Danny shook his head. "Obviously you haven't told Sophia this?"
"Dan, she is still a kid. All she has left in this world is hope. Once we lose that light all is lost. Do you want to be the one to take that away from her?"
The words festered in Danny's mouth until they boiled over and evaporated. All he was left with was a cigarette that was nearing the end of its life in his hand. He took a long drag till the ember burned the tips of his fingers, and then he dumped it in the empty can that sat in the middle of the table.
Chaps cleared his throat before he spoke. "It seems to me that Eric looks to you for that light as well."
"Oh, come on. Eric beats to his own drum."
"That's where you are wrong, Mr. Etter. Every man needs something to fight for, Eric included, and sometimes one man’s dream can light the way for everyone else. Be the vessel that brings others to that light, because if you don't, I’m afraid all of us might be left in the darkness."
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
THE ROOF ACCESS door crept open. The rusted hinges whined as the group of three skirted outside. Danny could now hear how loud all of the crazies were. It sounded like a sporting event where a constant conversation all built up into one giant roar.
What are we getting ourselves into?
Eric led the way to the south side of the building. Everything was dark, but Danny could just make out objects in front of him. A small thunk echoed from the jerry can that was strapped to Danny’s back. The dark shadow of Eric looked back at Danny.
"You wanna keep it down? Eric said over the radio."
Danny slung his rifle to the side. "How about you focus on getting us there, and I will do my job."
Sophia's voice came over the radio. "Boys, let's play nice."
Eric reached the ladder and waited for Danny to get up close to him. The tension in the air was constricting. Danny felt like someone was squeezing him till his ribs were just about to break.
"Keep an eye out," Eric said lowly. "If we see anything come into that alleyway, we abort the whole thing."
"You ready?" Danny said.
"Born ready."
Danny helped cinch a gas jug tighter to his back. Eric wiggled just to make sure that nothing made a sound and all his gear was secure.
"Okay," Eric said, taking a deep breath.
He hopped up on the ledge and gripped the ladder. Danny kept his rifle aimed at the alleyway. Everything looked calm. When Eric made it down, Sophia quickly followed. The light pitter-pat of her boots grew further away and finally stopped signaling that she was down. Danny stood up slightly bumping the jug can again.
He slung it on his back pulling the straps tight to his body. Now came the acrobatic move. Danny hopped up on the ledge making sure his rifle avoided smacking anything. He took the first step out letting his foot catch on the rung of the ladder.
One small step for man.
Danny lowered himself down. The crazies in the courtyard started to yell at one another. The roar became a deafening scream.
"It’s all good, Dan," Eric said in his earpiece.
It wasn’t good. In fact, it was all just shit.
It felt like days as Danny lowered himself down. Eventually, his foot hit concrete, allowing the stress in his body to cool, just a little.
One giant leap for mankind.
The group used the back gate to get out of the alleyway and onto a side street that was nearly impossible to see down with the naked eye. All objects suddenly looked like people. It scared the shit out of Danny as he nibbled on the small hairs that started to intrude from his mustache.
They kept moving and eventually ended up in residential streets that Danny figured would be a little safer. Occasionally, he could see something sprint across the street. Everything in his body would seize up as he leveled his rifle. The night vision optic would reveal a piece of trash or a bush that swayed with the chilling wind.
The mind loves to play tricks.
Danny's headset clicked on, and he could hear Eric's voice. "Looks like we got a few stragglers that are moving up ahead. I suggest we pull to the side and let them pass."
Take a deep breath, Dan.
Eric cut left and moved into a front yard. All of them sunk low as they laid down behind some tall grass and bushes. The can on Danny’s back made a little popping sound. It might as well have been nails on a chalkboard as Danny grinded at the small hairs on his lip. He put his face to the dying grass and kept his body as still as he could. His fingers rubbed the small fur from Jazzy Bear’s coat.
The wind kissed Danny’s face gently. He took a deep breath, but the gust carried a stench that Danny was all too familiar with now. The sobs and stuttered laughter drowned out his beating heart as the dark silhouettes emerged on the left. There were about six or seven of them, their dark shapes now outcasted by the ambient grey of the moon. A few of them had a limp, and it wasn't till they were thirty feet from Danny when he realized a little silhouette walked passed.
"Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned," someone prayed.
"Just want to close my eyes," a man pleaded. "Please let me close my eyes!"
"Am I just a whore to you?" a woman screamed. She started laughing. "I’m so sorry, sweetie whatever you want."
A small frail voice cut through the wind. "Where’s my momma?" Sobbing came from the mass of the group. "Where is momma?"
When Danny looked through his night-vision scope, he saw the little girl was holding something in her hand. He thought it was a stuffed animal or something.
A man in the group looked down at the girl. "We ate momma, honey."
The girl stopped in the street and looked down at a severed arm that was in her hand. Danny’s mouth fell to the floor. Little chills ran down the spine of his back, as the girl then started to laugh and skip. The group of crazies just kept moving until the laughter and sobs were replaced with the light whistling of the wind.
"You hear all that?" Eric whispered to Danny.
Danny shook his head. "Wish I hadn’t."
"You and me both, brother. Let’s get moving."
Everyone rose quietly. Eric took point with Sophia taking rear security. Danny focused on his sector and his mind soon fell into a rhythm. The time passed, but that feeling of nervousness stayed with Danny.
So much for owning the night.
They made it to a point in the road where they could see a dark overpass a few hundred meters away. Danny lifted his rifle and looked through the night vision scope. At the entrance was a Humvee that sat overturned on the curb. Eric kept his rifle up now as he used the shadows to mask their approach towards the vehicle. Once they got closer, Danny got a full view of the carnage. The legs and pelvis of a body were crushed under the Humvee. Oddly enough the upper half of the body was gone, with blood marks showing a weird finger painting on the floor.
"Guess someone had a little arts and crafts session."
Sophia clicked in on the radio. "Very funny, Eric."
"Quit messing around," Danny said. "The longer we are out here, the better the chances we end up like this poor bastard. Eric, let’s take that ramp entrance."
"You got it, chief," Eric said.
Clearly, Eric had some anger stewing as he nearly ran up the ramp. Danny had to consciously keep the gas can from moving too much while he tried to keep up. They took the entrance on the right with Eric leading. It made a semicircle where at the top Danny could see dark outlines of abandoned vehicles. There were big rigs that looked like shadowed giants in a sea of darkness and about fifty yards down the road the freeway curved slightly.
Eric's voice barked over the radio into Danny's ear. "Dan, I need you to fill up from the one closest. I'll go to the one that is down a ways. Soph, go with Dan and set up security for both of us. If shit goes south, we meet up at that overturned Humvee."
"Sounds good," Sophia replied.
Eric picked up his pace and within a few seconds he disappeared into the darkness, leaving Danny and Sophia to look up
to the shadowed giant in front of them. Danny looked back to see Sophia approaching from behind.
"Hey, Dan," she said in a hushed tone. "I’ll set up right next to you."
"I appreciate that because I can't see anything out here." Danny's eyes kept jumping to all the shadows.
Sophia laughed under her breath before she spoke again. "Eric gonna be alright?"
"The guy might be rough around the edges, but he can handle himself just fine."
The green light projected on Sophia's eye moved in a way as if she were nodding. "I guess it's you and me then. Could be worse."
"Yeah, you could be with Eric," Danny smiled as he headed to the eighteen-wheeler.
Danny set the gas can on the asphalt and took a knee by the tank. Sophia posted up on the step so she could see over the smaller vehicles as she took off the jerry can and set it on the ground. Everything was silent except for the occasional gust of wind that would make the squeaking of metal from some unknown location. Each time Danny heard the sound, it would send a shiver down his back as he prepared to pierce the gas tank. He set the two gas cans next to him and grabbed the hammer and screwdriver that was in his pack. Light tapping came from the tank as Danny waited for a hollow thud. A quarter of the way to the bottom the tapping changed and a smile came across Danny's face. He went a few inches lower so he wouldn't let the rest of the fuel leak out.
"How we looking, Sophia?" Danny said as he prepared to puncture the tank.
"Looking good, but let’s not take our time," she said in a hushed tone.
Danny slid a funnel into the first can and waited a minute for a good gust of wind. He stood there ready with the hammer raised high in the air. The squeak of metal was his signal to go for it. He felt the wind rush his face.
Come on.
Metal squeaked.
The hammer slammed into the butt of the screwdriver that was pressed to the tank. A loud slap echoed in the air that was much louder than the creaking.
Shit.
The blood in Danny's body felt like it was boiling as he inspected the small dent in the tank. The screwdriver had not pierced it.
"Dan, that was a little loud," Sophia whispered.
Yeah I know!
The wind blew again, and Danny reared back. The metal creaked in the distance as he slammed the hammer down on the screwdriver again. The slap was louder, but this time, the screwdriver went all the way to the hilt. Danny pulled it out, covering his hand with diesel as he struggled to get the can underneath.
The radio crackled. "Little loud over there," Eric said over the radio.
"We are working," Sophia replied sharply. She looked down at Danny. "Everything alright down there?"
"Peachy," Danny said through gritted teeth
He slid the filled can to the side replacing it with the empty one. The radio crackled again. Danny could barely make out Eric's voice. He tried to listen, but the only words he could make out was 'Hide.'
"Oh my God," Sophia whispered.
Danny looked back, and the sight made him nearly piss himself. The dark shadows of the cars were all moving just where the road curved. Danny grabbed his rifle and sighted in, only to reveal hundreds of green silhouettes walking between the vehicles. The cacophony of noise started to get louder and louder now as the wind wasn't loud enough to mask their approach.
"Sophia, lay flat on the roof of this thing," Danny whispered.
He was plugging the tank with the screwdriver now. When he looked up, he saw Sophia was already climbing. Danny capped the half-full can and slid it under the wheel well. He quickly jumped up in-between the cab and the trailer. There was a small bar that allowed him to shimmy up to the top. He set his rifle quietly on the roof as he pulled himself up. Sophia pulled him on his back. Above him, the stars stared back.
Danny looked over and saw Sophia. She looked at him as her chest rose and fell rapidly. The crazies were only fifty yards away now. Their sobs and horrid laughter started to gain in volume, and the smell of death and defecation overwhelmed Danny's senses. The heavy beats in Danny's chest felt like earthquakes that jolted his whole body. He looked over at Sophia, noticing the green light from the night vision showed the terror in her eyes. He put his finger to his mouth, telling her to quiet down. Tears started to show from the green light that was projected on her eyes. Slowly, Danny reached over and shut her night vision goggle off.
Maria, Susan, Lucas, I love you all so much.
The swarm was six feet below them with the smell almost making him gag. Danny covered his face as he could hear crazies lashing out at one another. A few fights erupted, but it quickly silenced as the group just trampled those that were not moving as one. Some whispered horrible things, while others sang and clapped. The randomness was what scared Danny the most. It was that unpredictability that made this whole thing so horrible. These were people. All of them living at one point with hopes, dreams, and aspirations. They had emotions and people they loved, but now what were they? Animals? No animals had a sense of purpose. These things were a parasite.
Danny could hear a woman talking above the rest.
"My baby!" She screamed. "Oh god, what have I done-"
I don’t want to die here.
A man now cut off her voice. "I loved it. She loved it." The man laughed now. "She loved it. She loved it! I cut off her tits before I did it," the man kept laughing as he clapped his hands.
Something reached out and grabbed Danny's hand. He looked down and saw Sophia gripping his hand. When he looked over, he saw her trying to control her light sobs. Danny squeezed her hand a couple of times just to let her know it was okay. The reality was none of this was okay. All of it was chaotic and hopeless.
They’re just sick. It’s not their fault.
The yelling and sobbing gave way to things Danny never thought human beings were capable of. A woman was raped on top of a car. Her horrible screams turned into choked laughter. When it was all done, Danny watched her just get up and merge back within the crowd. Her clothes fell to the ground revealing her pale naked body in the moonlight. Danny eventually gave up looking. He heard them laugh as they ate one of the younger ones just for fun. It was madness and each minute felt like a lifetime of torture.
I just want to be home. Please just let me see my family!
Sophia’s grip never released as she kept her eyes clenched. Danny couldn’t help, but sob to himself quietly. Then like a storm passing the roar of the crowd dissipated and the swarm meandered through. Danny tried to suppress all the horrible and strange things he heard in their passing, but it kept beating down his thoughts. His brain throbbed like the worst hangover he had ever felt before. When Danny finally had the courage to open his eyes, he could see the stragglers of the swarm a hundred yards away.
"I think it’s over, Soph," Danny said sitting up.
Sophia sat up brushing a tear back. She was about to say something, but instead lowered her head as she started to sob. Danny helped her down, but neither one of them talked. How could they talk after hell had just passed them? Danny jumped down from the step. The jerry cans were still there and intact.
Danny clicked his headset. "Eric, we are en route to the Humvee. What's your position?"
He let go of the button waiting for a response.
Danny tried again. "Eric, where are you at, man?"
Worry began to build up. He should have responded.
"Sophia, we gotta get moving. You take point, and I'll follow," Danny commanded.
"Alright," she replied, taking a deep breath.
She took off with her rifle ready as Danny slung the can on his back. He hefted the other one with his non-dominant hand. They went down the same way they entered staying on the asphalt that rounded around to the intersection. When they reached the bottom, Sophia cut left heading right for the rally point by Humvee. The extra weight was tiresome and now Danny's legs started to burn as he kept the pace up. They made a right and Danny could see the overturned Humvee on the side of the road. Soph
ia, however, was stopped dead in her tracks.
"Soph, what's wr..." Danny's voice trailed off as he looked at the Humvee.
There was a body lying next to it that hadn't been there before. It was too far to tell, but Danny knew things were out of place.
Sophia looked over at him. "Dan, is that?"
"It can’t be," Danny said.
Eric?
Danny walked up, slowly with his rifle raised. Each step he looked through his scope, trying to tell if it was Eric. The body was wearing something similar to Eric's clothes, but it was just too dark to see any detail. Sophia was right on his heels with her weapon to the rear. Danny finally reached the body. He turned it over only to find it wasn't Eric.
"Dan," Sophia whispered.
His eyes shot up. In front of him was a dark figure that was twenty feet from them. Both of them were still. The figure smiled, revealing white teeth that stuck out against the darkness of his silhouette. Danny could hear the strange growling as Sophia raised her rifle.
Something moved to the left of the Humvee. The figure suddenly staggered as it let out a quiet whimper. The shine of the blade glistened as it was thrust into the throat of the man. The knife sawed through tendons and arteries making wet bubbling sounds as its hands tried to stop the carnage. The body slumped to the floor, revealing a man with a green light glowing on his face.
Eric walked up to the crazy and cleaned his blade off on the back of his shirt.
"Bit of a close call if you ask me, chief." He sheathed his knife as he walked up to Danny. "Sorry I couldn't respond. Things got a little crowded down here while I was waiting."
Danny looked back at Sophia who was still as shaken up as he was.
Eric cocked his head to the side. "Everyone good?"
"Yeah," Danny said, trying to calm himself. "Just thought we lost you, is all."
A light chuckle came from Eric as he hefted a gas can. "Nah, you see, I don't die."
Danny took a deep breath as he closed his eyes.
CHAPTER THIRTY
THE LIGHT FOOTSTEPS echoed through the hall. The sound of dripping water felt all too familiar as Danny could only see the opening of the hallway. He swallowed heavily as he took a step forward.
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