Intruders: The Invasion: A Post-Apocalyptic, Alien Invasion Thriller (Book 1) (12 page)

There had to be twenty or more.

Kyle tried to slide the door closed, but it was too late.
The dead were coming through it, falling and climbing over one another to get
inside.

They were in, and there was no hope of getting out the door
with the wall of dead coming at us.

Logan was pushed down by the dead as one of them fell on top
of him, biting and tearing at his arm. His screams rose, shrill above the
screeches of the dead. Blood spurted outward from his arm, bathing a deadie as
it fed on him.

Hank barked wildly behind us.

My blood turned cold and the flight or fight instinct
screamed at me to run.

I fought against it and swung the claw hammer into the head
of the deadie feeding on Logan’s arm before it took another bite. “Help me get
him out!”

Ryder and I each pulled one of Logan’s arms and he screamed,
high and long as one of the dead took a chunk out of his thigh.

Ozzie shot it in the head and it fell. He kept shooting.
There were too many to stab. Kyle’s gunshots joined his as they worked to kill
the Zekes.

We pulled Logan back, and Sherry and Mina immediately set
about trying to stop the bleeding.

When I turned back toward the door, more dead were climbing
over the fallen. I struck one after another, swinging and yanking the claw out
of dead skull after dead skull.

Ozzie and Kyle shot at their heads. They fell one by one,
and more started climbing over the fallen dead. It seemed impossible to keep
up.

“Back up!” Ozzie screamed. They’ll get your legs!”

We all ran backwards, Ozzie and Kyle shooting one deadie
after another.

“GUNS!” Kyle screamed, shooting every zombie head within
site.

Dropping my hammer to the floor, I grabbed my gun, aiming at
every dead head within my sights. But I kept missing. I’d get the throat,
shoulder, or chest.

Forcing myself to focus, I shoved away my fear, and began
hitting them in the head.

I heard guns going off behind and beside me. My ears popped
and all sound went away. Everyone in the compound was shooting, trying to keep
up with the dead.

Then I heard Ozzie cackle like a maniac, the sound muffled
in my nearly deaf ears, and saw his hand jerk as he pulled the trigger on his
pistol again and again.

One deadie squeezed through, falling over the pile of Zekes
and fell over them, to the floor.

I continued shooting at the ones closest to us.

“Back up!” Kyle screamed. “Back up, we’ll get trampled!”

Again, we backed up.

I was so focused on shooting the oncoming dead that I forgot
about the one that had squeezed through. By the time I saw it, it had pushed
itself to its feet and was lurching toward me. I aimed my gun but I didn’t have
enough time and it fell on top of me. It gnashed its teeth, screeching in my
face as I pushed against its dead chest. This one had been a woman, and I was
pushing against her once ample breasts, which now hung and felt squishy and
loose beneath my hands.

I screamed, and suddenly she fell on top of me.

Someone kicked her off me.

“Sneaky one.” Wilson grabbed my hand and pulled me up.

“Thanks,” I said.

“The least I can do.” He went forward, his face a study in
determination as he stabbed a deadie in the eye, dropping it in front of us.

They were in the compound. Although there weren’t as many
moving, it was terrifying that they had breached the safety of the building.

Ozzie and Kyle shot the ones moving straight ahead while the
rest of us got the ones moving forward from the sides. They were crawling over
the ever growing pile of dead.

The pile began to spill forward, further and further into
the compound, and the Zekes climbed and crawled over them to get to us.

Finally, Ozzie shot the last two.

For a long moment, there was no sound except for the heavy
breathing of everyone as our adrenalin levels began sinking back to normal. We
all had the adrenalin shakes, and each of us stood there quaking, lifting our
gaze over the pile of dead and toward the woods for movement.

“Oh, shit.” Wilson said, looking straight ahead, eyes
widening.

We all followed his wild gaze.

Breaking from the shadows of the trees, more figures
shambled forward.

* * *

“There are a few coming,” Ozzie said. “Must’ve heard the
gunshots. Let’s take care of them before we get another horde. I can’t do this
all damn day.”

We climbed over the dead, our feet sinking into rotting
backs. Organs spilled out, stinking like nothing I’d ever smelled before. I
gagged, but kept going.

Don’t think. Just do.

I fell onto the grass and launched myself forward, following
Ozzie and Kyle.

There were about fifteen more coming through the tree line.

Ozzie got there first, and began stabbing, followed by Kyle.

I headed for a middle aged man in a grey suit, which still
looked surprisingly clean and unwrinkled. He must’ve recently died, because
other than the stupid, glazed look in his eyes and the unnatural, jerky
movements as he quickened his pace toward me, he looked pretty normal.

Anyone could mistake him for one of the living and ask him
for help. Especially a child, who wouldn’t know until the deadie was way too
close that he wasn’t alive, and meant to sink his teeth into you and rip out
your flesh in chunks.

Rage overtook my fear and I jumped up swinging. I smashed
the claw into the top of his head. The claw made a satisfying crunch as it sunk
in, and the suit fell sideways.

Mina gripped a long, nasty looking knife with a thick blade
between her hands and brought it down on the forehead of a teenage girl with half
her face and much of her belly missing. Someone had done some chewing on her.

What a horrible way to die.

Ryder held a fireplace poker in two hands and did a running
jump, jamming the poker through the eye of a large man in a police uniform.
“This guy gave me a speeding ticket last week! He was a total tool!”

Kyle looked back at him as he pulled his knife from a dead
woman’s ear. “Yeah. That’s Teddy Picket. He’s been a bully since the first
grade. But Ozzie knocked one of his teeth out for him in tenth grade.”

“Way to go, Ozzie,” Mina grinned, wiping her knife free of
deadie blood.

“He took my chocolate milk.” Ozzie came walking toward us,
shoving his butcher knife into his tool belt. “That just ain’t right.”

Sherry climbed off a woman in yoga pants and a pink tank top
that read,
M.I.L.F.
“Funny, I knew this one too. So
did Kyle. She stole him away from me senior year of high school. For like a
day.”

Kyle looked over at her. “Wow. Gail. She looked good for her
age, though.”

“Yeah?” Sherry said, booting Gail in the dead head. “Not
anymore.”

“Aw, baby, nobody compares to you. I came to my senses,
didn’t I?”

“Yeah, good thing for you, Mister.” She patted his cheek and
looked back toward the compound. “Ah, Jesus. Look at that mess.”

“We’ll clean it up, baby.” Kyle looked back toward the
trees. “Once we’re sure no more of the Zekes decide to be neighborly.”

The scene was surreal. It felt like homicide cops at a
murder scene in a movie, using humor to temper the horror.

This is what the world had come to. It’s how we’d get
through what we had to do to live.

“I’m going to go check on Logan,” Sherry said. “He got bit
pretty badly on his arm and thigh. They tore right into his muscle. I tied the
wounds off tightly, but I don’t know if the bleeding stopped. He needs painkillers
and antibiotics.”

“I’ll come with you.” Mina followed Sherry back to the
compound.

A shudder moved over me as I remembered the dead biting into
Logan, like he was fried chicken. And I felt my stomach turn over.

Taking a deep breath, I turned back toward the woods and
caught Ozzie looking at me.

“It’s happened before and it’ll happen again, Zoe. We get
used to it but we don’t have to like it. We just have to keep going, any way we
can.”

“I know.”

“It’s okay to be scared,” he said. “We’re all scared. Gotta
keep moving through the fear. You’re doing fine.”

For a long moment, we all stood watching the tree line as
our bodies trembled and our hearts slowed, and our breathing stopped coming out
in little gasps for air.

Ryder, Ozzie and I spread out along the perimeter and kept
watch while Sherry and Mina kept an eye on Logan. Kyle and Wilson took a trip
to town for fencing. We needed to keep the deadies out. As evidenced by the
morning’s events, they were becoming a real issue.

Mina came out and headed toward me. She’d put on a light
blue parka with fur around the hood. She could’ve been a model in a catalogue,
selling that parka. Pretty in a girl-next-door way, with even features and
creamy skin, she didn’t look like she fit in this nightmare. I wondered what
her life had been like before the invasion.

Standing beside me, she let out a long breath as she looked
around. “It’s weird. All those people were just normal citizens a few days
ago.”

She was referring to the dead that had come out from the
woods.

“I know.” I lifted my shoulders and shivered. Even with the
warm ski jacket, I was cold.

She grinned. “You don’t talk much, do you?”

I looked down at the ground, and kicked at the snow
absently. “I guess not.”

“So who were you before this all happened?”

“Not someone you’d hang out with.” I risked a glance at her.

“Now, how do you know that?”

I shrugged. “You look . . . nice. Like you come from a good
home. People who cared about you. I’m a little rough around the edges. I
might’ve done your hair, but that’s the only way I think we’d have ever had a
conversation.”

“Ah, you’re pre-judging me. Judging the book by its cover.”

“You mean you’re not nice?”

“Oh, I’m nice. But I’ve got all kinds of friends, from every
walk of life. Well, had all kinds of friends.”

“You look like a kindergarten teacher.”

She laughed. “I worked at the gas station down the road. You
were a hairstylist?”

I nodded. “I was supposed to start an internship. I’m pretty
good, too. I think it really was my calling.”

“Nah,” she said. “This was your calling. Kicking chomper ass
and figuring out a way to get our planet back.”

The idea hadn’t dawned on me before she’d said it. But maybe
she was right. Maybe that’s why we’d survived.

* * *

Ozzie, Kyle and Wilson had piled the dead onto a dump truck
that had been parked behind a huge barn behind the compound. They were piled
into the back, driven about a mile up the road, and dumped into a ravine.
Hopefully they would be frozen for a couple of months if the weather
cooperated. Then, they’d thaw and stink to high heaven. We thought of burning
them, but no one could stomach the thought of what human flesh burning would
smell like. We just couldn’t do it.

I heard the sound of hardened snow crunching beneath boots.
I turned to see Mina approaching. She’d gone back in about an hour before.

She looked troubled.

I thought of Logan. “How’s the patient?”

“He’s hanging in there, but it’s bad. Really bad. Sherry is
keeping him under morphine for the pain.”

“He knew this would happen.”

“What do you mean?”

“This morning, while we were doing dishes, he was scared. I
gave him a pep talk. Now I feel like an asshole.”

“Zoe, maybe it was the fear allowed this to happen.”

I frowned. “We’re all scared, Mina.”

“Yeah, but maybe he hesitated. You hesitate, you die. It’s
like Ozzie said, you have to work through the fear. Use it, even. To give you
an edge. Maybe he was paralyzed by it.”

I said nothing, and looked toward the woods. I didn’t feel
comfortable blaming the victim, but maybe she had something there.

She changed the subject. “Do you want to swap for a while?
Sherry has chicken noodle soup and turkey sandwiches on the table.”

I hadn’t even realized I was hungry until she mentioned the
food. “Sure. If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t. We all have to do our part around here. That means
that we all need to do every job, and swap jobs when we have to. I can use the
air. I mopped the floor where the deadies piled up.” She made a face. “It was
so gross. Organs that had fallen out. Blood that had gone bad. I had to have a
bucket near me. I puked twice. Gagged when I wasn’t puking.”

My stomach rolled just thinking of it. “That’s nasty.”

“You don’t even know.”

A rumbling sound made us both turn toward the road. Kyle’s
big pick-up stopped in front of the compound. Wilson followed him in an H3
Hummer and parked beside him.

“They got the fencing. Good.” Mina’s breath came out in
puffs of fog as she spoke.

“Nice ride. Wilson rode down with Kyle, didn’t he?”

“Yeah. He must’ve picked that up during the trip. Good taste.
That sucker is tough.”

Ozzie came out of the compound and walked around the back of
Kyle’s truck. He patted the H3 on the hood. “Now that’s what I’m talking
about.”

“It was sitting in the parking lot of a GM dealer. We broke
the glass and found the key. No one there to respond to the alarm. There are a
few more in the lot. We should make a trip back there and get at least one
more.”

Ozzie gave a nod. “H3s will come in handy.” He turned his
attention to Mina and me. “Any sightings of anything that shouldn’t be near
us?”

I shook my head.

“Nope. Not yet.” Ryder walked toward the truck. “Need some
help?”

“Could always use it,” Kyle called out. He looked over at
Mina and me. “You two keep watch until we get this unloaded. After we’ve all
eaten lunch, we’ll start putting it up. I want this area fenced off before
dark.”

So we would lose another day, working on the fencing instead
of rescuing the women we loved from the crawlers. “We won’t search for entrance
points in the ground?”

Kyle stopped and walked toward me. “I’m sorry, Zoe. I have a
daughter out there. But we have to get the fencing up or we could get overrun
again. I have to keep our group safe. It’s number one priority.”

I swallowed down anger, which burned in my throat like lava.
“Kyle, one more day could mean the difference between life and death for the
women underground.”

“If we die because of a zombie horde, none of it matters.”

I knew he was right. But the urgency and desperation I felt
brought tears of rage and helplessness to my eyes. I pressed my lips tightly
together and tried not to cry in front of him.

“I’m sorry. I don’t want to lose anyone. Do you understand
that?” His face was kind, and his eyes held sympathy, which pissed me off
because it made me want to cry all the more.

I nodded and turned back toward the woods.

He hesitated, and I could feel his eyes on me, then he
turned and headed back to the trucks.

I gritted my teeth, staring out at ground around the trees.

“Zoe,” he called to me.

I turned.

His head was tipped slightly to the side and downward as he
looked at me. “Go get some lunch. Take a short break.”

Saying nothing, I headed toward the compound.

* * *

I was heavy hearted as I sat at the table with a bowl of
Sherry’s soup in front of me. It was hot and tasty and warmed me as I listened
to Logan’s fevered cries from the back room. I heard Sherry’s soft voice as she
spoke to him, but couldn’t hear what she was saying. Again I thought of the pep
talk I’d given him about being survivors. Then this happens to him. I felt like
a liar and a fraud, because my words, meant to give him strength and courage,
had done him harm.

The soup in my bowl was cooling and almost gone when Sherry
came out of the room. “I think he’s asleep, for the moment. I gave him a
sedative.”

“Do you think he’ll make it?”

She shook her head, one hand rubbing the back of her neck.
She looked exhausted. “I don’t know.”

“You speak like a doctor. Are you a doctor?”

“I was. Had a private practice down in Glendon. Before all
this.”

“You still are.” I nibbled my turkey sandwich. The bread was
soft and still warm from the oven. Sherry made incredible bread. “You could’ve
been a cook. This is excellent.”

She offered a small smile. “Thanks, Zoe. I do what I can.
You know?”

I nodded. “I do.”

She sat across from me at the table. “You’re still upset. Is
it because of the Zekes? They were a surprise to us all. We hadn’t seen a horde
like that since we got here.”

“Partly. But . . . ” I didn’t want to sound like I was
complaining to her about Kyle. I definitely didn’t want to step on anyone’s
toes.

“But?” She watched me, a question in her dark eyes.

“I just wish we could go get my sister from down there,
where ever they have her. I don’t want her to spend one more minute under
there.” I shook my head. “I feel like we’re running out of time to save these
women. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to complain. I’m just really scared for them.”

Sherry nodded. “Me too, Zoe. My daughter is down there.
Ryder’s sister. Ozzie’s girlfriend. Mina’s girlfriend.”

“Her girlfriend?”

Sherry tipped her head. “Yes. Her partner. You know. . .”

“No, I get that. I’m curious why the crawlers took her
girlfriend and not her.”

“I think Mina was at work at the time. She stopped at the
pharmacy to get a script filled.” A worried look crossed Sherry’s face. “She’s
a diabetic. I hope we can keep her in insulin for a while.”

A light went on in my head. “That’s why she wasn’t taken.
She is defective.”

“I wouldn’t put it that way,” Sherry said.

“That’s the way it was put to me, by my niece before she was
completely transformed into a crawler. She said they couldn’t use me because
I’m defective.”

“I had cancer,” Sherry said. “Of the uterus. I’m in
remission.” She studied me for a moment, looking like she didn’t really want to
ask me the next question on her mind. “What makes you defective?”

I shrugged. “I honestly don’t know, and since the invasion,
I can’t just go to the doc and ask for some tests. It’s anyone’s guess what’s
wrong with me. Other than fearing for my life I feel fine.” I gave a humorless
snort. “
I feel fine
. That’s what a lot of people say
just before they drop dead, isn’t it? I should be so lucky.”

Sherry pushed me lightly. “Stop. We need you here. We’ll
figure something out for you. Find a facility with working equipment or
something.”

I pushed out a breath. “Sherry, why aren’t we going down
there? We may never have another horde. Or at least, not tonight. Isn’t it
worth the risk to get them back?”

Sherry studied me with big liquid eyes. Her coffee colored
skin was almost ashen today. She looked sick with worry and beyond exhausted.
“Not if we lose everyone. Yes, my daughter is more important to me than the
group. Than—” her chin trembled and her voice cracked. She took a breath. “Than
anyone. And I can’t stand the thought of her down there.” She swiped at a tear
and I felt terrible bringing it up. “But we need a safe place to bring her back
to if we manage to get her out. If we manage to get all of our girls out. What
good is it if we get them out and the compound is overrun with the dead? We’ll
all die.”

What she said made sense. But my heart disagreed with the
decision.

She saw the doubt on my face. “Zoe, we’ll go at first light.
I promise. Okay?”

First light seemed like an eternity away, even as the sun
sank ever lower in the sky.

* * *

All but Sherry helped to get the fencing up. It was in
sections, which helped. Kyle had owned his own construction business, and he
had all the right machinery to drill holes deeply enough into the frozen ground
to keep the sections of fencing from coming out.

It took us until dusk, but we got all of the sections in
surrounding the immediate perimeter of the compound. The fencing was a good
choice. Iron, with pointed peaks separated by only a foot. The fence stood six
feet high, and had iron bars which stood vertically. There were no bars set
horizontally to get a foot hold, other than one set across each section which
sat about six inches from the ground. The dead wouldn’t be able to climb over
it, and if they did make it, they would impale themselves on the sharp points.

“Everyone in the compound,” Kyle said. “Dark is coming.”

Dark came and we ate leftover soup and sandwiches with only
LED lanterns to light the room. We ate quietly, and listened for the tell tale
sounds of the lizards as they climbed all over the compound, scratching and
thudding on the windows and roof.

Within a half hour, we heard them.

We took turns keeping watch in two hour intervals, to make
sure none of those things didn’t find a way in while we slept.

Every so often Logan would cry out when the morphine would
wear off, and Sherry, who slept beside him on a cot would quiet him down. His
fever hadn’t broken, and Sherry kept the pain and infection away as well as she
could. His wounds weren’t healing. Nobody knew what to do, except to try to
keep him comfortable.

I slept fitfully, and volunteered to keep watch at 2:00 a.m.
I was awake anyway.

It was hard to sleep with all the clawing and scraping all
around us.

A dark thought crept into my mind, making my skin break out
in gooseflesh.

Right now they couldn’t get in. But what if these things
figured out a way to drive us out?

* * *

Today was the day.

We were going underground. I was beyond scared, jittery,
tired. My muscles ached from lack of sleep, but I wanted to get Kelly back.
Today we were going to bring our loved ones out of the deep, dark tunnels they
were in. They had to still be alive. We’d get them back. One way or the other.
At least we would try.

We started with what we knew. We knew where one of the holes
to their underground lair was. Ozzie spray painted a red “X’ on the tree
directly behind it, so we’d know exactly where the hole was located.