Everyone was quiet. Every once in a while, one of them would start to talk then stop as they realized why their plan wouldn’t work. The sun was slowly making its way across the bright blue sky. It was cold outside. The men were all used to hardship though. Other than some manly jokes related to the cold and their forced nudity the weather was pretty much ignored. These were men who didn’t give up. None of them had any doubt they’d go down swinging bloody bones at the vicious crawlerz come sunset.
Chapter 18: Regroup in the Street or in Hell
Rather than risk paralysis by analysis Jeff told them the idea that’d been percolating in his head. It wasn’t a great idea, but he didn’t feel that really mattered at this point. If they decided to go with his idea, then their life expectancy once they implemented his plan would most likely be measured in the tens of seconds. He didn’t think they had much of a choice though. His idea was to take advantage of the ramp going down to each level in the middle of the garage.
He’d opted for this one as he felt it gave everyone an equal chance of making it. The other option was to form human ladders and try to swing down a few levels like those monkeys in a barrel toys you could buy. That was the idea currently winning with everyone else. No matter how he worked it in his head though Jeff couldn’t see them getting them more than one level down. The people forming the base of the ladders would be left behind. There was no way to get them all down that way. Jeff doubted an Olympic trained team of gymnasts could figure out a way to safely get everyone off this concreate beast of a building.
“So just one big crazy scramble?” Drew asked again. He was remembering the vibes the creatures below were putting off. The thought of trying to jump past them was already freaking him out.
“At least you have a gun man. The rest of us will be doing this shit Flintstone style.” Billy said. He didn’t look happy about the plan either.
There was no reason for anyone to look happy about the plan. The ‘plan’ sucked. Even calling it a plan was a major stretch. What they were going to do was squeeze themselves through the fences on both sides of the ramp and then immediately jump down one level. They’d wash, rinse and repeat until they were close enough to the ground to get the hell out. It was going to be every man for himself. There was no way they were going to all make it. If they slowed down to help one another then they’d just be mobbed and they’d all die. That being said Jeff wasn’t planning on making it out if both Drew and LeBron didn’t make it out.
“I think the bones would just slow us down.” LeBron said. He was picturing trying to rapidly descend multiple levels while dragging along the bones.
“Dude.” Billy muttered uncontrollably. He was looking at the pile of leg bones him and the other guys had spent an hour or two pulling out of disgustingly rotten corpses. Every single one of them had puked at least once during the grisly chore. He shrugged it off. Just another day in the squad.
They lined up on both sides of the ramp. They’d already screwed up earlier by sending Drew and crew on the walk down the ramp. The crawlerz knew they were up here. They’d be as close now as they could possibly get to the ramp. The vicious demons were chomping at the bit to rush the ramp the second the sun set. They’d argued whether they should all go at once or if they should send someone at one end or the other first to serve as a distraction. They finally decided they had no idea what the insane cannibals below them were going to do when they made their downward sprint.
Lining up on the top of the ramp everyone limbered up to make the first leap. For about the millionth time Drew, LeBron and Jeff wished Yue was with them. She’d have been able to reach out with her connection to the crawler groupthink and figure out a way to distract them. She’d only have to hold their attention long enough for them to leapfrog down to the bottom level. LeBron had given himself a headache trying to force himself to be psychic. He’d been focusing so hard that his face had gotten all wrinkled up. He’d stopped when Drew had asked him if he had to poop. The two of them had started giggling like idiots while the rest of the squad glanced over at them wondering if the two youngest people there had finally lost it.
Jeff had made sure to line up next to LeBron. Drew was on the other side of LeBron. Drew had the pistol but if he had to use it then it was probably already too late. Once everyone was in position Jeff put one hand on the top cable of the fence. He raised his other hand with his five fingers stuck up. Taking a deep breath he suddenly realized how blue the sky was. The crisp wind that’d been punishing him for the last few hours now seemed like it was trying to comfort him. He said a quick prayer that they all make it back to Weathertop. Everything was moving in slow motion. The world around him revealed in stunning high definition to his eyes for the first time that morning as all his senses maxed out.
Drew watched Jeff’s lips moving and intuitively knew the man was praying. That seemed about right since they were going to need a miracle to make it to the bottom floor. This was a clear number one in the list of stupid ass things they’d done since all this craziness started. If they did make it out of there alive Drew was going to track down the grey haired biker and beat the hell out of him. That vision of sweet revenge got him pumped up. He watched as Jeff dropped his first finger telling them all they had four seconds until it was time to start hopping for their lives.
LeBron felt like his heart was going to pound out of his chest. He was worried he was going to trip trying to get over the metal guard wires. They were going to have to jump this first fence down to the ramp below then immediately turn and commence jumping the next fence to the next level. That meant they’d be jumping right into whatever crawlerz were hanging out below. Those beasts may only be fifteen feet away from them right now but a big chunk of that was filled with concrete. LeBron much preferred a minimum of three feet of concrete between him and the monsters. He tried to flip his mind off and stop thinking of the monsters waiting below. They were about to hop right down into the middle of the murderous horde. They were doing it on purpose. They were doing it with no weapons to speak of. They might be crazier than the crawlerz.
Jeff closed his hand into a fist. It was time to go. Gripping the top wire he vaulted over the tight fence and let himself fall to the ramp below. He hit the concrete hard. Even though he’d been anticipating the ramped surface he’d land on he still almost lost his footing. Ignoring the pain caused by the harsh jolt to his legs he immediately rushed forward. Wondering if it counted as suicide, he vaulted into the shadows on the other side of the fence on the side of the ramp he’d just come down on.
He landed on a crawler. The beast had been rushing forward to get at Drew. Drew being the most athletic in the bunch he’d been the first one to make it down a complete level on their side of the ramp. He’d been rushing as he planned to buy LeBron some time by shooting anything he saw trying to grab his brother. Jeff rode the crawler down to the ground. More out of instinct than thought he grabbed it by the hair and smashed its face into the hard concrete when they hit the deck. Standing up he curb stomped the crawler a couple of times before spinning and running to hop down to the next level. He was grateful for the shoes that he’d stolen off the corpse on the roof.
Gunfire echoed in the garage behind him as he wormed his way over the next fence to drop down to the next ramp. He was getting flashes of men falling on the ramps. The crawlerz were converging on one of the squad who’d gotten caught in midair by a huge crawler. The massive monster was holding the hapless soldier in a bear hug. His beard dripping with blood and flesh as he ripped into the screaming man’s chest and face. Other infected were feasting on the other exposed flesh. The man’s death screams could easily be heard over the gunfire.
A member of the squad next to the screamer took two steps towards the man to try and save him. It was instinct to try and save a brother. That impulsive movement cost him his life. He knew he’d screwed up even before the first crawler came out of the darkness to slam into him. He was up on the balls of his feet trying to turn then he w
as on the ground being eaten alive in a pair of ill-fitting oxfords. His screams harmonizing with those of the man he’d tried to save.
Three others met similar fates on that first hop. The men who’d randomly lined up on one side of the ramp were all lost within a minute of Jeff balling up his fist and making the first leap. The side Drew was on had received the luck of the draw. A big part of that luck being Drew having a pistol he could draw. Jeff smashing the one crawler by freak accident when he jumped down helped immensely as well. Everyone who made it to that level turned and wormed their way through the fence to get to the ramp leading down to the next level.
Drew was the last to leave the first level they reached but the first to get to the ramp leading to the next level. The fastest and most agile of the people on the team it was turning out letting him hold on to the pistol had been the right call. Drew had shot the two crawlerz on the ramp as they slowed to reverse direction to come back at him. In the darkness the two monsters were just shadows. In Drew’s hyper alert battle state of mind they might as well have been wearing neon signs and cow bells.
With only a few rounds left Drew followed LeBron through the next set of wires down another level. Jeff and Billy were right on their tails. Everyone else was dead or beginning their journey to a lifelong love of munching human flesh in the dark. The next floor was empty. Not pausing to question their good fortune they hurriedly threw themselves down to the ramp to the next level. They repeated the process with Drew only firing one more round. He’d looked up and seen a crawler was worming itself straight down between the concrete pillars to come at them. A shot to the face at a distance of a few feet had taken care of that threat.
The infected had all gone to the top level closest to the roof when they shared the images of Drew and crew initially walking down the ramp. Most of the crawlerz had immediately rushed to attack the first group where the one man had been caught. That group had been composed entirely of the men on the side opposite of Jeff. Their speed had actually done them in. It’d also allowed for the guys on the other side to have a better shot at making it. Limping badly Drew, Jeff, LeBron and Billy exited the garage into the bright afternoon daylight.
“How the hell are we alive?” LeBron asked in between gasping for air and trying to keep his weight off an ankle he felt swelling up on him.
No one had a good answer to that. They did a quick check of the ground on the opposite side of the parking garage to verify no one had been able to jump for it. They’d been holding out hope that maybe one or two of their team would’ve been able to make it out that way. LeBron noticed the large black and blue mark on Drew’s sweat and dirt covered back. He’d accidently shot Drew in the back not too long ago during another impossible situation. Now here they were once again pulling off another luck filled escape.
“It wasn’t our time to die yet. We need to roll out and find some kind of transport. The mission now is to get back to Weathertop as fast as we can to warn them.” Jeff said.
“Are we closer to Weathertop or Cape May?” LeBron asked. If they could make it to Cape May, they could just call Weathertop on the radio. They needed to let them know as soon as possible that some bad people were on the way to do bad things.
“Lancaster, I think. It’s kind of in the middle of both of them. Let’s get a car started and head for Weathertop. I’ll feel a lot better driving towards the base instead of away from it.” Jeff answered.
As late as it was, they probably weren’t going to make it anywhere today. Even if they did find a working vehicle in the next thirty minutes, they’d still be looking for a safe place to hide for the night. They began hiking quickly along the road looking for some sort of vehicle they could use. After making it about a block Jeff called a halt. LeBron and Billy were both barely keeping up. Both of them had ankles that were swelling so fast you could almost watch them get bigger. That’s what happens when you go hopping over wire fences to fall ten feet on to debris covered concrete ramps. Once you’ve done that a few times in the darkness with the spawn of hell chasing you an ankle injury is pretty much expected.
“You two keep walking this way. Drew and I are going to run ahead. We’ll come back for you once we have a car. If your ankle hurts too much just sit down and rest. Keep your eyes open though.” Jeff finished talking and broke into a jog. Drew quickly ran past him and disappeared up the street.
“I’m good with walking if you are. I’m not big on sitting here like an idiot until something comes along and kills us.” Billy said conversationally. He looked like he’d be hopping more than walking based on the way he was leaning to one side. They’d come down the parking garage ramps like human frogs and now their bodies were paying the price for it.
“I was hoping to die comfortable. If you insist though let’s hobble along uselessly for a little while.” LeBron said. He stood up and immediately wished he hadn’t. Despite his bravado he found himself sitting right back down again. Grinning at him Billy hopped over on one foot and looked through the dirty window of the building they were leaning against. He’d been hoping for clothes or something useful. What it looked like they’d found was a coffee shop.
Billy was sliding down to the ground beside LeBron when they heard a loud rumbling noise coming towards them. They ducked inside the little alcove of the long abandoned coffee shop. They didn’t move quite as fast as they normally would thanks to their recent injuries. Two men on tricked out motorcycles stopped in front of them on the street. The men were dressed in apocalyptic psycho finery. It looked like they’d robbed the jewelry section of a thrift store the day after Halloween. The one with slightly more skull shaped rings shook his head at the two they’d just found in the alcove.
“You two happen to get dropped off on top of the parking garage earlier?” The man asked. He’d casually pulled a sawed off shotgun out of a holster strapped to the side of his bike. The other man hadn’t made a move towards his weapons yet. Evidently two mostly naked, obviously wounded people hiding in an alcove didn’t scare these two.
Not knowing what else to say LeBron just stared at the man. More aptly he stared at the cavernous barrels of the shotgun pointed at him. Billy stood to his full height.
“What if we were? We win a prize or something?” Billy asked with a sneer. He was pretty sure they were both about to be shot to death. He’d stood up just so he wouldn’t go out like a wus. There was always the chance he’d get an opportunity to make a move. No way he was making a move from the ground with his ankle the way it was. The man pointing the shotgun at them turned his head slightly telling his buddy to radio it in. Once he’d taken care of that task, he turned his full attention back to the two in the coffee store cubby.
“Ok skull face. Why don’t you sit back down before I mess up that tat with a big old blast of birdshot.” The biker ordered Billy. Sensing a reprieve from immediate death Billy painfully slid back down to the ground next to LeBron.
“Your boss said if we made it off the garage that we were free to go.” LeBron said. He’d gotten over his fascination with the size of the barrels pointed at them. The pain and the cold were starting to get to him. They’d been through enough today. They didn’t need to deal with these two morons on top of everything else.
“Tommy says lots of things. Unless he says it to one of us it doesn’t mean a damned thing. You’re just government scum. Anybody else make it off there? I still can’t believe you two did.” The biker was looking around to see if he saw anyone else.
“Yeah. A bunch of other guys made it off. They’re at Walmart picking up some new guns. They’ll be back as soon as they’re done at your mom’s house.” Billy said. It seemed like he was doing it just because he was a belligerent bastard who didn’t know when to shut up. In reality he was hoping to keep the two leather clad wanna be warriors preoccupied until Drew came back and shot them. That was the dream anyway.
“They’ll be there forever. The lines probably wrapped around the block.” LeBron added onto the joke. He didn’t know
if Billy was on the right track with this line of insults. He got that they were trying to distract these guys though. He was really hoping Jeff and Drew didn’t just come running back down the road yelling for LeBron and Billy to come join them. If they drove up in some loud ass car that’d be equally bad. The couple of bullets Drew still had left wouldn’t do much good in a fair fight against the two well-armed bikers. Not that Drew would stoop to engaging in a fair fight if he could help it.
“Alright smartasses. Can you walk?” The biker with the gun asked. LeBron stuck his leg out to show off his massively swollen ankle. Not to be outdone Billy held his out as well. Only he made a big show of running his hands up and down his legs and winking at the biker before finally flipping the guy off. LeBron was starting to wonder if maybe Billy had gotten his hands on some pills. He was turning the crazy nob way past awkward. The biker with the gun said something to his buddy who nodded and took off down the street.
“Where’s he going?” Billy asked their guard.
“To get a truck so we can haul you two around. You’re going to be celebrities. Nobody ever made it out of that garage before. If you weren’t idiots, we’d have never even seen you. How do you dodge a hundred crawlerz then get caught on the street in broad daylight? I’m cruising on a bike that’s loud as hell too. I guess you used up all your luck getting out of there.” The man said shaking his head slowly in wonder at their stupidity.
Crawlerz: Book 5: Off the Rails Page 16