by Locke, Linus
“How do you know it will even run?” Jonathan asked hopelessly.
“I’ll get it to run.” Mad Man Rob was always confident when it came to machines. After all, he could fix anything.
Jonathan followed Mad Man, Rodney and Gene-O, Michael, and the man whose name was Todd followed, as well. Jeremy, Todd’s son, stayed with May and Dog in the safety of the semi cab. In the frigid cold, the group worked to uncover the backhoe. When the job was finished, Mad Man backed the semi up close to it and strung several thick log chains between the semi’s thick frame and the steel roof of the heavy machine.
The semi had little trouble pulling the fifteen-thousand pound backhoe to its wheels. It wobbled a little at first, like a man standing after many weeks of bedrest, but in the end, it stood proud. With the backhoe sitting upright, Mad Man began to tinker. Checking this and checking that. And after an hour of attempts that drew closer and closer to success with each try, the large diesel engine choked and sputtered to life, spewing a thick black smoke.
“That’s for the hippies,” Mad Man Rob said to himself as he watched the plume dissipate into the atmosphere.
Climbing down and stepping away from the bellowing engine, Mad Man Rob said, “I’ll get to work on clearing the garage. As long as shits not worse than it looks, I’ll have you a ride.”
Rodney said, “We could probably use this as a chance to rest. We can go in shifts so there can always be someone standing guard.”
“That is a great idea. I am certain all the noise will attract some attention.” Jonathan said in a tone that came out sternly.
“I’ll get to work.” Mad Man climbed back onto the backhoe and drove it toward the garage.
“May and Jeremy are already asleep. Why don’t you three go ahead and rest, also.” Rodney said to his older brother, Guillermo, and Todd.
“Alright, but as soon as it’s my turn you better come get me.” Gene-O warned, pointing a finger at Rodney.
“We can search some of these cars for weapons,” Michael suggested. “Most of our vehicles had spares stored in them.”
The three of them went right to work. Staying within sight of each other, Rodney, Michael, and Jonathan climbed through shattered windshields and side windows. Several fiends–who were once friends of Michael’s–were discovered, trapped in cars or under debris. They were put to rest, but their bodies would remain where they were until time did its work. And even then, their bones would be a permanent fixture in the dilapidated layout of May’s yard.
They found a small stockpile of rifles, pistols, and ammo just in time. The thunderous rumble of Mad Man’s backhoe had finally started attracting the fiends. They came slowly at first, like the first ants sampling the pickings of an unattended picnic table. Before long there were dozens pouring into the yard.
Jonathan and Michael had both been taught to shoot by their father, Brian, several years before the attacks. The man had sensed the coming danger of where their medical research could go and began preparing for the worst. The worst, as it turns out, happened. This proficiency came in handy tonight, as their aim was true, or close to it, with each shot fired.
Rodney, who had spent many of his years hunting animals before becoming a hunter of the dead, took careful, deliberate shots that never missed.
The trio stood atop a wrecked semi-trailer. Rodney watched after Mad Man as he worked, picking off fiends that moved toward the backhoe, while the twins kept the fiends from climbing up the sides of the trailer. Each loud shot brought another fiend. Their senses zoned in and their movement was almost a choreographed dance. Their fingers worked of their own volition. Each empty magazine dropped with a clank. New magazines were loaded within seconds.
Round after round was fired. Every loud crack was followed by muzzle flashes that grew brighter in the darkening sky as the sun sank into the earth. Every muzzle flash was followed by the soft tink of an empty shell casing, gently kissing the roof of the trailer goodnight.
Mad Man Rob had his fun, as well. He spun the rear boom of the heavy machine, batting fiends away with the bucket before dropping the bucket on top of them, smashing them into the ground. Their bodies completely smashed, yet their brains were intact. Leaving them to wriggle and grunt while most of their guts had been turned into a puddle.
The tantalizing ballet of life versus death lasted a solid hour and just about ran them out of ammo. Jonathan had actually taken up stabbing some of the fiends straight through the top of their heads to be more conservative. By the end, the pile of fiends around the trailer reached the halfway up. The smell of rot and copper was overwhelming. Mad Man had to scoop the dead bodies away with the backhoe bucket.
“You guys got brains all over everything!” Mad Man exclaimed as he examined the scene in the moonlight. It was a clear night, and the moon reflected the suns radiance brilliantly over the world.
“Sorry.” Michael gave him a shrug. “I guess you’ll have to warsh it.” He laughed.
Mad Man shoved him aside before walking toward the cleared garage.
“There she is, boys!” he stated proudly. “Creeper One.”
The black school bus glared back at them. In the dark garage it looked innocent enough, but Jonathan had seen firsthand how wretched it could be. Every corner, every side, was a deathtrap.
“In the morning we’ll head our separate ways,” Michael said to the gathered men. “Jonathan and I, along with Guillermo, will be heading to California.”
“I’ll go with you,” Mad Man Rob said. “I have nothing better to do,” he added defensively.
“Thank you,” Jonathan said with a respectful nod.
“You two are free to take Creeper One. Make sure to get May and the man and his son to north end. And take good care of my bus,” Mad Man ordered.
“I doubt anyone in the semi was able to sleep through that.” Jonathan pointed to the bodies piled up in the yard.
“Let them sleep. The bus is just as safe. The rest of us can sleep there.” Mad Man led them into the garage and pulled the bus door open. He doubted anything was inside, but he took a minute to sweep through to be sure. With the all clear, the others climbed in and Mad Man locked it down for the night.
Mad Man was awake before the first rays of the sun’s light crept into the garage. He wasn’t surprised when the bus started up on the first try. After all, he had been the one to work on it. The noise woke Rodney; the bus moving out into the driveway woke Jonathan and Michael.
Gene-O climbed out of the driver’s side of the semi as the bus pulled around. He stretched his arms out above his head, rubbed his eyes, and shook his head lightly. Guillermo, May, Todd, and Jeremy soon climbed out behind him. They all looked as if they’d slept like hell. Dog’s tongue wagged excitedly as he stood on the driver’s seat, front paws on the steering wheel, and watched through the windshield.
“This is your new ride,” Mad Man exclaimed through the open sliding window of the bus.
“Nice,” Gene-O replied, unsure of what else to say.
The group met between the two vehicles and discussed their plans. Michael broke the news that the four of them were going to California. Rodney told them he would be driving May, Todd, and Jeremy to north end before heading back toward the river until spring. And after several minutes of goodbyes and pointless banter, the group split up.
The man walked down the gravel road. He was in his thirties, athletically built, and stood six and a half feet tall. His dark brown skin glistened in the sun from the day’s sweat. His high top tennis shoes were dirty and stained with blood. It wasn’t his. They had been worn thin, but he would wear them as long as they were comfortable. Black athletic shorts hung down below his knees. Tucked into them was a Michigan State basketball jersey. The green jersey was stained with sweat and dirt and faded from the long hours in the sun.
A National Guard backpack was strapped to his back. Inside was mostly ammo and food. His winter outfit was also packed away in there. Underneath that was a camelback filled with fre
sh water. In his right hand was the handle to an umbrella. It stuck up above his head, which was covered in shaggy black hair that hung down past his ears. The umbrella used to advertise a company, but the words had long since faded away.
It had snowed yesterday. Today was fifty degrees. It felt like a heat wave to the man. Iowa was funny that way.
He turned off of the gravel road and started down another long road. Only this road held his destination. He could just make out the walls through the trees. He smiled wide and thought about stopping to rest and freshen up. He didn’t want to meet these people looking like he hadn’t had a proper bath in weeks, which he hadn’t. He stopped.
While washing himself off with a rag and some of his fresh water, he saw a glimmer from down the road. A vehicle was pulling out of the small fortress. It was moving toward him. Hopefully he wouldn’t have to walk the rest of the way. He put his rag away and pulled a tube of toothpaste from his bag and ran a bit onto his index finger. He hadn’t seen a real toothbrush in months. He rubbed his finger over his teeth before spitting the foam out onto the street.
The vehicle turned out to be a frighteningly black semi, and it slowed down considerably about a half a mile away. They must have noticed I’m not dead, the man thought. It slowed, but kept creeping closer. Finally, it came to a stop fifty yards away. The man began walking toward it.
Forty yards.
Thirty.
Fifteen.
“That’s close enough,” came a voice from the semi.
The man held up his arms to show he was unarmed. The umbrella was still in his right hand.
“Where are you heading?”
“I’ve been told there is a safe zone here. A fortress of sorts,” the man replied.
A man jumped out of the passenger side of the semi. A teenager. He walked toward the man with an assault rifle raised.
It’s for his own protection. The man tried to not panic. He is just protecting his stuff. Just as you have. “I mean you no harm. I’m tired of running. I just want shelter. I’ll earn my keep.”
“What’s your name?” The teen slowly walked close enough for the man to see his hansom features. Despite the warmth of the day he was still bundled up, making it hard for the man to gauge his size.
“Antoine. But most of the people I knew … before this, they called me Tony.”
“I’m Jonathan,” Jonathan said. He felt the man wasn’t a threat, so he lowered his rifle and walked up to him, offering his hand.
Tony took Jonathan’s hand and shook it firmly. “Nice to meet you.”
“You need to find somewhere else to go. There is nothing left there.” Jonathan gestured back toward May’s property around which the wall had been built.
“I have nowhere else to go. I’ve been walking for weeks. Haven’t slept in days. At least let me ride for a bit so I can rest up.” Antoine did look exhausted.
Jonathan turned back to the semi. It had crept closer. He thought about how the others would feel and decided that he couldn’t leave this man here on the street. “Come on.”
“Oh thank you. I really appreciate this, man.” Antoine laughed and patted Jonathan on the shoulder. “What happened there anyway? I heard that wall was legit. Certainly the zombies couldn’t have done that on their own.”
Jonathan smiled a thin smile. Everyone had their name for them, he respected that, but this one, zombies, just didn’t’ make any sense.
Chapter 0
The warm California air felt great on Jonathan’s face as he stepped down out of the semi. There wouldn’t be much time to enjoy it; however, what he saw took his breath away. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. He walked through the wreckage of concrete and steel bars while his mind tried to fully register what he was seeing. Slowly, he ran his eyes away from the broken wall and up the long driveway.
Seeing the busted garage door was like taking a punch to the stomach, but he knew he shouldn’t be surprised after seeing what had happened to the gate and wall. The garage door to his home had been ripped apart. Broken glass from the windows in the front of the house lay in the grass. And fiends moved about in the yard.
He heard Michael say something from behind him, but he couldn’t make out exactly what was said. It was either stunned gibberish, or Jonathan was so shocked his brain couldn’t register it.
Dog sniffed around the rubble and growled at the shambling fiends.
Something slipped into Jonathan’s hand that made him jump, and he retracted quickly only to see that it was Laikynn. She reached for his hand once more, this time he gripped it tightly. The soft skin of her hands felt perfect in his own. They had both used their hands to destroy precious life, but those lives were intent on destroying theirs and those of the ones they loved. Joined together, their hands would bring death to anyone else who tries to harm them.
And there would be more who try.
Jonathan turned to Michael, who didn’t look particularly surprised, as he had seen so much destroyed, yet he could make out the shock in his face at seeing his home broken.
Behind Michael was Mad Man Rob. His eyes darted about, following the fiends in the yard and watching for any others that may show up.
Guillermo hopped down from the semi before turning around and helping Reese. She slid down into his arms and gave Guillermo a brief kiss on the lips. She walked up to Laikynn and placed her hand on the redhead’s shoulder.
Antoine climbed into the passenger’s seat. Over the past week these people had become his friends, his family, but he knew that what was going on here was before his time, so he gave them their space.
Jonathan could hear the small group talking, but again he couldn’t make out any of what they were saying. However, one noise broke through to him. A low hum in the distance slowly grew to a rumble.
As the rumble grew louder it caught the attention of the others. They walked around the large black semi and looked for the source of the sound. Down the street they could see the sun reflecting off the windshield of a vehicle.
Mad Man Rob and Michael handed out rifles to the others, and Guillermo and Reese climbed back into the semi, pushing Antoine into the back of the cab. They took aim out of the bullet proof windows.
They watched in silence as a massive black truck drove toward them. Jonathan could feel the tension from Mad Man Rob and Laikynn, but they held their ground. With Guillermo and Reese in the armored semi, and Michael crouched under the trailer they picked up outside of Moorford, he felt positive that anyone else would see that it was a mistake to attack them before they made the decision to do so.
The Ramcharger stopped across the street from them, and after a long pause the doors opened. A man dropped down to the street and aimed a rifle toward them. Another rifle was aimed over the passenger’s door.
“You best move along,” the man said in a thick Australian accent.
Jonathan smiled a larger smile than he intended and walked out toward Deacon. He gave a wave that seemed cheesy after he’d done it and watched as Sophia climbed out of the truck, as well. She tipped her bowler hat and smiled. Behind her, two other figures jumped down. The man on the passenger’s side landed a bit more clumsily, but stayed on his feet.
Sophia and Deacon reached Jonathan and wrapped their arms around him excitedly. Behind them, Rodger moved slowly closer in an uncomfortable kind of shuffle. He wore the same grumpy expression that Jonathan had last seen on his face. His right arm was missing. Mark stood back and watched the reunion as Andy and Amie waved excitedly from the sunroof.
Jonathan wanted badly for everyone to tell their stories, but he knew there would be plenty of time for it later.
“We have work to do.”
A word about Decay: Humanity
Thank you for reading Decay: Humanity. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. I never expected Decay: to see a sequel. These characters have become a part of my life that I truly enjoy. The fans of the first book are absolutely amazing. It is because of you
that I began work on Humanity, and it is because of you that I finished.
I really wanted to take some big turns in this story, but I have huge plans for the third and final installment in the Decay: series. Those plans definitely took more control over this story than I had anticipated, but I think we have yet another exciting story behind us, and yet another ahead of us.
Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion!
