The Rabid Mind Two

by Bruce Buckshot Hemming

  “Stay with me man, please, stay with me, don’t die, don’t die on me.” He said aggressively, as if he could scare the wound into clotting. Sam struggled to speak, as he stretched and stretched, making it harder still for Jet to keep the cloth in place, his skin was pale, as his life essence slowly flowed out of him and onto the cotton shirt, the ground around cover with blood. With one last heave, Sam breathed his last. Jet was crushed, Sam and Claire were the only two people he had left on earth in the way of family, hell, in the way of anything, losing him, in such a savage way, unable to even communicate last words to the ones his best friend, that was no way to lose someone. Beside him, Claire was sobbing uncontrollably, no one noticed Matt standing there, with a look of sincere sympathy plastered on his face. They must have really been close he thought. He looked at the sky, he hated having to do this next part. He noted their clear surprise when he spoke, in their grief, they must have forgotten he was there.

  “I really hate to break this up, and I’m sorry about your friend, but we have to move. A hive was chasing me earlier, they could show up anytime.”

  They didn’t answer him. Just kept staring at the dead body of their friend, so he spoke again.

  “Hey, guys, we really need to move., look, I have some blankets in the back, lets wrap up your friend in them and put him in the back, tomorrow we can give him a proper burial. I don’t presume to know what he was like or how he thought, but, I don’t think he would want you guys getting hurt on his account.” He urged, squatting beside the duo. That got through to them. Jet got up and walked towards Matt’s truck, he retrieved the blankets and returned to Matt and Claire, together, he and Matt wrapped Sam up in the blankets and picking him up, placed him in the back. Without a word spoken they walked to their car to retrieve their pack and Sam’s, putting all that in the back of the truck.

  Jet said. “What is the plan? And who the hell are you?”

  “Names Matt and the plan is surviving this nightmare.”

  “Jet and Claire. Our friends name was Sam he has been with us from the beginning.”

  Get in, let’s get back to our place and hide.”

  ***

  Jethro ‘Jet’ Simmons looked at his friend lying in the hole they’d dug in the woods. They’d cleaned the wound and rinsed it off, but the gash and teeth mark were very apparent on his neck. He looked calm, peaceful, finally rid of the madhouse the world had become. Sam and Jet had been friends from childhood, they’d been neighbors. Prior to the time, Sam moved into the house next door to Jet’s. Jet had been sort of a loner, a lone wolf of sorts, and he always managed to get into a lot of fights at school. Martha Simmons had been worried for her son. That is, until the new neighbors moved in. She’d been delighted to see that Edgar and Janice Philips had a boy her son’s age, and was even more delighted when the two boys started hanging out.

  Samuel “Sam” Philips was the exact opposite of Jet, and perhaps, some speculated, that is the very reason, the two of them were so good for each other. They balanced each other out. Jet’s principal office visits lessened considerably when Sam started attending the same school with him.

  Jet remembered hunting trips with Sam and his father, as only children, the concept of sibling rivalry was alien to the boys, but as was normal, a friendly rivalry would always kick off on those trips, and that fostered a bond between the two boys. Both boys finished top of their classes in high school, and they got into the same college, and were roommates. Fate, in its usual twisted sense of humor made it so, when it came to keeping girlfriends, the boys were again different, but not in the way one would think. While Sam was a ladies man, couldn’t stick with one girl for long and would name off the most ridiculous reasons why he and a girl were not compatible. Each excuse more ridiculous than the last, Jet, although, also a ladies man, was into the serious relationship game and soon found Claire and they’d fallen hard for each other. All was beautiful, until the virus hit and brought along with it, the shit-storm they all were facing today.

  Both their families had been killed during the riots while they’d been stuck in the University on lock down. Having enough of that nonsense they took off one day racing home to help protect their families. They were too late, everyone was dead or missing. Claire had suffered a similar fate. She’d gotten home to find her parents and siblings had been infected. She’d barely escaped in time when the bloodlust manifested. Called Jet and together with Sam, united in their grief, they set out and had been on the road ever since, learning to survive on sheer wit and will, and looking out for each other always.

  Thinking of all that now, Jet couldn’t help but think he’d failed his friend. That tiny voice of reason told him it was not his fault, and there was nothing he could have done, but the louder, more aggressive, voice of guilt, of self-blame, told him otherwise. He looked over at Claire as she dropped a handful of sand onto the body, she was all he had left now, and he’d do anything and everything in his power to protect her, he couldn’t afford to lose anyone else. His gaze turned to Matt and Sandra, who stood a little to the side, as if acknowledging the fact that they didn’t know him well enough, and giving his friends some form of alone time with him. They seemed like nice people, Matt had even saved them. For a spilt second he wanted to die next to his friend. But Claire needed him to stand up and fight. His mind flashed back to an encounter they’d had in Kansas, a “family” stranded on the road they’d stopped to help, the bastards had used a kid as bait.

  They had been hiking for a while, with meagre supplies they’d picked up. The world was still freshly shitty, and they were still coming to terms with the decay, both moral, economical and the likes. They’d happened on a little boy crying, he’d told them his family was stranded and had been in an accident. Jet almost laughed as he recalled now how Sam had been sceptical, thinking it unlikely the boy’s mother would let him out of her sight, but at the behest of Claire, who’d been taken by the boy, Jet had convinced Sam.

  They’d been led to a clearing, two girls and three boys in their teens had ambushed them, brandishing crude weapons. If not for Sam’s quick thinking, they’d have been looted, and probably killed. Sam had suddenly began screaming in exaggerated rage much like that exhibited by the infected, and Jet, seeing where he was going, had run towards Claire shouting about how “the wound was starting to take effect” and how they “had to get out of there before the bloodlust took over”. It had worked, the teenagers had taken to their heels when Sam had charged them. He remembered how they’d laughed back then, Claire had been unaware of the impromptu scheme and her real fright had sold it.

  Jet stooped to his haunches at the mouth of the grave, scooped up some sand and tossed it on his friend, a final goodbye with a little prayer expressing wish to “meet again someday”.

  Sandra looked at the duo of Jet and Claire seated together, and her heart went out to them. Jet had his arm around her, and she sobbed into his chest. They must have been really close, she thought, and her mind went to her father and Debbie, please don’t make me grieve this way she thought come back to us soon.

  ***

  “I don’t think I can get this, I’m just not strong enough.” Debbie said. The crossbows were fun to shoot but her arms were not up to reloading and pulling back the 175-pound draw weight.

  “Old woman,” he quipped, and they laughed.

  “You two bicker like a married couple sometimes.” Shannon said, after making three perfect shots.

  “Show off” Jim said.

  “Please Shannon, you’re sure Ernest and the others will return today, right?” Debbie asked. This was their second day at the fort, and fourth day away from Matt and Sandra, Debbie was anxious to get the information and locate her children as quickly as possible.

  “Yeah, his team radioed in that they’d be coming today. They should be here around noon.” Shannon answered.

  “Sure would be nice to have some radios back at our
place Deb, don’t you think?” Jim pointed out as they headed to the cabin to rest for a while.

  Ernest and the rest of the team arrived a few minutes past four in the evening. Shannon came in and told Jim and Debbie that the team had radioed in their arrival, and she went out to greet them. Everyone was outside as the team had said that they had a huge load to carry to the store.

  The gates were opened after the password was verified, and the team was allowed in, they dropped one man close to the gate, and drove inside. As the truck passed, Shannon’s face darkened, something was wrong, something seemed off. Did that blanket just move? She had no time to reconcile her thoughts as the truck immediately accelerated and halted in front of the storehouse blocking the entry. Six heavily armed men jumped out and started firing.

  ***

  “Woman, you’ve been yammering about wanting to meet this Ernest character, well he’s here, and, I hear, with a large bag of supplies, wake up, let’s go meet ‘em, you…”

  Jim stopped short, what were those? Gunshots? He heard the sound again, and ducked, Debbie was up instantly, and squat beside him.

  “What’s happening Jim?” she asked in a hush.

  “I don’t know, but those were gunshots for sure, either some weird welcoming ritual, or they’re under attack.” Jim said, staring at the door, watching in case it opened.

  “What do we do?” she asked, as more gunshots were fired.

  Reaching up for his gun, only 5 shots left, they should have made the trip to the CRV and restocked on ammo. “I don’t know yet, but you wait here.” He said and inched towards the main door, he opened it a little, and peered out a bit. What he saw broke his heart.

  ***

  The fight didn’t last long. The man they dropped at the gate, took out the guards. The guards who’d come down to help still had their weapons, they were now the only ones who’d been shot. They now lay dead, all three of them. Wait three? Shannon thought, Marcus! She hid her smile as they pushed her to her knees, paranoid s.o.b. Hurray for paranoia. Then, what about Jim and Debbie? And the General?

  As if reading her thoughts, a voice rang out.

  “Check the cabins, get me anyone who might be in there, most importantly, get me the General.

  The General slept once each day, and only once, precisely at 2 p.m., he took a four hour sleep and woke up at precisely 6 p.m. and stayed up till 2 p.m. the next day. A retired, decorated Marine, his training had never really left him. He didn’t feel comfortable closing his eyes for so long, but his body demanded it if he was to perform his duties efficiently. He took the people as his family, after the terrible loss he’d suffered, just as most of them had, they were the only family he had left, and his dedication to them was only rivalled by his wrath towards any potential threat.

  Gaius McFoy and his Wife, Mira did not know what to make of the tragedy that stood before them. His kid, and grand kids were in the house, the house that was now on fire, emitting black smoke that seemed aimed at blotting out the sun, the same house they’d celebrated thanksgiving just the year before. The same house they’d left that morning, intact. The raiders had taken everything, and then set the house on fire. He’d been out, Mira needed her insulin so he’d taken her out to check hospitals and drug stores for any one that hadn’t already been swiped by looters. If only they’d found some sooner, maybe, just maybe they’d have been home, then at the very least he’d have been able to say goodbye to his family the right way. The raiders were nowhere to be found of course, having taken off like rats back to whatever hole they’d crawled out from with their stolen loot. That was a year ago now, and Mira had passed away last winter, her insulin had finally run out, the pain of that loss increased the General’s determination to not let anybody in his care, come to any harm.

  Now he dreamed about the fire, although, he didn’t quite remember there being gunshots. Who was shooting? The raiders have gone, or haven’t they? Yes, they burned the house, and absconded with all their supplies. That’s what had happened. Look, there was Mira beside him crying. Where the fuck were the gunshots coming from?

  The General woke with a start, instantly on edge, that was definitely gunfire, but it had stopped now. Shit! He really hated being caught off guard, he reached for his gun just as the door to his room burst open, two men rushed in, he grabbed his gun, but the first man was fast, and kicked it out of his hand, and before the General still a bit groggy from sleep could react, he received a punch and was sent sprawling on his back. That woke him totally. He was up instantly with an agility that belied his age and parried the next attack, countering with a jaw cracking blow to his assailant’s face, the man went down like a sack of potatoes, then he felt the muzzle of a gun on his head.

  “Please give me a reason to use this, I beg you.” The raider whispered savagely in his ear.

  He raised his hands and surrendered. It was way better after all, to live, to fight another day.

  ***

  Fuck, I knew it. Damn!! No one would listen to me and now look what’s happened Marcus thought as he stared down at the siege that was being laid to his home Bastards have taken everyone prisoner, my family, at the hands of raiders, again. Shit! I won’t stand idly by, never, not this time. You can’t have them. I must do something. With that final thought, he quietly climbed down the tree, and keeping low using the brush for cover he worked his way to the fence. He couldn’t go in through the main gate, suicide would be an understatement, but he knew another way, he had another way in. He had to save them all. And those two scouts the raiders sent? They must be made to pay.

  ***

  “Back, go back.” Jim urged. “They’re coming, crawl out to that window over there, I’m behind you.” They heard the head raider’s command to search the cabins. One of the men was heading towards their cabin. He had to act fast. He went over to her and hoisted her up, helping her out the window, then he sent her gun and his after her, and hoisted himself up, clearing the window just as the door to the cabin opened.

  “What do we do now?” Debbie asked.

  “I don’t know, but we should get out of the open. Keep your head down, let’s head towards the water processing shed, we need to get to the farm, there was a small shed there, we need to make plans on how to save those people.”

  With that, keeping their heads down, they went past the back of the mess hall, past the kitchen shed, and towards the water processing setup, the farm gate was just a few paces away from it. They were almost at the water processing setup shed when they heard footsteps approaching. Laying down in the brush they waited.

  “Nice setup, these people weren’t fooling around. We’ve found paradise,” an unpleasant voice said, and it was followed by loud slurping sounds as he noisily drank some water.

  “That’s the stuff.”

  They waited as they heard him walk away. Using the brush for cover, working farther back Jim froze. The farm gate was opened?

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Fight or flight.

  Amos Keane looked at the people kneeling before him, a sound came from behind him and he turned to see the General being led towards him. The man struck the General behind the head, forcing him to his knees in the process. Amos couldn’t help but scoff, the high and mighty General, kneeling before him. The search ended, and all the men reported in the negative, he addressed his captives.

  “Hello all. Good evening. My name is Amos Keane. Now I know some of you are grossly inexperienced in the fine art of captor captive communication, but here’s how it works. I talk, you don’t, not unless you’re spoken to.”

  Then he directed his men to the back of the truck, and two of them went there, and threw back the blankets, two men were tied underneath them, they were Ernest and Richard, all that was left of the team. The men took them down and dumped them with the huddle.

  “I’m sorry sir, he’d already killed Jack and Eddy, he would have killed Ernest,
I had to tell him.” Richard whispered, grimacing with pain.

  “It’s alright son. You did what you had to do” The General said, staring stoically ahead, his mind trying to come up with a plan to be rid of his binds and retake their home.

  “Didn’t I just say no talking? Don’t make me make an example out of one of you.” Amos said, looking round and seeing nothing but silent hate, he continued.

  “We intended to just come here and take all your stuff, but seeing as you guys have such an extensive store, even if we pack ‘em into the two truck. We would have to make several trips better to just stay here. I don’t very much like living in the woods. Don’t try anything stupid, no one has to get hurt. No one else at least.” He concluded sniggering as he looked at the bodies on the ground. Then a look of disgust washed over his face, and he motioned for his men to discard of the bodies. The third cabin was emptied of supplies and used as a makeshift prison for them, and a guard was posted at the door.

  ***

  Nobody ever listened to him. Just paranoid right? Just a bitter, paranoid, raider hating person. Now look where it’s got them Marcus thought, as he circled the compound. His rifle was fully loaded, and he always carried three extra magazines with him, he felt their weight even now on the belt he wore round his waist, as well as the machete he had sheathed and strapped to his back. He got to the farm gate, once in, he would try to get some more guns and magazines from the armory and then, he would try and free his friends. Any guard he encountered would die for sure. Icing on the cake as far as he was concerned, damn raiders. He knew the first part of the mission would need stealth, he’d have to be as silent as possible. The element of surprise was all he had going for him. With a short prayer that no one was guarding it, he opened the farm gate.

  He couldn’t believe his eyes. Jim and Debbie stood before him, frozen in shock. The bastards! After selling us off they’re now coming to guard the farm gate? He thought flashed through his mind, as hot rage eroded reason and he dove towards Jim and wrestled him to the ground. Debbie covered her mouth to stifle her scream, the two men rolled on the ground as they tried to get the upper hand, eventually, Jim managed to get on top of him and he pointed his gun at his face.