Beginning of the New Beginning, Vol. 2

by W. Joe Taylor

  “Oh great, I risked my ass to save a lawyer? Trust me, friend, they don't want to talk. They want whatever we have. Most likely your wife.”

  At least, they will when they see what a smoke show she is, Bill thought. Must be a trophy wife for the big-shot lawyer.

  “That's horrible. They can't just do that,” Tanya protested.

  “Well, I think y’all are goddamned lucky they didn't break into your house and help themselves to what they wanted,” Bill said.

  “And yes, they can and will do whatever they want,” Brandy interjected.

  “Now, I really need you all to get down. Terry, shoot out the back window now so when it comes time, it won't affect your aim.”

  “Copy.”

  Terry followed directions, and when he did, the three new women screamed, and after that, everyone got real low in the seats.

  They were able to stay ahead of their tail till they got to Depew High School. That was when Terry opened fire. When he did, the passenger of the chase car returned fire. Terry hit the windshield of their lead car a few times before he finally hit the driver. The car veered off and hit a stalled-out car on the side of the road. Both people on the passenger side fired a volley of bullets at the Suburban as soon as they recovered from the impact.

  Chase car number two didn't even stop. Terry continued to fire upon them, but that driver was a lot more erratic and harder to hit. Then the Suburban hiccupped and sped up again.

  “What was that?” Steve demanded.

  The Suburban hiccupped again.

  “Don't you fucking dare tell me we're out of gas!”

  “You said it, not me.”

  “God-fucking-damnit! What are we going to do?”

  “Come on, man, you already know the answer. Don't make me say it. Same reason we joined the service. To protect those that can’t, or are unwilling, to protect themselves.”

  “Fuck me.”

  “Well, everyone, it's the end of the ride. Please take your personal belongings with you. And thank you for flying Wild Bill Airlines.”

  Doris sat up. “What? What do you mean?” she asked frantically.

  “It means we have to get out and run.” Bill was pretty sure she fainted for a few seconds.

  He guided the Suburban into the Target parking lot on the right and almost chuckled at the irony. Halfway across the parking lot, the Suburban finally gasped its last breath and stopped suddenly.

  “Get out now!” Bill hollered at everyone.

  He and Steve took up firing positions at the rear of the Suburban while everyone exited hastily.

  “Brandy, take everyone towards the store and see what wheels you can find. The three of us will hold them off for as long as we can.”

  “You got it.”

  The six of them took off and leap-frogged from car to car as the other three made a stand. Their pursuers pulled into the parking lot, spotted their goal immediately, and opened fire. All three men returned fire as soon as the pursuit vehicle came into sight. Steve dove off to his left and hid behind another car while Bill rolled to his right. Terry had never gotten out of the back. Bill got up onto one knee as bullets hit the pavement in the spot he’d just vacated. Bill managed to hit the driver and rear passenger as soon as the car stopped.

  “Fuck. I'm hit,” Steve grunted out.

  “Hang in there, buddy. I got two of them already.”

  Bill got up and ran in a crouch despite the pain in his knees. He rounded the car he was hiding behind, and when he saw the pursuer’s car, he didn't notice any movement. He fired two more shots at driver’s side doors just to make sure anyone alive knew they were still being hunted. He heard a few more shots from Steve’s location, and then Steve announced he’d gotten one. All was quiet for a second, so Bill ran up and jerked open the driver’s door to find the driver and front passenger dead. He jerked open the rear door, and when he looked across the body in the back seat, he saw the other door already open. He made his way in a crouch around the rear of the vehicle and found another body lying on the ground a few yards away.

  “Ok, looks like we got them all. Site rep.”

  “They got me good, man. I don't know if I can stand.”

  “Copy. Let me grab my med kit from the Suburban. Terry, you good?”

  No answer.

  “Terry?”

  Still nothing. Bill sprinted to the back of the Suburban, and his whole world began to spin. His vision waned, and he was suddenly very dizzy. Terry had been shot directly in the face.

  “Oh God! Terry! I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. Fuck! Those fucking assholes. Why couldn't they just fucking leave us alone?”

  Bill opened the lift gate and pulled Terry into his arms.

  “Goddamn it, son. I'm so proud of you. You fought like a man. Please forgive me for letting this happen to you.”

  “Bill, man. I know you got a shitstorm over there, but I need you. I'm bleeding out.”

  Bill gently laid Terry on the ground, grabbed his backpack, and headed over to the last place he’d seen Steve. His leg was bad; he’d been shot through his inner thigh, and the blood was shooting out a few feet.

  “Fucking shit, dude.”

  Bill dug out his trauma kit once again, removed a tourniquet, and winched it down as close to Steve’s crotch as he could get it. Then he pulled out his scissors and cut away the pant leg. He heard the hunger call of hundreds of thrillers headed their way and the sound of a diesel engine rumble to life off in the distance.

  “I got the bleeding to slow way down, but we're going to have to finish on the road. Hang on, buddy. I got you.”

  Steve just weakly nodded.

  “Guys, can you hear me?”

  “Yea, Brandy. You find us a ride?”

  “Hell yea. I think you’re going to like this.”

  “Can't wait. Come back to the Suburban and pick us up. All those assfucks are dead, but we can't make it you before we're overrun by thrillers.”

  “No problem.”

  Bill grabbed Steve’s wrist, pulled his arm over his shoulder, and hefted them both to their feet. They were almost back to the Suburban when the diesel-engine vehicle came into view, and Bill couldn't believe his eyes. Brandy pulled up in an armored money transport truck.

  “Holy shit. Where did you find that?”

  “It was—wait, is he shot?” Brandy pointed to Steve’s leg.

  “Yea. You didn't hear over the coms?”

  “No, I turned them off because I didn't want the shooting to distract me.”

  “Not a terrible idea, but yea. Looks like they got him through the femoral artery, and he lost a lot of blood.”

  “Fuck. Phillip, Michelle, grab all y’all’s stuff from the other truck and make it snappy. I don't want our asses hanging out any longer than we have to,” Brandy demanded.

  Bill was thankful she was taking lead. He felt like he was about to lose it. The siblings jumped out the back, and Bill helped Steve in and laid him on a pile of lockable bags that looked full. Bill guessed the armored truck had been making early morning pickups when ZomPoc had kicked off.

  “Where's Terry?”

  “He…” Bill sucked in a lungful of air as his lip quivered. He steeled himself and continued on.

  “He didn't make it.”

  “Oh. Oh, man, I'm so sorry. What a shitshow this trip turned into.”

  Phillip came around the back with an armload of bags. “Holy shit! One of your guys got shot?”

  “Good detective work, Sherlock. That was my son, not just any guy. He died a fucking hero trying to save your ass!”

  “Oh. Sorry,” Phillip mumbled as he threw the bags in and went for more. Bill followed him to the Suburban and made one last sweep to make sure they had everything. He knelt next to Terry and said goodbye before he walked back to the armored truck with his head down.

  “Bill! Look out!” Brandy screamed into her mic.

  Bill looked up just in time to see a thriller grab his collar and pull. Bill put his left hand o
n its chest and pushed back with all the strength he could muster. His shoulder was throbbing from the firefight, and he was pretty sure he’d popped a couple of stitches at some point in the day. He pulled out his pistol and shot up through the thriller’s chin. He pushed it back as soon as it went slack, and out of his peripheral vision, he saw the armored truck move forward. In front of him, he saw that the herd had arrived. As soon as the rear bumper was even with his side, he jumped onto the moving truck and pulled the door closed behind him as got in.

  He looked around at the many lost and confused faces, some tired from the run. He was certain most had not had to run in a very long time. He looked down at Steve, who had turned white and had a waxy sheen.

  “All right, man, let's get you cleaned up.”

  Bill gave him some painkillers, antibiotics, and a water bottle. Then he went to work cleaning the area with alcohol as well as his hands. He reached in and tried to locate the artery but really had no idea what he was looking for. He thought he found it and then realized he could only locate one end. He didn't know what to do—he wasn't a field surgeon—but he felt he had to at least try. He cleaned the area again and dressed it as best he could in the back of the moving truck. Bill only hoped Steve would be comfortable enough to make it back to Memaw.

  After he cleaned his hands again, he made his way up towards the front. He noticed that Cliff and Tanya were sitting in some sideways jump seats for guards. Doris was sitting in the front passenger seat and looked absolutely terrified.

  “How’s the gas situation?”

  “We have three-quarters of a tank, so that’ll get us to the marina for sure.”

  “Fuck that. Steve can't pilot a boat, and I suck at it. If we drive, it will be faster, and we need to go straight to Fort Wayne. Besides, we can't go back to the G-wagon because of the fallout.”

  “Fallout? What fallout?” Doris looked like she was about to faint again.

  “On our way here, back in Ohio, we saw a small nuclear plant explode. I'm pretty sure it overheated, with no one to monitor the water levels.”

  “Oh” was all she said, and she continued to stare straight ahead.

  “Ok, so we drive straight through. How long do you think that will take?”

  “We should be there by about two in the morning, if everything goes ok.”

  Bill told Brandy to go right on the Aurora Expressway until they got on Interstate 90. Bill wasn’t fucking around anymore. They were going to use the armored truck to the fullest of its capabilities. They hauled ass down 90 to make it back just as fast as that thing would go.

  At the first toll booth, Brandy got in the far-right lane so she could blow through it. Someone was trying to use it to stop traffic. Bill was sure they wanted to collect “taxes.” They saw a person step out in front of the heavy rig. They could see muzzle flashes and heard the bullets impact the windshield. The person jumped out of the way at the last second. Next, they heard the sound of bullets ricochet off the back doors.

  Bill was quite sure that Doris had literally shit herself. The pleasant aroma of human feces didn’t go away until they made their first bathroom break.

  They stopped just south of a small town called North East. Bill didn't want to, because it had barely been two hours since the last one, but Tanya and Michelle were saying they had to pee. Brandy said the truck was using a lot of diesel because it was so heavy. Bill asked if anyone had any shooting experience, but no one did. That left clearing the store to him and Brandy. He offered to take Michelle with them and teach her, but she refused.

  “Looks like the power is out here. We’re going in to clear the building first, and then find a way to siphon the diesel from the in-ground tank. Y’all wait here until we give the all clear.”

  Brandy and Bill disembarked from the truck with NVGs snapped into place. They very quietly made their way towards the front entrance of the store. Once inside, they made quick work of six thrillers that had been trapped inside since ZP1. Bill thanked his lucky stars that it was a gas station, supermarket, general store, nail salon, and tire center that served a farming community. He found a hand-operated crank pump for fifty-five-gallon drums and forty feet of hose that would fit both ends of the pump nicely. When they arrived back at the truck, Brandy took everyone inside who needed to pee. She made sure that they grabbed as much snacks and drinks as they could carry in shopping bags.

  “Phillip, I need you to pump the gas.”

  “How? The power is out.”

  “Wow, you’re just Captain Fucking Obvious today, aren’t you?”

  “Hey, fuck you, man. I said I was sorry about your son.”

  “Yea, you did. But seriously, come over here and turn this crank. It will transfer fuel from the in-ground tank to the truck.”

  “Why do I have to do it?”

  “Really? Did you really just ask that question? You really just asked the guy with the gun why you have to do something?”

  “Are you threatening me?”

  “Do you have TP for my bunghole?”

  “What? You’re fucking losing it, man. First you tell me to pump gas, and now toilet humor.”

  “Goddamnit, Phillip, listen to me and listen good. I would pump the gas, but you don’t know how to shoot a gun, and I don’t feel like dying today. Nobody else is going to protect us, because the only other capable person is inside protecting you mother, your wife, and your sister. Brandy is doing that in case some other bad dudes show up like they did up in Buffalo. The only other person who knows how to use a gun is dying in the back of the truck, so I suggest you get cranking, Skippy.”

  “Fuck you, man. I went to law school so I wouldn’t have to do blue-collar labor.”

  “Thanks for offer, but you’re not really my type. Besides, your wife would become extremely envious after she saw the way I would make you my bitch. No wonder your brother never comes to see you. And there is no such thing as white-collar or blue-collar work anymore, bucko. That all ended eight days ago.”

  “Fuck you, man. My brother doesn’t come visit because his wife is a bitch and hates this family.”

  Bill, without hesitation, rammed the butt of his rifle into Phillip’s stomach, and after he doubled over, Bill kneed him in the nose. He heard a satisfying crack, and an instant river of blood gushed out.

  “You will never speak about any of my friends like that again. You’re a fucking limp-dick, piece-of-shit, good-for-nothing asshole who hides behind his education. Sad part is, you’re not even that smart. And ‘fuck you, man’ is the only intelligent comeback you can muster? I don’t believe you were a very good lawyer at all. Now, get to work.”

  “You’re a real piece of work. You know that, man? You can’t just hit people because you don’t agree with their opinion.”

  “I’m pretty sure I can, because I just did. Now, man the fuck up and get this shit over with.”

  A couple of minutes later, everyone came out of the store, and Tanya came around to check on Phillip.

  “Oh, honey, what happened to you? Are you ok?”

  “Yea, I’m fine. Thank you for asking,” Bill said before Phillip could respond.

  “She wasn’t talking to you, you little twerp.”

  “HAHAHAHA! Twerp. That’s awesome. I haven’t been called that in years. Thanks for the memories, Phillip.”

  It only infuriated Phillip more that he couldn’t get under Bill’s skin.

  “Phillip, what happened to your nose?” Tanya asked more pointedly this time.

  “Nothing. We had a little disagreement is all.”

  “You didn’t try to argue with the man with the gun, did you, babe? He’s, like, really good friends with your brother. That man with the gun is Alice’s godfather. I recognize him from the pics they posted of the dedication a few years ago.”

  “Shit, I just thought he was a guy that Cootch knew that happened to be in the area.”

  “That’s right, sunshine,” Bill teased further. “We’re going to be spending the rest of the ap
ocalypse together. So, as soon as you get that into your little pea brain, the happier we both will be.”

  Ten minutes and a handful of dead thrillers later, Phillip had filled the tank, and they were on the road again. Before they left the gas station, Bill knocked out the taillight reflectors and pulled all the bulbs out so there were no brake lights or reverse lights. The rest of the way back to Fort Wayne was going to be with the lights off and NVGs on. He was actually happy to be driving through the middle of the night because of the cover it would provide them.

  Bill took over as driver so Brandy could spend some time with Steve. He was running a fever, and Bill thought he would be dead soon. He didn’t want to tell Brandy that; he knew she would figure it out on her own soon enough.

  The next stop for gas—and old-people bladders—was just outside Amherst, Ohio. This stop was going to be tricky because it was a huge truck stop with attached restaurant in the middle of the Ohio Turnpike. Nobody cleared the building, and Bill told everyone to pee in the grass next to the truck. Doris, of course, was horrified by this, but she finally relented because she didn’t have a choice. Bill gave Phillip Steve’s helmet so he could see better to pump gas. Phillip bitched about having to do all the hard work again.

  “Suck it up, buttercup. Stick with me, and I’ll have you toughened up soon enough. That hot trophy wife of yours will be swooning at your muscles in no time.”

  “Shut up, man. Tanya is one of the most intelligent people I know.”

  “How long did it take?”

  “I’m not playing any more of your games.”

  “How many expensive purses and diamond tennis bracelets did you buy before she let you get your little pee-pee wet?”

  “I told you to shut the fuck up. She’s a thousand times better than your wife.”

  “Or what? What are you gonna do, tough guy? And for the record, my wife succumbed to the virus eight days ago, so count yourself lucky you still have one.”

  “People just seem to die around you, don’t they?”

  “It’s just how the world is now. Tell me something, Phillip. Why did the dinosaurs die?”