“You be careful out there, mate. If you come back here dead trying to eat my face, I’m going to kick your ass before I put a bullet in your head,” Deacon said with a smile. Before Jonathan had a chance to respond, the strong Australian pulled him in for a hug. “I’m going to miss you, mate. I understand why I’m not going, and I respect that. I’ll have a big party waiting for you when you come back with your family, and I’ll take care of mine here.”
“I really am going to need you when we get back, Deacon,” Jonathan said as he took a step back. He offered his hand to Deacon, who shook it firmly. By the time Jonathan was ready to go, Guillermo had already backed the BMW out of the garage and turned it around. The Prius was parked just inside the gate.
“Good luck!” said Deacon. Jonathan waved at him before climbing into the passenger seat of the car. Deacon pushed the button for the gate that was mounted to the wall inside the garage and began walking down the driveway.
Tyler turned wide as he pulled out onto the street to give Guillermo room to move past him and take the lead. Down the street, Elliot had built a barbed wire barricade to keep any fiends out. He and Deacon made a run back to the library to retrieve as much of the barbed wire, wood, and metal as they could. The two men planned to start slowly blocking off the street and secure a few other houses in the area for people to live in.
The house disappeared quickly as the two cars sped off north. They left the suburbs and entered the business district in the middle of Clay Hills. There was about a mile of office buildings, schools, and stores before they would reach one last suburb before leaving the city all together. Most of the cars had been moved out of the way by the military that came in shortly after the attack.
Guillermo noticed that the firehouse Deacon talked about sat to the right. The tattered and faded American flag still flew high. Sandbags and barbed wire were built around the flagpole as a small barricade to keep it safe. Seeing the firehouse stirred Guillermo up emotionally. He knew that this was a place for true heroes, and he knew one of those heroes as a friend.
With no traffic, it was about an hour drive to San Bernardino. This town also appeared to be empty as they moved along the Freeway. Fiends roamed about, but none of them would be a problem for the group. It wasn’t much longer before they were out in the desert.
“I don’t know if the military would’ve had any reason to clear the roads in the desert,” Elliot said.
“Hopefully this guard Deacon installed on the front will help clear the way then,” replied Guillermo. “As long as there’s nothing too big.”
I’m more worried about the tactical advantages that others would have over us. Living or not, Elliot thought. He didn’t want to worry anyone else, so he would keep that to himself.
“What is that?” Tyler’s voice came through the walkie-talkie that Sophia had found in the garage. The group had made it several miles into the hills.
“We see it, looks like an RV,” responded Jonathan. They had seen it a minute prior to Tyler asking, but they were still too far back to worry much about. “Maybe you should hang back just a bit, Tyler. We will move in closer and let you know.”
“Ten-four,” replied Tyler as he slowed down.
The beige Gulfstream RV faced them as they pulled up. The driver’s side tire was off and lying on the road. The RV had fallen off the jack. “Wyoming” was stamped across the top of the light blue license plate. Fiends were sprawled out around the large home on wheels.
Elliot climbed out of the BMW as soon as it stopped directly in front of the RV. “Wait here,” he said before walking toward a strange man sitting on the step in front of the side door. The man was staring off into the hills, blood and dirt on his face and body.
“You don’t have to rob me. Just kill me and take what you want,” the strange man said. He was in his late forties, his brown hair just starting to turn gray. The man never took his eyes off the hills. “I got nothing left on this earth.”
“I’m not here for anything. I just wanted to check on you. Are you hurt?” Elliot meant what he said, yet he kept his pistol ready in case this was a trap, or the man had been bitten.
“There’s no good people in this world, anymore.” The man inhaled deeply before letting it out. “You might as well finish me off.”
“Have you been bitten?”
“No.” The man continued to stare into the hills. “I’ve lost everything. My wife and daughter wanted to see the ocean. I figured we could find a nice spot and live off the sea. Then this damn tire went flat.” He started to cry as he continued. “I got out to change it. Never saw them until it was too late.
“They must have climbed in while my wife had her back turned. She was supposed to keep watch. They screamed so loud.” The man began crying harder. Elliot walked over and placed his hand on the man’s shoulder. “It was so violent, knocked the damn RV off the jack. I was able to lure them out one by one and put them down. Then I had to put—them down. I buried them on the hill.”
“I’m so sorry, sir,” Elliot said. He signaled for others that it seemed safe enough. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Kill me,” the man said.
“I can’t do that, sir.”
“You’re a soldier? I’m Colonel Jim Sturnly of the U.S Army. If that outranks you, then I order you to put me down.” Colonel Sturnly looked Elliot in the eyes for the first time.
“I can’t, sir. Survivors are hard to come by. Besides, with your military experience this world could really use you, sir.”
Jonathan had radioed back to Tyler and Layla, who drove up and parked next to the BMW. Tyler stood watch from the top of his Prius while Layla lay on the hood. Guillermo stood watch at the rear of the RV. The heat from the sun beat down on the group.
Elliot had spent five minutes arguing and pleading with the older man. He knew that this man had many things to teach, and many more great stories to share. Elliot was a sucker for a good story when it came from a soldier. “Just consider coming with us. I can only imagine how hard this is for you, but we can take you somewhere safe. We are heading out to find a way to stop all of this.”
Colonel Sturnly shook his head and opened his mouth to speak. Before he was able to say a word, a bloody pair of hands grabbed the man. The fiend bit deep into the man’s neck, spraying blood on the side of the RV.
“NO!” screamed Elliot. He pulled his pistol out and put a single round into the head of the fiend. Colonel Sturnly fell to the ground, holding his neck as the blood poured out. “Oh shit. I didn’t see him, Colonel. I’m sorry.
“You . . . have a new . . . order,” Colonel Sturnly forced. “Bury me . . . with my . . . girls.”
The man closed his eyes, but Elliot wouldn’t allow him to suffer any longer. The shot to the head ended his pain and insured he wouldn’t be back. It took all afternoon to dig a hole with the small shovel the man had, yet Elliot didn’t let up until the man rested peacefully next to his family.
“We didn’t make it far,” Guillermo pointed out.
“Nope,” Elliot agreed.
“We might as well camp here for the night. We will carry on in the morning. Guillermo and I can take the first watch. If that is fine with you, Guillermo,” Jonathan said.
“Absolutely.”
“Where are we supposed to sleep? I can’t stretch out in the car, and I’m sure as hell not sleeping on the ground,” Layla complained.
“Sleep in the RV,” Elliot said with a smile that she couldn’t see.
Layla stomped off toward the RV and said, “Someone better keep watch on the door.” Seconds after the RV door closed behind her, there was a scream, and she ran back out. “I’m not sleeping in there,” she said before climbing into the back seat of the Prius.
“She must not like the blood all over,” Elliot said. This time it was Tyler who smiled.
“Well, we have a long drive ahead of us. I know I have already thanked you all a million times, but I would like to thank you once more for comin
g along,” Jonathan said.
As everyone settled in for the night, the stars in the sky shone bright over the hills. Jonathan and Guillermo sat on top of the RV, back to back, and kept watch over the night’s campsite. Nothing moved that night, nor did anything move that morning as Elliot and Tyler finished their shift while the others slept.
When everyone was awake, the group prepared a small breakfast. After eating, Elliot inspected the RV for anything useful but found nothing but another man’s memories. Before setting out, he lit a fire inside on the bed, and one on the couch. He didn’t want to leave it for anyone else to disrespect.
Jonathan stared back out into the hills as they continued. He didn’t focus on anything important. Instead, he thought about his brother. He was excited about this adventure he found himself on, yet at the same time, he feared what he may find.
Chapter 0
Deacon sat in the garage on a metal bar stool. His Tundra parked where the BMW used to be. The two tin containers that held the Methyl Ethyl Ketone sat underneath the workbench by his feet. A remote-control car lay in pieces, and gunpowder was piled up next to empty bullet casings. He had done quite a bit in the few days after Jonathan left. Returning to the maintenance shop, Deacon brought back small pipes, caps, and a pipe threading kit.
On the workbench in front of him, Deacon unrolled a series of maps that covered his work. One showed the state of California while another showed the entire United States. He spun a globe that he had found on a bookshelf, propelling it with his index finger. Nailed to the wall above the work bench was another map. This map was of just one state. Different cities were circled on the map. Lines were drawn, connecting different points.
Deacon looked at this large map with an obsessive curiosity. He spun the globe once more, this time much slower. A line was drawn on the globe from California out across the Pacific Ocean. This line stopped in the middle of the large blue area that covered roughly seventy percent of the small globe. At the end of this line was a series of small green dots.
Deacon looked up at the map again. It’s over two-thousand miles away, but he would make his way there. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt he needed to go. He stared at the map and spun the globe for hours before Sophia opened the door to let him know that lunch was ready. He nodded in response and stood. He glanced down at the maps once again, and before he turned to walk inside, he said one word.
“Hawaii.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
D.L. Spitznogle lives in California with his wife, Kortnie, and their three children. He loves horror, anime, video games, and sports.
Decay | Book 1 | Civilization Page 25