Containment (50 page)

An avid video game player, Jerry took the immediate moment to reload his rifle, advising the others to do the same. Neil was smiling and Dr. Caldwell was actually starting to laugh. “I think we’re getting good at this,” he said.

They had neither heard nor seen the three undead creatures that had wandered out from behind the restaurant up the road. The ghouls had silently followed them down the road, stalking their prey in their own awkward and clumsy way. The dogs provided just the unforeseen opportunity they needed to get in close to their quarry.

The first one grabbed hold of Gerald, who was once again at the tail of the line. The thing bit the older man on the back of his neck, just below his ears. Its brown teeth dug themselves into the soft warm flesh and tore away a mouthful before he could scream. He did, however, pull the trigger on his shotgun.

A second ghoul grabbed hold of his now extended arm and bit the soft inside of his elbow joint. Gerald fell over backward, with both of them falling onto him as he did. Claire screamed and skittered away with both of her hands to the sides of her head. Neil shouted to Emma,
“Shoot!”

She couldn’t get a clear target without possibly hitting Gerald as well. Dr. Caldwell spun around and squeezed off a shot that scalped one of the beasts. Without a single word, the thing just rolled off of the still struggling man. One final scream from poor Gerald and then his arms and legs went limp, the other creature still chewing on his neck.

Dr. Caldwell was aiming the assault rifle just as the third beast got to him. He raised the barrel so as to be high enough to catch it in the head, but the grey, pock-skinned beast had other intentions. Its jagged, broken teeth found purchase on Dr. Caldwell’s left hand. Not a second later the doctor’s rifle barked, removing the top third of its head. Neil dispatched the one that was still gnawing on poor Gerald’s bleeding neck.

The bite to Dr. Caldwell’s hand had gone unnoticed. The tension was still such that they all kept their firearms at the ready. Those three had come out of nowhere. There could be more of them anywhere.

For the briefest of moments, they all realized that none of them really knew Gerald. He had come and gone so quickly and amidst so much chaos and loss, that his passing was only registered as another loss from their herd. It was becoming almost mechanical for them…the perpetual presence of death so much a part of their every day lives. That sense was to change in the immediate future.

Jerry said, “If we’re going to get, then I think we should do that now. Those shots are going to attract everything that might still be down at the resort. We could have company very quickly.”

“What about Gerald?” Neil asked.

Without a comment, Dr. Caldwell drew his revolver and shot Gerald’s seemingly dead body in the head. The surprise of all of them kept pace with their relief that none of the rest of them had to pull the trigger on one of their own.

Meghan asked, “Are we okay? Can we get going now?”

Dr. Caldwell said as he raised his bleeding left hand, “Well part of that anyway.”

Emma screamed and ran over to the man. “Noooooooooo! Nooooooooo! Godddddd noooooooo!”

Dr. Caldwell looked at all of them, his eyes finally coming to rest on Neil. “I guess you guys should just move on. I can find something to do with myself until...” His eyes betrayed no emotion.

Emma pleaded, “No, you’re gonna be okay. We can get to Whittier. Maybe they’ve got all this figured out. Maybe they can...” She realized how she sounded but she couldn’t help it. She just couldn’t accept it. The wound looked so insignificant. Maybe it wasn’t a bite at all. When she looked in his eyes though, she knew the truth.

Dr. Caldwell placed his good right hand against her cheek. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “It’s all going to be okay. I promise. You’re going to be alright.”

“It’s not fair. We’re so close! We’re almost there. And we need you.
I
need you. I don’t think I can...are you sure it was a bite? It couldn’t have been from something else. Maybe you just cut yourself or maybe....”

“Emma, it’s a bite.”

“But I just can’t...”

“Yes you can. You just keep moving forward until you find somewhere safe to rest your feet. I’ll be with you. I promise. Here.” He took off the dog tags from around his neck and put them around hers, careful not to drip blood on her anywhere.

She whispered, “That’s just not the same. That only works in the movies.”

“Val said that to me years ago when I went off to Kuwait for the first time. And I’ll tell you the same thing I told her. I know it’s not the same but it’s better than nothing. Besides, you’ll be somewhere a helluva lot better than me.”

Emma smiled and managed a tear choked laugh. She asked Neil, “Can he come along with us at least to the gas station out on the Seward?”

Neil, who was fighting back his own tears, said, “Of course. Doc, Emma may be right. I think maybe you should come along with us. There’s still that off chance that maybe someone might have...there’s still gotta be hope that this doesn’t have to be...”

Jerry, still watching down the road said excitedly, “We’re gonna have to have this conversation somewhere else. We’ve gotta go! Now!”

From down the road, scores of undead began to file onto the main drag from side streets. “Our shots are attracting everything around. We gotta go before we get boxed in. Doc, can you run?”

“Yes, but I don’t know for how long.”

Neil said, “We’ll deal with that later. C’mon, let’s go!”

They gathered themselves quickly and ran hard and fast for the Seward Highway. They wanted to put some distance between themselves and the horde behind...again.

As they hit the final bend in the road before arriving at the gas station, Dr. Caldwell began to stumble. He fell forward onto his hands and knees and vomited a bile and foam filled soup onto the street. The wound in his hand, like a furnace, began to radiate pain throughout his entire body. His vision wavered between clear and blurry, bringing on waves of nausea and a general loss of equilibrium.

Neil and Emma each hooked a hand under the doctor’s arms to help steady their friend. They hoisted him back to his feet, which weren’t doing much more than dangling under him as he set most of his weight onto their shoulders. Neil forced out between huffs, “Sorry about this, but we gotta keep going. Hang in there.”

Dr. Caldwell looked over at the voice, thinking to himself that he recognized it but the pain was corralling all thought. His eyes, though open, were clouded, allowing in only dull outlines and the color red. Everything seemed to be draped in sheer red. The foul contents of his stomach threatened once again to come churning to the back of his throat. He forced his fingers, which seemed so distant and so foreign, to ball themselves into Emma’s and Neil’s shoulders.

They stopped and immediately looked at him. His chin was resting against his chest, concealing his tortured expression. He shook his head and nodded. “I’m okay to run. Let’s keep going.”

He seemed to emerge from a fog, getting some control of his faculties. His pace quickened, helping all of them to gain a much more comfortable lead on the ghouls following them.

The short distance to the convenience store and strip mall of shops along the Seward Highway was thankfully incident free. Many of the small cottages and smaller businesses along the highway were in ruins. Personal affects and commercial wares were strewn across yards, driveways, and the road. There weren’t many other places that the creatures would likely congregate, but second guessing their assumptions was what was keeping them alive. It appeared as if all of the undead in the area were attracted to the resort and the residential center of the town. They were all still down the road and, with any luck, losing the scent and the will to pursue them.

The gas station, like most other businesses they’d encountered, was in utter ruins. The ground was crunchy with splintered glass from the empty window frames. There was nothing of value in or near the multiple shops. Like discarded rubbish piled haphazardly about the parking lot, the requisite and anticipated corpses of days gone by were there too. The doorways and window frames of the businesses along the strip were also adorned with bodies left to decay in horribly grotesque positions; some appearing to be trying to get out while others were trying to get in during their final moments. The slight breeze coming from the Cook Inlet lifted shredded bits of clothing, hair, and plastic shopping bags and carried them across the barren lot, like twisted tumbleweeds of the apocalypse.

Getting nearly to the gas pumps in the middle of the station lot, Dr. Caldwell collapsed. His mouth opened and out spilled more foamy white foulness. He spat several times and then motioned with his hands that he needed help getting back to his feet.

“Geez, do I ever have a hang over. Did I do anything that I’d regret last night? Do I owe anyone an apology?”

Emma said, “I’m supposed to be the joker here. We need to keep moving.”

Dr. Caldwell shook his head. “I don’t think I can anymore.”

“Yes you can,” Emma pleaded. “C’mon, we’ll help you.”

“Emma, I can’t. I don’t want to. I think I need to...to rest.” He turned to Neil. “Neil, it may be asking a bit but may I ask—?”

“I’m not gonna shoot you, Doc. That’s just out of the question.”

“I was going to ask for some water before you guys leave. You should probably take everything that’s left in my pack though. I can’t imagine that I’ll be needing any of that anymore.”

“How about a gun?”

“No.”

“How about a gun and a single bullet?”

“No. I don’t know that I’d have the courage to do something like that. I may regret it later, but take everything. You’re going to need it more than I will.”

From a small open air picnic area next to the main station building, Jerry found an overturned plastic chair and a table that was still fairly intact. He brought both over to the doctor, who sat heavily in the middle of the parking lot. Dr. Caldwell wrapped a shirt around his hand, trying to apply pressure to the wound but having no success whatsoever in stemming the flow of blood. He was reminded of the little boy that had been brought to Providence with a similar wound all those weeks ago. He looked at Danny and Jules.

“You kids listen to Neil here. He’ll get you home safe or at least keep you safe. That goes for the rest of you too. Stick together. Watch out for one another and you’ll be okay.”

Neil struggled to control his emotions. “We can wait a bit with you, Doc. You don’t have to be alone. I mean, I just...” He was sniffling too much to speak, but his male pride largely stifled his tears.

“No. I think you all should get going. There’s no point in hanging out around here. I think I’m just going to sit here and drink my water. See what happens.”

Meghan leaned down and kissed Dr. Caldwell on the cheek. She hugged him tightly and, without saying a word, was back up and heading toward the exit to the station’s parking lot. With tears in her eyes, Claire waved to the doctor but could not force the words out past the lump in her throat. She joined Meghan, taking Danny and Jules with her.

Jerry said, “Doc, you were always one of the coolest doctors at Providence. All the interns and the nursing staff thought you were one of the good ones. If it matters, all of the young ladies on staff thought you were a hottie.” He shook the doctor’s hand firmly and looked him in the eye. “Good luck, Doc.”

“You too, Jerry. When you get out of this, I think you should go to med school. I think you’re one of the smartest kids I’ve ever known. And thanks for keeping those two kids safe. That meant a lot to me.” To this Jerry nodded and walked away.

Dr. Caldwell said softly, “Neil, can you give Emma and me just a moment?”

“Sure.”

Once they were alone, Dr. Caldwell said, “Emma, you’re a fine lady and if I had time, I wanted to see about starting a new life with you. But don’t dwell on that. You can’t. What’s done is done, and there’s no taking it back. You have to be strong. Be my voice for Neil. He’s smart, but sometimes he needs someone to help him not doubt his every decision. I can’t do it anymore. Please. If not for me, then do it for those kids and for yourself. Regardless of how things are to end, at least I’ll know that you’ll be safe.”

Emma finally asked, “Can I say something now?”

“Yes.”

“I love you. I can’t imagine leaving you behind here to...please don’t make me go away. I can stay here with you for a little longer and...”

“Emma, I love you too and that’s why I can’t allow that. You need to get moving now. There’s no telling what might be coming up the road as we speak. Please. I need for you to go.” He looked over at Neil who stepped up and physically had to move Emma. Jerry and Claire took over for Neil who walked over to Dr. Caldwell.

“You sure about this, Doc?”

“No, but I don’t see any other options.”

“Emma may be right. There may be something in Whittier.”

“And all those cancer patients chasing after the magical cure might actually find it, but we both know the truth. Those are just dreams to help us to avoid the inevitable. Neil, you keep them safe and trust your judgment. Whittier isn’t that far down the highway. You might be able to get there before dark. Just don’t give up.”