Surviving Rage | Book 1

by Arellano, J. D.

  “I’ll get in the driver's seat, but if there’s trouble, we’re not going anywhere without you.” Serafina hopped out of the Jeep and walked around to the driver’s side, maintaining eye contact with Daniel the entire time, daring him to challenge her. She climbed up into the vehicle and pulled the seat forward so that she could comfortably reach the pedals. “Hold on,” she said before reaching back across her seat to grab her gun from the webbed door pocket. Once she had that in hand, she nodded to Daniel, indicating she was ready.

  Daniel walked slowly towards the two cars, keeping the gun trained on them while he did. The two cars were parked side by side, each facing the opposite way so that the driver’s windows were aligned. The closer car was a new model white Honda Civic, with tinted windows and a large spoiler on the back. The second vehicle, a silver Infiniti G35, also looked new, but its windows weren’t nearly as dark as the Civic’s.

  As Serafina watched Daniel approach the cars, she couldn't help but think that there was something odd about the placement of the two vehicles. It was as if the drivers were trying to have some kind of private conversation without exiting their cars. ‘A drug deal?’ She wondered, watching as Daniel approached the oddly placed vehicles.

  Daniel clearly felt uneasy about the placement of the cars as well, and he circled them slowly, sidestepping so that he could keep the shotgun trained on the vehicles as he moved. When he got to the far side of the Infinity, his eyes widened momentarily before he shook his head, lowering the gun. Looking up at her, he brought his left hand up and made a cutting motion across his throat.

  He walked back over to the Jeep, looking slightly relieved. “Looks like a lover’s tryst. The woman was sick, though, and she killed the man before slicing open her neck as she tried to break through the glass.” Daniel cocked his head to the side, confusion showing on his face. “Why wouldn’t she just open the door?”

  “Are they stupid?”

  Daniel looked at her, surprised.

  “I mean, can they seriously not figure out the concept of a door? Have their brains become so single minded that all they can think of is violence?”

  Daniel considered her words, looking back at the cars. “So the disease damages their cognitive skills….”

  “I mean, it makes sense.”

  “Sure seems to.” Daniel looked at the cars for another minute, then shrugged. Looking up at the sky, he saw that dusk was upon them, and soon it would be dark. Turning back to his wife, he said, “Well, either way we need to get settled in for the night.” He turned away from the Jeep, looking around the park. His gaze settled on the brick building. “Let me clear the restrooms first, then we can get settled.”

  “Okay.” As Daniel walked across the parking lot towards the building, Serafina put the Jeep in gear and slowly inched forward, following him. If something happened, she wanted to be sure he could quickly get back in the car.

  Walking around to the rear of the building, he brought up the shotgun again and entered the men’s side, disappearing from sight. From the car she could hear a crashing sound, likely the sound of him kicking open a stall door. Thirty seconds later, he emerged, the gun still held at shoulder height. He turned and entered the women’s room, and she heard two distinct crashes before he emerged again, lowering the gun to his side.

  “We’re good.” He looked at the series of picnic tables, evaluating them. He pointed to one of the tables that was furthest from the parking lot. “Pull the Jeep right up near that table.”

  Serafina nudged the Jeep forward, over the curb and onto the grass. Driving slowly, so as not to do too much damage to the park, she guided the Jeep over to the picnic table, parking it about five feet away from the cement fixture.

  The family slowly emerged from the Jeep, stretching their legs, back, and shoulders as they did. The teenagers brought the cats out and let them walk around the immediate area. Each of the cats was initially tentative, being in a strange place, but within a few minutes they were walking along, tail held high as they checked out their surroundings. Tommy and Cole stuck together, taking turns finding things and investigating them, while Ursula led Paul off in a wholly different direction, determined to do her own thing.

  Serafina opened the Jeep’s gate and looked over their food options. “What do you want for dinner?”

  Daniel had set his guns on top of the table, and he was twisting his torso around as he stretched. Seeing the grimace on his face, Serafina knew his knees and back had to be killing him after so many hours of driving. The years he’d spent in the Navy, standing on steel decks, had not been kind. He straightened out and looked over at her. “How about some of the stuff from one of those food kits?”

  “Really? I thought we’d save that as a last resort.”

  “Okay, what other options do we have? I want to be able to bail out quickly if we need to.”

  Serafina nodded, looking back into the vehicle. “Why don’t we keep it simple? I’ll make sandwiches with the deli slices. We’ve also got chips and string cheese to eat, plus fruit we need to eat before it goes bad. It’s not much but given the circumstances, I think it should be fine.”

  “Sounds good. Can you toss me a water?”

  As she passed a bottle to him, Serafina realized that she needed one as well. Opening a bottle and bringing it to her lips, she looked around the park. ‘This is perfect’ she thought. She looked back at Daniel, who was looking around the park as she had. The only difference was a look of concern on his face. Clearly he was uneasy about something.

  “What’s up, hon?”

  He sighed. “Just wondering how we can rest here tonight. It seems like the safest thing would be to sleep in the Jeep, but we’d be really uncomfortable, especially for the girls and Paul, who would be crammed in the back seat, which doesn’t recline.”

  Serafina nodded, thinking as she looked down at the top of the cooler, where her hands were busy making sandwiches. How could they be secure in this wide open space? A thought came into her head, and she set down the package of cheese that she was holding. Walking away from the Jeep, she looked at the small building.

  Daniel got up from the table immediately and walked towards her. “Where are you going?

  “Come on.” As Serafina walked towards the restrooms Daniel lengthened his stride to catch up. He held the shotgun loosely in one hand as he walked, his head moving constantly as he scanned their surroundings.

  “Here.” Serafina said, pointing at the grassy area in front of the entrances to the restrooms.”

  Daniel looked at the grass, searching for what she was trying to indicate. After a few seconds, he looked back at her. “What am I missing?”

  “We use the Jeep and that Civic over there to form two sides of a triangle. The building forms the third. We sleep in the middle.”

  Her husband’s face broke out in a wide grin. “Damn. That’s...fuckin’ brilliant.”

  “It’ll be cramped, but it’ll be relatively secure.”

  “I like it.”

  ”It also gives us safe access to the restrooms. We both know you’re gonna have to go at some point during the night.”

  Daniel shook his head. She was right. He seldom made it through the night without at least one bathroom break. “Whatever. But, seriously, this is great.”

  “Thanks.”

  “How about you finish making dinner, and I’ll check out the Civic?”

  “Okay. Be careful, though. You have gloves, right?”

  Daniel reached in his pocket and pulled out a pair of latex gloves. “Right here.”

  “Kay. Use them. We still don’t know how this virus is spread.”

  Daniel gave her a mock salute. “Aye, aye, captain.”

  “Smart ass.”

  Serafina went back to the Jeep and worked on making the sandwiches. Ashley, Brenna, and Paul were back at the table, having secured each of the cat’s leashes to a different part of the thing, far enough apart where their leashes wouldn’t get tangled.

  As
she set the sandwiches down on the table, she saw the small white car drive across the parking lot towards the picnic area. ‘Nice. The keys must have been left inside,’ she thought as she watched Daniel reach the edge of the parking lot. He slowed, then slowly began to drive up over the curb. There was a loud scraping sound as the bottom of the vehicle was dragged over the cement, which couldn’t be good, but they only needed it to travel another fifty feet or so.

  “Ash, can you go over and help your Dad? He needs to back up the car so that it’s close to the building.”

  “Sure.” Ashley walked over to where the car was and talked to her father through the open window of the car for a second. Nodding, she helped him back the car up, moving it closer and closer to the building until there was less than six inches between the car’s bumper and the brick face of the structure.

  Daniel hopped out of the car and began walking back to where they were, pointing at the grass area near the restrooms, then the car, then the Jeep. Ashley nodded in understanding.

  They slid back onto the benches at the table, making themselves comfortable as Brenna passed out the sandwiches and paper towels. Paul grabbed the bag of apples and took them over to a nearby spigot. Turning on the water, he washed each of them before turning off the faucet and returning. He passed the apples out to each of them before sitting down.

  Serafina looked around the table, her eyes taking in the food they had. All in all, it was a fairly decent meal. Sandwiches, chips, apples, and bottled water. It was far from a feast, but hopefully she’d have the opportunity to make something more substantial the next evening when they got to the cabin.

  After they finished eating, Ashley again helped her Dad, guiding him as he backed the Jeep up towards the restrooms. When he stopped, the two vehicles and the building had formed the triangle Serafina had envisioned.

  They had to climb over the Jeep’s bumper to enter the secure area, but it was a minimal inconvenience. As Serafina and the girls washed up in the women’s restroom, Daniel and Paul got out the sleeping bags and laid them out in groups. Serafina and Daniel would be up against the Jeep, Ashley and Brenna against the Civic, and Paul at the edge of the concrete near the building.

  When the women emerged from the restrooms, Daniel and Paul took their turn, going in and cleaning up. They came out a few minutes later, both looking slightly refreshed and a little less road weary. With the exception of their undergarments, everyone still wore the same clothes, and Daniel had made it a requirement that they sleep fully dressed, with the exception of their boots, just in case they had to bug out in a hurry.

  Daniel addressed the group. “Alright, it’s eight o’clock and before everyone goes to sleep, we need to talk about watches. Even though I like this setup, we don’t want to be taken by surprise, so someone will have to be up at all times, keeping an eye out.” He looked around, making sure everyone understood before continuing. “I want to be on the road by six thirty, which means we’re waking at six. That gives us ten hours, so five two-hour watches. I usually get up early, so I’ll take the last one, from four to six. Sera, two to four okay?”

  “Sure.”

  “Thanks. Brenna, how about you go first?”

  The young girl nodded, pulling the zipper on her hoodie all the way up. “Okay.”

  “Great. That leaves ten to twelve and twelve to two. Ash, Paul, preference?”

  Paul shrugged. “I’ll take whatever you need me to. Ashley, which do you want?”

  Ashley looked at him, then back at her sister. “I’ll take the ten to twelve.”

  Daniel nodded. “Okay, that’s set. Now two things: one, you wake up the person fifteen minutes before they take over for you, and you wait until their eyes are adjusted before you go to sleep. Got it?” Everyone nodded. Daniel had done a lot of this during his time in the Navy, so they were sure he knew what he was talking about. “Alright, second thing: the cats will see and hear things WAY better than you will. Pay attention to them.”

  This time the family was surprised by Daniel’s statement. They hadn’t thought of that, but it one hundred percent made sense. Cats were mostly crepuscular, meaning that they were most active at dusk and dawn, but in this situation, having been cooped up in the car all day and being in a strange place, it made sense that they would probably be up all night, staying on edge, actively looking for danger.

  Seeing that the family understood, Daniel move d over to the rear bumper of the Jeep and sat down. “Okay, one last thing: remember, standing a vigilant watch will likely be the difference between life and death, and I don’t say that lightly. All of you -” he motioned towards the group with his hand, “might as well get used to it, because even after we get to the cabin, we may have to stand watches every night. I’ve seen nothing to indicate that Big Bear will be immune to everything we’ve encountered, whether it’s the infected, the desperate, or the just plain evil.”

  Looking around, he saw fear and concern in the girls’ and Paul’s eyes. They were clearly feeling a bit overwhelmed by the situation, and it was up to him to provide them hope and focus.

  “Hey, listen. We can do this.” He let the words sink in for several long seconds before continuing. “If we stick together, work together, and trust each other, we’ll get through this. It’ll be tough, but we’ll make it, okay?”

  Each of them nodded slowly, looking back at him with wide eyes.

  “Don’t let what’s out there - ” he motioned towards the area beyond the lake, “weaken what’s in here,” he brought his hand to his heart, placing his finger against it.

  With those somber words, he looked down and began untying his boots. As Serafina watched, the girls climbed over the front bumper of the Jeep and sat down near each other on the grass, whispering to each other. Apparently they’d be standing their watches together. Looking over, she saw Paul was sliding into his sleeping bag. He laid down gingerly, using his wadded up jacket as a pillow for his bandaged head.

  Feeling exhausted, Serafina crawled into the sleeping bag she’d share with her husband. She knew sleep would be upon her quickly - it was one of her traits, falling asleep almost immediately whenever she felt this tired.

  Daniel came over and set his boots on his side of the sleeping bag, then crawled into their ‘bed,’ putting his arm around her as she cozied up to his chest. After a long, stressful day, his shirt smelled like sweat, but she was too tired to care. Within minutes, she was asleep.

  CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

  University of California, Los Angeles

  The fifth floor of the UCLA medical research facility was completely dark, as was the rest of the building, with the exception of one small room. Outside, the usually bright and blue Southern California skies were grey, partially from what was commonly referred to as ‘June gloom’ and partially from the fire that raged out of control at the nearby Ronald Reagan Medical Center.

  Two fire trucks stood in front of the building, but the few firefighters that were there could do little more than watch the blaze as it engulfed the building and its occupants. Normally, a fire that size required four or five fire trucks, but with the fires that were seemingly all over the city, resources were stretched thin.

  Half of the crew - three men and one woman - had entered the building in an effort to rescue people, but more than twenty minutes had passed without so much as a single radio contact, and none of them had returned. The last thing the remaining firefighters heard from the four was one of the men, a big red headed man named David Pinkerton, screaming in fear. Communications with the team had gone silent after that, and the senior member of those who remained outside had made it clear that no one else would enter the burning building. They’d simply watch and make sure that the fire didn’t spread from the building to the adjacent ones, all the while holding out hope that their sister and brothers would make it out alive.

  Five hundred yards away, in the lone lighted office on the fifth floor of the medical research building, Doctor Michael Roberts was a shell of a ma
n. Burdened with the realization that he’d possibly doomed mankind, he’d fallen into a depressed, drunken stupor.

  Even in the haze of his clouded mind, he re-examined his notes, hoping to find something that would help reverse the effects of the virus he’d unknowingly unleashed upon the world.

  Unshaven, tired, and with breath that reeked of death, Roberts held a piece of paper in front of his face, trying to focus as the letters swum on the page. He knew he should stop drinking, but he couldn’t. He needed the whiskey to dull the pain, otherwise he’d be on the couch in his office, crying in desperation and self pity, as he’d done the night before.

  Sleep had refused to come, but eventually he’d passed out from the drinking, waking to find himself dehydrated and covered in sweat. Head pounding, he’d crawled to his desk, where he pulled a bottle of aspirin from a drawer. Uncaring and determined to make the pounding in his head stop, he’d tossed a handful of pills into his mouth, washing it down with a long drink from the bottle of Maker’s Mark.

  After that he’d laid on the floor, waiting for the throbbing in his head to stop and the nausea in his stomach to pass. Eventually, he’d managed to rise from the floor, feeling far from well, but well enough to make his way into his leather office chair, where he’d sat, reclining with his eyes closed for thirty minutes.

  Finally, he sat forward and reached for the stack of patient files, taking the one on top, one for a man named Antonio Jeffries, and opening it. He’d looked at the file for forty-five minutes before realizing he’d read the same parts over and over without comprehending them. Needing to clear his head, at least momentarily, he decided to head to the teacher’s lounge to get water and hopefully something to eat.