Zombies on the Rock (Book 2): The Viking Trail Page 23

  "Have you gone mad? You're no king, big brother." Hank wanted to laugh at the bizarre turn of events, but didn't think Keith would welcome the insult with grace.

  Ragnor pushed his chair back and stood up tall, pounding the table with his clenched fist, tipping over his beer and rattling the ceramic bowls. The tips of his long black hair had turned grey, but his thick beard was still jet black and his eyes burned with rage. "Watch your tongue." Spittle flew from his mouth as his forehead turned red with anger.

  "Jesus Christ." Hank held his arm out, making sure he kept Sasha close by in case they needed to make a run for it. He knew they wouldn't be able to outrun them, but maybe his brother would find some mercy left in his heart for his brother. "What happened to you?"

  "What happened to me? What happened to the world!" Ragnor kicked the chair, sending it skidding across the dirt floor inside the grass hut.

  "It turned to shit, I guess it's how you handle it that matters." Hank still kept his humanity and didn't believe that you needed to become a savage to survive; why did his brother need to act this way?

  "I'm handling it. We're protecting hundreds of lives, what have you done?" The vein on Ragnor's neck was throbbing.

  "I've survived, same as you." Hank felt that Keith was still holding on to the past, still sour about his success.

  "We haven't just survived here, we are thriving." Ragnor puffed his chest out. "We are fighting back against the lifeless souls that threaten us while you run around without purpose. Just like when you abandoned us the moment you became famous."

  Hank couldn’t believe his brother still blamed him for leaving. “I was trying to follow my dreams, make a decent living.”

  Keith let out an ugly sounding laugh. “And it’s always been about you, hasn’t it, Hank?”

  Hank lunged at his brother, throwing a right hook at the Viking king where his fist connected square on Ragnor's jaw. Before Hank could make another move, three warriors sitting across from Ragnor shoved him down to the floor. Looking up at his brother, Hank was surprised to see that Ragnor didn't move -- he just stood there with a crooked smile on his face, a tiny trickle of blood running from the corner of his jaw. Hank tried to get his feet, but one of the Vikings put his giant foot on his chest, pinning him to the ground.

  "Let him up." Ragnor boomed.

  "Yes, my liege." The man obeyed his king’s orders without delay, removing the pressure from Hank's chest.

  "Now, little brother, you have two choices." Ragnor knelt down besides Hank. "You can continue to run away or you can stay and fight with us." He held out his hand for Hank.

  As he always did growing up, Hank took his older brother’s hand. His brother was always going to be the more rational of the two, and Hank would always be the emotional one. However, in spite of all their differences, his brother was the only family he had left, and he was tired of running from the dead. Maybe it was time for a change.

  "Jarvik, tonight these two stay here with you." Ragnor left without saying another word.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX:

  GRAND FALLS

  The twins had finally fallen asleep, which was a relief considering the cramped quarters in the back of the cab weren’t built for four people. Tina sat at one edge of the mattress and Ted sat at the other. Jessica rested her head in Ted's lap while Katie had snuggled up to Tina. Jessica had gravitated more towards her father since the confrontation with Calvin, while Katie avoided him. Tina was worried that Katie had become terrified of her own father, as she didn't seem to understand what was happening all around them.

  Ted had done his best to keep his daughters as far away from this messed up world, but ever since yesterday that had become unavoidable. The bloody, deranged, sinister world they lived in could no longer be hidden from the children. The full brunt of its vicious and malevolent nature was on full display. Hundreds of the decomposing corpses surrounded them -- even when you didn't see them, you could hear or smell them all around you.

  For the last twenty-four hours, they had been stuck inside that cab. They had stopped for the night to rest, but the soldiers had gone out for gas while they slept. The truck was back on the road before Tina had awoken from her uncomfortable slumber, and her stomach was grumbling from the lack of real food. All they had to eat in the last two days were army ration bars that the soldiers had provided for them last night. The morning the zombie horde had swarmed the cabin, they didn't even get a chance to eat a real breakfast, and they had been on the run ever since.

  Tina could see a dull light shining through the window -- it must have been early morning.

  A low rumbling sound emitted from the engine, indicating that the eighteen-wheeler was slowing down. Tina could hear the soldiers mumbling outside, and it seemed that they were upset about something. Loud barking commands erupted from the soldiers, ordering unknown travellers to stop.

  "Wait here, I'm going to see what's going on outside." Tina rested Katie's head on the pillow.

  Ted covered Jessica's ears. "Are you sure you want to go out there? I think they can handle it."

  Tina wasn't sure if Ted was just being cautious or if Calvin was right. Was Ted a coward? He didn't even offer to check on the situation for her. "I just want to make sure there’s nothing we should be worried about. Besides, I'd like to get out and stretch my legs."

  Tina looked out the tiny window, but all she could see was the crimson sky. Bracing herself for what might be outside, she opened the back doors and peered out. A cold breeze greeted her, but the snow had melted from the pavement from the bright sun the day before. Soldiers were marching towards the front of the truck, their weapons raised up towards some unknown enemy.

  "Halt!" a soldier barked at someone. It was troubling that the dead weren’t the reason for the delay.

  Tina jumped down to the pavement, nearly slipping on a patch of black ice. The low temperatures from last night froze all of the melted snow, making the highway like a skating rink. Making her way towards the group of soldiers, Tina caught a glimpse of another group of survivors. The soldiers formed up in two lines, making it hard for Tina to see what was happening. Warrant Smith stood alone in front of his battalion. The front row knelt down, giving the row behind clear sight of the targets ahead. Towers of smoke rose up into the sky just beyond the tree line, and Tina spotted a large, green sign that let her know they were only one kilometre away from Grand Falls. Wanting a clear view of the danger ahead, Tina decided to climb up onto the top of the hood of the giant truck.

  The highway had been blocked off by hundreds of motorcycles, a gang of bikers armed with various weapons standing in the army’s way. They all wore the same leather cuts, the patch of the Hangmen of Highway 101 embroidered on their vests. Outnumbering the soldiers five to one, they had the clear advantage. A large, burley man with a shotgun slung over his shoulder stepped forward from the pack. Greasy brown hair ran into large sideburns and a handle bar moustache. His gut hung out over his belt which threatened to bust the buttons on his denim shirt. The biker wore dark sunglasses, but removed them when he got in the warrant’s face.

  "This is our town, no one passes through here without paying the toll." His voice was low and portly, his chin jiggled as he spoke.

  "We are just passing through, but I will not be bullied by the likes of you." The warrant’s voice was stout and authoritative.

  Neither man gave an inch.

  "If you can find another way around be my guest, but no one gets a free pass." The biker stood his ground, showing no fear or respect to the officer standing in front of him. Tina could feel the tension building from twenty feet away. The Hangman of Highway 101 were notorious outlaws, running wild across the province. They controlled everything that ran from coast to coast, and had been using Grand Falls as a central hub for over fifteen years now. No one defied them, and they answered to no one. The law failed to rein them in, and the military only managed to keep them from setting up new chapters in the larger cities of St. John's and Corner Br
ook.

  "Listen to me, maggot. We are passing through, you can't stop us." Warrant Smith got in the biker’s face.

  The leader threw his arms out to the sides. "You're outnumbered, soldier." His defiance was backed by loud hoots and hollers from the other members of his gang. "Take your battered battalion and turn around."

  "That's not an option for us." The rowdy gang didn’t intimidate Warrant Smith. "What's your price?"

  Tina held her breath, waiting for the toll. The door opened behind her, Ted stepped outside to take in the showdown for himself. The two men on the brink of clashing worried Ted; they would be sitting ducks caught in the crossfire if things took a turn for the worse. Ted joined Tina on the hood of the truck; the highway below was ready to erupt into a hail of bullets at the drop of a hat.

  "Your pitiful band of soldiers looks a little light; how many men have you lost?" The biker was deliberately delaying the answer to the warrant's question.

  "That's none of your concern, just know we could still take you all out in a gunfight if that's what you're looking for." Warrant Smith was showing no fear.

  "Maybe you could, but are you willing to risk your men's lives over this?" The biker had the upper hand -- no matter the outcome, Warrant Smith had a mission he needed to carry out. The fate of his men's lives rested in his hands.

  "We need guns and ammo, you surely have an abundance of both." The gang behind him roared in agreement.

  Warrant Smith turned back towards his fellow soldiers; one of the men in the front row broke rank and rushed to his side. The soldier whispered in the warrant's ear before falling back in line. "We have several guns we can spare, but ammo is in short supply right now."

  "Not good enough, a gun is useless without the bullets." A thunderous roar of disapproval rose up from the crowd.

  "We can supply you with all the bullets you need, if you let us pass." The warrant shocked everybody, including Tina and Ted. They exchanged confused glances.

  "You have some secret supply on the other side, you know St. John's is swarming with the dead." The gang leader was not impressed by the Warrants' bold statement.

  "We have a top secret base in Argentia, including the means to produce weapons and ammo. You let us pass, we'll supply you with whatever you need to survive -- if you help us rid the island of those fowl creatures." Warrant Smith laid it all on the table. If this didn't impress the Hangman of Highway 101, it would be an all out war.

  #

  David hadn't had much experience with the trails surrounding Corner Brook, but the sides of the road were too cluttered to make any headway on the military convoy. He headed down some back road mountain path yesterday and hadn't seen any signs of civilization in hours. David was regretting his rash decision to leave the main roads, but didn't want to fall too far behind Jason. He wanted to make sure he arrived in Buchans before they did, but at this point he would do anything for a warm place to stay.

  The forest seemed to surround him for hundreds of kilometres, with the snow-covered tree tops stretching as far as the eye could see. The skidoo engine was sputtering as David pushed the machine up the snow-covered ridge of the highest mountain around; the gas gauge was dangerously low. David was hoping that he would be able to see some sign of the lost remnants of society from up high.

  Afraid to turn the engine off in fear of not being able to get the skidoo started again, David left it running while he scanned the horizon. At first, all David could see was the vast forest that covered the majority of Newfoundland, but far in the distance some metallic structure reflected the sunlight back to him. It appeared to be two round spheres sitting onto of a square structure, but David was too far away to tell. Maybe the refraction from the sunlight was distorting the real image.

  "Great." David spoke out loud to himself. He felt like he was losing his mind again.

  David couldn't pick out what building he was looking at, but he didn't have any other options available. David pushed the gas and headed straight towards the unknown structure. He would deal with the consequences when he arrived.

  Ted had enough of being trapped inside the tight accommodations; his twin girls were wearing on his last nerve. He couldn't pinpoint why, but for some unknown reason Ted had become extremely irritable lately. Ever since they had interfered with Calvin, he found his patience was running thin. If the twins hadn’t interrupted, Ted would have been rid of that nuisance.

  Tina had gone back inside the sleeper cab with the twin girls, but Ted decided he needed to get some fresh air. The bikers slowly led the regiment into the town of Grand Falls, the sparking, rumbling diesel engines roaring like a war cry. The drunken bikers took turns firing off their guns wildly at the shambling corpses that had been instinctively drawn towards the large gang. Booming claps of gunfire echoed through the countryside -- there was no control or rhythm to their outbursts. Whereas the military had been precise and in control of every bullet, the bikers were completely reckless, wasting bullets on body shots and demolishing various limbs. Each devastating blow was followed by raucous hoots and disturbing laughter.

  A rather large man stopped his bike and waved his meaty hand at Ted. "Come here!" The man's chins jiggled as he shouted out to Ted.

  Ted felt uneasy around these strangers, but didn't think he had much choice in the matter so he decided to make the best of a bad situation. Ted could smell the foul body odour and cheap booze from ten feet away; the biker’s greasy beard had food crumbs crusted into the coarse hair growing wild on his round face. Ted’s stomach turned as the offensive stench burned the hairs in his nostril.

  "Lighten up ... business man." The biker belched loudly as he offered Ted his old shotgun: the barrel of the gun was rusted and the handle had cracked in half.

  Ted looked down at his white dress shirt -- it was covered in filth and gore from the vile journey he had taken over the last two days. "What do you want me to do with that?"

  "Relieve some stress, boy." The gang member was inebriated, slurring his words.

  Ted grasped the barrel of the gun, the rusted metal felt coarse in his hands. The gun was heavy and looked to be an older model, but he figured it had seen its fair share of action, and if this man was still toting it around, it must still be reliable.

  The metal sight had corroded badly, making it difficult for Ted to take aim at his target. A walking cadaver shuffled out between the trees scattered around the side of the road, and Ted could feel everyone’s eyes glued to him. Sweat began to run down his forehead, his abdominal muscles tensed, and he closed his eyes when he pulled the trigger. The gun kicked back with tremendous force -- the skin on his chest got pinched in the crack on the handle, and a thunderous boom split his eardrums. Ted opened his eyes to see a vicious spray of red mist glistening in the morning sunlight, the creature’s left forearm scattered across the ground behind it. Large drops of darkened blood flowed from the elbow joint and disappeared into the tall grass on the side of the road. The bikers yelled and jeered at the gory spectacle.

  The creature continued to shuffle towards Ted, so he took aim once more. This time Ted kept his eyes open and took careful aim before squeezing the trigger. A large spark and loud bang erupted from the barrel; the shotgun shell caught the zombie in the chin. The jaw came completely unhinged. Bone and blood flew through the air and left a dark, gaping hole in the creature’s neck. The creature’s head dropped to its right shoulder, held on by a flap of skin, its eyes searching for a taste of flesh.

  Some of the bikers cheered Ted on, urging him to finish off the decrepit corpse. Ted felt a surge of adrenaline take over his body and he darted towards the creature to use the butt end of the gun to finish off what he had started. Swinging the gun like a club, the flap of skin that acted as a hinge that kept the creature’s central nervous system in contact with the rest of its body ripped apart from the crushing blow. The headless body remained motionless as its head rolled behind it. The foul corpse jittered wildly before collapsing into the tall grass. Applause and t
hunderous ovation roared behind Ted, spurring him on. For the first time in days Ted felt satisfied, fulfilling his bloodlust and desire for death.

  Wanting to cement his standing with the Hangman of Highway 101, Ted walked over to the skull, its eyes still searching for prey. Bending down to pick up the head, Ted noticed the bottom half was completely destroyed and left the zombie incapable of feeding. Ted thrust his hand into the vile creature’s mouth; the bone fragments and torn soft flesh felt awful, but Ted got a tight grasp and raised the head in the air. Silence fell over the biker gang as all eyes were glued on Ted. Blood ran down his forearm making the bloody display even more diabolical. Warrant Smith looked concerned and disgusted by Ted's sinister act, a look of distrust on his face.

  The fat biker waddled towards Ted, reaching out for the shotgun with one hand. The man took the gun from Ted carefully, then clasped his hand over Ted's, raising it in the air. Deafening approval roared from the biker gang, some of the men shooting their guns into the sky while others reeved the engines of their bikes loudly. Ted felt like a hero, like he belonged here with the Hangman.

  Warrant Smith gave some of the nearby soldiers orders; one of the men broke away from the group and headed towards the sleeper cab and disappeared inside with Tina and the girls. Ted watched and felt a sudden surge of anger go through him. He wasn't going to let them take his little girls from him. No mater what the soldiers thought was best; he would stop at nothing to keep his girls safe.

  The door to the cab opened, but it wasn't Ted that entered the sleeping quarters. A young soldier entered the cab, a disturbing look in his eyes. Tina felt her heart skip a beat, and she pulled the twins closer to her body as she waited for the soldier to make his move.

  "Ma'am, Warrant sent me in here." He held out his hand, but Tina didn't reciprocate the gesture. "I'm Private Byrne." The private left his hand out.