Dominion of the Damned (36 page)

Chris nodded, and chose his team. Tim would be going with him, along with two others. There were no doors or windows in the fort, other than the front gate, so they had to climb up and over the wall.

Silently, the team made their way along the edge of the woods that ringed the camp, skirting around the old town and sneaking toward the base’s modern facilities. That part of the base was currently a ghost town. Still, they remained on their guard as they approached the auditorium.

Inside, it appeared to be as deserted as the street outside. The five of them ran to the stage and loaded up on guns, as many as each of them could carry. “We need some rope,” Chris said. “And something to put the guns in to hoist them over the wall.”

Tim pointed to the curtains that lined the stage. “Those should have ropes. And we can use the curtains to wrap the guns in.”

“
Good thinking. You and Ed gather as much rope as you can. The rest of us will take down the curtains.”

As everyone turned to carry out their assigned task, Tim paused. “Does anyone else hear that?”

Everyone froze, and listened. Chris thought it was only thunder at first, another storm rolling in. But the rumble had a distinct cadence, one that became distinctly recognizable as it grew louder. “Helicopters.”

“
Shit,” said Tim. “They’re here.”

“
No,” said Chris, hopping down from the stage and running to a window. “They can’t be. The doc said they wouldn’t get here till tomorrow night.”

“
They must’ve been ready to come shut us down,” said Tim. “The doc’s hearing was just a formality.”

Chris craned his neck to look out the window and up at the sky. Sure enough, a fleet of black helicopters was flying overhead. Vampire commandos in their tell-tale black uniforms dangled from ropes, rappelling down from the copters. He heard gunfire as the vamp soldiers evidently started taking out the shamblers of their own accord.

“
I can’t decide whether this is a good thing or not,” said Tim.

“
Definitely not,” said Chris. He turned to the others. “I’ve got to find Hannah and Doc. Somebody has to warn them.”

“
We don’t even know if they’re still alive,” said Tim. “And if they are, they’re probably together. They can take care of themselves.”

“
We can’t assume that,” said Chris.

“
Do you even know where they were going?”

“
The doc was headed to the old jail to get Zach. I can go with you guys that far, but then I need to look for them.”

Tim shook his head. “No. No way. If the rest of us come back without you, do you know what you’re mom’s gonna do to us?”

“
She’ll be mad at me, not you. Now come on, we don’t have time to argue. If we start back now maybe we can beat the vamps to the fort.”

FORTY-SEVEN

She knew Alek had lost control of his camp, but she’d had no idea it was this bad. Esme leaned out of the helicopter to survey the damage below. The wretched dead walkers swarmed over the base. She already had troops on the ground working to clear them, as she and her pilot looked for the greatest concentration of them. That was where the humans were certain to be.

Surely enough, the horde pressed up around the old U.S. Cavalry outpost, surrounding the old fort. She could hear the sounds of gunfire over the hum of the helicopter blades as they approached. “Let’s end this,” she told the pilot. With a nod, he turned the helicopter toward the swarm, tilting it forward and lowering the blades into them. Esme put on her goggles and covered her face to protect it from the ichor that flew up from the blades.

Her troops moved behind them on the ground, making short work of whatever the helicopter had missed. “Set us down inside the fort,” she commanded.

Some of the humans actually had the audacity to fire on them as they landed in the center of the small yard. Esme took note of their faces, marking them down for discipline once the transfer was done. Idiot humans. Even if she and her pilot hadn’t been clothed head to toe in body armor, their bullets would have been useless.

She took a perverse pleasure in the way the humans scampered out of the way of the ’copter, backing up along the walls in wide-eyed terror like frightened rabbits. As soon as it touched down, Esme jumped out, uncovering her face as she approached them. “It appears we arrived not a moment too soon,” she said, reminding them of the predicament she had found them in. It irritated her that these mortals weren’t greeting them as the saviors that they were. “The attacking horde has been dealt with. We have enough choppers to airlift all of you back to my camp, where you’ll be sheltered and cared for in safety. If you cooperate and help us move everyone in an orderly fashion, I’ll forget the way we were greeted as we tried to land.”

The only response was a hail of bullets. She got her arms up over her head just in time to keep it from being perforated by machine gun fire. Her pilot wasn’t so fortunate. He was just removing his armored cowl as the gunfire started, and his head was quickly obliterated. Esme got her cowl up as his useless body fell to the ground, and rushed the person holding the gun. She moved faster than the young woman could aim, and in the blink of an eye Esme was on her, lifting her off the ground.

“
I have orders to bring everyone back alive,” she said. “That’s the only thing keeping me from snapping your neck.”

“
Leave her alone!”

Esme followed the sound of insubordination to a plump, silver-haired woman, but it wasn’t the woman or her impertinence that drew her attention—it was the infant in her arms. Only then did she realize that neither Alek nor his pretty pet were present inside the fort. Had the girl actually left her precious brat brother unprotected? Esme found herself smiling. “Open the gate,” she commanded, still holding the woman in the air, “or I’ll break something non-lethal instead.”

In the corner of her vision, she saw someone else raise a gun. The woman in her hands screamed as Esme flung her at the offender. She collided with him and they both went down in a heap. “I was told not to kill anyone,” she announced. “But I’m not technically in violation of that order if you shoot one of your own who has graciously volunteered to shield me.” She grabbed another hostage and held them close enough that none of these plebes would dare risk firing at her. “Now I won’t tell you again. Open the fucking gate.”

Her command became needless as her troops smashed through the wooden gate. It might have been useful for keeping out the brainless dead, but her people had a battering ram and the strength of a dozen vampires behind it. To her satisfaction, these people knew when they were beat. They laid down their weapons and backed away from the vampires.

Esme released her hostage and scanned the crowd for the silver-haired woman. She spotted her moving toward the back, trying to keep the baby hidden from view. Esme shoved her way through the crowd toward the woman. “Give me the infant,” she demanded.

“
What? No! You leave him alone!” She tried fruitlessly to turn away and shield the baby.

Esme was tired of being defied by these people. It was time to set an example. She grabbed the woman by her hair and yanked her back around. “This is the last time any of you creatures will say
no
to me. Now give me the child.”

“
Please,” the woman cried. “What do you want with him?”

“
That’s none of your concern.” She released the woman and took the baby from her arms. Immediately the foul thing started to squirm and scream. “The sister is with Doctor Konstantin, no doubt. Where are they?”

“
I don’t know.”

Esme wrapped a hand around the baby’s neck. She didn’t squeeze, but the gesture was enough to alarm the woman.

“
Please!” she cried.

“
I only want to deliver the sweet baby to his sister,” she lied. “I can deliver him alive or dead. It’s up to you.”

“
The old jail house!” she cried. “They went to the old jail house, in the lab downstairs. But I don’t even know if they made it. We don’t even know if they’re still alive!”

That filled Esme with an uncomfortable mix of dread and satisfaction. How sweet would it be if Alek and his pet had already met their demise? Not nearly as sweet as it would be if they were to meet it at her hands, she decided. She hoped she would find them alive.

She hoped she would find Alek alive, at least.

“
Round them up!” she ordered her troops. “We only have a short time before sunup to get them back to the prison. Celine. Edmund. Richard. Come with me.”

FORTY-EIGHT

“
I think this is it.” Alek held up the vial of bright green liquid, seeming to admire the way it glowed in the light of the Bunsen burner.

“
How sure are you?” asked Hannah.

“
Well, we need to test it to be positive, but I went over and over Zach’s calculations and only found one minor error. Otherwise, his formula seemed flawless. Everything I know about chemistry and biology says that this should work.”

Hannah rummaged through Zach’s supplies until she found a sterile syringe. She tore open the plastic it was wrapped in and handed it to Alek. “Here. Load it up.”

He took the syringe from her and filled it with the substance. When he was finished, Hannah took it from him and started undoing her pants.

“
What are you doing?”

“
I think the hip is probably the best injection site, don’t you?”

He grabbed back the syringe. “I thought you were going to give it to one of the rats. You’re not injecting yourself with this.”

“
Alek,” she reached over and grabbed his wrist before he could go waste the vaccine on a rat, “we don’t have time to test it. If you’re that sure it works, then just give it to me.”

“
I can’t be
that
sure
until
it’s tested. And I’ll be damned if I test it on
you.
”

“
I don’t think it really makes a difference at this point. It’s not like I’m planning to go out there and get bit. But I have to get back to Noah, and this place is crawling with shamblers. If that vaccine will increase my chances of getting back to him alive—”

“
You
will
get back to him. I’ll make sure of that. Shooting yourself up with an untested drug isn’t the way. Okay?” He held out the syringe, but he didn’t let her take it until she agreed. “Now, please administer that to one of the rats and place it in isolation while I obtain a sample from Bob. Okay?”

“
Okay,” she said, irritably. They were wasting time with this, and Alek knew it. She understood his caution, but caution took time and that was something they didn’t have. Reluctantly, she approached the rat cage, but stopped when she heard steps pounding down the stairs.

“
Hannah!” someone called from the corridor. “Doc!”

“
Chris?” Hannah called back. “We’re in here!”

He appeared in the cell’s open doorway, panting and doubled over, clearly out of breath. “You… you’re okay,” he said. “We… we heard the explosion…”

“
Explosion?” Alek looked at her. “What explosion?”

“
Long story,” she said. “Chris, what are you doing here? I thought you were still in the storm shelter.”

He shook his head. “We got everyone moved to the old fort. Shamblers are everywhere.”

“
We know. You didn’t have to risk your neck to come and tell us.”

“
That’s not what I came to warn you about,” he said, his breath coming back to him. He stood up straight and looked at Alek. “They’re here.”

“
What?” Alek took a step toward him. “You’re sure?”

“
Some of us snuck out of the fort to get the weapons from the auditorium. We were in there when they arrived. There were probably half a dozen helicopters, and soldiers in black rappelling to the ground. They’re probably already at the fort by now.”

Shocked, Hannah looked from Chris to Alek. “You said they wouldn’t come till tomorrow.”

Alek shook his head. “That’s what they said, but clearly, I was a fool to believe them. But I thought there was no way they could mobilize this quickly. They must have already been planning this.” He let out a derisive bark of laughter. “Damn Esme. They probably would have gotten here even sooner if not for the storm.”

“
Where’s Noah?” Hannah asked Chris.

“
He’s still with my mom. She’s had him all night.”

She looked at Alek, not even trying to disguise the fear she felt. “I have to get to him. Esme… the way she looked at me back at the prison… if she gets him she’ll use him against me.”

“
And she’ll use you both as leverage against me.” He came over and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ll get you back to him.” He retrieved Zach’s pistol and handed it to Hannah. “Keep this,” he said, then turned to Chris. “Do you have a weapon?”