by Tim Moon
Ben put the vehicle in reverse and crawled backwards around the corner, far enough to hide the vehicle. He stopped and turned off the engine before the noise drew the entire crowd’s attention. He didn’t want to have to drive backwards down the hill in a rush. Nevertheless, the ever present fear inside Ben told him to flee. There was nothing for them here. He tried to ignore the voice.
“We’re so screwed,” Ty said. “If this place isn’t safe nowhere is safe.”
“We’ll figure something out,” Ben said. He tried to sound more confident than he felt. Because he really wasn’t sure what they’d do now. Getting to the QC had been the point of everything they’d done since running out of the plane wreck. Now they had nothing. Their refuge was gone.
Ty scoffed and looked out of his window.
Even through the armored Humvee, they could hear the faint sounds of the remaining horde. The chain link clanked when infected pressed up against it as they wandered aimlessly.
The Humvee suddenly felt very stuffy and the putrid stench made him want to vomit, so Ben opened the door and got out. Anuhea also climbed out. Ben put his hands on his head and took deep breaths.
Anuhea walked forward so she could look at the camp. Then she jabbed a finger in the air toward the right side of the camp.
“Look,” she said softly.
Ben looked at her skeptically. He wasn’t sure he wanted to see anymore.
She nodded at him and waved him over. “Come look at this.”
He let out a sigh, but joined her near the end of the berm. Following the direction she pointed, Ben didn’t immediately notice anything. His brow furrowed and he gave up with a shrug. “I don’t see shit.”
“Look at the tent there, the one still standing. Look down at the bottom,” Anuhea said.
One tent, partially knocked over, but still standing caught his eye. Ben nearly dismissed it, but a hand waved from underneath the edge of the tent wall, which was propped up.
“Is that a person?” Ben asked, squinting in disbelief.
“It sure looks like it to me,” Anuhea said. “A survivor.”
“Oh no, c’mon guys,” Ty said in his whiny voice. He was standing behind them. “We can’t help them.”
Ben glanced back and realized that only Oliver remained in the Humvee.
“So we should leave him to die?” Ben said, shooting an angry look at Ty.
“We only just escaped the airport and we weren’t trapped behind a fence. What can we do?” he asked, throwing his hands up. When Anuhea raised her rifle up, Ty rolled his eyes. “All of them will attack us, remember? That’s what you guys said before. We can’t run around with guns blazing.” Ty gestured at the infected occupying the QC. “This place was loaded with soldiers and now they’re obviously all dead. What the hell makes you think you can do better?”
“We’ll figure something out,” Ben said again, hoping he was right. It was true that it would be a big risk to help the person. Could they turn away though? He’d have a hard time knowing that they willingly left someone out here to die. Was it coming to that? Ben shook his head at himself. “How about this…”
His voice trailed off as he took a moment to finish formulating a plan.
“Yes?” Ty said sarcastically.
Ben clenched his fists to keep from punching him.
“We will distract the infected,” Ben finally said, looking pointedly at Ty. “Like how the car alarm attracted all the infected to it. One of us can draw them away from this side of the camp. The fence on the other side looks sturdy and I don’t think there are enough infected left to topple the fence.”
“That’s a good idea,” Anuhea said. “We throw up a big racket and then we grab the person under the tent and help them out. Assuming they’re not some kind of freakin’ weirdo.”
“Yeah, that’s basically what I was thinking,” Ben said, nodding. “Although, if infected are distracted then we can take a few minutes to also grab supplies. Look near the gate.” Ben pointed. The bodies of several soldiers lay on the ground. Their weapons were nearby and they probably had ammo in their vests, like the soldiers he’d looted at the airport. “The gate is only twenty yards or so from that part where the fence is knocked down. We can stock up on ammunition, food, and water before the infected lose interest in the distraction.”
“That person’s hiding in one of the medical tents, right?” Charlotte asked.
“I think so,” Ben said with a nod.
“Then we can check for medical supplies too,” she said.
“This really is a terrible idea,” Ty said, sitting up with a grimace. “You guys are going to risk getting bitten to help someone we don’t even know?”
“And water-” Ben started to say.
“Yeah basically,” Anuhea said, cutting him off. “Don’t worry Ty. You just hide here. We’ll do all the work.” Disgust was thick on her voice.
“Obviously, I’m injured because of the shitty plan back at the airport,” Ty said, ignoring Anuhea’s comment.
“Oh now you’re hurt, huh? No, you got hurt because your dumb ass bumped into a car and set off an alarm,” Anuhea growled. “I’m surprised you didn’t run off like you did at the airplane.”
An uncomfortable silence fell over them.
Ben didn’t want to waste any more time. At any point, the horde might notice them or the person in the tent might panic, try to run and ruin their plan. He turned and started back toward the Humvee.
“Come on, Ty.” Ben waved for him to follow. He opened the back door for Ty, stepped aside and waved him in.
Ty gave him an odd look as he limped over. Ben saw the cut on his leg and it actually did look legit, but he was still annoyed with him.
“Oliver, can you help me with something?” Ben said, facing the boy.
He nodded enthusiastically. “What?”
“Can you guard Ty? He hurt his leg and needs to stay here,” Ben said, gesturing at Ty. “Just watch out for any bad people coming up the road. If anyone bothers you guys in here, just honk the horn and we’ll come back.”
Oliver nodded solemnly. “I’ll protect you,” he said, looking at Ty and patting him on the shoulder.
Ty’s eyebrow arched, but he didn’t say anything.
“Just stay quiet and watch our back,” Ben said, directing this comment to Ty.
“Let’s go get this over with,” Anuhea said.
Ben looked from Oliver to Ty, nodded and quietly closed the door. He didn’t worry about Oliver at all. That kid had a good head on his shoulders. He worried about his friend.
Charlotte and Anuhea crouched down by the side of the Humvee. Ben walked over and crouched down next to them.
“I’ll distract the infected while you two go inside. I don’t know what supplies you need,” Ben said, looking at Charlotte. Her eyes seemed oddly beautiful at that moment, watching him as he spoke. Ben fought to contain the distraction. Right now, focus was key. “Move quietly and carefully, and let me know when you’re done so I can run back to the Humvee.”
Anuhea shook her head.
“No. You two go in. I’ll distract the infected,” she said. “I’m faster and louder than you.”
“How do you know that?” Ben was confused.
“Just trust me, I’ll keep them away from you guys,” Anuhea said with determination.
“Are you sure?” Charlotte asked.
Anuhea nodded.
Ben admired her strength. He was surprised by how much she’d stepped up and was grateful to have her on their side.
“Fine. We know our jobs then…let’s go.” Ben looked back toward the camp, eying the infected wearily.
Charlotte shared a long look with her friend, a silent goodbye.
Anuhea turned away and started jogging to the left side of the camp. She would be alone, but she had one of the rifles Ben scavenged. If something went wrong, she should be able to defend herself.
They gave Anuhea a few long seconds to get the attention of the infected, before the
y emerged from behind the big rock berm.
Adrenaline poured into Ben’s veins as they emerged from cover and began to move toward the QC. They were still a hundred yards or so from the fence line. It felt like a huge distance and there was no cover.
Suddenly, they heard yelling and banging on the fence as Anuhea began to attract the attention of the infected away from them. As soon as the noise started, the infected turned to face Anuhea and moved almost as one toward her voice.
“That girl’s tough as nails,” Ben said quietly. Even with the fence in between Anuhea and the infected, it took a lot of guts to be the bait.
Charlotte smiled.
Chapter Seventeen
Ben and Charlotte were almost to the fence. The face was still watching them from under the tent flap, but it was hard to distinguish any features. A hand shot out and waved at them. Ben raised his hand in acknowledgment. The flap dropped and the face disappeared. He hoped they would just stay put and wait.
Once they reached the fence, Ben held the toppled part down with his foot. The panel was wobbly, he didn’t want Charlotte to fall, and it would help keep the noise down. As much as possible, they had to avoid drawing attention.
Near the front gate, Ben noticed the bodies of a few soldiers, and a Humvee was there too. This one had a machine gun mounted on the roof. Just the kind of ride they needed. Not the communications variant they currently had. If possible, he was going to take that one. Other than Oliver and Ty, there was no gear to haul, making the switch very simple for them.
“First thing we do is get in the tent to see who this person is and what kind of situation we’re dealing with. Then I’m going over there to check for weapons and ammo,” Ben gestured near the gate.
“Okay, fine. I’m on the lookout for medical supplies,” Charlotte said, acknowledging him with a nod, but she was hyper-focused on scrambling over the fence.
Ben climbed up after she’d hopped off on the other side. It was slippery walking on the chain link, since he was unable to put his toes in the holes of the fence. The fence creaked loudly as he moved up to the gap. The whole panel canted to the side like a teeter-totter nearly toppling him over. The noise was excruciating, but all of the infected had wandered off, blindly following the racket that Anuhea was making. Ben hopped down off the fence and together they moved quietly over to the tent where they’d seen the person. They stood almost exactly where the person had waved to them, but the edge wasn’t propped up anymore.
Ben heard a noise and motioned for Charlotte to stay back. He glanced around the corner.
An infected soldier was passing by, looking for a way around the obstruction that was keeping it from closing in on the noise that Anuhea was making. A chorus of moans rose up as they sought her out sending chills creeping along Ben’s neck.
He ducked back and held a finger to his lips. Charlotte nodded and looked around, keeping an eye out.
Ben knelt down by the tent and slowly lifted up the edge. Charlotte knelt down beside him and peered in. Inside the tent was surprisingly dark. They could only make out several large shapes and none of them was the person they’d seen. She shrugged and glanced at Ben when she realized that she couldn’t make out who was inside.
“Psst! Where are you?” Ben said in a loud whisper.
A moment of silence.
“Get in here before one of them sees you,” a man’s voice said.
Ben got a strange sensation hearing the voice, that didn’t feel like a warning, so he gave a thumbs up to Charlotte.
Ben lay down and rolled under the tent first. He came up in a kneeling position, looking around for whoever was in the tent. His rifle clutched in his hands, following his gaze around the room.
Charlotte rolled in a second behind him.
Ben stood up letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. It was amazing how much the thick material of the military tent could out the lock light.
“It’s good to see some else is still alive,” said the voice. It came from behind a folding table that was covered in paperwork, the white sheets standing out against the dark desktop. Rising up from behind the desk chair was a large man. He was nearly as tall as Ben and much more muscular.
“Who are you?” he asked tentatively, stepping between Charlotte and the man. He kept the rifle raised.
“I’m Keanu,” he said.
Ben paused. The name was familiar. Could it be?
“Were you at the Brewing Company the other night?”
Silence fell over them for a brief moment. A slight tension filled the air.
“Yes, were you?” the man said.
“I helped you after you knocked that crazy guy down. You know, the one that bit the girl,” Ben said.
“Okay, fun reunion, guys,” Charlotte said with some sarcasm. “I’m Charlotte. Now, can we get on with finding supplies and getting out of here? Those things freak me out.”
Keanu chuckled softly and walked around the table. Ben slowly lowered his aim.
“What the hell are you guys doing here?” Keanu said.
“Last night they tried to evacuate us. When things went to shit at the airport, we came here to get help but…” Ben gestured outside.
“Same with me, I came here for help. I was with a small group that came in last night. It must have been just after you guys left. We’d been hiding out in the restaurant, when the soldiers found us. I was hoping my brother would be here, but I figured I could meet him in Molokai if I didn’t see him here. They said that we’d be leaving today. But then we got hit,” Keanu said. “There were so many of them, man. All the shooting and screaming. It felt like a never ending mass that crashed through here like a tsunami.”
Despite being cloaked in darkness, the emotion in Keanu’s voice was clear.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Ben said.
Charlotte said, “We know how you feel. It’s been a nightmare for days now.”
“So the airport is no go, huh?” Keanu sounded disappointed.
“Pretty much,” Ben said, feeling as disappointed as Keanu sounded.
No one spoke for a few moments.
“Goddamn things are crawling all over the place,” Keanu said. “You have no idea how much I appreciate you sticking your necks out to help me.”
Ben grunted. “No problem.”
“You’re welcome.” Charlotte walked away and began rummaging through the drawers in the tent. “But seriously, you guys better hop to it.”
Ben smiled. She was all business.
“What are we hopping to?”
“She’s going to find medical supplies and I’m supposed to find weapons and ammo. You’re welcome to join me,” Ben said, looking around. The door of the tent faced the center of the camp, which made it the shortest route to the Humvee and weapons he’d spotted earlier. He strode to the door and peeked out of the flap. He was thankful that none of the infected was in sight. Ben pointed outside. “We have a clear shot to the weapons over there.”
Keanu stepped up next to Ben. He pushed the flap open a little further so Keanu could see.
“Okay, gotcha,” Keanu said once he’d spotted the gear.
“Just be careful and quiet,” Ben said. He looked down at his rifle. “It’s best to not have to use this. The infected are attracted to loud noises.”
“Is that why there’s such a racket out there?” Keanu asked.
Ben smiled, but it faded quickly. “Yeah, our friend is distracting them so we have clear passage. But there might be stragglers, so watch out. Crush their head to kill them, as quickly and quietly as you can.”
Keanu made a face. “You’ve done this before?”
Ben’s lips tightened into a flat line and he gave a quick nod.
Keanu’s eyebrows rose slightly and he gave Ben an approving nod.
Leaving the relative safety of the tent, they gave their eyes a moment to adjust to the brightness. Ben squinted as he walked over to the bodies of the dead soldiers. Wafting smoke brought the stench of death. He cove
red his mouth to avoid coughing, or gagging.
A half-corpse soldier crawled toward them. The infected monstrosity pulled itself along with its hands, dragging the torso behind it while its guts trailed along in the dirt. Keanu pointed it out. Ben ran over and kicked it in the head. It stretched its arms out, trying to grapple him for a bite. Without hesitating, Ben stomped on his head a few times until it stopped moving.
Keanu’s big frame was heaving with each breath, as he stood there dumbfounded. He blinked a few times, looked at Ben, and then kept moving toward the weapons. Keanu picked up a rifle.
It was immediately clear to Ben that his new friend understood how to handle the weapon. Keanu gripped the rifle under his arm and dropped the magazine into his hand, checking to see if it was loaded. It wasn’t, so he discarded it on the ground, setting it down gently to avoid making noise.
It seemed like Anuhea was doing a great job keeping the infected occupied. Her shouts mixed with their groans and the clank of the chain link fence as they tried to press through and reach her. Anuhea’s voice was reassuring, even if several tents blocked their view of her and the mob.
Ben wondered what Keanu would do once they escaped the camp. Would he join them or go his own way? There was no time to discuss it now, but once they’d left the infected behind, they could figure it all out. Crouching down, Ben checked the corpse for ammunition, watching wearily in case it moved. He found three full magazines in the pouches. He thought for a moment, and then decided to remove the soldier’s vest.
“Here take this,” Ben said, handing over the vest and three magazines.
The next weapon they found had a grenade launcher on it. Ben’s eyes widened and he felt giddy, like a little kid as he hefted it up.
“I’ve never seen one of these in person before,” Ben said in awe. “But I’ve always wanted to shoot one. Do you know how to shoot it?”