Surviving Rage | Book 1

by Arellano, J. D.

  When it came time for the day’s shooting lessons, Daniel took the family across the road to meet Douglas and Janice, sharing plans and objectives before leaving both Paul and Brenna there to learn how to use the bow and arrow. While Brenna’s marksmanship with the rifle had been progressing well, the weapon’s kick had left considerable bruising on the girl’s shoulder, so Daniel figured it couldn’t hurt to have her develop skill with the bow and arrow while giving her shoulder an opportunity to heal. Janice had been more than willing to take her on as well, disappearing and returning with yet another ornately carved bow that was appropriately sized for the young teenager.

  While Janice worked with Paul and Brenna, Daniel, Serafina, and Ashley had hiked over the hill to their usual spot and spent the better part of an hour on target practice. Ashley’s shot with the high-powered rifle was getting scary good, as she continued to hit the metal cans they used as targets dead center from greater and greater distances. It was quickly becoming apparent that she’d found her niche, becoming the family sharpshooter.

  Unfortunately, her excitement over hitting a can from eight hundred yards clouded her judgment, and she’d torn a sizeable gash in her hand when she’d picked up the shredded piece of metal. Fighting back tears, she and Serafina had raced back to the cabin, leaving a trail of blood that Daniel slowly and methodically kicked dirt over in an effort to cover its smell. By the time Serafina finished wrapping the girl’s hand, it resembled a gauze covered club and served as a sobering reminder that emotions could cloud judgement, and clouded judgement could lead to injury or perhaps even death.

  Even so, both Daniel and Serafina, seeking the girl down, had taken the opportunity to reiterate how impressed they were with her marksmanship, bringing a smile back to her face.

  The group gathered again at lunchtime, sitting at the picnic table and talking quietly amongst themselves as they ate cans of beans, packets of crackers, and canned fruits, chasing all of it down with water that had been flavored with vitamin C powder.

  Though Ashley and Brenna were slowly warming up to Paul after the issues he’d had during the trip to the cabin, they still mostly ignored him, preferring each other’s company over that of a relative stranger.

  With little conversation to make, Paul finished his meal quickly, thanking Serafina for the meal. Setting his cans and wrappers in separate bags (plastic would be set aside until they could figure out a good way to dispose of it), he heard Ursula inside the house, meowing to come out.

  After making sure it was okay with Serafina and Daniel, the teenager put the leash on the female cat and brought her out into the yard, letting her lead the way as she sniffed around, looking for somewhere to do her business. As the cat led him towards the far corner of the yard, Paul wondered what she was looking for.

  “Where you going, girl?” He asked, looking down at her.

  The cat froze suddenly, a deep growl coming from her throat. Paul looked around quickly, his eyes scanning the area for the cause of Ursula’s displeasure. Was it a coyote? A bear? Another cat?

  Seeing nothing, he looked back at the feline, planning on trying to soothe her. The cat’s hair was completely on end, her tail puffed out and set low, unmoving.

  “Daniel?” He called out, unsure of what to do.

  Standing up and looking towards Paul in the far corner of the yard, Daniel couldn’t see that cat, but he did see the young man looking down towards his feet. “What is it?” He called out, beginning to walk towards the two of them.

  “The cat is acting weird.” Paul replied, looking down at the cat.

  A shriek of rage sounded from off to the left of the home, where they still hadn’t set up the razor and barbed wire. The sound of feet pounding in the pine needles followed instantly, and when Paul looked up, the infected creature - a dark-haired woman with a big chest and thick thighs - was charging through the woods at him, only fifty yards away. The woman’s previously permed hair flew wildly about her head as she ran with complete abandon, her big chest bouncing up and down underneath her solid tan blouse. An apron was still halfway tied around her, flying behind the crazed woman like a cape, making her look like some kind of deranged superhero as she broke branches and crushed leaves under her black sneakers.

  Frozen in place, Paul heard Ursula make a deeper, louder growl that turned into a warning howl as the cat prepared to stand her ground.

  Realizing he had no weapon, he looked to Daniel, who was extracting himself from the confines of the picnic table, still forty yards away from him.

  There was no way he’d get there in time.

  Finding the resolve to fight this time, Paul looked around for something to use to defend himself, his eyes settling on a long, thick branch. Releasing the cat’s leash, he lunged forward, grabbing the branch and pulling it, wanting to bring it up in front of him. The branch didn’t move, barely responding to his effort as it remained partially buried in the hard, packed dirt of the mountainside. Down on one knee, Paul looked over his shoulder.

  Twenty yards.

  ‘Oh shit,’ he thought reaching down and picking up a woefully small rock that was barely bigger than a baseball. It wasn’t much, but it was something. Maybe he could brain the thing in one shot. Maybe he could hit it between the eyes, knocking it out.

  A whistling sound passed by his left ear as an arrow embedded itself in the creatures right eye, penetrating its brain. The force of the arrow stopped the thing’s upper body a half-second more quickly than its lower body could respond, and the thing’s feet continued trying to propel it forward as the head was knocked backward, causing it to slide forward on its butt before coming to a rest a mere six feet from where Paul stood, showering the lower half of his legs with dirt, rocks, and pine needles.

  Mouth agape, he turned and looked in the direction of where the arrow had come from.

  Janice walked slowly up the hill, holding a bow in her left hand. Her husband Douglas followed behind her, looking completely at ease.

  Paul felt anything but at ease, and he unconsciously stole a glance at his crotch area to make sure he hadn’t pissed himself before looking back at the couple as they approached.

  Daniel met them along the way, sidling up to the dark skinned woman. “That was damn impressive.”

  Janice nodded, her eyes still fixed on the creature in front of Paul. “I told you, she’s deadly with a bow.” Douglas said, nodding in approval.

  “Never doubted either of you.” Daniel said, walking alongside them. When the three of them reached where Paul was, they gathered and looked down at the dead woman. There was a name tag on her chest, flecked with blood. Though the words were mostly obscured, Paul could tell it said ‘Vons’. While he didn’t know where the store was, he did know it wasn’t between the Alvarado cabin and the building supply store, which was at least four miles, meaning that either this woman had been infected before going to work, or that she’d traveled a long way in search of someone to attack and infect.

  “Well, shit.” Daniel said, staring at the big woman for a long moment. He looked up at the others. “I honestly have no idea what to do with this.”

  “We bury it.” Serafina said, coming over to stand at her husband’s side. Ursula was slowly creeping towards the thing, her fur still standing tall as she inspected it.

  Douglas and Janice nodded in agreement. “Makes sense,” the old man said.

  Daniel shrugged. “We can, but with this hard ground, it’ll take a while, and the mere presence of this woman shows that finishing the fence has to be the priority.”

  Serafina nodded. “True.”

  “So in the meantime...What? Drag it somewhere else? Does the smell of these things somehow attract others? We don’t know.”

  No one said anything, knowing that any assumption they made regarding the infected, whether dead or alive, would be simply that: an assumption.

  In the dirt near the woman, Ursula began trying to cover the corpse with dirt and pine needles, scraping it towards the body methodi
cally in an attempt to cover it.

  Shaking his head, Daniel told Paul to take the cat back inside. The teenager complied immediately, reaching down and scooping up the cat in his arms. As the boy carried Ursula back towards the house, Douglas and Janice excused themselves, heading off into the woods, making a beeline for the crest of the hill, where they’d begin hunting rabbits and other small animals.

  Looking in the direction of the hill, then back at the body, Daniel said, “We really gotta finish this fence. Maybe just move her for now? Bury her later?”

  “Crap.” Serafina said, shaking her head.

  Daniel looked over, surprised by her statement. “What’s wrong?”

  His wife sighed. “We need peroxide and antibiotic ointment for the cut Ashley got. I don’t want it getting infected, and with limited water and soap, combined with all the work we’re doing with our hands, it seems pretty likely that it will if we don’t do something.”

  Daniel looked at her, surprised. “Wait. I got a bunch of that stuff before we left.”

  “Yeah, and it leaked all over the back of the Jeep when we took those shots from the guy on the motorcycle.”

  “Dammit!”

  Shaking his head, Daniel knew she was right. The man on the motorcycle had sent at least twenty or thirty rounds into the Jeep, and they’d been lucky none of the bullets made it through the back cargo area.

  The loss of supplies was better than loss of life.

  Nodding, Daniel stared down at the corpse at their feet. “Alright, let me drag this thing over the hill, then I’ll head into town. There are few options, the first being the Walgreens near Moonridge, the next being the two supermarkets.”

  It was Serafina’s turn to look surprised. “What are you talking about? You need to work on the fence.” She looked over towards the Jeep. “I’ll go.”

  “Absolutely not.” Daniel said with an air of finality.

  Or so he thought.

  “You’re not the boss of me.” Serafina replied, turning to confront him, her eyes bright with intensity. “I can handle the drive just fine. I’ll bring a gun, the girls, and take the roundabout way so that I can avoid the lodge.”

  “Wait, so now you’re taking the girls, too? What the fuck?”

  “I need them for lookouts. Nothing else. Besides, you’ll need someone to help you. With Ashley hurt, she can’t help you, so she might as well be a lookout. Brenna’s the better shot than Paul if I need backup, so…”

  Daniel shook his head. “I don’t like this idea. Why don’t we go together?”

  “Five people crammed in the Jeep, just to go into town?”

  “We could leave the kids…”

  Serafina stopped him, her hand held up out in front of him. “Now that I don’t like. We can’t have them home without us, and we don’t know how long Doug and Janice will be gone.”

  “Crap.” Daniel replied, knowing she was right.

  Serafina reached out and took hold of his arm, looking into his eyes. “Look, I can do this. I can take the back way that you showed me on the map. I can sneak into the place, and if I need to, I can defend myself.”

  Daniel looked at the ground shuffling his feet slightly. “I know…”

  “And you’ve got work to do.” She smiled reassuringly. “Trust me. We’ll be fine.”

  Defeated, Daniel nodded, looking toward the house. “Alright. Let’s go review the map before you go. There should be a way for you to get there without being on the major roads.”

  Holding hands, Daniel and Serafina made their way back towards the cabin, where they led the others inside. As a group, they reviewed the map, discussed what Serafina and the girls’ objective was, and rules of engagement. Daniel insisted on checking each weapon over before passing it to the person who would be holding it, wanting to eliminate at least one potential possibility for something to go wrong. Satisfied with the condition of the weapons, he reviewed reloading procedures with the girls, having given each of them one of the Glock 9s, ensuring that they knew how to eject the empty magazine and quickly insert the new one.

  While Daniel worked with the girls, Serafina grabbed a pair of binoculars and a pair of flashlights before putting on extra layers of clothing, making sure all of her skin was covered.

  Finally, after thirty minutes, the trio of women were ready. Daniel kissed Serafina on the lips before hugging her tightly, demanding that she be safe and come back. He hugged each of the girls, reminding them to listen to their stepmother before asking them to look out for her and each other.

  Looking at his watch, Daniel estimated they’d have no trouble making it there and back while the sun was still up, but he quickly covered the running lights, turn lights, and brake lights, just in case. Standing back, he watched as Serafina, Ashley, and Brenna piled into the vehicle, putting on their seatbelts. Serafina slowly drove down the driveway and turned onto the small road in front of their cabin. Twenty yards later, she turned right, disappearing from sight as she headed toward the city.

  Knowing they still had a job to do, Daniel turned to Paul. “Let’s make the most of this and finish the job.”

  As Paul pulled on his leather work gloves, Daniel turned and looked down the street, wishing the women were already finished and due to drive around the corner at any second.

  ‘Please be careful,’ he thought before taking a deep breath and grabbing his work gloves.

  CHAPTER FIFTY TWO

  Everything was dark around Jonathan as he entered the thick, seemingly immobile blanket of smoke clouds that had formed above the metropolitan city. Fear gripped his heart in a vice, squeezing it tightly as his mind envisioned him exiting the clouds at high speed, only to see the ground a short distance away.

  The first millisecond of impact would likely be the only thing he experienced as his body collided with the earth at one hundred and twenty six miles an hour. His bladder threatened to let go as his throat went dry, his eyes bugging out as he stared in vain at the grayness around him.

  ‘Fuck this.’ He said to himself, his hand sliding up towards the rip cord.

  Bursting through the cloud cover, he found himself still far from the earth, high above the city. Ahead of him and to the right, he saw the forms of Skee and J.J. falling nearly side by side as they plummeted downward.

  Frustrated with himself over the fear he’d felt, he angled his body, slicing through the air currents as he maneuvered, until he was above and slightly behind the pair, separated only by a few hundred feet of air.

  His hand hovered near the rip cord again, this time as intended as per the mission briefing. When Skee’s and J.J.’s chutes opened, he breathed a sigh of relief, pulling the cord. The chute opened above him, loudly but smoothly, slowing his descent instantly. Using the steering lines, he guided himself in a neat spiral downward, mirroring the track the two others were taking.

  Within minutes he was touching down, his feet, knees, and thigh muscles performing the movements he’d learned during the few skydiving lessons he’d taken. The soft grass of the golf course was a blessing, especially since it was currently overgrown and thicker than it normally was.

  Tossing off the shoulder harness as instructed to do, he turned, grabbed, it, rolled it up in a messy bundle, and tossed it underneath a nearby tree. Looking around, he saw Skee and J.J. each on one knee, facing opposite directions with their weapons on their shoulders. Looking through the weapon’s sight, they were surveying the area around them while they waited for the rest of the team to arrive. He made his way over to the pair, taking his assigned spot between them. He wanted to help, and it was difficult to resist the urge to draw his weapon, but ultimately he remembered that Serrano required strict adherence to the plan. The man was a proven warrior, and Jonathan trusted him completely.

  Soon Dash, Spider, and Chili were on the ground, wrapping up their chutes and stashing them under trees as the others had done. Walking over to the others, Serrano gathered them in a huddle and commended them on the smooth execution of the ju
mp. He called the departing C-17, speaking with Master Sergeant Nichols as they coordinated the pickup time, which would be 5:30 p.m., less than twelve hours away, but prior to sundown.

  Next, the SEALS and Doctor Reed verified their watches were in sync and that their GPS data showed the same coordinates. Satisfied with the data shown, Serrano nodded, turning and looking towards the northwest in the direction of the UCLA Medical Research Facility. Plumes of smoke rose from multiple spots on the horizon, surrounded by skies made pink and orange by the rising sun. Nodding to himself, he turned around and faced the group.

  “Welcome to L.A.”

  Falling into a line formation with Chili, Spider, and Dash ahead of Reed, and Skee and J.J. bringing up the rear, they crossed the golf course, their heads constantly moving as they scanned their surroundings for signs of trouble. The golf course, though overgrown, was in surprisingly good shape, given the condition of the surrounding areas. Smoke from fires rose in fat pillars in nearly every direction they looked, and the buildings that still stood looked dark and empty, their windows mostly broken, the doors smashed or hanging loosely from their hinges.

  A lot of looting had occurred, though in a situation such as the global pandemic the world faced, could anyone be blamed for trying to gain access to food, water, and/or medicine? Every report Jonathan had seen indicated that grocery stores, convenience stores, pharmacies, and medical facilities had all shuttered their doors over a week ago, leaving the masses to fend for themselves.

  Times were desperate, and he sure wouldn’t blame a person for doing what they had to to survive. Breaking and entering was better than starvation any day of the week.

  The group passed through the maintenance areas of the park, seeing dormant maintenance trucks, covered in dust, lined up near the light brown stucco buildings. The small structures were dark and silent, standing abandoned in the early morning light. Against the front entrance of one of the buildings, they saw a splatter of blood, but nothing else. No body, no other signs of struggle, simply dried blood staining the door and its frame.