U.G.L.Y (16 page)

I
felt
strangely
tranquil
and
after
some
time
my
eyes
adjusted
to the
landscape.
The desert was f
aintly
illuminated
by
a
waxing
crescent
moon. Eventually, I
noticed
a
yellow
glow
over
a
hill
to
the
north.

“
It
must
be
Kramer
Junction
” I was talking loudly to no one. “
It
cant
be
too
fa
r.
I
need gas and I
could
use
a
shot
of
anything
right
now
” I said to the darkness.

    
After
some
effort,
I
managed
to
get
the
SUV
back
on
the
road.
There
was
little
damage
to
the
car except
some
scratches
and
dents.
With
the
four
wheel
drive
I
was
easily
able
to
drive
out
of
the
soft
sand
and
back
onto
the
pavement.

I
drove
north
following the glowing horizon. It took another
hour
of
driving
before I
crested
the last
hill. Two intersecting remote highways met below, surrounded by the light from restaurants and gas stations,
spread
out
across
the
valley
floor.

13
.

-Crossroads-

    
Kramer
J
unction
rose
out
of
the
desert
like
a
Christmas
parade.
A
crossroads
intersecting
US
395
and
US
58,
quite
literally
in
the
middle
of
nowhere.
It was a
n
oasis
of
fast
food
restaurants
and
gas
stations
offering
weary
travelers
treats
for their tired bodies and tired vehicles
.

I
sat
behind
the
wheel
of
my
SUV
and
stared
into
the
flickering
lights.
As
the
vehicle
descended
the
hill
covering
the
final
10
or
so
miles of road,
a
flash
caught
my
eye
in
the
distance.
To the North
of
the
junction a prison sat on
a hill. This prison was not affected by the first wave of infection but It was one of the prisons authorities had transferred surviving prisoners to, making room for the ill.

The
flash
I
saw
was
the
lights in the prison
flickering
on
and
off,
then
a
small
explosion followed that
could
be
seen sending a
fireball
into the night sky that
lit
up
the
surrounding
desert.
The
flash
disappeared quickly
and
before
I
could
give
it
much more
thought
I
had
arrived
at
a
gas
station on the edge of the junction.

I badly
needed
to
stretch
my
legs
and
get
a
cup
of
coffee,
maybe
a
bottle
of
whiskey as well.
I
pulled
into
the
station
and
up
to
the
nearest
pump.
I
thought
briefly
that
the
explosion
I
saw
was a result of the new infection and it had now gotten ahead of me as I worked my way North. That thought sent
a
shudder
through
my
body
and my next
thought led me to
never
finding
the kids. I pushed it out of my mind
and
slowly
walked
towards
the
door
to
the
mini
mart.

    
Through
the
lit
window
I
could
see
people
inside
the
store,
standing
very
still
and
watching
a
TV
screen.
I
walked
into
the
store and could
hear
a
news
report
about
the
outbreak
in
the
southland
area
creating
a
growing
death
toll. And it was spreading.

“
Hey
kid
” I
said
loudly
so
I
could
get
the
clerks
attention
“
I
need
gas
”.

“
Uh,
yea
”
the
clerk,
a
young
kid
with
dirty
blond
hair
about
18
answered
“
how
much?
”

“
Here
Take
$50,
that
should
fill
it
up.

     I
glanced
at
the TV
monitor hanging above the register
to
see
a
reporter
in
a
news
room
reading
a
prepared
statement
from
the
CDC.
The statement
said
that people were showing
symptoms similar to the original U.G.L.Y outbreak and were attacking each other. The reporter described what I had seen outside the bar. It
seemed
to
be
spreading
through
contact
with
other
patients
who
would
rapidly
fall
ill
before
becoming
very
aggressive. There were reports of containment. I
knew
there
was
no
containment,
I
saw
how
fast
it
spread
and
what
its
victims
turned
into.

“
Contained
my
ass
” I
said
a
little
louder
than
I
had
expected
to.

A
few
heads
turned
to
look
at
me
but
turned
back
to
watch
the
screen
without
asking
me
about
what
I
said.
I
turned
slowly
to
the
door
and
walked
out
into
the
night
air.
W
hat
a
fucking
mess
this
was.
I
was
having
some
difficulty
understanding
what
was
happening even though I watched it happen in front of me. I was growing suspicious of groups of people and Wondered if I should avoid populated areas.

I
started
gassing
up
the car and
thought
about
the first wave of the infection. An
epidemic
that
caused
millions of
people
to
kill
each other.
No
one
really
knew
yet
what
had
caused
it
and
the event
had
passed
so
fast
there
was
little
the
CDC
or
government
officials
could
do
to
try
to
understand
it.

What
I saw at the bar was
similar.
T
he behavior of the infected was like it was before except they didn't kill the people they attacked. They were
infecting
each other with
purpose.

Out
of
the
corner
of
my
eye
off
in
the
distance
I
saw
headlights
swerving
back
and
forth
and
could hear
very
faint
popping
sounds.

“
POP,
POP
”

Seconds
later,
as
the
lights
got
closer
I
realized
I
was hearing
gunshots. Two sets of headlights were rapidly coming
towards
the
gas
station.
As
they
got
closer
I
could
make
out
the details of two vehicles. T
he
vehicle
in
the
rear
was a police vehicle with an unlit light bar across its roof. A
man
leaned out of the passenger side window and
was
firing
at
the
vehicle
in
the
lead.