The Reckoning - 02 (35 page)

             
Staying low, I followed the edge of the building to the front and peeked around. There were three zombies milling around the front of the pawn shop. Picking up a rock, I threw it well beyond them and hit a parked hatchback. The
thunk
got their attention and they all started shuffling that way. Drawing my Gladius and my hammer, I headed up behind them.

             
With a burst of speed, I slammed the hammer into the base of the skull of the nearest one, and then used the sword to stab the next one through the back of the neck. Spinning around, I brought the Gladius up in a wide arc and sliced the head off of the third zombie. It fell to the ground in a heap. The head landed a few feet away, the mouth still working up and down like a landed fish. A quick tap from the hammer ended that.

             
I turned slowly in a circle, scanning in all directions, but I didn’t see any zombies heading my way. I’d managed to take out all three quietly enough to not attract attention. Glancing up at Spec-4, I gave her a wave with the sword. She just smiled and gave me a thumbs-up. I quickly cleaned off the sword and hammer and returned them to my belt.

             
Crouching low again, I headed towards the convenience store. I made it across the street without any problems and headed up to the southern wall, flattening myself against it. My heart was racing in my chest and I could hear it in my ears. Taking several deep breaths, I forced myself to calm down. I needed to stay calm and be ready for anything.

             
As I crept to the front edge of the store, I carefully peeked around the corner. Four zombies were milling around the doors to the store. Shockingly the doors were closed and intact, despite being glass. In fact, the front of the store looked to be in good shape. Then something else caught my attention. Parked on the far side of the parking lot was a small school bus. It was the kind that only held twenty or so kids.

A plan began to form in my mind.
I gave Spec-4 a wave, but I knew that once I was in front of the store she wouldn’t be able to see me from the window. I was on my own. After a moment’s hesitation, I drew one of my Beretta M-9s and checked the chamber. It was hot and ready to go.

             
“This had better work,” I whispered to myself.

             
Stepping around the corner, I headed towards the zombies. I was careful to walk heel to toe to minimize the sound of my boots on the pavement. Luckily they didn’t notice me as I crept up behind them. I knew I needed to take them out quietly, but I doubted I could take four quickly and quietly with just the sword and hammer. I was going to have to improvise.

             
I tapped the nearest one on the shoulder and it turned around, almost comically. Before it could do anything, I shoved the barrel of the M-9 in its mouth and grabbed it by the throat. Then I fired, blowing the back of its skull apart. The sound wasn’t any louder than a pop gun. Holding its weight with my hand on its throat, I turned the zombie and used it as a silencer. I shot the other three in quick succession through the mouth of the one I was holding.

             
The gunshots were hardly recognizable. In fact, they kind of sounded like the noise you hear when you drop an over-ripe tomato. A wet plop followed by a squishing sound. They weren’t loud enough to be heard from any distance away. I doubt Spec-4 even heard them.

             
Shaking the gore off of the pistol, I scanned the front of the store. It was dark inside and I didn’t see any movement. The doors were locked and I really didn’t want to risk the noise of shattering the glass. It was a deadbolt style lock, so I doubted that my combat knife would do me any good. The only way in that I could see was by breaking through the glass. I was considering just hitting it with my rifle butt, when movement inside caught my eye.

             
At first, I just assumed that they were zombies trapped inside. It didn’t take me long to realize that they were moving too well for zombies. It was a woman and three small children, two girls and a boy. The kids all appeared to be about the same age, I’d guess around eight years old. The little boy was appeared to be Hispanic. One of the girls was Caucasian and the other was Asian. I felt it was safe to assume that they weren’t siblings.

             
The woman kept the kids behind her and approached the door cautiously. She looked terrified, but none the worse for wear. They all appeared to be well fed and as clean as can be expected, all things considered. None of them were armed. They looked at me like I was something out of a dream. It was as if they weren’t sure if I was really there or not.

             
“Who are you?” asked the woman.

             
Looking through the dirty glass, she looked to be in her mid-twenties with red hair and freckles. Her blue t-shirt said McBride Mountain Lions on it and all three of the kids also wore the same t-shirt. I assumed she was a teacher and the kids were her students. They all looked like they were about to break down crying.

             
“Wylie Grant,” I said, thumbing the badge on my chest. “Sheriff’s department.”

             
“Oh, thank God,” she said, relief in her voice.

             
She rushed over and unlocked the door, hastily motioning me inside.

             
“Hurry before those
things
see you,” she said, quietly.

             
“Zombies,” corrected the little boy.

             
“What?” asked the teacher.

             
“They’re zombies,” he said, adamantly.

             
“That’s right, son,” I said, slipping inside. “They are.”

             
Shutting the door behind me, she locked it and motioned for me to follow them to the back of the store. That would keep us out of sight of the windows. That must have been how they survived in here, all this time. The zombies wouldn’t try to break in if they didn’t see anything living inside. So long as they remained hidden, they were relatively safe.

             
A convenience store has quite a bit of food in it, but feeding four people for over a week had pretty much exhausted the supply. There wasn’t much left for me to take back to Spec-4. That was fine with me, though. If my plan worked out with the bus, we’d be back at the Underground in a few hours. Unfortunately, the fates had a way of disrupting my plans lately.

             
“How long have you been here?” I asked the teacher.

             
“Since the day this all went crazy,” she replied. “I was taking some kids on a field trip when we got attacked.”

             
“How many of you were there?” I asked, dreading the answer.

             
“Sixteen kids, plus me and the bus driver,” she replied, sobbing. “We’re all that’s left.”

             
I didn’t know what to do to comfort her. She’d been holding it together for these kids for over a week and now she felt like she could let it all out. I had to keep her from going to pieces until we were safely inside the Underground. I was going to need her help to keep the kids from panicking.

             
“Listen,” I said, gently. “I’m sure you did everything you could. Just try to hang on for a little while longer until I get us out of here, alright? I need your help to get us to safety.”

             
“Safety?” she asked, incredulously. “Where in the world is safe, now?”

             
“We have a spot with other survivors,” I replied, calmly. “We’ve fortified it and have enough gear to defend it. It’s as safe as any place else, I suppose.”

             
“I’m sorry,” she said, wiping her tears on her t-shirt. “It’s just that we’ve been trapped here, alone. I didn’t think we’d ever get out of here.”

             
“We’re not out of the woods, yet,” I replied. “Stick with me and follow my lead. I’ll get us out of here.”

             
“What do you need me to do?” she asked, her eyes brightening.

             
“First off, why don’t you all tell me your names,” I said, smiling at the kids and trying my best to be reassuring.

             
“I’m Lauren Detwieler,” said the teacher. “I am…
was…
a teacher at McBride Elementary. These kids were in my social studies class. We were on a field trip.”

             
“I’m Sarah Nguyen,” said the little girl, smiling at me.

             
“Hannah Martin,” said the other little girl.

             
The little boy walked up to me and stuck out his hand.

             
“I’m Saul Tapia,” said the little boy, grinning.

             
I shook his hand and mock winced.

             
“That’s a strong grip you have there, Saul,” I said, flexing my hand for effect.

             
“I’m strong,” he said, admiring his handy work. “My papa says so.”

             
“Well, he’s right,” I said.

             
The little boy beamed and Hannah rolled her eyes. Sarah just grinned at me.

             
“OK,” I said. “Listen up, boys and girls. I’m going to get us out of here, but I’ll need your help to do it.”

             
Saul seemed to stand a little taller, excited to help out. The girls listened to me and the teacher just looked worried. I could understand her fear. I’m sure she didn’t want to see any more kids taken by the zombies. I don’t think I could have seen that and remained sane. I was going to have to arrange a long talk with Maddie for her when we got back. She might even have to be sedated when she finally let go.

             
“We’re going to head for the bus,” I said. “Stay close to me and do as I say. Once we’re on the bus, we’ll go pick up a friend of mine and get out of here.”

             
“The bus won’t start,” said Hannah, dejectedly. “The driver had the keys.”

             
“Well, let’s not worry too much about that,” I said. “I think I can get it started without the keys.”

             
“You think?” asked the teacher, sounding worried.

             
“It wouldn’t be the first vehicle I’ve started without keys,” I said, smiling at her. “Trust me.”

             
After a moment to grab their backpacks, we headed towards the door. There still weren’t any zombies in the area, other than the one’s I’d shot. That was the good news. The bad news was that the bus was thirty yards away through an open parking lot. It would take a great deal of luck to not be seen before we made it to the bus.

             
Unlocking the door as quietly as I could, I peeked out both directions. Seeing that it was clear, I shouldered the HK91 and stepped out the door, sweeping the area. When I didn’t see any immediate threats, I motioned for the others to follow me. Heading across the parking lot, I tried to keep the gas pumps between us and the zombies as much as possible.

             
Once we made it to the gas pumps, I did another sweep of the area. There were still a few zombies milling around the front of the grocery store, but that was almost a hundred yards away. Across the four lane road to our left were about a dozen zombies that seemed to be concerned with something inside a little store. Scanning the store with my ACOG, it looked like they were just after their reflections in the glass.

             
“Alright, everyone stay low,” I whispered, “and let’s get to the bus. Don’t stop until you’re inside. Got it?”

             
They all nodded. The girls looked scared and Saul looked like he was trying to mimic what I did. The teacher looked like she was about to have a nervous breakdown. She was on the verge of a total meltdown and this definitely wasn’t the place for her to do that. If she didn’t hold it together, she’d most likely get us all killed.

             
“Hey,” I said, putting my hand on her shoulder. “It’s going to be alright. Just hang on a bit longer. I’ll get us out of here.”

             
I headed off towards the bus, crouching low and moving as fast as I could. I glanced back to see the kids were following me, but the teacher wasn’t moving. She seemed to be rooted in place, too scared to move.

             
“Shit,” I hissed, but kept running for the bus.

             
I was planning on getting the kids on the bus and then going back for her. Remember what I said about my plans? Just as I reached the bus, one of the zombies across the street noticed us and let loose with a blood-curdling scream. It was a
Shrieker
. Instantly, the others turned and keyed in on the source. Shoving the door open, I leaned inside to make certain that no zombies were waiting for us. It looked clear, so I hustled the kids inside. I swept it as fast as I could, just to be safe.