Z Children (Book 2): The Surge (14 page)

“It
was like they made a last stand. They just all fought until no one was left. Is
that what happened, JW?” Bonnie moved closer to the older man and Ranger moved
with her.

“Whatever
happened, it was quick and it was bloody, kid.”

JW
gave a low whistle and flicked his hand towards the gun shop door. Ranger
quickly ran forward. The shop door was open just enough to allow his body to
slip through.

Turning,
I looked at Virginia. The pause had caused her eyes to wander over the bodies
in the street. I watched her face, studying the new lines that crowded the
corners of her eyes. When her gaze widened, I knew she’d thought of something.
By the look of it—something unsettling.

Focusing
my eyes upon what Virginia was studying, I forced my tired mind to see it from
a medical perspective. “We may have a big problem, JW,” I breathed, the gravity
of what I was seeing sinking quickly in and infecting my perception of the
future like a plague.

The
soft tone in Chris’s otherwise irritating voice surprised him.

“And
what would that be?” JW wasn’t even looking at me. He was staring at the gun
shop, waiting for Ranger to return. That annoyed me to high heaven. I was
trying to tell him something important.

“The
carrion birds. Those vultures and crows.”

“What
of it?”

Virginia
was nodding, still staring at the carnage. “It’ll be everywhere if it’s
transmutable through the birds.” Her entire body seemed to slump towards the
ground. “Everywhere.”

“Okay,
let the old combat soldier in on the bad news, please,” JW said, clearly
irritated that I was distracting him from his objective—guns and more guns.
Guns wouldn’t solve this. They’d keep
us
safe, but not the world.

“The
carrion birds are eating the infected flesh. They could become carriers of the
disease,” I stated it as plainly as possible, hoping the thickheaded idiot hell-bent
on guns wouldn’t need me to color it out in crayons.

“So?
It’s not like they’re gonna attack anyone. This isn’t a damn Hitchcock movie.”

“Come
on. You have to realize how bad this is.” He needed to understand what this
could mean, how this thing could potentially spread like wildfire to every
corner of the world. I could tell he was surprised by my tone. I was surprised
by it too. I sounded…scared. Shit, I shouldn’t be surprised by that. I’d been
scared out of my mind more than once the past day or so. Killer kids would
scare the bejesus out of anyone.

“They
don’t have to attack someone, JW.” Virginia had finally pried her gaze away
from the dead bodies. “It could be as simple as defecating into a water supply
or the mites from the birds getting into your hair and biting your scalp. We
don’t know much about this thing, but if it can be transmitted cross-species,
then we may be witnessing the beginning of a global event. Right here,” she
paused, gestured to the birds behind us, “right now.”

JW
took it all in and stared at the hundreds of birds on the ground and circling
in the air. If what she said was a possibility, then everyone was royally
screwed. He took a deep breath and turned to look at the group.

“Okay,
that’s a major issue. I’m not going to argue that. But there is absolutely
nothing that we can do about it here and now. Besides, if it’s happening here,
then it’s happening everywhere. Other people with know-how and access to facilities
have likely already recognized that possibility. If not, you two can swoop in
and save the day once we’ve arrived in Atlanta. Someone in charge will likely
give you badges or awards or something of that super-important nature. Now,
though, our game plan
has not changed.
We head east. We find help.” JW
rubbed his temples as he spoke. I’d seen that gesture before. He was probably
dehydrated, the first dull, throbbing pangs of a headache beginning to form.
Part of me thought,
good, let him suffer
. The other part of me was
slightly more compassionate. Slightly.

“Need
some aspirin?” As soon as the words exited my mouth, Ranger reappeared. He
jogged to JW’s side and sat down calmly on his haunches.

“No.
And Ranger says it’s all clear. We need water. Ammo. More food wouldn’t hurt
either. The bit we grabbed at the diner isn’t going to last long with five
mouths to feed. Just the necessities. Nothing extra.”

“Five
mouths?” I questioned. “Don’t you mean—”

JW cut
me off rudely, like an ass. “No. I mean five. Ranger is a part of this group.
He puts his neck on the line for each of us. His stomach is just as important
as yours,
Doctor
.”  

The
way JW said doctor…
God, it really pissed me off
.

“We’ll
get more done if we split up. You and Virginia take Ranger and head over to
that small clothing store. Grab whatever you think is practical and will fit. A
few changes for each of us if possible. I know clothes may seem pretty unimportant,
but I’ve seen the difference a clean pair of socks can make during war.”

“What
about making our way into that convenience store? I’m sure there’s food in
there, and we only saw a couple Z adults?” Bonnie’s stomach rumbled even though
she’d just consumed two sandwiches when the rest of us only had one.

Chris,
she’s a kid. She’s just hungry.
I don’t know why, but thinking about
hearing Bonnie’s stomach made me think of my mom. If this was happening
everywhere…was she okay? I hadn’t thought about her once since we’d spoken on
the phone.

Not
once.

It’s
so easy to forget important things. And then when you remember them, sometimes
it’s already too late. I hoped to God she was okay. She didn’t remember who I
was all the time. She was weak and old, but I loved her. I wanted to see her
again. At least once more.

I was
pulled back to reality by JW’s voice.

“Not
worth taking the chance, kid. Could be some of the short monsters in there too.
We’ve got enough to tide us over for a while, and we’ll check the town for an
actual grocery store after this.” JW turned from Bonnie to me. “I’ll send
Ranger with you. He’ll warn you if there’s any trouble in the store. You good
with that?”

JW’s
gaze flicked down to the gun at my side.
I swear to God…one…more…time.

“I.
Can. Handle. It.” I bit off each word angrily.
Stupid man.

He
nodded; it was such a dismissive gesture that I wanted to knock his block off.
I was in my forties, for fuck’s sake. I’d thought I was past having to deal
with dick-brains acting like I had fluff filling my pretty little head.

“I
don’t see anything that’s an immediate threat, but of course that don’t mean
shit. If anything sets off your alarm bells, get back to the truck.
Do not
engage.
And trust Ranger. Fifteen minutes. Get what you can and get back.”

I
wanted to fight with him, tell him that we were more than capable of making our
own decisions as to how long it would take and that we could handle ourselves,
but Virginia was already nodding like a simpering child. I didn’t like this
side of her—the follower. Or maybe I was just used to her deferring more to me.
I’d always been the dominant. She’d always let me have my way in the end. Except
when we’d broken up. I’d broken up with her. I hadn’t been able to handle the
distance. And now…she hadn’t said yes, not really, to getting back together. I
did want her to say yes but I was getting mixed signals from her.

“Bonnie,
you’re with me. Grab the .22 from the van,” JW ordered and the little kid
hopped to it like her life depended on it.

Ranger
followed quick on her heels. As soon as they both returned—gun cradled in
Bonnie’s hands respectfully—Ranger took off towards the clothing store. Virginia
followed. And I followed Virginia. There was only one perk to bring up the
rear.

“Remember,
fifteen minutes for now,” JW called at our backs.

Virginia
nodded emphatically; I ignored him.

* * *

JW

That
woman was a pain in the ass.

I
adjusted my shirt, pulling the rear of it away from my back and waving it once
to dry some of the sweat that was pooling along the top of my pant waist.
Loud
mouth, but she won’t be too much trouble in the end
, I thought.
Not with
Virginia to keep her in check
.
Sort of funny, though, since Chris seems
to act like she’s the one that wears the pants in that relationship
.

Looking
at Bonnie, I saw how delicately she was holding the .22. “Sure you know how to
use that pop-gun?”

“If it
works like a BB gun, then I’m set. Friend down the street had one once. Andy.”
Bonnie’s facial expression shifted. “He’s probably dead, huh? Not everyone
ended up with someone like you.”

“Things
like this happen, kid, loads of people die. It’s just luck of the draw.”

She
looked at me then in a way that made me shuffle my feet. “You really think it’s
just random? Like, if my dad had been a little later to work, then he maybe
wouldn’t have died? That would be my fault then, I guess. I’m the one that made
sure his shirt was ready, that he was up and leaving on time. Or was he supposed
to die, so even if I hadn’t helped him, he would have died anyways?”

“You
can’t think like that, Bonnie,” I used her name this time. I needed her to
connect with me, to hear what I was saying. “It isn’t anyone’s fault…something
like this. It just is. You go around blaming yourself for everyone that’s died,
and you’ll drive yourself crazy. Worse, you’ll be so focused on the blame that
you’ll end up dead too.”

She
nodded.

“You
really get it, kid?”

“Yeah.”
The word was a whisper, it seemed to melt away like discarded ice cream—the
sweetness of it becoming sticky and sickening.

“Good.
Okay, now remember, don’t shoot unless you have no choice. The noise will draw
them. Keep your wits and you’ll survive. Remember that.”

“Understood.”
The word was falsely fierce and I saw a little blood leave her face at the
thought of drawing the attention of the Z kids. Or maybe it was just the
prospect of shooting the gun.

As we
moved into the gun store and looked around, I hoped the older women had enough
common sense to follow the same rule without being told to do so—shoot only if
they had to. I had a feeling that if Chris took the lead they wouldn’t duck out
at the first sign of trouble.
Oh well, too late now.

The
store was worse than outside.

It was
the true location of this town’s final stand.

The
place was shot to shit. Broken display cabinets, mirrors, even the cash
register looked like it had taken a shotgun blast. Four grown men lay on the
floor in various states of decomposition. It struck me then that the bodies
seemed to be rotting more quickly than they should; the smells filling the
retail space were noxious.

I
hope you warriors left us some ammo.
There had to be, though, for the black
rifles at least.

“Bonnie,
stay pinned to my side until we clear this place. We can’t afford a mistake.”

“Okay,”
came her halfhearted and low response. I knew she was terrified, but there
wasn’t a whole lot I could do about it now.

Slowly
I inspected the entire building; it wasn’t that big, but it was broken up into
small storage rooms and mobile dividers. This made it a dangerous and tedious
process to case the place out for danger. Finally, moving at a turtle’s pace
and being overly cautious, we made it to the back. The store was empty. Safe.

“Is
that a back exit, JW?” Bonnie pointed with her left hand while the fingers of
her right gently held the side of my shirt. I looked where she was pointing.
The way the door was built, it didn’t seem like a normal exit. It was
reinforced and there was a camera above the upper right corner. It wasn’t the
rear entrance; it was a room. A room with security.

We
stepped a little closer and I looked at the PTZ camera and the speaker next to
it.
A safe room? Maybe a survivor?
Slowly, I looked at all the walls to
ensure there were no defensive measures in place—such as ports to shoot
through—and I motioned Bonnie to step behind an oaken gun cabinet that was to
our left. Deliberately, I lowered the M-16 until it leaned against my leg and
sat on the floor and I gave three good raps on the steel door. The sound echoed
throughout the store. If anyone was in there, I was about to find out.

Quietly,
I waited and positioned my hand on the rifle so that I could bring it up and
ready for action instantly if necessary. One second passed, then two. Three.
And four. I saw the PTZ move as it turned and focused on me. Five seconds, six,
seven. Then a voice spilled out into the warzone of the store.

“Who
are you? Rescue? You with the government? FEMA? What?” The voice was deep. Male.
I couldn’t get a read on age, the speakers distorted the voice’s tone too much.

“Special
Forces. US Army. We’re survivors, just like you.”

“You’re
not alone.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement.

I
waved Bonnie out from hiding so the individual could get a better view.

“A
little kid!” The voice sounded panicked for a moment. “She infected?”

“I am
not a child and I am not infected! And I can speak for myself, thank you very
much.” Bonnie put steel into her voice and I was proud of her.

“Oh,
you’re real tough. Well, good for you.
Now get out of my shop
.”

I
looked at the walls and the doors again. They were thick, concrete and steel,
but this crazy old coot might have something in that secured room that could
punch a hole through them. Time to catch flies with honey.

“You
must be Bud?” I felt awkward, talking to the camera. “I’m JW and this is
Bonnie. We have two others with us. Both female doctors. We’re trying to get
out east to the CDC, and we could use some help. Mainly ammo, but we wouldn’t
turn down additional food and water.”