by Lundy, W. J.
Sean moved from behind them and leaned against the wall. “Shit, I apologize for stirring up the neighbors, and I promise it wasn’t our intent.”
Thomas nodded. “Aye, we understand, but still it complicates things … Mom packed you all some goods. There are a couple loaves of bread and fresh butter in the packs. As well as some thermal underwear, heavy socks and flannel shirts. I know it’s not a lot but it’s all we got.”
Nelson opened a pack and started handing out the goods. Brad took a heavy shirt, grinning. “No, this is all great, we really do appreciate it. So how long before you will be ready to move out? I think I speak for everyone when I say we are ready to get out of here,” Brad said.
Thomas’s expression changed and he broke eye contact and looked down and into the fire. “What … what is it?” Sean asked.
Thomas looked up at Nelson. Nelson stood silent for a moment before moving away from the stove and sitting in a chair near Thomas. “Gosh, we drew straws on how to tell you all this. I won but looks like Thomas ain’t got it in him to tell ya,” Nelson said in a low voice.
“Tell us what?” Brad asked.
“It’s Kelli, Sergeant.”
“What about her?” Brad asked.
“She ain’t doing so well … She is really bad, Brooks says she needs antibiotics. He gave her everything we had, but he says she needs the good stuff, and other things too. He made a list,” Nelson said as he reached into his pocket and handed Brad a folded sheet of paper.
Brad unfolded the paper and read down the long list of items and the names of drugs. He folded it back and handed it off to Sean who studied the note.
“So is this stuff hidden away in here somewhere?” Brad asked, already guessing at the answer.
Nelson turned towards Thomas instead of answering. Thomas slowly looked up at Brad and shook his head.
“Okay, then where do we get it?” Sean asked.
Thomas took a long sip from his cup before finally speaking. “There’s a town … Well, more of a village really, but they got a drug store and a clinic. Mom says this stuff should be there.”
“Mom says, huh?” Sean asked.
“Mom was a nurse before she had us boys. She used to work there.”
“Okay, and where is this town?” Sean said.
“Ten kilometers up the road, north, easy to find … The road will take you right to it.”
“Primals?” Brad asked.
“Yes sir, lots of ‘em.”
Sean moved away from the group and went to sit at the kitchen table. Brad followed and joined him along with Hahn and Joseph. Joseph had brought a loaf of bread and the butter with him. He began to cut it into slices and stacked the pieces in a wooden bowl. The men grabbed at the bread and ate hungrily. Hahn was the first to break the silence.
“How do we even know Kelli will make it with the drugs?” Hahn said.
Sean wiped his mouth with his sleeve and took a long drink of water before speaking. “Brooks wrote that if she doesn’t get the meds she will die. And without Kelli we won’t be flying off this rock.”
Joseph grunted. “Shit, Chief, you saw Kelli, she was messed up. She won’t be flying anything anytime soon.”
Sean took another pull off his bottle of water and grunted before speaking. “If I know Brooks, he is just laying out the facts for us … He would expect us to make the tactical decision, pilot or not, the choice is still ours.”
“You are all probably right, but she is the best shot we got. I volunteer … I’ll go,” Brad said.
Sean shook his head. “Now hold on a minute, you can’t go making this decision on your own. Every member of this team is a critical component right now. What you do, Brad, will affect the rest of us.”
“Are you suggesting we ignore the note?” Brad asked, his frustration beginning to show.
Sean took the note and tossed it on the table. “What I am suggesting is that pilot or no pilot, if we die filling this wish list, she still dies. How many of us do we risk to save Kelli? What do you think is acceptable … Are you willing to risk Parker or Danny to get some drugs that may or may not save her?”
“So that’s it then? We just don’t go?” Brad asked.
Sean gave Brad an impatient look. “Will you just listen for a minute? I just want everyone to know the score before we decide.”
Hahn reached across the table and picked up the note. He read it slowly before asking, “And what is the score, Chief?”
“It’s like this: We go after these meds and we save Kelli, or we get the meds and she still dies. Or we fail to get the meds altogether, or half of us die trying and she still dies, or maybe she lives. Hell, maybe we say screw this shopping trip and go back to the farm, then find us a fishing boat and finish our trip home,” Sean said.
“What the fuck, Chief!” Brad said, getting up from the table. “Are you trying to talk us out of it?”
“I’m not going to tell you guys what to do, I’m just putting it all out there, and it’s already too late in the day to head out and do anything anyhow. So let’s decide first thing in the morning. I hate to suggest it, but I think we should vote on it,” Sean said as he picked up the paper and stuck it back in his pocket.
9.
Brad walked onto the porch to gather more wood. He looked out at the far tree lines and watched the wind blow the pines. They calmly swayed back and forth in the wind. It was easy for him to imagine that they were not on the run. This must have been a pleasant place to be at one time. A small cabin on a pond in the middle of the forest, Brad thought, enjoying the view. The owner must have been proud of this place. Thomas said his uncle owned the house.
I wonder what happened to him, I wonder if he died trying to get to this place? Maybe he is out there right now, watching me from the woods, Brad said to himself. The door opened, jarring Brad from his thoughts. Joseph walked out onto the porch.
“Here, let me grab some of that, load me up,” Joseph said, holding out his arms.
Brad stacked Joseph’s arms full of wood, then they moved back inside and dumped the load next to the stove. Thomas and Nelson were still sitting next to the fire. Parker and Hahn were in the kitchen opening canned goods and preparing the evening meal. The rest of the men still sat around the table. Brad opened the stove door and tossed in pieces of wood. He moved to the wall and sat on the bottom bunk.
“So Thomas, your brother said you escaped the city?” Brad asked.
“Yea, that’s true, but in the first days, before everything shut down,” Thomas answered.
“What do you know about it? The infection I mean?” Brad queried.
The other men, hearing the question, moved the chairs from the kitchen and placed them around the stove. Hahn carried a teapot of hot water and refilled Thomas’s cup. “I found some sugar. I put it into the water, it’ll add calories … at least make it taste better,” Hahn said as he poured.
“Thank you,” Thomas answered.
He took a sip, then looked at the fire. The sun was beginning to set, but the fire still cast a dim light in the cabin. “I was a student, I went to the University. We had heard tell of the sickness on the radios and the newscasts. It was an attack, we were told. They intended to hit the United States, but when the borders were closed, they hit us instead. The biggest outbreak we had heard of was in Quebec. The government shut most things down soon after, stopped travel, shut down airports and the shipping.
“It wasn’t enough. A lot of the men from here work out west on the mainland. Of course they wanted to come home. Some boats began smuggling them back. Shady fisherman decided to cash in on the need for smugglers. We guess that’s how the infection made it to the island. No one knows for sure,” Thomas said.
“How fast did it spread?” Sean asked.
“Fast. I was already preparing to go back home. Dad had sent for me before the travel restrictions had started. I hesitated only because school stayed in session. A number of the students are from the mainland with nowhere to go, so they
kept classes going. We all hoped this would be over soon. Still, I kept a bag packed. I intended to finish out the week, then I would leave.
“I woke up in my dorm to the sounds of screaming and fighting. I went into the hallway, where a number of people were fighting, and men I didn’t recognize were attacking my dorm mates … more than fighting, they were mauling them, trying to get up the stairs and into the hallway. My roommate was in the mix. He looked at me, then ran past me towards the far end of the hall. He told me to run with him. I wasn’t dressed, so I went back into my room and locked the door. I could hear them in the hall, the screaming.
“They pounded and clawed at my door, scratching and howling ... screaming.” Thomas paused before looking back down at his cup. “But I hid, I stayed quiet and hid. I think I fell asleep, I’m not sure. The next thing I remember it was dark. The power had gone out, but I could hear sirens in the distance, sometimes a gunshot. The streetlights came on. They shone through my curtains. I knew this must be the infection, that it must be here.
“We had seen the television reports from the mainland … At first they told us they were riots. Because of the border shutdowns and the movement restrictions. But we all knew better, you could see it in the telecast, the people filled with madness, attacking everything, killing everything. I knew this was it … It had to be. I packed a few more things into my backpack, just essentials, some clothes and what little food and water I kept in the room. I listened by the door. I didn’t hear anything so I slowly opened it and went into the hallway. They were all dead … my dorm mates, torn apart. All of them dead,” Thomas said before burying his face in his hands.
“I’m sorry Thomas, many of us have experienced the same thing. You don’t have to continue if you don’t want to, we understand,” Brad said in a low voice.
“No, it’s okay, I want to talk about it. I haven’t told Mom and Dad, not all of it, not how bad it was, not really,” Thomas said. “You all,” he said, looking at the hardened faces around the room, “I can talk to you.”
“Okay … well it’s up to you,” Brad acknowledged.
“After I saw them … the dead … I went back in my room and locked the door. I hid again, listening to the sirens and the screams outside. We had a phone in our room, I tried it but the line was busy, my mobile wouldn’t connect either. I listened to the sirens and screaming through the night. The next time I opened my eyes the sun was shining into my room. And I could smell smoke. I went into the hallway. The smoke was thicker there.
“I didn’t dare go to the stairway, the way those things had come up, so I ran down the far hall to the back exit. The door was locked from the outside. So I went to the common area, it’s like a TV room, but there is a fire escape there. I tried to open the window but it was stuck. I remembered that in the hallway there was a case on the wall; it held an axe. I guess so firefighters could get into our rooms if they ever had to. I ran through the smoke and broke the glass. The axe was heavier than I thought it would be, but it felt good in my hands.
“I ran back into the lounge. I swung the axe and the window shattered. The smoke was thick now and I was coughing. I went through the window and onto the fire escape. I ran down the stairs as fast as I could, all the way down to the ground, then ran across the yard and hid in the shadows of some tall bushes. I watched the dorm burn. No one came. Nobody, no firefighters, not the police … nobody. I watched, until I was sure I was alone.
“I could still hear the sirens, and the screams, but they were far to the south of me. I could hear more gunshots now also, automatic weapons, the military I guess. All to the south, so I headed north. I tried to find a car, but there were no keys in any of them. I don’t know how to hotwire or steal cars. Maybe I should have learnt that instead of studying to be an engineer. A lot of good that will do me now.”
“You might be surprised,” Nelson said, smiling. “I’m an engineer of sorts, and it has worked out pretty well for me lately.”
Thomas nodded and returned the smile before continuing. “I found a bike rack. The bikes were all locked, but the axe made simple work of it. I slung the axe across my back, now I was able to move faster. I wanted to get to the outskirts of the city and into the woods as fast as I could. I figured I could hide better in the forest. I’m not a townie, I grew up in the woods, I feel safe there. I rode across campus and cut through the park. It sits on the edge of the forest.
“I figured if I could make the forest trails, I could follow a path to the main road. The road was the way home. That’s when I saw him. Or he saw me ... He was screaming and running right at me. I pedaled hard, but he never slowed, I couldn’t lose him. I rode the trail and would slow to catch my breath and he’d be right behind me. I hit a corner too fast and lost it on the bike. I tumbled into the bushes. I hurried to my feet and grabbed the bike, but I had knocked the chain off. I scrambled to fix it but I could hear him screaming and running down the trail.
“I readied the axe and choked up on the handle. The thing rounded the corner, still screaming. I screamed back at him but he didn’t stop. I swung as hard as I could. I caught him in the jaw. I saw the splash of blood, I watched his jaw twist and break away from the rest of his head. The man’s speed and the blow from the axe carried him past me. He tumbled into a roll, falling into the brush along the trail. My swing carried me forward and I hit the ground and lost control of the axe.
“I climbed to my feet. I was so tired. My lungs were burning, my heart was beating out of my chest. I found the axe near my feet and I picked it up just as the man turned to face me. His jaw was hanging from his face. He was still screaming. Foam and blood were coming from the wound. He snarled and started to get to his feet. I ran at him and smashed him in the top of the head, swinging like I had been taught to split fire wood.
“I stayed in that spot for a long time. I thought more would come. You know, attracted to the screams. But no one came. I stayed there for what seemed like hours. I went through the man’s pockets and found his wallet. He was an employee of the University, a custodian. He had pictures in his wallet, a family. What makes a man behave this way? I have killed others since then, but it’s that one that I cannot forget.”
Hahn stood and used a spoon to stir the contents of a kettle on top of the stove before he sat in a chair. “You won’t forget Thomas, but it will be easier to remember with time. How did you manage to get home then? “Hahn asked.
“After that,” Thomas continued, “I decided to leave the bike. It was faster but I didn’t want to be surprised by one of them again. I stalked the forest trail. Moving slowly, staying hidden. I made it to the road. It was bad there, cars backed up in both directions. Survivors, police, military. They were all there. The military were forming road blocks and checkpoints. People were trying to get out of the city, and others were trying to get in. Everyone was confused. Nobody seemed to know what was going on or what to do.
“I met a family there, they were trying to get into the city to find some family members. But when they were stopped by the roadblocks and told to turn back … I asked if I could join them. I didn’t know them personally, but they live far to the north of here, and my parents’ place was on the way. They agreed and I was grateful for the ride. We didn’t get far; the road going north was congested with traffic. We sat still more than we moved.
“We saw them running in the distance. People left their cars and ran up the road. We could hear the gunshots from the road blocks. People were panicking. We left the vehicle and joined the chaos on the road. I tried to stay with them but we were soon separated. The infected came over us quickly, mixing in with the crowd. Everyone was lashing out, running, trampling each other.
“I climbed onto a large shipping truck. I laid on the roof and watched the insanity below. Police were firing into the crowds, I watched a panicked officer empty his gun into an infected before being dragged to the ground by a mob of them. I moved to the center of the roof and laid on my back quietly. I listened to them fighting below
me. I could hear glass breaking and people screaming in fear, and the infected moans.
“I stayed up there until the sun went down. I looked over the side of the truck. I could still see them, the crowds of the infected moving about on the road. In large groups, they were walking back south, back towards the city. I waited for a break, when I thought they were far enough away. I dropped to the ground and ran back to the woods. I climbed a tree and I slept there until dawn.
“When the sun came up they were gone. In the beginning … When it first started we didn’t see them much during the day. They don’t seem to like the heat or maybe it’s the bright light. It was early fall then and still unseasonably warm. Anyway, when I came out of the tree they were all gone, infected and survivors. I followed the highway from inside the forest, being careful to stay hidden.
“I traveled that way until I got home. Moving during the day and sleeping in trees at night. The farther I got from the city and the road the less of them I saw. When I finally got to the farm, Mom and Dad were sure happy to see me. They didn’t really have a clue as to what was happening. The farm lost its phone connection and power about the same time as I did at the University. They had been warned to stay home, of course they’d heard there were riots in the city, but nothing to the level of what I described to them.
“I’m still not sure that Mom totally comprehends our situation. Even after … Well, even after Dad and I had to put down Mister Emerson and his family. They were neighbors that were infected, they came at us. But we been really lucky, we haven’t seen many of them around the farm since then. Usually we find them in ones or twos out around the pastures. Or closer to the villages,” Thomas said.
“I guess we messed that all up for ya,” Hahn said.
“Yeah, we seen far more of them in recent days. I have never seen groups of them this far north or into the hills. Dad still figures they will make their way back into the city eventually.”
