“About what?” Dan demanded.
“You must be here for a reason,” Tim said, his speech slurred by his ruined mouth.
“You’re damn right.”
“You want to know something else?”
“I don’t give a shit about what you have to say. You’re just another sick fuck like the rest of them,” Dan spat.
“I was one of the agents.” The man smiled, as if the words were a secret between them.
“I don’t give a shit who you are.” Dan felt his anger boil. He gritted his teeth, prepared to strike. He’d heard enough. He’d take care of this man and then he’d—
“Stop!”
A voice halted him. Dan swiveled. He raised his fists defensively, but stopped when he saw whom the voice belonged to. It was Meredith. She was on her feet, the pistol in her hand. Her face was bloodied, her eyes blackened.
“Get off him, Dan. He’s had enough.”
Dan stared at her a moment, still in the throes of anger. He looked back at the man beneath him. Blood dribbled from Tim’s mouth and over his chin. His eyes were puffed, bloodshot. Meredith motioned to Dan again.
He ran to her side and grabbed hold of her.
“Meredith! Are you all right?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” Meredith replied, her eyes still glued to Tim.
Tim attempted to stand, but winced and fell back. His head smacked the bottom stair. Blood spurted from his wounds; his face was a battered mess.
“Go ahead and do it,” Tim whispered. “I’ve had my fun.”
“I bet you have,” Dan said through clenched teeth.
Dan started toward him, fist raised, but Meredith called him off. She leveled the gun. “You deserve to die for what you did to John,” she said. “We should’ve left you on top of that building.”
“You’re probably right,” Tim said with a smile.
“Meredith, you don’t have to—” Dan started.
Meredith fired. The bullet struck the man’s chest, and Tim’s body spasmed from the impact. She emptied the clip into Tim’s body, his chest jolting with each bullet, as if he was engaged in some primitive dance.
And then he slouched and went still.
Meredith remained in place, the gun still raised, as if Tim would spring back to life and attack them. But he didn’t move. Dan walked over and took her arm, lowering the pistol. Meredith began to cry, as if the reality of what had occurred—of what Tim had done, of losing John—had just hit her. He held onto her for several seconds.
“I need to check on Quinn,” Dan said, his anger morphing to concern.
Dan walked across the living room, stepping over the remnants of the barricade. He peered out the doorway. Quinn was in the black car where he’d left her, her face pressed to the window. She gave him a nervous wave.
His body flooded with relief.
Dan took a last look at Tim. The man was lifeless and still, bearing little resemblance to the man they’d traveled with earlier. Meredith was still watching over him.
“We’ve been here long enough, Meredith,” he said. “He doesn’t deserve another minute.”
39
They took the Ford Falcon. Dan, Meredith, and Quinn packed the usable items from the house—weapons, ammunition, and medical supplies—and departed without delay. Although Dan and Meredith were in tattered condition, they decided to dress their wounds on the road.
None of them desired to stay at the house any longer.
Dan watched the bloody scene recede. In the passenger mirror, he saw the dead men lying facedown in the street, unmoving—another testament to Tim’s legacy of bloodshed. Dan said a silent prayer they’d be the last bodies he’d encounter.
While they’d packed, Meredith had filled him in on the events that had occurred prior to his arrival. Although senseless and brutal, none of them surprised him.
He glanced over his shoulder. Quinn and Ernie met his eyes from the backseat. The little girl was patting the dog, and they stared at him expectantly.
“We don’t have much longer,” Dan promised.
Quinn nodded. After all they’d been through, her trust in him was unshaken, and it was enough to stir Dan’s emotion.
He turned his attention to the road, picking out the signs and markers that had led him back to his companions. The journey was lost in a haze, as if it were a nightmare he’d had, the details lost. But it didn’t matter. He didn’t need to recount the steps. What mattered was that he’d made it.
Meredith and Quinn were alive.
He rummaged through some of the supplies he’d taken from the house, picking out several gauze pads and alcohol. Then he lowered the visor over the passenger seat and took himself in. After a week on the road, Dan felt different, as if he’d been deployed in a war. The man staring back at him had gaunt features and sallow, puffed eyes. Blood stained his cheeks and ran in trails from his forehead.
He could no longer pinpoint the source of the injuries. They were lost in a battle he’d rather forget, remnants of a journey that spanned countless miles.
Since the infection had begun, each day had seemed the equivalent of two. He could no longer recall what it was like to be stable. The road had become a home for him and his daughter, as dangerous as it was. Even the Sanders’, with its promise of safety, had only provided temporary respite. He’d known it couldn’t last forever.
Hopefully, their journey would end soon.
He dabbed at his face, wincing as he glanced over at Meredith. Her features were just as blemished.
“Do you want to pull over?” he asked her. “Clean up?”
“No. I’d rather keep going,” she said.
Meredith’s face was filled with resolve. It was an expression Dan had seen on Julie, back when she’d been alive. He smiled at the resemblance.
His eyes roamed the vehicle. The interior was still in pristine shape, as if he’d imagined the events that had transpired earlier. It was hard to imagine he’d almost died in here. He tried to forget the Ford Falcon had almost been his final resting place.
It was a means to get them to Abbotsville. Nothing more.
The vehicle hummed over the road, renewing his hope with each passing mile. Dan was grateful to be off his feet. He’d pushed himself past the point of exhaustion, and his body begged for reprieve. But he couldn’t sleep. Not until they’d reached their destination.
If there was really help in Abbotsville, he wanted to be awake to see it.
As they traveled closer, they began to see bodies of the dead infected on the road. Dan was reminded of his journey several days prior, when he and Quinn had fled St. Matthews for Oklahoma. The bodies were a grim reminder that the agents had succeeded in their plan.
But they were also a symbol of hope. Things were ending here, too.
Meredith swerved around several fallen bodies, their hands stretched in front of them, as if they’d been waiting for one final passerby to latch onto. None of them moved. They passed several farmhouses, the yards vacant and haunting. No survivors ran out to greet them.
Meredith navigated several more turns, and her eyes fluttered. Dan reached over and touched her arm, startling her.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said. “Just a little dizzy.”
“Do you want me to take over?”
“No. We’re getting close. The town limits are only a few miles away. After that, it’s only a short distance to the center.”
He watched her cling tighter to the steering wheel. As they drove, the houses around them appeared in greater frequency. It was as if the landscape was leading them to safety, one building at a time. Dan fought the inclination to believe it. He was already conjuring backup plans, ways to defend themselves and change course, should they find nothing in A
bbotsville.
He was hopeful but practical.
They’d gone a few more miles when Dan saw a familiar vehicle in the distance. The white, hulking car had been driven off the road and into a patch of grass.
The SUV.
“Look,” he whispered, as if the occupants might hear him. Meredith slowed, but only slightly.
They’d already learned their lesson.
Dan held a rifle at the ready as they passed by. All the vehicle’s doors were open, including the back lift gate. No one was inside. Bloodstains spattered the SUV’s interior. Meredith let her foot off the gas and coasted past. Dan swallowed, thinking of the family who had robbed them. It looked like Ted, Nancy, and Grant were dead.
Karma had already caught up to them.
Several yards past the SUV, he instructed Meredith to stop. He recalled the food they’d had in the vehicle. In all likelihood it was gone, but he’d check in case.
“I’d like to think we’ll find assistance in Abbotsville, but we can’t rely on it,” he said. “I’m going to search for supplies. I’ll be right back.”
Meredith agreed. She stopped.
“Be ready to move,” Dan warned as he disembarked.
He crept back to the SUV and studied the surroundings. Remains were scattered around the grass, but the bulk of the bodies was gone—it looked like they’d been pulled into the nearby field and consumed. The interior of the vehicle was ripped and shredded, the contents strewn everywhere. Dan saw nothing of value inside. The creatures had gotten to the family, and looters had finished the job.
Judging by the dried bloodstains, it looked like the events had transpired much earlier. The infected that had done this were probably as dead as the family they’d feasted on.
He gave a final look at the car and walked back to the Falcon. Meredith, Quinn, and Ernie were waiting. Dan got inside and shut the door.
“Find anything?” Meredith asked hopefully.
“No.” He held up his empty hands.
“Are they dead, Daddy?” Quinn asked from the backseat.
“It looks like it, honey.”
“Even Grant?”
He nodded. Without another word, he locked the door and Meredith accelerated, leaving the gruesome scene behind.
40
It was late morning when they reached the Abbotsville limits. The sun rose higher, coating the horizon yellow. Dan kept a watchful eye on their surroundings, paying close attention to the sky, searching for the chopper.
It’d been over a day since Meredith, John, and Quinn had seen it. Even if it had been here at one time, it was probably long gone. Dan considered the events that had transpired since they’d left the Sanders’.
It felt like they’d ventured out a week ago, rather than a day.
They’d been through so much.
They’d lost so much.
But his hope hadn’t dimmed completely. He couldn’t give up now. He desperately wanted to provide a life for Quinn, to pull her through the darkness and to the other side, whatever that side might contain. Whatever life came after, they’d get to it together.
He was ripped from his thoughts by the sound of Ernie whining. Dan glanced backward. The dog had leapt from Quinn’s arms and was standing on the backseat, ears cocked. Dan swiveled.
“Dan! Look up ahead!”
Meredith was pointing to the end of the road. An intersection had sprung up about a half mile away. Traveling perpendicular to them, like illusions in the sunlight, were the silhouettes of several army vehicles.
The vehicles moved across the road silently, as if they were specters of Dan’s imagination. The sun glinted off the camouflage. Dan watched in disbelief, convinced the vehicles would disappear. He envisioned reaching the intersection to find them stopped or stalled out, the occupants ripped apart and scattered. But the vehicles kept moving. There was no question they were real. With each passing second, they crept farther into the distance, and Dan found his old fear replaced by a new one: what if they lost sight of them? What if they missed their chance?
“Speed up, Meredith!” he shouted.
She was already accelerating. The asphalt hummed beneath the tires as the Falcon flew toward the line of vehicles. The army had passed the intersection, but Meredith swung right, chasing after them. Soon she’d narrowed the gap. Dan’s heart thundered as they got close.
The last car in the procession was a Jeep.
The vehicle stopped, and the soldiers trained their rifles on the approaching car. One of them barked orders for Meredith to halt. She complied. The ensuing silence was as long and unreal as the entire journey had been. The men stared at them without moving. After a moment, one of them spoke.
“Throw your weapons out of the car! Now!”
Dan slowly lowered the rifle he was holding, and he rolled down the window and called out to them. “I’m going to toss my rifle in the street!” He did, and the clatter still made him cringe. In his old life, he’d lived with a weapon in his holster; now he lived with one in his hand. He felt naked without it.
“Is there anything else in the vehicle?” the soldier yelled.
“We have a few more weapons in here.”
“Toss them out. Slowly.”
Dan complied, retrieving them from between the seats and tossing them onto the asphalt. The soldiers instructed them to exit the vehicle, hands raised. Dan swallowed and glanced at his companions. Meredith, Quinn, and Ernie stared at him, their eyes laced with emotion. He smiled.
In spite of his anxiety, safety was closer than ever.
“Here goes nothing,” he said, opening the door.
He stepped out onto the pavement.
“You’re a police officer?”
“Yes, my name is Dan Lowery, and I’m a patrolman in the St. Matthews, Arizona police department.”
“How’d you get to Oklahoma, Officer Lowery?”
“It’s a long story.”
“I’m listening, officer.”
“I traveled in several vehicles, all with my daughter, Quinn.”
“That’s a hell of a long way. Were you alone the whole time?”
Dan paused, thinking back to the people he’d encountered on the way—both the people he’d met, and the people he’d lost. There were too many to name.
Their faces and names were ingrained in his memory.
He launched into his tale. He recounted the stories of his loved ones and co-workers in St. Matthews. Julie. Sheriff Turner. Howard Barrett. Mickey Sonstrom. He told of the other survivors who’d assisted him: Sam, Delta, and Noah. He also spoke of Sam and Delta’s trip to Salt Lake City, and Noah’s journey home to Portland. The events seemed like they’d occurred in some other time, at some place much farther than St. Matthews. It was hard to believe they’d happened to him.
Dan paused for breath. The soldier across from him was wearing camouflage fatigues, holding a rifle in his lap. The name on his outfit said Greene. His eyes were dark and severe.
“And you said Howard Barrett was a member of the agents?”
“Yes.”
“Please continue, Officer Lowery.”
Dan narrated the remainder of their journey, starting with the days after leaving St. Matthews and culminating in their time at the Sanders’. Then he relayed the details of their journey over the past few days, including their battle with Tim Keller and the loss of their friend John. When he was finished, the soldier stared at him, processing what he’d heard.
“Can I ask you a question?” Dan said.
“Go ahead.”
“Have the agents been captured?”
“I can’t give out those details.”
Dan recalled the conversation he’d heard in St. Matthews. “I heard their compound was overrun,” he said. “O
ne of them said as much. I caught word over one of the vehicles in their van when I was staying at the salvage yard in St. Matthews.”
“I’m not at liberty to discuss that, Officer.”
“Please, Sgt. Greene. After all we’ve been through, I need to know that we’re safe. I need to know these people have been eradicated.”
Sgt. Greene folded his hands over his rifle, his eyes wandering Dan’s battered face. After a moment, his expression softened. He spoke.
“I appreciate what you did out there, Officer Lowery. I admire your courage in getting to your sister-in-law, and in keeping your daughter safe. I’m going to share some information with you, but I trust you’ll keep it confidential.”
Dan nodded. Sgt. Greene cleared his throat and continued.
“About a week ago, your companions managed to infiltrate the compound in Salt Lake City. In the process of that raid, they managed to free about a dozen people being held captive there, and they were able to wound or kill many of the agents. Our forces arrived shortly after. We managed to contain the rest of them. There are a few agents still out there, but we feel confident the danger has been defused.”
“Are Sam and Delta still alive?” Dan swallowed, afraid to hear the answer.
“Yes,” Sgt. Greene confirmed. “They made it to a camp outside of Colorado. Last I heard they were still being debriefed. Noah Chambers is there, as well. He was able to corroborate their story.”
Dan’s anxiety lifted.
“What about the infection? Has it been contained?”
“The affected areas are being evacuated, and the contaminated products have been identified. The CDC believes the threat is contained. We’ll keep working to ensure that happens. For now, focus on your family, and getting better.”
Dan felt a swell of relief.
“Where are we heading now?”
“We might have some further questions for you when we reach camp. We’ve set up a temporary base on the other side of Abbotsville. You’ll be transported there along with the other survivors from the area.”
Contamination Box Set [Books 0-7] Page 90
