Surviving Rage | Book 2

by Arellano, J. D.

  “What about Thor, Black Panther, and Quicksilver?”

  “Sure. Even some of the ones you’ve only kind of heard of, like Moon Knight, Adam Warlock, or the Silver Surfer.”

  “No way!”

  Damien laughed, a deep, hearty laugh that made his jowls quiver and shake. “Yes way, little man, just be good and listen to your mom.”

  “Okay!” The boy followed his mother and sister into the van and strapped himself in.

  The rest of the group got into the van, with Serrano behind the wheel again and Aaron in the passenger seat. Phillip, Jennifer, and Richard filled out the next row of seats, with Jennifer handling the map when needed. Behind them, Damien occupied the majority of the next row, and in the rear, Sarah sat in the middle of the row, with her kids flanking her on either side. Serrano preferred not to have Sarah and the kids in the back row, but Damien simply couldn’t get to the back row, no matter how hard he tried, and he needed his navigator close by in case he had questions. It wasn’t ideal, but it would have to do.

  As for Sarah, she hadn’t made eye contact or even looked in his direction since their disagreement over the route they’d take. She’d talked openly and comfortably with everyone else, even laughing slightly once or twice in response to quips they’d made, but when it came to Serrano, she simply ignored him.

  For some strange reason, it bothered him.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Near Tehachapi, California

  “Ten four, good buddy,” Daniel said, sliding the cb mic back into the holder.

  Serafina rolled her eyes before turning her head to look out the window. “Dork.”

  Smiling, Daniel guided the Prius around a wrecked truck in the right lane of the highway, glancing briefly in the rearview mirror to verify Logan and Paul were following.

  Logan and Paul had made pretty quick work of installing the cb radios in the two vehicles, though the installations were far from clean: they turned the radios sideways and secured them to the sidewall of the center console on the passenger’s side, screwing the fasteners directly into the plastic molding after they’d run the wires through a four inch hole they’d cut in the same panel. The massive cb antenna whipped back and forth wildly in the wind, its large base secured in a spot next to the car’s radio antenna by screws forcibly driven into the metal of the car’s frame. In all, it was an ugly job, but the radio worked, and worked well.

  As they drove across the Mojave, the heat in the little Prius was intense, but with zero chance of rescue should one of the cars break down, Daniel kept the air conditioning off to reduce the engine’s workload. Instead, they drove with every window down, which allowed the wind into the cabin of the small car, providing at least airflow. Unfortunately, it also brought dust (and sometimes sand) into the car, requiring them to cover their mouths and noses. Sunglasses (which Daniel, Serafina, and Ashley had) were a necessity for those who wanted to look around, while Brenna and Isabella were advised to either keep a spare shirt over their faces or keep their eyes shut.

  Sweat ran down Daniel’s face as he drove the Prius along State Route 58 on their way towards Bakersfield, and though the heat made him uncomfortable, he couldn’t help but like the mostly open roads that wound their way through the desert. With few obstacles on the road, they were making better time than he’d thought possible as the dry, barren land passed by on either side of them.

  Looking over at his wife, he found her leaning back in her seat with her eyes closed. She was holding a rag over her mouth and nose as she rested. Sweat glided down her temple, then trailed down her jawline as he watched.

  ‘Even now, in the middle of all this, she’s beautiful,’ Daniel thought, smiling as he turned his eyes back towards the road. Tilting his head slightly, he squinted as he looked at something up ahead in the distance.

  “Honey…” he said, as he continued driving closer. Distance was difficult to gauge on the long straightaway, but it appeared that what he was seeing was about three miles away.

  “What is it?” She asked, sitting forward as she pulled off her glasses to quickly rub her eyes before donning them again.

  Raising one finger from the steering wheel, Daniel pointed. “There’s something going on up there.”

  Serafina peered into the distance. “Definitely some kind of commotion.”

  “What is it, Auntie?” Ashley asked from the back seat.

  “Not sure,” she replied, shaking her head. She was able to make out man-shaped figures in the road ahead, and based on the quickness of their movements, whatever was happening up there was intense. “What’s the plan here?”

  Daniel considered her question for a minute as allowed the vehicle to close the distance. When the commotion was about a mile and a half away, Daniel said, “Let’s talk it over.” He slowed and pulled to the right, extending his arm from the vehicle and waving Logan forward.

  Serafina pulled the binoculars out of the glove compartment and was looking towards the commotion when Logan and Paul stopped their car alongside theirs.

  Daniel pointed ahead. “Something going on up there. Not sure what it is.”

  Logan looked into the distance, then lifted his binoculars. “Shit,” he said, gazing into the distance through the glass.

  “Looks like two, no, three men are under attack from a bunch of infected.” Serafina stated, still gazing towards the commotion. Sitting back, she passed the binoculars to Daniel. “Take a look.”

  Lifting the binoculars to his eyes, he guided the field of vision along the road until he found the source of commotion. Lying on its side in the middle of the two-lane highway was a large orangish-yellow school bus. Nearly a dozen bodies laid in the road around the bus, all of them unmoving. Stopped near the bus was a white Honda Accord, surrounded by a horde of infected. Three men stood atop the car, desperately trying to fight off the infected people surrounding them. As Daniel watched, one of the men was dragged down off the top of the car. Screaming, he fell into the crowd, which converged on him in a frenzy. Arms flew wildly as the infected beat, clawed, and pulled at the man, sending blood, clumps of hair, and chunks of flesh into the air around the melee.

  Daniel angled the glasses upward and watched as the two men argued with each other. Clearly, they were debating making a run for it. One of them was visibly imploring the other man, while he shook his back and forth in disagreement.

  “Don’t do it,” Logan said from the other car. “Don’t - ”

  The man jumped down from the car, landing hard and falling to his knees just as the horde of infected finished with the other man. Turning towards him, three of them leapt forward as he broke into a run, trying to escape. They chased him with bloodied arms extended, reaching for him as he remained just out of reach. Running away from the bus, he was headed towards where Daniel was parked, though nearly a mile and a half away.

  “What’s happening?” Serafina asked.

  “One of the men is trying to escape.”

  “Did they see him?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh no….” Serafina turned her body towards the backseat, effectively blocking the view of the road. Though the man was still some distance away, she didn’t want to risk the girls seeing what would happen if the infected caught him.

  Daniel realized he was holding his breath as he watched the man run. Sweat flew from his body, glistening in the afternoon sun as he raced away from the crazed men and women that chased. Arms pumping, legs churning, the man was using every bit of strength he had to try to get away.

  It wasn’t enough.

  While the other infected were keeping pace, not gaining nor falling behind, a large black man sped past them and caught the runner, tackling from behind. Daniel saw the man’s eyes go wide with shock as the man’s superior mass blasted him from behind, knocking him forward, off of his feet. His arms came out in front of him as he tried to break his fall, but with the large man’s added mass, his efforts were insufficient. The man’s chin hit the pavement first, followed by
the rest of his face. He slid forward several feet on his face and body before stopping under the man, who rose to his knees and began slamming his fists into the man’s head. Seconds later the rest of the horde caught up and joined in on the beating.

  Though it was essentially over when the man hit the ground, the infected didn’t care as they pummeled his unmoving body repeatedly, breaking limbs and tearing flesh.

  What happened next shocked both Daniel and Logan to their cores.

  Hands pulled away from the man, holding chunks of meat and fat, torn from his body. The infected brought the meat to their mouths and consumed it ravenously, barely chewing as they stuffed it into their mouths.

  “What the..?” Logan said, his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

  “Holy shit!” Daniel added, pulling the binoculars away from his eyes. He raised them once more to look through them, needing to confirm what he’d seen. Once confirmed, he lowered them slowly, holding them in his lap as he stared towards the melee.

  “What is it?” Serafina asked.

  “They…” he looked towards the girls in the backseat. Not wanting them to hear the horrifying news, he leaned towards his wife and lowered his voice. “They were - ”

  Ashley would have none of it. “Dad, we need to know, too.”

  Daniel looked towards the back seats, considering what she said. When his eyes met Ashley’s, she held his gaze determinedly. He looked towards Brenna and saw the same determination there.

  “We need to know what we’re up against, Dad.” Brenna said, nodding.

  Sighing, Daniel sat back in his seat and looked forward. “The infected were eating the man.”

  “What the fuck?” Serafina said, frowning as she looked towards the mass of infected.

  “Oh my God…” Brenna added, looking away.

  “That’s so wrong,” Ashley chimed in.

  “I agree.” Daniel said, sitting there in his seat.

  From the other car, Logan’s voice called out. “If we’re going to do something, we need to do it now.”

  Daniel looked back towards the man who was standing atop the car. While the horde was distracted, he’d gotten down off of the car and made his way to the bus, which he was now attempting to climb. He slipped once, nearly falling from the bus to the pavement, but he caught himself by clamping his arm against the edge of the bus. In doing so, his legs kicked wildly as they tried to gain purchase on the metal surface of the bus.

  The infected must have heard his feet kick the side of the bus, because the group of them turned simultaneously and looked towards the bus. As one, they rose from their position on the ground and screamed, howling loudly before charging the bus.

  “Shit!” Daniel swore, shaking his head. Looking towards Logan, he asked, “Ideas?”

  “Yeah,” Logan said, nodding. “I distract them and you pick him up.”

  Daniel shook his head, disagreeing. “I don’t have room in the car.”

  Logan turned and looked at Daniel with a deadpan expression. “Make room. You being the bait means they’d be chasing you and the girls. You don’t want that, do you?”

  Daniel considered his question for a second, then looked at Paul. Turning to Serafina, he asked, “Mind driving?”

  She looked back at him. “Don’t even think about it.”

  He lowered his voice. “Look, he needs backup. Paul’s getting better, but he’s not it. Not yet.”

  Serafina sighed. “Be careful. You get yourself hurt, I’ll kill you myself.”

  “We need to go now!” Logan said impatiently.

  “I know, I know, Daniel said, grabbing the AR-15 as he got out of the car. He took a step, then turned back and grabbed his Glock as well, sliding it into his waistband. Serafina was climbing over the center console, getting into the front seat when he looked at Paul and jabbed his thumb towards the other car. “Get in with my family. I need that seat.”

  Paul looked back defiantly. “I’ll give you my seat, but I’m going with you.” Before Daniel could respond, he got out of the front seat, moved to the rear door, opened it, and got in, putting on his seatbelt quickly.

  Daniel glanced back at his wife and shrugged. He hopped in the front seat, looked over and nodded. “Let’s do this.”

  Logan pressed down on the accelerator, causing the small car to lurch forward. As they zipped along the highway towards the mass of infected, Daniel checked his guns, making sure each was loaded and had a round in the chamber. Satisfied each was ready, he put the Glock in the door pocket as they drew near the mass, which had noticed their approach. They turned and bared their teeth at the approaching vehicle, then screamed loudly before racing forward. Daniel looked towards the bus. There was a small gap to the left of its front end.

  Daniel pointed. “Head towards that gap.”

  Logan stared at the point Daniel indicated. “I don’t think we’ll fit.”

  “If we go on the median a bit, so what? This will give me and Paul both a clear line of fire.”

  Logan nodded. “Alright.”

  As Daniel lowered his window, he called out to Paul. “You ready?”

  There was a slight hesitation before the young man responded. “Yeah.”

  Daniel shouted over the sound of the noise coming through the open window. “When you get the shot, take it! Don’t think about it!”

  “Got it!”

  Logan turned the wheel to the left, aiming the car towards the gap Daniel had indicated.

  As they neared the group, Daniel’s eyes searched until they found the biggest threat he’d identified in the group: the large black man who’d exhibited tremendous speed and strength as he’d taken down the man who’d tried to escape. When Daniel located the man, he rested the barrel of the gun on the window edge and took aim. Logan took as his foot of the gas as they drew parallel with the group, allowing the car to coast as Daniel and Paul opened fire.

  Daniel squeezed the trigger, feeling the AR-15’s slight kick as it sent the first bullet, then another flying towards the large man. Three rounds struck the man in his torso, hitting him like powerful punches as the metal tore through his body. His forward motion stopped momentarily before his legs gave out, sending him to the ground. Moving the barrel to the left, Daniel heard Logan’s gun bark from behind him. ‘Good job, kid,’ he thought as he squeezed the trigger again. This time a small Asian woman took three rounds. While the bullets stopped the large man in his tracks, when the metal rounds hit the small frame of the woman, she was thrown backwards off her feet. Her feet flew out from under her, rising above her head as she crashed to the ground. In his peripheral vision, Daniel saw another man fall to the ground as Paul shot hit him in his chest.

  They car coasted a bit further, allowing Daniel and Paul to get off another shot before Logan had to give the car gas again to keep them out of the infected’s reach. Two more of the infected fell, reducing the number remaining that pursued them to nine. The tires squealed as Logan sped forward, angling towards the small gap that remained open on the left side of the bus.

  “Not gonna fit,” Logan said through gritting teeth. “Hold on!”

  Daniel grabbed hold of the small handle above the window just as the front left tire slid off the pavement, landing on the hard packed, rock-covered surface of the median. The car bounced hard, sending everyone towards the driver’s side. Daniel heard a loud metallic thud come from behind him before Paul swore.

  “Shit!”

  “What happened?” Daniel yelled, holding on even tighter in anticipation of the rear left tire leaving the road.

  Paul’s words were drowned out by the loud noise of the car bouncing as Logan struggled to maintain control as they drove half-on, half-off the pavement. “I .luh...th...un!”

  “You what?!”

  The car cleared the bus and Logan pulled the wheel hard to the right, driving it back up onto the paved surface of the road.

  “I lost the gun!”

  “Are you serious?” Daniel yelled, turning to look over his
shoulder at the teenager. ‘Just when he’d been doing well,’ he thought.

  “Sorry, I lost my grip when the car bounced!”

  ‘Shit!’ Daniel thought. ‘Be cool, the kid’s doing better.’

  “Alright,” he said, holding up his hand. “Just hold on, we’ll figure something out.

  “I’ve already got it,” Logan said, looking ahead. The road was clear of obstructions as far as they could see.

  “What’re you thinking?” Daniel asked, looking through the side mirror to watch as the horde of infected pursued them.

  “We lead them far enough away from the bus that Serafina and the girls can rescue the man. Then we open up a decent amount of space between us and them.”

  “And?”

  Logan pointed to a small road about a hundred yards ahead. “We pull over, get out, and open fire on the bastards.”

  Logan grinned. “I like it.” He looked back at Paul. “When we get out, we’ll set up behind the Prius. I’ll let you use my Glock. You’ll be the last line of defense if any get through our line of fire.”

  Paul looked back at him guiltily. “Are you sure?”

  Daniel nodded. “Yeah. You’re doing better. Most likely you won’t have to do anything, but just in case, you’ll be there.”

  “Okay,” Paul replied, hesitating for a second before adding, “sorry about the gun.”

  Daniel nodded. “It’s alright. We’ll get it back after we deal with these things. Tonight when we stop, you’re gonna clean it thoroughly.”

  “Okay.”

  Logan slowed the car hard before he turned the wheel to the right, guiding the car off the highway and onto the small road. After continuing about a hundred yards, he pulled the wheel to the right before he stopped, positioning the car across the road. He put the car in park and left the engine running. He looked over at Daniel. “Ready?”

  “Let’s do it.” The two of them got out quickly, taking up positions on the driver side of the car so that the vehicle was between them and the approaching group.