Pierce spun to run back the way he came, but the best he could do was shamble as his feet refused to lift in the air enough to avoid dragging. The moment he set his foot down the first step, his knee buckled under him, and he tumbled down. Each step bit into him hard, something his uniform would have been able to cushion.

  His side throbbed painfully, his forearm was on fire, and his gut felt like it was squeezed by a vise. Pierce planted one hand and foot on the floor, but his strength betrayed him. He gave up and scooted to the wall instead, leaning his back and head against it.

  Pierce exhaled heavy breaths as he stared at the results of his work. Explosions ripped through the room but also came elsewhere, a source he couldn’t locate. From the walls, maybe?

  Whatever it was, the entire building seemed to shake in its foundation as if touched by an ever-gentle earthquake. Bits of ceiling rained down on the room. Those tiny particles were soon joined by chunks of the ceiling collapsing in on itself.

  In all his years as a soldier, Pierce had never thought about whether he’d be afraid of death. He had been so focused on the missions that death had only been a theoretical definition in his mind. Now, as he watched the room collapsing in on itself, he felt nothing but satisfaction.

  He hadn’t spent his life the way many other people his age did, but he had no regrets. Being a soldier was all he knew. It was his salvation and his destruction.

  Pierce tried to remember his childhood. He thought about his mother. Everything about that life seemed like trying to remember somebody else’s memories.

  Instead of his biological family, the faces of Shepherd, Lincoln, and Murphy came to his mind. Moments they’d shared together as siblings—talks before and after missions, bedtime talks in barracks, Lincoln’s corny jokes while the others rolled their eyes. The memories warmed Pierce’s heart enough to cause the pain in his body to dissipate, wrapping him in a cocoon of pleasant warmth.

  “It’s over, Alpha. You can rest now.”

  He smiled, closed his eyes, and allowed the exhaustion to claim him as the tremors and explosions around him continued.

  James

  The walk through the passage was a blur. James ignored the rats and cockroaches that the beam of his flashlight illuminated. He dragged his feet, exhausted. He was sure that the mental pain contributed to the physical exhaustion, too.

  The circular tunnel was filled with puddles of murky water. It smelled stale in there, but his nose learned to ignore the stench after a while.

  The silence was what bothered him more. Back when the screams were present, they urged him to pick up his pace. Like this, there was no sense of urgency; no need to hurry up and get it over with. He found himself feeling surprised over how used to that fast-paced lifestyle he was.

  It felt like hours of walking, but he knew that it couldn’t have been that long. At times, he heard something echoing and clattering in the tunnel. He spun around to see if anything was behind him when that happened, only to find that he was alone.

  Even if one or more of the infected came to chase him, he’d have nowhere to go but forward, and he somehow doubted he’d have the stamina to outrun those freaks.

  James kept touching the pocket of his pants, just to make sure he could still feel the outline of Angela’s picture there. It was the most important thing he had on him. The paltry supplies in his backpack were meaningless. He’d even dropped the baseball bat somewhere along the way because the weight of it felt too heavy in his hand.

  He was grateful that he didn’t need to end up using it.

  His foot caught on something, causing him to stumble forward. He stood and spun to see what it was he tripped on.

  A leg.

  Following the leg, James realized that it was an entire dead body, not just a leg. And then, like a slow-loading internet image, he saw another. He spun and saw more splayed around the tunnel, all dead. They shared one thing in common.

  They all wore lab coats.

  These must have been the scientists who had used the secret passage under the facility to get out. But they didn’t get far, apparently. James couldn’t tell what had happened, but the open bloodshot eyes of one of the scientists indicated they started going crazy before getting out, and slaughtered each other.

  A fitting end.

  James stepped over their dead bodies, no respect for them whatsoever, and continued wading through the tunnel. After what felt like hours of walking in the dark, meager wisps of light greeted him at the far end of the tunnel. At first, James thought that it was his flashlight reflecting on something, so he lowered the beam to see if that was the case.

  The light remained.

  The closer he got, the bigger it grew.

  Daylight, he thought to himself, unenthused.

  Still, he found himself walking just slightly faster, his heavy legs protesting against the exhaustion. When James got close enough, he turned off the flashlight and put it back into his backpack. The only reason why he didn’t drop it was because he wasn’t sure if he was out safely.

  The first thing he did when he approached the edge of the tunnel was to stop and peer outside. He squinted against the early morning sun, his eyes stinging. A prairie stretched in front of him, a thicket in the distance.

  The tunnel that he was in was suspended a few feet above the ground. James hopped down into the mud with a loud splash. He then turned back to see where he was.

  The tunnel that he’d come from was very inconspicuous. Just a tube that stuck out of the ground miles from Witherton.

  Looking past the tunnel’s exit, he realized he’d come a lot farther than he thought. Far off in the distance, he could see the entire city of Witherton cordoned off by tall walls on all sides. Military vehicles were parked all around the city. James thought he could just barely see tiny dots of people buzzing to and fro.

  Soldiers in charge of not letting anything leave the city.

  The steady whump-whump-whump-whump of a helicopter flew above James. He jerked his head up, his first thought being that he was caught. The helicopter flew past him and toward the city.

  James cinched the straps of his backpack and walked in the opposite direction of the city. He kept looking back for any military personnel following him. Their attention was focused on the city, not around it, so James was safe.

  Once he was in the thicket, he pulled out Angela’s photograph.

  After staring at the smiling faces for a long while, he felt like it was time to look at the back. But somehow, he couldn’t flip it over. It felt as though he had no right to look at what was written on the back. Or maybe, he was just afraid.

  Either way, he had to look on the back anyway because the address was written there. James clenched his jaw and turned the photo over.

  In the bottom right corner was Riley’s address, but the middle of the picture was occupied by a message. James didn’t want to read it, because it would mean Angela was truly gone, but he couldn’t help himself.

  My dearest Riley, I know you’ll have a lot of questions. I wish I could be there to answer them for you. Know that Mommy will always be there with you, even if you can’t see me.

  I love you so very much, baby.

  P.S. Listen to your dad while I’m not there! I know you think he’s cold sometimes, but he loves you as much as I do.

  A tear slid down James’s face. He neatly stuffed the picture back inside the pocket and sniffled. Wiping his tears, James broke into a stride forward.

  He had a long way to reach Salem.

  Abby

  Abby continued holding Heather’s hand even long after she stopped moving. She was asleep, just like Mom and Dad. Abby’s tears had dried up. She didn’t know a human body had a finite source of tears to produce.

  She wiped the remaining ones on her face, hugged Heather tightly one last time, and forced herself to let go of her hand.

  “I’ll do what we set out to do, Sis. I’ll win the Sneaking Game. For you,” she said.

  She wished she could bring Heather with her, but her sister’s final wish was clear—make it to the walls.

  Abby looked up to see how tall they stretched. They were giant, just like the dinosaurs in her puzzle. Speaking of which, Abby found she didn’t care about the puzzle anymore. She’d dropped it in the police station after Andrew dragged her away, and then she never saw it again.

  The walk toward the walls was uneventful. Abby listened for any sounds that could have belonged to the red-eyed people. The streets were quiet, and Abby got the urge to ask Heather if she could scream hello to see how far the echo would go.

  She then remembered that Heather was sleeping, so that choice was up to her.

  No, Abby. Not right now, Heather probably would have said.

  It brought a sad smile to her face. She wondered if Heather was watching her right now. The possibility of that being true raised Abby’s resolve, and she was even more determined to win the game.

  She walked past the wrecked cars and dead bodies of red-eyed people. The sky was growing darker, the sun nowhere in sight, probably hidden behind one of the tall buildings.

  Or the walls.

  The closer Abby got to the walls, the more they grew in size. From afar, they seemed tiny, enough to fit between her thumb and forefinger. Here, she reckoned that even climbing the big tree in front of their building wouldn’t be tall enough to help her peer to the other side.

  And then she finally saw it.

  The foot of the wall was less than a hundred feet down the road in front of her, just past the piles of dead bodies. But that was all it was. Just a wall.

  There were no doors, no big arches like with finish line tapes to run through. Nothing to indicate Abby was in the right spot.

  She told herself she just needed to come closer. Heather believed that this was the right path for them, and therefore, Abby believed it, too.

  So she continued walking, past the big piles of dead bodies, shooing the flies away and pinching her nose to ignore the smell. But even as she stood right in front of the walls, she saw no door or entrance.

  She wished Heather were there. She would have known what to do. Suddenly, Abby missed her sister badly. Her lip trembled, and a new wave of tears blurred her vision.

  All of that disappeared when she looked down and saw a red laser dot on her chest.

  ***

  “Eriksen, we got word of one approaching your perimeter right now. Where the hell are you looking?” someone shouted over the radio.

  Eriksen looked down to see a small figure approaching the wall.

  Oh, shit.

  “On it.” He dropped the cigarette he’d been smoking and pointed the sniper rifle at the oncoming person.

  He squeezed one eye shut and aligned the other with the scope, zooming in on the approaching hostile. His finger was already on the trigger, ready to shoot, but then a gasp escaped his mouth.

  “Do you have eyes on the hostile?” the voice on the radio repeated.

  “Yeah. But… it’s a little girl.”

  Eriksen stared at the kid standing in front of the wall, glancing left and right. She looked down and noticed the dot on her chest from Eriksen’s weapon. She clamped a hand over the spot, then looked up at the wall.

  “Repeat that last,” the voice on the radio said.

  “It’s a little girl. Six, maybe seven.”

  “Your orders are clear. Neutralize her.”

  But Eriksen hesitated. “Negative.”

  “What?”

  “I said negative. Get HQ on the line.”

  “Don’t be a moron.”

  “She’s too young to have been infected. And if she is, we can place her in quarantine until she’s better. Get HQ on the line right now.”

  There was silence, and then the other person said, “Goddammit. You’re really making my job hard, you know that? Hold on, I’ll talk to them.”

  Eriksen kept the aim trained on the little girl. He hated how powerless he felt in that moment because, if HQ said no, then Eriksen would have no choice but to obey.

  The little girl kept squinting up at the wall. She couldn’t see Eriksen from here. Maybe just a glint from his rifle’s aim, but not the person behind it. That was what made a sniper’s job so easy. The victims never got to look the shooter in the eye and plead for sympathy.

  But he felt as though this girl was watching him, waiting for him to pass judgment. She couldn’t have possibly seen him, but the unease that slithered into Eriksen’s limbs refused to go away.

  “Eriksen,” the tinny radio voice said.

  “I read you,” Eriksen said.

  He waited for what felt like an eternity for the voice to tell him HQ’s decision. And then it spoke.

  “Stand down.”

  ***

  The dot on Abby’s chest disappeared. She looked up to see a rope unfurling from the top of the wall. It coiled all the way down, like a flying snake, until it reached the bottom. A figure appeared at the top. He hugged the rope and graciously slid down until he was in front of Abby.

  From this close up, Abby could see his uniform and recognized it as something a soldier would wear. Under the heavy helmet was a young and friendly face. He could have been Heather’s age. Abby was willing to bet he and Heather could become good friends.

  “Hey, kid,” he said in a soft-spoken voice. “Are you lost?”

  Abby couldn’t find the words she was looking for. What should she even say?

  The soldier took a few steps closer to her, and she backed up instinctively. It was weird that she did that. Maybe it was something she developed in the past few days since leaving home.

  “It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you.” The soldier raised his palms in a surrender sign. “Can I come closer?”

  Abby didn’t say a thing because she didn’t know what to say to that.

  The soldier took one testing step forward, and when Abby didn’t protest, he continued. When he was in front of her, he got down on one knee.

  “My name’s Josh Eriksen. What’s yours?”

  “Abby. My real name is Abigail, but everyone calls me Abby.”

  “Abby.” Josh Eriksen nodded. “Pretty name. Are you alone out here?”

  “Yes.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “You made it all the way out here on your own?”

  “I was with my sister. She’s the one who helped me get here, but she…” Abby pressed her lips tightly because she felt a wave of crying threatening to pour out of her.

  “Aw, I’m sorry, kid. Your sister was a real hero getting you here, you know that?”

  “I know.” Abby wiped her tears.

  “Say, you’ve been through a lot. What do you say we get you cleaned up, give you some food, and a nice, warm place to stay the night?”

  He offered a hand, but Abby backed up again. She remembered Andrew. He, too, was friendly, and look how that ended up.

  “It’s okay. I told you I wouldn’t hurt you,” Josh Eriksen said. “I promise you’re safe now. We’re going to get you the care you need.”

  Abby stared down at his hand.

  “Did I win the Sneaking Game?” she asked.

  “The Sneaking Game?” Josh Eriksen frowned.

  “My sister said we’d win the game if we got here. Did we win?”

  Josh Eriksen smiled. “Yes, you did.”

  “So, what’s the prize? Sis wouldn’t tell me.”

  “How about I show you instead?” Josh Eriksen’s hand remained in the air.

  “Okay,” Abby finally said and accepted his hand.

  He stood and gently led her back to the rope. He attached some sort of harness to her so that she was pressed against his chest.

  “This will make sure you don’t fall down,” he said.

  He grabbed the rope, hugged it with his legs, and then tugged at it three times. The ground started to descend beneath Abby. She stared at the unfamiliar streets riddled with dead bodies.

  There was no way to tell whether Josh Eriksen was telling the truth, but Heather had believed this was their way out, and her big sister was never wrong.

  Besides, Abby had already made a promise to win the Sneaking Game.

  Aftermath

  “Senator, do you have any answers as to what exactly happened in Witherton?

  “We cannot comment on that at this time, but rest assured, our troops have already dealt with the situation.”

  “Senator, how many casualties have there been?”

  “We have yet to determine the number of fatalities, and we will keep the public informed as we gather new information.”

  “Some sources state that more than a hundred thousand civilians have died in the outbreak. Is this true?”

  “Highly exaggerated numbers. Again, we cannot give a conclusive estimation of the death toll because too many are missing.”

  “Senator, why hasn’t a rescue operation been organized for survivors?”

  “Right now, the city is still too dangerous for our troops to safely execute a rescue operation. Regardless, our satellite images and drones report no visuals on any survivors within the city, only the infected.”

  “Senator, what exactly happened in the city of Witherton? Was it a virus of some sort?”

  “I’m afraid we have no information regarding that at this time.”

  “Senator, some sources cite that the outbreak was caused by an experiment gone wrong. This is just another example of human error that can lead to disastrous events. How do you respond to that?”

  “Notorious rumors, nothing more. The idea of a government experimenting with biological weapons, let alone in such proximity to a civilian settlement, is not worthy of comment. I’m afraid that’s all the time we have for questions. Thank you, and we’ll keep you informed.”

  THE END

  Afterword

  What a ride, huh? Thank you so much for reading Infected City. I hope this series helped you pass the time, if nothing else.

 

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