Caldera Book 2: Out Of The Fire

by Stallcup, Heath

  “Go to the back bedroom. There’s a big window there you might see out of better.”

  Skeeter got up and started back then paused at the door. The crazy sister was back in the bedroom. She knew this. She also knew that she was supposed to be tied up, but she felt the cold fingers of dread wrap around her guts and twist.

  With a deep breath, she cracked open the door and peeked inside. A large lump in the floor with a blanket over it that must be the sister lay prone, barely moving as the RV bounced and rocked over the rough road and scraped along the parked cars. Skeeter stepped wide around the lump and hopped onto the mattress behind it. She scooted to the window and opened the blinds. The sight out the window caused a lump to form in her throat that she couldn’t force down.

  Skeeter pulled the blinds all the way open and propped the door open. Better to glance back than have to come back into the same room as the zombie sister. Moving back to the front, she took her seat next to Buck and trained her eyes straight ahead.

  “Well? Are they still following us?” Skeeter’s mouth formed a tight line and she simply nodded. Buck chanced a glance at her and shook his head. “What?”

  “There’s a lot more than I woulda thought,” she said quietly.

  “How many?”

  Skeeter turned and stared at him. Buck slowed slightly so he could turn and see her. For the first time, he noticed the streams of tears running down her cheeks. “Lots,” she said as she sucked in air. “Lots.”

  Buck could feel the color drain from his face. He turned back to the road with renewed purpose and pressed the accelerator a little harder. Although he was having enough trouble trying to force this monstrosity through the gauntlet of parked cars, he knew that he had to put some distance between the zombies and themselves, or this trip would end up being a short one.

  “Not too fast, Buck!” Skeeter cried as she reached out to brace herself. “We’re not going to make it.”

  Buck saw what she was referring to as the lights lit up the two large SUVs that were parked half on the road and half off. Of course, the two vehicles that could have parked completely OFF the road, had to be cautious and park nearly IN the road. Buck didn’t need a tape measure to know that they’d never fit through the two giant gas guzzlers. He also knew that, even if he slammed on the brakes, they’d never stop in time.

  “If you can’t stop, go faster!” He mashed the accelerator to the floor and pointed the flat nose of the RV for dead center between the two rear bumpers. “Hang on!”

  They felt the giant coach scrape along the side of a smaller car just before the collision and the two SUVs jumped into the air, their rear bumpers disintegrating in the night. Plastic and steel erupted into an explosive show as the giant coach pushed through, but Buck felt the driver’s side steering jerk to the left and he fought the steering wheel with all of his might to keep the beast on the road and between the parked cars.

  “Oh, shit!” he yelled as the coach continued scraping the cars along the left side of the road, completely ignoring his turning of the wheel.

  Skeeter shrieked as the metal and fiberglass from the coach scraped away along the parked cars, showering the side of the coach in an orange show of sparks. Buck held the accelerator to the floor, trying to put as much distance between their pursuers and the coach before the RV couldn’t go any farther. He could feel the monster slowing as it continued to scrape the parked cars, and he knew that it was only a matter of moments before the beast would roll to a shrieking stop. He turned to look out of the side mirror, but it was gone.

  “Are they still back there?” he yelled above the noise, but Skeeter was too busy having a full-on panic attack to look. “Skeeter!” He stole a glance her way to find her nearly in a fetal position in the passenger seat.

  As the RV rolled to its final resting position, Buck shut off the engine and stepped out from behind the wheel. “We have to get going,” he said as he pulled Skeeter’s arm. She continued to rock back and forth in the chair, her arms covering her face. “Skeeter!” He jerked her from the chair. “It’s run or be eaten!”

  He stepped back to the bed and patted his dad’s leg. “Up and at ’em, big boy,” he barked as he picked up his bag. “We gotta go.”

  Bob shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Oh, yes you are.” Buck reached for his hand.

  Bob pushed him away listlessly. “Buck, I’ve lost too much blood. I can barely keep my eyes open,” he whispered. “I can’t run. I can’t even stand.” Bob forced open his eyes and stared at his son. “You have to go,” he said, a weak smile crossing his lips. “Live for me.”

  Buck shook his head and backed up a step. “No, not like this.”

  “Yes,” Bob replied, his voice barely above a whisper. “Go. Now. While you can. Just shut the door behind you and pray those crazy bastards don’t know how to open it.” He smiled at his son and Buck felt something inside him break. “Save Skeeter. Get help. Send them for Keri,” Bob said as his eyes slowly closed.

  “Dad?” Buck shook his dad’s leg. “Dad, open your eyes.”

  Skeeter came up and placed a shaky hand on his shoulder. “We can stay. Just lock the doors, right?”

  Buck shook his head. “No, he’s right.” He picked up Bob’s bag and handed it to her. Pulling the 9mm from his dad’s waistband, Buck tucked it into his own. “We gotta move. Now!” Buck went to the door and cracked it open. He glanced down the rear of the RV and didn’t see any movement. He pushed the wrecked door open and helped Skeeter down.

  Pulling Skeeter over to the line of cars, the two slipped between the parked cars and began making their way down the line, crouched low and staying below the line of site. It didn’t take long for the screams and sound of feet crunching in the gravel to catch up to their ears, then the pounding on the side of the RV. Buck tried not to think about his dad trapped inside, or the fact that it was his errant shot with the crossbow that left him in the condition he was in.

  He continued to lead Skeeter down the hill and away from the crazed zombies beating on the RV and screaming at the top of their lungs.

  Hatcher stood on the ladder just feet above the three figures below him. He lined up each one with his pistol and easily removed the top of their skull with single shots. As the last one fell to the ground, body twitching in the dirt, he dropped to the roof of the shack and climbed down to the ATV waiting below. As expected, Mitch had left his damaged unit behind.

  Hatcher checked the fuel level and knew he couldn’t go the long way around. He’d simply have to go back the way they came and hope to make it back to the ranger station. He sighed and straddled the ATV. Switching it on, he knew this was one ride he really wasn’t looking forward to.

  Hatcher pulled his radio and keyed it. “Anybody listening out there?”

  He stared into the sky and sighed. He’d already tried the more powerful radio in the tower and received no reply, what did he think would happen with a handheld?

  “If anybody is listening, you need to find your way back to the station. The military are on their way and they won’t be taking prisoners,” he said, his throat tightening. “Does anybody read me?” He waited a moment and tapped the radio against his forehead. “Dammit,” he cursed to himself.

  He turned the wobbly wheeled ATV around and began the trek back down the steep, rocky road. Hatcher let the engine act as a brake as the knobby tires slid through the sharp rocks. When he hit the bottom of the fire road, he turned and accelerated, feeling the shake and wobble as the ATV fought him. Hatcher suddenly realized the extent of Mitch’s strength to be able to handle the warped vehicle and make it appear to be more capable.

  He slowed the vehicle enough to where the vibration was more tolerable and noted that, at the rate he was travelling, the military would most probably be done and left before he made it back. Hatcher gritted his teeth and thumbed the accelerator again. Pushing the vehicle to its limit, he felt his shoulders take the brunt of the shaking as the speed increased.
He crested a small hill and felt the ATV pick up more speed on the downhill side, incredibly, smoothing out the shake as the speed increased.

  Hatcher lowered himself on the machine to decrease the wind resistance, wishing for the first time that the machine was built for speed rather than durability.

  He felt the brisk night air bite at his eyes as he shot across the dirt roads, and the sting of dust and small insects sent cold tears streaming across his face. Keeping the engine revved and his full attention on staying upright, he pushed both himself and the ATV to cover as much ground as possible in as short a time as he could. He was determined to reach the ranger station and a telephone. If nobody would answer the radio when he called for help, perhaps they would answer a direct call.

  Hatcher fought to keep his eyes open as the stinging caused him to squint. He couldn’t be certain, but he thought he saw dark figures sprinting about on either side of him in the darkness of the trees. None had ventured out in front of him, nor made their presence known by screaming loud enough to be heard over the engine’s howl, but he was almost certain they weren’t figments of an overactive imagination.

  He slid the ATV around a sharp curve and nearly flipped the machine, having come up on two wheels, but with a creative application of brakes and then accelerator, he righted the little off-road machine and spun gravel as he shot off in the direction of the station once more. The cold mountain air chilled his face and hands as he pushed both man and machine to their limits and he breathed a slight sigh of relief when he recognized the wide arc of road leading up to the last long hill before the downhill run to the station.

  Hatcher leaned farther across the handlebars and mashed the accelerator wide open, the engine whining in protest as the ATV climbed the hill for home. Daniel knew he didn’t have much farther to go when something darted across the road ahead of him. It was just beyond the reach of the ATV’s headlight, and he nearly released the accelerator due to being startled. Instead, he adjusted his grip and settled lower on the machine. Whatever it was had moved fast, and he didn’t want to make himself any bigger of a target than he had to. It could easily have been one of the many wolves released into Yellowstone from the reintroduction projects, or it could be one of them.

  He crested the long hill and saw the lights below reflecting off the trees, lighting his way home. He pushed the ATV harder, knowing time was of the essence. He could see movement for sure now as the ATV’s light scanned the tree line, slicing its way down the hill toward the station. There were definitely a lot of somethings moving in those trees, but he couldn’t be sure if they were friendly or not.

  Hatcher didn’t release his grip on the accelerator until he was nearly to the ranger station, then he locked up the brakes and slid across the parking area, spraying pea gravel across the other ATV he’d left parked there earlier in the night. For a fleeting moment, he feared he would have to pry his cold, deadened hands from the handlebars, but they released on their own after a second try.

  He staggered to the door of the Visitor’s Center and pushed it open, then pushed past the displays, heading straight for the makeshift office. He pulled his keys by habit, but the door was unlocked. He entered the office and flipped on the lights, checking quickly that it was empty. For a fleeting moment, he half-expected to see Shelly sitting behind the desk, a smart remark ready to shoot from her lips. When that thought crossed his mind, that familiar pain twisted in his midsection.

  Hatcher only allowed himself a moment of guilt before shutting the door and slipping in behind the desk. Lifting the old style rotary phone from the cradle, he listened for a dial tone and began dialing.

  Mitch slowly pulled up the ATV and allowed the figure to come into view. Candy stayed behind him and to his side, so as not to allow him to get into her line of fire. As he got closer, the figure staggered farther into the middle of the road, then turned and faced the two oncoming ATVs.

  Mitch stopped and stood on the pegs, trying to see better, shifting his pistol to his shooting hand. “Hello,” he called out.

  The figure cocked its head to the side and Mitch shook his own head. He’d seen that happen too many times before to not know what happens next. He lifted his pistol to the ready position when the figure waved an arm above its head. “Hey! Over here!”

  Mitch immediately lowered his weapon and squinted into the light. “Are you injured?”

  “Yeah,” the figure called. “I think my arm is broken.”

  Candy pulled up alongside Mitch. “Let’s go give him a hand.”

  Mitch held his hand out to stop her. Turning back to the figure that he couldn’t see, he called again, “Have you been bitten?”

  The figure stopped staggering toward them and paused, again with the head cocked to the side. “Maybe by some bugs. Why?”

  Mitch leaned close to Candy. “Don’t trust him ’til we verify. They can turn quick.” He holstered his pistol and pulled the ATV closer. As the light fell on the figure in the road, he didn’t expect to see what he saw.

  Fisher stood cradling his arm, his upper torso covered in blood. “Where’d that blood come from?” Mitch asked, keeping the ATV back about fifteen feet from him.

  “This crazy naked woman with the biggest…,” he paused when he saw Candy next to him, her brows raised high. “um, biggest, uh, well…,” he stammered.

  “No need, man.” Mitch smiled at him. “We met.”

  Dwayne shot him an embarrassed grin and nodded. “Yeah, well. She and I tussled and this bitch tackled me like I was a little kid, right?”

  “I know the feeling,” Mitch grumbled.

  “So, anyway, we rolled a bit, and she rolls me right into this huge puddle of blood,” he said with a sour expression on his face. “Except it had like, chunks in it. Like innards and stuff, ya know?”

  “No, but go on,” Mitch said, rolling his hand for Fisher to hurry up.

  “Okay, so I pull my gun to shoot her crazy ass, and she just snaps my arm before I can even squeeze the trigger and flings me into the woods,” he said, his eyes wide with disbelief.

  Mitch stared at him stoically. “I ain’t buying it, man. Why didn’t she munch your ass like she did everybody else she ran up on?”

  “I have no idea. All I know is that I wake up in the woods, I have no idea where I am, and I wander around until I found the road. Then you two show up.”

  “And you haven’t seen anybody else since you came to?” Candy asked.

  “Oh, I’ve seen some people.” Fisher nodded at the woods. “If you want to call them people. They’re running around in the woods like a bunch of rabid dogs, screaming and howling and fucking attacking people and…” he stared Mitch in the eyes, “it ain’t pretty, man.”

  Mitch motioned for him to come closer. “Let me see your eyes.”

  Dwayne stepped up and Candy handed him her torch. Mitch flicked it on, and although Fisher flinched slightly at the bright LED light, Mitch satisfied himself there was no blood pooling in the whites and that the irises were clear. “Okay, I don’t think you got the crazy.”

  “So, what the fuck is going on?” Fisher visibly relaxed when Mitch lowered the light.

  “I don’t know,” Mitch sighed. “But we’re working our way back to the station now. Anybody we find that ain’t sick, we’re going to try to help.”

  A scream in the distance had all three of them snapping their heads in the general direction. “I think we better scram,” Candy said. “Hop on. You can ride with me.”

  “Thanks.” Fisher hurried over and slid in behind her. He grabbed the rack with his good hand and the three took off along the road and away from the scream.

  Bill stepped back inside the house and waved at Richard. “We need to get moving. If this guy can find your house, so can others.”

  Richard held a finger up. “Just a second.” He turned to his wife and helped her off the floor. “Honey, you need to grab some things, and we need to go. Get Jake’s bag and you throw some stuff together so we can get the he
ll out of here.”

  She stared at him through her red, swollen eyes and nodded. “Alright,” she hiccupped. “Just give me a moment.” Richard watched her disappear into the bedroom and he turned back to Bill. “She’s just going to grab a few things for the road.”

  “Are we taking my Jeep or…?” Bill asked.

  Richard shook his head. “The road is paved from here on,” he explained. “We can follow you or you follow us. Either way.”

  Bill relaxed a bit and stretched his neck. “What a night, huh?”

  Richard’s shoulders slumped, and he shook his head. “I’ve never spoken to her like that in all the years we’ve been married.”

  Bill patted his shoulder. “She was being unreasonable.”

  “True, but I still shouldn’t have—”

  A scream pierced their conversation and Richard immediately stiffened. He ran back into the bedroom and found Harriet slapping at a man who was pushing at her and forcing her back toward the bed. A simple glance revealed the sliding glass door to the rear patio was open, a breeze blowing the curtain in. Richard pulled his pistol from his pants and took aim. His first shot went wide, grazing the man’s shoulder, but Bill’s shot hit him square in the temple, sending his twitching body to the floor.

  Harriet rolled away and clung to Richard. He held her shaky body as she sobbed. “Are you okay?” he asked as she trembled and cried. “Were you bit?”

  “I never saw him,” she cried. “I was in the closet, and when I turned around, there he was, coming after me!”

  “But were you bit?” he asked, forcefully this time, shaking her slightly.

  She turned big, wet eyes to him and shook her head. “No, his teeth kept snapping at me,” she cried. “They clacked so hard.” She sobbed again and broke down crying.

  Richard noticed the blood all across her arms and nodded. “Okay, then, let’s get you cleaned up.” Bill stepped across the room and pulled the sliding door shut, locking it. Richard simply nodded at him as he led her into the bathroom. He looked back at Bill, “Will you stay with Jake while I get her calmed down?”