While they were putting the food away there was a knock on the door. Jake opened the door to see their neighbor, Kristy.
“Hi Jake, just thought I would let you and Emily know that most of the park are gathering at the manager's office,” Kirsty said pointing towards the front of the park.
“Really? Let's go see what's happening,” Emily said walking out the door putting an arm around him. While walking towards the Manager's office the two boys came flying around the corner on their bikes then skidded to a stop in front of them.
“The assistant manager wants to see everyone at his place,” Paul said, short of breath.
“Yeah we were headed to the park to play then people started gathering and shouting, then Ken came out and said he wanted to wait until everyone was there,” Greg blurted out, not taking a breath.
Jake was taken aback when he saw the crowd that was circling the porch of the assistant manager. Ken was stood on the porch above the crowd with arms outstretched like he was trying to calm an angry mob. Jake noticed Marge was at the front of the crowd shouting so of course this was an angry mob if Marge was the instigator he thought. Jake saw Marge’s cousins, the Jones brothers standing by their beat-up green ford truck. The truck was parked in the bark dust of the play park that was meant for the kids. CJ, the middle of the three brothers was stood with a beer in hand. Jesse the other brother was leaning over the trucks hood looking at the crowd of people. Jake saw as they got closer Jesse’s gaze switched from the crowd in front of Ken’s trailer to his wife. Emily must have noticed this too as he felt Emily take his hand squeezing it tight. Joining the back of the crowd, he could hear Ken being asked about park security.
Ken explained that the managers had left for a vacation and not returned. That’s when Marge seemed to take her cue.
“What about rent Ken? If the managers aren’t here, I’m not paying rent! Any scumbag could steal it from their mailbox!” Marge said in a rough gravelly voice that Jake always assumed was from the constant smoking.
“Y’know I can’t say I blame you guys with what's on the news for your concern so until I hear otherwise from the management company who owns the park rent will be frozen!” Ken said which led to a big smile spreading across Marge’s face. The Jones brothers cheered along with some other residents.
After what Jake had seen he couldn’t help but feel sick inside at what he was hearing. Even after what was on the news these people were more concerned with saving a few bucks. They had no care about what was going on outside of their small little selfish worlds. Seeing this gave another reason why he knew he had to get his family away from here as fast as possible.
The Jones’ truck door opened then Hank, the oldest brother of the three, got out. Hank stood by the side of his truck.
“Hey!” Hank bellowed, swaying a little then stepping towards the crowd.
“So, what are we going to do about these damn infected? The news says we can defend ourselves,” Hank said looking away from Ken.
Hank was one of the people who bent the rules as much as possible. Marge was his neighbor as well as cousin. From the gossip Emily was always hearing from the neighbors, Ken and Hank had gotten into it many times over park rules. Jake could feel the tension in the crowd as it got quiet. He heard the deep breath Ken took in before looking around the crowd that were looking up for an answer.
“This park has been my home for over twenty-eight years, and I am not going anywhere! I will not let some hooligans or some crazy people high on drugs come in and damage this property in any way shape or form,” Ken stated boldly. The crowd cheered but Jake looked at Emily shaking his head. These people had no idea what they were in for if they thought they could just scare these infected people off. Jake was about to pluck up the courage to say something himself when Charlie spoke up.
“Listen!” Charlie shouted, getting everyone's attention, even the Jones brothers fell silent. “We can stand here in a scared huddle all we want, worry about rent, worry about defending our homes if they try to get in but what we should be more concerned about…is making the park more secure, more defendable!” Charlie began to slowly walk to the front of the crowd.
As the crowd parted at the front, Charlie walked up Ken's steps then turned to the crowd. “Listen, these infected who’ve gone bat shit crazy aren't the only issue! Help ain’t coming! Not anytime soon! When downtown gets overrun with infected or they run out of food or whatever because there just simply isn’t enough for them all then they will travel outward from the city and come this way!” Charlie said authoritatively. As the giant of a man was talking Jake could see people in the crowd nodding agreement. Charlie continued, “You can bet when they make their way this far up from the freeway, and they will, they’ll want what we have! Our food! Our well water! What would you do to feed your family? So, we have to start preparing! We have to board up our homes! Secure our fences! “Charlie said, stepping beside Ken pointing at the park entrance.
“Do those work?” Charlie asked.
“Yes, I think so... they haven’t been closed in over ten years, Charlie,” Ken said looking bewildered.
To his relief Jake could tell Charlie had just taken over control of this crowd from Marge.
“That’s where we start!” Charlie shouted.
“We close the gate! Set up some watch posts and keep it safe for the people who live here and only the people that live here should be let in!
“These are our homes and we have to defend them!” Charlie said as more cheers went up from the people gathered. CJ smashed a beer bottle on the truck as the brothers cheered. Then Jake’s relief got shaky as he realized that this could turn ugly very fast. If people came to the gates to asking for help, they shouldn't be turned away. Charlie seemed like a nice guy, but the Jones brothers were too pumped for this.
Charlie stood silently for a few minutes then continued, “It’s not just thugs, thieves, and desperate people looking to steal some food we need to defend our homes from! It’s these infected too and they’re not just druggies on bath salts!” Charlie said looking wide eyed.
Jake knew this is where Charlie would either get the crowds 100% backing or they would think the guy was crazy. Most of them probably hadn’t seen what he had or what this virus does to people.
“They’re zombies! The people infected are dead folks come back to life infected by some disease that causes them to feel no pain! Just a hunger for human flesh! Only shooting them in the head will do the trick so ya gotta get all your firearms ready.” As Charlie finished, Jake could see people in the crowd turn talking amongst themselves. To these people Charlie was starting to sound like a guy gone off the deep end. Jake had seen the infected for himself, so he knew what Charlie was saying was right. Jake watched Charlie walk over to the entrance then grab the handle of the gate. The gate had been slid to the side in the open position ever since he’d moved here. Charlie’s brother Nathan walked over grabbing onto the gate, too. Both of them tugged at the gate to try move it closed. The gate creaked but didn’t budge as it was rusted in position. Emily squeezed Jake’s hand then he felt her lean in close to his ear.
“You're right, we have to leave,” Emily whispered.
Jake nodded then as they turned to head back to the trailer, he could hear Charlie grunting. Charlie was trying to force the gate closed but it wouldn’t budge. The Jones brothers had started laughing as they still stood by the truck.
“We don’t need the gate! We’ll shoot any fucker stupid enough to come near our place but we ain’t jumping on your zombie crazy train!” CJ said chuckling. Hank started the brother’s truck up spewing black diesel fumes then drove off. Charlie seemed unfazed by the antics as the big man still kept trying to close the gate. Nathan’s feet were digging into the dirt as both struggled with the gate.
Jake let go of Emily's hand so he could go over to help them. He walked over knowing the park and the families in it could use all the help in defending it that they could get. People like the Jones broth
ers couldn’t grasp the severity of the situation. Jake hoped at some point they would as how they wanted to handle things wouldn’t end well. Charlie nodded as he joined in the struggle to close the gate. After a few seconds of pushing, the gate finally squeaked as it moved a little. A couple of people came to help push then slowly it started to move. As they all pushed the gate started to pick up momentum. “Keep going, it’s moving!!” Charlie roared.
Cheers went up from the crowd gathered as the gate rolled across the width of the entrance then slammed closed. Jake was out of breath and looked over to see Emily squinting at him.
“Thanks, partner!” Charlie said slapping him on the shoulder.
“Yeah, thanks, man,” Nathan chimed in then thanked the other two guys who’d helped.
Jake knew one of them, his name was Dom. Dom was a small guy who lived a few trailers down from him with two girls. Dom’s wife Kristy was who’d told them about the meeting.
Jake looked around at the other families gathered knowing if those infected got in here it would be far worse than the old folks home.
Nick
The train staff were trying to calm people, but Nick knew what was about to happen would spiral out of control. He darted over to Heidi grabbing her by the arm. “Here take your brother and run that way! Follow the tracks!” Nick said pointing in the direction the train had been headed.
Nick had noticed when he got off the train there was nothing but trees on either side of the tracks for a good few miles ahead of them. Behind them, however, they had just passed a road crossing where these infected must have come from. Attracted by the sound of the train he assumed as they seemed to be drawn to sound.
Nick began to help Agnes up “C’mon, little lady, you’re with me,” he said, hoisting Agnes up and wrapping her arm around his shoulder.
“PLEASE! GET BACK ONTO THE TRAIN AND WAIT UNTIL EMERGENCY SERVICES ARRIVE!” Steve the train driver shouted out. No one seemed to be listening to Steve as they were all scrambling in different directions into the trees. Some people did jump back on board the train Nick noticed but that was just a death trap. As he hobbled with Agnes along the tracks, he could hear screaming coming from whatever was unfolding behind him. Nick saw Michael starting to turn around.
“Don’t look around and keep going!” He shouted.
Heidi started to pick up the pace with her little brother in tow, but Nick and Agnes weren’t going very fast. He was glad these infected seemed slow and docile otherwise carrying Agnes wouldn’t be a smart move. Smart moves were how you stay safe in survival situations, you can’t think with your heart just your head.
Agnes groaned as he kept trying to keep up the pace with Heidi and Michael. He had to though as he didn’t want the kids to get too far ahead. A noise of feet crunching on gravel came from behind them. It got louder as the person running got closer. Nick paused for a second to glance over his shoulder at whoever was running to catch up with them. What he saw wasn’t at all what he expected. Nick thought it would be someone from the train who’d noticed they’d made a break for it. It was the conductor of the train who had clearly been infected. The eyes weren’t cloudy white but extremely bloodshot. There was a gaping gash on the conductor’s shoulder that was pouring blood. Agnes groaned as he removed her arm from around his neck then lowered her to the ground. “What-” Agnes began to say.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be right back! Heidi!” He told Agnes then shouted for Heidi’s attention to help her sister.
Turning to deal with the conductor it was too late the conductor lunged at him. They both fell to the ground with the conductor on top. Agnes was screaming, kicking the conductor with the good foot. Nick put his forearm across the conductor’s chest to keep a barrier between him and this monster’s snapping jaws. Blood mixed with drool dripped onto Nick face, but he turned to the side so as to not get any in his mouth or up his nose. The conductor’s body felt like dead weight bearing down on him. The conductor’s arms weren’t grabbing at nick but flailing around to the side like a bird trying to fly. Nick used this to his advantage wrapping his free arm over one of the conductors's then used it as leverage to pull the monster to the side rolling him over. Now Nick was on top he kept his forearm across the conductors collar bone pinning him to the ground then elbowed the man in the face, but the conductor wasn’t fazed as jaws kept snapping. Nick was about to try for another elbow when two hands around a rock came past his face. The rock smashed down into the conductors face sending blood spouting into the air. Nick looked up to see Heidi standing above him. Growls came from the conductor who was now in even more of a frenzy. The rock cradled in Heidi's hands came down again and again onto the infected conductors face. Nick felt the man's body go limp under him as the snapping jaws now full of broken teeth stopped. Nick fell back with a sigh looking at the clouds in the clear sky. He was out of breath struggling to get his heart rate back down as it felt like it was going to explode out his chest.
Quickly he rolled over then got up then started to walk away from the group. He began checking around his nose, eyes, and mouth for blood from the conductor.
“Stay back!” He shouted putting a hand back to make sure none of them came near him.
“You’re not one of them” Heidi said walking towards him.
“You don’t know that yet, I could have gotten it in my eyes or in my mouth without realizing it,” he told her.
Heidi stood staring at him waiting, he wasn’t sure what she was waiting for. In fact, he wasn’t sure what he was waiting for, he didn’t know how long this thing took to kick in. So even if he was infected, he still had time to try to get these people to safety wherever that was.
“Okay, let's get going,” he told her.
Heidi nodded as they both walked towards Michael who was sitting by Agnes.
“If I start acting weird or funny, you need to leave me and go. You hear me?” Nick stressed to her quietly before they reached Michael. Nick noticed a sad look in the girl’s eyes when she nodded. Nick nodded back, silently acknowledging their agreement.
Helping Agnes back up, getting her settled around his neck to hobble on, he looked back in the direction of the train. He couldn’t make out what was going on, but he could see movement in the distance. It was time to put some more distance between them and whatever these infected were.
Caleb
The road was empty on the way out from Marcus’s Mom’s. house towards Amboy which felt a little unusual for Caleb. Nate was sat in the back cradling the baby that they’d found. They were going to stay to try to find more family, but it was just too dangerous so they both agreed to keep the boy safe until this blew. Once everything was back to normal then they could reunite him with some family. As they approached a freeway exit there was a car wrapped around a signpost with another car beside it that had mounted the sidewalk. The car on the sidewalk was surrounded by three people who were pounding on the windshield. Caleb could see two small girls maybe around five or six in the back seats screaming. Caleb brought the vehicle to a screeching halt.
“Dad, what’s up?” Nate said from the back seat.
“Those folks are in trouble, keep the baby quiet, Nate I’ll go see what I can do,” Caleb said while reaching for his shotgun. Caleb pumped the shotgun as he stepped out, but the three men seemed to not hear it. The sound of a shotgun being racked was one of the most recognizable and most distinguishable sounds in the world. The fact none of these three men were bothered by it sent a wave of terror over Caleb.
“HEY! HEY!” Caleb shouted to get the men’s’ attention.
Only one of the men turned around and immediately Caleb raised the shotgun towards the man who was clearly infected. The cream shirt the man had been wearing was soaked on one side with blood from a huge chunk of missing meat from the man's shoulder. An eye was also missing from the man with blood streaked from the socket down the man's cheek. A blast rang out as Caleb pulled the trigger sending fragments of bone and flesh hurtling out from the infected man'
s knees. The infected dropped to the ground with a groan then the other two turned towards him, their attention grabbed by the shotgun blast. Caleb walked towards them then one of them began to move quickly towards him. This other man didn’t look as infected as the one still writhing on the ground. This one had bloodshot eyes instead of the cloudy white he’d seen. There was uncontrollable drooling as this one came right at him. Caleb pulled the trigger again only this time he aimed for this one's chest. The infected flew back like it was yanked by an invisible cord attached to its back.
The third was slowly shambling with a large lengthwise slice on one thigh and blood trickling from a gash on its neck. Caleb leveled the barrel of the shotgun with this one’s white glassy eyes then fired again. This time the skull of this infected erupted as the shotgun’s shell spread tore through the infected’s head. This infected fell to the ground silently then lay motionless as the other two infected groaned.
“Thank you! Thank you so much!” The driver of the car said getting out. It was a small Asian man who froze when the first infected Caleb had shot flopped around on the ground.
“It’s okay,” Caleb said raising a hand.
Walking towards the small Asian man, Caleb looked at the infected he’d shot in the knees. It rolled around on the ground just snapping its jaws with no indication of it feeling any pain. All it seemed to be focused on was eating or biting. Caleb put the barrel to its head then fired again sending blood spray up in the air. There was a growl coming from the infected he’d shot in the chest. This time as the infected began to rush towards him he knew he had to put it down for good. Again, putting the shotgun barrel in line with the infected’s head as it came towards him in a crazy frenzy. The shot tore through the left side of this infected’s head sending it tumbling forward. “Are you okay?” Caleb asked the man as nothing had just happened.
“Yes. I mean no,” the man said hesitantly.
“Can we help?” Caleb asked confused with the man’s answer.
When The Dead Rise (Book 1): The Outbreak Page 23