When The Dead Rise (Book 1): The Outbreak

by Fraser, D. K.

  The man looked at the two girls in the back of the car who were holding each other and obviously terrified. Caleb had two daughters and didn’t like the idea of being left with the feeling of selfishness at not helping someone in need.

  “We were at the Ilani casino when everyone went crazy. We left and headed north home but the army has blocked off the freeway. They offered to take us to a relocation center where we could get relocated home as soon as it was safe. When they checked us to see if we had this disease, they said my wife was infected then shot her. My girls didn’t see it happen but heard the noise as they shot her and some other people. Other people started to go crazy, so I took my girls and headed back south this way. Please my girls are very scared is there anywhere near where I can take them?” the man asked. Caleb looked back at his son sitting in the back of his vehicle holding a baby they just rescued. He wasn’t sure why he was about to suggest what he was about too. All he knew was that it was the right thing to do.

  “I have two girls myself, a lot older but my children, nonetheless. I have a farm just a little bit down the road but out of the way away from the freeway and main roads. You and your children are more than welcome to come and stay, at least till all this blows over. There’s a lot more of these,” Caleb said pointing back at one of the infected.

  “Thank you, thank you!” the man said gratefully.

  “Follow me close till we stop at a checkpoint then let me do the talking,” Caleb told the man.

  Getting back in the car he could feel Nate staring at him from the back.

  “You told them he could come home with us, huh?” Nate said.

  “Yeah, yeah, I did, with everything going to shit we need to help each other. Poor bastard was at the Ilani and said he saw his wife get shot by soldiers…What the fuck is happening, Nate?” Caleb said sadly.

  The drive back towards the farm was quiet without a single other vehicle or person in sight. They slowed as they got to the turning lane leading down to past Victor’s house to the farm then stopped right in front of the two men who were standing guard at the makeshift check point on the corner. Caleb got out expecting the men to have guns raised at their arrival, but they just sat on the hood the Tahoe parked on the grass by the side of the road.

  “Hey fellas, we uh… we got some company. Old friend of mine I saw that needs a place to stay till this blows over,” Caleb explained.

  One of the men hopped down from the hood then looked at the car behind them.

  “How many people?” The man asked.

  “Just three, my friend and his two daughters,” Caleb explained.

  The other man still on the hood was looking at the girls in the back seat of the man's car.

  “Any of them infected? Acting crazy?” The other guy asked.

  “Nah, they’re fine” Caleb replied shrugging.

  “No cuts or bites?” the man standing with Caleb asked but Caleb just shook his head.

  The man next to Caleb smiled then gestured for them to head on their way.

  “Thanks guys, appreciate you boys keeping watch and keeping us safer” Caleb said as he got back in the vehicle.

  The two Russians gave a wave as Caleb began driving down the road leading to the farm. He gave them a smile then realized he hadn’t even considered if the two girls or even the dad might be infected. “Nate when we get to the house, I need you to keep an eye on our new friends for a bit, make sure they’re not infected with whatever's going around,” He said looking in the rearview mirror at his son.

  “Sure, what you want me to do if they are?” Nate asked

  “Tell me” Caleb replied.

  “What will we do then?” Nate asked.

  “ If they are then…then they gotta leave, your sisters and your mom comes first. I don’t want to risk anything happening to you guys,” he said.

  Nate nodded acknowledgement but Caleb knew even if they were infected, he wasn’t sure if he could just cast out this man and two young girls. If they were infected what's to say he wasn’t infected? After all, he did get blood spray all over his clothes and was in close contact with infected.

  As they pulled up to the house, he saw his wife tending to plants outside. Caleb saw the expression of relief on her face then confusion at the other car parking behind him. After getting out he walked over and gave Janice a long hug then stepped aside as Nate brought the baby over.

  “We rescued this little guy; we’ll look after him till we can contact and find family. Caleb told as Nate passed Janice the baby. “And this is…” Caleb began then realized he didn’t know the man's name.

  “Sung,” the man said, walking over to them with a handout.

  “Caleb,” he said taking Sung’s hand and shaking it. The girls came running out the house then stopped when they saw Sung. “Girls, this is Mr. Sung and his daughters, he’ll be here for a bit. Can you guys play with his daughters?” he asked.

  Both nodded then went towards the car to introduce themselves to the two young girls.

  “Hey, let me get you settled in,” Nate said to Sung.

  Caleb looked round at his girls by the car bonding with Sung’s daughters. Janice was fixated with the baby in a way he hadn’t seen in a long time

  That’s when he knew what he had to do and headed over to his truck.

  “I’ll be right back! Want to stick some food on,” Caleb said to Janice while getting in.

  “ Uh, you have some explaining to do!” Janice said looking down at the baby then over at Sung’s girls.

  “I will, later, I promise, hun,” Caleb told her as he started the truck up.

  Caleb pulled out onto the main road waving at the two men at the corner as he headed back out. After just under half a mile he pulled over to a big sign then got out shaking a spray paint can.

  Walking over to the big sign giving directions to the freeway he spray painted over the directions.

  Once he was done Caleb took a few steps back to examine his writing then nodded knowing he’d made the right choice to try and help.

  It read: “Sanctuary! Safe place! Caleb's Farm, follow arrows.” and with that Caleb began the drive home determined to get out every so often to put arrows on the road leading people to his farm and safety. Until this was over, until life was back to normal, he would do what he could to keep people safe.

  Mason

  Dimitri pulled Mason out of the rear door onto the walkway leading to the bridge without saying anything. Dimitri didn’t need to; Mason already knew the infected were attracted by noise. He just hoped there wasn’t a bunch of infected waiting for them on the other side of the bridge.

  They both ran towards the Jeep that was stopped on their side of the bridge. Sarah opened the door for them with a grunt. Jeep doors were pretty solid, especially to a five-year-old, Mason thought as he jumped in smiling as his daughter. Dimitri ran in front of the Jeep towards the other side of the bridge. Mason could see another set of steel gate with barriers like the last set in each of the four lanes. “Drive forward then stop right before the gate to let me out,” Mason told his wife.

  “Daddy, no! You just got back! Please don’t go!” Sarah begged sadly.

  “Honey, daddy has to go help his friend again then we’ll all be safe, okay?” he said more than asked.

  He looked at Sarah’s eyes that were cloudy with tears. “I’ll be right back to keep you safe, I promise,” he reassured her.

  Mason jumped out once the vehicle pulled up to the gate. Dimitri was tugging at the door, but it wouldn’t budge. As Mason got closer, Dimitri began shoulder ramming it to try to open it.

  “Step back” Mason said.

  Once Dimitri stepped out of the way Mason stepped in, kicking the door like a fireman would but again it didn’t budge.

  Dimitri was looking at the door as if trying to analyze a way in, but Mason knew they didn’t have the time to stand around wondering alternatives. Mason brought the AK up a little then squeezed the trigger turning the handle and lock into swiss ch
eese. There was smoke coming from the door handle as he brought his foot up for another fireman's door kick. This time the door swung open then Dimitri patted him on the back before running in. Again, the buzzer sounded as the gate shutters opened then the barrier lifted. Mason watched as his girls drove through then he followed Dimitri into the control booth then out the other side of the checkpoint.

  As they exited on the other side of the checkpoint flood lights came on forcing Mason to bring his arm up to shade his eyes. A PA system crackled as a man's voice came over it.

  “Lower your weapons and raise your hands above your head,” the man's voice said calmly.

  Mason did as he was instructed placing the assault rifle on the ground and saw that Dimitri was doing the same. The light shut off as some double doors that were the entrance to a large building beside the checkpoint opened. A group of armed men walked out with guns trained on them.

  “Keep your hands up, American,” the man who was leading the small group said.

  “How do you know I’m American?” Mason asked keeping his hands up.

  The man stopped two feet from Mason then looked him up and down while the other man stood back. “Cause you look like one,” the man said softly as the rest of the men chuckled.

  Two of the men in the group began walking towards the Jeep with rifles raised.

  “Wait! That’s my family! We’re just trying to get home,” Mason told the man in front of him.

  The man's face squinted in confusion Mason noticed.

  “Family? In an army vehicle?” the man asked with raised eyebrows.

  Before Mason could reply, Dimitri stepped beside him. “We escaped the airport, it's much worse on the other side of the border my friend…Pozhaluysta pomogi,” Dimitri said finishing in Russian.

  Mason could almost hear the ticking in this man’s head as he thought about what Dimitri had just said. “Infected any of you?” The man asked.

  “No,” Mason said as Dimitri’s head shook. The man seemed satisfied and nodded then waved for them to lower their arms. The man then turned towards the Jeep and the two men pointing rifles at it. “OSTAVIT’ BYT’” The man shouted. The men nodded lowering the rifles then gestured for Alex and the girls to come out.

  “Name’s Sergei and I’m afraid things are a lot worse on this side of the border my friends, please come inside. My men will take your weapons,” Sergei said.

  “Name’s Mason” Mason told Sergei.

  “Dimitri…if we’re friends, we can’t get our guns back?” Dimitri asked.

  Sergei smiled putting his arms out wide. “The fact we’re all alive right now makes us friends but I don’t trust you and you shouldn’t trust me. There’s too many people exploiting other people right now. Once I’m satisfied you’re on the right side, you can have them back, but first come eat,” Sergei told them.

  “Right side?” Mason asked hesitantly.

  “I’ll explain inside,” Sergei said nodding then turned and headed back towards the large building. The building looked like the one on the other side of the border. Two story brick with lots of windows along the second floor but not many on the first. Mason walked over to the girls who were out of the Jeep and heading over to the building. Sarah was running over to him then when she got to him, Mason scooped her up in his arms and held her close.

  “Told you daddy would be okay,” Mason said kissing Sarah on the head.

  Alex put an arm around him, so he did the same pulling her Alex and baby Abby close to him.

  After walking through the heavy looking double doors, two of Sergei's men closed it then put a barricade back in place. Mason eyeballed it then looked around the rest of the entrance way which was fortified to stop intruders. There were riot shield type standing barricades lined up inside the entrance way, razor wire, and wood covering the windows.

  “You guys expecting company?” Mason asked.

  Sergei kept walking not answering before stopping at the bottom of the steps leading up to the next floor. “We were here when the border was shut down yesterday and all the soldiers left. We were waiting to cross for safety, but they just locked it up and left us out there standing. No explanation then the Infected came so we moved our families in here until we feel it's safe to move. There’s children in the room down there playing.” Sergei said nodding down a hallway to a large meeting room that had glass wall. Inside the room, Mason could see about six children around Sarah's age all playing. Sarah must have heard the kids laughing and playing as he watched as his daughter looked then took a few steps towards room. Sarah turned to look at him, and he just smiled, “Go on, you can go play,” he told Sarah.

  Alex was looking at him, so he smiled to reassure her he thought they were in a safe place, then nodded for her to follow their daughter. Abby must have heard the kids, too, as even the baby started to make excited noises.

  “There are a couple of mothers in there with the kids, your wife will be fine. We have a couple of guys downstairs working in the kitchen to make dinner if you’re all hungry.” Sergei said.

  Both Dimitri and Mason nodded, Mason hadn’t eaten since this morning and the thought of some warm food made him smile. Sergei led them into what must have been a meeting room then gestured for them to sit down.

  “So, I’m not sure what your plans are but you are more than welcome to take some food and anything else you need that you can find in this building with you,” Sergei told them.

  “My village is not far from here, I’m headed there, and Mason here is trying to get his family back to America so he’s hoping to get to an embassy,” Dimitri explained.

  Sergei’s eyes widened then the big man shook his head. “I’m sorry, my friend, most of the major cities have been over run. It happened in a matter of hours. The army was stretched too thin and cities here in Poland were over run. There are still some sites I believe that offer protection and even transportation to other areas less affected. Perhaps you could use these as a way to get closer to home.” Sergei said.

  “That sounds like a good idea, thank you,” Mason said trying not to sound too disappointed. By the sounds of it, Lithuania was worse off than the other side of the border in Belarus.

  “The closest city is Vilnius, the soldiers left more than a few Jeeps outback. You are more than free to take one as you probably don’t want to be seen in the one you’re in” Sergei said.

  “Why not?” Mason asked.

  “Well, that other side I mentioned. A few people who were here and there are bound to be others feel like the army let them down as did the government. That they weren’t given enough protection from this attack or whatever it is” Sergei said

  “When the dead rise, they will fill the streets, turning neighbor against neighbor until the world goes dark,” an old man said who was sitting in the corner.

  Mason hadn’t noticed the man as he was hunched over a chair, wrapped in a sleeping bag. Laughs went up around the room from most of the men. Mason couldn’t help but feel uneasy about what the old man said. “Don’t listen to Amon’s ramblings, he had too much to drink today, didn’t you old man!” Sergei said with a smile.

  “Thank you for being kind, comrade, we need to get on our way as soon as possible” Dimitri said.

  “Of course! As time passes it gets worse and worse out there and you have a village to get to yes? Which one?” Sergei asked.

  “Sums kas” Dimitri replied.

  “Ah, I understand, then let us get you all some food and get you on your way. I hope your village is well. I know a lot of smaller villages have been untouched by this plague, so I hope yours is one of them” Sergei said.

  Dimitri nodded in agreement as Sergei got up motioning them to follow. Sergei walked them to the room with all the children in it. “You can wait in there with the children or anywhere else on this floor. I’ll have someone bring you all some food. We will get two Jeeps ready for you. I just ask that you stay away from the windows. There was a couple of infected lurking outside earlier and
I would rather not have them test our defenses here” Sergei explained.

  “We totally understand and thank you! Seriously, I don’t know what to say,” Mason said.

  “It’s okay, we’re all human, helping each other is in our nature and if it's not, well then you’re on the other side and more like one of them,” Sergei said, pointing out the window at a man outside. Mason squinted noticing the man was tied to the tree with a rope around his neck like some kind of dog.

  “He’s infected, isn’t he?” Dimitri asked.

  “Yes, he alerts us when there’s someone close by infected or otherwise. He was my friend before he got bit yesterday helping my little girl.” Sergei said with sadness in his voice.

  Jake

  Jake kissed Emily taking her hand as they started to walk back towards their house, leaving the crowd that had started to dissipate. Once they got home, Jake headed into the living room and slumped himself on the couch. “You want some coffee?” Emily asked.

  “Sure, thanks, babe,” Jake said as he looked out the window over at Pete's place.

  Emily came and sat down beside him handing him his coffee.

  “So, are you going to tell me what you’re thinking?” Emily asked, widening her eyes in interest. “Because I know there’s something going on in that head of yours so tell me what it is.”

  “We should stay,” Jake said firmly as he snapped out of his daze. Emily was giving him a strange look.

  “But you just said less than ten minutes ago we should leave… is that what the helping close the gate was about? You feel like you owe them something for him being there at Wal-Mart?” Emily asked. Jake shook his head thinking about how he could word all the stuff going around in his head. “This is our home, it would be pretty hard to just pack up the boys’ stuff and get out of here not knowing what state the place would be in when we came back, if we ever came back,” he said.

  “We could go to my Aunt Janice’s place in Amboy, that’s out of the way and come back when this blows over,” Emily said.