Ahead, he saw Serrano stop the small car he and the others rode in. The SEAL exited the vehicle, followed close behind by Aaron. Both men held their automatic weapons at the ready as they walked forward and positioned themselves on either side of the road, prepared to engage the mass of infected that still chased after the truck.
The sound of glass breaking brought his attention back to the interior of the truck, where Jennifer screamed again as one of the infected broke through the truck’s rear window, sending glass flying into the cabin.
“Get down, girl!” Damien said, throwing his body over hers to shield her from the outstretched arms of the infected that reached into the truck from its bed. The first man, whose hands were both broken and bloodied from the impact against the tempered glass of the rear window, was pushed aside by a woman and another man as they sought to get to Damien and Jennifer.
“Stay down!” Richard yelled as he aimed his gun towards the back of the truck.
The gun banged loudly inside the cabin of the truck as it sent a bullet into the opening, striking the closer man in the neck and shoulders and sending him backwards into the truck bed. The man slid back and out of the truck’s open gate, falling to the pavement behind them.
Richard aimed again and fired, sending the first man flying backward -
- as the woman lunged forward and sunk her teeth into the meat of Damien’s back.
Damien screamed loudly in pain as the woman violently pulled her head back, using her teeth to tear away a chunk of his flesh. The woman snarled as she swallowed the meat, then lunged forward again, biting him once more, eliciting another scream.
“I don’t have a shot!” Richard cried from the passenger seat.
“Hold on!” Phillip shouted before yanking the steering wheel hard to the left, causing the vehicle to swerve hard. The woman lost her balance, ripping another piece of flesh from Damien’s back as she fell away, stumbling sideways before falling over the edge of the truck’s bed and down to the pavement.
With all the infected off the truck, Phillip pressed down harder on the gas pedal, accelerating towards where Serrano and Dennard were standing. As they left the screaming, charging horde behind, the two men’s guns began to chatter in short, measured bursts as they picked off one after another of the infected.
In the backseat, Damien leaned back and to the side as he moaned in pain. Jennifer reached for him, then thought better of it and reached for her small, makeshift medical bag, which consisted of a backpack filled with surgical gloves, bandages, painkillers, cotton balls, and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide.
Phillip heard one of the gloves snap onto her hand as he sped past where Serrano and Dennard stood before bringing the truck to a screeching halt, leaving bits of rubber on the road. Grabbing his rifle, he jumped out of the vehicle and rushed to where the other men were, opening fire after stopping to set his feet. From behind him, he heard the telltale sound of his grandfather’s high-powered rifle as the old man began taking out the infected from over a hundred yards away.
Together, the four men fired on the approaching mass of infected, their bullets tearing through flesh and bone as bodies fell in heaps under the withering assault. Before the horde got within 50 yards of Serrano and the others, they’d been mowed down, their bodies reduced to shredded bits of flesh and bone that were no longer capable of functioning.
Releasing the magazine from his rifle and slapping another one in place, Serrano began walking forward, motioning for Aaron to follow. Looking back at Phillip, he ordered, “Stay with them!” before walking away.
Phillip nodded, looking back towards before beginning a slow walk backwards walk to where the truck was parked.
Sitting on the ground near the truck, Damien’s head hung low as Jennifer cleaned his wounds, using a cotton ball that Phillip assumed was soaked with hydrogen peroxide. The sound of Serrano’s and Dennard’s guns made it impossible for him to hear what Jennifer was saying as she cleaned the affected area, but the way Damien shook his head in response told him the two were in disagreement.
The big man mumbled words Phillip couldn’t hear as the gunfire continued.
“No! You can’t think that way!” his sister said firmly, though Phillip heard her voice crack as she said it.
Closer now, Phillip heard Damien’s defeated tone as he persisted.
“You know I’m right. They got me. Leave me behind so I won’t hurt anyone.”
“NO! You don’t know that!” Jennifer cried, her face now covered in streaks left by her tears.
Footsteps approached.
“What happened?” Sarah asked.
“Stay back,” Phillip warned, as he pointed in the general direction of the infected, “he was bitten by one of them,”
“Oh no…”
Damien looked up at the woman, his eyes filled with sadness. “Please keep those beautiful children away from me. I don’t want them to see me turn into…” he lowered his gaze, looking at the pavement as he finished, “...one of them.”
Tears burst forth from Sarah’s eyes as she brought a hand to her mouth, stifling a sob as she nodded.
Behind them, the gunfire stopped.
“Hold still,” Jennifer ordered as she tried to place a bandage on the large man’s back.
“Don’t waste it on me,” Damien said, scooting away from her.
“Don’t say that! It’s not a waste. What if you turn out to be immune?”
As Serrano and Aaron returned, Damien turned his head until his eyes met Jennifer’s. “Listen here, young lady, we both know I’m not immune. Ain’t no way God’s gonna waste immunity on a big ol’ fat black man like me.” He shook his head slightly, then nodded resolutely. “Today’s my day to go. I didn’t see it coming, but if it is my time, I’ll be okay with it.” Looking around, he met each of their eyes, finding Jennifer’s, Richard’s, Sarah’s, Phillip’s, Serrano’s, and Aaron’s, smiling as he did.
“I had the pleasure of spending my last days around some truly amazing people. Ya’ll are special, and I’m better having met you.” He looked at them again. “I know you’ll make it to San Francisco. With Chili here leading you, ain’t nothing gonna stop ya.”
He leaned to one side, bringing one leg under himself, then slowly rose to his feet. Backing up a few steps, he looked at them once more. “Don’t forget ol’ Damien, okay? I won’t forget you, and I’ll be watching you. Sarah, you take care of Jason and Olivia, okay? Phillip, look after your sister.” He grinned as he looked at Aaron before continuing. “Aaron will help you. Richard, go easy, old timer. These folks need both your wisdom and skill.” Turning to face Serrano, he took a deep breath before speaking again. “Chili, I ain’t never met anyone like you. You’re like an action hero or something, but chill at the same time.” He shrugged. “Plus, you don’t do the cheesy one-liners like they do in the movies.”
Looking away, his eyes came to rest on the car on the road up ahead, where he saw Jason and Olivia watching them from where they sat in the backseat of the car. Tears formed in his eyes as he looked away. “Watch after those kids, too, okay?”
Serrano nodded. “Okay, big guy.”
“Aren’t you gonna stop him?” Jennifer asked, stepping forward until she was face to face with the SEAL.
“Gotta be safe.” Serrano replied, meeting her gaze with his hard, emotionless one.
Damien backed away slowly. “Look, Imma go over there - ” he pointed toward the edge of the road, where a barrier sat at its edge, looking over a steep seaside cliff, “and sit for a while. If it turns out I’m immune, I’ll continue on.” He shrugged, drawing his big neck and shoulders upward, making his chin disappear into the rolls of his neck. “Heck, maybe I’ll see you guys there.”
“We’ll wait,” Jennifer said, still crying. She turned to Serrano, her eyes filled with fire. “We’ll wait, you hear me? We’ll wait!”
Phillip intervened. “Sis, it’s okay,” he said, bringing his arms up to draw her into a hug.
“We�
�ve got to wait!” She buried her head into her brother’s shoulder as her tears took over. The man wrapped his arms around her in response, saying nothing more as he looked towards Serrano, his eyes pleading.
Serrano nodded. “Of course. We’ll wait.”
Damien turned and walked away from them, kicking small rocks on the pavement as he made his way to the edge of the road.
‘Shoot, just when I found some nice people,’ he thought to himself as he struggled to contain his emotions.
None of them had teased him about his weight the way so many others had during his life. None of them had complained about how much space he took or how much food he ate. They hadn’t complained about his body odor, which he knew was strong, a product of his body’s futile effort to cool three hundred and fifty pounds with sweat. They hadn’t even complained when he’d slowed them down when they had to walk.
They’d simply welcomed him with open arms, treated him like part of their group.
Like family.
Reaching the barrier, he managed to work his way around the edge, stepping carefully along the three-foot wide edge of the cliff until he was centered over a wide opening. Holding onto the railing with one hand, he leaned slightly over and looked down. Seventy feet below, waves crashed over huge rocks, sending sea spray high into the air at every collision.
Sighing, he found one of the wide wooden posts that supported the railing and sat down on it awkwardly, carefully balancing his weight on its surface.
‘Now, we wait,’ he thought, looking at the ocean. The sun was low in the sky, working its way towards the horizon, sending rays of light toward the clouds. The sky was a beautiful portrait of pinks and purples, with long streaks of soft peach cutting through the brilliant tapestry of color.
‘At least I get to see one last beautiful sunset.’
He smiled slightly as he wondered what it would feel like when he turned from being himself to one of those...things.
Would it hurt?
Would he be able to fight it?
Would he even know it was happening?
Grimacing, he tried to put the thoughts out of his mind as he focused on the sunset again.
‘Why does it have to end like this?’ he asked himself, suddenly feeling his heart race as he considered his death.
‘What did I do to deserve this?’
Shaking his head, confused by his thoughts, he turned and looked back towards where the others were, he saw them leaning against the vehicles as they watched him. Jennifer raised her hand and waved, smiling as she did so.
Damien brought his hand up and waved back before turning away. He didn’t want her to see him cry.
‘Even though it’s her fault,’ he thought suddenly.
‘What?’ he asked himself, taken off-guard by his thought.
It wasn’t her fault. Not at all. He’d been the one who’d chosen to protect her.
His heart pounded in his chest as he felt his blood pressure rise.
‘Stupid bitch.’
‘“Damien, that’s not right,” he said aloud, shaking his head, “not at all.”
‘Fucking whore, it’s all her fault. She should be the one here, ready to die.’
“No, Damien…” he said to himself as he felt the anger welling up inside his body, making his face and ears burn.
‘She should pay for this! It’s not fair! It’s all her fault!’
“Oh, God…” he moaned, feeling tears form in his eyes.
‘Fucking bitch should die. Fucking bitch should die. Kill her. Make her pay.’
Unable to stop himself, Damien felt his body rising for where he sat.
“No….”
He felt his mouth open, baring his teeth as he snarled.
‘Kill her!’
With one last desperate effort, Damien’s consciousness forced its way back into the forefront of his mind, struggling to take control. Reaching for the railing, he pressed his hand against its metal edge.
And pushed.
In his last moments, he used every bit of his will to block out the evil, violent thoughts that fought to take over his mind, instead using his remaining consciousness to marvel at the wonderful feeling of weightlessness as gravity pulled him towards the surface of the rocks beneath the cliff.
Nothing hurt.
His joints felt better than they had in seemingly forever.
His body’s pressure points that hurt even when he laid in bed were magically non-existent.
The wind carried his sweat and odor away from his body, cooling him blissfully.
He felt -
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Fresno, California
The white exterior of the big, modern home glistened beautifully in the early evening light. Still fully lit, thanks to solar panels mounted on the roof, and, more importantly, power walls that stored the electricity for use when the sun wasn’t visible, the home stood like a beacon of hope in the middle of desolation. Giant windows, which gave the owner unobstructed views of the grounds surrounding the property and the San Joaquin River that stood just one hundred and thirty-five feet behind the home, reflected the setting sun, even though their surfaces were covered with a layer of dust. It’d been over a week since the maintenance crew had been there, so along with the windows, the house and yard were in desperate need of attention.
Looking out through a second floor window at the rear of the home, Darren Miller looked down at the three rectangular plots in the yard where he’d buried his parents and grandfather. It was still hard to process, but at least he’d given them a proper burial. He’d even prayed for them, something he knew would have meant more to them than it did to him.
Coming home to find his eighty-three year old grandfather dying in the driveway from a gunshot wound, covered in the blood of Darren’s parents, had been worse than anything he could imagine, and when combined with the distressing call he’d received from his sister earlier that day, it was nearly more than he could handle.
“Chad’s gone crazy!”
“What are you talking about?” Darren asked, gripping his cell phone so hard the buttons on the side dug into the flesh of his palm.
“He was in the yard, trying to start the lawnmower, when he just...lost it.” His sister cried into the phone, her voice cracking as she spoke. “I think he killed the mailman.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes! One minute he was bent over the lawnmower, trying to get it to start, the next he was on top of Mister Ugliano, slamming his head into the sidewalk!”
“Oh shit,” Darren replied, his mind racing as he tried to consider what to do. Being nearly eighteen hundred miles away from where his sister lived in Houston, there wasn’t much. “Did you call the police?”
“Yes! There’s no answer!”
“What do you mean, no answer? You called nine one one?”
“Of course, dammit! It just rings and rings.”
Darren’s mind raced as he tried to process her words. “That’s...impossible.”
A crashing sound came from the other side of the phone, followed by his sister’s hushed voice. “Oh my God,” she whispered.
“What is it, Jackie?”
“He’s in the house.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m in the guest bathroom.”
“Okay, just stay quiet. I’ll think of something.”
Darren’s panicked mind sped a thousand miles an hour as he tried to come up with some way to help his younger sister. “I forget, is there a window in there?”
“Yes…”
“Okay, can you climb out?”
His sister sniffled into the phone.
Darren raised his voice, practically yelling into his phone as he sat in the driver’s seat of his car. “Jackie! Can you climb out?”
“I’m scared, Darren…”
Trying to calm her, he softened his tone. “I know, sis, me, too. Just listen to me, I want to try to get you out of there, okay?”
“Okay�
�”
“Can you climb out through the window?”
“I - I think so.”
“Okay, open it and tell me what you see. Be quiet, though.”
“Okay.”
Through the phone, he heard his sister’s soft footsteps as she moved across the room, then the sliding sound of the window moving in its frame.
“Okay, it’s open.”
“What do you see?”
“There’s a screen, then the roof, which has about ten feet of space.” There was a pause, then she continued. “To the left, it gets wider, so there’s more room before it reaches the edge, where the chimney is.”
“Okay, see the little black tabs on the frame of the screen?”
“Yeah…”
“Pull them away from the edge, toward the middle of the screen, and you should be able to take the screen out.”
“Okay…”
Darren heard a slight grunt as his sister struggled with the screen. Finally, he heard a scraping sound, then his sister exhaling. “Okay, I got it.” She said, before asking, “What should I do with it?”
“Toss it.”
A clattering sound came from the other side of the phone as his sister discarded the screen.
“Good job, now, can you climb out?”
“Yeah, I just gotta - ”
A loud banging sound came from the other end of the phone, along with a scream.
“Ohmygod!”
“Get out, sis!”
“He’s - he’s - ”
“Jackie! GET OUT!”
He heard his sister set the phone aside, then heard a grunt as she climbed up onto the windowsill.
Then a massive crashing sound.
Another scream.
Loud footsteps, accompanied by an animalistic snarling sound.
More screaming. “Chad, don’t!”
“Jackie?”
Cloth tearing.
His sister screaming.
The sound of repeated impacts.
His sister pleading as she cried. “No, please Chad, no….”
“Jackie!”
The loud smashing sound of porcelain breaking, followed by a rush of water.
His sister gurgling.
Surviving Rage | Book 2 Page 36