Infected (Book 1): The First Ten Days (20 page)

They were all so happy to sit around the table and eat their food. There still lingered an eerie hate because Misha couldn’t be here, but just being alive was an accomplishment we couldn’t ignore. The worst thing was to know that so much more horror waited for us in the future. The meal in front of us, the people we had around us, everything we knew to be true in that one moment could be gone an hour later. It brought a new meaning to the word thankful for us all.

Everyone smiled at each other and conversed on random subject matter. That moment was the only bit of normal peace that any of us experienced in a few days and it was all thanks to this old man, Trevor, who allowed us into his home and shared his food with us. Marcus was also to thank.

These strangers that I knew for less than a week were already family. The things we experienced together forced us to be more than strangers and forced us to trust each other enough to hand our lives over. Funny how the end of the world brings so many strangers together but on a regular non-apocalyptic day I doubt any of us would have even said so much as ‘hello’ to each other.

The sun finally rose entirely over the buildings that blocked it off and lit the city. A burst of light shot through Trevor’s kitchen window.

Trevor paused while reaching for his food and turned his attention to me.

“I cleared out the whole building,” Trevor began. He took a bite of the sausage. “I put two and two together and figured that I wouldn’t survive outside for long because of my age, so I stood behind and waited for the chaos to clear up, but by the time that took place there was nowhere left to go.” He paused to swallow his food and take another bite of the sausage but not before he dipped it in a bit of sauce by his plate on the table. “I decided to make this my personal home for as long as it could keep an old man alive. Luckily I didn’t need to barricade the entrances to the building because that was done before everyone decided to evacuate.” Trevor finished what was left of the sausage and his plate was empty. He left the plate and walked over to the window where he stood. “Over time I figured someone sane, similar to you, would stroll by and I’d offer you safety behind thick walls in exchange for the travels outside that I cannot be part of.” He turned his gaze away from the window and back onto everyone at the table. “That reminds me! You are welcome to stay here for as long as you like. I could use the company.

Trevor walked away from the window and took his plate to the sink. The moment he left the front of the window everyone noticed that it was snowing outside. Edwin rushed to the window to get a closer look. Thick shiny white snowflakes fell from the sky. It was like Christmas. Of course Christmas was no more than a few days ago and the infestation of infected took much of the Christmas joy out of the week, but it was still nice. Being in Trevor’s building wasn’t so bad. The old man had reason to believe the place would make a good home for him and future comers.

At that point, all that mattered was that everyone was safe and could remain safe. Trevor’s place was the perfect environment to accomplish this so that I could leave the group without having to wonder if they would live or not. The next step was to find my family at the school in The Hills and to somehow rescue Jason from Richard and his men. How far would I be able to go to stay alive? Would saving Jason trump my want to stay alive?

Day 6

Richard

I
f these infant minded morons had the same survival instinct this Jason kid did, there would be more men alive to gather supplies. Maybe Farpoint base wouldn’t have gotten so out of control either. I needed a solution for Jason’s resistance to my efforts; his eyes would open up one way or another. He would not willingly accept what needed to be done to survive.

If he could give in, I could dispose of the dead weight that some of the others are.

I could not risk losing someone that was so willing and able to take a life in order to secure their own. Few of the others had the will to do the same. But this kid managed to do it without a second thought. There is no greater potential, no greater survivor than one who survives as an end to justify the means necessary.

It was sometime in the late morning. I left the confinement of the building we camped out for the night. A few men were up, the rest remained knocked out, Jason included.

I suited up ready for war and went to the first floor where I would exit and assess the damage the infected caused over night. To my surprise there were no infected left alive on the first floor. It was a possibility that one of the others became bored and cleared it as a way to pass the time. On the other side of the front door was snowfall, a thick sheet covered eye’s range. It ended sometime during our rest and left its fluffy mark on the streets and sidewalks as well as the cars and infected that stood outside. Mesmerized by the sight of endless white, I commenced my stride through the sheet of white.

Brookendale

T
he sounds of nature were replaced by the hungry moans of the infected buried under the sea of snow. The sound, like the snow itself suffered terrible hunger.

There was no pity for those that managed to get infected. The world was a place for two kinds of people. The first were the weak, the ones that could be easily manipulated and ultimately end up as one of the infected. The second were the survivors, the ones that manipulated; the ones that knew it was better to kill than be killed, the ones that would avoid the infection in the name of survival at all cost.

I already conquered my fear of the infected through the analysis and understanding of their behavior. I came to realize that fear would hold us back. All my future endeavors would undergo further ease because of this; in addition, I felt no urgency around the infected. I remained with my senses heightened to still react properly in a moment’s notice.

The purpose of this walk was for nothing other then to allow my mind to wander and uncover a way to show my men and Jason alike that I am not the bad guy my actions paint me out to be. These are just necessary survival tactics that needed to be adopted. A day earlier I was forced to take the lives of several, to secure supplies for our own survival. We ran across them in a city named Creed and they confronted us while we were under attack by the infected. The supplies left afterwards were present due to that group’s sacrifice for us. The only exception was the father and daughter that escaped during the chaos.

I wasn’t exactly pleased to have to take all of their lives, and Jason was reluctant to take part. I would not be discouraged though. The opportunity to demonstrate what must be done would arrive soon enough. Then these cowards would learn how to behave and what would be acceptable, Jason included.

I must admit my favorite part of that day was when I choked the life out of John. He was nothing but a worthless, spineless, second-rate medic and a pathetic soldier that never came to the rank that his abilities demanded. Marcus was slowly going to morph into the same person John was if he continued to ignore the rules of survival the infected laid out for us. His attempt to save everyone, when he knew as well as I did that sacrifices needed to be made, would only slow us down.

I digress.

I walked for several minutes dazed by my own thoughts before I decided to add some purpose to the walk. To gather supplies, our number one goal on this road to survival; with that in mind I turned my attention to a store in the distance. The snow made the already white store nearly invisible. If it weren’t for its windows it would have gone unseen. With no time spared that became my next destination. Once inside I searched for non-perishables and continued to add them to the bag I picked up along the way.

If I learned anything over the years it was that when it came to dealing with people, it was the fact that they always kept secrets and the only proof there could ever be of these secrets is to witness them yourself. These secrets could range from being where someone hides their money as much as it could be where they hide when they are scared.

Below the cash register was a safe hidden inside of the counter, already opened and emptied out. It was opened with the combination so it was safe to assume the rightful owner took their things out and evacuated the area. The rest of the store was looted nearly dry. Nothing of use was left.

Outside, the snowfall started up again and it gathered on the roads and sidewalks faster than it did the day before. The winds were stronger and sporadically created small snow gusts. A blizzard was on the way.

My men and I needed to gain some progress and hopefully find a vehicle that we could reach and use without electricity. With it we would arrive at the school in a shorter period of time and salvage whatever supplies were being wasted on people that would become infected and die regardless of how well kept they were.

The first few days of any major event was always the true factor that decided where things went, and my plan was none other than to take advantage of the first few days after the infection spread and make my mark as a leader amongst survivors.

Sadly, I was forced to let anyone unable to take care of themselves die so they wouldn’t suffer and to prevent them from being the death of someone who could in fact handle themselves. It would be cruel to allow the weak to suffer in the name of survival when they could be released from their pain to allow others who could better manage to do so. As people who could survive it was our job to assure that those unable could die painlessly.

I left the store and entered the increasingly bad snowstorm that was forming. The frozen gusts of wind that came by once every few seconds sent constant chills up my spine and made the hairs on the back of my neck and my arms simultaneously stand up. The storm became so powerful that my mobility was at a minimum. It was difficult for me to continue to walk through the snow without the need to take a break for warmth.

Half way through the walk back to camp I noticed an open door that was shut when I first walked by it. Someone was either hidden inside and ran out, or was outside and ran in. Regardless of which one was the true scenario, I changed my destination to that door. My curiosity got the best of me.

I came closer to the door and took note of the hinges being broken off. The door was almost torn off the wall too. Someone was in a rush. I grabbed the handle of my rifle tightly and adjusted my other hand so that I could walk and aim with improved accuracy. I took close, quiet steps and proceeded into the building. Merely seconds went by before a loud screech like someone trying to scream louder than the extent of their voice allowed scratched my eardrums. The scream came from the next floor. I cautiously sped my pace up and lit the Zippo lighter I taped to the rifle.

A series of cubicles and personal areas for employees told me that I was in an office building. I cleared every cubicle as I walked by them on my way to the staircase. All the cubicles were empty and destroyed because of the panic that must have occurred when first contact was made with the infected.

I reached the stairs to the second floor and stopped at the top of the staircase. I kept silent to better identify a struggle, a fight or someone trying to flee. There was a struggle.

My gun was ready to defend me. I went through the double doors that served as the second floor’s entrance and the single door that followed. On the other side, an uninfected woman fought off one of the infected, and an uninfected man attempted to save that woman.

I loosened the grip on the rifle. The lighter on the gun lit very little but the faint light that scattered throughout the room made the whole scene visible without need for direct light. I watched.

The struggle lasted several moments. The woman yelled and kicked the infected man out of the way while the uninfected man attempted to pull them apart. All of this looked to be worthless effort. The infectee was unfazed.

They showed no signs of awareness that I was in the room but they most definitely saw the light from the lighter. The struggle took all their efforts and focus. After I waited long enough, I approached them. I removed my handgun from the holster and walked over to the infected man. In my approach the uninfected man became aware of my presence and made some distance at the sight of my gun being drawn. I pulled the trigger. One 9mm round pierced the infectee’s head; I kicked him away from the woman who proceeded to panic and pat herself down in shaky hysterical fear. What else could be expected from someone so weak that they were unable to handle one single infectee alone?

“Get yourself up!” I suggested.

The woman nodded in approval and stood with help from the man.

“Thank you so much! Thank you! You saved my life!” the woman spoke up with a cracked voice and tears in her eyes.

“Thanks! We would have been goners without your help, man! We owe you our lives!” the man also thanked me. The combined ‘thanks’ they gave were just enough noise to attract more of the infected if any were left in the area.

“Keep your silence. We don’t know how many of them could be left.” My tone remained calm even if I was in truth annoyed by the two. I went too far by saving their lives when I could have just walked away. I let curiosity put my into a situation I wasn’t comfortable in, but I didn’t want my efforts to go to waste. I had to bring them with me to assure their safety. It was best to put the two to use in my advantage instead of what I wanted to do in the moment, abandon them somewhere. I was sure that I would find a job to give them if they decided to join us. It would just take time to find a purpose for the two of them. The fact that I saved them was proof enough that they would have purpose!

“I’ll be leaving now,” I said.

“Wait! Don’t leave us! Please, take us with you,” the man said.

“I am on my way to a small group of survivors I’ve traveled with. You are free to join us.”

“Travel to where?” the woman asked.

“We are headed to The Hills quarantine zone.” Both the man and woman stood there in what I interpreted as a look of confusion or deep thought. “If you decide you want to come, meet me by the front exit.” I walked away. I knew they would follow; they were both scared enough at the time to believe there was strength in numbers.

“We’ll go! Don’t leave us!” the woman yelled out when I started to leave.

“We aren’t bad people. We won’t cause any trouble,” the man began, “We were on our way to that very quarantine when we got sidetracked by a horde of the infected and were forced into this town.”

“I have one rule for you to follow if you decide to head back with me.”

“Yes anything!” the man said.

“Keep your silence. We can’t risk giving more infected our position while the snowstorm continues to get worse.” My conditions were laid out. “If there is something to discuss, by all means speak, but make sure it isn’t loud and make sure it does not happen when we are near any of the infected.”

“Fair enough,” the man said and grabbed the woman’s hand to hold her close and told her to come along.

I ended the conversation at that point. I continued to walk to the stairs and out of the building into the blizzard.

The cowards feared to be alone for long and kept up with my pace. Neither one of them particularly prepared for the kind of weather that we faced, but neither was I. The constant adrenaline of survival served as warmth enough.

The thick snow blinded me from anything far enough to become victim to the white cloudy mist that dragged along the surface of the street. The winds and gusts offered formidable resistance. A game of chess versus nature usually rendered the challenger a loss. I would not win this fight if it lasted longer than it needed to.

It was difficult to tell whether the infected in the area knew of our presence because of their aimless wander through the snow, but they were far from dangerous. The struggle they encountered with their attempt to move through the snow was greater than mine. However, just because the walkers struggled did not mean the runners would too and that kept me on my toes, ready for anything to come.

Along the walk the two survivors felt the need to share their names with me like it somehow mattered. Robert and Sandra they claimed. There was no reason to share mine so I didn’t. They weren’t worthy of my name if they couldn’t even survive one single infected man. Chances were that regardless of all my efforts they would still manage to die before they made it back to camp.

I periodically looked back to be sure that not only were the infected still struggling, but also to watch that no runners became part of the mix. That was far from a situation I would want to be surprised in.

Over time I noticed a steep increase in the number of infected gathered around us. This was strange to me because on the walk to the store I did not encounter so many of the infected. If I did they would have trapped me inside the store. It looked more like they knew their destination; they headed that direction before they ever noticed us.