by Tim Moon
“We dodge the infected and scrounge around for keys. It’ll be difficult but not impossible.”
“What about the car rental places?” Ben asked.
“Too many infected. I already checked,” Anuhea said. “A lot of them are behind the fence, too dumb to escape.”
Oliver stepped up between Ben and Anuhea as they stood staring toward the airport, waiting for the rest to wake up.
“I’m hungry,” Oliver said.
“We are too, but right now we don’t have anything,” Ben said, looking at the kid.
“I’m thirsty too,” Oliver said. He wasn’t whining, just stating the facts.
“We’ll get something soon,” Anuhea said, smiling.
“Okay.” Oliver turned away and sat down by Charlotte.
“I know of a place we can go near the hotel you guys stayed at. There is a convenience store too,” she said, nodding her head in Oliver’s direction. “Get him some food and drink.”
“I’d kill for one of those beef and bean burritos they make.” Ben winced slightly when his stomach actually did gurgle at the mention of food. “First things first though, we should wake everyone up and get moving.”
They both turned to wake everyone up and saw Oliver already shaking Charlotte awake.
Ben clapped his hands a few times. “Good morning. It’s time to get up and get moving.”
Anuhea nudged Ty with her foot.
“Wake up. Time to get moving,” he said again.
The couple blinked awake and slowly sat up. The man grimaced in pain when he tried to move his leg. Ty stayed where he was, but opened his eyes, stretched, and looked skeptically at Anuhea and Ben.
“Where are we going?” the woman asked.
“That’s a great question,” Ben said.
“Not really, I can’t go anywhere with this,” the man said, gesturing at his foot.
Ben looked and saw a swollen, discolored lump that strained to break free of ankle high socks. The man’s bulging joint protruded from white shoes sporting splashes of dried blood and a thick coat of dust.
“That looks pretty bad,” Ben said, looking at Charlotte. “Is there anything you can do to help him? We have a long way to walk to find a car.”
Charlotte looked around and held out her hands. “Unless someone has a medical kit or crutches stashed away, there’s nothing I can do right now.”
Ben frowned even though he knew she was right. “Can you stand up at all?” he asked, turning back to the man.
“I haven’t tried yet,” the man said. He shifted into a seated position and looked at Ben, who caught the clue and offered his hand.
Pulling the man up on his good leg, Ben helped him to his feet and watched him try to stand on his own.
He groaned in pain and slumped against Ben.
“Oh dear God, that hurts,” the man said, breathing heavy and quickly sitting back down. “Like I said, I can’t go anywhere. I’ll just sit here and wait for you to come back when you find a car.”
Anuhea scoffed and turned away.
“Even if we get a car, you’ll have to make it to the road.” Ben pointed toward the highway. It was easily two football fields away.
The man leaned to the side so he could look around Ben. “Well then you’ll have to carry me. There’s no way in hell, my crippled ass can make it that far.”
“Travis!” the woman beside him said, slapping his shoulder.
“What?” he asked defensively.
“These people helped us last night. They don’t owe us anything, so don’t act so entitled. And there’s a child here, watch your mouth,” she said, looking apologetically at Ben. “He can be a bit slow sometimes, bless his heart.”
Ben liked this woman already.
“I don’t intend to leave you here to die. None of us wants that. We’re going to get the hell out of here, together,” Ben said, glancing at his friends for support. Charlotte and Anuhea nodded in agreement. Ty stood up and walked away. Ben scowled at his back. Then he looked back at the woman. “Sorry, what are your names? I’m Ben.”
“I’m Travis, like my lovely wife said.” He leaned back, put his hands behind his head, and squinted up at Ben. The sun had crested the mountains, beaming down on them with its full brilliance, slowly warming up the dark rocks.
“And I’m Kathy,” the woman said, tucking a lock of her curly blond hair behind her ear. “Thanks for helping us last night, it was….” Her voice trailed off.
“A goddamned clusterfuck,” Travis said, shaking his head. “It’s not much better today either. Now I’m just as good as dead if those things come close.”
“Don’t say that, honey,” Kathy said just before slapping his arm. “And watch your mouth. Did you lose your hearing too? They have a kid.” She turned and smiled sweetly at Oliver. The boy got shy and turned away from her.
Ty walked back and plopped down in his spot. He still hadn’t spoken.
Ben took a deep breath and looked at each of them.
“Here’s our plan so far,” he said, glancing at Anuhea. She nodded at him. Ben pointed at Travis. “First step, we need to move you closer to the road. Second, we’re going to go find wheels while you guys hide. Once we have something, we’ll pull up close on the road, load the rest of you in and then book it outta here.”
“I hope you plan on leaving the gun with me, if you’re going to dump me near the road,” Travis said, nodding toward the pocket where Ben kept the gun.
“Actually I’m not going to. You’re going to lie there quietly and not draw attention to the fact that you’re by the road,” Ben said.
Skepticism twisted Travis’ face.
“As long as you’re quiet, they’ll never know you’re there,” Anuhea chipped in.
“It’s true,” Charlotte said. Then she looked at Ben. “What about Oliver?”
“I figure you and him stay with Travis and Kathy.” Ben shrugged. “It’s the safest place to be and you can help keep them safe.”
Travis rolled his eyes. Kathy poked him in the shoulder and shot him a stern look.
“Fine,” Travis said. “When you find a car, load me in, then what? Where are we going?”
“Back to the Quarantine Center,” Anuhea said.
“It’s our best bet for getting help. You can see the doctors, we can get food, take a shower, and all that,” Ben said. Looking at his friend, he continued, “Ty, you’re going with me and Anuhea to search the parking lot for a car. We’re going to skip the rental car places, even though they’re close, because there are a lot of infected trapped in their fenced lots. We’ll head to the airport’s north lot, and work our way through.”
Ty slowly looked up at him. He spoke slow and incredulous, pointing toward the airport. “You want to go over there?”
“You weren’t listening?”
“You want me to go over there? You don’t see the infected walking around? There’s a bunch of them still roaming around.” Ty looked at Ben like he was an idiot.
“You’re coming with us, so grow a set of balls and get off your ass,” Ben said in his best teacher voice. It had worked on his students, but he had no idea if it’d work on Ty.
Ty flinched back at the rebuke and folded his arms over his chest.
“It’s settled then,” Ben said. “Let’s get going before it gets too hot.”
Chapter Ten
The ground they had to cover sloped downhill ever so slightly from their camp in a small depression at the base of a hill to the road. Other than a few scraggly bushes, there was no cover and no shade.
For the entire distance of around two hundred yards, there was no cover. If they went slow and careful, staying as quiet as possible, then they could hide Travis and the others in the ditch that ran alongside the road. Darkness provided cover for them the previous night, while daylight made them visible over long distances. Unfortunately, they couldn’t wait all day for nightfall. So, if it took them a long time to cover the distance safely then so be it. The thought of hav
ing to fight more infected made Ben uneasy.
“Give me a hand with Travis,” Ben said, motioning to Ty. His friend made a face, but came over to help. Ben looked down at Travis. “Ready?”
“As much as I’ll ever be.” Travis grimaced as he shifted his position to get ready for them.
“On three,” Ben said, taking one of Travis’ arms. The two men nodded, so Ben began the count. “One, two, three.”
They pulled the Travis up until he was standing on one leg. He was unsteady, but Ben and Ty supported him.
“Of all the times to get hurt,” Travis grumbled.
“Don’t worry about it now. We’ll go nice and easy,” Ben said to reassure him.
Travis draped an arm over the shoulders of both Ben and Ty, and they began the march to ditch. The sun blazed down on them, sending trickles of sweat down their backs as they picked their way through the lava field.
Two hundred yards had never felt so long. Even running lines at football practice seemed preferable to this slow, unsteady walk. Carrying Travis in the heat was one of the most difficult things he’d done since two-a-day training camps. At least at football practice no one wanted to tear him apart.
After almost thirty minutes, they had covered maybe half the distance. Sweat dripped off Ty’s chin. He was huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf.
“I need to stop. Break time.” Ty slowed without waiting for the others.
Travis lost his balance and nearly tipped forward, but Ben grabbed him. The spun a quarter-turn as if they were dancing.
“Give me some fucking warning,” Travis said with a growl, glaring at Ty.
Ty pulled his shirt up to wipe his face off, ignoring the complaint.
Judging by the looks Ben got, everyone was grateful for the break. Oliver was the only who didn’t look too worse for wear. Their clothes were damp from humidity and drenched with sweat. The worst part of it was the lack of water. No one had thought to bring water because everyone should have been safe on Molokai. Who would have thought that their plane would crash, burst into flames, and the airport overrun with zombies? Water had to be a priority, right up there with finding a car they could use to escape.
Ben looked at Oliver. His face was red and sweat trickled down his chubby cheeks. Despite that, the kid still looked happy enough. Kids amazed him.
Oliver caught Ben watching him. “I’m thirsty.”
“I know. We’re all thirsty. It’s hot out here,” Ben said. “We’ll get something soon.”
Oliver nodded and went back to looking around; he reached for a rock near his feet.
“Let’s go, my foot is throbbing. I just want to get this over with,” Travis said, wincing. “The sooner the better.”
Ben held Travis while they waited for Ty to get up and take his position. Dust covered their shoes and no one smelled pleasant as they crossed the last one hundred yards. It was hard work carrying Travis along.
Ben wasn’t sure if he was slacking or what, but Travis didn’t seem capable of taking on too much weight. Ben and Ty held most of his weight while Travis simply hopped along.
“Wait. Stop!” Anuhea said quietly.
Everyone froze, wondering what was going on. Ben looked ahead as he caught his breath. A small group of infected had emerged from behind a row of cars near the intersection and began walking along the road that they were headed toward. If they continued walking, it was possible that their group would be spotted.
The ditch was fifty yards away. They all wanted to get there as soon as possible. But avoiding the infected was worth the wait.
Shuffling and stumbling lazily down the road, the infected seemed to be going nowhere in particular. It was a group of three women and two men, all of whom had vicious looking injuries. One of the women had an arm nearly torn off. It hung twisted and broken at her side, dangling from stretched out skin that held it to her shoulder.
One man had scratches on both sides of his face. Ribbons of skin wiggled while he walked, swaying in the breeze that came in off the ocean.
Oliver stared at the group with a curious look on his face. Ben hoped that the boy couldn’t understand what he saw. It was not a sight for children.
The road was empty except for several cars behind a tall chain link fence. The gate to the fenced section was open. Ben realized that it’s where the group had come from.
Ben eyed the cars greedily, hoping they would find keys. If not, they would have to move closer to the airport and the multitude of aimlessly wandering infected. Clearly, they had estimated the number of surviving infected on the low end. From what Ben could see at first glance, there were close to fifty between them and the runway. There was no need to get quite that close. With that many infected in the area, any noise or movement that caught their attention would be deadly for the group.
“Okay, go slow,” Anuhea said.
Anuhea led Charlotte, Oliver, and Kathy toward the ditch. They were moving much faster. Ty groaned as they started walking. Travis hopped, they walked, and the sun roasted them all.
“Almost there,” Ben said.
Travis grinned at him.
Ty groaned again. “Can’t you hold some of your own weight?”
“I’m doing my best,” Travis said, his voice rising.
“Keep it down,” Ben said. Sweat dripped off his nose. “We’re almost there. Hold it together.”
Ben looked up, saw that the others made it to the ditch. Anuhea crouched near the edge of the road to keep a lookout. The group of infected hadn’t noticed them and were at least fifty yards away.
When they reached the ditch, Ty let go and ducked out from under Travis’ arm without warning. He dropped to the ground to sit down.
Travis lost his balance and instinctively put his foot down to catch himself, despite Ben’s best effort to hold him. All of his weight temporarily bore down on his swollen ankle and he cried out in pain. Ben barely kept them from falling over.
Travis cut off the cry, his face flushed red as he clenched his eyes shut. Fresh rivulets of sweat ran down his face. Ben had suffered a serious ankle sprain before that had put him in a cast and on crutches for eight weeks. He could empathize with the pain Travis was going through.
“What the hell, Ty?” Ben said angrily between clenched teeth. He lowered Travis to the ground.
Anuhea dropped down from her crouch into the ditch. “Shit.”
“What?” Ben asked.
“I think they heard us,” she said.
“That’s just fucking great,” Travis sneered and shot a dirty look at Ty.
“Quiet,” Ben said.
Everyone lay down on the ground. Tension filled the air. A cool breeze kicking up a bit of dust and their breathing were the only sounds. No one wanted to fight again. They were hot, tired, thirsty and just plain worn out.
Ben peered up. His eyes widened when he saw the infected had turned around and were coming towards them. Movement across the road caught his eye. Apparently, the sound had caught a lot of attention. Three made their way onto the road and stumbled around.
The area was wide open. They had nowhere to hide other than lying still on the ground. Ben willed the infected to turn away and keep moving. If the infected wandered in their direction and happened to walk off the road, they’d be right on top of the group.
Walk away, Ben repeated in his mind.
The breeze carried a fetid smell. The infected were close. Ben heard their footsteps. Anuhea lay on her back, slightly hidden behind a large rock. She looked at Ben and held a finger to her lips.
Charlotte lay on her side, shielding Oliver from seeing the torn up bodies coming their way.
Minutes crawled by, slower than maggots.
Ben slowly raised his head. The infected appeared to have stumbled past them, continuing down the street. Clearly, their senses were dull. He grunted at the thought.
Putrid odors lingered in the air, but he didn’t hear their groans or footsteps. Ben looked at Anuhea. She shook her head to indicate tha
t nothing was nearby. They were clear.
The ditch would suffice for Travis, Kathy, Charlotte and Oliver. Once Ben, Anuhea and Ty crossed the road, it’d be easier to move around because there was cover in the form of a small building and a sprawling parking lot with maybe a hundred cars.
Charlotte sat up and leaned against the slope, with her back to the road. Oliver sprawled out in the ditch, playing with small fragments of lava rock, trying to stack them up.
Ben shook his head in amazement.
Kathy sat like Charlotte about six feet away, with Travis’ head cradled in her lap. His eyes were closed, whether from exhaustion or pain was anyone’s guess.
Ty crawled toward Ben and Anuhea.
“So, what now?” he asked.
“We’re going to find a car or truck, anything to get us the hell out of here,” Anuhea said.
“I mean what’s the plan for finding a car? How do you plan to take one? Keys in the visor only happen in the movies, right?” Ty asked with a skeptical look on his face.
“Whatever we have to do, we’re leaving in a vehicle,” Ben said. “It’s too hot and dangerous to walk. We need water and food.”
“So we dig through dead people’s pockets?” Ty asked, still skeptical.
Ben rolled his eyes and looked at Anuhea for help. “Whatever we ha-”
Kathy screamed.
All of their heads snapped in the woman’s direction. She clamped both of her hands over her mouth, realizing the horrible mistake she’d made.
One infected walked on the edge of the road just behind Kathy, it must have startled her. The overweight man turned his dark eyes and blood stained face slowly in the direction that her scream came from.
Travis cursed and began to scramble away. Kathy stifled another scream as the infected man lurched in her direction. She managed to scramble out of the ditch just as the infected lost his balance on the steep incline and fell into the space she had occupied.
Oliver hopped up and ran away, but realized Charlotte wasn’t behind him and ran back to grab her hand. “It’s the bad people,” he said, pulling her arm.