The Death: Extinction

by John W. Vance

  “Fine,” James replied.

  Mueller listened and could hear two sets of footsteps walking away.

  When he was sure they were gone, he headed back to check on the woman, but all he found was an empty bed. He tossed the sheets off and looked around. “Where did you go?” In the corner near some large cabinets he heard some movement. “They’re gone. No one is going to hurt you.”

  “I want to leave,” she said from a concealed position.

  Not wanting to scare her more, he stayed next to the bed. “You need rest. If you want to live, you must rest.”

  No reply.

  “Did you hear me?” Mueller asked.

  Still nothing.

  He followed a small trail of blood to a darkened corner between two large cabinets. There, tucked in between them, she lay passed out. Blood streaked from her arm where the IV needle had been and her head drooped over her chest. All he could think was her fatigue had given way to vertigo and she blacked out. He shook his head, bent down and picked up her small frame. Never one to brag about his strength, he felt strong holding her light body.

  She was small, not more than five foot one, and because of life at the camp and the virus, he estimated her weight below a hundred pounds.

  He took her back to the bed and laid her down. He reinserted the IV, gave her a booster shot of the vaccine just to be safe, and tucked her in.

  He looked up at the fluorescent lights and imagined it had to be difficult to sleep with them on. Since his first day there he hadn’t ever turned them off, so he looked for the switches. As expected, he found them next to the main door. Using his office light as a night light of sorts, he turned off all the overheads. He pulled his desk chair out, sat down and relaxed. The gurgling sounds from each breath he heard before were gone. This was a good sign; the fluids, primarily blood, that had been in her lungs were clearing up. He slid down in the chair and rested his head on the back of it. His eyelids grew heavy, and he felt that no matter what happened to him, he was doing something right for once. If there was a God, he thought, hopefully, the mercy he was showing the woman would count for something.

  Day 237

  May 25, 2021

  West of North Platte, Nebraska

  “Rover One, Rover One, this is Josh. Please come in!”

  Upon hearing Josh’s voice come over the radio, Cassidy had Travis pull the SUV over onto the gravel shoulder of Interstate 80. In front of them a green sign emblazoned with large white letters read North Platte 6 miles.

  The journey from Pine Bluffs had been slow. First, getting around the town took time, as they swung miles north and drove overland to avoid being spotted by any helicopters or surveillance drones. By the time they thought it safe to cut east, the sun was setting and Travis thought it best not to drive at night.

  For Cassidy, watching the assault of Pine Bluffs shook her. Never in her life had she seen such a thing. Being in a drug-induced coma for over six months had shielded her from most of the horrors many people experienced. However, the most dramatic scene she witnessed yesterday was not the helicopters firing missiles or hearing the roar of machine guns, it was the massive mushroom cloud that rose from the ashes of Pine Bluffs.

  Travis first saw the cloud in his rearview mirror and pulled over. Twice in weeks he had witnessed the signature cloud of a nuclear blast.

  For Cassidy it felt surreal, almost like she was watching a movie. It just didn’t seem realistic. She was having the hardest time coming to grips with what had happened back in Pine Bluffs and her heart ached for all the good people she had recently met, knowing they were all dead now.

  The remainder of the drive she had kept quiet and to herself.

  Travis tried to get her to talk, but her simple single-word answers were enough to tell him she didn’t want to. Fortunately for him he had Bill and Tom to converse with.

  With the rising sun, Travis got them back on the road and headed east, then south, then east again once they intersected with Interstate 80.

  When the radio first crackled to life, Cassidy jumped because she wasn’t expecting it. When she heard it was Josh, she spoke the first complete sentence in a day’s time. “Stop, we have to stop!”

  “Josh, this is Rover One,” Travis replied, holding the handset.

  “Rover One, is that you? Oh my God, it’s so good to hear your voice,” Josh said.

  “It’s us. What’s your location? Over,” Travis asked.

  Cassidy was sitting upright, joyful that someone she had feared dead was alive and close by.

  “I’m hunkered down just outside of Sidney.”

  “Where’s that?” Travis asked.

  Bill spoke up. “It’s west of here, about eighty to a hundred miles.”

  “About fifty miles due east of Pine Bluffs.”

  “Copy that. I have to say, I can’t believe you’re alive,” Travis said.

  “Me either.”

  “We’re east of you, about eighty miles or so. Get on the 80 and head east. We’re just outside of…” Travis said but stopped short of telling him exactly where.

  “Where?”

  Cassidy scrunched her face, confused at first why Travis didn’t give their specific location.

  “Just get on the 80, head east. We’ll meet you at the 120-mile marker,” Travis ordered.

  “Okay, heading your way.”

  Travis put the handset down and said, “I know that expression. I don’t know who else is listening. That mile marker is back a few miles; we’ll pull off the road here and take cover in that small grove of trees.”

  “Smart,” Cassidy replied.

  Bill and Tom helped Travis cut branches and cover the SUV and trailer. Travis knew this only helped to conceal them visually; if a drone were to fly over, they’d be able to spot them with thermal optics.

  Cassidy kept watch, but her attention wasn’t focused. Images of the mushroom cloud and helicopter gunships flashed in her thoughts. When a chilled breeze came, she shivered and moved to a sunny spot. The warmth of the late spring sun felt good. Along with the chill, the air brought the smells of spring. Tall grasses and flowers were in full bloom. A wet April had helped, and it seemed so amazing to her that out of such horror the simple beauty of a flower could still last. While the world of humans savaged one another, Mother Nature proceeded on. Spring followed winter and soon the hot summer days would be coming. In the wild nothing changed or stopped, it just kept on going.

  “Penny for your thoughts?” Travis asked.

  “It’s nothing, just thinking.”

  “You still in shock from yesterday?”

  “I’ve never seen anything like that. I suppose I’ll get used to it. Oh my, how bad does that sound? What kind of world are we living in where you get used to seeing barbarism and mass death?”

  “A fucked-up one.”

  “I don’t know if we’re doing the right thing?”

  Hearing Cassidy say this, Bill and Tom stopped what they were doing.

  “You don’t think going to New York is a good idea?” Travis asked.

  “I want to find Devin, but here you three are, soon to be four. I’m sure you have family somewhere too that you’d like to find.”

  “I do,” Tom blurted out.

  “You see, Tom here has family, probably along the way, that he’d like to find. I’m sure Bill does too and Josh as well. Look, I know Tess may be in Bismarck and that’s close.”

  “Cassidy, I appreciate that, but this trip is about you. These men here volunteered to get you there safe and sound,” Travis challenged.

  “But things have changed,” she fired back.

  “Nothing’s changed except that Pine Bluffs got nuked. You were gone already. If we had left a day earlier, we may never have known. Would you feel differently then?”

  “Maybe but maybe not, I don’t know. I only know what I know based on my experiences. These men are sacrificing for me; I’d like to return the favor.”

  Travis was impressed with her courtesy,
but he hated last minute changes to plans. Also there was danger in being on the road for an extended period of time.

  “You’re sweet, but I say we stick to the plan.”

  “The lady has a point,” Bill chimed in.

  “She is right. I wouldn’t mind trying to find some family,” Tom added.

  “How can I deny them?”

  “Easy, say no.”

  “You were part of the military; you have to be used to plans changing. Adapt and overcome, isn’t that some sort of motto?” Cassidy asked.

  “We stick to the plan,” Travis insisted.

  “I say we put it to a vote,” Cassidy offered. “Make this a democracy; we go to other places only if all of us agree.”

  “Hear, hear,” Tom said.

  “If it has to be unanimous, then we’ve already lost. Captain Priddy here will veto this proposal,” Bill added.

  Travis pushed off the truck and walked out in the open field that sat adjacent to the grove of trees.

  “Let’s see what Josh says when he gets here,” Cassidy continued.

  The radio came to life suddenly. “Rover One, this is Josh.”

  Tired of listening to the others, Travis answered the radio, “This is Rover One.”

  “Hi, Captain Priddy, you told me to contact you when I reached that mile marker.”

  “Now go a few miles further, you’ll see an overpass. Exit there and go right. Stop at the end of the ramp.”

  “Okay, see you all soon.”

  Travis dropped the handset and lowered his head. A headache began to develop and he knew exactly why. He opened the back and dug through a backpack until he pulled out what he was searching for, a packet of coffee. He ripped it open, and with a bottle of water in the other hand, he poured the instant coffee into his mouth and guzzled the water down. It wasn’t the most ideal way to drink coffee, but his need for caffeine was without a doubt an addiction. If he went a twenty-four-hour period without any caffeine, he’d get a raging headache that no amount of Advil or Motrin could lessen.

  The three were still discussing this new plan and where they’d get started when Travis walked back up. “Hey, time to load up. Josh is coming. We’re going to meet him at the off ramp so let’s remove the brush and get going.”

  “Roger dodger,” Bill said. He was a robust man in his mid forties. After losing his wife and only child to the Death, he became a critical part of the magistrate’s scavenger teams. Upon hearing the magistrate ask for volunteers to travel cross-country, he jumped at it. The loss of his family had hit him hard and the only way for him to avoid thinking about his personal tragedy was to keep busy. The scavenger teams gave that to him.

  “Hopefully Josh will join us,” Tom added as he climbed into the truck.

  Travis got behind the wheel and wished he could turn up the radio to block out their endless talking.

  The drive to Josh took them only a few minutes.

  Bill and Tom practically killed themselves getting out of the SUV to inform Josh of their new plan.

  Cassidy could see Travis was struggling, so she stayed behind. “You okay?”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “So you’re in complete opposition to this?”

  “Not complete, but don’t you want to find Devin?”

  She leaned over the center console from her rear seat and sincerely said, “I’m not giving up on finding him, I’m just putting it off. I want nothing more than to find him, but it’s only fair the rest of you get a chance to find loved ones too.”

  “It’s been so long since I’ve seen Tess and I’m now a day’s drive from Bismarck.”

  “We can go to Bismarck, just agree.”

  A truck horn ceased their conversation.

  “Let’s go see what they want,” Travis said and exited.

  Walking up, Travis and Cassidy both saw the large grin gracing Josh’s face.

  “What’s he smiling for?” Travis asked Cassidy.

  “So I hear we might be making some pit stops along the way?” Josh asked.

  “It’s an idea, but we can only do it by unanimous consent.”

  “I know exactly where I want to go,” Josh said.

  “Oh yeah?” Cassidy replied.

  Josh paused in his response for dramatic effect.

  “Well, where?” Cassidy asked.

  “I’ll give you a hint,” Josh joked.

  “Look at this guy,” Travis snapped.

  “The Windy City, baby, let’s go,” Josh said.

  “Not going to happen. We have a job to do and that is get her to New York as soon as possible!” Travis exclaimed.

  “Not sure who died and made you boss, but if this trip is about the lady here and she doesn’t mind stopping along the way, then why not?” Josh barked.

  “Too long on the road is dangerous,” Travis replied.

  “Oh, come on, it’s dangerous, period. Look, we just barely made it out of Pine Bluffs alive. I’d like to go find my cousin in Chicago if we can.”

  “Travis, it’s your decision. The group will do whatever you decide, so make up your mind,” Cassidy said.

  Charleston, South Carolina

  Devin rubbed his bruised hands over his battered body. The past few weeks had been hard on him physically. Never in his life had he been hurt so much. It was to be expected, though; he’d joke to himself that the apocalypse was not a walk in the park.

  His mental strength had increased tenfold since his days as a writer living in New York. In fact, he would have been described as a metrosexual. His emotional fortitude was also stronger and he gave credit for that to Tess. When he thought about it, he could give Tess credit for a lot of his growth in this world. Without her he might have been dead. She taught him how to shoot and handle a weapon. She made him step up and make the tough choices even though the easy would have been preferential and closely mirrored his decision-making pre-Death. The one area that still needed improvement was his overall physical strength. After leaving Reed, Illinois, he made it a priority to wake up every morning and do pushups and crunches. It wasn’t an ideal workout regimen, but he did see improvements. This morning wasn’t unlike those days. The first thing he did when he woke was to knock out a hundred pushups in twenty pushup increments with a thirty second break in between. When he first began doing this, he couldn’t make the total one hundred, but he pushed himself past failure until he built the muscle. After his fight and near loss to Charlie, it validated the need to be strong and capable. Defensive martial arts skills was something he desperately needed, but in the meantime, he’d work towards building strength.

  Several men in the tent made rude comments when he started his workout, but he ignored them. He had found in his short time with them that these pirates acted like murderous frat boys. Hazing, torment, abuse and a pecking order were firmly entrenched in their ways. If they weren’t so deadly, he would have openly made fun of them.

  He felt rested this morning because he had allowed himself to actually sleep. He had a renewed confidence because of what had happened yesterday. If Poppy had truly doubted him, he would be dead, no further questions needed, but Poppy also didn’t do anything to signal that he was being accepted.

  What gave him the greatest pause was that his test was still coming, and the thought of having to harm an innocent plagued him.

  “Look at the faggot doing his jazzercise,” a man hollered from the far end of the tent.

  “Fucking Yankee, thinks he’s a stud or something,” another snarled.

  Devin ignored their comments and kept pushing.

  The flap of the tent opened, allowing the morning light to briefly chase away the darkness.

  It was Poppy. He stood at the entrance of the tent with his hands on his hips. “Devin, Chris, John, Trent, Mike, grab your shit and meet me at the front staging area!” Just as quickly as he had appeared he was gone.

  Devin stood up and brushed off his hands.

  One of the men who had taunted him made another verbal jab. �
�Do you need to go shower and shave your legs now?”

  “You can’t seem to stop looking at me; have you told Poppy you’re gay yet, or are you waiting to come out later?” Devin jabbed back.

  “What did you say, fuck face?” the man bellowed and marched towards Devin like a large bull in a china shop.

  While he wasn’t fully trained in martial arts, Tess had shown him a few moves.

  The man was just about on top of him and began to telegraph his punch.

  Devin squared up to him, stepped quickly to the side and used a shikan ken punch to his throat.

  The man groaned then gagged and grasped his throat.

  Devin then stepped into him and with that force used his elbow to strike the man squarely in the head.

  Like a sack of bricks, the man collapsed to the floor.

  The other men in the tent were in shock.

  Devin felt proud and asked himself why he hadn’t fought like that yesterday.

  The boisterous tent was dead silent as they all looked at Devin.

  His past analogy of a frat house was half correct; these pirates were a cross between frat and prison rules. If Devin hadn’t established himself as capable of protecting himself, he would be considered weak, and in this place weakness was not respected and, much worse, preyed upon.

  Devin looked down at the man and said, “Next time, keep your fucking mouth shut.” Filled with pride, he stepped over him, grabbed his backpack and exited the tent.

  Dulce, New Mexico

  Like a nervous parent watching over their sickly child, Mueller had woken early and immediately checked on the woman’s condition.

  The first twenty-four hours was when he knew she was on the road to recovery, and if things progressed further in the next twenty-four, there was a ninety percent chance she would make a full recovery.

  He checked her temperature and it was just slightly high, around ninety-nine degrees, and her pulse and blood pressure were all in the normal range. When he pulled open the Velcro cuff on the blood pressure monitor, its ripping sound woke her.

  She opened her eyes and stared at him. Again she pulled away from him out of fear.