Outbreak: Brave New World

by Van Dusen, Robert

  It was something that had been missing from the house for a long time: genuine mirthful laughter, the kind that made your face red and your stomach muscles cramp up and your eyes water and made it just plain impossible to catch your breath. Once she finally could breathe without cracking up again Amy glanced at her watch. “It’s time for lunch.” Frays said quietly. She stood up and brushed a couple stray strands of hair away from her face. “Did I see that you guys got some spaghetti and stuff?”

  Amy boiled up some elbows and mixed them up with a jar of tomato sauce while Lacey, Carl and the kids were giving Freddie a bath outside after, at Frays’ insistence, the two men stashed the Jeep and the other civilian vehicles in the trees across the road. They drained the fuel from them to use in the generator.

  She frowned, wishing for a little meat to put in the pasta sauce. They had eaten the last of the venison and such in the freezer after she and Lacey had buried their families… All of a sudden she did not really want meat anymore. Becca, Paulie and Carl were setting the table while Adam was getting the pitcher of Gatorade out of the fridge. “Okay, guys.” Amy announced as she stirred the pasta one last time and took it off the heat. “Lunch is ready. Carl, could you set the table please? Ooop!” She turned around to see Freddie smiling up at her. Somehow Frays was able to keep from spilling the pasta all over the floor when the animal’s sudden appearance made her nearly jump right out of her skin. The young woman scowled at the dog, lifting the pot up as she scooted nervously past the animal.

  They wolfed down the food after the blessing. Becca kept slipping Freddie a little of the pasta when she thought nobody was looking. Amy smiled a little as she ate, pleased that everyone seemed to like the food she made. Granted, elbows and tomato sauce was not exactly rocket science but still it was nice to see everyone eating. “Aim, I’m sorry.” Carl said after he finished a mouthful of the hot food. He sighed and looked a little upset with himself. “I completely forgot you don’t like dogs.”

  Amy smiled at her brother. “It’s alright, man.” she wiped her mouth and glanced at the animal’s tail wagging back and forth on the other side of the table. “Lacey explained everything. You guys did the right thing.” She raised an eyebrow at the dog’s waving appendage “Besides, he doesn’t seem all that bad as dogs go.”

  Rodriguez smiled a little and petted Freddie under the table. “Yeah, Freddie’s a pretty good dog.” She rubbed the back of the dog’s neck, making the animal grunt and pant excitedly. “Who’s a good dog? You are! Yes you are!” the woman told Freddie in a babyish voice as she rubbed Freddie behind the ears. The dog’s tail thumped against the back of her chair.

  Amy smiled despite the anxiety rolling around in her stomach. She still felt skittish around the dog but she could not deny the change around the place. It was the happiest she had seen her friends in a long time…so she was just going to have to get used to the fleabag for the good of the outfit. And…well…if she could get used to getting mortared every day (if you could actually get used to something like that) for six months strait and could adjust to the idea of the dead rising up to eat the living she could adapt to sixty five pounds of fur and slobber. She grumbled to herself and pushed the pasta around her plate with her fork.

  “Has anybody heard anything else on the radio?” Frays asked. She refilled her glass with some of the Gatorade from the pitcher then forced herself to eat a little more of her food. It was good, but the tomato sauce seemed to be making her stomach go a little sour. Were there any antacids in the medicine cabinet? If not she would have to check in Eamon’s bag.

  They had all started listening to the radio during their watch shifts or whenever there was time. The woman frowned a little at the awkward glances the others gave each other. “Does static count?” Carl asked doubtfully. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped a little of the red sauce off of the tip of Becca’s nose. The two of them exchanged silly little smiles.

  “No static doesn’t count, dipshit.” Frannie snapped then shook her head and glanced at Carl. She sighed and shook her head again, the woman’s fingers involuntarily scratching at the scar tissue on her throat. “Sorry, man.”

  Becca and Paulie looked at each other and grinned. “OOOHH!” Paulie said as he playfully poked Rodriguez’s arm. “You said a naughty word, Frannie.” The kids turned to their daddy and grinned. “Frannie said a naughty word! Naughty word!”

  “Oh, shush!” Rodriguez muttered as she smiled at the little ones and dug around in her pockets until she found what she was looking for. “Here. Now eat your lunch, you little goofballs.” Frannie gave each of the children a quarter. “Jeez I Gotta watch my mouth. I’m almost out of change.”

  Lacey smiled and shook his head. “I’ve been trying to tell you.” he said quietly. The Marine finished the last of his Gatorade and pushed back from the table. “Not my fault you’re hardheaded.”

  Carl and his sister sniggered then looked at each other. No word. With no idea what was going on outside their little world here in the woods it would be extremely dangerous to go venturing outside of it. That did not change the fact that they needed to find a doctor and soon. It did not seem likely that she was going to get any less pregnant… “It’s gonna be okay, Carl.” Amy said as she put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “We’re gonna be alright.”

  The young man smirked and glanced at his sister. ‘It’s gonna be okay’ is getting to be our motto or some shit. Carl thought and tightly squeezed Amy’s hand. He smirked as the scene from the movie Reservoir Dogs came to mind where Harvey Kietel was trying to comfort that guy that got shot in the stomach. You’re gonna be okay! Say the goddamn words! Carl thought, barely containing a burst of laughter. “Sure, Aim.” he said quietly as he forced a smile, as much for Amy’s benefit as the kids. “It’s gonna be just fine.”

  After they finished with lunch and did the dishes Lacey put the kids down for a nap. The grownups gathered around the table once the little ones were asleep on the couch. The four of them were quiet for a little while, listening to the wind picking up outside. There might be another rainstorm soon. Lacey refilled the pitcher with water from the tap and brought it back.

  “So, where are we going to go if we have to leave?” Amy asked, pouring herself a cup of water. She dug around in the map pocket of her LCS and took out the road atlas and tactical map then spread them on the table. “I’d say that large cities and stuff are a no go.”

  Rodriguez looked at the map and scratched at something under her nose. “There’s Camp Edwards.” she said quietly as she tried to find it on the map. “Cape Cod AFS too…there they are.”

  “No go.” Amy shook her head once she saw where Frannie had put her finger on the map. “Look how close we’d have to go to Boston. Even if they held out, I don’t think we’d stand a chance of getting there.”

  “There’s a naval base in Connecticut.” Lacey said, resting his chin on his hand. “It’s near New London. I think its closer, but I don’t want to go all that way and find out that it’s like Devens.” The Marine pointed out on the map that it was indeed a closer to them than Frannie’s suggestions but again, they would have to go close to several bigger towns or cities.

  Amy grumbled under her breath. “I’d suggest Westover AFB, but it’s pretty much gotta be overrun.” She frowned. The airbase was almost right in the center of Springfield, Massachusetts so it would have been a magnet for the thousands of people in the city followed closely by every Bravo Charlie in the area. Dad had said there was rioting in Springfield… “They might have bombed it too.” Frays ran a hand over her face and muttered “I think we should actually assume the fast movers hit every military installation of any size around here. Remember those F-18s we saw? I still think they came from Boston Harbor or something.”

  Carl looked at his sister. “How do you know they didn’t come from Westover or Hanscomb?” he asked, scowling at the map. There had to be somewhere that had a goddamn hospital or fuck he would almost take a fucking veterinarian at th
is point. “If there’s ships in the harbor, why don’t we try to find them or something?”

  “Hanscomb didn’t have any F-18s.” Amy said and exhaled slowly through her nose. Her Air Force Reserve unit’s armory had been in a squat brick building at Hanscomb Air Force Base. “And we saw the place, Carl. It got hammered flat, looked like they dropped JDAMs and a whole mess of incendiaries on the place. I don’t think they’d do that if the flyboys didn’t have someplace else to land.”

  The four of them poured over the maps for a couple more hours, each of them searching for a possible destination. Rodriguez noticed that Freddie was emitting a low whine that sounded suspiciously like an ‘I have to pee now, people’ sort of noise. “Hey, guys.” she said as she stood up and patted the dog’s head. “Looks like the dog’s gotta go out. Let’s take a break for a minute.”

  Lacey and Rodriguez walked the dog with a makeshift leash made from a couple feet of 550 cord. The whole scene might have looked odd under other circumstances: a man and woman in ACUs and full combat gear, armed to the teeth…and walking a bony dog with a goofy look on its face and wagging its tail. Frannie glanced away from Freddie as he cocked his leg up and sent a stream of urine against the trunk of a tree near the house. She frowned and scratched the dog’s ear when it finished its business. “Good dog.” Rodriguez told him, her mood lightening a little when the dog looked up with its tail wagging. “Freddie’s a good dog!”

  “The kids always wanted a dog.” Lacey said quietly with a small smile. The two of them walked back towards the back door. “I didn’t really want one and Laura did.” A few tears leaked down his face and he wiped them away absently “We used to argue about it all the time.”

  Frannie put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright, buddy.” she said as Freddie started tugging at the leash and whining. A few scattered raindrops thumped on her Kevlar. “C’mon, let’s get inside. It’s starting to rain.” Rodriguez blinked back a couple tears as she clapped him on the back and tried to force a smile.

  The wind changed, bringing a noise to their ears that instantly brought a clenching to Lacey’s bowels and cold sweat springing to his brow. He heard a low discordant groan like Hell’s own chorus and the snapping and crunching of dozens of clumsy, uncoordinated things coming through the trees. The Marine bent and picked up the dog, holding the struggling animal to his chest as he and Rodriguez sprinted the short distance to the house. The first of them crashed out of the trees, lurching after them as they reached the back door.

  “Open up!” Frannie shouted, banging on the door with the palm of her hand “FRAYS! CARL! OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!” She cast a terrified glance over her shoulder and felt something the temperature and consistency of hot fudge in the back of her pants. Eight figures slouched towards them: men, women and what looked like a couple kids all of them pallid disheveled their eyes burning with frenzied hunger. The most fucked up family vacation ever… The strange incongruity of the thought almost made Frannie giggle to herself. “CONTACT REAR!” Rodriguez shouted as she turned on her heel and brought up her M4 in one fluid motion then flicked off the safety. The nearest creature’s head dissolved as she pressed off a shot, catching it right above the chin.

  Lacey kicked the door. “FRAYS, WHAT THE FUCK! OPEN THE GODDAMN DOOR!” he screamed, his voice going shrill with fear. He looked over his shoulder as Rodriguez fired again, her shot glancing off another zombie’s skull. When he looked back Frays stood in the doorway, the pistol grip of her carbine in one hand the weapon pointed at the ceiling. With the other she grabbed Adam’s shoulder and pushed him around her into the house.

  He threw Freddie down and the animal ran deeper into the house, leaving a trail of fear induced urine in his wake. The dog narrowly avoided Carl as the boy rushed into the hall, the shotgun in his hands. “Carl, come up here.” Lacey ordered as he turned back to help Frays and Rodriguez. “Hold the door. There’s a lot of them out there, but I think we can handle it. Just stay here and cover us, alright?”

  Lacey rushed back outside just in time to see Frays snap off a shot, dropping a zombie only a few dozen feet away right where the graded cement of the walkway met the driveway. There was a small pile of deactivated Bravo Charlies there forming an impromptu barricade of sorts: the creatures stumbled over their fallen, giving Frays and Rodriguez a chance to take them down before they got too close.

  There was a cement staircase leading down to a small area where there was a clothesline set up so Lacey moved to cover the area. Just in time it seemed as a child shuffled towards them. Adam noticed that it had been a little boy, maybe a few years older than his own children. There was dried blood caked around its chin, smeared on its cheeks it’s hands grasping and its eyes the color of boiled onions. The 5.56 NATO round decapitated it and the creature took a couple shaky steps before flopping to the ground.

  Amy glanced over her shoulder at Rodriguez. The steel wool in their suppressors burned out, the gunshots echoing off the corrugated steel overhead becoming very loud. “Advance!” Frays shouted over the ringing in her ears, hoping Rodriguez heard her. The two of them moved forward slowly, covering the area with their weapons. They halted just shy of the pile of corpses and Frays spotted two more zombies coming up the driveway. She and Rodriguez dropped them quickly. Lacey was firing behind them…

  The battle seemed to peter out a few minutes later. The infected streaming towards the camp slowed and finally appeared to stop. Frays scanned her sector then slowly stood up after ten or fifteen minutes. When no more enemies presented themselves she flicked her weapon’s safety back on, the M4 still pointed towards the trees. “Clear.” Frays said the woman’s voice soft and shaky, her chest heaving as the adrenaline gradually started to wear off. There was a whining buzz in her ears as she looked slowly from side to side.

  “Clear.” Rodriguez agreed. An embarrassed, uncomfortable look came to the woman’s face. She glanced towards Lacey, who stood there with his M16 still pointed down the stairs. “Clear, Lacey?”

  “C-Clear.” the Marine said as he finally managed to get his arms to listen to what his brain was trying to tell them. He lowered his weapon and walked towards the women on legs that felt like they were made of jelly. “Everybody okay?”

  Rodriguez and Frays looked at each other and nodded. Frays’ face was a little pale and shaking the pinkish scar under her eye standing out on her cheek. Rodriguez made an odd face as she shifted her weight uncomfortably. “I think I shit my pants.” Frannie mumbled. She let her eyes scan the trees on the other side of the road, the area around the Humvee. Anything to avoid meeting Lacey or Frays’ eyes.

  Lacey smiled awkwardly. “Don’t feel bad.” he said as the realization struck him. Yes, there was indeed a warm heavy weight in the backside of his trousers. “I think I did too.” Frays smiled uneasily and tossed her head towards the back door. The three of them retreated cautiously, Amy walking backwards to cover them until they were inside.

  Carl stood and stared, shocked by the piles of dead bodies stacked up by the rear of the house. Amy was pulling security while he, Frannie and Adam policed up the deactivated zombies and put them in a heap in the middle of the gravel road along with a lot of loose brush for kindling. Lacey soaked the bodies with paint thinner from a metal container he found under a workbench in the woodshop and set it alight.

  The kids were in Frays’ bedroom, cuddling with Freddie. Carl was glad for that because he was pretty much certain that he was not old enough to see this, let alone a couple of four year old children. Then again judging from the sickened looks on the faces of his sister and her friends, they were not old enough to see it either. And the smell of putrefied burning flesh, the spitting hiss of melting human fat leaking out of cracked charred skin would be something he would never forget. Carl somehow knew he would never enjoy a barbeque quite the same way ever again.

  Once the flames died down, Amy sprayed the ashes with the hose on the back of the house sending plumes of steam into the air as the bones and blackened
wood whizzed and popped. She noticed sickly that several of the skulls made a cracking noise, like pine knots popping in a stove when the water struck them. “C’mon, let’s go inside.” Frays said in a low voice once she was certain that the fire was out. The pile of charred corpses reminded her of some kind of horrible avant-garde modern art piece. The bodies appeared to be sort of melted all together with blackened grinning skulls leering at her out of a tangle of limbs. “Carl, will you help me turn on the generator? We’ve…got some laundry to do.”

  Rodriguez and Lacey went inside, where they were both immediately pounced upon by a couple crying children. Frays and her brother went cautiously around the side of the building and down to the generator room. It took a couple tries but Amy eventually got the generator to turn over filling the shadowy room with bright light provided by the bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. Carl paused in the doorway on the way out, turned and hugged his sister. She smiled into his chest and hugged him back then released Carl and gently pushed him towards the door. It was too loud in there to talk.

  Rodriguez crouched over her rucksack in the hallway, trying to dig out a fresh uniform and some clean underwear. Paulie stood a few feet away, his little face still damp with tears. Her chest felt tight and her hands were shaking a little as she was coming down from the adrenaline rush. “Don’t worry, buddy.” Frannie said as she smiled at the boy and put the clean ACUs over her arm. “Your dad made all the bad guys go away. Just relax, little man.” She was not sure if she was trying to reassure him or herself.

  The little boy wrapped his arms around Frannie’s leg and squeezed fiercely. She put a hand on Paulie’s head, running his fingers through his hair. His nose wrinkled. “You’re stinky.” he said. There was a burning smell in the woman’s clothes and Paulie thought she might have went number two in her pants. He was puzzled because he did not think that happened to grownups. Only babies made messes in their pants.