What Remains: The Outbreak

by Tyler Barrett

  Muller scooted across the seat after closing the driver side door. He was hopeful that whenever they had the gunfight that the truck wasn’t left on, so its battery would still have charge. The switch was in the off position, which was a good sign. He pushed the switch waiting for the truck to warm up and cranked the engine. It sputtered at first but then kicked to life with a deep constant roar. Muller quickly opened the passenger door and shoved the other dead soldier out of the cab.

  Once he had the door closed, he grabbed the shifter and moved the truck into the reverse position. Muller backed up around the other truck and put it in drive, going around the other cargo truck. It had been quite some time since he was on the right-hand side of the vehicle for the driver’s side, so he misjudged the distance he had on the left side of the truck. Muller ran into a sign pole, bending it, but otherwise not harming the truck. For a brief moment he thought that he had screwed their only means of transportation, and his heart beat faster than usual, but once he realized the truck was still running, he took a deep breath and was fine.

  However, what wasn’t fine was the noise the truck was making combined with the screeching sound of metal on metal the small collision had caused. Muller looked out the windshield past the sign he was staring at and realized that horde had made its way back to the street they had initially been on and was making their way down the block towards him. Cursing he backed the truck up and avoided the sign and drove back to the house where the others were waiting.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Kenji moved down the street going the opposite way than Muller, hoping that splitting up would allow them more chances to find a suitable vehicle to transport them all, including a wounded man. He carefully moved along the sidewalk, climbing over a few cars that had tried to drive on the sidewalk to get around the traffic. He spotted a delivery truck on the other side of the street, stuck in the traffic around it.

  The truck would fit what they needed it for, but with no time to clear the traffic around it, he abandoned hope of using it. He approached the intersection with caution, knowing that he could be running into another horde making its way to the gunfire. To his left he could see the school not too far from where he was, a giant horde banging at the blockaded doors of the school. Kenji knew it would only be a matter of time before the horde found a way into the school and infected all those that were inside.

  He couldn’t help but want the shooter to get infected for killing Daniels, and inevitable infection of Knight. He wanted the shooter to feel the pain of his actions but knew he would eventually whether he wanted him to or not. His thoughts turned to Knight, who he knew they should have ended his life right there on the spot, but he knew it wasn’t his place to do it. His fellow soldiers would want to do it but waiting could prove to be a big mistake.

  Turning his attention to other matters, he looked back away from the school looking down the street the other way. Nothing caught his attention, except for a few infected trying to make their way through the cars. One street was clear and looked as though the vehicles had been moved on purpose. At least, they had a straightforward way as a from the school if they could find a vehicle.

  He heard the gunfire from the school become more frantic after the gunman inside realized how big the horde was making its way to him. Over the shooting, he heard a diesel engine start up its roar echoing amongst the buildings. Hoping it was Muller who had found a truck he turned back around, running at full sprint. An infected man was heading the same way, finally making his way from where he had been in one of the homes.

  Kenji slowed down as he approached the infected man; bring his katana up to swing at the man's head. He swung cleanly decapitating the man; Kenji wondered how he would have survived this long if he had not found it in the apartment. He would probably be infected, as would Nobuto and Ren. His thoughts turned to Kiyomi, how everyone he knew was slowly dying around him.

  Forcing himself to focus on the sound of the engine, he snapped back to the street, running again down the street. He only made it about two-thirds of the way down the street, passing the house where the others were at before he saw Muller driving down the road with military cargo truck. Seeing that it had bullet holes along the side, he knew whoever had owned it before was long dead. Muller drove past Kenji who had started back the street rows the house.

  Muller got out of the truck, “Help me check the back really quickly?”

  “You open the flaps, and I'll be ready,” stated Kenji.

  Muller reached up and pulled back the canvas material covering the back part of the truck. It held nothing but the benches on either side for troops to sit on for transport. Muller worked on tethering the flaps to the side, so the others could quickly climb up onto the back while Kenji walked back into the house where he found the others waiting. Knight had yet to turn and was still awake and alert, which was uncommon, but Kenji ignored it for now.

  “We have a cargo truck waiting out front; it's got enough room to carry everyone. Hurry up though the sound will probably be drawing more infected this way,” Kenji said staring at Knight.

  Not waiting for any more encouragement, they started to move out towards the truck. Ramirez helped carry the visibly pained Knight, and with the help of Evans, moved him into the back of the truck leaning him against the back wall, facing out the rear. The others climbed in and took a seat scooting inward to make sure there was room for everyone. Ramirez sat next to Knight his hand hovered close by his sidearm, his eyes never leaving his commanding officer.

  Once they were all in Muller jogged to the front, of the truck, hopped in the driver’s side of the truck and putting it into gear. Kenji had taken his seat in the passenger seat of the front, wanting to be able to help scout out a path for them to drive on.

  “There is a clear path at the next intersection, it looks like it leads the way we need to go,” Kenji said pointing in the direction it headed.

  “Ok, let’s hope that it’s clear all the way to the airbase. I think I’ve had enough of the city to last me a lifetime,” Muller stated pointedly.

  The truck drove onwards down the street that Kenji had pointed out, dodging the few infected scattered amongst the road and houses. Soon the school was long behind them, and they all let the stress that flowed through their bodies fade away. Everyone except for Ramirez, who was still carefully watching Knight. He stared at the bite they had covered with a bandage, knowing that he was infected.

  Silence had once again fallen over the group in the back of the truck, each person not wanting to start the conversation they all knew needed to be launched. The silence continued as the truck drove on. The sound of the diesel engine, switching gears was the only thing anyone heard, besides the massive tires on the streets.

  The group, at least, had made it safely away from the school and had found a means of transportation to the air base in which they were heading. Not everything was looking down for them. The streets were only mildly congested; it was sunny, with a soft breeze. Maybe not everything in their plan had worked out, but for now, they were safe and moving faster than on foot. Soon the lulling hum of the tires on the pavement gave them all the sense of the world before.

  The truck was the freedom they had needed from the grasps of the city, instead of being lured slowly to their deaths. Friends, family, and anyone else it could find; each person a victim of the infected hordes. As the truck drove further away from the city, each person felt they had a little more breathing room as the fresh air made its way through the cracks in the tarp, over the back of the truck. The fresh air was welcomed compared to the rotting, dead city; filled with corpses, both moving and not moving.

  Each person of the group looked back at the city, hoping never to see it again, not wanting to partake in its crazy game. Remembering the ones they had lost, they all were silent for their memories. The truck’s engine rumbling was the only noise coming from the truck as it finally made its way to the airbase.

  Chapter 44

  All by myself
>
  He knew he couldn’t stop because if he did the infected would get him. Carter guessed he had been running for about half an hour now, but he didn’t dare to look back. All he could hear was his heart pounding in his chest and the intake of air passing through his nose. He never stopped moving, even after he knew that he didn’t even know where he was running.

  Finally, Carter stopped alongside a car, leaning up against the back-passenger door. He took a glance back as he lay against the vehicle, seeing no horde chasing after him. A loud slam against the car door he was leaning against sent him into action mode once more, and he jumped back from the car. Raising his knife, he saw what caused the noise, it was the decaying infected man, who had begun to slam his bony hands against the window.

  The glass was too thick for the infected man to break through, so the infected man beat fruitlessly against it. Feeling better knowing that he didn’t have to fight, but still on edge and alert, he started to walk towards the intersection. Making sure to check down all the streets for any sign of a horde, he kept having a mental image of the horde he had just escaped turning the corner just as he did and chased after him again.

  Knowing the likelihood of that was very slim, he continued on the path he had initially needed to take. South; he looked up at the sun, making sure he was indeed heading the right way. After gauging the position of the sun, and knowing the time of day, he found he had guessed right after all, which didn’t surprise him. Finally having some time to calm down his heart rate, he took out his water bottle and drank greedily from it. He held the cold bottle against his forehead hoping the condensation would provide much-needed relaxation.

  His legs felt rubbery and like they weighed a ton each. Feeling the need to take a quick break, he found a beautiful shaded outdoor patio to sit and rest for a moment. The building had been a restaurant of some sort, before the infection. On a few of the tables along the patio held plates with food still on them, molded and far beyond the point where anyone should eat them. Several of the tables had been knocked over, and a clear dried pool of blood was right in the middle of the scene. It wasn’t hard to figure out what had happened here.

  After staring at the gruesome scene for a few minutes, and enjoying sitting in the shade, he decided that it was time to move again. Now that his legs had time to work through the lactic acid building up they felt much freer. Carter knew he had a long march ahead of him but was grateful for the momentary respite. Knowing that he might have to sleep somewhere for the night while he made his journey south, wanting to make it as far as he could.

  Carter began to jog, trying to make the loud slapping of his boots softer against the asphalt. He tried putting less force with each step, but it just made it hard to keep his pace. Oddly, most of the street was wide open and unblocked. Several of the stores in the area had been looted earlier, but a few still looked intact. Soon the stores gave way to houses, many of which were small and had been stacked next to each other to fit as many as they could in. Almost all of those had been broken into as well, and he figured it would be safer just to keep moving, knowing that when he took his stop for the night, he didn’t want to be in an open place.

  Carter started to wonder if he would find an ideal place to hole up for the night in, doubtful he continued his search. Moving around most of the bodies that he saw in the street, he started to feel less like a hunted man by a mob of slow, but vicious, angry people, who wanted to tear chunks out of his flesh; and more like just a lone survivor of a horrible event. It was very odd to be in a city, and not be surrounded by the constant sounds of people going about their lives, cars driving by, shopkeepers playing music to entertain customers. There was nothing but the sound of his feet on the pavement and his breath.

  The houses began to look the same, repeating over and over; he felt like he was stuck in a maze city, unwilling to let him escape. His mind wandered to things from back home, cheeseburgers, beer, and his own bed. It was funny though because he hardly ever had the time to be at his home.

  Being here, amongst the remains of civilization, made him only want to be back home, where people’s most significant worries were paying bills and going to work. Here, surviving was a minute by minute thing. Food, shelter, weapon, and good luck, those were the things that he and others had to deal with to survive. Carter knew he had enough food and water to last a couple of days if he rationed it, had had his trusty knife for defense, so far, he had good luck, the only thing he was missing was a shelter for the night.

  As his mind wandered, he walked down the street, much like the infected. Soon he had walked several blocks without even noticing, and he stopped to look around at the buildings. It was at that point he snapped out of his thoughts and back to reality, where he heard the familiar chorus of moans. His adrenaline began pumping through his veins; he couldn’t pinpoint where the horde was at, but he knew they were close.

  Knowing that he probably only had a couple of minutes before the horde would find him, he weighed his options. The only places around him were houses, with a couple having walled yards, but no other forms of protection. He ran down the left side of the street, looking at each home he passed. One stuck out to him; it had a walled yard and the gate that seemed to be untouched by the infection and the chaos it brought.

  He tried the gate, finding that it was unlocked and that maybe his luck was not going to last. Figuring that he wouldn’t find any other option he opened the gate with a slight creak. The thundering march; and the howling moans indicated that the horde was closing in on where he was. He searched the yard to try to find something to block the gate but did not see anything but a chair. Deciding he could try to shove the chair against the gate, and it would hold as long as there wasn’t too many infected putting their weight into it.

  Turning back to the house, he looked for a way inside. The house was still intact, no windows broken, and the front door still on its hinges. Carter tried the door but found it locked. He grabbed his knife and jammed the blade into the lock, trying to catch it, which luckily for him it was an older door, and he quickly unlocked the door. He pushed his way inside into the dark interior, where dust hung in the air heavily.

  A horrid stench also hung in the air, and could only mean dead bodies, or infected. Carter was ready for anything and slowly pulled his flashlight from his pocket. Once it was out he searched the hallway; he was looking for the source of the smell. A trail of dried blood leading from where he was standing deeper into the house told him that it wasn't just decaying bodies inside. Hoping there was only a couple infected in the house, he debated just waiting and then checking to see if the horde had left. Otherwise, he would have to go deeper into the dark interior of the house and search for the infected.

  He didn't like either plan, both had too many risks, but he knew he had to make a decision or fate would make one for him. Choosing to try to find the infected he crept down the hall, deciding to follow the blood trail. It led into the living room where the blood pooled around the chair in the corner. On the right side of the room, another hall pointed to what he guessed would be the bedrooms. Finding nothing but lots of blood he knew that the infected would be in the back.

  As he crossed the threshold of the hallway the floor creaked under his heavy boots, and he froze. It was already too late as he heard the soft moan came from deeper down the hall. He flashed his light down the hall seeing two infected both elderly, one a man and the other a woman. Two he could handle he just had to be quick, stabbing one through the side of the head, and then repeat it for the second.

  However, from the open bedrooms, several more infected appeared. Their numbers swelled until it was more than seven. His mind went into panic mode, realizing that that wouldn't be able to hold out against that many at once. He quickly turned and started back towards the front door, knowing that it was, at least, the small walled-off yard was safer than inside the house.

  He quickly opened the door, and paused for a moment, stunned at the amount of infected passing by on the
street. Closing the door, he knew that it would hold if he stood against it. The hallway leading to the door was only wide enough for maybe two infected to be pushing against the door. He prayed that the sound of the horde moving by would mask the sound of the infected trying to get to him.

  Immediately after his prayer, the thudding of fists on the door shower that he had for sure ran out of luck. The constant noise had started to draw the attention of a few of the infected passing by the metal gate on the street. The gate swung outwards though, so the infected that were trying to get in were pushing against the entrance the wrong way. The solid metal frame held quite well against the horde now trying to force its way towards him.

  Realizing that both infected had an excellent chance of getting him now, he stared at the horde. If this was to be his end, then so be it; he had barely escaped with his life several times before. Maybe this was fate finally catching up to him, coming to tell him he was out of get out of jail free cards. He had already had his peace and knew that his final moments wouldn't be pretty.

  After what seemed like hours of the infected continually moaning, rattling the gate, and pounding on the door, something happened he didn't expect. A miracle occurred; off in the distance. It sounded like it was, at least, a mile away but it was the distinct sound of small arms fire. Not just one shot, but several after the first one. Soon many of the infected that swarmed the gate had their attention diverted to the gunfire.

  After a few minutes, they started to dwindle down to just a small number. Knowing that there would probably still be a few left Carter decided it was time to try to take out a few of the infected on the other side of the door he was holding, plus he knew the door wouldn’t hold forever. He let the door give just a tiny bit; just enough for him to see one of the infected shove it’s head through. He brought his knife straight through its eye socket, where it struck the brain.