Human Extinction Level Loss (Book 1): Nicole's Odyssey (11 page)

“What is it?” Sam responded. 

Nicole huffed.  “Over here!” 

Sam looked at Walt.  “Just a second, Walt,” Sam said and trotted over. 

“Sure, man,” Walt said as he watched Sam go to Nicole. 

When Sam got to her, Nicole spoke in low tones.  “Dammit Sam, you’re being stupid.  This guy could be anybody.” 

Sam looked back at Walt who stood waiting and looking.  “What do you mean, Nic-” 

Nicole cut him off.  “That bus for instance!  How do you know it isn’t full of guys just waiting to jump us, you know?” Nicole said. 

To Nicole’s amazement, Sam’s response to this was to turn to Walt and ask him.  “Hey Walt!  You got anybody in that bus wants to jump us?!” 

Walt laughed a goofy laugh.  “Nah, man.  It’s just me and I ain’t dangerous,” he replied. 

Sam looked back at Nicole as if that defense was airtight.  Nicole rolled her eyes and looked over at Walt. 

“Well, how do you know we aren’t dangerous, you know?” she asked. 

Walt’s smile faded.  “Well… are you dangerous?” he asked. 

Nicole couldn’t believe how this conversation was going but, before she had any more time to think about it, Sam responded. 

“No, we ain’t dangerous either.  We’re going to Colorado.” 

The smile on Walt’s face returned.  “Well, alright then, Come on.  I’ve got fruit smoothies, man!” Walt said as he waved them on, turning towards his bus. 

Sam bounded after him.  Nicole shook her head and tromped after them.

By the time Nicole climbed the steps into the bus, Walt and Sam were fully involved.  She took in the scene.  The back of the bus was packed with coolers of various sizes.  There were coolers in the aisle stacked against the back door.  The last six rows of seats on either side all had coolers in them.  Walt was giddy as he was showing Sam. 

“Fresh fruit is hard to come by these days, man, so I’ve had to stock up on the frozen, you know,” he said. 

Walt gestured to his coolers.  Each cooler had a label identifying its contents scrawled in black marker.

“I don’t usually share my stash with anybody, you know, times being what they are.  Limited resources, you know what I’m sayin’.”  Walt scratched his chin.  “Course, that hasn’t exactly been a problem, seein’ as how there hasn’t been anybody to share with for a while, man,” he said, then chuckled. 

Sam was impressed.  “This is awesome, Walt.  You know, before Nicole saved my ass, I had some fruit trees.  It’s important to eat healthy,” Sam said. 

Walt nodded in agreement.  Nicole stood towards the front, all but forgotten for the moment. 

“Yeah, so like I was sayin’, you’re the first people I’ve seen, in like forever, man, so you know, it’s a special occasion, so definitely some smoothies are what we should do,” he said. 

Sam turned to Nicole, “What kind of smoothie you want, Nicole?  He’s got everything!” Sam said. 

Nicole glared at Sam and called him over with her eyes.  Sam went over as Walt started popping lids off various coolers.  Nicole spoke in hushed tones to Sam. 

“Sam, I don’t think we ought to be hanging with some guy we don’t even know, let alone eating his food,” she said. 

Sam looked back over at Walt who was arranging the coolers for better access. 

“I’ve got anything you want here, raspberries, strawberries, pineapple… oh, man!  I forgot about this!  Papaya!”

Walt turned with a big smile and held up a frozen package.  Lost in his joy, he turned back to the coolers and continued the tour.

“I got some of those power inverters, you know.  Plugged one into the cigarette lighter and it lets me run my extractor.  It’s pretty righteous, you know, cause the cigarette lighter is meant for cigarettes, which can kill you, but I use it to make fruit smoothies, which, you know, can help you live longer.”

Nicole stared at Walt’s back as he busied himself with his coolers.  She looked back at Sam as he tried to reassure her. 

“We’ve been on the road all morning, it might be nice to stop and take a break… but it’s up to you.  You want to bolt, I’m with you,” Sam said. 

She was about to say something, when Walt turned around.  Walt looked at Sam. 

“Hey man, is she shy or something?” he asked. 

Nicole turned to Walt.  “I’m not shy!”  she exclaimed.  She turned to go.  “I’ll be outside, Sam,” she said, then tromped out of the bus. 

“Oh, okay, man…” Walt said.

He turned and looked at his coolers.  “So, what’s it gonna be.  Name your poison.  That was a joke, you know.  It’s organic,” Walt said.

Nicole stood outside the bus and surveyed the scene before her.  Walt had stuck a beach umbrella in the ground.  Under that was a folding table and a chair.  The frustration continued to eat at her.  Time here was time wasted.  They should be making miles not burning daylight.  She turned and was about to tell Sam they needed to go, when the loud whine of Walt’s extractor shut her down.  In a huff, she plopped down in the chair. 

A few minutes later, Walt and Sam emerged from the bus.  Walt carried an orange/strawberry smoothie.  Sam had a strawberry/raspberry in one hand and a pineapple/orange in the other.  They set them down on the table. 

“Oh right, man.  Let me get two more chairs,” Walt said, then disappeared back in the bus. 

Sam pushed the pineapple/orange in front of Nicole.  Walt emerged and set up two more folding chairs.  From his pocket he produced three straws. 

“There ya go, man,” he said as he handed out the straws. 

Walt and Sam unwrapped their straws and stuck them in.  Both took deep draws on their smoothies, their faces revealing their pleasure.  Nicole glared off in the distance. 

“Nature’s candy,” Walt said as he and Sam clinked glasses. 

“You should try these, Nicole, they’re amazing,” Sam said. 

After several seconds, Nicole turned around and stared at the frosty concoction. 

“Fine!” she said and ripped the paper off her straw.  She jammed it in and took a long pull. 

Sam and Walt stared at her.  They were motionless as they awaited the verdict.  Nicole saw them staring at her and looked away. 

“It’s good,” she said begrudgingly. 

Walt and Sam were all smiles.  “Alright,” Walt said.  All three sat in silence enjoying the fruity goodness.

“This makes me homesick for my island, man,” Walt said. 

Sam’s interest piqued.  “You own an island?” he said. 

Walt laughed.  “I don’t own it, man.  I just live there.  It’s in the Hawaiian Island chain, you know.  Not one of the known ones, it’s too little for that but it’s still nice.  Very tropical.  I run a bar on it.  Locals, fishermen, tourists in the know come by.  I sell my smoothies… and other drinks and stuff, you know.” Walt said. 

“What are you doing here, then?” Sam asked. 

“It had been a long time since I seen the mainland, you know.  So I took a vacation and bought this old bus.  I figured I would drive around for a while, see the states,” he said. 

Nicole huffed.  “Your timing was perfect,” she said. 

Walt shook his head and his smile faded.  “Ain’t that the truth,” he said. 

The three sat in silence and finished their smoothies.  Their minds each thinking about their lives before, but not feeling up to reliving them in conversation.  Nicole pushed her empty glass away and stood. 

“Thanks for the drink, Walt, but we really need to get going.  Sam,” she said.  Nicole started to leave. 

“I’m just gonna help Walt clean up,” Sam said. 

“Just make it quick,” Nicole said as she headed back to the car. 

Nicole sat behind the wheel, engine running, waiting for Sam.  A few minutes later, Sam got in and Nicole put the GTO in
Drive
.  She was about to pull out, when Walt drove up in his bus. 

“Thanks for the invite, man!  It was getting pretty lonely till you guys came along,” Walt said. 

Nicole glared at Sam.  “What’s he talking about, Sam?!  What invite,” she cried. 

Sam looked sheepishly at Nicole. “I told him we were going to Colorado, that your father was there and it was safe.  I might have invited him to come along with us,” Sam said.

Nicole’s mouth dropped open and her eyes darted from Sam to Walt and back.  “Sam, we’re not running a charity, here.  We’ve got to make miles not pick up… strays!” she said. 

Sam hung his head.  “I’m sorry, I just thought, you know he needed our help, I mean you came back for me when I needed it, so…” Sam’s words trailed off.  “I’ll go tell him he can’t come with us,” Sam said as he reached for the door handle. 

Nicole fumed and looked ahead.  Sam had one foot out the door when she caved. 

“Look!  He can come, alright, but he’s got to keep up, okay?  He better not slow us down, you got me?” Nicole said. 

Sam pulled the door closed and smiled. 

“He won’t, I promise,” Sam said.  He turned and waved at Walt who beamed back. 

“We got us a convoy, man!” Walt shouted.  Nicole rolled her eyes and pulled out of the turn-out, as Walt’s big bus lumbered behind.

Sixteen

It was a sad reality, but a reality nonetheless.  As much as the Dead fed off the living, the living were forced to live off the dead.  It made what remained, a double-edged sword.  Every scene that was tragic in its aftermath was also another opportunity for those left behind.  In the last days of the Apocalypse, when the old order still tried to maintain a semblance of control, survivors in Little Bend decided they were not going to be controlled anymore.  En masse, hundreds of citizens driven by anger, panic, and the overpowering will to live,  flooded out of the city.  The armed checkpoint just outside the city limits did what they were ordered to do in such a situation.  The unstoppable force met the immovable object, and the result was strewn all over the outbound lanes of the I-70.  The .50 Calibers and small arms fire chewed up vehicles and citizenry.  The onslaught of vehicles driven by citizens determined not to stop, demolished military vehicles and mowed down soldiers.  The wreckage of the incident, both mechanical and biological, fell where they collided.

It was a tragedy and Nicole Bennett was grateful, certainly not for the loss of life, but for the resources such remains provided.  She slowed the GTO  and surveyed the field of destruction,  then looked down at her gas gauge.  It indicated she still had a quarter of a tank, but that was below her comfort zone by three quarters. 

“Signal Walt.  We’re gonna stop here and do some siphoning,” she said. 

Sam nodded and leaned out his window.  He waved his arms at Walt, who slowed the bus.  The West bound lanes heading into Little Bend were relatively clear, save for the wreckage that had spilled over from the East bound lanes. 

Nicole parked and she and Sam got out.  Walt pulled up behind and the bus lurched to a stop.  Nicole opened her trunk and grabbed the gas cans and hand pumps she got from the super-center.  She looked at Walt. 

“How you doing on gas,” she asked. 

“I’m down to about half a tank,” Walt said. 

Nicole nodded.  “Sam and I will take care of the gas, but I need you to keep a lookout while we’re doing it, cool?  We don’t need any surprises,” she said. 

Walt bobbed his head.  “You’re coming in loud and clear, man.  I’ll get on top of my bus.  Should have a pretty good bird’s eye of the whole area from up there,” Walt said. 

Nicole nodded and she and Sam set to work as Walt climbed up the front of his bus and stood on the roof. 

☣

The work was slow going.  Many of the gas tanks were ruptured from collisions or ripped apart by gunfire.  The GTO was topped off in short order, but Walt’s bus had a huge tank and it took a lot of looking  and siphoning to fill it.   They had to wander far from the bus which made return trips with full cans a laborious process.  On their last trip, Nicole and Sam were nearly at their physical limits.  Fatigue kept their heads down as they carried full five gallon gas cans the hundred yards back to the bus. 

As they approached, movement caught Nicole’s eye and she looked up.  On the roof of the bus, Walt was doing his jumping jacks, only this time it did not look like he was trying to welcome anybody.  Nicole froze in her tracks and dropped her gas can. 

“Sam, drop your can and run to the bus,” she hissed. 

Sam, who straggled a good ten yards behind her and was just trying to muscle through, did not hear her.  Nicole turned and looked behind her.  In the distance and heading their way was a horde of Little Bend’s hungriest.  Sam, oblivious to all but the pain in his arms still did not notice.  Nicole did her own jumping jacks as she tried to get his attention.  When her calisthenics  failed, Nicole looked around for something to throw at him.  Finding only the flotsam and jetsam of those previously trying to flee, she ripped off a pair of eyeglasses from a dried out husk of a corpse and tossed them at Sam.  They bounced off Sam’s chest and he looked up. His face fell as he saw first Walt jumping up and down on the roof of his bus, then Nicole pointing frantically behind him.  Sam turned to look and saw the horde in the distance.  He dropped his gas can and flew by Nicole on his way to the bus.  He was already on the hood making his way to the roof by the time Nicole turned to run after him. 

Nicole, Sam, and Walt stood on the roof of the bus and saw what was coming. 

“How many do you think there are, man?” Walt asked. 

“Too many to count, but it looks to be about a hundred,” Nicole said. 

“We could go back the way we came, you know, outrun ‘em’ in our vehicles,” Sam offered. 

Nicole shook her head.  “We would burn precious gas.  We could try shooting them all, but that would definitely alert them to us, and if we don’t get them all before they get too close…”

Walt finished her sentence for her. “They’ll overrun us,” he said. 

“Guys,” Sam said.  Walt and Nicole did not seem to hear.  “Guys!” Sam hissed. 

Nicole and Walt turned to see Sam laying flat on his back.  “Lay down and be very quiet,” Sam said. 

Nicole and Walt took his meaning and hurried onto their backs next to him.  Seconds later, the vanguard of the army of the Dead began to shuffle around and past the bus.  Nicole, Sam, and Walt held their breath and tried not to move a muscle.