Devour: Death & Decay Book 1 (9 page)

Liv tucked her treasures into her pocket and turned to leave. In her haste, she had almost missed what was sitting right on top of the toolbox: a crank-powered emergency radio. Liv stopped and looked around for anything else she might have overlooked.

In the corner, leaning against a small pile of wood, was a wooden-handled ax. As Liv reached for it, another tool caught her eye. The sledgehammer had been hidden in the corner covered with cobwebs, long since forgotten. The three-foot handle meant Liv could strike them before the infected could grab her and still deliver a powerful blow.

She picked up the weapon and tested its weight with a couple of swings. It was heavy. The first couple swings were awkward and wild. With a couple more swings, she began to get familiar with how the weight shifted as it moved, though she didn’t dare strike anything lest she alert any of the infected in the area to her presence. The weight and size of the sledgehammer made her feel more comfortable, more protected.

The weapon wouldn’t do for fighting off more than a few of them at a time. Successive swings would become more and more tiring. However, she could make short work of small clusters of them. The quicker they were dealt with, the less likely they could infect her or Elli.

Something on top of a shelf, above her head, caught her eye. A large, bright-green disk sat on top of a box near the ceiling. Carefully, she scaled the first few shelves until she could reach it. Once it was in her hands, she nearly shouted with joy. Never had she thought a cheap plastic sled could be so glorious.

If Liv could wear Elli on her back, the sled could protect the small child. The sled would protect Elli the same way a shell protected a turtle. Some bungee cords dangled out of a plastic crate on another shelf and Liv snatched them up. With some work, she could punch holes in the rim of the sled and use the bungee cords to secure it to her back. This would free her up in front to fight as she needed to, without having to worry as much about Elli being left vulnerable on her back.

On a fleeting impulse, Liv pulled open the refrigerator. The inside was stocked with beer, sports drinks, and water bottles. The sports drinks were squeeze bottles with pop-up caps. Liv picked up two of the sports bottles and four of the water bottles before heading back to the house with her findings. As she moved back towards the door, she snatched up a small bundle of thin rope. Certainly there was something it would be useful for.

As Liv opened the door again, Pappy jumped back to his feet, tensing for just a moment. Elli let out a giggling shriek and hugged the dog tight.

“Careful, baby.” Liv dropped her goods in a pile on the floor and knelt down next to Pappy and Elli. “Gentle pets.” Liv stroked Pappy’s head lightly and the dog’s eyes slid closed. Elli mimicked Liv’s movement, gently running her fingers down the silky fur on Pappy’s back.

“There you go!” Liv smiled. She gathered the supplies up once again.

Back in the kitchen, she gathered all her goods again and laid them on the counters to take them all in. She dumped the sports drink into some cups and rinsed the squeeze bottle out. The contents were replaced with bleach in one and rubbing alcohol in the other. The squeeze bottles would make it easy to use the antiseptics quickly without wasting what precious little she had. Both liquids were clear, though, and could easily be mistaken for water, so in big, bold letters she wrote the name of the contents across the bottles.

The first task on her mind was to create the shield. If she was going to travel with any peace of mind, she had to be able to keep her eyes open to the dangers that would stand in their way. In the living room, Liv flipped the sled over so the edges lay flat against the floor. The easiest way to punch holes in the plastic would be to drive something through it with a hammer, since she hadn’t seen a drill anywhere.

Elli pattered over, followed closely by Pappy, her curiosity piqued by Liv’s interest in the foreign object. “Are you going to help, baby?”

“Uh-huh.” Elli reaffirmed her answer with a nod. Liv handed Elli one of the screwdrivers.

“You work on that side.” Liv pointed to the opposite side of the sled. “Mommy will work here, alright?” Elli gleefully took the tool and set to work twisting it around the way she had seen it used before.

After watching Elli work for a minute, Liv returned her attention to the task before her. She placed a screwdriver on the lip of the sled. As she held the screwdriver in place with one hand, she raised the hammer to strike the end of the screwdriver. The first few strikes were soft and left only scratch marks in the plastic. She wasn’t going to get anywhere this way. Finally, she lifted the hammer up and brought it down hard. The screwdriver punched through the plastic.

Elli jumped at the noise and stared wide-eyed at the offending device. Liv smiled back at her as she waited and listened. She remembered all too well how the monsters were drawn in by noise. While the strike had been loud, Liv was unsure how it would sound from outside the house.

When all remained quiet, Liv pushed forward and created three more holes in the rim of the sled. After each strike, she sat there and waited for any indication that her activities had alerted the hungry masses to their presence, but no such thing ever happened.

As a final touch, Liv threaded the hooks of the bungee cords through the holes. With all but one of the hooks, she hammered them down so they wouldn’t slip out of place. The final hook was left untouched so that it could be removed and the shield could be taken off and put on more easily.

Liv looked over the sprawl in front of her. As it was, not everything could fit in either bag. Before she eliminated anything, she pulled out the plastic bags and dumped the medication into its own baggy. In the bags, the medication took up less space and could be manipulated to fit into a smaller area.

Day 2
11:12 am

Two gunshots split the air, breaking the eerie silence that had fallen over the neighborhood. Pappy leapt up from his spot next to the couch, his hackles rising as he ran towards the front door.

The shots had come from somewhere in front of the house. Liv ran to the front window to peer through the blinds. In the street, a man in jeans, a red t-shirt, and a Cardinals baseball cap was being trailed by six of the infected. The man jogged along at an easy pace but he was limping. Perhaps exhaustion had set in after running all night, or perhaps he had been bitten.

He looked back over his shoulder. The pack of infected was close behind him and slowly closing the distance. The man raised the gun up and fired blindly over his shoulder. The first shot went wide and entirely missed all of them. The second shot struck one of the infected in the hip. The creature stumbled a bit with the impact but quickly regained its footing.

What do I do?
Liv wondered. In less than twenty-four hours, she had seen more death than she had thought she would see in a lifetime. But she didn’t know this man. She didn’t know if he was infected or not. How could she take that risk and put herself and Elli in danger?

Her parents had raised her to be kind to everyone. To lend a helping hand if she could. They had taught her that to stand by and watch something bad happen was just as bad as doing something bad. She wasn’t about to let the apocalypse rob her of her basic human decency.

An image flashed unbidden before Liv’s eyes. The little girl with the tear-streaked face staring at her out the back window of a car. She had only seen the child for a moment. She hadn’t even had time to react before the paramedics had begun to wriggle in the windows and devour the child and her mother.

The image haunted her.

She should have done something then. She had to do something now. Maybe it was just the way she was raised, but she could not just stand by and watch this man be torn apart.

Liv snatched up the sledgehammer and shoved a screwdriver into her back pocket and ran for the door. At the very least, she had to stop him from firing. The night before, the monsters had been drawn to the shots that Nate had fired. Two more shots rang out as she reached for the knob and pulled the door open. Elli screamed and ran after Liv as she pulled the door closed.

Stepping outside was a risk. Liv could be killed and leave Elli all alone with nothing but starvation and death for her future. The pack had been small enough and slow. Alone, the man was heavily outnumbered, but maybe Liv could tip the odds in his favor.

Outside, Liv could hardly believe her eyes. The sight of the new world stopped her in her tracks. The gray, hazy sky peeked out above the houses. Long tendrils of smoke reached up from the ground as they drifted towards the clouds. The smoke darkened the sky, leaving a haze in the air that burned Liv’s eyes and throat. One of the dark pillars rose no more than a few blocks from where Liv stood. The fire wasn’t on the same street, but it couldn’t have been far.

A new burst of rounds brought Liv back to her current situation. The man was a few houses down now, as Liv silently moved down the walkway towards the garage. The infected were focused on the prey in front of them. They had no idea she was there.

Liv darted to the next house and stopped in front of the large metal garage doors. She wasn’t sure she could fight that many infected, but she could at least provide a distraction so the man could escape.

Liv raised the mallet to strike the metal garage door, hoping the sound would be sufficiently loud.

A shriek reverberated through the air.

The hairs on the back of Liv’s neck stood on end as her head snapped around to find the source. She froze as from between two houses a police officer emerged. His face was contorted in a vicious snarl. His white uniform shirt was stained dark with patches of blood.

The man startled at the scream. In his moment of hesitation, the infected lunged forward, seized him, and pulled him to the ground. The officer sprinted into the foray and threw himself among the mass of writhing bodies.

Like a frightened deer, Liv spun around and ran for the door as fast as her feet could carry her. She could hear Elli’s wails from the other side and held back the urge to simply throw open the door. Inside, she quickly closed the door and locked the knob and dead bolt.

Pappy snarled at her as she entered, but after a brief second, his body relaxed and he hung his head a bit. Liv stood there stunned, not knowing what to do.

Her heart raced as though it meant to explode out of her chest. Her breath came in deep gasps, even though she had hardly done anything. Liv leaned against the door and slid down to the floor.

Elli pulled at her pant leg to be picked up as tears streamed down her cheeks. Her mind could not fathom why Mommy had suddenly run out the door and left her someplace strange. Liv obliged and picked her up. Elli snuggled in close, her tiny fists holding as much of Liv’s shirt as they could possibly gather. Liv in turn held the child close and tight. As much as Elli needed Liv for comfort, Liv needed Elli for comfort as well.

Pappy nudged Liv’s hand from the other side, asking for forgiveness. Liv sighed and rubbed his ear.

“It’s alright.” She wasn’t sure if the words were for Elli, Pappy, or herself. “Everything is going to be alright.”

Liv stood back up and went back to the window to peek out the blinds. No thump against the door had followed her, but she needed to be sure that she hadn’t been followed. In the street, the infected had moved away from the man, who now lay motionless on the concrete. His clothes were torn and a red pool was slowly spreading out around him.

The police officer stood over the body and looked around with frightening intensity. His eyes cast about for a new target, as if he knew another was close by but was unsure where.

He scared Liv.

He had moved so fast, hardly slowed down by his slight limp. The officer was big, not only tall but brawny. Now that he stood still, Liv could get a better look at him.

Three dark punctures dotted his chest and a fourth marred his thigh, certainly the cause of the limp. The punctures were almost certainly bullet wounds, though Liv couldn’t be certain from the distance.

As the officer turned, Liv could see that in his duty belt, still holstered, rested his firearm. The officer had been taken by surprise, probably before there were any widespread reports of what was happening. Maybe he had attempted to help someone and had been bitten for his troubles, like the paramedics by the bridge.

Nate’s words still circled through her brain like a vulture. “The world we knew is gone. If you leave this house now, all you will find is death. You can’t run from it. Wherever you go, they will be there waiting for you. Elli will be torn to shreds at their hands…perhaps even by you. Is that what you really want for her?”

Guns were dangerous as protection. Loud noises drew the infected in like a dinner bell. However, she and Elli still had a long way to go until they could reach somewhere safe. A place that may not even be safe. At any moment, they could find themselves trapped, without a way out, without hope, and at the unremitting cruelty of the infected. Liv could not allow Elli to suffer at their hands. She needed a last resort.

As Liv donned the leather jacket and heavy work gloves, a plan began to form. She didn’t want to risk trying to take on all of them—just the cop, which would be challenging enough from what she had seen. She couldn’t just walk out the door either. The others would spot her, and even if she managed to get back in the house without conflict, they might keep her from leaving again later.

Instead of running headlong into a fight, she needed to be crafty. A quick check of the back windows revealed that the backyard was empty. No fence enclosed it, so she could see down the row of houses in either direction. There was no movement behind the house that she could see.

Elli began to fuss as Liv bustled around the house and tried to mentally prepare herself for the fight. Liv picked her up and held her close as she sang softly. She filled a sippy cup with water and a baggy with some dry cereal and headed upstairs.

“Come on, Pappy!” Liv called and the dog bounded up the stairs after them, bouncing happily into the spare bedroom. Back in the bedroom, Elli grabbed for the cereal and quickly shoved a fistful into her mouth.

“Can Mama have a kiss?” Liv knelt down at Elli’s level. Carefully, so as not to displace the cereal stuffed in her mouth, Elli pursed out her lips and gave Liv a gentle kiss.

“Mama loves you, baby.” Liv gave Elli a quick squeeze before she stood up and walked briskly to the door.

As the door closed behind her, she could hear the muffled sobs begin. Her fingers lingered on the knob. Liv pulled her hand away and took a deep breath. Without any further hesitation, she rushed down the stairs, afraid if she stayed for even a moment she wouldn’t be able to leave. The cries tugged at her heart the way nothing else could, and over the past twelve hours she had heard more of them than she cared to.

Downstairs, she snatched up the sledgehammer and slipped out the door into the backyard. Alongside the house, she picked up a few stones about the size of quarters and clutched them tight in her hands. Slowly, she crept to the corner of the house.

Hidden in some bushes, Liv peered around the corner. The police officer was still standing in the middle of the street, only now the body was missing from beside his feet. The man was back on his feet, moving among the other infected.

Sweat made Liv’s clothes cling to her skin. It was hot out and the long, heavy layers and fear did nothing to help.

The world had changed almost overnight. Humans were no longer the top predator. Now they cowered with the other prey animals. She sat, stone in hand, ready to call one of those predators right to her.

Liv swung her arm up and hurled one of the rocks in a long arc. The rock landed on the roof of the neighboring house and clattered down the slope before it rolled off the edge and landed in a small flowerbed. The slight noise had exactly the desired effect. A few of the infected took notice but almost immediately dismissed it. The infected police officer, however, stalked toward the sound. The others, after coming to the conclusion that whatever was going on was nothing of interest, returned to their directionless drift of a walk.

As the police officer neared the alley between the two houses, Liv lobbed another stone. This time, though, she aimed for the back corner of the house. The pebble ricocheted off the side of the house and bounced across the small cement patio. The officer’s head tilted toward the sound as he moved forward.

His movements weren’t quick and frenzied, as they had been earlier. They were purposeful beyond the meanderings of the others, whose interest had not been aroused by the soft noises. The infected officer knew another victim was close by but didn’t seem smart enough—at least not anymore—to use more than his basic senses to find her.

As he passed the bushes where Liv was crouched, her heart jumped into her throat. She could no longer back out. If she tried to retreat into the house, she would be spotted. Her only option was to take him out as silently and quickly as possible.

She needed him to come just a little closer. When he looked the other way, she tossed one last rock towards the back patio of the house she was crouched behind. The police officer’s head snapped around towards the patter of the stone.

He took two steps forward towards the noise when Liv sprung up and swung the sledgehammer. It smashed into his neck and knocked him flat on his back. His head flopped to the side at an unnatural angle as he gnashed his teeth at her.

Liv quickly pulled back the heavy weapon and brought in down once more squarely on his temple. The sledgehammer connected with a sickening crunch. Liv pulled the hammer out and sank to her knees.

Her whole body trembled relentlessly. She scrambled out of the bushes to the officer’s side. Her heart roared in her ears. Her breathing sounded like the blast of a motorcycle and the sounds of the struggle rang like cannons in her ears. At any moment, the others might come barreling around the corner and rip her to shreds.

On closer inspection, the duty belt was loaded with other items she could use. She would have to look over them after returning to the house. Her fingers felt like clumsy sausages as she fumbled with the buckle on the officer’s duty belt.

After what seemed like an eternity, she was finally able to tease the buckle into opening. She tugged on the belt but it wouldn’t budge. For a moment, Liv stared dumbly at it. Why wouldn’t it budge?

Beneath the duty belt was a second belt. The duty belt was anchored in place by a couple of small straps with snaps looped around the regular belt.

The straps were easy enough to remove. Once they no longer locked the duty belt in place, it moved more freely, but the officer’s weight still pinned it to the ground. Liv sat back for a moment and checked to her sides. If the infected hadn’t been drawn in yet, then she doubted they would be. They could still wander around and catch sight of her, but they hadn’t been alerted to her presence.

Liv looked over the officer. There was a large semicircular bite mark on his forearm. The bite was ugly and discolored. The wound itself was crusted over with a putrid, yellow scabs. Spider webs crept out from the puckered skin. Thin, black lines ran from the bite mark and crisscrossed up his arm past the edge of his sleeve.

Liv was trying not to look at his face. She didn’t want to see his eyes. His head was probably a mess anyway. More than seeing the gore, though, Liv didn’t want to risk seeing the man he had been. She just wanted to remember the monster she had seen on the street.

Liv sighed at that thought. The man he might have been. Her work became more difficult, more gruesome. She sat over the body of a police officer, preparing to take what she could. It was absolutely ghoulish.

Liv grabbed fistfuls of the officer’s polyester shirt and heaved him over onto his stomach. Two more straps attached the duty belt in the back. With them removed, it slid out easily from underneath the officer. Liv quickly gathered the belt and dashed back to the door, anxious to be inside again.