As they moved down the planter boxes Jade finished the story. “I had to hit him to get the gun back. He was out of control.” She shot a quick glance at Lisa then whispered to Mace, “She came through pretty good. She’s good in a pinch, but there’s something wrong with Chelsea. She isn’t responsive.”
Mace looked back and met Lisa’s eyes momentarily, giving a half-smile before looking down at Chelsea.
“She’s been through a lot. She’ll be fine in time.” He prayed he was right.
The cowering infected continued to remain frozen, extreme fear and agony plastered across their faces, their eyes deep red and unfocused, and with palpable fear the group swiftly moved past them. The blind infected had now taken on the same demeanor and stood shivering in place, quiet and emotionless. It somehow made them more terrifying.
Moving directly towards the bus, the retriever suddenly came bounding towards them from the bushes. “Some guard dog,” Mace said to himself. No one paid it any attention. They just kept their eyes peeled for more trouble.
Yvette came up from behind Jade and said quietly, “Robby’s got emotional problems. Sometimes he can’t handle his anger. He’s been in counseling.”
Mace overheard and said, “Is he on medication?”
“He was,” Yvette said.
“Shit.”
“Shut up, Yvette!” Rob said too loudly, rushing up from behind. Mace intercepted him. “So you’ve got some anger issues. Welcome to the club. We’ll get you some medication.”
“I don’t need that shit.”
“Let’s just worry about getting out of here right now. And let’s try to keep quiet.”
They felt like they were walking through a Twilight Zone episode, but the fact that it was real made it seem all the more implausible, as if the world had just tilted off its center and gone horribly mad.
They walked swiftly and dumbfounded towards the school bus, trying not to stare at the dead body parts strewn like discarded garbage in the street. Once there, making sure they were all alone, Mace quickly jimmied the door open. He climbed into the darkened bus and was about to help everyone on when a voice broke from the back.“Hey Man, what the fuck do you think you’re doing? This is a private bus.”
Mace instinctively pulled out his gun, unsure where the voice was coming from.
“Dude, like chill out, man. There’s no need for that shit. There’s nothing going on here.”
A figure sat up from the back of the bus, and Mace could see the outline of a head and torso with long wild hair. He pulled his flashlight out and shined it at the back of the bus. The figure covered his eyes. “Hey man, that’s not necessary. We didn’t do anything officer. We were just trying to get some sleep.”
Mace could smell the faint scent of marijuana and B.O. on the bus. He looked at the figure incredulously. “How long have you been here?”
“I don’t know. A couple of days. We were gonna leave today. There’s no reason to storm the bus, man. We were gonna get going.”
Mace still couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He heard another figure stirring in the back. “How many of you are there?”
The figure covering his eyes spoke again. “There’s three of us. C’mon, man, we didn’t do anything wrong.” The figure started getting agitated. “I mean, why don’t you go catch some real criminals and quit harassing innocent victims. We didn’t even do anything.”
Jade, who was outside the bus, could hear the commotion and climbed on board. “What in the world is going on?”
The figure in the back was getting more agitated. “Oh great, now we gotta deal with a lady pig as well.”
Mace was completely exhausted and was through wasting time. He started walking towards the back of the bus and as he did so, he started tearing the blankets off the windows, flooding the bus with the morning sunlight. In the brilliance of the light, the figure was able to see that the man and woman weren’t wearing uniforms, and in fact didn’t look like cops at all. He got up, yelled, “This is bullshit,” and took a swing at Mace.
Mace grabbed him with one hand around the throat and threw him up against the rear of the bus. He bared his teeth as he got in his face. After watching Rob almost get his companions killed, he wasn’t going to give anyone any room to maneuver. “You have no idea what’s going on. You’ve got two minutes to get all the drugs off this bus and get your shit together. If you can’t handle that, you’re gonna be left behind.”
The figure could barely speak from the pressure of Mace’s grip, but was able to spit out, “What are you talking about, man? It’s my bus!”
The other two figures sat up and Jade saw one of them eyeing the gun in Mace’s holster. She pulled her own and aimed it at their heads. “Now now boys, I wouldn’t go doing anything foolish.”
They looked at her slacked jawed and sleepy, with glazed eyes and wild, unkempt hair. One of them stared at her and couldn’t help himself. “Dude, she’s a hotty.”
The other one slapped him across the head. “Shut up stupid, they’re hijacking the bus.”
Mace barely noticed them and intensified the pressure on the figure’s throat until he could see the guy’s eyes start to roll back in his head as he struggled against him. The intensity of the situation was cutting his patience short.
Finally, Mace let go and the figure dropped to the floor, holding his throat and gasping for air. Mace waited until he caught his breath, then leaned down and grabbed his arm, pulling him back up. “Well, have you made a decision yet?”
The figure snapped as he met his eyes. “Fuck you! This is my bus!”
Mace grabbed him by the hair and moved him forward through the bus.
”Ow, ow, ow, ow!” the longhaired figure kept saying as they headed towards the front door. Mace put his mouth next to his ear and said, “You’re lucky I’m not dragging you behind me, cause that was my first thought.”
Jade hopped behind one of the seats to let them pass, never taking her eyes or her gun off the two in the back. As Mace pushed him out the front door, Lisa and the others jumped out of his way, a little startled by the unfolding scene.
Mace continued to hold him by the hair, turning his head left and right, showing him the remains of the neighborhood. “Do you get it now, Beavis? We’re under attack. I have no idea how you survived this long, but without our help, you’re toast.”
He could see the figure’s eyes blinking, as if he was awakening from a dream.
“We thought it was just a bad trip, man. Holy shit, you mean this shit is real!”
Mace nodded the guys head up and down. “Sure do, Beavis. This is fucking Armageddon. Now what do you say we take care of this situation ASAP and get the hell out of here. There could be more of those things right around the corner.”
“ Okay, man, okay. I’ll do whatever you want.”
Mace let go of his hair and the figure turned white as he headed back towards the bus. He turned him around, eyeing him closely. “Do you have any weapons on board?”
The guy was now shaking and pasty white. “Man, we’re into partying not guns.”
Mace looked at him and nodded towards the bus. “How good can you drive this thing?”
“I’ve been driving it around the country for six months.”
Mace tried to smile, but it came out more like a snarl. “Alright. Sorry about being so rough. We just don’t have much time. We’ll talk on the bus.”
Mace ushered everyone on board and took one last look around before boarding himself. Darrin, the longhaired figure that Mace had dealt with, climbed behind the driver’s seat while Mace pulled up behind him. Darrin pulled a lever and the bus door whooshed shut. He turned around and nervously looked at Mace, “Where we going?”
Mace could see his hand shaking on the wheel. “The tenderloin. There’s somebody we need to pick up. You sure you’re alright to drive?”
Darrin just nodded his head. His eyes were bloodshot and his face still a pasty white. Mace showed Darrin his pistol.
&n
bsp; “This brings them in droves, but it’s all we’ve got. I don’t know what we’re gonna find out there. I’m giving you a job I don’t want to have to regret.”
Darren just looked at him and nodded. “I can drive, man.”
Mace scanned the dashboard. “Does this thing have a radio?”
“No, but it’s got an ass-kicking stereo. I could put on some tunes if you’d like.”
Mace ran his fingers through his hair in frustration and stared out the window. “Just drive, alright?”
They headed down Baker Street, but couldn’t take the route Mace wanted due to the number of abandoned cars on the street. Darrin began loosening up when he discovered he could hit abandoned vehicles or push them out of the way and there were no consequences. He was still feeling the effects of the drugs the night before and started laughing strangely as he drove. The streets were empty. Mace couldn’t help but wonder where the infected were.
“I swear we were freaking out last night. We thought we were having a communal hallucination. We never would have thought this shit was real.”
He started laughing harder and Mace was about to tell him to pull over when an older woman came tearing out of her house, waving her hands towards the bus. As she ran up, Mace leaned in to Darrin. “Pull it over.”
Darrin stopped the bus in the middle of the street and the woman rushed up to the door, frantically pounding on the glass. “Let me in! Oh my God, let me in!”
Darrin opened the door and the woman fell down trying to climb in, causing Darrin to start laughing again. She rushed passed Darrin and Mace caught her as she started to fall. “Oh my God! Thank God you showed up! They’re everywhere!”
Peering outside the bus windows, he said, “Where? Are you alright?”
She was nearly incoherent and Mace could barely understand her as she spoke as if she couldn’t catch her breath. “I’ve been hiding…in a closet…they broke down the door…and they rushed in…I don’t know…what happened to my husband….Oh my God!”
Mace tried to calm her down. He held her lightly and looked back towards Jade, motioning her forward with a nod.
“You’re okay now. It’s all going to be okay. When was the last time you saw any of them?”
Mace was trying to peer out the windows as he spoke when a prolonged shriek traveled fast in their direction. Mace saw a blur outside the window and Darrin screamed, pure terror on his face as an infected rushed inside the bus, colliding into him like it could tear right through him. The force of the hit shook the whole bus, and as Mace looked outside the window, he could see dozens more rushing towards them.
He threw the woman into the seat next to them and pulled his gun, firing once into the creatures head. Blood splattered over the front of the bus’s window as it crumbled onto the steps. Lisa covered Chelsea’s eyes as Darrin started convulsing and Mace shot him in the back of his skull, sending him catapulting forward into the steering wheel. Everyone on the bus was yelling and either scrambling to hide or pulling out their weapons. Shawn and Stewart, the two other stoners on the bus, were delirious with panic and they unbolted the back door and jumped out running.
That created enough of a diversion as the infected changed course, with more joining by the second to swarm after them, and Mace pushed the body of the dead infected out the door with his boot then grabbed Darrin’s body from the seat and flung it after him. He slammed the door shut screaming, “Fuck!”, as he fired up the bus and jolted it forward.
Jade was running to close the back door when the bus jolted forward and it sent her slamming into one of the seats and she grimaced as she slid into it holding her side. The infected caught up with the two runners and they could hear their terrible screams through the open back door as they tore them apart. The woman who had climbed aboard was wailing as she held on tight to the seat Mace had tossed her in, and Lisa clutched Chelsea close to her in one of the middle seats as the dog barked excitedly as it got jostled around from side to side. Rob jumped up and was able to close the back door, watching as the infected had turned to run after them but were quickly losing ground. Yvette was curled up in a ball crying and Mace kept swearing as he plowed into cars that were scattered across the road. Blood was splattered all over the front window, making it hard to see, and fragments of brain matter and skull were stuck to the glass like little tokens to remind them of what had just transpired.
Mace continued to drive quickly through the streets, swerving wildly to avoid hitting abandoned cars, when he saw a car zoom through an intersection up ahead before hearing the horrific crash of metal on metal after it had disappeared past his view. He slowed down as he reached the intersection, seeing the severity of the accident. There had been a pile up the car couldn’t avoid and it smashed directly into it. The infected were already making their appearance and he hit the gas and drove out of sight. He realized he had made a horrible mistake in trying to drive out of this, and so far, it had cost three people their lives. As he drove towards St. Boniface church, he started praying that Father McCann would be alive. He was on the verge of falling into despair, and he knew if he did, he’d take them all down with him. As he drove, he could hear the voice of his mother inside his head fighting to be heard: “You’ll always be a failure.” He choked it out, but he wasn’t sure if he could keep it down.
Once he turned the corner to St. Boniface church, he slowed the bus down to a crawl to examine the street. There was no one out there, but it had been through a war zone. Windows were broken everywhere and debris and bodies covered the sidewalks.
He pulled up to the courtyard, stopped the bus, and turned back to face his comrades. “I’ll be back in five minutes. If I don’t make it back by then, you need to just keep going. If anything comes while I’m gone, don’t wait for me.”
Jade rushed up from the back seat, a slight limp impeding her progress. “We’re not going anywhere without you. In fact, I’m coming with you.”
Mace shook his head. “You can’t. You know how to shoot better than anyone. They’re gonna need you here.”
She looked back at the small crowd on the bus and bit her lip. She turned back and nodded in agreement. “Alright but just hurry up, damn it, and don’t make me leave you.”
Her eyes stayed dry as she kissed him on the lips. A small, tender kiss that trembled a little as their lips parted. “Just hurry.”
Mace paused for a moment, took in her face, then said, “Close the door once I’m out,” before hitting the lever and leaving. He ran to the shattered door of the rectory and disappeared from view. Jade stared for a second at the door he had passed through before turning the handle.
“Just hurry,” she said to herself. “I don’t want to lose you.”
Chapter 14
Father McCann was having a wonderful dream. He was standing in a beautiful, peaceful meadow watching a young fawn chew on grass. There were flowers of all colors around her and the trees were deep green with their limbs gently blowing in a breeze. Father McCann could hear the gentle patter of a small running stream in the near distance.
Mace came bounding up the steps, two at a time, when he saw the splintered door to Father McCann’s room and he let out a shout. “Father Jack! Are you in there?”
He stopped in his tracks when he saw the pair of legs strewn across the floor, then continued slowly inside to witness what was left of the bloody corpse. He hadn’t realized he was holding his breath and let out a sigh of relief when he didn’t recognize the body. He felt a slight brush of air above his head and swatted at it, hitting Father McCann’s hand.
As Mace’s voice had permeated his dream, the meadow had turned dark as a crowd of infected appeared and started racing towards the fawn. She’d raised her head and tried to leap away but they were on her, clawing and biting into her with rabid intensity. Sleeping upright, Father McCann was startled out of his sleep by the nightmare, almost falling out of the hole. His hand slipped down and just missed Mace’s head as he steadied himself, which is what Mace had swa
tted. Father McCann looked down at him from the attic opening, perturbed.
“I’ve been waiting here for you all night, and you have to wait until I have a good fucking dream to show up?” He shook his head before a small smile creased his face. “Get me down from here, would ya? I’m terribly stiff.”
Mace grabbed the chair and helped Father McCann down through the ceiling. When he got him to the floor, Father McCann was bent over in stiffness. Mace looked at the figure lying next to them. “When I saw him on the floor, I thought you were a goner.”
Father McCann looked at the body and Mace could perceive sorrow in the jagged lines of his old face.
“Did you know him?”
Father McCann nodded slowly, looking at the body. “In another life. We were old friends. He came to warn me of what was to come.” He looked up at Mace. “I think you know how bad this plague is, don’t you. It will be biblical in its proportion. Millions will die.”
Mace nodded and felt a flood of guilt come over him. “I’m responsible for three deaths since this morning. I made a terrible decision in trying to outrun it.”
Father McCann felt compassion and touched Mace’s face. “You are no more responsible for their deaths than I am. You did what you thought was best. All we can do is try to survive. There is no fairness in who lives and dies.”
Peering into the old man’s eyes, Mace felt a little better. He motioned towards the splintered door. “We need to go now. There are people waiting.”
Father McCann nodded. “Ay. We do. We need to stay alive Mace. I’ve got the antidote to the plague.”
Mace looked at him in awe. “What? How?”
Father McCann stared at the body of his old friend on the floor. “It was always meant to be. The intricate web of design has unveiled a glimpse of its fragile course. I always wondered why it was we met, Mace. And now I know. You are the protector of all things. I’ve been waiting for you.”
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