Tainted Future (The Rememdium Series Book 3) (25 page)

“Looks like you got a lot of supplies,” Teresa commented while poking through the boxes in the back.

“Which I’d gladly trade for the lives of my friends. We’ve got people to deliver them to, so hands off until we get back to the cave.”

“Cave? Are you kidding me? You’re taking us to a cave? That’s your safe house?” Teresa whined.

“Yeah, I am. Unless you’d prefer I drop you off at one of these empty ones above ground on the way? Let you have free housin’, senorita?”

“Okay, let’s all take a minute to breathe here,” Cooper said. “Let the adrenaline rush wane.”

“Easier said than done, Chief. Been livin’ off an adrenaline high ever since this mess started! God, this is the second trip to the store that cost me people I care about. And, it seems, human munchers ain’t our only enemies! Walt was right about animals, and he didn’t even know it.”

“Yeah, I thought my eyes were playin’ tricks on me when I saw them. They looked like hellhounds. You said second trip. What did you mean?” Cooper asked.

“It means I lost the woman I love in the first one, and two great friends today. All because of fuckin’ drugs!”

“Regina’s gone, too?”

Kyle nodded. “Yep. Saved our lives by givin’ up hers.”

“You said drugs. Is that what caused all this? Drugs?” Cooper asked.

“Yeah, want to know why we’re in this mess? Get this shit,” Kyle grumbled.

For the next two hours, Cooper, Mason, and Teresa sat in stunned silence as Kyle talked nonstop. By the time he finished, Cooper’s mind couldn’t take any more.

It was all over. No hope left. Nothing for Cooper to keep on living for. His entire family was wiped out. His hometown was gone. Most everything was gone. There wasn’t a reason to keep fighting, keep struggling, while watching the few remaining people he knew die as well.

He’d wait to end it all until Mason was safe with the others. Then, he’d head out into the woods and put a bullet in his brain. Join his wife and children on the other side, rather than roaming around in an undead shell, eating other survivors.

“How far do we have before arriving?” Mason finally asked.

“About five minutes. Then, we’ll hike for another few miles.”

“Joy,” Teresa muttered.

“Hey, I can always stop, remember? There’s plenty of illegals in this part of the state. Maybe you’ll run into one of your relatives. Shack up with them instead of us gringos. I’m not in the mood to listen to a whiny, bitchy woman, so if you want to keep ridin’ with us, shut the fuck up.”

Cooper turned his head and stared out the window, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Yep, Officer Kyle Pender was the best man on the force; able to sniff out trouble in seconds. He’d pegged Teresa as a problem right from the start.

Wish I’d done the same thing. No, I wish I was still next to Karla’s warm body, dreaming. God, this just can’t be how the world ends.

Can it?

Teresa felt sick to her stomach, and it wasn’t just from barely escaping from the dead again.

Listening to the words from the lips of the obnoxious bastard named Kyle made Teresa’s heart pound. For the first time since she woke up in the basement of her home in Phoenix, everything made sense. Sick, twisted, out-of-this-world sense.

While Cooper drove toward Arkansas after rescuing the stupid kid, Teresa occupied her time by reading more from Roberto’s journal. The words confused her, most written in a combination of phrases and drug dealer lingo she wasn’t entirely familiar with. What she gleaned from the pages was a new batch had been created, a big shipment was coming, and Benito seemed to have made some sort of pact with other drug cartels.

Now, everything was crystal clear. Teresa didn’t know anything about science, or chemical formulas, how drugs were distributed, but she knew enough. She understood how Maria turned; why Roberto fled without her; how the world collapsed so fast.

Drugs were everywhere. People from all walks of life indulged. Their addiction is what had kept Louboutin’s on her feet, Dior and Chanel in her closet; what paid for the sprawling, six-million-dollar mansion in Phoenix.

And the one in El Salvador.

There was no doubt in her mind how the nightmare started, and where.

I’ve got to figure out a way to get back to El Salvador. Keep my mouth shut, not anger these rednecks, or I’ll end up on foot. Once we get to this cave, I’ll wait until everyone falls asleep. Slit Kyle’s throat, take the keys to this Humvee, and head to the coast. I’ll do whatever necessary to find someone with a boat. Surely these creatures can’t swim! I’ll get to El Salvador. Find Benito. Then, I’ll cut pieces of flesh from his bones, and feed them to the dead.

While he watches.

Whatever it takes, I’m going home.

They pulled into what looked like a campground. Another Humvee sat by a trail leading into the dark forest. Teresa hated the outdoors, but kept her opinions to herself.

“Shit.”

“What’s wrong, Kyle?” Cooper asked.

“One of the Humvee’s is missin’. We only took two.”

“Maybe one of the others took it? Went to look for supplies like y’all did?”

Kyle shook his head. “No way. Turner Addison broke his leg and can’t walk. Martha would never leave his side, and I doubt Jesse Parker would, either. That leaves Jane Richmond or Lamar Wilson. The only reason either of them would leave is either Turner’s taken a turn for the worse, or someone else got hurt—bad enough Jane can’t patch them up. No talkin’, and keep your eyes and ears open. Hurry!”

Everyone jumped out and followed Kyle up the trail.

“Ladies’ first,” Cooper said, pointing at Teresa. She sighed and fell into step behind Kyle, with Mason and Cooper behind her.

“Turn left there. Then, will go about six miles. The road ends at his driveway.”

“Gotcha,” Jesse answered.

“God, I can’t believe you just ran them down! I’m so glad you’re drivin’,” Jane said. “I’da freaked out and probably crashed into a tree or somethin’. How many was that last one? Eight?”

“Twelve,” Everett said. “I agree with your friend back there, Jesse. You’re driving skills are quite impressive. Did you have aspirations of becoming a race car driver?”

Jesse’s laugh was bitter. “Better them than us. And no, my mom taught me. She was a cop.”

“She did a fine job.”

“Regina was an amazin’ woman,” Jane said. Everett heard the heavy sadness in her voice. “If it weren’t for her sacrifice, Jesse and I wouldn’t still be alive.”

“Not now, Jane, I don’t want to think about my—oh, shit!”

Everett’s head slammed into the passenger window. He felt the Humvee spin; heard Jane scream from the backseat.

“God, they’re everywhere!” Jesse yelled. “Hang on!”

Everett’s bound hands clung to the seat while he forced the bile burning in his throat back down. Now was not the time to have a bout with car sickness. A corpse bounced off the hood and into the windshield. Thankfully, the glass didn’t break, but it was full of small, spider-web looking cracks.

Bam!

Everett’s attempts to keep from vomiting, failed. The bloody creature’s face smashed against the glass, leaving chunks of flesh behind. Bending over, he puked all over the floorboard.

“Jesse! To your right! Look out!” Jane screamed.

“Hang on to that rifle, Jane! Doctor, can you use a weapon?”

“I’m familiar, yes. Any good? Afraid not.”

“You best figure it out, because if I can’t get past them, we’re gonna need all the firepower we got! Jane? Untie him!”

Everett heard the engine roar and rumble as Jesse pushed it to its limits. She drove through the mass of corpses, running into them as though they were sacks of mud. Jane reached over and cut the rope binding his wrists, then handed him a handgun.

“Don’t you miss,” Jane instructed. “Don’t you miss!”

“You said there’s a fence surroundin’ this place? Gated?” Jesse yelled.

“Yes. We aren’t far. Maybe half a mile?”

Thump. Thump. Thump.

“Metal?”

“Yes.”

“Then we’re just gonna drive through that shit like it ain’t even there. Can we get inside? You said it was locked.”

“Break the fuckin’ window!” Jane offered.

“There! I see it!” Jesse said, pushing her foot all the way down on the accelerator. The Humvee groaned in protest.

Everett looked behind them, noticing they were putting distance between the vehicle and the undead. He did a few mental calculations. The results made his stomach lurch again.

“We’ve got maybe two minutes from the time we pull up, if you maintain this current rate of speed.”

“I’m sure not slowin’ down,” Jesse replied while glancing in the rear view mirror. “If that’s all the time we’ve got, then you better run like hell the second we stop.”

“What…what are you saying?” Everett stuttered.

“I’m sayin’ we’ll pull up, you go in, get that fuckin’ map, and run back outside. If any of those things beat your estimated time table, we’ll shoot them. Give you a chance to make it back in one piece.”

Everett’s mouth gaped open. “I…no way. I can’t run. Old injury.”

“No excuses! Just do it! Grab somethin’ and hold on. Goin’ through the gate!”

The impact of hitting the thick wrought iron made the Humvee shudder. The grating sound of metal on metal made Everett’s ears hurt. A weird, grinding noise filled the cab as Jesse maneuvered the vehicle up to the front door.

“What’s that sound?” Jane asked.

The engine shuddered once then died.

Jesse tried to restart it, but nothing happened.

“Inside! Now!” Everett yelled. “Follow me!”

The three jumped out of the Humvee and ran to the big, bay window by the front door. Looking around for something to break the glass with, Everett felt Jesse push him aside. “Move!”

She fired into the glass, and a section the size of a bowling ball shattered. Leaning back, Jesse raised her foot and kicked the glass until making a hole big enough for them to climb through.

“God, they’re close! I can hear them,” Jane whined.

Everett took off as fast as his old legs would let him. He was breathing so hard, he feared a heart attack was only seconds away. “Come on. The library doesn’t have any windows, and the doors are solid oak. There’s a trap door in the floor that leads to the garage. Hurry!”

“What kind of man lived here?” Jesse asked, inches behind Everett.

“The smartest man I’ve ever known,” Everett said. “Here, through this door!”

They scrambled inside the room then slammed the door shut. Everett turned the deadbolt then backed away. “Need a flashlight, please.”

Jesse held one out. “Hurry up, then turn it off. We’ve got to stay quiet or they’ll hear us.”

Flicking the light on, Everett went straight to the shelf he remembered the book was on. Sure enough, it rested in the same place.
History of Nuclear Power
by James A. Mahaffey. Everett had never been so glad to set eyes on a book in his entire life.

“Shit! Did you hear that? Turn the light off!” Jesse whispered from behind him. “They’re here.”

Everett did, and the three huddled together near the bookcase.

Warm breath grazed Everett’s ear. “Where’s the trap door?”

“Follow me,” Everett answered Jesse’s question with a whisper of his own.

Dropping down to all fours, Everett felt around in the dark for the large desk in the middle of the room. He found it after bumping into it. His fingers found the edge of the Persian rug and pulled it back. The sounds of the dead outside the front door made him work faster. It took only a few more seconds to find the latch and open the door. Sticking his arm down as far as it would go, Everett turned on the flashlight. Thankfully, nothing was in the tunnel except cobwebs and dirt.

“Be careful climbing down,” Everett urged while guiding Jane’s hand to the opening.

The sound of breaking glass sent all of them into a panic.

Jane lost her grip and tumbled down the hole. Her yelp of pain made Everett’s heart pound. “Go!” Everett yelled.

Jesse went next, followed by Everett. As he lowered the trap door, the sounds of growling and mumbling from the hallway made the hair stand up all over his body. He secured the latch, hoping the corpses hadn’t figured out how to open doors.