Apocalypse Empire (Book 1): Apocalypse Origins (12 page)

Greg frowned at that. Were some of those people infected?
Were the cars parked randomly because they had been overcome with the
infection? Greg thought it probably a good idea they were staying in the
basement. He did think they should rethink how long they were planning on
staying though. Just in case the infection had reached this neighborhood.

"We might want to think about getting you another
vehicle," James said.

"What's wrong with my car?"

"Just thinking we probably want something with a little
bit more space. The van's pretty much packed now with what we picked up today.
How's your car looking?"

Greg thought for a moment. "The trunk is pretty much
full I think. There isn't too much space back there. We should probably handle
that as soon as possible."

James nodded. "Let's drop the van off and get a bite to
eat. We can unload your car and then take to go get something else. You have
enough to cover a new car?"

Greg thought for a moment. "Yeah, it shouldn't be too
much of a problem. Couldn't get a hummer or anything, but anything lower than
that should be fine."

"That's good," James responded, “If the
dealerships are open, I don't think they'll be doing any financing."

Greg chuckled. "This is the perfect time though. They
could do an end of the world special or something."

James laughed as he pulled into his driveway. He waited for
the garage door to open then quickly pulled inside. "Why don't we get some
of that gear out the back, just in case?"

Greg nodded. "The jackets and gloves for sure."

They spent a few minutes finding the desired items and
headed inside for lunch. The girls had made some chicken sandwiches and a
salad. During the meal, the men explained that they needed to replace Greg's
vehicle. The girls agreed it was a good idea and they sent the kids out to the
garage to unload Greg's car.

After lunch, they put on their new gear. A leather jackets
to cover their arms and some gloves for their hands. They had another
uneventful trip out. They knew this wouldn't last but were grateful for it nonetheless.
They managed to find a dealership that was open and found and SUV that they
felt would do the job. Greg ended paying way more than it was worth but didn't
worry about it too much since they really needed it. He wondered how much
longer the economy could hold up with this crisis going on. He figured pretty
soon people would start looting and taking what they needed. Maybe the owner
here thought he could get away some place the infection hadn't reached yet.

The drive home was much more interesting than the ride out.
Several times they had to drive along the sidewalk to avoid traffic despite the
fact they were sticking to side streets. Greg was already starting to feel that
the SUV was paying for itself. He realized his old car wouldn't have been any good
under these conditions. He smiled to himself. That was another great idea James
had had, although he wouldn't tell him that.

Once they reached the house, they took the time to split up
their supplies between both vehicles. Greg had thought it was a good idea for
each vehicle to have the essentials in case they got separated somehow. They
finished with the vehicles just as the girls were putting dinner together. They
sat down to a meal of grilled steak, steamed vegetables, and some mashed
potatoes. James smiled happily as he cut into his steak. Laura chuckled at
his enthusiasm.

"We're almost out of the freezer stuff," she said.
"We've got some hamburgers left I think, and maybe a roast."

James shrugged. "Let's cook it all. No point in letting
it go to waste."

Greg nodded. "Yeah, not sure how much longer it'll be
safe to stay in the city."

Laura nodded as she glanced at the kids. Junior at ten, was
looking at the whole situation as if it were some big adventure. Maddy at
twelve, was taking everything in stride as well. If she had been just a few
years older they might have had an irate teenager on their hands. As it was,
they seemed to be handling the whole thing better than the adults. Laura had
marveled at their acceptance of the situation when she had sat them down to
talk earlier. 

"Where should we go?" she asked.

"Not sure just yet," Greg replied. "For now
though, getting away from any large cities is probably out best bet. Maybe head
north or something. Less people that way, right?"

"Less people should mean less infected then
right?" Carol asked.

"That's kind of what I'm thinking," he said.

"How can we be sure though?" James asked.
"It's not like won't have to deal with this if we go north."

"Hey, dad," Junior said.

"Yeah, son?"

"Couldn't we just check the radio? I still have that
c.b. radio you got me last year."

"Does it still work?" James asked. "I don't
think I've seen you use it in a while."

"It still works," Junior insisted. "It's been
sitting on my closet shelf."

"I'll go grab it," James said. He left and
returned a few minutes later, c.b. radio in hand. They set it up on the table
but nothing happened when he turned it on.

"It probably needs new batteries, Dad," Junior
said. "I haven't used it for a while."

"I'll grab some," Laura said as she left the
table. She returned a few minutes later and the radio crackled to
life. They cycle through the stations but didn't hear anything they felt
was useful. They stayed at it for fifteen minutes before giving up.

"We can keep checking," Greg said. "It's
still just the first day. Maybe no one has had a chance to organize anything
yet."

"That makes sense," James said. "We can
probably check every hour or so until we hear something."

Laura glanced at her watch. "It's after eight. Should
we turn in?"

"That sounds good to me," James said. "I'm
pretty tired now that you mention it."

Everyone else left, leaving just Greg and Carol at the
table. They made small talk while Greg continued to cycle through the stations
on the radio. Carol chuckled after he yawned for the fourth time.

"Why don't you go to bed? The radio will be there in
the morning."

Greg smiled. "You're right." He stood and
stretched.

"I made a spot for you earlier. Come on, I'll show
you." Carol took Greg by the hand and led him off to a corner in the
basement. There was a pallet set up on the floor with room for two. A blanket
hung from the ceiling and enclosed the area to give a sense of privacy.

"What's this?" Greg asked as he turned to Carol.

"What's it look like?"

Greg chuckled. "I know what it looks like. I guess I
just wasn't expecting this."

"I could've died today," she said. "You kept
me safe. And before you say anything, this isn't about that. I've liked you for
a while now. I know you feel the same way about me."

Greg nodded. "I do. It's just...when things were normal
I didn't feel right since we worked together."

"That's fine. But normal is gone now. We could die
tomorrow." Carol placed a finger on his lips when he tried to protest.
"I know you and James will do everything you can to keep us safe. I’ll
learn what I need to so I can help with that too. But you don't know what will
happen. Something can go wrong despite our best efforts. So, I don't want to
waste any more time when we don't know what the next day will bring."

Greg glanced around. "What about the others?"

"I'll be quiet," Carol said with a small
smile. 

The next morning, James found Greg working with the c.b.
radio. "How was your night?" he asked with a smirk on his face.

Greg noted the smirk and chuckled. "So you know, huh?"

"Who do you think helped Carol set everything up?"

At Greg's look, James laughed. "Laura and I have been
married thirteen years, man. No secrets there. You are well and truly caught my
friend.

Greg laughed. "Well, maybe I don't mind being
caught."

"That's the spirit." James nodded towards the
radio. "Anything come through yet?"

"Not yet."

"So what's our plan today? I think we pretty much got
what we needed yesterday."

Greg nodded. "I'm thinking we stay here until we hear
something on the radio. Might as well be in comfort before we hit the
road."

James raised his eyebrow suggestively.

"I didn't mean that," Greg said with a chuckle.
"I was just thinking that we might as well be comfortable before we start
having to sleep in those tents."

"Sure, I believe you," James said.

Greg chuckled again. "I was also thinking we might make
small trips outside. Just to keep an eye on things so we have an idea of when
it's just not safe anymore and we need to get out of here."

"That makes sense. The radio runs on batteries so we
can bring it with us and check things on the road. It would be nice to have an
idea of where to go when we leave though."

The next few days passed in relative quiet. They spent time
packing and repacking the vehicles. Greg and James made frequent trips outside
while everyone else took turns checking the radio. Their peace came to end one
day after Greg returned from a trip outside. Greg entered the basement and saw
everyone sitting around at the table playing a board game.

"What's wrong?" Carol asked when she saw the look
on his face.

"It's time for us to go," he said.

"What happened?" James asked.

"The city's on fire. Looters or something, I don't
know. Looks like it's heading this way though."

"Are you sure?" Laura asked.

"It looks that way," Greg said. "Either way,
it's not safe here anymore. If the fire doesn't reach here people might come
this way looking for shelter."

James nodded. "Let's go then. The cars are ready to
go."

There was little to do. They'd been ready to leave at a
moment’s notice so they wouldn't have to run around looking for things when it
was time to leave. The kids packed up their games while Laura and Carol packed
up the day's lunch. Greg and James headed for the garage to start the cars.
James took Laura and his kids in their minivan while Carol rode with Greg in
the SUV. Greg took the lead and led the group away from the city. 

Carol looked behind them at the rising flames and shook her
head sadly. "Who would do this? The infected are bad enough, why set fire
to everything."

Greg shrugged. "I don't know," he said as he
rubbed her knee. "All I know is that it isn't safe here anymore."

Shirley sighed in frustration as she headed for the bathroom.
She'd just had another heated argument with Jeremy. For the last few days she'd
been trying to tell him they needed to be ready to leave in case things got bad
here. He wouldn't listen to reason though. The latest argument had been the
worst. She'd been trying to explain how Jackson said it wouldn't be safe here
but Jeremy wouldn't listen. He started accusing her of cheating on him with
Jackson. 

She was attracted to Jackson. Maybe even more so now since
he'd gotten her safely from her office. But she hadn't done anything with him.
She wasn't even planning on it. That seemed to be the only thing Jeremy could
focus on. He'd insisted on her moving her bunk to his area and tried to exclude
Jackson from meal times. He'd even taken to having some other guys sit with
them so Jackson wouldn't have space to sit at their table.

This had been going on for two days now and she was getting
sick of it. She wasn't his possession to be told whom she could or couldn't
talk to. Jackson was her friend for life at minimum. You didn't just turn away
from someone who had risked their life to save yours. Fortunately, Jackson was
taking the whole situation in stride. In fact, he was acting as if he didn't
care one way or another. That probably fueled Jeremy's jealous rage even more.

It also didn't help that there was so much tension going
around. People were really starting to complain about the lack of food. It had
gotten to the point that an elderly man had been knocked unconscious when he
questioned the guards about it. Those thugs had hit that poor man in the head
with the butt of their rifle! Shirley couldn't wait until Jackson said it was
time to get out of here.

She exited the bathroom to find Jackson waiting for her.
"Hey," he said with a smile.

"Hey, Jackson," she replied. "You doing
okay?" She hadn't talked to him for the last two days because she hadn't
wanted to deal with Jeremy's irrational outbursts. 

Jackson nodded. "Just wanted to let you know to be
ready to leave. I think things will come to a head soon." He tilted his
head as he looked at her. "That is, if you're still coming with me."

Shirley nodded without hesitation. Jackson's instincts had
kept them safe when this all started so she wasn't going to start questioning
him now. She'd hoped to bring Jeremy with them but maybe it was time to cut her
losses. She didn't love him anyway. He had been a means to an end. With
everything going on, maybe he wasn't so useful anymore. That sounded callous,
and maybe a bit shallow but she wasn't going to risk her life because Jeremy
wanted to be stupid.

"I'm still coming," she said. "I was just
trying to convince Jeremy to come with us."

"I don't think he's gonna go for that," Jackson
responded. "Pretty sure he thinks we've got something going on."

Shirley sighed. Jackson had noticed that too? Of course, it
couldn't have been hard the way Jeremy had been treating him. "Sorry about
that. I don't know what has gotten into him."

Jackson shrugged. "I couldn't care less about what your
boy toy thinks. Why are you with him anyway? He's a moron."

Shirley shrugged. "It made sense before all this
started. He had connections, wealth. Figured I'd set myself up before I lost
the spotlight." She looked at Jackson to see how he would take this. Would
he think less of her? Most people probably would if they knew her true
motivations for doing things.

"What about now?" Jackson asked. "Doesn't
seem so practical with what's happening. Can he keep you safe?"

Shirley's pulse sped up a bit. Did he leave something off at
the end? Like maybe Jeremy couldn't keep her safe like he could? Funny. Jeremy
trying to control her pissed her off to no end but she had no trouble following
Jackson's lead.

"I don't know," she replied. "Haven't thought
about it that much."

"Maybe you should. Anyway, I'll let you go. I don't
want to give your boyfriend more reason to whine. Don't worry though. I'm
keeping an eye on you even if you don't see me. I won't leave without
you."

Shirley nodded as Jackson left. He'd given her something to
think about. She'd originally gotten with Jeremy because she thought it would
secure her lifestyle. But what good was his wealth now? And that jealousy. She
hadn't even known about that. Suddenly, the thought of tying her life to his
didn't seem all that appealing. Now Jackson on the other hand...she swiftly
pushed that thought from her mind. Now probably wasn't the time to be wondering
about a new relationship. 

She sighed as she headed towards the common area. Time for
their daily sandwich. She hoped today would be uneventful. Another man had been
knocked unconscious by the guards. He'd been loudly complaining about the lack
of food and had gathered a fair degree of support from the other survivors.
Things had calmed down a bit after that, but it was quickly building up again.
Putting down the ring leader might not work the second time.

Shirley passed several families on her way to the table
where Jeremy was waiting. Many of them had kids and they all looked so hungry.
Her stomach rumbled at the thought of food. She was pretty hungry herself.
They'd only been getting one meal a day and it was really small at that. It
provided some nourishment but you were still hungry after. Jackson had been
spot on about the consequences of them letting extra people in here.

She reached the table and sat next to Jeremy. She grimaced
as he took her hand in a tight grip. "Where have you been?" he
whispered fiercely in her ear.

Shirley yanked her hand from his. "The bathroom,"
she responded hotly, "or is that not allowed?"

Jeremy looked unfazed by her anger. He nodded towards the
other two men sharing the table with them. "They saw Jackson leaving the
bathroom area. You came out soon after? Where you with him? Were you back there
letting him touch you?" 

"I imagine he has to use the bathroom just like anyone
else," she replied.

Jeremy grabbed her hand again, so tightly this time it hurt.
"You listen to me. You belong to me. I don't want you anywhere near him,
you understand?"

Shirley looked in his eyes and realized in that moment
Jeremy had no respect for her. He didn't see her as a person with her own
dreams and aspirations, just something to be possessed. Yeah, she didn't love
him, but she had figured there would at least be caring and respect between
them. She'd even thought she might grow to love him over time. She didn't like
what she saw in his eyes right now. She suddenly found herself feeling grateful
for the infected.

The attack had brought her and Jackson together in a way
they hadn't been during the whole time they had worked together. Without that,
she might never have seen Jeremy for the monster he was until it was too late.
Any affection she had for him died right then. She didn't care if he died at
that moment. The infected could attack right now and she wasn't sure she'd
blink an eye if he was the first to fall.

She leaned close to him and let all the emotion bleed from
her save for a core of rage. "Let. Me. Go."

He seemed taken aback by the anger in her voice but
recovered quickly. He reached for her again but she quickly stood and moved out
of his reach. He stopped reaching for her, probably afraid to make a scene.
Shirley removed the engagement ring from her finger and tossed it onto the
table. 

"I'm not yours, Jeremy. I never was. You absolutely
disgust me." She turned and walked away from him, not caring that people
around them had been listening in to to their conversation. 

She saw Jackson sitting at a table and she walked over and
sat next to him without hesitation. "Took you long enough," Jackson
said with a small smile on his face.

Shirley flushed. "I hate him. I can't stand to even be
in the same room as him."

Jackson nodded. "Yeah, he's a prick."

Shirley looked at him and laughed. "You're right. He's
a prick. I can tell you for a fact that he's overcompensating."

Jackson laughed. "He looks the type." He looked up
as a guard approached with meal boxes for their table. 

They accepted their food and made quick work of the
contents. Shirley groaned with frustration as her stomach continued to rumble
with hunger. "This isn't nearly enough food," she whispered quietly.

Jackson nodded and responded in an equally low voice, “I
know. We'll leave soon. Tonight or tomorrow, I think."

They spent the next half hour playing a game of checkers
although neither really focused on the game. It was simply something to do to
pass the time. They heard a commotion from the front of the common area and
looked to see what was going on. There was a small group of people standing in
front of one of the guards. Jackson stood go get a closer look and Shirley followed
close behind.

"I'm telling you, this just isn't enough food!" a
man at the front of the group shouted. "You can't expect us to accept
this. I paid good money to be here and I expect better treatment!"

The guard shrugged. "You're welcome to leave whenever
you want."

"I'm not going out there with all those crazy people
running about! What I want is some more food!"

"Sir, you need to go have a seat. You'll receive more
rations tomorrow."

"My children are hungry right now. Stop holding back on
us!" A number of people voiced their agreement with this and the group
swelled as more people came to see what was going on. The guard started to look
irritated and called for backup into his walkie.

"Are you gonna shoot me?" the man asked. "Or
maybe you'll knock me out like you did poor Tim the other day. Well, you can't
do that to all of us. We've had enough of this!"

The guard started to look concerned then as he realized he
was maybe moments from having an angry mob of people on his hands. Roberta
Lyons showed up then and tried to placate the group.

"I hear what you're saying she said. It's just that
some of you brought people we didn't account for. We're just trying to make
sure everyone gets enough to eat."

"Who are you to tell us how much we get to eat?"
someone shouted.

Jackson grabbed Shirley by the elbow and led her towards the
bathroom area. "Time to go," he said.

Shirley nodded. "It's getting ugly."

"Yeah, if it doesn't go down now, it will tomorrow, or
the next day." They stood and Jackson led the way towards the exit behind
the bathroom area. They were nearly there when they heard someone behind them.

"Where do you think you're going?"

They turned to see Jeremy standing behind them with his two
lackeys. "Just like I thought all along. You're sneaking off with him,
aren't you?"

"We're leaving you idiot,” Shirley said, frustration
evident in her voice.

"Why would you leave?" Jeremy asked.
"Everything we need is here. He waved in the general direction of the
common area. "That'll be dealt with soon enough." Several shots rang
out and the yelling they'd been hearing was replaced with people screaming.

"See?" Jeremy asked. "They're being put in
their place as we speak. No need to go running outside."

"I don't even want to be in the same room with you
Jeremy. You disgust me."

Jeremy waved it aside. "So we had our first fight.
Everybody does, right? We'll get through this, you'll see."

Shirley shook her head in frustration. Was he just not
hearing her? Or was he deluded enough to think there was still something between
them? She'd thought she had made her feelings clear when she threw his ring on
the table.

"It's over, Jeremy. I don't want to marry you. I don't
want to even look at you."

Jeremy smiled. "You're upset, I get that. You need some
time to cool down. Why don't you go lay down for a bit? I'm sure that'll help
things."

Jackson shook his head. "You're not listening. She's
already made her feelings clear."

"It's all your fault!" Jeremy yelled angrily.
"You've been poisoning her against me. There's no way she would choose you
over me. I have wealth, influence! How do you think she got in here? You think
they'd let a newswoman in this place? I made that happen. She's alive because
of me!"

Shirley looked at Jeremy in surprise. She knew their
relationship wasn't based on love, but did he really think so little of her? To
think, she'd almost married this monster. She shivered to think what her life
would have been like.

"Jeremy," she said. She held his eyes when he
looked at her. "It's over. I will never be with you, understand?"

Jeremy just smiled at her. "It's okay, Shirley. My dad
always said it was a man's duty to keep his woman in line. I've clearly been
lax with you. Don't worry. We're gonna get rid of your little friend here and
we'll set everything right. You just need a little discipline to see the way of
things.

Jackson shook his head. "You're wasting your breath. He
genuinely thinks you just had a lovers spat." Jackson used his arm to put
Shirley behind him. 

"Alright, Jeremy," he said with an arrogant smirk,
"let's get this over with so we can be on our way.

Jeremy snarled at the look on Jackson's face. "Get over
there! Wipe that smirk off his face."

Jeremy's companions moved towards them while Jackson stood
their confidently. This seemed to unnerve them a bit. Who just stood there when
they were about to get the beating of their life? When they had covered about
half the distance between them, Jackson suddenly sprang into action. He swiftly
covered the remaining distance and gave the first man several strikes to the
abdomen with the knife he had fashioned earlier.

His friend stood in shock at the viciousness of
the attack. Before he could recover, Jackson pounced on him as well. He fell to
the ground, holding his stomach with blood pouring between his fingers. Jackson
looked up from his handiwork and smiled at Jeremy.