The Rabid Mind Two

by Bruce Buckshot Hemming

  When they got back to the stronghold, they honked and the gates were opened and they drove in.

  ***

  Sandra could not find Matt anywhere. She needed his help with something and had not found him in the room where she’d left him. With a sigh, she went towards Claire’s room. As she proceeded to knock, she heard voices coming from inside, and paused to eavesdrop.

  “Well, aren’t you the strong fella.” She heard Claire say.

  “Yeah, I’m quite handsome too. You could always add that.” Matt replied, and they laughed.

  “You know I thought you were kinda cute when we first came here?” Claire asked. “And…”

  What?? Sandra had had heard enough, and she burst into the room, eyes blazing.

  Matt smiled and Claire said. “Oh. Hey Sandra.”

  She didn’t hear or see any of that. She went straight for Claire and pulled her by the hair violently. Matt was instantly alert, and on his feet.

  What was happening? Was Sandra infected too? How?

  “Sandra? Stop this.” He yelled as the two women rolled off the bed onto the floor as the fight continued.

  “What is wrong with you?” Matt asked. He’d has enough, he bent down, and held Sandra by the waist, and effectively pulled her off of Claire, who instantly got to her feet and went for her gun, instinctively checking her body for bite marks. She couldn’t find any.

  Sandra struggled in vain against Matt as he carried her and dropped her on the opposite side of the small room.

  “Get away from her Matt, I think she’s been bitten.” Claire called out, keeping her gun steady facing Sandra, who faced her with an icy stare.

  “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Sandra spat out. “You’d like me out of the picture wouldn’t you? So you can finally shack up with my man.” She yelled the question angrily.

  Claire’s stance wavered. What? She wondered.

  Matt too was taken aback. “What are you talking about, honey?”

  “Don’t you dare ‘honey’ me, you pig. You love me right? You’ll never do anything to hurt me right? Well how does cheating on me with this tramp not qualify as hurting me?” She said.

  Claire’s gun dropped, and she and Matt shared a look.

  He now understood. God! He’d been so stupid.

  “Baby?” He ventured, taking a step forward.

  “Stay the hell away from me, Matt.” She ordered, regarding him with that same icy look she gave Claire.

  “For a while now I’ve watched you do it. Go to her room every time. Vanishing into this place at odd times and not coming out till even more odd times. I’ve watched, and I’ve waited for something, a sign. Just one sign to show that all this, all this, is all in my head. But you guys have shown me now that it’s all true. Right? You’re cheating on me with this bitch?”

  Claire looked at the floor. It was all her fault. She enjoyed Matt’s company so much, she didn’t even stop to think of how their new closeness would affect Sandra.

  Matt tried first. “Nothing is going on, you saw us when you walked in. We are both dressed for God sakes.”

  “I thought you were supposing to be working on the cannon, not laying around in her bedroom.”

  “We came in here to get her gun belt.”

  “Don’t you give me that load of crap, you cheater.” She yelled.

  “Nothing is going on.” Claire said.

  Her gaze faltered. The tiny voice returned, you’re being very silly. It taunted. She shoved it aside and just stared at Matt. He sighed, and his shoulders slumped.

  “Could you give Sandra and I, a minute alone, Matt?” Claire asked.

  Matt looked at her, and back at Sandra, who was staring daggers at Claire now.

  “But…”

  “Please Matt. I need to talk to her. It’s my fault. Just a minute, please?”

  “Okay. No fighting.” He said, more of an afterthought, and walked past Sandra who didn’t even turn to look at him, and out the door, shutting it behind him.

  Once they were alone, the two ladies said nothing, just sized each other up.

  If this bitch is looking for a fight, she’s going to get one Sandra thought, tightening her fists at her sides.

  “I’m sorry, Sandra.” Claire said.

  What? Sorry?

  “Sorry for what huh? For trying to take my man?” She asked, arms still balled into fists by her side.

  “No. I’m sorry for not making sure the door was open and inviting you in to talk.”

  Then she took a step towards Sandra’s side of the room. The latter didn’t move. When she got there, she sat on the bed, and indicated the spot beside her.

  “Sit. Please.”

  Sandra looked at her warily, not knowing what she was planning. She walked over and sat down. Staring down at the floor in front of her.

  “I’m sorry.” Claire said again.

  “For what?”

  “For what I just said. Look, I know what I’ve been doing. I’ve been stealing Matt’s attention and I know that was wrong, but his company just reminded me of Jet so much. I just need to feel something, you know? I just liked hearing Matt talk about the things that happened with him. I don’t know, it just gave me some kind of peace.”

  Sandra took this in without a word. So what was she saying? That she was wrong? But she’d just started a fight with her. Damn.

  Seeing that she wouldn’t get a reply, Claire continued. “After Jet’s death, I thought I was going to lose my mind, Sandra. Matt talked to me. He talked about you. A lot.” She continued. Sandra finally looked at her then.

  “Yes. He did. The same way you used to talk about him. Most of the stories he told, I’d already heard them before from you, but his, like yours, had their own twists to it. Like the story you told me about when you went hunting and he killed an Elk and he forgot to reload his rifle. You said he had been distracted with the Elk. When he told it, he said he had been distracted with you. His thoughts were geared towards you and he had forgotten to reload his rifle.”

  Sandra remembered. She had been upset with him then, and he had told her the same thing. That she was the one in his thoughts distracting him. She’d thought he was joking then. Just making an excuse. Flattering her so she wouldn’t yell at him too much. That is what she had thought. Her stomach cringed.

  “So, as it turned out, my fears were unfounded?” God. She’d made a big mistake. What had she been thinking? Walking in here trying to fight Claire. She couldn’t believe what she’d done now that she thought about it. She’d always thought herself far beyond those kinds of things.

  “We women can be unpredictable at times, and fear and grief amongst other things can make us act even more irrationally than we usually do.”

  She looked up at Claire and opened her mouth to apologize.

  “No. No. You don’t have to say anything Sandra. It’s my fault.”

  Sandra averted her eyes. This wasn’t fair. Why was she now being so nice about it? It made her guilt even more now.

  “Matt will understand Sandra. He’ll forgive you. I don’t know if you’ve tried it, but make up sex is incredible.”

  There she went. Joking again. And after she had just tried to remove her hair from its roots no less. She was so sorry.

  “I’m so sorry Claire. Matt would not be wrong to stay mad at me.”

  “Oh, but he will get over it. And anyhow. Matt is a great guy. He won’t hold this against you.”

  “What if he doesn’t? What if he dumps me to be with you now?”

  “Sandra, you are going to have to learn to share Matt. He’s not an animal to be held captive. Not like I have any other man to get attention from. Well, your Dad, but that would be just weird?”

  “Share? What do you mean?”

  “Share his time. Look we must get along for our own sur
vival. Jealous and infighting is simply going to tear us apart. Let him find his own way. We all can be happy. Now enough of this, time to go test the cannon. Matt should have it finished and ready for testing.”

  Sandra was now more confused than ever. Share, like share Matt in bed together? Share Matt like every other night. Share? Her mind bouncing all over the place. “Wait, you have to explain. Share Matt how? You mean totally like what?”

  Claire thought for a minute now was not the right time to talk about this. Be careful. Sandra is not ready to handle this. “I mean share his time, are you going into psycho bitch mode every time Matt and I do something together?”

  “Psycho? Is that how you think I’m acting?”

  “You know what I mean. Psycho, overly jealous girlfriend pushing everyone out of your life. Clinging too tightly. Driving Matt out. Creating a self-fulfilling prophecy so you can wallow in pain and suffering.”

  “You think I want to suffer in pain of losing Matt?”

  “I have seen it before. It’s just an excuse if you look deep inside yourself. You know you’re being childish and immature. But instead of fixing yourself, you’re going to blame Matt and myself for all your problems, causing the tension to increase until it become unbearable for us and we move out.”

  “We move out together? So you do want him? I’m just in the way of your happiness?”

  “Oh Sandra, yes, I want him, but I want you as friend too. I want you two to be happy together. Share his time and stop the jealousy so we can get along please.”

  “Ok, I think I can share Matt’s time and stop being jealous. Just don’t steal him from me. He means the world to me.”

  “Good, it’s settled, come on, time to go test the cannon.” Claire was already walking toward the door.

  Sandra followed in a daze. Survival. Test the cannon. Share Matt? Her mind was pinging all over the place.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The Hive.

  He looked around. His horde was getting antsy. They had not seen anybody up until now. Had they taken over finally? Were they now the only ones in the world? The thought didn’t bode well with him. They needed sustenance, and humans provided that. We needed them. He looked back at his horde as they entered New Mexico. They were quite a number now, as more and more had joined their group. They were easily one thousand strong if not more, and they all listened to him.

  New Mexico was just a path on their way towards Texas where they would cross into Mexico. His plan was going smoothly, he knew they would survive the winter. They didn’t know what he was doing for them. All they thought about was mauling. Their sense of self-preservation had greatly been eroded, but not his. His remained as strong as ever. He was still very much interested in living and he needed them to keep on doing so. Hence, he led them, and they did his bidding. The world would be theirs. They just needed to survive the winter first.

  He paused as he had a flashback, and they all stopped behind him, some running into each other before stopping, he held his head as the headache gave way to a memory.

  His phone rang. He checked it. The name was clearer now, although he still couldn’t quite make it out. He had to get home. She was waiting for him. She needed the cure. He had to inject it into her just as he had injected it into himself. There was no other way this could go down.

  He got into his car and drove through traffic. The riot that had started was more intense now. The authorities tried to control it, but there was no controlling them. Amongst them, some infected people were already turning and attacking other people around them. Chaos erupted. Suddenly, a car coming from the opposite direction ran into him and his side window exploded as all faded to black.

  The flashback ended.

  The journey through Meeker had been uneventful, and even the towns following had been empty, he didn’t know how much longer they would last without feeding. They had to keep moving though. They would run into people. He just knew it. The only thing that saved them from starving was the cattle they found along the way.

  He heard a sound from behind. Two cars. Driving fast.

  ***

  They drove behind the escort as they led them towards the exit. The winding road was one they would not get used to easily. They exited the Gila forest area, and they drove towards town.

  “Will I get my own room, mom?” Anabelle was asking now, and Debbie laughed.

  “Yes, honey. Sure you will.”

  “Me too, mom.” Billy said, and yawned.

  “Yes baby.”

  “I still think we should have waited till morning to leave.” Jim said.

  “Naah, we’d already stayed too long already. Do you know how long I’ve wanted to have the kid’s home with us? I just couldn’t wait any longer.” She replied, turning back to smile at the children. She saw that they had dozed off. They had tired themselves out on the cliffs.

  It was just five p.m. but the sun was no longer high in the sky, Jim looked up and thought it odd. Just then, the escort in front of them braked hard, and made a sharp U-turn. Jim was confused. They weren’t supposed to break off here. Granted, they could find their way on their own, but something was wrong, so he made a U-turn too. Just then, he saw another car through his rear view mirror, racing for them, coming from far off. He was instantly on high alert.

  “What’s going on?” Debbie asked. Just then, the jeep that had been escorting them, aligned beside them and Tyler yelled.

  “We have to go back. We just received word from one of the men who went out on a supply run. There’s a hive headed this way. From the way he describes it, it’s more than a hive. He used an Army of thousands. He barely managed to escape. There were two teams. We have to warn the rest.” And they sped off. Jim immediately raced after him. The other car was close behind, and burning rubber like Staten itself was chasing them.

  How many could there be, that they had freaked out the team so much? He thought to himself, and they entered the forest, and headed towards the camp. When they got there, the gates were already opened as they had radioed in their arrival beforehand.

  Diego and Wilmer met them. They parked the CRV and got out. Debbie took the children to the cabin and returned to Jim.

  The new car that joined them was parked beside them. The three men who’d been inside now stood in front of it. They all looked visibly shaken.

  “What happened out there?” Diego asked.

  The first man answered. “We were coming in, from our supply run. When we ran into them. They were on us instantly. Martin and the rest didn’t make it. There were so many of them Diego. More than a thousand. They are headed this way. They’ll follow us. They had a leader!”

  At this, Tyler stepped up. “Leader, you say?”

  “Yes. A leader. He was giving them commands. He seemed intelligent. Unlike the rest.”

  Tyler turned to Diego, “I’ve had a run in with this lot. At the double K. before we came here. This one that he’s referring to, controls the rest. He gives commands and they obey. He makes them organized. Deadly. We barely managed to escape them at the double K and then they’d been just about half the number he’s describing to us now. We are in serious trouble if they are on their way here.”

  Jim listened and his mind wandered back to the last attack that had happened at the cabin before they left. The hive that attacked them had a leader too. Could it be? He wondered. The coincidence was too much. He didn’t like to think there could be two intelligent locos running around. It had to be him. He turned around to relay his thoughts to Debbie, but she was nowhere to be found. He reckoned she’d gone to check on the kids. She was a regular doting mother again.

  “We have fought them off before.” He said, walking up to them, and they all turned to him.

  “Really? How?” Tyler asked, surprised.

  Jim proceeded to tell them about the attack on their cabin earlier that year, and the
bombs. He also gave them a detailed explanation of how the leader had coordinated the attacks. He found it surprising that Tyler had met the same loco they had. The one who led others. The one who gave commands and who still retained intelligence. Maybe they were all here for a reason, he thought.

  “We don’t have time to make those bombs you described.” Diego said.

  “Yes. But those were just the more refined designs. We can make improvised claymores. Or death bombs as some of our friends call them. We’ll place ‘em along the road with shooters strategically placed to shoot them when the horde comes into range. How long do you think it will be before they get here if indeed they follow you?” He directed his question at the man who’d told them of the approaching horde.

  “I don’t know. An hour? Two, maybe. Look Diego. Even with this plan, we’ll still have too many of them to handle. We need help.”

  Diego nodded, and told one of the men, “Contact our friends. Tell them I’m calling in that favor. Make sure you explain the true nature of the situation. Hurry!” The man ran off towards the cabin with the ham radio.

  “In the meantime,” Diego continued talking to Jim, “Get started on those bombs. We need to get them ready and place them in strategic places. My friends will guide you.”

  “Wait. We’ll need some form of light so they’ll be able to target the bombs easily from up in the trees.” Jim said, but Diego laughed.

  “We won’t be needing those. We fought a war remember? We have night vision goggles. Just get started on the bombs please.” He said, turning to mobilize everybody to their different posts.

  All the children were taken to the Gila cliff dwellings to keep them safe. Jeffery refused to go with them though. “I have to stay and fight, Ty. All we’ve done is run for such a long time now. We’ve finally gotten some sense of peace now, no horde of infected is going to spoil it. I’m staying.” He said, his jaw set.

  Tyler was impressed with the teenager.