The Fall (Book 2): Dead Will Rise (16 page)

“We take another route,” Kate said. “Whoever these people are, they're pissed and they're packing serious gear. Laura and I left New Haven about six hours after we got there. The way we traveled is a back route New Haven keeps maintained for their scouts. It takes a lot of back roads and we'll have to circle around quite a bit, but it'll get us home.”

“What do you think?” Kell asked Andrea. “Sounds dangerous. You still want to come along?”

She nodded. “I'll follow in the truck. Don't suppose you have a two-way radio we could use, do you?”

Laura grinned, slapping Kell on the arm with the back of her hand. “I like her! What is it with you making friends with women smarter than you are?”

Kell shrugged. “Lucky, I guess.”

“We'll need to leave as soon as possible,” Kate said. “The longer we wait, the more the people manning that ambush are going to wonder where you are. We do not want them to come looking. As it is, we'll be passing close enough that they may hear our engines. If it gets down to a chase, you and Andrea will need to have a map of the route we'll take. I've got a copy for you.”

Kell was taken aback. “What do you mean, me and Andrea? I'm going to ride with you guys.”

“No,” Kate said. “If we get chased, this thing is going to be a death trap. There's no way we can outrun or outmaneuver an elephant, much less another vehicle. If things go bad you need to be in the smaller vehicle. It'll have the best chance to get to safety.”

“I don't get a say in this at all, then?” Kell asked, his voice heated.

Laura shrugged. “You can argue. If you want to fight about it, Kate will knock you out, I'll tie you up, and between the three of us we should be able to lift your big ass and put you into the back of that truck. You're going with Andrea one way or another.”

For her part, Andrea looked torn. Not the kind of emotional turmoil he was hoping for, but he could see the unease at how his friends were treating him clash with—and he knew he was right—an urge to laugh out loud.

With a disgusted sigh, Kell threw his hands up. “Fine. You win.”

The devil was in Kate's smile. “We always do, honey.”

“Your friends are pretty intense,” Andrea said as they sped down the road. “Not a bad thing, I guess, but it was unnerving how much they emphasized us not saying anything to anyone about these people.”

“It makes sense. Don't want to panic the populace, and the more people who know, the more chance the enemy will find out you know about them.”

They followed along in silence for several miles, easily keeping pace with the RV. Every few minutes Laura—who had taken over for Kate manning the rifle, would send an all-clear across the radio. Worst case scenario was firing through the windshield if a threat came along, though for now she only watched ahead through the scope.

“Will she really shoot from inside the cabin?” Andrea asked.

Kell nodded. “But only if she has no other choice. There's a ladder inside leading to the roof hatch. If she has to, she'll tie herself off and shoot from up there. Moving or not.”

Andrea whistled appreciatively. “That's kind of nuts. Where the hell did she learn to shoot like that?”

“She was kind of a nerd,” Kell said with a laugh. “She and Kate grew up together. Married brothers. Kate was always learning how to fight, how to shoot, all that. Laura wanted to but her parents were very against it. So she turns eighteen and goes into the Marines. Spends her leave with Kate, whose favorite pastime was going down to the range. Laura ended up being scary good with a rifle. And most other guns, I suppose.”

Andrea shook her head. “Wish I'd have done the same.”

Kell's eyebrows shot up. “I took you for military, the way you fight and the whole camouflage thing.”

“God, no,” Andrea said. “I worked for a home health agency. Studied some psychology. Did a lot of things, really, but never touched a gun or suffered anything worse than a violent patient before all this.”

Kell leaned back in his seat. “Shouldn't be surprised. I was a lab nerd. No one is a better example of how much the end of the world changes people.”

“Do you really think so?” Andrea asked. “I tend to believe it just showed us who people really are.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it. There are bandits out there. A lot of them. Do you think they just lost their minds when everything went bad? I don't. I think the lack of law and a society just gave them free reign to act the way they'd always wanted to. Just like it brought out other qualities in the rest of us. Bravery, toughness, creative thinking. Terrible as it sounds, it's a sort of silver lining to all the craziness.”

He considered that statement. “True enough, as far as it goes. Being more self-reliant is small compensation for children having to grow up in a world without proper medical care, any sort of comforts like electricity, and having to learn to defend themselves from bloodthirsty monsters.”

Andrea punched him in the arm. Really hard.

“Hey,” he said, trying to duck away from a second punch. “What was that for?”

“I could almost hear you blaming yourself. Call it negative reinforcement. You do that, I'm gonna punch you.”

Which made him shut up for a while. That only lasted until they ran right into the second ambush.

The radio crackled. “There are vehicles hidden in brush about an eighth of a mile ahead,” Laura said. “We have two roads we can turn off on, but no idea where they go. It's risky. No way to gauge the strength of the enemy, but I spotted at least one sniper. Not a professional, but it means there are probably several I didn't see.”

Kell keyed the radio. “What's the plan?”

“Running seems like the best option,” Laura said. “We're slowing down enough that they're going to realize something is up. I think we have to take the second road. Make it look like we're just looking for the right turn. Might buy us an extra few seconds.”

Andrea grabbed the radio. “Laura, can you hit the shooter you can see?”

A brief pause. “Yeah, when we get closer I can. Probably when we start to take the turn. But the rest of them will know we're aware of them.”

“Do it,” Andrea said. “Even if you miss him, it might make them think twice about following us. Slow them down.”

Another pause. “I won't miss.”

Kate slowed the RV down to a crawl, moving into the middle of the road as she took the turn wide. The hatch was a sliding piece of plastic, the original hinged cover removed. It gave Laura an extra second of surprise as she popped up through the roof, took aim, and fired off a volley of shots loud enough that Kell's ears rang with them forty feet away and behind glass.

The ambush was close enough for him to see the spray of blood, an indistinct smear of red across the withered bushes. There was movement as hidden enemies ducked and dove, and flashes of light and sound as others returned fire. Laura dropped into the RV like a stone, a bolt of fear shooting through him.

Then the front end of the RV dropped several inches. One of the tires must have been hit. Kate gunned the engine, causing the huge vehicle to tilt as she powered through the turn. Andrea kept close behind, the dust from the unused road billowing across the SUV in an obscuring cloud.

The RV shot down the country road at a terrifying speed, oscillating back and forth as the ruined tire quickly shredded against the ground. Pieces of it slapped against their vehicle as they were run over, causing Andrea to slow down and create some distance between them. It was lucky; a minute later the RV screeched to a halt.

“Road's blocked,” Laura said over the radio. “We're trapped.”

Kell didn't hesitate. He turned in his seat to face the kids, both terrified. “Michelle, take your brother and run past whatever is blocking the road. You run and don't stop until you find somewhere safe. Climb a tree, find a house, just hide and don't come out until we find you.”

He turned to Andrea. “Go with your kids. The three of us will hold them off.”

She shook her head. “You'll need me.”

Kell didn't argue, there wasn't time. “Fine. Get them running. Then grab your gun and get to the RV. Laura will tell you what to do.”

“Wait, where are you going?” Andrea asked.

“No time, just go!”

Already strapped with his other weapons, Kell pulled his spear from the floorboards and ran into the woods. It wasn't much of a trip; the road was so overgrown that the unkempt foliage bowed out over it. In seconds he was gone, another shadow in the late-afternoon forest.

His cover wasn't as complete as he would have liked. Without his cloak and armor and the painstaking camouflage he'd added to both, it was much harder to blend in with the winter-thin brush and trees. Only the density of the undergrowth kept him hidden, and if there was an observant person among the approaching enemies Kell was screwed.

Crouching next to a tree, Kell set his spear on the crumbling leaves coating the ground. He unhooked the bow folded up on his hip, thankful Kate and Laura remembered to give it to him in the short time he had with them. The limbs extended, hooked the string. Still hunkered low, Kell grabbed the spear with his free hand and hustled through the brush, putting himself (hopefully) behind their pursuers. He wouldn't be much of a flanking force on his own, but any distraction he could provide would help the others.

Seventy-five feet from the back of the RV, he stopped. If the enemy decided to make this a ranged fight with rifles, they were going to be sorely disappointed. Kate and Laura had the RV set up with a dozen modifications for that scenario. Laura would be able to shoot freely.

They didn't. Three vehicles stopped within fifty feet of the RV's rear, a fourth further back, almost right in front of Kell. His view of the front three was obscured, but fear raced with every beat of his heart as he watched the men exiting in front of him. There were three of them, all in military uniforms and with the bearing of soldiers. All three were raising rifles when a voice cut through the air.

“Potato!” Kate screamed.

Kell closed his eyes and ducked as the grenade went off. Thankfully she remembered to shout the warning, thought his reaction was pure instinct. She must have lobbed the thing from the far end of the RV, as it fell ten feet short of the forward vehicles.

Kell took advantage of the chaos after the explosion, raising to one knee and drawing a bead on the first soldier he saw, who happened to be laying with his feet toward the blast. Kell sighted down the shaft of the arrow, still disoriented from the grenade, and loosed as his target began to rise. His aim was off, body wobbling, and instead of striking the soldier in the arm, the arrow went through his neck.

In a moment of insane giddiness at his luck, he wondered if Andrea would be jealous he'd made a neck shot, too.

The second soldier on Kell's side of the vehicle had already stood and was just turning to face forward again when a second arrow pierced his forearm just below the elbow. The movement drew the attention of the third soldier, who was on the other side of the armored vehicle, because the man dropped behind it. Kell was frozen, trying to decide if he should risk moving, go for the injured man who would surely manage to fire despite the arrow in his arm, or run from the one who would be popping up to spray bullets at him in seconds.

Except the third soldier was early. Kell had no time to jump or move when the barrel of the man's rifle slid over the side of the truck and over the hood, followed by the soldier himself. Time slowed but not in a way at all helpful to Kell. There was no time to move, to dodge. It all happened so fast.

Laura, however, was on the job.

The bullet took the soldier in the head, a flash of red erupting from him in a gout and sending his body to the ground. Normal time resumed for him, a surge of energy and strength following it. Kell launched himself from the woods, bow in one hand and spear in the other. The injured soldier was raising his gun as Kell descended on him, bullets peppering the ground as hands made clumsy by injury slipped on the trigger. One of them bit into the side of his boot.

Heat laced the side of his foot, though not as much pain as he would have imagined. Several tugs on the fabric of his thick armored pants followed. Rational Kell was pretty sure the leg was toast; the armor would part like cheesecloth under that kind of assault.

Fortunately for him, Rational Kell was not in charge.

Kell brought his right arm down in a vicious swing, the spear tip crashing between the hollow of the man's throat and the top of his sternum. Though the spear stopped hard eight or nine inches in, the effect was immediate. The enemy toppled forward. Kell pulled the spear free and ducked to the back of the truck to gain cover.

There was no need. None of the enemy between him and the RV paid him the least bit of attention. Several were down, a few more taking refuge behind vehicles as he was. Kell was so stunned by the weakness of the enemy's resistance that it took him a moment to realize someone was screaming.

Andrea. It was Andrea.

It was then he noticed the dwindling forms too large to be women, running yards ahead of the RV. Understanding was instantaneous. There was no hesitation. Kell knew Andrea had seen the men get past the RV, probably running for their lives, but in the direction of her children.

Not taking time to wonder how damaged his leg must be, Kell pulled the knot holding the heavy pants. Armored as they were, gravity did the rest. The last piece of his original gear, so carefully designed and repaired, fell loose on his body. Shucking them down his legs in a smooth motion, Kell stepped out of the clunky fireman's boots and onto the powdery blacktop barefoot.

There was blood, but he paid it no mind as he sped back into the woods and toward the children. He only stayed in the trees long enough to get past the cars, trusting Laura and Kate to keep the enemies behind them pinned down. After passing in front of them he cut right, leaping down the embankment onto the road and putting everything he had into a burst of speed. With a thoughtless leap he cleared the downed tree in front of the RV.

In the distance he saw shapes, which grew more distinct as he ran. Andrea was locked in combat with a flabby, balding man wearing glasses who looked like an accountant. Two others were urging him to quit fighting and run, and Kell fervently agreed with them.

The slap of his footfalls alerted them, all three men looking his way as he approached. Andrea, not one to waste an opportunity, bit the fat man in the join between neck and shoulder, ripping out a hunk of flesh. With a furious screech the man slammed her against the ground hard enough to make her head bounce, and shot to his feet.

The gun left his holster, caching on the hard leather on the way out. Kell's reaction was again without conscious thought or planning; the spear blurred through the air before slamming into the fat man's chest. There was a harsh snap followed by the spear falling free from his body a split-second after entering. Man and weapon hit the ground together.

Kell was still running when one of the other men shot Andrea.

“
Mommy
!” Michelle screamed, bursting from her hiding place a dozen yards down the road. The man still holding the smoking gun stood, stunned and motionless. The other whipped around, raising his own weapon. He fired just as Michelle registered the threat and dove to the side, a puff of dust raising a few feet in front of where she'd been as the man fired.

Kell was on him a second later. Rage boiled through every pore as he tackled the man to the road and grabbed his wrist as he tried to swing the gun around to shoot. Thunder cracked next to his head as the terrified enemy pulled the trigger several times out of pure instinct. Kell squeezed the radius and ulna together before savagely jerking the wrist and twisting the entire arm. Bones popped. The man's screams melded with the fading of the last gunshot, though Kell was too far gone to pay either any mind.

Kell screamed wordlessly, punching with all his might. His knuckles shredded against jaw and eye socket over and over again. He felt a finger break, but only stopped when someone fired yet another shot right next to him.

He looked up just in time to see Andrea's shooter topple to the ground, head missing above the eyebrows. Michelle was just pulling herself from the ditch she had landed in, then racing toward her mother. On her side and bleeding, Andrea let her pistol fall along with her hand. The other pressed against her lower left abdomen, trying to staunch the flow of blood.

More gunfire erupted near—or from—the RV. Kell wanted to run, to help Laura and Kate, but he couldn't leave Andrea and Michelle. Or Evan, for that matter, wherever he was. Probably still hiding. Smart kid.

Michelle clung to her mother, openly weeping. “Please help her,” the little girl plead. “Save her, Kell.”

“I'll do everything I can,” he said. More than anything he wanted to kneel down and hold her, comfort her. But he stood as blood pattered to the pavement, watching for more enemies. None seemed to have gotten past the RV. A small flame of hope kindled in him.

Then, an idea.

“Listen, Michelle,” he said. “I need to go up there and help Laura and Kate. I need you to take your mom to where Evan is hiding and stay there. I'll make sure no one comes after you.”

“No,” Michelle said. “You can't leave. I don't think she can move.”

Andrea stirred, sitting up. “Listen, little bug. It's not as bad as it looks. I can walk a little ways. I'll be okay until Kell gets back. And he will come back,” Andrea said with a pointed look in his direction.

“I won't be long,” Kell said. He helped Andrea to her feet and waited for her to take a few steps before going back to the RV. The wound was serious, but not immediately life-threatening. There was no gout of arterial blood. Even a bad gut wound could be treated with competent medical care. It was just a matter of surviving until then, and getting out of this situation.

You know, easy stuff.

On the way he took up his spear again. The reason it had fallen from the body of the fat man was clear; the tip had broken off in the man. Three or four inches of aluminum were gone, the wicked spike no longer a deadly needle but a blunt end half an inch across.

At the front of the RV he stopped, leaning the spear against the vehicle. Kell took a deep breath.

“Listen carefully,” he said with enough volume to hurt his throat. “You can walk away from this. You have thirty seconds from when I stop talking to throw your weapons down. We aren't interested in prisoners. You disarm, get in the cars you can still drive, and get the hell out of here. We'll call it a draw. If you choose not to do this, we'll come at you with everything we have. First it'll be grenades again. If you survive that, we'll get creative. There are kids with us. If you think we won't die to protect them, then please stay right where you are. Your time starts now.”