You and Me against the World: The Creepers Saga Book 1 (16 page)

“Adam, what would you want us to do if the situation was reversed?”

“Save the kids.”

“Let’s go then.”

They climbed into the bus and drove to the back of the school.

Annie was in trouble. The horde had separated her from the group, and they were coming at her too fast for her to switch to her guns. She danced forward, back, and then side to side, slicing the closest Creepers with her blades. There were too many of them, though, and she had lost a safe place for her back. The Creepers were getting behind her.

Webster was nearest and saw that Annie was trapped. He was almost out of bullets.

“Annie,” he yelled.

She didn’t answer but gave him a quick glance to acknowledge she had heard him. He fired at two more Creepers.

“Watch over here,” he called. “When you see the opening, run your ass this way.”

She spun forward and sliced the neck of a Creeper. It clutched at its throat and fell to the ground. She nodded.

Webster emptied his clip on the Creepers that stood between him and Annie. Then he ran in her direction. She saw what he intended and tried to call him off, but it was too late. Webster dove into the Creepers and pushed forward like an offensive lineman. The Creepers and Webster stumbled and fell toward the trough. He continued to push even as they bit and slashed at him. Webster gave a final heave, and the Creepers fell into the trough. He fell in behind them. His sacrifice had created a small opening for Annie, and she sprinted through it to rejoin the group.

Webster died beneath the pile of infected. He never screamed.

Annie holstered her blades and drew her guns. She fired at Creepers as she attempted to work her way back to Webster’s torn body. Austin grabbed her shoulder.

“Don’t!” he yelled. “Or he died for nothing.”

He didn’t wait for her retort as he emptied the last of his bullets on the horde. He dropped the rifle and picked up his baseball bat.

Nick was glad he had taken a satchel of clips with him to the fence. Still, there were too many Creepers, and the bag was emptying quickly. He looked over at Thorn and Devin.

“Dev, we’re fucked.”

“Yep, I think so,” Devin said and then shot a galloping Creeper.

“Thorn, how are you on bullets?”

“Just about empty. Did they make it out?”

“Yeah,” Nick yelled. “I saw the bus lights. I think they drove across the football field.”

“Good,” Devin and Thorn said at the same time.

Annie was out of bullets. She had returned to her twin machetes, but now waited for the Creepers to advance rather than working toward them. Austin swung his bat in a figure eight. He swung it right to left and then left to right in a continuous motion, but his arms were getting tired and numb.

The group’s backs were at the fence.

“Sorry, guys,” Devin said. “Screwed-up plan after all.”

Music blared from inside the school.

The Creepers turned to face the school, and then some galloped toward the entrance. Headlights from an SUV came on, and the vehicle sped at them. It took out several Creepers with its bumper. The SUV spun wide around the trough, but one tire fell in and exploded before it popped out and rode the rim. The SUV almost hit them before it crashed through the fence and then reversed. It came to a stop half in and half out of the destroyed fence. The back door swung open, and Goldie came out with guns firing. They ran to the SUV and jumped inside. Goldie backed in, and the six of them crammed on the backseat as Brandon sped off.

“That looked a little close,” Brandon said from the driver’s seat.

“You think?” Austin said.

“Did everyone get out of the school?” Thorn asked.

Brandon did not answer. The SUV sped across the short lawn and then swung onto the road. The flat tire’s rim squealed loudly on the pavement.

“Brandon? Did everyone get out?”

“No,” he said, “not everyone.”

“Who didn’t?” Devin asked.

“It’s a long list. We’re going to meet at Walmart.”

“I don’t get it,” Nick said. “We kept them busy at the front. What happened?”

“The front was a distraction. A lot came in from the side of the school. It was close.”

No one pushed for any more information. For the moment, it was easier not to know.

“Joseph and John?” Brandon asked and looked over the seat.

“No,” Devin answered.

“Webster?” Brandon asked.

No one answered; it was too difficult. Annie cried silently.

Behind them came a small rumble like thunder. A larger explosion followed, and they watched flames climb into the sky above the school.

Chapter 10

A Deceptive Cadence

E
veryday Low Prices

Before the outbreak, America was involved in two long-term military conflicts. The number of men and women who returned with post-traumatic stress disorder was so large that hospitals provided special training on the signs and symptoms. If asked, in theory, if the events of the past weeks could trigger such a condition, Thorn would have agreed. If the group ever reached a future that allowed a safe place to mourn, he guessed all of them would be susceptible. For now, most of what he witnessed was just the advancing emotional numbness of the disorder. There was too much to do, there was still too much danger, and their plan never included a rushed, violent escape. Their survival instincts had not allowed them to collapse in despair over their losses.

He blamed himself. He had underestimated the intelligence of the infected. He may have even downplayed the possibility out of simple denial or perhaps because he feared what intelligent Creepers meant to their chances for long-term survival. It was a mistake he would not repeat.

“I think we should keep moving,” Adam said.

“I think I agree,” Brad added.

They sat in a loose group inside the Walmart store. Brittney and Vanessa stayed by the exit doors and looked out into the parking lot. Caroline and Susan had moved the younger kids farther inside and out of earshot of the conversation. Most of the children cried or rocked silently. The narrow escape had shaken them all.

“We all agree,” said Devin, “but I need to hear what happened back there.”

“Obviously the Creepers are smarter than we thought.”

“Yes, but we’ll get to that. I want to hear what happened with the escape. Why were all the seniors left behind?”

“What? Do you think we just bailed on them or something?” Brad stood up in a challenge.

Austin, a foot shorter than the former high school running back, rose up to defend his brother. But it was Annie who got Brad to sit when she said in a flat, even tone, “Sit the fuck down, Brad.” He wavered for a moment, but the fresh and intense grief on her face softened him, and he sat.

“No, I don’t think you bailed on them, but I want to know what the hell happened.”

“We had all the supplies loaded, but when we brought the bus around, Mrs. Wilkes insisted we load the kids first,” Adam said. “That went fine, and then the Creepers charged us from the side entrance. Still not a deal breaker, though, was it, Brandon?”

“No, we had the guns and the ammunition and we were holding them back.”

“Then, I don’t know which triplet it was—,” Adam continued.

“Josh,” Vanessa called from the door. “It was Josh.”

“So Josh just goes nuts and charges the Creepers. We stopped shooting so we wouldn’t hit him, and that gave the Creepers more room to advance.”

“He saw his brothers die from up in the lighthouse,” Brittney said.

The group was silent for a minute. It was the only memorial they could afford.

“Mrs. Wilkes refused to let us take the sick out,” Susan said as she joined them and sat next to Thorn.

“What do you mean refused?” Devin asked.

“She insisted we had to go, and—well, she had a gun to make her point,” Susan finished.

“Damn,” Nick said.

“There just wasn’t time to argue with the crazy woman. We would have died trying, so we got out of there,” Adam finished.

“Golden was havin’ none of the leaving-you-guys-behind, so I followed her to the front to grab the SUV,” Brandon added. “Mrs. Wilkes just told us to hurry, and then she flipped on the stereo.”

“We heard the music,” Annie said.

“I guess she just lost it.”

“No, I don’t think she did.” Thorn finally spoke.

“Why?”

“I had a conversation with her the other night. She felt very strongly that the elderly were an unnecessary burden and threatened the safety of the kids. I think she just made her own final stand to save our lives.”

The group contemplated in silence.

“I know she saved ours,” Nick said. “If not for the music distraction, I’m pretty confident that we were out of time.”

“Yes,” said Thorn, “I think you’re right.”

“Doc, the Creepers’ intelligence is way beyond what we thought,” Devin said. “That was Connor at the fence. He came back, and they burrowed under the fence to get to us.”

Thorn nodded as he put his arm around Susan.

“Yes, they did. We have a real problem now, and I think we need to get away from here as quickly as possible.”

“The bus is not going very far,” Brad said. “The ride out really screwed up the tranny and now without … well, without a mechanic, none of us can fix it.”

“And now we’re down another SUV,” Brandon added.

The group was quiet, the loss of Webster and the triplets settled in, and it seemed unfair that they had no time to mourn or honor their dead. Perhaps Annie sensed that it was her place to break the silence since Webster had saved her life.

“Dr. Thorn, do you think they will follow us here?” she asked.

“I underestimated them once, Annie. I’m gonna say they will definitely come. The only thing we can hope is that explosion at the school killed most of them.”

“Yeah, what the hell was that?” Brandon asked.

“No idea, but let’s hope it bought us a little time.”

“I say screw the bus. Let’s go down to that dealership and hijack a couple of vans and a new SUV. We get what we can in them and get the hell out of here,” Austin said as he stood.

“Excellent idea,” Devin agreed. “I need three volunteers to go with Austin.”

Adam, Brad, and Annie volunteered.

“Look for cargo vans that can carry nine passengers,” Devin added as the four headed outside.

“The rest of us need to unpack that bus and decide on just the most essential supplies,” Thorn said. “But I think we are going to need to chance staying here one more day. We can’t pull this together before morning, and we can’t get out on the road in broad daylight.”

They agreed, but no one liked the idea of staying another day.

Blood for justice

Thorn didn’t like being outside unprotected and still so close to the school, but they had to unload the bus. With Golden’s silent guard, he felt a little better, but his mind kept returning to an image of the Creepers burrowing their way beneath the parking lot. It unnerved him.

The sound of the vehicle’s approach didn’t spark any special interest. They continued to work and assumed it was Austin and the team returning. As the loud rumble entered the parking lot’s north end, they looked up to watch the approach. The high beams blinded them. It wasn’t until the military vehicle pulled up and stopped that they realized it was not their friends.

Five soldiers exited the large Cougar H transport with guns at the ready.

“Well,” Nick said, “the calvary has finally arrived.”

“Good evening, gentlemen. Are we glad to see you,” Thorn said as he approached the men.

One of the soldiers pointed his rifle at Golden.

“Drop the weapon, miss,” he called.

She stood stone still and stared at him.

“Drop it,” a kinder voice called. “He will shoot you, little miss, and that is unnecessary.” The man smiled at her.

“Golden, put it down,” Devin called.

“I’m Dr. Thorn,” Thorn said as Golden let her .38 drop to the pavement.

“A doctor. Excellent. I’m Major Bosk,” the kind-voiced man said and put out his hand to shake.

“Now if the rest of you will please put down your weapons, we can talk about plans to get you out of here.”

“I kind of feel better being armed,” Nick said. “There are a lot of Creepers around.”

“It’s okay, son,” Major Bosk replied. “I have teams at critical points in the area. You are perfectly safe now.”

The soldiers had their weapons trained on the group, and there was nothing friendly in their expressions.

Thorn’s relief became suspicion. He suddenly didn’t feel very safe.

“Come on, guys, let’s put down the guns. These are the good guys, right, Major?”

“Absolutely, Doctor. Now is it just you five?”

“Yes,” Thorn answered before anyone else could.

“Are you certain, Doctor? I mean, we will search the place.”

“And why would I lie, Major? This is a rescue, isn’t it?”

“Of course it is, here to save you all.”

A muffled scream came from the cargo area of the truck.

“Shut that bitch the fuck up!” the major yelled.

“Not a rescue at all, is it?” Thorn asked, and the major punched him in the face. Thorn fell and landed on his ass.

“Too bad, Doctor, we would have just taken the girly there and gone. Now I got to kill you all.”

The major’s men laughed.

“You’re not even military, are you?” Nick demanded.

“Careful there, boy; I may just kill you first. However, no; we just like the uniforms. It helps with the collection process and all. My name is William.”

“The end of the world and you form Club Rapist. How charming,” Brandon said. The fake major smiled and shrugged.

Thorn wiped the blood from his nose and stood up. Devin remained silent, and Thorn glanced over to see the reason. He spotted Devin’s shotgun on a box and saw that it was hidden from the soldier’s view. Devin’s expression was calm calculation as he planned his attack. Thorn knew that would not end well, but considering his sister had the rapists’ attention and that Caroline, Susan, and five little girls were inside, there really wasn’t much choice. Thorn planned to provide a distraction and buy Devin a few seconds to get his gun.

“Perhaps,” Thorn said, “we can work out a deal.”

“Deal? But, Doctor, you don’t have anything that I can’t take from you.”

“True, but the location of the other survivors might be of interest to you.”

“Really, so you lied. Tell me why would the other survivors interest me?”

“They’re mostly girls between ten and sixteen.”

“Do I look like a pedophile, Doctor?” William asked and then smiled.

“End of the world. The rules are kind of gone, aren’t they?”

William considered it for a moment and then laughed.

“Well, I guess they are gone, aren’t they? And what do you get in exchange for this information?”

“Well, there are certain female survivors that are sisters and girlfriends. Those we keep.”

“Hmm. I’ll tell you what, Doctor: we’ll go see these girls, and if what we get looks okay, then it’s a deal. If not, then the deal’s off.”

“Okay, I’ll take you to them, but the rest of these guys stay behind.”

“Now why would I do that?”

“Because the only other choice you have is to kill us. We won’t tell you where the others are hiding, and it will be impossible to find them.”

“We could torture you.”

“Look in our eyes, William. Do you think any of us care about pain anymore?”

Thorn saw that the conversation had drawn the attention of the armed men. They were watching him intently and had lost interest in the unarmed young men in front of them. Devin had inched forward; the shotgun was directly on his left. Nick was a picture of rage. Thorn had come to think of Nick as the peacemaker, but the expression on the kid’s face was deadly.

“Don’t be so sure about your tolerance to pain, Doctor. My team has some very unique talents in that department.”

Thorn prepared to answer when a head rolled across the pavement between him and William.

Austin, Brad, and Adam had guns pointed at the remaining three men, and Annie stood with a smile on her face, bloody machete at her side. Thorn took the opportunity to return the favor, and he punched William in the face.

They lined the four rapists up on their knees with hands on their heads. Nick guarded them. He still looked full of rage. Devin opened the back of the transport vehicle and turned his flashlight on the interior. There were three females in the back. One had been in her forties, and she was dead. The other two were in their early twenties and were in very bad shape. They had suffered beatings and torture, and their breathing was weak and choppy.