Orpheus Read Online Free

was mostly out of earshot, Orpheus said, “Let's move.”
    “Why?” Tim asked. To him, the library roof seemed like a good place to set up.
    Mutt replied, “If you're thinking that this is a nice spot to camp and make s'mores, you're right. Unfortunately, we just made a highly-visible entrance and a helluva racket. We don't know what might be coming for us. So we move and wait.” He pointed over Tim's shoulder. “Right there.”
    Tim looked and saw that he was pointing to the building next door. Tim had grown up on the island, and, though he'd never seen it from this angle, he knew that they were next to the old movie theater, The Classic. Tim grabbed a bag without being told and walked to the edge. It wasn't a terrible jump, only about eight feet, but being three stories up made it seem like twenty. It seemed like fifty when Tim saw some shadows moving in the alley beneath him. The shadows seemed to be moving in the same general direction, and that direction was right at them.
    Something made a loud pounding noise behind them, and they all whirled with their pistols up. They heard it again and realized that something was repeatedly slamming against the door to the roof. Suddenly, Tim agreed wholeheartedly with the decision to move next door. Orpheus motioned for Mutt to take Fish and Tim with him to the next roof. They threw the bags over the gap. Fish backed up a few paces then rocketed forward, pushing off the ledge and clearing the gap by a mile. He got up and mimed a little air guitar before he began slowly searching the roof. Tim caught Mutt rolling his eyes a bit. The rookie brought up the rear and made the jump with surprising ease. His two companions seemed a little surprised that he didn't come up way short and end up dangling from the ledge.
    The three of them did a quick sweep of the roof. It was empty, so they took up positions and got as low as they could while still being able to see Orpheus and Sam. The boss motioned for Sam to make the jump while he kept his pistol trained on the door. Tim expected Orpheus to be right behind, but he paused on the roof. He walked back towards the door and grabbed the handle. He started to push the latch down with his thumb, and Tim looked at Mutt with a panicked look.
    Mutt's face showed nothing.
    “What is he doing?” Tim whispered.
    “Don't know. Stay ready.” To emphasize his point, he pulled a spare magazine and laid it next to him. Sam hustled to the pile of bags and opened one. He pulled out a shotgun and took up a position next to Mutt.
    Fish had his back to the rest, guarding their backsides.
    Tim resisted the urge to wrap his finger around the trigger. He was tense enough that accidentally firing it was a definite possibility.
    Orpheus hadn't moved in a few seconds. He turned his head to look at something past the door and appeared frozen. Tim realized that Orpheus wasn't looking at something; he was listening for something.
    After a few more seconds, Orpheus let the handle return to its original position slowly. He backed away from the door, holstered his sidearm, and made the jump.
    “What in the hell was that?”
    “Let's set up, Sam. Then we can talk.”
     
    * * *
     
    Orpheus finished telling the others about the new wrinkle while they set up their gear. The roof of the movie theater was meant to serve as their “command post.” In practice, it meant this was where they'd store the gear they couldn't carry, and where they'd come to rest until they were ready to extract.
    Fish was the first to speak after Orpheus finished. “Sooooo...we're supposed to grab a snarling, spitting, screaming Jekyll, bag or whatever the hell else we can do to subdue it...and get it back here for pickup while trying to not alert the zombies that we already have a hard enough time avoiding when it's just us."
    Orpheus laughed. “That's about right.”
    “Well, I must say, I'm psyched. When can we get started?”
    “Let's eat. Then we have to head over to the burn zone