by Marie Lanza
The feeling of the tires hitting cement was instant, giving a sense they achieved a small victory to be off the sand and on paved road.
Melody watched the waves roll in one after the other, and with every wave thought of the bodies that would eventually be carried in with the currents. All those bodies of infected on the ocean floor, all the victims from the ships who didn’t make it out. As the Humvee turned, Melody took in a final view and let the ocean move behind them.
The small convoy weaved through roadblocks and barriers. The lead truck took the most hits from infected, throwing the bodies to the side of the road. Beck hardly seemed to notice the mangled bodies getting themselves back up to their feet and charging the vehicles all over again. Looking out, it seemed only a small handful were still moving, while everything else lay still, torn apart or eaten by the infected. Traffic jams were frozen in time, a picture of terror and death with blood splattering the windows, cars and the bodies trapped inside, charred beyond recognition.
As they pulled into the canyons, the lead truck accelerated just slightly, continuing to keep a cautious speed. The fog still sat heavy through the area, covering all visual beyond a few feet. Red brake lights ahead flashed as they twisted around the winding road.
Everyone in the Humvee was quiet. Beck concentrated on everything ahead of them, Jason sat back in his seat as relaxed as he could be, while Nic stared out the window in a gaze of deep thought. Melody cradled Aubrey while the little girl silently pet her hands, clapped them together, repeating the simple action over and over.
Brake lights, then a sudden halt by the cargo truck, caught everyone’s attention.
Static came over the radio, then Ricky’s voice, “Hey, guys, we got some type of road block up here that we’re gonna have to move.”
Beck reached down and picked up the radio to call back. “We can’t blow through it?” he asked.
“No, sir. Not unless we feel like changing some tires after,” Ricky responded.
“Alright, stay sharp.” Beck let the radio fall to his lap as he shifted in his seat to try and get a better look.
“Are we getting out?’ Jason asked.
“No, they’ll handle it,” Beck said, much to Melody’s relief. “We should have waited for this fog to lift. I can’t see a damn thing past the hood.”
Jason adjusted in his seat, pulling himself up towards the dash, trying to get a better view of what was beyond the convoy. “Me neither.”
They waited.
Over the rumblings of the truck engines, they were able to hear the faint sounds of a door opening, then another. Neither door shut.
Every noise was amplified in the waiting silence, even the simplest of breaths. There wasn’t even a crackle of static from the radio.
Then the sounds of steel dragging against the concrete echoed through the canyons. It perked everyone up, bringing their attention to the wall of fog blocking their view.
“Jesus, guys, let’s just go ahead and make dinner reservations with infected,” Beck said under his breath.
“What the hell is Ricky doing?” Nic was anxious as she attempted to get a view. “Maybe I should hop out. See what’s up?”
“Stay put,” Beck said.
Crackle over the radio, then Ricky’s voice, “All clear, heading back to the truck.”
More crackle over the radio.
“Looks like we got some company,” the voice of the Marine riding with Ricky came in. “Just a few ugly stragglers.”
“Nothing the truck can’t run over,” Ricky responded back with a chuckle.
Melody felt as though she was listening to something from far away, an event that wasn’t real, a radio play, maybe, from the old days, where everyone sat around and listened together, listening to the story play out, waiting for the big finale.
“Shit! Shit!” the Marine’s voice called out.
Silence.
Everyone focused on the radio.
“Guys, what is it?” Beck called out.
Just silence.
Mike’s voice from the cargo truck just ahead came over the radio, “The guys are on the move! It doesn’t look good!”
Beck put the Humvee back in drive.
“Here we go!” Mike shouted out over the radio.
“Guys, give me an idea of what’s happening!” Beck demanded.
“Lotta company, guys! We gotta move!” Ricky called out sounding breathless.
“Oh God,” Melody whispered, closing her eyes as she brought Aubrey closer to her chest.
They weren’t able to see the terror ahead, only hear the sounds surrounding them.
Mike’s truck ahead of them pulled slightly ahead, then stopped.
“Let’s go!” Mike called out.
“What the hell is happening up there?” Jason asked to himself.
“The flood gates to hell just opened up here! We’re surrounded!” Ricky called out.
“Move! We gotta move!” the Marine was heard shouting.
Jason rolled down the window just slightly; Beck did the same.
The moans and hisses from infected soon flowed through the windows. The banging of their bodies as they made contact with the Humvee followed. The tires screeched over the pavement as the Humvee struggled to fight the horde.
There wasn’t much room on the two-lane highway. With a mountain wall on one side and cliffs on the other, forward or backwards were their only options.
“Guys, what’s happening up there?” Beck called out.
“Oh my God, we have to get out of here!” Melody didn’t know who she was speaking to; they were just words. Words filled with fear.
“We’re surrounded. We can’t get through all the bodies!” Ricky called out over the radio.
“Ricky, I’m coming up, I’ll see if this truck can’t help us push you out of this mess,” Mike called back.
The brake lights ahead flashed through the fog, then disappeared.
Beck looked out the side mirrors, getting an idea of their options. It was forward or backwards.
“It’s gonna be a seriously tight squeeze if you’re thinking of turning around on this road,” Jason confirmed as he too desperately scanned their surroundings. “We’re sitting ducks here, guys; we need to make a decision.”
“Yeah, the decision needs to be to push through this shit,” Nic responded.
Melody took notice that Nic’s left leg was bouncing up and down while she unconsciously rubbed her knee; an anxious movement. She thought maybe Nic was worried for Ricky. She didn’t know really how close they were, only that they survived the ship together.
Beck drove forward through the fog, following the taillights of the truck ahead.
Figures began to seep through the white fog, dull shadows at first that transformed into full bodies of infected. There were countless of them. They limped in their steps, and jerked their heads as they snapped at the air, biting towards the vehicles.
“We’re not gonna make it like this,” Ricky said over the radio with the snarls of the horde in the background. “Mike, I’m gonna reverse this thing and try again.”
“I’ll give you as much space as you need, man!” Mike called back.
Tires screeched, the smell of rubber quickly flowed through the vents, then tires screeched again, this time with loud thumps as bodies bounced off the Humvee. Ricky, in his best attempt to plow through the horde, lost control of the vehicle, catching the front tires on the cliff’s edge, rendering them useless. The truck was stuck, stretching across the narrow road, blocking almost both lanes, with its front right tire caught over the edge.
“What are we waiting for?” Beck called out to the others.
“They’re snagged!” Mike called back.
“Can they make a run for it?” Beck asked.
“They’re completely surrounded!” Mike confirmed.
“Get out of here!” Ricky shouted out.
“We can’t get past you. We have to figure out how to turn around!” Mike replied.
> “There is no turning around!” Beck called out.
“Do what you gotta do, Mike!” There was radio silence. A moment that seemed like minutes, yet only less than a second. “We have these people to think about. Remember the mission.” Ricky’s voice was solemn. “Remember the mission.”
Hearing his words over the radio, Nic instantly knew what he meant. She knew what needed to be done. “Shit,” she whispered and stared out the window into the eyes of the infected beginning to gather around the Humvee.
Their blank eyes, rotting skin, and smears of blood painting the windows as they pressed against the glass, was a heavy reminder of their mission. Save the living.
“No, oh my God!” Melody’s concern was unheard. She knew what Ricky was saying, but didn’t actually know what that meant for the others.
Suddenly, Mike pressed the gas, causing the tires to scream against the pavement. The truck pushed through the horde, slammed into the back of Ricky’s truck, and didn’t let off the pedal as they rammed against the stuck vehicle. It didn’t take long for Ricky’s vehicle to disappear over the cliff, taking many in the horde with it, and creating enough passage for Mike to move forward. The truck pushed through the rest of the horde, clearing a path for the Humvee.
Neither Mike, nor Beck, stopped to look. Everyone knew they were gone.
Melody let out a sudden, short cry in disbelief. “Was that seriously necessary? We just killed them.”
Jason quickly turned around to comfort her the best he could being in the front seat. Nic didn’t turn remove her eyes from the road, staying silent, staring out the window watching the world go by, while Beck concentrated on driving.
“Honey, it was unfortunately necessary. Ricky saved our lives. He saved everyone’s life.”
Melody looked at Nic. “Is that how you feel?’ she asked with no response. “Nic! Please…”
Nic turned around and wiped a tear from her cheek, but she didn’t have any words.
“And the other guy?” Melody asked. “The Marine, what was his name?”
“It was Tim,” Beck answered. “And yes, he would have agreed with our decision.”
Jason kept his eyes on Melody. “Are you OK?”
“I’m fine.” Melody kissed Aubrey on the top of her head for her own soothing. “I just need a minute. Just… a minute,” she snapped back. Melody didn’t feel sad for Ricky, she felt angry. A hatred for the world around them. She had never experienced such senseless death in front of her. Melody never asked Jason about his experiences in war. She genuinely was OK with never knowing the fighting he endured. But she thought, this is what war must feel like. Watching good men make harsh decisions for a mission, a mission for the greater good. To Melody, something more could have been done instead of Ricky and Tim sacrificing their lives the way they did.
Jason took his cue and turned back around in his seat. He didn’t know how to help Melody, but he knew his wife, and he knew when to back off. There was nothing he could say at this point to give her comfort with the amount of death she was suddenly surrounded by.
Melody held Aubrey’s tiny hands in hers. She didn’t feel sorry for herself, but she did feel sorry for her precious little girl. Melody questioned the world she brought this innocence into, a precious jewel among chaos and destruction. A small light in the vast dark. The voice of Vic then creeped its way in her thoughts, Only the strong survive – certainly not babies – that kid is a liability – you’re all gonna die. Between the thoughts of Ricky and Tim’s sudden death and Vic’s crazed voice, Melody closed her eyes, trying to shake it all out of her mind. She would not allow these deaths to be for nothing, and she certainly wasn’t going to let Vic’s words to be true.
CHAPTER 5
The canyon road widened as they made the summit and rolled over the other side. The fog was finally thin enough to see a greater distance of their surroundings. The two vehicles left in their tiny convoy drove at a slow steady pace.
Melody kept her eyes out the window, watching the landscape pass them by. Nic hadn’t said much since Ricky’s death. Jason’s eyes scanned the roadway back and forth, and behind them. Even when he did speak, he never took his eyes off the road.
The signs of devastation were less in this canyon, giving a few moments of a drive they would have taken on any other day before the outbreak. A few short moments of normal. No screams of terror, no cars or buildings burning, and no infected. The moment vanished as quickly as it came.
Mike’s truck slowly braked, and Beck reacted by slowing the Humvee.
Crackle over the radio, then Mike’s voice came in, “Beck, we got about a mile or so of this, but we’re heading into a populous area.”
“We should stop, find shelter for a bit, and see if we can’t get everybody some food. It’ll be a chance to regroup,” Beck responded.
“You got it.”
The trees began to get farther back from the roadway as the landscape opened up farther down the mountain.
Mike slowed to a stop at a four-way intersection. A signal light that once gave directives now swung dormant in the light breeze. There were two cars crashed into one another to the right of the intersection, but nothing seemed alive.
Jason found himself looking to his left, then his right for oncoming traffic that he knew wasn’t there.
Beck held the radio close to his mouth like he was about to call him, probably to see why he was stopped, but he waited.
The truck engine rumbled at idle for a few more seconds, then, Mike turned left.
Infected began showing their ugly faces. The vehicles weaved around piles of trashed littering the road, cars that had been abandoned, and the bodies left by the infected.
Melody watched the infected as they followed the convoy. She wanted to feel sorry for them. Souls lost to some virus that didn’t let them rest. The infected moved in one direction – the direction of the living. There was no other focus in their eyes, only mindless attacking of everything alive. A shell of what were once human beings.
Did they have memories?
Was there anything left from their past selves?
Melody kept her thoughts to herself as her eyes searched their surroundings. The vehicles pulled down street after street; what Melody once thought may have been beautiful family homes laid out over rolling lawns. A place once full of happy memories of children playing in the front yards, now untrimmed graveyards of just that – memories. Melody felt like she was in a dream, where facts were presented to her that she had to accept, because there were no other options. Forced to watch everything in front of her play out in a way that, on any other day, would be absolutely ridiculous.
“These homes look as good as any,” Beck said, breaking the silence. He pulled the radio back up to his face and messaged his thoughts to Mike, “What do ya say?”
“Looks good to me,” the radio crackled with static.
They began to slow down and Mike pulled over to the side of the street in front of a home guarded by a six-foot high concrete and stone perimeter fence around it with rod iron entrance gate. It was a perfect getaway from the infected.
“Mike, I’ll get out and see if we can’t open this gate. Send Joe out to come with me.”
“You got it.”
“You should drive.” Beck looked at Jason as he climbed out of the Humvee. Jason followed him out, surveying their surroundings, and walked around the vehicle to the driver’s seat.
Melody watched as the young-looking soldier named Joe hopped out from behind the green canvas truck cover, and approached Beck. He held his weapon at a ready for anything. Melody took note of how intense he looked, maybe even a little scared. That fear was comforting in some strange way, letting her know that they too were fighting real emotions.
Beck and Joe walked along the fence until they disappeared.
Jason was restless. His instincts told him they were in a bad position – sitting ducks on the side of the road. He never stopped looking around, every direction he could see ou
t the windows, then checked each side mirror over and over.
Nic pulled up in her seat and also began scanning their surroundings.
As she moved, Jason caught a shadow, but he wasn’t quite sure if it was Nic or if he really saw something in the side mirror. He leaned over to see if he could get a better angle when he heard the familiar groans of infected and a body suddenly slammed against his window, catching him off guard. Jason’s heart went straight to his throat as his reflexes jerked him back.
Melody gasped and instinctively pulled Aubrey into her.
“Jesus Christ!” Nic blurted out in a harsh attempted whisper.
It was a young woman, Melody thought, maybe only in her late teens, early twenties. Her skin was that pale gray that everyone infected seemed to turn, like the blood in their bodies stopped flowing and spoiled in their veins. Her eyes were focused on Jason as she pressed her body against the window. The young woman’s hair was matted with dirt and grime, and blood covered her body where open wounds were exposed. Melody couldn’t look away. She watched, almost feeling sorry for what was once probably a happy young woman living her life only a short while ago, now a victim to walk forever in this new form that seemed worse than death.
Jason took in a deep breath in an attempt to gather himself and focus again. If there was one, there could be many.
“You guys alright in there?” Mike called out over the radio.
Jason turned his attention to find the radio. “Yeah, we’re fine.”
“Well, looks like she brought friends,” Mike said. “Three to be exact about a hundred feet behind.”
Nic tried to get a better view pressing herself against the glass looking behind the Humvee as best as she could.
