Estcourt Station was about a three hour drive north from Green Forks. The only thing that Rose thought would slow her down would be traffic on the roads, but there didn’t appear to be any. Rose passed the occasional broken down or abandoned car, but there was no one walking the roads and Rose didn’t pass anyone driving either in her direction or the other. After 90 minutes of traveling north from Green Forks, Rose realized she’d not passed any disabled vehicles in a while and decided to speed up. It was fully dark now, but with the high beams, she barely noticed. Rose stepped on the gas to accelerate, but instead she began to slowly decelerate. After a few seconds of gradual deceleration, Rose’s SUV began to buck and sputter like it was about to stall. Rose slammed on the brakes and came skidding to a stop. The car continued to buck and sputter and then finally stalled. Rose attempted to turn over the engine, but it just revved and revved without catching and starting up. Rose, not wanting to flood the engine, gave it another minute and then tried it again. No luck. Frustrated, Rose punched the steering wheel with her fist. Only then did she realize that the gas gauge was on “E” and the gas light was on. Rose must have been so focused on driving that she hadn’t noticed she was out of gas. But why would she? When she left her house with the SUV, the gage showed almost a full tank. There is no way she’d have gone through gas that quickly.
Grabbing a flashlight and making sure her handgun was fully loaded and still strapped to her hip, Rose got out of the car. Maybe there was another car in the area she could get some gas from? Not likely as she hadn’t passed any cars for a while. Immediately after exiting the car, Rose knew why she was out of gas. The smell of gasoline was easy to detect coming from the underside of the SUV. Taking the flashlight and looking underneath, Rose could see a small hole in the gas tank and a bubble of dripping gas hanging from it. Whether it was a ricochet from the gunfight at her house or some other unlucky puncture during her escape from Green Forks, she was unsure, but either way, she was out of gas in the middle of nowhere, and was only about halfway between Green Forks and Estcourt Station.
Climbing back to her feet, Rose walked down the road in the direction she’d been driving in the hopes there would be another broken down car. There was not. Rose had a decision to make, she could either stay with her vehicle through the night and wait for the light of day to continue her trek, or she could continue north on foot in the dark. Rose estimated that it’d take her about six hours to make the hike if there were no delays. Being just after 6pm, that would mean she’d get to Estcourt Station around midnight. However, if Rose stayed with her car, she’d have shelter and all of her supplies...but she’d be a sitting duck should a group of infected happen upon her. At least out in the open, she’d likely hear them coming and could move away or hide from them as they’d be just as handicapped by the dark as she’d be. Also, arriving at Estcourt Station before it was light would allow her to observe the state of the crossing before she tried to cross at it. “Hiking it is,” Rose sighed out loud to herself sarcastically and set to the task of packing a backpack.
Rose removed most of the clothing she’d packed in the hiking backpack she’d gotten from home in favor of food from her home and the ammunition she’d gotten from the police department. Rose had found another holster in the armory and put a holster on each hip, the Glock in one, the H&K in the other, strapped on the backpack, slung her black and white camo shotgun over the top of the pack and grabbed the AR-15 which she planned to carry in her hands. Rose felt she’d packed more than enough to get her to the border but before closing up the SUV, Rose decided to grab her trusty bat. Removing a few cans of beans, she slid her bat into the pack most of the way, but it still protruded out the top slightly. Rose looked longingly at the bag of guns and rifles she’d risked her life to get from the police department’s armory. There was no way she was going to be able to carry all of them. In the back of the SUV, Rose slid the bag under the back seat and then dumped her clothes on the floor effectively hiding the bag. If she ever came back this way, she’d be collecting those guns. Before setting off, Rose reached in and put the SUV into neutral. Rose then cranked the wheel and pushed the SUV off onto the shoulder so it was completely off the road before locking the doors. There were lots of personal pictures, albums, and other things in the car she just couldn’t take with her either and if they were locked in a nondescript SUV pushed off the road in the middle of nowhere, there was at least a chance that Rose could come back and collect them once she outlasted the infected. At the very least it gave her something to hope for.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rose’s gear was heavy. It was weighing her down strapped to her back, but she knew that it’d mean the difference between life and death. She had enough food to last her at least a week, possibly longer if she needed it too. There were also enough weapons and ammunition that she felt she could defend herself for some time if she could find a place to call home once she reached northern Quebec. That seemed the best solution to her. The further Rose could remove herself from people, the safer she’d be. Cities, towns, or any place there could be an abundance of people were just places that Rose didn’t want to be. She knew the infected were still technically human, but they were boiled-down, rage-filled versions of their former selves. Rose could sympathize with that feeling. In some ways, the infected didn’t seem that far removed from where she was now. They’d taken too much from her. The people cursed with this infection had forgotten who they’d been, their loved ones, and everyone they ever knew. That void had been filled with fear, rage, and death. That was one thing they had in common, Rose now experienced little else. How the human race was going to pull through, she wasn’t sure, but she wasn’t about to stick around some city waiting to find out.
The forest in this area was dense and made hiking through the woods more difficult. Rose could have stayed on the road and probably would have had a much easier time. However, Rose had opted for the woods instead. If there were infected in the area, they’d likely be near the roads. Travel was much easier and Rose figured that’s where their prey were more apt to be anyway. Plus the road looped around in a big meandering arc to avoid this deep section of forest instead of cutting right through it so if Rose had stayed on the road, she’d have walked much further than if she just cut a straight line north through the woods.
After about an hour of slow and tedious crashing through the woods, Rose came upon an ATV/snowmobile trail. The heavy pack of gear Rose had strapped to her back wasn’t only making it difficult for her to move quickly, but it was getting snagged on almost every tree limb Rose had walked by causing her to constantly move sideways, squat under, or smash through so the trail was a welcome change. Consulting her smartphone, Rose determined that the ATV trail headed in a northerly direction, at least for now so Rose took that as a good sign and began to walk the trail. This was much quieter than when she was trailblazing through the woods although she was sure she was still being louder than she could be. Having the heavy pack on her back made being silent pretty difficult. However if anyone, infected or otherwise, were to come crashing through the woods toward her, Rose would hear them from way off, now that she wasn’t doing the same. If they came for her, she’d be ready.
The night was only partially clear. Rose could see the moon overhead and a few bright stars, but cloud cover was starting to drift in. The night was also very quiet; there were hardly any animal sounds. Rose would hear the occasional cricket and once she heard an owl far off, but otherwise, all she could hear was her breathing and the crunch of stones and gravel beneath her feet as she walked. The silence quickly became the only thing she could think about. Rose’s mind started to drift off in strange directions as her imagination began to generate thoughts about what might be lurking outside the beam of her flashlight shining out in front of her. As fear began to slowly creep into her mind replacing the adrenaline bursts she’d felt for days now, Rose began to wonder if making the trek in the dark through the woods of northern Maine might not have been the
best idea. Rose hadn’t even considered that there might be other dangers waiting for her out here besides infected people. Bears mainly, but also coyotes and maybe wolves. If they were desperate enough, they might attack her. But animals aside, what about steep declines or even just a divot in the ground? If Rose caught her foot in a hole and twisted her ankle, broke her leg or anything, how could she possibly get herself to safety then? Surely there wouldn’t be anyone that would stumble upon her; no hunters or hikers that might come to her aid if she called for help. In fact, calling for help would more likely bring her death rather than her salvation.
Rose’s mind was racing now and her pace had markedly picked up. Rose was now power-walking down the path where she’d been hiking at a steady rate before conserving her energy. Rose’s flashlight was waving back and forth across the trail as she moved faster making it more difficult to pick up obstacles in her path. But as Rose neared a bend in the trail, she heard a sound that stopped her dead in her tracks. A scream echoed in the distance shattering the silence Rose had been experiencing for the last hour or so. The scream was a woman and was very far off in the distance behind her, but since it’d been so quiet before, it was jarring to hear it. Rose knew that scream too. She’d heard it many times in her home and she’d heard it several times since. It was an infected person. While Rose was still musing about the first scream, it was answered by another scream, a man, far off as well and coming from a different direction, but also an infected. Could the infected be communicating with each other? Were they hunting? Could they be coordinating their hunting? Maybe their brains weren’t as deteriorated as the CDC had originally thought? Rose was sure she didn’t want to find out the answers to these questions first-hand. She quickly consulted her smartphone, confirming she was still headed north, and continued on.
The fear that had slipped over Rose’s mind like a heavy blanket had been ripped away, replaced by yet another burst of adrenaline. Rose knew she needed to get north as soon as possible, but carefully. One wrong move and she was stranded. Rose drew in a long deep breath through her nose and slowly released it out her mouth regaining her focus. Holding the flashlight steady, Rose pressed on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hour after hour passed in the darkness of night as Rose continued her hike. The crunching of her feet and the breath from her mouth were still the only sounds around her punctuated by the occasional scream from an infected in the distance. All the screams were coming from behind her, never from the direction she was headed and that seemed to be a good thing. Some seemed closer while others seemed to be very far off.
The lack of animal sounds seemed less strange to her now as well. The animals seemed to recognize the danger the infected presented as much as Rose did and were probably hiding in their shelters waiting for the tide of death to pass. This was very much Rose’s plan once she made it north, and that comforted Rose she was making the right decision.
About an hour and a half from the border, the trail Rose had been following merged with a very wide corridor of meadow that had high-tension power lines running along it. Checking her phone, Rose confirmed that this set of power lines headed straight for Estcourt Station. She was getting close. It’d taken Rose longer then she’d originally thought to make the hike north. Having to contend with trails and woods had slowed her down. While the sun hadn’t risen yet, it was light enough that Rose could see the power lines extended to both the northern and southern horizons. In an effort to conserve power, Rose turned off her flashlight and continued the walk north under the power lines. This last section of the trek was even easier than the trail, and Rose felt like she’d make up some time. As it got brighter and brighter, the distant screams Rose heard trailed off. Once the sun had started to rise, she didn’t hear another.
Rose couldn't tell from her surroundings, but by routinely checking her phone, she knew she was getting very close to Estcourt Station. Rose had always approached this border crossing from the road and had never lingered. Other than the crossing itself, she was completely unfamiliar with its surroundings. After a short time, Rose came upon a metal gate which appeared to signify the end of the corridor. The high-tension wires went into what looked like a transformer building and didn’t continue north, likely meaning they continued underground. Climbing over the gate, Rose scanned her surroundings. To her right, there was the transformer building with an access road. In front of her and to her left was a large meadow that continued until it was met by dense forest again several hundred yards beyond her. Rose weighed the prospect of continuing on in the woods as she’d done before versus taking the access road, and considering it was now light out, Rose opted for the road.
Rose moved quickly over to the road and walked on the shoulder near the woodline in case she needed to be off the road in a hurry. Rose pulled back the bolt on her AR-15 slightly confirming there was still a round in the chamber. The access road was dirt and was maybe a mile at the most, which slowly snaked through dense woods and ended at a paved road. Rose recognized the paved road as the only main road in the area and the one that would take her to Estcourt Station. AR-15 at the ready and constantly scanning the area, Rose made her way down the road. Rose was only about half a mile from the border, but she couldn't see any activity at all. There were a few houses on the road, almost like the outskirts of a country town, but all seemed abandoned and there didn’t appear to be any movement. It was also deathly quiet in the early morning hours. Some dead leaves being blown by the wind were the only things moving or making any kind of sound at all. There was a small gas station a short distance from the border and when Rose came to it, appeared to be as abandoned as the rest of the small town. The building didn’t appear to be destroyed or damaged in any way, just closed. Judging from the build-up of leaves against the front of the building, it’d been that way for at least some time.
Rose’s attention was then drawn from the gas station to a large structure dominating the roadway just down the road, a structure that hadn’t been there last time Rose had been through the area. Rose was taken aback, stopping and gaping at what used to be Estcourt Station. What had previously been no more than a guard shack on the border of the US and Canada was a large, two story metal structure. The structure was much wider than the two-lane road that led right into the center of it by four or five times. Rose was a little ashamed she hadn’t noticed it sooner and swore under her breath.
Rose moved slowly as she approached the fortress. She realized, the closer she got, it didn’t appear as permanent as it had appeared from a distance. The structure appeared to have been built quickly and by the looks of it, had been expanded at least twice as there were sections that were newer than others. The walls were all made of steel beams and several layers of corrugated sheet metal which was showing patches of rust-or blood. In the middle of the main road and on either side were numerous big metal welded star-shaped obstructions that looked more like something she’d have seen on the beaches of Normandy Beach during World War II. There were also other metal spike configurations littered around that were smaller in size which created a semi-maze of obstacles. Rose couldn't help but notice the presence of at least fifteen or twenty dead bodies, most on the ground but a few were tangled in the metal obstacles. As Rose crept closer, she could tell that they were in different stages of decay. Some had been there for days or weeks while others seemed more fresh. All, however, appeared to have been shot multiple times, usually in the head and chest.
Based on the fortifications and the high-center-of-mass shooting style, Rose was fairly confident that this was a military base and not just a band of survivors. This could be her best shot yet at survival. “If the military was holed up here, I might be able to ride out this infection until I could make my way back home,” Rose thought to herself, feeling her pulse quicken with excitement. Rose decided that it was probably better to make herself known rather than being discovered. Slinging her AR-15 around the back of her shoulder next to her backpack, she raised her hands ab
ove her head. “Hello in there! Hey! Anyone home?” Rose yelled up at the walls.
Rose immediately could hear movement and shouts from inside and saw a head look over the top of the wall down at her before disappearing again. A few seconds later, several more heads appeared accompanied by guns, their muzzles trained in her direction. All the heads were wearing green camouflage helmets.
“Hey there...can you guys let me in?” Rose said, standing still and keeping her hands above her head.
“Stay there! Don’t move! Don’t move any closer!” a younger male voice yelled from the other side of the wall.
Rose stood very still, not moving at all and keeping her hands above her head. What followed was a long and protracted silence. Time seemed to drag. Rose felt like she’d been standing there for an hour, but it was probably more like only four or five minutes. The soldiers on the wall and their guns didn’t move either, as if under the same orders, guns fixed on Rose the whole time.
Finally Rose heard a loud creaking and a groan of metal on metal. A section of wall that Rose hadn’t realized was a door began to slowly swing open. As the door opened, four men dressed in green camouflage wearing green camouflage helmets armed with AR-15 rifles exited through the opening door in a loose diamond-shaped formation. In the middle of the diamond was another man, dressed in the same green camouflage as the others but without a helmet and carrying a pistol instead of a rifle. Rose figured this man was probably an officer, and this was confirmed when the four helmeted men surrounded Rose at a distance, guns leveled at her. The man without a helmet broke into a jog as he got close to Rose and then finally a walk as he entered the circle created by his men.
Jordan Rose Duology (Book 1): Break Away Page 11
