by Maxey, Phil
CHAPTER NINE
A body of a young boy lay strewn across the concrete of Joel’s parents driveway. He had already found his mom and dad in their living room, still warm, but just as lifeless and was now holding his child in his arms.
Screams, and other more unnatural noises rang out in the once pleasant suburban neighborhood.
A voice from deep within urged him to get to his feet, to try and help what people he could, but he refused to listen to it. His world had ended, so why should it be any different for anyone else?
He pulled his Glock from its holster and held it to the side of his head. He looked down at Daniel. “I’ll be with you soon…”
As his finger touched the trigger, he heard another noise added to the chaos around him. A baby’s cry.
The sound of the screaming infant clawed at his mind, keeping him chained to his consciousness.
He looked out at the once neat homes and manicured lawns. A green stroller, its wheels squeaking, rolled slowly forward across the road. Blinking, he tried to make sense of the world around him. A person, or something else, he wasn’t sure, burst from the side of one of the single-story homes and sprinted towards the source of the crying. He had seen hundreds of similarly afflicted people, from the first one in the hotel room, to the groups of them that now seemed to inhabit the streets of LA, but he was still shocked by how it moved, its limbs moving in unison, animallike. Its eyes, like the rest, were jet black.
He watched motionless as the thing tore across the lawn, heading for the buggy, which had come to a stop against the curb.
Joel sluggishly looked down at his boy, then back up at the thing bearing down on someone else’s child.
“No…”
He raised his gun, and fired off a perfect shot, hitting the thing square in its side and knocking it momentarily off course. It still kept on going, its hands grabbing at the air in front of it, like it was swimming rather than running. Joel got to his feet and walked forward firing off another shot, this one missed as the creature was now weaving as it moved forward. Joel started running forward towards what he and the thing were going to converge on.
The baby’s screams filled the air. He broke into a sprint, but the thing was covering the ground faster. Clicks came from his gun as the magazine was now empty, the thing was going to get to the child before him, and there was nothing he could to stop it.
“No!” he shouted into the darkness of his hotel room. He was awake, sitting up. His heart pounded in his ears, and the final scene from his dream fluttered through his mind. In reality, the second shot did not miss, and the creature fell to the ground dead, but his nightmares didn’t agree. He sat there, trying not to think about what happened to his son, but anger and bitterness started to well inside him. Pushing those emotions aside, he looked over to Flint, whose eyes glowed slightly in the dark. He wondered if his did too.
Might want to avoid looking at people after the sun’s gone down or get some sunglasses.
A soft knock came at his bedroom door.
“Yes?”
“Umm, I heard some shouting, just wanted to know if you are okay in there?” said Kelly.
“We’re fine.”
“Okay,” came the meek reply.
“Are you okay?” Joel wasn’t sure why he asked, the words just sort of fell out.
Kelly fumbled a few words.
“You can come in, I’m decent.”
The door opened, and Kelly wearing denim pants and a flannel shirt, walked in, closing the door behind and sat tentatively on the end of the bed. Flint got to his feet and slid across her legs sitting in front of her. She stroked the top of his head.
“So, what’s the problem? Everything alright with your grandmother?”
“Yeah, she’s probably sleeping or in the office downstairs. It’s just there’s a lot of talk with the townsfolk of what’s going to happen now the deputies are dead and Jim’s in the hospital, and seeing that you’re—” Joel could see where things were going and wanted to interrupt but let her continue. “— An FBI agent, then some of us wondered if you could help out?”
Joel took a breath.
“And you were in the mine, you saw what was in there. Are more of those things going to attack the rest of us?”
Joel wondered what authority he would have in the small town, that’s if any federal agencies were still functioning. She looked at him waiting for an answer. “Look, I don’t plan on staying around here forever, but… maybe I can help out for a few days.” He presumed he could shield his thoughts from Marina or avoid her for that amount of time. “One thing though. You know where there are any livestock around here?”
*****
Joel could hear the heartbeats and smell the odors of the twenty-five people crowded into the ground floor of the hotel before he descended the stairs.
Three days. Try and keep these people alive, and then I can head east.
As he walked down the stairs, a stout man he recognized as the mayor was waiting for him at the bottom.
“Mr… Garret, I would like to thank you on behalf—”
Joel raised his hand, looking at the various small groups of worried-looking people who were trying not to look back at him. “I need coffee.” He walked into the dining area, which was empty of people, including no sign of Marina which he was glad for.
Claire appeared from the kitchen. “Coffee?”
Joel nodded and sat at a table along the wall.
The mayor appeared, walked along the channel between the tables, and sat opposite Joel, who sighed.
“What can I do for you, Mayor.”
Hardin leaned forward. “Is the government still functioning? Is the army coming?”
“I’m going to go with no, and no.”
Hardin sat back nodding to himself. “So, we’re back to pre-civil war days. It’s going to be every town and city for itself.”
Joel frowned. “Well, you got —”
“A vampire problem! And how you going to help with that?”
“— I was going to say if you haven’t already, you need to gather up as much of the supplies as you can from people. Whoever has too much. Ask for donations, buy it from them if needed. Then you’re going to need to store it somewhere, so it’s there to help those that don’t have anything when theirs runs out.”
Hardin nodded. “That’s a good idea. You see, that’s why you need to be the new sheriff!”
A wave of disbelief ran across Joel’s mind. “What?”
“With Jim recovering, you’re the only bona fide lawman we got! It will just be temporary, of course, until Jim’s back on his feet.”
Joel shook his head.
Claire appeared with a jug and poured the coffee into a mug placing it on the table.
“Any breakfast? I’ll take whatever you got.” His hunger was growing, and he hoped real food might put a dent in it.
“Sure, I’ll get you some eggs.” She looked at the Mayor, frowned, then moved back to the kitchen.
“I’m happy to help out for a few days, but then I need to be moving on.”
The mayor looked as if calculations were running through his mind. “Fine. Hopefully, Jim will be back by then.” He reached into his pocket, pulling out a leather wallet with a gold star badge on it.
Joel raised his hand. “I really don’t need that.”
Harden slid it across the table, then got to his feet. “I’m going to need you to address those of us that are left. Give them some words of encouragement. Folks are getting pretty downhearted since what happened to Jim and the others.”
Joel nodded. “Tell them I’ll be right in.”
Joel used the time drinking his coffee and eating the eggs to get his head around some kind of plan to keep the town alive. He wasn’t rescuing hostages but, in some way, it was the same situation. The town was being held hostage by the scourge.
He placed his knife and fork on the plate. He still felt hungry, but he knew he had just eaten a good breakfast and he ho
ped his body could get some use from it. Taking a deep breath, he stood then walked into the foyer. The space was still packed, and hush descended upon them when he appeared.
Hardin stood up from a stool and walked over to Joel, placing an unwanted hand on his shoulder. “Joel Garret is the new temporary sheriff until Jim is ready to resume his duties!”
Whispers and silence greeted the announcement. Hardin looked at the crowd and then to Joel with a look of concern.
Joel cleared his throat. “I know none of you know me. That all you do know about me is that I’m some guy who wandered into your town in the dead of night. Well, I’m actually an agent of the FBI—”
“Are there more law officers coming? Is the army coming to help us?” said a woman in the crowd.
“We’re on our own… for now.” The last part was a lie. Joel expected there never would be any help, but that’s not what they needed to hear.
“So, I’ve got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that if you work together you will all get through this—” Another lie. “— The bad, is that for that to happen, you’re going to have to give up some of your stuff…”
A ripple of discomfort ran around the room.
“Settle down, everyone,” said Hardin. “No one’s going to forcibly take anything from anyone, Sheriff Garret is just talking about voluntary contributions. Food and things you don’t need.”
“That’s exactly it—”
“Why you need it?” said a burly man, with a thick beard.
Others echoed his sentiment.
“If the time comes when supplies start to run out, we will have a store of goods, water, food, and the like to keep us all going. Think of it as a community store of supplies to be used when, and if, necessary.”
People around the room started to nod to each other.
“What about guns?” said the bearded man.
“Especially guns. Obviously, you should stay well stocked with your own weapons and ammo, but if you have anything to spare, that might help out a lot in the future.” Joel looked at the Mayor. “We’re going to need somewhere secure to keep it all.”
Hardin stood in thought.
“What about the school?” said the burly man.
Joel remembered passing the large red brick building on his way to Bill’s. He looked at Hardin. “That’s a good choice.” Hardin nodded.
“Okay, I’m going to need a few people to help me organize,” said Joel. He looked around the room, but most heads and eyes turned slightly away from his own.
“I’ll help,” said Kelly.
“And me,” said Marina, walking down the stairs. “As long as Jess can come along.”
Joel’s heart skipped a beat, and not in a good way. “That’s fine.” He looked out to the men around the room. “Anyone else?”
The grouchy man who was concerned about the guns, stood. “Yeah, count me in. I’m Reggie McClure. But just call me Reg. I got a pickup, we can pile some of the stuff in it.”
Joel looked around the rest of those in the room. “Go back to your residences, see what you can spare, and have it ready to be picked up within the next few hours.”
“What about the things in the mine?” said an especially gray-skinned woman.
“I’m working on that problem.” He smiled, and went to address the volunteers, but stopped looking back to everyone else getting to their feet. “We should probably all meet back here once a day at 9 a.m. for updates. Everyone okay with that?”
Everyone showed their acceptance of the idea, then started leaving. Joel looked at Reg. “We’ll give people a few hours then start making rounds and taking it back to the school. For now, you two—” He looked at Kelly and Reg. “Get the keys to the school and start getting it ready.” They nodded and headed off.
Marina looked at Joel with a questioning look. “And what are we going to be doing?”
“First, we visit the actual sheriff.”
CHAPTER TEN
The silence in the police pickup was deafening for Joel, as he, Marina, Jess, and Flint drove the short distance to the medical center. Images of Russell forced their way through Joel's mind no matter how hard he tried to keep them out. It wasn't helping that his hunger was growing inside him.
Soon they were pulling into the center’s parking lot, the same ambulance was parked in the same position from the night before. In the daylight, Joel realized that it had large smears of blood across its side and headlights.
He was happy to see the glass doors at the entrance rather than the metal shutters, and they parked up, then all got out and walked inside. A nurse sat behind a counter, but Joel walked straight past her moving towards the room which housed Jim. Jess was given Flint to look after, and they both sat in the waiting area. Joel glanced back at Flint as the dog sat just a foot away from the girl, then Joel and her mother walked down the hall.
He tried to not look at the children’s drawings which lined the walls. There was no place in the world anymore for such optimism.
Inside a small room, Dr. Faraday was standing next to Jim who was sitting up. Jim saw them and beckoned Joel and Marina inside.
As Joel opened the door, a smell of disinfectant wafted out.
“I knew you wouldn't leave,” said Jim, forcing a brief smile.
He doesn't remember.
“Yeah, things have kind of changed on that front.” Joel pulled out the badge.
“That didn’t take long,” said Jim. He looked away. “But what do you expect when you get both your deputies killed… and yourself.”
Joel went to respond but Anna beat him to it. “So, you’re the sheriff now?” she said to Joel, her confusion obvious. “You just got here two days ago—” She looked back at her patient. “— Anyway, Jim should be back on his feet within a few days.”
“To hell with that—” Jim pushed himself up. “— I’ll be out today.”
Anna wasn’t sure how to respond. “But…”
Jim looked at the visitors. “The doctor has informed me I’ve been infected. So, it would seem my time as sheriff would have been limited anyway.” He looked back to Anna. “Just give me a bottle of antibiotics and I’ll be on my way. But I’m not staying in here—” He lifted his arm, pointing. “— while the town’s dying out there.”
Joel wanted to tell him that he might be able to fight the urges, like he does. But then he had not seen any other of those that had changed, like himself. He didn’t know why he was different.
Jim looked at Joel. “What happened? The doctor here told me you saved me in the mine? And that Mike and Ryan were dead when you got to the cavern?”
“There was no sign of Mike, and Ryan was dead. You were trying to protect him when I got there…” Joel could see that the previous day’s events were replaying in Jim’s mind.
“Was there anyone else with you? I remember a whole lot of gunfire and fighting.”
“Flint helped, he took a few down.”
Jim looked surprised. “You train those dogs well in the FBI.”
Joel smiled, he then set about telling Jim and the doctor the plan for the town, which they approved of. Once he was done, he asked Marina and the doctor if he could have the room, to talk about official business.
When they were gone, he offered the badge to the man in the bed.
Jim frowned waving Joel’s hand away.
“Let’s see how things play out.”
Joel put the badge away. “I’ve got a plan for the mine and what’s in there.”
“I sure hope it doesn’t involve anyone going inside.”
“It doesn’t. Just the opposite. Have you got any explosives? TNT, anything like that?”
Jim nodded. “You need to talk to Reg. He used to do some blasting up at the mine, still looking for that jackpot. He might have some you could use.” He paused momentarily and smiled. “You want to seal them in?”
Joel smiled.
“Throw me my pants and shirt, its time I got back into it.”
&n
bsp; Joel did then left the room, as he did, Anna approached him.
“Before you go, we need to talk.”
She led Joel to a small room and closed the door.
“He’s infected, and I don’t know how long he’s got until he changes. His blood cells are changing, although without better lab equipment I can’t tell more than that. I just know it’s happening.”
“I presume you have seen others change?”
“During the early days, this place was full of those that had been attacked. We had no idea how the infection spread at that time, and most showed no symptoms. Everyone was eventually discharged, which… led to more death.”
She paced around the room. “I’ve seen some change in days, others in weeks, there’s no pattern that I can discern yet, but it will happen.”
Joel’s mind flashed back to when his own change happened, and how unprepared he was for what came next. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”
He went to leave.
“What about the dog? Did he get bit?”
Joel did his best to look surprised at the question. “Animals don’t change.”
“Okay…”
Joel, with the others, walked through the open glass doors to the outside.
Jim closed his eyes and let the sun warm his face. He looked across at the vehicle sitting in the parking lot. “I see you got the company pickup as well!” He smiled.
Joel passed him the keys.
Once inside the vehicle, Jim looked at Joel in the passenger’s seat. “Were Bill or Evan at the meeting this morning?”
“No.”
Jim clicked on the car radio, holding the mike to his face. “Evan… Bill, either of you out there? Over.”
A few moments of static passed.
“Good to hear you back up and around Jim. How are you? Over,” said Bill.
“Still fighting… Have you heard about Joel’s plan to store some supplies away? Over.”
“We did. Over.”
“I know you got a bunker full of stuff down there, I was hoping you have some extra you don’t mind sharing. Over.”
“I’m sure we can find something to help out. Over.”
