Deadlocked 5 (18 page)

"That's the same thing Hero said." Stitch came closer as she spoke, but was still a safe distance from us. I could see her moving out of the corner of my eye as I continued to stare at Kim.

Kim nodded and then finally took her boot off Harrison's back. The old man cursed his brittle bones as he got up and dusted himself off. Then he stopped and stared at Kim's raised weapon. "Can you put that thing away and play nice already, darling? We're not the bad guys." He snickered and added, "At least not the really, real bad guys. I'm just loveably naughty. Right, Stitch?" He turned to look at the girl slinking through the mannequins behind us.

"You're an asshole, Harry, but you're mostly harmless." The lithe girl was barefoot and walked on the tips of her toes as she glided through the room. I was shocked at how silently she moved, and was impressed by her stealth. At the same time, I was furious with myself for getting into this situation.

I was fairly certain that these women wouldn't hurt us, but if it had been a group of raiders that caught us like this, I wouldn’t have been able to defeat them.

Kim and Stitch forced us to walk out of the building, with their weapons still pointed at us. They allowed Harrison to pick up his shotgun, and let me keep the F2000 strapped to my shoulder, but they didn't ease their aim until we were standing beside our car, our backs to them.

"My mother used to say that Annie had a guardian angel," said Kim. "Annie doesn't remember anything about it, but apparently she told my mother that a boy came and killed the people that were hurting her. Maybe that was you, and maybe it wasn't. Not sure how we'll ever know for certain. I'll let you tell her it was you though, because she likes to believe it was our dad. He died just before Annie was put in that place, and she told our mother that our father's spirit showed up as a little boy and saved her life. You can be the one that tells her that's not true, and that it was you that did it."

"It was him," said Harrison. "But he ain't no angel from what I can tell."

"How much of the stuff in the car did you steal from Juniper?" asked Kim.

"None of it,” said Harrison. “I don't steal from the dead, and I don't steal from people I like. The people in Juniper were my friends, and they're all dead, so that's double the reason not to steal from them."

"I've met a lot of people that say you stole from them," said Kim as she looked into the back seat of our car.

"Well, I don't like very many people." He snickered, but his joke wasn't appreciated. "I like you two, though. That's got to count for something."

"Is that a dog back there?" asked Kim with a kinder tone.

"I saved him from Juniper,” I said. “There was a pack of dogs trying to kill him."

Kim nodded and the fact that I'd saved Stubs seemed to lighten her mood. "Here's what we're going to do," she said. "We're going to camp out here for the night and wait for Hero and Annie to get back. They're looking for the traders."

"Did you see the caravan?" I asked.

"A couple days ago," said Kim. "We were south of here, near Fort Collins, when we saw them moving past. We tried to wave them down, to see if they had anything we needed, but they just kept on moving. We didn't know what was wrong at the time."

"Where are the rest of the High Rollers?" asked Harrison.

"Not far," said Kim. "We camped west of here. Stitch and I came here with Hero and Annie to trade with Hanger. That's how we discovered what happened. Then Hero and Annie went out to try and track down the traders and see if they were going to Vineyard while Stitch and I hung a couple dead bodies up to warn people not to come here."

Stitch hopped on the trunk of the car and set the crossbow in her lap. I saw that the bolt was still pointed at me as she spoke, "Hero found some of the crates left behind by the traders and headed out to try and catch up with them."

Harrison looked at Stitch and then at Kim in a panic. "Has anyone told the folks in Vineyard what happened?"

Kim shook her head and looked at Stitch with concern. "I don't know if Hero and Annie even went there or if they just went after the traders."

"How far is it?" I asked.

"About an hour drive." Harrison pointed south and then slapped his hand on the top of the car. "We need to go there."

"Wait a minute," I said as I tried to piece together Harrison's story. "How long did it take you to drive between Vineyard and Juniper? If they're just a couple hours away from each other, why did it take you so long to get there?"

Stitch snickered at Harrison as she said, "Because he's not welcome around the trade caravan. He ducks town whenever they're around because if they see him, they'll kill him."

"You sure do talk a lot for a girl with a tattoo of her lips stitched shut," said Harrison. "And for your information, I have a group of people that depend on me to bring them supplies."

"Sure thing, Harry," said Kim. "And where is this mysterious family?"

"None of your business," he said before slapping the top of the car again. "Now, are we going to head out to Vineyard and try to save some lives or are we going to stand around here all day and pick on me?"

"Hero is meeting us here," said Kim.

"So?" Harrison was perturbed and began to pull at his hair, causing his ponytail to turn into a mess of greasy hair on both sides of his head. "Leave a fucking note for him. We have the chance to save a town full of innocent people. Now get in the fucking car and let's go."

Stitch slid off the trunk and walked around to the other side of the car. "He's right. We should get going before sundown so we don't need to turn on the headlights."

"It's a little late for that," I said as I looked at the orange glow that highlighted the mountains to the west.

"Then let's get a move on," said Harrison as he continued to run out of patience. "I've got some charcoal in my pack that you can use to write a note on the pavement for Hero."

"We'd better get ready for war," I said. "If Juniper and Hanger are infected, chances are Vineyard is too. And we'll probably catch them right in the thick of the disease."

"Well then," said Harrison, "I guess we're about to figure out the Devil's plan for you."

COBRA DAWN

"You've never seen a black guy?" asked Hero as he shook his head in surprise. "Well, you picked a hell of a specimen to start with." He held out his arms and turned in a circle for Hailey.

"I think I saw a dead one," I said.

He looked
at me with a raised brow and crooked smile. "What?"

"A man with black skin like yours fell from the ceiling inside the facility today."

Hero nodded and pointed up at the sky. "Must be niggers from heaven, babe. Maybe God's dropping them down for lonely white girls these days."

"What?" I asked. "I didn't understand some of the words you used."

"Nothing, don't worry about it. Although you're going to see another dead black guy in a minute if we don't hurry up and get in the truck. We need to get out of here before they send reinforcements. I don't know why they wanted to kill you two, but whatever the reason, it makes you my friends."

Hailey reached out to him and then retreated her hand as if afraid he might shock her if they touched. He smirked at her and said, "What is it, kid?"

She bashfully said, "Can I touch your hair?"

He bent over so that she could easily reach his head. "Sweetheart, I'll let you touch whatever the hell you want on me. All you've got to do is ask."

Hailey put her fingertips on his stubbly hair and bit her bottom lip as she glanced my way. "It feels weird."

"We should go," I said as I walked toward the truck. I stopped beside the dead man and knelt down to take his weapon. There was a strap over his shoulder and I started to pull it out from under him when Hero took the weapon from me.

"Hold on, honey. Have you ever used a gun like this before?"

I shook my head and stepped back to let him take the weapon. "Today is the first time I've ever seen a gun."

"Man, they had you girls locked up tight in there, didn't they?"

"We've never been to the surface before," said Hailey as she looked up at the sky. "It's so much bigger than I imagined. It's beautiful though."

"It's not all pretty, babe," said Hero. "But stick with me and I'll show you all sorts of great shit." He opened the truck and then yelled out in surprise. "Fuck me!"

"What's wrong?" I asked as I walked closer.

"There's a dude with his brains blown out in here." He hopped back down and pointed to the cab of the truck. "There's enough room in there that I can drive without getting blood and brains all over me, but you two might want to ride in the back. I've got a friend waiting for me about a mile away with a jeep. We just need to get out to her and we can dump the truck there. These fuckers have a habit of tracking their trucks, in case any of them get ambushed." We followed him around to the back as he talked. Then he gripped the handle at the bottom of the rear door and turned it, causing the locking mechanism on the back to grind open. He gripped a handle on the bottom and pulled it up, sending the door sliding rapidly along a track that guided it up and inside the truck.

A wall of corpses greeted us.

They were stacked on top of each other, one layer with their heads facing us, and the next with their feet facing out. The bodies filled the truck. Hero staggered back and screamed out for a second time, "Fuck me!"

"What happened to them?" I asked as we all stood a safe distance away.

"They fucking died, that's what happened to them," said Hero.

"There're so many of them," said Hailey as she took a daring step forward.

Hero put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her back. "Lesson number one of living in the real world, sweetheart, is to stay away from dead things."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because they have a bad habit of not being dead." He said and pointed the rifle into the truck as he stepped closer.

"Why do they have that white powder on them?" I asked as I noticed the light dusting of a strange powder on the bodies. It seemed as if the powder was acidic and I noticed that it was burning the skin of the bodies it touched.

Hero shook his head and sounded angry when he answered, "Because someone's about to start a war."

I thought I saw something move in the pile. I looked at the bodies in search of movement, and was nearly convinced I'd been mistaken when a finger twitched. A corpse was still alive.

"Hero!" I said and pointed.

"I know, I see it. Get back." He pointed the rifle at the squirming body and fired a single shot into its face. The blast exploded the top of the corpse's head and a soupy mess of brains and fluid splattered out. It slopped down to the grated platform on the back of the truck and then started to fall in strands through the holes in the metal. The smell made me wretch.

We didn't have much time to react to the twice-dead corpse before something else, further inside the truck, sprang to life. It let out a long, guttural cry that echoed through the back of the truck. I couldn't see the source of the scream, but as I looked for it I saw other eyes looking back at me. Some of the bodies in the stack had started to blink, and their eyes scanned us, as if the gunshot had awoken them from a deep sleep.

Hero took a deep breath and then let the rifle swing behind him as he climbed onto the back of the truck and reached for the strap dangling above. He grabbed it and then leapt off the back as the creatures inside started to shift. The door slammed down as Hero's feet hit the ground, but the door bounced back up from the impact and he had to scramble to pull it down again. A man's fingers reached out just as the door hit the floor, and they splayed out as the door pressed down on them.

Hero tried to pull the latch to lock the door again as the noise inside intensified, but the corpse's fingers caused the door to sit up an inch higher than it should, making it impossible to lock. Hero pushed down on the handle and I marveled at his musculature as he tried in vain to lock the door.

"Fucker!" He kept his left hand pressed down on the handle as he climbed back onto the platform. Then he put his boot on it and stood so that his entire weight pushed the door down. I heard the corpse's fingers crackle as the door slid a bit further. Blood gushed out from the dead man's fingers and dripped through the grated platform as Hero was finally able to push the lock down. "Gotcha, bitch," said Hero triumphantly as he hopped back down.

"Gross.” Hailey covered her mouth and nose.

He slapped his hands together in a wiping motion and said, "Looks like you two are going to get bloody."

"Why?" asked Hailey. She was repulsed by the violence and gore, just like she was in the Common Room earlier, and had backed away several steps from the truck.

Hero pointed his thumb over his shoulder behind him. "You can't ride in there, so you're going to have to sit up front where
the dead guy's sitting."

"Can't we just walk?" she asked.

Hero shook his head and headed for the front of the truck along the passenger side as we followed behind. "No. We're too close to the airport. There's no place to hide out here. If we try to run, they'll catch us in no time."

I thought about suggesting that we hang off the back of the truck, like we had earlier, but I'd nearly lost my grip the first time and didn't want to chance a second attempt. Hero opened the passenger side door and the dead driver flopped halfway out.

"I'm going to be sick." Hailey doubled over and put her hand over her mouth as she dry heaved.

Hero gripped the dead man's collar and pulled his body out. He let the corpse fall head fi
rst to the ground where it crumpled at his feet. Then he looked at me and motioned towards the empty, bloody seat. "Come on, Miss Daisy."

"My name's Cobra."

"I know, I was just… ah never mind. Just get in the truck so we can get out of here."

"I can't sit in there," said Hailey. "This whole side is covered in blood." She pointed at the passenger side seat. The driver's side was mostly clean, with only a few speckles of crimson decorating the seat, but the other side was pooled with blood and skull fragments.

"It's either that, or you can sit in my lap," he said with a lecherous smirk.

"Okay," said Hailey. "That's fine."

Hero was more than happy to let Hailey sit in his lap and guided us to the other side. I climbed in first and sat in the middle, as far from the blood as possible, and Hero got behind the wheel before pulling Hailey up. I moved as close to him as I could, and he squirmed to get comfortable with Hailey on his lap.

He revved the engine and the entire truck roared with visceral power. I felt the seat below me shake as he gripped a lever between my legs and moved it into a new position. Then, with a jerking start, we began to roll forward.

"Before we get much further," said Hero, "we need to get something straight. You're not going to tell anyone that you rode on my lap. Understood?"

"Okay," said Hailey.

Hero laughed and shook his head. "My wife's going to shit bricks when I come home with two more gorgeous white girls. She's already pissed that Laura makes me watch over her girls all the time. It's not my fault I'm a pimp." He laughed at his own joke, but neither Hailey nor I understood it.

"
What’s your wife like?" asked Hailey.

"
She’s a big, bad ass black girl with a talent for beating people’s ass. Unfortunately, if I come home with a white girl on my lap, it'll be my ass she's beating next."

"Sorry," I said. "That doesn't make sense. Is she the one you get naked with?"

He looked at me incredulously and laughed. "Are you two for real?" Then he nodded and emphatically said, "Yes, she's the one I get naked with. And if anyone asks, she's the only one I get naked with."

"Cobra and I got naked together," said Hailey. "It was fantastic. We touched each other all over." She reached out to take my hand.

Hero squirmed in his seat with Hailey in his lap. "For fuck's sake. You two are straight out of a porno. Quit talking about getting naked or else I'm going to make you sit over there in the blood stains."

"Why?" asked Hailey. "What's wrong with us getting naked together?"

"Nothing. There's nothing wrong with it, but if you don't stop telling me about it, it's going to get real hard for you to sit on my lap. Got it?" He shook his head and exhaled sharply. "Lord's testing me, babe. He's testing me something fierce."

"Is it bad for girls to be together on the Surface?" I asked. "Do you only allow men and women to marry?"

"No, it's not that. Girls, let's talk about something else. Preferably something that doesn't involve the two of you getting naked together." He squirmed in his seat again, as if Hailey was hurting his lap. "Tell me about where you guys have been living down there."

"We lived in the Facility," said Hailey. "It was deep under the Surface, and there were a couple hundred of us."

"For real?"

Hailey nodded and continued. "Everyone down there is female, and white. Today is the first time we've seen a man, and the first time we've seen someone with black skin."

"And black hair," I added.

"So the basement of DIA is filled with white chicks? They're growing you like fucking mushrooms down there?"

"What's DIA?" I asked.

"Denver International Airport, that's what this place used to be before the apocalypse."

"What's the apocalypse?" asked Hailey.

"About twenty years ago, dead bodies started to come back to life. Just like what you saw in the back of this truck. We call them zombies, or Poppers, or Greys, depending on what type you run into. They all started getting up and trying to eat people. We eventually found out that there were people in our government that were responsible for the disease that created them."

"Is the government the people in charge?" I asked. "Like the Administrators?"

"Sure, I guess," said Hero. "We don't know all the details, but the guy that saved us was part of the military. That's a group of people with guns that were supposed to protect us," he explained the term to us. "Anyhow, he brought us out here where we found that a bunch of people from the government had come here to wait out the apocalypse. That's when it got bat shit crazy."

"What happened?"

"Well, the dude I was talking about, the one that saved us, he was super fucking pissed. He went ballistic and started fighting back. That's how the High Rollers got started." He looked at me and saw that I needed an explanation. "The High Rollers are a crew of the baddest ass mother fuckers on the planet. We're the ones that keep this area safe. No one fucks with the High Rollers."

"You still work for this guy? The one that saved you?" I asked.

Hero sullenly shook his head. "No, Reagan died. Not without a fight though. That guy was the toughest old bastard I've ever met. He was a warrior through and through."

"What happened?" asked Hailey.

"It's a long story. I'll just say, he put the hurt on the right folks before he died." Hero took his right hand off the steering wheel and put it against his forehead as he glanced up, as if saluting the sky. "I owe that man a lot more than my life." He seemed uncomfortable all of the sudden, and took a deep breath before changing the subject. "So what
the hell were they keeping you down there for?"