Value of Jade (Mace of the Apocalypse #2)

by Daniel J. Williams

  Yvette laughed sympathetically. “Where have you been? This is the 21st Century, you know.” She winked and added, “Plus, the dating pool isn’t what it used to be.”

  “This doesn’t look good,” Mace said out loud as they pulled up to a large pileup on the freeway. They’d only traveled about thirty miles on an abandoned yet vehicle-littered Hwy 101. Slowly snaking through wreckage took over two hours. “That metal looks like it’s fused together. A gas tank must have set it off.”

  He opened the car door and looked back at Jade before exiting. “We’ll never get around it. We’re going to have to double back.” It looked like a large firestorm swept through the twenty or so cars that were now melded together.

  Mace scanned the area quickly as he walked up to the trailing Ford 4 x 4 that Shawn pulled to a stop. Shawn rolled down the window, nodding already in agreement. Jim sat in the passenger seat while Yvette sat in the middle. Yvette sighed at the sight of the wreckage.

  “We’re going to have to turn back,” said Mace. “There’s no way around it.”

  “That last exit was less than a quarter mile. It shouldn’t cost us too much time. I just hate getting back on city streets.”

  “I know. Let’s just take it slow and try not to create much of a presence.”

  Mace turned towards the other vehicles in the caravan and whirled his finger, signaling a turn around, and they all started making three-point turns. Paul Turchett, the last trailing vehicle, stopped their progress. He jumped out of his car and walked quickly towards Mace’s vehicle, aggravated. Mace, who hadn’t seen him, climbed back in the SUV.

  “You sure we can’t get through this shit?” Paul said loudly as he moved past the SUV to take a closer look at the wreckage. “What a damn waste of time to have to turn back.”

  Mace rolled down the window and stared in disbelief.

  Paul walked up to the burned out husk of melted rubble and started pushing on it to check for weaknesses. Everyone turned off their vehicles and watched. Nothing budged in the rubble. It was a solid mass of twisted metal. He walked around the perimeter, looking closely at the wreckage, and then disappeared out of view.

  A second later he returned, walking briskly, a pasty white. “Let’s go,” he said to Mace, who exited his car again. “We won’t get past it.”

  As he walked by Mace, Mace called out to him. “What did you see?”

  “Nothing. It just won’t work,” he said out of the side of his mouth as he trotted back to his car.

  Out of curiosity, Mace poked his head around the wreckage. “Holy shit.”

  Slowly dragging half its body towards him was a severely charred corpse, cut off at the waist with pieces of burnt clothing stuck to its skin. Blistered entrails slithered behind like dried strands of Italian noodles. It stopped when it saw him and hissed, its hairless head and face grotesquely burnt.

  Mace felt pity. He popped open the trunk of the SUV and pulled out a tire iron. It reached for him slowly as he moved towards it, its skin black, cracking, and splitting open from the effort. A quick bash and the skull caved like mush. It was over. He couldn’t just leave it that way.

  He turned to walk back to the car and heard a shuffling sound that made his skin crawl. It wasn’t the only one. Pivoting around quickly, he felt his heart drop as several more came squeezing out from under the wreckage, crawling slowly towards him, suffering the same horrible disfigurement. He put his head down for a second before bringing the tire iron back up. He couldn’t understand how they could all be severed at the waist.

  They must have all turned before the inferno, he thought, and then got caught in the same condensed location in the middle of the firestorm. The only way out was to squeeze underneath the molten wreckage, tearing themselves apart in the process. He really didn’t want to know. Every one of them was a victim, just the same.

  They slowly slithered around him, surrounding him, reaching up for him, expressions of rage and agony etched across their charred faces. Four quick bashes put an end to the ugliness. Inside his head he prayed for strength. The world had gone batshit crazy.

  He got back in the SUV and Jade had an opened mouth look that needed no explanation.

  “Let’s not talk about that one,” he said.

  Chelsea, who was sheltered by Lisa of the whole experience in the back seat, quipped, “You know, you need to quit leaving when everybody else is stuck in here. It makes me have to pee more. I’ve got a little bladder you know.” Lisa shut her eyes and smiled tightly, forcing herself not to weep at her daughter’s beautiful innocence. It was the hope for a better place that kept her moving on.

  “Sorry Chelsea,” Mace said, looking at her in the rear view mirror. “I thought we had talked about you being a big girl. We can’t always just stop for you.”

  “I AM a big girl!" Chelsea declared. “I’m just stuck in a little girl’s body.”

  Mace couldn’t help but chuckle at that one.

  Off the freeway and back on city streets, they moved slowly and quietly, not wanting to draw attention to themselves. There was a pall to the air as they cruised down lifeless streets. The city was barren, and hopelessness was a battle that needed to be overcome.

  Dwelling on the past was too painful. The present was an abomination they couldn’t accept. The future held all the cards, and they were all in on the bet. It was all or nothing: Win or lose. No one planned on folding.

  Mace rolled to a stop when he saw an infected barrel across the street a hundred yards ahead, destination unknown. Most of the infected were now much slower, as the intense effects of the initial infection wore down and their brains and bodies succumbed to the death within. By the speed of the crossing it was obvious there were fresh victims about.

  Mace lifted the Walkie-Talkie next to him and said quietly, “Keep your eyes out.”

  He moved forward slowly, inching the SUV, not wanting to be seen. Another infected ran wildly across the street, closer this time, and Mace stopped completely. “Shit.”

  It didn’t take long for the pattern to continue. Within two minutes three more infected darted around the street, shrieking in madness, oblivious to their presence. The last one was so close they could see the twisted facial features and blood red eyes. The clothes and overall condition suggested it very recently turned.

  “I’ve got a bad feeling,” Mace whispered, unmoving. “We’ve stumbled across something that’s happening right now.”

  The street housed a large condo complex on the right, and a mass of infected began intermittently charging out from between different entry ways, until at least twenty more blew by them in a fresh rage, shrieking loudly as they searched for something to destroy.

  “Don’t move. Don’t even breathe,” Mace whispered mechanically. The last infected exploded by their car, a long and tortured scream sounding until the street grew quiet. The silence suddenly felt stifling and the seconds seemed to stretch to hours. No one made a sound.

  As Mace was about to inch the SUV forward once again, slower moving zombies began staggering out into the street ahead of them. Few in numbers at first, they kept coming. Appearing from between townhomes all around them, they staggered towards them in different stages of decay. They filled the street and moved as a solid mass, their eyes trained on the ground, avoiding the light as much as possible.

  Lisa pulled Chelsea hard to her breast as they moved closer, her heart pounding in Chelsea’s little ear as she whispered, “Stay very, very, very quiet.” Buster whimpered in the back of the SUV, gnawing on a paw with fervor, and Lisa slowly moved a hand to gently rub his head and try to keep him calm. If he got excited it could lead to death for all of them.

  The infected bumped into their car, surrounding them, brushing by them on all sides. Hungry to spread death, they slowly shambled past, utterly grotesque in appearance, not noticing them, eyes still downturned.

  Hundreds now followed behind them and kept coming. The street and air filled with their dreadful noises.

  Every
member of every car was frozen with fear.

  Shawn held his gun tight against his leg, cocked, praying he wouldn’t have to use it as they brushed up against his truck. His breath was so shallow his chest barely moved. He stared straight at the steering wheel, eyes barely open: Just enough to see movement. Yvette pressed her face down against Jim’s chest, breathing fast and shallow, eyes wide open and ears tuned intently for any sound. Jim stared straight ahead, eyes unmoving, beads of sweat dripping down his face.

  The horde moved past their vehicle and surrounded Hannah’s car, where she and Jacqueline laid across the front seat, holding each other, crippled by fear. They passed by the next three vehicles, moaning in horror, raging within at the nightmare of their existence. When the mass finally reached the last vehicle, the Turchett’s, the entire street overflowed with the undead.

  “Stay the fuck down and don’t move!” Paul whispered loudly, as they all squirmed down in their seats to hide.

  “Oh God!” cried Melissa too loudly as a decomposing face pressed hard against the back seat window, dead eyes locking onto hers. It had an open cavity where its nose should be, and the top of its head was scalped off. Dried blood caked its entire face. It opened its mouth and rancid teeth showed bits of flesh and stringy remnants of its last meal. It pulled weakly at the door handle as it shrieked noiselessly, its throat ripped open and visible. It continued to fix on Melissa.

  “It’s going to get me!” Melissa yelled in panic as she pushed herself against the opposite door. She tried to hide against the backseat floor, not looking at it.

  “Shut the fuck up and don’t move,” Paul whispered harshly from the front seat. His head pressed against the steering wheel with his eyes firmly closed. “Don’t say another fucking word!”

  Another infected noticed the commotion and moved slowly towards their car. Its face clumsily slammed against the driver’s side passenger window as its red eyes darted slowly around in search of life inside. Its face smeared across the glass. Noreen whimpered in fear, keeping her eyes shut tight, as more moved towards their car. Drawn by the movement of the others, the ones behind did the same.

  Melissa looked up again and let out a blood curdling scream as a wall of dead faces now glared at her from every window, their faces twisting at the full realization of what was inside. Pushing or pulling against the car, the car starting rocking slowly back and forth. “Oh My God! They’re going to get us!” The moans grew in volume as they struggled violently to get inside.

  Melissa twisted around, staring at the madness and frenzy in their faces. Their eyes now possessed a sick longing, and Paul and Noreen began screamed themselves at the horror of their predicament.

  The last of the slow infected just moved past Mace’s car when the screaming reached its highest point. He turned quickly to Jade, making as little movement as possible. “You’re going to have to take over as driver. I’m going to distract them. Wait here. I’ll be back.”

  “What are you going to do?" Jade whispered quietly.

  “Take a few out, get them to follow me, and then plant the boom box.”

  Thinking of a few diversionary tactics before they left on their journey, they found an old boom box in an abandoned house. It was suggested that music might work as a distraction if they ever needed one. The boom box was fully charged with batteries, loaded with a CD and ready to go. It was time to find out if it would work.

  Jade bit her lip as she pondered the plan, but before she could respond Mace picked up the Walkie-Talkie on the console between them and whispered, “I’m going to create a distraction. Everyone stay silent and still.”

  Each car was equipped with a police-grade Walkie-Talkie, all on the same frequency.

  He closed his eyes and said a quick prayer of affirmation before slipping out the door. He shut it as quietly as possible. He winked at Jade through the window and she fell breathless. A moment later the back of the SUV opened a foot, and Mace’s hand reached inside and grabbed the boom box. He closed it and it clicked shut.

  He walked swiftly away from the vehicle, saying softly to himself, “You are my strength. Your power grows within me.” Father McCann had been his moral center and he struggled with his loss. After his death Mace spent more time in prayer, not wanting to lose himself in his old patterns of anger and bitterness. Father McCann’s words on prayer still resonated deeply. “You are an heir to the Kingdom, Mace.” he said. “Your life is a gift. Claim it, be yourself, and live without fear.”

  Moving closer to the condos, Mace raised his weapon and pointed it at the back head of one of the trailing zombies. He fired and the shot crackled throughout the neighborhood. The creature dropped. The others turned in unison at the noise.

  “Over here, you freaks!” he said evenly but loudly. He waved the pistol in his right hand over his head. “C’mon, let’s get a move on!” The handle to the boom box was clutched firmly in his left.

  He felt his heartbeat increase as the swarm moved slowly towards him. Their shrieks and moans filled the air. He backed up slowly as an infected appeared behind him from in-between one of the townhomes, followed closely by another. They were less than twenty feet away. He didn’t notice them. Jade moved into high gear at the sight.

  “You’re gonna have to get in the driver’s seat, Lisa. He can’t do this alone,” she said without taking her eyes of the threat. Without waiting for an answer she was out the door, lifting her handgun at the two creeping up behind Mace. Two loud pops and they were down. Mace turned to look behind him at the dropped threat and gave an uneasy smile at Jade.

  “Thanks, baby.”

  He fired a shot into the forehead of one of the approaching infected, and it whipped back into the trailing horde. They clumsily maneuvered around it as it crumpled to the ground and then sped up a little, propelled by their sick desire for living flesh.

  “Watch my back,” he said as he continued to move backwards swiftly. Jade pulled up next to him, almost leaning against him, and checked all sides. “This is completely crazy, you know that? Totally friggin’ insane.”

  Mace kept his eyes trained on the approaching infected. “It’s all or nothing, right? We either all get through this or we all die trying. I thought that was the decision.”

  “We’ve got a baby on the way and I’m not ready to surrender our lives so easily. This seems suicidal. Let’s just draw them away and be done with this.” The infected never tired or slowed down once they fixed on a victim.

  They maneuvered between the narrow condo walkways. Jade watched their rear while Mace kept an eye on the hundreds of approaching walking dead.

  “If we see any fresh ones we’re fucked,” Jade said, nervously, scanning their surroundings as they walked along a fence that divided two properties.

  “Way to think positive,” Mace said as he kept his eyes peeled on the approaching threat. “Let’s speed up a little, plant the boom box, and double back.”

  All of a sudden a blur appeared from the corner of an entryway behind them and Jade raised her weapon swiftly.

  “Don’t shoot!” a man screamed, holding his hands over his head. He looked at the multitude of advancing freaks and his mouth dropped.

  “Holy Shit,” he said in shock.

  Mace shot a quick glance at him then turned his attention back to the threat. “You should come with us,” he said, looking straight ahead, his gun arm straight and balanced. “We’ve got a caravan waiting. We’re creating a diversion.”

  The guy started backing up. “No way,” he said shakily. “I have to find my girl. We stumbled on a nest by accident. We got separated.” Mace pictured the fresh victims tearing by.

  “How many of you were there?” he said loudly over the moaning horde.

  “Thirty-three. We were looking for provisions. They surprised us at the rec center. They were all crammed inside. We opened the door and they just spilled out.”

  They heard a prolonged shriek from the rear of the cluster. Jade’s head pivoted towards the sound. “That
one sounds fresh,” she said, alarmed. “We gotta move!”

  She turned back and the man was gone. “Shit.”

  Mace pointed towards the next street up ahead. Lined with single story homes, most had porches. A few infected moved clumsily in the street. “Let’s plant this thing on one of the roofs and get the hell out of here.”

  Back at the caravan, over twenty slow infected still manically tried to get inside the Turchett’s car. Banging on the windows, they moaned in defiant rage. Melissa whimpered incessantly, her voice drained and unable to bring forth any more screams: Her face a collage of tears and snot. The rest of the infected followed Mace and Jade back through the condo complex.

  Once most of the infected were off the street, the chatter on the Walkie-Talkies started. “We’ve got to get out of here. This is out of control.” It was Bob Pollard, in the car in front of the Turchett’s.

  Lisa spoke up immediately. “We can’t just leave them. They are risking their lives for us.”

  “They’re not coming back. That was suicide.”

  Paul whispered desperately into the Walkie-Talkie, “You can’t just leave us! Don’t you dare leave us!”

  Shawn picked up the two-way radio in his truck. “We’re going to try to clear the last car. If things get hairy we’ll need back up.” He turned to Jim. “You ready? We’ll use the axes.”

  Jim nodded in response as Yvette clutched him tighter and said, “No, don’t go,” as Shawn exited the vehicle. She kissed Jim nervously on the lips as he pulled away. She knew she couldn’t stop him. “My God, just be quick.”