The Tide: Deadrise (13 page)

“Out! Now!” Meredith said. She opened the driver’s side door and leapt out. She rolled and then crawled, desperate to remain unseen by the Goliath. Dom followed. They made it under a parked ambulance. As Meredith drew her boot under the vehicle, the van was lifted off the asphalt. It disappeared out of sight as the tree-trunk legs of the Goliath continued onward.

A second later the van came crashing down, roof-first. Metal screeched. Glass shattered. The Goliath let out a resounding bellow. Meredith could hear the squeals and squawks of smaller Skulls as they were tossed and smashed by the raging Goliath.

She army-crawled out from under the ambulance. Dom’s gunfire near the semi-trailer hadn’t just attracted the Skulls and the hulking Goliath. A chopper was flying low overhead. It shone its spotlight across the swarm. The light illuminated swathes of the creatures, moving in a quick zigzag pattern as if the people in the chopper were looking for something or someone. It didn’t matter to Meredith so long as they didn’t find her or Dom.

“Down this way,” she said. They ran with their rifles cradled. With the Skulls engaged by the choppers, they managed to move undetected the rest of the way down the street. A storefront with aquariums and cages caught Meredith’s eye. They’d finally reached their destination. She played her barrel along the sidewalk, making sure no Skulls were watching her. She and Dom dashed to the store and through a glass door that had long since been broken.

The shop was composed of three aisles. Two tall shelving units stood in the middle of the floor, demarcating these aisles. Meredith and Dom prowled through each to ensure there were no lingering Skulls. As they stepped over spilled dog food and soggy bedding, Meredith scanned the shelves.

“We need to find the fish section,” she said.

Dom gave a subtle nod. They searched until Meredith spotted a shelf filled with yellow containers full of fish food flakes, replacement filters, and a menagerie of figurines and other decorations for aquariums.

“Here!” Meredith lowered her rifle and grabbed a plastic bottle.

Dom examined the label, which was covered with colorful tropical fish. “Fish antibiotics?”

“Yep,” Meredith said. “It’s the same stuff pharmacists give people. Only, the FDA hasn’t cleared it, so they market it for fish.”

“Smart,” Dom said. “Of course people raid the pharmacies and hospitals first, but who goes to check a pet store for antibiotics during the apocalypse?”

“Me.” Meredith couldn’t help the wry grin forming across her face. She and Dom packed up all the antibiotics they found. “Should be enough for Spencer, right?”

“And anyone else who needs it.” Dom indicated his own injury.

“Goddamnit, Dom,” Meredith said. “We need to take care of that.”

“We don’t have time. Better to get further away from the madness out there first.”

“Just let me take a quick look.” Meredith pulled the blood-saturated fabric from his leg. She probed the wound and saw Dom wince slightly. There was a fairly large gash, and Meredith’s heart sank. She wondered if Dom had been ignoring it out of practicality like he’d claimed or if he feared to confront the reality that it might be a Skull-inflicted wound. “You know, we do have a couple of chelation treatments. I think Renee still has them in her pack.”

Dom grimaced. “I know.”

Meredith used her water supply to wash away the congealed blood. There was already a thin layer of pus forming in the wound. “Damnit, Dom,” she said again. “What’d you do to yourself?” She cleaned the wound. A glimmer of something caught her eye. “This is going to hurt.”

She pinched the glimmering object between her fingers and pulled out a shard of glass. Dom cringed, but seemed relieved at the sight of the glass.

“Better than a Skull claw, huh?” he said.

“Yes, but take a couple of those antibiotics. You’ll get an infection if you don’t.”

Dom nodded and unscrewed the cap to one of the plastic bottles. “Looks just like pills for people,” he remarked before swallowing a couple.

“Yep. It’s a poor man’s way to skip the pharmacy.” She finished patching up Dom’s wound with a strip of gauze and then stood. A weak squeaking caught her ears. “Did you hear that?”

Dom’s brow furrowed as he listened intently. Meredith definitely heard the squeaking again. They shouldered their weapons and crept toward the sound. It was coming from the rear of the store. She heard a slight scratching, too. Dom signaled for her to move forward; he’d cover her.

She whipped around the shelf with her rifle at the ready. But nothing jumped out. Nothing growled or swiped at her with deformed claws. The squeaking sounded from a wall lined with aquariums. Most were broken. But two on a middle shelf were still intact, and Meredith swore the noises were coming from within there.

“Mice,” she said, then peered into the neighboring cage. “And rats.”

The small creatures were nothing but flesh and bones. Clumps of fur hung off their pink skin in ragged tufts. They appeared glassy eyed and weak.

Dom lowered his weapon. “Poor things. Their water and food is all out. Can’t believe they’ve lasted this long.” He immediately moved to a nearby shelf and cradled a pile of boxes in his hand. He used his knife to quickly cut them open and poured their contents on the floor. Seeds, nuts, dried carrots, and little brown food blocks spilled everywhere. “Can’t leave these guys to starve.”

He took the tanks down and opened the lids. Gently, he tipped the aquariums over so the small, weak creatures could get to the food. Several mice began nibbling their long-awaited dinner. A rat lapped up water from a nearby puddle. “Now we can go.”

Meredith couldn’t help smiling to herself as they walked to the exit. Even in the death and destruction surrounding them, Dom’s proclivity for saving those who were defenseless—animals and humans alike—shone through.

“You think they actually have a chance?” she asked.

“Might have a better chance than us,” Dom replied. “The damn things are smart, especially rats. Had a couple as pets when the girls were younger. Cuddly animals.”

Meredith shot him a look she knew bordered on disgust, but Dom appeared absolutely serious.

“Seriously, they make great pets.”

They stopped by the front entrance of the store. The distant sound of thumping chopper blades and gunfire continued. Skulls howled louder and, from what Meredith could tell, closer. A small pack of the creatures ran along the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street.

“Glad you saved the little guys, then,” Meredith said. “But now let’s save us.”

***

M
ore gunshots sounded across the property. Kara sprinted to the front of the gift shop and looked through the window. Muzzle flashes exploded beyond the parking lot like pointed lightning strikes.

“You’re sure it’s not the Hunters?” Kara asked.

“Absolutely,” Adam said. “Last time I heard from Miguel, they were near Alexandria. That wasn’t more than a few minutes ago.”

Maggie stood next to Kara. The fur bristled along her haunches, and she growled, baring her canines.

“It’s okay, girl,” Sadie said, petting the dog. “We’re safe inside.”

Kara wished that was true. While it might be harder for Skulls to find them, people would have no issues getting into the restaurant and gift shop. Whatever trouble they’d run into out there could follow them in.

“Do you think these people need our help?” Navid asked. He hovered near where the group had placed their weapons.

Kara admired the young scientist’s philanthropic thinking. But she wasn’t sure charging out into the night during a firefight was such a great idea. After all, Adam was the only one with military training, Navid had hardly any firearms experience, Sadie wasn’t even a teenager, and Maggie had already gotten herself into more trouble today than Kara would’ve liked. She went to the group’s packs and grabbed a pair of night-vision binoculars. Adjusting their focus, she scanned the parking lot and the trees that lined it. There was movement where she’d seen the gunfire. Shapes bled out of the shadows and into the moonlit parking lot. Dozens of them. But they weren’t hunched over like the Skulls. No strange protrusions jutted from their arms or shoulders or spines. They walked calmly, not like a group that had just been in a gunfight.

Adam joined her with a pair of his own binoculars. “What in the hell’s going on?”

“Don’t know.”

She could see the people now even without the binos. They each carried a long gun, and they were circled around something. Kara’s stomach twisted when she saw what it was. A live Skull. Probably no more than four and a half feet tall, it had short horns curling from its forehead. It only had one arm. That arm ended in the characteristic scything claws Kara knew could slice through flesh with ease, but now it looked pathetic. The small monster wailed and ran at one man. He kicked the Skull in the face, and Kara thought it looked like he was laughing at the creature. He leveled his gun and fired.

The shotgun blast resounded. The Skull reeled and fell. Its remaining arm had been blown off. The monster fell to its knees. Another man kicked it from behind. He aimed then fired. The Skull tried to stand but failed again. Its right leg was devastated, hanging off by only a few sinews. Then one man stepped forward and stomped hard with his boot. His foot landed against the back of the Skull’s head. He ground the monster’s face into the asphalt until its flailing stopped. Kara thought she heard laughter coming from the group.

They turned away from the dead Skull and started walking again. The group drew nearer. They carried their guns lazily over their shoulders. Most wore camouflage that looked like it had been purchased at an Army surplus store. Several had long beards, and others sported backward baseball caps.

“Are they military?” Sadie asked.

“If they were, I doubt they are now,” Adam said.

The men used the stocks of their weapons to break the windows of the cars and trucks. They scoured the vehicles for a couple of minutes before turning their sights to the ticketing booths at the entrance to the Mt. Vernon estate.

“Who are they?” Sadie asked.

“Hard to say,” Adam said. “But I don’t think we want to wait around to ask. Grab your stuff and let’s go.”

Kara headed toward her things. Her heart was pounding as she watched Sadie grab a duffel bag with her belongings. If the men were going through the normal tourist entrance, they might have an extra five, ten minutes before they reached the gift shop. She bent to pick up her rifle.

Something creaked outside. A man was leaning against one of the windows to the gift shop, his hands pressed on the glass. He peered inside.

“Down, everyone!” Kara hissed. Navid, Sadie, and Adam immediately dropped.

But Maggie, ever vigilant, began barking. The man yelled something, and more footsteps sounded, headed in their direction.

––––––––

D
om ran from the entrance of the pet store. A pair of trailing footsteps told him Meredith was close behind. They would head west a block or so to avoid the probing helicopters and swarming Skulls. Acrid smoke, carried by the wind, stung his nostrils. The odor was complemented by the distinct smell of burning flesh.

He continued on, his thoughts turning toward his daughters, the Hunters, and the
Huntress
. Just a bit further and they’d be free from the Joint Force Base’s reach and away from the dense urban sprawl. He took a hard left and followed a different alley than before. This one was narrower, barely wide enough to fit a compact car. A dumpster took up most of the path in front of him. He sucked in his stomach and pushed past it.

A swishing sound immediately followed. He instinctively ducked, and bony claws scraped against the brick wall. The Skull hissed at him, and Dom used his rifle to shove it into the opposite wall. The monster bit and struggled against his grip. He parried the creature’s attacks with his rifle. Bone rang out hollowly against metal. His back was pressed against the wall as the creature struck out more violently. A heavy bash from his rifle stock knocked the Skull’s jaw askew, and he followed up with another strike that caught the side of the Skull’s head. Its temple collided with the wall. Blood trickled from the wound, and Dom delivered a finishing blow that laid it flat.

Meredith squeezed between the dumpster and the alley wall. “Damn, you could’ve waited for me.”

They carried on jogging south, pausing briefly at a stoop with a recessed doorway. Two Skulls had their faces buried in something wet and glistening. No doubt a body. One scooped out a handful of ropey organs. It shoveled the gore into its mouth and slurped it up in a disgusting display of poor table manners.

Dom lowered his rifle, and Meredith arched an eyebrow in response.

“They’re focused on food,” Dom said. “No need to waste ammo or attract any more.”

Meredith nodded and slung her SCAR-H over her shoulder. She took out a knife.

“You take the left,” Dom said. They crept down the alley like stalking tigers, staying low and quiet. They paused near an overturned trash can. Dom counted down with his fingers.

Three.

Two.

One.

They leapt in tandem. Meredith’s blade flashed and then plunged into her target’s eye. The blow wasn’t immediately fatal, and she dug the knife deeper until the Skull’s movements ceased. Dom twisted the other Skull’s neck until it snapped. Bone fragments chipped off, and he dropped the dead creature in the pile of blood and guts it had been feasting on.

“Nice work,” Dom said. “Deadly as ever.”

“Not so bad yourself,” Meredith replied.

Even now, covered in blood and dirt, Meredith was magnificent. He had to admire her prowess and the fierce gleam in her eyes as she retrieved her knife and wiped it clean on her fatigues. They’d worked well together, executing the strike flawlessly. A feeling of victory coursed through him, but he vowed not to let his confidence get the better of him.

They pushed their way past another heap of torn garbage bags. The end of the alley was in sight. Shadows cast by flickering fires played along the walls, while all around the monsters screamed and wailed. Dom approached the alley’s exit slowly. His finger hovered next to his trigger guard, and the stock of his rifle was pressed snugly against his shoulder. With one deliberate, careful step after another, he prowled forward. He heard Meredith adjust her pace behind him, matching his stride.