Dead Ahead (35 page)

___________________________

As soon as the gates flew open Ethan dived to the side out the way of the bullets that were no doubt heading in his direction. He looked to the side and saw the panic on Michaels’ face as he ran for the tank, pushing Knox and Cassie towards the tank at the same time, they didn’t need much persuading either, both of them ran from the mass of Firsts that were being cut down by whoever was manning the twin fifty cal’s on top of the tank, and by the manic style and lack of care for overheating, it must have been Urk.

Carter and Barnes laid down suppressing fire as they retreated, where as Coleman just ran for it. Ethan knew they had already long forgotten him so he made his way for the Land Rover ducking under their fire; as he scrambled across the ground he nearly collided with Caleb who was rolling backwards and picking up his stick, Ethan tried to call to him but he was transfixed on the advancing Firsts and by the time Caleb looked back it was too late. Ethan was already in the Land rover and turning the key, the creatures were swarming around them. Ethan kept screaming at him to move and reluctantly he had to pull the truck away to save himself from being caught up in the tide. From his elevated position in the driving seat he could see how many there were; there was not a chance for Caleb now, not a chance in hell.

Ethan gave chase in the Land Rover, which happened to be the slowest piece of shit in the universe, luckily the tank wasn’t very fast either; so long as they didn’t spot him and start firing the fifty’s at him he should be ok. The tank took a right and then a left and suddenly stopped. Shit, he’d been spotted. Ethan considered turning around but then decided his best bet was to park the truck in the middle of the road and try somehow to jump on to the tank and find a way in; not the best plan of his life but it was all he had.

He parked up and jumped out; he could see now that they had turned down a road that had been consumed by the hole left in the earth that had once been the main reactor. He ran round the back of the truck and skidded to a stop as he cast a glance into the back; it was filled to the gunnels with weapons, Ethan’s fingers danced around the selection and slung a rifle over his shoulder that he almost recognised, he then selected a mean looking rocket launcher and dove round the other side of the truck, hiding behind the warm engine to hide his heat signature.

Almost as soon as the tank had turned round the roof cannon started peppering the Land Rover with bullets. Ethan took a few seconds to note that the rocket launcher had two buttons ‘select’ and ‘fire’, he shouldered the weapon with his index finger on select and middle finger on the fire button; he heard a click as it landed on his shoulder and a small female voice whispered ‘select target one’ in his ear, he aimed at the left hand track and pressed select, ‘select target two,’ he then aimed at the roof turret and pressed select; much to his surprise he was offered two more targets and chose the other track and what he assumed to be a sensor in the front centre of the tank.

Ethan pressed the fire button and braced, a single rocket flew out the front of the launcher which then split into four separate rockets which each took their designated paths, all four of them stuck at the same time surrounding the tank in a great ball of flames.

Before the smoke had even cleared Ethan dropped the rocket launcher and dared a run to the building on the right hand side of him, he was pleased to find that not a single bullet chased him across the street. He peeked round the corner to watch and wait; quietly hoping that Cassie had escaped any injury during his attack, but he knew it was a risk that he had to take if he wanted to save her.

The tank sat where it had been hit, both tracks lay in tatters and the roof turret was nothing but a smouldering mess atop of it. Ethan gingerly edged his way around the corner of the building to get a better view of the back; he dropped and retreated as the back door blew from its hinges landing with a loud clang on the road. They came out guns blazing, Ethan barely made it back around the corner as bullets riddled the concrete wall, they forced him to retreat further as they marched his way never letting up fire even though they couldn’t see him, they opted to head down the opposite road  and disappeared round the corner. Ethan had only managed to glimpse them as they disappeared, Cassie, Greg and Dr Fosters in toe. He started to trail them, keeping just out of view as they rounded the next corner.

“Feeling brave are you, Sergeant?” Ethan heard Knox say from behind him.

“Bravery is for heroes and idiots,” Ethan said as he turned pointing his rifle to the ground, “and I never could tell the difference.” Knox was stood there looking like the cat that’d got the cream, “That’s a nasty looking hole in your shoulder there, Harry. Did Jim give you that?”

“Yeah, he did; right before I threw him off the roof at you. Made quite a mess, didn’t he?” Knox was trying to rile him, and it was working; Ethan couldn’t let it show. “That’s a nasty looking hole in your leg there, Ethan.”

“Building bit me,” Ethan said with a smile, “But you wouldn’t know anything about that now, would you?”

“Hey! I was just following orders. But
you
wouldn’t know anything about
that!
”

“What are you going to do, Harry? Shoot me down like a dog in the street? Are you that scared of me?

“I ain’t scared of you Ethan, I ain’t never been scared of you, but you’re a slippery son of a bitch, you always were. I probably should shoot you down, just like you did Urk!”

“So it
was
Urk on the roof cannon, you should never have put him up there, Harry: he’s a terrible shot!”

“Michaels’ idea, it made more space in that thing for the rest of us.”

“Ah, come on, Harry; come at me like a
real
man,” Ethan dropped his rifle, “for old times’ sake. I got a bad leg, you got a bad shoulder, I guess that makes us about even, don’t you?”

“You would have to shoot me another four times to make you even with me!” Harry barked.

“Another four bullets would kill you, Harry.” Ethan said with a smirk.

“Exactly,” Harry dropped his rifle, “’cause you’re already a dead man!” The big guy ran at him with all the speed he could muster.

This was going to hurt.

_________________________

Cassie stumbled and tripped as she reluctantly let herself be pushed along, it was a meagre attempt to slow them down and buy Ethan a little time to catch up; assuming that Knox hadn’t caught up with him already. Cassie perished the thought.

She didn’t have to do much to slow them anyway; her father was doing a much better job than she ever could, though his was unintentional. He was a shadow of the man she knew, the technical and biological genius was nowhere to be seen behind those dark foreboding eyes that showed every inch of fear in his soul, he limped along on spindly legs that never travelled in a straight line, as if there was something jumping out at him from every side with every step he took. Cassie just wanted to hold him and tell him that everything would be alright, have him hold her like he used to when she was just a little girl and have him tell her the same. It reminded her of the cold spiral that he had fallen into when they had lost her mother so many years ago, the dark depression that had taken him away from her. But he had come back from that, and he could come back from this too.

Her father was suddenly jerked to a standstill by Greg who he was tied to; Greg
had
been pulling him along but now he was doubled over on the ground.

“What’s going on?” Michaels shouted, “Get up and move you useless bastard! Move now or I will shoot you, you little shit!”

“I can’t, I ca-a-a-a-a!!” Greg screamed in pain, and then wretched blood all over the road.

“He’s bit, he’s been bitten!” one of the soldiers shouted.

“It was just a scra-a-a-a-agh-h-h-h!” Greg screamed again

Michaels pulled out a pistol as Greg began to shake violently on the ground but Cassie’s father grabbed Michaels, holding the pistol in the air and presenting Michaels’ body to Greg who was now lifting himself from the ground with cold white eyes and a look of rage about his face. Greg lunged for him and Michaels screamed in fear, but it was her father that screamed in pain. One of the soldiers put a gun to Greg’s head and pulled the trigger, his body dropped and Michaels struggled free leaving her father left gripping his stump of an arm, his tattered sleeve was turning crimson as he spoke to her.

“I’m sorry, Cassandra. I’m sorry.” A flash of lucidity spread across his face as he looked to her, the father she knew and loved had returned only to be lost forever.

“Leave him!” Michaels shouted, “Let him rot!”

“No!” Cassie screamed and with sudden realisation pulled the pistol from her beltline and pointed it at her father.

“I love you, Cupcake,” her father said with a smile.

“I love you too, Daddy,” she replied; then pulled the trigger.

Chapter

28

Better than Death

Frank watched as his army attacked his nemesis; what a worthy adversary he was, he spun in a whirlwind of blood, cascading severed body parts all around him: it was a wonderful thing to watch, this dance with the dead, it almost made Frank sorrowful that this would be the last time he would witness it.

Caleb started to flounder, the smoothness and fluidity of his movements waned as his energy was sapped from his body. Frank licked his lips, the moment was almost upon him, and victory would finally be his.

He fell. The Infected closed in around him but Frank called them back, he ‘scrawed’ as loudly as he could and the tide of Infected receded to reveal Caleb dropped to one knee, a hand on the ground and a blade in the other. The Infected opened up in a circle around them.

“Here we are at last my old friend,” Frank said triumphantly, “I feel like I’ve waited a lifetime for this moment.”

“What the fuck are you bangin’ on about,” Caleb said wearily, “didn’t we go through all of this just the other night?”

“Things have changed, Caleb, I have my army now, we have no need for you.”

“Yeah...! What’s with that: why don’t they eat you?”

“They have accepted me as their leader, they know that I have a higher destiny, they accept that I, as an Angel, will carry them to heaven.”

“Ha!” the insolent bastard laughed, “You still think you’re an angel? Have you looked in the mirror recently, Frank? You’re the ugliest angel I’ve ever seen in my life. Maybe if you got a pigeon, and barbecued it, and then stuck a Christmas tree up its arse, then, maybe then, you could resemble an angel. But until you do that, you just look like the crispy duck from the local Chinese!”

“You are dealing with forces you cannot even begin to comprehend!” Frank shouted.

“Hang on!” Caleb interrupted. How dare he? “Is that why they don’t eat you, because you look like them and smell like burnt meat? I can smell you from here, Frank; and to be brutally honest, it’s making me hungry.”

“Silence...!” Frank screamed, but Caleb wouldn’t listen.

“That’s why they won’t touch you; and that’s why they didn’t kill Cassie’s dad, they burnt his arm, cauterised the wound....”

“Quiet!”

“....this isn’t divinity....”

“Quiet!”

“....this isn’t angels....”

“
Quiet....
”

“....this is nothing but....”

“
Quiet...
”

“....burnt meat...!”

“
Q-u-i-e-t!
” Frank screamed in a noise that sounded all too similar to that of which the Infected make, but Caleb’s words rang in his ears. It couldn’t be true.

“You’re sick, Frank....”

It couldn’t be true.

“....you need help.”

It can’t be true.

“What happens when you heal, Frank?”

‘It isn’t true!’
the angels whispered.

“What happens when they turn on you?

“It won’t work, Caleb!” Frank shouted, realising the Angels were still with him. He pulled the pistol from its holster and pointed it at the heretic. “You can’t talk your way out of this. Now is the time of your judgement. I hold the key. I open the door. I decide who goes in and who doesn’t. Your time has come to an end, heretic!”

Caleb looked at Frank venomously, he looked like he had given up hope on the fruitless words spilling from his lips and was left with nothing but violence to bend the will of man to his word, finally he had realised that there was no hope for him. Frank smiled, savouring the moment. Caleb said something Frank hadn’t been expecting though, something that made him hesitate in pulling the trigger.

“What happens when you bleed?”

In that moment of hesitation Caleb ran at him, blade held high

_________________________

The collision knocked the wind clean out of Ethan and his head bounced off of the brick wall behind him, it was like being hit by a locomotive with fists. The punches just didn’t seem to stop: Ethan covered up as best as he could but even when he blocked the hits with his arms they still hurt like hell. In a moment of clarity Ethan ducked under a punch making Harry swing wide, opening him up, and Ethan landed an uppercut to his jaw. Harry staggered back dazed. Who’d have thought it? Harry Knox has a glass jaw.

Ethan pushed himself off of the wall and came out swinging, cracking Harry a left hook to the temple, then another uppercut to the jaw and a jab to the nose. Harry’s nose burst wide open, streaming blood all down his face. Harry roared and pounced on him crumpling him to the floor beneath him.

Ethan struggled to breathe with the sheer weight of him on his chest, with his left arm now pinned under Knox’s leg Ethan had to fend off more blows now with only one arm. he pounded on his face like an ape with a coconut, each punch landing with a dull thud that sent white spots into his vision; blood dripped wildly from Harry’s whistling nose onto Ethan’s face, and Ethan could feel his eyes and mouth swelling up with the beating, he could taste the metallic blood on his tongue.

“Is this what you want? You miserable son of a bitch,” Harry screamed. Ethan tried to answer but managed only to spit blood onto his own face. Harry stopped punching at him and grabbed him round the neck with one hand, pinning his free hand with the other. “Is this what you want?” he said through gritted teeth as he squeezed his neck.

As Ethan caught movement out of the corner of his eye his throat gargled up a hoarse cackling laugh. Confused, Harry lessened his grip.

“What the fuck have you got to laugh about?” Harry screamed. “Don’t you know when you’ve lost?”

“Gagh-agh-agh...!” Ethan laughed, spitting out a tooth, “I didn’t have to beat you, Harry,” he choked out through a bloody smile, “I just had to stall you till help arrived!”

Harry looked up startled and leapt from on top of him, he started spinning round, looking for a way out between the hoard of undead that had slowly crept up around them as they fought: through his rage, Harry hadn’t heard the moaning as they slowly staggered towards them; he had always been single focussed had Harry, that’s what made him a good soldier, but a bad leader, and it was going to be his undoing.

“You stupid bastard,” Harry shouted as he began to fend them off, “you’ve killed us both!”

Ethan continued his hoarse laughter as he stared at the sky, he hoped that it would be the last thing Harry heard, as punishment for what he had done to Jim; but he cut himself off short as he saw a bird flying high above him, and he began to wonder about what Caleb had said about the animals being turned by the infection: if the animals turned too did it truly spell the end for everyone? And if this was the end: had it been worth it? Shouldn’t they have tried to survive as long as they could in a world that was doomed? Ethan put the thoughts out of his mind as she sky was blotted out by creeping flesh stumbling over him; the rancid reek filled his nostrils as more of them poured over him, tripping over him covering him in their stench, desperate to feed.

With deep disappointment in him, Ethan took pleasure in hearing Harry scream in torment as they tore into his flesh. All he could do now is wait for the same to happen to him.

He didn’t think he would scream as much as he did.

_________________________

The blow shook Cassie to the core. She felt the pistol being prised from her grip as she lay on the ground. A rough hand grasped at her collar and hauled her to her feet.

“You
will
learn to do as you are told!” Michaels shouted and pulled her to the side, tripping her over her own feet. She only caught a slight glimpse of her father’s corpse, lay on the ground next to Greg’s as they disappeared round the corner.

“Barnes,” Michaels called, “You take the girl! You...?”

“Carter, Sir!”

“Carter, you take point, and you cover our back Colton!”

“Coleman, Sir!” he said, but Michaels just ignored him.

“Now let’s
move
, Get us to the perimeter and then get us out of here!”

Carter ran out in front and Cassie limply allowed herself to be pushed along by Barnes. Her body felt heavy beneath her and her mind was clouded with guilt. She had just stolen the final moments of her father’s life for no reason other than her unwillingness to see him become one of the vile undead. She had stolen his right to live on in another form. She couldn’t
know
what it was like to become one of them, to live as one of them. Was it better than death? Was it any worse?

Suddenly Carter ran back from round the corner, “Not that way! Not that way! Back! Back...!” But at the same time Coleman came running from behind them shouting that they were behind them too. Cassie could hear the grotesque sounds of the Infected as she turned on her heel and ran.

They found themselves running towards a great spherical building that loomed up before them, it stretched at least eight stories into the sky, the huge globe was made of a patch work of silver and gold panels and looked like it had undergone several repair jobs throughout its past, it must have looked an incredible sight when it was first built, but now with rust streaks running from the walkway that ran around its circumference it was a sad relic of the nuclear hay day that had created it.

Coleman fell, he tripped and fell flat on his face, screaming for the others to wait and help him: to Cassie’s disgrace she didn’t give helping him a second thought and ran on, it would have been pointless to do so anyway as Coleman’s screams could be heard only moments after he fell; maybe his demise might buy them the valuable seconds which they so desperately needed to escape, maybe he was just the next one to die?

Ever they ran, and ever the great dilapidated golden sphere loomed up above them, it seemed, now, the only place for them to go: and so when they collided with the gate only to find it locked, their chances seemed to slim to nothing. Barnes let go of Cassie and shot a multitude of bullets at the gate latch, breaking the lock and giving them an escape, or maybe a cage?

All at once they squeezed through the gate whilst Carter fired upon the Infected and ran backwards through the gate. Barnes slammed it shut behind him and tried to hold it shut with his boot while firing through the fence at the slavering masses. They collided with the gate forcing it open enough for several limbs to protrude through the gap and reach for the soldiers holding it closed.

“Hold the gate!” Michaels ordered as he made a grab for Cassie which she shook off violently. “Hold it till we reach the fence!”

“Fuck that!” Barnes shouted.

“Why the hell should we stay here while you escape?” Carter demanded.

“....Because it is your duty to do so, stand, and die for your country!” Michaels shouted.

“Fuck
that!
” Barnes shouted again.

“Look,
Major, Sir,
all I know is that
I
don’t have to outrun these things,” Carter shouted, “I just have to outrun
you!
” and with that he let go of the gate.

Carter and Barnes ran for it, forcing Cassie and Michaels to run too. Cassie’s legs felt like jelly as they slapped against the hard concrete path up and round, under the globe above them. Barnes and Carter started to stretch out in front of Cassie and Michaels wasn’t far behind her, he was surprisingly spritely for a more robust man. As she approached a gate to the right hand side of her she felt a hard tug to the side and clattered through the gate shortly followed by Michaels.

“What the hell...?” Cassie started to call.

“Sh-h-h-h!” Michaels said as the old wooden gate swung slowly closed behind them, it wasn’t much protection, but it hid them from view. He got up and fumbled around to try to find a latch to keep the gate closed but eventually gave up. “Come on....” Michaels whispered to her, and pushed her down the long path that led away from the gate and toward the globe.

Cassie walked sideways, keeping an eye on the gate. She watched it as it slowly swung open to reveal the Infected streaming past; abruptly they all passed leaving nothing to view but the fence beyond. Cassie allowed herself to breathe for a second in relief, until a single Infected came creeping back around the corner. It let out a bloodcurdling screech and ran at them, drawing others with it.

Cassie ran for the door ahead of them only to find it locked, she wailed as she rattled on the handle trying vainly to get in.

“With me....” Michaels called as he ran for the metal steps leading up to the platform around the globe, Cassie followed. Their feet rang out ‘off beat’ on the metal steps as they climbed up the stairs, Cassie tried to push Michaels up as she pressed on but he was still slowing down, she tried to think of a way past him but the stairs were only wide enough for one person at a time; she could hear the infected gaining on her.

“Come on....” she shouted, urging him to move faster but the old man’s energy was spent. She pushed him again, forcing him to move faster, “Come on...!” she screamed again.