Malachi, sitting on the first bench of the nearest set of bleachers, heard her comment and immediately stood and walked over to the conversation. Finally, someone who knew the word of God was in their midst. Maybe now, people wouldn’t look at him like he was crazy every time he brought up salvation.
She continued, “I’d go to any number of meetings around town to hear about suffering and people lost in the wilderness of their lives. I’d go and listen to their lamenting until their hurt filled the room. Then I would tell them all about the hope of salvation for their souls.”
She paused and looked at the others, trying to measure any response. Emma, for her part, just walked away shaking her head and mumbling under her breath about “another one of those.” Neil and Dr. Caldwell were more patient and willing to listen to her. Neil just wanted to be polite enough to encourage her to talk a little bit about any others she had encountered over the past several weeks. He was especially curious if she was aware of any groups of survivors that were holding out and able to perhaps help their group to do the same.
“Well, on that third day... do you think three is an important number? I mean, Christ rose on the third day, there’s the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost... I guess that’s all I can remember right now, but those two—the third day and the Holy Trinity—seem to be pretty important.”
Neil wasn’t quite sure what to say. He just wanted her to get on with her story, but he was afraid that if he was rude that she might clam up and drive off and they would be no better off than before she arrived.
“So anyway, it was the third day and I heard God’s voice tell me that my days of doing man’s work were over and that now I was going to crusade for Him full time. I hopped into my car and I realized that the hunger that had been gnawing at my insides was gone. I was refreshed and invigorated. I never felt so good in my whole life. I felt like a new person. And I guess that I was. My car became my church and His house. We drove out of Kincaid Park together in search of souls to save.
“We hit the road on that first day of my new life but didn’t see anyone other than those things. They were everywhere. I drove by Romig Middle School, and the parking lot was full of them. They were pounding on the walls of the school with their hands, arms, and even their heads. I heard some screaming coming from inside the school and just knew that there were people inside that I couldn’t save. It made me cry to think that I had already failed the Good Lord. And then I was angry at myself for the fear that I was feeling. I begged for forgiveness for my weakness and drove away. I thought that I was ready and that I could be strong, but I wasn’t. Not yet.
“I turned my car around and drove back through town. On my way, I saw the world coming undone. Hell had flung open its doors and let the dead walk the earth again. I was frightened by what was happening all around. I’m not even sure where it was, but I finally came upon a building that was only partially completed in its construction. It was a big office building and most of its paved parking lot was still enclosed by a tall, chain link fence and some of those big dumpsters that you see on work sites. There were people in there and they motioned for me to go to the gate entrance on the fence.
“I whipped my car around and got myself into the enclosure. There were at least a dozen folks that I saw right away trying to hide in there. Of course those things knew that they were in there but the fence was keeping them out for the time. A few of the people had guns and were doing their best to defend the rest of them, but I just knew that... it was just a matter of time before those things got in. I thought about the school and the souls trapped and tortured inside its walls. I was afraid for these people. I wasn’t necessarily afraid for myself, mind you. I knew that my time here on this rock was temporary and was waiting for my real life to begin, but I also knew that my work was not yet done. I hadn’t been called to return yet.
“So anyway, a fella named Jeffrey led me up some stairs to a floor whose walls were mostly done. It was in here that they were...I guess you’d call it livin’. They’d draped some blue tarps across the still opened, unfinished windows to block out the cool air and the smell and noise from those things. There were a few blankets and pillows here and there but no furniture. It looked like some wooden crates had been broken into pieces to be burned to keep everyone warm, but most of the wood was gone. Whatever food they had was pretty much gone too. There was trash piled up in most of the corners...empty chip bags and cracker boxes and some soup and stew cans.
“And then I saw the children. There were at least ten children with them. They were all huddled together in a small corner in an unfinished office space. Some were crying and some just looked...well, gone. There was barely an ounce of recognition in a couple of their faces. I think they had just seen too much.
“The whole place was filled to overflowing with fear. I started to feel it too. It was just so strong. I could feel the cold grip on my legs and my arms. But then I felt this warmth inside of me. I could feel Him. I could feel His love and His strength like a furnace warm my soul. My arms and my legs may have been useless, but my voice found His Word and I started to speak.
“I began to talk about the Apocalypse and the End of Days and how it was upon us. I talked about the message from His Book about Hell being visited upon the earth. But I also spoke about forgiveness and redemption and the glory of Heaven. I told them that their fear was only so strong because their faith wasn’t. I pleaded with them to embrace the Word and that if they did, then all of the horrible things happening around them would begin to make sense. They would be able to see that this was all just a part of His plan for us.”
Maggie paused for a moment and looked at Neil, Dr. Caldwell, and Malachi. They were the only ones still listening to her. She looked over them at the children and was disappointed that they weren’t close enough to hear her message. They were the ones who really needed to hear. These two, though, weren’t looking like the other children with whom she’d had contact over the past couple of weeks. They didn’t look as scared as the others. She might have a harder time sharing the message with them, but she also had faith in herself and His power to show them the Truth.
She measured the reactions of the three men listening to her. Other than Officer Ivanoff, she didn’t seem to be really connecting with them. She could tell that they were just listening to her because they wanted something else. They weren’t truly interested in the Word at all. The police officer however appeared to be very interested in what she was saying. His eyes were not filled with the same fire that she could feel in her own. There was as much confusion as anything else dwelling there. Confusion or not, she could tell that he was a believer and so she welcomed him by her side.
Neil asked, “So what happened at the construction site? Are those people still there?”
Maggie took another bite of the granola bar and chewed it briskly, shaking her head all the while. She looked back up at the sky, as if she were looking for her lost lines from a cue card. Getting down from the hood of her car, she said, “No. They’re all dead. I think just about everyone is dead now. I thought I was the last one and then I found you.”
Dr. Caldwell, wanting—needing—more information, begged, “What happened?” He knew what had happened, he was just curious about the cause, really. He actually suspected that she perhaps had a hand in it, but was looking for anything useful that she might share.
“Later that night, somehow the gate into the parking lot got opened and those things got in. I was in my car and was able to get away, but none of the others made it.”
Neil asked, “How?”
Maggie didn’t answer at first. She just looked back up at the sky, looking for that celestial teleprompter again. Neil could tell that there was more to the story and was already suspicious of the woman, but he didn’t say anything. He was afraid that any confrontation, however slight, might lead this woman to merely leave without telling them if there were others and where they might be. Maybe Maggie knew about the military bases. Mayb
e....well, maybe she knew anything about what was happening, which was a lot more than anyone in their group knew.
Quite simply and direct, she looked at both Dr. Caldwell and Neil. “It was His will. They were called back to their great reward. They all went back home.”
With eyes and mouth agape, Neil asked, “What about the children? Didn’t anyone make it out?”
Maggie spoke with as much passion and conviction as an automated answering machine, “Their souls are at peace and that’s what is important now.”
“But how did it happen?”
Maggie wasn’t even quite sure how it happened that night. It had been so dark. She remembered going back down to her car to get one of her many Bibles in order to read. The next thing she remembered, she was starting her car and driving out as the gate was pushed inward by the beasts outside. They rushed into the lot in a frenzy. The fight that followed was chaotic and confusing, the darkness doing its level best to influence the proceedings. The first two unfortunate souls, a man and a woman, to be swept away by the violent tide were standing at a burn barrel trying to warm themselves against the bracing night air. Noticing the rushing surge of rancid, oozing attackers, the woman screamed. Her high-pitched wail was cut short by the crush of grabbing, clawing, tearing hands upon her, transforming her voice into a muted, gurgle drowning in its own spilled blood. The man with her was only able to take two or three quick, desperate steps before he too found himself on the bottom of a pile of ravenous, biting beasts. Their cries sounded the alarm for everyone else, but, with their barrier breached, there was no hope for any of the others.
As she sped away, Maggie was startled by a handful of gunshots and then some screaming. In her rearview mirror, against the backdrop of the moon, she thought she may have seen the fluttering silhouettes desperately throwing themselves off of the highest accessible floors. She was reminded of images she watched of people doing the same from the burning towers on that awful day in September 2001. She felt sorry for their suffering, but was comforted by the fact that at least they were prepared to face their fates with the Word in their hearts.
She drove back out to Kincaid Park that night and found her secluded resting place looking out over the water. She prayed through most of the night, sleep once again eluding her. At first light the next morning, she drove back through town, making sure that she passed the unfinished office building in which she had been sheltered the day previous. The gate was standing wide open and the lot was filled with the fiends milling about waiting for their next meal.
As she passed in her car, a ripple of excitement spread through the crowd and they poured back out onto the road and tried to pursue her. She watched and prayed for them as she drove away. She knew that those lost souls in those rotting, animated corpses were damned for all eternity for their past digressions, but she prayed anyway. What could it possibly hurt?
She, of course, didn’t share any of that with the others now. No, they wouldn’t understand her, nor would they believe her that she didn’t have anything to do with those things getting in there or into any of the other enclaves she encountered. It was just the will of God that he recalled His children to His Kingdom. Who was she to stand in His way? And if she could be an instrument of His Will, then so be it. She was, after all, His lowly servant and a soldier of Christ.
She knew that Neil and the doctor were waiting for an answer, so she merely said, “It was dark. I couldn’t see everything as it happened. It was just a matter of time until they came through the gate anyway. There’s really no holding them back indefinitely. Eventually, those things find their way into everything. So many walls and so many hiding spots, but so little safety and no security really.”
Neil was scratching the scruff that was starting to grow in earnest on his cheeks and chin. “I don’t understand, Maggie. How the hell did the gate just get opened?” Neil walked around in circles, kicking at the dusty ground. There was more to this story; he was convinced of it. Maybe in a little bit, she might open up to them with more details. For the time being, his questions may as well have been directed at the tires of her car, so he asked instead, “Where were you headed when we ran into you?”
“I was just moving. You can’t stay in one place for too long or those things will find you. You just have to keep moving and you can stay safe.”
“But what about gas”? Dr. Caldwell asked. “It’s not like you can just pull over at a station and gas up your car. How have you been keeping it filled?”
Maggie smiled, the satisfaction of her own resourcefulness spreading across her face. She reached into her car and emerged with a section of green garden hose in her hand. Neil shook his head as she handed him a second section of garden hose as if to say, “I don’t get it.”
Dr. Caldwell nodded his head and smiled along with her. He clarified for Neil and anyone else wondering, “You siphoned gas out of parked and abandoned vehicles.”
Maggie nodded and took another bite of granola bar. “It’s important that you put the right side in the tank and the right side in your mouth or you’ll get a mouth full gasoline. Believe me, it’s as nasty as it gets. I put marks on the side of the hose that goes in the tank so that I wouldn’t make that mistake again. You can’t go off of smell, because the whole damned things reeks of gasoline.
“I keep a couple of gas cans in the trunk just in case. So far though, I’ve been lucky and haven’t had to touch them. The Good Lord has provided for me every step of the way.”
Dr. Caldwell was smiling as he said, “That’s very good. There probably is enough gas to run for a very long time in all of the parked cars around the city.”
Maggie nodded. “Yeah, but some of them were left running when the drivers decided to make a go of it on foot. I haven’t come across too many of those, but there are a few out there with empty tanks on ‘em. The other thing you gotta watch out for is those things in the cars too.”
Neil looked back up from the ground. “Huh?”
“Yeah, every now and then, you’ll catch one of those things in a locked car.”
Dr. Caldwell finished the thought with his own speculation. “Probably, the driver, or someone anyway, got bit and then retreated into the car, locking themselves in. They die and then come back as one of the zombies trapped in the car. We should probably be wary of stalled cars anywhere and approach them with caution. Never know what could be waiting for us in there.
“Well Maggie, I think running into you is the best thing that has happened to any of us for some time. Maybe we can all hang out here for a bit and catch our breath. If you need to get some sleep, we can keep an eye out for a bit.”
Maggie nodded and sat heavily into the Passat’s driver seat. She took one of the numerous Bibles from her backseat and began to read silently to herself.
Chapter 6
They sat on the top row of bench seats on the metal bleachers, as if they were waiting for a late summer softball game to start. Neil said to all of them, “I don’t trust her. There’s just something about her that isn’t right. I don’t think she’s tellin’ us everything.”
“So what do we do?” Meghan asked. “We already have one loony with us...” she added, looking towards Malachi as he stood at the diamond’s home plate waiting for an opening pitch that would never come. Danny and Jules were just on the edge of the diamond and using their feet to plow loads of dirt into a pile only to jump up and down on it, causing a dust cloud to form. Jerry was on top of the minivan and scanning all around them with the binoculars hung around his neck.
The sky, though grey, was calm and peaceful. The slight kiss of a breeze causing the merest wisp of a flutter in the kids’ dust clouds was moist and still carried the seasonal aroma of the fall rot. The trees surrounding the lot barely took notice, ignoring the air’s suggestion to move.
Kim said, to herself as much as to anyone else, “So this is what it was like before we came.”
Meghan, who was lifting herself from the uncomfortable metal of the blea
chers, asked, “What?”
“It’s so peaceful and quiet. No cars. No planes. No nothing. The loudest noise any of us can hear anymore is our own thoughts. Maybe that was why we had so many distractions around us...to silence our thoughts and our insecurities. If you can’t hear any doubt, then maybe there isn’t any to hear anyway. I guess it takes losing everything to figure out what was really important to you.
“We used to spend so much time entertaining ourselves that we really lost out and maybe forgot what it was to be human. I used to follow a strict TV schedule. I didn’t miss my shows and if I did...oh man was I pissed. I lived a tight existence around my TV. And now that I don’t have it anymore, I can’t even remember why I watched to begin with. There wasn’t any more value to the garbage that I thought was important than the dust cloud that the kids are making over there.
“And now, we drive through the ruins of all that we thought was important, and I can’t even fathom why I thought it was in the first place. I have a crap job that got me nothing but more crap from someone else working the same crap job just somewhere else. Really, what was the point? Maybe we’ve been singled out for extinction with good reason.”
Kim was crying by then, but they were silent tears...with not so much as a single sniffle. She looked off at the trees that stood as a buffer between the sports park and the highway. It all seemed so surreal to her that, in the middle of the terrifying storm in which they were traveling, there could be such a peaceful spot as this. She wished that Tony were still with them. With his big arms and bigger heart, he’d know how to hold her and make her feel that everything was going to be alright. He always knew how to make things better for her. She wanted to remember all the good times with him at work and at home, hers or his, on the couch watching whatever they could find on television. She closed her eyes and tried to see his face, but all she saw was the venomous rage and hunger on the face of her friend Tony after he’d been attacked by those things.
Alaskan Undead Apocalypse | Books 1 & 2 | Infection & Containment Page 25