Age of Decay (Book 1): Contagion

by Brian Lamacraft

  “We owe your group our lives. For that, I’m thankful.”

  Erica dug into her meal. “This is good.”

  “Yes, it is. Just don’t tell my wife that.”

  The lights flickered again. “Maybe I should take some hot food out to Ian. Poor guy needs to eat.”

  George stood up. “Good idea. I hate to see him with a cold plate. Might make those things seems like pussycats in comparison. Well, I’m off to bed.”

  Erica laughed. “Okay. Have a good sleep.”

  George peered out into the black. “Not bloody likely.”

  ***

  Trevor walked into the master bedroom and walked around. He stopped by the dresser and picked up a package of cigarettes that sat there. I haven’t smoked in years, but damn it, now is bloody good time to start. He picked up the lighter next to the package and light one up. He took a long drag and stood there looking out the window. He put the lighter in his pocket.

  Lauren came into the room. “Smoking? I thought you said you would never start again. Those things will kill you.”

  Trevor laughed. “I think I’ll take my chances.” He looked out the window again. “Out there, I’ll die a lot faster.”

  “You need rest. Go to bed.”

  “No, I have guard duty.”

  Lauren came over and put her arms around him. “No, you need to rest. You’re no good to us if you’re tired all the time. We need you. I need you.”

  “Hon, let me go I have responsibilities. I—”

  “No, damn it, you’re getting some sleep. Now get in bed, and stop being a pain in the ass.”

  “Can I at least shower first?”

  Lauren folder her arms. “Okay, fine, but right to bed after.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Funny.”

  Trevor went into the bathroom of the master bedroom. The room was long with a nice marble sink and a shower with a sliding glass door. He peeled off his dirty clothing and ran some hot water in the sink. The dried blood and grime flowed off his hands into the sink. He brought a washcloth around his neck, then looked at himself in the mirror. You’re a wreck, get it together Trevor. These people need you. Can’t slack off or more people will die, just like Bill. Remember? He ran the hot water for the shower and stepped in. It felt good flowing over his back. He didn’t have the energy to wash, so he stood there. He didn’t see the door open or Lauren come into the bathroom. The door slid open, and she stepped in with him.

  “Thought you might like some company.”

  Trevor turned around and out his hands around his wife’s waist. “I do. I always do when it comes to you. Don’t know how I would have survived all these years without you.”

  She brushed his wet hair back. “I’m sorry about the way I acted today. I just got so scared, for all of us. Not knowing who will be next is too much to take.”

  He pulled her closer. “No one else is gonna die.”

  “Wish I could believe you.”

  “All you need to believe now, is that I love you. In all this madness, we still have that. We will always have that.” He lifted her up into his arms and she wrapped her legs around him.

  “Let’s forget about everything.” She opened her legs and he entered her, pulling her as close as possible as the water pounded down upon them.

  “We will.”

  For a few moments, they did.

  Trevor woke up with the warm sun beaming into the room. He stretched his arms as he sat up. What time is it? I should be outside on patrol. He tried to switch on the light on the stand, but it wouldn’t turn on. Must have gone out during the night. He quickly got dressed and went into the kitchen.

  “I hope you like cold sandwiches and soup for breakfast,” said Erica.

  Ian sipped from a mug. “Made hot water on the wood stove downstairs for some tea.”

  Trevor rubbed his neck. “That will be fine. Why did you let me sleep so long? I should be on patrol by now.”

  “You were dead tired, lad. We took your shift. Your boy and Donald are out there now.”

  “You didn’t have to do that.”

  Erica tilted her mug up and drained her tea. “It’s okay, we don’t mind. It does seem you’re smiling more this morning though.”

  “Yeah, I guess I am. Anything happen in the night?”

  “A few passed by, lad,” said Ian. He shifted the axe in his hand. “Nothing an axe couldn’t take care of. Haven’t seen any real threats yet, but don’t know how long that will last. Good thing it’s kind of deserted out here in these farms.”

  “Well, we’re going to leave tomorrow in any case. Try to find a vehicle and get to Hope.”

  Ian got up and stretched. “Well, I guess we can sleep now.”

  “Sleep would be good,” said Erica. “So quiet out here at night. Kind of gives you the creeps.”

  “Get some sleep. I’ll wake you later on today. Thanks for what you did.”

  “Lad?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Can you wake me when this is all over, just let me sleep.”

  “That might be a long time, friend.”

  “Aye. I’m willing to sleep that long.”

  ***

  Trevor found his wife and Samantha talking outside. It looked to be a good day, the warm late spring sun making it pleasant, if it wasn’t for the threat that was out there, waiting for them.

  “Sleep well, hon?” Lauren said.

  “Yeah, like a baby.”

  “How are you, Sam? Do you mind me calling you that?”

  “No, it’s okay. I feel fine. I miss my parents, but I’ll be alright.”

  “Well, I need to go talk to Jason. Sending him on a mission today.”

  “I don’t like that idea,” said Lauren.

  Trevor out his hand on her shoulder. “He needs more responsibility. He’s good with a rifle, and we need some more supplies for our trip. I would do it myself, but I want to give it to him.”

  “I still don’t like it.”

  “Well, I don’t either, but Donald knows this area well, so he’ll have support out there.”

  “Great, now I get to be a worry wart all day.”

  “Well, to get your mind off of it, you can gather up some portable food to take. See if there’s any clothing we can use. Get Gail and George to help you.”

  Lauren sighed. “Alright.”

  “What do I get to do?”

  “Well, that’s the fun part. You get to help me on guard duty.”

  “That’s boring.”

  “Not if you get some shooting lessons it’s not.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. I want to teach everyone to use a firearm. I guess I’ll start with you.”

  “Cool.”

  Trevor leaned over and kissed his wife. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

  “You be careful, Sam. Listen to what he says.”

  “I will.”

  ***

  Trevor and Samantha went through the field to where Donald and Jason were. The two men were fairly far apart, keeping watch. Trevor called them over.

  “I have a job for the two of you. We discussed it a bit last night, but I want to fill you in more. What I want is for the two of you to scout out the farmhouses nearby. Look for anything you can take that we can use.”

  Samantha smiled as she saw Donald. God, he’s so hot. “Can I go with them?” asked Samantha.

  “No, Sam, I need you here. We can’t all spread out. Besides, you need those shooting lessons.”

  Jason stood there looking at his dad. I’m not good enough to teach her how to shoot? “Why don’t you let me do that?”

  “Because I need you on this mission. I want you to become a leader. God knows I can’t do everything. I have to protect the group here. I want the two of you to get it done. Please just be careful. If you run into them, get the hell out, just come back here.”

  “What is our top priority?’ said Donald.

  “Well, we can use more weapons, but those will probably b
e hard to come by. Try to find any portable food we can carry, medicine, camping gear, that sort of thing. I figure we’ll leave early tomorrow morning. We should be able to avoid most contact with them if we’re lucky. An extra day of rest will do us good.”

  Donald scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, that’s the thing. What if we can’t avoid them?”

  Trevor looked towards the horizon. “You pray.”

  Chapter 22

  Jason and Donald walked through a strawberry field towards the farmhouse. They hadn’t run into any of the dead yet, but that left the two of them with growing uneasiness. The fields of Abbotsford made a great place to hide from the hordes should they encounter any on their journey to find supplies. They were safe for now, away from the major towns.

  It was eerily quiet as Jason took a swig from his canteen. “That farmhouse over there looks like as good as any to check out.”

  Donald stood back up as he shoveled a few June strawberries into his mouth. “Yeah,” he mumbled, as he chewed the sweet berries. “Damn, can’t get better than fresh strawberries can you?”

  Jason slung his shotgun over his shoulder. “Let’s get moving.”

  The two of them made their way across the fields towards the large white farmhouse. It was surrounded by tall trees and a white fence. A recent model SUV sat in the driveway spit and polished, the paint gleaming in the afternoon sun. To the side of the house was a worn-down barn with a tractor in the front of it.

  Jason stopped in his tracks when he noticed the open front door. He brought his shotgun up and kept his finger near the trigger. “Hold here, I’m gonna check this out.” He went around to the front near the SUV, and there he saw it. The thing crawled along on the ground. Its leg was chewed off, and it left a trail of gore on the pavement. It turned its head to hiss at Jason, raising its hand out towards him. The face was mangled with shreds of skin where someone had bitten the helpless creature that was once a fifty-something man. The work overalls and white shirt were stained in blood and grime. The eye socket of the thing was completely pulverized, the jaw and teeth opened and closed in a grisly bloody grin as it crawled towards Jason. He put the shotgun near the head and squeezed the trigger, ending the thing’s life in an instant as it exploded in a spray of pulp.

  Donald came running around to the front of the SUV. “I thought your dad said to avoid them?”

  Jason slung the shotgun back over his shoulder. “You do everything your daddy tells you to do, Donald?”

  “What the fuck is that supposed to mean? There could be more of them. We have to be careful, don’t you think?”

  “Well, since I’m the only one here that can actually use a firearm, I guess you’re stuck with me.”

  “Yeah, I guess I am, lucky me.”

  Jason laughed. “Oh don’t worry, I won’t let ‘em chew on you.” Maybe, Donald, maybe. “Just stay behind me, let’s check out this house.” Jason swung the shotgun left and then right as they entered through the front door. The hallway in front of them was smeared with bloodstains along the walls and floor. It was clear that the thing Jason just killed had made its way outside from some sort of encounter in the house.

  “You think there’s another one inside?” said Donald.

  They passed a staircase and went down the hallway. To the left of them was a doorway leading into another room of the house.

  Jason pointed with his shotgun. “We should check out this room—”

  “Fuck!” screamed Donald.

  The grisly creature that used to be a young woman came out of the doorway. Jason jumped back a bit as Donald wailed behind him in terror. The woman wore a once white dress, the front of it now smeared in blood, most likely they blood of the unfortunate man they had found in the driveway. She looked to be in her early twenties, perhaps the daughter of the farmer now dead outside. The dress was torn down the left side, exposing the ample left breast—now a pale gray color. Her arm came up as she stumbled forward like a drunk. She gurgled as spit flew from the side of her mouth. It dripped down the side of her chin.

  The well-manicured fingernails came out, reaching for Donald. He stumbled back towards the door, away from it. “Shoot it, just fuckin’ shoot the thing!”

  Jason raised the shotgun, and the back of her head exploded in a spray against the wall, adding to the gore already there.

  “Fucking Christ, just fuck,” said Donald as he doubled over and vomited. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, still bent over.

  Jason laughed again. “Don’t be such a pussy. Did you see the way her head exploded like that? That was wicked.” Jason loaded two more rounds into the shotgun and slung it back over his shoulder. “Now, let’s see what we can find in this shithole.”

  Donald stood back up and wiped his mouth again. “You’re insane. How the fuck can you do this so casually? She used to be a woman for fuck sake. Do you have any compassion at all?”

  “Compassion? Shit, man. She would have ripped my throat out. You can’t have compassion, not now. I’m a survivor, and it’s about time you were one, too.”

  Jason pointed towards the kitchen. “Go see if there’s any food we can take with us in there.”

  “I don’t have to take orders from you.”

  Jason smiled. “Like I said before, I’m the one with the shotgun. I’ll go and check upstairs. Holler you run into any trouble.”

  “I can take care of myself.”

  “Yeah, sure you can.”

  Jason went up the main stairway to the second floor. He went through to the master bedroom and began looking through things. There wasn’t much there that would be of much use. He found a closet full of work clothes and the typical garments worn by a couple. There was no need for a suit now or a frilly dress. He picked through the clothing then checked the other room He came across a nice woman’s leather jacket. Might just fit Erica. I bet she would like this. He folded the jacked and placed it into his backpack. He peered out the window into the fields and noticed how still and calm it was. It’s a new world, Jason, and you’re going to survive. Fuck guys like Donald. He was hugging Samantha. Just shoot him in the head, he fucking deserves it. Just kill him! Jason thumbed the trigger on the shotgun. It would be so easy. He admired the shotgun. This gives you so much power in a world gone to shit. His mind played games with him. Kill him!

  “Hey.”

  Jason whirled around, levelling the shotgun as Donald stood there.

  Donald stepped back. “Shit, put that thing away!”

  “Never sneak up on me again.”

  “I just came into the room. There’s not a lot down there, some canned goods and some jerky we could take, maybe.” He held up a kerosene lamp. “Plus, I found this in the garage. There’s a stove, too.”

  Jason chuckled. “You get a scout badge for effort.”

  “You know, I don’t understand what you have against me. I’m just tryin’ to help. We need to be a team if we want to survive.”

  “Guys like you won’t survive, friend.” You’re as good as dead. Guys that muscle in on my girl even more so, Donald.

  Donald put the things into his backpack. “No, something’s bothering you, and I don’t know what it is.”

  Jason opened the pack of jerky on the table and took a bite. “Nothing is bothering me. We should move and check out a few more farmhouses before we head back. It will be dark soon.”

  They passed the corpse again in the hallway, the blood smeared over the wall. Donald noticed her dead vacant eyes staring up at the ceiling “I just don’t know how you can do it, all this killing.” Donald winced at the horrific smell coming up from the wreck that used to be a woman. “I’m not like you.”

  Jason went through the front door and stopped, peering out into vast fields in front of them. “Then you’ll die.” He tore off another chunk of the jerky and chewed it slowly in his mouth.

  “You’ll die.”

  Chapter 23

  The man on his knees moaned and spit blood on the floor. He wiped hi
s lips and coughed. Jake drove his heavy boot into the man’s stomach once more.

  “Now... one more time, who are you and why did you come here?”

  “I told you the truth… just trying to escape from them. Made my way up here...”

  “Shoot man, you can’t just come into my town. I own this place.” Jake put his boot on the man’s back and pushed him down. He dug the heel into the small of his back.

  The man began to sob. “Please… haven’t eaten anything since it all began…”

  Vance came over and pulled back roughly on the man’s hair. “You heard the man, he owns Hope. Why are you here? You hidin’ around here with others? Maybe they sent you to scout it out, eh?”

  “I swear I don’t know anything about that. Please, I just want some food. I didn’t come here to scout… don’t even know who you are.”

  “Yeah, shut up for a minute. Say, Vance, I got an idea. Ya know, I never liked the name Hope, it’s just lame. How about we change it to Rawlings? Damn, now why didn’t I think of that before?”

  “Sure, man. I love that idea.”

  Jake put his pistol to the man’s temple. “So why are you here?”

  “I told you before. I was just passing through. Tryin’ to get away.”

  “Okay, I’ll give you that. Got anything we can use?”

  “I don’t have anything on me. I just ran when it all started. Barely got out.”

  “Well, that’s a shame. See, you can’t come through here without having something to offer us.”

  The man coughed again. “I can work. I’ll do anything you ask, please just don’t hurt me.”

  “No, that won’t do. I’m sorry then. I just can’t help you.”

  “What ya want to do with him?” said Vance.

  “Gather the town together, then meet me by the tree.” Jake picked the man off of the floor. “Come on, buddy, I got someone I want you to meet.”

  ***

  Hope was now a shambles of the town it used to be. The Marauders had taken over basically everything. Debris littered the streets along with corpses, which were rotting in the sun and creating a nauseating stench that was hard to escape from. In fact, the smell of death was the new norm. The town was cleared of dead, but the survivors faced the new hell of a motorcycle gang, bent on doing whatever they wanted, with law and order a thing of the past. The survivors of Hope gathered by a large tree with Jake standing in front of it. He held a pistol to the temple of the prisoner, who sat on his knees with his head flopped down, staring at the ground. He shook his head from the violent kick Jake had just given to his ribs. He kicked him again in the stomach, and the man bent over as he vomited. His arms were shackled behind him. The man peered up, his bruised and battered face visible to the crowd. You could barely recognize his left eye, which was now an empty socket as fresh blood seeped from the horrific wound.