“We’ll have to go through downtown,” Ethan stated.
Everyone looked at Josh. “Aw, fuck it!” he said as he swerved toward a sign that said “Downtown Memphis 5 miles.”
ARMOR
CHAPTER 29
2100 EST
PENNSYLVANIA
The snowplow was still in decent working condition as it made its way down Highway 79 out of Morgantown. “We spent three hours trying to get somewhere that should have taken us half the time,” Phil said as he looked out the window.
“I will tell you one thing, Phil. You know how to lead the way,” Mike Harrison said as he noted the wave of headlights following them.
“So where is this hunting cabin?” Harrison asked.
“South, in the Smokey Mountains. It is all hunting cabins and small towns out there. My ex–brother-in-law took me there one time for deer hunting.”
“Think we can make it in this thing?” Mia asked.
“Maybe, if we find some fuel and someone who isn’t trying to eat us,” Phil commented.
“There are lights in front of us,” Harrison said.
There was a lonely truck stop ahead. The lights were still on inside. There wasn’t any movement other than the headlights of the snowplow turning into the diesel side. Thirteen cars full of people were behind the snowplow, and they too turned into the truck stop. “Follow the leader, huh?” Harrison said as he looked back.
“Paul, I want you to stay in the truck, no matter what happens. OK?”
“But Daddy, I have to pee!”
“Well, if he’s going, I am too,” Harrison said. Phil nodded at him. “Want to join us, little lady?” Harrison said to Mia. She nodded. Phil rolled the snowplow up to the pump and got out with his baseball bat. He looked around at the fence and back around at the road. The other cars were pouring into the gas station. People stopped their cars and got out. Humans exchanged chatter as they went into the gas station.
Many were armed with hand tools, shovels, and sticks, and one guy carried a garden spade. They swept alongside the gas-station glass. Phil could see the man with the spade shrug his shoulders as he mouthed something. No one inside. Harrison took Paul and Mia to the side of the building and opened the door. The men’s bathroom smelled like ammonia and stale air. Harrison carried his piece of rebar as he checked all the stalls. Paul couldn’t hold it anymore, so he went to the first urinal. Mia followed suit and took the first stall while Harrison heard the sound of urine leaving their bodies. He took the urinal next to Paul. “Don’t ever get old, kid,” he said as he took down his pants and began to urinate. He watched the door as he began to hear sobbing coming from the stall. “Are you OK?” The sobbing quieted. “Look, we’re all scared, and it’s OK. We’re just taking this one thing at a time, and currently, it’s pee time,” he said as he looked at little Paul.
The bathroom door was kicked open. Harrison swung around as urine ran down his leg. It was another group of humans who wanted the delicacy of urinating in a familiar environment. “You scared the piss out of me!” Harrison said as he lowered his rebar.
“Sorry, man. Didn’t know when we were going to stop. I didn’t want to lose sight of the snowplow. After everyone is done in here, we need to get together and come up with a plan.” At this time, Mia had come out of the stall wiping teary mascara from her face. Harrison followed as Paul followed too.
Inside the truck stop, everyone was taking things from the shelves—canned food, boxes of crackers, soda, beer—and they even raided the milk that was still in the coolers. “Maps, where are the maps?” Phil spoke over the commotion. “Everyone shut the hell up!” The room fell to a crinkle of a potato-chip bag. “I’m in the snowplow. I’m going to the mountains. That’s my plan. What—” Phil stopped talking. A sound was made that sounded all too familiar to some of the humans. The group looked out the window to see a strong wind blowing the metal sign outside the gas station. Then a spotlight moved until it centered itself on the gas station. The spotlight hovered in the air. “Military!” one of the men shouted. “They’re here to rescue us!” a woman’s voice rang out. A voice boomed through the air. “If you are human, stay inside. This is the National Guard. We are coming to get you!” Without understanding what was said, two people from the group ran outside without hesitation, waving their hands and arms looking for salvation. They were met with a hail of bullets that went through their bodies into the pavement, causing those still inside to shield themselves behind the shelves. “Do not move! We are coming to get you!” The voice boomed again. “No one go outside!” Harrison shouted against the whirl of the helicopter blades.
The whirl was getting louder as the helicopter landed. Four soldiers ran from the helicopter to the gas-station doors. One stopped at the two bodies lying on the pavement. He pulled out his sidearm and shot them again in the forehead and picked up his stride to the door. The soldiers lined against the window. One knocked on the glass door as if he was a door-to-door salesman. “Let us in!” the soldier shouted. One of the humans nearest the door obliged and pushed the door open for them. They were instantly met with assault rifles pointed in any direction they met multiple white sclera. “Is anyone sick?” the lead soldier asked.
“No! All human!” Phil shouted back.
“Get in the chopper now! Single file!” Phil placed his hands on Paul’s shoulders as they lined up single file to get in the helicopter. Two soldiers were each side looking outward. One soldier dropped to his knee as he zeroed in on his sight. There was a shambling body coming from the road. It slowly made its way into the dim lights on the gas-station dome. “Firing!” he said as he pulled the trigger. “One, this is three. Bogey down! Keep a lookout!” he said over the microphone on his helmet. “Twenty heads coming onboard.” “We’re full. OSCAR MIKE!” they heard from the radios.
“Where are we going?” Phil asked the man in uniform as they all took a seat on the Chinook helicopter.
“Fort Knox, Elizabethtown, Kentucky!”
“That’s five hundred miles away!” Phil said in shock.
“At least we’re not walking!” the soldier said. The helicopter rose off with the group. Two soldiers sat on the ramp and fired a few more rounds as the helicopter turned and left in a hurry. Phil sat next to Paul, who was sitting next to Mike Harrison. Harrison shared a look to Phil and then across the ground to Mia who was sitting with her knees pulled to her chest. She too had an expression of mystery and relief. The lights in the helicopter turned to a light-green hue. Phil looked around the eerily lit helicopter to the sea of faces. Some had looks of hope on their face; others shared a look of fatigue. The last twenty-four hours had been trying. Many had lost loved ones, but all were scared. Harrison reached in his pocket. Still there, he thought as he rubbed his fingers on the envelope pressed against his pill bottle. “Altitude reached,” the pilot said. The lead solider stood at the front of the helicopter. “All right everybody!” he boomed. “We are the national guard! We are here to save you! We are going to Fort Knox! There is a refugee camp being built as we speak! All are welcome as long as you are healthy! I want you all to stand! We are going to check you all for bite marks! This is for your safety and ours! So please stand up, and remove your clothing!” The civilians on the helicopter all exchanged glances. “Do as we say, and there won’t be a problem!” the soldier barked.
One by one the civilians stood and began to disrobe. “All the way?” a woman asked. “Yes,” he said as he stepped closer to her. He grabbed a blanket and held around her. He looked her in the eyes. They started at the back of the helicopter. One by one the civilians stood and turned as the soldiers commanded. One of the soldiers moved a flashlight over their skin doing an assessment as they took temperatures. “Clean,” he said as he looked around the civilians still covering their privates. They moved to the next person. The group watched as they moved down the line. Phil looked at Paul. “It’s going to be OK, little buddy.”
“Stand!” the soldier said to a young woman with gl
asses in mismatched bra and panties. “Turn!” he said. The woman obliged and turned her backside to the soldier. “Clean,” he said as the woman kept her head low. She got dressed as fast as she could.
The man next to her stood to his feet slowly. The soldier watched as sweat rolled down his forehead. “Sir! Undress!” the soldier said. The man attempted to take his shirt off. Slowly he revealed a wound above his left nipple. The soldier racked his weapon. “Move to the door!” The man began to shake. He fell to the ground and foamed at the mouth. “Fuck! Open the door!” The soldier with the flashlight pulled a roll of duct tape from his front pouch and began rolling the duct tape around the foaming mouth. “Watch yourself!” the lead soldier said. “Get his hands too!” the duct tape was rolled around the shaking man’s wrists. “Everyone, hold on!” the lead soldier shouted as he pushed the hatch open.
“Help me!” the flashlight soldier said to a civilian. “Get his feet!” The two men carried the bound and shaking man to the door. Phil watched as he witnessed the whole thing.
The two men carried the man to the door and stood him from both sides. He saw the lead soldier mouth something inaudible. He stood behind the man and gave him a kick out the door into the night sky. The crowd all stood as they watched their saviors push a man from a helicopter. The soldiers all pointed their weapons at the crowd. “He was bitten!” the lead soldier shouted. “Sit back down, or you can join him!” The crowd weighed their options and took a seat, still in their underwear holding their clothes in their hands. The soldier pulled the door closed, and the noise ceased. “He was bitten! He would have killed all of us!” he said as he replaced his sidearm in his holster. The soldiers started back their skin assessments. One by one, they checked everyone, including Paul. “Do you understand what just happened, son?” the lead soldier said to Paul.
“You pushed him out,” Paul said.
“Yes, he was sick. He was going to kill us all. Would you have wanted that?” Phil placed a hand on Paul’s shoulder. The little boy looked up at his father. “I didn’t think so.” The lead soldier stood and allowed Paul to get dressed.
They moved to Mr. Harrison. They eyed his piece of rebar. “Looks useful,” the soldier said as he moved his flashlight over Mike.
“I used to have a golf club, but I broke it,” he said as he looked at Phil. “Clean.” The soldiers moved to Mia. She had disrobed to reveal a sports bra and boy shorts. “Kinky,” the soldier said as he moved his flashlight from one of her eyes to the other. Her teary mascara was purely visible in the light. There was blood in her hair. The soldier took special attention to her hair. “Here is a bottle of water. We need to get the blood out of your hair. Is it yours?
“I don’t think so,” she said sheepishly.
“I’d hate to throw you out of the chopper too,” he said as he looked in her big brown eyes. “Hold still,” he said as he uncapped the bottle of water and poured it over her head. The lukewarm solution rolled down her head. He handed her a towel to dry off and reinspected her scalp. “Clean. Sorry about that,” the soldier said as he handed her back her clothing. She caught his name badge. Raven. They moved back down the line. Mia exchanged a glance at Phil who nodded at her as she put her clothes back on.
After the assessments, the helicopter fell silent. The feeling of embarrassment flew over everyone, and they felt at peace finally. Everyone seemed to fall asleep. The first sleep they’ve had in what felt like a long time.
MUD ISLAND
CHAPTER 30
TUESDAY 1100 CST
MEMPHIS
Downtown Memphis looked like a warzone. “Hmm, it actually got worse,” Ethan said as he looked out the window. The truck had traveled as many back roads as it could. They finally had to make the turn on to 3rd street. Bodies lay on the ground as Josh drove as carefully as possible. What used to be homeless people and people in suits joined forces in their current state of form. The white security truck became their object of attention as it drove past them. “Riverside!” Jenna shouted as she saw the river.
“Where are all the boats?” Ashley asked.
“Maybe everyone else had the same idea,” Josh said.
“Where are all the people?”
“They probably evacuated,” Ethan said. He saw Jenna’s head sink down. “Maybe they’re hiding? There are plenty of rooftops and high rises around here. That’s where I would go,” he said trying to inspire hope. Jenna and Ashley began to look up as Ethan kept an eye at street level. “Look!” Josh stated as he pointed out the windshield. In the middle of the street stood a solar-powered LED sign that had been dropped in haste: “Alive? Go to Mud Island.” It had an arrow pointing to the left. “Well, that’s a good sign,” Josh said as he looked around the cab of the truck looking to see if anyone caught his pun. “Let’s go then,” he said as he turned his blinker to the left. The river was on the left. Against the river was a fence. The fence was lined with reanimated people pushing against it. “Shit!” Josh said as he stomped on the gas pedal swerving around obstacles in the road. “It’s cool, dude. I don’t think they know we’re here.” Ethan said right as Josh bumped a parked car with the bumper of the truck, igniting its alarm system. Some of the corpses turned around displaying a look of interest.
“Never mind,” Ethan said as he hoisted himself out the window and began firing into the crowd of dead people. “Bring it on!” Ethan shouted as he pumped the shotgun after firing again. Josh pushed the car out of the way, and forward they went.
“Get your ass back inside!” Jenna shouted.
Josh turned the truck toward the sky lift. Mud Island was a man-made island. The only way to get there at the current time was a sky lift. People were locked against the fence waiting for the next tram car to return. Everyone wore a panicked face while they desperately waited. The security truck made its way to the entrance. The reanimated ones were pressing against the doors. The scared people were trying to keep the doors closed. “How do we get in?” Ashley asked.
“Ram them!” Ethan shouted as he reloaded the shotgun.
“What about the people inside?” Josh asked.
“Honk the horn!” Ethan answered as he stuck his head out the window. “Move! Get out of the way!” he was cut off by Josh holding down the horn. The horn caught the attention of the red-eyed corpses. They turned only to hear a blaring horn and a voice coming from the backseat. “Charge!” Ethan shouted as Josh forced the truck up the handicap ramp. The truck jolted as it made a forceful connection with the metal doors and surrounding concrete. The bodies were pinned between the two objects. “Hit ’em again!” Ethan shouted. He slammed the stick in reverse back down the ramp. Again he blared on the horn until he hit the doors. The truck’s engine sputtered to a quick death.
“Fuck!” Josh said as he tried to start the truck.
“We don’t need it! Get out!” Ethan said as he left the truck. He kept watch as the women and Josh escaped the truck and gathered their belongings.
Ethan slung a bag over his shoulder and walked up to the corpses. He pulled out his sidearm and put a round in each of their skulls as they were sandwiched between the door and the truck. Josh put the truck in neutral, and they pushed it away from the door. “Steel doors,” Josh said as he admired his ramming skills. He went to open the door, but it was jammed. “Shit!” He heard sounds from the other side of the door as it tried to budge from that side. “It won’t move!” he heard from the other side. “Climb!” Josh said as he saw movement behind them. Ethan took a few paces forward and aimed for the pale heads coming their way. He missed the first round but tunneled the second round in its head. “Why is that guy naked?” Jenna thought as she helped Ashley up the side of the building. “Climb over the railing!” Josh said as he threw his bags over the railing. People from the other side came to their aid as the girls made their way over. “Ethan, come!” Josh said as he watched his friend fire wildly at the corpses coming toward them. Ethan threw his shotgun in Josh’s direction. He sprinted and pulled himself up.
He stood on the concrete, and he began to climb the cabled railing.
He made his way over the railing and fell to the ramp below. Jenna came to his aid. “Ooowww!” He let out a groan. He remembered the piece of glass stuck in his back. He made it to his feet and backed away from the railing. “Holy hell, that just happened.” He brushed himself off and stole a kiss from Jenna. She wrapped herself around him with a hug. She pulled back her hand to reveal blood. She backed away slowly. “It’s not what you think!” he said as she looked at the blood in her palm. Ethan removed his shirt to show her and everyone around her that his shoulder was still bleeding from the glass of the back window. “It’s fine, babe,” he said as the adrenaline left his body. The tram car made an appearance in the distance.
Ethan didn’t remember how he made it onto Mud Island, but he awoke in a tent. He was on a table, lying on his stomach. He turned his head looking around. He saw Josh and Ashley holding hands leaning against a wall asleep. “Where are we?” he asked. A new voice rang out.
“Mud Island. We made a camp here.” He heard as he felt the familiar pain in his shoulder. “You took a chunk of glass.” A gloved hand pulled a metal bowl to his eye level showing a half inch of tinted glass with blood on it.
“Awesome,” he said as he placed his head back down.
“You must have been tired. They said they had to carry you here. You talk in your sleep by the way. That was the only way we knew you weren’t infected.”
“Well hooray for that,” he said sarcastically. “What’s happening around here?” Ethan asked the woman with the gloved hands.
“There is an infection happening. People are getting bitten and turning into monsters. Martial law has been enforced. Anyone showing signs of sickness are being executed.”
The Week of the Dead Page 11
