Influenza: Viral Virulence (31 page)

The road ahead was choked with obstacles, and Michael was forced to proceed slower than he wanted. He and Lorie reached the outskirts of Chattanooga by noon. There was a pileup of cars on the other side of the city, which forced Michael to drive off the interstate into the grassy berm to get around the accident.

Shortly after crossing the state line into Georgia, Michael turned off near Dalton, onto SR 74 heading east. The national forest was only forty miles away.
Almost there
, Michael thought.

Krank and his followers continued driving south on I-75. Dosed with meth they had stockpiled for this trip, they drove through the night without stopping. Although high and burning with ferocious energy, Krank made the gang travel much slower than he would have liked.

Far more intelligent than his stupid followers, Krank knew that if they missed a vital clue as to where Michael and the green truck had gone, they would disappear forever. If the truck had turned off I-75, they had to know where. And Krank wanted, no, he needed, his revenge.

He had a couple of trackers in his army. Former hunters, these men could follow anything. From an overturned leaf to a broken stick, they could spot the signs of their prey. Krank’s trackers kept them traveling on I-75 south. He had sent his most trusted leader, Mash, out ahead of the main group looking for signs of the kids. He hadn’t returned yet, so Krank continued the hunt.

In passing all the dead leaves and trash on the freeway, Michael’s truck had inadvertently created an easy trail to follow by blowing the debris off to either side of the passing vehicle. All Krank and his group had to do was follow the trail.

Around eleven o’clock the next day, they had passed the city of Knoxville. Suddenly, one of the trackers, Mash, radioed Krank, who stopped his Humvee. The rest of the gang followed Krank’s lead and also stopped. Mash informed Krank that he had found the site where Michael had spent the night. Unfortunately, some of Mash’s men had decided to try to desert. Mash had killed the deserters, but his vehicles had sustained some damage. They would rejoin Krank as soon as they fixed their cars.

Later, near Chattanooga, his trackers discovered fresh tire tracks in the grass going around a wreckage of cars blocking the interstate. Invigorated by the news, Krank took another hit of crystal glass and drove onward with rising excitement.

It wasn’t long afterward that Krank followed his tracker’s lead and turned off I-75 onto a desolate state highway. Krank was getting so close to his prey that he could almost smell their fear.

Chapter 35

They were almost
at their final destination. Michael calculated that it would only take one or two more hours at their current speed to reach his parents’ retreat. Dusk was starting to fall once again as the sun sank below the horizon. They arrived at the main street of a small, quaint, one-stoplight town. Tourist shops and restaurants ran down both sides of the street. It seemed that the town had been completely untouched by any violence or looting. The shop windows were still intact, and cars were parked neatly along the side. Except for the lack of people and lights, this could just as well be the town before the flu virus had ripped through it.

Being so close to the end, Michael was tempted to just push on and reach his parents’ place. Their latest run-in with Krank’s gang had been a very close call. However, it was becoming dark, and he wasn’t sure about arriving after nightfall. He also wasn’t completely sure of the way. He had only gone to his parents’ retreat by the light of day and wouldn’t be able to spot familiar landmarks in the dark. Besides, his stomach was growling, and he was tired. By the look on Sandy’s face in the backseat, she was tired of being in the truck and was crossing her paws because of the need to go for a walk.

They hadn’t seen any sign of Krank or his army pursuing them since running into Mash, and Michael began to hope they had finally lost them. Besides, Krank couldn’t be
that
crazy to follow them across three states and know at what exact point Michael had left the freeway.

“Want to stop here for the night?” Michael asked Lorie.

Lorie’s eyes looked heavy as she peered out at the sleepy little town. “Sure,” she said. “Maybe we can find a decent place to sleep. Sorry, Michael, but sleeping in the truck isn’t too comfortable.”

“Or safe,” Michael added. Staying inside a solid house and sleeping on a real bed would be a nice luxury.

Michael glanced down at his gauges. “It looks like we need to fill up soon.”

“We can stop right here,” Lorie said. “There are plenty of cars around, and it doesn’t seem like this place has seen any living people for quite some time.”

Michael found a parking place between two cars and pulled in. Lorie and Sandy got out, and Sandy went over to the grass by the sidewalk. While he was siphoning gas from the other cars, he noticed he had parked right in front of a general store. He pointed it out to Lorie. “Want to do some clothes shopping?”

Placing the gas cans in the truck bed and the siphon hose in his toolbox, Michael followed Lorie inside the store. Before going in, they had both made sure that the street outside was clear and they had their guns with them. Michael took a cart and sorted through all the men’s clothes. As it became increasingly dark in the depths of the store, he had to revert to using his flashlight to pick out the right sizes. Not caring about color or style, Michael finished before Lorie got started. He took his clothes outside and packed them in the truck. Then, he waited, watching the street for any activity. He and Sandy walked up and down, looking at the various shops.

Michael noticed that the building next door was a jewelry store. Unlike the general store, the jewelry store was chained and bolted shut. Michael retrieved the bolt cutters he had used to free his truck from Gary’s garage. He walked up to the jewelry-store door, snipped the padlock, and pulled back the steel gate.

“What are you doing?” Lorie asked inquisitively from behind. Apparently, she had finished quicker than Michael had imagined.

“Just looking,” Michael replied innocently as he broke the glass and ducked through the door. He turned and beckoned for Lorie and Sandy to follow him.

Inside, the musty odor settled heavily in the air. A thick layer of dust covered the tops of the showroom glass cabinets. Michael watched Lorie visibly relax as she walked slowly along the glass cabinets and marveled at the contents. In the fading light, the last rays of sun were streaming through the store’s front windows and bouncing off of the gold, diamonds, and other precious stones.

“Oh, look at these!” Lorie marveled at one particular case.

Michael walked around to the other side of the counter, which was where the employees usually stood selling the merchandise. Lorie was peering through the glass at the diamond rings. They ranged from tiny diamonds to larger ones. Michael reached down and opened the door to the cabinet.

“Which one?” he asked, moving his hand teasingly over the diamonds.

“You know we shouldn’t be doing this,” she said. He could tell by her tone that she was enjoying the temptation.

“I think we deserve a little break after all we’ve been through,” Michael said. “So, which one?”

She guided him to pick out an oval diamond set in a gold band.

“Are you sure?” Michael asked. “There are some larger diamonds over there.” he pointed to the right of the display case.

She shook her head and then took the ring from his outstretched hand. As he moved to where she was standing on the front side of the counter, she continued to hold the ring in the palm of her hand. The dwindling light made the diamond sparkle.

Michael watched as her face seemed to light up from within. Her smile could bring the sun out in the middle of a rainstorm. And like the sun, her hair reflected light along its long, wavy strands. To him, she looked like a beautiful, radiant flower in full bloom. Strong yet delicate, she was his perfect match. Her hazel eyes were twinkling as she looked down at the ring in her hand.

“Can I see that?” Michael asked, holding out his hand.

Broken out of her reverie, she reluctantly handed it over to him. She looked a little disappointed to give it up.

On pure impulse, Michael dropped to one knee. Holding the ring out in his hand, he looked up at her. “Lorie,” he asked, “will you marry me?”

“Are you joking?” Lorie asked in disbelief.

“I’m dead serious,” Michael replied. “I want to be with you forever. I don’t want to go one more step without having you in my life. I want to protect you and nurture you. I want to be the one man in your life that you can totally depend on. I want to be your all, because you are everything to me. Besides, we have no idea what tomorrow will bring.”

Laughing and crying at the same time, Lorie nodded vigorously. Standing up, Michael placed the ring on her finger.

Sandy barked joyfully and started running in circles around them while wagging her tail.

With tears still streaming down her face, Lorie kissed him like he had never been kissed before. He held her close as he kissed her back, not wanting to ever let her go.

“Now, you’re not just saying yes because I’m almost the last guy on Earth, are you?” he asked as her lips parted from his.

“Of course,” she said, laughing.

After leaving the shop, they drove a short distance out of town, where they found a large plantation house set back from the road. Michael hid the truck behind the house, and after checking inside for any occupants, living or dead, he motioned for Lorie to join him. The house had been vacant for many weeks, and they stayed that night in the relative luxury of the master bedroom. Despite her protests, Michael insisted that Lorie sleep in the oversized bed while he selected a spot on the floor just inside the doorway. He didn’t want any unwanted surprises in the middle of the night.

The next morning, Lorie surprised him by asking if they could go back into town.

“Why?” he asked. “Do you want to exchange the ring? You do know that the store has a no return policy.”

“No, silly,” she said, embracing him and planting another kiss on his lips. “I just realized that if we’re going to be married, then we need to find you a matching ring. I can’t let all the remaining women think that you’re still available.”

“What remaining women?” he asked, smiling.

Chapter 36

They packed the
truck and headed back toward town. As they neared the main street, Michael’s mood turned unexpectedly downward. He quickly brought the truck to a stop. Krank’s gang had arrived in town. Their cars were parked haphazardly on the street, and they were in the process of looting the stores. Whooping and hollering, some were showing jewelry to the others. The rest were smashing doors and windows of stores, hauling merchandise out.

Krank was nowhere to be seen. Michael assumed he was inside one of the stores until a large hand reached inside the truck and grabbed him by the neck. He was effortlessly dragged out through the driver’s side window and thrown down hard against the pavement. His body landed on top of a discarded lead pipe.

“I’m going to reach down your throat and tear your insides out while your girlfriend watches,” Krank growled down at Michael. “Then I’m going to eat your heart and liver while you choke on your own blood. Finally, I’m going to break your pretty little blonde in half.”

Confidently, Krank stepped over Michael’s body, opened the truck door, and reached in for Lorie. They wrestled briefly with the SCAR until Krank tore it out of her hands and tossed the gun nonchalantly into the backseat. He then dragged her out of the truck. Michael tried to get up, but Krank kicked him hard in the ribs. It was enough to knock all the wind out of his lungs. Gasping for breath on the pavement, Michael watched as Lorie jumped on Krank’s back and hit him on the head with her fists. “Why can’t you just leave us alone?” she screamed.

Krank reached back with his right arm and pulled her off like a pesky flea. He wrapped his massive hand around her neck and started to squeeze. Lorie gasped for air and frantically tried to claw at his face with her fingers. Her face was starting to turn red as she struggled. Krank grinned wolfishly at Lorie. His putrid breath assaulted her nostrils. She tried to scream for Michael, but nothing would come out as Krank continued to squeeze her neck with sickening glee. Her skin color was now changing from red to pale, and she could barely fight.

An evil grin spread across Krank’s face as he reached up with his free hand and tore the top of her blouse off. Drawing near to her with his looming, brown teeth, he reached up and grabbed her bra…

A lead pipe crashed into the back of Krank’s head. Momentarily stunned, Krank relaxed his grip on Lorie’s neck, but he still held on to her with his inhuman strength. From behind, Michael again swung the bar as hard as he could and hit Krank. This time, Krank’s eyes rolled up into his head. He dropped Lorie and fell to his hands and knees. Michael kicked Krank as hard as he could, toppling him to the ground.

Now, the gang members were dropping their precious merchandise and running toward them. Shouting at Lorie, they both turned and started to run for the truck. Michael suddenly fell forward as Krank caught hold of his ankle. He hit the pavement hard, and a red-hot pain shot up his leg as his ankle was twisted in an unnatural way. Looking back at Krank, Michael cried out in surprise and agony. His outburst made Krank smile like a predator that had trapped its prey. Turning his head to find Lorie, Michael saw that she had climbed into the truck and was frantically trying to get her SCAR out of the backseat.

“Lorie!” he called desperately.

She looked at him. Terror was written all over her face.

“Turn the truck around!” he yelled to her. He pointed in the direction of the approaching gang members. They were running out of time. His desire to finish Krank off was outweighed by the threat posed by Krank’s lunatic followers. Even if Lorie got her gun out, there was no way she could take on Krank’s entire gang all by herself. They had to get out of there. Quickly!

Krank tried to pull Michael toward him. He was going to break every bone in his body. Krank could hear his loyal followers getting closer by the second.

Michael had to break free and get away…now! Desperately, he kicked out with his good foot and connected with Krank’s ugly, scarred face. He kicked again and again. Finally, Krank let go of his leg.

Michael scrambled to his feet and tried to ignore the throbbing pain in his ankle.

In the meantime, Lorie had pulled the truck around, and Michael limped over, barely able to put any weight on his injured ankle. She reached over and threw open the passenger’s door. Michael crawled inside. Pushing the gas pedal to the floor, she got the truck out of there and sped down the road.

Krank rolled over to a sitting position and then stood up. He screamed as Lorie and Michael drove off. His gang had just reached him, and he turned around to face them. In his fury, Krank punched the closest follower and broke his nose. He fell to the ground unconscious.

“Go after them!” he hollered at the rest. Looking at the body of their friend, they obediently and without hesitation took off for their vehicles. Pulling himself together, Krank headed back to his own Humvee. He pulled out and started to chase Michael and Lorie. He wasn’t going to let them get away this time.

The town was in a small valley in between two minor mountains. Unseen by anybody, a small, bearded figure in overalls, hidden in the brush of the mountain, watched the activity in the town through binoculars as the vehicles sped away. After the final car left, he quickly got on a hand held radio and started talking to someone.

Lorie was reaching speeds of over one hundred miles per hour as she raced down the two-lane country road. Michael turned around in his seat, wincing as his ankle responded in protest, and then peered out through the back window. Way off in the distance, like little dots, he could see Krank and his fanatical followers in their cars. Lorie slowed down as they approached a curve in the road. Going around the curve, they briefly lost sight of their pursuers.

“How are we going to lose them?” Lorie asked anxiously.

“I don’t know,” Michael said. “We have to get away from them. Just keep going. We’ll figure something out. We’ve come too far to give up now.”

“You drive,” she said.

“I can’t,” he said. “Krank screwed up my ankle. I can’t do the pedals. Besides, you’re doing just fine. Keep going as fast as you can. We have a full gas tank. Maybe we can outlast them long enough for them to run out of gas. The Humvee will surely run out of gas before we do.” Michael was trying to boost Lorie’s morale. Inwardly, he didn’t know how they would possibly escape this situation.

Lorie continued to drive as fast as she dared for the next fifteen minutes on the increasingly narrow, curvy road. They started noticing more and more foliage on either side of the road. The trees were getting denser. Soon, they passed a sign that announced they were entering the national forest. Lorie kept one eye on the road and one eye on the rearview mirror. Michael checked his SCAR magazine to make sure it was full.

Sandy yipped an alarm from the backseat, and Michael twisted his body around to look. Krank’s Humvee and two other cars were starting to close in on them. They were closer than Michael had ever imagined they would be.
How did they gain on us so quickly?
Michael thought.
It’s like they had nitrous injected into their engines…

“Michael…” Lorie started.

“Yes, I see them. Just keep going,” Michael said. He loaded a round into the chamber of the SCAR.