The Infected Box Set, Vol. 1 [Books 1-3]

by Zuko, Joseph

  Cliff closed the blinds after the sound of broken glass echoed through the parking lot. “It’s too late!” he said as he stepped away from the window.

  Tina plummeted to floor. The tears came and her shoulders shook as she sobbed. Cliff joined her. He draped his arms around her and embraced her as the two of them cried.

  Shrieks spilled out of the busted windows. The cries of someone being gutted cursed the air around the apartment. The young mother called and begged for someone to help her.

  No one came.

  Tina pressed her fingers against her ears to stifle this fresh nightmare.

  Chapter 7

  Leon dried his face with an old towel. The kitchen felt dark and cavernous with the main window all blocked up. He twisted a corner of the towel and used it to get it in the nooks and crannies of his ears.

  That kid’s blood got everywhere.

  Leon felt emotionally drained. Killing that infected boy was harder on his troubled mind than he thought it would be. He had plowed over that horde with the police Charger and that was no big deal. He put the axe into a few of them too, but that was to save his and Karen’s life. Splitting the kid’s face down the middle with the circular saw was so…. personal. He was having a hard time shaking the way it sounded and felt when the teeth of the blade ripped out of the top of its skull. Leon dabbled in crime, stolen cars, commandeering white and brown goods but stealing electronics and home appliances was easy and fun. Sometimes you get pinched and you do a little time, no problem, but he had never committed a violent crime before. He had daydreamed about committing murder, sure.

  Who hasn’t?

  Your girlfriend is driving you nuts and you’re at your wits end. She’s going on and on about how great her new girlfriend is and that as a man you can never compare. So you think to yourself what if I dump her body in the woods somewhere? Mother Nature can take the bitch back!

  I bet I could have gotten away with it too. You pour a couple of drinks down her throat and have her sign a Dear John letter that you typed up on her behalf. Run down through the checklist, rubber gloves, plastic bags, shovel and a pocket full of cash so there are no records of your trip on your credit card account.

  You take a nice leisurely drive, followed by a healthy hike and your woman problems are in your rearview mirror. No more wisecracks from her about how her pussy must be like an impossible Rubik’s cube that you could never figure out.

  Oh god, I should have killed that woman!

  Leon laughed a little to himself in the kitchen. He loved it when the dark side of his thoughts took over and replayed that scenario. He never did it and never ever would have, but it was a fun thought. As his laughter died off, his thoughts turned to Karen. What was he going to do with her now that she was mad, disappointed or scared? He was not quite sure what that woman was feeling towards him. He never knew what any woman felt about him. He couldn’t get a solid read on his own mother for that matter. Yes, she raised him and cared for him, but did she love him? He couldn’t remember a time that she said it.

  Classic Leon, dragging your dead mother into your current woman problems. Every time he clashed with the opposite sex his mother would spring up.

  He ran the towel over his scalp to make sure he had removed all of the big chunks from his hair. The towel came back clean so he rinsed his hands off one more time and used the excess water to slick back his hair.

  Be cool, Leon. He told himself. He was safe and no longer in that jail cell. Even if Karen was mad at him she was much better company than Sergeant Poole. Her cold shoulder was nothing compared to walking the streets with those monsters on the loose.

  Karen hauled lumber out of the sewing room into Penny’s spare bedroom. She had not said a word to Leon since they left the blood soaked backyard across the street. The sound of the saw hitting the boy in the face played over and over in her mind. It sent a horrible shiver down her spine, like the unwanted touch from a stranger’s icy hand. Karen kept working and tried her best to shake it off. She was used to having an unspoken language with Jim. They had been together so long that they could pick up on what each other wanted and needed. She had forgotten that dealing with most men was like dealing with another child. They need direct instructions. They need to be told what to do and when to do it. You can’t assume that they know what you mean, because most of the time they have no fucking clue.

  Karen did not have the time to hold a grudge. She knew that she couldn’t give him the silent treatment all day. She asked him to take care of the infected boy and he did it with very little hesitation so she was grateful. Karen knew she couldn’t board up the rest of these windows by herself and she needed help from this stranger to keep her girls alive.

  Leon entered the spare bedroom with his head down like a sad puppy dog. He had cleaned most of the blood off of his body, but Karen could still smell the stench of death on him. Then it hit her, was she mad at Leon for killing that infected boy so horribly or was she afraid of a man who’s first thought was to drive four inches of spinning steal into a child’s face? At this point in the game it didn’t matter and she had to bury the hatchet quickly if she wanted to keep her girls safe.

  “Leon?” she called to him softly. His head raised a little. “Thank you for stepping up and taking care of that…infected…boy.” Karen moved closer to him. “I really appreciate how much you have helped the girls and I today. We’d be dead right now if it wasn’t for you. So, thank you.” She forced a very believable smile onto her face. Her good hand reached out and gently touched his forearm. Leon registered her sincerity and smiled his big bright smile back at her.

  “You’re welcome,” he said softly and just like that he was back in. Leon would walk to the ends of this god-forsaken earth for a woman that talked nice to him and made him feel special.

  “You ready to get back to work?”

  “Yeah.” Leon grabbed a chunk of lumber and the drill. He was ready to get this place locked down.

  They finished barricading the bedroom window quickly. All of the windows facing the street were now covered. They also secured the sliding glass door that led to the backyard. It was too big for a single sheet of plywood so they used seven of the twelve-foot long two by sixes. They bolted them up horizontally with a five inch gap between each of the lengths of lumber. At that point they felt dizzy and exhausted. It had been too many hours since either of them had eaten and they were burning calories like crazy today.

  “We need a break.” Karen’s voice was lethargic. Only Penny’s bedroom windows and the ones in the living room remained. Thankfully they faced into the backyard and there was a fence around the property. On the other side of the fence was a thick lush forest. Evergreen trees stretched out of the earth and towered forty-feet in the air over Penny’s home. It might have been a false feeling of safety but the woods behind the house somehow made it feel protected. As if the evergreens themselves wouldn’t allow the evil to pass.

  “I need food. I’ve only had jail food for the last week. Three meals a day of near spoiled milk and dry bologna and cheese sandwiches.” Leon stuck out his tongue in disgust.

  “Girls, are you hungry?” Karen already knew the answer.

  “Yes, Mama. I’m hungry.” Valerie called from the living room.

  “Me hungry too,” Robin could not be left out.

  Of course they were hungry. The girls were always hungry and Troy needed some food too. No rest for a mom though. Who else was going to fix a meal for everyone?

  “Let’s see what we have got here,” Leon led the charge into the kitchen. He nosed around in the refrigerator and the cupboards. Penny loved to stockpile food so there were plenty of choices. The dream of making a big fancy feast was appealing, but they still had a lot of work to do so Leon knew he needed to keep it fast and easy. He pulled a loaf of bread, a couple of jars and some cans out of the pantry and set them on the counter next to the range. He quickly found all of the dishes and utensils he would need to make diner and got to work.<
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  Karen’s thoughts had wandered off and she was thinking about Jim. Hoping he was safe and on his way home. She remembered her phone in her pocket. She hadn’t checked it in over an hour. She dug the device out of her pocket and swiped it on. To her delight there was a message from Jim. She clicked play and held it to her ear. Jim’s voice was strained. The recording sounded like it was done in a bathroom or closet. He talked rapid fire. He said he loved the girls and that he was almost home. He begged her to be safe and reaffirmed how much he loved her. It lifted her spirits to hear his voice. Jim leaving for work that morning felt like a lifetime ago. He said he was close to being home and that was over an hour ago.

  Maybe he made it home and saw the note I left on the counter.

  Maybe he’s on his way here right now!

  These happy thoughts filled her aching heart with joy. She pressed Jim’s name on the screen of her phone and held it up to her ear.

  Maybe he would answer, just maybe.

  The phone made a strange beep sound. Karen looked at its screen and it said the call could not be completed. She tried a few more times but it was always the same result.

  “Great.” She said sarcastically.

  “What?” Leon said over his shoulder.

  “Phones are down.”

  “Well, I’m sure it will only be temporary. Don’t worry about it,” Leon said as he kept working.

  Karen rested up against the counter and sipped at a fresh glass of water. It looked like she was off the hook for preparing the meal. Leon dipped a butter knife in and out of the jars and spread the contents out onto the slices of bread. He stirred at something on the range. Steam rose out of a hot pot of food and it filled the kitchen with a wonderful smell. The amazing odor hit Karen in her gut like a sucker punch and her belly ached. It wasn’t until then that she realized just how hungry she really was. Knowing that food was on its way and that an hour ago Jim was still alive put Karen into a zoned out state of mind. She was in a tiny happy place and Leon’s actions in front of the range had become a blur.

  “Everyone take a seat,” Leon said as he carried plates out of the kitchen and into the dining room. Karen snapped out of her haze and helped the girls up into their chairs. Troy dragged his feet over to the table and dropped down in a slump.

  Leon had whipped up a round of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and some canned chicken noodle soup. They devoured their dinners as if they had never eaten before.

  Karen sat down with her girls at the dining table. After their first bite Robin and Valerie had a ring of jelly and peanut butter around their mouths. Troy slowly nibbled at his food.

  “Mama, why dat?” Robin pointed at the two by six’s blocking the exit to the backyard.

  “Why did you make all that noise and why did you build all that stuff?” Valerie raised her eyebrows at her Mama.

  Karen worked a bite of food down her throat so she could speak, “It’s to keep the bad people out, baby.”

  “Bad people can’t get in?” Valerie tried her best to process what her Mama was saying.

  “Nope. They can’t get in that way. We fixed the door to keep them out.” Karen rubbed her baby’s back to comfort the little one.

  “What if they have a key?” Valerie’s wheels were turning now.

  “Only Mama and Uncle Troy have the key.”

  “What about Daddy? Can he get in?” the little one asked.

  “Yes, we would let Daddy in and he has a key.”

  “Key!” Robin shouted and then she slurped down a noodle from her bowl.

  Valerie looked over the room and did a head count. She noticed someone was missing. “Where’s Ganny?” It was something she asked all the time. Where was this person and where were these things? All day long with the questions. She was a question machine with no off switch and Robin was Question Box 2.0. The new and improved model with twice as much question asking power.

  “Where Ganny?” Robin seconded her sister and then filled her mouth with another bite.

  Troy looked around the room too. He was perplexed by her absence, “Where is Mama? I just dropped her off from her work.” His brain was still scrambled and like a needle on an old warped record it was skipping over grooves of time.

  Karen wasn’t ready to answer the question. The bite of chicken tasted sour in her mouth now. She choked it down and searched for the right way to tell her children that their Ganny was lying dead in the backyard. She didn’t want to start crying again. She had already filled her quota for crying today. She was sick of it. Her poor tear ducts had been squeezed dry and were on strike. They refused to produce anymore tears until their demands had been met and they had an excellent union rep so it was going to take a while to come to terms.

  Leon saw Karen struggling to find the right words. He decided to lend a helping hand, “She’s gone.” Their four heads snapped in his direction and now he was on the spot. “I mean, she has stepped out and will be gone for a long time.” He hoped that would be enough and he stared down into his soup.

  Valerie thought about what he said for a moment, “But where did she go? She was just back there,” she said as she pointed out into the yard. She was still out there, just on the other side of the blinds. Her body getting colder by the second.

  Karen thought quickly, “Baby, eat up and I promise I will tell you all about it when it’s bedtime. Okay?” Karen and the tear ducts had come to an agreement. She would give them most of the day off, but when the sun set and it was time for bed she was allowed to cry herself to sleep.

  Deal? Karen pleaded.

  Deal. The tear ducts conceded.

  Troy set his sandwich down, “My stomach feels upset.”

  Leon’s eyes lit up, “I read about this in the medical handbook. Okay, he might feel nauseous and that’s normal. It also said he could be fine in a few hours or a couple days. It said everyone was different and it would be difficult to say how long it would take for him to heal.” He paused for a moment to internally thumb through his files. Okay, he found the next section. “We need to keep him alert, but try not to make him think too much or do too many activities for the next few days. Oh, and we need to keep ice on it for about twenty minutes at a time.” Leon searched the far corners of his mind to see if there was any other tidbits of info he needed to tell her, but that was it.

  Troy leaned back in his chair and rubbed his stomach. “I think I’m going to be sick.” He stood up from the table and raced to the bathroom.

  “He’ll be fine. Book said it’s normal,” Leon said as he scooped the last of his dinner into his mouth.

  Karen had also just finished and in the nick of time. The nasty sounds coming from Troy in the bathroom would have made it impossible to finish her meal.

  “Once we get the windows blocked up, then what?” Leon asked as he set his dirty dishes in the sink. He tried his best to ignore the vomiting going on less than twenty-feet away.

  “I don’t know. We have food and water. We need you to get another ride. Other than that I really don’t know,” Karen stood up, joined him in the kitchen and dropped her dishes off in the sink too.

  “Well I’m sure I can find us a hot set of wheels. Most of these houses had a truck or car out front,” Leon beamed with pride. He loved that his skills were so handy in this new crazy world.

  “Maybe you could show me how to get a car going? Just in case.”

  No one had ever asked Leon to train them. He was the master and now he had an apprentice. The idea excited him. “No problem. If we clear a spot in the garage we could pull a car in there and I could show you the basics.” Leon really lit up about this new idea. Some alone time with Karen. Just the two of them in the front seat of a car. It would be like they were in high school and on a date. Except that they would be in a garage with the world falling apart outside. He would show her what wires to cross under the steering column instead of trying to touch her sweet boobies. Plus her children from her current marriage would be there and constantly asking quest
ions, but other than that it would be just like a date.

  Nice.

  Troy reentered the kitchen, one hand rubbed his belly the other was rubbing his forehead, “I think I broke the toilet. It won’t flush. I keep hitting the lever and nothing happens. I need to sit back down I’m getting dizzy.” Troy left the kitchen in a hurry and headed for the couch in the living room.

  Valerie smiled at her sister, “Uncle Troy broke the toilet.”

  “Uncle Troy broke the toilet?” Robin repeated it and was also asking a question at the same time.

  Great, the toilet is broken! Karen rolled her eyes. It wasn’t like she could run down to the plumbing store and get a new lever. Then the thought hit her.

  What are we going to do about bathroom breaks if the water gets cut off and we can’t go outside?

  She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. One problem at a time. They needed to get this place locked down and secure first. Then she would worry about where the hell everyone was going to take their shits.

  Chapter 8

  Jim felt his face go flush and sweat instantly soaked his brow. He was frozen. Fear had taken complete control. An asshole with a shotgun had got the drop on him.

  How many of them were hiding in the dark corners of this store?

  Could Frank finish this jerk off before the asshole squeezed the trigger on the shotgun?

  Is Frank willing to kill a human to save me?

  “I said drop the spear!” the voice called from the shadows.

  Sara and Frank snapped to. Frank had his rifle up and ready, but not sure where to aim yet. He stepped close to Jim’s shoulder. Sara had her bat in the air, itching for a fight, but it was not going to help much unless she could hit a fastball pitched by a twelve gauge.

  “Please, we don’t want any problems. We thought the store was abandoned,” Jim pleaded.

  The shotgun cocked. They flinched and Jim raised his hands into the air.