction of the water. His worry was focused on what was behind the survivors as they came off the hill.
Fewer and fewer people were coming down. Those remaining were getting caught by the rising tide of infected behind them. The slow. The weak. The injured. Those out of ammo. The overly brave. They were fighting hand-to-hand with zombies out in front of all the others. They either got away quickly or were consumed. Most, Liam was sorry to admit, succumbed.
Liam's heart stuttered as a large vehicle tore through some of the small trees on the hill above him. It was the heavy M1A2 tank he'd seen from up in the Arch, but it had completely morphed into something out of a horror flick. It was belching out great clouds of white smoke, making it impossible to see behind it. And its color had changed from desert tan to Hell's red.
As it plowed over the hill it ran over several feeding zombies. Then it moved down, readjusting its path to avoid the stragglers in Liam's own group. It popped off a small ledge and was soon perched directly on the railroad tracks. It was close enough Liam could see the sheen of blood covering the entire lower half of the tracked monster. The tracks and road wheels were caked solid with—Liam couldn’t even describe the horrors. One detached foot in Angie’s car was enough to terrorize him. The deck was covered with body parts and torn clothing. It was difficult to tell, but there appeared to be injured zombies riding along—groping for the living inside the steel beast. Liam could imagine all the death the tank crew had witnessed.
He thought it was just going to continue onward toward the river, along with all the other people running in that direction, but instead it seemed to dig in its feet as it sat on the ruined train tracks. The massive smoke screen was moving along the hillside behind the tank, temporarily providing cover for those—like Liam—trying to run from the walking plague up there.
He continued to move Grandma down the tracks, but he was looking over his shoulder to see what the wayward tank was going to do. Just as it seemed the billowing smoke would obscure the vehicle completely, the wind shifted just enough Liam could still see most of the action.
The turret swiveled left, facing the large tunnel they'd just evacuated. There were zombies pouring forth from it like a broken sewer pipe now.
Do it!
The tank's machine gun barked above all the other gunfire in the area, and ripped viciously into the mass of lost humanity near and inside the tunnel. The tank had positioned itself perfectly to shoot inside the dark space. Liam wondered
how many sick people each shell would pass through. Would a bullet reach the other end of the long tunnel, passing through zombie after zombie the whole length? The gun pounded in short bursts for maybe thirty seconds.
For its final act, the tank threw one shell from its main gun into the tunnel. Liam couldn't tell whether it killed anyone inside; the explosion happened somewhere deep in the blackness. The guttural boom of the gun was louder than the report of the shell detonating. The concussion caused incredible turbulence of smoke and debris around the hull of the tank, as if the whole thing was trying to shake off the blood and wreckage coating it.
The turret began to swivel back to the forward position. Liam watched as the hatch on top was opened briefly by a tanker, and he looked in Liam's direction, giving a thumbs up sign. Then the tank jerked forward, the hatch dropped, and it was moving away. It pulled the smoke screen like a curtain behind it. For just a moment Liam couldn't see any movement in that direction.
The Abrams tank had bought them a little time, plugging the hole and confusing the pursuit. However, the wave of undead was still there. And it wouldn't be long before the dead would be emerging as the smoke dissipated.
Liam saw the final survivors coming down from above. A rare few were police officers. Most were civilians with weapons. Some appeared to be hunters with long guns or shotguns. Others were dressed in black tactical gear, as if they were trying to be stealthy. And still others were flamboyantly dressed in wife beater t-shirts and ripped jeans. If Liam allowed himself to be un-PC, he pictured them as drug dealers, pimps, and the like. But, with zombies not far behind, they were all working together to try to exfiltrate the park, just like Liam's party. Just like everyone left alive here.
The captain was nearly at the tunnel when he stopped and turned around, urging his party to run harder for the safe haven in front of them. Liam was encouraged by his presence, but the look on his face as he peered back to where they came from made him once again feel a wobble in the pit of his stomach. He chanced a look back too; the smokescreen was nearly gone.
He saw scores of infected pouring out from the railroad tunnel behind them. Even after the terrible damage inflicted by the tank, more took the place of the fallen. The bright daylight made the blood on their faces, arms, and chests stand out so much more. The confines of the railroad grade ensured they would all funnel in the one direction they could see food—right to Liam and his compatriots.
Liam pushed the wheelchair to save his life.
2
The captain resumed running into the small tunnel ahead. There were already a good number of people holed up in there, including some with weapons. After some quick words, Liam saw how the captain arranged those with rifles along the two sides of the opening so they could protect the flanks of the group running in. It wasn't long before the first shots from up ahead rang out. Liam wasn't willing to turn around to see if anything was hit. He was too close to the goal now.
Liam watched ahead and witnessed Hayes as he beat Liam and Victoria by a full minute, gaining the tunnel near the front of the group. Apparently he wanted nothing to do with the slow pokes like Liam's trio.
Grandma was wheeled in among the very rear of the group, though several women and children were behind them. At the very back a few policemen were pulling rear guard duty, preceded by the grievously wounded officers from the museum who were being carried slowly by two of the biggest officers—including Jones.
They were moving too slow.
Any fool could see there would be too many zombies for the group to hold off, but still they kept shooting and reloading. Perhaps if they backed everyone into the tunnel and stood shoulder to shoulder?
Liam felt for his gun and considered going to the back to try to help, but knew he was woefully under-prepared for what was happening. He was happy to see the police give the thumbs up sign to someone above them on the outside of the tunnel. The captain motioned for them to come down while his men continued to pour lead into the infected crowd closing the distance.
The first guy to come down from just above the tunnel exit was a gang member. Liam could see him hang off the ten foot wall holding back the soil at the entrance and then drop down. He was dressed in jeans with his underwear showing in a silly fashion. He was carrying the distinctive AK-47 rifle. Once down he took up a position at the front of the tunnel with the remaining police officers and began adding his weapon to the defense of those inside. In small clumps other gang members dropped in from above, as well as many civilians with hunting rifles and other guns who Liam saw moments before running like hell on the hill above them. The group was gaining fighters like a snowball picks up snow. The tunnel was the only piece of cover in this part of the park. Everyone who saw it, ran for it.
The original fight between the rogue gangs and the police was pushed aside as life and death for everyone depended on getting as many guns as possible aiming in the same direction.
Soon there was parity between firepower and incoming zombies inside the channel of the railway culvert. Liam knew it wouldn't last unless the sick stopped coming. Looking out the tunnel he could see them swarming like locusts on the hill above. But it gave them breathing room to plan their next step.
Liam made sure he was close to the captain so he would know before everyone what was going to happen next. He wanted to make sure to give Grandma every chance he could.
One of the gang guys was talking to the captain, as were several “good ol' boys” with their camo-clad hunting outfits.
“Thanks guys. You saved our bacon here, but this can't last. We have to keep running to the south. There are too many of these things.”
It was so loud Liam couldn't hear many of the details they were discussing, but he did catch their intention to push further south down the railroad tracks while several volunteers stayed behind at this rail tunnel to hold off the pack of zombies as long as possible. They would then try to catch up.
Liam was impressed that both the gang members and the hunters volunteered to join the police in making that happen. He assumed their families were also heading south, as it appeared to be the only real route of escape left.
Liam tried to convey what was happening to Grandma, but she yelled back that all the noise was blowing out her hearing aid so she really didn't have a clue what was being said. Her smile told him she was fine. In fact she seemed to be almost calm as he looked at her.
“I'm glad you found Victoria again,” she said with a wry smile.
Oh, that's why.
Liam felt like the weight of the world had fallen off, now that he had something to fight for. He wanted to be 100% ready for anything, so he tried to think ahead.
He grabbed his backpack, dropped it on the rocks, and found his ammo inside. He pulled out the magazine from his pistol and ensured he was fully loaded. Victoria was standing close by so he motioned for her to give her gun to him to reload, which she did. He then pulled out her magazine to double check it. He knew it was full, but even so—
Liam was shocked to realize it was NOT full. He had just given it to Victoria and was right next to her while they pushed from tunnel to tunnel. She hadn't had time to fire it.
When did I fire this gun?
He couldn't remember if he had switched guns somewhere along the way. In fact he didn't remember firing any gun since they left Grandma's house. He tried to think of what might have happened, though the loud banging of the guns around him made it difficult to process data and think.
In the end he attributed it to not properly loading it in the first place. He resolved to be better about checking and rechecking his guns.
He slammed in three rounds, seated the magazine back into the frame, and handed it—with safety on—back to Victoria. He showed her the safety again and had to yell to remind her to toggle it off when she was ready to shoot.
The sound of gunfire was reaching epic levels in the tunnel. He knew the time to move on was at hand. But all the while, men and women were trickling in from above,
both rounding out the shooters in the front, and fattening up the civilians in the back.
Liam prepared Grandma.
“We are moving soon!”
3
Liam happened to be looking directly north out the mouth of the tunnel when he saw a massive explosion well inside the park. Not quite on the central staircase, but a little north of it. The resulting shock wave pushed a warm current through the tunnel. Liam had no idea what caused the explosion but the captain seemed sure when he said, “HERE COMES THE AIR FORCE!”
The promised attack by the military was starting. Some of the people cheered, but Liam noticed not many of the police joined in. They undoubtedly remember the radio message both telling them to clear out and to forget about getting across the river to safety. Liam felt an excitement to see so many of the sick get destroyed, but it was tempered by the vibe coming from the police.
The initial bomb must have been a signal to fire freely at the massive gathering of infected. Liam dared to move closer to the exit and watched as the hillside above them began erupting in all manner of explosions. The captain ordered everyone to retreat as far back into the tunnel as they could. The men were still shooting the zombies in the railroad culvert as they continued their inexorable march forward into the hail of bullets.
“I don't know if the Air Force knows we're here, but if they drop one of those big boys in this area, we are going to be in a world of hurt. The shock wave will rip us all apart, even if it doesn't hit us directly. Those smaller explosions are from tanks on the Illinois side. I guess the Army wanted to use their toys too. And why not. We may never have a better chance to have so many plague victims in one spot like this. But I don't want to be collateral damage and you don't either. We have to move out!”
He pointed out the back of the tunnel, which lead to a railroad bridge carrying the tracks over some streets and then south into an industrial area along the Mississippi River. From there Liam guessed they ran along the river practically forever.
The captain organized a spearhead of his men and sent them ahead. He then had all the women and children, along with Grandma and the wounded, head out and follow his men. This time there was no speech. He wanted everyone out of the area pronto.
Sirens of the Zombie Apocalypse (Book 1): Since the Sirens Page 18