Emperor of a Dead World (31 page)

When they made it to the front parking lot, Tyrone shook his head. It was a scorched mess with pieces of truck everywhere and there were still about a hundred creatures lingering around. The three friends exchanged glances then went to work killing them. Though they were mostly the slow stupid ones, the men’s actions soon caused the creatures to grow hostile. As they approached, Rudy gave his men a nod and they shot any that were nearby. After this, the men dragged them over to the fence.

“Maybe your men should conserve their ammo,” Brad suggested.

“Don’t worry,” Tyrone smiled. “They collect the shells and reload them. We have been doing this for a while.”

“You will eventually run out of gunpowder.”

“Not for a while, we found seven kegs of powder and lots of lead at the fort.”

“I bet those guys are pissed about that,” Brad laughed.

“Take it easy guys,” Rudy warned.

Brad glanced in the direction Rudy was looking and two advanced creatures were approaching. He motioned for the guards to stand down then took a breath and started in their direction. He had to see if he could fool them.

“What are you doing?” Tyrone asked nervously.

“Stay back, I need to do this alone.”

“Don’t go too far ahead. Keep close enough so the guards can get a clean shot if they need to.”

Brad held his shield tight and hid his sword under it. When he looked at the creatures, one of them looked at him. Tyrone turned his head and coughed to distract it as Brad looked away. The creature did not know where the noise had come from so it moved on.

Brad was now ready for action. He held his head low and slowly moved toward the creatures. The two were walking side by side and looking around as if hunting. As Brad approached, the creatures were scanning the area but they did not focus on him or his friends. Without looking at them, Brad advanced. Finally, he glanced over and noticed Rudy was only about ten feet from the creatures and moving in their direction. He looked toward the guards and they were standing ready.

That guy has brass balls
, Brad thought as Rudy headed right between the two creatures.

Tyrone stood with his hand on his pistol. This would not go down without a fight.

Rudy stared straight at the ground and neither creature paid any attention to him. Just as he got to them, he looked up into the eyes of one and as it looked back, he turned cold. This thing was gruesome and he could not help diverting his stare. When he passed, it turned toward him but he did not see it turn, he just kept walking. Tyrone started moving forward and pulling out his gun. As the thing reached out toward Rudy, the other one noticed Tyrone and headed for him. Tyrone raised his gun and shot it between the eyes. It fell without a sound.

When this creature fell, its sudden movement caught the other’s attention. It quickly looked around then noticed Tyrone and charged. The guards shot it three times before it made two steps. Tyrone did not even have time to get off another round.

Brad brandished his sword and prepared to fight. He first looked right and then left but he saw no danger. “Let’s take these to the barricade,” he said as he grabbed a foot and dragged one away.

“At least now we know we can walk amongst them,” Rudy gloated.

“We can,” Tyrone leered as he grabbed hold of the other one and pulled it along. “But you better stay inside.”

“It was a mistake,” Rudy chuckled nervously. “It won’t happen again.”

“No it won’t,” Brad returned. “Because this is the last time you will walk amongst them.”

“I have to do this again,” Rudy demanded with a hint of a whine. “My life may depend on having to walk among them.”

Brad glanced at Tyrone. Both silently relented.

After spending over an hour killing creatures and collecting bodies, they headed over to inspect the repairs the men had done to the hole in the wall. Satisfied, they called it a day.

While Brad hung his coat in the stable (as he had done in his garage), he felt as though he was regressing back to the past and he wondered where he could go from here. His main concern was keeping the people safe. He knew the creatures would not return if nothing happened to draw them back so he needed to make sure no one ever attacked again. Once the drone was charged, he would send it out to watch his enemies at the lake.

With guards stationed around the perimeter, Brad allowed the citizens to come out of the shelter. The first one up the stairs was Lisa.

“Is it safe?” she asked.

We have fixed the hole and I see no reason for them to come back,” he replied.

“I cannot believe you were able to get them out so easily.”

“They are mindless fools. All you have to do is show them something shiny and they will chase after it.”

Chapter 26

Over the next month, Brad created diversions so the men could reinforce the wall without a lot of interference from the creatures. He also had the electrician, the engineer and a few others set up cameras around the racetrack and connect them to monitors in the control room. After this, he had them set up a Ham Radio system so they could communicate with Sunny Park Estates. For their own communications, they acquired several walkie-talkies.

Once the racetrack was secure, Brad, with Danny’s help, kept an eye on the people at the lake. They also flew scouting missions to look for survivors. Just as he had done when driving around in the truck, he kept a regular schedule so that people could come out and signal to the drone. When he went back to rescue these people, their gratitude and devotion was immeasurable. Though Lisa was very much against Brad leading these rescue missions, he would not relent.

“Why do
you
have to go?” Lisa whined as she sat on the bed in tears. “There are plenty of others that can go. You are too important to risk your life like this. The people need you and would be lost without you.”

“I have to go as long as I believe my parents are out there,” he said as he sat beside her. “I need to know we miss nothing and I want to see their faces when I rescue them.”

“You can see them when they get here.”

“What if something happens? No. I have to make sure they get back safely.”

“What if something happens to you?”

“Nothing is going to happen to me.”

“You think you are invincible. You believe all the stories people tell about you. You are just a man Brad. You can still die. You do not have to live up to all the tall tales.”

“I promise I will come back.”

“What if something happens here while you are gone? What if something happens to me?”

“Tyrone and Rudy will never let any harm come to you.”

“Why do you have to personally save your parents but just anyone can watch over me?”

“Tyrone and Rudy are not just anyone,” he laughed.

“They are not you,” she pouted.

He kissed her then got up. “Just a few more runs then I will stop.”

“When,” she jumped up and exclaimed.

“After I have either found my parents or raided the capital and I know they are not there.”

She sat back despondently. “If you go there you and everyone with you will die.”

“When I go I will be ready. My forces are growing all the time. It is amazing how many survivors there are and the men I find are not slackers. These people have survived because they are smart and know how to adapt. The man from DWP is going to help us build a high wall around this entire block and the military men are going to get weapons and a tank. I will eventually find a real pilot that will rain hell down upon these creatures.”

“Tyrone was right. You are becoming an emperor.”

“I will become whatever I must to make the world a safe place.”

“You see, you do believe the stories.”

“Why not, everyone else does,” he laughed.

She did not respond.

“Don’t worry, I will be back.” He walked out without another word.

When he got down to the gate twenty heavily armed men and ten armored SUVs were waiting. He did not know how many survivors he would find so he always brought plenty of vehicles.

“Everybody ready?” he asked.

When they affirmed they were, Brad stepped into the lead truck and led the way. Above them two drones surveyed the course ahead. The kid in the control room flew Brad’s drone and Danny operated the other from Palo Alto. In order to see what was going on Brad watched their cameras on his laptop and communicated with them by typing in messages.

Once they were under way, Danny sent his drone to Whittier. Several people had stranded themselves on the roof of a Walmart store and the group was going to rescue them. As Brad and the others headed up Carmenita Road to the store, his drone stayed a little ahead of the convoy and watched for trouble.

The video from Danny’s drone clearly showed people hunkered down on the roof and about two hundred creatures gathered around the building. To lure the creatures away, Brad instructed his drone pilot to create a diversion. The boy sent the drone to a filling station half a mile from the store then dropped a bomb creating an explosion. He then circled around and helped the things find their way.

Danny followed the action from a distance so Brad would know when it was safe to rescue the survivors. Once most of the creatures had gone, the rescue team drove into the parking lot then waited to make sure their arrival did not bring any of the creatures back. While they sat waiting, Brad looked at the store and noticed someone had boarded up all the windows. He sighed thinking that though they were safe inside, there was no way they could get out for food and supplies.

After a moment, he instructed a couple of men to go into the store and lead the survivors out while the rest stood guard. As the men went to retrieve the survivors, Brad sat in the SUV and kept an eye on his laptop to make sure the creatures did not return. He was just about to type a message saying this would be another easy rescue when an explosion blew the front of the store open killing two men and knocking the rest off their feet. There was so much smoke that Brad could not see a thing and for several seconds he could not understand what had happened. When he opened the door of his vehicle he heard screaming and gunfire. As the smoke slowly cleared, he stepped to the front of the truck and he could not believe his eyes. Creatures were everywhere but they were not coming up the street. They were coming out of the store. He glanced up at the roof and the people he had come to rescue were firing down at him and his men. He ran to get back into his SUV and a creature charged at him. He pushed it away then jumped inside and slammed the door. While the thing tore at his SUV, bullets kept ringing off the armor plating. He now realized this was a trap. His enemies had lured him here to kill him. Somehow, they had captured hundreds of advanced creatures and put them in this building and they were now using them as weapons. He glanced at the thing beating on his truck and was relieved they had covered it with heavy armor. When another bullet struck his SUV, he started the engine and plowed through the creatures. He had to see if anyone else had survived. While he searched for his friends, the men on the roof continued to fire at him. He stayed as long as he could but he finally had to make a run for it. As he headed out, he saw two men in another vehicle also making their escape. He began to follow them onto Telegraph Road but he caught sight of a man clinging to a ladder on a fast food hamburger place and headed over to help him. Below the man, several slow creatures were clawing at the wall trying to climb up. When Brad drove over, one of the creatures turned and came in his direction. It took just three steps then fell to the ground and started flopping around and convulsing as it scratched at its own face ripping off its flesh and shedding its skin like a snake. All Brad could do was watch in horror as the thing stood, arched its back and let out a blood-curdling scream. While the sound was still echoing through his brain, the creature gnashed its teeth and snarled then charged.

Brad floored the SUV and ran it down then drove over to the ladder allowing the man to jump onto the roof of his vehicle. He then made his way over to a place where the man could safely get into the SUV. Once he was inside, the two exchanged glances but before either could comment on what they had just witnessed a new threat suddenly appeared.

“Look!” the man exclaimed. A dozen enemy trucks were racing toward them.

“How could this be?” Brad exclaimed. “Where could they have come from? Both Danny and I have been watching the lake.”

“They must have done this under the cover of darkness,” the man replied.

Brad took off down Telegraph Road. When he got to Valley View Avenue, he turned right while his passenger watched the computer monitor. He drove as fast as he could but the men chasing him simply had to follow the same path and they easily caught up.

“They are right on our ass,” Brad’s cohort said.

“Where is Danny?”

The man stared at the monitor for a moment then exclaimed, “He is coming to the rescue.”

Just as the man finished his sentence, they heard an explosion. Danny had dropped a bomb on one of the vehicles.

“It is nice to have air support,” Brad smiled.

“Yes it is but unfortunately that was Danny’s last bomb.”

“Any missiles,” Brad asked.

“Two,” the man returned.

Danny circled around and shot his missiles into the windshields of the lead vehicles causing one to crash into a parked car and the other to roll over. This gave Brad the opportunity to put some distance between himself and his pursuers.

“Did the other drone find any more of our men,” Brad asked.

His partner looked at the monitor and shook his head. “Wait,” he suddenly exclaimed, “Three of our SUVs are headed down Carmenita Road toward the track.”

“Can you see how many are in each vehicle?”

“No.”

“Are they being chased?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Send a text and tell the drone pilot to go back and look for others.”

The man typed the message. “OK, he is going back for another look.”

“If he sees anyone we are going back to get them.”

The man set the image of drone 2 to full screen and watched closely.

Brad glanced at him and could tell by his expression that the outlook was dismal. “Two surely died in the explosion,” he contemplated. “Hopefully the rest are in those three vehicles. What is Danny doing?”

The man switched back to two windows. “He is circling around the enemy and keeping an eye on them but I think he should get out of there before they shoot him down.”

“Tell him to back off.” Brad said. “We can easily make it back before they catch us.”

The man sent the text but Danny replied that these people were in for a big surprise. He came in low over the vehicles and the screen went blank.

“Shit, I think they got him. I lost the signal.”

“Where is the other drone?”

“Still looking for survivors,” the man replied.

“Tell him to check on Danny but keep his distance.”

The other drone headed over and zoomed in. Danny’s drone had crashed into the enemy taking out another one of their trucks.

“Danny is down but it looks like we still have eight coming after us.”

“At least they are watching from the track and will be ready by the time we arrive.” He turned onto Katella Avenue and headed for the track. “Where are the others?”

The man typed in the question and the drone headed over. “Moody Street. It looks like they are just past the school.”

“Good, they will arrive ahead of the others.” A minute later, he took a right and headed for the gate. Another SUV had arrived just before him and some men were holding the gate open. “A few others will be here in a minute,” Brad informed the men at the gate. “They will probably come in at the stables. Let them in then lock the place down.”