“Alright, so what are you proposing?” He asked.
The Scorpion smiled deviously, showing flawless white teeth. “I’ll tell you where he’ll be and when. You and your men ambush him.”
Simeon nodded, taking another puff. “Sounds easy enough.”
“It should be.”
“You better not fuckin’ cross me on this.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not stupid. Besides, once Leon’s out of the way, there’s plenty for both of us. I’d rather have tight control of a smaller area than weak control of a larger one. Like I said, everything east of the One Oh One is yours.”
“I want something else.”
“What’s that?”
He told her, explaining his rationale.
Nodding in understanding, she replied, “You got it.”
Smiling, Skull Crusher said, “Alright, then. Let’s do this.”
She smiled again. “Great. Lizette here will be in touch.”
Simeon looked the young Latina up and down. Light skinned and lean, she was both attractive and mysterious. “I’ll look forward to that.”
The Scorpion’s head shook back and forth. “Don’t get your hopes up. She don’t swing that way.” A short laugh followed before she added, “Trust me, I know.”
Simeon shook his head in disappointment. “Damn, that’s a shame.”
“Maybe for you,” she replied. She stared at him for a moment, giving him that half-smile she favored when making deals. She could hold it in place no matter what the situation, effectively blocking people from reading her emotions.
The Scorpion’s hand came out for a shake. “Pleasure doing business with you, Skull Crusher.”
The man stood and grasped the offered hand, shaking it. “Same.”
“Just one more thing, though.”
“What’s that?” He asked, frowning. He didn’t like last minute changes.
“When it comes down to it, don’t kill him.”
“Say what?”
“I wanna do it myself.” With that, The Scorpion turned and walked out of the room, followed by the young woman.
Skull Crusher sat back down in his chair and resumed smoking his cigar. He looked at the door, wondering if he’d missed something. The deal they’d made seemed simple enough on the surface, but still....
Blowing out a huge cloud of smoke, he looked at the man on his left.
“Go get me one of the bitches.”
“Yes, boss.”
A little release would make him feel more at ease.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
South Bakersfield, California
“This is not good. Not good at all.”
Looking towards the fires on the horizon, Serafina shook her head. “Nope. Definitely not good.”
“Son of a bitch!” Daniel muttered in frustration. The central downtown area of Bakersfield was engulfed in flames, burning unchecked, sending smoke and ash into the afternoon sky. Though it was still early in the day their goal of getting through Bakersfield and to Lemoore was in jeopardy. Four miles ahead, State Route 99 ran almost directly through the downtown area, heading straight into the smoke and flames. At this point, their only choices were to backtrack and take a series of highways that would route them in multiple directions before finally rejoining the 99, or to find one of the sidestreets that would follow the highway north while keeping enough distance between them and the raging fires that were consuming the small city’s highrises.
Shaking his head, he turned and stepped away, kicking a can that lay on the road in front of him.
“It’s alright, Dad,” Ashley offered. “We’ll find a way around it.”
“Yeah, but this delay will most likely mean that we’ll be driving at night, something I really prefer not to do. The headlights will make us targets.”
Serafina looked over before walking to the front of the car. “Either way, we can’t stay here, so let’s figure this out.” She took the map she held in her hand and spread it out on the hood of the car. Looking up, her eyes found the exit signs in the distance. “Okay, the next exit in a mile and a half is for the mall, which is off Ming Avenue.” Looking back down at the map, she said aloud, “If we take that exit and head west, we’ll reach New Stine Road.” Her finger traced the route on the map. “Following that north, we’ll reach Mohawk Street, which will take us across the river. When we reach Hageman, we can either go left and give the highway more space if the fires are still too close, or go right and make our way back to the highway.”
She looked up at Daniel, who was still standing there, looking at the distant fires with his hands on his hips. “Hey. Are you listening?”
Daniel snapped out of his trance and looked at her. “What? Oh, yeah, okay.”
“What did I say?”
“You said, take another route.”
“What route?”
Coming over to the map, Daniel looked down, then looked up at the highway signs. “Okay, so exit up there at Ming, then head west. Go north on, what’s this? New Stine Road. Take that to Mohawk - ”
Serafina pulled the map away. “I’m driving. Get in.” She turned and headed for the driver’s side of the car, leaving Daniel and the others standing there.
Brenna looked over at Ashley and raised her eyebrows. “Someone’s in trouble…”
Daniel shook his head. “It’s fine. Let’s go.”
Once loaded up, Serafina pulled the car forward, checking in the rearview mirror to make sure Logan and the others were close behind. She followed the route she’d outlined, exiting the highway near the mall, then carefully maneuvering the car through multiple stalled vehicles to get away from the mall area as they headed west.
The city was quiet, with little to no signs of life present aside from the occasional dog or cat, which ran at the sight of the approaching car. Though the fires were still miles from them, the air had taken on a hazy look, reducing both available light and visibility as they drove. Once they turned on New Stine Road and began making their way north, the smoke got even thicker, forcing them to reduce their speed out of concern for abandoned cars, which seemed to appear magically out of the smoke as they approached. It seemed as if the entire city itself were on fire, making them feel as if the world around them was closing in as the smoke got thicker and thicker outside the car. Serafina reached over and turned off the daytime running lights for the vehicle to keep from illuminating the wall of smoke in front of them.
Finally, turning left onto Mohawk Street, the road traveled both North and West, taking them over Kern River and away from the downtown area of the city. Little by little, the smoke and haze dissipated, eventually giving way to clearer skies as they left the burning areas behind.
They were nearly back to the highway when Daniel called out, “Pull over! Kill the engine!”
“What? Why?”
“Just do it, quick!”
Serafina pulled the car to the side of the road, bringing it to a stop behind a semi-tractor trailer that was parked half-on, half-off the asphalt. Looking in the mirror, she saw Logan pull his car off the road and park behind her. When she turned off the car’s engine, she saw him do the same.
“What is it?” She asked, looking over at Daniel.
“Hold on.” He pointed towards the road up ahead, where the highway rose up to cross over the small river ahead of them.
There was nothing.
She waited.
Daniel kept watching as he kept his eyes fixed on the overpass.
Just when Serafina was ready to ask again what had spooked him, a black Ford Mustang charged towards the bridge, its heavily powered engine roaring loudly, making its presence known. Loud music came from inside the vehicle, some country western song neither of them had ever heard. An empty bottle flew out the window, falling downward until it splashed in the river. The car powered onward, drowning out all other sound until it disappeared as the road descended and then curved away from where they waited.
“The hell was that?” S
erafina said aloud after the car disappeared.
Daniel shook his head. “Don’t know, but something tells me it was trouble. No one goes around making that much noise unless they’re looking to stir something up.”
“How long should we wait here?” Serafina asked.
Daniel paused. After a moment, he said, “Let’s check the map again.”
His wife stared at him. “You gonna pay attention this time?”
He nodded, grinning. “Of course.”
The two of them got out of the car, telling the girls to remain where they were. They went to the front of the car, remaining in the shadow of the big semi truck as they spread the map out again. Daniel looked back towards the other car and motioned for Logan to join them. The man got out of the car and trotted up to where they were.
“What’s up?” He asked.
“I didn’t like the look of that car.”
He shook his head. “Me, either. A little too boisterous to be anything other than trouble.”
“Exactly,” Daniel replied.
Serafina rested her finger on the map. “Alright, here we are. I say we follow this road along the highway, then take a left on Seventh Standard Road. We can follow that all the way to the Forty Three, then take that north.”
Daniel nodded. “Sounds good.”
Logan nodded as well. “I like it, but is there any reason we shouldn’t just follow Seventh Standard all the way to the Five?”
Daniel placed his finger on the map, indicating a spot northwest of where they were. “I want to stop by NAS Lemoore. It might be pointless, but maybe some of the military are still operating there. We can see if they have comms with the Protective Zone.”
Logan nodded. “I see. Makes sense. Alright, I’m in.”
“Okay,” Serafina said, reaching down and lifting the map from the hood. She folded it back up and passed it to Daniel. “Let’s do this.”
They spent the next two hours working their way north, covering long sections of highway without issue. By all appearances, few people had bothered using the small, two-lane highway during their efforts to escape the outbreak of the virus.
Sometime around midday, Serafina spotted a small copse of trees on the side of the road and guided the compact vehicle off the road and into the shade so that they could enjoy a brief lunch. They snacked on dried fruit, beef jerky, and chips, chasing it all down with water mixed with flavored Vitamin C powder.
Taking time to stretch their cramped muscles, the nine of them flexed their muscles and walked around the small area, enjoying the fresh, clean, dry air.
Daniel was in the middle of doing shoulder rotations when he heard Logan say, “Heads up.”
Looking over, he saw a small, multi-colored rubber football coming towards him. Reflexively, he reached out and caught it easily, squeezing the ball in his hands.
“Where’d this come from?” He asked as he pulled his arm back and threw the ball towards the Army Combat Medic.
“Father Rolando. He thought it might be nice if we had a chance to just enjoy the physical aspect of throwing a ball around. Said it’d be therapeutic.” Logan tossed the ball back, zipping it in a line to Daniel.
Daniel caught the ball and offered it to Serafina. Grabbing it, she threw the ball back to Logan. The ball floated through the air before landing softly in the man’s hands. When he pulled his arm back to throw it, she pointed at Daniel.
“He’ll catch it.”
Daniel smiled as he held his hands up. The ball smacked his palms as it landed, bouncing slightly before he corralled it.
The two men tossed the ball back and forth for a few minutes before Ashley and Brenna joined in. Both girls slung the ball back and forth with ease, remembering the mechanics their father had taught them.
When Paul was encouraged to join in, he politely declined. “I don’t know how to throw a football.”
Daniel smiled encouragingly, motioning for the young man to come over. “Come on. It’s easy. I’ll show you.”
Soon the young man was throwing the ball with ease, guiding it towards where Logan stood with an awkward, yet effective, throwing motion.
Watching the teenager catch the ball with his chest and stomach instead of his hands, Daniel smiled and looked away. He didn’t want to correct everything the kid did. Looking around, his eyes settled on Joe, who was sitting near Isabella, talking with her as he munched on a bag of chips. Occasionally he’d pass the bag to her, allowing her to take a handful of chips, smiling as he did so.
‘Good to see the guy making friends,’ Daniel thought briefly before being struck in the side of the head with the football. Though the ball was soft and didn’t hurt, it still caught him off guard, rocking his head sideways.
The group burst out into laughter at the sight of his misfortune.
Shaking his head, Daniel reached down and picked the ball up off the ground. “Who threw it?”
Ashley and Brenna pointed at each other in unison.
Serafina intervened as Daniel pulled his arm back.
“Time to go!” She said, smiling. When he looked over at her, she tossed him the keys to the car. “You’re driving.”
Daniel caught the keys in his left hand while holding the ball in his right. He pointed the ball towards the girls, smiling as he jokingly threatened them. “Next time.” He tossed the ball back to Logan before turning and heading to the car.
It was just after 3 p.m. when they reached the State Routes 43/198 junction outside of Hanford. Slowing as they took the connector to the 198 west, Daniel guided the hybrid vehicle around the sharp curve, looking ahead as he did, wary for signs of anything that might try to impede their progress. Though he felt it unlikely that the black Mustang had come this way, he still chose caution and vigilance as the best approach to their travels along the highways.
When they merged onto State Route 198 and saw a relatively open road ahead of them (the few cars that remained on the road had been abandoned on the eastbound lanes), he pressed his foot down on the gas, accelerating quietly as the electric motor pushed the small car forward. Glancing to his right, he saw a large cluster of vehicles in the parking lot off to their right, where the Costco was. Fortunately, the lot’s access didn’t connect to the highway, so none of the abandoned/wrecked vehicles were blocking the road.
Looking towards the parking lot as they drove past, Daniel felt himself slow the vehicle as he and Serafina watched two of the infected run out of the store, chasing a woman as she fled. Within moments, they tackled her, taking her to the ground in a tangle of flying arms and legs.
While the savagery exhibited by the infected as they tore into the woman wasn’t unlike what they’d seen from others afflicted with the Rage virus, it was still hard to watch. Hair, clothing, and blood flew as the two infected tore into their victim, pulling her apart with their bare hands.
Feeling helpless, Daniel accelerated, moving them away from the violence as he forced himself to focus on the road.
Up ahead in the distance, they could see the outer edges of the small town of Lemoore, with a Travelodge sitting dark and quiet about a half-mile off the road ahead on their right. Further on, a grouping of sports fields sat on the right side of the road, their grass overgrown and covered in nearly-formed weeds. A golf course sat on the opposite side of the highway from the sports fields, its grass sharing similar characteristics, evidence of similar neglect. Cars and trucks remained on the shoulder of the road, abandoned and alone, left to gather dust for the foreseeable future.
Continuing on, they stayed focused on getting through the town and crossing the seven or so miles between the city’s western edge and the eastern part of the Naval Air Station.
The quiet desolation of the town gave it an eerie feel, enough to keep everyone on edge. Down side streets and off in the distance they saw small groupings of the infected wandering around aimlessly or fighting with each other, injuring and/or killing themselves in the process. When they were closer to the groupings, the cringe
-inducing screams of the infected sent chills down their spines.
After fifteen minutes or so, they crossed State Route 41, leaving the town behind. Looking west, it became clear that NAS Lemoore had suffered a similar fate to that of the other military bases they’d seen. Smoke rose from multiple spots on the base, both in the military operations areas and in the residential/community areas. Along the edges of the highway, the perimeter fence that had been designed to keep out unauthorized personnel had been destroyed, smashed into by large vehicles - trucks, vans, and even heavy duty military vehicles. Around the wreckage, bodies were strewn about, some on the ground, surrounding the vehicles, others inside, on top of, or under the vehicles. Clouds of flies surrounded each accident site, their presence a black wave moving fluidly from one body to another.
It was the presence of the military vehicles, which had been unsuccessful at breaking through the fence, that made Daniel do a double take.
“We don’t want to enter the base.” He said, shaking his head in frustration. His desire to come here had taken them hours out of the way for nothing.
“Really? Why?” Serafina asked.
“Look at the position of the military vehicles.”
Serafina looked on, as did the girls from where they sat in the back seat.
“Shit,” Serafina said, shaking her head as well.
Ashley’s voice cried out in terrified realization. “They were trying to get out!”
Daniel nodded, grimacing as he accepted the realization of what that implied.
“But shouldn’t the military have been able to fight them off?” Brenna asked as she stared towards the broken sections of fence. .
“In theory, yes,” Daniel began, “but they have to know what they’re fighting and where the threat is. If the virus infected their ranks, weakening and attacking them from the inside, Their efforts to fight or even run would have been doomed from the start. I mean, imagine you’re driving the vehicle, trying to get out, and the person next to you, someone you thought you could trust, attacks you.”
Surviving Rage | Book 3 Page 31
