by Max Lockwood
“Fine.” Matthew smiled. “If you two can handle it, then that’s fine with me.”
“Take one of the guns, just in case,” Sergio said, passing Adele the handgun. “Try not to use it unless you absolutely have to. Always go for the knife or blunt object first.”
“Got it,” Adele said, cautiously handling the gun.
“Now, we have no idea what we’re getting into,” Carl continued. “We might not find anyone and we might find more people than we can bring along. So, keep the car moving at all times. If we stop, that gives the zombies a chance to attack. People will be able to run to the car, but might need help getting in. Whatever you do, don’t stop. If they can’t catch up, you’ll just have to leave them.”
Crystal looked at the floor. Matthew could tell that she didn’t like that idea.
“Think of it this way,” Sergio added, “if you die during this mission, the people you rescued will probably die too. Then, that’s a big chunk of people that could have gone on to make a difference but can’t anymore. Got it?”
“Yeah, I think we get it,” Crystal said flatly.
“Just checking,” Sergio said. “You two are new to this, but the three of us know how easy it is to get caught up in what you’re doing and forget what the mission is. It can be tough, but you always have to follow the orders that are assigned.”
“The difference is, everyone had input in the orders,” Carl said.
“So, when your car is full, we’ll go straight to the office. Is there anything I’ve missed?”
The women shook their heads. “Sounds pretty straightforward to me,” Crystal said. “Never stop moving and put our lives ahead of others.”
Sergio sighed. “That’s more or less the gist of it.”
“See you back at the office,” Crystal said before the pair of them jumped out of the Jeep and started their minivan. Matthew watched with his jaw clenched, unable to relax until they were both in the vehicle with the door shut.
“I’m a little worried about them,” Matthew admitted. “They’re completely inexperienced with these matters and we’re setting them out on their own.”
Sergio shrugged. “They know what they’re getting into. It’s not as if we’re making them do something they don’t want to do. Besides, we’re the lead car. I think we’re going to have a much tougher time. At least we can make some kills and clear the road before they drive through.”
“If we find anyone at all,” Carl interjected. “We have no way of knowing what’s along the way.”
Matthew still couldn’t help but feel concerned. The girls told him that they had made a few kills, but he couldn’t see how that was possible if they were cooped up in the gated community for so long. Even after making hundreds of kills, Matthew still got nervous every time he was in the presence of zombies. With each ambush, there was always a new challenge or variable thrown into the mix. He didn’t want to lose the new members of their army just after welcoming them.
“My contacts aren’t sitting right in my eyes this morning,” Sergio said, blinking. “I think I should hop in the back seat.
“I’ll drive,” Matthew offered, climbing into the front. He started the car and gripped the steering wheel as he tried to remember which direction to head.
“Thanks,” Sergio said, settling into the back. “Are we ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Matthew said quietly.
“Good,” Sergio replied, holding onto the door with both hands. “Let’s go save some lives.”
20
With the women right on their tail, the soldiers coasted down empty streets, making their way toward their ultimate destination. Matthew picked up the speed, swerving around fallen street signs and abandoned vehicles.
“Does anyone else find it strange that we have yet to see any form of life around here?” Matthew asked.
He wondered if it were possible that the virus progressed so much in the day they spent in the gated community that there were no longer any survivors. The thought was horrifying. If there was no life in some of the most populated areas of New York, then what chance did his friends have in an abandoned office building without the three strongest fighters?
“I do,” Carl agreed. “I really thought it would be easier to find survivors. What if we go home empty handed?”
“Then I guess we save the mission for another day,” Sergio said hopefully. If they didn’t have an important job to do, he would have tried harder to convince the guys to save their rescue mission for another time. But even Sergio thought it was important for the cause to add a few more members.
“Wait,” Carl said, abruptly leaning forward. “I think I see something. Turn left down this next street.”
Matthew flipped on his turn signal so the girls could follow his move and slowly made the turn.
There, he saw that Carl was referring to. Outside a small convenience store, he saw smoke and heard the sound of shattering glass. Sensing human activity, zombies were coming out of the woodwork to investigate. Then he heard the screaming.
“Go,” Carl said nervously, pointing toward the smoldering building.
Sergio opened the door a crack, holding on to the handle so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He scanned the scene, looking for any humans to call out to.
“Come out,” Carl urged under his breath. “Please be alive.”
Suddenly, Matthew saw a woman exit the store through a window. She appeared to be short, middle-aged, and a little chubby. The woman let out another high-pitched screech as she found herself as prime bait for the zombies.
“Please shut up,” Carl pleaded, speaking to himself. “Don’t you know that they’re attracted to noise?”
Once they were in line with the woman, Sergio shoved open the door and reached his arms out. “Get in!” he called to her.
Confused by their sudden appearance, she remained fixed in place, a horrified expression on her face.
“Come on,” Sergio called again, frustration evident in his voice. “We don’t have much time.”
Finally, it seemed to occur to the woman that it was in her best interest to jump in the car with the strangers as opposed to standing motionless outside as zombies descended upon her. She ran toward the car, huffing and puffing the whole way.
“Stop,” she wheezed.
“We can’t,” Sergio yelled as the zombies approached the car. “Hurry up and take my hand.”
With a grunt, the woman managed to take a hold of Sergio’s wrist and he hoisted her up into the Jeep, slamming the door shut behind her as she cried tears of relief.
“There are more out there,” she whimpered.
“Circle around at the end of the street,” Carl ordered. “We’ll try to get them, okay? Just try to calm down.”
At the end of the street, Matthew made a wide turn to head back into battle. Carl rolled down his window and waved the girls ahead.
“We’ll catch up with you,” he shouted. Crystal gave a nod in response and continued to coast down the street, avoiding zombies at every turn.
On their way back, Matthew saw a man they had overlooked the first time. Sergio crawled over the woman and made his way to the other side of the vehicle. He unlocked the door and started to open it when a pale, scaly hand reached inside. He quickly slammed it, cutting off three fingers as the woman screamed. Then, he opened the door again and bashed the zombie in the head with his baseball bat.
“Get in,” he called to the man, who was in the process of fighting off a few zombies of his own. He swung wildly at the creature with a wooden plank, knocking it to the ground. Then, he lunged toward the car as a zombie reached for his foot.
Two more zombies noticed what was happening and joined in the chase, barreling toward the open car door. Carl rolled down his window and aimed the rifle at the zombies and took two clean shots, both tearing through the skull. This freed the man up for long enough to grab onto Sergio’s hand, who yanked him into the car.
“Now they’re rea
lly after us,” Sergio noted.
“Are we all clear?” Carl asked. “I think we should abort the mission and just head back now. We’ve done enough for the time being. Let’s find the girls and get the hell out of here. This spot is too risky to keep driving.”
Matthew was about to turn back around when Sergio shouted at him to keep going.
“I see a guy at the end of the street,” Sergio shouted.
“That’s a zombie,” Carl responded. “Look at its movements.”
Matthew continued driving toward the being, waiting for orders. He looked over his shoulder, worried that the convenience store wasn’t completely clear.
“Just keep your eyes on the road,” Carl said softly. “We’ll be the eyes and ears for you. Just focus on driving.”
Matthew swerved around zombies, causing the new passengers to gasp with every erratic movement. The road was covered with debris. It was only a matter of time before a tire was popped or a wheel was bent. Even military vehicles had their limits.
Carl’s gunshots had attracted far more zombies than they could have anticipated. They came out of empty shops, searching for the source of the commotion. Then, they were drawn to the big, mobile box of humans, chasing after the car like dogs.
“Get that guy and then we can split,” Sergio called to Matthew. Matthew locked in on his movements and steered through fallen bodies and broken glass.
“Are we sure that’s not a zombie?” Carl repeated. “Look at that limp. That’s not a good sign.”
Matthew squinted as they approached the figure. The man had tattered clothing and a strange gait, as was the norm for the average zombie. But the closer they got, the more human he looked. His face, while flushed, was completely intact. When he turned over his shoulder to look at the creatures approaching him, he had fear in his eyes—something zombies weren’t capable of.
“I think he’s human and he’s just injured,” Matthew said.
Sure enough, once the Jeep was a block away from the man, he turned toward the soldiers and started frantically waving at them.
“Dude, you were right,” Carl said, slowly rolling down his window. “Hey, jump in!”
The man looked utterly relief to see someone coming to his aid. But whatever injury that caused him to limp was progressively slowing him down, to the point where the car quickly caught up to him.
“Come on, man,” Sergio urged him. “We can’t stop the car. You’ve got to grab onto me and jump in.”
The man was clearly giving a valiant effort, but he was just too weak. Matthew steered the car a little closer to the curb to make it easier for him to get in, but then he came across a pile of broken glass. He swerved away from the sharp objects and the man, in order to keep the tires intact.
Matthew looked back to see if they could still reach the man, who was scrambling toward the car, his mouth gaped open in exhaustion.
“Just drive,” Carl reminded him. “We’ll take care of the rest.”
“Well, what am I supposed to do?” he asked, feeling frustrated and helpless.
“Slow down a little,” Carl suggested. “Just a tiny bit. The zombies are gaining on him, but he just might make it.
Matthew stared straight ahead, though it took all the self-restraint he had not to look back at what was unfolding behind him.
“Grab my hand,” Sergio called, his voice calm. “You’re almost there. You’ve got this.”
The man fell forward, one hand landing in Sergio’s and the other hand finding the side of the vehicle. He supported his weight on the Jeep and hopped along as fast as he could. Sergio leaned so far out of the car that only his legs were in the vehicle. He pulled the man closer with all of his strength, exhaling through pursed lips.
“Come on!” Carl shouted. “You’ve got at least ten zombies behind you.”
Carl aimed his rifle out the window, his eyes darting back and forth. He knew that if he shot a single bullet, then more would appear. At the same time, he feared that if he didn’t fire, the man would soon become engulfed in assailants, which could force their way into the vehicle.
He knew the time had come when hands latched onto the man’s injured leg. He screamed in pain and in fear as gnarled hands closed in around his shin. Carl began shooting at every zombie he could get a clean shot on, picking them off one by one. He tried to get the one holding onto the survivor, but from his angle, he would send the bullet through the zombie and into the man’s leg, possibly severing vital blood vessels. And, that was only if his shot was successful. If he missed by even a fraction of an inch, he’d risk killing the man and not the zombie.
Then, with a bloodcurdling scream from the struggling survivor, everyone in the car knew it was too late. The zombie, tired of fighting, leaned in and took a bite out of the calf muscle, ripping the flesh through his pants.
“No,” Sergio grunted, continuing to pull the man away from the zombie.
“It’s too late,” Carl cried, devastated with their defeat. “We can’t save him.”
“I almost had him,” Sergio groaned. “We’re so close.”
“He’s infected now,” Carl reminded him, still trying to pick off zombies. “Even if we could save him, he’d kill us all.”
Matthew forced himself to look forward, even though he wanted to see if there was any way he could help. Besides, maybe the man wouldn’t become infected after all. Wasn’t it possible for some people to be immune to the virus?
Sergio let out a disgruntled cry as he pulled the man’s hands away from his wrists. The man screamed, fighting to stay with the survivors, terrified of his fate if he was let go. Finally, Sergio managed to clear the man from the car and slammed the door behind him. Covering his mouth with his fists, Sergio screamed into his hands, muffling the sounds of anguish as best as he could.
Distraught by what had become of the man, the female passenger started screaming along with him. She had made the mistake of looking out the window as the zombies feasted upon the poor man’s flesh. The man on her other side, unable to restrain himself from looking, started rocking back and forth, trying not to get sick.
The commotion broke Matthew’s concentration. He quickly looked in the mirrors, trying to see what was going on behind the huddle of zombies. He was suddenly jarred back to the road when a zombie crossed the street directly in front of him.
Matthew stomped on the brake, but it was too late. The partially disintegrated body exploded on the windshield, splattering blood and guts all over the hood of the car. This created a fresh wave of hysteria from the passengers, who had seen more gore in those few short minutes than they had in their entire lives.
“Go,” Sergio yelled, as more hands clutched the door handles, trying to break in. Matthew turned on the windshield wipers, trying to clear the blood from the window so he could see where he was going.
“Just drive,” Carl urged, his face pale.
Finally, a tiny streak of clear glass appeared and Matthew stomped on the gas pedal, tearing off down the street. He didn’t even think about returning for the other vehicle, nor did he consider the fact that they could be in danger. He didn’t even think about where he was going. Instead, his mind was completely fixated on the screams of the man who found safety for a brief moment, then had it taken away.
21
Matthew felt completely numb as he tried to steer the car. His brain was blank, and the street signs seemed to be in a language he didn’t understand. He read the directional signage, trying to return back home, but nothing stuck in his head. It was all meaningless.
His hands shook so badly that he had to squeeze the steering wheel as hard as he could to mask it. Then, the shakes traveled up to his elbows, causing his arms to jerk the wheel whenever it became uncontrollable. His eyes locked on the patch of street in front of his, but he couldn’t see anything in his peripherals.
“Can I drive for a little bit?” Carl asked, a concerned expression on his face.
“No, I can do it,” Matthew responded flatl
y.
“I’d really like to drive, if that’s okay,” Carl said gently.
Matthew knew that he had done something wrong. He was still shaken up from hitting that zombie. Though a kill was a kill, this one startled him worse than the others. For all he knew, it could have been a child. He was just lucky that it wasn’t.
Somewhere, a man was getting picked clean by zombies who would only become stronger, thanks to the group’s shortcomings. The man was so real in that moment. He could have been an expert scientist who could help the other experts find a cure for the virus. Or perhaps he was a prosecutor who had the power to take down those who caused the destruction once the zombies were gone. Or, he could have been some average guy, his life just as valuable as the next.
“I can’t get out of the car here,” Matthew protested, still no emotion in his voice.
“You don’t have to,” Carl said calmly. “There’s no one on this block. Just park for a second and switch places with me.”
Matthew followed his orders, sliding out of his seat and crawling over Carl. He melted into the warm passenger’s seat and buckled his seatbelt.
In the back of his mind, Matthew was fully aware he was experiencing shock, but the loudest part of his mind didn’t care. He just dug into the numbness, letting the world disappear around him. It was as if his brain was doing him a favor by going into sleep mode for a little while until he felt ready to deal with the horror around him.
“What do you want me to do?” Matthew asked. He reached for the rifle, but Carl placed a protective hand on it.
“Just chill out for a little bit,” Sergio suggested, handing him a bottle of water. Matthew took a swig from it, but it didn’t taste right in his mouth. He screwed the top back on and tossed it to the floor.
He felt just as he did in the days following Rebecca’s death. Once the visitors stopped showing up, he spent days doing absolutely nothing. A friend or a relative would call and ask him how he was doing, and he would inevitably tell them that he was fine. Then, they’d ask him what he was doing, and he’d have to come up with a lie. No matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn’t remember doing anything while at home.
