Riposte (The Redivivus Trilogy Book 2) (43 page)

31

October 31, 2015

Atlanta Metropolitan Area

Lydia did as C.J. instructed, and she and the girls managed to push past the majority of the horde. Even so, they were far from in the clear. The infected were everywhere in the city, and she did not see how they could possibly weave their way through all of them. Before they had a chance to celebrate their small victory, they found themselves backed into a corner by the infected less than a mile away from the CDC.

Recalling her vow to do everything in her power to protect the girls, Lydia realized what she now had to do. When she frantically outlined the remainder of the route on the map and began handing the girls everything she was carrying, they understood what she was planning. “No way, Lydia!” Ava screamed. “Not you, too! No one else is going to die for me!”

Tears filled Lydia’s eyes when she saw the fierce determination on Ava’s face. She wanted so badly to see both of the strong, beautiful girls grow up, but the world continually conspired against her. Listening to the ravenous moans of the infected mass bearing down upon them, she knew the world had finally won. She had but one chip left, and she was going to bet it all. Lydia opened her mouth to speak but was cut off when Annalee shouted:

“Look, they’re killing them!”

Lydia turned and stared in awe at the vortex of death heading straight for them. Although she saw people spinning and slashing, carving a path through the horde as they moved, she could not tell who or how many approached. The sounds of their exertion and their blades slicing through the air were nearly as terrifying as that of the infected themselves. Bursting through the front line of the infected still twenty feet away, two figures clad in black rushed toward Lydia and the girls.

Panicked, Lydia said, “Annalee, Ava, get behind me!”

When she spoke Ava’s name, Lydia noticed the larger figure pause and exchange a brief glance with the other. The man pulled off his balaclava, and rushed over to kneel in front of the girls cowering behind Lydia. Even kneeling, he looked colossal by comparison. “One of you is named Ava? Ava Wild?” he asked. Seeing Lydia tense as he spoke, he did his best to put on a reassuring smile.

Caught off-guard by his words, Ava did not know how to respond. “How do you know my…” she stammered.

With his grin stretching from ear to ear, the man said, “Let’s just say people are looking for you, little darling. My name is Plant, Benjamin Plant, and this is Ann, or Animal if you prefer. She does.”

Given the smaller figure’s aggressive body language and the combat prowess she just witnessed, Lydia could see why she acquired the latter name.

“I’m betting you three are going our way. We should probably think about getting out of here while that’s still an option,” Plant said.

Walking behind the two warriors was like walking behind the bastard child of a wood chipper and a meat grinder. The rotten precipitation filling the air varied from a fine mist to a chunky downpour depending on the density of the infected around them. They twirled and slashed, churning through the infected and allowing almost none to make it even to Lydia. When she cleaved the head of an infected jogger that slipped past Plant, he shot her an apologetic look that would have been more appropriate had he just passed gas in the confined space of an elevator.

As they passed the spot where they last saw C.J., Lydia could not help but stare in that direction. While she wanted more than anything to see him alive and well, battling the infected horde, she had no delusions she would. She knew it was far more likely she would see his mangled, dismembered remains or see him shambling about as a new convert to the infected mob. Fortunately, she saw no such trace of him.

They moved through the congested streets of the city with surprising speed. Cutting through alleys and side streets, slipping in and out of buildings, Plant and Animal were like their own personal tour guides through Hell. When they came to a particularly dense wall of infected that appeared virtually impenetrable, Plant led them into an impoverished high-rise apartment building. After battling their way up the dark and foreboding staircase, they emerged on the building’s sixth floor. Plant kicked in the door of apartment 614 and was greeted by a nauseating putrescence so vile that it made all of them want to give up on the spot. A mixture of cat piss, decaying grandma, and Limburger cheese, the stench was so concentrated from having been bottled up in the small apartment that it seemed almost visible in the air. The dozen or so felines that had been locked inside tore past them the moment they saw the opening.

“Dammit, Plant! A cat lady, really?” Animal groaned.

Inside, the place was a wreck. Everything was covered in cat shit, and the cats’ sharp claws had shredded every inch of paper and fabric in the apartment. In a recliner sat the well-chewed corpse of the Cat Lady herself—still taking care of her babies in her own morbid way.

Animal moved nimbly through the disgusting accommodations, careful not to touch anything for fear of dragging even a hint of the fetor with her. She opened a window leading onto the fire escape. The adjacent building stood five stories high and was separated by a narrow alley of little more than six feet. Without a word, Animal hopped onto the railing and leapt over to the roof of the other building, tucking into a roll when she landed.

Plant emerged onto the fire escape, causing it to groan under the burden of his weight. “Lydia, watch the door in case any unwanted visitors show up,” he ordered.

Plant unslung a thick, black coil of rope from his chest and commenced twirling one end like a lasso. He sent the end of the rope sailing across the gap to Animal. Once she secured the rope on her side, Plant cut four short lengths of rope before pulling it tight and anchoring it to the underside of the fire escape landing above. Turning to Lydia and the girls, he said, “Who’s first?” Were it not for the low rumble of the infected congregation on the streets below, he imagined he would have heard a chorus of crickets for all the sound the three females made. “Well, don’t everybody volunteer at once,” he added.

Plant quickly tied a loop on both sides of each length of rope. “Annalee, come here,” he said. She complied without question. He slipped the loop over one of her wrist and instructed her to grip the rope tightly. Holding her up with ease, he passed the makeshift rope pulley over the main rope and looped it over her other wrist. “You ready?” he said as he looked at Annalee’s frightened face with his trademark smile. Despite the fact she was shaking her head violently, he sent her sailing across the gap to where Animal waited on the other side.

Ava and Lydia followed quickly behind. The rope sagged in protest to Plant’s weight, and they silently prayed it would hold long enough for him to make it across. He crashed into the roof with a hard thud before turning to Animal who merely offered him a smile that said,
Oops!
Silly me, I must have forgotten to catch you.

In an instant, the group was on the move again with the black-clad duo in the lead. Plant located a door leading to a staircase but found it to be locked from the inside. Animal moved to the far side of the roof where she perched on the ledge overlooking the rest of Atlanta to the north. In the distance she saw the outlines of the CDC buildings. She noticed that while the infected still shambled about on the street below, their numbers were far fewer than on the opposite side of the building. She also noticed that the building they were on top of was part of the same housing complex as the one across the street, and thus they were identical. Each apartment had a balcony, and when viewed from a distance, they stacked up like the rungs of a ladder.

Hearing Plant kick the locked door in frustration, Animal called him over to share her idea. “Lydia and I can drop down first, and then you can lower the girls before you follow—one floor at a time,” Animal said.

“Ann, you’re brilliant,” Plant beamed, “but first we should clear out as many of the infected as possible.” Noting the gleam in his eyes and the crooked smirk on his face, she knew what he had in mind. Although she rolled her eyes, she was already falling into step behind him.

When Plant reached the side of the roof opposite that of their intended departure, he crouched and unslung his small pack. He pulled out two plastic Coke bottles, partially filled with a blue-tinted liquid, as well as a baggie full of small aluminum foil balls. After cramming half of the foil balls into one of the bottles, he recapped it tightly and shook it to ensure they were fully immersed in the blue liquid. Ava wasn’t sure what was going on, but everyone stared at the man with the mischievous look in his eyes as he intently watched the bottle. After what seemed like minutes, Plant slowly nodded his head before tossing the bottle over the side. Seconds later an exceptionally loud explosion erupted from the street below.

Animal peered over the edge and reported that the noise bomb was having the desired effect—the infected were crowding in toward the source of the noise. Plant quickly repeated the process with the second bottle while Animal went to the other side of the roof to see if the infected were moving from there as well. A thumbs-up told them that his part of the plan was working.

Satisfied with the diversion, Plant and the others joined Animal on the ledge above the highest balcony. Turning to Lydia and the girls, Plant asked, “Are you guys ready?”

Given that their mysterious saviors had yet to steer them wrong, the three females nodded in affirmation. Animal vaulted over the side, landing like a cat on the balcony below. Ava’s stomach dropped when the woman disappeared over the side of the building.

“You next, Lydia,” Plant said. He lowered her as far as he could before dropping her to the floor of the balcony. He repeated the process with Ava and Annalee before lowering himself down. While he landed rather softly for a man of his size, it was still fairly loud, and each of them worried about the fact that it had to be repeated several more times before they reached the ground.

Upon dropping to the third floor balcony, Lydia let out a small shriek. Animal saw the wide-eyed look of terror in the woman’s eyes and spun just as the first thud of the monster’s fists resounded against the glass door separating it from them. Deftly, Animal stepped forward and found the glass door to be unlocked. In a flash, she slid it open just enough to cleave the thing’s skull with one of her brush tools. It collapsed in a motionless heap, gray matter oozing out against the door’s glass.

By the time they reached the last balcony, they were pleased to see that the street was almost clear of the infected. In another moment, the group was back on the ground and moving north toward the CDC facility less than a half-mile away.

The majority of the land between them and the CDC was wooded and occupied by relatively fewer infected. Those they encountered were either dispatched quietly or avoided all together. Ava’s heart leapt as she read the sign affixed to the tall fence they stumbled upon.

CDC Roybal Campus

Restricted Access: Authorized Personnel Only

24/7 Perimeter Surveillance In Use

With a few snips, Plant opened a hole in the fence that was large enough for them to pass through. Once they were inside, he repaired the fence with a few metal zip ties before joining the others. Animal scouted the immediate area while Plant stood watch over Lydia and the girls. Although Lydia felt more than capable of fending for herself, she was grateful for the help in protecting the girls.

“This place seems pretty dead. I don’t see any infected, though I hear them somewhere in the distance,” Animal reported. Plant craned his neck as if trying to verify the woman’s statement. Ava noticed the subtle look of disappointment on his face, and said, “We need to head toward the sound of the infected.”

All four turned and stared at her incredulously, before Annalee said, “I don’t think a
meet and greet
with those things is the best idea.”

“More like
meet and eat
,” Animal murmured. Aside from a less than approving look from Lydia, her bad pun drew no reaction.

“No, I think Ava may be right. Given that they are drawn to the uninfected, if we find where they are the thickest then we should have a good idea about where to look for any healthy humans around this place,” Plant said.

“Maybe I should put a bell around my neck and you can tie me to a stake,” Animal muttered as they began walking toward the faint groaning in the distance.

“Why do you have a bell?” Plant asked.

* * *

They stared in disbelief at the new obstacles standing in their way. Although they saw no people, the hundreds of infected pressed against the concrete barricade made them suspect they were close by. When the closest of the infected caught wind of them, they began somewhat of an uncoordinated migration, making Ava realize that her idea might not have been the best one.

“Company,” Animal said as she pointed toward the approaching horde. Lydia was amazed by the apparent calm in Animal’s voice, which sounded as though she were merely pointing out a thunderstorm brewing on the distant horizon. Plant nodded, and without missing a beat, he said, “There! Head over to the barricade.”

Despite seeing only a tall, impenetrable wall with no door, they did as he asked. As they neared the imposing wall it seemed to grow even taller, looming over them like a skyscraper. Animal appeared next to them, digging around in her pack until she came out with a strange metal object. It had several blades that the woman quickly unfolded before snapping them into place. Unslinging the coil of rope on her back, she secured it to a metal loop on the end opposite the extended blades.