Deadlocked 5 (24 page)

The streets were quiet and dark as we moved, and there was no sign of any Poppers yet. In the distance, I could hear the trucks moving through the town.

We got to the car and Hero kept a lookout as I popped the trunk. I quickly went back around the car and started pulling out the guns and ammo.

"God damn!" Hero laughed in delight as he watched me pull the arsenal out. "Where'd you find this?" He marveled at the two flash bang grenades and then stuffed them in his pocket.

"Out in Juniper. We hotwired this car, and this was in the trunk." We loaded up and strapped the guns to our backs. Then we weighed ourselves down with as much ammo as we could handle. "There's a box of flares in here. Got
any more room?"

"No man," said Hero as he tenuously held the weapons I'd already given him. "I can't carry anymore. My pockets are full and this shit is heavy. Let's get back to town before the Poppers show up."

I slammed the trunk down and then hoisted a box of 5.56 ammo under each arm. The rifles clattered together on my back as we ran to the entrance of Vineyard.

Hero slowed down and eventually stopped as we got closer. I stopped beside him as he looked back and forth through the streets. "Do you hear that?"

I listened, but heard nothing. "No. What is it?"

"There's like a low rumble or something. You can't hear that?"

Then I started to hear it as well. It was a rhythmic thumping in the distance that sounded like a massive fan blade swiping through the air. It was a distinctive noise, but one that I'd not heard in twenty years.

Hero recognized it as well, and turned to me with wide eyes. "Helicopters."

"Run!" I screamed and dropped the boxes of ammo. Bullets skittered across the pavement as Hero stared at them in shock while I took all but one of the other guns off my shoulder as well. "Come on!"

"What are you doing? Why are you dropping the guns?"

"Don't you see what they're doing? They're not planning on a siege, Hero. They're going to blow the fuck out of the buildings and force everyone down to the streets. We've got to get back up there and tell everyone to get down. We need to get them into the underground garage back there. They can pick up the guns on their way there. Now come on!"

Hero realized I was right and started to drop his weapons as well. We ran as fast as possible back to the entrance of Vineyard, but then we heard the familiar screams of the dead. Their voices reverberated through the desolate streets and the sound of their footsteps filled me with dread. We were too late. The zombies would overrun us in minutes.

Hero cursed as he ran, and he moved faster than I could. I yelled at him to stop. He reluctantly turned and slowed down while moving backwards. "What?"

"We're not going to make it."

"Mother fucker, get your ass moving. Do you need me to carry you or something?"

"No. Listen to me. We're not going to be able to get them off those buildings and into the garage in time."

He took a step in my direction as he clenched his fists and scowled. "Are you talking about running away? Because if you are, I'll beat you down right here…"

"Shut up and listen to me. I'm going to go get the car, and the flares, and get the zombies' attention. I'll keep them off this road. You just go get them off those buildings and into the garage. Understood?"

He shook his head. "That's suicide, man. You're going to get yourself killed."

"Doesn't matter. I'm dead already." I unzipped my pants and pulled them down to reveal the wound on my side. I pulled the gauze off so Hero could see the
distinctive bite mark. "I was bit. I'm a goner anyhow. I lied to everyone because I was scared they'd kick me out of town. Now get up there and get these people to safety. Give me a chance to do one thing right in my life."

He nodded and was about to walk away when he asked, "You were Harrison's friend, right? Anything you want me to tell him?"

I nodded and smiled. "Tell him I figured out the Devil's plan."

COBRA DAWN

My vision spun and I had trouble standing as the wine ravaged my senses. Hailey couldn't stop giggling as she watched me try to dance, and the other girls quickly followed suit. "What's so funny?" My speech was slurred and I nearly fell over but Stitch was there to keep me steady. She put my arm over her shoulder and then took my cup of wine away.

"You're officially cut off, sweetheart," said Stitch. I reached out for the cup, but she held it at arm's length.

"But it tastes so good!" I pouted and hung my head as she kept it away.

Hailey laughed so hard that she slipped off the bench and smacked her butt on the floor. Her wine sloshed out over her face and she sputtered before laughing in embarrassment.

Annie and Kim helped her back up as she cackled. "I can't believe I just did that. I feel so dizzy."

"Is this the first time you two have been drunk?" asked Kim.

Hailey and I became suddenly quiet as we looked at Annie. The red headed Roller sighed and nodded, "Yes, Kim. We were keeping it quiet for now, but they were prisoners out at DIA."

"This is our first time on the Surface," I said.

Stitch turned me to face her and I was surprised by her stern look. "Where were they keeping you? Are there more? Were you the only two?"

Stitch's questions came too quick for me to answer and I struggled to understand her. I was about to answer when Beach interrupted the celebration. She waved her arms in the air and shouted, "Everyone listen up. We're under attack."

Others cried out in surprise and Bonnie rushed to Beach's side. "What?"

"The traders are coming back with trucks filled with Poppers." The group gasped and crowded the entrance to the room where Beach was standing. "It's nothing to worry about. We can lock ourselves in and live just fine up here until the zombies die out. These aren't Greys we're dealing with, just Poppers."

"Why are they doing this?" asked several people in the crowd. "Why would they want to attack us?"

"We don't know. I wanted to wait until after the party to tell you this, but Juniper and Hanger were both hit with the virus recently." The crowd murmured in shock and Bonnie's face turned pale as she stared up at Beach.

"When were you going to tell me?" asked Bonnie. "Why would you not tell me about that?"

"I'm sorry, Bonnie, we can talk about it later. For now, I want everyone to head to their homes and get whatever weapons you have. We're going to try and keep the shooting to a minimum, but let's get guards at the posts. Everything's going to be okay, people. Let's not get panicked."

I looked at the girls I'd befriended and was shocked to see Stitch already wielding a pair of pistols. I tried to figure out where they'd come from as Hailey wrapped her arm in mine.

"You two are going to go with Bonnie," said Kim to Hailey and me. "Annie, you stay with me, and Stitch, you're going to help the guards at the entrance. Okay?"

Annie and Stitch nodded and sprang to action. The three of them seemed able to erase any sign of drunkenness that had affected them moments ago. I, on the other hand, was still struggling to stand. Kim saw our wavering posture and stopped Stitch from leaving. "On second
thought, Stitch, you help these two out. I don't want them falling off the roof."

Stitch wor
med her way between Hailey and me. She wrapped her arms around our shoulders and we let her lead the way as the crowd exited the room. We moved down the stairwell to the large bridge that led across to the other buildings. "You two are going to have to tell me everything about where you came from," said Stitch as she helped us along. "I didn't know that DIA had a Facility too."

"Do you know about other Facilities?" asked Hailey.

Stitch nodded and raised her eyebrows. "They're also called the Body Factories, and yes, I know of a few others. We'll talk about it later. Let's focus on staying alive for now."

We were halfway across the bridge when we heard the sound of fan blades. Hailey was the first to hear them, and she forced us to stop as she looked around for the source of the noise. "What is that?"

People were able to move around us on the large bridge as Hailey led us to the side. Stitch tightened her grip and kept us away from the edge, fearful that Kim's prediction might come true and one of us would go tumbling off the side. I groaned as we approached and then pulled myself away from Stitch's arm so that I could sit down a safe distance away from the edge. "Sorry," I said as I sat down. "I don't like heights."

Stitch was more concerned with the noise than she was with me as long as I was
seated. She pulled Hailey back and told her to sit down beside me. Then she yelled at the crowd to be quiet as she listened for the noise that Hailey had heard.

She turned suddenly, an agonizing look of terror on her face. "Helicopters! They're coming with helicopters."

The crowd cried out in fright. Hailey and I had learned about flying machines while in the Facility, but we'd only ever seen pictures of them. I didn't understand what about them caused such panic among the others, but their intense reaction made me fearful as well.

Beach started to yell at everyone to get into their homes and the crowd scattered while screaming in protest. Many of the townsfolk refused to go home to wait and get shot. They wanted to go down to the streets and take their chances with the Poppers. People began to argue and a few of them screamed out in frustration as the discussion turned chaotic. We were stuck on the bridge as the crowd stopped moving.

I heard a man's voice yelling from far off, and then the blare of rifle fire silenced everyone. We looked at Hero, who stood closer to the entrance with a rifle pointed at the sky.

"Shut the fuck up and listen to me," he screamed. "We're going down to the parking garage."

"What about the zombies?" asked Beach.

"My friend is going to distract them, but we've got to hurry."

"That mother fucker," said an old man near me. I turned and saw that it was Harrison and that he was dragging a pack filled with gear behind him as he struggled to move across the bridge. The pack was too heavy for him and he strained to carry it.

"I can get that," I said and started to stand up.

"Thanks, beautiful," he said and handed the pack off to me. He had a puppy in his other arm that was sniffing at the air.

That's when the light hit us. It was blinding and I staggered when it
shined on me. The sound of the helicopters got louder every second and the spotlights were blazing down on us from them as they approached.

"Get off the bridge!" Stitch screamed out at us before she raised her pistols and started shooting. The light wavered as the helicopter pilot reacted to being shot at. I tried to reach out to Hailey, but was unable to find her in the commotion as people rushed to get off the bridge. Harrison pulled at me until I went with him while the air began to swirl around us as the helicopters got closer. I had to cover my eyes as debris smacked against my skin. Dirt and twigs from the gardens shot into the maelstrom and spun above me as I ducked down behind a raised portion of the roof, providing respite from the searchlights.

"Hailey!" I screamed out for her and thought I saw a wisp of her red hair fluttering near Stitch when the gunfire started.

The helicopters opened fire on them. It started with a brief whir of noise as the gun began to spin,
and then the intense blast of gunfire rattled my body. Brick exploded beside me as bullets collided with the wall and everyone began to cry out in terror. I heard several screaming voices stop suddenly as people died.

I fell to my stomach and covered my head as the helicopters demolished the rooftops. Splinters of wood exploded beside me as one of the gardens was shredded. The soil spilled out onto my arm before a large chunk of brick hit me in the back. I squealed in pain and arched up involuntarily. When I looked up, I saw Stitch fall over backward, a fountain of blood spewing from her chest. The force of the bullet knocked her off the bridge and she disappeared over the edge.

Then I looked for Hailey, but she was gone. There was no one on the bridge anymore, and that fact left me dazed. Moments ago, there had been a swell of people trying to cross, but now it was empty, as if they'd been teleported away. I couldn't grasp where they'd gone until an awful realization sunk into me.

Hailey had fallen off.

The gunfire abated, and the spotlight moved to another part of the roof. I heard a thunderous boom and looked toward the entrance where the noise had come from. Annie was there, wielding her massive gun that was set upon the wall with a bipod for support. She aimed at the helicopter and took another shot. The concussion from the shot pushed her entire body back and I marveled at how such a lithe girl could handle a weapon like that.

Her shot was apparently on target. I heard glass shatter near me, and then the light from the helicopter spun away, then back again. I glanced over the edge of the roof in time to see the helicopter crash down on a nearby street in a fiery explosion that shook our building.

I looked to see where Harrison had gone and saw that he was still beside me. He was covered in dirt from the demolished garden and he was holding the puppy inside of his jacket. He stared at me and blinked as blood rolled down his cheek from a wound on the side of his head.