Fighting to Survive (61 page)

“
Town
is in sight,
”
Katie said as they crested a hill. The towering hotel loomed in the
distance.

“
If
they are gonna make their move, it should be now,
”
Ken decided. He was looking as strained as they all felt.

The mini-van passed
them as planned. Katie watched the vehicle take the lead with a
mixture of relief and fear. Now their job was to protect the
ammunition and guns.

“
They're
making their move!
”
Lenore exclaimed.

Katie
glanced into the review mirror to see the vehicle that had been
tailing them suddenly come roaring into view.

The
CB radio cackled again.
“
About
those shadows,
”
Peggy's voice was trembling.
“
Four
more are heading in from the north.
”

Katie's
hands gripped the steering wheel even more tightly as the mini-van
and Hummer accelerated to top speed.

Behind
her, a mud-covered truck came barreling down the road.

From her bird's eye
view on top of the hotel, Nerit watched it all happen with a strange
sense of pride.

The mini-van and
Hummer split up the second they hit town. The mini-van took a
predetermined course that would lead it straight down Main Street. As
expected, the bandits followed the mini-van. To the north, the four
trucks racing into the town also changed course.

“
Find
their frequency. They're talking to each other,
”
Nerit said into her head set. She adored Calhoun for rigging up a
system where she didn't have to constantly be dealing with the
walkie-talkie. He was insane, but a wizard with electronics.

“
On
it,
”
Peggy answered.

Next to her, Juan
was crouched down, fidgeting with his gun. He was rigged up to the
speaker system Calhoun had created. He kept messing around with the
microphone, looking nervous and worried.

The Hummer whipped
around a block, now heading directly toward the incoming trucks on
the north end of town.

Meanwhile,
the mini-van took another turn, just keeping ahead of the truck
pursuing it. Below, the gate was already yawning open slowly, guards
watching to make sure no zombies slipped in.

The
battered, mud-covered truck accelerated as the gate came into view.
The mini-van was starting to slow.

“
Nerit?
”
Juan asked.

“
She's
on it,
”
Nerit assured him.

Then through her
binoculars, she saw the windshield of the bandit truck explode into
shards of glass. The vehicle veered off into a building, busting
through the storefront and plowing into the building out of sight.

“
Shit.
”

Nerit
smiled proudly.
“
I
trained Katarina well.
”

Juan nodded, clearly
impressed.

The
mini-van safely slid into the first lock of the entrance. The gate
slid closed behind it.

“
Objective
one accomplished,
”
Nerit said with satisfaction.

She
watched as the Hummer continued on its mission.

***

Katie
listened to Peggy's voice, her stomach tightening.
“
Turn
on Madison, Nerit says.
”

Travis was gripping
the dashboard with both hands, watching the road anxiously. Behind
him, Lenore and Ken were armed and ready.

Katie
twirled the steering wheel and the Hummer ripped around the corner,
nearly cutting off the first bandit truck as it headed down Madison.
There was a great crash behind them as one truck barreled into the
back of another. Glancing into the rearview mirror, she watched the
last two bandit trucks veer around the fender bender and keep coming.

“
Just
like Dallas traffic,
”
Travis decided with a lopsided grin.

Katie
laughed, then turned sharply down another side street. The town
wasn't very large and a lot of the downtown streets were narrow
red-bricked affairs that ran in all sorts of weird directions. Some
were diagonal and others looped around. Nerit had sat with Katie for
hours going over a map of the town. It was paying off in a big way
now. Katie knew where she was going. The bandits did not.

The two battered
trucks from the fender bender appeared distantly behind the other
pursuing vehicles.

Lenore
sat silently, watching out the back window. Her jaw was set and her
dark eyes were blazing.
“
All
ugly crazy white men.
”

Ken
glanced back into the truck right on their tail.
“
I
was praying for a man, but those guys are so not the answer. I may be
hard up for a man, but not
that
hard
up.
”

Lenore
high-fived Ken.
“
Amen,
sistah.
”

Katie
didn't have time to study the men behind them and make any judgments.
She was busy trying to make sure they didn
’
t
die as they distracted the bandits from the mini-van going into the
fort. She whipped the Hummer around another corner. The mini-van
needed to get into the second lock before the Hummer could make its
run for safety.

Peggy's
voice came through the static.
“
Hate
to say this, but shadow number five has arrived. It's a huge ass 4 x
4 truck.
”

“
Where
is it?
”
Travis asked.

“
Heading
straight up Main Street,
”
Peggy answered.

“
Let's
go play chicken,
”
Katie said with an evil grin.

“
Damn,
”
Ken sighed.
“
I'm
going to die without ever getting laid again.
”

***

Katarina lay
perfectly still on top of the newspaper building's roof. Covered in a
bed sheet spray-painted to look like the roof, she blended in
perfectly. Her sniper rifle was poised, ready, and warm in her grip.
Her eye was just as cold and just as deadly. Her long hair was
braided down her back. The wind whistled in her ears.

“
We
have a change in plans. Another truck has arrived,
”
Nerit's voice said in her ear piece.

“
Same
dance as before?
”
Katarina asked.

“
No.
Let Katie play with them, and then we're going to drop our surprise
on them. Then we continue as planned.
”

“
My
dance card has empty slots,
”
Katarina answered into her headset.

“
I
have a feeling they'll be filled.
”

Katarina smiled and
watched the spread of road before the gates.

***

Katie led the four
trucks straight down Main Street, toward the new truck. It didn't see
the Hummer until it crested the hill. Katie didn't swerve an inch.

“
Shit,
”
Travis muttered.

The
oncoming truck did a sharp swerve to the left and clipped a street
lamp. It shimmied, then came to a sharp stop. Meanwhile, the four
bandit trucks slammed on their brakes and nearly piled up.

Wrenching
the wheel to the left, Katie turned down a side street then hit
Morris St.
“
Fuck
the gate. Let
’
s
ditch the Hummer.
”

“
I
am all for that,
”
Lenore agreed.

“
We're
taking the side door,
”
Travis said into the mouthpiece as the Hummer roared up to the hotel.

“
Understood,
”
Peggy answered.
“
I'll
let them know you have a delivery.
”

Travis was sure that
Peggy's years as a dispatcher was coming in handy today.

The Hummer drew up
to the service entrance. The heavy iron door slid open. Jumping out,
the four of them made a run for it. Two guards emerged from inside
and watched the road.

“
Hurry
up!
”
Bill was just inside, waving at them.

After
scrambling up onto the dock, Travis reached back and pulled Katie up.
She spun around her heel, looking back to make sure Ken and Lenore
were following.

Ken easily pulled
himself up onto the dock and turned around. He promptly began to
wave and urge on his best friend.

“
I
’
m
coming. I
’
m
coming. Hold on!
”
Lenore, being quite large for her height, huffed behind the rest.
She was almost to the loading dock when a truck came squealing into
view.

“
Lenore!
”
Ken sounded frantic and almost jumped back into the street. Travis
barely caught him in time.

The young woman
turned and fired with seamless grace. The arrow drilled into the
front tire, blowing it out. The driver lost control and slammed into
the Hummer. The screech of metal and the smell of burnt rubber
filled the air. The Hummer groaned as it was shoved a few feet over.
Lenore jumped out of the way with more agility than one would think.

A huge man,
disgustingly dirty, staggered out of the truck, bleeding fiercely
from a wound on his forehead. Lenore seemed to use this as a target.
The man fell back, the end of the arrow protruding from between his
eyes.

Two
more men were still in the truck, but they ducked down.

For
their guns, Travis thought.

Katie
shouted,
“
Hurry,
Lenore!
”

Lenore
shrugged and hauled herself up onto the loading dock.

“
White
people,
”
she muttered slipping past Katie.
“
Always
screaming about something.
”

Ken
threw his arms around her and dragged her inside.
“
Girlfriend,
you scared me shitless!
”

“
Get
inside!
”
Travis ordered.
“
Let
’
s
not wait for them to find their guns.
”

As
soon as they were all inside the doors were sealed shut.

Together, both
Travis and Katie made a mad dash for the elevator.

***

Nerit watched as the
last four bandit trucks finally found their way down the road. They
were moving a little more cautiously than they had been. Their leader
was wising up. Peggy couldn't find their frequency. Nerit was sure
her opponent had ordered radio silence. She could see someone in the
second truck motioning to the others.