Green Ice: A Deadly High (27 page)

Mancini gritted his teeth and jerked the wooden pole from the ground, grunting with exertion. He was
briefly and pleasantly surprised when he noticed the pole was tapered to a point at the end that had been buried in the ground. The two males rushed at him quickly, Quiffed guy to his left and the one with blond streaks to the right.

Mancini braced himself
with his back towards the fence, twirling the pole in his hands and holding it like a spear with the sharp end pointing at his assailants. Quiffed guy approached first and Mancini hollered in defiance as he jabbed the tapered end of the pole through the guy’s open mouth with as much force as he could muster.

The pole skewered through the
quiffed guy’s brain and shattered the back of the skull. Covered in blood and brain matter, the spike briefly protruded out through the back of the attacker’s head. Mancini knew he didn’t have time to congratulate himself on dispatching the first of the ghouls. He still had another two to deal with.

Mancini wrenched the fence pole backward from the youth’s head and the body dropped to the ground in a twitching heap.
The kid with the blond streaks was quickly all over Mancini before he had time to adjust his stance. Mancini rocked backward under the onrushing weight of his attacker. He held the pole in a horizontal position a few inches from his chest. The infected guy snaffled the air between them and clawed at Mancini’s face. Mancini raised the pole to protect himself, leaning back into the bending wire fence behind him. He knew if he didn’t react quickly, the pair of them would topple over the fence and land on the dusty ground behind them. Worse cased scenario was Mancini would then have to fend off his attacker, while laying on his back and hope the female didn’t yank herself free to join in the assault.

Mancini gritted his teeth and twisted at the waist, smashing the end of the pole into his attacker’s face. The infected guy lumbered backwards
under the force of the blow, which allowed Mancini a split second to alter his stance. He rolled the pole in his hands, jabbing the sharp end with force at his aggressor. The tapered point rammed into the infected youth’s right eye socket, producing a sickening squelching sound. A combination of blood and a black jelly like substance squirted in a jet from the guy’s wrecked eyeball.

The female screeched, still attempting to tug her arms and body
free from the constraints of the fence. The wire sliced through her flesh every time she jerked herself backwards against the metal strips.

Mancini pulled the pole from the infected man’s skull and watched his immobile body sag to the ground. He allowed himself a couple of seconds to regain his composure and his breath before he turned towards the female.
She roared and gnashed her teeth as Mancini cautiously approached her. He held the pole out in front of him, aiming the tapered end at the girl’s face. He delivered one thrusting jab, piercing the woman’s left eyeball and putting an end to her shrieks.

The battle in the alleyway was an interlude Mancini could have done without. He guessed Jorge was already
back at the garage by now, probably loading the VW with the holdalls full of money from the Thunderbird. He had to get back to the garage before Jorge took off again.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The hollow thumps and bangs on the sliding doors ceased and Sonny, Trey and Leticia glanced around when they heard the sound of a rattling vehicle engine approach from somewhere outside.

“Somebody is coming this way,” Leticia hissed.

“We better see who the hell it is,” Trey muttered, staring at Sonny. “It could be the cops.”

Sonny drew his Beretta and in a hunched stance, edging towards the windows but ensuring he kept out of sight from the street beyond. He hunkered down behind the door panels and took a peek through the window onto the street.

“It’s some guy in a beat up old Beetle,” he hissed. “Looks like one
of those guys you were with earlier.”

“Which one?”
Trey asked, cautiously making his way over to the front door.

“Stay out of sight,” Sonny warned. “The street is still full of those crazy bastards out there.”

Trey nodded and crept to the door, positioning himself alongside Sonny. He craned his neck and took a look out onto the main street. The dark blue VW approached, sending up plumes of sandy dust in its wake. Trey could clearly see Jorge behind the wheel with a steely expression of determination on his face.

“What the hell is he doing?” Trey muttered.

He watched Jorge scanning the front of the garage, searching for the Thunderbird. At least two dozen infected people milled around the sidewalks and in the center of the road. A couple of them ran to meet the VW head on. The expression on Jorge’s face changed to one of panic when he realized the Thunderbird was gone.

“Looks like he found an escape vehicle and came back to fetch you,” Sonny whispered. “Aw, that’s really sweet of him.”

Trey wondered why Mancini wasn’t with him and hoped he hadn’t been infected. Jorge nudged the onrushing attackers out of his path, carefully ensuring he didn’t hit them head on. Instead, he bumped them out of the way with the side wings. As the VW drew closer, Trey noticed the firearm in Jorge’s hand and then it dawned on him that Jorge had only returned to try and grab the money in the Thunderbird’s trunk before attempting a getaway.

“He’ll be overrun in no time unless he high tails it out of here,” Sonny
snickered. “Those fuckers will be all over that car in a few seconds. I’ve seen it happen, man.”

“What are we going to do?” Trey asked. “Just sit here and watch him get ripped to pieces?” He knew they needed Jorge alive. The alternative was to go home empty handed without the money and without the crystals.

Sonny thought for a moment. “He could be the decoy we need to get out of here in the T-Bird,” he said. “I just need to top the radiator with water and we’re good to go.” He shuffled back towards the Thunderbird’s open trunk and searched the racks for a water jug.

Trey
knew he had to quickly think of a plan to save Jorge. He glanced out of the window again and saw the VW loop around the center of the main street in a tight circle. Jorge held a cell phone to the side of his head and he looked absolutely terrified. Trey wondered who he was calling then remembered Jorge’s cell phone was broken. If he had Mancini’s handgun, he probably also had his phone.

Trey turned around and saw Sonny pouring water from a bottle into the radiator compartment in the engine. He scurried over to the front of the Thunderbird.

“Maybe I should call the guy out there. I’ve seen him on a cell phone,” Trey said. “He may be trying to call me. We can synchronize an escape plan or some shit. I can call him if you give me my phone back.”

Sonny poured the remainder of the water bottle into the radiator in silence, mulling over Trey’s suggestion. He was originally planning on leaving Leticia and Trey inside the garage once he’d got the Thunderbird up and running. Once Trey had opened the sliding doors and he was out on the road, he was planning on putting his foot hard on the gas and getting the hell out of town. Now the crazy gang was meandering out front, he’d have to change his schedule a little. But the kid’s
proposal may work, with a few alterations.

Sonny tossed the water bottle aside then drew his Beretta and pulled out Trey’s cell phone. He aimed the firearm at Leticia, who gasped in fright. “Okay, but if you try to warn him off in any way, I’ll shoot your girlfriend in the face and then I’ll shoot you. Got that?”

Trey gulped and nodded as Sonny handed him his phone.

Mancini had been right in his thinking. The alleyway did lead back onto the main street but the situation had unexpectedly twisted since he’d left the scene. He still gripped hold of the wooden fence pole, while he crouched in the shadows at the mouth of the alley, beside a darkened shoe store. His vantage point was roughly twenty-five yards from the garage but the scene seemed totally surreal. Jorge circled around the center of the main street with gathering speed in the VW and the broken down Thunderbird had somehow disappeared, along with Trey and Leticia. Jorge was flanked on all sides by a horde of infected, who battered the sides of the Beetle as it swirled around in the dust, causing sand clouds to billow on either side. Some of the contaminated fed on the dead body of the guy, still lying in front of the garage.

“What the fuck is going on?” Mancini muttered to himself.

Trey glanced nervously at Leticia as he
hastily dialed Mancini’s number on his cell phone. A voice told him his call couldn’t be connected after hearing an elongated bleep. He had the call on speaker so Sonny could hear the conversation.

“Come on, come on, he’s right fucking there outside,” he seethed and tried the number again.
The phone rang on the second call.

“Where the hell are you?” Jorge screeched. His voice was slightly distorted with the
elevated volume of his tone.

Trey flashed Sonny a brief glance. “I don’t have time to go into detail right now but we’re trapped inside the garage and we need you to get those goons out the way so we can get out of here, man.”

“You still got the money?”

Trey gulped. He hoped Sonny hadn’t understood what Jorge had said. “Can you give us a diversion, man?
Yes or no?”

“What do you want me to do?”

Trey brushed his hand through his hair. “I don’t know, man. Just drive around a few blocks, make sure they follow you. You outrun them and make your way back here. By that time, we should have the T-Bird fired up and ready to go.”

“All right, I
can do that. But make sure you wait for me.”

“Where the hell is Mancini anyhow? I can see you from the window. You’ve got his gun and his phone, so where is he?”

“Err…we got jumped,” Jorge stammered. “He didn’t make it.”

“But you managed to get his gun and his phone off him?”
Trey knew Jorge was bullshitting but he didn’t have much time to discover the truth.

“Listen, I’m going to circle around the block and you better be ready to roll by the time I get back,” Jorge snapped and cut the phone connection. He steered the Beetle back into a straightforward direction and headed south. Jorge took a side street to his right, hoping not to run into Mancini as he sped away from the following infected horde.   

Sonny made a few minor adjustments on the water hoses and closed the hood cover. “Okay, let’s roll.” He jabbed the gun barrel at Trey. “What was that about money? What did that guy mean?”

“Ah, he lost his wallet and he’s got no cash on him. He wanted to borrow some greenbacks.”
Trey hoped his lies sounded convincing as he handed the phone back to Sonny.

“Open the doors once the engine starts,” Sonny instructed
, jumping into the Thunderbird’s driver’s seat. He knew Trey was covering up by the shifty expression on his face. Something about this crowd didn’t quite add up and now Trey had clammed up at the mention of money. Sonny planned to find out what was going on, so he was going to play along and help Trey and his companions escape from the infested town. Once they were back on the open and deserted highway, he intended to discover exactly what was occurring.     

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Mancini observed Jorge circle around once more before tearing off into the distance. He took a right turn and disappeared down a side street in the VW. The infected gave chase, snarling and clawing the air as they pursued the vehicle. Why was Jorge suddenly fleeing the scene so quickly?

He waited a beat for the last of the contaminated ghouls to withdraw into the distance before he emerged from his hiding place in the alleyway. Mancini stopped in his tracks and hunkered down in the shadows when he heard the garage’s doors sliding open. An engine roared, echoing inside the garage interior and the Thunderbird, driven by a rough looking guy reversed out onto the street. Mancini wondered who the hell the guy was then recognized Trey and Leticia as they sprinted from the garage towards the Thunderbird. Maybe the unknown guy was the garage owner or a mechanic and he’d managed to fix up the car after all. The T-Bird certainly sounded like it was running better even though the dents and broken lights were still apparent.

Mancini had to reach the vehicle before they sped off without noticing him. He didn’t want to holler in case the infected heard him and returned, cutting off their escape route. Besides, more contaminated people surely lurked in the vicinity, ready to pounce. The Thunderbird’s engine was loud and
probably could be heard from several streets away.

Mancini broke from his cover and rushed towards the Thunderbird, waving the fence pole above his head in an attempt to get
himself noticed.

Trey and Leticia hurriedly clambered into the car interior. Mancini realized they hadn’t noticed him approaching.

“Hey, wait up,” he shouted, deciding he had to risk blowing his unobserved position.

Sonny heard somebody shout and snapped his head around to the source of the voice. He saw a scruffy guy wearing sunshades, running towards the vehicle, holding what looked like a blood stained shaft above his head.

“The crazy fuckers are coming. Where the hell is your pal in the Beetle?” He aimed his Beretta at the approaching figure and fired two shots.

“What the fuck?” Mancini barked
, before he hit the deck. He heard the double crack of a firearm and heard two rounds zip either side of him.

The erratic wind whipped through the town center once again, showering the main street in a cloud of sand and partially covering Mancini as he lay on the ground.

“What the hell was that?” Trey shouted, shielding his eyes from the blowing sand. “Who were you shooting at?”

“One of those crazy
heads was coming close,” Sonny yelled. “I think I got the bastard but they’ll be others on their way, soon enough.” He turned his attention back to the road ahead. “Where the hell is this guy of yours?”

Trey and Sonny both directed their attention to another side street to their right. They first heard a roaring engine before the blue VW Beetle hurtled
onto the main street, fishtailing and skidding on braking wheels. At least a dozen infected personnel gave chase behind the VW, running full pelt, with more stragglers behind, hobbling on chewed and injured legs. 

“There he is,” Trey yelled.

“All right, let’s go,” Sonny said, hammering his foot down on the gas pedal.

Jorge righted the VW and glanced in his rear view mirror. He saw several infected still after him but thankfully so too, the red Thunderbird, emerging from the swirling dust. He accelerated harder, heading for the outskirts of the town.

Sonny dodged the infected in the road but they continued to give chase. The ghouls who ran alongside the car on the sidewalk soon began to drop behind.

Mancini heard the engine sounds receding and lifted his head slightly. He saw both cars drawing further away before they were swallowed up in the churning dust cloud. He heard the snarls and shrieks of the infected and knew he had to find some cover before he was
spotted; he had to get off the street. Trey hadn’t closed the garage doors after the Thunderbird had reversed out onto the road. He might be safe for a while inside the building if he could shut the sliding doors before the infected were on top of him.

Patting the ground beside him, Mancini felt the wooden pole and gripped it with his right hand. The damn fence pole wasn’t much of a weapon but it was all he had for now. He used the stick to push himself up, again feeling a dull ache in his knee, caused by the fall in the house
hallway.

The grunts and growls of the infected,
who had become disorientated by the dust cloud reverberated through the main street. Mancini had to get to the garage before they caught his scent. He hurried along the center of the road and saw the gaping garage door a few yards in front of him. Running footfalls behind him alerted his senses and he put an extra spurt of energy into his own effort.