Bryce had never considered leaving his home before, mostly because there had never been a need to leave his home. Some of his friends were “preppers,” which meant that they had all of this stuff figured out, but Bryce had yet to catch on. They had places to go, along with food, water, and provisions stored. Bryce, on the other hand, had pretty much nothing figured out.
He was a pretty resourceful man, however, and soon he cruised through Google Maps, looking for a place to lay low in case the shit really did hit the fan. He seriously hoped that it was just a waste of his time and he wouldn’t need to leave, but nevertheless he looked.
After an hour or two on Google Maps, he found what he thought would be an excellent hideout. It was a place he had visited as a child multiple times.
He remembered when he was in Boy Scouts and his troop had a campout at a small campground in northern Arizona, just east of Payson. The campground was at the bottom of a canyon alongside a bubbling creek.
Part of their camping trip was to earn a badge for hiking. The entire troop had to hike up a winding road. At the top of the road was the genus of Bryce’s plan, a small fish hatchery.
The fish hatchery was used to stock the rivers, streams, and lakes of northern Arizona all across the Mogollon Rim. The hatchery was positioned at the top of the canyon and had a natural spring that fed into the stream down the hill.
Bryce remembered from his childhood that the hatchery had natural berries growing all around the creek, and plenty of open space that could be useful for a multitude of reasons.
After his vision, his mind was made up. He would need to take a drive up north to scope it out and make sure, but the hatchery should be the perfect place to hide out. It would have unlimited fresh water, food sources and, most importantly, seclusion.
With this plan in mind, Bryce decided to go to bed for the night. He planned on running to a few stores in the morning to get supplies, which he explained to his wife once they had settled into bed.
She told him that she was fine with stocking up on some provisions, but not to go overboard, just in case it all blew over.
In the end, he agreed with her, kissed her goodnight, and rolled over to go to sleep. Tomorrow would be a long day, and he was ready.
Chapter Eight
Pinal County, Arizona
After Bryce woke up, he did not start his daily routine. Instead, he called his job, coughed a little bit and told his boss that he was far too sick to come into the office. His boss called him a pussy and told him to suck it up and come in. Bryce played it off some more and told him that he was never sick so something was clearly wrong. He told his boss that he was going into the doctor and would hopefully be back in tomorrow.
After he had explained himself, Bryce won the battle, and he hung up the phone.
Bryce quickly ate some breakfast and kissed his family goodbye and then headed out in the Outlander toward town.
The first stop on his list was the local Walmart. Normally, Bryce would not be caught dead in Walmart. He hoped that the rest of the world was still living in the dark about the situation in El Centro and that mass Walmart pandemonium would not be in full swing. He had watched multiple times as people had been trampled to death over an Xbox in Walmart during Black Friday shopping. He could only imagine what would happen when the rest of the town caught wind of the events that unfolded in El Centro.
As Bryce pulled up and parked in the lot at Walmart, he found that the store was no busier than any other day, and he took that as a good sign. It was a sign that either he was in fact blowing things out of proportion, or that the rest of the world was oblivious of the danger. Either way, he didn’t want this trip to be a nightmare.
After an hour and a half of intensive list checking, Bryce exited the store with not one, but two carts. He even had to ask one of the Walmart representatives to help him out to his car, which made him feel like a little old lady.
Bryce loaded up the back of the Outlander with cases of water, canned goods, non-perishable food, extra blankets, flashlights, batteries, and other items he thought would help his family get through the dire situation. The back of the Outlander was about half full by the time he was done unloading the carts; the “mommy wagon” certainly had its uses and this was one of them. Bryce looked one more time at the receipt and shuddered; the total dollar amount was a bit too much. Part of him wished that civilization would fall apart for these types of financial problems. It would be nice to have a reset on the debt counter. Of course, Bryce wasn’t really ready to start trading bullets for rabbit skins either. He supposed it was a lost cause either way.
After he finished at Walmart, Bryce drove over to the local gun shop, which was only a few miles away. The storeowners gave him a slight nod as he entered the store. Bryce was a regular here; even still, they were not too warm with him. Not having many other options in this part of town, Bryce just continued his search.
The first thing on Bryce’s list at the gun shop was a rifle. Bryce currently did not have any long guns at home. He had never had the need for one, because if he wanted to shoot something in particular he could always go to an Army base. Now, however, he regretted not purchasing an AR-15, and he desperately needed to change that. Being on a severely tight budget, he did not have the luxury of buying an AR-15 like he would prefer. Everybody owned an AR-15 these days, and for good reason, because they were an excellent rifle platform. Unfortunately, even the low end AR-15’s cost around $900 or more at this shop. Bryce just couldn’t justify spending that amount of money. Instead, he decided to go off the beaten path a little bit and picked up an all-black AK-74. This was not the popular AK-47 everyone knew. The AK-74 was like its little brother. It fired a much smaller and faster round, much like an AR-15, so it was more accurate and retained the same gritty durability of the AK platform. The only crappy part about an AK-74 was the 5.45x39mm rounds would not be easy to come by. Bryce decided to splurge on the ammunition for the rifle and grabbed an ammo can with 1080 rounds and an additional six magazines making a total of eight, 30-round box magazines.
Next, Bryce started looking at combat shotguns. He was not looking for the expensive semi-automatic shotguns, but the rather the compact ones with no butt stock. He found a decent-looking used 12-gauge shotgun for a reasonable price and picked up a couple hundred shells. Additionally, he asked for four boxes of .45ACP for his Taurus, eight boxes of 9mm for his Taurus 24/7 Pro, and three boxes of .380ACP for his wife’s Ruger LCP. He also got one more magazine for each handgun.
Bryce spotted a couple of nice tactical lights that could be mounted to his new rifle and shotgun. These would be good to have, he figured, as both his handguns already had them. He also grabbed a cheap 4X magnification scope for his AK-74. The last things he grabbed were additional cleaning materials for all of the weapons including the ones he currently owns.
After the gun shop owner’s face lit up from the large purchase, he threw in some additional goodies while Bryce started the Federal background check paperwork.
When the background check was done, the store owner rang up his total and gave Bryce a small heart attack. Bryce slowly slid the gun shop owner his credit card and cried on the inside as he thought of the debt he had just accumulated.
It took Bryce about as long to haul all of the ammunition and firearms out to the Outlander as it did the groceries. Once everything was loaded up, the poor vehicle was practically sitting on the ground.
Bryce headed home with the stockpile of goods, but the trip was a little bit slower due to the full load in the back.
At home, after the Outlander was parked, he unloaded all the groceries into the kitchen first, and while Victoria was in the kitchen putting everything in the pantry, he smuggled the firearms and ammunition into his office. He would have to go through all of it later.
Chapter Nine
El Centro, California
A large group of infected surrounded Joseph as he slowly wound his way out of El Centro. The group Joseph was with had
grown from less than a hundred to thousands in less than six hours.
This was in part because the disease had started to turn people much faster. Once bitten, people now had only a few hours before they were overtaken by the sickness.
From the time that the hospital had been overrun to now, the entire city had been lost. The National Guard had surrounded El Centro and roadblocks had been constructed. They were letting people through the roadblocks, but those people were being rounded up and shuttled to FEMA camps that had been hastily set up miles away from El Centro.
The government was not going to take another chance at a failed quarantine. They had to keep the infection inside El Centro at all costs.
The infected had been nipping at the heels of non-infected people all the way up to the roadblocks.
Thus far the military had been able to take out the smaller groups of infected and hold the line. They had successfully evacuated thousands of people, but the infected were slowly starting to migrate out of the city as their food sources ran out.
Joseph didn’t notice any of this, however, because the only thing he was concerned about was his next meal.
It had become harder for him to find another meal due to the sudden influx of his peers.
Joseph was near the front of the pack. He knew that he needed to be in the front if he wanted to eat, but everywhere he went the others followed.
He didn’t know it, but he was more intelligent than his peers. His mind was still able to function at a limited capacity, and it allowed him to keep an edge over the rest of the infected food chain.
From the onset, before they had left the hospital, the other infected began to follow him. They must have sensed that he was superior to them.
The most interesting thing was that Joseph followed one individual; Julio’s wife. She had been leading Joseph and the rest of the infected since they left the hospital.
Her infection was not nearly as effective as the rest of them. She was their natural born leader. She had the rare infected ability to think and organize her peers. The hunger still drove her like the others, but she had more control over her urges.
Joseph could sense her ability and he chose her to follow through the city. He didn’t know what made her so powerful, but he knew she would find food for them.
He knew that she was going to take care of her children.
What Joseph didn’t know was that she was Patient Zero.
Chapter Ten
Pinal County, Arizona
Bryce and his family finished their dinner in relative silence. They had turned the TV off, because that was their rule around dinnertime. Bryce helped Victoria clean up the kitchen and get their son out of his high chair, and then he decided to turn on the TV. Of course as soon as the TV came on, Trystan ran over to see what was on.
His son yelled out the name of a particular program he wanted to watch, but Bryce ignored him. Bryce wanted to check the status of the situation in California.
What he saw on the television instantly changed his demeanor for the worst. The coverage was coming from a news helicopter circling El Centro. The whole town was on fire and looked absolutely decimated. There were military vehicles spread out in a giant circle surrounding the town with roadblocks on all major roadways leaving the city. In between the roadblocks there was concertina wire and impromptu fencing erected. The government had pulled out all of the stops in an effort to contain the El Centro outbreak. As the camera panned out, the TV screen revealed, farther back in the scene, that the military was setting up permanent barriers miles away from the town. Outside the outer barrier, a line of Humvees, light tanks, and infantry fighting vehicles were all firing their enormous guns into a mob of people running toward the fence.
“What the fuck is going on over there!” Bryce yelled out.
“Bryce! Watch your language!”
Bryce quickly apologized to his wife and son, but continued watching the carnage on the screen. The TV cameras switched to a reporter standing behind the line of Humvees. The reporter was describing the situation on the ground.
The reporter said into his microphone, “The National Guard troops have been trying to stop the infected people from getting past this line,” he drew his foot in the sand marking an imaginary line.
“A military official has told us that some of the people in the initial exodus out of El Centro have shown up in other towns with signs of the virus and have been quarantined,” the reporter continued.
“The first line of defense has failed, and now this last line is the only hope to stop this outbreak, and we are being told that the military has now put stopping these infected as priority one, and the chain of command has changed their rules of engagement to shoot anyone attempting to reach this line,” the reporter said somberly.
Before the reporter could finish his report the news anchor in the studio interrupted him, “Bob, I apologize for cutting you off, but we have something that just came in.”
The news anchor looked at the information in front of him. His face sank visibly, and he continued, “We have just been informed that some of the people who fled the initial outbreak in El Centro have surfaced in San Diego.”
He let that sink in for a second and then started speaking again, “Authorities in San Diego have attempted to stop the infection from spreading, but it has failed as it did in El Centro. Residents of San Diego are being urged to take only what they can carry and safely evacuate the city.”
“Holy shit, Victoria, there’s over a million people in San Diego!” Bryce yelled.
Things were quickly beginning to spiral out of control in California. If the outbreak got loose in a city that size, it was only a matter of time before it totally decimated the entire state. Shortly after that, it would be game over for Arizona. Bryce was going to make sure that his family was not around for the end game.
After the depressing report from the anchor, the cameras cut back to the battle going on at what would eventually be called “Ground Zero,” when referring to the Outbreak.
There was a mass of people fighting their way to the barriers set up by the military. These people had whatever weapons they could get their hands on. Some had rifles or shotguns; some had handguns, while others had crude melee weapons. They grouped together as best as they could and moved toward what they thought was safety.
Chasing behind them was a wave of infected so deep that the camera had to pan back and forth to get the scope of the attack.
The camera’s microphone picked up the gunshots, screaming, and pleading for help as the people made their way toward the barrier.
The National Guard soldiers stopped firing at the infected briefly in amazement as these people battled the infected. As the group of people got closer to the barrier, one of the officers used a bullhorn to tell the fleeing civilians to stop. The civilians, who were clearly not in their right minds, did not heed the warning of the officer. They kept running toward the barriers and didn’t slow down in the slightest. The camera panned around and on the faces of the gunners there was indecision. The soldiers did not want to have to kill all of these innocent civilians. Who would want to? Some of them were women and children, much like the families that they had left at home when called into active duty. They were just ordinary people, trying to save their own lives and the lives of their family members, much like the Reservists.
The officer holding the bullhorn gave the incoming civilians one more warning, “Stop or we will have to open fire.”
The mob did not stop moving and flat out ran for their lives, because they had nothing else to lose. Their choice was to stop and be devoured by infected or take their chances with the firing squads. The choice was easily made as a collective.
The officer waved his hands and ordered his men to engage the civilians. There was a moment of hesitation, an awkward silence, almost as if there was a singular prayer being said, something along the lines of have mercy on their souls.
Then, without a warning, the roaring sound
of .50-caliber rounds began. The camera soaked up every gruesome detail as the mass of people was cut to pieces. Arms and legs were amputated, heads were removed, and gore was frozen on the screen forever seared into the brains of people watching the broadcast all around the world.
After she saw this scene, Victoria ran into the kitchen and lost her dinner in the garbage can. Trystan, in his innocence, was not sure what was going on. Bryce, on the other hand, was having a mental blackout.
“That’s it,” he said quietly to himself, “The shit just hit the fucking fan.”
After mere seconds of the grisly video, the news anchor came back onto the screen. His face looked like every other American. His mouth hung open and tears rolled down his cheeks. He mumbled under his breath, “God help those people...”
An unreasonable amount of time went by before he finally composed himself enough to speak. He told the audience about another city that also had signs of an outbreak.
The name of this city sent a chill Bryce’s spine like he had never felt, cold sweat formed above his brow and rolled into his eyes. At the mention of this city, Bryce knew it was time to leave his home and flee.
The city was Yuma, Arizona.
Chapter Eleven
Pinal County, Arizona
Bryce blankly stared at the TV for about five minutes. He did not move or think, and he did not speak. Then after an indefinite amount of time, “They are in Arizona,” is all he said.
After absorbing the information for one more minute, Bryce finally got up and walked into the kitchen. Victoria was standing in the kitchen holding Trystan. She was in as much shock as Bryce was and her face showed it. Trystan, on the other hand, kept smacking her on the chest wanting to be put down so he could go play again.
The Extinction Pandemic: A Post Apocalyptic Novel (The Hatchery Compound Book 1) Page 4