Twenty-Five Percent (Book 3): Vengeance Page 14

  “This way,” Micah said, pointing to a wide swath of trampled grass Alex had missed.

  They followed the flattened vegetation down a hill. Hearing screams, they abandoned the path and sped towards the rose garden, a walled area criss-crossed with paths looping around beds of fragrant roses, miniature box hedges and trellises draped with climbing plants.

  And eaters heedlessly trampling over everything.

  Alex leaped from his bike and ran into the garden, pulling his two skull-spikers from his pockets and flicking out the blades as he approached the nearest two eaters. They were the first to die. Micah took out another three nearby.

  On the far side of the garden, huddled into a seating area surrounded by three foot high box hedges, was the group of just over forty men, women and children. The terrified cries of the children mingled with the moans of at least a hundred eaters trying to reach them. They had pulled a trellis down across the open end of the hedged in area and the Survivors in the group had ripped a couple of benches from where they had been bolted into the ground to bolster it, but it wasn’t enough. The eaters were pushing at the makeshift barrier and it was obvious it wasn’t going to hold for much longer.

  The adults had formed into a circle around the children and Sam, Claire and Penny, the only armed members of the group, were picking off any eaters that fell over the hedge. Pheromones swirled through the air.

  Alex launched himself at the back of the horde, Micah doing the same beside him. Some of the eaters turned to face the new arrivals, but most were fixated on the desperate group of people.

  There was a metallic scraping and some of the group screamed. Through a gap in the crowd, Alex saw the benches being forced back and the eaters pushing towards the terrified people. He saw Patrice, her arms wrapped around a crying Emma and Katie.

  The sound of gunfire increased as Sam, Claire and Penny shot at the encroaching eaters, and then dwindled as one by one they ran out of ammunition. Alex pulled his pistol out and shot eater after eater.

  Then things got worse.

  The rumble of helicopter blades blended with the cacophony of moans and screams. Alex looked up to see one of Boot’s choppers swooping in. He was suddenly furious.

  “You did this!” he screamed.

  The helicopter opened fire with both machine guns. Bullets tore up the ground and ripped into the horde as it flew overhead then circled around for another pass. For an instant, Alex was too shocked to move.

  “Get down and cover your faces!” Micah yelled.

  “Use your coats,” Sam shouted.

  The group dropped into crouches, pulling off coats and using them to shield against blood spatter. Alex and Micah backed off as the helicopter returned to hover over the garden, firing into the horde until only a handful of eaters were left standing. When the gunfire ceased, Alex and Micah waded back in and took down the last few remaining alive.

  Finally, the moans stopped.

  Alex and Micah turned towards the still hovering helicopter. Alex wasn’t sure if there were any rounds left in his pistol, but he pulled it from its holster anyway. He had no illusions it would help. One burst of fire from the twin fifty calibre guns and they’d be dead.

  A cry came from the group of people to their left. Alex looked to see Emma running towards him.

  Patrice shrieked. “Emma, no!”

  Before he could react, Emma had thrown her arms around his waist, her small body angled between the helicopter’s weapons and him.

  “Don’t shoot him!” she screamed, tears pouring down her cheeks.

  Alex frantically tried to pry her loose without hurting her small arms, but she wouldn’t let go. Micah stepped in front of them, shielding her from the guns aimed at them, but Alex knew that if they opened fire Micah’s body wouldn’t be nearly enough to stop the powerful rounds.

  “Please, Em,” he said as calmly as he could, more terrified than he ever remembered being in his life, “go back to your mum.”

  She shook her head, crying into his stomach. “I won’t let them shoot you. I won’t.”

  “Emma, please,” her mother called. “Please come back.” She was holding Katie, clearly torn between the need to protect her youngest daughter and the desperate urge to rescue her oldest.

  Alex crouched in front of Emma. She clamped her arms around his neck, pressing her face into his shoulder. He picked her up, hoping desperately that whoever was in the helicopter weren’t the kind of monsters who would shoot a child.

  “You have to go,” he whispered. “Your mum and dad and sister need you.”

  “I don’t want you to die,” she sobbed, lifting her tear streaked face to look at him.

  “I know, and I will do everything I can not to, everything but risk your life. I love you, Emma. You and Katie and Lisa are my girls, my three favourite people in the world.” He kissed her forehead and lowered her to the ground. “Now go to your mum.”

  She stared up at him with her huge brown eyes for a second before saying, “I love you too.” Whirling around, she ran back to Patrice who crouched down to hold her sobbing daughter to her.

  Alex straightened to face the helicopter, stepping forward to stand at Micah’s side.

  For ten seconds nothing moved but the rotor blades, the draft blasting into their faces and the roar of the engine pounding their eardrums.

  Then it rose into the air, flew over their heads, and disappeared into the distance.

  Alex released the breath he’d been holding in an explosive rush.

  Micah was already making his way towards the group. “Drop the coats and don’t touch them for at least five minutes,” he was saying. “Check each other for blood; clothing, skin, everywhere. If you find even a spot, don’t touch it.”

  Swallowing the desert in his mouth, Alex went to help. A minute later the sound of approaching vehicles drew his attention and he looked up from searching Patrice’s clothes to see Leon and Janie arrive, the APV close behind.

  Leon leaped from the passenger side of the Land Rover and ran to his family, catching them into his arms. Patrice, stoic throughout the attack, released her tears in her husband’s embrace. Emma and Katie clung to their parents.

  Leon looked towards Alex and mouthed, “Thank you.”

  Alex nodded and turned away, wiping a hand across his eyes.

  That had been too close.

  He walked a little way away from the group and stared across the expanse of the park, only vaguely seeing the duck-covered lake and the trees fading into autumn and the Victorian bandstand. He was angry, at Boot, at whoever had been in the helicopter, even at Dent and the others for not being there when it threatened an eight year old girl, despite it not being in the slightest their fault. Mostly, however, he was angry with himself. The people he loved shouldn’t be in danger because of him. This had to stop.

  Micah came to stand beside him. “What just happened here?”

  Alex looked into the sky where the helicopter had gone. “I have absolutely no idea.”

  20

  Janie radioed the other groups of refugees travelling across the city to confirm they were okay. They each confirmed they had reached their designated safe buildings without any problems. All except for one who didn’t reply.

  “We’ll go,” Dent said. “It’s probably just a problem with their radio. We’ll get their route from Bates.”

  Her tone was light hearted, but Alex could see she was as concerned as the rest of them. The last thing he wanted them to do was leave, but there were others who needed their help.

  “Do you have any ammo?” he said, not wanting to be left completely defenceless.

  Hudson crawled into the APV and emerged with two half full magazines, tossing them to Alex and Micah. “Only use what you have to,” he said. “We’re almost out.”

  Alex nodded his thanks and inserted the magazine into his rifle.

  The tension in the group rose noticeably as the APV drove away. They began the mile’s walk to the buildings where they
would be hiding during the eater invasion in silence.

  Alex felt especially sorry for the children. Their biggest worry should have been what they were going to ask Santa for at Christmas, not if they were going to survive until Christmas. Leon carried Katie on his left arm while Emma walked between her parents, holding onto their hands with both of hers. She kept glancing back at Alex. He smiled at her and she gave a small smile back, but he could see the fear in her eyes.

  Everyone kept watch, over forty pairs of eyes scanning the streets around them for eaters. They saw none. Alex was almost disappointed. Not that he wanted another horde, but he wouldn’t have minded just a few. He was wired he needed to do something, preferably involving violence. Having something to kill might have taken the edge off.

  They reached a pedestrian area next to the river. Ahead of them was a new development of four eight storey apartment buildings, surrounded by buff coloured paving, spindly trees supported by wooden posts, and once neat lawns.

  To the left of the buildings was a construction site where more blocks were being erected, before the Meir’s outbreak. Now it lay abandoned, tools, machines and building materials scattered where they’d been dropped in the panic of the first day, what seemed like years ago now.

  Alex’s stomach jolted as the buzz of rotor blades drew everyone’s attention to the sky. The helicopter appeared in the distance, closing in on them fast. A ripple of panic ran through the group. Alex’s already frayed nerves clenched in a flash of fear and anger.

  “Go,” Alex shouted, waving them away. “Get to the flats.”

  The huddled group opened up, breaking into a run for the relative safety of the buildings. Leon and Janie looked back at him.

  “I’m going to lead it away,” he called. “Get everyone to safety.”

  Micah jogged up to him. “Alex...”

  “Go with them. Protect them.” Alex watched the chopper getting closer. The people wouldn’t make it before it arrived. Their only chance was if he could distract it for long enough.

  “I’m not leaving...”

  “Go!” Alex shouted into his face. “For once, just listen to me and go.” He pressed his hands to Micah’s shoulders and shoved.

  Micah stumbled backwards, barely staying upright. Regaining his balance, he straightened, his face filled with anger and hurt.

  For a moment, Alex regretted the move. He almost apologised, begged him to stay. Then the noise of the approaching helicopter snapped him back to reality.

  This is my fight, and I’ve had enough.

  Turning away from Micah, he ran towards the chopper, swinging the rifle from where it hung across his back and firing off two shots, hoping to draw their attention. The helicopter swooped round, away from the fleeing people and towards him.

  Micah stared at him for a moment, then turned and ran after the others.

  “Come on, you bastards!” Alex roared, waving the rifle in the air. “It’s me you want!”

  He fired again, aiming for the windscreen, hoping to get in a lucky shot like he had before. He was done with holding back. Given the chance, he was going to take them down.

  The helicopter lifted into the air, the bullets bouncing harmlessly off the hull. The guns mounted on the underside swivelled towards him. Alex turned and ran.

  Being a Survivor, Alex was faster than any normal human on earth. He could leave the fastest athlete in the dust. He wasn’t faster than a helicopter though. He used his head start to get to the corner of the nearest building and threw himself out of sight against the wall. Two seconds later, the chopper flew past. Alex took off in the opposite direction, looking back to make sure it was following.

  Instead, it rose above the level of the surrounding three storey buildings and circled around to find him. Not what he wanted. He ducked into a doorway where he wouldn’t be seen, trying to force it back down to search for him where he had the small advantage of speed and manoeuvrability. All he needed was to keep them occupied for a couple of minutes, enough time for his friends to get inside.

  When the helicopter didn’t descend, he stepped out. It was flying away from him, towards the flats.

  “No!” he shouted, sprinting after it.

  He got within sight of the building just as the others reached the door. Sam held it open, waving the rest inside. Clinging to her father and looking over his shoulder, Katie was screaming. Tears flowed down Emma’s face as she clutched onto her mother. The helicopter was flying straight for them.

  Micah moved forward from the group and opened fire. Alex was certain it would fire back. Instead, it veered away as the last few people got inside, Micah’s bullets bouncing off the underside.

  Alex changed course to follow it. Consumed with rage, he didn’t consider that they could just fly away. He didn’t even care what happened to him. They had terrorised the people he loved and all he wanted was to make them pay.

  He stopped outside the construction site, raising his rifle as the helicopter circled around the buildings and headed for him. Screaming, Alex squeezed the trigger, spraying the helicopter with bullets until the magazine clicked empty. With nothing left to shoot and still so angry he couldn’t think straight, he ran through the open gate into the site. Grabbing the first thing he found, a length of steel pipe, he hurled it at the helicopter. The missile hit the nose. The helicopter came to a halt, hanging in the air forty feet from the ground in front of him.

  “Come on, shoot me!” he roared. “Isn’t this what you want?” He grabbed a breezeblock from a nearby pile and flung it as hard as he could. It clipped one of the landing skids before dropping harmlessly to the ground. “Do something, you bastards!”

  The chopper simply hovered, mocking his inability to hurt it. Then it lowered to just ten feet, rotating sideways on. The door opened. An automatic rifle aimed from inside.

  “Alex!”

  Gunfire erupted behind him, ricocheting off the open door. It slammed shut and the helicopter rose into the air, peeling away and heading west.

  Alex turned to see Micah running up behind him.

  Closing his eyes and taking deep breaths, he tried to calm down. His heart was sledge-hammering inside his chest. “Is everyone okay?”

  A fist slammed into the side of his face, sending him crashing to the ground. Wincing in pain, he pushed himself to a seated position and pressed one hand to his throbbing jaw as he squinted up.

  Above him, Micah uncurled his fist.

  “What on earth...?”

  “What the hell was that?” Micah shouted, face flushed. He pointed in the direction the helicopter had flown, even though it was now gone.

  Alex pushed himself off the ground, backing away in case Micah tried to hit him again. “What the hell was what?”

  “You almost got yourself killed!”

  The apprehension that Micah would punch him again turned to anger. “I saved everyone. What is your problem?”

  Micah jabbed a finger at him. “My problem is that you didn’t have to do it that way. We could have done something else, anything else. Together. And what were you doing running after them when we were already inside?”

  Alex had never seen him so angry. He took another step back. “I have no idea what you’re so angry about! It worked out, everyone is fine. What is wrong with you?”

  “What is wrong with me?” Micah’s voice rose even further. “What’s wrong with you? This isn’t the first time you’ve done something stupid like this. You’ve been behaving this way ever since we got back from Omnav, risking your life unnecessarily, doing stupid things for no good reason like you don’t care if you live or die.” He counted on his fingers. “The warehouse, the hotel, the bridge. And Janie told me what happened when the buildings blew up, how you waited too long and didn’t get to a safe distance. I’ve had enough of watching you indulge this death wish. If you want to kill yourself, do it somewhere away from me.”

  Alex clenched his fists. “There is nothing wrong with me. You have no idea what you’re talking a
bout.”

  “I know exactly what I’m talking about. And if you’re not even going to admit you have a problem, I’m not sticking around to watch you die. You can do that without me.”

  “You’re the one with the problem, and if you don’t want to stick around, then don’t. Go find someone else to psychoanalyse and leave me alone.”

  “Fine, I will.” Turning his back on Alex, Micah strode away.

  Alex watched him head in the direction of the park where they’d left their bikes.

  “What on earth has got into him?” he muttered to himself.

  He looked around. The rush of adrenaline and fury was wearing off and he didn’t know what to do next, other than be angry at Micah. Who did he think he was, accusing Alex of going off the deep end?

  Muttering to himself, Alex wandered out of the construction site and towards the front entrance to the block of flats. Leon was waiting inside the door.

  “What happened out there?” he said as soon as Alex walked in. “Where’s Micah going?”

  “The helicopter is gone. And I have no idea where Micah is going.” His tone was a little harsher than he intended.

  Leon folded his arms and leaned against the wall.

  “Where is everyone?” Alex said. “Are they okay?”

  “They’re fine. Freaked out, but fine. They’re heading up to their designated flats.”

  “Emma and Katie?”

  “They’re scared, but they’ll be all right. My girls are strong and resilient.” He smiled. “Like their dad. Although if I ever get my hands on the people who frightened them...” He shook his head. “I was waiting for you and Micah before going up.”

  He looked at Alex expectantly, obviously waiting for him to elaborate on what had happened. The problem was, Alex wasn’t sure what had happened.

  “Do you think I have a death wish?”

  Leon’s eyebrows rose. “A what?”

  “Micah said that ever since Omnav I’ve been acting recklessly, like I don’t care if I live or die.” He touched his fingers to his still aching jaw. “He’s pretty angry about it.”