I understood then why I’d been tasked with killing the boys. They’d been on their way to hurt Olivia, and she was a scientist who would stop a plague. Only it didn’t look like she had time left to stop anything. The world appeared to already be slipping away.
The sickness was inside of me, and judging by the amount of times Chris sneezed before passing out cold, I could tell he was beginning to get sick as well. Trixie put her head on his lap and fell asleep stretched out across the back seat.
It gave me some comfort to know that the boys I’d killed would have died anyway. I’d thought that Kevin was a demon, but was it possible that he was an angel? Could things that seemed to be evil really be for the greater good?
It was possible if we all didn’t die anyway.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Hour One
The five hours it took Will to get Liv back to her lab were the longest of her life. “You’ll need to stay out of towns,” Liv said after they’d driven through one small city.
Looting had already begun. So many people had called in sick to work or left that stores were practically unattended. They had to pull over to get gas. Will cursed himself for not filling up before he arrived at the cabin.
Liv watched in horror as a man walked into the gas station and shot the lone attendant with a shotgun. He didn’t even give the guy a chance to give him the money. As soon as the register drawer popped open, the guy pulled the trigger.
At point-blank range.
She was used to seeing gore. The splatter of brains and skull against the window barely made Liv flinch. Or perhaps it was the fever that dulled her mind.
The man with the shotgun began to walk in their direction. Liv was glad that Chris was asleep. She hoped that the man would shoot him first and spare the kid the pain of watching the two adults get killed first. A low growl erupted from the dog as she lifted her head to look out the window, but Live shushed her. “No.” Live said, and Trixie let out a little whine before settling back down onto Chris’s lap.
What if he takes the kid?
The thought wasn’t entirely her own, but it wasn’t a hallucination either. She guessed that in the world that was to come, there would be people who would do unspeakable things to kids. Who would stop them?
Before she got the chance to find out, Will hopped back into the car and they sped off. She heard a shotgun blast behind them, but it wasn’t a ranged weapon. The guy had wasted his ammo.
There were only a few blocks between them and the edge of town, but every single block showed Liv that the very worst of humanity bubbled right under the surface, waiting for an excuse to explode into the light.
Once they were past the shops and restaurants, the residential areas weren’t any better. Liv could forgive people for panicking and stealing supplies from the stores, but neighbors had already turned on one another.
At least two houses were on fire, and charred remains of both adults and children were sprawled across the lawns of both houses. Someone had set them ablaze while the people were still inside, and no one had made it out alive.
Other houses showed obvious signs of being broken into or vandalized. Liv couldn’t believe how few had remained untouched. It had all happened much too quickly. Society had broken down so fast that the police and the military couldn’t keep up. It was frightening, and that’s when Liv began to wonder if they deserved what was happening. Human beings were a stain on the planet. She thought she might have a solution to the virus, but perhaps she should just let it burn.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“Stop!” Liv screamed as we passed the last street out of town.
I’d seen what she’d seen, but there was no way I was going to stop. I couldn’t save that old woman, but perhaps I could get Olivia back to the lab and she could save millions more.
“Stop,” she said again. “Please.” And then the stoic doctor broke down into tears. “I thought maybe we all deserved to die. I thought I could just let it all go, but not everyone deserves this,” she blurted out through sobs.
I’d never be able to forget the scene that had reduced Olivia to tears. Hell, I’m pretty sure I shed a tear or two as well. Two men had dragged a little old woman out of her house by the hair. Her pink bathrobe turned dingy and brown as they pulled her through the dirt and into the middle of the street.
I slammed on my brakes and threw the car into reverse. At first I’d said there was no way I’d stop, but that wasn’t who I was. If I could do anything, I figured I had to at least try.
Before I could even get out of the car, one of the men pulled out a knife and slashed her throat. The blood ran down her neck and chest to stain the white nightgown she wore under the robe.
I didn’t turn away in time and saw him plunge the same knife into her belly and yank it down. I almost pissed my pants as both of their heads swiveled around to look at us.
“Hey look; they got a kid,” the one with the knife yelled and pointed his weapon at the car.
Both men dropped the old woman and started to run toward the car. I’d been sitting halfway in and half out of the car, so I pulled my legs the rest of the way in and slammed the door. I hadn’t turned off the engine, so I threw it into gear and slammed on the gas.
“No more stopping to help people,” I mumbled, but I could tell by the look on Liv’s face that she agreed.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Hour Three
The drive was quiet for the next couple of hours. There wasn’t much on the highway between the town we’d just left and the next. Thanks to the gas I’d risked getting my head splattered for, we had enough that we didn’t even have to think about slowing down when anything hinky went on outside of the car.
The closer we got to the next town, the more I began to worry. Heading into town wasn’t a problem, but on the way out, the road had begun to be more and more cluttered with abandoned vehicles and cars where people had either died in them or while getting out.
Liv’s lab was back in the city, and if things were that bad outside of small towns, I knew we’d end up running into issues. “We might have to walk when we get back to town,” I mused.
“Do you have anything that could pass as a weapon in this piece of shit?” Liv asked. “Sorry, I’m sorry. I’m so... I don’t actually know what I am.”
“It’s okay. I get it.”
“Where am I going to go?” Chris asked, but it was obvious he didn’t expect an answer. “You know, that Kevin-Spacey-looking motherfucker must have been an angel.”
“What is he talking about?” Liv asked as she pulled out her cell phone.
“I’ll explain it if we make it through this, okay?” I asked and she nodded. “Chris, why do you say he was an angel?”
“Because only God would do something like this. Only God would start a mess like this and then walk away. You haven’t seen him, have you?”
“Nope,” I said.
“Well, from what I’ve learned in life, the devil finishes his shit.”
The conversation was fascinating, but I noticed that Liv was dialing her phone. Her hand shook, though, so it took her a couple of tries to put the number in.
“Who are you calling?”
“My lab. I’ll try to get an escort once we reach the city limits. I doubt they’ll come farther than that during this shit storm. Shhh.”
I listened as Liv would pause and then say another phrase or series of numbers. I assumed that she was verifying her identity.
Moments later a very animated male voice came on the other end of the phone. I couldn’t tell what he was saying to Liv, but I could tell that he was frantic.
“Yes, sir. I’m fine for now. Kyle Blankenship came out to my cabin. He died there, and now I regret to inform you that I am infected as well.” She paused. “Yes, sir. I think I do have the answer. I’m on my way back to the lab now. A man was staying at a cabin across the lake from me. He and a juvenile male are giving me a ride.” Liv paused again. “Yes sir, I would apprecia
te an escort. We just passed mile marker 87. We should be about two hours from the outskirts of the city.”
A few minutes later, after listening to the man intently, she hung up the phone. I wanted to believe that there was relief in her expression, but all II could focus on was how grey her skin looked. My eyes flicked up to the rearview mirror, and much to my horror, I’d begun to look ashen as well.
After everything I’d gone through to save this woman, the idea of dying anyway was appalling. Or perhaps that wasn’t indignation I felt. My heart had begun to race at some point, but at the same time, I was bitterly cold.
“You need to take deep breaths,” Liv said. She put a comforting hand on my shoulder. “It’s a high fever. I know it’s uncomfortable, but I don’t think your temperature is high enough yet to be dangerous. Let’s roll down the windows. We need to get some fresh air in here.”
“Are you fucking kidding? It’s freezing already.”
“That’s the chills, Will. It’s caused by the fever. If you bring your body temperature down, you’ll stop feeling cold. Do you have any ibuprofen or aspirin?”
“I’ve got both in the glove box. I get migraines. I can’t take that shit on an empty stomach, though. It tears my insides up.”
“We should stop to get something to eat,” she said absentmindedly.
“Are you kidding, Liv? Do you remember what happened in the last town?” I snapped. “I’m sorry. I really don’t feel good.”
“That’s why we need to get your fever down, or you need to let me drive,” Liv said.
“You don’t look much better.”
“Thanks, asshole,” she said, but Liv did chuckle. That sound brought me back a little.
“There’s an emergency kit and get home bag in my trunk. I’d almost forgotten it. I have it hidden with the spare tire.”
“Get home bag?” Liv asked with one eyebrow raised.
“My grandfather gave it to me for Christmas a few years ago. He was a prepper; one of those people who is always getting ready for the end of the world. Anyway, the get home bag has emergency supplies and such. One thing that’s in there is a three-day food ration thingy. They are lemon crème bars with like a thousand calories each in them. Don’t taste too bad actually. I ate one once. Curiosity.”
“Do you feel safe pulling over so we can get the bag?” she asked.
I looked around. There were huge spaces between the cars that were off the side of the road where we were. Even if there were people waiting inside the cars or hiding behind them, I could grab the bag and jump back in the car.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Hour Four
After some food, water, and a handful of ibuprofen, I felt better. I hadn’t even realized how foggy my mind had grown until it began to lift.
When we were about an hour from where the escort was supposed to meet Liv, we ran into trouble. At first, I’d thought the two cars blocking the highway were there by accident, but as we approached, it became clear that they had been placed there on purpose.
“Go around,” Liv whispered, as if she were afraid someone hiding behind the vehicle blockade could hear her.
“I should back up and cross over to the other side of the highway back at that U-turn spot,” I said and began to slow.
“No,” Liv said and grabbed my arm. “If it is intentional, someone is waiting behind the cars or in the tree line. We can’t let them know we know or they’ll attack. Play dumb and go around the cars using the grassy area in the middle. Just keep driving toward them and don’t stop. They want us to stop.”
I thought that sounded like a phenomenally bad idea, but I didn’t have any time to make the decision. Hesitating would give whoever was waiting to ambush us an advantage. And there was always the chance that I was being silly. Sure, I’d seen some shit that day, but had society really broken down to the point where bands of marauders were lying in wait on the highway? It hadn’t been that long.
My grandfather had always warned people that when the shit hit the fan, there would be no time to prepare. He said it would happen like that and he’d snap his fingers. We all thought he was crazy. Even my grandmother just humored him. A good portion of my misspent youth had been wasted on zombie movies and post-apocalyptic fiction, but never had I thought it would happen so fast. I thought we’d have days, at the least. One day and we were on the verge of total societal failure. It had me wondering what the hell was wrong with human beings. Even if Liv could save us, there had already been so much damage done.
“Wait until the last second to turn off,” Liv said as we approached the cars.
“What if men with guns pop out from behind the cars?” I asked, but I didn’t slow down.
“I hadn’t thought of that.”
Liv was likely one of the most brilliant scientists on the planet, but in that moment, I’d let her make me do something stupid. I had forgotten that just because someone is smart about one thing, it doesn’t mean they are smart about everything. It didn’t matter. We were too close to turn back.
I just had to hope for the best.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
I heard the tires blow as soon as we were five feet into the grass. It’d been a trap, and I’d driven right into it. My instincts about going back and going the long way had been right, and I swore right then and there that I wouldn’t ignore them again.
As soon as the car was disabled, dozens of men dressed in what looked like cheap military uniform knockoffs came streaming out of the woods. “Great,” I mumbled.
“Who are they?” Liv asked as she reached for the car door.
“What’s going on?” Chris had finally woken up. He looked terrible, and we didn’t have time to bring his fever down. I’d begun to seriously doubt he’d make it.
“I’m pretty sure those guys are militia, and if they belong to the group I think, they are violent and batshit crazy. We need to go now,” I said and started to open my door. “Follow me.”
“Will, we can’t run, they have guns.”
“We don’t have time to discuss this. I’m going. Follow me and possibly live, or wait here to be captured. Chris, those fucks are about as racist as they come. You need to follow me.”
Chris reached for the door too. He was tall, but he couldn’t weigh more than a buck five, so I might be able to carry him on my back if we made it to the trees on the other side.
“Let’s go.”
I could hear the yelling and gunfire start shortly after we left the vehicle. So much for protecting the citizens of the United States. Those guys wanted to kill us just for running away.
“Don’t run in a straight line,” I yelled at Liv and Chris. “Do like I do.”
I tried to keep myself going in a random zigzag pattern. I knew that it was hard enough to hit a moving target, and if we kept our path random, it would make us almost impossible to hit.
Hopefully.
That theory works with one shooter, but the militia men were spraying us with bullets. Still, most of them must have been used to shooting at paper targets because they managed to completely miss us. I could hear Trixie panting right behind me, and I was glad that she hadn’t tried to attack the men.
Chris collapsed as soon as we hit the tree line, and for one shameful moment, I considered leaving him behind. Instead, I dragged him back to his feet and slapped him hard.
“Ow. Why’d you do that?” he asked and squared his shoulders. Good, I thought. I was hoping his fight or flight would give him a second wind.
“We have to keep moving. We have to hide better than this.”
I wasn’t sure how far they would follow us into the woods or how many would give chase. We were most likely saved by the fact that the majority of the earth’s population hadn’t succumbed to the virus yet. If the militia chased us through the woods, it meant they might miss out on an easier target. Surely another car would be along soon.
The answer was, not very far. About five more minutes of fast walk limping and I couldn’t g
o any further. I had to stop, and when I did, Chris slumped against a tree and Liv dropped to her knees. Trixie sat down next to me and licked my hand.
“I don’t hear anything,” Chris whispered between sucking breaths.
“Yeah, I think they’re gone. Let’s rest for a minute and figure out what we’re going to do next.”
“The escort is still an hour’s drive away. How long do you think it will take us to walk?” Liv asked once she’d caught her breath.
“Several hours and it will be dangerous,” I answered.
“I can’t walk that long.”
“Did you bring your phone? Can you call your escort? Maybe they’ll go farther out if they know we don’t have a car anymore.”
“I’ll try,” she said and pulled her phone from her pocket.
I was relieved to see that she had her phone. I didn’t know what we’d do if we’d had to walk back. It would have been the end for everyone.
“We need to get clear of the militia. Can you guys make it two miles? My escort will pick us up there.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
That was the longest two-mile walk of my life. Nothing in particular happened, but I could feel my body breaking down.
“Are you going to make it back to the lab?” I asked Liv through panting breaths. “You don’t look so good.”
She didn’t. Her skin was a shade of grey that I hadn’t known a living person could turn, and Liv’s beautiful, thick hair had begun to fall out. A mile back, she’d wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and her eyebrows had come out.
“I’ll call my lab assistant when the escort picks us up. Hopefully, they have a secure line. I can tell Sherry what to do. Normally, I would only do this myself, but we have no choice. She has to get the process started, and we have to hope that she doesn’t fuck it up.” Liv laughed. “Of course, in the state I’m in, I could just as easily screw us all.”
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