The Rabid Mind Two

by Bruce Buckshot Hemming

  In those moments, as he lay there, being eaten, being drawn into the inevitable darkness of death. He experienced what one might refer to, as a brief, moment of lucidity. One where he suddenly could perceive his actions as one of those he referred to as ‘unbelievers’ might have. The deep, seemingly unending pain at the realization that he could have been wrong all along, that he was indeed as crazy as everyone had said he was. It weighed down on his slowly dying mind, and caused a pain, that far outweighed that of the infected biting away at him. Before he died the voices came back, filling his head with accolades for his excellent service.

  With a smile, he closed his eyes, and drifted off into the unending sleep.

  ***

  They all heard the gunshot from the church area. The raider turned looking toward the church, and Matt shot him dead.

  “Go get the truck, I’ll be right behind you.” He yelled at Sandra, who immediately ran towards the house, fishing the keys out of her pocket. Matt ran over and grabbed the man’s rifle and ammo pouch.

  A few minutes later, both were on their way out of town.

  The town now lay silent. Its only living occupant, the infected, slowly fed on the now dead members of the apocalypse cult. The same people who’d seen it as a holy messenger, sent to them, one out of many others. The same people who would have been proud to take its blood, and become just like it. The powerful message brings the world to its end faster. Its shoulder wound slowly bled as it fed, and it would soon feel a little lightheaded. The bleeding shoulder notwithstanding though, it fed on, barely acknowledging the slow but steady weakness that was slowly overtaking it. A lone guest at an accidental feast unlike any other, it fed on, tearing through the members.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Ambush.

  Her kids were okay. Finally. She could see them. God bless this Ty fellow. She watched them walk towards her, barely able to contain her excitement. She looked beside her, Jim stood there, with a big smile on his face, Matt and Sandra stood off to her left. They all had big smiles on their faces. The day had finally come. After the hitherto fruitless pursuit. They’d finally found her kids. If only they’d walk faster, she couldn’t wait for them to get to her. It occurred to her that she could just simply walk over to them, but for some reason, she couldn’t. Never mind. She would wait. What’s a few more seconds compared to almost two years? Her daughter’s long hair ruffled in the breeze as the trio of Tyler, Billy and Annabelle walked towards her. Annabelle had her favorite doll clutched to her chest. Mr. Snuggles was his name? Funny, she couldn’t remember her having that toy when the state had taken them? No, that was even wrong. The toy had been destroyed a while ago, when Annabelle had only been 6, it had accidentally fallen down while they were taking a walk and a car had run over it. Yes. That’s what happened. So why was she with the doll? Maybe it was a new one though. These companies tended to rebrand and remake old toy lines every few years. Churning out the same thing in prettier packaging. She looked down as Jim held her hand, “anytime now” he said, smiling.

  All the while the children had been coming, she hadn’t really spotted their face, or that of their temporary guardian.

  Now she did. She gasped. Their eyes were bloodshot, and they were frothing at the mouth.

  No.

  The solitary word escaped her lips, and suddenly, Jim and the rest were no longer with her. She was alone, with the children. The children who, by the looks of it, were now infected with the virus. She’d failed them. She’d tried her best not to, but still, she had. She had failed them.

  What would Phil think?

  Just then, as if in answer, a fourth figure walked out of the shadows into their midst. When she saw him, she gasped.

  Phil.

  He looked as he had the day he’d been shot. That same shirt, and those same pants. Even the shoes were the same. As she looked, to her horror, the wound that had taken his life slowly appeared, bleeding afresh, just as it had on that day. She was horrified. He had a scowl on his face, and took a look at the kids. Then at her.

  Now he looked sad. Oh no! She’d failed him too. She’d failed all of them. He opened his mouth as if to say something. But he just shook his head turning away, he walked off back into the shadows, disappearing from her line of sight as she watched.

  “We’ve missed you Mommy.” Her children said simultaneously.

  “Let us show you how much we’ve missed you.” They said, and took off running for her.

  She jerked awake with a scream. A dream. God, it had been a dream. She cried now, the memory of the horrifying nightmare still fresh in her mind. Had she really failed her husband? What about her kids? How could she be sure they were safe? What if this had all just been a wild goose chase? What if. What if.

  She hated what-ifs.

  ***

  Claire listened in horror as they thing pounded on the door. Shooting inside should help muffle the noise she thought. Placing the gun barrel on the door should absorb the sound. That thing was beating harder on the door. It must have night vision to have seen me. She edged over to the door and put the gun barrel up. He was hitting the door so hard it caused the gun to jump around. Putting her weight against it to steady the gun she pulled the trigger. Pfft. The thing fell over. Shit, it worked, she thought. I should tell the others.

  A hand smash through the tiny window at the top of the door. Dammit, the second one. It reached in grabbing her arm trying to pull her out. Its head appeared greasy dirty hair and the smell was overwhelming like a rat from the sewer. She wanted to vomit but stopped the rise in her throat. Pointing the gun up she pulled the trigger. Its head jerked back by the impact of the bullet and she saw a chuck of skull and brain exit out the back. Its hand reacted by opening as it fell. She heard the shrieking down the street as the other heard the gunshot and came running toward the sound.

  She dropped to the floor crying. Hell has found me, she thought. Soon more and more would be beating on the door. What to do? In her panic state, she got up and stumbled in the dark. No lights, no lights, maybe they won’t figure out what house the sound came from. The sound of running feet on the pavement was growing closer. What to do, hide? Start shooting them? What would Jet do? Taking a quick glance out the window, she saw the infected charge the house across the street. The sound echo from the house. They had not seen the two dead ones on the porch. Maybe she could get lucky. She sat down on the chair facing the window and watched, covering herself with a blanket.

  They were beating on the door on the house across the street. She watched their numbers grow. Five, became fifteen, fifteen became thirty. Don’t move, don’t even breath. The door cracked and spilt into pieces. They charged in. She could hear their frustrated screams and the fighting among themselves. Like animals tearing the house apart trying to find a victim to feast on.

  A few walked outside. Wandering off. She fell asleep in the chair. Waking just before dawn she saw them go into the house again. It was their new den for the day. Oh great, the moment someone returns they will be out of the house and on them. What she would give for a working cell phone. Claire thought, what to do? Come on brain, think? Sneak out the back of the house and go down the street and wait for them to return. But Matt said stay in the house and protect the supplies.

  What about a white sheet, hang it on the fence? At least it would be warning? But what if they don’t return today and the infected see her, they will start a new attack on the house tonight. Thirty infected. Could she kill enough of them to keep them out of the house? Thirty infected. God Matt where the hell are you? Jim and Debbie come on I need help. Three of us shooting could handle this.

  ***

  That night Sandra and Matt drove for an hour and parked in a rest stop. They climbed into the same truck, locked up, and slept. Too dangerous to travel at night. If they ran into a hive of five hundred like Jim and Debbie had, they would be dead. At daybreak Matt broke out the
propane stove and made coffee and cream of wheat for breakfast. Sandra got out of the truck and walked over to the picnic table. Matt handed her a cup of coffee.

  “What kind of screw up cult was that? Infecting their own people and sending them out. My God those crazy parents infecting their own daughter. Their own daughter, for Christ sakes. How the hell do you get that screwed up in the head? Their own daughter.” Sandra said.

  “The leader thought God was talking to him directly. How he convinced all those other people to join and stay with them is the part I will never understand.”

  “What kind of whacked out woman allows her husband to do that to their own daughter? Their little princess, their baby girl?”

  “Thank God they won’t be infecting anymore. My only regret was not killing the leader before we left.”

  “I don’t believe anyone survived that beast. He was huge.”

  “Eat up, time to get back to our castle. Wonder how Claire is making out. I didn’t like leaving her alone.”

  “I’m sure she is fine. No crazy cult there trying to feed her to the infected. Only we get that honor. Those two guys were part of the gang that ran you off the road and killed Jet?”

  “I guess so. There must have been third vehicle, watching us.”

  “But why did they wait to attack us the second day?”

  “Who knows, some question will never be answered. Come on, finish up, let’s get moving.”

  “Why are you in such rush to get back to Claire?”

  “I really don’t want to spend another night sleeping in the truck. And I do believe we have enough excitement for a while how about you?”

  “Yea, I agree.”

  They clean up the dishes and headed out. Matt in the lead truck.

  ***

  Jim and Debbie had left the Brannon house at daybreak. They pulled over in a small town to add some gas. The CRV with all the extra weight was using more gas than Jim liked, but considering how safe they were it was minor inconvenience. He took his 12 gauge and stepped out. Debbie would add the gas as he stood guard.

  She finished the gas can off and put the cap back on. “We should get going, there’s…” Her speech was cut short as a sound came from a nearby store. A young lady came out, there was a man with her, and a baby. Jim was instantly on guard, and raised his gun to face them, as did Debbie.

  The couple saw them, and the man was instantly on guard, the woman just stood looking at the both of them, petrified. For a few minutes, nobody said anything as the face-off continued, each side sizing up the other. “We don’t want no trouble. You can have our things. We don’t mind, we have more in the car over there. Just don’t hurt us.” The man spoke.

  Debbie was about to lower her weapon when Jim said. “Remember Marcus.” He whispered, and she raised her weapon again, causing the couple to take a step backward. The woman was gently rocking from side to side.

  “How do we know you’re not raiders masquerading as parents so you can catch us off guard and take our supplies? That’s become the oldest trick in the book.” Jim said.

  Just then the baby started crying, and Jim faltered. He took a closer look at the couple. The woman was young, in her mid-20s probably, while the man was much older, almost in his 40s. He thought this was strange, but then the child let out another burst and he forgot that line of thought. The woman looked scared, she rocked harder from side to side now, trying to calm the wailing baby down, the man just looked flustered.

  “Is your baby okay ma’am?” Debbie said. The woman moved closer to the man, who put his arm around her in what looked like a protective gesture.

  “Is the baby okay? We don’t want to hurt you guys.” Debbie said again. She pointed her rifle toward the ground.

  “She…she’s fine.” The young woman started uncertainly.

  “You just scared her is all.” She said, pointing at Jim. Debbie turned to him with a scowl and he shrugged as if to say ‘sorry’.

  “It’s a girl?” Debbie asked, and the girl nodded, the man just watched, seemingly ready to defend his family at the slightest sign of an attack.

  “May I see her, please?” Debbie asked, and the girl turned uncertainly to her husband again. Debbie was surprised to note the fear in her eyes as she looked at him, and the stony gaze he focused on her. He nodded, and she showed the baby to Debbie.

  “She’s beautiful.” Debbie said. The baby had stopped crying now, and just looked at her curiously, she made a funny face and the baby laughed. The man had not moved from the woman’s side, with one arm still hidden behind her back.

  “May I hold her?” She asked, and the woman handed the baby to Debbie, who did a little dance with her and asked for her name.

  “It’s Chloe.” Came the timid reply.

  “That’s a beautiful name.” Debbie said, playing with the child, then she looked at the woman, who still looked scared.

  “Oh, don’t be scared. We’re not going to harm you.” She looked at the man, who just stared at her icily.

  Jim started towards the couple.

  Suddenly, the other man rolled his eyes and removed the hand that had been behind the woman the whole time, he held a gun, which he now pointed at Debbie. Jim trained his 12 gauge on his head.

  “Alright. I’ve grown tired of this charade. You are going to hand over the baby to this bitch. You are going to let us walk to our car, and you’re going to let us drive out of here. Understand?” The man asked, gun still trained on Debbie.

  Debbie now realized why the woman had looked so scared. It wasn’t because of them. It was because of her so called ‘husband’. She was his captive.

  The baby, still in Debbie’s arm crinkled up her nose in a look of distress, she looked like she was about to cry. Debbie held her close, and rocked from side to side trying to calm her down.

  “Way I see it, you’re out gunned. So why don’t you unhand that young girl, and I won’t have to kill you. We’ll call it even.” Jim said. The man scoffed.

  “Let’s see how fast you can kill me before I kill your bitch, and the baby she’s holding. I’ll fetch a good price for this one, baby or not.” He said, indicating the young girl as ‘this one’.

  So, that’s his game. He wants to sell her. Bastard. Jim thought.

  “You know I can’t do that. I can’t let you sell that girl. Human trafficking? Really? You really are scum, aren’t you?” Jim said.

  The man shrugged. “A man’s gotta make a living somehow. In case you hadn’t noticed, the world is ending.”

  “Why not scrounge for supplies like the rest of us? Why must you lose your soul just because the world is in chaos?” Debbie asked.

  “You ignorant bitch. Look around you. It’s all over, we take what we can, its survival of the fittest woman. Jungle law. No other way. Furthermore, I wasn’t made for scrounging honey. Now hand over the fucking baby, I’m tired of this chitchat.” He said, baring his teeth.

  Just then, the young lady stomped his feet, and as he instinctively bent down, she followed up with an elbow jab to his jaw, throwing his head backwards violently, he staggered back and she ran towards Debbie.

  “You little bitch.” The man screamed raising his gun. He didn’t get to complete the movement though, as Jim ripped his chest open with double ought buckshot from the 12 gauge. He collapsed in a pile on the ground as the woman hugged Debbie crying.

  “You’re fine now dear, you’re fine.” Debbie consoled her.

  The baby started crying then, her cries drowning out the tears from her mother. Debbie handed her some water.

  The young woman sipped her water disinterestedly, keeping her daughter close to her chest. The little girl had fallen asleep not too long ago, and she didn’t want to disturb her. She looked over at Debbie and Jim as they talked, no doubt about her. She still didn’t trust them. They could be every bit as evil as the first man w
ho took her, for all she knew. She couldn’t afford to be too trusting right now. She had two people to worry about. She felt the gun she had swiped from the trader in the guise of getting her baby’s toy. She would use it if need be. She hoped it wouldn’t be the way she imagined.

  Debbie finished talking with Jim and walked to her. She sat in front of her, a friendly smile on her face, but the girl just looked at her warily. The woman had a friendly face, even the old man’s face had softened, she thought to herself.

  “How are you feeling now?” Debbie asked.

  “Fine.” Came the tiny reply.

  “We won’t hurt you. I promise. What’s your name?”

  “Lisa.”

  “Okay Lisa. My name is Debbie. That, over there, is Jim. We were on our way from our friend’s place when we ran into you guys.” She paused, weighing her next question.

  “How did you and your baby get to be in the clutches of that vile man?”

  Lisa hesitated, as if unsure of where to begin, then she started, and a single tear made its way down her cheek at the memory. “I was among a group of survivors. We were travelling up North, we reckoned the cold slowed down and even killed the infected. We wanted to go as far up north and into the mountains as was possible. That was the plan. We already had a place in mind, and we stuck to it. The leader’s brother, Havier, however, soon got tired of walking and insisted we find vehicles to transport ourselves in, or at least, take a shorter route. The one we were taking, didn’t involve going through major towns and cities and would have taken a long time.”

  “I’m sorry. You guys were walking?”

  “Yes, we were. Havier’s brother, Luke, was the leader of the group. He felt that cars were too noisy and would draw attention to us. Both from raiders and from infected. So we hiked. That is, until Havier started having problems with the plan. Luke couldn’t leave his baby brother behind, so we went into the next town we came across, in search of transport. We were ten all together, and figured we would need about three good sized cars. We were searching when that man and his group jumped us. I was the only woman in the group, and I had a baby to boot, so I was easily the most valuable person. They came after me, and Luke and the rest defended me. While they were engaged in the fighting I was grabbed and with my baby forced into a car and drove off. We’ve been on the road ever since. The only reason we stopped was coz I begged him that I needed some baby supplies. I told him that if anything happened to my baby, I would kill myself, and his efforts would have been in vain.” She finished now, and wiped her tears.