by J. R. Rain
Anna stepped into her father’s room and brought back the box of ammo he kept in his dresser. Jared made sure the gun was loaded and ready to go. He put up a brave front for her. He hadn’t told her that he couldn’t get in touch with his own parents. That would be just one more thing for her to worry about. There was nothing to be done about it anyway, he supposed.
“Better get a jacket,” he said. “The fog’s going to be heavy tonight.”
Anna, feeling a touch of rebellion, grabbed a sweatshirt instead.
They started walking up the tree-lined streets toward the Greek Theatre. It would have been a nice walk. Except for the fog. Except for the fear of what Anna was now calling zombies.
“They don’t act like zombies,” Jared kept up the conversation. Even though they were talking about some crazy shit, it felt good just to talk. But the fog was rolling in quickly now, and their voices echoed in the mist. They found themselves speaking softly.
“I know, weird symptoms,” Anna agreed. “But then they want to kill. Mike almost killed my father.”
The way leading up to the Greek Theatre was unusually quiet. Normally, people were out walking their dogs or going for a run. On this evening, Anna and Jared were alone.
“True,” Jared said, “but then he got cured.”
“Yeah. Not enough information, I guess. Maybe we can go online again if we can get into the observatory.”
“Right,” said Jared, taking her hand. He was getting a little nervous. All of the houses were locked up tight, a minimum of lights on.
Suddenly, Anna stopped. “Shh,” she whispered, glancing behind them.
They stood silently. Somewhere back there in the dense fog, they heard a sound. Distant but definitely there. Like something dragging along the street.
“Shit,” Jared said. “Come on, Anna.”
They started running, still holding hands in the fog and descending dark. Just a few blocks to go, Jared told himself. They could now only see about ten feet in any direction.
They were moving as silently as they could, not only to remain unheard but to listen.
Jared stopped abruptly, yanking Anna back. Up ahead, and close. The same dragging sound...
They froze. Behind them, now in front of them.
“The trail,” Anna whispered.
Jared remembered her father’s instructions...except the trail seemed their only option now. “What if we get lost? Carla’s waiting.” I hope to God she is, he added to himself.
Anna was about to answer when it materialized before them, seemingly out of the fog itself, moving slowly straight for them. Human but not human, gnashing its teeth, eyes blood red.
Anna screamed. Jared let go of her hand, took off the safety, and drew up the pistol.
He aimed for the head and squeezed the trigger.
Chapter Twenty-five
The head exploded.
Blood and brain spattered as the zombie fell to the ground, twitching, then lying still. Jared couldn’t believe what he had just done but there was no time to think about it. Because Anna had bolted for the trails.
Jared took off after her. He didn’t know these trails as well as she did. But he had to get to her. Sweating, panting, he rounded a corner and tripped over a rock, crashed into the brush. The gun slipped out of his hand.
It was almost fully dark now.
“Anna!” he yelled out. He moved his shaking hands out in front of him. The gun, I have to get the gun I have to get the—”
Anna shrieked somewhere in the distance. Jared’s instincts were to run toward her cry. But he needed that gun. He heard footsteps ahead of him, coming fast.
“Shit, oh, shit!” He was coming undone.
He made one last effort, moving his hands around on the ground. His right hand fell on cold steel. He picked it up, rose up, and Anna came crashing into him.
“Jared!” she sobbed.
Jared swore to himself he would not let go of that pistol ever again. He put one arm around her.
“Another one,” Anna tried to whisper. She was hysterical now. “Up ahead.”
He put a shaking, dirty finger to his lips.
Anna tried to slow her uneven sobs. It was too late. The dragging, it was the noise of dragging feet.
“They’re in front of us,” she whispered.
“And behind us,” he replied softly.
She shook her head nearly uncontrollably, losing it herself.
The teenager thought quickly. He shushed her again, took her hand, and guided her off the trail. They found a scrub oak and hid behind it. Their hearts were pounding; they barely dared to breathe.
They could hear them on the trail. Three or four by the sound of it, Anna figured. They met where Jared had fallen and Anna had run into him. The two teens held their breath, not daring to move. They listened to moaning, snarling, snapping jaws, and then the slow dragging of their steps as they faded into the night.
“Ohmygod, Jared, what are we going to do?”
“I don’t know,” he answered miserably. I actually shot someone. He pushed away the memory of exploding brains. “Calm down, let’s just calm down.”
For once, she listened to him. Jared held the gun tightly, listening. It was quiet. For now. “Let’s go back to the street. Maybe they’ve moved on.”
“We can’t go back to the street! They’re waiting, I know they are!”
“We can’t use the trails,” he countered. “In the street, we have a better chance of dodging them. I think they respond to noises.”
“But Jared—”
“Look. We’ll be quiet. Like cats, all right? Carla’s coming for us. And she won’t be on the trails; she’ll be in a car. That will be safe, to be in a car.”
“But—”
God, he was tired of arguing with her. He gripped her hand and guided her back to the trail. “Take us to the road. You know the way back better than I do.”
Anna understood the tone in his voice. Finally, she nodded and led him by the hand, slowly. Listening, always listening for movement.
It didn’t take long to reach the road. The rows of houses were behind them. They could barely see an occasional street lamp through the fog. The lights were of little comfort.
“I feel so exposed,” Anna whispered.
“Only a couple of blocks to go. Can you run?” he asked. He didn’t need to ask her twice.
They ran like the wind.
* * *
“Where did they all come from?” Anna asked, out of breath.
“I don’t know,” Jared answered. He was having trouble holding Anna’s hand, running, and keeping her father’s pistol tightly in his other hand.
They had dodged two more of them, and then three more by the time they arrived at the Greek Theatre. The place was shut down and dark. They positioned themselves in the center of the front of the building, in order to see and hear anything moving from left, right or in front of them. They had the wall to their backs.
Jared was panting louder than Anna. Too loudly. She shushed him. They couldn’t see very far. Anna thought that if Carla was waiting for them, she would have her patrol car running. But nothing. It was dark and she couldn’t see anything anyway.
“Should we call for her?” Anna panted softly.
“No. We’ll wait. Quietly,” he reminded her.
They waited. And waited. Jared was thirsty. He tried to ignore it, but after a miserable, timeless twenty minutes he gave into the drinking fountain a few feet away. Anna wouldn’t leave his side. She let him drink and then, even though the fountain hissed loudly, she drank. Running from zombies was thirsty business.
Jared put a hand on her shoulder halfway through her drink. Those slow, uneven footsteps, coming closer. There was more than one of them. Even the sound of the fountain was too much.
They were coming from the right, so Anna and Jared slipped around to the side of the building. Anna almost stumbled on something. She bent down to feel out what it was. A pipe, about three feet long.
“Perfect weapon,” Jared whispered. He could hardly see Anna nod. “I’ll shoot again if I have to. If you have to use that, aim for the head, Anna.”
The footsteps were coming closer. They moved further back, into a small corridor leading to a locked door. Waited.
Closer, closer. Finally, the two teens could see the zombies’ silhouettes from the distant lamppost light. They tried to stay quiet, but this time it was Jared who couldn’t hold his breath any longer. He couldn’t help it; he blew a soft, anguished cry.
Zombies, Anna whispered. They’re here.
There were at least four of them, but it was difficult to tell for sure. Jared knew they had nowhere to go. They were trapped. And outnumbered.
So, Jared did the only thing he could think of: he brought up the gun.
Anna whimpered next to him as he aimed for the head again, and again, his aim was true. Anna brought her pipe down on the second one, but it did no good. She drew the pipe back like a sword now, and, with all her might, plunged it between the zombie’s eyes. The breaking bone shivered up the pipe to her arms, but she pushed in deeper. Broken skull fragments and blood poured out onto her.
In the back of her mind, she heard Jared fire again, and again. Anna pulled her weapon out of the skull, the body falling to the ground.
She gasped. Another one was just behind the fallen one and stepped right on it to get to her. She transformed her fear into rage and plunged again, this time harder.
By the time they were done, the two teens had six zombies lying dead around them. Six one-time humans. Silence once again prevailed. Except for Jared’s loud breathing. Anna turned away and vomited. She kept vomiting until long after her stomach was empty.
Jared attempted to reload his pistol with hands shaking. He dropped a couple of bullets but kept trying. He had just locked the barrel with fresh rounds when they heard a car racing up the road. They sprinted to the street to see a patrol car fast approaching. Surreal, the car’s headlights cut through the fog.
“It’s Carla!” they both said at the same time.
Carla braked and slid around, pointing the cruiser in the opposite direction, facing back down the road. It was the perfect pitting maneuver of a well-trained cop.
This brief shine of headlights showed Anna and Jared at least a dozen other zombies in close proximity, their eyes blinking and glowing in the darkness like animals.
Carla got out of her car and fired at three in a row. “Come on!” she yelled at them. “Get in the car!”
Anna and Jared moved toward the patrol car, but already the undead blocked their way. Gun reloaded, Jared took down three and Anna another two. Carla covered them by taking out two more. The teens jumped into the back seat.
“The area is infested with them!” Carla said.
“No kidding,” Jared replied. “And we were on foot!”
Carla took down another before she flew into the driver’s seat and once again did a one-eighty, gunning the gas pedal and heading up the road. She ran down two more undead.
Anna looked back and couldn’t believe what she saw. They had been run over, but they stood up and began slowly, slowly, but steadily, walking again.
“How are they not dead?” she asked, almost to herself.
“I don’t know, honey,” Carla answered, “but I’m not going to stop and figure that out right now. Are you two okay?” Carla glanced in the rear view mirror, studying the two teenagers.
She’s wondering if we’ve been bitten, Jared thought. “We’re okay,” he told her. “We haven’t been...infected if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“No, no,” Carla half-lied.
Anna realized they were heading up the hill, not down to what she considered safety. “Why are we going up here?” she said, sitting forward. “There are only more of them, I can feel it!”
It was hard for her, too—Anna had never killed a living thing in her life. But they’re not living, she reminded herself. At least, she didn’t think they were. Not living in the normal sense. They’re not human anymore. Something else.
“Because your dad’s up here,” Carla answered fiercely. “And he’s waiting for us.”
Chapter Twenty-six
Hindsight, as they say, is twenty-twenty.
So, how could I have ever thought things would work out as planned? I was a stupid, irresponsible father. Nothing would ever be the same.
I knew Carla had planned to pick up Anna and Jared at the Greek. I thought I had enough time. But then again, perhaps the time I took was necessary.
I had driven down to Sunset Boulevard, where I parked and had to walk a couple of precious time-consuming blocks to find a pay phone. There weren’t many these days. I thought about the hookers, junkies and indigents who used these phones and then laughed. What were their germs on the handsets, compared to what I was facing?
Fortunately, I had a second hand on my wristwatch. I dialed the number Carla had given me. I had one minute.
“Sheriff’s office,” an impatient voice answered. I started watching the seconds.
“I need to talk to Chief Nelson,” I said as firmly as I could.
“He’s busy right now. What can I help you with?” Still, that unconcerned impatience.
“I need to talk to him about what’s going on,” I said. “Look, I have military and police information and I’m calling on a pay phone. I have less than a minute, I’m told. I have to talk to him about the murders and the infected. So, if you want him to have this info—”
“Hang on.” This time, she sounded a little more interested.
Fourteen seconds later, a commanding voice said, “Nelson here. Who is this?”
“This is an anonymous call,” I said quickly. “I have about forty seconds. This is a worldwide pandemic. I understand a couple of your officers have been infected. Bitten. They are not safe; I know they’ve been released.”
“How do you—”
“No time,” I said. “You want to contain them, do you understand me? The military is having problems with this same infection. Your force needs to know that if they come across these...infected people, they have to kill them. Shoot them in the head. The head. That’s the only way to kill them.”
“That’s not proper protocol. Again, who is this?”
“Someone who knows. Someone who cares. Someone who’s gonna help you. I just wanted you to know. The rest is up to you.”
I hung up at fifty-five seconds. I didn’t have time to tell him more.
I put the phone back on its hook and looked around. Sunset Boulevard was a crazy place on the most ordinary of Saturday nights. The streets thronged with people from all ethnicities, genders and backgrounds. Kids having fun, hookers, people in costumes, photographers, and musicians trying to pay the rent and playing for dollar bills thrown in guitar cases. I started walking back to my truck. A police car cruised by and I lost myself in the crowd. They couldn’t be looking for me already. Could they?
I was a little paranoid, anxious. I had to get to Carla and the kids. Anna and Jared. I felt conflicting emotions for Jared. He obviously loved my daughter, but they were so young. Too young for real love, right? Hell, I didn’t know. I guess love was love, no matter the age.
I frowned as I maneuvered myself through the crowds back to my car. Jared’s parents were missing. Brice had told me that earlier in the day. So, where were they? Jared hadn’t mentioned it, and I wondered if he even knew. I also wondered if I should tell him.
Back at my truck, I knew I still had one stop to make before I headed back. Perhaps another decision that changed the course of things. Who knew? But I think I did the right thing.
I drove a mile and took a left on a little-known street. I parked in front of a small shop and entered.
The muscled-up, tattooed guy at the counter gave me no smile. He just waited for me to say something.
“I need four semi-automatics and about twenty clips,” I said simply.
“I can’t sell you that much
.” He folded his arms, frowning, daring me to argue.
I flipped out my ranger badge. “It’s an emergency, man,” I told him. “I’m not a fucking gangbanger or drug dealer.” I slipped him a hundred, careful to avoid the multiple cameras monitoring the shop.
He glanced down, then up at me. Sizing me up. I stood my ground. “Shit’s going down. You gotta know that, right? I need a little protection.”
He considered a moment, his hand covering the bill. Then he nodded and went to the back, out of sight. When he returned with the weapons, I asked, “Do you have any handcuffs?”
He blinked, then nodded.
No questions asked.
Chapter Twenty-seven
My detour to the gun store made me late in arriving at the observatory.
By now, the fog was pea-soup thick. I could barely see ten feet in front of me as I made my way up the hill, my anxiety increasing with each step. I saw signs of violence and death. The first was a man who’d had his head blown to bits just a few blocks before the Greek. It was right where Carla had promised to pick up Anna and Jared. I wondered if she had done it or if Jared had.
Mostly, I wondered where the hell my kid was.
Oh, sweet Jesus.
The theater was closed, but I slowed long enough to see several more bodies, scattered. Tire skid marks pointed both ways. Carla had been here. I didn’t know if my daughter and Jared were with her or which way they’d gone.
The street was empty of any vehicles so I threw the truck into park and got out to see what I could see, automatically drawing my own gun. So still, no sound, not a mockingbird, not a coyote, no sounds of any animal whatsoever. That chilled me to the bone.
All of the zombies had been either shot in the skull or killed with blunt force to the head. I took in the obliterated remains of each one and wondered if Anna or Jared had anything to do with this. My Anna. My sweet Anna. I had been worried about her sexual innocence, but a far worse knowledge had been thrust upon her. One of violence.