CHAPTER EIGHTY-SEVEN
STEBBINS LITTLE SCHOOL
JT rubbed his face and grinned.
“I didn’t leave you, kid,” he said. “It took about six state troopers to keep me from you after you fell. ” He touched his battered face. “They weren’t very nice about it, either. Officious pricks. ”
“Wait, wait, hold on,” said Trout, “why were you fighting the state troopers?”
“They thought we were on a killing spree,” said JT, and he quickly explained the chain of events that started at Doc Hartnup’s.
“Doc’s outside,” said Trout. “He’s one of them. ”
“I know. I saw him from the upstairs window but I couldn’t get an angle on him,” said JT, though he looked sad. “Anyway, the staties put Dez in one cruiser and me in another and that was the last I saw of her. ”
He glanced at Dez, who nodded. “I know. ” She explained what happened to her, and about the death of Trooper Saunders. Then told them about the Guardsmen, the fight at the trailer park, and meeting Trout.
JT said, “We were run off the road by the Guard. As they were driving me to the station the trooper got a call that all state police were being ordered out of Stebbins. Right now, no questions. But that isn’t what happened. ”
“I can guess,” said Trout.
JT sighed. “It was an ambush. Guess they didn’t want any armed infected in town, and they’ve pretty much decided that we’re all infected. I was in the back of the cruiser when a Humvee opened up on us. We crashed and they drove off. The trooper with me was hit pretty bad. He managed to unlock the back and take off my cuffs, but by then the dead were closing in around us. It was all I could do to get out of there. Wish I could have helped the trooper, but he was dying already. Two rounds, one in his chest. I fought my way out and went to the station, but that was a total loss. ” Sadness darkened his eyes. “I had to … um … take care of Flower. ”
“Oh shit, Hoss,” Dez said, touching his arm.
“I’m sorry,” said Trout.
JT nodded. “That was almost the worst thing today. ”
“Almost?” asked Trout.
“Yeah … worst thing was the thought that my girl here was gone. ”
“Thanks, Dad,” Dez said with a twisted smile. “But I got home from the prom unmolested. ”
Their grins were forced, and they didn’t last.
“After the station,” continued JT, “I decided to head over here. It was already a mess. Couple of these things attacked the middle school kids while they were getting onto the buses to come here. By the time the buses arrived, the infection was rampant. Things went south from there. ”
Trout looked past him to a set of closed fire doors. “What’s the situation in here?”
“One of the parents came out through this door to try and reach his car. His kid wasn’t here. ” JT shook his head. “He left the door open and about twenty of those things got in. Me and a bunch of teachers have been searching the building. I think we got most of them, but we still need to check the top floor—and I’m down to six rounds—”
Dez nudged the duffle bag with her toe. “Merry Christmas, Hoss. ”
JT glanced at her, then knelt and unzipped the bag. Trout peered over his shoulder and saw all the guns and boxed ammunition.
“Sweet Jesus on the cross,” murmured JT, lifting out a Mossberg shotgun. “I’m so happy I could cry. ”
His tone was light, but Trout could see the tension in the big man’s face, feel it vibrating in the air around him. Shadows moved behind JT’s eyes. Trout knew that, strong as he was, this was going to ruin him, too.
Dez looked up the stairs. “What about the kids?”
“Everyone’s in the auditorium,” said JT. “We have a couple of guys in there with guns. They’re watching the doors, but they only have a couple of rounds each. We got kids from both schools, a lot of parents. Some townsfolk. ”
“How many?”
“In all?” His eyes shifted away for a moment. “Eight hundred, give or take. ”