"No problem." The man leaned closer. "You need to watch out for the others, too. Part of the problem in Sugar Land is the sickos who don't have the disease." He narrowed his eyes. "Know what I mean?"
*****
Randi kept the accelerator depressed as they flew down the deserted road. They couldn't reach safety soon enough.
"Miranda, slow down." Her father touched her arm. "If we lose our humanity, then we have nothing left." Randi eased her foot off the gas, yet everything in her screamed to floor it and get past the person standing in the road. The man remained rooted in place, blood dripped from his mouth, and his eyes had an eerie appearance like he wasn't there. Her father reached for the door. "He's injured."
"No, he's infected, Dad." Randi floored it and sped past the man. "He's beyond help."
"How do you know?" Her father turned to look out the back window. "He might've been injured instead of infected."
"Did you see his eyes?" Randi checked the rearview mirror. "He hasn't moved. If he had intact brain function, he would've tried to avoid us. Besides, the blood dripping from his mouth means he's eaten someone recently."
"Randi's right. We can't stop for those who appear injured." Miguel leaned forward and draped his arms across the back of the seat. "The world has changed, and if we don't measure every move we make, it'll kill us."
"But we can't allow ourselves to become heartless and cruel. If we lose who we are, our love for our brothers, then we are nothing more than animals."
"Dad, he was as good as dead. This form of rabies, there is no hope." Randi glanced at her father. "If we try to help them, and they bite or scratch us, we'll develop the illness the same as them. If we contract this disease, we can't help those who are still alive and not infected."
"Listen to her." Miguel sighed. "They're dying. If I thought I could help, I would be the first to do it."
"No hope whatsoever?"
"None." Miguel patted the older man on the shoulder. "Not for them. Our only hope is to avoid the disease. If we contract it, we'll only hurt others."
Her father nodded. "I understand, but I don't like it."
"Sweetheart, if any of us liked it, I would be concerned." Her mother's voice carried from the back seat.
Would they continue to understand once they were at safety, or would they join Adriana in denial land? Her parents and sister tended live in an altered state of reality. Must be nice to ignore the world.
At Concan, Randi turned off 127 and took River Road for a few miles until she came to the dirt road leading to Barker's land. She checked to make sure her brother-in-law's truck was still behind her as she turned. A sense of relief washed over her when she saw his black pickup. Of course, she didn't expect to lose him. Leon had stayed close to her bumper the entire drive but knowing she had reached safety with her family intact provided a balm to her frayed nerves.
She drove another five miles on the dirt road before she came to a large chain-link fence interwoven with strands of barbed wire and topped with razor wire. Randi rolled down the window, punched in the numbers, and hoped Barker hadn't changed the code. The gate slid open, and she let out a breath in relief. Once both vehicles had passed through, she waited until it closed before driving forward.
In another two miles, they came to a wide moat filled with water encircling the compound. She clicked a remote on her visor, and a bridge covering the second gated entrance into the compound lowered. She punched in the code, the outer gate slid open, and she parked in the dead space between the interior set of inner and outer fences.
She waited for her brother-in-law to park behind her, punched the remote, and retracted the drawbridge. The outer gate closed, and she keyed in the code to the inner gate.
"Mija, this looks like a prison." Her father touched her shoulder. "You built this?"
"To Mr. Barker's specifications. He wanted the fence around the outer perimeter of the property. Then he wanted the house and this land enclosed in two fences with watchtowers at each corner. We can take turns for guard duty.
"Let's get unloaded so we can set up. I packed my tent and sleeping bags for the children, but if it gets too cold, we'll move them to the lower level of the guard towers where the wind won't hit them."
"I packed our camping gear, too." Leon grabbed a box out of the back of his truck. "Is there a fire pit?"
"There's a couple near the house." Randi pointed toward a large log house on the other side of the property. "We can drag them over here."
Her father pulled his bushy eyebrows together. "No, ma'am. We aren't taking another man's property."
"We'll borrow it until I can go into town and get supplies." Randi clenched her fists together. Why couldn't her dad understand this was a fight for their lives? "If Mr. Barker and his family show up, we'll return it to him."
"Absolutely not." Her father crossed his arms over his chest. "It's distasteful enough we breached the man's land. We won't take his supplies. That's final."
"Fine. Miguel, Leon, let's set up near the fence line here. Since the trucks are parked there, it will help block the wind, and we'll be a good distance from the house." She made eye contact with her father. "So we don't invade Barker's space any more than necessary." She didn't bother trying to keep the sarcastic tone from her voice.
Miguel grabbed one edge of the tent. "What happens if this guy returns and wants us to leave?"
"Then we will." Dad grabbed the other end. "We're trespassing as it is."
Randi bit her lip. No sense arguing with her family when Barker would probably never make it from Colorado. She'd let her dad think they would leave if the man wanted them to but no way was she going to put her family in peril so Dr. Barker could have this land to himself. Worst case, she'd agree to moving outside of the compound, but staying within the outer fence.
"Aunt Randi?" Lori, her five-year-old niece tugged on her shirt. The sweet girl's mass of auburn curls had tangles throughout. Fatigue clouded her hazel eyes. "I'm hungry and tired."
"Okay, sweetie. Why don't you help your mom fix mac and cheese?" Randi handed her a box of the mix, grabbed a crate out of her truck, and carried it inside the inner fence. "Adriana, Lori's hungry. I handed her a box of mac and cheese." Randi set the crate on the ground. "There are more boxes in here and a few packages of ramen noodles. It's not much, but it's what I had in my cabinets."
"Thanks. I'll take care of them." Adriana picked up the crate. "We brought food from our house, too. Mom and I should be able to pull together a decent meal."
Adriana had dark circles under her eyes and moved like her joints were stiff. What would happen when her sister ran out of Lupus medication? If she had a bad flare...Randi shook her head. She couldn't dwell on the "what ifs". Right now, she had to make sure they survived today, and then she could worry about Adriana's health.
"I'm going to make a run in to Uvalde. We need supplies or we won't survive." Randi grabbed her truck keys.
"Sounds good." Miguel zipped up his jacket. "I'm going with you."
Leon nodded. "I'm in too."
Randi swallowed. She didn't want to bear the responsibility of her brother and brother-in-law, but they were stubborn and would never agree to her going on her own. "Fine. We leave in ten. I'll let Dad know he's on guard duty."
Chapter Three
Reginald eased the door to the Camry open, shifted it into neutral, and pushed against the car. Belle screamed. He jerked around to find a large man twisting her arm behind her back. "Let her go!" Reginald yelled in a shrill voice. His knees shook as he ran toward them.
"Easy now. I'll snap her arm in two if you don't settle down." The man let out a whistle, and two other men appeared from behind another car.
Where were Mary Anne and David? Reginald's heart pounded as he searched for them. Another man stood at the passenger window with a gun pointed at Mary Anne's head. "Let my family go." Reginald pressed his fists to the sides of his head. Why couldn't he work out a solution? Pain seared his chest, and his left arm
went numb.
One of the men who'd hidden behind the cars slammed a fist into his gut doubling him over. Before he could recover, the other man landed an uppercut to his chin. If they beat him to death, could David save Mary Anne and Belle? David screamed for him, and Reginald looked up in time to see him jump out of the car. The man with the gun elbowed him in the nose. "David!"
The giant who'd gut-punched him, now slammed his fist into Reginald's face several times, before he could block even one blow. Why hadn't he taken martial arts? Maybe then he could save his family. Another punch to his face. Reginald couldn't tell who hit him or where it came from, but the blow knocked him to the ground.
"Stay there and don't move." A shoe slammed into his side, causing him to exhale in a large whoosh. Pain shot around his middle like a blacksmith's white-hot punch. "I'll kill your wife and brats if you so much as squirm."
Reginald stayed face down in the dirt, trembling.
Blood streamed from his nose. His busted lips stung, and his eyes had almost swollen shut. He took in a shaky breath causing his side to ache. After what seemed like hours, car doors slammed, and an engine turned over. Mary Anne and Belle knelt beside him a few seconds later, "Reg, are you okay?"
Reginald grunted and rolled to his back while clutching his sides. "I'm fine."
"Fine?" Mary Anne laid her soft hand against his cheek. "Let's find somewhere to get you cleaned up. Can you stand?"
"Yes." Reginald moved to a sitting position. The creeps had taken their car. Along with his briefcase containing his notes and samples of the virus. "I'll never be able to stop this now," he muttered as he grabbed a handful of his hair and tugged. Moans escaped his lips, and he stared at the spot where their car had sat.
"Dad, are you okay?" David asked.
"Yes." No. He would never be okay again.
"Let me help you up." David slipped his arm under Reginald's shoulder and held him at the waist. "There's a house over there. Want to see if anyone's home?"
Reginald allowed his son to help him for a few feet. "I'm good." He reached in his waistband for his SIG, but it was missing. Now they had no vehicle and no weapon. He might as well paint a giant target on their backs.
"Daddy, are you going to be okay?" Belle asked. "You don't have any internal injuries, do you?"
Reginald shook his head. "I'm good."
"If you do have internal injuries and die, will you turn into a zombie like on TV?"
Where did Belle ever get that idea? Didn't she understand reality from a stupid television program? "No, honey. If we die, we are just dead. We won't come back as zombies. It's not possible. No matter what they say on a show."
She wrinkled up her nose. "You sure?"
"He's a scientist. Of course, he's sure." David rolled his eyes.
"Then why are zombies roaming around eating people, smarty pants?" Belle crossed her arms and glared at her brother. "If we don't turn into zombies when we die, where did all of those creatures come from?"
"Sweetheart, they aren't zombies." Reginald tipped her chin up so he could make eye contact with his baby. "They are infected with a rabies virus that has destroyed their nervous system."
"Why are they eating people, then?"
"Because their brains are scrambled. They only know they're hungry. The instinct to hunt kicks in, and they chase whatever is handy. With their limited brain function, they don't understand getting food from a store and cooking it. They only want to hunt. Much like our Neanderthal ancestors."
"Did they eat people, too?" Belle asked with wide eyes.
"No. The Neanderthals had a working brain and nervous system. They hunted animals for a living. The infected have reverted to the most basic of human needs. Hunt, eat, and defecate. Nothing else. They cannot distinguish us from any other food source."
"This is messed up. It's almost easier to believe the television show than this reality."
"Want me to knock on the door?" David asked when they reached the house.
"No. Stay back to protect your mom and sister."
Reginald climbed the stairs. Each step produced excruciating pain in his side, but he pushed forward. He knocked on the front door and waited. No answer. Reginald twisted the knob with hands that quaked like an aspen in a windstorm. Unlocked. He pushed the door open. "Hello? Anyone here?" And if you are, please don't kill me. No answer.
The hair lifted on the nape of his neck. He stood rooted to the spot. No, he had no choice, but to go in. He stepped across the threshold and licked his lips. "Yoo-hoo? Anyone home?" He waited for his eyes to adjust to the dark interior of the house and walked stiff-legged into the living room. No signs of life. A thick coating of dust covered the furniture.
He held his breath as he walked into the kitchen. Empty. Maybe they could find food. He opened the refrigerator. Something in a bowl had turned green and furry. Owners left a while ago. They could hole up for tonight if there weren't any rabids here and tomorrow find transportation out of town. The downstairs bedroom was empty.
Reginald went up the stairs to the second floor. With each step, he imagined rabids covering the second story. Was that a groan? He wiped his clammy hands on his pants as he took another step. How many waited to decimate him and his family? Visions of a rabid attacking David and Belle flooded his mind. He pressed forward. The only thought on his mind, rid the house of infecteds to protect his kids.
He went through each room and found them all empty. A gun safe stood partially open in the last room. Dare he hope it still contained weapons? He pulled the door open the rest of the way. No guns, but a lock-blade knife rested on the shelf. Better than nothing. He grabbed it, went downstairs, and called his family to join him. He bolted the front and back doors once they were inside and pushed furniture in front of them.
"There's a bedroom downstairs and three up, but I don't want us to separate. Mary Anne and Belle, you take the bed in the downstairs room, and David and I'll take the floor."
"No." Mary Anne pursed her lips. "You've been beaten half to death. I will not allow you to sleep on the floor. We can all sleep upstairs." She turned to Belle. "Go into the kitchen and see what you can find as far as food goes. I'm going to clean your father up, then we'll fix something to eat."
"What about David? He got slammed in the nose." Reginald touched his son's bloody nose. "Does it hurt?"
"No. It's not broken."
Mary Anne appeared with a washrag and handed it to David. She manipulated his nose. "You're right. It's not broken. You'll be fine. Clean yourself up." She turned to Reginald. "Now, you come with me while the kids search out the cabinets."
He couldn't help but smile. Mary Anne was a trauma nurse for years. A bloody nose didn't faze his beautiful wife. Tall and thin with thick brown hair that hung in waves framing her face. Her dark brown eyes had depths that could cause a man to lose his heart.
Belle disappeared into the kitchen with David right behind her. Mary Anne led Reginald into the downstairs master suite. "Sit on the commode while I find some first-aid supplies." Reginald sank to the toilet lid holding a wad of tissue under his pouring nose. His body ached like he'd been in a ten car pile-up on the freeway.
"I'll try to be gentle, but this'll hurt." Mary Anne washed his face and dabbed at a couple of wounds. "Your nose is broken and will be crooked." She manipulated it. "It looks like it's not a severe fracture."
She opened two tampons that she found in the cabinet. He frowned. "What are those for?"
"Your nose is bleeding quite a bit. This will stop it. You'll need to leave them in until tomorrow." She jammed the first one up one nostril despite his reticence and followed the same procedure on the second. "A couple of places need suturing. I found some tape I'll cut into strips to close the wounds. Maybe it won't leave much of a scar. Sorry I don't have suture supplies."
"A scar and a crooked nose are the least of my concerns." He looked into Mary Anne's eyes. "They got my briefcase."
"Yes."
"How can I stop this if I d
on't have my notes or samples?"
"I don't know, but if we don't survive, you won't be able to do anything." Mary Anne placed several strips of tape on his cheek. "We'll think of something."
Could they capture a rabid to obtain tissue and blood samples if they made it to the bunker in the Hill Country? Without contracting the disease? He'd had Martinez stock the basement lab with everything he might need to research this disease. But what were the chances of all of them making it to the compound without becoming infected?
*****
Josh pulled into the parking lot at the Houston Space Center. Trees lining the drive zipped by as he flew to the front of the building. The entrance resembled the corner of a triangle. The flag was still flying, and the lush surroundings belied the state of the world. The first call went unanswered. He hit the scan button on the radio to find a news program as he called again. Two more tries and Mark still didn't answer.
Josh hit the steering wheel. Why couldn't anything work out?
His phone rang.
"Mark?"
"How much longer before you get here?"
"I'm in the parking lot, and I've been trying to call you. Do I need to come find you? Are you safe?"
"Let me peek outside this office." Mark went silent for a few seconds. "Hallway's clear. I don't think there are any of those biting creatures around. If I can make my way to the museum center, I'll meet you in front."
"Do you have any kind of weapon?"
"Like what?"
"I don't know. A knife?" Josh quashed the desire to break down the door to get to his brother and instead took a deep breath. "A baseball bat? A broom for goodness sakes! Anything to defend yourself with."
"Hmmm." Sounds of Mark rummaging around in the office came through the phone line. "I have a pair of bolt cutters here. They'll make a decent weapon if I need to pop someone in the face."
"Good." Why did his kid brother have bolt cutters? "Hurry. Do you want me to stay on the line?"
"No. I need to focus on getting out of here without distractions. Pull up as close to the door as you can get. This place is freaky when it's empty."
Dark Days (Book 1): Contagion Page 3