Fighting to Survive (58 page)

As
Travis moved past the gaping hole that was once a window, a face
appeared snarling and growling. Its hands reached desperately through
the hole toward him.

“
Wait!
Don't kill it yet!
”

Katie
moved toward the opening and stared intently at the zombie
’
s
face. The long scraggly hair and beard fit the description both Bill
and Nerit had given of the bandits.
“
One
of their own, I think.
”
She drew her revolver and shot it point blank in the face.

“
You
’
re
scary sometimes,
”
Travis said with surprise, but also with admiration. He peered into
the store, his gun raised to cover the interior.
“
Hello!
Hey zombies! Hey, come here!
”

Katie
stood behind him, giving him cover. Nothing stirred within the store.

“
Let's
go in,
”
Travis said to his team. He moved to the front door and slowly
unlocked it.

Two
members of the team stood guard. One was the new guy, Bob. The other
was Lenore. She stood with her hunting bow at the ready staring at
the tied up zombie woman with a somber expression. Lifting the
hunting bow, she drew back her arm, then let the arrow fly. It
pierced the zombie woman
’
s
eye and silenced her growls.

“
No
point in leaving her like that,
”
Lenore shrugged.

Pushing
the door open, Travis stood at the ready, waiting to see if anymore
of the dead lurked inside. Katie walked past him and into the store,
Travis following close behind.

Bob
followed, his face sweating profusely. Travis was worried about him.
Bob had been rescued in the last few weeks and had yet to really
prove himself at the fort. This was his first big chance. Travis
hoped that Nerit
’
s
training would pay off.

They
made a sweep of the first floor, checking behind every counter and
behind tables. Most of the merchandise remaining in the store was
littered across the floor. As Katie passed one pile of canvas bags,
she was disgusted to see someone had urinated and defecated on the
pile.

“
They're
animals,
”
she grunted.

“
Let's
find the vault.
”
Travis tried to ignore the stench and kept moving.

To their relief, the
old bank vault was still locked. There were signs that the bandits
had tried to get into it, but it had remained impervious to their
attempts to open it.

“
Okay,
this is a good sign,
”
Travis said with relief. He pulled out a piece of paper and began to
twirl the knob, his brow burrowed with concentration.

Katie
glanced toward the stairwell that lead up to Nerit and Ralph
’
s
apartment. This place had felt so safe in those first horrible days.
Now it was desecrated. It made her angry, sad, and filled her with
other emotions she could not quite define. She wished she could walk
up those stairs and find Nerit and Ralph in the kitchen, sipping
coffee and talking in their strange shorthand version of a
conversation.

Something upstairs
moved.

Katie
looked toward Travis as he grinned and yanked the door open. Inside
the vault, she saw weapons and boxes of ammo piled high.

“”
We
’
re
in business,
”
Travis declared.
“
Let
’
s
get this stuff loaded up.
”

“
Travis,
I heard a noise upstairs,
”
Katie informed him.

“
Shit,
”
Travis sighed.
“
Okay,
let
’
s
check it out. Bob, you and Felix get the stuff into the van. Have
Lenore and Ken cover the road.
”

Bob
nodded.
“
Gotcha.
”

Moving
slowly, cautiously, and as quietly as possible, Katie and Travis
moved up the stairs into Nerit and Ralph
’
s
old apartment. The stench of death filled their nostrils when they
reached the landing. They stood in horror at the destruction that
had been wrought on the apartment.

The
furniture was destroyed and tossed in pieces into corners. Mementos,
photos, and personal possessions were strewn about. Some of the
photos were deliberately defaced. Porn magazines were also mixed in
with the debris.

“
They
’
re
animals,
”
Katie gasped.

“
Yeah,
”
Travis said, and felt a chill sweep over him. He looked at her and
felt fear. If these monsters ever got a hold of Katie...

He
couldn
’
t
bear the thought.

Moving down the
hall, they entered the dining room and found the source of the noise
Katie had heard.

A
woman lay on the floor, spread eagle, naked. Her wrists and ankles
were shackled and chained to huge spikes driven into the floor. Her
mouth was duct taped shut. The silver tape went around her head so
many times, only her eyes were visible.

There
was a nasty bite on her shoulder and her undead condition explained
her fate. She was trying to growl and was thrashing about. What
looked like a tongue lay on the floor nearby. Travis had a feeling
it was hers.

She
had been brutally raped over and over again. That much was too clear.
He grabbed a sheet off the floor and threw it over the zombie
’
s
body. It was too much to bear to see her like that.

“
Why
do I have a feeling the rapes took place before and after her death?
”
Katie's expression was grim.

Travis
raised his gun and put the woman out of her misery. He then called
downstairs to explain the shot and told the others to keep working.

Katie
moved cautiously into the kitchen and looked around in shock. It was
a mess.
“
They
built their own meth lab.
”

Travis
shook his head.
“
Damn.
These guys are fucked up.
”

“
Running
around, strung out on meth, while zombies eat the living...what a
nightmare.
”

Together,
Travis and Katie swept the rest of the apartment, finding it in utter
shambles. The bandits had used photos as toilet paper and thrown them
against the bathroom wall. It looked like they had squatted here for
some time before moving on.

In
silence, they pushed open the ajar bedroom door. Ralph
’
s
remains lay in a jumble in a corner. It looked like someone had just
ripped off the quilt with him in it and tossed it aside. To make
matters even more disgusting, it appeared the bed had been used.
Cigarettes, drug paraphernalia, and beer bottles littered the bed.
But it was a relief to see that Ralph was still very truly dead.
Travis moved to the body
’
s
side and drew the blanket over its decomposing features.

“
I
hate these guys. Maybe even more than the zombies,
”
Katie gasped. Tears filled her eyes, but she fought not to spill
them.

“
Let's
go,
”
Travis said in a tortured voice.
“
Let's
get these bastards.
”

Together they moved
back downstairs and began to help load the rest of the boxes into the
van.

“
We
’
re
being watched,
”
Lenore said after around twenty minutes of packing.
“
I
saw the glint of glass through those trees over there. I
’
ve
seen it three times now. I
’
m
sure it's binoculars.
”

“
Nerit
was right,
”
Travis said, working as though they didn
’
t
know they were being watched.
“
Call
it in, Ken.
”

The younger man
nodded. He calmly climbed into the van and pretended to do something
other than call the fort.

Lenore
raised her hunting bow and let another arrow rip. A zombie just
coming around a far corner dropped.
“
So
I guess this is it.
”

“
Can
’
t
be sure yet, but my money is on yes,
”
Travis answered.

Katie
shoved more ammunition boxes into the back of the Hummer.
“
I
say we go now.
”

Felix
heaved a huge box in.
“
I'm
with her. Let's roll.
”

Ken
slid back out of the van. Walking calmly to pick up a box, he said,
“
The
scary old woman says we keep to the plan. No deviations.
”

“
How
many do you think there are?
”
Travis asked Lenore.

“
I
’
ve
seen at least one set of binoculars. I
’
m
guessing one vehicle. Otherwise more guys would be staring at us.
”

“
Good
point,
”
Katie said, lifting another box into the Hummer.
“
Are
we done?
”

“
Last
box here,
”
Bob answered.

“
Then
we go,
”
Travis said, and moved to the passenger door of the Hummer.
“
Felix,
keep to the plan and don't panic.
”

“
Dude,
I have more experience out here than you do,
”
Felix griped.

Travis
shrugged.
“
Yeah,
but I gotta sound like the condescending leader. It's my job.
”

Felix slightly
laughed, shaking his head and climbed into the van. This time Lenore
and Ken climbed into the backseat of the Hummer.

Katie
turned on the Hummer and began to u-turn slowly. For a second, she
too saw the glint of glass up in the tree line. Silently, she prayed
that they would survive whatever came next. As the Hummer picked up
speed, she reached out and took Travis
’
hand in her own.

Up
behind the tree line, a truck started.

1. Seven, Six,
Five

Jenni rubbed her
trembling hands together and glanced out the window toward the dead
town in the distance. It was just a few buildings. She could see the
zombies milling around in the street, aimless without human prey to
chase. They were far enough away that the zombies did not see or hear
them, but the tiny outlines of their forms still made her stomach
clench.