The Dead Series (Book 2): Dead Is All You Get (20 page)

“Yes. Several weeks along.”

Isaac took Holly’s hand. “I’m going to assume you’re not under a doctor’s care and examine you myself, young lady.”

Knowing that Isaac would look after my pregnant wife gave me comfort, but I couldn’t shake the dread over the things his hands had touched only seconds earlier.

Warnick and I waited in Isaac’s office. He tried radioing Pederman again to ask him to meet us there but still couldn’t reach him. Eventually, he tracked down Erzen. A little while later Holly and Isaac entered. She smiled as she took a seat next to me.

“Everything’s A-Okay,” Isaac said, sitting at his desk.

“What about the fainting?” I said.

“Perfectly normal, Dave. Holly’s heart is pumping more blood now, and her blood pressure’s going down. That can, of course, cause lightheadedness. Eventually, her body will stabilize. I’ve prescribed some vitamins. You can pick them up from the hospital pharmacy.”

“Thanks, Isaac. With everything going on …”

“No need to explain. Holly, I want to see you again in four weeks.”

“I’ll be here,” Holly said.

“You scared me,” I said to her.

“Sorry. I’m fine.”

Pederman appeared in the doorway, rapping his knuckles on the doorframe. “Am I interrupting?”

“No, perfect timing,” Isaac said.

We spent the next ten minutes updating Pederman about the incident with Ariel. By the time we finished, he was pissed and dressed us down pretty good.

“When I asked you guys to investigate, I didn’t mean you should keep me out of the loop,” he said.

Isaac interrupted. “It’s all my fault, Kelly. I asked them to keep a tight lid on things.”

Pederman ignored the doctor and glared at Warnick, Holly and me. “What if Griffin or Fabian were injured? Come on, guys, we’re supposed to be a team.”

“It won’t happen again,” Warnick said.

“Sorry, Isaac, but this is unacceptable behavior.” The anger out of his system, Pederman sank into a chair. He looked haggard. “Warnick, there’s something I need you to look into. Some of our people have gone missing.”

“How many?”

“So far, there are twenty I can’t account for.”

“Do you think the draggers got them?” I said.

“No one reported finding any bodies.”

“I’m on it,” Warnick said.

“Start with the checkpoints. That’s where we’ve been having the most problems.”

“What kind of problems?” Isaac said.

“People trying to get in to see their friends and loved ones. The situation is becoming critical.”

“Do you need us out there?” Warnick said.

“I do. But the mayor is very concerned about our ability to control the situation. I advised him to let us do our job.”

“Does that mean he’s going to leave me alone?” I said.

“Dave, you’re part of a murder investigation, remember? The mayor is trying to make this town safe.”

“Is that why he ordered that ape O’Brien to beat me up?”

“I called the mayor on that. He promised to rein in O’Brien. I think we need to put that behind us for the good of the town.”

I felt my lip where the mayor had hit me. “Hey, I’m all about turning the page.” Holly’s eyes said she knew I was lying.

“So, how would this work?” Warnick said to Isaac.

“Well, I had hoped the Vollmer twins could meet with the other researchers so we can figure out how best to proceed.” Then to Pederman, “We were talking about this earlier. My researchers aren’t making a lot of progress. And it sounds like neither are the people working for Robbin-Sear. If we combine forces …”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Pederman said. “When I asked the mayor about Robbin-Sear, he refused to let us get involved at first. But I think we’ve come to an understanding. Why don’t you guys get over there, asap. They should be ready by the time you arrive.”

My paranoid brain went to work. Why would the mayor go along with this? Also, I didn’t trust Bob Creasy. The man was unstable. Were we walking into a trap?

“Dave, you look worried,” Pederman said.

“So the mayor actually agreed? Just like that?”

“Well … he didn’t say no.”

To me, the whole thing stunk. “If no one has any objections, I’d like Holly to stay back on this one.”

“Dave, there’s nothing wrong with me.” Then to Isaac, “Tell him.”

One of the things I loved most about Holly was her sense of duty. But I was nevertheless afraid for her. I turned to Isaac and saw fatherly advice coming my way.

“Dave, she’s in her first trimester. She’s fine. Probably in better shape than you.”

“I don’t care—I don’t like it.”

“Too bad,” Holly said. To underscore the point, she shot her tongue out at me.

“Real mature.”

As we rose, Pederman’s radio crackled. He stepped outside and returned a moment later, his mouth a hard line.

“What happened?” Warnick said.

“A group of armed civilians has broken through,” Pederman said. Then to Isaac, “We’ve got casualties, Doc. Better send over some ambulances.”

“What about Robbin-Sear?”

“I’m afraid that will have to wait. This is Priority One.”

We stopped at the command center to load up on weapons and ammo. By the time we reached the flashpoint—a freeway exit on the edge of town—we found ourselves in a war zone. Black Dragon helicopters, equipped with Browning M2 .50 caliber machine guns, hovered overhead, the gunners inside training their weapons on the chaos below. High above, drones surveyed the area. There must have been two or three hundred heavily armed civilians overrunning the checkpoint. Behind the concrete barriers, several vehicles burned fiercely.

Through one of the helicopters’ PA systems, a voice shouted at the civilians to lay down their weapons and surrender, but no one paid any attention. A group of soldiers got out of the vehicle next to ours and were immediately cut down with armor-piercing bullets. An autocannon from one of the helicopters fired on the attackers and cut them to shreds in front of us, leaving only legs standing and then toppling like pick up sticks.

We jumped out of our vehicle and took cover behind it. We were dressed in body armor and ballistic Kevlar helmets, but I still didn’t feel safe. All I could think about was Holly. She looked at me with frightened eyes and, knowing what I was thinking, patted my arm to reassure me.

“Say a prayer,” she said.

I caught sight of Springer with some other men directly across from me on the other side of the checkpoint. Gunfire erupted close to us. We were way past warning shots. I looked behind me and saw Pederman a ways off on the radio, calling out orders. I grabbed Warnick’s radio.

“Pederman!” I said. “Do we wound them or—”

He shook his head vigorously. His voice came in clear. “Shoot to kill, son,” he said.

Warnick nodded sadly. This wasn’t easy for him. Or me. Though I had killed members of the Red Militia in gun battles, I had never intentionally shot a civilian—unless he was undead. I focused on the angry faces of the approaching mob firing their weapons at us. Something told me that they would have no trouble taking my life. Or Holly’s.

“I’m going to join Springer,” Warnick said. “You and Holly stay here and defend your position.”

I knew what he meant. This was happening, and nothing could change that now. “Are you ready?” I said to Holly.

“Yeah.” Then she froze, staring over my shoulder. “Dave!”

I turned. A horde came rushing at us through the trees, attracted by the gunfire. Turning back, I saw two men carrying shields made from scrap iron rushing us. We were surrounded.

I stood and fired my AR-15 at the men, and Holly did the same. The bullets ricocheted off the metal, pinging as they whizzed off in different directions.

“Come on, fall down!” Holly said.

“Aim low and keep firing!”

“Roger that!”

Holly sprayed bullets at their boots, and the men fell in a heap in front of her, screaming and cursing. I ran behind her and took out as many draggers as I could. A number of them got past me, though, and with vicious precision, went after soldiers and civilians alike.

Warnick and Springer had spotted the horde and came to assist now, dodging fire as they ran. The draggers moved fast. Those we missed attacked the nearest humans, tearing out their throats. Those unfortunates dropped in place, squirting bright red blood and gurgling into silent death. Predictably, they rose to join the undead and infect more of the living.

Springer sprinted ahead and lobbed a grenade into the center of the horde. The explosion was deafening and sent blobs of infected flesh in all directions. Now, more Black Dragon soldiers converged. I hurried over to assist Holly. A pile of bodies—soldier and civilian—lay in front of us. Those who hadn’t been blown up reanimated in seconds, transforming into fresh draggers that needed to feed.

Through the smoke and the blood, I saw Pederman mercilessly firing rounds into the arms and torsos of oncoming civilians. I stood over one of them, his torso leaking blood. He whimpered and prayed and babbled. I couldn’t kill him.

“My parents,” he said, delirious and gritting through the pain.

“This isn’t right,” I said to Holly.

Ever prepared, she threw her backpack on the ground, dug through it and found a bunch of white plastic ties. She handed some to me, and I rolled the bleeding men on their stomachs and tied their hands behind their backs.

“You’re under arrest,” I said with an air of unreality, “for … trespassing.”

When the other soldiers saw what Holly and I were doing, they crawled over and got more of the ties and took them to the other wounded lying on the ground. After a while, the shooting stopped and all was quiet—except for the sounds of moaning and crying and the angry beating of the helicopters’ blades.

Ambulances—over twenty of them—arrived to take the wounded to the hospital. Our men regrouped, and Pederman ordered us to make sure there were no new draggers lurking. Incredibly, no one in our unit was wounded.

For the next hour we walked the area, checking the twisted, motionless bodies for pulses and putting a round through each of their heads. In all, we’d lost seventeen Black Dragon troops. Nearly a hundred civilians lay dead or wounded.

It would take our unit till early evening to clear the area of draggers. Others stayed behind and reinforced the barricade.

The night was black and cold as we returned to our vehicle. Warnick’s radio crackled. It was Pederman.

“We’re not done, boys and girls,” he said.

Warnick sighed and brought the radio up to his face. “What have we got? Over.”

“Patrol spotted two men in the forest. We think they’re civilians who broke through and are trying to make their way to town.”

As Pederman continued, a Black Dragon helicopter swooped low over us, its blazing spotlight cutting a stark, burning-white path through the dense trees. Bands of light from the other helicopters pierced the darkness farther away.

“I’m west of you guys,” Pederman said. “Take your unit into the forest, and let’s catch these numbnuts. Over.”

“We’re on our way. Warnick out.” Shaking his head, he turned to us. “This is where we earn our pay.”

“We’re getting paid?” Springer said.

“Shut up.”

I touched Holly’s cheek. “You okay?”