by Tim Moon
“Too many infected and all the guns are over there,” Anuhea said, pointing toward the airport.
Charlotte nodded. “You guys be careful.” She pulled Anuhea into a hug.
“We should be able to get a car without fighting more infected.” Ben shifted in the dirt, preparing to leave.
“Do we really have to go? Can’t we just walk back to the Quarantine Center?” Ty asked again. “This place is creepy and it stinks.”
“The fastest way to get back is to get a car,” Ben insisted. Ty’s description was spot on though. “It’s too far to walk in the heat and with so many infected wandering around.”
“We just killed like two dozen of them,” Ty said, gesturing behind them. “I think I’d rather walk than go near the airport again.”
“How about this, let’s keep it democratic. All those in favor of stealing a car, raise your hand.” Ben raised his hand and looked at the others.
Everyone other than Ty raised their hands, even Oliver.
“Three and a half against one,” Ben said, smiling.
“Majority rules,” Charlotte added.
Ben smirked at the look on Ty’s face. “Guess you’re shit outta luck, kid.”
Oliver looked at him with curiosity. Ben laughed and said, “Not you.”
Ty folded his arms over his chest and frowned at the airport.
Ben still hadn’t confronted Ty about his behavior. He’d have to bring it up eventually, it was inevitable. His friend had to get his shit together, but calling him out in front of the group, would only make him defensive. This wasn’t the time.
Anuhea on the other hand, wasn’t at all shy about showing her disapproval. Ever since the airplane crash, she’d basically ignored him. Her scowl and cold shoulder were enough for even Ty to know he’d fucked up. He didn’t confront her or apologize, so no one else brought it up. For now, everything was calm.
They agreed that Charlotte would stay with Oliver.
“What if instead of staying in the ditch, they hide behind that building?” Anuhea asked.
Ben looked at the building. Its fenced parking lot was where some of the infected they’d killed had come from. “If the lot there is cleared of infected then I don’t see why not.”
“No bodies over there,” Anuhea said softly to Charlotte. They both glanced at Oliver and Charlotte nodded.
“You two will be our spotters.” Ben pointed at Charlotte and Oliver. “Make sure the road stays clear and nothing sneaks up behind us. We’ll scavenge what we can and come back with a vehicle. Stay alert,” Ben said, looking each of his friends in the eyes. With any luck, they’d be able to collect guns and ammo to go with a vehicle. “We should be able to hear when someone starts up a car, don’t honk or anything, but drive up here right away and get them.” He gestured at Charlotte and Oliver.
“Sure.” Ty remained skeptical of the plan.
“Oliver, I have a special mission for you. You be brave and protect Charlotte, okay?” Ben said, kneeling in front of the boy. “Stay quiet and watch out for the bad people.”
“A mission?” he said with wide eyes.
“Yep, a special mission,” Ben said with a serious look.
“Like Captain America?”
Ben smiled. “Yeah, just like Captain America, because you’re so strong and brave.”
“Okay,” said Oliver, assuming his guard duty. He stood up on a rock and looked around with a serious expression, his head barely reaching over the edge of the ditch.
Ben stood and looked at Charlotte. She smiled at him.
“Hurry up. We’ll be fine,” she said.
Anuhea gave Charlotte another hug and ruffled Oliver’s hair. “See ya kiddo.”
Oliver put a finger to his lips. “Shh.”
Ty was staring at the airport looking rather nervous.
“We got this, man,” Ben said, trying to encourage him.
An eerie calm had settled over the airport. Compared to the vortex of death it had been the night before, the airport was almost pleasant.
The fresh ocean breeze couldn’t mask the stench of burnt flesh, melted plastic and smoldering wood mixed with the overpowering odor from the infected, a putrid mix of feces and decay. At least it made the stench bearable.
Instincts that Ben didn’t realize he had seemed to kick in. He felt light and his mind was clear, like he was experiencing this moment in high-definition. He could feel the air tickle the hair on his arms, the humidity dampen his throat and he could hear their footsteps against the pavement. They escorted Charlotte and Oliver across the street and they hid outside the fence behind a clump of bushes.
Ben, Anuhea and Ty continued on, walking close together. Ben was in the middle, flanked by his friends.
A movement in the parking lot caught Ben’s eye. He dropped down into a squat. The other two stopped and squatted next to him.
“What?” Ty asked. His eyes darted around searching for whatever Ben had seen.
“Infected. There are a few of them are in the parking lot. More are near the buildings,” Ben said. “They’re just milling about, but I don’t want them to see us. So stay low. Use the cars as cover. As long as we’re quiet they shouldn’t bother us.”
They nodded.
“We should spread out a little,” said Anuhea. “So we can cover more ground.”
“No way,” said Ty. “This is a stupid-”
“Sounds good,” Ben said, cutting him off. “Keep an eye out for guns and ammo.”
He caught Ty’s eye and frowned. His friend looked like he was going to piss his pants.
“What if they do see us?” Ty asked.
“Lead them out to the lava field, if you can, and take care of them like we did before.” Ben put a hand on Ty’s shoulder. “You can do this, man. We’re all scared, but we’ll be fine.”
Ty gave a quick nod.
“Anuhea you go to the right, Ty you stay in the middle, and I’ll stick to the left edge here to the south,” Ben said gesturing to the most torn up section. “Let’s go.”
Ty was muttering to himself, probably fighting the release of his bladder contents. Ben smirked at the look on his face. It was difficult to feel sorry for someone that had ditched you in a burning airplane. Everyone deserved a second chance, or at least that’s what Ben grew up hearing from his parents. He just hoped Ty wouldn’t fuck them over now.
Ben made his way forward, crouching behind cars and moving between cover. He was careful not to touch the vehicles to avoid setting off an alarm. The last thing he wanted to do was call in all the infected.
Shit, I should have told the others, he thought.
Ben came around the side of a silver Volkswagen and gasped, falling back on his ass.
A young girl, pale as a pearl, sat propped up against the car, leaning against the driver’s side tire. Her head was turned and slumped to the side and angled slightly down. Her eyes were frozen, looking up as if she was glowering at Ben, her mouth slightly open as if aching to say something.
Ben paused, expecting her to move. Moments ticked by.
Ben’s breath came in quick gasps as he contemplated having to put her down if she attacked. But she never moved. She never would again.
Curiosity took hold. Beckoning him to move closer to try to understand what happened. The girl was covered in blood, yet she didn’t appear to have any bites. When he was almost within arm’s reach, he saw the reason for her tilted head. She’d been shot in the side of the neck.
Poor thing. She must have bled out here, all alone.
In situations like last night, accidents like friendly-fire were bound to happen. Glad that it ended quickly for the girl, Ben decided not to dwell where he wasn’t needed. He glanced around to check for infected, but nothing moved.
Time to move on.
He continued south along the rear of a row of cars. When they had arrived at the airport yesterday evening, he remembered seeing a couple of army vehicles posted along the road where cars enter the airport. That was
too far away, but he thought he’d seen one on the far side of the parking lot. Of course, it meant getting very close to the buildings where most of the infected were, but if he was lucky the vehicles would be drivable and have weapons, either inside or nearby.
Slowly standing up behind a car, he scanned the parking lot for any infected. The only ones he spotted where the ones he’d already seen before and none were headed his direction. He couldn’t see Ty, but he spotted Anuhea darting from car to car before disappearing behind a big truck.
Then he looked for his target, an army vehicle.
It took a moment to scan the lot for it but then he spotted it. A big tan Humvee just sitting there waiting for him. Ben thought it looked different from the ones he’d seen before. Instead of a machine gun mounted to the roof, this Humvee had a strange camper-like box attached to it. Whatever, as long as it ran and had a gun inside they would be golden. Good news came with bad though. The damn thing was angled across the little road right in front of the buildings.
Ben would be very exposed to the infected stumbling amongst the ruined buildings. It sat on an intersection between the road that ran directly in front of the airport buildings, and a road that led to the tarmac. Ben would have to cover several big gaps with no cover to hide behind.
Beggars can’t be choosers, he thought.
A Humvee was worth the risk because it was the best vehicle they could hope for: big, strong and durable. If worst came to worst and he was spotted along the way, at least he could hide safely inside the vehicle.
With a deep breath, Ben started forward.
Chapter Thirteen
Vanessa looked across the antique dining table at Steve.
They’d made it to the safe house in Altoona. It was an older house, slightly smaller than most in the area. A generous grandmother had left it for her grandson, who in turn had left it for their group to use as a safe house. The cozy house sat in the middle of a typical suburban neighborhood, quiet and safe. The house was gray-blue with rows of carefully manicured shrubs beneath the front windows, which looked out over an equally well-cared for lawn. She’d been impressed when they drove up. It was comfortable looking and discreet.
Droves of people were fleeing the city and the drive had been slow and stressful. They didn’t see any infected outside of Washington, D.C., just scared people fleeing the big cities. As they had driven further away from D.C. the roads had cleared up. Yet, Vanessa knew it wouldn’t be much longer until the frightened masses escaping the cities jammed the roads, leaving everyone else trapped. Thankfully, they had left the crowds far behind.
Now the two of them sat at a small dinner table in the safe house, eating spaghetti that Vanessa quickly whipped up for them. Not her best foray into the kitchen, but given the groceries they’d found stocked in the house, and the insanity and stress of the day, it was edible. She barely had an appetite. Steve seemed satisfied with it, practically shoveling it into his mouth.
The sight of him scarfing the food reminded Vanessa of the infected and made her feel slightly queasy.
She glanced around the room again. Although the furnishing was sparse, and it smelled like an old person’s home, it had everything they needed, including a stocked kitchen, cable TV and internet service. She was so grateful to have a great team. They’d done well.
“We’ve done the right thing, you know,” she said, reaching for another piece of toasted bread. Sadly, there hadn’t been any garlic seasoning for the bread.
“I know we did. I’m just not sure what happens now,” he said quietly.
Steve was a shy person. He was kind of a typical nerd: smart, but slightly awkward. It wasn’t like he gave off a creepy-guy vibe, but conversations were always a little strained with him. Getting him to talk could be a chore.
Steve continued, “I’m not sure the company was prepared for the infection to spread outside of the developing countries so quickly. It probably came as a surprise that it showed up so fast, here in the states.”
“You don’t think that was part of some big plan?”
“Hard to say,” he said, shrugging. “But I don’t think so.”
“Then they’re as dumb as they are evil. Everything moves quickly these days.” Vanessa leaned back and nibbled on her bread.
Steve twirled his fork, twisting up a fat wad of spaghetti. He speared an olive slice to hold all the noodles on and shoved the whole bite into his mouth. A drop of spaghetti sauce flicked onto his cheek as he slurped up a noodle.
“I suppose we’ll stay here for a few days,” she said. “It’s important to see what happens with the news. If the word gets out there, then the government can take action. Maybe Black Tide has an antidote or some way of countering the virus?”
The look that Steve gave her didn’t seem very hopeful. “I told you that a vaccine or antidote was never discussed, and when I looked, I didn’t find any information regarding such a thing.”
“I guess they didn’t plan on having to worry about it reaching them, or maybe the executives are already in hiding and don’t have to worry about it?”
“Don’t know,” Steve said with a mouthful of spaghetti.
There was a moment of silence.
Steve offered to take over and clean up.
“You cook. I clean,” he had said. “That’s the way my mom taught me.”
“Sounds good to me,” she had said. “I’m going to go take a shower and freshen up. Have as much spaghetti as you want, there’s plenty and we’re in no rush.”
Steve grunted with a mouthful of noodles.
She went to the bathroom to shower. When she finally stepped inside the large slate-tiled shower, she let out a sigh of relief. The hot water stung a little but felt great, easing the tension in her shoulders. Amazingly, the house even had a fine selection of body wash, shampoo and conditioner. It was like staying in a hotel suite, except for the whole apocalypse thing happening outside.
She spent a long time in the shower, nearly forgetting that she should probably save some hot water for Steve. Reluctantly, she turned the faucets off and stood in the shower letting the water drip off her body. Vanessa knew they were in a tough situation. Black Tide would be after Steve and possibly her too, if they were able to figure out her identity.
She left the bathroom with one towel around her body and another wrapped around her hair. Steam escaped into the hallway. She walked over to her bedroom, or at least the bedroom she’d be using, to get her clothes. It was light enough outside that she didn’t need to turn on the lights. The dim room was soothing.
She sat on the edge of the bed and the emotions from the accident bubbled up. Her eyes blurred with tears as the day’s events replayed in her mind. The people at the coffee shop screaming and shoving, people in the plaza attacked by the infected, bodies torn apart, the airplane crashing into all those cars, exploding into an inferno. Her stomach sank and her shoulders fell under the weight of knowing who was behind it all. Tears spilled down her cheeks.
If only she’d been able to warn people earlier.
Chapter Fourteen
Ben was still about one hundred yards away from the Humvee. This section of the parking lot must have seen some of the heaviest fighting. All around him, bodies littered the ground along with broken glass and spent bullet casings. Many of the cars were shot up and he’d stepped over body parts more than once.
He fought the urge to just sprint to the Humvee. Doing so would be too risky given the number of infected lingering in the area. He couldn’t draw any undue attention to himself.
Ben came around an old Chevy and heard a loud beep. His heart leaped into his throat. He froze behind the car, glancing around to see what had made the noise.
Another beep.
Ben realized it came from his pocket. Cursing his stupidity, he reached into his cargo pocket and found that his iPhone had lit up. He had two text message alerts on the lock screen calling for his attention.
Turning off the volume, Ben unlocked his phone an
d checked the messages. They were both from his father. Ben frowned at the phone. The last time he’d heard from his dad, he was in the hotel. Ben’s frown deepened as he read the messages.
The first one read: “Yes, I heard Hawaii was hit hard. Infection is spreading. Are you safe?”
“Can you get to the mainland?” the second message asked.
A groan nearby.
Ben’s head snapped up and his eyes widened. One of the infected must have heard his stupid phone. Slowly twisting around, Ben rose up and peeked through the car, over the edge of the window.
A mere two cars away were a pair of infected moving in his direction. The beep hadn’t seemed that loud. Ben grimaced and looked around. His first thought was to run away from them.
The road where Charlotte and Oliver hid was to his right and the airport was on his left. Behind him were more cars, but he wasn’t sure he could move around the car without being seen. The two infected were coming at him from either side of the row of cars. It was almost as if they were trying to pin him down so he couldn’t run.
Another loud moan and this time a grunting sound followed it.
Could they coordinate with each other? Was it coincidence or communication?
Ben felt the pressure mounting. It was an almost unbearable urge to run that welled up within him as the two infected closed in. With no good alternatives coming to mind, Ben simply moved toward the trunk of the car where he’d be well hidden from sight until he was ready to strike.
The footsteps were close and Ben tensed as he slid the gun out of his pocket. He focused on slowing his breath. Shooting the infected was out of the question. It needed to be as quiet as possible. When he pressed the magazine release, he winced at the click and sound of the magazine sliding out into his other hand. He put the magazine back into his pocket, checked the chamber for a round. One bullet ejected from the gun and he caught it in his hand and dropped it in his pocket.
A shadow fell across the pavement, alerting Ben. He turned the pistol around so that he was holding the barrel like a handle, using the grip as a hammerhead. Another lazy step forward put the zombie in kill range.