Desolace Omnibus Edition

by Lucian Barnes

  Frozen in horror, Katie watched as the woman lifted a leg and stepped out of the tub. Her foot came down with a sickening, wet sound. Chunks of flesh fell from the woman's body to the tile floor. Her glazed eyes popped open in her skull as she reached out to grab Katie.

  Edward silently prayed that his magic would work, but to no avail. The flame in his palm didn't grow in size, it remained the same. Panic began to set in as he saw the corpse reaching for Katie. He could hear footsteps quickly approaching from the hallway, but feared that whoever it was would be too late.

  Katie's fear finally broke and she managed to dodge the woman's outstretched hands, for the moment anyway. She didn't know what to do. Edward was still blocking the doorway, so she couldn't run and she had nothing to defend herself. She fumbled for something to fight with, staying just out of the woman's reach.

  Something moved slightly beneath her hand. She hurriedly looked to see what it was. The lid from the back of the toilet, covering the tank! Quickly, she snatched it up in both hands and brought it upward, connecting with a savage blow to the woman's head. Blood and flesh splattered against the wall and one of the woman's breasts fell off, hitting the floor with a wet slap. Shortly thereafter, the woman collapsed to the floor, unmoving.

  The rest of the group appeared in the doorway moments later. "What's going on?" Melissa asked nervously. "We heard screaming."

  Edward's ears were still ringing, so he could barely hear or understand what she had said, but he picked up just enough. He stepped into the hallway, allowing the others to see.

  "What happened?" Melissa stammered, seeing the grotesque, twisted form lying on the floor.

  Jack entered the room and pried the porcelain lid from Katie's grasp, setting it aside. He looked into her eyes and saw nothing, as if her brain had taken a vacation from the rest of her body. "I think she's in shock," he told the others. Gently, he latched onto her hand and led Katie from the room.

  "We found what we thought to be a dead woman in the tub when we came in to search the room. Apparently she wasn't, because she stood up and tried to attack Katie," Edward began. "I tried to use magic against it, but as the case has been since our arrival in this world, the magic wouldn't come. At least, not the way it used to. Thankfully, Katie was able to thwart the attack with her quick thinking."

  Melissa stepped forward to inspect the body more closely. "It looks like something out of a horror movie," she said with disgust, barely resisting the urge to vomit. "Is this what happens to people exposed to the virus we read about?"

  Edward gently tugged Melissa's arm, bringing her back into the hallway. Now that everyone was out, he closed the door. He motioned for everyone to follow and headed back to the front of the house. "If that could happen once, it will likely occur again," he said as he walked down the hall. "We will need to be on our guard, which means sleeping in shifts from now on."

  As they entered the front room, Edward turned to face them and saw by their expressions that they agreed with him.

  "It could have been an isolated incident, but I would rather not take any chances," Edward told them.

  "I can only imagine how much worse it will get. We're in no-man's land right now. What's it going to be like when we get close to a big city?" Melissa hesitantly asked. She didn't want to bring the spirit of the group down, but she had to be realistic. There was no point in giving everyone a false sense of security and then getting caught off guard.

  "Melissa has a good point," Edward stated. "I think we need to consider finding weapons in the morning, before we set out again."

  The group then began to hash out the sleeping arrangements and guard duties. Once it was agreed upon, those that were going to sleep huddled together as close as possible on the floor. There would be no fire tonight, as fortune hadn't seen fit to leave them with any firewood.

  Chapter 11

  As the first light of day began to filter through the windows, Julie started to wake the others. It took a few minutes for them to get their arms and legs untangled because of the way they had slept, bunched together like sardines in a can.

  At least the night passed without incident, Melissa thought, sitting up and rubbing her feet. They felt much better this morning with no signs that blisters were starting to form.

  It didn't take long for the group to get ready. Most had only taken their boots off to sleep, needing the rest of their newly acquired clothing to keep the night chill at bay.

  "So, what's the plan?" Katie yawned.

  "The first, and most important, thing will be to see if we can find some weapons. We still have plenty of food and water, so we could head out again after our weapon search," Edward replied.

  Once everyone was reasonably awake and functional, Edward opened the front door and led them outside. When they got to the sidewalk, he paused. As he looked to the right, all he could see was more houses. He didn't relish the idea of searching each home for weapons, so he turned his attention toward the highway. He remembered seeing different types of structures on the other side of the highway, which might indicate potential shops. Surely, in such a remote location, there would be a shop that catered to hunters.

  "So, which way?" Melissa asked, studying Edward's body language.

  "I can't be sure, but it seems like our best chance for finding weapons lies on the other side of the highway," he answered.

  With everyone in agreement, they made their way down the sidewalk toward the Interstate. They were all silently trudging along until they reached the overpass. Then, Katie's face lit up.

  "Holy crap! Do you believe the dumb luck?" Katie asked, laughing as she pointed. Less than a block away, a dirty green and white sign hung askew from one of the buildings. In bold green letters were the words, Bill's Sporting Goods. Moments later, Katie took off in a sprint toward the building.

  Edward chased after her, hoping that she wasn't running headlong into danger. Melissa and Jack continued walking, weighted down with the large plastic bags which held their supplies.

  Katie skidded to a stop in front of the store. The glass door that served as the entrance was smashed. Only tiny fragments of glass still clung to the metal frame of the door. She stepped through the doorway just as Edward caught up, her boots crunching on the broken glass scattered on the floor just inside.

  "Will you please wait?" Edward nearly yelled.

  Katie stopped and turned toward him, giving him a pouting look that said she felt like a scolded child. She almost expected a slap on the hand, like her mother used to do when she caught her stealing candy in the checkout line.

  "I'm sorry, Katie. I didn't mean for my words to sound so harsh," Edward apologized. "I was just afraid of another incident like yesterday."

  He was right. What was she thinking? This isn't the world she remembered, realizing just how stupid her actions had been.

  A couple of minutes passed before the others caught up. Melissa poked her head through the door. "Find anything?"

  "We were waiting for you to get here before beginning our search," Edward replied, hoping that he hadn't made Katie feel worse.

  They fanned out to search the store, but never strayed more than ten feet from the person next to them. "I can't believe how much stuff is still here!" Melissa said, excitedly holding up a backpack she'd found. "You would think this place would be nothing except a bunch of empty shelves after the virus hit."

  She knelt down, grabbing enough backpacks for everyone to have one, then dumped out her plastic bag to transfer the supplies into them. She did her best to distribute things evenly so that no one person was left feeling like a pack mule. Jack noticed what she was doing and came over to help, dumping his bag onto the floor as well. By the time they were finished dividing up the supplies, the rest of the group was congregated around them.

  Edward, Katie, and Julie displayed their finds to them. Among them were several hunting knives, baseball bats, a shotgun with a few boxes of shells, a crossbow with a quiver packed full of projectiles, and a small,
three- person dome tent. These items were divided as equally as possible throughout the group. Melissa laid claim to the shotgun, Katie the crossbow, and Jack was saddled with the task of carrying the tent, which he secured to the top of his backpack.

  Once all of the supplies and weapons had been distributed, each of them grabbed their respective packs and put them on.

  "Everyone ready?" Edward inquired. They all nodded, indicating that they were. "Then, let's get going."

  Chapter 12

  Fifteen minutes later, they stopped again on the highway. Before them was a sign introducing them to the massive suspension bridge ahead. The sign read, Mackinac Bridge.

  Katie looked on with apprehension. The entire span of the bridge was littered with stalled or broken down cars, some turned at odd angles nearly blocking the entire road, others dangling precariously over the side of the bridge. Clouds were beginning to roll in from the west, threatening to add bad weather to the mix.

  Edward noticed Katie looking at the clouds overhead. "We need to get across the bridge as quickly as we can. The last thing we want is to be caught in a storm while we're on it." He turned back to the task at hand, leading them onto the bridge.

  After a few hundred feet, the footing began to get a little dicey. The road was covered in black ice, and to make matters worse, the wind picked up in intensity the further out they got. Why does this bridge need to be so long? Edward asked himself in frustration, working his way through several vehicles that had apparently crashed into each other. He slipped and fell after bumping into one of them.

  Katie nearly had her legs swept from beneath her as his legs splayed out. Bracing herself on a nearby car, she extended her hand to him, helping Edward back to his feet.

  "Thank you."

  "Are you okay?" Katie asked, looking him over for any obvious injuries.

  "Other than a bruised ego, I think I'm fine." Embarrassed, he smiled.

  Katie looked ahead. "At least it looks like we're about halfway across."

  Edward sighed as they began moving again. The clouds had now skirted across the sun, causing it to feel even colder, and the wind continued to gain intensity. They made their way further across, battling to stay upright and maintain their footing in the stiff breeze.

  They could now see the end of the bridge, which looked like it was completely blocked by another accident. Likely, they would have to climb over the wreck. At least it wasn't much further.

  When they got within a hundred feet of the pileup, Edward suddenly stopped in his tracks and motioned for everyone else to do the same.

  "What's wrong? Why are we stopping?" Melissa asked, eager to get off the bridge.

  "I think I see people inside of those cars," Katie said, wondering why Edward wasn't moving to help them.

  "I saw that, too. That's why I stopped. Remember the house? What if these people are like that too?" he asked, looking at her nervously.

  "Look! I think some of them are still alive!" Melissa pointed, as one of the car doors began to swing open.

  Edward didn't like this one bit. That accident didn't look like it had just happened. There was no way that anyone would have just sat there, waiting for someone to come along. Was there?

  Now, other car doors were opening. People were stepping out and coming toward them. From this distance, Edward couldn't tell yet if these were normal people. "Are you okay?" he called out to them. With the wind howling in his ears, he couldn't hear a response. He continued to grow more nervous as they approached. Their shuffling gait could be because of injuries, but what were the chances that all of them would be injured in the same manner?

  "Shit!" Katie yelled as the shambling people got within fifty feet and she was able to make out their features. Now she could clearly see that these people had faces that looked eerily similar to the woman from the tub. She raised her newly acquired crossbow and took aim at the nearest one—of what looked to be about a dozen— shuffling, mindless zombies.

  The bolt leapt from the crossbow as she pulled the trigger, plunging into the forehead of a zombie. It staggered for a moment and then fell to the ground. By this time, everyone that didn't have a ranged weapon had a baseball bat in their hands, hoping the creatures didn't get close enough that they would be required to use them.

  Stepping forward, Melissa stood next to Katie, raising the shotgun into the crook of her shoulder and taking aim. Hopefully, watching all of those zombie movies, back when her life was normal, would pay off. Every instinct told her if they loose their heads, it's game over.

  She pulled the trigger as Katie struggled to reload the crossbow. Bullseye! Another zombie fell to the ground, no longer sporting its head after the shotgun blast disintegrated it into a flying mass of blood and brains. Melissa, having never shot a gun before, wasn't expecting the tremendous kick of the weapon. She was paying for that inexperience now, picking herself up from the ground.

  As Katie fired a second time, dropping another zombie, Melissa regained her feet and chambered another shell. There still looked to be at least a half dozen more of them, and now they were only about thirty feet away.

  Not wanting to risk being knocked on her ass again, Melissa held the shotgun in a manner that resembled her best 'Rambo' pose. She tilted the barrel upward, hoping for the best, and pulled the trigger. The blast was off target, but at least she hit something. A hole big enough to stick her head into appeared in the chest of her target. Its insides were blown out the back of the zombie, splattering the one behind it with gore. She scrambled to retrieve the shotgun, as the force of the blast had ripped it from her grip. It was lying on the ground about ten feet behind her.

  "Let me give it a try," Jack told her as he plucked the shotgun from the ground and offered her his bat. "Take this." She gratefully accepted the change in roles. If she continued to wield the gun, Melissa would probably get them all killed.

  Now there was no point in staying behind the people with ranged weapons. The zombies were closing in fast. Ten more feet and they would be upon the group. The zombie with the huge hole in its chest was leading the charge, arms outstretched. It hissed as it flailed at Katie, knocking the crossbow from her grasp. Out of the corner of her eye, Katie saw the crossbow skitter across the pavement and go over the side of the bridge. Edward swung his bat and caved in the skull of the zombie accosting Katie.

  Immediately, another took its place. Trying to dodge the flurry of swinging bats, Jack chambered another shell into the shotgun and jammed the barrel against the temple of another zombie. As he squeezed the trigger, the zombie's head disappeared in a spray of brains, blood, and bone. The zombie directly behind it also took damage from the blast, losing half of its face. Both fell to the ground moments later, the second one oozing the remains of its brain onto the pavement.

  Julie was on the other side, swinging her bat wildly when the zombie before her knocked it from her hands. She ducked under the flailing arms and hurried after the bat, hoping to catch it before it took a header over the side of the bridge. Luckily, the bat slid to a stop just before the edge. Julie bent down to retrieve it, and as she did she was struck from behind. The force of the blow knocked her over the side, but at the last moment she managed to grab hold of one of the suspension cables. She was dangling precariously by one hand over the icy waters when a hand grabbed onto her wrist.

  She looked up and was grateful to see that it was Katie. She must have dispatched the zombie that knocked her over the edge, because she didn't look panicked in the least. Katie pulled Julie up with every ounce of strength she had, using her feet to brace herself on the cables to keep from going over the side. What the hell has she been eating? Katie wondered. I don't remember Julie being this heavy before. Moments later, Julie was back on the bridge and the two of them collapsed in a heap.

  Another blast of the shotgun erupted behind them. As Katie and Julie turned in that direction, the last of the zombies fell to the pavement. Jack raised the gun above his head in triumph as the cheering began.
/>   Chapter 13

  A little over a day had passed since Brian left his safe haven in Toledo, and now he was approaching the city limits of Detroit. So far, the trip north had been uneventful, but he had a feeling things were about to get ugly. With bigger cities came the risk of more zombies, probably due to population and food supplies.

  He was crouched down in some brush about fifty feet from the Interstate, but he could clearly see the sign that welcomed him to Detroit. The northbound side of the road seemed pretty clear. No movement, only a handful of cars on the road itself, or lying like the fossils of dinosaurs just off to the side. The southbound side was a different matter entirely. There he could see an abundance of the useless metal husks, likely remnants from when everyone fled the larger cities after the initial outbreak of the virus.

  Brian broke cover and cautiously made his way toward the city. His senses were on high alert for even the tiniest noise. Sure, it would likely be a nerve wracking experience trying to get to the other side of the city alive, but he tried to comfort himself with the fact that with greater risk also came more places to conceal his presence. Traveling across the countryside had been peaceful so far, but at times he felt like a huge target.

  Fifteen minutes later he left the highway, pulling his hood up over the shock of red hair that would surely make him more noticeable. He didn't stray far from the roadway, just enough to use the cover of the buildings and cars that lined the side streets nearby. The sun was sinking in the western sky and thick clouds, looking laden with snow, obscured it from view. By his calculations, he had a couple of hours of daylight—at most—left. He tried to recall the distance he would have to traverse before coming out on the other side of town. If memory served, he thought it was somewhere around twenty miles, maybe as many as thirty.