out of the building with ease. Caleb smashed in the window of the door and pulled the fire safety lock down to open it. Bill hustled the men inside, leaving Ruben and Dan at the door to keep a lookout; he kept everyone near the door so they could all hear Max speak.
“Okay here is what we are going to do. The zombies are cutting us off and we are not going to get away by running, the train was our last best chance of that. There is a special forces team in the area that has a chance at taking out the guy leading the zombies in Chicago. Our mission is to draw the leader outside so their sniper can get a shot at him. We are going to run right up outside where the head zombie is and light his place up in a drive by shooting style, then take off through the parks to the shoreline, where we will get ourselves into boats and head for the middle of the lake. Any questions?”
“Yeah, I got one.” came a raspy voice belonging to Kirk, another older man from Ruben's generation, “What good is killing this zombie going to do?”
“It will stop him from making the zombies attack Iowa. He is controlling that whole mob from here, pressing them forward.”
“Won't another one just do it, the second in command?”
“They have limits, the second in command might not be strong enough to keep up the attack.”
“How do you know?”
“I don't. Not for certain. I spoke to a zombie who was sent to Denver, he told me some of how this works, but he was not too sure himself.”
“So we could all die doing this?”
“Yes.”
“Why should we do it then?”
“Look I could say it is to protect the people who are still living, to give them a chance, but how about I give you guys an alternative plan that gives us the best chance of getting out of here alive?”
“Okay, hit us with that one.” Javier said and the other men nodded with approval.
“The 'run away' plan, with the best chance of success, based on what I can see of the zombies right now is this: We run right by where the head zombie is, which is on the way to the shoreline, and get ourselves into boats and head for the middle of the lake. Any questions?”
“That is just like the first plan, only without any shooting!” said Dan.
“Yeah, feel free to shoot at the building I point out as you go by. If you don't want to I won't hold it against you.”
Bill cleared his throat and asked, “Max are you sure we can't break out by heading east? Or back the way we came? The zombies seemed a little light to the south west.”
“I can see them Bill. There are a lot less zombies here than I thought there would be, but there are still… thousands. Maybe we could have gone a different direction when we took off, if we had not let that group get behind us we would have more options now.” Max shook his head, “But right now? Not a chance. To the east the population is a little more dispersed, but I have no doubt the guy controlling the zombies knows we are here now, the group following us is acting too logically, they spread out a little and are busy hemming us in, if we head any direction except north there are too many zombies they could move in around us. The coast is our best bet.”
“This is a lot to take on just faith mister.” said Dan.
“I know.” Max said then moved his eyes on the rest of them one by one, “This isn't going to be easy, we all have loved ones back in Iowa. It is not our job to die to save them, it is our job to wipe out the zombies to save them. I have been looking for the best way to do both. Unlike Draper I have laid my cards on the table, you guys have to decide what you want to do, I know what I am going to do.”
“We aren't going to make it are we?” asked a smaller soldier who Max thought was named Chen.
Max looked at the man and said, “What kind of talk is that? Haven't you heard what I've been saying?”
The man shook his head, not understanding, “I heard, but you talk like we can make it to the boats, and kill everyone. Then you also say there are too many of them. I don't know what to believe.”
“There are too many of them around us, we have to go where there are not that many of them, out into the lake.”
“What do we do then?” asked Dan.
“Fuck if I know.” the men laughed uneasily, “Really, we will play that by ear when we get there. If we get a good boat we might sail up to the north west, get back on land and make our way down south again. Is that enough of a plan for now?”
The men nodded, but more than a few mumbled quietly to each other until Bill spoke up, “Jesus Christ people! Are we soldiers or children? We are here to do a job first and foremost and that is to remove the leaders of this big band of zombies. Does anyone doubt that we'd all be dead right now if we had stayed with the train?” The men nodded agreement and Bill continued, “So the last ten minutes of life might not have been that great but we owe it to Max. We've put our trust in him and anyone who wants to back out now can feel free to head back to the train! Otherwise quit your bitching and soldier on!”
An uneasy silence fell on the group, punctuated by gunfire from the west. Max raised an eyebrow to Ruben, who was glancing in at them from the doorway. The older man shrugged his shoulders and said, “I got nothing on the radio from them.”
“So..Max, do we wait here for awhile or grow a pair and head out now?” Stewart asked.
“We wait until the special forces guys are in position.” Max said, then he paused and cocked his head sideways for a moment, “Yeah, we can stay a few minutes at least.”
The radio in Ruben's pocket started beeping rapidly. Ruben took it out and started slowly translating as the code came through, “Ran into zeds inside the building across from the target. Low on ammo. Camo suits seem effective. We only have two for three of us. Will try to cross to target building in four minutes. Appears to be empty. We will head to top for best shot. Over.”
Ruben looked at Bill, “What should I tell him?”
“Tell him; understood, how soon should be move to draw out the target?”
“Ten minutes.”
Chapter 42
“Don't worry about me, us special forces guys eat this shit up.” Despite the brave words Katie and Randy could see the worry on Heath's face.
“You don't have to do this.” Randy said, “We can find some way around.”
Looking out onto the street all three of them saw the mob milling about, there were several super zombies controlling their less thinking buddies. Slowly Heath shook his head. “No. There are two flaws with that plan.” He glanced at his watch, “First I don't have the suits you guys have. Second, we don't have time. Either way I can't make it, but if I double back towards the park I can distract them away from here and give you a shot at getting to the top of that building. Then you will have a chance to finish our mission.”
Randy nodded once, curtly, then Katie said, “No! There has…”
“Don't make me pull rank on you. Please. Katie, you know we aren't getting out of this, none of us. So.” Heath shrugged his broad shoulders, dropping his pack on the floor behind him, “It is time to choose how to die. Randy you get those coordinates for the artillery strike written down?”
“Yes.”
“Written down? Why? Won't you be there to call them in?” Katie turned worriedly towards Randy.
“Just in case I am not.” he said, pressing a listing of numbers into her hand. “There is the field, the stadium area, this is the art center, and use this last one only when the shit really hits the fan.”
Katie looked at the paper, then at the building across the street, she frowned, then nodded. “Fuck.”
“No time now, but I will remember your offer for the rest of my life.” Heath quipped.
“In your fucking dreams.”
“I don't think I will be dreaming much more. I promise you; you will have time to reach the other side.”
