The Red X Chronicles (Book 1): Emergent

by Sullivan, Robert Patrick

  “I’ll be back before you know it.” He pulled her in for one last embrace then set her down gently. “Ok, everybody ready?” We sounded off one after another until Elizabeth chimed it too. “Wait-“ Dennis continued. “You’re coming too?”

  “Of course I am.” She said playing fun at the fact that she could have been offended, but it was obvious that she genuinely wasn’t. “I’m not just going to sit around here when I can help.”

  John replied to her. “Are you sure? It’s pretty bad out there, and we aren’t exactly sure if all of us...” He held his words when he glanced over to see Jill’s worried face. He cleared his throat. “I meant when all of us are going to make it back.”

  “I know it’s dangerous out there, but I can’t stand being stuck indoors any longer. It might not seem like the best idea, but we could use all the help we can get.” We couldn’t exactly argue with her. “And besides, I’ve been wanting to crack one of their skulls open for what they did to my boss.” She swung her pipe-wrench playfully as if in a batting stance.

  “Can you drive?” John asked.

  “More than you know.” She added and let the wrench rest on her shoulder.

  It was a pretty blatant expression on John’s face that showed he didn’t want her out there, but I could tell he wasn’t in the mood to argue. “Alright, fine. Let’s get moving.”

  We left cautiously. It was early in the morning, which was a little bit of a worry for us because we knew we could be seen from a mile away. But the street was practically empty, only a few of the shambling bastards were anywhere near us. Which gave Dennis all the opportunity he needed to try out our new weapons.

  “Come on, we’re going to kill this one.” Dennis said and walked up behind one that was just barely noticing that we were there.

  “Maybe we should try to avoid fighting if we don’t have to.” I said.

  “No, this is the best chance we’ve got.”

  “Chance for what?”

  He stopped about ten feet away from it to more closely examine its behavior. After taking a second to figure out when it was going to lunge he took a step back. “Did you all see that? You want to keep a distance between you and them. They don’t move fast, but they lunge when you get near.” He took a deep breath.

  “Ok...” He cracked it upside the head with his bat. The zombie fell to the ground but was still moving and groaning. It looked up at him with its left eye crushed in. I was still a bit squeamish back then, but I couldn’t look away. “A little harder this time.” He swung again this time with enough force to finish the job. A spattering of blood shot across the pavement, and the zombie fell limp. “I think that did it... Oh and as for your question, it’s a chance to see whether or not these weapons are going to work. Imagine what would happen if these didn’t do their job when we needed them.”

  John had his gun in his hand ready to fire but was set at ease when he looked at the motionless body. “He’s got a point.”

  “Alright, you’re up next Mark.” Dennis said.

  To say I was taken back would have been an understatement. “Wh-What? No, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “I am not, everybody needs to do this. It takes a little more strength than you might think to get the job done.”

  “Oh boy...” I gulped and gripped the handle of my machete.

  “That one’s got your name on it.” Dennis pointed one out that was walking our way.

  It was still around fifty feet away when I got a bad case of the nerves. “Are you sure I have to, ‘cause I mean, it’s not like.”

  “You’re doing it Mark.” John answered. “And don’t worry, I’ve got my gun ready, just in case.”

  My hands were trembling just a little, but I knew they were right. If I couldn’t handle this, then what good would I be when they needed me. “I can do this.” I said to myself and got into a defensive stance. It took longer than I was expecting for the zombie to travel the distance. Which in hindsight, meant I probably should have just walked up to it myself, but I wasn’t in a hurry to get it over with. It was opening and closing its mouth as if it was practicing chewing me up, when it finally got close enough it lunged, just about when I expected it to. And thanks to Dennis’ little demonstration earlier, I was prepared. I swung down hard, sinking the blade into its skull, with it coming to a stop just over the left eye. Unlike when Dennis took his down, mine was finished on the first blow. It collapsed to the ground with the blade still stuck inside its head, and me still holding the handle.

  “Not bad.” Dennis said, a little too cheery for my taste. It took me a few seconds to work the machete free. I kind of had to rock it back and forth to get it to loosen up before I could pull it out. I was unsettled by the whole experience, but I knew what it took and how it felt to hack into a human skull. I wouldn’t say that was on the top of my things I’ve wanted to know list, but it was something I needed, and I realized why then made me do it.

  “So...?” John asked. “Who’s next?”

  Chapter 16

  We all made sure to get used to killing the zombies before we had to do it in a desperate situation. Will took to it well enough, although he was a little more enthusiastic, hitting the body quite a few more times after it had gone limp. I think it was his way of venting off some of the steam that he had pent up after a stressful couple of weeks. John took his turn after that, it didn’t seem to phase him in the least. Elizabeth I think was the big surprise, I was embarrassed to admit it at the time, but she actually handled bashing their brains better than I did.

  We took a couple more rounds to make sure we really had the hang of it. I can’t say that I really enjoyed it, but it is something you get a little more used to each time.

  “I think we’ve had enough.” Dennis said.

  “So long as everybody gets the idea, yeah I think we should get looking.” John added to Dennis’ remark.

  “So what are we looking for exactly?” Will asked.

  “A car?” I asked back shocked that he could have forgotten what was going on.

  “I know that dumbass! I mean what kind of car. I don’t think a sports car is the best idea.” When he jabbed back at me I was astonished that he had actually thought something out for once.

  “Um…” John was nearly as stunned as I was. “Glad to see you’re thinking ahead. The car in the garage is a four-seater. There’s… how many of us again?” He counted out on his fingers without looking at them. “Seven of us? So we need something that at least has three more seats which are easy enough to get in and out of, that means four doors. And the sturdier the better, off road capabilities would be a plus. If you can find a truck with an extended cab that would be perfect. But I’d rather not stay out here any longer than we have to, so if it’s got the keys, or hell even if it’s just easy enough to hotwire, we’re taking it.”

  “Sounds good.” Dennis said. “We’ll stay on the same street as each other, that way we don’t get too far apart if we come into trouble. We’ll split into two teams each team covers one side of the street.”

  “So who’s going with who?” Elizabeth asked.

  “I really wouldn’t care, but you and Will-“ John looked at both of us. “have been giving each other shit the whole time. I’d rather not deal with your problems ever, but especially not out here. So Mark you’re with me, Will you go with Dennis.”

  “That’s fine.” Dennis replied.

  “What about Liz?” Will asked.

  John rubbed his eyes. “That’s a whole ‘nother can of worms…” He mumbled under his breath. “Let’s just keep this simple, I don’t want people getting all emotional out here, so Elizabeth you’re with us.”

  Will wasn’t too happy with the arrangement but didn’t have enough time to express his disgust before Elizabeth cut in. “Sounds good to me, let’s just get this over with.” She was already walking toward a house when she continued talking. “We’ll take this side.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. John tapped my elbow to get
my attention. “Let’s go.” He said and we followed after her.

  I could hear Dennis speaking behind us. “Come on Will let’s do this.”

  “Whatever…” Will said back to him, and the sound of them trailed off behind us.

  Elizabeth was fiddling with the door handle of the first house. “It’s locked… I guess it would be though.”

  “Actually it’s not a bad idea to try it first.” John said as he walked up behind her. “Most break-ins happen because the owner left the front door unlocked.”

  “You’re kidding right?” I asked a hint skeptical.

  “No really, that’s the number one method of robbery and home invasion.” He added before turning around to keep an eye out behind us.

  “So… What now?” Elizabeth asked.

  John looked back at her with one eyebrow cocked. “Break the window. Just try to keep it down.”

  I snickered to myself before John asked me “What’s funny?”

  “Oh, it’s just odd having a cop tell us how to break into a house you know?”

  “Eh…? Wouldn’t be the worst thing I’ve done.” He paused for just a second, but not long enough for me to respond. “Hey Liz, break the glass out all the way so you don’t cut yourself, and make sure there aren’t any zombies in there before you go climbing in. I’d rather not have to shoot if we can avoid it.”

  She rolled her eyes, and said “Of course.” She smashed the glass with her wrench, gave it a few seconds to be sure it was clear, and climbed through into the kitchen.

  We waited a few seconds for her to open the front door, and we stepped inside closing it behind us. “I’m going to check the garage for a car, you two start looking for keys. Start in the bedrooms, even if the garage is empty, there’s a car out on the street. So we might still be in luck here.” John said before walking over trying to find the door to where he wanted to go.

  John was wrong, in fact we didn’t have much luck at all, and had to keep searching for a while, house after house, it was a struggle. It wasn’t that there weren’t cars around, but this area had been mostly evacuated, which meant that the people who left took their keys with them I suppose. As a result, it was more difficult than we thought to find one that we could easily get working.

  It was Will of all people who wound up getting us another vehicle, and we were surprised to say the least. When we walked outside to see, it was… Well it was one of those vans with a dragon and some scantily clad woman painted on the side. The kind that you would imagine a high-school band would go from gig to gig with. But the good news was that it would fit all of us, with plenty of room, even if it was a bit over the top.

  That’s when we heard a gunshot off in the distance. “That came from the house.” Dennis said with a look of dread crawling over his face. Two more shots echoed off through the neighborhood. “We’ve got to go! Get in!”

  We had traveled a lot further than we realized while we were out searching, and it actually took us a couple of minutes before we could get to where we left his family. When we pulled up, the house was surrounded by maybe a dozen or two bodies, trying their hardest to work their way inside. One of the windows was broken with the body of a dead one half-way inside. It had pushed over the dresser that we blocked it with.

  Dennis didn’t say a word, he just pulled the van to a stop by screeching the tires. Which got the attention of most of the zombies. We got out and ran toward the house. Most of us were calm enough to keep our distance and try to pick them off without getting surrounded, but Dennis was in a rage, he was furiously bashing his way through them.

  “Hey be careful!” John shouted. “Don’t get yourself killed!” He managed to finish just before Dennis disappeared inside. We were still dealing with the ones outside. We managed to kill about half of them before we noticed that things were going south, and fast. The zombies heard the sound and were pouring in from down the street. We had to move, and fast.

  “This isn’t good. We’ve got to-“ I started to say, but Dennis came back out leading his family to the van. He already knew that we were out of time, pushed right through the few that stood between him and his goal. Will ran back to the van and got in the driver’s seat, which meant that we were all ready to move as soon as we got inside. I slammed the door behind us. “We’re all here, hit the gas!”

  Will was quick to oblige, he floored it but shortly after smashed on the brakes. “There’s too many of them.” He said and turned us around. He started speeding down the street, until we saw the same thing on the other side. “Shit! What do I do?”

  “Just plow through ‘em!” John yelled from the passenger seat.

  There weren’t any other seats in the van. So when he gunned it and started running through the mass of flesh and bone it jostled us around in the back. We could feel each one of them as they passed beneath the tires, thudding against the underside of the van, getting thicker and thicker. I wasn’t sure if we were going to make it, the front windshield had gotten so covered in blood I couldn’t make anything out. But then the ride went smooth. Will hit the wipers and the path became clear, we had broken free.

  “Holy shit!” John said exasperated. “That was a close one… Is everyone ok?”

  “No…” Helena’s voice was quiet be we all heard it clear as day.

  Chapter 17

  We were hesitant to ask what happened, but the answer came soon enough. “I got bit…” Helena said grimly.

  “It’s ok honey, you’re going to be ok.” We could hear Dennis whispering to her in the back of the van. I could see the blood running down her arm and dripping from her hand into a small puddle. Jill was crying, and all of us were worried.

  “No Dennis… I’m-” But she was cut off.

  “Don’t say that, we’ll do something. We have to, we-“

  “No Dennis!” I think that was the only time I ever heard her raise her voice. She was always soft spoken, so it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up a bit. “We’ve seen this before. We both know what’s going to happen.”

  “Don’t…” He was holding her in his arms.

  “What do we do?” Will asked from the driver’s seat.

  “Don’t ask that.” John said back to him, trying to keep out of the situation as much as possible.

  “I mean what do I do? I don’t know where I’m going.” Will said, but this time he wasn’t trying to stir up trouble.

  “To the train depot. Were you not paying attention when I was going over this on the map?” John said back in a snide tone.

  “Of course I was, I just don’t know what street this is! I’ve never been in this neighborhood.”

  “That’s a fair point.” John replied. “I’m not too sure either come to think of it. Make a right here I guess.” They continued trying to navigate, while we dealt with what was going on in the back.

  “How long do you think she has?” Elizabeth whispered to me.

  “I’m not sure. Back at the mall Steve told me the time is different for every person. I guess some can fight it a bit longer than others.” It wasn’t the most comforting answer, but it was all I had.

  The drive was rough. We struggled at every turn. There were so many wrecked cars and swarms of zombies that it took a long time just to make it a couple of blocks. We had to keep turning around and finding a new path, which was making things more and more pressing. I could hear John murmuring to himself in the front seat as Helena’s breathing became more labored. I knew just what he was thinking we’re going to have to do something, and soon… And no one wanted to walk down that road.

  “How did this happen? Dennis asked his wife.

  “We were waiting for you to come back… Everything was going fine.” Helena began. “We were keeping quiet and trying to kill time. But… we were playing a game, and Jill fell down. She couldn’t help it, it hurt and she cried.” She stopped to make eye contact with her daughter. “It’s ok baby, this isn’t your fault, I want you to remember that Jill.”

  Jill had
a hard time looking at her mother, I think she was afraid of the blood. But at the same time, she nodded in response.

  Helena continued. “I tried to console her as best as I could, but one of them had heard us. I don’t think it would have been that big of a deal, except it was pounding on the window, getting more and more of their attention. When they broke the window the dresser we had blocking it toppled and they started climbing in. I rushed to get Jill out of the room, but the dresser wedged the door open. I tried my best to push it out of the way and close it. I had it just about shut when I heard one behind me. They had broken in through another window. It was so close to Jill… I shot it right in the head, just like you said, but the one behind the door got its head through the opening and bit me.”

  Nearly thirty minutes had passed since we left the house, and Helena was getting worse. Her normal color had left her, she was pale, and struggling to hold on. “Dennis…” She barely whispered loud enough to hear.

  “What?” His words were almost as defeated as her own.

  “I don’t want… I don’t want Jill to see this.”

  “No!”

  She pulled her hand up to his face and caressed it gently. “Dennis, we both know what has to happen.”

  Dennis gave the slightest nod and crushed his eyes together. “Find a safe place to pull over.”

  Will was even starting to show some strain. “Ok man…”

  Helena made an attempt to sit upright on her own. “Jill baby, come here.” She said with a small smile.

  Jill was scared and sitting next to Elizabeth. “It’s ok Sweetey, come over here with us.” Dennis added and managed to coax her over. She crawled across the van and sat with her parents.

  They spoke quietly amongst themselves. Even though I couldn’t really hear them, I knew exactly the kinds of things that were being said.

  It didn’t take too long after that for Will to say. “This spot looks ok.”

  John chimed in. “Yeah, but keep it quick, it won’t be too long before they come crawling.”

  The Van came to a stop. “I have to say goodbye now Jill…” her mother said with tears in her eyes.