Savage Mist

by Jason Merchant

  They started the vans and began to pull away, the savages were beginning to overrun the streets and the invading troops had proven they would kill on sight. They continued south to another main arterial were the roads had become impassable, there were too many abandoned vehicles and debris. They stopped at the intersection and Xavier gave the trailing van the signal to back up and turn around, Jacob put the van in reverse which activated the backup alarm. It didn't take long for the savages to react to the noise, dozens began appearing around corners from all directions. As Jacob backed the van, a large group of savages rushed behind them. Jacob tried to run them over but couldn't see past them far enough to avoid a car in the middle of the street, he collided with it. The rear end of the van rode up onto the hood of the car lifting the drive wheel off the ground, when Jacob tried to pull forward, the wheels just spun in place.

  The savages engulfed the van and began breaking windows trying to climb in, Regina and Jamal began firing at the savages. The officers used their batons and tried to keep the savages out of the van but there were too many, every second they were stuck allowed more savages to join the crowd. Xavier told Jake to reverse and ram the other van, Jake hesitated briefly but then slammed the gas. They accelerated and crashed into the other van, they ended up with the rear of the van perpendicular to the right side of the other. The savages on that side were crushed by the impact, there was now a small passage through the rear window of Jakes van and a side window of Jacob’s van. They began trying to pull people through. Three of the other passengers were able to fit through the windows as did Officer Smith and the two officers from the quarantine area of the hospital, Officer Williams and a larger survivor were unable to squeeze through. Jamal had expended all his ammunition and Regina had him get to the other van, officer Williams told Regina to follow him. Jamal made it through, but Regina only made it halfway, unable to get her lower half through the window she retreated into the van with Jacob.

  “I knew this ass was gon’ get me in trouble one day, but this is too much.”

  The group called for Jacob to crawl through the window, but he refused to leave Regina behind while he made it to safety.

  Regina pleaded with him to go.

  “You can't stay, you can save yourself.”

  “If that ass is in trouble, so am I.”

  Regina didn't speak, but the tightened grip on Jacob's hand was enough.

  While the rescue attempt was taking place, Xavier was skillfully dispatching the savages around the van with his scoped rifle from inside the other van. There were significantly less savages around the van than before, but more were still inbound. Xavier told Regina they would have to go through the rear door of their vehicles run to the side door of Jake’s van, Xavier and Sheila would have to cover them. Officer Williams moved to the rear door, they would have to jump down onto the car they were perched on and then to the ground before running just a few feet to the other van’s side door. Officer Williams opened the door and sent Regina over first, Xavier opened the side door and stepped out of the van into the street to cover her. Sheila covered Xavier and Jake gave up his pistol to Jamal to help as well, they had to be quick and accurate.

  Regina jumped out of the van and down to the hood of the car and was swept off her feet by a female savage in a bus driver's uniform, she dragged her off the car, onto the ground and began beating her. Xavier stepped further away from the van to get a clearer sight picture but couldn't fire without risk of hitting Regina, Officer Williams jumped down after her and grabbed the savage. Xavier turned his attention to the savages that were closing in on them and began firing, they were moving in from the other side of the car. Officer Williams pulled the savage off Regina, and broke its neck with his bare hands, Regina stood up and ran to the other van. Jacob and the other passenger jumped out of the van and began to make their way over, Jacob hurried to the van, but the other passenger was not as agile. He fell to the ground as he jumped off the hood of the car, Xavier began to provide cover for him and yelled for him to get up. Officer Williams moved to the van leaving only the large man and Xavier outside, the group inside the van began having difficulties with savages on the opposite side trying to climb in through windows and flip the van.

  Xavier held off as many savages as he could before one of them broke through and struck him over the head with a piece of broken concrete, he fell to the ground and dropped his rifle. The savage began beating him, he was disoriented, and in excruciating pain. He tried to fight back but eventually fell unconscious. Sheila turned her attention back to Xavier and realized he was down, she shot the savage in the head and began firing at more incoming savages. The last survivor left outside finally made it over to the van, he picked up Xavier put him in the van. As he was about to climb in himself, the back of his head blew up and he fell to the ground. Sheila looked up the street past the other van and saw the invading troops moving in, she yelled for Jake to go and he hit the gas.

  He pulled away with the pedal as far down as it would go, gunfire erupted from behind them as the troops tried to stop them. The bullets pierced the metal skin of the van with ease, the sound of the rounds impacting the thin hull drew screams from the helpless occupants. The rounds began striking the group inside, Officer Williams and one of the quarantine officers were struck in the head and died immediately. Several more rounds struck two of the other survivors, one in the neck and another in the back. Lisa was grazed in the head and the same bullet struck the other quarantine officer in neck just above the collarbone. The streets were too narrow and cluttered for any evasive maneuvers, and to outrun bullets would be to outrun reality. They approached the blocked intersection with no options, Jake held the pedal to the floor and aimed for the tail of a sedan that sat perpendicular. If they could somehow get past the car they might have a chance at survival, he yelled for the group to hold on.

  They struck the tail of the car with the front driver side of the van, instead of plowing through the intersection as he hoped, they ricocheted off the car and onto the sidewalk where the van overturned and crashed in a wall near a transit tunnel. They were tossed around like coins in a ceramic piggy bank being shaken by a 5-year-old, the van came to a rest on the right side facing the direction they came from. The smell of gasoline and antifreeze was strong, the fluids dripped onto the concrete and mixed with the river of blood flowing from the dead bodies, there was no movement, just a brief silence.

  Lisa gathered herself and pushed the body of one the officers off her, she searched for Charles and quietly called his name. He called out to her in a muffled voice, he was buried under the bodies. The sun had finally begun to rise, but it was still dark, she kept calling for him and searching for movement. She could see his shoes sticking out from under Xavier’s body, she crawled over and used all her strength to roll him off her son. He was ok, just a couple of scratches and a level of fear that was too overwhelming for any child. Jake began moaning from the driver seat, he was still buckled in and hurt. She moved into help him, he grabbed her arm mumbled to her…. “Run.”

  She looked out the broken windshield and saw several savages in full sprint to the van, she grabbed Charles and tried to push him out the back window to run away but it was too late, the savages were all over the van and crawling in. She put herself between Charles and the savages and began pleading to God for mercy, crying and shaking, broken up, believing she failed to protect her son yet again. The savages began crawling into the van and she screamed for them to go away, then more gunfire erupted.

  The savages were torn apart with automatic fire, Lisa looked out the window and saw the troops moving in on the van. As they got closer, she pleaded to be spared, she broke down in tears with her hands in the air as the soldiers looked down at them through the wreckage. They began speaking to her in a foreign language that she assumed was Chinese, she grabbed Charles by the hand and led him out onto the sidewalk. One of the soldiers grabbed her by the hair and kicked the back of her knees in, she crumbled to the ground
with her hands still raised. One of the hospital survivors came to and began moving around in the van, a soldier walked over to the van and ordered him out. The man couldn't understand Chinese but understood the muzzle of his rifle, he put his hands up and crawled out onto the sidewalk. They began yelling at him and pointing toward the ocean, the man just looked at them confused and scared. One of the soldiers ordered the others to pull the survivors from the wreckage, the soldiers pulled out anyone that was still breathing and lined them up beside Lisa and Charles.

  Charles began crying and asking his mother if they were going to die, she held him tight and told him not to worry. Lisa trembled as she held him and the tremors in her voice when she spoke robbed her of the confidence she attempted to display, it seemed likely they would be executed right there on the sidewalk. One of the soldiers called for the attention of their leader, he pointed out the surviving police officer. Officer Smith was on her knees with her hands up and head down, the soldiers had taken a keen interest in her. They began asking her questions, but she couldn't understand them, one of the soldiers jammed the muzzle of his rifle into the back of her head. She began screaming “I don't know, I don't know.” but the soldiers became more aggressive as they kicked her and threatened to shoot.

  Xavier began to wake up, his eyes partially opened giving him a blurry view of the soldiers beating Officer Smith. He looked around to see who was still alive, he could see Lisa and Charles together. Jamal was next to him on his knees with Sheila and Regina, Jacob was to his left and Jake was lying next to him, he looked badly hurt. Carly was on the other side of Lisa and Charles, everyone else was dead or dying in the van. Xavier’s movement drew the attention of one of the soldiers, he walked over grabbed him up by the collar and positioned him on his knees like the others. He stared at Xavier with an intensity that made him break eye contact, he thought it might be the end of the line for them.

  One of the soldiers began shooting into the distance, another group of savages were moving in quickly. The leader made a call over the radio, then ordered his troops to deal with the threat. They all took up positions and began firing at the savages with loud automatic fire, several of them threw grenades. It quickly turned into a dramatic battlefield, the leader stayed behind to guard the group. He was alone and distracted, the rest of the soldiers were defending their position. Xavier saw an opportunity to escape, if he could overpower the squad leader, they could escape down into the nearby transit tunnel before the other troops noticed. He slowly repositioned himself from his knees to the balls of his feet. He was still disoriented and hurt from the crash and being blindsided by a savage, the odds were against him even if he maintained the element of surprise. He had to strike fast and without mercy, anything less would mean certain death. He took several deep breaths and prepared to lunge at the squad leader, just as the muscles in his legs contracted to make his move, an armored vehicle roared up the street from behind the savages. It plowed through them and crushed them under its enormous wheels, a large turret mounted gun on top of the vehicle fired into the crowd of savages. The large rounds tore the savages apart leaving limbs separated from their bodies, it was mere seconds before the bulk of the savages were dispatched.

  The vehicle pulled up beside the group and opened the door at the rear, the squad leader moved over to the vehicle and met with a soldier who exited the back. They spoke briefly, then the squad leader returned, he grabbed Officer Smith by the hair and dragged her over to the vehicle. He gave the soldier special instructions that obviously pertained specifically to Officer Smith, they then pushed her into the vehicle. They came back over with their guns drawn on the group and gestured to the vehicle, Xavier stood up and told everyone to do as they said. Xavier helped Jake up to his feet and followed the group into the back of the carrier, they sat along walls of the vehicle and watched as the soldier closed the doors. The carrier then began to drive away, the group had just become prisoners of war.

  The group was alone in the back of the carrier, Xavier asked everyone if they were okay. Jamal spoke out with concern,

  “Where are they taking us? What are we going to do?”

  Xavier tried to calm everyone down.

  “Okay look, we can't do anything now, even if we open this door and run, that gun at the top would rip us apart. We need to see where we're going and then try to come up with a way to escape from there.”

  The anger and contempt in Carly’s eyes caught Xavier’s attention, several tears ran down her face as she lashed out at him.

  “This is your fault! If we had left with the other group we wouldn't be in this situation and my sister would still be alive, not lying dead in a van underneath a pile of victims of your crappy decisions. Who the fuck put you in charge? Fuck your plan…. fuck you!”

  Xavier was hurt by her words, but he knew he couldn't let them stop him from finding a solution, he looked away from her and asked if anyone still had any weapons. Jake had a pocket knife on him, the rest of the group lost the weapons in the crash and didn't dare go for them when the soldiers arrived. Xavier told them to be cooperative and as nonthreatening as possible, if there was an opportunity they would have to move quickly.

  Officer Smith sat in the corner near the front of the carrier frightened by the interest the soldier showed in her, Xavier didn't know what to say to her, he looked at her and she looked back at him. There was a good chance they would kill her, there was a good chance they would kill all of them.

  Chapter 9

  The Chinese

  Jake sat clueless on the couch and watched as his 7-year-old niece played with two pots from the kitchen, her imagination had no shortages or inadequacies. She banged the pots together and crafted a melody only a child could appreciate. She even sang along with original lyrics that included the repeated use of the word “pokie”. She giggled and laughed, carefree and oblivious to her uncle's complete inexperience in the field of babysitting. Little Julie Michaels was spending the evening with her uncle Jake while Karen and Jonathan Michaels enjoyed a night on the town alone, it was their anniversary. They had planned a simple evening of dinner and a movie, they could have planned a more lavish evening but neither wanted to spend the evening in semi-formal wear trying to look perfect for the duration. They dropped Julie off and left a bag with a few toys, extra clothes and a tablet computer she could use to watch cartoons if it came down to it. Jake, not being much into technology, decided not to touch it, he was the type to fiddle with gadgets and render them useless with no knowledge of how he did it.

  Jake ran a small hardware store in town, his father opened it in the 50’s and left it to him when he passed of cancer in the early 90’s. Jake did a magnificent job keeping the store up and running during the recession and maintained great rapport with the town and his customers. It survived purely because the town wanted him there, the store had become a fixture of the neighborhood. Every so often, Karen would bring Julie by the store, she would run to Jake and he would give her two pieces of candy from a bowl he kept by the register. Life was good, the only thing missing was that special someone.

  While making dinner for little Julie, he received a phone call, he answered and then just stood there in shock as he listened. The only word he uttered while on the phone was “Where?” then he hung up without saying goodbye. He stood in the kitchen and looked at Julie, she smiled and asked him if he needed a hug. He didn't answer, he just walked over to her and picked her up. He told her he was going to have to leave for a little while and that he’d be back. He called Sue Miller, she was a florist and the owner of the floral shop next door to the hardware store. He explained the emergency and she agreed to watch Julie with no hesitation. Jake dropped Julie off at Sue's house and headed into town.

  He pulled into the parking lot and sat there in disbelief, he stared at the sign. Lewis County Morgue. The sheriff's vehicle was also parked out front, it was becoming too real. He thought that if he just didn't go inside, if he just turned around and drove home, maybe Jonathan and
Karen would walk through the door. They would pick Julie up out of the bed while she slept and strapped her into her car seat as gingerly as they could. they’d thank Jake for not overdosing her on sugar and go home as a family. That wasn't going to be the case, he had to go in and identify the body of his sister and brother in law. He shut off the engine, exited the car and walked into the building.

  A sheriff's deputy was waiting in the hall for Jake, he walked over and offered his condolences and began asking questions.

  “I’m sorry to do this now but I just need to ask you a few questions to help piece together what happened. . . obviously it can wait until you’ve viewed the bodies.”

  “No, no let's get it done now.”

  He asked a list of questions about Karen and Jonathan's state of mind that evening, whether they had been fighting or drinking. It was hard to hear questions like that because they were such a happy and responsible couple. To hear someone even insinuate dysfunction of the happy couple was infuriating to Jake, but he controlled his temper. The deputy told him it looked like they swerved to avoid something but there was no indication of anything else being in the area; no skid marks, besides there's, no third-party debris and no other vehicles nearby. Jake, still unable to talk just nodded and walked away. The coroner waited for him just down the hall. He walked into the room to view the bodies, they didn't look like Karen and Jonathan, but they were. Pale and without the bright smiles he took for granted, lifeless and cold, it was the clothing that he truly identified them by. He gave the nod and walked out, he couldn't take anymore, he got in the car and drove home.