Decay (Book 1): Civilization (15 page)

Bradley no longer felt his own pain. Rage fueled his body, and adrenaline did the rest. He stood and lifted Tyson up in his arms. The boy’s laborious breathing was raspy and shallow. Bradley moved as quickly as he could, but they were still a block away from rounding the corner that would put them on the street to the safe house.

Grinding from his knee could be heard with each strenuous step he took, but he was not going to leave this boy to die here. He came around the corner to see Guillermo helping Roger toward the ladder. Emalynn stood on top of the wall screaming and waving to him. He couldn’t see Roger’s face, but he knew the man must have been shocked to see them still alive.

He was grabbed by his hair and shirt. “I’m so sorry,” he said to Tyson as they were pulled to the ground.  Bradley still tried to move forward. “You are a hero for coming back for me, and I failed you by not bringing you to safety.” The fiends punched and kicked at him as they started their brutal assault.

Tyson put a bloody hand on Bradley’s cheek and smiled through the pain. The boy’s own face was covered in blood mixed with tears, but he didn’t cry because of the pain. He knew his life was coming to a painful end. His mouth moved, but the only sound was a raspy gargle. Their eyes locked onto each other’s as neither wanted to see what was about to happen.

The pain in Bradley’s knee was nothing compared to the first bite to his shoulder. It felt as though it was ripped open and the wound was set on fire. Tyson was pulled from his hands and quickly lost in the horde before Bradley had the chance to react. His muffled screams caused Bradley more pain then he had ever felt before. He didn’t even try to hold back his sobs as he began to cry for the boy.

Emalynn could be seen as if Bradley was looking at her through gaps in a wall. Beautiful rays of light through a picket fence of disease. She made an attempt to run to him. Guillermo, whose shirt was torn and bloody from his own encounters, quickly grabbed her around the waist and carried her up the ladder as she kicked and pleaded to be set free.

Roger took one more look at what he had done before dropping down the other side of the wall. He knew he had made a terrible mistake. A year’s worth of building anger and jealousy turned him into a monster no better than the ones roaming the streets. Not only did he kill a good man, but he murdered an innocent child. He turned as tears filled his eyes.

Flesh was ripped in a sheet from Bradley’s arm. Although the pain was unbearable, he screamed only to block out the screams coming from Tyson, whose stomach was being ripped open. His intestines were dragged over by where Bradley was laying. He let Tyson down. In his eyes he deserved what was happening to him. The pain would be his punishment, and he would accept that.

The pain stopped quickly, however. The hard concrete turned red with his warm blood as he lie there with his face on the street. Each heartbeat pounded in his head as the noise around him slipped away into the distance. Bradley wanted to close his eyes and let this life go, but his eyes would not shut. Occasionally he could see the light of the sun break through the horde as if it was teasing him playfully.  Soon all light faded away, leaving him in darkness.

Emalynn fought to free herself from Guillermo and Deacon. Her screams echoed through the town. Jonathan took the ladders away to discourage her from trying to go after Bradley. They stood on the inside of the gate and watched as Bradley and Tyson were swallowed up by the horde.

Andy and Amie cried for their fallen friend. Tyson had been with them for many months, and now he was gone. He had risked his life on several occasions to keep them alive. They also shed tears for this man who had rescued them from the super market and brought them somewhere safe.

Sophia hugged Emalynn tight, and they went to their knees together as the two men let them go. Sophia knew the pain Emalynn felt. Everyone has lost too many loved ones, but it would never become easier. Emalynn buried her face in Sophia’s chest and wept.

Guillermo looked on after Roger as he vanished around the back side of the house. Roger hadn’t stopped to help as Guillermo finished off the last of the fiends that had attacked him. Instead he just climbed the ladder and turned to watch up the street. For a man who was just injured and out of breath, Roger appeared to be moving along just fine.

Jonathan did not cry for either of them. He had not been honored with the chance to meet them, yet he felt the sadness that the others felt. As he walked up behind Andy and Amie, who were both looking through the gate, he overheard them talking to each other. Kneeling down beside them, he realized that they were talking about the blue car across the street. Amie turned and stared hard into Jonathan’s face.

“What is it?” he asked.

“That’s mom’s car,” Andy responded, as he pointed to the Dodge Magnum.

Jonathan stood up and stared out at the car. Beyond that, the horde that had taken Bradley and Tyson could be seen. Many of which were moving this way. The fence was strong, he knew that, yet he did not want to test out exactly how strong it was.

“We need to get inside please,” he looked at the disheveled group. “I know you are all in pain, but we really need to get inside.”

As everyone began moving toward the house, Jonathan took one last look out at the car and the dead bodies closing in on it. The memory of his father rushing out to help flooded his thoughts. As he looked out through the gate he could see his father pull the children from the car and point up the hill. Then he turned back to try and help the woman. Jonathan saw nothing after that, but these children can fill in the blanks and tell him what happened to his father.

Chapter 15

Over the following three days, the group made Jonathan’s house their home. They each told their stories and recounted their experiences with the fiends. Jonathan found it interesting and appropriate that they referred to the undead this way. He could not help but wonder about the twins’ story. The sight of their mother’s car seemed to have stirred up painful memories for them, and Jonathan wanted to give them time before confronting them. They were too young to have to deal with what was happening.

Emalynn was given Jonathan’s room after he moved into his parent’s. She barely came out. It took hours to calm her down after the loss of Bradley. She seemed to also feel responsible for Tyson. After calming down, she apologized numerous times for not waiting for him to go first. Jonathan wanted to comfort her, but he didn’t know how.

Roger set up camp out in the back yard after helping Jonathan dispose of the dead girl’s body. Jonathan provided him with a tent and other camping supplies that they had acquired over the years. He also made Roger aware that he was welcome to come and go as he pleased. Roger would not tell his story. All he would say is that as far as he knows his wife and children were gone, and he would remain alone on this planet.

Guillermo was more than happy to share his stories. Although he had many experiences with the fiends, not much of them were of any use in understanding them. He was also very proud of his heritage, and enjoyed sharing his mother’s recipes to make amazing meals. Assuming she was no longer alive, he thought this was a great way to honor her.

“She loved to cook,” he said while making Spanish rice and chicken enchiladas. The pride he felt couldn’t be hidden. “She would cook for the whole town. Any time my friends came over, she would start cooking like it was a holiday or something.”

Deacon talked of being a firefighter in Australia before coming here on vacation. Several years were spent in Los Angeles. While trying to revive a teenage gunshot victim, a close friend of Deacon’s was shot to death by a rival gang that obviously didn’t want the teen saved.

Later, Deacon arranged to transfer to the Clay Hill Fire Department. He is also a trained paramedic, which Jonathan was pleased to hear. Sophia worked as a manager at a clothing store. She met Deacon after the attacks. Both of them were looking for supplies, they stuck together, eventually falling in love.

Jonathan also shared his own stories. He told of what he knew of the fiends, where they came from, and how they work “biologically”. It was amazing to sit around at the dinner table and tell stories. Almost like having a family again. Jonathan wanted for this to last forever, but he had been planning on finding a way to stop this plague. He wanted nothing more than to live outside of the walls of his safe home.

Andy and Amie were playing out in the yard one day. Jonathan decided that it would be as good of a time as any to ask them about his father. He went out in the yard and sat with them. Warm air washed over him as the gentle breeze blew. The grass felt good under his bare feet.

The feeling that now was indeed a bad time hit him quickly after seeing them having such a good time playing. Laughter was a break from the norm for Jonathan. For everyone. To see children smiling and playing again was more incredible than he had thought it would be.

He did not want to discourage their play, but he came out with his question. “What do you remember about the day of the attack?”

Andy looked up from the fortress he built in the dirt. Roads for his Hot Wheels cars weaved in and out of the grass. The twins had dug down into the dirt in a three foot circle. Jonathan’s father would have been upset about this, but Jonathan could only smile and remember the time he had done the same thing.

Amie stopped playing, but she did not look up. “I don’t remember much, but we were on our way to school in Mom’s car. Mom left early so she could grab some things we needed for an art project,” Andy recalled.

“We could hear screaming. It was coming from the direction of the hills. People were scared and running away. They were chased by a bunch of angry people,” Amie added. “Then we could see them. Mom told us not to look out of the windows. She drove fast to get away.”

“Yeah, Mom tried to get away from ‘em, but another guy who was also trying to get away hit us and pushed us off the road” Andy said, reenacted the event with the toy cars. “The screams came from all around the car as people ran past. Then mom started to scream as the angry people came up to the car. Then a man pushed them away and helped us get out. Mom tried to get away too but they hurt her bad. The man got hurt bad too, but he pushed his way through the people and picked us up and ran away with us.

“We screamed for mom, but she told us she loved us and we needed to leave, so we didn’t fight the man. He took us into a garage and closed the door. We stayed there all night. The angry people were outside hurting other people. We could hear the screams, and I didn’t sleep good at all.” Andy said.

“I didn’t sleep good, too.” Amie interrupted in that way children do when they don’t want to be left out of the conversation. The sadness in her big blue eyes pierced Jonathan’s heart.

Andy nodded and continued with his story. “The man said his name was— I can’t remember his name anymore, but he was getting sick bad. He said we needed to find somewhere safe that we could go. That maybe he would get so sick that he might try and hurt us, and he didn’t want us to be hurt. He said he wouldn’t be safe to be with for long. That’s when he found Danni. She was running from the angry people, so he helped her, too. Told her to take care of us.

“He saved her then ran off to lead the angry people away so they wouldn’t hurt us. I think they hurt him. He screamed a lot,” Andy said.

The boy kept talking. His voice faded in and out as Jonathan lost himself in his own thoughts. A story about Tyson could be heard for a moment, and then he drifted back to his father.

“Tyson said those people are not angry. He said that they are dead and want to eat everyone,” Amie said with a serious look on her face.

Jonathan was silent for a long time. Both Andy and Amie watched him while waiting for some sort of reply after they finished their story. So many emotions went through him. His father had sacrificed himself to save these children. This wasn’t new to him, however, as he watched his father run out to help them. He was proud of his father for that. Then there was this feeling of amazement. His father saved these two children, gave his life for them, and they managed to find their way back here.

“That man was my father. His name was Brian, and I bet he would have really liked you two,” Jonathan smiled at them before standing up and walking back to the gate. He wondered if there would be any way he could honor his father. Perhaps by ending the nightmare that has engulfed the world. Maybe he could finish what his father started and save these two children.

He needed time to think, so he collected many of the books from the shelves in the family room and retreated to his new bedroom to study. Books were stacking up all over the floor. The small lab he built sat in the middle. For now, he wanted to be lost in this world of science books and test tubes.

Emalynn started coming around from time to time to talk to Jonathan. He was attracted to her, not only because she was the only girl his age he has seen in a year, but because he thought she was absolutely beautiful. Her hair and skin had softened up after being able to properly bathe, and Jonathan couldn’t help but notice everything about her as they walked through the yard and talked about the past.

Many of her stories involved her parents, and all of the things they did together. As an only child, she was given almost everything that she had wanted, yet she acted as though she was not spoiled. Jonathan could listen to her stories forever; he felt mesmerized by her voice.

Sometimes they would lie out in the grass and watch the stars come out. Almost every one of those times they would wake up the following morning still there in the grass. Usually it would cool off too much, and Jonathan would help Emalynn to her room.

Most of the time he was not with Emalynn, Jonathan was alone in his room, yet he never neglected his guests. He helped with every meal, and he was amazed at how much cleaning needed to be done now compared to when it was just him.

Emalynn was becoming social with the rest of the group, also. She was becoming really close to Sophia. The two were like sisters. They were able to help each other heal. None of them could heal completely, but starting the process was something they never expected to do.

“Almost done with all your reading?” Deacon asked one morning during breakfast.

“Well I am working on a plan. I just need to make sure that all the pieces fit together perfectly. Most of my time will be dedicated to my research,” Jonathan responded apologetically.

“Perhaps you should rebuild the internet, mate. When I needed to research, I went to Google.”

“What kind of plan do you have?” Guillermo asked while chewing on a strip of bacon.

“My plan,” Jonathan said, then paused briefly to find the simplest words. “My plan isn’t really a plan, I guess. It is more just me leaving the comfort and safety of my home. I have just about searched every book we have in this house, and I have not been able to find any possible end to this. There are no recorded events of anything like this happening before. On any scale, of course one of this magnitude would have been known about.

“I have read through my father’s research. In there, I have learned my father’s account of how this started, but he worked with another researcher. Maybe he kept more information about what he knew in his office at the Biological and Chemical Research Corporation just outside of town, so I need to find out what he knew.”

The others stared at him as if he was crazy. From their understanding of Jonathan’s stories, this whole thing started there. Whether or not it was still crawling with fiends, that fact alone made it harder to imagine anyone wanting to go inside of that building.

“So I would like for the two of you to consider coming with me,” Jonathan continued. “I could use your help. I am sure it will be dangerous, so if you do not want to go that is fine. There is a good chance that there will be nothing there. There is also the chance that someone will be hurt. I also have to say that regardless of whether this is successful or not I need to move on after its completion. My mother and brother are out there somewhere. I need to look for them.”

“I will be glad to go with you. I owe you for what you have given us,” Guillermo said.

“I’ll also go,” Deacon stood up as he said this, as if he were a proud soldier volunteering for his country.

“Deacon! We are safe here. I appreciate what we have here, but we are alive. We have each other, and I can’t lose you. You can’t go,” Sophia said. She looked at Jonathan and finished, “I’m sorry, but I can’t let him go.”

“Can I talk to you outside?” Deacon ordered more then asked as he walked Sophia out into the garage.

“Thank you Guillermo.” Jonathan turned to his friend. “Should I ask Roger t—”

“I’m going with you blokes,” Deacon walked through the door into the kitchen. Sophia walked in behind him, her eyes red from crying.

“Sophia, I don’t want to cause any tension. He doesn’t have to go if y—“ Jonathan tried to explain but she shook her head and walked by. He turned to Deacon and said, “Thanks, but you have no obligation to me.”

“I know I have no obligation to you. I finally have friends again, so I will stand by you guys through thick and thin,” Deacon said.

“There is a chance my mom and brother are alive and out there somewhere. I need to find out for sure. This is your home now if you’ll have it. Regardless of how things go at the BCRC building, you are all welcome to remain here after I leave,” Jonathan assured them.

“Let’s see how well things go at the science lab first, mate. Then maybe we’ll discuss leaving the safety of this fortress you have here,” Deacon said.

“I truly appreciate your concern,” Jonathan said politely. “But if I want to leave there will not be a discussion. Thank you though.”

“I didn’t mean to discuss whether
you
leave or not. We will discuss who all will leave with you.”

“We are all grateful of what you have given us here,” Sophia stepped in. Jonathan felt like she was angry with him, but she didn’t show it. “I’m not happy about it, but I understand why Deacon feels he needs to go with you guys. I too am happy to have you as friends, and I would like to call you family.”

Jonathan felt pride and happiness swell up inside him once more. There was something special about this family, he knew it. Then he was struck with guilt as he realized he asked two of these people to risk their lives for him.

Before setting out, he would do everything in his power to plan for every possible contingency. It was now on him to keep these men safe. It would be on him if any of them did not make it back, and he could not come back without all of them. He would plan for that also.

Settling into his room, Jonathan poured over every bit of text, every photo and video, and every recording he had from his father. The chances of any of these “fiends”, as the others called them, still lurking around that building would be slim, but he wanted to know as much about this building as he could before leading these men into it.