Pedal to the Metal (Riders of the Apocalypse Book 4) Read online

  “Who isn’t?”

  Dallas shook her head. “No, love. You’re too thin. I’m worried.”

  Roper kissed her softly. “Not a damn thing we can do about it if I’m sick, Dallas Barkley, so leave it be.”

  Dallas stepped back. “Are you?”

  “I don’t know. I can’t seem to keep any weight on. It’s harder than normal. Butcher said stress like this shuts us down in a lot of areas. When’s the last time you had a period?”

  “Nine, ten months ago?”

  “Right. Our bodies shut off things so we can survive. There’s nothing to worry about, my love. I feel fine.”

  “Well, I have to say, you do look better than you have of late.”

  “Finding my babies lifted my spirits. Thank you so much for coming here.”

  Suddenly, Akiko appeared at the barn door. “I hate to bother you during an obviously intimate moment, but––”

  “Is Zoe okay?”

  “Oh yes. Yes, she is. Quite a handful, that one. How you manage her, I’ll never know.”

  “We don’t. What can we do for you, Akiko?”

  Akiko glanced around her before answering. “Well, I was hoping to get you two alone so we could talk.”

  “Come on into my office and pull up a hay bale.”

  The three of them sat on bales of hay while the horses munched loudly.

  “As you know, the Japanese and their allies fully intend on taking your country over. No one thinks Americans have it in them to rebel, to fight and reclaim what was once theirs. Now that I have witnessed, first hand, some truly amazing Americans, I am doubting whether or not taking your country over is a sound plan.”

  “We’re just a motley group, Akiko. I’m fairly certain our military are the ones who will try to repel your people.”

  Akiko shook her head. “I wouldn’t take that bet, Dallas. The Asian Nation desires to parcel out this country, attacking any and all who stand in the way of that. Your military will be the first foe it crushes.”

  “What do you suggest?”

  “That you not run. You have the ability to be an agent of change––to help create the nation you once were.”

  Dallas glanced over at Roper, who looked as perplexed as she did.

  “Agent of change? Akiko, in case you haven’t noticed, we are barely managing to survive here. Your country will have a total advantage over those of us who remain. We are tired––no, we are exhausted just from the daily struggle to survive. I don’t see how a bunch of weary survivors can take on multiple countries trying to part and parcel our own country all while fending off zombies, cannibals, and mobs.”

  Roper tilted her head. “Unless there’s something else we don’t know.”

  Akiko glanced down, then back up again. “At this point, all I have are conjecture and rumors that spread through the troops on our way here.”

  Dallas reached for Roper’s hand. “And those are?”

  “Well, rumor has it that the committee that oversees the quarantine of the United States gave permission for this offensive against your people on one condition.”

  Dallas and Roper waited.

  “If the American survivors fight back well enough to show they are capable of saving the country, then we must pull out.”

  “By we you mean––”

  “Our country’s interest. Those of us sent here, however, will probably remain here. I can’t speak for China or the Koreans, but Japan would rather not have us back.”

  “I suppose there’s the potential for contamination.” Dallas nodded. “Yeah, you guys are screwed. You’ll never see your homeland again.”

  “I’m afraid not. Where we land is where we remain.”

  “So you think we should stay? That fighting back is our best solution? Our best chance?”

  Akiko frowned. “Dallas, I truly believe it is your only chance. For the first six months of the virus, Americans in every industrialized city in Asia were quarantined, whether or not they hadn’t been to the United States recently. If you and your people did get out, you’d have to go live on an island somewhere where no one would notice that you had arrived. It is no longer easy or safe for American travelers.”

  Releasing Roper’s hand, Dallas stood up and paced across the barn. Merlin and Morgana’s loud munching filled the silence.

  “Your people were rounding us up, you say, for labor.”

  “Yes.”

  “Have you attacked our military yet?”

  “That I do not know. The only part of the plan we received was about containment. Our militaries will be here later...once they know we’ve swept as many into our nets as we can. These suits are not cheap, so we have not been able to make one for everyone in the military.”

  Dallas paused her pacing. “I see. You contain our people, upon whose backs you intend on rebuilding, and then go after our military?”

  “And your president. So long as your president lives, the committee will drag its feet to finish the cleansing. Even in this horrific state, he does have a few allies left.”

  “Besides England.”

  “The new king and his parliament pledged their loyalty to your country the same day he took over, but being your ally is not necessarily a favorable position anymore. He knows what could happen with an Asian-dominated North America.”

  Running her hands through her hair, Dallas blew out a big breath. “We’ve been so busy trying to survive, we’ve never thought too much about the global repercussions.”

  “Global repercussions is an understatement, Dallas. The Middle East has stepped up terrorist activities tenfold. There have been bombings in Paris, Berlin, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, even Dublin. They’ve hit soccer games, parades, festivals, and rallies. Without fear of reprisal, they have become emboldened worldwide. The United Nations is not so united anymore. There are economic woes as well. The domino effect is clearly at play here. Countries you used to feed now have to negotiate with other nations which have become dominant and heavy-handed.” She shook her head. “The irony of it all is that everyone enjoyed watching your downfall until they realized what it truly meant to have America on its knees. Many nations fell because you were not there to catch them.”

  “We didn’t go to our knees alone.”

  “No, you didn’t. There were many, many nations adversely affected by your disintegration. That’s the irony. No one really took a close enough look at what your defeat would mean to the rest of the world.”

  Roper bristled at the word defeat. “So once they felt they had us contained, someone must have realized all our shit was going to waste. All of our oil, our farmland, our natural resources were just lying there waiting for someone to come get them.”

  Akiko nodded. “And my country, still smarting from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, chimed in first and demanded to have first crack. It was a no-brainer. China hopped on board because… well…because they are China and they have feared Japan for many years. It was the Chinese who created the notion of an Asian Nation.”

  Roper cleared her throat. “So, we have England. Anyone else?”

  “It’s an odd assortment, to be sure. Israel, Costa Rica, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland. No Western European on the continent. No Asian. You do have Dubai, Yemen, and one other I can’t remember.”

  “So the rest just dumped us? Just like that? We save their asses in two world wars and when we need them, they bolt? Motherfucking pussies.”

  Dallas squeezed Roper’s hand. “What does being our ally mean now? We have nothing to offer. And by nothing I mean not a goddamn thing.”

  Akiko shrugged. “I am assuming it means they will assist you in the event you can take your country back. This is why what you could be doing is so important, Dallas. America was built on the bravery of people like you less than three centuries ago––people who dared to stand up against a king who sent his troops in to defeat you and bring you hell. This is what you’re up against. This is what you are facing. Nothing more, nothing less.”
r />   Dallas looked down at Roper. “When we left the bayou, it was to fight and get our country back. But our agenda had changed. It has to change.”

  Roper tilted her head to the side and considered her answer. “Apparently. I stood alone in the group, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do some damage on our way out. Those people in that house would walk over hot shards of glass if you asked them to. I’m sure laying waste to some of the invaders in our midst might be something they would be interested in doing, but as for staying and fighting? I just don’t see anyone wanting to do that regardless of Akiko’s impassioned speech.”

  Dallas nodded. “Akiko, clearly the world outside has changed. So have we. Let me think about it and talk it over with everyone once we get to Alcatraz. I’m sure there are those of us who are not willing to risk finding a new place to call home…those who would rather just stay on the island.”

  Akiko lowered her voice. “And what about you, Dallas? Are you willing to fight for the United States of America?”

  Dallas gazed into Roper’s eyes for a protracted moment before looking back at Akiko. “I’m willing to fight for the health and well-being of all those people in that house out there. Beyond that, I no longer give a shit.”

  Akiko sighed and headed for the door. “I was afraid you’d say that. Just know, when the time comes, you are going to have to make the biggest decision of your life. I hope when that moment does arrive you will see the bigger picture.”

  “Honestly, Kiko, the only picture I care to see right now is that my family is alive and well. Everything else can go to hell.”

  “I hope you change your mind, Dallas. You may be this country’s only hope.”

  Dallas’s Journal

  The rules changed when we left Angola. All along, I thought we’d be fighting man eaters and marauders. I knew how to kill both of those. I understood that chaos takes over in the absence of law, but I never ever really thought some other country would send their people in to overtake us. Even Einstein thought it would be a good five years before anyone came ashore.

  None of us were prepared for the Asian community to risk its homosexual population in a clean-up attempt. It was incomprehensible to me until Roper pointed out that not all countries had legalized gay marriage and that it was still a stigma in many of the Asian cultures.

  We were from California.

  We’d forgotten how ugly people could be where gays were concerned.

  So, I put it to a vote to see how many of us wanted to do the unthinkable: how many of us would be willing to play Paul Revere on that stage and announce to everyone that the Asians were coming.

  The vote was unanimous.

  Something happened when my people realized Americans, gay and straight, were being captured and taken to what might as well be called internment camps. Instead of wanting to fight, instead of standing up straighter and saying, “Not on my watch,” to a one they agreed it wasn’t worth it. They no longer believed in our government. They no longer had faith that our military was really on our side. They no longer cared if the United States remained united.

  In the end, they had simply stopped trusting, and that was all she wrote.

  Each person who raised their hand also stood up. Some made a statement, others didn’t...all agreed the country was not worth fighting for and we, we were not the soldiers who would deliver it from evil. We were the only people who mattered. If we could get the hell out of the perimeter set by the world a year ago, we might actually go on to live normal lives somewhere.

  Now, we need a better plan. If we are going to find a way out, we need to collect more ammo and better weapons. We need a strategy that will enable us to breech the invisible wall surrounding our nation and go someplace that doesn’t abhor us.

  A year ago, the various national carriers off the coast blasted anything that moved in the water. The borders had been made “secure” by our neighbors and anyone else who was willing to join them to try to prevent the zombies or the infected from entering their countries. A year ago, we thought it was possible to get our lives back within the walls of our country.

  Now, we aren’t so sure.

  I still think using Alcatraz is a good bet. We need someplace where we can start a new life and be safe from man eaters and marauders while we devise a way to get the hell out of here before the Asian Nation comes to take us away. The Rock is the perfect place to defend ourselves if we have to. From there, we can find a way to get a shipload of people into international waters.

  As I write this, I can honestly say tonight is the first night in a long time I am filled with hope.

  Hope.

  A year ago, life was hopeless.

  Look at us now.

  Dallas

  4 Days Ago

  “Hear that?” Butcher asked, shielding her eyes from the sun and looking for the source of the noise.

  “Choppers!” Einstein cried out. “Everyone in the house!”

  As everyone scrambled to get into the ranch house, two choppers flew by overhead.

  “I don’t think they saw us,” Roper said, looking out the window.

  “Yeah, they did. They saw us long before we heard them. They’ll send ground troops,” Luke said, wiping the sweat from his brow. “We gotta get outta here. Now.”

  Dallas looked at Luke. His blue eyes narrowed, his pupils pinpricks. Scratched or not, infected or not, he was all soldier this minute. “Okay everyone,” Dallas announced. “Listen up. Luke’s got the playbook right now, so focus in.”

  Everyone gathered around him.

  Luke inhaled a deep breath before wiping the sweat off his upper lip. “Stay off road, Dallas. Give everyone two minutes to get in the vehicles, then leave by the back roads. Trust me...they’re coming.”

  And boy, did they.

  Just as the last of Dallas’s Hummers cleared the hill line, seven military Jeeps converged on the house.

  Military Jeeps driven and occupied by hazmatters.

  “That was close,” Einstein said, peering through the binoculars. “They’re all over that farmhouse like white on rice.” He lowered his binoculars. “What does that even mean?”

  Luke held his hand out for the binoculars. It trembled as he took them from Einstein. “You guys certain Akiko and her friend aren’t plants?” he asked. “Seems to me it’s not a coincidence they found us at a farm.”

  No one said a word.

  Akiko cleared her throat. “They came only after the chopper spotted us. You have to trust that we are one your side now.”

  “I trust her, babe.” Butcher said to Luke. “If she was going to do anything, she’d have already done it.”

  “We gotta find a place to light,” Luke said, still looking through the trembling binoculars. “As long as we are on the move, they’ll be able to find us. Those birds will circle back to see if they can locate us.”

  “Then maybe we ought to turn and fight,” Dallas suggested.

  Everyone turned toward Dallas.

  “What? Just because I don’t want to seek battle doesn’t mean I’m willing to turn the other cheek when someone is trying to slap the shit out of me. I say we slap back.”

  “Now someone is finally talking sense,” Zoe said, smacking her open palm with her fist. “I, for one, am tired as shit of everyone thinking they can just harass us. I say we hit back.”

  Luke lowered the binoculars and smiled the first grin they’d seen from him in days. “I’ve always loved how you think, girl.”

  Dallas looked at Roper, who was nodding. “Good. Then let’s converge on them while they’re at the ranch house. Take out as many vehicles as we can, grab their weapons, and DD outta there.”

  “They’ll call the chopper back,” Luke said.

  Dallas shrugged. “Who gives a shit? We have not one but two anti-aircraft weapons. Surely we can bring down one of the God damned birds.”

  Einstein took the binoculars back. “Uh...looks like they’re gonna be coming to us. Several are moving in this direction.�
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  “Let ‘em look. I think I’ve got a plan.”

  The first Jeep crested the ridge and was blown to pieces by Monster.

  Dallas’s people cheered when the doors blew off, but their joy was short-lived. The other six Jeeps spread out in an attempt to surround them.

  Not this time.

  The second Jeep took machine gun fire on both sides while the third Jeep became victim to Zoe and Hunter’s flaming arrows. Although it didn’t blow up, the arrow that traveled through the windshield and into the driver’s chest was good enough to put a damper on their party.

  The fourth vehicle did a one-eighty in an effort to escape the ambush, but as it turned, Butcher and several others unloaded their rifles into it like the Feds did to Bonnie and Clyde, killing everyone inside. It rolled to a stop twenty feet from an oak tree.

  The fifth Jeep stopped and a bunch of arms came out the windows in surrender.

  Akiko leaned over to Dallas, who was peering through a high-powered scope. “Surrender is not an option, Dallas. They’re up to something. Trust me on this.”

  Dallas nodded, never taking her eye from the scope. “Exit the vehicle!”

  The four doors opened slowly and the six people inside cautiously got out.

  “They’re buying time,” Akiko said. “Shoot them.”

  Dallas put the crosshairs on the driver’s chest. “Time’s up, then.” Squeezing the trigger, she blew him away. The rest of her group also fired, downing the occupants quickly and efficiently.

  The final Jeep stopped moving. There were no arms or guns out the window. It just stopped there, as if waiting.

  That’s when they all heard the familiar sound of rotors beating the air.

  “Chopper!”

  Butcher swung the anti-aircraft gun around and was preparing to fire when she froze. “What the fuck?”

  Suspended from the helicopter was something that looked like an enormous bag. It was as long as the chopper and slightly wider.

  Everyone peppered the chopper, which released its cargo before attempting to escape.

  One rocket from the launcher was enough to take the chopper down, where it burst into flames upon impact, dropping the bag as it plummeted to the ground.