by C. M. Fick
Misty looked away, "We'll get through it; we always do. Besides, we need to stick together now, more than ever." Her jaw clenched and she leveled a look at him, "Dennis is gone, who we were before that night, is gone; there's nothing you could have done for him, I understand that now." She shifted her gaze out the front of the store, "If we're both around in five years, then... then maybe we can talk about it. For now, let's just get to tomorrow in one piece."
"We're ready," Ryan called over the loud moans from the back of the store.
"Let's get this done and over with," Todd said, moving down the aisle towards the storefront.
After going over the plan with the others, Todd made his way back to the pharmacy area, psyching himself up for what he was about to do. Kicking aside the dismembered arms in disgust, he aimed his pistol at the lock; before he could think twice about what he was doing, he pulled the trigger. The shot echoed, momentarily drowning out the moans of the zombies. With a push, the gate rattled up; by the time the zombies stumbled from their enclosure, Todd was already halfway up the aisle.
"They're on their way," he said, jogging around the corner and towards his companions, three aisles down.
Once Todd joined them, they raised their firearms, patiently waiting for the first zombie. Not wanting to end up in an uncontrollable situation, they'd all agreed to use the guns. The first one was a woman; her long hair caked with blood. She appeared to be relatively intact, missing only an eye and a portion of her tongue. On her arm, two bite-marks stood out in dark contrast, against her pale, mottled skin. Smeared bits of shrivelled flesh clung to her grey-green cheeks. Dried blood crusted beneath her chin and down her shirt. Todd guessed that during the initial blitz of infection, she'd been caught in the store.
Misty fired a round and the zombie fell to a heap on the floor. Two men came around the corner, only their clothes giving away their gender. Their faces, horribly eaten, no longer looked human; one was missing its forearm.
Ryan laughed, taking aim, "I met him earlier."
Just as Ryan put down his zombie, Jer fired, missing his target; the cosmetics behind the zombie shattered into bits. His voice shook when he spoke, "This is harder than it looks."
Todd fired, hitting another zombie rounding the corner, and turned to Jer. "I think we have this under control, if you want to sit out with Parker."
Jer shook his head, aiming again. "I can do it." His hands shook slightly, but when the rapport echoed through the store, it was followed by the thump of the zombie hitting the floor. "My nephew needs those inhalers," he said through gritted teeth, casting a malicious glare Parker's way; and so, on it went.
When they were through, three children and two teens lay amongst the bodies. Both Ryan and Jer had been unable to shoot them, so the responsibility fell to Todd and Misty. Once done, rather than going to gather the medicine, Misty went out to the truck, saying she needed a minute alone. Parker quickly listed what they should look for, and the men set to work, packing as much medicine as they could carry. During the drive back, everyone remained silent, lost in his or her own thoughts.
When Todd turned back onto the library's street, he knew something was immediately awry. There are too many of them, he thought, slowing the truck to a stop.
"Something's wrong," Misty said, leaning up from the back, "there weren't nearly as many, when we left."
"Ronnie?" Parker shrieked, flinging open his door.
"Parker," Jer shouted after him, "come back."
"Who's Ronnie?" Ryan reached down, pulling his gun from his bag.
"My sister," Jer said, climbing out after his brother-in-law.
Todd studied the crowd of zombies, now shuffling towards them. "These guys are fresh." When David, the leader, stumbled from a bush beside him, Todd sucked in a breath. "These are survivors from the library."
Mayhem...
They bounced across the lawn of the library, pulling alongside the building. Before the truck came to a full stop, Ryan was already out and running for the door. "Melissa?" he pounded on the fire exit, "Melissa!" Beating harder, he shouted, "Someone open up."
Todd shoved the truck into park, glancing into the back at Jer as he vacantly stared out the window. "Misty, keep an eye on him and shoot anything that gets too close." Jumping out, he turned back into the truck, "when we get inside, drive around the block a few times. I don't want all of them clustered around our escape door when we're ready to leave. I just need to grab my things, his nephew, and Melissa and her dad." Shots fired within the building and Todd glanced up to see the door swing outward. "I won't be long, he promised as he rummaged through his bag, searching for the walkie-talkies he'd grabbed on the way out of CVS.
"Come on Todd," Ryan shouted, shooting a nearby zombie.
He tossed one of the radios to Misty as she climbed out of the rear, "There are batteries in the bag; I'll buzz you when we're ready."
Ryan fired again, "Let's go."
Todd ran for the door, ducking inside just as the Land Rover bumped over a fallen zombie behind him. Inside the stairwell, he found three guns trained on him and skidded to a halt, slowly raising his hands. "What happened?" he asked, glancing from one man to the next; he didn't remember their names. "Where'd Ryan go?"
The tall man with glasses jerked his head towards the stairs. "He's gone to look for his girl."
Another report echoed through the building. Behind the door to the main library, Todd could hear the moans of the undead. He swallowed thickly and asked, "What's going on in there?"
The round, balding man said, "They're picking off the one's still left in the library."
"Fool kids, playing games. Opened the wrong door and gave those things an opening to get in," said the older man, holding an old eight-gauge shotgun. He shook his head. "By the time we figured out what was going on, it was too late to do much of anything. Everyone not bitten we allowed upstairs, where it's safe, and opened the front doors to get the zombies out. There's still a handful stuck in the stacks," Shotgun paused as another round fired, "and we're taking care of them now. We're going to have a lot of cleaning up to do, but we should be able to stay."
"I'm leaving," Todd said, glancing upstairs as another gun went off. "I just need to know if Jer's nephew made it; we saw his sister outside."
"What about Parker?" Baldy asked, frowning. "Where's he?"
Todd shook his head. "He just let his wife have him."
Tall-man pushed his glasses up his nose, with a look of disgust. "Like he walked into her arms and just let her eat him?"
He nodded. "Carter?" he asked again, about the boy.
Tall-man nodded, "his momma saved him. Held em off long enough for Carter to get to the stairwell. She, however, was bitten in the process. He hasn't said anything since then."
"Jer's in shock too." Todd motioned towards the stairs, "is it okay if I go up? I need to figure out what to do about Carter and Jer."
Shotgun nodded, but reached for Todd's arm. "This may sound callous, but that's a sick little boy up there. If Jer can't look after him, I don't know if anyone will be willing to take responsibility for him."
Taken aback, Todd jerked his arm from Shotgun, "I need to find my friends."
"What about the meds?" Baldy asked Todd's back, "Did you guys find anything out there?" He ignored the question. As the second floor door closed behind him, Todd heard him shout, "We have a lot of injured up there. They could really use some help."
"The nerve of that asshole," Todd growled. He scanned the groups of survivors huddled on the floor, spotting Ryan first; his back was to him.
As Todd approached, he heard Melissa saying in a hushed voice, "I don't know what's wrong with these people. It was bound to happen, eventually. Now they know what to do next time." She paused, "They're treating him like a leper, but he's just a little boy. If his parents are gone, Jer's all he has left."
"I think the stress of today, and seeing his sister like that, got to him," Ryan said. "In his state of mind, he won't be of any use to Carter right
now."
"What's going on?" Todd asked and Ryan jumped.
Melissa glanced up at him with a grave look. "Carter was the one who opened the door." A boy of no more than five peeked around her side; she rested a hand on his head. "The kids were playing hide and seek in the staff area; he thought he was checking a room, when it was really the rear entrance. It doesn't matter that his mom died saving him, these people just want him gone. I think that, even if Parker came back, the group would ask them to leave."
Todd glanced around, searching for Ezra. "Where's your dad?"
Melissa bit her lip and her eyes filled with tears; she slowly shook her head. "We couldn't move fast enough and no one would help me. When he fell, they were too close and I couldn't get him back to his feet."
Todd scowled, tossing the radio to Ryan, "Let me grab my stuff and then we're out of here. Radio Misty and tell her to meet us at the door in five."
The survivors said nothing when Melissa led Carter to the stairs. They averted their eyes as Todd made his way through the stacks to his corner. Thank God I kept my stuff up here, he thought, collecting his things. A moan drifted up from the lower level, quickly followed by a shotgun blast - the survivors remained silent. When he neared the door, the hushed whispers finally began behind him. "I hope you all rot in hell," he said, flipping them off over his shoulder.
The clang of the door closing behind him, echoed loudly in the stairwell. Tall-man looked up and said, "You didn't answer Pete's question about the meds."
"You guys aren't getting shit." Todd growled, taking the steps two at a time. Just as he reached the bottom, Misty honked from outside. Ryan hurried Carter and Melissa out, while Todd faced-off with Shotgun. "You going to shoot me and try taking what we scavenged today?" Shotgun gave Todd a once over then shook his head.
"Watch out for the dead ones," Baldy laughed as the door closed behind him.
Jer and Ryan sat in the back with Melissa and Carter, who'd curled up on her lap; Misty stayed in the driver's seat. Stopping at Ezra's truck, they gathered up their belongings and began to head north. Before his death, Ezra told his daughter of a little-known hunting road at the edge of town; it was Todd's hope that the military hadn't known about it. They were almost to their turnoff when a canvas military truck loomed over the rise.
Misty slowed down. "Didn't you say they threatened to disable your vehicle if they saw you again?" she asked Todd, pulling up beside the stopped truck.
"It doesn't look like there are any army personnel around right now." Ryan said, scanning the area. "Let me out and I'll see what's in the back." Misty stopped; Ryan got out.
Lifting his foot on the back bumper, he heaved himself up and poked his head through the canvas. After a long moment, Ryan pulled his head out of the back, jumping down and hurrying back to them. He climbed in and slammed the door. "Go," was all he said.
Todd turned around in his seat. "What was in there?" he asked Ryan, who was now ghostly white.
"I found the soldiers," Misty said, speeding up.
Todd turned back around, in time to see zombies in camouflage and helmets, stumbling out of the bush lining the road. "I'm sure as hell glad that we don't have to deal with those guys." He nodded at a nose-less zombie as it struggled up the ditch.
"What was in the truck, Ryan?" Melissa asked softly.
"It looks like they were going to put a bomb in the center of town," he replied in a faraway voice, "they were going to blow us all to kingdom come."
"Then I'm glad they got eaten," Misty said, grinning at Ryan in the rear-view mirror.
"Me too," said Todd, wishing the same fate on those they'd left in the library.
Volume 12: Finding Patient Zero
Two weeks after the first zombie sighting...
Andy stood in a large crowd of reporters in the courtyard of San Diego's City Administration Building. They'd gathered for a press conference, held by Senator Rickford, to assure the press that the situation in Texas was under control. He scanned the throng of reporters, but couldn't find his partner Trina; she'd been filming the press conference from somewhere off to his left. Spotting the senator and his entourage of security, Andy pushed his way through the crowd.
"Senator," Andy shouted, waving his arm. "Senator, I have several questions, regarding the cause of the riots in Texas." I have many other questions, but that can wait until I have your attention. "Senator!"
Pausing mid-stride, the senator turned and gave Andy a wary look. "I have nothing more to add. As I said in my statement, the riots continue to plague the state of Texas, and we're working as quickly as possible to clean up the contaminates."
The senator turned to leave, but Andy wasn't done. "Senator, I've received reports from a trusted source in the area that we're not dealing with a simple spill here. That something's infected the population and they're turning on one another." He pushed his recorder into the Senator's face. "I've seen footage of Synergy Pharmaceutical's head honcho; you know he committed suicide. I've also seen video of the experiments his company was working on. Do you have any comments regarding that?" When the Senator motioned for his security to move on, Andy decided to lay it all on the line. "Did you know that, in the company's labs, a dead woman broke free of her restraints and ate a man alive?" I hope that gets his attention, he thought, doggedly pursuing the senator.
Rickford stopped walking and snorted, "That's preposterous. I don't know where you found these videos, but they're obvious fabrications; the dead don't rise up - they don't eat the living. You've been watching too many movies." He turned away and continued towards the waiting limo.
Andy pressed on, following after him, "Why is it then, that the US government shut down all communications within the state? Why, if the story's so preposterous, were all flights in and out of Texas cancelled as of yesterday? Who made that decision?"
The senator gave Andy a disgusted look. "I have no further comment," he snapped.
Andy followed behind the senator's entourage, shouting questions he knew would never be answered. "Why has FEMA set up a camp in Oklahoma where the displaced residents of the state are being held, and why has the CDC been called in to investigate? Why did a plane, flying out from Dallas yesterday, crash into the Louisiana bush? Who's responsible for that?" A man wearing a dark suit and sunglasses stopped Andy from approaching the limo, as the senator climbed in. "What happens when the dead start attacking people in San Diego senator? Can we also expect to be cut-off from the rest of the country and abandoned? Left to fend for ourselves, while the politicians run and hide, ignoring the bigger issue?" The car began to move away from the curb; Andy shouted after it, "Will you answer my questions, once the dead come knocking on your door?" Agitated by the encounter, he stood on the curb, staring after the limo until it was lost in traffic.
"Did you really expect a straight answer?" a soft female voice spoke from behind him.
Turning, Andy saw Trina and gave her a small smile, shaking his head. "No, but I'd hoped he'd let something slip." He shoved his recorder into his pocket, jerking his head towards their car. "Let's get back to Paul's; he should be packed and ready to go."
Crossing state lines...
Everything on the drive to Texas seemed perfectly normal; that was, until they reached the small town of Valdo. The traffic on the interstate, just north of the town, slowed to a stop. Andy craned his neck to see what the holdup was all about; all he saw ahead of him was a line of halted cars. "We're so close to Texas, don't tell me we'll have to backtrack and find another route," he sighed, tired from being in the van for the past ten hours.
Trina turned in her seat, "There's army personnel up ahead; I'm not sure why they're stopping traffic though."
"Wasting taxpayer's money," Paul grumbled, "that's what they're doing." The van inched forward.
"Notice how light the traffic's been in the northbound lane?" Trina pointed out.
Andy thought back, remembering no more than a handful of cars in the past several minutes. She's right.
"Yeah," Paul nodded, "I've been wondering about that since we got on the I-10."
"If they're stopping people at a checkpoint, what are we going to tell them when they ask why we're headed into Texas? We can't just say that we're headed to where this all started." Andy said, as his heartbeat quickened; he hadn't considered that the army would be stationed just outside the state lines. He'd hoped they could get in and, once finding the checkpoint, find another route.
"We're visiting friends in El Paso." Paul said, pulling forward with the traffic. "Andy, make sure all the equipment's covered and put Trina's camera away. Try to arrange the bags on the floor behind you; that way, if they open the sliding door, hopefully they'll just think its luggage."
Andy did as asked, saying, "If we're just visiting friends in El Paso and we've come all the way from the west coast, wouldn't it raise suspicion if the van appeared too tidy?"
"What if they've been told to flag certain things? If they see my high-tech camcorder sitting out, they may pull us over and do a more thorough search; our story won't hold up under scrutiny and I'd rather not take the chance." Flustered, Trina dug through her bag. "I'll do a quick search on my phone, and find a name and address to give them - just in case we're asked."
"Good thinking," Paul said, reaching over to the glove box. "Here's my press card; can you put it with yours in your purse?"
Andy dug his out of his bag as well. "Here's mine," he said handing it over.
Traffic began to move and the trio stayed quiet until they came to another stop. "Did you get out the map?" Paul asked, glancing at Andy in the rear-view mirror.
"Right here." He waved it in the air.
"Good. Check for another road where we can cross the border east of here; hopefully, we can find another way out of Anthony. Look," Paul said, pointing out the windshield, "there's a blockade closing off the entire highway. It looks like all traffic's either being turned around or routed into town."
"I told you we should have stuck to back roads," Andy grumbled, folding his arms over his chest. "I should have taken a nap."