Riposte (The Redivivus Trilogy Book 2) (28 page)

After a couple of seconds passed, and still she felt no pain, her eyes slowly opened. What she saw proved more alarming than anything else she had seen in this messed-up apocalyptic wasteland. A dark blur, like that of some lycanthropic beast, leapt toward the gunman’s blind side. The ferocious snarl drew the man’s attention, causing him to shift his aim from Lin to the feral sound bearing down upon him. A single shot rang out from his rifle, but he was unable to raise the barrel up to the monster in time. The round punched through the car door directly in front of him, as the vicious creature slammed into him. The gunman was knocked to the ground and thoroughly mauled by the beast. The growls, mixed with the sound of rending flesh and the agonal shrieks of pain, left Lin feeling paralyzed. Despite the fact that the victim had been mere seconds away from ending her life, the voracity of the attack appalled her.
Nobody deserves to die such a brutal death—not even scum like him.

“Charon, protect!”

Lin heard the unmistakable sound of a person’s voice coming from the same direction the beast had. While she could not make out exactly what was said, two things happened that frightened her to the core. Upon hearing the person’s voice, the beast broke into a full sprint, heading directly for her. With its massive body out of the way, she saw the last gunman racing to the spot where the man had been mauled to death. The hairy monster lunged at Lin, knocking her to the ground just as a shot rang out from Garza’s M4.

Scrambling back, Lin stared helplessly at the animal’s bloodstained maw as it fixed her with its intense eyes. Its growls of exertion quickly fizzled out, dying in its throat only to be replaced by a soft, unmistakable whimper. The stark counterpoint to the wolfish display she just witnessed was so great, Lin wondered if the tiny sound came from one of the gunmen bleeding out on the ground beyond. Only when the animal opened its jaws wide, licked its drooping jowls, and began panting did Lin finally see the thing for what it was—a dog. At that moment, Garza and Montes appeared by her side, looking as bewildered as Lin as they stared at the imposing animal.

The big dog stood nearly three feet tall from the ground to the top of its formidable head. Its pink tongue, red-tinged with blood from the recent kill, lolled playfully out of its rectangular muzzle as though waiting for its owner to toss it a ball. Despite its seemingly nonchalant demeanor, its powerful, well-muscled body remained poised and ready to pounce at a moment’s notice. The dog’s blue coat, adorned with faint white patches on its toes and chin, bristled with energy. When the dog sat back on its haunches, it displayed a striking white mark in the shape of a sword on its chest, the tip of which ended just under its jaw. Despite the growing sound of the infected closing in from behind the huge dog, none of them dared move a muscle for fear of eliciting the animal’s wrath.

“Charon, come!”

Without batting an eye, the dog vaulted to its feet, turning on a dime as it did. It covered the distance to the figure crouching behind one of the parked cars faster than one would have thought possible given the animal’s substantial size. Its hackles went up immediately, and it let out a deep, menacing snarl as several of the infected approached the pair.

“Charon, follow!”

The figure stood and started across to the other side of the road, the dog following closely behind.

Lin gasped, “It’s a boy! That dog is with a young boy!”

“Lucky boy,” Garza said, as he drew a bead on the closest of the infected.

He fired four shots, and four of the infected went down. A split second later, the boy came running through the gap directly toward them. The reason for the boy’s change of heart became immediately apparent when the sound of the dog engaged in a fierce scuffle erupted behind him. Another group of infected had cut them off, forcing the hasty retreat.

Advancing, Garza yelled, “Kid! Get down!” As the boy threw himself to the ground, Garza and Montes took out the remaining infected not yet dispatched by the dog.

Lin ran to the boy while the soldiers kept their weapons trained on the horde of infected in the distance. While they were still far enough away that they did not pose an immediate threat, they had definitely taken notice of the noise and were steadily shambling toward them.

“We need to move now! And we need to get some quieter weapons!” Garza said.

Reaching for his arms, Lin helped the boy up despite his being nearly as tall as she. “Come with us!” she said. “We need to get away from here.”

“Wait! My Dog!” the boy cried, as he turned to look for his faithful companion. “Charon, come!”

Bounding out of the shadows, the dog seemed to materialize out of thin air. In just a few long strides he was by their side. His hair was so matted with blood and gore that it gave his coat a brindled appearance.

“Good boy, Charon! Man, do you need a bath!” the boy said as he nuzzled the dog’s enormous, slavering muzzle. He did not seem to notice the rotting, yeasty pannus and hot dog shit smell that made the normal wet dog odor seem like top-shelf cologne.

Lin’s stomach roiled at the thought of being that close to the dog, even though it had saved her life.
I guess a boy loves his dog…

Rushing past them, Garza scanned the area with his weapon at the ready. “Let’s go!”

“Wait! This way. I know a safe place,” the boy said as he grabbed Lin by the hand and pulled her toward a narrow alley to the left of the street.

Garza turned to Montes, who shrugged before falling in behind them. The tight confines of the alleyway made Garza extremely nervous. With tall buildings on each side, there were only two ways in or out so it wouldn’t take much to box them in. Garza pushed ahead, trying to catch up to Lin and the boy.

The big dog was virtually silent as it ran alongside the pair. When they reached the cross street, the boy ground to a halt and pulled Lin down behind a small dumpster. After another step, Garza saw the reason for their action. A group of eight infected staggered across the road less than a block away, presumably still moving toward the sound of the gunfire and the ambush. The boy held a finger to his mouth, signaling both Lin and the dog to remain quiet. He kept his eyes on the ragged group as they continued their relentless procession. The moment they were out of sight, he stood and darted across the street into the alley on the other side, with Lin in tow. “Almost there, just a couple more blocks,” the boy said in a low whisper.

They moved in this manner for the next two blocks, cautiously avoiding the scattered infected they encountered along the way. They saw no uninfected humans. When they reached the end of the last alley, the boy pointed to a small mom and pop grocery store with all of its windows smashed on the opposite side of the street. The store’s interior was dark and foreboding, giving Garza serious reservations about heading into the building. Sensing the soldier’s apprehension, the boy said in a low whisper, “No, it’s behind the store.”

After ensuring the coast was clear, they rushed across the street and slipped around to the back of the small grocery. A rusty metal staircase that led up to an equally rusty door was fixed to the rear of the building. The paint flaked off the dented door revealing various previous colors beneath, camouflaging it against the weathered walls of the building.

As the boy tiptoed up the staircase, Garza saw why the room above the store had fared so much better than the store below.
If anyone even saw the old door, nothing about it would make you want to check it out.

The boy pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked the door. As soon as they were all safely inside, he closed and bolted it from the inside. For a moment, all was quiet within the dim room until Lin asked, “What is this place?”

“It’s the storeroom for the grocery downstairs. It belongs to Bobby’s parents. That’s how I knew where to find the key. I came here after I went to Bobby’s house and no one was there. I was hoping they would show up, but I don’t think they will anymore,” the boy said pensively.

“What’s your name?” Lin asked.

“Anthony. Anthony Obol. Most people just call me Ant,” the boy replied shyly.

“Well, Anthony. It’s good to meet you. My name is Lin San, and this is General Montes and Sergeant Garza. The General and I are from Brazil, and Sergeant Garza is with the U.S. military.”

“Nice to meet you all,” Anthony said. “Thanks for helping me back there.”

Stepping forward, General Montes extended his hand, and said, “No, son, thank you. If it weren’t for you and your dog I’m not sure we would have made it out of there.”

“Charon has kept me alive so far. I know I wouldn’t have made it without him. He’s an amazing dog,” Anthony said.

“That he is. What kind of dog is he?” Garza asked.

“He’s a corso. He was my father’s dog before…you know.”

They had all seen it before, the way the boy’s eyes dropped toward the floor as his voice trailed off, and it told them everything they needed to know.

“How old are you, Anthony?” Lin asked.

“I’m thirteen—almost fourteen,” Anthony said.

“And it’s just you and Charon?” Lin asked.

Anthony nodded, and said, “We’ve been here since the start of all this. I didn’t know what was going on but after seeing what happened to my family, as well as everything else going on in the city, I knew it wasn’t safe to be out there. My parents always told me that if I ever needed anything and couldn’t reach them, I should go to the Murdock’s house. That’s my friend Bobby’s house. When they weren’t home, I came here, but the store had already been robbed and no one was here either.”

Lin saw the pain in Anthony’s eyes, and even though she had no kids of her own, she felt a strong motherly urge to comfort him. Despite the massive dog lying next to him, his keen eyes locked on the three newcomers, Lin took a chance and moved toward the boy. The dog did not react as she wrapped him in a hug, and said, “I’m so sorry, Anthony. I can’t imagine how hard it’s been for you all alone here.” A sloppy, malodorous tongue slurped across Lin’s cheek, reminding her that he was not alone. Despite Charon’s overpowering breath that reeked of hot death, she couldn’t help but giggle as the tongue’s coarse texture tickled her skin. Scratching the dog’s head, she added, “I know, you’ve been here with him the whole time.” The dog let out a small bark, as if in appreciation of the acknowledgement.

As his eyes adjusted to the low light, Garza glanced around the small, but reasonably well-stocked storeroom, taking a mental tally of the resources at their disposal. Illuminated only by the meager light filtering in through the two dirty skylights, the windowless room was dim even at high noon. With night fast approaching, Garza found it difficult to see much farther than an arm’s length in front of him. In one corner he saw a makeshift pallet fashioned out of paper, bubble wrap, and an old tarp. Shelves containing surplus dry goods and other overstock from the store below occupied the majority of the remaining space. Canned goods, toiletries, basic medicine, and bottled water were among the items that caught his eye. Although useless without electricity, an old refrigerator stood against the wall opposite the boy’s sleeping quarters. Just as he was about to give up his inspections due to the darkness settling into the room, he heard a soft click as a beam of yellow light flooded the area.

“Here you go, sir,” Anthony said. “I have to use the flashlights at night since the power’s off. It’s too creepy in here when it’s pitch black.”

With a broad smile, Garza asked, “You have more of these?”

“A few, and a lot of batteries for them over there on the second shelf,” Anthony replied, pointing to the far wall.

General Montes spoke up, saying, “I think we should stay here for the night. I’m not keen on travelling through the city on foot in the dark, and we’ll have a better chance of finding transportation in the daylight.”

Knowing that was the safest course of action, Garza and Lin nodded in agreement despite the rank smell concentrated in the room.

“I don’t suppose either of those skylights open, do they?” Garza asked as he tried discretely to cover his nose with his sleeve.

“I’m not sure, why?” Anthony asked.

“Oh. It might get stuffy in here with the four of us and Charon, that’s all. Plus, I haven’t had a shower for days and would hate to subject any of you to that,” Garza said, as he flashed a small grin at Lin.

“Huh? Oh, the smell. That’s okay. I have amosnia,” Anthony replied as though that should put the soldier’s mind at ease.

Garza stared in confusion, while Lin chuckled and shook her head. “How did it happen?” she asked, “Do you remember?”

“Yes, ma’am. I had the flu real bad when I was nine years old, and I’ve been that way ever since,” Anthony said.

Still confused, Garza asked, “Okay, anybody care to fill me in here? When did
what
happen?”

Anthony looked to Lin for help, so she explained it to the others, “He suffers from anosmia—he can’t smell anything. His smell nerves were damaged by an infection with the flu virus.”

Anthony looked at Garza, as if saying,
that’s what I just told you
. At that moment, Garza found himself a little jealous of the fact that the boy was immune to the noxious odor filling the confined space.
It must be nice not to have to smell the infected every time they are near.
When he considered how many times their awful smell had warned him of the close proximity of the infected, the thought caused his blood to run cold.
Holy shit! How is that boy still alive? With that kind of disability, he might have no idea the infected were near until they were right on top of him.