Dead Hunger IV: Evolution (60 page)

“What if they don’t need knights?” asked Nick.  “What if everything’s okay?”

Tony smiled.  “No harm done, then.  They’re just gonna have the ability to go on some big field trips, pal.”

*****

Flex stood on a chair, his arms in the air, trying to get the crowd’s attention. 
“
Please
be quiet,” yelled Flex above the din.  “Quiet!

The people in the room, all frightened beyond what their imaginations ever dreamed they would be, fell
into relative silence
.

Nobody
sat
anymore; there wasn’t room.  The chairs had been stacked, and the only cots remaining were for those too injured to stand.

“If you’ve got a gun, get it loaded,” he said.  “If you’ve  got a hammer, an axe, a crossbow, a damned big bottle, get it in your hands.”

“Don’t forget Ninja stars,” said Nelson.

“And Ninja stars,” said Flex, unable to argue at the interruption.

He was interrupted
again
by the door straining on its hinges as literally hundreds of dead walkers pushed against the building.  Every door had been secured with the unused chairs, but it seemed more of the creatures were arriving by the minute
, pressing against the building with increasing aggression
.

“Open door,” said Rebecca, standing to Flex’s left.

Hemp
visibly bristled. 
“That command didn’t come from my subject,” he said.  “She died five minutes ago.”

“Then it’s coming from one of the females outside, right?”
asked Flex.

Hemp nodded.

Gem rushed to
Rebecca
and
grabbed her around the middle
, pinning her arms and immobilizing her.  Rebecca had made no move toward the entrance, but Flex knew Gem was taking no chances; not with her girls in the building.

Flex turned back to the waiting crowd. 
“Okay, you heard what I said,”
he said
, over the voices that had risen again at Rebecca’s words.  “Don’t do anything unless they get inside.  Also, if you are between twelve and fifty years old and you are female, you should already have taken one of the wafers Hemp produced.  Everyone else should have taken the wafers we were producing at the brewery, and you should have a pocketful of extras.  We made thousands, so if you don’t have any extra, see Victoria and Vikki and they’ll make sure you do.”

“Are we going to make it out of here?” asked a voice from the crowd.

“All we can do is fight,” said Flex.  “So be ready to do it.”

He stepped down from the chair and went to Gem, who still held Rebecca.  “Open door,” said Rebecca.

“Rebecca,” said Flex.  “Do you feel
like you want
to open the door?”

She looked at him, tremendous fear in her brown eyes.  “No.  But I can’t stop saying what they’re putting in my head.”

“We’re going to have to have someone watch you, okay?  We can’t take the chance that their control over you will strengthen.  I know Hemp just gave you another of the new wafers.  It may be all that’s keeping you independent.”

She nodded.  “I don’t mind.  Whatever.”

“Good.”

Gem passed her off to a larger woman who had said she was unwilling to kill anything.  She did agree to
restrain
Rebecca
if necessary, and to
keep her away from the
doors and windows
.

Gem walked with Flex and retrieved her Uzi from behind the bar.  She stuffed spare magazines in
to
her four pockets.

Flex’s
K7
was loaded and ready, and Hemp had shut down the
hyperbaric
chamber and readied his weapon.   Scofield held his Ruger, looking a bit helpless, as though he were bringing a peashooter to a cannon party.

He basically was, but a Flex knew a well-placed shot would be just as effective as one from his Daewoo.

“So this is it,” said Charlie.  She held Hemp’s arm and glanced toward the door.  The scraping and banging outside was wearing on everybody’s nerves.

“You know what they say,” said Hemp.  “It’s not over until the soprano sings.”

“It’s the fat lady,” said Charlie. 

Hemp squeezed her arm.

“Everyone with weapons, line up in two rows facing each side of the building.  We could be breached from either side.
”

Flex saw Gem turn and look at Trina, who sat with Kimberly.  The oldest sister was leaning close to her, and speaking calmly.  Trina did not look frightened.  Gem looked terrified, but Flex knew it was not for herself, but for the girls that her heart ached.

A man pushed through the crowd and collided with Flex.  He held a handheld radio and his face was white as a ghost.  “Some guy … he’s on this radio, and he’s asking for you!”

Flex looked at him.  “Are you kidding?’  He took the radio.  “This is Flex Sheridan.  Who’s this?”

“Flex, it’s Tony!”

“Tony?”  Flex looked at Gem, then it clicked.  “Tony Mallette?”

“Hell yes, Tony Mallette!  Buddy, we’re heading into town, and we figured you were in some trouble.  Saw the fire from mile
s
and miles away.”

“I’m not sure there’s much you can do for us, Tony,” said Flex.  The building we’re in is fuckin’ surrounded.  We can’t get to our vehicles, and we can’t kill all of ‘em.  Where are you?”

“Right the fuck outside, Flex!  I take it you’re in that pair of buildings with the long corridor between them?  That’s where all the dead people are hanging out.”

“Exactly, Tony.  But you better get out of here.  You wait much longer and you’re going down, too.”

“Ah, but we got a secret weapon, Mr. Sheridan.  Tell me a little about the construction of the building you’re in.”

“Brick on both ends.  Looks like the corridor connecting them is wood frame.  It was built afterward to connect the two structures.”

“Okay, then,” said Tony, his voice more cheerful than Flex would have expected.  “Is anyone in that corridor?”

“It’s packed.”

“Clear ‘em out, my friend.  I’m comin’ in full speed.”

“What the hell are you talking about, Tony?  What are you in?  A bulldozer?”

“Hell no, you’re smarter than that,” said Tony.  “That would leave me unprotected.  Just get everyone into the bigger building on the right side, and do it fast.  The thicker this goddamned crowd out here gets, the harder this is gonna be.  And be prepared to kill a couple in case they get pushed inside.”

“Pushed inside?”

“Do it, Flex.  I’ll give you two minutes.”

Flex shrugged and started calling orders.  “Pack in, people.  Everyone in the bar, nobody in the corridor or the lab.  Everyone!  Now!”

They pushed and packed in like canned sardines, moving quietly and as orderly as they could.  Flex was impressed with the calmness with which they obeyed his instruction.

They had completed the move in less than a minute.  Flex got back on the radio.  “Tony, if you’re gonna do something, you’re clear.”

From outside, the sound of an engine revving grew louder.  Flex watched the corridor along with everyone else, now pushed together so tightly they could barely breath
e
.

The engine rev climaxed with the wall crashing inward, wood and plaster splintering, glass shattering, and several of the undead
and unwanted
getting smashed on the back wall of the hallway.

Tony had driven a school bus right through the wall, and the next sound Flex heard were the hydraulics as the door swung inward.  Tony sat in the driver’s seat, smiling.

Several rotters had been
driven
inside,
five or six crushed between the wall and the front of the bus.  Others were trapped underneath, and as they began
crawling from beneath the
vehicle
, Charlie got close and put well-placed arrows in
the
heads
of three of them
. 
  She was on guard, watching for
further
movement as the crowd murmured and shifted, but did not yet
surge
toward the bus.

Flex
saw
one
creature
that had be
en trapped on the driver’s side
trying
to slide between the
Bluebird
and the splintered wall.  He raised his
K7
and fired twice, knocking it back for good
in a spray of dark red mist
.

The gap between the outer wall and the bus was not passable, which was a relief.

“Waylon!” he shouted.

Bell
came pushing through the crowd.  “Yeah, Flex.”

“Get low on the ground.  Some are on the other side.  If they try to crawl under the bus, take ‘em out, but don’t hit the tires, whatever you do.”

“Got it.” 
Bell
got down on his belly beside the front tire, and immediately took two quick shots.

“Okay?” asked Flex.

“Yeah, Flex.  Good deal.  Do what you have to do.”  He took another shot.  His face was calm, determined.  Flex was glad.
  He returned to the door and looked
up
at Tony.

“What are you waiting for?”
Tony
asked.  “Get the strongest in first.”

“Tony, that’s not near enough.  We have over three hundred people in here.”

“Yeah?  Well we got nine freakin’ buses, so if you want to get the hell outta
Concord
, then you better start loadin’!”

“We can’t get to the other buses, Tony,” said Flex.  People were already pushing onto the
transport
, clamoring over one another. 

Tony
pulled the handle and
closed the door of the bus again, knocking one
scrambling
man to the floor
as
he stood on the first step.
  Frightened, he
got back to his feet and
pounded on the door until Flex pushed forward and took his arms, restraining him.

“Calm down, buddy.  We’re trying to figure this out.”

The man nodded his head
quickly
, breathing hard.

Tony came over
Flex’s
radio
again
.  “The buses are side by side, Flex. 
Tight together. 
There are open windows on both sides of the buses in the middle. 
Windows lined up. 
They come in, they crawl through the windows from
one
bus to the other until they’re all full.  Then we blow this firetrap.”

“
So that’s why you wanted the strong first. 
Dude, I am gonna kiss you,” said Flex.  “You’re a genius.”

“Musta rubbed off from Hemp.”  He opened the door again.  “Now organize, and let the smaller, stronger ones in first.  They have to crawl through the windows, get it?”

“I do now,” said Flex. 

Gem was already hustling the girls toward the bus.  Some people stood aside and let her load them on. 

“Tony, make the girls stay there on your bus.”

“Got it, Boss,” he said.

“Hell with that,” said Flex.  “You and Charlie get on.  You’re carryin’ our kids, so it’s time to rest.”

Gem stood there, her face beautiful even in the craziness of the situation and with her complete exhaustion.  She smiled at Flex and turned to Tony.  “I suppose he’s the boss.  For now, anyway.  C’mon, Charlie.”

Charlie gave Hemp a quick peck on the cheek and climbed on behind Gem.

The line became very orderly. 
Flex, Hemp and Nelson
moved each person on
board
by size and strength, and the few inches between each bus wasn’t enough for any of the rotters to slip
between them
and attack the living.

Flex watched and let out a deep breath.  He walked up to Hemp and put a hand on his shoulder.  The relief on Hemp’s face was evident.

“Buddy, we scrape through again,” he said.

“And who
ever would
have believed who our savior would be?” said Hemp.

Flex shook his head and laughed.  “Damned right.  Fuckin’ Tony Mallette.”

“It helps to believe that anything is possible,” said Hemp.  “I got that from him while I was there, and you told me that he never once balked
at
your plan to rescue me.”

“Not once,” said Flex. 

The crowd was moving quickly, and the room was now half full, and emptying at a steady rate.  Flex
and Hemp
moved over to the Pac Man machine and slid it aside.  He had to tiptoe to look over the heads of the rotters, but in the fireglow of the
Concord
night, he could see the buses slowly filling up.