by RM Brewer
Suddenly, something hit him from behind and Jimbo stumbled, almost falling. He’d been hit in the back with a rock and turned to see who’d thrown it, only to find the entire sky behind him filled with airborne rocks and boulders. The jets relentlessly pursuing both hordes peeled off, veering higher into the sky to avoid the massive projectiles.
Jimbo urged his horde on, sprinting past the slower virals at a high speed. He couldn’t wait for them anymore or he would be lost, too. He looked to his left as a huge boulder landed on two of his pack, flattening them to the ground, sending up a dust cloud. Jimbo ran faster as the jets approached, firing into the pack behind him. Rocks pelted the planes as they dodged and weaved moments too late to avoid impact.
Above, a jet engine whined as it was torn from the wing, sending the plane into a fiery spin. A projectile shot from the top of the spinning plane. Jimbo realized it was the pilot, who floated helplessly above. Before the plane had time to hit the ground, rocks and boulders slammed into the pilot, pummeling him and his parachute, ripping the chute to shreds, and pulverizing the man, who plopped onto the ground in a gelatinous heap.
Jimbo shuddered, involuntarily picking up speed, fueled by his terror. He was running at what he thought was about forty miles per hour, gliding over the desert, leaping over cactuses. In his mind, he urged the remnants of his horde to hurry, to run to safety, to follow him. He could see the faint outline of civilization ahead. Maybe he could even make a few new recruits before he and his flock found a place to hide. Jimbo sent his thoughts to the horde in front of him. Head for the sewers, he told them. Take everyone you can and head for the sewers. They won’t find us there.
Jimbo kept running at top speed, but the throng behind him was definitely gaining ground. He turned to look and gasped at the sight, finally able to make out individuals within the billowing dust cloud. They were huge, maybe two to three times the size of a human man. They galloped on all fours. Even from such a distance, Jimbo could make out their fangs, protruding a foot or more from their snarling lips. He turned back, seeing the city ahead come into focus, the horizon behind it black with the silhouettes of approaching military vehicles. Above them, the sky was dark with planes, all roaring and rushing in his direction. He knew he needed to get underground before the military got to the city and before the creatures behind them caught up. Run, he told his horde with the loudest thought he could muster. Run for your lives.
* * *
Jodie drove cautiously around the bodies smeared across the highway. These were the virals who hadn't kept up with the horde and were trampled in the rush to follow Chuck. The scene was gruesome and sad, the dead being mostly young children and elderly people who were too slow to deal with the onslaught of thousands. Glancing over at Fester, she saw him blankly staring at the dashboard, apparently fixated on anything but the road ahead. Claire sat in back, her head in her hands. This day was definitely taking a toll on all of them.
Gradually, the number of bodies lessened as they moved on, and Jodie was able to pick up speed. They drove for about a half hour in silence until she finally saw the back of the pack. “Look,” Jodie said. “I think we’ve caught up to Chuck.”
“They’re moving really slow," Fester said. "They were running before. What are they doing?”
“It looks like they’re stopping,” Claire said. "Just kind of standing there.”
Jodie pulled the truck over to the side of the road, not wanting to get any closer in case the virals had a change of heart about what they wanted for dinner. “Claire, maybe you should keep watch behind us,” Jodie said. “We wouldn’t want to get caught between two groups of these things.”
“Right . . . right,” Claire said, turning toward the back window.
“Isn’t that Chuck?” Fester asked, pointing ahead.
Jodie squinted, realizing she’d probably need to see an eye doctor if she lived through this ordeal. But, even with poor eyesight, she recognized the form immediately. It was definitely Chuck. “Yeah, that’s him,” she said. “He lumbers like an ogre or something when he runs.”
Fester and Claire giggled and Jodie couldn’t help but join in, watching Chuck bound up the roadway toward them. She rolled the window down as he approached.
“What’s so funny?” Chuck asked.
“Nothing,” Jodie said, trying to stifle her laughter. “We’re just really happy to see you.”
“So, you think I look like Shrek, huh?” Chuck crossed his arms over his chest, grinning.
Jodie felt embarrassed. She’d already forgotten she couldn’t keep anything from him. “Okay, okay,” she said. “We’re a little punchy here, you know, with the end of the world and all.” Jodie pointed ahead at the horde. “Why are they stopped?”
“There’s something dangerous ahead,” Chuck said, a serious look washing over his face. “It’s not safe right now.”
Jodie looked up at him, knowing he was dead serious, yet it seemed difficult to believe. “More dangerous than a couple hundred thousand virals?”
Chuck nodded and smiled as Fester held out a handful of Three Musketeers to Jodie.
“Better eat these,” Jodie said, passing the candy bars to Chuck. “Fester’s been worried about you.”
“Thanks, Fester,” Chuck said.
Jodie felt her jaw drop, watching him devour two bars without taking the wrappers off. She was never going to get used to seeing that.
Chuck was about to eat the next candy bar but hesitated. “The group ahead of us is bigger and faster. We saw the tail end of their horde a few miles up and all I could read from them was a need to kill everything in sight. From what we could hear, the military is busy with them at the moment.”
Jodie realized they were in trouble. When the military got done fighting the other horde, they’d come for Chuck’s group next. “I need to take a chance and try to contact the President. Maybe he can help keep the military busy somewhere else after they’re done with their mission.”
Chuck reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. His face changed to a grim expression. “Jodie, I have some bad news for you,” he said. “The President was killed yesterday when his motorcade was leaving D.C. One of my group knew about it. He was assassinated . . . they blew his car up.”
Jodie felt her mind fill with rage. How could the news get any worse? The battle was already being lost and it wasn’t as if the point about how screwed they were hadn’t already been driven home numerous times. But, losing the President, her only ally in the government, made her feel completely helpless. The world was going down and they all were going with it.
"Jodie?" Chuck squeezed her shoulder a little tighter. "There's one more thing."
Redirecting her focus at Chuck, Jodie knew that there could only be one thing that could be worse than losing the President.
Chuck kept his hand on her shoulder but averted his eyes. "It's about Mei."
CHAPTER 14
The overhead lights streamed by, one after the other, for what felt like an eternity to Mei. It seemed like the group she was with was making little progress in finding a way out of the ship. She shifted on the gurney, aware that her body was changing, muscle and bone contorting to unnatural angles. She gritted her teeth once more, trying to hold back the bile rising in her throat. How much longer could she keep it together? She’d convinced the group she was just feeling the effects of the medication Gypsum had given her, but it was becoming clear by the looks on the faces of those who were pushing the gurney along that her that they didn't believe her. They knew it was something more.
Moments ago, she’d been talking with Chuck in her head. How could that be? It was as if he were inside of her mind, his voice clear as a bell ringing, telling her they were coming to get her and she should hang on. He’d told her that Jodie was with him and they were okay. They would be at Nellis Air Force Base soon, where he wouldn’t stop until he found her. Mei’s eyes clouded with tears, knowing it was too late. Too late for her. Too late for Chuck to find her and he
lp. Too late to be with Jodie again. His voice came into her head again, this time with a commanding tone that made her focus all of her attention on it.
Chuck talked about there being hope. Hope to bring her back if she could only hold on. He’d give her some of his blood and, although she’d likely be transformed forever, she’d never become a viral. Never would she become one of the mush-minded killing machines she’d had the misfortune to grapple with earlier. Mei focused on the only part of her brain she felt she had any control over and tried to stay there, immersed in a pool of memories of her family and Jodie.
Mei felt her mother’s warm embrace and saw her father’s welcoming eyes. At the same time, she felt the sting of their disapproval, so long ago and so ridiculous now. Yet they were all memories of the family she’d loved and lost and they were dear to her, bitterness fading away as she allowed forgiveness to fill her heart.
Slowly, her mind moved to Jodie. In a normal life, the short time she’d spent with Jodie wouldn’t have meant what it did in the tenuous situation they’d found themselves in. Yet, Mei knew she truly loved Jodie and all the ways in which they were alike and different. She hoped she’d have the opportunity to tell Jodie just what she meant to her, even though expression of her feelings seemed ridiculous. When she thought about it, her confession seemed meaningless in the face of a viral apocalypse.
Her life before things had changed wasn’t one she wanted to return to. Alone and telling herself that she liked it that way, Mei’d been starting to feel like she’d been fooling herself. Not having someone to share life with wasn’t something she wanted to continue. And now, even though her situation was dire, she felt hopeful. Chuck had commanded her to retreat, to keep her mind intact from invasion by the virus. For a reason she didn’t understand, she trusted him.
For a brief moment, she remembered the Chuck who was a bumbling idiot. The Chuck who would try so hard that he made every situation worse. This Chuck was something else and Mei could only hope the voice echoing through her head was real. This Chuck would come and save her. Transformation was one thing, but death was another and Mei had no desire to let her life slip away before she could make it what she wanted it to be. She gritted her teeth and focused. Suddenly, a bright light penetrated her aching eyes and she felt Rita’s warm hand on her shoulder.
"The others think we're getting close to the loading dock now," Rita said, looking down at her, concern evident on her face. "Everyone's wondering where the Gypsum people are. I mean, they have this big ship and no one seems to be on it."
Mei was wondering the same thing. Gypsum could've taken thousands of people on this ship. It seemed strange that the rooms they were passing were quiet and dark.
"How're you feeling, Mei?”
Mei tried to compose herself, knowing that words would be difficult. “Just need to sleep,” she managed to slur out. Yet, she could feel the virus taking her. With every pump of her heart, it traveled farther into her body, disintegrating bone, expanding muscle, forever altering her nervous system. She shivered, seeing herself attacking, eating the flesh of a human. She tried to pull away from the vision, yet the idea of consuming muscle, fat, and bone from a human body sent an exhilarating shock through her. Mei gritted her teeth, wishing the vision away.
Rita nodded. Looking at her face, Mei could tell Rita wasn’t quite believing what she'd told her.
“I’m okay,” Mei said. “If this gets worse, I’ll tell you so you can do something about it.”
Rita’s eyes pooled with tears. “You’re okay, Mei. We’ll give you whatever time you need.”
Mei nodded, not able to conjure up enough energy to speak. Right now, she needed to retreat to the place Chuck had told her to go to. Her mind began to drift and she felt her body go slack. About to slide into unconsciousness, she was relieved, thankful for the respite. Mei let herself relax, only to experience what felt like an electric shock, the bones in her neck snapping, shoving her head down at an unnatural angle. She gripped the bed sheet and breathed as deeply as she could. She needed to protect whatever she had left. She pulled back in her mind, concentrating on Chuck and his message. They were coming for her. As her hand tore through the bed sheet, she hoped it would be soon.
Mei slipped in and out of consciousness, each time wondering what she would wake up to as she fell back into slumber. How was her body transforming underneath the sheet that covered her? She knew what was happening to her mind and it wasn't good. She was losing ground ever so slightly with each passing second, sliding toward an abyss there was no coming back from. She pulled her hand out from underneath the sheet and tried to stifle a gasp as she looked at the scales forming. "Rita," she called out. "Rita, I need you."
Rita appeared in front of her, the warm expression on her face turning to one of shock as she caught sight of Mei's hand. She pulled back, averting her eyes from Mei.
"Rita, I need you to sedate me. I don't know how to explain this to you, but someone will be there to help me when we land at Nellis. Until then, you have to put me under."
Rita looked up slowly and nodded. "We still have morphine. That's about it."
As Rita looked away again, Mei could tell something else was on her mind.
"If this gets worse, give me all you have," Mei said. "I'll try to fight it, but I don't want to end up like one of those things. You have to promise me."
Rita nodded, grabbing the med kit. She pulled out a syringe and rifled through the vials in the bottom of the bag. "We have about two thousand milligrams left. That should give you a pretty good nap with quite a bit left over."
Mei reached out her reptilian hand and was about to touch Rita's arm when she noticed the fear in her eyes. She thought better of the idea and pulled her hand back. "Promise me."
Rita looked relieved. "We'll make it in time, Mei. It won't come to that, but if it does, I'll take care of it."
"Thank you," Mei managed to choke out as the needle slid into her arm. She felt herself gliding into a dream state again, only to be confronted with Chuck's voice, urging her to hang on. They were close now, he said. It would be only a few more hours. He would be there when the ship landed, with Jodie.
Mei felt her face tighten as she smiled at the thought of seeing Jodie, but her skin started to tear. She tried to relax again. The morphine she'd been injected with was beginning to dull the pain, for which Mei was grateful. Although she was losing feeling in her extremities, she could still hear what was being said, very clearly.
"What's going on with her?" the man she recognized as Dennis asked.
Rita sighed. "She's turning. She wants to be sedated until we get to Nellis. She said someone's going to meet her there and help her."
"If she's turning into one of those things, what if it's a trap?" Dennis sounded worried. "I mean, who knows if she even understands what she's saying. Maybe we should put her down."
"No," Rita said, her voice forceful. "She put herself in jeopardy by saving all of us. We have to give her a chance."
"What's going on here?" a woman asked. Mei didn't recognize the voice.
"She's turning into one of those things," Dennis said.
"Oh my God," the woman said. Mei couldn't see her, but could feel her back away from the gurney.
"She's sedated. She'll be fine," Rita said.
Dennis laughed. "Well, maybe she's fine now, but what happens when she wakes up with six-inch claws on her hands? Are you going to tell her to hold still while you give her another shot? I say we end it now."
"I agree," the woman who had spoken earlier said. "I mean, she wouldn't want this for herself. We have to be humane."
"Then we wait," Rita said. "She said someone would meet us at Nellis and we have to give her that chance."
Dennis cleared his throat. "I don't --"
An alarm blared down the hallway and the emergency lights flickered on and off again. Mei felt her body bounce as the entire ship was jarred to its core. As quickly as it came on, the alarm ended and the lighting was res
tored to normal. The murmuring of nervous voices echoed in the hallway.
"What the hell was that?" Dennis asked.
"The atmosphere," Rita said. "We just entered Earth's atmosphere. We're almost home."
"Let's move, people,” Dennis urged. “We have to get to the docking bay ASAP and find someplace to hide."
Mei felt the gurney being pulled and lifted. She opened her eyes a crack to see where they were headed, finding that Dennis was helping to carry her. He glanced down at her, his brow furrowed.
She felt herself slipping, sliding, careening over the edge. It was almost time. Mei wanted to tell him to go ahead. Give her the shot. End it now because there was no going back. Then, the morphine hit her like a wave of cool water, pulling her out to sea. Mei felt as if she were floating, her body weightless and without pain, the ache gradually moving out of her muscles, tendons, and bones. Her jaw finally released, allowing her to swallow without effort.
"Dennis," she choked out.
Dennis turned and looked back at her. "What? What do you need? We're kind of in a hurry here."
"I'm okay," Mei said. "I want you to know I'm still okay."
Dennis looked at her with a suspicious expression. "Good to know. You let me know if that changes, okay?"
"I will," Mei said. "I promise."
* * *
Jimbo was confounded by the horde above him. He could hear their footsteps, trampling ever farther across the desert and into what was left of the town ahead. They were so strong and incredibly massive. Why didn’t they hold the common goal of exterminating Gypsum, too? It seemed that their only desire was to kill everything in front of them, with no discretion whatsoever. He tried to read their minds, realizing, in terror, that they had none. They were huge killing machines, intent on destruction.