Chatter (2 page)

The door opened and Autumn screamed a little. They parted to either side. “Who is flying,” asked Cade. Dwayne kept pushing Luke towards the back and said, “Auto-pilot.” Keiko and Dwayne lowered Luke into a seat and fastened him in. He still made no violent motions.

They went back to the cabin and looked at Greg. He was moving in his chair a little more than Luke, but did not seem dangerous. Keiko slowly leaned down and unbuckled him, so far so good. They stood him up and led him to the passenger area. Dwayne sat him in a seat in an empty row. Suddenly Greg began to chatter furiously. The whites of his eyes moved side to side wildly. He shot to his feet knocking Dwayne into the aisle. Greg moved with precision, clicking his teeth madly. The rest of the cabin began stomping their feet and chattering loudly. Keiko screamed and ran back towards the others.

The captain did a backwards crab walk down the aisle but in the wrong direction from the others. Greg was hot on his trail still moving swift but awkwardly. “Greg, c’mon man, back off.” Dwayne looked around and saw the emergency aid kit on the wall. “Please sit back down, please.” He opened the kit and rummaged through it.

The others began lurching in their seats trying to break free, always chattering. The plane rocked with their movement. Greg was no more than five feet from the captain now. Dwayne was scrambling through the kit for anything useful. Finally he grabbed the defibrillator and sparked it to life.

Greg swung both arms and knocked him to the floor. He dove on top of him chattering. Then the co-pilot opened his mouth wide and wicked nonhuman looking teeth sprouted. Dwayne slammed the paddles into his friend’s chest and let loose as rabid saliva dripped onto his face. The charge shot the white eyed man to his feet then backwards over some seats.

The others were yelling at him to hurry. The plane was tilting in its decent and they had to get into the cabin. Dwayne crawled to his feet and checked over the edge of the seats. Greg lay with singed shirt and two bright red burns on his chest.

“Chattttttter chatter chattttttttttttter.” “Stomp stomp stommmmmp.” It was deafening in the plane.

The captain raced through the aisle and opened the cabin door. They all made their way inside and locked the door. With three seats it meant four of them would have to lay low again and hope for the best. There was no way any of them would go back out there with those things.

Dwayne sat in the captain’s chair, while Keiko took the left chair and Autumn was given the right chair. They all buckled in and looked outside at the clouds breaking apart and land showing through. It was early day and the sun shone bright.

The others huddled together on the floor with Vick taking a middle spot for everyone to cling to, the immovable object as Autumn had called him earlier. “Five more minutes guys, just five more minutes and we’ll be safe,” said the captain.

As the minutes passed, the plane slowly made its approach along the runway. The landing gears emerged and they could hear the tugging of the tires and brakes working together on the tarmac. Finally after the promised five minutes the plane had stopped.

Everyone looked around at one another. “I think we made it,” said Hank. Vick stood and looked at the door. “Let’s get out of here, find the cops.” He opened and the door and started to walk out.

All of the passengers had broken out of their chairs. Some were bleeding; some looked like they had pulled themselves apart to get loose. Those that did were crawling along the floor by their arms, torn apart at their midsections. Close to fifteen passengers lumbered towards the cabin door.

“Guys we have a problem.”             

              Chapter 2             

“Guys, we have a problem.”

              Vick slammed the cabin door shut and spun around to the others. “They are all loose.” The large drunk had panic in his eyes. “We’re gonna have to fight through them to get out, unless anyone has a better idea.”

              The pilot looked around and then his gaze caught something outside the front windows. “Oh no,” said Dwayne. The others caught his gaze. A large airliner was landing on the same runway they had just stopped on. “They won’t be able to stop in time.” Dwayne looked worried.

              “There’s no way we can fight those things all at once. We do not even have weapons,” said Trina. “They were scary enough when docile.” She started to tear up.

              “Is there an emergency hatch in here,” asked Cade.

              “This is a small plane the only exit is back there with them,” said Dwayne.

              The other jet was fast approaching. They had less than one minute before impact. “Screw this,” yelled Vick. “Someone hold my bag and no matter what happens I want it back or buried with me.” The others all looked at one another puzzled. “I mean it, buried with me.”

              With that Vick used his full force and slammed into the glass of the plane’s windshield. Nothing happened. “That’s bullet proof and altitude proof son,” said Dwayne.

              “Shut it old man, it ain’t Victor proof.”

              Again and again the muscle bound man slammed into the glass. Finally Vick let out a guttural growl and dove into the windshield right shoulder first. Instead of bouncing back, this time he lay on the nose of the small jet. He did it!

              “Holy shit man, you’re a monster,” said Hank.

              “Damn right, now everyone get out here and help me down. I hate heights,” replied Vick.

              “Dude you’re like 8 feet off the ground,” chuckled Autumn.

              On the tarmac all seven began running as fast as possible for what Dwayne said was the pilot’s rest house. Keiko lost her balance and fell flat on her face. Cade spun around and dove to cover the woman.

              Just then the airliner smashed into the smaller jet and explosions erupted in several places and black smoke covered the sky. “Keiko we gotta move. Wreckage is falling everywhere,” said Cade. The two stood and followed the others inside the small building just off the tarmac, dodging fiery ruins falling from the sky.

              “Where is everyone,” asked Trina. “The landing crews, security, anyone.” They all caught their breath and stared out the windows at the empty airport. “That’s a good question. Did everyone go nuts but us,” replied Cade.

              “Who cares? Give me my bag whoever has it,” snorted Vick.

              “What the hells in that bag so important,” asked Hank as he handed it over to the man.

              “I know,” said Keiko.

              “Mouth shut girly, no one’s business.”

              “He’s…a…,” started Keiko.

              “I mean it kid, mouth shut.”

              “Ok, ok, let’s just go up to the terminal and see what happened,” said Autumn.

The group agreed and began crossing the airstrips. Not a soul was around. The airplanes all sat where they parked. The burning crash still lit the sky in broad daylight. Ambulances and fire trucks sat parked at the end of the runways unattended.

Vick walked alone in front with his precious bag around a shoulder. Keiko and Cade walked behind him hand in hand. The danger must have brought them closer than nature would have. Father and daughter walked with Trina and Dwayne in the rear, making small talk and looking around for signs of life.

“Even in zombie movies there’s stragglers,” said Cade. “There’s nothing out here.”

The group made their way inside the terminal through some lower ground floor doors. Creeping up the stairs they heard it. The chatter from the plane was in here, only deafening. “We have to see,” said Vick. They crept up to the top and stood.

Looking down into what looked like the food court they saw hundreds of people huddled together. Their teeth were chattering in unison, “Holy hell it’s everyone,” gasped Autumn.

“Watch your mouth daughter,” snapped Hank quietly. “It may be the end of the world but you won’t use that language.”

“Fine daddy.”

Just as they were about to go back down the stairs the airport monitors all crackled to life.

This is the president. If anyone can hear me, we have made a terrible mistake. The F5 vaccine is tainted. Anyone who does not have the shot, DO NOT get one. Our scientists are working on a cure this very moment along with several allies.

Please try to avoid the infected if you come across any. It appears they are blind but can smell exceptionally well. If attacked, attack their heads. Kill the brains, eyes, nose.

Anyone listening please head North to Canada or south to Mexico. They both have assured us they will welcome uninfected into their countries and provide relief.

Our military was vaccinated the same as all citizens, therefore we have no military anymore. No help will be coming. You are all on your own.

That is all I can really say. I am sorry, God speed.

The seven survivors all shook their heads. Hank and Trina cried. “North or South,” asked Cade. None answered and seemed to be thinking it over. Just then Hank spoke up. “Who says we are even sticking together?” He looked them all over. “I don’t know any of you.”

“We have a better shot being together,” said Dwayne.

They all thought to themselves and decided to go it together. “I say north,” said Vick. “I have friends in Canada we can get to.”

Cade seconded the motion, “Canada seems like a shorter trip than Mexico from here.”

Everyone agreed and stayed in the group. No one seemed to remember the dangerous creatures that lurked nearby. Suddenly Autumn screamed, “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.”

              Two of the chatterers had crept behind them. She fell down scared as the others reacted. Cade pushed ahead of the others and knocked over some trash cans.

              It slowed the two down some but alerted the rest.

              “Good thinking, dumbass,” said Vick.

              He kicked at the two, bludgeoning their faces and knocking them down.

              “RUN.”

              The seven took off back down the stairs and onto the tarmac. Looking ahead Trina saw the fire trucks. “See if there are keys in any of them,” she said.

              They ran over to the trucks and began looking for keys. The mob of chatterers had begun exploding onto the tarmac behind them.

              Vicks truck had no keys. Cades truck was locked and he could not get it open. Finally Hank got in the one closest to him and hit the jackpot.

              “Guys let’s go.”

              “Those bastards are right behind us.”

              They all ran towards Hank and the truck. Keiko grabbed Cades arm. “Do we go with them?” She seemed concerned.

              Cade looked at her, “We don’t have a choice at the moment. Besides, they don’t seem bad so far.”

              She was scared. “Fine I trust you hero.”

Chapter 3

The door of the fire truck jammed. Everyone was loaded inside and the damn door would not shut. The infected had surrounded the truck and began rocking it all while chattering. Autumn was tucked into her father’s lap and hid, plugging her ears.

              The engine revved. Nothing was wrong with the engine. If this were a movie, it would be stalled and everyone would be panicking. Instead Cade had made himself the driver and threw it in drive.

The fire truck slammed forward into the pack of killers. Blood splattered the windshield and plenty of thuds were heard as they pulled out of the airport. Cade turned on the wipers but it just smeared the blood around worse than before.

“Guys we are on the road. I am heading us North toward Michigan where the border to Canada is. With any luck we will make it in a day.”  The rest of the group kind of looked at each other with worry. How could anything in this situation be so easy?

Getting out of the city would prove harder than expected for the band of survivors however. Even though they were on the interstate which sat next to the airport, the roads were littered with vehicles and the walking dead were all over.

Driving through the mess took many hours. It was as if everyone had turned at the same time and the world had just stopped. As they passed one car in particular it hit home. Two children with their eyes rolled back were clawing at the backseat window of a SUV.

“It looks like everyone got the shot,” said Keiko. The others just watched in horror and sadness as they drove by slowly.

“Daddy I’m hungry,” whispered Autumn.

“Think we could stop along the way and find some food? The little one is hungry and frankly none of us have eaten in who knows how long,” said Hank to the group.

Cade looked at them in the mirror, thinking about it. He glanced at the gas gauge that neared empty and said, “There is a truck stop ahead. We can stop and see if there is any food and we need gas.”

Trina was huddled into the side of Vick like they had been lovers. “Good god I am starving. I hadn’t even thought about it.” She put her head back into his side.

The slow miles drifted on. Every so often they would run over a chatterer. The noise would bring more but they had driven by. The noise seemed to Cade like a calling of some kind. Maybe that was their signal to gather.

Dwayne was quiet through all of this. He seemed to be far away in thought. “They are dead aren’t they,” he said looking out the side window. “I mean this is it. We live or we die, but they are both.” He started getting the shakes. “I’m just a pilot. I hadn’t gotten the shot yet because of a layover in Tokyo.”

The others quietly listened and thought to themselves. Vick clutched his bag and closed his eyes. He wasn’t annoyed by Trina, any other time he’d be hitting it, but at the moment she was a burden.

“We should bust into a motel and settle for the night after we get food,” said Hank. The rest agreed and the anticipation of food and a night’s sleep made everyone feel a bit better after all that had happened.

The fire truck pulled off exit 312 and crossed the bridge over the interstate. The truck stop was just ahead on the right. Nothing seemed out of order so far. There was undead walking about but the group had yet to really have to deal with them up close besides on the plane and the tarmac and neither of those resulted in much fighting or killing.

Cade pulled the truck into an open spot to pump gas. He got out first and walked around to the pump. It was dim. The readout was black and looked hopeless. “Shit, it is off. Let me check the others.” He snuck around to each pump, ducking and weaving quietly between the monsters. “Shut off, all of them are off.”

He crept back to the fire truck, “Guys we have a problem. No gas.”

Suddenly a chatterer grabbed Cade from behind. “SHIT.” It had hold of his shoulders, pulling him down and away from the truck.

“NOOOOO,” screamed Autumn.

This alerted a large group of undead towards the people. Cade spun around to his back. He had his hands around the things neck to keep it at a distance. The monster had its mouth open, drooling down its face and dripping onto Cades neck. “Guys help.”

The beast opened its mouth further and large fangs grew. “Guys really.” He brought his knees up into the things chest and pushed as hard as possible. It reeled over and Cade sprung up. “These things are like super zombies, what in the fuck. Someone find me a weapon.”

Keiko was the only one not panicking. Even Vick seemed frozen in place. She quickly looked around the truck and found a fire axe. The woman grabbed it and went to the door. “Cade here,” she said and tossed the axe in his direction.

The axe landed several feet to the left of Cades position. The group of undead and his wrestling buddy were approaching. Weirdly sometimes they were quick and sometimes lumbering, almost stalking.

Cade stumbled over to the axe and gripped it with both hands. “Guys get off the truck, we have to move.” He swung with all his strength hitting the first one between the eyes. Its head parted in two and brains and blood spewed everywhere drenching Cade and the gas pumps in red and goo.

The others filed off the fire truck with make shift weapons and fear. Vick held a large chain. Hank had Autumn’s hand and a screwdriver in the other. Keiko had another axe. Trina and Dwayne hadn’t found anything so they were in the middle of the pack for protection.

Vick yelled, “Let’s make our way to that motel.”

They all saw one of those old by the road motels with about six rooms total. It was just across the highway and diagonal from the truck stop. “Ok let’s cut behind the burger joint and gas stations and try to lose these undead before we go there,” said Cade.

The sun was starting to set in the sky and the group all knew that shelter was essential. Food and rest would have to come after that. The slow chatterers couldn’t keep up with them and slowly they made their way to the motel with no one behind them.

“Strange we haven’t seen any real people yet,” said Trina. “Surely not everyone got the vaccination.

Hank went into the manager’s office and came back out quickly with two keys. “There’s candy and pop in there, better than nothing.” He handed Keiko a key. “Two rooms, however you guys think we should split up.”

Everyone went into the office and grabbed some candy and soda. Then they split off into the two rooms. The night would prove to be long.