Outbreak (Book 1): Emerald City (17 page)

“Damn straight,” Rocha replied. “Just about anything is better than sitting around here. Living in the barracks makes me soft.”

LUKE

Luke stood dripping wet in the pitch black of the garage and felt his stomach drop when he heard the sound of splintering wood. The emergency sprinklers had put out the fire too soon and the door downstairs was breaking open. After a moment, he heard the unmistakable growl of zombies and the slapping of feet as they stormed up the stairs. Suddenly, Luke felt a hand grab his arm and he jumped thinking it was a zombie. His heart beating a mile a minute, Luke realized it was only Matt beside him. “Where are those flares?” Matt whispered straight into his ear.

“Jesus Christ, man, you scared the shit out of me” Luke whispered back.

“Stop being a wimp,” Matt said. “Where the hell are they?”

“I left an extra one in the box behind the seat in the truck,” Luke said and heard Matt swear under his breath, followed by the sounds of the man fumbling through the darkness trying to get back to the tow truck.
Should I follow him?
Luke thought. He didn’t know what to do. The zombies were coming and he couldn’t see a damn thing. He was afraid to even breathe.
Safety in numbers,
he thought and stumbled in the direction he thought Matt went. After a few steps he bumped into someone and let out a little yelp.

“Would you shut up?” Matt whispered.

“I thought you were a zombie,” Luke whispered back.

“Do I smell like burned shit to you?” Matt asked. Luke realized he had a point. He didn’t know where Officer Park and his merry band of zombie misfits were, but at least he couldn’t smell them yet. Suddenly Luke had a sick feeling.
Where the hell did I put my shotgun?
He knew the last time he had it was when he was helping pour the gasoline into the jug. It had to be leaning against the wall near the stairs down to the basement. Luke grabbed onto Matt’s shirt. “My shotgun is back by the stairs,” he whispered.

“You’re shitting me,” Matt said.

“I have to go back and get it.”

Luke could hear Matt draw his magnum pistol. “Good idea,” Matt whispered. “We should split up so you can distract them.”
Now you have got to be shitting me! No Goddamned way am I going to be some kind of guinea pig,
he thought and backed away from Matt. He took two steps and collided into a barrel, knocking it over and spilling car parts out onto the floor with a loud clatter.

“I didn’t say now!” Matt yelled and Luke heard him run off to his right. He also heard one of the zombies scrambling straight toward him. Luke turned, tripped over the barrel, got to his feet and ran blind in the direction he thought his shotgun might be. Whatever was behind him rushed into one of the shelves and Luke heard a crash of metal as something big fell over.
Where the hell is Matt?
Luke wondered, just as he slammed into a waist-high workbench and crushed his nuts on one of the corners.
Oh my God! My balls!
Suddenly, zombies didn’t matter so much. Everything hurt from his knees to his shoulders as he held himself with both hands. He couldn’t catch his breath and felt like he needed to shit his pants. Suddenly one of the flares exploded from across the garage in bright red light.

“Hey, you ugly sons-a-bitches!” Matt yelled from across the garage. “Over here!”

Luke looked up and saw Matt as he held the stick up over his head with his left hand. With his right hand, Matt pointed his .44 magnum pistol and opened fire on the half burned remains of one of the zombies. The gun was a hand cannon and blew the zombie’s head to pieces. In the red glow of the flare, Luke saw his shotgun leaning innocently up against the wall near him. Luke ignored his damaged testicles and scrambled for his weapon. Grabbing it, he turned on the zombies.

“Bring it on!” Luke yelled and opened fire as two more zombies came up the stairs and ran straight at Matt. Between the two of them, Matt and Luke had the zombies in a crossfire. They each kept shooting and blew the monsters to pieces.

“I need to reload!” Matt yelled and Luke saw him toss the flare across the room. The only remaining zombie in sight ignored it and ran at Matt.

“Look out!” Luke yelled and opened fire. The first shot hit a plastic bucket sitting on a shelf and exploded in a hail of grease, but the second shot caught the zombie in the shoulder and sent it spinning into a stack of old car doors with a crash. Matt finished reloading and snapped the pistol chamber shut. He stepped over to the zombie and shot it point blank in the side of the head. Luke walked over to where Matt stood in the near dark and looked at the zombie remains. “Any of these guys your buddy?” he asked.

“I don’t think so,” Matt said and lit the last flare. “He must still be downstairs.”

The two of them went to the stairs and stared down into the darkness. There had been sprinklers in the basement as well and everything was soaking wet. They walked down and found Officer Park’s body burnt to a near crisp and face down in the doorway to the basement. “Must have been standing right in the puddle of gasoline when we lit it up,” Matt said. “Toasted him big time. And look, keys are right here on his belt.” Matt grinned as he leaned down and unclipped the key ring, but just as he stood back up, what was once Officer Park groaned and tried to roll over.
What unholy terror possesses these poor bastards,
Luke wondered. Matt jumped out of the way and almost dropped the flare as the zombie reached for him with what remained of its burnt and rotten hand.

“I got this,” Luke said and stepped over the zombie. He turned the shotgun around and slammed the butt of the rifle down. What was once Officer Park’s head caved in and its hand went limp.

“Nasty,” Matt said and jingled the keys. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Luke followed Matt back up the stairs and into the garage. As they reached the top, they could hear the growl and hiss of another zombie coming from near the front door. “Goddamn gunfire must have drawn him,” Matt said. “I tell you what. You take him out and I’ll see if I can get this truck running.”

Not my favorite idea,
Luke thought, but he didn’t see a better option. “Works for me,” he said and picked up the still burning flare they had left on the floor. He started for the front door and had only gone a few feet when a zombie popped out from around a corner. Without missing a step, Luke blew a hole through it. He listened for a full minute and confident that there had been only the one in the building with them, he went to check on Matt. On the way back, Luke saw their backpacks and other gear beside the stairwell.
Shit, almost left my smokes
, he thought and picked up the bags. He found Matt working to hook a generator to the truck’s engine. “How we doing?” Luke asked as he threw their stuff in the back.

“Making progress,” Matt replied. “Going to have to use this generator to give us a jump.”

“You sure that’s a good idea?” Luke asked. “Have you heard how loud a generator is? The noise will draw every zombie for twenty blocks.”

“Not much choice,” Matt said. “Only other option is to push start this thing, and I don’t see that happening in here.” Luke knew he was right, so he put down his shotgun and flare on a nearby shelf. He went to the generator and started pulling on the ignition cord. On the third try, the generator roared to life. Matt jumped into the truck and keyed the engine. It tried to turn over, failed a few times, finally started, and promptly died. Matt jumped out of the cab and went back to the engine. “Almost there,” Matt said. Luke did not know shit about engines, so he grabbed his gun and flare and let Matt do his thing while he went to check out the front door and make sure a horde of zombies wasn’t headed their way. He did not like what he saw. They had definitely attracted attention with the fire alarm, gunfire and now the generator. Dozens of zombies were sprinting across the yard towards them.
Shit,
he thought.
We need to get the hell out of here. Right now.
He went at a jog back to check on Matt, who was working under the hood again. “We got company, Matt,” Luke said. “How we doing?”

“That should do it,” Matt said from under the hood. He stood back, admired his work, and then jumped behind the wheel again. He turned the key and the engine immediately turned over. Matt roared the engine and the garage immediately reeked of exhaust. Matt turned the truck lights on and instantly the garage was full of light. “I told you!” Matt yelled and jumped out of the truck.

“Perfect,” Luke said and started to climb into the passenger seat. “Now let’s go.”

“Hold on,” Matt said. “I want the generator. Help me out.”

Luke grit his teeth because he knew they were cutting it close, but went to help. He rested his shotgun against the wall near the truck and went to the generator. Matt disconnected it from the engine battery and slammed the hood of the truck. Luke rolled up the cables and pushed the generator around to the back where Matt helped him lift it up and set it in the bed next to the tow arm. Luke stopped and listened. It sounded like there were a hundred zombies outside. “What’s the plan?” he asked.

“I’m gonna drive straight through that,” Matt said, pointing at the boarded up garage door as he climbed into the driver’s seat.

Luke grinned. “Works for me,” he said and got into the passenger seat. “Whoa, wait. Let me get my shotgun.” He got out of the truck and noticed how fast the garage was filling up with exhaust. The whole place stunk to high heaven. Holding his breath and hurrying so he didn’t die of something as stupid as carbon monoxide poisoning, he looked for his shotgun. Suddenly, a bloody hand grabbed him from the darkness.

“Matt!” he screamed. He knew he sounded like a little girl, but he couldn’t help it, he was scared. “Matt!” He slapped the hand away and saw zombies coming through the darkness towards him. He turned to run back to the truck but another hand grabbed him around the ankle and he fell hard on the paved floor of the garage. He feared he would soon feel teeth on his neck, tearing his throat open, and knew he was going to die. The zombies would eat him and what was left would come back to life. He would spend eternity roaming the streets of Seattle.

Hands were now on his leg, pulling him backward across the concrete floor. “Maaaatttttt!” he screamed and suddenly the hands were gone. Luke rolled over and saw Matt swinging his sledge hammer with both hands, back and forth, knocking the zombies out of his way, crushing them in the chest and head with the mallet.

“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!” Luke cried and scrambled to his feet. The two of them ran for the truck and jumped into the cab. They quickly locked the doors as zombies swarmed the truck.

“Damn, dude,” Matt said. “You scream like a child.”

With shaking hands, Luke dug his smokes out of his pocket and lit a half crushed cigarette. He didn’t care what Matt said, he was alive.
“Oh my God,” Luke said again. “You saved my ass back there.”

Matt ignored him and revved the engine. The whole truck was vibrating. Zombies clawed at the windows and climbed onto the hood. Luke saw Matt grin. “Watch this!” Matt said as he released the emergency brake, put the transmission into drive, and stomped on the gas. The truck crashed through the door, crushing the zombies on the truck. Once they were through, Luke saw more zombies in the headlights. The ones that had not been flattened as they drove through the door were standing all over in the yard. The horde immediately turned and rushed the truck. Matt drove straight forward and crushed part of them under the weight of the heavy tow truck. Luke looked back and saw what remained of the garage door in the truck’s tail lights. Mangled and flailing corpses were everywhere.
Holy shit!
Luke thought and looked at Matt who was grinning from ear to ear. Luke slowly started to grin too, the adrenaline from almost being eaten alive was slowly draining out of his system.

“Crush them all!” Luke said, laughing. Matt yanked the steering wheel hard to the right and spun the truck around to face the front gate. He kept his foot on the gas and held the steering wheel with both hands. Gritting his teeth, Matt plowed through another mob of zombies and drove straight through the front gate. Sparks, zombies, and parts of the gate went everywhere. Luke bounced around inside the cab as Matt drove over the sidewalk and into the street. Matt turned a hard left and pinned Luke against his door. Laughing like a mad man, Matt gunned the engine and drove hard into the night.

“We made it, man!” he shouted.

“Hell, yeah!” Luke shouted back and took a long drag on his cigarette.
It’s good to be alive!

TASHA

Tasha sat in the Humvee and waited. In her opinion, loading the vehicle had taken far too long. Everyone had started out moving together, but things fell apart quickly. Tasha had run for the MREs and immediately brought back two boxes. She arrived just as Ortiz came back with a duffle bag full of medical supplies. Unfortunately they were the only two at the vehicle. Williams could not figure out how to unhook the radio. Cleveland had gone to help, but from all the yelling and complaining, Tasha thought he was just making things more difficult. Tanner had come out of the bunker with two square cans of ammunition. As Tasha watched, he had promptly slipped in the mud and fell into a trench. So Tasha jumped from the Humvee and went to help Tanner climb out of the trench with the ammunition. He thanked her, gave her the two cans and went back for his sniper rifle. Williams finally came out of the tent holding the radio, which he carried to the front passenger seat of the Humvee and started to install it in the dash. Cleveland ran off to get water just as Tanner came back out of the bunker with his sniper rifle. Ortiz climbed in and sat behind the driver’s steering wheel, so Tasha had gotten back into the Humvee behind Williams.

She tried to wait patiently but she could only feel a wave of panic brewing in her stomach.
Are we ever getting out of here?
she wondered as Williams continued to fumble at the dash. Just then, Tasha saw a creeper come stumbling up the road. She tapped Williams on the shoulder. “What?” he asked as he worked to strap the radio to the dashboard of the Humvee.

“Creeper,” Tasha said and pointed at the road. The creeper was a mess. It limped horribly, like its leg was broken, and could only stumble forward.

“I got this,” Tanner said from beside the Humvee and aimed at the creeper with his sniper rifle.

“Save the bullet,” Williams ordered, so Tanner set the weapon aside and picked up a shovel. He walked over and clubbed the creeper in the side of the head.

“Better?” he asked.

“Perfect,” Williams said. “Now stay there and watch the road. I almost have this.” Tanner nodded and walked to where the road reached the top of the hill. Cleveland finally came back carrying two five gallon containers of water and he put them in the back of the Humvee before he sat in the back seat to Tasha’s left, behind Ortiz.

“Masks back on,” Williams ordered and Tasha remembered she had thrown hers in the Humvee. She rooted around on the floor and found it. The mask was a mess and there was no way she was going to put it on. It was disgusting and so filthy she could not see through the eyeholes.

“Um,” she said. “I don’t suppose --“

“Incoming!” Tanner shouted from the road.

Williams leaned out his window. “Let’s move!” he yelled and Tanner sprinted toward the Humvee. Tasha looked around.
Where is he going to sit?
she wondered. Suddenly Tanner jumped up onto the back of the vehicle and climbed into the turret where it was cut in the roof of the Humvee. Tasha could only see his legs which were down inside the vehicle beside her.
Whatever works,
she thought and looked over Williams’ shoulder. Through the front windshield, she saw a crowd of creepers reach the top of the road. Williams gave up on the radio and leaned out the window with his rifle.

“Ortiz,” he said. “Get us moving.” Ortiz pushed a button on the dash and the Humvee started up. Just then, Williams started shooting and a moment later, Tanner started firing from the top of the Humvee. The first couple of creepers which had come running up the road were blown away in clouds of red gore. Tasha saw more creepers come up behind them and it scared her how they did not hesitate or stop, they just charged straight for the Humvee.

“Hold on!” Ortiz shouted and stomped on the accelerator. The Humvee plowed forward and picked up speed just as it crashed into the wave of a dozen creepers.
God, they’re everywhere!
Tasha thought. It was as if they were drawn to the Humvee like moths to a flame. One creeper landed on the hood of the vehicle, its bloody face pressed against the windshield. It snarled and flailed at them, trying to get through.

“Tanner!” Williams yelled. “Shoot this ugly bastard off of the hood!”

“I can’t!” Tanner screamed back. “I can’t get the angle!”

“Shit!” Williams yelled. “Shit! Shit! Shit!” He leaned out his window and pointed his rifle at the creeper with one hand. The monster hissed at the weapon and bared its teeth. Williams pulled the trigger, the creeper’s face disappeared, and the body slid down off of the hood of the Humvee. Tasha felt the vehicle bounce over the body.
Okay, that was disgusting,
she thought.

Ortiz turned hard on the steering wheel and as they took the first turn down the hill, Ortiz was driving too fast and nearly lost control of the Humvee as she tried to get around one of the cement barriers.

“Shit! All the work we went through to put these in place and now they’re working against us,” Williams complained between shots as he hung out the window with his rifle. Tasha realized that everyone was shooting, even Ortiz as she drove, holding a pistol out the driver’s side window with her left hand, pulling the trigger as fast as she could.
Should I be shooting?
Tasha wondered. She was not sure and turned to ask Cleveland but he was busy shooting as well. Tasha looked at the rifle at her feet and decided to do what everyone else was doing. She picked the weapon up, made sure the safety was off, leaned out her window, and started firing.

“Hold on!” Ortiz yelled. She rammed into a creeper and stomped on the brake before pulling a hard right on the steering wheel to avoid driving into another one of the cement barriers. The angle was too tight to make the turn so Ortiz had to try to stop. The tires squealed on the asphalt as she brought the Humvee to a halt and Tasha could smell the burnt rubber. Ortiz slammed the vehicle’s transmission into reverse, rolled the steering wheel all the way to the left, and backed up so hard she slammed into the embankment. Tasha’s head snapped back and she hit her helmet on the wall behind her seat.

“Jesus Christ, Ortiz!” Tanner shouted from on top of the Humvee. “You trying to knock me off here?”

“Don’t be a little bitch!” Ortiz shouted back. She shoved the transmission into drive and stomped on the gas. Tasha saw a swarm of creepers storming up the road and straight toward them. The creepers were bunched together, sprinting up the mountain as one. It was like some kind of nightmare, where all of the marathon runners were dead. Ortiz drove the Humvee around the barrier and had a straight shot at the mob as they were coming up the road. “Here we go!” Ortiz called out and floored the accelerator.

Tasha braced herself.
Surely they will move out of the way,
she thought.
Some semblance of human instinct will tell them to get out of the way ...
but the creepers kept sprinting straight at the Humvee. Tasha sat in her seat behind Williams and held her breath. They were on a straight stretch of road and picked up speed as they barreled toward the creepers. Ortiz held the steering wheel straight with both hands and without hesitation, plowed straight into the mob. Bodies bounced and flew. One of the creepers was enormous and the Humvee rocked as it made impact. The windshield splintered and the breaking sound of something mechanical came from under the hood.

Ortiz kept driving as they passed through the mob. She took the next corner too fast and was not ready for the barrier in the road. She hit the brakes and the tires squealed on the pavement but the vehicle still slid. Ortiz yanked the wheel to keep the Humvee from going off the road and out over the cliff to the right. The Humvee hit a bank of dirt on the left and went up the side of the mountain. It missed the barrier, but the right tires caught in concertina wire. Tasha held her breath and waited for the Humvee to roll over. The vehicle went near vertical on the side of the mountain, but did not tip.

“Shit,” Ortiz said and turned to Williams. “Sorry.” She put the transmission into reverse and tried to back down the mountain but there was a horrible screech as the concertina wire came off of the barrier and was pulled up around the tires.

“Shut it down,” Williams ordered and Ortiz put the transmission into park. “Tanner! Watch our backs!” he shouted and jumped out of the Humvee. He took off his mask and helmet and dropped them onto the front passenger seat.

Tasha looked up and saw Tanner turn around in the turret so he was pointed backward and up the hill. The mob of creepers they had driven through, now much smaller, had turned around and was chasing them back down the road. Tanner’s machine gun roared as he opened fire. The creepers started to fall. Once again, Tasha did not know what she was supposed to do, so she got out with her rifle and stood next to Williams.

“What do you think you are doing?” Williams yelled at her.

“I have no idea!” she yelled back.

Williams laughed. “No shit,” he said. “Neither do I. Watch downhill. Shoot any creeper you spot. I’ll see if I can do something about all this wire.” He slung his rifle over his shoulder and opened a compartment on the side of the Humvee. He dug through some tools, found a pair of plyers, threw them back, and kept looking.

Tanner stopped firing. “How we looking?” he asked.

Tasha was standing in the road next to one of the barriers. There were no creepers on the road that she could see. “All clear,” she replied. “I think.”

“Cleveland!” Williams yelled. “Where the hell are the wire cutters?”

“Back seat, on the floor,” Cleveland replied and dug around looking for them. “Here!”

“Thanks,” Williams said and started snipping away chunks of the wire.

Tasha watched down the road and saw movement. “Sergeant,” she said. “I think we have two more coming up.”

She heard Cleveland get out of the Humvee. “I got them,” he said.

“Hold up,” Tanner said from the turret on top of the Humvee. “Let Tasha.”

Tasha knew she was being tested. Her last mistake with the rifle and the safety had put them all in jeopardy. Now she had to prove herself. She put the rifle stock into her shoulder and held the weapon like Cleveland had shown her earlier. She remembered to thumb the firing selector off of safety, aimed through the sights, and tried to line up the first of the two creepers as they came sprinting up the road. She pulled the trigger and the rifle fired. She immediately knew she missed because both of the creepers kept coming, not even breaking stride. She fired again and this time the creeper in the front stopped and looked over its shoulder like it saw the bullet go by. In its hesitation, the second creeper sprinted past the first. Tasha changed her aim and fired. She missed again. “Dammit!” she cried out.

“Quit screwing around out there and kill the damn things,” Williams said from under the Humvee, where he was working to cut away the wire.

“Tasha,” Tanner said. “Remove your helmet and take a knee. It will help steady your aim. You don’t have to hit them in the head. Aim for the chest. Center mass. Take a deep breath, let it out, and fire.”

The two creepers were getting close, only two barriers away. Tasha pulled off her helmet and set it on the road next to her. Her heart was slamming in her chest. She took a knee and aimed her rifle. The creepers ran past the last barrier, now only ten meters away. Tasha aimed and opened fire. She missed again. The creepers were almost on top of her. Suddenly gunfire erupted behind her and the two creepers were cut down.

Tasha looked over her shoulder. Williams stood there with his rifle, smoke still drifting from the barrel. “Let’s go, kid,” he said.

Tasha felt ashamed of herself. She had a chance to prove she could be part of the team and had blown it.
What am I doing out here?
she wondered as she picked up her helmet. She looked at it grimly.
Pretending I’m some sort of soldier? I’ll be lucky if I don’t get us all killed.
Suddenly, she just wanted to run away and hide in her food locker again.

Ortiz fired up the Humvee. Williams, Cleveland, and Tasha climbed back into their respective seats. Tanner was still in the turret. Ortiz backed up and slowly navigated around the barrier. She pointed the Humvee down the road and hit the gas. Tanner reached down through the hole in the roof and gave Tasha a pinch on her shoulder. “Hey,” he said. “Don’t sweat it.”

Tasha wanted to smile up at him, to let him know she appreciated the gesture, but she felt horrible. She was upset and knew at any moment she was going to start crying. To distract herself, Tasha looked over at Cleveland. He held something on his lap. “Hey, what is that?” she asked.

Cleveland was looking through a backpack. “I don’t know,” he said. “Someone’s backpack was in the wire.”

Tasha grabbed it out of his lap. “That’s mine, you jerk.”

Cleveland put his hands up. “What did I do?” he asked.