Emma: Part Two (2 page)

“Emma?”

“Yeah?” Hopping on one foot, she appeared in the darkened living area with a backpack slung over her shoulder. She jammed her other foot in her boot and started to lace it up. “What do you need?”

“What are the coordinates of this house?” She didn’t ask why he wanted them. She rattled them off, and he repeated them on the live mic. The soldier on the other end of the radio gave him a new set of coordinates for exfiltration. Without a map at hand, Max had no idea where the hell that was.

Emma slapped a map down in front of him. “Here.” She tapped a spot on the northeast corner of her property. “It’s right here.”

“That’s where we need to go.” Max folded up the map and tucked it into his back pocket. “You all done in here?”

“No. I need to make one more transmission.”

Understanding her desire to protect her friends, he left her at the radio. Max sized up the situation. There weren't many options. Some of the zombies had already gotten into the animal pens and chicken coop. The squawks and squeals of the dying animals pierced his eardrums. Some of the undead bastards were trying to climb the slick poles supporting they house but they weren't coordinated enough.

Max lifted his rifle and started firing again. There was nothing to do but dig in and hope for the best. They would either get the air support they needed in time, or they wouldn’t.

Emma was back on the radio, this time to someone on the Chain, when the first truck neared the house. He and Jack concentrated all their firing power on the truck but it did little to slow it down. The vehicle had built up so much speed that even with the driver nailed between the eyes and his body slumped forward on the wheel, they were going to slam into the house hard.

"Emma!" Max turned toward the living room and spotted her in the doorway, gaping at him. She had never heard him yell like that, and it had obviously scared her. He grabbed her around the waist and cradled her smaller, more fragile body with his own in preparation for the impact. "Hold on, honey."

"Max!"

The fear in her voice tore at him. He had only known this incredibly brave young woman a few hours but already he would lay down his life for her. He embraced her tightly and hoped Jack had a good hold up top on the roof. Emma screamed as the first truck rammed the house supports. The jarring collision sent Max scooting across the porch. Emma buried her face against his chest as the house clattered and clanged and shook wildly.

"Max, get her on the roof.
Now!
"

Jack's urgent tone spurred Max into action. He picked Emma up and ran through the house, back toward the window. The floorboards shifted beneath his feet and made him nervous. The whole house would collapse if they took another hit—and there was still one truck out there.

"My backpack and shotgun!" Emma screeched as they neared the window. She reached out toward the radio table and grabbed her weapon and a smaller bag than the one she had been carrying when she rescued them.

The sound of moaning and growling and hissing reached his ears. Zombies scratched on the floor and sides of the house. They were using the truck as a platform for breaching the house. Max handed Emma out the window and right into Jack's waiting hands. She gasped as Jack took her under the arms and lifted her up onto the roof.

Max made a mad dash into Emma's stockpile room and loaded up the empty duffel bags on the nearest shelf with shotgun shells and rifle rounds. He ran back to the window and handed up the bags to Jack. Seconds later, Jack's hands reached down and helped him up onto the roof.

Emma stood next to Jack, her chest heaving and hair blowing wildly in the cool night air. "What now?"

Jack shoved a shotgun into her hands. "Shoot, Emma."

She nodded and racked the weapon before stepping toward the edge of the roof and firing down at the zombies trying to invade the house. There was enough moonlight to illuminate their work. Max took up a position on the opposite corner and blasted them with his automatic rifle. The
rat-a-tat-tat
of his weapon competed with the shotgun’s
boom
and the
crack-crack-crack
of Jack's rifle. Max glanced away from the zombies down below just long enough to see the second truck racing toward the house.

"Jack," he said loudly.

"I know, Max."

"Here," Emma said, popping up next to Max like a groundhog. She pressed two things, cold and metal, into his hand. "I grabbed these when I went for my boots. I thought they might come in handy as a last resort. How far can you throw?"

Max stared at the grenades in his hand and grinned. "Far enough, sweetheart."

Jack grabbed Emma's hand and tugged her down to the other end of the roof. He wrapped his body around hers and gave the go signal. Max took aim at the speeding second truck, ripped the pin from the first grenade and launched it across the open sky. He crouched down for safety. Seconds later, the blast ripped through the truck, stopping it dead in its tracks and scattering dead and wounded zombies in all directions. Max stood up quickly and tossed the second grenade at the truck to finish off the zombies still alive in the truck's cargo area.

The immediate threat neutralized, Max picked up his rifle and resumed cutting down the zombies flooding the yard. Jack and Emma rejoined him and did the same. He had to give it to those undead bastards. They were some stubborn assholes. They just kept coming and coming and coming without a care for saving themselves. He started to wonder if they were even capable of thinking about self-preservation. Maybe they were being trained but they obviously weren't as smart as most pets.

They had been fighting off the swarm of zombies for nearly twenty minutes when the house rocked beneath Max's feet. He swayed off-balance for a second before regaining his footing. Emma wasn't so quick to right herself and started to fall forward.

"Emma!" Max snatched her arm and yanked her back from the edge of the roof. His heart pounded against his ribcage as he tried not to think about how easily she could have fallen to her death. "Stay back from the edge, baby."

She gulped and nodded, her hand fisted in his shirt. The house trembled beneath them again and her eyes widened in fear. The supports had been so badly damaged during the collision it was only a matter of time until the foundation of the house buckled. They were going to have to bail and make a run for it. There was just no other way.

I agree
.

Max jerked as Jack's voice paraded through his head. He frowned at his friend. Jack shrugged.
The electric interference has faded substantially. Emma's grid is failing.

Max glanced around and considered their options.
The bath house?
We hop over and then to the ground. It will be safer for Emma.

Jack nodded and headed toward the other end of the roof, pausing just long enough to grab the duffels of dwindling supplies. As the house shifted beneath them and creaked ominously, Max picked up Emma and swung her onto his back. She didn't fight him or protest but simply clung to his body. He watched Jack take a running leap and fly off the house. Max patted Emma's thigh. "Close your eyes and try not to go stiff, Emma. Keep your legs around my waist, honey."

"Please don't drop me."

He chuckled and kissed the arm curled around his shoulders. "Wouldn't dream of it, baby girl."

Without giving her warning, he sprinted the last few feet and jumped the long distance between roofs. He landed in a practiced crouch. The impact jarred his joints enough to make him wince. He was used to carrying heavy packs of equipment on his back but that didn't make it any easier on his body. He stood slowly and reached back to pat Emma's sweet little ass. "You okay?"

Her fingernails dug into his skin. "I don't ever want to do that again. I nearly puked on your back."

He grimaced. "Thanks for keeping it together, Emma."

"Anything for you, Max."

He heard the smile in her voice and liked that she could joke at a time like this. Jack shot them an impatient look. The zombies at the house had spotted them and were heading their way.

"We need to hit the ground running," Jack warned. He eyed Emma. "Can you keep up?"

"I guess we'll find out, won't we?" Emma replied as she slid off Max's back. "I gave your people the coordinates for a spot out on the northeast corner of the property. You want to run that way?”

Max nodded. "Our guys will be coming in hot from that direction. Let's just hope they reach us before those things do."

Jack handed Max one of the duffel bags of ammo to lighten his load. While Max provided covering fire, Jack and Emma jumped off the shorter building and started running. He gave them a good head start before leaping to the ground after them. When he caught up with them, Jack dropped down to provide suppressing fire with the automatic rifle he had traded out for the long-range sniper rifle. Max and Emma sprinted for a minute or so before Jack stopped firing and ran to them. Max dropped back to provide cover for the other two.

And on and on it went. Max kept an eye on Emma but she didn't seem to need any help. She ran so naturally, her strides long, her breaths measured. It was obvious she stayed active, and a good thing too. Her ability to outrun those zombies breathing down their necks was going to save her life.

The dull
whop-whop-whop
of an approaching helicopter filled him with relief. Radio transmissions from the lieutenant leading the assault filtered through Max's brain. He communicated back before grabbing Emma by the waist and pulling her to the ground in front of him. Jack shielded her side as the attack helicopters raced overhead and started spraying the zombies with bullets. Emma rolled up tight against him and put her hands over her ears. He worried about the noise affecting her hearing and placed his hands over hers, muffling the loud sounds of gunfire and helicopter engines further.

As the attack helicopters pushed the zombies back, another larger transport helicopter landed not far from them. An entire team of black-clad soldiers spilled out and rushed to their aid. Max stood and pressed Emma against his side while he addressed the leader of the team. With the immediate danger diffused, Max was only too aware of how much attention an Original like Emma would draw. It didn't help that she wore only shorts and a thin t-shirt.

"Major." The assault team leader, a younger human male he had personally trained, addressed him with a sharp salute. "Any injuries? We have a medic."

Max shook his head. "We're fine."

As he launched into a quick series of orders for the men, Max noticed Emma sliding behind him, as if trying to hide. He reached back to touch her hip, hoping to reassure her. He sympathized with her fear. She had spent a lifetime separated from society. To be suddenly faced with a wall of men, some human and others cyborg, would be disconcerting, to say the least. Jack moved closer to Emma as he talked to one of the team's sharpshooters. Together, they kept her shielded from the curious looks of the men.

Another transport helicopter touched down and the Zed squad filed out of the large craft. They were the elite tactical and covert ops team with a ruthless reputation. Like Max and Jack, their leaders, Rafe and Butler, were first generation cyborgs. Max broke into a grin as Rafe and Butler strode over and shook his hand.

"Hell, looks like we missed all the fun." Butler wore a bit of a frown. "Don't even know why I bothered rolling out of bed."

Rafe laughed and leaned to the side for a better view of Emma. "I don't think we're the only ones who rolled out of bed to fight zombies."

"Stow it, Rafe," Max growled, not finding the sexual innuendo at all funny.

Rafe put up his palms. "Calm down, Max. I wasn't insulting your human." He leaned over again and addressed Emma. "I wasn't insulting you. I'm sure you're a very nice Original girl."

"Is he for real?" Obviously annoyed, Emma hissed, "Make him go away."

Max chuckled and shrugged. "You heard my human. Go away."

Suddenly, an unexpected and incredibly loud explosion ripped through the night, shattering the playful banter. Instinctively, Max spun and gathered Emma to his chest. Jack turned and pressed his back against her front, sandwiching her between their larger bodies. The fireball in the distance lit up the night sky. Max's stomach dropped at the sight.

Emma shoved out of his protective embrace and squeezed away from Jack. "My house!” Screeching in horror as everything she had ever known went up in blast of flames and smoke, Emma stumbled forward in shock. “My house!”

Desperate to calm her, Max reached for her. “Emma! Baby, come here.”

She angrily slapped at his hands. “Don’t touch me!”

Max snapped back as if he'd been hit in the face. The vehemence in her voice rattled him right to the core. "Emma," he said pleadingly. "Why are you so angry with me?"

She pointed an accusing finger in his direction. "You did this! You gave them the coordinates for my house. This is your fault!"

“That’s not what happened. I did not order anyone to blow up your home."

"Bullshit! From the moment you met me, you've wanted to drag me back to your Outpost. Destroying my house is a damned good way to force my hand."

Max's chest constricted. That wasn’t what had happened at all, but he understood how it looked. It was suspicious but that didn’t mean it was true. He fought to breathe as the betrayed expression on her face left him aching inside. "Honey—"

"Don't." She lifted her fist and ground out the word. "I'm not your honey. Not anymore. You can go fuck yourself."

Tears streaming down her face, she pivoted on her heel and started walking back toward the burning house. Two members of the rescue team started to follow her but Max held up his hand. As the ranking member on the ground, he was in charge. "Let her go."

His gaze shifted to Jack who nodded and slowly took off after Emma. Max set his jaw and pushed down the painful sensation of rejection. He walled off his emotions and turned back toward the men.

"I'm taking my team to follow those zombies." Rafe’s gaze was unwavering. He didn't glance away in shared embarrassment like the others and Max respected him all the more for it. "We'll kill them. Gather intel. That's a shit ton of zombies to show up out of nowhere. We need to find the source and the reason."