Aliens Versus Zombies (31 page)

* * * *

“Sir!” the CommTech GrevJar reported. “The airstrike on target 2 was successful. Each of the targeted dwellings was destroyed.”

“Excellent. Recall the flight. Survivors?”

“Unknown, sir. Between the lightning ionizing the atmosphere and the heavy cloud cover, and the cold rain cooling everything off, I can’t get any good readings. There may be a few survivors, but I can’t be sure. Should I signal the platoon to move in and check?”

FronCar looked out the window of the command center and watched the rain pelting the glass. Thunder shook the walls of the building.

“Sir?”

“No, let’s give them a break from the weather. They can move in later.
If
there are any survivors, they should be easy to mop up.”

* * * *

Daniels frantically pawed his way through the rubble.

Is that a foot? No, just a shoe.

How about that? A bathrobe? No, a towel.

Although some of the house had exploded outward, much had collapsed in on itself. The top floor was mostly gone, but that exposed the second floor, where Chrissy, Amanda, and the D-Zoms had been. It had shattered, but at least it wasn’t buried under an entire floor of rubble.

There! Definitely a foot.

He pulled himself forward until he could touch it. It was cold, but in the chill rain, what wasn’t?

He pulled aside two pieces of wall board that covered the leg. He thought he recognized the ratty shorts that Jesse slept in.

“Jesse! Buddy! Are you okay? Can you hear me? Talk to me.”

No one answered and the leg didn’t move.

Daniels continued to clear debris from on top of Jesse until he reached the chest and face. The chest was intact, and so was the face. But Jesse’s eyes were closed. When Daniels patted Jesse’s cheeks to wake him, the head lolled to one side to reveal a large nail protruding from the back.

Daniel’s hopes evaporated.

“Oh, Jesse, I’m so sorry.”

He didn’t have time to mourn. There were still others unaccounted for.

He called out over and over until he was hoarse, and then some more. The rolling thunder drowned out most sounds. Did a small voice just cry for help?

He dug all the harder into the wreckage.

There, in the corner, appeared to be a wall that wasn’t entirely destroyed. Some rafters leaned against the half-wall that remained, with roof debris on top of that.

“Help!”

He was sure he heard it this time. He looked for a way to lift the roof but it was much too heavy. He tried working his way around to the side of the sloped roof to see if there was a way in or out under the roof.

There! A small triangle of space existed between the wall and the sloped rafters. A hand waved at him through the gap, but the opening was too small to crawl through. Using more strength than he thought he possessed, Daniels managed to wrestle a few boards out of the way to create a wider opening.

“Amanda? Is that you?”

“Yes. I’m scared. Can you come get me?”

He began crawling through the tight space. “Of course, sweetie. You stay right there, okay? Don’t move.”

“I won’t. But hurry.”

“Are you alone in there?”

“No, Uncle Jay, and Aunt Suzi, and Aunt Joanie are here, too. We’re all tangled up under a mattress. I don’t think Uncle Jay is moving. I’m scared. Wha-what happened?”

“I don’t know, sweetie,” he lied. “Okay, I’m coming to get you. Joanie? Suzi? You two alive?”

He wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard something. With all the thunder crashing overhead, it was impossible to be sure. At least the lightning provided some illumination in the darker shadows.

“Hang on. I’m coming.”

It took several minutes and some gyrations to squeeze his body through the narrow opening. Eventually he came face to face with a very dirty, very frightened little girl, just out of reach.

“Can you come any closer to me, Amanda?”

“Uh-uh. My foot’s stuck.”

“Okay, stretch your arms toward me as far as you can and I’ll see if I can pull you out? Okay?”

“’kay.”

Daniels grasped the tiny hands in his and attempted to pull. He had no leverage, lying on his side as he was. He tried again, pulling harder this time, but fearful of hurting Amanda if he pulled too hard.

“Ow!”

“I’m sorry, sweetie, but I think you moved a little that time.”

He pulled again, slightly harder.

“Owie! You’re hurting me!”

“I’m sorry, Amanda, but I have to. If you don’t get you out of here, you’ll die. You don’t want that, do you?”

She shook her head, sending her matted, soggy hair flying.

Daniels took a moment to wipe the rain from his eyes, for all the good that did in the storm.

“Okay, one more time. You ready?”

“Uh-huh.” Her head nodded agreement, but her eyes disagreed.

“Okay, here we go.” He pulled with as much strength as he could muster in this awkward position.

“OWWWWWWW!”

But her foot popped free of whatever had been pinning it. Blood oozed from a long scrape down her leg and ankle. Otherwise she appeared unharmed.

“That hurt!” She began to cry.

“I know, Sweetie. But you’re free now. I’m gonna need you to follow me back out. Can you do that? Can you be brave for me?”

She nodded, her tears on hold for the moment.

“Okay, let’s go.” He shouted to the others, “I’ll come back for the rest of you after I get Amanda out.”

That’s when he discovered
he
was stuck. Worming your way through a narrow, twisting maze of debris is hard enough going forward, when you can see what’s ahead and use your arms to move things out of the way. It’s something else entirely going backward.

He twisted and turned and wriggled until he got his hips through the opening and then was able to back out. Amanda slipped through easily.

“All right, sweetie, I have to go back and help Suzi and Joanie. Can you wait right here for me?”

Lightning flashed overhead, followed almost immediately by the crash of thunder. Amanda jumped.

She shook her head. “Nuh-uh. I’m scared.”

“I know, sweetie, it’s scary out here. But I have to go back in to help the others. If I don’t, they might die. You have to wait here. Do you understand?”

She nodded.

“That’s my brave girl. I’ll be right back.”

He eased back into the hole, this time shoving debris to the side to ensure there was enough hip room to get through. Again, he went as far as he could. This time, he saw an arm behind where Amanda had been.

“Joanie! Suzi! Can you hear me? Can you move?”

In the light of the brightening day, filtered through the debris above, he definitely saw the arm move.

“Can you come to me? I can’t reach you.”

The arm moved again. This time, attempting to raise her torso. The debris pile shifted and some slid off her back to reveal the blonde hair of Joanie. She slowly, carefully, began to inch her way forward. As more rubble fell off Joanie’s back, Suzi’s form became visible, lying beyond.

“Joanie, is Suzi alive? Can you tell?”

Joanie hesitated, and then turned as much as she could.

“I can’t get to her. You have to help her if you can.

Joanie nodded. She backed up a foot and reached behind her. She grasped Suzi’s wrist.

“Warm. Pulse.”

She pulled, but lacked the leverage to do much. “Can’t.”

“Try again, but this time really pull hard, but don’t yank, pull slowly.”

“Okay.”

She twisted around onto her back and used her feet for leverage, pressing against the debris. This time, when she pulled on Suzi’s arm, there was movement.

“Very clever, Joanie. Again.”

“Okay.”

She pulled harder this time. Suzi moved a few inches more, and some debris spilled off. Then Suzi groaned. “What—?”

“Can you crawl out, Suzi? I can’t get to you.”

“I-I try.”

Joanie let go of Suzi and moved closer to Daniels to make room. Suzi pulled herself forward and shed more rubble.

“I okay.”

“Good. I’ll get out of the way and let you both crawl out on your own. Call out if you get stuck or need help.”

“Okay.”

“’kay.”

Daniels backed out and went to where Amanda waited, arms wrapped around her knees, rocking back and forth and singing to herself.

“You okay, sweetie?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Good. Joanie and Suzi should be out in a minute.”

“Okay. I’m cold. And wet. And scared.”

He laughed, more from nervous relief than anything. “Me, too, sweetie.”

Joanie emerged from the hole, followed seconds later by Suzi.

“Are you both okay?”

Both women had numerous scrapes and cuts, and Suzi had blood mixed with rain trickling down her face.

Both nodded.

“We under mattress,” Suzi said. “So we okay. Baby okay.” She patted her tummy.

“Thank God for that. Now we just have to find the others.

“Uncle Chick, where’s Uncle Jay?”

Daniels crouched to look her in the eyes. “I’m sorry sweetie, but he died. The aliens killed him.”

She began to cry. “Why? Why would they kill Uncle Jay? He was nice to me! They were
all
nice to me. I don’t
want
them to be dead!”

“I know sweetie. Me, too.”

“I
hate
those bad people!”

“Me, too.” He clenched his jaw in anger.

I have to find some way to make them pay for this!

Daniels helped Amanda and the others climb down from the rubble and out to the street, where they stood on the street, miserable and wet and cold. They tried to huddle together for warmth. It was pointless in the rain. Yet there was nowhere else to go. All the homes in the immediate area had been destroyed.

It had been less than thirty minutes since the attack and the storm raged on overhead.

Daniels, now carrying Amanda, spotted one of the SUVs in front of the next house over and led the others there. The streets were choked with debris, making it difficult to leave by car. But the doors were unlocked. He ushered them inside, out of the rain. Amanda’s teeth chattered nonstop.

The vehicles were communal property. He knew the keys would be left inside for the next person to use.

“I have to find Chrissy and the others. I’ll be back. Don’t go anywhere.”

He realized as soon as he said the words how silly they were. None of the occupants knew how to drive.

He turned and ran back to the rubble of what once was a beautiful mansion. Then he noticed that just as a piece of the upper floor wall remained intact, so did part of the ground floor side wall. He decided to investigate, just in case someone might be trapped inside, as the others had been.

The wall had once bordered the formal living room and the back bathroom. There was no window in the side of the living room, but there was in the bathroom. He might be able to get in that way.

He reached the window, shattered, but the frame was still in place.

“Anyone in there? Call out!”

“Chick! Thank God. Get me out of here.”

“Chrissy? Oh thank heaven. Are you okay?

“Yeah, yeah. After you left, I couldn’t get back to sleep, so I went downstairs to turn on the teapot. Then I came in here to pee and the house blew up. I’m on the john and there’s a beam across my lap, pinning my right arm against my thigh. I can’t move.”

“Are you hurt?”

“I’m-I’m not sure. My arm hurts where it’s pinched under the beam, and my ankle hurts, too, but I don’t think it’s broken. It’s hard to tell.”

“Okay, I’m gonna try to get in to help you.”

“I wish you would. I don’t have to pee anymore. I’d like to leave now.”

“That’s my girl.”

He considered how to get in. He couldn’t raise the window because of the damage. But there were shards of glass still embedded in the window frame. It would be impossible to climb through without cutting himself to ribbons. He could try to pick them out one by one, but it might take too long. The whole pile of rubble could come crashing down at any moment.

He decided to try brute force. Looking around, he spotted a large chunk of wood that suited his needs. He hefted it and smashed it against the window frame, which splintered slightly. He kept hitting it until the bottom of the frame broke free, and then he used the wood to knock in the sides until the whole thing fell inside.

He stuck his head through and surveyed the damage inside. The tub was to his left and it was filled with debris. The toilet—and Chrissy—was to his right. As she’d said there was a beam lying diagonally across her lap, from what was left of the ceiling on the left to the floor on the right. Another beam crisscrossed it.

“Babe,” he said. “I don’t want to scare you, but that beam seems to be the only thing keeping you alive. If we disturb it too much, it might slip and the other beam will slip and the ceiling will come crashing down on you. We need to shore it up before I can get you out. Okay?”

“Sure. Whatever you need to do. I’m not going anywhere.”

“That’s my girl. Hang on while I find something to use as leverage.”

He turned and looked for a length of unbroken 4x4 to use as a lever. The house was old enough that they still used heavy-duty lumber like that in the construction. That was no easy task, given the devastation. Eventually, he found one, although it was still nailed to another board that was wedged deep inside the mess. He wrestled with the one he wanted, twisting and turning it until he finally got it free from the other board.

Then he returned to the window.

“You still okay in there?”

“Yes, but my arm is numb now and my ankle is throbbing. Please hurry!”

“I’ll get you out as soon as I can, but if I rush, I might bring the whole thing down on top of us.”

“I understand. Do what you can.”

He leaned the board against the window opening and carefully climbed in. He was thankful that he’d risen early and gotten dressed. He wouldn’t have relished working among all the broken glass in his bare feet. But the tough boots he had on were up to the task.

He then pulled the board in with him. He had to crouch, due to the low ceiling, only about two feet above Chrissy’s head. He looked for a pivot point where he could place his fulcrum.

“I was afraid I was going to die in here, all alone, without ever knowing what happened to you. I couldn’t bear the thought.”

“You might still die in here, but at least you won’t be alone.”

“I suppose that should be comforting, but it isn’t.”

“Let’s see if we can avoid that unhappy fate.”

He placed one end of the board on the floor and prepared to raise some of the weight off Chrissy’s leg with his shoulder.

“Okay, I’m going to lift on three. When I say go, see if you can slide out from under the beam. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“All right. One, two, three. Go!” He grunted the final word as he strained to lift tons of debris. It was hopeless.

Chrissy screamed with pain as she tried, desperately to free herself. “It’s not gonna work. Look, this place may come down on you at any second. I couldn’t bear that. Get out of here and help someone else, if you can.”

“I’m not leaving you, no matter what.”

“Stubborn mule.”

“Nag.”

They shared a brief chuckle and then got serious again.

“I have another idea. It’ll definitely get you out of there, but it may drop the ceiling on us. Once you’re free, get out the window as quickly as you can. I’ll be right behind you.”

“What are you planning?”

“It’ll be tricky, but if I can hold up some of the weight and break the toilet with a piece of stone or concrete, you’ll fall and then you’ll be free. You’ll have to move fast, in case the ceiling caves.”

“I’m not leaving without you.”

He smiled. “We can’t go out together, so someone has to go first, and that’s you. I may be able to buy you a few extra seconds.”

“I guess you’re right. But you’d better not die, or I’ll never speak to you again!”

His smile turned wry at her weak joke. “Okay, I’ll be right back after I find something to break the bowl with.

“Hurry back, lover.”

He turned and practically dove through the window in his haste to get out. He ran back around to the front walkway, looking for a piece of broken concrete small enough to carry, yet heavy enough to do the job.

There was debris aplenty but mostly siding and wood, no stone or concrete. He frantically scrabbled through the smaller piles of rubble trying to see the pavement beneath. For several long minutes, the search was fruitless. And then…success!

A piece two feet long and six to nine inches wide at opposite ends. It was heavy, but he was determined that he’d get the job done, no matter what.

He ran with it to the window and carefully lowered it inside. It wouldn’t do to drop it and have it shatter, along with his hopes of saving his bride-to-be.

Between Daniels and Chrissy, the tub, the toilet, the 4x4 board, and the piece of concrete, the small open space was getting pretty crowded.

“Okay, we’ll try this again. Only this time I’ll count to three and then hit the bowl with this chunk of concrete. You’ll fall, so be prepared to catch yourself. Got it.”

“Got it. We’re getting out of here, together, right? You promise?”

“I promise! Okay, get ready. One, two, three!” He strained to lift as much weight as possible with the board on his left shoulder, while also swinging the chunk with his right hand.

It was pitiful. There was little strength to the swing due to the awkward position he was in. The chunk merely tapped the bowl and bounded off. He slumped in disappointment, and more than a little pain. A shoulder wasn’t designed to support hundreds of pounds of weight on a square piece of wood with hard edges.

“All right, let’s try that again.”

This time he turned around and used his back to support the board, and his left hand to swing the chunk behind him at the bowl. This approach had the dual benefit of lowering his shoulder and bringing it closer to the toilet.

The chunk hit the bowl with a loud crack and two things happened simultaneously. The bowl shattered, spilling Chrissy to the side toward the window, and hundreds of pounds of weight dropped onto Daniels’ shoulders and back.

“Get…moving!” he grunted from the strain. The board dug deeply into his muscles. “I can’t…hold this…for long.”

Chrissy tried to get up, pull her panties back on, and go to the window, However, with her right leg asleep, her ankle throbbing, and her right arm useless, it proved more difficult than expected, taking a good ten seconds.

As soon as she was out, Daniels realized the pickle he was in. As soon as he let go of the board, the rest of the ceiling would crash down on him before he could get to the window. He had no chance.

Mere seconds before he knew he’d collapse under the strain, Chrissy reappeared at the window and gingerly dropped into the room.”

“What…are…you doing? Get out!”

“Saving your ass, tough guy.”

She took the length of 4x4 she’d brought back with her and wedged one end against the base of the cast iron tub and the other end under the 4x4 extending along Daniels’ back, just above his head, making an A frame and taking on some of the weight of the load. Daniels slumped slightly and the ceiling groaned menacingly.

“Let’s go!” she said.

He pointed, too out of breath to answer. She climbed out, still favoring her arm and ankle. He followed, back spasming in protest of the rough treatment he’d given it.

“I wish you’d thought of that earlier,” he said.

“Me, too.”

Before they reached the street, a resounding crash behind them signaled the collapse of the tub and the fall of the ceiling.

“Did anyone else make it out?” she asked.

He pointed ahead to the SUV, where the others waited. They held one another for support as they limped to the car.

“I don’t see Amanda!” There was panic in her voice. “Where’s Amanda? Is she…?”

“Whoa! Hold on. She’s fine. She’s in the car.”

“Oh, Thank God. Who else?”

“Just Suzi and Joanie. Jesse’s dead, so are Jay and Steve. I didn’t find Moose, but…” He shrugged.

“That’s all?” she asked in a small voice.

“That’s only from the mansion, but you didn’t see how the other houses exploded. I’d be surprised if anyone else survived. I think the only reason you and the others did is that the third floor absorbed most of the energy of the blast. The other houses are all one or two stories. They weren’t so lucky.”

* * * *

FronCar watched the holo of a satellite feed showing the weather patterns below. The cloud cover was still complete and the rain unabated, but the lightning was dying down.

He contacted his second-in-command. “JesBronn, have the platoon regulator move in.”

“Yes, sir.”

* * * *

“We can’t just stand around moping,” Daniels said. “If they decided to finally deal with us, they won’t stop with just an aerial attack. They’ll send in ground troops to finish the job. I guess the weather slowed them down. But they’ll get here soon enough and when they do, we can’t be here.”

“But where can we go?” Chrissy replied. “The other houses in town aren’t safe, not after this.”

“I know. Remember our little cave down by the river? We could hide in there until they leave, then pick up some supplies and move on.”

“And then what? They’ll just keep hunting us down like animals until every last one of us is dead!” Her tears and sobs were beginning to edge toward the point of hysteria.

“Hey! None of that! We’ll figure something out. We’re a team, right? We’ve done pretty well together so far, haven’t we?”

She thought for a moment and then dried her eyes. “You’re right. What am I worried about? It’s just a little ol’ alien invasion fleet. No biggie.”

He laughed. “That’s the spirit.”

“What about other survivors?”

He shrugged. “I don’t think we have a choice. If we stay here much longer, we’re all dead. If we come across any on the way out of town, we’ll take them with us. Otherwise, all we can do is wait a day or so until the aliens leave and then check again. But this place is too hot for us. We need to get as far from here as possible.”

“Chick! How can you say that? Those people are our friends!”