“Not sure if it was reported everywhere, but the first cases came out of Kansas, some small town. From what I remember, it was only zombies then. It hadn’t mutated to what we now know as the infected.” He made a wide circle with his hand along the map over the entire eastern half of Colorado. “Anyway, that first wave of exodus from Denver brought it out in to the country, infecting people along the way.”
Jake’s shoulders slouched showing his mental defeat. Chris felt obligated to finish and tell the whole truth.
“And that was just the beginning of the infection. The last I heard anything was several months ago,” he looked up at Jenn, “…and it got much worse. It’s not like the people who lived out there ever took kindly to strangers. I don’t even want to think about what it’s like now.”
“So that’s it?” Alicen asked, looking to her brother for a rebuttal of encouragement.
The boy shrugged his shoulders, refusing to look at her as he spoke. “We’ll go alone if we have to.”
Alicen smiled, but her eyes showed the fear gripping her heart.
“Then you’ll both die,” Chris said solemnly, “…or worse.”
“What are we supposed to do then?” Jake asked. He stood up and stomped his foot reminding everyone of his age. “Stay here and rot away like you?” Alicen got up and wrapped her arms around his waist.
Chris glared at Jenn. “How did I become the bad guy?” He took a deep breath and counted in his head as he let it out. It was a nearly forgotten skill from the life he lost. “I’m only trying to tell you what’s out there. I’m not saying it’s impossible.”
Jake peered back at him. “It sure sounds like it.”
Alicen peeled herself off her brother. “Jake did a lot to get us here,” she said, now sounding older than her baby face appeared. “We saw so many terrible things. There’s a lot of bad people out there, but we have to try.”
Jake took her hand and the two stood motionless. Jenn walked around behind them and Chris found three sets of determined eyes looking squarely back at him. He shrugged his shoulders and gave up on any idea of talking them out of going.
“You can’t go anywhere if you can’t get off the damn building first.”
#
They wasted an hour walking around the edge of the roof looking for any obvious solutions to their predicament. There wasn’t enough usable material between the four of them to construct a makeshift rope without accepting that they might not get their clothes back once they got down. Chris’ lone remaining idea didn’t get a lot of support even after all other avenues were exhausted.
“We’re going to get killed,” Jenn said, looking over the side of the building at a pair of dumpsters.
Jake relayed the story about him and Alicen’s experience with a similar fall. He wasn’t sure their jump was anywhere near as high as their current dilemma.
Chris was already slipping his backpack in place. “I’ll go first,” he said. “Once I’m down, I’ll go through the other dumpster and pull over some more bags to help break your fall.”
Alicen’s face scrunched up until she found the question she was searching for. “But what if you go splat?” She flattened one palm against the other for a visual.
Chris considered the matter before as he readied himself at the edge. “Then it won’t be my problem anymore.” Without another word, he jumped.
The fall wasn’t as far as it looked in his mind, but the impact was much worse. A shot of pain raced up his spine the moment he made contact with the bags and something more solid hidden underneath. To make matters worse, one of his boots clipped the edge of the dumpster and at the moment, his foot was on fire. “Oww,” was all he could muster. He took a mental check of his pain before he tried to move. Apparently, he waited too long, and a call came down from the roof.
“Are you dead?”
Chris thought Alicen’s voice was too innocent to ask such an awful thing. He shifted his weight and found that the pain in his back relaxed. However, the burning in his foot did not. He made it to his knees and pushed the trash bags aside to find a stack of metal chairs underneath. “These clearly belong with the recyclables,” he said as he began lifting them out onto the alleyway.
The smell hit him all at once and there was a real threat of his stomach purging his breakfast. He gathered himself and stood up gingerly, trying to put weight on his foot. Pain rose up his thigh and into his back the second his heel touched the ground. He balanced himself on one leg, braced his hands on the edge of the dumpster, and then hopped over. He took most of the impact on his good foot. He was wobbly, but standing. He hobbled between the dumpsters and found several bags he figured would help his cause. Most important, he found an arm length metal pole that looked to be a suitable replacement for his lost bat.
“That’s as good as it’s going to get,” he said, calling up to the three heads looking out over the lip of the building. They pulled back and started a heated, but quiet conversation. “Sure,” Chris said more to himself as he checked one side of the alley then down the other, “…talk amongst yourselves, I’ll hang out down here and wait until you’re ready.”
It was a faint yelp that pulled his attention back to the roof. Alicen shot down in a blur, her arms and her legs crossed as if she was on a ride at an amusement park. Chris leaned over the side of the dumpster to help her out and found a look of amazement on her face.
“I want to do that again,” she said.
Chris pulled her out with one good yank.
“Not if I can help it.”
Jake followed his sister with Jenn bringing up the rear, each with less amusement than the little girl had. They were moving soon after with Chris carrying a slight limp for his effort. Jenn had her pistol drawn and Jake had hold of an inherited broom handle from the dumpster. Alicen followed along in the rear, sometimes skipping as she went and Chris thought what an odd sight they must be. They crossed the street in front of the store and headed toward the interstate with the onramp looming in the distance. They’d managed to avoid the undead milling around the parking lot, but the main goal of the day was still ahead of them.
“Why is this always so hard?” Jake asked as he leaned in to check for keys in an old Buick.
“We learned in the beginning,” Jenn said, “that most people kept their keys in their pockets, so if the car is empty, there’s little chance of finding a set.”
Chris smiled. “Do you know how many dead people’s pockets I’ve searched through? The real problem is that even if you do find a set, you have no idea where the hell they left their car.” He laughed at himself. “I spent a month walking around parking lots with a garbage bag full of keys clicking away on those damn unlock buttons.”
Jenn laughed. “Guilty. My car took some damage getting out of Kansas City. I didn’t make it more than fifty miles, but luckily, I was close to Topeka.” Her smile faded. “I spent nearly a month there just trying to get out, considered walking at one point.” Her voice trailed off and she went silent.
The onramp was a stone’s throw away when Chris decided to change tactics. “Maybe we should focus on supplies first?”
“We?” Alicen asked, flashing a sly grin at him. “Are you coming with us?”
Chris gazed at Jenn then back at the little girl and shrugged. “What am I going to do around here anyway,” he eyed Jake, “sit and rot?”
Jake smiled as he approached another vehicle.
“Don’t waste your time,” Chris said. “It’s too hard to find one with keys in…”
“Got one,” Jake announced. He had the driver’s door open of a beat up minivan. He leaned in and pulled out a ring of keys.
Chris put his hands on his hips.
“Figures.”
7.
The I-70 was a mess. The road was littered with abandoned vehicles, and by best estimates, it would take three times as long to get to Vegas, as it should. The van’s speedometer never got above twenty miles an hour. Two hours after crossing Denver’s boun
dary, the tallest downtown buildings could still be seen in the rearview mirror.
They’d survived a disastrous start when the journey began. Chris managed to get the van stuck in the mud when he pulled off the road to avoid a pile up of wrecked vehicles littering the way. Alicen was left behind the wheel as Chris, Jenn, and Jake rocked the vehicle free. The end result was exhaustion and a hard reminder that food and water would be key in the days ahead. They left Denver without anymore supplies than what they had on them when they met. Chris wasn’t sure how they were going to fix the supply problem, knowing the open road offered few opportunities.
“What are you expecting to find in Vegas?” he asked Jenn.
The silence had gone on for longer than he could stand it. If he wanted to keep his eyes open, he would need some brain stimulation.
“My parents,” she said sharply, then looked out at the passing trees.
Chris peeked into the backseat at the kids and found them both still sleeping soundly. The overcast evening sky filled the interior with dark shadows. He waited until Jenn turned her attention toward him before clarifying his question.
“Did you get any sense of how bad the infection was in Vegas?”
Jenn’s shoulders relaxed as she thought about the answer. There was an unusually long silence before she offered a response. “My father said it spread there much faster than it did in Kansas. He swore it had mutated with a better delivery system.”
“How long ago?”
She stared at him for a second until she understood the question. “Five months,” she said plainly. “I haven’t talked to them in five months.”
Chris heard her but his focus shifted down to the gas gauge.
“We’re going to need to check the next batch of cars.”
They’d followed the same pattern since they left Denver. A group of vehicles meant danger, but it also presented an opportunity for supplies and gas. They’d managed to fill three milk jugs with fuel which they’d stored in the back of the van. Jenn was nodding at his assertion, but her mind was somewhere else. Chris took the bait.
“I didn’t mean to stir anything up.” He thought about it. “I’m sure we’ll find them.” Her laugh surprised him. “What?” he asked.
She smiled again, but there was sadness in her eyes. “No you’re not, you’re not sure at all and neither am I.” She pulled open a pack of crackers they’d found in the rear of the van and offered him a few. “I have to believe my parents are still there in one piece. Besides those kids,” she motioned at the backseat, “…my hope to find my parents is about the only thing keeping me going.”
Chris nodded, but kept his eyes on the road. “You sure did take a shining to those two.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her glance at him. She wiped a tear off her face the moment it rolled onto her cheek.
“They remind me of mine,” she admitted, “only in reverse.” Chris’ brow creased and she elaborated. “Sara was the oldest and Sam was my little man.” She was crying now and not trying to hide it.
Chris knew he had to say something, but he struggled with the words. “Never had any,” he managed. “Not sure if that makes me lucky or unlucky.”
Jenn wiped her eyes. “A little of both, I think.”
Chris nodded, and then tried to change the subject. “It’ll be dark soon.” He looked up at the clouds. “We’re going to have to make some hard choices before then.” Jenn nodded, but didn’t say anything. “They’ll slam into the car,” he said. “As soon as the sun goes down, they’ll come out of wherever the hell their hiding and they’ll be all over us.”
“We always hid at night,” Jenn said in a distant voice.
“I’ve tried to plow through them before and it works for a while.” He shook his head. “But a vehicle can only take so much. It will eventually wear down.” Chris thought back to a particularly hairy moment when he’d been forced off the road. Had it not been a few minutes until sun up, the infected would have peeled open his car and had a feast. “I think we should find a place to sit and wait. If we come across a couple of vehicles, we could pull in real close. If we’re lucky, we’ll find some cars with zombies trapped inside.”
Jenn looked back at the darkening tree line along the interstate with renewed interest. “You think they’re in there?”
“Oh yeah,” Chris said, “nowhere else for them to hide out here. Hell, I’ve heard stories…” Her head snapped around and he decided against continuing his train of thought. “…they’re in there, trust me.”
“How’s your leg?”
He’d almost forgotten about the injury from his fearless roof jump. The throbbing was tolerable as long as he didn’t move it.
“I can take a look at it if you want,” she said.
“You making a pass at me?” he laughed. “…because that would be awesome.”
She grinned. “I was an EMT.”
“The story gets more interesting by the minute.” He smiled back. “I’ll live. I just need to stay off it.”
They kept the conversation light, stopping once to switch drivers. The tension cleared and the weight of Jenn’s tear streaked face subsided. It was nearly dark when the kids awoke in search of food. There were few choices, but still enough to keep them from starving. Chris was sure supplies, and in particular, food and water would be their first problem.
“How long do we have?”
Chris heard Jake’s question, but didn’t want to lose his count. “Not sure,” he said once he got the candy bars, chip bags, and crackers separated into two backpacks. He looked up with a frustrated scowl. “I’ve never had to ration for more than one.”
“Haven’t you ever traveled with anyone?” Jenn asked from the driver’s seat. Chris was in the back with Jake, while Alicen was promoted to the front passenger seat.
“A few times.” He zipped up the bags and stashed them behind the second row of seats. “It wasn’t anything like this lovable bunch we have here. It was always an everyman for himself type thing.”
“Where are they now?” Jake asked.
“Some didn’t make it.” Chris shrugged. “I decided it was best for me to go it alone.”
“Until now,” Alicen shouted from the front. She spun around in the seat and grinned at him over the headrest.
“Something like that,” he said then flicked his hand at her. “Put your seatbelt on.” He saw Jenn flash a smile in the rearview mirror.
The darkening sky brought with it increased concern on what they were going to do when the sun went down. The passing trees on both sides of the road had suddenly changed from a beautiful reminder of what used to be to a dim curtain from which sinister things would surely spring. The lifeless vehicle shells that dotted the highway had been sparse for the past hour. Chris was losing hope that they would find a suitable place to hide. They were still driving at dusk and the fear in the van was as thick as the silence.
“We may run out of options.” Chris said, his voice sounding louder as it broke the silence.
“Do we just stop and turn everything off?” Jenn asked.
Chris had thought about it, but he wasn’t convinced it was the safest idea. In about twenty minutes, they would be out of alternatives. In truth, he didn’t know what to expect when the sun went down. For all he knew, the infected could have long abandoned the interstate for more fertile hunting grounds.
“I think we should…”
He didn’t finish as his eyes locked on a sizable lot of cars and trucks in the road up ahead. He was glad for it, but as they neared, his joy faded. There were several vehicles on the road, some turned on their side, and others flipped over entirely. Jenn brought the van to a stop and quickly realized they wouldn’t be able to get around the pileup even if they wanted to. She put the van in park and Chris popped his door open.
“What are you doing?” Alicen asked. The fear in the little girl’s voice was profound.
Chris gave her a slight nod and held the calmest face he could muster. “Just stay here. I n
eed to have a look around.”
Alicen’s eyes slid between Jenn and her brother, and then she jumped in the back seat beside the latter. Jenn’s expression wasn’t much better. She was fishing around in her pocket for something. Chris got one foot down on the pavement before she leaned over and grabbed his arm.
“Take this.” She held out her gun. “It’s got eight rounds left.”
Chris started to refuse, then thought the better of it and took the pistol. He left his pipe on the seat and shut the door. The sound of the vehicle’s engine was loud against nature’s backdrop. The wind blew through the tall pines on either side of the road. The rustling limbs shook like scared children in the dark. There was a smell in the air that Chris couldn’t place and something about it clung to him.
He crept towards the barricade of cars and trucks, painfully aware of his surroundings. His mind played havoc on his nerves drawing him to movement in every shadow. His boots came to a complete stop several feet from the first truck in the road. Rolled over on its side, the facing bed revealed a lengthy toolbox, but not much else. The main portion of the road was closed off by a school bus lying upside down beyond the other vehicles.
Chris shook his head as he looked over the site, his mind sure of one thing. “Wasn’t the infected that did this,” he said to himself. He eyed the woods with renewed interest as he started back toward the van. He was in the passenger seat a moment later, still unsure of what it all meant.
“Well?” Jake asked impatiently.
The last bit of sunlight disappeared as Chris leaned over and switched the engine off. “Doesn’t matter now.” He made sure the doors were locked before turning to face the others. “We stay quiet and the moment sunlight hits the hood of this van, we look for another way around.”
The Last Infection: A Post Apocalyptic Thriller Page 5
