Human Extinction Level Loss (Book 1): Nicole's Odyssey (26 page)

She hurried off the porch and over to the GTO where Sam waited in the passenger seat.  As the midmorning sun rose in the sky, they headed down the dirt road and back to the highway.

☣
 

As the day wore on, Nicole and Walt picked their way down the highway.  The stretch they were on was the worst Nicole had seen since she set out.  Where before, she was able to reach a good speed, here on what she knew was essentially the last leg of her journey before reaching her father’s base, the roads were jammed with vehicles of all types on both sides of the highway.  For the last several hours they had not been able to get their vehicles much above fifteen miles an hour, and that for only short stretches.  What was most disconcerting was the fact that the vehicles jamming the road weren’t just abandoned.  They were burned and torn.  The ground all around the highway was pockmarked with small craters and upturned earth.  As Nicole weaved the GTO around the charred remains of what looked to be a Honda civic and a Winnebago, Sam pointed out the windshield. 

“There,” he said.  Nicole looked up to where Sam pointed as she cleared the wreckage.  By the side of the road was a large sign that read

Welcome to Colorado. 

Beyond it, down the highway for as far as the eye could see, was more of the same.  Wrecked and burned cars and torn up earth on both sides of the highway.  As Walt edged passed the Winnebago behind her, the radio crackled to life. 

“
Hey Nicole, Walt here.  Some kind of welcome, huh?  What happened here, man?
”

Nicole picked up the radio. 

“Hey, Walt.  I don’t know.  It almost looks like somebody bombed all these cars along the highway,” Nicole said. 

“
Yeah, that’s what we were thinking. But why would someone do that, though?  I mean the dead can’t drive so why would someone wipe out a bunch of civilians, man?
” Walt said. 

“I don’t know that either, Walt.  I know things were really crazy at the end, but this doesn’t make any sense to me,” Nicole said.

Nicole pushed slowly down the highway, weaving in and around the carnage.  Behind her, the bigger bus came to a stop and Walt had to nudge a mangled pick-up truck out of the way. 

Walt cleared the pick-up and caught up with Nicole, as she edged around a flattened Tahoe. 

“
Jordan wants me to ask you how much further it is to your Dad’s place, man?
” Walt said. 

Nicole keyed the mic.  “We could make it by this evening if it weren’t for all this wreckage on the road.  At this rate, I’d say maybe tomorrow afternoon, maybe,” she said. 

“
That’s cool, man.  Hey what is it, anyway, where your Dad works?
” Walt asked. 

“I’ve only ever been there once and not inside.  As far as I know, it’s the undisclosed location.  You know, whenever some major event happens and the news says the Vice President has gone to an undisclosed location?  Well, this is that place.  It’s like Norad, in a mountain, only nobody outside of the military really knows about it,” Nicole said. 

The radio crackled and Walt’s voice came back. 

“
How is your Dad going to feel about you disclosing it to us, man?
” 

Nicole smiled.  “He’ll probably rip me a new one.  I’ll have to listen to a lecture, but he’ll let us in,” Nicole said. 

“
That’s cool, man
,” Walt said, then the radio fell silent as Nicole and Walt continued to inch their way through the carnage.

As Nicole cleared a burned out eighteen wheeler, a stretch of road opened up in front of her for maybe a mile.  Behind her, Walt had lagged back, trying to maneuver through a tangle of wrecked cars. 

“Looks like we got a clear stretch, for maybe a mile or so,” Nicole said into the radio. 

“
Roger that, man
,” Walt replied. 

Next to her in the GTO, Sam craned his neck looking through the windshield. 

“What is that up ahead?” he said. 

Nicole squinted her eyes and tried to focus on what it was. 

“Probably just more wreckage,” she said. 

She keyed the mic on the radio and called to Walt. 

“Hey Walt, be advised.  I don’t know if you can see it yet, but this clear stretch doesn’t last long.  It looks like we are going to have a real tangle in a mile or so,” she said. 

She dropped the radio in the seat next to her as Sam continued to peer at the mass ahead.  Not satisfied with the view through the windshield, he stuck his head out the window to get a better look.  As he gazed ahead, Nicole hit the gas as she emerged from the tangled carnage onto the straightaway.  From outside the window, Sam’s face went ashen. 

“Stop the car!” he yelled. 

Nicole did not hear him immediately, and she kept going. 

“Stop the car, Nicole!” he yelled again, this time pulling himself back into the car. 

At about the same time as Sam got his head back in and was about to yell at Nicole again, Nicole saw what Sam already knew was out there.  Her face lost all color and her foot came off the gas as the GTO rolled to a stop. 

“Sam…” she said. 

“I know, I see them,” Sam said. 

Nicole looked behind her.  Walt was about a quarter mile back and just emerging from the last of the tangle of wrecked cars.  She turned forward and grasped at the radio. 

“Walt!  Walt! Stop the bus!  We’ve got walkers!” she screamed. 

It was several seconds before Walt responded. 

“
How many, man?
” He asked. 

Nicole looked out her windshield. 

“All of them!  Five hundred, a thousand!  I don’t know!  We thought it was a mass of wreckage up ahead, but…” Nicole’s words trailed off. 

She looked behind her, knowing that any retreat meant inching their way down the highway through the mass of debris.  Sam kept his focus on the horde ahead of them.  She looked to the left and right, but saw only more carnage.  Where there wasn’t smashed and destroyed vehicles, there was torn up earth.  The crackling of the radio startled her. 

“
What do you want us to do, Nicole? We can’t make a run for it back the way we came, not with all those wrecked cars everywhere
,” Walt said. 

Sam was all action.  He jumped in the back seat and started checking the rifles and pistols.  Nicole looked ahead, then at her rear-view mirror at Walt’s bus stopped just beyond the last of the wreckage.  She threw the car in reverse and hit the gas.  Sam flew forward, almost smashing his face into the front seats.  Nicole keyed the radio as she raced back to Walt’s bus. 

“Park the bus across the road, Walt! Get everyone ready, we’re coming aboard!”

Forty

Walt’s face revealed his anxiety as he struggled with the big steering wheel. He did a three point turn and got the bus in position across the highway, just as Nicole came screeching to a stop along side of it.  At the last  moment she whipped the wheel and got the GTO parallel to the bus. 

Inside the bus, everyone was nervous.  They all crowded their faces to the windows and stared down the stretch of highway.  The long line of shuffling death wavered in a heat mirage as it advanced toward them. 

“Dad! Why have we stopped?!  There are zombies out there!” Jordan screamed as she looked at Paul and pointed out her window. She continued to shout at him and pulled at his arm. “Come on, Dad!  Make us turn around!” She cried. 

Outside the bus, Nicole and Sam jumped from the GTO.  In their arms were boxes of the high velocity .22 rounds.  Walt slid open the door and they bounded in, spilling the boxes in one of the front seats.  Jordan saw Nicole and started screaming at her. 

“Nicole!  Make Walt turn the bus around!  We have to run away!” she cried. 

Nicole looked at her and was about to answer, but Billy answered for her. 

“We can’t run, Jordan.  There is too much wreckage.  They would overtake us before we could get away,” he said. 

Jordan looked at Billy and took it in before she burst out crying, tears streaming down her face.  Billy and Paul simultaneously reached out and hugged her.  They looked at each other for a moment then tried to console her.  From the seat behind Walt, Ruby looked up at Nicole. 

“Nicole’s got a plan and I think we would do best to listen to it,” she said. 

All eyes turned to Nicole.  She wilted a bit under their attention, but gathered herself. 

“Billy’s right.  The way back is too jammed.  We would be overrun before we could get away.  With that hoard at our back we couldn’t defend ourselves.  We need to get the rest of the ammunition from the trunk of my car and… get ready.  Ruby, can you load magazines?” Nicole asked. 

Ruby smiled.  “I am better with shotguns, but show me and I’ll do it,” she said. 

Nicole nodded.  “Sam, show Ruby what she needs to do.  Walt, help me get the rest of those boxes in here.  Paul and Billy, I need you to take up position in case we have any runners come at us before we get back in here.” 

Everyone nodded and set about their tasks.  Jordan almost went into a panic when Paul and Billy left her.  Ruby saw it and reached for her. 

“Jordan, honey.  You know what would be a great help to an old lady?  If you could help me learn all about how to load those fancy guns.  Can you do that, Sweetie?” Ruby asked. 

Through her sniffles, Jordan nodded and went and stood by Ruby as Sam pulled out a magazine and a box of ammunition.  Paul smiled at Ruby as he grabbed a rifle and took up position next to Billy.  They each opened a window and sighted down the highway at the advancing horde. 

Outside the bus, Nicole and Walt rushed to the GTO and started grabbing the rest of the ammunition.  When the horde was seventy-five yards out, Nicole grabbed the last of the boxes and headed for the bus.  Walt jumped in and she followed close behind. 

“Space out!  The length of the bus!  The rifles are good to about forty yards but we start shooting at fifty!” Nicole shouted.

The others followed her directions, spacing themselves a couple of seats apart down the length of the bus.  Windows went down and rifle barrels went out.  Everyone gripped their guns tight.  There was silence except for the sound of their breathing which came in short quick breaths.  Within seconds the sound of the Dead came to them on the wind.  A low moan reached them, soft and distant, it gradually grew louder as the massive horde shuffled towards them.  Nicole focused on them, counting off the yards.  As she kept vigil, she looked at her GTO parked alongside the bus in front of them.  She tore her eyes away and looked behind her.  There was a maze of wreckage just beyond the bus, but a good space between it and them.  Quickly she set down her rifle and ran to the front of the bus and opened the doors.  She was halfway out when Billy looked over at her.

“Nicole, where are you going?!” he shouted. 

Nicole stopped.  “I’ve got to move the car around to the other side of the bus.  When that horde hits us, the weight might tip us over!  Walt, close this door behind me… just in case,” she said, before ducking out the door. 

Before Billy could process what she said, she was gone. 

“What did she mean, when the horde hits us?” Billy asked no one in particular. 

Paul tightened the grip on his rifle and stared ahead. 

“It means we are not going to be able to stop them before they are on us,” he said. 

Billy’s face blanched as he jammed rounds into an empty magazine with increased vigor. 

Outside the bus, Nicole squealed the tires in a three point turn and fishtailed off the road, bringing the big car to the other side of the bus as close as she could.  She parked so close she had to slide across the seat and climb out the passenger side window.  She ran around to the other side of the bus and froze in her tracks.  The smell of the Dead hit her like a tidal wave. 

“Fire!” she screamed. 

No sooner had she said the words than a torrent of gunfire exploded from the side of the bus.  High velocity rounds slammed into the front line of the advancing horde.  A few took head shots and dropped, most were shot through the body, the bullets causing them to twitch but not slow down.  Nicole ran up to the sliding doors and pushed on them but everyone was too busy shooting to open them for her.  She banged on the doors. 

“Open the damn door!” she screamed. 

Inside the bus, Ruby looked up from jamming fresh rounds into a magazine. 

“Hippie!” she screamed. 

Walt looked up sharply at her.  “Open the door for Nicole!” Ruby shouted. 

Walt looked over at the door and saw Nicole frantically banging on them.  Walt leaned over across the seat and worked the lever.  The doors slid open and Nicole spilled in.  She stumble-ran to her position and grabbed her rifle as Walt closed the doors behind her. 

Two round burst exploded from her gun and six of the Dead fell.  

“I’m out!” shouted Sam. 

“Here Jordan, honey.  Run that to Sam over there,” Ruby said. 

Jordan seized the magazine and ran to Sam.  Sam handed Jordan the empty and grabbed the fresh one. Jordan ran back to Ruby and Billy who grabbed shells and started filling the empty. 

“Empty!” shouted Paul just as Jordan got the last round in the magazine. 

Jordan turned and tossed the magazine to her father at the same time as he tossed the empty to her.  They crossed in the air and each caught theirs at the same time. 

“Nice work, honey,” Paul said as he jammed home the magazine and took up firing position. 

“Billy, run down the aisle there and fetch me my wheel chair will you? I have an idea how we may make our job a little easier,” she said.