Nicole's Odyssey (Human Extinction Level Loss Book 1)

by Philip McClimon

He watched Nicole ready her weapon and mimicked her actions.

  “Well, this won’t be much different. Only a couple of rules; aim small, miss small, and hold your breath when you release. Got it?” Nicole said.

  She shouldered her rifle and drew a bead on one of the Dead below, a skinny shuffler with short kinky hair and a thick black mustache. She let out her breath and fired twice. Both shots penetrated its skull, and the zombie dropped to its knees and fell on its face. None of the others seemed to notice as they maintained their circuitous course around the aqueduct.

  “Whoa! I think you just killed Borat. His sister’s gonna be pissed,” Sam said.

  He shouldered his gun and picked a target, a big round woman with huge breasts and a face that looked like it collided with a cosmetic factory. Swollen tissue and thick makeup sat on her face below hair that had been so teased and blow-dried it formed a halo twice as big as her head. Sam let out his breath and squeezed the trigger. The gun clicked but did not fire. Sam lowered it and looked it over. Nicole waited impatiently as Sam failed to find the remedy.

  Losing her patience, Nicole reached over and flipped off the safety for him.

  “This is what I’m talking about, Sam,” she admonished.

  Chagrined, Sam shouldered his rifle again and aimed at the big woman. “Later, Dolly,” he said and fired.

  The big woman’s head twitched at the bullet’s impact, but she did not go down. Sam lowered his weapon a second time and looked down into the aqueduct. Nicole scanned the Shufflers below, then looked over at Sam.

  “Which one were you trying to hit?” she asked.

  Sam gestured in the distance.

  “Dolly Parton,” he said.

  Nicole looked down then saw her. “No, Sam!” she yelled. “That is too far away. An effective zombie killing range on a weapon this caliber is about forty yards! Anything beyond that we don’t care about.”

  Sam frowned. “Sorry. I just hate country music, ya know?” Sam said.

  Nicole looked at the Dead. “There, shoot that one there,” she told him.

  Sam looked down. “Which one?” he asked.

  Nicole pointed. “Mullet boy, there,” she said.

  Sam saw where she pointed. A lanky shuffler with a gore coated mullet wandered below. He was dressed in a “wife beater” tucked into skinny jeans over biker boots. Sam shouldered the weapon and drew a bead on the back of the Shuffler’s mullet.

  “And you shouldn’t try to shoot Dolly anyway, the woman’s a legend,” Nicole said.

  Sam squeezed the trigger twice in rapid succession and mullet boy dropped to the ground.

  “Just call me mullet hunter,” Sam bragged.

  Nicole rolled her eyes and squeezed off two rounds into a large shuffler with lamb-chop sideburns. It plopped down into the stream, the water circling around it slowly.

  “Hey that looked like Elvis, he’s a legend too,” Sam said.

  Nicole lowered her rifle and waited for another to come into range.

  “Yeah, but old fat Elvis. I like skinny young Elvis,” Nicole said.

  The two sat in silence for several minutes. Sam looked away and sighed.

  “So I guess you’re wondering what I was doing still working in that store, huh? It’s just that-”

  Nicole cut him off. “Look Sam, You’re coming with me and that’s… fine I guess, but I’m really not interested in your life story, you know? We have one job to do and that is get to Colorado disease free, understand?” she said.

  Sam remained silent. Neither said much to each other as they spent the next hour plunking zombies that wandered within range. When they were empty, they reloaded their magazines. Nicole slung the rifle over her shoulder and turned to go.

  “That’s enough for now,” she said.

  Sam slung his rifle and followed her back to the car.

  “So, how’d I do?” he asked.

  Nicole did not turn around.

  “You did alright,” she said as she put her rifle in the back seat and jumped behind the wheel.

  Sam was all smiles as he stuck his rifle in the back and climbed in beside her. Nicole cranked the GTO and hit the gas. The car sped away as Sam tried to learn the words to You Make Loving Fun.

  Fifteen

  Walter Jefferies, he preferred just “Walt”, drove his old style school bus down the two lane. He looked around and smiled. The cloudless sky beamed blue down all over him. He loved days like this when it wasn’t too hot or cold, and it just seemed like something good was going to happen. As he bounced along, the breeze blew in and caressed his face through his graying mustache and goatee. Matching colored shoulder length hair whipped around his head. As the bus crested a rise in the highway, Walt saw a sign that said “Scenic Overlook”. Thinking it was too nice a day to waste driving, Walt drove the bus into the turn-out and parked. He cranked the lever that opened the sliding door. Walt jumped from behind the wheel and grabbed his chaise lounge. On the way out he mashed a button on his mp3 player that was connected to the bus’s stereo. No Woman, No Cry started to play as Walt went around to the front of the bus and climbed up on the hood. He hauled himself up on top of the roof and opened up his chaise lounge. Walt stood and took in the view. The green valley stretched out before him and met the blue sky at the horizon.

  “Well, Alright,” he said as he reached for the zip-lock bag in the pocket of his Hawaiian shirt and plopped down in his lounge.

  A minute later, Walt was baking in the sun to the dulcet tones of Bob Marley.

  ☣

  Walt slept in his chaise. His mouth hung slightly open, a light snore emitted. Occasionally, his head would loll to one side or the other. Could You Be Loved drifted from the bus beneath him. A noise beneath the music sounded in the distance and Walt woke up. He looked around, unsure of where he was for a second. He rubbed his face and listened. There was no mistaking the sound. Under the song’s rhythms, the throaty warble of a car’s engine could be heard approaching.

  Nicole and Sam rounded a bend in the road and ascended the incline. They passed the “Scenic Overlook” sign and saw the bus parked in the turn-out. Nicole slowed the car and gripped the wheel nervously. Sam leaned forward and pointed.

  “Look!” he said.

  “I see it,” Nicole said.

  “There’s a guy on top of that bus. I think he’s waving at us!” Sam exclaimed.

  “I see him, Sam!” Nicole shouted back, agitated.

  She slowed the car further and stopped at the entrance to the turn-out. The engine idled as Nicole stared at Walt through her windshield. Sam watched Walt jumping up and down on the roof of the bus, waving his arms frantically. When Nicole did not immediately pull in the turn-out, Sam looked over at her.

  “Aren’t you gonna pull in?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. We don’t know this guy. He could be… you know, a weirdo,” Nicole said.

  Sam turned back to look at the man again. Walt’s hair flopped up and he looked like he was doing half-assed jumping jacks as he tried to get their attention.

  “Yeah, well he does look weird… but not in a dangerous way. We should at least check it out, maybe he needs our help,” Sam said, not taking his eyes off Walt.

  Nicole gripped her steering wheel and debated turning in. On the bus roof, Walt was shouting now.

  “Hey! Over here, Man!”

  Sam looked back over at Nicole. “He definitely sees us. It would be rude not to at least say hi,” Sam said.

  “Well, we can’t be rude, can we,” Nicole countered, her voice slathered in sarcasm.

  She turned the wheel and eased into the turn-out. Walt saw them approach and hauled himself down the front of the bus to the ground. Inside the car, Nicole unsnapped the guards on her shoulder holsters.

  “Look sharp, Sam. We don’t know what this guy is up to,” Nicole said as she brought the car to a stop.

  She looked over at Sam to get confirmation he heard her, but no sooner had the car stopped, then Sam bounded out the door and
went running up to Walt.

  “Dammit, Sam-” Nicole hissed.

  She reached for a pistol as she watched Walt jog up to Sam with his hand stuck out. On his face was a big goofy grin. She watched in disgust as the two shook hands in the middle of nowhere like long lost friends. The two exchanged some words she couldn’t hear, then she saw Sam point back at her. She watched Sam turn and look at her and gesture impatiently for her to get out. Nicole sat still for a moment more. She looked behind her and around the bus. Not being Satisfied with her progress, Sam called out to her.

  “Nicole! Meet Walt! He wants to know if we’re hungry! Isn’t that great?!”

  Nicole rolled her eyes, and with trepidation, shut off the engine. She climbed out of the GTO, but before she walked over, she grabbed her rifle from the back and slung it barrel down across her back. She did not approach.

  “Sam, can I talk to you for a second?” she called.

  “What is it?” Sam responded.

  Nicole huffed. “Over here!”

  Sam looked at Walt. “Just a second, Walt,” Sam said and trotted over.

  “Sure, man,” Walt said as he watched Sam go to Nicole.

  When Sam got to her, Nicole spoke in low tones. “Dammit Sam, you’re being stupid. This guy could be anybody.”

  Sam looked back at Walt who stood waiting and looking. “What do you mean, Nic-”

  Nicole cut him off. “That bus for instance! How do you know it isn’t full of guys just waiting to jump us, you know?” Nicole said.

  To Nicole’s amazement, Sam’s response to this was to turn to Walt and ask him. “Hey Walt! You got anybody in that bus wants to jump us?!”

  Walt laughed a goofy laugh. “Nah, man. It’s just me and I ain’t dangerous,” he replied.

  Sam looked back at Nicole as if that defense was airtight. Nicole rolled her eyes and looked over at Walt.

  “Well, how do you know we aren’t dangerous, you know?” she asked.

  Walt’s smile faded. “Well… are you dangerous?” he asked.

  Nicole couldn’t believe how this conversation was going but, before she had any more time to think about it, Sam responded.

  “No, we ain’t dangerous either. We’re going to Colorado.”

  The smile on Walt’s face returned. “Well, alright then, Come on. I’ve got fruit smoothies, man!” Walt said as he waved them on, turning towards his bus.

  Sam bounded after him. Nicole shook her head and tromped after them.

  By the time Nicole climbed the steps into the bus, Walt and Sam were fully involved. She took in the scene. The back of the bus was packed with coolers of various sizes. There were coolers in the aisle stacked against the back door. The last six rows of seats on either side all had coolers in them. Walt was giddy as he was showing Sam.

  “Fresh fruit is hard to come by these days, man, so I’ve had to stock up on the frozen, you know,” he said.

  Walt gestured to his coolers. Each cooler had a label identifying its contents scrawled in black marker.

  “I don’t usually share my stash with anybody, you know, times being what they are. Limited resources, you know what I’m sayin’.” Walt scratched his chin. “Course, that hasn’t exactly been a problem, seein’ as how there hasn’t been anybody to share with for a while, man,” he said, then chuckled.

  Sam was impressed. “This is awesome, Walt. You know, before Nicole saved my ass, I had some fruit trees. It’s important to eat healthy,” Sam said.

  Walt nodded in agreement. Nicole stood towards the front, all but forgotten for the moment.

  “Yeah, so like I was sayin’, you’re the first people I’ve seen, in like forever, man, so you know, it’s a special occasion, so definitely some smoothies are what we should do,” he said.

  Sam turned to Nicole, “What kind of smoothie you want, Nicole? He’s got everything!” Sam said.

  Nicole glared at Sam and called him over with her eyes. Sam went over as Walt started popping lids off various coolers. Nicole spoke in hushed tones to Sam.

  “Sam, I don’t think we ought to be hanging with some guy we don’t even know, let alone eating his food,” she said.

  Sam looked back over at Walt who was arranging the coolers for better access.

  “I’ve got anything you want here, raspberries, strawberries, pineapple… oh, man! I forgot about this! Papaya!”

  Walt turned with a big smile and held up a frozen package. Lost in his joy, he turned back to the coolers and continued the tour.

  “I got some of those power inverters, you know. Plugged one into the cigarette lighter and it lets me run my extractor. It’s pretty righteous, you know, cause the cigarette lighter is meant for cigarettes, which can kill you, but I use it to make fruit smoothies, which, you know, can help you live longer.”

  Nicole stared at Walt’s back as he busied himself with his coolers. She looked back at Sam as he tried to reassure her.

  “We’ve been on the road all morning, it might be nice to stop and take a break… but it’s up to you. You want to bolt, I’m with you,” Sam said.

  She was about to say something, when Walt turned around. Walt looked at Sam.

  “Hey man, is she shy or something?” he asked.

  Nicole turned to Walt. “I’m not shy!” she exclaimed. She turned to go. “I’ll be outside, Sam,” she said, then tromped out of the bus.

  “Oh, okay, man…” Walt said.

  He turned and looked at his coolers. “So, what’s it gonna be. Name your poison. That was a joke, you know. It’s organic,” Walt said.

  Nicole stood outside the bus and surveyed the scene before her. Walt had stuck a beach umbrella in the ground. Under that was a folding table and a chair. The frustration continued to eat at her. Time here was time wasted. They should be making miles not burning daylight. She turned and was about to tell Sam they needed to go, when the loud whine of Walt’s extractor shut her down. In a huff, she plopped down in the chair.

  A few minutes later, Walt and Sam emerged from the bus. Walt carried an orange/strawberry smoothie. Sam had a strawberry/raspberry in one hand and a pineapple/orange in the other. They set them down on the table.

  “Oh right, man. Let me get two more chairs,” Walt said, then disappeared back in the bus.

  Sam pushed the pineapple/orange in front of Nicole. Walt emerged and set up two more folding chairs. From his pocket he produced three straws.

  “There ya go, man,” he said as he handed out the straws.

  Walt and Sam unwrapped their straws and stuck them in. Both took deep draws on their smoothies, their faces revealing their pleasure. Nicole glared off in the distance.

  “Nature’s candy,” Walt said as he and Sam clinked glasses.

  “You should try these, Nicole, they’re amazing,” Sam said.

  After several seconds, Nicole turned around and stared at the frosty concoction.

  “Fine!” she said and ripped the paper off her straw. She jammed it in and took a long pull.

  Sam and Walt stared at her. They were motionless as they awaited the verdict. Nicole saw them staring at her and looked away.

  “It’s good,” she said begrudgingly.

  Walt and Sam were all smiles. “Alright,” Walt said. All three sat in silence enjoying the fruity goodness.

  “This makes me homesick for my island, man,” Walt said.

  Sam’s interest piqued. “You own an island?” he said.

  Walt laughed. “I don’t own it, man. I just live there. It’s in the Hawaiian Island chain, you know. Not one of the known ones, it’s too little for that but it’s still nice. Very tropical. I run a bar on it. Locals, fishermen, tourists in the know come by. I sell my smoothies… and other drinks and stuff, you know.” Walt said.

  “What are you doing here, then?” Sam asked.

  “It had been a long time since I seen the mainland, you know. So I took a vacation and bought this old bus. I figured I would drive around for a while, see the states,” he said.

  Nicole huffe
d. “Your timing was perfect,” she said.

  Walt shook his head and his smile faded. “Ain’t that the truth,” he said.

  The three sat in silence and finished their smoothies. Their minds each thinking about their lives before, but not feeling up to reliving them in conversation. Nicole pushed her empty glass away and stood.

  “Thanks for the drink, Walt, but we really need to get going. Sam,” she said. Nicole started to leave.

  “I’m just gonna help Walt clean up,” Sam said.

  “Just make it quick,” Nicole said as she headed back to the car.

  Nicole sat behind the wheel, engine running, waiting for Sam. A few minutes later, Sam got in and Nicole put the GTO in Drive. She was about to pull out, when Walt drove up in his bus.

  “Thanks for the invite, man! It was getting pretty lonely till you guys came along,” Walt said.

  Nicole glared at Sam. “What’s he talking about, Sam?! What invite,” she cried.

  Sam looked sheepishly at Nicole. “I told him we were going to Colorado, that your father was there and it was safe. I might have invited him to come along with us,” Sam said.

  Nicole’s mouth dropped open and her eyes darted from Sam to Walt and back. “Sam, we’re not running a charity, here. We’ve got to make miles not pick up… strays!” she said.

  Sam hung his head. “I’m sorry, I just thought, you know he needed our help, I mean you came back for me when I needed it, so…” Sam’s words trailed off. “I’ll go tell him he can’t come with us,” Sam said as he reached for the door handle.

  Nicole fumed and looked ahead. Sam had one foot out the door when she caved.

  “Look! He can come, alright, but he’s got to keep up, okay? He better not slow us down, you got me?” Nicole said.

  Sam pulled the door closed and smiled.

  “He won’t, I promise,” Sam said. He turned and waved at Walt who beamed back.

  “We got us a convoy, man!” Walt shouted. Nicole rolled her eyes and pulled out of the turn-out, as Walt’s big bus lumbered behind.

  Sixteen

  It was a sad reality, but a reality nonetheless. As much as the Dead fed off the living, the living were forced to live off the dead. It made what remained, a double-edged sword. Every scene that was tragic in its aftermath was also another opportunity for those left behind. In the last days of the Apocalypse, when the old order still tried to maintain a semblance of control, survivors in Little Bend decided they were not going to be controlled anymore. En masse, hundreds of citizens driven by anger, panic, and the overpowering will to live, flooded out of the city. The armed checkpoint just outside the city limits did what they were ordered to do in such a situation. The unstoppable force met the immovable object, and the result was strewn all over the outbound lanes of the I-70. The .50 Calibers and small arms fire chewed up vehicles and citizenry. The onslaught of vehicles driven by citizens determined not to stop, demolished military vehicles and mowed down soldiers. The wreckage of the incident, both mechanical and biological, fell where they collided.