Brent Acuff - Undead Nation 02 (21 page)

Alex hesitated for a moment before grabbing for the mother. He grappled with the frantic woman as she fought and and kicked to get away from Alex. Another set of hands grabbed at Theresa. Dr. Cahn had seen the girl fall off the engine and now struggled with Alex to keep the woman away from the edge.

Men stretched and reached for the little girl, calling for her to run, to grab their hand. There was nothing that any of them could do. The broken nails of the first corpse dug into the girls arms and she screamed louder than Alex would have thought possible. Another zombie joined the first, the two tugging the girl in opposite directions before they sunk teeth into bare flesh.
 

The cries of the men aboard the engine joined the girl's, their tortured voices echoing the utter helplessness of the scene before them. Ronald Cox began to slide from the engine. He was determined to complete the task he was given, to make sure no harm came to the girl. Rough hands grabbed at the man, wrenching him back only to see the girl's head snap back and a cloud of red explode behind her. No one had heard the pistol fire over the screams.
 

-----

"She's asleep," Dr. Cahn said quietly as he slid down next to Alex sitting along the outside of the engine. The doctor watched as Alex turned the pistol over and over in his hands. They trembled as if he were sitting outside in the dead of winter.

"How?" Alex asked, looking up at the doctor. Tears still stained his cheeks and his eyes were bloodshot.

"Gave her a shot of morphine," Dr. Cahn replied. "It can't stop everything she's feeling, but it'll dull it enough for her to sleep. Helped that the dose was a little higher than would normally be give."

Alex looked down at the ground between his feet, nodding his head absently, the gun still twirling in his hands. "Thanks, doc. You should get some sleep yourself. You've looked better."

"I've felt better," the doctor said. "But right now, I'm needed." Dr. Cahn stared hard at the gun flying between the man's hands. "Is that thing loaded?" he asked, concerned.

Alex nodded again, never looking up at the doctor. "It's always loaded, doc. These days..." Alex shrugged. "Shouldn't go anywhere without it." The gun continued to twirl through the man's fingers, coming dangerously close to the trigger.

"Why don't you let me hold on to that, Alex?" Dr. Cahn asked and reached for the pistol. Alex pulled it away.

"No thanks, doc. I'll be careful," Alex said, setting the gun once more to twirling between his hands. Dr. Cahn watched Alex closely, concern for the man etched across his face. Alex stopped twirling suddenly and looked at the doctor.

"I killed her, doc. I killed that little girl..."

Dr. Cahn shook his head vigorously and placed his hands on Alex's shoulder. "You didn't kill that girl, Alex. There was no way to save her." Dr. Cahn lightly shook Alex. "Alex...Alex," he implored. "Alex, you kept her from suffering something horrible..."

Alex shrugged off the doctor's hands and the tears began to flow again. His body shook with quiet sobs and Alex buried his head in his hands and wept. Gently, Dr. Cahn slipped the pistol from his grip. With practiced ease, Dr. Cahn pulled the syringe from his pocket and administered the dose of morphine.

Alex looked up quickly at the doctor, the fresh tears streaking his face. "Get some sleep, Alex. I have a feeling we're going to need you again." Dr. Cahn patted the man on the arm and gave him a sympathetic smile. The doctor watched as Alex slid into an uneasy, but needed sleep.

-----

A wandering minstrel came into the village, playing and singing loudly, his song drawing the attention of everyone he passed.

"Ahoy, I like boats,

And goats and moats,

And all other things that float.
 

Ha ha!

And ne'er be a bear,

That would ever to dare,

Take on pirates,

That fight, with guns."

The minstrel's song continued, never wavering nor stopping, until the villagers had grown tired of his tune. Then taking up beams and sticks, the townspeople proceeded to beat the man, breaking his bones and his mandolin. When their lust for violence was sated, they dragged the broken and bleeding man to the edge of the village and left him there, unable to move or defend himself. As darkness fell, the towns people gathered to listen to the minstrel's screams and the wildebeests came from the forest to feed.

Alex awoke with a start as he was violently as hands shook him from sleep. "What...what the hell is going on?" Alex said to the man standing over him. His head pounded and his mind felt sluggish. Vaguely remembering the dream that had been plaguing his sleep he said, "What the hell did the doc give me?" and buried his head in his hands.
 

"Alex? Alex, get up. You need to see this." Alex did not immediately recognize the voice that spoke to him, but he did recognize the urgency in it. "Alex," the said and paused. "Alex, something is wrong."

The man's voice began to edge on panic and this brought Alex fully awake. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Come on."

Alex pulled himself to his feet with the help of who he now recognized as Jenero Croft. "What's going on?" Alex asked starting to get seriously worried now. "Jenero, what's..."

"There's smoke up ahead, Alex," the man broke in, but his revelation didn't surprise Alex at all.

"And? It's probably just another grass fire..."

"Alex, we're almost back to New Hope," Jenero said. Alex now rushed with the man to the engine compartment and pushed his way past everyone. Liam, Donovan and the doctor were standing at the control panel, their eyes fixed on the horizon.
 

"What's going on?" Alex asked, trying to keep his voice calm and free of panic. He wasn't being very successful.

Liam looked to his friend, the concern weighing his shoulders down. "There's smoke on the horizon, there," Liam said, indicating the direction with a flip of his head. "It's in the direction of New Hope." The tone of Liam's voice echoed the thoughts of everyone on the train. Their families were in danger.

"How much longer before we are there?" Alex asked.

Liam shook his head. "Train doesn't go all the way," he answered. "We get off in Athens. From there, maybe twelve miles?" Liam shrugged his shoulders. "If we can't find transportation, then we'll have to hoof it. Say twenty minutes to Athens, fifteen to twenty to find a ride, and thirty five to forty to get back to New Hope. An hour twenty by best estimates, maybe longer, and that's only if we find a ride."

"Shit," Alex thought. "Too long," he said to himself.

"It's all we can do," Liam said. "Unless you can beam us up, Scottie, it's going to take us a while."

Alex glared at his friend. This was no time to be making jokes when their loved ones were in danger. "Get us there. One hour," he ordered.

Liam's jaw dropped. "Alex, that's not possible..."

"Make it possible," Alex ordered and stormed out of the engine compartment.

-----

The pickup truck rolled into the wide open perimeter of the New Hope colony. The smoke had in fact been coming from the colony, but the extent or cause was not known until they got closer. Now, entering into the main complex of New Hope, the groups worst fears were being realized.

The farmhouse was a smoldering pile of ashes, the fire having long since burned itself out. There was no movement anywhere in the complex, but bodies littered the ground. The truck stopped just inside the perimeter, but no one moved to exit. The shock of the scene before them was overwhelming.

An eternity passed before anyone moved from their seat. Martin Howard stepped out, gun raised and made his way to the nearest body. Kneeling next to the woman's body, he checked for a pulse, but found none. Martin looked back to the others and shook his head grimly.
 

"Stay in the truck," Donovan said to the others. "Ronald, Philip, Jenero and I will check on this."

"I'm going, too," Alex said, his eyes starring off into the distance.

"No, Alex. You and Hayden and the others will stay here..."

"I'm going."

"No, you're not!" Donovan snapped. "We don't have a family here. We don't have friends that we might find out there. We will go. We will shoulder this burden. You all have done enough." A hand squeezed Alex's shoulder, and the man looked back to see Dr. Cahn nodding slowly. Tears welled in the doctor's eyes.

Without another word, the four men climbed out of the truck, each dispersing around the compound. Those who remained behind watched as the men bent over a body on the ground, pausing briefly before moving on.
 

"They're dead," Liam said in shock. "They're all dead. What happened, Alex? What the hell happened..."

"We were set up," Alex said with malice and rage. "We were never going to se them alive again. We were just pawns."
 

They sat in the truck for almost an hour before any of the others returned. Martin strode straight towards the truck, his head down and shoulders slumped. He walked as if he had been beaten down, and everyone in waiting for him in the truck knew what news he was bringing.

"You need to see this," Martin said to the others inside.

"What about our families?" Alex said in a low, hateful tone. "Did you find our families?"

Martin nodded his head, never looking up at the man. "They're..." he started and stopped, his voice cracking with the information he carried. "I'm sorry, Alex," he said and the tears began to fall. No one in the truck reacted; no one shed a tear. The shock of Martin's news was too much to take in.

"You need to come," Martin said, struggling to control himself. "We found something and we don't know what it is."

Each man in the truck climbed down, mechanical and without thought. If they let the emotions in, none of them would be able to function. Dragging their feet through the compound, they followed Martin around the burned out husk of the farmhouse to the northern corner of the compound. When Martin stopped, it was the first time that any of the men looked up.

A large, metal cargo container stood in the middle of a small clearing. Two Humvees and a large stack of military cargo crates sat roughly thirty yards away near the northern entrance to the compound. The northern entrance was blocked.
 

"What is it?" Martin asked Alex. Alex started at the sound of the man and only then looked closely at the metal container. It was approximately eight feet by eight feet squared, with no visible entrance on any of its sides. Alex walked all the way around the container and stopped only to place a hand on its side. Alex slammed a fist on the side and the sound echoed from inside.
 

"Beats the fuck out of me," Alex said without emotion.

A metallic squeal issued from on top of the container causing everyone to jump backwards away from it. Looking above, each man could see a hatch opening, followed immediately by the loud metallic clang of the lid falling open. A haggard, terrified face, appeared from out of the container. "Thank god, you're here," the man cried. "Are any of you Alex Kemp?" he asked nervously.

Confused looks were exchanged between the gathered men. No one knew quite what to think about this newest turn of events.

Alex stepped forward and hesitantly answered the man. "I am Alex Kemp. Who are you?"

The color seemed to drain out of the man's face, but he carefully pulled himself the rest of the way out of the container. "I am Private First-Class Kenneth Sanchez of the 102nd Expeditionary Force. I have a message for Alex Kemp." The young man reached inside the container then held up a manilla envelope.
 

Alex looked towards Liam who only shrugged his response. "Toss it down," Alex said. The young private kept ahold of the envelope.

"Can you help me down first?" he asked, still very nervous.

"Fine," Alex said with a sigh. The private disappeared inside the container once more and soon the top rungs of a ladder began to appear out of the top opening. Tilting, the ladder started sliding off the container and clanged to the ground. Alex and Liam lifted the ladder into place, holding it steady as the young private carefully made his way to the ground.

"Thanks," the private said and handed the envelope over to Alex.

Tearing open the top of the envelop, Alex looked inside. A single sheet of paper was there and Alex carefully removed it, slowly reading the contents of the letter. Donovan and Jenero quietly made there way towards the group gathered around. Donovan carried a second envelope.

"This is for you," he said to Alex, handing the envelope over to the man. Sadness in the man's voice was overwhelming.

Alex took the second envelop and tore open the end. A small note fell into Alex's hand and Alex quickly read it, anger sweeping across his face. The first letter fell from his hands, but his eyes never left the second.

"Where are my wife and daughter?" he asked Donovan, still looking intently at the note in his hands. The young private was becoming more nervous by the second, now shifting from foot to foot, his eyes dancing between Alex and Donovan.

"Alex, I don't think this is the time..."

"Where?!" Alex snapped. The force of his request causing Donovan to step back from the man.

"Your wife is..." Donovan began, but a catch in his throat caused him to stop. "Alex, your wife is dead," he stammered. "We haven't found Gemma. We don't know where she is." Liam and Dr. Cahn's shoulders stooped with the realization that their loved ones as well were most definitely to be counted among the dead. Hayden fell to his knees.

The second note now fell from Alex's hands and he stood motionless, breathing heavily. His eyes flashed to the young private and in an instant the Glock was slide from its holster. The crack of the pistol echoed throughout the compound and the private's head snapped back, his brains now painting the side of the container that had sheltered him. He stumbled in place before falling face forward into the dirt.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Donovan shouted.