“Tres Ninos?” Donna asked.
“The Mexican place on the corner.” Julie explained.
“What about Gus?” Vicki asked.
“We’ll just have to hope he plays along.” Julie said and got ready to make her move. Taking a couple of deep breaths, she squat walked across three lanes, taking a second at the concrete divider before stepping over it and returning to squat walk the rest of the way to the ditch. Once there, she let out a breath that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. She cleared the area in front of her and looked behind just in time to see Vicki follow her lead, quickly working her way to the ditch. Gus followed Donna, somehow unseen, or uncared about by the crazies.
“Great. Halfway there.” Julie said, taking another deep breath and walking quickly to the restaurant. The rest of the group came as one, with Gus fortunately staying in the grassy areas as much as possible. Julie cringed when he crossed the on ramp because she noticed one crazy looking around for the sound of the noise. When it locked in on Gus, there was nothing she could do but watch. The crazy didn’t make a sound, it just ran at Gus, who, to his credit, didn’t even snort. He just waited until it got close before turning his rear towards it and waiting. When it was within range, Gus put all of his weight on his front legs and kicked high, almost tearing off the crazy’s head with ease. He then turned around, snorted quietly and resumed joining up with the group. Julie hugged his neck.
“That was awesome, boy! Very awesome!” She said quietly, and Gus didn’t seem to mind the attention at all. Julie looked around for their next move. All she came up with was staying behind the buildings, but that meant going behind a Hampton Inn and a Holiday Inn Express before getting back to a weeded area. She looked at the other ladies, who just shrugged in answer.
“If we stay in the grass we can get to the other side of the Hampton, then just walk behind the Holiday Inn, Food City and the rest.” Julie explained.
“I sure hope we get somewhere to rest soon. My legs are shot.” Vicki said.
“We’ll catch a breather behind each business except the motels. The back sides of those are rooms with who knows what lurking.” Julie said and was answered by nods, “It’s getting really late, or early, depending on how you look at it. I want to be at Dead Man’s Gap before dawn, we can set up in the woods there and rest until dark again.”
Julie led them at a quick clip alongside Artesian Circle and knelt at the corner of the Hampton Inn. Not seeing anyone around, she hurriedly made her way past it and to the Holiday Inn. Giving it a quick look over, she stepped around the corner just in time to see a woman come out of her room and look around nervously. Noticing that she seemed normal, Julie hissed quietly, knowing that if the woman spotted them, she’d probably start screaming and attract unwanted attention. She knelt and motioned for Vicki and Donna to do the same. She felt sorry for the woman, but she wasn’t going to jeopardize their lives to help someone who should have been long gone. Julie watched as the lady was startled by a noise and quickly retreated to her room. Julie sighed audibly and shook her head before resuming on the task at hand.
The back of Food City was nothing more than a loading dock and dumpster area, so it was as deserted as she’d hoped. She expected the same at the Western Sizzlin’ and was just clearing the area when she heard something near shriek loudly, followed by the sounds of a large plate glass window crashing. Another shriek and she was able to locate the source as coming from the Discount Liquor store a block away. Brad was sure to be pissed as his back-up liquor store got trashed. She sucked in a deep breath and jogged across the street to the back of the restaurant, followed by Gus, Vicki and Donna. Julie leaned up against the wall to catch her breath. It was a shame the crazies were at the liquor store, she sure could use a drink herself, right about now.
After catching her breath, she led them around a shopping development that was under construction. She figured she could slow a little as there probably wouldn’t be any infected there. She heard the women breathing rapidly and took a seat behind a mound of dirt. She was tired, her mouth was so dry that she couldn’t spit if she’s wanted to. She found the straw to her CamelBak and took a nice long drink.
“We’ll catch our breath here for a sec.” she managed and the others just nodded. After a few minutes, Vicki asked her something that she had to think about for a moment.
“Why didn’t we help that woman back there?”
“How? If she’d seen us, she probably would’ve called out to us and alerted every crazy in the area to herself and us. I hate it as much as you do, but there was literally nothing we could do. The place was crawling with them. Hopefully she’ll find her own way to safety. Anything we tried would’ve gotten us all killed.” Julie explained and Donna nodded in agreement.
“Wish I had a cigarette.” Donna mumbled.
“And some booze.” Vicki added and Julie smiled.
“I’d just settle for everything going back to normal.”
“Evidently, this is the new normal.” Donna said.
Julie agreed and she was damned sure that she didn’t like the new normal. Even if was only temporary, which she doubted it was. After they’d rested a little, Julie got them up and moving again, this time back into the woods, where she picked a course heading roughly due east. They skirted just south of the Honors Golf course and edged around an equipment rental place before returning to the woods. She followed an inclined dirt path that took them directly to Dead Man’s Gap. Not trusting a clearing, she led her little band into the tree line where they all slumped heavily onto the ground. The noise from the crazies in Ooltewah was a distant dim, but still hearable. She was thankful for that because she not only knew where they were, it was quiet enough that they’d hear anyone, or anything, approaching. She took another drink and advised her friends to do the same. Gus must have smelled the nearby creek because he moved off in that direction and Julie had no doubt he’d return when his thirst was quenched and his belly full. She knew that she should post a watch, but she also knew that they were far enough off the road not to be seen or heard and with White Oak Mountain at their back, the chances of anyone stumbling across them were slim.
After everyone had eaten and hydrated, sleep seemed to hit them in waves. First Donna was out, then Gus returned and sat in a grassy spot, then Vicki and Finally Julie felt her eyes grow heavy. He glanced at Gus to see his ears sweeping for sound even though his eyes were closed. That brought her comfort, knowing that he would alert them at the first sign of trouble.
Rodney
Lamplighter Apartments # 12
Cleveland, TN
Rodney looked at the mayhem going on outside and literally grinned. It excited him in a way that drug fueled sex excited others. This is what he was made for; total anarchy. It was like someone had taken the entire funny farm on an outing to the state fair. He looked at the terrified young woman, whose house he invaded when the crazies seemingly came out of nowhere and started trashing everything they saw, paying particular attention to the uninfected. He never bothered to ponder about how they could tell, but Rodney was never one for thinking any deeper than when asked whether he wanted wheat or white toast from a waitress.
He smiled when he saw the fear in her eyes.
“Don’t worry, little lady. I ain’t gonna hurt you. No ma’am. Things are a little crazy outside right now and I just need a place to stay until the cops move them out.” He told her.
“The cops ran. You need to leave too.” She said and he hoped his smile looked genuine.
“Well, now it ain’t safe for either of us out there right now. Is it? Just calm down and I’ll be gone before you know it.” He told her.
“Promise not to hurt me.” She pleaded and he nodded.
“Do you have anything to eat? I was on my way to get something when this happened. A sammich, maybe?” he asked and she nodded and went into the kitchen. Happy to be alone with his thoughts for a moment, he returned to the window to witness the carnage. A mail jeep, the dri
ver not paying attention to anything but the next box and the next batch of letters in her lap, drove right into the crowd that was busy yanking a lady out of a stalled car and she tried to flee on foot. A big man that looked to be a trucker snatched the postal worker by the throat and with one hand, yanked her out of the jeep. The stack of letters in her lap flew like oversized confetti and Rodney chuckled. The poor woman never had a chance as the crazed trucker, holding her up like she weighed nothing, crushed her throat in one mighty squeeze, then tossing the now dead worker into the street. The other lady had already disappeared right before his eyes.
“Is bologna ok? It’s all I have?” the woman asked.
“Yeah, that would be great. What’s your name ma’am?” he asked and chuckled at the ‘ma’am’ word.
“It’s Annalise. Mustard or mayo?”
“I’m not picky, whatever is handy.” Rodney called back, amazed that these things never seemed to be getting tired. It was like they’d add done double shots of espresso and chased it with meth. He found it turned him on in a very sexual way. He was glued to the window when Annalise tapped him on the shoulder and handed him the sandwich. Looking outside she gasped as she saw the scene.
“Where are the cops? Why aren’t they stopping this?” she asked.
“They’re right out there.” Rodney pointed out the window,” Some are already down, the rest seem to be joining the crowd.”
“What?” Annalise asked and seemed to have difficulty in taking it all in. She made a quiet cry and returned to the couch, curling up in a ball and hugging a pillow. Rodney slowly closed the curtains, hoping he wouldn’t draw attention, and joined her on the couch.
“This is going on all over.” He told her.
“All over where?’ she asked, suddenly looking very afraid.
“All over everywhere. A cop told me earlier that some terrorists had launched some nukes and let loose a bug a few days ago, all over the world. Everywhere.” He reiterated.
“Everywhere.” She repeated quietly and he nodded.
“That’s why I needed your help. When they leave, I’ll go too.” He told her, looking very serious.
“Please, don’t.” she pleaded.
“Don’t what?” he asked, inwardly smiling.
“Leave. Please don’t leave me alone with them out there. You seem like a nice man, you haven’t hurt me yet. Please, just stay here.” She begged and he flashed the biggest smile yet.
“it’s okay, I’ll stay for as long as you want.” He said soothingly, but the thing inside that flipped the switches in his long-demented mind suddenly raged. He wanted to hurt her. She’d stolen the power of fear he had over her when he asked him to stay. He sighed outwardly. He’d wanted her terrified when he took her. The way it was going now, she’d probably just let him, as long as he promised not to leave her.
“Thank you.” She replied meekly.
Rodney went around securing the place as well and as quietly as he could. When he returned to the living room, she still hadn’t moved.
“Do you have any guns?” he asked and she looked up at him like he’d grown a third eye.
“Guns?” she asked as if she’d never heard the word before. Rodney sighed.
“Never mind. I was thinking about ways to protect ourselves in case they got in.” he looked at her, her face a total blank like she still didn’t understand the gravity of their situation. He nodded and went to watch the window. As much as he wanted to throttle her, he decided to wait.
Annalise felt like shit. Not bad, not like crap, she honestly felt like shit. No other word in the English language came close to describing it. She’d awoken that morning feeling that way and figured she’d caught some bug currently running around the nursing home where she worked as a nurse. The only good part about it was that she had the next three days off anyway, so she didn’t have to take a sick day. She noticed that the power was out, but thought little of it until someone startled her, pounding on the door. She ran to it, hand resting on the deadbolt latch.
“Who is it?” she yelled.
“Police! Open up!” the man from the other side and she hadn’t even bothered to check the peephole, she’d just subconsciously thought that it was the right thing to do and she turned it. A man exploded through the door, closing it quickly behind him. He looked terrified.
“Sorry, lady.” He’d said, “There’s something going on, rioting or something, and I had to get off the street.” He apologized and went to the window. Once she’d gotten over the fear, she’d realized that her day had suddenly gotten a whole lot shittier. When he’s asked for a sandwich, she’d agreed, and used the opportunity to retrieve the Ruger LCP .380 from the kitchen drawer and put it in the back of her pants. She’d always kept a round in the chamber and six in the magazine.
She’d almost frozen when the man asked her about guns, but instead she’d faked not knowing what he was talking about. Being the only gun in the house, if he’d searched, he’d come up empty-handed. She was relieved when he let it go. Even though she’d acted like she trusted the man, she didn’t. She coughed quietly while he watched out the window. She couldn’t ever remember feeling this strange as sleep overcame her and she quietly closed her eyes.
Brad
Cleveland, TN
Something beeped in his ear. It wasn’t a loud beep, but it was annoying none-the-less. He ignored it and repositioned his head. It beeped twice quickly and a little louder. Through the thick fog of sleep something in his brain told the rest of it that this was bad and that he needed to wake up. Brad sat bolt upright, trying to shake off the envelope and into awareness immediately. Three quick beeps, a little louder. Shit! Someone was in the yard! He slipped on the goggles and turned them on while bringing his rifle to the gun port. A quick peek told him that it was a person, but was it an infected or was it a neighbor? He drew a bead on it while willing himself not to pull the trigger until he knew for sure. Whoever it was stopped and regarded the house for a couple of seconds, then it took a step up the hill, lost its balance and fell straight back. It wasn’t until Brad noticed that the person resembled a turtle on its back that he realized it was one of them. He aimed at its head and squeezed the trigger. Even though the gun had a suppressor on it, to him it might as well have been a grenade going off. The infected jerked for a couple of seconds and stopped moving.
Glancing at his watch, he was surprised to find that it was four in the morning. It had taken two nights before any of them, as he now thought of them, had even bothered approaching the house. He reached for the Thermos and poured himself a cup of coffee. Piss warm, he thought, better than no coffee. He quickly cleared the entire area and settled back into the chair. He had to piss, his ass was numb and his back ached. He sipped on the coffee, occasionally checking the area to make sure that his shot hadn’t alerted anyone and quietly slipped out of the cupola to take care of himself.
The stairs creaked at one point and he swore to himself quietly knowing that if Dean woke up, he’d probably be loud for a few seconds. Brad figured that would probably be all it took to bring them screaming at the house. That was the last thing he needed.
After relieving his aching bladder, he went to the kitchen and fired up the camp stove and put some water on to boil. Even though he had a camp percolator, he’d learned long ago to heat water and using the filter holder from the coffee maker, which fit perfectly over the coffee pot once the top had been taken off, and slowly poured the water over the grounds. That was all the coffee maker really did, heat the water and slowly pumped it over the coffee anyway. While he waited on the water to heat up he walked around and stretched.
He was getting worried about his wife and his daughter, thinking that he should have heard from one or the other, but then again, he didn’t know what they might be facing. If Julie had made it out of Chattanooga, then hopefully she would have made it to her next big obstacle, Ooltewah. He knew without a doubt that was going to be a clusterfuck of epic proportions. As he poured the water into
the grounds he thought about it for a minute. Going through the tunnel, he’d warned her, was probably suicidal. He’d urged her to study the maps and pick another way. Unfortunately, the hospital was in the heart of the worst drug infested, gang ruled part of the city. He had trained her well and had tried to account for every possible situation, but like everyone knew; a good plan only lasted until first contact with the enemy, then it was like a fart in a whirlwind. He knew she could think on her toes very quickly, and he was glad of that. She’d also shown an amazing ability to adapt and overcome most difficulties in record time.
With Dean and Diane sleeping in the upstairs guest rooms, he was free to walk around downstairs without fear of startling them. He made a breakfast out of instant oatmeal and was happy to find two packages of peach flavored still in the box. He sat on the couch, sipping his coffee and eating the oatmeal, thinking about the next phase of the plan; that called for bugging out to the farm on the fifth morning, with or without Julie. Even though it was his idea, he hated the thought of not knowing what was going on with her. He knew if the three days had passed that she would adjust her course and head for the farm.
He heard the horses running through the pasture, surprised at how clearer sound was now that everything had shut down. He eased back into the cupola and flipped on the night vision, hoping that something wasn’t chasing them. He made a mental note to check on the farmer after first light and, if the old guy was still around, great. If not, he’d cut the fence, open any gates he could find and release them. They’d stand a better chance fending for themselves than eventually running out of grazing land.
Through the night vision he spotted something chasing the horses, but not what he expected. Instead of an upright human-shaped form, this one was small and seemed to be moving awkwardly on all fours. He took off the goggles and reached for the rifle, which gave a better view. When the optics had warmed up enough, he peered through it and gasped. The image sent a chill up his spine; that of what appeared to be a small child, loping on all fours towards the horses, who were doing their best to stay away. What really shocked Brad was the speed of the thing; the bastard was very fast. Brad knew that sooner or later the horses would tire, enabling the kid to catch one. He hated the thought of killing a child, but if the child was infected, was it really a human anymore? This was a tough decision that he knew he’d have to resolve quickly. Zero time to dig out the Magic 8 ball. The child had the potential to alert others about its find. He sighed heavily, knowing that if it screamed, more would be coming, possibly cutting off his escape and he knew he couldn’t allow that to happen.
Three Days From Home Page 9