Ian witnessed that the Wasteling was much more massive than when they had last met. Doubled over from the weight of the new appendages it had fused with, the Wasteling was now mountainous. It had three extra arms and two more legs towering beneath it.
“How can it withstand all of that weight?” Ian wondered curiously as he slowly began backing up.
As the Wasteling fiercely stood up, it let out a deafening roar, loud enough to break several glass windows down the strip of the old buildings. The monster fell back to the ground and used its extra legs and arms to crawl like an arachnid towards Ian and the unsuspecting others in the van. The Wastelings massive body swayed under the weight of its torso, swinging back and forth. The mere sight of it was a total abomination that would give even the faintest of heart nightmares. Ian’s skin broke out with tiny bumps all over and the rhythm of his heart sped up again.
“Start the van!” Ian yelled at Sam, who had no idea what was happening. Ian heard the van turn over as he ran back to his car side door. He fumbled with the handle for a second and jumped in as fast as he could.
“Drive!” He barked loudly. Sam slammed on the gas pedal hard as they flew forward. Ian looked back through the van’s rearview window, watching for the Wasteling to catch up. Seeing Ian’s quick pace made Jamie curious as to what the commotion was about. He turned around, furrowing his eyebrows and let out a yell.
“What is that?” the boy cried petrified. He was hastily trying to take his seat belt off to get a better look.
“Sit down!” Charlotte and Ian shouted at Jamie simultaneously. Both gave him a perturbed glare immediately.
Sam floored the gas and the van shot forward, fleeting towards the opening of the crowded parking lot. The Wasteling was closely tailing the back of the van, reaching for the bumper by extending several hands in the hopes of grabbing it. Ian quickly reached down below his seat. He was looking for his duffel bag. He’d hidden his shot gun inside it. As he removed it and speedily loaded four rounds in the chamber, Ian rolled down the window next to him. In the side mirror, he could see the monster grabbing for the back bumper. Ian quickly jumped out of his seat, knocking his head hard on the roof of the van.
“Ouch!” He yelled as he touched his head and rubbed it softly.
Wasting no more time, Ian leaned out of the window, clutching the gun to his side firmly. He pulled the heavy shotgun up close to his eye and aimed at the Wasteling, pulling the trigger just as Sam hit a large pothole that nearly sent him flying out of the van. Ian gave Sam a very pissed off look, half closing one eye and cocking his head.
“I know that she probably didn’t mean to but, now is not the time for mistakes.” He thought prudently.
“Steady Sam!” He ordered with a bit of sternness in his voice.
Leaning out once more, Ian re-aimed the shotgun; searching down his sight to shoot the creature in the head. Pulling the trigger, Ian watched as the Wasteling caught the bullet in one of its blocky shoulders, barely causing him to flinch. Ian readied his gun for a second shot and again aimed down his sights. This time, he hit the monstrosity on the side of its face, ripping away one of its many eyeballs. The monster wailed deeply and completely stopped running all together. It was frantically clutching at its wound as it fell to the ground twitching uncontrollably. Ian watched as the Wasteling shot an infuriated glare towards Ian.
“Is he coming back?” Sam cried from the cab of the truck.
Ian jumped back into the van with a light thump and stowed his shotgun back in his bag. He donned a look of happiness and satisfaction across his grinning face.
“No, I think we can make our getaway now. He won’t be following us anytime soon. I’m pretty sure he will be down for a bit.”
“How did that thing find us?” Sam asked Charlotte, trying to make Ian forget to mention her little accident. “After all, that is what it was, an accident.” She thought.
“I don’t know,” Charlotte lied. She squeezed her hands together tightly, cutting off most of their circulation; her cheeks filled with red and she turned away from them as she spoke.
“I’m not sure how he found us. Our scent should have been masked in the tunnels.” Charlotte replied nervously.
“One thing is for sure, we have to get out of here.” Ian jumped in to say, cutting off Charlotte’s words.
He’s going to be extremely pissed when he recovers from that. He’s following us… And we need to put as many miles between us and that thing, as we possibly can.” Ian said through bated breath. It’d been so long since he had to run like that. He was using muscles that hadn’t been activated in over a year, so his body burned and ached with every movement. Ian lightly massaged the top of his leg and left arm, trying to take some of the swelling down.
The van sped on hazardously through the city. At this point, there was no need to cover their tracks, but only if they could make it out of the city fast enough. They sped on through, noticing all of the abandoned cars and trucks and even the occasional tanker lying in the middle of roadways and traffic lights. There was, or rather used to be, a strong military force in the city. To Ian, it just reminded him of his captors.
“It’s undoubtedly because of the CDC being stationed here.” Ian stated.
They seemed to have control over all of the military. Which, as Ian came to think about it, “Weren’t they gunning down innocent people when this all started? Had the CDC been behind the entire event?” Ian allowed several thoughts to rush over his mind. So many pieces to the puzzle just weren’t fitting anymore. He wasn’t sure if it was the lack of pain killers or because he was already drained, but he couldn’t concentrate. It was the start of the day and he’d already worn himself out. Whatever the CDC doctors and scientist did or didn’t take from him was causing him to be half the man he used to be. Ian could barely make it through the day without setting down for a few hours to rest. Whatever it was, Ian hoped he would get back to normal soon.
“The group can’t stand to be weak like this. I’m their strongest link. Without me, they don’t stand a fighting chance.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The “NOW LEAVING ATLANTA, GEORGIA” sign soon came into view and the group settled into their seats comfortably. Leaving the state behind allowed them to rest easy. They were finally able to abandon some of the darkest times in their lives. Not a single person in the car looked back, except for Jamie. He was looking for his mother. Someone, he would never see again.
A tear fell down his languished face and onto his shirt collar. He didn’t even have to ask the grownups what had happened to his dear mother. He was old enough now to understand. He held onto Charlotte’s waist tight, burying his face into her chest while letting the tears flow. He let out a series of muffled sobs and clinched her shirt within his fist tightly. He knew his life would never be the same again, the only person in his life that truly understood him, was gone.
“I’ll never forget you. I love you.” He thought grief-stricken.
“She was the most important thing in my life. She taught me everything I know about morals and how to uphold my own integrity.” His heart felt so heavy.
“I might never be whole again.” Jamie worried as he laid silent, allowing Charlotte to stroke his hair gently. It was actually helping him to calm his nerves. Slowly, he accepted things for what they were. It didn’t take long before Charlotte lulled him to sleep as she hummed delicately under her breath.
Outside the van, it began to rain subtly as the sun tucked away behind fast moving, gray clouds. The water rapidly began to rise within the streets, forcing Sam to slow down.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Sam drove on through the murky and desolate night. The rain had finally let up, but left a thick fog in its wake. Sam still felt it was a good idea to be mindful of any obstacles that could be floating around from the flooding. There were too many abandoned vehicles and trailers in the roadways for her to drive over 50mph.
“I wish that I could see better than this. Damn fog is
not helping!” She scorned.
Sam constantly checked the gas gauge in the dash before her. She was afraid of running out and not having a backup plan. She continually checked for gas stations along the way, the closer she got towards their destination. Eventually, they did pass a few stations along the way.
Outside of the vehicle, unbeknownst to the rest of the group, was a modest leak in the radiator. The liquid inside was trickling out freely, glazing the road with coolant as Sam drove on. Once it drained the radiator completely, the car would overheat and the real trouble would begin.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The esurient and ravenous undead were finally out of view, far behind the large old and abandoned buildings. An odd silence filled his ears as Jeremy sat down to take a brief respite. His fatigued body ached as he bent down and sat on the concrete curb of the sidewalk beneath his feet. He needed to take a look at his caustic, throbbing shoulder. It hurt like hell and was still bleeding profusely. He had blood streaming down his shirt and jeans, so much so that his feet were squishing in his shoes.
“They’re gonna smell this if I don’t do something about it,” he thought uneasily. Jeremy tried to cover the arduous wound with a piece of his shirt he’d ripped off, but it was no use.
“I can’t concentrate. I need to get off of the streets.” Jeremy decided as he quickened his step. He’d finally started shaking from the deprivation of blood he’d been experiencing. His face gradually turned to a very pale shade and dark purple circles were visible underneath his tired eyes.
“I’ve got to get my arm cleaned up. If I don’t, then I’ll die of one of two things… bleeding out or a horrible infection.” That was all that Jeremy needed for motivation.
Neither was the way he wanted to go. So, Jeremy kept a watchful eye for a drug store or any store that carried medical supplies. He pushed himself to continue, basically dragging his feet in the process.
Soon enough, Jeremy came to a small white Pharmaceutical building. It had a few potted plants out front that had long ago died from water deprivation. A quant sign that read, “Children left unattended, will be sold to the circus,” was visible on the front double glass doors.
As Jeremy walked closer to the building, he could see that it had been pillaged by the looks of the outside. The windows were busted and the door broken in. He could even see prescription bottles lying precariously at the front doors. Jeremy presumed that the alarm had gone quiet long ago because no sounds were coming from within.
Jeremy sauntered inside slowly. Immediately, he could see a huge mess had been made of the store.
“There are other survivors. Or at least, there were.” Jeremy thought detached from what he was seeing.
Peering around the dark entrance, Jeremy could see that many of the shelves had been knocked over, strewing boxes of medicine and supplies across the floor. The place was completely ran-sacked from top to bottom. He’d hoped he would find the right items he needed to fix himself up. But, now he couldn’t be so sure. Jeremy couldn’t go on much longer in his condition; he was losing a large amount of blood and fading fast.
He placed a sweaty hand to his forehead, gripping the sides of it firmly. He massaged the two areas next to his temple that were aggravating him with an annoying, persistent pain. The heat radiated from his skin, warming his hand rapidly and causing him to break out into a gravid sweat all over his body. Jeremy knew he would pass out soon from lack of blood. His face had no color at all, and his head was beginning to spin. He doubled over as he suddenly felt woozy. It took a moment for Jeremy to compose himself as he reached for one of the overturned shelves and pulled himself back upright.
After several minutes of endlessly searching, Jeremy found the supplies that he was looking for. All that he needed now was a pair of scissors. He had to cut the gauze to fit his wound.
Jeremy narrowed his eyes, trying to focus in the low lit room. He rummaged through an old desk he had found near one of the registers. He had come across an old pair sitting just inside. Jeremy quickly snatched them up and headed to the back of the store looking for the restroom.
He scanned the room and saw a small wooden sign painted with the word, “RESTROOM” hanging over two doorways. One painted blue for men the other pink for women.
“I don’t really care which one I use at this point.” Jeremy thought angrily as he shambled over to the blue door. It was only natural that he chose blue anyway.
Turning the metal door knob, Jeremy walked inside without hesitation. The light coming from the window was the only thing illuminating the small space. But, it was ample light for Jeremy to clean and dress his wound. He hastily threw all of the supplies he’d need onto the granite counter top. He sorted out what he would use first, alcohol and gauze.
Jeremy then took off his shirt revealing a deep bullet hole through his shoulder.
“Looks like it went straight through. Should heal fine once I clean it.” Jeremy groaned.
Closer examination revealed that the outside of the wound had already become red and swollen.
“There must be a piece that broke off.” Jeremy sighed with disappointment crossing his dirty face.
Gently pressing on the wound, Jeremy saw copious amounts of blood spill out of the bullet hole. He snagged a bottle of water and poured enough to clean the blood away from the gunshot. Jeremy then grabbed the alcohol and doused his shoulder without looking. He fought back, trying not to let out the anguish he felt.
Gritting his teeth, Jeremy howled as the alcohol quickly absorbed inside the bullet hole, burning him accordingly. He no longer cared about the undead outside.
“Let them come. I don’t care.” He croaked through bated breath.
Taking in deep, rooted breath, Jeremy grabbed the tweezers he’d found on aisle nine and slowly stuck them inside the wound. He probed inside it, trying to come across the small fragment of the bullet. More blood gushed out of the wound and Jeremy winced exhaustedly. The pain was almost too much for him to bear. He weakly soaked up the claret, flowing blood and tossed the gauze to the floor.
“If I don’t get it now, I’ll regret it later.” He thought as his emotions fought to take over.
Once he brushed the tweezers over the bullet, Jeremy could feel the foreign object at its exact location. He let out another growl and pressed the tweezers down harder, precisely placing them over the fragment. Jeremy squeezed the object tightly and carefully pulled it out.
Jeremy let out a sigh of relief. He had been holding his breath the entire time. He was more than happy to be done with doctoring himself; he nearly passed out before he even got the bullet. He was lucky to have made through it at all.
Jeremy took a moment and pressed a rag on the wound to try and stop the bleeding. He pre-cut the gauze to size before starting so he didn’t have to fool with it afterward. He knew he’d be aching later. Jeremy grabbed the gauze and tape and finished up the job. He made sure to securely bind the wound as best he could. His hands were shaking tremendously.
Jeremy double-checked his dressing. He didn’t want the infection getting in from one of the undead’s blood.
“I still don’t know what causes the turn. But, I’ll be damned if a piece of tape and gauze not being secure causes me to turn into one of them.” He stated as he gathered the bloody gauze and threw it into a nearby toilet.
Having cleaned himself up, Jeremy was ready to look for sustenance. He’d lost a large quantity of blood and needed something with sugar to make him feel better. Chocolate was always best. But, he would take what he could find. Jeremy decided he would look through the piles of products on the floor and between the aisles.
A small can of Vienna Sausages came into view. Jeremy fell to the ground busting his knees on the linoleum as he went. He was starving and couldn’t believe his luck. He grabbed the can with shaking hands and pulled the tab popping it open impatiently.
He didn’t waste time in looking for a fork, he stuck his index finger and thumb into the can, pulling out a smal
l cylindrical and meaty sausage. He rammed it into his mouth and barely chewed it for a moment before swallowing. He repeated the process over and over until the can was empty. It barely made a dent in the raging hunger coming from his stomach.
He continued the search for more food. Eventually, he found one more can of sausages. After he was done eating, Jeremy felt much better. His hands had steadied, and he no longer felt dizzy. He knew he needed rest, though. So, he decided he would lock the door to the bathroom and sleep on the floor. Even if it was harder than rock. As he walked down to the back of the store, he noticed an office.
“Maybe it has a much softer floor than the bathroom?” He wondered.
Jeremy opened the door to the office, and immediately the rancid smell of death reached his nostrils. Jeremy slammed the door shut immediately. He hadn’t smelled it like this before.
“The door must have sealed it in pretty good.” He guessed as he opened it once more and slowly walked in. He quickly covered his mouth and nose before traveling further inside the room.
A dead silence surrounded him as he peered about the dark office. Jeremy could see the usual furniture; lamps, leather chairs and bookshelves. He traced the wall with his brown eyes, looking at the framed pictures situated across from him. He walked towards them, staring at the man in the photos.
He was standing next to a much newer version of the pharmacy. The man was considerably shorter than Jeremy. His mousy brown hair was cut just above his ears and slicked back. Jeremy thought he sensed something hidden behind the man’s lucrative smile.
“Must be the owner,” He stated as he shifted his curious eyes to the next photo.
This time, a woman was next to the man. Her arm was firmly wrapped around his shoulder, grinning from ear to ear. Her radiant red locks were flowing down her front chest and she was wearing a sumptuous, long blue dress. She seemed quite pleased with the man next to her. At the bottom of the photo, Jeremy noticed something scribbled in small letters down at the bottom of the picture.
Scarlet Memories (Book 2): Metamorphosis Page 10