The group moved silently through the streets, always looking, listening for any screech that would indicate they had been spotted.
“Look! A van, we can all get in!” Matt exclaimed, excited that they would be able to get out of this neighborhood.
“That will work, good job Matt.” Cody gave Matt a pat on the head.
“It’s a wheel chair accessible hospital transport van.” Samuel commented, “What is it doing in this neighborhood and what are the chances that there are keys in it?”
“Who cares, as long as it has keys?” Veronica replied.
As one, the group broke out into a trot. They were almost there; they could see that the sliding door was open through the glass. Rounding the back of the van, Jake and Cody searched the van, making sure that there were no infected or shredded bodies.
“My god, we’re in luck!” Dana breathed, dropping the duffel she was carrying, she slid into the driver’s seat, “and we have keys!”
“Everyone in! Hurry, let’s go!” Lucas pressed.
Quickly, they filed in. Samuel, Matt, and Colby moved to the back, sliding onto the bench seats. Lucas lifted the duffels off Caleb’s shoulder, grabbed the bag Dana dropped and shoved them toward the boys in the back.
“Beth....” Jake was interrupted by an echo through the streets.
“Get away from us!” a female voice raged.
Veronica looked at Cody than Jake, “People are out there, we have to help.”
Cody dropped his head, knowing he wasn’t going to be able to stop her from coming with, “Samuel, keep Matt and Colby safe. Dana, stay in the driver’s seat. Caleb, keep a lookout. We’ll be right back.”
“Bethann, keep an….” Veronica started.
“No way are you going out there without me.” Bethann crossed her arms and squinted at Veronica, “I’m not that hurt, I can run and shoot if I have to.”
Veronica knew stubborn. Bethann was a mirror image of herself, how could she refuse?
Veronica nodded her head, “Stay close.”
Cody, Jake, and Lucas reached into several bags and started pulling out knives and extra clips for their guns.
“I know I don’t have to tell you this but don’t wander off, stay quiet.” Jake winked at the boys when they both stuck out their tongues and smiled.
“You got it Uncle Jake.” Matt quipped.
Surprised, Bethann smiled, “Uncle, huh?”
“Yeah, Colby and me decided that you all are our family now, Aunts and Uncles.” Matt started to smile again when a yell bellowed forth again, “Come back fast.” Matt whispered at their backs as they took off down the street.
Slipping through yards and between houses, the small group followed the sounds of groaning right to the back of a house where four infected had cornered a woman and young girl.
“Stay away!” the older woman grunted as she swung a piece of broken fence post in front of her, managing to hit the closest infected and knocking it to the ground.
Cody and Jake both pulled their hunting knives from their sheaths and slowly made their way to the back of the infected group. They watched as an older woman stood strong, protecting the girl.
The woman was intent on swatting at the reaching hands when the girl yelled out, “Mamma look!” and pointed a finger at Cody and Jake. The interruption was just enough for one of the infected to reach out and grab the older woman by the wrist, biting into her forearm.
“AAAHHH!” she yelled, kicking out to dislodging the infected and losing a good chunk of her arm.
Cody and Jake had slipped their knives into the two infected in the back of the group, their approach unnoticed by the commotion of the woman and girl.
“You will not have my daughter you disgusting things!” she grunted as she bashed the skull of the creature that bit her.
Jake reach the infected man she had knocked over, cracking the temple with the tip of his knife, but he was too late to prevent the fierce attack on the woman’s leg, forcing her to the ground.
“MAMA!” the girl sobbed, “Are you ok?”
The older woman looked at the group that approach and saw the women, the fear she had slowly replaced by acceptance.
“Baby girl, these good people are going to take you on a trip. Mama has to stay and pack a few things but I will catch up with you, ok?” the older woman held onto her daughters face and wiped away her tears.
“I don’t want to go anywhere without you, mama.” The girl whispered back.
The woman moaned, removing her hands from her daughters face to clutch her stomach. “Daisy, you have to go. Mama isn’t feeling well and I don’t want to make you sick.”
Bethann walked over to the young girl, “Hello, my name is Bethann. What is your name?” Taking hold of the young girl’s hand and leading her away from her mother, Lucas following to keep them both safe.
Cody, Jake, and Veronica kneeled around the older woman.
“I know what is going to happen.” The woman wheezed, tears streaming down her face, “I watched my husband get bitten and then turn into one of those things.”
Veronica reached out and grabbed the woman’s hand, “What can we do for you?”
The woman curled into a ball, her grip tightening in Veronica’s hand, and released a stream of vomit into the grass beside her.
“Take care of my girl,” she panted, the pain making her clench her teeth. “Her name is Daisy Walker, she is 9 years old. She loves butterflies and her favorite color is purple.” The woman closed her eyes as diarrhea poured from her body, soaking through her dress to form a puddle beneath her legs, “She likes to draw and prefers fruit over candy. She can’t protect herself, can you do that, can you protect her?”
Veronica covered her mouth and nose at the stench of the fluids. Jake stood, stepping away from the liquid pooling on the ground.
“We’ll do everything we can to take care of Daisy, we promise.” Cody replied, still kneeling next to the woman as her body jerked with another round of vomit. Taking Veronica’s hand, he started to pull her away.
“Wait. Just one more thing, if you don’t mind.” She begged.
“Yes, anything.” Jake replied.
“Kill me.” The woman implored.
The request shocked them. They never considered the possibility of having to kill someone still human. Looking at the woman clutching her stomach, they couldn’t help understanding, they too wouldn’t want to be one of the infected.
“Alright, I’ll do it.” Veronica offered.
“What! NO! You will not, I will.” Cody argued.
Veronica turned her head to Cody, “I know you want to protect us all, but there are some things that each of us is going to have to do and you may not be there to help. Besides, there are a few moments after death before she comes back. I will do it then, I won’t be taking a human life.”
The older woman’s body relaxed in relief, pain slowly vanishing, “Don’t let my daughter see.” She whispered, “She won’t understand.”
“Jake, will you please help Lucas and Bethann distract Daisy?” Veronica asked as she felt the strength slipping from the woman’s hands.
Moment by moment, Veronica and Cody watched as the life slipped from the woman’s eyes, the pupils enlarging to cover the entire white of the eyes. Veronica reached over and took the knife from Cody’s hand. Silently, she lifted the back of the woman’s head and placed the hilt of the knife on the ground and the tip at the base of the skull. With little force, she pushed the woman’s head down, allowing the knife to slip through the soft tissue and into the brain. With the promise done, Veronica reached under and removed the knife, gently laying her head on the ground. Wiping away her tears, she wiped the black sludge from the brain on the grass then handed the knife back to Cody.
“You did good.” Cody said, taking Veronica’s hand and leading her back to their group.
“I didn’t even ask her what her name was.” Veronica whispered
“Now we know where that smell comes from.” Cody comment
ed, “That was bad with one person, no wonder it is so strong with more. We need to keep moving, Dana and Caleb must be worried by now.”
Cody held Veronica’s hand as they walked back to Daisy. They stopped and knelt down, Veronica taking one of Daisy’s hands.
“Daisy, we need to go meet the rest of our group now. We will do everything we can to keep you safe.” Veronica explained.
Daisy squeezed Veronica’s hand then looked past her toward the back of the house she was hiding behind with her mom, “Will my mom be coming too?”
Veronica wiped the tear that slipped down Daisy’s face, “I’m sorry sweetie. She can’t come with us right now.”
“It’s because she’s dead, isn’t it?” Daisy’s chin started to wobble as she took deep breaths.
“Yes, I’m sorry.” Cody responded before Veronica could.
“Will she be one of them?” Daisy questioned.
“No.” Veronica assured, “But we need to leave now before any more infected people find us.”
Daisy nodded her head, slipping her hand from Veronica. Daisy stare off toward the back of the house where her mother fought to keep her safe. Veronica didn’t push, she let Daisy have her moment of solitude. It isn’t easy leaving when you don't’ get to say goodbye. Bethann and Lucas took the lead with Veronica walking beside Daisy. Jake and Cody took the rear, making sure to keep a lookout for any danger.
Chapter 30
“Where are they?” Dana murmured.
“They’re fine.” Caleb assured, “Hey, do you think the van will start? We didn’t even try.”
“Do you think we should try? Risk the noise without everyone here?” Dana looked around, not able to see any infected but worried that the noise would draw them in.
“Ok, yeah, maybe your right.” Caleb agreed. Caleb fidgeted with the wrappings around his leg. Worried about his friends, mad that he couldn’t be there to help.
All five sat in the van quietly. Watching for any movement, scared that their friends won’t return.
“So, Ian huh?” Caleb smiled, poking fun Dana.
Dana dropped her head to the steering wheel, “Don’t remind me.” She cocked her head to the side, keeping her forehead on the wheel, “I can’t believe that it took the end of the world to see what a jerk he really is.”
Caleb smiled, looked down at his hands, “You weren’t the only one to fall for his tricks.” He looked back over at Dana, “Veronica fell for the lines too.”
“I know and she is such an awesome woman.” Dana smiled, “That makes me feel a bit better.” After a moment, Dana’s smiled faded, “She’s been quiet since Ralph.” Dana lifted her head, peeked back at Matt and Colby. “She knew he was a jerk but trusted him to have a weapon. I guess I would have too.” Dana looked Caleb in the eye, “I would never have thought that he would purposefully, cruelly choose to shoot someone, to shoot you, to save his own life.”
Caleb held Dana’s look, glad that pity wasn’t staring back at him, “She blames herself even though I don’t. We were in a bad situation, we needed to be armed.” Caleb placed his hand over the bandage on his thigh, “Ralph made the choice to save us by sacrificing himself.” Caleb took a deep breath and held it for as long as he could, “He didn’t even know me. He didn’t know what kind of person I am and he chose me over himself.”
Dana reached over and placed her hand on Caleb’s, “Like knows like. You chose to become a police officer, to be there to help anyone in need.” Dana offered, “We will do everything to find his son because that is the kind of people we are.” Dana soothed.
Caleb turned his hand to meet Dana’s palm, locking his fingers with hers. They sat silently, hands held tight, thinking about what would have been if not for the help of Ralph.
“How long has it been?” Samuel questioned, breaking the silence. “Anybody know the time?” Samuel scratched his head when no one answered. “Guess time really doesn’t matter anymore.” He muttered. Samuel stretched his arm out, doing his best to determine if he broke anything. He sat in his rear seat, staring out of the window. Half hoping all of this was just some nightmare and half hoping to see another infected, just not too close. He dragged his good hand all over his pockets looking for his phone but he knew where it was. Sitting in a pile, a bloody soggy mess on the locker room floor. His chest hurt every time he thought of Dennis and the events of this morning. God, he couldn’t believe it was just this morning when life as he knew it came to an end. He wasn’t even be overly dramatic, as Dr. Hollowman would put it. It really is the end of the world, or at least North and South America. Thinking on it, Samuel supposed people could try to fly out on private planes or on their boats, spreading the infection to the other continents.
“Why aren’t there any dogs barking?” Matt asked, nose pressed against the glass. “I would think that they would be barking at all of those people or at least running from them.”
Colby looked over at Matt, thinking about what he said. “Maybe they ran off?”
“Or got eaten.” Caleb offered, shrugging when Dana dropped her jaw.
Matt and Colby turned toward Caleb. Matt scrunched up his face, “I hope not. Tha...”
“Shut the doors, close the windows, and get down!” Samuel whispered harshly.
Everyone looked at Samuel as he rushed to snap the windows shut with his good arm.
“What’s the...” the smell hit Caleb just as Samuel pulled the van door closed as quietly as he could.
The pack of infected was at least 15 large. The pack was new, the infected still managing to maintain considerable mobility. They jerked along, heads tilted in the air, hands scraping at each other as they hunted the street.
“If it weren’t for the way they walk, I wouldn’t know that they were infected.” Dana whispered. “Why do they look like that?”
“They must be the ones that survived the initial rampage.” Caleb commented, “I don’t know how but they look almost normal from here.”
“How far away are we? Do you think it’s less than a mile? Shouldn’t we get down?” Dana questioned.
“I’m afraid that if we move it will attract attention.” Caleb breathed back.
A shriek sounded from behind them, making all of them jump.
Hearts pounding, Samuel, Matt, and Colby dropped down to lie on the van floor. Dana and Caleb had to scoot down as far as they could on the seat, the foot space not allowing any room to get lower.
“Did they see us?” Dana croaked, fear making her voice crack.
Caleb held his breath, stuck his head over the dashboard, and saw one of the infected look in their direction. Caleb gasped and tried to get lower, the injury to his leg making it hard to move. Caleb adjusted his position, trying to get lower still, “I can’t tell if they can see us or if they stopped because of the shriek, maybe we’re far enough away.”
Dana peaked up over the steering wheel. The infected man stood in the street staring at the van as the broken and mangled bodies brushed passed him. He stood there, with his head cocked to the side, nose in the air. Suddenly it broke into a run, several infected following its lead.
“Oh God! It’s RUNNING!” Dana bellowed.
“It might be time to start the van now!” Caleb barked as he slapped his hands on the dashboard.
Dana wavered between the fear of the incoming infected and attracting more with the sound of the engine turning.
“Please Dana, GO!” Matt begged.
Dana popped up out of her position and turned the key. The engine popped, choked, and then caught. Dana let out a triumphant yell, then put the car in drive.
“Go Dana!” Caleb cried as the infected got closer, “Ram them!”
Dana held her breath as she punched the gas pedal peeling out. She jerked the wheel hard to avoid the small group that was rushing at them.
“Get in your seats!” Dana yelled at the three on the ground, “Put the belts on, this might get rough!”
Dana veered again, managing to clip one of the infected wi
th the driver side fender, sending the already broken woman into the gutter as she jumped a curb to cut across the lawn of a corner lot.
“Samuel, why aren’t they screeching?” Caleb questioned as Dana tried to pick up her speed.
“I don’t even know where I’m going! What if we miss Veronica, Cody, and the rest? What do we do if more come?” Dana cried, fear pushing her to drive faster then she should.
Caleb ignored Dana’s questions, instead concentrating on the horde gathering all around them, “That group didn’t respond to the shriek like they did last night. What’s going on? Are they changing?” Caleb stared at Samuel, expecting him to have all of the answers.
Samuel watched as the small group got larger, infected were drawn to the sound of the engine. Fear mounted as several infected closed in on the rear of the van, coming out of the hedges and behind hidden corners. Samuel scrambled through his mental encyclopedia, trying to figure out how they could have changed their behavior so fast. “Competition! They aren’t screeching because they don’t want to inform other infected that they found fresh meat!” Samuel turned back to Caleb excitement from figuring out the reason shining in his eyes.
“But we heard a shriek?” Caleb sputtered.
“That could have been a lone infected looking for a pack.” Samuel suggested.
“Well, Shit! How are we supposed to know they see us if they don’t screech anymore!” Caleb answered back.
“I don’t know any other reason why their communication would change, if that is what they were doing. It really is all a guess.” Samuel responded exasperated.
“There’s more! Where are they coming from?” Matt screamed, “What are we going to do?”
Dana drove through the streets aimlessly, trying her best to lose infected but failing miserably as more appeared around every corner. Tears started to fill her eyes when she saw the wall of infected she was headed toward.
“Can we barrel through them?” Dana asked Caleb.
Dana looked at Caleb. He sat stiff in his seat, knuckles white as he gripped the dashboard.
“Turn right here! Through the yards!” Samuel bellowed, “I think I see them.”
Infection Series (Book 1): Preservation Page 13
