by Jake Bible
Marsh starts firing at the Zs cresting the barricade outside the doors as he rushes over to help Kevin. Collin hesitates, looks at the people trying to flee to safety, looks over at Kevin as the man frantically starts barking orders at the few helpers that join him, then looks at the Zs that are tumbling over each other to get at the meat inside the Stronghold.
“Dammit,” he mutters and opens fire too, following behind Marsh. Collin shakes his head over and over as he takes Zs out. “This is stupid. I should just bail and get lost in this place. I’m good at getting lost.”
A fast Z zeroes in on him, but Collin kneecaps it, sending it rolling right at him. He jumps to the side and then aims his rifle at the thing’s head, avoiding the thrashing arms and hands trying to snag his ankles and pull him down.
The Z’s face becomes nothing but a bloody mist. Collin looks up in time to see two more fast ones heading his direction. Before they can reach him, they are dropped hard by gunfire behind him.
“We got this!” Commander Lee shouts, having rallied a group of residents to pick their guns back up and provide cover for those working to close the doors. “Get your ass over there and help!”
Collin nods at her and slings his rifle as he sprints towards Kevin, Marsh, and the others that have their arms stuck inside the wall of the Stronghold, grease smeared all the way up their elbows. When he reaches them, he’s amazed to see the size of the gears that work the doors. He finds a spot, shoves his arms in as well, and grabs onto a gear.
“That one goes clockwise!” Kevin yells at Collin and the couple of other people that have grabbed the same gear. “Be careful of your fingers! They get caught in the teeth and we can’t stop to back the gear up! You stop being careful, you will lose your fingers!”
“Kinda like dealing with Zs,” Collin says. “Gonna lose a body part if you ain’t paying attention.”
***
“The place is lost,” Val says as the helicopter flies above the hundreds of thousands of Zs that tromp over the fallen walls of the old Stronghold. She points towards the northeast. “We need to see if the Zs have reached the new Stronghold. The Gym should be that way.”
“The Stronghold entrance isn’t at the Gym,” Sister says. “It’s this way.”
She banks the helicopter to the left and skirts Baseline Dr which is the border of the old Stronghold. The herd below them has decimated everything. Not a single one of the wall panels that had guarded so many people for so many decades is left standing. There are nothing but Zs now.
“Flagstaff Rd,” Stanford says. “Where those big old houses are. We used to sneak out of the Stronghold and go explore them when we were kids.”
“Then I’d have to go find your asses when your parents freaked out because I was older and already training,” Cole responds. “You two were huge pains in my ass.”
“Still are if we’re doing our jobs right,” Stanford says.
They come up over a small ridge and then everyone in the helicopter gasps at the sight below. Where there should be only a hillside is the huge opening to the new Stronghold. Bright light filtering out from the gap in the two massive doors shows the Mates the fallen barricade and the thousands of Zs bottle necked and trying to get inside.
“What do we do?” Val asks. “We can’t land in that.”
“I’ll make some room,” Sister says. “Tommy Bombs? Let’s clear this backlog a bit, alright? Do that voodoo that you do so well!”
No one says a word.
“Just drop the shit fucking bombs,” she says.
“Got it,” Tommy Bombs replies and begins tossing the last of the bombs out the window as they zoom towards the Stronghold entrance.
In seconds the bombs go off, cutting a huge swath of land clear of Zs. Those that aren’t completely blown apart shuffle around, setting others on fire as the bright hot phosphorous burns their putrid bodies.
“I got one left, but we’re too close,” Tommy Bombs announces.
“Hang on to that one,” Sister says. “I can clear some space myself.” She looks over her shoulder and back at Stanford, Cole, and Tommy Bombs. She glances down at the passed out figure of Diaz. “Anyone checked his pulse lately?”
“He’s sleeping,” Cole says. “He lost a lot of blood. We got to get him inside or he loses the whole arm.”
“Make sure he stays alive,” Sister says. “I don’t want to do this awesome thing I’m about to do and then get my face eaten because no one is watching whether Diaz kicks it and turns into a Z.”
“Awesome thing?” Stanford asks.
He gets his answer as Sister dips the nose of the helicopter forward and brings it lower and lower towards the herd of Zs still converging on the Stronghold entrance. Everyone starts shouting, especially Val, as Sister doesn’t pull up, just keeps the helicopter angled once she’s at the perfect height.
The height of Z heads.
The windshield of the helicopter is splattered with gore as the edges of the rotors tear into the undead. Stanford and Tommy Bombs scramble to get the cargo hold doors closed before they are covered in too much Z gunk. Val screams and shouts at Sister as she grabs onto her seat.
Sister just laughs and laughs.
“You go splat!” Sister exclaims. “And you go splat! Splat for you and splat for you! Oh, did I miss you? Here ya go! Splat! Splat, splat, splat!”
Val almost throws up as Sister turns the helicopter in a tight circle, widening the swath of destruction. In just a few moments, almost every Z within a hundred yards of the Stronghold entrance is chopped to bits by the helicopter’s rotor blades, leaving a semi-open area for Sister to set down.
But, before she can, alarms start bleeping in the cockpit and the helicopter shudders then drops hard. Sister manages to get the skids close to level as the helicopter plummets the thirty feet to the shredded bodies of the Z herd that covers every square inch of land below.
Val lets out one last shriek as the helicopter hits the ground. It rocks to the side, one skid higher than the other due to a random piling of Z corpses, but it doesn’t go over.
“And that’s how you do that,” Sister says. “If anyone wants to stay, they can, but I’m getting the shit fuck out of here and inside where it’s safe.”
She opens her door and climbs out, trying not to slip on the slick, gore-covered remains that are everywhere.
“Gonna need a new pair of boots after this,” Sister says as she leaves the helicopter behind and starts working her way to the collapsed barricade and the Stronghold doors beyond.
“Uh, is she leaving us?” Stanford asks.
“What?” Val asks and opens her eyes. “Son of a bitch. Grab gear and let’s go.”
They all look down at the passed out form of Diaz, who is not a small man by any stretch of the imagination.
“Rock, Paper, Scissors?” Stanford asks. The far off sound of the rest of the Z herd reaches them and he shakes his head. “Fuck it.” He slaps Diaz across the face. The man starts to stir. “Diaz! Come on! Get your ass up so we can help you inside!”
***
“Hey there. Howdy. How you folks doing? Oh, crap, that looks bad. That a bite? Hope not or I’ll have to put you down,” Sister says as she walks into the Stronghold. “Just shit fucking with you. I don’t even know you. I’ll let your family put a knife in your skull. Hey! Commander Lee! We made it back! What’s up with the doors?”
Mouths hang open and eyes seem to swim in peoples’ heads as they stare at Sister. The woman gives them nods and smiles, waves at some kids, holds her thumbs up to the people filling magazines with cartridges, then walks over to Kevin and his crew as they continue to struggle to get the doors closed.
“Having a problem there?” Sister asks.
“Motor is shot,” Kevin says.
“That’s why you didn’t fire the nukes,” Sister states. “I get it now. You tried the backup motor system? It’s not as strong as this one, but it’ll get the doors closed. You’ll want to pull all the debris free from the trac
ks first. Can’t have debris blocking things.”
Kevin frowns, his brows coming together until they are one. “Backup motor system?”
“Backup motor system,” Sister says. “You didn’t think these doors would rely on one system only, did you?”
“I, uh, only knew about the one system,” Kevin says.
“Let me show you the other one,” Sister responds then points at a group of men and women staring at her. “You folks go clear the tracks. Come on! Move ass, people!”
The people move ass and start pulling out miscellaneous debris from the door tracks. They stop only to let Val and Stanford by as they help Diaz walk into the Stronghold with Cole and Tommy Bombs right behind.
Hamish sprints up to Val, looks at her until she nods, and then starts checking Diaz.
“Someone grab a stretcher!” Hamish shouts. “I want this man off his feet and in the infirmary now!”
“Do you know where the infirmary is?” Val asks him.
“Not a clue,” Hamish says then shouts, “Someone show me the infirmary!”
Kevin yells at a couple of men that had been helping him. They rush over and take Diaz from Val and Stanford and lead him through the confused clumps of people that stand around the Stronghold entrance area.
“They’ll show you,” Kevin says then points back at Sister. “You show me the backup motor. Now!”
Sister’s eyes go cold. Very cold.
“Please?” Kevin says.
Sister shoves by and looks in the open wall with the massive gears and smoking motor. She reaches in all the way to her shoulder then pulls a lever. A hatch pops open to her right and she stands back.
“Press the button,” Sister says.
Kevin moves up next to her, pulls the hatch open and stares at the single red, plunger-like button that is mounted on a recessed square in the wall. He looks at Sister and she nods. His hand presses the button and the doors protest as metal begins to shriek and grind.
“Are you sure about this?” Kevin shouts over the noise.
“Nope,” Sister says. “Never seen it done. Just knew it could be.”
Slowly, like they are pushing through molasses, the doors begin to move. Inch by inch they get closer and closer. Tommy Bombs runs up, tweaks the phosphorous bomb in his hand, and throws it through the gap in the doors just before they slam shut with a noise so loud that quite a few people cringe and stagger.
The doors are so thick the noise of the bomb going off can’t even be heard inside.
“Uh, is that phosphorous going to eat through the doors?” Stanford asks, looking at Tommy Bombs.
“Oh, shit,” Tommy Bombs says. “I thought I was just going to clear out some more of the herd.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Sister says. “These doors can handle anything. Maybe not a direct nuclear blast, but pretty fucking close.”
She spins about and then nods at Commander Lee.
“Speaking of nuclear blasts, time to get the end of the world over with,” Sister says.
***
At one end of the room sits Stanford, Val, Hamish, Marsh, Cole, and Sister. The other end of the room sits Commander Lee and the Stronghold council.
“We have confirmed that all missiles have been launched,” Commander Lee says. “We can’t confirm if they have hit their targets, but I would say from that small quake we felt yesterday, Denver is gone.”
“That’s good,” Cole says. “So why are we here? You made that same announcement this morning to the full assembly of residents. Is there something else we need to now?”
“I think there is, since she called us in here, Cole,” Stanford says. “My mother is not one to repeat herself for no reason. Unless it’s to tell me I’m a total dipshit. She never gets tired of that one.”
“I did call you in here for something else,” Commander Lee says, standing and looking at the council before she looks back at those seated. “This is something that Sister here already knows, but you need to know as well.”
“I told the Mates,” Sister says.
“You what?” Commander Lee gasps. “You told them what?”
“That these doors ain’t opening for a very, very long time,” Sister says. “That’s what you were going to say, right?”
A look passes between the two women, one that is not lost on anyone in the room.
“Yes,” Commander Lee answers finally. “That is what I was going to say.”
“So what does that mean?” Marsh asks. “I haven’t been told shit. Someone want to clue me in?”
“The Stronghold doors will not be opening for at least a hundred years, maybe more,” Commander Lee says. “We will need to rebuild society from within this structure. As you already know, the Stronghold is a massive complex of levels and sectors. It is almost as large inside as the old Stronghold was outside.”
“But Z free,” Sister says. “That’s nice.”
“Yes, it is,” Commander Lee says. “Which brings us to something else I want to say. We have all been raised to be aware of those that may be sick or dying. If someone dies and turns then we have a Z problem again. Outside in the old Stronghold, we had the space to deal with the issue. In here, we are a contained unit and if someone turns it could spread fast if not controlled. I want all of you here to be part of the new advisory board we are putting together to come up with procedures and policies to prevent an outbreak occurring.”
“First line of defense again,” Cole says. “We’re a new Team.”
“Teams are over,” Commander Lee says. “For now. You’ll all have other duties as well, we all will, but for right now I want you to focus on this task. If we let one turned resident slip detection then it could be all over well before those doors unlock.”
Val holds her hand up. “Can the doors be opened at all? Is there a manual override?”
“No,” Sister says. She doesn’t elaborate.
“Okay then,” Val nods.
“Meet when you can and work on this issue as soon as possible,” Commander Lee says. “In the meantime, explore the Stronghold. I want every one of you to know this place inside and out.” She looks at the council. “Anything any of you would like to add?”
No one replies, they all just look uncomfortable and exhausted.
“Very well,” Commander Lee says. “Dismissed.”
“Actually, I have something,” Stanford says. “If the Teams are gone then why are you still in charge? Shouldn’t we elect someone new to lead us?”
The uncomfortable silence that fills the room almost strangles everyone inside. Until Sister claps her hands and stands up.
“I’m hungry,” she announces. “Gonna go eat something and turn in. Big day of exploring tomorrow. Not to mention the whole still healing while feeling like I’m still dying at the same time thing. It’s a rich life I lead. Yes, it is.”
She claps her hands again, turns on her heels, and leaves the room quickly.
There’s a confused pause then Val stands up and follows. Stanford is quickly on her heels with Cole right behind. Hamish and Marsh look at each other then at Commander Lee.
“Go,” Commander Lee sighs. “Meeting is over.”
***
Over the next few days, several ceremonies are held to honor those that fell fighting for the Stronghold. It is a long list of names considering the Teams were nearly wiped out. Val attends each ceremony, including the ones for the random residents that died fighting off the Zs at the barricade. Everyone counts.
By the end of the week, she hasn’t had any time to explore the Stronghold, let alone feel like she’s had a chance to settle in to her new quarters, which she gets to share with Hamish. Who is busy sitting on their bed, his head in his hands.
“You coming down for dinner?” Val asks as she steps out of the small bathroom their quarters has. “I have no idea what it is. The food service crew is opening a new crate of rations they found, so it should be interesting. One of the cooks told me they’ll have some hydroponics up and
fresh greens growing by the end of the month. That’s nice, right?”
She waits, but Hamish doesn’t answer.
“Hame?” she asks, gently taking one of his hands from his head. “Are you alright?”
“What if I die and turn in the night?” Hamish asks. “I’ll attack you and then what? You turn and we both just get stuck inside here?”
“Probably,” Val replies.
“Someone comes along and here’s us banging around, they open the door, and then they get bitten,” Hamish says. “Then it spreads. We need something to keep these doors from being opened from the outside.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Val says. “I’m sure Kevin and his crew can come up with something.”
“Yeah, I’m sure they can,” Hamish agrees. “But what we really need is some sort of way to stop people before they turn. Something that detects when folks die and fries that part of them that turns them into a Z.”
“What part is that? The brain?” Val asks. “How would that work?”
“I don’t know,” Hamish says. “But it’s going to drive me nuts until I figure it out.”
“Well, figure it out later,” Val says. “The last ceremony was today and I’m ready to finally relax. Ford and Benji are meeting us for dinner, so get your ass up and move.”
“Are they back together?” Hamish asks.
“Once Ford told Benji that we’d be in here for the rest of our lives, they decided to work things out,” Val says. “The rest of your life is a long time to hold a grudge towards an ex.”
“Yeah,” Hamish says then cries out as Val flicks him across the nose. “Ow!”
“Get up,” she says. “We are going to go eat and have fun with friends. You can think about your brain killer later. Or never. Let someone else figure it out. You have enough to do.”
“Yeah, yeah, you are right,” Hamish says and gets up. He kisses her then nods towards their door. “Okay, let’s go have fun.”
“After that kiss, I think dinner can wait a minute,” Val says, working at his belt.
“Okay, we need to discuss these mood swings,” Hamish says. “Are we leaving or are we staying?”