Zombified (Book 2): Shady Oaks (15 page)

Once again he projected a scene of where he wanted to go to their collective minds. He showed them a picture of their prey, ripe for the taking. Then he showed them chasing down their prey and feasting on flesh.

When he sensed he was regaining their attention, he went further. He could feel his own excitement growing as he filled their minds with images of ripping, tearing, biting, and eating. Sucking the juices and blood from fresh meat, feeling the surge of energy and even a form of basic pleasure, made it all worthwhile even if it only lasted a short time.

He was becoming more dehydrated and wanted to pick up the pace before he lost them all for good. If that happened, he was certain they would be hunted down and destroyed, their sheer numbers were the only thing that gave them an advantage. The thing that drove him onward demanded that not happen and that they attain their goal.

They came to an intersection and through the thinning fog he could see that the road to his left led to the park and the buildings on the other side.

Without hesitation, he turned and led his army of the dead onward.

Chapter 21

Cindy paced back and forth across the yard with the walkie tightly clutched in one hand. She was waiting for Mick to call her back, but time was running out. Cindy glanced at Megan and stopped in front of her friend.

“
Okay, so I guess I will head back down the road to see if I can intercept the captain and you two are going to head downtown, right?”

Megan nodded. “We're going to walk with you most of the way though, it's too dangerous for you to go back down there alone.”

Darrell was standing in the road, waiting for them. He was ready to get going and was growing impatient. He was about to head back over to them when he heard the faint hum of an engine. He froze, listening carefully. Sure enough, he heard it again and grinned.

“
Hey!” he said in a loud whisper. “I hear engines and I'm betting anything it's Sears and his men!”

Cindy tilted her head to listen,
and then nodded. “I can hear it, too. Let's move back over to the house until we know for sure it's them.”

Once more hidden under the carport entrance, they waited patiently as the noise of several vehicles grew louder and it wasn't long before they were able to see lights. Sudden movement made them freeze, there were several soldiers walking silently along either side of the road.

Without thinking, Darrell rushed out and down the front yard, waving his hands and shouting. Almost immediately, he was surrounded and knocked to the ground. Megan shook her head and groaned, muttering something about men.

They could hear Darrell talking rapidly and when several heads turned their way, they slowly stepped out with their hands up in the air. Two soldiers broke off from the group and ran over to them, shining flashlights in their eyes and causing them to squint and turn away.

“
We're the good guys, you can stop that now,” Megan growled as she turned back and gave them what Darrell called “the look.”

To Cindy's surprise, they lowered the flashlights and stepped back. Once the light was out of her eyes, she realized she knew one of the soldiers and gave him a smile, which he returned. “Wait here,” he said as he turned to scamper down the road.

Megan and Cindy joined Darrell and the remaining soldiers on the side of the road. The first vehicle Cindy could make out was a jeep and the soldier she had just spoken with was now riding in the back, with Captain Sears sitting in the passenger seat. She was never so happy to see anyone in her life.

The three of them rushed over and began talking excitedly all at once. He chuckled and held up a hand. “Hold on!”

They stopped and when Megan gave Cindy a nod, she took a deep breath and hurriedly filled him in on what had transpired since she and Judith had to leave the hardware store. He listened intently, interrupting a few times to ask questions.

“
So let me see if I have this straight. The townspeople are probably in the center of town with some patrols here and there.” At her nod, he continued. “Malcolm's men are most likely surrounding them and trying to find a way to get the advantage. Then we have the zombies and last of all, us.”

Cindy nodded. “That sounds about right. Sean and Scott are bringing Mick in, too. I was beginning to panic a little and couldn't help calling him.”

“
I know, we picked up your transmission,” he replied. At her crestfallen look, he grinned and reached over to pat her arm. “Don't worry, I'm sure the last thing Malcolm is concerned about is a couple of people coming in late to a gunfight.”

“
I guess you're right,” Cindy replied. “So what should we do now?”

Before he could reply, the sound of church bells rang out loud and clear. At the sound, everyone stopped what they were doing and listened. In the thinning fog, the sound had an
eerie quality and Cindy felt a shiver run down her spine. Almost as soon as the last note faded away, there was the sound of gunfire followed by two large blasts.

“
That doesn't sound good,” Captain Sears said with a frown. “I want you three to stay here and wait for Mick and your sons - we're already in the process of setting up a perimeter around town and we're going to slowly move in.” He pointed a finger at Cindy and her friends. “Don't come into town until you hear from us, I don't want you getting hurt, understand?”

At their solemn nods, he gave them a curt smile and turned to his driver. As the jeep began to move off, he turned in his seat. “One of you set your walkie to Channel 3,” he instructed and with a wave he turned back.

“
I'll set mine,” Darrell said.

“
Okay,” Cindy murmured as they watched the rest of the soldiers and vehicles go by. She wanted Mick there now and was beginning to feel anxious again.

As the last vehicle turned the corner at the end of road and headed toward town, Cindy heard the familiar crackle of her walkie. She snatched it up and waited.

“
Cindy! Can you hear me?” Judith's voice came over loud and clear and she turned it down a bit.

“
I hear you, I just talked to Captain Sears and they're headed your way.”

“
Well, it won't be a moment too soon,” Judith replied with what sounded like panic in her voice. “We rang the bell, did you hear it?”

“
I don't think anyone could help but not hear it,” Cindy said.

“
Well, the people in the shelter heard it too, and they thought it meant they could come out.”

Cindy heard more gunfire and the walkie was silent for several moments. She was afraid to break the silence and waited. When Judith returned, she was whispering.

“
This is bad,” she said in such a low voice that Cindy had to turn the volume up again.

“
What's going on?”

“
Almost as soon the people started coming out, most were rounded up by the Connor people, some got away. They're holding them right next to city hall.”

Cindy grimaced. “So no one realized you were warning them, that's really bad.”

“
Tell me about it, what do we do?”

“
Not sure, Darrell and Megan are with me, let me talk to them and I'll get right back to you.”

“
Copy that.”

She hoped they had some ideas, she had nothing. As she looked at Darrel, she noticed something over his shoulder. She knew it was a vehicle, but the lights were off and it was flying down the road. Before they could react, the truck pulled up and slid to a stop. Scott was driving with Sean in the passenger seat. To her relief, Mick popped his head over the cab of the truck and gave her a quick wave before climbing over to envelop her in a big hug.

****

Charlie checked to make sure everyone was all right before heading back to help Beth resume her search. He found her digging through a white mini-fridge. She straightened up and smiled at him. “My favorite, orange soda,” she said with a small grin as she gave the can a slight shake.

He grinned back and tossed her a small bag of chips. “Sorry it's not more substantial, but Jenny wants us back in about fifteen minutes, she's been making a pile of sandwiches and expects us to eat all of them.”

“
I'm beginning to think we're not going to find Hunter, his parents, or anyone else in the tents,” he said as she tore open the bag and stuffed several chips in her mouth. Amused, he watched her until she chased them down with a large gulp of soda.

“
I'm thinking we should check out that other building by the one that held all the zombies.”

Beth nodded, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “Good idea, if there's no one there, we can work our way back.”

“
When you're ready we'll head over.”

“
I'm ready now; I can eat while we walk.” She flicked her flashlight beam toward the entrance. “Lead the way.”

Once outside, Charlie broke into a jog despite the thickening fog. He wanted to get this over with and get back inside, no telling what was still out there. Reaching the building he realized it was constructed mostly of a simple wood frame and covered with thick plywood, clearly meant to be a temporary structure.

He tried to look through the single small grimy window, and immediately felt ridiculous because it was dark and of course he couldn't see a thing. After a quick, sheepish glance at Beth, he reached over and tried the door. To his relief, the knob turned easily.

Without hesitation he opened the door, which fortunately swung back quietly. Stepping on the threshold, he felt around for a light switch. He knew there should be power because he could hear the hum of a generator. The switch was right next to the door and he flipped it on before entering, with Beth right on his heels. She quickly shut the door behind them. Turning off their flashlights, they stood for a moment, looking around the room.

A lot of communications equipment, two desk lamps, and several maps were scattered over folding tables lining the wall on their left. A beat up black leather couch with several rips was on the right, a folded blanket with a pillow on top at one end told Charlie someone used it as a bed. The only other things in the room were a mini-fridge and an army locker. In back was another door and it was closed.

Charlie approached the door and hesitated. He place
d an ear against the door to listen. If he learned one thing in the last few months, it was to never barge into an unfamiliar place. Once again, he tried the door and this time it was locked. He groaned silently and turned to Beth.

“
Locked, let's see if we can find a key.”

Beth immediately turned and began rummaging through the maps. Charlie decided to check out the locker after running his hand along the top of the door and coming up empty. There was a lock, but it was open. He pulled it free and was about to open the locker when Beth let out a low whoop.

He turned to see her spinning a set of keys around on one finger. She held them out to him and after standing took them from her with a smile.

“
Now to figure out which one works and to do that quietly,” he whispered. After a quick examination of the keys, he picked one and tried it in the lock, turning the key slowly. He smiled to himself when the door unlocked with a short click. He placed his ear against the door and listened again. Satisfied, he turned the knob and swung the door open. He quickly reached around the jamb and flicked the light switch on.

He could sense Beth right behind him, he was certain she was trying to see past him. They both gasped at the same time and rushed into the room.

Over two thirds of the room was divided by sturdy steel bars and on the other side there seemed to be at least ten people huddled together and trying to sleep on the floor.

As soon as the light came on, several of them jerked awake and scrabbled toward the back of their cell. One young man, with long tangled black hair and deep blue eyes, jumped to his feet and stepped up to the bars. He smiled through severely cracked lips and held out a hand through the bars.

“
Beth, you're all right! Am I glad to see you!”

Charlie handed Beth the keys. “You let them out, I'm going back to the other room to see if there's any food or water in that fridge.”

She snatched the keys from him and scurried over to the cell door. The first key she tried didn't work, but the second did the trick. He watched an older couple, whom he assumed were Hunter's parents, join their son at the now open door before leaving the room. They were all standing now and every one of them was dirty, disheveled, and malnourished.

Charlie shook his head, feeling anger building up in him against Malcolm again. The man is a monster in the truest sense of the word, he thought to himself as he bent down and opened the door to the mini-fridge.

He smiled and quickly grabbed two six-packs of water and a package of candy bars. Straightening, he glanced around the room, and then hurried over to the locker and upon raising the lid, smiled again. Jackpot. Whoever played guard obviously liked to snack. The locker was full of chips, cookies, candy, and other items Charlie hadn't seen in months.

He could hear a lot of talking in the other room and after grabbing as much as he could carry, hurried back. Beth was handing out blankets that were neatly stacked on a small wooden table. Charlie deposited his loot next to the remaining blankets and turned to Beth.

“
I need to get back to the others and see how things are going; do you have it handled here? They probably should stay here for awhile to rest and refuel, and this is probably one of the safest places to be right now.”

“
I'm a little tired, but so excited that we found them. We'll be fine,” she said with a little wave of her hand, all her attention focused on Hunter and the others.

He gave everyone a quick glance and a smile. Some smiled back while others gave him fearful and wary looks. He couldn't blame them and with a nod he turned and headed back.

He knew it was probably too soon, but he couldn't help himself, he was eager to find out if Jake's tests were finished yet and whether Brooke could handle the vaccine. He could picture calling Mick and the rest of the family on the walkie to give them the good news.