by White, A. L.
Lori and Walter were missing from the room. Charlie jumped out of bed and went out to the main room where he could see the kitchen area. They were nowhere to be found and the door leading back to the barn was still locked from the inside, exactly how he had left it last night.
“What’s all the excitement, Charlie?” Boo asked.
Charlie spun around on Boo and replied, “I think something has happened to Lori and Walter.”
“Lori woke me up around midnight, said Walter wasn’t feeling well sleeping by all of us. They were going to sleep in the RV and could I lock the door behind them.” Boo replied.
Charlie calmed himself down knowing that the barn was not as secure as the bunker but fairly secure nonetheless.
“Go on and check on them if it will make you feel any better.” Boo said motioning towards the stairs.
“I think I will Boo,” Charlie replied as he headed up the stairs towards the steel hatch.
Once out in the barn the chill slapped him hard and he looked around for signs of Lori. The soft glow of a nightlight in the RV caught his attention. Rapping on the door he called out to Lori and Walter with no response. The door creaked as he opened it and he stuck his head in to find Walter smiling down at him from a bed that earlier had been the table.
“Good morning, Charlie,” Lori said from the rear someplace.
Charlie climbed into the RV and sat next to Walter and said. “What made you two come out here in a cold barn to sleep?”
“Lori was having problems with the smell down there.” Walter said.
Charlie didn’t need any more explanation than that. More than once it had been obvious that the part of Lori that was…that was something else…tried to emerge when certain smells were too strong. Crammed into the lower area must have been too much to take.
Lori came out by Charlie holding a map. “Good morning, Charlie. Do you know if everyone else is up yet?”
Taking the map, Charlie could see the line running along the route that Bob had laid out for the girls to follow had now been joined by an alternate route separating at Clarksville. “I think they we all starting to move around after I made a little noise.”
“Then we should go and talk to them.” Lori passed by Charlie on her way to the bunker entrance. Walter took hold of Charlie’s hand as he passed, pulling him along.
There were words that Charlie felt needed to be said between him and Lori. Words that were better said for now without the whole group being part of the discussion. If Lori and Walter couldn’t stay in the same room as the others, then what did that hold for any future involving them? When Lori felt those feelings that caused her to abandon the warmth of the school back in Rivers Crossing and now here in the bunker, what was it exactly she felt? Charlie felt he needed to know.
“I see that Charlie found you two safe and sound?” Boo asked as Lori entered the main room.
Noticing that everyone had been awakened while he performed his search for Lori and Walter, Charlie said. “Sorry for waking everyone up this morning.”
“That’s fine man, not knowing just how much life I have left kinda makes me want to not waste it sleeping.” Jermaine replied with a welcoming smile.
“I am glad you’re all up.” Lori said. “I was looking over Bob’s map this morning and I think we can save some time if we bypass Terryville and head to Warm Springs, here.” Laying the map on the table, she pointed to the red circle she had drawn around Warm Springs.
“I thought the plan was to follow the map all the way down.” Charlie replied.
“I think the map is a guide to follow more than it is something etched in stone.” Lori replied. “If we bypass Terryville, we cut over three hundred miles off the trip.”
“I am good with that plan; further south means warmer temperatures.” Jermaine replied.
“Boo?” Charlie asked.
“I think between the supplies we have and what is here we would be good. There are enough emergency food packets here to feed us for a good while and more than enough extra firepower and ammo. I think we could safely bypass Terryville.” Boo replied.
Charlie looked over at Virginia and the lads questioningly.
“We go wherever Lori goes.” Virginia replied.
Lori clapped her hands together and stated. “Then it is decided. I think we should start getting ready to leave while it’s early.”
“Maybe now is a good time to talk about what we found last night then. Before we head back out into the open.” Boo said glancing over to Charlie.
The group had turned off before getting too close to the cars parked in the middle of the street. All the others had seen were the cars and what looked like bodies. Charlie had seen it up close and personal. It caused him more concern than it had the others. Lori, Virginia and Jermaine had become accustomed to bodies laying out in the open long before reaching Rivers Crossing. After a while the bodies all started to look the same, they became inured; sensitivity to that sort of thing, a moment’s hesitation, it could cost them their lives.
“The people by the cars last night were executed.” Boo stated looking at the faces of the others.
“Zombies?” Jermaine asked.
“Didn’t look like it to me.” Charlie replied, “The dogs didn’t act like they were either.”
“Who do you think did it?” Lori asked.
“Looked like military boots to me, could have been some kind of militia though.” Boo replied. “Thing is…” Boo started to say, then waited to finish when certain that everyone was listening. “Thing is that, if I go by the tire tracks in the snow of all the vehicles involved, it was definitely an ambush.”
The room became silent while everyone felt the weight of the words Boo had just uttered.
“On top of slow zombies and two-point-zeros hunting folks, now we have people hunting people?” Jermaine asked.
“For whatever reason it looks like someone out there is.” Boo replied.
“Supplies?” Lori asked.
“It didn’t look like anything was taken from the cars. Hard to say with any amount of certainty.” Charlie stated.
“Last night there was talk about lessening the driving load by leaving my truck behind. I think instead of that, we should keep my truck and use it to scout out ahead of us.” Boo stated.
“Like you did coming here?” Virginia asked.
“Yes, just like that Virginia. I will drive out about ten or fifteen miles ahead of the rest of you. If anything happens you take off in another direction if possible.”
Lori shook her head no. “We will take turns scouting with another person and one of the dogs in the truck.” Pausing to make sure that everyone understood what she was saying. “Bob had walkie talkies back there with the first aid kits. We can scout ahead as far as the range reaches on them.”
Seeing that once Lori had made her mind up there would be no changing, Boo settled for the revised scouting plan. He would take the first scout, one of the dogs and whoever volunteered to ride shotgun with him. It wouldn’t be all that bad, he thought to himself. At least he would have someone to talk to and another set of eyes watching the surrounding area
***
Megan stood up with all her might, slamming the metal lid open. Like thunder, the sound of the metal lid slamming down against the side of the dumpster echoed through the deserted town. Standing there with sweat pouring off of her, she held her spear pointed at the man. The person behind the voice smiled back at her from a boyish, clean shaven face that looked odd with the large hulking body that it sat atop.
“There now, girl, isn’t that better?” he asked. “Now then, what should I call you?”
Megan tried to take the surroundings in and find a way out if she needed it. If she could get out of the dumpster in one fluid motion, there was no doubt in her mind that she could outrun him. She had always been faster than everyone else she knew.
“Would you prefer that I just make up a name for you?” he asked.
“Megan, Megan L
ewiston.” Megan replied.
Turning his back to her, the man sat back against another dumpster and asked. “How long has it been since you were bitten?”
“A few days, maybe a week.” Megan replied as she lowered herself to the ground and sat. She was careful to keep enough distance between the two so she would have enough time to react if he sprang at her.
“Then I think it is safe to say that you will not be changing.” He added.
“Do you think that I am immune?” Megan asked lowering her spear to the asphalt.
“Have you noticed anything different about yourself?” He asked as if he knew the answer.
Megan thought back to the rat from last night and how she seemed to be able to sense everything about it. Mostly she remembered how good the warm flesh had tasted.
“That’s what I thought.” He stated with a smile. “You are like me and the others I have been rounding up.”
“Like you? What do you mean like you?” Megan asked picking her spear back up while her body tensed.
Motioning with his hands for her to calm down the man continued. “Do you believe in God, Megan? Do you believe that there is a higher power and a plan for everything that happens? A design by which creatures come into existence and then are replaced by better, smarter, and stronger creatures that can survive in the world?”
Megan thought for a few minutes and then shrugged her shoulders.
“Why do you think the pandemic happened? Why do you think that people like you and I have survived after being bitten? You yourself look like you were bitten several times yet here you are talking to me beside these dumpsters in the back of the local grocery store as if nothing has happened.”
Megan shook her head and replied. “I don’t follow what you’re trying to say. Maybe we are just not affected by the virus or whatever it is.”
“No child, we were affected by it. We are the new humans, the next step in evolution I think. There are more like us out there and I am trying to find all of them.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Together we can build a new world, pick up the pieces and build a life again from the ruins.”
“You want me to come with you?” Megan asked.
“No child, I want you to take that old ford pickup truck parked in the front of this store and head west on the highway until you come to a town called Hoopersville. There you will find others just like you and I. You pick them up, they will be expecting you, and head north towards a town called Clarksville. There are maps in the truck with the route marked out. Along the way you will find others who will join you. You bring them all to Clarksville with you, you hear me, girl?”
Megan nodded and started to ask when she should leave when the man continued. “The keys are in the truck so you best be getting on your way.” He paused for a few minutes then added. “You will start to notice your body feeling different. Don’t be alarmed…just enjoy the changes and remember them.”
Megan got up and reached in the dumpster for her backpack. “There is nothing from your former life that you will need, including that damn pipe that you think will do you some good. There is a three-fifty-seven magnum in the glovebox with some ammo. That will keep you safe enough if need be.”
Megan turned toward the side of the store trying to go over the entire conversation in her head. The guy could be a whacko, she thought. If he wanted to give her a truck and a gun, she would take it and follow his map. She’d find out soon enough if he was crazy or telling the truth. Either way, she was done with the town and couldn’t wait to see it in the rearview mirror.
Chapter 5
Walking through the second-floor hall, Doc noticed a surprising number of doors open. Normally at that hour people were asleep and the doors would be closed for privacy. There had been talk last night in the cafeteria about a safe haven out west someplace, but he didn’t pay a lot of attention. New folks brought in stories about mythical places where the government was helping survivors, where civilization was being rebuilt. There was no doubt in his mind that they had existed in the early days of the outbreak. However, there was plenty of doubt that any safe havens still existed that the Feds were running. Doc knew that there had to be more places like Rivers Crossing out there and more survivors. How long they would last was another story that he wished that he had an answer to. Pausing next to the room where Virginia and Lori had been staying, Doc found he missed them already. He missed Charlie and Boo as well, even if it had only been a day since they left. Yesterday he had regretted telling the girls that they had to leave and watching his friends make the choice to go with them. Today it was starting to look like the whole thing would have been a moot point if they had let it sit for twenty-four hours. From the looks of it, most of the people that had seen Lori as a threat had snuck off in the night, chasing the “safe haven” dream.
“Most of them are gone.” Zoe said, startling Doc.
“I thought we might lose a few.” Doc replied
“So did I, deep down. Prayed it wouldn’t be, but deep down I think I knew they would leave. You can’t stop folks from looking to get back to where they think they should be. Most days I still find it hard to believe that this is the new reality…that everything I knew and loved is gone and now part of a distant memory.” Zoe said.
“Did you hear them leave last night?” Doc asked.
Zoe stared off into space then replied. “My nephew used to say that I could hear a pin drop down the street from my house. I guess I have always been cursed with hearing things that I would have been better off not hearing.”
“I wish you would have woken me up so that I could have tried to talk to them.” Doc said.
“Do you think it would have done any good?” Those folks thought they were safe here and then we lost almost half of them when the creatures broke through the barriers. If that wasn’t enough for anyone to digest by itself, they then watched and helped gather up the dead and burn them. Doc, I don’t think that anything you could have said would have meant much to them other than to say good luck and stay safe.”
“I guess you’re right, Zoe. We could have made a haven right here if they would have given it a chance.” Doc said.
Zoe paused for a second and then asked. “Doc, do you know how to work the generator or the boiler?”
“I think Marvin and his boy do.” Doc replied.
“Marvin was killed on the street out front and his boy was one of the ones in the school yard. Do we have anyone else?” Zoe asked.
Doc didn’t want to think about it anymore. His process was to look at all the facts and make an informed diagnosis of the situation followed by a clear way to treat the issue. Now it was all pointing to the same conclusion, he was looking at a terminal patient with no treatment options. He could try to see if he could figure the generator out, take a whack at the boiler and hopefully keep the heat on. What Doc really wanted was a nice cup of coffee and a few minutes alone to collect his thoughts and decide what was best to do. The clicking of his shoes echoed through the empty stairwell until Doc found himself on the first floor next to the stairs leading down to the cafeteria. Pausing before heading down, the sound of his own breath echoed off the walls. Shaking his head in disbelief, Doc continued down the last flight of steps hoping that there would be some coffee left.
Tressa poured two cups of coffee, one for Doc sitting at the first table in the cafeteria staring down at the table silently, the other for herself. Placing the first cup down with a bang she gently set Doc’s cup in front of him, sliding into his view. There they sat silently sipping at the coffee for the next twenty minutes until Todd came down the stairs. In his typical fashion, nothing that Todd did was quiet, and thanks to his size, it was never unnoticeable. He had found a parka that looked like it had been more at home in the seventies, a backpack with a cartoon cat on it, and an old lunch box that Charlie had given him. Todd looked like he was planning to go on one of his adventures.
Tressa stood up and looked at her Un
cle and wondered what he was up to. “Todd, are you ready to do your chores now?”
Todd walked right passed her, into the kitchen, slamming the swinging door into the wall on accident as he passed through.
“What’s that all about?” Doc asked, finally looking up from the table.
“Not sure, but with Todd it usually means I am going to have my hands full.” Tressa replied.
Tressa followed Todd into the kitchen where she found the open lunch box sitting on the counter. Inside there was three packets of instant hot chocolate, two juice boxes, and a package of saltine crackers that Todd had found while looking through the old Rivers Crossing shelter with Charlie and Virginia. Opening up the backpack Tressa found a comic book, sweatshirt, and a blanket. This was not the typical Todd, she thought.
“Todd honey, are you going to have an adventure without me?” Tressa asked. Todd froze with his hand in the box that he had hastily thrown on the floor. He was kneeling over it like a pirate, admiring the treasure inside. Tressa knew that sometimes when Todd got caught doing something that he thought she would not approve of he would freeze. It was as if Todd thought that if he stayed still, she would not see him and just walk by. That and if he couldn’t see Tressa then she wasn’t there.
“Todd, I know you hear me, what are you up to?”
Slowly he turned and took the sight of Tressa in. Her face didn’t look like he was in trouble so he thought he just might be ok. “I need to go, Tressa, those dogs are my friends and they will need me.” Todd said
“We don’t know where they are at Todd, there is no way for us to find them now.”
Todd climbed up from his knees and grabbed a crayon out of the backpack. On the wall behind Tressa he drew a map for her. “They went down this street here, then they turned here.” Todd said, looking at her face again to judge if the reaction was turning to anger. “Then,” He stared at the ceiling before continuing, “They followed the road all the way until they come to a place called….”
