Orpheus: Homecoming (The Orpheus Trilogy Book 2) (7 page)

Holt pulled as close to the dock as he could, parking spots be damned. He turned off the engine and left the keys dangling in the ignition. The truck wasn't going to stay there long.

“I hate this.” Jackie had been crying off and on for the better part of an hour, but she seemed to have mostly come to grips that she was going to have to say goodbye to her boys for a little while. “It's just so stupid.” Her fingers flexed around the handles of what she normally used as her beach bag, and Holt wondered why she'd brought that instead of her everyday purse.

“Stupid just happens to be our specialty, Ma.” Ethan got out of the truck and walked to the truck bed.

Rachel and his parents joined him at the back of the truck. Ethan dropped the gate and grabbed a duffel bag. The name “C. Holt” was stenciled on it, and he handed it to his father, who hoisted it onto his shoulder. Ethan and Rachel did the same with their bags. Holt reached into the truck box and grabbed a smaller backpack.

“What's that?” Jackie asked.

“Just a few things I couldn't fit in the bag.”

Jackie slid it off of his shoulder and slung it on her own. She smiled. “Come on. I'll walk you three to work.”

The closer they got to the pier, the thicker the crowd got. The official departure hadn't been announced, but word had gotten out, and several hundred people crowded the fence to get a look at Holt and his team. They clapped as he approached the checkpoint. He turned around and gave them a wave, then turned to the guard.

“Go right ahead, sir, and good luck,” the guard said as he checked off Holt's name. He waved Ethan and Rachel through after they showed their identification, but he stopped Jackie. “I'm sorry, ma'am, no civilians past this point.”

Holt, the only one in uniform, cleared his throat and pointed to his name tag. “Who would you call to have someone authorized?”

The guard shuffled his paperwork nervously. “Uh, you, sir.” He hesitated, unsure what to write.

“It's Jackie, sweetie.”

He smiled and wrote it down. “Thank you, ma'am. Go right ahead.”

The four of them walked down the pier to the waiting ferry. The sound of Holt's boots hitting the wood was magnified by the lack of any conversation. They checked in with the final guard, who informed him that they were the last to arrive.

An airman approached and asked if they needed anything from their duffel bags. “They'll arrive after you secure the school and give the word.”

Jackie began to cry again, and her goodbyes came quickly. She hugged Ethan and Rachel fiercely. She kissed her husband and broke away before he was ready. He reached out for her again, but she was already out of reach. She walked backward on the pier and said, “You take care of each other. I won't lose any of you, understand?” She turned around and quickened her pace.

Holt watched her until she made it to the truck and got in. He motioned for the other two to get on the ferry, all the while hating himself for screwing up so badly. He stepped on, and a crew member closed the door behind him.

The first familiar face he saw was Martin Trager.

“I didn't think you were coming with us,” Holt said.

“I wanted to see you off, and I'll be checking in daily. If and when you actually need anything, you call me.”

“Speaking of which, communications?”

“Secure the school and the surrounding area. Then, we'll send in C.E. to set up power and your comm. You'll have phones, internet, satellite TV, everything. But you're going to have to work for it, first. Let's head up front and enjoy the view.”

Trager led the way. He casually motioned to Holt's requested transportation. “Those Jeeps are nice, but you're gonna love these mobile command centers. You have three. If you absolutely had to, you could organize the whole op from just one of them. They're heavy enough, and they retrofitted those stabilizer things. They won't break any speed records, but you could ride out a pretty big storm in one.”

“Perfect. How much?”

“Even though it's not our money, you don't want to know. Come on. There's a few people I want you to meet.”

Holt saw the camouflaged uniforms, approximately sixty strong, well before he made it to the bow of the ship. Most of the soldiers were leaning over the rail, staring out at the water. The few that were already looking in his direction straightened up as he approached. The movement rippled through the crowd until every set of eyes was upon him. Tino and German stared at him, possibly wondering if there was any residual resentment from the dustup at the gala.

Holt was about to introduce himself, when he was distracted by one particular group of soldiers, which included Ethan and Rachel.

Tim was the first to salute, but the others followed suit.

Trager leaned in and said, “I made some calls.”

O

“You're all idiots.”

Fish responded, “Yeah, but we're your idiots.”

“We weren't going to let you do this alone.”

“Lena,” Holt motioned around, “do I look alone?”

“You know what I mean.”

Despite himself, Holt nodded. “Thanks.”

“I barely had to ask any of them,” Trager said. “I get the feeling they were all just waiting for my call.”

“Imagine that.” They all leaned over the railing and wordlessly enjoyed the trip.

Some time later, Holt saw that they were approaching shore. He thought he could make out several human-sized shapes moving around near the water. He wasn't surprised. After nearly a year without fresh meat, the zombies were probably scattered all over the island. He was immediately all business.

He walked to the center, whistled, and said, “Showtime. Mount up.”

They walked to the vehicles. “Four to a Jeep, the rest in the command centers.” Holt climbed behind the wheel of one of the SUVs. He was joined by Ethan, Rachel, and Fish. Tim, Lena, Tino, and German climbed into another. Everyone else piled into the larger vehicles.

The ferry reached its destination and docked. The large door dropped and Holt wasted no time in leading the convoy off of the boat. He knew that this was a dangerous way to begin the mission, but they had no choice. The zombies noticed the Jeep right away and sprinted right for him. Holt had hoped that time would have torn the zombies down so that they were nothing more than shambling husks, but they could still apparently run a person down.

He gunned the engine and drew them away from the ferry. He was happy to see that no zombies came rushing out of the woods. They wouldn't even have to contend with the handful that were already there yet.

Orpheus kept the Jeep at a crawl and let the zombies come. They pawed ineffectively at the windows. He watched in the rearview mirror as the rest of the vehicles fell in behind him. His passengers were strangely calm. They'd all seen far worse than this.

Orpheus grabbed a handheld radio. “I want everyone to take a good look at these things as you pass them. You're going to be tempted to underestimate their tenacity. Your mind still wants to think they're human. You'll know differently soon enough. I don't want you to get comfortable here. I want you scared, because fear keeps you sharp. You need to be able to comprehend that these are dead people, and if you're not careful, you could end up just like them. Never, never, let your guard down.”

He paused to let it sink in. When he figured his point had been made, he guided the Jeep down the access road. He hadn't been off the island long enough to forget the way to the school, so most of his attention was spent weaving around the zombies that had wandered onto the roads. 

“Those things are everywhere,” Rachel said. “This is going to take a while.”

Fish said, “The good news is that the school should still be clear. That building is like a fortress.”

“Against zombies, anyway,” Ethan mumbled.

Orpheus almost asked,
What do you mean?
but managed to catch himself in time. Ethan had lost a lot of friends to a different kind of monster in that school, and it was something that he and Rachel were going to have to deal with soon. He decided to give Ethan something to do, instead. “Get a radio check, Lieutenant.”

“Got it.” He began to go through the call signs.

O

“You going to answer that?” Tim asked from the driver's seat. Tino didn't answer, so Tim reached over and tapped him on the shoulder.

Tino's eyes had been glued to the scene outside, but he jumped and yelped when Tim touched him.

“The radio,” Tim said. “They're calling us.”

“Oh.” He brought the radio to his mouth. “Zulu 2,” he read off of a label on the truck's dashboard, “loud and clear.”

“Sure hope it stays that way,” German added from the back seat. “Jesus Christ. Those are dead people out there.”

Lena, seated next to him, said, “Sure are. And you don't ever want to get up close and personal.”

“I mean, we talked about it during the mission planning so many times. It was kind of abstract. Seeing it is just … wicked screwed up.” German jumped as a zombie ran into the car and careened off. “Fuck me!” When his breathing returned to normal, he said, “I'm gonna die here.”

Lena asked, “It's Mark, right?” German nodded. “Relax, Mark. You'll be fine.” She patted his thigh for emphasis.

“Do you ever ...” Tino's voice trailed off.

Tim finished for him. “Get used to it? I thought I would, but I was way wrong. Just stay alert, listen to the people with experience, and you should be fine. Probably. Lena's running the show, so you're in good hands.”

Lena smiled and theatrically wiggled her fingers. “Magic hands.”

Tim continued. “We survived with a lot less resources than what we have now. We have numbers, firepower, supplies, and whatever else we need whenever we need it. And we have Orpheus. The rest of us are pretty much along for the ride.”

Tino craned his neck and looked at German, then at Tim. “Preaching to the choir on that one.”

Well, that didn't take long.

Orpheus put the Jeep in park and stared at the horde in front of them. They hadn't been noticed yet, but that wouldn't last forever. He turned in his seat and said, "Rachel, there should be some binoculars in the back."

"On it." She bent over the seats and rummaged through the gear. "Got 'em."

"Are they heavy?" Fish asked.

Rachel weighed them in her hand. "I guess so. Why?"

"Then they're expensive, put them back," Fish said with a smirk.

Rachel rolled her eyes and handed the binoculars to Orpheus.

"That was
Jurassic Park,
y'all."

Ethan said, "Shut it, Fish."

Orpheus hit a button on the ceiling and the moon roof slid open. He said, "Keep an eye out," and lifted himself through the opening. He sat on the roof and raised the binoculars. He scanned the tree line on either side of them. The visibility was good, and he was reasonably certain that, even if there were zombies in the woods, they would just be individual strays.

The group in front of them, however...

"About sixty," he said to the passengers below him.

"You think we could find a way around?" Tim asked.

"I know we could," Orpheus said, "but that's not why we're here. Might as well find out what kind of soldiers we have as early as possible. Just give me a minute to think of a strategy."

Ethan put his hands on the roof and hauled himself up as Orpheus made room for him.

"What's on your mind, Lieutenant?"

"You think this is a good idea, Dad?" He noticed his father's amused look. "Captain Dad. We're the only ones who have any experience with this. Maybe we should get to the school first."

"I get what you're saying, but what if the other way is blocked, too? Better to jump in with both feet while we have a simple egress. And I want to know if anyone doesn't have the nerve before they're in a position where they can compromise us."

Ethan nodded. "In that case, I have an idea of how we can do it safely."

He explained, and Orpheus said, "Do it."

Ethan spoke into his radio and coordinated the vehicles. Per his instructions, each of the three command centers pulled parallel to each other, diagonally across the road. Each one dropped its stabilizers, anchoring them. Lastly, the smaller vehicles plugged the gaps.

Ethan had created a wall of metal that, even if the worst happened, the Jeeps wouldn't become overwhelmed by zombies, and each of the vehicles could just simply drive away from danger, if it came to that. When Ethan was satisfied, he looked to Orpheus, who nodded his approval.

Ethan called for Zulu 2. After they had responded, Ethan told them what he wanted. He was met with a shaky "copy" from Constantino, but he saw a confident thumbs-up from Tim.

O

Tino locked the transmitter back in place. "Any sense in objecting?"

"I'm with him," German added.

"Nope," Tim said flatly. "It's a good plan."

"Your boss does know that there are two people in this car who have no experience dealing with these things, right?"

"Three."

Tino looked at Lena. "Come again?"

"The closest I came to them was walking by a few one time. Other than that, I was pretty isolated from them."

"So why aren't you freaking out?"

"Because I trust my friends."

Tim put it in drive and moved forward slowly. "Relax. We don't even have to engage, which tells me that Orpheus already trusts you to an extent. We're just bait. Which would be really ironic, if you had been on the island with me."

Lena managed to giggle.

"Aw, Hell, just go," German said. "I already hate your stupid inside jokes."

The Jeep moved toward the mob slowly. Tim kept expecting to have to turn around in a hurry, but he kept getting closer than he would've thought possible. "This is weird. It's almost like they're in sleep mode."

Lena said, "Maybe it's because they haven't seen anyone alive since we -"

And then, the closest one heard their approach. It turned, and the occupants of the Jeep had just enough time to register that its right arm was missing before it broke into a full sprint.

Tim hadn't known what to expect, but he was still taken aback by how fast it had "woken up."

And by how fast the rest followed suit. There was a visible ripple in the mob as each zombie was alerted to their presence.

They came for the kill, if not simultaneously, close enough to it.

Even though the Jeep was moving only a few miles per hour, Tim hit the brakes hard enough to throw everyone forward. "Hold on!" By the time he began to reverse, the first few zombies had caught up and threw themselves at the Jeep. They all felt the impacts and screamed in unison, but then they were fully in motion and began to pull away. Tim threw an arm around Tino's headrest and just drove that way, not wanting to waste the time it would take to turn around.

He saw what he wanted to see. Each command center had armed men posted on top, and each SUV had two ready to fire from their positions on the roof.

The most reassuring thing that he saw, in the center of his field of vision, was Orpheus. He stood a few paces in front of the vehicles with an arm raised. The other arm pointed at the approaching vehicle and motioned for it to peel off to the left. Tim obliged the order, and as soon as he did, Orpheus dropped the other arm and then hustled back to his Jeep.

The shots began, and the rapidly approaching bodies began to get thrown around. Parts flew off, but most kept coming.

"Jesus," Tino said. "Why aren't they dropping?"

"Need headshots, or to just blow them apart," Tim said as he slammed on the brakes again and parked next to the last command center. "That shit was in the briefing. And every zombie movie ever." He opened the moon roof, grabbed his rifle, and added his own firepower to the effort.

German said, "I'm getting some of this!" and joined Tim up top.

Tino mentally kicked himself for acting like a rookie. He grabbed his rifle, but there wasn't any room. Instead, he rolled down his window and fired from there. Lena did the same, though she was more tentative.

The bodies began to drop.

Tim looked at his teammates in between shots. German fired quickly and accurately. He seemed to be able to put it pretty much anywhere he wanted it to go. Tino was firing from a slightly more awkward position, but still scored center mass hits, which allowed others to finish off zombies with headshots.

Lena, on the other hand, was technically tasked as civilian emergency-combat support, but Orpheus expected everyone to be able to handle a weapon if necessary. Tim looked for her muzzle flashes. She fired much more slowly than the trained soldiers, but if he was tracking her accurately, she was doing pretty well.

Satisfied, Tim turned his attention back to the oncoming horde, having completed his role as bait for hopefully the last time.

O

Once the vehicles had stopped, Orpheus scrambled up a ladder and stood atop a Rhino. He held up a hand, wanting the din to quiet down. When most of the soldiers didn't immediately comply, he yelled, "What the fuck are you celebrating? We're not even at the school yet!" That got their attention. When he was satisfied that they were listening, he continued in a lower, but no less commanding, voice. "What did I say about never letting up?" He pointed at the writhing mass of zombies who still advanced, despite their crippled bodies. "Look at them. They're not done. And more are heading for us right now, drawn by the shots. They will never stop unless you stop them. WE. ARE. NOT. SAFE. HERE. Understand?"

A chorus of
yessirs
rang out.

He continued to scan the faces and said, "Lieutenant?"

On cue, Tim got out of his SUV and twirled his index finger in the air. "Three guys on top of each Rhino acting as lookouts. Everybody else out." Soldiers streamed out of the vehicles. "Let's finish them. Don't assume anything. Hey, Fish?"

"Yo."

"What's that saying you came up with?"

"Saying?"

"I thought you had something catchy for this, like 'Two in the crown keeps them down'?"

Fish looked at Ethan. "You know what he's talking about?"

Ethan shrugged. "No idea. But that's terrible."

"I hate you clowns." He addressed the soldiers on the ground. "Just shoot all of them twice in the head. Even if they look done."

The soldiers did as instructed, and the stillness that had descended on the area as the first fusillade had died down was once again interrupted by sporadic two-shot bursts. Orpheus, who had maintained his elevated position, couldn't help but be reminded of a bag of microwave popcorn that had just about finished popping.

His eyes darted from man to man, looking for any signs of hesitation or other red flags. They'd handled themselves well, and Orpheus patted himself on the back for introducing them to the zombies from the safety of the vehicles. That had no doubt shocked most of them, but they were fortunate that they'd been able to engage so soon after. In his experience, once there was a clear target, nerves tended to settle down.

The first true test came when a smaller pack of zombies burst from the woods. Orpheus thought he was the only one to notice (he considered it his job to notice everything), but the soldiers watching the perimeter handled the threat quickly and efficiently. The zombies never got within thirty yards of anyone.

Orpheus didn't let himself relax, but he did unclench his teeth.

He was never worried about his family or friends. They were as professional as he'd expected. They'd moved cautiously, logically, not willing to advance until they were sure it was safe to do so. The new arrivals soon fell into the same sort of pattern.

While they worked, the air was thick with real and unmistakable emotion. The soldiers were clearly warring with anxiety and a healthy fear, whereas he sensed a familiar melancholy coming from his lieutenants.

He knew exactly how they felt.

The shots became less frequent, and soon died down entirely.

Everyone stood awaiting the next order while he scanned the pile for movement, but there wasn't any. The team had done its job well.

Tino said, "Road's blocked."

"No problem," German answered. "The trucks can get up and over if they have to."

"Good enough for me."

They all began to walk toward the vehicles when Orpheus said, "No."

They all stopped and looked at him.

"They've suffered enough. We can take two minutes to clear a path." To prove his point, he climbed down the ladder and joined the group. He registered the apprehensive looks and said, "It's only contagious if they bite you. So cowboy up." He grabbed the nearest zombie, a female who must've been slight in life and was now grotesquely gaunt, by the wrists and dragged her as gently as he could to the grass on the side of the road.

Rachel was next. She picked a zombie that must have outweighed her by fifty pounds, even in its ravaged state. The pairing stood in sharp contrast to him and the zombie he'd just moved, but he knew that wasn't her intent. If he hadn't made the decision to move the bodies, she would've made it for them.

She turned her head slightly and smiled at Orpheus. It had a tone of gratitude to it.
I think I just made her proud.

Some of the others followed suit while the rest stood watch. The road was completely cleared in a matter of minutes. Once the vehicles were occupied again, Orpheus led the way to the school. They encountered more zombies along the way, but the groups were small and he ordered the vehicles to just drive on through. Orpheus figured that they'd had enough excitement for the first day, and he just wanted to get settled in before starting the reclamation proper.

Fish chose that moment to say exactly what Orpheus didn't want to hear. "Guys, I've gone over the shit show at the school in my head a million times. The more I think about it, the more I think there might be some left in there."

Orpheus thought back to his insane (and ultimately futile) run to save Mutt in the baseball field press box. "Tim drew most of them off. Some may have wandered back, but we should be fine."

Fish shook his head. "Not there. I think they might be inside."

"How sure are you?" Rachel asked.

Fish didn't answer for several seconds. A quick look in the rearview mirror showed that Fish had his eyes closed and was mumbling to himself, doing everything he could to bring his memory into full focus.

Orpheus had a sinking feeling he knew what the meant. "Fish?" he prompted.

"I could be wrong, but pretty sure."

Ethan asked, "How many?"

"How many did you trap in the bomb shelter?"

Ethan looked at his fiancée. "Seventy? Eighty, maybe?"

Rachel nodded her agreement. "It felt like a thousand."