*****
Hemp held his MP5 on the two Mothers, his back against the opposite wall. Charlie stood beside him, looking sad and fascinated at the same time.
Isis was clearly battling her depression over her father’s death, but she seemed determined to push through it for the moment.
Max and Isis directed the Mothers to put their hands against the wall just above the symbol of the all-seeing eye and the sun. They kept more than an arm’s length from each of the Mothers, and gave the command.
Flex also steadied himself against the wall as the vibration shook his bones and rattled his teeth. As he watched, he took Gem’s hand in his, and marveled at the power of Hemp and Charlie’s son and the now orphaned child before them.
“It’s not enough,” said Isis, tears beginning to run down her cheeks again.
“Don’t you dare give up,” said Charlie. “Max, keep going!”
Dust began powdering from each joint, and when Flex looked down again, the stone with the sun and eye on it had slid outward almost two inches.
“Look!” he said, pointing. “Keep it going, guys.”
He worked his way into a sitting position between Max, Isis and the two powerful abnormals. Withdrawing his knife, he slid the blade between the stones and leaned forward to blow away the powdering stone.
Flex dropped the knife on the ground and took the approximate twelve-inch wide stone by both hands and worked it back and forth. It moved, but almost imperceptibly.
“It’s loose,” he said. “Just a bit more. The vibration’s allowing me to slide it.” With four more side-to-side wiggles, he pulled it out. After sliding it along the stone floor, he pulled the LED flashlight out of his pocket.
Lying flat on his stomach, Flex shone the light in the hole. Isis and Max apparently stopped their silent commands, because the vibration ceased completely, and when Flex glanced over again, both Mothers were pressed face first into a wall to his left.
“You two got really good at handling them.”
“We can only do it like this when we’ve got even numbers,” said Max. “And not even that well when they’re at full strength. These two are weak. So are we.”
“You’re weak?” asked Charlie. “How?”
“We tried to vibrate this without them,” he said. “We got nowhere. Even worse than this morning with the pump at the pit. It might be from the gas diminishing further, but that’s why we needed these two.”
“I see something down there,” said Flex, still lying on his stomach, peering through the gap. “There’s definitely open space down there. Looks like a walkway. I even see a pot or something, and I hear … water maybe.”
“Water?” asked Gem.
“Something.” Flex stood up. “But we’re not gettin’ down there through here.”
“Why not?” asked Charlie.
“Look,” said Flex, backing away. “Thick ass steel bars.”
Charlie knelt down. Gem held a hand on her rib and leaned forward to check it out as best she could from a standing position.
“Those are thick,” said Charlie. “Like jail cell bars.”
“The only reason there would be bars running through these walls is to prevent access into the tunnels from here,” said Hemp. “That means there must be an alternative access point. Either in this building or some other.”
“Gotta be the museum,” said Flex. “Good place to start, anyway.”
“Max, do you still have that old map of Kingman in your pack? The one you laminated years ago?” asked Isis.
“I haven’t looked at it for years, but yeah,” said Max. “In the back pocket. Used it when I explored the town.”
“Good,” she said. “We may need it to help us navigate those tunnels if we find a way in.”
“Even if we don’t find a way in, we need to get everyone here, to this building,” said Gem. “I don’t know what the fuck we were thinking, holing up at City Hall. That’s like a clapboard shack compared to this place.”
“I take the blame,” said Hemp. “We’ve been so secure for so long, we didn’t have a solid plan in place for this eventuality. When we first got here we found that bunker to be adequate. Unfortunately, our population has grown so steadily –”
“You’re only human, professor,” interrupted Charlie. “Now let’s get our asses to that museum and see if we can make up for your tremendous blunder.”
Isis turned and moved toward the Mothers. “First, turn away,” she said.
“What?” asked Charlie.
Flex saw her staring at the backs of the Mothers and said, “Just do it, Charlie. Gem, Hemp, you, too.”
The moment they were facing away, Flex heard the distinct sound of bone and cartilage snapping and tearing.
“Let’s go.”
As they walked away, Flex turned to see the two Mothers on the ground, lying in a spreading pool of black-red ooze. Their heads had been torn from their bodies, the vacant eyes staring open and dark.
Flex silently worried about Isis.
*****
Flex wasn’t sure whether the Mothers had called them or whether it was just indicative of the entire city of Kingman, but now the streets seemed to be teeming with Hungerers and Mothers, mostly moving in the general direction of City Hall.
They killed their way through fourteen rotters to reach the Crown Victoria. Once inside, Flex turned the ignition, triggering the starter to wind far too long before the engine fired. He was truly beginning to worry about the twenty year old vehicle, but it was a rolling fortress that he still appreciated.
Dropping it into gear, the transmission clunked and it jerked off the line. Gem sat next to him, with Isis beside her. Charlie, Max and Hemp rode in the back; the family intact.
Seeing their would-be attackers in the rear view mirror, Flex gripped the steering wheel, relieved. He hated losing anyone to the abnormals, but he knew it would be impossible to cope with losing the oldest friends he and Gem had on this earth. For now, they were safe.
Hemp had modified the Crown Victoria several times over the years, and had replaced the original cow catcher – also called a pilot – with the hydraulic scissoring cow catcher, identical to the one on Punch’s GTO. Flex engaged it, and it busily chewed its way through every body they encountered.
Isis got on the radio, her voice low and even. “Dave Gammon? Do you read?”
There was no response. Flex wondered where Dave had been when his uncle was killed. Next, he realized that Dave might not even know about it yet.
“Isis,” came Victoria Hansen’s voice. She was a medium-height middle-aged woman with dark brown hair flecked with gray, formerly one of the three sisters that were now only two. They had honored Kimberly, who had fallen during the battle of Maestro, by keeping the bar named “Three Sisters Bar.”
“About Dave … there’s news,” said Victoria. “I’m not sure he can talk right now.”
“Tell him I already know,” said Isis. “Tell him I knew the moment my father died.”
There was a long pause on the line. “I understand,” said Victoria, finally. “Hold on.”
A moment later, Isis put the radio down and turned it off. “We’ll be there in a few minutes. I’ll speak to him in person.”
Silence permeated the car again. Suddenly, Flex said, “Look. Right there.” He pointed. “That cornerstone.”
The Masonic symbol beckoned them. The building on which it was placed looked to be around the same age as the courthouse, or perhaps older. The symbol looked weather worn, so that it appeared to have been carved into sandstone.
“Each building with that marking may be an intersection to the tunnel system,” said Isis. “According to what I’ve read, the entrances are not easy to locate, but when found, access can be rapid.”
“We’re gonna need that, Isis. Look at this place.”
They all scanned the street. City Hall was surrounded. To get inside would be a feat of magic, but what was more amazing to Flex was that they hadn’t yet push
ed in the doors. Whatever was happening to the attacking horde was sapping their strength.
*****
Gem stared at the mass of bodies pressing against the front of the low City Hall building. “Look,” she said. “Ricks’ Hobby and Gift Shop is where we store our maintenance supplies, right? Ladders, that sort of thing?”
Charlie nodded. “I thought it was a good, central spot to store the maintenance stuff. I remember you picking through that place just after we got here. Didn’t you grab all their canvases and paints?”
“Yeah,” said Gem. “The place was pretty wrecked when we got into town, but I still have a lot of the stuff I salvaged from there. Anyway, if we can get inside and grab a ladder, we can get on the roof. From there, we can use the ladder to climb up on the roof of the Kings Inn.”
“For what?” asked Flex.
Hemp pointed to the roof ridge of the inn. “Flex, she’s right. The inn juts out around ten feet more toward the street than City Hall. We’ll still have to fire around the fire station, but that location will put us facing dead south. We can fire right down on them without shooting into the front glass of the City Hall.”
“That’s a good idea,” said Flex. “Hold on. I’ll get in a better position.” Flex swung the car left and rolled the wheels onto the sidewalk, careful to angle the vehicle so as not to damage the customized, scissoring pilot. He came to a stop directly in front of the old gift store. “Okay, who’s up?”
Max and Isis opened their doors and got out. Gem slid over when Isis left the front seat. Behind them, Max and Hemp opened their doors. Charlie, who was sitting between them, followed, her crossbow in hand. Max now had his smaller crossbow out, too.
Flex glanced at Gem as the rear doors slammed closed and reached over to squeeze her hand.
He then lowered his window and heard Max say, “You guys follow through with that plan. Isis and I have been talking, and we have to find the tunnel entrance. We’re going right to the basement of the museum.”
“You need to come with us!” insisted Charlie, worry in her eyes.
Flex watched and knew what she was going through. He was certain that Flexy’s death was always on Charlie’s mind; she would be devastated to lose her son as well.
“No, mom. We need to be ready so if you’re successful, the people inside City Hall have somewhere to escape to.”
Charlie’s shoulders slumped. More rotters moved toward the vehicle and Flex saw Charlie spot them. “Okay,” she relented. “But be careful and keep a radio on. Once we get things in hand here, we’ll come over.”
“Channel 9 is flooded with traffic, so use 19,” said Isis. She grabbed Max by the hand and ran down the street. The museum was just four more buildings down on their right. Charlie watched Max and Isis joss off for a long moment before she and Hemp ran inside Rick’s Hobby and Gift Shop.
Immediately, Gem grabbed her radio. “Charlie?”
Charlie’s voice came back three seconds later. “Yeah, Gem?”
“You know behind the building? There’s a shorter, block structure there, maybe eight feet high,” said Gem. “They used it as a warehouse. Use the ladder to get on top of that, and you can climb right up on the roof of Rick’s from there.”
“Great!” answered Charlie. “We already see the extension ladder, so hurry up and pull around back. We’ll be out there in a minute.”
Flex spun the wheel around to make a U-turn, then stopped, eyeing the horde ahead. He reached forward and hit the power button for the scissoring pilot. The mechanism activated.
“Flex?” asked Gem.
“Yeah,” he said, staring straight ahead at the shuffling bunch of Hungerers and Mothers.
“Why did you start that?”
Flex spread his hands toward the growing horde.
“Might as well,” said Gem, with a shrug. The Crown Vic was built with ballistic steel and airplane glass, so would not be subject to damage in doing what Flex had in mind. “Make it quick,” said Gem.
“I was hopin’ you’d say that,” said Flex, smashing his foot on the gas pedal. The engine knocked, but the scissoring became much faster as the speed increased, and Gem braced herself as the Ford rammed into the shifting, tattered crowd of zombies.
Bodies twisted and jerked, spun and sprayed blackish blood as Flex mowed them down and diced their bodies apart. He cut a nine-foot swath through the middle of the horde, the tires bumping over those drawn beneath the vehicle.
“Nice,” said Gem, patting the dashboard as Flex swung the car into the street, taking out four more rotters that had been on their way to join their rotting brothers and sisters.
“Had to be done,” he said, swinging the Crown Vic north on Main, away from City Hall.
Gem turned in her seat. An equal or greater number of new rotters moved in to fill the gap the Crown Vic had made. They were pouring into the city from all directions now. She got back on the radio and changed the channel. “Vikki? Kevin?”
Kevin Reeves came on. “Where are you, Gem?” he asked. “We just heard a vehicle out front. Was that you?”
“We just plowed through a shitload of them, but more filled in where we took them out.”
Kevin sounded exasperated. “Gem, we’re in dire straits here.”
“We see that,” said Gem. “We’re working on a plan now. How’d you get taken by surprise?”
“They just kind of poured in,” he said, the crowd noises behind him making him difficult to understand. “We were picking them off as they showed up, and even had time to use that little bulldozer to push the bodies aside. Then it was like a flood. I’m guessing a major section of fence collapsed nearby.”
“Well, you’d be smart to tell everyone in there to keep as quiet as possible,” said Gem. “You’ve got some Mothers outside that hear pretty well, and what I’m hearing on this radio is too way too loud.”
“I know. Lots of people panicking. We keep telling them to hold it down, but it builds back up. I’ll take care of that. What’s your plan?”
“To clear the front of your building and make a pathway to get you guys out of there.”
“To go where?” asked Reeves.
“We’re working on that, too,” said Gem. “We’ll be on this channel and on 19, but use 9. We went to keep the other channel clear for Max and Isis.”
Reeves wasn’t ready to disconnect yet. “There are over 300 of us crammed in here, Gem,” said Kevin. “The capacity in the bunker’s around 150. How are we –”
“Kevin, I’m sorry I can’t tell you more, but we’re still figuring that out,” said Gem. “Hang tight. Have your weapons and urushiol ready in case those nasty fuckers break that front glass, and for God’s sake, make sure everyone’s on WAT-5.”
“We were handing out doses regularly,” he said. “But with all these people, we’re running low.”
“Okay,” said Gem. “We’ll be back in touch.”
She hesitated for a moment, then keyed the radio again. “Kevin?”
“Yeah, I’m here, Gem.”
“How’s Dave doing?”
“Gammon?”
“Yeah.”
“He’s … not good. Pretty torn up right now.”
“Okay. Tell him Flex and I are sorry.”
“I will.”
Flex spun the car behind the line of brick buildings and jammed the accelerator, stopping in the large parking lot behind the store, just in front of a small storage shed.
Gem grabbed her Uzi and Flex took her by the arm. “Hold on, kiddo,” he said. “Do me a favor, and just this once, stay in the car.”
“I’ll wait until the ladder’s in place, and I’ll get up as fast as I can while you watch my back. How’s that?”
“Gem,” said Flex, his eyes pleading.
“Flex, you saw that horde down there,” she said. “You guys need me so I’m coming.”
The back door of the building flew open and an aluminum ladder appeared, Hemp and Charlie each hoisting half. When they reached the small ci
nderblock building, Charlie let go while Hemp leaned the extension ladder against the shorter structure behind the gift shop and scrambled up.
In Flex’s peripheral vision, he saw shapes emerging from his right.
“Gem, heads up!” he shouted. She raised her Uzi and opened her door.
Flex got out, too, his Daewoo in his hands. He was glad he’d just broken the gun down three days before, thoroughly cleaning and oiling it. It sat more than it got fired in recent years, and he periodically went through it to ensure it was ready when the need arose.
He moved to the back of the car. Gem already had the Uzi rat-a-tat-tatting at the zombies emerging from behind the brick building.
Flex ran to the corner and saw that there were only four more. No Mothers were among them, but he knew if he were to search, he’d find one or more. He turned back.
“Okay, Gem. Go for the ladder. I’ll be right behind you.”
Gem moved toward the ladder and Flex watched the corner of the building for more attackers. So far they were in the clear.
Charlie and Hemp stood atop the building, and Charlie held out her hand to Gem, who took it as she reached the top of the ladder.
Flex ran back around, slammed the driver’s door, and vaulted off the hood of the Crown Vic, almost getting his ankle caught on the razor sharp, blood-mucked cow catcher.
He hit the ladder and was up in seconds. Once he planted his feet, he turned and pulled the ladder up behind him.
Four shambling rotters hit the brick wall as the ladder lifted out of their reach, scratching and clawing, but to no avail.
“Go, go!” shouted Flex, and everyone moved aside so he could toss the ladder onto the roof of Rick’s. The building stood around four feet higher than the storage building roof upon which they stood, so Flex interlaced his fingers and made a stirrup. “C’mon, Gem. Boost.”
“I wouldn’t have asked, but thanks babe,” she said.
“You didn’t have to,” he said, smiling.
Gem put her foot in and Charlie gave her a push up from behind. Gem scooted onto the roof of Rick’s and stood.
Dead Hunger_The Cleansing Page 9