Caldera

by Heath Stallcup

  Even in the dark, Bill could see the realization hit him and the color drain from his face. Richard stared straight ahead as he considered his wife and grandson at home.

  Chapter 12

  Buck leaned against a large tree near the road of cars while Bob leaned against another just feet away. They heard the fast-moving feet coming and slipped away from the cars and into the trees, the shadows from the tree canopy further concealing them. Neither wanted to stray too far from the road, but this section of parked cars was too short to effectively hide behind, and too low to the ground for either to get under if they needed to.

  They waited and listened as the feet approached, the pace erratic, the feet sometimes slipping and stumbling. Bob shot Buck a questioning look, and the boy simply shrugged. Bob risked taking a peek at whoever was approaching and slipped his head around the edge of the tree. The person running slipped and fell in the gravel of the road, a string of curses quickly showering forth.

  Buck snapped his head toward his dad, but he was already on the move. Bob moved toward the cars in a low crouch, motioning Buck forward with the wave of his hand. A soft cry could be heard on the other side of the line of cars. Bob felt pretty confident that the crazy folks…the zombies as Buck called them, didn’t cry when they fell down.

  Bob slipped to the trunk of a Lincoln and stole a glance around the bumper. A young girl lay on the ground, leaning against the car, just feet from where he was. Bob lowered his head and contemplated the circumstances. Taking on the responsibility of another person, especially a youngster…was that really something he wanted to try to do under these conditions?

  He sighed and leaned out. “Psst!”

  The girl shrieked and scrambled to the front of the car, doing her best to put some distance between herself and this unknown person. Her eyes never left Bob, who was left at the end of the Lincoln, staring at her as though she had lost her mind while she scrambled away, and right into Buck.

  “We’re not going to hurt you,” Buck said.

  The girl screamed again and tried to scramble the other way. Bob stepped out and did his best to stop her hysterics. “Shh! You’ll attract them!”

  Buck rushed forward and flipped on his light. “Look,” he whispered as he flashed the light upon himself. “We’re not zombies.” He flashed the light toward his dad and the girl cringed away. “Oh, no!” Buck whispered anxiously. “He’s not infected. I, uh…accidentally shot him with an arrow.”

  The girl turned and stared at him open-mouthed. “You did?”

  “I didn’t mean to,” he replied with a hint of defensiveness.

  “We can play catch up later, kiddos. We need to get away from these wide-open spaces.” Bob motioned them back to the trees.

  The three of them worked their way to the shadows where Buck produced a canteen and urged their new friend to ‘sip’ the water to prevent getting sick on it.

  After a moment to catch her breath and calm down, Buck dug in his pack and came out with a granola bar. “Carbs for energy,” he said as he handed it to her.

  She mumbled a quick thanks as she ripped open the package and made quick work of the snack. Bob moved over closer to her, and in a whispered voice asked, “So what happened?”

  She paused in her chewing and brought tearful eyes up to him. “It was horrible,” she choked out. “We were at the concert and these people came out of nowhere. They started attacking everybody. Biting and clawing and hitting and…” she trailed off as her mind went back to the scene. Bob shook her shoulder slightly. “What?” she asked as she was shaken from her mental nightmare. “Oh…yeah. Well, the ambulance guys doctored people up and the cops were chasing off those crazy people, and…and…and then they just, they just went nuts!”

  “Who did?” Buck asked.

  “The people from the concert,” she exclaimed, her eyes wild. “The ones who were attacked. It was like they went crazy themselves. They started attacking the rest of the people in the crowd and, they weren’t just attacking them, they were…they were…” She choked on her own tears.

  “Were what?” Bob asked softly.

  “They were eating them!” she cried.

  She buried her face into Bob’s shirt as her body shook with each racking sob. Bob patted her back and stroked her hair. “Shh, it’s all over now. It’s okay. You’re safe.”

  Buck glanced over at the girl and mouthed to his dad, “Who was she with?” Bob squinted and shook his head, not understanding. Buck sighed and moved closer, “Who were you with?” he asked. “At the concert, I mean.”

  She pulled away from Bob’s chest and wiped the tears and snot from her face with the back of her hand. “My sister. She brought me for the concert.”

  “And do you know where she is?” Bob asked hopefully.

  She took a deep breath and tried to calm down, but he could tell she was hovering on the edge of a complete breakdown. “She was bit and an ambulance guy had taken her to see if she needed stitches,” she barely choked out. “Really, I think he was crushing on her, but…” She shrugged. “I stayed where we were, and she was going to come back, but then things got bad and…I ran.” She lowered her face and shook her head. “I ran off and left her.”

  “She’s your older sister, right?” Buck said, placating her. “Surely she can take care of herself. Or better yet, if that EMT thought she was cute, he’s probably helping take care of her.” He shot his dad a look and gave his head a slight shake. “If you want to, you can stick with us until you find her.”

  She continued to sniffle and snot and choke, but she nodded her head. “Thanks, I’d like that.”

  “Let’s start with your name.” Bob leaned back to try to look her in the face. “I’m Bob and this is Buck.”

  She nodded again and finally looked up. She wiped her hair from her face and stuck out her hand. “I’m Leslie. But my sister calls me Skeeter.”

  Bob accepted her hand and shook it. “Skeeter, eh? Because you’re so small?”

  “No, because I’m so annoying,” she said matter-of-factly. “What do you expect? I’m fourteen.” She smiled through puffy eyes.

  “Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Skeeter.” Bob took her hand in his and squeezed gently. “Buck here has a sister about your age. You two might have a few things in common.”

  Buck shook her hand, but he seemed less interested in his dad’s comments. “So, Skeeter, I’ve got a first aid kit here. Were you maybe bit or scratched during the attack?” Buck probed. Bob shot him a dirty look that he totally ignored.

  “No, I pretty much ducked and avoided them all,” she sniffled. “That is, until I got up by the parking area. There were more of them there and they saw me.”

  Bob butted in, “This may sound like a totally weird question, but is there any chance you might have seen a woman running around in just a pair of panties?”

  She turned and stared at him as if he might be a pervert. “You mean like, topless?”

  Bob avoided his eyes. “Yeah. I mean like that.”

  She shifted slightly away from him. It was subtle, but noticeable. “No,” she said cautiously.

  “Damn.” Buck threw his pack to the ground.

  Skeeter turned to him with a questioning look. “Why? What’s so important about a topless woman?”

  “Nothing,” Buck muttered.

  “I mean, there were some women at the show flashing their boobs at the bands, but…”

  “No, I mean running around with the crazy people,” Bob said, slumping down to the ground. “Attacking people.” His shoulder was suddenly throbbing much more. He reached to his shirt pocket and pulled out the bottle of Tylenol.

  “Oh.” She realized that whoever she was, she was important to them both. “I’m sorry, but no. I didn’t see her.” She suddenly perked up a bit. “But that doesn’t mean she wasn’t there,” she tried to sound hopeful.

  Bob shook his head and tossed a few more of the white caplets into his mouth. “We’re chasing wild geese.”

&n
bsp; Buck sighed and slumped to the ground. “I suppose she could have been there. But this park is only a couple of million acres. She could be standing fifty feet from us and we’d never know it.”

  “Who is she?” Skeeter asked.

  “My wife,” Bob said as he washed the pills down with a swallow of water.

  “My mom,” Buck added. “She got scratched and infected. We’re trying to find her so we can get her to a doctor.”

  Skeeter nodded and studied Buck a moment. “She got scratched and that made her go crazy?”

  “Yeah. We were hoping to catch her before she could…” he trailed off and suddenly raised his eyes to meet hers.

  “So, my sister?” Skeeter asked, already knowing the answer.

  “We don’t know that for sure,” Bob interjected a little too quickly, suddenly realizing what had happened. “We can’t be sure what spreads it, or if being treated by the EMT might have stopped it, or—”

  Skeeter held her hand up to stop him. “I’m young, but I’m not stupid. I’ve seen the movies,” she said firmly. “I know how this works. If she’s infected, the only ‘cure’ is to shoot her in the brain.”

  “That’s not true,” Bob said adamantly. “We’re not hunting my wife down to shoot her in the head.”

  Buck stared blankly at both of them. He finally sighed and shook his head. “Who are we kidding? There’s no cure, Dad.”

  “You can’t know that. You aren’t a doctor.”

  “Have you ever heard of a disease like this before?” Buck asked, suddenly sounding very tired. “Have you ever heard of a vaccine for it?”

  “That doesn’t mean that a drug that they already have won’t fix her.” A tear ran a streak down Bob’s dirty cheek.

  “I’ve seen just about every zombie movie there is and—”

  “Those are movies, son!” Bob all but yelled. “This is real life!”

  Skeeter wrapped her arms around herself and began rocking back and forth. “This can’t be happening,” she muttered.

  Bob pointed at Buck. “Even if this was like the movies, even some of the movies have people who are immune.”

  Buck nodded. “But mom wasn’t. Neither was Keri.”

  Bob buckled as though someone had punched him in the gut. He had all but forgotten his little girl. His last words to her were that daddy would make it all better. That he would get her to a doctor. That she would be all right, that he would see to it she was made all better…he felt a sob catch in his chest and he turned away as his eyes watered up again. “You can’t lose hope on me, son.”

  Buck grabbed his dad’s arm and held a finger to his lips. “Shh!” He pointed out past the parked cars again where figures could be seen in the dark, shadows moving within the dark, sprinting up the roadway, grunting as they ran. Bob suddenly sobered and stared from their own shadowy hideaway as the figures sprinted up the road; some would pause and sniff the air, then continue on. Farther away, a scream could be heard and the sprinting figures paused, tilting their heads as they listened to the screeching, then like a flock of birds, they changed course and darted into the woods, away from the trio.

  As the last of the figures darted into the woods and disappeared, Bob let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. “Son of a bitch,” he whispered. “That was too close.” He turned to Buck. “Good eye, son.”

  “Ear,” Buck corrected. “I heard them coming.”

  Bob sat a moment longer and stared at the two children sitting with him. He had to make a decision. He could either continue to risk their lives while hoping to find a naked needle in a haystack, or he could turn them around and work their way back toward the RV and possibly save their lives. If he was lucky, he might get Keri to a doctor and maybe they could do something to save his daughter as well.

  As he stared at his son and this new addition that sat rocking back and forth while cradling herself, he knew what he needed to do. Bob gritted his teeth and climbed to his feet. “Grab your things. We’re moving out.” He watched Buck move slowly, gathering his pack and pulling his crossbow to the ready.

  “Come on, Skeeter.” Buck held out his hand for her.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “We have an RV parked up by a hot spring,” Bob said. “We’re going back to it and getting the hell out of here while we still can.”

  Buck turned and stared at his dad, his confusion obvious. “But, Dad…what about Mom?”

  “She’s made it this far on her own,” Bob said as he stared out from the shadows. “I’m going to get you kids to safety. See if I can get Keri to a doctor. Then, if I can, I’ll come back with the authorities and see if we can find her.”

  Buck hung his head low and sniffled. “She’s not coming home, is she?”

  Bob smiled at his son and pulled him in tight for a one-armed hug. “I’m not giving up on her, if that’s what you’re asking.” He said softly. “I fully plan to come back for her.” Bob stared him in the eyes. “If you’re wrong about there not being a cure, then we’ll get her help. If you’re right, then it’ll be a fool’s errand.”

  “What about my sister?” Skeeter asked.

  “When I come back for Lucky, if you can get me a picture of your sister, I’ll make sure the authorities look for her as well,” Bob promised. “But for right now, I’m getting you two the hell out of here.”

  Hatcher slowed the ATV and navigated through the woods. The game trail he had chosen was narrower than he remembered and had grown over further since the last time he had used it. He had to duck a few times to avoid low limbs and swerve to avoid more than one wild berry vine as he threaded the four-wheeler through trails that usually only wild game traversed. When he finally approached the area that would bring him out near the ranger station and the site of the concert, he slowed further and burst through the brush behind the Visitor’s Center. He pulled the ATV around to the front of the station and shut off the engine.

  Once he dismounted, he stepped away and immediately noted the trash, blood, and scattered clothing. The lights from the stage were shattered and scattered about as if a war had taken place. Instruments were broken and strewn about, amplifiers and speaker stacks knocked over, yet nobody was left. It was as if the place had been attacked by a precision military unit and the people had simply scattered into the woods for shelter.

  Hatcher strode over to the sheriff’s mobile unit and tried the steel door. It was locked and covered in dried blood. Hatcher pulled his hand away and shuddered at the idea of what the circumstances might have been that put that blood on the door. He hopped from the short steel steps and strode to the other steel door. It, too, was locked, but he could hear noises coming from the other side. “Hello?” he called. “Park ranger! Can you open the door?”

  Daniel stood back and waited for the door to open while someone banged around inside. He could hear what sounded like something metallic smashing into the wall and couldn’t help but wonder what the hell was going on inside. He went up to the door and beat on it again. “The door’s locked!” he yelled. “Can you open it from the inside?”

  Stepping back, he waited and listened while whoever was in the trailer increased the tempo of their banging. Hatcher shook his head and looked to either side of him for something to possibly pry the door open with. He grabbed the handrail from the steps and lifted, pulling it free from the rungs. Inspecting the end of the rail, he tried jamming the metal into the gap by the doorknob and prying the door open.

  “I wouldn’t do that,” a female voice called.

  Hatcher dropped the handrail and turned to face a female deputy walking toward him from the parked police vehicles. “Do you have the keys?”

  “You don’t want in there,” she stated tiredly. The deputy approached Hatcher and leaned against the Mobile Unit, her face registering exhaustion as she slid down the side and sat on the ground.

  “What happened here?” Hatcher asked as he stepped down from the door and stood above her.

  She
stared off toward the natural amphitheater and shook her head, a sardonic smirk crossing her face. “I have no freaking clue what happened here.” She finally lifted her face to stare at him with a questioning rise of her brow. “It was… pandemonium.” She shrugged slowly. “The people went crazy and just started fighting and biting each other and scratching and clawing and then…” she trailed off as if she had forgotten what she was about to say, “…the ones they bit, they turned crazy, too.”

  “Their eyes turned red?” Hatcher asked.

  “Yeah.” She turned to look at him again. “You saw?”

  “I saw one.” His mind took him back to the teenage girl who tried to rip Shelly’s head off her shoulders with her bare hands.

  “One person bites another, and a few moments later, they go crazy, too,” she whispered. “Never saw anything like it before.”

  Hatcher reflected back to Shelly and the simple scratches by that crazy teenage girl. His heart sank and his guts twisted in place while this fact sunk in. He planted his feet firmly while his head swam and the world seemed to go off kilter. “Are you sure? All of them?”

  The deputy nodded as she stared off into the distance. “Each and every one that I saw. Most of them, it only took a few moments. They’d be disoriented for just a bit and then they’d get all angry and belligerent, then…,” she trailed off again and waved her hand out toward the destruction.

  Hatcher took a deep breath and glanced around the area again. “Where’d everybody go?”

  She shook her head. “No clue.” She rose to her feet slowly. “I was working the MU here and took a break to use the restroom. I came out of there and everything was just starting to go nuts. People in the lockup were losing it and attacking each other. People out here were attacking each other. Deputies and rangers were attacking or being attacked.” She kept shaking her head in disbelief. “I jumped out of the MU, locked the door, and ran to the cruisers. I dove into an SUV and locked it up tight. I just…hid ’til the screaming was over.”