Z-Burbia 7: Sisters of the Apocalypse Read online

  "You bet," I say. "Be right back."

  I sprint over to the panel truck and check the driver's side window to make sure there ain't no dead driver inside ready to bite my tits off. It's clear and I yank the door open. It smells like fresh pine scent inside. There's one of them green trees hanging from the automatic gear shift. I sniff and frown. Why the hell would it still smell so fresh?

  "Well, wouldn't this be nice," I mutter as I climb in and see the keys hanging in the ignition. Shiny keys. Keys that have been needed recently, not just abandoned by the last guy that used them. "Come on, come on."

  I turn the keys in the ignition and the truck starts right up. Like right up. It's got to be a Doyle truck they left here for moving shit back and forth. Ain't that handy as fuck.

  I turn the engine off to save gas then whip around and look back behind the bench seat. All kinds of shit in here. Lots of old sandwich wrappers and coffee cups. A tool kit. I grab that and open it up, but all it's got is tools. No bungees. Shit.

  I jump out of the cab and nearly run right into three Zs. No time to shoot them. I slam the butt of my Steyr into one Z face then sweep the legs of the other two. I almost fall on my ass as my leg buckles under me, but I manage to fall against the panel truck and stay upright.

  I sling my rifle and pull out a blade. Swipe, swipe, swipe. Off with their heads.

  I kick a dead Z out of my way and hurry to the back of the truck. Another lock, but my blade fixes that. Gonna have to sharpen it, but I can worry about that later. I yank the back door up and stare at what's inside.

  Bungees. Lots of bungees. And tools. There's a small workbench at the back of the truck, but all along the sides are tools and tools and tools. Those tools are held in place up and down the walls by bungees. We got a running truck full of tools and all the bungees we need.

  I shut the door and rush my ass back to the cab. Two more Zs get in my way, but I end them fast. Their bodies don't even have time to hit the ground before I'm up in the truck and have the engine going again. I turn it around and head right for the shipping container.

  Fucking Doyles. I say that because I think it's a good idea to back the truck up to the shipping container so Jack can throw the boxes of brackets right inside and climb in after. Except the stupid fucking Doyles never turned off that beep beep beeping noise trucks make when you back them up.

  Half the fucking herd of Zs that's chasing Audrey and the Jeep around all stop and turn to look at me.

  "Better hurry!" I yell as I lean out of the window and shout at Jack. "We ain't gonna be alone for long!"

  "What the fuck, El?" Audrey yells in my ear. I jump because I forgot about the com. "You want every fucking Z to come give you a hug?

  "Ain't my fault," I say. "Stupid Doyles didn't disable the beeping. I hate Doyles."

  "I'm coming to you," Audrey says. "You're gonna need my help killing Zs more than keeping them away from you."

  "Okey dokey," I reply. What else am I gonna say? She's right.

  I hear the rear door roll down and shut. After a couple of seconds, Jack pounds on the wall between him and me and I floor it, punching the panel truck right through the Zs coming for us.

  Audrey is driving the Jeep while firing a pistol into the herd. I'm driving the truck while firing one of my .45s into the herd. We're driving and firing. That should be one of them country songs. If people were still writing country songs. Not sure if they are. I've been to Nashville. Ain't no country music writers left there anymore. Just Zs in cowboy drag.

  Don't go to Nashville. Just don't.

  I take the lead and clear our way out of the construction site. We get a good mile away before I slow down and Audrey pulls up next to me.

  Jack jumps out of the back and hurries to the Jeep to get the Semtex.

  "I'll get the bombs ready," he says. "You two rig up a way to launch them into the herd from the Jeep. We got more than enough bungees to make it happen. You'll just need to secure them to the Jeep's roll bars and make a cradle to launch from."

  "Bomb-launching cradle," I say. "Got it."

  "Ten minutes," Audrey says, her eyes studying the town's skyline. The smoke is a lot thicker. "We still need to get these bombs into the herd before we go wipe out the rest of the Doyles."

  "And get the kids," Jack says.

  "Yep, that too," I say. "Wipe out Doyles and get kids. Just another day for the sisters."

  Chapter Twenty-One

  It really don't take much time at all to get the bungees on the Jeep and make a cradle. We use one of the duffel bags and wrap it in duct tape. The handles are secured to the bungees and the bungees are secured to the roll bars. Audrey can drive and I can launch bombs into the herd.

  Then we go get kids and kill Doyles.

  Jack waits for us in the panel truck, ready to head into town as soon as we do what we gotta do.

  After two misfires, I get the hang of the bungees and can pretty much put the bombs where I want. The first two landed right next to each other, but that ain't a bad thing. When they go off, they'll clear one big spot in the herd we can aim for. It'll give us some breathing room before they start closing back in on us.

  Which they will because Zs are assholes.

  We pull up next to Jack and the panel truck and I give him the thumbs up.

  "You only have the one transmitter?" Audrey asks.

  "Yeah," Jack says. "Sorry. I'll be careful with it."

  "You better be," Audrey says. "Otherwise we just wasted a shitload of time."

  "Ready for the next part?" Jack asks.

  "Ready," Audrey says.

  "Ready," I say.

  "Then follow me," Jack says. "I know the best route to get close to the sports complex without them seeing us."

  "How close?" Audrey asks.

  "About six or seven blocks away," he says. "It's the closest we'll be able to get. From that point on, we'll be in the shit. There's still plenty of Doyles left to give us trouble."

  "Fucking Doyles," I snarl.

  "Amen to that," Audrey says and points at the town. "Lead the way."

  Jack floors it and we wait until he's ahead of us then follow close behind.

  "He hits those brakes and we'll end up buttfucking that panel truck," I say.

  "I know how to follow a truck, El," Audrey says. "We have to stay tight so Zs can't get between us. It also gives us more cover from any head on attacks. Don't forget, we're dealing with people now. They start shooting and we don't exactly have a lot of cover in this open-top Jeep."

  "I do see why Critter loves his Jeep, though," I say. "Gonna have to get one of these when we get back to the Stronghold."

  "Good call," Audrey says. "I may even let you drive it once in a while."

  "Fuck you," I say and laugh.

  Even with the big truck in front of us, I can still see the huge column of smoke rising up over the town. Whatever fire it's from, it ain't no campfire, that's for fucking sure.

  Jack has to take us through some messed-up streets. I can see how much everyone panicked back on Z-Day. That may have been a few years ago, but it still lives in this town. Cars are overturned, skeletons hanging from broken windshields, bodies strung up on telephone poles, some of them still moving, and every window everywhere broken. It's obvious the Doyles just said screw it and walked away from this area. Too much to clean up.

  Jack finally gets us to a main street that has Doyle stink all over it. Barricades set up, windows boarded over, cars moved out of the way. My eyes are scanning everywhere, waiting for some Doyle to pop up and take a shot at us. My Steyr is up and resting on the side mirror, but no Doyles decide to play shoot-a-mole.

  "Quiet," Audrey says.

  "Too quiet," we say together and laugh.

  Then we stop laughing. It is too quiet. Where the hell are all the Doyles?

  Three more blocks and Jack stops the truck. He jumps out, his rifle ready and sweeping back and forth. He nods at us as we jump out of the Jeep. I more fall out than jump out because my l
eg is shit.

  "This way," he says and nods to the corner at the end of the block. "We take a right then two lefts and it's straight on to the sports complex. This is behind them, but we will need to watch for sentries."

  I look up at the column of smoke.

  "Right then two lefts and straight on?" I ask.

  "Yeah," Jack says.

  "Then that's where the smoke is coming from," I say, picturing the route in my head. It ain't a pretty picture. "It's already on fire."

  "On fire, but not blown up," Audrey says. "There would be way more damage to the town."

  "Let's get closer and see what's going on," Jack says. "Talking here all day won't do us any good."

  "And we ain't got much day left," I say as I nod my chin up at the sky. It's September, so we got a couple more hours before it gets dark, but I can already see the blue changing from light to dark. "We need to get a move on or we'll end up driving back out through that herd at twilight. That won't be no fun at all."

  "Then let's get a move on," Jack says.

  This close to his grandkids and he has a new purpose. The sad Jack has left and frogman Jack is back. He is all business and ready to take that business to the Doyles. Jack takes point and we follow close behind. Audrey watches our side as we move close to a building and I watch our six, making sure no Zs or Doyles sneak up behind us.

  They are moving a lot faster than I want to on my leg, but I ain't gonna slow them down so I bite the inside of my cheek to keep my focus. Don't fall down, don't fall down, don't fall down. I say that over and over in my head. The taste of blood fills my mouth as my teeth go through part of my cheek. It makes me hungry.

  Fuck you. Don't judge.

  Jack holds up a fist and we come to a quick stop at the corner of the street. He ducks his head around and back fast then nods to us and waves us forward as he goes right. There are about a dozen Zs milling around on the street, but none of them are paying any attention to us. They are all looking up at the column of black smoke above the town.

  It's like kids watching someone fly a kite. When the wind blows the smoke to the left, the Zs all shift a few steps to the left. When the wind blows it back the other way, they all shift back the other way. We get about three quarters down the block before even one sees us.

  I make the call. No need to fire and bring more on us, so I let the Steyr go slack on its strap and dangle from my shoulder as I pull a blade. The one that has noticed us goes down first then I move quickly from the next to the next to the next until I drop all twelve of the pieces of shit.

  Jack and Audrey nod to me as we take the next left and start down a new street. More Zs, quite a few more, but none of them are looking our way. They ain't looking up at the smoke either. All the Zs have their backs to us and are walking to the corner. As a few go around the left, I realize I can hear something. It ain't loud, but it's loud enough to alert the Zs.

  "Voices?" Audrey whispers as she glances back at me.

  "Yeah," I whisper back.

  We follow the Zs, taking our time so they can all clear the corner before we get there. No need to let them know we're behind them. Better it be a surprise when we lop their heads off.

  Jack stops us again, ducks his head around the corner, but then doesn't duck his head back. My gut clenches because I seen this happen once where a crazy stuck his head around a corner and it got chopped off by another crazy. The blade was so sharp that the head fell off like butter and the body just stood there for like five seconds before it finally fell to the ground.

  I wait for Jack's body to fall.

  Then he ducks back to us and his eyes are wide and he looks like one confused frogman.

  Audrey pushes past and looks around the corner as I come up to Jack.

  "What is it?" I whisper.

  "Check it out," he says and shakes his head. "Fuck. We gotta help."

  "No shit," Audrey says then she's on the move.

  Jack is right behind her and I'm right behind him. I get around the corner and my jaw drops. Audrey doesn't even pause, just opens fire, taking very slow, careful shots so she doesn't hit any of them.

  So she doesn't hit any of the kids.

  "What the fuck?" I mutter as I start shooting, taking out Z after Z as they shamble up to the mass of kids walking down the street towards us. It isn't until we have the street cleared of Zs that I see who is leading the kids. "Holy fuck me running with scissors."

  Antoinette.

  She's covered in blood and gore, but I know a sister when I see one. She has a metal baseball bat in one hand and a fire axe in the other, her hand choked up on the handle for close quarters combat. I'd say by how I can't see a stitch of her that isn't all blood that she has been in the shit big time. Big fucking time.

  We stand where we are and let them come to us, our rifles up, eyes watching for more Zs. But no more come. No Doyles neither, but I have a guess as to why there ain't no Doyles.

  "How many you take down?" Audrey asks when Antoinette gets to us.

  She doesn't say anything, just drops weapons and gives Audrey a huge hug. Audrey cries out from her ribs, but doesn't push Antoinette away. When Antoinette finally lets go, she grabs me up in another hug. It feels good. Sister hugs are good even when they are bloody and gory.

  "Antoinette?" Audrey asks, looking past her to the kids. "How many Doyles are left?"

  "None," Antoinette says. "Not a goddamn one."

  "You're telling me you killed all the Doyles?" Jack asks. "Even the head Doyle? The original?"

  "I killed him last," Antoinette says. "He tried to hide, but he couldn't. You can't hide from a sister when a sister wants to find you."

  She nods her head to a pack on her back. It's a bit of a drippy pack. Blood drippy. I think we know what's in there, but none of us is gonna say anything because, well, the look on Antoinette's face says everything for us.

  "Is that…?" Jack asks quietly. I guess he's gonna say something.

  "Yes," Antoinette says. She says it in a way that keeps him from asking anything else. He's learning.

  The kids are all mumbling and muttering to themselves. A couple of babies cry out, but even they ain't as loud as they should be.

  "We have a truck," Audrey says. "Back a few blocks. It's going to be a tight fit, but we can get everyone inside."

  "Good," Antoinette says. "These are all I could save. The Doyles started killing them when they got a message over the radio. That's when I knew I couldn't wait anymore."

  She holds up her wrists and we see the huge gouges in her skin.

  "I broke free and started killing those assholes," she continues. "I kept killing them until there weren't any more to kill."

  "Yeah you fucking did," Audrey says. "Come on, let's get the fuck out of here."

  "It won't make much difference," Antoinette says. "He's got it all set to blow."

  "We know," Jack says. He isn't even looking at Antoinette. His eyes are scanning the kids, looking for familiar faces. Faces that look like his. "We have a plan to get through the Z-herd and away from this Hell."

  "No, you don't get it," Antoinette says. "It doesn't matter. This place is going to be dust soon. I don't know how long we have, but when it goes, we all go."

  "Why?" Audrey asks. "We can get away. We can outrun the blast."

  "No, we can't," Antoinette says. "No way we can outrun a nuke."

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  "A nuke?" Jack snaps. "You sure?"

  "One hundred percent sure," Antoinette says. "I saw enough to know Doyle wasn't lying. He liked to brag. A lot. Until I cut off his junk and jammed it in his mouth. Then I cut off his head." She nods back again at the bloody pack she carries.

  "Fuck," Jack says. He waves at the kids. "We need to get them moving. Now!"

  "It's a nuke," Antoinette says. "Where are we going to go?"

  "We're going to try," Audrey says. "We're sisters. We don't give up, right?"

  I smack Antoinette in the shoulder.

  "We're sis
ters. We don't give up, right?" I say too and smack her again.

  "Stop hitting me," she says then nods. "Yeah, we're sisters and we don't give up."

  "Where's the nuke?" Jack asks. "I'm trained. I can disarm it."

  "I'm trained too, but it don't matter," Antoinette says. "We're all trained. We can't get to it in time. It's in Albuquerque. Too far to travel before it goes off. Too much city to cover to even find it. He never said exactly where it was, just that he was gonna use it if things don't go his way. Things didn't go his way."

  "But he set it on a timer, so I guess he thought things would go his way enough for him to escape," Jack says. "That means the nuke isn't big enough to wipe all of this out in the initial blast. The shockwave may flatten the town, but I doubt it'll catch fire right off."

  "Then we get the fuck gone!" Audrey snaps. "Antoinette, if I have to slap your ass silly to get you in gear then I will. Wake up, bitch. We have work to do."

  "Don't call me a bitch," Antoinette says, but I see some of her sister gleam pop back into her eyes.

  A baby cries and I look for it then realize kids are carrying babies. Bigger kids are carrying smaller kids. They are all dirty and look hungry as shit. Their eyes are empty. I know empty eyes. I used to have empty eyes.

  "We'll get them moving," I say to Jack. "You run back and get the truck. When you catch back up to us then Audrey can run up and get the Jeep."

  Jack is still trying to figure out which of the kids are his grandkids. He's smart enough to know that maybe none of them are and they died when the Doyles started butchering kids. But that don't mean he ain't gonna hope.

  "Jack!" Audrey snaps.

  "On it," Jack says. He turns and takes off as fast as he can. It's pretty fast. Frogmen run fast.

  A baby shrieks then quiets down and Audrey looks at me. I shrug.

  "I don't know nothing about babies," I say.

  "Just keep us covered," Antoinette says. She leaves the baseball bat, but picks up the fire axe. She holds out her empty hand. "Gimme one of your .45s."

  "Promise not to lose it?" I ask.

  "Shut up and give me the pistol," she says. I give it to her.