Age of Decay (Book 1): Contagion (17 page)

Jake Rawlings sat back in the hotel room chair. A brunette had her head between his legs going down on him. Her face was covered in grime and her cheek was red where he had hit her. The young woman wore blue jeans and a ripped yellow T-shirt. Jake puffed casually on a cigar and took another swig from a half empty bottle of rum. On the table, he had a pistol nearby.

“Damn girl,” he said, as he pulled her hair back with force. “You’re not bad at this. I think you’re a keeper. Glad you agreed. Your friend shouldn’t have shot off her mouth like that. I told you people that the constable is hungry. Play by my rules, and everything will be fine.

He stroked the side of her face. “Boys are gonna like you.”

The girl didn’t move, but kept her mouth on him. A tear ran down the right side of her cheek, but she quickly brushed it away.

“Yeah, almost girl. Just a little faster. Give Jake what he wants.” The girl squeezed Jake’s balls and held him in her mouth as he came. Jake pulled his knife from its sheath and brought it to her throat as he held onto her hair. “Now you swallow it. I don’t want any spitting.” He brought the blade to her skin. “Understood?”

The girl nodded and swallowed his semen. She wiped her mouth with her hand and sat back on the floor. She was close to tears.

“Hey girl, you’re not done yet. Clean off my cock with that tongue, and be quick about it. I got things to do.”

The girl did as instructed and cleaned him off. As Jake pulled up his jeans there was a knock at the door. “What do you want?”

“Me, Jake,” said Vance. “Are you done with her yet?”

“You greedy little bastard,” said Jake. “Come on in, we have things to discuss and then you can have the little whore for yourself.”

“Alright.”

“Hey darlin’, leave us for a bit. Go in the bathroom and freshen up, you look like shit. There’s a bucket of water there you can use. I want ya all pretty for Vance and his buddies.”

The girl got up and went into the bathroom without saying a word.

“Sit down, man,” said Jake. “Have a drink.” He poured both of them an ample glass of rum. “So how goes the recruitment?”

Vance sat down. “It’s going good, Jake. I got quite a few able bodies now helping us search through the hills for survivors.”

“That’s good. Glad to see some cooperation around here.”

“Well, not everyone is willing to work with us. Some people are holding out. Don’t know what you want to do with them.”

“Oh, that’s a shame. You give someone a chance to survive in this new world and look at how they repay you.”

“What do you want me to do with them?”

“Let’s gather them together and have another demonstration of my authority here. I’m sure the constable is getting a might peckish these days.”

Vance laughed. “Yeah, he’s a hungry bastard, isn’t he?”

Jake took a swallow of rum. “That he is, my man.”

“We found a few of the dead wandering around, too, but we took care of them. I got details working to pick up any corpses we find and clean the place up.”

“Nice job,” said Jake. He waved his glass around. “We can’t have Rawlings, B.C. a junk heap can we? If people want to live here, it’s got to be tidy. Check the houses. There might be more of ‘em inside. I wouldn’t want one of the boys to run into one and get bit.”

“So, Jake, what do we do with everyone that won’t work with us, even after the demonstration? We got some pretty stubborn holdouts.”

“Simple, man.” Jake put his glass down. “Anyone that doesn’t want to help us is going to die.”

“Just kill them all?”

“Yeah, Vance. We just kill them all.”

“I don’t know.”

“Shoot, you want to feed some old lady that is bitchin’ at you or some snot nosed kid? It’s a new age bro. Only the strong are gonna survive this. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to have to find food for all these people.”

“It seems drastic,” said Vance.

“Drastic? Well, suppose we let them all live and our food runs out. You want to deal with a riot?”

“No.”

“Good. We’ll pick through ‘em though. I want all the pretty ones for the boys. They need their release. I wouldn’t want ‘em to get out of control or anything.”

“Sure, Jake.”

“We’re sitting pretty up here. The city is far away, and we shouldn’t see too many of them up here. What we do run into, we’ll handle just fine.”

“Alright.” Vance put his rum glass down. “Good stuff.”

“Yeah it is. We got plenty left, too. Ole B.C liquor stores, gotta love em.”

“We’re also collecting gas, like you said. We already have a good supply of it now.”

“Yeah, we need as much as we can get. We’ll have to venture out further once our supply runs low. I don’t want anyone driving unless they have to. Keep the bikes for when we need them. Use trucks or other vehicles for now.”

“Got it,” said Vance. “That reminds me, I almost forgot. I was talkin’ to a local. He says he may know where there are some people that may still be alive. He told me the location of some remote cabins up in the hills. You know the type, guys that like to live mostly off the grid as much as they can.”

“I know the type.”

“He says they are mostly older guys, some are hunters, outdoor enthusiasts, that sort.”

“We might be able to make use of guys that know this area well,” said Jake. You send out a patrol and locate these guys. If there’s another group out there, I want to know about it.”

“Okay.”

“If they find anything, let ‘em know we have food, supplies, whatever else they need. Shit, any survivors up there are probably pissing their pants by now. Send some of the new recruits, too. These guys gotta get their feet wet out there. They need to prove that they want to be a part of our new town.”

“I’ll get it done.”

“See that you do.” Jake popped a beer. “Hey girl, come on out now, Vance needs ya.”

“She good?”

Jake laughed. “Oh man, you’re gonna have a great time with her. See that the boys don’t rough her up any. I want her fresh for later.”

Jake turned. “Ah there you are. That face looks much better. Now you go here with my buddy Vance, and make sure his boys have a good time. We clear?”

The girl nodded. “Yes, sir.”

He patted her on the behind. “That a girl.”

“Hey boss?”

“Yeah?”

“What do we do if our patrol comes under fire from these guys up there?”

Jake took a swig of his beer. “Well, that’s gonna be a real problem.” He picked up his pistol and examined it.

“A real problem indeed.”

The group sat around Galen’s table. He had brought in some lawn chairs from outside so everyone had a seat. Trevor had told his story to Galen and his friends, and he was glad to see his uncle still in one piece. Hope had suffered a lot, but there were survivors still left. Now, they needed to decide how to get into Hope, but that was going to be difficult with the biker gang holding everyone hostage. Trevor knew there would be no reasoning with them, and that was too risky as the gang could turn on them in a minute if they did manage to work something out. It was either the bikers or them that were going to live in Hope. Trevor knew which group it was going to be.

Galen poured more coffee for everyone, then put the cast iron kettle back on the wood stove. “I guess there’s some good to livin’ a simple life.”
Thank God you’re alive, Trevor. I can’t believe you survived
.

“We are glad to be here, Uncle,” said Trevor. “I never thought we would make it out of the city. It’s pretty bad out there, and this is only going to get worse.”

“It will spread like wildfire,” said Lauren.

“Well, you folks are welcome here,” said Billy.

Erica came out of the spare bedroom. “Gail is resting. Not sure how she’ll be in the coming hours. She was muttering some, but other than that there’s, not a lot of activity out of her.”

“What she got?” asked Steven.

“It’s a deep depression. The brain just sort of shuts off, and you go into a state like Alzheimer’s or dementia basically. Some people never recover, while others get better over time. I just don’t have any medications to treat her.”

“That’s why we need to get into town,” said Galen. “Damn it.”

“We can take those clowns,” said Jason. “A bunch of bikers? Please.”

“Can’t rush in, Son, you know that. These guys will be armed.”

“Yeah, but not much training, I suspect,” replied Jason.

“Have to think it through,” said Erica.

Trevor stood up to stretch. “How many can you gather up, Uncle?”

“Probably a dozen in addition to all of you. There are a few kids and women, too, but they can’t fight.”

“They’ll learn with time,” said Billy. “We need to train everyone to defend themselves.”

Trevor looked over at Billy. “Right. You mentioned you have been scouting. Maybe I should go with you, see what we are up against.”

“You can if you want. I think we have the numbers, but running into town, guns blazing like the old West isn’t going to work. The hotel is where I saw all the bikes, that’s a main staging area.”

“I wish I knew who was leading these guys,” said Galen.

Trevor sipped his coffee. “It could be anyone, Uncle. Whoever it is, they’re using fear to run the town. Billy mentioned those people hanged and the other one they have tied up as a terror weapon.”

Steven paced by the window. “That is what makes this guy very dangerous.”

Erica folder her hands on the table. “Dangerous or not, we need those supplies in the town. We came this far, and I sure as hell don’t want to go back into the city. I say we fight and take it from him now.”

“Erica,” said Trevor. “I know you’re anxious to help Gail and anyone else, but we can’t just walk in there. We get in a huge firefight and people are going to die.”

“We’ll all die, just sitting here, Dad.”

Billy lit a cigarette. “We can take them. These bikers are taking advantage of the situation. They won’t suspect anyone attacking them. They are ruling with fear, not military tactics or clear thinking. They will be weaker than they realize. They won’t suspect any sort of attack from anyone.”

“It’s a risk,” said Galen, “but we have to take it for the sake of everyone.”

“Uncle, get the others together. We’ll formulate a plan and then execute it. I came this far, and I’m not going anywhere else. Hope is ours.”

The door opened slowly and Ian stepped into the cabin. Trevor looked at him. “What is it?”

“Trouble, lads. A mess of trouble.”

They fanned out in front of Galen’s cabin and the woods surrounding it. Ian told them that three men were coming up the road in a Jeep. They were stopping and checking each home before moving on. They had a couple more homes to check before they would make their way to Galen’s home.

Trevor knelt in the brush beside Billy as he looked though his binoculars. “They’re at Jacob’s home now. He’s older, so I don’t think he’ll fight. He doesn’t have a gun, basically just a friendly fellow. He’s been at home through most of it. He won’t talk to us much. Basically keeps to himself.”

“Like anyone,” said Trevor, “he’s just scared.” He looked at Galen and Steven. ”Stay down,” he whispered.

Jason and Erica covered the other side of the street as they moved slowly to the driveway of the other home.

“No sign of them yet,” said Billy.

“Still inside. We wait till them come out then take them out. We need a prisoner,” said Trevor. “It’s the only way we’ll know what we’re up against.”

“Shit,” said Steven. “Look down the road, one of those roamers. Haven’t seen one for a while.” He raided his rifle.

Trevor put his arm on the gun. “No.” He motioned across the street to his son and pointed to the figure that walked slowly up the road shuffling left and right like a drunk.

Jason nodded and drew his knife. He snuck quietly passed the driveway and drove it into the neck of the thing to silence it.

“We cleaned most of them out from around here,” said Galen. “I guess we missed a few.”

“Try the city, Uncle.”

“I can only imagine.”

“Roamers?” Trevor said looking at Steven.

“Yeah, that’s what we have been calling them up here. They move from place to place, looking for their next meal.”

“Yeah us,” said Galen.

“Get down,” said Billy. “Look.”

They could see the group of men walk out. One of them was pushing the old man with a rifle.

“Come on, old timer,” said the man. “We don’t have all day.”

“Why don’t you just leave me alone? I got nothin’ you want.”

“You sure you don’t know of anyone else up here?” said the biker with the protruding belly and greasy white muscle shirt. He scratched his jaw. “I’d sure appreciate it, gramps, if you told us all you know.”

“I said, I’m not interested in Hope. Just leave me here. I wanna die here. This is my home. Judgement is upon us, say the Lord.”

“He’s nuts,” said the fat biker. “Hey you kid, take him out into the yard.”

“Me?”

“See anyone else round here? You want to prove yourself to Jake, do as I say. I’ll put in a good word for ya. Maybe he’ll give ya some tail.”

The third man burst into laughter. He turned when he heard a sound over by the man’s shed. “Hey, I heard something there. You got someone in the shed?”

“Don’t you hurt my boy!” said the old man. “Jared is a good man.”

“Fuck,” said the fat man. “You hidin’ him in there? Mitch, check it out.”

The fat biker drew his pistol on the old man. “Not a good idea hidin’ things from us.”

“He’s safe in there I assure you,” said the old man. “Lord will keep him.”

The younger man spoke up. “Hey, just let this guy go, he’s not hurtin’ anyone.”

“You shut up. Mitch, open the shed already!”

The other biker shook the lock. “Locked.”

“Fuck you’re dense. Blow off the lock, dumbass.”

“Okay.” The biker pointed with his rifle and shot the lock off the shed lock and opened the door. The old man’s son stood there in the doorway. He was clad in dirty overalls and a baseball cap just like he was when he died of the flu. The old man was unable to kill him, so he stuck him in the shed before he died. His skin was gray and spit dripped from the corner of his mouth. He’s eyes were white and vacant. He hissed at Mitch, who screamed. The biker backed up, but he was too slow due to shock. The thing that used to be Jared clamped down on his arm and ripped off a shred of skin. The biker screamed again as the thing bit into his neck.

The old man began to cry. “My boy!”

“You old fuck,” said the fat biker. He shot the old man point blank in the head. His blood sprayed over the younger man who stood there, unable to move.

Jared lumbered over to them. Before the got halfway across the yard, several rounds tore into the fat biker, who dropped like a sack of rocks. Trevor, Galen, and the rest of the group ran into the yard.

The younger man backed up and collapsed on the ground. He put out his arms to shield himself from Jared who reached for him with red, bloody jaws.

“No!” screamed the kid.

Jared pitched backwards as a bullet tore into his skull, taking off the top part of his head in a sick bloody display.

Three rifles surrounded the kid as he lay on the grass with tears streaming down his face.

“Don’t move,” Trevor said.

“Billy, deal with that other guy.”

Billy brought his rifle up on the other man. “Please… help.” Blood poured form his arm and the huge gash in his shoulder, which spread blood over the front of his jean jacket.

Without saying a word, Billy pulled out a knife and shoved it into the man’s head to silence him.

Trevor took his knife and drove it in to the fat biker’s skull before wiping the blade on the grass. He put his rifle on the young man’s chest. “Anyone else with you?”

“No, I swear, please don’t kill me. I was only doing what they told me to do.”

“Get him up,” said Trevor. “He’s got some talkin’ to do.”

***

The group stood outside of Galen’s cabin while Trevor took the man inside. They found out his name was Phillip, and he was a resident of Hope. They needed to know how many they would be going against, and they needed to know that information now. Trevor would do what was required to get it out of Phillip.

Lauren flinched as she heard Phillip cry out. “Is this necessary? I mean, he’s just a kid.”

“Yeah,” said Billy. “We have to know more about what’s going on in Hope.”

Lauren turned to look at Billy. “We torture people now?”

Galen rubbed his jaw. “Trevor is doing what he has to do, you know that. Our lives depend upon it.”

“We told you what that biker did to the old guy, Mom,” said Jason. “They are going to pay.”

“None of us like doing this Lauren,” said Galen. “I wish there was some other way.”

Inside Trevor paced around the chair. He had tied up Phillip and smacked him in the lips again with the back of his hand. Blood poured out from his cut lip and stained his shirt.

Trevor lifted up his head by the hair. “How many of them are there?”
“I didn’t count them all. Maybe twenty or thirty altogether.” Phillip coughed. “Please don’t hurt me.”

“You should have thought of that before you wasted the old man.”

“I was just doing what they told me. They are hurting people down there that don’t join them. I was scared.”

“Who’s the leader?” Trevor brought his knife up under the kid’s chin. “Tell me or I’ll cut you into small pieces. I’ll start with your fingers.”

Tears swelled up in Phillip’s eyes. “Please. The guy’s name is Jake Rawlings. That’s all I know.”

“Anything else I should know? Or should I just start cutting you now?” Trevor pressed the knife into his chin, drawing some blood.

“Shit, please don’t. He’s got my sister. They are raping the girls. He’s crazy. Feeding others to the thing, he’s got tied up. Tomorrow there’s going to be another demonstration. I heard it from one of the bikers I was with.”

“Demonstration?”

“Yeah. He gather’s the town together… He… feeds that thing…”

“What else do you know?”

“I heard them talking. Tomorrow if the rest of the town doesn’t do what he says—”

“What?”

“He’s going to execute them.”

“Shit.”

“Please, I’ll do what you ask. My sister…”

“Alright, Phillip.” Trevor pressed the knife into his chin once more. “But if you screw us, I’ll kill you. Is that clear?”

“Yeah, clear.”

“Good. I wouldn’t want us to have any misunderstanding here.”