The Infected Series

by L. J. Cuff

  Ben stood still, taking in a deep breath.

  “Move it!” The man behind shouted.

  Ben and James glanced at each other then began running down the field towards the windbreak. The sound of gunshots filled the air. Ben looked over his shoulder, noticing that Paul was holding up the guns to stop them from firing.

  The moment they reached the windbreak, James looked over at Ben then back at Paul’s people who were running towards them.

  “Now what?” James asked, still looking terrified.

  Ben held up his finger to his mouth and pointed up at the trees. James nodded and grabbed a branch.

  “You fuckers! You can’t hide from u-,” Paul shouted when suddenly he heard grunting coming from his right. He turned just in time to see one of his people dropped to the ground and dragged away. He looked up at Ben and James then back at his other people. “They’re just messing with us. These are their own people!” He shouted. He pointed towards the houses on the other road. “Torch those houses! Kill everyone until you find them!”

  Suddenly, Paul was thrown to the ground. An infected stood over him, smiling at him as it licked its lips. It lifted a rock high into the air. A bullet ripped through the air. The infected slowly leaned forward before toppling over.

  “Are you ok, sir?” The commander asked, helping Paul from the ground.

  Paul nodded and brushed off the soil. He looked around at the field then at Ben and James.

  “Get everyone back to the Humvees. Shoot to kill.” Paul ordered, he glared one final time at Ben and James then walked back through the field.

  “Fall back!” The commander declared before following Paul.

  Colin watched them all leave and breathed a sigh of relief. It was very short lived. An infected pounced on him, holding him on the ground as it pulled something from the pocket of its torn shorts. It smiled, licked its lips, lifted the rock and pummeled Colin’s skull open.

  Ben and James jumped down from their respective trees. They looked at one another then James turned and ran towards Ben’s home which was the closest building. Ben watched him go then turned his attention to his two friends that were still in the field. He saw the fear written in both Xavier and Owen’s faces. The fields around them began moving differently from the wind.

  “HEY! HEY! I’m over here! A free juicy meal!” Ben shouted, reaching for a branch and breaking it off. He began hitting the trunk of the tree as hard as he could. The infected stood up from all fours and looked over at him. “Yeah! That’s right! I’m over here!” Ben continued, yelling at the top of his lungs.

  Xavier and Owen moved slowly to their left to another windbreak that would give the infected much needed space. The infected looked at one another then over at Ben.

  Suddenly, one stood up only a few feet from Ben. It glanced over its shoulder at the others then back at him. It grunted once, holding up its hand. It limped towards Ben, who was now carefully backing up.

  The infected’s hand dropped and the others began racing at Ben, first on two legs then down onto four. Ben turned back to his home, he saw people holding lights walking through the field towards him. He heard footsteps directly behind him. He looked over his shoulder just in time to see the first infected leaping into the air towards him.

  “Duck!” Claire shouted, cocking her gun.

  Ben dropped to the ground, covering his head as the first shot was fired. Claire moved forward, keeping the gun aimed in Ben’s direction.

  “Don’t worry, we have you covered,” Claire stated calmly as she walked.

  Ben stayed on the ground until he saw Claire standing next to him. She said over her shoulder, “Get up and start walking towards the house. They won’t follow if they think we have them outnumbered.”

  Ben did exactly as he was told. Claire listened to him walk away then she began backing away, keeping her eyes in front.

  Suddenly, out of the darkness, an infected pounced on her. She was thrown to the ground. She quickly threw the infected off then sat up. In the dark, she saw a glimmer of once familiar eyes. The infected pounced on her again and growled in her face then stopped.

  “Ted?” She asked, holding up her hand to touch his shoulder.

  Ted got off of her and grunted in her direction.

  “Ted… It’s me, Claire,” She said, holding out her hand to him.

  Ted stood up and grunted over his shoulder. The former alpha and Diane stood up in the fields. They watched Ted for further orders but he merely stood, staring at Claire.

  “Claire?” Ben called out.

  Claire spun around to see Ben and two others holding guns aimed squarely at Ted and the others.

  “Yes,” She responded, nodding at Ben. She stepped towards him, keeping her eyes on Ted.

  Ted growled at her after each step she took. She looked from Ben to Ted continually, smiling at him the entire time, holding up her hand to calm him. Ted limped after her but stopped when Ben cocked his rifle.

  Claire backed away from Ted until she was close to Ben. Ben and the others began taking steps back with Claire, allowing Ted and the infected to limp forward after them.

  Suddenly, Ted and the infected knelt down below the crops.

  “Oh shit!” Ben yelled. “Start running!” He shouted causing everyone to turn around and run towards his home.

  Suddenly, James, running to Ben’s right, fell below the crops. Ben turned to him but he was no longer in his original spot. He shouted from the bottom of the crops for help, close to Claire.

  Claire ran towards him, but stopped the moment Ted stood in front of her. He sniffed the air while staring at her.

  “Get out of the way!” Ben shouted, he had his gun aimed at the former alpha who was standing over James.

  James screamed for help as Diane sat down on his hands. The former alpha removed James’ shirt and pulled out a small rock from a small pocket in his torn shirt. He held it up high in the moonlight allowing Claire to get a glimpse of it.

  “No! Don’t!” She shouted, seeing the former alpha take the small rock that she could now see was very sharp and brought it down to James’ stomach.

  “Get down!” Ben shouted, running towards Claire. He jumped on her, dropping her to the ground just as James’ bloodcurdling screams neared their fever pitch. Ted looked up at the others holding their guns and dropped to the ground, out of their aim.

  Claire covered her mouth as she saw what the former alpha had done. Diane and it were pulling out James’ intestines. She cried bitterly, seeing that James was still breathing even though Diane and the former alpha had choked his mouth with leaves. Mary fired the first shot, aiming at James’ forehead.

  Diane and the former alpha glared at Mary and the others. They quickly stood and grunted in their direction. Mary looked around at the field and noticed more movement coming from all directions. She turned around and began running along with everyone else.

  Claire was still next to Ted, looking at him. Suddenly, his eyes changed from recognition to the same glassy appearance as all infected. She quickly stood up holding up her hand. He growled in her direction. She watched to her left as the other infected began cutting off her escape route.

  “Ted? Ted! It’s me! Ted?” she cried frantically, but Ted bowed his head down in predator mode.

  “Oh shit!” Claire yelled before she began running. She heard the crops moving around her as she ran. “Please! Shoot them!” She shouted but the others were too far to hear her.

  Ted pounced on her and held her down as she continued squirming, screaming for help. For one brief, fleeting moment, Ted’s eyes changed again to recognition. Claire quickly stood up and ran away. Ted looked at the other infected who were watching him for orders but he didn’t give any. He let Claire run then turned to James’ lifeless body and grunted at it.

  The former alpha whimpered with annoyance then growled loudly. Ted jumped on it, forcing it to the ground, allowing his saliva to drip onto its face. The former alpha cast his eyes downward and his fa
ce to the side. Ted gradually climbed off and grunted towards the windbreak.

  ***

  “What are they doing?” Kelly asked, watching out the window at the spectacle of Ted and the former alpha.

  “Obeying their alpha.” Mary responded.

  Kelly shook her head. “I’ve never seen that before.”

  “That’s because not all infected are in a pack. Many of them are just individuals or groups without a leader,” Mary stated, nodding her head towards Ted. “The groups that have them are much more dangerous than the ones without.”

  “Why? Can’t you just kill them and the rest become like headless chickens?” Ben asked.

  Mary slowly shook her head. “Not from what I’ve seen. They are willing to die for their alphas and if you somehow manage to kill one, they will swarm you for revenge. It will no longer matter to them if you have a weapon.” She turned away from the window.

  “Is it just me or are there even more shadows then before out there?” Kelly asked, turning to Ben.

  Ben didn’t answer her question, he was silently counting all the moving bodies he could see. He stopped when he finished and took in a deep breath. He turned to Kelly then looked back at the ten people that were currently in his living room. Most of them were sitting quietly cleaning their guns while the doctor took care of Dennis.

  He looked back to the field where all appeared calm again.

  “Maybe they’ve all gone away?” Kelly whispered in his direction.

  Ben shook his head. “Doubtful… They never just go away after they’ve noticed we’re here…”

  Kelly raised her eyebrow, watching Ben closely. “So I guess you’ll just relocate them like the others?” She asked, her voice cracking as she saw Ben’s expression harden.

  He took in a deep breath and leaned in close to her. “We did that at first, we really did but they kept finding their way back here and in greater numbers so we decided that it was best to just take out the first one and then the others wouldn’t come.” He responded, carefully watching the field around.

  Kelly gasped. “But… But… They’re just sick… They’re not-,” She stuttered, no longer keeping her voice down.

  Mary pulled her away from the window and looked her in the eyes. “I know you want to believe that there is somehow some level of humanity left in them, that they are just sick individuals that some scientist will eventually cure but there isn’t. The ones I’ve met who used ‘the cure’ were either cannibals, descending further into madness, or they slowly become an alpha which makes them even more dangerous than the regular ones. Either way, it never ends well. Unless you can help the person right after they’re bitten then it’s too late,” She stated, holding Kelly’s shoulders in her hands.

  Tears welled up into Kelly’s eyes. She looked down at the ground then over at Ben. He glanced over his shoulder with an apologetic look then returned his gaze to the fields. He was unable to see Ted and the other infected, which was unnerving him.

  Kelly slumped to the floor. “So… My sister…” She began slowly, “My sister is no longer with us at all…” She cried, her tears creating dark spots on her pants.

  Mary touched her shoulder and said nothing.

  Suddenly, Ben noticed a shrub moving to his left. It was mere feet away. He leaned forward against the window to get a better look when his view became obstructed by a set of bare feet that came from his right. He tilted his head up and saw scars running up the pair of legs peeking through the torn pants.

  Mary noticed the feet and immediately grabbed Kelly’s arm and pulled her away from the wall. Kelly pulled back and said, “Please leave me alone.”

  “We don’t have time for this,” Mary reasoned, holding tightly to her arm and pulling her towards the center of the room. Everyone holding a gun, readied it and stood up.

  Ben turned around, holding his finger to his mouth to silence everyone.

  The room fell quiet. The sound of shattered glass and broken boards filled the air then footsteps. Everyone watched the ceiling as the infected took over the first floor of the house.

  A blood curdling scream from above came filtering through, feeding to the anxiety already felt. Mary and Claire looked at one another, they knew who had done it. Ben pursed his lips and took in a deep breath. He watched out the window but could no longer see any movement.

  “That’s ten,” Xavier whispered, referring to the number of different footsteps he’d heard.

  Ben nodded slowly then looked out the window. Owen stepped over to his right. “There’s something you’re not saying,” He said under his breath.

  Ben glanced over his shoulder and saw the look of terror written over everyone’s faces then at Owen. “I counted twenty of them out there and I’m pretty sure there’s more,” He said in a barely audible whisper. “If we make it through tonight, we won’t make it through tomorrow.”

  The radio crackled and a voice came over loud and clear, “Ben? Are you there?”

  Ben looked over to it then back at the window. He made his way to the middle of the room and responded, “We’re here.”

  A loud crash could be heard from the upstairs then a lot of scratching sounds.

  “What are they doing up there?” Owen asked, looking up at the ceiling while stepping back.

  “They’re trying to dig through,” Mary responded, lining herself up with a wall.

  “What’s going on over there? We see over twenty circling you,” The voice over the radio stated.

  Ben took in a deep breath and looked around the room. He pressed the button on the radio to respond. “We… We’ve got it covered,” He responded, pursing his lips together.

  “We can try picking them off… We have a clear shot of the couple that are standing guard.”

  “Are you able to see all of the ones outside?”

  “No, many of them are hiding behind shrubs and in the fields. But if we shoot them, they should come out.”

  “The moment you kill one or two, they will move against you. They most probably are looking at the other houses but don’t know you’re in there.” Ben responded, shaking his head. “No, I can’t ask you to put your lives in danger for something that probably won’t work. Save yourselves, we’ll meet you if we get out of this.”

  “We’re not leaving you.”

  Mary looked around the room, everyone held their guns tightly but at the same time she could see tears forming in their eyes.

  “It’s a pity we don’t have Paul’s truck,” Mary whispered over to Claire, interrupting the momentary silence.

  Xavier paused and looked over at Mary. “You want to ram it into the house?” He asked, his eyebrow raised.

  Mary shook her head.

  “Hold on a moment,” Ben said into the radio then he turned to Mary. “What’s the idea with the truck?” He asked.

  “Well, that truck has some flashing lights on it that attracts infected to it.” Mary responded.

  “Wait so if someone turned those on, then they could-,” Xavier began.

  “Drive away while the infected follow it behind.” Ben continued.

  “Yes, but there is one small catch,” Mary warned, “Infected aren’t the only ones attracted to it so everyone would have to be looking away from it.”

  Ben nodded then spoke into the radio. “I think we have a solution…”

  ***

  The lights from outside were blinding as the truck roared past the little house. Ben watched with amazement at the legs walking past the window to follow. He breathed a sigh of relief and looked around the room.

  Owen was the first to let out a cheer followed by Xavier then the rest. But the moment the cheers died down, Ben heard what he thought were limping footsteps coming from upstairs. They seemed to be muted, almost as if someone didn’t want them to know they were there. He looked out the window but couldn’t see anyone.

  He put his finger up to his lips and held up his hand for everyone to be extremely quiet and listened. He heard the wind blowing i
nto the building. His eyes met Xavier’s.

  “What’s wrong?” Xavier asked, his voice hushed.

  “I think there’s still an infected up there,” Ben whispered back.

  Claire lifted her gun and nodded to the door. “Let me go first and the rest follow.”

  “There were ten of them before the lights, there might still be that many up there,” Ben pointed out.

  Claire nodded and responded, “That’s fine. We brought the trouble here, we will do whatever it takes to stop it.” Mary nodded her head in agreement and pulled her knife from her boot.

  “What are you going to do with that?” Owen asked, “Guns are more effective.”

  Mary shrugged and smiled. “Guns may be quicker but this is quieter… And I’ve done more with this then with a gun.” She stated confidently. “And don’t worry, we can handle those that are left.”

  Ben nodded in agreement then pointed down at Dennis. “What about him?” He asked.

  “Cover him in a blanket and hide him in a closet?” Mary asked, her eyebrow raised.

  Ben slowly looked around the room, making eye contact with everyone sitting there. He looked back at Claire and said, “Thank you.”

  Claire nodded and swiftly walked to the door. Mary joined her and the two stepped outside.

  The brisk night air filled Mary’s nostrils. She couldn’t help but momentarily close her eyes as she took in all the sounds. She remembered the joy she used to feel sitting on her porch swing watching the birds fly overhead.

  Suddenly, Mary felt a jolt to her right shoulder making her break out of her walk through memory lane. She turned to see Claire holding her finger over her mouth, pointing to the upper window. She could see movement that was almost like the wind but not quite. She motioned to Claire that she would make a break for it. Claire nodded in agreement and Mary ran away.

  Once she had a few feet in between her and the house, Mary raised her hands above her head and shouted, “Hey!! What’re you guys doing in there?!”