by Jack Hunt
“And have them chase us? Are you out of your mind?”
“You have any bright ideas?”
From where they stood they could see Corey beginning to kick at the pipe trying to pry it loose from the brickwork. There were at least seven climbing it at the time. Behind Corey, Luke was down near the edge firing at them.
A few more kicks and the pipe gave way and slid to the left of the house. Several of them toppled over, a couple jumped and some were hanging from the remaining gutter fixed to the edge of the house.
“Guys,” Ricky stammered. “There’s…”
Coming up the side of the home was a large man wielding a sledgehammer. Ally was about to shoot him when Sam told her not to fire. If she fired, their position would be compromised and they’d be swarmed. He gave a nod to Kiera and she tossed him the baseball bat.
Sam rose to his feet and tossed the bat back and forth in his hands before getting a solid grip on it.
“Okay, let’s see what you got.”
The man rushed Sam swinging the sledgehammer. Sam dropped down and drove the bat square across the front of the man’s knees. He bucked and collapsed to the ground wailing. It had to have broken his knees with the amount of force he used. As Sam turned back, Ally plowed a knife deep into the man’s head. Sam’s eyes flitted to Kiera who was pointing a gun at him. He was about to say something when she fired. The sound of a body landing hard behind him made him turn fast. In the heat of the moment he hadn’t heard a woman coming up from the rear.
As grateful as he was, there was no time to pat each other on the back as they were now in an even worse predicament. The sound of the gun going off had attracted the attention of those who were heading in the direction of the house Luke was on.
“Go!” Ally yelled as they sprinted around the side of a house with six of the insane following hard after them. Kiera fired back a few rounds and dropped one of them. They ran with no direction or idea of where to go. As they rushed around corners Sam knew that at any moment they could be facing down ten, twenty or more but they had no other choice as the six soon turned into eight and others came streaming out of the woodwork.
After the gutter pipe had toppled, Corey breathed a sigh of relief even though a couple were hanging on to the gutter and trying to get up. Luke got on his belly and leaned forward towards one that was frothing at the mouth.
“Luke, what are you doing?”
He didn’t reply.
“Luke!” Billy yelled but it didn’t register. Luke placed his gun on the forehead and stared into the eyes of what was probably an upstanding citizen at one time.
“Rest in peace,” he said before squeezing the trigger. He fired another round at the guy that was beside the other and their bodies dropped to the ground in a crumpled mess. When he got back to his feet Corey grabbed a hold of him.
“What the hell are you playing at? You get one drop of blood on you and it’s over.”
Luke smirked. “Don’t you get it? We are all dead. Maybe not today or tomorrow but eventually they are going to wipe us all out.”
“So,” Corey replied. “Does that give you the right to play with your life?”
“It’s mine to do with whatever I like.”
“Not when ours hang in the balance.”
Luke turned sharply. “I’m not responsible for you. Hell, if you hadn’t jumped off that ledge I would have killed you. Do you understand? Just because we are in this together, it doesn’t mean I have to like you. You slow me down, I won’t think twice about cutting you loose.”
“Luke,” Billy grabbed a hold of Luke’s arm to try and get him to calm down. He yanked his arm away and walked over to the edge.
Corey stared at him and sneered.
“Let it go, Corey. We need to figure out how to get the hell off here. Anyway, did you hear that gun? I think Sam is close.”
As he was saying that the rumble of an approaching vehicle could be heard.
“You hear that?”
Both of them raced over to the edge of the house in the direction of the engine noise. They didn’t immediately see a vehicle but the insane below were responding to something as they began running away from the house. Crouched down they waited until an armored truck came around the corner. They couldn’t see the occupants but they could hear the sound of gunfire that was taking the insane down pretty quick. The vehicle plowed into bodies and they crumpled underneath it. The vehicle had six wheels and was tan in appearance like the kind used in Iraq. The lid was popped on the top and some guy in military fatigues was gripping one hell of a large gun and shooting the shit out of everything in its path. As it got closer, he looked up.
“Hey! Head for the lumberyard.”
That was all he said. The next few minutes were spent watching his vehicle lead the mass of insane away while tearing through them with round after round.
“Um, when do you think we should tell the guy we don’t have a way to get down from this fucking roof?” Billy said.
Corey grabbed Billy. “Let’s go.”
All three of them moved over to the front of the house and stared down. Luke had kicked the gutter on the other side down. The only way to reach the ground was to hang and drop onto a carport that was made of plastic. It was quite a drop and the chances of them breaking a leg in the process were high.
“Screw that.”
“You want to stay up here?”
“If it means keeping my legs.”
“Pussy!” Luke said clambering over the edge and hanging. When he let go the last thing he saw was Billy clenching his eyes closed. He was certain he was going to go through the plastic. And he was nearly right. The moment he hit it, he heard a crack, he slid off the incline and landed on the ground.
“Come on.”
“No way. You just fucked it up.”
Luke looked around nervously. “Billy, you go next.”
He said that on purpose because there was no doubt in his mind that Corey’s weight would break it but Billy, he was like a small bird. Billy shot a glance at Corey and then went over the edge. When he landed the plastic held him but the crack split further.
Billy kept an eye out for the insane while Luke tried to coax Corey to jump. There was no way of cherry coating it. He was going to crack the shit out of it and likely kill himself in the fall but the alternatives weren’t much better and Corey must have known that.
“Fuck this.”
He slid over and held on for longer than he should before releasing. When he landed it didn’t crack. He lay on top and a smile formed on his face.
“Holy cow, it didn’t break.”
His words were short-lived. The moment he had hit the plastic the crack fissured out until it reached the end. The very second the crack reached the edge the whole thing caved in and Corey came down hard on the ground. Fortunately, the height from the ground to the carport was only about eight feet. He landed in a heap and groaned.
“God, I hate heights.”
8
The lumberyard didn’t look the way Luke remembered. Someone had stacked logs near the entrance. Originally the yard itself had an eight-foot wooden fence that went around it. Inside the yard there were rows of uncut timber, and a warehouse where lumber was cut to size and stored. The overflow remained outside beneath tarps. The gate that he’d smashed with a truck on the way out was no longer there. In its place was a truck and piles of wood stacked like sandbags. It looked as if it had been slapped together in a hurry.
There were six military guards on top of lumber that they had positioned behind the fencing. The lumber went up another three feet, essentially making the perimeter eleven feet high. They were armed and walking back and forth, focusing their attention on anyone approaching.
Luke knew that if they weren’t careful they could easily get shot. From a distance it would have been hard to tell them apart from the insane.
“Don’t shoot!” he said coming out from around a building with his AR held above his head. Corey and Billy
did the same.
They motioned to someone down below and the truck moved to one side. They still couldn’t see what was going on when they reached the gate, and then it opened.
Ushered inside by a soldier, they were relieved to find themselves behind walls, with armed personnel. “Any of you exposed to the blood?”
“If I was, I think I would have turned by now,” Billy replied sarcastically.
They weren’t taking any chances. Immediately they were treated as though they might have been infected. Two men approached wearing HAZMAT suits and guided them over to a chemical shower. They were told to go in with their clothes on. Luke went first. He heard the sound of a generator kick in and then freezing cold water hit him hard from multiple angles.
“Arms out. Turn,” they commanded. He revolved around and remained in there for longer than what felt comfortable. Billy and then Corey followed suit. Soaking wet, they were led into the storage warehouse where they were given dry military fatigues and gloves.
Initially Luke was concerned that they might have been associated with the Commander’s group but that fear was soon put to rest when he enquired as to why they were there.
“Are there any more of you?” a soldier said.
“Three more.”
He nodded.
“Were you barricaded in?”
“No. We’re from out of town but we used to live here.”
The officer looked at him as though he was insane.
“Then why in God’s name are you here?”
“Long story,” Luke replied.
“Go take a seat for now. If you are hungry there are MRE’s in a box in the third office to your left. One package for each of you. No more. We have to ration this shit.”
The soldier went to walk away.
“And you are?”
“Private Tucker. U.S. Marine Corps.”
“Are you here to help?” Billy asked.
The question must have seemed strange. Luke and Corey understood what Billy was asking. He was trying to determine if they were there to actually help or just take advantage, the way the Commander had.
“What do you think, son? Of course we are.”
Tucker jogged away as though he still thought he was in boot camp. Luke and the other two wandered into the office and were met by the sight of a room filled to the brim with boxes. Billy pried one of the boxes open and pulled out a brown package that had the insignia of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was chicken, noodles and vegetables in sauce. He lifted it up and showed the other two.
“Are you kidding me?”
He tore it open like a kid on Christmas and began pulling out the contents. Inside it was full of numerous packages. One of which was a meal-ready-to-eat heater. All that was required was to open the bag, insert in the meal package and then fill it with water and a chemical reaction would occur that would cause it to warm up. All three of them looked like kids in a candy store. Besides the small portion of deer, they hadn’t had a good meal in a while and the thought that they were both safe and protected just made it that much better.
As they were waiting for the MRE to heat up, Corey looked at Luke.
“You think they’ll make it?”
“They’re badass women.”
“I meant Sam as well.”
“I know.” He then laughed.
Kate Shaw had built a small fire in the woods while Murphy was busy catching some fish. He’d wanted to ride non-stop but after they saw a large group heading north, and with the horses needing water, she convinced him to stop inside of Kaniksu National Forest. Murphy returned carrying the catch. He dumped it and began preparing to cook.
“You know she’s not a child anymore, Scot.”
He cast her a glance but didn’t reply.
“They aren’t kids anymore, no matter—”
“Stop,” he hollered back. There was an awkward pause. “I raised her better than this. She should have known better. When I get my hands on Sam...”
“Enough, Scot. You don’t know it was Sam who pulled her away.”
“You weren’t privy to the conversation I had with him. He’s been biting at the bit to push back against Hank and the others for some time.”
“No one likes the rules.”
“The rules are there for our protection.”
“You are starting to sound a lot like the Commander.”
Murphy gave her a dirty look and went back to placing the fish inside foil and laying it on top of a piece of metal that had holes punctured in it.
“There has to be some order. The trouble is these kids have had a problem with following orders for some time.”
“They’re not kids.”
“They’re nineteen. That’s a kid in my book.”
He used a piece of wood to move the foiled fish around and then stoked the fire before sitting down on a log nearby.
“You misunderstood. I’m not talking about age. Age means very little now. You saw the way they worked together in Mount Pleasant. The way they risked their lives in Hayden. You’ve got to give them some credit. They might be nineteen but they have had to live like adults, make choices like adults and act like adults. That means they are going to make mistakes, like adults. I’ve made them. So have you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Kate leaned forward on the log. “You need to stop blaming yourself for Sara’s death.”
“Don’t,” Murphy replied without looking at her.
“It’s been a year, Scot. Everyone lost someone.”
He shook his head as if he couldn’t comprehend that he could have lost her.
“She was with someone else and yet you still act as though she was your wife.”
“Because she was!” he shot back.
“You never signed the paperwork. Why?”
“Because I…” he trailed off staring into the fire.
“Forget it, I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“Because I didn’t want to admit that I had failed. That I failed Sara. Failed Ally.”
Kate got up and went over to where he was seated. She sat down and placed her arm around him.
“What is it with you SEALs? You are the most fearless type of people I have met when faced with danger and yet the one thing you fear… is failing?” She snorted. “It’s okay to fail, Scot.”
“Not in my book.”
“Perhaps it’s time to read a different one.” She rubbed his back and worked her fingers into the back of his neck. “When my marriage ended, I didn’t want to believe it. You know, I looked around and saw everyone else’s marriage going to shit but not ours. Ours was going to be the one that stood the test of time. I was going to be the wife who grew old with the same man beside me. But it never happened. At first I thought I had failed. You know,” Kate stared into the fire. “I thought of all the things that I had done wrong. Had I spent enough time with him? Had I not listened? Had I been selfish? Had I worked too much and so on? But when I found out he had a drug habit, I knew it wasn’t me.” Murphy looked at Kate. “We can’t control another person. We are all responsible for our choices and no matter how much we try to control the outcome of a situation, or look at what we could have done better, life can change in a heartbeat.” She clicked her fingers. “Just like that.”
She breathed in deeply. “In fact if anything this apocalypse has shown me is that nothing is really in our control.”
“Except that which we choose to do,” Murphy added.
She nodded.
“You hungry?” he asked.
“Famished.”
Sam was in full sprint and about to throw up. They had been running non-stop around houses, over fences and across streets and just when they managed to lose one group of lunatics, another would spot them.
Ricky stopped and gripped the wall. “I can’t go on.” He panted hard bending at the waist. “I can barely breathe.”
Sam rushed back and grabbed hold of him while keeping his eyes peeled on
the corner they had just dashed around. He looked at the kid; he couldn’t have weighed more than sixty pounds. He was a skinny little fart.
“Get on my back.”
“What?”
“Get on.”
He didn’t like having to lug sixty pounds but the idea of having gone to all that trouble to rescue the kid only to lose him because he had a stitch wasn’t happening. Just as Ricky was getting on, the insane came rushing around the corner. Kiera and Ally both dropped to a knee and began unloading round after round while Sam began to gain ground. He had made it maybe ten, twenty feet when off to his left came a large, dark mass. Before he had time to react, he was knocked to the ground and sent rolling. He turned just in time to see a man spew blood all over Ricky’s face. His screams mixed with those of the insane. There wasn’t any point in attempting to save him. He was gone. Still on the floor, Sam yanked his rifle around and fired two shots into the guy’s head and one into Ricky who had turned. It was that fast. One second he was alive, the next changed into one of those things.
Scrambling to his feet he fired a few more shots at those who were getting close to Kiera and Ally. They were in a square between four homes. It had been turned into a small public garden that at one time was filled with roses. It had been created in memory of those who had fought in Iraq. Now they found themselves trapped. Sam spun around at the sound of boots pounding the pavement. All three of them were in the middle with their backs to one another unloading round after round at the insane until Sam ran out of ammo. His assault rifle clicked, he dropped it and switched to the Glock. Kiera’s Sig Sauer emptied and all three of them knew this was it. The chances of them getting out were slim to none. Once Sam and Ally were out of ammo, they were fucked. Even though they had a machete and knives, the odds of them not getting blood on them were stacked against them.
Rage filled Sam at the thought that this was how he was going to die. Not at the hands of a skinhead or from some natural disease but from something made in a lab by a government that wanted to harm Americans.
When the bullets ran out, he tossed his gun and reached for the machete. If he was going out he was taking as many of them with him as he could.
