by S. M. LITTLE
“With the amount of blood that was pouring out, I thought it would have been bigger,” he said to himself.
“Head wounds bleed profusely,” Lucy said behind him.
“Oh, you’re awake?” Greg said as he tried to give her a kiss.
“Not yet, big guy. I haven’t brushed my teeth in two days,” she said reaching for her toothbrush.
Greg thought again about the kiss and decided that he wasn’t about to chance that encounter. He turned on the shower and got the water steaming hot.
“Care to join me?” he asked.
“Not yet. I need to eat. I’ll grab a shower after you,” Lucy said.
While Greg was showering, Lucy went to the kitchen and looked for some food. She usually ate at the hospital or ate out, so she didn’t have much. Some ramen noodles, stale bread, and Doritos. The fridge had some Coke and beer in it.
“Well, that’s not good,” she said to herself. She pulled some Ramen noodles out and started the water to boil. She didn’t have much, but they needed to eat. By the time Greg got out of the shower, she was wolfing down the noodles.
“Mmm, Ramen, my favorite,” Greg said sarcastically.
Lucy shot him a look that said, ‘not now’, and took off for the bathroom.
“Guess mornings aren’t her thing,” he mumbled to himself. He ate his food until Lucy came back out. She greeted him with a kiss and scrounged for the coffee.
“Feeling better?” Greg asked.
“Yes, but I need my coffee,” Lucy said as she got the pot brewing.
“So, to your sister’s?” Greg asked, hoping to spark the conversation they had to have.
“Yes, but I don’t have my car, and it’s a long ass walk,” Lucy said impatiently. The coffee maker had a mind of its own. It knew she desperately needed coffee and was laughing at her while taking its own sweet time to brew the coffee. She got tired of waiting for it to finish, grabbed her mug and pulled the pot out, letting coffee splatter and sizzle on the hot plate. Pouring a cup, she quickly gulped down the hot liquid, sighing after she finished the first sip.
“I don’t have a car, I always rode my bike to work,” Greg said, envious of her cup of hot, black liquid.
Suddenly, both whipped their heads around to look at the wall between Lucy’s apartment and her neighbor’s. Loud gurgling noises could be heard coming through the wall.
“I have an idea,” Lucy said. She grabbed two kitchen knives, giving one to Greg and keeping the other one. They exited her apartment and walked to the neighbor’s door.
“This is my neighbor, Susan. She has a car and from the sounds of it, she won’t be needing it anymore,” Lucy said as she turned the doorknob. Slowly, she opened the door, trying to make as little noise as possible. She entered the apartment with Greg close on her heels.
They rounded the corner of the hallway to see Susan aimlessly stumbling through the living room, knocking over anything in her way. She had green veins protruding from her skin and cloudy eyes.
Greg sneezed, giving away any surprise attack they might have made. Susan made a beeline for them, as fast as a green one could, arms reaching out and mouth chomping. Her teeth clattered together, making a crunching sound.
Lucy wasted no time and attacked with fury. Susan had always looked down on Lucy, probably because Lucy was a smartass. Lucy wasn’t going to enjoy this, but she wouldn’t hate it either.
Lucy sidestepped the oncoming Susan and drove the knife deep into the back of Susan’s head. Susan dropped like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
Greg stood in awe and wondered if he would ever get to a point where he didn’t feel like he was disappointing Lucy.
Lucy withdrew the blade and wiped it off.
“Now we can go shopping. Susan was a hoarder, of sorts. She will have supplies, and…” Lucy said as she went to the small table near the door, grabbing a set of keys, “a car for us to borrow.”
“Borrow?” Greg said.
“Yeah, we might return it one day,” Lucy said with a giggle.
How could she giggle after what they had been through and what she had just done? Greg couldn’t figure her out, which made her all the more desirable to him.
“You must teach me, oh great one,” Greg said as he got down on his knees and bowed to her.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Lucy said, pulling on his arm to get him up.
“I’ve been trying to figure you out,” Greg said, getting up. “How on earth you can go from the horror movie we were part of yesterday, to knifing your neighbor, to cracking jokes.”
“Easy. No guilt, no regrets, no fear,” she replied, as if it was the most natural thing to do. It never occurred to her that other people didn’t see things that way.
“Those things will slow you down, make you second guess everything. Make a choice and move on. Susan was gone. Whatever that thing is, it wasn’t her,” Lucy added. The bells were starting to ring in Greg’s head. He was starting to form a picture of who Lucy really was.
“Supplies,’ Lucy said, trying to get his attention back on track. “We’re going to need water, food, any medical supplies we can find, and weapons. I have my pistol, but that won’t hold us for long. We need more.”
They went through Susan’s apartment, grabbing everything that might be of value. Some duffle bags, backpacks, food that would last them the duration of the drive, bottled water, several first aid kits and the car. Susan didn’t believe in guns, so that was out of the question.
“I think I have an idea for weapons,” Greg said. He told her his plan and she agreed. They would soon find out what kind of horror movie they were really living in.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS
Greg sat, peering through the windshield of the Jeep they had commandeered. He was looking at a small store that serviced hunters and hikers. Actually, that was what it was called, ‘Hunters and Hikers’.
They had been sitting there for over an hour, watching to see if there was any activity around the place. Nothing was moving in or around the small mom and pop shop. It was an out of the way place that not many people knew about, on the outskirts of town.
“Looks clear,” Greg said.
“Yeah, let’s do it,” Lucy said.
They exited the Jeep, locked it, and strode right for the entrance to the store. It was tucked back under several large trees that blocked the view once a person got close.
“How do we get in? They have to have an alarm,” Lucy said.
“With the key,” Greg said as he produced a key ring out of his pocket.
Lucy looked on in bewilderment.
“I know them. They were close friends of my parents before they died. They trusted me with a key to help keep an eye on the place,” Greg told her. “They were trying to sell the store because they were getting older. Just couldn’t keep up with it. They were trying to sell it lock, stock and barrel, all inventory included.”
Lucy smiled at him as he opened the door and turned off the alarm. They entered the store, smelling the musty odors of a place that hadn’t seen a human in some time. Mildew and dust motes infiltrated their noses, making Lucy sneeze violently.
“Good lord, we gotta be quick. This smell is going to kill me,” Lucy said.
“You get hunting supplies, I’ll get weapons,” Greg said.
They split up to search the small store. Greg immediately went to the back storeroom because he knew that’s where all the good stuff was kept. It was loaded with ammunition and several different styles of hunting rifles. The owner didn’t want to have the guns on display. He was old fashioned in his thinking and believed that if someone wanted a weapon, they could ask.
Greg found several 10/22 rifles with extra magazines. These would help take down the Changed in a more rapid and safe fashion than using a knife. The 10/22s were semi-automatic weapons, meaning they shot one bullet for every trigger pull and reloaded themselves. If headshots were the best way to kill those monst
ers, then these would do nicely. He also found an old Springfield 30/30. It would help take down wild game if they ever needed to hunt for food.
Ammunition cases were few and far between, but he found a few that he loaded with rounds for both calibers. There were no pistols here, as the old man didn’t feel a need to sell them in a hunting store.
Lucy was fairing slightly better, finding all sorts of equipment they could use. So far, she had started a pile near the front door that had a two-man tent, water purification tablets, metal mugs to use to boil water, campsite cookware, some additional clothing, ferro rods and other fire starting kits, and a lot more. She was starting to wonder if they would have enough room in the Jeep to hold all of this.
“Holy crap, that’s a lot of stuff,” Greg said as he came back into the main sales area.
“Hope we can fit it all in,” Lucy said.
They took their time packing the Jeep but had to remove everything once and start over, playing their own form of Tetris in order to get it all in, but an hour later, everything was loaded.
“Looks like we’re ready to go,’ Greg said as he was catching his breath. They had to keep their guard up constantly to watch for changed people and looters.
“Let’s get going. Something feels off,” Lucy warned.
“How so?” Greg asked as he got in the passenger seat.
“I feel like we’re being watched,” Lucy said. “Someone has been peeping at us for a while now, I can feel it.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Greg said as Lucy started the Jeep. The engine turned over and the headlights popped on, illuminating several figures in front of them. They were holding knives and chains and were a bloody mess. Lucy could see that each one had bite marks and knew from the looks of them they weren’t long for this world.
“Floor it,” Greg yelled out as he leaned out the window. He brought the .22 rifle up and started to ‘spray and pray’. It was enough to get the people in front of them to disperse so Lucy could drive away.
The roar of the engine and sounds of gunfire attracted a pack of Changed. Lucy was so concerned about getting away from the first group of guys that she didn’t see what was coming up in front of them. A pack of Greens had walked into the road in front of the Jeep. Lucy swerved left, then right, almost launching Greg out the window.
“Warn a guy before you do that,” Greg yelled.
“Shoot them,” Lucy yelled back. The pack was growing, and other colors were getting involved. Red ones started chasing the Jeep, and with their enhanced speed, they were catching up. Lucy couldn’t put the spurs to the Jeep for fear of damaging it by hitting all the Greens in front of her.
“Lucy, you gotta get us moving,” Greg yelled from outside the window. He was still sitting on top of the door with his torso out the window. He had already burned through two magazines for the .22 and was reloading.
“Last mag,” he shouted.
“Hang on,” Lucy yelled as she hit the gas. “It’s gonna get bumpy from here.” The Jeep responded to her request for speed, barreling into several Greens. Lucy tried to avoid the majority of the bodies, but eventually was forced to hit some of them, as there were just too many blocking the road. The Jeep took some damage to the right front fender, bending the fender in to almost touch the tire. One more inch and it would be rubbing against it.
The Greens she hit bounced off the Jeep and hit the pavement with a thud. They got back up and started chasing the vehicle, as fast as they could bumble along. Soon they were out of the chase and wandered off to start looking for other fresh people to bite.
Lucy soon had open road in front of her and tried to push the gas pedal through the firewall. Greg maneuvered back inside and took a deep breath. He was ghost white and smelled of gunpowder. Close to hyperventilating, he closed his eyes and concentrated on his breathing.
Lucy was in a little better shape, although she was freaked out. No matter how many times she was around those things, they were still creepy as hell and fear inducing. It was time to get to her sister’s where, hopefully, it was safer.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
DULUTH, MINNESOTA
Dylan pulled up to April’s parents’ house. He was trying to find a way to tell them he had killed their daughter and then figure out how to convince them to go to the cabin. It was going to be a hard sell, no matter how he sliced it.
He hopped out of the car with his head down, lost in thought, when something ran his ass over. It fell on top of him and before he knew it, he was battling April’s dad. He was green and smelled like a sewer. It was something Dylan hadn’t noticed with the other Changed. It was fairly common knowledge that when a human body dies, it releases all the waste that remains in the body. He thought it must be true for the Changed, as the smell coming from April’s dad was rancid.
Dylan fought to get out from under April’s dad, while doing his best to hold the chomping mouth away from him. He wiggled underneath, sliding to the left. It was working and he was almost free when April’s mom joined the fray. Dylan could see her coming up on his left side and wiggled back to the right.
He figured his best bet was to stay underneath April’s dad until April’s mom became fully invested in the fight. She bumbled her way towards the dueling pair, tripping on the arm of April’s father. She landed with a thud on top of him, adding more weight on Dylan.
It was getting hard to breath, so Dylan performed the only option he had left. He reached for the knife on his tac vest. It was located near his left shoulder. Once he got his left arm free, it was an easy reach to grab the knife. He was still holding April’s dad at bay with his right arm as he took the knife in his left hand and plunged it into her dad’s skull. April’s dad immediately went limp against his body.
April’s mom was still thrashing about trying to reach Dylan. She knew there was fresh prey, and that it was close. She managed to reach around her dead husband and grab on to Dylan’s right arm. In response, Dylan grabbed her with his right hand and pulled her over April’s father and down to the pavement. Once she was on the ground and no longer weighing him down, Dylan took his left arm and managed to throw April’s dad on top of her. He got to his knees and using the knife, ended April’s mom.
Breathing hard from the fight, Dylan fell back to a seated position and stared at the two bodies. He had just wiped out the immediate family of the love of his life. Over the years, these two had become second parents to him. They had been invested in his life as much as his own parents. Now they lay in the driveway, smelling like shit, dead.
It was too much for Dylan to take. He let out a primal scream that emanated from his soul. It felt as if it came up from his toes and worked its way through his body to finally emerge from his mouth. It lasted for a full thirty seconds before he had to breathe, and that’s when the tears came. They came all at once and it was ugly crying. Uncontrollable sobbing rocked his body as the events of the day caught up to him.
Fifteen minutes later, Dylan managed to get control of himself. He calmed his breathing and released all of the tension in his body. His eyes were closed, and he sat with his head down. One more cleansing breath, and he opened his eyes. He normally had bright blue eyes, but now, they were black. To anyone that looked at him, they were still blue, but inside his soul they were as black as night.
No longer would Dylan let his emotions take over. He was now a machine. A killing machine that would drive a stake through the heart of this new plague that had enveloped mankind.
He slowly rose and went inside the house. He found the dog lying on the living room floor. It was dead from blood loss. Taking no chances, Dylan drove his knife into its head and moved to the telephone.
He was always good at remembering numbers and he started making calls. He had decided to assemble a team made up of his old high school buddies, train them, and use them to protect innocent people and kill all those who had changed.
His first call was to Glenn Wilson. The last time Dylan had talked to him, Glenn had be
en working on getting his pilot’s license.
“Hello?” Glenn answered the phone.
“Hey, flyboy,” Dylan said. He didn’t sound happy, nor sad, just even-keeled.
“Holy hell! The world goes to pot and look who calls. You know anything about what’s going on?” Glenn asked.
“I know a fair amount. None of it good,” Dylan replied.
“Man, everything is going down the crap hole. I heard about this girl that was ripped apart at the airport— “. He was cut off by Dylan.
“I was there. That was April,” Dylan said stoically.
“Oh shit. I’m sorry, man,” Glenn said.
“You still fly?” Dylan asked him.
“Sure thing. Need to go somewhere?” Glenn asked.
“Rotor wing as well?” Dylan asked.
“Yeah, what’re you thinking?” Glenn said.
“Get over to April’s parents’ house, we have work to do,” Dylan responded.
Within half an hour Glenn arrived and Dylan told him what he knew and what had happened at the airport. He showed Glenn the bodies of April’s parents, and then told him his plan.
“I’m in,” Glenn said. He was single and had no family left. No brothers or sisters, just long-lost relatives he saw once a year at Christmas.
Together they rounded up several more of their group from high school. The newly formed team consisted of men with varied skills that would all come in handy in this new world.
Scott Marshik had worked in the northern Minnesota mines for years and was skilled at using explosives. Tim Meyer was a licensed gunsmith. There wasn’t a weapon he couldn’t work on, and hopefully, build.
Randy Goetz was next. He was a mechanic, and a damned good one at that. People called him Gadget because he always had some sort of gadget that he could use to fix anything.
Robert Johnson, known as big Bob, was a former Army sharpshooter. It was said that he once shot a penny from seven hundred yards. He would neither confirm nor deny those rumors.
