by Jeff Olah
The obvious sounds of bodies slamming onto the floor out in the common area just on the other side of the door signaled Sean that his plan may just work. As his sister peered out of the stall, Sean said, “Stay there until I open the door, just a few minutes.” More thuds could be heard as Megan began to understand what he was doing.
Water now covered the entire floor and ran freely out into the station. He was terrified for what came next, although he knew they only had one shot. “Megan, once I open the door, those things are probably going to go crazy. Let’s stay put and wait for them to start hitting the floor before we try to make it out. The floor outside the bathroom will have much less traction, so have your gun ready… but don’t run. If we can’t stay on our feet, it’s over. Stay by the wall and don’t let them get ahold of you.”
“This is going to work Megan, it has too. We really don’t have any other choice.”
Stepping down from the toilet, Megan tiptoed across the wet floor, gun in hand, and leaned into the wall near her brother. They watched the door as the pounding had significantly subsided and was replaced by the sounds of wet bodies thrashing about only inches away.
“You ready?” Sean asked.
“No… but let’s go. If this works, you officially become my favorite person on the entire planet.”
“I thought I already was.”
6
The sound made by the deadbolt as it disengaged was barely audible over the thrashing sub-humans, although it was still too loud for Sean. He turned to his sister before twisting the handle and smiled at her. If he was about to be torn apart, he wanted something pleasant to remain in his last few thoughts. His sister meant everything to him and he never once told her. He needed her and depended on her every single day of his life. She woke him in the morning, drove him to and from school and attended every assembly where he received an award, even before his mother and father left. He admired her more than she could possibly imagine… She was his favorite person.
Megan’s shoulder length blond hair, freckled cheeks and nose gave the appearance that the siblings were much closer in age than ten years. Most guessed her to be in her early twenties and with her typical casual dress, she looked more like a surfer girl without a care in the world. Her career as a self-defense instructor and the fact that she was a major league tomboy surprised all who took the time to learn more about this young woman. Megan loved the contrast that was her life and often toyed with younger men that had the misfortune of testing her resolve.
As he began to pull the door open, the force from what was behind pushed it in and multiple Feeders tumbled to the white and black checkerboard tile. Megan shoved him backward into the door frame, narrowly avoiding the Feeders piling in, each falling over the one before and clawing at the siblings as they stepped out of the bathroom.
Sean fought the urge to run as one by one the creatures occupying the station started for them and were immediately thrown to the slick wet tile. His breathing rapid and shallow, Sean stayed against the wall and paused, letting his sister take the lead. With his focus on the horde only feet away and coming closer with each second, he pointed to the area near the tracks. “Megan, we have to get over there. It looks dry and it’s the only way we’re going to get away from these things.”
Their time ran out as the closest Feeder slid itself forward and grabbed a handful of the bottom of Sean’s pant leg, pulling him to the ground. He winced in pain as his head slapped against the wall behind. He came crashing down onto his tailbone on the hard wet floor below. Ripping away swatches of his pant leg with each pass, the beast quickly moved atop the boy and brought its head in, jaws snapping, going for Sean’s stomach.
Her brother down and as she struggled to find her footing, Megan braced herself against the wall. She planted her foot into the Feeders shoulder, shoving it backward as two more slid themselves in from behind. She pulled at Sean’s shirt, attempting to bring him to his feet in a perverted game of tug-of-war with the creatures scattered across the floor and she was desperately losing the battle. She needed him to snap out of it, to understand that this was it; with more Feeders heading toward them, their time for making it to the exit untouched was rapidly ending “SEAN, STAND UP NOW!”
Still trying to pull free and kicking at the creatures inching toward him, Sean backed into the wall. “Megan let go of my shirt, I can’t move.” Shaking free, he used his arms to push against the wall, pulled his feet in close and in an effort to stand the weapon fell from his waistband. Attempting to reach for it ahead of the oncoming horde, Sean nearly found himself on the floor a second time. Megan pulled him back and shoved him to the left as she withdrew her own pistol, leveling it at the crowd. “Go, get to the truck.”
“Megan, I’m not leaving you…”
“SEAN, JUST GO!”
He turned, walked carefully across the slick flooring and reached the unaffected area near the tracks without any trouble. He turned around to see Megan backed into the corner; arms raised and watched the first shot leave her weapon. She used another two rounds to level the original attackers and, picking up the gun Sean dropped, took out three more, giving her a few seconds of reprieve.
“HEAD SHOTS!” Sean yelled.
Moving away from the approaching horde, Megan looked back at her brother, obviously confused. “What are you talking about?”
“Megan, let’s go… like right now.”
With the crowd outside the bathroom fighting one another for position and attempting to move through the sloppy mess toward the pair, she reached her brother. The Feeders to the rear no longer a threat, Megan saw that they now had a straight shot through the parking lot and to the truck. After a final scan of the area, she shook her head and quickly moved toward the exit. Handing Sean the weapon once again she said, “Stay low and be quiet. And… thanks.”
They moved from the building and out into the mid-morning light. Sean looked skyward and squinted as he smiled at his sister. A moment of calm in what he was sure would end up being the worst day of their lives. These things weren’t real, how could they be? Everything he knew about the human body and the way it functioned caused the dull ache at the base of his neck to shoot into the back of his head. How could this thing have moved so fast from one person to another, let alone city to city? He needed to think about something else. For now he just wanted to get somewhere safe. The answers to the larger issues would come with time.
“Megan, where are we going?”
“Are you serious? We’re going back in the truck.”
“That’s not what I meant; Dad told you something… he told you what was happening, where to go and what to do. I think I have the right to know.”
“Right now all you need to do is…”
Caught off guard, Megan turned to see the large crowd of Feeders they’d just escaped was once again mobile and beginning to exit the station. She leaned in, pulled Sean to her side and pointed toward the lot. The pair once again moved in and out of the forgotten vehicles, this time with the knowledge that many of their owners would never return for the commute home. Megan looked in each window she passed for any needed supplies. With nothing worth the risk of allowing the horde to gain ground, she simply followed the path to the last car and in peering out from behind, checked for the next threat.
The streets remained clear, save for the two random Feeders moving through the intersection that appeared to be headed away from the area. “Come on,” Megan said as she urged Sean forward. This time both siblings ran the short distance to the truck, jumped in and locked the doors.
“Head shots,” Sean said.
Fumbling to get the keys into the ignition, Megan cut a look at her brother. “What?”
“I was trying to tell you before. Only head shots work.”
As the engine rumbled to life, Megan pounded the accelerator and pushed the truck down the boulevard and away from the station. “Sean, what in the world are you talking about?”
“Those things… they can on
ly be stopped with a shot to the head. The videos I watched this morning showed them being shot multiple times in the body and still getting up. The only way to completely stop them is to shoot them in the head. That’s what I was trying to tell you earlier.”
Sean still looked frightened and now she was too, more so than the moments after speaking to her father. If she didn’t believe him then, she surely did now. Megan knew she could take care of herself… well enough to get by anyway, although how was she supposed to keep the two of them away from harm as the days passed? “Good to know… And thank you!”
“You’re welcome. Wait…for what? Why are you thanking me?” Sean asked.
“For that big brain of yours. You knew all along that we shouldn’t have gone in there and I’m sorry for putting you in that situation. It won’t happen again, I promise.”
Sean didn’t know what to say, he simply stared at her as she maneuvered the truck around the stalled vehicles and through the mess that used to be their city.
“You were right,” Megan said. “Your plan worked. You just saved our lives.”
7
The map her father put together must have been done in the last few moments before he called. The landmarks were somewhat recognizable, although too few of them and they were obviously not to scale. She would have been guessing her way through a majority of the route, had she not already been familiar with the area. The dirt and gravel road they now traversed tore a straight line out of the devastated city streets which Megan and her brother narrowly escaped earlier this morning. Bisecting the county, their path moved north into the rural backcountry she only discovered months ago as a source of the freshest farmers market within a hundred miles. Today was different. Strawberry stands no longer dotted the path and the usual line of cars waiting to get their hands on the fresh produce was non-existent. They hadn’t seen a soul since leaving the city and turning onto this road over two hours before.
The mile long trail of billowing dust slowly drifted away from the rear of the truck as they moved along the desolate landscape. From its apex, the sun fought to tear its way through the grey sky as the severity of their situation began to weigh on her. While moving through the crowded city streets, her senses were heightened and she reacted with each new threat. The fear coursing through every inch of her body was the only reason they’d made it this far. Driving the deserted dirt road, her brother gazing out of the passenger window into the eastern sky, the knot in Megan’s stomach began to constrict. Two hundred yards ahead a black sedan sat at the edge of the road, hood raised and traces of translucent white plumes wafted into the atmosphere.
As she approached and pulled to within thirty feet of the stalled vehicle, Sean finally noticed the truck starting to slow. “What’s this?”
“Don’t know, but we’re not taking any chances,” Megan said.
Shifting into park, she opened her window and honked the horn twice, waiting for someone to emerge from behind the open hood. Ten seconds and nothing changed. Her gut told her to put the truck back into drive, and speed past the black sedan without looking back and catch the main highway two miles ahead. Cutting a look over at her brother, desperately searching for an answer, it appeared he had the same idea.
“Megan, we should probably just go.”
Nearly a full thirty seconds after signaling their presence, the six foot bearded farmer, clad in the requisite overalls and checkerboard red and black flannel leaned out from behind the car. There was no evidence that this man was even aware of what took place in the world that day. Pausing for a moment, his smile appeared genuine as he waved them over and disappeared back under the hood of the sedan.
“Sean, stay here,” Megan said as she checked her weapon. “I’m not sure what this this guy is doing, but I don’t really want to try to pass him before checking it out. I’ll make sure he isn’t up to anything funny and then we’ll get going.” Megan opened her door and stepped out. Sliding the pistol between her waistband and the small of her back, she stretched away the stiffness. Sitting behind the wheel for the last few hours navigating the city streets and now this back road had taken its toll.
In obvious disagreement, Sean shook his head. "Megan, are you serious? I don't think this is a good idea… at all."
Without offering a response or even turning to face her younger brother, she moved forward. The truck still idling and the door she emerged from still open, Megan stomped hard against the pot-hole laden dirt road, announcing her approach. One hand firmly at her side ready to retrieve the weapon at moment’s notice, she rounded the front of the black sedan.
Hunched over the motor, swatting away the residual smoke, he lifted the shotgun sitting on the left quarter panel and held it eighteen inches from her torso before she had a chance to react. The darkness that befell his eyes became evident at this distance. His smile remained, although now twisting into a menacing smirk. No signs this middle-aged man had run into the horrors that obliterated much of humanity, he was fresh from the day, except for the grime that tattooed his hands much the same as the average garage mechanic.
"Sir, I'm just trying to get to the other side of the city and didn't mean you any..."
"Shut up,” he said. “Little lady what gave you the impression that traveling this road would be any easier than going all the way around?”
“We just…” Megan stammered.
“Especially today.”
“You know about what’s happening out there?” Megan followed.
“Why wouldn’t I… you really think that the city is the only area that gets cable TV or the internet?”
With the barrel shoved hard into her stomach, she backed into the road as he used one final push to force her to the ground. She skidded sideways onto her shoulder as the gun from her waistband slid to the right. She reached for it, although he moved in one second ahead of her and placed the forefoot of his boot atop the pistol before she was able to grasp it.
“Get up! If you want to live another five minutes, you need to listen to me.”
Megan fought the urge to take action. If this man wasn’t holding the shotgun, she was absolutely sure he’d be the one on his knees begging for mercy. She was less frightened than she was angry. If he wanted to kill her, he would have already done it. She’d have her chance at him and just needed to watch for an opening… it would come sooner or later.
Stepping out of the passenger side quietly, Sean assumed he hadn’t been noticed. His hands quivered uncontrollably as he clutched the handgun, sighted the unknown man standing above his sister and moved carefully toward them.
The shotgun now trained on Megan, their assailant called out to Sean. “Son… do not take another step. Lay the gun in the road and get back in the truck. I will give you three seconds before I kill her.”
“Sean,” Megan called out. “He’s bluffing; he would have already killed me if that was what he wanted to do... Shoot him.”
The man standing only twenty feet from Sean did not look up. He reached down and picked up her weapon, pumped the shotgun once and laid it against Megan’s temple. “Boy, your friend here is going to die and her blood is going to be on your hands. Do as I say. This is your last chance.”
“SEAN DO NOT LISTEN TO HIM!”
He had no chance of hitting the man at this distance and even if he did his sister would probably die in the process. His chances were better if he was able to speak to the man and convince him to let her go. What could he want from them? Megan was right; if he was going to kill them he’d have already done so, although the risk was too great. Sean needed to let this man think he had the upper hand. Sean was much smarter than him and he’d use that to resolve this situation.
“Yes sir… just please don’t hurt her.” Sean kept his eyes locked on the man as he set the pistol in the dirt and walked back the short distance to the truck, jumped in and closed the door. He watched as his sister was pulled by the hair to her feet and marched back to the truck.
The man stopped at th
e driver’s door and spoke directly to Megan. “Get in the back. If you try anything… I mean anything; I’ll kill the kid here. I know you think I’m bluffing as you’ve already mentioned, but I can guarantee you that I am not. For your sake I hope you don’t make me show you how wrong you really are.” He leaned his weapon against the door and pushed Megan toward the rear of the truck; she climbed in and sat behind the cab watching for the man’s next move.
Sean turned back to see his sister’s eyes dart rapidly between him and the man as he climbed in behind the wheel. Megan tried to warn him, but she was too late. The much larger man struck her brother in the side of the head with the stock of the shotgun, rendering him unconscious shortly before his body crumpled to the floorboard below.