by S. A. Lowry
The flight stewardess, Tammy whom is sitting in the seat right in front of the couple, leans back and chimes into the conversation.
“Glad to meet both of you. You both look like a wonderful couple,” Tammy compliments while grinning at them and suddenly staring back at Riggs in an akward fashion.
Riggs ignores it. Dwayne yells back to the passengers as they are driving, informing them they are in the clear for now as more explosions are heard back from the way they were going. Oncoming vehicles on the other lane are seen quickly swurving off the road into the bumpy grassy median to cross over and follow the bus after noticing the destruction up ahead.
“That punk bastard better not get us killed on this road. I’ll go right over there and knock him out!” Lance boasts with his arm over his fiance.
His fiance nods in acceptance while trying to convince him to stay seated. “Your girl is right Lance. Better calm down. There will be no fighting amongst us. Any differences we have with each other save it for later. He already got us out before, let him do his thing,” Riggs advises.
“Hell no. You don’t tell me what to do. You’re just an old man anyway, i’ll roll you up if I have to. So just back off,” Lance threatens as he stares at Riggs in the eyes. Tabatha now shaking her head and staring back outside the window trying to ignore the situation.
Andrew now steps in and places his hand on Lance’s chest stopping him from leaning forward closer to Riggs.
“Listen up brother, you want to throw down, we can throw down. You’ll have to get through me too. So take your ivy league ass back to your seat and shut the hell up before the both of us shut you up!” yells Andrew as he stares Lance right into his eyes.
Lance quickly breaks eye contact and stays silent. Tammy now quickly turns back facing the front of the bus trying to avoid the situation. Riggs ignores the incident and walks down the aisle to the mother all in her lonesome. She has stopped crying at this point, however, still appears to be weeping for her lost children.
One of the other ladies on the bus, approach the mother at the same time Riggs did once she saw Riggs heading over to her location. The lady beats Riggs to the punch. “Hunny, please calm down. You can talk to me about it. I am so sorry for what happened to your boys. I am here for you,” she comments in pity while trying to put her arms over the distraught mother in comfort.
“My name is Audrey. We can be friends if you want,” the woman adds. The mother leans closer into the woman’s arms in a submissive fashion and begins crying some more. This time even harder than before. Riggs stands over here with an apparent sadness in his eyes and moving his head back and forth. Andrew walks to the back of the bus to be part of the conversation right as the mother begins talking.
“My boys. Oh my god my boys . . . . ,” the mother weeps. “It was my youngest’s birthday. I took both of them to Disney World for his birthday. Oh my god they were so young. They did not deserve this. I just left them . . . . ,” she explains as tears drip down her eyes while her face changes color in despair.
She is now resting her head on Audrey’s lap as Audrey strokes her hair in comfort with a look of concern on her face. Both Riggs and Andrew are lost for words. They do not know how to approach this, however, they feel the need to introduce themselves regardless. The mother thanks them for their kindness and returns the favor.
“If it really matters anymore, my name is Cynthia,” the desperate mother responds.
Andrew, realizing progress at this point, proceeds to ask her what her children’s names were. “I had two beautiful boys. Their names were Thomas and Ben. I called them my Tommy and my Benny. God I love them so much. I wish that I died there with them,” Cynthia comments in despair.
Audrey begins shaking her head while telling her she has to move on and be strong.
“Life is important and you need to treasure whatever of it you have left. Are you married?” Audrey intrudes while trying to comfort Cynthia.
Cynthia just stares at her for a few moments until she responds. “My husband is always away on business. He is a very important man. He doesn’t love us. He cheated on me countless times. Now I just deal with it and let him go about his business. He couldn’t even be there for Tommy and Benny’s birthdays,” Cynthia explains with apparent anger in her voice and watery eyes.
“He wasn’t in the airport at the time. He is in Massachusetts right now,” she goes on to add.
“Before we left Florida I heard on the radio during the bus ride to the airport that state was under attack. Just like this one now,” states Cynthia. Audrey and both of the men all look at eachother in shock. Andrew asks Cynthia if that was the only state the radio reported under attack. She tells them there was a laundry list of states named off. Well over thirty to thirty-five states in the union reporting widespread chaos and panic in the streets.
Now extremely concerned, Riggs pushes to the front of the bus. Dwayne asks him what his deal is when Riggs hits the power switch for the radio.
He begins switching the dial and flipping through stations in order to find the news or any type of emergency broadcast station.
“You know I was just thinking about that,” Linda comments. As Andrew passes Linda and the boy, the little boy grabs Andrew’s arm bringing him to a dead halt. The child looks up at Andrew’s face with excitement in his eyes. “So you’re a soldier too huh? I’m going to be one some day, just like you. Tell me about the Army!” the boy demands.
Andrew lowers himself to the boy’s level and promises he will another time.
“I got it! I got it!” Riggs shouts as he tunes into a station sending out a broadcast.
Everyone on the bus huddles up to the front to listen in including a distraught Cynthia and Audrey.
Dwayne slows the vehicle down so he can pay attention to the ongoing broadcast. Riggs puts up his hands to instill silence on the bus. Minutes go by as they listen on to the emergency broadcast station. What they hear, is something of disbelief. None of them can believe it at the moment. As they listen on, the radio informs them of all the states under chaos and widespread attack by loved ones, police officers and average everyday citizens.
These announcements turned out to be so shocking, some of the passengers on the bus refused to listen to it and went back to their seats such as Randall and Lance. Tabatha decided to stay and listen on against Lance’s orders.
“Wow. The dead coming back to life. The military being mobilized to all major cities. Seizures inflicting death, then reanimation. This is something out of a comic book,” exclaims Riggs as he listens on.
Andrew tells him to shut up and listen as the man on the radio begins listing off safe states and cities with military protection and refugee centers.
The panic inside the bus begins to grow as the grim reality of the situation becomes more apparent. Once the broadcast stops, disbelief and anger grows within the group.
“What they are saying is bullshit!” yells Randall in denial.
Lance agrees.
Riggs and Andrew start talking amongst eachother in private. “You know the only states the broadcast said was safe is Texas, Alaska and Montana. The closest one is Texas. Fort Hood is a safe zone they said,” Linda states as she places her hand over the boy beside her.
“Yeah, but do you know how far that is? We are in Georgia. We’ll never make it!” a worried Tammy adds.
Lance agrees with Tammy and reminds them of his intentions to make it to New York. Dwayne adds his opinion as well, “Yeah we are in Georgia you dumb chicken head. This place is also under attack by those ‘things’ out there. Anywhere we go here, it isn’t safe. If the emergency broadcast station is telling us where safety is then we need to go to it!”
Riggs rises up from his seat during the argument and sides with Dwayne. “He is right. Our strength right now is each other. There is no where to go around here or anyone to help us. Did you see how well the Atlanta International security forces handled that situation? They are all probably dead by now. They we
re packing some serious fire power too. Whatever those living or dead things are out there, they aren’t human. I shot them multiple times in the chest and they did not go down. The radio says we have to aim for the head. It is the only way to put them down. If we split up now, we are all dead. We need to make a decision as a group and go through it together. Where ever that may be. I say we go to Fort Hood Texas,” Riggs preaches as he looks on to the group.
Everyone in the group begins talking among themselves deciding the best move for them. Andrew, after giving it much thought, realizes he has no choice in the matter. His brother’s family is located there and that is where he is going regardless. With or without the group. He made a promise to his brother and he will honor it whether it meant his life.
“I’m with you Riggs,” Andrew states without letting the group in on his own reasoning for staying.
“Count me in Mr. Air Marshall,” Dwayne sarcastically states.
“Shit, I got family in Texas anyway,” he adds. Randall, appearing afraid as he glances out the window to the freeway, observes a mini-van crashed on the side of the road with a family of five laid out dead onto the pavement while a small little girl is eating away at the legs of one of the deceased adults face first on the pavement.
Shortly after the bus passes the scene, he begins to over-heat. Sweat drips down his face as his heart pounds away inside his chest. It appears to be a possible panic attack which was triggered by the horrific sight he just laid eyes upon for a few seconds. As a result, he reluctantly makes his decision to stay out of fear of being alone in this new dangerous world.
The rest of the members all agree to head to Fort Hood Texas where military protection and a refugee center is guaranteed. Lance appears to be the only one still against it after arguing with his fiance over going to New York.
Tabatha pretty much makes it clear to Lance she will go with the group regardless of him staying or not, which infuriated him. After telling Dwayne to stop the bus, which Dwayne quickly obliges, Lance stands up and proceeds to walk out the door on the side of the road.
“Screw all of you!” Lance yells as he walks out the door and begins strolling down the shoulder of the road. Tabatha, his fiance, quickly runs off the bus and follows Lance yelling and screaming at him to come back while beginning to cry. Lance stops dead in his tracks once he hears her sobs and moans from a distance.
He places his head down while the simmering Georgia sun beats down upon his young face. He takes a few moments to think about his decision and then decides to turn around back towards Tabatha. At this point. Riggs is outside the bus with his pistol drawn pulling security against any potential attacker that may come out of the woodline while Andrew has his trusty baseball bat in hand. Audrey and Dwayne commence to dragging the dead body out of the center aisle of the bus into the shoulder of the road to clear up the already horrific stench of the bus.
Tammy was supposed to help at first, however quit after breaking a nail and getting some blood on her already bloodied flight dress.
“Babe, do you really think we should go with these deuschbags?” asks Lance as he approaches Tabatha.
Riggs and Andrew observe the conversation.
“I’m not a deuschbag,” Riggs tells himself out loud right beside Andrew.
Andrew raises his eye brow in contempt. Tabatha submissively nods her head in a type of defiance. “They are all we have right now. I don’t even know how we would be able to reach New York on our own. Even if we had the means of getting there it is too dangerous. Not even including what is going on there right now. Baby, please listen to me,” Tabatha pleads as she gets to her knees on the pavement and begs her fiance.
Lance reluctantly approves and helps her back up. The two of them walk back to the bus as Dwayne and Audrey toss the beaten corpse down the decline of the shoulder. The body is seen rolling down the grass disappearing into the bushes which make up the woodline. Tammy looks on in disgust while trying to wipe her hands off with the padded seats of the bus.
Once Tabatha and Lance enter the bus, the rest of the group follows back on. Dwayne gets back into the drivers seat and takes off down the road.
“So it’s agreed? Fort Hood Texas it is?” Riggs asks the group.
Everyone nods their heads with the exception of Lance. Andrew glares back at Lance and the both of them make eye contact for a few moments. That is when Dwayne butts in. “Yeah that sounds great and all. Don’t mean to interrupt you all’s bonding time, but we need maps, fuel, guns, food. We got nothing right now. Half of us lost our damned phones in the airport trying to escape and im on quarter battery life. My iPhone won’t be giving me directions for long,” Dwayne concernly states.
Riggs and Andrew both agree. Riggs instructs Dwayne to drive about thirty miles out of the city before they pull off to a rest stop. There they will refuel, gather supplies and acquire the maps they need for the long journey ahead to the safe zone at Fort Hood. Andrew makes it clear to the group that they are looking at a twelve hour drive if it is non-stop. That is how long it took him to drive from Fort Benning Georgia to Fort Hood Texas after he first got out of basic training. The group acknowledges the advice along with Dwayne who says the bus can go about another fifty miles before refuel.
“We are in the clear for now,” Dwayne informs. While the bus is rolling along, Andrew has time to get to know some of the people better. Especially Riggs who sparks his interest. Alot about this man, reminds him of the military. His verbal terms, the way he sways a weapon and his overall demeanor. According to Andrew, he could of sworn he heard Riggs use the acronym ‘FUBAR’ multiple times.
Andrew approaches Riggs and attempts to engage him once more in conversation, however, this time being personal.
“Hey man. I got a few questions for you if you don’t mind?” asks Andrew as he sits next to Riggs while he attempts to wipe some of the human flesh off his ACU’s.
Riggs welcomes him politely. “You ever spend any time in the service? I saw the way you use a gun. I know you’re an Air Marshall and all, however, I also know they just don’t hand that job out to anybody,” explains Andrew as he searches his left leg ACU pocket for a can dip.
He packs the can, opens the lid and scoops up a big fat one to throw in his lip.
“Yeah man I was. I was S-1 back when Clinton was in office,” Riggs states as he stares off into the distance.
Andrew’s jaw drops in disbelief.
“I don’t believe that. You lie,” claims Andrew.
Rigg’s eyes tell many different stories as he appears to be deep in his memories now of that time. Andrew, now feeling uncomfortable being in the presence of someone more experienced and more elite than him regarding military service matters, proceeds with his questions.
“Were you ever deployed and if so, how many leave packets did you conjure up?” asks Andrew fully knowing this man has probably fought all over the world. He decided to play dumb.
Riggs looks back at him with a smile. “Yes I have been. I was in Bosnia during the genocide making my First Sergeant’s coffee. I was also in Kuwait during the Gulf War, typing up school packets for the Battalion Staff. That time is far behind me now and I will never speak of it again due to the excessive paper cuts that I endured. Sorry.”
Andrew shakes his head while laughing histerically.
Andrew goes on to explain that he just wanted to know what type of experience was in the group and who he could depend on if something bad was to happen. Andrew goes on to change the subject and asks about the man’s personal life and family.
Riggs, now with another apparent sadness in his eyes, tells Andrew his wife died many years ago just before he got out of the military. He has no kids and been alone the entire time. That is “the way it should be”, Riggs explains.
Andrew, now feeling that he has gone too far, retracts his other questions. Riggs on the other hand, has some questions of his own. He goes on to ask Andrew what he does in the military and how long he has been doing it for. Andrew
tells him about his brother, Iraq and his job in the service. Riggs is a bright individual, he figured out that Andrew’s brother lived near Fort Hood with a quickness.
He also realized his reasons for quickly deciding to stick with him and the rest of the group. At this point, in a world gone mad, Riggs figures he found a man whom he can trust. That was good enough for him.
Linda is worried. She is worried about what lies ahead. She is worried about the group as a whole. She feels that she needs to reach out to Cynthia and comfort her in her time of need. She also wants to get to know Tabatha a bit better after witnessing the argument between her and her fiance. It appeared to her, that Lance was so angry, he was about to hit her. However, realizing there are other men around, he would refrain in fear of retaliation.
She feels that she needs to engage Tabatha and try to help her with her deep seeded problems she may possess. That is the thing with Linda. She loves to help people. So naturally she made the decision, when Tabatha is alone she will talk to her.
Tammy stares outside the window as she begins biting her nails uncontrollabley. The pure thought of the entire situation at hand is beginning to weigh down upon her. She watches the burning cars on the other side of the median as she passes by.
Some people are walking on the side of the road trying to frantically hitch a ride. Some even with small children. Dwayne passes them without a second thought. Soaking all of this in is beginning to make her feel like she is drowning. She decides to take her mind off it and starts looking around the bus for someone to talk with. She notices Riggs, now finished talking to Andrew sitting by himself all in his lonesome. She stares at him and begins studying him. She already realizes that she is some how attracted to him, however, against her will fully knowing she is an engaged woman whose fiance is all the way across the world.
She thinks of him as it begins to sadden her even deeper. She wonders if she will ever see him again. As a result, she decides to stay quiet and mind her own business. Cynthia asks Audrey if she can be alone now. She thanks Audrey for all of her help and that she feels a little bit better thanks to her. As a result, Audrey walks over to Andrew who is now leaning up against the window of one of the seats all by himself. He is lost in his thoughts. Trying to make sense of everything that has happen.