THEM (Book 0): Invasion (16 page)

Someone shouted from the crowd. “To do what?”

“To hunt and kill you‌—‌or, more specifically, to kill those of you who wouldn’t be missed. That’s where the missing people have gone. Before I killed it, this thing told me that it had worked out a deal with the commander to help keep the infected away from this compound, in exchange for human lives. A few here, a few there, and always people who wouldn’t be missed. Immigrants and those who had no family with them.”

At that, the crowd burst into an uproar, and I could see that the soldiers in the cafeteria had no idea what to do. One of them was on his comms, but in the commotion all I could tell was that he talked a hundred miles a minute. A few others chattered amongst themselves, probably conferring about what I’d just revealed. I was hoping their civilian soldier status would work in my favor, that this would spark a combined revolt between the people and the close-knit group of soldiers who must’ve been helping Hillis to keep up his charade. Considering the timeline, it couldn’t have been going on for long, so I suspected only a few soldiers and cops knew the full story.

Once the crowd worked into a frenzy, I knew it was high time to make myself scarce. I’d done my good deed for the day and then some, and I was ready to get back on the road. The fact that my parents were facing this mess alone weighed on me heavily, but unfortunately now I had two extra souls to look after. I needed to think things through before I headed out, because there was no way I was getting back on the road with that little girl in tow. Rayden was one thing; he could more or less fend for himself. But Elena would just slow us down, and I wasn’t about to get her killed by taking her on the road with us.

I made a snap decision and started looking for Bibi as I worked my way out of the crowd. I finally spotted her sitting off to the side, sipping a cup of coffee and observing the ruckus. I moved over to her as quickly as possible without mowing anyone over.

“Well, you sure stirred things up here, didn’t you?” she said as I walked up to her table. “I knew that Hillis was up to no good, but I never expected something like this. You look like hell.”

“If you knew the night I just had, you’d understand. Look Bibi, I don’t have much time. Before long Hillis is going to have people looking for me, and I need to get out of town before he does. Only problem is, I have a kid with me who needs looking after.”

She nodded sagely. “That boy who was with you?”

I shook my head. “Nope, a little girl who was bunked with us last night. That thing over there killed her mom.” I tilted my head toward the bloodsucker, hesitating to say what I thought it was out loud. “Think you can help out?”

She stood up and pulled her jacket around her. “I’m too old to be looking after a young child, but I’m sure I can find someone to take care of her. Question is, is this the safest place for her to be right now?”

“Well, I’ve seen what it’s like outside these fences, and I’d have to say it is. Not that I trust Hillis to be in charge here‌—‌but I don’t think he will be for long.”

She glanced over at the people crowding around the corporal’s corpse and gave me a look of disgust. They were now in the process of being dispersed by some soldiers, but the crowd wasn’t having it. I knew that pretty soon they’d be crying out for blood.

I motioned for her to follow. “Come on, I have a truck parked around back. Also got a safe place for you and the kid to stay until things blow over. You can come back here once the smoke has settled.”

She barked a short laugh and rolled her eyes at me. “The hell I will! If you get me out of here, there’s no way I’m coming back. Just promise me you’ll pass through to check on us on your way back from getting your folks.”

I took that to mean that she was going to look after Elena after all, but I didn’t bother to ask for clarification. By the time we were leaving the building more soldiers were headed in that direction. They were obviously preoccupied with the disturbance I’d caused, so they ignored us as we headed down the halls toward the loading docks.

A few minutes later we were in the truck, headed back to the house where I’d left Rayden and Elena. As I drove past the front of the high school, we heard shots fired. I could only hope that they were for Hillis and those who helped him, and not for the innocent people who had looked to the military for help in a crisis. Far be it from me to take on an entire battalion of soldiers, though; I’d done my part, now it was up to them.

THIRTEEN

SUFFOCATING

IT DIDN’T TAKE LONG for Bibi to gain Elena’s trust. I figured the kid would take to her, since she put off a serious grandma vibe of the kind kids can’t resist. I got Bibi settled in at the little cottage, then spent about half an hour raiding nearby homes for food and supplies to see them through until things calmed down. I promised to check back in on them in a few days on my way back from Austin, and left Bibi my beloved Kahr .45 and a box of ammo, along with my spare magazines. She accepted them without comment.

Rayden seemed to have a hard time leaving Elena behind. He spent a few moments with her, and I noticed that she’d somehow ended up with a rag doll in the time since I’d left them earlier that day. The kid had a soft touch, that was for sure. Resourceful, too. I thought about it as we loaded up, and finally took him off to the side away from Elena and Bibi to talk.

“Look, kid, I know you’re shook up about what happened last night. I also think you can help Elena and Bibi a helluva lot more than you can help me. That’s why I think it’s best if you stay here with them until I get back.”

He chewed his lip and looked at the ground. “You mean
if
you make it back.”

I tilted my head and nodded. “You know as well as I do how hairy things are out there. No need to lie; I’d say there’s a fifty-fifty chance I won’t make it back. All the more reason for you to stay here. Besides, you got skills and you’re a survivor. You can do a lot of good by staying behind and looking after Bibi and Elena.”

He turned to face me and looked me in the eye, extending his hand. “I won’t let you down.”

I shook his hand. “I know you won’t, kid. You’ve proven yourself already, believe me. I’ve served with guys who didn’t have the guts you’ve shown. Now, just keep your head down, stay hidden for a few days until I get back, and if I don’t make it back in three days you’ll know you’re on your own. At that point, I suggest that you see if things have settled down at the high school, because staying with a large group is going to be your best bet.”

He nodded. “Bring me back some Ding Dongs and a Mountain Dew.”

“You got it.” I slapped him on the back and went to say goodbye to Bibi and Elena.

Once it looked like the roads were clear, I drove a few blocks over to head out one of the gates the soldiers had set up when they cordoned off the area. There were no guards present, which I took as a sign that everyone had been called back to the high school. There’d been sporadic gunfire coming from that direction since Bibi and I split, and I hoped things would settle down before the violence got too severe.

The gate was padlocked, so I cut the lock with my bolt cutters and drove through. Then I secured the gate again with some baling wire I had in the back of the truck. Once I had the gate secured, I took the long way around town until I got back to the highway. Checking my map, I decided I’d take 183 north at Johnsonville, then I’d take 1431 at Marble Falls. That’d take me almost right to my parent’s house, or damned close to it. I hit 290 and headed out at a good clip, utilizing the shoulder to get around stalled cars and wrecks.

Once I got closer to Johnson City, I started to see more stalled cars and a lot more deaders. In more than one instance I had to do some fancy driving to avoid clusters of them milling about in the road. I decided to stick to the back streets at Johnson City, to avoid being stopped by the authorities. I needn’t have worried. The town was dead, in the most literal sense, from what I could tell. I saw lots of broken windows and smashed doors as I drove through, along with a large number of corpses, moving and not.

As I was driving through the north side of town, I saw a sheriff’s vehicle pulled over on the side of the road. The driver’s side door was open, and I slowed down to see what had happened. Inside, an officer slumped over the steering wheel, his brains splattered all over the inside of the car. Another suicide. I looked around to make sure no deaders were close by, then I put the truck in neutral, set the parking brake, and jumped out. A search of the car yielded a Glock 9mm, a few spare mags, a Remington model 870 shotgun with a box of ammo, and an AR-15. I said a silent prayer for the officer and his family as I drove away.

The rest of the afternoon proceeded without incident. I blew through Round Mountain, and other than avoiding a large pile-up at the intersection of 71 and 281, the road was more or less clear once I left Johnson City. The only thing that really worried me was crossing the Colorado River in Marble Falls. As I recalled, that bridge had two lanes in either direction, so all it would take was a bad accident or some troublemakers to keep me from crossing.

Sure enough, my fears were well founded. As I drove up to the bridge I could see that it was clogged with stalled cars in both directions. I backed up and headed for the ford below the dam. I’d gone fishing there once with some friends, and with any luck the dam wouldn’t be running and the water would be low enough to cross.

I drove down old Wirtz Dam Road with my hopes high. Unfortunately, as I neared the dam it became apparent that I was shit out of luck. Someone in charge must’ve had the foresight to open the floodgates before the power went completely out, so there was no way I was making it through that crossing. In a few days, maybe, but at the moment the water was at least two feet above the road and flowing fast. No way I could risk it.

I slammed my hands on the steering wheel and weighed my options. I could head back to 71 and take it into southwest Austin, but that would mean I’d have to drive through some of the most populated areas of the city to get to my folks’ house. I didn’t even want to think about the carnage created by the blast, never mind all the deaders that would be milling around. Definitely a last resort.

I could also head east on 71 and then cut over to Kingsland, but I’d probably be facing a similar situation. The bridge there was a narrow two-lane, and it might be blocked as well. That would cost me precious time, but at least if that didn’t work out I could cut north and take 29 instead. Not my ideal route, but it would do. I U-turned and headed back down the road.

It was nightfall before I reached the outskirts of Austin, which in reality were smaller towns, bedroom communities for people who’d worked in the city proper. Cedar Park, Leander, and Round Rock had all started out as sleepy little towns before the boom hit Austin and the city’s population exploded. Folks native to Austin would tell you that all the growth had ruined the city.
There’s not much to complain about at the moment
, I thought,
nor people left to complain
. I started to get pissed. Before I got too worked up, though, I put those thoughts out of my mind and started focusing on my game plan.

My parents lived in an upscale neighborhood on the edge of town, between Round Rock and Cedar Park. I could cut south from 29 and take the Parmer Lane extension almost to my parent’s front door. The only question was how bad things were in their general vicinity. I could only hope that they’d been able to hunker down and wait it out. That’s if they were still alive.

It took me some time to make it to their neighborhood, as the roads continued to be clogged up with stalled cars, more wrecks, and the living dead. I was shocked at how many shamblers I saw, and decided that the commander hadn’t lied to me about the infection rate. I spent a lot of time driving on the shoulder to get around large groups of deaders and motor vehicle pile-ups, and saw a lot of things I wished I hadn’t seen. It was after midnight before I made it to my parent’s place. As I pulled up to their house, things didn’t look promising.

There were no lights on in the neighborhood, so I parked the truck so that its headlights would illuminate the front of the house. I grabbed my M4 and an extra tactical flashlight, turned the truck off and locked it, then I headed to the front of the house. I could hear and see deaders converging on my position from around the area, so I knew I didn’t have a lot of time. I sprinted up the front walk to the door, noting that it had been kicked in.