Apocalypse Empire (Book 1): Apocalypse Origins (19 page)

"Let's just push on," Carol said. "The ones
that got away might be looking for us."

Laura hung her head. "Sorry, I-"

"You did good, Laura. We're not cold blooded killers.
They backed down when they knew they were outmatched. Maybe we need to hold on
to that."

"What do you mean?" James asked.

Greg shrugged. "I think we might have to get used to
killing if we want to survive. But that doesn't mean we have to do it when it
isn't necessary. Sure, life might be a tad easier if we had killed everyone
last night but I'm not sure I want to live that way."

Laura looked up at this. "I'll do what I have to if
they come at us again."

"I know you will," Greg replied, "we all
will." Greg took a moment to look at each person in turn. "So we push
on then?" At their nod he continued, "Alright, let's get this door
open and get out of here then."

Greg opened his door and made his way around the garage
until he reached the switch for the garage door. After hitting it, he made his
way back to the suv. The garage door opened to a sunny day that looked like any
other day if you ignored the cars abandoned all over the street. The infection
had hit hard here. They didn't see when they had drove this way last night but
there were bodies everywhere. Greg wondered if the infected had hit while these
people were trying to escape. Several infected were heading towards the garage,
the noise from it opening must have gained their attention.

The group quickly left them behind as they pulled out of the
garage. They got back on the main road and continued heading north. They were
nearly out of town when they noticed a blockade up ahead. "What is
that?" Carol asked.

"Couple of cars. No way around it either, it goes right
up to the buildings on each side.'

"Do we move it?"

Greg shook his head. "No, I think that was done on
purpose which means there might be more of that other group around here
somewhere." A shot rang out and clipped the driver side mirror. Carol
screamed in surprise.

"Take that right up ahead!" Greg directed.

Carol took the turn as more shots rang out. Fortunately,
none of them hit. No other shots came there way and Greg breathed a sigh of
relief. Seemed like they were safe for the moment. Greg directed Carol to back
into an alleyway so they could have a moment to come up with a plan. Once James
was in the alley, everyone except for the kids gout out.

"Now what?" Laura asked.

"There should be another way out of town," Greg
said. "Or at least a side road that links up after that barricade."

"That'll probably be guarded, too," James said.

"Probably," Greg replied, "but hopefully
it'll be a little easier to deal with than the main road."

"What's the plan then? Carol asked.

Greg thought for a moment. "James and I will go on
foot. We'll ring the cell if we find a clear path. We'll head right out of the
alley, that'll take us north."

Carol pulled Greg into a hug. "Be careful."

Greg nodded. "You too. Stay in the car.
Don't hesitate if they show up."

"We won't," Laura said. She had a fierce look in
her eye. Greg wondered if she regretted letting those guys go last night. It
was one thing to talk about how you wanted to live, it was another when that
choice started shooting at you. Would they be dealing with this right now if
they had killed everyone last night? Greg didn't know the answer to that.
Besides, it was possible that this wasn't even the same group so last night
might have nothing to do with what was happening right now.

Greg headed to the end of the alley and looked around. It
seemed clear as far as he could  tell although someone could be hiding out
in one those buildings overlooking the street. Being out in the open was
probably a bad idea so Greg decided it would be best to stick to the alleys.
They walked for several blocks, moving as quietly as they could. They finally
reached a point where they'd have to head back out to the road. Greg headed
towards the end of the alley and paused when he heard gunfire.

"Do you think that's the girls?" he asked turning
to James.

"No," James said shaking his head, "the girls
are south of here. That was more to the west." More shots rang out and
Greg hoped that James was right.

Greg reached the end of the alley and saw two cars blocking
the road. He couldn't see anyone but that didn't mean that someone wasn't hiding.
Two figures came barreling around the corner, a man and a woman. They stopped
when they saw the cars blocking the road. The woman bent over as if she was out
of breath then they headed towards the cars. They said something to each other
but Greg couldn't make it out. Were they on the run? Maybe they were the reason
for the gunfire they'd just heard. Greg didn't want to take that chance though.
Greg caught James eye and he nodded in response.

Greg crept up behind the couple until he was just a few yards
away. "Don't move," he said as he aimed his gun at their
back. Despite his warning, they moved as if they were about to turn
around. "I said don't move!"

They froze and the man spoke out. "We're not with those
other guys," he said. "We're running from them."

"How do you know I'm not with them," Greg asked.

"Because you didn't shoot us."

"Maybe you're just stalling for reinforcements."

"We don't have time for this arguing," the woman
said. "Please, let me turn around. I think you might trust me then."

Greg found himself curious. "Alright. But don't think I
won't shoot you. And if by some miracle you manage to get me, my friend will
finish you off." James stepped out of the alley and raised his gun in
their direction.

"No tricks," she said.

"Alright, turn around. Slowly, mind you."

The woman turned around and Greg frowned when saw her. She
seemed familiar but he couldn't quite place how he knew her.

"Really?" she asked. "I know I'm not at my
best but surely you recognize me."

That voice. Greg realized who was looking at. "Shirley
O'Hara?"

Shirley nodded. "Yes. Can you please stop pointing that
gun at us now?"

Greg nodded and lowered his gun. "Sorry about that. We
heard the gunshots and had to be sure."

"We should move," Jackson said, "those guys
were right behind us."

"We need to get these cars out of the way," James
said.

"I can take care of that," Jackson said. 

Greg nodded and called Carol on the cell. They arrived just
as the guys were moving the last car out of the way. "Could you give us a
ride?" Shirley asked.

Greg thought for a moment. Just because she was Shirley
O'Hara didn't mean that he should let his guard down. No doubt they'd been
doing what they needed to survive as well so he didn't automatically trust
them. But, Shirley did warn the city. That earned them a ride to the next town
at least. "Yeah, we'll give you a ride. You'll ride with Carol and I.
Shirley, you sit up front." He looked at Jackson and frowned.

"Jackson," he supplied. "Alright, Jackson and
I will ride in back. No offense, but I'll need you to hand over any weapons you
have."

"That's fair," Jackson said, "I'd do the same
in your shoes." Shirley handed over her pistol while Jackson handed over
his rifle and knife.

"Alright, let's go," Greg said. They entered the
vehicles and were able to catch the main road after the first blockade they'd
run into.

"You did us a favor," Greg said. "That second
blockade probably would have been guarded if you guys didn't run into
them."

Jackson nodded. "So what do I call you? We didn't do
introductions back there."

"Oh. I suppose we didn't. Greg Lyons."

"I'm Carol," she supplied from the driver seat.

"And everyone knows Shirley," Jackson said with a
grin.

Everyone chuckled. "So, where we headed?" Shirley
asked.

"Just to the next town for right now," Greg
replied. "We were planning on looking for supplies this morning before we
got attacked last night."

"That was you?" Shirley asked. "We were
across the street. I'm so glad you guys made it out."

"Well, it's a good thing we didn't run into each other
last night then. It wasn't fun at all. We spent the rest of the night holed up
in a garage." Greg shook his head, remembering.

"How did you make it out?" Jackson asked.

"I kept them distracted then ran out the back,"
Greg said. "Hopped the fence and met them on the next block."

"Smart," Jackson said with admiration in his
voice. "Everyone got out okay?"

Greg nodded. "Yeah, it was a bad situation. We fought
off the guys that attacked and just weren't ready for the infected."

"Don't know if you can ever be ready for them,"
Jackson replied.

They found themselves leaving town at that point and Carol
took the ramp to get back on the expressway. There were abandoned cars all over
but most people had managed to pull over before leaving their vehicles behind.
There were a number of accidents but none that took up the whole road. All in
all they had enough space so they could drive at a normal speed. Occasionally,
they'd see an infected give chase as they passed by but they were quickly left
behind. Greg wondered what had happened here. How did it start? Did someone
stop to give someone a hand and it spread from there? Or was someone driving
when they came down with the infection and then crashed into someone else?

He found himself getting drowsy as he watched the fields fly
by in the window. He didn't want to sleep though. He more or less felt Shirley
was okay but he didn't know about Jackson. He obviously knew how to handle
himself. They'd escaped Emerald Falls and probably had to deal with some of the
same things his group had faced. Greg didn't want to turn his back on the guy
until he got a better feel for him.

"You can sleep," Jackson said in a low voice,
Carol had turned on the radio so their conversation would go unheard. "I'm
not out to hurt you." He looked Greg in the eye. "That's why you've
been fighting sleep the last few miles right? I saw you dozing off a bit."

Greg smiled sheepishly. "That obvious, huh?"

Jackson shrugged. "I don't blame you. You don't know me
so you've got no reason to let your guard down. But, you trust Shirley well
enough. Maybe some of that trust can extend to me. At least enough that you can
go to sleep without worrying about if I'm going to try something."

"How do we go about that?" Greg asked.

"I'm her cameraman," he said nodding towards
Shirley. "Well, I was anyway. Don't suppose our previous professions
matter all that much now. I've worked with her for about five years now. Every
time you saw her on location that was me behind the camera."

Greg nodded. "Fair enough. Tell me, what are your
plans? We'll at least give you a ride to the next town. What are you going to
do after that?"

"I want to keep her safe," Jackson said.
"That's pretty much it for my plans. I'm kinda starting to think keeping
her safe would be a little easier with a group around me, though."

Greg saw where this conversation was going. "You'd like
to join up with us."

Jackson nodded. "You've got something. Plus, you walked
away from that attack last night. You survived not only those other survivors
but also got all of your people away from the infected." Jackson shook his
head. "And you put your neck on the line to do it. You're not just a
random group of people trying to get by...you're like family or
something."

"They are my family," Greg replied. "I've
known James and Laura for years, Carol too." Greg thought for a moment.
"Giving you a ride is one thing. Shirley earned that much just for making
that warning. But joining us? That's a different level of trust. Anyone that
joins us, not just you, how do I know I can trust them? I'm literally trusting
them with the lives of my family. Are they gonna steal from us? Will they stay
or run at the first sign of trouble? If they stay, will they contribute? I have
to know I can trust you around my family."

Jackson nodded. "Trust comes with time, right? I don't
know that I can say anything right now that would ease all those concerns. But
maybe you can trust us enough to give us a shot."

Greg thought for a moment. This was something he had to
seriously consider. Not just for these two but for anyone else they might meet.
Jackson seemed genuine. At the very least, his feelings for Shirley were plain
to see. Greg believed Jackson would do whatever he could to keep her safe.
Would that extend to the group though? He didn't want to come and trust this
guy only to have him leave during a crisis.

"And if you have to choose between her and the
group?"

"I think being with you is the best way I can keep her
safe right now. So long as you're not stupid, keeping the group safe means I'm
keeping her safe. So long as you're not stupid we don't have a problem. If you
do turn out to be stupid, well it would be stupid of me to stick around,
wouldn't it?"

Greg couldn't really fault that logic. "Fair enough.
You understand I might make mistakes along the way?"

Jackson nodded. "A smart man learns from his mistakes.
That's not what I'm talking about. I mean if you continually do stupid things.
In that case, I'm better off trying to take care of her on my own."

Greg nodded. "Alright. I appreciate your honesty. I
have to admit, having another guy around would be useful. I hate leaving the
girls behind When James and I need to go do something."

Jackson nodded. "I'm a decent shot and I can hold my
own in a fight too. I've also been teaching Shirley a few things. Right now she
won't shoot her foot off but she'll get better. Just don't ask her to cook
though," he finished with a grin.

Greg chuckled. There was a story there and he looked forward
to learning about it. "So, what's your background? James and I have done
krav maga for years. He's cop by the way, so he's got the training from his
time on the force as well. We'd also go to the range at least once a
month."