Chapter 54 Cue and the Bridge Approach

Chapter 54 Cue and the Bridge Approach


In the chaos of the burning hospital, Gunner was able to reclaim his tank. Now they moved slowly through the streets of New York with a Cretin in the lead and the Tank bringing up the rear. All around them, out of line of sight, Shepherd’s horde followed along. They were the first line of defense and an early warning system.

The women did not know this.

Gunner knew only because of their heat signals.

The foliage was thick here; long lines of vines strewn over the road were budding with fresh leaves. Nothing had come this way for a long time, not even an animal by the looks of it. Ferns and ivy grew haphazardly out of every crack in the cement. Moss covered old cars and buses. A small stream meandered from what was once a storm drain, now filled to the brim with water from all the rain.

Cue walked next to Trigger, whose gate had become more of a waddle as the days stretched on. She watched her every step, watched the way she stroked her belly. She watched so as to never forget who she is now, as if she would be gone from her tomorrow.

When their knuckles brushed, Trigger took her hand in her own and twined their fingers together. 

“It’s going to be alright,” she assured Cue. “We will find a doctor and settle somewhere. We don’t have to think about what he says you are. It doesn’t matter. Nothing’s changed.”

Cue could only nod, trying to swallow down a lump in her throat. 

Large signs around them signaled that they were coming to the Brooklyn Bridge. At the fire the night before, they discussed that the best thing to do would be to cross the bridge and look for saner humans on the other side.

Smoke in the sky signaled something burning on the other side, but they couldn’t stop. They had to forge ahead, had to find a doctor, or at least find somewhere safe for Trigger to have this baby.

Cue could feel it coming like she could feel a storm coming on the air. Trigger tried to hide it, but Cue knew she was in pain. Her hips were stiff, and she rubbed them and her back constantly. She refused to rest in the Tank, refused to show weakness. She was the very picture of bravery in the face of the unknown.

“There’s something up ahead,” Shepherd said suddenly. 

They could see the bridge at the end of the road, but his attention was centered elsewhere. On a lamppost, there was a brightly colored swath of fabric with many cords hanging from it; tangled among them was a body.

“It’s a parachute,” Cue said, running ahead. She only knew of one group with parachutes, so chances are that the body belonged to one of the Scrapers. When she got below the light, she looked up to find a bullet-ridden body hanging from the post. It was barely recognizable, but she knew Ninja when she saw him.

She turned and looked, finding three more parachutes on the ground. Only one had a body, but it was burned to a crisp. It still steamed, the flesh bubbling and crisp.

“This just happened,” Cue said, looking around.

“Within the last hour,” Shepherd agreed. He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “Do you know which ones they are?” 

“The one hanging is Ninja, but this one… I can’t tell. I only know it’s not Barrow because of the size.”

“They must have run into some crazy humans as we have,” Trigger said, coming up beside Cue. “They didn’t get as lucky as we did.”

“But what were they doing here? How far must they have flown? For what?” Cue knelt, poking at the body with a stick. She felt no remorse for their deaths, only curiosity. Was it hunger that drove them this far from home?

Serves them right.

“We can assume they went the same way we’re headed,” Trigger said. “Which means whoever did this most likely came from there.” She pointed to the bridge.

“Then we will have to be ready to fight,” Shepherd said, his muscles bulging and tensing at the thought of a battle. “Get in the tank, both of you.”

Both women glared at Shepherd, but neither of them challenged him. Cue looked at the cooked body of a man she had once taken care of, and grabbed Trigger’s arm and hauled her back to the tank.

“There’s no use risking your life,” She told her, rubbing a thumb along the inside of her elbow.

“And what about your life? Doesn’t that matter anymore?” Trigger snapped back.

“That’s why I’m getting in the tank too,” she laughed lightly, hugging Trigger a little closer.

“Fine, but he stays out!” She pointed at Shepherd, who rolled his eyes.

“I’m pretty sure that was the plan,” Cue reassured her.

“I’ll be out here making sure you guys are safe,” he shouted as they climbed up the tank. “And keeping myself safe from you, Red!” 

“Yeah, you better keep away from me!” Trigger shouted back. “We don’t need you, we have Cue now!”

“Then by all means, let her control my horde.” He grinned, making mental contact with his horde, who all roared and groaned at once. Even this far away, the sound was chilling to the bone. 

Cue shivered. There was no way she could control even one of them, but then, that was the point, wasn’t it? They did still need him, no matter what Trigger said. Without him, they would be overrun, and she wouldn’t be able to stop them.

Shepherd's face sobered when he saw the fear on Cue’s. “I will teach you how to control them,” he promised, right before the hatch closed.

Inside the tank, Trigger stormed to Gunner and plopped herself down in his lap with a grunt. “I hate him,” She said, hugging Gunner. 

He wrapped an arm around her and squeezed, “I know,” he said. “But I am comforted knowing I am not the only man protecting you now.”

“He’s not protecting me, he’s protecting Cue.” 

“He’s protecting us both, and he is protecting you because I asked him to,” Cue said.

“Why can't he go back to protecting us from a distance?” Trigger whined.

“Because I need him,” Cue said, not believing her own words.

“You don’t need anyone but us, baby. Don’t let him confuse you,” Trigger said gently.

“That’s not true. If I can’t learn to control what I have, then I’m putting you in danger.”

“You have been protecting us without knowing this whole time,” Gunner said.

“That was when there were no zombies there. Think about the sewers; they didn’t listen to me then. They attacked and didn’t care what I was.”

“That’s because they already had orders from the other Cretin, not because of you,” Gunner explained.

“If I were stronger, maybe I could have stopped it. Maybe I could have taken control.”

“You don’t need to be anything more than you are now.” Trigger reached out and grabbed Cue’s hand, pulling her over to sit on Gunner’s other leg. “With or without your new skills, we will be fine.”

“Because he’s with us now,” Cue added.

Trigger frowned but didn’t argue back. Instead, they all looked ahead at the screens to see the bridge getting closer and closer, and the barricade that stretched across it.