The Infected (Book 3): Nightfall (17 page)

Rich reached for a hug,
“Jesus Christ you’re alive and kicking!” The two men embraced.

“What are you still doing
here?” Cliff asked as he patted Rich on the back as they finished their hug.

“I was working on Mrs.
Elis’s radiator over there,” Rich pointed to an old Buick in the first bay.
“And out of nowhere those things started showing up. So I locked down the place
and was waiting for the goddamn army to show up and take care of these…things.
Sick people whatever. Fuck me in the ass, it looks like it is total anarchy out
there, you know what I mean?” Rich noticed the kids in the back of the van. “Ah
shit. I’m sorry. Pardon my French kids. You got the whole family safe, good.
Tina, you’re looking beautiful as always.”

“Thank you, Rich,” Tina
said as she climbed out of the van.

“When are you going to
leave this bum and run away with me?” Rich took off into his normal routine
with Tina.

“Any day now.” Was always
her answer.  

“We need your help,” Cliff
pointed to the flat.

Rich spoke with a jesting
tone as he teased Cliff, “You always want something from me. You cheap
bastard.” Rich quickly scanned the bloody PT Cruiser and then he looked over
its heavily armed driver and crew.

“You guys look like a pack
of fucking mercenaries. Pardon my French kids.” Rich stepped over to Sara first
and reached out for her hand. “Hello Red, my God you’re beautiful. What are you
doing with these killers?” Sara shook his hand and before she could answer he
started up again. “What am I saying? You’re probably the leader of this killer
crew. You got a boyfriend? You want one? I’m kidding, of course.” Rich let go
of her hand and then proceeded to shake Frank and Jim’s hands. “Hey fellas I’m
Rich. This is my place. I see you got a problem there. You’re driving a fucking
Chrysler.” Rich laughed hard at that one. Then he noticed how serious everyone
was. “Goddamn, tough crowd. You guys must have been through some heavy shit
today. I’m sorry.”

“You think you might have
a tire in stock that will fit?” Cliff asked as he opened the van’s side door to
let the kids out.

“Yeah, I should have one,
but you need more than just a tire,” Rich said as he circled the Cruiser.

“What do you mean?” Jim
stepped back to look at the wheel and check it for damage.

“Where are you all heading
to, Clifford?” Rich popped open a back door of the Cruiser to examine it. Devon
was pale white and still in the backseat. “You look like shit, kid.”

“Thanks,” Devon grunted.

“We’re heading across town
to get to his family.” Cliff pointed at Jim.

“Across town? You didn’t
even make it half a mile before you broke down and you want to go across town
in these fucking things?” Rich pointed at the family style cars. “Pardon my
French. I’m not leaving in these deathtraps.”

“Leaving?” Cliff raised
his eyebrow at Rich.

“Yes, Your highness. I’m
coming with you. I got half a roast beef sandwich in the fridge. How long do
you think that little snack will last me? There ain’t no one coming to save
sweet old Rich so I’m coming with you, but not until we crank up the security
here.”

“What are you thinking?”
Cliff looked over his van.

“Steel bars on the
windows, cow catcher on the front and maybe a few spikes to keep those things off
of us. It would only take a couple hours and then we could smash our fucking
way across town. Pardon my French. Alright, Cliff roll up them sleeves and
let’s get started. Let’s use whatever we can find here in the shop and help me
bolt them to the vehicles.”

It sounded like a waste of
time to Jim, but the look on everyone else’s face told him that was what they
all wanted. A more secure ride. If Rich could do it and it only took a few hours
then it might be worth it.

“I’m going to go reload
everything,” Frank picked up his duffle bag.

“His stitches might have
popped.” Sara nodded at Tina.

“Let’s have a look.” Tina led
the way to Devon’s open door.

“You waiting for an
invitation sweetheart? Get your ass over here and help us move this shit.” Rich
waved Jim over.

Troy wasted no time and
began digging at the earth right away. Karen jabbed at the dirt, but digging a
hole was not her forte and her wrist was still killing her. This was about
solidarity. It didn’t matter how much dirt she moved. This was about gutting
out this horrible task together with her brother. They worked in silence. Troy
chugged away at the hole like a backhoe. He had to chop through thick roots and
dig out football sized rocks. It was dreadful. Digging any size hole into the
Vancouver landscape was always a tedious job. It was a river bed thousands of
years ago and now it was littered with round stones. They would bring your
digging to a complete stop until you cleared the rock from its earthly tomb.

Troy worked and worked
until the hole was hip deep. They didn’t have the time or energy to go a full
six feet. Besides they weren’t worried about a zoning code violation or
scavengers looking to rob the grave. It would work and be a good final resting
spot for their Mama.

Karen helped Troy up out
of the hole. “I’m going to get a spare sheet and we can wrap her in it.” Karen
said as she smacked the dirt off her jeans.

“Okay, I’m gonna drag that
asshole out of here,” Troy nodded over to the dead body of the Salesman that
attacked Penny.

Karen headed back into the
house and searched the hallway closet. She found an old white sheet that would
work. As she passed the clock in the kitchen it read four fifty in the morning.

Another awful night of no
sleep.
Karen hoped that she would get
a chance to sleep in, but the odds of that were doubtful. They still had to
fill in the grave and it was going to take at least another hour. The sun would
be cresting the horizon by then and a new day would start.  

“Karen!” Troy called for
help.

She raced out into the
backyard. Troy was on the ground, wrestling with an infected man. He had dragged
the salesman’s body halfway through the gate before he was attacked.

Karen first reached for
her gun, but stopped herself. She was afraid she might shoot Troy instead of
the monster. It was dark out, she could barely see the two of them and her
nerves were frayed. A shovel laid on the ground in front of her. As she
sprinted forward she picked up the garden tool and raised it high in the air.
Troy was pinned under the thing and he had his hands wrapped around its neck.
Its ferocious mouth snapped over and over again like one of those windup
plastic chattering teeth toys. The shovel’s metal head came careening down onto
the back of its skull. The blunt force sent its hungry mouth closer to Troy’s
face. Its outstretched tongue touched the tip his nose.

“Fuck! Shit!” Karen
recoiled and then put her boot into the side of its face. Troy rolled with its
momentum and was able to get himself out from under it. Now he was on top and
holding it down by its throat.

“Get it!” He begged. Karen
was already planning a strike. She maneuvered close to its head and drove the
blade of the shovel into the bridge of its nose. It crunched on impact, but it
wasn’t enough to finish it. She tried again. This time she hit the beast in its
open mouth. The shovel slit its cheeks open all the way to the back of its jaw.
While the infected was pinned down Troy let go of its neck and grabbed the
shovel’s handle. He pulled himself up off of the monster and took Karen’s position
at its head. She let go and stepped aside. Troy hopped up and landed both of
his feet onto the shoulders of the shovel. His weight drove the dull metal
blade through the back of its spine. The top of its head severed and tumbled
away from the rest of its body.

Troy took a deep breath,
“The thing came out of nowhere.” He puffed and tried to regain his composure.

“Let’s get this done and
get back inside before-” Karen’s words were cut off. Two more infected were on
their way from across the street. The city street lamps that hung above the
neighborhood cast an eerie glow over their fast moving infected bodies. Karen
whipped out her gun, but it was too dark. She couldn’t see well enough to get a
clear headshot.

“Come on!” Troy pulled her
into the backyard. They skipped over the dead salesman’s body that was blocking
the gate from closing. The backyard had a set of floodlights above the sliding
glass door. They lit up the chicken coop, the flower bed and the concrete patio.
This circle of light was about to become a battle arena. Troy and Karen stood
in the center of the arena and waited for their death match.

“Don’t shoot, it will only
draw more of them!” Troy picked up the second shovel from the ground and handed
it to Karen. She knew he was right, but damn, it was so much easier to put a
round between their eyes. Karen holstered her gun and took the shovel just as
the two monsters jumped over the dead Salesman’s body.

The two challengers had
entered the arena. Troy charged at the first one and nailed it with a perfect
swing. The bottom of the shovel’s blade CHONGED when it collided with its face.
Karen swung her weapon and it only caught the edge of the infected’s skull, but
it was enough to get it to change course and it ran headlong into the side of
the house.

Troy swung again and this
time he pinned its head up against the wall of the garage. A two-foot geyser of
black blood erupted between the shovel and the wall. It spattered the siding
with gore. Troy had performed an excellent finishing move. Karen’s infected
stumbled against the wall and tripped on a coiled up garden hose on the ground.
The creep crashed to its face and Karen launched her shovel at the base of its
spine. She hammered down onto the shoulder of the shovel with her foot. The
spine cracked and the infected stopped flailing on the ground.

“You all right?” Troy was
already moving the body towards the front yard.

“Yeah.” She muscled the
tool out from its spine and went to help Troy get all of the dead bodies out of
the backyard. They quickly pulled the corpses into the front yard and stacked
them up.

“We’ll need to burn these
tomorrow,” Troy said as he closed the gate behind them.

“Don’t you mean today?”
Karen jested about the late hour.   

 “Shit, you’re
right.” Troy rubbed at his eye lids. Karen picked up the sheet she had dropped
when she came to Troy’s rescue and handed him an edge. They unfolded the fabric
and pulled it tight as they laid it on the ground next to Penny’s body. Rigor mortis
had set in and they had to roll Penny’s stiff cadaver onto the sheet. Touching
a dead body was repulsive. Touching their Mama’s dead body was agony.

They slowly and carefully
rolled Penny’s body into the sheet. Then they hoisted her up and carried her
over to the grave. They laid her down next to the opening in the earth and Troy
jumped in. Karen joined him in the dirt hole and they gently laid Penny’s
wrapped body onto the cold soft dirt. They dragged their tired bodies out of
the grave and stood at the foot of her burial plot. The siblings looked down at
the stained white sheet. Some of the coagulated black blood had bled through
the cotton fibers.

This was not how Karen
ever imagined her Mama’s funeral. She had actually never really thought about
her mother passing away. That dark day seemed like it should have been decades
away, but here it was. There they stood, exhausted, filthy and emotionally
drained in front of their Mama’s final resting place.

“Remember when she took us
to see
Tool
live?” Troy bent down to pick up his shovel.

That day had slipped
Karen’s mind until Troy mentioned it. It was the fall of 1996 and they were on
tour for their new album, A
enima.
Karen and Troy were obsessed with the
band, but they were under eighteen and couldn’t go without a legal guardian
present. Penny saw just how badly they wanted to go see the silly rock show, so
she volunteered to take them. All of Penny’s friends thought she was nuts for
taking her seventeen and fifteen year old kids to see a band like
Tool
,
but she did it. That was the kind of woman Penny was. She sat through two hours
of ear shattering racket just to see her two children smile. Penny’s ears rang
for a full week, but she was a hero to her children and that made the pain
worth it.

“She was so miserable.
Napkins jammed into her ears and people trying to mosh with her.” Karen’s
somber voice rose for a moment as she recalled that night.

“That guy offered the three
of us weed and she said, ‘Thank you sir, but we don’t need any marijuana.’ The
look on that guy’s face.” Troy leaned on the shovel’s handle.

“And afterwards she took
us to get pancakes and waffles at IHOP at one in the morning. She yelled her
order to the waitress, because her ears were ringing so badly.” Karen picked up
her shovel.

Troy bowed his head, “She
was an amazing Mama and all she ever wanted was for us to be happy. No matter
what it took she always did her best to show us how much she loved us.”

Karen reached out and took
Troy’s hand. She squeezed it and said, “She was a better Mother than we
deserved and she always said we deserved the best. We should get back inside
soon.” Karen gave her brother’s hand one last tight squeeze and then she forced
her shovel into the soft mound of dirt that sat next to the grave. They both
swelled with tears as they slowly dropped shovels full of dirt down onto their
Mama’s corpse.

Amber sunlight began
trickling over the fence as they placed the last scoops of earth onto the newly
filled plot. As they finished, the sun began to peep over the horizon, just like
Karen thought it would. They had not spoken a word to each other as they
worked. They staggered back into the garage, placed the shovels and lantern
back on the wall and headed inside. 

Karen needed a shower and
a strong cup of coffee. She was covered in dirt and sweat. She felt grimy
everywhere. She drifted like a dust cloud into the kitchen and headed straight
for the coffee maker. She moved like she was on autopilot. She wasn’t thinking,
just moving. Coffee grounds into the paper filter, she added a little extra
just to be on the safe side. This wasn’t the same kind of espresso machine she
was used to at home. She poured in the water and made sure it was a cup or two
light on water. She wanted that coffee to be strong. She hit the delay start
button on the machine. She set it to start brewing in about three hours. Karen
needed to get cleaned up first but she absolutely needed more sleep.

Before parting to hit
separate showers Troy gave his sister a hug. They were too tired for anymore
tears, but she knew it was his way of saying thank you for the help.

Karen headed for the
master bathroom and Troy crept towards the guest bathroom. Penny’s water heater
was a little undersized and now it was a race to see who would get the hot
shower first.

As Karen passed the spare
bedroom. Leon was in there snoring like a yeti.

Lucky bastard! He slept
through all that bullshit!
Karen
wasn’t mad. She was jealous. Jealous of anyone that got a good night of sleep.
She felt the same way when she entered the bedroom and saw her two babies
sleeping. She fumed with jealous rage, but she reeked and was filthy. She
didn’t want to climb into bed that way. She kept moving and headed for the next
best thing. A hot, long, steamy shower.