They Walk (43 page)

Gabe looks at him, like he just asked the most ridiculous question, and for the life of me I don’t know why.

“
That’s not the problem, it’s that there are a lot more dead here. The grenade will only take out half, and we’d have to shoot the rest and move at the same time. We’re not all at our best though, and I don’t know if we can make it.”

He finishes with his head lowered, and I know right away it kills him inside to even have to admit defeat. My dad though seems to get furious now, and advances on him.

“
You listen to me Gabriel, we can’t stay here. We only have this one chance, and we need you to focus. Can you do that?”

Gabe looks up at him, and his eyes are wider than usual, and I have the feeling he is trying not to let tears form in his eyes. Good luck with that, I’ve never had the choice. But he nods his head, and my dad claps him on the shoulder. During this, my mom had leaned onto a little more, so that her head is resting on my shoulder. She lifts it up all of a sudden though, and tries to give me her best resolve face.

“
Maggie, I can’t go out there. Just let me lay down and I’ll stay.” Her voice is so quiet, that I almost don’t hear her over the moans and groans of the dead.

When I do hear I turn to her the best I can while holding her and shake my head no back and forth.

“
Don’t even think like that mom, no one is staying behind. We’ll be at the car soon, and you can rest then I swear it.”

She doesn’t seem to hear me though, and she begins crying and shaking more than before. Her head lolls to the side, and she hangs heavy in my arms. We can’t stand here talking about what we should do we should just freaking do it.

“
Can we go now please?” I call out to Gabe and my dad.

Gabe nods and digs into his satchel again for another grenade, while my dad comes back over to me and my mom. Once he has the grenade in his palm, he gives us all a quick look.

“
Once it goes off, we have to get by them all as fast as we can. This will be our only chance, and we can use this as a cover. Stay close.”

He finishes while giving me a very intense look, like he in just telling me to stay close.

I’m okay with that, trust me. My dad takes a step to the side now, and raises his gun to get ready, while I hold tighter to my mom and raise the ax as best I can. Gabe, steps right up close to the fence and when he pulls the clip out with ease, the dead are already trying to reach for him. Clip free now, Gabe swings his arm back and around and lets the grenade fly over the fence and into the masses. I can feel the explosion before I hear it, and the ground shakes with the booming shock of it. Then it’s all arms and legs and other body pieces when it finally expands.

We do everything we can to not fall onto our buts from the pressure.

During the middle of it, Gabe swings open the fence.

Even while they burn and crash around one another, the ones still standing don’t hesitate to rush at us. But we’re running now, and I can hear my dad and Gabe both already firing their guns into them. I don’t stop to see if the dead are getting close or not, I just keep moving and not let my mother fall from my arms. There are body pieces all over the ground, and it takes us longer to reach the end of the alley than I’d like. But eventually we do, and thank goodness that the car is still sitting in the road in one piece. I’m so happy to see it that I let myself relax, and I instantly regret it, as my mother gets heaver and I struggle to move.

Gritting my teeth I force my legs to carry us a little further.

We are full out running now, and I have no idea how I am manage that, but I don’t stop to figure it out. I’m now in the front and I can’t see Gabe, but I do hear the sound of two guns going off and it seems close. Praying they are both alright, I finally reach the side of the car and I bring us to an abrupt stop that leaves me gasping for breath along with my mother.

Quickly, I swing the ax up on the hood and when I have a free hand I open the backseat door as fast as I can. The gunfire sounds are getting closer, and so are the many sounds of pattering feet. Ignoring the fact that we might be getting surrounded, I manage to get the door open while never letting go of my mom, who by the way has gone very still. I take her in both of my arms now, and lower her into the backseat.

She falls limply inside.

I’m about to maneuver her legs around so that she is sitting up, when I feel something behind me.

Holding my breath, I start to reach for one of the knives in my ankle holster while turning around at the same time. A heavy hand touches my shoulder before I turn the whole way, and when I hear the sound of a gun right next to me, I know it’s my dad.

Sure enough, with a quick glance I see that it is him.

Finally lifting my mother’s legs into the car, I notice too that Gabe is on the other side of the car firing his gun. Feeling relieved that we are all relatively alright I slam the car door closed and reach for the ax at the same time. Turing around with the ax in my arms raised high and I realize that there are still more of the dead than I knew. How Gabe and my dad have kept them from attacking us I have no idea. It doesn’t even seem that the grenade even put a dent into them or maybe the sound of it drew others from around closer.

Whatever the cause may be, there are too many of them for us to be lollygagging around.

“
Dad get in with mom, I’ll cover you. Hurry!”

He nods rapidly and after shooting the gun one more time into an older woman with rollers still him her charred hair, he opens the car door and climbs in over my mother. I slam the door after him, and with the feel of Gabe’s bullets whooshing past me, I rush to the passenger door. Surprisingly, I don’t have to use the ax once and before I know it I’m sliding into the seat and slamming the door behind me. In a fast move, Gabe opens his door and jumps inside in the driver’s seat. He is just slamming the door, when he is already trying to start the car.

I can see the dead getting closer out of the window.

It’s a matter of time before we are surrounded and have no chance of driving anywhere.

In the backseat I can hear my mother crying in pain, and my father joins her in her tears. Gabe is struggling to get the keys into the keyhole with his shaking fingers. Out of the corner of my eyes, I see something on the floorboard next to my feet. Gabe must have swung it inside when he got it, because it is his satchel.

Before I think about it being a bad idea, I reach into the bag and pull out a grenade. No one pays me any attention as I roll down the window, and when I finally hear Gabe start the car, I pull out the clip. Gabe turns to me with wide eyes when I toss it out of the window. He instantly slams on the accelerator and we all get thrown back into our seats as we rush forward at breakneck speed.

That’s when the explosion hits.

Chapter Seventy Four

With the feel of the earth quaking for the third time that day, we drive away from the open alley of the school and from the dead that are now exploded into tiny body parts. I sit back in the seat, and for the life of me, I don’t feel anything at all. My clothes are drenched in sweat and my mother’s blood, but that is the only thing I feel. I don’t know why, maybe I’m just numb or something.

All I know for certain is that we better find what we are looking for.

The sky is already getting darker by the time Gabe pulls up in front of the City Hall building that is just down the road, and I can’t help to see that there are more dead wandering the streets here. More importantly, the dead seem to be stationed at the front steps of the entrance, almost like there were people outside not that long ago. This makes me thrilled that maybe they are all safe here. The street is full of empty cars, and I really hope some of them belong from the people at the apartments.

When Gabe turns off the car and just sits there quietly gazing out the window, I follow his gaze and stare at the City Hall that I’ve never really been to before. It’s a good sizes building I suppose, sitting on maybe two acres or more, and it has that old time feel to it. Like maybe it would look more normal if it were sitting in the early 1900’s and not right now, though it was probably first built at that time. Why I am so set on figuring out the building I have no clue, but I do notice that no one else in the car makes a move to get out.

I for one am grateful for the reprieve though, but, it can’t last forever.

We lost an entire day over being captured and having to get away. Now my mom is hurt, and we have very little time to get out of here before the bombs finally come. Are they coming tomorrow? Damn, things are going too fast for my liking. When I hear my mom cry out, I get brought out of my reverie. Gabe and I turn in our seats at the same time and look to the backseat. My mom is now stretched out across the entire backseat with her head in my dad’s lap. He is taking off his outer shirt and balling it up, by the time I realize what he is doing, I notice then that my hoody is now soaked with blood on her shoulder.

With tears in my eyes again, I watch as he removes my hoody from her, and he has a hard time to, since it seems to be heavy with blood. It’s finally off, and my mom is gasping for breath when he finally presses his shirt to her. I realize I’m practically sobbing when Gabe pulls close, and I finally take a deep breath.

I cling to him and wish there was some way to fix this and for my mom to be alright.

“
It’s going to get better, it has to.” Gabe whispers to me, and I want it to be true so badly.

He gives me a final squeeze before he lets me go so that he can sit back in his own seat. He does give me a reassuring look though, and it’s one that makes me wonder what is going through his mind. I don’t have to wonder about it for long though.

“
Maggie, if we can get inside we can find Kelli and she can help your mom.”

My eyes go wide, and my face breaks out into a grin. Holy crow Batman, I forgot about that. Kelli is the one that stitched up my forehead, and he’s right, she’d be the one to be able to help my mom if anyone could. This make my body rush with adrenaline, and it takes everything in me to just stay seated inside the car and not to get out and run for the building. Gabe nods his head at me, and joins me in the excitement, but of course his is more reserved and not as mad looking.

“
Mark, do you think you have enough room to get the trunk open?” Gabe says as he turns to face my dad.

He raises his head and gives Gabe a blank stare, his eyes are filled with unshed tears and he seems confused as to what Gabe even said to him. The fog clears I think and he finally focuses though.

“
For ammo you mean?”

Gabe nods in reply, and my dad shifts a little and when my mom cries out he stops moving. He looks so guilty that he doesn’t try to do it again and Gabe doesn’t ask him to. Looking out the window at the handful of the dead, I just hope they have enough to get us inside the building, but maybe we will. I do cross my fingers just in case though. I lay the ax across my lap while fiddling with the hilt of it, and think that if they run out of ammo then it’ll be up to me to defend us. No pressure or anything. Here’s seriously hoping I don’t pass out or something stupid like that. A hand stills my own, and I look over to see Gabe watching me intently.

He is about to say something I think, but my mother’s quiet voice interrupts him. “Are we waiting for Christmas, or can we go now please?”

I turn in my seat, and find her half awake and smirking slightly. Leave it to my mom to be on deaths door and still be able to pull off a funny. Go mom, you rock.

“
There aren’t as many of the dead as before, so as long as we stick close together, we should be fine.” Gabe says as he takes out a handgun for each hand, not even bothering to check how many bullets he has and swings the satchel over his shoulder again.

“
Sounds good to me, lets blow this pop stand.” I say back to him with a smile.

Gabe looks at me funny and shakes his head before reaching for his door.

He doesn’t have to say anything, I know I’m weird, but that’s why he loves me. My mom is sitting up with the help of my dad now, and her face pales for the position change. But she stays sitting, like the trooper she is. I know where I get my strength from finally, her. I force my head to clear, as Gabe pushes open his door and the sound alerts the dead by the building steps about a couple feet away from us. They are all in better condition than the ones we’ve seen lately, almost appearing alive. When they all growl as one and rush the car, all the illusion of life disappears.

I have to wonder though if it wasn’t the sound of the car door that alerted them.

But maybe my mother’s blood instead?

Gabe is already out and shooting by the time my father jumps out to help, they seem to be doing alright too. I get out and am careful to stay out of the firing range, as I race to the backseat door my dad left open for mom. Who, by the way is already half out by the time I get there, see, she’s a trooper. With the ax held tightly in one sweaty hand, I use the other to help my mom get to her feet and by the time we are steady the sound of gunfire fades away. I find that like we thought, all the ammo is now gone, and dad is stuck using a knife, while Gabe swings around a shotgun he stole from the school.

I wait with my mom, and hold her tightly to me and already I can feel her blood socking into my shirt again. She is shaking uncontrollably now, and I know it’s a matter of time before she blacks out. While Gabe and my dad finish off the dead, since there are only two of them left now. When Gabe shoots a middle aged man in the head and causes it to explode, the path to the steps is finally cleared. He doesn’t wait for the rest of us as he rushes the steps and heads for the closed door, and I don’t have to ask what the problem is.