The group had to face reality. Michelle and the folks from Willemtown were off the air. People started guessing what could have happened. Everything from ‘broke their radio’ to ‘saved by the army’ was brought up.
Joe tried to remain optimistic. “We’ll try again tomorrow. Maybe they’re just hunkered down for tonight...”
Most people secretly thought that the worst had happened though.
The group eventually disbanded, and the mood was somber as everybody went to bed that night.
Chapter Fifty-three
Tammy
November 1, 8:35 AM
Tammy woke up. In yet another place, and in a very uncomfortable position. She lay there, looking at the Humvee interior and listening to the steady breathing of those around her. She had no idea what time it was, but she knew she had to pee. Badly.
She shifted her body to a more upright position and looked at her companions. Breanne and Abi were lying in the back – their small sizes almost a perfect fit for the small storage area of the vehicle. As an extra bonus, they had moved around all the gear and made themselves bedding and pillows with some of the softer stuff. Steve lay on the floor of the back seat, while Tammy had gotten the luxury of sleeping on the seats. She looked up front, where Mike and BB had slept. Mike was still out cold, his head against the far window. BB sat straight. He was already awake. He turned to look over his shoulder at Tammy and mouthed a ‘good morning’.
Tammy smiled at BB. She then signalled to herself and outside. He understood and nodded.
Tammy opened the door as quietly as possible and left the Humvee. She took a step away from the vehicle and looked up at the pale sky. It was a typical fresh fall morning. The air had lost its last hint of summer heat and now carried a chill with it. Tammy was grateful for the army jacket she was wearing. Her gaze drifted down from the sky and she regarded her surroundings. They had parked in the middle of a large, empty field, in the middle of...
Well, nowhere.
Tammy looked around for a place to pee. There would be no privacy for her out here. But thankfully also no zombies. She made her way to the rear of the Humvee to do her business and contemplated the night before.
She recalled the run from the military camp and remembered the surprise they all had felt when they saw zombies at the gate and along the fence. They passed more as they drove away in the dark, without truly knowing where they were going themselves.
How did they find us? Did they follow the daily convoys of soldiers? They had wondered.
They ended up taking a turn down a secondary road and followed the next highway they found. That was when they got Garcia’s call.
Unfortunately, Willemtown was almost seventy miles away, and they were traveling in the opposite direction. There was a short discussion about what to do. In the end they all agreed that they had to go to Willemtown.
Mike had argued that they could travel part of the way there but should look for a place to hole up for the night. He felt that it would be too risky to attempt a rescue at night. They agreed, so Abi started scouring the map for a place that was out of the way.
So here they were. Out of the way. Still about fifty miles away from Willemtown. The drive so far was fairly uneventful. Mike only had to dodge a couple of zombies in the road. But the next part of the route would take them past a few towns, and it could get pretty hairy.
As if the last week hadn’t been hairy enough!
Tammy finished and pulled her pants up as she stood up. She heard somebody stirring inside the Humvee now. She took a deep breath and noticed how fresh the air tasted.
Is that even possible after just a few days? I guess so.
The group spent the next hour having breakfast and taking the chance to clean themselves up. There was a small creek that ran at the edge of the open field. Tammy was thankful that they had packed a good supply of toiletries, as she brushed her teeth while watching Steve work up the courage to dunk his head in the creek. The water was so cold that it took the air out of his lungs. But Steve found out that it was an invigorating experience as well. They all took advantage of the fresh, icy water and the group returned to the Humvee with red but wide-awake faces.
Mike took a few moments to go over the map and outlined their best route. It wasn’t the shortest route, but it avoided most populated places. He figured that they would get to Willemtown in a couple of hours.
They all prepared to get back into the vehicle. Tammy surprised herself with her positive feelings. They were alive and it looked like the syndrome had not affected them. It was now time to find others like them.
“And then what?” Breanne asked, when Tammy had given voice to her thoughts. Tammy had her back to Breanne. She contemplated her answer as she was pulling her hair into a tight ponytail. Her eyes scanned the countryside.
She found that the others were also looking at her when she turned to face Breanne. Mike was in the drivers’ seat already. His kind eyes met hers and his mouth curved in a rueful smile. Abi was standing beside Breanne. The two women could have been sisters, except where one looked innocent and hopeful, the other looked experienced and jaded.
Maybe that’s the way it is with real sisters.
BB and Steve were at the back of the Humvee, getting the supplies put away. They both had paused what they were doing and looked at Tammy questioningly.
Tammy realized that Steve was looking for a father figure. He had latched on to every strong male they had been in contact with.
Now they were all waiting for her. To tell them.
Her eyes got big as she realized she didn’t have an answer.
“I don’t know.” She said in a small voice.
“But we’re going to survive.” She added. This was received with several small nods.
“That’s the least we owe to all the people that gave their lives for us.” She continued with more conviction.
“Now let’s saddle up – we’ve got some folks to rescue.”
Chapter Fifty-four
Romy
November 1, 11:10 AM
The house was silent. The only sound was that of the wind. Back in the living room, it caressed the pages of a hunting magazine, making them flutter. The weather had turned more overcast outside, the sun temporarily hidden from view. It cast a grey pall over the house, giving it an artificial feeling of dusk.
At the back of the hallway, the trapdoor hatch slowly lifted once again.
Romy turned around to look down on the two faces staring up at her.
“Remember, not a sound.” She whispered. Michelle nodded. Quentin just looked annoyed.
Romy crept out of the hatch. She pushed it all the way up this time, and it clicked as it locked into position. She hesitated for a moment, unsure if she wanted to leave it open like that, but Michelle was already crawling out of the well into the hall, and Quentin was on his way up, so she decided to leave it.
She stopped at the corner to the living room. Michelle and Quentin crawled to a stop behind her.
Romy dreaded this moment. The moment she would lean out and risk a peek into the living room. The busted-out front window made the room feel so open, so unprotected... Would there be a zombie standing there this time? She felt the reassuring pressure of her gun in her back pocket. At least she had some protection.
She looked back at her companions. Quentin gave her an impatient shrug. That annoyed Romy. Without any further hesitation she leaned sideways and looked out, into the empty living room.
Romy breathed a small sigh of relief. She crawled onward and up to the edge of the kitchen wall. She knew that the windows there would only show the sky from this angle, so she didn’t bother looking up. All three made it around the wall and into the kitchen. They nodded at each other with small smiles.
They had discussed what they needed to grab on this excursion. Michelle crawled into the pantry and slowly stood up. Romy knew that she would be hidden from view in that position. She immediately began to collect cans and started
handing them down to Quentin, who put them into the bag he had brought. In the meantime, Romy reached in and collected another case of water.
All was going well. Until Michelle mishandled one of the cans, causing another one to fall from its stack onto the pantry shelf with a ‘clack’. They all froze, eyes wide open. The worst was to come though, as the can rolled towards the edge of the shelf. Michelle fumbled for the can, missed, and it fell onto the pantry floor with a loud smack.
Immediately they could hear noises of footsteps and shuffling outside. Quentin whimpered; his eyes large with fear.
“Let’s go!” Romy whispered urgently. She stood up and walked around the corner of the kitchen and into the living room. What she saw froze her in her tracks.
A zombie stood in the open window. It had been a young man in life. He must have gotten too close to the truck fire though, as one side of his face was horribly burned. Romy didn’t have time to contemplate further as the zombie lunged forward and dropped itself into the living room.
Quentin pushed up against Romy from behind and tried to squeeze around her. He shrieked when he saw the zombie scrambling to its feet in the living room.
Romy drew her gun and aimed. Her shot missed, however, as the zombie bumped into the coffee table. Romy rushed her next shot and merely hit the zombie in the shoulder.
Fuck fuck fuck! Romy felt herself seizing up in fear.
Quentin pushed Romy aside and ran down the hall towards the trap door. The zombie had made it around the coffee table and approached with its mouth wide open. Romy felt like the thing was about to swallow her whole.
Romy took careful aim and shot. The zombie’s momentum carried it forward to tackle Romy, hitting her in the shins and sending her falling backwards. She hit the kitchen table hard with her upper back and continued her fall onto the kitchen floor. She couldn’t breathe! She lay on the ground, trying to suck in air, as fists started beating on the house around her.
She started blacking out, still unable to breathe, as hands grabbed her and pulled her roughly further away from the hallway, the basement hatch, and sanctuary.
Chapter Fifty-five
Q
The zombie leapt up and rushed towards them with murderous intent. Romy shot, missed, shot again, and only clipped the thing. It just kept coming!
Q decided not to hang around any longer. He pushed Michelle’s hands away from him, shoved past Romy, and ran for the basement hatch. She took her next shot as he ran. He could hear her yelp and a loud crash as the thing collided with her. He was at the ladder to the basement and quickly lowered himself a few steps, before reaching back to the floor hatch. He yanked on it, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Fuck!” Q exclaimed as he yanked again to no effect.
He tried one more time, not noticing that the hatch was locked in position. He was about to try again when the front door exploded inward. Q froze as a zombie stumbled through the doorway. Then it saw him.
Q shrieked and jumped off the ladder to crash onto the basement floor.
“What’s going on?” Ed helped Q back to his feet.
“They’re in. We gotta hide!”
“The hatch!” Sandra yelled and pointed up.
“I don’t know ... It’s fucking stuck!” Q yelled. Just then, the first zombie got to the hatch. It fell through and landed with a sickening crunch on the basement floor beside the threesome.
Sandra screamed. Ed pulled her away, and she hobbled after him. Thankfully, the zombie wasn’t moving. Q looked around the room. He wasn’t looking for a weapon. He was looking for a place to hide.
His eyes lit up.
“The window!” He yelled and ran to the far side of the basement. A dirty window, high up on the wall, had provided them with muted light over the last two days. Now it was their only hope.
Q could hear crashes above his head, as multiple zombies made their way into the house. It was now or never. He ran to the window and reached up, praying that the window wouldn’t be stuck. Thankfully, the latch worked, and the window swung outward from its top hinges.
“You get up there first, then pull Sandra up after you!” Ed shouted as he gave Q a boost. Q pulled himself through the window so only his legs remained inside. The window led to a tiny crawlspace under the front deck. Q had always been grossed out by spiders and spider webs. He paid them little mind now, as he scrambled further into the tight space. He was turning around to face the small window when he heard another crash followed by a scream. Another zombie had arrived in the basement.
Q reached his arms into the room. “Come on!” He yelled.
“Go!” Ed shouted to his wife as he faced the zombie with a piece of wood he’d picked up.
Sandra reached up to him and he locked hands with her. He pulled with all his might and managed to get Sandra’s head and one shoulder through the tiny space. In the small gap to her left, he saw Ed swing at the zombie and connect a solid blow. It had little effect on the zombie as it absorbed the blow and pulled Ed down. A second and a third zombie had already fallen down the hatch. Ed yelled as he fought for his life.
At the window, Sandra screamed for her husband. Q continued to pull for all he was worth, but it was hard to get any leverage in the small space.
Then Ed screamed. A high-pitched wail of a scream that made the hair on Q’s neck stand up. Just as abruptly as it had started, it got cut off with the sound of a wet smack. Sandra whimpered as Q redoubled his efforts to pull her through the window.
Q was slowly inching her through the window. He had both her shoulders through, and the elderly woman was out up to her bosom.
Then the zombies hit her. Her eyes grew wide with the first impacts.
“Don’t let me go.” She said in a small voice. Q pulled with all his might, and Sandra screamed in pain as she moved forward another two inches. Then screamed again as a zombie bit down on her thigh. The basement was filling up with zombies, attracted by the sound. Sandra was kicking frantically, but the zombies quickly overwhelmed her legs and started to pull her into their midst. Q couldn’t hold her. Sandra’s nails dug into Q’s arms as she was gradually being pulled back.
Q met Sandra’s eyes. They were full of pleading. But Q knew what he needed to do.
He shook his arms viciously, to try to break Sandra’s grip. Sandra’s eyes showed confusion, followed by betrayal. She screamed in anger, as her grip was broken, and she flew backwards into the embrace of the enraged undead.
Q crawled away from the window, chased by Sandra’s screams. Mercifully, the screams ended quickly. Q dared a glance at the window and yelped when he saw several arms reaching out. He screeched again when the deck above him got slammed. A zombie had discovered his presence and hammered unrelentingly at the two by fours above his head.
Q had nowhere left to go. He started crying.
He had cried like this yesterday, as his parents beat on his bedroom door. He had felt hopeless. This situation was way worse. Q started to give up hope.
But then he heard a vehicle approaching.
“RED HOUSE – THAT MUST be it.” Abi pointed ahead. A burned-out truck stood about halfway up the driveway. They could see several zombies near the house as they approached.
Mike pulled into the driveway slowly. “BB get up top with your rifle. Abi, get ready.”
“Yes boss.” BB said as he checked the mag on his rifle one more time, slotted it into place, and reached up to flip the hatch.
Mike carefully maneuvered the Humvee off the driveway and onto the yard. From that position, they could see that the door was wide open. There was movement inside.
Mike stopped the Humvee fifteen yards from the house. The first couple of zombies were already near. BB carefully took aim and took out the first one. The second one was almost at the Humvee before he dispatched that one. Several more zombies were coming towards them from the house.
“Ok Abi, let’s do this.” Mike said as he swung his door open. The two soldiers exited and took kneeling positions beside
the vehicle. They started shooting almost immediately.
Breanne caught Steve watching the carnage and gave him a hard tap with her elbow. “Damnit Steve! Watch the rear!” They had each been given a job to do. The three civilians were to keep an eye out for any additional threats, and alert BB if they saw anything.
Almost all of the zombies were inside the house, which made it a lot easier for the soldiers. The flow of zombies was controlled, with only one or two able to exit the house at a time. They ran out of targets after half a dozen more zombies lay destroyed.
“BB, come on down. Abi, you stay with the vehicle. The rest of you sit tight.” Mike commanded. Abi positioned herself near the front of the Humvee while BB climbed down from his perch and exited the vehicle.
BB and Mike checked their ammo and walked up to the house with weapons raised. They made their way gingerly through the bodies lying at the steps and on the landing. The zombies were well and truly destroyed, but the blood and guts made for tricky footing.
Tammy watched as the two soldiers entered the house. From her angle, she could see through the doorway past the two men. She saw an open hatch at the end of the hallway in front of them. The men stepped up to that hatch and raised their weapons. They stood there shooting down into what Tammy surmised was the basement, for the next minute or so.
Then all was quiet again. Tammy saw Mike kneel down to have a closer look into the basement.
Suddenly, Breanne gasped. She crawled to the front seat and hit the windshield to get Abi’s attention. “Abi! Over there!” She was pointing at the edge of the deck. Something was crawling out from under it.
Abi saw it and took a knee. She raised the rifle and sighted the target.
Apocalypsis Immortuos | Book 1 | Syndrome Page 38