The Orphans (Book 2): Surviving the Turned (10 page)

Walt jumped back a foot, tripping and landing on his ass when the head that looked like it just wanted a peek began using its skull as a battering ram. One, two, three times, and the cheap glass started to splinter and spider web its way further out. Then the rest followed the head banger’s example. With every crack of their skulls on the window, it turned red. The reddish-black streaks made their way throughout the glass in sloppy lines. Walt scrambled over and collected his shotgun from where it fell just as one managed to break its face all the way through. He saw the skin rip from the man's head after the glass sliced it away, but this did not hinder the man.

              Walt mouthed, “Mother of God,” and pulled back the hammers, wishing he had a machine gun instead of a damn double-barrel shotgun. He aimed at the man and forgetting what teenage boy had said, pulled the trigger sending two barrels’ worth of buckshot into the man’s chest. He disappeared instantly from the window. Walt lay on his back for a moment trying to breathe and trying to keep from having his third heart attack; he rubbed his chest, hoping the pain would stop. He thought about his weapon and the fact that he had just used the only two shots he’d brought downstairs with him, as he’d neglected to bring reloads… or for that matter, pants and shoes.

The man who had disappeared came crashing through the window. Walt was already pushing off the ground to head back to the one bedroom apartment he kept for himself when a drinking binge was about to take place; with shotgun in hand, he ran up the steps for everything he was worth. He slammed the wood door that connected the office to his loft and an insistent pounding began. He said, “Oh, for the love of God. When will I learn to listen… when will I learn to listen? That damn kid was telling me everything I needed to know, and what do I do? I ring the fucking dinner bell!”

He ran to the kitchen where he kept his extra shotgun shells and slid one in each barrel. He sloppily pulled on a pair of Levi’s and slid all the extra shells he had into his pockets. He sat watching the door, praying that the evil on the opposite side would stop its constant threat of trying to get in. His prayers would go unanswered that day. As the door burst open, a group straight out of hell raced through the door, followed by more running up the stairs, falling over each other to be the first to the man who was quite the prize to be had. He fired off two shots, taking out four of them. He opened the gun a second time, letting the two spent shells fly to wherever they might land. His building, unlike others, was not equipped with a ladder; he went to the third short flight of steps and ran, pushing out the door to the roof. Once there, he looked for anything he could use to keep the door secure and was rewarded with nothing. “Shit, what do I do now?”

He ran to the edge of the building. The mob that had been at Bynum’s Hardware Store was now in front of his car dealership. He looked back at the heavy steel door as it exploded open. His eyes grew wide, and as his life flashed before his eyes, only regrets came to mind—and too many bottles of amber-colored drinks.

Walt saw five of them coming for him. He did the sign of the cross, put the shotgun up to his mouth, and pulled the trigger. It clicked empty. He forgot to replace the shells. Realization of what his immediate future held set in. “Oh my god! What have I done?”

He was standing on the edge, trying to get two shells out of his pocket when a shirtless man who was missing half of his chest came running toward Walt. Walt closed his eyes, not wanting to find out what they were going to do to him once the inevitable happened. He spread his arms, dropping the gun and fell backward off of the building. The Turned, who had been licking his lips watching him, ran for everything he was worth leaping off of the building, arms out, and catching up to Walt one story down. The vicious bite he tore out of Walt’s neck created a geyser of blood that sprayed across the street and onto the Turned below. When they saw the blood coming their way, they opened their mouths wide for a drink of what they craved so badly.

Walt landed hard on the ground. The Turned who had been eating him landed headfirst, cracking his skull so badly that it put him out of his misery. The others ran for the fresh meal, picking up the Turned and throwing him far out of the way, as he was no longer a fellow feeder. The ones on the roof jumped out of frustration to get a taste of Walt. They landed breaking their legs, their arms, and in some cases spines. These bled on the ground, leaving a trail as they pulled themselves hand over hand toward the buffet

*****

Shaun pounded on the back window of the truck and Ellie slid it open. Shaun passed what gear was in the truck and then slid into the rear seat himself. “I really wish that old guy would have listened to me. He hasn’t a clue what he is in for, I’m telling you. “

Tina replied, “Well, it isn’t like there was a lot of choice in the matter. Imagine going to sleep, thinking all is well and waking up to this. What can you do? How do you convince them of something like that?”

“I know; I’m not disagreeing with you, but those things didn’t have a clue that he was in there until we were screwing around, stealing one of his cars.”

Ellie turned around to look at him. “Shaun, there’s nothing that we can do about it now, like nothing, nada. He’s probably dead. If he’d have listened to you or not been threatening to shoot the two of us, then maybe he’d be sitting in the back seat with us. Instead, he’s stuck at his place hopefully locked down tight.”

Shaun sat back in his seat as they drove the highway out of town, thinking of the man and thinking that if they were going to survive, they needed to stay ahead of the Turned and couldn’t put themselves in compromising positions like that again; it had been too close. He thought of the help he figured would be coming for the townspeople, but nothing has happened yet, one day into it. He didn’t want to go back to town for a very long time. He was debating two options; one was to spend the summer making sure that everyone who decided to stay at the cabin was capable of shooting the guns in their sleep. The second was to pack everything and make a break for somewhere.
Anywhere would have to be better than here,
he thought.

They drove down the highway, navigating again through the abandoned cars. Tina turned the final left turn of the short drive. The clearing where they needed to park the car was only a quarter mile down the road. Tina pulled the truck over and parked it. “Remember, we got medicine and some of Patrick’s things while we were there, but we absolutely did not see anyone in his house. He won’t need any help feeling worse about being the only survivor of his family.”

Ellie laughed. “So we’re gonna start keeping secrets this early in our little dysfunctional family?”

Shaun thought about what each of them said and realized Tina had a valid and good point. “She’s right. There isn’t anything to be gained from it. If he decides he wants to go back to his house that badly then we will simply break it to him. The way I see it, if we only end up with one or two skeletons in our closet we’re doing okay. Besides, we already talked about this.”

Ellie shrugged. “The more I had time to think about it, the more I think it’s a bad idea and I don’t like it at all.”

Shaun laid his head back on his seat. He was exhausted from the number of times they could have died already and it was early in the day still. Shaun thought about his dad telling Ellie what had happened the day before and he barely whispered the thought out loud. “Ellie, just think of how you felt when Dad told you about your mom. No one needs to go through that twice. You don’t have to like it, but there isn’t any middle ground; we tell or we don’t. Is it that important to tell a guy who is already sick that we had to take out his once cute baby sister who Turned and ate their mother?”

Ellie rested her head on the window. Her tears made their way down her cheeks. She thought about how she had felt yesterday, and the chunk of her heart Frank had ripped from her when he told her that her mother had gotten infected and that she was already gone, taken by those things. Frank had not mentioned to any of them that he had developed the drug that would change the world forever. She wiped at her face and nose. “I can’t think of any good reason. I guess it’s better that at least we discuss things, right?”

Shaun was quick to come back with, “Dad said people had to earn trust; you, Tina, and Greg have done that already. If we want to make decisions about things, then it’s between us. The other three were just lucky people who got saved. They can be happy to be here until help comes or we are forced to move on.”

Chapter
8: Discoveries

Greg and Kristy left the cabin, both already feeling stir-crazy. They had found a hand-crank electric radio and decided they could take it out and see if there were any updates being made. Mike and Patrick decided to stay at the cabin. Patrick didn’t look like he was up for a hike just yet, especially until he knew if more of his medicine was on its way or not. Mike said he would be okay staying with him, and when the two left the cabin, the boys were already getting a pack of cards out and starting a game to try to keep their minds off of things.

Greg took his rifle and a bag of ammunition with them for good measure, and after a short walk, they were at one of the highest points in the area that they could find. They thought that it would serve perfectly to rest for a while and see if there was any type of news coming from the outside.

              Greg placed the radio on one of the military blankets from their stash. Greg was thinking of that old guy Andy, and how there wasn’t much that he had forgotten when he was setting them up. He thought that if this whole thing worked out, maybe they needed to stop by and see if he was doing okay. If he was still around, it might be a good idea to find a way to get him up to the cabin where he could be safe.

Kristy followed the directions from the box. She spun the hand crank, charging it up and waited for a light to come on. “Greg, do you think that we're going to hear anything?”

“Hell if I know, but that cabin isn't good for anything but to sleep in. With all these people, I’m going to be spending as much time outdoors as possible, I think.”

Kristy thought about it, thinking how there weren’t enough beds to go around and wondering what other issues with space and privacy were going to be coming up. “You know, I’m almost as scared to hear something as I am not to. I mean, what if there isn’t good news? What if it’s worse news?”

“You know, it might sound dumb, but if I can hear any news I’d like to know. I feel like we are just sitting in the dark right now. I think having to sit and think and contemplate what's going on down there, especially with three of us down there, is making it even more difficult, if you know what I mean.”

Greg flipped the power switch on the radio and a small light glowed as it came to life. Greg spun the hand crank a few more times and adjusted a few knobs in order to fine-tune the signal coming in until it showed it was going strong. He stopped moving it around when he heard the beep of the emergency broadcast channel coming across loud and clear.

              Kristy squeaked, almost knocking Greg off balance, gripping his arm. It was apparent to Greg that she was more hopeful about the thought that someone might be on the other end than she had let on. A beep came again, holding steady for a moment until a man’s voice said, “
Good evening from the White House. There is an emergency message; please stay tuned to the emergency broadcast channel. We will have an announcement from the head of The Center for Disease Control shortly.”

Greg and Kristy stared at each other, feeling more hopeful that at least there was going to be some news. They were happy to confirm that there were other humans besides themselves still alive. Kristy said, “Well, maybe this means that, you know, the entire country hasn’t been taken over.”

The soft voice of a woman came on air.
“Please know this is not a test. This warning may very well save your life or the life of someone you know. Yesterday, at approximately 1200 hours, the CDC received reports of several infected individuals from a hospital in Des Moines, Iowa. The names of these individuals have not been released. Our current understanding is that the city has been taken over by the increasingly growing number of infected citizens. Early estimates are that approximately 85% of the Midwest has been affected by this unidentified disease.

“Reports from the Des Moines hospital advised that they only know of two ways which the disease can be spread. The first is through contact with contaminated blood. The second known method of transmission is through a bite wound from one of the infected. If you come across someone who appears to be infected, keep your distance; do not attempt to approach or help them. Bleeding from the eyes as well as a bite mark on the arm are indicators that an individual is likely infected. They have bouts of comas, heavy breathing, and appear not to recognize even close friends and family.

“Stay indoors if you have supplies. Again, do not attempt to help the infected. The spread of the infection has been the heaviest in the following states: Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, and Arkansas.
The number of impacted areas is expected to increase as the infection spreads via evacuees who are unknowingly carriers of the pathogen.
The military is doing everything in their power to maintain borders, but they are failing.

“Be aware of the following symptoms: bleeding from the eyes, missing skin from the arms, heavy breathing, confusion, and short-term comas. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, please stay away from others, as this is highly contagious. If you or anybody you know is experiencing any of these symptoms, contact state or federal agencies immediately, and do
not
attempt to travel. The CDC is doing everything in its power to find the source of the infection, contain it, and develop a cure.

“The CDC will report any additional information as it is received.”

Greg reached up, turned the radio off, and rested against the tree. Kristy said, “So do you feel any better now?”

Greg shook his head. “No. I think I feel even more isolated now, if that is even a possibility. I mean, think about it. They just said they want to find a cure. They also said they don’t know shit about it other than the symptoms. How can they cure something that they don’t know anything about it yet?”

Kristy said, “But maybe someone in Iowa has some answers for them. Maybe they’ll get it to the CDC.”

“Yeah, but how? The Army is closing off roadways, and we won’t be able to get anywhere. I’m sure the skies are closed and an F-16 is probably up there ready to blow upf someone who tries to make a flight out.”

“So you’re saying that you don’t want to even try and get out of here? You just want to give up and stay here until someone comes and tries to save us?
”

“What I’m saying is that maybe there isn’t much else we can do. They said that they want to know about the disease, meaning they don’t know shit yet. Unfortunately, they probably aren’t going to find anyone who does if only 15% of the population doesn’t get infected. Even better chance that the person who made it is either already Turned or dead.”

“Geez, you think if I went and got a puppy you could shoot it for me, Mr. Positive?”

“I’m just saying the chances that we can do anything about this are slim to none and it might be best to just hold tight up here until the news can get us some more information.”

“Did I hear it right? That they’re looking for a cure?”

Greg sighed as he nodded his head. “Well, it did just happened yesterday. They are asking people publicly to help look for answers.”

“Where would we even start to look for the cure or for any information?”

Greg laughed. “I don’t think that they were talking about teenagers helping. They were talking about adults, like police, medics, doctors, or anyone who might have been around the original outbreak… if they are still alive, of course.”

“It sounds like they need to send some people in to Des Moines, but if almost 8 out of every 10 people you see are going to hunt you down and try to eat you, what are the chances anyone would come out alive?”

Greg lay back on the blanket and stared up at the blue sky, wishing they could do something to help and feeling even more trapped in the hills because of it. “Those odds suck.”

“I wonder how much longer they are going to be gone. Do you think that they got his medicine?”

Greg rolled on a shoulder nodding his head. “Yeah, Shaun’s not a quitter; he won’t come back without it. If he says he can do something, he is going to do it. I’m surprised they aren’t back yet.”

“Yeah, I figured it’d be pretty quick in and out and back. What do we do if they stay gone much longer?”

“Well, considering they took the only vehicle, I’d say we do some walking. Maybe we can get to the highway and take one of the vehicles that were abandoned.”

“Do you really think that is safe?”

“Hell no, but if I was out there and needed help, they’d do the same for me.”

“So the four of you are pretty close then.”

Greg laughed sitting back up as he thought about the last year. “Yeah, you know, they probably are about the closest group of friends I’ve ever had. We all kind of met during detention.”

“Oh, so you are all trouble makers then.”

Greg winked and gave a troublemakers smile at her. “I’m the only degenerate out of the group. I’m just a bad influence on the rest of them.”

“Funny, I kind of thought Ellie and Shaun might be the troublemakers out of the group. I heard that story about her kicking that kid in the balls a while back, and Shaun got in trouble for fighting during the middle of the school day.”

Greg laughed, remembering how nervous Shaun was in detention that day and how worried he was about his dad coming to the school to pick him up. “They’re all right. He was sticking up for Ellie. That’s the day we all got to know each other.”

“Wow. He must really like Ellie if he took on those guys for her.”

“Yep, they’re pretty close.”

“Close like dating, or like friends?”
              Greg put out a hand waving it side to side. “I don’t know. It’s hard to gauge with them. They tried starting something, but it was over just as fast as it had started. Kind of sucked. They’d been so close to dating for a while, and then when they tried, the next day Ellie found out about her mom getting diagnosed with cancer. That was the end of that.”

Kristy nodded her head, not sure what to say. She started breaking a twig apart into pieces. Greg patted her on the back. “It’s all right. She’s gone now, anyway.”

“From the cancer?”

“From those things. She didn’t have much time left. She was losing her fight. Shaun’s dad was trying to cure her, but he just didn’t have enough time.”

Kristy sat up a little more straight. “What do you mean that he was trying to cure her?”

“Yeah, he was like a chemist or something. He worked at E&T.”

Kristy hung her head for a moment, thinking. Then she looked at Greg and asked, “Do you think it’s possible that he was the one responsible?”

“For what?”

“For everything.”

“Why would you think it was him?”

“He went to Des Moines and then the outbreak hit, right?”

“I doubt it. I’m sure that Shaun would know if he did or didn’t come up with the cure.”

“Well, I think…”

Crack, crack
.

Greg held up a hand and whispered, “Be quiet. What the hell was that?”

“It’s probably just a squirrel or a deer.”

“Yeah, or maybe it’s just a zombie that wants to eat us.”

Greg got to his feet, gripping his rifle with both hands and aiming it toward the noise. The crunch and crackling of twigs and branches underfoot were getting louder and closer with each step. Greg’s heart was pounding in his chest. Kristy joined Greg, painting herself on his back. Greg hated himself for saying it aloud, but he said, “As much as I like this, I need you to back up a foot or two. If I need to fire this thing, you’ll not want to be directly behind me with the kick of the rifle.”

She hadn't realized how close she was to Greg, and her cheeks turned red. “Oh, sorry about that. I didn’t mean to, um, well...”

Greg said, “No worries, but we need to be quiet.”

Greg watched, looking down the hill, waiting to see what it was—if it was friendly or not. He was aiming where he looked, and when he saw three figures moving at a good pace through the woods, he realized that they had returned. He let out a deep breath, glad to see them and to know the horrible thoughts he kept having had not happened to them. Ellie saw them and yelled, “Hey! We’re back!”

She saw the rifle and said, “Geez could I have just one more gun pointed in my direction today?”

Greg cupped his hands, yelling down the hill, “I thought you guys were, well, you know… one of those things. I almost took the three of you out.”

Shaun looked up the hill towards them. “Do we look that bad?”

Greg slung the rifle on his shoulder and shook his head. He hollered back with a smile, “No, just you, Shaun.”

Kristy folded the blanket, handed it to Greg, and she carried the radio. They walked down the hill, meeting up with the three. Kristy asked, “So, how was it down there?”

Shaun answered her, “Town’s not looking so hot.”

Ellie said, “Yeah and the van broke down and we were trapped in a hardware store and we had to steal a truck and a guy was going to shoot the two of us but they—”

Greg broke in. “Wait, wait wait wait wait, slow down. Now, what are you talking about? Who tried to shoot you? Why did you go to a hardware store?”

Tina said, “So, we got the drugs for Patrick and headed through the center of town to see what was happening; those things are everywhere. We were going to leave and head back and just as we were ready to head out, the damn van died.”