Sirens of the Zombie Apocalypse (Book 1): Since the Sirens (26 page)

Victoria was happy to engage him on the topic. “So they are
more like Vombies or Zampires?”

“Hmm, I hadn't thought about it. Vampire-Zombies. VZ's? Like
Veee-Zeee. Does that sound good?”

“Sounds kind of like the word for poop.”

“Yeah, let's forget that. VZ could stand for Venezuela.
Maybe we call them...zuellas?”

Victoria said it, testing it out. “Zuellas. Yeah, I like
it.”

Grandma, what do you think of calling these things zuellas?

“I think you two should have more respect for the dead.”

Properly chided, Liam resumed pushing and Victoria followed his
lead. Eventually she added an addendum to their musings on what Liam
had witnessed below. “Whatever you call it, you should have
tried shooting the one you watched to try to save the man. It was the
least you could do.”

“Believe me I would, but my little pop gun couldn't hit a
barn at such a long range. My odds of hitting it and hurting it were
basically zero. Remember I told you only a direct shot to the head at
close range will kill a zombie?”

“Yeah.”

Grandma had an unexpected response.

“Besides, Liam has to protect you, my girl. You each must
stay focused on what's important now. Don't get distracted by things
you can't change. Know when to help your fellow man, but don't do
anything that could endanger each other.”

She was essentially telling him not to be THAT GUY and do
something they'd all regret. He knew it was good advice, even if he
himself was prone to such regrettable actions. He held his tongue.

Victoria was similarly silent.

“Why are you two looking at me like that? I know I'm just
the old lady along for the ride, but I'm also an observant old woman.
I see the way you two are looking at each other, worrying about each
other. It's OK. I get it, even if you don't.”

Grandma shifted in her chair, as if getting ready for a long
speech.

“I've been watching things carefully since Liam and I left
my house. Sure I've slept a lot, but I've also seen a lot. I listen
more than you know even when my eyes are closed.” After a short
chuckle at her own joke she resumed, “but you kids have to be
aware of the new reality here. These police officers might be the
last law and order you see for a long time. You are both too young to
remember Hurricane Katrina back in oh-five. The storm raged through
and the levees collapsed, letting water cover the city. I read all
about it. The first thing washed away was 911. Looting was rampant.
Rapes. Killing. Every manner of lawlessness. Even the police were
killing people. Not many mind you, but there are always bad apples.
And those criminals were all 100% sure society was still hunky-dory
in the rest of the world.”

“What we have today is much worse than Katrina. This
sickness is everywhere. Why the military won't let us across is a
mystery because I'd bet my last dollar this plague is up in Chicago.
If it isn't in East St. Louis it will be soon enough. There is no
stopping it. Society is going to break down. It
is
breaking
down. You've just seen it break down.”

“The only thing we can do—you, me, Victoria—is
go on surviving day after day. We should try to stick with these good
men and women, but that won't last unless we all get well outside the
city. There are just too many infected people now.”

“You two have to care for each other. It won't be easy, but
it's easier if you can tolerate being around each other. I think you
do.”

Liam blushed. Victoria's face was bruised and swollen already, so
it was difficult to read her, but Liam noticed a smile breaking
through her distorted facial muscles.

“Just promise me one thing. When my time comes, don't either
of you risk yourselves for me. Don't ever do that! Please promise
me.”

Victoria seemed to acquiesce, but would only say “uh huh.”
Liam also tried to remain vague. He would only commit to “I'll
try.”

Would he really leave Grandma to such a horrible fate?

He was ready to tell himself he would never, ever leave her. But
for the first time, his life or death equation was more complicated.
What if he had to choose between Grandma and Victoria? Sure she was a
girl he'd just met, but he liked her and liked being around her. He
figured that was enough of a foundation for mutual survival, and—?
He pictured himself having to choose. It hurt his head even thinking
of it.

He resolved that he was going to ensure Victoria and Grandma got
out of this together, and if possible, himself. He could not pick one
life over another.

Yeah, I can live with that equation.

5

The group came back together when they were about a mile south of
the tunnel. The trestle had gently brought them back to street level,
but they were a good distance from any pursuit. Human stragglers were
still coming down the trestle, but so far it seemed likely none of
defenders were able to get out of the tunnel once the bomb went off
above it. Repeated radio calls came up empty.

Liam was dismayed to learn the captain wasn't among the survivors.
Officer Jones was here, as was CDC “driver” Hayes. Most
of the families and children appeared to have made it, but the number
of officers was much reduced. There were a few of the gang members
still left, as well as a healthy grouping of regular citizens with
firearms.

Left leaderless, the group was suddenly faced with competing
interests. Many of the families of the lost officers were
understandably distraught. The surviving police were sticking with
their families.

The yuppie-looking guy with his wife and pre-teen daughter and her
spastic border collie spoke up first.

“I live pretty close to here and have seen nothing but
destruction since I left the house this morning. We should try to
swim across to Illinois. There is no way we can escape the number of
sickos we saw back at the Arch. They are going get through the
warehouse district, then swarm this direction and eat us. Even if the
Army kills every last one of them at the Arch, there is still a whole
city of them to the west of us. We can't outrun them all.”

Liam could empathize. He'd thought about swimming many times.

“NO WAY! We should stay in a group and get our people to
safety.” The gang member had a colorful dialect, but that was
the gist of his statement. Liam noticed a couple young children were
attached to him, as well as a woman who might have been his wife.

The big police officer, Jones, stated plainly the captain had
intended they keep moving south—until they got clear of the
city. He wanted to keep to that course of action. Then they'd figure
out what to do from there.

Another guy, one of the hunters, seemed anxious to actually go
into
the city. If Liam didn't know better he'd say the guy had
lost it—he actually wanted to hunt the zombies to help clean
them out of the town. No one seemed anxious to link up with him.

The discussion went on, occasionally punctuated by a snap of a
rifle. Infected were wandering everywhere now, though not in force.
Victoria moved Liam off to the side.

“Well partner, what are you thinking?”

“I'd vote to stay with the largest group going south. It is
where we need to go for one thing, and I trust the captain knew what
he was talking about when he sent us in this direction. I can't
imagine he'd have wanted us to swim to Illinois or head back into the
depths of the city.” And then, to let her know he heard her
greeting he finished with, “and what do you think partner?”

“I agree with you. Our best bet is to stick with a group and
move south. As much as I want to go back to my dorm and grab my Bible
and a fresh pair of clothes, there is no way I'm going back into that
mess.”

Liam couldn't deny he was secretly happy she had decided to throw
her fate in with his, but he also suffered some serious guilt about
feeling anything good while the city itself was being consumed by a
tenacious disease. He was unsure if that made him a good person for
feeling bad or a bad person for having thought it in the first place.

“Sounds like we are on the same page. Let's go see who we're
going with. Looks like a decision has been made.”

When they moved back into the main group, it became clear it was
splintering apart. The bulk of the group consisted of the core unit
of police officers and their families, along with a few of the pickup
gang members. They were heading south.

A few men and women threw in with the local who wanted to swim to
Illinois. A couple young families were going, but mostly it was
single people, many without weapons. They decided they were going to
give the river a shot in a couple hours when it turned dark. They
said the only hope was to get out of the city as fast as possible,
and the water was the quickest way to safety. None of them believed
the Coast Guard would actually shoot them.

The last little group was with the crazy hunter. He actually
recruited a young family and a second hunter to go with him. They
were standing clear of the main group already, gathering their
things. The husband was a bit on the heavy side, like exertion was
foreign to him. The wife was very attractive and in much better
shape. Their two young kids—one girl and one boy—looked
to both be about kindergarten age. It seemed fishy they would want to
go back into the city.

Liam couldn't help but get involved, even though he hated having
to interact with the crazy man.

“Are you sure you guys want to go
into
the city? My
girl-uh my friend here had come out of the city and she said she'd
never go back because it is so incredibly dangerous. What are you
hoping to do in that direction?”

The crazy hunter had his shotgun over his shoulder with his finger
on the trigger, like safety was a dirty word to him.

“Easy. We are gonna to find a nice warehouse full of food to
barricade ourselves in. Then live like kings until help arrives.”
Liam noticed he looked sideways at the young mother as he said it.

Liam felt the air change and he suddenly knew what was going on
with this little cabal.

He is going to kill the husband and take the woman. And the
kids?

He'd read about this many times in his books about zombies and
plagues, though now that it was happening he almost couldn't believe
it. He suddenly lost respect for the young couple—couldn't help
himself. Could people really be that stupid? Not see the obvious
deception?

“I thought you said you were going to hunt zombies?”

He looked at Liam like it was some kind of personal challenge.

“What's it matter? I changed my mind.” He had a kind
of leer to him that exuded ill intent.

Liam just couldn't let it go, though he looked around to ensure
some police were still nearby.

“What if no help is ever coming?” and then directly to
the young couple with their two young kids, “it would be better
to stay with the largest group. Maximize your odds by sticking
together. Stay with people who will
protect
you as long as
they can.”

The crazy guy laughed. And laughed. And laughed. Then he started
walking. The last thing he said over his shoulder was “Come on
Mr. and Mrs.—let's go find that building. He's just a dumb kid.
We'll protect you fine folks.”

Liam didn't know what he had said that was so funny, but he
noticed the young family had changed their minds. The other hunter
seemed OK leaving with the crazy man; he started to follow. The mad
hunter did stop when he noticed the family wasn't dropping in behind.
Liam watched as he pulled his shotgun off his shoulder and held it at
a much more dangerous angle. Liam suddenly realized how exposed he'd
become without the larger group around him. He could get shot by an
insane guy just because he wanted to be the hero. The hunter looked
at him intently for many seconds, but then he just hocked up a loogie
and spit in Liam's direction, turned around, and started laughing
again as he walked away.

“Better hope our paths don't cross again.” The hunter
said it quiet enough to not be heard by the police, but Liam knew
exactly what he'd said.

Victoria grabbed his elbow, drawing him back to begin following
the main group.

His mind was racing. How many more stupid people were being taken
advantage of by opportunists? Did chaos and disorder cloud people's
judgment? Were people so far out of their comfort zone now they no
longer knew how to function? Even at his young age, Liam knew enough
not to pair up with a seedy guy with a powerful gun. Not when the
police are in your own flaming group! He realized he was talking
about THAT GUY again. Only this time it was THAT FAMILY, and they
were trying desperately to get themselves removed from the script.

He felt himself getting angry, so he tried to temper it.

I saved the lives of THAT FAMILY.

Too bad they don't even know it.

He had very little time to celebrate.

The swimmers started walking away, and the main group resumed its
trek south. Officers and gang members alike were taking point or
covering their rear. He and Victoria each grabbed a handle and pushed
the wise old lady between them. Liam saw the metaphor now that he
viewed Victoria as his partner. They were all in this together,
joined by fate through an elderly woman who until recently he
couldn't stand to be around.

A massive industrial rail yard lay just ahead, draped in the long
shadows of the afternoon. He hoped safety was waiting for them.

It had already been three days since the sirens.

Marty was lying on the bridge, near a lone green sports car
sitting on the deck with her. As she stood up to gain her bearings
she realized she was in San Francisco. The distinctive Golden Gate
Bridge was far out over the bay. She was on another large bridge,
braced by large metal girders high above, though she had no idea what
it was called. It was a bright and sunny day and the crisp blue water
was incredibly beautiful. She almost forgot where she really was.