Darkness Falls (Book 1): Rise of the Fallen

by Francis, Martin W.

  Our party arrived a few blocks away from their location at the Dollar Bookstore in a short period of time. From our vantage point we saw that there were countless numbers of infected packed around the building. Masses were pushing against each other to get inside the front entrance that had been broken into. Several attacked each other in frustration of not being able to get closer. Using my binoculars I checked the roof. Two boys and a girl were waving their arms while looking in our direction.

  “Looks like three teenagers. They are safe on the roof unless the Fallen recall they were able to climb ladders before they were infected. If any of the smart ones are around that is always a possibility since their memories and learning curve is unpredictable. We need to figure out a plan. Going straight in guns blazing is obviously not going to work.”

  Everyone stood around for several minutes thinking. Jessie was the first to come up with a strategy.

  “Two groups. One is a distraction to lure away as many as possible. Has to be something to get them really riled up. Something that drives their primal instincts to follow. The other group will be the rescue party.”

  “From what we have learned the last couple months they are attracted to light, sound, and whatever flesh they can feed off of.” I knew I was stating the obvious, but hoped it sparked some ideas among the group.

  Kurt suggested grenades and an arsenal of bullets. Dan suggested we set some of the buildings on fire. Sam said we should just use ourselves as bait. Jessie found the answer after hearing everyone else’s ideas.

  “Dan gave me an idea. Well kind of. We use a firetruck with the lights and siren blaring to lead them away. Plus those riding on the truck will technically be bait also. Just to make sure we can tie raw meat all over the thing with fishing line or paracord if you think it will help. Perhaps a few Molotov cocktails for the party.”

  “Best plan I’ve heard. Dan take your brothers and see if you can round up some meat from somewhere. If you can’t find any in the next fifteen minutes just head back here. Jerod and Amy stay here and keep an eye on things. Jessie you’re with me. Let’s go get a firetruck.”

  I knew there was a firehouse about five blocks away. Inside we found a few Fallen lingering about in off duty fireman attire. Quickly putting them down, we got the main garage door open before hoping into the firetruck. It did not take long for Jessie to figure out how to operate the vehicle. We arrived back at the bookstore before Dan’s group which wasn’t far behind. The brothers were carrying smelly thawed hamburger meat, large chunks of brisket, and a case of bottled beer they found at a fast food joint not far away. After prepping the truck I decided Jerod and I would be the recuse team. The rest could lure the Fallen away in the firetruck. Jessie wasn’t thrilled to not be joining us on the rescue party but operating the truck was more complicated than the rest could quickly learn. Turning the truck around and backing up as close as she felt was safe the smell of the meat attracted several of the Fallen. Jessie flipped on the lights and siren which got the attention of the majority that hadn’t noticed them yet. They hurriedly moved towards the firetruck. Several got close enough to actually yank on a few of the chunks of meat before she began driving forward at a slow pace. Every time the Fallen caught up she sped up a little while slowly leading them away. Kurt and Sam began throwing homemade Molotov cocktails once they were a couple block away. Dan was shooting the ones that got to close while giving Amy a few brotherly pointers at using the gun she was firing. Jerod and I made our way to the alley behind the electronic store. Once directly behind it I peeked through the fencing. I saw that there were about eight Fallen still lingering about near the ladder. I told Jerod who climbed up onto the roof of the truck. He took them out using a single shot for each one without missing. I jumped over the fence taking up guard position with an assault rifle. I knew Jerod would cover us if necessary. The teenagers hurried down the ladder. The boys climbed the fence effortlessly, but we had to assist the girl from both sides to get over it.

  Just as I made it over a large group had exited the electronic store making their way around to the alley. They started pushing on the fence just as I hopped into the truck. We took off flying down the alley. A few blocks away I used a walkie talkie to contact the others. I had told Jessie to turn the sirens off after a few minutes so they could listen for me. Dan answered saying they were having a blast but were out of ammunition. I told him to lose the firetruck before they ran out of fuel as well. I reminded him to make sure they are not followed and to meet back at my house.

  One of the boys in the back of the truck tapped on the glass. Jerod pulled over for a moment. I got out to find out what they were trying to get our attention for. On first inspection it appeared as if the three of them hadn’t eaten a decent meal or bathed in ages. Two of them were obviously siblings maybe even twins. They had an extremely white complexion like they didn’t see the light very often, sandy brown hair, and hazel eyes that seemed to change from blue to green depending on the angle. The other boy was of Asian descent, with black hair and brown eyes.

  The boy whose voice I recognized as David’s asked if we could stop by his place so they could grab some of their things. He said that Starlette and Michael had been staying at his place for a while now. I told him that we most definitely could if he had an address for us to head to. He gave me an address which I memorized before hoping back into the passenger side of the truck. At David’s house they gathered a few bags that were tossed into the back of the truck before heading off to my cabin. Back at my place the others did not return for another thirty minutes.

  “Sorry ditching the firetruck wasn’t a problem. However hoofing it back from a distance to our vehicles and then making sure we were not followed took a while. It was also a bit of a challenge with Fallen hanging about here and there,” Dan said.

  “Glad you all made it back safely. Everyone this is David, Starlette, and Michael.”

  Introductions and conversation lasted a while. Turned out that Michael and Starlette were in fact twins. Both were seventeen being born an hour apart. David was barely a year older than the other two. The three of them had all gone to high school together. We had a large dinner to make sure our guests ate all they could. Afterwards we let them pick one of the three cabins that were left since they were already used to living together. Jared showed them how to pump water from the well so they could fill a tub to take a bath. Everyone brought supplies to share with the new group so they would feel more comfortable and be more self-reliant. I eventually had to send the others on their way since it had been a long day. I left last telling them to get some rest.

  -2-

  Things went smoothly as they possible could for the next couple weeks without incidents involving the Fallen. Over that time we became a little closer with the new members of the group. We chose a day out of the month to get together to discuss situations on the home front. Suggestions, problems, and needs were a few of the many topics held at these meetings. Since I did not want to be the sole appointed leader I suggested that we use the old system of voting on anything that we did not agree on as a whole. The others still looked to me regardless or occasionally Jessie for guidance in all manner of things. Delegating responsibilities for everyone had never been an issue until the arrival of our new guests. Michael was a major slacker and hardly ever reliable. Starlette was reliable as far as showing up for whatever she was assigned to, but had a bad knack of daydreaming. David was the only completely responsible one. It became clear that he was the only reason the other two had survived as long as they had. David’s only somewhat problem was that he often was obsessed with technological gadgets and electronics which was why they had gotten into the situation at Alluring Gadgets.

  Our days without direct issues came to an abrupt halt on the night I assigned Michael to tag along with Sam for guard duty. Getting him to realize why it was something everyone had to do was the first problem. Then he didn’t show up like he was supposed to once again for an assignment. Knocking on th
eir cabin door Starlette let me inside. I found him lying on his bed playing a video game on a hand held device. I grabbed the game out of his hand throwing it at the wall hard enough to break into several pieces.

  “Hey man, what do you think you’re doing? You can’t just barge in here breaking my things. What the hell is your problem?”

  “My problem is you! You’re always neglecting anything we ask you to do. I realize we are not your parents. However we did save your ass, provide for you, and have all put up with your whiny excuses up until now. Instead of being where you’re supposed to be I come in finding you playing a damn video game. If you’re just going to be a worthless pathetic punk that doesn’t give a rat’s ass about anyone else then you have two choices. The first being I throw you out of the community to fend for yourself where you are not likely to survive a week. You’ll either learn the hard way to get your act together or die. Luckily for you I have already chosen the second option which is to straighten you out myself by whatever means are necessary.”

  Michael glared at me half in disbelief and half out of anger. Starlette and David watching and listening to everything that transpired stood nearby without saying a word.

  “Whatever man, screw you. You can’t force me to do anything.”

  His words did not upset me as they might have another. I simply shook my head at him in disappointment for not comprehending what I had just told him. A minute later he found himself being dragged out of his bed by the ear. He yelled and elbowed me in the chest to which I twisted his arm behind his back escorting him out the front door. Outside I gave him a little push away from me.

  “Well apparently I can force you to do something you don’t want to do. You can try to take a swing at me now if you think your man enough. Otherwise, you can hit the road or get in the truck.”

  “Fine! I’ll go do your stupid guard duty crap.”

  His expression and voice held anger but were overpowered by fear. He knew I was serious about making him leave to fend for himself if he didn’t comply. His choices were limited to only the one option whether he was thinking rationally or not.

  The following day I went to see Sam to see if he had any problems with Michael last night. He told me that he actually did not. Apparently Michael did do a lot of talking and had opened up to Sam about a number of things. Sam commenced to tell me Michael had conferred the fact that both parents had gotten sick from the Black Death epidemic. Their father took a shotgun killing their mother before blowing his own brains out. Michael was the one that found them. Both Michael and Starlette were coping in different ways with what had happened. Since then they both have had to face many other horrors to survive. Apparently Michael shuts down because he doesn’t want to face reality. Starlette daydreams about how things used to be. Michael was pretty upset at first with me according to Sam until he explained why I had no choice in the matter. He told Michael everything that I have done to build the community, how I have helped everyone here, and many of the hardships we have each had to endure including the loss of my own wife. He explained that I was not trying to be a jerk only that it was important to me that everyone here could count on him. He asked him if he were in my shoes what he would have done if the roles were reversed. Michael still suggested that I should have went about it another way but dropped the topic letting it go. He promised to Sam that he would try to do his best while finding another means of coping with the loss of his parents.

  The fact that the two of them had bonded was great news. Almost as much as the fact that Michael was going to contribute from now on. I did feel a little bad about not handling things differently instead of just going with the spur of the moment. If I had known all the details I likely would have found an alternative method. Regardless things worked out as they should have. Now the only concern was finding a way to help Starlette through the healing process. I entrusted this issue with Amy and Jessie in the hopes that they could handle the task easier than the rest of us being the gender gap often holds matters that the male species can’t even begin to comprehend.

  I had Jerod begin to teach the boys how to use guns. Kurt gave them lessons on basic survival that he had learned from his father on multiple hunting and camping trips. I personally checked in on them giving them compliments when they accomplished new tasks or did something worth appraisal.

  A few weeks later Michael was on the roster to go out on guard duty again. This time he was scheduled to go out with Amy. I was not excited about the pairing simply because they were obviously the weakest in the group handling intense situations that might possibly arise. However everyone else was overworked and needed a break.

  Around three in the morning I was woke up by a loud insistent knocking at the front door. Still fully dressed I grabbed my holstered pistol from the nightstand attaching it to my belt. At the door I peered through the peephole seeing Jerod who I realized was supposed to be monitoring the radio tonight at headquarters. I unbolted the door pulling it open hastily.

  “Patrol is in trouble. We have to go now!”

  Half-awake I jumped into Jerod’s truck with him. “What happened?”

  “Not exactly positive. Amy called in frantic. I could barely understand what she was saying.”

  “We better stop by Jessie’s house. She would be pissed if we didn’t. Wouldn’t hurt to have the back-up.”

  Jerod sped up arriving at Jessie’s at a fast pace. I went in the house by myself having a spare key that they had given me. I found her sleeping in bed. Making my best effort to stay calm I woke her up with a kiss.

  “Rye? First time you have shown up without both of us home. Not that I mind of course.”

  “Glad to hear. As much as I would love to climb in bed with you beautiful, I actually need you to get dressed.”

  “Huh? Wait what’s happened? Oh god, Amy’s on patrol. Did something…”

  “Please try to stay calm. We don’t know what happened. That’s what we need to go find out.”

  She jumped out of bed wearing only a pair of black silk panties hurrying over to the dresser in the dark. It had taken several minutes for my night vision to really kick in. She didn’t seem to have any problems getting adjusting to the dark. She was dressed in under two minutes. Grabbing my hand we exited the house piling into the truck. She held my hand the entire drive obviously worried sick that something bad had happened to Amy. It was only a couple miles from the neighborhood to their location. It was one of the few things Jerod had been able to comprehend after asking several times. Amy’s Beetle was parked in front of a small pharmacy. There was a blood streak on the door handle. Glancing inside the car we saw there was quite a lot of blood on the interior passenger side. All of us were a bit frantic at this point. Jerod reminded us that we needed to do our best to stay calm. We entered with flashlights and weapons ready. The glow of a lantern came from the left side of the building. The sound of crying followed by Amy’s voice in a low soft pitch came from the same direction.

  “Amy we’re here. Heading your way. Don’t shoot!” Jessie emphasized the last part making sure that Amy didn’t accidentally discharge her gun being as hysterical as she sounded.

  There was no response other than more crying. We neared the lantern finding Amy cradling Michael in her lap with tears streaming down her face. She was rocking him while talking to him in a low sobbing voice. Jessie had to help me physically separate her from Michael. Amy commenced to tightly wrapping her arms around Jessie breaking down into louder weeping. Jessie did her best to calm her down. I gently laid Michael’s head down on the floor sitting with him while holding his hand to give him comfort. A bloody bandage was wrapped around his throat. He looked up at me seemingly past the point where the pain bothered him.

  “I contributed…protected.” He coughed up blood. A few tears rolled down his cheek.

  “Don’t talk Michael. I’m proud of you for protecting Amy. Thank you.” I looked away for a moment to wipe away my own tears. “Twenty years from now we will all be telling s
tories to others about how heroic you were.”

  “Star…”

  “Don’t worry about your sister. I promise we will all look out for her. She will never want for anything. I will protect her giving my own life before I let her be harmed in any way.”

  Michael squeezed my hand tightly. “Thank you.” After those two words I saw a pale blue glow before he closed his eyes. He started to have what seemed like a small seizure, but I knew exactly what was happening. I looked at Jerod gesturing for him to swiftly take the women outside. Putting his hand on Jessie’s shoulder she glanced over at me. Together they led Amy to the front door. Just as they exited Michael stopped shaking going completely limp. I stepped away from him a few feet. Aiming my pistol carefully I pulled the trigger. Searching the store I found a blanket someone had left behind in the manager’s office. I wrapped Michael’s body caring it to the back of the truck.

  “We’re leaving the car behind. Let’s get back home.”

  We dropped the women off at their cabin then headed over to break the news to Starlette and David. I had to knock on the door for a while to wake them up. It was difficult to find the right words but eventually told them about the conversation I had with Michael at the end. I gave them my condolences promising he would have a proper burial. At first Starlette stood there in disbelief which was eventually followed by crying when the realization sunk in of what I was telling them. She thrust her fists against my chest repeatedly saying no. I grabbed a hold of her pulling her into a hug. I told her I was sorry while she wept for a long period. Jessie walked over from her house taking over with the comforting. I began to leave with Jerod but she motioned for me to wait on her. I told Jerod to go ahead without me. He left after making sure there was nothing else we needed. I quietly told him to leave the body in the back of the truck until later this morning. Fifteen minutes later Jessie came out of the cabin. Walking back to her place she told me that she had given both Amy and Starlette a mild sedative to help them sleep. She said that David had silently moved a chair into Starlette’s room where he was planning to watch over her until she woke up. Back at their cabin Jessie asked me to stay the night. We sat on the couch in the living room talking until she became tired. I held her in my arms once she curled up against me. Somehow we both managed to fall asleep.