One infected was staggering across the parking lot toward the front doors and, as Jake watched, a man with a fire ax charged out of the building and took it down. The man, clad in t-shirt and jeans, looked around the area before heading back into the store. Jake leaned against the wall, taking several deep breaths and realizing he really should have heeded Carolyn’s advice and waited a few more days. Then he eased around the corner and moved along the front wall until he could look through one of the big windows into the store.
He could see three men, one apparently in his late sixties and two more in their mid-thirties, including the one who'd taken down the infected. There were also two women, late twenties or early thirties with them along with four children ranging from about seven to thirteen. Jake got on his belly and crawled along the pavement below window level to the wide-open front doors. There was a space between the outer and inner doors for shopping carts and racks for flyers and ads and he bellied across that until he was just inside the store proper. All nine people were bunched together, sorting through a clothing rack and Jake stood up, shotgun pointing, and announced himself.
“Everyone just keep calm! No need for anyone to die here!”
Nine pairs of startled eyes turned toward him and he could see the fright in the eyes of the children and the youngest woman. The three men and the other woman looked at him coldly and he kept his shotgun pointed at them. Each of the adults and the thirteen year old were armed; hunting rifles, revolvers and a shotgun.
“Nobody has to die,” he repeated, feeling light headed from the exertion. “I just want to know who you are and how you survived this long.”
“We're Carltons” the older man replied after a moment. “I'm Frank and these are my sons, John and Fred, and their wives and kids. We ain't got much to steal; we're barely making it as it is.”
“I'm not here to rob you,” he told the man, finding it a bit difficult to focus his eyes. “I'm interested in you as fellow survivors and seeing what kind of people you are.”
Just then, Jake heard the distinctive sound of a revolver being cocked behind him and the three men and the woman visibly relaxed. Adrenaline pumped him up and the dizziness evaporated.
“I could blow you away where you stand, mister,” a voice came from behind him. “And I will, if you don't set that shotgun down very carefully.”
Jake froze, his mind racing for an out, but he couldn't think of any plan that would end with his leaving the store alive if he didn't do as he was told.
The man behind him felt the cold steel barrel of a Smith and Wesson .38 pressed against the back of his neck and Vickie told him “If you want to live, you'll set that gun down on the counter and step away from it!”
At the same time, Eve stepped through the door, covering the rest of the group with her AR.
The man did as he was told and, at Vickie's prod, moved to join the rest of the group.
“I thought I told you two to cover me from the billboard,” Jake said, visibly relieved.
“We couldn't cover you from there once you started inside,” Vickie explained. “Aren't you glad now we didn't listen?”
After disarming and frisking the group, Jake herded them to a corner, Vickie helping to cover them while Eve stood watch at the door.
“Okay, Frank, let's hear your story,” he said in a conversational tone.
“We're not going to hurt you,” Vickie added as the two smaller children and the second woman began to weep.
“That there's my son-in-law, Pete,” the older man said with a heavy sigh. “My daughter Kathie, his wife, was killed about six weeks ago. We come from Parkerstown, about thirty miles up the freeway. We've been through a lot, mister. We're just trying to survive, trying to ride it out until we can find the Army or National Guard or somebody in charge.”
“Looks like you got a nice family here, Frank. You the ones found those two cars and the truck down the road a few miles?”
“Yeah. We needed gas and a battery for one of our cars. We picked up a couple pistols and a few rounds of ammunition off those bodies back there. You do that?”
“They attacked us. They tried to take our supplies and weapons from us. And they wanted these two ladies, too. I couldn't let that happen.”
“Didn’t even take the time to bury them,” one of the sons put in.
“One of them shot Jake,” Vickie came back hotly. “They were going to murder him, rape the two of us and steal everything we had! They got off easy if you want my opinion!”
“Take it easy, Vickie,” Jake said. “They couldn’t know what went down there.”
“So, mister...?”
“Harper. Jake Harper. This is Vickie Baker and that's Eve Carroll by the door. And they've both killed more than once.”
“Who hasn't?” Frank answered blandly. “So, Mr. Harper, what do you intend to do with us now?”
“Well, I was actually thinking about asking you if you wanted to join us. We have a place, fairly secure, well-stocked, and we could use a few more people to help us hold it.”
“That house over on Barnes Road,” piped Fred, the one who'd taken down the infected. “We saw someone had taken up living there, fortifying it. We avoided it once we saw.”
“Still a bit of work to be done,” Jake said. “Four more men to help us fortify and defend it would be a real help. Are you interested?”
“You'd take us in? Just like that?” Frank asked in wonderment.
“You're a family, not a group of marauders. I consider myself a pretty good judge of character, and I'm willing to bet you're okay. We'll need to hit up a few more stores for food and other supplies, but, with your help, I'm pretty confident we can see this thing through until winter.”
“Winter?” John put in. “What about winter?”
“I expect we'll see a big die-off in the infected over the winter. Come spring, we should be able to at least start to get things straightened out.”
“What's winter got to do with it? Why do you think these zombies will die off in the winter?”
“First off, they're not zombies. An engineered virus has destroyed their minds, but they're still people, people who probably won't have sense enough to find some place to hole up during the winter. They'll freeze to death, most of them, maybe all of them.”
“I never heard of zombies freezing to death,” John was still skeptical.
“They aren't zombies, and the kind of zombies you see in the movies aren’t real. These are people. Their hearts still beat and their lungs still inhale and exhale. What do you think would happen to you if you were out in the weather in the middle of winter, temperatures below freezing, still wearing the same clothes you had on in the summer? You'd freeze to death, is what. The same thing will happen to them.”
“You seem to know a lot about them,” Frank put in.
“And you don't seem to know near enough about them, having survived this long.”
“We avoid them whenever possible.”
“Good idea. This your first time hitting a mall?”
“We've thought about it a number of times,” John said. “There's always been too many of them around. We have the kids to think about.”
“So, what about it? Do you want to join us?”
“Just like that?” Frank asked. “You don't know anything about us. We don't know anything about you, either. How many of you are there?”
“There are a few more of us, all survivors, all well-armed.”
“I guess it’s best you don’t give us too many details right now, from your point of view. Still, you don’t know us.”
“If you were just a couple of guys ransacking a store, I’d be a lot more cautious. But you’re a family; you have wives and children to think about. It would be good for you to have a secure home and good for us to have more people to help defend it and start to rebuild.”
“Can we have a minute to talk it over?”
Jake looked at Vickie and she nodded.
“We'll go back by the doo
r and let you discuss it.”
“And, if we say 'No'?”
Jake shrugged. “Then we'll leave your guns out by the edge of the parking lot and drive away after we pick up what we need here. But, if you show up around the house without announcing yourselves, well, we might assume it's not a friendly visit.”
They joined Eve at the front of the store and let the others talk amongst themselves.
“Are you sure about them Jake?” Vickie asked when they were out of earshot.
“I think they're just a family on the run, trying to survive, trying to find a safe place for their kids, just like Tom and Liz. My gut tells me they're okay.”
After a few minutes, Frank approached Jake.
“We've decided to go it alone,” he said simply. “I wasn't quite honest with you when I told you we were barely making it. We've been doing real well on our own. We have a place that's defensible and we actually have a goodly amount of supplies and a number of friends to help us hold it. Pete, though, my son-in-law, would like to join you. Since my daughter was killed, he hasn't really been comfortable around us. I had two other sons, but they and their wives and my own wife were killed by the zombies and I want the rest of my family to be safe and I think our place is safer than yours is. We're pretty crowded the way it is, though, so I hope you'll forgive me if I don't extend an invitation to you.”
“Well, I'm sorry we're not getting together,” Jake told him, “but you have to do what you think is best for your family. Seeing you have other friends wherever you’re staying, though, I have to wonder about your taking children along with you on a supply run.”
“Let’s just say we have our reasons.”
“Fair enough,” Jake let the matter drop. “So, Pete, you want to come along with us?”
“Yeah, I think it would be better for everyone if I left the family. I don't really fit in with them since Kathie died, and, truthfully, none of the rest of them were all that crazy about me marrying her.”
“Pete, that's not really true,” Frank said.
“I'm not blaming anyone. I just really didn't fit in with the rest of you; you know that. Anyway, you'll be a little less crowded with me gone. This will be best for all of us.”
Frank shook Pete's hand, then pulled him close and hugged him.
“Kathie loved you, and that was always good enough for me. If you ever change your mind...”
“I just feel I have to go, Frank, but, thanks.”
Turning back to Jake, Frank said “We were pretty much done here; we just needed to load a few more items of clothing, really. If it's all the same to you, we'll be pulling out now.”
“Yeah, well, I'm going to unload your weapons before I give them back, nothing personal, just pays to be careful nowadays. Good luck to you. Oh, and in case you haven’t noticed it yourselves, the infected have a lot more difficult time than we do in low light, say around dusk or later. They also get disoriented in the rain and can’t swim worth a lick.”
“That’s good information,” Frank acknowledged. “Thanks.”
They shook hands and Frank's sons drove up in newer model Suburbans and Frank got into the one parked near the door and they loaded up their families and collected their weapons. Frank waved as the small convoy drove off and Pete waved back.
Jake looked him over, sizing him up. Pete had just turned twenty-seven a few weeks before the outbreak. He stood five foot ten, stocky build, dark brown hair and mustache and a couple days growth of stubble. He wore khakis, a polo shirt, expensive-looking watch and a gold chain hung around his neck.
“What did you do before the infection, Pete- what's your last name, anyway?” Jake asked the younger man.
“Wilcox. I sold cars. I sold Frank and his sons those Suburbans, matter of fact.
“Do you have strong religious convictions?” Vickie asked.
“Um, I was raised Catholic, which didn't set too well with Frank's family, being Baptists, but I was never much of a church-goer after I left home and got out on my own.”
Vickie turned to Jake and nodded.
“We had a bit of trouble with one of our group who was, let's say, overly zealous, about religion,” Jake explained. “We lost a good man because of him. I can tell you about that later. You go ahead and get what clothing you need from here and we'll head over to the Dollar General and load as much food and bottled water as we can. What are you driving, anyway?”
“I was actually riding with Frank. I had a pickup, but it took a bullet to the radiator.”
“Alright. We'll talk about that later, too.”
“I found a set of keys in that blue Cavalier there, I could drive that back to your place, if that's okay.”
“Great. We'll all meet in front of the Dollar General and load up there.”
. . .
After siphoning enough gas to top off all three vehicles they began carrying out the few remaining boxes and cans of food, some cleaning supplies, soap, detergent, hygiene products, motor oil and anything else they thought they could use. Jake carried a case of bottled water out to the Hummer and began to feel light-headed again by the time he put it down. Back in the store again, it had turned from light headiness to dizziness, the room seeming to spin around him. He sat down heavily on the floor and the feeling continued so he lay flat and propped his feet up on a crate. Over several minutes time, the feeling began to pass and his head was clearing when he heard Vickie calling his name. He carefully made it to his feet, steadying himself against the wall for a few seconds before answering her.
“I didn't see you anywhere,” she said when she found him. “I was worried.”
He gave her a little smile and said “Can't a guy even use the facilities without giving you written notice?”
“There's water to flush?” she asked, a bit confused.
“Doesn't matter, does it? We're not likely to come back here again.”
Vickie shrugged and headed out to the vehicles. Jake let her go a few steps before following so she couldn't see how unsteady he was. Once again, he hopped into the Hummer, Vickie and Eve in the Town and Country, and Pete followed in the Cavalier. When they reached the 350, Jake replaced the battery with one they'd scavenged from the mall lot while Pete poured all three gas cans into the tank. Jake started the engine and led the way down the road, Vickie following in the Hummer, Eve in the van and Pete bringing up the rear.
The light-headedness slowly worsened over the next minutes and Jake found it becoming an effort to keep the truck in the middle of the road. The sounds around him seemed to fade, the engine noise, road noise tapering off, sounding distant. He wondered that it seemed to be getting dark when sunset should still be hours away.
Vickie couldn't understand why Jake was driving so slowly and erratically. They'd started off at a good pace, but seemed to be going much slower than road conditions called for. He was also weaving quite a bit and didn't seem to notice her honking the horn to get his attention. Finally, the truck veered off the right side of the road and slowed to a stop in the thick weeds.
Vickie jumped from the Hummer and ran to the 350 to find Jake slumped over across the seat, unconscious. Eve and Pete helped her get him out onto the ground and they laid him out flat, elevating his feet. Vickie bathed his face with bottled water and a handkerchief. His eyes were partially open but they weren't focusing; he wasn't aware of any of them hovering over him. Vickie tentatively slapped his cheek, trying to awaken him. He made no sign of coming to and she began to panic and slapped him again, harder. Two more slaps and his eyes suddenly focused on her and, grabbing her wrist he said, “What the hell are you doing?”
“Oh, thank God,” she sobbed, cradling his head in her arms. “I thought I'd lost you!”
“What's going on? Why are we in the middle of this field?”
“You passed out, Jake. Oh, I knew it was too soon for you to make a trip like this, but you're too damned stubborn to admit you weren't up to it! When we get back to the house, I'm putting you to bed and you're sta
ying there, even if I have to sit on you and strap you to it!”
She wiped at the tears on her face, then she and Pete got him into the passenger seat of the Hummer and buckled him in. Pete drove the truck, abandoning the Cavalier and, Vickie now in the lead, they continued on toward the house.
“You were really worried about me, weren't you?” Jake said after a few miles.
“Yes, I was worried!” she told him, voice breaking and tears starting down her cheeks again. “Damn you, why didn't you say you weren't feeling well? Why can't you drop this bullshit macho attitude? How macho do you think you looked lying unconscious across the front seat, drooling all over yourself?”
“I wasn't drooling.”
“How the hell do you know? You were out like a light! Is that why I couldn't find you in the store, because you were passed out there, too?”
“I... just needed to lie down a minute.”
“You asshole! You stupid, macho ass! Do you know how I'd feel if something happened to you? Do you have any idea at all?”
“Vickie, I'm okay! Alright, maybe I should have lain down a little longer this time, but nothing-”
“This time? So this isn't the first time this happened! Oh, God, Jake!”
“Look, Vickie, I really am-”
“Shut up! Just shut the hell up! I can't deal with this now! Just shut up until we get back to the house!”
The rest of the drive passed in uncomfortable silence. Once at the house, Vickie calmly explained everything that had happened to Carolyn and the others and introduced them to Pete, then, ignoring Jake completely, began helping Pete and Tom and Eve to unload the vehicles while Carolyn and Liz helped Jake to the sofa bed in the living room. After all the supplies had been stored away and the vehicles parked, Vickie, still not looking at Jake, went up to her room and collapsed, sobbing, on the bed.
The Complete Lethal Infection Trilogy Page 18