The Early Days Trilogy: The Necrose Series Books 1-3

by Tim Moon

  The infected woman struck the front passenger side with a bone crunching thud and managed to hold on. Ben jabbed his finger down on the window button. It buzzed down, letting in a blast of chilled air. He stuck his arm outside to fire three quick shots. Two of them hit her torso and one pinged off the edge of the hood.

  She snarled at Ben as she clung to the mirror and lashed out with a foot. The kick nearly knocked the gun out of his hand. He maintained control of the weapon as the woman pulled herself up. Ben wished the damned mirror would snap off already, but it held, so he fired again. This time the shot punched through the side of her skull. Grey matter and blood splashed the window. She slipped underneath the truck which thumped over her body with a dull crunch.

  Ben leaned back, panting from the adrenaline. Cold air continued to whip through the truck, but he didn’t care. He was just glad it had only been one runner.

  “That was terrifying,” Mark said, staring at the gore smeared on his window.

  “I’m rolling it up,” Charlotte said to Ben.

  He nodded just as the window buzzed up.

  Charlotte sprayed the windshield with cleaner and they watched as the wipers whipped back and forth, smearing blood around like finger paint before it began to rinse away.

  “Mark, how is it you were in a store like that but still didn’t have a gun to defend yourself, when we showed up?” Ben asked.

  Mark’s shoulders fell.

  “I can do a lot of things. You need a bone set, no problem. You need me to suture a ruptured artery, no problem. Loading and using a gun? Problem.”

  Mark’s tone of voice was so depressed and embarrassed that Ben couldn’t hide his smile. Charlotte started giggling, which made Ben crack up. Even Mark chuckled a little.

  “Don’t worry, Doc. We’ll help you with that,” Ben said, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.

  “Are you from around here?” Charlotte asked.

  “I grew up in Battleground, which is nearby. Just to the north about thirty minutes or so,” Mark said. “I went to school at Washington State University for pre-med and medical school at the University of Washington. Staying in-state helped lower the cost.”

  “That’s smart. When I went to nursing school, I got hit with that out-of-state tuition bullshit.”

  “Where’d you go?”

  “University of Maryland but I’m from Virginia.”

  “What are you doing way out here?” Mark asked.

  Ben leaned forward and said, “Hey, slow down.”

  They were near the pharmacy. His neck tingled, as if they were being watched. Something felt off. He rubbed his neck nervously, but the sensation remained. Ben directed Charlotte to get closer and they cruised by along the line of the curb. As they passed some bushes, the sidewalk near the MovieBox came into view and it clicked. A tingling sensation ran down his spine.

  “The bodies are gone,” he said.

  “What bodies?” Mark asked, suddenly very curious about the situation.

  “I was here before. We had a run in with some people who attacked us, thinking we were easy prey. We had to kill them,” Ben explained. “We put their bodies on the sidewalk by the MovieBox. Now they’re gone.”

  “Did they turn? Maybe wander away?” Charlotte asked.

  “None were bitten. I shot them.”

  “You shot them?” Mark asked. “Why did you put them outside?”

  “Yeah, they tried to kidnap and rape my friend. Like I said, they admitted to thinking we were easy prey. I showed them the error of their ways.” Ben sniffed derisively. “As for the bodies, we didn’t want them to stink up the place. There’s still a lot of stuff inside that we can come back for.”

  Mark gave him a weary look.

  Ben ignored it and leaned forward to look up at the roof of the pharmacy. Then he turned to face out of his own window and checked the far side of the street. He couldn’t see anything, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching.

  “Speed up, let’s get out of here,” Ben said. “Go down two blocks and take a left.”

  “What’s wrong?” Charlotte asked, giving him a concerned look in the mirror.

  “I feel like we’re being watched.”

  “What?” Mark asked, turning to face Ben. “Who would do that?”

  “If those guys we killed had friends, they might want revenge.” Ben stared out the back window, but didn’t see anything to confirm his suspicions. If what the man they questioned said was true, more than a dozen people could be itching for a fight.

  The truck squealed around the corner.

  “Slow down,” Ben said.

  “Sorry. Now where?” Charlotte asked.

  “Go up two blocks then take a right. We’re going to take the scenic route,” Ben said as he watched behind them. “If someone is watching us, we’re not going to lead them back to the neighborhood.”

  87

  A flood of relief washed over Ben when the vehicle barriers came into view. They had looped around and approached the house from the north. Charlotte slowed as she maneuvered through the S-curve they’d built into the makeshift wall.

  Ben realized that the need for the sniper’s nest on the roof was more urgent than he’d thought. Whoever was on guard duty couldn’t have spotted them until they were already through the wall. Too close for comfort.

  “This is incredible,” Mark said, gaping openly at their simple defenses.

  “It’s a start,” Ben said. “Pull into the neighbor’s driveway and I’ll get the garage door.”

  “Okay,” she said. “Unloading inside?”

  “Exactly.” Ben opened his door and climbed out once she stopped. He lifted the garage door slowly to avoid making noise. He felt jumpy after the strange feeling at the pharmacy.

  His gut roiled at the thought of people out there hunting him and his group. He didn’t like the idea of fighting other survivors. The living should be united against the dead.

  The numbers weren’t in their favor either. If they were ambushed, Ben’s group lacked the strength to defend themselves. A dark thought came to mind. What about a preemptive strike? Hit the enemy before they could strike.

  The garage door clanged to a stop and rocked back on its rollers. Ben winced, and then waved for Charlotte to pull in. She backed up to the garage, so they could easily unload their haul.

  The garage felt roomy since the cars were sitting in front of his mom’s house. Unpacking would be a snap and the garage had a decent tool selection. Ben planned to use the available space as his workshop to build sections of the sniper’s nest before they moved each piece to the roof for final assembly.

  Ben left the garage to see who was on guard duty. He waved up at his mom, who returned the wave. Oliver opened the front door and rushed out to see what they brought back. Before he got all the way down the front porch steps, he ran back and closed the front door. Then he came and climbed over the vehicle wall and tore across the yard, only skidding to a stop when he saw Mark.

  “Oh, hey, kiddo,” Mark said with a grin. “What’s your name?”

  Oliver turned away and walked stiffly to stand next to Ben.

  “It’s okay. You can tell him your name if you want,” he said, patting Oliver on the back.

  “I’m Oliver.”

  His words were clipped and muffled by the finger nail he was chewing on.

  “I’m Mark. It’s nice to meet you Oli-ffer,” he said, mimicking the boy chewing on his nails.

  Oliver flashed a shy smile and then ran to Charlotte.

  Ben heard Oliver excitedly ask, “What did you get?”

  “Kids.” Mark shook his head. “So, should we unload the truck? I can help.”

  “Sure.” Ben nodded. He looked around for Anuhea, surprised that she hadn’t come over to help. “Oliver, where’s Anuhea?”

  He squinted at Ben in confusion and then shrugged his little shoulders.

  “Let’s unload the stuff in the back. We can just stack it against the wall in
the garage.” Ben pointed to the area he was talking about.

  When the lumber was stacked inside the garage, they began to take the bagged supplies across the yard to their house. Mark took bags out of the truck and handed them to Ben who passed them over the cars to Charlotte who set them on the porch. Then they moved everything into the living room. It went quickly, considering how long it had taken to gather the ammo, food, weapons, and clothing. Ben and Mark were carrying the last load in when Anuhea appeared from between the houses.

  Mark looked startled. She narrowed her eyes at him but then saw Ben and her expression softened.

  “I see you made it back,” Anuhea said with a note of caution.

  Ben pointed at Mark. “With a new member of the team.”

  Mark gave a nervous smile and handed his bags off to Charlotte.

  “You’re picking up strays again, huh?”

  Ben grinned. “We found him at SportsMart. He’s a doctor and we decided it was worth the risk.”

  “I see.” Skepticism in Anuhea’s eyes betrayed the smile on her lips.

  “What are you up to?” Ben asked.

  “I went to the library and then I was scavenging through the houses behind us.”

  “Anything good?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Her face lit up with a grin.

  It took a second to register what she’d said. Ben’s eyes went wide. “Wait, you went to the library?”

  “Yeah,” Anuhea said. “And one of your neighbors was big into hunting. You’re going to love what I found.”

  “That’s the last of it,” Charlotte said, glancing at Ben and Anuhea talking. “We’re all done.”

  “We’ll meet you inside,” Ben said with a wave.

  He waited for Charlotte and Mark to leave before speaking. Ben sat on the porch steps and she stood at the bottom, leaning on the railing, with a curious expression.

  “You know how we left the bodies outside of the pharmacy?” he asked.

  Her expression soured, and she crossed her arms over her chest.

  “On the way back, we passed the pharmacy. And…” Ben hesitated. “The bodies were gone.

  Anuhea raised an eyebrow.

  “I also had the feeling that we were being watched.”

  She shrugged.

  Ben’s chin dropped. “That doesn’t concern you?”

  “Why should it? The guy did say they were part of a big group. Eventually someone was bound to go looking for them when they didn’t return.”

  “They lost three guys. Don’t you think they want revenge? We would.” Ben lowered his voice. “Right?”

  “I don’t know, I guess so.” Anuhea chewed the inside of her lip.

  “We’ll have to be extra careful on raids. We can’t have anyone follow us back to the neighborhood.”

  “There’s plenty to do around here. I want that sniper’s nest and I’m sure Charlotte has a whole list of Honey Do items.” She winked.

  Ben groaned. “Please, no.”

  It was quiet for a minute, until Chadwick came out of the house, reading a gardening book.

  “Hey, guys,” Chadwick said as he sat down on the stairs and gave them a quick wave.

  “So, tell me about your trip to the library,” Ben said, reminded by the gardening book.

  Anuhea chuckled. “Get comfortable.”

  88

  Great Falls, VA

  Vanessa parked outside an unremarkable medium sized office building. Stark white paint made its silver window frames and dark-tinted windows stand out against the thick blanket of snow on the ground.

  The sun’s position behind the thick clouds suggested it was early afternoon. Somehow keeping track of time helped Vanessa feel grounded in an otherwise chaotic world. After driving all day and getting through a few close calls with large herds of infected, she felt a tiny sense of accomplishment and a sense of relief. Infected had pursued her but they were no match. After all, that was what the fast lane was for, and these days every lane was the fast lane.

  Drumming her fingers on the leather-bound steering wheel, Vanessa stared up at the place where Steve had worked. To her surprise, it didn’t look or feel sinister. In fact, the plain façade made sense. It was the kind of building no one would look twice at, perfect for hiding a secret lab.

  She opened the door of the Mercedes C-class she had taken from April’s house and stood, to relieve the dull ache that had been building in her legs and lower back from sitting too long. Looking around, Vanessa watched and listened for any sign of infected. She had ditched a large horde about ten miles back. Even if they had followed her, she had an hour or more before they would be a threat.

  A cold breeze tousled her hair. It felt nice but reminded Vanessa that her hair would quickly become a liability if she had to fight with the dead while investigating the building. Pulling it into a ponytail, she slid a hair tie from her wrist to fasten it. Satisfied with the result, she eyed her surroundings one more time.

  Snow blanketed the road and the sidewalk. She had blazed a trail in the road leaving tracks that were painfully obvious. A chill tickled her neck. The tire tracks were like a giant arrow pointing in her direction. Infected were unlikely to notice such signs, but it could draw unwanted attention from survivors.

  Opening the rear passenger door, she brought out her backpack of supplies and one of the shotguns from April’s house. Her backpack had essentials, while the rest of her supplies would stay in the car. Her pistol was in her right coat pocket, so she stuffed the other one with extra shotgun shells, just in case. Looking at the hefty weapon, Vanessa felt a rush of emotion scrape across her nerves like a guitar pick.

  April had taught her how to use the 12-gauge shotgun. Vanessa had even used it a few times. The kick made her shoulder ache, but it was temporary and a hell of a lot better than dying. Her mind flipped through images of April on that fateful night. Biting her lip, Vanessa zipped her pocket closed. She shut the car door, careful not to slam it. The weight of the shotgun shells tugged at her jacket and made soft, plastic clicking sounds as she walked through the ankle-deep snow towards the building.

  Several cars sat in the parking lot. They were covered with undisturbed snow just like the trees. In fact, Vanessa realized the snow all around the building was pristine. That didn’t mean the building was empty, but it did mean that no one had been there recently, and no infected had trudged by either.

  Taking a deep breath and praying that she wouldn’t have to use the shotgun, Vanessa stopped at the front door and peered inside. Darkness filled the back hallways. Nothing moved, and she couldn’t hear anything suspicious, so she tentatively reached for the front door and gave it a push. It swung open easily.

  After a quick glance behind her, Vanessa stepped inside. There was another set of doors before the lobby. She pushed her way through and listened for any movement. The lobby was open and sparsely furnished with one large desk and a tenant listing on the wall. She found a pair of elevators around the corner from the desk. A darkened hallway lay on the far side of the desk.

  First, she had to figure out where to focus her efforts. There was no way Vanessa wanted to search the whole building. Her footsteps squeaked against the white tile floor as she made her way over to the tenant list on the wall. She purposely walked across a carpeted section that appeared to be a waiting area to clear snow from her shoes. A sprained ankle from slipping on the floor could be a fatal injury if infected caught up to her. Not to mention squeaky shoes were a dead giveaway.

  Scanning the list on the wall, Vanessa read five different names and none of them were Black Tide. That was odd. She was certain this was the place.

  Would they use a pseudonym? she wondered. Looking back over the list of names, not even one stood out as an obvious choice for a cover name. Her lips pressed together in a tight frown. It turned out she would have to check every floor.

  Vanessa looked for the stairwell and found it at the end of the hall beyond the elevators. The door opened with a slight creak that ech
oed up into the shadowy stairwell. She took a deep breath, pausing for a moment before stepping inside and easing the door shut behind her. Her breath came quickly, even before she started climbing the stairs. Pulse racing like a techno beat, Vanessa cursed the darkness.

  I should have brought a flashlight, she thought.

  The stairwell smelled musty and every step Vanessa took seemed louder than it should. When she made it to the second-floor landing, she peered through a narrow vertical window in the door. She couldn’t see anything that suggested what kind of company it was. Her jaw clenched.

  Vanessa reached out for the door handle and winced at the sting of cold. She pulled the door open and held it with her foot, so she could raise the shotgun. A window by the elevator doors let in light. After several moments of silence, she stepped in and eased the door shut behind her.

  Other than the elevator and stairwell, the only door was for the office. There was no hallway, just a small alcove that led to the main door. Large square windows with blinds flanked the door. She tested the door handle, which was locked. It was to be expected, but it annoyed her, and she rattled the handle hard in frustration. If the other offices didn’t pan out, Vanessa vowed to return and blast a window out.

  Sighing, Vanessa turned to leave when a squeak and dull thump somewhere inside the office made her breath catch in her throat. Her heart kicked back into overdrive. She stepped back, feeling dread well up inside. Part of her hoped someone was there. Maybe they could help her?

  “Hello?” Her voice was a hoarse whisper as she backed away, raising the shotgun to her hip like a cowboy.

  Plodding footsteps and then the blinds smashed against the window in a flurry that startled Vanessa half to death. She yelped, nearly dropping the gun. The blinds were torn away in one savage swipe revealing a grizzly looking Hispanic man. His pressed against the glass. A gaping hole was all that remained of his stomach. The hollowed cavity pressed against lower half of the window, smearing gore and ragged bits of flesh on the glass. Deep scratches marred his neck and chest underneath his dangling tie.