What Remains (Book 1): The Outbreak

by Barrett, Tyler

  It didn’t budge, and they were all satisfied, so they went back down the stairs heading to the left, towards the offices. Approaching the door, they looked through the glass window, Kenji stopped at the door.

  “Here’s a little trick I learned to clear out buildings. It’s easier to draw the infected to you than let them surprise you later,” said Kenji, who knocked on the door.

  They waited before he knocked again, but louder this time. Nothing moved, so they opened the door and pushed it inwards, where it hit the wall with a soft thud. Work posters detailing worker’s shifts, rules, and regulations, and signs pointing to different offices placed on the walls. The interior of the offices was much drabber than that of the station outside, apparently a more work driven environment. All the doors to each office were closed, which was possibly a good sign.

  They each moved to the first door on the right, which was indicated as a worker’s locker room and was just a plain door with no window. They knocked on that door, again just to be safe, and heard no movement, so they opened the door. A small room with lockers adorned the entire room except for a door, which led to the restroom for the locker room. The entrance to the restroom was already open, so they didn’t need to make sure that was clear of infected.

  The door across the hall was mostly a glass pane, which they could see most of the room through. It was a simple break room, a small kitchen, and sink, a couple of small tables. They didn’t open the door, because they could see the entire room, and saw nothing to worry about. Leading them down the hall, Kenji stopped at the next door on the right side of the hallway, labeled as maintenance; doubting they would find anyone there they still knocked on the door.

  Feeling safe to open the door they did just that, to a spacious room. Half the room was shelving units filled with various supplies: cleaning supplies, replacement parts, and extra stock for the two stores were kept here, all perfectly ordered. The other half of the room was a small office for the maintenance workers, both desks that lined the wall were filled with paperwork, all organized.

  Satisfied, they left the room and moved across the hall, which labeled as general administration. After the knock produced nothing, they opened the door which led into a room with eight cubicles each flawlessly sized into the room to fit that exact number. They moved slowly into the office area, checking underneath each desk, catching themselves looking at the personal effects on each desk, pictures of loved ones, personal items that seemed important to their occupants at one point. At the end of the cubicles, they again found nothing and left.

  There was only one last door in the office area they had to check, but they were feeling good since they had not found any hint of anyone being present after the lockdown of the station. The last door, which the plaque next to the door said manager’s office looked sturdier than the others, but again availed no response from knocking. They opened the door, which immediately the putrid smell of a decaying body trapped in an enclosed space, attacked their senses.

  The smell was so strong they all were forced to take a step back, their brains trying to force their bodies into getting as much fresh air as possible. They each knew what they would find beyond the door, but their curiosity got the best of them. Ramirez pushed open the door, allowing more of the horrific smell out of the room. Covering his mouth and nose, he entered, shining the light into the room.

  A desk, with a computer, was in the middle of the room. Two chairs faced the desk, as well as a small table in between them. On the others side of a desk, they found the source of the smell; a decaying body was sitting in the chair, blackened blood and brain matter splattered on the wall behind the man. In one hand, the dead man held a picture, of a family, in the other a small handgun.

  “Jesus,” stated Ramirez bluntly.

  “What?” asked Kenji “Is there something wrong?”

  “Besides the dead body? No, just wasn’t expecting to find this,” He replied with some shock in his voice.

  “We found several bodies like this while scavenging, normally they were trapped with infected in the building and saw it easier to end things themselves,” stated Kenji with a hint of sadness, “It never gets any easier to see them like this, their final moments displayed with such violent ends.”

  Each of them silently stared at the dead man before Cooper finally broke the silence, “C’mon, the station is clear, and we need to get back to others to let them know.”

  “Yeah, I’ll just shut the door. Let’s head back,” said Ramirez, still covering his mouth and nose with his arm. The others will be happy to know that we can stay in the shops or the office area here, and there should be some food that doesn’t come from a pouch.”

  The three men headed back to the ledge, where they found the group standing along the edge of the platform, with a lantern dimly lit, giving them enough light to see a few feet down the tunnels. All of them were standing, still holding onto their weapons, each wearing a face of relief at the sight of the three of them returning. One by one with the help of the three men, the group, was lifted onto the platform. It took four of them carefully lifting Knight to get him onto the platform, with some small cries of pain.

  With all of them on the platform, several of them from the group dropped their packs against the walls, stretching their sore muscles. Carter helped Knight onto a bench, carefully sliding him into a sitting position and left. The only one who was still wearing their pack was Ramirez, who took his off and kneeled next to Knight. Carter returned with the lantern they had, turning up the brightness, to cover most of the platform with dull white light.

  Ramirez laid his pack next to his leg and pulled out several items; a bottle of alcohol, a clean gauze, and wrap, and a pair of surgical scissors. He started with the surgical scissors, cutting away at the blood and grime covered leggings of Knight’s right leg. The exposed tissue in a well-lit area looked terrible, the bright blue-purple bruised area was fairly significant, covering most of his shin area. Luckily, in the light, they could see Ramirez was right about the bone not piercing through the skin. However, there were several small cuts, which was where he was bleeding.

  Inspecting the bruised area, he could see that the swelling was getting worse, and felt hard along the muscles meaning that pressure was building up. Unwelcome news for Knight; it meant he would have to cut into his leg to help release some of the pressure or the blood flow in his leg would get cut off, and they would eventually have to amputate it.

  “I’m going to have to give you some pretty heavy painkillers, there is pressure building up in your leg, we need to release it, or it will get worse,” Said Ramirez in that voice doctors seemed never to lose when talking about medical procedures.

  “Sure, whatever you have to do. It’s been killing me since we passed the first station,” replied Knight with gruff in his voice.

  “Let’s move you to the ground then, so you don’t fall off the bench once I give you the meds. I’m going to wait until you are out to start working on your leg until it kicks in I’m going to take a look at your head,” Said Ramirez in his doctor voice while digging out a syringe and a small bottle.

  He took the syringe, and de-plunged it, after sticking the needle in the bottle. Expertly finding the vein on Knight's arm, he jabbed the needle in, slowly injecting the morphine into him. Ramirez knew that it wouldn't take long for the medicine coursing through his veins to take effect. Carefully pouring the alcohol over a knife Ramirez readied himself to cut into Knight's leg.

  Knight laid his back it quickly becoming heavy, much like his thoughts, which only lead to one thing; home. Ramirez saw Knight losing consciousness and readied the blade. He pierced the skin waiting for a cry of pain, but the meds had worked hard on Knight. Ramirez started, uninterrupted digging down to the affected bone, and drained the buildup of blood. He quickly cleared the affected area and stitched the incision.

  After it was sealed, he let out a collective sigh and began to pick up the discarded gauze that was blood-soaked. He tossed th
em into a trashcan and walked back towards the employee locker room he filled the sink with water from his canteen, using the soap that was at the sink to remove the blood from his hands.

  Chapter 39

  First time in a long time

  The group had settled down, for the most part, Knight slept a drug-induced sleep while Ramirez sat nearby looking out from the coffee shop. The coffee shop was where they decided to hold up, choosing the easily escapable shop than the enclosed offices with only one way in or out. Plus, it meant they had to move Knight a short distance rather than a far one, which meant less chance his stitches would come undone.

  For the first time in a long time, Ramirez had time to breathe and was just quietly sitting back, feeling good that the operation he had performed went well. A few people moved around, still unable to sleep, or unwilling; Ramirez watched them all. Trying to figure how they had survived, what lengths they had to go through to ensure they had made it to this point. They all seemed like good people; they were all nice and seemed to care about the people around them.

  Kenji was talking to the teenage boy, who seemed only comfortable around him and the girl, Ren. Carter was sleeping, after talking for a couple of hours with the pilots, Cooper and the other two pilots were still awake talking in hushed voices. Kenji stood up and walked away from Nobuto and Ren, walking over to where Ramirez was sitting and sat down next to him.

  "Do you think Knight will be ok?" Kenji asked, pointing, "It's going to be a long walk to get out of the city."

  "Yeah, he will just be slow moving, but otherwise, he should be fine. I wouldn't be surprised if the stubborn bastard wanted to walk on his own," replied Ramirez.

  "He is a good man, I can see that in his eyes, but he carries a leader’s burden. I have forgiven him for his call on the bus, I admit I was furious before, and I still am, but I've been in his position. It's never easy to make the right call, and you only get one chance, no do-overs," Kenji said with remorse in his voice.

  Ramirez shook his head in agreement, “It’s hard to say that I don't trust him with my life because I do. If you knew the things, we have been through together...he's saved my ass more times than I care to admit."

  Kenji sighed, "I understand that I don't know him as well as you do, but I can say that I have seen people like him, and what they are going through. He's on the verge, the brink of no return. All it takes is one thing, and he'll snap and lose himself."

  "You sound like you have seen a lot, almost like one of us. Too broken to work, only carrying on because there's something you still have a reason to hold on. When I look at all of you, I wonder how you have survived this long. Most people don’t have the slightest clue how to survive or the guts to do what is necessary sometimes,” said Ramirez staring blankly at the wall.

  “I didn’t do anything to harm anyone unless they tried first if that’s what you are asking,” Kenji said with a bit of anger.

  Ramirez looked at Kenji raising his hands, “No, I didn’t mean it like that. I meant I wonder how you guys stayed sane, knowing that every time you left your warehouse you ran the risk of dying, or someone you know dying. Knowing that food and basic supplies are hard to come by, having to end the life of those infected, on a daily basis.”

  “Somehow, you just keep going. You decide that you aren’t going to end up like your neighbor or co-worker, infected, damned to roam the earth for who knows how long. You give yourself hope that you will make it out of this alive. I like to think your team's arrival was that hope I needed,” replied Kenji quietly.

  Ramirez smiled, “That’s not the first time I have heard that…just never in these circumstances before. Normally, if we are saving anyone, it’s just a smash and grab mission, in and out. Feels good to be saving citizens, though.”

  “I supposed you have some stories about the things you have done, but probably don’t want to share,” said Kenji, “Although I probably don’t want to know some of it either.”

  “Most of it is scouting. Otherwise, it's traveling. Not a whole lot to tell. Bad food, sleeping on the ground a lot, and I think the worst part is not having a toilet to do your business,” chuckled Ramirez.

  “The worst problem I had been making sure we had a place to do our business, at least, a place that it wouldn’t give us all some disease if it sat too long, that and not being able to take a shower,” smirked Kenji.

  Nodding Ramirez said, “You get used to not having access to showers out in the field, but damn does it feel so good when you get one for that first time. And a hot meal! It’s the small things you notice once you are out on your own away from society’s grasp, how hard it is to find such simple things as food and water.”

  “Yes, it puts things in perspective once you are living off canned goods and vending machine food. What makes it hard living through all this is to think that in the end all the scavenging and barely scraping by, is it worth it to make it through this infection?” asked Kenji.

  “As I said before, you always have to find something to keep going. Personally, I think you have chosen those two over there. The boy seems to look up to you, and the young woman over there looks grateful,” explained Ramirez.

  Kenji asked, "What keeps you and Knight going then?"

  After a short awkward silence, Ramirez answered, "I think it's the hope that the world won't need men like us one day. That we will be forgiven for what we had to do and allow us to live happily with a family and a house until we grow old. To have a normal life and forget all of this.”

  “Well,” Kenji started, “I think without people like you showing up, people like me would be stuck, barely scraping by to survive. I’m sure someone with a better plan than sitting around in a warehouse would have come along eventually but thinking about it makes me wonder how much longer we would have survived.”

  Ramirez took a drink of his water and then spoke, “I think wondering about all that is what kept you alive. Like I said earlier, most people don’t know what they need to survive, or how to obtain it,” after a pause he continued, “Look, all that matters now is that you survived, and you helped some others survive as well.”

  Kenji let that sink in, “Tell that to all those I couldn’t save. I can still see every single one in my head, every time I close my eyes.”

  Ramirez replied back solemnly, “You don’t think we don’t either? I don’t mean that rudely, I’m just saying. We have had our fair share of losses too. Hell, out of thirty highly skilled, trained men there are only four of us left. Most of them we have known for several years, too. Smith and Knight have been buddies longer than…well; they were…until.”

  Kenji rubbed his eyes, “I’m still very sorry for his and your loss, it seemed that he was a good person, and you all respected him.”

  “He was the kind of guy that kept Knight in check, making sure that if we had to make a hard choice, that we could make that choice and live with it afterward. He’ll be missed, that’s for sure. I can just say that the world needs more good people in it, but it seems that the forces at will don't want that to happen,” said Ramirez, smiling weakly.

  “Yes, I will agree to that. The world it seems wants only to rid us from its face,” replied Kenji, standing up, “However, I think I will try to get a few hours of sleep for tomorrow.”

  Kenji walked over to where Ren and Nobuto were sleeping and laid down next to them. Ramirez went back to his staring blankly at the wall, trying to think of how they were going to make it out of the city and to the Air Force base miles outside the city. Someone amongst the group let out a small snore that echoed throughout the barren and dimly lit station. Eventually, Ramirez’s mind drifted until he fell into sleep, thinking that tomorrow would be a good day.

  Chapter 40

  The outskirts

  The group had made excellent time, finding no trouble along their path through the subway tunnels. They had finally reached the last station along the line; it was clear of infected as all the other before. This station, however, was only part
ially underground and was attached to a shopping center; fortunately, there was a set of double-paned glass doors that were separating the two areas. The mall was lit in the early morning sun, beams of light cast through the glass ceiling.

  Wandering between the bright morning sun was infected, people trapped in the mall, only to succumb to the infection within the mall. None of them took any notice to the group on the other side of the doors. The numbers of the infected worried the group; the other exit was several entries much like those to the mall, but instead lead out to the street, where even more infected roamed.

  Their choice once again was a hard one, as well as; it seemed their luck was short lived. Make a run for it through the mall or try to dodge the infected in the streets. For several minutes, the group watched both exits praying for one of the groups to move away, and free up a path for them to take. The sheer numbers didn’t allow for any such advantage, and at most times it seemed like the infected were mainly stagnant.

  Carter finally spoke, “I think I have a plan…but I don’t think any of you is going to like it.”

  Knight who was awake from his sleep, and was looking much better asked, “What plan is that?”

  “Well everyone needs to get ready to move,” he said looking around at the others, “Let’s get over to these doors.”

  Carter moved over to the doors that led to the streets, and the group followed. Ramirez helped Knight over to the door, the last ones; everyone stared at Carter now, expecting some incredible plan to get them out of their dilemma.

  “Alright, I just want to say one thing before I go. Meet me there, wait one day for me; if I’m not there by then, leave without me.”

  Kenji, Ramirez, and Knight all started to say something at the same time, “What…Where…Wait…”