by Lanza, Marie
Ethan stayed quiet in the back seat with Mayhem. I hoped that Mayhem brought him some comfort when Jaxon was away.
We sat for what felt like a half of a day, but it was only around a half hour. The soldiers began making their way back to the convoy and loading into the vehicles. The bodies were set on fire as the last thing on the agenda for this stop.
Jaxon made his way back to the truck empty-handed.
“Did they find anything useful?” Dan asked.
“Not really, most of the buildings were already emptied. They did find a couple of medical kits and some canned food.” Jaxon put his arm around Ethan and pulled him close. “We’re going to drive some and set up camp as soon as they find a good spot.”
Dan put the truck in drive. “Sounds good to me.”
We maneuvered through the town trying to avoid roadblocks and infected. When the infected reached the vehicles they would bounce off or get run over. No one bothered killing them as we passed.
Soon we were back on the highway surrounded by land and rolling hills as far as the eye could see.
* * *
The drive was uneventful. It was getting later in the afternoon and we knew we would need to stop soon to set up camp. It was never a good idea to try and search for a safe spot to stop in the dark.
We couldn’t have been more than 10 miles out of town when the convoy slowed and came to a halt. The first vehicles pulled off the road and into a field, with the others close behind in a tight line. There was a thick, wooded area about 300 yards from where they parked. The vehicles formed a wide circle which acted like a barrier so that the center was a safe zone.
Dan pulled into the last spot sealing the area. We all crawled out of the truck on the inside of the circle.
Soldiers and the other civilians were already out of the vehicles, pulling out what they were going to prepare for dinner. Another handful of soldiers took posts around the circle keeping a look out.
I didn’t know if I felt safe or if we were in a cage, like livestock, just waiting for the infected to surround us and take their pick on whom they wanted to eat first. I tried to relax and focus on what we were going to have for dinner.
“We’re sleeping in the truck, right?” I asked Dan.
“I would imagine.” Dan looked at me as though there wouldn’t be any other choice. However, the thought crossed my mind that we would all be piling in the middle of all vehicles, sleeping huddled together.
Jaxon came up from behind us. “Yeah, truck sounds good.”
I climbed back into the truck through the back seat to grab a bag with our food. I pulled it towards me and took the first two cans that my hand touched. It was in that moment that I realized we were extremely low on the bottled water. We still had the water we had boiled and put in jugs before we left home, but precious little. I turned around and sat in the seat to think for a minute.
“Honey, what’s wrong?” Dan stood in the door.
“We’re pretty much out of bottled water.”
“OK, well we have the other jugs.”
“I guess I never thought we’d actually drink it. I know we boiled it, but what if it was contaminated and boiling it didn’t work.”
From the expression on Dan’s face he never thought of it either. I handed him the two cans of food I pulled out for dinner.
Jaxon approached the car. “Hey Harmony, while you’re in there, why don’t you also pull out one of the MRE’s in my bag. We could use a little extra something in our stomachs.” Jaxon paused and stared blankly. “What’s up?” He must have noticed the look on our faces.
“We’re pretty much down to the jugs of water we boiled before we left home,” Dan explained.
“OK.” Jaxon clearly wasn’t getting our concern.
“What if the water was contaminated and boiling it didn’t kill the virus?” I asked.
“We probably don’t have anything to worry about,” Dan said, but didn’t sound very confident. I was pretty sure he made that statement in hopes of gaining assurance from Jaxon.
I reached over the back seat and pulled out one of the smaller jugs. I also grabbed some paper plates and utensils we had brought from our house.
“Come on, let’s go have some dinner.” Dan reached his hand out for me to take.
I hopped out of the back of the truck, and we all walked over to the center of the convoy where others had gathered.
A few soldiers rationed the food to the civilians and then began eating as well.
“Need anything?” a soldier stopped by and asked.
“No thanks. We’re covered,” Jaxon said.
Ethan and I sat down on the ground along with Mayhem, and the guys weren’t too far behind us. Dan opened the cans while Jaxon prepared the MRE, scooping a small portion on each of our plates. It was a messy blob of something along the lines of pasta. Dan added scoops of canned corn and more beans to the plates. It was the most filling meal we had enjoyed since we began our ‘adventure.’
Dan reached over for the jug of water and opened it. He gave it a stare, almost examining it. “Do you think animals can get the virus?”
I looked immediately to Mayhem, who was lying next to us, and back to Dan, not quite sure where he was going with that question.
“Not that anyone has reported,” Jaxon answered.
I was sure Jaxon thought he was answering what sounded like a random question, but it wasn’t random at all. Jaxon may not have had a concern about the water, but Dan and I both were acutely aware we had the same concern. If boiling the water didn’t work, we would be drinking to our death. No one was certain if the water was even contaminated, but it was better playing it safe than being sorry.
With much hesitation, but without a word, I picked up Mayhem’s water bowl and handed it over to Dan. Mayhem perked up and responded with a lick to his lips. Dan filled the bowl but didn’t set it down at first; he looked at Mayhem with concern and then turned to me. I am sure that he harbored a small hope that I would stop him.
I didn’t.
Dan placed the bowl in front of Mayhem and we watched our beloved pet lap up the water. My stomach knotted as I felt the guilt of conceivably killing our faithful protector. Just because Mayhem would defend us with his life, it didn’t give us the right to take that life for granted. However, we didn’t have any better options; if animals didn’t get the virus, and it was still contaminated we would all be doomed, having Mayhem try it first gave everyone the best chance.
It wasn’t our proudest moment.
When Mayhem was done he laid his head back down.
My chest felt like I had been holding my breath.
“Dan, you mind passing over the water?” Jaxon asked.
“Don’t you want to wait a few more minutes?” Dan placed the jug next to him.
“For what?” Jaxon was truly confused. He looked at me for an answer, but I was still in a sort of half shock that I had just given our dog possibly contaminated water. “Are we really that worried about the water?”
“Yes… I think. I guess. I mean, I don’t think we really have an idea if we should be worried.” My brain was stumbling to complete a thought.
Jaxon only nodded his head as he listened to me spitting out incomplete sentences.
“What’s wrong with the water, Daddy?” Ethan asked.
“Nothing’s wrong with the water.” Jaxon looked back to us. “You guys, there were no reports that water sources were contaminated.”
“Is Mayhem gonna get sick, Daddy?” Ethan began to get upset.
“No. No one is getting sick,” Jaxon insisted.
“Ethan, I’m sorry honey. Your dad is right.” I took the jug of water from where Dan sat it down and opened it.
“Harmony…..” Dan didn’t want to alarm Ethan any more than he already was, so he stopped before he said anything else.
I took a sip straight out of the jug and handed it to Jaxon. It took every muscle in my body to hold it down and not throw it up. Jaxon seemed much more c
onfident when he took a drink. We all knew what the other was thinking. Either we were being paranoid, or we just made the biggest mistake of our life. The fact that Jaxon didn’t pass the jug on to Ethan but handed him a half-empty water bottle instead said everything. He was mostly sure the water was fine, but not quite certain enough to give it to his son. All we could do at this point was wait.
Dan didn’t drink from the water jug either. I guessed it was a good thing he hadn’t touched the water; if Jaxon and I dropped dead, someone needed to look out for Ethan.
“Can I join you?” Hart came over and broke our silence. It was a relief.
“Sure. Of course, sit.” Jaxon gestured for the soldier to sit down just across from him, next to Dan.
“Did everyone get enough to eat?” Hart sat down.
“We did, thanks,” Dan said.
“Have you guys decided where you’re headed?” Hart asked.
“We’re headed to Summer Springs.” I took another bite of my dinner.
“How long have you guys been on the road?” Dan asked.
“Since the beginning really. My group was stationed at an old post about thirty miles from here. When that got overrun, we packed up and have been on the road ever since, picking up survivors as we found them.” Hart talked between taking sips of whatever he was drinking.
“Have you had any contact with bigger groups? Any bases that are still active?” Jaxon asked.
“Last contact was with USS Washington. They were off the coast doing test missions near Anacapa. When the outbreak spread, all ships were ordered to stay at sea. They talked about bringing them to shore and loading survivors, but I’m not sure if any of that actually happened. Those ships can hold thousands of people. For all we know at this point, they could be floating tombs. What about you guys?” Hart looked at Dan and me.
“We’re from Los Angeles. We got on the road about a week after the outbreak. Found Jaxon on the side of the road, and we’ve been together ever since.”
“Dan lost his parents in the beginning. We think my family was rescued by a military group, but with the bases being overrun….” It was still hard to think of them and get the ever-nagging thoughts where they might be, or if they were even alive.
Dan reached over and rubbed my back.
“The losses are hard, and they haven’t gotten any easier for most of us.”
“Got room for another?” Miller joined us.
“Of course. We were just catching up on where everyone’s from,” Jaxon said.
Miller sat down next to Hart.
“You’re up,” Jaxon continued.
Miller smiled. “An outpost like Hart here. Mostly military offices and science labs. Myself and a couple of other scientists got out, ran into Hart and his group.”
“My wife was at Fort Mesa. Dr. Karen Jaxon.”
“I thought your name was familiar. I met Karen just through a few email exchanges. We shared our research between labs. The government had us working on this virus like the first atomic bombs. No one really knew what they were working on. Everyone had a different strain.” Miller paused for a moment. He gave Ethan a long look then back to Jaxon. “I’m sorry for your loss. Karen was the best at what she did.”
Jaxon wrapped his arm around Ethan, “Thanks.”
Hart held up his canister. “To a quiet night.” He took a sip of his drink.
“Why do you think it got so bad?” Dan asked Miller.
Miller took a second to think about the question. I think it was a question inside all of us that we tried to answer ourselves every day.
What happened to humanity?
“Because humans are their own worst enemy… especially during time of chaos. For the majority of people, crisis doesn’t bring out their best. Panic grabs you, and irrational decisions and bad judgment takes over. I think in the beginning everyone hoped for the best in people, but only the worst came out. People were fighting, killing each other for a bottle of water or can of food. At this point, the likelihood of getting killed by a lawless group is just as high as getting killed by the infected.” Miller pulled out a flask from his pants pocket and took a drink.
“A group of survivors can fall apart in a matter of seconds when the infected are around. They just forget basic survival skills.” Hart shook his head, mulling over his words.
“It’s what separates heroes from the rest,” Miller added, nodding his head toward the center of camp where most of the soldiers were gathered.
“Amen.” Hart raised his canister and gestured in agreement.
“While you were in the labs did you witness the change?” Jaxon asked.
Miller nodded and took another drink. “I only saw it in the lab. Since being on the road… well, generally, there’s no chance for anyone to change.”
“If the infected don’t kill you, we do it.” Hart said.
“How long?” The water I drank was coming back to haunt me. “How long does it take to change when you’ve become infected?”
“The change varies in people. Some are saying it’s just a matter of minutes. When the outbreak first happened you could go days without symptoms.” Miller began rubbing his left ring finger with his thumb. It was the first time I noticed the wedding band.
With that, a blood curdling scream rang through the camp.
Mayhem began to growl.
CHAPTER 12
It didn’t take another scream for us to get to our feet fully armed with our weapons at the ready. The screams weren’t coming from inside the camp, and looking around, it didn’t seem like anyone knew where it was coming from. All of the soldiers on guard had their guns drawn, aiming blindly into the darkness. It was getting harder to see anything beyond the boundaries of the camp.
“Where’s it coming from?” Hart called out.
“Still searching, sir!” a soldier on top of a Humvee called out.
“Get back to the truck. Take Ethan.” Dan directed me towards the truck.
I pushed my weight against him. “No way! You didn’t hear him? They have no idea where it’s coming from. I’m not leaving you!”
Another scream pierced the night and drew our attention back to the perimeter. This time the scream was muffled by a gurgling sound, as if someone was choking on their own blood; the sounds were followed by the groans of the infected.
Gunfire rang out from the perimeter of the trucks bringing everyone’s attention to its direction. Through the vehicles’ windows, shadowy figures came into view, limping towards the camp.
“Oh my God,” Jaxon aimed his weapon, his usually calm demeanor now shattered by a furrowed brow and beads of sweat on his forehead.
“There’s so many of them!” a voice screamed out.
Our peaceful camp out quickly turned into a chaotic battle zone. The infected swarmed the convoy but luckily seemed unable to get past the vehicles that acted as our only protection.
There was no calm among the civilians. Most centered themselves in the camp, screaming and cowering at the very sight of the infected. I watched for a moment as a few men crouched into a defensive stance circled the group of civilians, pushing to get a good vantage of the scene. With their senses trained on the outside threat, they hardly noticed as they pushed one another and trampled people cowering on the ground.
Humans are their own worst enemy during a time of chaos.
It’s what separates heroes from the rest.
Hart and Miller’s words streamed through my thoughts.
The soldiers, along with a few other civilians, stood on top of the vehicles, shooting at the infected.
We followed Jaxon to the newest front in our battle to survive. Outside the protective ring of trucks, the infected were piling on top of one another, growling and clawing at the living firing on them from above.
Jaxon and Dan climbed on top of one of the trucks and began dispatching the infected below them. Dan was taking care of anything that got close to him or to Jaxon with his machete while Jaxon was aiming for the infected
who were threatening to breach the inner circle. Jaxon was taking his time and making his shots count. I stayed on the ground with Mayhem and Ethan behind the protection of the vehicles.
“Ethan, honey, I need you to hold Mayhem really tight. Can you do that?” I asked handing him Mayhem’s leash.
He nodded. “OK.”
“Good. Don’t let go of me. I want you to hold on right here.” I pulled on my belt loops.
I made my way to the back of the truck that Dan and Jaxon were standing on, hoping I could stay a safe distance from the infected but close enough that my machete could reach them.
I was never going to get used to the sight of them. Death staring me in the face, biting and clawing, wanting to take me with it to its hell. The smell was unbearable. Unlike a dead body where the smell eventually goes away, these walking corpses never seemed to stop decaying, and the smell lingered as long as they did.
The infected pushed so hard that the vehicles began to tip back and forth on their shocks. Dan and Jaxon balanced themselves and kept attacking the infected as they crowded against the truck.
I found my position close to the front of the swaying truck, where the gap between vehicles looked large enough to stab through, but small enough to offer protection. I glanced back to make sure that Ethan was safe, and then I went to work. I thrust my machete over and over again at every face that appeared in front of me. Every time I scored a hit, the body collapsed and a new rotten face appeared.
After the better part of half an hour, the gunfire began to slow, and the screaming began to die down. Mayhem continued to bark. My fear was either the infected were gaining the upper hand and killing the soldiers, or the convoy was running out of bullets, and it wouldn’t be long until the infected would kill everyone.
I looked up at Dan, who was still swinging his machete down at the infected. Jaxon was using his bayonet, this time affixed to his M-4. I hadn’t noticed that he had stopped using his gun. I hadn’t even looked behind me. I assumed with Ethan still hanging on my belt loop, there was no danger behind us.
I too was slowing down. The infected faces before me began to appear more slowly. It seemed our barricade had held up and kept them out. We were defeating them.
