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“It’s starting,” said Alethea in a hollow voice.
“Can’t be,” Gutsy countered. “Even running full tilt, I don’t think the wild men could have gotten here this fast. Something else is going on.”
“Stay here,” ordered Alethea as she shot to her feet, snatched up her bat, and ran out into the hall. Alice and Gutsy stared at the bedroom window but could not see anything.
“No more, no more, no more,” said Alice in a small, cracked voice.
Gutsy threw a despairing look at the shrouded, thrashing Mrs. Chung, then pulled Alice up, led her into the hall, and closed the door.
From outside they heard Alethea yelling, “Gutsy—you better get out here.”
Gutsy did not want to leave, but what choice did she have? “Look,” she said to Alice, “I need to go see what’s happening. Come with me.”
“I can’t,” cried Alice, horrified. “Mom needs me.”
It made no sense, but sense did not matter.
“Okay, okay,” said Gutsy. “Stay here, though. Go into the kitchen. Get something to protect yourself. Don’t go back into your mom’s room. You hear me? Don’t do it. I’ll be right back.”
Outside there were more screams, and the sound of running feet. Gunshots cracked continuously. Gutsy kissed Alice and ran out of the house.
* * *
Karen Peak raced along the wall, gun in hand. One of her senior guards, Primo, saw her from above and waved her up. She climbed a ladder.
“What’s going on up… ?” she began, but then looked over into the fields beyond and her words fell away. Everyone had been worried about what might be coming at them from the east.
But this…
She stood and stared into the east, looking at what everyone on all the walls was already seeing. The pale light of a billion stars shone down on a sea of figures moving across the fields. Shamblers, driven by ravagers.
She looked down at the newly rebuilt walls, at rows of sharpened wooden spikes that had been angled against attack, at trenches filled with flammable materials, and fortified sniper posts. The preparations had seemed so smart, so strong.
Now they seemed foolish. To stop a few hundred ravagers, yes. To stall an attack by a thousand, or even two thousand, shamblers, yes. Maybe even to defeat packs of wild men. But here, under the light of the cold stars… she did not see a few hundred, or even a few thousand.
She saw an ocean of the living dead. Tens of thousands.
Maybe more.
Karen felt her body turn numb, and the hand that held her pistol sank to her side. Her fingers went slack, and the Glock fell unheeded to the walkway, where it lay totally useless in the face of what was coming.
This was the Night Army. Come to devour them all.
* * *
As soon as Gutsy stepped into the street, she knew that things were really bad. She could smell smoke, and saw dark clouds of it obscuring much of the sky. People were running everywhere, some carrying their hastily packed bundles. Others ran in the opposite direction, heading home to grab a weapon, a suitcase, or a loved one. There was no sign of Alethea. Gutsy ducked as someone fired a shotgun, but in all the confusion, she couldn’t see who fired, or at what.
Alethea came running toward her, ducked low in case there was another shot. She pulled Gutsy behind a low stone wall in the neighbor’s front yard.
“What’s happening?” Gutsy demanded.
“What’s happing is everyone’s losing their darn minds, that’s what’s happening. Jimmy Maynard is shooting at everything that moves. And I saw Dave Sanchez and his two older sons go running away from the wall. Ollie Sanchez had a big bottle of something, and he’s totally drunk. They were all laughing.” Alethea shook her head.
“Can you blame them?”
Alethea’s eyes were cold. “Yes, I can. You’re not losing it. I’m not. And Spider…” She stopped as if realizing that Spider wasn’t with them. “Crap. He’s back at the Cuddlys. Hey, are you all right with Alice for a few minutes? I need to go get him. If this is going to be as bad as it looks, we should all be together.”
“Go,” said Gutsy, giving her a little push. “I’ll be here. I need to see to Mrs. Chung.”
