“I think we are ok here.” Rita whispered.
“Yeah, a crowd of those things make a lot of noise. We’d be able to hear them coming. And I don’t hear shit right now.” Robert said.
“Just one of those things can be really quiet though.” Jan added.
“Well, just keep an ear out for any foreign sounds, like footsteps in the snow.” Robert said.
Jan approached the snowy ridge and began to climb up. It wasn’t a very steep incline but with the six inches or so of snow underneath his feet, Jan had to be careful with every step. Robert went to the aid his mother who approached the base of the ridge, holding one of her hands and trying to balance themselves as they climbed. Behind them the engine of Robert’s Bronco steadily kept running. A few rocks slid out from underneath their feet, combined with chunks of snow. Robert looked up ahead at Jan, who was now almost at the very top. He noticed Jan’s breath in the cold winter day; it looked as though maybe Jan was smoking a cigarette or a cigar. If they were going to be setting up camp on the ridge, then the possibility of making a fire became all too real to Robert. At night the temperature would drop well into the lower twenties, maybe even into the teens.
“You okay, Mom?” Robert found himself asking, almost surprised to say it.
“I’ll make it up the hill, I’m not completely unable.” Rita said back, trekking up the ridge. Robert was trying to keep the image and idea of his father out of his mind. His father Thomas was now in the place of his mind where the memories of his dead sister Felicia stayed. Locked away, but sometimes peeking their heads into the lives of the living. Still he felt awful for his mother. She has lost damn near everything.
Jan reached the top of the ridge a few feet in front of Robert and Rita. He stood there for a full second looking down on the town, arching his back up into a straight position. Then he fell to the ground immediately.
“Holy shit! Get down you two!” Jan cried back, now lying on his belly. Robert and Rita both fell to the ground, without thinking.
“What is it?” Robert whispered loudly.
“Crawl up here and see for yourself!” Jan said quietly.
Robert did his best impression of an army crawl through the snow and slowly moved up next to Jan. He then peeked his head up and gazed down on the small borough of Colton.
Nestled in-between to low mountains, down in the valley, the now snow covered town of Colton was anything but a winter wonder land. The streets were filled with people, and by the looks of it, they were all infected. Some of them were huddled around in mounds, swarming together. Robert could see a few mounds of infected on Main Street; they were undoubtedly feeding on some poor bastard. Or bastards. Robert noticed Jan was crying. This was not what they wanted to see.
“What is it?” Rita asked from her position behind Robert.
“Nothing, Mom. Just stay there for now.” Robert said back. He returned his gaze to the town.
A strong steady black smoke was billowing out of the Coal Mill, far across at the other end of town. And a few houses were on fire, by the looks of it one house down on Franklin Street and the other one slightly off the corner of Sixth and Raleigh.
As Robert’s shock finally subsided and his wild vision calmed down to the point where he could finally concentrate, he became aware of the noise. A low hum of that deep, dead and lifeless noise filled Robert’s ears. The entire town was singing that awful cry. The moans of the sick were carried quite well up through the town and onto the ridge. Robert had only one thought. The town is lost.
“Look, Robert. Look!” Jan said suddenly.
“What? Where?”
“Ok look down past the Sure-Stop on First Street.”
Robert located the convenient store/gas station on First Street, at the gas pumps a small blue car was parked and being mauled by large group of infected.
“Ok, so what?” Robert asked.
“Well, now look past the two pumps, at the building behind it.” Jan said.
Robert looked past the pumps, squinted his eyes, and noticed that it was the back wall of the Colton Fire Company.
“That’s the fire company.” Robert said.
“Yes. Now look at the back door. What does that look like to you?” Jan asked.
Robert focused on the double back door of the Fire Company. It was locked and chained, from the outside.
“Holy shit, it’s locked up.” Robert said in surprise.
“I know, from the outside yet. Someone must have locked people inside there, for their survival.” Jan said, now renewed with confidence.
“My god, Jan. Your wife and kids could be in there!” Robert said, he too now feeling optimistic.
“I’d say there is a pretty good chance!” Jan said.
“What’s happening?” Rita said, from behind them.
Robert and Jan slowly turned and slid down to Rita.
“The town is totally lost Mom. It doesn’t look good. But it does look like someone chained up the Fire Company. There has to be survivors in there.” Robert said.
“Oh my goodness, that’s wonderful Jan. That is absolutely wonderful. Your family is probably in there.” Rita said, tears filling her eyes. It was been a very emotional day for them all.
“It would make sense. Also, I’m pretty sure the Fire Company has one of those old CB radios. That’s gotta be where you heard that beeping signal from Robert!” Jan said.
Robert, Rita, and Jan all smiled at one another and shared a laugh. They’d come back to Colton in hopes of saving Jan’s family. They now had a positive reason to continue.
Hope. And chance.
“Ok, we are going to the Fire Company. Just one question.” Robert said.
“Huh?” Jan asked.
“How the hell do we get there?”
“I got that covered. Robert, do you remember the summer job I had in high school?” Jan asked.
2
“The sewers?”
Robert and Jan had helped Rita back down the ridge and now they stood huddled around the Bronco’s front end.
“Yeah, man. Trust me it’ll work. I spent four summers working for the borough, at least a few times a month something would clog up the sewers. They’d send me down there to clear it out; usually some stinking animal would die and end up backing up the whole works.” Jan said.
“So there is actually enough room to move and navigate down there?” Robert asked.
“We might have to crouch down a little, but yeah.” Jan responded.
“How on earth do you expect to get into the sewer? I mean, where exactly can you enter them?” Rita asked. This made Robert think too, he hadn’t thought of that. If they traveled too close to the town in search of a manhole cover they would run the risk of being seen or heard. The entire mass of infected people could easily turn on them.
A town of the damned, turned up on its head, now filled with the dead.
Jan looked up at the ridge and raised his finger to the sky over the rocky terrain.
“This direction is north, straight ahead. The engineers of this old town put large drainage pipes at all four corners, on the outskirts of town. North, south, east and west.” Jan said, and smiled.
“So the south drainage should be located somewhere over this ridge, practically right in front of us.” Robert said.
“You got it.” Jan added.
Robert turned to his mother.
“Mom, I don’t think you’re going to be up for this.”
“Oh, you mean I don’t get to crawl around in tight spaces with feces and god knows what else? I’m ok with that.” Rita said.
“Seriously Mom, are you going to be okay here?”
“Yes, I actually think this area is safe. We’ve been parked here for a while.” Rita said.
“She’s right. If we were being followed from the farmhouse by that hoard, I think we would have at least heard them by now. We must have lost them.” Jan added.
“I’ll be safe in the truck. It’s still running after all.” Rita sai
d.
“Well, there is still half a tank of gas left, and I don’t plan on staying in town for too long.” Robert said.
“We get to the Fire Company, get my family and leave. In and out.” Jan said.
Robert noticed Jan was now positive that his wife Fran and his two girls were safe inside the Fire Company. He hoped the alternative scenario was not going to present itself.
“Mom, stay locked inside the truck. If trouble comes, just take off. Don’t worry about us.” Robert said.
“I hope it doesn’t come down to that, but if I drive away how will we meet up again?” Rita asked.
“We need a place to go if we get separated.” Jan said.
“The ball field out past the Bucks Dairy? That isn’t a very populated area to begin with.” Robert said.
“Sounds good. But while we’re in town, we should try to get some gasoline to bring back here.” Jan said.
Jan Goodman took out his mangled bag of chewing tobacco and pitched out another wad. He said goodbye to Rita and told her they wouldn’t be very long. Then Jan climbed up the ridge again and knelt down, waiting for Robert.
Rita sat down on the driver seat of the Bronco again and made herself comfortable. She closed the door and then rolled down the window; while Robert approached the vehicle.
“Mom, Jan is right. We don’t plan on staying down there very long.” Robert said.
Rita turned to her son and smiled, she was hiding all of her fear; and hiding it well at that.
“Jesus, Robert. I’ll be fine here. I’m more worried for you boys.”
“We’ll be fine, but your first line of defense is to put this truck into reverse and drive away. Go right back down the hill, hit Mill Road and head to the ballpark. Keep the window cracked open just a little bit, so you can hear them coming. If there are enough of them, you’ll hear um.” Robert said, still feeling uneasy at the thought of leaving his mother alone. But how could she go with them? It wasn’t an option.
“Just go already; I said I’ll be just fine. Go now, while there is still plenty of daylight left. Plus you don’t want this snow accumulating anymore then it will already be by the time you get back.” Rita said to her son.
Robert turned away and headed toward the ridge to join up with Jan. He wanted to say something to his mother, something about his father. And he almost did turn around and tell his mother that he was sorry that “Pops” died. But he couldn’t. His mind was getting lost in a deep grievance that reminded him all too much of Felicia.
“Robert!” Rita said, as she rolled down the driver side window. Robert turned around, not saying a word. Rita smiled.
“Your father would be proud.” Rita said with confidence.
Robert simply nodded his head and turned back toward the rocky ridge.
He began to climb.
3
Robert put his hand against the wall to brace himself, and then he vomited for the second time in under five minutes. He was only dry heaving because he hadn’t eaten anything today; but it still wouldn’t have mattered where his vomit landed. They were now far into the south pipe of Colton’s ancient sewer system. Old watery waste, brown and black, slopped around as they marched forward. The smell of the old waste tunnels matched that of the infected people, the ones they were trying to hide from. To make matters even worse; the farther they traveled inward, the smaller the tunnel seemed to become. They now had to bend forward just to fit down there in the dark, under a city of the infected. Robert was quickly getting claustrophobic.
“Come on Robert, it doesn’t smell that bad.” Jan said. He was in front, leading Robert to the center of town.
Robert wiped his mouth clean of recent clear bile.
“Does it seem like it’s getting smaller in here? Pretty soon we won’t be able to fit down here.” Robert said, still sounding queasy.
“That’s just your imagination. Now come on, we have to be getting close.” Jan said.
Before they entered the sewer both Jan and Robert had determined that the Fire Company should be a straight shot North, up five blocks and then a quick left at that intersection.
“How many blocks have we traveled?” Robert asked, feeling confident that he had beaten the nausea. But he still had trouble breathing in the dark, tight corners.
“We should only have two more to go. This tunnel is leading us in a direct line.”
“Thank god for that.” Robert said.
A loud splash echoed around them and they both stopped dead in their tracks.
“What was that?” Jan asked.
Robert whirled his head back and forth, trying to see in the darkness but to no avail. Only little slits of light shimmered down from openings in manholes and gutter gratings above.
Light was limited and Darkness was the victor.
“What direction did it come from? In front or in back?” Robert whispered hysterically.
“I don’t know!” Jan fired back.
It then occurred to Robert that perhaps they weren’t being quiet enough in the sewer. One of the freaks from above probably heard him puking, and then somehow slid down into the sewer. The echoing sound of the splash made it impossible to know if it were in front of them or behind.
“Get back to back with me!” Robert said. He turned to face the direction they came in and touched his back to Jan’s. They both stood still, listening, and ready to attack.
“I don’t hear anything.” Jan said, holding his death-rock high in the air like a cobra before striking.
“Maybe it was nothing.” Robert said.
“It sounded like something Robert, not nothing. Nothing doesn’t make a sound!” Jan said with fearful sarcasm.
Again, they stopped talking and shared a moment of silence. Listening. Listening. Hearing nothing.
“We should have made a torch or something. Why didn’t you have a flashlight in your truck?” Jan asked nervously.
“Let’s just keeping moving forward but stay alert this time. No more loud noises or talking either.” Robert said.
“Well, but I wasn’t the one hacking my guts out.” Jan said, and he began to move forward again. They were silent, moving through the town’s waste. In a way, Robert was kind of glad that it was dark down there. So he couldn’t exactly see what they were walking through.
Suddenly, Jan muffled his own scream and backed up into Robert hard. Robert flew forward, already knowing he lost his balance, already knowing he was diving head first into the trash water. But he still managed to take in a mouthful of that rancid waste. The polluted water was only three inches deep, but in the full second that Robert’s face was submerged, it felt like the river of shit ran three feet deep. Robert quickly got up to his knees, spit out the feces water and desperately tried to grab a breath of fresh air. At that moment he didn’t even care that there was a potential threat of an infected person in the dark sewers with them.
“AHHH! Christ!” Robert yelled as he quickly stood up, spitting and gasping for air.
“Robert! I walked into something, felt like a body on the ground! I think it tried to grab me!” Jan said urgently.
Robert turned around in the tunnel and sided up with Jan; his face still dripping wet with sewage.
“Are you sure? Those things tend to make noise, I still don’t hear anything.” Robert asked.
“I’m sure, it’s fucking big! Trust me.” Jan said frantically.
“Alright, let me lead the way.” Robert said.
Robert shook his head hard slinging the sewage off his hair, much the way a dog does after taking a bath or after coming out of a swimming pool. Robert held out his trusty bat, far in front of him. He began to sweep the tunnel floor from left to right and slowly stepped forward. He was hoping to poke the foreign body before stepping into it.
“We are fucking blind here man.” Jan said, bringing up the rear now.
“No shit. We have to find a flashlight for the way back.” Robert said, then instantly his bat hit something with substance behind it.
“Whoa! Hold up.” Robert quickly said.
“You find him?! Smash him up!” Jan said.
Then not really knowing what he was swinging at, still blinded by the sewer’s darkness, Robert began hammering down on the large fleshy body. There still wasn’t enough clearance above Robert, with hardly any leverage it was hard for him to swing with great strength. Still, he was able to get a few really good hits in. After about ten wild and solid hits, Robert stopped. He looked up and saw that a sewer grating from the street above was now only a few feet ahead of them. Some light was shinning down too.
“You get him? Is it dead?” Jan asked.
Robert didn’t answer Jan. He started to poke around again at the body.
“Well? Hey Robert, where are you man?” Jan asked.
Then Jan saw Robert appear in the dim light ahead, holding his bat up to the light as well. Lying across Robert’s bat was a medium sized raccoon.
“Is this your diseased man? Rocky the raccoon? What a man-eater!” Robert said with harsh sarcasm.
Jan stepped forward in disbelief. He felt horribly embarrassed.
“Oh man, I’m sorry Robert.” Jan said.
“It’s not your fault. It’s the darkness and our imaginations, our minds are playing games with us.” Robert said and then he tossed the dead raccoon off his bat. Its carcass hit the wall with a dead wet flop.
“Let’s keep moving. We’ve already wasted enough time down here.” Jan said.
“Alright let’s go. We gotta be below the Fire Company soon.” Robert added.
The two moved down the tunnel until they were finally sure they came to the intersection of First and Raleigh. The Fire Company should be just slightly to the West of where they currently stood. From above, a manhole cover was letting dim light shine through. A series of metal rungs were embedded on the wall down to where Robert stood.
“Ok, now what?” Robert asked.
“We climb up the rungs to the manhole cover and take a look.” Jan said and he tucked his blood-stained rock into his waistband then began to ascend, up toward the street above. Robert approached the metal rungs and he now found that there was enough room for him to stand up straight. His neck and back cracked as he was finally able to stretch out. And he was indeed thankful for that.
The Dead Divide Us Page 16
