by Bobby Adair
Wilkins took a deep breath, stood, and walked over to the window. “You’ve seen the news. You know what’s going on out there.”
I shook my head. “No, I haven’t seen the news. I don’t know shit. I know less than shit. All I know is that my stepdad went nuts, killed my mom, and bit me in the arm. I passed out for two days with a fever, and got arrested by some stupid police who thought I killed everybody. I got out of the jail during the riot…”
“The jail riot? You were in that?”
I brushed past that, “So me and my friend made our way to the hospital, and instead of treating us, the Army tossed us over there in the gym with all of the infected. And now, the infected are running around everywhere killing everybody. Oh, and the CDC guy says it’s some incurable disease out of Somalia. There, that’s it. That’s all I know. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”
Wilkins nodded, “You’re lucky to be alive.”
“Ya think?”
Wilkins softened, “Are you guys thirsty, hungry?”
The change in direction threw me off. I nodded.
Felicity said, “Yes, both.”
Wilkins turned to the cadet who’d come in with us and Mark. “Dawkins, get some sodas and some chips or something.”
“Vending machine food?” I asked.
“The same thing you have next door, I guess.”
“Yep.”
Wilkins walked over to a chair that gave him a view out the window. “Why don’t you two pull up a chair? I’ll fill you in. Felicity, I’m assuming you’re not with him. At least you weren’t until you came running across the street.”
Felicity and I each took a seat.
Felicity shook her head, “No, I’m with some girls in Blanton. There were four of us.”
“Blanton?” Wilkins asked, “That dorm is on the other side of campus. How’d you get over here?”
“My friend Margaret and I went downstairs to raid a vending machine for some food and…”
“And?” Wilkins asked.
“We thought we were being quiet. We didn’t know anyone else was down on the first floor.”
“There were infected there?” Wilkins asked.
Felicity nodded. “A bunch were right there in the building, on the first floor, and we didn’t even know it.”
“So you ran?”
“I couldn’t get back to the room,” Felicity said quietly, her eyes drifting into a stare. “They caught Margaret but I just kept running. I didn’t go back to help her.”
“You couldn’t have helped her,” Wilkins told her. “If you’d gone back, you’d be dead too.”
Felicity nodded. “I just ran and ran. I couldn’t get away until Zed started shooting at them.”
“And your other friends, are they still in Blanton?”
“I guess. They were there when I left.”
Wilkins nodded. “Do you guys have an internet connection and cable TV? Is everything still operating?”
Felicity nodded.
“So you know what’s going on?” Wilkins asked.
Felicity nodded.
Wilkins leaned forward and put a comforting hand on Felicity’s knee. Suddenly, he seemed more like a father than a major with a stick up his ass. “Felicity, I don’t know if we can help your friends right now, but I’m sure they’re being smart and sitting tight in their dorm room, just like we’re sitting tight here. Why don’t you go with Mark? He’s got a connection on his laptop. Why don’t you see if you can contact them and let them know you’re all right and then we’ll see what we can do?”
Felicity said, “I have my cell phone.”
Wilkins said, “But you probably don’t have a charger with you.”
Felicity shook her head.
“I have the same problem with mine. Why don’t you conserve your battery and try the laptop. Mark has it plugged in.”
Felicity nodded and stood to leave the room with Mark.
Dawkins returned with cold sodas and packaged cupcakes. He handed me one of each.
“Thanks,” I told him.
Dawkins went over to stand by the door.
Without making a show of it, I slipped my pistol into its holster. I asked, “So what’s the story? What’s happening?”
Wilkins got a distant look on his face. “The infection came out of Africa about six weeks ago. Nobody really knew what it was at the time. But wait, let me preface what I know with this—we’re getting all of our information off of the cable news channels and the internet, so take everything with a grain of salt. Half of what we know is probably speculation.”
“I hear you,” I said. “Some things never change.”
Wilkins smiled and nodded. “The disease came up out of Africa. Nobody knew what it was at first. By the time that we started getting brief mentions on the news over here, there were already tens of thousands of infected in Africa, but your CDC man probably told you that.”
“He knew quite a bit about Africa, but we don’t know much of anything about how things are now.”
“So you didn’t hear about China or Europe?”
“Major, let’s just pretend I don’t know anything and go from there.”
Wilkins nodded. “China has been establishing a big presence in Africa for the past five or ten years, so they had a lot of people there. Once things got out of hand in Africa, China pulled their people. Some other countries did as well. Americans trickled out slowly because there isn’t any central authority with the power to make them all leave, but the smart ones got out. Or at least it was smart for them, but bad for the rest of us.
“China, with a sudden influx of people from Africa, suddenly had thousands of the infected on their hands. So while our news outlets were foaming at the mouth with stories about minor outbreaks in Europe, this thing was already running amok in Asia. Things got out of hand real fast.”
“Out of hand?” I asked.
“Nobody has heard a word out of China since last weekend, about the time the infection broke out here.”
“How long did all of that take in China?” I asked.
“They pulled their people from Africa about four weeks ago. Two weeks later, the internet lit up with videos and pictures of the infected. The rest of the Far East followed suit. That was two weeks ago. Now China is a black hole.”
“A black hole?” I asked.
“No television. No reporters. Very little internet traffic. It just died out. Other governments lost contact with their government.”
I shook my head. “Is that what’s happening here?”
Wilkins nodded. “Here in Austin last weekend, Dallas and San Antonio by Monday. It started in Houston on Tuesday. Some east coast cities, and now it’s all over the country.”
I asked, “But we’re a modern country. Most of China is third world. Surely we have the infrastructure in place to handle something like this?”
“I don’t know. I’d like to think that we’re more capable, but from what I’ve seen on the news, it looks like things are going to get very, very ugly.”
“End of the world?” I asked, expecting him disabuse me of the notion.
Wilkins nodded.
Crap.
Chapter 23
“The people you’re with, how do they feel about you being infected?” Wilkins asked.
“They don’t care.”
“You must have some very understanding friends, Zed.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know them that well. I just met them.”
“Really?” Wilkins paused. “In the gym?”
I nodded. “Sure.”
“They were infected too?”
I nodded again.
“Were there a lot like you in the gym? Immune?”
I shook my head. “We were the only three, and I’m not sure about one of us.”
“So there are just three of you?”
“You know we’re armed.” I said.
“Zed, that’s not why I’m asking. We mean you no harm. The cadets didn�
��t intend to threaten you when the elevator door opened. It’s just that we all have to more careful now. You understand that, don’t you?”
I nodded.
“I watched you through the window, Zed. You picked up a lot of weapons for just three guys.”
“We were planning for the worst.”
“Zed, what can I do to talk you out of some of those weapons?”
Honestly, I’d have just given him some if he’d asked. They were just people like me, trying not to get killed. But since he was offering, “What do you know about the rifles that the soldiers were carrying?”
“It’s the standard weapon. It’s a military issue M-4.”
“Shows you what I know. I was guessing an AR-15.”
“Same thing, Zed. One is for civilian use, the other, military.”
“Ah, well, I don’t know anything about how to use or take care of one.”
“You looked like you handled it pretty well out in the quad, when you were shooting the infected.”
“Well, as long as nothing goes wrong, I’m good. But like I said, I don’t know anything about taking care of a gun unless it shoots paintballs.”
“You’re a paintball player?”
“Yeah,” I nodded.
“So is my son.”
“It’s a lot of fun.”
“Yep. I hope he’s okay.”
“Is he here in town?” I asked.
“No. He’s in the Army, stationed up at Fort Hood.”
I didn’t know whether to offer encouragement or condolences. “Look, we’ve got more guns than we need right now. We can spare at least one M-4, and I may be able to go out and pick up those other guns. I mean, my luck has got to get better than it’s been. If you’ll show me how to handle one of these properly and how to take care of it, we’ll call it even.”
“That sounds good. How are you guys set for food?” Wilkins asked.
“Same as you, I imagine. We had eight vending machines and they all seem stocked—at least the ones I broke into.”
“We’ve got four in this building.” Wilkins told me.
“But there have got to be at least a thousand spread all over campus.”
“You’re probably right about that.” Wilkins agreed.
“It’s not nutritious, but it’s a lot of food with a long shelf life. How are you guys set for electronics? We don’t have anything.”
“I’ve got a cell phone with half a charge. Mark may have a charger for his. Most of the guys have laptops but again, only a couple have cords to plug them in.”
I nodded. It wasn’t great but it was better than nothing.
“Zed, you seem like a good guy to me.”
“Okay…”
“I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but we might all be better off if we combine forces, so to speak, and work together.”
I nodded. “Sure, we don’t have plans past getting through the day. I mean, we talked about some things, but frankly, it’s all guesswork. Do you guys want to move in together?” I laughed. “Your place or ours?”
Wilkins thought on that for a few moments. “Getting together in one building would be best. This building isn’t defensible—too many windows downstairs. Your building has fewer ground floor windows that we’d need to fortify. We might make do with that until we figure out something better.”
“That’s fine. We’ve got plenty of room. We’re camped out on the fifth floor. The rooms up there have great views of the surrounding areas and they each have bunks for four.”
“That sounds good. Are you sure you’re comfortable with us moving in?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I’m not worried about the elevator thing. The world is going crazy and we’re all on edge. Besides Major, you seem like a good guy.”
Wilkins asked, “And your CDC man won’t mind?”
“I doubt it. He’d welcome the company. I think he’s afraid to be by himself.”
“Okay. That leaves the girls in Blanton.”
I shook my head on that subject. “What are you thinking?”
“I have an idea Zed, but you might not like it.”
Chapter 24
With a sour look on his face, Mark swung the door open and I walked out into the blazing afternoon heat with a fully-loaded pistol in hand and half a clip to spare. The air still tasted of ash. The ubiquitous traffic noise from the highway was gone. Howls of the infected echoed between the buildings. The sound of distant gunfire popped in the air—the sounds of civilization falling apart.
My feet crunched brown blades of grass as I walked out into the center of the quad. The infected lurking in the shadows of the giant oaks and behind the shady bushes gave me only a passing glance.
I squinted in the harsh light and realized that I needed sunglasses if I was going to function in the daylight hours with permanently dilated pupils.
I turned up to the window on the fifth floor of the dorm where I thought Jerome would be cowering—unless Murphy turned, broke free, and ate him. I waved an arm and watched the dormer window.
Nothing.
I waved again, but got no response. “What a pussy.”
I went about my business of collecting. With a specific prize in mind, I was lucky to find a pair of sunglasses in the pocket of the first dead soldier I came to. Seeing that the infected had no interest in me, I collected two full sets of gear including tactical vests, helmets, and weapons.
On my way back to the ROTC building I angled close by the dormitory to see what I might see.
The click of the mirrored glass door on the side of the dorm startled me. I stopped and looked over. Jerome nervously poked his head out and waved me over.
I looked around to check on the state of the infected in the area. I headed over toward Jerome. I harshly whispered, “What the hell, dude!”
Jerome nodded his head toward the infected and gave me a look that said ‘stay quiet.’ He swung the door open wide for me and quietly pulled it closed behind us.
In the long hallway that ran the length of the building, I laid the equipment on the floor and turned on Jerome. I made no attempt to mask my anger. “Damn it, Jerome, I could have been killed by those infected. You were supposed to open the door. What the hell?”
“Dude, dude. Be cool, man.”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t need to be cool, man. What I need to do is beat your ass.”
Jerome stepped back. In a condescending tone, he said, “Don’t go all Neanderthal on me, Zed. Grow up. I did what I had to do.”
“You had to lock me out because you’re a pussy, you mean?”
“Zed, if I had let you in with a hundred infected chasing you and hundreds more coming up the street, how long do you think that door would have held once they saw you come through it?”
I didn’t answer. My rage had bubbled to the surface and my anger-impaired brain was in no mood to hear reason.
“Think about it, man.”
I huffed and picked the gear up off the floor just to keep my fists from balling up and beating Jerome.
“You know I’m right. They would have come in here and killed you, me, Murphy, and that girl. And then where would you be?”
I held up my freshly bitten and still oozing forearm for Jerome to see. “They wouldn’t have killed us. They don’t seem to like our flavor.”
“But one bit you anyway.”
“Duh!”
“Don’t you see, Zed?”
“See what?”
“Just because they don’t want to eat us doesn’t mean they won’t injure us if they’re in an excited state. They might even kill us.”
I headed toward the elevator.
“By the way, what happened to the girl?” Jerome asked.
“She’s fine. She’s in the building next door.”
As we rode the elevator up, I quickly related what had transpired. We were standing in the hall on the fifth floor when I finished.
Jerome said, “That’s not a good idea.”
“What do you
mean?” I asked him.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to have them here. We don’t know these guys.”
“Jerome, twenty-four hours ago, I didn’t know you. Forty-eight hours ago, I didn’t know Murphy.”
“That’s not what I’m trying to say, Zed. They’re not like us.”
“What do you mean?”
“Infected.”
I shook my head. “Jerome, I talked to them. We’re cool. They know what the deal is. They know we’re fine. Speaking of, how’s Murphy?”
“This is a bad idea.” We reached the door of our commandeered room. “Murphy started coming around about a half hour ago.”
“And?” I asked.
“And I think he’s going to be like us, a slow burner.”
I nodded and went in.
Murphy was sitting on the bed guzzling a sports drink. His cuffs were off.
“How are you feeling?” I asked.
“Like crap,” Murphy answered.
“It gets better,” I offered. “Drink lots of liquids. Eat what you can. By this time tomorrow, you’ll be back to normal, or at least as normal as you’re ever going to be again.”
Murphy made a show of looking down at the light-colored skin on his arms. He shook his head. “Are you saying I’m staying this color?”
Jerome answered. “Yes. Just be happy you didn’t turn into one of the cannibals.”
“Cannibals?” Murphy asked.
“You’ve missed a lot while you were out, Murphy.”
“How long have I been out?” Murphy asked.
I turned to Jerome. “Why don’t you fill Murphy in? I’m going to get the people from next door.”
“Zed, I still think it’s a bad idea.”
“I know, but it’s a done deal, so let’s be big boys and deal with it.”
I picked up a couple of M-4s that were leaning against the wall, booty from my earlier trip outside. “Jerome, are these loaded?”
He nodded.
I’ll take these two with me. “Are those clips full?”
“The ones on the left are. The ones on the right are empty.”
“Thanks.” I scooped up a few clips.
“Zed, I know you’re mad, but you did the right thing, helping that girl. That was heroic.”
It was hard, really hard but I said, “You did too, Jerome. If you’d opened the door, we’d probably all have been killed.”
