The Invasion (Book 1): Intruders Page 10

  “Honestly,” Kyle began. “We didn’t think it would be an alien-invasion-slash-zombie-apocalypse. We thought it would be an oil crisis. No oil to heat our houses, run our vehicles or the vehicles that bring food to the grocery store. Run planes, trains, ships. Pretty much throwing civilization into a clawing, murdering, survival-of-the fittest type mess.”

  “It wasn’t oil,” Mina said. “But they weren’t far off the mark in terms of the result. It is a clawing, murdering, survival-of-the-fittest mess.”

  “We also have a stockade of weapons,” Ozzie said, pushing his clean plate away. “And we’ve trained. Kyle and I were marines. We came back from Iraq, but a lot of us didn’t. We figured we’d prepare for the worst, because the worst happens when you’re not prepared.”

  “That’s for sure.” I looked at Ryder, who was still working through his corn. He apparently wasn’t a fan of it, but given the food shortages that were now upon us, he wasn’t about to leave it uneaten. “Thank God Ryder found me.”

  He looked up at me and grinned.

  “I’m sure you’ll be a valuable part of our group,” Kyle said. “You’re not big, but you’re obviously tough and resourceful. That’s what we need.”

  “I’ll do my best,” I said. And I meant it. It was the very least I could do to pay back their kindness. “Hank will, too.”

  “Hey, never underestimate the value of a dog,” Ozzie said. “I had a dog partner in Iraq. He helped save my ass more times than I could count.”

  Since there was no other dog around than Hank, and judging by the sadness that crossed fleetingly over Ozzie’s face, I assumed that he hadn’t made it back.

  “What is the plan? What’s the goal of the group?” I wanted to know what my purpose would be. It would help me feel useful and like I had a place in the group.

  “The goal,” Sherry said, “is to rescue our daughter, and any other females we’ve lost to those creepy-ass things, and then as many others as we can.”

  Kyle nodded. “Then we find a way to wipe them off the face of the planet.”

  I nodded, wondering how the hell we were going to pull that off.

  Ozzie said, “It’s a tall order, but we’re in a war, Zoe. It’s a simple concept. Search and rescue, then kill the enemy.”

  I gave a single, determined nod. “I like it. Show me how.”

  * * *

  There wasn’t much time for training after dinner was finished. We all noticed darkness moving over the last vestiges of light beyond the windows. Each window had a sliding steel door which locked over the plexiglass, so that anything outside couldn’t see in. Of course, it meant that we couldn’t see what might be outside, either.

  Still, it was better to keep a low profile.

  There was a watch tower which could be accessed by a set of metal stairs, through a trap door in the roof. The tower was built directly over the trap door, so that going up into it and leaving it wouldn’t leave the watcher vulnerable to deadies or lizards. Or snakes, as this group called them. I still thought of them as lizards, or reptilians.

  Aliens are what they were. But for some reason the term terrified me even more than names like ‘snake’, ‘lizard’, or ‘reptilian’.

  Whatever kept me from going into a screaming, shrieking fit from which I might never return was good.

  I was shown the watch tower by Ryder, whose watch it was for the first two hour shift. I sat in one of the chairs with him. The watchtower was covered in plexiglass and mesh, like the windows, but the mesh was thicker. Here, a watcher could see out pretty clearly but it was difficult for anything to see in.

  I sat in a wooden chair beside him, and looked around the outside of the tower, which offered a 360 view of the outside around us. The tower sat about fifteen feet above the roof, so that it lent an excellent view of the ground.

  Windmills sat about ten meters away from each other, and circled the compound. That was how the group maintained energy for the compound.

  “How do you guys hook up to running water?” I asked. The bathrooms were just like they would be in a house, just more utilitarian. There were four of them. And the kitchen sink used running water.

  “It’s a pipe that runs down into Pine Lake, which isn’t that far from here. It’s just beyond those trees.” He tipped his chin forward, toward the trees. “So far, it’s worked like a dream.”

  “They really thought of everything, haven’t they?” I was awed at what Kyle and Sherry had accomplished here. I’d seen compounds like this one on shows about end of the world preppers, but never imagined in my wildest dreams that I’d ever be living in one.

  “Yeah. They have.” Ryder said, leaning back in his chair so that it tipped back and the two front legs came off the floor. His work boots rested against the mesh in front of us. He rocked slightly back and forth, eyes watchful beyond the mesh. “Lucky for us.”

  He seemed amazingly calm for it being night time, watching for lizards.

  “Have you ever seen any of those things around here?” I scanned the area, peering into the night.

  “Nope. Not yet. But there’s a first time for everything. We can’t let our guard down. Here, take a pair of these.” He handed me some goggles. “These are night vision. Anything moves out there, you’ll see it. I like to use both. Toggle them back and forth.”

  He grabbed another pair from a small table beside him and traded his binoculars for them. I did the same.

  I saw things moving out there and sat forward, my breath catching in my throat. “Oh, my God.”

  He chuckled. “Don’t worry. What you’re seeing now is regular wildlife. They don’t eat the deer, rabbits, wolves, or fox. Anything like that. But a chomper will. You’ll see those shuffling around. You can’t mistake them for anything else.”

  “How can you tell the difference between regular wildlife and the lizards?”

  “You’ll know the minute you see one. They don’t move like anything else.”

  That was true. I’d seen how they moved, up close and personal. I didn’t ever want to see it again. But given the search and rescue plan, which I was on board with even though the thought scared me so badly it was paralyzing if I thought about it for too long, I knew that it was highly likely that I would see them again.

  “I’d be putting the goggles on and keeping them on the second I got up here. I’d be so afraid to miss one of those things. They are fast.”

  “I use both the night vision and the regular binoculars. But whatever works for you, Zoe.”

  The guy was so laid back, I wondered if he had a regular pulse.

  I spotted movement that didn’t look like wildlife.

  It didn’t move like a lizard. It stood upright and walked slowly, hands held out ahead of them. Legs lifting high to navigate through the snow. “Ryder—”

  “I see it.” He grabbed a walkie-talkie from the small shelf. “Ozzie. Kyle. Movement in the woods, heading our way. “Doesn’t look like Zeke.”

  “Who is Zeke?”

  “It’s another term for deadie. Zeke the Zombie. But this doesn’t look like a chomper.”

  “How can you tell?” I peered through the night vision goggles, watching as the figure climbed over the snow, sinking every now and then.

  “Movements are too quick, too deliberate. But, there’s a chomper about four yards from him. See it?”

  I did see it. The deadie was moving slowly but surely toward what had to be gasping sounds. Whoever was trying to make their way through the woods in the dark had to be breathing hard, from fear and exertion. “Jesus. Is he nuts? The lizards will hear him. Or her. A person moves a lot quicker than the deadie.”

  Then Ozzie and Kyle were stealthily moving toward the woods, guns in one hand, something else in the other, but I couldn’t tell what it was. “What are they holding there, besides the guns?”

  Ryder leaned forward, peering through his night vision goggles. “Hand held UV lights.”

  The figure fell, and stayed motionless for a long moment. T
he deadie moved steadily toward him. “He doesn’t know the deadie is following him. Should we yell to him?”

  “No. We can’t make noise. We don’t want to attract whatever other chompers might be out there. One we can handle. A horde of them is a bit more difficult.”

  A flashlight beam appeared, moving over the trees. Then another. Whoever was wandering through the woods had to be able to see them.

  The deadie did. It moved more quickly, stumbling toward the beams of light.

  The figure must’ve heard the deadie coming. Moaning and screechy sounds deadies made when they get excited, because he began moving away from it, movements frantic.

  “Help me! Help me!” It was a male voice.

  “Oh shit,” Ryder said. “He’s going to bring every Zeke within a mile upon us.”

  The deadie turned and headed in his direction, away from the light beams and toward the screaming voice.

  “This guy is an idiot.” He spoke into the walkie talkie. “Guys, step it up! He might as well be screaming ‘eat me’.”

  “I’ll tell you what,” Ozzie said, his voice crackling . “He don’t stop screaming, I’ll shoot him before Zeke gets to him.”

  “HELP ME!”

  The figures of Ozzie and Kyle ran over the snow toward the screamer.

  “Shut up!” Ozzie’s walkie talkie was still on, his voice a harsh whisper. “Or I’ll shoot you just to stop you from screaming. Are you stupid?”

  The screaming stopped, and the figure moved toward the light beams, stumbling and falling several times.

  “I got him,” Kyle said.

  I watched through the goggles as he reached the deadie and took it down with what looked like a knife to the head.

  But now three more were moving through the trees toward them.

  “Oh, shit,” Ryder breathed into the walkie-talkie. “Guys. Three more heading your way.”

  Ozzie reached the figure and grabbed him, dragging him through the woods toward the compound. “Got him. Get Sherry to open the door. Mina and Logan to get this idiot in the compound.”

  When he was clear of the trees, he tossed the figure forward, sending him skidding on his knees into the snow. He hissed at the guy, “Go toward that building, moron. And shut the hell up. I hear another peep out of you, I’ll kill you. Got it?”

  The guy scrambled forward and ran toward the compound. Mina and Logan ran out to meet him and urged him forward, toward the door. They vanished below the roofline.

  I lifted the goggles toward the woods, where Ozzie joined Kyle in stabbing deadies in the head. I lifted my gaze, scanning the woods beyond.

  Five more shambling figures moved toward them.

  “Ryder. They need to get out of there.”

  Ryder spoke into the walkie-talkie. “Five more Zekes. I think the idiot rang the dinner bell. You guys should come on back, before it really gets out of hand. We’ll get them in the daylight.”

  But Ozzie and Kyle stood still, the fallen deadies slumped on the ground around them, looking around and waiting. They waved their flashlights around. Kyle’s voice came over the walkie-talkie. “Which direction?”

  Another four headed their way from the left. Three from the left, one from the right, and more figures slowly trudged their way toward Kyle and Ozzie’s flashlight beams.

  “Another four. All directions. Oh, Jesus. They’re everywhere. Get out of there.” Ryder’s voice was panicked. “Now. For real, guys. Don’t be stupid.”

  “All right,” Ozzie said, resigned.

  Ozzie and Kyle’s figures, made green by the night vision, headed back out of the woods. Their movements were sure and effortless, as if they were used to moving around in the woods and snow in the black of night. I figured they’d been hunters before the invasion. Before they were ever marines. Now their game had expanded to include deadies and lizards.

  “HELP! OH GOD! HEEEEEELLLLP!”

  This was a new voice.

  I lifted my goggles. Off to the left was another figure, heavier and larger than the last. He held a flashlight. The figure jumped forward, scrambling and falling over the snow toward Ozzie and Kyle’s lights. He had to be at least twenty yards away.

  “Oh crap,” Ryder said.

  Ozzie and Kyle turned around, toward the voice.

  “HEEEEELP! They’re coming!” The last word was punctuated with a long, terrified shriek.

  “Holy shit. We’re done.” Ryder spoke into the walkie-talkie. “Shut that guy up, guys. You’ve got another pack heading toward you.”

  “Shut up!” Ozzie yelled, his voice echoing around the trees.

  But the man kept screaming over Ozzie. Kyle ran toward the man, but the pack of deadies were almost upon him.

  Then the man went down, a surprised yelp coming from him. The screaming started anew.

  “Did a chomper get him?” Ryder’s eyes were wide behind his goggles.

  I strained my eyes to see through the goggles. They deadies were close but not on top of him yet.

  Realization slammed into me and my stomach turned to ice, just as the man was pulled down, shrieking, into the ground.

  Within seconds two lizards climbed out of the snow.

  “Get out!” Ryder screamed into the walkie-talkie. “SNAKES!”

  Ozzie and Kyle turned and ran, their movements like foxes moving through the snow, light and effortless. They navigated through the trees like they knew each one.

  The deadies followed the sounds, heading steadily toward the building.

  The lizards weaved around them toward Ozzie and Kyle. They skittered over the drifts toward them, covering the distance alarmingly fast.

  There was no way Ozzie and Kyle would make it to the compound.

  Ryder screamed into the walkie-talkie, “UV LIGHTS!!! UV!!!!”

  Ozzie and Kyle had their UV guns on before they even turned around.

  Through the goggles I saw Ozzie and Kyle fall backwards onto the ground, skidding along the snow, bringing their UV lights up as the lizards leapt at them.

  The UV light hit the creatures in mid-air.

  The most horrible sound I’d ever heard cut through the freezing night. Twin howls of agony and rage ricocheted off the trees, rising in the woods. The lizards smoked and disintegrated, green dust bursting outward like an exploding comet.

  Ozzie and Kyle climbed back up and ran toward the compound.

  Two more lizards emerged from the hole, skittering toward them.

  Ozzie and Kyle were almost to the compound, but the lizards were closing the distance fast.

  “UV!” Ryder screamed into the walkie-talkie.

  Ozzie and Kyle spun, their movements as graceful as dancers and they hit the lizards with the UV light.

  The lizards howled, shrieked, and burst, dust disintegrating over the white.

  “Holy shit!” Kyle panted. “Holy shit!”

  Ozzie whooped and let out a crazy laugh as he and Kyle turned back toward the compound, within seconds they’d disappeared below the roof line.

  Ryder’s voice was high with fear when he spoke again. “Jesus. There are more.”

  I lifted my goggles toward the woods and my heart froze as four more lizards headed away from the hole toward the compound.

  Chapter 7

  Kyle yelled into the walkie-talkie for us to get back down into the compound. As Ryder pulled up the trap door two lizards crawled up and clung to the plexiglass, their strange, elongated feet sticking to it, their claws digging in.

  “Go! Go! Go!” he yelled at me, holding up the trap door.

  Hank was pacing frantically on the floor below. I climbed down fast but jumped the last four feet down onto the floor.

  Ryder slammed the door shut and hit the four bar locks around it.

  He jumped down and grabbed me by the hand, pulling me down the hall and to the steel stairs leading to the main level of the compound. Hank followed close behind.

  When we got down there, the steel window coverings were slid into place and a black man
of about twenty-five sat rocking back and forth, tears streaming down his face. “He collapsed. My dad. He couldn’t go on. I told him to stay put and I covered him with branches. Said I’d get help. He must’ve woke up.”

  Sherry crouched in front of him, holding a steaming mug out to him. “I’m so sorry.”

  He covered his face and sobbed. “He had Alzheimer’s.”

  Sherry placed the mug on the table behind the man. Moved her hands over his arms. She said nothing, but the horror she felt was all over her face. The old man hadn’t known what was happening.

  Ozzie and Kyle stood in the middle of the room, eyes scanning the windows.

  “Shut up,” Ozzie said, throwing the man a sharp look.

  The man’s shoulders shook as he cried silently into his hands.

  Something thumped on the roof, then the scratching began. Claws scraping over metal.

  We all looked up at the steel ceiling.

  “They’re on the roof,” Kyle stood under the sound, staring at the ceiling. The black man lowered his hands, his eyes round with panic. “Those things?”

  Ozzie looked at him as if he wanted to clock him. “Yeah. If it wasn’t for you screaming your damned fool head off, they wouldn’t be crawling all over us, and the Zekes, either. Idiot.”

  The man’s face crumpled again. “I’m sorry. I was just so scared. For me, for my dad—”

  “We’re all scared,” Kyle said. “But making noise like that draws the dead and the crawlers.”

  More thumping and scratching on the roof --- now the windows.

  “Shit.” Ozzie’s eyes shifted around the room like those of a trapped animal.

  “What are those things?” The black man asked, his voice thick with tears.

  “They’re aliens,” Mina said, standing across from him. “They live in the ground.”

  “And they are not neighborly, asshole,” Ozzie said.

  “I already said I’m sorry,” the man said. “And I got a name other than idiot or asshole. It’s Wilson Brantford.”