The Death Trilogy (Book 1): The Death: Quarantine (29 page)

“The unintended consequence of The Death was the mass kill off of many of the animalspecies. We never thought the virus would cross-mutate across species, but it did. There are not enough resources to feed and maintain our original numbers. We must reduce our numbers by half, we need to get the overall North American population down to thirty-five million,” the first man said.

“I wasn’t told about these new numbers,” Horton exclaimed.

“You’re being told now. Put off Arcadia and get to work on the Cleansing immediately. Killing off fifteen million people will take some time,” the first man said.

Those last comments confirmed Lori’s suspicions; everything from The Death to her being there was all one conspiracy. It wasn’t some random asteroid strike that must have been the perfect patsy to release what would be listed as one of the greatest mass extinctions the planet has ever seen. Horton and those men were mass murderers; they had committed a holocaust so they could have the world to themselves.

She had heard enough. She needed to get out of there and fast; her baby’s life was now in the balance. In a mad rush she dressed herself. Once ready, she slipped out of the bedroom but stepped right into one of the men coming from the kitchen.

“Hi, you must be Lori,” the man said. He put out his hand for her to shake.

Not wanting to cause a commotion, she took it and said, “Yes, yes, hi. And you are?”

“Oh, a friend and colleague of the chancellor’s.”

“Nice to meet you,” she said with a grin.

“Have you been here for a while?” he asked, suspicious now that she might have overheard their conversation.

“Oh, no, just walked in to grab a jacket, got it, and was heading back out to go for a walk.”

“Hmm, why don’t you come with me?” he suggested, placing his hand at the small of her back and nudging her towards the living room.

“No, it’s fine, seems like you’re busy.”

“Not anymore, why don’t you meet the rest of the group.”

She resisted, but he applied greater pressure.

Horton and the other men were still talking, their chatter too loud for them to overhear her and this man.

“I’d really appreciate if you didn’t push me. I can go myself.”

“That would be easier,” he said, a devilish grin now stretched across his face.

The only thing that separated them from Horton and the others was a wall. Once they made one turn, she’d be in front of the others and the man could inform them of his suspicion that she might have overheard everything they had been discussing.

She frantically thought of how she could get out of this, but with each step she was beginning to give in to her fate. Then a large geode caught her eye, the ten-pound piece of amethyst might be her saving grace. She quickly grabbed it, spun, and smacked him squarely in the forehead.

The man’s forehead split wide open, and blood gushed out of the gaping wound. The blunt force trauma from the blow knocked him out, his unconscious body fell to the floor with a thud.

When he hit the floor, she listened to see if the others had heard. From their continued chatter, it appeared they hadn’t. This was her chance, her one and only chance to flee, and she took it. There was no going back, she was committed, but with no plans on how she’d escape or where she’d go.

Jenks Residence, Reed, Illinois

Daryl wasted no time in loading the SUV for the trip to Evansville. He knew he could arrive well before they would, as it was not more than a twelve-hour drive, but these days nothing was a simple drive. The roads were full of obstacles and hazards, and if he wanted to arrive with enough time to recon the area, he’d need to leave immediately. The sun was leaving them for the day, and soon the blackness of night would envelop them. He’d use the night to his advantage and drive without headlights, using only a pair of night vision goggles to help him see.

Devin, Tess, and Brianna all began to help, but when Daryl saw them loading the Humvee for the drive, he stopped them.

“Nope, you’re not coming with me. You all have done enough. It’s now up to me.”

“Don’t be crazy. You’ll need our help. The slavers can’t be a nice bunch; you’ll need us,” Devin insisted.

“No, you need to complete your journey, and that’s that,” Daryl said.

“Devin’s right. You need our help. You helped us when we needed it. You didn’t have to, but you did,” Tess argued.

“Sweetheart, that was all Mary. If it had been my idea, you wouldn’t be here,” he reminded her.

“We’re coming, and that’s that,” Devin again insisted.

Seeing they were stubborn, he gave in and allowed them to help and prep the Humvee for departure as well.

“So where are we headed?” Tess asked as she carried out her personal items and placed them in the Humvee.

“Devin didn’t mention it yet?” Daryl asked.

“No, I didn’t quite hear where it was, with the wind and Frank’s mumbling redneck twang, it made it difficult to understand,” Devin mentioned.

“Not far, down in Indiana, near Kentucky.”

“I’ve never been to Kentucky, the bluegrass state, right?” Devin asked nonchalantly.

“It’s beautiful down there. Well, at least it was before,” Brianna offered.

“If I can get your help, let’s pull the plane back into the barn. There’s no saying how long we’ll be gone,” Daryl suggested.

All three finished with the vehicles and followed him down to the runway. After a half hour, the plane was back inside and the doors secured.

Daryl set a Claymore charge close by the entrance of the barn to ward off any possible intruders. He found that it only took one going off to discourage looky-loos.

“Let’s get some chow, and then we can head out,” Daryl suggested.

They all gathered around the formal dining table at Daryl’s insistence while he prepared a quick meal.

Brando was even given a chair to sit in; Daryl wouldn’t have it any other way.

As Tess, Devin, Brianna and Brando waited for Daryl to serve dinner, they chatted with one another, keeping it light. With the stark realities of the world, they created a rule that when they could, they’d discuss anything other than what was happening to them.

“I have a game for all of us to play,” Devin said cheerfully.

“A game? I’m in,” Brianna asked, excited at the proposition.

“Why not,” Tess said.

Daryl walked in with a bottle of wine and asked, “Who wants a glass?”

“Do we have time for all of this?” Tess responded.

“If I could grab Hudson now, I would, but it’s dark, and I don’t think we’ll run into those slavers until the designated meeting,” Daryl answered, defending his actions to have a last meal at the house before leaving.

“Fine, I’ll take a glass,” Tess said.

Devin raised his hand and said, “Pour away.”

Brianna looked around shyly, not saying a word.

“Do you want some?” Daryl asked, seeing her curious expression.

“Can I?”

“Are you kidding me, of course,” Daryl said and poured her a full glass before pouring himself one. He swirled the wine and looked at it somberly before saying, “I bought this bottle for my ten-year anniversary with Mary. They told me it was a good bottle, I hope so.”

All three could see the sadness in his eyes as he looked at his glass.

A grin reappeared on Daryl’s face as he raised his glass and said, “A toast.”

“A toast?” Tess asked cynically.

“Enough of your sourpuss attitude,” Devin quipped.

“I just think—”

Daryl cut her off and said, “Tess, relax, sometimes we have to just let things go. We could all step out in an hour and get killed. Let’s enjoy this one moment with one another, okay?”

She scrunched her nose but surrendered to his desires. “Okay, I agree, no more sourpuss.”

“So, a toast to new friends, thank you for being there when I needed you,” Daryl proclaimed.

“Cheers!” all three said in response.

“And to you too for helping us when we needed it,” Tess reminded him.

“Our mutual experiences taught me a lot. It taught me that I need to trust a little, not everyone out there is bad. I found you three, sorry, four,” Daryl said, looking at Brando. “If I had my way—”

Devin interrupted and said, “We know, no need to explain, plus I smell something burning.”

Daryl put his glass down and ran out.

“This is nice. I, for one, want to enjoy this brief moment,” Devin said.

“The game, let’s play the game,” Brianna pleaded.

“Okay, it’s simple, each person will name one thing they miss in the world, and the others will judge it. The person with the most votes wins.”

“Can I start?” Brianna asked, raising her arm like a schoolgirl.

“Sure.”

“I know this sounds silly, but I miss ice cream,” she said with pure innocent glee in her voice.

From the other room, Daryl blurted out, “Me too, great one!”

“Me second,” Devin agreed.

“Ice cream, really?”

“Grumpy back so soon?” Devin asked.

“I miss movies, new movies, going to the theater, the greasy fake butter on the popcorn, the whole experience,” Daryl hollered from the kitchen.

“Yes, that’s a good one too!” Brianna squealed. She was enjoying the game immensely.

“I have to say, I like that one too. I think we have a tie right now. Tess, what do you say?”

Tess motioned with a thumb down.

“Tess, what will you miss or do miss?” Devin asked.

“I miss feeling safe,” she answered seriously.

“Boo!” Daryl bellowed as he strolled in with a bowl of pasta covered in red sauce.

“Yeah, not fun at all,” Brianna agreed.

“Fun?” Tess challenged.

“Tess, we all agreed meals would be casual. We’re just trying to have a bit of relaxation, and you keep messing it up,” Devin reminded her.

“Whatever, I’m out of this stupid game,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“I’m the last one, and I miss Christmas. When December rolled around, I couldn’t help but think about it. I know it sounds pathetic, but I missed it.”

Brianna nodded.

Daryl said, “We made sure we had Christmas so Hudson would still feel as normal as possible.”

Tess raised her hand and put her thumb in the air in agreement.

“Looks like we have a winner. To Devin, the winner of the missing game,” Daryl said, holding his wineglass in the air.

They all clanged their glasses together and in unison said, “Winner, winner, chicken dinner.”

Denver International Airport

Getting past the guards at the entrance was nerve-racking for her. She used every ounce of composure she had to fake a calm demeanor. She had playacted before in life, but if given an award, she’d have won an Oscar.

Once past them, she raced at a near sprint to the stairs. Her destination was the Cockpit Lounge; she hoped to find Travis and safety.

She pushed the door to the stairwell so hard it flew open and hit the cinderblock wall, nearly hitting Chance Montgomery, who happened to be there.

“Damn, Lori, you almost hit me!” he yelled.

She was breathing heavily, and sweat was sliding down her face. She gave him an uncomfortable grin and said, “Sorry.”

“Where are you going in such a damn hurry?”

Several different scenarios were playing out in her mind. She didn’t know what to do. Here was her immediate supervisor and colleague of Horton’s. He clearly had been briefed on her condition and their personal situation. She felt he had to be looking at her and wondering to himself what exactly she was up to.

With no time to come to a rational decision, she acted pragmatically. Using her gut instincts to guide her, she punched Chance squarely in the face.

The sucker punch sent him reeling backwards and farther into the stairwell. He let out a grunt as he fell onto the railing.

With ruthless vigor she pursued him and kept punching. She was fighting for her and her baby’s very lives.

Chance had no time to respond to the barrage of punches. One after another she landed them on his face. Soon his nose, lips and right cheek were bleeding.

“Lori, please,” he cried out as he collapsed to the hard floor.

She was now acting on pure animal rage and was on top of him. She grabbed his head and banged it several times into the concrete floor till she heard a loud crack, and blood soon followed.

Seeing the deep red blood flowing and his eyes rolled up into his head, she stopped the attack. She looked at her small hands and saw his blood. Frantically she wanted it off, so she smeared it on her jeans.

With Chance presumably dead and the first man either dead or gravely injured, she couldn’t go back. She had to find a way out; she just prayed Travis was her ticket out of there.

Jenks Residence, Reed, Illinois

The four enjoyed the home-cooked meal more than they could express. The experiences they had mutually shared had drawn them together in a way that never could have occurred before.

Devin smiled to himself when he thought about how close he felt to Tess, Briana, Brando and now Daryl. It went without saying that they’d do anything for each other. Besides Cassidy, he hadn’t had tight-knit relationships with people. He had been an awkward man before, who kept to himself, locked away in his midtown apartment, writing other people’s words. This feeling he had for them gave him something he loved; he just wished he hadn’t waited till the apocalypse to find it.

“Who wants dessert?” Daryl asked.

All agreed and Daryl left the room. They chatted, laughed and tried to guess what surprise sweet thing he’d serve them. It wasn’t until they heard the SUV start that they knew the entire meal and service had been a ruse to keep them busy and unaware of his plan to leave without them.

By the time they reached the front screen door, Daryl had made the left onto Madison Road and was accelerating fast away from them.

“What’s he doing?” Tess asked, exasperated that he just left them.

“Come on. Let’s chase him down,” Devin said as he ran for the Hummer.

“I’ll get Brando. Wait for me!” Brianna yelled.

Tess ran to get her rifle and sidearm from the kitchen when she saw the note on the table.