The Plague Unto The End (11 page)

“Here it is,” said Jim from inside the security office.

“It’s not the clearest video but you’ll get the idea,” said Jim as he clicked the play button.

The first few seconds were nothing more than Sid fronting and facing a few shelves up by the front door.  Then a middle-aged male came into the store and quickly walked out of the camera view.  It looked like he came back to the front of the store with a box of bullets.  But then he just walked right out the front door.  Sid jumped up from the aisle he was working on and ran after the man out the front door.  A couple seconds later Sid ran back into the store and ducked behind the registers.

The sound from the tape was very muffled but it sounded like gunshots were being fired.  A couple of the front windows shattered and I could see items on the shelves jumping off and exploding.  There were more shots but it didn’t appear that these shots were being fired at the store.  The same man that had stolen the bullets now ran back into the store but he appeared to have been injured on his right leg.  It looked pretty bad.  His whole right pants leg was red and he had a limp.  Jim ran over to the man and punched him in the side of his head.  He fell to the linoleum floor like a rag doll.

“Nice hit,” said Matt.

“Thanks.  It felt pretty good too,” said Jim with a smirk.

When the man hit the floor, the revolver he was holding flew out of his hand and landed somewhere in hunting apparel.  The man stumbled back to his feet and ran back toward the front door.  All of us watching the tape knew what
they
were from the way they moved when they began to crowd around the front doors.  The man redirected and ran to a display of discounted baseball bats near the front door.  He grabbed one of the bats and began to swing at the group just outside the glass.  Jim ran through the store toward the gun section and Sid picked up the phone on the counter.  I could see that Sid wasn’t having any luck at all on the phone.  He repeatedly would pick up the receiver, attempt to dial a number and then hang the phone up.

Sid slammed the phone on the counter and started to walk out from behind the counter toward the frantic injured man.  I could see that Sid was saying something to the man but the other noise on the tape overpowered his voice.  When Sid was about ten feet from the man, he attempted to swing the bat at Sid.  Sid jumped back and grabbed a baseball bat of his own.  Sid walked back toward the man, doing a couple of practice swings.  The man watched Sid as he walked and just as Sid was about to reach the man, the things he had been trying to fight off reached through the broken glass.  He was dragged through the shards kicking and flailing the bat.  I could see that the crowd had overcome the man but the angle didn’t allow me to see exactly what happened.

Sid ran over to the shelving units closest to the door and pushed it over.  It fell just short of the door but all of the items on the shelf fell to the floor.  Sid grabbed the shelf and dragged it over to the doors.  He propped it up against the door where the man had been dragged out.  The arms from outside were too fast though.  They had hold of Sid by the back of his shirt and were beginning to pull him out of the store.  On the video there was a loud
crack
and from that point on there was only static on the recording.  I could see that one of the people grasping onto Sid was suddenly thrown back to the ground.  Sid was able to break free and run toward where Jim had gone.  The infected began to break through the glass and every time one did, it was promptly shot.  I could tell by the shot placement on the video that at first they didn’t know to shoot for the head.  The first few were taken apart piece by piece.  The majority of the shots made contact at center of mass, but this shot to the chest only stopped them for a moment.  Eventually the infected stopped coming for a few minutes.  Sid ran back up to the front, stepping over several dismembered corpses on the way.

“Where did all of those bodies go?” Mat asked.

“You see the dumpster outside?” said Jim without looking away from the monitor.

Sid continued to push shelving units over and drag them over to the doorway.  Sid was obviously in a panic and ran back into the rows of merchandise.  A few moments later, Jim dove on a four-wheeler behind the shelving.  He jammed the vehicle up as close as he could to the door.  After a few more seconds Sid came back into view dragging a canoe.  He pushed it on top of the pile of shelves and ran back toward the gun section.

“Man, Sid, I still don’t know what you were thinking with that canoe,” said Jim with a chuckle.

“Look, I was tired from movin’ all those shelves,” said Sid very defensively. 

A few minutes passed without any other movement outside the front doors.  Jim and Sid slowly made their way to the front doors from the right side, both of them armed with pistols.  Sid once again was armed also with a baseball bat.

“What is it with the baseball bat?” I asked Sid.

“You know, I’m not sure.  It just felt right,” Sid remarked.

I looked down at the floor next to Sid and noticed that he was still in possession of that baseball bat.

“Ok this...this is what I wanted you to see,” exclaimed Jim while gesturing toward the screen.

On the screen, Jim was standing to the left of the doors and Sid appeared to be very excited about something.  Sid was flailing his arms and pointing the baseball bat toward the front doors.

“Man, I still can’t believe that you...”

“Shut up Sid. Just watch,” Jim snapped.

Jim turned away from Sid and shook his head.  Just as Jim began to walk away, a shadowy form fell through a crack in the barricade.  The infected quickly got up and grabbed Sid from behind.  Jim glanced over his shoulder and without a second to spare, blasted the rotten attacker in the right shoulder.  Sid stumbled forward and and looked back at the lumbering corpse.  Sid ran back at the decomposing man and slammed the bat into his left knee.  The creature fell to the ground but still continued by dragging himself across the floor toward Sid.

Sid dropped the bat and pulled up his handgun.  Sid emptied the weapon’s magazine into the back of the pathetic crawling man.  This did not slow the man’s movements at all and he didn’t even wince in pain.  Sid looked over to Jim and then back at the man on the floor.  Sid picked up the bat again and swung it as hard as he could directly at the left side of the man’s head.  It was obvious, even on the video, that the strike had crushed the skull of the rotting mass.  He stopped completely.  The man did not make a single twitch after the strike.

“I still can’t believe you took that shot.”

“Sid, you’re alive,” said Jim with a smirk.

“But what if you had...”

“But I didn’t,” snapped Jim, cutting off Sid.

As the tape continued to play, Sid and Jim began to move the bodies toward the back of the store.  Sid seemed to be having some issues moving the corpses.  He leaned over and appeared to throw up a few times while they were clearing the area.

Jim cleared his throat.  “That was just how this whole thing got started.  That was Monday morning.”

Sid leaned over to the computer and fast-forwarded the video.  It seemed, time after time, that uninfected people kept coming to the store, but when they got to the barricade they would almost immediately run away.  On the tape I saw Jim and Sid toting around some pretty big rifles and they were pointing at the front door.  They picked up a few boxes of ammunition and ran off camera to the back of the store.

Sid reached over and slowed the video down.

“Watch,” said Jim as he pointed to the screen.

All of a sudden a small older Ford Taurus slammed into the front of the store.  I couldn’t see the driver from the camera angle, but eventually the driver’s door opened up and someone stumbled out.  The person appeared to be in a daze from the impact.  The driver attempted to get inside the store but quickly gave up and ran.

“This was about the time that we started to unload on them,” muttered Sid.

I could see some large, new holes forming in the glass behind the barricade.  Round after round after round went ripping through the glass and through the attackers outside.  They just kept coming.  It actually seemed that the more the men shot at the infected, the more they showed up.

“The only reason they stopped coming is because we stopped firing at them.  Eventually, I guess, they forgot we were in here,” said Jim as he leaned back in the pleather chair he was sitting in.

“That loud explosion that happened last night snatched up all their attention,” said Sid, pointing out toward the front of the store.

“What explosion?” I inquired.

Mat got excited for a second and blurted out, “The helicopter in the road! That was the loud explosion.”

“Aw, man, you mean a helicopter crashed down the road and I missed it?” exclaimed Sid.

We all looked over at Sid, and Jim placed his hand on Sid’s shoulder. “Bud, dead people are walking around,” said Jim with a nod and a wink.

“Yeah, we noticed that they seem to be drawn to loud noises too when we were trying to leave the thrift store this morning,” said Matt.

“And we saw that again after Curtis’ accident on the way here,” I added.

“So it looked like you guys figured out something else just like we did...going for the head is the only way to stop them,” said Mat.

“But let’s get to the question that everyone wants the answer to, but no one has the balls to ask,” said Jim as he glanced at everyone else in the room.

“And what...is that?” Curtis muttered very sheepishly.

“Why are these dead folks walking around attacking everyone?” said Sid.

No one had a response.

CHAPTER 9 - Plan for the Worst…

Following our little sit-down in the manager’s office, Jim wanted to pool all of the ammunition and weapons in a less visible area.  The normal location of the guns and ammo was on the opposite side of the store from the sales counter, and this would mean having to walk past the front doors to resupply.  I helped Jim move the guns and Sid, Matt, and Curtis decided to gather other supplies from the sales floor.  Jim told Sid to load up some carts with camping type supplies.

“So what was going to be your plan after looting this store?” said Jim as he gathered all of the two-and-three-quarter inch buckshot from the shelf.

“Uh, I guess this was pretty much the extent of my plan,” I replied as I unlocked the handgun case with the keys Jim gave me.

“You feel like this place would be safe until some help comes?” inquired Jim.

“Well, the doors are kinda jacked up and who knows how long that barricade would hold,” I responded.

I could hear Sid trying to whisper something very loud from the middle of the store.

“No, I don’t think we need any fishing gear,” whispered Jim back to him.

“That kid, I tell you, sometimes,” said Jim, shaking his head.

“You’ve got handgun holsters in here somewhere right?” I asked.

“Yup, actually right behind you,” Jim said as he pointed past me.

“How about walkie-talkies?” I asked as I grabbed a holster for my Glock.

“Of course we do; on aisle seven.  I think I see where you’re going with this, but we’ll have to keep the volume low,” said Jim as he dropped the last box of 9mm ammo into a shopping cart.

Jim stood up and walked over to aisle seven and came back with a few sets of short-range walkie-talkies and a few boxes of AAA batteries.  He threw them into the cart with the ammo and we both pushed our carts to the manager’s office.  When Jim passed Sid, Jim waved in the direction of the office.  Sid and Matt pushed their carts to follow Jim.

Curtis stood up and asked me, “What’s going on?”

“Just come on,” I said as I walked past him.

Just before I made it to the manager’s office, I heard some shuffling outside the front of the store.  I watched Curtis jump as a single bearded old man walked face-first into the front doors.  I pulled up my Glock and sighted in on his face.

“That guy isn’t worth the bullet or the crowd that shot will bring,” said Jim from over my shoulder.

“C’mon, let’s get these things set up,” said Jim in a half whisper as he walked back into the office.

I lowered my aim and stared into the man’s vacant eyes.

“Who do you think he was?” whispered Curtis.

“It doesn’t matter now,” I said as I followed Jim into the room.

Jim ripped open the boxes of portable radios and we all began putting batteries into them. 

“So, what are we planning to do with these exactly?” said Matt as he snapped the plastic battery cover onto his radio.

“Not sure yet, but I’m gonna assume that you guys didn’t exactly bring everything we could possibly need,” said Jim with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

“We’re going to have to go back out there at some point.  We’re going to need supplies that just aren’t here,” added Jim as he threw one of the radios to Curtis.

“Like what?  I mean we are in a camping-slash-hunting supply store.  What else would we need?” I replied.

“You have an endless supply of toilet paper or water?  Because we don’t.  And I don’t feel like wiping my butt with a hunting vest,” said Jim as he crossed his arms.

“Okay, so what are you proposing?” said Matt as he played with the radio channels.

“There is that town center place across the way there.  Isn’t there like a Target or somethin’ over there?” said Sid as he pointed toward the front of the store.

“Yeah and there is a...”

PFFFF
, “...anyone there?”

Everyone stopped talking and stared at Matt’s radio.  We all stood still for a few moments until Curtis blurted out, “A-answer her!”

CLICK
, “Uh, hello?” said Matt into the radio.

PFFFF
, “Hello, hello?” the female voice spoke again.

CLICK
, “Where are you at?  Are you around the town center?” replied Matt.

PFFFF
, “Yeah, I’m at the H&M...in one of the back rooms.”

Matt looked up from the radio and Sid chuckled, “Women...it’s the end of the world and where do they go...shopping.”

I rolled my eyes and looked back at Matt, “So how we going to get her?”

Matt stood silent for a minute.

PFFFF
, “You still there?” the voice came across again.

CLICK
, “Yeah, hold on a second,” replied Matt.

Matt looked around the room at all of us.

“What do you guys think?  I know that everyone’s gut instinct is to run in, guns blazing, and save the damsel in distress, but we all need to stop and look at what else can happen,” said Matt in a very serious tone.

Sid cleared his throat, “My mama always told me to be a gentleman and I think helping the lady out would be the right thing to do.”

I thought about myself in her situation and said, “I would want someone to come help me.”

“I don’t know about the rest of you guys, but if we are going to be stuck in here, I would like someone more attractive to look at than you bunch of geniuses,” said Jim, also very serious.

I smirked and looked over at Curtis.  Curtis’ mind seemed to be somewhere outside of the cinderblock walls we were standing inside of.

“Curtis, what do you think?” I blurted out.

“Uh, me...I don’t really...do you guys think it would be safe?” mumbled Curtis.

“Well, I don’t like the idea of running out there and risking what we’ve got for now.  Another thing to think about is, aside from her looks, what do you think she is going to have to offer the group to help defend this place?  A nice loud scream when they get in?“ said Matt.

“Like Sid said though, ‘it’s the right thing to do,’“ said Jim.

“I’ll help you guys plan to do this, but I’m staying here.  Maybe I’ll grab one of those rifles and cover you from the roof,” said Matt.

“I’ll stay too...and help Matt,” said Curtis.

“Okay, so it’s gonna be me, Sid, and Tyler,” said Jim as he picked up a Kimber 1911 handgun from the table next to him. 

I looked out of the office and saw that the infected man outside the front of the store was still out there banging on the glass, and he now had a companion.  I couldn’t really tell what gender the second figure was. They were very heavy.  I looked past the rotten-looking couple, into the front parking lot of the store.  I could see the turnoff for the town center, and when faced with all of the possible obstacles we might run into, it looked dangerously far away.  I changed my focus and looked at the broken glass and the store shelves piled around the front door.

“We’re going to need to reinforce that store front before we go,” I said as I stepped back into the office.

“It’ll hold,” said Jim as he filled another magazine.

“Yeah, against two or three of them, but what if we have an entourage when we come back,” I said as I pointed toward the front of the store.

“If you come back,” added Matt under his breath.

“Look, what do you think we should do, huh?  It’s not like this is a hardware store.  Do you see shelves full of plywood?” said Jim more aggressively.

“All I’m saying is, we need to be ready to have a town center full of them running after us,” I replied.

“Hey, they ain’t as fast as us running.  Maybe we could just outrun them,” said Sid with a grin.

“But what if one of us is injured or what if she is injured?” I added.

“Let me ask her?” said Mat as he lifted the small radio. 

CLICK
, “You still there?  Are you hurt at all?  Can you walk?”

We all stood waiting for several seconds.  I looked at Mat and he raised his eyebrows.

“Maybe they got her already,” said Curtis from behind me.

“Yeah, maybe she’s already de...” Matt almost got it out when the radio began to come to life.

PFFFF
, “Hello, hello? I was beginning to think that you guys had forgotten about me.”

CLICK
, “Well, are you injured?” said Matt very roughly.

PFFFF
, “No, I’m not.  I can walk.”

CLICK
, “Okay, we’re uh, working something out.  Just sit tight,” said Matt.

Sid looked agitated and said, “I think y’all got me wrong.  I didn’t mean on foot.  We could drive over there, get out of the vehicle somewhere that isn’t crawling with‘em, and go in on foot from there.  Then get the girl, run back to the truck, and drive in the opposite direction of this place.”

“Okay, then what, genius?” said Jim as he crossed his arms again.

“Alright, we’d drive away from this place, fast enough to get away, but not so fast that they’d lose sight of us.  We’d lead them somewhere a few blocks away from here and then floor it to the back door,” answered Sid.

“Not a bad plan, but we would have one more problem.  If Matt has to assist us from the roof, there are going to be a few of them drawn here because of the noise,” I said.

“I guess I’ll just have to keep myself under control behind that big gun,” said Matt with a smirk.

Matt began to load up a bag with ammunition for a .308 caliber hunting rifle and mounted a scope on it.  He also picked up a bore-mounted laser to sight in the scope.  I walked over to the shopping cart filled with ammunition and grabbed a few boxes of .40 caliber rounds for my Glock.  Sid and Jim were over by the hunting gear looking through all of the camouflage apparel.  Curtis had walked off by himself and I wasn’t sure where he had gone.

“Do you really think this is a good idea?” said Matt as he shook his head.

I turned to face Matt and said, “Look, you heard what I think.  So far I have not been able to save several people that I care about.  My brother, I know they got him. I saw him like...that, and I have no idea where my mom and dad are.  I kinda don’t understand why you don’t want to go with us.  You lost both of your parents and your sister.”

Matt looked confused and replied, “I don’t follow your thought process there.  You want to avenge your brother, your mom, and your dad, by risking more peoples’ lives?”

“I just think we need to save the people that we can.  I wasn’t there to save Thomas.  I wasn’t with my mom or my dad to try to help them, but I am here now to try to save this girl.  You were there when your mom and your dad were...”

“Don’t.  Don’t even say anything about them.  They...are not a concern anymore.  That’s the best way that I can look at it.  Right now we have the five of us and we have this place.  Every time we decide to make a trip out of here, I think it needs to be for a really good reason,” said Matt.

“So you’re saying that this girl’s life is not a good reason,” I responded.

“What I’m saying is, think about it.  One girl, five guys, alone in this building.  We have enough to worry about with all of the carriers out there.  I don’t want some moron to try to punch me in the face because I’m talking to his girl,” said Matt as he pointed toward Sid and Jim.