The Bomb and the Cage: Doree Anne (18 page)

“Why are you here?”

“I need a vehicle to get to Leefield.” 

“Let him go!” Mendez said. He was standing in front of us with his pistol raised.

“Get out of my home! You can’t come here and take what you want!”

“Join us then. It’s not safe here anymore.”

“I’m fine here!” I felt the hold get tighter and the pain sharper. He pushed me forward a step, the gun was within my reach. I looked at Mendez and winked.

“You have until
three
to let him go, one!”

“Get out of my home!”

“Two!” I closed my eyes.

              Mendez never said
three
. After two, he fired. I felt warm liquid against the back of my neck then broke free, grabbed my gun, and turned around. The man was holding his throat, falling to the floor. A knife with the tip covered in blood fell to his side. I put the barrel of my gun almost directly to his forehead and pulled the trigger. The eyes seemed to have been force shut by the ripple of the bullet entering his skull. His head was jerked back as the surrounding area behind was splattered with a grotesque mixture of blood, bone, and brain. I looked at what was once an older white male.

I looked at my side and seen where I had been cut by the knife. It couldn’t have gone in more than a quarter of an inch. I started to laugh.

“Ted, are you okay?”

“Okay? I just had a knife in my side and you shot the guy holding it, I’m fantastic.” I said smiling.

The front door burst open and both of us drew our guns on it. 

“Is everything okay?” Fender said with his rifle at low ready.

“Yeah, the owner was home.” I started to say. “He grabbed me and stuck me with a knife.”

“He didn’t leave us a choice, it was Ted or him.” Mendez said. Fender looked disappointed but understood.

“Let’s get back to business then. Find those keys so we can get out of here.”  

Chapter 40

09/18/2004 1225 Hours

Officer Ted Bryant

We decided to go with a 1998 dark green
Dodge Ram Passenger Van 3500
. It was clean inside and out, with large windows we could easily shoot out of, and a ladder on the back we could use to get on the roof if we needed too. The mileage on the van was only seventy-six miles so it wouldn’t need any maintenance for a while either. It seemed like a perfect fit for our needs and it even had a full tank of gas.

The only thing handicap about the van was a metal lift on the back that was used to pick up a wheelchair. The inside was also hallowed so a person in the wheel chair could get to the driver’s seat.

“Who wants to drive?” I said looking at the group. After a few moments of silence, Fender spoke up.

“Ted, I’ll drive.” I nodded in approval and we got in the van. Gus sat next to Fender in the front and I sat with Mendez in the back.

The plan was to drive into Leefield and see how bad things were. There were a few places we thought about going to, such as the public library and city hall. There was also another building, the three-story building on Main Street. It was old and if I remembered correctly, had a large metal gate at the entrance. It would be easy to secure the building.

Mendez looked at me. “When I was running for my life I never saw any other officers. I didn’t go to the north side of the prison though.” There was a brief pause. “I should have checked for survivors there.”

“If you had, then might not have met.”

“I would have gone back for Gus, it was the least I could have done for him.” Mendez looked out the side window. “He saved my life during the chaos. He killed those
Biters
that were chasing me. Had he not killed them, I’d never had made it to medical.”
So, it was him that I had saved.
I thought about telling him that it was me, but what difference did it make and I didn’t want to gloat. “I should have killed that other
Biter
as soon as I got to medical.” Tears began to swell up in his eyes. “I got in just in time. That last
Biter
stood there staring at me. Janis was the nurse on duty. She got too close to the window. It broke through and pulled her out. Before I could get the Biter it was already too late. I can’t explain why I didn’t kill it as soon as I got to safety.”

“You can’t change the past. All you can do is move forward and not repeat your mistakes. We all make mistakes. Had I not been so oblivious to my surroundings that guy in the dealership would still be alive.”

              The prison was sixteen miles from Leefield, and we hoped it wouldn’t be infected. After our run in at the gas station, we knew there were worse things than the
Biters
. The
Biters
couldn’t open doors, they couldn’t shoot at us, and they wouldn’t torch a safe house. However, humans could and would if they felt we were a threat. If the group that attacked us came back to the gas station they’d find the bodies. If they waited for us in Clearwater and never showed up, they might come to Leefield for us. If they came for us, then we would be ready to finish the job.

“Where are you from Ted?” 

“Leefield.” The thought of making a quick pit stop at my apartment was one I was planning. I had to get my dog Bush. I hoped he was okay in the apartment. “I stay in the apartments on the left when you first enter Leefield.”

“Ted.” Fender said from behind the wheel. “Do you need to stop there we can. We can at least raid your refrigerator, I’m starving.” Everyone in the van started laughing. I smiled.

“I’m a police officer guys. I know I make more than you C.O.’s but I’m still eating noodles.” I said, followed by more laughs.

“Maybe we should have picked up a doctor then. Get us steak and fine cheese.” Mendez said.

A moment later we passed a sign that read
Leefield 5 miles
. It hadn’t been but forty seconds before the mood changed in the van.

“Guys do you see that smoke?” Gus said. I turned and faced the front.

Up ahead there was thick black smoke coming from something in Leefield. It was at that moment that I came to realized that this was the plague that would change humanity forever. We were sixteen miles from the prison, how could it have spread here already? Or was it humans doing this. I once again would like to make the statement that
Biters
don’t set fires. Could this be caused by the lack of humans left, mobs, or both?

***

There were maybe ten
Biters
walking around my apartment complex,
Rain Tree Apartments
. The complex sat off of Highway 27 and was made up of a mixture between one and two bedroom duplexes. When you first entered the complex there were four apartment buildings on the left, the first being the office, and two on the right. In the middle, separating the apartments was a group mailbox and bulletin board. I stayed in apartment twelve, which was in the back right.

The office and first two buildings on the left had been broken into. It was impossible to tell if it was
Biters
or
looters
. We passed a group of three
Biters
and backed the van up to my front door, they didn’t seem to notice us pass. Mendez and I got out of the van. Gus followed but not to the apartment. Instead, he climbed the ladder to the top of the van. Fender kept the engine going.

“Guys, if you hear me fire then you have about thirty seconds to get in.” Gus said.

“We won’t be long.” I said, pulling out my keys.

              Bush was barking inside and his familiar bark made me smile. I opened the door and he ran to me as I bent down to hug him. I rubbed behind his ear as he licked my face.

“Come on Bushy, Bushy, Bush, into the van.” I took a step back and patted the inside of the van twice and he jumped in.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to be bringing a dog with us? What if he barks while we are trying to be quite?” Mendez asked.

“He won’t, trust me on that. He’s a police trained K-9.”

“Alright, if you say so.” There was worry written all over his face.

There wasn’t much inside my apartment that was needed, or could use. However, I didn’t want them to know the only reason I wanted to come here was Bush. I went into my bedroom where there were several extra uniforms which I grabbed and shoved into a suitcase. Underneath my mattress I kept a
Glock
23 in a concealment holster with four magazines. I took out, checked to make sure it was hot, and put it on in the small of my back. In the closet, there was a hunting bow and quiver with twenty arrows. These were relics from my childhood, a time when I lived in the country on the outskirts of Berwick. I took the bow and quiver and a machete and katana in the living room above my television. It was already proven that the
Biters
were attracted to sound. These would be useful at killing quietly.

“Ted, you weren’t joking about not having food.” Mendez said, with a smile.

I ran past him with the suitcase and weapons. I placed the suitcase in the back and put the weapons on top. There were a few
Biters
walking towards us. They would be here in less than a few minutes, maybe sooner if they started running.

“Gus, go ahead and get down. We’ll be done before they get here.” I said. Mendez came up from behind carrying a few bags of food. He placed them in the van and I stood guard while Gus got down. Once Gus and Mendez got into the van I climbed in and closed the doors behind us.

Just as we were about to pull out of the apartment complex, one of my neighbors came running out of apartment five. Her name was Amanda. I had only talked to her a few times since she moved here five months ago. She was a pretty woman in her mid-twenties who had recently gone through a divorce. I assumed she was just another person who had gotten married far too young. People change with age. The things you love at nineteen are not always the same things you’ll love when you’re thirty.

There were two
Biters
between her and us. They were running in her direction and in a few moments would be on her. She was screaming something, but it was inaudible over the sounds inside the van. I opened the back door and jumped out as Fender stopped the van. With my
Glock
23 in hand, I fired my first shot. It struck one of the
Biters
in the base of the neck. It fell to the ground, but it wasn’t a kill. I shot the other. The bullet hit it in the back of the head at such an angle that it took half its head with it. A mixture of what was left of its brain splattered onto her. She stopped running and froze not knowing whether to clean herself, scream, or run. I ran to the biter that was now halfway up, rammed the front of my
Glock
into the side of its head, and pulled the trigger. It was like setting off a firework of gore onto the pavement. Amanda screamed at the sight and I pulled her close to me.

“Snap out of it!” I screamed at her.

The gunshots attracted more attention. There were now several
Biters
running towards us. Gus and Mendez stood outside of the van shooting at the group that was coming towards the van. I dragged Amanda to the van and picked her up and tossed her inside.

“Let’s go guys, she’s in!” I yelled. Gus and Mendez got in and slammed the doors as Fender pulled out of the apartment complex.   

Chapter 41

09/18/2004 1235

Robert Bran

             
After they killed the first few inside there was only a few left down some of the aisles. We searched the entire building except for two back rooms and still hadn’t found Amy or any of the library staff for that matter. They must have been able to get somewhere safe, before the doors gave way to the
Biters.
I pressed my head against the second door, (the first being silent) listening for sounds of movement. There was a strange sound, like something dragging against carpet.

“It sounds like something dragging on carpet. Let’s open the other door first.”

While kneeling I opened the door slowly. Bruce stood above with his crossbow ready. It was empty. The room had a blackboard on one side with twenty or so desks in the room. Some of the desks were knocked over and some were facing away from the black board. At the entrance there was a tipped over desk and the surrounding area was covered in blood. The blackboard had a banner across it that read:
Fairy Tale Time
.

“Oh no, this is bad, real bad.” I said starting to tear up.

“What’s bad?” Bruce asked, entering the room and started looking around.

“The library had a reading program, every Saturday morning starting at eight. Amy ran the program.”

It was the highlight of Amy’s week. The program was at risk of being cut a few months ago, for low attendance, when Amy asked if she could give it a shot. It went from four children to having sometimes as many as twenty. I helped Amy sometimes with costumes. She would dress like princesses and knights. One time while reading ‘Frog and Toad Are Friends’ she even dressed up like a frog. It was adorable and parents loved her charisma. She must have been with the children when the things attacked.

“We need to check the other room.” Linda said, putting her hand on my back snapping me out of my daze.

Bruce stood behind me with his crossbow raised above my head as I once again crouched down and as soon as the door opened, Bruce fired the crossbow. There was a sound of the bolt hitting something hard, followed by the thump of something falling to the ground. Bruce stepped out of the way as Linda stepped forward and fired. I couldn’t bear to look knowing that any of those shots could be hitting Amy. I heard the sound of something banging into the door and when I looked up to see a
Biter
coming through the doorway. Bruce stepped up and stabbed it in the head. As it fell back he pulled his knife out.

“That’s the last one
walking
.” Bruce said, stepping into the room. I got up and joined him.

There were three of them on the ground dead and one child sized ones crawling towards us. It was a boy around the age of eight. His legs were gone. He dragged himself to us and Bruce put his foot on top of him holding him in place.