The Dead Hunger Series: Books 1 through 5 (89 page)

They were, as I believe I’ve indicated before, singularly focused.  I had never seen two or more of them fight over a victim, which meant that they likely did not have the awareness to realize that another zombie eating alongside them would reduce the food available to them.

I went to get Monty’s blood.

With my thumb, I popped the rubber seal from the tube and held it near him.  The vapor poured forth, and I jumped back, out of the range of the vapor. 

But I was too late.  I had inhaled some of it.

And I had felt nothing. 
Could it be?

I moved back in, turning my head toward Billy and Frank again, just to be sure. 

Out.

It was risky.  If I were to pass out from the vapor, nothing would wake me until I was shaken awake by Carville himself, or his guards.  That would be a foolish mistake, but easy enough to explain, I suppose.  It would dash any hope for an escape if they removed me from the lab, though.  The MRI machine was heating up nicely, according to the magnet temperature reading on the computer.  I had disabled the audible alarm, which would have sounded with a loud buzzer as soon as the magnet exceeded a safe temperature.

Again, I looked at the creatures on the table, then at the vial of blood in my hand.  Just a bit more, I decided, moving in again.  I held the vial toward him, and they both gnashed and growled; the pink-red mist clouded from their eyes in my direction.  I moved in to the danger zone and took a deeper breath, then jumped quickly away.

I was not dizzy.  Not even a little.  I was perfectly alert.

This was an amazing breakthrough.  This meant that not only would I be invisible to them, but should they encounter a food source while I was among them, and I became subject to the vapor, I would have nothing to fear from it, either. 

On the other hand, being able to walk safely among them while still being susceptible to the knockout gas could end horribly, resulting in being awakened by a zombie engorging himself on your body parts, the wafer’s effects having worn off minutes, or even hours before.

A thought that reminded me I still had no idea whatsoever of the duration of the wafer’s neutralizing properties in a human system.  I had calculated the ratios from rat to human as accurately as possible, but instead of five hours, it could be three or four, or even six or seven.

I checked the clock.  It was now five o’clock.  If I did only have the five hours Monty had, I’d already eaten up one of them.

This meant I had until 9:00 AM to escape and get clear.  I put Monty’s blood away and continued with Raymond’s straps.

When he was completely free, I pulled him up from the gurney.

He stood beside me, a taller man, even in death.  I pulled on his arm, toward the MRI machine.

He walked with me, moving left and right as I lightly pushed.

I hoped to God Billy and Frank didn’t open their eyes at that moment.  More, I hoped that Carville wasn’t lying in bed, watching me on monitors from the comfort of his no doubt king-sized bed.

Chapter 18

There were lights on the shore, but as far as I could tell, our crew of mercenaries was invisible and as silent as Ninjas as we crossed Shelburne Bay. 

We guided our johnboats in a northeasterly direction as we crossed the water, intending to make our way to the opposite shore, just north of the house.  We would then navigate south along the shoreline until we came to a clearing where we could tie up the boats and unload.

The map appeared to show a small peninsula, or something similar to a sandbar just a short distance from the property, connected on one end.  It could provide excellent cover for our team, and a good spot to hide the boats in case we had to make our escape by water.

“Are we giving these guys too much credit?” I asked Dave as we approached the shore.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“They’re just people, right?  How much expertise do they have?  Rory and Pete weren’t fuckin’ geniuses, that I can tell you from our brief time with them.”

“Somebody here knows how to fly a big chopper,” said Dave.  “So somebody knows some shit.  And we don’t know what other kinds of choppers they have.  Ever heard of an Apache attack helicopter?”

I nodded.  I hadn’t thought of it.  I gripped the crossbow in my lap – I’d brought my tried and true Parker Tornado, because I didn’t have time to figure out the sights and range of the AR-15.  I had thirty arrows with me, and I intended to make each one count. 

The radio clicked and I turned down the volume to near inaudible.

“Charlie,” I said.

“Tony,” another voice same.

“Guys, see that strip of land there?”  It was Gem.

I looked at their boat and saw where she was pointing.

“Yeah.”

“Have Dave beach the boat there.  Tony?”

“Yeah, Gem.”

“Did you read that?”

“Got it.”

The three boats slid onto the sand in relative silence, all in a row.

Flex and Dave slipped over the side and walked in the shallow muck leading onto the small strip of land.  The walked to the opposite edge and tested the depth of the three foot wide channel we would have to cross to get to Carville’s property.

They stood in the middle.  It was only ten inches deep or so.  Perfect.

Both men nodded and returned to the boat.

“Headlights, but off.  Bring every weapon you can carry, and if we can’t bring them all the way in, we can stash them closer to our entry point. I don’t want to have to come all the way back here for anything,” said Flex. 

Tony leaned toward me.  “You got your suppressed Walthers, too?”

“Hell yes,” I answered.  “With the PPK and the bow, I’m stealth.”

“Good,” he said. “That’s a hell of a weapon.  I got silenced guns, too.”  He hesitated, then spoke in a low voice:  “Charlie, you know we might have to kill some living people, right?”

I nodded.  “Tony, if they try to keep me from Hemp, they’re going to have to understand when I put an arrow through them.”

He nodded.  “I gotcha, Charlie.  Yeah.  This is their fault, not ours.”

“Remember,” said Gem.  “These aren’t the kind of people we want the world populated with anyway.  They’re as bad as the zombies are, only the zombies can’t help themselves.  It’s a choice for these bastards.  No qualms.” 

We had everything.  Flex had a small canister of urushiol blend strapped to his back, so that he had only to squeeze the nozzle handle to fire a stream fifteen feet or so.  He’d tested it at the marina.

“Let’s try to keep radio usage to a minimum,” said Dave.  “Stay together until we have reason to separate?”

“Sounds good to me,” said Serena.

“Me, too,” said Tony.

The rest of us were simpatico.  We didn’t need to say a word.  Time together had erased the need.

We crouched down low, crossed the narrow, shallow waterway and hit the embankment.  It was dry and the still manicured lawn tapered gently down toward the water.

I couldn’t believe Carville still cared about the appearance of his lawn. 

Then I knelt down.  “This is fucking artificial turf,” I whispered.

“No shit,” said Flex, reaching down to feel it.  “Rich bastard.”

We climbed the embankment, single file, with Flex and Dave bringing up the front, Tony and Serena directly behind them, followed my me and Gem.

I was surprised she obeyed Flex and stayed in the rear.  I couldn’t imagine that shit would last.

The home was situated about fifty yards up, atop the hill, and despite the fact the compound was powered by generators, which could be heard thrumming low in the distance, they had perimeter lights illuminating the area within twenty yards of the house.

Flex held up his hand and we stopped.

“We need to come from behind the house,” said Flex.  “But I think we need to approach from multiple directions.”

“I agree,” said Tony.  “How about me and Serena go back down to the water line and move south, toward the entry gate.  We’ll move along the south fence.”

“I think Dave and I can go straight up and come along the side,” I said.  “There’s a line of tall bushes up there for cover, and I have the scope on my Tornado.”

“Good,” said Gem.  “If you see any guards, you can knock ‘em out with a couple of arrows.”

“You underestimate me, Mrs. Sheridan,” I said, smiling.

“Okay, babe, maybe just one arrow.  Sounds good.”

“Put the radios on channel two,” said Tony.  “I usually hear Carville’s guys transmitting on one-nine.”

Flex and Gem moved away into the darkness toward the north fence, and Tony and Serena scrambled back down the embankment to the water line.  It was a good plan; from the water, you could barely see half of the house.  It was unlikely they’d be spotted.

Dave and I made our way up the Astroturf.  Within three feet of the hedges, the turf gave way to dirt.  We slid between the bushes and worked our way toward the front edge of the house, under cover the entire way.

We all wore black except for Dave, whose camouflage jacket and pants were a good blend with the shrubbery.

We stopped at the edge and dropped down to our stomachs.  I held up the binoculars strapped around my neck.  Dave did the same.

“Fuckin’ A,” I said.

“What do you see?” asked Dave.

“Flexy’s truck,” I said.  “And Rory inside.  Over by the driveway and gate.”

“Prick,” he said.  “Yeah, I see him.  He’s havin’ a smoke.”

“Yep.  Wonder where Pete is.”

No sooner had the words left my lips. Pete strolled around the southwest corner of the house toward us.  Just when I swore he was coming to where we lay under cover, he stopped, unzipped his fly, and started urinating on the fake grass.

I raised my binoculars again toward Rory.  He was looking in the entirely other direction.

“I’m taking him out,” I whispered.

“Your call,” said Dave.  “Don’t miss.”

Daggers, if Dave could have only seen my eyes.

“
Miss
,” I grumbled.  I loaded the crossbow in three seconds.  I’d practiced countless times in pitch darkness.  I raised it to my eye and got Pete’s head in my scope.

I pulled the trigger, sending the arrow flying straight and true.  The bolt entered directly through the man’s left ear, striking the stone exterior of the home with the tip, making a scraping sound I had not anticipated.

Pete fell sideways and lay perfectly still. 

Dave had continued to watch Rory.  “Shit!  I think he heard that.  He looked up, but I don’t think he knows where it came from,” he whispered.

“We have to drag him over here,” I said. “Fast.”

I left my bow on the ground, and we ran to the building and moved along the wall to where Pete’s body lay.

Only he wasn’t dead, so it was Pete, not just his body.  No time for small talk.  I grabbed one arm and Dave grabbed the other and we hustled him back under the cover of the bushes.

“Wha- wha – you . . .”

“Yes, yes, me,” I said softly.  “You were on the wrong side, Pete.  You had to know it would come to this.”

His eyes were glazed over, staring through us.  He was already dead, just not clinically so.  I closed my eyes and yanked the arrow back out.  The reverse motion took the remainder of his life.

I felt sick.  Zombies were easy.  This wasn’t easy.  I didn’t know how hard it would be.

“It’s okay, Charlie,” said Dave, reaching down for the gun in Pete’s waistband.  “It’s a .44 Magnum.  He would have shot you without a moment’s hesitation.”

I remembered what Tony told us.  Pete and Rory had been going after everyone in the ZFZs.

“Yeah,” I said.  “Screw him.”

We rolled him over and tucked him away beneath a bush, his body wrapped around the trunk.  Then we resumed our watch. 

The radio crackled behind us.  It was on Pete’s belt. 

“Petey, where the hell are you?”  It was Rory.

“What should we do?” I asked.

“I don’t know … answer the damned thing?”

I looked at Dave for a moment.  “Okay, okay.  I have an idea.  It might be dumb, but it’s worth a try.”

“What?”

“You’ll see.”  I scooted over and pulled the radio from Pete’s belt and pushed the talk button.  I stared at Dave and said, “Rory?”

The voice wasn’t mine, of course.  I talked like a little sex kitten whisper, some extra airiness in my voice, along with what I considered a girlish lilt.

“Yeah, who’s this?” he said in reply.

“You know,” I said.  “I just gave Petey here a blowjob.”

Dave punched me in the arm, his eyes wide, his mouth in a disbelieving smile.

“Tammy?” Rory said.  “Where are you?”

“Yeah, it’s me.  We’re on the side of the house, facing the water.  Petey’s having a cigarette.  A Virginia Slim I gave him.  He needed it.  You wanna need it?”

“Hell, yeah.  I’m comin’.”

We laid low.  I half expected Rory to walk over, but instead, he fired up the Silverado Crew Cab and powered the truck across the lawn.  When he got to the corner, he opened the door and hopped out, walking along the side of the house.

We watched him from the shadows.  When he passed, Dave walked up beside him and put his gun to his head.

“Sorry.  Tammy gave out her last blowjob.  Drop your weapon you dick, and keep your mouth shut.  This weapon is silenced, and I’ll pull the trigger right now based solely on our past history.”

His gun dropped to the ground.

“Now spread eagle, face down.”

I walked up and kicked the gun away, another .45 caliber.  A fucking cannon.  Rory complied.

I knelt down beside Rory so he could see my face while Dave unclipped the radio from his belt.

“Hi, there.  Want that blowjob now?” I asked.

“Fuck you.  Blow me.”

I wrinkled my nose.  “Bet you’d like that.  Have you got keys to the house in that truck?”

“No.”

“In your pocket?”

“No!”

Dave slammed his boot into Rory’s back.  “Let’s try it again.  Do you have the keys to the goddamned house?”

“No, I don’t!” he said.  “I go to the door and they buzz me in.  That’s how it works.”

“Who buzzes you in?” I asked.

“Whoever’s on duty.”

“Who’s on duty now?” asked Dave.

“I don’t know.”

Dave kicked him in the ribs hard, and he grunted and winced in pain.  “Who!” said Dave.

I was impressed, and a little scared.

“It’s Gary!  Gary’s on tonight.”

“Is he part of your little fucking street gang?” I asked.  “The ones who kill innocent people out there
just trying to survive?”

“What are you talking about?”

“We met the people you’ve been killing, asshole!” said Dave.  “Does Carville know about this shit?  Is he ordering it?”

“Of course he is!” said Rory.  “We’re just followin’ orders!  If we don’t, he’ll kill us!”

“Why do I doubt that, you prick?” said Dave.

More impressed, I was.

“You’re going to get us in,” I said. 

Rory didn’t say anything.

“The option is to tell us whether you’d like to die by arrow or bullet.  Look over there.”  I grabbed his hair and jerked his head toward Pete’s body, a few feet away, in the shadows.  “He got the arrow, but it didn’t kill him right away.”

“Okay, okay!  I’ll get you in.  Don’t kill me.”

I thought you’d come around,” said Dave.  “Charlie, why don’t you call the others.  I think we might be able to use the front door tonight after all.”