Deadlocked 7 (21 page)

They didn’t stand a chance.

Two years after the apocalyps
e

Reagan is headed to the base where Covington is supposedly stationed.

Reagan was dressed in black, and had smeared ash on his face
to help blend in with his surroundings. The Boulder valley had been burned by a forest fire a few months back, ravaging the area and leaving little alive except a few persistent buds of growth poking out from the soot.

Hero and Billy had come along, and were a few yards back as the group made their way up the foothills and into the mountains where the town of Nederland once sat.

They were following a stream that ran along the road, providing cover for them while keeping them on course. The water was murky from the ash, and there was sediment clinging to the bank that looked like sludge.

“We’re not far,” said Reagan. “Jules said the entrance to the base is past the reservoir, on the south side of town.”

“This was one hell of a fire,” said Billy before he tried to stifle a cough. The trip had been a struggle for him, and Reagan wished he hadn’t come. Back at their camp, Billy had insisted that his back hadn’t bothered him in months, but Reagan suspected the kid was lying. Billy was struggling to find his place in their new group.

Jules and The Department were helping to train the members of The High Rollers, but Billy hadn’t been healthy enough to join them. When the Rollers found survivors, they determined who was best to send off on their way, who should be sent to one of the local colonies, and who might be a good candidate to join the militia that was fighting against the military. Any that stayed with the Rollers were sent to Jules for a few months, and the best were kept as part of The Department while others were sent back to Reagan.

The Department did the majority of the work in the area, and Reagan’s group helped patrol the northern Colorado region, slaughtering zombies whenever they found them. Occasionally they encountered military groups, but they tried not to seek them out. As time wore on, Reagan’s bloodlust had faded. Like a soldier succumbing to retirement, he had come to the realization that his fighting days were near an end.

But if Richard Covington was still alive, then Reagan had one last fight to finish.

“Looks like most of the mountain burned,” said Hero.

“The fires out here are no joke,” said Reagan. “Without a fire department to put them out, the wild fires have nothing but time. I’m surprised there haven’t been more of them.”

“Whole damn state’s liable to burn down,” said Billy. “Remind me to get to work getting some Rollers together to start a fire department of our own, just in case.”

“Is that the reservoir?” asked Hero as he pointed up the hill, to a concrete wall in the distance that a short waterfall descended from.

“I’d bet,” said Reagan. “Let’s keep quiet.”

They hiked up to the wall and found a steep upgrade along the side that they climbed to reveal a manmade lake on the other side of. Reagan got low when he saw movement in the distance.

There was a soldier across the lake, walking along the side of a wire fence. Reagan watched as the man descended a set of stairs and disappeared.

“Truck,” said Hero.

Reagan ducked lower as the sound of a vehicle rumbled in the distance, growing closer until they heard the squeal of its brakes past the lake. Reagan rose just high enough to watch as the driver got out of the camouflage truck and went down the same stairs that the first soldier had.

“Well, we found the right spot,” said Reagan.

“Are we moving in, or do we want to scout first?” asked Billy.

“Let’s be smart about this,” said Reagan. “We’ll move around the area first, and see what we can find out about…”

They heard a little girl crying. The three men crawled back up the hill to peer over the lake.

The soldier had come back up from the stairs and was standing at the back of the truck. They could hear him speaking, but the distance muffled his words. He unlatched the back of the truck and pulled it down while waving at someone inside. He was getting impatient and drew his pistol. All the while, the child kept crying.

Another soldier came up the stairs and they understood as he screamed, “Just give her to me.” Then he stepped up into it and the child’s screams of protest became more insistent before he appeared again. He had a young black girl in his arms, and it looked like her limbs were splinted. It was almost as if he’d pulled a living doll from the truck, three feet high and screaming as her limbs stayed rigid.

A woman yelled out in protest before she was dragged out of the truck as well. The woman’s hands were bound behind her back and she fell to her knees as the soldier got down from the truck to stand beside her.

“Why are you doing this?” asked the woman.

Hero tensed and was about to climb up the hill further to attack, but Reagan held him back. “He’s going to kill her.”

“What can we do about it?” asked Reagan. “If we take a shot from out here, they’ll lock that place up tight before we can get in. Then that little girl is dead for sure.”

They watched as the soldier put his pistol to the back of the screaming mother’s head.

“So we’re just going to watch this happen?” asked Hero. “We’re not going to do nothing about it?”

“There’s nothing we can do,” said Reagan.

The soldier kept his pistol at the back of her head.

“Fucking do it!” The mother screamed and thrust her head back at the soldier. He stepped away and then returned to grip the woman’s hair.

The soldier kept the gun pressed to her head for an agonizingly long time. Hero looked away, unwilling to watch the murder. “What the fuck is he waiting for?”

Then the gun shot echoed through the blackened landscape, seeming to rattle even the dead husks of once vibrant trees.

“He didn’t kill her,” said Reagan as he watched through his binoculars. “He just fired off to the side.”

Reagan lowered his binoculars and grimaced as he watched the soldier pick the woman up and
guide her down the stairs to the facility below. “Maybe we won’t scout first. I don’t think these fuckers can wait to get what’s coming to them. What do you guys say?”

“I’m game,” said Hero. “Let’s get in there and kick some ass.”

“Billy, how’s your back?” asked Reagan.

“Fine,” said the young man a little too quickly. “I’m good to go.”

“All right,” said Reagan as he pointed north. “Let’s go around that way. Stay low, give me a five yard lead. Keep quiet.”

They moved around the lake
cautiously, keeping an eye on the surroundings for any sign of other soldiers. The town had burned, just like the rest of the area, but there were signs of life amid the soot. The tire tracks carved on the ash stained pavement proved that this was a high traffic area. It had been a dry season, and no rain had come to wash away the soot yet, leaving everything blanketed with it like the inside of a grill.

Reagan led them to the entrance
of the facility below. It was a featureless stairwell that had once been attached to a building that was now burned, black stains reaching from the windows to the roof that was no longer there. The concrete steps led down deep into darkness, and the stairs had been swept clean by a frequent flow of traffic.

Reagan paused at the top of the stairs, reluctant to go in. This was too easy.

He heard the distant hum of an approaching truck.

Hero was standing a couple yards away, closer than he was supposed to be, and started pointing to the entrance. Reagan looked down, and then back at the truck that had transported the little girl and her mother. Everything about this felt wrong, but the truck in the distance was getting closer every second.

He went down the stairs, ready to confront whatever demons were waiting in the dark below. His only regret was dragging Hero and Billy into this with him.

*   *   *

August 24
th
, 20 years after the apocalypse

The Rollers have stopped
once a safe distance from the fire.

“Where’s Laura?” asked Zack as he rushed along the line of trucks. The caravan had escaped the blazing town, and driven south almost a mile before stopping to gather themselves. Several of the Rollers had been marching along beside the slow moving trucks, running ahead to pull aside spike strips that littered the road.

Kayla stopped
Zack. “She was still in the church last I saw her. She was going to talk to that pilot.”

“
Yeah I know, but she promised me she’d be out before we left. Did she get out?” asked Zack as panic threatened to overwhelm him.

“I’m sure she did,” said Kayla. “She’s got to be here somewhere.”

Abe panted as he jogged to meet up with them. He was winded from running alongside the caravan and held up his finger to signal that he needed a moment to catch his breath. “Billy went back in.” He put his hands on his knees and leaned forward as he continued. “To get her. He didn’t get out. I’m sorry, Zack. I didn’t see them come out.”

The caravan had followed back roads away from the town, and Zack had no idea where they were now. He looked back, and the horizon glowed orange.

“I’m going back.”

“Like hell you are,” said Kayla. “We’re probably a mile away by now. No, Zack. I’m not going to let you do this.”

He pulled away from her grip. “You’re in charge now.” Zack was saddened by a realization. “You’re the last lieutenant, Kayla. You’ve got to get the Rollers someplace safe.”

“You’re abandoning us to go running back into an inferno to die? What about the Rollers? What about the people from Vineyard?”

“I’m leaving them in good hands. You need to follow Arthur’s directions. He knows of an old rehab clinic out near Castle Rock. Get there, and when I get Laura and Billy I’ll come looking for you. Did we save any of the fire gear?”

“A couple suits, but we tossed the extinguishers,” said Abe. “They were all a decade past expired.”

“Get me a suit, and an axe if you’ve got one,” said Zack.

“I’ll go with you,” said Abe.

“Thanks, but don’t be an idiot, brother. You need to stay and help Kayla. Now go grab me that suit.”

“We can’t spare a truck for you,” said Kayla. “Billy had us leave a few behind. Each truck is packed full of people.”

“I know,” said Zack. “I’ll run back.”

Kayla shook her head as she protested. “That’s stupid, Zack. Come on. Don’t do this. We’ve been killing stray Greys the whole way out here. Who knows how many are crawling out of these woods, trailing our caravan? You’re being an idiot and you know it.”

“Darling, how many years have you been telling me that I’m obsessed with Laura? Did you really think I was going to leave her behind? That’s not about to happen. It’s not my style.”

A zombie growled from somewhere nearby, as if eagerly welcoming Zack’s sacrifice. Kayla pulled Zack in for a hug, which was a surprise to him. After the initial shock, he hugged her back.

“You remind me of my late husband,” she said after pulling out of the embrace. “He got his dumb ass killed too.”

Zack laughed and kissed Kayla’s forehead.

Abe returned with a fireman’s suit and then helped Zack put it on. It was surprisingly heavy and limited his movement more than expected. Abe was one of the Rollers in charge of fighting fires in the area, and was familiar with how to properly suit up.

Kayla watched the woods until the moaning Grey revealed himself, and then she killed him with one of the spears that the Rollers kept on the trucks. It was always preferable to kill a zombie quietly when possible, but it was also important to stay away from the blood. A spear was a great weapon to use for that, but Zack had never been able to get the hang of using them. He much preferred the axe Abe had brought him.

“This shit is heavy as hell,” said Zack as he writhed in the suit.

“Yeah,” said Abe. “And you’re not even going to be hauling a tank on your back or a hose on your shoulder.”

“Were you a fireman, Abe?” asked Zack, surprised by how familiar the Roller was with the gear.

“My dad was,” said Abe. “I’d always wanted to be one, before the world went to shit.”

“No kidding?” asked Zack. “I never knew that.”

“Yeah, us Reds tend to keep quiet about the old days. We’ve all got our secrets. Like you and how damn insane you are.” He pulled a strap around Zack’s waist tight and smiled. “Try not to die out there, you big idiot.”

“No promises,” said Zack.

“Here’s a mask.” Abe handed
him a plastic mask. It had a black tube connected to the front that dangled below it. “There’s no oxygen to connect it to, but it’ll keep your face from burning up. It’s not going to do shit to stop you from dying of smoke inhalation though, so be careful about that. And pay attention to how hot the air you’re breathing is. The suit can trick you into thinking you’re in less danger than you really are when you’re in the thick of it. Also, you should…”