DEAD: Reborn (28 page)

“What are you doing here?” the man asked as he rubbed at his throat.

“Maybe we can have this talk after we get out of here. The place is on fire if you haven’t noticed,” Jody replied. He gave the man on the floor a cursory glance and did not see anything worth picking over that justified staying in a burning house for a moment longer.

Remar glanced upstairs and suddenly Jody had a feeling that there was something that he was missing…if he could just get past the fact that his adrenaline was on overload. Between zombies—flaming or otherwise, an entire housing development burning around them, including the home he was currently standing in, and being with a man who had never been anything but confrontational at best, he just could not get his brain to focus.

When Remar seemed hesitant to m
ove, Jody decided that he would not stand and wait for the house to fall on his head. He headed through the living room and to the front door. Just as his hand closed on the door knob, he heard something behind him. He knew he had made a mistake and cursed himself a split second before something crashed into the back of his head.

…nine hundred and ninety-nine, one thousand!

Danny had already broken the rules and began moving toward the entrance of the house. Just as he reached for the door, he heard a heavy sounding thump, a slight moan, and a thud. His crossbow would probably be useless in the house and he tossed it aside as he reached over his shoulder.

Danny had wanted to try out this sword ever since George had given it to him. He’d spent a good amount of time working with a dummy, but this was the first time he was going into ba
ttle with it in his hand.

He felt the door pull from his grip as whoever was on the other side of it yanked it open. Taking a step back and to the side, Danny did not even pause a heartbeat when Remar Jenks stepped out holding a club that had been a table leg in its former life.

Everything had shifted into slow motion. In the blink of an eye Danny was able to take in the body on the floor of the hall behind Remar as that of his friend Jody. He also saw the pool of blood already forming around his friend’s head like a crimson halo. There was a small clump of hair and a single drop of blood seemed to be suspended in air as it grew pregnant and allowed gravity to pull it free from the ornately carved piece of wood in Remar’s hand.

Danny swung with all his might and was surprised when the man seemed to just look at him with only the mildest expression of
amusement.

15

You Don’t Mess With The Geek

“Here is how it is going to work,” the man who had called himself Doug said as he looked around the room, obviously searching for a way out. “You are going to clear me a path, and I am going to walk out of here, but this little chicken is coming with me to make sure that nobody does anything stupid.”

“And you let her go…when?” Kevin asked. He had a feeling he already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it for himself.

The man laughed. “I’m not letting her go…are you kidding me? You know how long since I’ve seen something this fresh?” He leaned down and took an exaggerated sniff of Heather’s hair.

“Then you are signing your own death certificate,” Kevin said.

“And who is gonna take me down? You, gimpy? Your girlfriend…Scarface or whatever the hell her name is?” He nodded his head towards Aleah who was sitting against a wall with a bloody nose that Kevin felt awful for just now noticing. “Maybe that little dyke soldier? One of the kids? Let’s face it, punk, you ain’t gonna do nothing but be grateful that this is the only thing I am taking.”

“You think you have what it takes to outsmart me?” Kevin asked. “You think that you are going to make it out of this room alive? Both of those would be very incorrect assumptions.
I have dealt with scum like you before…and I can promise you that only one of us walks away from here alive unless you let her go and then just run as far away as you can.”

The man seemed to crack around the edges. His face melted into one of abject fear and horror. He held Heather out away from his body and the hand holding the blade began to visibly tremble.

“You’d still let me go…even now? Even after what my guys and I did to that other girl and her boyfriend?”

A few sobs rippled through the children who were all wide awake now and watching this scene with terror in their eyes. Those closest who could not get any further away were almost on top of those around them. Sean and Deanna were the only ones on their feet, and both looked like they wanted to grab this guy and rip him apart limb from limb.

“You would still let me out of here…alive? All I have to do is promise to go far away and never bother you or any of these kids ever again?” the man asked with a voice that sounded on the verge of tears.

“You have my word.”

Kevin was not sure if he was telling the truth or not; part of him would be content to just let this guy vanish. The things this man had done were terrible, there was no disputing that fact; however, they were not done to him or anybody that he knew personally. In time, this group of kids could have a chance at a life far away from all of this madness. And since none of them had actually been victims, they would eventually get over the tragic loss of their friend.

Another part of him said that an animal like this needed to be put down. He would simply go out and recruit another gang of sick bastards and resume his reign of terror on some other poor individual or individuals. Killing him would save countless others the misery that he was sure to inflict.

The man started to smile…then laugh. Pretty soon he was making it a point to wipe his eyes in dramatic fashion as if he’d been reduced to tears.

“And that, my friend, is why you will never make it,” the man said, all traces of a smile gone in an instant and replaced with something cold…almost reptilian. “What would stop me from coming back in the night, slitting your throat and taking my pick of this group? Now I’m not a total perv, a lot of these little brats are too young. But this one…” He shook Heather by the fistful of hair he held.
“This one will suit my needs just dandy.”

He gave Kevin an evil wink and ran his tongue up the side of her neck. Heather winced and made a strangled cry, but it was the look in her eyes that caught Kevin’s attention. She was loo
king at him, and in that face, he saw that she had no doubt he would do something…he would save her.

The problem as he saw it was that he didn’t know exactly how. This was that moment when he was up on the bathrooms at the RV camp all over again. He’d watched helplessly then
, and he did not see any viable alternative. He was not an action hero…he did not have a gun stashed someplace or a throwing knife that he could whip out in the blink of an eye and plant in this bad guy’s face. His options were limited, and he was painfully aware of the reality.

“Now, y
ou step aside. I will be on my way, and maybe you get lucky and never see me again,” the man growled as he looked around the room for the closest exit.

“I can’t let you leave,” Kevin said with a sigh.

“Can’t?” The man laughed. It was an ugly sound, emphasized by a small cry from Heather when he gripped her hair tighter and placed his blade against her throat. “Perhaps you did not understand how this works. You either move your ass out of the way, or this girl’s head lands in your lap…body not included.”

“Y
ou see,” Kevin suddenly felt a sense of calm as he began to speak, “that really is the thing. One way or another, she is going to die. You will either kill her now or kill her later. I always hated that in the movies.” The man seemed almost as perplexed as he did annoyed as Kevin looked content to lean against the door frame—the only visible exit from this room—and ramble. “In the movies, people would get captured or something, usually by some version of the bad guy. That would be you in this case. Then, the bad guy would make all these threats. “Oh, I’m gonna kill you if you don’t do what I say” and stuff like that. But the thing is, you knew that the bad guy was probably going to just try and kill them anyways. So they were giving the bad guy what they wanted
and
he was still gonna try to kill them. I don’t know how many times I watched a movie where hero and villain are both pointing a gun at each other. The stupid good guy would always set his weapon down and kick it over. Why? The bad guy was in just as much danger of being killed. That always struck me as—”

“Enough!” Derek yelled. “Jesus, don’t you ever get tired of hearing your own voice? That was probably the toughest part about being with you the past few hours…you have something to say about
everything
. I can’t believe that these folks have not killed you yet just for some freaking peace and quiet.”

“Wow,” Kevin shook his head in dismay, “you really lack people skills. I can’t believe that I stopped these kids from bea
ting you to death when you were hanging from that weeping angel.”

Aleah struck quick, lashing out with one foot and connec
ting solid with the left knee of Heather’s captor. There was a sickening crunch that was heard above his yelp of pain. Derek stumbled, letting go of Heather as the pain dropped him to the ground. Kevin was about to move in when the children all seemed to rise up as one and unleash a fury that he could never have dreamed possible.

Catie waded in, gently pulling bodies aside as she closed on the man whose screaming was suddenly
cut off in an abrupt gagging sound. Meanwhile, Aleah was pulling Heather to her and holding her close.

Kevin glanced over at the two men who had pretty much set this entire scene in motion with their arrival and saw open mouths and sho
cked expressions. Even the seriously wounded man seemed stunned by what he’d just witnessed.

“Great job keeping his focus on you,” Catie called as she dragged the unconscious man from the clutches of the children; more than one seeming reluctant to let go of their quarry.

“It wasn’t as easy as you might think,” Kevin admitted. “The closer that you two got, the harder it was for me not to shoot a glance at you, but I knew that the second I did, this was a done deal.”

Heather was sobbing on Aleah’s shoulder
. A few of the children, Deanna and Sean among them, were over offering gestures of comfort.

“So, you two,” Kevin turned to the men. “It seems that we have a bit of a problem here. I don’t really think this group is ready to allow any newcomers to join up. However, since one of you looks hurt pretty bad, my good friend Catie is going to help get him patched up. Then, in the morning, we will be on our way…and I will ask that you not try to follow us.”

“What?” the man who had given the name Trent Lomax exclaimed. “You can’t just leave us here. Doug can hardly walk. Those things are everywhere.”

“And I wish you the best…but
I think these kids are a little sour on the idea of letting any new strangers tag along.”

“So what are we supposed to do?” Trent eased Doug down to the floor and took a step in Kevin’s direction. A dozen chi
ldren popped up with their bows and arrows, drawn and ready to shoot. “Whoa! Whoa!” He threw his hands up in the air and froze mid-step.

“Listen…Trent
, was it? I really feel for you, but these kids have had a rough go of it, and after this last little adventure, I just don’t think you are going to be welcome,” Kevin explained. “I am really sorry that we blew up the walls to your little place, but this is the new world that we live in…like it or not.”

“
You
blew up our walls?” Doug looked up, his face pale, but his eyes still burning bright with anger. “You know how many innocent people that you killed with that little act of terrorism?”

“That is a word from a dead world,” Kevin
said with a shake of his head. “You call it what you like, but for these children, it was vengeance, and that is going to be a real driving force in this world we now live in…, like it or not.”

“How can you stand there so casually?” Trent asked. “Inn
ocent women…some of them well along with their pregnancy, died today because of what
you
people did.”

“And two children were killed after suffering unspeakable brutality at the hands of members of
your
little community,” Kevin countered. “I hate to be the one to drop this on you, but the era of due process and constitutional rights is off the table for the time being. Eye for an eye…or worse. That is the new law of the land.”

“And is that how you will justify leaving us b
ehind…basically to die?” Trent challenged.

“Oh please,” Kevin waved a dismissive hand, “stop with the dramatics. Okay, one of you is in pretty bad shape, but the ot
her…you, Trent…you are fine. You have as good of a chance as anybody to make it.”

“But I can’t leave my friend here…and he won’t be able to travel for a while.”

“Then find someplace, hold up, stay low, and good luck.”

While this exchange continued, Catie knelt and took a look at Doug, lifting his shirt to more closely examine the wound. What she saw made her wince.

“It wasn’t one of them damn zombies,” Doug said. “Not exactly anyway. It was a dog…can you believe it? A freaking mutt got me.”

“He isn’t showing any signs…at least nothing in the eyes,” Catie announced. “But there is some definite signs of…gosh…call it regular infection. The area is all red and angry looking.
”

“I tell ya what,” Kevin looked around the room and was surprised that every single one of the children seemed to be ta
king in his every word, “I will put it to a vote, but you have to agree to accept the outcome. I am going to let these children choose—”

“Do you even know who these kids are?” Trent interrupted. “We’ve dealt wi
th them over the past year…seems that they’re a few bands of them running around in these parts. No coincidence that the juvenile detention center is close by. They are a bunch of thieves and stoners…the kids who could not stay out of trouble before all this mess started.”

“That should win you a few votes,” Kevin quipped.

“So you are going to let these children decide our fates?” Doug asked through clenched teeth as Catie used one of their precious alcohol wipes to clean off the wound before slapping a square of gauze over it and taping it in place.

“Seems like the fair thing to do.” Kevin faced the kids and looked around the room, making sure to make eye contact with as many as possible. He noted that Heather had stopped crying, but was still snuggled in close to Aleah.

“Okay, kids, you have heard what was said, now it is up to you, but I want to make this clear…these men were not the ones that hurt you. These men actually helped us by revealing the real bad guy.” He pointed to Derek’s unconscious form on the floor, trussed like a Thanksgiving Day turkey. “These men wish to accompany us. None of you trusted me at first…not every single adult is a bad person. So I will let you vote with a show of hands on if they join us or not. But if we leave them, you have to know that their chances of survival are not good.”

“Who wants them to join us?” Deanna asked the group, rai
sing her hand. “We are going to need all the help we can get to survive. Kevin’s trip will be long, and the more people that can help keep the group safe, the better.”

A few hands
rose slowly, but each person who did so was facing a barrage of scowls from their majority. A few actually put their hands back down after just a second or two.

“And who says to hell with ‘em…let them take care of their own selves?” Sean asked, thrusting his hand skyward. An ove
rwhelming majority of the others followed suit. Counting was not even needed.