Viral Misery (Book 1)

by Watson, Thomas A

  After an hour of loading, the trailers were full. Never taking the sling holding Nicole off, Arthur helped strap the loads down. When they were finished, Arthur turned to Shawn. “This time, you lead us home,” Arthur said and the color drained from Shawn’s face. “Shawn, you have to know how to get home without me leading.”

  Slowly, Shawn started to nod. “Okay, but if you see me making a wrong turn, please call out because I can’t back up that long trailer.”

  Reaching over and squeezing Shawn’s shoulder, “We will practice that later, now let’s get home,” Arthur said with a grin.

  After loading the dogs up, Arthur saw Robin lying in the cargo area sound asleep, naked. “Don’t wake her up,” Arthur told the dogs, then closed the cargo door.

  It took Shawn longer to lead them home because he drove slower, but he never made a wrong turn. Stopping at Jack’s barn, Pat and Kirk jumped out and ran for the forklift and track steer. Taking the straps off his trailer, Arthur stepped back as the boys headed over and started unloading the trailers.

  Helping the others undo the straps on Shawn’s trailer, Arthur turned back and saw Pat taking the last load off his trailer. Stepping back as Kirk drove over, Arthur patted Nicole and watched Kirk lift the first pallet off Shawn’s trailer.

  When both trailers were empty, they gathered up the straps and loaded back up. Pulling over to the fuel tanks beside the barn, they filled the trucks up. It was just after one when Arthur led them out of the valley, heading to Russellville.

  It was after 2 p.m. when Arthur led them into Russellville and stopped at another large box chain home improvement store. After pulling the trucks inside, Arthur didn’t have to tell anyone what to do. Pat and Kirk took off with the dogs and found the forklifts and were soon dropping off empty pallets around the store.

  As Arthur, Shawn, and Vicki loaded the pallets, Pat and Kirk started loading the trailers. Unlike last time, Arthur stopped them before the trailers were completely loaded. Loading up several pallets of plastic storage bins, Arthur let the boys load them up on the trailers and then strapped the loads down.

  Pulling out of the store and closing it up, Arthur headed back to the Suburban and stopped. Off to the east he heard gunfire and then turned to hear more shots off to the west. “Don’t shoot at me and I won’t shoot at you,” Arthur mumbled, patting Nicole in her sling.

  Climbing back into the Suburban, Arthur pulled out on the road weaving around a few stopped cars. Having shopped in Russellville since he’d moved into the area, Arthur turned off the main roadway he was on and took side streets as he headed east.

  Driving through the neighborhoods, Arthur had to weave around a wreck. He slowed and looked at the small car that had plowed into a parked truck and saw bullet holes along the car. The door was open and there wasn’t a body inside, but Arthur glanced around as he drove off.

  Rounding a curve, Arthur took his foot off the gas at seeing a figure ahead in the middle of his lane, pushing a grocery cart. As the Suburban slowed, Jim called out. “Man at twelve o’clock.”

  “Good eye, keep an eye out in case he has friends,” Arthur said as the man stopped and looked back at the vehicles coming toward him. Grabbing his grocery cart, the man pushed it into the opposite lane. Getting closer, Arthur saw a pistol at the man’s hip and what looked like a AK resting on the seat of the cart.

  Pulling his pistol out and holding it low, “Kids, get down,” Arthur said, reaching over to roll down his window and slowed. The man took a step back, almost touching the opposite curb and raised his hands up, watching the Suburban slow to a stop in front of him.

  “Afternoon,” Arthur called out, tilting his head but not taking his eyes off the man. At one time, the man had been younger than Arthur, but had aged decades over the last weeks.

  Tilting his head to Arthur, “Afternoon,” the man said and stifled a cough. Looking at the man, Arthur saw the man’s nose was very red; almost shining.

  “Not my business, but you should stay off the roads,” Arthur told the man.

  “Can’t drive,” the man said, then turned and coughed violently for several seconds. Spitting out a bloody mouthful, the man rasped, “Tried that a few days ago and wrecked when a coughing fit hit me.”

  “Just saying, we’ve seen several moving around and shooting,” Arthur said, gripping the pistol tight and aiming through the door at the man. Then it dawned on Arthur, the man had been coughing for days and concluded he was fighting off Rudolph.

  “You had Rudolph?” the man asked, taking a step back and raising his hands back up.

  Shaking his head, “Not all of us yet,” Arthur lied.

  “Then stay back,” the man wheezed. “You’re right about groups moving around, though. Saw a group pull a woman out of her house yesterday, but they took off before I could help. Seen you with kids at that store, so knew you weren’t a threat if I wasn’t.”

  Glancing at the cart quickly, Arthur moved his eyes back to the man. “You take care of you and yours and drink lots of fluids,” Arthur said, impressed with the man’s reasoning.

  “Thank ya,” the man smiled with bloody teeth. “Stay away from the interstate. That’s where a group of kids hang out, chasing any that they see. You have kids and they won’t care.”

  “You do the same,” Arthur replied with a slight nod. “Please don’t grab for a weapon until we are out of sight because the kids behind me shoot first and ask questions later.”

  The man doubled over in a coughing fit and to the west, Arthur heard the sound of engines. As the man stopped coughing, Arthur barely heard the squeal of tires. “That would be them,” the man panted and then spit a glob of blood on the blacktop. “You need to get those kids under cover.”

  “Will do and you do the same,” Arthur said and the man shrugged.

  “I’ll be dead in a day,” he answered. “I’ve watched too many die after they started coughing up blood.”

  “You’re still alive now, and I haven’t heard of many making it a day or two and you have to drink fluids,” Arthur told him and the man just nodded. Pulling away, Arthur watched the man in the mirror as Shawn drove past. When Shawn was passed, the man grabbed the shopping cart and steered it back to the proper lane and continued on.

  Only when he’d rounded a curve did Arthur take his eyes off the mirror. “He’s got Rudolph,” Vicki said in a small voice from the backseat.

  “Yes, he does,” Arthur said, knowing they had all been exposed long before now. “I want both of you to notice how neither Donald nor Daisy growled at the man. They knew he posed no danger.”

  “They were both looking out the window at him,” Vicki noted, looking around at the houses.

  “Yes, just in case he became a threat. That’s what you do. Keep ready and if someone poses a threat, pull the trigger until they go down,” Arthur instructed, driving across a major road and back into a subdivision.

  “I saw a car to our three o’clock when we drove over that road,” Jim said, glancing over at Arthur.

  Looking over at Jim, “Which way were they heading?” Arthur asked and Jim pointed north, the same way they were going. Thinking for a second, Arthur turned right at the next street and stayed in the subdivision. Rolling down his window, Arthur heard the high-pitched whine of engines off to the east getting fainter.

  “I heard engines,” Shawn said over the radio.

  Letting the pistol rest in his lap, Arthur lifted the radio up and pressed the transmit key. “I heard ‘em,” Arthur called out. “That’s why we are taking back roads.”

  A few minutes passed, then Shawn came back over the radio. “Think we should head home?”

  “Not unless we are attacked. Guys, it is going to take us weeks to pull in all the stuff we need to fortify our place. The longer we wait, those that aren’t sick will start to group together,” Arthur said over the radio and to those in the Suburban with him.

  “Like the man who said I had a kitty cat,” Vicki said and Arthur felt his blood pressure ris
e, just thinking about the man.

  “Yes, he wasn’t sick but wanted to hurt you,” Arthur replied in a tense voice and then lifted the radio. “Shawn, just keep your eyes peeled and let’s get this done.”

  “Copy,” Shawn answered and Arthur set the radio on the center divider, seeing a large road ahead they were going to cross. Barely slowing, Arthur looked each way as he crossed over the road and back into another subdivision.

  Driving slow with the window down so he could hear, Arthur kept looking around as the houses slowly gave away to an industrial park. Pulling onto a main road, Arthur rolled up his window as he sped up.

  Turning off onto another big road, Arthur looked over at a large bookstore. “Might need to visit you,” he mumbled, driving past. Passing vacant lots, Arthur looked ahead and saw the red and white sign of their destination; a large agriculture supply store.

  Pulling into the parking lot, Arthur pulled to the gate of a fenced-off area on the side of the store where equipment was stored outside. Putting the Suburban in park, Arthur climbed out. Leaving his door open, Arthur trotted to the back and opened the cargo door. Grabbing massive bolt cutters, “Donald, Daisy,” Arthur said and the dogs jumped out.

  Pulling on the cargo door, Arthur trotted off as the door slowly closed automatically. Reaching the gate, Arthur cut the lock and pulled the chain out before dropping it on the ground. Grabbing the gate, he glanced at the bicycle chain at the bottom that electronically rolled the gate open, but Arthur just forced it open.

  When the gate was open, Arthur moved around and cut the bicycle chain, then ran back to the Suburban. Nicole opened her eyes up as Arthur climbed in and drove inside the fence while leaving his door open. Glancing in the rearview mirror, Arthur stopped when he saw Shawn’s trailer was inside the fence.

  Putting the truck in park, Arthur jumped out and jogged back to the gate. With the bicycle chain cut off, Arthur didn’t have to fight the dead motor this time and the gate easily rolled shut. Picking the chain up off the ground, Arthur fed it through the gate and fence so it looked like it was still locked.

  With all the banners on the gate, nobody could see through it and with all the stuff stacked along the fence, no one could see them from the side. Glancing around, Arthur thought the tops of the vehicles could be seen in a few places over the fence but that was it.

  Patting Nicole in the sling, Arthur walked back as Shawn stepped out, holding his AR. Putting the loop of the sling over his head, Shawn let the AR hang down as he helped Beth out. “We are checking the building before letting the little ones in, right?” Shawn asked, turning to the west and hearing engines in the distance that seemed to be racing.

  “Yeah, you stay here. My rug rats are still in the Suburban,” Arthur said, patting Beth on the head.

  Walking back to the Suburban, Arthur grabbed the back-hatch handle and stepped back as the door opened up. Putting the bolt cutters back, Arthur grabbed the mini jaws and headed for a side door. Holding Beth’s hand with his left, Shawn gripped the AR and then heard the whine of the mini jaws and grinned, looking over just as the pedestrian door popped open.

  “That thing has to be illegal in every state,” Shawn chuckled as Arthur let Donald and Daisy inside. Putting down the mini jaws, Arthur followed them inside. A few minutes later, a rolling door beside the pedestrian door rattled as Arthur opened it, making Shawn glance around in alarm.

  Realizing he couldn’t see out of the fence, Shawn concentrated on his hearing as Arthur walked over. “Let it air out for a second,” Arthur said, walking over. “A few died inside and have been shut inside for a few days. Don’t think my place of work would be my primary spot to go and die.”

  “Does it have skylights?” Shawn asked, following Arthur to the Suburban.

  “Not really,” Arthur said, pulling a stroller out of the back. “We’ll have to use the lights.”

  Shawn watched as Arthur unfolded the dual seat stroller. Smiling, Arthur pushed the stroller up to the back door as Jodi opened it up. Taking Pam, Arthur put her in the front seat and buckled her in. Reaching back, Arthur took Lucas as everyone climbed out of the Suburban holding their flashlights. “Who has front door duty first?” Arthur asked, looking around.

  Holding up his hand, “I’m taking it first,” Kirk answered.

  “Follow me,” Arthur said, leading them inside and they found the dogs waiting. Everyone jerked and covered their noses as they walked inside, getting hit with the pungent odor of rotting flesh.

  “There are the bins. Everyone grab one and older ones assist the younger group before starting on your own,” Arthur said, pointing.

  Kirk followed as Arthur led him to the front of the store pushing the stroller. Letting the stroller go, Arthur moved to the door and unlocked it. Pushing the doors apart, Arthur stopped when he had a foot-wide gap. Feeling the air rush in, Arthur turned to Kirk.

  “Remember to listen as well as watch, and stand back from the window,” Arthur told him, walking back to the stroller. “Anything at all, you call me,” Arthur said, grabbing the stroller and moved back into the store.

  Pushing a shopping cart, Shawn moved along with Beth and picked out clothes for her. Coming to shoes, Shawn stopped and sat Beth down. Taking off her shoes, Shawn moved over and grabbed some boots as Vicki forced a naked Robin to stay in the shopping cart.

  When Vicki had stopped, Robin had tried to climb out but Vicki grabbed her and pulled her out of the cart. When Robin saw racks of clothes, she let out distressed cry and tried to climb back into the shopping cart. Hearing the battle with Robin as he tried boots on Beth, Shawn shook his head. “Glad I got my sister,” he mumbled.

  Finding a pair of small cowboy boots that fit Beth, Shawn looked over to see Vicki sitting on Robin’s back, holding Robin’s legs up while Jodi brought over shoes. “That girl really doesn’t like clothes,” he chuckled and Beth grinned as Shawn put the boots in the bin.

  Reluctantly, Arthur came over and helped dress Robin in jeans and a shirt, even putting pink cowboy boots on Robin as she tried to kick her feet.

  “Arthur, I hear a car coming,” Kirk called over the radio in a panic.

  Standing up and gripping his AR, Shawn saw Arthur pushing the stroller back to the front of the store. “Vicki, hold the others here and let me check out where Arthur wants us,” Shawn said and Jodi came over to grab Beth as Vicki let Robin up.

  Feeling tension from the group, Robin stopped fighting and clutched Vicki as Jim and Pat came to them, pushing shopping carts. Trotting to the front of the store, Shawn slowed to see Arthur open the doors wider. Even as he ran toward the front, Shawn heard the whine of an engine getting closer.

  Skidding to a stop behind Arthur, Shawn watched Arthur take the sling holding Nicole off. “Shawn, take her and move to the side of the windows,” Arthur said. “The dogs are guarding the side doors so if we have to leave fast, you call them to load up in your ride.”

  Taking the sling, Shawn put it over his head and looked down to see Nicole sleeping peacefully. Wanting to leave, Shawn did what he was told, moving to the side and Kirk joined him. Watching Arthur step through the small opening, Shawn gripped his AR as Arthur checked his pistol and AR and then moved behind one of the columns that supported the overhanging roof at the front.

  Putting his back against the concrete column, Arthur turned to the west where the noise of the engine was coming from. Hearing the high-pitched whine, Arthur knew the engine was redlining. Glancing around the column to the parking lot, Arthur saw four cars, three pickup trucks with trailers, and a minivan.

  Pulling back behind the column, Arthur moved to the other side and glanced out, hearing the car getting closer. All of a sudden, a gray car screamed along the main road in front of the store and then the brakes locked up as the car turned and drove over the curb. The driver stomped the gas, throwing dirt up as the car sped over the grass before jumping off the curb and into the parking lot.

  Steam was pouring out from under the car as the engine whi
ned, but the car barely rolled toward the store. Finally, it seemed the car had just given up as the engine whined louder, but the car didn’t move. Arthur recognized the car as a Mitsubishi Lancer as all four doors opened.

  “That’s not the trucks we saw,” a teen-aged girl cried out, looking at the pickup trucks with trailers.

  “They have to be close,” the driver shouted, looking toward the road from the way they had just come. “They were carrying fencing stuff and their trailers weren’t full, so they have to be close because this store sells stuff like that.”

  Very impressed with the reasoning power, Arthur looked toward the driver and saw she was a young woman and noticed a boy not much older than Kirk get out of the back with a girl about the same age. “They can’t be far behind, we have to hide,” the boy said, closing his door and looking around.

  As the steam from the car turned thicker, Arthur realized it was smoke and then he saw the car was riddled with bullet holes. At first, he thought the kids were lucky and then noticed the bullet holes were all over the front of the car like someone had aimed only at the engine.

  When the oldest girl pulled a pistol from the back of her pants, Arthur gripped his AR tight and stepped around the column, giving Shawn and Kirk a heart attack inside the store. “Play nice,” Arthur said, stepping out and the four turned in shock.

  “Little lady, don’t raise your gun and I won’t raise mine because if I do, you’re dead because I’ll win,” Arthur said casually. The girl kept her pistol aimed at the ground as she turned, glancing west down the road she’d just driven off of.

  “You have to help us,” she cried out, turning back to Arthur. “These guys have been chasing us for the last few hours. Every time we think we’ve gotten away, they show up shooting at us and now my car won’t work.”

  Glancing at the car, Arthur moved his eyes back to the one holding the gun. “I suggest you move away from your car because that’s smoke coming out now,” Arthur informed her and the four moved to the front, getting behind the oldest girl that held the gun.