by Olah, Jeff
The night her mother passed, Savannah was working late at the bar and was once again being harassed by the two idiots she called step-brothers. They made sure to order another round of drinks just before last call and one last plate of wings, knowing she’d have to stay late once again cleaning up after them. Her manager hated them just as much as Savannah, although “They were paying customers, just like anyone else and deserved to be treated as such.”
They were both drunk as usual and didn’t realize that between the two of them they ingested a full bottle of the hottest sauce the county had to offer. The wings were doused with this liquid fire and Savannah’s payback would most likely take effect the following morning.
When she arrived home an hour later than normal, the paramedics were already performing CPR on her mother as they rushed her to the ambulance. Troy waited thirty minutes before calling 911 and her mother died before reaching the hospital. The asthma that her mother usually had under control took her before Savannah could say goodbye. She missed her mom more than anything in this world and only wished she could tell her. Savannah closed her eyes and listened to the tone of April’s quiet voice as she continued to count. “One, two, three…”
“I love you Mom.”
69
The time for fairness and rationalization had vanished long ago. All that was left was survival. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he already knew this, although he consciously held on to the last shreds of civility left inside him. He struggled to admit what the world had become and more importantly, he resisted the change that had already taken place deep within his mind. Mason wasn’t a savage, although at the moment he needed to be.
The man standing before them in the midst of a full mental breakdown and quite possibly also strung out on prescription meds, hesitated for a fraction of a second. Reacting without thought, Mason quickly raised the gun to this man’s chest and pulled the trigger. He was dead before his drug riddled body hit the sidewalk. The blowback sent a fine pink mist and fragments of skin and bone through the now shattered window and into the store. Caught off guard by his own action, Mason looked to Randy for validation, although his friend appeared to be just as surprised.
The gravity of what he’d done hadn’t surfaced. He simply acted on what needed to be done. If he hadn’t, Randy would certainly be the one on the ground, if not both of them. “Come on,” Mason said. “Let’s get what we need and get back to the RV; I’m sure every Feeder for miles is already on the way.”
Randy didn’t say a word. He simply bent down, pulled the shotgun from the man’s dead clutches and made his way into the store.
The heavy rain diluted the moonlight, which made digging through the already ransacked store that much more frustrating. In the dark, the pair quickly walked the store to check for Feeders or anything else looking to do them harm before meeting back in the pharmacy.
“Mason, grab anything ending in cillin, preferably Penicillin or Amoxicillin. I’ll get the rest. Holler if you spot any trouble.”
“What are you doing?” Mason asked.
“Getting everything else,” Randy said. “Be ready to go in two minutes.”
Was killing him the right thing to do? Recalling the desperation in the man’s eyes just before he pulled the trigger, Mason wanted the chance to go back and ask him why he was so agitated. The confrontation escalated so quickly, neither side had a second to state their case. He knew this would be a growing concern as they came across more people out in the world. Most would rather kill you before you had the chance to draw down on them. They would use the infection as an excuse to throw their morality out the window every time they had the chance.
Searching behind the counter, he imagined that everything they may need would have been scooped up as the uninformed masses blew through the area in the first few hours after the infection surfaced. They would have picked the stores clean in every city, long before now. As he squinted through the darkness, the back wall looked mostly untouched. Maybe they hadn’t seen it or were overrun as they hurried through the store. Whatever the reason, a whole section of this area was still standing. Mason rushed to the wall and couldn’t believe his eyes. Unopened, prepackaged and labeled, prescriptions of every kind hung there like little paratroopers waiting to jump. Most, if not all of these people, were now already long gone in one way or another. The tiny slivers of moonlight reaching in through the window produced just enough light to read the first few names. As he reached for the first package the entire store began to shake violently.
. . .
The earthquake began with a sharp jolt that threatened to pull him back from the excruciating trance that held him just on the other side of this reality. As the RV swayed back and forth like a boat on the open ocean, he arched his back and let out the first sound in almost an hour. The yelp-like scream, combined with the rocking of the RV, brought both April and Savannah to their feet in an instant. They both stood over Justin as he contorted his sweaty mess of a body into positions that seemed odd given that minutes ago he appeared to be catatonic.
His mind was fully aware of his surroundings, although he was unable to command any sense of control over his body. Justin vigorously fought to calm himself and to speak, although not even a single word left his lips.
As the rumbling continued, both women braced themselves in the doorway, not knowing why the RV was moving so violently. Just as quickly as it began, the shaking stopped and Savannah went to the door. Looking out through the window, she chambered a round and was half expecting to see an angry horde pushing and tearing away at the RV. She did see a horde starting to form, although they were closer to the storefront and appeared to have little interest in the RV or what it contained.
Tapering off a bit, the rain still came down, although now Savannah could actually see most of the store and the man lying on the sidewalk where Mason had killed him. She also noticed the smashed front window and the Feeders working their way through. “April, how is he?”
“Justin is ok; he’s back to sleeping or whatever it is he’s doing. Why?”
“That was an earthquake, right?” Savannah asked.
“I don’t know, I thought we were being attacked. Scared the hell out of me.”
“Me too, but…”
“But what?”
“Not to worry you, but I think we have another problem,” Savannah said still staring out into the parking lot.
“I can’t handle another problem. My son is all I’m concerned about. Mason and Randy will have to take care of whatever it is when they get back.”
“April, that is the problem. I don’t see them and there are a ton of Feeders starting to pile into the stores. I also think that I heard a gunshot.”
Every joint in his wrecked body was being blasted by thousands of needles all at once. The limitless pain controlled everything about him. He could hear every word spoken between his mother and Savannah, although once the sound entered his mind the words were reassembled in a manner that had no meaning. Their tone was hopeful and quiet; he could at least ascertain that, although everything else frustrated him. Justin only wanted to die and with everything beginning to slow, he figured death wasn’t far off.
The poor deranged man lying in front of the store had caught the attention of a few of the Feeders as the rest waded through the broken glass and downed shelves at the front of the store. April knelt on the bench and looked out, witnessing the same scene as Savannah. “Where are they? What’s taking them so long? Do you think they are still in the store?”
“I don’t know. I’m giving them one minute and if they don’t come out, I’m going to help,” Savannah said.
“You’re not leaving me here Savannah, I can’t…”
“April, if they don’t come back, we’re done. Either way, I have to go!”
She looked out once again as April sat back on the bed and began to cry for her son. Savannah reached back for the black bag, pulled it in next to her and grabbed a few extra clips and a few small
explosives she had little idea how to use. Sitting quietly at the foot of the door, the seconds ticked by as the horde outside grew in numbers. She wasn’t prepared to leave the RV alone and if she was going to die out there in the rain tonight, she sure as hell was going to take some of those things down in the process.
“April, I’m going…”
70
Pushing through the downed shelves, he could hear death making its way toward them. Struggling to right himself, Mason grabbed what he could from the floor and shoved four small packages of prescription medication into his front pockets. He had no idea what he had taken and if it would even do them any good, but time was up. Pushing to a standing position, he could see the growing horde outside the store and three curious members clawing their way through the broken glass and over the initial row of shelves.
The first few Feeders appeared lost as they stumbled into the store and apparently didn’t see Randy fighting to free himself under a long rack of DVD’s. Squinting through the darkness and moving toward him, Mason called for his friend. “Randy, they’re inside; we gotta go!”
“No kidding, give me a hand.”
“I’m on my way, you get what you needed?”
“Yeah, you?” Randy asked.
“Not exactly, that quake threw EVERYTHING to the floor; I grabbed a handful of something,” Mason said. “Now cover your ears for a second.”
“GO.”
Moving in just behind Randy and standing over him, Mason fired off three rapid shots, turning the first two into stepping stones for the ones coming from behind. “Up close head shots are the way to go,” he thought to himself as he leaned forward and downed the last one. “Get up! Let’s go!” Mason said as he watched the entrance and helped his friend push the long rack to the side. Randy stood and kicked at the debris, clearing the area just in front of the two.
Bending to pick up the shotgun, Randy surveyed the area, “Mason, I’m not sure we have enough firepower to get back to the RV. This really wasn’t what I had in mind”
“Too bad, cause this is what I was waiting for all day. Hopefully we can follow this up with a good explosion!”
“Mason, now’s not really the time…”
“Yeah, I know. Let’s go!”
“Uh…” Randy stopped and pointed toward the entrance. “We’re not goin’ out that way.”
What little moonlight came through the entrance as the pair entered the store was now cut into tiny shards by the sheer number of Feeders climbing over their downed comrades and the multitude piling in from behind. “Haven’t seen a crowd this large since opening day at the race track, only they’re betting we lose.”
“Seriously Mason, enough. We gotta go, let’s check the back door.”
Weaving their way through the disaster left behind by the early days of the infection and the sizable quake only minutes ago, Mason led the way to the rear of the store. Randy used the barrel of the shotgun to push open the door to the stockroom as Mason peered in. “It’s clear, come on.”
They hurried through the final part of the store with little time to waste as the growing number of Feeders crammed through, practically nipping at their heels.
A single skylight near the exit lit the way, guiding the two men toward the rear exit. With only enough ammunition for a short fight, Mason nodded to Randy as he stepped in behind and took the pistol from his friend’s waistband. “Just take care of the door, I got this.” Mason chambered a round in each pistol and took two steps toward the oncoming horde. Planting his right foot for balance, he fired multiple rounds into each Feeder, making sure to plug the door to the stockroom with plenty of motionless bodies. Turning back to Randy he said, “Let’s go already.”
Randy tried in vain to load a round into the chamber of the shotgun. He pulled back on the forestock once again and noticed the problem. “It’s jammed!”
Not knowing how many rounds he had left, Mason pushed Randy aside and winced as he shot directly into the lock. Tiny shards of lead and stainless steel darted around the room, spraying them both in the process. The flash illuminated the rear of the stockroom for half a second. Something in the far corner caught Mason’s eye as Randy kicked open the already badly damaged door and looked out into the rear lot.
The blast had caught the attention of no less than fifty Feeders moving about behind the newly constructed outdoor mall. If this would have been fifteen days ago, panic would have instantly set in at the sight of these things that were something not quite human, although most still held a vague resemblance. Now they were more of a mild hindrance, unless you made the mistake of not having an exit plan. Mason knew they were running short on options, even though they still had time to run, although what waited in the RV was something no one in the group wanted to deal with.
Rather than wasting time trying to fix the jammed shotgun out in the rain that had eased considerably, Randy tossed it to the ground. He held out his right hand asking Mason for the second nine millimeter as he stepped out into the lot. Handing over the weapon, he in turn received one of the two extra clips from Randy. “Make every shot count; this is all we got and it has to last us till we get back.”
“Gotcha.”
Mason hesitated as Randy started for the alley that separated the two stores and turned his attention back to the interior. Sliding the clip into his front pocket, he looked back inside and spied two propane tanks near the door. Firing one round into the first tank Mason flinched and turned away. The blast caused a chain reaction and instantly ignited the rear of the store, preventing any additional Feeders from exiting.
Catching Randy just short of the break in the buildings, Mason was reminded of the last time he made these kinds of off the cuff decisions… they almost got him killed. Not even eight hours after the initial infection, the man running next to him had to save his life. Reaching the corner, Mason stopped first and looked in. Only two Feeders to contend with and a ten foot wide space to do it in, he liked their odds.
Randy grabbed him by the shoulder. “No Guns! Let’s just get to the other side, no noise. Cool?”
“Yep,” Mason grunted.
“I’m serious; we need to get back to them, not for us… for them. You good?”
“Yes, I’m good. Don’t worry about it,” Mason shot back.”
“OK, no jokes, no weird comments, no crazy stunts. Let’s just get back to the girls. I’m done with this day. You should be too.”
Thirty feet tall, the white block walls on either side of the alley gave no chance for escape once they started down the path. This particular setting was both ominous and familiar at the same time. There were too many ways this could go wrong, although both men knew without saying a word what was going to take place.
Random puddles dotted the landscape between where they were and where they needed to be, as reminders of the torrential downpour that now quietly continued to fall. Three shades of pink covered Randy’s tattered shirt as it took on a sort of tie-dyed effect, almost looking planned. The many encounters over the last couple of hours, mixed with the rain, had partially washed away even the most gruesome of battles, although the memories remained.
Leading the way into the void, Mason looked back and confirmed that his friend followed close behind. “What the hell is waiting for us back in the RV? I shouldn’t have left her with him? She can’t even handle him in his current state; let alone what he’ll become when he wakes up.” Reaching the halfway point, they simply stepped around the first of the flesh-eating road blocks. Still convinced they needed to stay quiet; Randy calmly moved in behind the Feeder and kicked at its lower leg, knocking it to the ground as they passed. It never had a chance and as it lay on the ground thrashing about, the two men moved on to their next target.
With the second Feeder just feet away, they slowed as it was dead center in the alley. Stepping forward Mason wanted to handle this one just as systematically. As it turned to go after them, Mason took a few steps back, not quite sure how to handle this thing. There
was no good way to get a hold of it without dropping his weapon. Out of time and options he raised his weapon.
“NO!” Randy said just as a shot went off… only it wasn’t from Mason’s gun.
71
Smoke rose from the rear of the shopping mall as the muted stench of death and fear hung in the air like a bad dream. Feeders continued to pour into the lot nearest the street and converged around the opening of the drug store. There weren’t many between her and the building, although the fear she faced on day one of the infection hadn’t subsided… not one ounce. She’d rather face a third-world country firing squad than fight these sub-humans. Savannah was a woman, a beautiful woman, although she tried to give off the appearance of being the tough tom-boy type. It wasn’t working. She was scared beyond her years and her heart rate doubled in the last thirty seconds.
“Mason and Randy… where did they go, I don’t see them anywhere?” She wasn’t really sure how she was going to help, as she stepped out of the RV and started across the lot. With the gun raised, she pointed wildly at every Feeder that came within twenty feet. Running quietly toward the mayhem and looking side to side for the two men she hoped would appear, Savannah inadvertently stepped into a small depression in the pavement and reactively gripped the pistol, firing off a single round. Falling to the ground and sliding to a stop not thirty feet from the horde, she knew without lifting her head that a whole new set of problems were headed her way.
