Surviving Rage | Book 2

by Arellano, J. D.

  They were perfect soldiers.

  Miguel, on the other hand, had questioned him one time too many.

  ‘I’m watching you, mothafucka,’ he thought, staring at the man for a moment before looking away.

  The house burned rapidly, the heat from it forcing them to take a few steps back as they watched. He wanted to move on, but it was important that it burned to the ground, and even more important that there were no survivors.

  Word of what they’d done inside couldn’t be allowed to get out.

  When they’d arrived at the Police Chief’s home, they’d found the man and his family holed up inside, accompanied by four additional armed officers. Of course, the Chief and his men had resisted, falsely believing that they still held the power in the new world that had taken shape around them. Modified AR-15s and AK-47s had rained bullets upon the home, beating them back and injuring two of the Chief’s men. Shrapnel grenades had destroyed the entrance to the home and killed another man, allowing easy entrance to the home.

  Leon and the others cleared the lower level of the home quickly before heading upstairs. In predictable fashion, they’d found the Chief, his family, and the remaining officer in the master bedroom.

  Wanting to send a clear message that resistance was futile, Leon tossed a shrapnel grenade near the set of double doors. The resulting blast destroyed the doors, sending a shower of splintered wood into the space beyond. When the smoke cleared, he and his crew entered the room.

  The lone officer stood and aimed his weapon a second too slow. He received a shotgun blast to the chest before he could pull the trigger, sending him backwards and through the window. Hitting the terracotta tiled roof, his body slid a short way before falling to the ground.

  Standing in front of his wife and three small children, the Chief held up his hands in front of him.

  “Easy there, guys. If you want money, you can have everything we have. Just take it and go.”

  Leon looked at the fat, balding man. He was soft, made that way by his job, his position, and his wealth. Wealth that hadn’t come solely from a police chief’s salary. The man had long been known for taking bribes.

  He’d also been known for having his men take out those he’d accepted bribes from when he felt they’d served their purpose.

  “Toss over your gun,” Leon said before spitting on the marble tiled floor of the room.

  The Chief complied quickly, carefully bending down and sliding his weapon on the floor towards Leon’s feet.

  When the man stood, Leon aimed his pistol and shot the man in the kneecap, blowing it out from under him. Blood flew backwards, splattering his wife and children as the big man fell to the ground, wailing.

  The children wailed loudly as the woman screamed. “Please, just take what you want and leave us alone!”

  Looking at the attractive brunette woman, Leon smiled wickedly. “Okay. Come on, then.”

  Blinking back tears, the woman looked at him, confusion showing on her face.

  “W-What?”

  Leon sneered. “You. Get over here, bitch.”

  “Bu- but my children need me…”

  Leon shook his head. “Not my problem.”

  The Chief looked up from where he laid on the floor, holding his knee with both hands as he grimaced in pain. His forehead was plastered with sweat as he struggled to put together words. “Please…” he rasped, “Just leave us alone…”

  Leon didn’t even look at the man as he replied. “Shut the fuck up. Another word out of you and I shoot one of those kids.”

  The woman cried loudly as he made her way to her feet, her legs wobbling under her. “Please, don’t hurt my children.”

  Sneering, Leon looked at her, his eyes moving up and down her body as he tried to envision what was underneath her loose fitting clothing.

  ‘Why am I wondering?’ he thought.

  “Step closer,” he ordered the woman. She did so slowly, moving tentatively on high heels that were ridiculously inappropriate for the state of the world.

  “Strip.”

  “What?” she asked, looking around the room. “Please, no. My children...don’t do this to them. I’ll...I’ll go with you, wherever you want.”

  “How do I know I want you if I can’t see what you got?” Leon replied, laughing slightly.

  Next to him, Miguel scoffed. “Shit...I’ll take her if you don’t want her, Leon. She looks like she’d got a nice rack.”

  “Shut the fuck up,” Leon growled. He pointed his gun at one of the children, a small boy about five years old. “Strip, bitch.”

  “Okay! Okay…” She reached for the buttons of her blouse and started undoing them.

  Leon’s gun roared loudly in the large room, echoing off the walls as he sent a bullet into the wall above the small boy’s head.

  The woman screamed as she turned to look back at her son, who’d crouched down in fear as tears spilled forth from his eyes.

  “Hurry the fuck up!” Leon shouted, aiming the gun again. “Or I won’t put the next one in the wall. It’ll be in that little shit’s head.”

  The woman tore her blouse off, revealing a black lace bra underneath. She reached behind her for the clasp of the bra, sobbing. She hesitated for the slightest second before undoing it and letting it fall to the ground, revealing her breasts.

  Leon grinned. “That’ll do. Get over here.” Still sobbing, the woman walked over to him slowly, tears streaming down her face as she kept her eyes tightly screwed shut. When she was close enough, he reached out and grabbed her arm roughly, pulling her close to him. Looking over at Miguel and Julio he said, “Tie the rest of them up.”

  From the floor, the Chief growled. “I’ll kill you…”

  Leon’s gun boomed, sending a bullet into the man’s bald head. Blood and bone out of the back of his skull in a thick spray.

  The woman screamed again as the children began wailing louder.

  “Now there’s one less to tie up,” he sneered before using the gun to knock the woman on the side of her head, stunning her.

  He dragged her to one of the other bedrooms and raped her before putting a bullet in her head as well.

  When he emerged from the bedroom, he told his crew to head downstairs and torch the place.

  “What about the kids?” Julio asked.

  “Leave ‘em. Too full back at our place.”

  “Hey, man, that ain’t cool.” Miguel said, frowning at Leon.

  ‘Here we go,’ Leon thought before he stepped over to the man, closing the gap between them until they were face to face. “You gotta problem with my orders?”

  Miguel looked away, shaking his head. “Nah, Leon. I’ll do whatever you say, but them’s kids there. We leave here, we’re killing kids.”

  Leon glared at the man, anger building inside him. He didn’t want to kill the children, but like the woman, there wasn’t room for them back in their territory. “In times like these, sacrifices have to be made. Now, do what I fucking say or we’ll tie you up and leave your ass here with ‘em.”

  “Alright, man, chill,” Miguel said, turning and making his way down the stairs.

  Watching the man leave, Leon felt confident he’d identified the person who’d try to take his spot at the top of the food chain. If the man challenged him again, he’d put a bullet in his head.

  The building was nearly gone now, the upper floors having collapsed onto the lower level several minutes ago, and still Leon waited, watching the flames slowly decrease in size. Occasionally a piece of wood would crack or pop, sending sparks into the night sky.

  Looking sideways at Leon, the Scorpion wondered, ‘When will this pendejo let us move on?’

  At this point, the Scorpion had lost all respect for Leon, so much so that just the title of ‘Leon’ was irritating. The man may have envisioned himself as a Lion, but he was incapable of the role. Perhaps he could lead a gang of followers, but he couldn’t lead a pride.

  He filled his inner circle with those who felt were t
he most loyal, as if that was the most important thing. Sure, loyalty was important, but the truest loyalty was earned through the strongest relationships.

  To make matters worse, the man couldn’t see the true potential of those around him.

  True leaders developed leaders while they led, teaching them and helping them grow while creating in them both a sense of pride and a sense of loyalty. People appreciated and admired having a leader who believed in them, gave them opportunities, and celebrated their successes. When they found someone who did that, they gave their loyalty freely, and when it came down to it, they would fight and die for the leader they admired and respected.

  Leon wasn’t that.

  The man was clearly in over his head, and now he was just making shit up. The promise he’d shown early on had faded as he’d quickly become overwhelmed by the enormity of what he’d put in motion. He’d been much better off keeping control of something one-fifth the size of what they now ruled, something a little larger than what they’d started out as, but not much more.

  He simply couldn’t maintain sight of the big picture.

  Big dreams are good to have, but if you don’t have the ability or capacity to see them through to reality, you were better off keeping them as dreams. Allow yourself to believe that you could do it, but save yourself from the pain of finding out you can’t.

  Watching Leon move his feet restlessly, the weakness the Scorpion believed was there was confirmed. The man was bothered by what they’d done, and yet, for some reason he’d done it anyway.

  They should have walked away, regardless of the outcome. If someone got out, so fucking what? So they go tell others. So what?

  Under the right leadership, challenges wouldn’t be feared.

  They’d be welcomed.

  In time, the gang would have the right leadership.

  For now, patience was the key.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  East of Edison, California

  The two hybrid cars hummed lightly as they made their way north, out of the desert and towards the city of Bakersfield. Since the rescue of Joe Reilley, who now rode along with Logan and Paul, they’d driven nearly a hundred and twenty miles over the last three and a half hours. Along the way, they’d seen a small group of infected, who’d stumbled towards their cars almost drunkily, possibly weakened by lack of sustenance, which made Serafina wonder how long the things could go on in their state.

  While the prospect of them eating their prey was terrifying, it morbidly made sense. If they were to survive, they had to consume something, and they certainly weren’t capable of picking out what was edible out of what remained.

  ‘They’d die before they ever figured out how to use a manual can opener,’ she thought, looking through her sunglasses at the road ahead.

  Could it be that there’d been another ‘evolution’ of the things, a further mutation of the virus? One that carried with it a desire to consume flesh, borne out a survival instinct? If so, had anything else changed?

  Would Isabella still be immune?

  Shaking her head, she returned her focus to driving. There was a cluster of cars ahead, so she’d have to slow prior to maneuvering through them. Which also meant there could be threats. Looking over at Daniel, she saw him staring at the jumble of cars on the road ahead.

  “Could be trouble,” he said.

  “Agree,” she replied, before asking, “Should we let Logan go first?”

  Daniel considered this for a moment before shaking his head. “No. We can’t let ourselves get used to having someone else take all the risks for us or fight the necessary battles for us. We’re in this, and we need to stay focused on how we will survive in it.”

  Serafina nodded. “Girls, we might need your help up ahead. Be ready.”

  Ashley, who’d remained focused throughout most of the ride since they’d picked up Joe, replied, “Okay, Auntie,” before reaching into the door compartment and retrieving her handgun.

  Brenna nodded as well. “Okay.” Reaching down to her left, she picked up her bow from where it rested partially on the floor and partially against the door. Had it been a full-sized bow, it would be impossible to use from the confines of the car, but the slightly shorter one, which fit her height perfectly, was barely manageable. Her shot wouldn’t be as true as it normally was, but it would still be effective.

  Approaching the mass of vehicles, Serafina saw an old RV stopped on the side of the road. It had been badly burned, destroying most of the vehicle’s frame and shattering the windows. Behind it and attached was a small SUV, which had somehow escaped the fire. Closer to the middle of the road, a shiny red Corvette had skidded out and was pointed towards the median. At some point after it stopped, a large white passenger van had crashed into it, pushing it sideways and crushing the door, sending it towards the middle of the vehicle. As they neared, she saw bloodied figures in the Corvette. Their heads were tilted upwards towards the sky, their throats ripped apart.

  With the RV burned and the Corvette’s occupants dead, the remaining threat, if there was one, would come from the van. Unfortunately, it was to hers and Brenna’s left, making the guns of Daniel and Ashley at least initially ineffective were a threat to emerge.

  “Stop here,” Daniel said, looking towards the vehicles. They were still twenty-five yards or so from the van, and there was no sign of movement.

  Taking a deep breath, Serafina stopped the vehicle. “Ashley, get in the driver’s seat.”

  “Okay.”

  “What are you doing?” Daniel asked.

  “What? I thought you wanted to check things out?” She grabbed her gun and got out of the car, staring at Daniel as she did so, daring him to challenge her.

  Knowing better than to take her up on the challenge, Daniel nodded in agreement. “Okay, give me a sec. I need to let them know what’s going on.” He picked up the CB mic and spoke into it.

  “We need to clear the van and RV up here to make sure it’s safe.”

  Logan’s voice came through the CB radio. “Need backup?”

  Daniel shook his head. “Nah. Looks like an old wreck. Whatever was here has probably moved on, but go ahead and pull up behind us and stay ready, just in case.”

  “Roger that.”

  Putting the mic back in its cradle, Daniel grabbed his gun and followed her. Walking around to where she stood at the front of the vehicle he asked, “How do you want to do this?”

  Serafina looked towards the vehicles, scowling as she regarded the van. Whatever had attacked the Corvette’s passengers could still be around. Could they be lying in wait? Would they be smart enough to try something covert? It seemed unlikely, but surely the safest way would be to assume they were.

  She pointed. “We approach the van, then you head around the backside of it while I maintain position at its near end, so I can stay between it and the car, should anything come out of it.”

  Daniel nodded before reaching out and squeezing her arm. “Good plan.”

  Bringing the guns up, Daniel holding the shotgun, which he preferred for close combat, and Serafina holding her handgun, the two of them made their way to the back of the van, then split up, with Daniel heading around it while she stood guard.

  Moving along the driver’s side of the van, Daniel noticed the door to the vehicle was open. Sidestepping he kept his primary focus on the front seat of the van while occasionally glancing towards the front of the vehicle, just in case someone or something was lying in wait.

  When he reached the open door, he pivoted and pointed the shotgun inside the cabin of the van. The battered, dried out remains of a man sat in the passenger seat. His face was bruised and bloodied, his mouth torn open from the middle back towards his ear, as if someone had grabbed the inner cheek and pulled it aside, revealing the jawbone and teeth. The heavy smell of decomposing flesh invaded his nostrils, making him blink back tears as he fought his gag reflex.

  Aside from the man, nothing else was in the front of the van, so he readily bac
ked away. Grabbing the door handle, he slowly closed the door, putting it in place before slowly leaning into it until it clicked shut.

  Moving forward, he checked the front of the van, and when he saw nothing, he moved around the Corvette. As expected, there was nothing else to see there.

  Reaching the back bumper of the Corvette, he hesitated. He wanted to verify the van was completely clear before moving on to the RV, but hated turning his back on the big vehicle. Likewise, he hated turning his back on the van before clearing it. After a brief pause, he decided to check the RV first. Looking at Serafina, he brought two fingers to his eyes, then pointed at the RV. She nodded in response.

  Moving around towards the front of the vehicle, he looked through the windshield at both seats. Both were empty. Continuing on, he moved towards the right side of the vehicle until he reached the door to the main compartment of the vehicle. The door was hanging open, moving slowly in the wind. Standing near the entryway, he paused and listened for signs of movement from within the big vehicle. He heard nothing, but as he waited there, his nose picked up the scent of death, much more powerful than what he had smelled in the van.

  ‘Oh boy.’

  Taking a breath, he swung around and faced the steps that led inside. Keeping the barrel of the powerful Mossberg shotgun in front of him, he ascended the steps, his eyes moving constantly as he tried to determine whether or not threats waited within the large interior of the vehicle. Arriving at the top step, he saw prone bodies on the floor to his left. Looking quickly to his right, he saw nothing but the empty seats at the front. Climbing the last step, he kept the barrel of the gun in front of him as he reached out with his right hand and pulled the string to the Venetian blinds that covered the closest window. Light poured into the space, revealing the feet and legs of people in front of him, but he couldn’t see much else. Stepping even closer, he reached out and blindly reached for another string as he maintained his focus on the legs of the people in front of him. Eventually, his fingers found the string and he pulled it downward, raising the blinds.