scared.
"What now?" said Kelly. "What are you going to do with Terry's gun?"
"Shoot the undead maybe?"
"The what?" Kelly looked like she'd seen a ghost. Her face went pale. "Are you serious? Are you fucking serious with me right now? Are you saying that Marvin wasn't alive when you shot him?"
"You learn fast, grasshopper. Now go get some clothes on and grab a gun from the closet that you think you might be able to shoot straight."
Frank looked in the closet and found a couple boxes of ammo for the rifle. He picked them up and dumped as much as he could into his pockets. There were two spare mags, too. Loaded. Good, he thought.
He saw Kelly shuffling in the closet by the guns and she was having trouble deciding what to take. He reached in past her and grabbed a pump action 12 gauge Remington. He gave it to her and she looked like she was holding a live snake.
"Isn't it too big?" she said.
"It makes a big damn hole. Just point and squeeze."
"Shouldn't I have something smaller?"
"Because you're a girl? Hell no. Unless you've been practicing with something else at the range with your dear old husband, you keep that 12 gauge close by." He looked her up and down again. Nice tits, real nice ones. Too bad he couldn't spend more time looking at them right now. "Go get dressed. Unless you want to be running around town in a bathrobe."
"Fuck. You're right." She went out of the closet and opened a dresser by the big king bed. Frank was watching her as she dropped the robe and started going through the drawers. She slipped on some panties and he thought: only on a day like this.
There was a bang from downstairs. Then another one.
Shots.
Frank ran out of the bedroom to the top of the stairs. He looked down at the front door. Todd had the door cracked open and he was kneeling with his service pistol pointed outside.
"You get it?" said Frank.
"Two of them. A mother and a daughter. The girl had a big bite in her neck. I know you said run if it was more than one, but they looked like they were alone. They came from the woods on the side of the house."
"Fuck it. Nice work. Now let me see how missy's doing up here." Frank went back and poked his head in the bedroom and Kelly had jeans and a blue tank top on. She wasn't wearing a bra. He saw that small detail, but that was because he also got paid to notice details, not because he thought he was going to score in the middle of a zombie outbreak. She had the shotgun in one hand and a little leather purse in the other one.
Frank said, "What the fuck you planning to do with that purse? Go to the Maine Mall?"
"It's full of 12 gauge shells, Frank. Thinking ahead."
"You know that those fucks only stop if you nail them in the head, right?"
Kelly said, "Like in the movies. I get it."
Frank didn't think she'd be getting any headshots, but a 12 gauge had enough kinetic energy at close range to knock things back and buy you time.
There was another moaning sound from outside. It was a deep moan that sounded like a whole herd of cows getting tortured. "Fuck," said Frank. "I think we have more company. You have a car that runs?"
Kelly cracked a smile. "BMW M3. V8. 400+ horsepower." She knew the car was overkill and Terry didn't like that she'd gone German but she'd gotten her way on the car anyhow.
Frank cracked his own smile. He liked chicks who were into cars. The fact that it was German could be forgiven, in his book. M3's were sweet. "Then get the keys. Cause we have to get out of town."
He and Kelly ran down the stairs and met up with Todd. Todd had shut the front door and he was crouching by a window. The window was open enough to shoot from without breaking glass. Todd looked at them and said, "You guys hear that noise?"
"Fucking straight," said Frank.
"How'd they track us here?"
"I don't know. This place is crawling with em. But it's looking like we got another lucky break. Miss Kelly here has an M3 in the garage, and we're taking it for a spin."
The three of them ran back to the kitchen and then followed Kelly's lead. She took a key off a hook and opened a door that went down to the attached garage. Kelly went for the driver's side but Frank stopped her. "You let me take this one," he said.
"Just when this was getting exciting," she said. She let him take the driver's seat. She pouted.
Frank saw. He said, "Whatever."
It was a two-door. He opened the driver's door and slid the seat forward door so Kelly could get in the back with the Remington. He put the AR into the front seat and Todd got in and put the rifle in his lap. Frank looked up at the sun visor and pressed a button on the black garage door opener. The garage door started to rise up.
He started the car. He thought the garage door was slow as hell. He was looking straight out at the sliver of light that was getting wider underneath it. They were sitting ducks right here in the garage. Frank thought that if they were lucky it would be clear and they'd be able to outrun whatever was coming at them from somewhere in the neighborhood.
But it turned out their luck wasn't as solid as he thought.
4
There was a cluster of zombies coming up the driveway. Maybe ten, maybe more. They looked fresh, and you could see the bite marks on a lot of them. Wrists and necks and biceps with chunks of meat torn away. A few of them had their arms out in the classic pose.
Frank looked to the sides and he saw more of the damn things coming from the yard. These were the real killers. They were running low and fast, tongues hanging out. Their faces were grey and murderous.
Frank thought it was like they'd tracked them from the rollover. Undead bloodhounds. He wanted to know if zombies had a sense of smell. It would make sense.
"Hang on," said Frank. He stepped on the gas and the car shot forward. It flew out of the garage headed straight for the cluster in front of them. Frank figured that the only way of getting through them was to bust through. He'd seen what the undead could do to parked cars. You weren't safe in those.
"Ohhhh - oh shit," said Kelly from the back seat. Frank couldn't see the look on her face because he was looking the zombies straight on, gunning for the thinnest looking hole.
Wishful thinking. This was going to leave a dent or two.
Kelly was terrified but she couldn't do much more than make her own sick moan. A second later they were smashing through bodies. There were thumps and the sound of flesh separating and bones cracking. Kelly saw blood splatter on the windshield and closed her eyes as tight as she could.
The flesh bumps stopped and Kelly opened her eyes again. The blood was still there in streaks on the windshield and side windows. Kelly thought: Terry's gonna be pissed with me for fucking up the car.
Frank put the car into a hard right drift. He wasn't slowing down for anyone now. There might be survivors but it didn't seem like this was a job for two town cops, a busty rich girl, and a souped-up German car. This was a hardcore problem. The government was going to have to step in. And by government he meant people with big guns.
He sped down Brookside Drive until he hit Winchester Ave, and then he swerved into another hard turn. The tires made a nice sound as the back end wagged free, and Frank liked the pickup on this car. It wasn't bad for Kraut shit. He still liked his Crown Vic, but that was just him. The engine revved right up and he pointed them on the road out of town. There was no telling how far the damn outbreak had spread.
The houses whizzed by and now Frank was smiling again. He flicked on the wipers and washer fluid. Some of the blood washed away. Some of it smeared in red streaks. He looked over and Todd was looking at him, staring.
Frank said, "What? You eye raping me again?"
"Fuck no. I'm no homo. You just seem calm is all."
"That's cause we have a sweet ride, guns, and a way out of this mess."
Kelly said, "What about me? You have me in the back seat, remember? Damsel in distress shit, right? You think the outbreak has spread?"
Frank didn't want to
answer any more of her questions.
Kelly said, "I'm talking to you, Frank. Has it spread? Can you outdrive it?"
Without looking back at her, he said, "I look like fucking Google to you, princess? Thank you for the use of your vehicle and the generous donation of firepower, but when I want you to ask me twenty questions, I'll let you know. Until then, please shut the fuck up and keep your seat belt fastened."
He kept his eyes on the road. All clear so far. It was looking good. And that was the way the three people in that car wanted things to work, even if Kelly was getting annoyed with Frank's attitude. They were getting close to Westridge Drive, which had an on-ramp onto the Turnpike. Then they'd be able to cover some serious ground. Maybe make it to Boston in less than ninety minutes.
The sign for the Turnpike popped up, which meant that the on-ramp was 1.2 miles away. Frank knew it by heart. Town limit was coming up to. He gunned it around the last bend, pushing the traction limit on the big, wide tires as he did about eighty-five in the corner.
He stepped on the gas one more time, his eyes flicking down to the tach as the engine revved up near redline. And that was when Kelly and Todd both screamed at the same time. Words didn't have time to leave their mouths.
Frank knew all about that. It was a stress reflex for people who weren't used to operating under pressure. He'd expected better from Todd, but Todd was new enough that freezing could still happen.
Frank's eyes flicked forward a half mile and he saw it too. This shit had gotten big fast. And then the bullets started to pop into the car.
5
Frank swerved to get the bullets off them. The tires hadn't been hit yet, but the fire was tracking them. The back window blew out. Then his window. Frank remembered that sound, of bullets going close by his head. Just like I-Raq.
He stepped on the brake, swung the wheel hard, and then fed in gas. The car swung in a wide arc, screeching the expensive tires and leaving rubber on the road along with some tire smoke in the air. He stepped on the gas one more time and then hit the wheel. There was some screeching but the M3 was a champ at turning engine power into acceleration.
Frank raised his voice and shouted: "Fucking goddam it. Fuckers were shooting at us. At us."
"That looked like the Army," said Todd. "You see the equipment back there?"
Frank knew the kid was right. And they were lucky they didn't get a Hellfire missile up their asses. There could have been a chopper, but they got lucky and the bird wasn't flying. Things had a way of going pear shaped real fast when you were on the wrong end of the US Army's spear.
Frank had to think.
Now he was speeding right back into the outbreak. Into the hot zone. He had hostile friendlies behind him. The term didn't sound right to him, but that's what they were. They weren't letting anyone out alive, not by the looks of the welcome they'd given them.
Hot lead. What a nice surprise that had been.
Frank drove another mile, not far enough to get close to Brookside and the swarm that he knew was there. He didn't like getting forced back in. He pulled the car over. Kelly lowered her window. Not that it mattered, with the back window shot out. The car wasn't safe unless they were moving fast.
Frank looked at Todd and Kelly. These two people were his best shot at getting out alive. They had to stick together on this or they'd get munched on just like everyone else in this damn town.
"Here's what we know," said Frank. "Zombies on the inside. Army on the perimeter keeping everyone locked in tight. This is a hot zone and no one's getting out alive by the looks of it. So we have to come up with a plan, people."
"What about the Presumpscot?" said Todd. "We could head over and do a river crossing. There might be fewer of those things in the woods."
Frank thought about it and shrugged. "Maybe. We might make it to the other side. But if I know the Army, they've got drones circling overhead and they'll take us out if they spot us trying to run. Infrared catches a lot. They use it down south at the border."
"I'm not giving up, Frank," said Kelly. "You think they're using drones, but what if they're not? What if the army is just as freaked out as we are and they're losing control of the situation? What if this thing has already spread out of town?"
"Your point?" said Frank.
"I say we get out by air," said Kelly.
Frank laughed. "Fucking air. I like it. You going to call one of your husband's rich friends to come pick us up with a chopper?"
"Come on," said Todd to Frank, "listen to her. She might have something."
Frank looked at Todd with a dark look. "So now you're on her side?"
"I'm saying we're in a fucked up mess and maybe we should listen to what she has to say, is all."
"Okay," said Frank. "Listening."
Kelly said: "There's a big red barn down off Calvert Hills road. Some fields, too. That's Ray Morrison's place. He has planes there. I've seen three of them parked down there. He started giving me lessons once. I even soloed. Terry told me as long as I wasn't fucking him it was fine." She regretted putting in the part about the fucking, but it was true. It just came out of her mouth.
"So you're saying you can fly us out of this?" said Frank. "And then what? We get shot down?"
Kelly looked into her lap, at the gun. "How many of them are there, you think? Do you think half the town's gone? Maybe more? There might be thousands of them, Frank. I know we don't have enough bullets."
"Maybe we do what she says," said Todd, looking hopeful. Frank hated the hopeful look. Fucking new guys were susceptible to it. But the part that Frank hated more was that maybe Kelly was right. Maybe there was no way to shoot themselves out of the mess and they'd have to chance flying out.
"Okay," said Frank. "We're gonna go to the Morrison place. And you're going to show us how you fly one of those fancy airplanes, Kelly. Show us your hot stuff."
Frank pulled them back onto the road and now as he drove to the Morrison place he went fast but not as fast as before. He didn't want to crash into a swarm of the undead on the way. Busting through ten of them was one thing. A hundred might not be so easy. They went up over a knoll and came to an intersection with Blackwoods Road. There was a traffic light flashing red.
Frank rolled on through. Now when he thought about it, maybe Kelly's idea about taking a plane wasn't so bad. But he was still pissed at the Army for shooting at them. That was one of the low points of his day for sure.
That was when Frank got a tingling feeling in his arm that spread to the back of his neck. He felt like something was about to go very wrong. He knew not to ignore the feeling. It had saved his ass more times than he could count.
Frank was right. In under sixty seconds, they'd all be running for their lives.
6
Smart zombies. Those weren't supposed to exist; then again, zombies were supposed to be fiction too. Frank had instincts and his instincts were telling him that they were being watched. He slowed the car down to a crawl.
"Why'd you do that?" said Kelly from the back seat.
"Something's not right," said Frank.
Todd looked at his partner, worried. "What is it?"
"I don't know yet," said Frank. There were trees and houses on both sides of the road. He knew that the road narrowed up ahead, down to a single lane. It was the fastest way to get across town to the Morrison place from where they were.
He came up to the narrow part of the road and saw it. There was no way they were getting through with the car. There was an overturned Oakhurst milk truck in the road.
Frank stopped the car and looked in his rear-view while he popped the car into reverse. He didn't hesitate. He knew they didn't have much time. He started to back up and he was about to pull a 180 J-turn when he saw them.
The swarm.
They were coming up the road behind them. They looked like an undead army. 24 hours ago they'd been wives and husbands and kids. Now they were monsters.
An advance contingent of freaks was running in
an arrow formation, pumping their arms. Some of them looked like they'd been on the Calvert Falls football team. Big kids with bulging biceps and thick calves. The slower ones were behind, limping with their mouths hanging open. Frank knew there was no way they had enough bullets to stop them.
Frank stopped the car and looked back at the milk truck on its side. It was a trap. They were in a fucking trap and he knew it.
"Out of the car now. And take the guns," said Frank.
"What?" said Kelly.
Frank opened his door and took the AR-15 from Todd. Kelly and Todd jumped out of the car. Now Frank could hear the moans; they came loud and deep. There were screams, too. Inhuman ones. It was like wild animals coming at them. Getting closer by the second.
"Which way?" said Kelly. Her face was twisted in fear, her eyes wide and getting wider.
Frank had a sense that running up the road away from the swarm would lead them deeper into the ambush. That was Survival Instincts 101. That left only one more option, and it wasn't a good one. They'd have to split for the woods.
"Follow me," said Frank. He nodded to the woods on the side and started running. Kelly and Todd broke into a run after him. They ran through the ditch on the side of the road, which was just soft mud this time of year, and then up into the trees. It turned into a steep hill. Nowhere to go but up.
And then what? thought Frank. Then where do we run? He figured they could get to that later. For now they had to get away from the undead swarm.
Frank heard someone tumble behind him. He turned and saw Kelly getting back up. Her hair was tangled and she had dirt and leaves on her arms and knees. She started running again. She'd forgotten the Remington in the car. Frank saw and didn't like that, but there was no time to stop and go back for it. The moans were coming at them, low and steady.
Hunger cries from the freaks were rising up behind them.
Frank led them up the hill. It was hard going on account of the physical effort but they didn't have a lot of choices left.
Frank heard new footsteps tight behind them. It was another set of running feet. He glanced back, hoping he wouldn't see what he thought was there.
But there it was.
A zombie. No -- two of them. Running fast and strong, pumping their arms at their sides. They were closing on them. Their mouths were open, grimacing. Their eyes bulged from the sockets.
Frank stopped and turned, bracing himself against the trunk of a tree; he raised the rifle. Todd followed suit with his service weapon, and Kelly ran up and crouched behind Frank.
Frank took aim at the lead zombie. He shot once.
Missed.
He shot two more rounds and one of them struck home. Headshot.
The side of the zombie's face exploded and it turned and dropped, landing on its good side. That left one more freak, no more than fifty yards away. This one took cover behind a tree.
Smart, thought Frank. They're playing with us.
He motioned for Todd to cover him and he ran to the side, around birch and pine. He wanted to flank it. He saw movement and then more ominous shapes further down the hill. It wasn't just the one they had to worry about.