Brandt let out a relieved sigh as he saw the green foliage ahead of them. Trees lined the sides of a concrete-and-brick path that led through a large park, and the rapidly failing sunlight filtered through their branches to land in patches along the walkway. It’d taken them nearly an hour to reach the park, an hour longer than Brandt was happy with, but it couldn’t be helped. He ran his fingers through his dark hair and glanced around cautiously. He didn’t see any potential threats nearby; a few squirrels scrounged through the grass, but otherwise, everything was still. Brandt hoped the four of them had reached the end of any trouble that might threaten. At least, for the moment.
Brandt motioned for the others to follow him as he began the trek across the street to Centennial Olympic Park, pausing before he reached the outer edge of trees and dropping back to allow Cade, Remy, and Gray to catch up with him. He took Cade off of Remy’s hands, and the younger woman gave him a grateful smile, even as she managed to look concerned.
“I don’t think she’s doing that great, Brandt,” Remy warned. “She’s dragging her feet, and she can barely keep her head up.”
Brandt took Cade’s face in his hands, lifting her head so he could see her eyes. Her lids were heavy, and her skin was pale and clammy, cool to the touch. She breathed shallowly, and Brandt shook his head as he gently jostled her. “Come on, babe, we don’t have much farther to go,” he murmured. “Just through this park and out the other side, and we’ll be right on top of the Tabernacle, okay? Just stick with me.”
“And when we get there?” Gray spoke up, breaking his contemplation of a large, oddly shaped building less than a block away. It jutted out at an angle over the street, and a massive mural of sea life was emblazoned on its side. Brandt looked up from Cade’s face and frowned at the building, taking a moment to realize he was staring at the side of the aquarium. He blinked and focused back on Cade, scooping her right off her feet and settling her against his chest.
“Then we get inside and see what we can do about rousing some help on the radio,” Brandt said.
“And if help won’t come?” Gray prompted.
“Help will come,” Brandt said, confident.
“But if it won’t?” Gray persisted.
Brandt rolled his eyes and started down the sidewalk again, stepping into the shade of the trees, his grip on Cade secure. Gray and Remy scrambled to keep up with the ground-eating pace Brandt set. “Gray, it will, okay? They’re not going to leave me out here in this cesspool of a city; they’re going to want to track me down.”
“You’re assuming an awful lot, if you ask me,” Gray muttered. He wrinkled his nose doubtfully and gripped his gun in both hands, doing his best to help Remy guard Brandt and Cade, since they were the two most vulnerable members of their little group.
“Well, I’m not asking you, so you can shove it up your ass,” Brandt grumbled. “Now shut it. The more noise you make, the more likely you’ll draw attention right onto us, and we’re not in a position to deal with that right now.”
Silence fell among them after Brandt’s order. Remy once more slipped into the lead, her gun in one hand and her bolo knife in the other. Brandt was always impressed with how well the young woman handled the blade; seeing it in her hand made him feel slightly better about being out in the open. If anything got the jump on them, Brandt was sure Remy could hold off the problem long enough for him to set Cade down to assist her.
When the four of them emerged from under the trees, they found themselves in the open, in a large concrete and brick plaza that had once hosted the Olympic Games. The fountain that now occupied the space no longer sprayed jets of water toward the sky, and the entire plaza was littered with trash and debris and the remains of several bodies. Brandt saw the camouflage in which one of the bodies was wrapped, and he swallowed hard, averting his eyes. The sight didn’t do much to boost his confidence about what he’d find in the Tabernacle.
The building in question came into view, standing tall and square against the graying skies, surrounded by military vehicles and supplies. As they reached the edge of Centennial Drive, Brandt could see the thick steel chain wrapped around the handles on the front doors, undisturbed by the passage of time; once they scrambled across the street and set foot onto Luckie, he saw boards crisscrossing the large green doors, nailing them firmly shut.
“Brandt, why are the doors nailed shut from the outside?” Remy asked nervously. Cade’s head lolled against Brandt’s shoulder, and he smoothed his fingers over her thick hair. “Doesn’t that usually mean it’s full of the infected?”
“Usually,” Brandt agreed as he made a beeline for the building. “The military did it on purpose, so people would think that it was full of infected and stay out.”
“So how do we get in?” Gray asked. “I don’t happen to have a crowbar on me anymore, you know.”
“Just follow me and keep your damn mouth shut,” Brandt ordered, making for the left side of the building. The entire back end of the structure, complete with most of the white building attached to the back of it, was fenced in with sturdy-looking chain-link fencing; coils of barbed wire rimmed the top of the entire fence line. Brandt carefully passed Cade into Gray’s arms before squinting at the fence, trying to figure out how to get them inside. Normally, he’d get them up onto the dumpster blocking the gate where bands used to enter the backstage area, since that portion of the fence had less barbed wire on it than the rest, but considering Cade couldn’t climb onto the dumpster at that point if he paid her to, the plan was dead in the water. He contemplated lifting Cade over. He wasn’t sure it would work, but it was a chance he’d have to take if he expected to get them all inside. No other option was acceptable.
Brandt made sure his sidearm was still secure in its holster before he hauled himself onto the dumpster, digging his feet and hands into the diamond-shaped links on the fence and dragging himself up. He climbed, hand over hand, foot over foot, to the top of the fence, then straddled the metal pole at the top, careful to avoid the sparse barbed wire, and slung himself over, dropping to the pavement on the other side. He landed hard on the ground, his knees jarring painfully. He shook the pain off and got busy, making short work of the gate. Then he flung the gate open and scrambled back onto the dumpster, beckoning to Remy.
“Rem, get up here,” Brandt ordered, catching the young woman’s hands and lifting her onto the dumpster as her feet tried to find purchase on its slick metal side. “I need you on the ground so you can help catch Cade when I pass her over, okay?” Remy nodded and scrambled down the other side of the dumpster, looking around cautiously as Brandt motioned to Gray. The young man nodded and eased Cade up higher, and Brandt hooked his hands under Cade’s and lifted. The muscles in his arms bulged from the awkward attempt to lift the woman to the top of the dumpster, and she groaned faintly as he settled her down beside him.
A wave of nausea washed over Brandt as he set Cade down, and he closed his eyes, sucking in a sharp breath and clenching his teeth. No, not now, he thought, shaking his head as he braced his hands against his knees. He bowed his head, breathing through his nose and trying to quell the sick feeling swimming in his gut. He let a slow breath out through his mouth as Gray spoke up quietly.
“Brandt, are you okay, man? You look a little … peaked,” Gray observed. Brandt opened his eyes to look down at the young man and discovered a deep frown on his face. He cleared his throat and shook his head.
“Since when you been British, Gray?” Brandt replied, turning to the task at hand as his nausea subsided. “I’m fine. Just tired is all. Get your scrawny ass up here so you can help me lower Cade down.”
Gray scrambled onto the dumpster obediently, taking a moment to stand on its edge and study the parking lot around them. Brandt could almost read the other man’s mind: the lot was too cluttered; too many cars and boxes and other assorted detritus offered too many places for the infected to hide. Gray grimaced and turned his eyes onto Cade, and the two men lifted her up with minimal infliction of pain and slowly lowered her to Remy’s waiting arms. The thin woman nearly dropped Cade as she grasped her, and it was only through Brandt’s quick intervention that the Israeli woman didn’t hit the hard pavement and gravel beneath Remy’s feet. Once the four of them were on the same side of the fence and the gate was secured once more, Remy looked to Brandt expectantly.
“Well, now what?”
Brandt lifted his head and let his eyes travel up the rusty red metal fire escape staircase winding up the side of the building, all the way to the roof. He nodded toward the building and scooped Cade up into his arms once more. “Now we go inside.”