Surviving Day By Day (Book 2): Fears, Flames, and Future

by Allensworth, Audra

  Charlie squeezed her hand once more, “Yes, yes it does, but they weren’t human, honey, they were dead. So the way I look at it we just gave them the peace they deserved.” He turned and smiled at her. The sun was starting its down trek to the west as they continued driving.

  Heath was riding shotgun and staring out at the rolling Oklahoma grasslands and small hills. He’d sat quiet for about a half hour and noticed a small river as they drove through a little town called Atwood. It had been Tabitha’s turn to drive and Heath was grateful for that. It was always a little easier for his long legs when he could stretch them out. He kept watching her roll the zippo lighter around in her fingers. Smiling a weak smile, “So…You want to explain the little barbeque back there?”

  Raising her eyebrow and with a quirky little smile, she sheepishly inquired, “Little barbeque??”

  With one hand on the wheel, she stopped playing with her lighter and looked at it in her other hand she chuckled, “Well Charlie took my lighter from me and I had no idea what ‘Big Bad Charlie’ was doing. When I found out I was mighty pissed off, because sure as shit, Alden would blame it all on me or some bullshit like that,” she flipped her lighter open and lit it then quickly closed it once more and continued, “Alden wanted us to show him a sign if anything was going down and I guess that was his sign.”

  Heath chuckled, “Yeah, I guess smoke that can be seen for five miles or more would be a good sign. Of course you could have called on the radio, not that we would have had the time to answer, what with all the Wanderers attacking us, but hey whatever.”

  Alden had slowed down a little as he was approaching the next town. Picking up the radio he called out, “Okay look alive everybody. We’re making good time and I don’t want to slow down. We got Wanderers ahead but the highway is clear so we’re just going to blow through this little berg and be on our way…. Oh and one more thing cupcakes, Smile and welcome to Happyland, Oklahoma.” He dropped the mike and started to swerve missing the few Wanderers that were on the highway. As he did, he would wave at them and smile.

  Charlie turned to Ceara who was holding the radio, “What the hell is he talking.. OH SHIT!”

  Charlie swerved to miss an elderly lady in flower print dress with no left arm. Then cut the wheel back and slowed just a bit. He was staring ahead and leaned into the steering wheel, “Honey… is Alden waving at these things?”

  Ceara stared then giggled, “I do believe he is, but he did say it was Happyland.”

  Colt watched as they passed a large farm house, “Do you really think that is the name of the town or did he make that up?”

  Just as he said it, Beth pointed to a sign that said, ‘Welcome to Happyland.’

  Colt smiled and shook his head, “Not much of a town, guess that’s what makes it a Happyland.” As soon as they got through there was a sign that said five miles to Ada. Colt grabbed the mike, “Alden we going through Ada?”

  Heath was looking at an Atlas, listening to Colt, and trying to find this Godforsaken place Alden called Happyland. “GOT IT!?” he yelled just as Tabitha swerved to miss the old woman in the print dress. “DAMNIT HEATH, DON’T DO THAT!!”

  Heath smiled, “Sorry.” He looked at Tabitha, “Get ready Alden’s going to turn south up here about a mile or so.”

  Tabitha swerved again to miss a kid standing on a corner, “And just how did you come to that?”

  Heath smiled once more holding the Atlas so she could see where the highway went to four lanes there was a road that went south, “That old man ain’t going to take us through Ada, too populated. If we go north we come to close to Oklahoma City. So south it is. Then he’ll cut back west.”

  Alden called on the radio, “Pay attention cupcakes, we’re going south for bit.”

  Heath looked at Tabitha with an ‘I told you so’ smirk. Alden slowed a little and headed down a small two lane blacktop, “Lovelady Road huh?” He looked at Tonto, “I doubt it,” he said with a laugh.

  Watching his mirror he saw the rest of the caravan make the turn then he sped back up to 40 mph. Picking up the radio he called the rest, “We’re going down here to Highway 29 then we will cut back west. This should put us far enough south of Ada that way we will have minimal contact, I hope.”

  He set the radio back down and took a sip of coffee, then pushed a button on the radio. The CD display lit up and the music poured out…”Eastbound and down, Loaded up and Truckin…” Alden began to sing along as Tonto put his head out the window of the truck.

  Charlie looked at Ceara, “Do you think he knows where he’s going or are we just out here sightseeing?”

  Ceara rolled her eyes, “I really don’t think the man is into sightseeing”

  Charlie kept watching the sides of the roads, the telephone poles flew by and he could see chewed up cattle up against the fences. He knew this was a good sign that Wanderers had been here, but as fast as they were going he couldn’t tell how decomposed the cows were. Every now and then he could see one of the dead people crawling along the road or trying to walk through a barbed wire fence. Shaking his head he kept watching Alden’s truck praying the old man knew where he was going.

  As soon as they turned down the road Colt looked to Beth, “I thought he said Hwy 29, didn’t that just say Lovelylady Rd?”

  Beth shrugged, “They could have renamed it, no telling how old Alden’s atlas is.”

  Colt laughed, “Yeah, I can’t picture him buying one every year, hell even every five years.” They made their way down the road, hitting about forty once in a while slowing to get around cars. They passed a car that was wrapped around a telephone pole, “Do you think they were turned or just decided they couldn’t face this world?”

  Beth watched the car as they passed by and nodded her head, “Might be a little of both Colt. Could have been that they were trying to get one another to the hospital because one or even both of them had been bitten. You never know what they might have been listening to on the radio, with all of the panic out there.”

  Beth was sounding as though she was trying to be logical about the question but quite honestly she then realized that she had to cut that shit out. “Colt, they could have been like the people at the church,… just wanting to end it and hope for peace in the afterlife.” Smiling briefly Beth placed her hand on Colt’s shoulder, “I choose life and I choose to face the world with you and the rest of the group…. Even Alden with his hundred year old atlas.”

  Ceara watched the world go by, wondering just how many survivors were out there, how many would stay survivors, and how many would become Wanderers. The pastures rolled by and there were a few Wanderers out there. She looked over to Charlie, “What do you think they think about? I wonder if they feel pain?”

  Charlie glanced over that the pasture they were passing, “I don’t know, I don’t think I want to know either. I want… choose to think they are just dead and don’t know it.”

  Ceara propped her elbow on the window, “I don’t want to believe they have feeling, but it is just sad to know that they have no purpose but to kill.”

  Charlie shook his head, “Babe, they don’t want to kill, they want to feed. Not a major difference but it is one.”

  Alden’s voice came over the radio, “Heads up, we are turning in about a mile, onto E 160 about ten miles, then we will hit Highway 99 heading south. I want to find somewhere to stop for the night on highway 99.” No one responded, it was just accepted that Alden knew what was best.

  Alden kept heading south. Slowing down couple of times as they went by some cattle ranches, Alden slowed and read a sign that had a red painted X on it, Fittstown, Oklahoma. Picking up the radio once he gave them all the heads up, “Be on guard here guys, I don’t like the Red X on the sign, but we have to get through here so we can start heading west. If we get separated take the second blacktop road west, just south of town.”

  He listened as they all came back acknowledging his orders. As he approached the town’s edge he could see trees that once were
no doubt beautiful had been roughly hacked down to give a clear view. Burned buildings up ahead and the typical wrecked cars were the next thing. Slowing to swerve between them he noticed several Wanderers on his left out in a field. The cattle carcasses that were strewn up against a fence told him why they were there.

  Though Fittstown was nothing more than a wide spot on the road it showed signs that it had once been a small thriving community. Alden shook his head has he passed a second gas station. “Damn Tonto just another town turned to dust.” As he spoke he looked in his rear view mirror to check on the rest. Slamming on the brakes he could see the Wanderers gathering on both sides and closing in on the caravan.

  Charlie gripped the steering wheel, “Why the hell did Colt stop!? I swear if he is being a wuss again I’ll kill him!”

  Ceara leaned on the window, “CHARLIE!!!” Charlie didn’t need her warning, he saw the same thing. “What the hell is going on?! They are mostly kids?!”

  Ceara pulled out her gun and Charlie jerked her arm down, “What are you doing? You can’t shoot kids!!”

  Ceara had tears streaming down her face, “It isn’t fair to leave them like this! I won’t let them suffer, that isn’t right!”

  Charlie let go of her arm, but didn’t say another word. Colt came over the radio, “What the fuck Alden, why did you stop? We can’t kill kids!”

  Alden picked up the radio, “These are no longer kids, they’re a threat to the world. One bites another than another.” He stepped out and pulling out an M-16 he took aim and pulled the trigger three times quickly, quickly dropping three of the youngest Wanderers.

  The group turned towards him. Some looked almost normal except for a small bite here and there on the arms or hands, others were in worse shape having had been mauled by others. All of them had dried blood on their clothes. Alden fired six more times and six more dropped. The group was moving towards him now and fired three more shots, then jumped in his truck.

  Grabbing the radio, “Let’s move out of town and stop up the road I have to ask you all something, drivers you drive, the rest of you keep your eyes open.”

  Alden put the truck in gear just as two of the Wanderers grabbed the rear bumper. Driving fast out of town, it was only a matter of time until the monsters arms were ripped out of their sockets. Alden kept looking in the mirror watching the others trying to drive through and escape the horde of fifty or more.

  Ceara rolled her window down and shot as they drove through, she wasn’t going to just leave them like this. Charlie didn’t say anything until they stopped a few miles up the road. He looked over at Ceara, “Did you notice the t-shirts?”

  Ceara wiped her face with the sleeve of her own t-shirt, “No, Why?”

  “They were all Y.M.C.A shirts, I went there one year. The sisters thought I needed to be around more kids.”

  Ceara knew Charlie was thinking it could have been him if this happen a few years earlier. There was no way they had to time to talk about it now, Alden was out of his truck and waiting for the others.

  Beth sat there in the Rover with her eyes wide. “Where are the adults? I mean look at these kids Colt! This is just strange. I mean when Alden had to take those children down I did not see anyone older than maybe twelve.”

  Colt sat there and looked at the surroundings. “Colt, there isn’t even lifeguards, instructors or supervisors wandering around. This brings up several questions.” Pulling her hair out of her eyes she sat there and shook her head then snickered. “This right here reminds me of a scene right out of the movie Children of the Corn.”

  Over in the Jeep sat Tabitha and Heath looking around at what Alden had just done. “Damn man, that right there is way beyond fucked up!”

  Heath looked over at her with a somewhat puzzled expression, “Well Tabitha I don’t know if you have noticed lately, but I don’t think we will get unfucked again for a while.” Tabitha opened up the door and stepped out carefully making sure that no undead lame brains were within biting distance.

  Beth watched as the others started getting out and looked over to Colt, “Let’s get out and see what we can find, if anything. I want to go check on Alden and see what he thinks.”

  Alden watched as the group gathered around. Snapping his finger twice the dogs sat alert at his feet. He pointed back the way they came and both dogs turned and ran a few hundred feet back up towards the town then stopped and stood side by side guarding the road. Alden looked at their faces which all showed puzzlement, fear, and confusion. “Okay here is what I observed. Those were all kids, most had been just bitten, only a few had been mauled. There were no adults whatsoever. So did anybody else notice anything, or have any ideas?”

  Heath stepped up and looked at Alden first then the group, “I noticed only a couple of old dead bodies. I mean people… a man and a couple of women who may have been in their late thirties in age. They were chewed and gnawed up pretty fierce.” Charlie spoke up, “Yeah I saw them too. I also saw what looked like an old man back at the first grocery store we passed on the way in. He was sitting in a chair out front. His hands and feet had been eaten down but he was dead and he didn’t have a head wound I could see.”

  Beth folded her arms and looked at the carnage while shaking her head, “Maybe the adults had just fled, or it could have been that the children were sealed off until some medical attention could be brought. If it did show up, it was too late. One bite led to two bites and so on. Then with the infection being blood borne, it’s transferred by bites, saliva or any open wound. So all I can make out of this is that the adults must have tried to get them help.”

  Beth was babbling until the very end of her statement. Why would there be absolutely no adults? That really bothered her. She had noticed that there were a few wounds that looked like scratches that some may have been deep but no initial bite marks. Perhaps the children were infected by the scratches or something else got transferred.

  Looking over to Alden with a concerned look, “Alden let’s just get out of here. I don’t have a clue as to what we are dealing with and I don’t like it at all!” Beth then walked over to Colt and quietly pulled him off to the side whispering, “I have got a few ideas but I really just want to get far away from here before it gets dark.” Quietly Beth walked back over to the Rover where she opened the door and quickly got inside. Reaching behind her where she remembered seeing a notebook, Beth grabbed it and in Colt’s caddy she grabbed a pen and began her journal….

  “Thursday Afternoon…… Approximately two months from leaving CDC……..

  I have been on the road with our group for a little over two months and today was the first day I really feel uncomfortable about the situation, we just drove through a horde of children. Only a few infected were taken down by our group leader . One member of our newly formed family made an observation of an elderly man which seemed to appear as though… Beth paused and looked out the window and had no way of forming the words in her mind and after a few moments she continued and couldn’t believe how she was describing what she had seen.

  The man had been partially devoured by others that had been affected. Which makes me wonder why would the elderly man just be sitting there? When he died was he too frail and old to move? Did he overdose there in his chair? Did he just starve to death? This brings up a very interesting question. Is there some chance that those who have been around since the very beginning of the outbreak, are starting to die off from starvation? Then there are the children, since there were not many adults around, could there be some other forms spreading the infection other than bites? Scratches? Saliva?

  All key points Beth had written down were very important and she felt compelled from this point on to keep a journal of what she sees. Perhaps down the road if they run into something like this again, maybe she could get a closer look at one of the infected. That has succumbed from some other means than blunt force to the head.

  Colt climbed in the driver’s seat, “My turn to drive, buckle up we are heading out.” Beth
put the notebook back in the glove box, “What was that?”

  Beth smiled, “Nothing, just jotting down a few notes.” They were heading down the road at a decent pace once again. Colt reached for the radio out of habit, and laughed, “Old habits die hard. Hey, look in the console and see if there are any CDs”

  Beth lifted the console looking and grabbed a few CDs, “Oh my God this is fitting!” Colt looked at her with raised eyebrows; she giggled “Just wait.” The sound of Highway to Hell blared out in the Rover and Colt busted up laughing and began singing with it.

  Alden kept heading south then turned west again on Highway 29. As they neared the little town of Roff, Alden slowed a bit picking up the atlas he flipped it over on the seat, then grabbed the walkie. “We got a town up here. We’re going in and turning south on 4th keep it tight and don’t stop.”

  As he entered the city limits he saw the sign for the turnpike. Alden led the caravan south a few blocks then west. He looked down at the speedometer and grinned at Tonto, “I hope the cops are asleep boy ‘cause we’re doing about sixty miles an hour right now.” He was glad the streets were clear. Wrecked cars lined both sides of the street and looked like they had been shoved out of the way. Charlie called Alden on the radio, “What the hell boss? Why are the cars shoved out of the way?”

  Alden replied quickly, “I figure they did it to keep the turnpike open up ahead. It might get a little tight the closer we get so keep your eyes peeled.”

  They were out of the little town in minutes and there ahead was the Chickasaw Turnpike overhead. The chain fence was still intact and cars littered the overpass. They caravan shot underneath and Alden slowed a bit waiting to see if they would run into a jam. There in front of him sat two big bulldozers on either side of the road. They had pushed cars away and blocked the entrance to the turnpike but left the highway they were on open. Alden blew past them at 70 mph while grabbing the mike, “LET’S ROLL CUPCAKES WE GOT NOTHING BUT CLEAR SAILING AHEAD AND ONE STRAIGHT ASS HIGHWAY TO DRIVE.”