The closer we got to the compound, the thicker they grew. It started to get more and more dangerous and I didn’t know how we were going to get out of this. I was already on my second weapon and my backpack wasn’t exactly the unlimited supplier I wanted it to be.
“You could have warned us it was raining!” I yelled at Hendrix. I felt like a drowned rat and my too big jeans had stopped cooperating with my waist.
“Yeah, but it’s not as we can reschedule!” he shouted back. He swung his arm to the right and took out a Feeder that would probably have used a walker in his former life. Grandpa Zombie went down easily. Down but not out. Hendrix must have missed his brains somehow because he slithered forward on the ground toward us. His face tipped out of the mud to screech ugly sounds and his hand, that had been skinned to reveal white bone, propelled him forward by slapping the mud, digging down into it and slowly pulling his body forward. He looked up at me, right at me, with those intensely crimson eyes and I freaked out a little bit. I had shot him five times in the top of the head before I forced myself to stop. I fought the inclination to keep shooting him just to make sure he couldn’t jump up and eat me.
He was something out of a horror movie and I immediately wanted another shower.
The sound of more guns popping in the distance drew all our attention. Eventually, we could see the faint outline of the compound wall. We were still back a ways and covered by thick tree clusters. The creek wound its way through the middle of where we were and the compound. On either side of the stream were several feet of clearing. Once we left the trees, we would be out in the open for way too long. All kinds of men spread out in front of us and fired at something unseen.
We tried to step out and make a run for it, but didn’t get very far. Hendrix held up his hand and we took shelter in some barren bushes. The bare branches scratched at my arms through my soaking shirt and clawed at my face. I hardly noticed.
I squinted through the rain but still couldn’t see anything.
“It’s Matthias’s men,” Hendrix whispered loud enough for all of us to hear. “They’re shooting at something but it doesn’t look like Feeders.”
He was right. The longer I watched, the more the scene made sense. The men shot at something over the compound wall but didn’t seem to make much progress.
As I watched, the back door opened and gunfire exploded from the inside aimed at Matthias’s men. The spray took down two men and then the door slammed shut. That was that.
Matthias’s remaining men went crazy. They threw their bodies at the slick stone wall in hopes to scale it. They tucked their guns in their pants and used the tips of their fingers and shoes to get up the steep climb. Only one of them made it all the way. He threw his body over the top and grappled for his gun. He wasn’t fast enough. Gunfire sounded again and the man’s head fell limply to the concrete ledge he lay upon.
“What the hell?”
Hendrix cut me a look. “Do you think…?”
“Not possible.” I watched the door open again and spray more gunfire at the advancing men. “Right?” This time they were smart enough to dive out of the way, but the gunman was smarter. He still managed to hit some of them, even if he didn’t kill them.
With the Zombies swarming this forest, and their sanctuary blocked off, they were as good as dead from those nonfatal wounds.
“It has to be,” Hendrix declared confidently. “Who else could it be?”
“They took the compound? How are they keeping it locked down? And what happened to all the men inside?”
“Look at all these bodies,” Hendrix gestured to the corpse-covered forest. “What men inside?”
No wonder there were so many Feeders running around. Matthias had basically laid out an all-you-can-eat buffet for them with his failed attempts at taking back the forest yesterday.
What could have been an epic escape attempt for us thanks to Kane had turned into a massacre for Matthias. I wondered why things had gone so badly for them. He kept the woods around the Colony immaculately Feeder-free, yet one botched defensive maneuver had all but unraveled his army.
Was it because we had also been in the mix and Matthias had to split his guns? Or was it just one of those things that worked out perfectly and couldn’t be explained. I imagined what it would have been like for Matthias to have to spend the night in the woods.
It couldn’t have been easy. I had wondered how it would have been possible for Haley and everyone else to survive out here all night. Matthias wouldn’t have had it any easier.
Suddenly, Hendrix stood up, cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted, “Vaughan!”
I hissed at him a sound that wasn’t entirely human and grabbed his sleeve to yank him down. Gunfire immediately followed Hendrix’s voice and he barely ducked out of the way in time.
“Great job, genius. Now our cover’s blown,” I snapped.
As I predicted, Matthias’s men turned toward the direction of Hendrix’s voice and started shooting our way. The door opened again and the same unseen shooter took aim and managed to hit all the men who’d been distracted by Hendrix’s voice.
“Are they really that stupid?” I whispered more to myself than Hendrix.
“Misdirection, Babe.”
I wasn’t sure that was the correct usage of that word, but now was not the time to argue.
The gunman had taken out four other humans and that left three to still deal with. In a quick succession of movements, Hendrix pulled out the semi-automatic rifle he’d strapped to his back and took aim at the man racing our direction. The other two guys stayed behind to deal with the behind-the-door-shooter. They were obviously a little bit wiser than their friends.
Hendrix let out a slow count and his breath misted in the air. Nerves tightened my insides and clawed at my skin and I forced myself to keep my eyes open. Hendrix pulled the trigger and hit his target dead on. The man dropped dead to the ground, hand outstretched with his unfired weapon.
Before I could digest that kill thoroughly, Hendrix had refocused, redirected his shot and pulled the trigger again. He shot the first guy like I imagined a sniper would take out any of his victims from great distances. He even had the stance right. Propped up with one knee, his torso held firm and the butt of his rifle backed precisely into the meaty part of his shoulder.
Hendrix didn’t stop with the men though. He took out four Feeders next, all of them drawn to our not-so-hiding spot by the sound of his weapon.
I crouched awestruck and grateful that he was as skilled and proficient with survival as anyone I had ever met. Those men hadn’t stood a chance against the killing machine that was Hendrix Parker trying to get to his family.
“Let’s move!” Hendrix hollered. He stood up and the rest of us took off with him.
I had known it was going to be hard running through the mud and I had been right. My feet sunk into the thick clay with every step and I probably looked more like a rabid duck waddling across the clearing than the Zombie Slayer I was supposed to be. There was no way Joss Whedon was going to swoop in and ask me to star in a Zombie version of Buffy when I looked like this.
I held Page’s hand with my free hand and my gun was raised with the other. My pants slid down my ass, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it.
If the mud was bad, the creek was worse.
We reached it just as some Feeders rounded the corner and spotted us. There were five of them and three broke off to attack the fresh kills littering the space between us. The other two came at us. We were trapped in the middle of a knee-deep creek that went over Page’s stomach. She moved from holding my hand to clutching her arms around my waist for her life.
The water was ice cold and more turbulent than usual because of the downpour. Miller pushed at my back, half helping me along, half keeping his own footing on the rocky, uneven bottom.
Hendrix was fine. Of course, he was. He held his ground and took out the two Feeders gunning for us. The second one dropped straight into the water- wa
y too close for comfort.
At the sound of gunfire, the other three Feeders picked their heads up from their breakfast and decided we looked more appetizing. Hendrix managed to hit the closest one to us on his third try and I didn’t hesitate to move on to the next one.
The third one sprinted after us, using our distraction. He managed to cut between his two fallen comrades and reach the river bank. Hendrix shot at the wily Feeder but missed when the bastard jumped at the same moment Hendrix pulled the trigger. The Zombie seemed to go air born in slow motion while I stood at the end of his flight path.
I raised my gun and fired at him, but he came down at me before I could land a shot in his brains. His body hit mine so hard, he knocked me over immediately. My mouth filled with icy water and my vision went black. I kicked and fought, determined to at least not drown. Although, if the asshat Feeder got a bite on me, I was dead anyway.
My arms flailed, and my feet could not find their footing. The Zombie’s body weighed heavily on me and flopped around with aggressive force. I felt the searing burn of pain scrape across my back and stomach. I tried to cry out, but that only led to more choking.
My lungs burned and my throat felt scraped completely raw. The thought that I might as well give up flashed through my head, but it wasn’t in me. I wasn’t capable of giving up.
I continued to fight, even while I gagged and choked and succumbed to the Feeder bite. A muffled bang, bang, bang went off somewhere, but I was too panicked to place the sound.
Finally, after what felt like forever, two strong hands burrowed beneath my armpits and hauled me into standing. I continued to cough violently, but now added dripping to my list of problems.
Hendrix held me up so we were eye to eye. I felt the incredible strength in his biceps as he kept me there, his arms shaking with the effort. I had to have gained ten pounds with the amount of water I’d managed to catch in my clothes and hair.
“You going to live?” he asked evenly.
I shook my head.
His lips twitched. “You sure?”
I tried to talk but just started choking again and then gagging. He set me down but kept his arms around my waist so I wouldn’t repeat the whole drowning episode. I couldn’t stand on my own, yet. I could barely stay conscious. I started puking up all the river water I’d just forcefully swallowed.
A minute later, I felt like that was enough of that and turned my head to face him. “Shoot me,” I ordered. My voice sounded like gravel and nails. “He bit me.”
“Where?” Hendrix demanded.
I swatted at my back.
Warm hands went to my torso and my shirt was carefully lifted up for Hendrix’s inspection. “He clawed you, Reagan. No bite marks.”
That gave me some extra energy. I stood up and lifted my shirt so I could see my own stomach. Sure enough, four long gashes cut me from just under my right breast all the way to the hip on my left side. But no teeth marks.
Whew.
“Well, look at that,” I marveled.
“By some miracle, his mouth found your backpack,” Hendrix explained. I looked over my shoulder and sure enough there was a big tear in the top of my pack. “Looks like you’ll survive another day.”
“Or another five minutes,” I sighed. “Where’s Page?”
Hendrix jerked his head toward the wall. Nelson stood at the door with his gun raised and a furious expression on his wet face.
“Your brothers actually managed to take back the compound?”
“You should know us better by now,” he grinned at me.
“I really, really should.”
“Seriously, Reagan, are you going to be all right?” He eyed all the blood dripping down my stomach, mingling with water before it got soaked up by my jeans.
“It hurts like a biotch, but at least I’m not dead.” I cleared my throat. “Yet.”
“Let’s go,” he suggested.
I was definitely ready. We stomped our way out of the creek and took off to the door. I could hear other Parker brothers’ low voices as we got closer. Nelson’s grave expression softened a little bit when I was close enough to meet his eye and he gestured toward the courtyard.
I assumed he started to explain the next part of our plan, “Vaughan has the-”
But he got interrupted by the sound of my frustrated scream.
“I will kill her,” Matthias boomed behind me, the barrel of his gun pressed against my temple.
Where the hell did he come from?
Damn it!
“Where did you come from?” Nelson ordered, vocalizing my exact thoughts.
Matthias let out a rough chuckle. He tore my backpack off and tossed it away. “Around the corner. You can block off the doors and keep someone from climbing over the wall, but you’re not exactly omniscient when it comes to warfare, are you?”
I groaned. “What now?”
“Now you let me back into my own damn house and you keep your hands where I can see them.
More men filled in behind me holding guns and looking well and truly pissed. It was impossible to tell how much ammo they had or if those weapons were just for show. We all knew they’d been fighting all night long, so the chances that their firearms were just props used to intimidate us were pretty high.
Except we couldn’t risk finding out.
Nelson backed into the courtyard, still holding his weapon aggressively. Hendrix moved quickly to stand next to him. The compound door slammed shut, cutting through the rain sloshing on our feet. I had to assume that somebody had taken Page and Miller inside since I couldn’t see them anymore.
“He’s got Reagan!” Nelson shouted. The same phrase echoed back around the building.
King was stationed on one side of the building, Nelson on the other. Vaughan and Tyler appeared, jogging down King’s side and coming to a stop at the back door of the building. Haley was still missing in action, but by Nelson’s calm, collected demeanor, I knew she couldn’t be far. She was probably the one that had rushed Page and Miller inside at the first hint of danger.
I looked at my friends and felt a consuming rush of gratitude. They risked their lives for me. I mean, not just for me, but I was part of it. And for that, I would be eternally grateful.
A hundred questions swirled around in my head. I was both extremely impressed that they’d taken back the compound, but at the same time it didn’t seem possible.
How on earth had they managed to regain control?
But then the answer appeared. Harrison walked out with the only insurance that would have guaranteed full control.
Linley Allen at gunpoint.
I could not stop the smile from spreading across my face.
We were outnumbered, outgunned, and out-healthed. But we still had hope.
“I will kill this bitch right here if you do not put my wife down!” Matthias screamed at the very top of his lungs. His voice sounded deranged and completely out of control. Despite the rain, I could feel his spittle hit the side of my face.
He pushed the gun into my temple and I bit back a wince. It would do no good to show him weakness now.
“We’ll trade you,” Vaughan offered calmly.
I was amazed at the way the Parkers conducted themselves during this time. I was freaking the hell out. A psychopath had a gun digging into my face and yet they looked at me like they could go either way if I lived or died.
Bastards.
Except I knew, it was a battle tactic.
Matthias shook behind me. He had one hand grasping my left shoulder with unrelenting force and the gun trained on me with his other hand. But his entire body was affected by this. He was out of control with rage and panic.
Meanwhile, Harrison held the gun lightly to Linley’s neck and kept his intense gaze focused on Matthias with the calm, collected manner of a man that held hostages at gunpoint daily.
Linley looked a little worse for wear while I observed her. She had a big cut over her bottom lip and the entire right side of her face was
black and blue.
Matthias seemed to notice too, when he screamed out, “You touched my wife! You’re dead men! All of you! I’m going to murder you. I’m going to rip out your guts and feed you to the Feeders, you sacks of shit!”
I took a steadying breath and kept in any other sound. I wouldn’t reveal that I was in pain or that I was seconds away from losing my own mind.
I’d lost my gun somewhere in my battle with the creek. I had more, but they were all locked up tight in my pack, but Matthias had pulled it off when he put a gun to my head. There was a hunting knife in my jeans pocket, but it was useless for the good it could do me now.
Besides there were the ten or so other men right behind me. I was pretty confident they weren’t planning on switching to Team Parker anytime soon.
“Give me my wife,” Matthias growled in a somewhat more composed tone.
“Give us Reagan,” Vaughan countered.
“Then what?” Matthias laughed. “We trade these women, then what? You’re just going to waltz on out of here? You think I’m going to let you just walk away?”
“That’s exactly what I think you’re going to let us do,” Vaughan replied. “We’re going to leave and we’re never coming back. You won’t ever have to hear from us again and I hope to God we never hear from you.”
“Now, you know I can’t just let you get away with all this. After the strife you’ve put my family through. After what my son has gone through? I can’t just let you free. What would that say about me? Or my son?” I sensed the moment Matthias realized Kane was missing. His body stiffened; I felt him look around us with a sense of dread. “Where’s Kane, Reagan? Where did he go?”
I couldn’t answer that right away. My throat closed up and my heart started hammering triple time. It wasn’t just that I couldn’t say the words out loud, or make them even more real than they already were. It was that more than ever, I was afraid for my own life. Matthias might not care one iota if Linley was in danger especially once he found out what happened to Kane.
That he’d died. That he’d sacrificed his life for not just me, but for Page, Hendrix and Miller too.
Oh, geez.