by Lundy, W. J.
With the door opened to the outside, the brisk morning air poured in. The sun was just beginning to shine’ the snow sparkled and reflected the morning light back at him. Brad looked left and right. There were no primals in sight, but that wouldn’t last long. He knew from experience they would come running once he was detected. Brad hurried back to the cab of the truck. He closed and locked the doors behind him, then flipped the control knob to 4x4 before placing the truck in reverse. “You ready for this, peanut butter? Well hold on because we only got one shot.”
Brad gunned the engine and the truck launched backwards, hitting the first drift heavily. He kept his foot on the gas, maintaining speed down the driveway and turning into the road. He continued in reverse until he cleared the heavy drifts, not wanting to get stuck. When he moved into a clear section of the street, he slowed and smoothly came to a stop, being careful to stay in his tracks, then slapped the selector into drive and eased on the accelerator. The truck’s heavy V8 engine roared and launched forward, easily breaking through the drifts. Brad slowly added speed to keep the momentum of the vehicle up so that he could crash through the larger snow banks.
Seeing his turn ahead, he eased up on the accelerator and slowly crept away from the corner, making a wide angle right turn and trying not to lose control of the truck. He felt the rear end fish tail as he finished the turn. Brad steered into the skid and gunned the engine, letting the four wheel drive pull him out of the slide. He was now racing towards the main street. He began to see the first primals running out of buildings, looking at the truck barreling through the snow.
Brad hit the main drag and cut the wheel to the left. He misjudged his speed and skidded a bit before the truck slapped against a parked car. He kept the pedal down and his momentum carried him through another set of heavy drifts. Brad looked in the rearview mirror; the street was now quickly filling with primals. They were running, but still struggling in the heavy snow. Brad put his concentration forward, gripping the wheel tightly as he focused on keeping the truck on the road. He passed by the gated house he had seen on the way into town.
Driving fast, he dared to look up at the hilltops where they’d scouted the approach to the town and watched the brothers pass through on the snowmobile. He slowed the truck, still careful not to get stuck in the heavy snow. Lowering the power window on the passenger side, he strained to search the hilltops for Sean, but there was no sign of his friend. Giving up, he put his attention forward just as he failed to avoid another parked car, hitting it hard but still able to keep the truck’s forward movement.
He had cleared the town now. He turned the corner and was moving onto open road, plowing through larger drifts and crashing over downed limbs, cringing as he heard them bang against the underside of the truck. Looking in the rearview mirror, he saw that he had outrun the primals. He knew they were back there, but for now he was alone on the road. The farther he got from town the less stalled cars he found. Less signs of life or primals. He followed the tracks the snowmobile had left in the snow days earlier, racing up the hill and around the long corner that led to the house where they had parted ways with the brothers.
As he drove he turned on the radio and let it scan. He watched the digital tuner scroll constantly without stopping. He switched to AM and observed the same. Nothing was on the air, only static if he manually tuned the dial. He reached into his bag and pulled out the small two-way radio Sean had given him. He fidgeted with it, trying to turn it on but it refused to power up, the batteries now completely dead.
Brad began to pass homes again. He slowed, searching for the house where they had hidden the snowmobile. Spotting it ahead, he slowed and pulled into the driveway of the boarded-up brown ranch house. Brad put the truck in park but left the engine running. “I’ll be right back,” he said, reaching across the center console and grabbing his M4. “Bro, stop nagging, I said I’ll be right back.”
Brad opened the truck’s door and stepped into the heavy snow. It wasn’t deep here. The wind had blown most of the snow to the far side of the yard, creating a large drift against the side of an old woodshed. He closed the truck door and stepped into the road, listening for movement, or the moans. Hearing nothing but the purring of the truck’s engine, he moved to the heavy brush where they had ditched the snowmobile. It was gone. Brad stood motionless, thinking, Maybe it was a different spot? He walked into the brush and saw where the sled had been parked under the bushes. “No, this was the right place,” he muttered to himself, shaking his head. He looked in all directions and searched the snow. He could see where the brothers’ sled had returned; there was a wide path in the snow. They hadn’t stopped. He could tell by the way the drifts were cut and carried past the house.
Brad went back to the bushes. He knelt in the snow, searching until he found where the sled had been started, and maneuvered deeper into the brush. He followed the path which led away from the road, deeper into the woods, before cutting back towards the house. He followed the trail until he was in the side yard and the trail had been covered by drifting snow. He froze when he heard the faint sounds of moaning. “Damn, they are moving fast today,” he said.
He turned and moved back the way he had come. As he got to the road he heard a crash in a house next door. “Looks like the neighbors are up,” he said as a primal exploded through the picture window of a home across the street. Brad stood his ground, staring as the creature pulled itself up out of the snow and broken glass. “Now what makes them do that? Why are they so pissed off they would jump through their own window to get me? I just don’t get it,” he said as he raised the rifle, firing twice and dropping the primal.
Brad heard a door slam behind him. Panicked, he spun on the balls of his feet towards the truck. He held his rifle at the ready, searching for threats as he slowly approached the driver’s door. He saw movement in front of the truck and stepped quickly to the left, raising the sights to his eye.
“’Bout time you got here!” he heard Sean say just as his friend appeared in front of his rifle.
“What the fuck, Sean, I almost shot you.”
“Yeah, yeah, don’t flatter yourself. So what took you so long?” Sean said as he continued around the front of the truck. He had his backpack in his left hand and was carrying his rifle with the right.
“Are you serious? I barely made it out of there!”
“Yeah, looks like you were really roughing it,” Sean said as he opened the truck door and tossed in his gear. “Damn, this thing has leather. Man, Brad you’re getting soft, buddy. I mean I’m not gonna brag or anything, but I walked here.”
“Screw you, just get in.”
“Seriously though, good job, brother, I was worried about you when we lost coms. Did you get the stuff?”
“Yeah, I think so, I loaded up pretty good in the pharmacy. Can we just get out of here? I think I have half the town following me.”
“Waiting on you, brother,” Sean said as he fastened his seat belt.
18.
Brad reversed the truck back onto the road and headed to the cabin. As the road twisted and changed directions, some of the drifts lessened and he found the going easier. He relaxed his grip on the wheel and actually began to enjoy his drift-busting experience.
“You are pretty good at this, driving in the snow I mean,” Sean said.
“Yeah, grew up in it. There were days Mom would have to go through worse than this just to get me to school.”
“Back in Michigan?”
“Yeah, up north we could easily get four foot a year. I grew up in the middle of nowhere so we couldn’t count on the snow plows. Mom had a big ol’ Blazer. Dad lifted it and put some big knobby tires on it. My mom wasn’t one for station wagons and minivans.” Brad laughed.
“Shit, glad I have you behind the wheel then. Your folks sound like resourceful people. I’m sure they’ll be okay.”
Brad drove quietly for a moment, allowing the last comment to digest. “I try not to think about it. I mean … yeah, Dad�
��s as tough as nails, but stubborn as hell too. I worry that if they found him … the primals … Yeah, he wouldn’t be one to leave. I could see Mom in the kitchen fixing up venison burgers while Dad is out chasing primals off the lawn.”
Sean grunted with laughter. “Definitely sounds like people I want to meet.”
“What about you Sean? You have people back home? Been with you for a couple months and still don’t know shit about you,” Brad asked, keeping his eyes on the road.
“Yeah, home and family aren’t the same uplifting conversation pieces they used to be, are they? Makes it hard to keep your head in the game when you’re thinking about everything that could be going wrong at home.”
“I guess you’re right … Damn, there you go again, dodging the question!” Brad said, laughing.
“Truth is, Brad, I don’t have shit. I did once, but I chose to make the Navy my family, everything else faded away. My folks passed away years ago. I have a few ladies in a few ports but nothing special. Closest thing to home is a shitty apartment back in San Diego.”
“Damn Chief, that’s some sad shit. End of the world is probably the best thing to ever happen to you!” Brad said, continuing to laugh.
“And you wonder why I don’t talk to you!” Sean said, laughing with him. “Hey, take that little side road,” he said, pointing at a heavily snowed-over road that branched off the highway.
“That thing, you serious? Shit, I’ll get stuck for sure.”
“That’s the point. You didn’t think we were going to drive this right back to the front door of that cabin, did you?”
“I hear ya,” Brad said as he slowed before heaving the truck into a wide turn and onto the narrow side road.
As Brad had warned, the truck made it barely fifty feet before they collided with a drift that reached over the hood of the truck. Brad spun the tires before dropping the truck into park.
“Hmm, that’s that,” he said, dropping his hands.
Sean reached into the rear cab of his truck and pulled his assault pack forward. “Well it’s only a mile or so through those woods. Hopefully this is still far enough to keep them from tracking us back. The way that snow is blowing we should be covered up pretty quick.”
Brad grabbed the duffel bag from the back, opened it and stuffed in the remaining bottles of water. He started to zip the bag shut before pausing, then grabbed the peanut butter jar from the console and placed it in the bag, zipping it tight.
“What was that for?” Sean asked.
Brad gave him a puzzled look. “What, the jar? Oh, figured I could use it to keep stuff in.”
Sean shrugged then, using his shoulder, forced his passenger door open, pushing back the heavy snow. As soon as the door was opened Brad was hit in the face with the brisk air and blowing snow. He reached down and lifted the handle on his side and shoved but the door refused to move. Brad scowled and tossed the bags out of Sean’s door, then climbed over the seats.
“A shame to leave such a fine vehicle,” Brad said, shutting the truck door.
Sean had already waded through the snow towards the shoulder of the road. He looked back at the truck and nodded. “I’m sure we will find more if need be. Come on, we need to stay ahead of the party.”
Once Brad had backed away from the truck he used the duffle bag to cover their tracks, making long, sweeping motions to try and blend the cut in the snow with the rest of the drift. He did that until they were well within the trees. Sean led off on point, setting a fast pace. Soon they were in the thick cover of the forest again; the thicker the trees got the lighter they found the snow.
They continued in a straight line forty-five degrees away from the cabin. They couldn’t risk being followed, even though they had confidence in the snow covering their path. Double redundancy was always good in their line of work. Sean moved on, taking them away from the cabin until he found a spot in the forest thick with tall pines. He used this place to jump from one bed of needles to another, breaking any remnant of a trail. Then they turned and headed directly towards the cabin.
Sean led them onto a heavily-traveled game trail where he knelt down, examining the earth and tracks. “Looks clear, mostly small game, a deer or two. Pretty fresh, I’d say we don’t have any crazies out here,” he said in a low voice.
Brad nodded his approval and they continued moving, now making better time as they stuck to the well-traveled trail. “Did you hear from the brothers at all, after we separated I mean?” Brad asked as he walked.
Sean grunted, “Haven’t seen them since they rode through town. If they stuck to the plan they will be fine.”
“I stuck to the plan, look what happened to me,” Brad said.
“Yeah, but you’re always looking for attention,” Sean laughed.
“Screw you. You know I couldn’t just leave the clinic empty-handed, I had to try.”
“I know, but it was stupid … hopefully it all works out and these meds are enough to save her.”
“Hopefully we’re on time. How long has it been since we got that note?”
“Three days I think, yeah, she could have really taken a turn for the worse in three days, or she is all healed by now,” Sean said, putting his head down.
They walked quietly for several minutes, moving though long sections of heavy brush before climbing a tall hill. Here the pines broke though the canopy and stretched towards the clear sky. Everything on the hill was covered in feet of pristine white snow. Sean moved along the trail and found a large, fallen oak tree, its roots exposed and covered with frozen dirt. Sean moved in close to the tree and dropped his pack.
Brad came up behind him, cautiously watching their back trail. “Something wrong, Sean?”
“No, not particularly. From my notes I figure the cabin should be on the far side of this ridge, just thought now would be a good time for a rest,” Sean said as he strapped his MP5 to the top of his rucksack. He removed the long rifle and checked the magazine and slide. Brad saw what Sean was doing so he prepared his own kit and weapons for a fight.
“We expecting trouble Sean?” he asked.
“I’m always expecting trouble, that’s how I stay alive.”
Brad nodded as he unstrapped the shotgun from his pack and removed all of the rounds, getting a solid count before reloading it. He filled the six-round tube and slid one round into the chamber. That left him one extra 12-gauge round on the stock. He cut a length of cord and fashioned himself a hasty sling. He liked the feel of the shotgun; if he could find more shells it would be worth keeping.
“Nice 870, where’d you pick it up?” Sean asked, watching what Brad had been doing.
“Dead cop inside the pharmacy. Must have been a hell of a battle at that place. His sidearm was empty and his jacket torn up pretty good. He probably saved those civilians, getting them locked inside … before he turned on them.”
“I’m sure there are a lot of stories like his that will never be told,” Sean said. “You ready to move out?”
“Yeah, let’s do this.” Brad got to his feet and threw his pack over his shoulders. He let the shotgun hang from its new sling as he carried his M4 cradled in his arms. Sean stood and moved ahead with his rifle held at the low ready.
“Just over the ridge and through the trees,” Sean whispered as he went back to a tactical stance.
The duo crept forward at a slow pace, stopping often to listen for danger. As Sean had said, once they cleared the top of the ridge they could just make out the clearing of the cabin. They were approaching directly from the back. Brad could identify the pond’s flat icy surface. The wind was blowing in their face and he could just barely pick up the scent of wood smoke. “The fire smoldering,” he whispered.
“I smell it too,” Sean answered.
As they drew closer the shapes of the structures slowly came into focus, their rough outlines standing stark against the snow. Sean paused and knelt close to the ground; Brad pulled up just behind him and to the left. Sean had the scope to his eye sweeping le
ft to right. “Something’s off,” he said.
Brad raised his own rifle. Looking, he saw nothing. “What is it?”
“The barn door is open, why would they do that?” Sean asked.
“I don’t know, maybe they forgot, maybe the latch failed?”
“Yeah, maybe, stay close,” Sean said with a grunt.
They continue their slow patrol towards the buildings, Sean stopping often to glass the structures. He spotted something in the snow in front of them and asked Brad to hold back while he moved ahead. Brad watched Sean move close to the buildings then stop to kneel in the snow. He looked in all directions before calling Brad forward.
Brad ran forward to join Sean who was looking at tracks in the snow. “This isn’t good, look,” Sean said, pointing.
“What, did they already leave? Without us?” Brad asked.
“Look closer, these tracks here, all wearing boots … then these scattered around, they’re in soft shoes, and this one maybe even barefooted.”
“Holy shit, they’re on the run!” Brad gasped.
“Yeah, looks like they took off from the cabin in a straight line, headed east. These others must have been trailing, far behind I’d imagine or we’d see battle signs.”
“Do we follow them?” Brad asked.
“Yeah, but I want to check out the cabin first. Spread out, give me some distance,” Sean said as he slung the rifle over his shoulder and drew his pistol.
Sean kept a direct line headed towards the cabin, and Brad moved off far to his right. They walked straight until Sean was within fifty meters of the cabin’s wall. Then Brad pin wheeled, allowing himself to cut the corner of the building far off while Sean stayed concealed. As Brad moved forward and to the right, he began to see the right side of the cabin. One of the shutters had been cut away and removed. The inside window glass was broken and the curtain blew in the breeze.