Alaskan Undead Apocalypse (Book 4): Resolution (32 page)

She tried to remind herself that he would
have been in Whittier regardless, but on that particular day when
all the troubles began, he had been waiting for Danielle and her
new friend Kameron to arrive to be taken out on a fishing
adventure. Through the past few weeks, she had run the gamut of
regret and responsibility. She had even entertained the possibility
that he had gotten out on the water and saved himself. It was a
fantasy that was rocked and discarded when she spied the worn
corner of the little boat bobbing up a down on the water.

In a macabre series of thoughts, she
wondered if he had been on the dock waiting for her, not wanting to
depart and leave his little sister to the chaos that was consuming
the little town. Did he fight? Did he suffer? Rubbing the tears
from her eyes for the thousandth time, Danielle hoped and prayed
that his death had come quickly and that he was not now one of
those things stalking Whittier’s streets and piers.

Shotgun Cove, still in its infancy, was more
a small network of roads than it was a community. There were
partially cleared lots awaiting construction to begin and other
locations at which building had begun but was halted.

Walking along the newly paved roads, as
black and unused as night sky, Emma became poignantly aware of this
fact. The roads were flanked on either side by ranks of trees which
sat in many places only a little more than arm’s length beyond the
pavement. She felt like she was traversing a well-lit tunnel,
although the morning sun was still patiently waiting beyond a
cloudbank which threatened more snow.

The air was cool and moist, nipping at
Emma’s cheeks and ears. The crisp bite also raised her awareness.
It was deathly quiet, not so much as a chirping bird or even the
wind was adding voice to the day.

It was a fairly short walk to Gordon’s home
where Emma and Jess were introduced to Betsy and Mia. Betsy, ever
the happy homemaker, had made some biscotti to go along with the
freshly brewed coffee.

Emma was taken aback at the oblivious
behaviors of her hosts, drinking coffee and eating biscuits like it
was just another lazy day. They acted like they had no clue about
what was happening all around them. Emma hoped their wishful and
delusional thinking would not come back to haunt them.

Gordon was adamant about accompanying them
on their field trip. He said that a morning walk would do his legs
some good. He needed to get out and stay active; doctor’s
orders.

Emma had finally heard enough. She shook her
head and stifled a disgusted chuckle in her chest. “Do you people
not get what’s going on here? People you know...people
everywhere...they’re dead and some are even worse. Gordon, we’re
not just going for a walk. You sit here and act like the world
hasn’t come to an end and it’s going to cost you. Look around this
place for God’s sake. You haven’t boarded up your windows. You
haven’t brought in your firewood. You haven’t done anything to
prepare for what’s coming. Don’t you get it?”

She was on the verge of bursting into angry
tears but grabbed her rifle and went back out onto the front porch.
She looked around for a moment, hearing some muffled voices from
the other side of the door. Then, without warning, she began to
giggle at herself. Her tears were filling her eyes but she couldn’t
help the smile that spread on her face too. She thought about all
she had just said to them and thought with a chuckle that she was
channeling Neil. Those were all things he had ingrained into them
whenever they found a temporary refuge. It was funny to hear
herself barking the same instructions in virtually the same voice
he used.

Neil was the next person through the door.
He saw her laughing and crying at the same time, which stopped him
in his tracks. Emma knew men’s inability to deal with a woman’s
emotions and saw a very familiar look in Neil’s eyes. That made her
laugh even more. She wiped away the tears and smiled at him through
her laughter.

Surprising both Neil and herself, she
stepped toward him and wrapped herself around him in a warm
embrace. Getting herself under control, she whispered, “Thank you,
Neil. Thank you for so much I can’t even begin to say.” She wiped
away the few tears remaining in her eyes onto Neil’s collar and
snuggled herself tighter into his warmth.

He had no idea for what he was being
thanked. He was coming out to make certain she was okay. It had
been quite some time since Emma had melted down emotionally like
she just had with their new acquaintances. He was worried about
her, but now felt more concerned for himself.

Emma was right in her assessment of his
capability to understand women. Her behavior caught him completely
off guard. He hugged her but wasn’t sure why. Emma was always so
distant with him and everyone else. She was a closed book most of
the time, only allowing contempt and anger to boil to the surface
and then only rarely. She was always quick with a comment or an
opinion, but those things were merely skin deep. She was strong and
intelligent but stubborn as well, which often complicated her
relationships with others.

Other than when Neil had to pull her away
from their friend Dr. Caldwell when her emotions spilled out of her
unchecked, Neil had never seen Emma so exposed. He found himself
happily surprised but still immensely befuddled.

Neil’s confused moment was thankfully
interrupted by the appearance of everyone else onto the porch.

William looked away in embarrassment. “Sorry
to interrupt.”

“Believe me,” Emma said, “you weren’t. Sorry
about blowing up in there.”

With his eyes still turned away, William
said, “Betsy and Mia are going to head back to my place and wait
there for us. It’s safer and probably wouldn’t be happening if you
hadn’t said something.” He looked at Gordon, who reluctantly
nodded. Everyone knew he was less than thrilled with the idea of
abandoning his house. It simply made sense.

It was decided that Betsy and Mia would load
supplies into Gordon’s old Jeep Grand Cherokee and drive themselves
over to William’s. Gordon had some more hunting rifles, ammunition,
and quite a bit of food to share but they wouldn’t be able to take
it all. The two ladies hid what they weren’t able to take with them
and then packed the back of the Jeep full.

Gordon, driving the rest of them in his new
Land Rover courtesy of the late Norman Kellogg, watched forlornly
in his rearview mirror as he drove away. Betsy was strong in her
own way, but Gordon worried about her. She was so quiet and removed
from everyone else’s world. When she was working in her shop, the
rest of existence could melt away and she wouldn’t notice. She was
strong but she wasn’t impregnable. Betsy needed Gordon every bit as
much as he needed her. It didn’t feel right to be leaving her under
these circumstances. It seemed like the end of the world was a time
when they should definitely be at one another’s sides.

The drive was quiet and short. William was
driving this time and steering them toward the next closest
finished building, the home of another retired couple whose names
escaped Gordon. They parked in a good spot to be able to get away
quickly. The keys stayed in the ignition and they climbed out and
started up the gravel driveway

Gordon stopped them in their tracks with a
raised hand. Their names had finally come back to him. He craned
his neck, trying to see better into any of the windows facing them.
He said in a calm, loud voice, “Mister and missis Duncan. It’s
Gordon from down the way. Is anyone in there?”

The house looked quiet and dormant. There
was no fire coming from the chimney and no response to Gordon’s
question. The five of them spread out, allowing five or six feet
between each of them as they walked slowly toward the house.

Finally in a position to see the front door,
they breathed a little easier to see that it was still secured
shut. The back door was closed as well, and all the windows were
intact. Neil nodded at William and Gordon and they climbed the
steps to the front door.

Neil, Jess, and Emma kept a careful watch on
the trees around them while William knocked and then tried to force
the door open. As it turned out, there wasn’t much force needed;
the door wasn’t locked.

Standing in front of the empty house, Emma
said, cutting through the tension with all the subtlety of a
chainsaw, “Where to next?”

The Duncans’ home sat at the end of the
paved section of street going in that direction. With a little more
confidence that perhaps things weren’t as bad as they could be,
they hustled back to the vehicle and started toward their next
destination.

The house looming before them was in
shambles, although it was hard to determine if the mess had
happened recently or not. There were construction leftovers in
fairly organized piles of lumber, unused siding, and other odds and
ends in the uncleared lot. The front door was standing open and
sagging on its struggling hinges. Around the doorframe and one of
the windows, blackened streaks, the remnants of a fire, adorned the
building’s facade like out of place mascara.

As Neil picked his way across the crunchy
leaves of the front yard, he saw a pair of legs lying partially in
and partially out of the doorway. Neil pointed with his first two
fingers at his eyes and then toward the doorway with his index
finger, drawing everyone’s attention to the body. Something had
happened here and may still be in process.

Emma and Jess joined Neil on his approach to
the open door. They moved slowly, cautiously, never taking their
eyes off of the door and the numerous broken windows.

Neil stopped abruptly and put his hand in
the air. He lowered himself into a tighter stance and listened
intently. There was something moving near to them. He couldn’t tell
if it was inside or outside the house.

From the kitchen at the back of the house,
something had stirred when the crackle and crunch of leaves
underfoot rose from beneath the trees out front. Distracted from
its recent feast which was still lying in a grisly tableau of blood
and partially eaten organs on the kitchen floor, it rose with a
hungry snarl and a tortured moan and started toward the front door.
When the light from outside hit its eyes and the aroma of
approaching prey tempted its nose, its legs propelled it forward
with terrifying speed. The infection’s rage fueled its driving,
sprinting legs.

When the creature appeared in the doorway,
Jess screamed and fired her rifle, the bullet cleanly piercing a
second story window. Pausing to emit a wet, chesty growl, spewing a
storm of blood as it did, the abomination in the doorway didn’t
notice guns were firing at it. Neil pulled the trigger but the gun
jammed, refusing to fire.

“Fuck!”

Responding to Neil’s voice, the thing, which
was at one time a woman, descended the front steps in two bounds.
Barely slowing as it went barreling down the stairs and running
across the front yard, the woman headed directly for Neil, standing
between Emma and Jess. Neil dropped the gun and reached over his
shoulder for his bat. He had both hands on it and was ready to pull
it free when the predator’s head snapped from one shoulder to the
other violently and then the woman tumbled harmlessly inches from
Neil’s feet. He hadn’t heard her shoot, but Emma had dropped to her
knees to steady her hands and then fired in virtually one move. She
fired a single bullet, striking the demon’s head on the side just
above its ear.

“I forgot how fast those things moved when
they first turn,” Emma said quietly. “I almost missed.”

Looking down at the twisted corpse in front
of him, Neil said, “Yeah, I don’t think I needed to hear that. I
needed to know that you had it in your sights all along and were
just waiting for the right moment to pull the trigger.”

Emma’s heart was racing and her were hands
shaking. “Yeah. That’s what I meant to say.”

Neil picked up the assault rifle and slung
it over his shoulder, electing to pull his pistol, a handy and
reliable Smith and Wesson automatic, from its holster and use it
instead. He was also carrying a Walther in his zippered coat
pocket. He had found it in a gun safe some weeks ago and
immediately thought of all the James Bond movies he’d seen. Bond
always carried a PPK and had always managed to make it out of every
adventure alive, and so he’d kept it.

They slowly climbed onto the unfinished
front porch. Neil’s attacker had left a trail of bloody footprints
on the porch and down the hall.

As they walked in the front door into the
dark house, Neil asked William and Gordon, “Did you know her?”

They both shook their heads. Neil nodded
that he understood and looked around. It took a moment for their
eyes to adjust to the scant light. The window to the right of the
front door was both smashed clear of glass and burned, allowing
light primarily into a hallway, which led to another large room.
The other windows in the living room of sorts all had their blinds
drawn shut.

Jess slid over and pulled the cords to open
them. She regretted allowing more light in the room almost
immediately when the light revealed the gruesome remains of what
once had been a man in a recliner. They could deduce he was a man
by his hairy legs and big feet still in their white athletic socks,
which was all that was left of him accept for some bones and a
wide, wet, red stain.

There was a coat closet to which someone had
obviously retreated hoping to survive the attack. With nowhere to
run, the only thing the person found was a death trap. The person’s
attacker had clawed its way through the thin door and fed on its
prey where it hid.

Another person, a woman, was partially
burned and still smoldering in the hallway below the opened window.
They wondered if she was trying to escape or break in through the
window. Her head was burned down to its skull, none of its features
remaining for identification. Its arms too were nothing but bone.
She had been burned with some kind of fuel, perhaps oil from a
lantern, to have done that kind of intense damage.