“Alexis honey, are you okay?”
“Yes,” she said, a quiver in her voice.
“Can you get us out?”
“I’m trying, but I need to get my hands untied first.”
“What is going on out there?”
“I don’t know, but someone shot the priest and I ran inside.”
He leaned against the wall. His daughter was alive, but for how long? The chances that the people shooting were here to help were very slim. They probably wanted the town for themselves, and they were going to take it, one way or another.
There was a lull in the gunfire.
“We’d better prepare for the worst. Are you free, honey?”
“Almost,” she said. He could hear her rustling around outside the door.
He heard a thump above, a pause, and then a gunshot from farther away. So there were at least two of them, but it was probably a group of four or more to take on the whole town. He waited for a while but heard nothing else.
“Hurry, sweetie.”
“There, got it!”
She opened the door and he crushed her in a hug that drove the air from her lungs. For a moment, in her father’s arms, it was like it used to be before the world fell apart.
“I thought I lost you,” he said, a tear slipping down his cheek.
“I love you, Dad.”
He took a step back and looked at her face. She looked scared but relieved. He slipped the chain off her neck and let it fall to the floor.
“I love you, too.”
The doors to the church closed and they could hear footsteps upstairs. He quickly looked around for any kind of weapon but there was nothing. The priest had cleaned the place out. He’d noticed that they were in some sort of basement with two other rooms next to theirs. Maybe he could find something…
There’s no time.
“Get behind me,” he told Alexis.
Two figures descended the stairs, rifles at the ready. He was taken aback for a second, thinking the military had come for them. They wore camouflage with tactical vests fully loaded, NVGs on their heads, and suppressed AR-15s in their hands. He was impressed. Whoever these two were looked like they were ready for war. They came to the bottom of the stairs and stopped, keeping their guns pointed at them.
The shorter one wearing a backpack stepped forward, lowering his gun. “We’re here to rescue the girl. Who are you?”
“The girl?” Emmett asked.
“The brunette behind you, the one the psycho priest was going to feed to the zombies,” the other man said. He was slightly taller and built more solid than the other and had some sort of high-powered rifle on his back that looked like a Remington.
“That would be my daughter,” Emmett said.
“So you’re a captive, too?” the shorter man asked, looking to his companion.
“Yes.”
The taller man lowered his rifle but eyed him warily. They didn’t trust him, and he respected them all the more for it.
“Give us a quick rundown of what’s going on here,” the shorter man said.
“We were passing through and decided to stay here for the night. They drugged us and threw us in here. The priest is sacrificing people to the infected.”
The shorter man opened his mouth to answer and then shut it, listening. “There are voices up there. We need to get out of here. Can you shoot?”
“Yes, we both can,” Emmett said.
“Bro, I don’t—” the taller man began.
“We have no choice. We have to trust them,” the shorter man said. He walked over and handed Alexis the pistol from his hip. “Here.”
The other one reluctantly came over and slung the rifle off his back. “Are you a good shot?”
“I’m a Marine,” Emmett said.
“Semper Fi,” the taller man said, handing him his rifle. “You should know how to use this then.”
Emmett looked at them more closely. They’re brothers, he realized.
“Let’s go,” the shorter brother said.
“Wait,” Emmett said. “We have one more, but she’s unconscious.”
“Can you carry her?”
“Yes. Alexis honey, take the rifle.” They traded guns and he stuck the pistol in the back of his belt. He went back inside and picked up Ana. “Ready.”
“Stay behind us, and keep your heads down,” the shorter brother said.
The brothers started up the stairs and Alexis followed with the rifle. She checked the chamber as she went up, her dad carrying Ana behind her.
James led the way, with his brother trailing behind. He could definitely hear voices outside now.
“This might get nasty,” he told Connor.
“We’ll kill them all if we have to.”
“Yes, we will.”
They moved to the front of the church and looked out one of the windows. The man who’d been giving orders earlier was in the street, still unarmed. There were four armed men around him, having picked up the weapons lying on the ground. The brothers moved to either side of the doors and motioned for the other three to get down behind the nearest row of pews.
“We can work this out. There doesn’t have to be any more bloodshed,” a voice said from outside.
“That’s Levi,” the girl, Alexis, whispered to them from behind the pew.
“What makes you think we want to work this out?” James said through the doors.
“I didn’t want to hurt Emmett’s group,” Levi said. “I tried to talk to Father Ahaz, but he wouldn’t listen. I had no choice.”
“What do you mean you had no choice? You stood by as the psychotic priest fed people to zombies,” James said.
“But what was I supposed to do? He was the one truly in control here. I was just the public face for strangers.”
“You could have acted. How much blood is on your hands because you did nothing, Levi?”
“Too much…” Levi said, subdued. James was looking at him through the corner of the window and he truly looked defeated.
“Lay down your weapons and walk away, and we’ll leave here without killing all of you.”
“How can I trust you?”
“You can’t, but how many unarmed people did we kill? It’s that or you all die.”
Levi stood there, looking at the four men around him. Then he looked to the church and straight at James.
“Give me your word and we’ll lay down our weapons and leave.”
“Levi,” one of the men said, “We can’t just—”
“Enough!” Levi said, ripping the gun out of the man’s hands. “Your word?”
James looked to his brother, who shrugged.
“You have our word. Lay down the guns and go back to your houses, and we’ll leave and never return.”
“And we want our gear back,” Emmett said, speaking up.
Levi threw the gun down in front of him and the three other men reluctantly did the same.
“Eli, go get their things.”
The man who had spoken before moved off, huffing as he went. James and Connor nodded and opened the doors, keeping their guns pointed at the three unarmed men.
Connor gave a little wave of his hand, shooing them. “Go. Be gone before I change my mind.”
The three men glared at him but walked off. Levi, however, stood there.
“I’m sorry, Emmett,” Levi said as Emmett came out carrying Ana.
“Save your apologies and be glad I don’t kill you where you stand. You tricked us, lured us into the trap.” Levi tried to speak, but Emmett interrupted him. “Save it. If you say anything else, I’ll shoot you right where you stand.”
Levi stood there but said nothing. He just shook his head and looked behind him. Eli returned, carrying their bags. He set them down at the bottom of the stairs and went to stand next to Levi.
“Levi, you stay here till we’re safely out. Eli, you can hit the road,” James said, walking down t
he steps. Eli looked to Levi, who nodded, and he took off towards one of the houses.
“I have a truck over in the fenced area,” Emmett said, pointing. “Watch the girls, and I’ll go get it.” He looked to Levi. “Where are the keys?”
Levi motioned to a fallen man and Emmett went over and grabbed the keychain off his belt. He glanced at his daughter, hesitant to leave her alone again, but he trusted the brothers, so he took off at a jog over to the parking lot.
Connor stood there, wanting to shoot the man standing before them. He was such a coward—letting a madman run the town while he lured people in to kill them. Who would do that? But he didn’t kill him. In this new world, he knew the man, Levi, wouldn’t last long. His brother was also aiming at Levi, so Connor swung his AR onto his back and walked over to the fence where six zombies were groaning and trying to get at them.
“Bro?” James asked.
“Just taking care of these,” Connor said, motioning towards the zombies with his tomahawk.
“Got it,” James said, his attention back on Levi.
Connor walked up to the first one and smacked it in the side of the head with the blade. It crumpled to the ground and he moved on to the next one. After a few seconds, six corpses lay inside the fence.
“You may want to do the same to your men, Levi,” Connor said, coming back over to stand by the unconscious auburn-haired woman.
“Why? They haven’t been bitten.”
“Doesn’t matter. Seems like some of them turn, regardless. But suit yourself. We’ll be out of here long before it’s our problem.”
A truck started up inside the fence and pulled out, heading their way.
James couldn’t help but admire the truck when Emmett pulled up. It was a black Ford and looked like it had been made just for the apocalypse. He kept his gun on Levi while Alexis grabbed their bags, throwing them in the backseat. She held the door open as Connor carried the unconscious woman over, laid her down in the backseat, and closed the door.
“We’re parked to the south. We’ll get the gate, then jump on and ride out with you,” James told Emmett.
“Okay,” Emmett said as Alexis shut the door and Connor started for the gate across town.
“Let’s go, bro!” Connor yelled.
“Well, bye,” James said to Levi.
As they ran through town, followed by Emmett in his truck, they made sure to keep an eye out for anyone who might try something, but they arrived safely at the gate and Connor opened it while James covered him. He wasn’t truly worried about the townspeople. If they were spineless enough to let a madman sacrifice people to zombies, they wouldn’t try anything now.
The truck pulled through the gate and they jumped on the running boards, holding on through the open windows as Emmett took off down the road. James looked back to see Levi walking down the main street towards the open gate.
They made it to their truck within a minute. The brothers hopped off as Emmett pulled to a stop and stepped out with his daughter.
“I don’t think I can thank you two enough for saving my daughter,” Emmett as he walked around the truck, handing them their guns back.
“No need. We’re just glad to help and get a few more bad guys killed in the process,” James said. “I’m James, by the way.”
“Emmett,” he said, shaking James’s outstretched hand. He had a firm grip.
“Connor,” his brother said, also shaking Emmett’s hand.
“And this is my daughter, Alexis.”
She shook each of their hands in turn.
“The one in the truck is Ana,” Alexis said.
“Where are you off to now?” James asked when the introductions were over.
“We were going north, but we’ll have to adjust since I’m not going through that town again and the interstate is blocked to the south.”
“Well, that throws a wrench into our plans, as well. We were heading that way. It’s probably going to be easiest to head west on I-80 to I-25, and go up through Wyoming. That should get us there. We’ll just have to do some detours to avoid the big cities.”
“Since we’re all going in the same direction, we could caravan,” Alexis suggested.
“It’s not a bad idea,” Emmett said.
James looked at his brother, who gave a subtle shake of his head.
“Sorry, but no. It’s just my brother and I now,” James said as Connor began to walk back to the truck.
“Really? Why wouldn’t you want our help?” Alexis asked.
“More people mean more food, more noise, and more weakness. We’re a two-man team, not a group,” James said.
“But—”
“Honey, let them go,” Emmett said. “Thanks again for the help.”
“No problem,” James said. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll see each other sometime in the future. Not like there are many good people out there anymore.”
“Farewell,” Emmett said, stepping back as the brothers pulled out in their truck.
“Adios,” James said, waving as they drove by. He rolled up his window as they headed south towards I-80.
“Don’t you think—” James began.
“Nope,” Connor said. “They would just slow us down, especially with two women.”
“Yeah,” James said.
His mind flashed back to Felicia and he felt a pain in his chest. He couldn’t be hurt if he didn’t let anyone in, and he was determined not to let anyone in again. They had their mission—search out survivors and help them, whether that was food, water, or a bullet to the brain.
Connor turned their Apocalypse Road Trip playlist on and Road to Nowhere by Bullet for My Valentine started to play. James couldn’t help but think about how much had changed since they’d started this trip. They’d been so naïve. Now, as they sped down the road, he swore to himself he would never be like that again. They would save everyone who needed saving and kill anyone who got in their way. It was them against the world.
“We ride together,” James said.
“We die together,” Connor responded.
“Badass brothers for life,” they said in unison.
Epilogue
The Andderson brothers were driving down I-80, the sun rising behind them, when James’s phone rang.
“What the…?” he said, picking it up and looking at the number. “Hello?”
“So you bastards are still alive,” a familiar voice said on the other end.
“Tank? Is that you?”
“Of course it is! Who the hell else would it be?”
“Holy crap, man! We didn’t think you were still alive! Where’re you at?”
“That’s a damn good question. I’m heading north on I-25 with a few friends I made. I remembered your plan and we decided it was as good as any.”
“When did you leave?”
“Just now. Took us a long time to get out of the city. It’s a bloody mess back there.”
“I bet. We’ve been sticking to more rural places. Anywhere not infected?”
“Not really. Most of North America is gone. There are a few places left, but they’re rare.”
“Damn, dude, it’s good to hear your voice. I’m glad you’re alive.”
“Yeah, me too. It got close there a few times, but ‘ol Frostmourne got me out of those situations.”
James laughed. “So what’s your weapon situation? Vehicles?”
“The weapons are pretty slim—a few firearms with little ammo. We have six vehicles with us now and about twenty people.”
“Wow, you got out with a decent-sized group then.”
“Yeah, we had a lot more to start with, but those damn undead took half of ’em.”
“Damn, but we’re glad you got out.”
“I’m just glad to be leaving that damn city in the dust. How you guys lookin’?”
“We are sitting pretty well. We’ve collected a lot of weapons with plenty to spare. We’re driving my white RAM.
Oh, and there’s a souped-up black F-450 rolling somewhere behind us. They’re friendlies. It’s just Connor and I in my truck. We lost Mom and Dad.”
“That blows. I feel for you guys. Mom’s gone too.”
“Sorry to hear about that. She was a great woman. We’ll need to stay in touch. If we lose cell service, then you can leave messages on the road signs.”
“Sounds like a plan. You guys stay alive now, okay?”
“We will. Same to you. And Tank, be careful. The people are worse than the zombies.”
“I’ll keep an eye out. We may stop somewhere safe and wait for you. How long till you catch up?”
“Maybe a day, depending on how much ground we can cover.”
“Well, I’ll be in touch. Talk to you guys soon.”
“See ya, Tank,” James said and hung up the phone. “You’re not going to believe who that was.”
“Bro, I’ve been sitting right here the whole time,” Connor said.
“Oh yeah. Well, it was Tank. He’s alive and traveling with a few friends on I-25. They’re out of FoCo and heading north. We should be able to catch up with them.”
“Hell yeah. It’ll be good to have him along.”
James focused back on the road. Tank is alive. Well, that’s something at least.
They rode in silence for a while, each absorbed in their thoughts. They’d lost their parents and it had been a heavy blow. But that was not all there was to live for. There was more. There had to be more. Every time James closed his eyes, he saw Felicia resting in his lap with a bullet hole in her forehead, their father lying dead, and their mother tortured and dying. He wouldn’t be able to easily forget them or the pain that came with losing them anytime soon. But maybe, just maybe, he could move on, if a little.
~~~
They pulled off the interstate and into the closest truck stop. Stopping at the pumps, James jumped out and stuck the nozzle in the truck.
“Damn prepay,” he muttered. He hung the nozzle back up and walked around the truck to where Connor stood. “We need to go inside.”
“We need water anyway. Let’s do this carefully.”
They walked up to the front doors and began to beat on them. After giving it a good minute or so, Connor stepped back and James opened the door. A few zombies piled out and they made quick work of them. Afterward, they went inside, flicking their flashlights on to see in the semi-darkness. They made their way over to the counter where James turned his pump on and then they went to the back room where, luckily, there were over a dozen cases of water and some sports drinks.
Outbreak (The Brother's Creed Book 1) Page 14