The Last Infection: A Post Apocalyptic Thriller

The Last Infection

Michael W. Garza

       
1.

There was fear in the little girl’s eyes. Alicen was eight years old and at the moment, the only thing she wanted was not to be eaten. Her older brother Jake had one arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her close. The two kids were held up underneath a truck, their eyes focused on several pairs of feet moving in their direction.

Alicen
and Jake's parents were close, but not close enough to help. The parking garage had several floors, but the Bradley family only made it to the second story before their pursuers caught up to them. The news had called the growing mobs, the infected. Alicen and Jake heard terrible things from school and their friends. Some called the infected, vampires, because they wanted blood. Others called them biters because they chewed through your skin. Jake didn't know what to think. He only wished that he hadn't heard all the stories that were stuck in his head.

"Don't let them get me,"
Alicen whispered.

Jake
gave her as serious a look as he could muster then shook his head. Both kids risked a glance underneath the blue SUV parked three stalls over. Their parent's pleading eyes stared back at them, shifting from the nearing pack of feet back to their children. Their mother was crying with both hands wrapped over her mouth trying to keep the noise from escaping. The horror on her face told the kids all they needed to know.

"I want
mama," Alicen said.

"
Hold on," Jake said. "I told you we have to hide first." He spoke so low, he had to move his lips against her ears before she could hear him. "Please stay quiet."

There was nothing in
Jake's twelve years that prepared him for what was happening. He'd spent the last few weeks terrified, held up in his family home as his parent's tried to figure out what to do. The man on the news promised that they'd find a cure and this would all be over soon. That was three weeks ago. A few days later, the news and every other channel went black. The family stayed in the house for a week without going outside.

"They're getting closer."

The horror in his sister’s words pulled Jake's attention back to the advancing pack of people. He was thankful to only be able to see them from the knees down. The infected had an awful look about them and they made unnatural lurching motions with their arms that scared the heck out of him. He hoped they would give up and move on thinking the family had gone further up in the parking garage. As far as he knew, the infected couldn't smell any better than anyone else.

Jake
counted about a dozen before he stopped. The erratic steps would have given away their nature, but the sporadic growls were an unmistakable sign of what they were. The group moved in a pack, first around a car, then down the lane. They were coming directly toward the kids. The anguish in their parent’s eyes spoke volumes, but there was nothing they could do.

Jake
felt Alicen shake and the violence of it rocked him. He urged her to bury her face in her hands. He didn't want her to see what was coming. He’d witnessed an attack with his dad at the grocery store and the vision of that onslaught clung to him. Two men beat a woman as she tried to get in her car, then before his dad could turn him away, they tore into her, biting at her neck. It scared him more when his dad wouldn't talk about it on the drive home. That was the first time he ever saw his father cry.

The pack was drawing closer and their guttural sounds grew louder. They were only a few cars away when
Alicen raised her head. She looked first at Jake, then over at the nearing group. The shock in her eyes was evident, but Jake couldn't move fast enough to stop the yelp before it escaped her mouth. The infected stopped all at once, then in an excited urge, raced forward.

The kids
heard their mother scream, but it didn't stop Jake from reacting. A moment later, he was out from under the truck, pulling Alicen with him. He heard his father call him, but the full sight of the horde of infected rushing toward him froze his mind with fear. He didn't know what he was doing or where he was going, but he was running. He clutched his sister's hand with all his might and ignored her pulls to break free.

The two kids dashed between cars and trucks, breaking out into an open driveway as they passed row
s of parked vehicles. A ravaging mad score of shrieks and bloodthirsty screeches echoed across the parking garage as the infected neared. Jake’s heart beat wild in his chest. He thought the organ might burst from his body at any moment. He heard Alicen’s panting breath behind him and the weight of her resistance told him she couldn’t keep up for much longer.

He search
ed frantically for any sign of help, but found nothing. He dared not look at their pursuers even as the sound of their shoes smacking the pavement echoed all around them. Alicen cried out with an anguish of dread, inhuman to his ears. He felt his heart seize up as the terror of the moment consumed him all at once. The sound of his father's voice came over the noise in a rush.

"Over here
."

There was a
n abrupt end to the trailing chorus of death. Jake risked a look over his shoulder without stopping to focus on what was going on. He saw a glimpse of his father, jumping up and down several rows away. He was yelling at the top of his lungs, saying things Jake would have been grounded the rest of his life for repeating.

Jake
couldn't see his mother, but he could hear her cries. She was still calling out to her children, begging them to get away. His last sight was the full vision of the infected closing in behind him. The faces of the plague-ridden were as twisted and evil as their twitching limbs. Lifeless gray skin clung to their bodies, hanging over their bones. The bloodstains of their heinous acts covered the remnants of the clothes they wore, which was the only hint to who they were before they lost themselves to the madness. The front of the pack charged for the kids, hollering in some vile call, while the rest turned back for the parents.

"
Run, Alicen, run."

The kids
darted between two cars as the infected leapt over the vehicles after them. Outstretched hands swiped at Jake's head as he urged Alicen to move faster. The volume of screams swallowed them as the mob closed in. Alicen yelled and cried as terror consumed her. Jake was reduced to dragging her until the strength in his arm gave out. He stepped into an open driveway when Alicen's hand jerked free from his grip.

"
Jake!"

The boy turned back and found several bodies diving over a parked car to get at the little girl. One of them had her by the hair, his body lying across the hood of the vehicle.
Sheer panic urged Jake to run, but he found his courage and moved back toward his sister. He grabbed hold of her arm as the first few infected hit the ground and got to their feet.

It was a
female among them who had a hand around the back of Alicen's neck. Only a patchwork of hair remained of the woman’s once long flowing locks. Gouges in her head revealed bloody wounds and fragments of skull. Her mouth was open, showing teeth stained in an amber hue. Her free hand clawed at the little girl’s neck, drawing blood as she leaned in to bite.

Jake
pulled back and threw the first punch of his life he'd ever thrown in anger. His fist caught the woman on the bridge of her nose as she leaned in, and it split the decaying dull skin open in an awful gash. The hit was enough to release her grip and Jake smashed his hand down on the remaining clutched hand, and then pulled his sister away. The rest of the infected mob was on them as he turned to run.

The kids
dashed down the last open driveway between the cars with their pursuers close behind. The edge wall of the parking structure was directly ahead and coming fast. The concrete barricade rose several feet from the floor, leaving the rest of the way up to the ceiling open to the outside air. The moon loomed large in the distance, its light revealing the outline of adjacent buildings. A cool wind whisked through the opening as a reminder of the long cold winter ahead.

A flash of movement pulled the
kid’s attention from the outside view. Their parents were running for their lives on the adjacent driveway between the parked cars. Jake could see his mother was bleeding. Scarlet spots stained her shirt as a fresh flow poured down the side of her head. The boy cried as the weight of the moment pressed on his young mind. His dad urged him to continue running as he slowed, trying to keep his wife moving.

The kids reached the edge of the parking structure and
Jake forced his sister to climb. The infected closed in as he pushed on her backside to get her up on the thin ledge of the barricade. He grabbed hold of the edge, once she was steady, then he jumped and pulled himself up the rest of the way. He sat down on the ledge and discovered the infected only a few feet away. The full ferociousness of their gashing teeth and ripping clutches froze him stiff.

It was a
final yell from his father that shook Jake free. The man rushed between the cars and leapt at the infected, throwing himself at them. The infected turned their attention on him, ripping into his skin. Jake used the time bought from his father's sacrifice to act. He peered over the edge into a dark alleyway, then grabbed his sister and pushed. The girl's shrill scream echoed all the way down until she landed in a dumpster two stories below.

Jake
never looked back for his parents. He knew he would never see them again. He angled himself, slipping his legs over the edge then pushed off. A rush of cold washed over him as the sensation of falling hit the pit of his stomach. The impact was hard, but he couldn't find anything broken.

A quick search revealed
Alicen already out in the alleyway. Jake jumped out and grabbed her hand. The girl’s eyes were swollen and red. Jake pulled her close and forced her to look at him.

"Stay close to me, you hear?" T
he little girl nodded and tightened her grip on his hand. "No matter what, you never let go."

The kids started off toward the street forced to listen to their
parent’s dying screams echoing from up above.

2.

The shifting movement was a dead giveaway.
The sunlight only reached the nooks and crannies of the long abandoned mall. There was never enough light. Staying inside for too long would only ensure an untimely demise. They would either get to you or you’d starved to death, one of them was a sure thing. You had to keep moving and at the moment, Chris was trying to do precisely that.

He swore under his breath. He'd let down his guard and fell asleep in what
was a sporting goods store before the infection. The mistake left him trapped with only one way out into the rest of the mall. The quad outside the entryway was crawling with a group of infected. He'd counted two dozen, but more were coming. Their quick twitching movements identified their infliction at once.

Chris
adjusted his grip on his newly acquired aluminum bat as he readied himself to move. Experience told him that waiting was not an option. In time, they would figure out how to get into the store and he wouldn't survive against a mob of that size. His only chance was to get out in the open and by the sounds of their growing howls, his window of opportunity was shrinking.

The main entrance was a suicidal choice and he knew it. He'd survived this long by thinking outside the box and his next move
needed originality. Chris slid the bat between the pull strings on his backpack and tied it off. He pulled the backpack into place and grabbed hold of the base of the clothing stand he was currently hiding behind. The remaining assortment of Colorado Rockies apparel was the only thing keeping him hidden.

In one quick motion, the clothing stand came off the ground.
Chris rushed forward, trying to keep the metal stand level long enough to accomplish the task he had in mind. He rushed the tall window furthest from the store's entrance and with one final thrust, he pushed it toward the glass. Chris felt the impact through a fierce vibration in his hands and the blow nearly knocked him off his feet. To his shocked horror, the window splintered, but didn't break. The sound, however, drew all of the attention of the infected in the quad directly toward him.

"Crap
."

Chris
didn't consider his options. He managed to lift the stand up and rush forward. The metal tip hit the center of the pane of glass, this time breaking through with a resounding,
crash
. He dropped his makeshift lance, dashed through window, and picked up speed as he headed towards the escalators beyond the quad. The erupting sound of blood curdling cries echoed across the long vacant shopping center as the infected rushed after him.

Chris
risked a look over his shoulder and discovered his initial head count was woefully low. The mob rushed after him in a loose gaggle, their sole focus on his beating heart. The clothing that once defined their place in life now clung in various states of disrepair, most stained with blood that hinted at a hellacious end. It was the blood they craved, that much everyone was sure, but it was the why and the how that was never answered before the breakdown came.

The infected were fast, not like the zombies they became after death. The speed made them truly terrifying. Chris could out run a horde of undead
, but the infected was a whole other matter. The infected were still technically alive and they retained their physical attributes as long as they fed. If the government discovered how or why the transformation happened, it never made it out into the public before everything went dark.

F
lipped tables and broken chairs littered the food court. The smell of rotted produce permeated everything. The cages covering the food stalls were bent and battered from when the first of the rioters broke in. The stench of the dead was all around. Similar gathering places had been a feeding ground for the first of the infected when the breakout started. Those who could still control themselves in the first stages of the disease willingly sought out the blood of others.

Chris dodged
the clutter as his eyes swept across the way ahead. He would have to make it to the first floor and the escalator he climbed upon his arrival was the closest option. He didn’t know what would be waiting for him at the bottom. The sounds reverberating through the open space told him all he needed to know about his pursuers. They were gaining on him.

H
e would have been furious with himself if he had the time to think about it. He’d survived on his own for eight long months and most of that time with little or no help from anyone else. No one made it that long by making mistakes. The only reason he was in the mall in the first place was thanks to a habit he’d been forced to kick. At least he thought he’d kicked it.

The guy who used to manage the sporting goods store turned Chris on to a dealer. Why in the hell he thought the guy would still be held up
in the store was beyond him. Addiction was a funny thing. He’d run out of smack three months after everything went to hell. Detoxing alone in the basement of an apartment building was enough to make him want to die. Now that he was clean, dying was something he wanted to avoid.

His legs
cramped and his lungs burnt. He hadn’t eaten much in two days and the strain on his body was showing in his strength. Long shadows of the infected reached out along the walls around him. They were close now and he didn’t have the energy to push himself to move faster. The sounds of their blood lustful shrieks were replaced by their panting breath. They were right on top of him and he knew it.

The way ahead parted and a glimpse at freedom revealed itself. The escalator had long lost the power to move
, but it offered a chance to reach the first floor. The hint of escape was short lived as a powerful grip took hold of his backpack. Chris was nearly brought to a standstill.

He made one last attempt to
get away and drove his feet into the ground. Chris spun his body, sliding his arms out of the backpack straps as he turned. He managed to catch the bat midair, and then pull free. He was running again, the sight of the infected fresh in his mind. There were more of them than he had ever seen at once and his heart raced as panic took full control of his mind.

Chris
took a giant leap and landed on the divider between the escalators. A few unsteady steps forced him to sit and try to slide the rest of the way down. He reached the midway point when the figures at the bottom of the escalators came into view. Their arms slashed violently in every direction as their senses picked up on him. There were two infected, both women made obvious by their exposed chests. Gashes from ripping fingers left an opening in one's mid-section and the other looked to have lost most of the tissue around her jaw.

They
ran directly at him. Chris reached the bottom and leapt from the base of the escalator's divider. His momentum angled him over the outstretched hands of his welcoming party, but the fall beyond slammed him into a bench. The impact knocked the wind out of him, but he had the presence of mind to keep moving. A strong grip took hold of his shirt from behind, and instinctually, he turned, swinging the bat with vicious intent. A quick smash broke the limb at the forearm, but the jawless woman took little notice of the pain. Her eyes were covered with the haunting jaundice shade of the infection and she would not be denied her meal.

A
deafening roar of bloody desire raced down the escalator as the crowd of trailing infected poured downstairs. Chris brushed the broken arm aside and sent his heel to the center of the woman’s chest. He made contact between her exposed breasts and the bone buckled. Her howls were reduced to gargling drool as she collapsed. The second woman stepped on her fallen companion’s face as she lunged at Chris. He caught her with her feet off the ground, hitting her square in the nose with his fist. Blood splattered as her face was reduced to a broken mess.

Chris
focused on the corridor leading away from the atrium. A breeze hit him in the face, promising a way out. He reached another descending set of stairs before he realized where he was. The main exit to the mall, as best he could remember, was not far away and the sounds of the throng chasing after him didn't give a moment to spare.

H
e started for the exit as the wave of infected reached the top of the stairs behind him. He kept his bat at the ready until he reached the boarded glass doors. Chris wiggled his way between the barricaded exits, then edged underneath the chain lock he'd avoided on the way in. The sunlight hit him full force as the heat of a clear Denver day engulfed him. The massive parking lot beyond the entrance was riddled with lifeless cars.

Chris
caught a sound in the air in between the howls of the infected rushing for the doors behind him. The moans of the walking dead were clear to his trained ears. Any infected not disposed of properly would end up among the scattered shambles moving toward the mall entrance in between the rows of vehicles. They moved with slow purposeful steps. Their wretched wails brought with it an engrained terror. Chris kept moving. He’d survived the morning, but there was no promise, he’d live to see tomorrow.