by Ricky Sides
“How could you know that?” asked Randy.
“The radio broadcast,” Herb said.
“That’s right, and we knew that the Doctor had called your cell phone, Private Lions. We also knew that you stopped and purchased fuel outside of Little Rock.
“How can you know so much?” Randy demanded.
“Phone records and the credit card,” Herb explained.
“That’s correct. We flagged her phone for confirmations that she was alive.”
“What do you want with us?” Randy asked. He didn’t like the fact that the federal agent had been tracking him.
“With you, nothing. As I said, I’m here for Doctor Langley.”
***
Shaunna was tired when she checked into a cheap motel on the outskirts of Hayti, Missouri off Interstate 55, not far across the state line. The motel had a no smoking and a no pet policy, but she was too tired to drive further, so she took a room anyway and hid Lily under a jacket as she entered the room. She left the dog in the small bathroom and went back out to her Impala to get the sausage and mushroom pizza she had bought, as well as a bag that contained bottled water and a box of Lily’s favorite dog food.
Shaunna fed and watered the dog, or tried to do so. However, the animal sniffed at the food but refused to eat it. “Is your tummy upset from the long ride?” the woman asked her pet. “Well, I’ll eat, and then we can go to bed. We’ll both feel better in the morning.”
Several times during the ride, Lily had snuggled close to Shaunna and licked her hand. Once the woman had picked up the dog and hugged her. Lily had responded by slathering her wet tongue across the woman’s cheek. Shaunna didn’t realize it, but every stroke of the dog’s tongue was transferring Akins parasites to her skin. The resilient microbes lived long enough for most of them to sense the moisture in her eyes and migrate there. That transfer was made much easier as the tired driver rubbed her eyes from time to time.
Shaunna ate, and then she had a hot shower to relax her tired muscles. When she got out of the bathroom, she found Lily waiting for her near the door.
Lily: Photo courtesy Shaunna B.
She lay down on her bed with Lily who seemed content to lie there and stare at her.
***
“We have got to get the prototype samples of the nanotechnology to a large government lab,” Agent Marx said. He had been engaged in the argument with the scientists from the CDC for the past hour, but they were adamant that the materials not be taken from the protective environment of the trailer.
“Agent Marx, I don’t think you quite understand the delicate situation we’re in at the moment,” David Raines explained patiently. David was one of the scientists with the CDC team, and he shared Erma’s view that they had to proceed cautiously, and couldn’t just get on the road, head for an as yet undisclosed location, and hope for the best. “This nanotech is fragile. Bouncing the samples around in an auto, while dodging zombies, is out of the question. It’s a miracle they survived the journey here.”
“Even inside the trailer, the risk is significant,” agreed Sam Evans, another of the scientists.
“They are right,” agreed the third man whose name was Gilbert Mavens, but everyone referred to him as Gil. “If you destroy the prototypes, you’ll set the program back months, and frankly, that might as well be forever, because there is no way the country will last that long. Not at the current rate of aggressive spread of the Akins parasite.”
“Okay, I understand you wanting to be careful with the samples,” Marx replied. “But you need to realize that this could be a game changer. As it is right now, we’re losing this war against the Akins parasites. If we are going to survive as a nation, we need this weapon.”
“We do understand that, Agent Marx, but losing them in a reckless move won’t help. It’s safe here at the moment. I agree with the others. You need to arrange a significant escort before we attempt to move it.”
“I can have it flown out in an hour,” the agent said doggedly.
“Yes, and you’d risk arriving with scrap,” Erma said, just as stubbornly. “The nanotech prototypes are too delicate, prior to deployment, to be flown. They wouldn’t survive even a modest crash that the crew could walk away from unscathed.”
“They survived the rough ride when the bomb detonated,” Agent Marx responded. “You said so yourself.”
“Yes, they did, but that was inside their safety containers, which are an integral part of the trailer, and can’t be removed,” Erma explained. “If you want them flown, they will be in a simple canister that will afford them very little in the way of protection.”
“I didn’t know that. I’m sorry. All right, you people win. I’ll get busy trying to arrange a strong escort.”
“Good. Meanwhile, we need to examine the computers and external hard drives to see if they were damaged by the detonation of the nuclear weapon. If not, then we need to make duplicate copies of the files,” said David. “I know I’d feel better if Agent Marx kept a copy of everything with him. If all else fails, he could send that data on flash drives to the appropriate people by courier.”
That prospect went a long way toward improving the agent’s mood. “That’s a great idea. Let me know if it’s feasible, and I’ll arrange for a helicopter to come and pick up the copies,” he said, and then he left to make some calls with his satellite phone.
“That was mean of you, David,” Erma said, but then she smiled. “Clever, but still, it was mean. You know full well that there are terabytes of data involved here. Dumping all that information on flash drives, even if we had enough, which we don’t, is certain to produce corrupted files. You need special equipment that we don’t have in order to transfer that amount of information.”
Sam laughed and said, “You may as well have offered to fax it to Homeland Security headquarters.”
“That’s a thought,” David said with a smile. “It would keep him busy for days.”
“Months,” Erma corrected.
“No, he would give up in a few days,” David countered with a chuckle. Then he grew serious and said, “Shall we get to work, now that we have placated the government man?”
“I think we should. I’m worried about the prototype samples, and even more concerned about the computers and external hard drives,” Erma said.
While the visitors were busy going about their tasks, Herb and Randy were helping Martha and Henry Echols get settled into one of the bedrooms.
“We appreciate you letting us stay here,” Martha said to the two friends.
“I’m sorry the place is such a mess. We’ve been busy and haven’t had time to do more than dump supplies here and there all over the place,” Herb explained.
“Would you mind if I organized things,” asked Martha.
“No, not at all,” Herb replied.
“I’d also like to take responsibility for doing the cooking for everyone,” Martha added.
“You don’t have to do that,” Herb protested. “I don’t want you overworking yourself on our account. We’re used to eating rough food.”
“It’ll be all right,” Henry said. “My wife loves to cook. She’s the best cook in the state as far as I’m concerned. Besides, we need something to do.”
“I for one would love to eat some decent home cooked meals for a change,” Randy said.
“Just wait till you eat one of her pies,” the old man boasted. “It will melt in your mouth.”
“Melting is good!” Randy said enthusiastically.
“Okay, if you really want it, consider the kitchen duty yours, Mrs. Echols,” Herb relented. Then he said, “And we do need to get everything organized better. It takes too long to locate items when we need them in a hurry, but I don’t want you lifting heavy loads.”
“Please, call me Martha. It may take a day or two, but I’ll get things organized. Do I have permission to enter your rooms to move the supplies in there as well?”
“Sure,” Herb said. “We’ll just have to respect o
ne another’s privacy in the tight confines of the cabin, and knock before entering each other’s rooms, but that’s no big deal. Just don’t hide the ammunition from us,” he added with a grin.
“Speaking of ammo, you were going to see if you had any for my old shotgun,” Henry reminded Herb.
“Oh yeah. That’s in my room, I think. We’ll see about getting you some more weapons too. You really need something with a higher ammunition capacity,” Herb stated.
“That’s a fact,” the old man conceded. “That bell tower you have here would make a good place to set up a watch. Not so good once the enemy gets close to your cabin, but you’d see them coming from a good distance.”
“That’s what we were thinking too,” Randy said.
“Henry, we’re going to need a chamber pot,” Martha said. “I don’t relish the thought of walking out to the outhouse in the middle of the night. You’re also going to need seed, fertilizer, a tractor, and fuel too.”
“Huh?” asked Herb.
“These canned goods are nice, and you seem to have a lot, but what will we eat once they are all gone?” asked Martha.
“Oh, I see. Yes, we haven’t had time to think long term survival yet,” Herb admitted.
“You’d better get some canning jars too and...”
“Martha, do you expect us to remember all of this? Make a list, old woman. Make a list!”
Martha laughed at her husband whose face had taken on an exaggerated expression of horror. “I’ll do that.” Her face turned grim as she considered how she wanted to say what she was thinking. Finally, she said, “You know, the Jernigan’s farm would have most everything we’d need. Emily was a top-notch canner too. They’d probably have a pantry full of canned goods.”
Martha stopped talking and dabbed at her eyes. “Just last week, Emily brought us one of her pies. Now I’m standing here encouraging my man to raid their home.”
“There, there, Martha,” Henry said as he patted his wife on the shoulder gently. “Emily would want us to use her food stores. She was a giving woman. That whole family was that way. They’d not want it to go to waste.”
“Let’s not forget that something there turned them into zombies,” Herb said. “It might have moved on. Then again, it might still be there waiting for the unwary.”
“So we don’t go there?” asked Henry.
“Sure, we’ll check it out, but I want to limit the risk. They say that the parasites can live 72 hours outside a host. I think we need to wait and add a couple of days as a safety measure. That many zombies may have left a considerable amount of the parasites all over the place at that farm,” Herb explained.
“What if whatever turned them into those monsters is still there?” asked Randy.
“We’ll kill it,” Herb said.
“Rather than move all their stuff here, it might be better to relocate ourselves to their farm,” Randy speculated.
“I don’t know about that,” Henry said. “There are a lot of people who live in that area. If they all become monsters like the Jernigans did, then it might be a bad place to stay.”
“Okay, you men can discuss this out in the main room. I need to get busy in here,” Martha said.
Later that night, Martha spread a feast before the group. There wasn’t room at the small table for everyone. Therefore, some of the people ate in chairs and on the old sofa in the main room.
Even Agent Marx seemed to relax as he enjoyed the meal. He had informed the scientists that a company of 120 Marines, under the command of Captain Edgar Billings, was being rerouted through Missouri and should arrive at their location the next morning. The Marines would then escort the scientists, and their trailer with its precious cargo, to a secret government installation where they would be able to begin to work on a plan to save the country.
Agent Marx was so pleased to learn that such a strong escort was en route that he didn’t raise a fuss when he was informed that transferring the data to flash drives was impossible due to the sheer volume of information involved.
***
The remains of Shaunna Baugher’s pizza rested on the floor beside the bed. She had tried to eat, but a blinding headache had assailed her. Compounding her misery was a fever and she seemed to be having difficulty breathing.
Lily watched over her master as the sick woman slept. Her head tilted at angles as the woman moaned in her sleep. This caused the dog to wiggle closer and lick Shaunna’s face.
Finally, the woman’s body gave a violent shudder and grew still. The tiny dog moved closer and whined because her master’s scent had changed. Lily maintained her vigil for another two hours, and then Shaunna’s eyes snapped open and she turned her head to face her pet. Lily whined and retreated to the edge of the bed.
A moan escaped Shaunna’s lips as she turned on her side and reached for the dog.
Lily barked then, and continued to bark as Shauna drew closer to her.
In the room next door, the barking dog caused the occupants to call the motel desk and complain that they couldn’t sleep because of the animal in the room beside theirs.
The irate manager went to the room and knocked. She heard the animal barking shrilly. When no one answered the door, she used her passkey card to open it, and then she entered the room. It was dark inside, so the manager couldn’t see much of anything. She heard the dog give a yelp, and then she heard a tearing sound.
The manager found the wall switch and flipped on the light. When she did, she saw Shaunna discard the lifeless body of her dog and slide off the bed. “What the hell happened to you? Did you just kill that dog?” the manager asked as she saw the blood all over the front of Shaunna’s white nightshirt.
Shaunna staggered and the manager reached out a hand to steady her. The last thing the motel needed was for a drunken customer to fall and break a bone in one of their rooms. “Are you okay?” she asked as Shaunna moved closer. Then the zombie’s arms snaked around the manager’s neck and pulled her face closer and Shaunna bit off her victim’s nose.
The people in the rooms on both sides of Shaunna’s heard the frantic screams of the manager. One customer called 911 to report the incident. Two men rushed to the room to try to help the person screaming. Shaunna’s face whipped around as her augmented sense of smell detected them. A moan escaped her lips.
“You crazy bitch!” one of the men shouted at her when he saw what she had done to the hotel manager. “Let’s get her!” he yelled to the other man. Both men rushed her.
When the squad cars arrived at the motel, they thought it odd that there was no one outside to greet them. Then, as Shauna and Lily exited the room, they saw a woman wearing a bloody white, extra long, nightshirt, with a small dog beside her. Several of the officers, thinking her the victim of a horrible assault, rushed to her aid. They mistook her moans for cries of shock and pain.
One of the officers grabbed hold of the woman, and the dog bit another when he grabbed it to get it away from the vicinity of the room the pair had just exited. He was startled by the attack, but felt the animal was just frightened. Then he heard his partner’s cry of pain as Shaunna bit his arm. A third officer hit her in the side of the head, causing the woman to release the man’s arm and turn toward him. He reached for the pistol on his side, but Shaunna tackled him. The two went over the second floor railing together and landed on top of the squad car, shattering the windshield in the process. The policeman’s torso landed across the light bar, breaking his back. Shaunna raised her bloody face and moaned again and then she plunged her face down onto the throat of her latest victim.
The remaining police officer called for ambulances and assistance, and then he turned his pistol on the woman who was climbing down off of the damaged patrol car and turning her attention toward him. He didn’t see the Yorkie that ran up and bit his ankle.
When reinforcements from Hayti Heights arrived, they found a crowd of zombies feasting on the remains of the ambulance crew that had been dispatched to help. The ten officers present exp
ended all of their ammunition as they fought a battle there at the motel. To their credit, none of the officers sought to run from the fight. Unfortunately, they learned too late to target the heads of the zombies, so none of them survived.
The people of Hayti had thought themselves insulated by their remoteness from the zombie problems afflicting the south. As the night progressed, the zombies’ killing frenzy proved otherwise.
Chapter 17
The battle
Captain Edgar Billings stared at the obvious signs of carnage on the outskirts of Hayti, Missouri. He could bypass the town after picking up the scientists, and their all-important CDC trailer, but that would mean a serious detour taking them too near the known hot zones for zombie activity.
He had a few options. He could leave a detachment of men to ensure that the interstate remained open, but that would split his forces. He could send in a platoon to investigate the city, and move out with the remainder of his men and vehicles, but that too would split his forces. His best bet would be to investigate the town to determine if it would become necessary to take a detour before proceeding.
Captain Billings gave the command for the lead elements of his convoy to enter Hayti. They would all enter the city. If zombies were present in numbers too great for his men to handle, he would order them to withdraw in an orderly fashion.
As the column rolled through the area, the captain received reports of numerous police and ambulance vehicles in the parking lot of a motel. Due to the large number of law enforcement people that would have to be involved, the captain ordered a platoon to go in and check on the situation. The rest of his convoy stood guard on the road in front of the motel. The rooms of the two story motel all had entry doors facing the road.
Second Lieutenant Casey Zimmerman led his platoon into the parking lot on foot. They spread out and advanced toward the emergency vehicles. The well trained men stared in surprise at the blood spattered zone around the vehicles. Hundreds of bullet casings littered the ground around the squad cars, but there were no bodies in sight.