“Good. Because he doesn’t deserve to turn and if he does, he can’t be turned for long.”
“What ae you saying?” Rigs asked. “I should put him down like a dog.”
“Yeah, I mean, not like a dog. He’s not a dog. Be humane. Destroy the brain.” Kasper paused. “Whoa, that is going to be my new slogan during this.”
“Stop. We don’t know if that applies,” Rigs said. “And how am I supposed to do that?”
“With a gun.”
“First of all.” Rigs bodily stepped with his words. “I’m not going to shoot my best friend in the head. Alive or ... or dead. And … where am I getting a gun?”
“I’m sure there’s a police station or …”
“No.”
“Doesn’t have to be a gun.”
“What?”
“I mean a knife, right in the temple or …”
“No. Stop.” Rigs waved out his hand. “Quit thinking of television, the skull is a lot tougher than you think. I’m not doing anything. If … if he turns, I’ll do nothing. I’ll say goodbye and close the door to the room.”
“And leave him there?” Kasper asked.
“And leave him there. At that point, the Len I know will be gone. So … who cares if his body just meanders around that room. Excuse me. I don’t know how much time we have left with him and I want every minute.” Without saying anything further, Rigs slipped back into the suite.
<><><><>
Sandy, the doctor, was nice enough to find something in the medical suite that calmed Rachel’s daughter, Sami. She tried to find the resort doctor, but he was long gone.
Rachel hated herself because she couldn't deal with her daughter’s sadness nor her husband’s reaction to Brad’s death. Not that she didn’t want to, it was just overwhelming and she didn’t know how.
If it happened under normal circumstances, there would be things to keep her busy. Funeral planning, phone calls, even social media. But Rachel was stuck in a hotel suite. She stayed there until she couldn’t take it anymore.
She wanted to go see Len, but she felt guilty about that. Her need to find her son caused Len’s fatal injury.
So she found herself back at the lounge. The bartender and other hotel employees long gone. The television was on, displaying nothing but gray squiggle vision.
Rachel grabbed a bottle and a glass, sat at a table, poured a small amount, staring at the TV.
Her attention was caught when she heard arguing.
“Again. Not my problem,” said the male voice.
She leaned forward to see the guy Greg, the pilot standing with another man. Greg walked away and the guy grabbed on to him.
“I’m talking to you. You can give one up.”
“Did you go get them?” Greg asked. “No. So go find your own transportation.” He stormed into the lounge.
“What’s going on?” Rachel asked.
Before Greg could answer the other man did. “I’ll tell you what’s going on. They brought back two buses. There’s a lot of us that want to leave. We want to leave now. Have you looked out there?” The man pointed to the window. “Take a look.”
Rachel stood and slowly walked to the row of windows. About two dozen of whatever they were called, dead, zombies, moved about outside.
“Three hours ago there weren’t any,” he said. “Two hours ago there were two. How many will be here in another hour? And you heard what that guy Kasper said. He’s an expert. Right now they’re moving slow because they have rigor mortis, but when they loosen up, we’re in trouble. We want to go. There’s a lot of us. We need one of the buses.”
“Go where?” Rachel asked. “I mean, this man is offering to fly us off the island.”
“Same question to you,” the man said, “And go where?”
“I made contact,” Greg said. “I have three cities where I can land in the US.”
“Okay so when?” he asked. “When are we going?”
“You know the answer,” Greg replied, “We aren’t leaving until Mr. Bick is ready and right now he’s dealing with his son.”
“Look I don’t mean to be a dick, but we can’t wait.”
“Go,” Greg said. “Nothing is stopping you.”
“Yes, there is. Transportation. You can let me have a bus and half the people waiting to leave will go with me. You don’t need two buses if we leave. It isn’t fair to make them wait and put them in danger.” He looked at Rachel. “You’re here with your family. Do you really want them to wait?”
“We’ll wait for Barry,” Rachel said. “It’s the least I can do but …” She downed her drink. “Greg,” she said softly. “Give him a bus.”
“What?” Greg asked.
“What? The man repeated in shock.
“He says he’s taking half the people,” Rachel said. “If he is taking half, let him go. That’s less people you need to fly out and less fuel you’ll use. Kasper and Rigs didn’t go get the buses just for us, they did it to evacuate people. Let them evacuate. You can’t blame them. Under different circumstance I would be gone. Wouldn’t you?”
Greg stared at her. “You really think they won’t get mad?”
“I think as long as we can get out when the time comes, it will be fine.”
Greg nodded, reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. “The bus number is the same as on this key.” He handed them over.
The man took them. “Thank you. Thank you so much.” He took a step back, stopped, walked to Rachel and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you.”
Rachel returned to her table, sat down and poured a little more in her glass.
Greg joined her. “You think that was the right thing to do?”
“Yeah, I do. It’s not fair to ask them to wait. It really isn’t. I think Barry would be okay with it.” As she lifted her glass, her eyes wandered to the entrance of the lounge. “Doctor Sandy.”
“Excuse me?” Greg asked.
Rachel pointed.
“Are you sharing?” Sandy asked. “Or should I get my own?”
“Grab a glass.” Rachel told her.
Sandy did. She retrieved one from the bar and walked to the table. “Not a drinker, but this vacation did not turn out like I planned. One day celebrating my fiftieth wedding anniversary, the next ... literally, he says he’s leaving me. Who does that after fifty years?” She poured a drink. “Christ, if he wanted some young thing on the side for action. Go ahead, I wouldn’t care. I was done with that physical business anyhow. Keep him away from me, but no … she wanted to get married and start a family. She’s thirty-two you know.” She brought the glass to her lips and paused. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ramble.”
“No, that’s fine,” Rachel said.
“Thank you.” Sandy sipped. “One day a divorce, the next a zombie apocalypse. Did you see it out there? They’re creeping up, Kasper said that won’t be for long.”
“So funny,” Rachel said. “Everyone is treating Kasper like an apocalypse guru.”
“He is.”
“Well, I watched all those movies and read all those books, too,” Rachel said. “I’m not convinced they’ll run.” She brought in her bottom lip, tasting the whiskey that remained after her drink. “Sandy, is everything … okay? I mean you said you were staying up there with Len.”
“I was. But …” she inhaled sharply through her nostril. “It was time for me to go. Let the family be and have their time. He’s still with us.” She sipped. “But he won’t be for long.”
SIX
Gasp.
Len was still on the sofa, despite the fact that he was unaware of anything and his family would rather have him in bed. But that was what he wanted, he didn’t want to go in a bed.
There was a world of sadness surrounding him. Ann sat on the floor, holding on to Len’s arm while her head rested on his shoulder. Barry was behind his head leaning against the arm of the couch while Rigs sat on a chair nearby, elbows dug deep into his thighs while his chin pressed hard against hi
s folded hands.
Gasp.
Len’s color had completely drained, his eyes were partially open, head tilted to the side toward his mother and he took deep, sharp, rattled breaths that were increasingly becoming further apart.
Gasp.
An inhale of breath and a jerk of his chest.
Ann sobbed.
Her son was leaving her. She didn’t know if she could bare it.
Gasp.
Barry put on a brave front, but it was evident to Rigs he was a broken man.
It was wrong, Rigs knew it and he even tried to think otherwise, but his mind kept going to what Kasper told him.
Would Len really turn?
For the sake of his family, he hoped not.
Gasp … Gasp … Gasp.
Silence.
There was a delay, absorbance of the complete and utter quiet before anyone reacted.
Then Ann sobbed again, harder with repeated ’Nos’, whimpering words from her heart as she slipped her arms under Len and rolled him to her.
Barry ran his hand over Len’s head and stood up, bring his palm to his mouth to hold back emotions.
Rigs glanced down feeling his own soul drain over the loss of a man that was no less a brother to him.
It was in his shocked stare that he saw movement in Len’s leg. Just a twitch. He wondered if maybe he wasn’t gone or some after death involuntary movement. When he saw it again, he turned his head to call out, “Ann.”
She felt it.
“Len?” she spoke his name.
An instant bad feeling slammed into Rigs and he jumped to his feet to grab for Ann. A horrifying scream from Ann told him he was too late.
Len had latched on to the most accessible part of his mother … her neck.
“Ann!” Barry lunged forward, pulling at her.
Len’s mouth ground hard into her skin, and very little blood emerged until Ann freed herself. When she pulled away, he tore every bit of flesh from her throat.
She weakly toppled back into Barry’s arms, her legs giving way. Her hand instinctively tried to cover her wound, but it was useless.
Len stood from the couch, his body contorted and moving rigid and slow. Slow enough for Rigs to grab from behind, cautiously dragging him to the bathroom and shoving him in.
He closed the door, turned and watch Ann fall to the floor.
She bled out in a matter of seconds.
Barry stood horrified and bewildered, hands held outward covered in blood. He dropped to his knees by his wife’s body.
“No.” Rigs rushed over. “Get back.”
Barry didn’t listen.
“Barry,” Rigs warned. “Please.” He reached for him and heard the bathroom door open. Len staggered out. “Shit.”
Barry looked up at the same time Ann started to move.
Rigs dove forward grabbing on to Barry and pulling him up. “We have to go!”
“What do we do? I can’t leave my family.”
“Please,” Rigs begged. “I’m still your family.”
Barry stumbled to a stand, and never taking his eyes off his family, backed out of the suite with Rigs.
They slammed the door.
Rigs was certain it wouldn’t hold them, they’d make their way out. But he had to get Barry not only to the lower floor, he needed to get Barry away from the resort.
<><><><>
Kasper was right.
A few hours of rigor mortis and the dead went from the movements of a ninety year old to spry and agile. They were battling to keep them away when Rigs and Barry arrived below.
The numbers at the resort had increased and they were making their way inside.
Thirty-two people remained waiting.
Kasper thought ahead. With the help of Cliff, before too many swarmed the resort, they had moved the blue school bus directly against a door.
It was dark and the escape was hurried, and immediate once Rigs and Barry arrived. They boarded the bus while arms reached for them.
Once everyone was inside, Kasper didn’t hesitate. He closed the door and with Rigs standing up front, Kasper full force drove the bus forward.
Rachel felt the bumps and jerks of the bus knowing full well what caused them.
She, Cliff and Sami were the first ones onboard and though she wasn’t comfortable sitting in the back, she knew an emergency door was right there.
“I have you.” Rachel held her daughter close. “I’m right here.”
“We’ll be out of here soon,” Cliff said. “Greg said the airport is surrounded by a fence. Once we get there, we’ll be safe.”
Scared and whimpering, Sami nodded.
The airport wasn’t far, ten minutes tops, and when the bus slowed down a few minutes into the drive, Rachel assumed they were close.
When Kasper stopped she made another assumption that they were opening the fence.
Until she saw Rigs leaning into Kasper.
“What’s wrong?” someone asked.
Rigs turned around. “It’s the other bus. It’s stopped.” He asked Kasper. “Can you go around it?”
“I can’t see what’s off the road. It’s a gamble. It’s dark.”
“Why are we going around them?” the same person asked.
BANG!
The slam of something against the bus caused a massive eruption of screams.
Within seconds slams and bangs against the metal of the bus rang out. Hands reached for the windows.
Rigs dove to protect the door. “I need some help holding this door!” he shouted.
Greg lept forward and that was when the first bus window broke.
They had to be climbing on each other to reach in.
“Everyone get in the aisle,” Rigs ordered. “Away from the windows.”
Rachel slid out with Sami, keeping her close as Cliff stood before them.
Her eyes lifted to the ceiling of the bus when she heard the thumping above.
The noise level on the bus was loud as people screamed and shouted for Kasper to drive.
Rachel lowered her head to her daughter’s when she glanced out the back emergency door.
That was when she saw him. The man she gave the keys to. He was out there, hands against the window of the emergency door.
“Mommy,” Sami whimpered.
“I know, baby, I know. We’ll get out of this.” Rachel lifted her head to look, trying to see if she could move them away from the back, maybe in the middle it would be safer. In that moment, that single moment that she loosened her grip in an attempt to find a safe spot, her vulnerability was exposed.
Following the sound of breaking glass, Sami screamed.
She slipped straight from Rachel’s grip and down to the floor.
Legs first, belly down, Sami was pulled.
Rachel dove to the floor and grabbed her daughter.
“Mommy! Mommy!” Sami screamed shrill and painful. “Mommy!”
Rachel had her, feet against the metal of the seat for bracing, she locked her arms around her daughter and pulled at her upper body as the child’s legs were outside the bus. “Cliff! Help me!”
“I’ll get her free!” Cliff said.
When he didn’t reach down for the floor, Rachel looked over her shoulder. Cliff barreled his way up front.
“Mommy!”
Someone, Rachel didn’t know who, joined her on the floor in an attempt to save her daughter.
<><><><>
What is he doing? Rigs wondered when he saw Cliff pushing through people, climbing over seats to get up front.
At first he thought Cliff was there to help.
Instead, when Cliff arrived up front, he punched Rigs square in the jar, startling him and knocking him from his hold on the door.
Even with Greg there, Cliff was able to take advantage of the opening and he inched the door enough to slip out.
Arms reaching in, Greg threw himself against the door.
“Goddamn it, Kasper! Drive!” Greg shouted.
“Oh,
God, Mommy!” Sami cried, then her voice weakened. “Mommy.”
Rachel and the other woman pulled hard, she made headway, moving Sami into the bus some, but when she was able to see her legs, Rachel saw there was nothing left of them.
“Rachel!” Cliff yelled out.
She heard him. His voice seemed to come from outside. Where was he?
“I got her. Let her go, Rach. Just let her go.” Cliff said eerily calm then grunted a scream in pain.
Then Rachel saw the hands, the blood covered hands reaching through the broken bottom window and holding, not pulling on her daughter. She knew the hands, the wedding band. After twenty years of being with Cliff how could she not?
Why did he go out there?
The crying stopped and Sami didn’t budge or squirm. The second Rachel registered that, the bus jolted, jerked and moved.
The bus tilted some as it bounced hard and Sami slipped fast from Rachel’s grip shooting straight out the small floor window of the emergency door.
With a long emotional scream of “No!” Rachel dove for the door, slamming into the seat as the bus jolted again.
She landed in a position where she could see.
It was dark, the road lit only by the moon, but Rachel caught a glimpse of the dead swarming around something as the bus went off the road in attempt to get free.
As the bus kept moving, Rachel stayed on the floor, watching out the back.
The black of the night swallowed everything from her view and she no longer saw anything.
Dark, empty ... nothing.
Just as her life at that moment had become.
SEVEN
Berry Bashin Beef Private Plane
“Mommy!”
The eerily realistic scream and the jolt of the plane sprang Rachel awake. She had dozed off and even that little bit of sleep wasn’t restful.
She rubbed her eyes. All she could see was her daughter, and even though Sami was already gone when she was pulled from the bus, in Rachel’s vision she screamed in horror. Not only could Rachel see her, but she could feel her as she slipped from her hands.
A horrifying and sickening feeling that left a deadened thump in her gut.
The Eliminators 1 Page 5
