Thorn knew the development; it sat just beyond the trees from his own.
“What kind of lights? House lights?”
“Maybe.”
“Could have been a fire,” Brandon said.
“The point is,” Adam continued, dismissing his friend’s comment, “that Reflections Lake is huge. There could be a lot of survivors, and if there are, we need a vehicle big enough to carry them. The SUVs aren’t gonna cut it. Hell, we picked you two up last night, and the rest of us had to cram with the supplies to get back.”
“The problem,” Devin added, “is that bus still needs work on the transmission. Driving it could kill it. Right, Webster?”
Webster moved his head in a yes-no-maybe shrug.
“Might. It definitely needs work but it might be okay,” Webster answered.
Devin rolled his eyes, frustrated at the lack of commitment.
“If it does break down, then we’ll lose the only vehicle big enough to carry all the kids and old folks out of here if we’re overrun. It’s not worth it.”
“Still a big ‘if’ on that overrun part, Dev,” Adam added.
“Yes, and a big ‘if’ on the survivors you never saw,” Devin said.
“Yeah, you got your family and your girl, so fuck anyone else, right?”
“Bullshit,” Devin yelled and stood up. Austin’s hand went to a baseball bat that he had leaned against the wall. The guy, Brad, started to push off the wall, but Annie the Death Dancer slipped her hand around his wrist, and he settled back.
Bad spot, kid; girlfriend’s brother or your buddy?
Brad stole a glance at her, and his expression confirmed his choice.
Girlfriend and, by default, her brother … good choice.
“Hey!” Nick interrupted. His voice was loud but calm. “Settle down a minute. This shit isn’t solving anything.”
Yep, peacemaker, Thorn thought.
They relaxed a little, but the blood was pumping in all except for Connor, who smiled as if he had just heard a great joke. Thorn was grateful that blue shark eyes wasn’t here; Adam would probably have a bullet in his head.
“I have a solution,” Thorn said.
The answer was so clear. They couldn’t see it because something else was working against them. Caroline was correct; they were going to get themselves killed if they couldn’t settle the power struggle.
“Webster, are you a real mechanic, or is this just an elected position?” Thorn asked.
“Real.”
“Okay, so here’s an option. I take your place in one of the SUVs tonight. We ride over there and check for survivors. Webster stays back with the bus. If we find survivors, he drives over. It won’t take more than five or ten minutes. If the bus doesn’t look like it can make it, turn around and bring it back here. If they’ve survived this long, another night won’t matter while we figure out another plan.”
The group nodded and seemed content.
“Hear that, Annie?” Webster called out. “I’m not gonna be there to watch your ass.”
“My ass will be fine. Right, Austin?”
“Maybe a little lumpy,” Austin said and laughed.
Brad smirked, and Annie jammed him with her elbow and then shot Austin the bird.
“Ah, one question, Doc,” Nick asked. “Do you know how to shoot?”
Thorn remembered the group’s perfect synchronicity and smiled.
“Good point, I’ll drive.”
“Just the same,” Nick said, “I’ll show you the arsenal. I’ll feel better if you at least have something to throw at the Creepers, Doc.”
The group laughed, and it felt good. They were friends again.
There are more things, Horatio …
“Okay, Dr. Thorn, that .357 you have is good as a final stand weapon—”
“Or if you’re a girl.” Austin laughed, and Annie shoved him.
“What do you mean by final stand?”
“It’s the point when your remaining life can be measured by the time it takes to squeeze off the last of your bullets.”
Thorn remembered the driveway in the moments before they were rescued.
“Anyway, here is some ammo for the cowboy gun, but you need a little more fire power, and we have plenty of it.” Nick swept his arm in front of an old sports equipment cage filled with weapons.
“Where did you get all of this?”
“Walmart, gun stores, and this is Florida, so a lot of the handguns came from homes.”
“I like that one.” Thorn pointed to a rifle that looked right out of an old Lone Ranger show.
“Sorry, Doc, that one is mine.” Austin picked up the Winchester ’94 Ranger 30-30. He slipped the leather strap over his shoulder and grabbed a box of ammo that he dumped in a canvas satchel that went over his other shoulder.
“No worries, Dr. Thorn,” Nick said as Austin and Annie walked away. “I think you want something that requires less aim but will clear a nice path for you. I think this will do.” Nick handed him a shotgun.
“It’s a Winchester 12-gauge Defender with a modified sixteen-inch barrel. Have you ever fired one before?”
“Nope.”
“A little kick, but all you need to do is point it in the general direction of a Creeper’s head and pull the trigger. The gun will do the rest.”
“Ah, the Defender, good choice,” Devin said from behind them. “I like my Mossberg 500, personally.”
Devin selected a black shotgun. It had a pistol grip and looked easier to handle than the gun selected for Thorn.
“How about one of those?” Thorn pointed at Devin’s gun.
“Umm, in time, Doc,” Nick said. “That pistol grip requires a lot of control.”
Devin laughed and said, “First time I pulled the trigger, the thing jumped right out of my hands.”
Thorn nodded and picked up the Defender. “Okay, show me how this thing works.”
The others waited for them outside by the SUVs. Golden handed Thorn a CD.
The soundtrack.
The easygoing energy was gone, and the group was all business. Their faces were tight; the laughter was staccato like a quick brush of piano keys.
“Adam, it’s your run. Do you want the lead?” Devin asked, and Thorn silently complimented the kid’s politics.
“Sure thing, Dev.”
“Roger the lead,” Devin said. “Connor and Brad are with you in the lead slot. Nick, Austin, and Annie, you all have the three o’clock position, and I’ll take the Doc, Brandon, and Goldie at nine. What’s the course, Adam?”
Adam took a moment, and Austin impatiently shuffled his feet.
Connor laughed at nothing, and the group turned to him. He held up his hands. “No, nothing. Sorry, it’s nothing.”
Wired or high or worse.
“We’ll enter through the Daniels Parkway entrance and then take the left onto Terabella. The lights came from somewhere near the end of that street.”
“That’s a dead end,” Thorn added because it seemed important.
Devin considered it and then looked at his friend.
“Does that change anything for you, Adam?”
“No, we’ll be okay.”
But they weren’t okay.
The ride was short, and they made the turn into Reflections Lake front entrance in eight minutes according to the green digital dash clock. They drove with the lights off, and Thorn’s SUV sandwiched between the lead vehicle driven by Brad and the one behind them operated by Nick.
“When we make the turn, Doc, stay to the left of the street—that’s the nine o’clock position. Nick is going to come up quick on our right—that’s the three o’clock position. I’ll take care of the lights and music. The music may be a little loud for you, so be prepared.”
Thorn gave a nervous laugh an
d nodded.
“When they stop, we stop. You stay with the vehicle while we jump into formation. Brad will follow, but you stay put. We’ll give you the signal when we need you to advance.”
Devin turned in the seat and looked back at Goldie. “Hey, girlfriend, will you stay and watch over the Doc?”
She looked out the passenger’s window. Her head nodded slightly.
“And, Doc, no matter how bad shit gets, do not, and I repeat, do not panic and crash the vehicle. We lose our wheels, and we die out here.”
“Fuck,” Thorn said.
“Fuck indeed, Dr. Thorn,” Devin confirmed. “Okay here we go.”
The lead vehicle slipped left onto Terabella, and Thorn followed as instructed. He almost crashed the SUV when the music came on so loud that it felt like his ears had exploded. Aerosmith this time. He wondered if anyone realized how ominous the words were.
The SUV roof racks washed the houses and yards in bright lights. SUV windows lowered and weapons slid through the openings. Thorn braced himself for the thunder of guns and the charge of the infected. He watched intently for the brake lights on the lead SUV, afraid he might ram it. The road curved to the right, and they drove on.
Any minute now, Thorn mentally prepared.
Nothing happened. No Creepers rushed the vehicles. Thorn swept his eyes to the left and saw empty yards. The three SUVs drove to the end of the street before Brad tapped his brakes and then brought his Tahoe to a stop. Devin killed the stereo as did the others, and the world was silent again.
“What the hell?” Devin and Brandon said in unison.
Doors opened, and they stepped out with expressions of nervous confusion. His three passengers jumped out, and Thorn followed.
“Is this even possible?” Adam asked.
Devin shrugged.
“Doc, what do you think? Could they be gone or dead?”
Thorn wished it were true, but he couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched.
“I honestly don’t know, but something feels wrong here.”
“There!” Connor yelled and ran across a lawn to a front door. “I see a light,” he called back and then went through the door and into the house.
“Connor, wait,” Devin yelled. “Jackass.”
Connor returned to the doorway. “I got one. She needs help. Come on.”
He disappeared again.
“Doc, come with me,” Devin said. “Austin, Annie, back us up. Everyone else, keep your eyes open and yell if you see any Creepers.”
Adam didn’t argue, just nodded his head and looked around. Golden started to follow them.
“Not this time, Sis,” Devin said, and she stopped without argument.
The house smelled bad. Thorn was more than qualified to know the smell of death.
“Devin,” he whispered, “this place smells like death. We need to get your friend and get out of here.”
“Yeah, it smells pretty bad, I know.”
Thorn took his arm.
“No, not just bad, literally like death. I’ve been working around that smell my entire career. We need to get out of here.”
Devin suddenly understood, and he grew a little paler in the flashlight beam. He turned to Ann and Austin.
“Stay ready. We get the fuckin’ moron, and then we get the hell out of here. Watch our backs.”
The two nodded. Thorn was glad to see that Annie had sheathed her knives and carried two 9-mm pistols.
They walked through the living room and then turned past the kitchen and entered a long family room. Thorn almost pulled the shotgun’s trigger when Connor came out of a doorway on the far wall and called out in a loud voice.
“Come on, she’s in here, but I think she’s hurt.”
He disappeared again. To reach him, they had to walk past a stairway that led to the house’s second floor. The dark stairway seemed ominous, and Thorn’s heart thumped at the thought of walking past that pitch black corridor. He wasn’t alone in the sentiment.
“Watch that stairway, Austin,” Devin whispered. “Annie, eyes behind us.”
Austin crouched at the bottom of the stairs; he attached a flashlight to a clip below the rifle’s barrel. The beam lit up the stairway, and Thorn was glad to see only an empty passage. Annie stood at Austin’s side and watched the kitchen and family room entrance. Thorn and Devin walked into the dark room to find Connor.
Connor stood in the middle of a large room.
“See,” he said and pointed with his flashlight beam.
A woman kneeled in the corner. Her arms wrapped over her dark hair.
“She won’t move. I don’t know if she’s hurt or what.”
The putrid smell in the room was so strong that Thorn gagged. Devin covered his nose.
“Connor, what the fuck, can’t you smell that?” he asked.
“Yeah, whatever. Help me with her,” he replied.
Connor turned and reached for the woman.
“Don’t touch her!” Thorn yelled, but his warning was too late.
The woman turned, and her face was a horror of savagery. Hatred filled her blue cloudy eyes. She vomited black bile into Connor’s face, and he screamed. Devin started forward, but Thorn pulled him back.
“Devin, don’t. He’s done.”
“What? No.” Devin’s eyes confirmed that he knew the truth of it, though.
Connor fell to the floor in screams of agony and something exploded from the closet. There was a thunder of footsteps from the second floor. Devin leveled his shotgun on the closet Creeper and destroyed its head in a flash of 12 gauge. The Creeper woman who had sprayed Connor scurried forward on her hands. Thorn saw that she had not been kneeling; she had no legs below the thighs. He pulled the trigger of his shotgun, and her face exploded.
“Company,” Austin yelled, and then his rifle crackled.
Devin and Thorn backed out of the room. Austin was firing in rapid succession. A mass of Creepers came down the staircase, and Thorn saw their insane faces in the beam of Austin’s flashlight.
“Reload!” Austin yelled, and Annie’s twin 9-mm exploded in a one-two, one-two fire pattern. Austin fed bullets into the gun with impressive speed and dexterity.
“We’re out!” Devin yelled. “Go, go, go!”
Annie went first, followed by Thorn. Devin and Austin walked backward, firing at the Creepers that pursued. As they reached the front door, music blared and gunfire exploded. They ran into a nightmare.
Creepers advanced on the vehicles. There was no symmetric
V pattern this time. The group formed a semicircle around the SUVs and shot the infected with none of the calm synchronicity of the
previous night. As Thorn crossed the lawn, he saw the simple math of it all. They didn’t have enough bullets to kill all the Creepers running toward them. The mindless charge was gone, and the infected appeared almost strategic in their approach. Devin saw it too.
“Bail, bail, bail!” he screamed
Thorn would have nightmares about the scene. Nothing else would compare to the fear he experienced getting into the SUV. In his nightmares, something always grabbed him before he made it. A claw would find his shirt and drag him back toward that dark room where the legless Creeper waited. His hands would find the house’s doorframe for a moment. He would have just enough time to see the others torn apart. Then his hands would lose their grip, and he would again be inside the dark house. They dragged him across the floor while the sound of hungry mewling came from the back bedroom. The legless Creeper always called his name.
He tripped as he reached the SUV and fell half in and half out of the vehicle. Goldie grabbed his arm, tried to pull him in, and then her other hand stretched out across his back, and she squeezed off shots. Thorn had no idea how close the Creeper was when she shot it, and he was glad not to know. The SUV lurched backward while
he still lay across the seat. He crawled in the rest of the way as the SUV, sped in reverse down the road. Brandon looked over the seat as he drove backward at what felt to Thorn like a hundred miles an hour.
“Sorry, Doc, had to go,” Brandon apologized.
“No problem.”
Thorn looked at Golden. “Thank you.”
She just looked forward over the seat.
“Annie and Austin made it into Nick’s car,” Devin said, and she settled back.
“What the hell was that?” Devin asked no one in particular. “Am I crazy, or did we just get ambushed by a bunch of mindless Creepers?”
“We did,” Thorn confirmed.
“Shit … Connor,” Devin said in a softer voice.
Brandon nodded but didn’t speak.
Brandon backed the vehicle all the way onto the main road and then spun it around. The two other vehicles did the same. They sped back to the school in silence.
Chapter 9
The End of the World
Part 2
Graveyard Plan
Most of the group gathered in the cafeteria. They were silent. The dinner that had been prepared for them remained untouched on the counter. Devin and Caroline were absent. Devin had gone to her upon their return; he had hugged her and whispered to her, and then they had left. Susan’s hurt and anger dissolved when she saw Thorn’s expression. She sat next to him, her hand on his forearm. The raucous, opinionated bunch was without words, and that scared Thorn even more than the events at Reflections Lake. He realized that tonight was their first loss since they had built their paper fortress in the wind.
Devin returned. His eyes were red, and his complexion pale, except for the red blotches on his cheeks. Thorn recognized the look. He had spent a year seeing that aftermath in the mirror’s reflection. He called in the grieving man. Devin’s friends recognized it too, and it deepened their own sorrow.
“I knew Connor most of my life,” Devin said. “He was a great friend, and I wish I could have saved him tonight. I’m sorry I failed.”
“Failed?” Nick stood and looked at Devin and then scanned the group’s faces. “I didn’t know Connor as well as you did, Dev, and I don’t want to speak ill of him, but the Connor I knew, he didn’t return from Orlando. We all knew that something was wrong. We all knew he shouldn’t be out on those runs. Anyone disagree?”
You and Me against the World: The Creepers Saga Book 1 Page 11