by James Gurley
The dawn broke clear and bright. An omen, he hoped, of things to come. The morning was cool after the monsoon rains. A mist hovered over the river and hung to the tops of brush and trees. Over the rush of the river, the soft cooing of a mourning dove and the rustle of a pack rat stirring from its burrow lent a pastoral air to the morning. Another sound broke the stillness of the morning – vehicles. He glanced toward Oracle Road and saw a line of military trucks approaching. They stopped at the bridge beside his ATV. He shook Jessica to get her attention. Her eyes were red-rimmed from crying, but she smiled until he pointed at the army trucks.
“Looks like we have company.”
Her hand went to the AA-12 shotgun beside her. He stopped her.
“No, we can’t fight them.”
An officer stepped down from the lead truck. His eyes searched the riverbank until he spotted them. Behind him, another figure appeared – Reed. He saw the pair and waved. Men spread out and headed toward the mall. Reed and the officer walked toward them.
“I guess Reed managed to get through to his friends.”
Jessica looked at him in confusion.
“I’ll let Reed explain.” When Reed reached them, Jake said, “You’re a little late, but I appreciate the gesture. How did you get through to the army?”
Reed smiled. “An A-10 flew over when I didn’t call. I signaled with a flashlight. Morse code,” he explained.
Jake shook his head. “You are a true boy scout.” To Jessica, he said, “Jessica, meet Alton Reed, high school science teacher and part-time spy for the military.”
She stared at Reed in a new light. “All this time …”
“Jake can explain. Later. Right now, let’s get you back home.”
“Is anything left?” she asked.
“Enough to build on,” Jake said. “If you still want to hang around a while?”
He removed the Arizona Ranger’s badge from his shirt and stared at it. It had gotten him through some dark times, but it was time for him to step into the light. He flung the badge into the river and heard it splash.
“Reed offered me a new job, Sheriff of San Manuel. We’re going to start rebuilding for the future. Are you up for it?”
She kissed him. He thought he felt in her kiss more than gratitude for saving her life or an exchange for services rendered. He felt enthusiasm. He hugged her and kissed her back with a passion he had not expressed in many years. He turned to see both Reed and the officer smiling.
“Levi’s dead.” He didn’t mention who had killed him. That would remain his and Jessica’s secret. “Let’s go home.”
“Home,” Jessica repeated. “That sounds lovely.”
To Jake’s surprise, it sounded lovely to him too.
The End
Read on for a free sample of The Last Infection
1.
There was fear in the little girl’s eyes. Alicen was eight years old and at the moment, the only thing she wanted was not to be eaten. Her older brother Jake had one arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her close. The two kids were held up underneath a truck, their eyes focused on several pairs of feet moving in their direction.
Alicen and Jake's parents were close, but not close enough to help. The parking garage had several floors, but the Bradley family only made it to the second story before their pursuers caught up to them. The news had called the growing mobs, the infected. Alicen and Jake heard terrible things from school and their friends. Some called the infected, vampires, because they wanted blood. Others called them biters because they chewed through your skin. Jake didn't know what to think. He only wished that he hadn't heard all the stories that were stuck in his head.
"Don't let them get me," Alicen whispered.
Jake gave her as serious a look as he could muster then shook his head. Both kids risked a glance underneath the blue SUV parked three stalls over. Their parent's pleading eyes stared back at them, shifting from the nearing pack of feet back to their children. Their mother was crying with both hands wrapped over her mouth trying to keep the noise from escaping. The horror on her face told the kids all they needed to know.
"I want mama," Alicen said.
"Hold on," Jake said. "I told you we have to hide first." He spoke so low, he had to move his lips against her ears before she could hear him. "Please stay quiet."
There was nothing in Jake's twelve years that prepared him for what was happening. He'd spent the last few weeks terrified, held up in his family home as his parent's tried to figure out what to do. The man on the news promised that they'd find a cure and this would all be over soon. That was three weeks ago. A few days later, the news and every other channel went black. The family stayed in the house for a week without going outside.
"They're getting closer."
The horror in his sister’s words pulled Jake's attention back to the advancing pack of people. He was thankful to only be able to see them from the knees down. The infected had an awful look about them and they made unnatural lurching motions with their arms that scared the heck out of him. He hoped they would give up and move on thinking the family had gone further up in the parking garage. As far as he knew, the infected couldn't smell any better than anyone else.
Jake counted about a dozen before he stopped. The erratic steps would have given away their nature, but the sporadic growls were an unmistakable sign of what they were. The group moved in a pack, first around a car, then down the lane. They were coming directly toward the kids. The anguish in their parent’s eyes spoke volumes, but there was nothing they could do.
Jake felt Alicen shake and the violence of it rocked him. He urged her to bury her face in her hands. He didn't want her to see what was coming. He’d witnessed an attack with his dad at the grocery store and the vision of that onslaught clung to him. Two men beat a woman as she tried to get in her car, then before his dad could turn him away, they tore into her, biting at her neck. It scared him more when his dad wouldn't talk about it on the drive home. That was the first time he ever saw his father cry.
The pack was drawing closer and their guttural sounds grew louder. They were only a few cars away when Alicen raised her head. She looked first at Jake, then over at the nearing group. The shock in her eyes was evident, but Jake couldn't move fast enough to stop the yelp before it escaped her mouth. The infected stopped all at once, then in an excited urge, raced forward.
The kids heard their mother scream, but it didn't stop Jake from reacting. A moment later, he was out from under the truck, pulling Alicen with him. He heard his father call him, but the full sight of the horde of infected rushing toward him froze his mind with fear. He didn't know what he was doing or where he was going, but he was running. He clutched his sister's hand with all his might and ignored her pulls to break free.
The two kids dashed between cars and trucks, breaking out into an open driveway as they passed rows of parked vehicles. A ravaging mad score of shrieks and bloodthirsty screeches echoed across the parking garage as the infected neared. Jake’s heart beat wild in his chest. He thought the organ might burst from his body at any moment. He heard Alicen’s panting breath behind him and the weight of her resistance told him she couldn’t keep up for much longer.
He searched frantically for any sign of help, but found nothing. He dared not look at their pursuers even as the sound of their shoes smacking the pavement echoed all around them. Alicen cried out with an anguish of dread, inhuman to his ears. He felt his heart seize up as the terror of the moment consumed him all at once. The sound of his father's voice came over the noise in a rush.
"Over here."
There was an abrupt end to the trailing chorus of death. Jake risked a look over his shoulder without stopping to focus on what was going on. He saw a glimpse of his father, jumping up and down several rows away. He was yelling at the top of his lungs, saying things Jake would have been grounded the rest of his life for repeating.
Jake couldn't see his mother, but he could hear her cries. She was still calling ou
t to her children, begging them to get away. His last sight was the full vision of the infected closing in behind him. The faces of the plague-ridden were as twisted and evil as their twitching limbs. Lifeless gray skin clung to their bodies, hanging over their bones. The bloodstains of their heinous acts covered the remnants of the clothes they wore, which was the only hint to who they were before they lost themselves to the madness. The front of the pack charged for the kids, hollering in some vile call, while the rest turned back for the parents.
"Run, Alicen, run."
The kids darted between two cars as the infected leapt over the vehicles after them. Outstretched hands swiped at Jake's head as he urged Alicen to move faster. The volume of screams swallowed them as the mob closed in. Alicen yelled and cried as terror consumed her. Jake was reduced to dragging her until the strength in his arm gave out. He stepped into an open driveway when Alicen's hand jerked free from his grip.
"Jake!"
The boy turned back and found several bodies diving over a parked car to get at the little girl. One of them had her by the hair, his body lying across the hood of the vehicle. Sheer panic urged Jake to run, but he found his courage and moved back toward his sister. He grabbed hold of her arm as the first few infected hit the ground and got to their feet.
It was a female among them who had a hand around the back of Alicen's neck. Only a patchwork of hair remained of the woman’s once long flowing locks. Gouges in her head revealed bloody wounds and fragments of skull. Her mouth was open, showing teeth stained in an amber hue. Her free hand clawed at the little girl’s neck, drawing blood as she leaned in to bite.
Jake pulled back and threw the first punch of his life he'd ever thrown in anger. His fist caught the woman on the bridge of her nose as she leaned in, and it split the decaying dull skin open in an awful gash. The hit was enough to release her grip and Jake smashed his hand down on the remaining clutched hand, and then pulled his sister away. The rest of the infected mob was on them as he turned to run.
The kids dashed down the last open driveway between the cars with their pursuers close behind. The edge wall of the parking structure was directly ahead and coming fast. The concrete barricade rose several feet from the floor, leaving the rest of the way up to the ceiling open to the outside air. The moon loomed large in the distance, its light revealing the outline of adjacent buildings. A cool wind whisked through the opening as a reminder of the long cold winter ahead.
A flash of movement pulled the kid’s attention from the outside view. Their parents were running for their lives on the adjacent driveway between the parked cars. Jake could see his mother was bleeding. Scarlet spots stained her shirt as a fresh flow poured down the side of her head. The boy cried as the weight of the moment pressed on his young mind. His dad urged him to continue running as he slowed, trying to keep his wife moving.
The kids reached the edge of the parking structure and Jake forced his sister to climb. The infected closed in as he pushed on her backside to get her up on the thin ledge of the barricade. He grabbed hold of the edge, once she was steady, then he jumped and pulled himself up the rest of the way. He sat down on the ledge and discovered the infected only a few feet away. The full ferociousness of their gashing teeth and ripping clutches froze him stiff.
It was a final yell from his father that shook Jake free. The man rushed between the cars and leapt at the infected, throwing himself at them. The infected turned their attention on him, ripping into his skin. Jake used the time bought from his father's sacrifice to act. He peered over the edge into a dark alleyway, then grabbed his sister and pushed. The girl's shrill scream echoed all the way down until she landed in a dumpster two stories below.
Jake never looked back for his parents. He knew he would never see them again. He angled himself, slipping his legs over the edge then pushed off. A rush of cold washed over him as the sensation of falling hit the pit of his stomach. The impact was hard, but he couldn't find anything broken.
A quick search revealed Alicen already out in the alleyway. Jake jumped out and grabbed her hand. The girl’s eyes were swollen and red. Jake pulled her close and forced her to look at him.
"Stay close to me, you hear?" The little girl nodded and tightened her grip on his hand. "No matter what, you never let go."
The kids started off toward the street forced to listen to their parent’s dying screams echoing from up above.
The Last Infection is available from Amazon here
