Point Of Destruction

by Max Lockwood

  Thomas saw what could happen when a bad injury wasn’t taken care of properly. He didn’t know Victoria, but he watched as Derek tried to remove the bullet in the hospital and what happened as a result of that. He was terrified that the same thing could happen to Melissa. He frequently told her that she was doing better and that she would be in perfect condition within a few days, but it was all wishful thinking. In reality, he knew that she could take a turn again and die before he could find anyone to help her. Then he’d really be alone.

  For Thomas, the worst part of the whole situation was the waiting. He could very well spend days, weeks, or even longer wondering if someone was going to return for him the next day. There was no timeline anymore—that was something he’d learned when the virus broke out. First, he thought he’d stay safe while his town created a new social system, but it failed to protect everyone. He thought he’d spend one long day in his truck on the way to Oklahoma, but days had passed and he was in a cottage somewhere in Colorado. There was no certainty—only waiting for help.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Elaina couldn’t help but feel a little guilty as they coasted down the rest of the trail. She had seen Thomas’s face as they left, and it gave her a queasy feeling in her stomach. Thomas said that he was fine with the arrangement, yet when she turned around that last time, the look on his face could only be described as dejected.

  They would be fine. There were plenty of supplies for the both of them. Thomas had a powerful shotgun and plenty of shells. He was a great shot and had experience picking off infected people from a distance. He could handle himself.

  Doubt still lingered in the forefront of her mind. The last time she’d let two kids out of her sight, Natalia and Will were snatched up by the new army and Natalia was killed. It was impossible to know what would happen to Thomas and Melissa, especially when Melissa was in such poor health.

  It was too late to return, though. Alec had already navigated through the narrow trail and made it to the highway. They had to keep going.

  She held onto Alec a little tighter. They hadn’t gotten the chance to talk since they left the cottage. She would have liked to hear Alec’s encouraging words. He always made her feel better, even when they were in a dire situation.

  The cold wind whipped at her exposed hands. Alec drove the vehicle as fast as he possibly could. Elaina didn’t know if that was because he thought the speed was necessary for their survival or because of the thrill of going fast. Either way, Elaina wasn’t about to comment on his driving style. She was just happy to be moving.

  They zipped past a handful of small towns, passing them up in hopes for something better. They had enough gas in the tank to make it a little further and Elaina wanted to go somewhere where they had a good chance at finding a decent hospital. Often, small county hospitals sent their samples to bigger cities with bigger labs. She needed a hospital big enough to have all the equipment it would take to produce her serum on a larger scale.

  Out of her own curiosity, Elaina also wanted to take another look at her blood. It had been quite some time since she last drew blood, and she wanted to know if the serum was still acting as it should. Alec seemed to forget about the fact that she had ever been infected in the first place. Immediately after Bretton injected her, he seemed to be afraid of her. After she’d received the bite from the infected in the hospital, he was still a little leery of her. But now, he never mentioned her multiple infections or asked if she was feeling any symptoms. It was like it never happened.

  It was rather miraculous that she could be infected twice and not show a single symptom in weeks. Many people died within days of becoming infected. Other than a little tiredness from non-stop travel, she was in the best physical shape of her life. She had never been stronger or had more endurance than she did after running through abandoned streets, hiking mountains, and bashing the infected with whatever blunt object she had at her disposal.

  When the two sped past a city limits sign with a population over ten thousand, Elaina squeezed Alec’s arm hard. He understood her signal and turned off, slowing down as he hit the exit ramp.

  For the first time all journey, Alec slowly navigated down the street. Then, he saw something that made him hit the breaks immediately. Elaina nearly lost her balance and embraced him to stay on the bike.

  “Sorry,” he said quickly, turning to her. “I saw some people walking around. They looked infected.”

  “How could you tell from here?”

  He grimaced. “I’ve come to realize the strange way they wander in the dormant state. I don’t think they’re an immediate threat, but a loud motorcycle might set them on edge. I’ve seen groups of infected pull healthy people out of cars. We would certainly be attacked cruising around the city.”

  “Are you saying we’re going to have to go in on foot?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

  “Afraid so. There’s got to be a gas station or visitor’s center close to the highway. We’ll figure out where the hospital is and head that way.”

  They got off the motorcycle and Alec pushed the bike between two large bushes.

  “Preferably, we’ll find a truck to take back to the trail when we collect the other two, but just in case, I’m going to hide this here. Ready?”

  They walked in the ditch so the tall grass would provide some cover. Elaina’s sneakers squelched in the thin layer of mud.

  From above the vegetation, Elaina could make out the figures that Alec had described. They were still off in the distance, but they milled around like cattle in a pasture. The thought of willingly walking past them frightened Elaina. They were looking ahead as they walked, so it came as a surprise to realize that someone was following them.

  Elaina whipped around and stifled a scream when she saw a figure creeping up behind her. Pulling a steak knife she stole from the cottage out of her bag, she waved it in front of her body.

  Then, Alec turned around and swore under his breath. He drew his gun, ready to fire.

  “Don’t shoot,” Elaina hissed, sweat forming at her brow. “We can’t make a sound.”

  The infected bolted toward Elaina, and she swung her knife and missed. The infected grasped her wrist, preventing her from wielding her knife again. Its emotionless eyes stared into hers as it attempted to claw at her face.

  Alec kicked the infected in the chest with his heavy boots, sending it back a few feet. The knife tumbled to the ground and Elaina dropped to her knees to snatch it up. She fumbled in the tall grass, trying to get a good grip around the handle.

  The infected doubled its efforts as it found that Elaina and Alec were a formidable pair. It pounced on top of Elaina before Alec had a chance to stop it. Elaina, with the knife in hand, thrust the blade upward as the figure collapsed on her, stabbing it through the eye socket.

  The infected twitched before rolling over on its back, the knife still lodged in its skull.

  “Ugh,” Elaina groaned as she yanked the handle of the weapon. She could hardly look at the infected. Though it was hardly human, it still possessed traits that made it hard to look at in such a state. She wiped the blade on the tattered shirt it wore and stowed it back in her bag.

  “Never gets easier,” Alec said softly. He hated that an innocent person like Elaina would have to participate in such horrific activities. At least his occupation gave him the opportunity to handle attacks with deadly violence if the situation called for it. He didn’t enjoy killing, but he figured it weighed less on his soul that it would for an average civilian.

  They continued walking as if nothing had happened. A cool breeze ran through the air, giving Elaina goosebumps. She rubbed her arms, trying to stop shivering.

  “There’s a gas station to the right,” Alec whispered. “I see three infected out front. There’s got to be a back door we can go through.”

  Elaina was none too eager to enter a building with infected people so close. But to get to the other gas stations in the area, they would have to cross several inters
ections, which had just as many infected. They had few choices when it came to places that had the resources they needed, and every choice was dangerous.

  Elaina wasn’t surprised when she found the back door of the convenience store ajar. It reminded her of Seattle in the early days of the virus—everyone began looting before it was even necessary. Alec led the way inside the dim store, his gun raised next to his flashlight. Elaina followed, the knife gripped tightly in her hand.

  Once Alec ensured that they were alone, he tucked his gun into his pocket and started searching the counter. The merchandise had been picked over recently. Racks that would normally hold snacks and drinks were now empty, chip bags and candy wrappers strewn on the ground.

  Alec rifled through stacks of papers tucked into the counter drawers, looking for information that would help them. As he searched, Elaina looked for a telephone.

  She scooted behind him and immediately spotted a phone next to the register. Her heart pounding, she picked up the receiver and held it to her ear. Silence.

  Grabbing the end of the phone, she followed the wires back to the wall where they were dangling inches from the outlet. She plugged in the power and the jack and listened again. Still nothing.

  As her hopes fell, she ran to the back office and pulled open the cover to the fuse box. She flipped all of the levers to one side, then turned them back on, one by one.

  Then, she ran back to the front of the store where Alec was studying a piece of paper. Elaina frantically pushed every button on the phone, trying to get it to work, but there was no power. She tossed the receiver down in frustration.

  “The power is out,” Elaina told Alec as she blinked back tears of frustration. She had such high hopes that she would be able to contact her old colleague.

  “I’m not surprised. This place has gone to crap quickly. I did find a map of the city, and it looks like the hospital is maybe five or six miles from here. Are you up for running? If all goes well, we could potentially make it before it gets dark. What do you say?”

  She nodded wordlessly, still upset about the lack of power. If the gas station was off the grid, then there was a good chance that much of the city would be too.

  “Hey,” Alec said, shaking her gently by the shoulder. “It’s going to be okay. Hospitals tend to have backup generators.”

  “You’re right,” she said, trying to be a little more optimistic. She grabbed a warm bottle of water that had rolled behind the counter and took a swig. “Everything is going to be fine. We’ll go straight to the hospital and make the serum, we’ll find a working phone, and then we can pick up Thomas and Melissa. It’s a very straightforward plan.”

  Once they got outside, Alec took off in a jog toward the hospital. Elaina sped up to catch him, but her foot rolled off the side of the curb and she tumbled to the ground.

  “Wait,” she squeaked, wanting to cry out in pain but knowing that she had to stay relatively silent.

  Alec turned around, his face going pale. He sprinted over to her and knelt beside her.

  “I rolled my ankle,” she said, rolling up her pant leg. Her ankle had already begun to swell.

  “That looks painful.” Alec winced. “Can you put any weight on it?”

  He hoisted her up by one arm, and she took a step, nearly collapsing to the ground again.

  The tears of frustration returned. She just wanted to be able to run until her legs were too exhausted to go any further. Now, she couldn’t even walk.

  “It’s okay,” Alec said in a soothing voice. He scooped her off the ground and began to walk down the road with her in his arms.

  “Come on.” She sighed. “You can’t carry me all the way to the hospital.” She was embarrassed by the way he was doting on her. She didn’t want him to feel obligated to care for her.

  “We’ll go as far as we can,” he said. “I’m not going to leave you to the wolves. I know we once made an agreement that we’d save ourselves if the moment ever arose, but I think we’re well beyond that.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He smiled down at her. “Think of me like the president’s Secret Service detail. You’re important around here. You have to go save the country. I’m here to make sure that nothing gets in your way of doing that. If I go down in the call of duty but your life is spared, then all is right in the world. If you go down because I left you to fend for yourself, then what good am I in the first place?”

  She shook her head adamantly. “That’s stupid. Your life is just as important as anyone else’s. If you ever sacrifice yourself to save me, I’ll never forgive you. I’m being serious. I’ll be mad at you for the rest of my life.”

  He chuckled. “You seem to forget that I’m a cop. This is what I signed up for, more or less. I mean, when I went through training, we were never given protocol for an epidemic that basically turns infected patients into zombies. I was just told how to handle traffic violations and violent crime. But that doesn’t change the fact that I made a vow to protect lawful citizens. Besides, you’re important to me and I want to help you with your work. It’s the most important thing in the world right now. Sometimes, when I’m lying awake at night, I think about how absolutely crazy it is that I’m with you.”

  Elaina blushed. “I think that what you’re doing is technically a crime. I mean, you are harboring a fugitive. You’re literally carrying a fugitive down the street. I don’t think your supervisor would be very happy about that.”

  “Screw ‘em,” Alec said, touching his cheek to the top of Elaina’s head. “It won’t be long until your name is cleared. I can’t wait until you can shove your innocence in everyone’s face.”

  “Save your excitement,” she said flatly. “I can’t even walk on my own.”

  He set her down and she gingerly took a few steps. If she placed on arm around his shoulder and put half of her body weight on him, she could limp a little faster than she could walk on her own.

  “I don’t think it’s broken, but it’s still not good. Think we’ll make it to the hospital before it gets dark?”

  Alec looked at his map and frowned. “I don’t think so. But if it makes you feel any better, there’s a library around the halfway point. After the lab, the library’s got to be your second-most favorite place in the world.”

  She rolled her eyes at him.

  “What? It’s true, isn’t it?” he teased.

  “You’re probably right,” she relented. “While we’re there, I’ll see if they have any interesting medical texts that will help with my serum. You can find a refresher on police protocol for dealing with an epidemic, the likes of which the world has never seen.”

  “Deal,” he said, a big grin on his face. “I’m going to be the best bodyguard you’ve ever had.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “What’s it going to be tonight?” Thomas asked Melissa as he searched the kitchen cupboards. “Do you want another mug of soup, or would you like a delicious can of spaghetti?”

  She grinned. “I’m pretty hungry, so I’m going to order the famous spaghetti. Are there meatballs included?”

  “You bet.”

  “And Parmesan cheese?”

  “Nope,” Thomas said, sliding the slop from the can to the pot. “Botulism, maybe, but definitely not cheese.”

  He was glad to see her appetite return. For Thomas, that was always a sign of recovery. The extra calories would help get her strength back so if necessary, they could fight on their own. Thomas didn’t want to be reliant on Alec and Elaina for protection.

  He set the pot over a makeshift camp stove he’d created inside the cottage. He was worried about building a fire outside in the dark where the infected could see it, so he collected candles from around the cabin and used the tiny flames to warm the food.

  Thomas and Melissa sat together in candlelight, eating their canned noodles. It was the closest thing Thomas had ever had to a date.

  “I found a deck of cards while you were preparing the water for my wound cleaning,” Me
lissa mentioned between bites. “I thought we could play a game after supper.”

  “Awesome,” Thomas replied. “What games do you know?”

  “Well,” she thought, “I’m pretty good at Solitaire, but that’s not really an option with the two of us. “I know how to play Pitch, but that’s for larger groups. The only game I know how to play that’s for two players is War.”

  “That will work.” He chuckled, clearing the dirty dishes and setting them on the counter. He hoped they wouldn’t be at the cottage long enough to have to worry about washing dishes to reuse again.

  They sat quietly, methodically flipping cards to the center of the table and quickly swiping the winning matches with a quick sweep. The mundane game did little to entertain, and Thomas desperately wanted to solve one mystery of Melissa’s illness.

  “Can I ask you something?” he said, breaking silence.

  “Sure,” Melissa said, flipping a new card over in the deck.

  “While you were unconscious, you were saying a name over and over again—Samuel. Is he—was he—your boyfriend?”

  Her eyes opened wide and then squinted as she cringed. “I didn’t realize I was talking in my sleep. Did I say anything else?”

  “Not really. You just said his name a lot.”

  She set her cards down on the table. “He’s definitely not a boyfriend. Samuel is—was—my brother. He contracted the virus and died.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Thomas said. He was mentally kicking himself for bringing up bad memories on what was a rather nice night between the two of them. “I shouldn’t have said anything,” he said quickly. “I was just curious.”

  “It’s fine,” she said. “Maybe this is my subconscious telling me that it’s time to talk about him. I think he was one of the first deaths in my area. Everybody was so busy freaking out about the virus that no one took the time to see how I was handling his death. We were pretty close, so it hit me particularly hard.”