Siege (38 page)

The people from a bus were given the all clear and piled back in. Many looked at him with desperate eyes, looking for some sort of reassurance. He forced a smile he did not feel and several looked relieved. Moving on to the next truck, he saw Travis drop to the ground then reach up to help his wife down out of the cab. Bette and two other soldiers quickly examined them and the driver and gave the clear sign to Kevin. They moved to the back of the truck to unload the passengers. Kevin strode up to the couple and sighed.

“Good to see you’re safe and sound,” Kevin said in a low voice. Travis looked over at the crying infected woman, then back at Kevin. “I wish everyone was.”

“Yeah. But she probably won’t be the only one,” Kevin answered with a sad sigh.

Travis agreed silently with a grim look on his face.

“We have to do this. We can’t risk the fort.”

“Doesn’t make it any easier, does it?” Travis reached out and patted Kevin’s shoulder. “I’m sorry about your friends back in the mall. They were brave.”

“So was your friend,” Kevin said with a slight smile. “One helluva a feisty one, wasn’t she?”

“You have no idea,” Travis answered with a bittersweet laugh. “No idea.”

Katie was holding onto Travis tightly and she even smiled at this comment. She looked exhausted. On impulse, Kevin reached out and tucked her hair back from her face.

“You did the right thing,” he said, slightly embarrassed.

“That doesn’t make it any easier.”

“I understand,” Kevin assured her.

“Katie!”

Kevin looked up to see Bruce Kiel heading toward them. His wrist was heavily bandaged. Kevin felt his heart sink.

“Dad! No! Dad!” Katie was instantly on the edge of hysterics and rushed toward her father.

“Katie!” Travis dove after her, catching her about the waist. “Katie, no!”

“It’s okay, baby,” Bruce called out to her, his expression agonized. “It’s okay. Please don’t cry.”

“Oh, Dad, no. Please, God, no.”

“Oh, shit,” Kevin groaned. He rubbed his brow and looked back at the woman who was now silent. Either she was accepting her inevitable death or―

The woman lurched to her feet and whirled around on the guard. He was ready and shot her point blank in the head.

The people in the parked vehicles cried out in horror as Kevin closed his eyes.

Fuck. Could this get any worse?

“Dad,” Katie exclaimed. “Please, not you!”

“I’m not sure it’s a bite,” Bruce said, his voice shaking. “I punched a few of them while escaping, but I also had to climb through a broken window to get out of a store.”

“Let’s see it,” Bette ordered.

Bruce began to unwind what looked like bandages made of a shirtsleeve. Slowly, the bloody cloth fell away to reveal a bad wound. Bette took his hand and leaned down to look at the gash.

Katie was sobbing, clinging to Travis, her body shaking. Travis looked pale as he tried to calm her.

Bette sighed then wrapped up the wound. “There is glass in the wound, but there are clear teeth indentations.”

With shivering breath, Bruce closed his eyes and tersely nodded. “I understand.”

“This can’t be happening!” Katie’s legs buckled, but Travis managed to hold her up.

Kevin lowered his head, feeling sick of it all.

A soldier stepped up beside Bruce and pushed him gently toward the side of the road.

Opening his eyes, he looked at his daughter and gave her a smile. “It’s okay, Katie-girl. It is. I promise. I got to see you again,” he said, walking past her.

Katie reached out toward him, but her father shook his head.

“Bruce, I’m sorry.” Travis’ tone was full of grief.

“I’m not. I got to see you and my daughter. I got to feel my grandchild moving in my daughter’s belly. I got to say goodbye.” Bruce had tears in his eyes. “I love you Katie-girl. I love you and I’m proud of you. I’m damn happy you’re going to be a mother and you’re going to have a good life.”

“Dad, I love you. I love you so much,” Katie said passionately. Her nose was running and her eyes were nearly swollen shut.

Bruce blew his daughter a kiss, then stood on the side of the road with his head down. Katie held onto her husband, weeping, unable to go to her father.

“This day can’t get much worse,” Kevin whispered to Bette. But it did. By the time every truck and bus was searched, seven people stood next to the side of the road. Four men from ages sixteen to maybe sixty stood in the cold wind, shivering from either the cold or the infection spreading through their bodies. Three were women. One was around eighteen the other two in their forties. The eighteen-year-old was having spasms by the time the search was done. Kevin was sure she was on the verge of turning.

“I’m sorry,” he said as he walked down the line of infected. “You’re infected. You have two choices. We leave you here and you turn. Or, we can put you out of your misery and save you from the fate of the rest of the world. I know it doesn’t seem fair and it’s not, but in the end none of us have any choice.”

“I’ll do it myself,” the girl said through chattering teeth. Kevin looked at her, then at the soldier standing behind the her. The soldier nodded. Sadly, Kevin handed the girl his revolver. People in the buses and trucks behind him were watching. The soldiers had tried to make the people look away, but he knew there was something innately human in not being able tear their eyes away from the drama. The girl’s breathing was getting shallow, her eyes milky. Kevin could tell it would be any minute now. He took a step back and looked at the soldier behind the girl. Slowly, he saw the rifle being raised as the soldier stepped to one side to avoid the coming gunshot.

The girl looked at Kevin and whispered in a voice that was barely human,

“Take my Mom to the fort.” Then she shoved the gun in her mouth and, without hesitation, pulled the trigger.

The spray of blood splattered the others. One infected man screamed and ran into the pasture.

“Let him go,” Kevin ordered. “He made his choice.”

“I can’t do it myself,” one of the women said, her eyes flicking to the dead girl at her feet. “I can’t.”

Kevin hesitated, not willing to ask anything more of his men. It was one thing to shoot a zombie, another a person even if they were infected.

“I’ll do it,” Bette said softly.

“Bette, I-“

Bette came up behind the woman and shot her. It was so quick the shot made Kevin jump.

“Me, too,” a man said. “Me, too.”

Kevin looked into Bette’s green eyes and saw a tear. He moved to stop her, but she had already fired.

The boy turned and ran.

“I can’t,” the last woman whispered. She also turned and ran. Bruce reached down for the gun at the dead girl’s side. He was very slow in his movements. When he took the gun, he shivered. “I don’t want to ask you to do what I can do myself,” he said in a trembling voice. Kevin rubbed his brow and nodded, pressing his lips tightly together.

“You did a good job, son. Just some of us were a little slow. And a little foolish,” Bruce said with a sigh.

Kevin looked back at Katie and Travis quickly. Travis had Katie’s face tucked into his neck as her body shook with emotion.

“Katie, I love you. Travis, take care of her. I got to say goodbye and that makes this all worth it.”

“Dad,” Katie called out. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. Take care, y’all.” Bruce lifted the gun and pressed it to his temple.

The gunshot made Kevin jump even though he knew it was coming.

“Let’s go,” Bette said softly, her hand resting on his arm.

“One of them is coming back,” a younger soldier named Kabuto said.

“And the other one is eating that first runner.”

Kevin looked up to see one of the infected running back. She wasn’t human anymore.

A shot rang out, then another. Then silence ruled the world again.

“Let’s go home,” Kevin said at last, wiping his tears away.
3. Home

The sparkling Christmas lights were the first thing many of the evacuees saw as the convoy crested the hill and sped down toward the fort. Despite the gloomy cold, drizzly weather, the lights seemed very bright, twinkling in the grayness of the day.

Amy’s children, huddled together in a metro bus, stared with wide, shellshocked eyes at the lights. Margie leaned over and whispered to her brother and sister, “Maybe Christmas is here.”

To Guadalupe, the lights were a welcome sight. She broke down crying, her gnarled hand, aching with arthritis cupping her forehead. It was almost too much for the old woman to bear. Those around her reached out to lay comforting hands on her.

On one of the lead trucks, Bette sat in silence, watching the lights with sad, weary eyes. Tired to the core of her being, she just wanted to be somewhere safe and warm. Despite being a nurse, who tried to heal the sick, she had been an executioner. Yet, it made sense to quickly destroy the thing that could infect so many others. She was just so tired. Exhausted, she rested her head back on the seat and watched the twinkling lights grow blurry through her tears.

As the gates opened to let the trucks in one at a time, the convoy fell into silence. No zombies attacked as they waited. Overhead, the helicopters hovered watchfully.

As Katie and Travis’ truck passed through into the complex, Katie broke down sobbing, her hands covering her face. Travis gently stroked her neck and back, whispering softly to her. But they both felt the emptiness that could never be replaced.

Jenni was gone.

Bruce was gone.

Kevin turned his eyes up toward the wall when his truck entered. He saw the tall, older Israeli woman watching with keen eyes. They shared a moment where their gazes touched and something unspoken passed between them. She nodded, then his truck turned into the garage and she was gone.

As the survivors began to pour into the courtyard, that was once the construction site, the citizens of the fort rushed to greet them. There were moments of sheer joy as family members were reunited. Friends who had not seen each other in years wept as they embraced. The weary soldiers found themselves hugged and kissed by strangers. The Reverend found lost members of his flock and wept as they greeted him.

Unexpected reunions filled the dreary day with cries of happiness that were mingled with tears of sadness. There was joy and there was heartbreak, but it was human and it was real.

Finally, the last truck rolled in. A beleaguered man, his hair messed and his face drawn, trudged through the crowd to the redheaded woman staring at him with disbelief.

With infinite gentleness, Bill put his arms around Katarina and kissed her lightly, then said, “I need a beer.”

1. Moments

“We must remember that our loved ones have moved on to a place where there is no fear or pain. It is we, who are left behind, who feel fear and pain. We must take comfort that their suffering is over and the salvation to our fears is to love one another and live the best life we can in honor of their memory,” the Reverend’s voice intoned, comforting his former parishioners as they gathered around him for prayer.

Katie moved past him, her legs feeling heavy and leaden. Her Travis walked behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders. She felt dizzy, tired, and her body was aching. Her hand pressed protectively against the swell of her stomach as she walked toward the hotel.

People from the fort flowed past her as they hurried to greet the newcomers. As one man moved aside to let her pass, Jason came into view, standing very still. Beside him, Jack pressed to his side. Shelley stood behind him, her face pale. Katie felt her heart break as she looked into the boy’s eyes and his image blurred as fresh tears filled her eyes. Blinking the tears free from her lashes, she saw Jason duck his head down, his bangs falling over his brow. His hand lifted to his face as Jack began to whine, pawing at the boy’s knee.

“Jason,” Katie managed to say before he flung himself into her arms. His body violently shaking, he buried his face in her neck as he cried. Clutching him tightly, she whispered, “I’m so sorry.”

The teenager sobbed desperately, his body sinking downward. Travis wrapped his arms around both of them and pulled Jason firmly against him. “We’re here, Jason. We’re here.”

“Mom! Mom! Mom!” Jason’s voice was a screech of pain.

Katie kissed his brow and clung to both of them.

Shelley wrapped one arm hesitantly around Katie and Katie reached out to pull the girl into a four-way embrace. Jack squeezed between their legs and began to howl.

* * * * *

Nerit held out her hand to Kevin as he stopped next to her. She stood near the entrance to the hotel watching Travis and Katie trying to comfort the distraught Jason. The cries of pain said it all. Jenni was gone. She felt the sting of pain in her own heart and her eyes grew moist. As Kevin took her hand, she looked at him and gave him a tight smile.

Glancing over his shoulder, he saw what was happening and sighed.

“Jenni didn’t make it, did she?”

Kevin ran a hand over his cropped hair. “Things went very wrong.”

“That is what Greta said when she called us,” Nerit said.

“Jenni died saving people. They didn’t get her though. Katie released her before that.”

“Good,” Nerit answered with relief. “Good.”

Three little kids wandered up to them. The two younger children were clutching the eldest girl’s skirt so tight, the girl’s Wonder Woman underpants were visible.

“Is it Christmas here?” the oldest girl asked.

Nerit blinked, surprised.

The little girl pointed to the Christmas lights strung up along the walls. Nerit hesitated, then said with a soft smile, “I think a piece of Christmas is still here.”

Kevin looked down at the kids and his face was full of pain. ’Yes, I’m sure it is here.”

“Okay, cause Santa forgot about us at the mall…”

Behind them, voices rose in soft song.

“Praise God from whom all blessings flow...”

* * * * *

Rosie was in a feverish rush to get a lunch on the table for the newcomers. Fresh biscuits, golden and hot, came out of the oven and made the kitchen smell wonderful. Wiping her hands off on a towel, she moved to check on the fried chicken. She had decided to break out the rest of the frozen chicken to feed the new people. They needed good food from the sight of them.