Alpha of the Omega

by Corona, A. M.

  While waiting for his entrée to finish heating up he looked back inside to see what treasures had awaited inside. He pulled out a tan pouch that read lemon poppy seed pound cake. The next one read wheat bread. Thinking to himself how this would stop him up and he would not be able to shit for a week. He placed that one aside and pulled out the next rectangular pouch BBQ sauce. His eyes widened when he pulled out the next. Bacon cheese spread that read kneed before opening. Then the small clear pack that held all the condiments inside of it and those awful horrible two pieces of white gum. They would say the gum was a laxative to help pass the food through the system but he was not sure to believe it or not. Either way, the flavor was not strong and the taste dissipated within a few seconds of chewing. It also contained a small pack of toilet paper all folded up nicely in its own brown sleeve. The black lettering read Lighthouse. “If I find you I will burn you to the ground,” said Cowan softly to himself. There was so little of it that when you had to go you needed to make sure that you used both sides that is even if you could squeeze one out. It also had a small white pouch that said caffeine mints and a miniature size of tobacco sauce. The last item pulled out was a dark brown spoon in its own clear wrapper.

  He looked over at Hobbs to see if there was anything good to trade for. He had everything scattered across the floor already and Cowan noticed the pack of purple skittles in Hobbs’ hand. Hobbs just looked at him and gave a big grin as he was already chewing them enjoying each and every last one as he dumped the rest of the bag into his hands and popped them into his mouth. “I have jalapeno cheese spread,” said Hobbs. Oh the tough decisions Cowan thought. On one hand he had the bacon cheese spread and Hobbs had the other delightful jalapeno cheese spread. Choices, choices he thought. No better not he thought because in the next three to four days he will be feeling the burn when it came out. “Naw I am good,” said Cowan. “Suit yourself but you are missing out.”

  To bring a little bit of humor to the situation Hobbs turned to Cowan. “You know it is known to the state of California that these MREs cause cancer.” Cowan just laughed a bit which lightened up the dark gloomy room where the two sat in. The sky was getting dark and the sun was already setting. The night was when you could hear each creak or moan would make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. That utterly sunk feeling that took your stomach away like being on a roller coaster creeping up high and right before the utter dissension knowing that you would be safe but out here out in the real world there was no guard rail to hold onto and no one screaming out of fun. No this was different.

  “Hey Cowan I will take first watch and wake you when it is time.” Cowan just shrugged and said “ok.” Cowan was out already in seconds. He sat there his knees bent to his chest his head down sitting on top of them. The butt of his rifle touched the floor but was resting against his body his hands still clutched to it as if holding onto it for dear life. His pack right by his side facing away from his body in case they needed to take a quick getaway he could just grab the pack and move at any moment.

  Hobbs, halfway full from the MRE, was getting sleepy and tired. His eyelids started drooping. He then felt this cold musty breath on his face. It smelled of death and decay. Then he felt cold moist fingers that curled around his throat. Then a voice whispered into his ear. “Don’t fight it just let it be.” The voice was low and barely audible. He tried to move and open his eyes but he couldn’t. He was starting to panic as the grip on him got tighter cutting off his air flow. His body felt heavy as if something was sitting on top of him. He could not move to defend himself from his assailant. All he could wish for was for Cowan to wake up and save him. All he could do there was wait to fall into unconsciousness and drift away. He continued to try and move to no avail. Was he paralyzed or dreaming he couldn’t tell. He tried again with more force this time. Then he heard the metallic cling as his rifle hit the floor.

  Hobbs looked around finally able to open his eyes. There was nothing there. He was sure there was something there. He could not shake the feeling of something lying in wait for them. He looked around the room which was lit from the light of the full moon. He was shaken and his gut wrenched in fear. His face was pouring with sweat. Slowly dripping from his face making little dots on his vest which became bigger spots irregular as they pooled and ran away with the impact. Hobbs wiped his face and he felt the rough leather from his gloves run across his dirty face. He looked around with more intent as if he had missed something. Thoughts raced in his mind. You are not losing you it, you are not losing it he thought to himself. This is not the place or time to be losing it. Stop thinking he told himself as if there was another person in his mind that he needed to hush. “It must have been a dream,” he told himself in a low hushed voice. He usually confided in Cowan about everything but the least thing he wanted was to worry him. He had to be sure there was something and he did not want Cowan to lose trust and confidence in him and his leadership abilities.

  He got up slowly and looked out the window. There was a small breeze outside not too strong just enough to rustle the tall grass outside. The mosquitoes were bad and buzzed in his ear as he tried to swat them away only for them to return again buzzing defiantly. For a moment he thought he had saw something in the distance. But it was quickly gone from sight. It couldn’t be the living dead they do not move that fast he thought contemplating what it was. Maybe it was just my imagination. Everything just felt so real to him. He then felt a hard hand on his shoulder. Hobbs jumped worried that his previous assailant was back to finish the job. He turned around to see Cowan standing right there behind him. “Hey man what is going on,” Cowan said in a groggy voice. “Is something out there?” “No,” came the reply quick and short. Cowan just looked him in the eyes. “Maybe you need to get some sleep. Here I will take the next shift.” Hobbs reluctantly agreed and nodded. “Yeah that might be best.” Hobbs slouched down into his spot on the floor. Cowan just looked outside and scanned the region to make sure there was not something there but there was nothing. Being satisfied there was nothing he just sat down on the floor across from the window this time as if he was waiting for something to pop out.

  He just took out his drinking hose and bit down on the rubber piece sucking out water to help ease his mind. He reached down into his cargo pocket and grabbed out the white package that read Caffeine Mints that he had been saving. He turned over the package and it had a dosage on the back, ten equals one cup of coffee he read in his mind. He quickly tore open the package and poured them out into his hand. They were tiny white circular tablets. The taste was like what the package had said minty as he sucked on them and waited for the morning.

  The morning rays of the new fiery red sun had entered into the room. Cowan could smell the dew from the morning that laid on everything it had come in contact with the night before. The light glistened off the dew. The air was heavy and thick. Everything will be alright he told himself. It is going to be alright. He did not smell the stench from the rotting flesh as he did the night before. He must have gotten used to the smell he thought. He pulled out another MRE out of his pack but this time he did not heat up the entrée or open anything up that was hiding inside. He just pulled out the small sides that accompanied the meal and stuffed them away in his pockets for easy access to eat on the go.

  He looked over to Hobbs who was still on the floor lying down. Hobbs had slept with his rifle close to him. The way they were taught too. Hold your rifle close to you like you are spooning your woman they were told. He looked at his rifle and said, “Come on Betsy we have a lot of work to do today,” as he patted it like he would a woman. The rifle seemed filthy or as any rifle would be if it was in the field for some time. Cowan did not like to extend out the buttstock but kept it in. He like the feel of having it close to his body this also made it easier for him to get a good grip on it.

  He was not the best marksman but he was able to shoot 35 out of forty on the pop up ranges. Nothing to scoff at but every time he tried he coul
d not get forty out of forty no matter how hard he had concentrated. What was the worst thing about it he would miss a few while he was in the supported prone position. The unsupported prone and kneeling he was a king.

  Cowan walked over to Hobbs and tapped him on his foot instantly waking up him up. Hobbs had a pool of drool that had collected on his hands from the night. He got up and wiped the saliva on his vest. “Did you sleep well sunshine?” said Cowan with a devilish smile. “Yeah I did princess I was out like a baby,” as he smiled. “What had you so spooked last night?” Hobbs paused deep in thought thinking about what he imagined happened. The cold grip on his throat the dark voice in his ear and the smell that accompanied it. “It was just a dream I guess nothing to concern ourselves with.” The two threw on their packs. Hobbs did a quick self-assessment. He took his hand and touched his helmet, then his vest and every pouch to make sure the contents were still in there mentally checking off everything as he frisked himself all the way down touching each item as he went. When he was satisfied he had everything they stepped off.

  Hobbs walked up to the window. Keeping himself about a foot away scanning the horizon left and right. Then slowly he walked closer again scanning everything from left to right. Satisfied he climbed out the window always keeping his rifle facing forward in case something jumped out. Then he moved to his left and took a knee. Cowan had followed suit. Hobbs pointed to Cowan and then to the right. Indicating that Cowan would go around the right side and he would take the left side. Hobbs stood up to a crouch and walked left. He peered around the corner taking a piece of the pie at a time. He went around the last corner of the house satisfied he lowered his rifle. Then the two set off towards the bunker. Hobbs was keeping track of the distance as he marked each mile that they passed and stopping every once and a while checking the compass and shooting the azimuth to make sure they were on the right track.

  Then Hobbs heard something he immediately crouched down and signaled for Cowan to do the same. He pointed to his ear to indicate that he had heard something. The tall grass did not help when he scanned the area. Hobbs looked at Cowan. Cowan shook his head. Then the two stood up and continued on. Hobbs took two more steps and he heard the same noise again. He signaled to Cowan. They both crouched down looking for the reason for the noise. Again there was nothing. Cowan looked into Hobbs’ direction. “Are you feeling alright? I have not seen or heard anything at all.” Hobbs shook his head and mulled over the thought of the sound he heard. He was not sure what he heard but he was certain it was something. Could this all be in my head he thought? Could this be from last night or was the stress of the downfall of humanity getting to him? It was not unusual for soldiers to break under pressure. They were trained to be resilient and that helped most of the soldiers but there still was a breaking point. Was there a way to tell the difference between reality and what he thought he heard?

  Then Hobbs heard rustling in the grass once more. They both heard it this time and they knelt down. The sound seemed far off but it was still there. Hobbs could see the grass moving aside as something came towards them. Hobbs drew up his rifle in the direction where the movement came from. Whatever it was it was moving closer. The tension grew in Hobbs. His face started to sweat. His hands began to shake a little bit and it got harder to keep the rifle steady in his hands. The rustling came louder and closer. It seemed like it was something small but Hobbs could not tell for certain. Then an armadillo popped out. The animal just looked at Hobbs and Cowan and scurried away as if they were not even there. Cowan gave a small stressful laugh and sighed in relief. Up on the horizon they could see the woods which meant they were almost home maybe a few more miles to go. Hobbs checked his marks and decided they had about two or three miles to go before they would make it home. Well what had become their new home. Hobbs could not decide if he had liked the grass land or the forest. The grass was easier to see in the distance but it could give way to those zombies that had no legs that would drag themselves across the ground. The woods would not give them the amount of sight he liked. It was always a trade off each having their own benefits and weaknesses.

  Hobbs saw something red in the forest off in the distance. They immediately got down in the prone position. Steadying the rifle as they laid down with their elbows propping them up. Cowan reached down into his side cargo pocket undid the fastener and pulled out the scope. “That was not there before we left,” said Hobbs. “Yeah I know I don’t have a good feeling about this.” Through the scope Cowan was able to make out that it was a tent. He scanned the area around the tent. There was garbage and what appeared to be torn packs. There was an indication there was a fire the night before. “Hey Hobbs it is a red tent and signs of recent usage.” Hobbs just nodded and the two got up and slowly headed towards the tent. Cowan every few steps would turn around and bring up his rifle to scan the area behind them. The last thing that they wanted was to have someone laying a trap for them. When they reached the small camp site Cowan turned around and knelt down. Hobbs surveyed the area. He searched five yards around him then proceeded 10 yards and finally 25 yards. There was an old ruck sack maybe Vietnam era he thought. It was an old green color and had a metal frame. The ruck sack was not as big as theirs but big enough to carry a small amount of supplies. There was wear and tear where small holes and rips. There were dark brown rust stains that came from the buttons. The welds were rusted and the straps were dark green from the sweat that poured into the material. There were ashes in sort of a circle where wood was burned. The ashes gave off a small amount of heat indicating it was left to die out on its own.

  There were small zip lock bags that laid around the area and candy wrappers. Then he inspected the tent. He walked around the tent first to make sure there were no trip wires. The red tent seemed intact and whole. There were no signs of a struggle. The tent was fully opened and the door of the tent laid down on the ground. Hobbs peered in and he was able to see a biddy sleeping bag. The sleeping bag was a special type of bag that had extra material that was used to fully cover the head with. The bag was supposed to be a black color but was more of a dark grey indicating its usage. Hobbs used his rifle to lift up the bag to look underneath. There was nothing but the floor of the tent.

  Hobbs heard a noise and walked out the tent his rifle ready pointing in the direction the sound had come from. The noise was a loud crunch noise of the leaves of the forest floor that sounded with each oncoming step. Behind a tree about thirty yards away he could make out a human shape. Hobbs slowly walked towards the figure. His rifle up and ready as he aligned up the iron sights with the figure. First center mass and then towards the head. It was natural instinct to shoot center mass. That habit was hard to break but was necessary to do since the new threats only could be taken down by taking a bullet to the head.

  “I don’t want any trouble,” came the shaky voice. “You can just take what you want and leave please I beg you.” Hobbs just thought to himself why do people say that as if it would matter? If they were robbers and decided to kill them they would do so without a question. “Come on out,” Hobbs said. “Is there anyone else?” Hobbs assumed there was no other person because the amount of supplies and one sleeping bag. The man shook his head and slowly raised up his hands to indicate he did not want any trouble. “Come out slowly,” came the command from Hobbs. The man hesitantly obeyed limping on his right leg. When the man was about 5 yards away Hobbs told him to stop. Cowan walked towards the two. He angled himself 45 degrees from the man having his rifle at the low ready. “Do you have any weapons?” asked Hobbs. The man shook his head again. “Put your hands on top of your head and interlock your fingers.” The man slowly moved his hands to the top of his head. Hobbs walked up to the man and grabbed the two pinkie fingers with his right hand. Hobbs slowly methodically check the head, neck, and patted down the man on the upper left quadrant of his body all the way down the left quadrant. Hobbs did the same with the back side. Then Hobbs switched hands and grabbed the man’s pinkie fingers wi
th his left hand. Then followed the same pattern on the right side. Hobbs noticed there was a red stain towards the bottom of the right leg.

  The man noticed Hobbs had seen the stain on his right leg. “I swear I was not bit!” the man said with a quivering voice. There was a warm trickle of urine that went down the man’ leg. “Don’t worry if you were not bitten then there is nothing to worry about.” Hobbs pulled up the right leg of the man’s pants from the top. The last thing that Hobbs wanted was to touch any infected wound if that is what it was. There was a gash on the man’s leg. The wound oozed a green fluid that stuck to the pant leg. The area surrounding the wound was a bright red color. “Where did you get the wound?” asked Hobbs as he put the pant leg down and stood up. “I got it a few days ago near a stream. I went to stoop down and grab some water and I slipped and my leg caught on a rock.” “I can dress the wound.” Hobbs stood up and took off his IFAK from the front of his vest and opened it. He pulled out the plastic bag that contained several items. He pulled out the gloves and put them on. Then pulled out the battle dressing out of the pouch and wrapped the wound. The battle dressing had an anticoagulant with a small amount of antibiotics. The man held up the pant leg while Hobbs wrapped the dressing around the wound and then tucked the dressing inside itself to prevent it from loosening. Then Hobbs pulled out the combat pill pack that contained some fever reducing medicine and gave it to the man to take. Hobbs stood up and put the contents of the IFAK back in the pouch and fastened it to his vest.