“No! I told you to leave me. It’s too late. You must go,” he says.
Before I can argue, he points to the mill. I turn toward it and see a dozen Mindless clambering onto the silos. The gang shoots at them, but it doesn’t make a difference. The Mindless overpower the shooters in seconds, draining them of bioelectricity. Their bodies become limp and fall multiple stories to the ground below. It’s a horrific scene. A few minutes later, the victims stand up as converted Mindless and join their ranks. They race toward the tram and—the generator!
“Soshi, we have to get on the tram!” I yell.
But it’s too late. I turn to find Soshi dangling in the air—a hulking Mindless holding him there by his neck. I point and fire at the infected man’s exposed chest. The bullets bounce off his metal skin. He tosses Soshi aside and glares at me with an intensity that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. This Mindless is different. His hands and ribcage are fully robotic, not just the metal patches of skin or glowing translucent veins like the others. His fingers whir and click as they clench into fists. “You are obsolete,” he says, in perfect English. Is this something new? Something different than Navitas?
He takes a step towards me. I aim at his forehead and pull the trigger. A grinding noise escapes his lips when the shot connects and he falls to the ground. I run to Soshi’s side then try to lift him up. But he pushes me back with surprising force. When he turns to face me, I know why. His eyes have a faint glow and the veins in his neck are bulging. He’s infected. I failed him.
“I’m sorry, Soshi,” I say, more to myself than anyone. He growls in response, now affected by the virus coursing into his system. The merciful thing to do is end his pain quickly. I pull back the hammer of my Dad’s gun and aim. But I can’t do it. I hardly know this man, but it feels like leaving my father to die all over again.
“Dex! Get on the tram, these freaks are all over the place!” Bill screams.
Without another thought, I run and leave Soshi behind. A group of gang members now turned into Mindless trail me across the tracks. I pick up the pace and watch as one of them gets picked off by Bill. The tram moves forward when I’m on the platform. Lela is standing on the open car holding a shotgun and waving me over. “Hurry up and get on!” She yells. I hurl myself onto the moving rail car. The Mindless following me scramble onto the platform, but Lela blasts them before they can board.
“What happened to Soshi?” She asks, shutting the tram’s double doors.
“He...didn’t make it,” I say.
“Was he infected?” She asks.
“Yes.”
“Did you kill him?” Her interrogation continues.
“No, I couldn’t do it,” I say. The guilt bubbles up inside of me.
“You might live to regret that decision.”
Seventeen
The light rail tram picks up speed, jerking me backward. I glance out the window nearest me and see chaos ensuing at the mill. More than a dozen Mindless are attacking the Lake Street Gang, who are holding out against them. Avery is barking orders to his men from the mill’s roof where he’s shooting the attackers with a sniper rifle. Avery’s men rally around the perimeter of the mill and it looks like they’ll be able to repel the attack as the Mindless’ numbers grow thin.
“Where’s Camilla and the rest of them?” I ask, watching two more Mindless gunned down.
“I don’t know,” Lela says. She spins on her heel and heads toward the front of the tram—to the driver car.
I follow her through the automatic double doors, walking through three cars before reaching the front. The steel door of the driver car slides open. Inside, Bill is seated in front of a wide control panel with a myriad of blinking lights, gauges, and LED displays. A wraparound window in the car gives a panoramic view of the world around us. The gang has fended off the remaining Mindless near the mill, including some of their former members. From this distance, I can tell Avery is pleased with himself. They’ll probably shoot at us again soon. Bill ignores me and Lela at first, too busy fiddling with a digital call button he talks into. “Camilla, this is Bill—are you there?” He says. Static is the only response from Camilla’s side. He pulls back a lever on the control panel and the tram slows to a stop.
“I can’t believe this! This whole plan has been a disaster.” Bill stands up and paces the cabin. “I’m not sure what’s happened to Camilla.”
“The flare went up—she’s out there,” I say.
“I saw it too, but maybe—she might not have made it,” He says. “Like Soshi.”
So he knows. He probably saw the whole thing happen from inside here.
“What now, Grandpa?” Lela asks. Her voice has a hint of fear in it, like a lost little girl looking to her Daddy to protect her.
“I don’t know. The tram is the safest spot out here. This old train has plenty of pep. We can ride out in an instant if need be. That is…if you’re willing to come with me,” he says, looking down at Lela.
She grimaces, but a slight smile appears when she looks up at him. “I’ll come, gramps. But don’t expect me to be nice to Charlie.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he replies with a grin.
Charlie must be Lela’s brother. The one she blames for their parent’s deaths. I wonder if his story is anything like mine. Did he leave them behind like I left my father? Navitas has forced everyone to make difficult choices. The Grays’ neighbors, the Langlers, stayed locked up in their house with their five-month old daughter, Chelsey, after IlluMonday happened. They never answered the door when Mr. Gray came by with food and supplies. It was a huge risk for him to do that, but he continued trying for months. One morning he smelled something foul from the front doorstep. He kicked down the door and followed the stench to the basement. It was a horrific sight from what he told me. The entire family was lying together on the ground dead. An open bottle of rat poison laid beside Aiden Langler’s hand. He killed himself and poisoned his family. It’s a mystery whether Mina, his wife, agreed to it or not. But Mr. Gray seemed positive they had been dead for a long time. It was a morbid reminder of how this calamity has affected so many ordinary people. And it’s not always because of a Mindless attack.
There’s a sudden crackle coming from the speaker on the control panel. “Bill...you copy?” Camilla’s husky voice is unmistakable. Bill leaps to the panel and jams down the call button.
“Camilla? I’m here. What’s the story? The gang still has the mill—where is everyone?” he asks, looking more irritated with each question.
“We’re still in the hotel,” Camilla replies. There’s a short pause. “Bill...there’s about a hundred or more Mindless coming this way.”
“What? No, there were a dozen attacking the mill, but Avery and the gang already took care of them—”
“Listen to me, Bill. That was an advance party or something. Ryder Forster was just on the roof and confirmed it. There is a second wave coming. They’re running fast out of the forests and converging on Main Street, headed this way. There’s only forty of us, including you and the kids. Even if we take the mill, the Mindless will overrun us,” she says.
A hundred Mindless. Taking on half a dozen a few days ago at the Gray’s farm was hard enough. But a hundred? That’s insanity.
“Camilla, we have to stick to the plan,” Bill argues. “The Mindless are a distraction—”
“A hundred undead killers on the loose is more than a distraction, Bill!” She screams.
“Calm…down,” he says, keeping his voice even. “They thrive on electricity. The light rail and the gang are the bait. I’ll power down the tram for now and run on the reserves to lie low. Once they close in, Avery gets to deal with them. He’ll be outnumbered, and when he loses a few gunmen—we’ll fire up the tram and the electronics. The Mindless will follow us like moths to the flame. That’ll give you the opening you need to take the mill. Just like we talked about.”
I hear Camilla’s heavy sigh come through the speaker. “This is sucidie, Bill.
..but we can’t turn back now.”
“Nope,” Bill says firmly.
“Stay alive, and happy trails to St. Paul. Camilla out.” Static fills the channel for a second before it’s quiet again. Bill slides a toggle on the panel, causing the lights to dim inside the tram and the engine to shut off.
I try to wrap my mind around what we’re up against and this crazy plan Bill has concocted. A whole army of Mindless are headed this way. Our plan is to sit still and let the Lake Street Gang duke it out with them. The mill is all that stands between us and them. Even with the tram running, the active generator is still a lure for the Mindless. They’ll find us easily unless we speed out of here. But we can’t leave too soon or else we make the situation worse for Camilla and the surviving citizens of Forest Lake. Ugh! How did I get caught in the middle of this? This won’t work, we’re digging our graves here. I want to scream out how much of a failure this idea is going to be, but instead I cross my arms and let my frustration stew.
“You got something on your mind, Dex?” Bill asks, raising both eyebrows.
He asked for it. “Yes, I do. This isn’t going to work, Bill. We have no chance of success here. The Mindless are fast, they will surround this place before we can leave this platform. And if we somehow make it out—they’ll be following us for miles!”
Bill smacks his lips then walks over to me. He places both hands on my shoulders and looks at me. “Sometimes when life looks bleak and impossible, we just need hope to pull us through.”
“Hope in what?” I ask
“Hope in something bigger than ourselves. We can’t control what life will throw at us, but we can control how we react to it. Rather than wallow in fear, I choose to believe that a higher power is in control and things always tend to work out for the good guys in the end.”
He sounds so much like my father, I’m taken aback for a moment. But then I remember he’s dead. Faith didn’t save him or my mother. “And if things don’t work out?” I ask, frowning. “What then?”
“Say a prayer, Dex,” he says, patting me on the shoulders. “Say a prayer.” He walks past me to the passenger car entrance.
“Where are you going?” Lela asks.
“To get all those mobile pads and electronics ready. The Mindless will be here soon. Use the tram’s comm system if you need me,” he says, pointing to the speaker next to the automatic doors. “Shoot anyone who gets close to the light rail.” We both nod, then he walks out through the doors and they slide shut with a metal clang.
Lela reloads her shotgun and keeps a close watch on the mill while I think about what Bill said. The Lake Street Gang is picking through the Mindless bodies around the mill like crows feeding on carrion. Avery probably wants his men to look for valuables. I’m thankful for the distraction though since it’s keeping them busy and distracted from shooting at us. With any luck, they might think we were killed by the Mindless on the platform.
One thing Bill said is bothering me. Say a prayer, Dex. I did! That day on the highway when my family and I were in trouble. I prayed that God would help us. It was a rushed and frantic prayer. But I still asked him for help, just like my father and mother taught me to do when I was little. We prayed the Lord’s prayer every night before bed. Our Father who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come...thy will be done. I memorized all the words. It didn’t matter. My parents still died and now I’m going to die on this tram if we can’t outrun the Mindless. Who will save Cassidy then?
My head is pounding—I’m worrying about this too much. I walk over to the driver’s seat and sit down, staring at the tracks that eventually disappear in the distance. I glance over at Lela. She’s holding the shotgun across her chest, staring at the mill and the meandering gang members. They have no idea what’s coming. I bet Lela wishes she could get off this tram and head back to the hall. She’s been quieter than her usual snarky self ever since we’ve gotten here.
“You don’t have to stay here,” I say.
She doesn’t turn around to face me or even move. “I know. But Grandpa needs me. I thought I could abandon this stupid idea of going to St. Paul to see Charlie, but...I can’t just leave him to do this on his own.”
“Yeah, I understand.”
“Do you?” she asks, turning to me. “You didn’t seem to have a hard time leaving your amputated friend and his family.”
My face gets hot at that unexpected barb. I stand up, glaring down at her. “I did what I needed to do to help my friend. It wasn’t an easy choice, so don’t make me out to be some heartless jerk. At least I’m not holding grudges when there’s more important things to worry about.”
Lela steps closer to me, about an inch from my face. Her eyebrows are scrunched tight and her lower lip is quivering. “You know nothing about what I’ve been through. If your brother did what mine did, you’d be eating your words right now. So don’t tell me about grudges.”
I open my mouth to argue, but then realize how close she is to me. Her face is still contorted in rage, and yet her light blue eyes betray a vulnerability that’s almost...attractive. She softens a little as I look at her and I’m convinced she’ll back away, but she doesn’t. Neither do I. We gaze at each other for a minute, at a loss for words. My heart is racing. She leans in closer...for a hug? A kiss? I don’t know! What’s happening here?
Multiple gunshots are fired outside. Lela spins around to gaze out the window. It’s the Mindless. There are dozens of them swarming around the mill now. Avery is barking out orders to his men and everyone is shooting.
“It’s starting!” Lela yells.
I grip my gun and recite the only prayer I can put any faith in right now. Our Father who art in heaven...
Eighteen
It doesn’t take long before the Lake Street Gang is overwhelmed by the Mindless. On top of one of the silos, I watch Red unload a magazine of bullets into the crowd of Mindless scaling the silos. They look like a cluster of ants ascending the structure. Dozens fall to their deaths from the barrage Red unleashes, but it makes little difference. They reach the top and surround him and his crew—draining whatever life and reason their brains possessed.
A few seconds later, all the gang members on the silos have fallen and now the swarm splits into two groups. The first focuses on the remaining gang members holding their ground on the roof of the mill while the rest—they head toward the light rail. “Here they come!” Bill’s voice crackles on the comm speaker. I check the ammo clip on my pistol. Ten rounds left. With the two magazines I found in the basement of my house that’s about fifty bullets left. Not enough to defeat an army of Mindless.
On the roof of the mill, Avery and his men fire combustible rounds from military-grade grenade launchers. The explosions rock the tram, almost knocking Lela and I off our feet. Fire blazes all around the silos, but the Mindless aren’t deterred. They continue their advance even as some are covered in flames.
“Turn the tram on!” Bill screams on the comm.
I flip the ignition switch and the tram roars to life. The lights flicker on just as the door behind us hisses open. Lela and I both point our guns at the intruder. But it’s just Bill. “The devices are all powered up,” he says, out of breath. He plops down in the driver’s seat and fiddles with the controls. The tram jerks forward from the sudden acceleration. For a second I believe we’re free and clear. Then a Mindless man punches through the glass where Lela is standing.
“Lela!” I yell. I yank her away from the man’s grasp. We both fall backward. She fires her shotgun on the way down, which knocks the Mindless off the speeding tram. I stand up with my gun drawn, ready for the next attack.
“Are you hurt?” Bill asks, helping his granddaughter up.
“I’m fine!” She says, visibly shaken, but trying to mask it behind her attitude. “Can’t we go any faster?”
“It’s a light rail, Lela, not a Porsche,” Bill replies.
A loud metallic crash rings out and the tram rocks violently to one side. Something
rammed us. Another crash jostles us for a moment. “What is that?” I ask. Bill and Lela both shrug. I peer out the broken window, gazing at the back of the tram. The wind whips my hair in all directions. The burning silos of the mill are becoming smaller as we accelerate and only a black plume of smoke marks their location in the distance. I hope Camilla and the others survived. My worries for the others don’t last long though.
Self-preservation immediately takes hold when I find the cause of the crash. Hundreds of Mindless and sparkhounds are chasing the tram like greyhounds trailing a hover rabbit. A few hurl themselves onto the last cars with superhuman agility before crashing through the metal exterior. The tram shakes again from the impact. I turn to Bill and Lela, whose expressions register the worry that’s visible on my face.
“They’re on the tram. They’re chasing us,” I say.
“How many?” Bill asks.
Thy Kingdom Come (Navitas Post-Apocalyptic Series) Page 12