On the way back to his car, Bryce finished his tour with a quick trip down to the creek, which ran adjacent to the hatchery. It was just like he remembered; it had a small patch of grassy flat terrain and was covered in vines and bushes. It was far too cold for there to be any berries yet; there was still snow on the ground up at this elevation.
Bryce himself was getting a little too cold for his liking, having not prepared for cold weather. When he left his house it was warm and sunny, but up here it was a little too cold. Since he hadn’t taken into account the higher elevation and colder air, Bryce wasn’t dressed appropriately for his recon mission. He made a hasty retreat back to his car and started the trip back home.
The trip was not wasted, because he gained some valuable knowledge about the hatchery and decided that it was the right place. He also learned how many cars could be parked safely in the parking lot, which was too many to count, how large the property was, he estimated at least five acres, and how hard it would be to protect, which would be extremely hard. He also found out where the good spots in Payson would be for pillaging if it came to that.
Bryce started the trip back home with a little music and cracked open another one of his drinks. When he reached the highway, and regained cell service his iPhone started blowing up. Victoria was trying to call.
“Jesus, why are not you answering!” she screamed as soon as he answered.
“I was up at the hatchery, there must not be very good cell reception. What’s up?” he asked.
“I’ve been watching the news, and it’s getting out of control,” she told him.
“What do you mean it’s getting out of control?” he asked.
“They are already seeing infected patients all over the country!” she began.
She told Bryce the story of how the Outbreak made it to Los Angeles, and then hopped to other cities when people got on planes to get the hell out of California. There were reports of infected people in Dallas, Albuquerque, Seattle, and Portland. Several planes travelling to New York, Chicago, Orlando, and Atlanta had made emergency landings because their entire cabin had been overrun with the infected.
She told Bryce that most of the flights had landed with the pilots safe behind their terrorist-proof doors. However, some of the flights did not make it to their destinations as the pilots opened the doors for the banging fists. Multiple planes were confirmed to be down, killing everyone and everything onboard.
Additionally, not all the emergency landed flights ended well. Some of the flights ended up spreading the virus even more, as first responders opened the doors to find over a hundred infected people rushing out into the open. This just served to spread the virus to even more cities. Before anyone knew it, the virus had cropped up all over the country, much quicker than they expected.
Eventually, the FAA had grounded all flights, but not before the damage was done.
Bryce speculated about how the technology, which allowed humans to quickly travel across the country, was now also the demise of the human race. It allowed the virus to spread so fast and so far that it was absolutely impossible to stop it. It amazed Bryce that in only the last few hours the virus had gone from one major city to all over the nation. The craziest part of all was that the entire problem started because humans were not intelligent enough to not get on a plane after becoming infected.
After Victoria told Bryce all of this horrible news, Victoria took a breath, steadied herself, and dropped the massive mental bomb, “Bryce, they are in Phoenix, too.”
This set Bryce’s senses on fire. The virus had spread to within fifty miles of his family in less than a day, and he was over a hundred miles away in the fucking mountains where they were supposed to be retreating to! He needed to get home and they needed to get out of there, and they needed to do it right now.
Bryce told Victoria in a flurry, “Babe, you need to tell everyone who is leaving to get their shit together and get to our house. We are leaving as soon as I get back.”
She thought about that for a minute, and then said, “You’re still at least an hour and a half away.”
“Don’t worry about that, just get all the winter clothes packed you can find, and tell everyone to do the same. When you’re done with clothes, start packing food, and whatever we need for Trystan. I will handle everything else when I get there,” Bryce told his wife.
“Victoria, I love you, now please lock the doors and stay inside until I get there.”
Chapter Thirteen
Mogollon Rim, Arizona
Bryce disconnected with his wife, set his phone in its dock, and stomped on the gas pedal. He watched as his speed increased significantly faster than he anticipated. When the needle rushed past 100mph, and a turn rapidly approached, he backed it off to a sharp 90mph. The tires squealed as he banked just a little too hard into the turn, but as soon as he was past the turn, he dropped the pedal to the floor again and accelerated past 120.
Bryce continued driving like a madman until he reached Payson, where he decided to stop for gas, instead of waiting until he reached Globe. He would need to get gas in Globe again on the way back to Payson, but at least then he would have his family with him.
Bryce came to an intersection where two highways converged in the center of Payson, took a left turn and headed south. He stopped at the first gas station and pulled up to a pump.
Bryce got out of his car and opened the fuel door. He slid his credit card into the pump and finished the transaction. He started to pump gas into his car, and after the pump clicked off, he decided to go inside and grab a drink.
Bryce put his card away and walked toward the convenience store. While he was inside, even though he was in a hurry, he decided to use the restroom since it would be at least another hour and a half before he was home. He quickly walked to the back of the store where a sign designated the bathrooms were, and as he opened the door, he heard the front door to the store open.
Bryce didn’t think twice as he stepped into the bathroom. Before he could even close the door he heard shouts coming from the front of the store.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Bryce said to himself.
He opened the door just an inch or two until he could see the counter. Sure enough, there were two thugs with guns holding up the poor old man at the counter. The old man was trying to open the cash register, but was failing to do so in a hurry. The shouts got louder as the men with guns grew quickly impatient.
Bryce stood in a moment of indecision. He had picked up his Taurus when he got out of the car, and had it inside his waistband. He could easily walk out of the restroom and shoot the two thugs without them even knowing what hit them. Then the other part of him weighed in, knowing that he needed to get back to his family and if he got shot or killed himself they would be left defenseless.
Then, one of the thugs made up Bryce’s mind for him. The old man behind the counter finally got the drawer open, and the thug shot him in the chest at point-blank range.
Without even realizing what was happening, Bryce bolted out of the bathroom, and drew his .45 as he ran.
He spilled out into the open and immediately fired upon on the unsuspecting shooters. The muscle memory from countless hours of range time and his military training kicked in immediately. He took the first man directly in the head with a well-placed first shot.
His second shot struck the second assailant in the shoulder, because the man ducked after he was showered with his friend’s brain matter.
The thug fired back, but Bryce already rolled across the floor, and returned fire. Bryce only had ten rounds in his Taurus, but he had been counted each shot. With no spare magazines, he had made a critical mistake by not carrying a spare.
The wounded thug stood up and tried to run out the door, shooting behind him as he ran, which he hoped would keep Bryce down, but this was a critical mistake the thug would never make again.
Bryce stood up, amidst a hail of bullets and placed one well aimed round directly in the man’s spinal
column. The effect was immediate. He dropped to the ground, dead before he even hit the pavement.
Bryce spun around in a circle and looked for other would-be attackers. When he found none in the store he stepped outside to verify that the two goons didn’t have any backup. As he stepped over the corpse of the second man, he kicked the gun away from him.
Bryce went behind the counter to check on the gas station clerk. Despite the gaping hole in the man’s chest, Bryce still checked the man’s neck and found no pulse.
Bryce heard sirens in the distance, and he knew he only had minutes. Since he did not want to be thrown into some shithole jail in Payson, Bryce decided it was best to flee the scene.
He ran out to his car and jumped in. He started it as fast as he could fish the keys out of his pocket and hit the accelerator.
Chapter Fourteen
Pinal County, Arizona
On the way home, Bryce had more than enough time to contemplate what had just happened. It was the first time he had ever killed a man before. He knew it was in self-defense, but nevertheless he had mixed feelings about it. Part of him was disgusted with having taken two lives, as crooked as the two men might have been. However, the other part of him had almost enjoyed serving his form of Wild West justice.
The adrenaline rush had left his hand shaking slightly, but he shut it down and forced himself to calm down. For the moment, he buried his emotions and continued his drive home. He was less than two hours from home, and he was hell bent on making it as quick as possible.
After an hour or so passed by, Bryce cruised through Globe, and then the smaller town right before his home. As he pushed past the last town, he pushed the pedal to the floor and got the little four-banger all the way to 130mph before he finally chickened out and let up a bit. There was no point in dying on the home stretch. He finally reached the turn off for his neighborhood and blew through the stop sign, without a single thought.
Bryce just about power slid into his driveway and opened the garage door only to find Victoria packing the Outlander full of food and water.
“Thank God,” he mumbled to himself.
She gave him a kiss when he got out of the car, and then immediately gave him a disapproving frown.
“How fast were you driving to make it back here so quickly?” she asked.
“I did the speed limit...” he replied to his wife, then to himself, “if you divide by two.”
She looked at him with a you’re-so-full-of-shit face, but left it alone.
Bryce took a peek into the back of the Outlander and found it was very well packed. The entire cargo area of the vehicle was packed with food, water, luggage, and only his wife knew what else. The seats were lined with clothes, blankets, and personal items. Normally, Bryce would argue that the personal items were a waste of space, but then again, this wasn’t normal. They may never be able to come home again and to leave behind so much of their stuff was going to kill them both. Victoria was going to drive the Outlander with Trystan. Next to Trystan’s seat was a bunch of his toys and oddball things, like his pack–and-play for instance.
“Why are you bringing that?” Bryce asked, pointing to the playpen.
“What else is he going to sleep in, Bryce? He can’t exactly sleep in a sleeping bag yet,” Victoria replied.
Bryce just nodded to his wife and went inside to pack up the ammo and guns. Bryce put all of the guns, ammo, knives, and other items in the back seat of the Corolla. Then, he loaded all their camping gear in the trunk. Most everything was compact and fit just nicely. He took his AK-74 from out of the back seat, removed the case, and placed it in the front seat. Having one run in with thugs was more than enough for one day. He wasn’t going to be a victim by any means, especially not with his family nearby.
Bryce took a quick second to clear out their safe into a backpack so that they have all of their vital documents, cash, jewelry, and family heirlooms. Not that most of it would matter soon anyway, but he didn’t care. Bryce wasn’t particularly sentimental, but now wasn’t the time to worry about it. He and his wife took a quick look at the inventory in their cars, and then took a second look at what was left in their house, and they both nodded in agreement.
Lastly, they loaded up Trystan, into the back of the Outlander. Before they had even started the vehicles, Trystan asked, “Where we going, Mommy?”
“We’re going on an adventure sweetie, now be good for mommy and sit quietly in your seat,” his mother replied.
“Okay, Mommy,” Trystan said with a smile.
She feigned a smile for her son’s benefit and got in the car herself.
Bryce stepped inside the house one more time to do a quick check, and armed the alarm on the house. At least, it would give him peace of mind. Not that the police would come to save anything, but maybe it would scare off any potential looters.
Before Bryce got in the car, he stopped to take a look at his home. So many memories had been created there; to just abandon their home and flee to an unknown future was very hard to grasp. Hopefully one day they could return to their home like nothing had happened. Hopefully the government could stop the plague that had unraveled their world so quickly, but Bryce knew deep down, that this was never going to happen. He took one last look and got into his car.
Bryce and his wife both drove slowly down the road to where Greg and Cindy lived. Bryce got out to take a look at what Greg and Cindy had managed to squeeze into their two vehicles. It looked like Greg’s car was full of useful foodstuffs, water, munitions, and clothing in every nook or cranny. Cindy’s car was full of things that she deemed useful, like kitchenware, small battery-less appliances, and all sorts of other stuff. Bryce asked Greg if they were close to being done.
Greg indicated that they were almost done and would need a few more minutes to wrap it up. Bryce nodded and stepped away to check the time. Bryce looked down at his watch, and wondered where his parents were, because they should have arrived a while ago. Bryce pulled out his iPhone and called his dad.
“Dad, where are you guys at?” he asked.
There was a long pause on the other end of the line and his dad answered, “Son, we aren’t going to make it. Your mom wants to go to the hospital and try to lend a hand.”
Their medical backgrounds were clearly clouding their judgment, and Bryce didn’t approve in the slightest.
“Are you out of your fucking mind, Dad? Have you not seen what has happened with this virus? Entire cities have fallen, and it’s on our doorstep. What makes you think you’ll be able to help?” Bryce yelled into his phone.
“Yes, we’ve seen, but we feel we would be more valuable here where we can help people,” his father replied.
“All right, Dad, you know where we’ll be if you change your mind,” Bryce told his father.
“You take care of yourself son, I love you,” his father told him.
“Stay safe,” was all Bryce said to his father before he disconnected the line.
He got back into his car and waited for his in-laws to get in their vehicles, and while he waited he shed a few tears for his family. He knew that there was a distinct possibility that he would never speak to his parents again, and in the end; he hadn’t had anything good to say to his father. They had made their choice though, and now they had to live with it, or not live with it.
Chapter Fifteen
Pinal County, Arizona
The phone call to his father left Bryce more than a little shaken up. The way his father had ended the conversation made Bryce feel like his father knew that his mother had sent them on a suicide mission. It made no sense to Bryce, his father was a practical man, and typically didn’t give two shits about anyone other than himself. The only explanation was that he’d decided to stay behind to protect his wife.
Bryce took a second to collect himself, and then walked back up to Greg and Cindy, who had finally shut the trunks on their cars, which signaled that they were ready to go.
Bryce gave them a moment to say goodbye to
their home, much in the fashion that he and his wife had just shared.
After a minute went by, Greg and Cindy got in their cars and the whole group was on their way.
The small fleet of four vehicles started rolling out of their neighborhood and got onto the highway. About four minutes into the journey, Bryce realized just how ridiculous it was to be in four different vehicles with no way to communicate other than cellphones. With no idea how long the cellular network would hold up against the strain of a panicked population, he needed a secondary form of communication.
Since they needed to stop for gas anyway, Bryce decided to stop at a Radio Shack in Globe to get some handheld walkie-talkies.
Thirty minutes later, as their small convoy stopped for gas, Bryce let them know his intention to purchase some radios. They all agreed and fueled up their vehicles, before they drove two miles down the road to make the stop. Bryce ran into the store and grabbed four cheap Motorola walkie-talkies, the kind used during camping or hunting. He also grabbed four headsets so they could all drive and communicate easily. He dropped down a hundred-dollar bill on the counter in front of a glassy eyed teenager, and watched as the kid took his sweet time ringing up the radios. It was almost as if the kid had no idea about the Outbreak, or he was simply too stoned to care.
Bryce took the newly acquired radios and performed a quick radio check and taught everyone how to key their mics, and then it was time to get back on the road. They drove in silence for the next hour and a half. It took considerably longer to drive with three vehicles trailing behind Bryce. As they made their way into Payson, Bryce spoke on the radio.
The Extinction Pandemic: A Post Apocalyptic Novel (The Hatchery Compound Book 1) Page 6
