by Jeff Olah
“You want to try to get through that?” April said, pointing toward the street lined with cars.
“Well, can we sit out here for a few minutes and wait?”
“Sounds good, in the meantime why don’t you just try texting your father?”
“OK!”
Justin sat on the wall texting away as April looked out over the area, praying that Mason was safe and that he would be there soon. She didn’t think they could survive without him. She couldn’t forgive herself for letting her father influence her life with Mason. She desperately wanted to see him again, wrap her arms around him, and tell him how much she loved him.
Mason had told her he fell in love with her the second he set eyes on her, even though she barely knew he existed. They had worked together and even though it wasn’t the greatest job, he quit so she wouldn’t have any excuse not to date him. It was his calm demeanor and eagerness to seek out new and exciting ways to better himself that had drawn her to him and also what eventually tore them apart.
He could never stand still, always wanting to do things that challenged him, both mentally and physically. He was never the nine to five type of guy and this often made April uneasy due to her conventional upbringing. She wanted to settle down and ease into a daily routine of schedules and time lines… and that made Mason feel nauseous.
Their two personalities had worked well together for many years until her father, the military man that he was, started to inject his point of view at every opportunity. Mason eventually got fed up and began to resent April for not standing up for him. This made for many awkward family get-togethers.
She was now angry that she had let her father drive a wedge between them, although her feelings needed to be put aside for now. After the conversation she had with her father this morning, April thought he knew more than he was letting on.
He was trying to genuinely help without taking any shots at Mason. She sensed it in his voice and for the first time she could ever recall, he sounded worried. Thinking back to his call, it came in long before any of the news reports had surfaced. He warned her that something big was happening. She still remembered the last thing he said to her.
“Go get Mason and Justin… and the three of you need to leave the city within the hour.”
Before she could ask him what he meant, he quickly said he needed to go and hung up.
April wished she would have taken his advice.
19
“What’s this?” William asked.
“A pretty effective tool for taking those things down. What did you call them… Feeders?”
“Not my words, internet news started it.”
“Here, you get the shiny new one. Try not to bloody it up; I have to train some clients next week.”
“Somehow I think you may need to postpone those sessions. I don’t think I’ll need it though, my house is just up here to the right”
“Keep it… just in case.”
As they made their way through the maze of cars that lined the street, Mason noticed people still belted to their seats, unable to escape and who were trapped in their cars when the horde came through. A few cars were still idling and others had their doors half open as it appeared they were trying to flee on foot.
Some of the vehicles were empty, indicating a handful must have escaped. Mason glanced over at William and motioned for him to stay closer. They were no more than two car lengths apart when Mason felt something pull at his ankle and the next thing he knew he was face down on the pavement staring into the eyes of a Feeder.
This thing was hidden underneath a car and pulled Mason toward itself as he clawed at the asphalt trying to get some traction. Mason felt his fingernails shredding against the street as he kicked his legs, not letting his attacker gain an inch.
He must have let out a gasp as he fell because William was on him instantly, pulling him by his hands as the Feeder continued to pull at Mason’s legs. As Mason cleared the underbelly of the car, the Feeder was still holding onto his legs, biting through the fabric of his socks and now almost clear of the car as well. William gave one final pull backward, leapt over Mason grabbing the kettlebell he dropped, and took a long hard swing, pinning the Feeder’s head against the rear passenger door.
Mason sat against the car brushing the roadway off his shirt as William came over. “You were right, it DID come in handy.”
William extended his hand and pulled Mason to his feet. He shook William’s hand a second longer and smiled.
“Let’s get home.”
The pair made quick work of the remaining maze of cars and were standing in William’s driveway with not a soul around, almost as if this street had been untouched by the day’s events.
“Mason, it looks like everyone is heading out of the city. What are your plans?”
“I gotta get home to check on my son and my wife, and then I think we are heading out.”
“Where?”
“I’m not real sure yet, we’re probably gonna head east into the desert where there’s plenty of wide open land and try to sit this thing out until the government and military get control of this.”
“You want some company… it’s just my wife, myself, and my uncle who lives with us.”
“Sure, I plan on setting out at dawn. Get your car packed tonight and we’ll meet at the corner here… let’s say six a.m.”
“You want to stay here through the night?”
“I would rather do this when I have some daylight, and the sun is probably going to set in the next forty minutes and I don’t want to be stuck in the dark with everyone else.”
“Ok, I’m in. Do you think we will be safe in our homes through the night?”
“These things only appear to be alerted by movement and sound. Close all your doors, lock all your windows, and stay inside with the lights off. Be here at six, ready to go.”
They shook hands one more time and headed in separate directions. William went up the steps to the front door and turned.
“Mason, how are we going to get around these cars…? We’re locked in.”
Mason continued to walk and pointed to an empty field just past the cluster of cars. “There’s our exit!”
Mason was happy that William had asked to tag along; he felt banding together with another group was good for their survival. It didn’t hurt that William wasn’t afraid to take action when the time came. Mason also now trusted him.
He’s one of the good ones, Mason thought.
As he rounded the corner, he could see the community of his former home just up the road in the distance. He could tell by the destruction around him that this area was also overrun and he prayed as he walked that his family made it back home safely.
As he walked along the sidewalk, there was a crowd of Feeders still roaming the empty school field to his left and they started his way. He began to quicken his pace until he noticed that the chain-link fence separating them proved to be too much. They didn’t appear to know how to get over the fence; they just stood at the fence growling and scratching.
As Mason came to the entrance of his development, the line of cars heading out the exit amazed him. He shook his head as he passed car after car filled to the gills with camping gear and family members yelling at one another. They looked as terrified as he’d ever seen.
Approaching the last few cars, he saw his old neighbor John. He waved and John put the window down.
“Hey Mason, I just left April and Justin a minute ago.”
“Are they OK?”
“Yeah man, I think April tore up her ankle a bit, but they are fine.”
“Thanks John.”
“Don’t mention it… Just go home and get them out of here, we’re heading to Nevada.”
“Alright man, take care.”
As Mason continued to walk, he noticed garages battered, front doors wide open, and bodies scattered over the first few front lawns. He was confused.
The closer he got to his home, the devastation tapered of
f to nothing rather quickly. He figured this must be where the neighborhood took a stand or those things only came in as far as they saw something to attack.
Either way, Mason had a feeling of hope. He started to jog up the street and soon he was able to make out his home and what looked like April and Justin sitting in the front yard. He picked up his pace and began to call out their names.
April looked up and motioned to Justin. They saw Mason coming, stood, and started toward him.
20
April appeared to be limping.
As they got to within 50 feet, Justin took April’s hand and guided her to Mason and the three of them came together in an embrace. April started to quietly cry as she looked Mason over for signs of trauma. She was pleasantly surprised that he was all in one piece, even though he looked like hell.
Arm in arm they walked back to the house as Mason told them of his escape from the gym and Tom’s attack in the parking lot. He left out the atrocious, blow by blow details of his friend’s death and how good he felt taking down the Feeders that devoured Tom.
He also described his new friend William and how the two were brought together as William was running from what was once his father-in-law.
They in turn filled Mason in on the events that led to them being chased through the school and seeing the assistant principal being eaten alive. Justin wanted to let his father know how he had helped April across the field and over the six foot barrier that seemed to perplex their attackers and how he was able to handle the two that nearly killed them.
Mason thanked him for protecting his mother and told him that he knew he could do it and was proud of him. Justin also let his dad know he had been trying to text him with no response. Mason reached in his backpack and withdrew the phone, noticing that he had missed five text messages from Justin and apologized for not checking in.
Reaching the house, April swung open the front door and for an instant was caught off guard, but remembered that she had left it unlocked in case Mason arrived first. Mason asked Justin to go around the house and close the shades and turn off all the lights. He carried April into the office since it had no windows to the outside, which he felt would be safer.
As Justin closed the windows in the master bedroom, he paused and looked out over the field he and April had crossed only a short time before. There were hundreds of those things wandering around. The corner of the field closest to the gym was partly lit from the lights serving the parking lot of the elementary school. For a moment, Justin thought he spotted his Spanish teacher among the horde. Whoever or whatever it was turned in another direction and he lost sight of it as it blended in with the others.
Mason checked April’s ankle and could tell it was only a slight sprain. Justin hurried downstairs after finishing with the lights and shades. He rested against the wall of the office as his mother and father occupied the small sofa. Mason explained to both of them that it would be completely dark outside shortly and for them to take a quick shower and meet back downstairs. He told April he would wrap her ankle when she was finished.
April stood and looked at him sideways. “Shower… don’t you think we need to pack and get on the road right away?”
“Only if you want to sit in line with all the other people waiting for those things to attack. We’ll leave first thing in the morning.”
“Morning? What if they attack us here?”
“They only seem to come around when the see or hear something. If we keep all the lights off except for here in the office and stay quiet, we’ll be fine.”
“Dad, I’m getting in now. I’ll be out in five minutes. You’re on watch,” Justin said in his most stern voice.
“Yes, SIR!” Mason replied as Justin trotted off up the stairs.
“Mason, are you sure about this… My dad said we needed to leave hours ago.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but yes… your father was right. If we would have left hours ago, we would have been fine. We are now stuck waiting for all the millions of people to exit the city… and it’s dark, we won’t be able to see those things coming.”
“I guess you’re right, do you think it will be better in the morning?”
“I sure hope so.”
As April slowly made her way up the stairs, Mason sat back in the office chair and flipped on the computer. He searched the internet for any related information that might help them get out of this alive. What little information there was didn’t offer any help. There were tons of videos showing everything from crowds of people running from the hordes to the top ten kill shots, all of which involved some form of decapitation.
Frustrated and ready to give up his search, Mason came upon a website that had only become popular within the last few hours. The site administrator claimed to know the cause of the infection. The site was supposedly run by some sort of ex-military Biochemist. He had documents that dated back five years detailing some sort of experiment a privately funded company was conducting on behalf of the military on soldiers in Colorado.
According to this man, the test subjects had their DNA altered through some form of injection that allowed them to stay highly functional for up to five days without the need for sleep and would improve reaction time in combat situations up to fifty percent, among other things.
This Biochemist, Dr. Eugene Lockwood, was sure these experiments were altering the brain functions of the test subjects and he had warned management of impending doom. If he was to be believed, this is why he was removed from the project and was now in hiding.
The comments on his site ranged from people calling him crazy and saying he was some twelve-year-old in a basement somewhere, to a small group of individuals that actually believed every word that was written. They had even begun a campaign to bring this person out of hiding. The last update from the so-called Dr. Lockwood was at 8:30 a.m. this morning. Only two short lines…
It has begun.
Run, Hide, or Fight. NO ONE IS SAFE!
Mason had the feeling that he had heard of this Dr. Lockwood somewhere before and just wasn’t sure where. Although he had seen enough tonight, his head was swimming with so many thoughts and he still needed to convince April of the last part of his plan.
As he walked the interior of the house making sure everything was locked down tight, including the garage, Mason gathered a few items and put them in a box. The three of them sat in the office with the lights dimmed as Mason discussed what he had planned for that night.
“There are a few things I need to get from my apartment.”
“WHAT…? Mason, you’re not serious. We just got you back here. I am not letting you leave.”
“We are not taking off until dawn and I’ll be damned if I head out into the end of the world in gym shorts and sneakers.”
Justin spoke next “Dad that cannot be your only excuse… right?”
“No. There are other things I need. I have a few guns and they will come in handy.”
“A few guns? I didn’t know you had any more guns. I thought you only had the one you left here with us?”
“April, you’ve seen where I live, it’s almost a given that everyone in my building has at least one.”
“Can’t we go by in the morning on the way?”
Frustrated, Mason hung his head for a moment before speaking.
“There are things I have that we need before we leave in the morning. I am not having you wait in the car for me while I am in the building or trying to follow me through there in the dark. I will be able to make it in and out a lot faster if I am alone. I promise to be safe.”
April shook her head. “Oh well, if you promise to be safe, I guess that’s fine.”
“You’re no good at sarcasm.”
“I wasn’t trying to be.”
Justin sat in the corner, laughing at his parents’ bickering.
April stood up, testing her still painful ankle. “Ok, you BETTER get back here soon or we’re coming after you”
“Yes ma�
�am! I should be back in less than an hour, so I’ll shower then.”
“OK, what do you need us to do?”
“Get the two emergency kits and the hand-powered flashlights from the garage and put them in the back of the SUV.”
“What else?” Justin asked.
“Get all the food that doesn’t need to be cooked or kept cold and put it in plastic bags that are easy to carry. Then just a few changes of clothes that fit in a backpack.”
Mason continued, “April, get the gun and all the ammo and put it in on the floor in the front passenger seat.”
April sat back down on the couch across from Mason so he could wrap her ankle.
“After you both finish packing, stay in the office, dim the lights, and get some sleep. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a very long day.”
April and Justin looked at Mason and in unison said, “Get some sleep?”
“Well try… for me.”
Mason told them to keep everything locked and he would give three short knocks on the door when he got back and for them to check before opening it.
Realizing his father needed to get going, Justin walked over, grabbed his hand, and helped him to his feet. Justin pulled Mason in close and hugged him tight.
“Dad, I love you. Please get back here.”
“You don’t need to worry about me buddy; I’ll be back before you’re done packing,”
April took Mason’s hand as they walked to the door. She looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back and hugged her. She kissed his cheek and told him to be safe.
He leaned over and whispered into her ear, “If, I’m not back by dawn you need to get to William’s house. He’ll be waiting at the corner of Morgan and Stone at six a.m.”
As he opened the door, April pulled back. “We are not leaving you, no matter what. Do what you have to do, just get back here… fast.”
Mason returned her kiss on the cheek, grabbed his backpack and headed out into the darkness.
April closed the door behind him and whispered, “I love you.”