by Olivia Marie
I felt the car lurch as he gave it gas. The sputter I heard brought back memories of the old beater I drove when I was sixteen. That piece of shit hadn’t made it long and I highly doubted this one would either. For the moment though, it would work. At least I hoped it would.
“This is going to get bumpy.”
I looked over at Jake, taking my eyes off the little boy for the first time since I’d seen him. The infected were in front of the car. None of them showed signs of moving. Instead, they were coming toward us. “Just drive,” I told him. We had no other choice. If they got in the way, they’d be mowed down.
He didn’t say anything in return. Instead, he gripped the steering wheel tight and kept going. One of two moved out of the way, slapping the windows as we drove by. Others weren’t as smart. They tossed themselves on the hood of the car, trying to hold on, their pus and blood splattering on the car as Jake kept going. Most fell to the wayside, but not the boy. Not the boy that wanted to play ball.
The farther we drove, the people seemed to thin out. I couldn’t take my eyes off the little boy, still holding to the hood of the car. He stared at me through the windshield and every few seconds snapped his jaws like he was trying to take a chunk out of me through the glass. I didn’t need to tell Jake just how unsettling the boy was. He knew. Which was why he yanked the car around one of the curves in the road quickly and rolled the boy off the side. The bump I felt told me the back tire took the kid out. I didn’t need to look in the side mirror to see it. I could go the rest of my life without that memory.
We didn’t speak for a while. Night was rolling in and neither of us wanted to talk about what that could mean. Our plan had been the armory. It would be our best shot. The trick would be getting there, with so many of our townspeople infected and looking for something besides themselves to chew on.
“Viruses normally run their course,” Jake finally spoke, taking me by surprise. “It makes me wonder if those who are infected would survive if they weren’t gnawing themselves to death.”
I cut my eyes at him. I hadn’t thought about anything like that, and honestly didn’t want to. The idea of those I’d killed someday healing from this shit wasn’t something I needed to add to my list of nightmare fuel. Instead, I shrugged off his thought process. “I doubt it. I think this virus is one to take people out.”
“Natural selection at its finest, I suppose.”
“Do you think it’s natural? Could it be some kind of biological warfare we don’t know about?”
“That’s always a possibility. You can’t ever rule out things like that. I didn’t get a chance to hear about the rest of the world. I was so hell-bent on getting to the hospital and helping patients that I didn’t listen to the news.”
“The last thing I saw before Keith and Dad got so sick was the UK battling it too. I didn’t keep up with other countries having issues, or didn’t see it I should say.”
“If the UK was having issues, it’s safe to say more countries were. That means it wasn’t just us, and if it was biological, it was a huge attack.”
I watched his face. He didn’t seem impressed with the biological warfare thought. “You think it’s natural, don’t you?”
“Honestly, yes. Don’t you?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess it would be the greatest ‘fuck you’ to the world from Mother Nature possible.”
He looked at me, then laughed lightly. “I guess you’re right about that.”
“Now, here’s the really fun part of our adventure,” I told him with a slight smirk. “I need to pee.”
“I knew that was coming,” he answered with a shake of his head. “Especially since I could go myself. I’ll pull over, we’ll make a pit stop, and get back on the road in a jiffy.”
I didn’t buy the whole jiffy part of his statement. I was on crutches. I wouldn’t be doing anything fast, but when he pulled the car to the side of the road, my bladder started thanking him instantly.
We didn’t need a long discussion about how to do a bathroom break. He knew I would need help, and so did I. I wasn’t a fan of the idea, but I’d do whatever it took to get back in the car quicker. When he hurried around and started pulling me out of the door, I didn’t argue. Instead, I let him do it. “I should be good right here,” I told him indicating the car door. “It will give me something to hold to.”
“That works. I’ll step over there and be right back.”
I waited until he vanished behind the tree he’d pointed at before I slid the scrubs down and squatted. I held my bad leg out, holding to the door for help. I finished and reached into the car for a napkin I saw when I heard the growl erupt from where Jake had gone. I finished quickly, then pulled myself and my pants up. Just as I did, Jake came rushing out of the woods, a large bear right on his heels.
Being raised by hunters, I didn’t freak out at first. That is, not until I saw the bear’s side. It was eaten away by the virus. I could see its rib cage and its intestines as they threatened to spill onto the ground. He was a good-sized bear and wouldn’t be taken down by Jake’s hammer. I propped myself up on the car door and grabbed the shotgun. I only had two shots. I would need to get it in the head to do any real damage. I took aim, then yelled, “Jake, down.” The moment I saw him hit the ground I fired once, then twice, then prayed it had been enough to stop it.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Jake
I hit the ground hard just as the zoom of the bullet flew past me. I hoped she was as good a shot as she said she was, or I was in major trouble. That thing had the virus and it wasn’t going to go down easy.
I heard the grunt of the creature before the thud of him hitting the ground. He slid right next to me before stopping. I turned my head to look at him and held my breath. When his lungs filled and released, I figured he was done. Sitting up slowly, I kept my eyes on him as I made my way back to Cammy.
He jumped back up, looked at us, and then ran the other way. He almost made it back to the tree line before he collapsed for good. She had done it; she’d stopped that thing from eating me.
“That was a hell of a shot.”
“Thanks.” She teetered leaning against the car door with the gun still swinging in her hand.
“Here, let me help you.”
“I’ve got it.”
“Stop and let me. We have to get moving and now. That thing, as big as it was, wasn’t the full adult I’ve seen out here before.”
“I know. We got lucky it wasn’t. I only had two shots and I really doubt it would have taken the big one out as easily. You would have been bear bait for sure.”
“I guess the good part would be it would have been quicker than a human chewing at me. A few bites and it would have been done.”
“I guess that’s one way to look at the fact you almost died.”
“I didn’t almost die. You had it and I’m still here and untouched.”
“Jake?”
“Yeah?”
“If a bear got it, what’s to say other animals won’t? We can try to avoid people, but them and all of nature too? That is going to be impossible.”
“I don’t think impossible, but it will be a challenge. We don’t know enough about this to even say all animals will get it. We don’t even know how far this has spread or if there is anything they can do about it. All we can do is keep going and stick to our plan.”
“I know.”
I hated I couldn’t give her more answers, but she had the same information I did, and it wasn’t much. The one thing I saw from the CDC didn’t tell us anything we hadn’t already known. It was a nasty virus and it spread fast. I knew she was worried about all the animals that were in the thick forest that surrounded us. It was teaming with wildlife and not all of it was the cute and fuzzy kind. Not only bears but cougars, wolves, and coyotes too. All of those could do major damage if they came after the town in the middle.
She sat there without saying a word. It had been three blocks since we saw anyone out walking aro
und. It told me they had moved on for food or they were all dead. I hoped it was the first one, because if it was the second and they were dead, there was no hope for us or anyone else to beat this shit.
The quiet was eerie and I found myself getting in my own head. What would I do if one of us ended up with this before we got the answers we needed? She said she cut her leg on the tote, but I hadn’t been there to see it. What if she was lying so I didn’t kick her out? That wouldn’t have been unheard of, but it would have been rude, and I hadn’t seen her ever as rude.
She could have said the same about me though with the cut on my hand, only she hadn’t. She stuck by me and made me understand I hadn’t cut it on one of the infected. Shaking my head, I pushed that thought out and told myself it would be alright.
“Jake?”
“What?”
“Where is everyone?”
“I don’t know. There were so many when we left the house.”
“I know and now there isn’t a soul around other than a bear.”
“We need to keep going. It’s our only chance. If they aren’t here to get in our way, we need to be thankful for that and not question it too much. If this area got hit hard first, they might have moved from here already.”
“I thought about that too, but we’ve seen them eating the dead. If they are around, wouldn’t it make sense for them to stay and feast?”
“I thought that too. I don’t know what’s going on, Cammy. I do think we should swing by the hospital though if it stays this quiet.”
“Why would you want to do that?” she shrieked.
“Because our supplies have been hit hard. If I can sneak in and grab another round of bandages and antibiotics, it might help us. I know we don’t have far to go to the armory, but if they don’t have what we need, we will want to have it.”
“I think that is a dumb idea.”
“It might be. I don’t know if we will yet. We are still a few miles away and anything can happen in those last few miles.”
“Oh, I know.”
We made it a few more blocks without seeing another person. The stillness of the night without a sound was eerie. I turned the corner seeing the top of the hospital standing out above the smaller buildings surrounding it.
And froze.
The whole parking lot of the hospital was crawling with infected. They knew enough to go there for help before the virus reached the point where they turned into walking corpses, but they hadn’t gotten help and that was exactly what we faced.
One younger man saw us and grunted. That was all it took for the others to turn in our direction. I was sure some of them were people we knew, but the way their faces melted off them, it was impossible to tell who was who.
“Get that gun ready, but don’t shoot if you don’t have to. We are limited.”
“I know. I’m ready.”
“I think we are going to have to skip the medical supplies and hope they have enough at the armory.”
“Probably a good idea. Can you get us out of here?”
“I’m going.”
They picked up speed and were getting closer to circling us. I had to make a move and fast if we were going to get out of there.
I tried to go back and was blocked in. A man with his face dripping down his neck stood in our way. There wasn’t a good way to get around him and there were at least six moving toward us in the front. I looked to the left and was blocked there, so I looked to the right. There was a smaller female in the way, so I lined up the car and headed her way. She didn’t move and when I got closer, I swore I saw a smile slither across her face before I hit her. The bump, bump of running over her body was nothing compared to the sound of air leaking out of the rear tire from hitting her.
“Shit.”
“What is that, Jake?”
“She popped the tire somehow when I ran her over.”
“What are we going to do now?”
“I don’t know, but we can’t stay in this thing. It’s not going to get us very far and we are sitting ducks here.”
“It’s like they know too. Look at them swarming.”
“I see them. And we can’t run either.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. You can run.”
“I’m not leaving you. We do this together or not at all.”
“Jake, don’t be dumb. If you have to leave, then leave. I don’t want you to though, but I would understand.”
“Then we stay together. Get that gun ready. I think I see a car across the parking lot that we can take. It’s not going to be easy to get there though.”
“You’re not going out there are you?”
“I have to. If we want to get out of here, then it’s our only shot.”
“There’s too many of them.”
“It’ll be fine. I need you to take that gun though and do something for me.”
“What?”
“Shoot it over there away from me. See if you can get them to move that way somehow so I can get over to the car. We only have one shot at this, so make it count.”
“I will.”
I started to open the door so I could run when she fired.
“Jake? Be careful.”
“Go.”
Boom.
Boom.
She fired like I asked, and I watched them turn in the direction of the shot. As soon as I saw a thin line, I made a break for it.
I was almost at the little green Toyota when I was grabbed from behind.
“Help me,” the older lady begged.
It took me a second to realize who I was staring at and when I figured it out, I almost threw up.
There in front of me was what was left of my grandma. One of her arms was gone and her face was so far gone that her eye was falling out of the socket. I stood frozen as she hobbled closer dragging her left leg behind her. With her remaining hand, she reached for me and all I saw were bony spindles where her plump fingers used to be.
She was the only thing stopping me from getting to the car and I knew what I had to do to help her. I wasn’t sure if I could though. It was one thing to kill strangers or someone I went to school with, but that was my grandma and the one who practically raised me. I also knew my way of thinking was screwed up because she was already dead.
I knew what I had to do for her.
“I love you, Grandma,” I whispered as I took the hammer out of my pocket and moved closer.
Bringing my hand up above my head, I swung down connecting with the top of her head. It went in like I had hit a bowl of jello. The head of the hammer went through the bone without an issue and stuck in what was left of her brain matter.
Pulling it back out, I watched as she collapsed at my feet, and I knew I helped her. She pooled at my feet in a puddle of blood. It was the worst place for her, and she hadn’t deserved it.
“I’m sorry, Grandma. I love you.”
I made it to the car I was after and pulled the handle up. Looking around for the keys, my heart dropped when I couldn’t find them. Cammy was counting on me and I was letting her down.
“Dammit.” I slammed my hands on the steering wheel and heard something jingle. Moving the visor, they fell into my lap. I put them in the ignition and started the car on the first try.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Cammy
I heard the Toyota fire up and let out the breath I had been holding. Reaching behind me, I grabbed the ammo laying on the seat. I had enough for a few more shots from the shotgun. The rest was for the rifle in the backseat. All I could do was hope it would be enough to keep the infected off Jake until he grabbed our gear and tossed it in the new ride.
He detoured around the parking lot. I knew what he hoped to do. If they were distracted, he would have a better chance at getting back to me. Several of them were focused on the infected Jake killed with his hammer. I didn’t know why, but something inside wasn’t settling right about the woman I saw him put down. She seemed familiar, but with the infection raging on her body, I
couldn’t tell from a distance.
I looked around, wondering how I could help him. If there was one thing I knew for sure, Jake needed to make it to the armory. Who knew if they had doctors there? He could help them far more than I could. He was the one who had to survive this. I was just lucky enough to be along for the ride.
The infected weren’t mindless zombies. Yes, they suffered from the madness the fever caused, but they still had the ability to talk and most still thought. That was the exact reason one of them, in the center of the horde circling the hospital parking lot, had thought enough to bring her oxygen tank with her when she came to seek help.
I leveled my gun, watching as Jake was being swarmed once again in the new car he was in. If this worked, it would make our escape easier. All I could do was hope it didn’t explode enough to kill us all. It was a chance I needed to take. I whispered a small prayer, then pulled the trigger.
BOOM!
The sound echoed throughout the parking lot. I struggled to hold to the gun as I was rocked backward slightly and the ringing in my ears left me slightly confused. For a split second, it was like my mind went somewhere else. I saw Jake, clean of the grime and guts we’d been caked in for the past day. He was smiling at me and doing that goofy head shake he did when he was trying to make someone see his point of view. Then, just as quickly as the vision appeared, it was gone. I was back in the parking lot, watching the infected move toward the flames and away from the car Jake was driving.
“Smart idea,” he called out to me as he pulled the car up beside the one I was waiting by. “I’ll load up. Use your crutches and start moving.”
I nodded in answer, still feeling a bit off balance. I couldn’t let that slow me down though. My fucked-up leg had caused us enough issues already. We didn’t have time for more. I stuffed the ammo in my scrubs, snatched the spare guns from the backseat, and did my best to teeter my way across the dark, back end of the parking lot.
“I have the guns.” I knew Jake would be more worried about the food and other supplies in the trunk. I couldn’t blame him for that, but something was telling me protection may be a better thing to have right then. The house we’d stayed in had clearly been owned by someone who felt the same way.