The Living Dead (Book 1): Contagion

by L. I. Albemont

  Chapter 20

  He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.

  Mark 9: 9-13

  A dead soldier clawing at the windshield latched onto a wiper and pulled hard, snapping it off and falling backwards when it broke. He tumbled off the hood and didn’t come back up. Another, badly chewed with holes where his nose and ears should be fell onto the windshield and lay still, his gaping belly pressed wetly on the glass. The pounding lessened and more bodies fell off. They heard gunshots and ducked low between the seats.

  More gunshots then a shout. A fist pounded on the driver door. Five hits, a pause, then two more. Then the same rhythm again. They raised their heads cautiously and looked out.

  A man stood behind the bed of a pickup truck, sighting his weapon at the oncoming corpses and taking them down with precision shots. He wore civilian clothes and did not look like military. Then another man, presumably the one who had just banged on the door, climbed out of the ditch back onto the road. Something about his stance looked familiar. Both men wore cloths tied over their mouths and noses. Charles unlocked the door and climbed out cautiously, turning around to retrieve Daniel and set him on the ground. The man who had banged on the door looked back and nodded at Charles and Daniel, motioning them to follow him. Virginia climbed out last and they walked forward, guns drawn with Daniel between them, keeping an eye out for infected. There were probably twelve or fourteen bodies on the ground with neat holes in their heads. Some of the faces were so young, teenagers really, and Virginia, who thought she would be beyond grief by now, felt sad at the sight. She held onto Daniel’s hand tightly. It was a miracle that any of them had made it this far and she felt gratitude as they drew close to the shooters. One, spotting a group of walkers flocking a cow, ran down the road and began to pick them off. The beast’s frightened lowing drew other dead in closer. The other shooter still standing in the road crouched to re-load and Virginia stopped, her legs suddenly wobbly. She turned and started walking back up the road, in the direction of her in-law’s house. Charles grabbed her arm.

  “It might be a good idea to join up with these two if we can Virginia. There’s strength in numbers. Or at least thank them.”

  “I don’t have time for this. I need to get to my children. You don’t have to come with me.”

  “What’s wrong with you?”

  “Nothing is wrong with me.” She shook him off and kept walking. She heard him walk back to the shooters. The gunfire ceased. She sped up until Daniel protested; his little legs couldn’t keep up. She slowed down and soon heard footsteps approaching fast behind her.

  “Virginia?”

  She kept walking.

  “Hey, Virginia!” The speaker caught up with her. She ignored him and sped up. He kept pace.

  “You could at least thank me. I saved your life back there.” The sound of his voice made her angry.

  “No, you didn’t. I was fine.”

  “You wouldn’t have been fine in a few more minutes.” Her husband put a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged off his hand then turned and faced him.

  Ian looked- tired, dirty, and somehow dangerous. Maybe it was the stubbly, not quite a beard yet growth on his face. She realized she had already relegated him to the past and his presence here confused and upset her. Her mouth opened then closed. She could not think of a single thing to say to him. She turned around and trudged on.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To your Mom and Dad’s house. The children are there.”

  “Stop and listen to me. I’ve already been there.”

  That stopped her cold. A deadly fear took hold of her and she turned and looked up into his face, unable to read his expression.

  “What’s going on Ian? You left them there unprotected?”

  “Virginia, I didn’t-”

  Angry shouts followed by a gunshot down the road stopped whatever he was going to say. Charles had somehow knocked the other shooter to the ground and had his pistol pressed against the back of his head. The man on the ground screamed at him and called Ian’s name. Virginia had heard that voice before. Larry had somehow survived and turned up like the proverbial bad penny.

  “Ian, where are my children? “ Ignoring her, Ian strode angrily toward the two men. Virginia outran him and stood in front of Charles defensively.

  “What’s this? This guy is with me, he’s a neighbor actually.” Ian seemed perplexed.

  “This guy” Charles placed his foot on Larry’s neck and pulled a set of cuffs from his belt, “is a murderer and is under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you do say may be used…”

  Virginia moved away. She was a little surprised Charles hadn’t just shot him. A flashback of Sue groping through Kincaid’s mutilated body made her shudder. Larry had killed him and was probably responsible for many other deaths with his part in blocking off the subdivision exit when all this started. Larry, realizing he had been caught out, began to protest.

  “Who? Who am I supposed to have murdered? Don’t you need proof? Witnesses?”

  Charles finished the Miranda warning, hauled Larry to his feet with his good arm and slammed him against the truck.

  “In lieu of incarceration due to lack of facilities, I’m cuffing you to this fence until I can come back for you. If you’re still capable of demanding proof and witnesses then, we’ll start searching for a forensics lab to compare the bullet markings on the bullet in Kincaid’s brain to the marks this (he snatched the pistol from Larry’s belt) gun leaves and see what we find. It‘ll probably take a while.”

  “Ian! Tell him! Tell him how I helped you in Wells.”

  “What are you doing with this guy? He broke into our house and then helped block the subdivision exit so no one could escape when the dead first showed up.”

  “I didn’t know. I ran into him when I got into Wells yesterday. He had climbed a tree and a bunch of walkers had him trapped. I shot enough of them so he could get out of the tree and he’s stuck to me like glue ever since. I don‘t know how he thinks he helped me.” Ian said.

  “Why were you in Wells? You knew the children were here and you said… Oh.” Virginia fell silent.

  “I was looking for you. They’re both ok. Mom is still hanging in there but Dad…”

  “How could you leave them Ian?” She knew she was being unreasonable but couldn’t stop. “I’m so sorry about Dan but you should never have left them. You know it’s still not safe.”

  “I wasn’t going to take them with me. That would have been even more dangerous.”

  “I was fine. The snow slowed me down but I was on my way. You didn’t need to come for me.”

  “My children wanted their mother and even if I hadn’t wanted to come, Mom would have made me.”

  She stopped listening. They were alive! Euphoric and impatient she wanted to run all the way to the Dare’s. She remembered Greg’s blanket and went back to the Explorer to retrieve her backpack. Larry, now cuffed to a length of barbed wire coiled around a sturdy post, shouted out tauntingly,

  “Ask your wife, just how cozy she is with the guy she’s been with for over a week. Those two were pretty close back in Wells. Don’t you want to know what she’s been up to with the handsome sheriff?”

  “Keep yelling big boy. They’ll find you even faster that way.” Charles backhanded him in the face, and then walked over to Ian and Virginia.

  “Are you guys ready to go? I’m afraid I’m not quite up to driving so if one of you will do the honors…”

  The truck wouldn’t start. Getting out they noticed a strong smell of gas and found that a stray bullet, probably the one Larry had fired off at Charles had punctured the gas tank.

  “So we walk. We should be there in an hour.” Virginia was undaunted and wanted to run but she knew Charles wasn’t up to it.

  “You do realize this whole
area is still full of infected and it’ll be dark soon?”

  “We’ll be as quiet as possible and we‘re armed. We’ll make it.” With no other real options, they set out, Daniel on Ian’s shoulders.

  No infected were in sight. The sun on their backs was warm while a chill breeze nipped around them. Snow still lay in shaded patches and their breath came out in frost vapor. Larry yelled at them a few times then Charles’ warning that his shouts would only draw the infected seemed to sink in and he fell silent.

  Virginia said, “Charles, This is Ian Dare, Anna and Greg’s father.” She felt odd not calling him her husband but she supposed he wasn‘t really anymore.

  “Nice to meet you.”

  “Same here. You guys worked together right?”

  “On occasion.”

  “What happened to your arm?”

  “That was a close call. I’m lucky it wasn’t worse or so I’m finding out. Your wife was nice enough to nurse me through it.”

  “Charles saved my life more than once. Daniel and I wouldn’t be here without him.”

  “Where have I seen you before Daniel?”

  “I don’t know. Virginia lives on my street. She drove her car through my yard and she’s helping look for my Mom and Dad. We didn’t find them yet.”

  “It’s hard to find people right now. Maybe we’ll find them soon.”

  “They’re probly not alive anymore.” His voice was shaky but matter of fact.

  Virginia couldn’t think of anything comforting (and truthful) to say so she reached up and squeezed his hand. Frantic, deep lowing drifted across the road and they watched a group of dead swarm the terrified bovine. Just ahead, early leafing willows tipped with pale green hid the branch that ran alongside the road and they clambered down the bank where they were less visible.

  “How were they when you saw them? I got a voice message from Anna and it sounded like they were hiding inside the house and something had happened to Dan…” She trailed off.

  “They were ok. They hadn‘t had real baths in a while but who has? You know Mom; she keeps enough food in the house to last six months or better. No electricity but they had bottled water. Dad had gone out to start the generator and that‘s when it happened. I think the noise attracted them. He probably never heard them coming. The generator is loud and he still won’t, wouldn’t, wear his hearing aids. Mom said Anna and Greg saw it happen from the kitchen window before she could get them away. When I got there I had to take out the two walkers and then-” He stopped talking. The stream gurgled and splashed over the rocks in the streambed. The bank grew steeper and they had to climb back onto the road, which appeared deserted. Charles walked ahead, gun drawn while Ian lagged behind a little with Virginia.

  Screams sounded in the distance. They instinctively formed a circle, facing outward, guns ready. They realized they were probably hearing Larry die. Virginia shuddered. They waited a few minutes then moved on cautiously.

  “How did you get back here? Planes are down right?”

  “Hitched a ride in a military chopper that was headed down to the CDC in Atlanta. I hiked up to the pass at Chapel Croft and took a state truck someone had abandoned near the barrier.”

  “So you took it. We wondered who had.”

  “You saw it? Where were you?”

  “We had to backtrack that night because we couldn’t move the barrier pole so we broke into the inn and spent the night there.”

  “The Laurels? Just the two of you?” He frowned.

  “No Ian, the three of us. Daniel has been with me almost from the beginning.”

  “Should I ask what’s been going on with ‘the handsome sheriff’?”

  “I don’t think you should. I can‘t imagine why it would be any of your business.”

  “Really?”

  “Really. Don’t be stupid. You know me. You don’t know Charles but he’s been a true friend throughout this whole nightmare and-”

  He took her hand before she could snatch it away. “You’re still wearing my ring.”

  “It doesn’t mean anything. I just thought someone might break into the house and steal it.”

  “Virginia, you’re not supposed to say ‘stupid’.” Daniel said.

  “You’re right. I‘ll try not to say it again.” She walked faster until she caught up with Charles. He smiled at her then looked back at Ian.

  “What was DC like when you got out?”

  “Smoky and filled with infected. The higher ups already knew the virus had jumped into the general population and they left hours before the announcement about the ‘successful sterilization.’ When word leaked that the virus had not been contained at Walter Reed the town became pandemonium. Commuters stuffed themselves into the Metro trains like cattle. The automated trains ran for a while but finally breakdowns stranded thousands of people in the tunnels. There were infected among them. Even before I left, no one went near the underground entrances anymore. There are probably countless thousands of zombies roaming down there. The interstates leading out of the city were worse. Some of the smoke cleared by the time I flew out in the chopper. I- 495 was completely impassible and full of roving dead.”

  “You said the chopper was headed to the CDC. Any news on a cure or vaccine?” Obviously, Charles had overheard their previous conversation.

  “Sorry, that’s way above my pay grade and access level. I was just grateful for the ride. Everyone wants out or rather everyone still alive does. There are some hardened, fully stocked shelters being held ‘in reserve ‘for officials who are probably dead or worse. They need to open them up. The old protocols don‘t apply anymore.”

  “Did you make it to our house? The whole neighborhood was infested when Daniel and I got out. Did you see anyone left alive?”

  “No, but I didn’t look too hard. There were a few dead still there but they weren’t moving much. I think the decay had become debilitating. We were already seeing a few like that in DC. The whole decay process is pretty rapid and warmth speeds it up even more. Haiti has less than a quarter of their previous population but most of the living dead are not mobile anymore. Body disposal is obviously a problem and their water is contaminated. The bacteria supposedly caused this new illness and it’s devastated them.”

  “Bill and Portia are both dead. Did you get Bill’s documents I emailed to you?”

  “Yeah, thanks. I sent them to a few people but the situation was still evolving, still is, and there wasn’t a lot of time for historical reflection. Do you remember David Chambord?”

  “Vaguely.”

  “Years ago he found some old documents in the archives about the Marine Corps expedition in Haiti. Apparently, in the early 1920’s, there were a few experiments where they tried to use the virus to create a new ‘invincible soldier’. They didn’t go well and everything was hushed up. David did some research on his own and traced the issue back even further. Some Portuguese traders and priests in Africa encountered something like it in the 1400’s.”

  “Our own government tried to harness this and use it in the military?”

  “It’s not that surprising. Think about the LSD experiments they tried on people in the fifties and sixties and don‘t forget the Tuskegee syphilis ‘research‘.”

  “Why didn’t they start looking for a cure back then?”

  “They tried but science was more primitive then and I guess the issue hasn’t been re-visited. Have you ever wondered why Haiti is as isolated as it is? I think it started as a deliberate policy to keep the genetic component confined to the island.”

  They came to a fork in the road and took the uphill road to the right. An old, white farmhouse crowned the gently sloping hillside. Blown out windows and a partially collapsed roof made the once picturesque farm look desolate. An older woman in a nightgown stained dark red, clawed at the front porch windows dragging two mangled legs behind her. She heard them walking, turned her head toward the road and dragged herself to the porch steps, tumbling down to the ground. One leg broke off
and remained on the porch. She rose up on her arms and they saw the fall had broken something in her neck. Her head now wobbled crazily on her back and shoulders, making her look headless from the front. Still, she pulled herself toward the road.

  “I don’t think she’s worth risking a gunshot for. We’d just draw attention to ourselves. How far are we now from your folks’ house Ian?

  Ian stared at the woman crawling toward them. “About thirty minutes.”

  “We’ll make it before dark then. Good.”

  Walking on in silence, they saw more abandoned houses. A burned out gas station added to the air of lethal desolation. The sun fell behind a copse of bare trees to the west and a chill wind picked up, sending gray clouds scudding across the horizon.

  Coming round a bend they passed between two blue spruces Carolyn had planted to mark the driveway and the beginning of the property. Pea gravel crunched softly under their feet. The tall stone and stucco house looked deserted. No smoke poured from either of the two chimneys and Ian frowned.

  “Are they out of firewood? There was plenty when I left.”

  Virginia quickened her pace. She pulled Greg’s blanket from the backpack and folded it over her shoulder. It still held that indescribably fresh baby smell. The thought of holding him again made her feel she could dance all the way to the door. To the side of the house a freshly dug mound of earth marked where Ian had buried Dan. Two bodies, badly decomposed, lay at the edge of the woodland.

  “I’ll miss him. He was a wonderful father-in-law and grandfather.”

  “He was. He died trying to keep my children safe. I’ll never forget that and I want them to understand what he did when they’re older.” Ian’s mouth hardened into a straight line and he walked faster, pulling ahead of her. She hurried to catch up and slipped on a patch of ice. He caught her and his arms around her felt so familiar, so right. Angry with herself, she pulled away and walked on, reaching the front walkway. She stopped so fast she skidded, shock turning to fear and dread. The front door stood wide open.