“My friend. It is so good to see you. It has been far too long since we have been able to break bread and story together.” Heng greeted Xavier with a large hug that lifted him off his feet.
“I, too, am glad to see you are well, mate. I see the end of the world has not harmed your figure any,” Xavier answered in his rich Australian accent as he patted his friend on the belly.
“I have been saddled with this for so long that I dread the thought of it not being here with me. Now tell me how you have come to secure this amazing meeting place in which we are currently enjoying shelter.” Heng ran his hand along a large stalagmite next to him.
“We secured this little jewel of the Australian Outback after we were overrun in Adelaide. One of my commanders knew of this cave from visiting it as a kid and thought the geography of the land would aid us in keeping safe. So far, it has performed admirably. I am glad you were able to make it here. I heard it was bad in China.” The Aussie led his guest by the hand back to the table occupied by their consorts.
“It was not bad in the beginning of the outbreak. I had instructed the Premiere to control it by whatever means necessary. Alas, even the exalted Chinese army fell to the epidemic and became overrun before it could be contained. After all other attempts to contain it were exhausted, I had no other option but to order a nuclear strike on our own soil. Yet all that accomplished was to contaminate my homeland, as it did nothing to stem the tide of infection. Shortly after the entire government went silent, and the army fell apart with no leadership. We moved from my palace in Hong Kong to a more secure location at the base of Mount Everest. That, too, was short-lived, as a result of the Sherpa’s surrounding the mountainside becoming infected as they attempted to help survivors. We had been on the run for some time at that point after my home was eventually overrun. I am thankful you sent me a contingent of soldiers to help ferry me from disaster.” Heng took a seat at the table next to his consorts Antony and Wylan.
As their large master took a seat, both of Heng’s consorts stood and approached Xavier and bowed their heads. Xavier responded by placing his hand on the back of both of their heads. They stood back up straight and thanked him for the rescue before returning to their seats.
Xavier strolled over to his seat situated between his loyal consorts Rayner and Claude, yet he remained standing to address his guests. “If everyone has had a moment to catch up, as they say, we will get down to business. Our leader has summoned us all to North America. That is why I sent a force to bring you here. There will be a plane waiting for us in Perth, which is a day or two journey from here. The plane will fly us to the Baja Mexican coast where another will be waiting to take us to our final destination in South Florida. I have not been made aware at this time as to the exact reason for the meeting, but I assume it is to formulate a plan to retake our countries from the plague that has uprooted us all from our homes. Beyond that, everything else is speculation, and I for one do not like to speculate. I see no reason to speculate upon which of our brothers and sisters have survived at this time. As for how we will go about retaking our homes and countries, I see no reason to discuss matters now that will most certainly be addressed once we are all together.”
Heng stood and interrupted Xavier’s speech. “I completely agree with you, Xavier. But I must ask how it is that we of all people, were caught so unprepared for this calamity. That we now run like frightened children from the boogieman as all the rest of world? We have always had our fingers on the pulse of the world, and after the last time, how did we not see this coming?”
“Those shall be the first questions I ask, mate, when the time is appropriate,” Xavier countered. “If our leader is going to be present, he will be the one to answer that question. Now there is much to prepare for our journey. Rayner, Claude, I need the both of you to gather the commanders and ensure we are ready to depart before daybreak. I also need you to secure a place for them to fall back after we have departed, as we will only take our personal guards with us on the plane. I have a sense that at some point we will be returning with a plan to retake Australia as well, and I do not wish to spend time needlessly searching for my commanders.”
Rayner and Claude rose from the table and made their way out of the cave. Heng sent his companions to help them with their duties so that he could have a few moments alone with his old friend.
“It amazes me after all these years that you still treat your consorts as underlings instead of equals. No matter, now that we are alone, you may relax, old friend, and speak to me of your suspicions.” Heng moved over two chairs to be closer to Xavier.
“They have my respect, but I want them to know their place. After my last debacle with an overreaching consort, I must keep them in check.” Xavier looked to make sure they were truly alone. “Now then, if you want my honest opinion, I believe this outbreak caught us all by surprise. Not even his high and mighty Kane saw this one coming. It happened too fast and without warning. We were simply overrun and outmatched before we even knew what hit us. The general populace was not prepared for the infection to have this kind of speed and killing power. I just hope that we will be able to turn the tide before we reach the point where the human race can’t recover. If it doesn’t recover, all the power we have and all the riches we have amassed won’t mean squat.”
“My friend, I, too, share your concerns. I hope Kane has a plan and will be able to explain how he did not see this coming in an acceptable manner. I fear if he does not have the solutions and answers we seek, we may have to consider putting Donavan back in charge.” Heng watched Xavier’s eyes for his reaction.
“Your statement is true. However, for the time being, we must keep our agenda between us, lest we become the ones to be replaced. We cannot let our suspicions become common knowledge. Not at this time. Let us see what is said at the meeting, and then we shall react if necessary. Now tell me of your travels from China to my humble sanctuary. Do not spare any details, you know how I enjoy your over-exuberant way of storytelling, my friend.” Xavier leaned back in his seat and settled in for what would be a very long and exaggerated tale.
The walls of the large cave echoed for hours with the deep baritone voice of Heng and the loud laughter of Xavier as the two friends swapped stories.
CHAPTER 18
David, Brian, and Kyle
Kyle placed the last duffle bag into the back of the Devastator and quickly climbed in. After he locked the door, he recoiled the tunnel onto the back of the bus and turned to David. “All loaded. Let’s get out of here.”
David started up the engine and just as he was reaching over to shift into drive, three loud bangs sounded on the passenger side of the bus, shattering the relative calm around them. Startled into action, all three men sprang out of their seats and looked out through the shuttered windows to determine the source of the noise.
“What the hell was that?” Brian called out. “I see nothing over here.”
“I’ve got nothing in the back, either,” Kyle answered.
David checked the side mirrors and caught a glimpse of someone in the corner of the mirror. “Got him. He’s back by the rear wheels on the right sind, kind of hidden in the grass. Oh, and guys, eyes left—we have company of the undead variety coming from the other way.”
“I’m on it,” Kyle said as he opened up the porthole above the rear wheels. “Come to the side door up front if you can hear me!” Kyle shouted as he closed the hatch and headed up to the door.
The door opened to a reveal a young man in his mid-20s as he stood and prepared to eagerly accept the ride offered him. However, as he attempted to enter, he came face-to-face with the barrel of Kyle’s assault rifle.
“Hold up there, buddy. We have to check you out first before we allow you into our ride,” Kyle said, as he kept a steady eye on the stranger.
“What the hell, man! Let me in! They’re almost here!” the stranger replied while frantically looking over his shoulder for any approaching slabs.
“Y
ou guys see anything out there?” Kyle asked.
David looked out the driver’s side and watched as a small group started coming around the corner of the house next door. “Yep, got three over here.”
“Strip down to your undies and turn around slowly,” Kyle ordered the stranger as he motioned with his rifle. “We gotta make sure you’re not bit. And I suggest you hurry.”
“You’re crazy, man. Let me in, and then we can do this.”
“Alright. David, shut the door. He ain’t gonna do it,” Kyle said as he cleared the open doorway.
As the door started to shut, the stranger jammed his arm into the doorway and shouted, “Okay, I’ll do it! Please hurry.”
By that time, the slabs had almost made it to the driver’s side of the bus, and were converging on Brian’s outstretched arms, who had been waving them out of one of the hatches to get their attention. As the slabs reached the side of the bus, Brian yelled up to David, “Hit it!”
David pressed the button on the dash and the bus lurched a little as the side arm swung open and squarely caught all three slabs. As Kyle had imagined, it hit them with such force that one was literally separated at the waist from its legs while the other two were launched backwards almost 20-feet.
“That was awesome!” David screamed as he watched the slabs tumble head over heels into the next yard.
Kyle stood in the doorway and watched as the stranger continued to take his clothing off as quickly as he could. “Alright. I’m going to finish off our undead friends while the man behind me with the rather large shotgun checks you out.”
Kyle exited the vehicle and approached the fallen slabs. He pulled the knife strapped to his leg from its sheath and, one by one, plunged it into the heads of the three slabs. Just as he dispatched the third one, he looked up to see five more approaching from the other side of the neighboring house. This new group was moving at a much faster pace, indicating they had recently fed.
He decided it was time to go. Kyle ran back into the Devastator as the stranger, stripped to his underwear, turned around in circles. “Was he clean?” Kyle asked as he looked out over David’s shoulder at the new arrivals.
“He ain’t clean, but he ain’t bit, either.”
“Okay. Get in here, man,” Kyle ordered the almost-naked stranger. “Brian, make our guest comfortable,” he barked as he helped the man up the stairs. “Let’s go.”
“Naw, give me a second.” David patiently waited as he rested his finger on the button labeled front. As the slabs came around to the front of the bus, David pushed the button and braced for the Devastator to lurch—but nothing happened. He pushed it again and again, but got the same result. “Damn it! What the hell is wrong with you?”
As David took out his frustration on the dashboard with his feet, Kyle grabbed the shotgun and stepped out the door to greet the new visitors. Five loud shots later, five slabs had been sent to their final deaths. Kyle jumped back into the vehicle and patted David on the shoulder as he continued to beat on the dashboard with his fist and calling the Devastator every name he could come up with.
“Let’s roll,” Kyle said to his long-time friend.
Kyle moved to his seat and looked over at the still mostly-naked stranger, who had been handcuffed to the stripper pole with a black pillowcase placed over his head. Kyle looked over at Brian. “You know you could’ve let him get his clothes on before you secured him.”
Brian just shrugged his shoulders and smiled back at Kyle.
David pulled out of the yard and braced himself as they jumped off the curb and back into the road. As they hit the road, a loud hissing sound was heard, and suddenly the large bar on the front of the bus swung to life.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” David yelled at the dashboard as the bar retracted to its resting position.
Brian and Kyle laughed hysterically as David continued his rant at the bus.
After the laughter subsided, Kyle leaned over to the stranger and said, “Sorry about all this, but we can’t take any chances. We will be back home in a few, and then we can have a talk. You okay with that?”
The stranger just nodded his head and sat quietly.
CHAPTER 19
Hutch
Hutch opened the door to the semi he was driving and stood in the doorway to get a better view of the oncoming group of slabs. The horde wasn’t as large as he’d hoped, but he knew that over time it would get bigger. He sat back down and shut the door before he turned the air-conditioning and the radio back on. He had been sitting in the middle of a truck stop on the outskirts of St. Louis for about an hour with the radio blasting over the loud speaker he’d installed while he enjoyed the sight of the skyline of the city through the window. As was the plan, the music drew every slab in the area to him. Once they arrived, they were attracted to the contents of the trailer and had been gathering around it ever since. What had caught their attention was a livestock trailer with two cows he was able to corral the night before. It wasn’t a slab’s first choice for a meal, but to them it was enough to keep their attention away from him.
After another hour went by, he looked out again and found that the crowd had swelled to about 500. Hutch knew that if he waited any longer, there might be too many slabs for the trap he had laid, so he grinded the truck into gear and started to slowly pull away. He maintained just enough speed to stay ahead of the slabs, but close enough that they would continue to follow.
Five miles later, he slowly pulled into the lumber-processing yard and guided the truck into a long corridor he’d made using other vehicles and equipment. He rolled along until he reached the very end, which slowly narrowed until the truck barely fit in-between it. He looked out the mirrors and saw that the end was perfectly sealed up. He parked the truck, got out, and ran over to his van. As he slid into the seat, he looked out and saw the trail of slabs filing into the makeshift tunnel as they continued to go after the two cows in the trailer.
It took almost an hour for the last of the slabs to make their way in. Hutch looked down at the little clicker counter he’d found and it read 989. “Damn, almost a thousand. Oh well, close enough,” he said as he moved to the next phase of his plan.
While he looked for stray slabs that might’ve been lagging behind the others, he slipped out of his van and ran to the back of the tunnel and jumped into one of two bulldozers that were strategically parked at the entrance. He quickly cranked it up and drove it up the entrance while he dropped the blade down and created a half door. He leapt out of the first one and sprinted over to the second and did the same. Realizing that he had to hurry up and finish this off, he jumped down from the bulldozer and ran to the next stage of the plan.
He ran down one side of his makeshift alley and climbed up onto one of the trucksused to make the barrier. Then he yelled at the slabs to get their attention and bring them toward him and away from the end. As he found his plan working, he jumped off the truck and disappeared behind two large pieces of plywood blocking him from the sight of his targets. He then stood on a hastily created ramp made of plywood, which slowly ramped up until it was elevated to a height of about six feet. He leaned down over each side of the ramp and pulled on a rope, which pulled up two small walls on each side, essentially creating another tunnel to the top of the ramp. He got a running start up the ramp and leapt from the edge and landed on another platform five feet away. On the platform waited a chair and a couple of rifles.
After Hutch got comfortable in the chair he leaned over to grab a control box with several buttons on it sitting on the ground. He fumbled with the box for a moment until he found the green button and pushed it. Two large diesel engines revved up and started vibrating underneath him. He then grabbed a rope on the other side of his feet and pulled hard on it, which removed a pin on each side of the plywood wall of the tunnel.
The plywood walls swung open, and standing before him were hundreds of slabs eager to eat him. They turned around and started up the ramp, heading straight for him. As t
hey neared the top of the ramp, he hit the red button on the control box and the sound of gears engaging on the machinery at the end of the ramp could be heard. As the first slabs got to the top of the ramp, they fell off the end and down into one of two chutes that led into two industrial wood chippers with the safety guards removed.
Hutch could hear the machines bog down when the slabs hit the blades, but only for a second, as they then revved up to go into action. And just as quickly as the slabs were fed through the blades, they were shot out of the chutes behind him in mere seconds, and exited the wood chippers resembling ground hamburger.
It took about 30-minutes for the last of the slabs to make it to their final resting spot. Hutch looked out the back of his viewing-slash-baiting platform and saw the piles of the then permanently-dead remains. There were a few that fell over the sides that he had to put down with his rifle, but not many. He smiled at the effectiveness of his latest plan. “That went smoother than I thought it would” he said as he turned off the motors before jumping off the platform.
Hutch then walked around to the rear of the livestock trailer, opened the door, and made a ramp for the two cows to escape. “Thanks for the help, you two.” Hutch grinned. “Couldn’t have done it without you.” He then made his way over to his van. As he climbed into the seat, he pulled out a St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap and put it on. “Alright, time to visit the big city.” He pulled the van out of the lumberyard and headed straight toward the big arch in the distance.
CHAPTER 20
Kyle and Hope
Hope cut through the middle of the camp just as the old bus they used as the front gate was pulled back into place at the front entrance. She looked around and saw the Devastator pull into the garage. She headed straight towards it to check on her dad.
Humanity's Hope (Book 1): Camp H Page 8
