Blood Scourge: Project Deadrise
Page 15
Epilogue
The three vehicles moved slowly down the deserted main street of Settler’s Grove. Grey was in the lead vehicle, the black Jeep Cherokee. Hanna was sitting in the passenger seat beside him. Ellis sat behind them. Stefan was sleeping with his head resting on Ellis’ shoulder. Patch and Gun were in the rear seat with Dru. Dru’s forehead was pressed against the glass as he stared out through the window. Each was lost in their own thoughts as they headed out of Settler’s Grove.
It had been a mutual decision to try and make their way to Cedar Ridge. It had been unanimously decided by everyone in the house after Nygel and Catra had died in the house and they learned that Catra had been experimenting on zombie blood in the attic. Blood taken from the zombie they had trapped in the shed without telling anyone else what they had done. Somehow they must have contracted the disease from that. After the stairs and the floors were covered with Nygel’s blood, they didn’t feel safe there.
Jake and his family were in the SUV behind them. Gabe sat with his arm around Ana. Makenzie drove the truck, the final vehicle in the small cavalcade. Laith and Daniela were in the truck with her. As they looked at each other, Laith slowly reached over and held Daniela’s hand. Makenzie slid a CD into the CD player. It had been a long time since any of them had heard any kind of music.
The duck blind was still sitting where they had left it. They passed Dru’s abandoned SUV. It was wrapped around a tree with the door ajar. There was no one inside it. Only the newspapers that hadn’t been delivered.
An hour later they were on the outskirts of Cedar Ridge. They passed a church. The sign there read:
You shall not be afraid for the terror by night . . . nor for the pestilence that stalks in darkness; nor for the destruction that ravages at noonday.
The sign outside the Health Department read:
Mandatory vaccinations at noon to 5pm this Wednesday.
Debris of all kinds littered the streets and the sidewalks. Newspapers with old headlines, shoes, a blanket, a suitcase. Cars were crashed into buildings. There were a few bodies in the streets. A baby stroller was tipped on its side. Mail spilled out of a postal bag.
They reached the complex where they hoped to find refuge and slowed down then brought the vehicles to a stop, not knowing what to expect. They were prepared to move on if they had to.
The place had been heavily fortified. A double row of fencing surrounded several brick buildings. Razor wire was coiled above the fencing for extra security. Armed guards in camouflage patrolled the perimeter. At the entry gate was a large sign with the hand-painted words: HOPE HERE. Hanna looked at a large cross painted on another building. A church, she realized. There was a large American flag flying over one of the other buildings. They all stared up at it.
People were coming out of the buildings to see who the new-comers were. They moved along the fences, hopefully searching faces while soldiers stepped outside the gate and checked the occupants of the three vehicles. Then, one by one, they waved the vehicles in.
Dru searched the faces behind the chain link fence. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Ty. Standing beside him was Kate. In her arms was what could only be a baby wrapped in a blanket. Dru bowed his head and wept, overcome with emotion and with relief.
In the first vehicle, Hanna turned her face at the same time that Patch and Gun called out, “Mom.”
As Hanna buried her face in her hands, Grey gripped her shoulder. It was a comforting gesture, letting her know that he shared her happiness at finding her mother, and that he was there for her. That he would always be there for her.
A soldier came forward to take Stefan from Ellis’ arms. Ellis introduced himself and clasped the hand of a man in a white coat who told him, “We have a cure.”
the beginning