by Olah, Jeff
“I don’t think what we believe matters anymore. These things… these Feeders seem to be everywhere and no one is safe.”
“Feeders? What is a Feeder? What are you talking about?”
William pulled up one of the few remaining news forums he had bookmarked that was still online and scrolled through the pages of comments. He pointed out to his wife where the world had officially declared these things Feeders and how they’d signaled the beginning of the end. “It’s all over the place, someone coined the term and now that’s what everyone is calling them… Feeders.”
“The name doesn’t quite relay the impact that these things are having. It’s almost silly,” Karen said as she returned to the window and redialed her parents once again. “Still no answer, we have to go get them.”
“I’ll go… alone” William said. “I’ll get there much faster if I do not have to wait for you… no offense. It’s only a few blocks so I’ll get there and back before you have time to worry.”
“You really want to go by yourself with those things out there?” Karen asked.
“I haven’t seen any of them here or anywhere near here yet, have you?”
“No, it looks pretty clear except for the road leading to the school, although you’re going the opposite way.”
“That’s true. I’ll go now and we’ll drive their car back as far as we can, so they won’t have to walk as much.”
Staring into the phone, as if willing it to ring, Karen began to cry. “Do you think they’re ok? They should have called back by now.”
“I’m sure they are fine,” William said. “Do we have keys to their place, it may come in handy.”
“Yes… here take my keys; theirs is the larger of the two house keys. Please call me when you get there so I’ll know you all are ok.”
Surprised she didn’t have more to say about him heading out alone and that she didn’t try to fight him on it, he knew better than to linger and discuss anything else. If he’d shown her any of the other things he’d found online, there’d be no way she would have allowed him to leave the house, regardless of who he was going to save.
“Sure thing,” William said. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
“Thank you sweetheart, be safe, I love you.”
4
Thousands of glass fragments exploded inward and within seconds the café became a feeding frenzy as George was overrun by six of those monsters from the parking lot. The chaos sent Trina scurrying backward into Randy as he quickly surveyed their situation. The initial wave of infected hadn’t noticed the pair standing to the right of the bar, partially camouflaged in the fluorescent wave of cover provided by the kitchen. Watching the path these new sub-humans followed, Randy reached down and snatched the half full container of liquefied cooking oil and pushed Trina in the direction of the front door.
Struggling against his advance toward the infected, Trina knew what she intended to say, although the words wouldn’t come, except in short blasts. “What… how… no… we can’t.”
His hand on the small of her back, Randy continued forward with an ever so steady eye on the attack happening a few feet away. “Keep going; they haven’t turned to us yet and there’s no other way out,” he said as he dumped the warm oil behind them.
Moving without thought and possessed by fear, Trina felt lightheaded and simply focused on his voice guiding her forward. Reaching the door, she looked through and pulled inward. The tiny brass bell attached to the front door, designed to alert staff when customers entered, began the next complication of their survival. The double ring couldn’t be muted as the horde turned their attention outward.
Not missing a step, Randy reached around Trina, throwing the door open the rest of the way and dropping the bucket of cooking oil between himself and the oncoming crowd. He took the lead and pulled Trina toward her car as the monsters left behind lost footing on the slick tile floor and piled into one another. Weaving in and out of the infected and those being pursued near the street, they moved quickly to Trina’s car. “Get your keys out and be ready to drive. Do not stop for anything or anyone along the way. Get to your mother’s and stay put until this blows over.”
“Randy, what are you going to do?” Trina asked.
“I’ll be ok, just get out of the area and stay away from big cities, the less people the better.” He already knew there wasn’t much chance of him getting out of the area untouched, although checking his waistband he figured he’d at least make it to his building.
Remotely unlocking her car and the audible signal it produced didn’t allow them a long goodbye. The attention it drew forced Randy to follow her to the driver’s side and toss her in. “Remember lock the doors and do not stop for anything. Go!”
She grabbed his wrist and pulled him to her. Trina leaned out of the car and kissed him on the mouth. She lingered for a moment too long and finally sat back and opened her eyes. “Thank you for today and not just for today, but for every day.”
He didn’t speak. He shut her door and watched as she pulled out of the lot and into the street. The growing horde, unaware of her presence and her exit, continued their march toward the rear of the lot and more specifically toward him. Letting out a deep breath, Randy stood motionless as the wave of chaos moved in his direction. He studied the area for a few seconds, trying to determine where the majority of those things were coming from, as well as gauging their weaknesses. “This is going to be a long day.”
The street Trina had escaped on wouldn’t be as easy or even possible on foot and since he needed to travel less than a mile, he needed an alternate route. These things appeared to move in a straight line without any problem, although they were easily deterred and confused if given more than one target to focus on. The alley that ran the length of the strip mall was as a good a place as any to get lost in this deranged crowd.
Heading for the rear wall, Randy avoided some of the slower moving monsters by simply shoving them headfirst to the ground. The others were dealt with much more aggressively by way of the three foot piece of scrap metal propping open the pizza parlor’s rear door. His familiarity with these creatures assured him that a head shot with the right amount of force was usually enough to eliminate the threat.
Removing the small caliber handgun from his waistband, Randy placed it atop the six-foot wall and in one quick movement he was standing just inches above the mounting horde. Even from his low level perch, he could see what a complete cataclysm the city had become. Fires peppered the landscape, as well as cars left behind and people torn apart by the hands and mouths of their aggressors. Shaking his head, he turned and leapt into the alley.
Only mildly unnerved, he slowly began to realize what this was. These things were never supposed to see the light of day, especially in the civilian world. The size and shape of the project must have changed or taken a drastic turn into something altogether different than what he knew. Lockwood hadn’t told him of anything even resembling what he was now witnessing.
The world had entered a new phase, something that couldn’t be accounted for and the involuntary grin that slid across his face didn’t concern him. His excitement wasn’t because he enjoyed what was happening and also wasn’t because he wanted the population to suffer. He should be terrified; hell this was going to paralyze every living soul once they found out what those men did to the human race. He didn’t want this. He never did, although now that the virus showed up unannounced at his doorstep, he was more than happy to show these things what he was capable of.
Randy scanned the route he was to take, chambered a round and trotted off toward home, his heart rate doubling as he took the first step.
5
She didn't care. She wanted to die, rather than remain with these two and be witness to what they’d do next. They were animals long before hell visited earth and now acted as though this new world deputized them both as agents of mayhem. Lance may have a twinge of humanity left in his rapidly deteriorating temperament, although wi
th Jason always close enough to spit on, she knew he wouldn’t speak up. Savannah was going to leave them… even if it meant losing her life.
Lying face down on the floor of the backseat and sliding her hands over her ears, she tried focusing on the memories from before these two men entered her life. They weren't blood related and as thankful as she was for that, it didn’t change the fact that she was still linked to them. As they rolled toward their next destination, the muffled argument the two brothers were having boiled to the point that Jason stopped the car and exited the driver’s door. Lance followed suit and they stood in the street unwilling to concede to one another.
The car in park and still running, Savannah pondered jumping into the front and attempting an escape. Rising from the floor and peering out into the street, she noticed that Jason still clutched his weapon, so even sliding into the driver’s seat may end disastrously before she even put the car into drive. Slowly she righted herself against the backseat and sat nervously watching Lance argue for civility with his brother.
“Jason, we’ve done some bad things, but you’ve gone too far. This is not us, you have to stop. We aren’t doing this. Not anymore.”
“You cowardly little boy… I did them a favor. Do you honestly think Gene or Joanne stood a chance in this world for more than the next five minutes? No, they would have stayed in that house, scared to death and waiting to die. I put them out of their misery.”
Stepping to Jason, Lance slid his hand down covering his weapon. “You have no idea what’s happening out here, none of us do. You killed them because you wanted to, not because you were looking out for them. You’ve never cared about anyone but yourself.”
“Listen little brother,” Jason said, raising his nine millimeter. “You’d better put your hand back where it won’t get you into any trouble and get back in the car. If you know me as well as you think you do, you’ll realize it’s the only way. This is the last warning I will ever give you.”
Without saying a word, Lance leveled his gaze at the late afternoon sun, took in a long breath and turned back to the car. He now knew he’d have to end his brother’s life at some point, although this wasn’t that moment.
“By the way,” Jason said as Lance pulled open the passenger door, “I’m well aware of what this world has become. I’m just not in denial of what needs to be done to survive. You’d be better off just following my lead.”
Watching the quiet residential neighborhood begin to dissolve into mass chaos, Jason returned to the car and slid back in behind the wheel. Checking his rearview mirror, he said, “Savannah sweetheart, you ok?” As he began to laugh, she leaned forward and in a misguided attempt at vengeance, swung hard with an open hand, slapping the right side of his face. As he continued to laugh, she sat back and awaited his next move. He did nothing. He said nothing, just continued to laugh as they moved out of the neighborhood and onto the highway.
6
The line of cars leading into his neighborhood, reminiscent of rush hour traffic he used to fight daily, became eerily still from the time he last peered through the front window of his home. The horde that came through in the last few minutes left their mark on those who choose to remain in their vehicles and wait it out. Half-eaten torsos hung from car windows as others who tried to make a last minute run for the open field to the south were run down and paid the ultimate price for their decision. The small handheld axe he decided to bring for protection now seemed obnoxiously irrelevant.
William quickly examined the area as he weaved his way through the congested mess, pausing where the last few cars had been pushed up onto the sidewalk by an entity much larger. It appeared that something had come through the area like a giant snowplow and pushed all non-essential vehicles out of its way as it left the area. The mauled tire tread from the overturned blue pick-up shifted under his feet as he broke out into the open and began to run along the recently cleared street.
What appeared to be a fresh kill and its attacker lay between him and the entrance to his in-law’s apartment building. Simply sidestepping it wasn’t in his nature and although the world changed, he had yet to. William backed ten paces into the street and quickly covered the distance with only a few steps, jumping onto the retaining wall and avoiding the Feeder who had turned its attention to him.
His guess was that the long hallways of the apartment building had either been overrun by the last wave of infected or they hadn’t yet arrived. With the interior lighting in this area of the building inoperable, he was leaning toward the former. The only space he was concerned with today lay at the end of the deadly quiet hallway. With the tension rising in his chest, William moved through the dark hallway, running his right hand along the wall and counting the doors until his weight pushed in the entrance to his destination, the last of the day’s light pouring into the hallway.
The front room only fifteen feet ahead, William knew the legs lying sprawled on the thick shag carpet belonged to his wife’s father. The monster hunched over him didn’t bother to look up or even acknowledge his presence as he lunged forward with every ounce of bodyweight he owned, driving the axe deep into the back of its skull. The Feeder fell forward as William also crashed to the ground. Struggling to his feet, the stench that blanketed the apartment told him all he needed to know about his father-in-law’s condition.
Buried too deep, his weapon was irretrievable and of no further use. He searched the rest of the apartment for what he assumed would be another devastating loss, although she was nowhere to be found. How on earth did his mother-in-law escape this? Where’d she go? And how was he going to explain this to his wife?
Sliding down along the blood-splattered wall between the kitchen and the living room, he slumped to the floor and ran through what needed to happen next. He had responsibilities and not only to his wife. She needed him to get back home in one piece and with what he’d seen in the last few minutes this wasn’t going to happen by accident.
Assuming he was hallucinating due to what was officially the darkest day this planet had ever seen, he rose to his feet ahead of his father-in-law who’d begun to re-animate. His father-in-law’s milky white eyes fluttered open as he sat forward and appeared to growl at Williams’s mere existence.
William backed up to the open door and watched as this man he’d gone golfing with not twenty-four hours earlier, pushed away from the mess of rotting flesh and blood-soaked flooring to a standing position. Fragmented swatches of rose colored skin hung from his neck and midsection, swaying with each step he took. Tiny rivers of blood ran along his pant legs, racing to the floor as he moved more quickly toward William.
Backing into the hall with his father-in-law only steps behind, he had no other choice but to run. This thing he had become was no longer the man William knew and he didn’t think he had the nerve to do what was needed to stop him.
Now in a footrace to the end of the hall and the upcoming stairwell, William glanced backward to see his pursuer not five paces behind. “How was this possible?” This man, twenty-five years his senior, had trouble simply walking across the courtyard three days ago.
Making his way down the final flight of stairs and onto the paved walk that led to the parking lot, William spotted a vehicle slowly making its way toward him. Neither looking like it was slowing or in a rush to exit the area, the driver must have been looking for something else as it turned the final corner coming toward the end of the yard. William lowered his head and sprinted directly for the car with his father-in-law chewing at his heels.
7
Surprised he’d only spent four rounds along his trek home; Randy arrived at the entrance to his building with little trouble. Before entering, he turned and stood in the shadows, taking in the chaotic scene and contemplating his next move. “This won’t end, it can’t. I shouldn’t have let her leave. I was her best chance for survival.”
From where he stood, parts of the city had already begun to shut down as the need for reserve power taxed the already overworked
grid. He needed more information on the infected zones and with the unpredictability of the day’s events, his area could lose power at any time. Shaking his head, Randy turned back to the building and hurried through the lobby to the stairwell.
Each footfall more deliberate than the next, the stairwell to his apartment never seemed so damaged. His routine of using the stairs from the lobby to his floor in place of the elevator favored his personality. There were no awkward silences, no one to avoid him and no hushed conversations he pretended not to hear. He preferred the solitude of one step after another, although never quite this irritating. Each shift of weight from one foot to another reminded him why the rent for this building was well below that of neighboring areas.
Reaching his floor and without hesitation, Randy used his left hand to pull the door open and with the other he removed the weapon from his waistband and instinctively fired one round into the monster already closing the space between the two. One shot was all it took to take down the middle-aged, overweight former grocery store employee. Impressed with the accuracy in which he drew down on this particular sub-human, Randy studied the entry wound just above its left eye and was baffled by the lack of an exit wound. “Must be in there somewhere.”
