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BEN
“We have to blow College Creek.” He sucks in air, his rib cage aching from the exertion of their mad sprint through Arcata. “Those buildings already form a defensive perimeter at the front of the school. Blowing them will deflect the frontal assault.”
Kate pants beside him as she hauls ass up Granite Avenue toward Creekside. Her cheeks are stained pink, her eyes wild.
“We need to take out the alphas.”
“That won’t be enough. Even if we can get to high ground to sniper the things, the rest of the horde will already be on campus.”
“We still need to get rid of the alphas. We stand a better chance if the zoms aren’t organized.”
“You’re right.” Ben’s mind races. “Eric. He’s a crack shot. He can sight them from the rec center.” That’s near the College Creek dorms. From the top floor, he’ll have a clear shot at the oncoming horde.
“Blowing College Creek won’t keep them all out,” Kate huffs. It’s one the few times Ben has heard her out of breath while running. “They’ll be able to go around.”
“Not if we blow it right. If we can block everything on the southwest, they’ll walk right off the ledge and fall to the freeway below. They’ll be drawn in that direction anyway. That’s where all the noise will be once the dust settles.” The east side was another problem altogether.
Kate voices his thoughts. “And the east side?” she demands. “What if some of them get through on that side?”
He hates not having answers. It’s like being back in Somalia, when he and his guys found themselves ambushed. The fucking feeling of being trapped is almost enough to make him lose his shit. His fear of something happening to Kate helps him hold it together.
“We improvise,” he says. “It’s a shitty answer, but it’s all I got.”
“Okay.” Her mouth is set in a determined line. “I don’t have any better ideas. We go with your plan. You know it’s crazy, right?”
The queen of crazy wanted to call him out? Half a dozen retorts came to mind, but he doesn’t have any breath to voice them.
The stitch in his side has grown to epic proportions. His waist feels like a ring of fire from the chafing. The cut in his back hurts like a motherfucker. He ignores it all, nostrils flaring at the pain.
Somewhere behind them, he hears a car crash, followed by a scream. Seconds later is the sound of another crash.
That’s two fuck heads down. Now if only there was a way to get rid of the rest of the fuckers who brought hell to their doorstep.
The door to Creekside is thrown open as they race up. Carter, Jenna, and Reed crowd the doorway. Ben and Kate barrel past them, both of them shouting as soon as they’re inside Creekside.
“Explosives!” Kate calls.
“We need some grenades right fucking now!” Ben bellows.
Jenna, Carter, and Reed surge around Kate. They attempt to hug her and ask questions at the same time.
“Mom, are you okay?”
“We were so worried,” Jenna adds. “What—”
“What do you mean we need grenades?” Reed asks.
Kate shouts over the talking, silencing them with her intensity. “Zombie horde,” she snaps. “Coming our way. Alphas.”
“We’re under siege.” Ben races for the stairwell, heading up to the armory on the second floor. He shouts as he runs, hoping his voice will carry and alert the rest. “Everyone arm!”
Kate, Carter, Jenna, and Reed tear up the stairs after them. They plunge into the dorm suite they converted into the armory.
“Under siege!” Ben shouts again, his gruff voice booming up and down the hall. “Everyone arm!”
The rest of the crew bursts into the armory. Everyone tries to ask questions. Johnny is there, ready to join the fight despite his injured Achilles. Even Susan is there, the young woman from the charter boat wanting to help.
Caleb and Ash take in the situation and begin arming themselves without question.
“We heard something from the rooftop,” Ash says. “We didn’t have any visuals.”
“Zombie swarm from Eureka.” Kate grabs a rocket launcher and swings it over one shoulder. “Coming right for us. Hundreds of them. Everyone, grab explosives.”
This is all it takes to get the rest of the group to shut up. Within seconds, everyone is arming themselves.
Despite everything going on around them, Ben can’t help but admire Kate. Any drill sergeant would be impressed with the way she wrangles this group.
“Eric, grab a rifle,” Kate says. “You’re on sniper duty in the rec center. Everyone else, grab everything you can carry and haul ass downstairs to Skip. Ben will explain the plan while we drive. Carter, you’re driving us to College Creek.”
It’s a testament to Kate’s skills as a leader that she’s made the decision to use a vehicle. For her, caution is always paramount. Moving silently and safely has, up until now, been more important than moving fast.
Ben sees that she is rapidly adjusting to the new paradigm of the alphas, dropping old rules and adopting new ones on the fly. Just like she had in Arcata when she made him shoot the alpha in the plaza. Flexible and adaptable. That’s Kate.
She leads their group at a dead run back down the stairs. As they leave Creekside behind, Ben glances back. Framed in the doorway, her face wan with fear, is Lila. She watches them go, looking small and lost.
Her vulnerability makes something inside him harden. He has to protect her. He has to protect them all.
Skip is a beat-up Dodge Caravan that Carter and Jenna purchased before the apocalypse. Ben has a vague understanding of some beer company the two planned to start, though how a shitty van is tied to a brewing company is beyond him.
Except for the driver’s and passenger’s seats, all the others have been removed. This should make it easier for them to pile in. Except that no less than six beer kegs take up the right side of the van and there isn’t time to take them out. Ben finds himself squashed against the back of the passenger’s seat next to Caleb.
“Yo, did you guys ever play that game when you were teenagers to see how many friends you could cram in a car?” Reed asks. “My brother and I fit eight people into a Volkswagon Bug.”
“Thank God this isn’t a Mini Coop,” Ben growls. It’s bad enough having Caleb’s left ass cheek on his thigh.
“Everyone in?” Carter shouts as he leaps into the driver’s seat. Jenna climbs in next to him.
“Go!” Kate tells him, slamming shut the side door.
Carter fires up the engine and throws the car into drive. Ben finds himself flung forward. He sprawls on top of Caleb as Skip makes a hard left. Johnny squawks as he lands on top of Ben.
“Ben, we need the details of the plan,” Kate says.
“Four teams,” Ben barks, attempting to right himself as Carter hauls ass around Creekside and out into the parking lot. “Eric, you’re on sniper duty in the rec center. Jesus, you’re with Eric. You watch his back while he takes out the alphas. It’s imperative the alphas are taken down.
“Caleb, Ash, and I lead three teams to plant the C-4 while the rest of you cover us. Kate and Reed, you’re with me.”
Assigning Kate to his team is selfish, but he can’t protect her if she isn’t near. He might die today, but he’s going to do his damnedest to make sure she lives.
“Susan and Johnny, you cover Ash,” he continues. “Jenna, you’re with Caleb. Caleb’s team takes out the east building. Ash’s team takes center. My team takes out the west building. Concentrate your explosives on the west side of the buildings. We bring them down and create a path that takes the zoms away from campus and down onto the freeway.”
“What about me?” Carter asks.
“You stay with the van,” Ben replies. “Keep it running and keep it away from the horde. If things go to shit, we fall back to Skip and try to outrun them.”
The look Kate gives him is anguished. They both know that if they can’t divert the swarm, their chance of survival is slim to none. It’s slim to none now. The horde is too big, too all-encompassing. The noise of the van will bring them down like wildfire. Attempting to run with so many hundreds out there will be equally disastrous.
They have one shot at this. They’ll make their stand at College Creek. They’ll either live, or die.
As Carter hits a curb and sends the van into a state of airborne, Ben experiences a moment of calm. Even with Caleb’s ass currently in his ribcage, he has a clear view of Kate. Her eyes are fierce, her jaw set. She’s drenched in sweat and grime and looks like she’s ready to take on the entire swarm singlehandedly. It’s the most arresting sight he’s ever seen.
If he dies today, he’ll carry the memory of her ferocity into the afterlife.