The Plague Unto The End

by T. Gault

  “Have you gone in yet? Is she…?” I asked.

  Curtis sniffled. “I couldn’t go in.”

  “We have to know. If Beth is wrong, she needs the medicine. If she is, then we need to know if she...is going to turn,” I said.

  Curtis nodded his head and looked at the floor. He looked back at me and slowly opened the door. I followed him into the room and I could see her lying on a pile of blankets in the corner of the room. She did not appear to be moving at all.

  “Frannie? It’s Curtis. Are you OK?” Said Curtis.

  I kept my sword ready just in case. Curtis walked over to Frannie and touched her shoulder. He looked back at me and I could see that he was about to cry. I walked over to Frannie and shook her shoulder. Her arm was cold. I looked down at the underside of her arm and there was blood pooling under her skin. I was pretty sure that doesn’t really happen unless the person has been dead for several hours. We couldn’t have been gone but for two hours at the most. I looked over at Curtis and tried to think of what to say. One side of me wanted to tell him how sorry I was that his sister was gone, but another side of me wanted to start asking questions. So I decided to do both.

  “Curtis, I’m really sorry for you and for your sister, but what in the world is going on?” I asked.

  Curtis looked shocked. “What do you mean ‘What’s going on?’ My sister is dead.”

  “I see that, but when did she die?” I asked.

  “Beth said that she found her...” Curtis started to say.

  “No, you said she was doing okay when we left to go to the pharmacy. She has been dead for hours!” I snapped.

  “She was sleeping when we left. I didn’t want to disturb her,” said Curtis.

  “Are you sure she was even breathing when we left?” I asked.

  “She was sleeping. I tried to wake her, but she was sleeping so good,” said Curtis.

  “We went all the way out there and I got scratched...to get medicine for your dead sister?” I said.

  “She wouldn’t have gotten hurt if you had taken better care of her when you pulled her out of that clothing store!” Curtis burst.

  “I did what I could. You didn’t even want to come help us. So you don’t get the right to blame me,” I responded angrily.

  “If you had done what I said and went to get the medicine last night...I know she was alive last night!” yelled Curtis.

  “And we’d probably be dead too. There are too many of them to move around at night. You know this!” I said.

  Curtis stood up and looked like he wanted to hit me. I stood up and threw my sword to the floor and shoved Curtis into the wall. I heard the door behind us creak and I stopped myself from pummeling him.

  “Beating each other up over it is not going to change anything. God’s will is unstoppable. He has other plans for the rest of us,” said Rev as he stepped into the room.

  Curtis looked over at Rev and opened his fists, and wiggled his way out of my grasp, “So God wanted my sister to suffer for days, only to die lying on the floor?”

  “All I am saying is, God’s plan for life doesn’t always go the way we think makes sense. Sometimes things happen to bring about another path. I can’t stand here and tell you I know what that plan is or why God decided this needed to happen, but it did happen. Everything happens for a reason,” said Rev.

  “Just leave me alone. I haven’t had a chance to say goodbye to her,” said Curtis.

  I reached down and picked up my sword just before Rev and I stepped out of the room. Rev started to walk back toward where we had left the others.

  “I might need to sit down and talk with you later Rev. Do you think he’ll be okay in there with her?” I asked him.

  “He needs time for closure, and just let me know when you want to talk,” answered Rev as he walked away from me.

  “How are you so calm? Why aren’t you shaken up by anything?” I asked him.

  Rev continued walking and answered, “God’s will. If it is my time or your time, there is nothing you can do to change that. There is no value in fear.”

  I stood in the hall alone as Rev disappeared into the main auditorium. I couldn’t understand how he could think that way. In some cases it was fear that had kept me alive, but in most cases it just felt like dumb luck. Maybe it wasn’t luck. I started to walk in the opposite direction when I heard Sid and Jim walking up behind me.

  “Hey, bud. I agree with you. You did what you could. Now, I don’t know if I agree with old Reverend Doom and Gloom back there, but momma always told me to never be afraid of dying. When the good Lord is ready for you to come home, he’ll take ya,” said Sid.

  “I think we better keep an eye on Curtis though. Something like losing your whole family does things to a guy. He might try to off himself,” said Jim.

  “You’re probably right. He’s going to need someone to keep an eye on him. I don’t think it should be me though. I really feel like beating the crap out of him right now,” I said.

  “Well, I can take on watching that rascal. With my arm gone, I’m not really good for much else lately,” said Sid.

  I saw Matt coming down the stairs with Beth. Matt was looking at me and shaking his head. He and Beth walked right past us and continued down the hall. Jim and Sid had both picked up on the tension in the air.

  “What’s that about?” asked Jim.

  “He didn’t agree with Curtis and me about going out to get the medicine. He thought I should have let him go by himself,” I said as my arm began to sting and I gripped it, wincing slightly.

  Sid and Jim both took a step back and looked at each other, then back at me. I could see Jim checking to make sure his .45 was tucked into his pants.

  “Alright there, bud. What you got going on. They bite you?” asked Sid.

  “No...I wasn’t bitten. One of them grabbed my arm and...it scratched my arm. It wasn’t as bad as Frannie’s scratch. I’m okay,” I said.

  “For how long? Are you going to end up like her? Lying on the floor, dead?” asked Jim.

  “I’m not planning on it. I feel fine. It’s just a cut and I probably need to clean it again and re-bandage it,” I responded.

  “Well, I think we better put you off in a room by yourself when we all go to bed tonight. Just in case,” said Jim.

  “He’s probably right there, buck’o,” said Sid.

  “Yeah, I could use some good sleep anyway. You two sound like chainsaws when you sleep,” I said with chuckle.

  “We’ll help you clean that up though,” said Jim.

  “Wait, what kind of chainsaws?” asked Sid with a surprisingly serious look on his face.

  “I…I’m not sure,” I replied.

  Jim just shook his head and started walking.

  “What, I mean I just want to know if it’s like a nice chainsaw or some old electric one.”

  We all walked back toward the front door where I had dropped my lunch box. We took the supplies and went into the kitchen. Beth and Matt were in there eating. I rolled my sweatshirt sleeve up and took a closer look at the wound. There was a pair of inch-long gashes in my arm. They weren’t deep but they did burn. I told Jim to pour the peroxide on my arm and told him to find a cloth to try to scrub the wound out. After Jim soaked my arm I noticed Matt looking over at me.

  “So, your little waste of time trip also left you infected. Great, I hate to say I told you so, but...I told you so,” said Matt, shaking his head.

  “Yeah, it might not have happened if you had come, and I’m not infected,” I said.

  “Yeah, because I would have pushed Curtis out of the van going fifty miles an hour and come back here,” mumbled Matt.

  Beth rolled her eyes and ate another mouthful of beans.

  “How do you figure you’re not infected? Frannie was scratched. She died from it. I would say she was infected,” said Matt.

  “She was sick. Not infected. She didn’t change. She didn’t get back up after she died and it took her way longer to die than it has tak
en anyone who has been bitten,” I said.

  “Ha, if that makes you feel better about it. Congratulations, you’re now a hero,” said Matt as he turned back around and continued eating.

  I looked back at Jim and nodded for him to continue cleaning my arm. He scrubbed with the new washcloth he had found. I almost passed out from the pain, but after he was done, the wound did look a lot better and it didn’t sting like it did before. Beth and Matt left the room without saying another word. Jim wrapped my arm with gauze and a clean bandage. Jim, Sid, and I all sat and each ate a can of beans.

  “Jim, you’ve never really said much about yourself. We all have ideas of who you are, but you haven’t said so much as your whole name,” I said.

  Jim looked up at me from his can of beans. “Yep.”

  “Ain’t you just about a snake,” Sid said to Jim. “The man is trying to get to know you and you go and shut him down like that.”

  Jim looked over at Sid with a spoonful of beans, “Yep.”

  “That’s it, Jim, I’m not talking to you anymore today,” said Sid.

  Jim coughed and almost seemed to be choking on a bean. “That would be a miracle,” said Jim, trying not to spray beans across the table.

  “Well, I guess we’ll have plenty of long boring days in here to find out everything about each other. I’ll just wear away at you until you tell me,” I said.

  “Okay,” said Jim as he scraped the last couple of beans from the bottom of the can.

  Sid shook his head and reached over to scratch his missing arm. He tried a couple different locations until he remembered.

  “You still haven’t gotten used to it being gone, have you?” I asked.

  Sid looked at the stump. “No, I reckon I haven’t. I don’t know if I ever will, really. I asked Tracey if I could keep the arm. You know, because it was...my arm. She did something with it after she cut it off. I can’t find it anywhere.”

  “What in the world would you have done with it Sid?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe gave it a proper burial.”

  “What, with a ceremony?” I asked.

  “Maybe. I just kinda wanted to see it one last time before it was gone forever,” said Sid.

  “There’s something wrong with you,” Jim said as he got up from the table and threw his can in the trashcan.

  “Well, I guess I’m going to find a room to use for the night,” I said as I stood up from the table.

  Sid nodded and looked at his stump again. I walked down the hallway to the steps and went upstairs. I found a room that was divided into two rooms by a slide-out folding wall. Only one side of the room had a window. I figured the setup would be great for getting some sleep. I wasn’t ready to go to sleep yet though. It felt like about midday, but the rain outside made it hard to be sure. I pulled a chair up to the window and sat staring out at the neighborhood. There were so many of them out there now. The shotgun blasts earlier must have gotten the attention of every one of them in the area. They seemed to be piling up around certain areas of the streets. Some of them were getting crushed under the weight of the crowd around them. All we would have to do is stay quiet and lay low for a few days or so. They would all leave.

  I looked down at my sword and saw the dark blood smears all over it and couldn’t help but think that cleaning it off would be a good idea. I also flipped my backpack around and decided to fill up all of my magazines. I hadn’t really had time to stop and think about any of it for a while. I went to the bathroom and got a roll of paper towels and squirted soap all over my sword. I scrubbed it and tried to turn on the water to rinse it off. The water was off. I wiped it down the best I could and went back to my room. I sat looking out the window, with my gun sitting on the window sill and my sword propped against the wall. I wondered when I would get a chance to find a charger for the video camera and when I would finally get to hear what Thomas had to say. I decided that I would look for a Radio Shack or some other electronics store when I woke up in the morning. I would probably have to go alone. Jim would be too worried about messing up again, Sid’s confidence was blown, Rev has never wanted to go out, and I didn’t think Beth would go anywhere without Matt. Matt, I couldn’t begin to think about asking him for any help.

  The rain gently tapped on the window and the overcast sky began to dim as the day ended. I fell asleep sitting in the chair.

  Dream #5...

  I am running through a field. The ground does not feel hard and the grass is not very well grown. It is dark outside but I can see a house up ahead with lights on. The house is fairly large and there are several other, similar houses next to it. I am not sure why I am running but I know that I cannot stop. My clothes are different and I can feel that it is warm outside. I am wearing shorts and a t-shirt and am barefooted. I can hear the thick blades of tall grass snapping behind me. There is another noise coming from the left. At first I think it is heavy winds, but I quickly realize it is waves crashing. I look to my left and see the moonlight reflecting off of the water and I can see the sand of the beach.

  I suddenly feel the urge to yell, “Now!” I start waving my arms and I hear an explosion behind me. I keep running and finally make it to the door of the beach house. A group of people are standing inside the house that I do not recognize. I step inside and shut the door. I look through a window next to the door and can see at least a hundred enflamed figures walking and running in the field. The flaming field does not go around the house and only covers about a hundred-and-fifty-foot span of the field. All of the members of the group are watching the windows, waiting to see something. I scan my eyes from one side of the field to the other. All of the forms burning in the field are being consumed more quickly than I expected. I look over at the others to see if they are as thrilled by how easily the mass is being eradicated, but they do not look happy at all. They look scared. I look back through the window and see movement to the right and left of the blaze. They are going around it.

  One of the individuals, a black male about my age, starts shaking his head and runs into the house. I look at the others and one by one they also leave to various places in the house. I know what I need to do. I walk back to the door I came through and pick up a wooden plank and a hammer. A coffee can sitting on a table holds the nails. I begin hammering nails into the plank and barricade the front door. I can hear several others doing the same in different parts of the house. I hear some thumping on the outer walls of the beach house. The crowd has started to make contact with the house. I start nailing another board onto the front door when I hear a woman ask me for some nails. I pick up a handful of nails and hand them to her. She looks like she’s about to say something to me when an older white man comes running into the room. He says that the others are back, but something happened. I run to the back of the house where there is a small dock connected to a sound. There is another woman inside the boat. She has been infected.

  I pick her up and carry her inside. One of the others from the boat tells me that they ran over a floater and she was looking over the side when it exploded. I run her into the bathroom and put her into the bathtub. I turn the shower on and step out of the bathroom. I know the shower is not going to stop it. Her skin is starting to become dusty and she starts asking for a drink. The thirst has already started. I hear some screaming coming from the front of the house and run to help. The window next to the door has been shattered and some of them have already started to pull themselves through the window. The woman that asked me for the nails, runs past me and toward the back of the house. I can hear them all pounding on the walls and the door. I can also hear them climbing on the awning and the walls.

  I hear a window break on the second floor and more screams from up the stairs. The front door bursts open in a cloud of dust. The crowd starts to funnel into the room. I turn to run but see that some of the group of people has climbed back into the boat and are trying to leave the dock. I start to run for the boat, but see that the carriers are jumping from the dock into the bo
at. They are starting to come in through the back door. I run into the bathroom and slam the door behind me. I check for my handgun. It is not in my holster. I look over at the woman sitting in the tub. She likely only has a few minutes before she will be fully changed. I hear them begin to pound on the bathroom door. The door is weak and will not hold. The thuds grow louder and louder. Bang...bang...bang.... The door flys open.

  CHAPTER 17 - Breaking Point...

  I woke still sitting in the chair. I expected to be blinded by sunlight pouring in through the window. I looked around the room and quickly noticed that the room was still dark. I looked out the window and could see it was still raining outside. I saw a flash outside and heard some distant thunder. I was sure the thunder must have woken me up. I heard another boom, but this noise wasn’t preceded by a flash from outside. This boom sounded a lot closer. I waited for a moment and heard the boom again. The noise was coming from inside the church. Someone was shooting.