by B. T. Wright
20
Emily placed the framed picture of her and her sister on the nightstand next to her new bed. Other than some clothing, it had been the only possession she’d managed to take from Syria. Her heart broke as she looked into her sister’s eyes. The picture was the only way Emily would ever see her again, and that reality was weighing heavy. So was the conversation with Jake.
Before the phone call, the helicopter ride in had been surreal. Even crazier was where they’d landed. The Emergency Operations Center in Mount Weather was nothing short of spectacular. She’d heard rumblings about it throughout her life, even seen it mentioned in a few movies. On their way down to the bowels of the mountain in Virginia, the mayor of Mount Weather gave them a briefing.
The man said the operations center sat on 564 acres of mountaintop and it consisted of two parts: the above-ground FEMA complex, and the 600,000-square-foot underground facility where Emily was now. The complex was so big that it had its own police and fire department, and even its own laws. If that wasn’t enough, the underground bunker had its own hospital, crematorium, dining and recreation areas, sleeping quarters, reservoirs of drinking water, emergency power plant, and radio and television studio, which were part of the Emergency Broadcasting System. The facility was meant to accommodate about two thousand people. The mayor mentioned that they were roughly a thousand people at the moment. Helicopters had been coming in from nearby bases all day long––mostly full of soldiers, but a few were civilians who had been lucky enough to be around and survive long enough to catch a ride.
Emily’s helicopter had been the only one to fly in for about an hour before that. It seemed most bases anywhere near them had been overrun. Between the extra supplies the helicopters brought in, and what the facility had already been equipped with, they were in good shape for a long wait if that was what would be necessary. Food and all other supplies were plentiful. Though there were over a thousand people there, as Emily sat on her bed, she still felt alone. And the way Jake had brushed her off . . . she figured that wasn’t about to change, even when he made it to the facility.
She needed something to do. Something to occupy her mind. They were all supposed to meet in half an hour for a strategy meeting, but she couldn’t wait that long. She would go and make sure someone was contacted in Colorado to be sure they were ready for Jake’s brother Colt. That would help her nerves . . . at least for a few minutes.
Emily walked the halls of the underground facility. The only way she knew her way through the maze of all white corridors was the map they’d all been given and the helpful signs posted on the walls. The president had told the mayor to relay the message to Cheyenne Mountain Complex that a man named Colt would be coming with his two sons. She’d heard the mayor communicate this to the radio room, the room that was just down the hall now.
Emily knocked on the door.
“Come on in,” a man’s voice said, and she entered.
“You must be Emily,” the short, balding man said with a smile.
“I am. Any luck contacting the base in Colorado Springs?”
“All set. The vice president is aware of Colt and his sons, and security will be watching for him.”
“Thank you.”
Emily walked back out into the hallway and pulled her phone from her pocket. She was happy to deliver good news to Jake, especially with what he was fighting at the moment. She couldn’t imagine what it must be like to be stuck out there in the madness. She hit send on the text, but almost immediately received a red warning that told her the message could not be delivered. She tried again, same result.
Emily ducked her head back inside the radio room. “Excuse me.”
The man smiled.
“Sorry to bother you again, but I can’t seem to send a text message. Is that because we are so far underground?”
The man’s smile melted. “No. I’m sorry, ma'am. Usually cell service is great down here. But . . . there is no cell service anywhere now. It went out about a half hour ago. There’s nothing we can do about it from here. This Emergency Broadcast Radio is our only line out.”
Emily nodded, then backed out into the hallway and leaned against the wall. All of a sudden she became overwhelmed with claustrophobia. Her breaths became short, and she slid her back down the wall until she was sitting in the hallway. Even basic communication was gone. Everything had changed. And now that she couldn’t communicate with Jake, he was all on his own. She feared the worry might just eat her alive. She began breathing through her nose and out through her mouth in an attempt to squelch the growing panic. Her palms were sweaty, her mouth was dry, and she felt faint.
“Emily? Are you all right?”
She jerked her head in the direction of the voice. It was Will Dunning, director of the FBI. He was young for such a position, couldn’t have been more than forty. The good looking man was polished, but not rigid, and his handsome smile was warm and inviting.
“I’m not sure, really.”
He held out his hand and helped her to her feet. “You’re wanted in the situation room, but let’s take a detour and get you some water. They can wait a few minutes.”
His even tone helped Emily relax. “Did you know the cell towers are down?”
“Unfortunately, yes. But we’re fine. We have open lines of communication with everyone we need to be in touch with.”
Emily knew what he meant, but she disagreed. The only person she cared to communicate with, she couldn’t. And she would have no idea if Jake made it to Cincinnati, or if he was alive at all. As they walked to meet with the most important people left on planet, the only thing Emily could do was worry about the only person she cared about. And that worry had no end in sight.
21
The bright blue Walmart sign shone bright overhead as Tyler and Jake walked toward the front entrance. Because they had no idea what could be waiting inside, Jake convinced Jess that it would be best if she waited in the RV with Amy. Jake felt that normally she would have put up more of a fight to go along, but with what had just happened with her sister, Jess was quick to stay put.
Jake walked up and the automatic doors slid open. The store was still well lit, but there were no signs of the crowds that would be shopping on a normal night. No signature Walmart greeter either. It was creepy that the upbeat pop music continued to play over the speakers even though no one was there to listen. As they had discussed in the RV, Jake and Tyler walked together, making a lap around the entire store––making sure they wouldn’t run into any surprises before they began putting things in carts. Other than stepping around the occasional dead body, things were pretty quiet. No infected to speak of, or shoot at. They finished the lap back where they’d started at the front of the store.
“Take a cart and grab as much food as you can. Start with a bunch of water,” Jake said. “I’ll go and get supplies.”
“We’re gonna split up?” Tyler asked, clearly wary of being alone.
“You’ll be fine, but keep your gun out just in case.”
Tyler nodded, took his shotgun from his shoulder, and laid it across the top of the shopping cart.
Jake stopped before walking away. “Oh, and Tyler . . .”
Tyler waited as if Jake were about to say something really important. Then a smile grew across Jake’s face. “Don’t just get Twinkies and Doritos, okay? Try to find at least a few healthy options.”
Tyler’s face morphed from concerned to annoyed with a roll of his eyes. “I was wrong about wanting the old you back. Forgot you were a total asshole. I’m happy just having robo-soldier. Bring him back please?”
Jake laughed. “Just make it quick, would you?”
Tyler pushed the cart away toward the food section. Jake laughed to himself; it felt good to feel something other than fear and worry.
“Oh, Tyler.” Jake walked back to his friend as he pulled his go bag open, fished through it, and pulled out a pair of two-way radios. He extended one to Tyler. “Here. Now that we don’t have cell
phones, these handheld transceivers will help if we get spilt up.”
“Handheld trans—you mean walkie talkies?” Tyler smiled.
“Yeah, but these aren’t the walkie talkies we grew up with. These have a max range of fifty miles.”
“Fifty miles? Damn. That’s a hell of a range.”
“We shouldn’t need it, but we need to always be thinking worst-case scenario from now on. I have them set to the same channel already. Keep it on you no matter what.”
Tyler gave him a sarcastic salute, but Jake just shook his head and turned away. He walked toward the sporting goods section and at the very back he saw that almost all of the hunting rifles that usually lined the wall were gone. There was just one all alone on the right side. Apparently there were a few more survivors in town than he’d thought, and it seemed they’d had the same idea. Jake grabbed the Ruger Mini-14 and boxes of as many rounds of bullets as he could find. He filled his go bag up with ammunition first just in case they had to make a quick exit, then began filling the cart,.
Jake heard something on his left and pulled out his Beretta. He held it out in front of him as he searched the isle where he heard the noise. It sounded like the bottom of a sneaker. Florescent white lights hummed overhead when a break between songs came. He tuned his ears, but the music started up once again. That’s when he heard a crash and Tyler’s scream at the far end of the store.
Jake sprinted past electronics, then past housewares, his heart thudding in his chest. Thoughts of Tom getting eaten alive once again haunted him as he ran around the corner into the food section. What he saw caught him completely off guard. His mind had expected to see Tyler fighting off a ravenous infected. Instead, there was a large bald man in a camouflaged vest pointing his gun at Tyler. The shock of seeing a coherent human was almost stronger than the shock of someone holding a gun on his friend.
“I said give me the keys to the rig!” he shouted at Tyler.
“Put the gun down!” Jake said. He held his gun on the man, ready to pull the trigger if given any reason whatsoever.
Before the man had the chance to swing his shotgun over onto Jake, Jake felt something metal press against his temple from behind.
“Drop the gun. Right now, or I’ll blow your head off,” the ragged voice of a man out of breath demanded from behind him.
It was a rookie mistake. Jake hadn’t secured the middle isles in their initial walkthrough and now he was paying for it. If they made it through this, it wouldn’t be a mistake he would make again. The man holding a gun to Jake’s head must have been the noise that he’d heard in the sporting goods section, the sneaker squeak before Tyler screamed. He didn’t like missing things, and this miss could be particular costly.
Jake took his left hand away from the gun and held it in the air, then dropped the gun onto the tile floor. The man with the bald head motioned with the end of his shotgun for Tyler to move closer to Jake. Then he spoke to Jake.
“We just want the keys to that RV you got out front. You all ain’t the enemy, so we ain’t tryin’ to kill you. But we need that RV to get the hell out of here.”
“Where are you going to go?” Jake said.
The question surprised the man. “The hell do you care?”
“Take the gun away from my head and let’s talk about it.”
“That ain’t how this works. Now hand over the keys, or I radio my brother and he shoots that pretty lady and the little girl you got waiting inside.”
Jake’s stomach dropped. Then his body filled with rage. This wasn’t the first time he’d been in this sort of situation. In Afghanistan a few years back, it had been a local hostage and a jihadist instead, but still a similar scenario. He’d lost his cool then, and the girl paid for it with her life. It had haunted him ever since. But as with all tragedies in life, you either let them kill you, or let them make you stronger. Jake swallowed his anger and softened his demeanor.
“I have a contact in DC. I know where there is a safety zone. The only one I’ve heard exists. You can come with us if you like, but you’re going to have to follow us.”
The man laughed. “Why the hell do you think I would believe that? Who do you think you are? The president’s son or somethin’?”
The man holding the gun to Jake’s head behind him started to laugh along with his bald-headed friend.
The man continued, “You’re gonna have to come up with somethin’ better than that to keep me from takin’ that nice RV from you. Might even take the girls too just cause you’re a liar.”
Jake had tried the nice approach. He really had. Now it was time for what he was much better at.
Jake shot his right hand up behind his head and grabbed the man’s gun hand before he could react. He yanked it forward until he felt the man’s elbow on his shoulder, then he pulled violently down on the man’s arm and broke it in half. The man screamed in pain and it echoed through the empty store. Jake continued to hold the man’s gun hand, training the gun on the bald man until he worked the gun free and allowed the man to drop to the ground behind him.
“Put the shotgun down,” Jake demanded.
“Fuck you.”
“Tyler, pick up your shotgun and hold it on him.”
Tyler hesitated.
“Go on!” Jake said. “He won’t shoot you. If he turns his gun on you I’ll put a couple holes in him.”
Tyler picked up the shotgun like Jake asked. The bald man didn’t move.
“All right now. Hang on,” the man said. His buddy was still writhing in pain on the ground. “We’re just out here trying to survive whatever the hell this thing is just like you are.”
Jake took a step toward the man. “No, not like we are. I offered to show you safety. You offered to steal my RV at gunpoint and take our girls. That sound the same to you?”
The bald man’s radio crackled. “Jake, if you can hear me, don’t give those assholes that RV key. We’re safe here.”
Jake couldn’t help but smile. “You gotta love a Kentucky woman. Looks like your backup is gone. You want to put that gun down now?”
The big man looked over at his accomplice on the floor.
“Not particularly.”
“Okay, how about I shoot your friend here? Either way, we are leaving. Your call.”
The bald man smiled. His yellow-toothed grin held more than one blank slot. “That guy ain’t my friend. Just met him a few hours ago when we was running from those zombies. Now I got somethin’ for you, though. You hand over those RV keys and I’ll tell you how to keep from getting sick.”
“Beritrix,” Jake said.
The man’s face went from a knowing grin to a defeated frown.
Jake reiterated one last time. “Now put down the gun or we’re both going to shoot you.”
22
Jake finished looping the duct tape around the big bald man’s ankles.
Tyler said. “We can’t leave them alive, Jake. What if they come after us?”
“We won’t come after you,” the bald man said. The toughness in his voice was gone and he seemed like he was ready to beg.
“We’re not going to kill them,” Jake said.
Tyler shook his head in disagreement and finished taping the rest of the smaller man’s wrists.
Jake stood, collected the tape and a pair of scissors, and wheeled his cart around toward the exit. They were at the very back of the massive store. Jake motioned for Tyler to get his cart, then he addressed the two men.
“These will be waiting at the far end of the store,” Jake held up the scissors. “Worm your way down to them, cut yourself free, and be on your way. If I see you again, I’ll kill you. You understand?”
The little man with the broken arm and the scraggly beard spoke first. “You can’t just leave us here like this. What if one of those things gets in here? It’ll kill us!”
“You should have thought of that before putting a gun on my friend and threatening to take my girl.”
“Look, I’m real sorry for t
he way we handled everything, but we’re scared too. Just trying to figure all this—”
“Save it,” Jake stopped him. “You showed me your true colors. You’re lucky I’m giving you a way out of this alive.”
The man stopped talking.
Jake and Tyler started pushing their shopping carts toward the exit.
“The scissors will be by the last register. Your guns too.”
Tyler whipped his head around and gave Jake a bewildered, wide-eyed look. “Guns? They try to kill us and you’re leaving them weapons? What are you doing, Jake?”
They were out of earshot now.
“Listen. Just because the world is going to hell right now doesn’t mean we have to. If we stop being human, how is that different than being one of the infected?”
“That’s easy, Jake, we’ll be the ones alive.”
Jake shook his head. “I’m not going to take away their chance to survive. We’ll be long gone before they make it out of here. I’m not killing just to kill.”
This time it was Tyler that shook his head. “I don’t know a thing about war, Jake. But I’ve seen a lot of movies where this type of shit comes back to bite you in the ass. Something happen to you overseas? Or is this just the way you’re trained?”
Tyler didn’t understand because he’d never been in a life or death situation where your actions affect whether someone lives or dies. Jake’s training taught him kill these people. But his experience told him sometimes you never live that sort of thing down. The image of the little girl that had been killed because he’d lost his cool in Afghanistan flashed in his mind. He laid the scissors on the floor and they continued toward the exit.
“We can’t lose our humanity, Ty. Not when we have another choice.”
Tyler was quiet. Jake could tell he didn’t like the decision. Jake wasn’t sure he really did either, but it was the right thing to do. Though the right thing to do may not be the same anymore. Nothing else in the world was the same as it had been a day ago, Jake supposed laws and rules probably weren’t either. But it was the decision he made, and it felt better than murder.