Rise Once More (12 page)

“
Well I brought Cox up to speed, so you might as well know too. Basically, a microbe from space was found, and the good doctor here was in charge of studying it. He did too good of a job, and found a way to replicate it. Long story short, a sample got stolen, and it got out. Now we have this cluster fuck unfolding in front of us. The only good news I can offer you, is that we are currently heading back to a secure location known as Omega Phi. Which is where I work, and you guys are lucky enough to come along.” Haus says.

“
Not exactly... What Haus fails to mention is he doesn't exactly know where Omega Phi is, but he suspects that a person in Georgia can find a way to get us in touch with his employer.” Cox says.

“
You got any better ideas? Why don't you use the map Cox and tell me where to drive.” Haus says.

“
You don't need a map. I go to school in Missouri, and I know every back road in between here and there. Just keep going south on this road until you cross the Kansas border. It is just a straight shot till Kansas.” Amy says.

“
Well everyone might as well get some sleep. We got plenty of gas, and I am wide awake now.”

Chapter Thirteen

The Fleeing Father

The sound of pounding against the wooden siding, with an occasional shatter of glass echoes behind Father Mcfeely, as he stares into his bedroom mirror. He is calm, slowly removing his rosary from around his neck as he rhythmically chants.

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your Kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom,
the power and the glory are yours.
Now and for ever.

Amen
.

He slowly removes his jacket and then his white collar, laying them down neatly at the foot of his bed. He then places his crucifix across the breast of the shirt. Standing once again facing his mirror, clothed only in boxers and a white undershirt, he exhales deeply. Again the sounds of the infected trying vainly to get to him resonate from the inner walls of his home. The door handle jiggles, and voices are heard screaming.

He begins clawing at his elderly face, the skin tearing in spots, as he continues to dig. His finger slips into a crevice in the neck and he peels the artificial flesh away. He drops the mask to the ground, once again staring at his youthful face. The gray hair and wrinkles gone, his brown hair and blue eyes once again look back at him.

It had been years since he had seen himself in his true form. Knowing that his work was done, and the end was very near. It was time. Time for another adventure, the time and location remain unknown as of yet. He has a job to do, he is the keeper of order, making sure that the events turn out as they should.

He walks gingerly over to his closet, opening the door, and stepping inside. He instinctively places his key into the opening, an intense white light fills the room, as the blue door opens up. A spacious room awaits him, filled with all of sorts of gadgets. Of which he knows every one of them, and there in the center, is a blonde young girl staring at him confusedly.

“And you are?” She says with a heavy British accent.

“
We have much too discuss. Allonsy!” He says jokingly.

The door closing behind him, and in a fraction of a second he was gone. The only evidence left behind, was an atomic flash burned upon the white plaster walls. The first infected rips open the closet door to an empty space and the words
Police Box
etched into the wall.

Chapter Fourteen

Dead Mans Corner

Hours pass as Haus drives throughout the night, his mind wondering often, reliving the many events that have lead up to this moment. The reflector posts begin to blur and the sound of the tires on the road are almost hypnotic.

Haus jerks a little, as he realizes he is dazing off. He rolls the window down to let in some fresh air, stretching his legs out, and presses on the cruise control.
Amy wasn't joking when she said this road was a straight shot. Not a single twist in the road.
He says silently inside his head, as to not wake the others.

Haus glances back in the rear view mirror, and sees that Amy is sound asleep. Her head propped up against the window, one hand wrapped under her jaw for support, the other draped lazily to her side. Her face is soft, a few freckles sprinkled across her cheeks, and with every bump in the road her breasts jiggle.
She isn't wearing a bra.
He chuckles slightly, at the observation, and swerves gently back and fourth.

Every subtle jerk of the steering wheels, causes Haus to let out a muffled giggle.
Well this is one way to pass the time.
Although he is entertained, he is also distracted, and fails to see the sign signaling they were entering into Kansas.

Haus glances over towards Cox, hoping that he hasn't seen him playing around, and finds the doctor still in deep slumber. Haus again, looks into the mirror, this time staring at her hips.
Is she a virgin? No way. Not in this day and age.
Suddenly, Amy shifts her position in the seat, her shirt wrinkled up behind her back.

Her belly button was now exposed, and Haus continues to look on. His pulse quickens a little, and he focuses on her piercing; a small yellow smiley face.
Ah! That's her little secret, deep down she is a rebel, but too self conscious to be blatant about it.
Another bump in the road and Amy begins to slide downward towards the floor board. Her shirt slowly rising up exposing more of her skin.

Haus starts to feel the warmth growing in his face, as he stares into the mirror. He starts to feel a little jittery, and his hands become clammy. Her shirt now positioned, as to show the lower curves of her breasts, but barely above her nipples.

Haus fantasizes about the shape, texture, and size of her areolas.
Is she a small perfect round, or oblong biggie? Gotta be a small to medium. One more bump... Come on. Almost there
. A streak of green darts past his left side, a blurred image of a large road sign in his peripheral vision.

He rips his focus from the mirror, but he is too late, and the car leaves the road. The headlights jerk up into the air, the front of the car angled towards the sky. They hover for a few seconds, but it feels like an eternity.

The car slams back into the ground, the impact knocking the wind out of Haus as he hears screams coming from his passengers. He can't see anything in front of him, just ears of corn flying in every direction. The car suddenly stops, the force of the impact forcing him to hit his head against the steering wheel. As he loses consciousness he can hear a loud hissing noise in front of him.

***

The sound of Amy screaming draws him back into reality, and he reaches out for the door handle. Shattered glass covering his lap, and falling like small pellets of hail onto the ground. He manages to undo his seat belt and fall out onto the Earth below. He can taste the sickly sweet vapors of antifreeze misting into the air.

His head is pounding and his vision distorted, even sounds appear to come from all directions. He glances up to see Amy doubled over and clenching her stomach. Streaks of blood drip down her face from the many small lacerations of the shattered glass. She is screaming and fumbling around the devastated corn field.

Amy vomits and falls to her knees, the pile of puke in front of her, she turns fighting back the urge to heave again. Haus rushes over to her side. He places his hands under her chin, lifting slightly and looking for serious wounds. “Are you OK?” He says as he examines the wounds covering her face.

“
My head hurts...” Amy says.

“
You're pretty cut up, but I don't see anything major.” Haus says. “COX! Where are you?” his voice trailing into the night air. Only the driver's headlight was working, the other rendered useless after the crash. Haus looks up to see a fertilizer sprayer and the wreckage of the car. The impact had caused one of the sprayers massive tires to snap off the shaft resting on the hood and roof of the car.

Haus rushes to the passenger door, he reaches for the handle, but the door is crushed in and will not open. He looks inside, seeing the hole in the windshield and two mangle legs protruding from it. He looks back at Amy; the look on his face must have said it all, as she covered her face and started crying.

Haus moves forward, placing his hand on the hood, and reaches back under the fallen tire, his hand blindly searching for Cox's body. Finally Haus finds Cox's arm, the flesh is still warm, but doesn’t respond to his touch. He grabs a hold of Cox's wrist, and finds no pulse.
He must have taken his seat belt off to sleep.

Haus moves to the other side of the car, the headlight reflecting off his brightly colored shirt, illuminating the grizzly scene in front of him. Cox laid on the hood of the car, completely crushed by the tire, a pool of his blood dripping down the mangled hood. Haus exhales deeply, crouching into a fetal position. “What the hell have I done?” He whispers.

***

The sun broke above the prairie horizon, the first light of the day, a weak orange glow. Haus remained sulking on the ground, his heart filled with regret and shame. “There is nothing you can do for him.” Amy says as she lays her hand on Haus's shoulder.

“We need to bury him...” Haus says devoid of emotion.

“
We can't move that tire. I know my farm equipment, and the three of us couldn't have lifted it.” Amy says. “Did you fall asleep?” Amy asks.

Haus thought for a moment, a geyser of anger welled up inside of him. Disgust at himself, and even for a moment anger at her.
It is entirely my fault. Why did she even have to come along? What the hell was I thinking? Once again my dick gets me into trouble.
“Yeah. I wasn't paying attention...” Haus says as he lets out a sigh.

“
Accidents happen; it has been hard on all of us. Sorry about your friend.” Amy says.

“
Ahhh. Fuck!” Haus says as he stands up and kicks the car.

“
Too soon?” Amy says.

Haus begins punching and kicking the car violently, picking up broken pieces and throwing them into the corn field. The anger building and receding, like an ebb and flow of the tide. For each punch or kick, it helped quiet the storm inside of him.

“Did you hear that?” Amy says as she draws closer to Haus. Haus stops his assault and places his hand close to his ear. The ruffle of the leaves was unmistakable. Something was coming towards them, hidden by the labyrinth of corn stalks. “We gotta go!” Amy says.

Amy starts off at a sprint, quickly out pacing Haus. Her years playing Volleyball left her in much better condition than he was. Haus stops abruptly and shouts out for Amy. “Wait! We need the bag!” Haus doubles back towards the car, leaping inside and grabbing the back pack from the back seat all while trying not to look out onto Cox's flattened face.

The image was too much for him to bear. He turns to run once again, but stops, returning one last time to grab the shotgun. He can barely make out Amy as she is so far ahead of him. Running dead sprint through mowed down corn rows. The fallen crops forming a path back to the road were they had come from.

An infected female breaks from the lush green crops, directly in front of Haus about 15 yards. He draws the shotgun and fires, the body falling to the ground in a heap as he runs past, running as fast as his legs can muster, right past the broken fence and back onto the open road. Amy was waiting for him; she stopped after she heard the blast. She thought of running back towards him, but was held frozen by the fear of the unknown that lie hidden amongst the corn.

“Give me the bag.” Amy says.

“
Why?” Haus asks.

“
Because I am faster than you, that’s why.” Amy says.

“
Good idea.” Haus says, half winded, as he tosses the bag to her. The two run down the road, Amy slowing at times to allow Haus to catch back up. Finally Haus had had enough, he couldn't breathe fast enough and his thighs were on fire. He stopped to catch his breath and motions for her to stop. He doubles over, inhaling rapidly, his ears peaked for any sounds of movement.

A few minutes pass without any danger, and Haus is ready to move on. “Silence is good to hear.” Haus says.

“It could be worse ya know. There could have been more of them.” Amy says encouragingly.

“
How about we just walk. So what's your story?” Haus asks.

“
My story? Well, I am a farm girl, but...” Amy says hesitantly.

“
But? You want to be a movie star, right? The bright lights and all the glamor, escape the fields for the fast paced city life.”

“
No. I love the country and the small-town life. I just don't want people to think I am a dumb hick. I can wrestle a pig, but I am getting my degree, even though I will probably never use it.” Amy pauses, looks around and sighs. “I'm definitely not going to be making my music anymore.”

“
Are you kidding? This whole disaster would make a perfect country song; 'Music to commit suicide to.' Haus says.

“
Eeewww. Country music!” Amy points her index finger towards her mouth while making choking noises. “Techno actually.” Amy says.

“
You. Techno... Really?” Haus says sarcastically.

“
Yes techno, what's wrong with that?” Amy asks.

“
You just don't fit the part. When I think of techno, I think of some freak in a rave spazzing out on ecstasy. Rubbing up on inanimate objects. Boom, Pop, WOW-WOW.”

Amy laughs out loud, shaking her head slightly. “There are a few of those guys. To me it's different. Techno is more than just music, each note by itself sounds terrible, but once they all get together it's so fluid. It is the musical version of a prayer, a meditation almost.” Amy says.

“I can relate... I am an EBM guy. You can laugh all you want.” Haus says with a smile.

“
Not going to laugh, but I am no music purist. Both are electronic and that works for me. So aside from good music, what is your story?” Amy asks.

“
Well I used to be a hacker, now I am... Well I don't see much of a role for me anymore. I am technically dead.” Haus says.

“
You look pretty alive for a dead person.” Amy says jokingly. “How did you end up dead?”

“
Call it a condition of employment. I had to be erased. To protect my boss, in case I ever got discovered. They would just assume I was insane and problem solved I guess.” Haus says.

“
You didn't find that strange?” Amy asks.

“
Oh yeah I did. The whole process was messed up, but then again given what I had for a former life, it was a no-brainer decision on my end.” Haus says.

“
Compared to me, your life is a lot more interesting. Tell me the coolest thing ever to happen in your life.” Amy says.

“
Hmm. The coolest thing? I escaped from an underground research facility that the military bombed in order to prevent me from getting to the surface. My life has been really interesting since joining Omega Phi. If you had asked me that question six months ago, my reply would be reaching level cap on some video game.” Haus says.

“
So you're serious about this whole secret agent thing aren't you?” Amy asks.

“
Why? Do you think I am lying to you?” Haus asks.

“
Well I thought you were freaking nuts, but I needed a ride out of that place. So I just went along with it.” Amy says.

Haus raises his right hand, and points towards his bar code tattoo. “I didn't do that as a fashion statement.” He says sternly. “I'm not crazy. It would be easier if I was.” Amy looks him directly in the eyes,  and he doesn't even flinch. “Right now, getting to Georgia is our best shot of surviving this mess.”

The two walk in silence for several miles. Haus was still trying to cope with his actions that lead to the loss of his friend. Amy was uncomfortable with the silence, but felt it was better just to say nothing at all. The sun directly above their heads, beat down upon them relentlessly, one thing the flat prairie land lacks is shade. Amy was the first to break the silence. “I'm thirsty. Do you have any water?”

“
Yeah, we should take a break and grab something to eat. I hope you like jerky, it's all I got.”

“
Anything works. I am freaking starving.” Amy says.

They sit on the side of the road, sharing the meager rations they have left, as the heat radiates off the pavement, it creates a mirage affect, looking as if there was water just a few yards down the road. Amy knew that it wasn't water, but the reflection of the sky.