This Would Be Paradise (Book 3)

by Iverson, N. D.

  “Drop-off zones?” John asked.

  “They’re certain areas they secured for tradin’,” Lucas hesitantly answered.

  “You mean where they traded people like goods?” I didn’t disguise the anger in my voice.

  Lucas didn’t answer.

  “Where do they keep the girls they take?” John asked. His eyes were narrowed and lasered in on Lucas.

  Lucas took a deep breath. “They didn’t tell us grunts much, but the guy in charge here once got so drunk he told us that compound was in Baton Rouge, but I don’t know where in Baton Rouge.”

  The map we were looking at was a large area chart. Prairieville was circled, along with the outskirts of New Orleans and Gretna, and Baton Rouge. But there was nothing specific enough to tell us where the places were located within the cities.

  “Let’s look through the rest of these papers,” John said.

  We put down our weapons and started going through the papers and maps. I found a small notebook that looked like it was a ledger. There were tables of weighted items for trading values. I stopped at the page labeled ‘Immune.’ One immune was worth a crate of food and six cartons of ammo. Or a few drums of gasoline. Or a rifle and a handgun.

  My heart stopped as I read that the drop-off zone was listed as the East Louisiana State Hospital. They fucking delivered straight to the front door. I started to giggle. Thirty minutes or less, or it’s free! Lucas and John stopped their rummaging to peer at me. I ignored them as I counted the tally on the next page, feeling every indent of the pen marks. Twenty-seven people had been caught and transferred. Which mark was mine? There was nothing personal about the ledger. We were simply something to be bartered and traded, like a crate of oranges.

  It made me remember when Tim had traded me for a sack to the mercenaries at the apartment. Whatever was in the bag, Tim had deemed me worth. Is this what they did for the girls they captured? Were they weighed and valued like the immune people? I suddenly felt nauseous. Was Zoe already in one of these ledgers? I threw the book down in disgust.

  I turned from the mess and looked out the big bay window. The dead bodies were still there. Good. The mercenaries deserved everything they had brought on themselves. Hell, I’d shake the hands of the gang who did this except chances were they were just as bad.

  “Found somethin’,” Lucas said, and I tore myself away from the window.

  We crowded around him to see what he was talking about. It was a hand-drawn map by someone who had the shakes or was drawing it while moving. The top said South Baton Rouge and the X-marked destination was a hotel. The bottom of the paper said Girls, Girls, Girls! My vision clouded over as I clenched my teeth. When I found these men, whether John tried to stop me or not, I was going to kill them all.

  “Think this is it?” John asked.

  “Your idea of what’s goin’ on is as good as mine at this point.” Lucas shrugged.

  “It’s all we have, so we’re going,” I said. “We have to at least try. Even if it isn’t the place we need, don’t they mark up the area with their symbols? We can track them that way. How far into the actual city do you think they will be?”

  “This says South Baton Rouge, so I’m guessin’ we won’t have to go downtown, but whoever drew this clearly drank too much.” Lucas frowned at the paper as he turned it sideways. “The mercenaries don’t like to hunker down in populated areas. There’s a good chance we won’t have to go too far in.”

  John took off his cowboy hat and ran a hand over his hair. “All right. Let’s go back and round up the others.”

  We descended back down the stairs and out the front door of the mansion. The frosted crystal glass surrounding the door twinkled like Christmas lights as the sun broke through. This place would have been beautiful in its heyday. When we reached the others, I spotted two more fallen infected. At least they were capable of taking care of them.

  “Anyone in there?” Rose asked.

  John shook his head. “All dead.”

  None of us mentioned the other gang and the war that was erupting. There was no point in scaring them anymore. We loaded into the truck and circled back around the way we had come. The I-10 would also take us to Baton Rouge if we kept heading north.

  Once back on the interstate, Lucas and I took turns memorizing the “map.” The shaky drawing wasn’t anything concrete, but with everyone being dead at the last compound, we were starting from scratch again. The mercenaries were everywhere it seemed, so all we had to do was keep looking and we’d find someone. Hold on Zoe, we’re coming.

  Chapter 29

  We had already spotted the mercenaries hand and eye symbol as we approached the edge of the city limits.

  “Take the forty-two exit,” Lucas said.

  “That’s not what it says here.” I pointed to the hand-drawn map.

  “If we take the 3246 exit, they’ll be lyin’ in wait. The hotel looks like it’s just off of it. We need to sneak up unnoticed,” Lucas said.

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “How do you know that?” I noticed the others out of the corner of my eye shuffle in the back seat.

  “I’m gettin’ real tired of tryin’ to convince you. Believe me or don’t, I don’t give a shit,” Lucas growled. “I just don’t wanna be shot as soon as we pull up.”

  John listened to Lucas’s advice and turned off on forty-two. We took an immediate right down another road until we connected with 3246. Everyone tensed as we drove through the south part of the city. Infected had started to come out from the woodworks. John was going fast enough that they couldn’t catch up to us, but it was still an alarming amount. Hopefully we wouldn’t be forced to come back this way.

  We got to a large paved area with a bunch of retail stores.

  “Stop,” Lucas ordered.

  “How do we know which hotel from here?” I could barely see the rest of the retail stores to our right, let alone the area just off the interstate where the hotel was supposed to be.

  “We don’t until we get closer, but we need to be on foot, otherwise they’ll hear the engine,” Lucas said.

  John parked the truck behind Joe’s Crab Shack, which left us a fair distance away from the hotels. We loaded up again with weapons, this time leaving the melee ones behind. This would be a firefight. John threw on a backpack and filled it with all the ammo we had taken. He attached a suppressor to the end of his handgun.

  “Got any more of those?” I asked.

  John shook his head. “Just the one.”

  I went back to ensuring I had enough ammo. I had one extra magazine for my AR15, but didn’t have one for the Beretta so I had to pocket a bunch of loose 9mm rounds. The cool metal bullets felt weird in my jean pockets—the tight material had pushed the ammunition right against my leg.

  For a brief moment, I felt the urge to pray, but I was conflicted as to what I would pray for. Did I hope they were dead like in the last compound, or did I hope they were there and that we could kill them all? If they were all dead and Zoe was in there… I shook my head. No point in clouding my mind with these types of thoughts beforehand.

  We watered up and ate a light meal before we crossed the set of one-way roads. Even though I knew no one was driving along the road, I still looked both ways before crossing the street. It was too ingrained in me. I had to keep adjusting the AR15 on my shoulder as the strap kept slipping. I peeked over at John to see he wasn’t struggling with his automatic rifle, but it was mainly because of the backpack strap was helping hold it in place. He had the silenced handgun at the ready in case we ran into anyone or anything. We didn’t want them to know we were here until we had the upper hand.

  We passed by another restaurant before we reached the hotel. I would have asked which hotel it was except the sound of loud music drifted obviously from the one on the left. A bunch of discarded, dead infected surrounded the area. I cringed at the smell. How did that not bother them?

  “Keep down,” Lucas hissed.

  We practically crawled over the mound o
f dead infected to get to the backyard terrace wall. The bass was cranked up enough that I could feel the vibrations. Were these guys stupid? The music would bring in the infected for miles; except we hadn’t spotted any live ones nearby yet. Maybe the rotting smell was keeping them away. After all, the infected didn’t go after the dead. Plus, they were wasting all that power. They must have rigged up some sort of generator as the lights inside were also on.

  “Give me a boost,” Lucas said to John.

  John and Leo kneeled down and lifted Lucas up so he could look over the wall. We all heard a scream—a female one—the surprise causing them to lose their hold on Lucas. He came tumbling down on them with a muffled curse.

  “What was that?” Sheri asked. Her eyes were ablaze with anger.

  I knew exactly what she was thinking because I was thinking it too. The girls were indeed in here and being subjected to the mercenaries.

  “I couldn’t tell before you dropped me,” Lucas said as he rubbed his head.

  “Well, what did you see?” I asked.

  “There’s a patio and doors leadin’ inside, but I didn’t spot anyone outside.”

  “See a spot where we can climb over?” John asked.

  Lucas nodded and pointed to the corner of the terrace wall. “There’s some thick bushes over there that would cover us.”

  John and Leo boosted Lucas up again to double-check the area. He gave us a silent thumbs-up and scrambled over. We listened intently to hear if he had been spotted. After a beat of no yelling or gunfire, the rest of us helped each other over. John lifted Leo up; then from his perch on the wall, Leo assisted John by pulling him up until John could latch onto the wall himself.

  My eyes kept darting from the two on the wall to the sliding doors that led inside. Please no one come through right now. The patio was empty of people, like Lucas had said it was. Finally, John and Leo plopped down on the ground next to us. We sat crouched for a few seconds to make sure we hadn’t been spotted. Lucas motioned forward with his hand and we followed him in a single line along the building. He peeked in through the large glass doors. When he turned around, he didn’t look pleased.

  “There’s at least ten guys that I can see, but part of the sittin’ area is out of my view.”

  “Do you see any of the girls?” I asked. I didn’t want them to accidently get caught in the firefight.

  “No,” Lucas said. “But that doesn’t mean they aren’t down here. No spray and pray, got it?” He looked at everyone accusingly.

  “Son, I’ve been handlin’ a gun since before you were born,” John said, sounding insulted.

  Lucas smirked at that, then his smile fell away as he realized what we were about to do. I had to take a few breaths to calm my nerves. I looked back at the others behind me. Their faces were a reflection of my own anxiety, each pinched with a mix of worry and determination. I had been so focused on getting to Zoe that I hadn’t even thought about the others. What if I had just led them to their deaths? Would I survive this? Our own mortality was something we faced every day, yet never really thought about. I purposely put it from my mind, but I couldn’t shake it this time. We weren’t about to face a horde of undead; we were about to slaughter a bunch of living, breathing men. Bad men, my mind corrected me. Think of your best friend. I had to do this.

  Leo did a silent Hail Mary while Rose muttered something quickly under her breath. It sounded like a prayer. I swallowed to try to dispel the dryness in my mouth. Ethan gave my hand a squeeze and I crushed it back in response. His betrayal seemed so insignificant in comparison to what we were about to do. If we survived this, I would tell him that I forgive him. I didn’t want to do it now because it might undercut whatever confidence we had, as if the seriousness of the situation would suddenly come crashing down on us. Nothing like last-minute confessions and forgiveness to instill confidence.

  “Weapons ready. We only get the benefit of catchin’ ‘em off guard once,” John said.

  His eyes locked with mine and he gave me a grim smile. Lucas grabbed onto the patio door handle and pulled the sliding pane open. We burst through the opening with Lucas leading the charge. Time really did seem to slow down; even my heart beat lulled. I caught the looks of utter surprise on the mercenaries faces as they spotted our team.

  The first guy to recover reached for his own weapon, but Lucas spilled first blood by shooting him right in the chest. He flew back over the couch he had jumped up from. Then time resumed to normal speed.

  Gunfire flew. Pieces of the walls and decor exploded. The mercenaries started to dive for cover. The loud bass thumped in my ears.

  We spread out to make ourselves less of a target. We pushed on and around the furniture the mercenaries were hiding behind. One guy jumped up and made a run for the other room. I brought my AR15 up and shot, hitting the guy in the and back propelling him forward onto the floor. John grabbed me by the back of my shirt and we crouched behind a thick wooden table as gunfire was starting to get returned.

  John held up his finger until there was a break in the spray of bullets, then sat up and shot his automatic rifle. Bullet casings hit the ground around us as I joined in. We shot through the couches where we knew they were hiding. Leo shot off his shotgun and the music suddenly cut out, leaving us with just the defining sound of the weapons being discharged. Lucas and Ethan were the furthest in the room, shooting at the men who were trying to get away, then took off after them, disappearing from my view line. Sheri was pressed up against a pillar looking terrified, and I had lost sight of Rose. I could hear her hunting rifle going off, but couldn’t actually see her.

  “Move!” John yelled and we got up, but stayed low.

  We pushed further into the hotel to the bar area. Unlike the mercenaries in the seating area, the guys in the bar part had one of the girls with them. She looked terrified: whether it was because of us or the mercenaries holding her captive, I couldn’t tell.

  I took out as many men as I could. Beside me, Leo lifted his shotgun and pulled the trigger. I saw the guy he was aiming at grab the barely-clothed girl and throw her in front of him like a coward. The girl’s chest exploded in a spray of red and she let out a harrowing scream. The guy dropped her dead body, then tried to flee behind the bar. Leo’s face fell as he stared at the dead girl, realizing what the guy had done. He was frozen, but I wasn’t. I took off after the guy, jumping over a fallen bar stool and the dead mercenary that had been perched on it. I let loose on the coward with my rifle.

  The bottles of booze behind the counter exploded as I shot up the bar. When my magazine clicked empty, I swung the rifle onto my shoulder and pulled out the Beretta from my waistband, making my way behind the bar. The mercenary looked like a sponge. His dead eyes were looking at nothing while the various holes in his chest leaked and pooled in a puddle of red underneath him. I may have gone overboard on that one.

  Gunfire being aimed my way had me dive around the corner of the bar. I heard a masculine grunt of pain and dared a peek. Leo had been kneeling over the dead girl when he had been shot in the back. He slumped forward and I let out a scream. The mercenary shooting our way started toward me but was cut off as Rose blasted him straight in the face. His feet actually lifted off the ground from the impact, and half of his head exploded like a firecracker.

  Rose didn’t waste any time looking at her handiwork as she ran to Leo’s fallen form. Another mercenary appeared from the hallway to our left and I bolted from my hidey-hole, taking two shots from my Beretta. I hit his shoulder with one and he spun backwards, letting off a shot of his own. It ricocheted just a foot from me, pounding a hole in one of the stool legs.

  I ran at him as he started to fire aimlessly. My mind didn’t even register that I was in danger; it just kept pushing me forward until I was upon the injured mercenary. I unloaded two rounds into his chest, hearing an odd whistling sound as his lungs deflated. More gunfire from all around me went off as the rest of the mercenaries gathered on the first floor to fend off our team.
r />   “Bailey, get down!” I hit the ground, not even questioning the order.

  I felt the whiz of bullets pass over me, then heard a body hit the floor only a few feet from me. I looked up to see a fallen mercenary in front of me and John standing behind me with his gun.

  John yelled, “Come on!”

  I got up and grabbed at the back of Rose’s shirt. She let out a sob, but let me guide her over to John, then we followed him down the corridor. I couldn’t bring myself to look at Leo’s dead body. Don’t think about Leo, don’t think about Leo. Grieving was for later; anger was for now. I put my Beretta back in my waistband, then ejected the empty AR15 magazine, jamming the spare one back in.

  We had used up a lot of our ammo in the initial shooting spree when we had entered the hotel; now we would have to be more conservative as we picked off the rest of the mercenaries. Ethan, Lucas and Sheri were out of my sight, but they had to still be on the first floor as more gunfire erupted from the rooms surrounding us. The lights flickered and went out overhead as bullets hit all around us. Mercenaries were coming down the hallway after us. Just how many of them were there? We had already killed so many…

  John shot out the glass pool doors and we ducked for cover from the spray of gunfire. My nose was instantly assailed with the smell of stale water and chlorine. I slipped on the wet tiles, only to have John steady me. He held a finger to his lips and we pressed ourselves against the wall, waiting for the mercenaries.

  The nasty looking pool water lapped against the edges, spilling over onto the tile. It was like something was in there, but no human would willingly swim in the disgusting water. The sound of glass crunching drew my attention back to the shattered pool entryway. John held up three fingers, silently counting down. When his last finger fell, he spun around and began shooting into the hallway. I did the same, shooting my AR15 before I could even aim. Bodies were flung across the hallway and into the opposite wall. We stepped out of the pool area and shot up the rest of them.

  John let out a yelp and hit the floor. My heart threatened to stop, but I kept shooting until all the attacking mercenaries had been eliminated. Dead bodies lined the hall, some slumped against the walls with bloody tracks running down the busted drywall. I shouldered my gun and leaned down to John. He was still moving.