Torn Apart (Book 1): Terror In Texas

by Hoaks, C. A.

Matt rolled down the window and prepared to pick off any infected that got too close. Jake rolled his window down and aimed a gun out the window.

  The Humvee roared through the grassy roadside divider and hit the asphalt of the parking lot with a leap of the front wheels. The vehicle landed with a bone jarring crash then raced across the parking lot. The soldiers on the sides of the vehicle aimed and fired AKs at approaching infected while clinging to the rail at the top of the vehicle.

  When the Humvee got twenty feet from the bus, Larry slammed on the breaks and skidded to a stop. The soldiers jumped to the ground and took up positions to begin taking out the infected still hanging around. Jake and Matt jerked open the door and stood on the running boards covering the soldiers back. Jenkins and his team quickly disposed of the remaining infected blocking the bus door and formed a perimeter around the door.

  Jenkins kicked two open luggage doors closed, rushed to the bus door then slammed his flat hand against the glass. “Come on kid...let’s go!”

  A boy of about fifteen had started pulling suitcases from the steps and passed them to a couple more teens behind him and stowed them in empty seats. The youth jerked open the bus door and slid back between two seats.

  Jenkins stormed into the bus and quickly cleared the way for the rest of the soldiers to enter. When the last soldier stepped inside, the door was slammed closed.

  Matt and Jake jumped back into Humvee slamming the doors as the infected from the fire noticed the activity at the bus and began wandering back.

  Larry depressed the mic button and instructed. “Fire it up and let’s get out of here, Jenkins!”

  Matt looked back at the bus just in time to see a bloom of black smoke billow from the tailpipe.

  A blink of lights and the bus pulled out.

  Chapter 18

  Hidden Away

  Steve had made random turns until they found themselves in a rural wooded area and had not seen a moving vehicle or an infected in nearly twenty miles. The afternoon light faded as the sun disappeared below the tree line. The road felt claustrophobic as Steve steered between the overgrown brush and trees encroaching from the fence line on either side of the crumbling asphalt.

  “It’s going to be dark soon. We can’t just keep driving.” Steve announced. “Look for a place to spend the night, a vacant building, a barn or something.”

  Steve guided the van around potholes and decaying asphalt while Della and the kids peered down each of the side roads and infrequent clearings.

  Ten minutes later, Della pointed to a weathered structure in the distance. “There! A barn.” Della announced. “We should check it out. We’re all exhausted and I don’t see how we can all spend the night in the van.”

  Steve nodded. “I know. Let’s check it out.”

  Steve turned the van down a narrow trail barely more than two dirt paths overgrown with grass on either side and in between. Trees and brush on both sides of the path scratched against the sides of the van as they followed the pot hole riddled path of bare dirt.

  Driving on the rutted path tossed the occupants of the van back and forth. As they drew closer, they saw a weathered gray two-story building with a double door at the front. When they pulled up to the barnyard they saw the doors met at the center of the opening with only a few inches separation. The knee high grass in front of the barrier gave no hint of recent uses.

  “Doors are closed,” Zack noted. “That’s good, right?”

  “Yep, buddy.” Steve stopped the van, turned off the engine, opened the van door and stepped outside. “I’m going to have a look inside.”

  “One of us should be doing this.” Della protested.

  He reached across Della to the glove box and pulled out a flashlight. “No. I can run faster with the blades than anyone else in the van. Besides, my ass is killing me.” He added with a wink.

  The aged wood of the barn had not been painted in years and only a hint of the original barn red remained. It looked to be an abandoned structure. The double door at the entrance had been patched from time to time and not with any great amount of care.

  After an easy jog to the structure, Steve pushed open the door and disappeared inside. He turned on the flash light and swept it over the inside. Shafts of the afternoon light filtered through gaping holes of damaged and broken boards. It was far from an air tight structure and that was a good thing as warm as the weather had gotten. Most of the slats of wood in the two cupolas were missing. He ended the perusal with a quick examination of the ground at the doorway.

  A single set of tire prints entered the aged barn. No footprints of the driver closing the door were evident so it had been a while since human activity. Steve took the time to walk the interior and decided no one had been back in quite a while with the dust and dirt on the hood of a truck parked in the structure. The barn was being used to store hay but looked as if it were not a recent cutting.

  A few minutes later, he reappeared from the barn with a relieved smile on his face. He pushed the second door open and headed for the van.

  When he got inside, he struggled back into the driver seat and closed the door. He fired up the engine and made a K-turn and backed into the barn next to the old pickup truck with a camper on the back.

  Once inside, Zack slammed the button to open the side door and ramp. He caught up with Steve at the doors and stepped outside to pull one of the doors closed while Jimmy did the same with the other. Steve picked up an eight-foot board and hauled it to the door. With both boys help, they slid the length down on to the open topped wooden door handles to secure the ends in similar wood stops on the door frame. When they finished, the doors were secure.

  Della saw the camper and tentatively approached the back door. She turned the knob to find the door unlocked. She took a breath then knocked on the window of the door. When she heard nothing, she knocked a little harder. With only silence in answer, she cautiously turned the door handle. She accepted the light from Steve while he raised a weapon. She pointed the beam inside the dark interior of the camper. She gasped, delighted at the contents.

  Martha and Sandy came back from looking around the stalls and the hay mount overhead.

  Martha complained. “This place stinks. I’m hungry.”

  “Me too.” Sandy echoed.

  Della called out softly. “Get over here, girls and help me. We’ll get food together that much quicker.”

  The girls walked to the camper and Della began handing supplies out of the camper. She pulled out a camp stove, camp chairs, two camping lanterns and a stack of bedding.

  Steve, Zack, and Jimmy stumbled through the gloom to where the girls were busy sorting through supplies. Della stuck her head out of the camper and pointed at the lamps. “Can you use this stove and lamp?”

  “As long as we’re careful. There’s plenty of ventilation.” Steve grabbed the Coleman and gave it a shake then asked. “Is there any fuel in there?”

  After a minute or two, she leaned back out of the camper with a bottle in her hand. “Is this it? There’re three more bottles under the sink. Do you need the light a minute?”

  “Yes, to both,” Steve answered.

  He had Jimmy hold the flashlight while he poured liquid fuel into the lamp reservoir. When it was full, he lit the mantle and adjusted the light to a dim glow.

  Jimmy took the light back to Della and then wandered off to explore the gloom.

  Zack carried a case of water from the van then went back to retrieve a case of the canned food. With that done, he set up two camp chair and a couple stools.

  Jimmy brushed loose hay from the circle with a ratty barn broom he found leaning against the wall. When he was done he wandered off to check out the barn himself.

  Seeing there was not enough seating for the group, Zack disappeared into the back of the barn and came back with two square bales of hay, one in each ad. He made three more trips and they ended with bales in a semi-circle around the dim light. He returned to stand by Steve.

  “Can’t
it be any lighter in here?” Martha whined.

  Steve answered with a sigh. “No. We don’t want anyone or anything to know we’re here.” He began going through the supplies, setting out half a dozen spoons and an aluminum pot.

  Jimmy reappeared. “That might not be so easy. I saw a house across the field in back. There’re lots of lights over there.” Jimmy announced when he stepped out of the shadows. “Maybe we should go check it out.”

  “No!” Answered both Della and Steve at the same time.

  Steve turned down the lamp to a dim glow. “We need to stack up bales of hay on that back wall. You girls can help.” The tone in his voice brooked no argument.

  Fifteen minutes later, bales were stacked against the back wall of the barn over head-high. Zack and Steve walked outside and around to the back of the barn to examine their work.

  “Well?” Zack asked.

  “It’ll do, but we’ll keep the lights turned down.”

  They walked back inside the barn to hear an ongoing conversation.

  “I don’t understand why we don’t go over there. It’s people.” Martha commented.

  “Because, we don’t know who they are,” Della answered.

  “But they probably have running water and we could get cleaned up,” Sandy added. “Even if it’s a bucket of water it’s better than nothing. I feel gross.”

  Della sighed. “We do what Steve says. End of discussion.”

  Steve leaned over the camp stove and lit one of the two burners while Della dumped containers of canned pasta into an aluminum pot.

  “Isn’t this a fire hazard?” Della asked.

  Steve turned to her and answered. “Not if we’re careful since I cleaned the floor.”

  “Oh. Makes sense.”

  Steve looked toward Sandy. “As for why we can’t go over to that house, we can’t be sure everyone will be friendly and not take advantage of the chaos. The government won’t be able to control this situation. Most of the soldiers on the bases are dead and those in charge will pull back any personnel they have to create a buffer zone. We’ll end up being on our own. When resources get scarce, survivors will be in danger from thieves and bandits as well as the infected dead.”

  “Look what happened in New Orleans after Katrina. People shot each other, stole food, killed and raped.” Della added. “Society breaks down and people once controlled by the fear of law enforcement will be free to do whatever they want. It won’t be easy for any of us.”

  Martha began to cry. “But my family? Brad?”

  “All you can do is hope that they survive. In time, people will come together and when they do, maybe you can find them again.” Della advised. “Right now all we can do is survive and find a safe place.”

  Della began spooning content to each of the individual containers and passing them out to the waiting hands. When she got to Martha she refused the offering.

  The air was heavy and still in the massive structure. The smell of animals that had once been bedded there still lingered, amid the aroma of dry hay. Steve settled on a bale of hay and wiped beads of moisture from his face.

  “I sure am hot,” Zack commented around a mouthful of warmed pasta. “Too bad this barn doesn’t have windows.”

  “Maybe we can do something about it.” Steve glanced up to the hay mount above the double wooden door they had come through. “There’s an access door up there that one of you boys might be able to open. It might allow a draft with the vents on the other side of the hay loft. That’ll be the best we can hope for.”

  With bellies full, the kids wandered off to find their own comfort while Della and Steve settled next to each other on bales of hay to talk. “So you picked up my legs?” Steve asked.

  “The blades were new. Figured you might need your old prosthetics. They’re in the bag. You want me to get them?” Della answered. “You need to give your legs a break.”

  “I know.” Steve pulled his leg up and eased the blade’s prosthetic cuff from the stump on his right leg. With a sigh, he pulled the silicone sock from the stump and began massaging the reddened flesh.

  Della leaned forward. “Is it getting sore?”

  Steve raised his hand. “A little. It’s alright. I’m just tired.”

  “You have to be extra careful to avoid pressure points. We can’t afford to have you unable to walk.”

  “Believe me, I know.” Steve grinned. “I can’t afford to be a cripple. If something happens to one of the blades, well....”

  “No worries on that account. Remember I made them and I can fix them.” Della smiled.

  Jimmy climbed to the loft and opened the access door above the double door. He came back down and they could see the remnants of a rope dangling from the roof. As they sat in the dim light of a single lamp, the barn fell quiet. Jimmy and Zack settled down to rest. The group huddled around the lamp each lost in their own thoughts when a distant shriek shattered the silence.

  “Was that a scream?” Della whispered.

  The group tensed and waited. Steve turned the lamp off.

  “What the hell? Zack began, but Della shushed him.

  When they heard nothing more, Steve commented. “We need to keep an eye on that bunch across the field.”

  “There’re some slatted windows at the corner. I can climb the bales at the far end of the hay loft and keep watch from there.” Jimmy volunteered.

  Steve nodded. “Take turns. If you see any lights head this way, let me know immediately.”

  Jimmy and Sandy climbed into the hayloft and made their way to the back wall facing the distant lights. They broke two slats from a vent to watch the house and outbuilding in the distance. Zack stretched out on a bed of hay. Martha disappeared into the shadows where they could hear her sniffle from time to time.

  Chapter 19

  Stay Alive

  “Damnit, Liz!” Harry cursed as he stepped away from her. “That wasn’t a kid. The kid died when one of those monsters tore out his throat.”

  John looked at her with a pained face. “You did him a favor. Trust me. If it happens to me, I’d want you to do the same thing. Blow my fucking brains out.”

  Liz nodded. “I know, but I can’t help, but think of my girls. It’s making me crazy.”

  Harry turned back to face her. “Your daughters are fine. They’re with three men that are better equipped to survive this than anyone else I know. Our job is to stay alive until we find them.”

  After an impatient swipe at the tears streaking her face, she nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

  They searched the back roads the entire afternoon and when it started to get dark they decided to spend the night in an abandoned gas station. At first light they headed out again. Despite wandering the back roads they saw no trace of the Humvee. By mid-afternoon, they were exhausted and back on a two lane back-top stopped to discuss where to head next. They stood around drinking warm water and eating energy bars.

  Harry commented. “I think we’re ahead of them. It’s the only explanation.”

  “There hasn’t been any sign of the Humvee.” Liz answered. “Maybe….”

  “Shush. I hear something.” John interrupted.

  All three stood with their heads cocked to listen beyond the normal sounds of chirping crickets and birdsong.

  “Motorcycles,” John commented. “At least a dozen heading this way. Coming fast.”

  “John, give me your jacket,” Harry ordered as he handed Liz her helmet. “Keep the helmet on while we talk. Liz, tuck your hair inside the jacket. Don’t speak until we find out what we’re dealing with.”

  Harry reached into one of the saddlebags and drew out a sleeveless denim vest with a Harley emblem on the back. He threw it to John. “Put this on.”

  “What do you want my jacket for?” John asked as he peeled out of his leather. “It’s way too big for her.

  “That’s the point.” Harry took it and gave it to Liz. “I don’t want anyone noticing she’s a woman.”

  Liz twist
ed a band around her hair and set the helmet over her head. She slipped into the jacket and then settled behind Harry on the bike. They took off fast heading west on the narrow blacktop.

  “We can’t turn and outrun them. Slow down and follow my lead.” Harry called out to John. “John, try to look tough. “ Within minutes, they caught their first sight of the gang racing toward them fast.

  John turned back with a fake looking scowl on his face then burst out laughing. “Mean enough for yah?”

  Harry scowled. “Man, get serious. This could be bad.”

  Liz’s heart raced as the first biker on a custom Harley Davidson soft tail motioned for his fellow riders to spread out. The road ahead of them was blocked by a dozen and a half bikers. They all looked rough and mean.

  Two of the bikers pulled up in front of John and Harry. They sat facing the trio gunning their engines letting the gang surround them. When there was no escape, they killed their engines.

  Liz clutched at the front of Harry’s jacket. He gently eased her hands free of the leather.

  “Hang tough, kid,” Harry whispered through the helmet mic. “Whatever happens, don’t speak.”

  Liz loosened her grip and straightened up on the seat. She glanced around and counted a total of sixteen riders surrounding them.

  They sat quietly, turning off their engines. The gang facing them suddenly began moving apart to let a single rider approach. The rider was a bear of a man with wild black hair barely controlled by a do-rag covering the top of his head. He pulled aviator glasses from his face and studied Harry, then John.

  Finally, he commented with a sardonic grin. “Hell of a good day for a ride.”

  Harry pulled his helmet off and rested it on the gas tank in front of him. “If you don’t mind all the dead bodies walking around, I guess.”

  “Right.” He made a loud guffawing sound. “No fucking joke. My name is Willie Ryder. Most people just call me Ryder. Where’d y’all come from?”

  “East,” Harry answered. “You?”

  “A lot of places,” Ryder answered. “Who you got riding with you on that tricycle?”