“Run, Mom!” Helen screamed. “Hurry, they’re right behind you!”
“Get back in the stairwell!” Joel yelled when he saw Bernice.
Bernice was almost to the door when a group of zombies caught her and dragged her to the floor, tearing into her just as they had the other two. Helen screamed at the sight of her mother being disemboweled and dismembered, but Joel slammed the door shut and turned Helen away from the window, shielding her face from the grisly sight on the other side of the glass.
“Third floor!” Rob yelled.
Helen fell to her knees, sobbing and holding her face in her hands. Joel and Julie helped her off the floor and put their arms around her back, helping her to ascend the steps with the rest of the survivors.
When the group reached the third floor, Rob and James looked through the window to see if the coast was clear. Joel waited impatiently for the word on their situation, not sure if he really wanted to hear it or not.
“Oh, my God,” Rob muttered.
“There must be dozens of them,” James said.
“They have already gotten to the third floor?” Joel said.
“They are everywhere,” Rob said, shaking his head. “They must have used the other stairwell.”
“We have to check the basement,” Brighton said. “If we can get out the door you told us about we can get to the boat.”
“They’re going to follow us,” Rob said. “If I didn’t know any better, I would say they are acting smarter. From what I saw, they actually used rocks and pieces of the cars to break the glass.”
“They might be getting smarter,” Blake said, his voice giving away his concern. “They may not be the same people you knew, but the shell still has a working brain and the neurons in that brain are all firing.”
“What does that mean?” Jane asked, glancing at Blake with a look in her eyes indicated she was already figuring out what he meant.
“They were out there a couple of days not figuring out how to get in. Then they figured out that if they didn’t see us leave, that meant we were still inside. I said before that it was one of my fears. I think they are actually learning, and learning fast.”
“And finally, they figured out that if they flood the floors we will be trapped and vulnerable,” Joel added.
“You have to be shitting me,” Hannah said, leaning against the wall and shaking her head. “They really are getting smarter.”
“They are developing-problem solving ability,” Blake confirmed.
“How is that possible?” Rita asked.
“The neurons are firing, and now all the pathways are opening up in the brains,” Julie said as she sat on the step. “They are learning at a rate we can’t even imagine, which means we’re all fucked.”
“We’re not fucked yet,” Rob insisted. “I’m not ready to give up.”
“We have to get to the basement,” Brighton said again. “We need to get there before they flood the entire hotel.”
“If they haven’t already flooded it,” James pointed out.
“Do the stairs lead all the way to the basement?” Rob asked.
No,” Hannah answered. “Just to the first floor. The basement has its own set of stairs.”
“Who the hell designed that?” Rob yelled.
“Maybe we can still get to the stairs,” Blake suggested.
“Let’s stop wondering and go find out,” Joel said, already starting down the steps.
He heard the others following him, thankful for those still alive.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Margie could see the red glow of the fire up ahead. She knew that was the direction she had to go, pushing herself to get moving. She heard the moans of the dead all around her but tried to ignore them as she pressed on. She was scared to death to be out here alone but knew she would have to get used to it until she was able to get to safety.
She was sweating from running and walking all day with very little rest. She could feel her hair sticking to her head and the dirt on her skin felt irritating to her. She wanted a shower more than she ever had before, but she would not see a shower again until she reached civilization. She saw the river off to her left and headed to the bank and figured that was the closest she was going to get to a shower for the time being. She was sure a quick dip would make her feel better and wake her up a little bit.
She peeled off the shirt, hanging it on a branch to keep it off the ground, kicking the shoes off and setting them on a rock. She shivered as she began walking to into the river, the cold water instantly causing the hairs to stand up on her skin. She began shivering as soon as she was in up to her knees, deciding to jump in rather than attempt to adjust to the temperature slowly. She dove in and swam out a few yards, then swam back toward the shore.
“Son of a bitch, that’s cold!” She exclaimed as she stood up and started walking toward the bank. She splashed more water on herself, wishing she had a bar of soap. She scrubbed as best she could with just her hands and water, happy to at least get the mud and grime off of her skin.
She suddenly froze when she heard movement in the trees not far away. She looked around, but she couldn’t see anyone out there in the dark. She made her way out of the water, shook herself as dry as she could get and slid the shoes onto her feet.
The noise came again, closer this time. She looked around again, covering her breasts with her hands. She squinted through the darkness, trying to locate the source of the noise. There was nothing out there that she could see, but she knew she was not alone out here. She felt the hairs on her arms stand up again, this time from fear rather than the cold water.
“Who’s there?” she called out but received no answer.
She reached up and grabbed the shirt, sliding it on and walking back into the woods. She was almost to the trees when three of the dead were upon her, lumbering out of the bushes to the left. She struggled as they grabbed her arms and tried to get at her throat. She kicked at them and pulled her arms free of their grasp. She started to run when one of them grabbed her leg, tripping her and making her fall headlong into the dirt. She screamed as she felt the teeth sink into her leg, drawing blood. She forced herself to ignore the pain long enough to kick the zombie as hard as she could in the head. Its skull caved in on one side, its brains beginning to leak out onto the ground. Still, it moved as though alive.
She vomited from the sight, still pulling her leg from its grasp. Once the zombie released her, she got back up and ran into the trees, running parallel to the river away from town. She was determined to get out of this nightmare alive.
* * * *
Joel’s heart sank when they saw the door to the basement stairs. There were only a few of the dead blocking it but he had hoped for it to be completely clear.
“Does anyone have any of the aerosol cans?” he asked.
They all answered that they didn’t. No one had thought to grab any in the sudden disruption. He knew the only way to get in was to fight them.
“There are only a few of them,” he said. “If we can get to them without alerting the others, and if they are still slow, we can shove them out of the way and get into the stairwell.”
“It locks from inside,” Hannah said.
“Perfect. We will lock it after we know everyone is accounted for.”
Before anyone could protest, Joel bolted for the corpses and shoved them as hard as he could, one at a time. They were slow to get up so he threw the door open and signaled to the others.
“Let’s go!” he yelled, annoyed that they hadn’t followed.
They poured out of the stairwell and through the door to the basement stairs. Rob and James knocked the dead down once again when they got to their feet. The two men entered the stairs last, allowing Joel to shut the door and lock it.
“Is everyone accounted for?”
“Yes,” Reverend Brighton called back. “Everyone appears to be here.”
The basement was still clear when they reached the bottom of the steps, though J
oel could hear the sounds from the mob of walking corpses on the floor above them. When they were all out of the stairwell, they headed for the small door to the open yard out back.
“Before you exit, everyone grab a few cans of disinfectant from the floor,” Joel said, pointing to the pile of cans in the middle of the room that they hadn’t taken upstairs. “I know most of them are upstairs but we may need what’s left to blast them with flames if they get too close.”
“Good ideal,” Rob said, handing out some of the cans as others bolted out the door into the back yard.
It was clear outside the door, not a corpse around, all the way to the trees. Joel could see them swarming to the fence, however, looking for a way to get in. They moaned and clawed at the wire, some trying to dig through the dirt underneath.
“It won’t be long and they will be through that fence,” Julie shouted as they neared the safety of the trees.
“We’re going to have to watch our backs all the way to the boat,” Rob said.
Joel grabbed Julie’s hand as they started into the dark woods, keeping them from getting separated. “I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
“The boat is just a couple hundred feet through these trees,” Rob said. “Get ready, just in case they are surrounding it.”
“What the hell is that?” Jane asked, pointing ahead of them.
“I don’t see anything,” Rita said.
Jane pointed again. “Right up there. It looks like something moving.”
Joel saw the dark outlines of human shapes ahead of them. He knew in an instant that the dead were waiting between them and the boat.
“What do we do now, Rob?” Blake asked.
“I’m not sure,” Rob answered.
“We can’t get through them.”
“If only we had a distraction, we could lure them away and bolt on through.”
“Oh, shit!” Rita said. “Here they come!”
Joel cursed as he watched the group split up, running in different directions. His biggest fear was that they would become separated, and that appeared to be exactly what was now happening.
Rob, Blake, Shirley, Helen, and Jane ran into the bushes to the right and ducked down inside them. They remained perfectly still and quiet, making it difficult for Joel to keep track of them. James, Rita, Emily and Hannah bolted behind a thick row of trees, remaining equally as quiet.
Joel and Julie were behind a large rock, looking over the top and getting an idea of where the others were. Joel spotted them all easily and pointed them out to Julie. He was feeling more concerned for her than for himself and he wanted to get her to safety, no matter what.
“I want you to go with Rob and Doctor Blake,” Joel urged. “You will be safe with them and I can get you over there if we stay behind the trees and bushes.”
“I’m going with you,” she insisted. “I am not going to let you out of my sight.”
“I promise to catch up to you, but I want to distract them away from the others first.”
“I’m staying with you,” She held firm.
“Then stay close to me,” he said, finally giving in.
“I think we are cut off from the others,” he heard Brighton say as he ran up behind them.
“Why aren’t you with the sheriff?” Joel asked, surprised to see him there.
“I got cut off,” he explained. “We can’t get to them.”
“Looks like you’re stuck with me tagging along, after all,” Julie said.
“Just stay close to me,” he said. “Reverend, is there a way out of here without getting ourselves killed?”
“Well, if we can go back the way we came, we can get to the manhole back on the side of the road next to the parking lot”
“What about the fence?” Julie asked.
“We can jump it,” Brighton said.
“The dead are on the other side,” Joel pointed out.
“The road is up there,” the reverend said, pointing. “If we get there, we can get to the manhole behind the dead.”
“We don’t know what the road is like,” Joel said. “I say we go with the fence idea. It’ll be clear to that point.”
“Brighton nodded. “That’s true.”
“Let’s give it a shot,” Joel agreed.
“We have to come with you,” Lorraine shouted as she ran up behind them, Jane right on her heels. “We can’t get through to the others either.”
Joel prayed the others had reached rob, taking on responsibility for this group. “Let’s move!”
He grabbed Julie’s hand again and the five of them ran for the fence.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Rob watched from the bushes, waiting for the dead to scatter enough for the group to make a break for the boat. He knew he had to find a way to get these people out alive. It had become his personal responsibility as far as he was concerned. He looked to the right of the path, seeing that there were no zombies roaming on that side.
“James, get the rest ready to head down that way,” he said, pointing toward the unoccupied side of the path.
”Okay, Sheriff. Just let us know when to move.”
Rob moved out of the bushes and started down the path, making sure that there were no zombies hiding that he hadn’t seen from his previous position. Seeing that the coast was clear, he crept back to alert the others.
“Let’s move. We can get to the boat if we stay off the path and behind those trees.”
They moved as quietly as they could out of the bushes, trying not to alert the dead that were moving about on the other side of the path. They made it to the trees and kept low as they moved along behind the cover of the foliage toward the Brenner place. It was only about one hundred yards to the boat but Rob knew it would be one hundred yards of nervous energy, watching for the dead every step of the way.
“Not everyone is with us, Rob,” Rita whispered as she came up beside him and rested her hand on his shoulder.
“Who are we missing?” he asked, looking behind them in the dark.
“I haven’t seen Reverend Brighton. Joel and Julie are gone. I think a couple of others, too.”
“We can’t go back. Let’s try calling their phones once we are past the dead over on that side.”
“What if we get too far ahead of them?” She asked, concern in her voice.
“Brighton and Joel are fully capable. So is Julie. I believe they will think of something. We can’t go back now.”
He hated making decisions like that, but there was nothing else he could do without risking the others. Some of the dead nearby must have started to decay. Rob could smell the faint scent of rotting flesh when the wind blew just right.
“You smell that?” Blake whispered.
“Something smells dead,” Rob commented.
“Exactly!” Blake exclaimed. “If some of them are rotting, their neurons will decay and stop firing.”
“That sounds like a good thing,” Rob said, feeling hopeful.
“It is a good thing. It means that some of the dead will finally stay dead.”
“How long will that take?” Rita asked.
“Too long,” Blake responded. “It would still take days and maybe a week for it to do us even the least amount of good.”
“It sounded good at first, anyway,” Rob said, the moment of hope rapidly ending.
“I sent a text message to Julie’s phone,” Rita whispered to Rob. “She just texted me back. They’re okay, so far. They are going to try to get into the manhole and make their way out through the drainage tunnel.”
“I told you they would think of something,” Rob said.
“They still have to get past some of the zombies, though,” James said.
“They’ll make it,” Blake insisted. “You have three good thinkers there. Joel, Julie and Brighton are all smart individuals.”
“Who else is with them?” Rob asked.
“She said Jane and Lorraine are there, too,” Rita answered.
“Get ready,” Rob war
ned. “The Brenner place is just on the other side of that stone wall.”
They kept quiet as they moved toward the stone wall directly ahead of them.
* * * *
Joel looked at the large mob on the other side of the fence. He was trying to think of how they were going to get to the other side and down into the manhole without getting killed by the masses of the dead waiting for them to climb over the fence. He scratched his chin as he thought, his fingers rubbing against the stubble of a four-day growth of beard.
He looked at both sides of the fence, trying to determine if one side was more populated than the other, but both sides were equally hopeless. This was going to be more difficult than he had thought it would be. He wasn’t even sure they could make it.
“Any ideas, Reverend?” he asked, looking over at Brighton.
“I would say we need a lot of prayer,” the reverend suggested.
“I’m going to bolt over the fence and lead them away,” Joel said, unable to think of another idea. “Once I get them away from here, you four get down in the manhole and I will run back and join you before they can catch up to me.”
“Bullshit!” Julie exclaimed. “You’re not going to run a suicide mission for the rest of us!”
“I promise you I will make it,” he said.
“You’re not going to do this,” Julie said. “We are all going together, or we are not going at all.”
“They move slow. There’s no way they’ll catch me. Do you have a better idea?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” She answered, looking toward the door that led into the basement.
“I’m making the run,” He said, realizing immediately what she had in mind.
“I’m going with you,” she insisted. “I’ll hold the door open for you”
“Let’s hope the coast is clear in there,” he said. “You still got your lighter?”
“I have one,” Jane said. “I took it from the gift shop inside, in case we needed an extra one.”
Threshold Series (Book 1): Threshold Page 19