by C M Hoffmann
Trey runs back to the truck, “Whatcha see?”
Cane, “A black cloud of misery, masking the approach of maybe fifteen or more bodies on the east side.”
“Steves?”
“Can’t say yet. But, I’d rather not find out, bro.”
“Mallory, you need to make a decision. You’re welcome to come with us. We can make do. But we need you to decide now.”
Justin now awake from the smoke inhalation and shouting, “Mommy, I’m scared.”
Mallory, “If you think you can manage with us, we’d like to join you. We’ll pull our...”
Trey, “No need to say more, you’re in. I hope you’re ready for this family. CANE! In the bed of the truck, I’m driving.”
Cane, “Dammit. I hate your driving.”
Trey enters the driver seat as Cane settles into the bed of the truck. Trey adjusts the truck to his body as the looming figures come into view.
Cane, “Gavin! Time to move!” Gavin and Wade jump in the truck and put it in drive. “Trey, set, go!”
The convoy takes off leaving the figures to disappear in the ever thickening smoke. They head west on West Esplanade Avenue avoiding the interstate as instructed. Pops takes the lead again. The occasional running vehicle appears on the road for no more than a minute before disappearing again. Finally at Clearview Parkway, the smoke clears.
A few minutes in clear air and a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Deputy marked unit falls in line behind Cane’s truck. Given the recent run in on the north shore, Cane sets his shotgun down in the bed of his truck and retrieves his law enforcement credentials from his back pocket. The deputy hits his red and blue lights and the convoy comes to a stop in the middle of W. Esplanade Avenue. The deputy approaches Cane’s truck cautiously, a steady hand rests on his holstered Glock 17 9mm.
Cane with his hands raised and his credentials visible, “Hey, we’re KPD, just trying to make it home.”
Deputy, “Name’s Ronson. Can I see those creds?”
“Cane Hollann, sure wanna catch?”
“Go head.” Cane tosses his wallet to Ronson. “Works for me. Where you headed?”
“We all live in different parts of Kenner. We’ve been hunting on the north shore the last few days when the shit hit the fan.”
“Any luck out there?”
“Game? Nah, got a squirrel today but left it behind when the steves showed up.”
“The what?”
“Sorry the things that this MRF Virus created.”
“Oh, why steve? Never mind. Y’all want an escort home?”
“Is it bad?”
“Heard some bad news but not as bad on the West bank, or in New Orleans, seems like your city is doing pretty well. The escort will just make sure no one else stops you. How many of y’all?”
“Roger that. All together? Now there are eight. Cops, just three not including former, me, my middle brother driving this truck, and my dad in the lead truck.”
“No kidding? Alright I’ll get y’all home quick. Where y’all heading?”
“South side of Kenner, round Williams and W. Metairie.”
“Can do. Let your dad know.”
“Roger that man, ‘preciate ya.”
“Gotta stick together in times like these.” He tosses Cane’s wallet back.
Cane calls Pops to relay what just happened.
HOME BASE
The deputy takes the lead with overhead lights on and the family makes it home with little difficulty. When they arrive at their parent’s house a small number of bodies are roaming the streets. A few are laid out in the roadway or neighboring lawns obviously put down with extreme prejudice.
Wyatt comes out to meet the family with his Glock 17 tucked in his waistband, “Bout time y’all got here. It’s fucking crazy in this place.”
Pops, “Let’s get unloaded and get y’all home.”
Cane texts Scarlett and Trey texts Lynn to update them. Cane takes a minute to introduce Wyatt, Mallory, and Justin, then everyone moves frantically to unload and arrange the trucks so they can all get home. Ronson stands by to provide a look out for the family.
Wade, “Hey, Ronson, you heard anything about the neighborhood south of West Metairie and west of David Drive?”
Ronson takes a deep breath, “Everyone in that area was evacuated due to increased violence and infection. They were all given a place to go in Baton Rouge... then the Bonnet Carre Spillway collapsed. I-Ten is a parking lot now. All of the exits got blocked. There was nowhere to go. A few people turned what your friend calls ‘steve,’ others tried to walk out. We’ve been in that neighborhood ever since trying to help people get home... only problem is no one’s there. Only people left are those ‘things.’ Can’t get an answer at any door.”
“When we finish here, mind helping me check something out?”
“Not a problem, gotta make it quick though. Things are getting worse daily.”
“Let’s head there now then. Cane, I gotta get home.”
Cane, “I heard Ronson. Go see, brother. If you need to, come back. Oh, and always remember to check your six, ‘I’ve seen the movies,’ it doesn’t end well if you don’t check your six.”
“One way or another I’ll be back. Ronson, you ready?”
Ronson responds with a nod.
Cane hugs Wade, “Stay safe, fathead. Call if you need us.”
Wade, “TF-504, right? I hate your face.”
Cane laughs, “You too my friend.”
Mallory, who overheard the exchange, “Did he just say he ‘hates your face’?”
Cane, “Yeaa, Wade’s not much of a ‘feeler,’ likes to pretend he’s big and bad. When he says ‘I hate your face’ that’s usually his response when someone says ‘I love you’ first. He tries so hard not to say ‘I love you’ back; so instead, he trained himself to say ‘I hate your face’. Yes, he’s strange.”
Mallory looks perplexed, “That is pretty strange.”
Pops, “Cane, I need a hand for a second.”
Cane, “Whatcha need?”
Pops whispers, “Can you take Mallory and her boy with you? We don’t have the space for them right now.”
“Not a problem, I’m sure Scarlett will love it. Hey! Mallory, Justin! You guys like dogs?”
Mallory smiles as Justin yells, “YES!”
“Would you like to come with me and see mine?”
Justin, “Please mom?”
Mallory, “Of course.”
Mom, “Cane, Trey, come here. You boys be careful. No matter what you can come back. Stay strong and stay safe. Give the girls our best.”
Trey, “You just make sure you keep Gavin off the snacks for a while.”
Gavin, “I heard that!”
Trey and Cane laugh as Trey explains, “You were supposed to.”
Cane, “Don’t worry, momma, we got this.” A tear reaches Mom’s eye as she smiles.
Trey, “Ready for another convoy, little brother? Think you can keep up?”
Cane, “Ass, we’re on the same team here. And I’ve got new passengers, so take it easy.”
“Time to roll then.”
Wyatt, “Y’all rolling out?”
Cane, “Gotta get home before Scarlett kills me.”
“Mind if I tag along?”
“Like you even need to ask. Hey, how’s Marie?”
Wyatt stiffens, “Alright so far as I know. She was with her family and friends in Prairieville. They should be safe for a while, they’re pretty far away from other people out there.”
“Word. Let’s head out.”
Cane and Trey spend a minute to hug their mother, fist bump their other brother and their father, and double check they have everything before pulling off. As they start to drive shots are heard in the distance. On the way home they take the usually bustling expanses of Williams Boulevard. Now it is mainly deserted and multiple businesses appear to be looted. A large police presence is seen standing guard at the Winn-Dixie grocery store and the major gas station
s of the area. The longer they drive the more cars appear on the road seeming to be going nowhere in particular.
‘Hmm, not a steve in sight,’ Cane thinks to himself. ‘Maybe it’s not as bad as we thought.’
Mallory points, “Wow look at that!” In a large empty parking lot sits a bonfire of abnormal proportions. Kenner Police Officers are standing in a circle around the blaze with weapons drawn but at a low ready. Each officer seems to have a thousand yard stare as they watch the flames rise.
Cane, “Burning the bodies? Seems a bit early for that kind of thing. Looks like they have a handle on it though.” He follows Trey until they split off in different directions to make it to their houses. Wyatt continues to follow Cane.
♦ ♦ ♦
Wade arrives at his house with Ronson to find the front door wide open and the house ransacked. After searching it Wade walks back to their vehicles while Ronson follows trying to find the right words.
Ronson, “I’m sorry. If it helps at all it looks like your family made it out. With all the pictures and decorations missing. Thieves don’t take items of only sentimental value.”
Wade, “Yea, but now what? I have no idea where they went; or if they even made it out.”
“I don’t know, it’s a tough new world. Do you think they could have survived?”
“Chances are I’ll never find out.” Wade fights back tears, “Good thing I’ve got another family on standby.”
“They’re kind of an odd bunch. You know that right?”
“Yea, but they’re mine and they’re all I got left. Mind giving me an escort back?”
“I gotta check... oh shit!” He jumps back and draws his weapon. A mass of stumbling bodies is coming down the street at a ninety degree angle from where they were standing.
Wade draws his Beretta, “Dammit! Why is that scrawny shit always right?”
“Well he did tell us to watch our six… What you wanna do?”
Wade holsters his gun, “I’ll be right back, call out if you need me.”
Ronson stands bewildered as Wade runs off to the house. He keeps a low ready on his weapon as he watches the approaching crowd. After a minute, he gets a paranoid feeling and checks behind him, “Well if that guy was right once, I’m sure he’ll be right again eventually.”
Wade returns with an aluminum baseball bat.
Ronson, “Really? I don’t know what you think this is, but it isn’t like TV.”
“But it might be, and I’ve got some aggression to get rid of. Watch my back.”
Ronson lets out a sigh as Wade begins to walk towards the nine figures drawing ever closer.
Wade stops ten feet short of the lead body and rears the bat back. As the figure gets within three feet, Wade lets loose a home run over the green monster swing and the figure’s head caves in with a satisfying ‘clink’. The force of the swing sends the limp body hurling to the ground with the follow through. Wade spits on the mutilated corpse as the rage soothes him, “That’s one. Who’s next?”
Ronson mumbles to himself in disbelief, “What is wrong with these people?”
♦ ♦ ♦
Mom and Pops begin sorting out their supplies. Canned food, pastas, rice, and perishable items. Firearms and their accompanying ammunition and magazines. Bags, home goods, clothing.
Pops, “We’ll need to use the stuff in the fridge first. I’m surprised the power’s still on.”
Mom, “You’re right, but who knows how long it’ll stay that way. At least we got the solar panels when we had the chance.”
“They should definitely come in handy. Can you go collect the rest of guns that are out? I need to go open the safe.”
“What are we going to do about securing this place? Or are we going to leave?”
“Hard to say. I don’t think we’ll be leaving. It was difficult enough getting home. Plus I don’t know of anywhere else that would be safe.”
“What about the department?”
“They’ll probably be overrun and packed in like sardines. If not by these things, then by employees bringing everyone they can to be ‘safe’.”
“What about the hurricane boards we keep in the garage? Won’t be much, but at least it’ll keep the glass from breaking.”
“Good idea. As soon as we get the last of the guns and ammo together, Gavin and I will work on the boards.”
“It’s going to be a dark winter.”
As Mom and Pops split to their separate tasks, Gavin can be heard loading magazine after magazine for his various weapons.
Gavin had always had bad luck when it came to bosses. Over the years he found it easier to stay at home and help Mom and Pops with various things around the house. He never was quite comfortable being the oldest son and still at home, but it suited him. Gavin was a family man as was the way with the whole family. Family first. That was their way of life. His younger brothers may have given him a hard time for staying at home, but they knew that was where he was happy. Gavin wanted a family of his own, but as times with work were tough, he never had time to pursue one for himself.
♦ ♦ ♦
Trey arrives home to find three steves lurking near his fence. His two German shepherds and one Pitbull are going absolutely crazy at the steves. The sound of the barking dogs only seems to be keeping the steves’ attention.
Trey, “Well, at least we know now that the noise draws them in. Wonder if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that the dogs don’t seem to like them.” He leans over and retrieves a tire iron from the rear seat of his truck. As he approaches the backs of the three steves, he draws his 1911 and holds it in his off hand. ‘Just in case,’ he thinks to himself. Trey slams the tire iron into the base of the closest steve’s skull and it collapses. With the barking dogs, the other two steves don’t seem to have taken any notice to his arrival.
Trey takes a swing at the second steve and sends it flying, knocking the other one to the ground with it. None of the steves seem to have actually stopped moving. Trey takes the pry end of the tire iron and rams it into the first steve’s eye. After the initial jerking, the steve lies motionless with a slow trickle of blood down its face. The second one seems to gain its bearing and tries to pick itself up off the third. Trey delivers another strike to the back of the steves head and it falls back on top of the third.
The third and final steve, a woman, seems to be rather energetic as opposed to the other two. As Trey raises the tire iron over his head, the third steve swipes at his knee. Trey buckles and falls to his knees as the old work injuries come back with a vengeance.
Trey roars in pain, “MOTHERFUCKER!” He loses all sense of stealth and levels his 1911 at the face of the third steve. The .45 caliber cartridge goes off like two trains colliding head on at high speeds. The sound brings Lynn out followed closely by little Emma, now only five years old.
Emma shrieks, wide eyed , “Daddy!”
Trey, “Daddy’s fine, baby girl, just stay there and keep watch while mommy comes to pick daddy up.”
Lynn, “Go figure, not even two minutes home and you’ve already managed to hurt yourself.”
“Thanks for the confidence, baby. Can I get a hand?”
Lynn moves to pick Trey up and Emma starts clapping.
Trey looks at her incredulously and thinks, ‘I’m going to kill Cane for teaching her that.’ Emma giggles in response as she wipes tears from her eyes.
Emma runs to Trey, “Daddy, can you pick me up? I want to hug you but you’re too tall.”
This was her latest thing, ‘she’ wants to do something for ‘you’ but ‘you’ have to do all the work. Trey remembers their last breakfast before they went hunting, ‘Daddy, I want to make you pancakes! Can you get the mix down? Can you get the water? Can you light the stove? Daddy, I can’t see, can you get the chair? Daddy, it won’t flip right, can you do it?’ Trey smiles through the pain as he bends over to pick up his daughter.
Emma, “Daddy? How’s Grams, and Pops, and Uncle G, and Uncle Wade? Daddy! Is Parrain a
lright?”
Trey, “One at a time. Yes, dear, everyone is alright, we’ll probably see them later.”
“Do you think Parrain will have cookies?”
Lynn laughs, “I swear I think you may love cookies more than he does.”
Emma smiles broadly, “I know I do, he’s old!”
Trey, “Hey, I’m older than him.”
“But you’re a daddy; you’re supposed to be old.”
“Well you are right.”
“I’m always right. Just like Parrain.”
Lynn rolls her eyes, “Alright you two. Get inside and get cleaned up. I’m sure we have things to get ready.”
Trey sets Emma down and she runs inside. Trey calls after her, “Emma! Let the dogs in please! Baby, we need to get things organized. I don’t know if we’re staying or not, but we need to be ready for just about anything.”
Lynn swats Trey on his backside, “Get to it then.”
♦ ♦ ♦
Cane, Mallory, and Justin continue down Williams Boulevard with Wyatt in tow.
Justin, “Mr. Cane. What kind of dogs do you have?”
Cane, “All kinds. We’ll be there soon and you can play with them.”
Justin bounces excitedly in his mother’s lap, “I can’t wait! I love dogs!”
As they make it within two blocks of Cane’s home, a steady stream of shots can be heard.
Mallory, “Wonder where they are coming from?”
Cane stiffens and white-knuckles the steering wheel, “My house...” He punches the gas and Wyatt follows suit. As they round the corner to Cane’s block, it appears almost every resident of the nearby apartments has become infected. Cane stops at the corner. “Mallory, I need you and Justin to get in Wyatt’s truck. I’m gonna do something stupid, and I’m not sure it will work. I want you two to be safe. Tell Wyatt what I just said, he’ll understand.”
Mallory unquestioningly wraps Justin to her chest and bolts from the truck. She makes it to Wyatt’s truck quickly avoiding any unwanted attention and climbs in.
Wyatt, “What’s up?”
Mallory, “Cane said he was going to do something stupid and to get in your truck. He said you would understand. Do you know what’s going on?”