Necrose Beginnings: Books One and Two

by Tim Moon

  A loud crash in the grocery store interrupted them.

  Charlotte made a strange squeaking sound. Ben cursed and grabbed his rifle. Anuhea woke up while Oliver kept on sleeping.

  Ben moved out from the customer service center and slowly walked, with his rifle raised, toward the sound. Anuhea followed closely with her rifle up as well. He wondered if Keanu was in trouble, but he figured that the big Hawaiian would be fine.

  Anuhea tugged on the sleeve of Ben’s ratty t-shirt. She held her finger to her lips.

  They could hear some noises like someone rummaging through the shelves.

  Another crash, Ben’s trigger finger twitched, but he held back from firing.

  His eyes had already adjusted to the darkness so he could see fairly well. The outlines of the next few aisles were visible.

  Ben and Anuhea started forward again. As they passed an aisle, Ben saw someone at the other end. It took a second to realize it was Keanu, who waved at him.

  The three of them zeroed in on the noises. Ben swung around the corner bringing his rifle to bear on the target and was surprised to see that it was Ty. He lowered his aim and stared at his friend.

  “What the fuck are you doing, Ty?” he asked.

  Ty looked up at him, but kept mumbling to himself and rummaging through the shelf. He looked drunk. The whole aisle smelled like alcohol because the crashing sounds were broken bottles on the floor.

  “C’mon man, let’s go sit down,” Keanu said. He put a hand on Ty’s shoulder and tried to direct him toward the front of the store.

  Ty spun and slapped away Keanu’s hand.

  “Whoa,” said Ben. “Calm down, man.”

  Ty turned toward him, stumbling. “It’s all…it’s all your fault.” he slurred.

  Ben just stared at him.

  “All of this.” Ty waved his hand. “It’s your fault. You talked me into coming here, into doing this…adventure.”

  Ben couldn’t believe what Ty was saying.

  “Now…now we’re probably going to die,” Ty said. Tears streaked down his face.

  “You need to drink some water and sober up,” Ben said. “No one’s going to die.”

  There was a long moment of silence.

  “You guys never listen to me. You always want to do dangerous stuff. I want to get away from these things, but you guys keep going toward them,” he said meekly. Ty’s words slurred. “That’s how you’re going to get killed. You’re so concerned about helping everyone else that you’re going to get the rest of us killed.”

  Ben shook his head at Ty.

  “Come on, Ty. Let’s take a walk,” Anuhea said. She leaned in close to Ben. “I’ll take care of him.”

  “Thank you.” Ben motioned for Keanu and the two of them walked away, leaving the drunk with Anuhea.

  41

  On the highway again, Ben thought.

  It seemed like they’d spent a lot of their hellish vacation on this highway. He was getting tired of driving all over the place. But this time was worse. This time Ben was furious.

  At some point during the night, Ty’s dumb, drunk ass took off and left with the Humvee. He abandoned them at the grocery store.

  Ben wasn’t entirely sure what he’d do when they caught up to Ty, but it wasn’t going to be nice. He’d been too easy on him so far and they still had not settled the problem between them. Fuck, if this wasn’t several massive steps across the line though. What the hell was he thinking?

  Keanu found them a pair of vehicles so they could chase the Humvee down. He’d found it from among the ones abandoned near the grocery store in the shopping center parking lot. Ben led the way with Keanu beside him. Charlotte, Oliver, and Anuhea drove in a small hatchback behind them. Oliver had insisted on finding the Humvee. He complained about the small cars.

  In any case, they hoped to catch up to Ty and figure out what the fuck he was doing. Last night he’d been drunk and had an emotional breakdown. Anuhea said she walked around with him and led him back to his bed. She thought he was asleep, but he must have taken off after she fell asleep.

  “Over there bro,” said Keanu, tapping him on the shoulder and pointing out of the window.

  Ben followed Keanu’s finger and saw the Humvee tilted at an odd angle in a ditch along a road that branched off the highway.

  “That fucking guy,” said Ben.

  He figured the vehicle would be fine. They were built to take a beating and if Ty was a little banged up as well, Ben was fine with that. It was payback for abandoning them.

  Karma’s a bitch. Ditch the group and you get ditched, Ben thought.

  “Humvees are tough, I doubt he damaged it. It should have a tow strap so we can pull it out with no problem,” Keanu said. “Well, assuming these tiny cars can handle it.”

  They pulled over about ten yards away. Ben got out and slung his rifle over his shoulder. He didn’t notice any infected nearby, but he didn’t want to take the chance of getting ambushed.

  Ben was pissed. He stormed over to the Humvee. The driver’s side door was open. Ty was lying with his back on the ground and his feet were still inside the vehicle.

  “Stupid ass is passed out,” Ben said to Keanu.

  Keanu started laughing. “Sorry, man.”

  Ben shrugged. “If I wasn’t so mad, I’d laugh too.”

  Oliver ran up and stood behind them looking at Ty with wide eyes.

  “Is he okay?” Oliver asked. “He looks funny.”

  Ty blinked and covered his eyes. “I have to pee.” Ty’s voice was creaky and weak.

  Keanu was trying to stifle his laugh.

  “Just let it go, man,” Ben said to Ty, not even an ounce of sympathy in his heart.

  Keanu busted out laughing at Ty.

  The women joined them at the edge of the road and looked down into the ditch.

  “Help him up,” said Anuhea. “Why are you just staring at him?”

  “Because he’s an idiot and I want to enjoy this for a moment. He’s fine,” said Ben. He could see Ty’s chest rising and falling as he slept off the drunkenness.

  She shot him a stern look.

  “Fine,” said Ben, throwing up his hands. He turned and walked toward the Humvee and grabbed a bottle of water from the back. He twisted the lid off, walked over to Ty, and poured it on his head.

  Ty shot up, sputtering.

  “What the fuck,” he slurred.

  “Good morning asshat,” said Ben, glaring at his friend.

  Ty struggled for a moment to free his legs from the foot well and sit up on the uneven ground. The rocks couldn’t possibly be comfortable.

  “Um….” he said. Looking around he realized what happened. “Oh shit.”

  “Yeah, oh shit.” Ben threw the empty plastic bottle at him. “Why’d you try to run off with the fucking Humvee? What’s wrong with you?”

  “I uh…” He stood up slowly, stumbled back and bumped into the open door. “I was just…”

  “You were just abandoning us back there,” Ben said. His volume was quickly rising. “You better fucking hope you didn’t break this thing.”

  Ben slapped his hand on the roof of the Humvee.

  Ty winced at the sound.

  “Un-fucking-believable,” Ben said as he turned and walked away.

  “Fuck you, Ben,” he said to Ben’s back.

  “What?” Ben whipped around and stalked right up to Ty backing him up against the hood. Their faces were less than an inch apart. “Say it to my face you fucking coward.”

  Ty swallowed.

  “Ben, back up,” said Charlotte. “This isn’t going to help anything.”

  “C’mon,” Ben yelled in his face. “You got something to say, you say it. Be a man. Don’t talk shit behind my back.”

  “Fine!” Ty snapped. He pushed Ben. It was weak and Ty almost fell over, but at least he’d done something. “You’re always putting us at risk. We could have been somewhere safe by now.”

  “This bullshit again. How do you figure
that?” Ben crossed his arms over his chest.

  “We could have escaped the triathlon, but you had to help him,” Ty said, waving at Oliver. The boy frowned and looked away. “Because of that, we were there when the fat guy burst in attacking the couple. Then you decided to bring Eric with us after he was bitten. He could have killed us all.”

  Ty was getting more animated as he released his anger.

  “We didn’t know that bites meant anything,” Ben yelled back at him.

  “You make me go back to the airport and I get hurt,” he said, gesturing to his leg. “And we stay the night in grocery store filled with dead bodies. We could already have been in Molokai by now.”

  Ben gave him a look like - seriously?

  “So I should have let Oliver die, abandon Eric, let you cower across the road from the airport, and drive at night through a city we don’t know, drawing all the infected to us?” He chuckled but it was humorless. “You must be fucking kidding me. Do you even hear yourself?”

  “I’m not kidding. We’re stranded here, surrounded by monsters trying to eat us and you’re running around the island like there’s no rush to leave.”

  “We all want to get somewhere safe. We’d be on our way to Hilo right now if you hadn’t abandoned us,” said Anuhea. Her face twisted into a look of disappointment.

  Ben could tell that whatever they’d had was over for her. Ty must have noticed it too.

  “I just had to go,” he said, stepping toward her. He reached out for her hand, but she slapped it away. “I’m not a fighter. I’m a survivor.”

  “So to hell with the rest of us, huh?” Ben asked. He pointed at Ty. “I’ve known you how long?”

  Then Ben swept his hand at everyone else. “And all these people I barely know have been more reliable and watched my back more than you have.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Ty, tears leaked from his eyes.

  Ben shook his head.

  “The only way we get through this is if we stick together,” said Charlotte.

  “Teamwork is the way to go,” said Keanu, nodding. “It’s how the army succeeds - close team work.”

  “That didn’t help them at the airport,” Ty muttered.

  Everyone just froze and gaped at him. He went there, huh?

  Ben couldn’t hold it in any more. He swung and punched Ty in his bitch face.

  42

  Hilo.

  The big town on the Big Island.

  Their group would travel roughly two hours east, across the island to reach the town. It was their last hope for a way out of the madness. Not everyone was going to the airport. First, they would drop Keanu at his brother’s house. If the airport was a bust, Keanu already suggested that they head back to his brother’s house and lay low.

  Although they weren’t on an actual schedule, Ben felt like they were way behind because of Ty’s stupidity. Pulling the Humvee out of the ditch proved to be more difficult than anticipated even though they found a tow strap in the back. The small cars weren’t very strong and the Humvee vastly outweighed one, and probably both combined. After some digging and rearranging gravel behind the tires, they finally yanked it out. The Humvee did most of the work, while the car did just enough work to get it over the edge.

  “It doesn’t look like there’s any serious damage,” Keanu said, standing up.

  “Oh good, I was worried about that.” Ben was grateful that there was no permanent damage to the vehicle.

  “Good thing they’re so tough,” Keanu said, shooting a look at Ty.

  “So, we’re ready to go now?” Ben asked. As for the little cars they acquired that morning to chase down Ty, they just left them where they were in the road.

  “Yep, ready when you are.” Keanu wiped sweat from his brow. He climbed up to the turret and plopped down. “Regulators, mount up!”

  Ben grinned. It was a fair impression of Warren G’s song, so he said, “It was a clear black night, a clear white moon…”

  “Warren G was on the streets trying to consume,” Anuhea said, joining in. They were all singing as they piled into the Humvee. “Some skirts for the eve, so I can get some funk…just rollin’ in my ride, chillin’ all alone.”

  Charlotte laughed and started dancing in her seat. Oliver giggled.

  Anuhea took over driving duties and Keanu was on turret duty, as usual. They kept singing though, finishing most of the song with surprising accuracy.

  Ben leaned back in the passenger seat with a nostalgic grin on his face. Ty lay in the back seat, with his eye starting to bruise and a bottle of water in his hand. Charlotte and Oliver took up the other backseat.

  The road Ty had crashed on connected with the road they needed so they just continued that way. In an hour or so, they’d pass by Mauna Kea, where Ben and Ty had hiked. It felt like ages ago.

  Charlotte was playing some kind of game with Oliver in the back seat. Oliver snacked on a granola bar while they played. He was a good kid. Once they got to safety, he hoped the authorities would let them stick together. It might be too much if Oliver lost them and had to go be with strangers all over again.

  Anuhea began to slow down.

  “Hmm?” Ben asked.

  Anuhea just pointed into the distance.

  Ben looked and had to squint to see. He immediately realized what the problem was. “Damn it.”

  “What’s wrong?” Charlotte asked.

  “Looks like we have a roadblock ahead or some sort of check point,” Anuhea said, coming to a stop in the middle of the road.

  “Really? There’s people?” Charlotte said with a hint of joy in her voice.

  The idea of seeing other people was a little exciting. At least they’d be able to get some information on what was happening.

  “You see it? Good,” Keanu said from the turret. He squatted down. “Looks like a makeshift roadblock. I don’t like it.”

  “What should we do?” Charlotte asked.

  “Do you see soldiers or police?” Ty asked.

  “No. There’s maybe one or two cop cars, but the checkpoint looks empty. Of course, they could be hiding behind them or sitting inside the vehicles. It is kind of hot outside,” Keanu said.

  “Let’s keep going and see what’s up,” Ben said. “Take it nice and slow in case we decide to change our minds.”

  “Okay.” Anuhea continued driving.

  “I’ll stay up here,” Keanu said, standing up.

  “What do you think this means?” Ben asked Anuhea.

  She shrugged. “Maybe the road is closed? Or-”

  “No, it can’t be closed,” Ty said. “We have to get to the airport.”

  “Probably checking for injuries,” Charlotte said. “I bet they are turning back anyone that’s been bitten.”

  Ben grunted. He wasn’t sure what good that would do. Tendrils of doubt crept into his mind. Something was wrong about this.

  Anuhea slowed to a stop as they came upon the roadblock.

  Keanu dropped down from the turret. A few seconds later, a police officer appeared between two cars.

  The officer was carrying the same type of rifle that Ben was holding. He didn’t look very professional for a police officer or trooper, whatever he was. His boots were grungy and his uniform looked about two sizes too large.

  Ben looked at the blockade and noticed another man standing off to the side with a rifle pointed their direction. Maybe to give the officer cover in case they attacked him. In situations like this, it must be standard procedure. Ben realized he’d never seen a police blockade before.

  The officer approached slowly, eying them carefully.

  Keanu pointed. “Look, there are people hiding behind the cars.”

  Heads bobbed behind car windows and shadows move along the ground. Ben had a strange feeling.

  “Step out of the vehicle with your hands raised,” the officer said, stopping in the road. He turned slightly sideways and the barrel of his rifle inched up.

  Anuhea and Ben glanced at each other. They knew
they were safer in the Humvee, but the policeman told them to exit and convention dictated that they obey him. Ben raised his eyebrows at her and Anuhea nodded.

  Moving slow so as not to spook the officer, they opened their doors and stepped out.

  “Hands up. You got a hearing problem?” the officer barked.

  “Sorry, sir.” Ben raised his hands, but continued scanning the roadblock.

  Cars bearing bullet holes, dents and serious damage crossed the street like a jury-rigged version of the Great Wall. Several of them appeared to have been in wrecks, with dented in doors and fenders.

  “How’d you get this vehicle, ma’am?” asked the officer.

  All things considered, that was a strange question. Ben looked curiously at the officer.

  “It was abandoned at the Quarantine Center,” Anuhea said. She still stood behind her door, with her hands raised, resting against it.

  Ben looked around the blockade again. He wasn’t sure, but he thought there were at least ten people hiding among the dozen or so cars blocking the road. The man aiming the rifle at them didn’t appear to be in a police uniform, which seemed odd. Although it was possible he was a plain-clothes officer, or shit had gone down while he was off duty.

  The officer looked at Ben for the first time.

  “Looks like you folks have acquired something you shouldn’t have,” he said. The officer’s narrow face and slender, pointy nose looked odd with the giant, round sunglasses he wore.

  “We need it more than the dead,” said Ben.

  “Doesn’t matter, that’s government property,” said the officer. “Step away from the vehicle now.”

  He raised his rifle and aimed it at Ben.

  “What? Why?” Ben asked.

  There was movement to the right, near the end of the roadblock. He saw a head bobbing along, like the person was walking crouched over.

  Suddenly, Keanu stood up in the turret.

  Metal clicked as he readied the machine gun and yelled, “He’s no cop.” Then he started firing at the man with the rifle aimed at them. The man dropped down behind the police car, whether from being shot or just in fear he wasn’t sure.

  The officer raised his rifle to shoot Keanu. “You’re dead punk.”