Chapter 16 Emery
Chapter sixteen
Emery
“Emery, Pequenino, it’s time to wake up.”
Mami’s voice filtered into my dreams. I was a princess who fell in love with a dragon and got whisked away to live happily ever after.
Her voice confused my dream self enough that I startled awake.
As I looked around, reality settled in. I really needed to stop reading so much smut.
That won’t be much of a problem anymore since it was the end of the world and all.
“What time is it?” I asked sleepily. As my brain came online, I noticed the guys rushing around, packing and checking flashlights.
“Eleven,” Nico replied sullenly.
“Eleven!” I screeched, jumping off the bed and searching for my bag and bat. “We were supposed to leave two hours ago!”
“I realize that,” Nico growled back. “We all overslept. Your Dad was the one who woke up first, and it’s a good thing he did.”
“We only have seven hours to get out of the city!” I exclaimed.
“Seven hours!” I felt myself start to panic.
Seven hours was not a lot of time. Not when we were on foot, and man-eating humans were everywhere.
And that’s not even factoring in any obstacles we might face.
What if the tunnel is flooded or blocked three-quarters of the way through, and we have to turn around?
Miguel’s hazel eyes appeared in front of me as he gently guided me back to the bed to sit. “Breathe, Em. Take a deep breath and let it out slowly. It’s going to be ok. We have plenty of time, so you’ll have to postpone your panic attack. That’s a good girl.”
I took several deep breaths, my eyes locked on his like a lifeline. “Freak out later?”
“That’s right, Sweetheart. Freak out later,” he murmured.
“Ok. I can do that.” I shook my head, trying to shake off the doom I felt deep in my bones. I could do this. We still had options. Not as much time, but options.
“That’s good, because we got you a present,” Miguel said with a wink. “As much as we all love the bat, you’ve developed a habit of stealing my knife, so we thought maybe you might like your own.”
Luis brandished a knife nearly the size of my arm and held it out to me. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s big,” I replied, “but lovely. I love it! Thank you!”
I took the knife from him and weighed it in my hand. It was similar to the one Miguel carried. I unsheathed it and smiled at how sharp and shiny it was.
“I feel like a badass.”
“You are a badass,” Nico said as he approached. “Let’s get you suited up.”
I stood, and while Miguel got the knife fastened to my hip, Nico strapped a headlamp to my head, then clipped another flashlight to my pants. I looked at my parents and Mr. Higgins, who also sported similar light setups.
“Extra lights will be in Miguel’s bag,” Nico advised us. “Luis will have the firecrackers and other survival gear. Pack any clothes you want to take with you in this other bag, and I will carry that.”
“I can carry a bag,” I argued.
“Yes, we can all carry our belongings,” Papi agreed.
“The only thing I want you all to have to worry about is getting through the tunnel safely,” Nico replied. “Please, let us worry about carrying the bags. Things could get tight in there, and I’d feel better knowing that none of you will end up getting stuck on something and becoming trapped.”
I sighed. I didn’t like it, but I also couldn’t fault Nico’s reasoning. Well, I could, but I wasn’t going to. “There’s no time to argue, so we’ll do it your way.”
Nico tugged me closer and kissed my forehead. “Good girl,” he murmured in my ear. I told myself it was his hot breath on my ear and not his words that sent a shiver down my spine.
Once everyone was ready, we left the safety of the mattress shop and headed toward the tunnel.
The full moon was high in the sky, lighting our way.
When we got to the tunnel, we all paused to take it in.
Both lanes were filled with abandoned vehicles.
I expected it would be that way all the way through.
This was where things got dicey with so many shadows and hiding places for the dead. .. and the living.
“Ok,” Nico said. “Miguel will lead us through. Mr. Higgins, you go next, followed by Camila. Then Luis, Felix, and Emery. I’ll go last. Stay in line and go slow. This isn’t a race. Stay alert and stay quiet. We can do this.”
We stepped into a single-file line, and Miguel led us into the tunnel.
The first fifty feet or so were easy. All of the cars were in their lanes, making an easy path up the middle.
Unfortunately, it was only a matter of time before that ended, and it did so with whatever asshat drove the blue truck that got stuck trying to switch lanes.
It was diagonal across the tunnel, with a little hatchback’s front end pinned against the wall.
Miguel cautiously went around the fender bender, and we were met with about another twenty feet of empty road before we caught up with traffic again.
That truck may have blocked the tunnel, but they wouldn’t have gotten very far.
As we pushed further on, we started to hear a faint tapping sound.
When we got closer, I recognized it as a metallic tapping sound.
I looked around the line of people in front of me, huffing in frustration that I was stuck at the back of the line.
Miguel’s light panned across the tunnel, and I spotted what was making the sound.
A car door had been pinned open by another car, and behind the door was a zombie trying to get past. As it bumped into the door, the door tapped against the vehicle, blocking it from closing and effectively trapping the zombie.
The zombie renewed its effort to get past when it saw us; the guttural growls it made echoed through the tunnel.
“It’s just one,” Miguel whispered as he held up his closed fist. He stepped forward with his knife and stabbed the zombie through the eye.
The zombie fell silent as Miguel removed the knife, and the body fell to the ground, but the growls continued.
Miguel held his hand up for us to wait as he climbed onto the roof of the car.
Before Nico could stop me, I scrambled onto it as well and stood beside Miguel as we shone our lights deeper into the tunnel.
We didn’t see anything that was concerning. “Maybe it’s just another stray echoing off the walls?” I asked quietly.
Miguel nodded. “Most likely. Everyone, keep your eyes open.” We hopped down and continued forward, weaving through the abandoned vehicles, sometimes having to climb over them or slide through the backseats.
Much to Nico’s annoyance, I stuck to Miguel’s side, forcing Luis to readjust his position to keep them equally spaced.
I’d make it up to him later. Together, we charted a path forward, making a little game of who could find the most straightforward way through the wreckage.
“You two need to knock it off,” Nico hissed when the group caught up to us. “This isn’t a fucking obstacle course. You aren’t trying to beat your best times. Tighten it the fuck up.”
“Sir, Yes, Sir!” I hissed back with a cheeky grin before climbing onto the hood of a pickup truck that was blocking the road.
“Emery,” Nico warned.
I opened my mouth to sass him, but ended up screaming as a hand grabbed my left ankle and pulled me off the truck.
I hit the ground hard, but didn’t have time to worry about it, because the next second, a zombie was on me.
Its first attempt to bite me landed on my boot, and bought me enough time to draw my knife and stab it in the head.
Unfortunately, that didn’t eliminate the threat.
I’d fallen into a zombie nest, and my scream was the dinner bell.
I scurried onto the closest car to catch my breath.
“Emery!” Miguel yelled as he climbed onto the truck I had been on.
“Stay back! There are too many of them!” I shone my light around me, searching for a way back to the group.
There had to be at least fifty zombies around me, and looking deeper into the tunnel, I saw that there was no way through, because more were coming.
There was no way we could get through them all.
“Em! Stay there. We’re gonna come get you,” Nico called.
I met his worried eyes. “Nico, listen to me. The tunnel is a bust; it’s full of zombies as far as I can see. Get my parents out of here. Now. Before the rest get here.’
“We aren’t leaving you, Em,” Nico argued.
“Yes, you are. I’ll be right behind you, but you need to get my parents to safety. Get them out of this fucking tunnel!” I saw the war in his eyes. His need to protect me was strong, but I didn’t need him to protect me; I needed him to protect my parents. “Please.”
“Fuck.”
Relief flooded me at his curse. He’d do what I asked.
“Miguel, Luis, stay with her. Get her the fuck out of there. Camila, Felix, and Mr. Higgins, let’s go.”
There was a commotion out of sight that I couldn’t follow. Suddenly, Miguel jumped back down, and I heard him curse.
“Miguel!?”
Oh, God. What if zombies had snuck up behind them?
Zombies behind me, zombies ahead. How the fuck was I going to get out of this?
Did I even want to keep going if everyone I know and love is dead?
“Calm the fuck down, Emery. Jesus.” I was getting ahead of myself.
I didn’t know what was going on ahead of me, and until I did, I wasn’t giving up. I didn’t have it in me.
A zombie climbed onto the hood of the car, and when it got within range, I stabbed it in the head and kicked the body into the group around me.
If I were quick, I could possibly make it to the car in front of me, which was bumper to bumper with the truck I’d been pulled off of.
Then I could see what the hell was going on with my group.
“No!” Luis yelled.
I looked in time to see Mr. Higgins climbing onto the truck.
When Luis went to pull him back down, he kicked him in the face.
What the fuck? Mr. Higgins stood on the hood with flares in his hands.
He looked at me across the zombies. “Now, listen here, girlie, I’m going to draw them to me.
As soon as it is clear, you get to the group and get the hell out of this tunnel. ”
He pulled out a pocket knife and sliced his arms so that blood flowed from his veins onto the truck hood. At the smell of his blood, the zombies around me began to migrate toward him.
“Mr. Higgins! No! Not like this!”
“Exactly like this,” he replied. “I’ve made peace with it, and so should you. I won’t survive long in this world, Emery. That’s just a fact. But I can decide how I die. Saving a young life like yours is worth the sacrifice. And now, I’ll finally get to go home to my Claire.”
“Please don’t do this,” I cried. I angrily wiped away the tears blurring my vision. The least I could do was witness Mr. Higgins’ sacrifice. He deserved that.
“You make sure you get back to your family, Emery. Get out of this hellhole and live a long and happy life with those boys. They’re good men, and they sure do love the hell out of you.
” Mr. Higgins activated the flares, the light nearly blinding.
He closed his eyes, a smile spreading across his face.
“I’m coming, Claire Bear. I’m finally coming.
” He didn’t reopen his eyes as he jumped off the truck and into the horde of zombies.
He didn’t scream in pain when they ripped into him; he simply accepted his fate with a grace that I’d never witnessed before and likely wouldn’t ever again.
“Emery! Move!”
Miguel’s scream jolted me back to reality.
There were now only a few zombies still focused on me.
I could get through them easily. I slid down the windshield to the roof of the car, quickly stabbing the closest two in the head before jumping toward the other and stabbing it.
I didn’t waste any time climbing over the last car to land safely in Miguel’s waiting arms. “Shoot him,” I pleaded.
“Don’t let him turn into one of them. Don’t make him suffer any more. ”
Miguel nodded and handed me to Luis before climbing to the roof of the truck to get a better angle on Mr. Higgins. The shot he fired echoed painfully around the tunnel, but it brought me peace knowing Mr. Higgins was now at peace with his Claire.
“Come on, we gotta go, Sweetheart,” Luis said, gently leading me away as Miguel jumped back down.
We picked our way back through the tunnel, quickly catching up with Nico and my parents.
“Pequenino!” Mami sobbed as she folded me in her embrace.
I broke down, letting the tears spill freely. “It’s my fault. If I had been more careful, Mr. Higgins wouldn’t have sacrificed himself.”
“No, Emery,” Papi said quietly, wrapping his arms around us both.
“Blaming yourself lessens his sacrifice. He chose his fate. He chose to save your life. Don’t take that from him.
Higgins is at peace now. It’s what he wanted.
And I will forever be grateful to him for saving my little girl.
Dry those tears and make him proud by living. ”
I nodded. Papi was right. I knew that he was, but part of me still felt guilty.
“How about we start honoring his sacrifice now and get the hell out of this tunnel?” Nico suggested.
When we exited the tunnel, I thought Mami was going to kiss the ground. “How long until Operation Night Night?” I asked.
Luis pulled something from his pocket and held it out to me. When I opened my hand, he dropped Mr. Higgins’ watch into it. “He gave it to me before he climbed onto the truck. You should have it.”
“Thanks.” I checked the time and almost threw up. We lost two hours in the tunnel and had only five hours to cross the Hudson. Less than that, really. “It’s one-oh-five. What’s the plan?”
“The Lincoln Tunnel is closest, but I imagine it will be just as packed as the Holland was,” Nico said. “I think our best bet is the GWB. On a good day, it only takes about three hours on the Greenway Trail to get from here to the GWB. We have five. We can do this.”
“Then let’s get moving,” Papi said.