The Longest Road (Book 2): The Change

by Thompson, A. S.

  All eyes nervously shifted to Alex. For whatever reason, they looked to him to make the decision they weren't willing to make.

  “I know, but we can’t leave Diane,” Alex stated to say, but doubt crept in, “Right?”

  Alex was about to give the order to abandon the post when Diane came through on her radio.

  “Hello? Anyone there? It's Diane! For the love of God, please tell me you're still there!”

  Eddy unclipped his radio and tossed it to Alex. He would talk, but his two-hundred and fifty pounds were a lot more essential than Alex's one-sixty and change.

  “Diane, it's Alex. Where are you?”

  “Almost to the top floor. Where are you?”

  “Right where you left us, except about ten-seconds away from being zombie chow.” Alex paused and asked the others, “What should I tell her to do?”

  Charlie answered fast and loud, almost as though he had been planning it. “Tell her to make a left out of the elevator and follow the first floor clockwise. We'll run into each other at the southern stairwell. Tell her she better sprint! We have to leave now if we are going to have a chance ourselves!”

  Alex relayed the message, and then clipped the radio to his belt. The first of the infected breached through the piled up furniture and clawed its way through. Alex readied his machete and cracked down hard on the man's skull.

  “What do you guys say? Last one to the stairwell gets first round?”

  They were too tired to comment.

  “On the count of three, we run,” Charlie started to say, “One. Two. Three!”

  Just like that, the four men abandoned their posts and made a break for the south stairwell. Almost immediately after, the force of the infected powered through the packed furniture like and avalanche through a skier.

  Charlie, Eddy, Dylan and Alex heard the moans and screams chasing them down like a pack of hounds. Their bodies hurt and their legs felt like Jello. It took everything to press onward.

  In the front of the pack, Charlie spared a glance back. The sight wasn't uplifting. Behind them, a tidal wave of infected filled the hallway. Charlie looked forward and screamed, “Almost there!”

  The others took it on faith. “Almost there,” could have meant anything from five-seconds to fifteen. It all felt like an eternity.

  Then, before they knew it, they watched Charlie crash through the stairwell door. Behind him, Dylan, then a few steps more was Eddy, and pulling up the rear, Alex. All four waited at the crest of the door for Diane.

  The doctor was in full sprint. Her backpack, full of notes, smacked against her back with each stride.

  “Come on, Diane!” Alex yelled, waving her on for motivation. He could see the terror in her eyes. She was fifteen feet out, so were the infected from the other direction. It was going to be a race to the end.

  Alex and the others repeated cheers and desperate pleas.

  “Come on!”

  “You got this!”

  “Almost there!”

  “Come on, Diane!”

  The last five feet, Diane threw her body forward like a sprinter through the finish line. She hoped to drive her momentum forward and grab on to Alex's outstretched hand.

  Alex watched it all in slow motion.

  Diane had a one-step advantage on the infected; one-step away from safety. She extended her hand and the tips of her fingers brushed Alex's.

  Alex reached out further and grabbed her hand in an awkward, finger grip.

  The moment of hope was short lived as Diane’s face morphed into that of complete moral defeat. One of the infected behind her grabbed the backpack and yanked her backward. Diane’s body was committed forward but now strained. It was like a game of tug-of-war, only the rope was Diane's body.

  With all his might, Alex tried to pull Diane toward him, but her sweaty hands slipped through his fingers.

  Just like that, Diane was pulled back into the mob of hungry mouths. Alex witnessed the first bites tear through the skin on her neck and arms. He watched the dead hands claw viciously through her clothing; jagged nails dive into her flesh. He saw the blood pour from her arteries, veins and capillaries. He heard the dread and panic in her voice as she screamed for help.

  Dr. Diane Phillips was being eaten alive.

  “Diane!” Alex yelled, attempting to rush out. He wanted to unleash hell on the bastards who were ripping his friend apart.

  But, before he knew it, Eddy yanked him back inside the stairwell, and Charlie slammed the door shut. Dylan tied off the handle with a nearby chain, sealing them off temporarily.

  “We have to go back out and help her!” Alex screamed, making a move to the door.

  “She's gone,” Eddy said, shifting his body to get in Alex’s way, but Alex ignored him. So, Eddy grabbed Alex by the shoulders and shook sense back into him. “Alex, Diane is gone!”

  The pounding on the door, prompted Charlie to add, “He's right, Alex, and if we don't want to be next we have to get going!”

  “Ya, we got fifteen stories to climb, and I'll take all the head start I can get,” Dylan said. “This chain won’t hold long.”

  The two Canadians patted Alex on the shoulder, offering their condolences. Then, they started their ascent.

  “Look I wish we could- I mean I wish she wasn't,” Eddy tried to say, looking for the right words. He sighed and stared straight into Alex's glazed eyes. “You knew her. She would want us to go. You know that. Staying here isn't going to help anyone.”

  Alex grit his teeth and nearly foamed at the mouth. He wanted justice. He wanted revenge. But Eddy was right about Diane. She would be kicking his ass to get out and Alex knew it. Reluctantly, he followed Eddy up the stairs.

  1717 hours

  Five stories up, the men were forced to exit the southern stairwell and make their way to the northern one. From there, they had ten stories to climb until reaching the roof hatch.

  Passing the eighth level, Alex took each stair one at a time. He trailed Eddy by half a level and Charlie and Dylan by a full one. He heard the Canadians calling on the radio and informing those who were left to get to the roof.

  All of Alex’s senses worked perfectly, but his mind took over in thought. It tried to breakdown Diane's death.

  Could you have stopped it?

  What if we waited five more seconds at the entrance?

  What if she hustled a little harder?

  As he sauntered up the concrete steps, Alex almost missed Eddy’s calls. The screams sounded like distant echoes at first, then with each passing second, they grew louder until it hit him so hard he nearly stumbled back.

  “Alex, run!” Eddy yelled at the top of his lungs. “RUN!”

  Alex shook off the thoughts of Diane, and then looked up at Eddy who was simultaneously waving him on and pointing down the stairwell. Three levels below, the fifth floor door was ajar, and rushing into the stairwell were a pack of infected.

  Alex's eyes widened. “Shit,” he whispered. Then, as one of the infected looked upward, Alex pulled himself back from the railing just in time.

  How did they find us?Alex thought.

  Then it hit him.Eddy’s forearm. The blood! That’s how they tracked me back to the Eye.

  The gang of infected could sense Alex and the others but had yet to locate them. Eddy’s voice echoed throughout the concrete stairwell making it impossible to discern the origin. The ones in front licked the railing where Eddy’s blood had dripped onto. The rest paced anxiously behind their undead brethren, waiting for a direction.

  The warrior in Alex forced out the emotionally distraught boy.

  Cry later. You need to get out of here, now!he thought, compelling himself into flight. And before he knew it, Alex was taking the stairs three at a time.

  But that adrenaline-fueled pace could only last so long. By the time Alex caught up with Eddy at the twelfth floor, both men were exhausted and down to a quickly paced, one step at a time.

  “Three to go!” Eddy said, trying to give both he
and Alex a mental push.

  Alex spared a glance over the railing. The infected had sniffed them out. They were only three floors behind them, and showed no signs of slowing.

  Alex huffed and puffed. He was on fumes. His legs burned like never before, but he wouldn't allow himself to break down.

  This must be what it felt like when Steve was running through Salt Lake City. He didn’t give up, so don’t give up either, damnit!

  From three floors above, Eddy and Alex heard the motivational cries from Dylan and Charlie. The Canadians had just reached the top, and were waiting at the opened maintenance hatch with the others.

  Alex stared at the large, black numbering that indicated the thirteenth level. He grunted, then looked up and shouted to the Canadians. “Say something to piss me off!”

  “What?” They shouted back, unsure of what they heard.

  “I need the push! Say something about baseball or America. Something that will piss me the fuck off!”

  “Oh l get it, like motivation, eh?” Dylan answered.

  “Yes like motivation,eh,” Alex replied back sarcastically. “That's perfect. That stupid fucking Canadian 'eh'. Keep going!”

  Alex pushed himself a little harder.

  “At least us Canadians can make it up a stairwell, unlike you fat-ass Americans!”

  Alex didn’t find the insult empowering, but Eddy found it highly motivating. He wasn't fat, just big-boned, but he never liked people making fun of his weight.

  “When I get up there, I'm gonna kick me some Canadian ass!” he yelled, moving faster up the concrete steps.

  “I'd like to see you try. At least us Canadians know how to fight. Watch a hockey game and learn how, eh!”

  “That reminds me. Hey, Charlie, what's the difference between hockey and baseball?”

  “I don't know, Dylan, what?”

  “Hockey takes three periods and a hell of a lot of skill. Baseball takes nine innings to figure out there is no skill.”

  “Mother fuckers!” Alex cursed under his breath.

  The joke was rough and not very offensive, but it was all that Alex needed to give himself the extra drive. Seconds later, he and Eddy came blasting out of the service door like bats out of hell.

  Charlie slammed the door shut behind them, and Matty helped Charlie and Dylan brace up against it.

  “Where's Diane?” Matty asked, knowing full well what her absence most likely meant. Still, he looked to Alex for confirmation.

  Alex shook his head while Charlie answered for him.

  “She didn't make it. Got attacked just as we got to the stairwell.”

  “Damn...”

  Then came the first impact of infected. The door gave half an inch, but Eddy and Alex helped push it back.

  Despite their temporary safety, another round of panic set in. Ally was overwhelmed with anxiety.

  “What are we going to do?” she repeated hysterically.

  “Ally,” Dylan said, putting both hands consolingly on her shoulders. “Calm down, sis, it's going to be okay.”

  The woman with her son pulled him in close. She, too, shared Ally's concern. “She’s right. We should have left with the others. What are we going to do now?”

  As fast as he could, Alex weighed the options and broke down the scenario.

  We are trapped on the roof. We can’t hold back the infected much longer. Hopefully Ricky and the others didn't signal the infected below, but there’s no time to check it out. Besides, there’s only one way to go; one path left to take. The crane.

  “Charlie, you and I will stay here. Everyone else go. We’ll give you as much head start as we can,” Alex said in between gasps of air. “Eddy we are going to be coming in hot. We need you to move that crane so we aren't followed. But after Charlie and I get on though, not before, okay?”

  The giant foreman nodded, sucking air. “I’ll call Charlie’s radio when I’m all set.”

  Eddy and the others took off at the fastest pace they could, heading toward the southwest part of the building where the crane's arm was situated.

  The pounding against the door was relentless, but fortunately, Charlie and Alex were able to leverage their legs against a pair of vents.

  “You really mean all that stuff about baseball?” Alex asked, trying desperately to take his mind off the excruciating pain running up his leg muscles into his lower back.

  Charlie looked over at Alex and laughed. “Between you and me, I have the MLB package on cable.”

  “What?” Alex asked completely taken aback. He was thinking Charlie would have responded that "it was only for motivation,” but the Canadian apparently loved baseball.

  “I'm actually Canadian-American. My dad was from Wisconsin and played a few years of major league ball for the Athletics. That's how he met my mom, actually. She was a sports rep for the Expos. Funny story that was. Tell you about it sometime, assuming we make it out of here alive, eh.”

  “The A’s,” Alex said, sounding disappointed. Of all the teams in major league baseball, of all the teams in the American League, it had to be a division rival. Worst of all, it was the Oakland Athletics.

  “Of course you'd be an A’s fan.”

  Charlie looked amused. He didn’t need to observe Alex’s Angels hat to pick up on his die hard allegiance. He knew all about the standing rivalry between the Angels and the A’s.

  “I'm sorry, who has more championships?”

  Alex held his bitter tongue.

  As the guys continued their playful banter, the pounding didn't subside.

  “Alex, Charlie,” Eddy’s voice said, coming through the radio. “Thirty-seconds and I should be good.”

  “Copy that,” Charlie replied. He turned to Alex and said, “What do you think? Give them another minute to play it safe, and then run like hell?”

  “Sounds good to me. I don't think I can take much more of this metal back massage anyway,” Alex answered. “Hey, Charlie, can I ask you something.”

  The Canadian-American gave him a nod and waited for the question.

  Alex licked his lips. “What would Dylan do if he found out you were a baseball fan?”

  Charlie's eyes widened. He shook his fist and said, “If you even think about telling him-”

  “Oh, I'm thinking about it right now. Just wondering in what setting it would be the most destructive,” Alex replied with a sneaky grin.

  Charlie spared a smirk of his own. He adjusted his back, and then gazed up into the sky. “So what’s going to happen now? Assuming we get out of here alive.”

  “Honestly? No clue, man. All of you are welcome at our place, well minus the douche-bags who clocked Dylan and left us. But last I heard, we might be leaving our spot to head south for the winter.”

  “I think we will take you up on that. Not like we have any other options, eh?”

  “True, true,” Alex replied, cracking his neck. “Well, what do you say we get on with this death sprint?”

  “No time like the present.”

  Charlie and Alex rose to their feet but kept their weight against the door. The pounding had lessened, but they knew there would be at least a dozen mouths chasing after them.

  “What do you think? One, two, three, go? As in we bail on the word go?”

  “Leave on the word go?” Charlie reiterated just to make sure. When Alex nodded, Charlie continued, “Works for me.”

  “One.”

  “Two.”

  “Three.”

  “GO! GO! GO!”

  As planned, the two men abandoned their post with haste. A second later, the service door flung outward.

  Charlie had fled counterclockwise, and Alex was a step behind him, but the door clipped his ankle, causing him to come crashing to his knees. He did his best to roll out of the fall, but sustained minor abrasions. More serious than cuts, were the infected whose bloodthirsty attention was focused solely on Alex.

  Alex wouldn't allow himself to panic or freeze. He knew what both of those options led to, so
he acted. As the first undead man lunged at him, Alex rolled to his left, safely away from the man’s attack. Unfortunately, the direction he chose was the opposite way he needed to go.

  Now, more infected came pouring out of the stairwell, blocking the path that followed Charlie. As fast as he could, Alex scrambled to his feet and took off clockwise, following the stone pathway.

  Based on the sounds of moans and footsteps, Alex guessed there to be dozens of infected on his tail. Across the hollow divide, he saw Charlie arrive at the ledge.

  The security guard looked at him, but Alex waved him on and yelled, “Go! Don't wait! I'll be right there!”

  Charlie hesitated. He looked at the crane, then back at Alex.

  “Hurry up!” he yelled before leaping off the roof.

  Alex’s body ached, but he wouldn't allow himself to wallow in the pain. He didn't even think about the literal leap of faith that he was going to have to take in a matter of seconds. He hated heights, but he hated the prospect of getting eaten alive more-so.

  Before he knew it, Alex's path diverted from the stone walkway. His boots crunched on the gravel as he zigzagged around HVAC units and vents. Now, just twenty feet out, Alex could see the others scaling the metal bars on the crane's arm.

  “Sack up,” Alex whispered to himself. “Not out of the woods yet.”

  He spared a glance over his left shoulder and realized the infected were a lot closer than he assumed. He had a two-step lead but that wasn't entirely comforting. Ideally, he wanted to work his way up to the leap. Wanted to take a moment and calm his nerves like he did the day he arrived.

  Now, the situation had drastically changed. Now he was being chased by dozens of infected and was forced to meet his fear of heights in the most extreme way possible.

  “Please don't die, please don't die, please don't die,” Alex prayed as he took one final step.

  Then, he planted his right foot on the ledge and thrust himself toward the metal crane. His arms and legs frantically kicked the air. He wanted to close his eyes during the feat, but he needed them open.

  The jump felt like an eternity, but seconds later his body came crashing into the top bars. The impact was awkward and he was unable to brace for it. His torso met the lower set of bars, knocking the wind out of him. But the worst impact was elsewhere.