Orpheus: Homecoming (The Orpheus Trilogy Book 2) by Dan DeWitt

professional as he'd expected. They'd moved cautiously, logically, not willing to advance until they were sure it was safe to do so. The new arrivals soon fell into the same sort of pattern.
    While they worked, the air was thick with real and unmistakable emotion. The soldiers were clearly warring with anxiety and a healthy fear, whereas he sensed a familiar melancholy coming from his lieutenants.
    He knew exactly how they felt.
    The shots became less frequent, and soon died down entirely.
    Everyone stood awaiting the next order while he scanned the pile for movement, but there wasn't any. The team had done its job well.
    Tino said, "Road's blocked."
    "No problem," German answered. "The trucks can get up and over if they have to."
    "Good enough for me."
    They all began to walk toward the vehicles when Orpheus said, "No."
    They all stopped and looked at him.
    "They've suffered enough. We can take two minutes to clear a path." To prove his point, he climbed down the ladder and joined the group. He registered the apprehensive looks and said, "It's only contagious if they bite you. So cowboy up." He grabbed the nearest zombie, a female who must've been slight in life and was now grotesquely gaunt, by the wrists and dragged her as gently as he could to the grass on the side of the road.
    Rachel was next. She picked a zombie that must have outweighed her by fifty pounds, even in its ravaged state. The pairing stood in sharp contrast to him and the zombie he'd just moved, but he knew that wasn't her intent. If he hadn't made the decision to move the bodies, she would've made it for them.
    She turned her head slightly and smiled at Orpheus. It had a tone of gratitude to it. I think I just made her proud.
    Some of the others followed suit while the rest stood watch. The road was completely cleared in a matter of minutes. Once the vehicles were occupied again, Orpheus led the way to the school. They encountered more zombies along the way, but the groups were small and he ordered the vehicles to just drive on through. Orpheus figured that they'd had enough excitement for the first day, and he just wanted to get settled in before starting the reclamation proper.
    Fish chose that moment to say exactly what Orpheus didn't want to hear. "Guys, I've gone over the shit show at the school in my head a million times. The more I think about it, the more I think there might be some left in there."
    Orpheus thought back to his insane (and ultimately futile) run to save Mutt in the baseball field press box. "Tim drew most of them off. Some may have wandered back, but we should be fine."
    Fish shook his head. "Not there. I think they might be inside."
    "How sure are you?" Rachel asked.
    Fish didn't answer for several seconds. A quick look in the rearview mirror showed that Fish had his eyes closed and was mumbling to himself, doing everything he could to bring his memory into full focus.
    Orpheus had a sinking feeling he knew what the meant. "Fish?" he prompted.
    "I could be wrong, but pretty sure."
    Ethan asked, "How many?"
    "How many did you trap in the bomb shelter?"
    Ethan looked at his fiancée. "Seventy? Eighty, maybe?"
    Rachel nodded her agreement. "It felt like a thousand."
    "Then, uh," he paused and scratched his temple, "two dozen left inside?"
    "Awesome," Ethan sighed. "You want me to spread the word?"
    Orpheus nodded.
    He cleared his throat and transmitted. "All units, this is Lieutenant Holt. We have good intel that there may be targets inside the school. The number is believed to be four dozen. Stand by for further instructions." He ended the transmission. "Better to overestimate."
    "I'm impressed," Orpheus said. "You sounded like you've been military for years."
    Ethan theatrically dusted off his lieutenant bars. "Gotta play the role, Captain. Gotta play the role."

School's Back in Session
     
     
    The caravan arrived at the high school. Less than a dozen zombies were waiting at the front. Orpheus ordered all of the vehicles but Zulu