Running With The Horde (Book 2): Delusions of Monsters (16 page)

Todd nodded and Dick regarded him for another moment until deciding it would have to do. He had no way of knowing if Todd could actually do what he asked. He had to hope the moron had learned enough from watching Penrod over the years.

With that item crossed off his agenda he moved on to his second important task of the day. He spent the next several hours visiting various places throughout the entire facility and shooing all of the personnel to the cafeteria under the continuing guise of facility-wide inspection. When he was finally alone he hid tiny C4 charges in each room, in places he knew they wouldn’t be discovered when security was back online. This was an arduous process because his contact in D.C. had filled him with a healthy dose of fear regarding the explosives. They were small but very powerful, the man had told him as he gave Dick a crash course in the handling and placement of C4.

When he was done planting the charges he made an appearance in the cafeteria where the majority of the staff had gathered. There he gave an impassioned speech about their mission and the importance of following protocol. This was their last big push before Project Simon went live so he was testing them to their limits to be sure everyone was ready in the event there was ever an attempt to take the facility down. He gave them strict instructions about the clean-up process and how he would grade their performance. The emphasis placed on the cost of failure had everyone eager to get the facility back up and running as quickly as possible.

Feeling kind of like a god, Dick oversaw the clean-up of his mess from the comfort of his own quarters and dutifully reported back to Control when all was well. He made a special note that they had discovered a couple of bugs in the system that could’ve caused problems down the road for Project Simon. Simple things like a security personal who had broken protocol and left a full beverage on the control board. That individual had been dealt with accordingly. Control could be assured that Area 51 was being run like a tight ship.

Later that week he briefly saw Todd and the man gave him a lascivious wink. Evidently that meant he had been successful in his task. The following afternoon at the weekly briefing he was informed by the team that the first batch of vaccines had been completed in production and were shipped out that same morning.

Thousands of shots had been sent out across the globe with more going out every day. As far as anyone knew most of those shots were fake placebos and only the four pilot cities were getting the live virus. Only Dick and Todd knew the truth.

Dick spent the remainder of that week and the one that followed monitoring operations from his Area 51 quarters and making arrangements for his eventual disappearing act. As far as what his actions actually meant, Dick didn’t really put a lot of thought into it. He was a man of simple principles. Tom and the Syndicate screwed him over and so, in turn, he would screw them over. He didn’t put a lot of stock in Andrew’s dire predictions. He figured at worst maybe a few thousand people would get sick and, of those, maybe a few hundred might actually die. Considering what the Syndicate had intended for everyone in the first place, he was probably doing the right thing.

Had he realized the sheer magnitude of his choice and how it would break the world he may have chosen a less genocidal approach to his revenge situation. But then again maybe not, he was a real dick.

The Present

It seemed like forever but it probably wasn’t all that long until the ringing in my ears started to subside and I could hear men screaming and guns firing. Then my vision came back like a million needles. My eyes were watering through the haze of gun smoke. I knew what was happening without even checking. My reinforcements had arrived and from the sound of things they were giving the soldiers everything they could handle and more. I didn’t give a shit. I was in a very dark place emotionally. In that moment I almost wished for an errant round to find its home in my brain and end this madness.

But there was Daisy to consider, not to mention our baby. I rolled off of my back and onto my knees, taking great care not to look up and see Marybeth’s body lying there. I couldn’t look at her again. I retched on the floor but also on my pants and went into a coughing fit as I crawled forward past her body to the back of the room toward the entrance of the service hallway. I could see much better now due to the constant muzzle flashes. It was like being at a rave from hell.

The Creep was gone, disappeared down the hallway and likely out the back. I pulled myself up on the wainscoting and stumbled down the same path he had taken which led past two restrooms and a galley to a big metal door with a push bar. The door held a warning that an alarm would sound if opened. Good. Let it. I pushed it open and stepped outside into the blustery snow of the alley. I saw nobody, there weren’t even footprints to follow with the wind whipping the snow around like a winter rodeo.

To my immediate right was a large green dumpster. The kind with two metal lids hinged on the back. Each lid covered half the dumpster. One side was clear of snow but the other lid was covered by about a foot of the stuff. I had no weapon since abandoning my pack back in the street. My rifle had been left in the restaurant. But I had my rage, if he was in there I was going to tear him apart with my hands. Throwing the snowless lid open I glanced inside but he wasn’t in there. On top of several decomposing trash bags lay the butcher knife now clotted with dried blood. A smiley face had been drawn in the snow on the other lid, two final fuck-you parting gifts from my friend, the Creep. I reached in and pulled out the knife and began walking south out of the alley scanning for hiding places and lost in thought.

I hadn’t known Marybeth for very long, just an hour or so. But an hour in the zombie apocalypse was a lifetime. She had been my responsibility. My task had been simple, escort her safely from Point A to Point B while in the company of several armed adults. It should have been easy but I fucked up. I lost track of her. I let go of her hand. I mismanaged my gun. I fucked up! I didn’t know what had become of my companions but if they were still alive and we did meet again I wouldn’t be able to face Mailue. Yet I would have to. I would have to look her in the eyes and explain that a monster from a horror movie came out of nowhere and butchered her grandbaby in front of me while I stood there helpless to do anything about it. Life sucked.

My journey through the cold dark alley ended without further developments from the crazy stranger who had just changed my life. In the background, a full block over, fighting continued with loud explosions and cries of the dying. I walked east for a block to Central Avenue before heading north past the condos from Tegan’s last stand. The 3
rd
Avenue Bridge loomed in front of me. It was still heavily guarded but I was no longer concerned with being spotted by the soldiers. By this time I was a walking snowball only slightly higher than the drifts. Unless someone was constantly scanning the streets with infrared glasses I wouldn’t be seen. I cut through the hedges and over a crumbling balcony, through some landscaping and moved down below the bridge to the frontage road along the river. Another block and a half east and I made it to the Riverside complex. It was basically two city blocks of dark restaurants, bars and boutiques before it ended at an old movie theater.

I could no longer hear the fighting and thought maybe the battle was over. I was overcome with loneliness as I moved from business to business, softly humming th
e
Lovesick Blue
s
under my breath. For a brief span of time I’d had companions. A second family almost or a third if you counted my father and then Daisy. But now they were gone and likely dead and I was alone to finish my silly search for the pipedream tunnel. During this piteous time I forgot I had some other abilities until it dawned on me that I might be able to not only locate but assist my people if they needed it. When this realization finally hit me I sat on a bus bench and closed my eyes.

My assumption that the battle with the soldiers was over was correct. Hundreds of zombies had been pulled in by my call. They were aimlessly standing around the fallen bodies or slowly drifting away with no more live prey to lure them. I didn’t know what this meant for my group. I jumped from one zombie to the next but saw nothing. An undead gentleman, named Raymond, enabled me to see the funeral home but it was deserted. It didn’t seem any worse for the wear and it appeared there had been no fighting on the premises. I kept on searching going further and further north and west. I found the smoking remains of the jeep Wilson and Lanskey had burned but I could find no sign of them. My only hope was that they’d found an excellent hiding place to ride out the snowstorm. I was starting to go numb and had to find shelter before I got hypothermia.

Moving off the bench I decided to get serious about my tunnel search and put aside my feelings for a while. I stepped through the broken door of a gift shop and plodded around looking for a flashlight which I found in a desk drawer in the back office along with can of cold diet soda. I didn’t realize how thirsty I’d become.

There was a basement but it yielded nothing in the way of tunnels. I concluded this had not been Eva’s bakery. I searched two more shops, a museum and a restaurant but found nothing leaving only the movie theater and a Brazilian themed bar. They were on opposite ends of Riverplace. With a filthy curse I headed for the bar staying as close to the storefront as possible to avoid the deepest of the snow. There were no front windows to the place but the door wasn’t locked so I went inside taking a moment to appreciate being out of the elements if only for a few moments.

As I walked into the relatively mild building, I regretted having left this place for last. My time in the cold now just felt like a pointlessly cruel exercise in self-punishment. The room was arranged in a large square with comfortable chairs located in a variety of pods around the bar. The bar itself was a large wooden oval structure located in the center. To the rear of the room were two doors on opposite sides, one indicated EXIT and the other was unmarked and led to some other unseen portion of the building. Although the place was in a general state of disrepair, it appeared things had once been quite ritzy. It must have been a fun place to hang out back in the day.

Behind the mostly empty bar I found a bottle of bourbon with an ounce or two still left. I removed my wool cap and poured the booze into a shot glass and was preparing a very meaningful toast to the memory of Marybeth and the other fallen when I heard an animal growling. By this time it would seem like I would be used to scary noises and dark places but no, I was startled enough by the sound to drop the shot glass on the floor. After the glass shattered, the growling turned to animated barking. I thought I recognized that bark.

“Mandy, is that you, girl?”

The barking stopped and I heard dog sounds from near the non-exit door in the back of the room as she prepared to approach me. Some shuffling and shaking, a little nervous yipping but she wasn’t ready to come out yet.

“Mandy, it’s okay, come here, baby,” I encouraged as I stepped out from behind the oval bar and moved closer to her position. I was taking a bit of a risk assuming this was Mandy, the dog from my party that I’d only just met. My luck it would be a ravenous wolf on the loose and looking for a tasty man snack. But in this instance my luck was good as she came inching toward me with her head between her front paws. Her tail was tucked under her rump like she had just piddled on the floor and thought she was going to be in trouble. Her leash was still on, dragging behind her as she crawled to me. I went down to one knee to pet her when she finally closed the distance between us. She was shaking like a leaf, clearly terrified.

“Calm down, girl, everything is fine now,” I said gently as I stroked her mane and scratched behind her ears. The trembling subsided somewhat and she licked my hand before turning over so I could rub her belly.

I complied as I continued talking to her, “How the hell did you get in here, Mandy? Huh, girl? How did you do it? How did you do it, you crazy girl.” We were having a good old time now. She was back up on her feet with her tail wagging trying desperately to lick my face while I laughed.

Suddenly there was power in the bar, lights and loud music like someone flipped a switch. I cursed and had a small heart attack while Mandy starting barking and growling. Her hackles were raised and she was staring at the doorway from which she had come, stealing the occasional glance back at me.

All I had for a weapon was the butcher knife, still gory with Marybeth’s blood. I recognized the song,
Human
by the Killers as the baseline thrummed through the bar. I liked that song a lot but in this context it was a little much. I gave a ‘should we stay or should we go’ look to Mandy but she just kept on growling and barking at that door. The song ran its course while we stood frozen and the track switched t
o
The Reape
r
by the Blue Oyster Cult. The song had both fascinated and terrified me as child. I could still see the album cover in my mind. The grim reaper pictured there reminded me of the Creep. I couldn’t handle it anymore, the search for the tunnel could go fuck itself. Mandy and I were leaving. Live to fight another day was suddenly another life motto for me.

Snatching the person-end of the leash off the floor I began backing toward the front door where I’d come in, pulling the dog with me. Neither of us took our eyes off that door for fear the bogeyman was just waiting for us to turn around. In that moment I had the mind of my five year old self and Mandy that of her puppy years. I felt the air get noticeably colder on my exposed neck and knew we were getting close to the door. I took a quick peek over my shoulder and hoped nobody was waiting to get us outside as the song told us about Romeo and Juliet being together in eternity.

There were no windows in the front, no windows in the big door. My imagination began to torture me with what could be waiting out in the cold when we stepped outside. The irony of the song wasn’t wasted on me. Turning my attention back to the interior of the bar I pointed the knife in a slow arc around the room and gave it one last inspection but couldn’t bring myself to stay and deal with whatever malevolence waited beyond that other door. I would rather take my chances that whoever it was lurked inside with me and not outside. Unless it was a tribe of Creeps which was a terrifying thought.

Praying the Creep wasn’t out there hiding, I shouldered the door open and burst outside pulling Mandy along with me as I slashed at the air in what I hoped would be an unexpected move if someone was waiting to get the jump on me. But the only thing outside was snow, wind and darkness. I let the door shut behind me. As it came to rest in its frame the power shut off and the bar was instantly quiet and dark. Someone was seriously fucking with me.

I couldn’t resist, I had to look. Grabbing the handle, I eased the door open, listening to the slow protest of rusty hinges. Inside was dark as a tomb. I stared into that void until my eyes stung from lack of blinking. The dog nuzzled my thigh as if urging me to make a decision or at least pet her while we waited. “Okay, girl, we’ll go in a sec,” I said as I patted her head. I was starting to think I’d imagined the whole episode. The power hadn’t come on. The music hadn’t played. Maybe I was just losing my shit because of what happened to Marybeth. But that thought led me down another terrible rabbit hole. If I imagined the power in the bar, maybe I had imagined the Creep. Which would mean I was the one…

No! I wasn’t going to go there. Not ever! Mandy seemed to agree as she looked up at me and let out a quiet bark. “Okay, you win, girl.”

I took a step back and released the cold metal handle of the door and it began to swing shut. But as it did, I heard a small noise from inside, clear as day.

“Tee-hee-hee.”

Mandy and I ran like hell.