by Ely Page
Porter nodded in acknowledgement. Frank looked over the tribe, stopping at Reggie before exiting the car.
“Greg,” Frank shouted from the back of the locomotive to Greg, who was still up by the front. Greg looked up to see Frank waving him back into the engine compartment.
Frank stepped up into the engineers’ compartment. “Andy, Ben, could you go back to the passenger compartment and talk to Porter? He may need your help before we go.” The young men left without comment.
Greg stepped in right after they left. “Let’s throw some coal and get going,” he said to Dylan.
“Get the train going, then I would like to talk to the both of you,” Frank said as he looked them in the eye. He then moved out of the way so the shovels could go.
Porter briefed Andy and Ben on what was going on, then told them to keep an eye on Reggie.
“I always thought something was off about him,” Ben said.
“So did I. He doesn’t seem to want to get along with anybody,” Porter said before walking away and talking to some of the others on the train.
“We are ready to go,” Greg said. As he released the brake, the engine started to ramp up and the big wheels slid on the track a couple of times before they got a grip and the train started to move.
“I want to talk to both of you about what just transpired and the way you both acted,” Frank said. His tone was even, but there was some sharpness to it. “Dylan, I was concerned about how you wanted to kill them before we even knew who or what they were.” Dylan felt ashamed. “And Greg, you wanted to leave them out there all alone, just because you didn’t know who they were.” A lump grew in Greg’s throat and he wanted to look away from Frank, but he managed to keep eye contact. “I didn’t know any of you when you came to my house, but you all came to my house for a reason.” Frank paused. “We found them for a reason. They need us, and we are stronger together than we are alone. Everything is good now and we lost some time, so let us keep going until we get hungry, then we should stop and eat. This track runs through Little Rock, and I would like to stop near there. We need supplies.”
Chapter 5
The sky was the brightest it had been for a long time. They could see the yellow shape of the sun behind the thinning clouds by the time they stopped on the outskirts of Little Rock.
There was a large, flat, ash-covered area on the side of the track. Frank left the locomotive as soon as it stopped to tell everyone in the passenger car to come outside.
“We have stopped here just by that shopping center.” Frank pointed to shopping center about half a mile from the tracks. “I will send a team there to get some much-needed supplies, and then we will head out before nightfall. The rest of you stretch out, walk around, do whatever you need to do—just stay close and keep an eye out for anything.”
A team of five was selected by Frank to go to the shopping center; he picked Dylan, Ben, Leah, Will, and Hanna to travel as light as possible and bring back as much as possible. Dylan was picked as the group leader.
“Look at that,” Ben said looking through his binoculars. “That is a big shopping center.”
Dylan looked where Ben was pointing through his own binoculars. “Yep, should be some good shopping there. Looks like there is a sporting goods store. Be a great place to get more guns and ammo.”
The five set off, all carrying sidearms and small knives. They learned the hard way that there was no such thing as too much protection. They figured that they would use something from the stores to help carry supplies back to the train.
The two girls stayed in the back of the pack talking; the guys stayed ahead, silent and alert, scanning the areas ahead and to the sides.
“Oh look, there’s a Lovely Lady. I love that store,” Leah exclaimed as the group walked into the shopping center parking lot and passed the first store.
“We won’t be shopping there today,” Will said.
“Yep, we are here for food, medicine, and weapons. No pretty dresses,” Dylan added.
“You guys are no fun,” Hanna pouted.
Dylan stopped walking, turned around, and faced her. “I am sorry that trying what we can to live till tomorrow is ruining your today. I don’t understand why Frank had you come anyway!” he said angrily.
Ben quickly got between the two of them. “Let’s just do what we came here to do and get back to the train before it gets too dark,” he said. It seemed to calm the situation enough for the small group to resume walking. Ben stayed in between Dylan and Hanna, just to be safe.
Dylan and Hanna had not gotten along since they first met. She never took anything too seriously, which drove Dylan nuts.
They came upon a Walgreens, just past the small strip of stores they first walked by.
“Here we go,” Dylan said. “We should be able to get some food and medicine here.”
Dylan hated bringing Hanna along, but he knew this is why Frank had picked her. She’d just graduated nursing school and was the most knowledgeable about what drugs would be most useful for them to take.
Ben and Will picked up a metal trashcan and threw it at the glass door. The glass cracked but did not break, they picked the trashcan up and threw it at the door again, this time the glass shattered and the trashcan went clear through the doorframe.
Once inside the group split up. Hanna went to the pharmacy, and Leah went down the aisle with the over-the-counter medicine. Ben grabbed a bunch of bandages and ointments, while Will and Dylan stocked up on canned and boxed food. They also grabbed some vinegar and bottled water. The store looked untouched, like nobody was in there when all the events happened. Everything seemed to be in its place, but there was a smell, a horrible smell of rotten food and spoiled milk.
They left Walgreens with enough medicine to last a long time, but only enough canned food for a few days. They walked out over the crunch of the glass they broke getting into the store and headed to the sporting goods store.
Dylan figured they had about three hours of light before it would be too dangerous to cross the open areas back to the train.
Dylan grabbed a rock from the landscaping in front of the store and repeated what he did at Walgreens. He threw the rock at the glass and it shattered. The group walked through the broken door one at a time.
“Put the bags from Walgreens down here by the door.” Dylan pointed to the floor on the side of the door they came in. “We should be able to find something better to carry it in other than plastic. Let’s split up. Leah and Hanna, search for clothing, bedding, and some backpacks. Will, Ben, and I will look from guns, ammo, bows, and arrows, as well as sleeping bags and fuel.”
The guys went upstairs to the second floor, where the hunting and camping departments were.
When they got up there, Dylan pulled out a pair of bolt cutters and started cutting all the safety locks on the rifles and shotguns. Will got a big rucksack and held it open while Ben put as many guns inside as possible.
The girls shopped a bit differently. They were being very picky about what which coats and hats to get. Hanna was being more selective than Leah was.
“We better hurry up,” Leah said. “The boys won’t take too long to get what they need, and we need to get coats for everybody still. I don’t think they really care what they look like.”
Hanna frowned. “I guess you are right. I don’t want Dylan yelling at me again.”
The guys were loading up another rucksack full of nothing but ammo.
“We won’t be able to carry all of this,” Will said, looking at the two full rucksacks sitting on the floor.
“You’re right,” Dylan said.
“I have an idea,” Ben said. “Will, come with me. There should be some deer carts; we can use those to haul the bags.”
Dylan loaded up on arrows while they got the carts. He looked up and saw something that he had to have, and he stared at it in awe.
“What are you looking at?” Ben asked when he came back.
“Look at that,” Dylan said, barely moving his jaw but managing to point.
“The tag says it is a Barrett M107A1 .50 cal,” Ben said, reading the price tag.
“Help me get it down,” Dylan said, climbing on top of a counter to reach the massive weapon.
“Be careful,” Dylan, told Ben who was standing behind him next to the counter, as he started lowering the gun. “It’s heavy.”
Will came over to help Ben bring it down.
“We need to get some rounds for that bad boy,” Dylan exclaimed happily.
“Already grabbed all that they had and put it in a third bag with a few sleeping bags. It’s loaded on the cart,” Will said.
Dylan was impressed. “Good job, Will. Let’s get out of here.”
The guys each grabbed a cart and started to leave the gun department when Dylan stopped and put his cart down. He grabbed his knife and, before Ben could ask what he was doing, Dylan broke the glass on a handgun case. He looked at Ben and with a sheepish grin said, “I always wanted a couple of six shooters.”
They got to the top of the stairs and stopped.
“Uh . . . how are we going to get this stuff down stairs?” Will asked.
“Crap,” Dylan said, looking down.
Just then, Leah and Hanna came around with three shopping carts full of stuff.
“You boys having problems?” Leah said with a big grin. Hanna had an even bigger grin.
“Ben, grab a bag and we will carry it down the stairs. Will, bring the cart down,” Dylan gave the orders.
They went up and down the stairs three times, but they got everything down without dropping anything.
“What is that thing?” Hanna asked, looking at the Barrett.
“This,” Dylan said proudly, “is a creature destroyer.”
“Is that necessary?” Hanna had a disgusted look on her face.
“Are you necessary?” Dylan responded, just inches from her face.
“Hey, hey, knock it off you two,” Leah said, mad at both of them.
“We need to get going, now,” Ben said after looking out the doors a hundred feet from the stairs.
A small sense of panic hit everyone—or almost everyone. Hanna was lagging behind looking at sunglasses. The guys and Leah got all the carts out of the store, then came back to grab the sacks they got from Walgreens.
“Come on, let’s go, NOW!” Dylan nearly screamed.
“I am coming,” Hanna said. She started walking toward the door when, Suddenly, a creature came out and grabbed her by the arms, then started dragging her to the back of the store. She was screaming at the top of her lungs. Without even a split-second hesitation, Dylan ran after her with the .45 handgun that he had brought with him.
“Get to the train now, before they come out!” Dylan yelled as he ran.
“Wait!” Leah shouted after Dylan. She tried to run back in the store, but Ben and Will stopped her.
“Dylan is right. We have to get back to the train,” Ben said, holding Leah’s arm and looking back in the store. “There is no sense in all of us dying.”
Leah was crying, but she held it together enough to grab a deer cart and follow Ben and Will as they left Dylan and Hanna to fight for themselves.
“Hanna?” Dylan was in the store’s back offices and storage area. It was dark, with no windows to let light in. He turned on the small flashlight that was attached to his gun. He started sweeping the areas in front of him.
He felt like he was being watched and turned around just in time to see claws and a horrific face come right at him. He fired off several rounds; the creature fell to the floor. Dylan kicked it a few times to make sure it wasn’t moving, then he moved on.
“Hanna?” Dylan walked into a stock room, his heart pumping with adrenaline. It was a large room full of shelves and boxes. As he walked down an aisle, he could hear something. It sounded kind of slimy and gross. He stopped and dropped to the ground. Underneath the bottom shelf was a creature. Dylan grabbed it by the neck and dragged the thing out into the open. The skin he was gripping started sliding off the body as he pulled. He shot it right between its nasty yellow eyes. He went back under the shelf guessing Hanna had to be in the same area as the creature that he had just fought off, he reached in and felt her arm, he reached when his other hand and found her leg and pulled her out hoping she could be saved.
A rough scream, almost like a dog’s howl, came up from behind Dylan. He was grabbed before he could react, and his gun fell to the floor. His back was scratched and it immediately started to burn. Having no intention of dying the way Alice did, Dylan grabbed his knife and reached around just as his back was scratched again. He started feeling dizzy and dropped his knife. He turned limp and fell to the ground.
Dylan could not make out much; though the light from his gun was on, it was pointing the other way. The creature that he believed he had just shot was standing over him; he could sense it. The creature moved in fast for the final attack. Dylan grabbed his knife and stabbed the creature in the throat, slicing through its rough, wrinkly, black-and-red skin. The creature dropped next to Dylan with a loud thump.
He felt weak and disoriented, but Dylan managed to crawl over to Hanna to see if she was still alive. He checked her pulse; she still had a heartbeat, but it was weak. He pulled her out from under the shelf.
Dylan kneeled over her for a second to catch his breath. He then did something that he’d seen Frank do hundreds of times. He prayed. He prayed for God to give him the strength to carry Hanna out of the store and back to the train.
He reached over and grabbed his gun, then tucked it back in his waistband. He then grabbed Hanna’s arms and pulled her up, lifting her onto his left shoulder then picking himself off the floor. As soon as he was stable, he redrew his gun and used the flashlight to get out of the dark room.
He made it out of the back rooms and headed to the front doors. His legs were weak; he kept scanning the area around him, but his vision was getting bad. Dylan didn’t know what was wrong with him. He thought he’d only suffered a few scratches, but he was feeling all kinds of messed up. He thought that maybe the same thing had happened to Hanna.
They made it outside the store. The others were gone, just like he’d told them to be. He could see footprints and wheel tracks from the carts in the volcanic ash that covered the ground. He saw they left behind a shopping cart full of coats and his Barrett.
How dare they leave that, he said in his head, but that wasn’t what came out of his mouth, as his speech was very slurred.
Dylan remembered that there was an ATV sitting in the entryway. He put Hanna down on top of the coats in the cart and went back inside.
There were no keys in the ignition, so he went to the customer service desk. Right on the counter was a set of keys. It took him twice as long to get back to the ATV, as he was losing feeling in his legs and had problems putting one foot in front of the other.
The ATV started after almost a minute of him trying to get the key into the ignition. He drove it through the doors and stopped just off the curb in front of the cart carrying Hanna and his Barrett. He grabbed a cable that was hanging from the back of the ATV and used it to hook the cart onto the vehicle. He knew that he couldn’t lift Hanna again, and that was the only way to get her back to the train.
Dylan started to go, driving slowly at first to see how the shopping cart rode along. He gained speed as he made his way through the parked cars in the massive parking lot. He rounded the corner by the Lovely Lady. The sky was darkening rapidly, and shadows were growing bigger. Dylan thought he could see the train in the distance, but his vision was almost gone. The next thing Dylan knew, he couldn’t see anymore and lost grip on the throttle. The ATV stopped in the ash. Dylan felt like he had failed, and then there was darkness.
“There is only three of them. Something happened. Andy, stay here and tell Frank; Greg and I are going to see what happened,” Porter said as he took off without a second thought, with Greg right beside him.
Andy found Frank having a cup of coffee and talking with the new girl, Anahel. “Frank, we have a problem,” he said, out of breath. “Come and take a look.”
Frank gave Anahel a questioning look, as if she might know what the problem was, and then followed Andy without saying a word.
“What’s going on? Where are Dylan and Hanna?” Greg asked as soon as he and Porter were within earshot of Ben, Will, and Leah.
Leah looked like she had been crying; Will and Ben look defeated.
“A creature got Hanna, and Dylan went after her,” Ben said with loss in his voice.
“Damn, why did you leave him alone?” Porter asked.
“He told us to get back to the train as soon as possible,” Will said, on the verge of tears himself.
“Looks like Dylan and Hanna are not with the others. Something bad must have happened,” Frank said after looking through Andy’s binoculars. “I am going down there to find out what happened. Stay here and tell everyone to get their guns at the ready. Night will fall before we can leave.”
Frank ran toward the others. Andy had never seen Frank run, but he was fast for an old man. Andy ran the other way just as quickly, to tell everyone to prepare for a fight.
“A creature grabbed Hanna in the sporting goods store. Dylan went after her and told these guys to come back to the train,” Porter told Frank as he arrived on the scene.
“You three take your carts to the train. The other guys up there will help you unload them,” Frank said to Ben, Will, and Leah. He waited until they were out of earshot before continuing. “Greg, go get the train ready for as fast a takeoff as you can manage. If darkness falls before we get back, go on without us.”
