The Outbreak Series Boxed Set

by Thomas Baker

  JT felt like he was in an Indiana Jones movie as he came upon an interchange where an open area branched off in three separate directions. Well Indy, what's it going to be? Slightly right, slightly left or charge straight ahead? He walked back and forth in front of all three entrances a couple times before deciding to follow the tunnel to the right from which he felt a slightly cool breeze coming out of.

  Well Reverend, you want to talk to God? Let me send you to meet him, I've got nothing better to do.

  JT felt like he was back in college waiting with his teammates to run out of the tunnel before a game. His intensity grew with every step. He flashed back to coaching peewee league football...

  Pads, helmets, pop 'em, drop 'em, leave it all on the field.

  They came to another branch where the tunnel went straight, or right. JT was prettysure his mental compass was telling him to keep on straight. He told Linda as much. JT took a step forward. A voice cried out, making him about jump out of his skin and shit himself at the same time.

  "Hello, who is there?" came a woman's voice.

  Two indistinct shapes ran out of the right tunnel, nearly crashing into them.

  "Linda, thank God," Mary Lou said, the sound of her surprise turned to relief. "We were told someonehad killed you. It's a miracle you're here. You came back at the worse time though. You need to get out-"

  Mary Lou stopped. Behind her was a man JT assumed was her husband. They both looked at JT and back to Linda. He could see horror rising on their faces.

  "What's going on Linda? Are... are you his prisoner?" Mary Lou asked.

  The man's face turned from horror to anger. He raised his hands and made fists, as if to attack.

  JT took action while he still could. He slipped past Linda, grabbed one of Mary Lou's arms and twisted it around her back, spinning her. With his other hand he wrapped it around and covered her mouth.

  "Don't scream, don't struggle, and you won't get hurt," JT whispered in her ear. He could feel her hot, frantic breath in his hand.

  JT spoke louder, so the man would hear too. "In fact, if you both calmly go down the tunnel behind me and quietly run away, it would be the best thing for all of us. Nod yes if you will do it. Otherwise I have no qualms about hurting you."

  JT slightly twisted her arm for affect. Mary Lou whimpered. JT felt an uneasy twinge in his stomach for a moment. Damn these people and damn Albright for making me do this. This isn't me. JT eased up on Mary Loua bit.

  "Please Mary Lou, do as he says," Linda pleaded. "He's not here to hurt any of you. Albright. He's not what you think."

  Mary Lou nodded yes. Her husband snarled but nodded his head yes.

  "You first buddy, down the tunnel, to the edge of the light."

  JT waited until the man complied before letting go andpushing her away.

  "Go," JT said, as menacing as he could.

  Mary Lou skidded into her husband, who stumbled back into the darkness. A few seconds later, echoing screams of pain erupted out of the black tunnel.

  "Hell," JT said, holding his lantern higher and taking a step.

  Mary Lou scrambled behind him. JT barely noticed. He was focused on the zombie chowing down on her husband. Behind the one having a late-night snack, the tunnel filled with more.

  "Shit, it seems not all of them went outside. Run!"

  Linda and Mary Lou turned. JT brought up the rear. No runners. No runners. If there was a runner, they were dead. Wall and an open space, wall and an open space flashed on either side as they ran.

  Another junction and there was a blur. Something slammed into Mary Lou. The momentum carried her into the right tunnel, out of sight. Screams of death came out of the darkness. Linda paused, gun out, like she wanted to rush off to help.

  The fuck? Where did that come from? Has it been down here the whole time? Now was not the time to wonder. The sounds of shuffling feet filled up the world behind them, now that the screaming stopped.

  "I'm sorry Linda, but go. You know we can't help your friend." JT walked on.

  With a pained look, Linda turned and together they jogged on.

  JT realized the tunnel he had chosen was narrowing, and he had to duck his head down in places to keep moving. JT was worried he may have taken a dead-end path. After a couple hundred more steps he noticed the breeze was getting stronger.

  "Well, this is leading us somewhere at least," JT said, relived.

  He decided it was a good time to prepare himself for whatever might be coming soon. JT knelt down, against the protest of his aching knees, and checked his inventory. Making sure the safety on the gun he picked up was off and everything was at the ready.

  In the weak light of the lantern, stairs rose ahead. JT took them two at a time, ignoring his knee pain. There was a door at the top. JT tried it and it opened. It looked like he was in some that looked like a medical triage area. As JT slowly came out, he glanced around the room noting all the crosses, stacks of Bibles and then he saw it. Written on a whiteboard was Gus's name along with various times.

  "It's my clinic. The door was right here the whole time, under my nose."

  JT froze at the sound of footsteps and voices above him. It sounded like more than one too. He heard a door creak, and the voices got louder. JT waved to Linda, and they took cover behind a stack of boxes. It sounded as if the voices were arguing. The voices sounded farther away again. He heard the door slam shut and footsteps overhead.

  "I sure hope Gus is okay," Linda whispered to JT. "You shouldn't have to wait much longer for your diversion. The zombies were almost at the church when I left Gus to find you."

  JT couldn't help but grin at the good news. Okay,you long tongued liar, time to pay for your sins.

  Hannah could barely hold it together as she ran into Reverend Albright's office. He was quick to follow her, trying to console her the entire way through the church. She had been in her room; she guessed passed out from the shock of what happened to Tyrone. She didn't want to think about her part in all if it. She hadn't cried or raged. She had been numb, like someone had dipped her in a frozen pond. She heard pounding on the door. She rose to open it and that's when Albright told her to come with him. That's when she lost it. That's when it felt real to her.

  Once in his office, Albright managed to escort her into a bedroom attached to it. He ushered her over to sit on the edge of the bed as he slid in beside her and put his arm around her firmly.

  She was still in disbelief Tyrone would turn on her, on Gus, on anyone. She kept jumping back and forth in her mind on whether or not pushing Tyrone into the pit of the undead was the right thing to do.

  "You know you did what was necessary Hannah my dear, don't you? That man you sent into Purgatory, he was a sinner." Albright said in a soothing voice. He went out of the room for a moment and came back with a glass of wine. He pressed it into Hannah's hands and guided it up to her mouth. She took three swallows, and he continued on. "Tyrone would've harmed you. This new world, it changes people. For some it brings out the worst. Tyrone killed Linda, the woman who nursed your dear friend Gus back to health. He convinced her to run away with him, from the flock, only to murder her. It could've been you. We don't know if he has done the same thing to Gus. JT, he was an accomplice in all of this. I know it's difficult for you to hear, but the truth must be set free."

  He held Hannah's face in one hand as he wiped her tears with the other. She responded by pressing her forehead against his chin. Albright ran his hand through her hair brushing it from her face. As he did Hannah looked up and grabbed his hand. His touch reminded her so much of JT's when he would comfort her or give her a kiss goodnight. Her thoughts became muddled, her mind fuzzy. It was getting hard to think straight. She took another big drink and without pause, downed the rest.

  "JT and Tyrone..." Hannah couldn't even finish her words as she looked away from the Reverend's face and towards their intertwined hands.

  In that moment she felt vulnerable and defeated. It was almost as though he sensed it as
he slowly placed his hand under her chin and lifted her head to keep looking at him. Hannah closed her eyes as he did so and opened them to him coming in to kiss her. Hannah shoved him away, shocked at his advance.

  "Sorry if I misread our moment of connection Hannah. I didn't intend to make you uncomfortable."

  "No. It's just, it's just that I didn't expect a man like you to do that sort ofthing. Not that I didn't want you to or anything. I'm all mixed up and confused right now. I should be the one apologizing."

  "Nonsense, Hannah. Let me help you relax and relieve some of your tension."

  She looked at him in confusion as he refilled her glass. After she had finished the second glass he leaned forward and kissed her again. Hannah pulled away again when she felt one of his hands behind her head holding her in place. Passionately he continued to kiss her. Hannah felt a new struggle inside of her. For one, she couldn't believe she was letting this man kiss her at this timeand another that opened her mouth wider and returning his kiss, longing for more. The wine glass dropped from her hand and shattered on the floor.

  Things heated upin a mere moment as they laid back on the bed. Reverend Albright was on top of Hannah kissing her over and over. Switching from her mouth to her neck back and forth. She became so lost in the moment she didn't even realize he had was unbuttoning the flannel shirt she was wearing. Her body quivered as he took her now exposed breasts into his mouth. She wanted him to stop as much as she didn't want him to stop.

  She hadn't been with a guy since before the Outbreak. Her and JT had come close more than once. There was always something. Her last time having sex was with her lab partner from school, when they drank instead of doing homework. Hannah's thought was interrupted as Albright broke their embrace and got up on his knees.

  He methodically unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off as he returned to her partially exposed body. Hannah could barely resist the warmth of his skin on hers, she was enamored by the shape he was in. He slowly made his way back to her mouth, and she immediately had second thoughts as she felt his hard bulge pressing against her as he pulled back enough to undo his belt.

  "Maybe we should stop," she suggested.

  "Maybe we shouldn't," he replied.

  Hannah gave a half hearted push away as he fiddled with her jeans, trying to pulling them down.

  "Can we just slow down a little?" Her nerves jittered a warning, brief but intense.

  Reverend Albright slid back up and looked Hannah in the eye, gave her a smile and said "God brought us together for a reason Hannah. Let us consummate our imminent union and please each other in His name."

  Hannah didn't have time to say anything as he grabbed her hands and held them above her head with one hand as he continued to kiss her and work her jeans down with the other. She could feel her last defenses slipping away as she felt her underwear leave her hips. She felt she wanted this.

  Hannah was breathing heavily when he stood up beside the bed and let his black slacks fall to the floor. He placed his thumbs inside his boxers preparing to pull them down. With a bang Gus barged through the door.

  "What in the holy hell is going on here Reverend?!" Gus shouted.

  "Gus!" Hannah exclaimed as she shot up in the bed, pulling her shirt close and half hiding under a blanket, searching for her jeans.

  "That damn man right there is a fraud! He tried to kill Linda and me. He would have shot me where I stood had it not been for Linda saving my hide. If this guy is a Reverend, I'm the Pope of France."

  Hannah looked to Albright in disbelief. He had finished putting his pants back on and tightening his belt as he turned to Gus. Her head swam, and it felt like she had woken up from twenty hours of deep sleep. She couldn't seem to make any coherent thoughts.

  "Raise your hand sinner!" Albright shouted. "Raise your hand and show us your mark of the beast that has resurrected you from the dead! For I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts, and I looked and behold a pale horse and his name was death!"

  Gus looked shocked by this sudden tirade. He didn't have time to react as Albright charged him, knocking him to the ground. Gus fell with a hard thud, the two pistols in his hands skidding away. Albright towered over him, repeatedly kicking him. Hannah jumped from the bed and shoved him away from Gus. She worked up her jeans and the buttons on her shirt as quick as she could. Albright stood watching and laughing. As he approached Gus again, they were all distracted by the sudden outburst of noise from outside the church. The Reverend looked out the window and yelled once again.

  "Whoever the unjust soul is that has brought this plague down upon my people will perish in the depths of purgatory!" He quickly raced across the room. He unlocked a large wooden armoire and retrieved a shotgun from it.

  He pumped shells into the weapon as he continued. "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil. For you are with me."

  Albright threw on a plain white shirt and strapped a vest on over it. Rows of shotgun shells covered the front.

  Hannah cowered in the corner with Gus, not sure what Albright would do next. He turned and smiled his hundred-watt smile at them, all the while also pointing his shotgun right at their heads as he spoke.

  "Gus, I don't know why you returned. We can deal with your apparent resurrection and intrusion later. For now, won't you be a saint and wait here with my Hannah until I return? We can deal with what are sure to be your many lies and fabrications then."

  Still grinning, Albright hoisted the shotgun up on this shoulder and marched out of the room. He spun and knelt down beside Gus. "You won't need these any longer." Albright said reaching out and unbuckled Gus's gun belt, pulling it from around his waist before exiting the room.

  Hannah looked to Gus. "Please forgive me," she whispered. Gus wasn't the only one she was begging forgiveness from.

  Albright strode from the room, adjusting his pants with one hand and carrying the shotgun in the other. He attempted to stamp down the fear he felt rising inside of him. He spouted all that biblical nonsense to work himself up and to keep the two off center.

  He replaced his growing fear with rage instead. He wasn't going to let that prick JT take away everything he had built here. He was done with Hannah, too. She was good looking, but no piece of ass was worth all of this hassle. When JT was dealt with and dead, he would send Hannah up the tree. His people would fight over which one could tie on the rope. He was already thinking of how he would spin the story as Hannah the jezebel, the snake in their garden.

  People were running in circles like imbeciles in his chapel, screaming needlessly. Albright had been so wrapped up with Hannah, he didn't even realize a panic was going on in his church. God damn! Was all this commotion from Gus?

  Albright paused to look out the front window. His eyes narrowed. Idiots, the zombies are all still outside.Albright stopped one man, Cody, with a hand on the chest. "Have you seen Charlie?" Cody stood there, eyes darting and blinking. Cody's eyes seemed to lock on the shotgun Albright was holding. That seemed to settle the man.

  "Last I saw he was getting some people together, and theyheaded out on the front steps," Cody said, flustered.

  Albright held his hand on the Cody's chest a moment longer, trying to decide if he would send this man to guard Hannah and Gus. He dropped his hand and let him go, figuring sending him would be a waste of time. Instead Albright decided he would take over for Charlie and let Charlie guard the two. He didn't trust himself right now.

  Albright burst through the front door. Twelve sets of panicked eyes turned to him. Charlie's eyes however were cold and dead serious. In the light of the flashlights the group were holding Albright could see two undead bodies at the bottom of the steps.

  Must have been Runners. From where? Albright had a sinking feeling Gus showing up right before the zombies did wasn't a coincidence. How did that old jackass get in any way?

  Albright motioned Charlie over to join him. He spoke to Charlie in whispered tones. "There are two traitors in my chamber. Ma
ke sure they go nowhere. Now move," Albright commanded. "If they try anything, you have my permission to kill them both."

  To his credit, Charlie went inside without question. I need more people like him.Albright turned his attention to the five people in front of him.

  "God's people," Albright spoke loudly, outstretching his hands. "You will now become God's warriors. Like we defend the spiritual attacks on our souls, we must now defend the physical attacks on God's children. Remember, these are not people, these are demons. We must keep them out, drive them back. Let us defend this holy place. They shall not soil our church!"

  Albright could see panic turn to steely resolve as he finished speaking. He felt juiced up, jazzed up again. These were his people and those fucks out there weren't going to take everything he worked for away.

  The sound of running feet and gunfire was the signal JT was hoping for.

  "You know this place better than me, get me upstairs, get me to where you think Hannah and Gus might be, and get me to Albright. Let's just hope Gus hasn't done anything too stupid."

  With a nod Linda took off up the stairs. Inside the church was chaos. People were running here and there. It seemed like no one was in charge. A few more people ran down the hall towards them. After passing a couple of doors, two people burst out of the next one. They carried guns and raced up the hallway ahead of them. None of them paid any attention to the two of them. JT could hear gunfire erupting. It sounded like it was coming from outside the front of the church. At least something is working according to plan.

  "Now where?" JT called over the racket.

  "If I had to guess, she would either be in the women's quarters or in his office area. Let's try his office first, across the worship center," Linda offered.

  No one else tried to stop them on the way. After crossing down the aisle past empty pews and under a garish cross, they arrived outside the ornate wooden door at the end of a hall without incident.