Life After

by Anderson, Jordan W.

  Gordon was becoming desensitized to it in his waking hours but the night before his dreams were plagued by the last words of the women in the group. “I hope God never forgives you for this!” Gordon wasn’t sure he was worthy of forgiveness if there indeed was a God. He didn’t pull the trigger himself, but he certainly didn’t do anything to stop it from happening. When they had to gun someone down in the past to get provisions there was usually a fight, maybe some gunplay back and forth before they ultimately came out victorious, but this time was different. They plead for their lives profusely. They cried and wailed and moaned horrific sounds that sent shivers down Gordon’s spine. This wasn’t survival this was brutality. These people didn’t have a single thing in their possession with which to defend themselves. The only items they had found within the bus were clothes and cooking utensils. Though Gordon ached to protest this violent act, his fear for his own life outweighed it.

  They pulled off the exit and returned to the truck stop they had visited the day before. They had left the rear bay of each plundered trailer open and picked up right where they left off. Gordon and Ricky worked together using a large pair of bolt cutters to pop the locks on the back of each. Some of them were made of such hardened steel it too both of them to get it open. The men had gone through three more trailers with very little success, two of them empty and one filled with pool equipment, when Marcus spoke up. “Hey fellas, wasn’t there another truck here yesterday?” Marcus was pointing with the AK 47 toward a vacant spot between a White Kenworth and an older red Mack Truck.

  Snake and his gunman, a man everyone called Boomer went to investigate. “Somebody wasted a bunch of gnashers over here man!” Snake said in his gravelly voice. The man sounded like he had smoked 2 pack a day since he was three years old but Gordon had never seen him light up a single time. They all made their way over to the other side of the last row of trucks and found that snake was not exaggerating. There were dead zombies everywhere. Even with the dew and the last nights rain it was easy to make out a blood trail heading away where it appeared someone coming from the vacant spot had dragged several of them across the parking lot shaving them away like whiskers on a chin. It must have been pretty fresh. Upon a quick evaluation Ricky knew they had to eliminate this threat. Furthermore whatever was in this truck may have been worth something. “Let’s go!” was all he had to say and the rest of them knew they were going on a hunt.

  They took off in a hurry and it didn’t take them long before they saw the rig parked outside of a gas station the rear hatch was opened and three figures scrambled to get back inside. One was a decent sized man with brown hair, a young woman and another man dressed in marine fatigues. Marcus leaned out the window and began to fire at them. Somehow, despite marine seemingly having a bum leg, they all got inside and got mobile unharmed. They chased them and fired for a bit then the truck made a violent turn. Gordon started to give chase but then he heard Ricky’s voice come on the radio. “I know where that road comes out follow me.” He said. Gordon did as he was told and they continued on. Ricky led them to the other end of the road and they travelled all the way down it but saw nothing of the truck. Ricky came back on the radio “None of you say anything about this to B.D. Not one fucking word you hear me, or its your ass.” The others agreed.

  CHAPTER 11

  The Smithville Municipal Airport was one of the smallest any of them had ever seen with only a single narrow strip of tarmac. Its security consisted of little more than a wire fence which was easily plowed down by the powerful large truck. The place was so desolate there wasn’t even a single member of the living dead to be seen for at least two acres in any direction.

  As if it were placed there in preparation for their arrival a small green and white single prop airplane sat parked in open view. “Yes! It’s a Cessna 172 Life !” Anika squealed as she jumped out of the truck and ran over to inspect the small plane. Dan and Will soon followed. To Will, it nearly felt like a trap someone had set for them. Almost like it was too good to be true, but there she sat. Anika was already doing her preflight checklist. Starting with the cabin she checked the switches, then moved to checking for freedom of movement in the rudder and wing flaps. She called it out to herself as she completed each task. “Remove rudder gust lock…Check! Disconnect Tie downs… Check! Main Wheel tire full fuel level… Check!” Dan and Will stared in slack jawed amazement as the girl went through an entire preflight checklist from memory. When she was finished she turned to them and with a coy smile said “I told you I knew what I was doing.” Dan smiled back saying “I never doubted you for one second.” “Sure.” She replied and gave him a wink.

  “You boy’s ready to fly?!” asked Anika. Will grimaced in pain and gave thumbs up as he started toward the open plane door. “Hold on a minute, what about the truck?” Dan asked. “Shouldn’t we hide it or something?” Will stopped and turned back to study the large vehicle, its trailer still only halfway rolled over the crushed fence. “Well we certainly didn’t hide how we came in very well…Shit, put it in one of the hangars… at least it will be out of view.” He suggested. “That’s what I was thinking.” Dan agreed, and he climbed back into the truck and pulled it around while Will and Anna ran over to the first of two large airplane hangars. They worked together pulling on the large sliding door whose bearings were rusted from years of neglect. It made an awful piercing metallic squeal as it opened. Dan turned on the trucks headlights to illuminate the dark interior once they had opened it wide enough for the truck to pass through. One zombie staggered toward the light from the far recesses of the hangar. There were a few more planes inside, mostly small private jets, but there was plenty of room. Once the entirety of the rig was concealed Dan climbed out and helped the others close the squealing door. “It’s not much but it’s better than nothing.” Dan said as they walked back to the small four seat aircraft. Will shook his head in agreement. “What about that thing in there?” Anika asked. ”He’ll look after it for us” Dan replied.

  Once they were all inside Anika began ferociously flipping switches and checking gauges. Dan sat beside her in the front and Will took the back seat behind Anika. “Dang girl, you certainly know how to make it look like you know what you are doing.” Will quipped. Suddenly the engine sputtered then buzzed to life, the prop spinning and they began to move onto the runway. “Ye of little faith.” Anika said under her breath. The small engine was loud in the cockpit and they all put on the noise cancelling headsets with microphones that were already hooked up inside the plane. Anika better positioned the plane to go straight down the runway and gave it all the throttle she could. The aircraft began picking up speed more quickly that either Dan or Will expected. Anika looked down and saw Dan’s knuckles going white as he gripped his seat and looked out the windshield. She chuckled as they became aloft and began to climb high into the Tennessee sky. Dan shot her a piercing look and this just made her laugh harder. “What is so damn funny?” he asked her. “It’s not as much fun being the damsel is it?” she asked with a coy smile. Dan scowled at her then turned to look out of the opposite window.

  From the ground it looked bad but he had no idea how desolate the land would appear from the air. In a field just beyond a patch of woods he could see what he estimated to be more than one hundred ghouls. He could tell they were not living people simply by the way they moved. It was almost rhythmic. They swayed from side to side, trudging to the west. Why did they all want to go the same direction? What was driving them for this bloodlust? How did this…virus come to be? Dan had many questions that would have to remain unanswered. That really bothered him. He had always had a yearning to understand.

  Will was talking to Anika about plotting a course. She wanted to at least fly over Nashville but he urged her no to do so claiming it was a hundred times worse that the hell she had already seen so far. Dan just sat and listened to them for the moment. It was crazy, but this was the safest he had felt since the last night in his cabin and he was up in the air in a rickety,
old, unproven plane. Will continued telling Anika about the horrors he had seen in the city until he had finally convinced her they needed to head north. She was not happy about it but she agreed. She jerked the yoke and banked the plane hard throwing the unbuckled Will all over the plane. “What the fuck was that shit!” he yelled.” Anika smiled coyly. “Just heading North.” She said. “By the way you better buckle up in case we hit any turbulence.” Dan was shocked by the sudden movement too but he was laughing now. “Let me guess, keep my tray table in an upright position?” Will retorted. Now both Dan and Anika were laughing and Will fought to not cracks a smile.

  They didn’t have any maps, so they figured the best thing to do was follow the interstate. 40 would turn into 81 eventually and they would either find an airport by the highway or land on the highway when they started getting low on fuel. That was Will’s suggestion as he recalled from school that when the interstate highway system was built it was mandated by Eisenhower that one out of every five miles must be straight for emergency aircraft landings.

  Just then they heard it. It was a loud metallic thud. Then the engine began to sputter and the plane shook violently and suddenly it went silent. “Shit Shit Shit!” Anika yelled as she tried over and over to get the plane’s engine to restart. She was getting nothing. “Is there anything I can do to help?” Dan excitedly asked. “Yeah what do we do?” Will screamed. “Just shut up!” Anika screamed back at them. She could see the highway but the portion she had on which to land had a few abandoned cars in the way. She scanned to both sides of the highway. One side I very hilly field, that wouldn’t work. The other a strip mall but the lot was full of cars. It was even worse than the highway. She grabbed the radio and turned it on screaming into it. " MAYDAY MAYDAY, HIGHWAY FORTY NEAR MILE MARKER 75 EMERGENCY LANDING!"

  She had to try to make this highway landing work. If she timed it just right she may be able to get the aircraft to stop before they hit the mid-90s Astro van that was sitting cockeyed in the passing lane. She pulled up on the stick pointing the nose of the plane skyward to slow her airspeed as they descended. Dan prayed and silent prayer and closed his eyes. Will had placed his head between his knees leaning forward. Her timing in dropping the nose had to be precise. Then once she had gone wheels down, she had to hope the old brakes on this plane were good. Black smoke was now bellowing from the front of the plane and obstructing her view.

  Judging the height the best she could by eye she tilted the nose down but then quickly realized they were still going too fast but they were too low to back out of the landing now. She touched down the wheels with a violent thud and engaged the brakes. The strong landing snapped off the left wheel and one side of the aircraft violently slammed and skidded against the asphalt. There was little control to be had now as they began turning sideways. The wing now caught in the soft earth of the highway median snapped off as well as they began to roll. The plane was almost upside down when they slammed into the Astro Van finally coming to a complete stop.

  The world felt like a dream to Dan for a few moments. The three of them hung upside down inside the wreckage. Will and Anika were both unconscious. Dan could see little drops of blood dripping from the tendrils of Anika’s hair. Will had taken a knock on the head but no blood. Dan struggled to undo his belt bracing himself with his hands when it finally gave way. He awkwardly turned himself upright and tended to Anika. Thankfully it was only her lip that was bleeding. She must have bitten it when they landed. He supported her weight on his shoulder and undid her belt as well sitting her in a more upright position .He followed the same steps with Will.

  Dan tried the latch to the door it opened, but was pinned against the ground at one corner. The other door was smashed against the Van and there was no way to get out there. Dan kicked at the door with all the power he could muster but it was only sliding a little bit. Smoke still bellowed from the front of the plane and Dan was worried they may catch on fire soon. He could smell the fuel in the air and he was beginning to get light headed from the fumes. Just as he was about to give another powerful kick the door screeched open a little bit more all by itself. Dan began to see knarled digits curl around every corner of the door pulling on it. He grabbed for the pistol on Annika’s side but the fumes.. he couldn’t fire the gun or they would ignite. He slid his hunting knife out of his pocket and readied himself for a fight but the fumes over took him and he felt everything slowly fading to black as the knife fell by his side.

  CHAPTER 12

  He had a deep sourness in his stomach. His pulse quickened and he could feel his heart beating hard in his chest. Gordon was really feeling the pressure of keeping a secret from B.D. If he found out they had let someone slip away Gordon wasn’t sure what he might do. This anxiety was bothering him badly as they pulled back in near the bus. His palms were getting sweaty and he felt a dry lump in his swallow. They all got out of their vehicles and began unloading the small bounty of the day they had acquired after going back to the truck stop and pillaging the remaining trucks. It was mainly canned food from inside the station itself. But also a couple bottles of bourbon found in the cabs of the remaining rigs.

  B.D. Came out and watched them load the loot into the RV. He walked over to Gordon and slapped him on the back asking “How did it go today?” in his normal gravelly tone while smiling and showing his shiny gold tooth. “Good sir” Gordon replied nervously staring at B.D’s mouth. “You know how I got that gold tooth?” B.D. asked him. Gordon shook his head no. “When I was about your age Gordy, I was shooting pool in this bar in Columbia South Carolina and this fine looking colored girl was sitting at the very end. Doris, I believe she told me her name was. You see back then I was riding with the Devils so I had a few of the boys with me . This bitch was stacked man and I just couldn’t take my eyes off her. She kept looking back at me blowing me kisses and shit, so I went over there and we started sucking face. Man it was fucking sloppy. Then the next thing I know I feel a tug on the back of my cut and some big fucking football nigger punches me in the mouth. His championship ring knocked out my tooth. Well me and the boys didn’t like that very much. We took him out back and made sure he didn’t run for any more touchdowns. I took that ring and had it melted down to make this tooth.”

  Gordon stared back at him, jaw agape and an obvious fear in his eyes staring for a moment then they both heard it. It started a faint buzzing but grew louder until they recognized it the roaring engine of a small plane. B.D. didn’t hesitate. He ran straight into the bus and grabbed the scoped rifle. Using the metal ladder on the back he climbed hurriedly on top of the bus and took aim at the approaching aircraft. It seemed to be following the highway and heading right for them. He sighted in the area where he estimated the engine to be, accounted a little for the speed of the plane and wind, then with an exhaling breath pulled the trigger. The engine sputtered a bit but soon the sound was gone entirely. The small plane silently glided over top of them and continued past and up the highway in a descent. “Let’s go boys!” He yelled down to Gordon and the rest as they all dropped what they were unloading, climbed in their vehicles and went tearing off in the direction of the plane. This time B.D. came along. He rode in the back seat of Gordon’s red Honda as they weaved through the abandoned traffic.

  They were not able to keep up with the aircraft and it had gotten out of their sight but it had been still following the highway so they stayed the course. Soon they could see the plumes of black smoke billowing into the sky in the distance. They weaved in and out of the abandoned vehicles quickly, narrowly missing them. Being as Gordons was the most nimble, he led the pack.

  When they finally arrived they were met by a surprised. The dead were everywhere. There must have been a hundred of them all around the wreckage. B.D. Reached up from the back seat and grabbed the radio screaming. “Put these fuckers out of their misery I want what’s on that plane!” The men unleased a hail of gunfire. Once this started, the creatures attention changed from the plane to them. Most began to shuffle
toward the firing squad but a few stayed near the plane. Bodies fell everywhere. One zombie caught a bullet from Ricky’s pistol to the temple and half its skull went flying into another zombie which Snake and Marcus gunned down in tandem. Another fell back against the plane and slid down the hot fuselage leaving a streak of fried bile. The noise attracted more from nearby and continued to kill them until they were out of bullets. Then they started with knives, machetes and hatchets and kept slaughtering until there was a clear path to the plane’s semi opened door.

  Marcus and Snake worked together pulling the door the rest of the way open while the rest kept the creatures at bay. Snake, being the wirier one of the two, took a deep breath and climbed inside. He first pulled out a girl with dark hair. Marcus laid her in the bed of Ricky’s truck. Then out came a barrel chested young man and finally a man in military fatigues. Gordon recognized them instantly. How had they gotten away? Where did they get a plane? He began to hyperventilate but noticed B.D. staring and quickly composed himself. The creatures were all but dispatched now so Gordon helped load the rest of the belongings into the truck. They didn’t have much. “Shit B.D. We did all that work for nothing!” yelled Snake. “It ain’t for nothing.” B.D. said “Now lets get back to the bus!” They all got back in their respective vehicles and took off to the south. Gordon saw the plane finally catch fire in his rear view mirror as they got nearly out of eyesight. A large fireball illuminated the sky for a moment then it was gone. He thought to himself that perhaps these people would have been better off if they had left them in that plane. If they were left to unconsciously burn. Now that B.D. had them as prisoners he feared their end would be much crueler.