Sirens of the Zombie Apocalypse (Book 1): Since the Sirens (16 page)

Grandma crossed herself, but said nothing else.

She looked at Liam and Victoria.

“Don't let them bury me.”

She winked at them, and then began rooting around in the backpack
by her side. It gave the two youngsters time to continue their
conversation.

“I wish I could go back to sleep.”

Liam thought for a second before replying, “Well it seems
like you had a good night's sleep under this tree. At least until we
found you and ruined it for you.”

Both of them gave an honest laugh at that.

“I tell you what I really wish for today—my Bible. I
know it probably seems silly and puritanical, but, you know, I like
to feel the presence of God with me—watching over me. It always
helps me find peace to read through the challenges of all those men
and women during ancient times, especially the Old Testament. It
makes me feel part of something larger, and not just one girl alone
in all this trouble.”

Liam's mind was racing. He wondered if he should say something
suave like “You're not alone anymore” or if he should
just play it cool and say something neutral along the lines of “I
wish I could find comfort in a book.”

What came out was a surprise to both of them.

“I'll find a Bible for you.”

“Oh no, you really don't have to. I'll grab mine when I go
back to my dorm.”

“Of course,” he felt a little stupid for having made
the comment, but what's done was done.

Quick to move on, he asked her more about Colorado. He was
thinking about how he could follow her back to her dorm and team up
with her to get to the airport. Grandma could come along and they
would all get out of the city by way of Colorado.

What am I thinking?

Many times over the last couple days he had incidents where his
brain betrayed him, either making him too slow, too cocky, or too
scared. Sitting here with Victoria he felt he was exploring new
territory when it came to his mind going off the reservation. It
wasn't just that he found her attractive—he found lots of girls
attractive, though he was normally deathly scared of making that fact
known to them—but with all the tension and stress of the last
24 hours he saw this girl as someone worth his time, and even worth
his life. He knew he would do almost anything to save Grandma—but
he knew, and she knew, there were some things that would just be the
end of her. She wasn't going to magically get out of her chair and
run away from a horde of zombies. In many ways she was living on
borrowed time. In contrast, Victoria represented his new-found
willingness to lay down his life to ensure the vivacious girl goes on
living,
no matter what the personal cost.

But I've only known her for a couple hours!

Liam admitted that was all the time he needed.

Liam and Victoria had both settled down next to Grandma, as Liam
needed to catch a little shut eye after his long day. Victoria seemed
in no hurry to leave, and even offered to watch over them while they
slept. This made Liam very happy.

It felt like only minutes went by when Victoria shook him to wake
him up.

“Liam. Check this out.”

Liam opened his eyes to find another Priest with Grandma. This
time she was awake and talking animatedly to the Priest. Liam
realized she knew him.

“We must be very careful. The park is filling up to
capacity.” He looked at Liam and Victoria crouching next to
him, “Do either of you know where the Arch service dock is
located?”

Victoria piped up in the affirmative. Apparently she knew where it
was because she jogged in the park from time to time.

A runner! I knew it.

Whispering now, the Priest gave them instructions to move to the
dock after it got dark and he would be there to meet them.

Liam absorbed the message, but didn't really understand it until
he had a chance to speak with Grandma.

“That was Father Cahill. I've known him since he was
ordained—about the same time your father was born. He was
administering last rites on me,” she giggled, “I think he
was the third one today! Look at all this oil on my hands. When he
saw who I was and realized he knew me we started talking. That's when
he told me he has something he wants to show us. I'm not sure what
this is all about, but I trust him with my life. I trust him with my
soul.”

“Did he say I could come too?” Victoria asked with
just a touch of anxiety.

“Of course dear. As far as I'm concerned you are welcome to
stay with us as long as you need.”

Liam said nothing, though he felt a glow in his heart get just a
bit brighter with that statement.

“OK, I'll stick with you guys until they get this all sorted
out and I can walk back to my dorm.”

They settled back down as the evening wore on. Realizing the
danger of showing food or drink in the unsettled crowd, they were
able to surreptitiously eat and drink just enough to feel something
in their stomachs. So many others clearly didn't even think far
enough ahead to have one afternoon's worth of food or water. Many
were walking around begging, or just shouting to whoever would listen
that they needed this or that. With so many unprepared people, having
food could become a liability. The crowd had been placid for most of
the day, at least the several hours since Liam arrived, but the
atmosphere was slowly changing as the “pleasant afternoon”
of waiting evolved into the “long night with no food or water.”
Or sanitation.

A crowd this big normally would have banks of port-o-potties and
scores of support staff to keep them operational. This crowd had now
ballooned to the tens of thousands, and there was nowhere for anyone
to privately do their business. Naturally this meant everyone just
did it wherever they felt like it. Without any leadership to tell the
crowd what to do, people just did whatever they wanted. It was a
recipe for disaster.

When Liam, Victoria, and Grandma got up in the fading light of
dusk, they found the thirty foot wide paved path was filled with
people who were sitting on every square inch of pavement, save one
small channel of walkers right in the middle. It made it very
difficult to move the huge wheelchair without often begging sitting
or sleeping people to move just a few feet further out of her way.

It took a half an hour to go the short distance to the dock area.
It sat in a depression that was hard to see from the main path,
although there were a few people loitering about the area. There was
simply no way to hide anything in the park with so many people.

They could see a small doorframe next to a closed garage door in
the dock area.

Once again, the trio pulled to a stop and began waiting.

Even if the doors opened, there would be no way to get in without
everyone seeing them.

“Grandma, how are we going to get in?”

“The Lord will provide.”

Victoria and Liam both said “Amen” although Liam had
his doubts.

2

Their prayers were answered in short order—sort of.

“Hello my friends.”

Father Cahill had been lurking in the crowd and came to see the
lady in the huge wheelchair. Liam noticed he had removed his white
collar, though he couldn't fathom why.

“All through the day I've been collecting the aged and the
infirm and bringing them through this door, but earlier there weren't
as many people in this part of the park. Now you can see they have
flooded all over, including right here at this dock. I can get you
in, but this might be the last time we are able to get anyone inside
without there being some trouble. I doubt we are going back out
either. Are you sure you guys want to ride this thing out inside the
Arch museum?”

The three looked at each other and nodded their heads in the
affirmative. Whatever was inside had to be better than sitting under
a tree with an increasingly desperate crowd. Plus, Liam believed
there might be someone in charge who knew the situation. He might be
able to figure out how he could get Grandma to safety if he could get
some time with that person. It was a long shot, but currently the
only shot.

“Alright. I have one other person I'm going to try to get
inside. He is that older gentleman sitting near the door. My plan is
to go help him up, then knock on the door and hope they open it for
me. When you hear me knock, move quickly over there. I'll try to get
them to hold the door open for you guys. The closer you are to me the
better, if you catch my drift.”

He scuttled off and Liam and Victoria arranged Grandma in her
chair and all three faced the door fifty feet away. And they waited.

The Priest seemed to be having trouble getting the old man to
stand up, and some men and women sitting in the vicinity seemed to be
helping the old man to his feet. Liam could see what was going to
happen now that several more people were paying attention.

“Let's make our way in that direction.” Liam was
worried there were now too many people involved.

“Victoria, will you push the chair? I want you to push it
inside no matter what happens to me. Can you do that?”

“Yes. But let's all get inside.”

That's the plan.

They changed positions while keeping one eye on Father Cahill and
the old man. He was now up and standing, but the Priest seemed
hesitant to do what he needed to do next. He was holding the old man
up, as the gentleman's arm was slung around his own neck. He noticed
Liam had moved his group up toward the door, gave Liam a nod, and
then pivoted to the door and gave it a loud knock in an apparent
secret cadence so those inside knew it was him.

“Pick it up guys, and don't stop.”

Liam had instructed Victoria to push hard on the wheelchair, as
obviously Grandma wasn't going to be picking up her own speed. Things
were in motion now.

The knock attracted the attention of several men near the door,
already alerted by the commotion with the old guy. Some who were
sitting were now standing, and some who were standing were now moving
toward the door. Everyone in earshot of the knocking was curious.

The door opened with a flourish, and out popped two chiseled men
with sleek black rifles. They pushed past Father and his ill friend
and held their guns in a menacing fashion for anyone who fancied a
peek inside the door.

Victoria pushed Grandma right up to the closest man and yelled
“We're with Father Cahill!”

The man with the gun made no movement to open a path for the wide
and loaded wheelchair. He just stood there. His friend was looking in
another direction, gun trained on some of the men who were closest.

Suddenly one of the guys also yelled “We're with Father
Cahill!” Then it was a chorus.

How did this happen so quickly?

Victoria looked deflated at the turn of events. There was no way
to prove who they were. No way to prove they were with the clergyman
unless he came back out.

The two gunmen began stepping backward, as if to retreat back into
the small door. However, just as they were starting their motion,
Father Cahill was there. He yelled in the ear of the nearest man and
pointed to Victoria and Liam. The two men once again moved out from
the door and pointed for Liam's group to get inside.

With much relief Victoria plowed ahead. The wide chair was just
able to fit into the door, though the wheels scraped ever so slightly
as it went through.

Liam punched through too, though he felt the crowd surge behind
him. He was secretly glad he didn't have to sacrifice himself to get
the three of them inside. He wasn't even sure he would have been able
to sacrifice himself. Not against two guys with that kind of
hardware, or a hundred scared civilians.

Where did all those people come from?

In the dark it was hard to gauge numbers, but he guessed there
were maybe thirty or forty people near the door by the time they got
in, meaning there was a sizable crowd angrily looking at a closed
door right about now. Would it take them long to figure out they
could break it down?

Every disaster book he'd ever read was now screaming the answer to
him. The death clock had started ticking again—how long would
it take for this stronghold to fall?

3

“Thank you Father. You could have easily left us out there.”

“No problem my son. I'd do anything for your grandmother and
anyone important to her. I'm just sorry I don't have more to offer
you than a dark cavern for sanctuary.”

“Are those people going to break through that door?”

The two security guys said nothing, but they did begin moving some
heavy equipment from the garage area over to the door they'd just
come through. The biggest item was a riding lawn mower—apparently
this was an area where they stored equipment for maintaining the Arch
grounds. There was very little light coming from a few flashlights
that had been pointed at the ceiling, but Liam could see there was a
lot of equipment in the space.

The five of them left the guards to their task and started walking
up the hallway to the main museum area.

Between the two legs of the monument was an underground area
dedicated to ticket sales, two tram-loading areas to get up and down
the legs of the Arch, a large museum dedicated to frontier living,
and a little gift shop and a candy store. In the middle of it all was
a large waiting area with plenty of seats around the walls so people
could wait for their turn to go up in the structure.

It was this central area where the hallway dumped them. It was now
filled with sick people, along with lots of elderly folks, and even a
few young parents with very young children. It was a group where
Grandma would fit in perfectly. Victoria rolled into the room and
they found an area along the outer wall where they could park the
wheelchair and have a little room to sit next to it. The dull light
of some dim bulbs hanging from the walls provided light in the
subterranean space.