The Infected (Book 3): Nightfall (2 page)

Today was different. He didn’t
have a chance to yammer Sara’s ear off. He had been strong and fought bravely. This
was a new world and a new day. Devon squeezed her hand back and tried to hold
eye contact with her. He did his best to man up. He let the discomfort wash
over him. His father always told him he needed to be a man, grow up and get
some character.

Devon thought to himself.

Gunshot to the leg.

Near death experience.

This was character
building for sure.

Sara recognized the look
in Devon’s eyes. She was no stranger to boys falling for her. At the age of
thirteen she discovered just how much power she had when she won the position
of Student Body President, in a landslide, with very little campaigning. She
batted her brown eyes at her male classmates and they bent over backwards to
make sure she won. Sara grew up watching Tobey Maguire play
Spiderman
on
the big screen and it was ingrained in her at a young age that
“With great
power comes great responsibility.”
Sara made sure that she never misled any
of the young men. She never promised them something she couldn’t or wouldn’t
follow through on.

Human hearts are
fragile and not worth the bad karma if you break one.

That had been her motto
for as long as she could remember.

A knife slipped out of
Jim’s hand and clanged on the cheap linoleum floor. The noise pulled Sara’s
attention away from Devon and she watched him retrieve the fumbled blade. A
couple hours ago four boys from Sara’s neighborhood attempted to rape her. It would
have been one of the scariest moments of her life, but the recent zombie
apocalypse edged it out of the top spot. Barely. The depraved words and vile
look in those boy’s eyes would be total nightmare fuel for Sara in the years to
come. Just like
Spiderman,
Jim appeared out of nowhere and kicked the
shit out of the villains. He saved her. She felt compelled to go with him and
help get the equipment they needed to save Devon. Not just because it was the
right thing to do. She genuinely felt safer around him it was like she had met
a real life hero.

She didn’t consider
herself a hero. She didn’t shoot spiderwebs nor climb walls, but she did have
an ability. It was the power to lift young men’s spirits. She leaned over, wiped
a spot on Devon’s forehead clean with her thumb, and planted a kiss on the
newly cleaned spot.

“We’ll be back in a few minutes,
okay? You hang in there,” She whispered to him.

Devon muscled a weak smile
up at her. His heart beat a little faster as she climbed to her feet.

Jim pulled off his disgusting
bloody jacket he had picked up from Big 5 Sporting Goods store earlier that
day. “Cliff, do you have a spare belt I could have? Mine’s wrapped around his
leg.” He emptied the pockets and found one last Five Hour Energy and the
lighter with the stars and stripes emblazoned on it. Jim laid them out on the
table next to the knives.

Cliff was caught a little
off guard by the question. It’s not every day that someone asks to have an
article of your clothing. “Yeah, I’m sure I have something.” He didn’t waste
any time thinking about it. Cliff left the living room and headed to his
bedroom in search of the belt.

Morgan saw her chance,
“Can I have another beer?” she asked Tina quietly. There was so much going on
and racing though Tina’s mind she didn’t think twice about her mother-in-law’s
request and got the woman a beer from the fridge.

“Tina, do you have a
garbage bag for this?” Jim held out the soiled jacket. There was no way to
clean the filth embedded into its fibers.

On her way out of the
kitchen Tina emerged with a Hefty bag and Morgan’s Tecate. She popped the top
and handed it over to Morgan. Then she held open the plastic bag as Jim dropped
the jacket into it.

“I don’t know what to even
do with this mess.” Jim told her. Then it hit him. He grabbed the bag, headed
for their sliding glass door, opened it and tossed the bag over the railing. It
hit one of the infected zombies in the head and landed in the grass. The sudden
movement and sound of the bag got the beasts all riled up and the small horde
crashed into each other as they searched for the source of the noise.

Jim slid the glass door
shut behind him, blocking out the crunching, smacking sounds happening in the
backyard. He moved to his stash laid out on the table. Cliff reappeared with a
well-worn black leather belt.

“Here, you can have this,”
Cliff said as he handed it to his neighbor. He noticed his mother had a fresh
beer in her hands but did not want to get into it with Tina while they had
company.

“Thank you,” Jim said as
he took the belt. He fed it through the loops on his pants and reattached his
fixed blade knives and the machete to his waist.

Sara and Frank stood next
to the door, ready to roll. Frank’s SKS rested in his big, rough hands. Sara’s
blade bat that Jim put together for her laid across her shoulder as they waited
for Jim to gather the last of his stuff.

The belt fit perfectly and
the buckle’s prong found its home in the same exact stretched notch that Cliff
had last used. Jim slipped on his leather jacket, zipped it up and placed the
energy drink and lighter in the pockets. He pulled the backpack straps up onto
his shoulders and clicked it tight across his chest. Tina handed him his trusty
home-made spear. The wood tip of the walking stick was stained dark red and
chunks of flesh hung from the razor sharp knife taped at the end.

Jim stepped closer to the
married couple and lowered his voice to a whisper, “If something happens to
Devon before we get back, I mean if he passes… you have to…” Jim choked on the
words. He took a beat and coughed to clear his throat. “As soon as his heart
stops he will be one of them. You have to take him out right away.”

“We understand,” Tina
whispered.

“We’ll take care of him
until you get back.” Cliff said, “Here’s a bit of advice I learned today. Know
your exits before marching into the building. It might save your life,” Cliff
extended his hand and they ended the conversation with a firm shake. Jim logged
the info and nodded at Cliff. It was a good chunk of insight.  

Cliff made a mental note
after seeing Jim’s main weapon. The cleaver was good at splitting skulls but he
had to get so damn close to the diseased people that it was a very risky job to
take them down. He needed to make his own bladed weapon. Cliff plotted, schemed
and listed out all of the possible things he had around the house that he could
build into an efficient killing tool.

Jim joined his crew at the
front door.

“What’s the plan?” Sara’s frayed
nerves caused her voice to crack.

“I’ve got a spare key to
my wife’s PT Cruiser. Frank lays down a path to the car and I do my best to
keep all four tires on the road,” Jim said with a confident tone.

“Plus you’ve got to keep
an eye out for car stealing church militias,” Frank said as he clicked the
safety off of his rifle.

“Sounds like a plan,” Sara
said as she opened the front door to Cliff and Tina’s apartment. The three of
them stepped out on to the landing. They faced the makeshift wall built by Cliff
at the top of the stairs. Jim sized up the obstacle. The only route they could
take would be to climb over the top rail of the landing and then back over the
rail on to the steps. For a moment they would be hanging ten feet from the
unforgiving concrete entry with a small horde of infected zombies between them
and Karen’s car.

All damn day I’ve been
fighting to get home and ten minutes later I’m hitting the road again.

 
Jim kept his enthusiasm to himself.

Fucking fantastic!
Jim thought as his free hand curled around the top
rail and he quickly counted the thirty monsters that separated them from their
ride.

Just fucking fantastic!

The hardwood floor under
Karen’s butt felt like as good a place as any to have a nervous breakdown. Penny’s
dead black eyes stared through the glass door locked on the piece of meat that was
her daughter. The infected salesman that had attacked Penny earlier joined her
at the sliding glass door. The two of them occasionally slammed a bloody fist
into the solid glass. Karen’s sore, bloodshot eyes were zoned out and looking a
thousand miles away.

Karen’s mind was playing
tricks on her. Every couple of minutes she would think about getting up,
walking out the door and letting those two monsters tear her apart.

Just end it!
Karen’s brain begged at her.

What’s the point? I’m
going to end up dead anyway!

Why prolong the
suffering!

Fuck it all!

Jim’s dead! Mama’s
dead!

I should just join
them!

Her thoughts were not
playing fair. The logic was too sound. The more she thought about it, the more
sense it made. She didn’t have to step outside. She could just empty her gun’s
magazine on her family and put the barrel to her temple.

Easy peasy, right?

She could just let go and
stop fighting.

Robin tapped at her
shoulder, “Mama, okay?” she asked.

Karen shook her head at
the baby, she was not ready to talk yet. Robin dropped her head onto her Mama’s
shoulder and kept patting her with a soft touch. Valerie was in the living
room, giggling about something. Karen had blacked out a little and time had
jumped forward. These two little people needed her to be strong. She could not
let her babies down. She had gotten them this far. She just needed to be a
little stronger for them and make it through the day. Karen Blackmore was
strong and suicide was not her style. She knew she had to get her shit together
for her family and she needed to do it fast. Sitting around and having a pity
party was going to get her killed if she didn’t watch out. If this was any
other day she could take the time to properly mourn the loss of her amazing
Mama and her puppy dog, Paris, but not today.  

I need to be tough.
Karen thought.

I am tough.
She told herself.  

Leon helped Robin out of
the wrap, and as he worked at the knot he spoke softly to Karen. He used a
gentle voice. Almost a whisper. He didn’t want to startle the semi-conscious catatonic
mama bear. He was unaware how dark and dire Karen’s thoughts truly were.

“I found the chapter on
concussions in the medical book and we need to keep Troy awake. I kicked on a
kid’s video that was in the DVD player. I hope it will hold his interest. Valerie
is in his lap asking questions and that seems to be working. I haven’t told him
about… her yet. That seems like a family discussion. Plus, I don’t know if the
info would even register right now.” Leon got the knot loose enough to untie
it. He slowly pulled Robin off Karen’s back and set her down. The little one
raced out of the dining room and towards the sounds of the TV the second her
feet hit the floor. Leon finished pulling the rough sheet off of Karen’s body.
As the fabric unraveled from her body her torso swayed and her limbs fell limp
at her side.

“We should do… something
about them before they draw any attention.” Leon balled up the blood-covered sheets
and squatted down next to Karen. He leaned his head over into her line of
sight. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now. When my parents died
I was across the Pacific Ocean from them. I never got to see their bodies.”
Leon’s head dropped then he looked around the room as if something hanging from
the walls or up on a shelf would trigger the right set of words for him to say
to snap her out of this haze. Nothing helped.

He reached out and touched
Karen’s knee. The physical contact caused her eyes to flick over onto Leon’s
face. His forced smile greeted her gaze.

“I know you need time to
mourn, but we have got to lock this place down before we end up… joining the
dead.” Leon finished the sentence with a hard swallow.

They stared at each other
for a while before she finally spoke, “I need five more minutes and a glass of
water.” Karen’s voice was hoarse. She sounded like she was coming down with a
cold. Leon nodded at her and stood up to get the water.

He dumped the bloody
sheets into the trash can under the sink and washed the gore from his hands. Standing
in front of the kitchen window he could see what was left of the police cruiser
they destroyed on the ride to Penny’s home. The streets in this neighborhood
were still clear of infected.

That’s good.

We take care of the two
in the backyard and this place could be pretty safe,
thought Leon.

He dried his hands on a
towel that hung from the electric range and searched the cupboards for a glass.
He found one, filled it with cold tap water and carried it over to her. Karen’s
hand was up and ready to take the glass when he got close enough.

She took the glass and
drained it into her mouth. It was going to take five more full glasses to kill
the dehydration headache she had. The run to the house with Robin on her back
and Troy on her shoulder was some of the hardest cardio Karen had ever been
forced to do. Her mind had finally squashed the evil ideas of murdering her
family and gunning herself down. It was about time too, she hated that her mind
went straight to offing herself. The water was helping her system come back
online. She was cleaning out the cobwebs and making space for new ideas to
form. The gears in her head were starting to click and brainstorms were on the
horizon.

How do we make this
place safe?

That was the million-dollar
question. Karen counted a dozen windows on this ranch style house. If one were
smashed in they would be vulnerable and have to run.

How do we block up all
of these damn windows?

She raised her empty glass
high in the air as a signal for more. Leon picked up on her request and took
the empty container back into the kitchen.

If the house gets
breached we need a fast way out.

The knots in her back
burned almost as badly as her dislocated wrist. The thought of Robin being
strapped to her back again was horrifying. Carrying the girls would be nearly
impossible until Troy was a hundred percent. They needed a new ride. Thank God
Leon was skilled at acquiring vehicles that didn’t belong to him. They needed
to find a four-wheel-drive truck and bring it back to the house. Get it fully
gassed and ready to go. That way they could hit the road full throttle in a
pinch. Leon was back with another full glass and Karen went right to work emptying
it. This time she didn’t guzzle it down. She sipped at it and looked at the
chicken coop into her mother’s backyard.

The idea had taken full
form and the “Hows” that needed the most answering had come to Karen. Her
glutes were begging her to get up off the hardwood floor. Her butt had gone
numb.

“Can you help me up?” Her
voice was clearer than before and she raised both of her arms. Leon took hold
of them and raised her to her feet. She continued to sip her water as she
stretched out her back.

“How handy are you?” Karen
asked Leon.

“Pretty handy. Why?” he
answered as his brow narrowed. He wondered where she was going with that question.

“Mama has-” Karen choked
on the word and took a moment to gather herself. “There’s a ton of lumber in
the garage. We can use it to block up these windows.”

“Okay, that’s good. What
about them?” Leon pointed out the sliding glass door.  

Karen pulled the Ruger out
of its holster.

“Okay, we have to make it
quick before more of those things show up,” Leon said as he reached for the
gun.

“No.” Karen held the
pistol close to her chest. “I have to do this.”

“You’re right. What do you
want me to do?” Leon crossed his arms and pivoted so that he was standing
shoulder to shoulder with Karen as they looked out the back door.

“Can you hold the door
open a crack… just enough for the barrel to poke out?” The tears had started to
fall again. Karen felt her body shake. This was it. When she pulls that trigger
her Mama would be truly gone. Was she sure that there was no cure? Even if
there was a cure how the hell would she get her Mama to the doctors without
getting bitten herself? She knew the answer to all of these questions but her
mind was stalling. It was still fighting the reality. Her sweet Mama was gone
forever. The gun almost vibrated out of her good hand as she stepped closer to
the back door.

Leon moved into position
so that he could jam his foot into the runner of the sliding glass door and
keep the beasts from pulling it open. Karen checked the magazine in her gun.
She knew that it was full, she was stalling.

Maybe if I wait long
enough I won’t have to do it.

Maybe Mama will walk
away from the door.

The thought of her Mama
walking the streets of the neighborhood, killing innocent people, tearing
families apart, ripping the flesh from someone’s bones and destroying another
life was too much. She could not let that happen. Penny would rather be killed
than ever hurt an innocent person. Karen knew that as a fact. She took another
step closer to the door and clicked off the safety.

Her Mama always had her
back. No matter what. When Karen was a child and she had done something wrong
and was about to get into trouble she would stretch the truth to her Mama. Just
a little fib. No matter what she had done or how much she had stretched the
truth Penny always believed her. She always had her baby’s side.

One time Penny had taken
off for the weekend to visit her parents. Karen was a senior in high school and
had been left home alone for the first time. Penny had an argument with her own
mother that day and she decided to come home early. When she pulled up to her
house it was pretty obvious what was going on. Parked cars lined the street.
Music poured from the open windows and a steady stream of teens were coming and
going out the front door. Penny pulled out her cell phone and called the house.
She heard the music cut off from her car and then Karen answered the call.

“Hello sweetheart how are
you doing? I was just checking in on you before I go to bed.” Penny’s
performance was flawless.

The words slurred slowly
out of Karen’s mouth, “Hey Mama. I’m just watching a movie and about to go to
bed myself.” Karen clumsily covered the receiver and shushed her friends.

“Okay, Papa and Maw send
their love. I love you too, baby. Have a good weekend and be safe. All right?”

“I love you too Mama and
tell Papa and Maw I love them and I’ll see them at Christmas.” Karen faked a
yawn. “Okay, I’m heading to bed now. See you tomorrow night. Love you.”

Penny’s child breathed heavily
into the phone and awaited confirmation that this call was coming to an end.
All Penny wanted to say was “Drink some water and eat some food so you don’t
get sick tomorrow.” But she didn’t. She knew that Karen was a good kid and she
would be safe. So she said, “Love you too baby girl. See you tomorrow night.”
Penny hung up the phone. A few seconds later the music got turned back up in
the house and the party resumed. Penny knew how hard her divorce had been on
Karen and she also knew how important it was for seniors in high school to look
cool. There were few things cooler than having a big party when your parents
were out of town. If Penny truly thought Karen couldn’t handle herself or that
the party would get out of control she would have marched in there and shut the
damn thing down. Instead she made a U-turn and headed for the closest motel.
Some parents would have looked down on her for doing that, but moms that trust
their children sometimes have to look the other way. Years later Penny
confessed to Karen about the phone call and that she knew exactly what was
happening. Karen couldn’t believe it. All those years she thought she was the
clever one that got away with it, but the reality was her Mama was the best and
always had been.

Karen pushed a tear from
her cheek and then she raised the gun shoulder high. She held it there for a
minute before she nodded at Leon.

What if they can’t find
a cure?

Would Valerie or Robin
have to gun me down in cold blood?

Do I await the same
fate?

What was left of Karen’s
Mama threw a hard blood covered hand at the glass door. The noise startled
Karen. They were a team. The perfect mother daughter combo and now it was down
to this. A broken woman holding a gun inches from the glass door and the empty
shell of a woman, itching to feed on anyone and anything she could get her
infected hands on.

“Ready?” Leon whispered.

Karen shut her eyes and
nodded her head. She could hear the sound of the door opening a few inches. The
metal chunk that protruded out of Penny’s torso ground along the glass as she
moved towards the gap. Karen opened her eyelids, saw the blackness that was her
Mama’s infected soul and wished it didn’t have to go this way, but what other
choice did she have?