by Maxey, Phil
“Who’s flying us?” said Hardin.
“I am…” said Bill.
“You?” exclaimed Hardin.
Joel stepped towards the former mayor. “Hey, you want to die here? Then stay.”
Hardin frowned, then swung his rifle back around to the broken window.
“We move into the other ward, through the office, and take the back stairs to the exit on the back of the building. I’ll go first, Anna takes the rear. We all clear?”
Before anyone could respond, the double doors shuddered as more than one vamp slammed into them.
Flint stood and growled.
“Come on, let’s go,” said Joel.
Most ran past the beds towards the other ward.
Joel kneeled next to Jess. “It’s okay, Flint will keep you safe.”
Jess stood.
“Keep a firm grip on his leash,” said Marina to her daughter.
Joel moved closer to Marina. “You okay?”
She nodded. “For now.”
“If you’re infected, there might be a way to help. If we get out of this, you need to talk to Anna.”
Confusion flashed across Marina’s face, but Joel was already moving through the ward, and catching up with the others. She, Jess with Flint, and Anna quickly followed.
Joel could sense the movement throughout the building as flashlights from those behind him swept across the shadow-infested back stairwell. He quickly led everyone down the single flight to a door. They paused on the stairs as he pulled it open and looked into the darkness. He then held it open and beckoned everyone down and into the darkness. Once they were all through, he ran past them to the single external door.
He peered through the small glass window. “Looks pretty clear. The airport is to the left. I’m going to go out, make a fuss and hope they all pay attention. Give it a few seconds, then run for it. When you’re ready, let me know on the radio.”
Bill handed him his handgun. “Should have half a magazine left. I wish you luck.”
Joel gripped the older man’s shoulder. “You too.” He then opened the door and ran outside.
He looked towards the airfield, it looked clear. He ran towards it. As he emerged from the back of the building, a group of vamps spotted him and charged in his direction. Using a parked car as a barrier, he split the group in two by jumping onto the vehicles hood, then roof, then trunk, and ran towards the parking lot taking the vamps with him.
As he skidded to a halt next to the pickups, he tried to keep track of the movement ahead and behind him, but instead gave up and readied himself as the fury of razor-sharp teeth and misshapen faces roared his way.
When the first got within fifteen feet he fired off his first round, hitting it perfectly in the forehead. Just as it hit the ground another vamp trampled over it and met the same fate, falling on top of the first.
He sensed scurrying behind, and one leaped clean over Bill’s pickup almost landing on top of him. He turned as the creature sliced through the air, narrowly missing his throat. Two more booms filled the air and it dropped at his feet.
Before he could turn again, clawlike nails sliced across his back, sending a burning sensation across his body. He whirled around as two vamps slammed into him. As he grappled to keep their claws away, he managed to fire off the last bullet in the handgun, and one of the vamps fell back, but the other sliced across his face, knocking him against Bill’s pickup. Ignoring the pain, he recovered just in time to see another claw fly towards his head, which he ducked under, grabbing the vamp by the back of its head and driving it through the pickup’s windscreen. Before the vamp could pull itself clear, he drove his knife into the back of its skull, then quickly turned and finished the other wounded vamp off.
As other hungry beasts scampered towards him, he climbed up onto the pickup’s roof and looked towards the airport. Small red lights sparkled in the darkness, and over the chorus of growls he could make out the aircraft’s engine.
“Yes!”
His radio burst to life with Marina’s voice. “Come now!”
He jumped down, wincing as he hit the solid ground, and went to move towards his pickup, but a flood of vamps emerged from the main entrance of the building and smothered his vehicle, tearing parts off of it as they flew towards him.
He set off running as fast as he could, blood running from the various wounds across his body, leaving a trail across the ground. Even though he was moving faster than most people could run, the vamps were still gaining on him.
As he pushed his body through the pain that was trying to claim his mind, the single-engine plane was slowly turning in a small circle, becoming aligned with the runway.
He desperately looked back towards the hundreds of vamps that were now just a few yards behind him.
I can’t do this… I can’t lead them towards the plane…
He knew what he had to do. He started to slow as the plane rolled forward. Just as he was about to completely stop, a pattering sound came from the shadows and Flint flew through the air, his teeth slicing through the throats of two vamps. Joel ran forward and scythed through another, while Flint did the same. He looked at the dog, then began running again, Flint running with him. “Come on!” he shouted to the animal as the plane began to pick up speed.
Joel could see it was going to cross paths with them, and he and Flint would get one chance each to jump aboard, or the plane would be too far ahead.
They both moved faster and faster. Joel could see the plane approaching from their right, thirty yards in front of them, and Marina hanging out of the side door shouting.
By now he didn’t care about the vamps behind them, if he didn’t make it, the vamps wouldn’t be able to stop the plane anyway, and he pumped his arms and legs.
“Come on!” shouted Marina, her voice just audible over the plane’s engine, which was increasing in volume.
Flint ran past Joel and leaped into the side door into the arms of Marina, as the plane moved past him.
Now or never…
Joel lunged forward grabbing hold of the wing strut, and instantly his feet left the ground due to the speed the plane was moving. He briefly looked back at the vamps who were swarming onto the airfield but were falling away not able to keep up.
As the plane started to lift from the ground, he pulled himself along the strut.
“Take my hand!” shouted Marina hanging out of the open door, with Anna holding her other hand inside.
He looked down as fields passed by, some of which were filled with more vamps, then back to Marina, and flung his hand out to grab hers. Anna and Evan heaved and pulled Joel and Marina into the plane.
“Someone close the damn door!” shouted Bill, trying to keep the plane level.
Evan leaned forward and pulled the door closed, as Joel fell back into the gap, behind the front seats. Anna immediately started looking at his wounds, but he held his hand up. “I’ll be fine. Just need to rest, to heal.”
“You got any particular destination in mind before we run out of fuel?” said Bill.
“Yeah, the same as before. North, to Salt Lake City.”
*****
The wooden boards across the windows on the Bellweather Hotel rattled, and a pane of glass fell and shattered on the sidewalk. An explosion of noise echoed across the streets, buildings, and forgotten places and the hungry beasts, now the town’s only inhabitants, all looked in unison towards main street, hoping a wayward visitor had wandered into their domain.
Instead, a column of headlights twisted around the narrow roads, until eventually coming to a stop outside the hotel.
Two mercenaries in full combat gear got out with night-vision goggles, and bursts of neon tore two vamps in half that were approaching.
An older third man got out in similar uniform, and scanned across the boarded up shops and homes, then rested his eyes on the hotel. He tapped on the roof of the vehicle, the rear door opened and out came a child. His face gaunt and pale. He pointed at the hotel.
<
br /> The senior man waved towards Claire and Kelly’s former home, and the two mercs ran inside.
More vamps started to move up the street towards the convoy.
The man glanced at the Humvee behind. “Use the ultra.”
The boy reached into his pocket and placed some small round dark goggles over his eyes.
After a moment of silence an intense beam of blue light streamed from a box perched on top of the vehicle. The vamps that now littered the street let out screeches into the night as their skin boiled, then scurried away, looking for safe haven.
The torture device went dark, and the two soldiers emerged from the hotel, one of them carrying a white cloth covered in dark red smears. The older man, nodded towards the boy, and the soldier handed the cloth to him. The boy looked at it, then smiled.
“Let’s go,” said the man, as he stepped back inside the Humvee. The boy and soldiers did the same.
As the convoy pulled away, moving swiftly through the town, the man held a cell phone to his ear. “There’s no one here, but we found his blood, sir. Over.”
There was a long silence, then a gravelly, deep-toned voice replied. “Did the boy smile?”
“Yes.”
“Good…”
Continued in book two.
BOOK TWO
CHAPTER ONE
The engine of the light plane spluttered. The hearts of those inside that were awake skipped a few beats, but the noise was not enough to wake the others.
Bill tapped the fuel gauge which was lit by the dull glow of a few LEDs. It was showing half tank.
“Are we running out of fuel?” said Marina to his right, trying to hide the concern in her voice.
The engine repeated its attempt to keep running.
“We should have more than enough fuel left, maybe there was something wrong with the engine… the fuel line or something.”
“So, what do we do?”
Joel, Evan, and the others started to stir from their slumber.
Bill looked out into the dark sky and the even darker land below them. “We’re going to have to land.”
“What?” Marina looked at the intense darkness. “Where? I can’t see anything!”
“I’ve been following the highway, if it’s clear, we should be okay… I’m taking us down.”
As if in agreement the hum of the engine paused, then continued. The nose of the high winged plane dipped.
A sleepy looking Joel leaned forward between the seats. “What’s happening?”
“You might want to hold on to something, we’re landing,” said Bill.
Unlike most of the others, Joel could see the light streak across the black landscape that was the highway. He could also see the trucks and cars which were crowded across it.
“There’s a fair number of vehicles down there, Bill.”
Bill realized the man next to him could see far better than he could. “I’m going to need your eyes, tell me what I’m heading towards.”
They were heading towards a group of five small vehicles and a semi.
“Pull up slightly.”
Bill lightly brought the yoke back and the nose began to level out.
“Are we in Salt Lake already?” said Hardin, with his eyes still closed.
The engine staggered more violently, and the plane jolted.
The former mayor’s eyes flicked open. “Shit, are we going to crash!”
“No one’s going to crash! Just hang on tight,” said Bill. He briefly glanced at Marina, before concentrating back on the almost invisible sliver of concrete below them.
“Okay, there’s a clear stretch coming up, bring us lower…” said Joel.
Bill pushed the yoke forward and the front of the plane dipped.
“We’re about fifty feet from the ground,” said Joel.
Bill leveled them out once more. “How much runway do we have?”
“Err… about a mile, then there’s more vehicles. I’ll keep telling you the distance to the ground…”
“Hang on everyone, this is it!” Bill gradually pushed the yoke forward.
“Forty feet… thirty-five… twenty-five…”
The engine chugged, and the propeller slowed then accelerated, then slowed again.
“No, no, come on…” said Bill to the dials in front of him.
“Fifteen… Ten…”
Flint gave out a bark, making them all jump.
“Five…”
Bill picked the nose up.
“Almost…”
They all gripped the seats and the sides of the plane best they could as the wheels bumped along the highway, then settled.
The small navigation lights on the wings and tail gave just enough illumination to the road around them for Bill to keep the plane heading straight. He went to rev the engine, but it gave out completely along with the propellers that began to freewheel.
Everyone inside sighed in relief, including Joel and Anna.
Joel put his hand on Bill’s shoulder. “Not bad for a former crop-duster.”
Bill smiled. “I guess some things you never forget.”
Marina looked out to the flat landscape around them as Bill applied the brakes and the plane came to a stop. She looked behind her to Jess who was sleeping on Mary’s lap. She laughed quietly.
Joel saw what she was looking at and smiled. “Kids will sleep through anything.” As soon as the words left his mouth he realized he had said something that a parent would say, and he looked away from Marina, not wanting to meet her gaze.
“Where are we?” said Anna.
Bill turned the cockpit light on and pulled open a map that was already in the plane. “I would say we’re about a hundred miles from Salt Lake City. There’s a small town up ahead, about ten miles.”
Joel looked at the watch on his wrist. “Still got another hour to sun up…” He peered into the blanket of nothingness which the small plane was wrapped in, searching for a sign of anything that shouldn’t be there.
“Anything?” said Marina.
Joel shook his head. “No vamps around us.”
*****
Joel looked at the orange and pinks on the eastern horizon. The landscape around them had been lunar flat since they left the plane.
“How much longer?” said Mary to Bill who was still holding the same map from the plane.
His pace was now lagging behind the others. “Not far,” he said breathlessly.
“You said that thirty minutes ago!” said Hardin, looking equally tired.
Joel’s muscles weren’t aching like most around him, but each time he looked at the glow from the rising sun he felt fatigued, as if the particles of light themselves were a weight on his shoulders.
“Look! Up ahead!” said Anna.
Everyone but Joel squinted into the morning haze.
“I don’t see anything?” said Hardin.
“Roofs and electricity poles. We must be near the edge of the town,” said Joel.
Marina put a sleepy Jess back on the ground. Flint was off his leash, but had remained by their side anyway.
Jess rubbed her eye. “Are we there?”
“Almost,” said her mother.
Anna briefly looked at Evan as she walked past him and caught up to Joel who was at the front of the group. She leaned into Joel. “When we find a place to hole up, I need to get your blood into Evan. The longer we leave it the greater the chance he will turn before I can inject him.”
Joel nodded. “We’ll find a safe place in the town up ahead. How you feeling?”
She forced a quick smile. “Physically pretty good. Emotionally… I haven’t fully processed losing Claire and Kelly… I should have—”
“There was nothing you could have done. Some people will never accept us now we’re… different.”
Anna took in a big breath and nodded.
It wasn’t long before large single-story homes appeared on the side of the road. Some set far back and all with a good amount of land around them.
“Where you going?” shouted Marina while being aware of how quiet it was around them.
Hardin briefly turned around angrily. “I’m hungry!”
Anna looked at Joel. “I’ll go with him.” She took a few steps then looked back. “You’re not sensing anything are you?”
“No.”
She quickly caught up with the denim-jacketed man, who was making hard work of covering the sandy dirt which led to the front door.
He looked at her and frowned.
“Don’t worry, I’ve already eaten,” she said. His eyes grew briefly wide and she couldn’t help but laugh which she quickly stifled.
The home in front of them looked similar to countless others to the left and right of it. Light covering of paint, plain drapes, and a pickup sitting someway behind the main building in front of a garage.
Hardin knocked on the front door.
Anna was looking around at the messy looking front yard when something itched in the distant corner of her mind.
Hardin knocked again.
“You get away!” Came a youthful voice on the other side of the door. “There’s nothing here for you!”
Hardin went to reply, but Anna quickly covered the ten or so yards to his side and spoke before the words left his mouth. “We’re not here to hurt you. Our plane landed on the highway some miles back, we just wondered if you had any water, or food to spare?”
“I got nothing to spare and I got a shotgun pointed at the door!”
“What’s your name? I’m Anna.”
“It don’t matter what… my—”
An explosion of noise filled the early morning air, together with the sound of scuffling and then something falling to the ground.
The sound of latches being pulled back was followed by the door opening. Joel stood looking back at them with a shotgun in his hand and a young girl sitting on her rear on the floor. She was sneering at them through dark brown straggly hair.
