Chapter 437: The Boardwalk’s Screamer [9]

Marlon was not alone.

Molly stood near him with a handgun held in both hands, while several other survivors had taken positions around the hotel barricade. Some were people I recognized from the Boardwalk. Others had probably come from the surrounding houses after hearing the Screamer activate.

Gunfire erupted from different parts of the street.

The Infected kept coming in groups, drawn toward the noise and the lights around the Hotel. Every time they got too close to the hotel, Marlon and the others opened fire, forcing them back before they could reach the barricades.

"Careful!"

Molly shouted just as an Infected slipped through the edge of the group.

A man near the makeshift barricade of the hotel had not noticed it. He was focused on the street ahead, raising his rifle toward another group, while the Infected came at him from behind with its arms outstretched.

A blue light flashed.

The man was thrown sideways as a force slammed into him, sending him out of the Infected’s reach.

The Infected swiped at empty air.

I widened my eyes as I rushed closer.

"Nice catch, Sydney," Molly said, firing at the Infected before it could turn around again.

"Don’t worry about it," Sydney replied with a grin.

She stood a few steps from the barricade, one hand still raised from using her power. Her hair moved in the night wind, and even with Infected swarming through the streets, she looked more annoyed than afraid.

"They’re endless," Christopher cursed.

He held a rifle against his shoulder, firing at an Infected trying to climb over a wrecked car nearby. The shot dropped it, but two more immediately rushed in from behind.

"We just have to deal with them," Rachel said. "Stay together and don’t let anyone get separated."

She had a weapon in her hands too, keeping close to Christopher while watching the side streets.

Lucy was there as well.

She stood farther near the barricade, helping Molly watch the hotel entrance. Her expression was tense, but she was holding her ground.

"You guys..."

The moment I reached them, several faces turned toward me.

Relief showed in their expressions.

Sydney’s eyes widened.

A blue flash lit the street again.

Then she was suddenly in front of me.

"You scared me, idiot!"

She threw her arms around me before I had time to react.

I hugged her back.

"I’m okay," I said.

"You better be."

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked, looking between all of them.

Christopher gave a tired smile.

"Well, that damn Screamer is impossible to forget. We heard it from near the Whitesun, and we knew it was too close. Of course we came here."

"There are others?" I asked.

"Yeah," Rachel said, pointing toward the barricade. "Martin came too. He brought around a dozen people from Margaret’s group, all voluntaries."

I followed where she pointed.

Near Marlon, I saw Martin firing alongside several familiar faces. They had spread out where they could, protecting the hotel entrance while trying to keep the Infected from surrounding the building.

"That’s good," I said, smiling.

"It’s not good," Sydney replied, pulling back from me. Her face had become serious again. "Do you know why the Screamer is back?"

"Yeah."

I looked at the streets around us.

"Gaspar stole the Three Stones Matrix when he took Mei. Zakthar must have rebuilt the Screamer for Callighan, and now Callighan is using it against the Boardwalk."

Christopher’s face darkened.

"It sounds stronger than the one in Jackson Township," he said. "Louder too."

"Because they’re using the Three Stones Matrix," I replied. "They’re concentrating the effect here instead of spreading it over an entire city."

Christopher nodded slowly.

"That’s what I thought."

"The Screamer’s sound is being broadcast through devices," I continued. "We need to find and destroy them. Once the sound stops, the Infected should calm down enough for us to push them out."

"Do you know something about this, Ryan?"

Marlon approached us.

His clothes were stained with dirt and blood, and he held a rifle in one hand. His face was stern, but I could see the exhaustion beneath it.

"Marlon," I said, "is everyone inside the hotel?"

"In an emergency, I told everyone to head for the Emerald Hotel," he said. "But if you’re asking whether every person made it here alive, I can’t tell you yes."

"Yeah..."

"You were right, boy," Marlon added. "It was strange that Callighan stayed quiet after we took over his hotel."

"It’s not over," I said. "But we can still save this place. We take down the devices, and then we clear the Infected."

Marlon raised a brow.

"You know where they are?"

"Not exactly. But from what I heard while getting here, there are at least four of them around the Boardwalk."

I had to thank unfortunately my sensibility to Starakian tech for that. The devices might be human but the Scream and the sound wasn’t and it released different frequencies because they came from different devices so I managed to count the numbers.

Sydney glanced toward the dark streets.

"I can hear them clearly enough," she said. "They’re loud as hell."

I nodded.

"Good. I’ll take the northern one. It sounded farthest away, but it could be the most dangerous if it’s near an outer barricade."

"I’ll take another one," Sydney said immediately.

"You’re going alone?" Maribel asked from behind me.

I turned toward her.

"I can handle one device," I said. "Sydney can too."

Sydney gave Maribel a confident smirk.

"I can outrun them. Don’t worry."

Maribel did not look convinced, but she did not argue.

I looked toward Rachel, Lucy, Christopher, and Maribel.

"The remaining two should be handled in pairs," I said. "Rachel, Lucy, and Christopher, split into two groups with Maribel. Stay close, avoid fighting unless you have to, and destroy the speaker devices as soon as you find them."

Even though I rather have them together, with an experimented ex marine like Lucy and Rachel who had Dullahan, I trusted them to handle it with Christopher and Maribel.

Christopher nodded right away.

"Got it."

Rachel glanced at Lucy and Maribel.

"We’ll manage," she said.

Lucy gave a short nod. "Just tell us what to look for."

"Speakers, wiring, anything," I said. "The closer you get, the louder the sound will be. Destroy the device itself, not just the cables. Callighan’s men set them up in hurry so they should easy to find."

Marlon looked toward the barricade as another group of Infected rushed the hotel.

"I’ll keep this place standing," he said. "But don’t take too long. We’re burning through ammunition."

"I know."

A gunshot cracked nearby.

Then another.

The Screamer buzzed again, loud enough to make the streetlights tremble.

I gripped my axe.

"Let’s end this."