Edge of Survival Box Set 1

by William Oday

  “Then we’re alone. I’m listening.”

  Elio looked around and listened to verify they were, in fact, alone. Satisfied, he turned back to her. “I’m leaving today.”

  Theresa’s heart sank like a stone in a bottomless lake. She didn’t think anything could happen to them, but taking off into the dangerous unknown tempted fate in a way that made her nervous.

  “Why? We’re getting totally set up next door. We’ll be finished tomorrow. I’m sure my dad would be fine going after that.”

  Elio shook his head. “No, he won’t. There will be something else to do. Always one more thing while my mother might be dying as we speak. I can’t wait any longer. But…” He paused. “I think you should stay.”

  “I’m going,” she said flatly. “We already discussed it and you don’t want to test me.”

  Elio wrapped his arms around her. “You’re an amazing person, Theresa West.”

  The warmth of his body stoked a fire inside her own. She grinned awkwardly. “I like to think so.”

  Elio leaned forward and she closed her eyes knowing what was coming next. Waiting for it. Longing for it.

  A terrified scream from the living room jolted her awake just as his soft lips touched hers. Elio pulled away and then ran in to see what had happened.

  “Put your hands on your head and have a seat on the couch!”

  The voice wasn’t one she recognized. She followed and found Elio standing in the living room with his hands on his head.

  A man she’d never met had an arm wrapped around Noor, pinning her to his chest, while his other hand held a pistol pointed at Elio. He had a smooth carpet of short, grey hair. Like it was usually shaved but hadn’t been in a couple of weeks. A big vein bulged in his forehead. He wore a black utility belt of gear like cops wore, before the outbreak.

  “Sit.”

  The gun pointed at the couch and then returned to them. The gun was scary enough. His eyes were even scarier.

  “Now.”

  The words chilled her to the core. Goosebumps popped up on her arms. She and Elio quietly sat down and stared at the intruder with wide, unblinking eyes.

  Voices outside broke the spell. Her father and Ahmed discussing something. The man with the gun backed away from the door and turned to face it with Noor still glued to his front side.

  Mason bounded up the front steps and skidded to a halt. He reached for the pistol under his shirt before his feet came to a stop.

  “I’ll kill her!” the man shouted as he pressed the end of his gun against Noor’s head.

  Her dad moved his hand away and remained motionless.

  “Get on the ground with your fingers laced together behind your head!”

  Ahmed walked in and froze when he saw the pistol pointed at his daughter’s head.

  “Don’t move, Ahmed,” Mason said as he held his hands out, to show they were empty. “Don’t do this. Take whatever you want. But don’t hurt her.”

  “You don’t give the instructions! I’m the law!!”

  Mason nodded. “Okay. Just don’t hurt anyone.”

  35

  The intruder pointed the gun at Mason and spit flew from his mouth as he shouted. “Tell me what to do one more time! One more!”

  Her dad stood stone still.

  “You!” the man yelled at Ahmed. “Get on the ground with your hands behind your head!”

  Ahmed hesitated.

  “Do it now or I blow a hole in this girl’s skull!”

  Ahmed dropped to the ground like his legs gave out. He laid on his belly and clasped his hands behind his head.

  “You too, murderer!” he shouted at Mason.

  Her dad knelt down and did as instructed.

  The intruder dragged Noor over until he could reach down and strip away Mason’s gun. The man patted her dad’s body down and paused at his right calf. He yanked up the pant leg and found the smaller gun her dad kept there. The man patted Ahmed down next and found nothing.

  He shoved Noor to the couch and waved his pistol at all three of them. “Any of you move, you’re dead.”

  “Please don’t hurt them,” Mason said. “Please.”

  The man reared back and kicked Mason in the ribs. “You’re begging? You worthless piece of filth.”

  He slammed another heavy boot into her father’s side. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say doesn’t matter one damn bit because you’re guilty as charged. Before I spray your brains all over that floor, let me give you the courtesy of knowing why.”

  Mason grunted through the pain and looked up at the man. “Have we met?”

  “No, but you did meet my partner, Raymond Cooper.”

  “I don’t know that name.”

  The man crashed another hard kick into her dad’s side, curling him over in pain.

  “You don’t know the name because you killed him in cold blood.”

  Mason shook his head. “You’ve got the wrong guy. I didn’t kill anyone.”

  Theresa knew that wasn’t technically true because she’d seen what he did to the gang members that had kidnapped her.

  “You’re lying! My partner was a month away from retirement and you walk in and put a bullet in his chest. And you thought you could just walk away free as bird? You’re not so free now, are you?”

  Mason rolled to his side and stared up at the man. “The Whole Foods shooting?”

  “That’s the one. You murdered my partner and messed up that pansy actor kid.”

  What was this guy talking about? Her dad wasn’t involved in that shooting.

  “One of our SWAT teams had you pinned down but then some feds shot our guys up. It took a couple days, but we found you. We had an op set to take you down and then the city went to hell. The department fell apart as guys didn’t show up.”

  “It wasn’t me.”

  The intruder kicked her dad’s head like a soccer ball and he collapsed. A busted lip leaked blood onto the floor.

  “Don’t lie to me!”

  “I’m not lying,” Mason said as he wiped blood out of his mouth. “I was there. I tried to stop it.”

  The man stood above Mason and leveled the pistol at her dad’s head.

  Theresa pinched her eyes shut. Her chest heaved in and out choking on air. This wasn’t happening. It wasn’t happening.

  “Admit you did it and only you die. Otherwise, you’ll watch while I kill every last person here.”

  “It was a gang leader named Cesar. The shotcaller for the Venice Ten. I tried to stop him, but he killed your partner.”

  Theresa peeked between her fingers as the intruder swung the pistol over at her.

  “She dies first then,” he said.

  “No! No! Please no!” Mason screamed.

  “Then admit your guilt!”

  Her father slumped to the floor. “Okay. Okay. You’re right. I did it.”

  What was her father saying? He was involved? He killed that guy? Theresa remembered the sketch she and Holly had seen on TV. She even remembered Holly joking about how it had looked so much like her father. At the time, it seemed laughable.

  Theresa wasn’t laughing now.

  The intruder pointed the gun at her dad’s head again. He spat on Mason’s back. “Time for your execution.”

  “Wait!” Mason said. “Please. Not in front of my family! Do it outside. Please.”

  The man looked at Theresa and Noor, his face contorting as the urge for revenge battled with the decency that must’ve once been inside him. He shook his head. “Fine. Get up!”

  Mason struggled to his feet, cradling his battered sides.

  “Walk! And one wrong move and these kids are going to see what your brains look like!”

  Mason winced with each step.

  The man followed her dad out the front door with the gun pointed at his back.

  This couldn’t be happening. Her father about to be killed? No. No.

  Elio pulled her into his arms.

  BANG.

  A sho
t fired and a body crashed to the pavement outside.

  BANG.

  BANG.

  “No!” Theresa screamed as tears blurred her vision. She struggled out of Elio’s embrace and raced for the door. “Daddy! Daddy!”

  She made it outside and saw two bodies on the ground. The wood slat of the second porch step lay next to the body of the man who had killed her father. She jumped down clearing all three steps and knelt beside Mason’s body.

  Her shaking hand extended to touch his back. It froze in midair as he rolled to his side, wincing in pain.

  Her dad looked up and forced a smile through the agony. “I’m okay. I’m okay.” He tilted his head to the side and spat out a glob of blood.

  Theresa collapsed into his outstretched arms. She should’ve felt bad when the impact of her weight made him grunt again.

  But all she could feel was the euphoria of having him alive with his strong arms wrapped around her.

  36

  Theresa helped her dad wrap his middle with tape. She got him a glass of water while he sat on the couch in their neighbor’s living room holding a rag to his lip. Elio and Noor were in the kitchen organizing all the supplies they’d brought over. Iridia was upstairs somewhere. Probably trying to take over Noor’s bedroom.

  Mason pulled the rag away and looked at it. A bright red cut split his lower lip but it didn’t appear to be bleeding anymore. “He deserves to be buried.”

  Ahmed stood several feet away staring at him in disbelief. He shook his head. “He deserves to be dragged out on the street where the dogs can devour him. He put our daughters in danger. He wanted to kill you.”

  “He mistakenly thought I killed his partner. I understand the pain of losing someone like that.” Mason looked at the ground and it seemed as if his eyes were focused on the center of the earth. “I’ve been in his situation and I wanted to kill the person who did it, too.”

  Theresa uncapped the tube of Neosporin and squeezed out a line of gel on her fingertip. “Hold still for a second.” As gently as she could, she wiped the ointment over his wound.

  He winced but stayed still.

  “The man was insane! We owe him nothing!”

  Mason pushed up off the couch and looked Ahmed in the eye. “Losing someone close to you in such a violent way can unhinge the mind. I don’t blame him for wanting revenge. He thought he knew what happened. That I was the killer. But he was wrong. And he died for the mistake. ”

  The fire in Ahmed’s eyes snuffed out. The stiffness in his posture softened.

  “I’m going to bury him,” Mason said. “I’d appreciate your help because it’ll be a lot of work and I’m not in the best shape.”

  Ahmed nodded. “Of course, I will help you.”

  “Theresa, we’re going to be busy for a while. Can you make sure everything gets put away?”

  “Sure, dad.”

  Mason grabbed a couple bottles of water from the coffee table and tossed one to Ahmed. “We can bury him in the Crayfords’ backyard.” They could do it near Holly’s makeshift grave. He headed for the front door and Ahmed followed.

  Elio walked in from the kitchen. “Where they going?”

  “They’re going to bury that guy in the Crayfords’ backyard.”

  “Sounds like a lot of work for someone that was trying to kill you.”

  “My dad has an unyielding sense of honor.”

  Elio took her hands in his. He looked around to ensure they were alone. “It’s time. I have to go.”

  Theresa didn’t understand. “Now? After what just happened?”

  “Yes, now. Don’t you understand? My mother is alone. She doesn’t have someone like your father to protect her. She only has me and I haven’t been back since this outbreak began.”

  As much as Theresa wanted to argue, she understood. If her mom or dad were facing this alone, she’d want nothing more than to join them and face it together. “Okay. Let’s go.”

  “Pack up a bag of food and water to take with us,” Elio said. “I’ll pull the cargo bike out of your garage.” He squeezed her hands and nodded. “Meet you outside in two minutes. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  He released her hands and headed out the front door. Theresa returned to the kitchen and started stuffing a bag with supplies for Elio’s mother. Elio had told her how they never had more than a couple days worth of groceries. If she was still alive, she had to be desperate.

  Noor smiled shyly at her as she continued to stack cans of vegetables in a kitchen cabinet. She had each type lined up in a row with their labels perfectly centered. She probably would’ve just thrown them all in and slammed the door shut before the unstable mountain collapsed.

  She finished filling the bag and decided to fill another with extra bottles of water. Her dad had drilled the rule of threes into her head at an early age.

  You cannot survive for three minutes without air, three days without water, or three weeks without food.

  The reality was that Elio’s mother was probably already dead. Theresa didn’t like to think about it like that but it was the truth. If she had somehow survived the fever that had killed so many, and hadn’t changed into a delta, and didn’t run into any insane people, then she had to be in desperate need of help. She finished packing the water and cinched both bags up tight.

  “What are you doing with those?” Noor asked.

  Theresa had almost forgotten she was there and she certainly hadn’t anticipated being questioned. “I’m taking them next door.”

  “Why? I thought we wanted everything here.”

  “Well, my dad wants to have a few supplies in another location. For emergency backup.” It was the first thing that popped into her head and she was surprised that it sounded fairly reasonable.

  “Oh, okay.” That seemed to satisfy Noor as she returned to the task of perfectly stacking cans in the cabinet.

  “See you later,” Theresa said. As soon as she said it, she realized it sounded a little off.

  Noor stared at her silently for a second and then smiled before returning to her work.

  Theresa hurried out of the kitchen and blew out a big breath realizing how close she’d come to ruining everything. She peeked out the front door and saw Elio waiting on the sidewalk. He had a backpack of supplies strapped to his back. She walked through the metal door in the concrete wall that surrounded the property.

  “Hop on,” Elio said pointing to a pillow he’d strapped to the cargo rack above the back wheel.

  Theresa shook her head. “Nope.”

  Elio looked at her in confusion. “You changed your mind?”

  “No. But you’re going on the back because I’m healthier than you, so I can pedal and use less battery.”

  Elio struggled with the suggestion. Did he have a problem with a girl taking charge? If so, that was going to be a real problem for their future together. She wasn’t going to be the type to sit back and wait for a man to do everything.

  He nodded and grinned. “So you’re kind of like my limo driver, right?”

  She was happy to see he was the man she thought he was. “No, I’m kind of like your ambulance driver.”

  Elio laughed and held the bike steady while Theresa loaded her sacks, one in each saddle bag to keep the balance even. She swung her leg over the seat and grabbed the handlebars.

  “Need a lift, stranger?”

  He laughed again as he settled himself on the pillow.

  Theresa was about to thumb on the power and pull away when a voice to her left startled her.

  “What are you guys doing?” Noor asked standing in the open doorway.

  Theresa froze. They were busted. She had no idea what to say.

  “Mason wants us to go on a neighborhood patrol,” Elio said. “To check things out so we have better situational awareness.”

  Nice use of the fancy bodyguard words!

  Noor digested the information and then nodded. “Okay.”

  “Can you check on Clyde while we’re out?”
Theresa asked.

  Noor nodded.

  “Close the gate,” Theresa said, knowing it locked automatically. “We’ll be back later.”

  “Be careful,” Noor said. “It’s scary out there.”

  She had no idea. Unfortunately, Theresa did.

  37

  BETH rode through the Los Angeles Zoo parking lot and up to the entrance. The front gate stood open which was odd because there wasn’t a car in sight in the vast, empty parking lot. Normally, she loved the throaty rumble of her old Kawasaki. Now was not normally. The burbling growl of the old 750cc engine was too loud. She’d never thought that before the outbreak. But now that ambient sound levels had fallen off a cliff, it stood out like a spotlight under a new moon.

  Which wasn’t good when attracting attention could get you killed.

  She considered leaving it outside and sneaking in but she didn’t want to be so removed from her getaway ride. She eased on the throttle and rode through the open gate. She snaked up the handicap ramp and headed toward the medical complex. On the left, the flamingos exhibit was conspicuously empty. Where would a flock of fifty hot pink and orange birds end up?

  A flurry of movement caught the corner of her eye to the right.

  She looked forward and hit the brakes as a small troop of monkeys darted across the path like they were between the lines in a school crosswalk. They all ignored her except for the last one. It paused in the middle of the path and then screeched at her before hurrying to join the others.

  In the first several days of the outbreak, Beth had wondered what would happen to all of the animals at the zoo. At some point, there would be no one to feed them. And how did they manage to escape? Did one of the employees throw open the gates and wish them the best of luck? If someone did do that, which animals did they do it for?

  Presumably not for the larger carnivores.

  The zoo carried a wide variety of animals that mother nature never intended to be mixed together. The majority of them never would’ve encountered the other animals in their native habitat.

  It didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was the age-old law of survival of the fittest. Predators and prey both hungered and so both struggled to survive. That most fundamental struggle didn’t feel as removed as it once did.