The Scourge Box Set [Books 1-6]

by Maxey, Phil

  “Infected?” said Joel.

  The two doctors briefly looked away.

  Lee sighed. “Likely, but the chances are low they will be changing soon.”

  Joel noticed Anna was looking pale. “How you holding up?”

  She smiled. “I’m fine.”

  Joel nodded, then moved to the other vehicles letting them know the plan.

  Soon, they were passing pleasant-looking single-story homes as Marina drove the RV. Despite the tight fit, she had transferred Jess, Jasper, and Flint to her vehicle, along with Evan who sat between the two front seats and Joel in the passenger’s.

  The six-vehicle convoy moved back on the highway, and immediately had to slow to weave between abandoned cars.

  Those inside the RV silently observed the crumpled sedans, pickups on their sides, and other cars and trucks with their doors open. Whenever there were red stains and streaks on the concrete, most of the humans looked away while the hybrids studied the scene further. The road continued north.

  Marina spotted a network of shops and gas stations to their right. “Might be worth having a look there for a pharmacy.”

  Joel sheepishly nodded.

  They took the next exit and were soon on a wide, four-lane road, which ran through a small town. Marina slowed to a stop. She turned to those behind her. “We’re stopping here for a while. Everyone stays in the RV, got that?”

  Most of the young people behind her frowned, but also nodded.

  Marina looked at Joel. “Get some rest, me and Anna will find what’s needed.”

  He sat up blinking, then stretched. Across the street were two gas stations opposite each other. “I’m going to look at those stations to find some gasoline.”

  She nodded, then looked back to Jess. “Stay here, I’ll be back soon.”

  Jess nodded.

  Marina and Joel got out with Evan. Anna was already sitting on the sidewalk.

  She slowly got to her feet.

  “Lead the way,” said Marina to her, and they ran off, being out of sight within a few seconds. Joel slowly lumbered across the junction.

  Shannon sat in the back of the RV, trying not to make eye contact with the three young men and one young woman around her. She didn’t know any of their names, and she didn’t want to know. Chances were they would be dead by the end of the week anyway. They all had that ‘look.’ The one where they still thought the world was just going through a bad phase, and soon the government or the United Nations would swoop in and fix everything, and they could go back to their Monday night football, parties, and social networking. She knew better. She knew those things were gone for good.

  She got up and walked to the door, then looked back. “Jess, Jasper. Want to take Flint for a walk?”

  Flint let loose a soft bark.

  “Mom said I should stay here.”

  “We won’t go far, just outside.”

  The four others looked at each other and started to stand.

  Shannon shook her head. “Nah uh. You all stay here.”

  The girl’s face grew angry. “You aren’t our boss.”

  “Joel trusts me. He don’t know shit about all of you. If you go out there and get eaten, ain’t no one coming to help you.” And with that, she pushed the door open and stepped out into the sun.

  Jess, Jasper, and Flint hurried after her, and she slammed the door closed. She immediately heard words being exchanged from inside the RV, but ignored them, instead she looked at the scene around her.

  Some people were outside their vehicles, drinking some water and chatting, while others were trying to get some sleep inside. Even from tens of yards away she could hear the words ‘Lucian’ and ’betrayal’ often being uttered together.

  She looked at the closest gas station, then the other. Joel was nowhere to be seen.

  Flint started to pull at his leash.

  “Calm down,” said Jess, holding the strap firm.

  He sat, but his head flicked about at the sights and sounds around them.

  Mary walked up to them. “How’s everyone? Do you have enough water?”

  Shannon’s throat felt a bit parched.

  Mary turned around. “We have some more in the car, I’ll go get some…”

  Shannon walked across the junction. “Nah, I’ll find some myself, thanks.”

  Jess and Jasper looked at each other, then followed behind. Flint happily trotted along.

  Mary watched as the youngsters walked away from her, looked back to the others gathered around, then followed them across the road.

  The sky was relatively clear of cloud and Shannon was enjoying the brief walk across the gas station forecourt. A voice inside wanted her to run and not look back, but she knew that voice would get her killed, so instead, she headed for the station’s store which looked like it had not been looted.

  She walked to the glass door and looked into the shadows beyond. Packets of candy, chips, and drinks vied for space with car accessories, all sitting innocently on three rows of shelves against the walls.

  “Is it open?” said Jess.

  Flint barked in excitement of not being cramped in a small space anymore, then bounded around in a small circle.

  “Quit it,” said Jess to him.

  Shannon pushed the door, and, to her surprise, it swung back.

  She warily walked inside, holding the door open in case she needed to make a quick exit.

  Jess, Jasper, and Flint bundled past her.

  “Hey, wait!”

  Jess pulled one of the bright blue plastic packets apart. “These are maybe my favorites, here try…” she said to Jasper, who slowly pushed his hand inside and pulled out a rubbery yellow piece of candy.

  Mary stood near the door, nervously looking back to the cavalcade of people and vehicles a hundred yards away, while Shannon walked along the back wall, looking at the choice in beers. There was still a good selection of American and imported left. Images flashed past her eyes of getting drunk in the town square with her boyfriend. A smile was quickly dissolved by the pain of knowing she was alone in the world.

  A noise came from the small room behind the counter, and everyone in the store froze and looked in that direction.

  Shannon looked back at the others, raising her hand, then walked slowly forward. As she passed a rack of tire irons, she slid one from its clasp and held it up, then looked over the counter. There was only empty space. She pulled the counter top up slowly and walked towards the door behind. Above it sat a sign telling customers it was for ‘employees only.’

  Another rustling noise made her jump, and she backed into a display of car fresheners, making a few fall to the floor.

  “Come back, Shannon! There might be—”

  Before Mary could finish, Shannon pulled the handle down and kicked the door open.

  A high-pitch shriek had her falling backwards as a cat sprung out of the room and bounded over the counter for the door to the forecourt.

  Flint leapt from Jess’s grip, surging forward after the cat, trying to cut it off before it reached the outside world, but missed and smashed into a shelf of wine, causing the bottles to drop and smash.

  The cat streaked past Mary before she had a chance to move, and Jess and Jasper burst out laughing.

  Shannon started to chuckle as well, but stopped when the stench from the room behind her wafted past her nose.

  She almost didn’t want to turn around, but did so anyway. The small confined space which appeared to have multiple uses including, office, lunch area, and storage, contained the remains of human beings.

  Fragmented legs, arms, and other parts all mingled together, forming a small heap in the middle of the area. She instinctively went to heave, but stopped when Mary screamed.

  A figure, with torn clothes, held Mary off the floor by a single clawed hand.

  Flint scrambled forward, but his paws couldn’t get purchase on the wine-soaked smooth floor, and Mary’s flailing legs and arms were starting to sag.

  Sh
annon ran forward, desperately trying to get herself between the vamp and the children, when Jasper arched his back. Two small bat-like wings ripped through his coat and he flew forward, tiny clawed hands swiping away at the vamp that looked as surprised at the miniature picture of rage as the humans did.

  The vamp dropped Mary to the floor, sneered, then swung his own razor-sharp appendages at the boy. Nearly all missed as the boy was too quick, but the final one caught his shoulder and Jasper fell backwards, holding his arm and snarling, as the slender vamp, with skin that seemed too tight for its skull, loomed over him.

  The vamp seemed to laugh at the boy on the floor, then looked back at Mary. Flint leapt through the air, his jaws catching the vamp’s throat with a large snap of his jaws, and sent the vamp careening backwards struggling to get free.

  By the time he had landed on the concrete, the vamp was almost dead, and Flint furiously shook his jaws left and right, until there was no more life left.

  Shannon ran to Mary, who was groggy but alive. She then looked at Jasper who was in a huddle against the outside wall. She hadn’t had a good view of the young boys eyes before, and he seemed even younger without his sunglasses. “Are you okay?”

  He frowned but nodded, and she watched as his small wings receded, and his hands and teeth returned to normal.

  Jess peered around the door and held out a hand. In it was Jasper’s glasses.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Marina looked to her right at Jess sleeping in the passenger seat in the RV. Almost an hour had passed since the vamp attack, and she was happy to be heading back into the hills and mountains beyond.

  All the vehicles were fuelled up, and, after returning from the pharmacy they found with bags full of supplies, Joel informed everyone in the convoy they were heading west. He kept the destination vague, but Bill, Marina, and the other hybrids knew that meant going to Cheyenne Mountain.

  The route on Evan’s laptop was five hundred miles, or roughly two days’ worth of driving and took them directly through somewhere she was not looking forward to returning to, Denver.

  As she headed the convoy of vehicles, driving smoothly around twisting bends, she couldn’t stop her mind returning to the days before she left to go back to LA and to try and find Russell. She loved her older sister, but Jackie was always known within their family for her reluctance to take a risk, and as the frequency of screams in the streets outside the apartment increased each night, Marina knew staying in a city wasn’t going to end well for her or Jess, or anyone still not infected.

  Jackie’s expression the last time Marina saw her was one of pretend hope that she might see her sister again.

  After hearing about the devastation to Denver and other large cities on the radio as they covered the miles back to California, Marina knew she wouldn’t get to see her sister again. From then on Denver stopped existing for her.

  Now, here she was, driving back to where she started.

  Must be fate.

  Lee Kemp followed behind the RV in the dark blue sedan they discovered hours before. A bumper sticker of ‘Vegas or Bust’ kept catching his eye despite his efforts to watch the road. He had never been to the city of miniature versions of the worlds’ wonders, but had always secretly wanted to. The plan was to take Wanda, his wife, on their thirtieth wedding anniversary, but then people started getting sick in the small town of Haven, and the mayor, who was a personal friend, asked him to come out of retirement to help out. A month later, Wanda was infected, and a few days after, he found the bedroom window open and an empty space in the bed. Between shifts, exhausted, he tried finding her, but by then the walls were going up, and he knew in his gut he would never see her again.

  Lucian arriving was something of a relief for most. The population of the town was dwindling and Lucian put a stop to that, and his people went out and found supplies to keep everyone alive. Lee wasn’t ever completely onboard with the whole ‘brother’, ‘sister’ aspect to Lucian’s stay, but he was never one to go against what the majority were happy with, so Haven became a town of pretend siblings, with Lucian being the father to all.

  He wondered what happened to the famous vacation spot in the desert, and if anyone was still in the brightly lit interiors, playing blackjack or roulette.

  “There’s got to be some form of government left somewhere,” said Anna in the passenger seat next to him.

  His mind returned to body, and he had to replay what she had just said to answer. “We can only hope.” He briefly looked at the woman next to him. She was looking paler than usual. “Have you been drinking your blood rations?”

  The two men and one woman in the rear shifted in their seats.

  She looked hesitant to answer. “Mostly…”

  Lee had seen those who had changed suddenly become overwhelmed with bloodlust and kill innocents around them while working in the medical center. “You need to take your dose.”

  “I’m experimenting. Seeing how long I can go before I need the blood again.”

  “How long has it been?”

  “Four days.”

  “Then this is an experiment we will do together. I shall monitor your vitals. But if I feel things have gone too far, you will take some blood, okay?”

  “Of course.”

  *****

  Joel opened his eyes and looked at the patterned wall paper which smothered the walls around him. He was on the bed in the small room at the back of the RV. His instincts immediately told him there were eight other souls in the vehicle with him, before his ears picked up their heartbeats and then voices.

  His mind returned to the night before and his fight with the thing Daniel Copeland had become. His shock at seeing a vamp with wings had been somewhat dulled by the fact that he saw similar creatures in the animated display on the side of the Sarcophagi, but knowing these creatures existed in the ‘here and now’ was unsettling. He wondered how many other types of vamps were out there, waiting to be discovered.

  Maybe the tablet could tell me?

  If only he could read it. He also didn’t particularly want another mind trip, or whatever it was the tablet did to him when he touched it.

  Then there was the fact that they had kidnapped the flying monster’s son. Although Jasper appeared to be happy being with them, rather than being used as a vampire radar as he was before.

  From what Shannon described, the boy was similar to his father in some respects, but they had not seen him eat anything let alone drink blood. A few mouthfuls of water was all he asked for daily.

  A chill ran through him thinking of the child being used by his father like he had been. He wondered if the change had made Copeland particularly cruel or if he was always like that. He also wondered where the mother was.

  A tinge of hunger shouted from somewhere deep within him, and he leaned over the side of the bed and pulled up a satchel that contained, amongst other things, a few blood bags. One was completely empty, but the others were still full, and he pulled the plastic stopper out, and let the blood course into his mouth. The viscous liquid washed away the cobwebs of fatigue, and he became more aware of the living beings around him, and those in the vehicles following.

  He figured he and the other hybrids had enough blood for a few more days, but if the opportunity to find more came up along the way, he would take it.

  A knock came on the door.

  “I heard noises, are you awake? Do you want some coffee?” said Mary.

  The memory of human beverages still made him smile. “That sounds good, thank you.”

  He heard her walk away.

  He got to his feet, opened the narrow door and walked into the narrow space that was the main part of the large cabin. He already could tell the sun was still up, but it was a lot lower in the sky than when he laid down.

  He bent over and looked out through the dusty curtains. Sandy-colored fields with hints of late summer grass looked back at him. Scattered around in the distance were farm buildings and the occasional home. “Where
abouts are we?”

  “Just coming into the outskirts of Fort Collins,” said Marina over her shoulder. “Roughly sixty miles from Denver.”

  Joel could hear the change in tone on mentioning the city.

  “We need to approach it slowly, all of us need to be alert.” He looked at his watch. “Around four hours till sundown. We should make it to the mountain by then.” He walked through the central aisle until he was near the front. “I can take over the driving, you should get some rest before we get there.”

  “I’m good,” said Marina, her eyes fixed on the road.

  Joel looked down at Jess who was sitting between the front seats and smiled. Jasper appeared to be sleeping. He looked tiny, all huddled on the passenger seat.

  “Mind if I use the bed?” said Shannon from behind him.

  “Be my guest.”

  Joel sat down at the small table, opposite Bill and Evan. Mary placed his mug down and he took a sip. He looked around. “Where’s the case?”

  “In my backpack,” said Bill.

  Evan’s eyes were on his laptop’s screen.

  “Why?” said Bill.

  Joel took a pause before replying. “This has been one crazy nightmare from the start—”

  “And it keeps getting more complex?”

  Joel nodded. “We don’t know what I am. We don’t know what’s in the vials, we don’t know what Copeland wants with them…” He sighed. “We are continuously being pushed by events outside our power. Maybe using the tablet can change that.”

  “That’s why I’ve been spending what time I could examining the device, and trying to find references on what you saw in your vision.”

  “And?”

  Bill looked at Evan who swung his laptop around so they could all see the screen.

  Joel could see grids of symbols, which morphed and changed. He had seen the scene before on the tablet itself. “How?”

  “I created an AI Program which mapped the symbols to what we had in our database, and… as you can see it’s getting results,” said Evan.

  Joel leaned in further. One of the symbols had the word ‘Memory’ next to it. “That was the symbol I touched which took me to the tomb…”