Since The Sirens Box Set | Books 1-7

by Isherwood, E. E.

  We aren't exactly the stuff of legend.

  Liam wasn't convinced there really was a cure. This was the real world, not some book about zombies. In the real world, filled with people with conflicting goals and morals, hiding something as big as the source of this plague and any attendant cure, would be impossible. Somebody would talk. Someone would warn the world. The internet would be filled with anonymous tips from good people who wished to save humanity.

  The answer could have been out there all this time, but he was so busy playing World of Undead Soldiers with his friends, he would never have noticed if someone was screaming it on every news channel or posting it in every online forum. He lived his life as far from the “real world” as was possible for someone so engrossed within a bubble of modern communications. It would have been a point of pride a week ago. Now it was a major liability.

  Still, from a technology standpoint, Liam was probably their best chance of finding clues to help them understand the plague, and to discover if there was any hope of a cure. But to do that, he'd need access to the internet, and probably weeks of time to study message boards far and wide. If this thing was global, it was likely the internet was down everywhere—to say nothing of most of its users either turned to zombies already or fighting for their lives against the walking dead. That made him about as useless in the technology department as Grandma—a woman who prided herself at avoiding anything more technologically advanced than a rotary telephone.

  That brought him back to the present. She still seemed comfortable sitting against the tree, but Victoria was crouched in the grass nearby, trying to rub her arms and legs to remove the insidious coal dust. She was having limited success.

  Liam took the opportunity to move back toward the blown bridge. Whatever their long-term desire to find the cure might be, everything started right here.

  He needed to get the trio to his parents' house. He needed to meet up with mom and dad. He needed to find allies.

  The key to all that was sitting in a police cruiser back at the bridge.

  4

  “Excuse me. Officer, uh, Phil.”

  The man who had been instrumental in saving them when they crossed this bridge this morning was the man in charge of the whole operation here. He was a police officer with the Arnold PD, the local jurisdiction. They had been manning blockades across all the bridges south of St. Louis with orders to prevent anyone—living or dead—from crossing to the south shore of the Meramec River. The goal was to prevent the infection from getting out of the city, but it also doomed those who were still alive to suffer a horrible death as they were caught from behind by the growing hordes of zombies. Grandma was able to convince Officer Phil to let her band of survivors cross this bridge—and then they used a wrecking ball to drop it in the river.

  By Liam's calculation, he was actually in Phil's debt, but he was hoping Grandma's “miracle” in letting him talk to his dead wife would have some lasting value for what he was about to ask.

  Phil was sitting in his black and white police car with the door open, listening to his radio. When he saw Liam, he rose from his car to meet him. “What can I do for you, son? Is your grandma alright?”

  “Yeah, she's fine, thanks for asking. We hate to impose on you, but she has no wheelchair or cane anymore, so there's no way we can get her home. I was wondering—well, we all were—if you can help us find a ride home?”

  “Where do you live?”

  “Not far. My parents have a house in Imperial.” Liam couldn't help but show excitement.

  Phil gave him a long hard look, then sat back down in his car. The radio was cackling loudly with several urgent reports. Lots of them were squelching each other off the air. He turned the radio down significantly. “On any other day, I'd give you a ride and be back here in thirty minutes. I know you don't live far, but the world has gone to pot as you can tell.”

  Liam didn't know what that meant specifically. But yes, the world was a mess. Phil took a long time, apparently thinking while looking forward inside his cruiser.

  “I don't know how your grandma talked to my wife and daughter. It was a miracle, by the grace of God. I've been sitting here wondering what I should do next with my life now that I know what I know. The fact that your grandma helped you guys cross the river probably saved our lives too.” He was sweeping his hand toward the few remaining police officers standing around, near the destroyed bridge. “All the other roadblocks have fallen—violently. The interstate was especially brutal. Citizens refused to be turned back. After seeing the walking horror following you guys, I can understand why no one would turn back to face it. If I was a smarter man, I would have realized that immediately when I saw you, and reported back to HQ that we had no choice but to open the bridges to everyone while there was still time. The dead reached our roadblock first, I guess because they were intent on following your train directly out of the city. But there was never a chance of stopping them.”

  He stood up, slamming his door. Liam backed up a few paces, listening intently.

  “The citizens refused to be denied the bridges. They began shooting. Then they began swimming. They got behind the police and other city workers who were manning the roadblocks. Lots of good cops died needlessly for a stupid order from the mayor. I can see that now. What it did was turn the citizens against the police, and then against the entire city of Arnold. Right now, the angry people from the roadblocks are tearing the town apart. Burning it to the ground. As you might have figured out, being a police officer for this town is now practically suicide.”

  “Sir, what if I told you my grandma discovered there's a cure for this thing? I'm trying to help her so we can organize a mission to find it.” He left off the detail about her learning it in a dream.

  “Well, I don't know anything about finding a cure. Would be nice, of course. But the only thing that matters to me right now is what my wife would want me to do. I believe she'd want me to help you, and I have to admit I want to stay as close to your grandma as possible in case my wife wants to communicate with me again. But I have duties here. People depend on me...”

  Liam thought of all the police officers he'd encountered since he left Grandma's house. Duty was always fore in their minds, but they were people, too. They balanced duty with their obligations to their own families, which was why they fought so hard at the Battle for the Arch, but then had to abandon that fight when their families were in mortal danger. As a boy with missing parents, he appreciated how they operated.

  “The way I see it, your duties have been fulfilled. If my father were here he would say it much more eloquently than me, but I think he would be critical of continuing to work for an organization that seemed so intent on hurting people.”

  “I think I would like your father.” After a thoughtful pause, he said, “Give me some time here. I'll think about getting you and yours home.”

  Liam walked back toward his companions, hopeful he had just started them in the right direction.

  5

  “I think I may have found us a ride home.”

  Victoria looked up from what she was doing in the grass. “Does it involve that military truck coming this way?”

  Liam hadn't noticed any military truck, but now he saw a Humvee painted in multiple shades of green and brown camouflage. It was alone and heading directly for them on a gravel road parallel to the train tracks.

  Victoria stood up, looking somewhat cleaner, and they moved over to Grandma to help her stand. Liam didn't know what to expect, but he'd learned over the past few days to always plan for the worst. The last time he'd seen the military, they were pointing rifles at him from up on a bridge. The time before that they'd been dropping bombs on his head.

  The Humvee pulled right up in front of them. Liam wasn't surprised to see the passenger was their secretive friend, Douglas Hayes, from the CDC. He was still dressed in his white shirt, but without his hideous tie. He was now wearing a pair of aviator sunglasses and an ostentatious CDC baseball cap
. He had a big smile for them all.

  “Hey guys. So glad to see you made it across the bridge!”

  Grandma made a motion across Liam's chest, as if holding him back. “And we're glad you made it across as well.”

  Liam wondered if Grandma said that to prevent him from unloading what he really felt—which would include a lot of cuss words. Hayes had antagonized the roadblock officers when they first tried to cross the now-destroyed bridge, and then angrily stormed off when they wouldn't recognize his authority with the federal government. Where he went after that was a mystery.

  “I found a friend here who was more than happy to pick me up and drive me around. I can pretty much go wherever I want now. Fortunately, there are still some law enforcement agencies willing to help the CDC track down this plague.”

  Liam took this as a slam on the police officers who would not let him across earlier today, although none of them were close enough to hear the disparaging remarks. He noticed Phil's cruiser had started to move. Hayes started to speak again, keeping him in the conversation.

  “Liam, what do you say we take a ride with your grandma and your girlfriend? We can go back to your house, find your parents, get you all safe, and then I can protect you all.”

  Liam couldn't help himself from replying. “Hayes, you told us the Army wasn't in Missouri anymore. This looks military to me. Was that a lie you told us?”

  Liam saw the driver was the same plain looking redhead woman he'd seen with Hayes way back in the St. Louis Arch candy shop. She was wearing a ball cap as well, and she tried to face the other way, but it wasn't hard to figure out. Her red locks were very distinctive. That would mean more people than Hayes survived the attack from the looters underneath the Arch. He'd said looters shot all his coworkers under the Arch. Was that a lie too?

  “This isn't US Army.” He didn't elaborate. Hayes lifted his phone, and appeared to take a snapshot of Liam. Then he looked down in his lap. The Humvee windows were very small, so it was difficult to say for sure what he was doing. “Come on. We can have you home for a late lunch. Just give me an address.”

  “Give us a minute. I want to talk this over with Liam and Victoria.”

  “Sure, take all the time you need. We're going to turn the rig around.” The Humvee moved fifty feet down the gravel road to the turnaround at the roadblock.

  “Grandma, what do we do? I don't trust him, but it would be nice if we could agree with him enough that he'd take us home.”

  “If I've heard you correctly, almost everything this man has told you has been a half truth. I don't feel right getting in a car with him.”

  “Liam might be right. He was talking to soldiers on the Jefferson Barracks Bridge yesterday, and they wouldn't let him across. But they didn't shoot him either. Now he's with soldiers again. He's had plenty of opportunities to hurt us. Maybe it's worth the risk to get you to Liam's parents where you'll be safe. Surely he has some pity for our situation?”

  They all agreed Hayes wasn't truthful, and they mostly agreed he'd not put them in any actual danger since they'd met him. He even claimed to have helped Liam and Victoria avoid getting shot by snipers at one point. The lure of a quick ride home was powerful; Liam wanted to see Grandma get to safety. If his parents were there, they'd take care of Hayes for him.

  As the military truck was turning around, an Arnold PD cruiser rolled up. Phil and a partner were in the front. “Liam, I thought about your offer and I'm in. Let's get you guys home.”

  Liam looked at the Humvee, now pulling behind his car, and he walked up to Phil's window. “We were just offered a ride by the guys behind you. They are from the CDC, or so they say. But we'd all feel much better riding home with you.”

  “Well, then jump in.”

  Liam walked back to Grandma and together with Victoria, they moved her over to the rear door of the police cruiser. As they opened the door, Hayes jumped out and walked around to where she was being loaded.

  “Hey, I thought you guys were coming with us?”

  Phil opened his door and stood up.

  The women were safely inside the car. Liam was left to face Hayes. “Thank you. We really do appreciate your offer, but Phil was there to help us cross the bridge, so we feel we owe him. We want to try to repay him, so we are going to let him take us home.”

  Hayes had never expressed any negative emotions. He acted as if he was above most of the fighting and excitement of the last few days. He never shot a weapon or even held a weapon in Liam's recollection. He claimed he was a middle manager for the CDC, more of a “transportation roadie” than anything to do with fighting diseases, but Liam was pretty certain he was less than truthful about his job description. Taken together, Hayes projected an aura of scientific detachment, which was why Liam was surprised when he got right up in his face. He spoke so only Liam could hear him.

  “Liam, please. You don't understand. Your grandmother could hold an important key to solving this riddle. She needs to be protected, and I want to make sure she stays safe. Come with me, and I'll take you all somewhere I can guarantee your safety for the duration of this disaster.”

  There were a number of books swirling through Liam's brain at that moment. There was always someone who enticed the unsuspecting victims with safety, but then inevitably put them into even more danger...or killed them outright. On the other hand, the real world was much more fluid. Perhaps Hayes just had poor communication skills and his mission really was to study the plague, and he really believed Grandma could help with that cause. In that scenario, going with Hayes would probably benefit everyone involved.

  His father was the tiebreaker. His dad took pride in his anti-government leanings, and he even kept his favorite quote in a small frame near his home-office desk. Liam had read the quote his whole life, but he never understood it until just this minute. He could only paraphrase it, but it went something like, “The nine most dangerous words in the English language are 'I'm from the government, and I'm here to help.” It was spoken by a US President from before Liam was born.

  Now, the government was literally offering its hand to him. Though not on the best of terms with him lately, he was going to trust his father on this one. “Thank you, Mr. Hayes. Seriously. We will be perfectly safe with the officers here. Good luck finding the cure. Stay safe out there.”

  He moved to get in the back seat, but Hayes grabbed his arm. His voice was bordering on stern. “I urge you to reconsider. There are so few...people...left, we have to husband them carefully.”

  That's just what a government egghead would say.

  “No thanks. See ya!” He yanked his arm and jumped in the back seat, slamming the door.

  Hayes and Phil were left outside facing each other. Liam wasn't sure what to expect, but nothing dramatic happened. The two men may have nodded slightly, and each returned to their respective vehicles. No threats. No nothing.

  Liam acknowledged either way he went he was getting into the vehicle of the government. But he decided he'd rather get into the car of a man regretful of his role in government debauchery than one proud of it.

  As they drove away, he looked through the rear windshield to see Hayes sitting inside his armored car, talking animatedly on his phone.

  This was his first big choice of the new day. Had he made the correct one?

  I'm thinking yes.

  Chapter 2: Phil

  Liam felt relieved at getting away from Hayes, but all his enthusiasm drained away once they got out of the woods along the river and back into something approaching civilization. Almost immediately, he saw signs of conflict—burned houses, cars tipped over, dead rotting in the streets. He realized crossing the bridge out of St. Louis wasn't leaving the plague behind, it was merely changing one set of problems for another.

  They pulled to the end of the gravel lane and stopped just before the major two-lane blacktop road. He saw no traffic in either direction.

  “So, how are we getting to your house, Liam? Do you know how to get there from
here?”

  Liam knew where he was, and how to get home. But what was the best way home?

  “On second thought, I have to do something first. If I'm going to quit my job, I want to do the right thing and ditch this car. You mind if we swing by my house so I can get my personal vehicle?”

  No one objected, so Phil put the metal down to the floor, and forced everyone back into their seats with the acceleration. He was heading into the town that dreamed up the roadblocks, which Phil said would be dangerous. Getting it done as fast as possible seemed sensible.

  The car ride was torturous for the trio in the back seat. Phil was driving at high speeds through narrow streets and along country roads. He knew them well, but the back and forth and up and down motions were tossing the rear passengers all over. Liam worried about crushing Grandma between Victoria and himself.

  As they approached the town of Arnold, more people were walking the roads, more cars were mobile, and there were more signs of the devastation of the ongoing societal collapse. Houses on fire. Dead people in the streets. Gunshots.

  At one point, on a nice suburban neighborhood street, someone threw a rock at Phil's police car. It hit the passenger side rear door just below the glass. Victoria let out a small scream. She then shrank noticeably into her seat.

  “I don't think these people like you, Phil. These your neighbors?” Liam was hoping to keep the mood light, but...

  “These people aren't from my neighborhood. These are people who broke through the Arnold blockade up on the highway. They are none too happy to see Arnold PD. Crap. This may have been a mistake.” Another rock clanged off the hood and chipped the glass on the front windshield.