Riposte (The Redivivus Trilogy Book 2)

by Kirk Withrow

  Plant quickly tied a loop on both sides of each length of rope. “Annalee, come here,” he said. She complied without question. He slipped the loop over one of her wrist and instructed her to grip the rope tightly. Holding her up with ease, he passed the makeshift rope pulley over the main rope and looped it over her other wrist. “You ready?” he said as he looked at Annalee’s frightened face with his trademark smile. Despite the fact she was shaking her head violently, he sent her sailing across the gap to where Animal waited on the other side.

  Ava and Lydia followed quickly behind. The rope sagged in protest to Plant’s weight, and they silently prayed it would hold long enough for him to make it across. He crashed into the roof with a hard thud before turning to Animal who merely offered him a smile that said, Oops! Silly me, I must have forgotten to catch you.

  In an instant, the group was on the move again with the black-clad duo in the lead. Plant located a door leading to a staircase but found it to be locked from the inside. Animal moved to the far side of the roof where she perched on the ledge overlooking the rest of Atlanta to the north. In the distance she saw the outlines of the CDC buildings. She noticed that while the infected still shambled about on the street below, their numbers were far fewer than on the opposite side of the building. She also noticed that the building they were on top of was part of the same housing complex as the one across the street, and thus they were identical. Each apartment had a balcony, and when viewed from a distance, they stacked up like the rungs of a ladder.

  Hearing Plant kick the locked door in frustration, Animal called him over to share her idea. “Lydia and I can drop down first, and then you can lower the girls before you follow—one floor at a time,” Animal said.

  “Ann, you’re brilliant,” Plant beamed, “but first we should clear out as many of the infected as possible.” Noting the gleam in his eyes and the crooked smirk on his face, she knew what he had in mind. Although she rolled her eyes, she was already falling into step behind him.

  When Plant reached the side of the roof opposite that of their intended departure, he crouched and unslung his small pack. He pulled out two plastic Coke bottles, partially filled with a blue-tinted liquid, as well as a baggie full of small aluminum foil balls. After cramming half of the foil balls into one of the bottles, he recapped it tightly and shook it to ensure they were fully immersed in the blue liquid. Ava wasn’t sure what was going on, but everyone stared at the man with the mischievous look in his eyes as he intently watched the bottle. After what seemed like minutes, Plant slowly nodded his head before tossing the bottle over the side. Seconds later an exceptionally loud explosion erupted from the street below.

  Animal peered over the edge and reported that the noise bomb was having the desired effect—the infected were crowding in toward the source of the noise. Plant quickly repeated the process with the second bottle while Animal went to the other side of the roof to see if the infected were moving from there as well. A thumbs-up told them that his part of the plan was working.

  Satisfied with the diversion, Plant and the others joined Animal on the ledge above the highest balcony. Turning to Lydia and the girls, Plant asked, “Are you guys ready?”

  Given that their mysterious saviors had yet to steer them wrong, the three females nodded in affirmation. Animal vaulted over the side, landing like a cat on the balcony below. Ava’s stomach dropped when the woman disappeared over the side of the building.

  “You next, Lydia,” Plant said. He lowered her as far as he could before dropping her to the floor of the balcony. He repeated the process with Ava and Annalee before lowering himself down. While he landed rather softly for a man of his size, it was still fairly loud, and each of them worried about the fact that it had to be repeated several more times before they reached the ground.

  Upon dropping to the third floor balcony, Lydia let out a small shriek. Animal saw the wide-eyed look of terror in the woman’s eyes and spun just as the first thud of the monster’s fists resounded against the glass door separating it from them. Deftly, Animal stepped forward and found the glass door to be unlocked. In a flash, she slid it open just enough to cleave the thing’s skull with one of her brush tools. It collapsed in a motionless heap, gray matter oozing out against the door’s glass.

  By the time they reached the last balcony, they were pleased to see that the street was almost clear of the infected. In another moment, the group was back on the ground and moving north toward the CDC facility less than a half-mile away.

  The majority of the land between them and the CDC was wooded and occupied by relatively fewer infected. Those they encountered were either dispatched quietly or avoided all together. Ava’s heart leapt as she read the sign affixed to the tall fence they stumbled upon.

  CDC Roybal Campus

  Restricted Access: Authorized Personnel Only

  24/7 Perimeter Surveillance In Use

  With a few snips, Plant opened a hole in the fence that was large enough for them to pass through. Once they were inside, he repaired the fence with a few metal zip ties before joining the others. Animal scouted the immediate area while Plant stood watch over Lydia and the girls. Although Lydia felt more than capable of fending for herself, she was grateful for the help in protecting the girls.

  “This place seems pretty dead. I don’t see any infected, though I hear them somewhere in the distance,” Animal reported. Plant craned his neck as if trying to verify the woman’s statement. Ava noticed the subtle look of disappointment on his face, and said, “We need to head toward the sound of the infected.”

  All four turned and stared at her incredulously, before Annalee said, “I don’t think a meet and greet with those things is the best idea.”

  “More like meet and eat,” Animal murmured. Aside from a less than approving look from Lydia, her bad pun drew no reaction.

  “No, I think Ava may be right. Given that they are drawn to the uninfected, if we find where they are the thickest then we should have a good idea about where to look for any healthy humans around this place,” Plant said.

  “Maybe I should put a bell around my neck and you can tie me to a stake,” Animal muttered as they began walking toward the faint groaning in the distance.

  “Why do you have a bell?” Plant asked.

  * * *

  They stared in disbelief at the new obstacles standing in their way. Although they saw no people, the hundreds of infected pressed against the concrete barricade made them suspect they were close by. When the closest of the infected caught wind of them, they began somewhat of an uncoordinated migration, making Ava realize that her idea might not have been the best one.

  “Company,” Animal said as she pointed toward the approaching horde. Lydia was amazed by the apparent calm in Animal’s voice, which sounded as though she were merely pointing out a thunderstorm brewing on the distant horizon. Plant nodded, and without missing a beat, he said, “There! Head over to the barricade.”

  Despite seeing only a tall, impenetrable wall with no door, they did as he asked. As they neared the imposing wall it seemed to grow even taller, looming over them like a skyscraper. Animal appeared next to them, digging around in her pack until she came out with a strange metal object. It had several blades that the woman quickly unfolded before snapping them into place. Unslinging the coil of rope on her back, she secured it to a metal loop on the end opposite the extended blades.

  Only then did Lydia realize what the woman intended to do with the thing that resembled a small boat anchor. “Who are you guys?” Lydia asked with genuine awe.

  Without answering, Animal began swinging the grappling hook in a slow circular motion, keeping her eyes trained on the top of the wall in front of her. Just as the hook finished its upward arc, she let it go and sent it sailing over the concrete barricade. She pulled it back carefully, as though she had a huge fish on the line and was trying to coerce the hook in a little deeper. When she felt it catch, she gave it a solid tug and was on top of the wall in a flash.


  Seeing that the closest of the infected was still at least thirty yards away, Plant tied a few knots in the rope and helped Ava, Annalee, and Lydia up the wall. As she climbed, Lydia heard the terrible sounds of Plant dispatching the first of the infected below her. No sooner than she reached the top, Plant was halfway up the rope behind her.

  Dropping to the ground just inside the barricade, they paused to take in the eerie quiet surrounding the buildings. When they did not see or hear a single soul, each of them worried that everything they had gone through to get to the CDC had been for nothing.

  Before anyone voiced his or her concern, however, Animal crouched to the ground, and said, “It looks like someone has been here. The grass is trampled and worn in a discrete path, not randomly like if it were due to the infected.”

  As they followed the faint path that roughly paralleled the inside of the barricade, they saw several elevated platforms spaced out along the wall. Animal pointed out a less-worn path leading to a door on one of the buildings. When they reached the closed door, they were not surprised to find it locked. Turning to Plant, Animal said, “Boost me up to the window so I can take a look inside.”

  Pulling up on the ledge, Animal felt the soft tickle of air on her skin as it was drawn through the narrow opening in the window. She saw, heard, and smelled nothing inside the building. Plant handed her a small pry bar and she managed to open the window a little more, though not enough for her to fit through. When Plant lowered her back to the ground, she told them what she had found.

  Ava immediately asked him to hoist her up to the window ledge. He and Lydia voiced their immediate objections, while Animal drew harsh looks from both of them when she indicated that the little girl would likely fit through the small opening.

  After a few seconds of heated argument, Ava spoke in a hushed tone that instantly silenced them all. “Please, you don’t understand. I know you’re trying to protect me, but it’s my choice. I have to go in there.”

  As the young girl spoke, she sounded anything but young. Her fragile words carried all the pain brought on by the plague, as well as the little hope that still remained in the dying world. Ava fixed her unblinking gaze on Lydia, and the woman saw eyes that looked far older than her own. She thought of Lonnie, and how there would be nothing that could stop her from going into the building if there was even the slightest chance he was inside. As hard as it was for her to allow Ava to make that decision, Lydia knew it was Ava’s to make. Deep down, she knew she would make the same one. With tear-filled eyes, Lydia nodded.

  “Thank you, Lydia. I love you,” Ava said, causing the floodgates to burst open completely.

  Cautiously, Plant lifted Ava up to the ledge and she disappeared inside the darkened building. Stepping lightly, she moved deeper into the room, leaving the scant light and her friends behind. She scanned her surroundings as she walked, searching for any danger lurking in the sepulchral room. All of a sudden, a loud racket erupted as Ava’s foot collided with something on the floor. Pitching forward, she hit the ground hard.

  Lydia snapped at Plant, asking him to boost her up to the window. Inside, she heard a quiet rustling noise as well as a soft groan, but saw no sign of Ava through the gloom. Lydia fought the urge to call out to her; worried she might further endanger the girl. The low click of a door latch disengaging triggered a visceral fear inside Lydia, and it felt as though liquid nitrogen coursed through her veins. She could neither move nor breathe as she waited for Ava’s guttural cries. Another click, far louder and closer than the first, made Lydia’s petrified heart shatter into a million pieces.

  “Come on, this way,” Ava said.

  Lydia let out the breath she was holding when she heard the little girl’s voice. Creeping into the darkened hallway, Plant and Animal led them through the building’s eerily quiet corridors. As they moved deeper into the structure, Animal heard faint voices in the distance.

  Taking point, Plant moved forward with his weapon at the ready. The voices grew louder as they neared the room at the end of the hall. Even in the dim light, the look of recognition in Plant’s eyes was unmistakable when he heard the deep southern baritone voice of Reams Wilkins. Shaking his head, he smiled broadly at the lascivious look that flashed across Animal’s face. Without further pause, Plant opened the door and entered the room.

  “Honey, I’m home,” Plant said as he stared down the barrels and shafts of the various firearms and blades aimed at him.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” Reams said simply.

  Animal stepped into view behind Plant, and he smirked when he saw the nervous tension this incited in Reams.

  When Lydia walked in holding the two girls’ hands, Reams felt his knees go weak. Despite having never met the little girl, he knew Ava’s beautiful face almost as well as if she had been his own daughter. He stepped forward and scooped her up in a huge bear hug that was far more fitting for a reunion of a father and daughter than a first encounter. The sight of the large black man she assumed was John Wild immediately confused Lydia.

  Ava was equally confused, though surprisingly, she was not scared. After a moment, she strained to pull her head away from the man’s broad chest, and asked, “Mister, have you seen my father? His name is John.”

  At that moment another figure stepped into the doorway and was surprised to find that there were far more people in the room than when he left five minutes ago. The sound of glass shattering caused everyone to turn in his direction. Upon hearing the voice he had been struggling to keep alive in his mind, John dropped the glass he was carrying.

  Reams set Ava down and saw that her feet were moving before she even touched the ground. She ran as hard as she could across the short distance to where her father stood motionless and unbelieving. Ava refused to let him slip away this time. For a split second before she slammed into him, she wondered if he might just be a dream. When she felt the warmth of his strong hug and the salty wetness of his tears, she knew he was no dream this time. He was as real as it gets. She had found him. She had her father back, finally.

  John stared in disbelief at the little girl. He looked into her beautiful emerald green eyes, and for the first time in months, he felt true happiness. Without loosening his embrace in the slightest, John glanced around the room and realized just how lucky he was. Sure he had lost a great deal; they all had. But he still had so much. He had Reams and Kate who had fought by his side to help him make it all the way to Atlanta. There was Lin and the people who had risked their lives to give her a chance to beat the virus. Each and every one of them had faced impossible odds and lived to tell about it, all the while managing to hang on to their humanity despite the horrors all around. Most importantly, John had something he had not been sure he would ever have again—he had his little girl, Ava.

  Even though John hardly knew many of them, he felt far closer to the people crowded in the room than he ever had to many of his own blood relatives. Aside from he and Ava, no one else was related, yet they were all united by the struggle—through the common bond of facing the apocalypse without giving up. Why he was given something none of the others had he did not know, but he vowed to cherish it forever and always. He knew there was nothing he would not do for his daughter; she was all that mattered to him. With tears in his eyes, John realized he had in fact found both hope and closure: hope for the future, and the closure that Ava brought with her.

  After brief introductions, they split up and went to get the other survivors from the lab and the command center. With everyone gathered in the old cafeteria, Lydia, Plant, and Animal detailed how they had come to be at the CDC facility. Lt. Weaver, in turn, gave them the run down of the situation at the facility as well as what he knew about the situation on the local and national level. By the time everyone was finished talking and introducing themselves, it had grown late and the darkness of night had settled upon them.

  With Ava still clutched in his arms, John hugged and thanked everyone who had helped reunite them. The reunion was so h
eartwarming that everyone cried, including Plant and Animal.

  “Are those tears? Are you crying, Ann?” Plant said as he wiped his own eyes.

  “It’s Animal…and I’m not crying, my eyes are just a little sweaty,” she said. With a hearty laugh, he scooped her up in a big hug that nearly precipitated World War III.

  As John carried Ava back to the sleeping quarters, she fell asleep in his arms. Despite his own exhaustion, he could not imagine ever laying her down. He was amazed at how soundly she slept, apparently unmolested by the nightmares that plagued every survivor. Maybe Ava’s stronger than this cruel world.

  Holding his beautiful daughter, John thought about everything he had seen and done over the last month. Even though he was a doctor and knew of the historical plagues that had threatened the very existence of humans in the past, John found it hard to imagine a force as strong as mankind could be destroyed by something as small as a microscopic virus. The more he thought about it, however, he realized that was not what was happening at all. As he had discussed with Reams and Ethan only weeks ago, the biggest problem with a war such as this one was that there was no clear enemy with whom to lay blame. Having learned of LNV’s true origin, John knew the virus was merely a pawn in humanity’s ongoing war with itself, and as such, all of mankind was to blame in a sense. LNV was little more than the weapon chosen for the execution. Of course, the direct responsibility for the current state of the world belonged to a few individuals, but they were a product of the civilization created by the collective masses. With that in mind, John was not surprised by what the world had become. Humans are brilliant and corrupt creatures—capable of the most amazing and horrific acts, often at the same time.