The Reaper Virus (Novella): Sarcophagus (10 page)

Chapter Eighteen

A steady
trickle of corpses somersaulted off the highway bridge for close to an hour.
Much to the dismay of those huddled within the barricaded bus; the horde had
ample volunteers to replace any fallen drones. The mystery man camped on the
railroad tracks extinguished his light and stopped moving after his companion
was committed to the rapids. Jessica couldn’t tell if he was alive or dead.
Whatever the case, his stillness eventually removed him from the focus of the
undead. All efforts again turned to the bus, a target too large to be
forgotten.

It was so
dark inside the cabin. Exhaustion was extreme yet sleep proved to be
unattainable. The siege broadcasted far beyond the bounds of the bridge. Every
bang from a decaying fist served as an invitation to others. A swarm of hellish
minions came from all sides. They surrounded the horizontal monolith like
concertgoers crowding a stage. As the hours passed, bodies piled up like steps
getting closer and closer to the raised bus windows.

The
ferocity of the attack was unrelenting. Some clung to their faith while staring
into a sea of evil. “God hasn’t forsaken us. There is a reason to all things,”
muttered the woman from New York.”

A man two
rows behind her had different thoughts, “how the fuck do you figure
?!
Have you looked outside? There is
no
God here.” His comments didn’t receive any rebuttal. The future
had cast a shadow on their outlook that even faith could not escape. Weakness
prevailed in bodies unaccustomed to rationing.

Someone
asked, “
can
we hit the gas? I mean…. this bus is
enormous. Who’s to say we can’t push through the parked cars and the crowd?
Maybe we can at least get off the bridge to make a run for it.”

The
second runner stood shaking his head, “Frank said that wouldn’t work. The cars
don’t have enough room to move for an opening. If we weren’t on the bridge then
it might.”

“Who
cares what Frank thought
?!
” Yelled a man in the middle
passenger side, “we’ve got nothing to lose at this point.”

Scattered
voices simultaneously tried to speak over the unending racket outside. Finally
the first runner shouted for attention, “NO! Shut up already. What happened to
trying to make them forget about us? You all are making them want to tear in
here more than ever….” They quieted down so he too lowered his voice, “we can’t
plow through the parked cars. Frank knew this, which is why he didn’t think to
leave us the keys. I saw them clipped to his belt when we went out for
supplies. Fact of the matter is that we’re not going anywhere. We also can’t
assume that anyone is coming to help us. Now is the time we prepare to help
ourselves.”

A woman
asked, “What should we do?”

He got
quiet, searching for answers to a question with no happy answer. Then he tried
to sound strong for them, “I don’t know… pretty sure we’ll need to find some
weapons.”

Another
moment of tense silence passed before the man near the bathrooms commented,
“everything we had was lost this afternoon. Unless someone is holding out,
we’ve got nothing.”

“I know
we can make it. We’re strong people. Use your shoes, your fists, and your feet.
Anything you can. The sun will rise in less than four hours. With some daylight
I’m sure we can find a way to get out,” the runner spoke as if he was trying to
convince himself at the same time.

Fate
exercised its cruel timing then as a groan from warping metal punctuated
their
planning. The metal frame of the entrance flexed under
the constant barrage of pressure from the outside. All conversation ceased.
They listened in sheer terror to see if their fears were coming to fruition.

A sharp
ticking noise took over where the howling steel left off. In response the antsy
flashlight-toting woman illuminated the front of the bus. It showed the
petrified onlookers a growing web of cracks spreading on the side of the
windshield where a bullet previously punctured. They saw the jackets tacked
over the door shaking violently as the door grew weaker with every passing
second.

Two men
and one woman leapt to the front to hold the door closed. The dead landed on
the bus with the frequency of a hailstorm. Their peaking barrage sent tremors
pulsing from the floor all the way to the people inside. Ava sat with her mouth
agape, frozen in fear by all that unfolded around her. Her teeth chattered with
each jarring of their protective shell. All she wanted was to be brave, to show
her favorite person on Earth that she’s stronger than the scary things they
were running from. Now, as their world loudly trembled, the little girl in a
fluffy purple jacket felt afraid.

She
stared up at her mother who stood at the end of their seats. “Mommy,” Ava said.
Her tiny voice couldn’t compete with the berserk crescendo. As her courage
fell, so did tears. Then she grabbed hold of Jessica’s hand and pulled for
attention.

Jessica
didn’t know what to do. There was no room for panic. Fear replaced all
emotions. Those around her began praying. They latched onto one another
paralyzed by what seemed inevitable. Pandemonium covered every inch of their
shelter both inside and out. She stood there, taking it all in, refusing to
believe that the end had come. Then the thought of that end polluted her mind.
Visions of her and her precious girl being consumed by the creatures brought
bile bubbling in the back of her throat. That’s when she felt the tugging on
her hand.

She sat
back down and Ava knew her voice would at last be heard. Her little lips drew
near her mother’s ear as if it was a guarded secret. “I’m scared, Mommy,” the
tear-glossed girl said.

They
locked eyes. Jessica replied, “everything is going to be fine, baby. I’m scared
too. But I know that as long as we’re together, everything is going to be
fine.”

Several
feet away the three people who rushed to keep the door closed were struggling.
The horde became louder than they’d ever been. Their vile song of moans and
growls had reached a volume rivaling that of a freight train. Through it all
Jessica heard a long whine of metal followed by glass shattering.

The woman
at the front screamed, “we need help! The door is about to give!”

No one
budged. Fear or perhaps cowardice kept them in their seats. Hope was so far
removed that they’d rather await death’s arrival than fight its advance.
Jessica frantically looked around, stunned that all but the three fighters at
the front had conceded.

She bent
over to Ava, planting a kiss on her forehead. “Earmuffs… now! I’ll be right
back. Close your eyes and cover your ears until I sit back down. I love you, my
sweet, brave little girl.” Ava hesitated. Her face glistened with tears; finally
tipped her head, closing her eyes and covering her ears.

Jessica
shot from their seat towards the front. Her eyes had adjusted enough to the
lack of light that she kept herself from tripping along the way. What she could
make out near the driver’s seat made her feel about as hopeless as the rest of
the retreat group. The coats tacked over the bus door bulged inward as hands
vigorously pawed at the other side. Black ooze dribbled down inside from the
intruding arms. Any serrated effects of the broken glass acted as no deterrent.

The three
defenders pushed against the door with all their might. One of the men saw
Jessica standing above the recessed exit stairs. “If the door folds then we’re
done,” he uttered. He strained so much that his words were choppy. “Come push
on the center joint!”

Both
halves of the long folding door threatened to give way at the crease. Those on
the inside pushing to keep it extended knew that they would die if it were to
fold. Chewed fingers entered every gap created in the door seal. The horde
pushed and pulled without any coordination, only enticed by the promise of
living flesh on the other side.

Crackling
sounded to Jessica’s left. She peered over her shoulder to see the spider
webbing of the windshield had completely overtaken the sections visible above
their makeshift covering. After being violated by the bullet, the once sturdy
composition of the glass succumbed to a constant battering. Its shatterproof
design now crinkled like a translucent net of razors, ready to flop inward.

Her heart
palpitated as if it tried to flee her body. Constant discord from the noises of
her mind with the maddening volume surrounding them pushed Jessica passed a
point of anxiety. Shock set in and she felt removed from herself; like a lucid
nightmare gnawed at reality. “I need to go back to my daughter,” speaking
normally and to no one in particular. “
My
daughter needs me.
”

Then the
entire bus listed towards the undead advance with the side facing the train
bridge actually lifting an inch off the ground. The cause was a cataclysmic
combination of structural failure joining a climax of viral determination. It
was almost like the infected mob gained a single second of coordination to
apply their synchronized effort onto the door.

When the
coach righted itself the door blew off its hinges. Without folding in the
middle as designed, those pushing their backs against it had no warning of the
immediate separation. The woman that originally called for help and one of the
men were launched into the crowd. They were readily welcomed outside the bus
like an animal dropped into an overstocked tank of piranha. It happened so
instantly that screaming was a luxury they were robbed of.

Popping
the door and two warm bodies into an area jammed with walking corpses formed a
temporary gap like a puddle displaced by a stone. The pause gave Jessica and
the remaining man enough time to turn towards the cabin. Jessica reached the
top of the stairs as the man was yanked back by several snapping jaws and
overzealous hands. It was then that she saw Ava standing at their row. Their
eyes met again. Both faces shined through the darkness with
a
sheen
of tears. Jessica smiled at her baby girl.

She
opened her mouth to yell that she loved her but was robbed of the words.
Instead, a shocked gasp replaced it as she was pulled from the metal cage.
Suddenly she felt the cold night air nipping at her face as pain from their
teeth seared across her body. Her thoughts went to her daughter, back to the
dream where it was bright and happy.

No sound
escaped her lips until the sinuous movement that came with her death turned her
face towards the breached entry she had emerged from. In a brief gap she saw
them spilling into the bus. The pain in her heart was worse than the torture
being inflicted to her body. Jessica’s last breath released as a scream so loud
it escaped the unholy horde. Her sorrow echoed far beyond the boundaries of the
clogged bridge.