Skyler approached Buddy just as he finished his excavation. Turning toward her with his tail wagging furiously she finally was able to see what had had him so distracted.
In his mouth was a partial leg. Complete with a shredded striped sock and a fuzzy bunny slipper.
“Oh Jesus,” Skyler said. “Buddy, drop it! Right now!”
The dog’s ears dropped back and his tail stopped moving and lowered as he considered Skyler. She seemed to be talking to him, but she also seemed unhappy. Perhaps she hadn’t seen the amazing treasure he had in his mouth. He decided to bring it closer so she could get a better look.
“Oh dear Lord no.” Skyler was exasperated. “Buddy you drop that right now, do you hear me?”
Buddy complied begrudgingly.
“You can’t be hungry already. Can you be?” Skyler had given him a bowl of kibble that morning. She looked around and saw the remnants of a CVS a few hundred yards down the boulevard. “Ok let’s head over there and see if they have a can or two of something more chickeny-beefy and less humany-leggy for you to eat.”
The 2007 Hummer H2 with its vanity license plate reading “LOL MPG” barreled down the boulevard. It rolled over most of the debris it encountered, occasionally dodging the larger stuff. It had been the only car on the road for miles and the driver was maneuvering the vehicle like a Duke brother.
Insane Clown Posse’s “Miracles” was blaring from the speakers.
The driver, Gregger, and just one of his two passengers, Scotty, sang along loudly with Violent J and Shaggy.
“Stop and look around, it’s all astounding ... Water, fire, air and dirt ... Fucking magnets, how do they work?”
The other passenger, Dom, was sitting in the back seat rolling his eyes as he looked out the window at what used to be Nassau County. Had he really survived ‘XF11 just to be at the mercy of these two goofballs? He sighed. At least they had a working vehicle. He was grateful they had picked him up when they saw him walking along the highway hours ago in Suffolk county.
All three of the Hummer’s occupants were dressed in normal day to day attire. Not one of them was covered head to foot, none of them were affected by the sun.
Gregger was wearing a camouflage baseball cap, board shorts and a Three Wolf Moon t-shirt.
There was a glock and an open box of bullets on the lid of the center console.
Gregger stopped singing when he noticed a figure running across the road up ahead.
“Scotty, you see ‘im?” He shouted over the music.
“I see him, bro.” Scotty shouted right back. He picked up the glock, checked that it was loaded and handed the gun to Gregger. Dom leaned forward between the two front seats to see what his new acquaintances were talking about.
“Guys, why don’t you just let him be?” Dom pleaded, but he already knew the answer.
“Because he wants to eat us, Dom. Just like the last one.” Gregger yelled back to him. He put his foot on the gas and sped toward the figure now on his side of the road. Gregger rolled down his window and aimed the glock at his target.
Inside the CVS Skyler was searching for cans of dog food among the rubble and debris when she heard the rumble of a large oncoming vehicle. She looked out what used to be the front window of the store and saw someone dressed much like her running along side the highway.
She found a spot to hide behind what was left of the photo counter and watched the scene that unfolded outside.
From her hiding place Skyler was able to get a good look at the person on foot. They had not had the benefit of a Good Will bin. While they were covered head to toe, it seemed as if they used a combination of black garbage bags, duct tape and rags.
“Whatever works.” Skyler said to herself.
The Hummer came into view, and she watched in horror as the driver shot a few rounds into the back of the man? Woman? Kid? — she could not tell — who was trying desperately to make it to safety. The victim crumpled to the ground, lifeless.
The Hummer squealed to a stop just feet from the body. Skyler saw as the driver and two passengers jumped out to examine their kill.
Gregger approached the body and kicked it over with his foot. With every inch of skin covered it was impossible to identify age, gender or anything else.
He looked up at the two men with him. “Any guesses?”
Scotty laughed. “Doesn’t matter much to me.”
Dominic rubbed his face with his hands and offered up a weak “No.”
“Alrighty then.” Gregger knelt beside the body and grabbed the rag that was covering their face. For barely a second the face of a boy, no more than 13 was exposed.
Instantly his skin began smoking and sizzling — and then with a poof — his body turned to ash.
Dom winced and shook his head unseen by Gregger and Scotty.
“Man, I love that part.” Gregger boasted.
He absentmindedly kicked at the clothes, looking for anything useful or valuable.
“And with my old man running the city, we’ll get to do this shit all day.”
“Amen to that!” Scotty was clearly excited at the prospect.
Something shiny caught Scotty’s eye and he stooped down to the ground to investigate further.
“Look Gregger, a necklace. Looks like it may be gold.”
Gregger pushed Scotty aside and quickly snatched up the necklace, a gold cross. Almost as quickly he dropped it again. It was blazing hot.
“God damnit!” He held up his hand, showing the perfect cross burnt into his palm.
Dom looked away and snickered. While his head was turned toward the CVS, he thought he saw movement from within the store but he couldn’t be sure. He decided to say nothing.
Gregger noticed Dom looking toward the store.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking Dom-buddy?”
I seriously doubt it, Dom thought to himself, but to Gregger he smiled and said “Tell me what you were thinking and I’ll either confirm or deny, pal.”
“No need to confirm. I’m onto you Domster. The answer is ‘Beer!’ And I’m with you one hundred percent. Let’s head on inside and look for any surviving beer they may have in there.” Gregger paused and looked down at the burn on his hand. “Maybe they’ll have something for this battle wound too.”
Scotty guffawed. “Battle wound.” And then he became very serious. “Man, you think they got any Slim Jim’s in there?”
Gregger thought about it for a second. “Yeah, if they have beer they have Slim Jim’s.”
Scott was overjoyed. “Excellent!”
Gregger started walking toward the store. “Let’s go boys!”
Dom lingered for a few seconds at the site of the murder before he turned to follow Gregger and Scotty into the CVS.
From her hiding place Skyler witnessed the whole exchange. She looked around and was relieved to see that what was left of the beer aisle was at the other end of the store.
Jack and Alissa were still searching for a vehicle. The top level of the parking structure was larger than the other levels and during their search they had found a pocket of cars and trucks that were in better than good condition. He still had his vice-like grip on Alissa’s hand.
“Jack, what about that one?”
She pointed at a late model minivan.
“It certainly looks comfortable, but I think it’s a little too new. We need something a bit older.
“How come?”
“Because the old ones don’t have computers. Computers don’t do so well in a flood.”
Alissa nodded. “Oh ok. So old car.”
“Really old car.”
“Older than me?” She asked.
Jack pointed to himself. “Older than me!”
They continued to scour the parking lot. Alissa spotted another vehicle.”
“Look, a Jurassic Park car! Is that older than you?”
Jack glanced over to where Alissa was pointing. The rusted out Land Cruiser looked to be at least 50 years old.
Jack picked up the little girl and flipped her onto his back, putting her into piggy back riding position. He then snatched up his back pack and made his way toward the Land Cruiser.
Moments later, Alissa sat in the passenger seat while Jack worked on hot wiring the old SUV. In the little girl’s opinion, things didn’t seem to be going well for him. We could be here for a while, she thought to herself.
“Jack?”
“Yes?”
“I’m hungry.”
Jack gestured to his back pack. “Why don’t you grab something from there?”
Alissa looked toward the pack but shook her head. “That stuff all tastes bad.”
“Tastes fine to me.”
Alissa looked doubtful but decided to go through Jack’s pack in hopes she’d find something good this time. She pulled out a mini Snickers. She unwrapped the candy bar and took a bite. It may as well had been spinach soaked in vinegar. Alissa spit the candy back into its wrapper and threw it out the window.
“Jack?”
His inability to hot wire the Land Cruiser was frustrating him. That frustration added a bit of anger to his answer. “Yes?” He instantly regretted it. She’d been through so much in the past two weeks, and she was four. Jesus, I’m the worst.
“I mean, yes?” He repeated, this time in a much more pleasant tone.
“Whatcha doin’ down there?”
“I’m trying to get this thing started so we can get out of here.”
“But why don’t you use the key?”
“Alissa, this isn’t my car. I don’t have the key.”
“Oh.”
Jack continued his struggle for another few minutes.
“Um, Jack?”
Jack closed his eyes. He was losing his patience with himself, Alissa and the SUV. But he was determined to remain calm. “Yes, ‘Lissa?”
“Did you check up there?” She pointed to the visor. She climbed over the center console and reached out and pulled down the visor. A set of keys dropped onto the driver’s seat.
Jack laughed. “Of course.”
TWELVE
Skyler watched the three men from the shadows via a broken security mirror that hung from the ceiling.
After witnessing the cold-blooded murder of someone who was just like her, she was understandably shocked. She knew from the piles of clothes dotted around the churchyard that there were others who, like her, had suffered from some biological change after the arrival of ‘XF11. She had not imagined, however, that in just this short amount of time they had all become hunted. Surely the government would somehow reach out to its citizens and offer help to the affected. They were blameless for what they had become, weren’t they?
As she continued to watch the three of them sorting through 6 packs of beer she started uncovering parts of her skin, just in case she was spotted. The CVS was well-shaded, no rays of sun made their way into the store, other than where the large storefront window used to be. She’d slid her bandanna down around her neck and rested her sunglasses on top of her head. She shoved her gloves into her pockets and unzipped her hoodie half way. She looked up at her reflection in the security mirror. Covered or not, it was still quite obvious she was — one of them.
The beer aisle was in shambles. The shattered glass of the refrigerator doors crunched loudly under their every step.
Scotty was carefully picking through glass and debris searching for an intact six pack. “What’s on special today?”
Dom pointed to a six pack on the floor near his feet. “Looks like some of the Ommegang survived.”
Gregger laughed. “Ermahgerd!? Son, I won’t settle for anything less than the King of Beers.”
“Of course you won’t,” Dom said under his breath.
Scotty leaned into the shell of a cooler and grabbed a case of Budweiser. He held it up like a trophy for Gregger to see.
“Nice job Scott-tay! Let’s go find ourselves some Slim Jim’s.”
Skyler shrunk deeper into the shadows as they walked right past her and Buddy’s hiding place.
Back at the front of the store Gregger and Scotty were scrambling to pick up as many Slim Jim’s as possible. Dom couldn’t keep from glancing outside at the pile of clothes that used to be a person.
When she saw the trio move closer to the storefront, Skyler thought it was best to put some space between her and them.
She backed out of her hiding place while all three of the men were preoccupied. From her vantage point, it seemed to her that two of the men were abnormally into Slim Jim’s. Of course this would have been hilarious if they hadn’t just committed cold-blooded murder in the middle of the boulevard.
She kept a watchful eye on the security mirror as she moved cautiously to the adjacent aisle. As she started to move, Buddy also left their hiding place, heading in his own direction. She could do nothing about the dog, other than hope he didn’t give her away. She moved slowly and deliberately, careful to not step on anything that may crack, crunch or make any other sound that may alert them to her presence.
Unfortunately the aisle nearest to the photo center was the hair care and makeup aisle. Broken jars of hair gel and foundation were everywhere. Sidestepping them was not easy work. Halfway down the aisle she did her best to sidestep some debris but in doing so accidentally brushed up against a precariously positioned jar of blue hair gel. As the jar fell from its perch, Skyler’s lightning fast reflexes kicked into action. She reached out her hand and caught it right before it hit the ground.
She let out a sigh of relief, and gently placed the jar down on a shelf. She turned to continue down the aisle but didn’t see the small piece of broken glass under her boot in time to avoid it.
CRUNCH!
The sound was loud.
“Seriously?” she said under her breath.
The Great Slim Jim Hunt was interrupted by the sound of crunching glass. All three of the men turned their head in the direction of the noise.
Gregger stood up and began directing Dom and Scotty as if he was a S.W.A.T. team leader. Using what he thought were military style hand gestures, he sent them each to different parts of the store. He, himself, then crouched down low and moved off in his own direction.
Skyler took off from her position trying to quickly get to the emergency exit at the back of the store without giving away her position.
Scotty headed down the magazine aisle as directed by Gregger, but he was instantly distracted by an issue of Big and Busty, a girly magazine, sticking out under a pile of debris. He scooped down, picked it up and immediately started flipping through the pages. When he got to the middle he gave the magazine a shake. His eyes widened as the centerfold revealed itself.
From another aisle Gregger shouted out. “See anything boys?”
Yes I do, Scotty thought to himself. “No I don’t,” is what he yelled back to Gregger.
Dom was heading back toward the entrance while looking up and down each aisle along the way. He spotted Scotty gawking at the girly mag and rolled his eyes.
The act of rolling his eyes brought his attention up to the ceiling for the first time. He took note of the broken security mirrors affixed to it. In one of those mirrors he spied a very pale blonde making her way toward the back of the store. In another he caught a glimpse of a large white dog roaming down another aisle.
Dom yelled out to Gregger.
“I haven’t seen anything yet, either.”
Skyler quickly darted from aisle to aisle, avoiding the trio while trying to make her way to the store’s emergency exit.
Upon reaching the back of the store, Skyler discovered the emergency exit was blocked by debris. There was no getting out that way. A quick look up into the nearest security mirror showed that the one with the Three Wolf Moon t-shirt was getting dangerously close to finding her.
She watched on as he spotted her sneaker print in some broken glass and dry shampoo. He stooped down for a closer l
ook, as if he was a tracker in an old western.
If he wasn’t so murderous she would laugh out loud at his ridiculousness. Instead she looked around for another way out.
Gregger called out to Dom and Scotty. “Boys, I may need some back up over here.”
“Crap.” She said to herself. They were getting too close. She looked around for another hiding place and spotted a nearby bathroom, its entrance unobstructed.
She was in serious need of a distraction. Perhaps it was divine intervention, or maybe Buddy had tired of exploring on his own, either way the pit bull had made his way back to Skyler.
She tapped him on the butt, leaned in close and whispered “Get out of here Buddy. Go.”
Maybe he didn’t hear her or maybe he did, but either way his response was to lay down, roll over and expose his belly.
“Noooo. Bad boy!” she hissed.
That he understood. Buddy rolled back over, looked at Skyler and tilted his head.
Skyler tried changing the message.
“Want to go out? Want to go play? Outside, boy. Go ahead, now.”
Buddy got up, barked loudly and ran toward the front of the store, buying her some much needed time.
Skyler searched the floor in her immediate area and grabbed a nearby box of tampons. She heard one of the other guys yell out.
“Over here! It’s a dog.”
Dom and Gregger arrived at Scotty’s location. Buddy was standing near the entrance, baring his teeth at Scotty.
Gregger stated the obvious. “That’s a pit bull.”
“Should we kill it?” Scotty asked? “Shoot it?”
Dom was incredulous. “Why would you want to kill a dog?”
Gregger took his glock from his waist band. “Because I can.”
Skyler was on the floor scrambling to gather up a selection of makeup while Buddy kept the guys busy near the entrance. She grabbed some concealer, some foundation and setting powder. She also picked up a tube of lip gloss and some black eyeliner. When she had everything she needed she ran to the bathroom.
Plagued (Book 1): The Girl Who Chased The Shadows Page 9