The Last Outbreak (Book 1): Awakening (20 page)

Left on Mineral Street, right on Fourth, and then the long winding maze to the backside of Ethan’s building. Circling the block three times and pulling back into the alley, they’d found a small corner of their defeated city, free of those things—if only for the moment.

With the passenger side up against the rear wall of the building, and tucked nicely between two county dumpsters, the truck was nearly invisible to the cross-street thirty yards ahead. The sky had stopped dumping snow over an hour earlier and with the sun on its way toward the horizon, the shadows afforded by their current location all but guaranteed the group a few minutes of peace.

Draping a towel over the windshield and moving to the driver’s door, Ethan and Ben slipped out into the alley. They ran through the courtyard, paused at the rear entrance, and with only two Feeders between them and the stairs, decided to make their move. Staying along the opposite wall and without being noticed, they slipped into the partially lit stairwell.

Again in possession of his weapon, Ethan led the way with the kid less than a step behind. Climbing the stairs two at a time, they reached his floor unfettered and with their confidence rising, they stepped out into the hall.

His apartment was twenty-five feet away. Between the door he’d just exited and where he needed to be, his former neighbor stood disemboweled. “Phil?” As the sixty-year-old retired plumber started in their direction, he stepped down on what was left of his large intestine. It dragged on the floor, leaving a trail of red from where another body lay facedown at the end of the hall.

With each step forward, more of what was left of his stomach ran out from beneath his red and black checkered flannel. As he moved to within ten feet, he stumbled forward, sending what remained from his midsection out onto the commercial grade carpeting.

Turning away, Ben shook his head. “You or me?”

“Watch the stairs; I’ll get this one.” Ethan moved to the opposite wall and took down the former plumber with one quick strike to the head. Retracting his baton, he moved into his apartment and closed the door. Into his bedroom, his cell phone still rested where he’d left it all those hours before. Atop his comforter it rested two feet from the charger that sat alone on the antique nightstand. “
I literally just need one thing to go my way today, just one
.”

Sliding his phone and charger into separate pockets, he moved into the bathroom. Stepping over a small mound of damp towels, he emptied what little remained in his medicine cabinet into a plastic bag. Back to the front door, he checked the peephole, and eyeing the fish-eyed hallway only spied Ben, waiting alone at the door to the stairs.

His weapon holstered and Ben carrying David’s nine millimeter, they moved into the stairwell. Standing just inside the door, they paused and listened for any new threats. Silence, except for the moaning of the wood, concrete, and brick, as it expanded and settled with the warming temperatures of the midafternoon sun.

“Let’s go.” Quickly descending the stairs, they moved back into the lobby, again avoiding detection and then out through the rear doors and into the courtyard. Another twenty seconds and they were back at the truck, Ben through the driver’s door first, followed closely by Ethan.

Plugging his phone into the makeshift charging station inside the glovebox, Ethan slumped down into the driver’s seat, and finally took a breath. Six minutes and eleven seconds round-trip, and only one confrontation, Ethan counted this as his first victory of the day—aside from still having a heartbeat.

.      .      .

The group sat in the rear of the truck with their backs against the wall, attempting to make sense of what their world had become. Carly finished dressing Cora’s side, as David made the long overdue introductions. “Ethan, this is Griffin. His friend here, the one with the hole in her hip, guzzling the water, is Cora.”

Griffin looked around the cabin. “Thank you, all of you. We appreciate—”

Interrupting, Ethan turned to Carly, his heart rate just now returning to normal. “Where’s Shannon?”

“Ethan, you need to understand the information I have was from earlier this morning. She may not even be—”

“I don’t care. I’m going to get her, where is she?”

“The call came across the scanner just after nine o’clock this morning. Police dispatch said that she and a few others were trapped inside the bank.”

“Then that’s where we’re going.”

Moving back into the cab, Ethan slipped in behind the wheel. “Okay, I’m taking Main to Third. Anyone think that’s a bad idea?”

No one spoke.

Ethan slowly rolled the armored truck forward, pushing the first dumpster far enough ahead so he could pull out into the alley. Driving along Main, he stayed in the center of the road and crept into each intersection. The streets in this part of town were virtually vacant, but for the many motionless corpses littering the sidewalks. It would appear his choice to come at the bank from the south was going to pay off. That was until he turned left onto Old Bridge Road.

Pulling to a stop at the corner of Old Bridge Road and Third Street, there was little doubt that the brick building sixty feet away was where he needed to be. More than twice the number of Feeders he’d run across at the hospital gathered at the entrance to First City Bank. They had yet to breach the perimeter, but with the crowd growing with each passing second, it was only a matter of minutes.

“Ethan, this is crazy,” Carly said. “There is no way you’re going to get past them.”

“You wanna bet?”

“You don’t even know if she’s still in there. Shannon could have gotten out hours ago; it’s not worth the risk.”

“I’m not asking for permission. I’m also not asking that any of you to help. I know the risk, but I’m not leaving without finding her. She may not be in there, but I won’t know if I don’t try.”

David leaned in and, wiping a thick layer of sweat from his face, said, “If you’re going, I’m going. You’re gonna need some backup.”

“No,” Ethan said. “I’m in and out in two minutes. Anyway, you’re too old and with that ankle—you’ll just slow me down.”

His face a faint shade of pink, David stood and moved to the window. “We’re the same age you smartass, and my ankle is fine.”

Looking around the rear cabin, Carly shook her head. “I don’t think this is a good idea. Even if she is in there. Trying to get through that mess is suicide. Can’t we just wait them out?”

“Ethan, what’s the plan?” David asked. “There’s no way we’ll make it through without—”

“Ben can you drive this thing?”

“Sure.”

“Okay,” Ethan said. “You drive along the sidewalk and take out as many as you can. The rest will follow you away from the building. Once they do, I’m going in. Take Old Bridge Road all the way down to Second and then double back through the alley. Make sure to drive slow enough that they don’t lose interest and come back. Give me at least five minutes inside and then come back for me.”

“Come back for us,” Griffin said. “I figure now is as good a time as any to repay the favor.”

“Alright, Griffin and I go in. We move fast. We get in, we get out, and then we get the hell out of here.”

“I’m coming,” David said. “You can’t ask me not to; I’ve got more training than anyone in this truck.”

Under his breath, Ethan laughed. “You look like crap, my friend, but you’re right. Stay close and do not slow us down. I can only carry one person out of that building, and you know after last night, I may not even be up for that.”

“You worry about you, I’ll be fine.”

The crowds outside First City Bank had grown in the time it took to run through the plan a second time. With the others only partially convinced of the merits of this endeavor, Ethan sat in the passenger seat with Ben behind the wheel of the armored truck. “Again, take your time leading them away. If you get into trouble or can’t make it back, get to the end of Old Bridge Road and wait there. This rig is pretty much impenetrable. You guys will be safe.”

“Okay,” Ben said. “And Ethan, I’m sorry about earlier. I was just a little excited and knew with the gun I’d be able to draw them further away.”

“I’ll tell you what—you help me pull this off, and maybe we’ll call it even.”

.      .      .

Griffin knelt next to Cora as they backed onto the sidewalk, fifty feet from the bank. “You feeling any better?”

“Yeah, my stomach feels better. Carly said it had more to do with being out in the cold so long rather than my side. My head still hurts a little, but I’m pretty much good to go, and you?”

“Still cold, but I’m assuming the next few minutes will take care of that. Trying to avoid being eaten has a way of keeping you warm.”

“Just make sure you get back here.”

“Ten-four.”

.      .      .

Stopped with the driver’s door alongside the busted out front windows of Jennifer’s Antiques, the armored vehicle’s side mirror was less than six inches from the transparent jagged edges. Through the bulletproof windshield, the group watched as the crowd beyond began to take notice. A few peeled off and started in their direction as the men prepared to exit.

Carly stood at the rear door with one hand on David’s forehead. “You’re burning up. You shouldn’t be going out there. I’m not trying to tell you what to do but—”

“I’m fine. It’s just the booze from last night finally working its way out, or maybe I’m coming down with something. Either way, when I get back, I’ll have the best nurse in the entire county to take care of me.”

Carly frowned. She never frowned. “I don’t like this, not at all. But I do love you, so get your butt back here, so I can show you how much.”

David leaned in, and whispered, “Carly, you are the most wonderful person I have ever met. I can’t imagine what my life would have been like, if I’d never taken that dare in fourth grade. Even more, I can’t believe you actually let me kiss you. Given the chance, I’d still kiss you. Every. Single. Day. And yes, I’ve loved you ever since I was nine years old.”

A tear rolled down her right cheek and slowed at the cleft in her chin. She leaned in and kissed him hard. “David, that was nearly as good as the day you proposed—where’d that come from?”

From the cab, Ethan barked, “Thirty seconds, then we go.”

“What’s gotten into him?” Carly asked.

David smiled. “Looks like that guy we lost in high school is back. Something changed in him at the hospital. I don’t know what, but I think it’s a good thing.”

Stepping out from the passenger’s seat, Ethan moved through the rear cabin. He motioned for Griffin to follow and then turned to Carly. “Lock the door behind us and don’t open it again until you see our faces come out of that bank.”

She told Ethan she understood, wished him luck, and then turned back to David. “Are you sure about this?”

He kissed her once again, as a tear matching hers hung at the corner of his right eye. “It’s just something I have to do. There isn’t any other way. I love you.”

“Ben!” Ethan shouted. “Just like we talked about, sweep them away from the front, and then nice and slow. Clear the way, buddy.” From the front seat, Ben gave the thumbs up.

The space outside the rear of the truck was clear. Ethan opened the door and stepped out first. He was followed closely by David and then Griffin. Closing the door, the trio stayed in the shadow of the truck as it pulled away, gaining speed as it skipped over the next sidewalk and clipped the first few Feeders.

“Wait,” Ethan said, his hand on David’s shoulder. “Once the front doors are clear, we go. Fire on them only if we have to; I don’t wanna draw any attention away from the truck.”

To their left, inside the ravaged antique store, a four shelf mahogany cabinet slowly drifted away from the wall. Two rows of fine china sat above a shelf of porcelain baby figurines, and along the bottom, six stained-glass decanters. The one-hundred-year-old cabinet lurched up onto its front legs and pitched forward as a pair of curious Feeders moved away from their current victim.

Before the first piece of delicate glassware crashed to the stained concrete floor, Ethan stepped inside. With his sidearm placed securely on his right hip, he again drew the expandable steel baton. As the cabinet slammed to the floor, he stepped on top and kicked his first aggressor in the chest. Cartwheeling backward, the beast staggered into a vintage clothes rack and disappeared.

Coming in from behind, Griffin ran through as if he was on fire. Moving past Ethan before he could blink, the newest member of the group carried a stainless steel globe, slightly larger than a regulation size basketball. He gripped it by the stand and was already in mid-swing as he stepped by Ethan.

The area of the sphere labeled “
East Asia
” contacted the bridge of the Feeder’s nose with a shallow crack, and both Griffin and Ethan turned away. Following through, fragmented pieces of bone and decomposed flesh exploded up and away as the Feeder dropped to the floor.

Not waiting for the first attacker to get back on its feet, Ethan grabbed Griffin by the shoulder and motioned back out to the sidewalk. “Let’s go.”

Stepping around the sea of broken glass, the trio moved quickly and quietly to the northeast corner of the building. Watching the armored vehicle slowly plow into the crowd, they stepped out onto the sidewalk and walked toward the entrance.

“Stay close,” Ethan said.

Continuing along the sidewalk, the truck listed left as it pushed through the crowd, sideswiping the brick exterior. Gaining speed, the impenetrable fortress on wheels drifted along with its tires straddling the red painted curb. And as Ben cut the wheel hard to the right, the trailing edge of the truck pushed a half dozen Feeders in through the massive front windows of First City Bank.

Already in a dead sprint, Ethan flicked open the baton as he rushed toward the massive horde. Scanning the crowd, who had yet to take notice of his presence, he counted eleven that would be a direct threat and estimated there to be sixty or more who followed the truck off the sidewalk and up Old Bridge Road.

Twenty feet from the bank’s entrance, Ethan sensed that there was a problem. No one was at his side and peering down at the sidewalk, his shadow ran alone. Turning, he saw Griffin helping David up off the sidewalk. Back on their feet, the pair moved slowly, as David limp-walked toward Ethan.

Waving Ethan over, Griffin’s mouth moved, but his voice was lost to the truck’s overbearing engine. Attempting to assist the injured man, Griffin was hastily brushed off. And as Ethan took his first step back toward his best friend, David fell face-first onto the unforgiving concrete.