The Rising Dead (33 page)

“Where did everyone go?”

“Who knows?”

“It's like the world is just . . . empty.”

“Yeah,” Parker agreed.

“Parker?” Max said, stopping and turning to him.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Thank you,” Max said, tears welling up in her eyes. She started to cry and threw herself into his arms. He held her and stroked her hair. Her hot tears splashed onto his hands as she sobbed. It was over just as quickly as it had started. Max pushed herself back and laughed, punching him softly on the arm. Parker smiled. He was finally beginning to understand her--she actually seemed embarrassed by her emotional display.

“Wow,” Parker said smirking. “Is that genuine appreciation I hear in your voice?”

She looked at him in shock and he winked at her, trying desperately to lighten the mood. She shook her head and laughed again. She wiped the tears out of her eyes.

“You sure you're feeling okay? I'd hate to have to put you down, but I will.”

“Parker,” she said. “Come on. Stop teasing me.”

She’s so beautiful,
he thought.
This is exactly how I imagined her to be: defenses down, playful and sweet and sad.
His heart felt like it was going to burst in his chest.

“You're welcome,” he said, love pouring out of him. He held her by the shoulders and pulled her gently toward him. She offered no resistance, letting him draw her into another deep, passionate kiss. Time stood still for them in that moment, washing away the hurt and the fear and the loss for one brief instant.

He pulled back first, watching her open her eyes and come out of the spell they'd been under.

“So what do you think is out there?”

Parker tried to wipe the smile from his face.

“I don't know,” he said at last. “Humans, I hope.”

They walked on in silence once more, reaching the top of a sloping hill and seeing a wide body of water in the distance, dotted with a perfect line of tiny black spots that were once burning homes. In the distance a row of military vehicles faced them like an iron curtain blocking their way forward. Two black sedans raced towards them.

“This doesn't look good,” Max said, squeezing Parker's hand tight. She could feel the ball of nerves in her stomach again. She fought back the urge to puke.

“No it doesn't,” Parker replied.

“What do we do?” There was a note of panic in her voice as she spun around to look at the road behind them. More cars raced towards them from the opposite direction they'd just come. They were trapped! The whole idea of being alone and free had never been true. It was just a temporary illusion. They'd been caught the whole time and not known it.

“Looks like they got us boxed in now,” Parker said, turning in wide circles.

“We could run,” Max said emphatically.

“Where would we run?” Parker asked, surprised.

“I don't know,” Max said. “We could run into the hills. Make them chase us. We might get away.”

“We wouldn't,” Parker said softly. “They'd just hunt us down.”

The cars were getting closer on both sides. There was a helicopter now heading towards them as well from the St. George side.

“You don't know that,” Max whimpered. “Please Parker. We've got to try.”

“I'm done running,” he said. “I want to hear what they have to say.”

The look on his face was calm and resigned. Max knew it was no use trying to convince him anymore. The helicopter reached them first, touching down a few hundred feet away. The pilot stayed inside but a man in a black suit got out and calmly walked towards them.

“Good afternoon,” he said. “I need a word with you.”

“You can go fuck yourself,” Max screamed. The man in black smiled.

“There's no need for this kind of incivility,” he continued calmly. “I'm here to help you after all.”

The cars behind them came to a screeching halt. Men in military uniforms poured out, all pointing automatic weapons in their direction. Looking back past the helicopter Parker could see the vehicles coming from St. George had done the same thing further down the road. The soldiers began fanning out in a ring on both sides, making sure they could not escape.

“What do you want?” Parker yelled.

“We're looking for a friend of yours,” the man said calmly, lighting a cigarette and taking a deep drag. “He used to work for us. He goes by the name of Gunner. He has something of ours that we'd really like to get back. Tell me, when was the last time you saw him?”

“Gunner?” Parker laughed. “That's what this is about? I'll tell you everything I know about that crazy fuck!”

“Parker,” Max whispered sternly. “Don't.”

“We left him back on the Vegas Strip,” Parker yelled. “At the little wedding chapel with the drive through window next to Mandalay Bay. Can't miss the place. Crawling with undead guys.”

“I see,” the man said. He lifted the cigarette to his lips and took another deep hit, exhaling slowly. “And before you left him, did Gunner give you anything? A parting gift of sorts?”

“Parker I got a bad feeling,” Max whispered. He ignored her.

“All that guy every gave us was grief,” Parker laughed. “He's a paranoid old asshole with a head full of conspiracy theories. That sound like the same guy to you?”

“Are you sure?”

“I'm positive,” Parker said. “He's a pain in the ass that almost got us killed countless times in the last twenty four hours. You got questions for him, you know where to find him now. Leave us out of it.”

“Okay then,” the man in black said, dropping his cigarette and crushing it under foot with his shiny black dress shoes. “Thanks for all your help.”

He turned and began to walk back to his helicopter.

“Wait,” Parker yelled after him. “What about us? What's going to happen now?”

“These gentlemen will see you end up where you belong,” the man said without turning back to them. “You have served your purpose.”

Max screamed at the top of her lungs as the soldiers began to creep in on them from all sides. The man in black stepped into the helicopter and it lifted off the ground. From the sky he saw the girl Max break free from Parker and try to run into the field. The sound of automatic gun fire and Parker's screams barely reached him over the chopper blades whirring as they took off back towards the city. When they came within site of the Strip the chopper veered off.

“Where are you going?” The man in black demanded. “We need to get to Mandalay Bay.”

“New orders came in sir,” he responded. “The target has been located coming out of the desert towards the secure lock down. He's almost at the base.”

“Ah,” the man smiled, looking like an evil jack-o-lantern. “Well that makes things quite a bit simpler doesn't it?”

Ten minutes later they found him, less than five miles from Area 51, walking on foot. The pilot brought the chopper down nearby and the man in black stepped out to meet Gunner.

“I was wondering when you might show up,” Gunner said, not looking surprised in the slightest.

“You had to know how this would end,” the man said, lighting a new cigarette. “We've been to your bunker over at the Sunrise Manor apartments and retrieved the video footage you took from us. There is still something else missing from the lab, something you took without permission after the shooting incident. So, where is it Gunner?”

“How about a trade?” Gunner said, wiping his sweaty brow with the back of his hand. “You give me clearance to the base and I give you what you want.”

“You're in no position to bargain right now,” the man in black said, his temper starting to show through. “I've been searching for you in this mess now for the last two days. You've more than tried my patience. Now give it to me.”

Gunner reached into his pocket and withdrew a small plastic case. He handed it over without further delay. The man in black opened it to reveal several small vials of liquid with two empty containers.

“You used two of them?”

“I didn't know how much I'd need,” Gunner said. “I had to be sure.”

“Is there anyone else who might know about the existence of a vaccine?”

“No,” Gunner said.

“What about the kids you were traveling with?”

“They saw the bites but I gave them a suitable explanation,” Gunner said. “We parted ways after that. To be honest I don't think they really trusted me.”

“How did you explain not turning? I want to hear it.”

“Booster shots,” he said. “Blamed it on the war. Believe it or not I can be fairly convincing when I want to be.”

“I believe it,” the man said, taking another big puff of his cigarette. “Are you sure you didn't mention it to anyone else in passing? Maybe your new friends down in the tunnels?”

“I'm sure,” Gunner said, looking upset to hear that they knew about the tunnel people. He'd hoped that Travis and Gemma would be safe down there but he knew now they were not safe anywhere. None of them would ever be safe again. “I was saving it for the right moment. I guess that's now.”

“Very well Gunner,” the man said. “I believe you. Now get in the chopper.”

“You're not going to kill me?” Gunner laughed in disbelief.

“No,” the man in black said. “That would be my recommendation but the men I work for have bigger plans for you, starting with a series of tests to determine how well the vaccine works. You are now extremely valuable, practically untouchable. It's a pity really. I abhor thieves and would be deeply satisfied dispensing the justice you deserve. Perhaps our day will come eventually but for now you're off to live a life of luxury beyond anything you've ever known, all for being dishonest. Ironic isn't it?”

“Seems about right in my book,” Gunner snarled. “You know what they say, behind every fortune is a crime.”

“Fascinating how your mind works,” the man said dismissively. “I am sure the scientists will spend hours picking your brains for useful situational euphemisms. Let's get moving. I'd like to wrap things up as quickly as possible.”

“I've just got one more question before I go with you,” Gunner said, pausing to further annoy his new captor.

“What is it now?”

“I've always believed you existed,” Gunner said. “I've known you were out there, just behind the curtains, so to speak, pulling the strings, manipulating the world to your advantage.”

“Is there a question in this ranting?” The man in black was no longer smiling.

“Yeah,” Gunner said. “Who are you guys really? I mean are you the Illuminati or the Trilateral Commission or Bilderberg or something altogether different I've never heard about? I've waited my whole life to know. Who are you?”

The man in black smiled again, fighting back a laugh.

“You'll have to ask them when we get there,” he said. “For now you can call me Bob.”

He turned and walked back to the chopper without waiting for Gunner. Gunner looked back towards Las Vegas at the numerous plumes of black smoke rising up to the sky like funeral pyres and for the first time in years he began to cry.

THE END

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Special thanks to my loving wife, Angie Sagliani, for her constant love, support, and encouragement.

Music listened to while writing this book included: Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Rob Zombie, White Zombie, Slayer, Disturbed, System of a Down, Marilyn Manson, Guns N' Roses, Ozzy Osborne, Black Sabbath, Godsmack, Mudvayne, Slipknot, Wolfmother, Korn, Iron Maiden, Steel Panther, Megadeath, Judas Priest, Sepultura, Foo Fighters, Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, Alice in Chains, Queen, and Bullet for My Valentine.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Special thanks to my loving wife, Angie Sagliani, for her constant love, support, and encouragement.

Music listened to while writing this book included: Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Rob Zombie, White Zombie, Slayer, Disturbed, System of a Down, Marilyn Manson, Guns N' Roses, Ozzy Osborne, Black Sabbath, Godsmack, Mudvayne, Slipknot, Wolfmother, Korn, Iron Maiden, Steel Panther, Megadeath, Judas Priest, Sepultura, Foo Fighters, Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, Alice in Chains, Queen, and Bullet for My Valentine.