The Beginning of the End (25 page)

“I’m right here!”
he called out, as he walked through the large hole in the side of the
building where the garage door once stood. They all met by the
Humvee, “Are you okay, Boss?” Kane glared at Luther, “I thought
I told you to go out there and kill those kids. Where’s Cowboy?”
Tommy chirped up, “He’s waiting outside the rear door, in case
they ran out the back.” Kane moved his glare from Luther to Tommy,
“Have you heard any shooting from the back of the building?”
Tommy shook his head, no. Kane put his arm around Tommy’s shoulder,
“This is what I think. Since you didn’t kill those kids in the
building, and we haven’t heard any shooting from out back, my guess
is they’re gone. So why don’t you walk your sorry ass outside and
let Cowboy know it’s all clear!”

“Okay, Boss.” Tommy
broke free of Kane’s grip and headed for the back. Kane turned and
looked at the garage door, “You sure put a big hole in the side of
my building, Luther.”

“We thought you were
in trouble, Boss.” They snapped around when they heard Tommy
screaming at the back door, “He’s gone! They took Cowboy!” Kane
ran into his office to grab his weapons. He went to the closet and
swung the door open, “Dammit!” He ran out of the office and back
over to the Humvee, “They took everything! What do you guys have in
the Humvee for weapons?”

“Not much,” Luther
answered, “We’ve got a little .38. Two AR-15s and that .44
caliber Magnum we took off the last girl we picked up.”

“Yeah, I remember
her.” Kane said as he reached in the Humvee and pulled out Sidara’s
.44 Magnum. He opened the cylinder, gave it a spin and slammed it
close. “We’re going to find them, and then we’re going to kill
them all.”

“Let’s go!”

With my face buried in
the weeds, I could smell the last remnants of summer rotting away. In
just two months, this spot that now protected me from the flying
fifty-caliber rounds, would be covered with a puffy white blanket of
snow.

The rounds stopped
whizzing over our heads. I listened, and didn’t hear any other
sounds coming from inside the building, “Everyone get up, and head
for the tree line! Chevy’s truck is there!” I whispered.

Chevy’s truck worked
fine for the two of us, but we had turned into a group of six. Looks
like some of us are going to have to ride in the back. After our
escape, we’d have to start looking for a bigger vehicle.

As the night gave way
to day, I couldn’t believe how much Chevy’s truck stood out
against the treed backdrop. It had been nothing more than luck that
no one had seen it yesterday. Wife Beater stood right here, when he
came out to check on his friend who was throwing the tantrum. The
field was long, and the girls were weak from lack of food. They
slowed during the run, and I easily moved out in front. A quick look
over my shoulder assured me that no one was following us.

I thought I caught some
movement. Then I saw someone's head pop-up in the bed of the truck.
The cab was supporting his rifle, and it was pointed right at my
head. I stopped so fast, I felt Sidara run into the back of me, “What
are you d-" she had seen the man in the truck before she even
finished her sentence. “Freeze right there!” he yelled. We all
stopped dead in our tracks. He was in a perfect firing position, and
he had the bead on all of us. I slid my hand down to my Glock. It’d
be a hell of a shot, but taking a chance was better than standing
here dying.

“Uh-Uh, let’s keep
your hands nice and high there partner!” The man said as he reached
down grabbing something. His hand came back into view, and he was
holding a black cowboy hat. He rested the hat on his head, and after
a slight adjustment he spoke, “Now this is how I see it. I can hold
y’all here for another ten minutes. By then, my cohorts will figure
out I’m gone, and they’ll come back here lookin’ for me…. and
you. They’re not as nice as me, especially my boss, so they’ll be
comin’ for blood!”

If he looked away for
even a second, I would go for my Glock. Even if I miss him, I could
lay down enough fire that it would give the others the opportunity to
get away, “What are you gonna do to us?" I shouted at the
cowboy.

“Well, it’s your
lucky day. It’s seems that I’ve outgrown my group of friends, who
are probably on their way here now to kill you.”

“So what’s your
point?”

The cowboy tilted his
hat back, “Well, I'm looking for someone new. That last outfit
turned into a bunch of maniacs. I want no part of that. I joined them
before they got crazy and only because I needed someone to have my
back when the shit got thick. So what do you say, do we have a deal?”

“What’s in it for
us?” Chevy asked.

“Well, with all those
dead walking around, I’m just one more person who’ll have your
back, and you’ll have mine. And I’ve got a plan to get all of us
out of here.” Cowboy looked at Ty and waited for an answer, “We
haven’t got all day, Buddy.”

I didn’t want to
trust him, but what choice did I have? We were either going to let
him join us, or we’d be mowed down when his friends got here. And
that would be any minute.

“Okay, we’ll let
you join us, but you need to get us out of here first.”

“Sounds good, Hoss!
You can call me, Cowboy!” He jumped down from Chevy’s truck and
shook my hand, “We had better get movin’, Hoss. Follow me.”

Cowboy took off on foot
heading toward the river. “What about the truck?” I yelled.
Without looking back, he hollered, “Leave it! We don’t need it.”
I motioned for the group to follow, and they all did without
hesitation. Had I somehow arbitrarily become the leader? We kept
close as Cowboy passed the stone outcrop. He kept heading west toward
some fences. As we got closer, I realized the fences were surrounding
military vehicles. The gate was already open, and I passed Cowboy
heading straight for one of the Humvee’s that was parked inside. I
grabbed the handle of the first one I saw. “We don’t want that
one, it’s got a leak!” Cowboy said as he hopped in the next one
over. We all piled in, Cowboy took the driver’s seat. I was
overcome by a strange feeling that maybe this was just a ploy to get
us all together, and he was going to drive us right into the hands of
the others. I pulled out one of my Glocks and held it in my hand,
“Don’t do anything stupid, Cowboy, like bringing us to your
friends. They might get us, but not until after I get you first!”
Cowboy put the Humvee in reverse, “Listen kid. At this point, if my
old crew saw me helping you, they’d kill me before you had a
chance.”

Cowboy slammed the
Humvee in Drive, and we left through the open gate. He made a quick
left onto the trail road, to avoid being seen by Luther and Tommy.
“Why are you going this way?” I asked.

“Because right about
now my two ex-buddies are realizing I’m not waiting for you outside
the back door. They’re gonna get curious in the next few minutes
and come looking for me. Kane being dead gives us a little advantage.
They’re both a little slow when it comes to planning. You did kill
Kane, right?” I shrugged my shoulders, “The one we killed. We
called him Wife Beater.” “Why did you call him that?” Cowboy
gave me a quizzical look. “Because he always wore one of those
white sleeveless T-shirts. You know, a wife beater shirt.”

“Sam! You only
killed, Sam? There was another guy in there. Did you get him?”
Chevy leaned forward and pulled on the back of his shirt, “No, that
must be the guy who shot me with my own gun.”

“Where did he go?”

“After he shot me, he
ran out the front door. We didn’t see him again.”

“Shit!” Cowboy
sighed.

“I’m guessing
that’s a bad thing?”

“Listen Hoss, you
have to understand. That guy’s not right in the head. He won’t
stop hunting you until you’re all dead. He’ll chase you to the
end of the earth. The only thing he’s going to do before he kills
you, is kill me!” A silence fell over the Humvee. It was my mom who
spoke first, “We need to go back and kill him!” I snapped my head
around, “Mom!”

“This world is hard
enough now with all the dead running around. The last thing we need
is a maniac on our trail.” I sat there looking at my mom with my
mouth wide open, “Who are you?” I asked. Cowboy looked back at my
mom, “Well I hope you have a plan lady, because he’s behind us!”
We all snapped our heads around. We could see lights about a half a
mile behind us, “How do you know it’s them?” I sputtered. “Who
else would it be?” Cowboy said as he stepped on the gas.

We headed for the city
trying to lose our enemies, but they seemed to keep gaining on us.
Cowboy turned the corner, cut through parking lots, and raced down
straightaways, “How can they keep gaining on us?” I asked.

“Their Humvee is
newer, and it’s got a turbo charger. This one doesn’t.
Eventually, we’re gonna have to take a stand.” Cowboy said. I
spun around in my seat. I eyed everyone’s weapons, “How many
grenades do you have in there Sidara.” Sidara went through the
MOLLE vest pockets. “I’ve got one. They must have taken the
rest.”

“What do you think,
Cowboy? We’ve got some rifles and one grenade.”

“I think we’re shit
out of luck. These Humvee’s are armored. Those little rounds won't
even scratch the paint on that thing. As soon as they catch us,
they’re going to try to run us off the road. They’ll fire that
fifty-caliber at us until it makes a hole big enough to drag us out,
or they’ll just toss one of your girlfriend’s grenades through
the window. I know they’ve got grenades in their Humvee, because I
put them there.” Chevy grabbed onto the back of Cowboy’s seat and
pulled himself forward, “What did you do that for?”

“Well, at the time I
was trying to kill you. Sorry, partner.” Chevy was speechless. I
had to think of something, and fast. “I’m not going to sit here
and wait for them to kill us. Cowboy pull over. I’m driving!”

Cowboy slowed the
Humvee, “We’re gonna have to do this fast. Pull over by those
parked cars. You slide over in the seat, and I’ll run around to
your door.”

“Are you sure you
know what you’re doing, Hoss?”

“No, but do we have a
choice?” Cowboy tilted his head, “Okay you’re the boss.”

There it was again.
When did I become the leader of this pack? If we get out of this,
we’re going to have to sit down and take a vote. Cowboy pulled the
Humvee over by the parked cars. Before it even stopped, I was jumping
out, and was running around the front of the vehicle. Cowboy had
already swung the door open and within seconds, I was stepping into
the driver’s seat. I heard a loud smash, and I felt the vehicle
jostle under me. There was another crackle of thunder, and the Humvee
rocked again, “They’re hitting us with the fifty-caliber!”
Cowboy screamed. I slammed it in gear and stepped on the gas before I
even closed my door. Another round rocked against the back panel. One
of the girls screamed. I think it might have been Kate. “They’re
going to kill us!” she wept.

“Not if I can help
it!” I called back.

I swerved the vehicle
in the road trying to make us a more difficult target. The shooting
from behind us stopped, “That’s what I was looking for.” I said
as I pointed to a small empty grass lot. I took my foot off the
accelerator and coasted in the direction of the grass. The Humvee’s
tires bounced over the street curb as we jumped the sidewalk. When we
hit the grass, I cranked the wheel, touched the brake, and then
slammed the gas pedal to the floor again. The Humvee broke into a
slide when it hit the slick grass. With the wheel cranked and my foot
on the floor, I could feel the knobby tires tearing chunks from the
sod beneath them. Our slide spun us completely around, and now we
were heading straight toward Kane’s oncoming Humvee. I held my foot
on the floor and heard cries of, “No!" coming from the back
seat.

“I don’t think this
is gonna work, Hoss.” Cowboy mumbled as he clutched onto the
dashboard. I blocked everyone out, and focused on my deadly game of
chicken, “I’m not turning!” I growled. My vehicle raced at the
other Humvee. My mouth suddenly seemed dry, and I needed a drink to
help me swallow. I pushed against the gas pedal, but it didn’t
move. It was already on the floor. I gripped the steering wheel hard
and leaned my head in, like it would make a difference. We were going
so fast, and I had expected them to turn off by now. Maybe this was
turning out to be a bad idea. I could see the passenger in the other
Humvee. He was screaming at the driver. The driver wasn’t focused
on me, but rather my new friend in the passenger seat. He looked like
he was out for blood. They weren’t going to turn. I opened my mouth
and screamed, “Ahhhhhhh,” and waited for impact. The other Humvee
turned off with no time to spare. Our vehicles nearly struck each
other, taking off my passenger side mirror. In the rear-view mirror,
I saw their Humvee bounce off the curb and go up onto the back of a
parked car. Cheers came from the back seat. Chevy grabbed the back of
my seat and pulled himself forward, “You know what that sound is
buddy? It’s victory!” He gave me a slap on the arm. “No Chev,
it’s me, I just shit my shorts.” Everyone burst out laughing,
except my mom. She was looking out the back window, “Ty, they’re
coming again!” She was right. They had already backed off the car
and were following us again. “Shit! What’s with these guys?” I
said to Cowboy. “I told you. They’re not going to stop until
we’re all dead!”

I took every turn and
cut through any parking lot I could find, and still they kept gaining
on us. I found myself in the middle of the city parking lot were
Chevy and I have been attacked by those dead, and where he later took
out his revenge. It seems like that was so long ago now. The dead
were growing in numbers. Across the lot, near the backside where
Chevy had his plow incident, I could see hundreds, if not thousands
of dead had gathered. They just seemed to be walking around in
circles looking for something. Probably vengeance against Chevy. By
the time I had turned onto Margaret Street, I had stopped trying to
avoid the dead. There were too many of them, and with each thump off
the bumper, our pursuers were given a slight advantage.