by Maxey, Phil
“But?” said Joel.
“Evan!” shouted Bill.
Evan immediately appeared from the hallway. “I’m just here…”
“Get your computer? He needs to see.”
“I need to see what?”
Evan ran down the hall, then down some wooden steps to which Joel presumed was the basement, then back up, and eventually reappeared in the living room with a laptop covered in stickers. He looked at his grandfather who nodded. Evan sat next to Joel, opening the laptop, and after a few mouse clicks, tilted the screen towards him.
“So, this is a map of the United States,” said Evan.
“Yeah, I can see that…”
“Okay, well when I still had access to the web, I recorded as much info as I could on the scourge, I mean outbreak… if that’s what you want to call it.”
“Okay…” Joel looked at the map of the United States, mostly covered in a red hue.
“What you’re looking at is how things ended up before I lost connection. But I’m now going to play the outbreak in reverse, slowly.”
Joel nodded. This strange lecture was beginning to be more interesting to him.
The red hue wavered and retreated from the far right and north of the country, across the central states, becoming a huddle of red sparks around New Mexico, Utah, Oregon, until, eventually, even that receded, just leaving a group of spots around northern California.
Joel looked closer. “That’s…”
“San Jose,” said Evan. He slid the pointer around some more, and the screen zoomed in even further.
“They all seem to be clustered around whatever that place is, looks like a compound?” said Joel.
Evan went to talk, but Jim beat him to it. “That’s the Copeland headquarters.”
CHAPTER SIX
Jess threw the faded small rubber ball at the wooden fence. It bounced once before Flint jumped high into the air grabbing it, then returned it to Jess, dropping it at her feet.
She frowned, picking it up gingerly due to all the saliva that had made it damp. “Eww.” She giggled, and went to throw it again, when the gate at the back of the yard clattered in the wind making her jump.
Both her and Flint looked at the gate. The dog walked up to it, seemingly expecting it to open.
Jess looked up at the sun, feeling the heat bearing down on her. Marina had told her to stay in the yard, and keep away from the tied up dog, but after Flint started to whimper she knew he wanted to play, and she untied the rope and let him roam the confined space.
He looked back at her and let out a small bark.
“No… I can’t let you out, I’ll get in trouble.”
He barked again, this time a bit louder.
She looked at the rope she had just untied.
Maybe I can make a leash.
She walked over to the five-foot piece of rope, picked it up and examined it. It was partly frayed, but when she pulled on it, it seemed pretty strong still. She looked back at the rear door of the hotel.
Just a small walk should be okay.
She quickly untied the other end from the fence, then walked over to Flint, and tied it best she could to his collar.
Taking one final glance back at the hotel, she pushed the latch up on the tall wooden gate and pulled it open.
In a burst of energy and strength she couldn’t believe, Flint sprinted forward into the empty alleyway, tearing the rope from her hand and burning her palm.
Momentarily forgetting the burning sensation, she screamed out after the dog, which was now almost at the end of the dank and squalid space. “Flint!”
She flinched looking at the redness on her hand, but walked outside, pulling the gate closed behind her, then took off running after the naughty dog.
“Flint!”
Running as fast as she could, she got to the end of the alley just as she saw the rope, which was trailing behind the dog, disappear around the corner of the small street which ran along the side of the hotel. She was already out of breath, but the idea of losing Joel’s dog wasn’t something she could contemplate.
Running across the street, she made it to the main street. It was completely empty, although she could hear voices from the upstairs’ rooms of the hotel. She looked up hoping she didn’t have an audience, but there was no one looking back. Guilt was already weighing on her. She couldn’t return without Flint.
Ignoring the red stains on the concrete in the middle of the road, she strained her eyes towards the steep hill, where they entered the town the night before. A plume of dust hung in the air.
Has to be where he went.
She took a last look at the hotel, then ran along the sidewalk, trying not to be distracted by the cool-looking wooden sculptures that resided in the shadows of one of the shops. After a short distance, she could see him in the distance, but the sight just depressed her even more, for he was now far away, and heading up a road which seemed to lead to wilderness.
“No, come back!”
A voice inside her started to shout for her to turn around, to get help, but her mother had been through so much already, she wasn’t going to add to her worry, just because she was stupid to let the dog out.
She ran, then stopped to catch her breath, then ran again, all the time the road became steeper. Her legs began to tire and she stopped, realizing she was on the edge of the town. She looked down into the valley, and to the other hills and mountains in the distance. She could see for at least fifty miles she thought.
How long have I been gone? Five minutes? Ten?
If Marina found her missing from the yard she would freak out. She had to find Flint fast.
She took a deep breath, then continued running up the hill, passing a dusty sign, which proudly announced. ‘Bellweather Gold Mine Tourist Center.’
As she got to the large single-story building which sat off to one side of the gravelly road, she stopped. Her lungs were burning more than her hand.
A distant bark made her whip around to face the hillside, which was just visible behind the building and trees.
“Flint!” she shouted. She then looked at the windows and front entrance of the visitor center. Maybe someone could help her.
She walked quickly towards it and peered through the glass doors. “Hello?” she shouted. Only shadows looked back at her from inside.
Shaking her head, she ran around the side of the building and along an overgrown path, which soon became sandy dirt, shrubs, and trees.
“Flint! Are you over here!”
Another bark.
She pushed on past the leaves and branches, then suddenly stopped as she stepped out into a large open area. In front of her was a hole in the side of the mountain, twice as high as she was tall. She had seen mines on TV before and knew this must have been where the miners entered. All around her sat twisted pieces of russet-colored machinery, and a reasonably flat path traveled from where she was into the darkness of the mine entrance.
She walked forward, looking warily at the woods and hills around her.
I was so stupid. Why did I open the gate?
She stood in front of the intense black of the inside of the entrance. Even though the sun was baking the top of her head, it only illuminated a few yards into the mine tunnel before abruptly coming to a stop.
She looked down at the splintered planks of wood that laid like matchsticks on the gravel.
Don’t go in there.
She took a step forward into the tunnel and immediately caught a smell in the air. An odor she didn’t recognize but knew she didn’t like.
“Flint!” Her call boomed out against the rock walls, almost making her want to pull the sound back.
Standing about five feet from the entrance she waited for any sign that Flint was ahead of her, but the only sound was her own heart beating in her chest.
Then she heard it. A scratching noise. It didn’t seem too far away. “Flint?” She went to walk forward but stopped when her first step took her foot completely into t
he darkness. She leaned forward trying to make out any dog shapes in the gloom. “Come on, boy! This way! We need—”
A human form appeared in front of her. It was wrapped in shadow apart from its eyes, which appeared to glow.
She backed up faster than her feet could manage and fell. Her hands spread out to stop her from landing too heavily, but the gravel cut into both of them, especially the one with the burn.
“Don’t run, little girl. Are you lost?” came a rasping voice from the darkness. Its tenor kept raising and lowering, making it hard for Jess to tell if it was male or female.
“Stay… away… from me!” Jess’s breathing started to accelerate beyond her ability to control it.
The thing sauntered forward. “What’s your… name? We can be friends…”
One thought crystallized in Jess’s mind.
Run.
Ignoring the stinging from her palms, she scrambled to her feet and went to run forward when there was a blur to her side. She stopped and looked up at the ashen face of a woman. At least that was her best guess of what the thing’s gender was, as its face was covered in a deep red color.
Tears started to run down Jess’s cheeks.
The woman’s head dropped to her chest as if she had no control over it. “No need to cry…” it said, its voice dropping an octave.
Jess started to sob as she stepped backwards, back into the abyss.
Suddenly, there was a repeating patter sound, and Flint ran past her, leaping at the monster. It staggered backwards into the sunlight, as it flailed at the fury of teeth and hair on top of it.
Jess edged forward, watching the spectacle. Looking for enough of a gap to run past.
More scratching noises came from behind her. But there was no way she was turning around to see what they were.
Flint bit and tore, and the woman-thing snarled and clawed, but the dog had the better of her, and with a last-ditch effort it pushed the animal to the side. Just as quick as it moved past Jess a few moments before, it was gone, back into the darkness of the tunnel.
Jess ran out into the sunlight, and wanted to keep on going, but she stopped and looked back at Flint who was still inside. “Come on, Flint! Come on!”
The dog looked back at her, its eyes glowing.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The afternoon sun bounced off the police pickup’s hood. Joel looked out to the rolling hills, his brain fried from the last few hours. Despite how insane they all sounded he had to admit, from an investigative point of view, there was something to it, at least the outbreak side of things. If the data the kid had collected was reliable, then it seemed the Copeland Corporation had something to do with the world ending. He just wasn’t ready to buy the fairytale part of the story.
As they approached the town again, he wondered why his contacts at the CDC never mentioned anything about the outbreak possibly starting in the northern part of the state. He was told they had no idea where it started.
Questions.
Jim briefly looked at his passenger. “So, I take it you’re still leaving?”
“Yup.”
Jim clicked on his radio. “Ryan, divide up those weapons, ammo, and supplies we got from the new fella last night, and bring half of it to the hotel. Over.” Static came from Jim’s speaker. “Ryan, you out there?”
“I’m here, Jim. Where you been? Over.”
“At Bill’s, why? Over.”
“We got a situation. The kid that came with those people, she ran off. The mother went nuts, but we found her. She’s got a tale to tell. Over.”
Jim looked over at Joel, who’s concern was obvious. “We’re just a few minutes out. Over.”
As they pulled up to the hotel, there was already another police vehicle there as well as two more trucks. Some people were standing outside, arguing amongst themselves.
Jim got out, and most looked towards him as he approached.
“They’re in the old mine!” said one middle-aged man.
“You gotta go in there and clean them out!” said another.
Jim raised both hands as he pushed past them. “You folks need to settle down. We’ll take care of it.” He and Joel entered the hotel, which was full of people.
More questions rained down on Jim, which he ignored, moving through the foyer.
Joel hadn’t noticed it before, but some of those inside the hotel were looking gaunt.
They both pushed past the crowd walking to the lounge area, where Marina was sitting with her daughter on the sofa, both holding a mug of coffee. Opposite them was another woman with glasses that Joel had not seen yet.
“She injured?” said Jim to any of the two women that would give him an answer.
“I’ve given her a checkup, she seems fine, just shaken up,” said the woman.
“Umm… any other kinds of injuries?”
Before the woman could reply Marina spoke. “She’s not infected if that’s what you want to know.” She angrily looked at Joel. “She went after that damn dog of yours!”
Joel stood awkwardly. “I tied him up in the yard…”
Marina frowned but remained silent.
A man in a similar uniform to Jim, moved through the crowd to them. He leaned into the sheriff. “What the girl said has them all rattled. They want us to go into the mine, guns blazing.”
Joel looked at Jess. “You went into the mine? Did you see any of them in there?”
Jess nodded. “There was a woman, she tried to stop me from leaving the tunnel… but…”
“What?” said Joel.
“Your dog, it saved me, it attacked her, and she ran back inside… and…”
“And what?” said Jim.
Marina could tell her daughter was reluctant to say any more. “No more questions. I’m taking her upstairs so she can get some rest.” She and Jess got to their feet and moved through a silent crowd, who then started talking again once the mother and daughter had passed out of sight up the stairs.
“We tied your dog up out back,” said the other police officer.
“This is Ryan, one of my deputies,” said Jim.
Joel nodded, then looked at Jim. “Those supplies ready?”
Jim sighed, then looked at Ryan.
“Got them in the back of the pickup,” said Ryan.
“I’ll get my dog, then I’ll meet you out front,” said Joel to Ryan, who nodded in response.
Soon, Joel was standing in the back yard looking at the dog that wasn’t his. Around Flint’s neck, attached to his collar, was a proper leash, that was wrapped around a part of the fence.
“Least I can take you for a walk now,” he said at the attentive animal who was sitting, looking up to him.
A noise made him turn around. Jim was standing in the doorway.
“I was hoping you might change your mind.”
Joel took the leash down from the fence. “Why would I do that.”
“A number of reasons. What you learned earlier—” Joel pulled a face. “—Yeah I know it’s a lot to take in.”
“Look, I don’t know what caused the scourge. The government sure as shit didn’t know either… at least I didn’t think they did. Maybe that Copeland guy was responsible, but what’s done is done. Half the population of the country is infected and running around killing people, and the other half are hiding. Either way, I don’t see what staying here is going to do to change anything.”
Ignoring his objections Jim continued. “And the other reason is that the people left in this town are scared. We had a win last night. That helped. But there’s only so much myself and my two deputies can do to stop it from all getting out of hand. If those things really are in the old mine, then having you help clear them out might encourage some of the others to join the fight.”
Joel stood shaking his head. He looked up at the sun, which was on a downward trajectory. “I’m sorry, but I can’t. I wish you the best.” He pushed past the sheriff, taking Flint with him, and moved through the bustling hotel foyer and out into t
he street, where Ryan was waiting. It wasn’t long before Joel’s car’s trunk was half full of what it contained before, and Flint was in the back seat.
As Joel checked the weapons magazines, Jim, Ryan, and his other deputy, got into their pickups. It seemed like the remaining population of the town was standing in or around the hotel, watching their law officers, who then pulled away heading in the direction that Jess had ran a few hours before.
Joel closed the trunk and moved to get in his car when he happened to look up at the hotel. Jess was looking down at him from one of the front windows. She then let the curtain fall back.
He sighed, opened the sedan’s driver’s door, got in and closed it. He then started the engine and drove away. The police vehicles had already turned off and were heading up the hillside road to the mine. He passed the exit and drove along the winding road, going in the opposite direction he drove the night before.
I can’t help them. I’ll just make things worse… and I can’t be around her. She’ll find out. They’ll all find out… I killed the kid’s father…
As the homes and buildings built into the hillside above him started to pass into the distance, he thought about the three lawmen going into the dark tunnels.
They don’t know what they’re up against…
“Fuck!” He slammed on his brakes. The car skidded, then came to a halt across the narrow road.
In his mind, a series of images rolled past. An out-of-control carousel of hurt and pain, and worst of all, regret. The last image that remained like a light echo was his son’s face, smiling.
He sighed, turned the car around, and started to drive back.
*****
Jim looked up at the sun. “Reckon we got about another three hours before it’s as dark out here as it is in there.” He looked at his watch. “Look at your watches. It’s four p.m., remember that.” The deputies checked the time. “And no matter what happens in there, we stick together.”
Ryan and the other officer nodded.
They all looked into the mine entrance. The hundred-year-old wooden beams sat at awkward angles, some leaning on others, and propping up the horizontal ones that sat atop of them. Some of the walls were lined with rotten planks, and the ground was a concoction of muddy puddles, gravel, and rusting railway lines running along the tunnel on both sides.
