The Eliminators | Volume 1

by Druga, Jacqueline

  “You want to adopt in the apocalypse?” Rigs said.

  “Stop it. Kids need love, hugs when they’re scared, someone there. I saw a little girl who reminded me of Sami when she was about six or seven. I wanted to just go hug this little girl. She was all alone.”

  “Going to Cameron?” Rigs asked.

  Rachel nodded.

  “Well, then you have a chance. Hug her when we get there. We’re gonna be there all night. It’ll be too late to travel. And I’m sure they’re gonna be needing people to take on the kids without families.”

  “You know all of us could be one big family to them,” she said. “We can keep them safe.”

  “Without a doubt.” Rigs lifted his head. “The bus is stopping. We must be here.”

  Both Rachel and Rigs stood from their seats and just as they entered the main portion of the RV, Kasper had left the driver’s seat and walked to them.

  “We … we have problems,” Kasper said.

  Before he could elaborate a loud ‘Thump’ hit against the RV, then another.

  Through the corner of her eye, Rachel saw the side door open and she dove for it, pulling it closed as an arm came through.

  “Shit,” Rigs joined her, trying to hold the door closed by the little handle.

  Rachel could feel the struggle.

  “Kasper, Barry,” Rigs shouted. “Close the grates over the windows. Bill … make sure the front doors are locked and secured. Jack …”

  “I’m on it.” Jack had his lassos above his shoulder and reached for the ceiling hatch.

  Rachel heard the motorized noise of the protective shutters lowering over the windows, and it seemed like an eternity that she and Rigs struggled with that door.

  It went from one arm to three, then finally, they went limp.

  The siege against the door ended by what Rachel believed was from Jack.

  Even with the dead not getting through the door, they were still relentless.

  The only way to get them was to join Jack on the roof and try to take them out that way.

  <><><><>

  Sandy lifted her eyes to the roof of the RV. A large RV by standards that slept seven, was only a decade old in the interior design but the windows were reinforced.

  All but one.

  That shutter never dropped because Rachel and Rigs were pulling the door.

  Sandy didn’t go to the RV roof with them, she couldn’t. Her hips were bad and it was too hard of a climb. It wasn’t the first time the team had to fight their way out of being surrounded, not the first time they had to go to the roof to do so.

  She listened to the footsteps, the pounding and the continuous gunfire.

  It was so loud.

  The dead were relentless adding to the noise.

  Then Sandy heard a noise she hadn’t heard before. The breaking of glass.

  She hurriedly looked to see the window of the side door shatter. An arm extended in and then in some weird, zombie twist like the The Shining, an undead looked in. He stared at Sandy as if he knew her, then he opened the door.

  Her only choice was to run into the back and lock herself in that room. Stay there, stay quiet and hopefully, stay safe.

  It took two hours and a lot more ammunition than they wanted to use to clear enough of a path to move the RV to safety.

  Evening had set, and the sound of the gunshots was a calling beacon,

  They just kept coming.

  “I’m out,” Rigs said, his empty clip dropped to the ground.

  “Me, too,” added Barry.

  “I’ll go get some,” Rachel said walking to the hatch.

  “I’ll help,” Kasper followed her.

  She sat on the opening and after turning, lowered herself belly against the frame, feet first.

  The moment she submerged into the main body of the RV, she smelt it. The putrid rotting smell of the dead.

  It wasn’t in front of her, it had to behind. The second she dropped to the floor, she spun around and pulled out her honing rod. Not a moment too soon, the undead woman was right before her, and with a hard upward stabbing motion, Rachel rammed the rod up under her chin.

  “We have company!” Rachel yelled out when another appeared from the hallway.

  “I’m with you,” Kasper said.

  Rachel rushed toward the hall and to the undead man. He wasn’t alone, two more were there as well.

  “Back up,” Kasper instructed. “We’ll lure them out.”

  Rachel took a few steps back, the undead lunged for her, she slipped out of his way, ducking under his arm.

  Kasper grabbed hold of him yanking him forward and Rachel charged for the one behind him.

  That left one more. Before Rachel could get him, Kasper had skewered through the head of the final one with his gladius.

  He dropped with a hard thud.

  “Sandy!” Rachel called out. “Sandy!”

  Please, she thought, please let her have locked herself somewhere safe.

  “Sandy!”

  “I’m okay. Is it clear?” Sandy asked.

  “Yes.”

  Rachel breathed heavily and the door to the back room slid open. She exhaled in relief.

  “Are you hurt?” Rachel asked.

  Sandy shook her head. “No. No, I’m fine.”

  “Did you have any doubt, Rach?” Kasper asked. “I mean, Sandy isn’t a red shirt. If it was Jack or Bill, then I’d worry.”

  “True.” Rachel turned when she heard the others come from the roof.

  “Kasper,” Rigs called out. “You wanna drive or I can.”

  “I’ll drive.” Kasper stepped over the bodies.

  “Wow.” Rigs said. “What a mess.”

  Rachel nodded. It wasn’t only messy, undead blood was everywhere, and it smelled.

  For the first time, the RV had been compromised and they got in. And Rachel couldn’t wait until they got the bodies of the undead out.

  SIXTEEN

  Bill was a machine.

  On hands and knees he took to the task of cleaning the RV and removing all traces of blood and smell left from the dead.

  Barry was impressed.

  He left him alone, because Bill requested it and they parked the RV not far from Cameron.

  They would move on, even though it was late, but they had to remove the bodies and clean, along with repairing the doors.

  Kasper and Jack had closed the gate … literally.

  The protective fence built to surround the Cameron Survivor City was open.

  Six busloads of survivors, plus whomever had already been there meant at least five hundred people.

  All of them turned.

  Most of which escaped.

  They were still cautious, keeping an eye out, waiting to roll.

  Barry stood near the fence. He watched as those who remained in the town meandered. Some came to the fence, most carried body parts as if they were at some sort of fair, walking and devouring the flesh of the victim.

  “Well,” Kasper said as he joined Barry. “Bill said that his people were left without food.”

  “Yes, he did.”

  “At least these people are eating.”

  Barry looked at Kasper. He couldn’t get mad at the tasteless comment. He had learned that was who Kasper was. A young man who never spoke of his family, worked as a security guard and played video games on his down time.

  “What happened here?” Barry asked. “In your apocalyptic expertise opinion.”

  Rachel’s voice rang out, answering. “Isn’t it obvious?” she asked. ‘They did to these people what they did to Bill’s.”

  “What do you mean?” Barry asked.

  “They killed them.”

  “Oh, Rachel, no.” Barry shook his head. “You think they brought them here to die?”

  “I do. Like they did with Bill’s Survivor City.”

  “And how?” Barry asked.

  “Bringing them to a known infected area.”

  “I have to disagree,” Barry s
aid. “Look at this place. A protective fence. It looks as if they had food …” he shifted his eyes to Kasper. “Past tense. The dead got in.”

  “Or did they?” Kasper asked.

  “We can argue semantics,” Barry said. “Chicken or the egg thing? Did the infected start here or come here?”

  “It started here without a doubt. These dead are about two weeks old,” Kasper said. “There were thirty percent elderly and young. That’s what I guessed by the buses. Typically, when we’re out there, how many zombie kids and old people do we see?” he shifted his eyes to Barry then Rachel. “Very few, because sadly, there’s never enough left of them to rise. So what made that kid so special?” He pointed. “No bite marks, no tears, blood on the chest from vomiting. That kid had the actual virus. Bet me.”

  Rachel finally looked, when she did, her eyes widened and she ran off.

  “What did I say?” Kasper asked.

  Rachel vomited. Twenty or so feet from Kasper and Barry, she bent over and threw up. It was emotionally charged.

  When she was done, she looked up and through the fence.

  The purple jumper.

  Messy ponytail.

  Ragdoll bunny still dangling in her arms.

  Rachel vomited again.

  “Rach?” Rigs called her name. “Are you alright?’

  “Oh my fucking God!” Rachel blasted, standing up and facing the other way. “Fucking can’t throw up in peace.”

  “I’m sorry. Barry said something was wrong. I thought I’d check.”

  “Wait.” Rachel called for him when he started to walk away. “I’m sorry. I am.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “Remember I told you about the little girl that reminded me of my daughter?’

  Rigs nodded. “The one you wanted to adopt.”

  “Yeah. Her.” Rachel pointed.

  Rigs looked out. “Aw, Rach, I’m sorry.”

  “So am I. Was this on purpose? Did Command set these people up to die?”

  “I don’t think so,” Rigs replied.

  “Then how did this happen?”

  “I don’t have an answer. Our job is to eliminate them.”

  “Why, Rigs, huh? Why are we fucking doing this? Every day, every hour with no breaks, out here clearing towns so … this … can happen.”

  “There are so many, Rach,” Rigs said. “You once figured out the math of it. Did you really think it was going to be that easy?”

  “I didn’t think it was going to be like this. Over and over. It's pointless.”

  “No. No it’s not. I just don’t know what to …” Rigs paused.

  Rachel glanced at him in his silence. “What is it? Why did you stop?”

  “Bed bugs.”

  “Uh ... what?”

  “Bed bugs,” Rigs said. “I knew a guy, he travelled a lot.”

  “What does this have to do with what we’re discussing?”

  “A lot. Hear me out. This guy brought bed bugs home. His wife was pissed.”

  “I would be, too,” Rachel said.

  “And they called an exterminator, they came in, sprayed, did the routine, bed bugs gone. Or so they thought.”

  “They came back,” Rachel said.

  “Exactly. Because you have to keep pounding away at them, when they come into the house, there really is no source of origin. You have to keep going, every cycle, until eventually they’re gone.”

  “Are you using bed bugs as a metaphor for our zombies?”

  “Absolutely,” Rigs said. “They’re annoying, they creep in, they bite, they die but keep coming back. At one point Rachel there were probably thousands of zombies here. Now there are hundreds. The next time a couple dozen. The next ... none. We just have to be as relentless as my friend and his bed bugs. We don’t give up. We keep hitting until eventually they’re all gone.”

  “Will that happen?” Rachel asked.

  “Yes,” Rigs replied. “I believe that. If I have to keep coming back to a town over and over I will. Wanna know why?”

  Rachel nodded.

  “What else do we have to do? It’s our job. We have a purpose in this world now. That’s a gift. Not a lot of people have a purpose other than just trying to survive. It’s a moral obligation now.”

  Rachel looked at him with a smirk. “Moral obligation.”

  “Yeah, I’m not giving up. Are you?”

  Rachel shook her head.

  “Tonight we move the RV somewhere safe and tomorrow, you know what the plan is before we head to command?”

  “Clear the town?”

  “Yep. Clear this town. Because that is what we do. We’re the eliminators.”

  “Actually … according to Kasper, we’re the Flaming Saffrons.”

  Rigs laughed and Rachel sadly chuckled. The smile didn’t last long. Before returning to the RV, she looked out into the town and to the little girl once more.

  SEVENTEEN

  Evansville, Indiana

  There was a small overpass that the team had to take in order to get to the main town part of Evansville where the health department building was located.

  A mobile fence and check point was set up center of the bridge like structure.

  They seemed disorganized, almost as if they weren’t expecting anyone.

  Kasper was driving with Rachel in the passenger seat when they pulled to the gate.

  “Wow, thought we saw the last of the Eliminator RVs,” said the check point guard. “Name.”

  Rachel leaned toward the window. “The Eliminators.”

  He didn’t even bother looking at his clipboard. “Name.”

  “Flaming Saffrons,” Kasper said.

  “Gotcha, great name. We thought you were one of the dead teams. Go on in, you made it just in time.”

  “What is he talking about?” Rachel asked.

  “Beats me.” Kasper waited until they opened the gate and he drove through.

  The area looked deserted not much at all like command center locations. They located the Health Department, pulling out front and parking.

  “Sandy, do you have your list?” Rigs asked as they prepared to leave. “Bill, I need you to stay put. Just in case we aren’t allowed to have you with us.”

  Bill nodded with agreement.

  “Rachel and I will go speak to Liz, find out what’s going on.”

  “And ask about Cameron,” Rachel added.

  “I just think if we all go in,” Rigs said. “We’re going to come across as threatening.”

  Barry scratched his head. “You really think Rachel is the one to bring?”

  “What is that supposed to mean, Barry?” Rachel asked.

  “You uh … you are pretty angry about it.”

  “And you aren’t? We all should be.”

  “We are.” Barry held up his hand. “But we don’t know how those people got infected.”

  Rachel mumbled. “Probably in the food.”

  “Rachel, come on,” Barry said. “Be levelheaded in there.”

  “You’re right. Let’s do this.”

  All but Bill unloaded from the RV. The plan was to go inside and separate, they didn’t expect to see Liz walking about of the building carrying a box.

  “Jesus,” Liz said in shock. ‘You’re alive. I thought you had died, all of you. When nobody heard from you. It’s been a week. Rachel, your hair. It’s looks fantastic.”

  “Thank you. After Kasper cut it accidentally, Bill fixed it.”

  “Who’s Bill?”

  Rigs interjected. “Liz, do you have a minute we can speak in private?”

  “Of course, another ten minutes, I’d be gone,” Liz replied.

  “You’re leaving command already?”

  “Everyone is,” Liz replied. “Everyone is being pulled.”

  “Everyone?” Rigs asked.

  “Everyone. Including the eliminator teams. This way.” Liz turned and walked back into the building.

  Rigs examined the confused faces of his team before he and R
achel followed Liz inside.

  “I’ll get your paperwork finished in route,” Liz said, shutting the office door. “Satellite communication is a little sketchy this side of the Ohio river. But it’s fine, I can tell you where you need to go. She pointed to the chairs that were set across from the empty desk and she sat. “Have a seat. I have to tell you, I thought for sure you were either killed or you were defecting.”

  “Like to another country?” Rigs asked. “What the hell is that? Why defect?”

  “Because they don’t like the idea of what’s happening,” Liz replied. “Nine months ago we had seventy-four teams. We have lost through death, twelve of them. Nine teams defected last week. You have been gone a week.”

  “We were in Cameron,” Rachel answered. “The survivor city.”

  “Okay,” Liz replied.,

  “They’re all dead.”

  “Oh.”

  “Oh?” Rachel asked with edge. “Just ‘oh’? That’s all you have to say about it?”

  “What do you want me to say about it?”

  “Fuck, Liz, an entire survivor city is dead and you just say ‘oh’, it’s not the first one,” Rachel argued.

  “I know.”

  “You know? You know?”

  “Rach,” Rigs said her name calmly.

  Rachel rose. “You fucking sit there all smug, and say ‘oh’, because you knew damn well you are sending these people to their deaths. You were sending them to die so they weren’t your responsibility.”

  “Rach,” Rigs warned.

  “Don’t!” Liz rose as well.

  “Don’t what?” Rachel leaned into her. “Don’t call you out on your game? That we were all pawns? Why the hell were we out there if you were just going to send survivors to their deaths?”

  “Don’t you dare get in my face!” Liz blasted. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

  “Who do you think you are?”

  “I am the person that kept you clothed, fed, safe for nearly a year!” Liz yelled.

  “While you sent thousands to their death.”

  “I didn’t send them to their death, they were already on their way. I just moved them further from safe areas.”

  “Ladies,” Rigs interjecting, placed his hand between the two women who squared off over that desk. “Can you calm down, please. Liz … what do you mean they were already on their way?”