Mace of the Apocalypse

by Daniel J. Williams

  Mace looked at him like he’d spent too much time on the psychedelic bus. “What are you talking about?”

  Father McCann headed out the door, leaving Mace in a state of confusion. The old priest half-turned his head as he started down the stairs. “We can’t fail, Mace. Darkness will rule if we do.” Father McCann suddenly stopped and turned to face him. “Do you remember what I said to you the first time we met?”

  Mace looked more confused. “You told me I wasn’t meant to be a failure. I was on the verge of doing some very bad things.”

  Father McCann smiled. “Right you are. You weren’t meant to be a failure. You were meant to be a savior. I knew it then and I know it now. I’ve dreamt about this moment, Mace. I realize now that I’ve dreamt about this moment many times over.” Father McCann chuckled to himself as he turned and headed back down the stairs.

  Mace shook his head and started after him. It was all he needed; another lunatic on the bus.

  Once they hit the street, they could hear the shouting on the bus, and as Mace looked through the bus windows, he could see Jade with her gun drawn and Rob standing a few feet away gesticulating wildly. He rapped on the front door of the bus, and Jade turned and caught his eye. He could see her relief as she made her way to the front and hit the lever, opening the sliding glass and steel door.

  Mace and Father McCann boarded the bus. Mace put his hands out at his sides and looked inquisitively at Jade. “What happened?”

  Jade looked weary. She motioned towards Rob. “He wanted to leave you behind. He thought we’d already waited too long and that those things would be back to attack us.”

  Mace’s anger instantly shot up and he headed towards Rob. Sensing the tension on the bus, Father McCann raised his hand slightly, drawing attention to himself. Mace noticed everyone’s attention behind him and turned around slowly, feeling his anger drain away as he glanced at Father McCann’s peaceful face.

  “Let me introduce myself. I am Father Jack McCann, and I’d like to thank you all for offering me a spot on your colorful bus.”

  They all looked at him strangely, and Mace thought again about the strange words he had spoken moments earlier. Maybe their current situation was leading to a mental breakdown for the old man.

  “I believe it might be wise if we started moving again.”

  Father McCann looked at Jade and gave her half-a-wink, and she looked back with an expression of gratitude and warmth. She loved Father McCann like a father, and always relished basking in the warmth of his wisdom and love.

  Mace looked at both of them briefly, before heading back towards the front without saying another word. He realized it was just the old man’s patience and wisdom being used to diffuse the situation. He never ceased to be amazed at the quiet power of the man. He fired up the bus and took one last look at Rob in the rear view mirror before heading off towards their next stop: Jason.

  Chapter 15

  Mace jerked the bus to avoid hitting another abandoned car. The bus shuddered a little as he clipped it, and they all looked out their windows for signs of trouble, witnessing through their own eyes the death of all that they had known. The city was going to burn.

  Mace swerved again as he took a corner, hitting the curb as he tried to avoid an old collision in the middle of the intersection. Everyone jumped and held on tight as the bus tires squealed at the speed of the turn. What Mace saw next made him hit the brakes hard and come to a complete stop.

  Up ahead, just past the next corner, at least thirty infected were viciously attacking a passenger van. They could hear the screams as the victims succumbed to the onslaught. The infected smashed one of the rear passenger windows, pulling on a woman’s arm with such ferocity it pulled straight out of the socket, a gush of blood flowing like a geyser. Christy, the older woman on the bus, screamed in horror and buried her face in her hands, sobbing.

  The infected turned at the sound of her scream. Mace twisted around in his seat, his eyes conveying the intensity of the situation. “Hold on,” he shouted urgently. “I’m going to try to make the next corner.”

  Father McCann clutched Christy to him as Mace turned back and hit the gas. As he did so, three people came running out of a house, waving their hands frantically as they passed, shouting for them to stop. Mace looked from them to the infected who had started towards them, their rage punctuated by monstrous, rabid shrieks. Mace slowed the bus and hit the lever to the door, whooshing it open. He watched out of his side view mirror as the people gained ground. There was a man and two women, all Asian and appearing to be in their twenties and dressed in casual business attire, now all disheveled and smeared with dirt and what looked like blood.

  The man reached the bus first, jumping onto the step and reaching back for the woman behind him. She caught his hand and he pulled her up, and she passed him on the steps to the floor of the bus, staring from Mace to the blood-caked window, wide-eyed and shaking.

  The woman trailing tripped and fell and the man screamed for Mace to stop as she fell further behind. Mace looked forward to the infected who were fast approaching and hit the brakes hard once again. He turned and screamed for Jade to take the wheel as he jumped off the bus, following the man who had run back for his other companion. As the man ran back Mace stood in front of the bus, pulling out his gun and taking aim at the closest infected, popping two shots in its chest and watching as it slowed down and stumbled. The others rushed by it and were no more than twenty feet away when the creature jumped to its feet again, shrieking wildly. Mace started firing rapidly, realizing he would never be able to stop them in time.

  On the bus, Rob came racing towards the front, screaming at Jade to give him her gun. Seeing what Mace was facing and not wanting to leave the driver’s seat, she quickly pulled the gun out of her holster and handed it over. His face twisted into a demented grin as he stared at the piece, then jumped off the bus and ran after Mace.

  Mace emptied one clip then swiftly loaded another. From behind he could hear a series of explosions as Rob came running up beside him, blasting an infected in the head who was running at break neck speed towards them. It stumbled and fell, causing two others to trip over it as they gnashed their teeth in rage. Shrieks filled the air as the infected raced forward, their eyes wild and bulging red as they closed the distance.

  The man had grabbed his other companion and pulled her on the bus, and Jade lurched the bus forward, stalling it. Mace grabbed Rob by the arm and pulled him backwards as the infected reached for them. Jade started the bus again and this time got it moving as Rob jumped on with Mace trailing right behind, feeling a hand grabbing a hold of his jacket and ripping it as he boarded. He twisted around, firing, and the infected shrieked as it let go.

  “Close the door!” he yelled to Jade as he continued to blast at the infected who were trying to board the bus. She hit the lever and the door closed, trapping the arm of one who had almost made it inside. It shrieked at Mace through the door and he fired a shot through the glass, hitting it in the head and watching as it stumbled and was dragged by the moving vehicle.

  Jade hit one dead on with the bus as it raced towards them and it fell under the wheels and was run over. As they cleared the rest, Mace hit the door lever, freeing the arm of the dead infected, letting it tumble under the bus until it was dismembered by the force of the tires.

  Rob ran to the back of the bus as they cleared the small army of infected and unbolted the back door. He threw it open and started firing before they were out of reach. Mace ran back towards him and reached around his torso, gently placing his hands around the gun in Rob’s hand. He leaned over and said to him in a soft but firm voice, “It’s over, Rob. We can’t afford to waste any ammunition. We showed ‘em though, didn’t we?”

  Rob let go of the gun and turned towards Mace. His eyes were wild and he was grinning from ear to ear. “We kicked their asses! Did you see that guy’s head blow apart when I nailed him? That was fucking awesome!”

  Mace tried to suppress th
e nausea he was feeling inside and forced a small smile. “Yeah, Rob, we showed ‘em alright.”

  Mace moved forward and closed the back door, bolting it shut. He tried to smile again at Rob, who was delirious with excitement.

  “Let’s go after more of them, Mace. Let’s take out every fuckin’ one of them! Let’s blow their fucking heads off!”

  Mace patted him on the back and turned away, sickened by Rob’s enthusiasm and shaken a little from the closeness of the attack. His feelings towards Rob were ambiguous. He wasn’t about to forget that Rob had been fighting to leave him behind earlier. The part was that disturbed him the most was that he could recognize a piece of himself in Rob, in his thirst for violence, and he wanted to get as far away from that as he possibly could. He’d changed who he was over the years, but the past would sometimes come back like a runaway bus, chasing him down and churning him under its tires.

  Mace briefly preoccupied himself with looking over the provisions the dead hippies had stored at the back of the bus. They had sleeping bags and blankets, a few cases of beer, three large gas containers, and some junk food: Ho-Ho’s, a few bags of chips and a bag of pretzels.

  He looked to the front of the bus and realized everyone was staring at him. The three new riders looked shell-shocked and sat motionless as Mace headed in their direction. The bus swerved as Jade tried to quickly maneuver around more abandoned vehicles, and everyone grabbed for a seat to stabilize themselves.

  “Sorry,” she yelled out as she continued on, afraid to speed up for what was ahead and afraid to slow down for what could attack.

  As he passed Father McCann, he could see the look of concern on the old priest’s face. It bothered him that Father McCann could always read him so easily. He wanted to brush past him but had a nagging question that had to be answered. He plopped down next to him and talked to him discreetly. “You said you have an antidote to whatever it is that’s causing this. I was planning on picking up Jason and some provisions and getting a boat the hell out of here, but I keep thinking about what you said earlier. What is it you expect of me?”

  Father McCann had a sorrowful and contemplative expression. “I think you knew from the beginning what would be asked of you. You were given a great gift, Mace. You were given your life back, and now you’re being asked for something in return.”

  Mace ran his fingers through his hair and glanced at Jade, who was busy trying to drive the bus. He looked at Father McCann in slight desperation. “All I wanted was a normal life.”

  Father McCann looked briefly at Jade before lowering his head, shaking it slowly. “I’m sorry Mace. I know it’s hard to accept, but things aren’t going to be the way you expected. There are millions of lives that are going to be dependent on our next actions.”

  Father McCann’s eyes held a gaze of deep sorrow. “This is what we were destined for. It’s not my choice. It’s the only chance we’ve got.”

  Mace shook his head, slowly at first and then with more determination, until finally surrendering and looking at Father McCann with a look of resignation. “All right, I’m in. But we need to make sure they survive.” He pointed at those around him and Father McCann nodded in agreement.

  “I want us all to survive too, Mace. Unfortunately, it’s out of my hands. We’ve got to play this one entirely on faith.”

  Mace looked at Father McCann, a flash of anger surging through him. If he had to sacrifice his own chance at escape, it was one thing. However, to ask everyone else to give up their lives was another altogether.

  He felt the bus come to a halt and he looked out the window. They were in front of Jason’s house. The neighborhood was in ruins, with smoke billowing out of a house down the street. There was a mangled body on the lawn next door to Jason’s, and Mace felt a chill run up his spine. Not wanting to waste any time, he jumped up from his seat and moved towards the front of the bus. Their three new passengers were all seated, staring at him as he approached. He nodded towards them.

  “We’ll have time for introductions shortly. I’ll only be a minute.”

  Rob came running up from the rear of the bus. “Wait up, Mace. Let me go, too. You might need back up.”

  Mace shook his head. “I’ll be right back. Just stay on the bus and keep a look out.” He turned to leave, then stopped for a moment, looking back at Rob, the recent past running through his mind. “And don’t try to leave me behind. Okay?”

  He could see Rob turn slightly red as a sheepish look stretched across his face and he took a step backwards. “No problem. I’ll just keep an eye out.” Rob turned and moved back towards the rear of the bus, feeling foolish and deflated.

  Jade stood as he reached the front door. “Be quick. I’ll keep the engine running.”

  Mace nodded and gave her a wink before hitting the lever to open the door. He hopped out quickly and ran up the walkway to Jason’s house. The front door was standing ajar and he felt chilled as he ran inside, his stomach twisting into knots.

  “Jason, Margie, are you in here?”

  The place was in tatters. He ran from room to room, observing the battle that had been waged inside. It was obvious that the house had been overrun and the occupants had decidedly lost. His heart raced as he stared at the destruction, and it dropped when he saw the pool of blood, thick and coagulated, on the floor of Margie’s room. He stood there gaping at it, feeling uneasy and sick in his stomach, until he heard a noise coming from somewhere in the house. He rubbed his thumb over the butt of his gun and crouched down, barely breathing, listening closely for any further sounds until he heard it again, and he could tell is was coming from under his feet. He looked at the floor, slightly confused, until he made out the faint sound of a voice. Coming from underneath the house.

  A ray of hope surged through him as he raced back outside and rushed around the house, looking for the grate that covered the crawlspace. All eyes from the bus were upon him as he found it, open and inviting, and he stopped, pulling his flashlight from his jacket pocket. He bent over and peered inside, his heart clamoring against his chest as he called out Jason’s name. He could hear scratching noises coming from within and he called out Jason’s name again as he flicked on the switch of the lamp, creating a tubular cylinder of light that stretched to the back of the crawlspace.

  The flashlight was unsteady in his hands as it scanned the darkness until it found a solid object in its path. His head exploded with stabbing needles of shock as a pair of red glowing eyes stared back at him, and he stumbled backwards. The creature from within growled and he flashed the light across its face once again; wanting, needing confirmation that what he was seeing was what he thought it was. He felt a rush of relief cover him as he recognized the face of David, Jason’s friend from across the street.

  The child starting moving towards him on all fours, scrambling through the crawlspace with the now familiar intensity of an infected. Mace dropped his head for a second for feeling such relief before reaching with his free hand for his gun, when he heard another noise coming from the left of David. He turned the flashlight towards it, landing the spotlight directly on the face of Jason, or what used to be Jason, who now stared back at him with a twisted grimace of horror, eyes deep red with infection and snarling, ready to attack.

  Mace yelled out “No!” as a wave of shock sent him reeling backwards and falling down. Jade, who had been apprehensive as she watched the scene jumped out of the driver’s seat and rushed out of the bus, her heart breaking as she could only guess at what Mace had discovered. Mace pulled his revolver as something appeared in the blackness of the grate and he fired once, then moved forward and fired two more shots into the crawlspace.

  As Jade moved towards him, everything seemed to move in slow motion, and she felt like she couldn’t even say his name right. Something escaped her lips, but when Mace turned around, she could see the mask of deep sorrow and pain that racked his face and could see the tears already streaking down his cheeks. She stopped in shock, gaping at him, shaking her
head. “No, tell me it was something else.”

  He just stared at her blankly, or more accurately stared through her, lost in a moment of mind numbing paralysis, until he slowly brought the gun up to his chin and closed his eyes.

  “Mace, no!!” she screamed and rushed toward him.

  He opened his eyes and blinked, seeing her for the first time as he lowered the gun and threw it onto the lawn, and he took her into his arms and they embraced, lettings a rush of emotions overtake them as they wept together, powerfully, until they heard a shriek emanating from down the street.

  Mace pulled back and wiped his eyes and nose. “They heard the gunshots. They’ll be coming.”

  He reached down and picked up the gun, sliding it back in its holster. He took one last look at the crawl space, bitterness invading his body as completely as if he’d been infected, before grabbing Jade by the arm and leading her back to the bus.

  Chapter 16

  No one on the bus moved nor spoke as they boarded, and Mace took over as driver. From different houses and yards they came, shrieking and moaning in their affliction, their diseased remains somehow clinging to the neighborhood and homes that they had previously occupied. They moved towards the bus, screaming in outrage at their existence, and Mace, overcome with sorrow and anger at Jason’s loss, punched the bus forward, aiming for a woman wearing a tattered bathrobe, one breast exposed for all to see as she ran into the street with wild red eyes.

  The occupants of the bus cringed as her face splatted in a gush of blood on the front of the bus as he plowed right through her. He drove faster, feeling an adrenaline rush of madness and rage surge through him as he swerved to hit another infected who had run into the street. The bus jerked erratically as he knocked down or ran over any infected who ventured out into the street, finally slamming the bus’s right bumper into an abandoned car with its door left open, the dismembered remains of something glistening inside.