When Danny looked over at Chad, he only saw the silhouette of a man who was sobbing quietly to himself. The rain started to come in from outside, making the door swing back and forth. It would stop short, though, as the woman's body acted as a doorstop. Danny stood up and slowly walked over to her. He could see a little of her facial features and noticed she was rather young.
Was it murder if I am trying to live?
Light footsteps came from behind as Eric walked out, holding his Glock at the low ready.
"What the fuck happened here?" Eric said. He walked up to Chad, patting his shoulder. "You okay, man?"
"It's okay," Danny said, waving his hand. "We had a close call."
Eric walked up, with his weapon still raised. "We should have nailed that door shut."
"Look hindsight is twenty-twenty," Danny said as he tried to calm himself. "Everything is fine."
Chad sniffled heavily and looked over at Danny. "I would've been dead."
Danny shook his head as he stared at the dead man on the floor. "Well, they are instead."
The feeling of guilt quickly washed away. Already, Danny was starting to organize things as black and white in his head. Survival itself was all about facts. Who was breathing?
I am.
Who is not?
They are.
All those other feelings he buried down deep as he grabbed the girls feet and started dragging her outside. He had to be this calculating if he wanted to ever see his family again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CAN’T TAKE EVERYTHING with you, old man.
Danny set his father’s old lever-action rifle in the crawl space. He sighed as he set all the ammunition to the side. The door squeaked shut.
Hopefully, I can come back for you.
Danny stood and walked out of the room. He walked up quietly behind Eric who sat in the chair that overlooked the front gate.
"You ready, chief?" Eric said.
"Ready or not I guess," Danny exhaled as he ran his hand through his hair. He looked out at the trash ridden sidewalk. "Any crazies make an appearance today?"
"I saw a pack of five or six that cut across the gate about an hour ago, but everything has been dead since. As long as we are quiet we should be alright."
"That truck is going to sound like a cannon going off."
"Well, I’m starting to think I should have bought one of those hybrids, but we are stuck with twelve miles to the gallon."
Danny laughed to himself as he looked out towards the old house that was overrun. "Would you think less of me if I said I was scared?"
Eric smirked as he shook his head. "Honestly, I’d think less of you if you weren’t scared."
"I hope we still have a deal?"
Both men looked at the body parts that were decomposing on the road.
"As long as I don’t end up like one of those things we have a deal," Eric said.
"You think they know how crazy they are?" Danny asked.
Eric stared off for a moment. "I don’t know. I guess maybe they think we are the crazy ones now."
Danny nodded as he looked at the rotting body parts on the ground.
"Don’t think too hard about it. You and I are okay by some stroke of fucking luck." Eric stood from the chair showing his donned body armor. "I’ll check on Chad."
Danny smiled. "How’s he doing?"
"The poor bastard keeps running to the shitter every five minutes. He is nervous as all hell that we are leaving."
"Well it was his choice," Danny said sarcastically.
Both men laughed as Eric walked down the hall holding his helmet in his right hand.
Danny walked over to the kitchen table where his gear was staged. He hefted the body armor over his shoulders. The weight felt awkward, but it was something he was going to have to get used to. He clipped the chest rig to the plate carrier and synched it down. The shotgun shells felt smooth to the touch as he shoved five of them into his shotgun. Danny had spent the past couple of days sawing off the barrel and stock. It was small enough now that he could stick it on the side of his pack without it protruding out too much. He made sure a round was chambered in his rifle and that the optic worked. The last touch was his 1911. He pulled the slide back just far enough to see the brass from the round was seated in the chamber. The slide rammed forward and Danny snapped the safety on.
"You ready, Jazzy Bear?" Danny said, holstering the pistol.
The black bear sat on the table staring up at him.
"Let's go see our Susan," he said, grabbing the bear.
Eric walked in with his body armor and rifle. "You know I never thought I’d see a grown-ass man go to war with a teddy bear strapped to his hip," he said smiling.
Danny clipped the bear tight into a pouch that was on his belt. "Instead of focusing on me, why don’t you focus on not being an asshole?"
Eric pulled his helmet over his head and buckled the strap under his chin. "Like I said, creature comforts." He cracked his neck smiling in relief. "So these radios aren’t the fanciest things, but they will work." Eric held out a radio and earpiece to Danny.
"You got extra batteries?"
"I do, but they also can run on double A batteries."
Danny laughed as he snaked the radio into a pouch. "What don’t you have?"
A look of shame came across Eric’s face. "Night vision, I really should have saved for that."
"Most people would think you're nuts."
"Well, most people are dead now," Eric said as he slung his weapon.
Chad emerged from the hallway. "I think I’m good."
Danny and Eric looked at each other briefly.
Eric patted Chad on the shoulder. "Alright boys, you know what we have to do. Let’s get our pre-combat checks out of the way. Remember to stay in your lane and handle your own shit. Especially you, Chad."
Chad’s face contorted and he ran back to the bathroom. Danny and Eric looked at each other laughing.
***
Danny took one last look at his family photo. They all looked so happy on that vacation to Mexico. Would they ever be able to vacation again? The uncertainties of the world made a sick feeling hit Danny’s stomach.
Here we go.
He kissed it and quickly shoved it in a zipper pouch.
"Alright, boys," Eric said from the driver’s seat. "Let’s hit the road."
Danny took a deep breath and pulled the garage door up. It made a screeching sound that sent shivers down all the men’s spines.
That’s way too loud.
The door finally reached the top making a banging sound. The wind blew slightly making a rushing sound that beat against his ears as he stepped out into the open. There were small puddles of water that reflected the overcast sky. It was so quiet that Danny could hear his watch ticking away on his wrist. All that silence was gone when Eric fired up the truck.
It was worse than a cannon.
He shifted it into drive and started off slowly. Danny kept his rifle at the ready, scanning the surrounding area. His breathing almost drowned out all the noise as he walked out into the middle of the street. Once Eric cleared the garage, Chad pulled the door down. All was going well except when Danny heard it. The distant screams erupted to the right as Chad lifted his shotgun. A dozen crazies rounded the corner from inside the housing complex.
"Boys, we got company," Chad yelled as he fired at the closing group.
The shot sent a large cone of buckshot spiraling toward the middle of the group. They were only fifty meters away as Danny watched an older woman’s knee cap split and she fell to the ground screaming.
Danny heard heavy feet coming closer to him. He turned to his right and saw a large man with torn clothes sprinting at him. Danny’s rifle leveled and he fired as fast as he could. The rounds entered the man’s body as he stumbled to the ground. A round shot out the man’s thigh as the projectile had ricocheted in his body.
Holy shit.
The man’s body fell to the floor limply.<
br />
"Chad, get the fuck in the car!" Eric yelled.
Eric revved the engine again pulling Danny back to the situation.
"Let’s go," Chad screamed.
Danny jumped in the back and Eric took off. A few crazies came out from the road. Chad stuck his shotgun out the window and fired at a tall darker-skinned man. His head took the full impact of the round making him slump to the floor with a shredded slob of meat for a face.
Eric turned the wheel hard and made his way down the main road. Danny kept his eyes peeled in the back window watching as the group came out of the gate running at a full sprint. He reloaded his rifle and unslung it as he tried to get comfortable.
"I thought you said there were only five or six," Danny yelled, as he slapped a fresh mag into his rifle.
"That group was a different one," Eric said as he adjusted the rearview mirror.
"We run into shit like that and we will be lucky if we make it a day," Chad said as he topped off his shotgun.
"Let’s stay a little optimistic," Eric jerked the wheel to avoid a car.
Cars sat abandoned and still. Danny took a final look behind him and noticed the entrance to the freeway was still a mess. Countless bodies lined the streets. Some were in puddles, while others were sprawled out on hoods of cars and such. It was a spectacle of death and suffering.
They approached an intersection and saw a massive accident. A Suburban had been flipped and several cars were piled up around. If Danny looked close, he could see bodies still decaying in the seats. Eric skirted the truck to the left. Danny noticed a baby on board sticker that clung to the shattered rear window. Chad chewed on his gum slightly faster as he turned his head back to the front.
I hope there wasn’t a kid in there.
Danny shook his head trying to pull those thoughts from his mind. He rolled his window down and rested his rifle on the door. Eric followed the street for a few blocks and made a left. He stopped abruptly. Another accident was in the middle of the road. This time Danny saw several bodies that were sprawled out on the sidewalk. He looked to his right. A woman was walking across the street in a slow shuffle. Her arms were crossed around her body and her skin was pale and dirty.
"Whoa, whoa. Right side, woman!" Danny yelled as he leveled his weapon out the window.
"She moves, you plug her, Etter," Eric said in a low voice.
The woman lifted her head showing that she had bit off her cheeks. Danny held his rifle aimed right at the woman’s chest, but he heard sobbing. He pulled his eyes from the reticle and stared at the woman. Her bloodshot eyes staring back at him, but there was no anger, only fear.
You’re not like the rest.
"Have you seen her?" The woman called out. Her teeth showed through gashes on her cheeks.
The truck drove up the curve and the woman walked slowly following it.
"Have you seen her?" The woman cried out. She stared right at Danny. "My little girl. Please have you seen her?"
Is she infected?
The distant screams pulled the woman away from Danny. She started to look around in a panic.
"Please help me find my little girl!" the woman yelled.
Eric had to maneuver around the accident and hopped down from the curb.
"You fucking cowards!" the woman screamed as she started to sob heavily. "Help me find her before they come!"
I’m sorry this happened to you. Please, don’t let her suffer.
The truck accelerated and cut left showing an open road.
"What the hell was that?" Eric replied.
"I don’t—— know, I’ve never seen them act that way." Danny said softly
"She had a set of knockers on her," Chad laughed as he looked back. "Did you see that shit?"
Eric looked at him with a clenched jaw. "Hey, Chad. I have an idea. Why don’t you shut the fuck up and keep your eyes on the right side of the road."
Danny shook his head in disgust as he closed the dust cover on his weapon.
What is wrong with you?
They covered a few blocks before the abandoned cars started to become densely packed. Danny knew this meant they were nearing the freeway. This was the first big obstacle of many.
Eric looked back at Danny in the rearview. "Hey, Dan. I’m going to need you to find a route ahead. All we gotta do is get to the train tracks and then cut through that park. Chad, I need you to stay close and keep anyone and everything away from this truck."
Chad sighed as he opened the door.
Danny patted Eric’s shoulder as he stepped out. "Good luck with him."
"You can take him if you want," Eric said.
"Not a chance," Danny laughed as he shut the door.
Danny took off in a slow trot as he found an opening on the sidewalk. He had to cover his mouth and nose as he passed a bloated corpse that was bent over on a guardrail. Eric eased up on the gas as he maneuvered slowly between an SUV and convertible.
"Easy does it," Chad said as he motioned Eric with the steering wheel.
They were near an overpass where a wide gap split the opposite sides of traffic. Luckily there was no offramp on the road they were currently on. If there was an entrance or an exit, this street would be completely impassable. Danny could see the sky through the opening of the overpass. The clouds looked like they were starting to dissipate. It was relaxing to have nothing but the chirping of birds and silence.
It would have never been this quiet on a Monday morning.
The thought suddenly gave Danny a chill down his spine.
It was taking Eric a good amount of time to get past some cars, and Chad was only making things worse. Danny decided to climb up onto the freeway to get a better view. He hopped over the guardrail and followed a small trail that cut up to the overpass. As Danny climbed the small slope, a smell started to build up. It was worse than the body that was now at the bottom of the trail. It wasn’t the smell of death, but something far worse.
The body armor made Danny breathe a little heavier as he finally reached the top. Now the smell was almost unbearable to the point where he felt light-headed.
"How’s it looking up there?" Eric said over Danny’s radio.
Danny sank low under a guardrail to get a view of the train tracks. He pressed his headset. "Smells like shit up here."
"Just don’t get too comfy. I think Chad may get me into a fender bender," Eric said over the radio with a chuckle.
The cars were so tightly packed on the freeway that even a few people had been caught in between the bumpers of the cars. A few hands and feet stuck out underneath as well making Danny gag as he covered his mouth with his sweat-soaked glove. He took a deep breath and his eyes followed the highway that shot to the left. It was subtle, but a tiny amount of movement caught his eye. He stared at the movement a little longer until he realized what he was looking at.
Oh my God.
His heart dropped and his eyes went wide, as he started down the hill in a sprint.
"Eric, kill the engine," Danny whispered over the radio.
The headset squelched and Eric’s voice cut on. "What the hell is going on?"
Danny clicked the headset. "Eric kill the fucking engine. Kill the engine now."
When Danny rounded the corner, he could see Chad staring at him with his hands up.
"What the hell is going on?" Eric asked, sticking his head out.
Danny put his finger to his mouth telling them to be quiet. He was struggling to take a breath. "Shut up and hide."
Chad’s eyes went wide and Eric swallowed heavily. Danny could hear laughing in the distance.
"I’ll stay with the truck," Eric said. "You two stay close but disappear."
Chad started to tear up as he looked around in a panic. "What does that mean?’
Danny grabbed his collar. "It means fucking hide, Chad."
They both ran to an SUV that was parked beside the truck. Danny pushed Chad to the ground as both men crawled underneath the vehicle. Danny wiggled between the wheel wel
l where he could see the gap from the overpass. Chad held his shotgun close to his body as his eyes darted above.
The laughing grew louder now and Danny could hear the footfalls as the swarm started to walk onto the overpass. He looked up at the gap, where the mass of crazies moved above. They seemed to be focused on the ground in front of them as they pushed and shoved one another. Chad had bit down on his sleeve as he shook uncontrollably.
Danny had to put a hand on him. "It’s gonna be alright. Just lay down and be quiet."
Chad nodded like a child as he slumped to the floor silently, nearly weeping. Danny’s fingertips rubbed the soft fur that sat on his belt line.
It’s okay, Jazzy. We are okay.
Suddenly, a loud smack came from behind Danny. He looked down at Chad whose eyes were wide with horror. Danny turned slowly trying not to make big movements. He could now see what had made that sound. Ten feet away was a small Hispanic man who had fallen from the overpass.
"Dan, what was that?" Eric asked over the radio.
Danny reached for his headset. "One of them fell."
The small man’s eyes opened revealing bloodshot eyes that moved at an unnatural speed. They suddenly locked right onto Danny. The crazy’s legs had snapped and were twisted in awkward unnatural positions. Danny could feel the beats in his chest as he held his breath. The crazy stared at him, and then it cocked its head smiling with torn lips. It’s eyes started to move around wildly.
Please don’t. Please.
The crazy screamed at the top of its lungs as it crawled towards Danny.
Shit.
Its scream sounded like it was a broadcast to the world as the concrete overpass echoed its voice. Danny bowed his head and turned to look at the freeway above.
Eric’s voice crackled over the radio. "Guys, I think we might be screwed here."
Danny looked up at the split in the overpass. Hundreds of faces were staring right down onto him. Some of their jaws had been ripped from their faces leaving only a pair of upper teeth that smiled down at Danny.
Shit.
Chad cried out as something pulled him from underneath the truck. The crazy was pulling at Chad. Danny quickly drew his 1911 and aimed. The loud concussive blast sent bits of bone and flesh everywhere.
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