Human Extinction Level Loss (Book 1): Nicole's Odyssey (27 page)

Walt dry fired.  He pulled in his rifle and pulled out the magazine. 

“Empty!” he shouted. 

Billy ran by and grabbed the spent magazine from Walt and handed him the new one.  He reached the wheel chair and pulled, rolling it down the aisle to Ruby.

“Help me into my chair now, children,” Ruby said.  Billy and Jordan hauled Ruby from the bus seat to her chair. 

“You in front, Jordan, Billy, you get behind me, now.  There you go,” she said. 

No sooner was she situated than Nicole shouted. 

“Ammo!” 

Ruby grabbed a full magazine from her lap. 

“Billy you pull and Jordan you push!  To Nicole now!” She said. 

Billy and Jordan did their part and Ruby sped down the aisle to Nicole.  Ruby thrust the full magazine at her and received the empty.  The boxes of ammo were spaced in the seats and Ruby, Billy, and Jordan seized a fresh box and started filling the empty magazine. 

“Empty!” Paul shouted in unison with Sam. 

Jordan and Billy rolled Ruby down the aisle first to Paul, then to Sam, hardly stopping at either.  Fresh magazines were passed, empties received.  Hands flew in a blur as fresh boxes of rounds were grabbed and bullets transferred to magazines. 

Outside the bus, the Dead advanced.  Fifty or more of them had been dropped from the onslaught of the groups’ fire.  Those that still came, tripped and stumbled over the fallen.  Some were crushed under those advancing, still others managed to rise and continue towards the bus. 

A cacophony of moans reached a crescendo as inside the bus the shouts of “Empty!” grew more rapid.  Ruby was rolled up and down the aisle as she changed out magazines with the shooters.  Jordan and Billy’s hands were a blur as they received the empties from Ruby and filled them with fresh rounds.  They were too busy to pay attention to the progress of the Dead until Nicole’s voice cut above the noise. 

“They’re on us!  Get back!” she shouted. 

Walt, Sam, Paul, and Nicole pulled in their rifles and jumped across the aisle to the opposite side.  Their guns fell silent as everyone waited.  Ruby, Jordan, and Billy stopped their loading and looked to the front side of the bus.  There was a pregnant pause, a calm before the storm, then the impact.  The bus shuddered at the mass of the Dead as they slammed into it. 

“How are we supposed to shoot them, now!?” Paul screamed. 

Nicole stared out the windows of the bus. 

“Just give them a second,” she said. 

The bus groaned and creaked as the wave of the Dead washed up to them.  Their moans were at peak volume as they sensed what lay just beyond their reach.  Those pressed against the bus fell and new ones took their place.  As the Dead piled up, those coming, climbed on top of them.  Within seconds, hands appeared the length of the windows, then heads.  Faces and arms filled every space along the length of the bus. 

“Fire!” Nicole shouted. 

Everyone let loose with a barrage of gunfire.  Being so close, each round found its lethal mark and the Dead fell, only to be replaced by new.  Ruby, Jordan, and Billy resumed exchanging magazines.  Their progress slowed, being unable to cross the field of fire down the aisle. 

“Switch to pistols when your rifles are empty!  Give them more time to reload!” Nicole shouted. 

“Empty!” shouted Paul as he handed a magazine to Billy, letting his rifle hang by his side. 

He pulled his pistol and began to fire.  At the windows the Dead reached in.  They stretched their arms and necks through the busted glass, their reach coming within mere feet of the group.  Still Nicole and the others fired upon them.  Bodies clogged the windows, their motionless  forms creating a decaying barrier for precious seconds before falling or being ripped away by the ravenous Dead behind them.  No one rested.  Shooting, calling, exchanging empty magazines for full, inside the bus there was only panicked frenetic activity.  The creaking of the bus took on a new tone as the Dead continued to come.  The creaking grew louder and the bus began to tip. 

“Here we go!” shouted Sam. 

“We’re tipping, man!” Walt cried. 

The bus began to tip, the wheels on the front side leaving the ground.  It was only the space of a second but it seemed like an eternity. 

“Hold on!” Paul shouted as everyone grabbed a seat with their free hand.  The wheels went up, then the back side of the bus touched the roof of the GTO and stopped. 

“We stopped!  Resume fire!” Nicole shouted. 

They all let loose with a fresh barrage, rounds tearing through the flesh of the crushing Dead.

Forty-One

Their guns fell silent.  No one spoke.  The angle of the bus, and the press of the Dead at the windows had pushed them back against the opposite side.  They all stared at the wall of decay that had washed over them. The Dead filled the windows, blocking out the sun.  Their mass created a realm of shadow  that the light from behind them seemed to barely penetrate.  Nicole gripped her pistol and moved it erratically back and forth, looking for any sign of the Dead’s advance.  Next to her the others breathed heavy, matching her breath for breath.  Sweat poured off their brows.  Their labored, anxious breathing was the only sound, save for the wet plopping of dismembered offal that dropped from the Dead, landing in the seats and sliding to the floor in front of them.  Apart from gravity doing its work, the Dead did not move.  There was no sound of their ravenous groans.  Nicole took a long minute to assess before lowering her weapon. 

Suddenly Paul jumped up, gripping his rifle, he sprayed the dead with a fusillade of bullets.  A scream erupted from his throat as he held down the trigger and shredded what was left of the Dead with his onslaught.  Finally, the rifle clicked empty and Paul stood staring at the horror before him.  His screams faded and he collapsed back into his seat.  Jordan hugged her father.  As she held him tight, Paul seemed to regain his composure. 

Nicole looked at Paul, then her gaze fell on the others.  Realization began to dawn on them all.  They had fought for their lives, had literally stared Death in the face countless times and emerged.  Nicole plopped down into one of the seats and wiped her brow.  The others began to take stock of themselves, their breathing, and composure returning to baseline.  Nicole took a breath and looked over at Walt. 

“Sorry about your bus, Walt,” she said. 

Walt looked around the mess that was his bus.  The side where the Dead had pressed was caved in.  The glass in all the windows was shattered and bullet holes riddled the metal.  Viscera covered almost everything.  Walt began to laugh. 

“Oh, man.  I’m gonna need a new bus now, I think.  But, hey, anything you live to regret is something you survived, right?” he said. 

Sam looked up at Walt. 

“Who said that one, Walt?” Sam asked. 

Walt turned to Sam.  “I don’t know, man.  That one may be all me,” Walt said. 

Everyone smiled.  Paul chuckled. 

“That’s a good one, Walt,” he said. 

Ruby leaned over and rubbed Walt’s back. 

“Words to live by, hippie,” she said.  Walt smiled. 

“Thanks, momma,” he said. 

Billy looked around the bus. “So… how do we get out of here,” he asked. 

Everyone looked afresh at the wall of guts that hung and spilled through the windows in front of them.  Nicole pursed her lips and let out a sigh. 

“Does anybody have any gloves?” she asked.

“Haz-mat suit, more like,” Sam said. 

Nicole smiled.  “Do you think we can all fit through these windows?” Nicole asked. 

They all looked at the windows behind them. 

“It’s either that or dig through them,” Paul said. 

Everyone’s face betrayed their reluctance to try to make their escape from the front side. 

“Well, we won’t know till we try,” Walt said as he tried to squeeze through one of the small rectangles behind him. 

He got his head and one shoulder through before he became lodged tight and had to withdraw.  Nicole turned and looked to the front of the bus.  The Dead had surrounded them on three sides, the heaviest concentration being from the long side perpendicular to the road.  She went up to the windshield and looked out.  It was largely clear, most of the dead had come down the road and hit them broadside, sweeping down the length of the bus to the back.  The wreckage from the decimated cars had prevented the Dead much of an opportunity for attack from the driver side. 

“I think this is our best bet, if we can break out this windshield,” she said.  Nicole looked to Walt.  “Sorry about your bus, Walt, but it means doing a little more damage.”

  Walt climbed over to Nicole.  He ejected his empty magazine and handed it to Nicole.  Walt then turned and looked back at Jordan. 

“Hey sweet girl, toss me a fresh one,” he said. 

Jordan tossed Walt a full magazine.  Walt caught it and jammed it home, then held the rifle at his hip.  He squeezed the trigger and raked the barrel back and forth across the big windshield.  The rounds pierced the glass, creating spider web cracks all across it.  When the gun clicked empty, Walt turned and smiled. 

“I was gonna quote Scarface, but I thought it might have been a bit cliché for the situation,  you know what I’m saying,” he said. 

Walt turned and with the butt of the gun began banging on the shattered windshield.  Nicole shook her head and then climbed up and with her own rifle began to help Walt break the glass free.  In a few minutes they had cleared away the last of the glass.  Nicole turned to the others. 

“It’s quiet, but we should check it out before we all go out there.  Walt, Sam, you game for a little reconnaissance?” She asked. 

“The final frontier, man.  Let’s go,” Walt said. 

He held up his hand and Jordan tossed him another magazine. She and Ruby loaded up two more and handed them to Nicole and Sam.  The three hauled themselves through the windshield and disappeared.  The others waited inside, listening for any telltale signs.  In a minute there were two gunshots.  These were followed every couple of seconds by more two round bursts.  After several minutes, Walt popped his head back inside, a big smile on his face. 

“Hey shipmates.  Leave has been approved.  All ashore that’s going ashore.”

Ruby sat alone in the bus.  She had watched the others all climb out through the empty windshield and when it came to be her turn, she told them flat out that she was past her days of such gymnastics, and the time she would be hauled around like a sack of potatoes had never come.  Nicole, Paul, Walt, Sam, Billy, and Jordan stood in front of the bus by the side of the road and tried to figure out what to do. 

“The only other vehicle that is in any shape to drive and that we know for a fact actually runs, is Walt’s bus,” Paul said. 

All eyes turned to the bus.  The evidence of their battle was piled to the roof and extended some feet away from it down the highway.  As the Dead had assailed them and were dispatched by gunfire, they dropped where they fell.  Those still coming had simply climbed their remains like a ramp.  The Dead that weren’t trampled, were clawed and shoved away by the newcomers until their ruined bodies were stretched three and four deep fifteen yards down the highway. 

“Well, Momma ain’t coming out of that bus any, ‘less it’s out the door, man, sooo…” Walt’s words trailed off. 

“So, that means we have to clear… them away from the bus.  Even if Ruby would come out through the windshield, we would be on foot.  There’s no telling what we are going to find down the road, but anyway you look at it, on foot is no way to be,” Sam said. 

Nicole nodded and the others indicated their agreement. 

“That means clearing away the Dead and getting that bus back on its wheels.  Another thing about the bus, it’s big.  We can push debris out of our way,” Nicole said. 

Walt snorted.  “Yeah, man.  It’s not like we have to worry about scratching the paint, do we?” 

Everyone chuckled.  Nicole looked at Walt. 

“Again, Walt.  Sorry about your bus,” she said. 

Walt smiled back at her. “Ah, it’s like the Dude said, You can’t be worried about that shit, man.  Life goes on, you know?” he said. 

Nicole smirked.  “I suggest we try to find some plastic or blankets or anything we can use to cover our hands,” she said. 

Jordan looked at Nicole apprehensively.  “You think we could get infected?” she asked. 

Nicole smiled at her.  “No, honey.  I don’t think it works that way.  I was just thinking of how nasty it is going to be pulling those things away from the bus.  The thought of touching them really freaks me out,” Nicole said. 

She gave Jordan a big smile and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.  Jordan smiled. 

“Yeah, me too.  I’ll help you look,” she said. 

Nicole nodded. Walt walked back to the front of the bus. 

“I’ll tell Miss Ruby what the plan is,” he said. 

Nicole and Jordan set off after Paul, Sam, and Billy, down the highway.  

“I’ll tell you what, Jordan.  We’ll make it a game.  Girls against the guys,” she said. 

Jordan puffed up at this thought.  She turned and shouted at Billy, her father, and Sam who had moved down the road and were looking in cars and on the sides of the road.