With considerable mental effort, I pushed the pain aside and climbed the boiler. The grate to the ventilation shaft wasn’t bolted or screwed shut. With one shove, it moved up and locked into place against the side of the vent.
Another country song drifted through the opening. I heard the notes clearer now, along with boisterous laughing. Above me loomed a black abyss. Candlelight reached less than a foot into the vent, but I decided it was safe to stand. I did so slowly.
When I stretched my arms up, I didn’t hit anything. I felt against the smooth metal sides. On one, I found a dusty ledge. The grip was substantial enough for someone in great shape, minus a bullet wound, to pull themselves up and shimmy inside. Without a boost, I wouldn’t make it.
I crouched down and looked at Don. Finally he’d be good for something.
Chapter 17
After traveling through cold ventilation shafts for too long, exhaustion accurately described my state of being.
The sharp, aluminum smell permeated my clothing and stuck in my nostrils. My throat and mouth were raw from dust. On top of that, my bruised knees and elbows prickled from banging against walls while we made our way.
Yeah.
We
. After he gave me a boost, Don managed to press his body against the wall and scoot up until he grabbed the ledge in the vent.
Navigating the vents was easy. I followed the music and, after one more boost and some shimmying, came to the sole exit. Artificial light pierced the darkness of the maintenance closet.
If the music hadn’t been so loud, I’d have felt nervous about pushing the grate open. There’s no graceful way to fall face first from a small opening. I landed in a soft pile of clothes. Before Don fell out, I got out of the way. He grunted as he hit the floor.
I waited, expecting a crazy to open the door and recapture me any moment. Minutes passed before I felt confident enough to move forward. That heavy pit of anxiety in my stomach untangled.
The mouthwatering scent of cooked meat hit my nose. I pictured steak cooked to a perfect medium rare. Then I thought of eating human stew, courtesy of Judy-Beth long ago, and my stomach tightened. I knew that familiar beefy scent. It came from a
different
kind of cattle.
Eating other humans was unreasonable. The apocalypse had been in effect for less than a year. Though they were sparse, canned goods would be in many houses and, in some cases, supermarkets. These guys got off on the crazed-control aspect of cannibalism. I filed the thought away for later analysis and took a breath.
The door didn’t squeak as I inched it open, revealing an empty hallway. It was the same hallway I’d passed through before. Music, yelling, drifted from the rooms. Sometimes I heard a faint scream, but it sounded far away. Outside of the building, most likely.
In the middle of the hall, ten feet away, was a lone Coleman lantern. Its white halogen light hurt my eyes. That lantern hadn’t been there before. It was set outside a shut door. A temporary placement, I decided. Someone might come out to retrieve it after finishing whatever they were doing.
“What’s going on out there?”
“
Quiet!
” I hissed at Don. “No talking. Got it?”
I didn’t get a reply, so I had to assume he did.
Farthest away, I spied the wall of windows. The ratty sheets covering them were thin, almost papery, and the bonfire outside shone through them. Orange spots of light flickered against the floor and walls. Silhouettes moved about, some clear and others distorted depending on how far away they were. Just another night at camp for the men outside.
It was probably pure paranoia, but I couldn’t progress past the lantern until its owner reclaimed it. I pulled the door closed and sat back. While I waited, I retrieved my knife.
Twenty years ago—
am I really that old? Where did time go?
— I’d play hide and seek with my sister. Hiding in the closet reminded me of one very important fact: I wasn’t a good hider. She’d always find me within the first couple minutes. Closets, cupboards, and behind curtains were the best I could manage.
Two decades later my hiding spots hadn’t changed. Every time I won it was because she was distracted by something and stopped looking for me.
That was it! Distraction. I knew I wanted to get to the snowmobile, but I also knew I couldn’t walk out the door and just grab it. However, I could do
exactly
that if the crazies’ attention was diverted elsewhere. Say on an epidemic of flesh eating runners? Also, I could probably find out where Beau was through my captive. If I detained someone uninterrupted long enough to question, kill, then release him…well, I just hoped it would work.
Whether it was Lantern Guy or someone else, the next person to come close to the closet would find themselves quite unhappy. My opportunity came before I had the chance to fully finalize my plan.
The point of light moved up along the doorframe. Someone had picked up the lantern, so I cracked the door open. One lonely man stood in the hallway, a rifle slung over his shoulder as he smoked a cigarette.
I pulled the door shut with an audible
click
, hoping it was enough to get his attention.
“Hey? Riggy, is that you?”
I stood to the left of the door, knife ready. A rustling sounded as Don moved out of the way.
“Stop,” I said. “He’ll see you and be distracted. Stay in front of the door.”
“Are you sure? I—”
“I’m sick of these games, Riggy. You ain’t scaring me!”
Footsteps, then the door opened. I came from the side and pulled him in, praying that the door slamming shut wouldn’t bring unwanted guests. Part of me knew the sound wouldn’t be out of place, considering the crazies’ slack security.
Lantern Guy inhaled sharply, ready to yell, but I clapped my hand over his mouth. The cigarette crushed against his lips and he dropped the lantern. Beneath my grasp, he squealed in pain. I was grateful for my gloves. They protected me from skin-to-skin contact, which was good, considering his whole body stank.
Maneuvering in the heaps of clothes under me was difficult. I stumbled forward, Lantern Guy in front of me, and toppled onto him. My side clipped Don’s as he attempted to dive out of the way.
I ended up straddling the guy, but it kept him down.
“Turn off the light,” I told Don. “Quick, before someone sees!”
One flick later and we were submerged in darkness. Lantern Guy thrashed underneath me, but stopped moving once he felt the edge of my knife press against his throat. Anymore fight from him and he would’ve escaped. I had bursts of energy, but I was getting weaker and weaker.
I counted to sixty slowly. No one came. The country music never stopped. I had to question him fast.
“I’ve got a few questions then you’ll be on your way, okay? Nod if you understand.” After he did, I continued. “There was another truck. I heard you have another compound somewhere and the truck might’ve gone there. Do you know if that’s true?”
Nod.
“Okay. I’m going to remove my hand. Any word above a whisper and you can say goodbye to your throat.”
Lantern Guy spit out his cigarette and coughed. I couldn’t blame him. “It went to Burlington.”
“Why?”
“We traded with the another Brotherhood up there. They don’t follow the Immortal One, but He said if we were friendly we could bring ‘em into the flock. One truck of meat,” he paused. “One truck of people for some weapons, and they had to listen to Him give a sermon. It ain’t a fair deal, but He wants more guns.”
“Thanks,” I said. “That’s all I needed to know.”
. Lantern Guy’s hot blood spurt from the slice my knife left in his neck. I backed off as splatters hit my face. His screams of protest gurgled away.
“What are you doing? Wait!” Don knocked me off the crazy.
“He…he…” Don sputtered, and I surmised he’d touched the crazy’s hot blood.
I reached through the dark and pushed him off Lantern Guy. “Fuck, Don! He’s going to turn soon. Get off him!”
I couldn’t waste a second in getting him out of the closet. I opened the door, hoping that no one was in the hall. I needed it empty so I could get him out and close the door. Once he turned and started running, I didn’t care how many people showed. Propping the door open with one foot, I grabbed his boots.
Our voices had risen, but the music outside had, too. Don didn’t move to help me. I heaved Lantern Guy’s body out myself, feeling exposed. I expected someone to come into the hall the whole time, but I didn’t have a choice. No one emerged as I left him in front of one of the closed doors.
If everything went right, the runner would distract the crazies enough for me to flee undetected. Even if they
did
see me, they’d be too preoccupied with a zombie to care. Before I hurried back into the closet, I snatched the rifle off his twitching body. As I shut the door behind me, the potent scent of fresh, coppery blood washed over me.
“This is your amazing plan? You’re going to get us killed!”
Words straight from Gabe’s mouth flowed out of Don’s lips. There were so many of her “type” in the world. The kind that survived because they acted like rats, hiding and feeding off the efforts of others. Yet they had the audacity to complain. I knew I’d see more Dons and Gabes in my future. Unavoidable.
“It’s the only plan I’ve got,” I replied.
The weight of the rifle in my hands felt fantastic.
I took deep breaths, clutching it against my chest, mentally prepping for the run out of the building. Playing it by ear was my only option. Another minute and the runner would be pounding on doors, too stupid to open them. I doubted any of the crazies would expect it. I’d never dealt with someone who’d been bitten, but I figured they’d zombify soon after. Hopefully Lantern Guy would get a bite out of a few people before they took him out.
My distraction relied on the crazies’ stupidity and lack of coordination more than anything. Should one of them shoot Lantern Guy in the head right away, I wasn’t sure what I’d do. But, if everything worked out…
Best case scenario, the chaos would escalate. There were too many of them for the compound to fall apart. There might be twenty of them inside, but at least double that amount outside. All I needed was a window of opportunity while they tried to regroup and I’d escape.
The next series of noises explained everything. Lantern Guy, now a freshly turned runner, was up. Loud thuds indicated him running. Fast, rapid slams sounded when he banged on doors. Music stopped. Jovial laughter ceased. Then the shrieks of the living began.
Just as I checked the situation, the door Lantern Guy banged on opened and he rushed in. It swooshed shut and alarmed shouts became desperate screams of pain.
There was my chance. I made a run for it, dashing down the empty hallway. Don’s footsteps followed. I risked a glance and, sure enough, he was sticking to me like glue.
I passed a door and halted. A familiar symbol was carved into it. The same one burned into my chest. A blade of light shone from underneath the door. Before I could stop myself, I turned the knob and entered the room.
“Mr. Sinclair. I knew you’d come back.”
No time for theatrics. Kevin needed to die. No epic dialogue. No verse.
He reached for his sword, but I already fired two rounds. Both hit his shoulder. The rifle clicked. I dropped it, withdrawing my knife.
His face was too swollen to show any emotion as I lunged towards him, grazing the side of his neck with my blade. I would’ve slashed his throat if he hadn’t hit my arm out of the way.
Kevin crouched low and swung with his better arm. His fist connected with my right temple. I stumbled back, bringing my arms up to defend the incoming blows.
“Forgive me, Lord! I tried to save him!”
Each time he screamed the sentence, it became louder and more frantic. I came in low for a stab to his kidneys. He knocked the knife from my hand.
As I dodged again, his foot caught under my own. I fell. My side hit the table and flipped me onto my back. My hand bumped into something hot. I felt it even through my gloves. I jerked away and saw I’d knocked over a coal chimney. The branding rod fell from it. The insignia was red hot and smoked as it settled on the wood floor.
Kevin had his sword raised over his head. I rolled and snatched up the rod. The blade burrowed into the wood with a loud thud.
“Forgive me, forgive me, forgive me!”
I was on my feet. Kevin screamed in frustration as he tried to free his sword. I swung the rod. It hit his brow bone. Sword forgotten, he tumbled to the floor. His screams took on a new tone. I placed my boot on his chest and shoved him back down.
“Please, Mr. Sinclair. Please see it in your heart to—”
His teeth broke first as the branding rod clipped them. Then steam poured from his mouth as it met the damp insides of his tongue and throat. Kevin’s body went into wild convulsions, limbs striking the floor at separate intervals. I pushed until it wouldn’t go any farther.
I pried the sword from the floor and positioned it over his eye. I never wanted to see Kevin again. Alive or undead. It sunk into his skull. I put all my weight into it until the sword cracked through to the wood underneath.
Don yelped. I forgot he even existed. By the stunned, horrified look on his face I figured he thought I was a monster.
I retrieved my dropped knife and rifle and exited the room, taking comfort in knowing I’d never see Kevin again.
Chapter 18
Don kept his distance as he followed me from the room. I pulled the door shut as we left. The entire scene only took moments to unfold. The other doors in the hallway were just opening up. Men looked out, dazed and confused.
“Hey, what’s going on out there?”
“Zombies!” another one replied.
“Where?”
“Who are they?”
“Who the fuck cares! Go help Riggy and Tom!”
My lungs swelled from the effort to run and ignore every ache in my body. The crazies’ confusion gave me enough motivation to keep going. I reached the end of the hall. At the end of the wall to my right would be the boiler room. To the left was the entrance. No one was coming in yet. So far the incident was isolated to the hall behind me.