“And if it works?” Maylee asked.
“If it works,” said Angie, “we thwart Beulah’s plan and buy us a couple of days until the sisters come up with something else to storm the gates with.”
“And if it doesn’t?” asked Dalton.
“If the corpses reach the children, we move them.” Angie grabbed the salt and moved it to the back of the table. “The children go to the far wall, to the fallback point.” She moved the rest of the items to the front of the table. “The rest of us lead the corpses away from them, back toward the house. We put as much distance between the kids and danger as possible.”
“Why don’t we just put the kids…” said Dalton. “…
us
back there to begin with?”
“Beulah can reach you guys from there.”
“So then why—”
“Because if we’re doing Plan B, we’re desperate. And we’re hoping Beulah’s distracted. Her and her sister’s fighting may help us there.”
“So we move the kids to the fallback and get to the house?” said Maylee.
“Yes,” said Angie. “We leave guards there to protect them, and everyone else leads the corpses back here to the house. By then, chances are the chaos will have given the sisters a way across the barrier. And seeing the corpses here, they come here looking for them.”
“And then what?” said Dalton.
“You know what,” said Angie.
“It’s crazy,” said Maylee.
“Since when has that stopped us?” said Angie.
The kids nodded again.
"Then let's get going."
She, Maylee and Dalton stood from the table. Maylee grabbed Angie’s cane and handed it to her. They walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. Some of the children were sleeping. Most were not. They looked at Angie with scared and questioning eyes. Angie smiled at them, hoping they believed they would be alright. They didn’t, and neither did she.
She, Maylee and Dalton walked to the front door, opened it and stepped out onto the porch.
Park was leaning against a post. Angie walked over to him, leaving Maylee and Dalton by the door. He looked over at her as she came toward him. "You sure about what you're doing?"
Angie shook her head. "No, I'm not. This could be a mistake. I either let all the kids but Dalton die, or I let all the kids and Dalton die. Or....this."
Park scratched at his beard. "I'm gonna be honest with you. If it was me, if my kids were still alive and I was given this choice, I would flip the other kids the bird and protect my own."
"So would I, before,” Angie replied. “I would almost do it now. I led all those people to their death, Park. At the zoo. When the time came, I protected my own and let the others die."
Park looked over at her. "So what's your alternative?"
"We somehow save them all, or as many as we can."
"I hope you're right."
"If I'm wrong, we won't have long to worry about it."
Park looked back to the town.
Carly climbed up onto the porch. She nodded to Angie and Park, then saw Maylee. Her face changed, become both softer and elated. Maylee pushed herself up from the wall and they rushed to meet each other in the middle of the porch.
"Maylee..." Carly said, grabbing Maylee and hugging her. Then she pulled back, looking self-conscious. Maylee grabbed her and kissed her. Carly looked surprised and stiff at first, then she relaxed into the kiss.
Park looked over at them mid-kiss. There was a flicker of surprise in his eyes, then it was gone.
"Huh," he said.
"Yeah," said Angie.
"Well, I'm happy someone's getting some."
Angie chuckled, looking over the darkening town. Carly went over to Angie, and Angie turned to her. "Gather the others," she said.
Carly stepped over to the nearest alarm rope and grabbed it. She pulled it over and over again, the clattering noises ringing out across the cold air. After a few seconds people began to gather. Most looked confused. Some still looked hostile. Angie waited until most of the town had gathered. She wondered what had become of Dr. Graham. She decided she didn't want to know.
Finally, most of the town was present. Angie cleared her throat. Everyone fell silent, waiting.
"Everyone," said Angie, "we've been manipulated into this position. Things more powerful than us are forcing us into their plans, their designs. We have been their pawns. These kids have been made the way they are for these plans. You've been brought here for these plans. People have killed and been killed as part of these plans. You can go along with this, if that's what you really want. Or you can take a stand with me. And fight. Fight for freedom. For human dignity. For letting us do whatever the fuck we want for a change. No more plans. No more schemes. No more grand designs. We're in charge. As fucked up as we are, we're in charge. Let's make sure they know that."
The town was silent. Finally, a few nodded. The rest followed suit.
"Good. Let's get to work then. It's going to be a long night."
Angie stepped across her porch into the cold morning air. She'd gone over her last preparations in the house. Things were ready, or at least as ready as they were going to be.
All around her, people were finishing up. Trenches were being dug and gasoline poured inside. Chains were being tested and tightened, the chains linked to traps West had installed years ago.
Along the walls stood makeshift platforms, set between the ladders that had always been there. People stood atop the platforms, looking out over the walls. Townsfolk and guard alike, everyone was preparing.
Angie heard crunching footsteps draw near. She turned to see Carly rushing over holding her clipboard. She looked tired but resolved.
"How are we doing?" said Angie.
Carly came to a halt. "Almost ready."
Galli yelled from atop a platform to Angie's right. He pointed out over the wall. "I got something!"
Maylee stood on the same platform. She climbed up a ladder that reached up over the wall. When she reached the top she looked through her beaten binoculars. After a few moments she said, "I got it too."
Angie hurried over to the middle platform. She handed her cane up to a guard who knelt down to retrieve it. She climbed the ladder, her ankle complaining with each movement. She reached the top and took her cane, headed to the edge of the platform and looked out over the wall.
A few dots were on the horizon. Too far away to be sure, but Angie had learned to tell corpses from their movements. And these dots were corpses. Far away and staggering.
Soon, very soon, more dots followed. Many more dots. They quickly filled up the available space, covering the snow in dark lurching shapes. Clouds were forming overhead, almost moving along with them.
Angie watched over the next several moments. The mass drew near enough to leave no doubt. They were corpses, and they kept coming. Animals too. All marching slowly, deliberately. Like they were under orders.
There were hundreds of them. Thousands. Too many to count. They all marched to the edge of town and stopped, roughly where Angie knew the barrier to be. The mob covered the entire field.
Angie breathed out, looking at the sheer number of corpses and animals. "We may need plan B." She looked across to Maylee's platform.
The mob stood there, groaning and growling up at the walls. Angie could tell the corpses longed to come for them. She could tell the animals longed to rush the walls and rip them all to shreds. But they didn't. Nothing moved or attacked. They all stood, still and staring. Wanting.
Angie noticed movement in the mob. An odd rippling, moving closer to the walls. She watched, feeling the townsfolk and guards tense around her. Soon the ripple grew close enough for Angie to see the cause. Sharon moved among the mob, and the corpses parted as she passed. A group of people followed her. Angie could tell they were alive by how they moved, but they looked wild, feral. More bloodthirsty than the corpses or animals. They clung to Sharon like she was their god. Angie supposed she was.
Finally Sharon reached the front. She stepped to the edge of the barrier and looked up to Angie. For a moment the two women looked at each other in silence.
Finally Angie spoke. "Good morning."
Sharon smiled up at her. She cut right to the point. "Give me the children." The corpses around her moaned. The animals snarled. The humans grunted and licked open wounds on their arms. A few looked like they were beginning to have sex right there.
Angie chuckled down at her. "I've been thinking about that. Tell me, what are your thoughts on ‘fuck off?’"
Sharon stared at her for a moment, like she was thinking. The clouds grew thick and dark overhead. She frowned. "You honestly plan on standing against me?"
"We are all standing against you," said Angie. "The people with me refuse to be manipulated anymore."
"Manipulated?" Sharon said, raising an eyebrow. The clouds closed over every last bit of blue. "You mistake me for my sister. I'm not here to manipulate you! I am here to rip you all to squirming pulp!"
* * *
Beulah picked her way through the thick woods surrounding the back of World Memorial. She moved quickly among trees, her feet leaving light impressions in the snow.
A corpse staggered from behind a tree, a skinny man with large frozen holes in his cheeks. His rotten teeth snapped within the frozen openings. He had several tears in his abdomen, from which hung frozen guts, bouncing as she staggered through the snow.
"You must be lost," said Beulah, trying to move past him. "Your friends are out front."
The corpse staggered to block her, reaching. Beulah sighed and tapped him in the chest. He exploded in a mist of red and black.
She took a few more steps, heading for the back wall. She could see it up ahead through the trees. She heard movement behind a bush and stopped, sighing.
There was a second rustle and a panther leapt from the bush. It lunged at Beulah, all fangs and claws and snarling.
"Not now, cat" said Beulah, turning to face the cat as it flew through the air at her.
She reached out and tapped the cat on the head as it drew near. It exploded, sending a fine spray of fur and blood across the snow at her feet.
"Sorry," she said, stepping away. "I'm in a hurry."
* * *
Sharon snarled up at Angie. Angie could feel her rage. It radiated across the mob around her, up the walls and over the town. It was like a physical force. Angie kept her eyes on Sharon and her face calm.
The woods across the field shook violently. Angie knew a windstorm was coming. She cursed the luck.
Then remembered it wasn't luck. Sharon was responsible for all this. For the corpses, the animals, the violent weather. She also remembered the storm had avoided the sisters when they had fought earlier.
Those around her muttered nervously as the wind picked up across the field. Trees shook and snow swirled from the ground.
"Wait..." said Angie, keeping her face calm.
The windstorm hit. Or rather, it hit all around them. Sharon’s presence formed some sort of bubble protecting her, and them, from the wind. It howled and tore at the landscape, but the area around Sharon, the corpses and the town stayed clear. All around them, snow and debris blew through the air but didn't come near. It reminded Angie of a snow globe, only in reverse. They were under glass and the swirling snow was outside. It was strange and almost more frightening than a normal windstorm would have been.
She looked to Sharon. "Neat trick."
Sharon hissed up at her, loud enough to be heard. "I'll show you your own guts before you die!"
Angie felt the guards and townsfolk tense around her. They could feel Sharon's power and see the size of the mob just as much as Angie could. Angie knew she had to stay brave, to keep them from giving in to fear. Fear was death now.
She shouted back down at Sharon. "Quit talking and come the fuck on then!"
A large grin spread slowly across Sharon's face. "I was hoping you'd say that."
Sharon let out a long, keening cry. It was far too loud for its source, and seemed to come from every direction. Angie wanted to turn away but kept her gaze steadily on Sharon.
Sharon stopped and smiled. For a few moments silence hung over all.
Then the mob of corpses, animals and humans exploded around her. They roared and groaned and snarled, rushing at the walls of World Memorial.
"Here we go!" yelled Angie, bracing herself.
* * *
"Fire! Fire!" yelled Maylee. She didn't have to. The guards had opened fire around her, shooting down into the mob rushing for the walls. Maylee gripped the side of the ladder with her free hand. She whipped her binoculars over her neck, flinging them back over her shoulder and out of her way. Corpses staggered and the animals raced for town walls. The animals hit first, slamming into the walls with abandon and no regard for their own safety. Panthers, deer, boars and bears slammed over and over again. They rammed at the walls until they began to bleed from their eyes and snouts. They didn't stop.
"Keep shooting!" Maylee felt the ladder shake underneath her. The guards shot down into the animals and over them at the corpses. Animals cried out and fell, bloody into the snow. Corpses snapped their heads back as their heads exploded backwards.
The corpses reached the walls, dragging their dead frozen hands over the metal. They moaned as they tried to paw their way in. The animals kept slamming the walls. A few animals tried to ram through the corpses, crushing them in the process. A dead man with no hair slumped over, his spine broken, as a large elk tried repeatedly to ram the wall open through him.
The wind howled outside whatever protection Sharon was making. Bullets rained down on the mob as they slammed and pawed. Maylee looked left to right from her perch. Along the walls, townsfolk and guard fought back with any weapon they had. The ones with guns shot. Others lobbed jars of flaming gasoline, which exploded in bright strips of fire against the snow. Others threw down cinder blocks, stones, anything heavy enough to crush a dead head or break a feral spine. It was working, but there were still many of the mob left. Probably too many.