Fighting to Survive (52 page)

“
Nothing
is safe in this world, but it's safer than where you were,
”
Bill added truthfully.

The family clung
together. They were terrified. It was the father's sheer
determination that had kept them alive. A long time survivalist, his
house had withstood the attacks of the zombies in the first days. For
awhile, they had lived in the basement, but then the plumbing had
failed and they had carried everything up into the attic. Bill had to
respect their tenacity.

Katarina
stared out the back window, her long red braid curling over one
shoulder.
“
Shit!
We have company!
”

The
Reverend twisted around in his chair and saw a truck racing toward
them from behind.
“
Why
are you afraid of them? Aren't they also survivors?
”

“
Not
everyone in this world is a good guy, Reverend,
”
Bill tersely answered. His hands tightened on the steering wheel.

As
the truck raced to catch up with them, Katarina could see two men in
the cab. There was a camper attached to the bed of the truck. It
looked ominous to her.

“
I
see only two guys,
”
she called out to Bill.

Bill
kept the van moving at a quick pace and dared to look in his rear
view mirror. The men looked scraggly and rough. The truck was gaining
fast.

Katarina
scrambled back to the passenger seat and let out a deep breath.
“
This
feels bad.
”

“
I
agree,
”
Bill answered in a low voice.

“
Who
are those men?
”
the father asked.

“
We
think they are bandits,
”
Bill answered.
“
I
want all of you to get down on the floor right now. Keep your heads
down and keep as close to the floor as possible.
”

“
I
thought you said my family would be safe!
”
The young father with his scraggly black hair looked both frightened
and angry.

“
They
will be. Just get down!
”

The pursuing truck
was moving in fast.

Katarina looked back
to see that their passengers were nervously obeying. She usually
loved rescue missions. The expressions on people's faces as they
finally saw other humans, their sense of relief at being safe and the
exclamations of thanks made it all worth the risk. Usually on rescue
missions, they had to fight zombies, but this felt worse somehow.
Fighting other humans in a dead world was just wrong.

The
truck was now pulling up beside them. Katarina could clearly see the
mud and gore spatters over its roughened side. What appeared to be
bullet holes pockmarked the truck bed. She flicked the safety off on
her rifle and took a breath.

Bill
glanced over into the cab of the truck as it pulled up close and
began to pace them. A scruffy man with lots of wild blond hair
rolled down the window and began to shout at them. It didn't take a
lip reader to see he was yelling at them to pull over.

Bill
shook his head and pressed his foot down.

Again,
the truck pulled up. The scruffy guy leaned out of the window and
literally knocked on Bill's window. His voice was barely heard above
the whine of the road and the wind.

“
We
want to be friends with you,
”
he was yelling.
“
We
want to be friends!
”
But his look was too wild and he looked at Katarina in a way that
made Bill want to bash his teeth out with his rifle butt.

Glancing
over at the unkempt man, Bill said,
“
Sorry.
Gotta keep moving.
”
And he floored the mini-van.

The children were
now crying and their parents were trying to shush them. The Reverend
was praying softly.

Katarina
made sure her seat belt was on tight and watched the truck anxiously.
The guy who was banging on the window had crawled back into the cab
and was talking with the driver.

“
We're
almost to the bridge,
”
Bill said to her.
“
We
have to beat them there.
”
The van had pulled ahead enough for Bill to swerve in front of the
truck. He wasn't sure who had souped up the min-van, but he felt like
hugging them at this moment. The engine was roaring. So far, it was
handling fine.

The
truck gunned it, then swerved sharply in front of them.

“
Shit,
”
Katarina whispered.

“
They
plan to trap us at the bridge,
”
Bill said grimly.

The children were
crying louder now. Bill didn't even want to think about what these
men may do to the kids, their mother, or Katarina.

Katarina
took a deep breath, then said,
“
We
need to do something now.
”

“
Can
you pull a Nerit and shoot out the tire?
”
Bill knew that Katarina had been training faithfully with the former
Israeli sniper.

Katarina
furrowed her brow, then said,
“
I'll
try.
”
She immediately began to roll down the window.

Bill concentrated on
the road and kept the van steady. The truck was speeding ahead of
them, kicking up dirt, heading straight into the sunset.

Katarina
slid out and perched herself in the window. The Reverend scrambled
forward and grabbed hold of her legs to keep her steady and provide
a human safety line. Trying to balance herself, Katarina took aim at
a tire.

“
Don't
swerve,
”
she yelled at Bill.

There
was a long pause, then Katarina fired. The shot hit the camper and
shattered the back window.

“
Shit!
”

She
aimed again, trying to adjust for the speed, and the bumpiness of the
road. A face appeared in the shattered window. It was a young girl,
maybe thirteen. Her face was badly bruised and caked with blood. Her
hands were tied in front of her and her mouth was gagged. She tried
to wave at them.

“
Sweet
Jesus,
”
the Reverend whispered.

Bill
felt his gut coil as he stared at the captive in the back of the
truck. He couldn't let her fate fall on any of those in his care.

Katarina saw the
girl as well and hesitated, but the cries of the children behind her
were a reminder of what they had to lose.

“
Do
it,
”
Bill said in a ragged voice.

She
fired.

The truck tire
unrolled like a ribbon and vehicle careened wildly. The girl fell
back out of sight. The driver fought the wheel, which tipped the
truck. The camper went flying off the back and into the gorge that
bordered the road. The truck slammed onto its side and went sliding
off the road in a shower of sparks.

Directly
ahead was the bridge.

Katarina
struggled back into her seat and said thanks to the Reverend. She
looked sick to her stomach, but took a deep breath to steady herself.

“
You
had to,
”
Bill said, and tried not to think of the girl's face.

“
I
know,
”
Katarina whispered.
“
I
know.
”

The mini-van roared
over the bridge, then sped around a hill. The hotel in all its
lighted glory came into view. He sighed with relief.

“
Almost
home,
”
Bill assured the people clustered behind him.

Katarina
picked up the CB.
“
We're
almost home. We had some issues, so please keep us covered.
”

“
I
copy that and am passing on the word,
”
Peggy's voice answered, then said more softly,
“
What
kind of issues?
”

“
Bandits
”
Katarina answered.
“
It's
the bandits.
”

4. Watching the
Board

The gates closed
behind the mini-van. The newcomers were quickly ushered into the
hotel. Just like that, the excitement was over.

Jenni
watched through the binoculars as the man who had been watching the
fort turned and vanished into the darkness. She never saw the
stranger
’
s
vehicle leave town.

She
dutifully reported in to Nerit, then settled in to wait.

She
waited...and waited.

They
all waited.

Everyone
in the fort, on pins and needles, waited.

The
minutes, full of tension, full of fear, ticked by, right until they
turned into hours.

“
What
do you think is going on
”
Travis asked Nerit at around four AM in the morning. His eyes were
bloodshot. He was gulping coffee.

Nerit
was taking slow, luxurious drags off her cigarette.
“
I
have been thinking about it and I have a theory.
”

“
What
is it?
”
Bill asked.

They
stood on a sentry platform near the gate.

“
Their
plans went awry,
”
Nerit said simply.

“
And?
”
Travis arched an eyebrow.

“
That
is all for now,
”
Nerit answered.
“
They're
done for now.
”

Morning came.

The shifts rotated.
Travis and Katie fell asleep in their clothes, guns nearby, a tangle
of limbs as they held tightly to each other.

Jenni
slept fitfully and woke up to prowl the roof again with Katarina.

Still,
there was nothing.

And
the day slipped away without incident.

Then
another.

Followed
by another, then another.

“
Time
to see if my theory is right,
”
Nerit said after another day passed.
“
We
leave in the morning. Bill, Travis, and Jenni are coming with me.
”

The
next day, the gates slid open and Nerit's new pride and joy, the
Mann's H2, roared out into the town. The Manns had been furious when
they were told in no uncertain terms they needed to relinquish the
vehicle to assist in the security of the fort. Nerit had fastened her
steely gaze on them and said,
“
Do
you really think you can just jump in it and go shopping? Because you
can't.
”
Finally, they had handed over the keys.