Stage 6 (23 page)

He said, “You must be this Jack I am hearing about.”

I nodded and reached forward to shake his hand, saying, “And you must be Donovan?”

He ignored my hand, and asked bluntly, “When are you going to leave, Jack?”

Bristling at the hostility coming off this guy, I replied, “Well actually we’re hoping to leave tomorrow.”

I turned to Joe and asked, “With your permission, we wish to bring in a few more cars. We’re going to work on them all day today and tomorrow before we leave.”

She nodded, and was about to say something when Donovan cut her off and said, “Why do you ask her for permission? She doesn’t have any authority here, you ask ME for permission to do things.”

Resisting the urge to punch him, I controlled myself and asked neutrally, “Do we have your permission to do this? It would mean we’re out of your hair that much faster.”

He replied, “Sure, do whatever the hell you want but make sure you’re gone tomorrow.”

Shocked at his rudeness, I simply nodded, and backed away. On my way back to the bus, I was intercepted half way by a small group of people.

One of them spoke for the rest and said, “Eric told us about your plans. We would like to hear more, if you’re willing?”

I burst out, “That’s fantastic! I’ll be ready in a few minutes; just let me take care of some last minute preparations with a scouting party.”

They followed me over to the truck, where Kevin and Shawn were brandishing crowbars and learning the proper way to break into a car. Emily was with them also, freshly showered and with a new set of clothes.

She held a baseball bat, and when she saw me she informed me, “I’m going to go with them.”

I hesitated, and asked, “Is that really necessary? Don’t we have enough people going already?”

Eric cut in, “Actually Jack, Emily is going to come with me to my old house here in the city. I have a huge number of remote radios that would be really useful for communications between vehicles in the convoy. With them, we could be connected to each other and informed of problems at all times.”

My eyes lit up at this news, and I looked questioningly to Steve, to see he was preparing a backpack.

He met my eyes and said, “Yeah don’t worry; I’m going to go with them. We’ll make it back in one piece.”

Emily opened the back door of the truck and stepped in with a hunting rifle, and Eric got into the driver’s seat. Steve walked around the truck and hopped in the passenger side.

Kevin told me, “The plan is for them to drive out and go towards the city, distracting any Infected nearby, and then we sneak out behind them and check all the nearby cars.”

I nodded, and then grinned as I caught what he had said. I told him mischievously, “Kevin, you called them ‘Infected’, not zombies.”

He looked horrified for a second, and then said, “Well I MEANT to say zombies you’ve just confused me that’s all.”

I told them goodbye, and they followed the truck to the door. Then I turned to the people behind me who wanted to hear more of our plan. I positioned myself where they could all see me.

They followed, and I began by asking, “What have you heard so far?”

The same person that had spoken for the group before answered, “All we’ve heard so far is that you’re planning to leave, with a large group of vehicles. We were under the impression it was safe here, and some of us are confused as to why you would want to leave.”

I drew a deep breath and replied, “We believe the only way to really deal with the Infection is to take action against it. Our plan is to travel the country with our convoy, searching for survivors. Eventually we hope to gather enough survivors to make reclaiming a city possible. We would find a suitable place to rebuild, and slowly start clearing out the Infected until we have a safe area walled off. Depending on how this all goes, we will probably then attempt to establish a government. Eventually, the idea would be to start spreading out and reclaiming the country.”

One of the other men in the group whistled, and said, “That’s quite an ambitious goal you got there.”

I replied, “We’ll do whatever it takes to make it happen.”

He thought for a second, and then began to nod slowly. He said, “I can see that. You have an interesting idea, and I’m sure we won’t be the only people curious about it. You should talk to the rest of the people in here.”

I laughed dryly, and replied, “I don’t think I can do that. I don’t even know where to begin to try and gather all these people around just to listen to my plan.”

The man smiled, and said, “Ahh but that’s where my friend here comes in. This is the Senator. He prefers to remain anonymous for personal reasons, but you can call him Scott.”

He introduced me to the man who had been speaking for the group, and I shook his hand enthusiastically. I never thought I’d meet a senator, and especially not under circumstances like these.

Scott said, “These people listen to me; I’ve organized things like this before for both Joe and Donovan. If you’re ready now, I’ll gather them immediately. It sounds like you’re planning to leave soon, and you need to give them as much time as possible to think it over.”

I could feel my head swimming with excitement, as I replied, “Yeah, I’m ready.”

He nodded, and walked off to do his thing.

Curiously, I asked the man who introduced Scott, “Who are you anyway?”

He replied simply, “A scientist.”

Confused, I asked him, “Care to elaborate?”

He paused for a second, and looked me in the eyes. Then he said, “I suppose I should tell you, considering I’m coming with you. I worked on this virus before it became known as the Infection. In a way, I’m responsible for all of this. My name is Jonathan M. Howard.”

My eyes bulged in shock, and I said, “I know that name! You were among the first people to work on that virus. How on Earth did you end up here? Actually, I heard you were DEAD! What happened?”

He said sadly, “I was the foremost scientist working on the virus. I thought I knew every detail of it, and they used me as much as they could. After a certain point, I became worried about what such a virus could do. I did anonymous interviews, I created websites under fake names, and I worked hard to bring public attention to the virus. I even stopped following orders, and instead I started work on a vaccine. They quickly discovered that I had stopped work on the virus though, and fired me immediately. Several days later, I had reason to suspect attempts on my life were being made. I faked my own death and came up here to live with a relative of mine. It was just a few weeks later that I heard the terrible news; somehow the virus had been released... And here we are today.”

Dumbstruck, I could only mutter, “Whoa.”

He continued, “I would like nothing more than to come with you, Jack. If we could reclaim a city, and get the proper equipment, I could continue the work I was doing before I was fired. I could continue trying to help.”

The implications of this gripped me, and I asked slowly, almost fearfully, “Does this mean you could create some sort of medicine, or vaccine to be used against the Infection?”

He replied, “Yes Jack, with access to everything I need, I do think I could come up with a vaccine. And you know something else Jack?
I think I could come up with a cure.
”

Shocked, I realized that maybe my plans to save the Country weren’t going to be so insane after all. Oh it would be hard, very hard, and possibly even suicidal. But there was a chance now, a small chance that we could save the lives of not only the survivors, but also every Infected on the planet as well. And then I realized: every Infected we had ever killed was somebody we could have saved. On top of hundreds of dead Infected, I had also been forced to kill both of Ian’s parents. How would he feel after knowing this?

Jonathan grabbed my shoulder and said, “Jack, I know what you’re feeling. Every time the Infected tried to force their way in the store, we killed them. We must have killed hundreds. It haunted me. It still haunts me. But we can’t get sentimental now Jack;
we can’t stop
. If we find a cure, it will mean thousands, millions of lives are saved. But do you think the others in this store or in your group will be able to understand the implications? Do you think that your group would kill the Infected just as easily as they have been, knowing all the while that there’s the chance they could be cured? We can’t tell anybody Jack. I’m only telling you, because I have been waiting for an opportunity like this. Take me with you, and we will save the world. Our names will go down in history.”

My vision spinning, I realized he was right. If I stopped killing the Infected just because there was a chance I could save them, we would never get anything done. We would die, and we would die fast. But was it right? Was it okay? I didn’t know; I didn’t know if anybody knew. Jonathan was right about not telling the others. I didn’t know how they would react, but I could imagine how much it would tear them apart. It was tearing me apart.

Jonathan said kindly, “Jack, it’s ok. Don’t think about it, just accept it. You have a speech to deliver soon, and you don’t want to mess that up...”

That snapped me out of my trance. I have a speech to deliver. I looked up, and nodded.

I said, “Alright Jonathan. Alright.”

He clapped me on the back and said, “That a boy Jack! Now if I know Scott, he’s going to have rallied the others any minute now so prepare yourself.”

With that being said, he retreated to the others and left me to think. I didn’t have much time, and I only managed to identify some of the most basic things I wanted to mention to these people. All of the sudden, large groups of people started coming from across the store. They began crowding around, and I realized I was going to have to wing it. This ought to be good, I thought to myself dryly. The flow of people stopped, and they looked at me expectantly. I opened my mouth to speak, but then immediately realized I wasn’t going to make a good enough impression. There were almost fifty people in front of me, and I needed a way to stand out. I hurried off to the side and found a lawn chair to drag over in front of the group. I stood on it, cleared my throat, and began. I almost couldn’t recognize my voice; it was so filled with passion.

“I might not look like a leader, but then again I’ve never pretended to be. I have simply risen to the challenge, and I strive to do the best I can. I have led my group here from the center of Texas, where the outbreak was most serious. We have battled Infected along the way at every turn, and fought for our lives, and our sanity. In our journeys, we occasionally tried to do what you all are doing here; we tried to hunker down and survive in a single location. Without exception, every time we tried to do this, it ended in disaster. The question isn’t a matter of food or supplies, ammo or soldiers; the Infected will not stop; they will not rest. We can’t give them the opportunity to surround us. For although we might be able to hold out here for a couple of months, the Infected are out there, hunting. They grow stronger, and every time they come for us they will come with increasing numbers. Some of you have already seen this. Staying here is NOT the answer. This may sound discouraging to some of you, and you may be dreading spending the rest of your life on the run. There IS a solution, however. There is one way that we can eventually call somewhere our home. But it will take time. We will gather together here, and we will form a convoy. Together we will pick up cars, food, people, supplies, weapons, and equipment on our way across America. We will save lives, and we will be slowly moving towards our dream of a safe home. Eventually, when we have the strength and numbers to do so, we will retake a city. It will take time, and it will be hard, but we will force the Infected out and create a secure environment to live in. With engineers and equipment, we will repair our buildings. With soldiers and weapons, we will protect our people. And with leaders and visionaries, we will pave our way into the future. My group and anyone who wants to share in this vision will begin work on our convoy immediately, and we plan to leave here shortly. Any of you who want to join us are welcome to come. The government has failed, and I’m sure many of you have heard of the reports of Infection in other countries. As much as it pains me to face reality, it is just that: reality. There is no help coming, and the only way we will live is to fight every step of the way. We are survivors and we will NEVER give up!”

I began to step down from my chair, and to my amazement cheers broke out and many of the people listening started clapping. Scott came up to me and said, “Well done Jack, well done.”

I asked, “Why did they like that so much? I didn’t even plan it out!”

He replied, “Jack, you spoke from the heart. You spoke with emotion. And in times like these, people need a leader like you. They want to feel like there’s still hope, and there’s still a purpose for their lives. You gave them that.”

Bewildered, people started coming up to me and shaking my hand.

One asked, “What can I do to help?”

Immediately another ten people asked the same thing, all anxious to help in any way they could. I realized that lazing around here all day must be incredibly frustrating for them. I searched my brain looking for something that they could help with, when suddenly a car came zooming through the door. It was Eric, and he was soon followed by Kevin, and then to my amazement Shawn right behind him.

Kevin got out and yelled, “Yeeehawwww!”

He had found a sports car, a Lamborghini by the looks of it.

Incredulous, I asked, “How did you get THAT!?”

He replied, “I was sneaking along the apartments, looking for a car when suddenly I noticed this huge house across the street. So I broke in, and when I went into the garage I found this baby!”

Eric got out of the truck, and I asked, “Did you get the-” I stopped my sentence as he pulled a huge armful of handheld radios and such things from the truck.

He replied with a grin, “Yup!”

I asked, “Hey I have about fifteen people wanting to help the cause. You think you could put them to work?”

Bewildered, he replied, “Well, yeah... I mean the more people we have the faster it goes!”