Genesis - Keith R. A. DeCandido [68]
She threw all six shots, then pulled it in.
J.D. laughed when it came back with only one hole in it. That one hole was between the eyes.
"One lucky shot. Big fuckin' deal."
"Look again, asshole," Rain said.
When J.D. didn't get it, Drew said, "The hole's too big for one bullet."
It wasn't until Kaplan played back the video log, slowed down, that J.D. believed it.
All six of Rain's shots were to the exact same between-the-eyes spot.
After watching the video log, he turned to Rain with his mouth hanging open.
Rain just grinned. "Oswald was a fucking wuss."
J.D. didn't speak for the rest of the day.
But after that day, he finally started taking her seriously.
Now he was dead. She had resigned herself to that the minute those zomboid motherfuckers went all Dawn of the Dead on him.
But she should've known that wasn't the end of it. Not the way this day had been going.
She stood there, holding the gun on him, but unable to pull the trigger.
He was already dead; she shouldn't have to do this again!
Then his mouth fell open like it was some kind of fucking dump track and he bit her on the neck.
"Aaaaahhh!" She grabbed J.D.'s head and yanked him off, his blackening teeth tearing out big chunks of skin off her shoulder.
Fuck this. J.D. was already dead. This was just some fucking nightmare.
She raised the Colt and shot J.D. right between the eyes.
Just like the target.
"Guess I still got the shit," she muttered.
J.D. fell back on two more zombies, and that gave Rain the chance to climb up the pipe. It was only when she almost lost her grip that she realized that her hands were now covered in her own blood.
The five of them were now up on the pipe while the zombies shuffled around. She held out her hand to check it out. A drop of blood fell from her thumb, and three of the zombies lunged after it.
Great. They drink blood. That just fucking figured.
"Rain?"
Their motor functions weren't juiced up enough by the stupid virus to let them climb—shit, they could barely walk—so they were safe for now.
"Rain!"
She finally turned to acknowledge Alice.
"We have to do something about your wounds."
"I'm fine."
Alice tried to grab her collar to expose her neck wound. Rain smacked the pushy bitch's hand aside.
"I said I'm fine!" She held her hand out, watching more blood drip. "You like that, don't you? Huh? Huh? You like the way it tastes, don't you? You like the taste of that?"
"She was right."
Rain looked over at Kaplan. He was holding his own wound. He also looked about as lifeless as those mindless motherfuckers below them.
"We're all gonna die down here."
"No," Alice said. "We're getting out. All of us."
Rain shook her head. This was Ass-Kicking Alice, back in fucking business.
Not that it mattered.
J.D. was dead.
She watched him die.
Twice.
Shit.
"There's a vent over this way." Rain looked up to see that it was Addison talking. Looked like he was scoping out the pipes to find a way out. Bully for him.
Maybe he really was a cop.
Maybe someday she'd give a shit.
Addison led the way across the pipes. They had to crawl, since the space to the ceiling was only a few feet.
The smell got worse. And was there something in the air? Everything was getting all blurry and shit.
Maybe it was tears. Rain wasn't a cryer, but dammit, J.D. was dead. So was One and Warner and Drew and Olga. The whole fucking team.
Well, except for Kaplan, but that weenie boy barely counted.
Addison came to another one of those wire-mesh things and kicked it in. He crawled in, then Spence, then Rain. Alice and Kaplan were right behind her.
"Kaplan, you okay?" Alice asked
Kaplan didn't say shit, the fucking little wimp.
WHAM!
Rain turned around. Everything was all blurry, still, but she saw that the pipe finally collapsed. Not really a big shock, since the thing wasn't designed to have five people crawling all over it.
Kaplan fell into the sea of hungry dead.
Shit.
Alice almost fell in, but Addison and Spence managed to catch her and pull her in.
Rain thought she'd be glad to see