by Flacco, Jack
Matty didn’t need to hear anything else. Somehow, Ranger’s words settled her to stop resisting. Memories of Temple City came back to her, but she tried to push them away. She tried to convince herself that Ranger had control over the situation. He knew what he had to do to save Randy, she thought. No amount of arguing would change Ranger’s mind, and she didn’t want to be the one interfering.
Wrapping his arm around her shoulder, Charlie led Matty to the trees with Jon who held her hand. They disappeared in the foliage.
The saucer shined bright silver. Its lights rotated along the perimeter of its circumference. A small bulge at the top made the ship look like a hubcap someone had thrown in the air in an attempt to take a picture in one of those hoax photo shoots. It kept to its dedicated path, not veering or banking anywhere other than the direction it headed.
As Ranger dashed to the truck, his back became drenched in sweat. He had to wipe the palms of his hands of the moisture accumulated from the fear of losing Randy. He had promised Matty he wouldn’t let anything happen to him. He would do everything he could to keep that promise.
The ship edged closer, hovering a quarter mile overhead from their location.
When Ranger saw what had caught Randy by the foot, he took a breath. As if a breath would calm him for what he would have to do next. The chain had twisted all around Randy’s leg. Randy had but one opportunity to flee before the saucer passed over the vehicles to unleash its deadly ray. Bending to one knee, Ranger took hold of the chain, tugging it, hoping to unravel it from its knot. It didn’t budge. It remained wound solid on Randy not wanting to let go.
The saucer stopped over a small neighborhood a few hundred yards from where Randy stood bound. The purple light blasting from under its belly tore through the streets, extracting the precious minerals it sought from survivors who had escaped the initial waves of attacks.
Thinking how any time the saucer stopped meant more time for him to help Randy, Ranger shook the chains one last time. As a last resort, he rose, pulled his shotgun, and aimed it at the chain and as far from Randy as he could.
“Don’t do it.” Randy said, and waved his hands no. “The pellets will ricochet from the chain and will kill us both.”
“The chain has to come off your foot. I’m not leavin’ you here to become one of the eaters I’d have to kill later.”
“Put away the shotgun. Try something else.”
Ranger turned from Randy and plunged his hand in one of the knapsacks sitting by the truck’s hatch for another solution. A crowbar, a small explosive device, a chain cutter would have been handy to have when he needed it most. Yet, nothing came to him. He dumped the bag on the grass and shuffled his way through the contents again. Maybe he missed something, he thought. The more he tried, the more he realized the miracle he was looking for would not come.
Once the beam of light finished its deed on the small neighborhood, the saucer continued on its path scanning other possible targets. A few hundred yards stood between Ranger and Randy, and it.
Grinding his fist into the grass, not wanting to show Randy his frustration for not finding a solution, Ranger held his head low. His baseball cap hid his face. He buried the grating of his teeth, the clenched jaw, and the closed eyes. He couldn’t let Randy know all options had run their course and that the next thing he would have to do was to stay there for support. Perhaps it would be okay being a dragger. Silly thought.
Randy wasn’t stupid, though. He gazed at the zombie fighter and suspected he had run out of ideas. He shook his ankle. The tightness wouldn’t go away.
The ship came to hover over the vehicles. Its colored lights rotated as it prepared to deal its deathly blow on its victims.
“Ranger, you have to leave.” Randy said.
“No, you’re comin’ with me.” Ranger shot to his feet and bent over, in one final attempt, tugged at the chain hoping he could loosen it.
“Ranger, you can’t stay here. You have to protect the others!”
“I’m not goin’ anywhere. I promised Matty I would save you.”
“What happened in the past was not your fault. Nobody blames you. I won’t blame you for what happens to me. You have to leave. You can’t stay here.”
“I almost got it.” Ranger shook the chains, but deceived himself into believing they relaxed their grip. They remained fixed and impenetrable.
The saucer’s belly opened and a disk half the circumference of the saucer’s dimension slowly moved into place, pointing its center on them.
Without provocation, Randy pulled his gun and pointed it at the back of Ranger’s head. “Go. Now.”
Ranger raised his hands, stood upright and turned to the teen under the saucer’s watchful eye. “I can’t, I promised to get you out of here.”
Cocking the gun, Randy’s face showed his resolve. Either the aliens would kill Ranger or he would. He needed Ranger alive to protect the others. He appreciated the loyalty Ranger’s shown, but if he stayed, they’d both die.
Ranger didn’t move.
“I said, Go!” Randy let off a shot that blew past Ranger’s head. The sound reverberated into Matty’s ears. She stood watching from a distance.
“Damn it, boy. If you do that again, I’ll have to kick your ass.”
Randy cocked the gun once more and pointed it at Ranger’s face. “I swear, if you don’t leave, I’ll blow your head off. I’d rather shoot you now than for you to become a threat to the others later.”
Ranger had to decide, yet he knew Randy was right. Unlike the teen who stood chained to the vehicles, if Ranger changed, he also would become another chewer craving the flesh and go after the kids. Without further arguments, Ranger, nodded, turned his back on Randy and sprinted from the site of the hovering craft. His steps carried him to an opening within the trees where Matty stared at Ranger with despair all over her face. They disappeared into the shadows with their eyes fixed at the saucer.
The rotating colored lights came to a standstill, but Randy didn’t try to escape. Instead, he leaned against the side of the SUV, interlaced his fingers and covered his head with his hands. He wondered how long he could resist the rays from seeping into his brain in that posture. A bright white light poured from the disk-like instrument on to the boy.
From the edge of the trees as they watched the white light soak Randy, Matty leaned into Ranger with both arms on his chest. She wanted his comfort, but most of all, she wanted his warmth. Not knowing how to react, Ranger locked his arms around the teen with the thought of protecting her from the evil in the sky.
For a while, Randy stood in place wondering what would come next. He had hoped the saucer might have forgotten about him. But no sooner had he allowed his hands to fall to his side, the rotating lights turned green. Like a blast, everything surrounding the area became like grass, except for the red Camaro, which turned purple.
From the shadows, Ranger and Matty emerged. She hadn’t left his arms. Randy saw them and smiled. He wanted them to know he’d be okay. Somehow, it didn’t bother him the saucer had one more light to cast before he’d become one of the changed. As long as he saw Matty safe in Ranger’s arms, he could take whatever the saucer spewed from its belly.
The blinding beam of white light from the center of the alien craft transformed to purple, and within a moment, Randy lost muscle control, frothed at the mouth and rose six inches from the ground. Like a magnet, the ship drew him. He shook and wailed. His screams tore through the park like a sharp blade running across a sheet of ice.
Matty’s eyes moistened as she realized he would never live like a human again. That same anger she culled over months on the undead she would have to dispense on Randy. Not a word came from Ranger. Death seemed to follow him around much too often, yet he wouldn’t have guessed Randy would have fallen to the aliens first. The kid had too much rage for anything to have caught him. With his free hand, Ranger dug his fingernails into his leg and blamed himself for failing to keep the boy safe.
Once
the beam switched to white, Randy collapsed between the vehicles with the chain wrapped around his leg, and his face buried in the grass. The saucer’s disk retracted into its belly and the colored lights along its circumference rotated again. A minute had gone by before the ship continued on its way, scanning more areas as it traveled on its route.
When the saucer had left the sky, Ranger called the others while Matty began a quick stride to the vehicles. Charlie and Jon soon followed Matty as she jerked her silver gun from the small of her back and cocked it to load a bullet in the empty chamber. She wouldn’t know what she’d find until Randy showed his face. Until then, she kept her gun pointed to the ground as she made her way to her former human friend.
Catching up with the determined teen, Ranger sprung to block Matty’s path.
“Move, Ranger.” She said.
“Think about what you’re doin’. You don’t want to remember him this way. Why don’t you go back and sit on one of the benches. Let me take care of it from here.”
“If anyone has to do this, it will be me.”
“Darlin’, you don’t know how you’ll feel once you pull that trigger.”
“It’ll be one less eater to worry about.”
“C’mon, Matty. You don’t mean that.”
“I sure do.” She stepped left. Ranger stepped left. She stepped right. Ranger stepped right. They stared at each other for a long time until Ranger stepped aside. She didn’t pass. The sadness welled up inside her and she gazed at her feet without knowing what to do. She had to give Ranger credit for understanding her since he knew if she pulled the trigger on Randy she’d never forgive herself. But how could Ranger have known? Did he have to do the same thing with someone he loved?
“We’ll go together.” He said, loading his shotgun while they approached Randy who hadn’t moved from his position.
Charlie and Jon kept pace with the two. Memories of what had happened to Trish and Eddie sparked Charlie’s mind to wander. He didn’t know Randy at all. When he thought about the change having affected him, it didn’t bother him. In fact, he didn’t know anyone well, but he knew he had a friend in Ranger who had made him laugh when he needed to laugh.
As they all stood over the body, Ranger and Matty held fixed. Randy didn’t move. His face remained firmly planted in the grass.
“He should have come to by now.” Matty held her gun pointed at Randy’s head.
“He looks dead.” Ranger lowered his shotgun.
“Because he doesn’t move doesn’t mean he’s dead. Could be he’s asleep.”
“Frothin’ at the mouth? Suspended in air with nothin’ to hold him? Who knows what the aliens had taken from him.”
“You’ve never given me the benefit of a doubt, Ranger. Never.”
A few seconds passed and Ranger said, “He looks dead.”
Matty rolled her eyes.
It started with the right hand. It moved first. The fingers combed the blades of grass. Next, a groan bubbled from Randy’s throat. His hands positioned themselves for a lift. Moisture from his skin soaked the back of his neck as he moved his head side to side. With his back turned toward the group, he pushed himself to his knees, then, with one swift kick, he hopped to his feet. The boy wobbled in position without help from anyone.
Pointing the gun straight at his head, Matty waited until he revealed his face. She took a few breaths to calm herself and waited.
Randy’s hand floated to the back of his head. Ranger found that unusual since most zombies wouldn’t have the intelligence to be self-aware like that. The chain around Randy’s ankle made him look down. He jiggled it while standing on one foot.
“Randy?” A slight smile sneaked on Matty’s face.
The boy glanced over his shoulder and revealed his eyes. They were vibrant, full of color and filled with life. He did not change. His hand went straightaway on his temple. “My head.”
“We thought we had lost you there, buddy.” Ranger said.
“Looks like I’m still here.”
Everyone ran to him and the first question out of Matty’s lips even made Ranger raise his eyebrows. “Why? I thought you’d change.”
“I don’t know.” Randy said.
“I know why.” Jon said.
They all stared at him as if he had broken some kind of rule.
“He didn’t change because of his blood. Something’s in there. The military wouldn’t be after him otherwise. I’ll bet you it’s not the first time this happened to you either.”
“Look,” Ranger dropped to one knee and placed his hands on the chain. “Let’s get these things off. We’ll worry about figurin’ this all out later.”
Chapter 14
Cloud cover from the previous day lingered, rendering the afternoon gray. No rain, no sunshine. It just hung there. The vehicles made it to I-15 without incident. Ranger, Charlie and Jon rode in the black SUV while Matty and Randy followed in the red Camaro. Ranger thought it best to travel south on the interstate to ensure he could outrun any trouble they’d encounter. They didn’t want zombies on their tail. They didn’t want aliens to deal with either. All they wanted was to get back home to the silo in Arizona where they’d feel safe under tons of concrete.
As they passed Spanish Fork on their left, Ranger drove while studying the empty parking lots, retail outlets, and factories for movement. In his mind, any form of life would have been of the bad sort. They didn’t need that, not after the time they’d spent finding each other again and Randy’s experience with the saucers. More than anything, they didn’t need the military to worry about or what was left of the military, even though he had a good idea why they sought the boy. After surviving an attempted change, Randy became the hot property everyone wanted. Something in him prevented the others from extracting minerals from his body. To Ranger, that was more than enough of a reason Randy was on America’s Most Wanted list, if it even existed anymore.
“How much longer until we leave Utah for good?” Jon asked, playing with his cards in the backseat of the truck.
“Won’t be long. We’ll stop before then for a bathroom break.” Ranger tore the wrapping from a snack bar.
Charlie sat quietly munching on his third bar. He had accumulated a pile of wrappers on the floor of the passenger side seat.
“Where’re you from, Charlie?” Ranger asked, taking a bite.
After swallowing another mouthful of the delicious treat, Charlie said, “Minnesota.”
“Minnesota? Kind of far from home, aren’t you?”
Charlie glanced at Ranger, then stared at the road ahead, not sure if it was a question or a statement.
“Whereabouts?”
“Grand Falls, Minnesota. It’s a small town a few miles south of Fargo, North Dakota.”
“I’ve been there while carryin’ loads back and forth from Minneapolis. What brought you out to Provo?”
“A few months ago, before everything changed, my parents wanted to see Worship Square in Temple City. My sister and I tagged along not really caring for it much.”
“What happened to your parents?”
“My parents disappeared.” Charlie looked out the passenger side window and took a long time before he explained. All of a sudden, he wasn’t hungry anymore. “My parents booked our family in a hotel in Provo. It was cheaper than Temple City. One night before going to bed, we heard the sound of people running and screaming in the halls. We didn’t know what it was. My dad thought someone had gotten hurt and wanted to help. He was a doctor. My mom asked me and Amber to stay in the hotel room. They wanted to see what all the commotion was about. They left us and about half-an-hour later, we heard banging on our door. Amber checked the peephole and said they were the military. I’ve seen enough movies to know when the military knocks on your door in the middle of the night they’re not there to show you where the ice cream truck is.”
The first joke Charlie uttered and Jon snickered. He thought Charlie was finally loosening up. It was a good sign.
�
�I grabbed my sister by the hand and ran to the balcony. We closed the sliding door behind us. By that time, the soldiers crashed through the door and tossed the room. One of them came outside to the balcony but couldn’t see us. It was dark and we hid under a blanket underneath the table. When they left, I don’t remember how long we sat under the blanket. We were too scared to move and we had no clue if a soldier had stayed behind in the room waiting for us to come out. In the meantime, we could see from the balcony how the other soldiers threw people into trucks with nothing but the nightclothes on their backs. We knew right there we’d never see our parents again.”
“What happened next?” Ranger asked, wrapping his snack bar and setting it aside for later.
“In the morning, we slipped from our blanket and peeked over the railing of the hotel. The trucks were gone. We saw slippers, blankets and towels spread over the entire parking lot. It took a long time for us to gather the courage to leave that balcony. We were hungry, and we couldn’t stay there in our nightclothes forever. After we changed, Amber led the way through our hotel room into the hallway and to the fire escape stairs. She was always the brave one. She thought it was a good idea since we didn’t know what waited for us in the lobby.”
“What a miserable time.”
“It was. By the time we got to the lobby, everyone was gone. It didn’t stop us from raiding the kitchen where we found fruits, vegetables and cold hot dogs. We didn’t want to cook anything because we didn’t want to attract attention to the smell. Others could have been in the building, but we didn’t know who to trust.”
“You mean you had the whole kitchen to yourself?” Jon asked, rubbing his tummy.
“Yeah, for a while, at least until the fresh food started rotting. We waited, hoping they’d all return, but no one ever did. We were getting bored as well. A few weeks later, we found ourselves roaming the streets to see if we could find someone, anyone who could explain what had happened. We were lost and hungry before we met Trish and Eddie. They led us to the alleys, but about the same time, we began to hear the noises. We didn’t want to know what they were. All we knew was we were frightened because the alleys were where we hid.”