Countdown: The Wasteland Chronicles Book One

by Rashad Freeman

  “Don’t you touch me Lenny! How could you, how could you?” she cried hysterically.

  Out of nowhere Rebecca grabbed her and spun her around. She slammed her hand into Gloria’s face and knocked her to the ground.

  “You still have another child, another child that needs you. Get your ass up and run!” Rebecca yelled.

  Gloria looked shocked. She stared into Rebecca’s eyes and sniffled then nodded. Rebecca helped her up, still glaring at her with stern eyes.

  Lenny raised an eyebrow at Rebecca then took off after Tim. They ran down a narrow, dark corridor that seemed to go on for miles. Behind them they could hear the clatter of Mark’s rifle as he continued to fire.

  As they ran further and further the sound of Mark’s gun vanished and was replaced by an eerie silence. A dim light flickered in the distance and Lenny breathed a shallow sigh of relief.

  “Almost there,” Tim yelled back.

  Minutes later they arrived in an underground clearing where several trucks were stored. The dome shaped room was quiet and dark, except for a flashing red light that hung from a chain attached to the ceiling. The smell of fresh air flowed in through a vent near the floor and a panel of controls was embedded in the concrete.

  Tim quickly ran to a box on the wall and opened it up, exposing several sets of keys. He grabbed them all and started ordering people into the vehicles.

  “Move fast people. Buckle in and hold on tight,” he yelled.

  Lenny grabbed a set of keys and with Rebecca at his side climbed into a black Ford Expedition with cages over the windows.

  “When the gates open we keep going no matter what. You all have the rally point. No stopping until we get there,” Tim ordered.

  “Yeah, even if you have to leave someone behind,” Mark added as he ran down the corridor and jumped into Tim’s truck.

  Nodding at everyone reassuringly, Tim hit a red button on the wall and two heavy metal doors started to roll open. They exposed a winding road that spiraled up to the surface. Thick, stone walls lined each side and rose gradually into the air.

  “Haul ass!” Mark screamed.

  CHAPTER 6

  WHEN ARE WE

  Lenny slowly lifted his eyelids as the blazing sun beamed through the shattered glass. His head swarmed like a tornado and he could taste blood at the back of his mouth. The rancid smell of death was in the air and seeped into his overturned Expedition through the cracked windshield.

  Hanging upside down, Lenny looked out at the hood of the SUV as gray smoke swirled from it. The front end was crumpled and half buried into the ground. Sparks shot off like little lightning bolts from splintered wires and cables.

  In a panic, Lenny reached across his body and clicked the seatbelt latch. Twisting, he fell from the seat and landed upside down, crashing onto his head and neck on a bed of broken glass.

  Groaning, he rolled onto his back. The razor-like shards dug into his skin like spikes. Lenny took a deep breath then started to kick at the cracked driver’s side window.

  “Come on!” he grunted as he slammed his foot into the glass.

  With a loud crash the window broke and more glass fell into the cabin of the truck. Lenny turned over and carefully crawled out into the damp grass.

  He staggered to his feet and looked back at the clump of twisted metal he’d just emerged from. Dark smoke floated into the air and drifted away as the tires melted down to the wheels. The SUV had been nearly torn in half and a flimsy piece of sheet metal was all that held the two pieces together.

  Lenny took a quick scan, trying to figure out his location. He was standing in the middle of a grassy field far off of the road. The entire caravan he’d been a part of was strewn across the ground in pieces. Crashed vehicles and flaming chunks of metal lay smoldering in the dirt.

  To his right was a dense forest full of heavy oak trees that had to be hundreds of years old. To his left, up a shallow hill was the highway he’d no doubt been traveling down. A splintered guard railing signaled the spot where he’d left the road.

  Lenny looked himself over, ensuring he still had all of his limbs. Aside from some deep cuts on his arms and legs and a few facial lacerations, he felt pretty good considering. Then he attempted to stretch and raised his arms over his head.

  “Fuck!” Lenny yelled and collapsed into the grass.

  His left shoulder burned like someone had poured lava into his veins. It didn’t feel broken, it felt like he’d ripped the muscles and tendons apart.

  As he knelt hunched over on the ground, he grunted in agony and drove his fist into the dirt. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, letting the pain wash over him.

  Suddenly a sense of panic tore through him and he remembered that he hadn’t been alone. Rebecca had been in the car with him.

  Ignoring the pain in his arm, Lenny jumped to his feet. He ran to the other side of the overturned Expedition and started searching frantically.

  “Becca!” he screamed at the top of his lungs. “Becca, Becca where are you?

  Bodies littered the ground like they’d been shot out of a cannon. Most were face down and gruesomely disfigured or burned beyond recognition. Others showed feeble signs of life or the death throes of a dying brain as their legs and arms spasmed erratically. It was like a scene from a war movie.

  Lenny started to unravel and fought hard to push back his deepest fear. With wobbling legs, he feverishly started to search the bodies in hope of finding Rebecca alive. Every dead person he turned over was like stabbing himself in the hurt again and again.

  An overwhelming terror surged through him and he started to hyperventilate. The desperation, the uncertainty was tightening around him like a noose.

  “Becca, please Becca!” he cried out.

  There was a sudden rustling in the trees behind him and Lenny jumped. He whipped around expecting to see those glowing red eyes he’d learned to fear. To his amazement, Rebecca stumbled out of the brush. She was disorientated, but seemed to be uninjured.

  “Oh my God,” Lenny groaned and rushed toward her.

  Physically Rebecca looked fine, but Lenny knew something was wrong the closer he got. She was walking directly toward him, but hadn’t made any sign that suggested she saw him.

  “Becca,” Lenny called.

  She didn’t acknowledge him. She walked right up on him and didn’t stop until she ran right into him.

  Rebecca stumbled backwards and fell onto her butt. She immediately rolled over onto her hands and knees and started searching the grass like she’d lost something. Lenny watched over her, half in shock half frozen with the excitement of finding her alive.

  “Where…where, where, where,” she mumbled over and over.

  Rebecca reached out into the grass and felt around, scraping her fingers through the green blades. Lenny took a step closer and she stopped abruptly and tilted her head upward.

  She slowly panned from side to side. Her eyes were wide open, but unfocused. There was a confused guise on her face and she didn’t seem quite right.

  “Who’s there? Who is it? When are we?” she rattled as she clawed at the air and crawled forward.

  Lenny covered his mouth and gasped. “What…what happened to you? Oh my God, you’re…you’re blind,” he stuttered and choked back tears.

  Rebecca spun around and her eyes somehow found him. She gazed at him awkwardly and cocked her head at a bizarre angle. Licking her lips she pushed herself to her feet and stepped towards him.

  Lenny didn’t move. He watched her curiously, still finding joy in the fact that she was even alive. He held his breath as she moved closer.

  “Becca?” he called softly.

  She started to cry and Lenny rushed forward and grabbed her. He held her tightly and patted her head.

  “It’s okay. It’ll be alright,” he repeated over and over.

  Rebecca pushed away from him so that they were face to face. She sniffled then wiped her face with her hand.

  “But I…I don’t know you.”<
br />
  The words hit Lenny like a shotgun slug. He skewed his face and his mouth fell open. Rebecca slid out of his grasp and her expression changed from one of depression to complete anger.

  “Who the fuck are you?” she yelled. “Don’t touch me! Get the fuck away from me!”

  She swung her arms wildly, beating her fists against Lenny’s chest. She scratched and clawed at his face and kicked him in the legs.

  “Calm down! It’s me,” Lenny yelled back.

  He grabbed her in a bear hug and lifted her off of the ground. She struggled and squirmed and although Lenny’s shoulder hurt like hell, he didn’t let her go.

  “Rebecca, what is wrong with you?”

  “How the fuck do you know my name? Who the fuck are you?” she grunted as she continued to wrestle against him.

  Lenny couldn’t restrain her much longer. His arm felt like it was ripping from his body. Groaning, he sat her back down and she started to scream. She wasn’t talking anymore just screaming as loud as she could like a pissed off toddler.

  Lenny grabbed her by the shoulders and whipped her around. Rebecca threw her head back and let out an ear-splitting wail, loud enough to break glass. Exasperated, Lenny wrenched his arm back then brought his hand crashing against her face with the force of a two by four.

  Rebecca whimpered then slumped to the ground. She covered her head with her hands and tucked herself into a little ball.

  “I’m…I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to do,” Lenny pleaded, afraid to approach her.

  At the sound of his voice Rebecca lifted her head. She stared up at him and then a smile spread across her reddened face.

  “Lenny!” she exclaimed and jumped up.

  Throwing her hands around his neck she hugged him and wrapped her legs around his waist. Confused, Lenny stepped back to steady himself and then hugged her with his good arm.

  “I thought…I thought you were dead,” Rebecca cried.

  “No, no I’m right here,” Lenny consoled her.

  “Well would you look at that. The fucking lovebirds made it after all,” Mark’s heavy voice echoed across the field.

  Lenny sat Rebecca down and looked up to find Mark, Tim and Maddox striding towards them. Mark had a swollen eye and busted lip and Tim was covered in blood, but seemed to be okay. Maddox limped slowly behind them, favoring his left leg and pressing a hand against a gash across his arm.

  “Is this it?” Lenny asked grimly.

  “Not quite,” Tim responded. “We lost a lot though.”

  “What the hell happened?”

  “Are you fucking kidding?” Mark stepped forward.

  “Yeah seemed like a great time for a joke. No you idiot, I don’t remember a damn thing,” Lenny shot back.

  Tim shook his head at them both. “We all got out,” Tim started.

  “Everyone except Nikko,” Mark added in a slick tone.

  “Give it a rest beast,” Tim continued. “We made it about fifty miles before they hit us again. Don’t know what the hell they used, but it was powerful. Blew the trucks right off the road. Anyone that could move ran to the tree line. We came back out when that crazy ass noise stopped.”

  “Did you see them? Did you see who attacked?” Lenny asked.

  “Didn’t see a damn thing,” Tim said, shaking his head.

  Suddenly, Lenny felt light headed and he leaned against Rebecca. He tried to catch himself, but everything started to spin faster and faster.

  Grunting, he collapsed to the ground. Rebecca knelt beside him and held his head up as Tim rushed over.

  “Lenny, Lenny are you okay?” Rebecca called.

  Lenny tilted his head, straining his ears to hear her. Rebecca’s voice sounded like it was falling down a long, dark tunnel. He could hardly see her mouth moving and all he heard was garbled nonsense.

  “Lenny!” Rebecca yelled again.

  He blinked trying to focus, but his vision grew cloudier. He felt a sudden rush of weightlessness and a euphoric carefree feeling overwhelmed him. Smiling, he let his body go limp and he relaxed into Rebecca’s arms.

  “No…no Lenny wake up,” he could hear Rebecca’s faint scream.

  But he felt so tired. He just needed a little nap. Closing his eyes Lenny felt the world spin away. Darkness overcame him and then there was silence.

  “Lay him down!” Tim screamed. “I need to see him.”

  Almost shoving Rebecca out of the way, Tim knelt next to Lenny and grabbed his arms. He slid his hands across his skin then lifted his shirt and looked him over.

  “Help me turn him. Tilt his head to the side,” Tim ordered.

  Rebecca grabbed his head and together with Tim they rolled him over. She took a few steps back and covered her mouth. With tears in her eyes she stared down at Lenny, fearing the worst.

  Tim looked at his back and then with a puzzled face he sighed and scratched his chin. Biting his lip he pulled a knife out of his waistband and flipped it open.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Rebecca gasped.

  Tim rolled his eyes at her and started to rip Lenny’s pants open. He started near his boots and slid the knife upwards. Once he got near his thigh he stopped and turned to Mark.

  “Get me the med kit…now!” he screamed.

  “What is it? What’s wrong?” Rebecca asked frantically.

  Tim took a deep breath and shook his head. He lifted his hands and turned his palms towards Rebecca. They were a deep shade of red. Thick, dark blood dripped from them and landed in the grass.

  Rebecca shrieked. Embedded in Lenny’s leg was a shard of glass, barely visible above his skin. A stream of blood poured from the wound and had completely soaked his black cargo pants.

  “If it’s his femoral he’s a goner…and you know what that means Rebecca,” Mark said with a scowl on his face that sent a chill down her spine.

  “Enough of that shit beast!” Tim snapped at him.

  Frowning, Rebecca turned to Lenny and pleaded for him to get up, but it was no use. His skin was pale and cold to the touch. Tim could hardly find a pulse and what he did find was sporadic and quickly fading

  Grinning, Mark dropped the med kit and ripped it open. He handed a bundle of supplies to Tim then sat back and watched with mild interest.

  Tim didn’t bother trying to remove the glass. He poured peroxide over his leg then packed as much gauze as he could on top of the wound. He wrapped it with several bandages and pulled them tight.

  “This is gonna have to hold for now. We can’t stay out here in the open,” Tim declared.

  He pulled his rucksack off and took out a collapsible stretcher. With Mark’s reluctant help he unfolded it and strapped Lenny to it.

  “Rebecca, give Maddox a hand. It’s a long walk to where the others are,” Tim said as he pointed to Maddox who was sitting on top of his pack, staring off into the distance.

  Rebecca looked down on Lenny like a mother would look at a small child. She gently rubbed her hand across his face and kissed his forehead. A grim sensation coursed through Rebecca’s veins.

  Lenny didn’t move. As far as Rebecca could tell he wasn’t even breathing. He looked like a corpse, a complete contradiction to the vibrant, spit-fire man that she knew.

  “Rebecca!” Tim screamed. “Help Maddox, it’s not safe out here.”

  She had just started to move toward him when a loud shriek pierced the air. The SUV Lenny had been driving lifted into the sky like a balloon. It rose twenty feet from the ground and then stopped and hovered.

  Tim’s jaw dropped. Rebecca looked up and stifled a scream. Maddox simply shook his head; his face had defeat written all over it.

  “Move now!” Mark yelled. “Tim! Tim, move your fucking feet.”

  Almost dragging him, Mark tore off towards the tree line. They clumsily navigated the uneven terrain, trying their best not to drop Lenny.

  Rebecca grabbed Maddox and threw his arm around her shoulder. Together they scuttled towards the trees in a panic. As they trudged through
the field Rebecca stole a glance back at the hovering Expedition.

  “What the hell is this?” she screamed.

  They ran down a small hill and into a forest of heavy oaks, only stopping once they were concealed by the thick vegetation.

  Tim lowered the stretcher onto the ground and looked back towards the field. He took a deep breath and used his shirt to wipe sweat from his face. “No…no, no, this can’t be happening,” he said in disbelief.

  Maddox collapsed to the forest floor behind him and moaned. His body ached from the crash and his leg was barely useable. He covered his eyes with his hands and turned away.

  The SUV hovered in the air over the field. Crystals of broken glass rained from the cabin. It was like an invisible string held it in place. It twisted and spiraled silently, shimmering as the sun bounced off of the paint and remnants of shattered glass.

  With a screech, the other wrecked vehicles lifted off of the ground and joined the Expedition. The sky looked like a floating junkyard, littered with half a dozen wrecked trucks.

  From the safety of the trees Tim and the others watched with baited breath. A sense of confusion and fear swirled all around them.

  “Do we really think we’re safe here?” Rebecca asked and took a few steps backwards.

  No one answered. Their eyes were glued to the scene unfolding above the field. They all stood just inside of the tree line, hidden by the leaves, spellbound by what they knew was impossible.

  Tim was the first to come to his senses. He shook his head in disbelief then turned to leave. “We need to get back to the others,” he said then suddenly froze.

  Just as he spun around the dead bodies that lay throughout the field started to rise into the air. They moved slowly as some unknown force drew them closer and closer.

  “What the fuck!” Mark said angrily.

  Maddox squirmed and pulled at the thick, gray strands in his hair. “We need to leave. We need to leave,” he mumbled.

  Tim turned back to the field and stared in disgust. Like little pieces of paper, the trucks and the people started to crumple and implode. It was like a giant, invisible hand was wadding them up as they folded in on themselves.