Desolation (29 page)

“Just hang in there and stay with me!” Andrew shouted above the
roar of the plane’s engines.

The plane started its trudge along the center of the runway with
its rear loading ramp still extended. The ramp threw a shower of sparks as
it slid across the tarmac. The gigantic craft started to gain momentum as it
coasted towards Andrew and Jerri, not slowing down.

The infected started to walk onto the runway from all directions,
meandering out from alleyways and from behind buildings. Most of them
were soldiers.

“Fuck!” Andrew shouted as he saw the plane approach head-on.
“
Come on!
” He made his way towards the center of the runway, nearly
dragging Jerri’s limp body alongside him.

Jerri teetered on the very edge of consciousness and mustered
what little strength she had to hold onto Jacob. She hung off of Mitch as
she flopped one limp foot in front of the other, staggering alongside him.

Jacob kicked once inside the bloody shawl…

The plane approached closer as it crawled along the runway at
about 10 mph. The cargo ramp threw a steady stream of sparks as it
scraped along the ground.

“Get ready!” Andrew shouted above the roar of the propellers.
He dropped his rifle and scooped Jerri’s limp body up in his arms and
held her against his chest. He shuffled left and right, trying to place
himself in the perfect position.

He knew that the terrified pilots saw him but he also knew that
they wouldn’t slow down for anything.

 

The approaching plane reached 15 mph and was only a few yards
away as its engines were finally warmed up.

Andrew ducked with Jerri in his arms and quickly maneuvered
out of the path of the front landing gears as the plane rolled over top of
them. The whirling propellers and the roar of the engines were deafening.

The plane passed over in less than a few seconds and Andrew
found himself standing just a few feet away from the ramp as it scrapped
past him.

He sprinted towards the ramp, nearly blinded by the steady
shower of sparks. Closing the distance, he ran halfway up the ramp and
hurled Jerri’s body into the plane’s cargo hold.

Jerri let out a weak moan and landed hard against the metallic
floor, clutching Jacob against her chest.

 

The plane increased its speed past 40 and then 60 mph as it
started its run towards lift.

Andrew stumbled up the ramp and quickly fell onto his hands
and knees, desperately sucking in air as the plane barreled down the
runway at over 100 mph. Air was sucked out of the cargo hold and loose
papers and supply boxes flew out the back.

He knew that he had to close the door before both of them got
sucked out of the craft.

 

Andrew crawled away from the ramp and stumbled onto his feet.
He squinted in the windy cargo hold as he tried to find the door controls.

A dead soldier sat tangled up in the cargo netting next to the
ramp’s control module. He thrashed lividly in the net, trying to free
himself and lunge after Andrew.

Andrew staggered towards the control box, shielding his face
from the wild projectiles that flew through the air.

 

The plane was approaching 140 mph and the nose started to lift
up.

 

Andrew nearly tumbled down the ramp. He caught his footing
and trudged towards the controls…

The dead soldier untangled himself from the netting and shuffled
towards Andrew. The soldier immediately tripped and rolled out of the
back of the plane, snarling as he went.

Andrew sprung forward and caught himself on the dangling
yellow control box. He quickly pressed the large green button and held on
tight as the plane sped forward.

An alarm started blaring and red strobes flashed.

 

“
Standby. Closing cargo hold. All personnel please stand back,
” a voice on
the overhead speaker announced.

 

The ramp slowly rose off of the ground and started to close.
The plane achieved lift and quickly ascended into the air, hurling
everything inside backwards.

 

Andrew was thrown against the wall and Jerri, semiconscious,
rolled across the floor and came to a stop at his feet.

He looked down and saw that her arms were still wrapped around
Jacob’s corpse. The shawl that covered the baby was soaked in blood and
looked grotesque.

It was time for him to remedy the situation while he had the
chance.

 

Andrew reached down and easily pried Jacob out of Jerri’s arms
with one hand.

Jacob started to trash lividly in Andrew’s grip. He reached out of
the shawl and scratched Andrew’s hand as he tried to claw his way out of
the blanket.

Andrew startled and dropped the child. He looked down at his
hand and saw a small bead of blood rise to the surface of the scratch. The
baby’s nails were surprising sharp.

Jacob struck the floor and rolled out of his gory shawl. His eyes
were open and hazed and black bile dribbled out of his gaping toothless
mouth. He made gurgled screams and his naked half-decayed body
flopped on the ground, convulsing.

Andrew reached down, snatched the hideous child by its neck,
and hurled Jacob out of the cargo hold just seconds before the ramp
finished retracting and the door sealed.

The whirling wind inside the plane immediately calmed.
“
Cargo hold is secure,
” the overhead voice announced.

Andrew let out a sigh of relief and sunk down on the floor next
to Jerri. He wiped the small bead of blood off of his hand and looked at
the wound; surprised the little bastard broke skin. He rested his head
against the sealed exit and looked around the cargo hold, frantically trying
to catch his breath.

Shrink-wrapped devices that resembled large bombs similar to
what Witt had described were secured against both sides of the cargo hold
by thick yellow nylon straps. The devices were unlike anything Andrew
had ever seen. ‘LAZARUS TYPE’ was stenciled on each device in bold
white lettering.

The craft finally achieved proper altitude and stabilized.

Andrew carefully rolled Jerri onto her back and ran the back of
his fingers across her cold cheek as he gently brushed a few locks of hair
behind her ear. He frowned as he reached down and felt for a pulse.

It was there, but very weak. He needed to stop her bleeding and
get some fluids in her before he lost her for good.

The door at the bulkhead at the far end of the cargo hold swung
open and a solider wearing a gas mask sauntered into the room with an
assault rifle slung over his shoulder, huffing and puffing.

Andrew quickly stood and turned towards the soldier, sweat
breading across his forehead. He nervously reached for his pistol…

“
Holy shit,
” the masked soldier said as he tried to catch his breath.
“
I ran back as fast as I could but you beat me to it… Thanks for closing that damn
thing. We almost lost all of the cargo. I thought Joel was handling things back here.”

Andrew shook his head.

 

“He was infected…” Andrew said. “He had already turned by the
time I got here.”

 

The soldier looked down.

 

“
Joel was a good man,
” the soldier reflected. “
We lost a lot of good men
today thanks to those savages.”

“I know,” Andrew said bitterly as he looked down at Jerri.
“I didn’t know anybody else even made it aboard.”
“We were the last,” Andrew said.
The masked soldier stared down at Jerri.

“She’s my wife,” Andrew explained. “I couldn’t leave her
behind.”

 

“
Is she bit?
” the soldier asked hesitantly as he stared at her
bloodied arm.

“No,” Andrew quickly answered. “But one of the marauders shot
her… I need some gauze to stop the bleeding. Is there a first aid kit on
here?”

The soldier thought about it for a moment.

“
Yeah, there is one up in the crew cabin next to the AED,
” the solider
said as he stared at Andrew. “
Say… have I seen you before…? You don’t look
familiar…”

“Shit was crazy out there… Did anybody else make it aboard?”
Andrew asked, ignoring his question.

“
No, it’s just me and the two pilots
,” the soldier replied. “
We were
overwhelmed by the infected
.
It was a fucking massacre.
” The soldier paused a
moment and eyed Andrew. “
What unit did you say you belonged to again?”

“Sorry,” Andrew said flatly.

 

Before the soldier could respond, Andrew drew his pistol and
shot the man three times in the chest.

 

The soldier jolted with each shot, stumbled backwards, and
collapsed against the bulkhead door.
39

J
erri opened her eyes and found herself standing barefoot in the
snow in a clearing surrounded by towering pine trees. She was wearing a
white silken nightgown that stopped right above her ankles. Oddly, her
feet weren’t cold and the temperature outside didn’t seem to affect her as
the wind kissed her exposed skin.

She remembered the place… It was Flagstaff, Arizona. The ski
town was one of the most memorable trips she ever had and was the first
time she ever saw snow.

In the distance, through the thin tree line, she spotted Mitch
wearing his usual casual attire. He was sporting a thick black jacket and
had a tattered winter hat covering his tussled blonde hair. His complexion
looked healthy and a radiant white light glimmered around his body.

“Hey sexy,” Mitch said with a smile.

Jerri smiled and trekked through the snow towards him. Her
steps felt light and an overwhelming sense of calm washed over her. She
snaked her way through the sparse trees and ran up to Mitch, throwing
her arms around him.

Mitch held her close and kissed the top of her head. His hands
were warm and soft against her skin.

 

Jerri closed her eyes and nuzzled her head into his chest, giving a
happy sigh.

“I’m dreaming, aren’t I?” she asked in a blissful stupor.
Mitch smiled and nodded.

“Worse,” he said as he gently ran his hands along the small of her
back. “You’re dying. You lost a lot of blood, babe.”

 

Jerri kept her eyes shut and smiled. She didn’t care.

“If this is death then I welcome it… We’ll be together again,” she
said. She looked up at him and smiled. She stood on her tiptoes and
gently pressed her lips against his.

Mitch closed his eyes and sunk into the kiss for a moment but
then reluctantly pulled back.

 

“We will be… but not today,” he said in a soft voice.
Jerri frowned and searched his eyes for an answer.

 

“It’s just not your time,” he explained with a heavy heart. “You’re
on a plane right now.”

 

She placed her hands on his chest and looked up at him, nearly
on the verge of tearing.

 

“I thought I dreamt the whole thing with the runway and the
plane. I miss you… I don’t want to go back…” she replied gently.
Mitch smiled and placed his hand on her cheek.

“I know… I miss you tons,” Mitch said as he gently kissed her
once again. “You need to let go of him though… He’s dead… You’re
many things but crazy isn’t one of them.”

Jerri winced at his words as their weight crushed her at the very
core. She adamantly shook her head.

“I know he is… but I can’t… After the camp and all of the death
I can’t just let him go,” she said as she closed her eyes. “Without a
purpose… what good am I? What makes me any different than the
monsters who survive just to survive? I don’t want an existence like
that… I want things to be the way they used to be.”

Mitch stroked her cheek and gently ran his thumb across her
bottom lip.

 

“You can’t hold onto the past and hope that things will go back
to the way they were once upon a time,” Mitch said gently.

Jerri opened her tearful eyes and looked up at Mitch.
“What else is there left to hold onto?” she asked bitterly.
“The future,” he replied.

“What future?” she asked as tears started to sob. “Everything
good is gone… I lost everything. There is nothing left to make a future
with! I thought maybe Jacob could… but he’s gone now… I don’t want
to turn into Witt. I just can’t see a future for me anymore.”

Mitch wiped the tears off of her cheeks and cradled her close.
“That’s what I want to show you,” he explained. He gently turned
her around and hugged her from behind. “I want to show you the future.”

Jerri blinked and noticed for the first time that they were standing
on the edge of a tall snow-covered mountain. Down below, the white
forest seemed to stretch out endlessly in all directions. It was beautiful but
desolate.

“There’s nothing down there,” she said scornfully.
Mitch smiled.
“Exactly,” he answered. “There is nothing down there…”

Jerri raised an eyebrow and looked up at him with a quizzical
look.

 

“I don’t understand,” she said.

“You’re missing my point,” he said as he started to caress her.
“There is nothing down there… no zombies… no viruses… no lies… no
government. It’s pure unadulterated freedom from everything that caused
this mess in the first place. It’s a blank canvas that you and the rest of the
survivors can paint any way you like.”

A genuine smile crept over her lips as she thought about that for
a moment and let it sink in… Then she frowned.

“I don’t know where to start,” she admitted.
Mitch smiled and kissed the back of her head.
“Sure you do,” he said.
Jerri thought about the plane and opened her mouth to speak–

“No, you’re right,” Mitch said. “He’s taking you to another
camp… That’s why you need to stop wallowing in your self-pity and take
action.”

Jerri closed her eyes, embarrassed at herself.
“Take control of the situation,” Mitch said.
Jerri frowned.

“How? Think about it… I’m just one person. I can’t take over a
military plane.”

 

Mitch nodded.

“I can’t tell you how to do it, but I can tell you that you’re
capable of doing it. Despite what you’re thinking now, the camp didn’t
break you.”