“You don’t get it, boy,” he said a little too loud, “they got me.”
It took me a moment to register what Chuck said. Karina, however, understood right away and clutched my arm.
“You got bit?” the teenager asked, her voice shaking.
“Afraid so,” he strained. I could hear him moving around, like he was scooting across the floor.
“Where?” I asked, barely squeezing the word out. I was having trouble coming to terms with it. We were not in the best place to be locked in an enclosed environment with someone who was going to change into a scab at any moment.
“My hand,” he said.
“Are you… are you sure you’re infected?” Karina asked.
“Everyone gets infected,” he returned almost angrily.
“That’s not true,” I blurted out.
“It is, Christian,” he sighed. “I’m already dead. We just need to figure out how we’re going to save you two.”
“I’m not—,” I started to say and then stopped. I was going to say I wasn’t going to shoot him. That I wasn’t a killer, but that wasn’t true. A flash of Judy’s face broke through the darkness of the walk-in cooler. I pulled the trigger on her and if I had to, I knew I would on him, too. But I still thought there was a chance he wasn’t infected.
I left Karina’s side and moved towards Chuck. I felt her grasp out toward me, but I quickly pulled away.
“Chuck,” I whispered, hoping it was low enough that Karina couldn’t make out what I was saying, “there is still a chance you’re not infected.” I was pretty sure Boomer stayed next to her.
“It doesn’t work that way,” he argued as I got closer to the sound of his voice.
“It does,” I urged. “Not everyone gets infected. I know this for a fact!” I emphasized.
“What do you mean?” he asked suspiciously. I could tell he didn’t believe me.
I reached down and felt his arm.
“I got bit,” I said as quietly as possible. He started to jerk away. “No wait! I got bit in the beginning, when everything went to hell. The first day, you know? I never changed.”
I didn’t tell him that I got bit back at the Ace Hardware. I had a feeling that if I did, he might just kill me right there.
“That’s not possible,” he dismissed. “Everyone I’ve seen get bit, turns.”
“I should be a scab right now or at least a zombie,” I continued. “But I’m not. I’m still me. It’s been a month.”
“You have to be mistaken, Christian,” he continued to argue. “I know—”
I interrupted him and grabbed his hand.
“Feel this,” I said as I shoved his hand through the top opening of my vest and shirt. “Do you feel it? That’s the scar. I almost lost half my shoulder.”
He tried to pull away at first, but I held fast. After a moment, I could feel his fingers tracing around the wound Dave gave me the first day of The Awakening.
“I don’t know, Christian,” he said stubbornly.
“I am immune,” I whispered confidently, “and there is a chance you are, too. I haven’t told anyone because… well, because I wasn’t sure how they would react.”
“Maybe you are,” he grumbled, “and maybe you’re not. But I am. I can feel it. It’s like sand in my veins.”
“But Chuck…” I started to say, but stopped when he grabbed my arm.
“Listen,” he said between sharp breaths, “you get that girl out of here. You save her life.”
“We can’t get out of here,” I argued. “We won’t make it ten feet.”
“You will if I can… can get their attention,” he grunted as he started to get up. “I’ll go to the other end of the cooler.” He coughed, a little too loud. “I’ll push open one of the glass doors and make a ruckus. It should give you enough time to run out and then go through the back door.”
“Look man,” I pleaded, “just wait it out. Maybe—”
“Stop arguing with me,” he said as he shoved the MP5 into my chest, and then leaned in close to my ear. “Listen to me,” he said in a whisper, “I don’t know if that story you just said is real or not. But if it is, you get Karina to safety, find the others or someone else, then you leave her be. Go off and avoid everyone if you can.”
“But I told you,” I hissed equally as low, “I’m immune!”
“Immune or a carrier?” he retorted.
“But...” I trailed off. I hadn’t considered that.
“It could be in your blood, Christian. You could be putting everyone at risk. Maybe if there was still a government they could do something with you, but there isn’t.” He stopped for a second and I could hear him reloading his hand gun. “You’re a danger, kid. You were right to keep it to yourself.”
I didn’t know what to say. I started to think he was right. It was something I hadn’t considered before. Thinking I’m immune is one thing, but what would people do if they thought I was carrying the infection? Maybe fate had saved my life back at the Ace Hardware compound when the scabs showed up, preventing me from revealing the secret to Lieutenant Campbell.
“Get the girl, Christian,” he said sternly.
Reluctantly, I agreed and slowly felt my way back.
I bumped into her, not realizing she had already gotten to her feet.
“You okay?” I asked, more annoyed than apologetic. Boomer brushed the side of my leg letting me know he was still there as well.
“Yes,” she said, fear still in her voice. But there was something else, I just couldn’t put my finger on what it was.
I heard Chuck rummaging through whatever clutter was on the ground as he made his way over to the far wall.
“Christian,” he said loudly, not caring anymore about being heard, “you remember what I told you.”
I didn’t say anything back. I didn’t know what to say.
Karina, Boomer and I moved to the door, waiting for whatever Chuck had planned. This might make me sound horrible, but there was a part of me that hoped he put a bullet in his head before they got to him or before he turned into a scab.
“Do you still have my pack?” I asked her hurriedly.
“Uh-huh,” she answered.
“Give it to me,” I told her. She blindly handed it to me and I quickly detached my AR and strapped it to the top of the pack.
I put the backpack on and reloaded the MP5. A quick feel on my ammo vest told me I had only one more magazine left for it. There was more ammo in my pack, but I neither had the light nor the time to riffle through it.
“Get ready, kids!” Chuck said with an air of peacefulness that bewildered me. How could he be so calm knowing he was about to die?
I heard a creak and the moans of the dead that were muffled now filled the walk-in cooler.
“Hey, fuckers!” he yelled out. “Come and get me!”
The dead-heads instantly went into a frenzy, pushing towards the open glass door. I could hear the shelves that stood between Chuck and the dead rattle and shake as they clawed their way towards him. Glass started to shatter all along the wall as they pressed up against each other in hopes of feasting on the old cop as he continued to call out to them.
I didn’t waste any more time. Chuck would soon be dead and we would too if we didn’t get moving right away.
I quietly opened the freezer door and felt Boomer rush out. I couldn’t see anything. If moonlight was making it into the building, the hoard of zombies pushing through the front blocked it all out.
Luckily, the back door wasn’t barred or locked. I pushed on it and it easily opened, shedding moonlight into the gas station. Behind me, the moans grew to epic proportions as I heard Chuck’s gun go off.
The clear night sky above revealed an open yard in the back, partway fenced. To the left was a road heading east to west and nothing but scrub brush and palmetto bushes in front of us. I could see surprisingly well. The change from complete darkness made it seem brighter out than it actually was.
I looked over toward the
road and saw numerous figures moving in the direction of the building. We couldn’t go that way. I saw no other choice but to head into the brush where I hadn’t seen any zombies.
More gunshots rang out from inside the store as we ran into the field. A shriek of pain screeched out over the sound of the frenzied dead. One more shot sounded from the gas station, and the agonizing cry was cut off.
We kept moving with Boomer in the lead. Karina was actually faster than I was. Adrenaline couldn’t change the fact that I was carrying an extra hundred pounds. Besides the thirty pound pack now strapped to my back and the fifteen pound AR-15, I had my weapon, other gear and twenty-five pounds of ammo strapped to my chest. I was falling behind and was starting to lose sight of them.
We ran for only a few minutes before I called out for them to stop.
“Hold on,” I wheezed. “Just… hold on a sec.”
Boomer slowed and stopped, but Karina kept running.
“Wait!” I called out in a partial yell, but she disappeared around a large palmetto bush. Sucking in a breath, I continued. Boomer, after seeing me start up the pace again, continued after her.
I rounded a few more bushes and came across a small reservoir. Karina was running along the edge and then continued west through the brush. Boomer stopped and turned toward me.
“Go!” I yelled at him and he turned back around and sprinted after her.
I didn’t want Karina to be alone. If she ran into a group of zombies, she would not be able to defend herself. With Boomer there, she would have a chance.
I jogged as fast as my body would let me. Blood was pumping into my ears and I felt like I was going to pass out. Warm liquid was streaming down my forearm and onto my hand. The bite I received inside the Ace Hardware was still bleeding.
The sound of Boomer panting and whining brought me to him. He was pacing back and forth in front of a fence. Behind it was a building and I could see piles of junk scattered around a large open area behind the structure.
“She… climb… the fence, buddy?” I said between breaths. Boomer just whined anxiously.
The fence was six feet tall. Getting Boomer over it would have been impossible.
I took off my pack and tossed it over into the lot. Praying that it was strong enough, I pulled out my multi-tool and searched for one of the thick wires that connected the fence to the poles.
I ended up having to cut three before I could fit Boomer and myself under it. It only took a minute, even in the dark, but it seemed like forever.
As soon as Boomer made it under, he broke off to the back of the lot. I soon followed, grabbing my pack and slinging it over one shoulder.
“Karina!” I said in a loud whisper as I navigated through the large back lot full of junk. It had to be as big as a football field. I could never have found her without Boomer. Tracking the canine around a few piles of metal scrap, I came to a dead end.
In the corner, I could barely make out Karina huddled in the shadows.
“Karina,” I whispered, “What are you doing?”
“Get away from me!” she replied. “I heard what you said to Chuck! You’re infected, too.”
“I’m not infected!” I said, but it came out half-heartedly. An hour before that, I believed I wasn’t. Chuck destroyed that, though. Now, I wasn’t so sure.
“Don’t lie to me!” She tried to back up further, but was entirely surrounded by junk.
“Karina,” I started to say, but the sound of Boomer growling cut me short.
I spun around and saw the outline of a haggard figure shambling toward me. Silently, I thanked God that I had decided to switch to the MP5 and took it out with one shot to the head. The silhouetted figure toppled over on the ground.
I stroked Boomer in silent thanks and slowly crept over to the scared girl.
“Karina, I’m not infected,” I started to say.
“You are,” she said, but was sounding less afraid as I stopped just a couple of feet from her. “I heard you say you got bit.”
“Yeah,” I responded after a moment. “I did. But it was a month ago. I never changed.”
“That’s not possible.” I could tell by her tone that she wasn’t calling me a liar, but rather didn’t believe that it could be true.
“It is,” I said quietly. “I don’t know why, Karina.”
She hesitated for a moment and then stood up. Boomer walked over to my side, giving me assurance nothing else was in the immediate area.
“Do you… do you feel sick?” she asked.
“No,” I replied, “not at all. I can just about guarantee I’m not going to turn into a scab. I mean, I haven’t yet, have I?”
“Can I see where you were bit?” she asked suspiciously.
“How about we get in that building first?” I suggested. “I’ll show it to you then… after we’re safe.”
Just like Chuck, I didn’t want her knowing about my recent bite. After all, she may think I’m lying about my previous wound. Seeing a fresh one or me telling her about it might give her second thoughts about coming with me.
She stared at me a moment. Her gaze was almost penetrating. Something told me this girl was not your typical fourteen year-old teenager.
“Can I have a gun?” she asked. I thought about that for a second. She did have to defend herself, but I wasn’t quite sure she wouldn’t put a bullet in me yet.
“I’ll give you a gun after we get settled inside,” I compromised.
She thought about that and nodded.
It didn’t take us long to get into the building. I had to practically break down the back door, but fixing it after we were in so nothing could come after us was fairly easy. Karina stayed close to me as Boomer and I cleared the rooms one by one.
It was a rectangle building that was around five thousand square feet. There wasn’t anything useful that we saw and, unfortunately, most of it seemed like storage for valuable scrap.
I stashed Karina in a closet while Boomer and I cleared the place. I took out a bandage and wrapped my fresh bite wound.
We decided to make our camp in a small office without windows. I opted to only use my solar flashlights so we could see. I didn’t know how long we were going to be out here without supplies, and wasting battery power didn’t seem like a good idea. We kept the door shut and I was confident that Boomer would alert us if any trouble came.
I carried three broken down MRE packets in my pack. Both of us were hungry from spending so much energy escaping and we scarfed down half of the food, feeding some to Boomer as well. I also had a little dog food stored up for him, but decided it was best to save it.
“Can I see it?” Karina asked as she finished off her beef stew.
“See what?” I returned. ,
“Your scar, from the dead-head that bit you,” she said, motioning at my shoulder.
“Um, sure, I guess.” I took off my vest and pulled up my shirt.
She grabbed the flashlight and shined it over my shoulder.
“Did it hurt?” she asked, tracing her finger around the scarred tissue.
“Yeah,” I said, chuckling, “it hurt a lot.”
“So you really are immune,” she stated.
“I think so,” I said as I pulled my shirt back on.
“You think? You sounded pretty sure back at the gas station.” She sat back down, crossing her legs.
“Well,” I started and then caught myself. Did I really want to tell her what Chuck said? She might have gotten frightened and we would have been right back to her running away. Something told me, though, that she would be understanding. There was intelligence in her young eyes that gave me the feeling that she was wise beyond her years. It was a sharp contrast to the frightened eyes I saw when I jumped into Chuck’s jeep.
“Well, what?” she said, interrupting my thoughts.
“I think Chuck believed me,” I said, letting out a deep breath, “but he said I might not be immune. He thinks… thought I’m a carrier. Like someone that’s infected but does
n’t get sick.”
“That doesn’t mean you won’t get sick,” she said as she made room on the carpet to lie down. “People carry HIV for years before they get AIDS. Maybe you are like that?”
I thought about that a moment and shuddered. She was right, which kind of irritated me. I could have gone to sleep that night and woken up a scab. Karina would be my first victim.
“If that’s true, aren’t you worried I might change?” I asked her carefully.
She raised her head and looked at me thoughtfully.
“I’m not that worried,” she said, yawning. “I don’t think you will. But if you do, there’s not much I can do about it. I mean, I ran before and would have most certainly been eaten by that dead-head out in the back lot if you hadn’t shown up.” She lay back down.
“That’s comforting,” I said sarcastically.
“It should be,” she said, chuckling, “I figure I’m safer with you right now than on my own.”
She was right of course, and that annoyed me. She seemed like one of those kids that knew more than they should for their age, and didn’t have a problem voicing it. Then another thought occurred to me.
“Karina?” I asked
“Yes?” she said. Her eyes were closed and she sounded like she was about to fall asleep.
“Are you going to tell the others if— when we find them?” I said, correcting myself. I had to keep positive. Or at least keep the act up for Karina.
“No,” she yawned again, “I don’t know how they would react. Besides, I’m sure you’ll find the right time to tell them.”
“Thanks.” I sat with my back to the door of the small room and leaned my head against the wall. Boomer snuggled up next to Karina and let out an appreciating grunt as she blindly stroked his mane.
The rest of the night went over without any problems and the three of us were up just as the sun broke the horizon.
Karina reminded me that I would give her a gun, which I originally was a little wary about. I decided to let her shoot off a few rounds inside of the building. I wanted to see if she could at least hit a zombie if need be and not me in the process.
We used a framed award that was on the wall at the end of the hallway. It was only about twenty-five feet away from where she was shooting. I told her to imagine it was the head of a zombie.
The Hunt Chronicles (Book 2): Revelation Page 3