Travis proceeded to dial Ken on his cell phone. The line was busy. “Damn it!” Travis tried again and again he got the busy signal. “Lori what is the number to Ken’s work?” “It is on speed dial number three dear.” Travis pressed speed dial button and the number three. The line was busy again. “See dear I am telling you something is wrong both lines are busy.” “Well I am sure it is nothing at all. Give Jennifer a call then.” Travis placed the phone back down on the receiver and picked it back up. There was no dial tone. “Dear something is terribly wrong here I have no dial tone now. We need to go and get both of them.” “Hun I am with the baby and we don’t have a car seat.” “I don’t care we need to go and get them now.” She gave Travis a stern look. “Look I am not taking this baby out there without a car seat who knows what could happen.” Travis knew there was no changing her mind. Once Lori had her mind set it might have well be written in stone. It was something that he did love about her but at times he wished she would just indulge him and go with what he said.
“Fine I am going to go you stay here and lock yourselves in the basement. I am serious and don’t give me any of this bullshit about conspiracy theories and all. I mean it.” “Well if it would make you feel better then I will go down there.” “You remember the secret password?” “Yes, call out and ask if Howard is there at the door.” “Yes remember if they answer to it then you know to not let them in.” “What’s the second so you know it is me?” “Yes.” She rolled her eyes. “What is it?” asked Travis, as he coached her along trying to get the response he wanted. “Plague.” She rolled her eyes again. “Yes. Now go down there. I am coming too I need to get my go to hell bag.” “Whatever dear just be safe out there.”
Travis ran down the stairs that led to the basement and grabbed his old ruck sack from Vietnam. It was OD green except for the few areas where the ruck sack lost its color. It was torn in several places but still functioned. It had a survival knife, four days’ worth of food, two canteens that were full of water, and four magazines of 5.56 rounds for his AR-15. He opened up the thick wooden case next to the ruck sack. The case was stained a dark cherry color and had his name engraved in silver lettering. Travis pulled out an axe and a pair of combat boots which he was able to buy from the Army surplus store. Lori just stared at him. “Do you really need all of that?” “You never know dear.” He kissed Lori on the lips and Luna on the cheek. He then headed out the door grabbing his keys that were hanging next to the door.
The car was an old blue Volvo. It was boxy but he trusted that more than the new car that Lori had bought just a few months prior. He ran through the keys looking for the one that went to the Volvo. He placed the key in the whole and opened the car door. The interior lights came on immediately. He threw his gear in the floor of the front passenger seat. Then he sat down and put the key in the ignition. The car had a pine smell from the air freshener that he bought two days prior. He started the car and shifted the gear from park to reverse and looked behind him as he proceeded down the driveway. He paused for a moment half way in and out of the driveway. He did not see anyone leaving. Stupid people he thought to himself. He finished pulled out and preceded down the road and to the highway.
It was only two o’clock in the afternoon and traffic was light. It didn’t seem like people were taking this serious. No matter his family and he were going to be the ones to survive this. Travis realized he did not turn on the radio which was odd. Any other time he would immediately turn on the radio which was preset to his favorite rock and roll station 101.3. He reached over with his right hand and pressed the round black knob on the console and the radio came alive with Highway to Hell. Fitting he thought to himself someone must have a sensor of humor down at the radio station. He saw the green exit sign and proceeded with pushing up the black lever to the left of the steering wheel signaling his turn. The exit ramp was empty as he came to a halt because of the red light. Travis tapped his fingers on the steering wheel waiting for the light to turn. He looked left and the right. There was not a car in sight.
Then there was a loud beep coming from the radio. It was the emergency broadcast system. This is an emergency. The governor has declared a state of emergency. All those that are in Lakeless, Pontneau, Koring and Hayward counties are to evacuate. Please use all designated emergency routes. For those that are not able to travel are encouraged to stay indoors and wait for emergency personnel to evacuate you. The beeping came on again and the message was repeated a second time. Then the radio station came back on. This time they were playing For Whom the Bell Tolls. Again Travis thought the DJ had a sense of humor.
The light still was red. Travis looked left and right again no cars. “Fucking piece of shit light.” Travis pressed down on the accelerator turning the steering wheel to the left as he lifted up his foot until he was halfway through the turn and pressed on the gas again. The road was empty except a few cars here and there. He passed by a small grocery store and the lot was absolutely packed with cars. He laughed to himself thinking of how he had everything he needed back at home because he was prepared. If Lori just could see this then she would think differently about his apocalyptic tendencies.
He drove on looking for the road he needed to turn on to in order to get to Ken’s work. His son was a mechanic for a small mom and pop shop. He made good money though and was constantly busy. He took the first job that he could since Jennifer got pregnant. Although Luna was not planned she was still loved very much. Ken thought he would take this job until he got some experience and when an opening to one of the major car dealerships came open he would apply. Travis turned on 21st street heading west. Ken’s job was not too far just a few miles down the road. When all of a sudden someone accelerated right into the driver’s side knocking Travis unconscious.
Chapter 3 – The Bunker
Cowan’s eyes opened slightly and he thought he could hear Hobbs next to him. Then Cowan’s eyes closed and then blackness. Hobbs sat at the side of the bed hoping Cowan would wake up. Hobbs had a square white bandage that covered ten stiches on his forehead. Cowan’s eyes opened once more. He was naked except for the hospital gown. He noticed there was an IV in his left arm. He could see the IV bag half full and watch the methodical slow drip in the tiny tube underneath the bag. “What is going on,” Cowan asked groggily. “Well we were out there for a few days. You and I were extremely dehydrated. So they needed to get some fluids into you.”
“Troops were sent in after the fact to assess the damage and see what happened to the infected. They picked us up and brought us here. Luckily neither of us was bitten or scratched. They did pick up some soldiers and put them in quarantine. They succumbed to the virus and now they are trying to use them to find a cure or vaccine. So far they have been unsuccessful. We have been here for a week or two from what I can gather. You hit you your head pretty hard and have been in and out. The doctor’s said you will be fine though. The world is in a shit storm already.” Hobbs picked up the silver colored remote in his hand. He pressed the red button at the top that was labelled “on.” Hobbs changed the channel to 22 which was the news. An old grey hair man was talking and in the upper right hand corner of the television was a video of the massacre that was happening around the world and reported the current apocalyptic situation. It seemed to be the same all over America and the rest of the world. “As you can see the vectors or as some are calling them zombies have been taking over the world. The president has issued a warning to get out of the major cities and head towards the safety zones. If you are not able to make it to the safety zones then board up your doors and windows. Ration your food and water and wait for help. The military will be there as soon as they can. Only open up your doors for the military that are in uniform. Do not let anyone else into your home. If one of your loved ones or those that are with you have been bitten secure them to a safe area. Do not try to reason with them. When the military arrives in your area they will safely transport the vectors to a safe and quarantined area until the
y find a cure. Again I repeat do not reason with them. They will become hostile and attack anyone and everyone. If you are outside and attacked destroy the brain. This can be accomplished by shooting them in the head or striking them with a hard object. We go now to the reporter in the Boston area.”
The screen flashed to the scene. The reporter was a young man. He had light brown hair and hazel eyes. He seemed to be calm and collective despite the current situation. The city seemed destroyed. There were wrecks in the back ground from a massive panic that occurred in the city. Some of the buildings were collapsed and black smoke rose in the air. There was a small store to the right of the reporter where the window was smashed with a red chair that sat halfway in the store.
He was holding a microphone which had a white block that had dark bold black number 22 on it. “There have been looters and rioters in the street. The number of dead are increasing daily. To help stop the increased fluctuation stay indoors until help arrives.” Just then a zombie was shuffling towards the reporter. The zombie was dressed in what appeared to be a grey business suit. Its dark grey intestines were hanging out and dragged on the ground. It had on only one black shoe. As the zombie moved forward the video was starting to shake as the camera man was startled by the sight.
The low moan was unnatural and definitely not human. It made Hobbs stomach churn. It brought on the memory of the little child Bellman had shot. He could see the glazed eyes, her pig tails and the blood stained teddy bear hitting the ground. The memory was too much for him. He knew the image would never go away. There was no way to unseen what had already been seen. Only if there was a way he could have saved her. There was nothing he could do and felt defeated. He succumbed to the memory. Hobbs turned off the television. He looked over at Cowan. “Hey man get some rest. I will come back and check up on you a little bit later.” Hobbs stood up from the hard plastic chair and walked towards the door and left.
Hobbs looked down the white hall with black peppered flooring typical for a hospital he thought. He was not sure of where he wanted to go so he decided to explore the area. He walked down to the right. He could see the nurse’s station with a telephone and a computer. The station was manned by a beautiful red haired woman. She was young and pleasing to the eye. She had blue eyes which reminded him of the clear blue sky. She gave a greeting smile. “How are you today sir?” “I am doing fine just trying to stretch out the old legs,” Hobbs replied, returning the smile with a smile of his own. He thought about correcting her and letting her know he was a sergeant in the army and not an officer. After all, the world seemed like it was dying away so what was the point. He continued to walk down the hallway towards the white sign that had red letters that read EXIT on them. He opened the door and headed up the stairs. As he climbed the stairs he opened the door that had a brown sign on the side that read “Floor 1”. The room was a gym that had free weights, a boxing ring, a speed bag, and a punching bag. It was impressive especially for a bunker. I guess everyone needs to get some sort of exercise here.
He walked towards a small door to the left of the gym. There was a small flight of stairs and opened the metal door. There were two soldiers manning another large door and it had to be fifteen feet by fifteen feet he presumed. One of the soldiers turned to him. “Sir what are you doing here?” The young man could not be older than twenty. He had a boyish look and a small barely filled in mustache. “Just stretching out my legs.” “Well no one is authorized outside,” said the soldier on the left. Hobbs just stared at the big door for a moment as his head was filled with curiosity of how the outside was fairing. “Sir no one is authorized to go outside so I need you to leave.” Hobbs just turned around and headed back down not wanting to start any trouble.
Going through the gym Hobbs returned through the door he had previously entered through. He walked down the flight of stairs to the third floor. He entered immediately saw two guards standing there. They seemed to pay him no mind so he continued on. He noticed some of the rooms had small beds but other rooms were offices. He came upon an office that had someone in it. The man just peered up at him and then returned to what he was doing.
Then he saw a man walking down the hallway. He was in uniform but was too far away to make out the rank. As he walked closer he strained his eyes to see the rank. It was a gold maple leaf indicating he was a major in the army. The man walked up to him. “Good afternoon how are you feeling,” the man said with a hoarse voice. “I am doing ok I am glad to be in here and not out there.” “Well we are glad to have you in here. I have heard about the mission your battalion was on. We underestimated the situation.” Hobbs just huffed. “Yeah you can say that if you want but from my point of view it was a massacre and just a cluster fuck!” The major spoke up. “Well we are glad you made it. We did not fully understand what we were dealing with. This is a unique situation-.” Hobbs cut the major off. “Yeah unique. There were fucking zombies out there. We were sent in without any clue as to what the fuck was going on. We did not have enough men, ammunition or support. Then all of a sudden we hear these damn jets over our head. Which by the way dropped their ordinance in close proximity and blew my soldiers and me up. Yeah you can say it was a unique situation!” “Well son since the first attack we have learned and have adapted our fighting strategy to help prevent further casualties. We had to contain the area as best we could. We could not let a single infected or as you call zombies out of the area. It was unfortunate what happened but we had to do what had to be done.” Hobbs noticed how calm and collective the major was being especially since he probably was never used to being talked to in this manner. “I guess that is why you are an officer to make all the decisions and send men to their deaths while you sit behind a desk!” “I have to make decisions every day that will send men to their deaths. I have a duty to protect this country and I have to live with those consequences.” The major lost his temper and tried to recompose himself.
Hobbs just walked off moving further down the hall anger building up inside him. Surprisingly the major did not stop or reprimand him. When he reached the end of the hallway he opened the door which led to another hallway. It gave Hobbs an uneasy feeling like he was in the twilight zone. As he passed by the seventh or eighth office another man came out hollering his name. Hobbs recognized the voice. It was first sergeant Rojas. Hobbs turned around shook his hand and pulled him towards him as they embraced and patted each other on the back. “Man I am glad to see you alive.” The whole mission was fucked from the start. I have only seen you and Cowan since the battle. I was glad to see at least two of my soldiers made it out alive. They called in the air strike when they realized the lines were about to break. We were just collateral damage. They did not even give us a chance to get our men out. It was utter bullshit.” “Yeah I agree. Cowan and I was at least able to get in the Humvee before the bombs went off.”
“Well if you haven’t had a chance to explore yet. The first floor is the workout area and there are a few other rooms nothing of interest. The second floor as you might as well figured is where the injured are being cared for and they have the cafeteria on that floor as well. This floor contains all the offices and some have been converted into beds for the officers. Our rooms are down the hall,” as Rojas stretched out his arm and pointed. “They are tight quarters but we are used to it. On the fourth floor is the bio lab. They are trying to find a cure or even a vaccine against this virus. When you and Cowan are up to it we have a mission for you. We will need you two to go out on a recon and rescue mission of sorts. At least that is what they are calling it. For right now go and get some rest and we will talk about it later.” “Well I don’t think I need to be in the infirmary anymore.” “Well let me show you to your staging area then.” The two men walked down the hall way and turned left at the end. They walked through the doors and there was a big open room with a lot of cots already set up. “Just pick an empty spot. Well I will leave you to it,” said Rojas, as he turned around and left the room. Hobbs found the c
losest empty cot which was next to the door. He sat down on the rough OD green fabric and laid down and fell asleep immediately.
Hobbs could see the little girl in his dreams as she clutched the stuffed teddy bear in her arms. She reached for him and was calling his name. “Hobbs, Hobbs,” and all of a sudden the blood was gone and it was just a little girl. She just stood there looking at him. “Hobbs, why didn’t you save me? All I wanted was to be saved.” Hobbs shook his head. “I couldn’t save you there was no way I could.” She just pleaded even more. “Hobbs save me, I am scared it’s so cold.” He started to reach for her and grab her hand to tell her it was alright and he was there to help her. As his hands drew closer she turned back into the monster she was. Her eyes turned a milky white color and she gave out a low moan. Then she cocked her head to one side. “What is wrong Hobbs don’t you want to save me? Am I not worth saving? I just want to be saved.” “No you are not real. You’re dead. You’re dead,” he screamed at the top of his lungs. He raised up as he screamed out loud, “I can’t help you!” His clothes were soaked with sweat. “It was just a dream” he told himself. “Just a dream…”
He looked around and most of the cots were filled with people sleeping. He turned his body to the edge of the cot and planted his feet on the cold floor. He pulled his boots out from underneath his cot and placed his foot in each one as he pulled tightly on the strings and tied them. He tucked the excess string into his boots and got up. He was careful not to step on anyone or anyone’s equipment and gingerly walked to the far door that leads to the stairs. He started to head downstairs and reached the floor where the lab was. This area was rather large. There were several different rooms with windows. Each room’s entrance had a door and a small walkway that lead to another door. Each room had different equipment inside of it. Some had small benches with microscopes, centrifuges and an ultra violet work area. The work area had racks that held several vials. He walked further down the line and each room had a grey plastic sign indicating what each work station was for. He moved further down the line there were mice in tiny clear boxes and each box had a label on it but he was not able to read the words.
Alpha of the Omega Page 3
