Sirens of the Zombie Apocalypse (Book 2): Siren Songs (34 page)

His thoughts turned inward and dark. No matter
what else happened, no matter how proud he was of himself, no matter
how proud his parents might be, he would never forget those who laid
down their lives to make this reunion possible. It was the least he
could do for the dead.

Thank you, Victoria.

He bit his tongue.

2

Liam turned his bike and trailer onto his own
street, and climbed the gentle hill past the few houses between the
entrance and his. It was about the length of a football field.

As he approached his own house his heart felt
crushing despair. One Humvee sat right up against his garage. Another
sat between his house and the neighbor's nearest him. It wasn't
unreasonable to think there were others hiding in the area. Whatever
else was going to happen, Liam had allowed himself to walk right into
this trap.

Hayes popped out the Humvee on the driveway,
giving Liam a big wave. “Hey, bud. Good to see you!”

He had changed clothes. He was wearing the same
style Hawaiian button-down shirt his dad favored. Dad was either
inside as a captive, or dead. Or Hayes just found his stash of ugly
shirts and decided to help himself. Of all the things to survive the
destruction of the whole house...

Liam's mind was dancing wildly at the unfolding
scene.

Two people got out from the other side of the
Humvee and were walking around the backside of the truck. First in
view was the red-headed driver Liam had seen a few times already.
Behind her was a young girl about Victoria's age, dressed in jeans
and a brilliant white cotton t-shirt. Her dark hair was pulled back
in a tight ponytail. She was as clean as if she had just walked out
of the shower. Liam's vision was blurry from the admittedly emotional
sloshing going on in his mind. He refused to cry at the desperation
of it all.

But, wow, she looked just like Victoria.

He stopped his bike a couple dozen yards down the
street. Unsure what to do. He put his head on the handlebars as he
straddled the top tube.

“Hiya, Liam. Why don't you and Grandma come
on up the way. We have a lot to discuss. I promise I won't shoot
anyone this time.”

This time. Ha!

He was preoccupied with all his options. He could
turn around and try to escape. He could hide his gun and try to kill
Hayes when he got up close. Maybe he could find some help.

None of them seemed to offer real hope. Killing
him was probably the closest he could come to a plan with any chance
of success, but he had never killed anyone—alive—and
didn't think he had it in him to gun the man down in cold blood. Even
if he deserved it.

The only option was to take his medicine and see
where the windy road ended.

“Grandma, I have to stop here for a minute.
We'll get you out soon. I promise.”

He hailed Hayes, got off his bike, and began
walking it in. As he closed the distance he regained his composure
and was able to study the girl standing on his driveway in better
detail. She was very pretty, that much was obvious. She seemed to be
part of their team. No—

Her hands were bound in front of her, held low.
The zip ties were hard to see, but they were there. She was standing
patiently, unmoving. Looking down at her feet.

Liam was now at the edge of his front lawn.
Stopped. Mind jumping all around. “Why won't you let me and
Grandma go? Why are we so damned important to you?”

“I thought you figured it out back at the
medical camp. I've seen the tape of the old man who spoke to you
while undergoing treatment. You know what this whole thing is about.”

He didn't know how to respond without making
himself look dumb. Was he missing something obvious? He knew the
experiments were done specifically on older people, but the
volunteers made it sound like they were donating their bodies to
science so they would make a difference in finding the cure. They
were the most viable test subjects available.

Liam felt in his pants pocket for the photo. He
knew it had the address of the colonel's family. His last words were
pointedly about Bart's age. He had said, “It was his age. I
know it. That man was 106!” Was there something specific about
a person's age that made them important? Grandma was 104. Did that
make her more worthy than someone 94? It might explain Hayes'
obsession with her.

“The colonel's last words to me were that
the old man was 106. He said the reason he was such a good test
subject was his age. You want Grandma because she's almost the same
age.”

“Can you come up here where we can talk
without shouting? I'm surprised you haven't said anything to my
pretty friend here.”

Hayes walked over to the young girl but she
shirked away when he got close. The mannerism was recognizable as
something Victoria had done during their journey.

He froze in disbelief. Seeing the girl for who she
was at last. “Victoria?”

She bobbed her head up and down, over and over.
Tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Ah, yes. I told her I would shoot you dead
if she said a peep. I had to be sure you wouldn't try anything
heroic. Nor would she. Can you two agree not to do anything stupid
for the next five minutes while we all get reacquainted?”

They both nodded with enthusiasm. Victoria in
silence, and Liam in sympathy silence so as not to get her in
trouble.

“Alright then. You can go down and meet your
boyfriend, but just be aware of these machine guns and who's inside
the house.”

Victoria ran down the driveway, bound hands and
all. Liam had to keep his hand on the bike, but he dismounted just in
time to catch her in a one-armed hug. They held each other tight, but
Victoria was using the opportunity to pass information.

“Your parents are captive inside. Hayes
wants to trade me for Grandma and he says they'll leave the rest of
us alone. I missed you!”

They kissed briefly, but the moment was ruined by
their tormentor. “Alright! That's enough of that. You kids need
to separate or I start shooting. Yuck!”

Victoria and Liam separated, but Liam kept his
hand on her back as they both looked up at Hayes. A small token of
defiance.

Liam's emotions were splashing over the rim. He
felt the joy of the reunion. Happiness she was alive. Anger at Hayes.
Fear for his parents. Love for Victoria.

Whoa. Say what?

Maybe not romantic love exactly, but at that
moment he would have laid down his life for the girl he thought was
already dead.

That was as good a definition of love as any.

3

“Victoria, you can hold Liam's bike. He and
I have some things to discuss.”

Liam didn't want to let her go, but he saw no
alternatives.

“It'll be OK. Just stand here with Grandma.
I think she's sleeping.”

They traded spots and Liam turned his back to
Hayes so he could look at Victoria.

“I can't tell you how good it is to see
you.”

She gave him a big smile as she wiped the tears
still on her face. All she could say was “be safe.”

As he turned back toward Hayes he knew where
things were going. Hayes held all the cards. He would have to give up
Grandma.

“Liam. Let's take a little walk. Not too far
of course, those zombies are everywhere.”

They walked down the driveway, around several
large patches of blood and gore on the ground, and began walking up
the street, away from Victoria.

“I'm impressed Liam. I don't think I've ever
seen such dedication by a young man your age for an old lady like
your grandma. I thought it was an act back at the Arch when we first
met, and then I thought you were trying to impress your gal, but
seeing you get dear old Marty out of the camp and across all this
hostile terrain alone... Well, I guess I have to give credit where
it's due.”

They walked a few more paces before he continued.

“But this is the end. I've invested too much
time and energy trying to keep a hold of your grandma, and my bosses
are getting concerned. Speaking of which...”

Liam was blindsided by the speed of the man. Hayes
had turned and swung a fist hard into Liam's kidney, causing him to
buckle over in pain. Still on his feet, but just barely.

“
T
hat
is for your stunt with
the tracker. You made me lose my MRAP on that wild goose chase.”
He started walking again, unconcerned that Liam was now behind him.
“Dammit, Liam. You're a clever boy. I hate that you did it. I
should have seen it coming. We chased that fake signal for hours
until we realized it was on a wounded deer.”

Mr. Lee and his team. They got it done.

“Once that resolved itself I knew there was
only one place you could be heading.” He let out a chuckle.
“You need to make some new friends. You're like a fish always
going to the same spot to roost.”

Mixed metaphors aside, Liam knew he was right. He
was predictable.

When they were beyond earshot of Victoria, Hayes
stopped. Liam was close behind, still nursing his sore side. There
were no thoughts of fighting back now. Not with Victoria in such an
exposed position, and his parents under guard as well. This was all
Hayes.

Mostly.

“I'm going to make you a deal. Man to man.
You've seen our goals. You know what's happening to the world. You
know why your grandmother is important to us. You and I both know I
could blow your brains out right here on this street, and no one
could stop me. I could then kill Victoria—she is one tough
babe—and I could kill all your family just for fun. Then I
could take Grandma with me and use her in any way necessary to solve
this plague.”

Liam held his breath.

“But. There's always a “but,”
huh? The thing is, I'm not a murderer.” He seemed to ponder for
a moment, and continued with a disturbing correction, “I'm not
a
mass
murderer. I told you before I only do what I do to get
what I need and then move on. Tomorrow my boss may say he wants me to
get him the last cheeseburger in America. I'd be equally tenacious
with that mission as I am today with your grandma. I—”

Hayes had a small earpiece and a lapel mic. They
blended into his clothing and hair, so they went unnoticed until just
now. Hayes held up his finger in the universal “I'm on a call,
please be quiet” symbol.

“Roger. Five minutes inbound.”

“Ok Liam, sorry about that. Where was I?
Telling you my deal?”

He turned to face Liam. “Look kid, you do
what I want and no one gets hurt. I'm going to trade you one old lady
for one young girlfriend. You two can have a long life together
knowing Grandma did her service to her country by helping to stop
this plague.”

There it was. Finally. Liam was almost relieved.
He knew he would one day have to choose between his grandma and
Victoria. It just seemed as if it were written in the stars. Now that
it was here he was ready to make the sacrifice. What choice did he
have, after all?

“Do you think she'll survive the testing?
That old guy back in your camp seemed to be OK for a while. Can you
give me your word you'll do your best to keep her alive?”

“I'll do everything I can to keep her alive.
I
need
her alive, you know?”

“I've only got one condition. Let Victoria
walk up here to me, leaving Grandma in the trailer. I don't think I
can face her knowing I'm giving her up.”

Hayes was happy to get things moving. He yelled
down at his assistant to hold Grandma's bike, freeing up Victoria to
walk up the street to Liam and Hayes.

When she arrived she could guess what was going
on. “No, Liam. You can't trade me. I didn't agree to this!”

“What choice do I have? He said he'd kill
you and my whole family if we didn't give her up. Grandma would want
it this way.”

Victoria was torn. It showed on her face. Liam
tried to look away because he didn't want to break down at the
thought of what was happening. He needed to stay on task.

“This is all great. Very touching. But our
business here is done.”

Hayes started walking down the street. “Liam,
if I see you trying to rescue her again, I will have to do something
worse to you than a punch to the gut. Just remember that. No more
games.”

“Understood.”

Liam pulled Victoria across his front lawn, toward
one of the Humvees parked in between the houses. He raised his hands
and pointed to his house, making it clear he was just passing the
truck, not attacking it.

Hayes was nearing the driveway, and shouting to
his people. “Get her in the truck. We've got dust off in less
than five. Move it!”

Liam and Victoria were now behind his house,
moving through the detritus which had been blown out the back by the
MRAP. He caught some motion in the woods nearby.

Victoria stopped him. “We can't go in the
house.”

“Why not?” He was thinking of the
activity in the front yard. His maskirovka was about to be revealed.
He needed to get in and get his parents. “I need to get my
parents out of here, now.”

They were trying to be quiet, as the Humvee was
still only a few yards behind them. “Trust me, Liam. We have to
wait right here.”

He looked again out into the woods. There was
definitely someone out there. Did Hayes have snipers backing him up?
If so, his plan was doomed to fail.

To Victoria he whispered, “You have to tell
me what's happening. We only have a few more seconds.” He took
the opportunity to pull out his small pocket knife and cut her
bindings.

She seemed confused, but laid it all out for him
in just a couple sentences. Her subterfuge was impressive.

He thought of Grandma's eloquent way of cussing.

“Oh my lands!”

Then he told her
his
secret.

Her mouth was hanging open in shock as the first
expletives arose from the front yard.