“The zombies have been massing on the border with Iowa. Massing but not attacking, they are just accumulating there and doing nothing but waiting. They think the zombie here is making them wait until there is enough of them to push across the Mississippi and take them all out quickly. So if we kill the leader the mob will disperse, or so the logic goes.”
“Great. When does this psychic arrive?”
“Today, in a few hours at most.”
“Good. I would hate to wait long, God knows I've lived long enough. We could still get out.”
“Nah.” Randy said, pointing towards his leg wound, “I think I will see this one through.”
Katie nodded her head slowly, “If you're in. I'm in.”
Chapter 36
“Three minutes.” Draper voice said into the relative quiet of the train cab.
Max looked outside at the buildings passing by. He and Stewart had taken turns cat napping the morning away, he still didn't feel up to running around Chicago. It was too late for that though, they were already well within city limits and rapidly approaching the train station.
“Anything Max?” Draper asked holding onto a radio and looking at Max intently.
“Yeah, ahead of us there are bunch at the edge of where I can see. A whole crowd of them.” The train was moving slowly along the city track, no more than twenty five miles an hour, fast enough to out run the few zombies they saw around.
“Are you sure, straight ahead of us? The place is a ghost town, there are a lot less zombies here than I thought.”
“There is a crowd ahead of us, I can see more of them now, maybe a mile or so ahead.”
“Can you see anything else around? Any landmarks?”
“It doesn't work like that. They are up ahead on the right hand side. Are we near the lake?”
“Yes.”
“I thought so, because I can see a place where there is nothing, which has to be the shoreline. I see a bunch of the smart zombies, a mass of them, but I can't tell you where they are.”
“Ahead and to the left or to the right?”
“Ahead and to the right.”
Draper spoke into his radio for a moment. “The sniper team wants to know if you can see any land jutting out into the water. There is a naval pier not too far ahead. Are there any zombies on the pier?”
“I… Yes! Yes there are, but most of them, the horde is more towards us, not at the pier.”
Draper spoke into his radio, then looked up at Max, “Yeah, good job. That gives them a location to move towards.” Draper switched channels on his radio and spoke loudly into it, “Prepare to disembark.”
Chapter 37
“Harry, there is a train coming into Union Station.” Aubrey said, entering the main foyer of the Art Institute from the hall leading from the conference rooms.
“No shit? A real train?”
“Yeah, and from what I can gather it is full of real soldiers too. With real guns and a real tank.”
“Well we better send something out that way to deal with this problem then. Are they coming here?”
“Union Station is nine blocks west of here. Close.”
“They couldn't know where we are could they?”
“They might just head for the mob of zombies and hope they get lucky.”
“Hm, good point, I will spread them out a little and send a group towards the station. How long until they get here?”
“No more than five minutes.”
“Five minutes? What do you mean five minutes? No one thought to report a goddamn train full of soldiers plowing through the city until they are five minutes away from us?” Harry was visibly upset and Ella moved to his side and gently touched his arm to calm him down, drawing a small smile from Aubrey.
“We knew they were coming, but they have started to slow down. We think they are stopping at Union Station.”
“You should have told us.” Ella said.
Aubrey didn't bother to respond.
“I should have been told.”
Nodding her head slightly Aubrey said, “We had hoped they would pass through, maybe on their way north. I had some of the troops up there pull semis and a bull dozer over the tracks to block it. I was hoping they would not stop here.”
“You did this on your own?” Ella asked, turning to Harry she said, “You should let her know who is in charge here, make sure she understands the order of things. A good leader doesn't let his underlings make important decisions like this. You could have stopped them before they got this far.”
“Ella…” Harry warned.
“No, I agree with her a hundred percent. Ironic isn't it? What will we do now sire? Send the troops to mob the train?”
“It might be a ruse.”
Aubrey nodded, “I thought of that too. I am not sure how to deal with a tank. Maybe we should wait and see where they go first?”
“I can't see them heading for us. No one knows where we are. Nine blocks is a little close for comfort. Set up the troops in buildings on this side of the station and let's see what they are going to do. Call the zombies who blocked the tracks up north to come down here on some of the semis, just in case. We'll watch and see what they do. Those zombies up north are the former military men, if we have to we will buy time with the ones here until the others arrive. They should know how to deal with a tank.”
“Good enough, I will see to it personally.”
“Aubrey?”
“Sire?” she said with only a slight mocking tone in her voice.
“Keep our zombies a street or two away, so they can't be seen.”
“As you wish.”
Ten minutes went by with nothing more apparent than Aubrey quietly concentrating on moving her troops around. Ella was silently pacing during the first part of the exercise, familiar with what it took for the super zombies to give orders to their subordinates. Finally she leaned over and said, “I am going outside for a walk.”
Ella left and Harry got down off of the throne and approached Aubrey, who was leaning with her eyes closed against one wall. As soon as the door closed Aubrey said, “I thought she would never leave.”
“You done already.”
“Yes. It turned out to be for nothing, they unloaded the tank and other vehicles and took off to the west, they left a group to protect the train, nothing more. We should kill them.”
“If you think so. It might alert them that we know something.”
“Or they will think it is just another zombie attack.”
“Then I vote to wipe the ones at the train out.”
