Remains of the Dead (17 page)

“About eight hundred,” Cannon answered. “And that includes rounds for the pistol.”

“We’ll concentrate on living long enough to get picked up,” Cahz said. “If it doesn’t happen, we worry about it then.”

Ryan and Cannon looked dumbstruck.

“We okay with that?” Cahz asked.

“I guess that’s all we can do,” Cannon said.

Ryan was less convinced. “What if we need some of this stuff? Shouldn’t we take it with us just in case?”

“It’s going to be tooth and nail out there,” Cahz answered. We can’t afford to carry any dead weight.”

“But we’ll need some of this stuff if we miss the pickup,” Ryan complained.

Cahz sat down on one of the closed boxes and looked up at Ryan. “Cannon, what’s the survival time of a downed team in country?” he asked.

“Ten hours,” Cannon quoted.

“Ten hours,” Cahz repeated. “Held up in a nice cosy hotel like this, we’d make the pickup easy. Out there, most fully armed and prepared teams don’t even last ten hours. Look around, Ryan. We ain’t a fully prepared team. We’re three guys with a few guns. Now I appreciate you’ve survived out here for years, but you’ve been locked away in your makeshift fortress, not out on the street.”

“Then why leave?” Ryan demanded. “The fire might not spread. I’ve seen it tons of times. Some fires catch, others just fizzle out. We might be okay.”

“He’s got a point, boss,” Cannon said.

“It might not spread—I’m no expert. But even if it doesn’t, we’ll never get spotted by the chopper. With smoke and the updraft from the flames, it’ll make a pickup impossible,” Cahz explained. “And that’s the best case scenario. If that fire jumps and sets this building alight, how do we get out then? The undead will be enough to contend with without doing it in choking smoke or roaring flames. And before you even ask if we can stay just as long as we can, think about what would happen if the building starts burning after dark. We’d be evacuating into an infested city in pitch black.” Cahz stood up. “No, we move out now while it’s still light and while we still have some control over the situation.”

Ryan nodded and gave a shallow smile. “So what’s the plan?”

“First we gather what useful kits we can,” Cahz said. “Then we work out an escape plan.” He rifled in one of his thigh pockets and produced a map. “We need to take into consideration where’s best to get a pickup.” He pulled out a pencil from a pocket on his body armour and made a light mark on the paper. “You know the area better than we do and it’s not detailed enough to show anything but major roads and towns.” Cahz handed the map to Ryan. Ryan took it and examined the chart as Cahz continued, “Now, I’ve drawn a line from our current location all the way to the coast. That’s the direction I expect the chopper will come in from. Idris, our pilot, is a stickler for that sort of thing—likes to follow the same routes to make search and rescue easier. We need to stick to that line as close as possible to have any chance of intercepting our pickup. So what is the terrain like? Are the bridges blown? Are the roads blocked? Is there somewhere elevated where we can signal? Is there space for the chopper to land? Have a good long look and think things through, ‘cause if we can make it out of this building, we’ll need you scouting the way.”

Cahz turned back to Cannon. “Have a look through this stuff. See if you can find anything useful.”

“What about them?” Cannon pointed out.

Cahz looked at the baby and then at Elspeth. He ran his hands through his hair. “Ah, shit,” he grumbled.

He took the flavourless gum out of his mouth and flicked it away. The minty-ness had gone ages ago, but it hadn’t totally removed the foul taste in his mouth.

Cahz lay down his carbine and hauled off his body armour. He unholstered his pistol.

“What you doing?” Ryan asked.

“Why’d you take your armour off?” Cannon asked.

“I don’t know, Cannon… I don’t know.” Cahz was agitated. “She ain’t dead yet and I don’t feel right marching in there and killing her dressed like an executioner. Okay?”

Cannon made a submissive gesture with his hand and said nothing.

“You’re
what
?” Ryan croaked.

He got to his feet, still holding the baby. As he took a step forward, Cannon swung his arm out to form a barrier.

“Cool it, Ryan,” Cannon ordered. “You know it needs done.”

Ryan started to object but couldn’t find the grounds he needed. Elspeth was infected. Even looking at her he knew she wouldn’t have long. He could also see it as a mercy.

He bowed his head and stepped back.

* * *

Cahz closed the office door gently behind him. The smell of death hung in the air. It was a sharp tart aroma, like a mouldy grapefruit mixed with stale urine. It was a smell that clawed at the back of his tongue and made him want to gag.

“Elspeth,” he said softly, swallowing back the nausea.

When she didn’t stir he called her name a little louder.

“Elspeth.”

Still nothing.

Cahz knelt down beside her. Her skin was pale and translucent, the veins underneath an insidious black entanglement of infection that he knew pervaded her every fibre. Beads of sweat dripped from the tip of her nose and landed in a damp patch on the canvas camp bed.

Cahz listened carefully for the sound of breathing. Elspeth’s lips were dark and cracked. A steady stream of frothy drool trickled from the corner of her bruised mouth.

He swallowed down nervously. He leaned closed to her mouth and, holding his breath, he cocked his ear, listening for any sound. A faint rasp struggled from her lips and her eyes flickered gently behind her closed eyelids.

The puff of breath was foul. It smelt sulphurous and dank.

“I’m sorry to do this before you’ve gone, but you don’t have much time left anyway.” Cahz paused, hearing his pathetic excuse. “Maybe it is better this way. I mean, you won’t have to come back as one of those things.”

Cahz clicked the safety catch off his pistol, “I’m sorry, but we… I don’t have the time to wait for you. I hope you understand if I’m to get Ryan and Cannon and me out of this. I…” He stopped himself. “The truth is, it’s easier this way. You’re one less thing to worry about. I’m sorry, Elspeth.”

Elspeth’s eyes began to open, very slowly. The whites were bloodshot, but her irises were still a bright blue.

“It’s okay,” she whispered. Her eyes slowly began closing again.

Cahz blinked away a tear. He pointed the gun and pulled the trigger.

He stood up and drew his sleeve across his face, wiping away the tears. His ears buzzed with the deafening thump of the shot. The roar of interminable pressure reverberated around his head.

An ugly black pit the size of a coin was oozing blood from Elspeth’s temple. The blood wasn’t the usual crimson red, but darker—more corrupted. Her eyes had flickered open and rolled back, leaving just a crescent of blue iris visible. Beyond, the cream coloured office wall was sprayed with a fountain of that visceral fluid. Sliding down the wall were chunks of grey meat and shredded skin. A clump of scalp with tendrils of fine white hair slithered its way to the floor. Robbed of sound, the dripping blood was all the more discordant. Cahz watched for a moment, the angry buzzing in his ears blotting out all other noise. It separated him from the moment and yet dragged him in. Trickles of contaminated blood, stark against the pale infected skin, dribbled down her lifeless face. As he watched a dry wad of sickness caught in the back of his throat.

Cahz turned and looked out of the office window.

Ryan was rocking the baby. Even with the bark of the shot impairing Cahz’s hearing, it was obvious by the way the baby’s face was contorted that she was crying.

Cahz looked down at the gun in his hand. It was a black lump of hard cold metal in his grasp.

He opened the office door, his gaze firmly locked on the crying child.

Gulping back the anguish, Cahz marched up to the others.

Cannon was saying something as he walked up, but Cahz couldn’t hear what above the ringing in his ears.

“Put her on the ground.” Cahz wasn’t sure if the words had come out but from Ryan’s shocked reaction he knew he’d made his intent clear.

Ryan shook his head and backed up.

Cahz levelled the gun at the screaming child. Her pink skin was flushed red with howling. He couldn’t hear him say it, but Cahz knew Ryan was pleading.

“Put her on the ground and step back!” Cahz shouted. Tears were streaming down both his and Ryan’s face.

With the child shielded by his own body, Ryan pushed out at Cahz.

The distraught father was mouthing the words, “Fuck you!” through Cahz’s deafness.

Cahz grabbed Ryan’s wrist with his free hand and twisted the arm into a lock. Ryan screamed as he fought against the pain, but he couldn’t stop from buckling. On his knees on the ground the crying baby was an easy target.

Cahz placed his finger over the trigger.

“Ahhggghh!” Cahz bellowed in pain as his arm was snapped into a lock.

Cannon pushed his commander to the ground, ripping the gun from his grip.

“Look at her!” Cannon shouted. “Look at her!”

The room was full of shouts and cries becoming more audible, less distorted all the time as Cahz’s hearing cleared.

“Look at her!” Cannon offered a hand to help Cahz to his feet.

Cahz was hauled to his feet and took a step closer to the baby.

“Look at her skin,” Cannon demanded.

He looked back at the office where Elspeth’s corpse lay, then back at the child. The baby girl was still gulping in lungs full of air and belching them out as great shrieks. Her soft skin was flushed red from the distress.

“She’s not infected?” Cahz said in amazement.

“She should have died hours ago, a kid that young.” Cannon put a hand on Cahz’s shoulder. “I realised it when I saw you with Elspeth.”

Cahz reached out his hands in a silent request to see the child.

“Is she immune?” Ryan asked as he passed her over.

“No one’s immune,” Cannon countered, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

Cahz took the child in his arms and rocked her gently to soothe her. As the girl started to calm down he walked over to the window to get the best light.

The scratch down the child’s face wasn’t as puffy or red as he remembered it. He peered closer at the wound. It had obviously started at her temple and been dragged down to the cheek just above the jaw line. All the way down were flakes of dead skin and small wells of congealed blood. The deepest part of the wound was where it stopped. There was a deep gouge that ended in an ugly lump of scabbed black blood.

Cahz continued looking at the injury—looking long and hard.

“Cannon,” he finally said, “pass me the tweezers from one of the first aid kits.”

“Here,” Cannon said, passing them over.

Cahz took the tweezers and gripped the terminal scab. With a quick pluck he pulled the lump of scab away. The baby started howling again.

Looking out of the window, Cahz examined the tip of the tweezers. He gently turned his wrist to get the best angle of light.

“Well, fuck me!” Cahz exclaimed. “Look at this.”

“That’s what caused the mark?” Cannon asked, peering at the bloodied lump on the end of the tweezers.

“Let me see,” Ryan said, barging past. “What is it? For fuck’s sake lemme see.”

“It’s a shard of glass,” Cahz declared, a tone of triumph in his voice.

“She’s not infected,” Cannon whispered.

Ryan gasped. “When Elspeth fell… It wasn’t a claw mark—it was some broken glass on the ground.” A huge smile erupted on Ryan’s face. “She’s not infected!”

He stretched his arms out and Cahz passed the child over.

Ryan hugged the baby close. “Oh my gorgeous baby girl.” He planted a wet kiss on the obviously bemused child’s forehead. The girl started whimpering at the unexpected attention. Ryan rocked her in his arms, tears of joy streaming down his cheeks.

“Stick your pinkie in her mouth,” Cannon suggested.

“What?” Ryan asked.

“Stick your pinkie in her mouth. It’ll help to calm her down.”

Ryan gave a huff. “Why didn’t you suggest that earlier when she was bawling?”

“
Because
,” Cannon said, “I didn’t want you to get bit and infected.”

Ryan turned to the manager’s office. “It would have meant a lot to her if she’d known. She wouldn’t have died thinking she failed Sam and the baby.” He placed a hand over his mouth and shuddered. He stood staring at the execution. “Poor Elspeth.” His voice quivered. “She doesn’t even look peaceful.”

Cahz looked back at the dead woman. Her mouth was agape and the trickle of blood from the bullet wound in her forehead had run down into an eye before pooling and dripping off onto the floor.

Ryan wiped away a string of mucus from his nose and snorted back the grief.

“Cannon,” Cahz said, “pull a sheet over her or something.”

Cannon gave a nod. He picked up a discarded sleeping bag and proceeded into the office.

Cahz stepped in to snap Ryan out of his distress. “Okay, let’s gather what stuff we need, then we’ll plan how to get out of here.”

He looked around for something to busy Ryan with. His eyes settled on the large plastic water containers.

Standing in front of him, Cahz placed his hands on Ryan’s shoulders. “We’re going to need water. I lost my canteen, so if we can find some more—”

Ryan broke in, “I spotted camel packs.”

“Good. Fill a couple for each of us.”

From behind, Cannon closed the office door and rejoined his commander. Elspeth’s corpse was now hidden under a puffy green sleeping bag.

“We’ll need mêlée weapons in case we run short on ammo,” Cahz said as he watched Ryan rummage one-handed through a crate.

Cannon nodded. “I’m on it.”

“Oh, and guys,” Cahz added loud enough to get Ryan’s attention, “see what else you can find and we’ll pool it all together. Ten minutes.”

* * *

The three men stood around a fan of assorted objects on the floor in front of them. There was nothing extraordinary among the kit; some water packs, rucksack, crowbar, wind up torch and a few other bits and pieces of civilian camping equipment.