After the car died, Mike had noticed how tired Ellie was and suggested that they catch a couple hours of shut eye. At first, Ellie had argued against it. She didn’t like the idea of sleeping on the side of the road after the experience she’d had with the carjackers. However, Mike insisted. Ellie gave into her exhaustion as soon as he said he’d take the first watch and showed her his gun.
Still in a daze, Ellie laid there, facing Mike. She couldn’t help but notice how handsome he was. She normally noticed good looking guys, but then quickly dismissed them. She hadn’t had the best of luck when it came to men and relationships. Not that she was even contemplating a relationship with Mike. She couldn’t believe she’d even entertain the idea, especially when the world around her seemed to be falling apart. But regardless, it’d been a very long time since she’d been this close to a man, one that she was attracted to. She studied his square jaw and his thick 5 o’clock shadow. His lips were plump and kissable. She imagined what it’d feel like to press her lips against his. She wanted to feel his warm skin against hers.
What felt like butterflies, came to life in her tummy. Her eyes raked over his wide shoulders, thick chest, and worked their way downward. Her gaze lingered there for a moment. When she looked up, Mike was watching her. He grinned. That’s when she realized he’d just caught her admiring him. And even worse than that, she’d been licking her lips.
Quickly averting her eyes, Ellie could feel herself blushing. She hoped that Mike hadn’t noticed her staring down there. Not that that was what she was thinking of. Her gaze had just happened to be in that general direction. Ellie prayed that he’d just opened his eyes and hadn’t noticed.
“How’d you sleep?” he asked, sitting up in the driver’s seat, stretching.
“Um, okay,” Ellie said. She sat up and stretched too. She suddenly felt very aware of her appearance and tried to smooth down her thick hair with the palms of her hands. Her bottom lip that’d been busted open, burned when she spoke.
“Good,” he said, looking around. “Looks like we’re gonna have to hoof it.”
Ellie frowned and looked out the window. She knew he was right. Last night, Mike had spent quite a bit of time trying to get the car to run before giving up. It was doubtful that the car would magically start working this morning.
“We should get a move on before the day gets too hot. We need to find more water.” He grabbed the four bottles of water they’d confiscated from the fridge in the motel break room. Two of the bottles were half empty. They sipped sparingly from them last night after the car broke down.
“Okay,” Ellie agreed, while looking out at the early morning sun. It was already feeling uncomfortably warm out. Her guess was that it was already in the 80s and in a few hours, if not less, it’d be in the low 100s.
Mike twisted the key in the ignition. The car sputtered and then died. “I’m an optimist,” he said. “Thought I’d give this bucket of junk one last try.” He then pulled out his cell phone and frowned before slipping it back into his pocket.
“Still no service?”
“No,” he said, handing her a bottle and a half of water to carry.
“Hmm.” Ellie’s heart sunk. “Not a good sign.”
Mike didn’t answer. He slid out of the car, adjusted his hat, and closed the door. Ellie followed suit and joined him. “Ladies first,” he said, pointing the way.
Ellie shook her head and smiled. She began to walk along side of the vacant highway. Even though she was worried about what was to come, she was thankful that she wasn’t alone. “How far to the sheriff’s station?”
Mike looked ahead and walked along side of her. “Do you really want to know?”
Ellie looked down at the ground, studying the sand covered asphalt. “That far, huh?”
“We’ll keep an eye out for a vehicle,” he said. “And a place to get a bite to eat.”
Ellie’s stomach growled at the mention of food. She’d been such a nervous wreck, that she hadn’t realized just how hungry she was. “Yeah… sounds like a plan.”
They walked for a while in silence. The only sound was their feet crunching down on the sand covered pavement. Ellie’s mind was running a mile a minute, but she conserved her energy. She was already feeling overly hot and fatigue was setting in. Sweat was beginning to run down her back. She grabbed her tangled hair which was wet underneath with perspiration, and pulled it to the side over her shoulder, to try to cool herself down. She wished she had a scrunchie or something to use to pull it up.
Mike continued to walk along side of her, in the street. Ellie stayed on the edge of the asphalt, next to the sand. She didn’t trust that a car might appear out of nowhere and zoom down the road and run them over. After an hour of walking, and no vehicles in sight, she gravitated into the middle of the road.
“Hey,” she said, her voice cracking, and then cleared her throat. Her mouth was parched since she’d been sipping her water cautiously, trying to make it last. “Is the highway always like this?”
“Like what?” Mike asked.
“Desolate,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. Ellie could feel the stinging of her skin burning as she shrugged. “It’s been over an hour and we haven’t seen one car.”
Mike looked straight ahead. He didn’t answer. Ellie took that as a really bad sign.
“Look,” he said, with a curt nod. “I see a house out there.”
Ellie shielded her eyes and looked in the direction of his stare. There was a small white shack off in the distance. It blended in with the sand. If Mike hadn’t pointed it out, she probably would’ve missed it. “Kinda out in the middle of nowhere. You think it’s safe?”
“We’re getting closer to town,” Mike said. “Some desert folk like their homes to be away from the rest of the population. They like the privacy. Yet, they aren’t too far away from the conveniences of town. Should be fine.”
“It looks like it’s still a long walk.” Ellie stared in the direction of the dingy little shack. “If we’re close to town, shouldn’t we just keep going? I mean… isn’t it kinda out of the way?”
“We’re not that close.” Mike took off his hat and ran a hand through his sweat soaked hair. “And we need water.”
Ellie had less than a quarter of her 2nd water bottle left. She’d been sweating out more fluid than she’d consumed over the last hour. She knew he was right. They’d die of heat exhaustion and dehydration before they’d make it to town. It was still early, yet the heat was already beyond bearable.
“Besides, they might have a vehicle we can borrow.”
Ellie nodded. What Mike was proposing sounded logical to her. And being a sheriff, she had him to protect her. “Okay.”
“Let’s cut through the desert,” he said, making his way towards the sand.
“Oh! Um…” The last thing Ellie wanted to do was walk through the desert, but she didn’t have much of a choice. Unwillingly, but not wanting to protest, she followed Mike into the scratchy tumbleweeds. Hot, gritty sand immediately worked its way into her canvas shoes.
***
When Bill awoke, he rubbed at his eyes with his fists. He’d driven as far as he could until he came to a halt on the freeway. All of the lanes were blocked with hundreds of abandoned cars. And unfortunately, he’d come to a point where he couldn’t get around them. Even the shoulder was blocked. He’d gone back and forth with the idea of walking, carrying Benjamin the rest of the way to the hospital. He knew it was only a few more miles down the highway. However, with the infected wandering about in the dark and his own injuries, he knew his chances of them making it to the hospital unscathed were slim. He’d made the decision to try to get a few hours of sleep until the sun came out. He felt he’d have a better chance at getting Ben to the hospital, if he could see what he was up against.
Groaning, Bill winced against his pain. Whiplash had set in. His neck and back didn’t want to move. He truly felt like he’d been run over by a Mac Truck. How the hell was he going to cope with the p
ain? Whiplash wasn’t new to Bill. He’d unfortunately been in a bad wreck once before. At that time, he had some heavy duty painkillers that they’d put him on once admitted to the ER. Painkillers had been his best buddy for a while. He then remembered the withdrawals he’d gone through when the doctors weaned him off the meds. Eventually, he’d rehabilitated after a long hard row. Bill pushed the memory from his mind and forced himself back to the here and now. Benjamin needed him. He needed to think.
In an awkward stiff movement, Bill turned in his seat to get a better look at his son. A hot bolt of pain seared through his head from his neck. Another bolt shot down his bad leg. Bill grimaced, as his eyes fell on his little boy, and he took in the state of his condition. Benjamin’s body looked so tiny, slumped in the seat. The only thing keeping him from sliding off the seat and onto the floor was the seatbelt restraining him. Bill was beyond worried. He was afraid to touch Benjamin’s cheek. What if he were to find it stone cold? That was his worst fear. He couldn’t outlive his boy. Not his boy!
Sucking in a sharp breath and closing his eyes, Bill lightly brushed Ben’s right cheek with the back of his fingers. To his relief, his skin wasn’t cold. To his horror, he wasn’t hot either. He was just warm. What did that mean? Was he dying? Or was Ben okay? Maybe he beat the fever. Maybe he was getting better. A spark of hope grew in Bill’s mind.
Lifting the boy’s limp arm, Bill fumbled around trying to find his pulse. It took him awhile since he wasn’t moving too well. Eventually, he found Ben’s pulse and the tiny spark of hope lost some of its luster. His pulse was faint. Frowning, Bill knew that he needed to get Ben to the hospital, immediately. Even if Ben had managed to beat the fever, he was severely dehydrated. Bill glanced at the rows and rows of abandoned cars on the freeway. Grunting against the pain, he forced himself out of the truck. Bill looked around for any signs of life before getting Benjamin out. Again, he wondered where all the people were? His guess was that once they realized traffic was never going to let up, they all decided to walk.
Bill lifted Benjamin out of the truck and slung him over his shoulder. He then grabbed Ben’s bear, even though he knew it was silly to be carting it around with them. He just wanted Ben to have some sort of comfort from home when he awoke. In severe pain, and his knee not wanting to cooperate, Bill stiffly wandered along the edge of the freeway in the direction of downtown. All cars were deserted. Some had doors left open. Some were closed. Actually most were closed. It was as if the owners had locked them up for safekeeping so that they could come back for them later. Other cars weren’t so lucky. There were a few that’d crashed into others. But still, they were empty.
Trying to keep his mind off his pain, Bill continued to walk, slowly dragging his leg. It was still early in the morning and a bit hazy. The damp air was already beginning to feel warm, but not uncomfortable. The haze would burn off soon. Bill noticed another good-sized pile up, ahead. He still had a ways to go before he reached the wreck. It was a big one. He squinted his eyes, trying to scope out the wreckage. Flashing lights. An ambulance? Maybe. He wondered if this was the initial accident that had caused the traffic to back up and the other accidents to have happened in its wake. Almost like a dominos effect.
“What a mess!” he whispered, his eyes still scanning the cars around him, while trying to shift Benji’s weight. Even though his son was of a slight build, he was becoming increasingly heavier to carry with each step.
Bill looked towards the center of the freeway and noticed a few scattered bodies on the asphalt, and grimaced. Up ahead, the flashing lights grew brighter. Bill kept on going.
It’s an ambulance! he thought. Then he noticed even more lights further down the freeway. Cop cars! He prayed that he’d find some help for him and Benji. He picked up the pace, dragging his leg behind him.
The closer he got to the huge accident, the more bodies he’d found. Some were on the asphalt, others in cars. He didn’t stop to make sure the people in the cars were dead. He just kept walking. At the moment, all he could do was to keep pressing forward. As guilty as he felt, not checking to make sure these people didn’t need help, he felt he didn’t have much of a choice. He didn’t have the strength. He worried that at any moment, his body would give out, and both he and Benjamin would join the rest of the bodies.
The lights were growing brighter. He was almost there. Seeing the ambulance was the only thing keeping him slowly propelling forward. It kept him optimistic that he’d find help.
“We’re almost there, Sport,” he said to Benjamin while trying to shift the boy’s body further up onto his shoulder. His arm was growing weak. As he shrugged his shoulder, his other hand had lost grip on the teddy bear. He felt the fur slip from his hand. He took a few more awkward steps and almost lost his grip on Benjamin also. Getting to the ambulance was more important than a teddy bear. Then he thought of how much it’d mean to Benjamin to have his bear. For a second, he stopped walking. He turned and glanced back at the bear. He couldn’t physically pick it up without setting Benjamin down. He told himself that he’d come back for it later. He had no other choice. After what seemed an eternity, Bill walked up to the driver’s side of the ambulance. Immediately, his heart stopped. The driver was slumped over the steering wheel.
“Hey!” Bill called. The driver didn’t move. He shifted Benjamin and then knocked on the window. “Hey! Hello!” Still, no movement. “We need help!” He knocked again. Nothing. Bill tugged at the door handle. Locked. “Damn it!” He looked around and then decided to try the back of the ambulance. The doors were shut. To Bill’s surprise he was able to open them. “Hello?” He peeked inside. No one was there. The gurney was gone. That meant the paramedics were out there somewhere. Probably in that pile up. Maybe he could leave Benjamin here and go look for help. The paramedics couldn’t have gone far. Surely, they were still around. He doubted they’d have left the scene of the accident without the ambulance. He had seen the flashing lights of police cars up ahead, too. Someone would be able to help them. They couldn’t all be dead. Then he frowned as he pictured the ambulance driver slumped over the wheel. It just didn’t make sense. Why would the paramedics leave one of their own behind? Maybe he fell ill while they were out helping others. Maybe. There was no time for contemplation. He needed to find help.
Bill hoisted Benjamin into the back of the ambulance. He then climbed in behind him. He scooted the boy to the back, laid the limp little body on a built in bench, and then knelt down beside him. “I’ll be back with help,” he said, gently stroking his son’s white, puffy cheek. He was still warm, but not hot. He still didn’t know whether or not that was a good sign.
Climbing out of the ambulance, Bill noticed a man, adjacent to him, walking between the cars, two lanes over. He then spotted several more figures, further down the highway. His gaze then fell on Benjamin’s bear where he’d dropped it. He wandered in the direction of the bear. It wasn’t too far away. If Benjamin awoke in the ambulance while he was gone, he’d at least have his bear with him for comfort.
“Hey!” he called to the man whom was stumbling about, moving in the direction of the massive pile up, up ahead. The man’s head snapped to the side. Bill wasn’t sure of what to make of the man’s movements. Was he injured? Was he infected? Bill wearily eyed the teddy bear and then yelled again, “Hey! Have you seen a paramedic? My son needs help.” The man didn’t move. He just stood there, watching him.
Bill walked towards the bear, keeping his eye on the man, just in case. He wished he could see his face more clearly. Then he’d be able to tell if he were infected or not. He’d seen enough to know the signs.
“No!” the man finally yelled back, surprising Bill. “My family… I’m trying to find my family…” Then the man let out a blood-curdling scream. A figure had pounced on him from behind, taking him down. Bill hadn’t even seen where the figure had come from. It seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. The man screamed out from somewhere between the cars. Bill eyed the spot where the man had been standi
ng. He wanted to help him. The horrific screams echoed in his ears. The figures he noticed wandering the freeway, quite a ways back, began to pick up speed. At first Bill wondered if they were running to help the man, but then noticed one of them leap onto a car, run across the roof, and fly off the hood with animal like reflexes. The figures were gaining speed, drawn to them by the sound of the man’s screams. Bill’s heart thudded in his chest, watching the infected coming toward him, as if in slow motion.
Bill eyed the bear, again. He was so close to it. It was only a few feet away. He limped as fast as he could, reached down and swooped up the teddy bear. He could hear the pounding of feet on asphalt, and then them climbing over tops of automobiles, growing closer. A car alarm went off, there was crunching of glass. Bill tried not to think about how close the infected were getting. He knew that they were right behind him. He’d seen four people when he’d snatched up the teddy bear; three men and a young girl. Being of an athletic build, the young girl was gaining on him the fastest.
Thinking of Benjamin, Bill pushed himself to the extreme. Benji needed him. If he died, what would happen to him? Joanna was gone. Who would take care of him? He’d be all alone in this chaotic world.
Bill was so close to the ambulance. So close! He’d left the door wide open. He sprinted, the best he could in his condition, to the vehicle. Forcing himself, with strength he didn’t have, to jump up inside. He grabbed hold of the door and began to pull it closed, when it hit something. It wouldn’t shut! Bill’s eyes widened. The girl’s arm was in the door. She was growling, snarling and clawing at him. He held tightly onto the door handle and pulled with all his might. He had to do something before the others arrived. He couldn’t hold onto the handle forever. Already he was feeling the handle slipping from his sweating hands. Think! He had to think! He heard other growls getting closer. My God, it was like the infected had become wild animals. His mind flashed to Joanna and the way Benjamin had brutally attacked her. Benjamin had become something else. He hadn’t been in his right mind.
Fatal Reaction, The Beginning Page 13