Necrose Apocalypse [The Complete Collection]

by Tim Moon

  Anuhea was fast; she shot the officer twice in the chest. He managed to get off a shot, but it went wide, missing Keanu. The man flopped to the ground, his legs kicking against the pavement as he groaned in pain.

  A couple of shots buzzed overhead. Charlotte shrieked when a couple of rounds smacked against the bullet resistant windshield. The armored Humvee shrugged off the small arms fire with only two spider webs of cracks to show for it.

  Keanu kept firing bursts at the cars. Ben pulled his rifle out and shot at the car where he’d seen the head bobbing. The rounds pinged against the metal and a rifle barrel peaked up over the edge and fired wildly in return.

  Ben ducked behind the door for cover. His breaths came in short, shallow gasps like he’d been running for ages. Keanu swung the turret to the right to shoot at Ben’s target. A dozen rounds tore through the car. Ben heard a brief shriek as whoever hid there was hit.

  More rounds hit the Humvee, but the armor held. Keanu ducked inside for the M203 and shouted, “Let’s go, let’s go!”

  Anuhea fired off a burst of rounds as Keanu loaded a grenade and stood back up. Glass shattered and tinkled to the ground. More people were shooting back at them.

  “Goddamn. How many are there?” Ben asked rhetorically.

  “Too many,” Anuhea said.

  Hundreds of rounds tore into the vehicles lined up at the fake roadblock. Windows shattered onto the ground. The man with the rifle was back up and taking aim at Keanu. Ben shot at him and then shifted his aim to the right, toward a man that popped up behind the police car. The rear window burst with a crash, and the man ducked.

  Ben emptied his magazine into the rear end of the police car before he jumped into the passenger seat. Just then, he heard a thunk followed by a loud boom. A small car at the far left end of the roadblock burst apart like pop can, spraying glass and twisted chunks of metal all over the road.

  Anuhea climbed in and started the engine. It growled to life without hesitation.

  “Are we good?” she asked.

  Ben slammed his door shut and nodded. Keanu fired another grenade at a truck along the road. It slumped to the ground, rear tires flattening, at the same time bursting into flames as the gas tank ignited. A huge fireball filled the air.

  “Go, go, go!” Keanu shouted.

  “Ram the bastards,” Ben added.

  Anuhea slammed on the gas and they accelerated toward the roadblock. Almost in slow motion, they crashed into the back end of the police car that Ben had shot up. Forcing their way between that and the front of the police car parked beside it with a wicked symphony of noise. If the man was still hiding behind those cars, he’d be done for. The car tires squealed and the Humvee shook with the impact. He heard a brief scream but it cut off.

  It brought a small smile to Ben’s lips.

  Fuck that guy, he thought.

  Breaking through the blockade of two cop cars was easy and they sped off down the road. Keanu spun the turret and fired at the blockade behind them. In the side mirror, Ben saw at least two people fall to the ground. He saw several more running around, either shooting at them or scrambling for cover.

  “Those assholes had no idea what they were in for,” Ben said, laughing nervously. So much energy coursed through him that his hands were shaking.

  “It’s so loud,” Oliver said, covering his ears.

  “Keep your ears plugged,” Charlotte told him, covering her own ears.

  A couple more bursts and Keanu stopped firing. He dropped down, smiled at Ben and flashed thumbs up.

  “Sure glad he’s with us,” Ben said to Anuhea.

  She just smiled at him.

  Ben checked his side mirror. It didn’t look like anyone was following them.

  “That was some crazy shit, huh?” Keanu said with a hearty laugh.

  Ben laughed with him, releasing the tension.

  Ty shook his head. “You’re all crazy.”

  43

  The road sloped down slightly, twisting and turning ahead of them. Rolling hills stretched out in all directions, building up to the lower slopes of Mauna Kea.

  As they raced through a corner, Ben cursed and put a hand on the dashboard. He had no time to shout a warning as they plowed into a massive group of infected. Everyone jerked forward when the Humvee hit the first bodies in the crowd. Oliver whimpered in the back seat.

  Infected fell like bowling pins from the force of their impact. A foul stench of decay and feces filled the Humvee. Anuhea gunned the engine to keep them moving through the crowd, but their speed had tapered off dramatically. The infected converged on their vehicle, stepping over the bodies on the ground. Hands slapped against the windows, some of them leaving bloody streaks in their wake.

  Bouncing over bodies, the Humvee’s tires churned hard to keep them moving forward. The moans of the infected rose to a wicked howl that made Ben wince.

  “We can’t make it through,” Anuhea said.

  “Here,” Ben said. He pointed to the right side where the crowd thinned a little.

  Anuhea turned the vehicle with a sharp jerk. The whole vehicle tilted wildly to the left as the right side climbed over infected, crushing them noisily underneath their weight.

  She plowed through another dozen bodies before they emerged onto the shoulder of the road, and turned around. They retreated the way they came, leaving a horrid mess of dead in the road.

  “What now?” Ty asked, breathing heavy.

  “We have to backtrack and get off the road until they pass,” Ben said.

  “Up the mountain?” Anuhea asked as they raced away from the amorphous shape of the horde behind them.

  “Away from the infected,” Ben said. His voice was dull and monotone. Given their recent luck, it wasn’t hard to believe that they would encounter yet another setback.

  “It’s unlikely they’ll have a reason to walk uphill when straight is easier. And the Visitor’s Center has everything we need,” Ty said.

  A few minutes later, Anuhea turned onto the road that led up to the Mauna Kea Visitor’s Center.

  “Where are we?” Oliver asked.

  “This mountain is called Mauna Kea, it’s a really big volcano,” said Ben. “Have you seen a volcano?”

  “Yeah we went to a volcano park before the…the race,” he said. Oliver’s face twitched with the memory. “It was cool. The lava went down into the water and made a lot of steam.”

  “Wow, that does sound cool,” Ben said, smiling. “There’s no lava here though, at least not that kind. Mauna Kea is very old and doesn’t erupt anymore.”

  He wasn’t actually sure if that was true, he just assumed it was extinct otherwise it’d be dumb to build all those expensive telescopes on the summit.

  “Sounds better than another airport,” Oliver said as he looked out the window and watched the few sad looking trees give way to red and black dirt and dark rock.

  “We think so too,” said Charlotte.

  Ty snorted. “Speak for yourselves. I can’t wait to get to the airport.”

  “I need to pee,” Oliver announced. “Do they have a bathroom?”

  “Yeah, no problem, buddy. Just hold it for a few minutes okay?” Ben said.

  Oliver sighed as if he’d just been asked to do the most difficult thing possible.

  “It’ll be nice to get out and stretch. I have too much energy built up after all that shooting,” Anuhea said.

  “Right? Me too.” Ben smiled. The firefight was thirty minutes ago, but his heart was still thumping away like a hummingbird.

  “Sad thing is, I’m almost getting used to it.” Anuhea frowned as she drove. She only moved to roll down her window, letting in fresh air.

  “These are changing times,” Ben said. He looked down at the fuel gauge. “Look at that. As soon as we get into town, we’ll need to find a gas station that has diesel. Otherwise, we’re walking.”

  The road to the visitor center wound up the mountain. Large mounds of reddish dirt rose, while trees and bushes dotting
the lower slopes. Soon they were charging up the last stretch before the Visitor’s Center appeared on their left. Surprisingly few vehicles sat near the building when they pulled up.

  “Turn it around so we’re blocking the road and facing downhill,” Ben said.

  “Sure,” Anuhea said, maneuvering the vehicle like a pro.

  She turned, facing downhill at a slight angle. The bulky size of the Humvee blocked a good portion of the road. Keanu popped out of the turret and turned the machine gun to face down the road.

  “Why are we in the road?” Charlotte asked.

  “In case those guys come looking for us,” said Ben.

  “Do you think they would do that?” Charlotte said. Her eyebrows creased in concern.

  “I doubt it. We messed them up pretty good,” said Ben. “Well, Keanu did. I doubt they want any more of that.”

  “Depends how prideful they are I suppose,” she said.

  “Or stupid.”

  Oliver poked his head up, looking at each of them.

  “What’s prideful?”

  44

  The Visitor’s Center was a squat little building more than halfway up Mauna Kea. At an elevation of nearly nine thousand feet, it was high enough for some people to begin developing altitude sickness.

  Below the Visitor’s Center sat several small buildings that looked a little like houses. There were no cars in the parking lot in front of the small houses, but a few cars sat in the small parking lot beside the Visitor’s Center.

  It was impossible to tell if anyone was inside the structures. There was no sign of people other than the parked cars, no noise, no bodies, nothing. There was no telling what had happened to them, or if they were still in the area. Ben had a hard time believing that anyone would still be coming up to the mountain for a hike. The outbreak had happened long enough ago that almost everyone must have heard about it by now.

  Ben looked up the road toward the next set of buildings. Nothing was visible because small trees and bushes blocked the view. Turning back to make sure everyone had their rifles, Ben was about to say something to Anuhea.

  “Behind you,” she said as she raised her rifle and aimed it behind Ben.

  Ben’s eyebrows shot up. He spun around, dropping to a knee and raising his own rifle.

  “Oh, hello,” said a young man in a nervous British accent, emerging from around the corner of the Visitor Center building. “The guns are quite unnecessary, I assure you.”

  The young man was tall, nearly the same height as Ben, and athletic. He was dressed well and looked like he was heading out for a day at a beach side golf course or something. He slowly raised his hands up.

  Did this guy even know what was going on, Ben wondered.

  “Are you alone?” said Anuhea.

  Good question.

  “Yes, it’s just me,” he said. “Everyone has gone to town for a grocery run. I’m here just enjoying a day on the mountain.”

  “Did you know this is a volcano?” Oliver asked cheerfully. He stood next to Ben. “But it’s old and doesn’t erupt anymore.”

  He looked at Ben to confirm. Ben smiled and nodded.

  “Is that right? Lucky for us then, I’d say,” said the young man. “You folks don’t look like soldiers so I’m guessing you’re refugees of some sort. Yes?”

  “Survivors,” Ben said, eying the guy skeptically. “Do you know what’s happening down there?” He jerked his thumb in the general direction of town as he lowered his weapon. It was clear the guy didn’t have any weapons and probably wasn’t a threat.

  Anuhea also lowered her barrel but didn’t totally let down her guard. Her eyes scanned the other buildings.

  “Oh yes. Dreadful isn’t it?” he said, frowning. “I was at the race when the outbreak happened…what, a few days ago now, I guess. I barely made it out alive, really.”

  “We were there too,” Ben said. “I’m Ben by the way. What’s your name?”

  Ben walked forward and offered the guy a hand.

  “Nice to meet you, Ben. I’m Chadwick,” he said.

  “I’m Oliver.” He ran up to offer his hand.

  “Wait,” Charlotte said, but she was too slow.

  “Nice to meet you Oliver.” Chadwick smiled at the boy as they shook hands.

  Everyone introduced themselves. Keanu gave a short wave as he walked past Chadwick, carrying his M203. The gift shop door dinged as he pushed it open and entered. Ty said hi and then limped slowly toward the building. Charlotte shook Chadwick’s hand before she followed Ty; she needed to inspect the wound on his leg again. She hadn’t checked it out since he crashed the Humvee in the ditch.

  Chadwick seemed like a nice enough guy. Ben thought he acted a little too proper, but that was common for most of the Brits he’d met. It was just their way.

  “So what are you doing in Hawaii?” Ben asked. “Why are you up here?”

  “I’m a PhD candidate in astrophysics,” he said.

  “Okay,” Ben said with a laugh. “I never would have guessed that.”

  He was unsure what else to say about it since he wasn’t very knowledgeable about science.

  “Do you work here?” Anuhea asked.

  “Not exactly,” Chadwick said with a shy grin. “I did come for a tour though. The head astronomist knows my parents. They are essentially in the same line of work.”

  “So you’re sticking with the family business too then, huh?” Ben asked.

  “You could say that.” Chadwick laughed. “I’ve been fascinated by it my entire life.”

  Keanu came back out a moment later and stood next to Ben.

  “Anything?” Ben asked.

  Keanu shook his head. “It’s clear inside.”

  “Clear? Are you expecting trouble?”

  “Just checking inside for infected,” Keanu told Chadwick. “Is there anywhere we can get a view down the road?”

  “Not that I’m aware of. I do enjoy a good hike, but I’ve been too preoccupied to hit the trail. Are you expecting visitors?” Chadwick asked.

  “We hope not. Some jokers were down on the main road at a fake roadblock,” said Keanu. “One tried to pass himself off as a cop. But I knew the guy whose uniform he was wearing.” Keanu’s head drooped a little. “When I got up in the turret of the Humvee, I saw his body along with others in the ditch.”

  Ben looked at Keanu. “I’m sorry, man.”

  “Bloody hell,” said Chadwick. “I didn’t even know there was a roadblock.”

  “It was a goddamned mess,” Keanu said, shaking his head.

  “Let’s get inside, shall we?” Chadwick said before turning and walking back to the Visitor Center building.

  Ben remembered what it looked like last time he was there. He’d been disappointed by the lack of food. The first thing Ben noticed was that the food and drinks were restocked. Neither fridge was full, yet both held more than before, so that was a win in his book.

  “Help yourself to anything you want,” Chadwick said, nodding at Ben.

  Keanu pushed past Ben, grabbed a Coke and sat down on the floor. He twisted open the bottle, which hissed from the carbonation, and leaned back for a big drink. “What happened to your friends, Chad? Why isn’t anyone else up here?”

  “I prefer Chadwick,” he said.

  “Sorry, man.” Keanu glanced at Ben and rolled his eyes.

  Ben bit his lip to keep from smiling.

  “And I’m afraid I don’t know what happened to my friends. I haven’t seen or heard from them since they left, and that was two days ago.” Chadwick’s voice trailed off. He stared at the floor for a moment, and then he leaned against the counter with the cash register. He cleared his throat. “So, you came up from Kona, right? How does it look down there?”

  “Not good,” Anuhea said. She went to the fridge and grabbed a few bottles of orange juice. She went to hand one to Ty and the other to Charlotte.

  “That’s an understatement,” Ty said as he twisted open his bottle of juice and took a sip.
>
  Oliver was looking at the merchandise. He’d found the astronaut ice cream and was eying it greedily.

  “Go ahead and have some,” Ben said to Oliver.

  The boy’s eyes lit up with excitement.

  Charlotte replaced the bandage on Ty’s leg and stood up. “I wouldn’t go into town if I were you.”

  “Oh no, I plan to stay here for the time being. News reports are not looking good and there’s seemingly nowhere to turn. It’s quiet up here, which suits me just fine,” Chadwick said. “What brought you guys to Kona?”

  “Ty and I planned a vacation just for fun. We both taught English in Korea, so this was supposed to be relaxing.”

  “And it’s been anything but…” Ty said with a sneer.

  “I can imagine,” Chadwick said.

  “You know about the triathlon attack?”

  “I was there and barely got away. Those buggers were everywhere.” Chadwick shifted his stance.

  “Well, after that we escaped and we all hid in our hotel room. After a couple of days some soldiers found us and took us to a FEMA and National Guard Quarantine Center,” he said. “From there they took us to the Kona airport for an airlift to…”

  Ben shrugged.

  “Molokai,” said Anuhea.

  “Yeah, Molokai,” Ben continued. “But that didn’t work out. The airport was overrun by the infected and our plane crashed. We escaped into the lava fields.”

  So much drama packed into each day it felt like they’d been there for months, even though it was only a relatively short time.

  “We took a Humvee that was at the airport and went back to the QC hoping for help but they’d been overrun too,” Ben said. He pointed at Keanu. “That’s where we found him, surrounded by the infected.”

  “Thanks again,” said Keanu. “Seriously, I was totally fucked. I don’t know how much longer I could have lasted. Those things…infected, were everywhere.”

  “Once we found him, we switched Humvees to the one we have outside, with the machine gun, and drove to a grocery store for food, water, and supplies. It was late so we stayed the night there. We decided to try for Hilo’s airport, but those guys tried to stop us at the roadblock. We fought them off and got away. Then we literally ran into a huge group of infected roaming the highway. So we came up here to hide out, I guess. Let the infected wander past, or thin out, whatever works. We didn’t really talk about it. But yeah, that’s been our journey so far.”