Dext of the Dead (Book 4): We Are The Extinction Page 5

  She stood there stunned. We all did, really.

  A man in a lab coat peeked around the corner from inside the gate and feebly asked, “Say that again?”

  “What?”

  He repeated, “Your name. Say your name again?”

  “Staff Sergeant Kylee Peel, United States Army.”

  I don’t know why, but the nerdy dude told the marine, “Let them in. Do it quickly.”

  The marine started to argue, but nerdy dude grew some balls on the spot and told him, “Stand down, Chavez! Bring them in.”

  This Chavez guy cussed under his breath and huffed like a pissed-off, little baby before giving a ‘wrap it up’ sign with his hand. “Fine. Fuck it, but it’s your ass, not mine, egghead.”

  They escorted us in without another word and rushed us all into one of the nearby buildings. That was where we got separated. That was where Lilly was pushed screaming and crying into the exam room alone and the others were led into different areas. Chavez—he and I are far from done.

  Entry 123

  Lilly arrived at my door carried by Cutty and escorted by two armed guards. By that point I had already showered and scoured my quarters for anything useful. As I noted before, there was nothing in the room that could even remotely be used as a weapon, but I had an idea for that. The place was like a dormitory of some sort. Comfortable, though small, it was equipped with a single set of bunk beds, a small desk, dull tile flooring, and a private bathroom. It looked even smaller with Cutty’s enormous frame looming inside.

  The guards let them in and closed the door swiftly. The clicking of the lock made me ill, though. It may have been comfortable, but it felt like we were prisoners.

  Cutty plopped down in the desk chair and let Lilly down. Sitting on the bed, I asked her how she was holding up. She shocked me by not responding with words and instead giving me a huge hug. She laid her head on my shoulder and sobbed pitifully.

  I held her for a long moment in silence and let her get it all out. When she was through, she lifted her head and wiped her snotty nose with her sleeve. Her eyes were red and swollen, and her little lip quivered, wrinkling her chin adorably. She told me, “I miss Mommy.”

  I guess that was natural. What little kid wouldn’t want their mommy in this situation? I tried to give off an air of confidence, telling her, “You have us now. It’s not always gonna be easy, Lil, but we’ll do everything we can to figure this all out.”

  She stayed stuck to me like a baby koala bear while Cutty and I caught up. I asked him about the others.

  He exhaled audibly and told me, “Murph is wit’ dat little white dude that let us in hurr. Hook and Alyse still gettin’ worked ova’ by the docs.”

  I asked about Kylee, and he shook his head. “Ain’t seen her,” he told me with visible worry creasing his brow.

  Lilly murmured something softly, causing me and Cutty to ask her to repeat it. She made an effort to repeat it, saying, “The mean guy said she was gonna be ‘quarmateemed.’”

  Cutty and I figured it out instantaneously, and I could feel my eyes grow as wide as dinner plates. Shit. Quarantined. They found her bites.

  Cutty said flatly, “Dis bad, Dext.”

  I nodded and took a second to take it all in.

  We had to think logically. This entire place was inhabited by two types of people, doctor types and military. That meant the doctor types had to be studying this thing, and the military was keeping this place protected. Now, that made our little crew the odd one out. That much we could assume by our treatment thus far.

  With the exception of Chavez, we’d been treated well enough. The examinations, while off-putting, were understandable. They certainly wouldn’t tolerate anyone at risk of turning here so, of course, they would look us over as thoroughly as possible. And they also wouldn’t want any group to come in here and cause a ruckus, which explained the escorts and the locked doors.

  So, the question remained: Why did they let us in at all? Why did that little, nerdy dude call a halt to the challenge at the gate and demand we be brought inside? And now, they were definitely going to want to look at her closely and find out why she’d been bitten without turning like everyone else.

  That was the key.

  I told Cutty, “We need to talk with Murphy. He’s our money card here. He speaks their language, and if he’s already warmed up to the one that got us in, he’s got the inside track.”

  Cutty rubbed his face as he pondered my words. “You think he can figga out where Kylee at?”

  I didn’t have a clue. I was shooting from the hip, just the same as I’d done since day one, but Kylee said to lead them. “He’s gonna have to, Cutty.”

  Cutty nodded and seemed satisfied with that for the moment. He asked me, “What ’bout when we do find her? What we gon’ do den?”

  We were interrupted by a loud knock on the door. I called for them to come in, and the door swung open to reveal Hook and Alyse. They, too, were escorted by two men who waved them inside. They looked rattled, but healthy otherwise. Cutty spoke up and tried to ask the escorts a question, but the door slammed shut and locked tightly before he could even finish. He looked at us incredulously and said, “You belie’e dat shit?”

  Alyse immediately came to my side and knelt down, asking Lilly, “You okay, honey?”

  Lilly nodded slightly and reached for her, so Alyse just scooped her up and took her into the bathroom. She looked over her shoulder and told us, “I’ll make sure she’s all right.” She took a second to formulate her words before finishing with, “You know… girl stuff.”

  We all nodded, and Hook told her, “Good idea. Do that.”

  Once the door shut behind them, Hook opened up with, “Helluva welcoming committee they got here, eh? Ain’t been looked over that closely since the day I lost my arm.”

  I asked him if he was all right… Alyse, too.

  He shook his head in the affirmative and said, “Yeah, we’re fine. They even let me have my meds back. Seems the tolerance for medical weed has made a turn for the better since the dead started walkin’ ’round eatin’ people. Still can’t smoke inside, though.” He chuckled at his own statement.

  That caught my attention. I asked him if he’d been outside yet. He told us, “Hell yeah, I been outside. But the sons o’ bitches never left my side.”

  Cutty asked him, “What’s going on out there? What’s it look like?”

  Hook shook his head and tried to answer him. “Hard to say. There’s people everywhere. I counted about fifty or more just in passing. Seems a pretty even split between scientisty people and military. There’s both army and marines here, working together, and I think I saw a few national guardsmen. Place is locked up tighter than a dolphin’s asshole.”

  Cutty sighed. “Damn.”

  Hook continued, “There’s more. They got dead here.”

  My stomach dropped into my shoes. I remember, I stood up and snapped, “The fuck you mean there’s dead here? In-side the walls?”

  Hook extended his good hand in a ‘calm-down’ gesture and said, “Cool it, kid. They’re probably right outside the door. Lower your voice. Yes, there’s dead here. They’re in a huge, double fenced-in area out back of the biggest building. And there’s a fuckin’ lot of them.”

  The pieces were falling into place by this point. I told them, “Shit, they’re actually studying the bernies. They have to be. Why else would Kilo be collecting them? They’ve been dropping them here to be worked on.”

  Cutty shook his head disgustedly. “Dis some bullshit! I don’t care if dey locked up tight or not. I ain’t tryna settle in wit’ no damn bernies right out back. And I damn sho’ ain’t tryna let them do no crazy shit wit’ Kylee.”

  Alyse exited the bathroom with Lilly, who now seemed in better spirits. I gave Alyse a look like, ‘What did you say to her?’

  She simply smiled and waved me off like, ‘It’s okay. Just go about your business.’

  The fact was that we had no choice but to stay there f
or the time being. It wasn’t like they were just gonna let us walk out of there like nothing ever happened. So, Cutty could be pissed off all he wanted. It wasn’t going to change anything. When I told him that, he shook his head and refused to accept it.

  Hook tried to reason with him and said, “It ain’t like we got the upper hand here. We’re unarmed, and they’re holdin’ all the chips. What do you wanna do, Cutty?”

  Cutty argued, saying, “We cain’t jus’ sit here and do nothin’, dammit!”

  Alyse said sarcastically, “What are you suggesting? We get the guards in here and disarm them? Fight our way out, or die in a blaze of glory?”

  The silence in the room was deafening. I looked at Hook. Hook looked at Cutty. Cutty looked at me. Then Alyse said, “No. No, no, no. Get it out of your heads right now.”

  Hook smirked and told Alyse, “It’s only two of ’em out there. It’ll be quick.”

  Alyse scoffed and challenged him, saying, “What then, Alex? You said yourself there’s people and soldiers everywhere out there? What are you gonna do then?”

  Cutty answered for him. “We negotiate, ’cept dis time we gon’ have some chips of our own…”

  Hook finished the thought with, “In the form of a couple of hostages.”

  Lilly asked Hook, “You talkin’ about those mean guys outside?” He nodded at her. Lilly told us all, “I got your back, guys.” Then she shot a glance at Cutty and said, “Like you and Dext do… Shouldah Niggas, right, Cutty?”

  He chuckled slightly and told her, “Yes, ma’am. Dat’s right.”

  Alyse sighed heavily and addressed everybody in the room with a harsh whisper. “Fine. I’m in, too, but if you guys mess this up, we’re finished. So, I hope you know what you’re doing.”

  We didn’t, and we don’t. We never know what we’re doing, but fuck it. That seems to be my motto lately.

  We’re going to give it about another half hour or so before we make a move. I figure we’ll formulate a plan and do a few dry runs first. We also have to make some sort of bindings in case we actually manage to subdue them. I suggested using the linens from the bed, and Cutty is already working with Alyse to tear them into usable strips.

  Once I’m done jotting this down, I’m going to see if Hook and I can get to some of the plumbing under the sink in the bathroom. A pipe or two might be just the type of weapon we need. If I was a religious man, I’d be praying right now.

  Entry 124

  Well, the bathroom situation was a bust, literally. Hook and I only succeeded in making a huge mess. After tearing through the sheetrock of the wall under the sink and trying to bully the pipes loose, we had water leaking everywhere and soaking the floor. It was getting to the point where it was seeping into the main part of the room, and it wouldn’t take long before it made its way outside. If that happened, we’d be caught for sure.

  I’d come to expect that the best-laid plans would go to waste, as evidenced by the fact that nearly every time we’d thought we covered all the bases, we’d gotten our asses kicked in some way or another. This little operation would prove to be no different. The trouble about this whole thing was that we had to take them alive. A dead hostage was a useless hostage.

  We kicked it into gear by soaking what was left of the sheets with the leaking water and spreading it all over the area just inside the door. That would ensure that the guards outside were on sketchy footing as soon as they entered. Hook suggested Alyse and Lilly hunker down in the bathtub in the bathroom just in case shit hit the fan. That idea was seconded by Cutty, but Lilly didn’t like it. She wanted to help.

  I nearly rolled my eyes at her, but then it hit me. She was perfect for this! I told Lilly what her job was going to be, and she seemed satisfied.

  It started with Lilly standing in the middle of room screaming at the top of her lungs and shouting, “Heeelp! Please help!” Then she scurried into the bathroom with Alyse and took cover.

  I posted up on the side of the door so that as it opened I would be concealed. The two men quickly unlocked the door and burst into the room with their rifles drawn. Immediately, one of them slipped and fell, as expected. What was not expected, however, was that his rifle would discharge and send a three or four-round burst into the wall. The rounds tore through the thin construction and into the bathroom. There was a scream from Alyse in the other room along with a horrifying shriek from Lilly. It was just like that one time JC was tackled by a bernie and accidentally shot up the side of the trailer. Lilly’s shriek is burned into my mind from that incident, but this one was different. This one made my blood boil. I kind of lost myself as soon as it hit my ears.

  Hook threw himself at the guy who was still on his feet and pinned him against the doorframe with the rifle jammed between the two of them. I lost sight of them as I moved in and pulled a straight-up placekick across the jaw of the guy lying on the floor, NFL style. A few of his teeth left his mouth and rattled uselessly to the tile floor. Out cold, his arms and legs stretched awkwardly as his entire body stiffened up. His breathing began to gurgle into a weird sort of snore around the blood that was filling his mouth. I turned him on his side to clear his airway and relieved him of his rifle. Tossing it to Cutty, I then unsnapped his holster and made away with his pistol.

  Hook continued to struggle with the guy against the door in a difficult battle for leverage that was made worse by the two of them trying to avoid the barrel of the rifle as it swung around wildly. Cutty growled angrily and told us, “I cain’t get in there. Somebody gon’ get shot!”

  I frantically told Cutty, “Watch the door, man! Watch the door!”

  He stepped up and clumsily put the rifle to his shoulder, trying to keep an eye on the fight with Hook while keeping a lookout for anyone else coming into the hallway. After that burst of gunfire, we were in deep shit. I knew that this place would be crawling in a matter of seconds. Forget the fact that we were fighting for our lives in here, and just consider it from a security perspective in a place like this. Gunfire likely meant serious injury. Serious injury likely meant the risk of someone dying. And someone dying likely meant that someone was going to turn. If they didn’t handle that quickly, the entire place was at risk of being overrun.

  I stuffed the pistol down the back of my pants and jumped in to get Hook’s back. He snapped at me, “Get the rifle, kid—the Goddamn rifle!”

  I had to time it correctly as the barrel swung around and I caught it in both hands, pressing as hard as I could to keep it controlled. The guard had the strap around himself, which was making it impossible to properly get him disarmed. Hook headbutted him mercilessly, sending blood spraying from the guy’s nose and leaving all three of us spattered with it. I could taste the coppery saltiness of it when it hit my mouth. I spat it back at him immediately and said something. I can’t remember what it was, but I’m pretty sure it had ‘fucker’ in there somewhere.

  Hook groaned in pain as the soldier connected with a knee to his nuts, and he stumbled backwards, clutching at his junk with his good hand. He tripped over the dude that was knocked out and landed on his ass. That left me in a very compromised position, holding nothing but the barrel of the rifle with no leverage to hold the guy. He pressed the trigger and sprayed the remainder of the magazine into the ceiling.

  My mind went numb.

  If I haven’t already mentioned this by now, it’s important to understand something. See, guns are fuckin’ loud. I know, obviously, right? But, I mean loud—not like in the movies and shit. When a gun goes off right next to your face-piece, it’s pretty disorienting.

  So, my ears were ringin’ like a bitch on top of just being scared shitless. I was almost dizzy from it, and my hands were on fire from the heat of the barrel. It seared my hands, and I let go no sooner than it was out of ammo. That was it. With Hook on the ground and me out of commission, we lost that fight—until our little miracle came through, that is.

  I shook my head to clear it just in time to see the soldier grimace and cry out in ag
ony. He let go of his weapon and reached for his thigh. I followed his hands with my eyes, and I was met with Lilly at his side. She was gripping the hilt of a combat knife and jabbing it over and over again into his leg. He began to bleed heavily, and it was beginning to splash everywhere as Lilly continued screaming at him and hacking into his flesh. He dropped like a sack and started begging her to stop sticking him. She didn’t stop.

  It wasn’t until I grabbed hold of her with my burning hands and held her still that she gave way, panting breathlessly. She looked up at me with a zoned-out look and said, “I got him… I got him offa you, Dext. Did ya see?”

  I ruffled her hair, kissed her blood spattered forehead, and told her, “You did good, Lil.”

  Cutty called over his shoulder, “Hurry up, now! I can hear ’em comin’!” He stepped back into the room, placed his foot on the head of the bleeding soldier, and shot a worried glance at Lilly. It would have to wait.

  Hook regained his composure and relieved the bleeding soldier of his weapons, calling to Alyse, “Alyse! Let’s go!”

  I glanced at my hands, and they were pretty nasty. They were beginning to blister and were beet red. They didn’t really hurt just yet, but I was smart enough to know that in a few minutes they would be, badly. I’m holding the pen like a two-year-old right now just to write this.

  We trussed up the first guy using the sheets as he began to come to. He tried to say some shit to us, but his jaw was shattered. He just mumbled like he had a mouthful of marbles.

  Alyse still hadn’t made her way out of the bathroom. We needed her, too. The soldier was bleeding badly. I took some of the strips of sheeting and tied a tourniquet on his thigh. Since those were the pieces we were going to use to tie his feet up, we were then short on material. Cutty just tied the guy’s bootlaces together as an alternative and drug him over to the one with the broken jaw—targets secured.

  Hook started cussing and said, “Dammit, Alyse! We need you! Get your ass out! It’s clear now!”

  Nothing.