The Darkest Part of the Night Page 18

  “And I think she,” his daughter paused, making sure she wouldn’t be overheard, “well, I think she loves you.”

  “That’s good. I know I love her,” Chuck said. It felt good to say those words. Now, he just needed to say them to Rebecca. “I think she’s a keeper. And from what I’ve seen, so’s Brian.”

  “I’m glad you like him. He reminds me of you in so many ways. You two are a lot alike.”

  “Really, how so?”

  She didn’t get a chance to answer. The unmistakable sound of a gunshot came from the student center. A moment later three more shots rang out as people started running out the door. Screams carried out into the street as well the bang of another gunshot.

  Inside the Tate Student Center, UGA Campus, 1345 hours

  After infecting the Starbucks, Amir decided to use his remaining vial of the virus at another restaurant inside the packed student center. This would be the best place for him to do the most damage. With Terrell launching another attack right across the street inside the stadium, they had the potential to infect many infidels and spread the virus across the campus.

  He walked into the Mexican Cafe. His earlier recon had convinced him that this would be the place to leave his last bit of poison. The line was long but he was prepared again. Al-Razi pulled a used paper cup from his last visit out of his duffel bag and walked over to the drink fountains.

  The soft-drink machines were on one side of the counter. On the other, was the large silver cylindrical container that contained sweet tea. Without hesitation, he stepped up to the tea dispenser and placed his cup under it. He acted like he was having trouble with the handle. People were all around him but most of them were getting soft-drinks.

  He lifted the top of tea dispenser, acting like he was checking to see if it was full. He let the open glass vial drop inside and then he replaced the top onto the dispenser. Picking up his empty cup and pretending that he had changed his mind about what he wanted to drink, Amir stepped over to the soft-drink dispenser and filled his cup with Coca-Cola. An obese man wearing a Bulldog t-shirt and a Bulldog ball cap stepped up to the sweet tea dispenser as Amir walked away.

  As the terrorist moved towards the front of the building, sipping his drink, someone screamed from back behind him, near the Starbucks. In front of him, a scuffle broke out near the exit. A bearded man was straddling a hysterical girl and biting her as two other men tried to pull him off. A Starbucks cup was laying on its side, coffee pooling on the floor. The bearded man turned and bit one of the others on the arm. Even with his forearm in the crazy man’s mouth, the victim punched his attacker in the face with his other hand.

  Amir stopped, fascinated by what he was seeing. He had no idea the virus would act so quickly. The second man tried to help his friend who was getting bit. He began punching the bearded man as well. Their punches seemed to have no effect on the attacker and he released his victim only to lunge and bite the other man on the face.

  A crowd had formed near the exit. Al-Razi turned and started walking in the other direction. He would leave through another door. Behind him, though, a similar scene was being repeated near the Starbucks. Several infected people were attacking those around them. Voices were being raised in protest and many in the crowd started running, looking for a way out.

  Amir walked back until he was in front of the Mexican Cafe that he had just infected. He heard a loud growling noise to his left and saw the big man in Bulldog’s clothes coming towards him. His eyes were glazed over and his mouth was opening and closing. This was the closest that al-Razi had been to one of the infected people and he felt the terror that so many others had felt.

  The terrorist suddenly felt trapped. He turned back towards the front entrance. The bearded man was still attacking people but now, the girl that he’d bitten appeared to have turned as well. She was struggling with another young woman, trying to sink her teeth into her victim’s throat.

  He pulled the Beretta out of his pants. The fat man from the Mexican Cafe was moving more quickly than Amir imagined. He just managed to get a shot off before the obese man could grab him. The 9mm round caught him just above his right eye, dropping him to the floor. The loud gunshot caused the crowd to panic even more.

  Amir ran towards the front door. The bearded zombie stepped in front of him with his arms extended. Al-Razi had to slam on the brakes. He fired and missed but his bullet hit a teen-age boy in the arm. A second shot hit the zombie in the forehead. Amir felt hands grabbing his leg and then pain. He tried to jerk it free but they were too strong. He looked down and saw the small, bloody face of a young girl biting his calf and ankle.

  He shot her in the side of the head and jerked his leg free. His ankle was throbbing. Angry voices were screaming at him. More hands grabbed at him. Al-Razi fired blindly at the people who tried to block his path and saw a muscular black man collapse. The crowd dived out of the way of the man with the gun and then he was at the door. He pushed through the exit and started running.

  University of Georgia, near Sanford Stadium, 1350 hours

  Rebecca had had a really nice day. She loved meeting Melanie and she had enjoyed watching how she interacted with her dad. Her own feelings for Chuck were even stronger now. Brian had impressed her as a really good guy. He seemed like the real deal and it was clear that Melanie was in love.

  Rebecca asked him some questions about his family. One of the best ways to find out about someone is to ask about their parents and siblings and then watch their reaction. What emotions came to the surface? As Brian spoke of his family, she sensed nothing but the genuine love and respect that he had for them.

  As she and Brian talked, Johnson felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She slipped it out and saw that she had a text from her contact at the Department of Homeland Security and two missed calls and a voicemail from Eddie. As she scanned the message, she felt the color drain from her face and saw Brian staring at her.

  “Bad news?” he asked.

  Before she could answer, a shot rang out from the building across the street. Rebecca saw Chuck draw his pistol and pull his badge chain out from under his shirt. As she pulled her own badge out and drew her gun from her purse, more shots came from the student center and people began running out the doors. Screams erupted from inside.

  For a moment, there was a pause and no one else was exiting. Then, the door burst open and a single figure came rushing out holding a pistol. People were running and scattering in both directions, forming a barrier between them and the gunman. Chuck pushed Melanie towards Brian.

  “Get her some place safe and call 911,” he ordered the young man.

  When Rebecca got to Chuck, he said, “That’s al-Razi.”

  She was still processing the text that she had gotten and then the sudden shattering of the calm afternoon by the gunshots. McCain was already moving towards the terrorist who was running up Sanford Drive. In an instant it became clear to her, too. The text about the bio-terror attack at the mall a few miles away. Amir al-Razi here. What better target for the zombie virus than game day at the University of Georgia? And, of course, Chuck’s near photographic memory. He had identified the terrorist as soon as he came out the door.

  They didn’t want to get into a shootout with him in this crowded environment. Amir turned left onto the walkway next to the student center. There were people here, too, but it wasn’t nearly as crowded. McCain closed the distance and was only ten yards behind him and Rebecca was only five yards behind Chuck, offset to the left. The terrorist was limping noticeably now. His right leg appeared to be injured and he was starting to slow down. A black duffel bag hung from his shoulder.

  “Amir al-Razi, you’re under arrest. Drop the gun and get down on the ground,” McCain ordered.

  Amir slowed to a stop and raised his left hand and started to raise his right, as well. Suddenly, he crouched, stepped to the left and spun in that direction, firing the Beretta as he did so. He managed to get off two shots before Chuck shot him four times in
the chest. A shot from behind him, it had to be Rebecca’s gun, caught al-Razi in the pelvis.

  The terrorist went down hard and landed on his back. McCain watched him to make sure that he was really down for good. He had shot center-mass because there was still some pedestrian traffic in the background and he didn’t want to chance missing a head shot.

  There was no movement. Al-Razi appeared to be dead. Chuck glanced back to see where Rebecca was. He didn’t see her and then he did see her. She was on her back on the pavement. A sense of panic propelled him towards her. He saw the blood pooling on the ground. McCain dropped beside her.

  “Rebecca, I’m here. I’ve got you.” His left hand touched her face, then her neck, feeling for a pulse. It was weak. His right hand attempted to stop the flow of blood pouring out of the wound just under her solar plexus. It had come from one of al-Razi’s shots.

  Her eyes opened and she looked into his eyes. She tried to speak but coughed up blood instead.

  Chuck felt a helplessness like he had never known. People were approaching. Melanie, Brian, others. Melanie was crying.

  McCain yelled, “Call 911! Somebody please call 911! We need an ambulance here now!”

  He felt for her pulse again and it was gone. She was gone. The blood had stopped pumping out of her wound. He felt for her heartbeat with his other hand. Nothing. He stared at her beautiful face.

  “Don’t leave, Rebecca,” his voice cracked. “It’s gonna be ok.” His eyes were filled with tears and he was having trouble focusing but he knew that she was dead.

  The yelling, screaming, and chaos from the front of the student center continued to increase. As the infected multiplied inside and spilled outside, other innocents were attacked who became infected, too. Sirens drew closer as officers responded to the call of gunshots. Campus Police Officers, who had been on duty in and around the stadium, were just now getting to the student center and starting to confront zombies.

  McCain heard a female voice yelling back from the direction that they had come. She yelled with authority, he thought. There were several gunshots that sounded very close. He was just about to start CPR on Rebecca. It wouldn’t work but he had to try something. She couldn’t really be gone.

  “Daddy, Daddy, look up!” The tone in Melanie’s voice snapped McCain’s head up.

  Amir had been infected by the bite on his ankle and had managed to get to his feet. He was less than ten feet away, shuffling towards them. Chuck jumped to his feet to confront him. He reached for his pistol but his holster was empty. He glanced back and saw it was laying on the pavement next to Rebecca.

  The growling terrorist turned zombie reached for him and McCain launched a front kick to the chest, knocking him off the sidewalk and into a metal light pole, where he slid to the pavement. Chuck followed him and waited until he started climbing to his feet again. He fired a side kick into his right knee, the bones cracking loudly as it snapped.

  The zombie again tried to get to its feet. One misstep and Chuck could end up infected, too. Even with a shattered pelvis and a broken leg, Amir lunged for him. McCain sidestepped and kicked him in the back, knocking him into one of the many park benches that were scattered around the campus.

  “Mr. McCain, here!” Brian yelled.

  Brian ran towards him with his pistol. Chuck grabbed it and spun just as the infected terrorist managed to pull himself back to his feet using the bench. His shot hit him in the side of the head, putting him down for good. Chuck walked over to the terrorist who had caused so much pain and grief for so many people and fired one more round into his head, just to make sure that he was really dead.

  People were running up the walkway towards them to escape the horror of what was going on around the student center and the stadium. He could hear a low growl over all the other noise of screaming, yelling, sirens, and gunshots from around the corner where the police were now fighting for their lives.

  He pulled his keys out of his pocket and threw them to Brian. “Take Melanie and get my truck. Come back and get me.”

  Melanie looked at her father like he was crazy. She was still crying. “No, you have to come with us.” She grabbed his arm and tried to pull him. He gently pried her fingers off, leaving some of Rebecca’s blood on his daughter’s hands.

  “I’m not leaving her. Go with Brian and I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

  Brian took her by the hand and said, “Come on, we need to run.”

  The two young people ran up the walkway in the direction of where they had parked. It was probably a half mile away. McCain turned back to Rebecca. A group of five zombies were almost to where she was lying. He started advancing and shooting, making head shots on all five. He picked up her Glock and tucked it into his waistband and picked up her purse.

  More infected were coming his way, drawn to the sound of gunshots. Chuck scooped Rebecca up and started in the same direction Melanie and Brian had gone. He paused where al-Razi had dropped his pistol and bent down to grab it. He decocked the Beretta and stuck it into his waistband, also. He continued moving away from the chaos.

  At least twenty zombies were following him. A few of them started running. Still carrying Rebecca, Chuck started running, too. He glanced over his shoulder and saw that they were gaining on him. He tried to lay her down gently but ended up dropping her. He drew his pistol and started shooting just as they got to him. The first zombie collapsed next to Rebecca.

  McCain kept shooting and killing zombies until the slide on his pistol locked open. He dropped the empty magazine to the pavement and pulled his only backup mag out of his pocket and reloaded his gun. He shot another one that grabbed for him. He shot the infected until there were no more in close proximity. Another group turned the corner and started towards him but they were at least a hundred yards away.

  Deep breath, assess your surroundings, he told himself. A quick scan of his area told him he was safe, for the moment. He popped the magazine out of his pistol and saw that it only held one round. With one in the gun, that gave him a total of two rounds. He holstered his Glock, picked up Rebecca, and kept moving up the walkway towards the next street.

  Georgia Square Mall, Athens, 1400 hours

  Lieutenant Anderson parked behind the other police cars near the upper level entrance. One of the officers on the scene reported multiple shots fired inside the mall. The dispatcher was unable to raise any of the police inside the location.

  Four more officers had responded to the mall but had not gone inside. There was a general feeling of uncertainty. Eleven police officers had gone in and none of them had been heard from since. There was a sense of relief when the lieutenant got there. He would know what to do.

  Officer Pitts rushed up to Anderson. His voice got high when he was excited. “It sounded like a war zone in there, LT, maybe a hundred shots, but it’s been quiet for the last five or ten minutes.”

  Anderson nodded. “It sounds like we need to get SWAT rolling this way.”

  He called the dispatcher and requested that their SWAT Team be activated. He was aware that it would take a while to get the team there. The dispatcher also alerted him of the reported attacks on the university campus. The Campus Police Chief was requesting help.

  “Tell him we don’t have anybody to send him right now. And see if you can find us another SWAT Team, maybe the GBI? We may need some extra help here or they may need them on campus.”

  Pitts heard the lieutenant’s side of the conversation with dispatch and it didn’t sound good. Pitts’ official position was Administrative Aide to the Chief of Police. He had worked the road briefly and had gained a reputation as a below average police officer.

  He was known as the guy who always got there after everything was over. If officers were fighting someone, Pitts showed up after the bad guy had been subdued and was in handcuffs. If there was an aggravated domestic call, he would make sure to get there after his backup officer. Sometimes, he would not even get to the call, making a traffic stop for some minor infraction
instead.

  When the administrative aide position became available, the attitude of most of Pitts’ peers was, ‘Good riddance.’ It was no surprise that he got the position since Chief Morgan was his cousin. The only reason he was working today was because of the football game. Off-duty officers made good money directing traffic and providing security, assisting the Campus Police Department. He had been forced into responding as a backup officer to the mall. The other officer he was working traffic with near the stadium had heard the calls at the mall and had said, “Come on, Pitts, let’s go. I’ll follow you.”

  Now, he was here and he was terrified. Lieutenant Anderson was not a carpet cop and that scared Pitts, too. Anderson wasn’t going to sit back and wait on anybody to come help them. He would do something. Something dangerous.

  “Let’s do a little recon,” Anderson said. “Pitts, come with me. I’m going to take a peek inside. We may be dealing with the zombie virus. Cover me and don’t let anything out, even if they’re in uniform. Nobody gets out, understand?”

  Pitts swallowed. “Yes, sir.”

  Anderson pointed to the other three officers. “Drive around to the food court entrance and see if you can look inside. Call me and let me know what you see.”

  The doors at the upper level entrance were tinted and not clear glass. Anderson was going to have to open one of them if he wanted to peer inside. Anderson and Pitts drew their pistols and walked towards the entrance. The lieutenant paused at the door and put his ear up against it. Pitts stood a few feet behind him, holding his pistol in a low ready stance. He noticed that his hands were shaking.

  Lieutenant Anderson made eye contact with Pitts and whispered, “I’m going open the door a little bit.”

  Officer Pitts nodded.

  Anderson reached for the door handle and pulled it open slightly and moved his head so that he could see inside. He saw movement and tried to bring his pistol up. Five zombies were standing just inside and rushed him, hitting the lieutenant and the door. He started shooting but all of his shots were low, hitting them in the legs and abdomens.