The Zombie Virus (Book 1) (32 page)

“Good luck finding your boy,” Hubert said in
a subdued voice; Margaret silently shook her head ‘no’.

Something hit the door hard on the other side
and the center panel gave way with a loud crack. A large black arm
reached through the splintered section and tore at the remains of
the panel. Quicker than I thought the old man could move he
swiveled back around, raised the shotgun, and fired off one of the
barrels.

I ducked back out and slammed the window
closed. My last sight of the couple was of them sitting together on
the bed, Margaret still had her arm around Hubert. He pointed the
shotgun at the broken door as a mass of infected fought to get
through.

I helped Kera down from the roof onto the
front lawn, and then dropped down beside her. The area was
temporarily clear.

I grabbed her hand and ran down the driveway,
feeling the fatigue in my legs with every step. When we reached the
road I glanced back, we were in the clear.

A single shot came from inside the house when
we turned the corner, and then nothing more.

Kera was crying softly as we jogged down the
road. I dropped back beside her, took her hand again, and slowed to
a walk. She looked up at me, tears streaking the dirt coating her
bruised face.

“We left them to die. That’s fucked up!”

“I know. The old lady was correct though,
they couldn’t escape and we couldn’t stay.” I shook my head and
squeezed her hand tightly. “It’s something we’ll have to live
with.”

Her tears continued to fall as we walked into
the sunset.

We had a long road ahead of us.

EPILOGUE

The days on the road have turned to weeks and still
we trudge onward. We make camp in the thick forests or abandoned
homes if an opportunity presents itself. We always try to stay as
far from centers of what used to be human civilization as we can
manage.

Thank God they sleep at night.

Kera has healed well from her wounds, except
for a light scar on her forehead and the bridge of her nose. Her
beauty has rebounded and blossomed even in these harsh times. She
has matured before my eyes and no longer emits that aura of
innocence that surrounded her when we first met, so long ago.

We stop for a night in the deep forest near a
clear gurgling stream and make our camp. Later, we lay together
under the dark pines, looking up at the lights of millions of stars
peeking through the swaying boughs, each lost in our own thoughts.
We slip into each other’s arms on top of the cool fabric of our
sleeping bags. We give each other a lingering kiss goodnight as we
snuggle closer to each other. The flesh on flesh contact of our
naked bodies in the cool summer evening of the forest reminds us
that we are still thinking, feeling, loving humans. She has become
something more than a travelling companion now – my lover, my mate.
Along with the passage of time, she has helped ease the pain of the
loss of Holly and bridged some of the emptiness. The light fades,
and suppressed grief still bubbles to the surface. I am haunted by
images, like ghosts of a life that can never be reclaimed that
sweep into my mind and spotlight all that has been lost.

We haven’t come across any other survivors in
our time on the road together. At times it seems that we are the
last humans on the planet, except for one other.

My boy is still alive. I find signs that he
has been here or there before us. Spent casings where he defended
himself from Loonies, an empty candy bar wrapper with a note
scribbled to Holly and me, or his boot print in the dried mud. He
stays steps ahead, no matter how hard I push us to catch up.

Kera and I have become hardened from our many
encounters and battles with the infected. Our ammo is running low
again. We will have to get to a population center to resupply. I’m
apprehensive about the time this will take away from my search for
Jeremy even though I know that necessity dictates the detour. We
won’t find him without the means to survive.

My son, my boy— no, he is a young man now—is
somewhere there on the road before me, alive, surviving in a world
gone mad. He is my Holy Grail, and I will not stop this quest until
we are together again, no matter how far it takes me or what stands
in my way.

We will be together again soon, this I
swear.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Paul Hetzer was born and raised in the mining
country of West Virginia. He spent six years in the military before
leaving to earn a bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology and a
master’s degree in Chemistry. Paul is an avid gun enthusiast,
biker, scuba diver and amateur astronomer. He presently lives with
his wife and son in Maryland.