The Becoming (27 page)

Nearly an hour later, Cade crouched behind a battered old Buick, her trusty Jericho handgun in her grip as she peered around the side of the vehicle. Her rifle rested reassuringly against her back. She touched the strap gently, as if drawing energy and strength from it. The coast appeared to be clear from her vantage point, but she wasn’t going to move until Brandt signaled to her.

Speaking of Brandt …

Cade leaned forward another inch and spotted the man kneeling behind a pickup truck, Theo crouched beside him. The sound of the infected surrounding the RV ahead of them masked the noise of Brandt rustling in the bag over his shoulder. Cade wondered what in the world he was doing, until he pulled out one of the glass bottles she and Brandt had carefully measured out. It was over half full with amber liquid. Brandt opened the bottle and crammed a rag into it. A slow smile spread across Cade’s face.

“Molotov,” Cade breathed out with a big grin. “Badass.”

Brandt chose that moment to give Cade the watched-for signal, beckoning her to join the two men. Cade ran to them in a low crouch, her rifle banging painfully against her shoulder blade. She made a mental note to tighten the strap if the three of them actually made it out of this suicide run alive. She dropped to one knee beside Brandt and squinted at him in the darkness.

“What’s the plan?” Cade hissed. She looked at him expectantly and adjusted her grip on her gun.

“Molotov cocktail,” Brandt said with a smirk. “I figure those bastards might be a little thirsty. Besides, it will create a nice diversion when I smash it against that building over there.” He pointed to a brick storefront about fifty yards away.

Cade measured the distance with her eyes, frowning at the numerous cars that blocked the path. “Can you manage that far?”

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you didn’t have any confidence in me,” Brandt teased. He gave her what she could only define as a shit-eating grin and flipped open the silver lighter in his hand. He struck the wheel with his thumb, and a bright flame burst forth. Cade rolled her eyes and gritted her teeth in exasperation.

“That does
nothing
to answer my question,” she snapped.

“Well, we’re just going to have to see, aren’t we?” Brandt said. He touched the flame to the alcohol-soaked rag stuffed into the neck of the bottle and abruptly stood. He drew his arm back as if ready to throw a football. His arm snapped forward, and the bottle shot through the air in a perfect arc. Cade ducked, and her eyes followed the flaming missile of their own accord as it struck the brick wall and shattered on impact. A wave of flame washed out over the stones and illuminated their path. The sound of breaking glass echoed across the street.

“Go!” Brandt ordered.

Cade wasted no time. She leapt to her feet, stumbling over a crack in the pavement. She recovered quickly and raised her handgun, pointing it toward the masses of infected as her free hand grabbed for Theo. Her fingers found the strap of his bag, and she used it to haul the paramedic to his feet even as she started forward. She ran toward the RV as fast as her boots would carry her, dodging between cars and around luggage and other debris littering the street.

The infected swarmed forward in response to the presence of the three humans making their way through their ranks. Cade swore and aimed her gun at the nearest of the infected—a woman in a shredded band t-shirt and the remains of a pair of khaki pants. She squeezed off a shot. The bullet struck the woman in the chest; she staggered and quickly recovered, resuming her chase. Cade didn’t dare slow down or stop to take another shot with more careful aim.

There was a flash of light in the corner of Cade’s eye. Brandt had thrown another Molotov cocktail, and fire spread among the thickest group of infected merging onto Cade’s position. Cade pointed her gun into the burning mass, but before she could fire her weapon, the group of infected began to scream. The unholy sound sent a horrific chill up Cade’s spine. She squeezed the trigger—once, twice, three times—and two of the infected fell, writhing in pain and burning.

As Cade skirted a four-door sedan, Brandt appeared at her elbow. Distracted by his appearance, Cade nearly ran right into the sedan’s opened back door. She caught the edge of the door and swung herself around it as Brandt panted out, “Path should be clear enough to get to the RV.”

“I really fucking hope so,” Cade gasped out. She glanced back and saw that Theo was barely keeping pace with them; he looked winded, and she could hear his panting, even with the several feet of distance that separated them. “We’re almost there!” she called back to Theo, trying to reassure him and give him motivation to keep moving. As if the infected all over the street weren’t motivation enough.

Three more sprinting steps took Cade right to the door of the RV. She beat her hand frantically against the door to rouse the occupant’s attention as she grabbed Theo by his shirt and pulled him in close to her. The paramedic flattened himself against the side of the vehicle and watched the surge of infected coming toward them. Cade sucked in a breath and raised her handgun. She was about to squeeze the trigger, but she froze as Brandt stepped protectively between her and the oncoming horde. He had another bottle of liquor in his hand, and he lit the rag he’d stuffed into it.

The RV’s door flew open and rammed Cade hard on the shoulder. Cade sidestepped away from it and bumped into Theo, nearly knocking them both over. A girl’s voice came from the dim insides of the RV.

“Get in! Quick!”

Cade didn’t have to be told twice. Her hand found the strap of Theo’s bag again, and she swung Theo around and shoved him into the RV more roughly than she intended to. She was sure that Theo would forgive her for any bruises he’d sustained.

Once Theo was securely inside, Cade turned back to Brandt. He’d lobbed his glass grenade, and it had shattered, the flames spreading across the pavement. As the clothes of the infected caught flame, the awful screams surged in volume. Cade forced herself not to clap both hands over her ears. The infected staggered into each other, their mouths wide and their hands clawing the air.

“Oh jeez, come on!” Cade shouted. She grabbed Brandt’s shirt and pulled him away from the infected. He whirled around and pushed her to the door, and they both stumbled into the dark RV. Brandt slammed the door behind them, and in moments, he’d locked it and begun to barricade it as a temporary measure of protection.

Cade slouched against the white Formica countertop in the RV’s small kitchenette, panting and trying to catch her breath. She closed her eyes for a moment as her chest heaved. When she opened them again, Cade looked around the RV’s compact interior.

The RV was a stereotypical affair, on the cheap end of the spectrum, the type of RV a lower-middle-class retired couple might purchase for a road trip. It was dark and cramped, especially with four people crammed into it—intended, as it was, for maybe two people. Empty food packages and water bottles littered the floor by the couch-like bench near the front of the RV. The bench itself showed signs of recent habitation; pillows were piled at one end of the couch, and a woolen blanket lay in a pile in the middle of it. And the presumed former occupant of the couch perched on the driver’s seat at the front of the RV, turned sideways with her foot resting in Theo’s hand. The paramedic had wasted no time beginning his examination of the young woman’s injured extremity.

“You must be Remy,” Cade said as she moved a bit deeper into the RV to examine what little was there.

“Yeah. Remy Angellette,” the young woman said, her voice strained, her face pale. She held the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip as Theo prodded at her ankle. She looked like she was about to pass out—the perfect way to cap off the entire situation. “I’d say I’m pleased to meet you guys,” Remy continued haltingly, “but considering the circumstances, I’m kind of not.”

Cade chuckled at Remy’s attempt at humor. A loud thud against the side of the RV interrupted any reply Cade could have formulated. Cade jerked to attention, and Brandt rushed to look out the window above the bench.

“What’s the story?” Cade asked as she joined Brandt. She holstered her handgun and slung her rifle from its spot against her back. She gripped the weapon tightly, her fingertips pressed hard against the steel in her hands.

Brandt didn’t answer right away. He nodded toward the window, and Cade climbed onto the bench to look out. Another bang shook the RV. Cade caught a glimpse of the street, and her eyes widened in shock. “We’re totally surrounded,” Brandt said tonelessly. He raised his voice as the infected outside threw their bodies against the sides of the RV. “And they are definitely aware that we’re in here.”

Cade swore. Her nerves made her hands shake, and she tightened her grip on the rifle to hide the tremors. “Shit. How long do we have?” she asked. She took two steps across the narrow aisle to look out a window on the other side of the RV. If anything, more infected were massed on the passenger’s side than on the driver’s side, which was downright sparse in comparison.

“What’s going on?” Theo called from the front. He wrapped Remy’s ankle in an elastic bandage, looping it around and under her foot to immobilize her ankle as much as possible.

“We’re surrounded,” Cade announced. The thudding outside the RV increased, and the entire vehicle rocked with the impact. Cade hugged her rifle against her chest as her nerves threatened to get the better of her. Theo looked up from his work.

“We’re …
fuck,
” he breathed. He plunged a hand into the small canvas bag slung over his shoulder and began to dig for Heaven only knew what.

“How are we going to get out of here?” Remy spoke up, her voice wavering in fear. “I mean, what’s the plan?”

A silence fell over the inside of the RV at Remy’s words. The only sound was the banging from outside and the faint rattling of dishes in kitchen cabinets. Cade and Theo exchanged a wary look before Cade turned her eyes onto Brandt, who had yet to speak.

“Brandt?” Cade prompted. She kept her voice controlled, though it trembled with her shaking nerves. Brandt didn’t look at her; he’d begun to paw through his own bag, all of his attention focused on its contents. Cade only gave half a thought to the question of what he might be searching for.

The RV rocked again, more forcefully than before.

“Brandt,” Cade repeated. Anger seeped into her voice, overriding the nervousness, but she didn’t care. It wasn’t exactly the time to play nice and polite when infected were almost literally banging at their door.

Brandt muttered something under his breath that Cade couldn’t hear.

The RV rocked still more violently.

Remy let out a startled cry and gripped the steering wheel tighter.

Cade’s temper finally got the better of her. “Brandt!” she shouted.

“
What?
”

“Plan! What is it?” Cade demanded.

“I don’t have one, okay?” Brandt yelled. Cade froze as his words registered.

“
What?
” Cade gasped. “You dragged us out here, you got us
in
here, and you don’t have a way to get us back
out
of here?”

“I didn’t get that fucking far in my planning, okay?” Brandt snarled. “I didn’t have much time and—”

“And that’s your excuse for half-assing the plan?” Cade exploded. She nearly dropped her rifle as she flailed her hands in her anger. The RV rocked again and tipped dangerously on the wheels on one side. Cade stumbled and almost fell against Brandt, but she caught the edge of the kitchenette’s counter and hooked her fingers into the sink. The RV rattled frighteningly before it righted itself with a hard shudder. “So help me
God,
” Cade managed to continue once she’d steadied herself, “if we get out of this shit alive, I’m going to fucking kill you myself!”

“I don’t think now is the right time to bitch at me, Cade,” Brandt said. He didn’t look at her as he began to paw through his bag again.

“Then please, Brandt,” Cade hissed through clenched teeth. The RV began to tip again, and she gripped the sink tighter. “Tell me exactly
when
a great time to bitch at you gets here, because this sure as
hell
seems like a fantastic time for it to me!”

Brandt didn’t have time to reply to Cade’s angry words. The RV had reached its tipping point and, to Cade’s horror, was unable to right itself. Cade’s feet left the floor, and she dropped her rifle. She clung to the sink with both hands as the pavement rushed into view behind Brandt.

The RV crashed to the ground, floundering on its side as the infected overwhelmed it.

Ethan remained frozen, his feet practically bolted to the floor as his eyes took in the sight before him. The little girl. Her dark hair. Her SpongeBob nightgown. Her bare feet and horribly maimed skin. It took Nikola’s shriek to drag him from his trance.

“Get her off of me!” Nikola screamed. She braced the heel of her hand against the girl’s forehead and pushed. She fought off the girl’s clawing hands with the other as she struggled to keep the girl’s mouth away from her skin.

Ethan snapped out of it and grabbed the child by the back of her nightgown. He lifted her off of Nikola and slung her several feet down the hallway. The girl tumbled head over heels before she came to rest on the carpet, lying motionless in a heap.