Contamination Box Set [Books 0-7]

by Piperbrook, T. W.

  What had happened?

  “Quinn!” he shouted, panic overtaking him.

  He looked in all directions. Even if he had to search the whole yard, the whole state, he’d find her. He glanced back to the RV, thinking that maybe she may have run there. He’d only taken two steps when he heard a noise to his left. He turned and saw a four-foot shape in the dark.

  Quinn.

  He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could call her name, a dark shadow appeared from behind her. Dan’s entire body tensed.

  Walking toward him, gun pressed against his daughter’s temple, was another one of the agents.

  2

  “If you harm her in any way, I swear to God—”

  Dan let his voice trail off, realizing that his words were having little effect on the man. The agent’s eyes were cold and dark, beyond reason. The question wasn’t whether he would pull the trigger, but when.

  Dan dropped the pistol and threw his hands in the air. If he were to have any chance at overtaking the man, he’d have to comply. Hopefully he’d buy himself a few more seconds; a little more time to think.

  “Please let her go,” he said. “She has nothing to do with this.”

  The agent inched forward, smiling now. He didn’t speak a word; instead, he tightened his arm around the girl’s throat. Quinn was crying soundlessly, arms at her sides. The look in her eyes made Dan feel helpless and enraged.

  His daughter was all he had left, and he’d failed her.

  He stared at the man’s expression, hoping for a sign of something—anything—that he could use to free his daughter. But there was nothing. Any trace of emotion or compassion was gone.

  It was then that he saw two shadows—one coming up on the agent’s right, the other on the agent’s left.

  Dan’s hopes sank further. Not only was this man alive, but it appeared there were others as well. He bristled, knowing that he’d have no choice but to take action, that he and his daughter might be killed in the process.

  It wasn’t until the shadows came into the light that he realized that the figures weren’t agents at all, but two of the creatures.

  Sensing Dan’s switch in attention, the agent turned his head to the side, catching a glimpse of the two things coming up behind him. His grin quickly faded. The creatures hissed and spit, and within seconds, they were on top of him.

  The agent let go of his hostage and began to fire at the advancing infected. He took them out quickly, aiming at their heads.

  While the agent was distracted, Dan had taken the opportunity to dive for his own weapon. Before the other man could spin back around, Dan pumped out three bullets, striking the agent in the back. The man collapsed facedown into the dirt.

  Dan leapt toward his daughter and squeezed her tight. He looked over her shoulder at the man he’d just shot. The agent lay motionless, a pool of blood blossoming on his back.

  He shuddered.

  In his old life, back when he was a police officer, shooting a man from behind would’ve been illegal. Now he’d done it without a second thought.

  Regardless of his methods, Dan had been able to protect himself and his daughter, and that was what counted.

  All the rules and laws he’d followed as a police officer were gone; the only thing left was to survive.

  “Where are we going now, Daddy?”

  Dan stared at his daughter, then at the pile of their belongings on the ground. In this new world of uncertainty they’d been reduced to a few blankets and pillows, and neither had changed or bathed in a week. Their meals had consisted of canned and labeled food, and sleep, when it came, was fitful.

  And now they were going to be upheaved again.

  Dan gathered their things and tossed them in the back of the Subaru Outback. Before Bubba had died, he’d helped to replace the shattered rear windshield, and Dan had cleaned the glass from the backseat. He’d contemplated taking one of the RV’s, but given the size and lack of maneuverability, he decided to stick with his wife’s station wagon.

  At least they’d have the stability of the family vehicle.

  “Wait here, honey,” he said, once his daughter had gotten inside.

  He closed the door and locked the car. He’d since covered up the bodies on the ground, hoping to at least spare her from having to look at them repeatedly, but he still needed to move the cargo van away from the front entrance.

  Morning was fast approaching, and daylight was working its way through the cracks and crevices of the nearby mountains. Dan walked across the dusted grounds, surveying the carcasses of automobiles, reliving the memories they’d made there.

  Since the other survivors had departed, the salvage yard had felt empty, and he’d found himself thinking of them daily. Had Noah made it home to Portland to find his family? Had Sam and Delta found what they were looking for in Salt Lake City?

  A part of him was afraid that one of them might return, in trouble and in need of assistance, and find the yard abandoned. At the same time, Dan had a duty to protect his daughter, and he knew it was no longer safe here.

  Just in case, he’d left a note in the guard shack.

  The lights of the cargo van were still on, playing over the empty lot. He used the glow to search the rest of the yard. Aside from the three agents and the several creatures they’d killed, there was nothing more of concern.

  After one last precautionary sweep of the van, he leapt into the driver’s seat. The key was still inside. He fired up the engine and drove the vehicle through the gate, parking it next to a row of RV’s.

  He was about to shut off the van when a radio cackled on the dash.

  Dan froze.

  “Sanchez, you there?”

  He stared at the receiver, but kept his hands on the steering wheel. Did the other agents know what had happened? Were they waiting for a report?

  The voice rang out again.

  “We need all agents back at the compound. There’s been a breach.”

  Dan let go of the steering wheel, his mind brimming with questions. Who’d breached the compound? Was it the government?

  He reached across the console, ready to engage the person, and then thought better of it. Any contact with the agents could jeopardize his and his daughter’s safety. There could be others nearby, and if they sensed trouble, they might follow their companions to the salvage yard.

  He thought of Sam and Delta, and for a fleeting second, he pictured that maybe they had been the breach, that somehow they’d found their way inside.

  But that would be impossible, wouldn’t it?

  Dan waited another minute, but the man on the other end did not return. In any case, it was time to get moving. Sooner or later, the agents would figure out that these men had been killed, and they’d send others looking for them.

  Hopefully by that time Dan and Quinn would be long gone.

  He killed the engine and departed the vehicle. He could see Quinn watching him from the passenger’s seat of the station wagon, and he gave her a smile and a wave.

  Although they were leaving, he had no clue as to their destination. He just hoped that by abandoning the salvage yard, they weren’t trading one threat for another. In the salvage yard, at least they had the gates to protect them. On the roads, they’d be reduced to the doors and windows of the vehicle.

  Dan circled to the back of the station wagon, peering in for one last check of the contents. He’d stored the remainder of their packaged food there, along with some additional reserves he’d found in the agent’s van. He’d also packed several weapons: two pistols, the empty shotgun, and several bats and crowbars, along with a few containers of gasoline.

  Given what they were up against, it was hardly enough to feel safe, but it was the best he could do.

  With the cargo secure, he
motioned for Quinn to unlock the doors and then got inside to join her. He noticed she was holding a teddy bear in her hands, and he wrinkled his brow.

  “Where’d you get that?”

  “I found it in the guard’s shack the other day,” she said.

  The bear, which at one time might have been white, had taken on a brown tinge, the fabric of its blue pants faded with age.

  “What’s his name?” Dan asked.

  His daughter smiled. “Samson.”

  “Is Samson ready to go?”

  “Yup.”

  “All right, you two; hold on tight.”

  Dan forced a smile, then switched the car into drive and rolled forward. A minute later he was navigating through the open gates.

  Night had officially passed the torch to day, and the heat came down in waves over the desert. For safety reasons, Dan had instructed his daughter to keep the windows up, choosing instead to run the air conditioner at its lowest setting.

  It was barely enough to keep them cool, and not enough to stop them from sweating. He padded his forehead with his sleeve, watching as his daughter did the same.

  “Can I roll my window down a crack, Daddy?” his daughter implored.

  He sighed, taking in the empty roads around them.

  “OK, but be ready to roll it up if we see something.”

  She nodded and fiddled with the window controls, lowering the window about halfway. Dan shut off the air conditioning. Given their limited resources, he’d need to conserve as much fuel as possible.

  After a few more minutes of silent play with the teddy bear, his daughter turned on the radio. She scrolled the dial from left to right, finding nothing but static.

  “Do you think anybody’s still out there?” she asked.

  “I’m sure there are people out there just like us.”

  “Will we see any of them?”

  “I bet we will, honey. We’ll just have to be real careful about who we talk to and who we trust.”

  His daughter stared out the window at the wide expanse of desert. At the moment the road was long and straight; there were no signs of civilization in sight. However, Dan knew that was soon to change. In a matter of minutes he’d need to choose a direction.

  He just had no idea what that direction might be.

  He was still contemplating that question when Quinn piped up next to him.

  “Do you think Aunt Meredith’s OK?”

  Dan sighed. It’d been years since they’d spoke to Julie’s sister. Meredith lived in Settler’s Creek, Oklahoma. Due to the distance between St. Matthews and Settler’s Creek, they’d lost contact.

  “I bet she’s fine,” he said.

  “Can we go visit her?”

  Dan paused. Julie’s sister had never been fond of Dan, claiming that he’d forced Julie to move away from her hometown. Three years ago, the two sisters had gotten into a heated argument, and neither had spoken since.

  Dan had always thought that Julie should patch things up, but the more time that passed, the less likely that had seemed.

  He wondered what Meredith was doing now, and if she’d heard of what had happened. Was the same thing happening in Oklahoma that was happening here? Did she have any idea that her sister was dead?

  He swallowed the lump in his throat, realizing that he owed Quinn an answer.

  “I’m not sure if that would be a good idea.”

  “Why not?”

  “Settler’s Creek is hours away. That’d be a long, dangerous drive.”

  “What if things are safe there?”

  Dan paused, reconsidering.

  Quinn had a point. Regardless of the distance, his daughter’s safety was paramount. If Meredith had a safe place to keep them, it might be worth the trip.

  Dan pictured the farm that Julie and Meredith had grown up on. For years their parents had procured their own food, relying on income from their crops to support themselves.

  When Julie’s parents had died, Meredith had taken over the farm, intent on keeping up the family tradition. It was a noble cause, but one she’d ended up taking on alone.

  Early on, Julie had voiced her desire to sell it, but Meredith had disagreed, opting to live on it instead. The farm had always been a source of contention between them, and Julie’s marriage to Dan had only made things worse.

  In hindsight, the arguments they’d had seemed small, insignificant.

  Dan regretted they had ever happened.

  “That might actually be a good idea, Quinn,” he said finally.

  His daughter beamed.

  “There’s a chance that the virus hasn’t hit there yet, and even if it has, the crops on the farm should be untouched. Come to think of it, finding Aunt Meredith may be our best bet.”

  “Do you think she still has Ernie?”

  Ernie was Meredith’s miniature poodle, a spunky black dog that loved to jump on unsuspecting visitors. Meredith had gotten the dog around the time that Quinn was born.

  “I bet Ernie’s still there,” Dan said. “But he might be a little older than you remember.”

  His daughter smiled at the news, suddenly filled with a burst of energy. She held up the teddy bear.

  “Did you hear that, Samson? We’re going to see Aunt Meredith and Ernie!”

  Dan smiled back, glad that they’d made a decision. In spite of that, he kept his relief contained. Making the decision was easy.

  Getting there would be the hard part.

  3

  Meredith Tilly had been running the television set for a week straight. Most of the stations had gone down, and of the reports she received, most were speculation. Although few details were known, one thing was certain.

  No one had been inside the contamination zone for long and survived.

  She walked from her couch to the window, peering out over the field of crops outside. Aside from a few circling crows, there wasn’t a creature or a human in sight. Thank God she lived in a rural area.

  It was days like these that made her glad she’d kept her parent’s farm.

  At the same time, she felt a deep sense of loneliness and isolation. She hadn’t had a visitor in days, and even before that, her chats with the neighbors had been short and anxious.

  Nobody knew what was happening, or what was coming next.

  Reports of the contamination had started in Arizona and New Mexico, but in the days following, there had been rumors that it had spread into Oklahoma. Meredith had yet to see any evidence of it herself, but then again, she wasn’t exactly living in the city.

  Her daily routine consisted of interacting with more animals than people, and that wasn’t saying much.

  Despite the fact that she’d been safe thus far, she was wracked with worry. Ever since the initial reports had come in, she’d been thinking of her sister.

  She’d been calling her every day.

  All attempts at communication to the affected areas had been useless. The phones in the contamination zone were down, and according to the news, even people at the edges of the state had long since lost contact.

  Meredith’s biggest fear, even greater than her own safety, was that she would never speak to Julie or her family again.

  Three years ago she’d gotten into an argument with Julie over the farm, and they hadn’t spoken since. Although Meredith regretted the fight, she’d been stubborn, refusing to make the first move to patch things up.

  Now, she’d do anything to make things better. She just hoped she wasn’t too late.

  A few days prior she’d taken her car into town, ready to drive to Arizona herself if necessary. But according to the townsfolk she’d run into, the government had blocked the roads and highways; any attempts to get through had been prohibited.

 
She’d even heard rumors of people being shot.

  Although she couldn’t see how that could be true, she’d resolved to wait a few more days, hoping to receive word from her sister. Surely the outbreak would come to an end.

  Something had to give. Things couldn’t stay like this forever.

  Could they?

  She sighed at the window. Regardless of everything she’d heard, she was hopeful that her sibling would contact her soon. She wiped under her eyes, fighting back tears, and let her hand fall to her side.

  Almost immediately, something wet hit her fingertips.

  She smiled and looked down at the little dog at her feet. “Hi, Ernie!”

  The animal was licking her hand, and when she said his name, the dog dove at her mid-section. Meredith reached down and scooped him up, caressing the small patch of fur on his head. The dog snorted in appreciation.

  “You’re a good boy,” she told him.

  Outside, the sun had propped itself high in the sky, shining its rays of luminescence onto the crops below. In a few minutes she’d go out and tend them. Tragedy or not, she needed to keep producing, especially if she wanted to eat.

  It was July, and the farm was teeming with vegetables: cucumbers, corn, tomatoes, and eggplant. On a normal day she’d harvest the food and bring it into town to sell at the family food stand. Now she’d been keeping close to home, surviving off the food she’d grown.

  She no longer trusted anything else.

  Meredith set the dog on the floor, ignoring his repeated requests for attention, and resolved to go upstairs and get changed.

  Before she had a chance, she heard a shrill, high-pitched noise from the kitchen, and her heart jumped in her chest.

  Her phone was ringing.

  Who could that be?