03 Deluge of the Dead (18 page)

Janice crumbled to the floor in shock and hugged the baby tighter. Carl stepped forward saying, “And if you don’t keep your face and mouth away from that child you will probably be infected too.” He reached down and she scuttled back.

“Stay away from my baby, you monster!” she yelled. “I won’t leave her or let you hurt her. So go ahead and leave us here. I’m not going anywhere without Hope.”

Carl paused and stepped back, shaking his head. “That’s the one choice I didn’t want to mention,” he admitted. “We won’t force you come with us, Janice, but you need to think about your other two children – the ones who still have a chance at surviving this. You can stay with your baby, if you insist, but Carl and Jenny are coming with us.”

“No!” Janice screamed again.

“Yes,” Carl stated flatly. “We didn’t come up here for nothing! Look at that fireman with the cut on his hand, Janice. That might be his death sentence. Do you understand? That could be the same kind of scratch that Hope got, but he’s not a helpless infant. He’s got teeth! He’s strong. If he turns into what Hope has become, he will attack anyone he can get to until we put a bullet in his brain. So I’m sorry about your baby, Janice, I really am. I won’t even force you to live without her, but I will force your other kids to come with us to safety. That’s the least we can do to make up for this fireman’s sacrifice. And I have to tell you, Janice, that what you’re holding in your arms isn’t Hope anymore. It’s hopeless.”

Janice looked away and sobbed uncontrollably. Carl turned to the firemen and told them to take the other two kids down the ladder. He noticed tears in the eyes of the fireman with the cut on his hand as the man said, “You’ll take care of these kids, if she won’t and I can’t, right?” Carl could only nod past the lump in his throat.

Karen went to Janice, knelt down and said, “Decision time, Janice. Let me take care of Hope. Your other kids are going to need their mother. Don’t make this any harder on them or yourself than it already is.”

“What… What will you do with my baby?”

“Give her peace,” said Karen. “There won’t be any more pain or suffering for your baby. That’s all you need to know. Now go. Live, love, survive.” She reached down to gently pry the tiny zombie from its mother’s arms and motioned for Carl and Gus to guide Janice to the ladder. Gus descended with the woman as Carl turned back to Karen.

“Do you want me to do it?” Carl asked.

“No,” Karen said. “She gave her baby to me. It’s my responsibility.” Karen gently laid the swaddled squirming bundle on the kitchen cutting board and drew her sword.

*****

Scag couldn’t wait any longer. The little bitch was hiding somewhere, but he didn’t have time to find her. It was raining harder now. The other expendable survivors were getting restless in the lobby. It was time to go. He abandoned his search for Nicky, checked to make sure his shotgun was loaded with 12 gauge slugs, and moved to the balcony overlooking the lobby.

A quick signal to his lieutenants triggered the plan into action. Gang members moved to secure the doors that separated the lobby from the rest of the aquarium building. Chains were looped through the panic hardware leaving the rest of the hopeful survivors trapped in the lobby. This caused immediate panic among those left behind. Scag raised his shotgun and fired a round into the ceiling to draw their attention to the balcony.

“Sorry, folks,” the gang leader called down. “There’s been a change of plans and we won’t be taking you with us.” He paused to let the fear grip them, enjoying the looks of shocked betrayal. “I could just leave you all here to starve, until you decide to open those front doors and take your chances with the zombies out there, but that would be too cruel.” He gave them a smile that was colder than ice water. “And there’s always the chance that somebody would find you and you would rat us out. I’m sure you understand that I can’t let that happen. So, if any of you want to say a prayer, do it now!”

Scag smiled again, raised the shotgun and pointed it down, not at the people crowding the lobby, but at the big tempered glass doors that held back the herd of zombies outside. He fired, pumped, and fired again, shattering the glass as screams of terror filled the lobby. Two more blasts sent slugs through another door and the zombies began to pour through the breach.

What ensued was a true bloodbath as hundreds of undead that had been gathered under the atrium swarmed inside the lobby and fell upon the crowd of hapless people. Scag paused to watch and relish the carnage. He knew his actions were pure evil and he would be doomed to Hell, if there were such a place, but his experience during the apocalypse had removed any lingering belief in an afterlife beyond that of becoming one of the walking dead. The sight of the zombies tearing apart the terrified survivors below didn’t bother him. It excited him in a way he knew to be wrong, but embraced nonetheless.  

One young man in the lobby used a potted plant to fend off zombies as he charged through them and out the shattered door.  A few more feet and he would make it into the rain where zombies wouldn’t follow. Scag couldn’t let that happen. He took careful aim and fired a slug into the man’s back, sending him flying forward into the sought after downpour. The body didn’t move as rain spread a growing pool of blood on the pavement.

Satisfied that none of the others would escape, and pleased that all the zombies who had surrounded the aquarium were now feasting in the lobby, Scag turned away from the horrific scene and went to join the rest of his gang at the rear emergency exit. The screams faded to whimpers that were replaced by incessant moans and growls as he descended the stairs. The slaughter he engineered had satisfied his sadistic cravings. He had no real interest in little Nicky now, but he didn’t want to leave her any chance of survival.

The gang was gathered at the back door. Scag opened it cautiously to check their escape route. He saw a couple of zombies huddled under the roof of a trash enclosure, but they showed no interest in attacking through the rain and could be dealt with if they did. “The coast is clear,” he said to his followers. “Be ready to bail when I give the word. I’ve got one more thing to do before we leave.”  Scag left them there and walked swiftly up front to the chained lobby doors. These were solid fire doors with no windows.  He could hear the zombies tearing apart their victims in the lobby, but no sound of living survivors.

As quietly as possible he removed the chains on one set of double doors and cautiously opened it enough to peek through. The area was clear for about ten feet into the lobby. That’s where the surging pile of bodies began. Many of them were eating and the rest were being eaten. Scag smiled as he swung the door open and clicked down the floor stop to keep it that way.  The movement attracted attention from the nearest zombies and Scag attracted more by yelling, “Fuck you!” and firing his shotgun into the pile before turning to run for the back door.

Many of the zombies seemed to be preoccupied, consuming their recent kills, but at least a dozen followed Scag further into the building. He had a good head start on them and laughed as he ran. His plan was foolproof. The zombies would find the little bitch after his gang went out the back door into the rain. “Move out now!” he yelled to his followers. “Our destiny awaits!” His gangsters were about to become bloodthirsty pirates.

*****

Nicky had huddled in the bathroom stall while Scag searched for her. She wanted to go warn the other survivors, but was terrified to leave the questionable safety of the women’s room. Eventually she heard gun shots and screams. The worst had come to pass. The other survivors were being killed. Still she waited, frozen in fear, until long after the building had quieted down. When her curiosity finally overwhelmed her fear she got up and went to the door.

She opened it slowly, just enough to poke her head into the hall. It was empty and the building was quiet. She was still naked and bare foot. Her blood stained feet made no sound as she crept back towards the office where she had been raped, hoping that her clothes were there somewhere and that none of her tormentors were. The office was unoccupied, but she couldn’t find any sign of her clothes. Still curious, she left the office and moved towards the loft balcony overlooking the lobby. She had overheard part of Scag’s plan to contain the other survivors there and didn’t think there had been enough gunshots to have killed them all. Perhaps they were still down there. Crouching, she approached he low wall along the balcony and peered down.

Nicky screamed. She couldn’t help it. The lobby was a scene from hell, full of bodies and body parts, bathed in blood. It was also full of zombies. Many of them jerked their heads around and reached up towards her with groping arms. Nicky screamed again, but stood frozen in fear and horrified disgust.  She recognized not only many of the mutilated bodies on the floor, but also a few of the freshest and most mangled zombies that clearly wanted her to join them.

Nicky was safe from the zombies on the balcony, at least for the moment, but they knew she was up there now. She snapped out of her terrified trance when she noticed some of the zombies walking through an open door below her into the rest of the Aquarium. Perhaps they were smart enough to find the stairs. Nicky panicked. She turned away from the gruesome view of the lobby and ran back down the hall. Pausing at the door to the office, she tried to think of a way to survive. From what she heard the gang members say and the news reports on the radio, she knew she needed to get out into the rain. Nicky had seen the rain falling hard beyond the shattered glass of the lobby, but there was no way for her to get there.

Nevertheless she ran to the stairs and looked down. Perhaps she could make it to the back doors, but the zombies were probably spread out on the whole ground floor by now.  What else could she do? She didn’t want to lock herself in the office or bathroom again. The decision was made for her when the first zombie charged up the stairs below her. She turned and ran up the stairs, towards the door to the roof.

Chapter 6

To: Sovereign Spirit

Dear Commodore Allen,
We have seen your broadcasts and they have given us hope. Your message has helped to inspire others that there is a way to make it through this mess. I’m sure you would need information concerning locations more distant from the coast. Who knows, this could help you in retaking the U.S.A back from the god awful wrongness that has overtaken us. I’m not too optimistic at this point.
Where to begin? My wife, five year old son, and I were on a road trip when this business started. We lived in Georgia and were on our way to Utah to visit my parents. This is normally a four day trip if you take it nice and easy. Nothing much to report in Nashville, St. Louis, and Topeka it must have been too early for the spreading of this “disease”. We decided to stick to I-70 straight across the length of Kansas. I know now, how stupid that was. I never knew there could be a portion of this country that could be so empty. Almost, desolate. There could have been a larger reason for it, now that I’m able to think on it. We were near to the Colorado border when we first saw signs that things might not be right. Hate to sound cliché, but we weren’t in Kansas anymore.
That was about a week or week and a half ago. We’ve lost track of time since that point. We were able to make it through Denver and up into high mountains. Found some rich boy’s mountain retreat. Glad he believed in stocking for winters. I know we have no hope of your help, but decided that it couldn’t hurt to give our last information into the pool of data.
By the time anyone reaches us, we might be gone. We know this, as this cabin is now surrounded by the undead, but we still hope for a bright (or less dark) time for the rest of you in the future.
Yours in Hope and Death,
Jacob Warren
Melissa Warren
Craig Warren

Scott and Sergeant Major O’Hara opened the port side hatch amidships and stepped out onto the dock where they faced an impressive array of military hardware lined up between them and the
Cape Inscription
. Both men wore side arms and O’Hara had his M-4 carbine slung over his shoulder, but they held their empty hands out away from their bodies to display their peaceful intent. The Marines manning the vehicles before them took notice and shifted their weapons to the cover them, but made no overtly hostile moves. One Marine sergeant perched in the open hatch of an AAV-7 even smiled and waved at O’Hara who nodded in return.

“What’s all this fuss about, Freddy?” O’Hara called out. “Who’s your CO? And what kind of stunt is he pulling here?”

“Beats me, Top,” replied the sergeant. “They just told us to deploy and secure the dock. Your ship is the primary, but not tagged hostile, at least not yet. The CO is Major Connors. He should be along shortly. What’s your status here, Sergeant Major?”

“Well, Freddy, I’m the ranking jar head of the Survival Flotilla, personally assigned to defend the Sovereign Spirit by Bastard Butch Barstow, detached and serving at the pleasure of Commodore Allen here,” O’Hara called back and gestured to Scott. “So let’s cut the crap and stop scaring the natives.”

The sergeant smiled and called back, “No worries, Sergeant Major. Weapons are safe and tight. I guess this is what they call a show of force, or something.”

“Huh,” grunted O’Hara. “This is what I call bullshit, but I’ll take that up with the Major. You just remember this ship is full of innocent and healthy civvies, including my own family and the families of some of my Recon platoon. Thousands of other survivors are depending on this ship too. So don’t go shooting holes in her. You copy?”

“Five by five, Top,” the sergeant said seriously. “I’d heard you got your dependents out safely. Not all of us were that lucky. But I’m glad your wife and girl made it.”

“Jesus, Freddy,” O’Hara said in a sadly. “You lost Becky?”

“Lost is the word for it, Top. No sign of her anywhere. I guess we all know what that means.” It meant his wife was probably walking around with the rest of the undead, or devoured by them. No further explanation was necessary. “But I’m happy for you and your men. And I’ll spread the word. God knows we’ve lost enough of our own already.”