Zombie Fallout 19, page 23
“That worked?” Stenzel asked. “I would have said it was more likely your sister would have pulled off a soufflé. No offense, sir.”
“None taken,” I told her.
“Now we just have to hope the apes think we’re being eaten.”
“They’re going to want to come closer, if not for confirmation, then maybe to scavenge for some scraps,” Tommy said as he directed us into a three-story building. I hadn’t thought that far out. We walked through the smashed-out door of Velledine’s Auto Insurance store and to the back, where a set of stairs wound its way to the roof.
Tommy slowly pushed the door open, poked his head out, and took a look around. He withdrew quickly. “They’re coming.”
He’d no sooner said the words when there was a vibration under my feet. The apes had jumped onto the roof from the building next door.
“What happens if they see that we’re not being eaten?” Stenzel asked.
“Might be for the best if that doesn’t happen.” I nodded to Tommy, it was go time.
He was out first, then Stenzel. I tried, but a forearm crashed into my chest; I might as well have run into a forklift arm for all the give it had. I “oomphed” and realized that I now knew what it felt like to have the front of your ribs touch your spine. I don’t recommend it. I was still trying to figure out how I was going to take my next breath when its hand grabbed the front of my shirt and yanked me out. I was tossed a solid ten feet and smacked hard into the roof. Melty tar burned into my cheek from where the abrasive sand tore into my face. I heard a bullet being fired, but it was secondary to the struggle of breathing. Amazing how many things take a back seat to that simple act.
Another hand grabbed my shirt. In addition to looking human, it was attached to one. Stenzel helped me up. The ape that had sent me for a ride was itself struggling to breathe. I would recover, it would not. Two shots in its chest had destroyed its lungs. When I could stand without much assistance, I pulled my 1911 free and put one in its skull; it stilled immediately.
“The other two?” I asked, hunched over.
“No sign. This one was a scout.” Tommy was looking out over the roofs. “We should toss it over the side.”
“What for?”
“Proof to the queen that we’re still honoring our deal,” he explained.
He was right, didn’t mean I liked it. Willingly helping zombies eat was right up there with giving a stalker your address. Whatever happened after that would seem like your fault. Even with Tommy’s immense strength, the three of us struggled as we pulled and pushed the behemoth to the edge, up over the six-inch lip, and right on top of a zombie that was peering up.
“That’s going to leave a mark,” I winced. “I hope that doesn’t sour our deal.” If any of the zombies below cared, they didn’t deem to show it as they descended upon the carcass, ripping chunks of furry flesh away. That sent a message to both. The two remaining ufiti had to have seen that, for some inexplicable reason, we were working in concert with the zombies. If they were truly smart, that might be incentive enough for them to hightail it out of there. That would have been nice. Unlikely, but nice.
“How are you doing?” Stenzel asked.
“My face hurts worse than my chest now, so that’s an improvement.”
“If you say so.” She was inspecting the scraping wound.
“If you touch it I’m going to assign you to latrine duty when we get back.”
She immediately withdrew her hand. We went back down the stairs, a bevy of zombies watching us as we went to the next building. It was strange being in the midst of a battle while we had spectators watching from the sidelines. Especially spectators who could at any moment rush the field and try to kill us. It was like playing soccer in Spain.
At the next building, the first floor was dedicated to Denatu’s World Famous Grill. Denatu’s world must have been very small because his grill was about the size of a Hibachi. By the looks of the establishment, my guess was that, in this locality, it was easier to get a liquor license if you claimed yourself a restaurant rather than a bar. The booze shelves, sadly, were long empty, but there were rows and rows of them. The menu, if that’s what you could call it, consisted of something that looked like a hot dog (though that jury was still out) and chips. That was it.
We went up the stairs, more cautiously this time as I didn’t want to get hit again. Tommy thought he saw something two roofs away, so we ran down the stairs and headed over, twenty-ish zombies keeping pace. Sounded like a stampede of ducks slapping down the roadway.
“Vietnam was like this sometimes,” Tommy said absently.
“How so?” I asked.
“Reporters would follow our units.”
“Vietnam, you mean, as in the war? You’re too young,” Stenzel said right before we went into what looked like a convenience store. The only clue to its existence were the barren shelves. Wasn’t so much as a stray wrapper on the ground. I wondered if it had closed before the end. Enormous footprints were pressed into the layered dust. They only went one way, but that didn’t mean the apes hadn’t climbed down or jumped to a different building.
Tommy was out in front, and Stenzel was walking down an empty aisle to his left. I did a quick check of the street as he advanced. I wanted to make sure the sneaky bastards hadn’t seen us coming and decided to swing around and come up on us from the back.
Tommy opened the door that led up, I watched as he stepped in and turned to head up. The resounding crash that followed jump startled me; a spray of blood blew back from the door, Tommy fell back and out. A chunk of concrete rolled off his chest; he was out before he hit the ground. Stenzel and I both raced to him. I had no idea how badly hurt he was, but it was beyond any injury I had ever seen him sustain. Stenzel covered me as I pulled him free from the doorway where he was splayed. I didn’t so much as get a whimper as I grabbed his arm. Another chunk had come down, cracking his leg before I could completely get him clear. He didn’t move or cry out. I didn’t take that as a good sign. We were five feet from the door, Stenzel covering, when the shop’s front door was ripped free from its stout hinges. Stenzel swung around and shot wildly, but not before another hunk of debris blasted in. The throw was off just enough that it clipped a shelf, otherwise it would have made pulp out of my head.
Stenzel shot again. I wanted to get Tommy to somewhere safe, or safer, but the apes pressed the attack. The upstairs door was flung open and the ape came barreling through. Fuck, it was so big! I tried to get my rifle up, but the fucker moved way faster than I did. It reached for my firearm, grabbing the barrel, yanking me forward until the sling gave. I fell forward by its feet, barely able to get my hands in front to keep from getting a concussion. Next thing I could even recall was being airlifted by foot until my back collided with a wall some ten feet away. I slid five feet to the floor. The ape bellowed in rage that I dared to still be alive. Stenzel had pulled back to the far side of the store, taking shots at the two as they turned to face the only viable threat left.
I don’t know if what little sense I had left had been knocked free, or I had taken what they were doing personally and I wanted to be up close and personal when I did what I did, but I reached for my Ka-Bar instead of my 1911. Listen, I’m the same guy that once forgot how to brush my teeth when the battery ran out on my toothbrush; I’m going to need a little leeway here in my thought processes. Stenzel was in trouble, and I didn’t even have time to shake the cobwebs from my mind as I ran straight for one of the ufitis’ broad back. I jumped and used the entire force of my weight to drive that 7-inch steel blade completely into its back. A massive arm reached around, grabbed my shoulder, and hurled me toward the far wall where I landed next to Stenzel. The wounded beast was spinning in circles trying to reach for the knife. Stenzel blew half of its face off in rapid fire succession. The fourth and final ufiti, realizing the tide of the battle had turned, headed for the door and into the teeth of dozens of waiting zombies.
It was a fierce fight, and even caught completely by surprise, the ape inflicted casualties; more than a half dozen zombies were torn asunder or pummeled into the ground before the overwhelming numbers took it down. They were halfway through their meal before I could stand without shaking.
“Sir?”
“I’m fine-ish. Check on Tommy.” There was a bit of selfishness going on there; I could have made my way over, but I couldn’t risk the chance of seeing him dead. I didn’t have it in me. He couldn’t be dead, right? I was trying to convince myself that vampires don’t die by bricks, it just isn’t possible. But the scene kept playing out, the sickening splintering of bones, the fountain of blood that had shot forth, no one could take that kind of abuse and walk away.
“His leg is broken and probably a few ribs; he’s breathing, but shallow. He needs medical attention.”
That was a given, but how we were going to get him that attention was beyond me. And we had another problem to deal with. The queen was standing in the doorway, taking in all that had happened. Stenzel whirled on her, rifle at the ready.
“Hold,” I told her. The queen could have easily sent in a stream of zombies. There would have been no way of saving Tommy at that point, as withdrawal would have been the only way I could ensure Stenzel lived to see another day. It was impossible to tell what her majesty was thinking; she could call off the alliance, now that we’d fulfilled our part. That she hadn’t immediately done so was already an unexpected surprise.
“He’s hurt,” I pointed to Tommy while I popped the flap from my pistol. That did not go unnoticed and she eyed me warily.
“Uni...on,” she struggled to say.
The pact still held, and I didn’t want to be the one to break it. I raised my hands halfway above my head, that seemed to be the appeasement she needed as she turned and walked back out. I shuffle-walked to Tommy. His breathing was labored and for all practical purposes, he was comatose. His eyelids didn’t even flicker.
“We need to set his leg,” Stenzel said.
He had much bigger problems, but she was right, we needed to take care of what we could. We used some shelving supports as splints and I tore my shirt up to tie it with. I would have used Tommy’s hideous vest, but I was afraid of him going into shock, and he would need any heat he could generate. We’d finished, done what we could. I was looking down at him; Tommy wasn’t nearly the size of BT, but he wasn’t petite either. The only way I could realistically lug him would be in a fireman’s carry, and I couldn’t even imagine the damage I would add to his chest with that move. If we could tear a shelf down we could potentially use that as a stretcher. They were over ten feet in length and would be difficult to wield, but that still seemed like the best, maybe our only option, I began to use my knife as an impromptu screwdriver.
I was so focused on figuring out a way to get Tommy help, I wasn’t aware when the doorway was again darkened.
“Captain,” Stenzel got my attention.
I looked up, Queenie was back. She took a stride in; it was with no small amount of mental discipline that I was able to override my strong desire to pull my sidearm free and riddle her body with bullets. A bulker stepped up behind her, broke through the rest of the door frame the ape had partially destroyed, and came in. Stenzel and I were both stuck in indecision. It wasn’t attacking, not yet.
“Help,” Queenie gargled out, sandpaper chaffing on nipples would have been less grating. The bulker stiffly moved toward Tommy; the fight reflex was so powerful it was with great difficulty I struggled against it. The immense being didn’t push Stenzel out of the way, but she was forced from the area by its size. With arms that looked as if it could support an elephant, it picked Tommy up, cradling the injured man in its arms. Tommy nearly fit completely upon the bulker’s stomach. The flesh stretcher seemed much more comfortable than anything we would have been able to fashion. Without any prompting, we could hear the bulker head for the Kool-Aid man sized door and go out.
I said what the fuck so many times in my head that one slipped out.
“Follow?” Stenzel asked even as we did just that. Until we were forced to come up with something else, it seemed the best course of action. I grabbed my rifle, making sure not to raise it in a threatening manner, and we fell in behind the queen and the Tommy toting bulker. We didn’t give any directions as they headed straight for the Costco-like store. A gathering of zombies much bigger than we’d previously seen were following; the closest was near to fifty yards from us, but they stretched away for what looked like half a mile. As the store came into view I moved up, making sure I was front and center, blocking the queen. I saw movement up top.
“Sir!?” Rose yelled down.
“Don’t shoot!” I held my hands up. A few seconds later, most of the squad was looking down at us.
“Talk, Mike! Because this doesn’t look good from here!” BT shouted.
I could guarantee it didn’t look good from where I was either, but I didn’t say that. I warred between don’t shoot and shoot repeatedly.
“Tommy’s hurt…bad!” That last part was unnecessary for anyone looking.
“Where’s Lydia?” he asked.
“Home, good. Get some people to, uh, lessen the bulker’s burden.” Pretty sure the bulker wasn’t even aware he was carrying another two hundred pounds, but the sooner we got Tommy away from him, the sooner we could get them all away from us. Gary, Grimm, and Reed bustled out, would have been hard to miss the initial stutter steps of shock as their minds came to terms with what they were seeing. As soon as they gingerly took Tommy from the bulker, Queenie turned to me.
“Sun…down.”
No double meaning could be implied from that. She was giving us until sundown like an old-time Western sheriff might give an unknown traveler to get out of his town. I couldn’t bring myself to thank a zombie, so instead, I nodded at her. She turned and left. The bulker immediately stepped in behind her like a shield. Smart move on their part. By the time we got into the store, the only one absent was Kirby, who’d remained on watch. Rose had rummaged through a few first aid boxes until she had what she needed.
“He needs an IV,” she told me. “Of blood.”
“I, uh....” I didn’t know how to answer that.
“Hey everyone!” she called out. “Anyone ever wonder why Tommy can do half the things he can?”
“Rose? What are you doing?” I asked quietly.
Grimm raised his hand. “I have.”
“Me too,” Walde chimed.
“He’s a vampire.” She held her hands up. “Yeah, I know that sounds weird, but look around you, people. It’s all weird. And he needs blood, and badly by the pasty look of him. Who wants to donate first?”
“Fuck it.” Reed rolled up his sleeve. “Kid has saved our asses more times than I can count. Vampire, or not, if my blood helps him, I’ll feel like I’ve in some small way paid him back.”
“Anyone ever done this before?” Rose held up the line and the needles.
“Did it for horses a couple of times,” Dallas said as she took the kit from Rose. “Same principle, I suppose.”
Yeah, it was safe to say that, much like me, my entire squad had a whole set of screws loose, but that not a one of them even so much as blinked as Rose explained what was going on, either showed that they had talked about it amongst themselves, or they were completely unstable. I’d never been prouder of them. Grimm had switched out as blood donor after Reed, Walde was next up on the list if need be. By the time Stenzel and I recounted what had happened, Tommy had regained most of his color. The thing they all had a harder time accepting (than Tommy’s condition) was that of the truce we’d made with the zombies. Couldn’t blame them for that.
I went up to the roof to check. The sun was getting low; we maybe had a bit over an hour before the queen and her minions came.
“You can head down.” BT had followed me and was talking to Kirby.
“Weird thing, they’re just standing there,” Kirby said, pointing down the street. The zombie numbers had swelled.
“Not for very much longer. Go tell everyone to eat some food, we’ll be heading out soon.”
“Yes, sir.” Kirby headed down.
“How can this keep getting stranger?” BT asked.
“Fuck if I know.”
“You made it through a mission without almost dying. Talk about strange.”
“I feel like I should have shot her.” I said, regurgitating the events of the day. “She’s just too smart.”
“Did you have a clean opportunity, where you and the rest could have got away?” BT asked in all seriousness.
“No, not really, but now I’m left wondering if the sacrifice still would have been for the better.”
We sat there watching the zees, and we noticed movement; they were spreading out, surrounding us. She was going to give us until sundown until she attacked, but we’d have nowhere to run.
Rose burst through the door. “Tommy is sitting up!”
I looked at BT as we headed down. I’d never seen the boy so confused as he looked at the IV leading into his arm, and to the other end, where Walde was smiling at him.
“Yeah, everyone knows,” I told him.
He scowled in my direction.
“It was me,” Rose piped up. “It was the only chance to save you. No one cares.”
Tough to say what passed across his face, relief, maybe? A slight bit of happiness that his peers accepted him for who, and what, he was, perhaps?
“I think I’m good,” he told Dallas, who was checking on the connection.
“Are you sure?”
He nodded.
Dallas first removed the needle from Walde then Tommy. Gary gagged as a fat globule of blood splashed to the floor.
“Sorry.” He held his hand out. “I hate needles, and I guess blood.”
“You think you can move?” I asked.
“I think I can stand, not sure about zumba.” I helped him up, he grunted and grimaced in pain.
