The First Days: As the World Dies (5 page)

1. The Truth of Things Yet to Come

    

    Katie was tired of the sun blazing through the windshield and the steady hum of the road. It was nearly one o'clock in the afternoon and they had been slowly winding deeper into the Texas wilds.

    Some of the roads were so narrow that two cars passing would have to hug the shoulder and slow down considerably. Herds of cows, peach groves, and empty fields were all they saw for miles. Occasionally there was a house in the distance, but they didn't even consider trying to pull off the road. Out in the country, people were barricading themselves in as the cities went to hell.

    "What do you think is going on?" Jenni's voice sounded raw.

    To preserve their gas the best they could, they had finally turned off the air conditioner. The wind blowing through the cab was warm, not hot, but the dust caught in their noses and throats.

    "Where?"

    "Out there? Austin, Houston, Fort Worth…" Jenni asked.

    Katie thought about the morning and all that had happened to them. "It was spreading so fast, I don't think it’s going too well. Maybe the army can get a handle on it. I don't know. I know yesterday there was that commuter plane crash in Chicago they were blaming on someone going crazy and attacking everyone and a race riot in Philadelphia. But now I have to wonder."

    "I didn't see the news. The kids were watching Disney movies when Lloyd got back. Some bum bit him on the hand when Lloyd had rolled down the window to hand him some coins." Jenni laughed. "He was such an asshole to his family, but always generous to everyone else."

    "He used to hurt you, didn't he?"

    Katie's voice was gentle, but she knew her words stung.

    "Better me than the boys," Jenni admitted.

    "I got into the habit of not listening to the news until I got to work.

    Lydia and I had a strict policy of making our mornings as peaceful as possible. It made the rest of the day just easier if we could relax, drink coffee, have breakfast, watch the sun come up…” Katie faltered as the tranquil memories of the morning came back to her.

    Lydia had been wearing a long, dark dress with stylish ethnic jewelry around her neck and wrists. Her short, spunky hairdo had looked rather retro and cute. They had spoken about their weekend plans and Lydia's plans for the summer garden. It had been a lovely morning. She could still remember how cool and soft Lydia's hand had been in hers when they had kissed one last time before the world had fallen into chaos.

    Jenni's hand on her wrist brought her out of her reverie and she could feel tears on her cheeks.

    "Maybe if we had paid attention to the news," Katie said with a slight sob in her voice.

    "There is a lot of bad stuff in the world. Sometimes it was just better to shut it out."

    Katie nodded briskly and tried to pull herself together. She had to concentrate on the here and now and get them to a safe place. Where that was, she wasn't sure, but they had to keep moving.

    As the truck sped around a curve in the road an old station wagon came into view. A middle-aged man, wiry and sunburned, stood next to it waving desperately. Katie automatically began to slow down and Jenni gripped her arm hard.

    "Maybe we shouldn't stop," Jenni said fearfully.

    Katie considered her words, then shook her head. "If we can save someone, we should." She slowed the truck down to a stop and listened to the hot engine tick and rumble.

    The man walked briskly over to them and gripped the edge of the window frame with trembling hands. "Good thing you gals came along. My wife isn't doing so hot. We broke down about two hours ago."

    "What's wrong with your wife?" Katie asked though she knew the answer.

    "Got some crazy shit going down on the highway. People grabbing other people out of cars and doing all sorts of just-” He shook his head. "I can't even explain it. It was just insane. Wife had her window down and some little kid bit her arm. I didn't think it was that bad, but she's not doing too good right now. I was heading back home, avoiding the highway, when we broke down. Now I think she needs a doctor."

    Katie sighed softly. The man had a very earnest face and kind eyes. His skin was weathered from the Texan sun and beads of sweet trailed down his long nose. For a moment, she just wanted to hug him and comfort him, but he wouldn't understand. He didn't understand. Not yet.

    The passenger door creaked open and Jenni slipped out. Jack started to follow, but she shut the door on him and he woofed at her.

    "Lady, we need your help bad," the man said, obviously unnerved by Katie's silence.

    "There isn't any help for her," Katie said finally. "Anyone bit is…doomed."

    "What the hell are you talking about?"

    "You know how people were attacking each other on the highway? It's that way in the city too. Everywhere. People get bit they get sick and attack other people." She wasn't sure how he would take to the zombie theory.

    A flutter of pink caught her eye and she looked toward where Jenni was staring into the car. Jenni took a step back and glanced back toward Katie.

    Sadly, she shook her head. The warm Texas wind blew hard against the truck, rocking it, and sent bits of dry grass and leaves spinning across the road.

    The man was silent for a long time. He was obviously thinking hard.

    "Then we gotta get her to the hospital before it’s too late."

    "She's almost gone," Jenni said as she stepped up next to the man.

    "She's real bad, Katie. I think maybe we should…” She motioned toward the shotgun.

    "Mister, I know you love your wife. Trust me I know how you feel, but you need to come with us and leave her. She's not going to be the woman you love in just a short while," Katie said to him. Impulsively, she laid her hand over his. "Please, come with us."

    Jack let out a sharp bark followed by a growl.

    All three of the humans turned back toward the station wagon. A woman with long blond hair was struggling out of the open passenger window. Her greenish skin and opaque eyes said it all. She was dead and hungry.

    "Shit!"

    "Honey?"

    "Get in the truck!" Katie flung her door open and Jenni crawled in over her faster than she would have thought possible.

    The man hesitated as his wife hit the road hard, landing on her face.

    "Please, get in the truck!" Katie screamed at the man.

    He looked at her in confusion, then back at his wife who was struggling to get to her feet. "Lady, you're both fucking nuts," he decided and headed toward his wife.

    Katie slammed the door shut. "Shit!"

    "Run her over," Jenni ordered. "Just flatten her ass and save him."

    The man was moving toward his newly zombified wife. She was obviously disoriented by her fall to the ground and was staring off in the opposite direction. He called out her name and she whirled around and snarled.

    "He's stupid," Jenni hissed.

    Katie reversed slightly, shifted gears and floored the truck. "He loves her," she answered.

    The zombie was running at her husband with her hands outstretched and her face an ugly, twisted version of its former self. Katie swerved in front of the man and the truck rammed into the female zombie and sent her flying.

    The creature tumbled wildly, limbs flailing. Katie slammed on the brakes and both women stared at the fallen dead woman through the windshield.

    Jack gave a sharp little bark.

    The woman lay on the road.

    "You fucking bitches!" The man slammed his fist into the side of the truck bed and scrambled toward the door.

    Katie ducked away from him as he tried to grab her through the open window. Jack jumped on top of Katie and barked fiercely at the man.

    "You killed her! You killed her!" The man screamed shrilly.

    Katie tried to get out from under the dog, but then Jenni climbed over her, shrieking back at the man.

    "She's already dead! She's dead and you need to get in the truck before she eats your ass!"

    "You're crazy!" The man sobbed and attempted to hit Katie. "You killed her! You killed her!"

    Katie tried to get up, but Jenni was still over her. Jenni shoved the man to back him out the window as Jack continued to hop up and down on Katie barking.

    "Get off me!"

    The man and Jenni screamed at each other and Katie let her foot up off the gas. The truck lurched forward, knocking the man away and Jenni fell back into her seat. Slamming her foot onto the brake, Katie grabbed the steering wheel and pulled herself up. Jack scooted back, but kept barking out the window.

    "She's up," Jenni said.

    Shoving her blond curls out of her face, Katie looked down the road at the undead creature crawling slowly toward them. Its torn body struggled to move and the expression on its battered face was inhuman.

    "Honey, honey!" The man ran past the truck toward the zombie.

    "Fuck," Katie sighed in resignation.

    "Run the bitch over and let him live," Jenni said.

    "He won't come with us after I do that," Katie answered.

    "Save his damn life and let him find his own way," Jenni answered. "We can keep him from being one of those things."

    The man was getting closer to the dead woman.

    "Katie, do it."

    With a weary sigh, Katie shifted gears and the truck growled as it surged forward. As they passed the heart-broken husband, he realized what they were doing and threw himself at the truck. They heard him hit the side of the truck bed. Jack growled at the crawling creature in the road right before the truck's front left wheel rolled over it. Katie slammed on the brakes and without looking back, reversed over the zombie. They were jostled slightly around in the cab as the horrified howl of the man they were trying to save filled the air.

    Jenni leaned out of her window and screamed at him, "She would have eaten you!"

    Katie let out another sigh and the truck roared on.

    Jenni fell back into the cab and sat staring out of the windshield. Jack twisted around to stare out the back window at the man screaming in agony over the decimated body of his former wife. Katie tried hard not to look into the mirrors.

    "We were just trying to help," Jenni pouted.

    "I know," Katie answered and ran her fingers through her hair slowly.

    She massaged the tender, knots on the top of her head with her fingertips and tried to relax. Her whole body was tense and painful. She had just run over a woman and reduced her to road kill. And yet, she had no regrets. In this new world, violence was the way to redemption.

    If only she could have released Lydia…

    Jenni looked grumpy as she propped her feet up on the dashboard. "He could have listened to us. We could have helped him."

    "Not everyone understands what is going on," Katie said after a beat.

    "I'm still adapting."

    Sighing, Jenni pulled the dog close to her.

    They lapsed into silence and continued down the road.

    

    

2. Keep Moving Until You Stop

    

    Keep moving, Katie. Keep moving, her father's voice whispered in her mind.

    Had he really said those words?

    She sighed and shifted in her seat. The air conditioning was blowing full blast making it nice and cool in the cab despite the hot sun blazing through the windshield. It was a pull on the tank of gas, but it was too hot to go without running it anymore. It was near four o'clock in the afternoon and the hottest part of the day.

    Jack and Jenni had dozed off beside her. Jenni's head slightly rested on Katie's thigh and her black hair fell around her pale face. Her body was curled up under the hunting jacket. Jack the German Shepherd, no more than an overgrown puppy really, lay against her.

    They were both snoring.

    It soothed Katie's nerves for some strange reason.

    Damn erratic weather had it cold in the mornings, roasting by noon, and cool in the evenings. Right now it was at full broil.

    She had finally kicked off her shoes. Her sleeveless silk tank and navy blue trousers seemed brutally out of place in her new existence. She would need to find some better clothes soon. But where, was a good question. For miles there had been nothing more than farmland and forest and occasionally a house set back from the road.

    On one small farm road, they had passed a farm that had its workers patrolling the grounds with guns. One of them had motioned for them to slow down, but Katie's gut had clenched at the sight of one of those workers heavily bandaged arm and they had sped by.

    They couldn't take chances anymore.

    But they weren't the only paranoid ones. They had to go around a very small town that had its roads blocked with armed men standing at the ready.

    A huge makeshift sign had read "No out of towners allowed." It made sense, actually, if the people from the big cities, like them, were trying to seek refuge in the countryside. There was no assurance that the city folk weren't bringing the infection with them.

    Looming ahead of the truck were more hills and more trees. It felt peaceful and surreal. Usually at this time of the day she was either in court or buried under stacks of paperwork. Her tummy would be full of takeout food and she'd be text-messaging Lydia back and forth as the day went on.

    Instead…

    She looked down at Jenni and sighed.