"He and Tonya grew up together, and he had developed a thing for her but was rejected," Connor told her. Looking over, he could see the hurt in Jameson's face. He knew that it was much more than just a thing. Jameson had fallen hard for Tonya, and it pissed him off that she had rejected him. "Sit back and relax; I am heading for Woodbridge. We need to let the sheriff know about this and see if they know what the hell is happening."
CHAPTER 2 – WOODBRIDGE
The three sat quietly for the fifteen-minute trip while they reflected on what they had encountered. Jameson, still in shock after seeing his friend acting in such an odd way, just sat with his head hung low, thinking back to their years as friends. As they grew closer to Woodbridge, they began to see signs of trouble ahead. Passing a few cars sitting off to the side of the road with doors wide open and no occupants seemed odd, but the pools of blood below those open doors was cause for concern.
Connor could see the town in the distance and began to feel relieved that they would soon arrive and pass along what they had seen to the sheriff. Slowing down as they entered the outskirts of the small town, they all started to see that things were very off. The streets were quiet; nothing seemed to be moving anywhere in town, and worse yet, the streets were littered with bodies all bathed in blood.
"What the hell is going on around here?" Jameson muttered as he scanned the grisly scene before him.
Slowing the truck, Connor moved up alongside a couple of bodies lying in the middle of the road. Looking out the window, he could clearly see the chunks of flesh torn from several areas on the bodies. Looking back over at his brother and Sara, "What do you two make of this?" he asked, knowing that they were as stumped as he was. As he was about to turn back to the scene outside of the truck, he saw the expression on Sara's face change, going from confusion to a look of terror. She started to shake as she pointed past him out onto the street.
"Floor it!" Jameson yelled.
Turning back, Connor saw the face of the hideously deformed male now standing at his window, staring directly at him. He could hear his brother yelling to him, but he sat frozen in terror at what he saw before him.
Sara seized the opportunity to get away by slamming her foot down on the gas pedal, sending the old truck hurtling down the street, and just in time, as the man lunged at Connor.
Coming back to his senses when the truck lurched forward, Connor grabbed the wheel and began navigating his way through the formerly quiet street as the bodies that were once motionless began to rise. He could see the sheriff's office in the distance and aimed the truck in that direction but quickly turned back as several more blood covered people emerged from a building close by.
"Connor, we have to get out of here; they are everywhere!" Jameson yelled.
"I know, but I can't seem to find a way through them," he replied as he started swinging the truck from side to side, trying to avoid the people.
"Look," Sara yelled pointing down the street. She was able to make out a lone figure running between the slow moving people, and he was shooting them in the head at point blank range. "It's the sheriff, and he doesn't look like one of them."
Connor saw the man and turned the truck toward him, picking up speed as he raced through the now crowded street. Out the corner of his eye, he could see a young woman emerge from a building, closely pursued by several of the people, but to his chagrin, she did not last long as the blood covered group swarmed her. "Oh my God! They are eating her," he said aloud.
Jameson yelled, "Faster, the sheriff is becoming badly outnumbered." The truck skidded to a halt near the exhausted man. Jameson quickly jumped out of the truck, "Come on; get in," and moved so the sheriff could climb inside. The creatures all around them started to converge on the spot where he stood, so he closely followed him back into the truck, slamming the door behind him just in time.
Once the door closed, Connor slammed on the gas and went back to dodging the people as he made his way through the town. Looking over at the man, "You alright, Sheriff?" he asked, swinging the wheel to avoid another of the people.
Catching his breath, the sheriff reached in his pocket pulling out another magazine for his gun, ejecting the empty and slamming home the loaded one. Looking up at Connor, "Yeah, I'm oaky, just worn out from fighting those things. Thanks for picking me up."
"Not a problem… I'm Connor Myer; that's my brother Jameson, and this is Sara," he said pointing at the young woman. "What the hell is going on around here?"
Taking a deep breath, still winded from his run, he just nodded at each of them. A few more second passed, and his breathing slowed, "I'm Sheriff Timothy Hobart, but you can call me Tim. I don't think there is much left to be sheriff of any longer since this all went down."
"All what went down?" Sara asked as the panic began to grow in her. "We have been running into these people for a while now."
He was not surprised to hear this knowing that the outbreak had occurred a few days ago but had just made it this far in the last few hours. "Well, from what I have been able to ascertain, there was some kind of biological accident at one of those medical labs up in the city, and it's bringing the dead back to life." He saw the look of disbelief on their faces and knew they did not believe him, but he went on anyway. "When the dead come back, they seem to have a strong hunger for living flesh, so they are going after us and do their damnedest to take a bite."
"Wait," Connor said, "you are telling me those people are all dead?"
"Yes, they sure are and hungry as hell. There is more," he said, taking another deep breath. "You got to shoot the bastards in the head–anywhere else and they just get back up and keep coming."
Looking out the window, Jameson found this difficult to believe. "How are they dead? They are up and moving."
"Roll down the window, kid, and I will show you."
Rolling down the window, Hobart raised his weapon and took careful aim at the closest of the people and fired, sending a round directly into the center of the man's chest. Stumbling back, the man fell to the ground as a blackish blood oozed from the wound. A few seconds passed, but just as he had said, the man sat right back up and quickly regained his feet. "Now watch, I'll shoot it directly in its head." He again aimed carefully and fired, this time hitting the man dead center in the forehead. The man once again fell back landing on the ground, but this time he remained motionless.
"How is this even possible?" Jameson asked staring out the window at the man.
"Do not have the slightest idea. All I know is to kill them you have to kill the brain, or they just keep on coming." Looking over his shoulder, he could see the dead gathering as they moved closer to the stationary truck. "We best get going–looks like our friends are in the mood for a snack," motioning back at the growing throng of people.
Connor quickly agreed, stepping on the gas, following the road out of town. As they raced through the streets, more and more of the town's people emerged, and all appeared infected with whatever was causing this mess. As the truck sped past the town limits and onto the open roadway, the dead became fewer and fewer with every passing second. Once they cleared the town and the hordes of sick people, Connor slowed to a stop, wanting to get more answers before continuing onward. "Sheriff, how bad is this outbreak?" he asked.
"It's bad from what I have heard. I guess most of the state has had problems, and the military has been called in to close the boarders and keep us all in until they find a cure."
"So what you are telling me is we have no place to go and no place to hide from these things," he angrily said, slamming his hands against the steering wheel.
"Look, kid, try and relax. I have a ranch not too far from here. We can hold up there until this all blows over. It is well stocked with supplies, so we can stay there for as long as this takes."
As they were talking, none of them noticed the female crawling up out of the drainage ditch, slowly making her way toward the truck. The young woman had been out jogging when she ran into a group of infected and w
as attacked before taking refuge in the tall grasses in the ditch. Hearing the people talking, she figured it was her opportunity to get help before she bled to death, so she left her safe haven hoping these people were uninfected.
Jameson lowered his head, amazed at what he had been hearing and still in disbelief as he tried to shake the thoughts from his memory. "I need a minute to clear my head," he announced, pulling on the door handle and throwing himself against it to pop it open. As the door swung open, he started to step out when he felt a hand grab his leg. "Holy shit, one of them has my leg," he yelled as he tried to pull it back inside. Grabbing the handgun from Sheriff Hobart's holster, Jameson swung around, aiming down at the young woman and was about to fire when he heard hear her speak.
"Help me; please, help me," she mumbled as her hand fell away from his leg.
Turning back to the others, "She is alive, not one of those things," he said leaping out of the truck and kneeling down next to the injured woman. Looking her over, he saw the stump where her leg used to be and quickly recalled his first aid class where they taught him to place a tourniquet on a wound like this to stem the flow of blood.
While he was working on the leg of the woman, the others climbed out of the truck wanting to check out what was going on. Sheriff Hobart walked up to the pair reaching down to retrieve his weapon from the ground where Jameson had set it. Kneeling down next to the young woman, "Miss, how did you get injured?" he asked.
"A…Attacked… They ripped it off, bit me," she told him as she recounted her attack.
Standing up, Hobart pulled his gun back out of the holster, "Step back; we need to shoot her."
Jameson quickly jumped to his feet, moving in between Hobart and the girl, "What the hell are you doing? We can't just kill her."
"Look, kid, I have seen what happens to the people who are bitten, and I can tell you from experience, you don't want to be around them," he told Jameson. "My deputy was bitten earlier today, and less than an hour after his attack, he turned into one of them."
"How is that possible? We don't even know what the hell is causing all this," Jameson replied, still holding his ground.
"Alright, kid, you want to see for yourself, fine. But I warn you, keep a close watch on her because she is going to change, and she will want to snack as soon as she does." Stepping away from Jameson and the woman, Hobart moved back and found a spot to watch. He kept his gun in his hand knowing that he would need it soon, just as soon as she became one of them.
CHAPTER 3 – THE ROADBLOCK
Jameson kept watch over the woman hoping that the sheriff was wrong, but as time passed, he could clearly see the changes begin to show on her face. At first, he thought the lack of color was due to blood loss, but now it was progressing as her skin turned a light grey color with blue veins that began to streak her face. She had stopped responding to questions a short time later as her breathing became shallow and her body began to twitch before her breathing stopped a few moments later. Reaching in, Jameson went to check for a pulse but stopped when the woman's eyes suddenly popped open. Pulling his hand back he stared at her, shocked at what he was seeing when she turned and looked up at him with her completely white eyes.
"Move aside, kid. I need to put her out of her misery," Hobart said, moving past Jameson.
"But…but isn't there anything we can do, other than kill her?"
"Look, kid, she is already dead. We are not killing her, just ending her existence as one of those things."
Connor moved over to his brother, "Come on, Jameson, let the sheriff do what he needs to do," helping his brother to his feet.
Stepping back giving Hobart space, he stared down at the woman who was now trying to crawl closer to them, biting at the air, smelling the living flesh close by. Looking over at Sara and then to Connor, he could tell that they both felt the same way he did, but there was nothing they could do for the woman. Closing his eyes, he just could not bear to watch and was startled when the shot rang out, ending the life of the woman.
Hobart stepped away from the body turning to look at the three kids, "Come on, let's get out of here; the shot may attract more of them," he said, holstering his weapon and walking back to the truck.
They climbed back into the pickup and started down the road, leaving the body of the young woman lying on the pavement. As they traveled down the small highway, they once again ran into a few of the slow moving zombies, but instead of wasting the precious ammunition they had, Connor just avoided the things, moving quickly past them.
In the distance, they could see a column of smoke rising from the direction of the next town, and they all started wondering what kind of horrors they would see once they arrived there. Horner was a town of similar size as Woodbridge but had a larger population, housing an Army Reserve base on the outskirts.
"I wonder what is on fire up ahead," Connor muttered, noticing that the smoke was increasing in intensity. A smile began to grow on his face when he saw the roadblock coming up in front of them, but it quickly went away when he saw the road littered with bodies and blood.
"Looks like the army tried to keep those things out, but were unsuccessful, from the looks of it," Hobart said as he surveyed the carnage before them. He took note of several weapons lying around, and knowing that the firepower would come in handy, he decided this was as good a time as any to get it. "We need to get those weapons; stop the truck!"
"You want to go out there?" Sara asked. "We have no idea where those things are. They could be out there waiting for us." Her eyes darted back and forth as she frantically searched the area around the roadblock for any moving.
Hobart turned back to her, "Listen, we need those weapons; this thing," raising his sidearm, "will not be much good if we run into a large group of them." Looking back, he saw Jameson nod and start to go through his door opening ritual, so they could retrieve what they needed.
"Stay here," Hobart said as he and Jameson hopped out onto the roadway. Looking back at the pair, "Be ready to move if we run into trouble."
Connor nodded and kept the truck in drive and watched his brother and Hobart head out into the open to start retrieving the assault weapons the military had abandoned. Out the corner of his eye, he could see Sara shaking as the fear coursed through her while she nervously watched for any sign of trouble. "Relax, Sara, they will be quick, and then we can find a safe place to hide until this is all over," he told her as he placed his hand on her arm.
The two men raced amongst the debris that littered the road collecting weapons and all the ammunition they could find, only returning to the truck when they could not carry anymore. As Jameson was moving around one of the military trucks, he saw in the back of it a box of MRE's, and not knowing if or when they were going to be able to find food, he decided to grab it and bring it along. Moving up to the truck, he grabbed the box and was about to pull it out when something from inside the truck grabbed his arm. He tried to pull back, but whatever had his arm, was holding on tight, so he called out for help.
Hobart heard Jameson call out and dropped the weapons he had racing to where Jameson was. Turning the corner he saw Jameson struggling against an unknown foe, so he pulled his weapon, flipped back the cover on the back of the truck and came face to face with what appeared to be a former soldier now in the grips of whatever was changing these people.
Jameson panicked when he saw the face of the man, pale in color with blood dripping from its open mouth as it moved closer to his arm preparing to sink its teeth into his flesh. Pulling harder on his arm, he prepared himself for the inevitable bite when a shot rang out from next to him, and he saw the head of the zombie explode as the bullet struck. The grip on his arm released, and he went sprawling backward, falling and landing hard on the pavement. "Holy crap, that thing was about to make a meal out of me," Jameson said. "Thanks, Sheriff."
"Not a problem, kid, but we have more trouble coming," he replied, motioning down the roadway at the approaching horde of dead.
Jumping t
o his feet Jameson reached into the truck grabbing the box of meals, stopping briefly to stare down at the now deceased soldier and whispering a short prayer to himself before sprinting for the truck closely followed by Hobart. Running up to the truck he tossed the box of meals in the back and started to gather the weapons that Hobart dropped when he came to his aid. He could hear someone screaming but was not able to make what he or she was saying. His mind was still racing from his close encounter, and he was oblivious to the world around him until someone grabbed him and shoved him into the truck.
"Come on, kid, we got to get out of here," Hobart yelled, jumping in next to him. Raising his gun he fired off a few shots taking down a few of the closer zombies, clearing a path for the truck as the dead grew closer.
"They are coming from the direction of town. Do you think it's a good idea to head there still?" Sara asked watching the mass of walking dead approach.
Connor hit the gas just as Hobart pulled the door shut and sped off down the road. Swerving back and forth trying to avoid hitting the approaching dead, he raced past them heading for Horner hoping that people were still alive there. "I need to see what is left of the population; besides there may be survivors that we can help."
Her nerves started to get the better of her once again as they sped toward the town. The people, or whatever they had become, were everywhere and hard to kill, so intentionally driving into a place that could be full of them was not what she wanted to do. Closing her eyes she tried to calm herself, but the movement of the truck and the constant gunfire kept reminding her what they were facing. Her body began to tremble as she thought about the people outside the truck. Images of these creatures feasting on their flesh raced through her head, which only intensified her fear causing her shaking to increase in intensity.
A few minutes later when Sara thought that she was nearing her breaking point and the urge to scream out in utter terror approached, the gunfire subsided along with the erratic movements of the truck. Slowly she opened her eyes and was relieved to see open highway in front of them and no signs of the infected.
Dead Strain Page 2
