The drive into Jacksonville followed the route they had used coming into town. As she navigated the roads and streets by memory, she peppered Alex with questions, most of them personal.
Alex continued his stubborn behavior and refused to answer.
The city of Jacksonville resembled every other city or town they had encountered, vacant and ransacked. Mother Nature was quickly taking back the roads, parking lots and sidewalks. Sprouting out of every crack and crevice were tall weeds and grasses. Covering like a blanket in some areas were large piles of leaves. She and the others had discussed a few times how long before the signs of modern society would be wiped clean. Was it a thousand years, ten thousand? Those conversations often pivoted to the ultimate question of whether humans would survive and prosper again. This latter question began to concern her as she and the others took notice of how few people they had come across since leaving Reed, Illinois. It’s as if no one was immune east of the Mississippi. They had seen a few people here and there, but the numbers didn’t match the estimates of survivors. She had heard early on that approximately ten percent of the population had survived, but where were they?
Tess’s first destination was the Barnes & Noble store; there she also hoped to scavenge food and water from the café attached to it.
She backed the Humvee up to the front entrance and took hope that their first stop might be a success from the fact the glass doors were still intact.
“Bri, take watch. Alex, you’re coming with me,” Tess ordered.
Alex pulled his small J-framed Smith & Wesson revolver out of his pants pocket and gripped it tightly. He stood next to the doors, anxiously waiting for Tess.
Tess scanned the parking lot for any movement. None seen, she headed for the doors, rifle in hand. She peered into the darkened store and smiled. “Looks surprisingly promising. I don’t think anyone’s been here before.”
“It’s a bookstore, that’s why,” Alex said.
She looked at him curiously and asked, “Is that a joke?”
“No, it’s the truth. This town is redneck; rednecks don’t know how to read.”
She slung the rifle and double-checked her gear. Pulling the Glock from the holster on her tactical vest, she press checked to ensure it was loaded. Confident in her equipment, she donned a headlamp and stepped up to the glass door. She pulled out an ASP baton and extended it with a whipping motion.
“That’s cool,” Alex said, his eyes wide open with excitement.
She raised it above her head and with a powerful downward thrust brought the ASP down against the door. The force of her impact shattered the glass, and after several more hits, the bits and pieces fell to the ground. She turned on her headlamp and stepped through the door and into the store.
Alex followed right behind her.
“Head to the café. Look for anything we can eat,” she ordered.
He walked off into the dimly lit store.
She headed into the interior of the store in search of a medical book.
It took her minutes to find the exact books she needed. Tucking them in her backpack, she headed towards the café. As she drew closer, she could hear Alex rifling through cabinets and drawers. She caught sight of his flashlight beaming off the walls and ceiling. Then all movement stopped.
She approached and heard the sound of plastic wrappers and smacking lips. She peered over the counter and saw him. His cheeks were round and stuffed with muffins.
Too busy eating, he hadn’t noticed her approach. When the beam from her headlamp splashed down on him, he jumped. His mouth half open, crumbs fell from it onto his dark T-shirt.
“Save some for us,” Tess teased.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
“It’s all right, I know what hungry is like. Just don’t get sick.”
He nodded and held out a tightly wrapped poppy seed muffin.
She took it and looked at it carefully. The last thing she wanted was to eat mold. She tore the packaging and pulled out the firm but surprisingly edible muffin. “Got to love preservatives.”
“It’s good too,” he said.
She took a small bite. The sweet and lemony taste was a shock to her taste buds. The overall taste was a bit off, but it appeared to be safe. Again, she looked at it and with a shrug took a huge bite. “You’re right, not bad.”
“Here, there’s chocolate too,” he said, his arm outstretched.
She took it and said, “Let’s pack this stuff up. I’ll go get some bags from the checkout area,” she said and walked away. As she was heading to the checkout counter, she thought of Brianna and how she’d love to have the chocolate muffin. She exited the store to find her attentively manning the machine gun.
“Bri, here, catch,” Tess said and tossed her the muffin.
“Yummy, chocolate, awesome!” she exclaimed. Sinful joy glimmered in her eyes at the thought of devouring the decadent offering.
“Anything?”
“All quiet.”
“Good, we’ll be a bit, but looks like we found a lot of stuff.”
Tess headed back in and walked to the counter. There she found the bags and other items that could come in handy, batteries and candy.
As she began to stuff the plastic bags, something caught her eye. She walked over and picked up a My Little Pony board game. She thought of the girls and how she remembered them liking the characters. She opened the bag and slipped in the game. Then small plush toy ponies came into view; she grabbed those as well. She looked forward to surprising the girls with the gifts. Seeing them smile and be happy was a vision she wanted to hold, but that wouldn’t be. Her radio crackled to life, breaking that vision.
“Tess, this is Bri. We have visitors.”
Tess bolted, hollering to Alex as she headed for the entrance, “Stay put. We might have trouble!” Within seconds she was outside and saw a truck parked in front of the Humvee. The two passengers, both men, were out and heavily armed.
“Whatcha doin’?” one man asked, his Southern accent shining through. An AR-15-style rifle was slung over his chest. His thick dark shoulder-length hair protruded from a weathered beanie.
Tess raised her rifle and pointed it at him.
This aggressive posture caused the other man to raise his weapon.
“We’re just grabbing some things. We mean you no harm!” Tess yelled.
“You see, this store here is ours. I don’t seem to have you on a list to come and take what’s in it,” the man barked.
“I don’t think you’re a rep from Barnes and Noble, so why don’t you and your friend just take off!”
“That’s not going to happen. You must not be from around here, but this town is controlled by James Renfield.”
Tess could see the impossible situation they were in. She didn’t want to have this turn ugly, but she predicted one of the next things the man would demand was the Humvee and the machine gun. If he just allowed her to leave, she would, but if he had further demands, she’d have to take this to another level.
“We don’t know a James Renfield, but we’ll leave. It’s that simple,” Tess answered.
A crooked smile appeared from beneath the man’s thick beard. He cocked his head to his colleague and asked rhetorically, “Just leave, she says. Now, should we just have her and her pretty little friend leave?”
“Nope,” the other man responded, his rifle pointed at Tess.
The whole while this back and forth was happening, Alex was watching from the shadows in the store.
Brianna pivoted the machine gun and aimed it directly at the second man. “This pretty little thing knows how to use this, and I won’t hesitate to push this trigger.”
“Ha, ha.” The man laughed.
“Alex, come out here. We’re leaving,” Tess yelled.
Hearing her, Alex immediately responded and left the safety of the darkened store.
The man watched Alex slowly walk and get in the Humvee. “I know you, boy, don’t I?”
Alex slammed the r
ear door and didn’t answer.
“I know that boy. We know that boy, don’t we?” the man asked the other.
“Yep.”
“He was with those other kids we ran into over on Topsail. Oh boy, those teenie girls were something else. They’re a bit loosened up now, but wow, that was some ass!” the man yelped.
Anger grew inside Tess; the pressure her finger was applying was becoming greater. What the man mentioned verified Alex’s story. These were the men that had come into the neighborhood and stripped them of their food stocks and taken the teenaged kids.
“Which one was it that you sampled?” the man asked the other.
With that question, Tess was convinced this situation was going to end bloody. She applied more pressure.
The man turned his creepy gaze on her and smiled. His hand slowly migrated to the pistol grip of the AR.
Tess ran the optimal scenario through her head. She’d squeeze off the first few rounds and quickly sidestep, creating a moving target for the man who had his sights on her.
She applied more pressure and was about to squeeze the trigger when her peripheral vision spotted the movement of something to her right.
Out of the alleyway appeared a large white-tailed deer, a buck with eight points.
The deer stopped and looked at them; it was just as startled as they were to see it.
The men looked and were dumbfounded.
That was it, Tess thought, the distraction they needed. She looked at the man, who also realized the opportunity the deer had given them. She squeezed hard, the rifle roared, and a single 5.56mm round exited the barrel. Within an instant it hit the first man squarely in the chest. The impact of the shot forced the man backwards till his body hit the quarter panel of the truck. He looked down at the hole in his chest, looked at her, and then fell to the pavement.
Tess moved just like she envisioned.
The second man took several shots but missed.
Brianna pressed the butter trigger of the .50 caliber. It roared to life; a short volley of rounds blasted out of the long barrel and ripped the second man apart.
Tess advanced on the first man, but Alex had without notice jumped out of the car. He walked up to the first man, who was still alive but squirming in pain on the ground.
“Where’s my sister?” Alex asked, and then kicked the man in the ribs.
The man looked up at Alex. He went to respond, but he coughed up a small pool of blood.
Tess went to sidestep Alex, but the boy stopped her.
“Where’s my sister? You took her. Is she alive?”
“Fuck you!” the man responded, his shaking left hand reaching for a pistol.
“No, fuck you!” Alex screamed, and then shot the man in the face.
Tess jumped, startled by Alex’s lethal response.
Alex looked at the man for a second. He then spit on him and walked back to the Humvee.
Tess didn’t say anything; she was in shock from what had happened. She glanced at Brianna and then back to the dead men. She looked around and knew that the gunfire would draw others. They needed to flee. However, Tess couldn’t leave their car and guns.
“Bri, get behind the wheel. You’re driving the Hummer; I’m taking this,” she said, pointing at the truck. Not wasting another moment, she gathered up the weapons and tossed them in the truck as she climbed in. Taking one last look at the grisly scene, she started the truck, and with Brianna following, she headed back for Topsail Island.
Outside Livermore, Colorado
Travis and Lori had spent the greater part of the early morning packing everything they thought they’d need into the minivan. The rush to leave such a perfect spot tore at them, but Travis could not risk having those men return with far greater numbers. He was confident he could hold them off for a while, but it all depended on the numbers. He knew the road didn’t guarantee safety, but neither did the ranch now.
He pulled up to the end of the long driveway and stopped. He looked both ways, then into the rearview mirror.
Noticing the long pause, Lori asked, “You good?”
His focus still on the mirror, he answered, “Yeah, I just hate leaving the place. It was perfect.”
“It wasn’t that perfect.”
“No, it was. I just wish there was another way.”
“This is it. I need the vaccine, and I couldn’t stay there by myself. This is the best idea. We have to go. It was great for when we needed it. Look, I promise you we’ll find another place, even better.”
Travis just hated having to take her on the road, but she was right. Leaving her there after what had happened last night was not an option. “Okay, let’s do this,” he said and turned the wheel hard to the right. As he began to accelerate to crest a hill, several large trucks came over, heading the opposite way. Were those the men? he asked himself.
Lori craned her head to get a better look and exclaimed, “That’s them, isn’t it?”
Travis put his full weight down on the gas pedal and his eyes on the rearview mirror.
“They’re turning, they’re turning!” Lori cried.
“They’re coming after us?”
“No, they turned down the drive. I saw them turn left down the driveway. It was those guys, and they did have a lot more people coming this time.”
Travis glanced at the rearview mirror, but it was too late, they were over the hill and heading away at over ninety miles per hour. “I guess our timing was impeccable.”
“No doubt.” She sighed.
With that threat literally behind them, they relaxed and enjoyed the ride. Together they watched the rolling hills unfold before them as each mile melted into the next. Their conversation started out discussing the task before them but soon turned personal.
“What does Tess look like?” Lori asked.
“Hot.”
“Hot?”
“Oh, I can describe her, like her hair and wonderful breasts, but all I see is just hot.”
“Wonderful breasts? Guys and breasts.”
“No, really, I think she’s incredibly hot, but it’s much more than her looks. I mean, is she beautiful? Absolutely, but I just love her attitude, her strength, the way she’s attentive. For me, how someone is—you know their personality—enhances their looks. Tess was already a solid eight, but who she is makes her a ten to me.”
“I don’t think David would describe me as a ten.”
“He wouldn’t? He’s crazy. You’re definitely a ten.”
Lori blushed when Travis made the comment. She had resisted exploring this before but decided to test the waters by asking a probing question. “Remember when you ask me to sit with you at the cafeteria?”
“Yeah.”
“Why did you do that?”
“I told you before; you looked lonely and kinda lost.”
“Nothing more?”
“More like?” Travis asked, but he knew exactly what she was fishing for. The conversation excited him a bit. He gripped the steering wheel tighter and sat up straighter.
“Were you flirting with me then?”
Travis shot her a glance and smiled.
She hit him on the arm and said, “I knew it, you were.”
“I’m only human, yeah, you’re beautiful. What man wouldn’t?”
Lori held back from honestly answering his question. For her she knew the type of man who would was looking and was not completely settled down. She put her finger in her mouth and bit down ever so gently. Flirtation was in the air, and it didn’t help that she was nearing her second trimester, because for her sexual desire was heightened then. Needing to divert the topic she started, she asked, “How long will it take to get there?”
“All depends, in a perfect world, we can arrive in a couple days, but I don’t think that will happen. We’ll need to refuel in a couple hours, and I want to find a safe place to crash, somewhere off the main road.”
“Makes sense,” she replied, her tone changed. The flirtatious conversation was
fun, but now she regretted it and felt guilty. Her thoughts now focused on David and Eric.
Sensing a shift, he asked, “You all right?”
She answered, “Yeah, just thinking about David and Eric. If anything has happened to them, it’s my fault. I put them in that situation. I should’ve known something was wrong.”
“You did.”
Tears began to flow from her eyes.
“Hey, I thought we discussed this before. It doesn’t make sense to beat yourself up.”
“Easier said than done,” she said as she wiped her face.
A loud beep sounded in the car.
“What’s that?”
“Fuel light, but the gauge says we have a quarter tank.” He hit the dash. The force from the impact jarred the gauge, and it floated down to below empty. “Shit.”
“We have a can, right?”
“Yeah, but only five gallons.”
Travis pulled over and quickly poured in the five gallons. He looked around, but there was nothing but rolling plains surrounding them. They thought it best to take small highways and county roads. He remembered that DHS had set up roadblocks and checkpoints on major highways before, and running into them was something he wanted desperately to avoid. The winds chopped and gusted, but thankfully the temperature was moderate. By his calculations he was close to the point he’d begin to head due north, and with a good five hours of daylight left, they’d be halfway by nightfall. Not wanting to waste another minute, he got back in and began the trip again.
“We’ll try to find some fuel at the next town,” he said.
“Okay.”
The fuel light alarm sounded again.
He stared at the light and smacked the dash again, hoping the gauge would read something better than empty. “This is impossible,” he barked and pulled the minivan off the road again. He jumped out to inspect the vehicle; he had a suspicion what it might be.
Lori didn’t like car trouble before, but now it was more than an inconvenience. It could spell death for them. She overheard him cursing; this told her something was terribly wrong.
Travis opened the door. A gust of warm fresh air rushed in. He sat down and slammed the door shut. “Just as I thought. Fuel tank is leaking, rusted and looks like it has a small puncture.”
The Death: The Complete Trilogy Page 30
