Surviving Rage | Book 1

by Arellano, J. D.

  “Shit.” Looking forward, Daniel didn’t see a way around the vehicles that blocked the ramp that led from the 215 North to the 10 East freeway. The ramp itself was poorly designed, requiring two lanes to merge on a downhill curve, forcing people to brake just prior to entering a typically fast-moving freeway.

  A semi-truck had attempted to make the turn at too high of a rate of speed and had tipped over onto its side, blocking the lower portion of the ramp. A determined driver had attempted to drive their black Cadillac CTS sedan around the semi, managing to get the front of the vehicle over the raised curb and onto the dirt and rock covered shoulder before getting stuck. It had been left there, the doors of the car hanging open. Multiple cars and trucks were lined up behind the mess, all empty save a few with dead and mangled bodies inside, victims of attack from the infected.

  Daniel maneuvered the Jeep onto the shoulder, easily climbing the curb and traversing the uneven shoulder. Driving along the shoulder, he stopped just in front of the Cadillac.

  Serafina still wasn’t talking to him, but she was actively involved in keeping an eye out for trouble. When he looked in her direction, however, she looked away, refusing to make eye contact.

  Putting the Jeep in Park, Daniel spoke to the group. “Okay, here’s the plan. We’re going to use the winch to pull the Cadillac out of the way. It’ll be slow and steady, so we’ll be here for a bit.” He tapped the instrument panel near the fuel gage. It showed just above a quarter tank. “We need to fill up the gas, too. I’ve got two five-gallon jugs attached to the back. We can use those to fill, but I don’t want to leave them empty in case of emergency, so we’ll need to siphon gas from these cars.” He gestured out the window towards the mass of cars and trucks around them.

  “I’m thinking one person up near the semi, looking forward, one back up the ramp a bit, looking behind us. One person hooking up the winch and guiding it, one person driving the Jeep, and one person siphoning gas. Thoughts?”

  Serafina stared ahead as she responded. “I’ll drive the Jeep, you connect the winch.”

  Daniel nodded. “My thoughts exactly. Brenna, you’ll be near the semi. I’ll be close, so I can back you up. Ashley, I need you back up the ramp, keeping an eye out. Paul, that leaves you to siphon gas. I’m assuming you haven’t done it before.”

  Paul looked at him, his face showing optimism. “Is it like draining a fish tank? I’ve done that.”

  “Actually, yeah, pretty close. Just gotta get the timing right, otherwise you won’t get that taste out of your mouth for a while.” Daniel grinned. “That helps. One less thing we need to take time setting up.”

  Serafina turned in her seat and looked back at Ashley and Brenna. “Girls, let’s review how to use the guns, okay?”

  “Okay.” The girls replied, reaching down and taking the guns out from where they’d been kept.

  Daniel grabbed his Glock and Mossberg Shotgun and got out of the Jeep, surveying the area again. He nodded to the others and they got out, stretching as they did. He walked back to the rear of the vehicle and quickly unlatched the two fuel cans, leaving them in the brackets. Backing up, he positioned himself in a spot that allowed him to see in both directions. While Serafina showed the girls the basics of gun handling and firing, Paul emptied the two gas cans into the Jeep’s fuel tank. Daniel told him where to find the hose, and the teenager grabbed it quickly.

  “Which car should I take gas from?” Paul asked, looking at Daniel.

  “Try that old truck. Should have a big tank.”

  After several minutes, Serafina finished showing the girls what they needed to know and they split up, each heading to their assigned position as their stepmother got back into the Jeep. She rolled down the window and Daniel explained how to release the tension in the winch so that he could unwind it and connect it to the Cadillac’s frame. Daniel waited until she switched the winch to ‘free spool’ and looked back at him before he spoke again.

  “I’m sorry.” He said, looking into her eyes. “I was careless. It won’t happen again.”

  Serafina stared back at him, tears forming in her eyes. “I was afraid I wouldn’t get there in time.” She blinked away the tears, setting her jaw with determination. “Don’t do that again.” She turned and looked forward, not wanting him to see her weakness.

  “I won’t.” He reached up and grabbed her arm. “I promise.”

  “You better.” Serafina took a deep breath, regaining control over her emotions. “Kay. Let’s get this done so we can get outta here.”

  “Sounds good.” Daniel walked around to the front of the Jeep and took hold of the winch. He dragged the synthetic rope forward to where the car sat. Setting the shotgun on top of the car, and secured the hook on the frame of the vehicle, back near the rear. He jogged back over to the Jeep. “You’re going to pull it back until it’s straight, then I’ll have you disengage the winch again and I’ll reposition the hook so that you can pull it straight back. It’ll be easy at that point.”

  “Got it.”

  Together, they moved the Cadillac out of the way, using the power of the Jeep. Daniel was again thankful that they had the big vehicle and not some smaller commuter car.

  When they were done and the path forward was clear, Serafina got out and moved back to the passenger seat while Daniel signaled for the girls to rejoin them. They jogged back, each carrying the gun at their side, pointed down as they’d been taught.

  “Safety on?” He asked.

  “Yep.” Ashley responded, nodding.

  “Definitely.” Brenna added.

  “Good job. Go ahead and put ‘em back and get in. We’re done here.”

  Paul walked over, carrying both gas cans. He set them down near the Jeep and reached up to wipe his mouth. “Got a mouthful.”

  Daniel grinned and lifted the cans, setting each into their bracket and latching them in place. “Need a soda. The carbonation will help get that taste out of your mouth. Maybe when we stop we can find you one.”

  “Okay.” Paul waited until Daniel was done, then opened the gate to the Jeep and put the hose back before closing it and getting back into the car, closing the door behind him.

  Daniel looked around once more, wondering if they had time to search the nearby vehicles for anything of value. Somewhere nearby, he heard an animalistic scream, filled with rage, followed by gunshots, then more screaming, this time a man’s voice, filled with terror.

  Daniel jumped back in the Jeep, put it in gear, and drove away. In the mirror, he saw a man backpedaling, firing a handgun at a group of infected people in vain. The bullets were either off the mark or simply ineffective. The group rushed at him, burying him under their mass as his gun clicked empty.

  The family drove in silence as the reality of what they’d seen sunk in. Where before there had only been one infected person violently attacking others, this had been a pack. If the infected adopted a pack mentality, it was unlikely that they’d be able to fend off more than a small number.

  Daniel stared ahead, closely examining the road while he drove around stopped vehicles. While the Jeep’s tires were rugged, he didn’t want to risk getting a flat, not here where the infected were roaming the freeways. Realizing the family needed a distraction, he glanced at the clock. It was only eleven a.m., but he didn’t see them stopping for any reason any time soon. Aside from the infected, he was also concerned about the area they’d soon be going through: San Bernardino . The city had recently been recognized for the highest murder rate per capita, and the current lack of law enforcement was unlikely to make the situation any better.

  “Sera, can you tell Paul and the girls where the things are for lunch back there? I don’t want to stop, so maybe they can reach over and grab stuff for us to eat.”

  “Good idea,” she responded, turning in her seat and giving the teenagers the details. “Only one person out of their seatbelt at a time, though, OK? Can’t have you all bouncing around back there if your Dad needs to get us out of a jam in a hurry.”<
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  Ashley, Brenna, and Paul worked together to grab granola bars, protein bars, apples, and bottles of water. The family ate in silence as Daniel continued making his way through the mess that was the 10 East Freeway, with Serafina opening Daniel’s protein bar, granola bar, and bottle of water so that he could stay focused on driving.

  Moving the Jeep in between the abandoned and disabled cars, Daniel once again was forced to make use of the shoulder, driving up onto the gravel and dirt to bypass particularly blocked sections of the freeway. At one point he kept the Jeep in four-wheel drive and drove on the shoulder for nearly a mile before he had to exit the freeway, cross the intersecting street, and re-enter the freeway using the ramp on the other side.

  Progress was slow, but steady, and the family was liking their chances of making it to Big Bear before nightfall. Daniel remained on edge, his eyes constantly searching as he looked ahead and behind, using the rear and side mirrors. Serafina helped him, watching for potential threats ahead and continually checking the map for possible side streets to follow should the freeway and shoulder simply become impassable.

  Driving in the far left lane and partially on the shoulder, Daniel was chewing his protein bar still looking ahead when Serafina suddenly leaned forward.

  “Did you - ?”

  “What is it?” He asked, tensing up.

  “I thought I saw a gleam of something shiny up there on the overpass, but when I looked again, it was gone.”

  Daniel looked ahead. Their exit, the 210 North, was just over a mile and a half away, and up ahead the road cleared on the right as the majority of drivers had stayed left, set on heading East, out of the city. Passing under the overpass, he hoped they’d make it to the open lanes without trouble. “Keep an eye on the on ramp after we pass. We don’t want any surprises.”

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Serafina replied, twisting in her seat to look back. The girls and Paul did the same.

  Using his left hand, Daniel reached down to the webbed pocket on the door, making sure his Glock 19 was still there. His right elbow rubbed against the Mossburg shotgun as he drove, giving him a small measure of comfort. Still, he felt like he’d used all the luck he could possibly have during the car chase two nights prior.

  “I see something!” Ashley cried out from the back seat.

  “Where?” His wife asked.

  “There, at the top of the ramp, on the right!”

  “I see it, too!” Brenna added.

  Serafina lifted the binoculars to her eyes, looking at where they pointed. She reacted almost immediately. “Shit!”

  “What is it?” Daniel asked, instinctively adding more speed, although the little he added only brought them to 20 miles an hour. The opening up on the left was still about half a mile away.

  “I see two, no, three people on motorcycles coming down the ramp.”

  “Shit. This can’t be good.”

  “No, I don’t think it can.” Serafina continued watching the riders as they sped down the ramp, slowing as they entered the freeway. Riding on suped up ‘crotch rockets,’ the three riders were all dressed head to toe in black leather, their heads covered in black helmets with dark tinted visors. Their smaller size allowed them to easily cruise through the vehicles that made much of the road unavailable to their Jeep. “How much longer before you can pick up speed?”

  Looking ahead, Daniel guessed the opening in the lanes was still over a quarter mile away, and he told his wife as much.

  Watching the motorcycles move through the wreckage deftly, she knew they’d catch up to the Jeep in less than that. “Kids, get down back there.” Setting the binoculars aside, she reached into the door pocket and withdrew her Glock, ejecting the magazine, checking it, and slamming it back home, her motions smooth and efficient.

  When the motorcycles got to within a few car lengths, one sped ahead, pulling up alongside them. It sped up to Serafina’s window, keeping pace with them. The rider turned towards her, his face obscured by the dark visor, and motioned for her to roll down her window. Serafina looked the rider over and, seeing no visible weapon, complied. As she pressed the lever to roll down the window, Daniel moved his arm over the shotgun, hiding it from view.

  Over the road noise from the Jeep and the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14 motorcycle, she heard the masked rider shout, “Pull over!”

  Serafina shook her head. “Sorry, we can’t do that!” She shouted back at the man.

  As they approached that last few vehicles that blocked them from the openness of the right lanes, a silver SUV and a dark green Dodge Ram truck, Daniel looked over at the man. He saw the motorcycle rider look back towards his fellow riders and make a gesture with his hand. As the rider brought his head back around, his right hand slid off the handlebar and down towards his waist, out of view of Daniel and Serafina. In that split second, Daniel identified the man’s actions as a threat and responded immediately, slamming on the brakes and turning into the man. The rider saw the Jeep closing in and braked hard, trying to slide out from the pincer move Daniel had created using the Jeep and the stationary Dodge Ram truck. His efforts were negated by Daniel’s hard braking, which nearly matched the deceleration of the motorcycle, and the Jeep slammed into him, crushing him against the truck. The man and his cycle were dragged forward, pinned between the two vehicles as the Jeep slowed dramatically, the brakes of the Jeep fighting to stop the five thousand plus pound vehicle.

  Breaking past the truck, the motorcycle and rider spun off behind them as the Jeep skidded along the pavement, coming to a hard stop that sent the entire family jerking forward against their seatbelts before being thrown back against the seats.

  Looking in the mirror, Daniel saw the two other riders slow, checking on their leader as they approached his prone form on the pavement. The leather jacket and pants the man wore were shredded, ripped and torn by the twin surfaces of the two heavy vehicles and by the sliding and tumbling he’d done on the pavement.

  Daniel slammed on the gas, peeling out as the tires struggled to keep up with the powerful acceleration provided by the Jeep’s 285 horsepower engine. The Jeep lurched forward, accelerating quickly for such a heavy vehicle, and the family lurched again in their seats.

  “Did you really just?” Serafina asked, stunned.

  “Yes. I did.” He glanced in the mirror and saw the motorcycle riders finish circling their leader. They each accelerated, the front tires of their bikes lifting off the ground momentarily as the powerful engine rocketed them forward. “These are not good guys,” Daniel said, looking forward again. He was grateful to see a long stretch of mostly empty highway ahead of them. While he couldn’t out run them, being forced to go slow would make them sitting ducks. At least this way they’d have maneuverability. “You kids stay down in the back!” He yelled, his hands gripping the steering wheel hard, turning his knuckles white in the process.

  “Honey, look!” Serafina shouted from the passenger seat, pointing.

  Up ahead a long, low old model Chevy Monte Carlo was driving down the off ramp, heading against the traffic pattern. As it reached the bottom, it positioned itself across the road, aiming to block their path.

  “Shit!” Daniel glanced down at the speedometer and saw that they were already at eighty miles per hour and still accelerating. He took his foot off the gas, but didn’t brake. Coming to a stop would be the equivalent of a deathwish, but plowing into the other car at eighty wouldn’t be much better. Looking to the left, he saw that the center media was open, but very rocky. Hitting that at a high rate of speed would be dangerous at best. The ramp wasn’t an option either, since he had no idea what would be at the top or on the other side, where the actual on-ramp was. Stealing another peek at the rear view mirror, he saw the motorcycles were almost upon them and still accelerating.

  ‘Center it is,’ he thought to himself, slamming on the brakes again, angling towards the center median. ‘No way we’ll make it cleanly,’ he thought, fighting for control of the vehicle as it slid down the hi
ghway, closing on the parked car.

  And they didn’t.

  The steel tubing and steel plated front bumper plowed into the front left corner of the car, crushing the metal and sending glass flying in all directions. The car was pulled sideways to the left, blocking the path directly in front of the motorcycle on the left. As the Jeep skidded onto the median, sending dirt and rocks into the air as it slid, the second motorcycle swung wide, avoiding the damaged car.

  Over the noise of the Jeep’s skid across the rough surface, Daniel heard men shouting profanity, accompanied by gunshots. “Stay down!!” He shouted as the bullets took out the rear passenger side window in a shower of glass.

  “Fuck!!” Serafina screamed, holding onto the handle above the glove compartment.

  As the Jeep slowed, Daniel was able to regain control and began applying gas, turning the wheel to the right to climb the gentle slope that led back to the pavement.

  Bouncing left and right as they made their way back onto the road, the family held onto whatever they could to keep from hitting the interior walls of the Jeep.

  Seeing the second motorcycle zooming towards them, Daniel again jammed his foot on the gas, hearing the engine’s loud roar climb in pitch as it worked to meet the demands he was placing on it. The Jeep sped forward, its tires humming loudly on the pavement.

  For all of the Jeep’s power, it was no match for the motorcycle’s acceleration, and within seconds the rider was coming up alongside them on the passenger side.

  “Paul! This is your time. Lower that window and when the bike is next to you, you shoot, got it?” Seeing the young man reaching down into the door pocket, Daniel used the control in the front to lower the window next to the teenager.

  As the motorcycle approached, Paul looked at the gun in his hand with confusion, though he’d been taught exactly what to do by Daniel less than 36 hours before.

  Seeing the motorcycle nearing the rear bumper, Daniel watched the rider pull an uzi-style machine gun from his right side, bring it across his body, and prepare to fire as he closed in on the passenger side windows.