---

Chapter Twenty Eight

“Brothers and Sisters, I ask that you now drink from that which is in front of you. Fear not the pain you will feel, for it is but a small price to pay for eternal salvation! We will all be with our Lord soon enough!”

–Father Elijah Campbell. Larkspur, Colorado. 20 Days After.

* * *

Morale could not have been more low than now.

It had been almost a week since they’d left Aspen. Almost a week had come and gone since their happy little adventuring party had devolved into such desperate self-destruction. Leah had come inches from killing Liam, and had it not been for his last minute restraint, he suspected that he would’ve done the same.

The others had barely spoken to her since. Liam supposed that this was for the best. All he cared about was making it through this damned final stretch.

That’s all that mattered. Finishing the mission. Liam had only started this journey out of the hope of seeing Nelly yet again, and now that her trail had gone so miserably cold, the only path forward was finishing what he’d started. Otherwise, the messages that his wife left him would have been for nothing in the end.

Liam couldn’t allow that.

“Town up ahead!” Kurt announced.

The barren foothills of the lower Rockies rolled down into a populated valley. Hundreds of homes rose out of the otherwise olive-colored landscape, peppering the hills like white, square tumors before congealing together into a redbrick mass. It was the first artifact of mankind they’d seen in days.

“Do you believe this is the one?” Mastermind asked.

Liam opened the topographic map they’d scavenged a few days back and again scanned the surrounding terrain. “This is it. Cripple Creek.”

“What a peculiar name. I’ll never understand where you humans derived your nomenclature from. Why, this one is borderline offensive!”

“Don’t blame me, mate. I didn’t build the place.”

“You sure it’s a good idea to roll into town?” Kurt asked. “Could be watched.”

Liam nodded. “It’s been over a thousand miles since we’ve last seen Hades and his people. Even if they were to locate the truck we abandoned, we’ve traveled hundreds of miles since, through windswept mountains that don’t hold tracks for more than a few days. I think I can say confidently that there won’t be anyone else but us.”

“Would you do me the kindness and explain your purpose here again?” Mastermind asked.

“It’s simple,” Liam explained. “From the center of town, we should just be able to get through with the radio that Mother gave us. If she’s available, she’ll come get us.”

“This does seem to be an unnecessary risk. Perhaps we could meet Mother directly. We won’t know who’s on the other end.”

“The range of that radio is only twenty miles. Even if they had the right channel, what are the honest chances that they’d be close enough to hear our broadcast?”

No answer came in rebuke.

“Trust me,” Liam said. “We’ll be fine.”

He led them through the outskirts of the town from there, keeping to the high ground and bounding through whatever scarce brush was available. When they had a good line within, he surveyed the buildings, using the telescopic sight of his suppressed hunting rifle. The lens twisted this way and that until a target fell within his criteria.

A church, north of the center of town. The walls were made of solid red brick, and the roof had aged, green tiles. But it was the steeple that drew his attention. Three stories tall with a pillar that rose even higher, and unlike the rest of the building, it was surprisingly intact.

He shifted his sight elsewhere, looking for a clear path.

Hollows. There had to have been more than a dozen, mindlessly limping in circles on the road to the church. They always had a habit of clustering in towns, even this many years after the outbreak.

Well, no use dragging this one out. Liam relayed the obstacle and made his way down the hill. He discharged his standard hollow point .308s for subsonic cartridges to minimize their sound footprint, lest other hollows get drawn. After so many weeks around Hunters, he had absorbed a cornucopia of knowledge on firearms and ammunition, more than he’d ever needed during his pre-Hollowing days. Preparing for these types of encounters had become almost second nature.

The group closed in. Moans grew louder as the hollows shuffled their way.

There had once been a time when Liam considered these executions barbaric. Part of him stared at these creatures and still saw the humans beneath. They had been no more than victims of this hideous pandemic.

But as Liam put down each hollow with ease, he could barely remember such a time. Hollows were a global phenomena now. There was neither reasoning with them nor placating their rage. They were as unbounded and dispassionate as the weather. To kill them was no more cruel than closing a window to keep the rain out.

With the hollows cleared, the group went through the church. The hardwood pews had all rotted into debris where the roof had caved in, and the windows were cracked where they weren’t missing. Mist emanated from the evaporating moisture of last night’s rain.

It was a tight squeeze getting them all to the top. The stairs groaned with each step, and nearly gave out entirely when Kurt made his ascent. But the view was worth it. Miles could be seen in any direction, unobstructed.

“Alright,” Liam said. “Let’s do this.”

Leah took the queue and pressed the radio to her scarf. “Mother, it’s us. Can you hear me? Over.”

Only static responded.

“We’re in range of your location. Answer if you are able.”

“Yes,” Mother said, distant and faint. “I can hear you.”

“We lost our transport but we have Liam secured. A ride would be nice.”

More words came through, but they were jumbled in a rush of other noise.

“Say again, Mother. We missed that.”

“–breaking up,” she said, now sputtered. “Giv–– location.”

Leah took her thumb off the radio. “What’s your call?”

“We should exercise prudence,” Mastermind suggested.

Liam rolled his eyes. “Give me that.” He yanked the radio and held it to his ear. “We’re in Cripple Creek. That’s Cripple Creek. Did you get that?”

Only silence met him.

“Are you still there?”

The wall of static held firm.

“I don’t like this,” Kurt said.

“Have some patience. I’m sure she just needs to get to higher ground. I could use the break anyway.” Liam reached instinctively for Thirsty and grabbed nothing but air. It would be a while before he’d get used to that one. How he missed that painted smile, most of all.

“This is a bad idea,” Mastermind said. “We need to withdraw from this position at once.”

“Look, mate. I don’t know about you, but I’d be much more comfortable having a guide lead us into an underground military complex. We don’t know who else is there, other than Mother, or what defenses she might have placed.”

“All the more reason to perform reconnaissance on our own.”

“I’d prefer not to debate this. We’ve been here less than five minutes!”

“Perhaps we should bring this to a vote,” Mastermind said.

Liam sighed. “Fine, mate. All in favor of not making it more difficult to pick up our radio transmission, raise your hand.” He raised his.

“And all in favor of surviving the day, raise yours!” His tiny fingers rose to the roof.

Both looked to Kurt. He sat dumbstruck. “I don’t know, you both make good points. Leave me out of this!”

All eyes then fell on Leah. She leaned against the wall, arms crossed and radio in hand. The silence could’ve been cut with a knife as she kept them in anticipation. Which way would Caesar’s thumb point this time?

She shrugged at last. “Only one path forward. Don’t let me slow us down.” She raised her hand in support of staying.

Liam let out a breath of relief. Another fight best left avoided.

* * *

Time wore on as the group sat in wait. Leah made more calls periodically, but Mother did not answer again. The occasional protest came up, though Liam was quick to shut them down. The decision had already been made.

Suddenly, Leah looked out the window and stiffened. “Shit.”

Liam leaned over her shoulder. A white blur whizzed overhead and into the distance before crashing into the hill outside town. Smoke and flame burst out where it collided with the ground.

Liam’s heart skipped a beat. “What the hell was that!?”

“Short-range UAV drone, used to quickly search large areas. It couldn’t have been launched more than ten miles from here.”

They have those too!? “Well they couldn’t have seen anything with us indoors, right?”

Leah peered down the street. “You sure about that?”

Liam stared below and his throat tightened. There the dozen bodies of murdered hollows lay, pointing like an arrow to the church they had claimed.

Leah held up the radio again. “Mother, get back on the line! Our position’s been made. I repeat. There are eyes in the sky!”

The radio crackled.

“I’m here, Leah.” Mother said, her voice now crystal clear.

“Please tell me that was one of yours.”

She paused. “I’m sorry. I really, truly am. But you took too much time.”

“What did you do!?”

The electronic whir of another signal kicked in.

“Well, well, fucking well,” Hades announced. “Looks like the gang’s all here. Hope you don’t mind me crashing the party.”

Leah turned off the radio. “Motherfucker!”

“Let’s bug out,” Kurt said.

“It’s too late, you nincompoop!” Mastermind shouted. “Have you seen how open these hills are?”

Liam winced. “Maybe we just find another house, yeah? Hide out until they move on?”

“Don’t you understand!? This isn’t some paper airplane that’s been thrown over our heads. If Hades has the ability to fly a UAV, then he has multiple radio towers to triangulate the signal, trucks to transport them, and dozens of men to build the infrastructure on such short notice. This is a worst case scenario. They won’t leave without us, even if it means reducing this valley to cinders first!”

“Got cars!” Kurt shouted from the window. “Coming fast!”

“We need a plan!”

Liam pounded his fist into his head. How the hell was he supposed to know they’d have bloody drones!?

The three of them started to shout over each other. They needed to think. To plan. To come up with a better idea. But there wasn’t enough time! Liam had doomed them with his arrogance, and there was no way out.

Except one. He noticed their other companion, still by the window, watching the approaching caravan with that vacant, resigned look she’d carried the past week.

“Leah,” Liam said.

She met him in the eyes and the rest of the conversation went unspoken. This was no time for argument, or to plead, or to walk in circles wishing for circumstances to change on their own. Liam was ready to do whatever she ordered to survive.

They needed her judgment. They needed the Hunter.

As if a bucket of ice had been thrown in her face, Leah snapped into action. “We’re heading downtown. Switch to M16s and only use armour-piercing cartridges. Even you, Mastermind. Nothing but those from here on out. Any questions?” She gave them less than a second. “Good. Let’s move!”

They rushed outside and down the hill. Liam glanced over his shoulder and saw the trail of dust roll down the western mountains. Only minutes remained until their enemies arrived! The magazine of armour-piercing rounds shook in his hand as he tried to load them into the M16 that Kurt had tossed him from his rucksack.

Leah twisted off the suppressor of her rifle, and the others followed suit. She aimed into the sky and fired. Thunder roared as the high-caliber round soared through the air. Every couple seconds, she fired another shot. Hollow moans grew in answer.

“Here,” Leah said when they’d reached the center of town. “This is where we make our stand.”

Two-story brick buildings were crammed one after the other, with no gaps in between, stretching down the road as far as could be seen. The wreck of a bus lay horizontal a block away, with a dozen cars rammed into its frame.

“You want to hide in that thing?” Liam asked.

“No. We’re just using it as a killing field.” Her hard, lilac eyes studied the buildings. “Kurt, I want you in that hotel over there. Second floor.” She turned to Mastermind, who looked quite bizarre with an adult-sized rifle in his arms. “You’re across the street. Same deal. Light them up when they get stuck in here.”

She held a hand against the sun. “Alright, I’m only going to say this once. We’re going to get them into this block and hit them with everything we’ve got. Full auto bursts, grenades, the works. Keep them locked down until the hollows show up in force, and then bug the fuck out.” She glanced to Liam. “You. This way.”

The rumble of approaching motors cut him off before he could protest. Leah jogged back up the direction they had come, with Liam at her back.

“What do you need from me?” he asked between breaths.

“You’re the bait. Stay in the street and do some panicking human shit. When they start closing in, make a run for that bus, and then join the fight from there. Nobody’s sitting this one out.” She started to peel off at the corner. “I’ll be in here, picking off stragglers.”

“Wait!” Liam shouted. “I’m sorry for this. Sorry for getting you involved. Sorry for everything.”

Leah matched his stare, and for just a moment, he thought she might say “I love you.”

“Just don’t get killed, asshole,” she ordered instead. With one final salute, she vaulted through a broken window.

Liam stood alone in the center of the empty road, listening as the cars and hollows closed in. Part of him wanted to run. To hide. To make one desperate lunge for safety. But he couldn’t. The only way through this was through Leah, and he had to trust her instincts as he would his own.

A pair of rangers paused at the top of the hill, by the church. As quickly as they had stopped, the rangers abruptly rolled into reverse and turned his way. Their engines screamed as they barreled down the hill, straight for him.

Liam swallowed the lump in his throat and broke into a sprint. There was no time to think. No time to consider what had led him to this point. Only the path in front. Only this narrow window of time.

Liam reached the jumble of cars as the trucks rounded the bend. He was barely within the bus before he heard their breaks get slammed. Shouts soon followed.

He peered into view. There were three rangers total in the convoy, their frames armoured and coated in camouflage paint. Each had four rezzers inside, with feathers poking from the brims of their caps. One tilted out of the roof of the lead car, this one with a peacock’s feather over a sallow face.

“Come out,” the Hunter said. “Don’t think you can stay there forever. We’ve got guys coming around the block.” He grinned. “Might as well make this easy.”

The pops of nearby gunfire went off, and Liam realized the truth. They had more vehicles in reserve, no doubt looking for another route to his flank. Soon he would be surrounded, with nowhere to run.

Had Leah led him into a trap?

A bullet tore through the Hunter’s head. An explosion rocked the rearward car. The flare from Leah’s muzzle lit up as she laid into the surviving vehicles. A second later, Mastermind and Kurt joined the sortie, peppering the remaining cars from their sides. The Hunters cursed and scrambled over each other, desperately trying to flee their rangers. Those who escaped found their situation no better, as they were getting shot from every side.

Liam had never been in combat, nor had he served in the military. Fighting was not in his nature. He had only learned to use a rifle out of necessity. In the Alaskan wilds, a poor marksman was a hungry one. Even then, Liam and Nelly used to joke that they’d never hunt in a million years if caribou could shoot back.

But as return fire rocked the shell of his bus and adrenaline kicked in, Liam found himself as much part of the battle as everyone else. The jolt of his M16’s butt sent a burn through his shoulder, but he did not relent. First one Hunter dropped, and then another. That he’d never so much as killed a man before mattered little. This wasn’t murder. It was survival. Different and yet similar to any other wilderness threat he’d ever faced.

Two more cars rounded the bend behind, threatening to lock Liam in place. He doubled his effort. There wasn’t much time to act.

The hail of gunfire continued to pour onto their attackers, and some grew more bold. A pair of female Hunters made a break for Mastermind’s tower, and only one dropped before her ally disappeared inside. Another enemy managed to reach the wheel of a working ranger, and rolled into a better position before getting killed. His remaining friends made for the new cover.

The stopping power of their shots was also starting to fail on them. Higher grain bullets tore through undead flesh like a blowtorch through butter, but unlike the butter, rezzers could survive anything that didn’t strike their heads. Bullets that mushroomed through but not within their bodies did little to slow them down.

Liam reached for his last magazine and slipped his M16 back to semi-auto. He couldn’t wait any longer. Killing the first team now was his best chance. It was the only way to survive.

As the reinforcement cars stopped behind, Liam scrambled out the bus and moved to hit the Hunters’ blind spot in front. More of their shots whizzed over his head, but he leapt over a railing just in time. The sidewalk was recessed a few feet down from his side of the street, giving Liam just enough leeway to sprint into his attackers without risk. They watched terror-stricken as he popped up from their rear, faster than any normal rezzer could accomplish. His motions were mechanical and shots precise. Each took a shot to the skull before they ever had a chance.

Liam let out a breath of relief, but it was short-lived. A crack ricocheted inches away, followed by another. He rushed for the cover he’d just cleared. The stink of the dead Hunters filled the air.

Hades had entered the fray. Dressed in his three-piece suit and brandishing a revolver, he walked calmly in the shadow of the hotel. Liam just had to wait for Mastermind. No one would have a better shot than him.

But then the second-story window of his hiding spot shattered, and both Mastermind and his attacker plummeted below. A rib tore out from his chest on impact, but the little bugger cartwheeled to his feet and drew his Bowie. The enemy Hunter countered slower, and went limp the moment his blade pierced the base of her jaw.

Another shot rocked the bullet-ridden ranger, and Liam knelt down further. There was no way out of it. Only he could bring Hades down. But the moment Liam left cover, another shot forced him back down. Hades moved without care, shriveled lips spread wide into a grin, even as Liam managed to fire a few rounds back.

The firefight, the explosions, the smoke and the destruction, they mattered little to Hades. No, it was worse than that. He was enjoying himself, as a child might in the toy store. When a bullet did strike his arm, he casually switched his revolver to the other and fired another shot. This wasn’t another mercenary following orders. Hades was death itself. Slow, relentless, and with neither mercy nor hesitation. Another few feet, he’d be atop Liam.

The battle was almost lost. Kurt was nowhere to be seen, more Hunters swarmed through the bus, and one dragged Mastermind away as he kicked and screamed. There was no more winning the day. Liam could only do what he must to escape.

He looked behind. His best chance remained where she’d started, firing into the reinforcements with all her might. As the two caught sight of the other, Leah flashed more orders via hand. Retreat. Here.

Liam ran without thought, making for the last ranger in the convoy. Leah was his only way out of this mess. His only hope. If he could just make it to her, they might both survive the day.

Suddenly, more trucks emerged from the mouth of the street. An additional four had blocked them in!

Liam recognized the eagle feather of Xander as he crawled out of the roof of the lead truck, brandishing a RPG. Before Leah could see, before Liam could even open his mouth and warn her, the missile was launched. An explosion of fire and concrete flared out from the spot she’d been standing.

“NO!” Liam screamed. Leah had just been there, and now she was gone. Why didn’t she stop them!?

The smack took Liam from behind. Bright light flashed for a beat, and then he was on the ground, a heavy burn in the back of his head. He rolled over. The barrel of a revolver pointed right between his eyes.

“End of the fucking road,” Hades said. “Man, am I gonna have fun with you.”

It was over. Hunters had blocked off both ends of the street, with even more in reserve. Mastermind had been handcuffed and slammed onto the bed of a truck. Liam was unarmed, his ears could hear little more than ringing, and there was nothing he could do.

Hades grinned. “Got a few shots left, but I’m thinking I should save them for her. Maybe knock out those pretty little eyes.”

The dust had cleared, and the building Leah hid in had been ripped in half, with the second floor now collapsed into the first. She lay on a pile of debris, supine yet still, smoke smoldering out from her sheepskin jacket. Her eyes were closed and her nose gushed blood, with more spilling from a wound where an arm had once been. Time passed, but she did not move.

Hades squinted an eye. “Where’s the big one?”

Glass rained from above as Kurt barreled into the open. Hades twisted around and fired, but the shot merely bounced off the head of Kurt’s sledgehammer. In a flash, the weight of his attacker knocked him off balance, and Liam squirmed another few feet away.

The two became locked in a melee. Hades ducked and weaved from Kurt’s heavy blows, using his barbed gloves to deliver ripostes of his own. Ichor and flesh burst free with each successful strike, but Kurt was larger in size by half, and barely flinched as meat got ripped from his torso. Desperately, Hades tried to aim his revolver to kill, but each shot bore him no success. With another swing from the sledge, Hades was knocked to the ground.

Hades pointed his revolver again and fired. Silence followed the snap of the trigger this time.

“Looks like you’re out,” Kurt said before raising his weapon.

Hades gleamed. “Oh?”

As Kurt readied his final blow, Hades yanked the hammer of the revolver down, flicked the top artificially inward, and pulled the trigger again. Kurt’s skull shattered as if a bomb had exploded from within. His headless corpse flew back into a ruined ranger.

“Forgot about the shotgun underbarrel, huh? Fucking idiot!” Hades lurched to his feet and cheered. “Saved again by the motherfuckin’ LeMat. I told you assholes the Confederacy had some good ideas!” He shrugged at Liam. “What? Did you think he had me? Please, I’m way too awesome to get killed by some lackey. You want it done, it’s either you or her, and looks like she’s out of this one.”

Again Liam looked to Leah, and again she did not move, even as Hades drew his bolo machete and began marching over.

“Hollows!” one of the Hunters shouted. Gunshots erupted at the front of the convoy as Xander and his men engaged.

Hades looked to Liam, over to Leah’s still form, and back again. With a heavy sigh, he holstered his weapons.

“Alright, fun’s over,” he said. “Let’s move out. I’ll get the bitch’s head tomorrow.” He furrowed his brow as his men idled by. “What are you doing? Cuffs. Bags. Now!”

The last thing Liam saw was Leah, still lying where she’d fallen, dead to the world around. Get up, he begged. Please, for the love of God, get up and fight!

And then there was only black.

---

Other Writing