by J. R. Rain
“I’ll be back,” he announced, and returned to the office.
He opened the door slowly, softly. Jared looked up at him. “Thank you, son,” Jack said simply. “I’d like to sit with her. Alone. For a few minutes.”
Jared gently loosened his hand from hers and replaced it with Jack’s. Anna didn’t open her eyes as Jared quietly left the room. He was a good kid, understanding a lot at his age, or so it seemed. Although never mentioning a word about his background, parents, etc., seemed downright weird.
Jack leaned closer and stroked his daughter’s hair like he used to when she’d skinned her knee or had a bad dream—those little girl moments seemed so long ago. She turned to him with a wan smile and opened her eyes.
“Hey, Angel,” he whispered.
“I’m sorry, Daddy.” Daddy, her little-girl name for him.
“I’m the one who should be sorry.”
“This is the last thing any of us needs,” she said. “Anna screwed up again. She didn’t listen. Now look what happened to her.”
“It doesn’t matter,” he said soothingly, uncomfortable she was talking about herself in the third person. “You’ll be all right, Anna.”
She moaned and rubbed her bitten ear.
“Can I take a look?”
She pulled her hair back, angry tears appearing again. Her ear was swollen. Cleaned and disinfected as best as could be, the teeth marks glared angrily in their redness. The wound was festering, though, like they all did. But it hadn’t spread to the rest of her head. Not yet.
“It hurts,” she told him. “And please don’t touch it, Daddy.”
“I won’t. But it doesn’t look so bad.”
“Yet.” Her voice was cold, bitter. “But I know how it will go. I had plenty of time to think about it before I ever got bitten. Soon, I won’t be able to think at all. I will be a monster.”
“No, never that. You will always—always—be my daughter.”
Anna cast aside the jackets over her, reached up and hugged him. “Why, Dad? Why is any of this happening? I’m so scared!”
He wrapped his arms around her. Tightly. “Sometimes there is no ‘why,’ Anna. I can’t answer why. But we’re going to figure it out. Okay?”
“You’re going to figure out how to drown me!” She wept bitterly. “Aren’t you? Don’t lie!”
“Shh. Don’t think such nonsense!”
“How can I not...”
“Just don’t! That’s an order. You couldn’t have a better group of people protecting you. Who love you. Who would do anything for you.”
“Jared,” she said softly. Apparently, he’d been waiting just outside the door. As soon as he heard his name, he stepped into the room.
“I’m right here, Anna. I said I wouldn’t leave you. And I never will.”
It was enough for now that Jared was supportive and loving. Forcing back his own tears, Jack hugged her, stood and made room for him.
“Can you drink some water?” Jack asked.
Anna frowned. “It doesn’t sound appealing.”
“You should, if you can, Angel,” he said.
“Yeah, I can.”
“I’ll get you some.”
With that, Jack left the room.
* * *
An hour later, Jared stepped out from the office and joined them.
“She’s asleep,” he announced, and plopped down next to Jack. They were sitting cross-legged in a circle not far from the office.
“Now that we’ve got this place secure, we were just talking about our options from here on out,” Jack said, bringing him up to speed on what the rest of them had discussed for the past twenty minutes.
“What do you mean?” Jared asked.
“What to do. About everything.”
“Including Anna, or only about her?”
“Whether this is the best place for all of us to remain, and for how long,” Carla advised. “Food. Supplies, like sleeping bags, batteries. Communication with the world. And yes, Anna.”
Jared didn’t respond, and Jack didn’t know how best to tell him the rest. He caught his brother’s attention by raising his eyebrows.
Joe nodded. “Jared... Carla has an idea. I mean, we all do. We don’t know much about this infection yet, and it got us thinking.”
“What’s the idea?” Jared stared at the marble floor.
“Well, she was bitten on the ear, right? Her dad said it didn’t look too bad. It hasn’t spread through her body, and definitely not to her brain yet. Not so far.”
Jack watched the boy; he remained still, but he was listening. Listening for any glimmer of hope.
Joe continued, “You know how sometimes, like if you get bitten by a snake, you have to cut off the blood flow so the poison doesn’t get into your bloodstream? Well, we were wondering if it might be the same type of thing with this.”
“My infection seemed to move slower,” Jack added. “I don’t know why I was spared what happens to most victims, when the change happens swiftly.”
“What’s this got to do with Anna?” Jared raised his head and looked Joe dead in the eye. “You can’t tie a cord around her ear. It wouldn’t work. I don’t like where this is logically headed....”
“Son,” Jack said gently, “is my angel showing signs of sickness yet?” Jack could have gone and looked himself, but it was hard to face her, and he had to think straight.
“No,” said Jared, almost inaudibly. “I don’t think so, anyway. She doesn’t want to eat, but that’s how she is when she’s really upset. It’s not a physical rejection of food... not yet. She did finally drink the water you brought her.”
Jared nervously watched the rest of them exchange knowing glances. “What are you thinking now? I know you’re planning to try something to stop the blood flow. Right?”
“It’s a bit more drastic than that,” Carla’s voice was soft and strong at once. “We’re thinking we should cut off her ear.”
Chapter Three
The Agent dressed in black set the box of machine gun magazines into the back of the SUV and wiped the sweat away from his face. The vehicle was full. He covered his vast array of weapons with a tarp and closed the back hatch. He was ready for war.
Just after noon, he could reach his destination in an hour, depending on traffic. He’d done his homework; he had detailed maps of the Griffith Observatory, the L.A. Zoo and the surrounding areas. He’d searched Joe Carter’s file and had printed out photos of the brother, Jack, and the niece, Anna. Procuring civilian clothing and shoes suitable for hiking, he was especially pleased to find night vision goggles, bugs to plant so he could listen to them, and a bullet-proof vest.
All he needed was fresh food. Never mind the instant meals he’d packed, he wanted one good meal. Even if it was the last one. From the information he’d gleaned from previously secure military sources online, he understood the world outside was out of control. Stopping at a diner, or even a drive-thru, was risky business.
He glanced toward the building he had just left. Surely, there was a mess hall. He couldn’t eat the refrigerated food, as it had been too long without electricity to keep from spoilage, but there should be plenty of canned and packaged goods.
Just one more time, he told himself. For better or worse, he picked up his backpack and machine guns and headed back inside.
* * *
As expected, the kitchen was in disarray. Hash browns, eggs and bacon lay on the huge commercial stove top, gathering mold while flies swarmed. The agent, whose name was Cole, took in the sight of broken dishes, overturned pots, and dried blood on the floor. It was a miracle the stove had been turned off during the melee. Otherwise, he could be looking at a charred mess instead.
He sat one of the guns down and crossed to the refrigerator. He covered his nose and mouth with his free hand; the spoiled odor was overwhelming. The fridge door had been left open, void of any meat. Moving quietly into the storage room nearby, he listened while his heart pounded violently in his chest.
Seeing only institutional sized cans of food, Cole chided himself for thinking he could find a nice little can of chicken soup or chili. He’d have to make do with a couple of large beef stews. He unzipped his pack and deposited them as quietly as he could, grimacing at the weight.
He stopped at the walk-in freezer before leaving the kitchen. Couldn’t hurt to look. Maybe he’d find some still-frozen fruit or vegetables. He glanced at the machine gun he’d left sitting on the table, raised the other while making sure it was ready for immediate us.
Cole opened the door, flipping the light switch. Of course it didn’t work. Hard to make out anything other than the shelves and their bigger contents in the dimness, the room felt fairly cool. Quickly, he stuffed a couple of sealed green beans and mushy peaches into the pack.
Anxiety setting in, his instincts were telling him to get the hell out of there. Out of the building before something unpleasant befell him. Prepared to step out of the storage room, Cole set his weapon down on a shelf while adjusting the backpack’s weight on his shoulders. That’s when he noticed his other gun had disappeared from the table in the kitchen.
“Don’t move,” came a hard, cold voice from beside him, as he stepped out to investigate.
A woman held the weapon trained upon his head. He guessed her to be in her early forties. When she warned him again not to move or look at her, he complied, except to raise his eyes to the stainless steel covered wall in front of him. It served as a dim mirror revealing the figure now slightly behind him. Dressed in civilian clothes, she was slightly overweight. More importantly, she didn’t hold the automatic rifle properly, shaking noticeably.
Quickly processing all potential outcomes, the good news was he could easily overtake her. The bad news, however, was her nervousness. She could erratically discharge the weapon and kill them both in the process.
Cole smiled angelically, slowly raising his hands.
“I’m not here to hurt anyone, Miss.” His voice was soothing, assured.
“I’ve heard that before!” came her sour reply.
“Really? If you’ve been watching me, I think you’re smart enough to see I’m just getting some food. Just something for the road.”
“Who else is with you?” she asked suspiciously
“No one.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Can I please turn around without you riddling me with bullets?”
A pause. Then, “Real slow, mister.”
He turned to face this woman, whose lips quivered nervously. He knew she had good reason to respond as she was. Cole had a good idea of what she had been through recently. Likely hiding in this place alone, either luck or intelligence had kept her alive so far.
“I’m not here to hurt anybody,” he told the woman. “I’m not sick, and I don’t want any trouble.”
“Then what are you really doing here?” The weapon swayed dangerously as she wiped the sweat dripping down into her eyes.
Cole started to lower his hands, but she pointed the gun at him as she took a step forward. He stopped, his own smile nervous.
“I work—or used to work here,” he said. “I must leave now. There’s nothing left for me here.” Cole noted her disheveled hair and greasy face. Must’ve been here for a while. “Why are you still here?”
“I came for help.” She sounded bitter. “I had to get away from them—I needed to find a safe place. I figured this would be it.”
“Bet you were surprised to find out otherwise.” Cole tried to draw her out, to calm her a little.
“I’m still alive, aren’t I?” she responded, defiantly.
“That makes two of us.... Can I lower my hands?” He brightened his smile and tentatively stepped closer to her, unarmed and with his heart raging again. “My name is Cole. Like I said, I used to work here. You can come with me, if you’d like.”
She nodded for him to lower his hands, and he was mindful to keep them where she could see them. The woman kept her stance. But the first step in befriending her had been taken.
“Can I ask you your name, ma’am?”
The woman opened her mouth to speak, but at that moment, someone else burst into the kitchen and her automatic rifle went wild.
Chapter Four
Cole dropped to the floor, while the woman wheeled and fired, spraying bullets across the kitchen and pocking every surface with holes. Ricocheted bullets zinged throughout the room. As he rolled over to retrieve the other machine gun, he registered that she had taken a couple zombies down. More from sheer luck than any semblance of aim, he was dismayed to hear more of them drudging slowly into the kitchen, hissing and growling. Meanwhile, she was out of control. In her panic, spraying bullets everywhere, she was coming to the end of her ammo clip.
When she did, he shouldered his gun and raised himself up to the counter. The woman dropped her gun. She stood frozen in fear at the multitude of the undead.
“Get over here!” Cole hollered. She stood as if frozen to the floor, gripped by terrible fear. He considered killing her as well as them, and being done with it. But in the instant before taking her out, Cole realized he didn’t want to be alone.
He jumped up, strode to her side and gunned down seven of them. But the gun pops and screams brought more zombies in, pouring into the room from two different directions. He grabbed her by the waist and forced her to the floor while taking out a dozen more. Halfway through the massacre, the magazine emptied. He loaded another and finished the job.
Echoes from the gunshots reverberated in their ringing ears when the battle ended. The place was a mess; walls splattered with fresh blood and bone. The metallic stench of infected hemoglobin sickened them both. He reached down and took her shaking hand, helped her to stand.
“Don’t look,” he told her. He gave her a moment.
Cole knew the gunfire would draw more crazies, which is how he preferred to refer to the infected. After all, zombies were the stuff of fantasy... and these critters were definitely real.
“Listen,” he said, “I don’t know you and you don’t know me. But this place isn’t safe. I’m leaving. Now. You can come with me if you want. But before you do, you should know I have some unpleasant business to take care of.”
The woman’s face was stone. “What kind of business?” she finally asked.
“I’m not going to lie to you. I’m at war with these creatures. They make me sick. I’m going to fight them. And fight them hard. Not just defense. Offense.”
She took in his deadly glare and stepped back. Cole knew she was weighing her options. “I can keep you safer than most people on the planet. But like I said, if you come with me, you’re with me. No matter what.”
“Sounds like you’ve got more than killing them in mind,” she said.
“I do. I have other scores to settle, too.”
“What are they?”
“Nothing for you to worry about.”
“If I’m coming with you, I could stand and fight. You could teach me. But I want to know what I’m getting myself into before I say yes.”
The agent in black, like the Devil himself, liked to mix the truth with lies. “Let’s just say I’m going to take care of the men who started this whole thing.”
She searched Cole’s eyes; he met her gaze, unflinchingly. She shrugged her shoulders and picked up the empty weapon, mimicking how he holstered the other one. “Count me in.”
* * *
Her name was Julie.
As Cole drove, he massaged her with questions. Julie’s home was in Seal Beach, not far from the base. She and her husband—who was now missing and, she presumed, dead—had raised their only son there, and lived there for thirty years. Her son was back east now, in college.
About a week ago, Julie’s husband had been mugged. Or that’s what she’d thought at the time. A wave of these attacks had come over their quiet beach neighborhood, and then people started getting sick. Her husband included. He’d become so irrational that she’d had to leave. S
he had gone to a friend’s, but the house was empty.
More and more became sick, and Julie was frightened. People were roaming the streets in a daze, incoherent and unaware of their surroundings. Reluctantly, she returned home, only to find her husband missing. She waited for him until someone tried to break in. By then, she had become so frightened that she took off running.
Cole listened to her story. He wondered how many more communities were like this. He’d expected the worst. And was finding it.
“What about you?” Julie asked him. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going and what we’re doing?”
He gave her a sidelong glance. “Are you sure you want to know? Be careful what you wish for.”
“Well, you saved my life, you’re taking me with you, and I agreed to stay with you and fight. I will, but I do want to know. Who are you going to war with?” Julie had caught a glimpse of the multitude of weapons under the tarp in back. But that was after she’d given her word to stay with him. Perhaps she might have thought twice if she’d known the truth about his mission.
Cole gave Julie a limited version of all that had taken place. He explained how two sailors had contracted the infection. He explained that they had tried to kill him. He also proclaimed himself as one of the highest-ranking military officials in the country and an expert in these affairs.
Her eyebrows went up, both impressed and suspicious.
Cole told her the two sailors were with a dangerous group of people, and that Cole had to take care of them before he could start setting other matters right. He also explained the infection was spreading all over the world. Nothing would ever be the same. But Cole also assured her that he knew how to survive under the most trying conditions. He wanted Julie to feel safe with him. For the time being, at least.
He didn’t tell her he was taking her far up into the hills of Los Feliz or that they’d be alone to defend themselves, exposed to the elements. And he didn’t tell her of his newly formed plan for the girl, Anna.