El Paso Under Attack - 01 (31 page)

Crass marched over to Miriam and me.

“Any sign of trouble and I’m not opening that gate,” he told Miriam with a smile on his face.

“Any trouble comes toward my husband and he sure as hell won’t need your help,” I answered with my own smile.

I’m not sure how long it took before I saw the caravan. I was waiting on pins and needles. I could barely contain myself. Then I saw Georgie and the rest of my friends, but no Jaxon. I ran to the fence just as Crass was telling them to hand over their weapons.

“Where’s Jaxon?” I nearly screamed to Georgie.

“He’ll be on his way. He was just creating a distraction so the rest of us could make it here without any problems,” he answered. “That Crass guy said we have to wait for the decontamination units to arrive before we can cross.”

I had learned all about those plastic box rooms the night before from Miriam. They weren’t anything great, just portable safe area’s designed with different glass walled rooms. They were going to be used just in case anyone was infected.

“
How long were the survivors supposed to stay in these units?
”

Two weeks, if they were still alive, they were released. The zombie infection spread through the body and killed inside of three days. The survivors were to be kept for two weeks just to make sure everyone was alright before they were allowed leave. If anyone was infected, the scientists and doctors on staff could study them and provide medical assistance if needed.

The decontamination units were currently being erected a few hundred yards to my left. There wasn’t much left to be done, but somehow I knew that Crass was going to drag his feet.

Georgie was dragging a portable radio. He began to speak to someone on the other end; it took me only a few seconds to realize who the person was. It was Jaxon. It was my Jaxon and he was on his way. In fact, he would be arriving in just a few minutes.

I looked towards Miriam and she smiled at me.

The crowd on my side of the fence began to chant at the top of their lungs.

“
What were they chanting?
”

‘Let them in’.

“
How did Crass feel about that?
”

I’m sure it pissed him off, but I wasn’t paying any attention. I was just enjoying the fact that my husband would soon be in my arms where he belonged. Even the soldiers were somewhat lax about everything. They were there in the crowd, but they had no orders as of yet and were therefore just kind of enjoying the party.

“
It was a party?
”

It was, I mean, I know everyone was chanting and making their demands, but the entire atmosphere was very excited. Until Jaxon showed up that is.

You could feel the change in the air. The chanting began to die down slowly as everyone noticed the approaching men. The crowd pushed as close as they could for a better look. I lost my place in the shuffle. I tried like hell to get it back, but there were just too many people in my way. Someone shouted out ‘it’s the General’ and the rowdy crowd silenced completely.

I started jumping up and down for a better look and finally caught a glimpse of him. He looked tired, but he was smiling. I didn’t even try to stop all the tears that were pouring out of my eyes. I can’t help it; I’m a big cry baby.

After the very brief shock of seeing Jaxon for the first time, the crowd erupted into cheers. The excitement was tremendous. It was everywhere, even the soldiers were clapping. I knew this was probably embarrassing my husband; he’s not too good with too much attention. I was laughing out loud now as he approached Georgie. He still hadn’t seen me. Georgie motioned with his head and Jax walked over to the fence.

Everyone began to stare at me and I got a small taste of that embarrassment that Jax was going through just moments before. I don’t know how they knew it was me, that I was his wife, but they began to move out of the way.

My husband could now see me clearly. I ran to the fence and grabbed his fingers through the links. My baby was exhausted. I could see it in his face and I could see it in the way that he carried his body.

I said something romantic to him and Jaxon being the complete unromantic man that he is said something stupid right back to me, but it made me laugh. He always makes me laugh. My body and mind began to argue over what I should be doing; crying or laughing. I must have looked ridiculous, but I didn’t care. I had my husband back.

He leaned into the fence and I held his fingers even tighter. It was my turn to be strong now and I told him so. I told him not to worry. The crowd was cheering so loudly now that I could barely even hear myself think. It was incredible. It was a relief that I had waited for. It was an exhale that was way too long in coming.

Something wasn’t right.

I could tell from the way Jax was looking at me. Something was going on and he was worried.

The smell of the dead tainted my nostrils.

He pulled his fingers from my hands and asked for Crass. I ran to find the man. I was in a panic. I didn’t want to leave Jax, but I did as he asked.

It wasn’t easy to get Crass to come with me, but he eventually did. I think he couldn’t keep his morbid curiosity under control. Some sick part of him wanted to meet his self appointed enemy.

Jax tried to warn him. He tried to ask for help, but Crass refused. I remember the look on my husband’s face. He couldn’t believe that major Crass would sit back and do nothing. He couldn’t believe that after getting this far, the military would refuse him.

Jax rebounded quickly. He came towards me at the fence and put his fingers back through the holes. I grabbed onto them as hard as I could. It was almost as if I were about to attempt to pull him right through the holes in the chain in order to keep him safe. I would have if I could.

People had begun screaming at some point. I’m not sure when, even though I heard them. I was stunned. This should have been our reunion. This should not have been happening.

Jax was telling me to run. He was telling me to leave the area as fast as I could. Actually, he was screaming at me. I could see the worry in his face. I wasn’t exactly paying any attention. Over his shoulder, I caught a glimpse of what was headed our way for the first time.

Nothing on the face of this earth can describe the terror of that many zombies rushing towards you. They don’t think. They don’t feel pity. They are simply evil things that were once human. They will never stop until either you are dead or they are dead. They were coming for my husband and all of those innocent people he had tried to protect.

I noticed the complete panic that was going on all around me in a vague sort of way. People were still screaming. They were running around now, most of them in circles. They didn’t know how to get around all the little blockades the military had erected. They were like mice caught in a maze.

Jaxon told me to run once again. I told him no. I told him a great many things actually. I believe all of which dealt with him getting his ass over that fence and leaving with me. There was nothing anyone could do. At the very least, I could save my husband. He needed to come away with me. Enough of this guardian shit…just run away with me and be safe.

Not far away from us, a red headed girl tried to climb the fence. A soldier shot her dead in front of everyone. He was following orders from Crass; he was doing what Crass had ordered him to do in order to protect the rest of the country. It was wrong. She wasn’t infected. None of them were.

Everything around me went even crazier. Everyone was so scared. I felt bad for them. I squeezed my husband’s fingers as tightly as I could. I refused to let him go.

At some point Georgie came over to us. I paid him no attention. I know they were talking, but I have no idea what they were saying. I think Jaxon was trying to come up with a plan. I didn’t care. As far as I was concerned, there was no acceptable plan unless it dealt with my husband killing all the soldiers and making his escape with me by his side. That might be shocking, but to hell with them all if they weren’t going to help my husband and the people he was protecting, I really didn’t care if all the soldiers were killed.

Suddenly, Kingsley was there. I began to pay attention somewhat, because I heard him say something about explosives. Jaxon smiled. He said something to Kingsley and for the first time, he looked away from me and gazed upon the advancing zombies.

I looked at the zombies as well. They were rushing down Country Club road. It was frightening. Jax told Kingsley to blow the bridge when they were halfway across. Then, He stood closer to the fence. I knew what he was doing; he was shielding me with his body.

We heard the click of the detonator, and after an odd pause that seemed way too long, Jax turned to watch the explosion. It was loud. It was scary loud, but apparently Jaxon had experienced worse. He didn’t even flinch. The bridge blew up into the air and then came back down with a crunch and rumble that shook the ground where I was standing. Dust and water and pieces of asphalt flew into the air.

The people all around us immediately went quiet. The storm of debris blocked out everything around the bridge. Everyone thought it was over. They began to regain some of their composure. Some of them even began to clap and cheer. Those people must not have seen that poor red headed girl get shot down from the fence. I myself couldn’t find anything to cheer about.

Jaxon told me that it was over. I gave him a smile, but then the cloud of dust began to drift away. I saw the dead rising slowly to their feet. There was a delay in the detonation. Something like two hundred zombies had been blown towards our side. They were unsteady and dazed after the explosion, but that didn’t stop them. They wanted to get to the people and already they were moving.

I immediately looked into my husband’s face as he slowly turned his head back towards me. Our eyes met and he didn’t have to say a word. I knew what he was going to do, but he said it anyway.

“I have to do this,” he said.

“Don’t you dare leave me Jax,” I replied. “You just stay right here, don’t you dare leave me.”

I grabbed at his fingers frantically. If I could just keep him with me, everything would be okay. Someone else would have to stand up and play the hero. Someone else would die. Someone other than my husband, it didn’t need to be him. He had done enough. He didn’t need to die.

“I love you very much,” He whispered and gently began to pull his fingers from my grasp. I screamed at him. I screamed for him not to leave me. I screamed every single thing I could think of that might make him stay with me, but he wouldn’t be stopped. Slowly, as if in a dream…my husband turned away from me and turned to face what I just knew would be the death of him.

I noticed Merrick for perhaps the very first time. She looked up at me and then over to Jax. She gave a little huff and trotted off after him.

As I watched him pull his knife and tomahawk from his belt, I once again noticed how very tired he looked. He didn’t want to play the hero anymore. He wanted to be safe with me. I think that’s what really defines him as a hero. He doesn’t enjoy it. He does it because no one else can.

On both sides of the fence, people stared quietly in disbelief. The General was making a stand. He was making it against impossible odds, but he was making it nonetheless. It was a sacrifice meant to buy enough time for the decontamination units to be finished and the gates to be opened. You could have heard a pin drop.

Miriam came over to me. The shock on her face was evident. She couldn’t contain the disbelief.

“What the hell is he doing?” she asked. “There’s too many of them. He can’t win. This is stupid. Get him back.”

She had lost all the composure that she normally held onto with the grace of a queen. I had no words for her. I simply couldn’t take the time to explain that my husband was sacrificing his life in order to give these people a chance. That is of course if major Crass would ever open the damn gates. Yet, something told me that he’d have no problem letting everyone in once Jaxon was dead.

In a flash, the battle was engaged.

Jaxon and Merrick ran straight towards the unsteady zombies that charged towards them. They collided with a bone jarring impact that I could hear all the way from where I was at the fence, something like five hundred yards or so away. It was a sickening sound. I didn’t like it. I wondered what kind of damage and pain that must have caused his poor body.

For a moment I couldn’t see him through all the zombies that had surrounded him. Then, I saw the arc of the tomahawk as he brought it down in a powerful swing. Jaxon was incredible. He fought like some kind of demon. The dead fell all around him. They rushed forward, only to be brought down almost as soon as they reached him.

In my entire life, I’ve never seen such wanton destruction. Skull after skull was cleaved and crushed beneath his tomahawk. His knife stabbed into eye sockets and temples. He ducked and rolled, slashing tendons and crippling enemies. His white t-shirt was very quickly soaked in blood. The street became a literal pool of gore.

Still, the zombies came. Some eventually rose up off the street where the explosion had blown them and others clambered up the embankment that lead to the rushing river. Most of them were still somewhat dazed and damaged, but they were still coming. Their very numbers making them a danger no man could overcome.

Jaxon was taking damage. His injuries were mounting up. I lost count of how many times he fell. I lost count of how many times my heart dropped into my stomach. I was screaming inside for this to be over with. How much could he take?

Still, I didn’t want it to end. I wanted him to overcome the impossible and win. I wanted him to stand triumphantly in victory over his hellish enemies.

He fell. Eventually, there were just too many of them. Eventually, he just became so exhausted that he could no longer fight. I tried to keep from screaming. I watched zombie after zombie pile on top of him. Merrick was still fighting. She was still attacking them even when Jaxon could no longer be seen. She wouldn’t give up.

It wasn’t easy to hold back my screams.