As usual, it was crushed by reality…
A lot can happen in two years
…
Now I know what Jessie meant when he said that he wouldn’t exactly call it an upside…
Chapter 3
If we had been able to use the highway, it would have only taken about four hours to reach the Georgia State line. Due to the horrible condition of the roads, we’d been driving for almost eight hours and only made it to Jacksonville.
It felt like Jessie had to slow down every fifteen minutes to hop the van off the road and creep around an accident that had taken place. Meanwhile, having to watch for debris that could lead to a flat tire.
Palm Coast was a rapidly growing, but mainly undeveloped area, and just as I suspected – things changed drastically when we went through more populated ones. Many of the roads were completely walled off with abandoned and crashed vehicles, and there were even several instances where Jessie had to turn around and take a longer route because so many of the shredders were in the streets.
The fourth time we came upon a large pack, Jessie overestimated how many of them the van could get through. He figured the weight combined with the battering-ram style, metal grill guard on the front would be enough to break through... It was still dark at the time, so he probably couldn’t tell just how many of them there really were.
He hated the idea of having to turn around again, so he gunned it and plowed into them. To be perfectly honest, I assumed it would work as well. Even Brian seemed shocked.
The van only made it about half way through before all the bodies collecting underneath the front-end forced it to a dead stop. Luckily, it has rear-wheel-drive, so he was able to throw it in reverse and get us away from them before anyone was hurt. The abnormally high ride-height of the van seemed to be a big factor in making it so they didn’t get inside.
Jessie spent quite a while cursing himself out after it happened – the van was badly beaten up... The front passenger window was broken – only being held together by the tint. The back right window was completely smashed out, and dozens of dents from them pounding and jumping at the van were clearly visible on the inside.
Since the van was originally a commercial shell-model and had no “interior” in the back, the dents were shockingly pronounced, and in some spots their fists and nails actually started coming through the thin metal. To me, it suggested they could kill a regular person with a single strike... Many of the dents actually looked like they were inflicted by a sledgehammer.
Melanie suggested it was a miracle that none of us were ripped out of the windows during the few seconds it took Jessie to put the van in reverse and build up a little speed – I couldn’t help but agree.
The incident shocked every single one of us, but it really terrified Anthony and Clara. Jessie must have apologized thirty times over the last hour, even though we all kept assuring him that it wasn’t really his fault – that it was just a miscalculation, an accident.
Even now, studying his eyes in the rearview mirror told me that he was still deeply angry with himself…
The sun was just starting to come up, and we’d been driving through Jacksonville for a little over twenty minutes. I felt Jessie let off the throttle, then he turned back and notified us that we would have to stop and siphon gas again.
It was a relatively easy thing to do since there were cars everywhere. It simply took some time to find a spot that didn’t have more than two or three shredders wandering around. Jessie and the others had “plenty” of ammunition, but conservation was still a top priority.
I can clearly remember being astonished at how quickly the bullets disappeared when I’d go shooting with my father, so I could only assume they were very familiar with the feeling as well…
A box of bullets doesn’t last worth a shit…
After our… incident… Brian used the map to direct Jessie around the more built up areas. It was taking substantially longer, but it greatly reduced our contact with the shredders.
When I felt the van come to a stop, I grabbed onto the armrest and began working my way out of the seat. The cramped space and limited foot room made it even more painful for me to maneuver around than usual.
Brian noticed me struggling and said “Whoa, man. You need to take it easy – we got this.”
Walt pushed the back doors open, hopped out and checked over his rifle to make sure it was fully loaded and that the safety was off. “I think two of us watching Jessie’s back is enough.”
I ignored them and made my way out – I needed to have a private conversation with Jessie.
Brian leaned closer to Walt and quietly said “What’s his problem” as I stumbled out of the van and came embarrassingly close to falling…
Fuck… Now I have to get back in…
Walt slightly tilted his head and his brow eased its way down into a frown. At times, his crystal-blue eyes were so bright that they almost appeared to glow like those of the infected. His dark, brown hair, week’s-worth of stubble and the deep tan he’d received from being stuck on the roof only made them even more pronounced than usual.
As I limped past them, I said “I just need to talk to him for a minute.”
Jessie was a little on the shorter side, but light and quick on his feet, so he was already working on getting the gas out of a black SUV that had crashed into some trees on the side of the road. When he heard my footsteps, he turned back and said “What the hell are you doin out of the van?”
I already had exactly what I wanted to say worked out in my head, so I bluntly replied “I know you people are really smart, and that you truly do understand what’s happening… but, just try to take it easy on Melanie. A lot of people follow a religion the same way you follow science.”
Jessie lowered the hose, stood up and turned to face me. I didn’t really know him, and for a moment I suspected there was going to be a problem due to the way he seemed to be glaring at me.
To my relief, his face relaxed and his friendly demeanor returned. If anything, he looked genuinely apologetic. “I don’t mean to be an asshole. I’m sorry, it’s just a sensitive subject for me… I come from a really religious family – they always used to give me a hard time about it.” He put his hands on his hips and looked off into the trees. “I’ll put it to you this way… My father permanently stopped speaking to me the day he found out I didn’t believe anymore.”
“I’m sorry to hear that… and I understand. I just wanted you to know something.” I raised my hand and pointed at him. “I’m telling
you
this – not anyone else. If she wanted any of you to know, she would have said something.”
“I gotcha.”
“The night this started, she lost her two children. Then, on the third day, we all watched her husband get his throat ripped out by one of those things... And now, she’s taken it upon herself to care for those two children.”
Jessie’s shoulders slumped as he looked down to the ground and sighed.
“Just be nice to her. She’s a good person, and you’d be surprised by how strong she is… She deserves it more than anyone else here. And there’s no sense arguing beliefs at a time like this. That’s not too much to ask, right?”
“Yeah, of course.”
When I turned around to head back to the van, Walt and Brian were both staring at me. I could tell they were trying to listen in on our conversation and still confused as to what was going on. I knew I was acting oddly about the whole thing, I just didn’t want Melanie to hear us. I had a hard time believing she’d welcome the idea of someone else fighting her battles for her – no matter how small.
I was so deep in thought that my eye almost didn’t pick up the movement behind Walt. For whatever reason, my guard was completely down. It took a moment for me to register that one of the shredders had come from the woods and was no more than twenty feet away from them.
As I raised my rifle, I yelled out “Behind you – move, now!”
Walt and Brian both ducked and went in different directions. Once they moved out of the way, I could see four more emerging from the tree-line. The sun was blazing, so they were moving slowly – it gave me the extra second I needed to steady my breathing.
I pulled the trigger and watched as the nearest shredder’s head kicked back and it collapsed to the ground.
I found myself fascinated by the way it worked…
A tiny piece of hot metal hits the brain, and the body instantly shuts down...
It was as if someone walked up behind it and simply flipped a switch – like watching a lamp suddenly turn off.
However, it also reminded me of how easily we could be killed by other people. I imagined that someone could be watching us through the scope of a rifle at that very moment. Seconds away from trying to kill us and take everything we have… Some of Jessie’s comments when we first met suggested they’ve already had problems with other survivors.
As I loaded another bullet into the chamber, Walt and Brian began firing. The feeling of a hand on my shoulder startled me and I whipped around – to my relief, it was Jessie. “Get back in the van now – we got this.”
I was going to refuse –
it’s my brother out there
– but I understood Jessie’s reasoning. It was going to take me more than a few seconds to crawl back in the van because of my leg, whereas they can just hop right in.
Limping to the van while the gunshots shattered my eardrums seemed to be a never-ending struggle. I could feel that I’d been using my leg far too much. It was weaker than ever, and I was convinced the pain was actually getting worse.
Anthony and Melanie’s faces were pressed up against the window, watching as Walt and Brian continued to fire. There were only four other shredders the last time I looked, but the amount of shots being fired was a clear indication that more must have appeared from the woods.
I was blocking out Brian’s assault rifle and focusing on how many shots Walt had fired – it was rather easy to tell the difference due to the way the sounds carried. The shots from the old rifle cracked like thunder in comparison to the M4. When I heard him fire for the fifth time, I knew he was out.
Jenny was already on the way over to help me, but I turned back anyway and raised my rifle. They were slowly pouring out of the trees and clumsily running at Walt and Brian. So, technically, they weren’t in any real danger.
Jessie was having to take his time getting back to the van. If he tried to run, the gas would slosh around and spill over the sides of the bucket. When he noticed that I was lining up a shot, he yelled out “James, get back in the van! They’re waiting on us! GO!”
I fired and took another one down – just to help ease my worry for Walt. As Jenny grabbed my arm and forced me back into the van, she said “If you don’t heal, you won’t ever really be able to protect your brother.”
I silently nodded and she ran off to help Walt and Brian keep the shredders at bay. Meanwhile, Jessie performed the difficult task of pouring the gas into the small filler hole for the van without spilling most of it. “New priority, guys! Gas can!”
I didn’t join Melanie and Anthony as they watched through the window. I hated the fact that I was currently a burden – someone who had to be helped and worried about… Viewed as a weakness.
Clara’s pitying and fearful stare only made me feel even weaker…
She knows I can’t protect her…
My mind drifted back to when I noticed the shredder behind Walt
… I hesitated. If it was dark out right now, he’d probably be dead… Why did I do that? Is it because being with these people makes me feel safe?.. I can’t ever feel safe. The feeling of safety is nothing more than a dangerous illusion now…
Chapter 4
Brian looked up from the map, took a large sip of water and turned his head to Jessie. “We’ve been in Lake City for a while now – we’re half an hour away at the most… Man, I feel like if anything was different here we would have at least seen a helicopter or something by now.”
He’s right…
Jessie reached for the pack of cigarettes in the cup holder. He flipped open the top, pushed one up with his thumb and brought the pack to his lips. He just held it in his mouth without lighting it and said “Come on, Brian. We all know every state is gonna be the same. Our only real chance is D.C., and we both know if nothings there, well, there’s probably nothing to look for.”
Brian turned back to address Jenny “No offense, but I’ve been thinking that maybe your father’s research team might have been wrong about how many people carry the gene… The batch of random test subjects could have coincidentally had a high number of positive results – where if you tested a larger batch the percentage could shrink substantially.”
“Hate to tell you this Brian, but my father actually mentioned that… He said they tested every single person on the base. When the results came back the same, government operatives were sent to random hospitals around the globe to secretly test patients over the course of a few years… They confirmed similar result in every part of the world.”
Walt remarked “I’d say all you have to do is look around to know they were right.”
Brian didn’t answer her back, he just kept looking straight ahead. His hands were resting on his knees, and I could see his pants start to wrinkle as he squeezed them out of frustration.
His eyes moved to the unlit cigarette hanging from Jessie’s mouth. He snatched it away and grabbed the lighter from the cup holder.
Jessie simply gave him a dirty look and slid another one out of the pack. Brian lit up and then threw the lighter in Jessie’s lap – purposely aiming for his crotch. “Quit chain-smokin, man. You just opened that pack a few hours ago and it’s almost half gone.”
“Fuck off – I’ll just get more when we run out. Not like there’s anyone around to empty the stores out.” He turned to Brian, smiled and raised his brow. “The world is ours, Brian. We can do or take whatever the hell we want.”
Brian scoffed “Well, then find us a nice house to stay in – we’ve been driving for a long time. I think we all need some real rest.”
I was so relieved to hear Brian say those words. After the last week, we all needed a good night’s sleep. Preferably, somewhere we could feel comfortable enough to keep our eyes closed for more than an hour or two.
The three of us hadn’t said much since Jenny informed us as to what’s really going on and just how grim things actually are. Even though I’d seen it for myself before we ever met and came to the conclusion on my own – I still had trouble believing it.
I just couldn’t accept that billions of people were either dead or roaming the streets, looking to devour the few us left alive, and that our way of life was gone forever… And it was even harder to accept that it was all part of a plan set in place by nature millions of years ago – if not much longer… I just kept trying to hold onto the thought that we’d eventually come across a protected area where everything is perfectly normal and at peace…
As Jessie turned onto one of the side streets to search for a place to spend the night, I looked over to Jenny and asked “So, you said even someone like the president didn’t know about this whole thing, right?”
“Far as I know.”
I turned sideways in my seat so I’d be facing her. “Okay… Well, we all know there’s a visible part of our government and then a secret side that most people know nothing about.”
“Pretty much.”
I felt Walt’s hand brush against the back of my head as he moved forward and leaned onto my seat so he could join in the conversation. Anthony and Clara had fallen back to sleep, but Melanie was awake and clearly interested in what I had to say.
“So, that means there was no preparation for this in Washington because none of those people were allowed to know, right?”
Jenny looked off to the side for a moment to think about my question before she began to nod. “Yes, that’s probably safe to assume.”
I looked at her for a moment and said “Well… Then why are we going there? None of you know where some of their secret underground bases or shit like that might be?”
Jenny laughed through her nose, raised her brow and said “Even if we managed to find one, I highly doubt we’d be welcome… They shoot on site at places like that – especially at a time like this.”
“So, then what exactly are we doing?”
She leaned back in her seat and said “Just looking for more people. We need to group together and form a small army so we can truly protect ourselves, and maybe even try to take parts of our world back… If we can’t find a safe place to live – we’ll have to create one ourselves.”
Walt replied “I completely agree. We’ve seen more than enough to know it’s going to be like this everywhere we go. We need to make our own safe-zone.”
Melanie jokingly added “I’m in, as long as we keep going north so we can get away from this heat… remember guys – no more air conditioning.”
Jenny briefly laughed. “Jessie said the exact same thing right before we found you.”
“He’s a smart man.”
Walt said “I second that. I’d rather deal with snow for a few months than sit in my own sweat and stink for eight months out of the year… My, uh… goodies… they’re suffering big time.”
I groaned out “Tell me about it.” Then turned to Jenny and said “I’m in – but D.C. gets pretty cold. Let’s think about a state more like North Carolina. It seems like the ideal climate for us… and growing food if it comes down to that.”
Jenny put her hands up and nervously smiled. “Well, we don’t have any set plans yet – just ideas. But D.C. is our main priority at the moment.”
“I understand… All we can do is keep going and see what happens.”
Walt said “Other survivors should be at the top of the list. If we ever wanna do something like clean up a town and turn it into a safe environment again, we’ll need a lot of people to help us… Like Jenny said – we need to build an army.”
When Jessie began to slow down, Brian reached through the window and pointed to his right. “What about that one over there? I don’t see any broken windows, and the front door is closed.”
I turned away from the conversation so I could see where we were. From what I could make out, it looked like one of the many high-priced, gated communities where Walt and I used to spend most of our time working.
Aside from the signs of our current situation, all the lawns were perfect, there were very few cars in the road or signs of massacres, and almost every home looked like it would cost close to a million dollars…
Why not?
It was an excellent play to stay for security reasons alone. The only entrance was the gate, and the entire community was surrounded by a decorative concrete wall reaching far above our heads. I was having a hard time believing it, but I hadn’t seen a single shredder since Jessie turned off the main road.
Walt must have taken a few moments to look around as well. I could hear the faintest amount of excitement in his voice as he said “Nice neighborhood… I always wondered what it would be like to live in one of these homes.”
Jenny checked her rifle and put the strap around her arm, then inched toward the edge of the seat in preparation to climb out. “We’ve been coming to these kinds of neighborhoods because wealthy people always have plenty of food… generally have guns too. Though I have to say – this is a few steps above what we usually find.”
Melanie moaned out “I’ll be so happy to sleep in a bed.”
Jenny smiled and replied “That’s another upside – really good mattresses.”
Jessie must have overheard us. He turned back and added “And liquor cabinets.”
After a few moments of laughter, Jessie slowed down again and pulled into the large, circular driveway of a two story home. I could see the decorative columns coming from the marble front steps and disappearing into a lavishly designed overhang.
The massive, double front door was rounded at the top, made of solid wood and even had large brass rings meant for knocking. When mixed with the faux-gray brick covering the outside walls of the first floor, it gave the appearance of a small castle.
Melanie gently nudged Anthony and Clara awake as the rest of us made our way out of the van. Walt and I were the only ones who weren’t in awe of the house and the beautiful neighborhood... We’d been in hundreds homes just like it.
When Anthony stepped out of the van and finished rubbing his eyes, his jaw dropped and he yelled out “Is this a castle!?”
Melanie quickly covered his mouth and the rest of us tensed up, raised our rifles and started scanning the area for any movement. When we realized we the only living things in sight, Jessie said “How can this place be so empty?”
Brian remarked suspiciously “Not even one shredder around?.. That’s weird, man. The front gate to this place was just hangin open.”
“And there were a bunch of them in the road, just outside of it.”
Jenny interjected “Just because we can’t see any on this street doesn’t mean they aren’t around. Something could have drawn them to the other side of the neighborhood – so, let’s hurry and get in that house. We can get a much better view from the second floor windows once we’re inside.”
Jessie demanded that we stay back while he and Brian found a way through the front door. “We have experience doing this kind of thing. There could be a shredder trapped inside… or someone could be in there waiting to blow one of our heads off.”
When they approached the door, Brian looked it up and down and raised a brow. “Uh, Jessie? I don’t think we’re getting through this door without totally destroying it. And we gotta be able to lock this place up.”
“Then we’ll just have to break a window and find a way to block it off.” Jessie said as he walked over to one of the tall windows next to the front door, flipped his rifle around and got ready to break out the glass.
Jenny said “Hey! Go around back – don’t break one in the front … Think about it, Jessie.”
Jessie waved her off and started heading around the side of the house. Brian said “Stay here and keep watch” as he followed behind him.
It was strange to see Walt standing right next to Jenny. In every sense of the word, he towered over her… She couldn’t be more than 5’4’’, but she undoubtedly came across as the kind of person you wouldn’t want to have an altercation with. It was easy to see as she stood there holding her rifle in full uniform.
I couldn’t even sense the slightest amount of fear or worry. Aside from an occasional smile, joke or brief laugh, her sharp features and conversation rarely ever portrayed anything but the utmost seriousness. She wasn’t cold or abrasive at all – just confident in her intellect and abilities, while also being prone to concentrating on the task at hand.
She was very attractive, so Anthony immediately took a liking to her. I could even see that she’s had experience with kids and seemed to genuinely enjoy them. The majority of times I’ve seen her break character were when she spoke to one of them.
When Anthony pulled away from Melanie’s hand, she momentarily panicked, lunged toward him and grabbed his arm. “Anthony, don’t do that!”
“I’m sorry Melanie. I just wanna ask Jenny something.” Anthony said as he hunched his shoulders.
Melanie leaned her head back and looked up at the sky. “I didn’t mean to scare you Anthony. I just have to be extra careful so nothing happens to you… I’m sorry too.”
Jenny walked over and squatted down next to him. “What’s up, Anthony.”
His eyes moved to her gun and a smile stretched across his face. “Is that a M4?”
Jenny jerked her head back in surprise and took turns glancing at me and Melanie. She nervously laughed and said “It sure is. Now how do you know that, little guy?”
“I always pick that gun when I play Call of Duty.”
Melanie and I both started cracking up, and Clara curled her lips down in disgust as she said “I hate that stupid game. It’s so loud and annoying.”
Jenny was about to ask Anthony another question when a loud banging coming from the back of the house got our attention. Walt started to head toward the sound and I said “Wait, don’t go. Two able people need to be around for the kids. I’ll go check it out. I think I know what’s going on.”
“What?”
“Those windows must be impact-resistant. That’s the sound of him trying to break the glass with the stock of his rifle – it’s not gonna work. He’s just making a bunch of noise for no reason.”
Walt’s lips barely separated and he titled his head to concentrate on the sound. “Hmm… Shit, you’re right.”
As I made my way around to the back of the house, the banging suddenly stopped and was replaced by Jessie throwing a fit. “What the fuck is this shit!? It hasn’t even cracked!”
Brian replied “I guess this guy opted for bullet-proof glass or somethin, man.”