Torn Apart (Book 2): Dead Texas Roads

by Hoaks, C. A.

  “Got em!” Tate held the key ring out and poured a stream of water from a plastic bottle over them. She pulled a red handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the stains from the keys. She jammed the keys into her pocket, then grabbed the legs of the dead man, pulled the body across the asphalt to the ditch, then planted a boot on his backside to roll him into the ditch. Tate bushed the dirt from her hands, then pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket and lit one. She crossed the road to the truck and climbed inside the cab. She settled on the worn seat and slid the key into the ignition. Tate said a silent prayer then turned the key. The motor roared to life. After a quick scan of the gauges, she turned off the engine, left the keys in the ignition, then jumped to the asphalt to jog back to join the men.

  “We’re in business, gentlemen,” she grinned as she tossed the cigarette butt toward the ditch.

  Matt and the others quickly moved the last few bodies, then walked to the back of the truck to look inside the trailer. A clipboard lay on the side of the open door. He picked it up and glanced down the list. He could see a handwritten list with several items crossed off. He shrugged and tossed it aside. Easing the trailer door open, he cautiously peered inside.

  The trailer was filled with cases of canned goods. The men had stacked boxes several rows deep, but it was evident the transfer of goods had been hasty. As Matt stared at the helter-skelter of cardboard boxes, he wondered about the people waiting for the food. Would they survive without the food and these men to protect them? He shrugged as he realized he would probably never know.

  Matt took a deep breath and pointed toward the open freight car. “Let’s finish what they started. We’ll get this truck loaded, move it out of the way, then we’ll snag a couple containers and get back to the camp.”

  “I’m ready, let’s get moving,” Tate said as she squared her shoulders and set her jaw as if expecting a fight.

  Matt raised both hands, palms out and answered. “It's all yours. You more than earned it.”

  “Then let’s get moving.” Tate locked the truck doors open then jumped up to the storage bed and disappear into the gloom. Matt could hear her move cases to the front of the trailer.

  “You want some help in there?” Jenkins called into the dark.

  Tate answered, “Sure, we get this shit stacked right, and we can get a lot more in here. We may as well make this trip worthwhile. The rest of you get humping and get those cases over here.”

  “Stand guard, Dreschel. Jenkins, inside with our new friend,” Matt ordered, then looked to Jake. “Okay, big guy, let’s hustle this shit over here.”

  They worked hard hefting cases of canned goods for thirty minutes, then Matt called a break. The trailer was loaded and buttoned up. While the men sat at the side of the road, still glistening with sweat, Tate, clutching a bottle of water, walked around the rig and trailer. Her brown hair stuck to her face in damp ringlets as she pulled at the brake hoses, looked over the tires, and, in general, inspected her new ride. When she was finished, she walked back to the men grinning.

  “We’re good to go if you trust me to move the truck out of the way?”

  Matt hesitated only a moment, then nodded. “Give us plenty of space to maneuver.” He pointed at two rail cars. “When you get done, will you watch our six while we work on moving containers to the flat beds?”

  Tate gave an imitation of a solute. “You got it.”

  When she got into the cab and fired up the truck, Jenkins asked, “What if she just drives away?”

  Matt shrugged. “Her bag is still in the Humvee. I don’t think she’ll leave it.”

  Two minutes later, Tate stood in front of the men. “Well, you slobs going to sit on your asses all day? I can bring up the crane while you four lounge around.”

  Dreschel jumped to his feet. “No way! Just stay out of the way.”

  Tate grinned at Matt and lit another cigarette, then opened the door of the Humvee and retrieved her rifle. “I’d suggest the two containers in front of the one that the dead-heads opened.” After a puzzled look from Matt, she added. “See the opened doors. They started at the back and opened containers until they found the food.”

  Dreschel jogged back to the crane truck’s cab, climbed in and fired up the big rig. Within a few minutes, he had the vehicle parked on the road next to the tracks. He climbed into the crane cab and cranked the engine. He extended the telescoping arms of the outriggers toward the solid rail bed and road on the opposite side. He shifted counterweights to the road-side of the vehicle, then announced, “Ready.”

  Jake got in one of the big rigs with trailer and moved it closer to the crane. Dreschel stood in the road and directed Jake as he parked the trailer in front of the crane. When Dreschel was satisfied, he went back to the truck and pulled cables from a box and tossed them down to Matt and Jenkins. He spent a few minutes explaining the procedure he anticipated, then climbed into the crane cab and fired up the engine.

  Matt frowned at the roar of the motor, but they couldn’t help it. They needed the crane to move the containers to the trailer. They would have to hurry.

  The crane swiveled on the turntable to face the designated container. He extended the boom over the container, then lowered the cables with hooks.

  Jenkins climbed to the top steel container on the train car, ready to grab the fishhooks. One by one, he secured lines to each of the four corners. When he was done, Matt threw up two extra ropes that Jenkins anchored to the front and back of the container.

  “Okay Jenkins, secure the guidelines, and we’re ready to go,” Matt yelled out.

  Tate headed back up the road to the crest of the hill to watch for trouble. She stopped and began her scan of the back road and distant buildings. Her brows furrowed as the motor of the crane rumbled into action. It was loud, and the engine billowed black smoke from the exhaust pipes. It wouldn’t take long for the dead to hone in on the sound. They would hear the motor, smell the exhaust and the monsters hanging around the small community in the distance would start moving.

  Her head throbbed, so she pulled a bottle from her pocket. She opened the lid and retrieved two pills and dry-swallowed the OTC pain killers. She knew she couldn’t take anything stronger for now if she were going to stay alert. Her eyes constantly moved as she surveyed the surrounding fields and roadway. She glanced toward the rail cars and the men maneuvering equipment in the distance from time to time, but mostly she watched shadows appear in the distance. Individuals moved away from the houses, cocked their heads, then stumbled out of the shadows and drifted toward the sound of the motors.

  Jenkins anchored the guidelines and dropped the ends over from the container. Jake grabbed the front guideline, while Matt grabbed the back one. Jenkins gave a thumbs up from the top of the container.

  At the controls, Dreschel powered up the hydraulics and raised the boom. The cables grew taught, and the container moved up. When it cleared the rail car, he worried the controls until the boom began to swing toward the waiting trailer.

  “Slower!” Jenkins stumbled and grabbed an anchor wire as he called out, “Get control of the box.”

  The steel box jerked toward the trailer. Jake and Matt pulled at the ropes trying to control the movement. “Easy! Take your time!” Matt yelled. “We got this. Slow and easy.”

  Dreschel again pushed the control to move the boom, this time slower and with a bit more precision. He stopped the boom when the container hovered over the trailer. With another control, he slowly began lowering the cable. The container inched toward the trailer. The boom slowly lowered the box. Matt and Jake pulled at the lines as the container turned and wavered. Finally, the container brushed against the edge of the flatbed rocking the trailer with the impact. Dreschel halted the descent, then began lowering the container again. Matt and Jake made small adjustments to guide it as it settled on the trailer mountings.

  With a loud clank, the container slipped onto the mountings, and the lines slackened. Jenkins pulled the fishhooks and guidelines f
ree, then got down from the container.

  “Got it!” Matt called out as he matched Jake’s actions he coiled the guidelines.

  With shaking hands, Dreschel raised the boom and the cables, then stepped from the control cab. “I need the next trailer brought up.”

  Matt gave him a thumbs-up “I’ll get this truck moved,” Matt called out. “Jenkins, get ready to hook up the next container.”

  “Fuck! That wasn’t pretty.” Dreschel commented with a tremble in his voice.

  “You did fine, man.” Jake gave Dreschel a wave. “Get the next one hooked up, I’ll bring up the empty trailer. Let’s get this last one and get outta here.” He ran toward the second truck.

  Matt jumped into the cab of the loaded trailer and fired up the engine. He ground gears as he shifted into first to get the truck moving. Two minutes later, he pulled up behind the truck Tate would be drive and turned off the engine.

  Coming back, Matt stopped at the Humvee and retrieved a can of spray paint. He ran to the white trailer laying on it’s side and knocked the cap from a can of red paint. After shaking the can for half a minute, he pressed the nozzle and made sweeping motions to paint the trailer panel. When he was finished, Matt stood back and smiled at the heart and two names. As an after-thought, he made three smiley faces.

  By the time Matt walked back, Jake was looking around, obviously nervous. “What are you doing drawing pictures? This is taking us too long, and we’re making way too much noise.” He pointed toward Tate who was jogging toward them.

  Tate hurried down the hill and called out, “We’ve got company coming. They’re coming from a small cluster of houses about a mile from here.” She glanced over her shoulder. “They’ll be here in twenty minutes.”

  “We got time for one more container. We’ll be quicker this time.” Matt answered.

  “That took us nearly thirty minutes, are you sure?” Dreschel answered from the cab of the crane.

  Matt called out. “Get busy Dreschel and pick up that last container. Jenkins, get hooked up and let’s make it quick.”

  When he turned back, Tate handed him her scoped rifle and pointed into the distance. He squinted into the scope and saw monsters being drawn toward them by the noise of the roaring motor of the crane. He handed the rifle back to Tate.

  “Keep an eye on ‘em and let me know when they come over that rise,” Matt ordered before turning back to the task at hand.

  Tate jogged up the road to watch the herd of monsters stumbling toward them. It included men, women, and children, all torn and injured beyond belief. She made a quick count and her breath caught in her chest. She realized there were between fifty and sixty of the infected.

  She glanced over her shoulder and saw the container dangling above the trailer. With a final growl of the crane motor, the container settled on the raised sections at either end of the trailer. The box hung over the end of the trailer by at least three feet but looked to be balanced on the back axle. The boom lowered, and the cables collapsed to the top of the container.

  She watched as Jenkins freed the cable hooks from the boom and the telescoping arm retracted back into place. Dreschel retracted the out-riggings, then restored the counterweights to their resting position. Meanwhile, Matt, Jake, and Jenkins struggled with tie-downs to anchor the container. After a heated discussion, they had settled for retractable tie-downs tied together to secure the containers. It was far from ideal, but Tate imagined with slow driving, it would do.

  At the sound of groans and shuffling feet, Tate realized, while she watched the men tie down the containers, the infected had gotten much closer.

  She’d been paying too much attention to the salvage operation and not enough to the approaching undead. The infected were less than a hundred yards from her and heading up the hill with dogged determination. They were moving much faster with prey in sight. Tate stuck her fingers between her lips and blew a shrill whistle that pierced the silence. Tate called out, “Company coming!” She turned back to the infected, took three quick shots, then yelled, “They’re here! We gotta get going. Now!” Tate backed down the hill toward the trucks still firing at the monsters. She dropped the fastest freaks and made her way back down the hill.

  Matt threw a wave at the team. “Get to the trucks!”

  Jake, Jenkins, and Dreschel each headed toward a truck cab and climbed in. Jake got in the rig with the last container and fired up the motor. Jenkins started the first container truck that was parked behind the white truck. Dreschel climbed in the crane cab, and the engine roared to life. The three trucks were ready to move, but they were trapped behind the white truck Tate had parked in the middle of the road.

  Matt raced to the Humvee and cranked the engine. He slammed the vehicle into reverse and planted his foot into the floorboard. The Hummer swerved toward Tate as she backed downhill. She continued shooting at the leaders of the pack until the full force of monsters crested the hill. Tate turned and ran.

  Matt got within ten feet of Tate and slammed on the breaks. With the Humvee still rocking, he threw open the passenger door and yelled, “Get in!”

  Tate jumped into the Humvee, and Matt slammed the vehicle into drive. “I’ll drop you at the white truck. Pull to the side and let the other three pass, then fall in behind Jenkins and follow them to the camp.”

  “But…” Tate interrupted.

  “Just do it. Jake can’t go over thirty with that rig. I’ll fall back and lead any infected that follow away, so they end up back at our camp,” Matt answered.

  He slammed on the breaks alongside the white truck cab. Tate grabbed her bag from the back, jumped out of the Humvee, and raced around the front. She jerked open the door, threw the bag inside, and climbed into the cab.

  She fired up the engine, shifted the truck into gear, and steered the rig slowly to the left side of the road to allow the others to pass. She watched Jenkins pull the blue tractor around her rig and take over the lead position. The other two trucks followed then Tate slammed the rig into gear again, then cycled through the gears as she accelerated.

  Jake and Dreschel accelerated. Soon all four vehicles sped up. They were doing thirty miles per hour when she saw the Humvee disappear behind a stand of trees in the rearview mirror.

  Chapter 13

  Lights On

  After filling the gas tanks on the motorcycles, Harry led Liz to his three-wheeled bike. He stepped over the middle then pulled her onto the seat behind him. She clung to his black leather jacket, too lost in her own misery to speak during the next three hours of riding. She laid her head on his back and let the world slip away.

  Dusk was quickly settling around them when John finally slowed enough to allow Harry to pull his bike alongside. They stopped in the middle of the blacktop. He kicked the engine out of gear and turned to speak to Harry.

  “We need to find a place to stop. We’re not gonna make it to the Thompson Highway before dark, and I don’t want to run through a pack of infected.”

  “I know. Look for a place away from the road,” Harry answered, then turned around to say. “We’ll be stopping soon. Just hang on, Lizzy.” Harry pointed at a wood-frame house on a nearby hill. The property was surrounded by a pasture fenced in with several strands of barbed wire. A wooden fence separated the yard and buildings and back half of the property from the open field.

  “That looks good.”

  John kicked the bike into gear, eased over a culvert, and faced the cattle guard crossing. “Let’s do this.” He gunned the throttle and rolled over the cattle guard with Harry close behind.

  They followed the narrow dirt lane toward the house, all the while looking across the open yard. John pointed to a fenced area at the back of the house. A horse and colt roamed the paddock munching on grass.

  “What the fuck?” John cursed into the mic in the helmet. “See the livestock. You think anyone is here?”

  The men stopped the bikes at the gate of the fenced barnyard. John walked to the gate and unhooked the chain. He
pushed the gate open until it caught on a clump of scrub grass. John rolled his bike through and allowed Harry to follow. Together they rode to the front of the house. Harry stepped off the bike and looked around. Finally, he cupped his hand around his mouth and called out. “Hello, the house!”

  They waited quietly as John looked toward the outbuildings. Chickens roamed the barnyard. An open barn door allowed the birds and animals sanctuary from night-time predators. He turned back to Harry.

  “I don’t think anyone is here,” John commented.

  The two men stared at the graying boards. The house had needed repainting years ago. The lace window curtain at the side window danced on the light even breeze. The place felt empty. It felt deserted without any hint of the people who once lived there.

  “I’m gonna check out the house, but I don’t think anyone is here,” Harry announced.

  He walked up the concrete steps to the weathered porch and cupped his hand against the screen to look through the glass at the top half of the door. “Hello?”

  When he heard no answer from inside, he stepped back and opened the ram shackled screen door. He knocked on the wood door with the barrel of his handgun. The sound filled the small house, then faded away to silence again. After a second rap on the wooden door had resulted in no response from inside, he turned back to John.

  “We’re going inside. Lizzy, you gotta get your shit together. If anything happens, we may need you,” Harry announced.

  Liz looked up and swiped at the wet streaks on her face with the back of her hand. “I’m good.” She stepped off the bike and pulled the handgun from the back of her pants.

  John stepped away from his bike. He slipped his gun out of the holster on his hip. He nodded at Liz to step behind Harry’s bike.

  “If this goes sideways, you get on that bike and get the hell out of here,” John advised.