top, but at this point he had nothing to lose. Maybe he'd survive long enough to search the garage for them.
A sparrow pecked at his hand, drawing blood.
The sonorous thrum of the helicopter echoed off the concrete. Jim glanced into the sky and saw two things. The first was the helicopter, its running lights off and its outline almost invisible against the night, hovering directly overhead. The second was the birds, suddenly dropping like stones, their bodies limp and unmoving.
In a flash, the temperature jumped. Jim felt warm, then hot. Sweat broke out on his forehead and his ears turned red. Pain pulsed through his brain, pressing on the inside of his skull. His ears felt like they would explode. He gripped his head and screamed-and just when he thought he couldn't take it anymore, the pressure increased.
The helicopter drew closer. The broken and battered birds rained down around him. The pain surged through his head again, and his eyes grew hot. Jim's ears began to bleed. He covered them with his hands and screamed again.
Jim kept screaming even after he collapsed.
The door banged open below them and a horde of zombies rushed up the stairs. Frankie, Don, and Danny barely heard them over the roar of the chopper, which was right over their heads. The garage shook, the concrete walls vibrated and the ceiling sounded like it was about to collapse. The noise of the rotors increased, making speech next to impossible.
Despite the cacophony, they could still hear Jim's screams.
'Daddy!'
Danny twisted free of Frankie's grip, pushed the door open, and ran outside onto the roof. Immediately, his small hands clenched the sides of his head. He collapsed, screaming.
Frankie and Don ran after him.
The zombies followed.
'Turn it off,' Steve shouted. 'For fuck's sake, Quinn, shut it off. You're killing them!'
'How do we know they ain't zombies?' the pilot answered. 'Just because they aren't decaying yet doesn't mean they're not dead.'
'The birds were attacking him, you asshole.' He froze, staring in horror. 'Jesus, Quinn-it's a little kid. Come on man, shut it off now.'
'All right, all right already.'
Quinn flipped a switch, and instantly, the man and boy stopped squirming. Now a young black woman and a middle-aged Hispanic man stepped out onto the roof, rushing to their sides and staring up at the helicopter in panic. They were obviously wounded, limping and bleeding.
Steve grabbed the bullhorn.
'How do you work this?'
'Press the fucking button. Don't you Canucks know how to do anything?
Why the hell did Bates stick me with your ass? Why did DiMassi have to go and get sick?'
'I'm here because I'm a pilot-just in case you don't make it back.'
'You're an airline pilot, not a helicopter jockey.'
The Canadian grinned. 'Hey man, I can fly anything. Besides, I thought you didn't like DiMassi.'
'I don't. He's a worthless, lazy, fat fuck.'
'Him and Bates really went at it, huh?'
'Yeah. Can't say that I blame Bates. DiMassi took this baby up without clearance. If something had happened, we'd have been totally cut off.'
Quinn grew quiet and concentrated on landing.
Steve pushed his headset microphone out of the way, turned on the bullhorn and raised it to his lips. He steadied himself and then leaned out the open door.
'ATTENTION. YOU ON THE ROOF. EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OKAY. GET DOWN AS
LOW AS YOU CAN, AND WE'LL GET YOU TO SAFETY.'
He shot a puzzled glance at Quinn.
'Why aren't they listening to me?'
Quinn sighed and shook his head.
'They think we're zombies. Happens all the time.'
'Check on Jim,' Frankie told Don as she bent over Danny. The boy was curled into a ball, his face contorted with pain. The helicopter drew closer.
Don dragged Jim's unconscious form away from the middle of the deck, afraid the zombies would land the helicopter on his friend, and brought him alongside Danny. He could barely make out two figures in the cockpit. The machine hovered directly over them.
'GET AS LOW AS YOU CAN,' the voice repeated. 'WE NEED TO DO THIS FAST.'
Over the bullhorn, it was impossible to tell if they were undead or alive.
'Daddy?' Danny coughed, starting to awake.
'What happened to them?' Frankie asked.
