The Last Infection: A Post Apocalyptic Thriller (12 page)

“We have to
go now,” Jafar said.

Chris looked over at the crumpled
chunk of metal that used to be a truck. He realized he’d lost the shotgun somewhere in his desperate attempt to get to safety, but Jafar didn’t look willing to let him go back for a look.

“We need to get to the highway,”
Chris said, as he started off after him.

Jafar paused for one look back.

“Then let’s go.”

13.

Jenn’s eyes were locked on the field. She was lying prone with one arm around
Alicen and the other around Jake. Sarah and Michael were following some distance behind them, but she was too scared to look back to see if they were still there. They had all run out into the field after the initial wave of gunfire. In a panic, they had pushed into the woods across from the hidden tunnel exit.

It was only after the first frantic
wave of fire that they realized they were separated from the other survivors. The shooting continued for several minutes and Jenn tried to keep it behind them. She ran out of rounds in the fray and dropped her pistol somewhere in the woods. They headed west and that’s when the screams rose above everything else. They were out from under the tree coverage before Jenn realized what they had done.

Jake first spotted the dead
out in the valley. A long line of them erupted from the distant trees in a wall of rotted flesh. They watched a host of the survivors get surrounded before a large group of zombies broke away and turned in their direction. Stricken with terror, Jenn fell to the ground, dragging Jake and Alicen down with her.

“I can’t see anything.”

There was a desperate dread in Jake’s whispered words. It was difficult to see through the tall grass and Jenn was forced to peek at the state of their surroundings. Slowly, she lifted her head, holding her breath as she went. A shifting movement directly out in front of them grabbed her. The lumbering steps gave away the walker.

There was a break in the wind and a slow guttural moan carried across the tops of the grass. Shifting figures caught Jenn’s eyes to the right and left and she knew the dead were all around them. The moans joined in a sick chorus th
at brought a shiver to her spine. It took all her willpower to keep from jumping up and running.

She lowered her head close to the ground and her eyes went from Jake to
Alicen. Tears streamed down the little girl’s cheeks as she kept the side of her face buried in the dirt. Jenn prayed she wouldn’t cry out. She faked a smile and adjusted her grip on Alicen’s arm. Jenn turned her head back to Jake as a shadow swept across her face. The boy’s eyes widened.

Jenn felt Jake’s heart beating against
her arm. She took hold of his shirt and tightened her grip, silently begging him not to move. She’d had plenty of close contact with the dead and experience told her that they hunted by sight alone. The moaning continued, but never rose to the lustful calls that came with a feeding rage.

The shadows shifted
again, but Jenn never moved. She managed to keep both kids still. It was long after the moaning faded that she finally risked another look. The figures were gone. There was no sign of the dead behind them and only the mass of feeders in the south devouring the lost survivors. Sarah and Michael were close, both looking up through the grass at her.

Jenn didn’t say a word. She pulled at the kids and motioned for Sarah to follow. The group
ran together and kept it up as long as their legs would carry them. They were forced to rest only once when Alicen collapsed, but they managed to reach the trees across the valley with no signs of being followed. Jake lurched up on his tiptoes and vomited the moment they stopped. He nearly collapsed before Michael grabbed hold of him and kept him up.

“I’m al
l right,” he said and jerked his arm away.

Jenn gave them a few minutes to
catch their breath. The moment of clarity gave her time to consider what they were doing.

“We have to get back out on the highway.”

Sarah had her hands on her knees trying to take in as much air as she could get. “This is our home,” she said between gulps.

Jenn didn’t have time to argue. She was willing to leave Sarah and Michael behind
, but she was certain there was nothing here for them. She took a deep breath and locked eyes with Sarah.

“Your home is gone.”

The weight of the statement didn’t hit Jenn until she said it out loud. Sarah started to reply, but her mouth slammed shut. She looked at her son then back at Jenn. It was only then that the woman’s age showed through her tough exterior. She wiped the frayed ends of her graying hair out of her eyes.

“It’s all we know,
” she said, then reached out for her son and wrapped her arms around his neck. “It’s all we’ve ever known.”

Jake leaned into
Jenn, making sure no one could hear him. “I don’t think she’s going to make it.” Jenn looked at him for further explanation. “She’s going to slow us down.”

Jenn drew back
astonished by the boy’s comment. She was stunned by the callousness of his words. “This is what we’re going to do,” she said loud enough for everyone to hear. Jenn stepped into the center of the loosely gathered circle. “We’re going to find some transportation, and then we’re going to get the hell out of here.” She focused on Sarah and the older woman nodded. “We have to survive, nothing else matters.”

The pep talk was enough to pull everyone in line. Jenn started walking and she hoped
Sarah could keep it together long enough for them to get safely away. Michael sped up his pace and took the lead. He assured Jenn that he could get them back to Dumont. It was the last place Jenn wanted to be, but she figured it was the only place they could find a working vehicle.

It was afternoon when Michael slowed the group. The sparse woods opened up ahead. Jenn’s eyes were on
him as he cautiously made his way back between the trees. His whisper was enough to relay the danger ahead.

“Ferry Road is right out there.” He took a few deep breaths then nervously peered over his shoulder before continuing. “
Dumont is about a quarter mile south of here.”

“We can’t just walk back there,” Jake asserted.

Jenn shushed the boy and received a scornful scowl for it. “Can’t you get us around it?” she asked. “Can you bring us out closer to the highway?”

Michael considered it then fin
ally nodded. “I can, but it will take some time. Don’t you think Mr. Walker and his men will take the highway back?”

Jenn knew he was right. If they kept to the trees and continued
south, they’d run the risk of running into him.

“Maybe we don’t have to.” Sarah’s comment pulled all eye
s to her. She was mid-thought trying to figure something out. “In the mornings, I part time at the high school,” she stopped herself, “I did, that is.”

Jenn was hoping there was a useful point to the story and her face show
ed it.

“So anyway,” Sarah continued. “They have buses, a whole bunch of them. If we could get our hands on one of
them, we’d have ourselves a makeshift RV.”

Jenn’s mind sparked to life. “That’s perfect. What are the chances they’re still there?”

“Pretty good,” Michael said. “A group of us were out hunting near the school a few weeks ago and I saw a few still parked out in the lot.”

Jenn knew it was a gamble. There was no guarantee the
buses would run. There was an even better chance the fuel had been taken months ago.

“How far?”

“It’s off the highway,” Michael said. “Further west of Dumont. We could cross here and avoid the town altogether.”

There was little
to debate. Michael led them to the edge of the woods then kept still for a long time. He seemed unwilling to go any further and Jenn had take control of the situation. The destination on the other side of the road was further than it first appeared.

Jenn went
ahead without saying a word. She was in the middle of the road when the sound of a roaring engine came barreling toward her. She didn’t look for what was coming. Jenn pressed herself, moving faster than she ever thought possible. She reached the trees on the other side of the clearing and leapt for cover, landing face first with a hard thud.

She was up on a knee behind a tree when the heavy truck pulled into view. The vehicle was bearing down the road at a high speed
and a group of figures stood out from the bed of the truck. It raced by and only then did the truth of the passengers become apparent. A make shift corral surround the bed. A dozen or so zombies clawed at the cab trying to get through the glass at the driver and passenger. The vehicle was gone a moment later and the details lost.

The sudden appearance of the truck increased the hesitation of the others to cross the open space. Sarah went next
, followed closely by the kids. Jake could only convince Alicen to run if he held her hand the entire way. Michael went last, bringing the group together safely on the other side. He continued to lead the way with Jenn at his side.

They
walked in silence for more than an hour. The tree coverage grew sparser the further south they went and the fear of the dead increased. Several times, Michael brought them to a stop and urged them to get down. Shadowy figures moved between the trees in the distance, some walking alone while others moved in packs. Their mindless fumbling identified them and the moans echoing beneath the canopy of limbs confirmed it.

Jenn checked her watch. There were only a few hours until sundown.
They would have to find somewhere to hold up before the infected were free to hunt. The thought of it brought a frightening question to her mind. Where was the infected hiding? That question lingered as Michael pushed them to move faster. The overhead coverage broke and the heat of the day was gone. Sunlight crisscrossed a dilapidated football field, as long shadows stretched across the fifty yard line. Michael looked to Jenn and pointed at a sizable building beyond the field.

“That’
s the gym,” he said. “The main school buildings are on the other side of it.”

Jenn scanned the open space on either side of the building. The highway stretched to the east and west as far as she could see. There was no sign of trouble in either direction.

“Do we have to go in there?” Sarah asked.

Jenn studied the gym as if the
walls might offer some answers.

“I doubt the buses have keys in them.”

Jakes ears perked up.

“Let’s at least chec
k before we risk going inside,” he said.

Jenn knew he had a point. They didn’t have much to defend themselves with and the thought of
a close quarter fight wasn’t appealing. They moved across the football field with all eyes on the highway. There was no guarantee that Mr. Walker and a group of his men wouldn’t come barreling down from the east at any moment.

M
ichael gave up his lead position when their backs pressed against the gymnasium wall. Jenn poked her head out around the corner of the building and discovered two things almost immediately. A pair of long, yellow buses sat motionless in the parking lot in front of the main building and the double door entrance to the high school was half the distance to the lot. She motioned for the others to stay put. She was halfway down the side of the gym before she realized Jake was following her. She tried to shoo him away, but his expression told her he wasn’t going to listen.

Three heads poked out
from the corner of the gym waiting for a signal. Jenn gave up trying to go it alone and instead grabbed Jake and pulled him to her hip. “Stay close,” she said, to which Jake rolled his eyes. They reached the opposite edge of the gym and Jenn looked out at a sidewalk between it and the main building. She felt Jake’s grip tighten on her sleeve and knew his machismo was more for show than anything else.

The double doors were barred from the inside. There was a chain around the interior handles
, but the broken glass panels showed a lack of planning in the defensive strategy. The dried blood splattered across the sidewalk gave a hint as to who eventually won the battle. Jenn checked both directions, and then pulled at Jake as the two sprinted past the main doors and on to the parking lot.

The lot was empty
except for the buses and Jenn wasted no time heading directly for them. The bus closest to the building was stained all along its side with smears of blood dotted with handprints. The stains covered the side panel from the bumper to the sliding door. A thumping sound from inside the bus caused Jenn to freeze mid-step.

S
he put her finger to her lips and urged Jake to walk around the rear of the bus. They stopped behind the vehicle and peered through the emergency door window. There was no sign of movement, but there was no way to be sure. Jenn tiptoed along the outside of the adjacent bus then around the front. She felt Jake pull at her shirt, and then followed his terrified eyes to the driver’s side window of the first vehicle.

The driver had apparently been in a rush, never having time to take off his seatbelt. He grasped the steering wheel, pointlessly sliding his hands back and forth. His once pressed collar
ed shirt was stained with a thick blue-black color no doubt from the blood drained from his face. His cheeks were missing and only the violet scars of muscle and tissue remained. His one eye stared out through a socket void of skin and deep gauges revealed his skull in some places and half-eaten brains in others.

Jenn stepped between the buses and tried to ignore the driver as he caught sight of her and slammed his hands against the window.
She pushed open the adjacent buses door with help from Jake and leapt up to the driver’s seat. She glanced back at the seats as the boy stepped up, but nothing moved. Jake’s voice shocked her as it broke the quiet.