My Apocalypse (Book 1): The Fall (6 page)

“So why, if I may ask, are you so intent to get out of here?”

“My family,” I answered, short, straight to the point.

Alec lowered his head and said nothing more for a few moments. When he did again, there was a conviction in his voice and a fire in his eyes I had yet ever seen in the man.

“Show me on the map where they were.”

Alec led me over to the largest desk in the room, which in turn was covered in papers. Folded up surveyors’ maps, smaller ones printed off the internet, and multiple hand-written notes. He rummaged through it all for a moment, and finally pulled out a large map of Vermillion County. The map had several marks on it; large red “x”s and smaller red dots littered the area. I looked at it for only a second, getting my bearings on directions, and placed the tip of my finger down on it, almost on top of one of the red marks.

“What does this mean?” I asked Alec. He looked and then began to speak.

“The big crosses are places that we have been to, areas we have looked for supplies, etc. The dots are other buildings, houses, shed, etc. that we have encountered dead at. Why?”

“That is a nursing home called Colonial Manor.” I explained to him, once more pointing to the large red X. “My home is right across the street from it.”

He pulled the map closer to him, studying it intently for a few moments. Finally he seemed to see what he wanted, for he nodded and straightened up. He looked at me, and reached his hand out, placing it on my shoulder.

“I can get you there.”

14.

Alec and I had collected a few of the maps up, and left the small conference room a few moments before. We now stood in his room, a small hospital room that he had set up for himself. I looked around the room, and seeing all the crates and boxes, and what they contained, I couldn’t do much but whistle and chuckle.

“I can see what you have stockpiled,” I remarked while snatching up a bottle of liquor and a carton of cigarettes. I looked over at him with a raised eyebrow and smiled.

“Yeah,” he replied. “It drives Wall mad. He’s been trying to figure out how I’m getting out of here for months now. But the way I see it, eventually someone is going to break from being confined in here, and when that happens, I want to be prepared.”

“So you really know how to get me out of here?” I asked him. I picked up a couple of packs of smokes and gave him a quick, questioning nod.

“Sure,” he said, “on both accounts. As you see, I have plenty. In regards to getting you out of this place, I can defiantly lead you out. I always thought it prudent to have an escape route. It’s a maintenance passage that ends up miles from here.”

“So why didn’t you ever tell Wall, or for that matter, why are you telling me?” I wanted to know, had to know, the answer to that question. I found it hard to trust people before all of this. Now it was just that much worse. Alec thought for just the briefest of moments before answering me.

“You are a father. Because I know what you are going through right now.”

I watched him as he turned away from me, readying a bag for my trip. I thought it prudent not to ask any more. I am by far not a stupid individual, and could guess at what happened to his wife, but his son was a different matter. If he lost his son somewhere in this apocalypse, I was not going to be the one to broach the topic. If he wanted to tell me, he would on his own time. I was pulled from thought when he spoke again.

“You ready for this?” he asked. I looked up and flinched as he tossed a backpack at me. I noticed he shouldered one himself.

“No,” I said to him, “I can’t ask you to put yourself in danger for me. Just show me where this way out is at. I’ll go on my own.”

“It’s not that simple,” he said to me. “It’s a passage that winds through four floors of this hospital, comes out on the ground level. As you heard from Wall’s little palaver earlier, the first, and much of the second floors, has been overran. If you go tearing through there, you’ll do nothing but end up getting killed. Plus, if you go through it on your own, you’re liable to get lost. It’ll be easier in the long run if I just show you.”

“I guess there is no talking you out of it then?” I asked Alec, but the question itself was futile, for the look on his face told me the answer. I nodded solemnly, and he returned the gesture, then we went out to the hall.

It was quiet at the moment, most of everyone was asleep. Alec led me through the halls, moving quickly, until we reached the elevator lobby that I had been at earlier that day. Two other men had replaced the ones that had been there. One sat with his back against the wall, snoring softly, the other seemed engrossed in a video playing on a small portable video player. Alec looked around for a few seconds, than shooed me back a little.

“Right on the other side of that door,” he told me, “is a small access hatch. It’s hidden behind a panel of the wall, which is why Wall probably has never found it. It’s an access hatch to the maintenance tunnels. They run throughout the hospital so work can be done on the elevators if needed.”

“And how did you come to find them?” I believed the question to be a valid one. He returned with a sly smile.

“I was a maintenance worker here. I know this place like my own body.”

“Does Wall know this?”

“No,” Alec responded, “he does not. I didn’t believe I needed to explain everything to him.”

I looked at the man, crouched down, looking every bit of a large cat ready to pounce on its prey, that little smile on his face, and began to wonder what else he was hiding. He held a finger up to his lips, and then disappeared around the corner and into the hall.

“Whoa!” I heard one of the guards say. “Alec. You scared the shit out of me.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t be so engrossed in your movies my good man.” Alec’s voice was friendly and warm, and made me question just how much I knew of this man for the second time in a few minutes.

“It’s just so boring…” the other spoke, then their voices quieted to the point that I couldn’t hear them. After a few moments, Alec’s head ducked around the corner, and he waved me forwards. I walked with him, and when we got to the doors, I saw that a small hatch had been cut into one of them, just large enough to allow access. The two guards looked at me, then up the hall nervously.

“Hurry up,” the one that had been watching the movie said, “and don’t forget our deal Alec. We’re really sticking our necks out for you on this one.”

“I appreciate it.” He shook hands with the guy, and motioned towards the small hatch. I followed his instructions and ducked through quickly.

The hall on the other side was dark as pitch, and I could only see about ten feet of it in the dim light from the hatchway. Alec came through a second later, and then we were both plunged into darkness as the small door was shut firmly. Alec pulled out a small penlight and shone it in front of us.

“This is the way.” He said, and waved the small light to our left. I could see a small indention in the wall where he shone his light, a little nook just big enough for a man to stand in. We went over to it, and Alec retrieved a small screwdriver from his pocket, and then started to unscrew a section of the wall about three feet square.

All of a sudden bright light flashed around us, and a voice spoke from behind it.

“We were wondering where that was.”

15.

Dr Mc Layton stepped away from the wall opposite us, a large electric lantern held high. The shadows cast on her face from her glasses, combined with the fiery color of her hair gave her a sinister look, almost demonic. Yet, regardless of her appearance, she simply stared at us. No malice could be seen in her eyes, only concern.

“Doc…” Alec began, but was cut short by a curt gesture of the doctor’s hand.

“You know I don’t care what you do, Alec, but when you put others at risk, and then you are wrong.”

“He’s got family that may still be out there.” He replied, darkly.

“We all of us got family,” Mc Layton returned. “Leading him on a fools errand isn’t gonna bring em back.”

“Look,” I spoke up, possibly too harshly, for both the doctor and Alec seemed a little taken back by it. “Neither of you know me or my family. We’ve been talking about this for many years. I grant you that we all thought a zombie apocalypse was the last thing that would really happen, but my family is a hardy one.”

“I know you believe that,” Mc Layton said, placing her free hand on my arm, “but I want you to be prepared for what you might find.”

“I’ll be fine.” I said to her, pulling away and walking over to the other side. Alec moved to follow, but the doctor said his name and motioned him to move closer to her. I watched as she bent his ear to her, and couldn’t hear what she said to him after that. Whatever it was must have been something important though, for I watched his eyes widen, and then turn straight to me.

“I'll make sure he is safe,” Were the last words he spoke to her. Alec moved towards me, and I watched Mc Layton go over to the door and knock softly. The small hatch opened as Alec finished removing two small screws in the wall, revealing the opening.

“Eddy,” Mc Layton said. I nodded to show I heard.

“Be careful mate.”

Then she disappeared through the hatch, and once more we were plunged into the darkness. In that darkness, my mind drifted. I wondered why these people were so worried about me, why they seemed to think I was special. I was just a poor wretch, an unemployed idiot, which was trying to take care of, and get back to, his family. The most important thing I had ever done in my life was make the decision to quit using drugs, and hook up with my beloved. There was nothing special here.

I was pulled back to reality by Alec’s touch on my arm. He waved the penlight towards the opening. I looked at the small hole, like a pitch mouth opening to swallow me, sighed, and ducked inside.

16.

Claustrophobia set in almost immediately. The corridor was so small, I had to crawl to make it through, and I could feel the pack on my back scratching the ceiling every so often. I could feel my heart begin to race, and sweat formed on my brow. I stopped suddenly, and Alec ran full force right into my back end.

“What’s the matter?” he whispered, though in this confined space, it almost seemed like he was screaming.

“I can’t do this.” I responded. “I’m not the fondest of tight places. I can’t breathe. I can’t think. I have to go back.”

“Look,” Alec began, the exasperation easily heard in his voice, “just stays calm and keep going. The passage opens up here after a few more feet. You’ll be fine.”

I took a few seconds to calm myself, shutting my eyes tight and taking more than a few deep breaths. After, I started back on my way, still more than a little shaken.

We rounded a corner, than made a left turn around another. I was starting to feel the pressure coming on again, and was just about to say something to Alec, when, like he had told me, the passageway opened up.

Right out from underneath me.

I pitched forwards, my hands no longer touching ground, and began to fall. I called out, hearing my voice echo off of walls that I could not see. I vaguely heard Alec gasp, than felt his hands grab hold of my belt. He grunted as he pulled his smaller frame barely able to hold my two hundred and fifty pound bulk. When finally back to a safer area, I heard him panting, and then saw the penlight flash on.

“Sorry man,” he said to me, a large devilish grin forming on his face. “Guess I probably should have warned ya. Or at least went first, right?”

I couldn’t do anything but stare at him.

“Sorry.” He said once again. “Let me go first. We have to go down two floors, then there’s another passageway.”

“Go… Down…” I looked back towards the spot that I almost fell down. Alec swung the light the same direction, and I looked over the edge.

We sat on the edge of an elevator shaft. I was hit by a wave of vertigo almost instantly, looking down and seeing nothing but open space beneath me. Alec's small light could not even penetrate the darkness; it was so total and deep. I sat back against the wall of the tiny passage, breathing hard and slamming my eyes tightly shut.

“Now what’s the matter?” Alec asked me.

“I’m not to incredibly fond of heights.” I responded.

“Seriously?” he inquired. “You are afraid of heights?”

“Not so much. I am more afraid of the sudden stop at the bottom of the heights. That hurts.”

“Jesus,” Alec’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Is there anything else that I should know before we continue?”

“Nope,” I said, finally catching my breath. “That’s about it.”

“All right then,” Alec let out a hard breath before he continued. “We have two floors to go down, like I said before. We’ll end up on top of the right most elevators. The passage is to the cabs right, and it’s a bit of a squeeze, but manageable.

“You ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” I replied as I nodded.

I gasped as he pushed past me, swinging over the edge like there was nothing to be worried about, disappearing into the darkness. I went and looked over the edge, and he was looking up at me, that devilish grin once more on his face. He chuckled a little and then shook his head.

“All right man,” he said, “I’m done. Let’s go.”

I took a deep breath and put my leg over. I found purchase quickly, the side of the shaft was nothing more than one huge ladder. Climbing was easy, made more so due to the fact that I never looked down. Keeping my eyes above me, it only took a few minutes to descend the two floors. When my feet hit the top of the elevator though, I was astonished at what I heard beneath me.

There was a small hatch open on the elevators roof, most likely for maintenance. Through said hatch I heard shuffling, and groaning. Low and guttural, it filtered up to us. Alec had his light pointed upwards, and in its soft light I watched him put a finger to his lips, shushing me, than point towards the hole. I quietly moved forwards and looked over. There, no more than five feet below us, was a small herd of zombies, all softly shuffling and milling about. I watched them as they did, for they didn’t seem to notice us at all. I jumped a little when Alec leaned close to my ear and spoke, my attention so focused on the sight.

“Follow,” he said, “quietly.”

I did as instructed, moving where he did, and eventually we made it to the next passageway. I had to squeeze, just like he said, and at one point didn’t think I’d make it, my fat ass was not made for tight places. When we finally got into it though, I breathed a little easier, this corridor was by no means as small as the last.

“Figured I’d let you see that,” Alec said once we got a little ways away from the elevator.

“They didn’t seem to notice us.”

“They won’t.” Alec responded. “The dead-heads don’t respond like the ravenous. They are more like us. They have to see you; have to hear you, before they notice you. And while most would tell you that this makes them a lot less of a threat, I disagree. They are everywhere, and outnumber us almost three to one.

“For the most part, also, they’re quiet. You will hear one of the ravenous coming from a mile away. You’ll only hear the dead if they are in larger groups. I mean, occasionally one will trip a car alarm, or stumble through a door or something of the sort, but here lately, that’s more not than often.”

He fell silent then, and I thought about what he had told me as we traveled along. It was easy going. The corridor was large enough for me to stand upright, and while it was still narrow, it wasn’t like I had to turn sideways or anything to get through. I could just see Wall trying to squeeze his bulk through here though, and the thought of it made me chuckle slightly.

Lost in my own thought, I didn’t realize that Alec had stopped. I pulled up short right before running into him. In the soft glow of his penlight, my eyes widened and I was amazed at what I saw.

Tears pooled in his eyes, and his shoulders shook with soft sobs. I watched him as he placed one hand on the wall he was looking towards, and it was then I noticed there was a small slot in the wall, a viewing hatch that allowed him to see the other side. I reached up and touched his shoulder. He jumped slightly and turned away. I heard him sniff and saw his hands go to his eyes.

“Sorry again man,” he said to me, his voice breaking slightly. “You ready to move on?”

“Yeah, I guess.” That was all I said, all I felt needed to be said. He started walking again, moving farther along the passage. I went to follow him, stopping only briefly to look through the viewing hole.

My breath choked in my throat at what I saw.

There, not more than a dozen feet on the other side of the wall, was a small child standing in the middle of the room. The red light washed over him, giving him an eerie appearance. When the child turned though, I noticed the reasoning behind Alec’s tears. It was his son; I knew that from the photo he showed me hours before. The boys arm was hanging, no dangling, from his shoulder, held there by no more than a few strands of flesh, tendons, and sinew. There were pools of blood across the floor, and here and there, a random body part could be seen. The boy himself was covered in red, and he moved about the room in a drunken stupor. I could see piles of what appeared to be shit here and there on the floor, and my mind imagined the smell of the small chamber.

I looked towards Alec, who had continued down the passage, and now threatened to disappear from my sight. I felt pity for the man, having to have done that to his own son. Part of me almost thought it would have been easier to have just killed the child. I couldn’t imagine what he must be going through.

Then I thought about what I would do if I found out one of my own family had been turned. Would I be able to do what I needed to do at that time? I couldn’t answer that right at the moment, and I prayed to the gods that I would never have to.

I moved on down the passage.

17.

Awhile later, we found ourselves at a small metal door. I felt like we had walked for miles, though due to the tunnel, I couldn’t truly judge the distance.

“Now what do we do?” I asked Alec.

“Now,” He looked at me. “Now we run.”

“Wait! What?” I was flabbergasted, and could think of nothing more to say.

“We are going to have to run.” Alec turned and placed both hands on my shoulders, looking me right in the eye. “On the other side of this door is a small parking lot. The passage we just went down took us under the river to the west of the hospital. Once we are out, we’ll have fifty maybe seventy five feet to go, then we’ll hit a patch of woods. Run straight and fast.

“And do not stop for anything.”

With no more words he turned back and threw the door open, stepping out into the night.

I was immediately assaulted with a barrage of smells that I was unaccustomed to. Smoke drifted across the lot, and with it came the smell of destruction, sulfur, and scorched flesh. Once I was out, Alec turned and immediately closed the door, then, without a hitch, bolted across the lot. The other man’s long legs made him easily outdistance me, but even though I was shorter, I was not more than a few steps behind him when I hit the wood line.

“Okay,” Alec turned towards me, his voice no more than a harsh whisper. He pointed to the west, and then continued speaking.

“We need to go about a mile that way, Eddy. We’ll come out the woods and cross a small field by that time. We’ll end up near a place called the Black Bear. You know it?”

“Of course,” I said, looking at him with a bit of annoyance. “I was born and raised around here man. That and I live not far from there.”

“Okay then,” Alec said, “you ready?”

“Almost,” I said back to him. “I have just one question: Aren’t we going a bit out of our way? There’s much straighter ways to get to my house.”

“Straighter, yes,” Alec said solemnly, “Safer for us to go this way, no, not really that I can tell you.”

When I didn’t respond, only looked at him, he continued his explanation.

“The whole south west area around the hospital is swarming with the dead. There is also a large group of ravenous that roams the area, and we defiantly want to avoid them. This way may be longer, but trust me when I say it is safer.”

“Fine,” I said to him. “Lead the way.”

We started off together through the woods, making our way slowly so as not to make much noise. Neither of us saw anything during our walk, though at one point I could have sworn I heard crying. I stopped for the briefest of seconds, but obviously I was imagining it, for Alec just kept pushing on, so I quickly followed. We went this way for a while, when we finally came to the woods and the field connected.

“There,” Alec said to me, pointing towards our left. I looked that way, but without my glasses, I couldn’t see anything. I said such to Alec, and he just sighed and shook his head.

“There’s a couple of dead heads over there. If we cut fast, we should be able to get by them without them seeing us.”

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“There’s a small street that runs along the river.” Alec said. “You know where I’m talking about?”

“Yeah,” I started, but then, even with my failing eyes, I noticed something across the field.

“What’s that?” I asked him and pointed towards the general area.

He looked and saw what I had, a soft light blinking on and off in the upper windows above the Black Bear. We both watched for a moment, and were astonished at what we saw.

It seemed the light was blinking some code, like Morse code, which could only mean one thing: Someone was up there. I immediately started towards the bar, but Alec reached out and grabbed my wrist, halting me.

“Look man,” he began, “I understand you want to know, I do, but I said I’d get you home. I will do that, I promise. But if you want to go on some half-cocked rescue mission, I can’t follow you. You have no idea what’s in that place, and no idea that is in that place.”

I thought about that for a moment. Then, suddenly, all the conversations that I had had with my family about just this exact situation came flooding back into my mind. All the family movie nights where we had watched zombie movies, then sat there for hours after, talking bout “what if”. I always played devil’s advocate in those discussions, always played the hard-ass. Now, looking back on it, I realized I was wrong, and knew then what I needed to do.

“I’m going.” I said to Alec. “Come with or not. I thank you for leading me out, but if you aren’t coming with me, then you ought to head back. I’ll be okay.”

“Oh, fuck me.” Alec said after a minute of thought. He shook his head at me once more before he spoke again.

“Take this,” he said, reaching into his back pack and pulling forth a decent size Buck knife. “I wish I could offer you more, but I can’t do this. I’m sorry.”

I unsheathed the knife, running my finger along the blade to check the edge, satisfied by the thin line of blood that was drawn. I chucked the sheath on the ground, adjusted my own pack, and held my hand out towards him.