Trepidation (23 page)

“It feels wonderful,” Asia said.

I squeezed her hand. “We made it back...and alive at that.”

Triumph flickered in her beautiful, dark eyes. “I know. I still can’t believe it.”

I smiled. “Yep. We’re survivors...again.”

She smiled back at me, then closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. 

Nick came over and sat next to me. “Don’t worry, little bro. I’m not gonna give you a lecture...yet.”

“Nick,” I said, “I need to talk to Max. It’s important.”

“Whatever it is, you can tell me,” he said.

I bit my lip hard, certain that my brother would be none to happy to hear I’d jumped into an enemy truck and sneaked into enemy territory.

“Just tell me. I promise not to chew you out.”

I sighed deeply, then spilled the whole story to him, from start to finish, leaving nothing out. 

His eyes grew wide, and he immediately left the apartment to inform Max of what we’d found out.

A short while later, the doctor made a house call. Asia and I both had frostbite, and my left hand was in pretty bad shape, but Asia was also severely hypothermic. “She’ll need lots of rest and keep her warm,” he said. He also started an IV on her and gave her fluids. The IV drained by gravity and was hung on a silver pole next to her. He wanted to give me one too, but I refused. No use wasting our precious supplies when I didn’t think I needed it.

After the doctor left and another knock came at the door, Val checked the peephole, then smiled slyly and opened it to let Max in. I could tell by the way they looked at each other in that moment that Asia’s suspicions were spot on. 

“I’ll give you guys a few minutes,” Val said, then put on her coat and left.

“How’s Asia?” Max asked.

“She’s sleeping. She needs her rest.” I sat up and looked at Max. I still couldn’t believe he was dating my sister and was hiding it from me.

“Dean, you and Asia risked your life for our community,” he said, “and I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”

“We knew we’d never get an opportunity like that again, so we jumped on it.”

“You did well. I’m getting ready to head out, but I’ve got a few questions, and I wanted to make sure you’re both okay. I also wanted to personally thank you.”

“I can’t let Z take over this town,” I said. “He enjoys killing innocent people.” 

“You’re a brave man, and that’s hard to find these days.”

Max couldn’t believe the lucky break and was assembling teams as we spoke. When he questioned me, I gladly told him everything I knew. 

“I’d like to go too,” I said.

“Not without clearance from the doctor,” Max said.

“What?”

“Dean, you’re a mess. You barely survived. Right now, what you need is rest.”

“Are you leaving right away?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“It’s a dangerous mission,” I said.

“Yes,” he said firmly.

“Then maybe you oughtta kiss my sister goodbye, just in case something goes wrong,” I whispered under my breath.

Max looked at me in shock. “What do you mean?” he asked, trying to play dumb.

“Cut the crap, Max!”

“Dean, I—”

“Just admit it. You’re dating my sister.”

“She
told
you that?”

“No, but Asia mentioned it, and I know she’s right. I’ve seen the way you look at each other, all googly-eyed.”

“We’ll discuss this later,” he said sternly, a bit embarrassed.

“Yes, we should...because you’re way too old for her.”

“Your sister is a grown woman, Dean. For goodness sake! She’s twenty-four years old, not a child.” He blew out a breath and walked out the door.

Clearly, it was a touchy subject for him, but he didn’t tell me not to say anything, so I contemplated whether I should tell Nick or not.

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness washed over me, and I remembered I hadn’t eaten in what seemed like ages. I was weak, thirsty, and exhausted, and I knew I’d have to let Max fight that epic battle without me.

They all left with Max except Kate. She handed me a bowl of hot soup. I enjoyed every hot bite. On the last supply run, I got my hands on a portable gas burner. We didn’t need electricity, matches, lighter, or batteries. It ran on an eight-ounce Butane canister. We used it only on special occasions, as we didn’t wanna burn through all the Butane. So we either cooked outside on the fire like my good old camping days or we used this gas burner.

Kate handed me a glass of cold, thin milk.

I smiled. “Thanks.”

“I put a jug of water outside on the windowsill to make cold milk from powder. It isn’t as good as the fresh stuff from Max’s cows, but the cows aren’t giving a lot of milk right now.”

“This is great,” I said. “When did you get this?”

“On the last supply run, I hit the jackpot. I got some instant mashed potatoes, toilet paper, and, uh...some oats and pasta and even pancake mix.”

“Pancakes? Sounds awesome.”

“Well, we’ve got a gas burner now, so maybe this Sunday, I’ll make a pancake breakfast for everyone.”

“Mmm. Sounds great.”

She looked at me and smiled. “To tell you the truth, Dean, I’m more excited about the toilet paper than I am about the pancakes.”

I laughed. “Yeah, it’s sad that we live in a world where toilet paper is a hot commodity. It’s really wiping me out,” I said with a wink.

“Oh geesh. We need to keep you away from Lucas.”

“What? I thought that joke was absolutely Charmin’!”

W
hen morning came, Nick returned with news: Max and his teams had destroyed the compound outside the city. “Z had a few men stationed there, but most of them were gone. It doesn’t matter though. We took out that compound and got the tank, even if it doesn’t work. We also got our hands on the arsenal of weapons he was storing there.”

“And Z? Did you get him?”

Nick shook his head and looked at the floor. “Nope. The coward ran back to his warehouse.”

“So why didn’t you guys take it out with him in it?” I asked my brother.

“Because there are women and children there,” Nick explained. “Max just wanted to get the weapons away from them. He’s not a murderer, Dean. He just wants peace.”

Lucas shook his head in frustration. “If ya ask me, that Z needs to be exed out, at all costs. This is never gonna stop with that psychopath running things.”

“Max hopes our assault and looting will send a message,” Nick said.

Lucas chuckled. “A message? It’ll just piss him off even more.”

“But Max spared him,” I said. “That should count for something, right?”

“Not when you’re dealing with a crazy man,” Nick said.

“So what now?” I asked.

“We see if Z backs off.”

I cocked a brow. “I don’t see that happening.”

“Then we take him out,” Lucas said, “and I won’t lose any sleep over it when we do.”

Just then, Val walked in. “Max is gonna check out the other compound to see what’s over there. Any volunteers to join him for a little field trip?”

“I’m in,” I said.

***

I
hopped in the truck with Max and Val, and Nick, Claire, Asia, Kate, and Lucas hopped in another vehicle. They were going to approach the compound from a different direction than us. We took off, speeding over bumps, and crossed into the danger zone to assess what we were dealing with.

Max put on the brakes when we were close to our target. The teams behind us stopped and waited for his command. He jumped out, and I pointed my gun into the vegetation as he glanced around, but I didn’t see any sign of zombies. 

“We have no idea what’s over that ridge,” Max said. “Z’s men could be waiting for us—or maybe not. We just don’t know. It’s best we check it out first.”

“I can scout it out,” I offered.

“Not on foot. Too dangerous,” he said.

It wasn’t windy, but it was freezing outside, and I was thankful for my hat and leather gloves. Max’s men were stationed all around us so nothing could sneak up on us, and that was also a relief.

Max walked to another truck and pulled out an oversized remote-control helicopter, about two feet by two feet. “This will give us a real edge,” he said.

“A toy?” I questioned.

“Not just a toy, my friend. This little beauty is equipped with a camera, and I can see the images on my iPad. We’ll be able to see what’s down there without having to risk going in unaware.”

“It’s pretty amazing, Dean,” Val said. “Max showed it to me earlier. We flew it high in the sky and took video of the apartment complex. Everything looks totally different from up there, almost...peaceful and normal.”

“I saw you two out there laughing, and I wondered why you were playing with a toy.”

Val glanced up at Max and grinned like a silly schoolgirl. 

“You mentioned an iPad, but how does that work without the Internet?” I asked.

“The satellites still work, so we don’t need Wi-Fi or anything. It’s equipped with a gyroscope and a high-resolution digital video camera.”

I smiled. “Spyware, huh?”

“Yep. The camera is already built-in, right underneath the cockpit.”

“Can I fly it?” I asked.

He smiled at me, made sure the helicopter was ready for takeoff, and carefully set the high-tech gadget on the ground. “Perhaps another time.” He hit the button on the remote control, and the whirlybird took off into the air. 

“And we’re off!” Val said.

I stared at the iPad in Max’s hand, a live feed, as if we were actually sitting in the pilot’s seat. The little copter flew high and fast, and the image was sharp and clear, giving us a valuable bird’s-eye view. Our jaws dropped when the helicopter whirled out of sight and we saw a herd of zombies on the iPad screen, stumbling around in every direction. 

“Son-of-a...” Max stuttered, studying the horrible scene. “Still wanna march down there on foot, kid?” he asked me.

I shook my head. “On second thought...”

Val held the map tight, peering intensely at it. “It’s the right spot.”

I stared at the undead army of hideous creatures. “It’s a trap!” I said. “Z’s men tried to lead us straight into a dinner party!” 

Max cursed, a string of several four-letter words I’d never even heard before.

Val’s face was suddenly white as a ghost’s. “Nick and the others! They’re heading to the other side to lie low and wait for orders from us.”

I swallowed hard. “They’re heading right toward the herd! We’ve gotta stop ‘em!”

Max reached for his walkie-talkie. “Team 7 and 8, pull out now! I repeat, abort now!”

The walkie-talkie crackled, and I could barely hear the garbled voice coming from the other end. A chill shot down my spine. “Try it again! They’re gonna die down there!”

“Y
ou’ve gotta warn them, Max!” Val said.

Max tried again, to no avail.

My heart thundered in my chest, and I was ready to jump in the truck and go get them myself. We didn’t have much time, and I knew every second counted if we wanted to save their lives.

“We could take a shortcut and try to cut them off before they get to the danger point,” Max suggested.

Val shook her head and pointed to the map. “But it’s impenetrable right here. We’ll never get through.”

“I know. That’s why I sent them on foot.”

I studied the map for a moment, and an idea struck me. “We
can
warn them!” I said.

“How?” Val asked frantically, wide-eyed.

“The helicopter! We can attach a note to it and find them with the video stream.”

“Hmm. It could work,” Max said. “Paper! Pen! I need it now, people!”

I opened the glove compartment and rummaged through, happy to find a Magic Marker.

Another woman found a long, white envelope.

I wrote, “WARNING: Team 8 retreat! Zombie herd approaching. From Dean.” I attached it to the helicopter, and Max sent her back into the air.

As the miniature aircraft disappeared up into the tree line, I inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. My whole group could be annihilated if our plan didn’t work, my brother and my best friends.

Val held my hand, and I looked at her nervously, trying to keep it together. The louder I panted, the tighter she squeezed my hand in reassurance. “Say a prayer,” she whispered.

“I already am.”

I looked down at the screen as Max maneuvered the helicopter around, searching for the two missing teams.

He flew the copter forward, backward, up, down, clockwise, and counterclockwise.

“Where are they?” I asked.

“Just gimme a minute,” Max said. “There are a lot of places to check, and they might be hiding.”

“We don’t have a minute, Max! They’re running out of time, and they may not even now it!”

Val gently led me away. “Let’s give Max some room.”

“I can’t take this, Val,” I whispered. “If we don’t hurry—”

“They’re gonna be okay,” she said.

“I found them!” Max yelled.

I rushed back over and looked down at the iPad. The helicopter was still high in the air, but figures were walking through a clearing. Unfortunately, right over the next hill, there was a multitude of flesh-eaters just waiting for an easy meal. There was no way we would’ve gotten there in time, so I was glad we’d sent the note. I just hoped Nick would see it in time. I assumed he’d recognize the helicopter as Max’s, because we’d both secretly made fun of Val and Max for playing with it that very morning.

When Nick saw the helicopter zoom overhead, he pointed at it; the others gazed up and started waving.

“He recognizes it!” I said.

“Let me pull around and land her,” Max said.

I held my breath as Max fussed with the controller.

As soon as the copter landed, Nick grabbed the note and read it. He mouthed, “
Thank you!
” and there was relief written all over his face. Max started it up and flew back toward us.

I let out a big sigh of relief; there was no way they could have fought off a herd that large. When my sister hugged me, my hands finally stopped shaking. 

“Oh no,” Max said. “We’ve got company.”

When I glanced down at the iPad, I saw some of the group shuffling through the weeds and overgrowth, heading right for us.