The Demented Z (Book 3): Contagion (13 page)

Tom looked over at Miles.  
His eyes were white with fear.  
His quivering lips opened to say something, but Hank’s boot held the words
in. “It can’t be them.”
  Tm said, looking up at Hank.
  Tears were streaming down his face.
  “They’re in the cabin.
  They stayed there.
  This isn’t them.”
  Tom choked out.

Miles made a gurgling noise as Hank applied more pressure to
his neck.

Tom wiped at his eyes.  
He looked over at the bed…the blood.  
He screamed out in anguish and then scooped up his rifle lying on the
floor next to him. He growled a guttural
shout as he slammed the butt of the weapon into Miles’s face.
  Over and over he pounded the man’s skull
until it was a deformed, bloody mess.  
Tom dropped back to his knees, holding himself up by his rifle
stock. “AHHH!”
  He screamed out, sobbing.

Hank stepped over and rested a hand on his shoulder.
  He looked at the window and the rolling smoke
outside. “We gotta
go.”

“Not them, wasn’t them.”  
Tom mumbled.

Hank got a hand under Tom’s arm and started pulling him
upwards. “Let’s get out of here.”

“He’s way too messed up.”  
Isaac said.

Hannah nodded her head in agreement.

Hank stood across from the two of them.
  He turned and looked back at Tom sitting in
the back of the SUV. “He’s out of
it. Needs time.”

Isaac shook his head.  
“We don’t have time. This is our
chance to stop all of this.”

“With or without him we have to keep going.”
  Hannah said.  
She raised her hand toward Tom and the SUV.
  “Everything will be for nothing if we don’t
do something with the information we found.”

Isaac looked at Hank.  
“This missile site, how certain are you it will have the map we need?”

“They were decommissioned quite a while back, but as long as
this Echo One existed back then it will be mapped.
  They had it all.”

“What if it’s looted?”

“Possible… nothin’ we can do about
that.”

Both Hannah and Isaac nodded their heads in agreement.

“Let me go talk to him.”  
Hank said.

Isaac looked over at Hannah and then back to Hank.
  “We’re going either way, but numbers help.”

Hank climbed into the back seat across from Tom.
  “How we doin’
bud?”

Tom continued to stare out the side window.
  “I killed them.
  Knew Sam was sick.”

“Don’t say that. A
dirtbag murderer killed them.
  You did what was and still is
best for all of humanity. If there is
any real hope for anyone, this is it.”

“I wanted a better life for them.”

“We all did. Now we
can get a better life for others. There
are other kids out there.”

Tom nodded his head.

“This is going to sound like a line from a sappy girlie
movie, but don’t let their deaths be for nothing.”
  Hank said while resting a hand on Tom’s
shoulder.

Tom turned from the window.  
He slowly nodded his head, wiped tears from his eyes and said, “I’m
in…wherever we’re going, I’m in.”

“You sure – “Hank thought for a moment.
  “You sure we can count on you?”

Tom nodded his head.  
“If we live, I’ll grieve then.”

Hank gave Tom a couple pats on the shoulder, looked over at
Isaac and Hannah locked in a hug, and then said, “I’ll go get the others.”

******

Tom was shocked to see how much had changed in less than a
year. They were nearing the outskirts of
Spokane and the landscape was nearing total devastation.
  Sections of forest were completely gone, only
black husks remaining, marking the graveyards left by fires.
  The city’s outlying homes looked like they
had been ravaged by a hurricane. Windows
were blown out and siding hung at awkward angles, barely clinging to the
buildings.

“We better take a side road about a quarter mile.”
  Tom said.  
When nobody said anything he added, “Avoid the city.”

“Good plan. Take a
right up here.” Isaac said while
pointing at a large intersection just ahead.

“Yeah, it’ll skirt us out and around.”

At the intersection stood an old automotive
shop. Cars and trucks sat in
piles all the way around, forming a metal wall.  
From the look of the building it didn’t seem to work.
  The front door was busted in, leaving a
gaping dark hole that piled bodies could be seen through.
  Nobody said anything.

The back roads were more of the same; destroyed buildings,
wrecked cars, and ruined landscapes.  
Animals were almost non-existent, other than the occasional bird.
  Infected dotted the roadside, some slowly
staggered after them, some sprinted after them, and some seemed to not even
notice them drive past.

“No people…where are all the people?”
  Hannah asked.

Hank eyed a small group of infected that turned at the car’s
approach. “I think you’re looking at
them.”

“Those that were able to build a zone of safety for themselves
likely ran into serious trouble once it became contagious.”
  Tom said.

“Winter didn’t help anything.
  Brought survivors
together.” Isaac added.

Just as they were cresting a small hill, Hannah gasped and
said, “Stop.”

They were all looking out the windows, not fully paying
attention to the road, but her urgency caused them all to snap forward.
  Isaac was hitting the brakes before he even
got his head turned back to the road. He
sensed her worry and knew it would be the real deal.
  They all found out that he was right.
  In front of them, at the base of the gully
between two small hills, was a massive horde of infected.
  They filled the road and the forest
beyond. Their slow plodding was taking them
north, but as one they turned at the car’s noise.

Smoke rolled off the tires as Isaac applied pressure to the
brake pedal. “Hold tight.”
  He said as they came to stop.

“Thousands.”
  Hannah said.

Some of them began a mad sprint directly up the road.
  The remaining mass turned and began plodding
after the demented. There were so many
that the individuals were lost in the crowd, making it look like a swirling
current in an ocean of color.

Isaac jammed it in reverse, threw his arm over Hannah’s
headrest, and turned, looking over his shoulder.
  Gunning the gas, they accelerated backwards.

Tom looked over his rifle, making sure it was ready for
action. Hank and Hannah quickly followed
suit, even though all of them knew their weapons were ready.
  They all quickly rolled their windows down.

A loud thud sounded as they plowed over an infected that had
been following them. Their tires
thumped
over the body, sending the car
squirreling into the ditch. A cloud of
dirt and debris flew into the air. The
car slid sideways and came to a stop with its rear bumper up against a large
pine tree.

Isaac jammed the car
back into drive and hit the gas. The
rear tires spun, shooting gravel back into the woods.

“Throw it in four.”  
Hank shouted.

“Coming right.”
  Tom said while looking out his window.
  He pulled his rifle up and fired two rapid
shots. The shots
boomed
in the small space.  
Shell casings rattled off the rear window.
  More infected followed behind the two he shot.

Isaac pulled a lever back into the slot marked “4-H” and hit
the gas again.

Hank looked out his window at the massive horde of demented sprinting
up the hill, closing in on the SUV. “Go,
go, go.” He
shouted.

The engine roared as Isaac gave it everything he had.
  The front tires gripped, pulling them onto
the pavement. Isaac cranked the wheel away
from the horde. Hannah fired a couple
rapid shots before they got spun all the way.

Tom watched two more demented drop
to the pavement. There were still others
that had been chasing after their car, but there were few enough left that they
should be able to quickly dodge between them.  
“We’re looking clear. Not too
fast.” Tom warned, not wanting Isaac to
lose control again.

As they approached the nearest demented, they all rolled up
their windows. A couple of the hideous
creatures were close enough to swipe at the car as they blew past.

After the car cleared the small group, Hank said, “That was
a little more excitement than I needed.”

“Solid work Isaac.”
  Tom said.

Hannah patted him on the leg.
  “That’s right, you did great.”

“We’re going to have to find a different way.”

“Where do you think they were going?”
  Hannah asked.

Tom said, “Leaving the city, probably out of people…food.”

Isaac glanced at the rearview mirror and said, “What’s our
best route for getting back on track?”

Tom hadn’t been out in this area very often,
and never really left the main road. He
tried to dig back in his mind, but everything was coming up blank.
  “Not sure, we’re going to have to take one of
these turns and see if we can circle around.”

“Recalculating.”
  Hank said in his best female voice.

“You sound about as feminine as James Earl Jones.”
  Tom said.

“Right up there.”  
Hannah said, pointing to a road just ahead.
  “See the road?”

Isaac began tapping on the brakes.
  As they neared, they saw the road was made of
gravel, but appeared to be in decent shape.  
“Good as anything.” Isaac said.

They hit the corner a little fast and the tires slid across
the loose gravel. Isaac expertly
feathered the accelerator, using the four wheel drive to drift and pull the SUV
around the corner. Rocks clattered
against the metal undercarriage.

Once they got around the corner and back on a straightaway
Isaac said, “We’re going to have to siphon a car soon.”

“I could use some food.”  
Hannah said.

“I might have a bit left in my pack.“ Tom said pointing to the rear of the
SUV. “If you see a
good spot and potential vehicle let’s pull over for a stop.”

“Picnic in zombieland.”
  Hank said.

******

“Looks promising.”
  Hank said.

Isaac eased to a stop a few feet away from the bumper of a
minivan that sat just off the road, t-boned into a jeep.
  The driver window of the van was smeared with
blood from long ago. The van looked
hopeful with both gas flaps closed.  
People rarely took the time to put gas caps back on or close the metal
flaps that hid them. In this world, the
dangers were too great to waste time on meaningless tasks.
  Closed flaps were a nearly sure sign of fuel.

Tom popped his door open and said, “Clear the area
first.” He grabbed his rifle and moved
toward the van, keeping his rifle trained at the rear hatch.

The others piled out of the car and swept wide around the
vehicles. Isaac and Hannah kept their
weapons pointed at the windows, while Hank trained his rifle on the woods
beyond. In a matter of seconds they
moved all the way around the crash and verified there were no immediate
threats.

Hannah started back toward the SUV.
  “I’ll grab the gear.”

“Let me help you.”  
Isaac said while rushing after her.

Tom lowered his rifle and moved up to the side of the
minivan. He peered through the glass,
checking on the interior. A pair of baby
car seats sat across from each other.  
Tom was relieved beyond belief to find them empty, their cargo whisked
away long ago. Toys, books and clothes
lay everywhere. His eyes traced their
way to the front seat where black blood covered the steering wheel and window.

Through the side windows he watched as Isaac and Hannah made
their way toward the van. Hannah was
smiling and giggling. It must have been
something Isaac had said, because she turned and punched him in the
shoulder. Tom turned to the woods,
eyeing their surroundings. Hank remained
at the front of the jeep with his back turned to the wreckage.
  The woods stood still and silent.

“Stop it.” Hannah
said with a laugh.

Tom looked back and saw the two of them gathered on the
other side of the van. Isaac was
unscrewing the cap on a gas can while making comments about Hannah’s
physique. Hannah pulled a backpack from
her shoulder and set it on the ground next to her.
  Tom shouldered his rifle and walked around
beside the two of them.
“How we doin’ here?”

Isaac was pulling a siphon tube out of a pouch.
  “Can you pop the tank?”

“Sure thing.”
  Tom said moving to the driver door.
  He eased the door open, cringing at the
bloody mess left behind. Despite the
fact that it was long dry, it still evoked a visceral sense of disgust.
  He reached in and gingerly pulled the gas
tank lever until it made an audible
click
.

“Thanks.” Isaac said
while twisting off the cap. He took the
metal end of the hose and slowly shoved it down into the tank.
  With a gentle up and down motion he worked
the fluid beyond the ball bearing and up into the hose.
  It took less than a minute for the sweet
sound of liquid splashing on plastic.  
Isaac straightened back up.  
“We’ve got a winner.”

  Tom wondered how much
longer gas would last before it turned into unusable
junk. It already had less punch than it
used to and it wouldn’t be much longer before it wouldn’t run an engine.
  His thoughts turned to wood gasification.
  He remembered reading an article about a guy
installing a wood stove setup in the back of his truck.
  The guy converted it to run on the gases
given off by burning chunks of wood.  
Seemed like science fiction at the time.  
It was not only becoming reality, but possibly a necessity real soon.

“Who’s hungry?” Hannah
said while kneeling beside the backpack and some items she had laid out.
  “Take your pick.
  I’ve got a granola bar, a package of oatmeal
cookies, some of these pepperoni-cheese packets, and some trail mix.”

“Now that’s a Vegas style buffet.”
  Hank said as he stomped over to the group.

“You guys go ahead; I’ll take what’s left.”
  Tom said while turning toward the woods.
  He scanned the forest, expecting a rushing
demented to race out from between the trees at any moment.
  The rumble of their engine had surely been
heard. It would draw them from far
away…it always did. They would have to
move on soon.

“Looks like you get a bit of trail mix and a granola
bar.” Hank said while walking up next to
Tom. “Enjoy.”

Both of them slowly turned to the west, squinting toward the
sun hanging above the horizon.

“Hear that?” Tom
said.

“Yip.”

They stood still for a moment before Tom whisper shouted to
the others, “Car.”

Everyone acted quickly.  
Hannah and Isaac dropped their food and grabbed their weapons.
  They stayed low behind the minivan, each of
them at opposite ends. Hank and Tom
ducked down behind the jeep.