by C. J. Boyle
"God, I'm so sorry, Carl." Brody put his hand on his friend's shoulder.
As Carl stood up a tear rolled down his face. "I can't believe Joseph killed our Grams."
Brody looked down and shook his head. "Look, man, like he said, you weren't there." Brody moved to look at Carl. "I mean, think about what he must be going through."
"You defending him?"
"No." Brody glanced at the sun that was quickly disappearing behind the mountains. "Just being devil's advocate."
The wild-haired blonde girl paced back and forth in the background. She suddenly stopped and walked up to them. "My name is Amy, by the way, and I'd sure like to get to that safe place you were talking about. It'll be dark soon."
Brody was glad someone said it. Carl turned around and gave her the meanest look he could muster. For a fleeting moment, it looked like she regretted her words and for trying to rush him, but she shook it off. "Look, I get it, you lost someone. I lost my whole family. Do you think I was hangin' with the bloods before the shit hit the fan? Cuz, I wasn't!"
"Okay, calm the fuck down." Brody held up his hand. "Carl." He looked his friend in the eye silently telling him it was time to go.
Archie suddenly stood at attention and looked at something in the distance. He growled fiercely. Everyone looked and instinctively grabbed their guns. Brody knew what was out there and he was ready. "Let's go."
They all darted towards the jeep. Archie didn't budge. He just growled and started barking. Carl glanced over his shoulder, "ARE-CHIE!" The dog suddenly snapped out of his trance and ran to Carl's side.
From almost every direction Links of every shape and size ran at them. Some of them were running on all fours and some of them upright like any other normal, mutated human would. Brody had experienced sheer terror several times in the last twenty-four hours, but nothing compared to that moment. His heart pumped madly as he grabbed Amy by the upper arm and practically lifted her up off the ground and helped her along next to him. He and Carl both fired randomly at the Links. The ones that they hit fell immediately, causing others to pounce upon them and feed. When they got to the jeep, Carl jumped into the driver's seat and Archie jumped in behind him. Brody shoved Amy towards the jeep while he fired at every Link that got close to them. He tried to fire again but nothing happened. Amy was safely in the back seat of the jeep as Carl started it up. Brody started swinging the shotgun like a bat as he got inside the jeep and slammed the door.
"Floor it!" Brody yelled.
Archie barked and growled but it made no difference to the Links. They seemed fearless. Brody liked to think the dog was just screaming at Carl to get a move on. Links jumped up onto the hood of the jeep and started to claw at the windshield. Carl slammed the gas pedal to the floor and threw the jeep into gear. He couldn't see, but he didn't care. The jeep sideswiped the side of a mausoleum hard enough for the Links to fly off. Now that Carl could see he started aiming for the bastards. He ran several of them down as they sped past the cemetery gates.
~ The Bus Driver ~
Kera had fourteen people to transport and when she saw the bus it seemed like God himself gave her a gift. Not only were the keys still in it but it had half a tank of gas in it. She sat behind the driver's seat and started it up. In no time at all everyone was aboard and she was weaving her way down the darkening city streets that were littered with abandoned vehicles. Nobody spoke. Nobody asked any questions. All eyes were plastered out the windows because the darker it got the more movement there was in the shadows. More than one time she upset everyone on board by stopping the bus in order to let people get on. The passengers were terrified that, if they stopped, Links would peel open the bus and eat them like candy. But she couldn't just drive on when people flagged her down and wanted to be whisked away. Kera knew they had to be desperate to get on any vehicle that happened to stop for them. For all they knew, they were getting out of the fire but hopping right into the frying pan. It was a good thing she had a place in mind to take them.
As they were driving, they passed a wrecked car where she saw a hand shoot up and out the window. It waved back and forth frantically. Whoever wielded it obviously wanted to be seen. Kera stopped the bus and turned around for a moment and looked at all the people that were staring at her. It reminded her of a bunch of captive animals wondering if they were about to be beaten or fed.
"Someone's in that car. I'll be right back." Kera opened the door and got off the bus. She suddenly realized that anyone could drive that bus and if they wanted to, they could take off without her. She shook off her fears and faced the newest one before her. She walked up to the red Toyota that was crunched up like a coke can. It was one of several cars that had collided presumably during the 'turn'. She slowly walked up to the back of the car and peered into the back seat. She could barely see, but she could make out the body of a young girl. She looked next to her and saw a teenaged boy with shoulder-length, brown hair. He was looking at her with desperate eyes and holding his stomach. He was clearly in an enormous amount of pain.
"Help me, please." He groaned and tried to open the door. "Please, I don't want to die."
It broke Kera's heart. He reminded her of Charlie. She had to help him. She opened the door and put her arm around his waist to help him out of the car. "Can you walk? I have to get you to the bus."
"I don't know." He tried to stand up but it was hard. Kera pulled him to his feet, but it took everything she had to ignore her own pain. Her broken rib throbbed and made itself known. She heard a soft growl from behind her. Fear filled her so quickly that she almost dropped the boy. She turned around to look and saw three Links creeping slowly towards them like big cats on the prowl.
"Shit." She whispered as she moved them both forward. Suddenly a burly man with a scraggly beard appeared next to them and grabbed the kid lifting him over his shoulder. He looked at her and then pushed her towards the bus. They ran to it and got on. She slammed the door just in time to see a Link slam himself up against it. The Links started to climb on the bus and onto the top. Her heart was beating so hard that she could feel it in her neck. It seemed like she suddenly turned into an idiot and couldn't figure out how to work the bus. She waved her hands back and forth trying to grab her thoughts, finally settling on the steering wheel. She slammed her foot down on the gas. The bus lurched forward.
"Does anyone have a gun?" She screamed.
Three people stood up and went to the windows as the bus took off. The Links scratched and clawed at the top of the bus causing everyone to panic and scream. Kera didn't know what to do. Theoretically, the Links could probably hold on until they got to New Hope. She'd end up bringing people more horror instead of a safe place to live during the end of days.
Maxine and her brothers were sitting directly behind Kera. All three of them were looking at the ceiling of the bus expecting a Link to peel it back easily, like it was aluminum foil. She had to save them. She had to. She frantically tried to think of a way to get those Links off the bus. The only idea that came to mind was to crash the bus into a wall so that they were knocked off. She suddenly heard a few gun shots from behind her, immediately followed by celebration. One of the men shouted, "Yeah baby! Die you fuckers!"
The burly man leaned forward from his seat. "If there were only three, they're gone now."
She allowed herself a quick look back to see if the kid she just risked everyone's lives for was okay. The burly man sat next to him in the front seat on the opposite side. He didn't look good. The burly man held onto him. She called out to him, "Hold on, Kid. There's a doctor where we're going." She drove the bus as fast as it could go through the streets until she reached the highway. The hour it took to drive to New Hope felt like forever. When the sun disappeared behind the mountains she didn't know what to expect. Links definitely outnumbered humans now. "This is what life is now."
"What?" The burly man looked at her.
She didn't realize she had said it out loud. "Nothing. Sorry."
"The kid
isn't doing so good. If we don't get wherever we are going soon, he's going to die," he said looking at the kid. The poor guy was unconscious in the seat.
"This bus doesn't go faster than sixty-five. It must be some kind of fucked up safety feature." Kera had the peddle to the floor but it didn't make any difference. "We still have about twenty minutes. Hold on, kid."
Kera saw lights in her rearview mirror and realized they were being followed. Strangely enough it didn't worry her at all. She doubted the cars were being driven by Links. 'The more the merrier.' She turned onto the dirt road that led to the prison gates. As the gates came into view a feeling of dread washed over her as she realized they were closed. When she left, they were wide open. Of course, they would close them to protect themselves! She should have known. As the headlights fell on the guard tower, she realized that someone was in it. She pulled forward until she was close to a keypad and a monitor. She wouldn't be able to reach it even if she leaned out the window. She thought that she'd have to get out of the bus, especially when she realized who was in the guard tower. It was Mammy. 'Great. We'll never get in now.'
Kera waved at Mammy who promptly made an ugly face at her. She watched as Mammy looked down and did something. The gate started open. She was suddenly elated. It was as if she had never seen such a beautiful sight in her entire life. She watched as several guards with shotguns stood next to the gate ready to shoot anything that moved. As soon as the gate was open far enough she drove the bus through. The cars followed closely behind her.
It wasn't long before she was quickly leading the burly man through the prison to the infirmary. He carried the kid in his arms and didn't seem to have any trouble keeping up with her.
"Shawn! Uncle Shawn!" Kera yelled as they entered the infirmary. There were several people already in there in need of care. They all looked at her as they came in.
Dr. Wallace came out of the infirmary's back room with a confused look on his face until he saw Kera. He smiled briefly but then saw the burly man putting the injured kid on one of the free beds. "What happened to him?" Dr. Wallace immediately went to the kid. He checked his pulse and then brought out his stethoscope.
"Car accident. It probably happened last night when the shit hit the fan." Kera watched the doctor work on the kid. "Can I help? Do you need me to do anything?"
The doctor and the man she knew all her life as her Uncle looked at her with sad eyes. "I'm sorry, Kera, he's dead."
"What? No!" She couldn't hold in her tears after the day she had. They fell freely from her eyes. Burly man took that opportunity to quietly leave. She knew it wasn't Charlie she was seeing but she felt like she just watched her own son die. He looked like he was sleeping peacefully.
Dr. Wallace went to her and put a hand on her upper arm. "Maybe we can have a small ceremony for him with the others tomorrow. What's his name?"
His question made her sob as she tried to speak. "I don't know! I didn't even...I never asked him!" She put her hands to her face and sobbed into them. How is it possible that she didn't even ask him his name? She felt terrible. The doctor tried to console her by giving her a hug but she suddenly pulled her hands away from her face and screamed. "FUCK!"
"Kera." Dr. Wallace tried to touch her again but she suddenly ran out of the room. He looked behind him at his patients and then back to the door. He clearly wanted to follow but decided he couldn't.
* * *
Carl drove down the highway as fast as the jeep could go. He was angry. The reason they went to the city was to find his brothers and he failed. He looked over at Brody. "I'm going to drop you guys off and then I'm going back."
Brody shook his head, "No. We'll head back in the morning. We'll find them, I promise."
"You already said that, and look, have we found them? No!" Carl hit the steering wheel. Archie looked at the two from the back seat. He let a little whistle whine escape him. Amy patted him and scratched him behind the ears.
"Look, Carl, we didn't have enough time. The sun went down and the Links were everywhere. Tomorrow we will leave at the crack of dawn and we will go find them." Brody grabbed his shotgun and held it up. "We have to get more ammo and some tear gas. I don't care what the doctor says about it. We'll search every place that you think they might have gone. Carl, I'm not letting you do this alone."
Amy chimed in, "Aw, that is so sweet."
Brody looked over his shoulder, "You know, we can let you out here if you want."
"No, jeez, can't a person joke around?" She frowned as she stroked the dog's head. "Are we almost there?"
"That's the main gate right there." Brody squinted and leaned forward, “Is that Mammy?” The gate started to open and a couple of guards armed with shotguns crept forward as Carl drove the jeep through. As they got closer to the main building they could see a few bonfires burning. It smelled like a mixture of beef and pork…and not in a good way.
Carl pulled up right next to the building. Brody didn’t get out of the jeep until he saw Carl get out. Amy and Archie followed them both into the main building and into a large common room made for inmate socialization. There were a lot more people in there than Brody expected there to be. Everyone looked at them as they walked through the door and the room fell silent. Carl and Brody looked at all the curious faces. After a few seconds, everyone turned away and continued their conversations. Brody and Carl walked through the room. They passed a table where a few young boys laughed and joked with each other. Carl watched them but somehow had a distant look in his eyes.
"Look, let me check in with the doctor, we'll get more guns, have something to eat, and head back out, okay?" Brody looked at his friend and waited for a response. "I'm with you, okay? You're not doing this alone. You got that?"
"Car! Car!"
Carl's head snapped in the direction of the yelling. Two teen boys ran up to them yelling, "Car! Car!" They were excited and practically tackled Carl who smiled and grabbed the two boys and gave them a bear hug. Brody smiled and watched the commotion. He knew the boys had to be Carl's brothers.
"Oh my God, I'm so glad to see you guys! I thought you were dead." Carl hugged them close. "How did you get here?"
"We took a bus." One of them said, but both of them nodded.
Carl laughed, "A bus?"
Brody decided to step away quietly and let his friend catch up with his younger brothers. The events of the last twenty-four hours were sure to be interesting. As he walked to the common area he realized that someone must be cooking some actual food because he could smell something awesome. He was tempted to follow the wonderful aroma instead of going to visit with the doctor. It would be a lot easier to just avoid him. The last thing he wanted to do was try to explain why he was returning without Kera. He walked down the hall to the keypad that would give him access to the infirmary. He found the doors were left open so he walked right through. He knew there was no reason to keep the doors locked now that the prison was a refuge instead of a place to harbor criminals. He walked into the clinic and saw several people in hospital beds with the doctor tending to them. There was a young girl lying in one bed with an oxygen mask over her mouth. She looked at Brody as he walked in. She smiled at him. He thought she was adorable so he smiled back at her. "Hey, cutie!" Dr. Wallace looked up at Brody when he spoke. "Hey, Doc. You look busy."
"I am," he checked the girl's pulse. "Glad you made it back."
Brody nodded towards the little girl, "What's wrong with her?"
"Just a bad asthma attack. Sometimes great fear or stress can trigger an awful attack." He smiled at the girl and poked her lightly in the side, making her squeal and laugh.
"I'm sorry, Doc. We didn't find Kera." Brody frowned and looked down.
Dr. Wallace smiled broadly, "She's here!" He laughed, "Who do you think brought all these people?"
Brody was momentarily shocked. "She brought all these people here? That's incredible."
"Well, she's an incredible woman. If you knew her, you'd know that." The doctor stepped
over to another patient to check on him.
"And how do you know her, Doctor?" Brody asked point blank.
"Why don't you go ask her?" He administered a shot to the man. "She was very upset earlier. I'm kinda busy here, can you check on her?"
Brody nodded, "Sure, I guess." He was somewhat irritated with the doctor, but he wanted to see if Kera was alright. He wondered if she found her son and how she came to bring so many people back with her. "Where is she?"
Wallace shrugged, "I have no idea."
Brody left the infirmary in search of Kera. He didn't even know where to begin his search. He wandered back out into the common area. He saw Carl with his brothers and walked over to them. "Hey, Carl, have you seen Kera?"
"Kera made it back?" Carl suddenly looked as if he connected some dots only visible to him inside his brain. He eyed his brothers, "The little blonde lady that drove the bus?"
The twins nodded, "The Warden."
Brody smiled, "Kera Warren."
