The Fall of Society (The Fall of Society Series, Book 1) (31 page)

           
“That’s
it!” Bear said and he aimed his weapon at Ceraulo’s head. “I’m not killing them,
but I’m wasting you!”

           
“Bear,
no,” Ardent told him.

           
Bear
held his anger and didn’t fire.

           
“I’ve
got a better idea for him,” John said.

           
Moments
later, they were all in the entry corridor of the cellblock. They had just
tossed Ceraulo into a holding cell and locked the door on him. “We’ll decide
what to do with him in the morning,” Ardent said. “Right now, we need to finish
getting ready to leave.”

           
John
was in the cafeteria, grabbing some canned food for Ceraulo. Maggie was near
the entrance to the north wing with Corina. “Was it what it sounded like in
there?” Maggie asked John.

           
“You
don’t wanna know,” he said and went back up to the corridor with the food.

           
He
arrived back at the cell as most of the group left; only Lauren and Anthony
remained. John tossed the cans through the bars at Ceraulo and a can opener. “That
should hold you over until morning,” John said.

           
“You
mean when you kill my patients, don’t you?”

           
“They’re
not your patients anymore, you delusional psycho,” Lauren said.

           
“They
are my children,” he said under his breath.

           
“What
did you say?” John asked.

           
“I
said that they are my patients,” Ceraulo barked and he looked at the canned
food. “I don’t eat meat,” he said about one can and tossed it away.

           
“Then
why don’t you do us a favor and use the lid to cut your wrists,” John said.

           
John
turned to leave, but Ceraulo stopped him—

           
“How
did you get in here, John, huh? I had this place locked down tight.”

           
John
leaned in close to the bars and grinned. “I didn’t.”

           
He
walked away with Lauren and Anthony smiling.

           
Ceraulo
chuckled. “Sonuvabitch.”

• • •

           
A
couple hours later and the boat was almost completely loaded with the supplies
from Tom’s trailer. Ardent and Bear just finished putting the motor back
together. “That should do it,” Bear said as he tightened the last bolt.

           
“Okay,
let’s fire it up,” Ardent said.

           
Bear
walked over the boat’s wheelhouse. “Ready?” he asked Ardent.

           
“All
clear, go ahead.”

           
Bear
turned the ignition and the motor stuttered for a moment, but then it roared to
life, and the propeller spun. The noise immediately stirred the dead outside
the back gate and they gathered against it and pounded for a way in. Ardent signaled
Bear to cut it off and the engine moaned to silence, and the dead continued to
storm outside. They were ravenous, but the strong gate held them at bay.

           
“They
really want in,” Bear noted.

           
“Yeah
and we want out.”

           
“I’ve
noticed that more have showed up.”

           
“Me,
too,” Ardent said. “They’re desperate for something to eat.”

           
“Well,
that’s too bad for them because they’re not getting me.”

           
“Tell
me about it.”

           
Tom
approached. “I heard the motor.”

           
“Yeah,
so did they.” Bear gestured to the dead.

           
“So
it’s running, we can leave now?” asked Tom.

           
“It’s
running, so if everyone is in agreement, we’ll leave in the morning,” Ardent
said.

           
“They’re
eager to leave,” Tom confirmed.

           
“Good,
we’ll discuss the details at dinner tonight,” Ardent told him.

           
“I’m
gonna make a special stew for dinner and you guys are having some,” Tom said.
“I don’t wanna hear any of that,” Tom mocked Derek’s voice—“‘We eat MREs
because we’re a unit’ crap.”

           
“Oaky,
Tom, we’ll have some of your stew,” Ardent said with a smile.

           
“Tom,
we need to get your truck back here and hitch the boat to it,” Bear said.

           
“Okay,
I’ll bring it right over,” Tom said and he dug for his keys in his pocket.

           
“You
can’t drive it here, Tom,” Ardent said. “We had the boat motor on for five
seconds and look at what that did,” he said about the wild dead at the back
gate.

           
“Push
it here?” Tom asked.

           
“It’s
the only way,” Ardent said.

           
“That’s
one heavy mother,” Tom said.

           
Bear
told him, “We’re gonna need everyone to help.”

• • •

           
Sometime
later, most of them were at the sinkhole in the front courtyard and they
noticed that Tom had just finished spray painting the trailer doors and the
sides of his trailer with big black letters:
DON’T OPEN, DEAD INSIDE!

           
“You
planning on storing some corpses in there, Tom?” Bear asked.

           
“Nope,
it’s to keep out looters,” Tom said. “I’m leaving a lot of supplies behind, and
maybe they’ll be here if we ever come back.”

           
“I’m
not ever coming back here,” Derek said to himself.

           
The
depression in the ground from the continued collapsing of the sewer tunnel had
moved another several feet since the last time they were here, closer to the
front outer wall.

           
“It’s
moved almost ten more feet since this morning,” Tom observed.

           
“So
how long until it reaches the wall?” Bear asked.

           
“At
this rate, it will reach the wall by tomorrow,” John said.

           
“Then
we leave tomorrow before lunch,” Ardent said.

           
“No,
we leave in the morning at dawn,” John told them.

           
“Agreed,”
Ardent said.

           
“We
haven’t talked about what’s gonna happen when I drive the truck with the boat
out the gate,” Tom said.

           
“What’s
there to talk about?” Derek asked.

           
“Well,
I’m gonna need everyone that’s in the boat to cover me while I’m driving.”

           
“That’s
a given, Tom; don’t worry, you’ll be covered,” Ardent told him.

           
“I
know you’ll cover me, but I’m just concerned about when I’m turning the truck
around to put the boat in the water,” Tom said.

           
“What
do you mean ‘turn the truck around?’” Ardent asked.

           
“So
I can back the boat into the water.”

           
“No,
no, no, you’re not gonna back the boat into the water, Tom,” Bear told him.

           
“I
don’t understand,” said Tom.

           
“What
do you think, the cannibals are gonna let you turn around and then guide you
in?” John told him sarcastically.

           
“No,
I don’t think that.”

           
“You
have to drive your truck straight into the water,” John told him. “It’s the
only way.”

           
“Into
the water?”

           
“Yeah,
as fast as you can, to make sure the boat gets in deep enough to float once we
release it from the trailer,” Bear said.

           
“Okay.”

           
The
rest of the group was emerging from the hospital to join them.

           
“All
right then; let’s get the truck moved,” Ardent said.

           
“I’m
not looking forward to this,” Derek complained.

           
Milla
teased him, “Aw, poor baby afraid of a little hard work?”

           
“Yes,
you know that,” he answered genuinely.

           
They
assembled at Tom’s big rig Mac truck, and it was massive. Ceraulo wasn’t there,
of course, and neither was Corina. Anthony was behind the wheel and the rest of
them were behind the truck in positions to push it. “Everyone ready?” Tom said.

           
“No,
but let’s get it over with,” Alan growled.

           
“Yeah,
let’s go,” Bear said.

           
“Okay,
on three,” Tom instructed. “One, two, three. Push!”

           
They
pushed against the behemoth and instantly felt the ten tons of the truck; their
feet dug into the ground as they gave it everything they had. Finally, the
silent metal beast began to inch forward, very slowly, but it moved. Little by
little, they pushed the truck to the north side of the hospital and down the
side of the building to the back. Once they passed the gate in the center of
the building, Joe closed and locked it, and then went back to help with the
truck again.

           
They
pushed the truck to the front of the boat.

           
“Okay,
stop it right here,” Tom said.

           
Anthony
applied the brakes.

           
Tom
told them, “Let’s push it back toward the trailer.”

           
The
group switched positions from the rear to the front to push the truck.

           
“Alright,
one, two, three. Push!” Tom said loudly.

           
They
pushed as hard as they could, but they were tired and the truck didn’t move.

           
“Come
on!” Ardent said. “Put your backs into it!”

           
They
gave it more than they had left, and then the truck began to move; they lined
up the back of the truck with the trailer hitch. Finally, they moved it into
position and they were done.

           
“Stop!
Right there!” Tom said.

           
“That
is one heavy mother!” Bear said.

           
“Didn’t
I tell you?” Tom answered.

           
Anthony
jumped out of the driver’s seat, “That wasn’t so bad,” he said smiling.

           
Lauren
wiped the sweat off her forehead, “Funny guy.”

           
Falling
on his ass, Derek said, “Jesus, I need a beer!”

           
“You
and me, both,” Milla said as she sat next to him.

           
“Aw,
poor baby tired from a little hard work, huh?” Derek mocked her with a smile.

           
“No
pussy for you tonight,” she said.

           
“I’m
too tired, anyway,” he said.

           
She
grabbed his crotch, “Oh, really?”

           
“Well,
not that tired,” he grinned sheepishly.

           
“Get
a room,” Bear told them.

           
“We
have a bathroom,” Derek answered.

           
“Hey,
Maggie, where’s Corina?” Milla asked.

           
“She’s
not feeling well, so she’s lying down,” Maggie said to her. “I think she’s
coming down with a cold or something.”

           
“Aw,
poor thing, I hope she gets better soon,” Milla said.

           
“Thanks,”
Maggie answered.

           
“So
when are we leaving?” Alan asked.