Final Dawn: Season 1 (The Thrilling Post-Apocalyptic Series) (25 page)

Leonard McComb

1:45 PM, April 3, 2038

Leonard’s Jeep sputtered and coughed as he pulled into an apartment block somewhere inside the city of Richmond. “C’mon, girl, just a few more feet.” Leonard coaxed the Jeep along, willing it to keep going. The fuel gauge’s needle had been stuck on empty for the last hour, and Leonard was desperate to find a source of gasoline before he drained the last vapors in the tank.

Since his close encounter at the hotel, Leonard had spent the next several hours weaving his way through the side streets, highways and alleyways of Richmond, trying to make his way through the city while at the same time shake his pursuers off of his tail. At some point early in the morning, he looked behind him and – finally – saw no sign of the creatures. This did not in any way mean that they weren’t still after him, though, so he continued to drive, straight through dawn, late morning and into the early afternoon. Only when he looked down at the fuel gauge and saw that it was dangerously empty did he begin to search for another vehicle from which to transfer gas to the Jeep.

In the apartment block where Leonard stopped, he twisted his head, looking around at the tall buildings, searching for any dangers lurking nearby. While the apartment buildings were still standing, this did not make Leonard any less nervous. Dozens of windows, doorways and shadows all tugged at his sight, tempting his imagination and causing him to wonder if he saw movement out of every corner of his vision.

Three cars were parked on the street outside one of the buildings, all of them intact. Leonard hurried with the siphoning process, nervously glancing back and forth, half-expecting one of the creatures to jump out of the back of the Jeep. In the dead silence of the city, strange sensations took hold. The sound of traffic, people and animals normally filled the air, but such sounds were nonexistent now. Flowing into every crack and crevice, the silence was palpable, and Leonard cringed with every small noise that he made filling up the gas tank. Being in the Jeep for so long, he had forgotten how quiet the world was in its present state.

Panicked and fearful for his life, Leonard had thought of nothing but the creatures and escaping from them since he had left the hotel. As the gas slowly flowed, his mind wandered a bit, finally starting to process the events of the previous night. From his glimpses of the creatures – both up close and far away – it was obvious that they were once human. That much was confirmed by the sight of the person who was –
changed? Transformed? What the hell was that, anyway?

None of what Leonard had observed of the creatures – either in Washington or in Richmond – made sense. The only fact he knew for certain was that the creatures were extremely hostile and wanted him dead. He looked down at his shirt as the gas finished draining into the Jeep’s tank, eyeing the small tears in the fabric from the creature’s hand that nearly pulled him out of the car. His chest was bruised underneath the shirt and tender to the touch, reminding him of the raw force and power that he had felt from that hand.

A howl of the wind whipping through the apartment block sent shivers down Leonard’s spine, breaking through the silence and awakening him from his thoughts. He quickly removed the hose between the two vehicles and climbed back into the Jeep. The vehicle started with a brief cough, then roared back to its usual self, the fuel lines filled with life-giving liquid. Leonard spread his map over the steering wheel, then looked up at a street sign that was dangling precariously from its post. ‘
98
^th
Ave South.’ Where the hell is that?

The mazelike city had become even more so in the aftermath of the bombs. Entire blocks had been eradicated, streets had become one with the surrounding rubble and the pattern of destruction was so bizarre that, at times, Leonard didn’t know where he was. Traveling a tenth of a mile in any direction showed severe changes in the level of destruction in the area. It was to the point where you could go from a relatively normal looking section of the city to one that had been utterly erased in the space of a block, as if you were passing through an invisible wall that separated two worlds from each other. These sections of destruction and normalcy made navigation more difficult, since you couldn’t fully rely on street signs for directions, nor could you count on seeing far enough in the distance to find where you were by line of sight.

Making his best guess, Leonard pulled out of the apartment block and turned to the east. The road ahead appeared unscathed, at least for the next block or two.
This must be Lindhurst Street… I think.
Leonard held the map in the passenger seat with one hand while steering with the other, driving slowly along as he tried to verify where he was. He continued to cast nervous glances in the mirror, keeping an eye out for the beasts. Their absence, which should have been comforting, only served to increase his anxiety.

Nancy Sims

6:07 PM, April 3, 2038

Nancy’s mind and body were numb as she tore down the interstate in the truck. The last two days had been an emotional roller coaster, starting with elation and relief from her and James’s escape to despair and grief at the loss of the only kind soul she had found in this new world. After leaving James in the field, Nancy had expected to continue sobbing for hours afterwards. Instead, she found herself feeling detached from the situation. Back behind the wheel of a vehicle, once again driving on an abandoned road, she could almost forget that the entire series of events had ever happened.

As one day turned into another, Nancy had grown weary, but refused to stop except to refill the gas tank. The number of full cans was dwindling fast, and Nancy wasn’t sure how much longer the truck would keep going before she would have to find an alternate source of fuel. When she got onto the interstate, her mood brightened at the sight of signs proclaiming that her destination was a mere eighty miles away. Nancy hadn’t planned on traveling to Richmond on her own, but the conviction that James had spoken with had convinced her that it was the only course of action left to take.

As the sun began to sink toward the horizon and glare brightly in her rearview mirror, Nancy came upon the outer edges of the city. Then, in a startling moment, she saw a flash of movement off in the distance to either side of the road. It was quick, barely there for more than a second, then it was gone again. If not for the silver color of the movement, Nancy would have chalked it up to the wind shaking the trees. The peculiar color, though, instantly made her nervous, thinking back to the silver mass at the farm and then to James’s brutal description of what had happened to his friend.

As quickly as she saw the movement it was gone and didn’t return again. Nancy kept a wary eye on the mirrors, but there was nothing to see behind her but the orange sky. She once again focused on the road in front. Several minutes later, she spotted something else that was new, but also familiar.

On the side of the road, on the shoulder next to the median, a man stood still, staring at the truck and shielding his eyes from the sun. He was a younger man, dressed in hiking gear with a large backpack lying next to him in the road. As she approached, she instinctively slowed the truck down, but James’s words still echoed in her head.

“Don’t stop for anyone, don’t help anyone, and don’t talk to anyone.”

Nancy’s compassion was tempered by the harsh realities of the kidnappers, but it was still present, tugging on her heart and mind as she neared the man. He was relatively clean-cut, though a bit ragged from obvious signs of travel, with hair cut short and a beard that looked like it had been growing for a few days. He reminded her nothing of Richard and Joshua, but even still, she tried to maintain a sense of caution.

Nancy double-checked that the doors on the truck were locked and rolled her window down just an inch. She was only fifty feet or so from the man when she stopped the truck, keeping her foot hovering over the gas pedal in case she needed to get away. The man walked slowly towards the center of the road, in the middle of her path. Nancy shouted at him through the cracked window.

“Whoever you are, I don’t want trouble. Just move out of the way and leave me alone.”

The man didn’t respond at first, and Nancy’s fears went into overdrive. She felt her hands begin to shake and sweat pour down her chest, wondering where his companion was that would jump out and take her prisoner yet again. Nancy tried to calm herself, but her imagination was out of control, casting doubt on her every decision. She yelled out at him again, louder this time, her voice cracked and shaking.

“Just get out of the road, please!”

There was still no response from the man, though he continued to walk slowly towards her.
Did he not hear me? Is he deaf, or just trying to delay me for some reason?
Nancy looked around. The woods were growing dark in the fading sunlight, but she saw no movement to suggest that anyone else was around. Nancy tried to speak to the man once more, and this time she managed to elicit a response. 

Rachel Walsh

5:40 AM, April 4, 2038

Rachel woke to the smell of smoke mixed with Sam’s rancid breath as he licked her face, whining at her and gently pawing at her arm. She began to sit up when a sharp pain from her chest sent her falling flat on her back again.

Rachel closed her eyes and gasped in pain. “Broken rib. Right. Forgot about that.”

Sam stepped back from her and whined again, a mix of concern and hunger written on his face. Rachel looked at him and smiled, reaching out to stroke his head. “It’s okay, boy. Give me a minute and we’ll get something to eat.”

Rachel took several minutes to gingerly push herself up into a sitting position. She held her head and chest, the pain from her throbbing headache fighting with the searing ache from her torso in a ferocious battle to see which could outdo the other. Rachel scrounged in her backpack and pulled out a first aid kit, then ripped apart two packs of aspirin and downed them with a large gulp of water. Sam was still next to her, whining hungrily as she pulled out some jerky and a couple energy bars next.

“Sorry it’s not much, but we don’t have time for a real meal this morning. We can’t stick around here any longer; we need to keep moving.” Hungrily snapping up the pieces of jerky, Sam didn’t mind the makeshift breakfast as much as Rachel did. Twenty minutes later the aspirin finally kicked in, dulling the raging pain in Rachel’s head and chest. She patted the seat of the handcart, motioning for Sam to resume his position. Once he was seated and her backpack was secured, Rachel slowly climbed onto the handcart, groaning with each twinge in her chest.

With a final check to make sure everything was set, Rachel began to pump the lever of the handcart, moving the contraption out of the side rail they were on. The switch in the track was two-way, meaning that no matter what direction it was switched, train cars that were already on the side rail would be able to enter the main rail. Rachel debated about turning it back so that future trains would be diverted onto the side rail, but decided that there was no point.
It’s not like that would really delay them, anyway.

The journey through Raleigh was quick, especially since the railroad track was freshly laid and greased. By the time they hit the center of the city, the handcart was going full speed, whipping past the destroyed buildings and wreckage that cluttered the streets. Smoke filled the air here, as it did back in Charlotte, and Rachel could hear Sam’s coughs over the clicks of the wheels on the tracks.

“Almost there, boy! Just hang on!” Rachel shouted at Sam over the noise, silently hoping that he wouldn’t decide to suddenly jump off the handcart in the middle of the city. The repaired track was like a tunnel through an alternate world, with the gleaming metal and fresh track ties in sharp contrast with the smoke, pulverized asphalt and crumpled buildings surrounding them. 

In a short time, they passed through the city and back into the open country, leaving the ruins of Raleigh behind. The color of the tracks on the northern side of the city abruptly changed from silver to rust, signaling that this was where the swarms had started their repairs. As Rachel continued to fight through her pain and pump the handcart, keeping it at top speed, she began to grow concerned again.

The train they had encountered in Raleigh was clearly the first one that had been down this line.
But what if it wasn’t the last?
Without a way to get the handcart off onto another side rail, Rachel and Sam would have no way to avoid losing the handcart should another train head south along this same line. Rachel gritted her teeth and began to pump the handcart faster, forcing herself to continue despite the stabbing ache in her chest and head. If they did lose the handcart, she wanted to be as close to the next city as possible.