“Steve, I brought the boys back. I didn’t see any sense in leaving them to stand in this dust. It’s just too dangerous,” Mike said.
“Just a second, Mike,” Steve said. The man went quiet, like he was listening for something.
A minute went by before he spoke again. “Sorry, Mike. I thought I heard something out there.” Steve turned to look at Mike. “Now, what did you say?”
“I just said I brought the boys back up. They can’t see anything in the dust anyway.”
“Good thinking. With visibility the way it is, having them out there won’t do any good. I’m not sure we can do any good here either,” Steve said.
“I hear what you’re saying, Steve, but we really can’t leave this. We should at least wait for the authorities to come, shouldn’t we?” Mike asked.
“Normally, I would say yes,” Steve said. “But, in this case, there don’t seem to be any victims around except for the unfortunate pair of legs on the road. The vehicles are both empty. Maybe we should send the boys home. That would be safer than sitting around in this blackout.”
“Getting them home is important, but how safe are we, driving in this? I think we should wait for Connall to come back with help. Then we can decide. I’m sure he will call the parents to let them know what’s going on,” Mike said.
The low moaning sound came out of the dust, from back where the creaking wire was. Moments later, a similar sound came from the other side of the wrecked cars.
Chapter 4
“What the heck was that?” Jeremy asked.
“That could have been a lot of things,” Scouter Shaun said. “I’ve heard that cougars sometimes make moaning sounds.”
“Then we had better get the boys into the vehicles,” Steve said. “An adult cougar can take a fully-grown man down. These kids wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“I’ll go get the ones from up the road,” Mike said. “Could you guys look after the others here?”
“I’ll come with you, Mike,” Jeremy said. The two men strode up the road calling as they went. “Kyle, Martin! Guys, come on back.”
“We’re coming,” both boys answered back, separately.
The two Scout leaders kept walking up the road toward the approaching boys.
“I don’t mind telling you, this dust? It’s really freaked me out,” Jeremy said.
“Me too. Coming out here, I was sure I would get into an accident with all the dust,” Mike replied.
“That’s not what I’m talking about,” Jeremy said, kicking at a fist-sized stone. “The dust coming out was bad, that’s true. That didn’t really bother me. But now, sitting here, I can’t help but think we are being watched.”
Mike looked at Jeremy. Even walking side-by-side, the man was hard to see in the gloom. “I know what you mean. I’ve felt the same way ever since we stopped.”
“I want to get out of here as soon as we have the troop safely in the vehicles,” Jeremy said.
“What about Connall? We should at least wait until he gets back with help,” Mike said.
Jeremy shook his head. “There is something seriously wrong here, Mike, and I don’t mean the accident. That’s bad enough, but no victims? That makes no sense. And what about.…”
He was interrupted by a moaning cough from down the road in the same direction as the returning Scouts.
“Guys?” Mike called. “Are you coming?”
His call was met with the sound of running feet. Five bodies come hurtling out of the gloom, almost slamming into them.
“Scouter Mike? Did you hear that?” Martin asked, out of breath.
“I did, Martin. What was it?”
“I don’t know, but it was coming toward us. We didn’t stick around either.”
Mike looked at them. They looked pale. Afraid. “That was smart. Let’s get you back to the trucks.”
The Scouts and their two leaders wasted no time returning to the accident scene. By the time they were back, there were no people outside any more. All leaders and Scouts were in their respective vehicles.
While Jeremy escorted the five boys to their respective places, Mike stopped at Steve’s truck.
Steve rolled down the window. “Glad to see you back, Mike. The boys, they’re okay?”
“They’re fine. Just rattled,” Mike replied. “What’s the plan?”
Steve shook his head. “My gut tells me we’ve got to get these boys home. Something weird is going on here. Still, I hate to leave the scene of an accident.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” Mike said. “We’ve also got to consider that Connall is still out getting help. With this terrible visibility we could get into an accident with him and whoever he’s bringing.”
“I thought of that too,” Steve said, looking thoughtful. “I think we should stay here until the dust settles and we can see better or a least until Connall gets back with help.”
“I’m good with that,” Mike said. “We should probably wait in the vehicles until help comes. That should minimize how much dust we all breathe and keep everybody safer from any other traffic.”
Steve looked at Mike as if he was trying to read his mind. “Right. To breathe less dust. Sounds good to me.”
Mike didn’t blink. It really wasn’t Steve’s business that the twilight and strange sounds were freaking him out. Mike suspected it was probably having the same effect on everyone. He went back to his truck and climbed in.
The boys were all digging through the grocery bag containing the packed lunches. Several discarded granola bar wrappers indicated that the eating had already begun.
“Remember to keep your feet off the seats and put your trash into the garbage bag, okay? My wife was pretty annoyed last time we came home from a camp and there were footprints on the backs of the seats and a chocolate stain in the fabric,” Mike said.
“No problem, Scouter Mike,” Martin said.
Mike couldn’t help noticing that he had a ring of melted chocolate around his mouth as he spoke.
“Here, wipe your mouth, Martin,” Mike said. He reached into the glove compartment to hand him a napkin. He straightened up to see a figure walk past in the wind-swept dust. “What the heck?”
The boys all crowded to the passenger side of the truck to try and see who was outside, but the apparition had already disappeared in the odd orange twilight of the dust storm.
“Did any of you see someone out there?” Mike asked. When they all shook their heads, he shrugged and rubbed at his eyes. “I must have just imagined it.”
Mike munched on a granola bar and watched out the windows of the truck, trying not to be too obvious about looking for lurkers. He was very happy not to see anything. The boys continued to munch through their packed lunches.
About an hour passed and the wind began to settle. The dust thinned to the point where Mike could see the other vehicles clearly. Everything looked calm. The wreckage now had small mounds of dust hilled up against it. Every crevice of the vehicles was filled with the road dust, making it look more like an old derelict than a recent catastrophe.
Mike stepped out of his truck and saw Steve do the same. The two men met halfway between the vehicles.
“Well, Mike, it looks like the worst of the dust is over,” Steve said. “I think you and Jeremy should take all the boys back to the city while Shaun and I wait behind for Connall to bring back help. What do you think?”
“That’s probably best,” Mike said. “I’m sure Connall has already called ahead, but we really need to get these guys home.”
Jeremy and Shaun joined the two men.
“Jeremy, I was just saying to Mike that you and he should take the kids home,” Steve said. “Shaun and I can stay behind and help with this mess here. There’s no sense all of us losing the entire day.”
Jeremy nodded. “Well, I can take four more in my van if we shuffle some gear into your truck, Steve.”
“I’ve got four already,” Mike said. “Unfortunately, I don’t have any seat belts left.”
“That leaves three boys,” Shaun said. “Who stays behind?”
Steve shrugged. “Well, you don’t really need to stay with me, Shaun. My son Stan can do that. Why don’t you take the last three with you, instead?”
Shaun nodded. “Sure. There’s really nothing going on here. Now that the wind has stopped, the dust is settled and it’s a lot safer for traffic. We still have to take it easy going out.”
“I think we have a plan,” Steve said. “You three take the boys back while my son and I stay behind and wait for the authorities. I’ll give you all a call when we get back to the city.”
“You got it, Steve,” Mike said. “Are we still meeting tomorrow night?”
“Absolutely,” Steve replied and grinned. “Lots of badge work to do.” He waved the men back to their vehicles. “I’ll talk to you all later and see you tomorrow.”
As the three men climbed into their respective vehicles, the sound of a car horn came from over the hill in the direction Connall had driven to get help.
Mike had been about to close his door and stopped. He stepped out just as Connall’s red van crested the hill. It swerved from side-to-side on the road, fish-tailing as it drove too fast toward them.
“What the heck is he doing?” Mike said, stepping back out. He strode over to Steve’s truck to watch the wildly driving vehicle. Steve was outside his vehicle watching too.
“What do you make of that, Mike?” Steve asked.
“I think if Connall doesn’t slow down, he’s going to join that wreck over there,” Mike replied, indicating the two destroyed cars near them.
The van didn’t show any sign of slowing down and both men prepared to jump for cover. At the last minute, the van’s driver slammed on the brakes and the vehicle came skidding to a stop in a shower of gravel.
Steve went stomping over toward the van. “Connall! What in heaven’s name are you doing…?” His voice faltered. The driver was not Scouter Connall, but the man’s son Trevor, behind the wheel. His face was white and tears ran down both cheeks.
Steve and Mike rushed to the driver’s door and yanked it open. “Trevor! What happened?” Steve asked.
“Oh, Scouter Steve. Dad’s been hurt!” Trevor pointed to the back of the van. “He’s back there with Nathan.”
Mike slid the door open. Sprawled in one of the two captain’s chairs was Connall. The man’s eyes were closed and sweat beaded his bald head. Nathan sat, staring anxiously at him, holding a bloodstained cloth to the Scouter’s neck. Another bandage was wrapped around Connall’s right forearm.
“Connall! Connall, can you hear me?” Mike asked. He put a hand to the man’s left wrist to checking the pulse.
Connall’s only response was to moan.
Mike looked at Trevor, who was crying uncontrollably into Steve’s stomach. No help there. “Nathan!”
The boy looked dazed and continued to hold the bandage against Connall’s neck, seeming to not hear Mike.
Mike shook him. “Nathan! What happened?”
The boy looked at him, taking several moments to focus on the Scouter before he answered. “Scouter Connall is hurt, Scouter Mike.”
“Yes, I know that, Nathan. But how did it happen?”
“He’s hurt….”
By this time, the other Scouters were out of the vehicles and over at the van. Mike nodded toward the boy. “Shaun, could you take Nathan out of here and see if he can tell you anything, please?”
“Sure thing, Mike,” Shaun said. He gently pulled Nathan out of the van and led him away to a quiet area near the road.
Mike took over holding the bandage as Shaun pulled Nathan away. “Jeremy, would you get one of the first aid kits so we can see what can be done for Connall, please?”
Jeremy nodded and ran to get it. He was back moments later and opened the door on the passenger side of the van. He opened the kit and handed Mike a pair of latex gloves after putting a pair on himself. He held the bandage while Mike scrubbed his hands with an alcohol swab and pulled his own gloves on.
“Ready?” Mike asked. He held a fresh bandage near the wound in case the blood flow was severe.
Jeremy responded by gently tugging the bandage. It came away from the fresh wound easily.
“What the hell?” Mike said as the injury was exposed to the air.
Blood slowly oozed from what could only be teeth marks. Bruising purpled around the bite and a light, translucent foam crusted on Connall’s neck.
“Is that a bite mark?” Jeremy asked, leaning over Connall to look.
Mike’s answer died on his lips as Connall’s eyes snapped open and he moaned.
***
“Trevor, can you tell me what happened?” Steve asked the sobbing boy, handing him a bottle of water.
Trevor sat on the endgate of Steve’s truck. He wiped his nose and took a drink. “We had just left the gravel and were on the highway when we saw some smoke. We kept driving toward the fire since it was on our way.”
“I tried to call home with the cell phone, but we still didn’t have any signal. After a few minutes on the highway we got to the top of a hill and saw the fire. It was a house and there were bodies all over the yard.”
“Dad pulled into the yard to see if he could do anything to help but it didn’t look like anyone was left alive. A few of the bodies were smouldering on the ground. It was horrible.” Trevor hiccupped and took another drink of water.
“How did your dad get bitten, Trevor? You said everyone was dead,” Steve asked gently.
“That’s what we thought,” Trevor said. “Dad went from body to body checking for vital signs. Nathan and I stayed back in the van.”
“Dad was leaning over a woman, I think. She was the last one he checked.” Trevor’s eyes were haunted. “Dad checked her for a pulse, looked up at me and shook his head.
“And then what happened?” Steve asked.
“The…the woman sat up and bit Dad on the arm. While Dad was fighting her off, one of the burning bodies got up and….” Trevor stopped talking to sob for a moment. “The burning man bit Dad on the neck. I tried to help. Dad was screaming and fighting the two off. I managed to get the woman off him.”
Trevor looked Steve in the eyes. “The man who bit Dad’s neck was still smoking. His face was almost burned off. How could he have gotten up to bite my dad?”
Steve shook his head. “I don’t know, Trevor. I really don’t.”
Chapter 5
Jeremy jerked back as Connall thrashed around in the seatbelt. He leaped out of the van when Connall pulled against the restraints and slammed himself back and forth in the seat.
Mike reached into the van to try to push the man down. “Jeremy, what are you doing?” he said. “I need you to help me hold him.”
“But….”
“No time!” Mike shouted. “You hold him while I lay his seat back. He’s having a seizure!”
Jeremy reluctantly climbed back into the van and leaned into the convulsing man. Mike released Connall and grabbed the seat release. He tugged at it, but the combined pressure of Connall’s weight and Jeremy’s pushing down on him jammed the mechanism.
Mike looked into Jeremy’s eyes. “You’re going to have to ease off for a moment so I can lean his seat back.”
Jeremy’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding!”
Mike shook his head. “I need to lay him on his back. With you pushing on him, the seat mechanism is stuck.”
“If you say so.” Jeremy shrugged.
Mike nodded his head and Jeremy pulled his hands off Connall’s chest. The thrashing man immediately jerked forward and Mike was able to pull up the seat release.
“Push now!” Mike shouted.
Jeremy wasted no time, pushing Connall and the seat down into a reclining position. Mike jumped in to help Jeremy hold the man down as the seatbelt was no long holding Connall.
Mike looked over his shoulder and shouted at the other leaders who were crowded around the van to see what was wrong. “Go to my
truck and get the straps that are in the wooden box in the back. Kyle can show you where they are. We’ve got to get Connall strapped down before he hurts himself.”
Steve nodded and ran to Mike’s truck, shouting for Kyle. Kyle climbed out of the truck and met him. The two had a quick conversation and he led Steve to the back of the truck. Steve was back to the van within a minute with several black four-foot-long Velcro straps. He climbed into the van through the passenger side door and manoeuvred around Jeremy to get clearer access to Connall.
“Start with his arms and chest. We’ve got to get him restrained so he doesn’t hurt himself or anyone else,” Mike said.
Steve nodded and began wrapping the Velcro straps around the struggling man. He started with Connall’s shoulders and worked his way down. Mike gradually released the pressure on the injured Scouter until he was completely bound to the van’s seat. Only then did he step out of the van and stand back to look at Connall.
The man was still trying to sit up, the cords bulging in his neck from the effort. He made the occasional moaning sound, but no coherent words. The bite mark on his neck no longer oozed. A scab had already formed over the wound.
Steve and Jeremy exited the van and came around to talk to Mike.
“What the heck is wrong with Connall?” Jeremy asked.
“That was crazy!” Steve said, leaning into the van to check on Connall.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Mike agreed. “It was like he was attacking us. I’ve known injured people who have attacked their friends because of some delusion, but this was different. It was almost like Connall had no idea who we were.” He shook his head. “In fact, I’m not sure Connall even knows who he is right now.”
“This changes everything,” Steve said. “We should really stay at an accident scene like this, but with a hurt leader and several kids to keep safe, plus no sign of victims, we’ve got to get back to the city immediately. And you should have heard the story Trevor told me. I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t like it one bit!”
“You’re right, Steve,” Mike said. “But how are we going to do this? There’s no way Connall can drive, and all the other leaders have their own vehicles.”
Scouts of the Apocalypse: Zombie Plague Page 3
