Zombified (Book 2): Shady Oaks (17 page)

“
Don't move!” Someone hissed and he froze, but then began to squirm a bit as he was gagged and his hands tied behind his back. Bullfrog was suffering the same treatment, but putting up more of a fight and from what Charlie could see in the darkness, it was taking three people to subdue him.

They were roughly yanked to their feet and hustled between the tents until they reached the end and then they took a sharp right. Charlie's arms were starting to ache as he was propelled
forward; he couldn't see who had hold of him because they had a firm grip from behind on his left shoulder. He was thoroughly confused; Beth and the others wouldn't do this, so who had them?

When they reached the command center, they stopped, Charlie and Bullfrog were spun around and the same voice told them to sit against the building.

They both slid down the wall and sat on their haunches; Charlie looked away as light was shone directly in their eyes, totally obscuring their captors. He felt someone kneel next to him and stiffened.

“
Charlie, it's Beth,” she whispered in his ear as she patted his shoulder. “Come with me.”

Grasping him by the arm, she helped him stand and led him around the building. Once inside, she hurriedly closed the door and freed him. As he rubbed the life back into his numb arms and hands, she surveyed him.

“
So sorry about that, in the dark they couldn't be sure and decided it was safer that way. They're going to put the other guy with his buddy next door where the zombies were held.”

“
I understand, thanks for getting me out,” he said with a nod. He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and sat down. “We need to figure out how to get everyone else out of there safely.”

Beth grabbed a metal chair and sat across from him. “We talked about that and came to the conclusion that there is no way to do that without someone getting hurt, especially since two of them are incapacitated.”

“
True, did you come up with any ideas at all?”

Beth frowned as she looked at him, concern in her eyes. “Well, yes we did, but you're not going to like it one bit.”

Charlie sighed heavily. “Tell me.”

“
You're going to have to go back in there and kill Malcolm.”

****

They feasted, although most of their prey managed to escape, some sealing themselves inside the shelter including the woman and her crying child. Some tried to fight, but they were easily overwhelmed.

With his head buried in his victim's abdomen, he shared red images of bliss with the others, stimulating the feeding frenzy. He didn't care if some escaped, for the moment there was plenty. He became satiated before the others and slowly raised his head to look around. Gore and blood dripped from his face and chest, a pool of blood surrounded him as he knelt before what was left of his feast.

The scene before him was horrific, although to him it meant success. Bodies were strewn around as zombies fed upon them, bloody entrails and body parts covered the floor, and more blood dripped down the walls. As he continued to look around, he became uneasy. He didn't like staying too long at a kill site; he preferred to pick his own place to feed at his leisure.

He stands and turns slightly, then bends down to grab the ankle of his latest victim. Dragging his trophy behind him, he slowly heads for the stairs.

With a little luck, he should be able to find a place to feed without interruption. As he passes the others, they too stand and follow him, dragging what's left of the dismembered bodies behind them.

Chapter 23

“
The name is Jim Nelson, but everyone just calls me Nelson. I'm a former Navy Seal as are most of my team,” the man in black said with a wave of his hand to include the men standing around him. “We were hired by the Connor Group or Malcolm directly, to provide security and to obtain whatever he asked for.”

“
Including healthy men, women, and children?” Mick asked. He couldn't help himself, he was certain teaming up was a bad idea with these men, regardless of the threat they faced. He was afraid after they contained the zombies, they would turn on the people of Shady Oaks.

“
When Malcolm asked us to bring in people, he told us it was to insure their safety - he lied to us,” Nelson said as he stood and began pacing back and forth. “Trust me, we didn't like it, but he threatened us. When we signed up, he promised to protect our families; they are all up at his compound and safe. Any time we balked or tried to reason with him, he threatened to turn our families out into the streets. He gave the same message to any doctor or scientist who resisted, too.”

Mick shook his head and looked away. “This decision is not up to me, we need to get hold of Captain Sears, and fast – people are dying out there right now.”

Sean stepped forward. “Dad, Scott and I have a pretty good idea of where he's setting up so we're going to run over there. We'll let you know what he says, so keep your walkie close by.”

Mick patted the walkie fastened to his belt. “Never go anywhere without it.”

He watched his sons shoulder their packs and rifles again and as they turned to go, they heard the familiar sound of zombies nearby, followed by gunfire.

Scott pointed and everyone strained to look through the fog. “Sounds like the fight is coming to us.”

“
Instead of trying to find the captain, try him on the walkie,” Mick said as he stood. “We've run out of time for talking. We have to act, and now!”

“
Agreed,” Nelson murmured as he turned to his men. “Fan out here, but stay within sight of each other. Hold your fire until they're on the street, remember to use short controlled bursts and be careful, there are civilians out there.”

Sean and Scott both retreated back toward the tree line and Mick could see Sean talking on his walkie. Guess there's no more radio silence for
anyone; he thought as he decided now was a good time to join them. He tapped Cindy on the shoulder.

“
Grab Megan and Darrell; let's get over by the boys so we can find out what Captain Sears says.”

She nodded. “All right, then we need to see if we can raise Dexter and the others.”

Mick shook his head as he hurried over to his sons. Everything was becoming complicated, some kind of plan needed to come together quickly if they were going to save anyone in Shady Oaks.

Sean handed Scott the walkie as Mick approached. “Dad, they said to wait
here; they're close and headed our way. I'm going to let Nelson know.”

Without waiting for a reply, Sean trotted off. Scott was still talking to someone and when Mick turned to see where Cindy was, he saw her walking toward him with Darrell and Megan in tow. Darrell had his walkie out and was talking as they walked.

“
I take it you were able to reach Dexter,” he remarked when they reached his side.

Darrell frowned. “Yeah, but it's not good. They're all trapped at the apartments and Dexter wants to blow the stairs because he thinks the zombies will get in soon. They moved everyone upstairs and most of them are now sitting on the roof. They did have the foresight to pull the ladders up with them so they can get down, but I'm sure they won't want to stay up there very long.”

Mick absentmindedly rubbed the scar on his cheek. “What a mess,” he murmured. “Anything else?”

“
From the sound of it, they were already on the roof when the bell rang and they saw people coming outside to see what was going on.” He cast a baleful glance at Mick. “Dexter estimates maybe half got away, but the rest were swarmed by zombies.”

Mick shuddered. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the faint shine of headlights. He pointed down the road. “That must be the captain.”

Everyone headed for the road and Sears jumped from his jeep before it came to a complete stop. The sounds of gunfire filled the air again as he moved toward them. Nelson and a few of his men hurried over.

Sean conducted quick introductions and while Sears reluctantly shook Nelson's hand, Scott did the talking.

“
Let's cut to the chase,” Sears began. He walked over to the picnic table and one of his men spread out a map and set a lantern on top. “Where are your men located?”

“
We're in positions inside the town,” Nelson said. “I have my men staying out of sight and out of the way right now.” He pointed to several locations. “This is where we are right now. We did encounter some resistance until the zombies showed up, and then we retreated.”

“
All right, we've set up a perimeter that surrounds the main part of town and we haven't seen any of your men yet. Tell them to stay put and I'll insert my men to join up with yours. I'll have more men move in behind the first group to provide support and reinforcement.”

Nelson nodded. “That will
work; I'll get with my guys right away.”

“
Good idea, we'll get moving as well.”

There was a sudden flurry of activity and scurrying around as everyone received their orders. Mick felt a tap on his shoulder. Cindy smiled at him and took him by the arm to walk him away from the others.

“
After talking to Dexter, I got Judith on the walkie and she wanted to know if we could come help them get out of the church safely. She said there's no zombies around them right now, but that could change. Right now they're up on the second floor keeping watch and she said she'd let us know if they see anything.”

“
Well, I don't know how safe it is to get over there, let me talk to Sean and Scott and get their opinion,” Mick replied.

“
I'll ask Megan and Darrell if they want to go with us,” Cindy said as Mick turned away to find their sons.

Within a few minutes they met back up, Mick with Sean and Scott, Cindy with Megan and Darrell in tow. The church was right outside the central part of town and only a few blocks away, Mick hoped they would be able to get Judith and Casey out with no problems.

“
I told Captain Sears what we were planning and he said they would pass that info on so no one would mistake us for zombies, which would be easy to do in this fog. He also said there's no one by the church, so we're basically on our own once we go over there,” Scott informed them.

“
Then we'd better proceed with extreme caution,” Mick remarked. He rubbed the scar on his cheek again as they watched the soldiers and Nelson's men head out. Slowly, they disappeared into the fog. All was silent for a moment, then the gunfire resumed, accompanied by more shouting.

Mick took a deep breath to steady himself. He looked at the others. “Guess we'd better head out ourselves,” he said shakily. He took another breath and let it out slowly.

“
Want Sean and me to take point again?” Scott asked as he hefted his pack up.

Mick nodded. “I think that's a good idea, but we should probably stay fairly close to you this time, the fog looks thicker over there.”

“
Agreed,” Scott said with a nod. “Everyone should probably stay closer together, would be easy to get picked off.”

They cautiously crossed the street, stopping for a moment when more shots were heard. Mick hoped they were winning the fight against the zombies, after all the work they did to rid Shady Oaks of them, it was disheartening to see the town overrun again. He could only hope most of the townspeople were able to get out of harm's way.

****

Charlie ran into the tent and sat back down. He forced himself to calm down and slowed his breathing. Both Jimmy and Brooke were still asleep, he decided he would act like he was dozing too if Malcolm came back in. He could play dumb as to where the guards were. He wasn't sure Malcolm would buy it, but it would explain why they were still here unguarded and was the only thing he could think of at the time.

He slipped a hand into the right pocket of his jeans and felt the cold handle of the knife Hunter gave him. He didn't have any problems dispatching a zombie, but a human, no matter how corrupt, was a different matter. He decided to use the knife to subdue Malcolm only if he had to.

He began to relax and leaned back in the chair to get more comfortable. Jimmy mumbled something in his sleep and as he turned his head toward the boy, movement near the plastic caught his eye. Sure enough, he could see shadows moving and heard someone talking. He quickly tilted his head back and shut his eyes, allowing his mouth to fall open slightly. He hoped he looked convincing.

Chancing a quick look through slitted eyes, he saw Jenny enter first, followed closely behind by Malcolm. Quickly taking in the situation, Malcolm shoved Jenny away from him and ordered her to go sit down. Charlie continued to watch as Malcolm reached inside his jacket and he caught a glimpse of a shoulder holster. Malcolm pulled out a .45 pistol and held it up. When Jenny passed by him to sit down next to Brooke, Charlie closed his eyes and forced himself to stay still.

He heard Malcolm approach and almost fell out of his chair with surprise when he felt a hard slap to the face. He yelped and put a hand up to his cheek, looking up at Malcolm with contrived fear in his eyes.

“
What did you do that for?” Charlie asked as he gingerly rubbed the reddened area. “That hurt.”

Malcolm turned, waving the pistol around. “Where are they?”

Charlie sat up and rubbed his face. “Where are who?” he asked.

Malcolm turned to sneer at him. “My men, you idiot.”

Charlie feigned surprise and glanced at Jenny, who was giving him a cynical look. “Um, I don't know. Guess I dozed off.”

Malcolm snorted and turned again. Seeing his chance, he jumped up and wrapped one arm around the other man's neck while wrenching the knife free from his pocket. He could feel the muscles in Malcolm's back tense and he knew he was in trouble. This guy works out, Charlie thought to himself before Malcolm elbowed him in the side, causing him to grunt loudly as the breath whooshed out of him. He felt fingers over
his and from the corner of his eye saw Jenny next to him. He relinquished the knife to her so he could wrap both arms around Malcolm.

Without another thought, he threw himself back, slamming into the chair he had been sitting in, with Malcolm on top. Jenny hit the thumb stud to open the knife and dropped down beside Malcolm.

“
Don't move,” she hissed as she pressed the wicked looking, partially serrated blade against his throat. “I would take great joy in using this.”

For a moment everyone froze,
and then Charlie felt Malcolm relax. He heaved a mental sigh of relief. This wasn't exactly how he pictured getting Malcolm, but the outcome could have been a lot worse.

“
Jenny, let him get off me,” he gasped. The man was definitely heavier than he looked.

Jenny turned the blade so the tip dug slightly into Malcolm's throat. “Sit up slowly and stay on the floor.”

He complied with Charlie pushing him from behind. Soon as he was sitting up, Charlie scooted over to the side and away. He stood up and looked around for something to bind Malcolm with. He noticed Brooke was still sleeping soundly, but Jimmy was looking at him through sleep-blurred eyes.

“
What's happening?”

“
I'll explain later,” Charlie said briskly. He pointed to an extension cord coiled neatly on the desk where Jimmy sat. “Throw me that cord?”

“
Sure.”

Charlie caught the cord mid-air and gave it a shake. He walked over to Malcolm. “Hands behind your back.” He wanted to hurry, he knew Malcolm's personal bodyguard was in back with Jake and the others and it wouldn't be long before he came to check on Malcolm. Once his hands were tied, Charlie ran the cord down to his ankles then nodded to Jenny.

“
You can back off; see if you can find something to gag him with. Try to hurry before his bodyguard comes in.”

Jenny stood up and carefully closed the knife, slipping it into her pocket before looking for something to use as a gag. She stopped, thinking for a moment before hurrying over to Jake's backpack and pulling out a roll of duct tape. She then grabbed her own bag and grabbed a pair of socks. She pulled them apart and brought one over after rolling it up.

“
Open up,” she ordered.

Malcolm glared at her. “You won't get away with this,” he spat at her angrily, his eyes shiny with malice. “You forget I have a lot more men at my disposal and they'll be back as soon as they subdue your friends down in Shady Oaks. If you don't stop this right now, there will be hell to pay.”

“
Oh, you're right about that,” Jenny said with a deceptively sweet smile. Without warning she reared back and slapped Malcolm so hard he would have fallen over if Charlie didn't hold him up. His eyes teared up and a bright red imprint of Jenny's hand instantly appeared on his cheek.