Deadland's Harves(75)

As the needle pierced the skin, her eyes widened, and she tried to yank away. “No! I—”

Her eyes fell closed, and she never finished whatever it was she’d had to say.

“Brenda!” Don cried out and pulled her to him.

Clutch fell back on his heels, and I pulled him up and away from the pair. He stared at the syringe, gave it a look of disgust, and then threw it across the road.

We stood around, silently waiting as Don held his wife’s body. I held onto Clutch, knowing it had nearly killed him to do what he’d just done.

Maggie glared at us. “You committed murder. You are a sinner and will burn in hell.”

I glared right back. “We’re all sinners, lady. And if you don’t back off, we’re leaving your ass on this road.”

Did euthanasia feel wrong? Hell yeah, but the alternative was so much worse. That woman was going to die anyway. We simply took away a few hours of suffering. At least that’s what I told myself. I didn’t try to think of the few hours of life we also took.

A strange sound in the distance yanked my attention back. “What was that?”

Clutch, shook his head and looked around for the source. “Sounded almost like a jet.”

I looked to the sky but saw no trails. The ground…I bent down and put my hand on the pavement. The slightest sensation of a vibration. The noise, while distant, was becoming audible. There was no breeze today, yet the leaves began to tremble on the trees.

“No! They’re here!” Hali yelled.

Hugh twisted around and reached out to me. “We have to go!”

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this, guys. I think we’d better boogie,” Jase called out.

“It’s too late,” Maggie said, standing stoic, looking toward the north. “They’re already here.”

My brain finally deciphered the sound of a gigantic swarm of mosquitoes into a hundred thousand moaning zeds. Cold filtered through my blood, and my breath came short. My legs nearly gave out.

The first herd had arrived.





Chapter XXI


Clutch yanked open the back gate of the Humvee and motioned everyone in. “Move it!”

“But our things,” Noah said.

“We’re going to be packed like sardines the way it is,” I said.

“No time!” Jase yelled. “Move it, people!”

Hali didn’t even hesitate as she shook free from her father and bolted for the Humvee. Jase grabbed her arm and pulled her on board. No one else had yet moved.

I rolled my eyes. “We’ll come back and get it later,” I said. “Now, get inside or else you’re getting left behind.”

My words finally got through to Hugh, who then caught up with his daughter.

Maggie was still praying over Brenda’s body, and Don stayed by his wife’s side. “I can’t leave her here like this.”

I ran over and squeezed Don’s shoulder. “We have to go.”

He wiped his eyes and picked up his wife’s body. He laid her inside the minivan and closed the door.

“Come on, Cash,” Clutch said, climbing into the front seat of the Humvee.

I ran around the front of the vehicle and climbed behind the wheel. Don pushed Maggie in and then climbed in, holding his daughter in his arms.

“Daddy! Mommy’s still back there!” the little girl cried.

Jase pounded on the roof. “Everyone’s on board. Go!”

I stepped on the gas, and we lurched forward. Don’s kid was crying for her mother, and everyone was talking over one another. Clutch pointed to a lone zed on the roadside, and I swerved around it. Shots from Jase’s .30 cal echoed non-stop through the Humvee. Alana cried out and covered her ears.

I glanced in the side mirror and saw zeds pour out from the woods. I would’ve said, “Holy shit,” except my jaw was clenched too tightly to speak. I sucked in air.

Clutch said something, but I couldn’t hear.

“Would you guys please shut the hell up!” I yelled, rubbing a hand down my legs one at a time before gripping the wheel just as tightly again. “I’m trying to get us out of here.”

They quit trying to talk above the .30 cal.

“Drive,” Clutch said. “I’ll keep an eye out for the herds.”

I had the gas pedal floored and didn’t let up until we reached the bridge. Every muscle was tight. I slowed down only to pull off the road, and then drove down the steep slope of the east bank and stopped hard just before the ramp. Griz and his team already had their payload loaded on the pontoon and were waiting for us.