by Hoaks, C. A.
He made his way from stall to stall, stopping at each stall door and gently pushing it open. Each time he found and empty clean toilet. He rounded the corner to the showers and stopped mid-step when he realized the sound was really close.
Matt felt moisture slide down his back and wished he had a drink to settle his nerves. He stepped up to each of the curtains, eased it back and peeked around the corner. Each time the stall was empty until he got to the last one. Just as he slid his foot forward, he heard the scratching and a screech. He took a deep breath then peered around the final curtain. The light flashed across a small furry animal as it darted across Matt’s feet to escape up the wall and through an opened window.
“Fuck!” Matt gulped air and fell against the wall.
Matt stumbled from the bathroom still struggling with his racing heart rate.
Jake looked back from the blinds he was opening. Light spilled into the room from the head-high row of windows on both ends of the building. The room was slowly brightening with each blind being tilted open.
“Man you look like shit. What happen?”
“Nothing. Just a fucking ground squirrel scared the shit outta me.” Matt forced a laugh. “I thought I was going to have a heart attack.”
Together they walked to the opposite wall and opened the blinds. The room filled with light from the high windows.
When they were finished, they walked out into the afternoon sun and waved at Larry to follow them to the manager’s office. When they got to the building they knocked on the front door. The door was locked.
Matt called out. “Hello in the house.”
There was no sound from inside and glancing through the window showed the inside of a small office. The room was neat and clean as if someone would appear at any moment ready to do business.
“Let’s see if the back door is open before we break in.”
Matt walked around to the back of the building and under a covered patio found a sliding door with a folded white sheet of paper taped to the window.
Matt opened it and read. The door is unlocked. We’re leaving and don’t figure on coming back. Use what you can. Generator in back will run the water pump and water heater if power fails. Extra gas in the shed. The note included a few instructions to switch to generator power and a scrawled signature.
Matt slid open the slider and stepped inside the building to see an office, a living room, kitchenette, small table. He walked to the back of the building and found two small bedrooms.
“Dibs on a bed.” Jake laughed.
“Sure. It’s half your size, asshole.” Matt answered as he stepped out the front door and opened it. He waved Larry closer and then called out. “Call ‘em in.”
Matt turned back to Jake. “When they get inside the compound, close the gate and get a couple men to walk the perimeter and make sure that deer fence is secure. I don’t want any surprises walking in on dinner. Larry can get the girls settled. Jenkins and his men can help me get the kids out of the bus and fed.”
Larry pulled the Humvee to a stop in front of the manager’s office. He helped Amy to the ground then released the carrier from the car seat and pulled Claire out of the back seat. Amy retrieved the diaper bag and followed Larry into the house. She stepped into the living room, sat down the bag then made a quick tour of the interior of the house.
Amy looked into each of the rooms, opened doors and looked into closets. Having satisfied some question concerning her surroundings, she sat down next to Claire’s car seat, released her from the harness and laid her on the couch to change her diaper.
Larry carried a case of water, a case of food and box of baby supplies inside then squatted down next to Amy.
“Little Mama, I’m goin’ outside to help the others. Can you take care of your sister?” He walked to the window in the living room and opened it then headed into the kitchen and opened one above the sink. “I’ll be outside if you need me.”
Amy called out. “We’ll be fine. Claire Bear needs a bottle. I can take care of her.”
“There’s water and food if you’re hungry. I’ll be back soon.” Amy gave him a thumbs-up and Larry added. “If it gets too hot inside, you two can come outside once the bus is parked.”
Across the campgrounds, Matt guided the bus around several picnic tables and smattering of trees to a camper hookup near the public building.
By the time the bus was parked, Larry had backed up the Humvee to the picnic area. He opened up the back. Matt and Larry began carrying cases of food and water to the nearest table. Matt pulled a knife from his belt and slit open the plastic wrap. They broke out packages of single serving pasta, plastic spoons and began setting them out at the tables.
As Matt went back for another case of food, he saw the bus door swish open and the first of the soldiers descended the steps each carrying a child and leading another. The first four children were under the age of six. The men set the small children on a bench.
Jenkins rumpled the hair of a little boy with big blue eyes. “Okay, Timmy. My friends are going to get you something to eat and drink. When everyone is out of the bus we’ll start getting everyone to the bathroom. Just give us a couple minutes.”
Timmy looked up at Matt and Larry. “Yes, sir.”
Larry opened a package and slid a pasta meal toward the kid. He passed the little boy a spoon. After a few words, the child accepted the spoon despite the far-away look in his eyes. Matt walked behind the next child and placed a meal in front of them and placed a spoon in her hand. Like the boy, she sat staring blankly.
Matt handed the two children bottles of water and three more kids arrived at the picnic table. He glanced around and realized there were at least two dozen children from age preschool to teens.
He opened packages of crackers and laid them on the table. The children sat stone-still until Amy, with Claire in her carrier arrived. She settled on the seat next to Matt and sat Claire down next to her. She pulled a tray of pasta to her and Matt gave her a spoon and package of crackers. She picked up the spoon and took a bite of the cold pasta. Amy took a big bite.
Amy turned to Timmy and commented. “You know, I kinda like it better hot, but it’s not so bad. Besides, I really like picnics.” She turned to another child. “I got Oreo cookies. If you eat all your dinner, we can have some. Mr. Matt lets me have one when I eat all my lunch. Do you like cookies?”
“Ah huh.” The child across from Amy nodded. She picked up the spoon and took a tentative bite of pasta. After a quizzical look, she smiled and took a big bite. Within seconds, all the children including Timmy began eating with surprising enthusiasm.
“Do I get a cookie?” A child asked from the next table.
Matt laughed. “Sure. Everyone gets to have a cookie. Drink some water, too. That bus was pretty hot and you were in it a long time.”
Half a dozen older teens came out of the bus to settle at yet another table. Amy jumped to her feet to carry meals to the new arrivals while she chatted and offered the prized cookies if the meals were eaten. With tentative smiles and a soft giggle now and then, the kids began eating while she coached them to drink more water.
“You have to drink all the water if you want cookies.” She called out as she headed for the Humvee.
Matt winked at Amy. “Thanks for the help, kid. I’ll keep an eye on Claire Bear if you want to keep doing what you’re doing. All these kids need to eat and drink lots of water.”
When one of the soldiers walked up and placed a small girl on the bench, he announced. “That’s the last of the kids. You need my help?”
“Just keep opening food and water. They’re really dehydrated.” Matt answered.
Three more people stepped from the bus. One of the girls had a tear stained face, the other walked as if in shock. The pair was being pushed toward the table by a third. Each picked up a tray, spoon and bottle of water. They settled quietly at the nearby tables to eat in silence until Amy showed up and began offering cookies.
“You
have to drink all your water,” Amy advised each group. “If you gotta go to the bathroom, it’s over there.” She pointed at the bathroom entrances. “We got a playground. It has swings and a merry-go-round.”
She hurried to the next table and began her one-sided dialog all over again.
With the meals devoured, most of the children looked around as if confused about what to do next. Finally, a few of the younger children wandered toward the playground to sit in the swings.
Matt had been so focused on seeing the children fed when an adult hand grabbed for a meal, he caught the wrist and growled. “This is for the kids.”
“Yeah. Well, it’s still for a kid.” The woman shrugged. She looked exhausted but tried to smile as she placed her free hand on the bulge around her middle. “Sorry, I can wait.” She started to turn away, but Matt held out the dinner.
“Sorry. No. Please, take it.” Matt responded.
“My name’s Amanda. You gentlemen saved our lives. The soldiers told us what you did. If we’d spent another day, we would have died in that damned bus.”
Matt shrugged. “It was Jenkins. He and his men fought their way through the infected to get to the bus. They didn’t even know for sure anyone was still alive, but they were determined to try.”
“I know what PFC Jenkins and his team did. I also know without your help they would never have made it to us or even had a chance to save us.” Amanda spooned a mouthful of tomato sauce-covered pasta into her mouth. She brushed away strands of greasy hair from her face.
Matt handed her a bottle of water. She took a long drink and settled on the end of the picnic table. “We’re all dirty and smell. Is there any chance we can pull whatever luggage is in the bus and then shuffle kids through the showers?
The soldiers with Jenkins came up to the table and picked up bottles of water. Jenkins asked. “Enough food for us to have a meal?”
“Sure.” Matt looked over his shoulder toward the Humvee. He knew their supplies were disappearing at an alarming rate. He looked at each of the soldiers and realized two of Jenkins team were female soldiers.
The kids began to wander away to the bathroom then found a quiet place to rest in the shade. Jake and Larry walked up and grabbed a meal each.
Matt broke out boxes of cookies and walked from table to table. He studied each group and realized there were seven or eight kids under the age of ten, six eleven or twelve-year-olds and six older teens. And then there was the pregnant woman, Amanda.
He sighed. “When we get done eating, I want two of you breaking out any luggage still on the bus. Try to find things for the kids. Amanda, if you and Privates Lawson and Pierce can organize showers and clean clothes for the little ones it will make the kids feel a lot better. The older kids can take care of themselves. We need to be sure they all get rehydrated while we get the power on and water heater working.”
“Yes sir, we can sort that out.” Lawson and Pierce responded in unison then headed toward the cargo doors at the side of the bus that had been moved to a camper pad where one of the men had hooked a hose to empty the waste tank.
Amanda followed at a sedate waddle.
Matt turned back to the remaining soldiers. “I need someone to get the power on.”
One of Jenkins men raised his hand. “I’m pretty good at stuff like that.”
“There’s a shed behind the house with the generator. See how much fuel is on hand.” He handed the soldier the paper that had been on the glass door.
The soldier looked at the paper and grinned. “Nice of the owner to leave directions.” The man took off at a trot.
Matt turned back to the remaining men. “I know we’re all tired, but we’ll need to go on a supply run and it has to be now so we can get back before dark. We just depleted half our supplies.” He nodded at Larry. “I’ll take Jake, Jenkins and one more of your men. The rest of you, get with Larry. Put the supplies from the back of the Humvee into the manager’s office then get the generator running. Set up guard posts and secure the compound. Look around. See if there is anything we can use.”
Larry led his team away and Matt pulled a map from a pocket of his pants leg. He spread the map on the table placing bottles of water on each corner. After a few minutes, he pointed at a point on the map.
“We’re here. We have three towns within thirty miles. Any thoughts here, Jenkins?”
He pointed at the map. “No point in going that way. That town had half a dozen fires burning when we drove through. How in the hell it happened so fast is beyond me.” He studied the map a minute. “Maybe, Martinsville. Bishop was heading north and I think it would be smart to avoid him. Besides I don’t really want to be brought up on charges for killing the asshole. If I run into him, I plan on shooting him.”
Matt nodded. “Martinsville is further west so we shouldn’t have a problem.”
A piercing scream shattered the quiet of the afternoon.
Matt and all of the men drew weapons and raced toward the sound of terrified shrieks and shouting. Another shriek and someone began screaming over and over again.
“Jenkins!” A woman’s voice called out.
Matt and the crew at the table were the first to race around the front of the bus. Lawson was flat on her back struggling to hold back the gnashing teeth of an infected juvenile on top of her. She was shoving against the monster’s throat while Pierce stood aside screaming. Blood poured from a long gash in Pierce’s arm.
Jenkins made it to the infected first. He grabbed the kid’s belt and threw him off Lawson. While he was still down, he made a quick stab of his Ka-bar to the kids head. The child laid still, a thick black fluid leaked from the wound. Jenkin’s reached down and pulled Lawson to her feet.
“You hurt?” Jenkins asked.
“No, but Pierce got bit.” Lawson rushed to Pierce.
Pierce had quit screaming and cried softly while Jake wrapped a field dressing around her hand. “I thought he was just scared. I thought he’d been locked in the luggage compartment and all.” Pierce sniffed. “I reached for him and....” She took a breath and sighed. “I don’t want to turn into one of those things.”
Lawson led her away from the bus and sat her on a picnic table away from the others.
Chapter 21
The UPS Kid
Tate drove for nearly an hour before she could find a place to stop the rig after leaving the horrors of the bloodied horde. She parked on an overpass with a clear view of the road ahead and behind. She imagined the steep incline on either side of the road would give her plenty of time to jump back in the truck and escape any wandering infected.
She climbed out of the rig and down to the road. She walked to the side of the asphalt and squatted in the dirt. Once the pressure of her bladder was relieved, she buttoned her pants and walked away from the stench of the infected clinging to the rig. She pulled her cell from the truck and tried to call her mother, then her sister. As before, all the circuits were busy. She didn’t have a number for her cousin, Randy, but had directions from State Road 180 and Pine Canyon Drive north of Van Horn.
She paced back and forth wondering what to do next. She had food and water for several days and nearly a full tank of gas. But where should she go? The radio still advertised refugee camps north of Austin, Waco, Wichita Falls and Navasota. Where would her family go? Would they know to go to Randy’s? Or would they be bussed to one of the refugee centers?
Tate climbed back in the truck and opened the navigation screen. She expanded the screen view until she figured out she was approximately sixty miles southwest of San Antonio. Houston was evacuated. No point in trying to go east. She had told Charlie she’d be going to stay with Randy. In the end, that was her decision.
The last time she had seen him, Randy had acted really strange. He was talking about the end of the world. When his mother passed away, he sold the family home and everything in it. He had moved to land that backed up against the Guadalupe National Part and moved into a cabin. She didn’t even know if it
had running water. The closest town was Van Horn a town of two thousand people. Van Horn would be lucky to have a Quick Stop and a liquor store. She was four hundred miles from the little wide spot in the road and normally, that would be only an eight or nine-hour drive. Now, all bets were off.
She picked up Charlie’s state map and looked at the warren of side roads that got fewer as the further west she looked. She figured the major roads were probably choked with traffic and the infected. The narrow asphalt road she was on seemed clear enough for now. She could travel from one blacktop to the next always heading north and west until she got to Van Horn. From there she could drive straight north to find Randy’s place, or she at least hoped she could.
As she pondered her situation, she climbed back out of her truck and walked around the front. She cringed at what she saw. Remnants of human bodies were wedged into the grill and brush guard at odd angles. She walked back to the tool box and pulled an old pair of gloves on. She spent the next ten minutes pulling limbs from the gap between the guard and the front grill and from around the bumper. She wished she had the water to wash away the remaining blood and gore, but she didn’t. If she found a stream she’d use a towel and try to clean it better.
Satisfied she had done all she could to eliminate the smell clinging to the truck, Tate got back in the cab and pulled the basket of cold chicken and biscuits from the back of the cab. She picked up a wing and tore off a mouthful of cold meat. She chewed while she studied the road ahead. She saw rolling hills and granite outcroppings in the distance.
She would be driving through limestone and granite formations with massive boulders and a thin layer of topsoil that could only support: yucca, prickly pear cactus, cedar scrub, and Texas live oak. Several tributaries of the Colorado River including the Llano and Pedernales rivers crossed the region. The area also included a number of caverns; the deeper of which formed aquifers which served as a source of water for the region.
Tate tossed a bone outside and opened a gallon of water. After a long drink of tepid water, she capped the bottle and cranked the big rig engine. She clutched and shifted until she was doing a sedate forty-five miles per hour on the narrow blacktop road.
