A World Apart (Part 1): 8,000 Miles

by Sean P. Thomas

  Jerry’s eyes were trimmed with wetness. “I lost my Michelle.” He told her as he started to cry. “It was only a few days after the dead started to attack people. She was in the garden, picking tomatoes, when one of them sons of bitches came out of nowhere and attacked her.”

  “I’m so sorry Jerry.” Angie told him. Tears started to form in her eyes at the news. “I loved her like she was my own mother.”

  “I got that devil though,” he explained, “beat him to death with a shovel, but it was too late. All semblance of society was gone back home, so I had to bury her myself, right next to the garden, but before I even had the hole dug, she sat up. She turned into one of them god damned monsters right in front of my eyes.” Jerry put his face in his hands and sobbed for a few moments before continuing. “She came at me, like a crazed animal, tried to bite me. I had to put her down myself. The whole damn town was full of those things, all my neighbors were gone. They either turned into one of them flesh eating freaks or packed up and left. With John overseas, I decided that I should make my way here and find you and Sam, you’re the only family I have left.”

  “That’s horrible Jerry.” Angie said as she hugged him again. “I’m so happy you came all this way though. What about my parents? Do you know if they are still there or if they made it out?”

  “I went to your house, before I headed this way, to check on them.” He explained. “I’m sorry to tell you, I don’t know if they are okay. Your house looked like it had been looted and your parents were nowhere to be found. I’m praying they got out, but I really don’t know. I’m sorry dear.”

  Angie was visibly shaken, but she was relieved that he hadn’t found them dead, or worse, turned into zombies. “Thank you for trying to find them, I really appreciate it.” She said. “How did you get here?”

  “Well it really wasn’t that hard until I got into El Paso.” Jerry told her. “I loaded up all the supplies I could find into my old truck and came straight here on I-10. The interstate was jammed up in a lot of spots, but I got through eventually. The city here is a mess though. I swear there are thousands of those creatures walking around out there. I don’t know how many I ran over with my truck making my way here to the base. Once I made it to the gate, it cleared up a lot. There were soldiers guarding the gate and they had cleaned up a lot of the zombies out in front of it.” He continued. “I told them that I was here to be with my daughter-in-law and grandson, and they let me in. They told me that there were still monsters roaming free inside, but there were efforts underway to clear the post out. I saw a few monsters on the way here, but I saw soldiers out there patrolling as well. The guards also told me they were making plans to round up all the survivors they can find and move them to a more secure location, but they didn’t say when. They said we should wait, that further instructions would be coming, whatever that means. I got some more food out in the truck, I cleaned out my pantry and the garden, should hold us over for at least another week.”

  “That’s good news at least.” Angie said with a slight smile. “Sam will be happy to see you. He keeps asking about his daddy. He doesn’t understand all of this, or why his daddy isn’t here.”

  “I sure hope John has found some way to stay safe in the midst of all this.” Jerry said. “When did you last hear from him?”

  “He called about two weeks ago.” She told him. “He said that he wasn’t worried about the virus because they were taking good care of him over there, but I don’t know. The phones went dead several days ago. The not knowing is killing me.”

  “I hear you.” He replied. “I am worried too, but my son will do whatever it takes to survive.” Jerry told her determinedly. “Now where is my grandson? I need to give that boy a great big bear hug.”

  CHAPTER 5

  John was startled awake when the door opened. The man from before came into the room and placed a plate of food and a cup of water on the floor.

  “Eat!” The man said gruffly.

  John said nothing and waited on the bed until the man left the room and relocked the door. He stared at the food sitting on the floor for a few moments. The smell of the food reached his nose and his stomach began to growl. For the first time, he realized that he was famished. He didn’t know how long it had been since he had last eaten. He was hesitant at first, thinking that they might poison him. John quickly realized that this was unlikely, especially if they wanted to use him to further their cause. He dove to the floor and crawled on hands and knees over to the food. John devoured the food with his bare hands, not that he had any choice since they provided him with no utensils. The food was some sort of lamb over rice and was accompanied by a flat piece of bread. He grasped the metal cup of water and took a big guzzle before he even swallowed the food still in his mouth. After the first few ravenous bites, he settled into a slower rhythm and actually chewed and tasted the food.

  John finished his meal in short order. He felt satisfied, and at that moment, thought it might have been the most delicious meal he ever had. He knew that he felt that because of his extreme hunger, but it didn’t matter. He left the flat metal plate and the empty metal cup on the floor in front of the door and returned to the bed to wait. After several moments of boredom, John drifted off to sleep again.

  A short while later John was awakened by a loud noise in the next room. He heard shuffling footsteps followed by shouting. He could identify two different men yelling, but couldn’t understand what they were saying since it wasn’t in English. John jumped when he heard automatic rifle fire. The firing stopped abruptly, followed by agonized screaming. The screaming stopped and he heard a loud thump, it sounded like a body hitting the floor, accompanied by the distinguishable sound of a rifle falling on a hard surface. John heard a second man scream in fear, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps running away. He moved closer to the door to try and better discern what was happening. He desperately hoped that it was U.S. troops coming to his rescue, but he had only heard the one burst of shots being fired. He knew from the sound that it had been an AK-47. As he listened, he noted that the noise outside his room had all but stopped, except for a barely discernable sound. It sounded like a rhythmic squishing noise accompanied by a crunching sound, like someone walking slowly through muddy gravel.

  John didn’t know what to make of the events he heard, or the sound he was hearing now from the other side of the door, but he was petrified. He waited for what seemed like hours, it was really only a few minutes, then the strange sound stopped. He held his breath and continued to wait. There was a slight shuffle across the floor. He could see the shadow of feet under the door as the shuffling sound stopped. Moments passed without a sound, without the slightest movement of the shadow of feet below the door. John nearly fainted when someone slammed on the other side of the door. The door visibly rocked on its hinges from the impact. Whoever it was, they were trying desperately to get in. John was too scared and confused to wonder why they wouldn’t simply use the latch to gain entry. This went on for several minutes and then finally stopped. After another moment or two the shuffling sound began anew and the shadow of feet disappeared. The shuffling retreated from the adjacent room until John heard nothing at all.

  John was paralyzed by his fear for several minutes. He dared not move. He waited for a sound, any sound, to try and discern what was happening. Nothing. Minutes turned into an hour before John worked up the courage to move. He laid on his stomach and attempted to peer under the door. He couldn’t see much, but he could see a prone figure with black clothing surrounded by a pool of blood. John didn’t know what to do, he knew he should try and get the door open and escape, but he feared what he might find on the other side. He crawled away from the door to the opposite wall and waited. Minutes passed, then hours. He hadn’t heard a sound since the shuffling had faded away; John couldn’t wait any longer. He had to make a move.

  John tried the latch on the door again. It was still securely locked. He tried knocking again. “Hello? Is anyone there?” Nothing
.

  He tried to shoulder the door open, but it was useless, the door would only open inward. John moved back to the bed and threw the small foam mattress to the floor. The frame was metal with springs to support the mattress. He pulled the frame apart and removed the springs from one side. He had one long bed rail in his hand and thought he might be able to pry the door open from within. John moved quickly back to the door with his makeshift pry bar in hand. He pulled the door inward as much as he could and tried to wedge the end of the rail inside. As he tried to pry it open, the rail came free of the wood with no effect. He decided to use it on the latch instead. He wedged the rail behind the latch and tried again. Nothing; there was nothing but a flat wall next to door and nothing to push the rail against for leverage. “Fuck, this is useless.” John cursed out loud.

  He put his back to the door and slid down to a sitting position on the floor. John was at a loss until he spied the mattress laying on the floor. He jumped up and grabbed the mattress. He rolled the mattress up and folded the roll in half. He wedged the rail behind the latch again and pushed the wadded-up mattress behind the rail. John pushed the end of the rail towards the wall against the rolled-up mattress. The rail seemed as if it would bend or break, but suddenly, the latch broke and the door swung inward slightly. John stepped back and was about to toss the bed rail to the side, but he looked down at it, grasped the end with both hands, and gave it a couple of swings like a baseball bat. John shrugged. I might need this, he thought.

  John pulled the door open slowly and peeked into the next room. He didn’t see any movement, but as he scanned the room his eyes rested on a man lying on his back and unmoving. It was the same man that had knocked John to the floor before and brought him food. The man’s face was turned away from John and he was lying in a pool of blood. John approached the body slowly. He looked down to the man’s abdomen. “What the fuck?” John yelled out loud. He almost vomited in his mouth. “Oh, my god!” John whispered. The man’s intestines were pulled from his stomach and lying next to his side. The pile of guts had been feasted upon, he could see the bite marks up and down the entrails. He squatted down next to the body and pulled the man’s face toward him. The man’s throat had been ripped open. It looked as if he had been mauled by a wild animal. John couldn’t fathom what could have killed the man like this. Then he noticed something strange in the pool of blood next to the body. Two hand prints as if a person was down on all fours over the body. John gasped.

  John didn’t know what to make of it all, but he had no time to ponder it, he had to escape. He looked around the room. He was in some sort of common room. There were tables and chairs randomly placed around the room. There were two doors behind him, the one he emerged from and another closed door on the same wall. A third door to his front was wide open, it led outside. The common room was bathed in sunlight coming in through that door. The dead man’s AK-47 was lying on the floor next to his body. John grabbed up the weapon and slung it over his shoulder, but he still held onto his makeshift club. He wanted to check the room behind the unopened door, for other survivors, or his missing gear, but thought it would be prudent to check outside first, for any threats that might still be present.

  John stepped through the front door tentatively, he had to place his hand over his eyes for a moment because the sun was so bright. His eyes adjusted to the brightness and he noticed that the sun was high above him, it must have been around noon. John looked around in the front of the compound and noticed a dirt driveway that led to a gravel road. There was a small pickup truck parked in the drive. John didn’t see any sign of the other insurgent or the unknown attacker that had killed the man inside. John looked to his left and saw a familiar mountain range off in the distance. He knew that range, he had seen it every day, to the north of his base. He figured that this compound must be situated somewhere between the mountain range and his base. He would have to go south to get back to the safety.

  John thought this might be his only chance to make it back to the base, if he moved quickly. He ran to the pickup truck and pulled the driver’s door open. He inspected the ignition; no keys. John checked the visor; nothing. He didn’t know how to hot wire a truck. “Shit!” John said out loud. He climbed out of the truck. He decided he would run back to the base if he had to. He still needed to check the rest of the compound for threats and search for his gear inside. John moved to the outside wall of the dwelling and started edging his way around the building, brandishing his bed rail club. He thought it might serve him better in close combat than the rifle if he ran face first into an enemy.

  John was inching his way around, hugging the wall and moving north towards the mountain range. As he approached the corner of the building, he peeked around, pulled back quickly, and looked around again. He saw nothing. John continued his trek across the north facing wall, to the next corner. Just like before, he peeked around the corner. As he scanned the back side of the compound he noticed two men. One was laying on the ground, unmoving; the other was crouched over the first. The crouching man was wearing a familiar white smock, like that of a doctor. From John’s vantage point, it looked as if the man might be a doctor treating the wounded man on the ground. John thought it strange that the doctor would be here alone and conveniently available to treat a wounded man, but he figured he must be close to the village that he so often patrolled.

  John decided to take a chance that the doctor might offer him some help. “Excuse me sir? Do you speak English? I need help.” John said as he stepped around the corner in the direction of the two men.

  At the sound of John’s voice, the doctor turned towards him. He didn’t say anything, but stood erect and started moving slowly towards John. John immediately recognized the doctor; he had seen him treating the patients in the village, during his patrol. John thought there was something strange about the way he was walking, and there was something off about his appearance. His smock was covered in blood, which wasn’t outside the ordinary for a doctor, but it was extremely dirty as well. His eyes and his face looked strange as well, but John couldn’t make out what it was from the distance and with the sun shining so brightly.

  “Can you help me sir?” John asked again.

  The doctor said nothing, but kept ambling towards John. John took a few more steps towards the approaching doctor but came to a stop as he got a better picture of what was approaching. The doctor’s eyes were strange, the pupils were milky white and wide open. He didn’t blink at all. As the doctor came closer, John noticed that his mouth was stretched wide open and John swore he heard him growl. It was a low guttural sound that became more aggressive the closer he got.

  “What’s wrong with you? Stay where you are.” John yelled while pointing his finger in the doctor’s direction.

  The doctor said nothing. He kept his approach steady and the growling intensified. John took a few steps backward. “Stop! Stop right there…I don’t want to hurt you.”

  John didn’t know what to do. The man seemed to be unarmed, but he wouldn’t stop coming towards John. The doctor closed the distance and came at John vigorously. John raised the bed rail up in front of him with both hands to shield from the doctor’s attack. The doctor clawed at John and snapped at him with his teeth, just inches from John’s face. His assault continued relentlessly and he finally bowled John over, they rolled backwards in a tumble. The doctor climbed on top of John and pinned him down. John pushed the bed rail against the doctor’s neck to hold him back, but the doctor continued to snap at John’s face all the while.

  John fought with all his strength to keep the crazed doctor at bay. “Get the fuck off of me; you sick motherfucker!” He yelled.

  John rolled the doctor to the right and scrambled to his feet. The doctor struggled to stand. John swung his bed rail at the doctor’s head and laid him flat. The doctor was immediately attempting to get up again. John gave him another smack, for good measure, then ran over to the man that was laying on the ground. He was mortified when he got a better lo
ok at the man. The man had an expression of terror frozen on his face, his eyes were wide open, but he was clearly dead. His midsection was torn open, the gruesome scene looked very much like the one inside the building. John looked back to see that the doctor had almost regained his feet. At that moment, John recalled the reports of the virus spreading throughout the world. This doctor must have been infected, he was sick. John didn’t want to hurt the doctor, but his pursuit was relentless. John decided it was time to get the hell out of there.

  John reached down to the dead man and rifled through his pockets. Jackpot, he found the truck keys. John ran wide around the doctor, who had regained his feet and was approaching again, and to the front of the dwelling. His first instinct was to jump in the pickup truck and get away, but he couldn’t leave without searching for his belongings. There was one item he couldn’t bear to leave behind, if it was even there. John ran straight through the front door. He took a direct path towards the one unsearched room and kicked the door open. The room was empty of anyone, but he saw his gear in a pile on a table. He rushed to it and reached into a pouch attached to his vest and found his wallet. He looked inside the wallet. It’s still here. “Yes!” John shouted in elation. It was a picture of his wife and son.

  John grabbed up the bundle of gear and tucked it under his left arm. He ran out of the room and straight towards the front door. Just as he reached the door, he ran right into the doctor. The doctor fell over backwards and John stumbled forward over him, barely keeping on his feet. He left the doctor behind him and ran straight to the truck. John threw his gear into the passenger seat and climbed into the driver’s seat. He closed the door and quickly locked both doors. John put the key in the ignition and turned it. The engine struggled to turn over. The doctor was at the driver’s door. He pounded wildly on the window. John thought it would shatter. He tried to start the truck again. The engine turned over and John smiled as he pushed the accelerator to rev it up. He threw the shifter into first gear and spun the tires as he pulled out. The doctor rolled off the side of the truck as it pulled away. John sped down the driveway and turned south, towards his base, towards freedom.