The Wild Ones, page 9
Highway To Hell
Blocking the road ahead were sixteen vehicles, four were ablaze, two were charred skeletons, some had collided and several had slid off into the ditch. It was complete pandemonium. As we got closer, it only got worse. There were bodies on the ground, some burned to a crisp, others crawling as Zs crouched over, tearing into flesh.
“That’s Rob’s truck,” Tobias said leaning forward. I squinted, my eyes scanning over the vehicles, hoping to God that the Blazer wasn’t among them. It would have of course explained why they hadn’t returned but… I shook my head. It was hard to tell without getting out and taking a closer look.
“Go around them,” Jamal said.
Alexa frowned. “What about Rob?”
The doors on the truck were open, but it looked as if the cab was empty.
“Maybe he managed to get away,” I muttered.
Alexa eased off the gas and brought it to a crawl. Another explosion shook the ground as one of the vehicles ignited raining down shards of metal and body parts.
“Go around,” Jamal repeated.
Tobias tried the door handle. “Let me out.”
“What?”
“Unlock the doors, my sister could have been in that truck.” Alexa stopped a few hundred yards away from the fiery wreckage. The door burst open and Tobias reached into the back of the truck and pulled out a machete. I got out the passenger side and went around and grabbed an axe. I returned to the door. “Stay inside.”
I slammed it closed and followed Tobias, my eyes scanning the area for threats. I wasn’t worried about those nibbling on dead drivers; it was those that scurried across the ground like apes. They freaked me out and weren’t easy to kill, at least not without a gun.
“Brooke!” Tobias yelled, pitching sideways down the ditch and making his way over to the truck. When he reached it and looked inside, there was no one in there. He called out again but all his yelling was beginning to attract them.
“Keep it down,” I said catching up with him.
“Where is she?” A look of panic spread across his face. As we came around the truck, our eyes fell upon Adam. Two Zs were feasting upon his stomach, pulling out his internal organs. It was an absolute state. From a nearby minivan, a woman and two young children started shuffling our way.
My eyes widened. “Tobias.”
He was frozen, his eyes staring at Adam’s body, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
“Tobias!” I yelled again even louder, keeping my eyes on the dead faces. There was no time to wait for his help, I was just about to run towards them when I heard a whoosh and an arrow struck one of the kids in the head bringing it down. Off to my right, moving at a crouch was Ryland.
I reared back the axe and plowed it into the side of the woman’s neck bringing her down in one swipe. I kicked back the kid, knocking him over, then following through and severing the head. It didn’t take a survival camp to know that the only way to stop them was to destroy the brain.
Tobias snapped out of his comatose state, his hand trembling. I went over to him and told him to head back to the truck, we’d look for his sister, if she was even with Adam. He refused and pressed on making his way around vehicles checking inside and stepping over the dead. There was blood everywhere. What had caused this many vehicles to collide? As we came around the huge fuel tanker that was blocking two thirds of the road and ditch, we received our answer. My jaw dropped at the sight of what appeared to be a military roadblock and a hundred zombies. There were two cruisers, and an army truck. Everyone was dead. They must have attempted to stop people from heading north and got caught up in an attack. Did they even see it coming? By the looks of the windows on the vehicles behind the blockade, the attack must have come from behind. They were peppered with bullet holes.
“Magazines, weapons, I’m gonna try to collect some.”
I grabbed a hold of Ryland. “Don’t be stupid, there are too many.”
Beyond the barricade the dead staggered and lurched forward against it. There had to have been a hundred, a mix of military and campers. That was the thing about an outbreak in an area like this. In the middle of summer thousands of people camped in the area. In the winter it was a barren place, but we were now in the peak season. Tobias climbed up on top of a car and brought out his FLIR device and scanned the darkness. I was about to turn back to the truck when he spotted his sister.
“There she is!”
He pointed to a military truck that was on the other side of the barricade. I couldn’t see her. I stepped up onto the car and he handed me the FLIR. I took a look through it.
“On top. Look on top,” he said.
Sure enough, there she was, laying face down and beside her was Sean. Rob wasn’t anywhere to be seen. “Shit.”
Tobias jumped down and started making his way through the aisle of vehicles. I gestured to Ryland to grab him before he got himself killed. He wasn’t thinking straight. I looked again through the FLIR. How they ended stranded on top of the truck was beyond me but I guessed they had gone for the weapons. Tobias struggled with Ryland but he kept a firm grip on him until I could reach him.
“We’ll get her, you have my word but we need to do this smart. You go running into that crowd and you’re a dead man.”
He nodded, and was panting hard, sweat trickling off his face from the heat of the blaze. The constant moaning of the dead, along with the fire would have been enough to make anyone turn around but now we were going to have to put our necks on the line for an asshole who was more concerned about chasing us down than verifying our claim.
Back at the truck, we hopped in and Alexa was full of questions.
“What’s going on? Did you find them?”
“Adam’s dead but Brooke and Sean are trapped on top of a truck behind the barricade.” I didn’t need to explain what we had in mind, she clued in fast.
“Okay, let’s do this.” She shifted the gear into drive and slowly brought the truck down the right embankment. It was the only side of the road that was clear, and even then it was going to be a challenge to get past without drawing the Zs towards us. The truck crawled forward, we bounced in our seats as it moved over uneven areas of landscape. As we came around the barrier, she gave it more gas to get up the embankment which had become waterlogged by rain. As it crawled up, the wheels began spinning, and dirt flew up the side of the truck.
“Come on, give it more gas,” Jamal said.
“I am. It’s stuck.”
The noise of the engine was starting to attract the dead. The Zs turned their white eyes toward us. They snarled and moaned like a bunch of wild animals.
“You better get this heap of junk moving,” Ryland said.
“What the hell do you think I’m doing?” she shot back.
“Come on, there are more coming in our direction, we need…”
Suddenly the wheel caught, we jerked forward, and the truck ascended the hill spinning out the back end as we came up onto the road. She regained control of the sliding and peeled away. “Okay, now how do you want to do this?”
“Well, plan A is out the window.”
“So what’s Plan B?”
“I don’t know, I didn’t have one,” I muttered.
In between the vehicles some of the dead began to emerge staggering forward like the tide. I hopped out and jumped into the back of the truck. I slid the rear window across and tapped the top. “Drive on, we’ll draw them away.”
I turned and began yelling. “Hey! Come on.”
The dead shifted forward at a steady pace, some broke into a sprint. Something I had noticed back at the camp was those that had just turned were able to move faster than the others. Their bodies weren’t as decayed. Then there were those that clearly had been dead a while. They weren’t as fast and their bodies were falling apart. The rest were slow and moved in groups. While the speed of the horde made it easier to outrun them when combined with fifty others it made getting around tough.
I banged harder on the vehicle. “Speed up. These suckers are fast.”
Black drool dripped from their lips, at least from those who had lips. Many of the faces were torn apart, missing eyes, ears and portions of neck. One of them was moving even though its arm was gone and half its abdomen was torn out. Ryland climbed through the small rear window to join me in the back. He was a skinny guy that desperately needed to gain a few pounds. I had a machete in hand and he went to grab the crossbow but I told him to save the arrows. It would be a waste as we were just going to circle around. By now I could see Sean and Brooke waving with both arms from the top of the truck, they must have thought we hadn’t seen them and were driving away.
I banged on the top of the truck. “Alexa, bring it around, and head down the embankment. Once you’re at the bottom gun that engine for all it’s worth. We need to whip past these freaks before they have a chance to overwhelm us.”
If there were enough of them, they could easily stop a vehicle.
She slowed down and carefully brought the truck down onto the slick grass. The fear of getting stuck again lingered in my mind but blasting through the horde would have been a death sentence. Once she was level, she gradually picked up speed. Off to our right the dead tumbled down the embankment. The engine let out a roar and Ryland and I hung on for dear life.
I coughed on the exhaust fumes and watched as the dead broke into a run. My heart hammered in my chest. My grip tightened on the machete. Killing one was easy enough but having three, four, even five coming at you all at once? That’s why the military guys hadn’t survived even with their semiautomatics.
Alexa handled that truck like a pro, she gunned it up the embankment and over to the truck they were on. There were stragglers but nothing like that group that was now heading our way. There wasn’t even time to locate a dropped rifle.
“Hurry up!” I yelled to Sean. He jumped down off the truck into the back of ours, and Brooke did the same. We tore out of there and the look of shock on Sean’s face spoke volumes. Fear gripped everyone; we each dealt with the outbreak in our own way. It didn’t matter how much a person knew about surviving in the wilderness or any of that crap, at the end of the day when you’re faced with an army of the undead, all that preparation could be forgotten. As Alexa got us the hell out of there, and I watched Tobias climb out the side window and join us in the back so he could hug his sister, my thoughts went to Nick. Was he lost? Dead? Or one of them? I pulled a chain out from around my neck, a gift that he’d given me a few years back. Engraved into the metal was an image of St. Christopher the patron saint of travelers. I glanced down at it and read the inscription. Behold St. Christopher and go your way in safety.
Free-For-All
It was close to two in the morning when we arrived on the outskirts of Long Lake. We passed by the welcome sign indicating a population of 711. The town was known for the fact that it bordered on a 14-mile-long lake. The community spread over 1.1 million acres and spanned across the river to the north side; home to many who thrived on being in the heart of the Adirondacks. I fixed my eyes on the road ahead. Either side were homes, several stores and a white church. Alexa eased off the gas as we made our way down Derland Road. There were trees lining the streets, and plenty of homes, most of which were made from clapboard. Off to the right were the municipal offices and the famous Custards Last Stand ice cream store.
All the lights in the homes and stores were off as were the streetlights. I noticed wires that stretched between utility poles were down after a vehicle had plowed into one. The pole itself was leaning to one side.
The doors on the truck were open but as there was no blood on the ground I figured the occupants had fled. The fact that it hadn’t been towed away also meant that police hadn’t been called out, so it couldn’t have happened that long ago, or perhaps it had but the cops were busy with attacks in the town.
Alexa stopped where the road divided. We could continue or turn left and veer onto NY-30, which would take us through the rest of town and near to the lake.
“Where now?”
As much as I wanted to find my brother, all of us were tired. Tiredness could lead to mistakes and that could be deadly.
“We should get some sleep. All our nerves are on edge. Pull into there.” I motioned over to Hoss’s general store on the corner. It was a huge green clapboard structure with peeling paint and carved black bears outside. The place had been a pillar of the community for the past forty years, a store that offered everything: food, books, crafts, gifts, live bait, beer, firewood, ice, maps and even fishing licenses. It was referred to as the Wal-Mart of the Adirondacks, a one-stop shop for the small community. The truck veered off the quiet street, and I hopped out taking the machete with me.
“You know who lives here?” Tobias said looking up at the apartment above the store.
“Yeah, I know the owner. Guy’s name is Earl. An old-timer with a taste for whiskey, and zero patience for bullshit.” I walked past an American flag flapping in the breeze. My eyes scanned the area for threats.
“Wait here.”
As I approached the steps, I saw a sign that read: Rib Eyes, Salmon, Clams, Pork Chops, Game Sausage. I recalled my mother would come here because Earl’s was the only store in town that offered meat that hadn’t been injected with water to increase the weight. The first time I’d tasted ham from his store, I couldn’t believe it. It had a completely different taste. It had flavor, something that was missing from the selection found in grocery stores.
I climbed the steps that led up to the side door and gave it a knock. Down below I watched the others looking around. Earl and I went way back to when we first arrived in Long Lake. I had befriended his son Dale in middle school. I still recalled the look on his face the day I found him being picked on by several kids. There wasn’t much that bothered me but bullying was where I drew the line.
There was no sound coming from inside. I gave it another knock. I didn’t want to strike it too hard and draw attention to us but… I heard movement inside. I stepped back from the door. Beyond the opaque glass I saw the silhouette of a hunched figure.
“Who is it?” the gruff, familiar voice of a man who had smoked one too many cigarettes bellowed.
“It’s me, Scott Evans.”
“What do you want?”
I looked back down at the others.
“Earl, open up. We need a place to stay.”
“We?”
“My friends and I.”
“This is not a good time.”
“Look, Earl, is Dale in there?”
There was silence.
“Earl?”
I could hear several chains being unhooked, and then the locking mechanism twisted. The door opened, but he didn’t wait to greet me, he simply walked back inside leaving it open. I motioned to the others to come up before I entered. The heavy smell of tobacco lingered in the air, a common scent that was synonymous with the store as were the tales of Earl’s off-the-wall remarks to customers. I followed him down the warped floor. It was like stepping into a funhouse. I knew his home well as I’d spent many a sleepover there. Earl went into the kitchen and took a seat at a small table off to the side. There were two chairs, an ashtray, a pipe, a candle, a bottle of whiskey and a glass. There wasn’t enough room for more than three people in the kitchen. It was a tiny abode but according to Dale, his father liked that. He didn’t see the need for having more space as that only led to hoarding. This way he was forced to live a minimalistic life.
Earl lit a candle, and the room illuminated his rugged, weathered face. He was about five-ten, in his early seventies with a fierce gray beard; part of it was yellow from tobacco smoke. He was wearing a red plaid shirt, jeans and boots that didn’t have laces in them.
“Where’s Dale?” I asked, thinking he would be there. He thumbed over his shoulder. I walked out of the kitchen and down the corridor until I reached his room. The door was slightly ajar. There was a rancid smell coming from inside. I felt uneasy as I pushed it open. As it widened, it was hard to make out anything except the shape of a body on the bed.
“Dale?”
There was no reply. I flipped the switch, but the light didn’t come on, so I walked in and circled around his bed and moved over to the curtain to draw it open and let some of the moon’s light in. I brought a hand up to cover my nose and mouth as the smell of death hit me. As I turned, I wished I hadn’t — lying on the bed with his wrists and ankles tied was Dale, or what used to be him. His skin had changed, his face was sunken and there was a hunting knife protruding out of his forehead. “Oh my God.”
I got out of the room fast and made my way back to Earl. In the corridor the others stood there speaking among themselves, I caught a few words but that was it.
I needed to know. I had to know what had taken place.
“What…?” I stammered.
I stood before him as he filled up his glass with two fingers of whiskey and downed it in one go. He wasn’t quick to answer and after what I’d seen, I wasn’t going to press him. Who knew what state of mind he was in? Besides, there was now a handgun on the table, and several bullets in a line. He stuffed his pipe with some tobacco and lit it, then breathed out a sweet-smelling cloud.
He avoided the question, changing the topic.
“Where have you been?” he asked me.
“Out of town.”
“Where?”
“To a campground, thirty minutes from here.”
He nodded and filled up his glass with the golden liquid. “It started yesterday evening, at least in our town, who knows how far spread this is. Someone came into the store, real sick, vomiting blood on the floor. I called for an ambulance and kept my distance. Dale tried to help them by bringing me some towels.” He stopped speaking and closed his eyes as if reliving it all in his mind. “I’d never seen anything like it. She was… well… while I was on the phone, she sank her teeth into Dale. Bit his hand.” He swallowed hard and looked as if he was trying to find the strength to go on. “I um… had him go upstairs while I kept the woman at bay until the cops arrived. She was out of her mind. Like a crazy person, one minute she was groaning about her stomach, the next she went real still. No movement. Nothing. I thought she’d died in the middle of the store. Anyway, I’m on the phone to a dispatcher who said they were having some delays because of an increase in calls.” He lifted his eyes and I could see the pain. “Now I didn’t check for a pulse but I know she wasn’t breathing.” He ran a hand over his beard. “Her chest didn’t rise or fall.” He shook his head with an expression of shock or disbelief, maybe both? “And… then this woman gets up and tries to attack me. Her eyes were white, Scott.”
