The Last Bastion of the Living: A Futuristic Zombie Novel (50 page)

“
I love you,
”
she sobbed.

“
Keep going, Maria. You can do this.
You and Denman need to find a safe place to hide. We
’
re going to get you out of this.
”
Dwayne
’
s voice was calming. He bent over Lindsey
’
s shoulder to peer into the camera.
“
I love you. Keep going. This isn
’
t over.
”

Maria nodded.

“
I
’
m killing this connection. We
’
ll be in contact,
”
Lindsey said, then vanished.

The screen dissolved into the shiny silver of her wristlet.

Denman
kicked so that his mouth was out of t
he water so he could speak.
“
We need to move. One of them is starting to search the shoreline.
Deep breath, hold it as long as you can.
”

Maria nodded, then dove.

* * *

Caitlyn
’
s big blue eyes stared at the
vid screen
as the SWD transmitted live coverage of the destruction of the remaining
Inferi Scourge
. Dwayne gently
rested
his arm over her shoulders to comfort her.

Beyond the walls of the Constabulary facility, people were filling the streets to watch the coverage on the drones
rolling
along
the streets
.
Cheers filled the night.
The sound of the Maelstrom Platforms firing on the walls echoed throughout the vast expanse of the city.

The
Constabulary Command Center
was eerily silent.
The SWD had replaced them as the
protectors
of the city and the officers watched the battle on the
vid screens
.
Commandant Pierce sat in her command chair watching with a grim expression on her face.
Lindsey and a few other communication officers
worked
vigilantly
on the far side of the room.

Dr. Curran
sat at a station watching the
magnificent
show on the screens.
“
Every last bit of ammunition, every last bit of fuel, every last bit of weaponry is putting on the biggest fireworks show in history.
”

“
They knew what they were doing,
”
Dwayne said,
barely contained
anger in his voice.

“
They will worship the SWD as their salvation. We
’
ll just be their foot soldiers when the food riots begin.
”
Commandant Pierce sighed.

“
Dad?
”
Caitlyn whispered, her hand resting on his.

“
Yeah?
”
She looked younger than her age. He could almost see the child in the young woman.
“
What is it?
”

“
The woman who is out there. The vanguard?
”

Dwayne nodded, not sure if he liked where she was going with her line of questioning.

“
Do you love her?
”

There was no other way to answer.
“
Yes. I do.
”

Caitlyn smiled ruefully.
“
You
’
re going to save her, aren
’
t you?
”

“
She saved me once.
I owe her,
”
Dwayne said with a shrug.
“
Plus, I
’
m not sure how to live without her.
”

The doors to the command center slid open and Petra hurried in.
Her usually impeccable
persona seemed
ruffled in
l
ight of all she had learned.
She strode to Dwayne
’
s side and gave Caitlyn a slight smile.

“
What is it?
”
Dwayne asked his harried assistant.

“
My media sources informed me that the President is set to go on the air within the next hour to announce the destruction of the
Inferi Scourge
. He also will reveal the details of the sad death of the Special Ops who died tonight during the
assault
on the hydroelectric plant.
The
official
story is that their tiltrotor crashed, killing all on board.
”

“
Then when we reveal the truth of the matter, what do you think the reaction will be?
”
Dwayne asked.

“
They won
’
t care,
”
Dr. Curran said tiredly.
“
The people won
’
t care because it means all the
Inferi Scourge
in the valley
are
dead. All of them. Even the
Inferi Boon
.
”

Petra pursed her thin lips together, then nodded.
“
I agree.
”

“
So how do we usurp the SWD?
”
Caitlyn asked.

Dwayne glanced toward Lindsey and her minions working away.
“
We hope that our little hacker over there can piece together what the SWD did in an attempt to take over the government illegally. And we save the President from being removed from office.
”

“
He
’
s a prick,
”
Caitlyn said, disapproval in her voice.

“
Yes, but
it
’
s
better to have an official elected by the people, than a dictatorship,
”
Commandant Pierce reminded her.

“
So no one is going to care about Vanguard Martinez and her people? That they were slaughtered trying to save us?
”
Caitlyn shook her head.
“
I don
’
t believe it.
”

“
They won
’
t care right now,
”
Petra corrected her.
“
They will once they realize how the SWD manipulated the situation.
Plus, Dr. Curran is going to lie and tell everyone there was a cure, right, Dr. Curran?
”

Dr. Beverly Curran, brilliant scientist and former member of the SWD, looked up at them with weary eyes and said,
“
Anything to fuck over Petersen.
”
And grinned.

* * *

The hard bark of the trees, the scratching branches and nettles, and razor sharp rock
wall
had
Maria
’
s exposed arms and neck
covered
with
cuts and welts. Her boots and the lower half of her armor were weighted down with lake water that sloshed as she climbed through the
foliage
lining the lake.

In spite of
the
hindrance
, they were still moving faster than she
expected. Part climbing,
part hiking, the trek was tedious and dangerous, but she still didn
’
t feel tired from all the exertion. There were odd internal twinges that were a little
alarming
though. A few had been sharp pains that had made her gasp for breath, but nothing that
incapacitated
her.
Denman didn
’
t dare stop to scan her, so she kept her mouth silent whenever a wave of pain rippled through her.

The hydroelectric station was now far behind them. The sun had set on a fiery valley filled with death and destruction. The wind carried the sound of the
Inferi Scourge
howls, the tiltrotors firing, and the
Maelstrom
Platform
s
.
Maybe it was her imagination, but she thought she heard a great crowd crying out in triumph.
The Inferi Boon had reduced the numbers of the undead masses so significantly, the battle was extremely short-lived. Now the valley was filled with smoke from the smoldering fires. It was providing greatly
-
needed cover to her and Denman.

The sparse
tree line
they were moving along ended abruptly just ahead. They would have to sprint across open ground toward the foothills.
The formations
were steep, but Denman was hoping the higher they climbed the more hiding places they might find.

“
What about the last two Anomalies?
”
Maria wondered aloud.
“
Did you see what happened to them?
”

Denman shook his head.
“
No, no.
Though, I somewhat suspect they may have ducked into the carrier.
At least, let
’
s hope so.
”

With a sigh, Maria scrambled over some roots jutting out of the rock, tilting her head
to gaze up
along
the steep incline that seemed to rise up to the very top of the mountain itself.
She wasn
’
t too sure how well she would be able to climb.
The pains in her body were worsening.

“
Okay, we need to run until we reach that patch of pines over there
,
then start climbing. There are plenty of boulders and spots to hide up there.
”
Denman pointed to their destination as she stepped
closer
to him.

“
Okay. I
’
m ready.
”

“
You sure?
”
Denman touched her sweating face lightly with one hand. His hand was icy against her skin.

“
Yeah, I
’
m sure.
”
Maria gave him a slight smile.
“
I
’
m a total bad
ass.
”

“
So I noticed.
”
Denman said, returning the smile.

“
I
’
m glad you
’
re with me,
”
Maria said, tears suddenly in her eyes. In her mind, she saw
Omondi
and the others engulfed in flame.

“
I
’
m glad I
’
m here.
”
Denman enfolded her in his arms and rested his chin on her shoulder.

Clinging to him, Maria felt hot tears sliding over her flushed cheeks.
“
If we make it we have to have that barbecue by the lake. Just your family and mine.
”

“
I
’
d love that,
”
Denman answered. He pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“You and Megan will be best friends. I know it.”

“You and Dwayne will get along really well.”

“You
’
ll have to tell me more about him when we
’
re somewhere safe.”

Maria
peered into the dar
kness as Denman stepped away.
A handful of tiltrotors were skimming low over the ground. The rest of the fleet had returned to the city
.
There would most likely be patrols and cleanup crews out in the valley for weeks before declaring it
officially
cleared.
Denman and Maria hopefully wouldn
’
t be trapped out here that long. Evading the patrols for so long would be difficult, if not impossible.

Denman extended his
hand toward her. She took it.

Together they ran across the wide expanse of empty land
through trails of smoke drifting on the wind
.
The city loomed to their left, alive with lights.
Behind them were
the smoldering remains of the hydroelectric station.
Their heavy boots pounded against the dark earth and patches of new grass.
The foothills loomed beyond a thin smattering of pine trees that were black in the pale light
emanating from
the city and moon.