“Brother, if you’re asking these questions then your heart is not evil.” James stopped talking as Felicia walked out of the restroom, looking refreshed.
“Much better,” she said.
“Good,” James said, looking at her and then around the room. “I guess we’re done here. Nothing worth our time.”
They left the gas station and climbed into the truck, taking off down the road.
“I’m sorry for how I acted earlier,” Felicia said when they were back on the highway. “I was shocked. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
“It’s okay,” James said, “It was shocking for us, too. We’re just better at hiding it. And Connor’s right. If we hadn’t killed them, they would’ve killed us, or worse. They had a woman tied up in their trunk. She was alive when they put her in there.”
Felicia shook her head, “That’s horrible. It amazes me what evil we’re capable of.”
The brothers nodded in agreement.
“So, what were you studying at Miles University?” James asked.
“Psychology. I’m fascinated with the human mind,” she said, passion creeping into her voice. “What we as humans are capable of—the evil yes, but the good, too—it’s intriguing. All the choices we make in our daily lives shape who we are and who we are to become. But what decides those choices? Are we predetermined to lean towards a certain choice? Or do we adapt to the outcomes of past choices? The same situation will affect people differently. Leaving a lasting impact on some while others are unaffected. It is all so fascinating!”
“This must be interesting for you then—what people are willing to do at the end of the world, what it’ll drive some people to do, and the things we must do to survive,” Connor said.
“Why yes, it does. I haven’t been able to think about it much because I’ve just been trying to survive another day. But now that I have some time to think, it is interesting…” She pulled a small notebook out of her back pocket and began to write some notes down. “Yes, this should be interesting...” she mumbled to herself.
Connor noticed her write both their names down, followed by more notes in a smaller script he couldn’t make out.
“Looks like we’re her new experiment,” Connor said, leaning over to whisper in his brother’s ear.
James smiled and shook his head. “Shrinks.”
They both shared a chuckle as Connor turned the stereo on and their Apocalypse Road Trip playlist began to play Aim for the Head by Creature Feature. The sun had set and the sky was beginning to darken around them.
Today was one hell of a first day, James thought as the truck’s headlights illuminated the road ahead.
6
Trapped
Sunday, post-outbreak day two
Emmett cursed under his breath as he glanced around the corner, seeing the hundreds of infected that waited for them in the parking lot. He pulled his head back and turned, looking at the three women crouched behind him in the dead-end alley. Alexis looked at him expectantly, but he just shook his head.
“The way to the truck is blocked. We have to go back inside,” he told them.
Jane sighed at the prospect of going back into the department store. Even now she could hear the groaning of the infected inside.
Emmett looked back and noticed the two younger women looking at him with a fire in their eyes. He couldn’t help but feel proud of his daughter. She’d been through a lot in the last few days and yet she hadn’t given up hope and had grown stronger from it. He looked at her crouched there. She looked fierce with her handgun in a holster on her right thigh, tactical belt around her waist, a machete in a sheath on her other hip, and her shotgun in her hands. He stared at her for a few moments, taking in the woman his daughter had become. It almost brought him to tears. He was pulled from the moment by a voice.
“I’m sorry I got you into this mess,” the third woman, Ana, said with a slight Russian accent.
She was in a disheveled state, with her auburn hair in a mess and her clothes torn and bloody, but she had determination in her eyes. She held his other Beretta—his hip holster was now empty—and she had a crowbar tucked into her belt.
“It isn’t your fault,” he said. “We chose to help. Now we need to go while we still have a chance.”
He glanced over at Jane and noticed that the fire in her eyes was no longer there. It had died years ago. She held his AK-47 and had a large knife on her belt, not that she had used either yet. He tried to keep her towards the back, out of the fighting. Alexis and Ana nodded to him. Time to get this done.
He stood up and moved past the women, who followed him—Ana right behind, Jane in the middle and Alexis bringing up the rear. They made it back down the alley to the door they had barricaded with a dumpster. Even now, the infected were trying to claw their way through, and a few had their arms sticking through the crack in the door.
“I’ll roll the dumpster away from the door a few inches. Alexis, Ana, you stab them through the crack. Jane, watch our backs and make sure none come down the alley.”
Jane turned around, looking down the alley, rifle at her side. Ana stuck the Beretta in the back of her pants and Alexis set the shotgun down next to the door. They both pulled out their close-range weapons and positioned themselves next to the crack, causing the infected inside to go into a frenzy. Emmett swung his M4 onto his back and went over to the side of the dumpster with the locked wheels, then looked at the girls. They nodded and he kicked down on the locks, freeing the wheels. The dumpster slid away from the door, with the infected pushing from inside. He engaged the locks, but still the dumpster continued to slide until the door was halfway open.
The first infected pushed through the gap, leaving bits of flesh on the door and frame. Alexis took a step back, then plunged her machete through its brain as another came through. Ana stepped up and bashed the next one in the head with her crowbar, two more taking its place. Emmett quickly drew his Beretta and in two shots the infected fell dead, inches from the girls. Those two were replaced with two more as they kept coming through the partially open door. The girls took care of the next two and the two after that while Emmett kept his gun trained on the door in case things got out of hand.
Twenty infected lay dead outside the door as he pushed the dumpster away completely. The girls were ready in case something came through the door, but when it opened all the way, it revealed an empty room. Moving up next to the girls, he peered inside at the small room and hallway beyond that.
“We should be good for awhile. Most of the ones that were chasing us are dead now,” Emmett said, glancing down.
Alexis grabbed her shotgun from the wall and took up her place in the back. They had established this order when they had come into the department store the first time. Actually, they had been forced to enter the store, which was connected to a mall.
While fueling up earlier, Emmett had seen Ana enter the mall with two men, chased by a horde of infected, and he’d decided to help. Emmett and Alexis had followed them inside, with Jane insisting that she come, too. When they found Ana, she was with only one of the men. The other had fallen. The newly formed group fought their way into a restroom, where they were trapped. They put their heads together and came up with a plan, and Emmett gave each of them a gun. Shooting their way out of the restroom, they made it into the mall, but they had been forced to enter the department store because of a horde chasing them. The other man with Ana had sacrificed himself so they could escape out the door they had just come back through.
Emmett crouched in the hallway, looking at all the hiding places the infected could be. It was dark inside, with the only light coming through the glass doorways and windows in the ceiling. He knew there were more infected between them and where they needed to go, but if they could just get through the mall, they would be able to come out only a few yards from the truck.
He looked back, holding a finger to his lips. They would need to be silent. The girls nodded and he began to move for
ward, the others trailing behind. Armed with his suppressed M4, Ana with her crowbar, Jane with the AK, and Alexis with her shotgun, they moved through the store. Sticking to the aisles where light was coming down from above; they arrived at the entrance that led to the rest of the mall. He signaled them to a stop by the door.
Looking back at Ana, he asked, “Do you know how to use a handgun?” He’d given her his Beretta already, but he’d had little time to see if she knew how to use it.
“Yes,” she answered, the accent obvious in her voice. “My father taught me.”
“Good. We’ll try and move quietly, but if we start to get overwhelmed, we’ll do away with stealth and get to the truck quickly. Clear?”
“Roger that,” Alexis responded, checking the chamber of her shotgun.
“Yes,” Ana answered, hefting the crowbar.
“Sure,” Jane said, looking around nervously.
“Let’s go then.”
He opened the door and they left the store, heading into the large hallway with stores lining both sides. They went forward in a low crouch, trying to stay as quiet as possible but still moving with speed. They made it halfway to the ‘T’ at the end of the hall before seeing the first infected. It walked from around the left corner, sniffed the air, and looked at them with dead eyes. It let out a low groan and started shambling their way, followed by another one. Emmett looked back, held up two fingers, and pointed to himself. He broke off from the rest of them, springing forward and swinging the M4 onto his back. Grabbing the machete at his side, he slashed one in the head and then stabbed the other in the face. They fell to the ground in a heap and he quickly looked around the corner the infected had come around. There were a bunch of infected in between them and where they needed to go. He motioned for the women to join him at the corner, and they slowly came forward, staying alert.
“Looks like we’ve got about twenty infected out there. We’ll have to take care of them before we can get to the doors and the truck beyond that,” Emmett said.
They all nodded and looked to him for a plan.
Alexis was at the back of the group as they moved around the corner. Her job was to back them up with the shotgun if things got out of hand. Her mother was back with her. Her dad and Ana would lead with their close-range weapons and take the infected out quietly. Alexis was on edge, but her dad hadn’t led them wrong yet. Yes, they were in a bad situation because of coming in after Ana, but Alexis would have done the same in his position.
Her dad and Ana reached the first two infected as their lifeless eyes turned their way. They dropped them to the ground, moving on to the next ones. In this manner, they continued moving through the hall, slaying the infected, and had half of them down before the last ten took notice. Now the rest were all starting to slowly head toward them, their groans intensifying. Alexis knew this was bad. Any of the infected within hearing distance would hear those frenzied groans and know prey was close.
She kept an eye ahead while also watching behind and to the sides, and she was the first to see the horde of infected coming around the corner behind them. She whistled twice, keeping her eyes on the slowly advancing horde. A few more infected began to appear on all sides, coming out of the darkened stores. She whistled twice again, then again, alerting her dad that they were slowly being surrounded. She looked to the front and saw that her dad and Ana were surrounded by a small group of infected. She raised her shotgun to her shoulder, but after a look from her dad, she lowered it. She pushed her mom to move faster. They had to get to the front and help out.
Jane didn’t want to be here—not in this mall and especially not with her ex-husband. He was such a pig. To think he had killed George in cold blood! Yes, she was beginning to realize George was turning and would be like the rest of these… things. But that didn’t change the fact that Emmett had shot him, and she would never forgive him for that, whatever the reason. Jane was so caught up in her thoughts that she failed to see the leg lying on the floor and she tripped, falling forward and letting go of the rifle in her hands in order to catch herself. She felt a crunch in her left wrist as it hit the floor and pain in her ankle as she fell. She looked down at her left hand as it hung there on the end of her arm, twisted at an odd angle, and she tried to get up and retrieve her rifle, but as she put weight on her right ankle, pain shot up her leg and she stifled a scream.
“Mom, are you okay?” Alexis asked, coming over to help her up. She had Jane’s rifle in one hand, shotgun in the other. “We need to go! They’re coming!”
Emmett ran back to them, covered in blood, his movements hurried.
“Give her to me and go with Ana,” he said, picking Jane up. “And if we don’t make it, go without us!”
Alexis looked like she was going to protest, but Emmett pushed her forward, giving her a look. She ran up to Ana, who was standing next to the doors that led outside.
Emmett and Jane began to move after the girls. Jane limped alongside her ex-husband, all her hate for him having vanished now that her survival was at hand. She made the mistake of looking back and let out a gasp as she saw that they were mere feet away from being overrun by the horde of infected. Luckily, they made it to the doors and pushed outside where Alexis was at the truck, beckoning to them. Ana was next to the doors they’d come through, ready with a long piece of metal, which she shoved through the handles as soon as they made it out. Then she ran to join Alexis, killing a couple of infected that were coming around the truck.
Jane looked beyond the truck and wanted to cry. How are we going to get out of this?
Past the truck was a huge horde of infected, heading their way. Emmett dragged Jane toward the truck as Alexis started it from the backseat and rolled down a window to blast the advancing horde. Jane could hear glass shattering behind them as the infected collided with the doors. They were only halfway to the truck and she didn’t know how they were going to make it. The horde on the other side was almost at the truck, and there were also a few coming at them from the sides. Ana was helping Alexis keep them from getting too close to the truck and couldn’t take out the ones coming towards her and Emmett.
Dropping the machete, Emmett pulled out his Beretta and made quick work of the five infected coming at them. Finally arriving at the truck, he opened the back door, giving Jane to Alexis, who was waiting to help her in. Holstering his Beretta and swinging the M4 off his back, he went around the front of the truck and began shooting at the infected closing in on them. Ana was doing a good job keeping most of them at bay with the compact MP5 from the back window. He made it to the driver’s door, shooting three infected that were almost on him. Opening the door, he stopped, hearing a blood-curdling scream. He quickly looked through the truck to see that Jane was being pulled out of the backseat.
“Dad! Help!” Alexis yelled, trying to pull her mom back in.
It took a moment for it to register. Under the truck! When he crouched down, he saw the infected biting into Jane’s leg. It ceased to move as Emmett shot it in the head. He jumped into the driver’s seat and closed the door. Reaching into the back, he helped his daughter haul Jane into the truck.
“Shut the door! We need to get the hell out of here!” he yelled.
The door slammed and he switched it to four-wheel drive, putting the truck into gear. He stomped on the gas and they sped off, running over a few infected as they went. They still had to get out of the parking lot and he couldn’t just barrel through the middle of the horde. There were too many of them. He skirted around the bulk of them but still ran over an increasing number.
“Hold on!” he said, speeding up.
A group of infected stood between them and the freedom of the open road. The truck slowed with the impact as dozens of bodies began to crash against the brush guard. Blood collected on the windshield as body parts flew up all around them, being torn apart by the aggressive tires. They crunched, bounced, and bumped over the last of them and turned onto the road leading to the interstate, passing the gas station that
had been their original destination. He turned on the windshield spray and washed enough of the blood off to see through a small gap, although for the most part it just smeared worse.
They drove onto I-29 as the sun descended toward the horizon. After a few miles, Emmett pulled over. Getting out of the truck, he went to the back, opening the topper and tailgate
“She’s unconscious,” Alexis said, tears in her eyes as he opened the back door. “Dad…?”
“You have to stay strong for me, honey. I can’t do this alone,” he said as he took Jane into his arms and carried her to the tailgate. “Ana, take the rifle and get on the roof. Keep an eye out. Alexis, get the sheet from the bed back here and cut it into strips.”
“On it,” Ana said, as she grabbed the rifle from the backseat and climbed up.
Alexis took the sheet off the bed and pulled out her knife. Emmett cut open the leg of Jane’s pants and looked at the wound, grimacing as he saw the missing chunk of flesh from her calf. Taking his belt off, he looped it around her thigh and tightened it down hard. He would get only one chance at this, and he quickly searched around in one of the duffle bags, pulling out a small hatchet. He looked at the hatchet and then hesitantly at Jane’s leg, which was an odd feeling for him. The shock could kill her if this went badly, but she was worse than dead if he did nothing.
“We need to lay her on the ground,” he said, setting the hatchet on the tailgate.
He picked her up and then laid her down on the ground. Alexis had the cloth strips in her hands. Her eyes roved from her mom to the hatchet and back.
“Dad, what’re you doing?”
“We have to remove the bite from the blood stream. I just hope it’s not too late.”
Alexis’s eyes grew wide, and she paled, “You mean…”
“It’s the only option,” he said confidently, having pushed past his hesitation. He had to act now or let Jane become one of them. “I’m going to need you to hold her down, just in case she wakes up.”
The Brother's Creed (Book 1): Outbreak Page 6