The Human Race (Book 1)

by Tahnee Fritz

  Noon comes and goes and the sky continues to threaten us with a storm. I can hear both of our stomachs growling and each of us search for a town or someplace we can look for food. Every car we pass, we take a look inside for anything we could eat. Some moldy candy bars and empty bottles of soda, nothing edible so we keep moving forward.

  “You know what I could go for right about now,” Ryder says, “an extra-large pizza with everything on top. Peppers, olives, sausage, the works.”

  “Don’t forget the mountain of cheese on top of all that.” I add.

  “Making my mouth water.” He says.

  I look down at my feet, missing the things of my past, “We probably shouldn’t reminisce about stuff we’ll never have again.”

  “Why not? What else do we have to live for other than to remember the things we used to have?” he comments. “If we don’t remember, we might as well be a zombie like the rest of the world.”

  He makes a good point. I’ve spent the last few years trying not to think about the things I’ll never have again because it makes me upset. I’ll never have that computer I used to beg my parents for or that I-pad I left little hints around the house at Christmastime. I will have the memories of everything though and those are something to never forget. It sucks thinking about it from time to time, which is why I avoid doing so. But, like Ryder so elegantly put out, if we don’t remember what life was like at one point in time, we might as well turn ourselves into zombies and forget absolutely everything.

  I smile and take in his advice, “You know what I would rather have instead of pizza? Chocolate. I don’t care how it’s made or what it covers, chocolate is the best flavor in the entire world.”

  He laughs, “Definitely won’t argue with you on that one. I could devour an entire pack of Oreos in one sitting. Double stuffed, with a full glass of milk to drink with them.”

  “My thing was the marshmallow and chocolate ice cream. My brother and I would go through an entire gallon of that stuff in one night. Chocolate syrup always made it better though.” I add.

  He sighs, “We’re just talking about this stuff and I can actually taste it.”

  “I wish we were actually tasting it.”

  We come across a part of the highway overrun with cars. Accident upon accident and it’s almost impossible to get through the carnage without climbing over everything. Ryder climbs on the hood of a small pickup truck and helps me climb up with him. He takes my hand and I can feel the butterflies churning in my stomach the second our skin touches. He hops down to the other side and turns to help me. He puts his hands on my waist and I jump off the truck with his help. Our eyes meet at that moment and it’s more than butterflies I feel in my stomach. There’s something more going on inside me and I can only hope he’s feeling it too. Maybe what they say is true. You know that whole love at first sight thing. It seems old fashioned to me, but maybe those old geezers were on to something.

  Ryder nervously takes his hands away and runs his fingers through his hair. A shade of pink comes to his cheeks and I can feel my cheeks blushing as well. I bite my bottom lip as I follow him through the rest of the wrecked vehicles. I never thought I would meet someone who could make me feel this way. Especially not the way the world is at the moment. I still can’t shake the feeling coming over me. It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before.

  We make our way out of the heap of cars and the highway is clear up ahead. Grass has grown through the cracks in the cement and a few tree branches are scattered around. I stay close to Ryder, feeling his warmth on my arm.

  “Can I ask you something, Bridget?” he says, keeping his eyes on the road.

  I nod, “I guess.”

  “It’s just something completely stupid, but I guess I was just wondering if maybe,” he takes a deep breath, “when we get to that city I was talking about, if it’s even there, if you would consider staying. You know, not go off wandering to someplace that is probably covered in vampires and zombies.”

  I shrug, “I don’t know. I haven’t thought about that. Getting to Canada is the only plan my dad ever made for my family and if there’s nothing there like you said, I don’t really have any other plan on where to go. I do want a safe place to live. Someplace where I’m not constantly fighting off the undead. I’ll miss that, don’t get me wrong. But I want to be in a place where someone else is there to keep me safe instead of only having myself to rely on.”

  “And if we find that in Des Moines, you’ll stay?” he asks.

  “Probably.” I reply. “Why do you want to know?”

  He glances down at his feet, “I don’t know. You’re just the first nice person I’ve come across out here in the last year and a half. The only person who didn’t push me away, who seems to trust me a little. It’s only been a day since we met, but that’s long enough for me to consider you as a friend. Unless you don’t want that.”

  I let out a sarcastic sigh, “I don’t know. I have so many friends as it is, I might not have room for one more.”

  He chuckles, “I’ll just take that as a maybe.”

  I stare at him for a moment. Even with the smile on his face, he still appears to be troubled. Whatever happened for him to be alone for so long has really taken a toll on him. It makes me feel bad about having at least one person in my life to depend on almost every day since things went downhill. I always forget that not everyone was as lucky as me.

  “I’m sorry you don’t have anyone, Ryder. Losing my family was the worst thing I could have gone through, but I can’t imagine never having someone in the first place.” I state.

  He gives me a half smile, “It’s okay. I should be used to it, but there are times when you just need someone there to talk to, to lean on. Like you said, you want to have someone to keep you safe instead of no one there at all. It makes me glad that you didn’t just walk away from me back there after I asked to go with you.”

  “Me too. Although, I don’t think I would have gotten very far on my own. You made that very clear last night when that vamp came up from behind. I guess I should say ‘thank you’ for that.”

  He shrugs, “I’d do it again and I know you’d do the same.”

  I nod, “Yeah, someone has to help the human race win this thing.”

  Another day down and an eternity left to spend trying to find safety. We spent the night in the back of an old mini-van, each taking turns sleeping while the other kept watch. You know, the same old routine just on a different night. It was much better than sleeping in the grass or on the hard cement, despite the fact that the van smelled like death. At least there weren’t any rotting corpses in the van to keep us company.

  We got moving soon after the sun came up, still heading north in hopes of finding a place with actual living people. We have nothing to eat for breakfast and only half a bottle of water left. The rain never came and neither of us wanted to look for a nearby lake in the woods by the highway, so we have no way to refill the bottle. Our stomachs growl at us, our legs beg us to stop moving and sit for a while. The longer we sit, the longer it will take us to find a safe place and the longer we’ll go without eating. Sorry to say, but our legs don’t win this battle.

  “What time is it?” Ryder asks, running his fingers through his messy hair.

  I glance at my watch, “One o’clock.”

  “We have to find food soon or we won’t make it very far. My stomach’s growling and I can hear yours as well. We have to be coming close to a town or a house with food in it or something. This highway can’t seriously be empty.” Ryder says.

  “It seems like it is, though.”

  He shakes his head, “It just can’t be. There has to be something close.”

  “We could try catching a squirrel or hunting a deer. If we don’t find a town anytime soon, we’ll have to do that.” I say.

  He smiles but doesn’t say anything. Both of us keep our eyes peeled for anything we could use for food. There’s really nothing out here, besides trees and grass. Maybe when I wa
s a little kid, a grass and leaf pie would sound amazing, but that doesn’t even sound the least bit appetizing right now.

  I’ve gone a couple days without eating much of anything before and it’s not a very easy thing to do. Your mind sort of slips into a state of insanity for a few minutes. You start freaking out, thinking you’re going to die at any second. I remember feeling like my stomach was going to implode on itself and I would just vanish into thin air because my body was so hungry it ate itself. Not something I am looking forward to going through again.

  We come across a green landmark sign. Ryder glances at it, but keeps moving. I stop and stare at it for a moment. It seems very familiar to me and I have a feeling of what it might mean. The names of the cities are scratched out with black spray paint, much like the one my dad and I came across days ago. My feet quickly move so I can see the back of the sign and a smile crosses my face.

  Ryder finally stops walking and gives me a funny look, “What are you so happy about?”

  I point to what’s painted on the back of the sign, “You see that? S 10 N. It means in ten miles north of here, we will find a safe place.”

  He squints his eyes in confusion, “How you do know that?”

  “My dad taught it to me about a week ago when we were trying to find a town. It’s how traveler’s communicate with each other, I guess.” I reply.

  “So, you’re telling me that in just a few miles we will find a town or something?”

  I smile and nod.

  “Then there’s a good chance we’ll find food and a place to stay tonight.”

  Again I smile and nod, “Damn right.”

  Finally, a smile comes to his lips, “Then let’s get moving, Bridge.”

  He grabs my hand and pulls me away from the sign. I let out a small laugh as I walk quickly beside him. We might be stuck living in hell towards the bottom of the food chain, but being with Ryder somehow makes things better. I miss my dad and my family, I’ll never stop missing them. But I can’t dwell on them forever and Ryder is doing a good job at taking my mind off of them.

  We keep moving as fast as our legs can carry us without breaking out into a run. I don’t think either of us has enough energy for that right now. The sun shines through a break in the clouds and lights up the world a little bit. A slight breeze blows through the trees and I take in a deep breath through my nose. My heart skips a beat as that familiar scent of death enters my nostrils.

  That’s enough to ruin any day.

  “Ryder, I think there’s something bad up ahead.” I say.

  “What are you talking about?” he asks, still pulling me along with him.

  “Don’t you smell it? The death in the air?”

  He takes a second to sniff the air, then shakes his head, “I don’t smell anything.”

  “I do and it has never failed me before.”

  We stop walking and he looks me dead in the eye, “So, what are you saying?”

  “I’m saying there is most likely something dead on the road ahead of us. Not the actual dead kind of thing either.” I reply.

  He glances to the road ahead. I do the same. If we turn back to find a safer route, we risk starving ourselves for even longer. Our only choice is to keep going straight.

  “We should keep going. Whatever it is, we can fight them off.” He says, hiding the fear in his voice. “With your badassedness and my strong will to live, I think we can do it.”

  “You think we can do it? I know we can.” I walk away from him, a sense of pride on my shoulders. “Remember, killing zombies is one of my strong points.”

  Ryder rushes to my side and pulls my dad’s gun out of his satchel. I loaned it to him over night in case something popped out of nowhere. Mine is safely tucked behind my back, but I quickly pull it out and turn the safety off. The smell grows stronger and I can tell we’re getting close. So close in fact, we can hear their quiet moaning. We walk by a few more cars and come across them. There’s two of them standing alone, but that isn’t what catches our eyes.

  A group of men, each wearing green pants and shirts and combat boots, carrying large guns, is fighting off the two zombies. I notice even more dead monsters lying in pools of their brown blood on the ground. Not a single one of the men fires a shot at the zombies. Instead, we watch as they jab them in the head a few times before they fall to the ground with their friends. That’s when one of the guys pulls out a machete and stabs each of them in the brain thus ending their pathetic excuse for a life. A gurgled moan is the last thing to escape their throats.

  I turn the safety back on my gun and hold it down at my side. Ryder and I keep walking toward the group of men. It doesn’t take much for one of them to notice us and start walking up to us. He aims his rifle our way and we stop in our tracks.

  “You humans?” he shouts.

  Both of us nod and say, “yes,” at the same time.

  He lowers the gun and smiles, “You must be looking for Hatfeld. We’re headed there right now.”

  “Is that the safe zone not far ahead?” Ryder asks.

  He nods, “Yeah, just a few more miles down the highway.”

  “And there’s food there?” Ryder asks again.

  “Yeah, there’s plenty of food. You two are welcome to join us seeing as how we are headed in the same direction.” The man says then moves a little closer to us. “My name is Nick. The others and I are in charge of keeping those zombie bastards away from the fence surrounding the city.”

  “I’m Ryder and this is Bridget. We are just trying to find a safe place for a little while.”

  “Then you’re going to the right place. We welcome any and all travelers. Just follow us.” Nick says with a smile, then turns away.

  Ryder and I follow him and the others, stepping over the bodies along the way. I can’t believe I missed an opportunity to kill a few zombies. I’m sure I’ll have other chances to shed a few bullets on the undead, but I still hate the times when I miss it. At least going to a city for food and hopefully a bed to sleep in tonight will make up for that slightly.

  Only slightly.

  It takes twenty minutes to walk to the gates of Hatfeld, an old city people are trying to make new again. There’s a ten foot high fence with barbed wire at the top which surrounds the entire place. According to Nick, it keeps the zombies at bay. I’ve never seen a chain link fence stand in the way of a flesh hungry zombie before. They are pretty strong and can take down a really big guy when they’re given the chance. Then Nick pointed out the guard towers spread thirty feet apart along the perimeter of the fence. There’s never a time when any of the towers are empty. That makes me feel a little better about being here.

  We wait a few seconds for the gate to be pushed open. Then, we’re greeted by even more smiling men in dark green outfits with guns. Each offers us a handshake and welcomes us to Hatfeld. It’s a little weird seeing all the big guys happy that we chose their city to come to. I’m not the only one who isn’t used to this sort of thing. Ryder is more on edge than I am. He’s holding my hand and I can feel it shaking. I guess the bravery he felt when we were about to fight off some zombies has faded.

  Nick leads us away from the gate and away from the rest of their little army. We follow him into a small metal building with a desk on the inside. On the walls, are photos of different people with a sad face drawn on each of them.

  “What’s with the pictures?” I ask, not fighting my curiosity at all.

  Nick looks around the room as he makes his way behind the desk, “Oh, those are loved ones of some of the people who live here. We keep them on the wall so we know what we’re fighting for every time we go out looking for zombies. They give us hope.”

  I nod, “I see. What about the ones the vamps get?”

  He snaps his head my way and answers quickly, “They don’t come this way often.”

  I raise an eyebrow. That’s the first time I’ve ever heard of a vampire staying away from a town for no good reason. I wonder if I’ll find out why that is wh
ile I’m here.

  Nick sits on a swiveling chair and stares up at us with a smile, “Again, I want to welcome you both to Hatfeld. We have limited electricity throughout the city. We were able to tie into some old power lines and reconfigure them to work. Just in the important buildings like our hospital and school and the armory. Every other place has more than enough candles and is equipped with flashlights and glow sticks.

  “Like I said earlier, we have plenty of food to go around. A farm just on the other side of town is responsible for our meat supply and fresh fruits and veggies. There’s a few wells throughout the city to provide us with drinking water, but the plumbing is scarce. We are still working on getting that going again, but it does work in some buildings. The toilets where you’ll be staying work well. Also, there are shops all over town and everybody is incredibly nice. We love newcomers. It means humans are able to survive out there.”

  “Yeah, we aren’t the only ones either.” I say.

  “And we are more than grateful for that.” Nick says then leans forward again.

  He pulls open a drawer from the desk and reaches inside. He comes back with a small black bag and tosses it on top of the wooden desk.

  “Take that. Explore the city. Get yourselves some food and clean clothes to change into. There’s a hotel on Fifth Street, the Renaissance. I’ll meet you there after dinner, say seven o’clock tonight.” Nick says.

  “What’s at the hotel?” I ask.

  “A place for both of you to stay for a while.” the smile never leaves his face, “Just take that little bag and enjoy yourselves. Our city is your city now.”

  Ryder’s hands are still shaking, so I hesitantly reach for the small bag. I hold it open in the palm of my hand and peer inside. A handful of small, colorful jewels are all I see inside. My mouth drops and I let Ryder look at them. I’ve never seen precious stones like this before.

  “Are these real?” I ask, shocked.