by Daniel Smith
“That was different,” Manny, said calmly looking at Dan who stood quietly surveying the mayhem around them.
Dan looked around before speaking,.
“I was wondering when all the shooting would bring people,” he said thinking on how it did not sound like him.
“What,” Manny asked him puzzled by his remark.
Dan just pointed down the street behind them. He watched Manny turn towards the Convenience store to see a group of around forty people moving oddly up the slight incline of Yardell Street towards them. The crowd was moving in a wavy pattern as if they all were unsteady on their feet a slight groaning sound coming from them.
“Finish filling that one,” Manny said motioning for the gas can.
“Move,” he told Dan giving a slight push as he bent to put the fill gas containers into the back of the van.
Dan reluctantly started filling the gas can at Manny’s insistence watching intrigued by the odd way the crowd moved towards them.
“Let’s go, in the car now,” the calm voice that Manny had been using on him now held a steely edge.
He took the container from Dan and closed it as he climbed into the backseat of the van closing the sliding door as Manny closed the rear hatch of the van. He watched as Manny quickly slipped into the driver’s seat and started the van. Dan started staring at the back of his mother’s head, why was she not saying anything. The minivan pulled away fast from the pump with the revving of the engine Dan did not register the slight bump the van took as it ran over the body of his father. Manny had the engine of the van revving as he made the turn out of the parking lot in front of the crowd on Yardell Street. Dan watched expressionless, as the crowd began to surge forward at the van. He could see brief glimpses of torn and bloody clothing on the people and several sets of milky white eyes staring at them as the van roared by.
“Where were you going,” Manny asked his mother who turned her head to look at him blankly.
“Dan, were where you heading,” Manny called back to him from the front seat.
“My uncles farm in Mississippi,” Dan said turning to look at the now following crowd.
“Good as place as any,” Manny said speeding down the street.
“Damn,” he heard Manny say as he turned his head around from looking out the back window.
Manny had slowed the van slightly as he took the van up a slight incline veering around a person standing on the road. Dan could see a group of people moving towards a small rectangular two-story apartment building that had several small patios in the front of them. More of the oddly moving people approaching the building from the intersection. Dan thought it was odd that Manny pulled onto the sidewalk with a slight bump of the minivan. Avoiding the people into the street taking an interest in the van.
“They should have moved,” he thought.
“What’s wrong with them,” Dan asked out loud.
“There infected,” Manny shot from the driver seat as he revived the engine as he started the turn onto Santa Fee Avenue.
At that moment Dan turned towards the apartment building on one of the small patios sitting behind a small railing, his eyes locked with the young girl from the gas station. She looked terrified at the approaching crowd as her mother and brother franticly pounded on one of the apartment doors trying to get in. He was not sure what look her eyes held as her mouth open to scream. Several bloody hands reached out up to pull her and her family from the patio before the van finished the turn speeding from sight. Dan jerked in his seat as the van turned sharply onto the off-ramp of the ten freeway. A horn blared as Manny swung the van around a car trying to exit the freeway.
“You’re going the wrong way,” he told Manny as he straightened himself in the seat.
Manny did not respond as he made another sharp turn with squealing tires onto the freeway. Dan looked around at the few cars on the freeway with them all traveling well over the speed limits.
“What’s going on, What are those people infected with,” Dan asked bewildered as Manny picked up speed glancing at the GPS screen before answering.
“Infected with the plague the one the news has been reporting lately,” Manny said with a reassuring voice.
Dan went silent as he tried to understand what Manny was saying as they picked up speed on the freeway. Passing a few cars before several going faster than them passed by. As they made their way out of the city into the open dirty countryside dotted with the scrub brush spreading across it. Dan said nothing as the miles passed staring numbly out the window as he heard Manny tried to get his mother talking. About his uncle’s farm and the route, they had planned. She would lapse into silence without answering some questions before answering others. All the time Manny politely talked to her in a calm voice. As afternoon approached, Dan saw the hills starting to get taller in front of them.
“Can you hand me a bottle of water and some of the beef jerky,” Manny asked Dan from the driver’s seat.
Dan silently did as asked.
“You should eat something as well,” Manny, replied to his silence he just shook his head. Sitting unsure of what was going on as he tried to understand the events of the day. His father was dead his mother was sitting with her head against the passenger window in their van. Asleep he was not sure while a man he did not know was driving them down the freeway speeding. Between this and his constant scanning of the radio channels listing to the same news reports about pockets of this plague springing up over the country, with government instructions.
“To stay-at-home, do not travel unless needed. Do not go near anyone you think has the plague stay away and call the police. Plague victims get violent and attack anyone including family.”
He just could not understand what was happening. Dan stared at several lined up trucks at a weight station not moving. The drivers standing in the morning sun in a group. He was not sure if he fell asleep or not as he felt and heard the van slow. A sign in front of them announced the town of Serria Blanca but a police car had the off-ramp closed as one police officer waved the van off pointing down the open freeway.
“I guess the welcome light is out,” Manny said more to himself then him or his mother.
The van went past the town and continued down the lonely stretch of road. Dan next became aware of something was Manny stopping the van on the freeway.
“Come on,” he said opening the door and getting out.
“What’s going on,” his mind raced thinking the man was going to leave them here as he watched the sliding door open.
“Come on, I need you to keep watch as we gas up the van,” Manny said calmly as he motioned for him to get out.
Reluctantly he did as asked with Manny moving around to open the rear hatch of the van. Removing two of the red gas containers.
“Keep watch let me know the second you see anyone or anything,” he said as he twisted off the black plastic lid of the container.
Dan stared down the road.
“Best to keep your eyes moving,” he turned to see Manny filling the gas tank.
“Keep your eyes moving across the terrain, if you stare at one object you will focus in on it and not see other things,” Manny explained calmly as he filled the gas tank.
Dan turned back and started looking up and down the road.
“Better,” Manny said smiling.
Having finished refueling the van and not spotting anything, they resumed their travels. Facing the same welcoming from the town of Van Horn as the last one, several police offices and a couple of civilians waving them off, to continue down the freeway. The van was making good time up a hill with the GPS telling them to keep to the right. Taking the lane for the ten freeway to the east toward San Antonio when they saw the dark black smoke.
Manny slowed slightly as the metal freeway sign for highway Ten East to San Antonio and highway twenty to Dallas/ Fort Worth. The direction blocked by several burning and smoking cars and trucks littering the roadway.
“Trouble,” Manny said bri
nging Dan back to reality. Slowing the van Manny and Dan watched several people emerge from the pileup.
“Are we going to help,” Dan asked apprehensively the images of the morning still fresh in his memory.
Manny said nothing as the people approached. He looked in horror as one woman moved to close to a burning car catching her dress on fire. She continued staggering towards the van with Manny revving the engine pulling the van away quickly from the group in a squeal of tires.
“Recalculating,” the GPS units voice announced.
Desert scrub and low hills turned into grasslands as the speeding van approached Dallas. Manny slowed the van down to the speed limit as they saw more traffic and the off-ramps at several towns where not blocked. Manny still scanned the radio listing for the latest reports of information and for any traffic advisory’s. Manny pulled off highway twenty in Sweetwater Texas on to the frontage road and into a gas station that was open several cars where at the pumps filling up. Manny maneuvered the van up to wait for an available pump.
“Come on,” he said motioning for Dan after pulling the van in front of an open pump. He slowly got out of the van following Manny to the rear as he open the hatch. Manny pulled out his wallet and pulled a credit card from it. Dan looked around scared remembering the events of the morning as Manny caught his movement.
“Good,” he calmly said
“Always be aware of your surroundings,” he finished swiping the card in the pump.
“Fill the van and the empty cans,” he said as he moved away. Dan looked up at him scared.
“Give me a second I will be right back,” Manny calmly said. Dan nodded removing the handle of the gas nozzle from the pump and started filling the van. Manny turned and calmly walked towards the store. Dan watched him go then looked around nervously at the other people at the pumps. He would swear they were looking at him as they filled their cars and trucks before leaving. He looked around in panic as the gas nozzle clanked at the now full tank. Yanking his mind back to the present. He pulled the empty red gas cans from the back and started filling them as he saw Manny approaching with two more gas cans in one hand and a plastic bag in another. Manny came up to him just as the gas can he was filling became full.
“I will finish here,” he motioned to the new gas cans.
“Eat,” he said handing Dan the plastic bag.
“I’m not hungry,” he replied.
“Was not a request,” Manny said holding out the bag.
“I do not know when you ate last; we have about four hours to Dallas. Right now reports say most roads are clear with just some closures around the hospitals. That can change quickly. You need to eat or you will be no use to help your mother. I can’t help you both without help and you are the help,” Manny said once again holding out the bag.
Dan glared at him in anger but slowly reached out for the bag. As he started for the open sliding door of the van he heard Manny call out to him.
“Leave me two burritos and a coke and get your mother to eat one,” before he started filling up the new gas cans.
“Here mother eat this,” Dan said trying to hand her a wrapped burrito she turned her head to look at it but for some reason she appeared not to see it.
“Here,” he said again motioning with the burrito to her. Silently she accepted the food pulling the wrapper off to start mechanically eating it. Dan pulled out a warn burrito from the bag and a bottle of soda. The smell making him suddenly hungry.
Highway twenty turned into the Lyndon B. Johnson freeway as it skirted the southern part of Dallas. Manny maneuvered the minivan threw the growing traffic as he reduced the van’s speed in the growing congestion of cars. Dan watched from the rear seat as Manny constantly had the radio scan through the channels listing for any news, his mother seemingly asleep in the front seat. The silence shattered by a beeping tone blasting out of the radio.
“This is an emergency report,” the voice stated. “Emergency news alert The government is urging all civilians off the streets in the Wolf creek area of the southern Dallas area. Reports are coming in of an intensive localized outbreak of the plague. The infected area centered around the US sixty seven highway. Near the Southwest center mall and south past the Chariton Medical center,” Dan did not hear the rest of the report interrupted by.
“Damn” Manny exclaimed jerking the wheel of the minivan hard making it lurch to the right. In front of them, the highway was a stopped sea of red brake lights, blaring horns and the squeal of brakes as Manny cut overthrew a lane of traffic cutting off a blue car. He barely missed the metal legs of the green 463 exit sign. Jumping the van on a partially dirt and grass shoulder speeding past several cars and trucks on the off-ramp to the frontage road. Dan looked around seeing the mass of the stop traffic on the highway. Several people getting out of their cars then to the right at a large white building with people running through the parking lot some going for cars others for the building. He sat puzzled at what was going on and why his mother was still asleep. Manny drove on the grassy area avoiding the road and intersection. Narrowly missing the car and a truck crashing with a loud bang as the van jolted as he entered the roadway. Blowing across several lanes of through traffic before bouncing again on another small curb separating the two sides of the road.
Dan could hear tires squeal to a stop as several cars just missing them as Manny merged the van into traffic.
“What’s going on,” Dan almost shouted from the backseat in fright as Manny drove the van under the freeway overpass on Cockrel Hill road.
“Trouble,” Manny said tensely from where he sat behind the wheel of the van as he came out from the under pass. From the backseat, Dan could see another accident at the traffic light for the off-ramp of highway twenty as people and cars started ignoring the traffic laws. Manny steered around the accident ignoring the people waving their arms to stop. Barely missing them with the van as he jump the curve with the minivan near the traffic light. Driving wildly on the grass between the street and fence for a restaurant he managed to rejoin the road once again.
The scene in front of them was of pure chaos as Manny swung the van right at the intersection cutting threw a gas station to avoid the other cars and people running down the street. Manny forced the minivan back onto Camp Wisdom road, before slamming on the brakes once again. A large mass of people where coming down the road moving in a drunken fashion as cars and people on foot fled before them. Manny had just barely avoided an oncoming crash with a truck as he skidded to a stop as several people ran in front of them. Dan saw the frighten faces of the people looking through the van’s window as they started banging on the van and grabbing at the door handles yelling.
“Let us in.”
Dan looked wildly about scared at all the people, Manny applied pressure to the gas pedal as the van started forward pushing the people violently aside. The oddly moving mass of people was closer now as he looked out the window in revulsion. The staggering group overtook a person who had fallen on the ground falling on him in a frenzy to started bloody tearing him apart with their teeth and hands. Manny swung the van hard to the right again.
“Blocked,” he called out from the front seat. Cutting the minivan through another parking lot, he made a diagonal approached to an L-shaped shopping center crossing another street to get into the parking lot. Passing several cars screeching out of the lot on their smoking tires. Speeding the van around the building to a stop at an angle to the building facing a large open field.
“What are you doing,” Dan yelled from the backseat as Manny threw opened the driver’s door as he reached for the crowbar in the backseat.
“No time,” he shot back as Dan watched him get out of the van.
He looked at his mother as she started to stir before turning his head back to see Manny approach a normal sized door set into the building next to a large roll up door. Manny looked around once before he stuck the crowbar into the doorframe near the lock pulling it hard. Dan watched him rock back then heave agai
n as the door flew open. He watched in shock as Manny disappeared inside for a moment. Then reappeared yelling at him.
“Get in here,” Dan heard unsure of what to do sitting there for a few moments until he heard a rattling sound. He looked around in panic before realizing the roll up door was going up, it stop for a second before Manny stuck his head out the regular door.
“Get in here,” he said expectantly looking at him before disappearing the door once more starting to rise. Dan opened the sliding door to the van and started getting out when movement from the alleyway entrance caught his attention. Looking down the alleyway in the fading afternoon light he saw several figures appear then stop. Seemingly looking around as the roll up door finished making noise. Manny stepped out the open door peering over Dan’s shoulder at the figures that seemingly made up their minds starting down the alleyway in a stumbling gait. Turing as he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Get inside and start lowering that door as soon as I get the van in,” Manny told him calmly. Giving him a slight push to make him break eye contact with the moving figures. He moved through the open door and looked at the chain hanging next to it. He could hear the van start then watched as Manny started backing the minivan into the open door. He grabbed the chain and pulled as the door went up. Dan looked panic at the door started before he pulled on the opposite side of the chain and it started down. He had gotten it halfway down when Manny reappeared with the black pistol grip shotgun in his hand.
