by Q J Martin
⌬
“There it is,” Logan said. They had traversed the streets of Elizabeth’s subdivision, and they were now walking down her street. “It’s the last one on the right,” he pointed.
“So that’s really it,” Jane said somberly. “We’ve actually made it.”
Logan nodded.
Jane let go of Logan’s hand and put her arm around his waist instead. “Whatever happens,” she said, “I’ll be there for you. Whatever you need of me, I’ll help you.”
“Thank you,” Logan said smiling.
They climbed the stairs up the porch and Logan loosed himself from Jane’s grip, walking cautiously to the front door. He reached for the handle. “It’s unlocked,” he said, grimacing.
He opened the door and let it swing inside. A small, optimistic part of him hoped that they would come running up to him, wrap their arms around him, and thank him for coming to rescue him. That optimism was quickly squashed by the sight he saw in front of him.
He took a cautious step inside and examined everything more closely. The house was a wreck. Everything in there was sorted through and left in piles around the floor. There wasn’t a single drawer that was left shut. As he looked, Logan noticed that the traditional items of value—the electronics, the jewelry—were still there. They were passed over, and in their place, the looters seemed to take the food, the water, the tools, the weapons, and the clothes.
The kitchen was picked clean. There wasn’t a single thing left in it save spices and oils. The living room was just how he had seen it in the holo, so many days earlier.
They walked down the hallway to the other end of the house. Logan was painfully aware of the pictures that were hanging on the wall and sitting on shelves. There were pictures of Elizabeth, pictures of Glenn and Roselyn, pictures of the three of them together. Then there was one picture, torn and taped together, taken right after Glenn was born. Logan and Elizabeth were in it side by side. They looked so happy. They had been a team. They had created a life, and were writing this new human being’s story.
Then it all ended.
Logan glanced back just in time to see Jane staring at that exact picture.
“She’s a beautiful woman,” she said.
Logan nodded.
They walked up the stairs and entered Elizabeth’s room.
“I don’t even know what I’m looking for,” Logan sighed. “What could I find that could possibly tell us where they went or what happened to them?”
Jane looked around. “I’m sure we’ll find something eventually if we just keep looking. I’m not going to give up, and neither should you.”
“I appreciate that,” Logan said gratefully.
They looked through the room and found that it was just as picked through as the rest of the house was. The only thing that seemed untouched was Elizabeth’s holo. Logan sat in front of it and turned it on.
“Good. There’s still power here,” he said and the display presented a login screen.
Logan clicked on the password field. Apparently, he was still registered in the biometric database, or else it wouldn’t have even allowed him to do that much. He breathed a sigh of relief, then considered what the password could be. He knew what it had been when they were married, but he highly doubted it would be the same now. Still, he attempted to type it in.
loganturner
“Incorrect Password.”
Of course that wasn’t it. Why would it be? Logan attempted another guess.
glennturner
“Incorrect Password.”
roselynturner
“Incorrect Password.”
Logan sighed and looked around. What was that name? The man that she had…
scottspencer
“Log-in Successful.”
“What was it?” Jane asked.
“Just the name of an acquaintance,” Logan said somberly.
Logan opened up the internet browser and looked through her history. There was nothing there to indicate where she might have went. He sighed and closed the window.
“Wait, go back,” Jane said.
Logan opened the web browser again. “What did you see?” he asked her.
“Right there,” she said, pointing to the bookmarks bar.
The first bookmark on the list was called “PH Tracker.” Logan clicked on it. It loaded a website with a map and a marker on it.
“Last check-in: 13 days ago,” he read. Logan zoomed in on the map, and saw that the last location the tracker had placed her at was in downtown Rochester. “What is this?” he asked. “In the middle of the outbreak, Elizabeth just decided to take the kids and go to the busiest, most populated part of the city?”
“Wait a minute,” Jane said, amazed. She leaned in, looking closely at the display. “I know where this is.”
“You do?” Logan was shocked.
Jane nodded. “That’s the laboratory where I woke up.”
“What would she be doing at a laboratory?” Logan asked, furrowing his brow.
“Whatever it is, I’m sure she had a good reason to go there.”
“I hope so,” Logan said. “I just hope we can make it down there in one piece.” He wrote down the address on a piece of paper and clicked out of the browser.
Suddenly Logan saw an alert flash in the corner of the screen.
“What is that?” Jane asked.
Logan clicked on it and a message displayed across the holo.
“Evacuation notice: The city of Minneapolis has been overrun by the Infected. We are urging all those within the city limits to evacuate immediately. The UN has elected to…”
Before Logan could finish reading the notice, he saw a blinding flash of light coming through the window. The house began to shake. Objects fell off of shelves, and the walls cracked.
“What’s going on?” Jane asked, leaning against the wall, trying. to keep herself from falling over.
Logan walked over to the window and looked outside. A dozen mushroom clouds rose to the sky on the horizon. “My God,” he said, watching the scene before him.
The shaking was dying down. Jane walked up behind him and looked out the window. “What is that?”
“ScatterShot,” Logan said in awe. “The most powerful non-nuclear weapon in existence. They must have detonated it over Minneapolis.”
As they watched, Infected ran out from houses all around the area. They gathered in the streets and watched as the mushroom clouds rose high in the sky. Most of them were growling and snarling. A few of them tried to chase after the sound. They went running out into the cornfields and disappeared.
Logan walked back to the holo and brought up a search box. He typed in “Minneapolis” and pressed enter. News reports loaded across the display.
“POTUS Condemns UN Use of C16 ScatterShot Missiles on American Soil.”
“Thirty More Cities Targeted In UN Quarantine.”
“POTUS Declares War On Two Dozen UN Member Countries.”
Jane covered her mouth with her hand. “What are we going to do?” she asked.
Logan just shook his head. “It’s only a matter of time before Rochester is added to their quarantine list,” he said.
Jane looked out the window. “Well, we’re not going to make it anywhere until the Infected disperse.”
“I guess that means we’re staying here for the night,” Logan sighed. “I just hope that the city holds out long enough.”
“What if it doesn’t?” Jane asked.
“I’m going to do whatever I can to find my children, no matter what the cost. I have to see them again, even if it’s just one more time, even if it’s the last thing I do. I have to see them again.”
“We will find them. I promise.”
Logan contemplated guiltily, then said, “As soon as we have a clear break, I think you should run for the least populated area you can find. I can’t ask you to waste your life going with me into the middle of a doomed city on a doomed quest.”
“So what?” Jane
asked, crossing her arms. “You think you’re the only one who would rather spend the last few hours of their life with the ones they love than wandering around aimlessly, barely living?”
“What—?”
“I’m going with you,” Jane said with finality. “And that’s that.” She leaned down and embraced him, squeezing his hands tightly as she locked lips with him.
Logan blindly smacked the keyboard until the holo cleared and logged out, then rose from his seat, still embracing Jane. They stumbled across the room until they found the bed, and Jane fell backwards onto it. Logan held himself up on top of her and slowly, tenderly kissed her neck.
Section VIII
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Logan sat on the floor with his back against the wall. His legs were spread out in front of him. Between them was a whiskey bottle, strategically placed so that there was as little of a chance of knocking it over as possible. He didn’t want to waste its precious liquid.
The answering machine dinged, and Logan’s heart sank. He pursed his lips together, struggling to make sound come from his mouth.
“Hey, Liz,” he finally managed to say. “I know it’s been a couple weeks since… Well. I’ve made sure to give you plenty of space. I know I said and did things that I regret—I regret them to my very soul. I understand why you left. You had every right to leave. I just—I miss you so much. You were my ray of sunshine every morning. Your smile kept me going through the day. Even during my worst days, I knew that one word from you could make all the difference.”
Logan rubbed his forehead, swiping off a bead of sweat in the process.
“I screwed up. I screwed it all up so bad. I want you to know I’m trying. I’m taking medicine now. I’m getting therapy. What I saw that one day, that demon inside me, I’ve done the best I can to exorcise it. I’ve been fighting against the monster this whole time. And I hope that maybe, some day, it will all be enough. Not to undo what I did. I know I can never undo what I did. But I hope that it will be enough to earn me a second chance.
“I love you. I need you so badly. Please, don’t be gone from my life. Don’t leave me forever. Don’t tell me this is the end. Please, Liz, please tell me there’s something we can do.”
Logan hesitated and looked at his PH. Another few seconds passed, and it registered that he had finished talking. A message crossed the display.
“Do you approve this message?” it asked him.
He reached out for the display, as carefully as he could in his current state. He had to steady his aim, but finally he managed to press the button on his display.
Delete.
He tightened his grip on his PH until he heard a crack. The display glitched, then dispersed itself. He reared his arm back and threw it across the room. It slammed into the opposite wall and shattered into a thousand pieces. Then he dropped his head between his legs and sobbed.
Chapter XXIV
The sun rose over the horizon, and a beam of light peaked through the window and shined across Logan’s vision. He clenched his eyes shut, covering them with his hand. Another moment passed, and the realization of where he was suddenly dawned on him. He didn’t have time to waste! He had to find his children.
He bolted up and looked around, but Jane was nowhere to be seen. “Jane!” he called out in hushed tones. There was no response.
He got up out of the bed and put on his clothes. He looked around the upstairs, but didn’t see any sign of her. Then he walked downstairs and found that the front door was wide open. He looked out and saw Jane standing in front of the house. She was holding her arms up, spread out to her sides.
“Jane, what are you doing?” he asked.
She seemed to suddenly come out of a daze. She turned around and said, “Logan! You’re awake.”
“Isn’t it dangerous for you to be out here like this?”
“It’s ok,” Jane said with a smile across her face. “I can control them again.”
Logan walked up and wrapped his arms around her waist.
“Let’s go find your children,” Jane said.
⌬
“There it is,” Logan said as they rounded the corner.
The streets were eerily quiet, eerily empty, even with Jane’s abilities. Windows were destroyed, vehicles were wrecked, blood was splattered on the streets in gallons, but there was no evidence of Infected.
Above them, a sign flickered on and off.
“Sanctum Pharmaceuticals.”
“The last location on Elizabeth’s PH tracker before it disconnected,” Logan wondered.
“The place I woke up,” Jane said ponderously. She ran up and looked up and down the block. “I came out of this door,” she pointed. “I went down the road in that direction…” She trailed off. Her eyes widened in fear. “He’s here,” she exclaimed, clutching her temples.
“What do you mean?” Logan ran up to her. “What do you mean, ‘He’s here?’”
She didn’t respond. She turned her gaze to the road behind them.
A moment passed by. Neither of them spoke. Another moment. A shadow spread out across the sidewalk. It got closer, and closer, until Skylar came walking out into the middle of the road.
The remainder of his men followed close behind him. In the middle of them were the Marlows, Luke, and Abigail. Luke walked freely, but the rest of them had their hands bound and their mouths gagged.
The Marlows and Luke were all sporting fresh black eyes, bruises, cuts, swollen lips, and worse. Blood dripped down the face of Zachariah, and the legs of Isabel, Petra, and Abigail.
“My God,” Logan said, contemplating them. “What have you done?”
“What have I done?” Skylar asked. “What have you done? I do seem to recall offering you my hospitality. Not only did you reject it, but you killed a few men I rather liked. And one I hated. You win some, you lose some, I guess.”
Abigail groaned.
“You have your friend here to thank for the fact that you’re still alive,” Skylar said, pointing at Abigail and smiling. “I had you in my sights. But she stopped me from pulling the trigger.”
“You couldn’t have hit me if you your nose was touching my own,” Logan sneered.
Skylar didn’t acknowledge that he had even spoken. “‘Follow him!’ she said to me. ‘He could lead you to something useful.’ And so I did, and so you have. The laboratory that developed InstaRegen. It might not have turned out to be the smash hit they were hoping for, but I’m willing to bet there are all sorts of different goodies in there, and they’re all ours… Thanks to you.”
Skylar walked over to Abigail. “Sadly,” he said, “it’s much easier to gain my trust than it is to gain my forgiveness.” Skylar pulled Logan’s gun out of his holster and cocked it, pointing it right at Abigail’s head.
“You wouldn’t do that,” Logan said, gesturing for him to stop.
“Oh yeah? And why is that?”
“Every Infected in the city will hear the sound of your gun going off. They’ll be all over us in less than a minute.”
“You know what,” Skylar said, “you’re right.” He put the gun up on his belt and pulled out his knife, grabbing Abigail by the hand and cutting off all four of her fingers. She groaned as loudly as she could considering she couldn’t open her mouth.
“There we go. That was much quieter.”
Skylar smiled. He turned and began walking towards Logan. Before he could get far, though, the door to the laboratory slammed open, and a man came running out.
While Skylar was distracted by the commotion, Jane ran up and punched him in the head. He stumbled backwards and lost the grip on his revolver. It fell to the ground. Jane jumped for it, but before she could reach it, Skylar head-butted her. She fell onto her side, groaning.
Skylar walked up. The gun was right next to her hand. He leaned over and picked it up off the ground. “Such a shame,” he said. He pointed the gun at Jane’s head.
Jane’s eyes widened. She looked to Logan, pleading for help w
ith her face.
“Skylar, don’t!” Logan shouted out.
Skylar cocked the gun.
A tear rolled down Jane’s cheek. “I love you,” she mouthed.
“No, no, no, no, no,” Logan cried.
Skylar pulled the trigger. The sound of the gunshot echoed through the city streets, finally settling deep in the recesses of Logan’s shattered heart.
“NO!” he shouted, his eyes tearing up. He fell to his knees. “How could you? How could you, you monster!”
“Don’t worry,” Skylar smiled, walking over to Logan. “You’ll be joining her soon.” He pointed the gun between Logan’s eyes. “After all, what’s one more gunshot? The whole city knows we’re here now.”
Skylar’s finger twisted around the trigger, and he squeezed. Right before the gun fired, Logan reached out and grabbed the barrel with his bad hand, pulling it to the ground. The gunshot blasted his eardrums. All he could hear was a distant ringing sound. All he could feel was the mind-numbing pain that stemmed from his shredded hand and spread throughout the rest of his body.
He twisted the gun out of Skylar’s hand, grabbing it with his other hand and pointing it at Skylar. At that same moment, Luke grabbed the gun from the guard beside him, unloading it into Skylar’s men. The man that had come out of the laboratory did the same. Soon, Zachariah and his family were freed.
“You worthless piece of trash,” Logan said, standing over Skylar. “Why did you do it? Why?”
“It was fun,” Skylar grinned.
Logan turned and screamed. Then he brought his attention back to Skylar.
Skylar smiled as he stared down the barrel. Then, a drop of black blood rolled down his cheek. “You’ll never guess what I learned to do since the last time we spoke."
Before Logan should pull the trigger, a shadowy figure came walking out from behind the laboratory. Logan didn’t need but a second to recognize who it was. “My God, Liz. What happened to you?”
Chapter XXV
