Affliction Z: Abandoned Hope (Post Apocalyptic Thriller) (19 page)

Sean stayed low, using the trees for cover. He aimed through
the MP7’s sights. One pull of the trigger could take the guy down. But his
training took over and he backed down.

If he fired, every man standing there would descend upon his
daughter and Barbara.

There were no more rules. Kill and kill alike. Sean would
kill. Not yet, though. He needed a plan because the trucks were pulling out and
soon they’d be gone.

And so would Emma.

He pushed forward as far as he could go without risking being
spotted. Maybe he went a little too far. He knew some of these men. They were
adept at spotting that which others might miss. He stayed on the ground,
memorizing everything he could about the truck that held Emma and Barbara.

With fuel supplies likely running low, the men couldn’t have
traveled far. His mind raced through options, the majority of which did not end
well. There was no way he could out-muscle over a dozen men in this situation.
Not when they held a hostage so precious to him. He had no means of
neutralizing them all.

He considered boarding the final truck. He could take out
two or three men, but with them pulling up the rear, the others might notice.
He figured his odds at twenty-eighty, give or take a few.

He waited while the first four trucks pulled away. Each
vehicle stirred up more dirt than the last. By the time the fifth approached,
the dust could have provided him with cover.

Through the haze of dust and grit, Sean noticed that one
truck remained. He used his field glasses and spotted a man standing outside
the barn. Why had someone stayed behind?

They must have found the tunnel.

He knelt down and hid behind a tree as the fifth truck
rolled past. His odds looked better taking on one man as opposed to a dozen or
so. Maybe the remaining truck had a map or GPS or some other way of locating
where the rest of the group traveled. He could get the guy outside the barn to
talk. That was the easy part. Getting to him before he left, or before the
others returned, was what was important now. Sean couldn’t wait any longer.

He doubled back through the woods, along the road, turning
right and passing the house. He continued toward the back of the property. At
the rear corner, he turned right again, staying about twenty feet deep. The
path led him to the barn.

The rumble of the trucks had long since passed. The air was
filled with the obnoxious shrilling of the cicadas.

Sean eased forward until he reached the edge of the woods.
Ten feet of open space separated him from the back of the barn. He moved quickly,
turning to the left once he reached it. He slipped around the side of the barn,
taking a step and stopping and listening. He halted at the final corner.

Cigarette smoke wafted past. The guy standing there cleared
his throat.

Perfect. He won’t have both hands ready to respond.

Sean eased around the corner, MP7 extended and aimed at the
guy’s back. He let out a short two-tone whistle.

The guy dropped his cigarette and reached for his sidearm
while spinning around. Faced with Sean’s semi-automatic submachine gun, the man
lowered his weapon to the ground, and lifted his hands over his head.

“What are you doing?” Sean said.

“Waiting.”

“For what?”

The guy gestured backward with his head. “My partner’s down
there.”

“What’s he doing?”

“Investigating, I suppose.”

“Where’d they take the girls?”

“What girls?”

Sean felt his rage build. The man lied to him. He could see
it in the guy’s eyes.

“Last chance,” Sean said.

“Fuck you,” the guy said.

“Turn around, drop to your knees.”

The guy did as told.

“Hands behind your head, fingers locked. Cross your legs at
the ankles.”

“What’re you gonna do to me?” the guy asked, fear choking
his voice.

“Just do what I say and nothing’s gonna happen to you.”

The man interlaced and locked his fingers. He lifted his
right foot and let it fall over his left.

Sean leaned forward, grabbed the guy by his forearm and
shook him to demonstrate the lack of balance the position afforded him. “Now,
tell me what they are going to do with my daughter.”

The man said nothing. He twisted at the waist, looked back
and spit.

Sean took a step back. He was getting nowhere with the guy.
He pulled out his M9 and smashed it over the top of the guy’s head. The skin on
the man’s head split open and blood gushed. The guy fell forward. Sean dragged
him into the barn. He found a cord of yellow rope and tied the guy’s hands and
ankles together. He reached under his arms and pulled him across the floor to
the open hatch. The room below was empty. Sean pushed the man over the edge.

He stepped back and waited for a minute. No one called out.
Footsteps didn’t echo from the tunnel. The other man wasn’t close enough to
know what had just happened. Or he was smart enough to stay put. Sean figured
it was the former, but he prepared for the latter.

He turned and eased himself down the ladder. Emma’s backpack
hung from the ledge. He freed it and tossed it into the barn. He’d bring it
along and return it to her.

At the bottom, Sean reached down and checked the man’s
pulse. It was rapid and strong. The guy was still unconscious. Sean tore off a
section of the man’s shirt and wrapped it around his head, gagging him. One
less voice to worry about.

He stepped past the threshold and entered the dim tunnel. He
heard a growl. A pair of eyes reflected light. Sean whistled. Marley limped
forward, whimpering. Sean knelt down and inspected the dog. He’d been shot in
his rear left leg. The wound had gone through and must not have caused too much
damage. He figured whoever had done it had left the dog for dead.

“Come on, boy,” Sean said, leading Marley through the
doorway. “Just relax while I lift you.”

Marley whimpered as Sean lifted him, but remained calm. He
set the dog on the ground above.

“Wait there. I’ll be back.”

He descended, stepped into the tunnel and shut the door
behind him without latching it. He was on even footing down here, unless the
other man had night vision goggles on, which Sean doubted. Still, he remained
close to the edge of the wall, hurrying past the emergency lights and lingering
in the shadows. He followed the curves, eventually nearing the bunker. A soft
glow lit the space in front of the door.

How had Emma managed to leave it open?

Sean took a deep breath and diffused his anger. He couldn’t
be mad at her. She wouldn’t have left the bunker unless she or Barbara feared
something. They would have been in a hurry. Closing and securing the door was
the last thing on their mind.

Unsure of what he’d find, Sean pushed forward. Either
someone was in the bunker, or they were lying in wait further down the passage,
out of his view. This meant that he had to explode the last few yards and get
inside. The bunker would provide another set of challenges. The main room
provided little cover, but there were three doors on the other side. The man
could emerge from any of them. He had to secure the living space, then the
bedrooms.

His mind drifted to the last time he faced such a situation.
The sights, smells and sounds of the Nigerian facility washed over him. Sean
shook his head, freeing himself of the thoughts.

There’s no time.

He moved quickly through the lights and the shadows, jogging
the final ten feet. He burst into the bunker, MP7 leading the way.

The man sat at Sean’s computer, his pistol off to the left.
It took a moment for him to react. When he did, he fell to his right, out of
the chair.

Sean lunged forward, driving the chair out of the way with
his leg. He yelled at the guy, “Down on the floor, flat on your belly. Kiss the
carpet.” He kept the MP7 trained on the guy. When the man didn’t respond, Sean
fired a round toward the other end of the room. This got the guy’s attention,
and he rolled over.

Sean stood over the man for several seconds, breathing
heavily and saying nothing. After a while, he said, “I’m going to make this
simple for you. Tell me where they took my daughter, and I’ll let you live.”

“Okay, okay, okay,” the guy stammered.

Sean stepped back. He glanced to his left through the open
doorway. “Get up. Stand up. Keep your hands on the wall.”

The guy did as instructed.

“Take off your shirt.” Sean waited for the man to comply.
“Now drop your pants.”

“What?”

“Do it.”

The guy did.

“All right, turn around with your hands high.” Sean kept his
weapon aimed at the guy’s chest as he spun in place. “Now, tell me, where did
they go?”

“To…to…to the camp, man.”

“What camp?”

“It’s down there off of 501. Couple miles south of town.”

Sean calculated the distance in his head.

“What the hell you guys doing out here?”

“Man, you lit up like a damn Christmas tree. You know that?
We been monitoring for signals. Ain’t been shit the last week anywhere except
for your location. We sent some guys out to check it out. Only one made it
back. He was scared shitless, talked about a damn pack of those things. Boss
man said he wanted a group to come out here and check it out. If we could get
rid of the things, this might be an option for a second camp.”

“You took two females into custody. Why?”

“Couldn’t leave them out here, could we?”

“They were forced, at gun point.” Sean didn’t know this, but
the man’s reaction told him his bluff worked.

“Look, it’s dangerous times out here man. Can’t trust
anyone. Half the people you run into are sick. The other half is…I don’t
know…turned or something. Like zombies, you know?”

Sean nodded. He knew all too well what the man spoke of.

“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Sean said. “We’re gonna
walk out of this tunnel, and then we’re gonna get in your truck. You’ll lead me
to that camp where I’m going to exchange you for the two females.”

The guy shook his head. “Boss man will never go for it.”

“Then he’ll watch you die.”

“It won’t work man.”

“This isn’t up for debate.” Sean stepped back toward the
bedrooms. “Move toward the doorway. Stop two feet in front of it. You go any
further, you’re dead.”

Sean continued backward until he reached the cabinet with
his weapons. He pulled out another MP7 as well as additional rounds of
ammunition. He couldn’t carry anything else. Doing so would put him in a
situation where the guy could get his hands on a weapon.

He glanced back. The man took a step to his right.

“Not another move,” Sean said. He’d left the guy’s pistol on
top of the desk, almost within arm’s reach.

Sean hurried across the room, grabbed the handgun and tucked
it in his waistband.

“Through the door and turn right.”

They walked through the tunnel without speaking. Sean
stopped every so often and let his eyes adjust. He scanned the area in front
and behind. He hadn’t ruled out the possibility that a third man hid down
there.

They reached the end of the tunnel. Sean instructed the man
to pull the door open and step into the next room.

“What the hell’d you do to him?” the guy said.

A pool of blood surrounded the unconscious man’s head.

“Don’t worry,” Sean said. “He’s gonna have a bad headache,
that’s all.” He stepped over the body and leaned back against the ladder. “Look
at me. We’re gonna go up this ladder, me first while you kneel and face that
wall. Then when we’re both at the top, we’re going to your truck and you’re
gonna drive me to the camp.”

“Go to hell.”

Sean nodded. He let his arm drop and squeezed the trigger of
his MP7. Three rounds exploded from the weapon and struck the unconscious man.

“Looks like a headache is the least of his concerns now.”

“Holy shit, man. You’re crazy.”

Sean shrugged. “Produce the keys.”

“He…he’s got ‘em”

“Then get ‘em.”

The guy reached down and pulled a keychain from the dead
man’s pockets. He tossed them to Sean, then turned and vomited in the corner of
the room.

Sean climbed the ladder backward. He verified the barn was
empty except for Marley. The dog wagged his tail. Sean climbed the last few
rungs and then got to his feet.

The man followed him up after a little prompting.

“That dog’s still alive?” the guy said.

“You shoot him?” Sean said.

“I wouldn’t do that. The other guy did.”

“Looks like I chose the right man then.”

They exited the barn, the guy a few paces in front of Sean.
Marley limped along. Sean kept his head on a swivel, aware that someone could
pop out from anywhere.

The burning pile of bodies was now a smoldering heap. He
tried not to look at it as they passed. The smell was unavoidable, though.
Despite the pain associated with losing his wife, he found comfort that she was
gone and no longer suffering inside a fleshy tomb.

She had been in there, but she had no control.

“You’re gonna drive,” Sean said.

Putting the man behind the wheel of a two-ton pick-up was a
risk. He could run them off the road into a tree, crash through a guardrail and
try to sink them in the river they would pass, or create any number of
accidents. Despite that, letting the guy ride shotgun would be worse. Sean
would be distracted by the road, though less so without traffic. All the guy
had to do was lunge toward him and he could gain control of a weapon or the
wheel.

The two men headed opposite directions in front of the
truck’s grill. Sean kept the MP7 aimed at the guy through open windows. He
pulled his door open. They entered the cab at the same time. Marley climbed in
and lay down at Sean’s feet.

“What’s your name?” Sean asked.