Pedal to the Metal (Riders of the Apocalypse Book 4) Page 26

  Dallas and the others left to the screams of a man who was going to wind up in the belly of one of his own men.

  “All he had to do was answer the question,” she said as they made their way back to the bridge.

  “Well, he wasn’t very helpful,” Akiko said. “But no worries. I was able to talk Ryan here through the translation. The ship was more than happy to turn around. Apparently, according to the captain, there’s going to be a big shift coming anyway. What that is, we don’t know. I just know he was thrilled not to have to continue down the coast.”

  “Excellent.”

  “Ryan is certain we can get this ship to Hawaii, with enough help from your people.”

  Dallas looked to Ryan, who nodded. “Yes ma’am. We’re gonna need more hands, but we can definitely do this.”

  “Can you guys handle this up here? We need to count heads and make sure we have everyone accounted for. We can’t afford even one zombie on this ship.”

  Ryan and his men nodded. “We got this. Be safe out there.”

  “I’ll leave Fletcher here with you. He’s not a CGI, but he can kill faster than you can draw.”

  Dallas, Akiko, and the few others walked out into the early morning sun beaming on the deck. The air was brisk, and now that they had slowed down a bit, they could feel the bite in the air. Hunter and Zoe talked quietly.

  “You two are sure a sight for sore eyes.”

  “Z was telling me how it all went down.”

  “Then please continue. I’d love to know what happened. So, you jumped off the chopper and then what?” Dallas asked as they stood at the feet of the piled up zombies.

  “I watched as the U-Haul crashed to the deck. The gate popped open and they tumbled out. Most of those damn things made it out alive. About five were injured beyond repair, but even they crawled along.”

  “But why did you jump? That wasn’t the plan.”

  “I saw their guys coming out to use the big guns. I couldn’t have them turn them on the zombies, so I jumped, fell, rose, and came up shooting. But by the time I notched one, Yuzo had taken them out with her rifle.” Zoe paused, looking up at the sky. “The other men came running, so I took as many out as I could, but I didn’t get the one who shot the tail out until it was too late. I killed him with two arrows.”

  “What did you do when the chopper went down?”

  “I didn’t even have time to look. I had to get to the doors and let the zombies in. By then, all hell had broken loose and the next thing I knew, me and the zombies were kicking ass and taking names.”

  “And Hunter?”

  “I came back out to see if there was anything left of the chopper. Imagine my surprise when I looked down to see him riding in circles like a crazy man. I tossed him the ladder, and…well…the rest is history. We worked our fingers to the bone waiting for you guys to get here. We figured we could get this place cleaned up pretty quickly, what with the small crew and three dozen ghouls.”

  “Good work, Z. Really good work. You, too, Hunter.”

  Zoe reached for Akiko’s hand. “I had to live, you know. There are two people I have to say ‘I love you’ to.” Lightly kissing Akiko, Zoe whispered in her ear before grabbing Hunter by the ears and giving him a big, sloppy kiss. “I love you, too, Hunter, my man, my BFF, my Hawkeye.”

  Hunter laughed and hugged her. “You scare the shit out of me like that again, and I will personally feed you to a zombie.”

  “It looks like we’re gonna get out of this shithole sooner than we thought,” Roper said, watching as the sun drifted lazily across the sky. “And I, for one, can’t wait.”

  They loaded everyone who wanted to go onto the destroyer. More than half actually decided it was time to go. The rest decided they wanted to stay on Alcatraz and take their chances. In the end, everyone made the choice that best suited them.

  Dallas looked at Roper and her people as the last person said their goodbyes and loaded the boat bound for the destroyer.

  “You’re really not coming, are you?” Omar asked as the boat waited to take them all out to the ship.

  “No, Omar, we’re not. Everyone needs to make their own decision about this based on their own hopes and faith. I’m sure you all will make the islands clean, so who knows? You just might see us again.”

  “I hope so, man, because you guys are the best.”

  Fletcher, after being berated by Hunter, made it clear he had no intention of getting on the ship and walked back from the pier, shaking his head and muttering something about not being put out to pasture.

  Ryan watched him push by and then nodded, extending his hand to shake Dallas’s. “It’s been a pleasure, ma’am. This country owes you a great debt.”

  “No, Chief, it doesn’t. This country owes me a new chapter. It owes all of my people a new beginning.”

  He stood at attention and saluted her. “Yes it does, ma’am, and if me and my men have anything to say about it, you’ll get that chance.”

  Dallas saluted him back, feeling peculiar doing so, but knowing it was the only way to release him. “ETA to the islands?”

  “Three days, tops, ma’am. Barring any unforeseen complications, we oughtta have no issues getting her to the islands.”

  “Not wanting to battle any other ships?”

  He shook his head. “Not my call, ma’am. It’d be easier to go at them with a full crew. No disrespect intended.”

  Dallas nodded. “Be safe, Chief, and kick some ass.”

  He grinned widely. “Aye-aye, ma’am. But I gotta say, in all my years, I ain’t ever seen a group work more like military than ya’ll. I’m impressed as hell by the way ya’ll operate, and if you ever wanted to join the military, we’d be proud to have you.”

  “We’d be honored, Ryan, but the truth is, as much as we like you guys, we have no love lost for the military and would rather strike out on our own.”

  “I understand. Then I wish ya’ll luck in your travels and happiness wherever you wind up.”

  When the SEALs said their goodbyes and took off, Hunter and Fletcher went with them in order to return the craft to Alcatraz while everyone else stayed on the dock waving goodbye.

  “No regrets?” Roper asked.

  Dallas shook her head. “None at all. There’s a place for us, for sure, but Hawaii isn’t it. That luxury yacht we saw back in Emeryville Marina is looking better and better. We can sail it out of here once we find her.”

  Roper smiled. “When do you want to go get it?”

  Dallas nodded. “Tomorrow. That will give us a few days to get her prepped. I want to make sure we leave these guys with everything they need to make a go of it here on The Rock. Then, it’s time we got the hell out of here.”

  “No, love. It’s time we had a home, and I can think of no better place to spend the rest of our lives than on that boat. Together.”

  Dallas kissed her and pulled her into hug. “Always together.”

  Four Days Later

  Einstein ran up, out of breath, and waved Roper over just as she dismounted from Merlin to join Dallas near the garden. They’d spent the last four days gathering their gear and loading everything up on the yacht they’d procured from the marina. They had also managed to bring over farming supplies, seeds, water barrels, and an assortment of candles and matches they’d taken from a number of stores in town.

  “Boat...coming,” he panted.

  “What?”

  “Boat coming...speedboat...at least five on board, maybe more.”

  Dallas sounded the alarm by shooting twice, then pausing, then shooting once more.

  “Jesus, Dallas, what the hell?” Zoe asked, grabbing her bow and heading for her predetermined post. The remaining twenty of them, along with the kids, scattered to their defensive positions.

  Dallas and Roper knelt behind the metal door they’d brought down and erected as a barricade for just such an event. Behind it, they had their rifles locked and loaded.

  “What do you see, love?” Dallas asked a
s Roper peered through the binoculars.

  Roper looked for a moment, lowered the binoculars, and then looked once more. “Holy shit,” she uttered, handing Dallas the binoculars. “Tell everyone to stand down.”

  Dallas gazed through the binoculars at the men in the boat, lowered them and, like Roper, looked again. “What in the hell?”

  Einstein took the binoculars and looked. “If I wasn’t seeing it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe it.”

  “Stand down!” Dallas yelled. The order was passed along like the game of telephone.

  Slowly coming around the metal barricade, Dallas stood with the rifle butt on her hip, Roper on one side of her, Einstein on the other. All still had their weapons drawn as the boat pulled up to the dock.

  When the boat came to a stop, Wendell and Elliot grinned up at them.

  “Well isn’t this a fine how do you do?” Wendell said, jumping from the boat and embracing Dallas.

  Dallas crushed their friend from Angola in her arms and then did the same with Elliot. As everyone else hugged their old friends, she asked, “What on earth are you doing here? Is everything okay?”

  Wendell pushed his black-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Uh...everything is fine in Angola...” He glanced around. “Where’s Butcher and Luke?”

  Dallas shook her head sadly. “Luke’s dead, and Butcher left with Egypt. It’s a long, sad story.”

  “I see. Well, then, that makes this a little easier.”

  “This? Wendell, why are you here?” She glanced over at the other three men for the first time and realized they were military. “What’s going on?”

  “Well, Julie landed the plane and told us everything that was happening with you guys. Then we got word that someone had captured a destroyer in San Francisco Bay. We knew it had to be you.”

  “That happened a few days ago. How did you get here so quickly?”

  “We’re more tied into the military in Angola now. Word traveled fast, especially after you released those prisoners from Barstow. Military everywhere got on the horn after that. You guys are famous.”

  “But how? How could word spread that fast? Are communications systems back online?”

  Wendell shook his head. “Someone’s been sending drones over. Our military captured a couple, reprogrammed them, and use them now like carrier pigeons. I think even you would be surprised by the strides our military has made.

  She nodded and winked at Einstein. “You nailed it, dude.”

  He beamed. “I knew it. I knew I’d seen a drone.”

  “We’ve been monitoring your progress through your various escapades. Henry had us prep the plane right after we heard about Barstow. Said he wanted it to be ready just in case. Then Julie landed and we knew you guys were doing all right.”

  Elliot nodded. “We weren’t surprised you made it to Alcatraz, but the whole stealing a destroyer right out from under the Japanese? Well, that turned more than a few heads.”

  Wendell reached over and shook Einstein’s hand. “Damn, you’ve grown a coupla’ inches at least, kid. Anyway, according to our sources, Hawaii is almost secure. Alaska totally is. No virus. No zombies there for sure. Our exterior military, those who were outside the U.S. when the virus hit, are going to move through British Columbia on its way to Washington. There are all sorts of plans in place––”

  “Jesus, Wendell,” Elliot said, “enough with the history lesson. Cut to the chase. Tell them why we’re here.”

  Wendell nodded. “I just thought a little background was in order. Very well. England has become infected. Apparently, someone got a small plane out with a bitten person on board. When they finally landed somewhere in the countryside, the pilot was eventually bitten as well. It is believed the pilot managed to get out, not knowing he was turning or going to turn. Anyway, people are turning in the southern portion and the shit is gonna hit the fan there.”

  “Oh my God.”

  “Yeah. Since it started in the countryside, it’s taken a while for the man eaters to actually get noticed.”

  “London?”

  He shook his head. “Not yet. So far, they’ve done the opposite of us. They’ve cordoned off the cities and left the zombies to the countryside. Apparently, they’ve built walls and trenches, but you know how that goes.”

  “And what does that have to do with us? Why would that bring you to Alcatraz?”

  Wendell and Elliot exchanged looks.

  “Well, this is where it gets interesting. The President sent that asshole aide of his, Sean Olsen, to Angola with a request.” He handed her a letter with the Presidential Seal. “I know we can’t stand Olsen, and for good reason, but he came bearing this.”

  Dallas Barkley––

  Great Britain is falling to the virus. Parliament and the King sent a dispatch to my office requesting help to contain it. He has heard about a group of survivors who has blown up a battleship, rescued prisoners, and brought down choppers. Apparently, and unbeknownst to us, our human tragedy here is playing out on the big screen all across the planet.

  I have no doubt that the group he is referring to is you and your people.

  I’ll keep this brief. Parliament has promised to lend us military aid to fight back against the Asian Nation if we can destroy the zombie threat in their country. He is willing to go to bat for us with some of our other allies who have deserted us if we can help them eradicate his very real threat.

  As you by now know, we need aid if we are to take back our country. The U.N. is of no help, and the Global Tribunal refuses to pull the Asian Nation out of the United States. As a matter of fact, it appears everyone is looking the other direction due to fear of reprisal. I don’t have to tell you what might happen globally should they take us over.

  We need our allies once again to help rid us of the threat facing our people--not the zombies, but the A.N., which intends to divide our nation between the countries within its collective group.

  We cannot allow this to happen.

  There is a plane waiting at the Oakland airport to take eight of you to England. Apparently, there are those in Europe who refer to your group as the Crazy Eights. Your exploits, as I’ve said, have been summarily recorded, and there are those who find your lives fascinating on a global scale I cannot begin to explain here.

  The long and short of it is this: your help has been requested by the British Parliament and the French Prime Minister. If you agree, we will fly the eight of you to France. There, you will be met by the Prime Minister and his people to go over the map of contagion and how you wish to proceed. You must enter the country from the Chunnel, as all other means in or out have been cordoned off.

  I have no doubt you will understand why I’ve come to you. Parliament refuses to allow our military personnel into England. The French as well refuse any and all crafts from the United States, Canada, or Mexico in accordance with new laws issued weeks after the virus hit. But they will allow you and your people into their nations to help get this under control before it spreads as it did here.

  It is you and your people, or nothing.

  If you agree, there are half a dozen European Nations who will welcome you as citizens to their country. You will, in essence, be free.

  Our nation needs help, Dallas. Without aid, I am fearful that we will be unable to withstand the Asian Nation’s attempt to make us theirs. With the help from our allies, we just might be able to beat them back enough to clean our own house and to the right our ship.

  The fate of our once proud nation is now in your hands.

  Dallas lowered the letter. “Seriously?”

  Wendell nodded. “We knew you would doubt the legitimacy of the letter, so we’re here to let you know it’s the real deal. The President has stopped short of begging, but it’s pretty clear. Sean Olsen says the President is doing all he can to train civilians, but he knows we can’t defeat the A.N. and the zombies at the same time.”

  “And the plane? The one waiting in Oakland?”

 
Wendell grinned. “We arrived on Air Force One this morning.”

  Roper’s eyebrows rose. “Air Force One? No shit?”

  “No shit.”

  “Eight people? He wants me to fly eight people to the English countryside to battle their man eaters?”

  Wendell nodded. “Not just battle them yourselves, but to train their people in the best way to eradicate them. No one expects the eight of you to do all the hard work. If you do this, we will get one of the best navies on the planet, air support from France, and other potential allies. You could save tens of thousands of lives. You could, in essence, hand our government our country back.”

  “You’ll also get the hell out of here,” Elliot said in a near whisper. “Do what you have to do, Dallas, and the eight of you can pretty much live wherever you damn well please.”

  “The eight of us.”

  Wendell nodded. “The Crazy Eights.”

  “That’s all sorts of wrong,” Roper grumbled.

  Dallas nodded. “What if we say forget it?”

  Wendell shrugged. “Then you can take that beautiful yacht there and sail into the sunset while the rest of us fend for ourselves.”

  Dallas bowed her head. Inhaling deeply, she looked at Roper. “You, me, Zoe, Hunter, Einstein, Akiko, Fletcher and––”

  Roper looked hard at her.

  No one else said a word.

  “She’s not here. We don’t even know if she’s alive, and we have no idea where she is.”

  Dallas pulled the group together and asked, one by one, if there was anyone who didn’t want to go.

  All of them wanted to go. All seven said they would go only if she was with them.

  “I guess I never thought that we were abandoning our people in Angola,” Fletcher said softly. “Now that Wendell and Elliot are here, I have to rethink how I look at this.”

  Roper nodded. “Fighting zombies in England isn’t the paradise I was looking for, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get there later.”

  Dallas locked eyes with each member of the group. “Are you sure? Once we get on that plane, there’s no turning back.”

  Everyone nodded. “In for a penny, in for an English pound,” Einstein said. “But we have to do better than the eight of us. We need a cruise ship to take those who want to leave out of here. Wendell, Elliot, Henry, all of those people in Angola who have done their best to keep others alive. If they can guarantee a fully stocked and functioning cruise ship, then I say we go for it. It’s the best we can do for those we leave behind.”