Exiting the building one by one, Addie kept her gaze on the opposite direction while Quinta inhaled a deep breath and followed them. They kept near the wall of the building and through the grass towards the road in quick, silent steps. The only sounds that resonated through the vicinity were a few chirps from birds, their boots crunching the unruly ground, and cicadas buzzing through the atmosphere. Instinctively, each one of them glanced over their shoulders and back at the wall of trees that hid a site of carnage. Addie tore her eyes away one last time as they once again climbed the scale onto the “main road” and continued.
The trees and desolate landscaping quickly became a scene of once having “society” with restaurants, gas station signs high in the air, and hotels. The further away they trekked the better and safer they felt. That is...until they came across their exit and traversed off the interstate for the last time.
The first image that caught Quinta's sights were the erratic, fresh tire marks that curved along the opposite ramp across from them. Stopping, their heads slowly followed the path that left behind both curved, uncontrollable skid marks and bodies in its wake. Addie and Quinta looked to one another before they rounded the exit in search of the crash site. Thankfully for them, they didn't need to look for long.
The markings jumped a median before they violently careened to the right no more than four hundred feet away. The first one to take off in a sprint was Leon who had the others follow him before they paused. Along the entrance path to a Circle K, the rover had crashed through the windows of the convenience store. The tail end was caught on a chunk of concrete. Broken glass, shelving, and waste was scattered around the crash point. Just from a first glance they were lucky enough to avoid the gas pumps but from the line of undead that was left in their midst showed just how many of them the would-be survivors succumbed to if they survived the crash.
From the Winn-Dixie plaza, two hotels, multiple restaurants, and several different buildings that surrounded this portion of the area, they could only guess how many were left. To see the crash and to know that people, like them, had met their final resting place there looked and felt a lot different than a weightless expectation.
This was all too real even for them.
In the end, the group knew they would have to fight once they approached closer. The trouble, though, was fighting without drawing attention of the others in the nearby plazas. Dane tapped along Leon's shoulder before he looked back at Quinta. Making sure they were all facing his way, he pointed to the Circle K with a nod. If they could secure that building quietly enough then they wouldn't have to risk the others. Considering that they were grossly outnumbered on top of mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted. A horde would be too heavy of a task for them to survive.
With the others following Dane, they were headed down an entrance shared by a Burger King and the station. They kept their eyes on the parking lot and bushes to make sure there was no chance of surprises later on. Halting, Dane and the others saw near the back door and drive-thru sign were two zombies crouched over the remains of a corpse; picking at what little sustenance it had.
They pushed whatever they grabbed with their greedy nubs into their mouths. Dane looked to Quinta who in turn, kissed her knuckles and followed him over to them to save Leon his ammo and keep as inconspicuous as possible. Leon pulled out his gun and held his arms out steadily while Addie stepped behind him and turned her back to the carnage that would ensure. Normally, they'd have no qualms and this easy situation would blow over fine with how many undead they've killed. Their confidence took a hard blow with their last scare which showed in how hesitant Dane and Quinta's steps were.
Swallowing, they approached with weapons at the ready and nerves on high. The two hadn't realized what end came for them until the shadows of Dane and Quinta caught their attention. Before they had a chance to react, one’s body lunged forward from the impressive blow that Dane administrated from behind. With both hands tightly gripped on one blade handle, Quinta sliced down against the other’s head and internally broke through the brittle skull halfway. Old blood gushed from around Quinta's blade and pooled beneath Dane's kill.
Despite this, Dane's shaken nerves still caused him to blow out and nod back towards Leon. Reaching over, he helped Quinta dislodge her blade and rubbed his thumb along her knuckles. Quinta licked the corner of her mouth before her eyebrows tucked together. She saw, now, exactly what the things had been feeding on. A dried corpse long dead and from the looks of the blood that seeped from its mouth, one of their own. A chill shot down her spine because this showed just how starved they were and how desperate they'd be to get their emaciated, bony hands on fresh meat. Dane gave her a glance as though he understood exactly how she felt before he took a wary look around and pulled her back to the others.
They kept their ears open for sounds of anything that they alerted. Carefully, they arrived at the gas station and got a good look at the rover within. Dane pointed at Quinta and then himself before he gestured around the pumps. He then did the same to Leon and Addie and made the motion for them to survey around the building.
Parting ways, Addie took a last glance at her brother just in case before she followed Leon around the side of the building and into the shaded back. At least she'd be out of the sun. This was the only peaceful thought she could muster to distract herself. As Leon kept advancing forward, Addie kept her eyes peeled for anything dangerous that lurked in the trees. There were many resting bodies that were strewn about, dried, and viciously torn apart. When they approached a skewed dumpster, the sounds of twitches and chews echoed from behind it.
Slowing down, Leon stretched his body to catch a glimpse of what was on the other side. From the small, underdeveloped stature and the sounds that squeaked in a high pitch, Leon's stomach fell. This wasn't the first time he'd seen these but usually children succumbed the quickest when infected. From the uniform it was dressed in, he expected that an elementary school was nearby. Death, no matter how tragic or disgusting, made no exceptions.
Leon held his arm out and stopped Addie across her chest. He swallowed the lump in his throat while he held his gun out and pointed at the child. Addie's eyes widened in horror as she watched its small hands, without fingers, as it clawed and dug into a man's chest cavity.
A child deserved better than this.
The moment Leon cock his gun, it paused, lifted its head, and looked at him with its cloudy, blood-filled eyes. The muffled shot zipped out which in turn made the child fall backwards with the body laid out limply on the concrete slab. One shot was all it needed.
Addie's hand cupped over her mouth while tears formed in her blue eyes. Her shaken hands wiped at the corners of her eyes as she tried to stay quiet. She witnessed a harsh lesson in this life and she hated it. She hated this world and the things that killed him. Leon released a long-held breath while he approached the man’s body clad in military wear. One of the soldiers who broke free from the crash died there. Clenching his jaw, Leon then knelt and searched for his identification only to find his dog tags that barely clung on what was left of his neck. He tilted his head gently to the side as he rolled them over in his hand and brushed away the blood.
Lawrence Tripp
Slowly, this overwhelmed what optimism Leon had and all he could do was shake his head. Silently, Leon lowered his head while he tucked the dog tags in his pocket. Addie watched Leon for a few moments before she dropped her head and approached him. She quickly wiped the tears away from her cheeks as Leon's face slowly turned upwards and blankly stared at her. Addie nodded her head over towards the station as though to urge him to continue. With one last, long look at the poor boy and soldier, Leon stood and brought Addie along with his arm around her shoulders.
Quinta's senses were on edge as she tried to tell if anything was around them behind the broken-down cars. For the most part, the lot was empty around the building. Just as Dane was about to motion for them to press on towards the crash, he rounded one of the pumps
and stopped. Between one and a car he saw a figure and stared. The being was tall, thin, and stood upright yet it didn't move. It just stood there as though it waited for prey to pass by. With the way it was positioned, it didn't act like a standard zombie he was accustomed to and it didn't have a regular body that would lay about. Quinta paused behind Dane. The way his knuckles had turned white from the grasp on his bat caused her not to move.
There was a clench in Dane's stomach. This was eerie and his brain didn't know how to process this thing for what it was. The fact that it was staring him with its lidless, wide eyes caused Dane to become confused. Its mouth was wide open and elongated as though it's jaw had been broken on both sides. Yet still, it didn't move, it didn't make a sound. After a few moments, this caused Dane to chalk it off as a disturbingly, murdered body and proceeded to move on.
Big mistake.
Barely a second after he turned his back, the thing leapt with surprising dexterity onto Dane's back. With its long, gaping mouth, it tried to bite down on Dane's shoulder. Dane grit his teeth to stifle the sounds that threatened to break free and threw his shoulder back a bit in reflex. With the added weight, Dane crashed onto the ground with the thing and a look of sheer panic crossed his features. Quinta jumped and with a shocked look rushed over to help him. She swung her blade with a bit of cautious hesitation because the last thing she wanted to do was mortally wound Dane. A second after they crashed onto the ground, Quinta’s blade stabbed over Dane’s shoulder through its neck
Blood seeped down and across the pavement, oozed along Dane's back, and stained his shirt. Once he came down from the high of an adrenaline rush he could see that what happened wasn't serious but could have been much worse. Still, his heart hammered rapidly against his chest and admittedly that encounter scared the hell out of him. There was a sharp, deep pain that pinched in his shoulder blade but all in all, he was fine.
Quinta, on the other hand, was far more upset inside than she should have been. In those moments, her heart had stopped and she couldn't help but lean her head back in relief. Feeling Dane's shaken grasp on her hands and wrists, she helped him to his feet and couldn't stop herself from what she did next. She closed her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly all while she pushed her face into his chest. Her blades crossed in an X protectively around his back.
Dane's hand pressed against the back of her head while he glanced down at her. Looking at the thing, he stroked her head silently while he kicked himself because he should have realized that was far from human. Shutting his eyes, Dane relished in her arms for a moment before she pulled away and nodded towards the station. Nodding his head to her, he reached down and picked up his bat.
Dane opened the door for Quinta to pass through and entered the store. Immediately, she had to veer to the left and around the front of the rovers remains. The first thing she noticed in the hazy interior through the clouded windshield was blood.
Dane clenched his jaw and swallowed roughly as he looked to her, “I've got this.” He whispered.
She knew that he wanted to save her from what possibly exploded within. Nodding her head while he took a few steps closer towards the vehicles front door, Quinta continued deeper in the shop. Her boots crunched over the glass and kicked at debris along the floor within the destroyed area. Though there were bloodied foot prints and drag marks, the station was clear within from what she could see.
Rounding the back of the rover, she looked to Dane's bent form and spoke to him in passing, “Me goin’ to keep a look out for Leon and Addie. If dey don't come within tree minutes, me goin to look for dem.” Quinta stated.
Opening the door, Dane paused and rolled thick saliva around his jaw, “Sounds good.” He muttered in response.
After she exited through the door again Quinta placed her hands on her hips. Her narrowed gaze surveyed the area for a long moment before she rested on the skid marks once again. This crash...didn't make sense. Why did these individuals leave the interstate in the first place and erratically at that? What scared them so badly that caused them to lose their lives? In a passing thought Quinta kept to the back of her mind that perhaps that thing back by Deer Park was alerted by loud sounds. After all, an explosion was loud and a vehicle with a powerful engine speeding down a silent expressway would be as well.
Inhaling a deep breath, Quinta licked her lips and glanced back at Dane through the jagged edges. What if there was more than one or worse...what if there was something bigger that caused their demise? Not wanting to dwell and scare herself anymore, Quinta then leaned forward with her head turned to the right in wait for the other two.
Dane climbed into the totaled vehicle before he leaned over the drivers decayed body and unbuckled the belt. He grunted while he used most of his strength to pull the stiff body's dead weight out of the seat and onto the ground. Coughing, he leaned his head back momentarily to regain his composure before he climbed into the vehicle once more.
He searched and moved the seats all while he ignored the body slumped in the back who had been killed on impact with the driver. The others must've fled the scene and this made him hope that they didn't take what they looked for with them. Groaning out to rid his disgust, Dane's hand worked through the front area before he climbed deeper into the wreck. He made it towards the back of the vehicle where they had panels, pouches, and boxes strapped along the sides which hid ammo, rations, and whatever items of importance for the doomed trip.
Dane's hand ran along the butt of a handgun which he pulled out, looked over, and pocketed along with a few rounds of ammo. He lifted one of the panels and sifted through old, molded food which only added a layer of stench. With his hands on the floor, Dane hung his head with a shake because at first glance what they looked for wasn't there. Slowly, he turned towards the male which only caused him to sigh out. Of course, the only place he hadn't checked was hidden by disgust.
After Dane pulled the front of his shirt over his nose, he held his breath and crawled over the rotten, fly infested corpse that had baked for weeks in this heat. His fingers pat long the side of the panel before his fingertips touched thick, coagulated blood along a jagged piece of metal that had ripped off and lodged itself into the man's side. This is what likely caused his death. Grimacing, Dane reached in and felt along the tight, deformed space before his fingers knocked against a thick book and papers.
Sweat dripped from the sides of Dane's forehead, “Alright.” He said to himself.
He pulled the body back just wide enough for him to pull the contents out. Clenching his teeth, he released the man and lifted his hand to shut his eyelids and bring him peace once and for all. Climbing back towards the front of the Rover, Dane emerged into significantly cleaner and cooler air. He exhaled his breath with a gasp while his bottom leaned against the hood of the car. Quinta's shadow right outside of the building caught his attention for a moment. Well at least she was still safe while he battled the fumes that threatened to end him.
Wiping his hand off on his shirt, Dane's gaze wandered down to the book in his hands. A bout of curiosity nagged at the back of his head. Opening the cover and flipping through the pages, Dane didn't give a damn about right or wrong in those moments. He wanted just a piece of insight to know exactly what they’d come for and if this is what was needed. Dane sighed to himself because while he confirmed that the information was in fact government property, all he saw at first glance was a log of updates for the different sanctuaries that survived the Fall.
Atlanta, Savannah, Jacksonville were among a few on the list which all ended to reports just for the Daytona sector; their sanctuary. With a bit of frustration, Dane was about to shut the pages and exit the building before two familiar words caught his attention.
Deer Park
Pausing, Dane opened the book once again, his eyebrows tucked together and in an instant, all he felt.... was rage.
“Jacksonville Log, May 24th, Deer Park- Investigation ongoing.”
“Jacksonville Log, June 5th, She
rman Estates: Investigation Terminated. 23 lives lost, 3 lives relocated, Project failed”
“Daytona Log, June 20th, Alphabet Avenue: Investigation Ongoing. Civilians thriving and healthy.”
“Atlanta Log, July 3rd, Clark University: Investigation complete, Civilians and locals have accepted. Will begin production and testing soon.”
“Savannah Log, July 22nd, Pine Barren civilian camp: Investigation unfounded. Civilians would not allow soldiers into large camp. They're heavily armed with many in joining their cause. Will keep an eye on them.”
“Jacksonville Log: August 1st, Deer Park: Investigation terminated. Testing failed. No survivors, clean slate.”
The word “terminated” Repeated in Dane's mind and instantly he felt sick. His feet carried him swiftly towards the door before he yanked it open much to Quinta's surprise. She turned around and before she could fully face him, Dane held the book up to her face and pointed to the last log in Jacksonville. Dated the day the rover left their walls.
Leaning in, Quinta read what was said before she began to skim over the rest of the page. There were so many civilian camps listed with “terminated.” “Completed.” and “Ongoing” written within. Only a handful of strongholds were listed as “Unfounded” but confirmed that would not dissuade them from their overall mission. Her brown eyes flicked up to Dane who only glared into her face hotter than the sun that rippled over the concrete. Dane was unable to fully contain himself as he spoke to her under his breath. His anger was distinct and strong in his tone while his fist clenched until his knuckles turned white.
“The other builders at the site would talk about this. About the corruption with the higher ups. About how unscrupulous they were and how they really don't give shit about us. They also believed that we're nothing but cattle for them, slaves for them, and the moment we act out of line there is no one to stop them from doing whatever they want to us. Back then I doubted their conspiracy theories and simply believed we were all trying to make a living. But now...”
The World We Once Knew Page 29