“Whoo hoo,” she cheered quietly.
“Better than nothing,” Damon said.
Harper was in the back sifting through the deputy desk. “Got another one here. They must have moved quickly.”
“Is there a squad car out back? Maybe they forgot that too.”
Once they were sure nothing else useful remained in the station, they went out the back door. Sure enough, there was a lonely black and white police car sitting in a parking spot just waiting to be looted. Harper used the butt of his pistol to break the glass of the passenger window. The shattering glass echoed down the alley.
“Deaders will have heard that, gotta move fast,” Damon urged.
Harper reached through the window and opened the glove box, finding another handgun and one clip. He handed it to Damon then reached through to the center console where a shotgun sat upright.
“Well hey, we got a pretty good start,” Damon said trying to look on the bright side. He checked the clip inside the pistol Harper had given to him and was pleased to find it nearly full. He stuffed the other clip into his pocket.
They stepped through the lot and around the building to find five zombies shambling in unison towards them, limping and bumping against each other. Their mouths were snapping and hacking. Damon aimed his pistol, eager to try it out. His thick finger squeezed the trigger, and the blast reverberated up the brick walls of the alley. The leading zombie fell with a bullet hole between the eyes. When its body fell, it landed in the path of the others. Two zombies, one a bald rotting shell of a man, the other a shaggy haired rotted corpse in jean shorts and red t-shirt, fell to their faces. One let out a groan even though Damon knew it didn’t feel any pain. It was then, Victoria attacked like a ninja with feline agility.
One. Two. Three. Four. All dead and then the team moved to the farm store.
Across the street they found the store to be locked with no zombies inside. Harper and Damon charged the door, metal bent and the glass shattered. They made quick work of finding useful weapons and other supplies. With a smile on his face, Damon selected a machete for himself, then gave it a quick pat after attaching it to his hip. It was nice to have one back. He waited for Harper to pull the van up so they could load the water and snacks they’d been lucky to score. It wasn’t a lot but enough for now. They would be able to stop somewhere else. Damon wasn’t comfortable staying in the town much longer, knowing that Hagerty had been there.
It took only a minute to load up, and they were back at the bank. Harper pulled up next to the white truck, and they hopped out ready to rally the troops to head out.
Damon entered into the sunlit lobby and laughed out loud at the sight. Riley was lying quite comfortably on a pile of money.
“I see you admire my throne,” he cracked with a flashing smile.
“It’s a little small don’t ya think,” Damon laughed.
“That’s what she said-wait! Fuck you!” Riley squawked.
Damon was laughing again, “It’s pretty great though.”
“Be more impressive if it were bigger,” Harper mumbled.
Riley leaned forward. “Well it’s not like this is Fort Knox you know. This was everything in the vault.”
Reese stepped around the corner and smiled, feeling somewhat better today, more like himself. “Yup, busted it open while you guys were gone.”
“Well it’s nice to know you were doing something productive while we were out,” Harper grumbled.
Damon laughed again but waved him off his throne. “We found some stuff and a new ride. Let’s go. Hagerty’s been here.” With that the others shot their faces toward him. Mathias jumped to his feet immediately. “Easy Mathias. It was before we got here, but still we need to leave.”
Mathias nodded and flexed his dark muscles. “Get up. We’re leaving,” he said to the other ex-prisoners. His voice was deep and smooth. None of them argued.
Harper, Riley, and Reese filed into the white Ford while Mathias helped the others into the back of the Toyota. Damon walked to the driver’s window of the truck.
“Take us to a hospital, then let’s get back home. I don’t know how long these other guys will be able to keep up.”
“There isn’t one in this town, but the next town over is big enough. We should find one there. I’m sure there will be more deaders though.”
“It is what it is I guess. We need medical supplies.” He withheld the fact that he needed the rabies vaccine in particular, as requested by Dr. Dellinger.
When Damon was about ready to turn away he heard Riley speak up. “Oh Damon! Nice ride! Where’s your mullet and fanny pack?”
Damon flipped him the bird and stalked away. When he opened the door it squeaked to high heaven and Riley snorted, then held his abdomen while he laughed. Damon got in and slammed the door shut. Victoria was the last to get in the car. Her eyes held on the exterior of the bank and the final resting place of matt. She let out a sigh. It was sad to have lost another, but she got in the van without shedding a tear. It was the harsh reality of their world.
The two vehicles pulled away in the late morning sun, moving to their next destination.
It was well into the afternoon when Damon stretched back in the beat up cloth seat. He listened to the whine of the unkempt motor and squeaky belts. He knew it would make it though. He would be able to run this thing into the dirt before the motor gave out. He slung his arm over Victoria’s shoulder and smiled. When he looked at her face something other than her beautiful eyes caught his.
There was a huge cloud of black smoke billowing in the sky over a distant tree line. Damon immediately snapped up the walkie he had found at the farm store. The other was with Harper.
“Do you see what I see?” he asked the black box.
A scratching noise came through, followed by Harper’s voice. “I see it.”
“I think we should check it out.”
“That is not part of the plan.”
“Something’s telling me we should.”
“Goddammit Damon, you know I don’t work on feelings.”
“Bullshit!”
There was a scuffling sound then Riley’s voice came over the speaker. “This is White Whale reporting to Space Jalopy, we’re headin’ to the black cloud. Harper is just being a pussy.”
Damon heard Harper swear, and he let out another smile. Good Boy Riley. “Ten four White Whale.”
They turned down the next side road, which wandered in the direction of the cloud, passed through a tree line, then into a field. A large dark green military helicopter was burning in the dead and murky grass. Two of the four blades were dug into the ground while another was bent at an awkward angle. The thing was twisted, leaning on its side with a broken tailfin. Before Damon could even stop the van, he saw Harper and Riley running into the field.
Damon slammed the shifter into park and ordered everyone in the van to stay put, including Victoria. He took off after the marines and heard Riley shouting that the helicopter was a Lakota Army helicopter, but it was obvious Harper already knew or didn’t care. When he arrived on the scene as Harper and Riley pulled the bodies of two soldiers from the wreckage. Damon peered inside; fire scorched most of the interior. The marines removed the remaining soldiers. Unfortunately none had made it out alive.
One of the twin engines was still ablaze when Damon leaned out. He took the opportunity to search the site for weapons. Being a military chopper, he hoped that meant military weapons. Finding nothing in the immediate area, he backed away from the burning chopper. Then about ten feet away he found an assault rifle. Score!
Damon heard a groan from behind him. His heart landed in his throat while his hand went for his machete. He whipped around. There was nothing behind him. He heard it again.
“What the?” he asked out loud.
There was movement in the grass about twenty feet in front of him. Then he heard a voice mutter. Help.
Damon dashed toward the sound, shouting for Harper and Riley to follow. He found a
man dressed in army duds. He was in his late twenties with cropped black hair and goatee. Blood flowed from his mouth when he coughed. Damon collapsed at his side just as Harper and Riley reached him.
“Hey take it easy man. You’re gonna be OK,” Damon said while his voice caught in his throat.
The soldier sputtered, more blood escaped his lips, “He just turned. The son of a bitch turned. He was fucking infected.”
“We got you now.”
“Where were you coming from? Where’s your base? Are there more of you?” Harper asked in a fury.
“He was infected,” The soldier said again, his eyes unseeing, ears unhearing.
Harper leaned over him and put his face in the dying man’s face. “Where are the rest of you?”
The man found Harper’s eyes. “We were the last out of Kansas. Everyone turned.” His voice wavered.
“Fuck!” cursed the big marine.
The man went for something in his pocket and pulled out a wrinkled, blood stained photo. It was of a blonde-haired female holding a smiling toddler. Damon rocked back on his heels as if the soldier had struck him. Memories of Amy and Michael flooded his brain as he felt the man press the picture into his palm. His lips were numb barely able to lie to the man about his prognosis. He had seen the wound in his abdomen. He only had a few minutes left.
“He’s gone,” Riley whispered.
“Dammit!” Harper grunted.
“Wha-What?” Damon shook his head. He looked down at the man’s eyes. They were frozen, staring at the clouds. “Shit.”
“We gotta go. Deaders would have heard this for sure,” Riley said pulling Damon up.
Damon let the gangly marine pull him to his feet, eyes still on the soldier, then the picture. He watched as Riley removed his dog tags and relieved him of his side arm and some extra clips. Damon picked up the rifle he found and joined Harper back at the helicopter.
“I took everything of use,” Harper grunted. He had two rifles strapped to his back and a pistol stuffed in his jeans. “Now we’ll return to the original plan. Find a hospital.”
“We’ve got company,” Riley announced, pointing at the tree line. There were about thirty of them spilling into the field. Bursting through the front line were ten sprinters.
“Move! Now!” shouted Harper.
Damon’s legs moved fast, they were running for their lives. There were more sprinters coming. They could beat them to the vehicles and save their new found ammunition. He slammed the door to the van, the thing rocked. In a flash they were in surrounded by zombies. Their dead bodies pummeled the old van when Damon shifted it to drive, and the tires squealed as they sped away from the crash. The rearview was full of pursuing sprinters, but they lost them down the road. Damon felt the weight of the soldier’s photograph in his chest pocket as they drove away.
chapter 12
“Where the fuck are all the deaders coming from?” Riley shouted over rifle fire and hacking zombie growls. The hospital hallway was filled.
They had found the hospital in Marshalburg, a town of about ten thousand. After recon it appeared to be safe enough to enter without incident. It looked as though the infection had spread so fast that no one had had time to go to the hospital. But they were all wrong. Everything was going as planned; a few zombies in the halls here and there but nothing Damon, Harper, Victoria, Mathias, and a guy named Buck couldn’t handle. Buck, one of the rescued prisoners, had volunteered to join the team inside as a way of thanking them for them saving him from the fate of Hagerty’s arena. He was a man of about two hundred eighty-five pounds at five and half feet tall. His sausage like fingers tugged anxiously at his holey red sweater as they walked.
The group was about to move past the cafeteria on their way to the emergency room. They had finished in the pharmacy, after collecting everything on Dr. Brunson’s list; Damon was shocked at the weight of the medications he had crammed in his duffle bag. According to the signs tacked on the white halls they were heading the right way. Each hall looked the same as the last in the red light emanating from their flashlights. Five balls of light landed on the brown double doors leading into lunchroom. Buck’s rotund form tripped over the protruding wheels of an IV pole and slammed into the thick doors. A seemingly simple mistake but with deadly results, countless decaying hands exploded from the darkness and pulled Buck backwards into the vast room. His screams resonated down the halls as frantic beams of red light swirled in the madness.
Damon watched as a zombie dressed in light green scrubs sank its teeth into the man’s neck. Blood gushed as skin was pulled away with stringy sinew. He landed hard on the tile floor. There were so many hands on his thick body. Another zombie dug its sharp fingernails into his abdomen.
“Buck!” Mathias bellowed. He reached for the screaming man.
Damon caught his shoulder. “It’s too late!” He tugged Mathias back before a patient dressed in a bloody white gown snapped at his big forearm.
More zombies pushed towards the mess, eager to have a bite, and a second later Buck stopped screaming. Those who passed up on the prize of Buck, moved to chase the rest of the survivors. Zombies spilled out of the cafeteria like a marbles from a jar.
“Move!” Damon shouted, feeling dead hands on his back. “If we can get to the ER we can block them!”
It wouldn’t be long before they were completely surrounded in the tight quarters. Damon heard Victoria’s sword slice through dead flesh, and Mathias was hacking with a machete. Damon’s flashlight caught sight of Riley smashing the IV pole over the head of two rotten corpses, and used it to shove zombies back, narrowly missing a bite to the right shoulder.
“There’s too many of them!” Harper pushed away from the group and jogged down the opposite hall. “I’ll meet you at the truck!” he bellowed, slapping the butt of his rifle against the railing.
“God dammed hero,” Riley cursed and grabbed Damon’s shoulder to move again. “That son of a bitch better survive so I can kick his ass.”
Victoria urged Damon on too. “We gotta go, babe, or they will follow us instead.”
Mathias cleared the way cracking skulls as they made their way down the hall and then ducked left, then right, following signs for the ER.
It was endless turns and long hallways. Right about when Damon thought they were all going to die, “There!” Mathias barked. “Get in!”
Damon and Riley went in first, heavy duffle bags strapped to their backs. The emergency room was dark, and the red lights of their flashlights didn’t help much. Victoria and Reese followed closely behind with Mathias bringing up the rear.
“Help me block this door,” he said motioning for Damon and Riley to move gurneys in front of the door. “Find what you need. This isn’t going to hold forever.”
“Fan out. Find anything useful, bandages, meds, needles, surgical stuff, whatever. If it looks good, take it,” ordered Damon as he went to work looking for the vaccine fridge. Dr. Dellinger gave Damon the details on the appearance of the rabies vaccine vial. Damon didn’t mention to him that he knew how to read.
Victoria followed Damon around the U-shaped department and slashed two zombie patients as they stumbled out of a side room, reaching for Damon. Their bodies fell in lumps in the doorway. She flashed the light in the next; seeing nothing but blood and an overturned bed she moved on after Damon.
Damon searched the emergency room until he found the storage room, spying a fridge inside. He noticed they were next to the trauma room and wasn’t surprised when five zombies filed out. The red lights reflected almost purple on their gray skin, their milky eyes glowing red like those of a demon. After the zombies had been dispatched he ducked inside the storage room to investigate the fridge.
“Hurry up!” He heard Mathias bellow.
“Please be here,” he pleaded to the fridge.
“What are you looking for?” Victoria asked, keeping her back to him watching for any undead visitors.
“Vaccines for the doctor.”
“I presume not for Dr. Brunson?”
“That’s right.”
“I see, Harper know this?”
“No, and I would like to keep it that way.”
Victoria cocked an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. The fridge opened, and there were about a hundred vials to choose from. Damon muttered to himself as he scanned each shelf.
“Hurry up.” Victoria urged.
He could hear the doors too. He didn’t need her telling him to hurry. Metal crunched. Hands pounded. Another sound erupted, a shriek. It was Reese. “Fuck! Where the fuck is it?” He needed those vials. Then it was in front of him, two vials marked Rabies Vaccine. He snatched them and put them in the same pocket as the soldier’s picture, then ran out of the room.
Mathias got to him first as a sprinter dressed in a dirty physician’s coat attacked his neck. The big man kicked out, striking the zombie in the side, ripping away from Reese’s neck. Blood sprayed the dark hall. The sprinter snarled at Mathias and regained its footing, ready to launch itself, but the big man was waiting. Just as the sprinter jumped, Mathias swung his machete. When he was sure it was dead he bent down to check on Reese, but it was too late. He already bled out.
“Shit,” he mumbled. His head bent, hand on Reese’s chest.
Damon skidded to his knees against Reese’s lifeless body. “No! Not another one! Fuck!”
“I tried, but the thing was too fast,” Mathias whispered.
“There was nothing you could do. We got what we need. Let’s go.” He hefted his own rifle and led the four of them to the exit.
There was a sound that made them run, metal and wood cracking and snapping as the door holding back the undead gave way, allowing zombies to tumble into the department.
“Go! Go! Go!” Damon shouted.
Thank God Chloe isn’t here.
The four of them ran out into the parking lot and into the sunlight. Bits of patient charts and trash kicked up as they ran to the vehicles. Damon shouted a cheer when he saw Harper running away from an even bigger gang of zombies, his big arms pumping as he ran. He gave a quick salute when he saw the group.
The Beginning of the End Page 14