"Yeah, we saw it on TV." Gina acknowledged. "We both called off work tomorrow."
"Well, I just wanted to make sure you were okay and,"
"That is not your job, Gabe!"
"I know, but listen, we are getting out of town, somewhere safe with fewer people, maybe heading down to the Florida Keys. Why don't you grab your stuff and come with us.”
"WE," Gina emphasized, "Are staying put. The police on the news said to stay indoors and only travel if necessary."
"I know, but we've seen how quickly this thing spreads, one minute everything is fine and then people are fighting each other and then the loser gets up and helps attack someone else."
Gabe could tell he hit a cord as she stood there quiet for a moment, so he continued on, "Jack and Jill from our youth group are in the truck with us. At least come say hi."
Gina looked over Gabe's shoulder towards the truck and seeing the teens, she smiled and waved. For a second Gabe saw a glimpse of the Gina he had married, happy, glowing, excited about working with youth in the Church.
Gina finished waving and lowered her eyes back down to his. "I appreciate you being concerned, but it is over, I filed the divorce paperwork a couple days ago. They told me you had received them."
Gabe was silent for a moment, but for some reason her statement reminded him of something.
"Jon's dead, he was killed by one of those things, trying to save my life. I thought you should know since you were friends with him first."
It was Gina's turn to be stunned, "I'm so sorry Gabe. I know how close you guys were."
"Please babe, come with us." Gabe said, with concern in his voice.
A tall man with long blond hair stepped around the door and put his hand on Gina’s shoulder. Gabe hadn’t met Gina’s boyfriend, but he knew right away by their body language that this was him. Gabe had an urge to punch the homewrecker but wasn’t sure it was appropriate with Jack and Jill watching.
"I'm staying Gabe, the police say they have it under control."
As if on cue sirens and gunshots could be heard nearby.
"Come on Gabe, it's time to go. I see some of them up on the next block and they are heading this way," Chris said, urgently.
"Keep your doors locked and stay away from the windows."
"Gabe," Chris repeated, with a serious tone in his voice.
"No lights at night."
Chris put his hand on Gabe's shoulder and gently pulled him towards the truck.
Gabe resisted for a moment, staring at Gina with pleading eyes before turning and walking towards the truck with Chris.
Chapter 6
The warm sun woke Gabe out of his uncomfortable sleep. At first he wasn't sure where he was and it wasn't until he reflexively started to look for his wife that he remembered.
Leaving Cincinnati's Northern Kentucky Suburbs had been a terrifying ordeal. It seemed like the number of dead people walking around killing people had gone up exponentially during the morning as many people seemed unaware of any problems and tried to make their morning commute as usual.
After barely missing several cars that were dodging pedestrians, or other cars, and clipping a pedestrian with the front of the truck (they all agreed it had been a dead person, but secretly weren't sure), they had hoped for better travels outside of town. For a little while, on the back roads, things had cleared up. When they finally cut over to I-75, feeling they needed to get on the highway to make time, they found things just as dangerous. There were wrecks in the middle of the highway and at the same time people were driving at outrageous speeds, as if the very hounds of Hell were at their heels.
Eventually they came to a multi-car pileup that stretched across the whole highway. As they surveyed the scene, their initial instinct to get out and help was squelched when they saw several people eating other people among the wrecked cars. Chris managed to get around the accident by driving on the hillside that made up the shoulder. They were glad they were in a 4-wheel drive vehicle at that point, but agreed that the highway had been a mistake. Due to the wrecks they were taking 10 minutes or more to go a single mile.
By the time they got to the next exit that wasn't blocked, they had been forced to work their way around several more accidents. As they had been working their way around one such accident the truck had been attacked by two men. Both had gaping throat wounds and a wild look in their eyes. Even though their banging and clawing at the truck in a clear attempt to reach its occupants were fruitless, it was still a terrifying moment for the passengers.
At the exit marked ‘Crittenden’, Chris noted several gas stations and picked the newest looking one, which also happened to have a McDonald's next to it, and pulled up to the pumps.
“Sit still.” Chris said and then remained still and silent for a solid minute. The others realized what he was doing and didn’t talk but scanned their surroundings looking for danger. “Okay, lets go.” Chris reached for his door handle and got out of the truck with the others following his example.
While they stretched their legs and continued to look around, a weary-looking attendant stuck his head out of the door. "Cash only, and you have to pre-pay!" The man said, with a no-arguing tone of voice. "Phone lines are down, credit cards won't work," He added in an effort to lighten his first statement.
Gabe walked toward the shop. Jill ran toward the McDonald's, clearly happy to be out of the vehicle.
“Jill!” Gabe immediately called.
“What? I don’t think it has spread here.”
“I’ll go with her,” Jack assured Gabe.
“First sign of trouble…” Gabe warned.
“Promise, we’ll run back here before you can say ‘fast food.’”
Gabe allowed himself a smiled at Jack’s attempt at humor.
Entering the gas station, the attendant retreated behind the counter and was looking at his radio like it was a TV. "Y'all are the first people I have seen in a bit," he commented, turning his attention to Gabe.
Gabe noted the baseball bat the man clutched, and being from the Kentucky side of Cincinnati, he was pretty sure the guy probably had a gun in his belt or at least under the counter.
"Not surprised. The roads are chaos," Gabe paused, and then continued, "Anything new on the radio?"
The attendant shook his head. "No, not really. They’s saying to stay inside and not travel, which is killin' my business."
Gabe nodded appreciatively, as he handed cash over for the gas and then waved outside where Chris was waiting to pump. "Have they said anything new about what caused… this? Or how to stop it for that matter?"
The door dinged softly as Jill came in followed by Jack.
"Some are saying it is a virus, but they can't isolate it so they have no idea how to treat it. Others are saying that Iran, China, or some other country used a powder they have down in Haiti to make people zombies, weaponized it, and poured it right in the water supply or blew it into the air." The attendant paused, shook his head, and continued, "I don't think they know what it is."
“Oh!” Jack offered. “I saw a documentary on the zombies in Haiti. They just roam around mindlessly. But they do what their master tells them. I don’t think they eat people.”
"The McDonald's is closed." Jill, focused on one thing at the moment ignored the current thread of conversation and pouted the way only a hungry teenager could.
"Yeah," the attendant started, "The manager and a couple employees showed up this morning and opened for breakfast. A couple cars went through, but they ended up closing and going home by 9 o'clock."
"Uh," Jill sighed in disappointment.
"I've got some sandwiches in the cooler and plenty of candy bars and chips."
Gabe realized that the attendant was the owner. Looking closer he saw his name tag said, "Gus".
"Gus is there anywhere around here where we could buy some camping equipment?"
"Sure, next exit down there is a Walmart, don't know if they are open, but they have a good size sportin'
goods section." Gus seemed to consider something for a moment, picked up a toothpick off the counter, and stuck it in his mouth. He continued talking with the toothpick still tucked halfway into the corner of his mouth. "Now if you want some real stuff, my friend Bobby Ray-" Jill snorted at the name and tried to cover a laugh, but Gus ignored it and went on, "He has an army surplus store nearby, just end of the road here and at the T intersection make a right, not more than 2 or 3 miles."
“Thanks Gus."
Gabe added the whole box of Slim Jim's that were sitting on the counter to the pile of sandwiches and chips that Jill had piled there.
Gus smiled as he rang it up.
Jill and Jack came out of the gas station food mart with plastic bags full of junk food and water bottles. Gabe came out after them and opened the back of the pick-up truck. As the two teens put the bags into the back Gabe reflected that, despite what they had been through, he was glad to see everyone's mood was light. It was also reassuring that they hadn't seen any of the infected, or zombies, or whatever they were, since getting off the highway. Maybe the infection hadn’t reached the rural areas. He also realized that Jack and Jill didn't know Chris had lost his wife in the past 12 hours. His train of thought was quickly broken by the unexpected sound of a car horn blaring.
A shiny silver Jaguar convertible came down the road. Jill began to wave at the driver. "He's waving," she noted with a smile, "Do we know him?"
Brad stuck his hand up in the air and gave an acknowledging wave to the driver. "Doesn't look familiar, maybe he wants help or something."
"He's not slowing down, I think he is in trouble," Gabe noted as the car was 50 yards away and hadn't slowed at all.
"I think he is going to go right by-" Chris started to say but stopped when he realized that the car was now veering at the group, "Watch out!"
It was too late, the Jaguar whipped across the road coming right toward them. No one had a chance to do more than raise their hands and brace for impact. In that split second Gabe’s brain managed to contemplate whether he would be killed by the initial impact or by the subsequent explosion of the gas pumps behind him when the car crashed into them.
The brakes squealed and the front wheels chirped across the pavement as they went into an impossibly tight turn. It was only as the car completely turned around did anyone notice several of the dead that had come up behind them. The closest one was only five feet away from Brad when the back quarter panel of the car smashed into it at more than 50 miles an hour. The dead man flew violently across the parking lot toward the store landing in a broken heap against the curb. Two more were run over, going under the back of the car and coming out under the side as the car slid sideways. The car continued backward for a few more yards. The driver simultaneously manipulated the stick and the wheel. The car once again spun around, this time the front quarter panel smashing into a second group just behind the first. Bodies again went flying, crashing back down in heaps. At last, the brakes came on a final time and the car rolled to a stop.
The moaning of the already dead, and now maimed, could be heard across the parking lot. The first of the dead that was hit by the car now attempted to get up from a blow that should have killed him instantly, if he hadn't already been dead. Gabe watched as the various infected, mangled by their encounter with a car, tried to move and drag themselves toward the living, despite their massive injuries.
Gabe looked from the zombies to his friends and noticed the confused and startled look on Jill and Brad’s faces. Brad broke the couple seconds of silence, "They still want to get at us, kill us, despite their injuries." His voice didn't sound scared, but instead analytic.
The jingle of the gas station door caught Gabe’s attention, causing him to turn in that direction as Gus walked out the door with a look of grim determination on his face. The first zombie that the car had hit had landed near the gas stations door and now was trying to drag itself towards Gabe and its friends. It was having trouble due to what at minimum was a broken arm, but it had managed to get to its knees. The zombie had stopped and turned its head at the sound of the gas station door’s bells ringing. Gus hefted a baseball bat to his shoulder and swung. The blow struck the zombie right across the side of the head and the creature went down and didn't stir anymore.
"They've been saying on TV that if you have to stop them, hit them in the head, it is the only thing that kills them," Gus shouted across the parking lot.
"That would explain last night," Chris said matter-of-factly, as he pulled his bolt action .308 rifle out of the truck. He chambered a round and put the butt of the gun against his shoulder. The crack was loud and penetrating in the open parking lot. One of the dead guys who had been getting up off the ground jerked back, a large chunk of flesh disappearing from his shoulder. The blood oozed out slowly and didn't go far. The dead man took no notice of his wound and continued to stand up. Chris took a deep breath and held it to steady himself, this time he shot the man right between the eyes. The man fell to the ground and didn't try to get back up. With a satisfied grunt, Chris changed targets. Having a feel for his gun that had been in the closet for too long as far as he was concerned, he dispatched the second one with a single shot. Now every single one of the creatures the driver knocked down was either walking, or dragging itself towards them.
"I've had enough of this," Gabe suddenly said, surprising everyone. He pulled the pistol that Chris had given him just the evening before out of his belt and walked toward the gathered creatures. The first one he got to had both legs broken by the impact with the car, but otherwise seemed unharmed. As Gabe got close it reached toward him. Gabe pointed the semi-automatic at the man's head and pulled the trigger. The 9mm bullet left a very small hole in the dead man’s forehead, but a lot of brain matter and skull fragments came out of the back. Gabe didn't even pause to examine his work, , he just moved on to the next one.
Brad reached in the truck and pulled out the .22 caliber pistol and walked out to join Gabe. Chris stayed where he was and continued to pick off any of them that got to close to Gabe or Brad and in short order they finished off all the dead in the parking lot. Meanwhile the man in the silver Jaguar convertible had idled up next to their truck at the pump.
"Wow!" The man began. "I was sure you guys were goners'. I was trying to motion for you guys to look behind you where all of those things were coming from but instead it had the opposite effect."
"Well, we appreciate your help anyway," Gabe started before being cut off by Jack.
"HEY! Aren't you the race car driver Billy Daily?" Jack blurted out.
"Billy looked a little sheepish, "Yeah, that's-"
Everyone jumped back as a teenage boy with most of his throat ripped out suddenly sat up in the back seat. Even Billy would admit later that it was dumb luck and reflex, but as the dead boy reached for him, Billy's foot slammed down on the gas. The car lurched forward, setting the dead boy back in his seat where he couldn't reach Billy. As he continued to accelerate the dead boy was able to reach up and get his hand on the back of Billy's seat. Billy swung the wheel hard, tossing the dead boy across the back of the seat. He saw he was almost out of parking lot; he tried to turn again., The parking lot was not the smooth and carefully cultivated race car track he was use to and the car skidded sideways. Leaving the blacktop, the car was now sliding hard across the unpaved area where 18 wheelers often parked. Billy fought to control the car while also watching the thing in the back seat, and ended up running out of ground before he could regain control.
Hitting the guard rail, the car made a horrible noise, all could hear metal crashing and tearing as the car disappeared over the drop off to the highway below.
Everyone ran towards the mangled guardrail and as they got closer they could see the front bumper of the car just below the lip of the drop-off. The guardrail was mangled and snagged under the car, holding it against the embankment wall, suspended 60 feet over the highway below. Chris edged up to the corner where the overpass bridge met the top of
the hill and, with one hand firmly gripping the bridge leaned over and craned his neck as far as he could.
Seeing the top of the drivers head, he yelled down. "Hey, you okay?"
"Yes, I think so," he replied.
Gabe, having been the furthest away, caught up and joined Chris, the rest of the group went back around the remains of the guardrail and out on the overpass for a better view.
"My seatbelts locked up" Billy called up. “I can climb out if I can get it off."
"Let me find a cord and I'll lower my pocket knife to you." Chris called back.
"Oh Crud!" Jack let out from the overpass. "Look out man. He is still hanging on to the back of the car!"
The driver looked over his shoulder, but couldn't see anything from his strapped in position. Reaching up he adjusted the rearview mirror and could see the dead man that had surprised them all, hanging onto the back seat, his legs out of the car dangling across the trunk. As the driver watched the dead man was slowly pulling himself up one millimeter at a time by sheer arm power.
"THROW ME THE KNIFE!" He began waving his hands above his head where Chris and Gabe could see them.
"I don't know if I can hit that target." Chris said quietly to Gabe.
"You have to try." Gabe said decisively.
On the bridge Brad began popping off rounds with the .22 pistol. "I'm hitting him, but I can’t get an angle on his head without possibly hitting the driver!"
"It's almost all the way in the back seat!" Jack called out.
"Hold your hands still!" Gabe yelled at the driver.
Holding his breath, Chris let the pocket knife drop out of his hand towards the two cupped hands 12 feet below him. With a satisfying thud, it landed right on target.
"It's in the back seat!" Brad screamed in warning.
Billy tried to keep one eye on the rearview mirror and one on the belt. The seat belt was made to look like a racecar harness system so two separate belts attached to the buckle, meaning two straps to cut instead of just one. He reached up next to his ear and in a matter of seconds sawed through the belt that went across his chest. As it snapped he saw a hand reach up from the back seat and grab the passenger seat's headrest. In one smooth arc Billy brought the knife across from his left side and right into the fingers on the seat. The first two fingers came right off, the third finger only partially severed, but it was enough and the hand let go and he could hear the dead man fall against the back seat. He realized that it was only because creature's broken legs that it couldn’t just stand up and attacked him while he was trapped. Thanking God for small favors, Billy wedged the blade between his leg and the seat and carefully started to cut the seat belt.
Dead Faith (Book 1): Dead Faith Page 4
