Deadlocked 7 (26 page)

Billy didn’t know what to do. The girl was clearly dead, but he didn’t want to leave her on the steps. The truck was backed up to the stairs, only a few yards up. There were a few feet between the entrance to the underground hall and the back of the truck, just enough to allow the smoke to pour out and let a sliver of daylight in.

He lifted the dead girl back up, sickened by the feel of her broken body in his arms, and started to climb the stairs. He glanced back just in time to see a figure appear in the smoke. Whether it was Reagan or a zombie was uncertain, so he continued up the stairs as he watched.

“Get in the truck,” said Reagan as he emerged from the smoke.

“She’s dead,” said Billy. “The girl’s dead.”

“What happened?” Reagan bounded up the stairs two at a time.

“Her back just broke in two. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened.”

“Not your fault, Billy.” Reagan put his hand on Billy’s shoulder.

“I fell, and I dropped her. Her back just broke in two. I don’t know what happened.”

“Not your fault, kid,” said Reagan. “They did this to her. Come on, we’ve got to get out of here.”

“I dropped her,” said Billy, shaken by the experience as he gripped the dead child. “My back gave out and I dropped her.”

“Let’s go, Billy. We need to get out of here.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” said a soldier at the top of the stairs.

There were three men, each pointing rifles down at them from behind the truck. Reagan only had his knife, but was about to throw it when the soldiers started firing.

Billy bent down and closed his eyes as he prepared to die. The cacophonous blasts from the rifles echoed through the large hall, but Billy wasn’t hit. He looked back and saw that the soldiers had been aiming at zombies that were coming up the stairs.

Then he saw Reagan’s knife on the stairs and he heard the old man growl.

“Mother fucker,” said Reagan.

Billy saw that the old captain was clutching his hand, but didn’t see any blood. Apparently one of the soldiers had been able to shoot the knife out of his hand.

“You’re lucky we didn’t kill you. Now get out of there before the zombies do our job
s for us.”

“Why don’t you just get it over with,” said Reagan. “If you’re here to kill us, stop fucking around and do it.”

“Believe me, old man, nothing would make my day better than putting a bullet in a terrorist’s head,” said the soldier. “But Covington wants a few words with you first.”

They heard the desperate cry of a burning corpse behind them, but Billy and Reagan stayed standing on the stairs. Billy looked at the old captain
for guidance.

“Go on,” said Reagan to Billy. “They won this round.”

Billy walked up the stairs while still carrying the dead girl. When he got to the top, one of the soldiers ripped the corpse out his arms and threw him to the ground. Billy cringed as he hit the cement, and watched as one of the soldiers pulled the girl’s body aside.

“You guys are nuts,” said the soldier that had taken the girl’s body. “Why are you dragging a body around with you? She’s going to be a zombie any damn minute.” He aimed his rifle at the child’s head. Billy closed his eyes before the soldier shot, and
heard the sickening sound of the child’s skull split.

“You sick fucks,” said Billy.

“What’s that asshole?” asked one of the soldiers. “I didn’t hear you.”

Billy was going to curse at them again, but then the butt of a rifle slammed against his head. He felt his cheek bounce on the pavement and saw a flash of white, but didn’t pass out.

“I said you’re a sick fuck.”

“Oh shit,” said the soldier. “Listen to this guy! He says he needs another.” The rifle hit Billy again, but he still didn’t pass out.

“Is that the best you’ve got?” asked Billy and a mouthful of blood spilled as he spoke.

“Look at that,” said one of the other soldiers. “
Dean can’t knock the kid out. What a puss! I knocked out that black kid with one shot.”

“Fuck you,” said
Dean from over Billy. “This kid’s got like a steel skull or something.”

The butt of the rifle hit Billy again, and this time the white light that flashed was followed by a ringing in his ear before he
finally lost consciousness. He dreamed of dead girls with broken backs, crawling in a field of roses that dripped their crimson to the grass below. He couldn’t save any of them.

*   *   *

August 24
th
, 20 years after the apocalypse

Laura and the others are desperate to escape the church.

“You’re going to wear my jacket, Laura,” said Zack as he crouched in front of the pipe, his hand pressed against it to prevent the smoke from pouring in.

“No,” said Laura. “I’ll just…”

“No
arguing,” said Zack. “You’re wearing the jacket and that’s all there is to it. You’re making it out of here if it kills me.”

“How much air do you think we have?” asked Harrison.

“No clue,” said Ben. “We should all calm down and conserve oxygen. Let’s try to wait out this fire for as long as possible.”

Stubs barked as if the pug was trying to take part in the conversation.

“There’s no telling what it’s like upstairs,” said Laura. “We could be running into a firestorm up there.”

“We don’t have any other choice,” said Zack. “We sure as hell aren’t going to lie down and die with the rest of the corpses in here. When I came through, the church was still standing. It was on fire, but hadn’t collapsed. We aren’t going to be able to wait here for much longer before we run out of air. My vote is we just
go out as fast as we can, right now. We’ll hold hands and just run.”

“Why not wait for the fire to
burn down some more?” asked Billy.

“Because if the church collapses, it’s going to bury us. We’ll never get out,” said Zack.

“Why didn’t we run out earlier then?” asked Billy.

“Because we thought we had oxygen pumping in here,” said Zack, growing frustrated with the debate.
“We could’ve dug our way out.”

“Guys, stop
arguing,” said Laura. “Zack, leave your glove in here so we can keep the smoke from getting in, and you head out to see what it looks like. You’ve got that suit to protect you. Go out there and see if the church is still standing and then come get us.”

The condensation on the glass had turned to rivers, streaking down the walls as if fleeing the heat.
They were soaked with sweat, their hair pasted to their foreheads as they baked in the cell. It looked like it had been raining on them as they contemplated their escape.

“Stop sitting there staring at me,” said Laura. “Get moving.”

“Fuck, okay,” said Zack. He was perturbed, but recognized that Laura’s plan made sense. “Here, Billy. Take the glove.”

“Ben, you do it,” said Laura. “I don’t want Billy crouching down like that with his back giving him so much trouble.”

“I can handle it,” said Billy.

Laura glared at him. “Let Ben do it.”

Ben handed Stubs back to Harrison and moved through the muck to stand beside Zack. Billy knew it wasn’t worth a fight to argue that his back was okay and relented. Ben and Zack tried to exchange the glove without letting in too much smoke, but a good amount still spewed in.

Zack
put his right hand in his pocket and then gripped the door’s handle with his left. He looked at Laura and said, “I’ll be right back.”

“Be careful.” She stood on the tips of her toes and kissed him.

Then Zack pushed the door open. Blood gushed out as heat and smoked flowed in. Billy clenched his eyes shut as the heat seared his face, and he worried that even with the suit, Zack wouldn’t last long out there.

“And so, we find ourselves here,” said Harrison as he stared absently up. “The valley of shadow and death turned out to be the basement of a church on fire. That’s a fucked up sense of humor you’ve got up there, big guy.”

“Harry,” said Laura. “I don’t think the man upstairs has much use for us down here anymore.”

“Don’t say that, darling,” said Harrison. “He’s the only reason we’re still standing. I bet he’s got a few more miracles up his sleeve for us. God’s got his eye on us.”

“This is what we get for hauling a preacher around,” said Billy. “Sermons when we need saving.”

Laura wiped more liquid from the glass so she could see into the smoke filled room beyond. “I think you can forgive me for being on bad terms with
the man upstairs at the moment. If he thought he needed my girls so damn bad, then he should’ve taken me first.” She refused to look at the other three in the cell as she thought about her daughters.

“
He keeps trying to grab you,” said Billy. “But us Rollers wouldn’t let you go. We need you too much.”

Laura and Billy had been at odds for so long, it felt good to be his friend again.
She turned to him and smiled, but her expression was a weak mask of her pain and sorrow.

“The Rollers need you, Laura. They always have.” He stepped closer and put his arms around her. “If it weren’t for you, I would’ve gotten them all killed a long time ago. You’re our den momma, our matriarch. We’re just a bunch of rowdy kids without you keeping us in check.”

“I’m going to need your help, Billy,” said Laura. The agony of her loss continued to torture her, despite how she tried to hide it.

“I’ll be here for you, and so will all the rest of us. We love you, Laura. And after we get out of here, you and I will figure out a way to go take care of this piece of shit that did this to us. Okay?” They were both crying as Billy held his forehead against Laura’s. “And then we’ll build the biggest damn shrine to your hero
of a daughter that the world’s seen in two decades. Okay?”

Zack slammed into the door of the cell, startling everyone inside. He pulled it open and squeezed in, along with a swell of smoke, before closing it again. He took off the plastic mask and gasped, then coughed before taking a deep breath. “You’re not going to believe this.” He looked hopeful and his white teeth
were revealed as he broke into a smile. His shaggy, soot covered beard looked like a chimney broom that had suddenly sprouted teeth. “It’s raining.”

“Are you serious?” asked Laura.

Zack nodded and laughed. “Big ass thunderstorm outside. I wasn’t sure what was going on at first. I just kept hearing these big loud cracks that I thought was the church falling down, but then I heard all these pops and sizzles. By the time I got up the stairs I knew for sure. It’s raining. Can you believe it? It’s not even that hot upstairs anymore. There’s a lot of smoke, but once you get out of this hall it’s clear sailing. The fire is concentrated on the front end of the building.” He motioned to the left of the door of the cell. “We can go back the way we came and get out the rear exit. We’re going to make it out of here.”

“Well what do you know about that?” asked Harrison. “Here we are wondering if God forgot about us, and suddenly it starts raining in the middle of a drought, right when we need it the most. “

“Let’s not celebrate hopping out of the frying pan until we know the stove’s off,” said Billy.

“We should probably get out sooner rather than later,” said Zack. “The rain helped put out the fire, but the building is still in bad shape. No telling how long we’ve got before it
starts to fall down.” He started to take off his jacket. When Laura protested he hushed her and continued unbuckling his gear so that she could wear it.

Then a rumble from above shook the cell. The noise started as an ominous roar, distant but alarming, and then it strengthened. Laura was about to comment when the noise ended with a calamitous bang that cracked the ceiling of the cell.
The flickering flames in the hall intensified as the church shuddered from whatever had just given way within its structure. The group glanced at one another, unsure what had just occurred.

“Well, you didn’t think he was going to make this easy, did you?” asked Harrison.

“Come on,” said Zack. “We need to move. Laura, you’ll have the mask on, so you’re leading. Everyone else grab the waistband of the person in front of you. There’s a rear exit from the church, just off the room where the pilot is. When I came in, I was able to follow the tracks that the horde left in the soot on their way down. Stay low, and try to follow those tracks.”

“You should lead,” said Laura as she tried to hand the mask back to Zack. “You know the way.”

“No chance, darling. I’ll take the rear, in case we get separated. I think I could get any stragglers out. Now go. We don’t have time to argue.” Zack grabbed the handle with his bare hand, apparently confident that it was cool enough to handle now.

Zack opened the door and forced Laura out. She stayed low and waited to feel someone’s hand on the back of her belt before she started to move.

There were only a few feet of space above the floor that weren’t filled with smoke. There were bodies everywhere, chopped to silence when Zack first arrived, and she struggled to step over them. She could feel the heat of flames nearby, and saw the orange hue reflected in the glass wall to her left as she moved.

The person behind her had a tight grip on her belt, but he let go to her horror, apparently to steady himself while crawling over a corpse, and then gripped her belt again. She found the door and knew to turn right. She tried to remember how far down the hall she’d ventured when she first discovered the cells, but she questioned her memory. The floor was coated in ash, and she could see faint tracks in it that she followed. Some of the men behind her coughed, but she forced them to push on as fast as possible.

She made it to the room where the pilot’s corpse was at, and found that the man had been pulled off his makeshift pyre to the ground. When the horde rushed in, they probably gnawed on the fresh corpse until they decided to chase another meal. The pilot’s eyes were open, and the side of his face was torn off, leaving a ghastly half-smile for her to witness as she crawled past him.

It was noticeably cooler in this part of the basement, but the smoke was just as thick.
She could hear the pop-sizzle of rain drops that Zack had heard, and knew that she was close to freedom. That’s when the person behind her let go of her belt.

“Hey!” She turned and blindly grasped for someone’s hand. Whoever had been behind her was gone now, and she started to panic. Then a hand grasped hers and she placed it on her belt before moving forward in search of the exit.

The hand pulled at her belt. She tried to crawl forward, but the person was insisting that she stop. Laura assumed that she was being asked to wait for someone behind her to catch up, and she paused to let the group reconnect. That’s when the zombie’s face lunged at her through the smoke.

When she grasped a stray hand to place on her belt, she hadn’t realized that it belonged to a Grey. The wizened face seemed to be all teeth as it went for her face. The creature’s eyes were rolled back, leaving only the whites to peer at her as the creature clawed and bit. She rolled to her back and thrust her arms up. Her left arm caught it by the neck and she pressed her right hand against the monster’s face to push it back.

Laura wanted to reach for a weapon, but realized that the fireman’s outfit covered the meager weapons she had left. The Grey writhed above her and tried to dig its fingers into her mask. She moved swiftly to get her right thumb into the creature’s mouth while grasping its lower jaw with her left hand. She felt the Grey’s teeth pressing into her gloves, but the rubber was thick enough to protect her. Next, she ripped the creature’s jaw in half.

Blood squirted forth like a split fruit, splashing black on her visor as she pulled the creature to the floor. The wound she’d inflicted would’ve killed a human, but this creature kept squirming, his fingers clawing at her throat even as his mouth gaped open, the lower jaw attached only on one side. She gripped the side of the zombie’s head and smashed it to the floor multiple times, until its skull popped open and the monster’s fingers stopped twitching.

Laura took off the useless mask, the visor now blacked out with Grey blood, and yelled out to the others. “Zack! Billy!”

“Go!” She heard Zack scream. “Just go! We’ll be right behind you.”

“Where are you?” The smoke stung her eyes and seeped into her lungs. He sounded so far away.

The thunderstorm erupted, a flash of lightning blaring to life even through the smoke at the same moment that the roar shook the floor. The momentary flash revealed that a door was open nearby. She screamed out, “We’re almost there. I can see the exit.”

Another clap of thunder shook the walls. Laura crawled toward the stairs that led to the exit while yelling back to the others, “Follow my voice.”

The smoke in the stairwell was thicker than anywhere else. It was like she was ascending a chimney as a fire blazed below, all the smoke rushing out and leaving her stuck in a suffocating tomb. She hadn’t been able to fill her lungs with fresh air before going up the stairs, and her lungs burned as she ran up. Then the smoke finally gave way to fresh air as she pushed her way out the rear exit.

She got out of the church and felt the cold rain on the back of her neck as she crawled through the mud. She coughed, her lungs full of smoke, and wiped the wet ash from her eyes before looking back into the church.

Her friends were still inside, caught off guard by Greys they hadn’t expected to encounter. They had relied on her to lead them out, and she’d failed.

Laura got to her knees and screamed through the entrance, “Follow my voice.”

The storm roared and another streak of lightning ripped apart the sky. The flash of white lingered as the bolt pulsed, and Laur
a saw the horrifying vision of the horde advancing upon the church.

She thought about what Billy had said. The stove was definitely not turned off.

Two years after the apocalypse

Reagan has been captured, and is somewhere in the Nederland facility.

Reagan had been cuffed, searched, beaten, and dragged into custody. His face was bleeding, his nose broken, and he discovered at least one tooth loose as he moved his tongue around inside his mouth. He’d been separated from Billy and Hero, and taken to another nondescript underground hall. The facility beneath Nederland was far larger than he’d thought. The area that the girl had been held in was only a small part of the massive base.

This facility wasn’t meant as solely a military base. There were too many comforts here, something military men and women knew to forget about as soon as they signed on for duty; things like cushions on chairs, well lit corridors, and even a few walls with paint on them that wasn’t a muted green or yellow.

Two soldiers were pulling Reagan along, forcing him to walk with his hands cuffed in front of him. They were quiet, but Reagan continued to taunt them.

“I’m in the president’s suite,” said Reagan, a strand of bloody drool escaping his mouth as he spoke.
“And make sure to bring my slippers and robe. Last time you forgot them and I got the chills.”

“Shut up,” said the soldier to his right.

“A man deserves his comforts,” said Reagan. “I like my slippers. What can I say? Also, make sure to have a few cigars ready.”

“I said shut up,” said the soldier again.

Reagan looked at the boy’s blue uniform. “That’s a southern twang you’re sporting there, kid. How’d you end up on American soil wearing a foreign uniform?”

“We’re not supposed to let you talk,” said the boy. He was a strong young man, and reminded Reagan of Billy. “So you’d best shut your mouth before I shut it for you.”

“Better men than you have tried, and I’m still talking.”

“I’m not kidding, Grandpa,” said the soldier. “I’ll belt you again. Just keep on blabbering and I’ll shut you up for good.”

Reagan was being held on either side by the two men, forced to keep moving lest they drag him along. He locked eyes with the young man on his right and then recited slowly, “Blabber, blabber, blabber. Anyone ever tell you your lips look like a swollen vagina?”

“That’s it,” said the incensed boy. He let go of Reagan and moved back to get a better angle to punch the old captain.

“Duke!” The other soldier yelled, but then Reagan took advantage of the momentary confusion. They had cuffed him in the front, and he had been planning his assault since they first started leading him down this desolate hall. He’d been taunting the boy, waiting for a reaction like this.

Reagan spun and felt the soldier on his left struggle to keep his grip. Then Reagan wrapped his arms over the man’s neck and fell back against the wall, the chain between his cuffs stretched over the soldier’s throat.

“Fuck!” Duke was shocked and staggered as he tried to decide what to do.

Reagan felt the cuffs dig into his wrists as he held the soldier in front of him. He grinded the chain in the soldier’s throat as the man tried to strike Reagan in the side with quick elbow jabs. Reagan tensed his abs and absorbed the strikes, growling with each one as he kept his eyes on Duke.

“Let him go or I’ll kill you,” said Duke as he raised his rifle.

“You can’t kill me,” said Reagan. The man in his grip was choking, his strikes getting weaker each time as he neared unconsciousness. “For whatever reason, the people in charge want me alive. That’s why you went to so much damn trouble here.”

“Let him go!” Duke put down his rifle and rushed to try and pull the chain away from his friend’s throat.

Reagan put his knee into the soldier’s back and used the leverage to tighten his grip. Duke couldn’t get his fingers between the chain and his friend’s throat, so he resorted to trying to punch Reagan. Duke’s first jab missed as Reagan moved his head to the side, but then the young soldier
decided on a new tactic. He tried to get his thumbs into Reagan’s eyes. Apparently Duke’s commanders didn’t care if Reagan was blind.

Reagan squirmed away and pulled his victim with him, sliding down the wall and away from Duke. The young soldier moved quickly, ready to do whatever it took to save his comrade.

“I won’t kill him,” said Reagan. “Back off and I’ll let him live.”

“Let him go,” said Duke. “Now!”

“Back off!” Reagan inched back while keeping his eye on Duke. Then he loosened his grip just enough to let the soldier breathe. The man was clawing at his own throat, desperate to get his fingers between the chain and his skin, and he started to gasp as Reagan relaxed his hold.

“I could’ve killed him,” said Reagan. “Do you understand me, Duke? I’ve got no reason to let your friend here live. You understand, boy?”

Duke nodded, scared and confused.

“But I’m going to let him live. You know why?”

“Why?” asked Duke.

“Because I’m the good guy. I’m starting to understand what’s been going on here. They’ve been telling you that I’m part of the group that released the virus. Right?”

“Yes,” said Duke.

“Then you need to start searching for the truth, kid,” said Reagan. “Your leaders are liars.
They’re the ones that released the virus, and now they’re trying to snuff out the rest of us that know it. You’re marching me to my death. I’ve got no reason to let this kid here live. But that’s exactly what I’m going to do. You know why?”

“Why?” asked Duke.

“Because I’m not the one you should be scared of.” Reagan released the soldier and pushed him to the ground, then stood and faced Duke. He winked at the soldier and added, “But you can still be scared enough to stop hitting me.”

Duke stared at Reagan, but didn’t move to hit him. He approached his fallen friend cautiously, as if fearful of the snake nearby. “You okay?” asked Duke.

“Fuck no,” said the man on the floor. “Christ. He almost killed me.”

“Can you stand up?” asked Duke.

“I can barely breathe,” the man coughed and rubbed his throat. “I think he crushed my esophagus or something. Fucking psycho.”

“Get up, you pussy,” said Reagan. “Hurry up and take me to whoever the hell wants to see me. I’m getting sick of waiting.”

“You’ve got some sort of death wish, old man,” said Duke.

“No,” said Reagan. “Dying just doesn’t scare me anymore. Now get up and let’s get on with this.”

Duke helped the other man up and they marched Reagan down the hall, this time staying a good distance behind. They led him to a room with a massive steel door befit with a locking mechanism that looked more suited for a submarine than an underground hallway. When they opened it, the change in air pressure hissed as a sterile lab was revealed.

The white room beyond was decorated with lab desks, glass beakers, rumbling machines, and several men in lab coats. Each of them ceased their activity as Reagan entered, some with glass vials in their hands filled with smoking liquid, like mad scientists caught in the act.