Total Apoc Trilogy (Book 3): Horde Ravaged (7 page)

            "Hit the dirt!" Ralph shouted, turning around with his finger on the grenade launcher.

            I crouched behind a trash dumpster. He fired a grenade pointblank. The explosion was deafening. I took off running again. A quick look showed he took out a good half dozen, and knocked all of the leading zombies down. Even the zombies not killed seemed dazed.

            It was only a couple of blocks, but seemed farther. The high-rise took up the whole end of that block. I looked it up and down as we ran. With all of those balconies it had to be an apartment building, maybe even luxury condos.

            Ralph and Olivia checked the front doors. The doors were locked behind a steel grating that came down from above. There were no windows on the ground floor.

            High security indeed.

            Denied entry, we headed around it to check for other doors. I was determined to get inside. We just had to do it without any zombie seeing us. They'd gather and wait if they knew we were in there.

            Of course, I was using the example of Emory. Maybe zombies would forget about us if we were out of sight long enough. The zombies around Emory could see living people behind the barriers, so had reason to continue their assault on the town.

            We rounded the corner and spotted more zombies half a block up the street. They were coming toward us. We raced into the alley behind the high-rise. It overlooked a strip mall and there was an eight foot high concrete wall separating them. I counted seven large trash dumpsters pressed up against the building, with a single steel door centered on the back wall.

            "Damn! This door is locked, too," Ralph cried. "What are we going to do?"

            "Over the wall," Olivia said.

            "No, into a dumpster," I said.

            Each dumpster was huge, about eight foot tall. Access was via a sliding side door. I slid one of those doors open and looked inside. It stank to high heaven, but was only about half full. I crawled through and landed on a nice cushiony pile. I helped first Olivia, and then Ralph inside.

            After easing the access door closed, we moved to the back and covered ourselves with trash and tried to lie perfectly still. Almost before we settled down I heard sounds outside. The zombies weren't wailing, and I didn't hear anything else to indicate they'd spotted us. I held my breath, as if they could hear me breathing. That didn't last long.

            One of them bumped into the dumpster, or struck it. Maybe he was trying to make anyone inside cry out or bolt. Maybe it was an accident. They didn't look too steady at the best of times. I hunched down even more, quietly piling more trash atop myself. At any second one of them could slide that access door open.

            I aimed my weapon at the access door, finger on the trigger.

            The sounds slowly faded away. Moments later, I heard more of them out there. As time passed the sounds came less and less often, until I didn't hear anything for what felt like a lifetime.

            "How long have we been in here?" I whispered.

            "Almost an hour," Olivia said. She was the only one with a watch. "I haven't heard any sound outside in over thirty minutes."

            I brushed the trash off as gently as I could. After pausing to listen, I stood. Well, I crouched. It was too full to stand erect. Ralph and Olivia got up as well and we moved to the front of the dumpster. We very slowly lifted the lid until we could see up and down the alley.

            "Clear," I said.

            "In this alley," Olivia replied. "Not necessarily out on the street."

            We lowered the lid and huddled together. Olivia and Ralph looked at me expectantly.

            "I want to get inside the high-rise," I said.

            Olivia frowned and Ralph shook his head. I understood they didn't want to be trapped in there by zombies. But I had a plan. Sort of.

            "It's locked up tight," Ralph said. "We can't get in."

            "Yes we can," I said.

            "Oh? Pray tell," Olivia said. I gave her a sharp look. "Hey, just because I love you doesn't mean I think all of your ideas are golden."

            Ralph grinned at me. Very annoying. I wanted her to think all my ideas were golden.

            "Whatever," I said. "This is what I'm thinking and what I want to do. We can't get into this building because the doors are locked, right?"

            They nodded.

            "If we can't, then neither can the zombies or other survivors," I said. "That makes it as safe a place as any in this world. But, you are wrong. We're smarter than the zombies, so we can get inside."

            "Are you going to tell us how to get inside, or are you going to make us do some kind of 'Survey says!'" Ralph asked.

            "I like that idea, but it's simple. I'm surprised you guys didn't see it," I continued. "This dumpster is pushed up against the wall. It's almost one story tall, with the 2nd floor balcony right above it."

            Their faces lit up. It was a beautiful sight.

            We checked for zombies one more time, and then Olivia hurried to the side door. She didn't climb out to the ground, as I expected. Olivia went out and up on top of the dumpster. Ralph followed her out, and I brought up the rear.

            "Okay, occasionally you have a stroke of genius," Ralph said while he watched Olivia climb up onto the balcony. "Mostly you just have strokes, but occasionally…"

            "You're too kind."

            "Shut up and get up here," Olivia whispered. "I can see walkers heading this way, so get up here before they see you."

            Ralph handed up the pack, then we handed up our weapons. I went up next with Ralph's help, since I was "walking wounded." Then we helped him up onto the balcony, and just in time. Zombies turned down that alley looking for us or food, or whatever zombies wanted most in their undead hearts.

            "The door is locked," Olivia whispered after the zombies wandered away.

            "Keep an eye out for trouble," I replied, pulling the crowbar out of the pack.

            It didn't take long to jimmy the slider open. We'd had a little practice along the way. It did make a lot more noise than we found comfortable, but we were safely inside before any zombies showed up.

            "Wow, it's hot in here," Ralph said. "I suggest we spend the night on the roof. At least we'll have a breeze."

            Sounded like a plan. We headed into the kitchen. There was no pantry, but we found food in the cupboards. We wisely avoided opening the fridge. There was some sugary cereal that we devoured like wolves. Even without milk crunchy, sugar coated cereal hit the spot. Ralph found a few boxes of different kinds of crackers that we added to the pack.

            "I'm taking a can of Pork and Beans and every can of Vienna Sausages," I said. "Breakfast."

            Ralph loaded a bunch of food, spoons, forks, and knives into a pillow case and handed it to Olivia. She took it, but didn't look happy.

            "Why do I have to carry it?"

            "I'm carrying the pack," he said. "It's your turn to carry the pack, but I thought I'd be nice and carry it up the stairs."

            "Thank you," she said, and turned to me. "If the stairs prove too much for your wound, we can sleep on a balcony tonight."

            I didn't really like to be reminded of my injury. It was embarrassing, so I was determined to reach the roof. The building was only ten stories tall, after all.

            "Did you hear that?" Ralph whispered urgently.

            We froze. I held my breath as I listened. Nothing. Ralph wasn't prone to hearing things, so it was worrisome.

            "It's possible there is an abandoned dog or cat in the building?" I asked.

            I checked the front door. It was locked. Pressing my ear to the door, I listened for a long moment. Still nothing.

            "So, do we go up to the roof and chance being trapped up there? Or stay here?" I asked. "It may be nothing, and the roof would be the most comfortable place to spend the night. Plus, we can see for miles in all directions and maybe figure out if it's better to take a different path than we intend."

            "I don't know when you put it that way," Olivia said. "I like to err on the side of caution."

            "I have to know," Ralph said. "If I'm too afraid to go to the roof, then I'm too afraid to stay the night."

            That made me the tiebreaker. Personally, I didn't think it was anything. The sound Ralph heard wasn't even loud enough for me to hear. Also, it could've been an outside sound that reached him through the building.

            Or it could be zombies trapped inside the building.

            "Let's search this floor," I said. "The noise we make breaking into apartments will stir up any zombies trapped in the building. We'll know if we're alone soon enough."

            "No one can get to us without breaking down that door," Olivia said. "We can spend the night here, and just leave in the morning. Better safe than sorry."

            The distinct sound of a door closing reached us. I froze, heart racing. My first thought was to leave. Then I heard voices.

            "Children?" Olivia said.

            She started for the door, but I stopped her. I signaled for her to listen. After a long moment another door opened and closed, and again children's voices filled the hallway outside our door, sounding closer. Were they going from apartment to apartment looking for food?

            "I don't hear any adults," Ralph said.

            I didn't know what to do. We couldn't abandon children, but what if they weren't alone? Their parents could be quite scary, especially if they thought we were a threat to their family.

            "They're in the next apartment over," Olivia whispered. We could hear them through the walls. I guessed there were four kids, probably preteens by the sound of their voices. "They have keys, or a master key. I heard them unlock the door."

            That meant they'd be coming into our place next. We had to decide. Confront the kids, or run for it. I knew how Olivia would vote.

            "We are not going to abandon them," she said. Then she gave each of us a fierce look. "They're children."

            "I know," I said. "How do we confront them without scaring the crap out of them?"

            "They might have parents who aren't so nice," Ralph added, looking at Olivia.

            "We have to take that chance," she said. "I'll step out into the hallway. I'm not as scary as you two."

            I looked at Ralph. "I think that's the first time anyone has described either of us as scary."

            "I kind of like it," he said.

            "Shhh," she said, moving quickly to the door. Olivia left her shotgun and M16A2 leaning against the wall next to the door and removed the helmet liner. Trying to look less threatening, I guessed. "Cover me in case there are armed adults."

            Easier said than done. We couldn't cover her without rushing out and frightening the children. Before I could object, she opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. I watched her intently. If she showed the slightest hint of alarm…

            "Hi guys," Olivia said with her friendliest voice. "I'm Olivia. Who are you?"

            I got a real bad feeling when they didn't answer right away. She cocked her head. I could only see her in profile, and it wasn't good enough. Why didn't we consider if the kids had guns? Kids could kill with guns just as easily as adults.

            "I'm Nicolette. He's my brother, Bobby," a girl's voice said. She sounded worried. "They are our friends Colby and Andy."

            "You're not here alone, are you?" Olivia asked. "You have parents taking care of you, right?"

            "Maybe."

            I looked at Ralph. My feelings of dread turned into anxiety over taking care of four children in that dangerous environment. How did we take them safely through zombie infested lands?

            "I have two friends with me," Olivia said. "Do you feel okay with meeting Kyle and Ralph? They'll stay away if you want."

            "It's okay," Nicolette said.

            Olivia waved us out. She pointed at the wall, so we leaned our rifles against the wall next to her weapons. I went out first, trying to look friendly and safe. Not that easy in camo and a scraggly beard. The kids proved to be about the age I guessed. The one girl was obviously the oldest, with short, curly blonde hair. One of the little boys had curly blonde hair, too. The other two kids were dark-haired and about the boy's age.

            "Hi, I'm Kyle," I said. "Nice to meet you."

            "Is that all of you?" Nicolette asked. She looked a little suspicious. Her eyes kept darting back to the open door. "No zombies, right?"

            "Nope. We kill zombies," Ralph said. "We're zombie hunters."

            "Ewwww," one of the little boys said, face all screwed up. "Do you eat them?"

            We laughed. And two other doors opened and armed men charged out.

            "HALT!"

Chapter 10

            We did anything but halt. All three of us dropped to one knee as we pulled our pistols.

            "Don't shoot!" Olivia screamed. "We're friends!"

            The children that lured us out were already gone. I was so consumed with the armed men that I didn't see where they went. Didn't matter.

            "Road warriors are no friends of ours," a man said. He didn't look any older than us. "Drop your weapons are we'll have to kill you."

            There were six men. Their ages ran the gamut from elderly to teenager. One of them had a pump-action shotgun. Three others had handguns. One man had a machete and the last two held baseball bats. The four men with firearms were in front, with the remaining three close behind.