Dead Stop

  “Yes. And bites are likely even worse. While I’ve tried to clean all the wounds, those are the injuries where people are actually getting infected tissue come into contact with internal tissue of their own. And the deeper the injury, the greater the risk of infection since I can only clean so deep.”

  The two chewed that one over a second before Marisa put her free hand to her forehead.

  “Oh no…Benny.”

  “And Deke,” Rachel whispered. “Those two have the worst exposure. There is no way I got everything out of their wounds. But Harley, you and Stacey aren’t out of the woods by a long shot. You guys are a close second on the danger list. And if these things have been releasing any kind of spores, then we may all be infected. The truth is, we would have been better off if Gerald’s virus theory had been the case. This could end up being a lot worse.”

  “So we’re screwed.” Marisa dropped her hand and met Rachel’s eyes with a level glare. “Nothing we do really matters because we’re all going to turn into these things anyway. Or at least some of us are.

  “Maybe. I still think it’s going to depend on the severity of the exposure. We need to keep a close eye on Benny.”

  “Keep an eye on Benny? Why? Nobody is doing anything to Benny!”

  “Easy,” Rachel soothed, recognizing the flash of protective anger in the waitress’s eyes. “It’s nothing like that. I’m a doctor, remember? I don’t hurt people. Besides, there is another reason I’m bringing this up.”

  “What’s that, Doc?” Harley cut off whatever Marisa was about to say.

  “I may have a solution to this problem…if we can just get to it.”

  “What do you mean, ‘get to it?’”

  “Well, the one bit of hope in all this,” Rachel continued, “is now that I know what I’m dealing with I can start approaching it as something to be treated. I have an anti-fungal medication out in my truck that may go a long way towards protecting us, if we can get it before being infected too long.”

  “You mean you can cure this stuff?” Marisa brightened visibly. “Holy hell, Doc! That changes everything!”

  “No, I didn’t say that,” Rachel cautioned. “I said I could fight it. The medicine in my truck would need to be administered early in the infection. Fungal infections can be real bastards to beat once their deeply entrenched, and this stuff appears aggressive. I’ve got other medicine at my office which would work a lot better, but you let this crap go on too long and I don’t know if even it would work. Once it has taken over the nervous system, I doubt anything could save a person then.”

  “So our priorities have changed,” Harley nodded, “Got it.”

  “We need to get to my truck or somewhere else I can get some medicine. Either way, we have to get out of here.”

  “What am I looking for, if I make it to your truck, doc?”

  “Harley…” Marisa warned but the tall man held up his hand.

  “It’s in a red tackle box with a white lid,” Rachel answered. “You’ll find it in the large toolbox in the back of my truck. Just lift the lid and it should be right on top to the right. The toolbox is locked, though. If you come up with a way to go for it, be sure and get the key from me first.”

  “Right. Anything else?”

  “Not really,” the veterinarian sighed, “other than to emphasize that time is not our friend here. Having Deke and Stacey get supplies keeps them busy, and gives them something constructive to keep their spirits up, but holing up and trying to wait these things out is probably not a realistic option.”

  “Understood.” Harley changed direction and headed back towards the kitchen. “I had been thinking we would spend today hiding out back here and try something tomorrow night, but if we are running out of time then I’ll go straight to Plan B.”

  Rachel watched the tall man go back into the kitchen and head for the restaurant door.

  “Plan B?” She caught Marisa’s arm as the girl started to follow after him.

  “Beats me, Doc,” the girl grouched, “I didn’t even know what Plan A was. He never tells me anything. We’re gonna have to work on that.”

  ###

  Stormbreak - Marisa

  “Harley!”

  Marisa pushed through the door into the restaurant and used a convenient flare of lightning to locate the man standing at the other end of the room.

  He peered with folded arms out the last side window towards the diesel pumps. She noticed he had already pulled a toothpick from his hat brim and now chewed it as he stared out into the storm.

  “So,” She marched over to him and faced him with hands on hips. “Plan B?”

  “Yeah,” he exhaled around the toothpick, his mind obviously elsewhere.

  Marisa stared at him for a moment, and when he didn’t speak again reached out and tapped him firmly on the shoulder.

  “Harley,” she growled, “I don’t want to complain or anything, but being your wingman seems to involve an awful lot of standing around wondering what the hell you’re up to. You want to help me out with that?”

  “Huh?” He seemed to come back to himself and turned to her.

  “I said,” She folded her arms and glared at him, “Doc was sort of wondering about Plan B. But I thought instead of just telling her it was something crazy that would most likely get you killed, I would come in and get all the juicy details first. That way it looks like you at least trust your wingman enough to tell her what’s up before you run off and get eaten. You do trust me, right?”

  “Trust you?” He looked confused at the direction the conversation had taken. “Of course I trust you.”

  “Oh good!” she snapped. “Because me being a silly girl and all, I got this crazy idea you might be holding out on me there for a second. But then I realized you surely wouldn’t do that because I told you before, I’ve got your back…even if I don’t like what you’re about to do. Right?”

  Marisa could feel her temper begin to rise and reined it back in. She wasn’t really looking for a fight, but this needed to be settled.

  “Right,” he agreed, still looking nonplussed.

  “Good, because what I am NOT, is a sidekick. Comprende? That’s Deke. What I am is the person who needs to know what you’re thinking so I can do my part right. Who knows, I might even come up with an angle or two that will give whatever plan you’re cooking up a better chance of working.”

  “Marisa, I…”

  “No.” She surprised him by putting a finger to his lips. “Hear me out, okay?”

  He stopped, then nodded in the dark.

  “Like I told Doc, she may know science but I know people. I can tell you’ve been trying to protect us, and I don’t mean by just fighting these things when you got the chance. You’ve been cool as ice through this whole thing. You had already figured out what was going on in town earlier tonight, and you didn’t say anything until you didn’t have a choice. You knew how freaked out we all already were, and you wanted to spare us that while you could. You had probably already figured out where these…things…were coming from as well…”

  His lack of reply was all the answer she needed on that one.

  “Yeah,” she set her jaw and nodded. “I thought so. And the worst part is, you’re still doing it.”

  The ever present grin on his face grew decidedly pained, and she knew she had scored again.

  “So here’s the deal, Harley.” She stepped up and looked at him with solemn eyes. “We’re just going to start over and try again, okay? Only instead of me being your ‘wingman,’ we’ll be partners in this thing. I’ve still got your back, but no more secrets, and no hiding things from your partner. I know we barely know each other, but I really need to trust you. Comprende? And I know the only way that is going to happen is if you trust me too…so let’s start over. I’ll go first…”

  “First?” Harley’s smile took on a confused look.

  Instead of answering right away, Marisa took a step back, squared her shoulders, then fixed the taller man with a
serious look.

  “Hola.” she said with grave formality. “My name is Marisa Odalys Jacinta Valdez, and I am your new partner. I work here at the Textro while saving up for school. I know I’m a girl, but I am not a china doll. The thing with Vicki caught me by surprise, and it hurt me, but I’ll be okay. My toe is sore, but I used to be an athlete and I’ve played hurt before…so I’m okay there too. I am tougher than I look, but I’m not an idiot and I won’t do anything stupid just to prove myself. I like chocolates, drive-in movies, and men who respect me enough to tell me the truth. My turn-offs are politics, professional wrestling, and dead people who are trying to eat me. Okay, now you go…” She folded her arms and looked at him expectantly.

  The man stared at her, his face a mask of surprise.

  “Your turn,” she prompted. “Go ahead.”

  Harley looked at her a couple of seconds more, then recovered.

  “Okay, you win,” he sighed, then met her with the same serious look she had assumed earlier.

  “Hi. I’m Sergeant Harley Wayne Daughtry. I was a scout in the US Army and assigned to a sniper squad in Afghanistan, where I served two tours of duty. My primary assignments were penetrating into hostile territory, gathering and assessing intelligence, and the hunting and neutralization of Taliban fighters. I got out a few months back, and now I’m just kind of easing back into life here in the states. My main, overriding objective tonight is to get everybody out of here alive, and somewhere safe.”

  He paused a second, then continued in a slightly lighter tone. “I like chicken fried steaks, fishing, and people who don’t give up. I haven’t really made a list of turn-offs yet. Should I?”

  “It helps.”

  “Okay, I’ll try and work on that.” He tilted back his hat, and looked at her with unconcealed curiosity. “So now what?”

  “Now we see if you mean it.” Marisa slid into the booth beside them and indicated the bench across the table from her. “So tell me, how bad do you think it really is out there.”

  Harley appeared to think about it a second, then eased himself into the seat.

  “Well, if Houston or San Antonio had sent any kind of help, we should have seen something by now. The fact they haven’t can mean several different things. Either they don’t know enough about what’s going on here to respond, or this is going on in several places and they can’t respond to all of them at once, or they have the same problem we have. Without more information, I can’t tell more than that. Masonfield, is a different matter though.”

  “What about Masonfield, Harley?”

  His face tightened, as if he regretted mentioning it, and the look he gave her was both somber and grim. She realized immediately what he was thinking.

  “Yes, I have family in Masonfield,” she answered his unspoken question. “But I need you to tell me anyway. That’s the deal. That’s the way this works. Besides, we already know they have trouble over there.”

  Harley nodded and folded his arms on the table. Taking the toothpick out of his mouth, he examined it for a second before tossing it into the ashtray. Then he turned his head and looked out into the storm as he continued.

  “By this time,” he spoke softly, “all the people who were killed at the football game have gotten up and joined the zombies from the cemetery. Actually, enough time has now passed that their initial victims may have gotten up as well. There would be hundreds of them, maybe over a thousand. And these new ones tend to wander around more, so all those who got up probably spread out through town as well. By now I estimate the only survivors are probably a few people who went to bed early and have slept through this entire thing. They’ll die as soon as they get up and go outside tomorrow.”

  “You’re sure about that?” Marisa closed her eyes and took a deep shuddering breath. She had half expected something like this, but hearing it confirmed with such finality still felt like a punch to the heart.

  “Yeah…I’m sure,” His voice sounded flat. “It’s already over. That’s not guesswork, but simple mathematics. Losing their police and having all those people die at the same time created the perfect storm of events. Even if some people holed up, they would have been overwhelmed. I’m sorry, Marisa, but Masonfield is dead.”

  The two sat unspeaking, the rain thrumming against the windows

  I’m not going to cry, Marisa swallowed and clenched her jaw. I am NOT going to cry. If I do, I might not be able to stop…and Stacey and Benny need me. There will be a time for crying later.

  She opened her eyes to see Harley looking at her with obvious concern. It didn’t take a genius to realize he must be wondering if this latest news, on top of the shock of encountering her dead sister, was going to be the straw that brought her down.

  And the thought of that pissed her off.

  She had told him to stop protecting her and to be honest. Now that he had, she would be damned if his doing so would break her. She had told him she was strong, and Marisa meant to live up to it. She had to. Benny and Stacey needed her, and she refused to collapse and let them down.

  She would hang on to that, if nothing else. Until her friends were out of here and safe, she was going to keep it together. After that…well, to hell with after that.

  For now, she would deal with now.

  “Okay, Harley,” she took another deep breath, then met his eyes with a level gaze of her own, “Now tell me about Plan B.”

  His eyes searched her face for a few seconds before he leaned back in his chair, apparently satisfied with what he saw. The brief look of respect that crossed his features gratified her enormously.

  “Yeah, Plan B…” He reached up and pulled another toothpick from his hat brim. “Plan B is how I’m going to get all of us out of here in the next thirty minutes. But I don’t think you’re going to like it. It has what you would call ‘Hey guys, watch this,” written all over it.”

  ###

  Stormbreak – Deke

  Deke leaned against the back wall of the darkened store, holding Stacey tightly in his arms.

  The storm of emotions whirling through him matched the one outside. He was injured, his mom was either in danger or dead, and the girl who sat firmly at the center of his universe was hurt both in body and psyche. He couldn’t do anything about the first two situations, and the last one confused the boy and made him feel hopelessly ineffectual. The little waitress would perk up from time to time and put on a good show, but then quickly revert to just wanting him to hold her. She said it made her feel safe.

  He didn’t know whether to believe her or not.

  She would cling to him tightly, not crying, and not saying a thing. But from time to time a shudder would run through her small frame and he would worry. It pained Deke to admit it, but he felt helpless and over his head here. He almost wished Marisa was more available to talk to the girl. She had been Stacey’s first choice to run to when this nightmare had first started. He felt a small stab of jealousy about that, but had the honesty to admit the other woman would have probably done a better job than he had so far.

  So here he stood with the girl of his dreams wrapped in his arms, and him submerged in an agony of self doubt.

  What would Harley do? Oh hell, who am I kidding? If I was Harley I wouldn’t even be worried about this because she really would feel “safe” with me. He’s already taken out two of these things single handedly. So far I’ve managed to climb a wall, break a desk, and get my ass kicked by a little old lady zombie. And Stacey had to rescue ME from IT! I gotta step it up here. But how? Now I’m hurt and more useless than before.

  Stacey shivered again and tightened her grip on him. He returned the gesture with his uninjured arm, not knowing what else to do. Having the amazingly built little waitress press so tight against him should have been a fantasy come true, but right now those kind of thoughts were a million miles away. Right now, he just wanted her to be alright.

  “Stacey?” he whispered. “Are you okay?”

  She didn’t say anything, but he felt he
r nod her head against his chest.

  “What are you thinking?” he probed, hunting anything to give him an idea what to do.

  “I’m not.”

  He sighed, not knowing where to go with that.

  “I wish there was something I could do for you. If there is, anything at all, just tell me.”

  “You’re doing it.”

  Deke resisted the impulse to sigh again and stared at the ceiling. The frustration in him mounted. Part of him understood this was what he needed to be doing right now, but another rebelled at the idea of Harley taking care of business without him helping. Hell, worse than that, he’d been replaced by a girl…even if it was by a scary girl like Marisa. As much as he adored the feel of Stacey in his arms, he should have been with Harley fighting these things. He exhaled in exasperation at this turn of events.

  A soft chuckle from the girl in his arms brought him back into the present.

  “I must be slipping,” Stacey looked up at him with surprisingly merry eyes. “Because I get the definite feeling you want to be doing something else. Dumping me so soon?”

  “No!” Deke hugged her tight. Suddenly Harley could take care of himself again. “Hey, I will stand here and hold you all night if you want. That’s my job, and I’m glad to have it.”

  She continued to look up at him a moment more, then that famous smile spread into existence and seemed to light up her face in the dark.

  “MmHmm,” she nodded to herself with a pleased expression. “Definitely nice. But I can see it’s my turn to take care of you for a little bit.”

  “Huh?”

  “You’re a guy, and I can tell you’re dying to do something…useful. You don’t know what yet, but if I don’t figure something out you’ll come up with it yourself. At least this way I’ll have some input and can limit the damage.”

  “I’m that obvious, huh? I’m sorry. I meant it about holding you all night.”

  “I know,” she smiled at him. “And you’ll get your chance, because it really does help me. But this is a two way relationship, which means I help you too.”