Vengeance (Twenty-Five Percent Book 3) (29 page)

Bates waved one arm, bellowing, “We need to
move
, people.”

Everyone picked up the pace, whether because of Bates’ order or the approaching sound of moans, Micah wasn’t sure.

“I’ll hang back and try to slow them down until you get to the roof,” Micah said. “Anyone got any nine mil’ ammo left?”

Tom let go of Ian and pulled a pistol from beneath his jacket, tossing it back to him. “Take mine. The mag should be almost full.”

Micah caught the gun and checked the magazine. Two rounds were missing.

He followed them to the fourth floor landing and stopped to wait.

They only had another two floors to go; he wouldn’t have to hold the horde off for more than half a minute. That wasn’t so long. It might not even reach him by then.

On the half landing below, the first eaters staggered into view.

Then again, it might.

Planting his feet and raising the pistol, Micah opened fire.

“Where are they?”

Jessup was staring out the front window. Alex followed his gaze over the tops of the buildings surrounding East Town, hoping he was talking about the eaters. But there were still plenty of those wandering the streets below.

“They wouldn’t have left,” Jessup said. “Would they?”

It was then that Alex realised he was talking about the helicopter they’d left to watch his friends. It wasn’t hovering where it had been. He couldn’t see it anywhere.

“No,” Frobisher said, “there’s no way they’d disobey Boot...” He stopped as they crested the final building between them and Alex’s road.

Dread stuttered through Alex’s chest. Eaters filled the street, clustering around the wreckage of the helicopter. There was no sign of Micah and the others, but if the horde had caught them, Alex knew there would be nothing left.

But they could have got away, they could have got inside. He raised his eyes to his building and saw movement. The door onto the roof flew open. People ran out.

“Over there,” he said, leaning forward between the front seats and pointing to the roof. “Get us over there.”

He kept his eyes on the roof door, watching Bates come out followed by a few of his people. A second later Janie and Scott emerged carrying a man in a black suit who was either unconscious or dead. Brian and a man Alex didn’t know followed, supporting another of Boot’s guards between them. Penny was last out.

They all turned to look back at the door. No-one came through. Janie was shouting something.

Alex scanned the figures on the roof again, in case he’d missed him.

Where was Micah?

The longest ten seconds Alex had ever lived through crawled by. Finally, Micah burst through the door and slammed it shut behind him.

Alex closed his eyes and breathed out.

Janie and Scott lay the unconscious man onto the roof and pushed a filing cabinet across the exit. Alex, Leon and Scott had dragged it up two days before and filled it with breeze blocks. Even Janie and Scott together had to strain to move it.

The group shifted their attention from the door to the helicopter as Pinner brought it in close to the roof. Weapons were raised, although Alex knew most of them had run out of ammunition.

“After you,” Frobisher said when they were low enough to jump, his eyes fixed on the guns pointed at them.

Alex smiled and opened the door. He climbed out onto the landing skid, jumped to the ground and jogged away from the downdraft. After a few seconds of astonishment Janie rushed over and gave him a hug that hurt his still bruised ribs. He didn’t mind.

Micah walked up to him. For a moment it looked like he would hug him too, but instead he jabbed a finger at him and said, “Don’t you ever do that again.”

Alex grinned. “I’ll add it to the list of things I shouldn’t ever do again.” He held up the thermos mug. “I brought you something.”

Micah looked confused. “Coffee?”

Alex unscrewed the lid, removed two cotton wool balls and showed him the contents. “It’s the cure. For Lucy.”

Micah gasped, staring at the vial as if it was the most incredible thing he’d ever seen. Alex repacked it and handed the mug to him. When Micah looked up from it, he had tears in his eyes. He opened his mouth and closed it again, pressing his lips together.

Finally, he simply nodded. Alex smiled and nodded back.

He heard a thud on the roof behind him. Micah and Janie were immediately on alert, raising their guns. Alex turned to see Frobisher straightening, holding his hands very carefully away from his sides as he walked away from the helicopter.

He looked at Alex. “MacCallum?”

“It’s all right,” Alex said, “he saved my life.” He frowned as he said it, still trying to get his head around the strange events of the past half hour.

“So does that mean you’re with us?” Micah said, not lowering his pistol.

Frobisher moved his gaze around the people surrounding him, his eyes settling on the two of his fellow guards who were conscious. Alex assumed they were from the crashed helicopter. One of them he recognised as the man he’d met in the hotel lobby when he went to rescue Pat, Emma and Katie. They stared back at him, suspicion etched onto their faces.

“It means I’m not with Boot,” Frobisher said, his expression daring the two guards to object. 

“Where
is
Mr Boot?” one of them said. He had a gash across his forehead and one arm was hanging by his side. The other held a pistol.

“Back at the hospital,” Frobisher said. “He’s no longer himself.”

“So he’s not coming back?”

“No.”

The guard relaxed and replaced his pistol into the holster beneath his jacket. “Okay.”

The downdraft from the helicopter’s blades shifted as it began to rise. Alex heard shouting from inside.

Frobisher whirled round, starting back towards it and shouting. “Hey! Pinner, we’re not finished...”

The helicopter lifted twenty feet into the air, the door still open. It stopped and then lurched to one side. A figure fell out. The chopper rose further and flew off, the force of the air around it slamming the door shut.

Frobisher ran to the man left groaning on the ground. “Jessup, what happened? Why did you let him leave?”

Jessup sat up, rubbing his left arm. “Does it look like I
let
him leave? The bastard pushed me out.”

Alex watched the helicopter fly away. “I don’t expect there’s any possibility he’s gone to get help.”

The expletive Frobisher roared could probably have been heard on the other side of the city.

Alex started for the door leading from the roof. “If we go downstairs, maybe we can...”

“Can’t,” Micah said.

Alex stopped. “Why not?”

Micah shrugged with one shoulder. “The building’s full of eaters.”

Alex looked at the door blocked by the filing cabinet. It appeared to be shuddering. Now the helicopter had gone, he could hear faint moans.

He shook his head. “I leave you alone for half an hour.”

Frobisher walked over to the front edge of the roof and looked down at the horde. “How did they get in?”

“Through the parking garage on the ground floor,” Brian said.

“Your man Simmons accosted my daughter and then let the eaters in trying to get away,” Bates said, glaring at Frobisher as if it was his fault.

Frobisher backed away from the edge. “I should have killed Simmons long ago.”

“You keep saying that,” Alex said.

“Yes, well, lately I’m finding I have a lot of regrets.”

Micah wandered over to the edge of the roof next to Frobisher. The two men stared at each other in silent confrontation. Surprisingly, it was Frobisher who broke eye contact first, turning away and walking to where Jessup and the two guards from the helicopter were gathered around their still unconscious colleague.

Micah lowered his hackles. “Why is he so bloody tall?” he muttered. “I feel like David facing up to Goliath. He really saved your life?”

Alex looked down at the eaters surrounding the wrecked helicopter. “Infected Boot, killed Baxter, left Boot turned and cuffed to a bed at the hospital. No wonder Boot was so paranoid. Even the people he trusted betrayed the little psycho.” He nodded at the scene below. “What happened here?”

A smug look bloomed on Micah’s face. “We brought down the helicopter. In hindsight, it was very impressive.”

“And you rescued the crew? Softy.”

Micah shrugged. “You would have done the same.”

“I don’t suppose you rescued any of their pheromone guns along with them?”

The smug expression disappeared. “I didn’t think of it. In my defence, I was kind of preoccupied with not getting eaten at the time.”

Brian, Janie and Bates walked over to Alex and Micah. Penny, Scott and the rest of the group were gathered a little way from Boot’s ex-guards. The two factions eyed each other warily.

“We need to get off this roof,” Bates stated, looking down. “We also need to get rid of this horde and eliminate the rest of Boot’s people.” He looked back at Boot’s former security. “How many of you are left?” he called to them.

Jessup jogged over. Like the rest of them, he glanced down at the sea of eaters before speaking. “That depends on what happened at the laboratory facility.”

At the mention of the lab, Alex’s stomach clenched. “What do you mean, what happened?”

Jessup glanced back at the other guards. “Bish, Frobisher, was in the chopper your APV crashed. He was the only one who survived. Boot sent a car with four more to take over securing the facility.”

Alex’s mouth had gone dry. “And what happened?”

“I don’t know. The last I heard, they were leading the horde towards the lab. I didn’t notice Boot getting anything else from them. I’m guessing either they’re dead or something went very wrong and they don’t want Boot to know they failed.”

“So discounting them,” Bates said, “who else?”

“Five were left at the hotel.”

“Are they loyal to Boot?”

Jessup smiled without humour. “On the surface, all of us were. I don’t have any idea how many of us were just waiting to get away. Up until ten minutes ago I’d have bet my life that Darren Frobisher was Boot’s pet.”

Bates nodded slowly. “So they’re not an immediate concern. We can deal with them later. Our priority is the horde.”

“We can’t have them wandering around the city,” Alex said. He was having trouble getting his mind off his friends at the lab. Were they safe? Was Hannah okay?

“Agreed,” Bates said.

“If we had one of the bug guns, we could just lead them away,” Jessup said.

“Bug guns?” Bates said.

“The pheromone guns. Hey, Tom!” he called. “Is your bug gun back in the chopper?”

One of the black suited men across the roof with Frobisher looked up. Alex noticed he was favouring his left leg. “Far as I know. None of us took it.”

“But how do we get to the chopper?” Micah said. “And what do we do after that?”

They all looked down at the horde.

“We need to trap them somewhere,” Bates said.

“There have to be at least a couple of thousand down there,” Janie said. “And even more around the back. Where are we going to put them?”

There was half a minute of silent thought.

“There’s a football stadium here, right?” Brian said. “Does Sarcester have a team?”

“Does Sarcester have a
team
?” Janie sputtered. “Sarcester City almost made the Premier League last season.”

“Hey, I’m not into football. I don’t know these things.”

“You’re not... into... football,” Alex said. “Is there something wrong with you?”

Brian sighed. “You sound like my dad.”

“I’m not that into it either,” Micah said. “I watch the odd match, usually in the pub with a couple of beers in me, but on my own I’m not that bothered.”

Alex whirled to face him. “You should have mentioned this before we became friends,” he gasped. “It’s like I don’t even know you!”

“I feel this is a discussion for another time,” Micah replied, smiling.

“The stadium is a good idea,” Bates said, either oblivious to or ignoring the brief moment of levity. “They’ll all fit and there’s an entrance for maintenance vehicles that’s big enough to get them inside quickly.”

“But first we have to get the pheromone gun,” Alex said, staring down at the street.

They all followed his gaze to where the crashed helicopter was surrounded by eaters.

“How?” Brian said.

Micah stepped back from the edge and looked around. “I have an idea.”

Sam uncovered his ears when the chaos finally died down.

“I think it’s over,” he said, turning to Sean.

The soldier had his eyes closed as he leaned against the lift wall. Sam touched his arm and he started, his eyes springing open.

“It’s over,” Sam repeated.

Sean swallowed and pushed himself upright. He took a step towards the open doors and immediately grabbed the handrail, swaying unsteadily.

Sam grasped his free arm to help him, his hand encountering clammy skin. Keeping hold of Sean, he edged to the door and looked out. The main lobby was littered with dead eaters. Across the room, Tracey and Matt were pushing the large double doors closed. Rick and Will were picking their way through the carnage.

“Help,” Sam called. “We need help.”

At the sound of his voice all four of them looked towards the lift.

“Sam?” Rick reached them first, took one look at Sean and beckoned the others over.

“He’s been bitten a lot,” Sam said. “The lobby downstairs is full of eaters, but we need to get him to the doctors for the cure.”

Tracey took charge, like she always did. “Hartley, Sam, stay with Hud until we’re clear. Collins and Porter, with me.”

As Tracey, Matt and Will headed for the stairs, Rick and Sam tried to help Sean from the lift. He waved them away, mumbling, “I’m not an invalid.” But when he almost fell after a few steps, he reluctantly allowed them to support him on either side.

The sound of rapid gunfire echoed up the stairs as the three of them slowly made their way in that direction. A few seconds later, Tracey, Matt and Will ran back into the lobby.

“Stay back,” Tracey said.

Sam was about to ask why when a massive blast shook the floor beneath his feet, almost immediately followed by another.

“I hope that worked,” Matt said, taking his hands from his ears, “because those were my last two grenades.”

The three soldiers trudged back down the stairs. A minute passed, punctuated with sporadic gunfire.

“You can come down now,” Will called.

When they reached the lower lobby the remaining eaters had all been dispatched, many of them into very small pieces. Much of the room had been redecorated in a predominantly red, gooey theme. Sam tried to find something not covered in blood to look at. When he couldn’t, he concentrated on his shoes and not tripping over any bits of... well, any bits. He was feeling slightly nauseated.

The discrepancy in height between Sam and Rick was making things awkward in helping Sean to walk, so Will took over from Sam as they headed back into the facility. Tracey called Larry on her radio and after half a minute of walking the four doctors joined them. They stopped briefly so that Hannah could inject something into Sean’s arm.

“I may have got blood on me,” Will said to Hannah when she’d finished. “I’m not sure if I’m imagining it, but I feel a bit off.”

She smiled and produced another syringe. “I come prepared.” She injected Will then said, “Anyone else feeling ill?” When no one else said anything, she pretended to be disappointed. “Darn. I love sticking needles in people.”

Sam grinned and wished she’d been his doctor when he was a kid.

As they headed for the infirmary Sean’s feet began to drag and Rick and Will were forced to almost carry him.

“He’ll be okay, won’t he?” Sam whispered to Dave as they walked behind them.

“Oh yes, he’ll be fine,” Dave replied. “Don’t worry, the cure works. We used it on Micah and he was much further along. Sean will be perfectly okay.”

Sam nodded and watched Sean’s back, trying not to worry.

“How are you feeling?” Dave said.

“Not sick. Would I be feeling it by now if I was infected?”

“Most likely. Your response would be slower than Sean’s because the virus has gone directly into his bloodstream through the bites, but I should think you’d be feeling something by now. You tell me if you start to feel ill though. I’ll take everyone’s blood once we get to the infirmary and check for the virus.”

Sam nodded again, without enthusiasm. He hated needles. Funny that he’d just been almost killed by a horde of eaters and a needle bothered him.

By the time they reached the infirmary, Will and Rick were supporting almost all of Sean’s weight.

“Sam, thank goodness,” Patrice said as they walked in.

Leon gave him a weak wave and lay back on his bed, his arms wrapped around Emma and Katie. Claire looked at Sam from where she sat beside Adam’s bed. He smiled at her, hoping to see her relieved he was unharmed, but she simply looked away.

Rick and Will got Sean onto a vacant bed and Hannah gave him another injection.

“You’re going to be okay, I promise,” she said. “As a doctor, I’m not supposed to make promises because things are rarely certain in medicine, but this is good stuff.” She held up the empty syringe and smiled.

Sean gave a weak nod and closed his eyes.

Larry and Pauline went to work on Adam who was looking pale, but more alert than he had been when Sam left to lead the horde away. Hannah began cleaning Sean’s bite wounds. Dave took a sample of Sam’s blood, which barely hurt at all, and took it away to analyse. A minute later he walked back in, staring at a tablet and looking confused.

“Sam, have you been ill recently?” he said.

“No, why?” Sam started to worry. “Is something wrong? Am I sick? Am I infected?”

Dave continued to stare at the screen on his tablet. “Oh, no. No, you’re fine. Your white blood count is unusually high, that’s all.”

“What does that mean?”

“Probably nothing. You may have had a mild infection recently that you weren’t even aware of. Forget I mentioned it.” He finally looked up at Sam and smiled. “Considering how close you were to all those eaters when you shot them, I’d say you are a very lucky young man indeed.”

Sam breathed out in relief. “I’d have died if it wasn’t for Sean though.” He looked at the group of soldiers clustered around Sean and Adam’s adjacent beds. “You should have seen it. He fought through all those eaters and he didn’t even stop when he got bitten. He should get a medal or something.”

Tracey smiled. “We’ll see what we can do.”

Claire was across the room, still sitting on the chair close to Adam’s bed. She’d barely even looked at him since they got back and when he’d spoken about what happened in the lobby, she seemed to tense up. He wondered if she was angry at him for what he’d done. She’d told him not to be a hero. Did leading the eaters away count?

As he watched her, she stood abruptly, walked past him, and left the room.

The soldiers had begun to discuss making the back door more secure and clearing up the mess at both ends of the building and all four doctors were occupied with their patients. Sam slipped out unnoticed.

He found Claire in the lounge. The horde’s progress through the room had shifted some of the furniture around and left an unpleasant odour which the air filtration system hadn’t yet managed to remove completely, but otherwise it had come through relatively unscathed.

He walked up to Claire where she stood at the kitchenette counter with her back to him.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to...”

She spun around and threw herself against him, hugging his waist and pressing her face into his shoulder. Sam’s heart almost burst from his chest. He could feel her trembling and he tentatively wrapped his arms around her.

Her body heaved in a sob.

Sam panicked.

Eater’s attacking him was nothing compared to Claire crying. He had no idea what to do. He didn’t know how long he stood there, hugging her as she wept and desperately trying to think of a way to help her. He’d never felt as useless as he did at that moment. In the end, he settled on simply holding her and willing her to feel better.

To his shame, he didn’t hate the experience. She was soft and warm and her hair smelled like flowers.

“I was so scared,” she whispered into his shoulder when her sobs had petered into sniffles. “I was terrified I’d lose you.”

He tightened his hold on her, partly to reassure her and partly to convey that in no way, shape or form did he want her to let go of him. Ever. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to do to save you. I didn’t mean to be a hero or anything.”

She lifted her head, sniffed, and looked up at him. “I shouldn’t have said that. I just didn’t want you to get hurt. You’re the bravest person I know.”

“I... I am?”

“You’re
my
hero. I don’t know what I’d have done these last couple of weeks without you.”

For possibly the first time in his life, Sam was speechless. He stared into her beautiful pale eyes, unable to think of anything other than how close she was. Before he could stop it, his gaze dropped to her mouth.

A small smile curved her lips and, pushing up onto her toes, she touched her mouth to his. Sam’s heart, which up to now had been thudding against his ribcage, momentarily stopped dead. 

At first he felt sure it was simply a thank you kiss, but when it didn’t stop he began to consider that maybe he’d been wrong about Logan.

And when he mustered the courage to kiss her back, she slipped her arms around his neck and pressed closer.

It was the best moment of Sam’s life.