JT charged forward and drove Killian to the ground like he was sacking an opposing quarterback. The sledgehammer clattered to the ground.
"Here we go! A strong young bull!" Killian seemed to enjoy himself as he manipulated JT into a front face lock and cinched in the hold under his chin.
Gus recovered, his jaw howling in pain, and spotted Killian's weapon.
"Gus don't you dare touch my fucking hammer!" Killian yelled at Gus when he reached for the sledge. "You touch that and I will snap this stud's neck right here in front of his sexy little piece of ass."
Gus froze in place, unsure of what to do.
"You do that and you'll be dead before his body hits the ground." Hannah took a shooting stance.
Killian gave a hearty laugh like he approved. "Now I see that you're strong indeed. You'd fit right in here, sweet cheeks. What would you give me in exchange for this weaklings life?" He wriggled his eyebrows. He acted like the gun pointed at him didn't exist.
JT took advantage of the distraction. He gripped his metal pipe, brought it with all his might and smacked Killian right in the face with it. Killian released JT with a grunt.
JT jumped to his feet and shoved the end of the pipe into Killian's throat, pinning him to the ground. Blood turned his face to a crimson mask, pouring from the spot where JT busted it open. Gus joined Hannah, gun raised to Killian's head.
"Do it Gus! Shoot this fucker in the head!" JT egged Gus on. Gus clicked off the safety.
"Kill me Gus and you never see the little girl again." Killian smirked as he watched Gus and JT deflate.
FLOOD
Killian cleaned himself up a little since he had the upper hand.
"Now normally, you would pay for that JT." He finished wiping his face with a towel now stained red with blood.
He threw it at JT's face. He smiled when JT flinched. The other two still had guns trained on him. It didn't matter. If they were strong like him, they would have dropped him already.
He turned to study himself in a mirror. He picked up a new towel and dabbed at his face. Once satisfied with tending to his wound, he faced them again.
"You have a climb ahead of you. Holster your weapons, unless you plan on using them." He pulled open the double doors of a large grey metal cabinet that stood about eight feet in height.
"Normally I would be a gentleman and say ladies first but seeing as none of you has a clue where the fuck it is we're going, we'll play follow the leader." Killian watched them, expecting them to laugh at his wisecracks.
He shrugged, grabbed his sledgehammer, and disappeared into the cabinet.
***
JT peered down a steep staircase that was more like a ladder than steps. Killian made his way, hammer slung over his shoulder like it was no big deal. Lanterns hung from the walls in sporadic places to help light the way. JT took the stairs first, followed by Hannah, and then Gus. When they reached the bottom, they found themselves in a room full of filing cabinets. They exited the room and followed a hallway to an area marked "Recreation."
Killian pulled the door open and waved them along.
"Gus as promised there is your little cheesepuff," Killian grinned.
Inside the doors was a basketball court, backboards and hoops at each end, bleachers to the left. Madison sat, knees crunched up to her chest, at half court. She jumped to her feet when she saw them and ran their way. When she did, bells tied around her waist jingled to life.
JT's stomach sank as a bad realization dawned. Gus payed no attention. He rushed to meet Madison. Hannah must have come to the same idea. She turned back to the door way only for Killian to shove her aside. Hannah stumbled and JT rushed to catch her. Killian slammed shut the doors of the gym. JT steadied Hannah and raced to the entrance, only to crash into the doors.
He was too late.
Killian had locked them in.
JT punched the door several times. Through the door he swore Killian cackled like a madman on the other side.
He continued to wail on the door, only stopping when Madison's cries washed over him. He whirled around to witness the gym fill with zombies from an open doorway at the other end.
In a millisecond he glanced to Gus and Hannah. Gus froze with Madison cradled in his arms. Hannah already had her gun out and took up a stance.
"Gus, I need your gun!" JT shouted over the sound of the shots Hannah popped off.
Gus shoved his handgun into the back of JT's pants as he put himself between the growing horde and his people. Hannah joined JT at his side and fired one shot after another. They exchanged worried looks that said they both knew they didn't have enough bullets to take down the horde spilling out into the gym. What else could they do but keep firing?
Zombie dropped, each shot from Hannah hitting their mark. He growled when his weren't as accurate. Then the guns clicked empty.
JT's bile raced up his throat as the grim reality of the situation sank in. He looked to Hannah, he had never in their time together seen her look so scared. His eyes glanced all around the room, looking for something, anything. He stopped on a fire extinguisher hanging on the wall behind them. He shouted to Gus and Hannah that he had a plan, then ran over and grabbed it off of its bracket.
"This isn't the best plan, but it may be our only chance. Gus, you spray and Hannah and I will swing at anything that gets too close." JT didn't even sound too sure of himself laying out his makeshift plan.
They stared across the gym at what had to be still fifty sets of undead eyes closing in on them. They tripped and shuffled over there dead comrades, which slowed them down. JT lifted his pipe while Hannah readied her knife.
"Kids if this goes south I need you to know I love you both like you're my own kids and I'm damn sorry I got you into this mess by coming and looking for my old foolish ass." Gus choked on his emotional words.
"Gus did you just admit you're old?" JT did his best to lighten the mood.
Hannah fought back the tears in her eyes. He wanted to wipe them away. There was no time for that.
A Runner emerged from the pack, barreling straight for them. Madison let out a scream queen quality shriek. Gus stepped forward and squeezed the handle of the fire extinguisher. It gave them a chance to fight back as the undead got distracted and lost by the white clouds emitting from it.
JT smacked the runner in the back of the head with a wet thud, causing it to skid face first across the wood floor. Hannah impaled it in the back of its skull before it recovered. JT kept swinging as more zombies closed in. He was doing his best to stagger them, giving Hannah easier targets to use her knife on. The extinguisher ran out of its CO2. Gus chucked it at the nearest zombie and drew out his knife.
"Time for Plan B." Gus put Madison down. She clung close behind him. "Stick and move kids, we can't let them pin us down. If we're dying in here tonight, we're dying on our feet!"
The three of them formed a makeshift triangle around the little girl. Gus told her to hold on to the waist of his pants as they moved. Madison cried until she had the hiccups, but she did just as he asked her to do. They started drifting, bobbing and weaving, trying to serpentine their way through the undead pack. Their numbers seemed to be never ending. Fatigue set in as they jabbed, stabbed, and swung at any zombie who got within striking distance.
***
Hannah thanked God for how lucky they were that only one Runner came out of the pack. Then she felt something around her foot. She thought it was Madison. That maybe she had fallen until she peeked down and saw a zombie only a couple inches from sinking its rotten and chipped teeth into her flesh. She drove her knife down into the top of its head and struggled to get it free. As she was trying to pull it out, two more zombies closed in on them. JT saw and tried to help Hannah as more zombies piled on. Soon all four of them found themselves at the mercy of their own aching muscles as they fought to keep the jagged, snapping jaws at bay. One of them grabbed hold of Hannah's hair and pulled her to the ground. She witnessed JT give everything he had to get it off
her.
"Get down!" Someone yelled over the noise of the undead attack. Gunshots echoed through the gymnasium once more.
Gus cradled Madison in tight while JT bashed the hand of the zombie that had hold of Hannah. He eased her down by Gus and he covered them all with his body. He glimpsed over his shoulder. Lindsay, Josh, Linda and the fancy suit man marched across the gym, emptying their clips into the horde, thinning it out. One by one they ran out of ammo.
"Come on, we gots to go!" Emilio urged them.
"Wait, Dodge, is that you?" Hannah asked as they got closer in the dim light.
Emilio nodded yes. "That's not my name, but there is no time for questions if we want to get out of here alive."
As Emilio finished speaking, a door marked "Girls Locker Room" swung open with a violent thud. More zombies came spilling out.
The door was at most a few feet from where they all stood, so when Runners blew out the doorway, they had no time to react. One rushed at Gus and Madison, knocking Madison to the ground. Gus kicked at it while picking her up. More undead hands thrashed at him from behind, nearly pulling him to the ground. Emilio stepped in and started shoving zombies around, using a knife on the Runner while the other zombies snapped at him.
Once they had created enough of a gap, Hannah saw their opportunity and ordered them all to follow her. No one wasted time in following her out the open doorway where the first horde had poured in. That seemed like hours ago.
The doorway led to a barren hallway. Emilio rushed passed her to take the lead.
"Only a little further!" Emilio shouted as he pushed open a set of doors. He cried out at the silent zombie who he collided with on the other side of doors. It latched its mouth onto Emilio's shoulder, ripping through his suit and detaching his flesh from his body. Hannah downed the zombie attacker, but it was too late. He looked back at the group in disbelief, but words escaped him. He tumbled against the wall.
"Keep going, before it's too late." Emilio said through deep gasps.
He pushed up and struggled to get to a standing position.
Hannah didn't have words. She didn't get the chance to find them. In an instant she thudded to the ground. The zombies pal, a Runner, knocked her over. It smashed into the other side of the hallway, righted itself, and locked on to Hannah. Right before it reached her, Josh toppled it with an awkward kick. The two flopped to the floor in a tangle of limbs. In one swift movement Hannah stretched out and with a short jab sank her knife to the hilt right in the back of the zombie's head. She and Josh scrambled to their feet, using each other for support.
"Come on. We have no time," Emilio hissed. He limp ran down the hallway.
She didn't speak up. None of them did. She knew, they all knew, the man only had moments left.
He led them to an area full of vehicles and over to the truck he had taken from Hannah and JT.
"The keys are in it and there are keys in the white SUV behind it. Take them and get out of here." Emilio made his comments through pain-filled breaths.
"Why help us now? After everything you put us through?" Gus asked.
"I'm trying to make things right. I should've handled the situation with Hannah and JT better, but I saw her and I jumped into panic mode," he replied, pointing at Lindsay. "You need to leave now, this place is over run and I see no sign of Killian's vehicle. Take your chance and get away now. But I have one favor to ask of you?"
"And what would that be?" Gus asked.
"Leave me a gun from your truck. leave me just one bullet to go with it. Please." Emilio coughed. His pupils started the process, turning white and his skin from brownish to grey.
Hannah granted his request with all her speed. She grabbed a revolver out of the truck and spun the barrel, leaving only round in the chamber. No one said much of anything as she handed it to him. He gave her a pained smile. "Only the fittest. Guess that wasn't me.
She sent up a silent prayer and made the sign of the cross over the man. She jumped in the truck with JT. Gus, Linda and Madison sat crunched in the backseat. Lindsay and Josh hopped in the SUV.
JT put the truck in gear and took off. Hannah couldn't help but watch in the rearview mirror as Emilio put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger.
In seconds they cleared the hangar. It was still chaotic outside, with zombies flailing around. Some of Killian's people remained, trying to fend them off.
He maneuvered the truck around all the obstacles in his path until they reached the road, then pegged down the accelerator.
JOSH
After only a minute down the road, Lindsay grew concerned about Josh. He labored to take a breath, and he was sweating to the point his shirt was transparent. She honked her horn to get JT's attention before she slowed down and pulled over.
"Are you feeling okay there buddy?"
Josh didn't reply. He just sat there staring out the window. In the reflection, he seemed on the verge of fighting back tears. His pasty skin seemed even whiter. The group from the truck made their way back to the SUV, except for Gus and Madison.
Lindsay rolled down her window. "Hey guys. I'm worried about Josh. I don't know if it's nerves or..."
Linda approached the passenger side and opened the door.
"Josh," Linda said. She attempted to make eye contact with Josh. He didn't cooperate. "You need to look at me, Josh. I think you're in shock. Help me make sure."
No response.
Lindsay joined Linda and the rest, who ringed the right side of the SUV. She noticed a bloodstain on the outer thigh of his jeans. As discreet as possible, she pointed it out to Linda.
"I see evidence of trauma. I want to examine it, to see how bad the injury is. That okay?"
Still no response.
She took it upon herself to go ahead. Lindsay handed her a knife, and she cut away at his pant leg.
Lindsay's fears came true as she looked down at the festering bite mark on his leg. She had to use all her willpower not to gasp out loud.
"Oh Josh, my dear, I am so sorry." Linda's sympathetic voice wavered.
Josh still sat there not saying anything. Lindsay hung her head low. A tear traced down Hannah's cheek as she buried her face into JT.
Gus walked back to the SUV. "So what's the problem back here? Ole Josh piss his pants or-." His words died in his mouth when he saw everyone's fallen faces. He leaned down to talk to Josh.
"Hey, bud. Josh my man. Thanks for your help back at the crazy man's compound. In the city, too. I'd say you've grown a pair."
He sat there unresponsive until Gus half turned to walk away.
"Gus, wait, don't... don't let me turn. Please don't let me turn. I can't take myself out, please don't let me become one of them." Josh had gone from silent to hysterical in seconds. Sobs racked his body. "I should have never survived this long, anyway. Right guys."
"You shut up with that shit, mister. I think highly of you. So does that little girl." Gus put his hand out for a weapon.
"I'll do it, Gus," JT offered. "Go back with Madison. You guys drive away and I'll help Josh."
"No. He asked me to. His elevator has never gone all the way to the top of the bravery department, but he's loyal. I owe him this. You guys drive on. I'll catch up."
JT clapped Gus on the back. "We'll drive two miles up the road, get the little girl out of sight, and wait for you."
Hannah handed Gus a pistol, gave him a big hug and got back into the truck. Lindsay stayed and got back behind the wheel of the SUV.
Gus gave them a mocking salute as they pulled off. Josh stepped out of the SUV, watched them drive off, and turned his back to Gus.
"I don't want to know it's coming Gus. Don't speak, just do it. Quick. I can feel it." His eyes dried up as they changed from brown to white.
Gus waited with held breath until the truck was out of sight. He walked within a few feet of Josh and raised the pistol. Aimed at the back of Josh's head, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and pulled the trigger.
Gus refused to fa
ce Josh's body. He climbed into the passenger seat of the SUV, his vision watery. Lindsay had no words for him. He didn't have any word at the moment either, which would have shock those who knew him well.
The two headed off to catch up with the rest of the group.
SPEECHLESS
Hannah's nerves were raw and ragged by the time they pulled into Windsor, Colorado.
They had been traveling for hours and they all wanted to go on, but she told JT she had to stop for a rest. Thoughts of Josh did nothing for her nausea, but she couldn't put them out of her mind. If they could find somewhere to sleep, preferably with some sleeping pills, that would be great. She wanted to put the last twenty-four hours out of her mind for a time.
JT made two trips around the outskirts of the town until he settled on an old brick house out in the middle of nowhere. Before the apocalypse, it was probably a very nice place. The lawn was long but still nice, with several decorations including a fountain. The porch had a swing and a few knickknacks.
None of them had bothered to check the SUV with all that happened since Killian's place. So it was a pleasant surprise to find someone had stocked the back of the white GMC Acadia with supplies. There was canned food and water. Not a lot, but enough to go around for at least two days.
JT and Gus unloaded everything as Lindsay and Hannah cleared the house with no issues. Madison clung close to Linda. The two rocked on the porch while the rest went to work.
The Outbreak Series (Book 4): Deadlocked Page 18