Omega Virus (Book 2): Revisited (13 page)

“It wasn’t intentional,” Mika says defending himself.

“If I thought it was intentional you wouldn’t be alive now to defend yourself,” The Major growls.

“Where are we?” Fanny asks stepping between them.

“About six blocks away from the church and main entrance,” The Major replies, his eyes never leaving Mika’s.

“Great,” Hope says sarcastically, “so where do we go from here? Another bunker?”

“There isn’t another bunker for at least a hundred miles,” The Major chuckles, “The best we can do is sit out here and wait for death, and take out as many of those undead fucks as we can.”

“We can find a way to survive,” Fanny says.

“No, we can only prolong our deaths,” The Major says before handing Mika and Fanny each a machete. “I know it isn’t much, but I hope you can make good use of those.”

“Come with us,” Hope offers, “all of you. Help us find the survivors and come back to the island with us.”

“That sounds nice,” The Major says flashing his first honest smile since they met, “but my duty is to my people and keeping them safe. And that’s not an easy thing to do out here. I’m better off finding them a safe house.”

“Sir,” one of the scavengers calls out. He is dressed like the other scavengers with the exception of a hood covering his face. Hope can almost make out what is hidden underneath but is startled by what she sees. “There is another bunker in Baton Rouge. My team and I have had some contact with a few of the survivors there on our outings.”

“Great. Then we proceed to Baton Rouge,” The Major says with a sigh.

“Sir if I may be so bold,” The scavenger begins, “I can lead the group. My team and I know this land better than anyone else. That will free you of your duties and allow you to stay with the outsiders.”

“But what about you?” Fanny asks, “That isn’t fair to you.”

“If and when you survive, you know where we’ll be,” the scavenger nods.

The Major extends his hand and grasps the scavenger’s tightly, as he mouths the words ‘thank you.’

“All right, we move out,” the scavenger calls, “I want three teams, the first with me, the second follows behind led by McCoy and third brings up the rear, that’s you Ransom.”

The large group slowly takes shape as the scavengers arrange the homely bodies as they see fit. They watch as they disappear into the shadows one by one leaving the small group behind, each one scattered and waiting for what to do next.

“Well?” Fanny asks looking around at the familiar faces of John and Sara. Amanda makes her way past her and greets Mika with a big hug before turning back with a smile.

“What do we do now?” Amanda asks.

“We go as far as we can before nightfall,” Hope begins, “after that we find shelter. Hopefully we can make it out to the others before their time is up.”

Nobody argues with Hope’s rational instead they just follow behind as she takes lead. They walk slowly and silently out of the alley. Fanny takes one last look behind her noticing the darkness behind them. They can see smoke out in the distance where the church is placed, The Major, Mika and Amanda each hang their heads as they silently say their goodbyes to the only home they’ve known for the last sixteen years. One by one they turn away from the smoke and continue behind their new comrades.

The road is desolate with almost no sign of former life or Zombies anywhere to be seen. The sun is beating down on them harshly forcing beads of sweat to build up quickly on each of their foreheads.

“I had almost forgot what it was like out here,” The Major pants.

“Yeah this sun is brutal,” Amanda agrees. “I wish we could have grabbed some water before leaving the bunker.”

“Yeah if only we weren’t running for our lives or anything,” John replies snidely. “Actually I’ve been meaning to ask, how did the bunker catch fire?”

Mika stops in his tracks, his teeth clenched together in an almost rage as he turns around and wraps his enormous hand around John’s scrawny neck. “If you’ve got something to say, then say it to my face.”

“Let him go,” Hope says softly and slowly, the blade of her sword resting against his cheek. Mika releases his grip unwillingly, dropping John to the ground gasping for air as he backs away from his assailant. “Good. Now I don’t care about anything that happened back at the bunker, because there is no going back. All I care about right now is saving as many of us as we possibly can. Is everyone understood?” she waits for the chorus of yesses before sliding the blade along Mika’s face, “and you, control your temper or you’ll wish that we fed you to the undead. Got it?”

“Yes ma’am,” Mika nods.

“Good,” Hope says sliding her sword back into its sheath.

The sun slowly starts to set as they make it out of the county, getting ever closer to their intended goal. Sounds can be heard from the shadows as the light from above starts to fade.

“We need to find shelter,” Fanny whispers to Hope.

“I know,” Hope replies, “first place you see that looks safe let me know.”

Rustling and scraping sounds can be heard off in the distance. The sound of a lone bird crying out in pain rings in their ears as they huddle closer together. Grunting and groaning sounds become more prominent as they find themselves near a mini mall. Stores are lined up everywhere they look, a grocery store to the right, a thrift store to the left, a gym back in the middle as the buildings wrap around in a horseshoe shape.

“Maybe we can find water in one of the stores,” Amanda suggests.

“Yeah,” Hope agrees nervously before getting her wits back and turning toward the group. “So here is what we do, we pick a store, the most logical one that we can and we use that as base for the night. With any luck there is some sort of food and maybe some water.”

“Well the most logical choice would be the grocery store,” Sara says, “if anything there should be at least something to drink in there.”

The rest of the group turn their heads to Hope wondering what she’ll say. A lump gets caught in her throat as she tries to swallow her fear and anxiety. “Sounds logical,” she is finally able to mutter.

“Ok so why don’t we split into two when we get inside the store,” Fanny suggests.

Hope nods again taken back by the suggestion as Fanny nudges her to finish the plan. “John, you and Sara go with Amanda and The Major, search the left side of the store. Fanny, Mika and I will take the right and offices.”

They stand outside the huge grocery store; most of the letters on the outside have fallen off the side of the building leaving just the word “hell” in big green letters on the side.

“Kind of hits the nail on the head don’t you think?” John chuckles.

“Yeah, not ominous at all,” Amanda replies.

“Either way we have a job to do,” Hope says pushing past the group.

The windows along the outside are in fair condition; the huge posters that once presented the sales of the week have all but faded away. The glass on the automatic doors is intact with cracks spider webbing from the top frame to the bottom. The inside door also has a few cracks as well as the familiar faded blood stains that they have all grown accustomed to. Mika and Fanny force the doors open, letting out the stench of death and decay as the others block their noses and force themselves inside. They close the doors behind them and Fanny cracks the top of the webbing the handle of her machete.

“Ventilation,” She smirks.

The inside of the store is dark, the group all standing near the opening as they allow their eyes to adjust.

“I wish we had some light,” Sara groans.

“I still have my flashlight,” Hope says, her hand reaching into her pocket.

She pulls out her small light and clicks it on, shining the light beam straight ahead. She scans the front of the store shelves and old merchandise tossed all over the floor.

“Can I see that a moment?” Fanny asks reaching for the flashlight.

Hope unwillingly hands it over and watches as Fanny scans the signs above each of the aisles. Stopping at the eighth aisle and rushing over to it. The aisle is a mess, most of the items lining the linoleum tiles on the floor. Fanny shuffles through a few items before pulling out two yellow hand crack flashlights. She hands one to Amanda and the other to Hope. The two rip off the cardboard wrapped around the top and crank the sides as fast as possible before flipping the switches on. Two white beams of light shine out from the tops lighting up the ceiling above them.

“She was lucky that they at least still work,” John murmurs as he nudges Sarah with his elbow.

“Shush,” Sarah hisses back at him.

“Oh come on this is all a joke right?” John says, his voice growing louder as he expresses his discern, “I mean are we really supposed to sit back and take orders from a little girl and a complete psychopath?”

He backs away in disgust, his hands tossed in the air wildly shaking as he makes his way to the next aisle. The aisle is dark and hard for him to see the obstacles on the ground around him. The dim light of Hope’s old flashlight follows behind him closely, blinding him for a moment before his eyes adjust and he is able to make out Fanny’s irritated face.

“What is your problem John?” Fanny asks furiously.

“My problem is this whole damn mission,” John replies getting up in her face, “it doesn’t make any sense, why are we even bothering?”

“Did I miss something?” Fanny asks befuddled. “Didn’t you volunteer?”

“Yeah, I did,” John admits, “but I didn’t think it would be like this?”

“What did you think this was going to be? Some kind of picnic?” Fanny growls.

“From what I was told from Joshua, this was supposed to be a simple mission. Get in, save some people. After that I thought… I, I don’t know. Maybe, maybe there would be something more for me. More than just a sentry,” John sighs. “But then we landed and things got weird. I never thought I’d be taking orders from Hope.”

“What’s so wrong with that?” Fanny asks.

“When is it going to be my turn?” He asks jabbing his index finger into her left shoulder repeatedly. “Why do I always have to be the one in everyone else’s shadow?”

“You could have just talked to us you know. You didn’t have to just let it build up,” Fanny says feeling slightly sorry for him.

“Why would I talk to you? I’m just a joke,” John sighs before he wipes away a tear. “What makes Hope so special anyway?”

“Nothing more than any of us,” Fanny assures, “but just like you she was lost and needed something to make her feel good. I thought this would help. I’m sorry I never thought of talking with you or Sarah about it.”

“Would you ever have given me a chance?” John asks, “Honestly.”

“Honestly? No,” Fanny replies bluntly, “I just don’t think you have the ability to be serious enough or quick witted enough to handle it.”

“Thank you for your candidness,” John replies gritting his teeth, “but if you don’t mind giving me some time alone now.”

“John, I didn’t mean to offend you,” Fanny pleads.

“Please just leave,” John says turning his back to her.

Fanny sighs before turning around and taking a step away from him. She stops for a moment before she turns around and slides the flashlight into his hand. “You know where we’ll be. Just in case.” She whispers before leaving him alone in the aisle.

Time passes slowly for John as he walks up and down the aisle after listening to the rest of the group making their way through the store. He paces back and forth grumbling under his mouth and letting out bursts of aggression on some of the random items lying on the ground. He kicks an old dusty box of stuffing letting out a loud grunt as he does. He only stops when he feels a hand gracing his shoulder.

“Look Fanny I just want to be left alone,” John grumbles. He brushes the hand off of his shoulder only to feel it come back harder, the fingers clenching down hard on his collarbone. “What the hell,” He groans in pain as he turns around, his flashlight pointed directly in the face a zombie.

He is frozen in place, his eyes stuck on the pale face in front of him. The Zombie is missing parts of its cheeks and lower jaw. Its teeth are few and far between but the few that remain are jagged and misshaped. The remains of what used to be clothes cover next to nothing of its body and dried blood stains most of its upper chest. Its hands are also discolored, the nails decomposed and ripped from the skin. Its eyes are milky white with black slits in the middle. John scurries backward, his feet sliding on the dust filled floor. He reaches back for his machete only to feel the cold touch of another hand wrapped around his wrist. He turns his head slightly and sees a second Zombie out the corner of his eye. He can feel his wrist snapping backward, blood oozing from the extremity that has opened up. He lets out a scream as he fights with the little energy he has left.

“HELP,” He whines, “Fanny! HOPE!”

The first zombie inches closer, its crooked teeth salivating as it takes its first bite into John’s shoulder. He screams again but the sound eventually fades as the second one starts to feast on his neck. It isn’t long before what’s left of John is left deceased on the floor, his flashlight rolling in front of him, the beam focused on what’s left of his face.