“Whatever it costs. I have plenty to trade. Please, if you can help I would give my own life to save hers.”
“We can talk about trade later. Give me your address and we will stop by this evening providing we can find what we are looking for.”
I grabbed a pen off the counter writing on a box of condoms (being the nearest thing I saw to write on). I left my address before heading back to my truck. Danny came out of an unseen entrance walking behind me.
“Sam, Kurt, Will. We’re closing shop. Have a job to do.” Danny yelled up to his brothers.
I drove back home doing the best I could to keep Carmen’s fever down until the antibiotics arrived. Around five hours later they arrived at the front gate honking their horn. I hopped into a four-wheeler I had parked near the house, then headed out to meet them.
“Sorry automatic gate. Intercoms not working so well with the power being out.” I tried to get a small laugh, but only got a humorless glance.
I unlocked and pulled the gate open before leading them up to the house. Danny got out after telling his brothers he would just take a minute. He followed me in the house and to the couch where Carmen was sleeping. He administered a shot to help the fever go down immediately. Reaching in a bag he carried he pulled out three bottles of pills.
“One is for her and the others are in case you need them down the road for something. We scored big on antibiotics. Looks like a few places were just restocked before the shit hit the fan.”
“Are you sure? So what do I owe you Danny?”
“Yeah, just be sure she takes one pill every twelve hours for the next week. As far a payment goes, I hate to even charge you. We could use some fuel for our van if you have any extra lying about. It’s a long trip to Colorado.”
“Are you or any of your brothers handy with tools?”
“Course, why ya ask?”
“Well, I have a small trailer you could hitch to your van. The thing is that there is a hundred gallon tank of fuel that is two-thirds of the way full. I have a forklift to set it up in the trailer. If you can drill some holes and find a way to secure it I’m sure that would get you pretty far. The tank even has a fuel nozzle with a hand pump so you don’t have to syphon it.”
Danny’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Now it’s my turn to ask if you’re sure. I was just thinking a couple handheld five gallon jugs of fuel.”
“Yes, I am sure. You really came through when I needed it. I am one to repay favors to an equal measure of my needs. Also, I figured you might be willing to help me with the other tank of fuel so we can head to Ruidoso.”
“Ha, I knew there was a catch. Seriously though sounds more than fair to me. By the way you can call me Dan like my friends and family do.”
“My friends call me Rye. Let’s get to work Dan. Right after I give Carmen her first pill.”
With quite some effort I woke Carmen up long enough to get her to swallow the pill. I kissed her on the forehead as she went back to sleep. I met the guys out front deciding that D.I.R. (Do It Right) Hardware seemed the best place to get the equipment we needed. We arrived there quickly making our way inside. A couple aisles in we came across the first
Fallen
I had seen up close and personal. I filled it full of holes until it dropped with an Uzi machine gun I was carrying.
“I suppose that is one way to do it.” Dan bent over firing a single shot to the head still twitching corpse. “Only way to be sure they don’t get back up. Just like in the movies, one shot to the head Rye. Better safe than sorry.”
We separated to make getting the supplies quicker. As Dan and I were choosing strap down gear, we heard gun shots from the direction Dan’s brothers had went. He assured me that they were be perfectly fine. We finished gathering everything meeting back up near the front of the store. Will was the last to exit the front door. Just as he did there was a scurrying sound from up high. A man that had to be at least three hundred pounds leapt off the roof with a machete. He split Will’s skull down to the center of his nose knocking him to the ground as he landed on top of him to break his fall. Blood flew everywhere as the man rolled off Will’s dead body. All four of us were somewhat covered in blood standing there momentarily in shock. The man grasped the machete trying to pull it free. With a hard yank he held it up high lunging directly for the next closet person, me. I side stepped while reaching in down for my large bowie knife in its sheath. Just as he was turning to have another go at me I threw the knife through the air as I had practiced hundreds of times. The knife struck him dead center between his eyes. He dropped dead in a pool of his own blood. The snow all around us was covered in the color of red.
“This can’t be happening! Why in the hell did he attack us?” Kurt was the only one able to find his voice.
That evening was one of the longest in my life I can recall. We searched the crazed man’s body finding his driver’s license. It identified him as Chad Eckland, a name I remembered all too well from one of the last news broadcasters. Only other things we found on him were an old paystub from American Peoples Bank and an empty prescription bottle that Dan recognized. He shook his head explaining that the man was mentally ill probably unable to fill his medicine being that it was a rare prescription. I told them about the news reports I had seen and the story I had heard.
“What are the odds of us coming across the last known serial killer on the television? This world is pretty fucked up! Help me put him in the van Kurt.” Sam looked like he had tears in his eyes, but fought the urge to cry as he wrapped his arms under Will to lift him from the front.
We left Chad’s body to lay where it was as it seemed only befitting under the circumstances. Back at my place I offered to let them bury Will on my property. We dug a grave under an old oak tree where his body was placed. We then worked on the trailers until both were finished. I made dinner for everyone who ate sparingly with little conversation. They went out checking that everything was ready for their trip while they smoked. I woke Carmen helping her to eat some chicken noodle soup. After putting the disposable dishes in the trash bin I went outside.
“Hey guys, is there anything else that you need? Anything I can do to help?”
“No, think we are good thanks. I guess we will be heading out shortly,” Dan replied.
“I am very sorry about Will. You all always welcome here to visit him. Matter of fact I have a spare key for the house so you have a place to stay if ever out this way again. I hope your family in Colorado made it through alright. Whenever you guys are done there you are more than welcome to come out to Ruidoso. I’m positive one of the nearby cabins in unoccupied or could easily be cleared of any
Fallen
that have taken residence. Just a suggestion. Not like there are a lot of the living left these days, especially good ones.” I handed Dan the spare key to the house and shook his hand.
“We might have lost a brother today who can never be replaced, but we also made a new one. We will bring whatever survivors we find along the way to Ruidoso after our trip to Colorado. Hope you can afford to pay for all the liquor for the party when we get there.” Dan gave me a little smile before getting in the van.
“Haven’t you heard? Booze is free! I’ll be sure to stock up, but you will have to provide all the women for the party. Make sure they are lively ones though, because most women these day ruin the mood while trying to eat you.”
I wrote down the address for the cabin before they drove off as the stars began to come out. I had to wait several more hours to give Carmen her pill, then crashed into a deep slumber.
-6-
A few days later Carmen was not showing any signs of recovery. Her breathing became a shallow whisper. Waking her up became harder each time to give her medicine or sustenance. The one thing that told me without a doubt she was indeed inflicted with the epidemic beyond any reasonable doubt were her eyes. It was something hardly noticeable unless you avidly watched. Occasionally there would be a slight blue iridescent glow within the white part of the eyes. As much as it pained me, I move her to the nearest bedroom. There I strapped her down to the bed just to be safe. I put a lock on the door making it only accessible with the key I wore around my neck.
Around four nights later, a thrashing noise awoke me in the middle of the night. I grabbed my pistol automatically as a defensive mechanism. Listening patiently for a couple minutes I heard the noise again realizing that it came from the room where Carmen was. I ran across the living room, down a short hall, and unlocked the door to the bedroom. I turned on the small light attached to my gun directing it around the room looking for an intruder. Not seeing any trespassers my mind being still half asleep could not register what could have made the noise. Suddenly Carmen’s condition clicked in my brain. I slowly turned to glance at her on the bed. Her eyes opened in a death stare having a much more prominent blue glow. Something else now took her place thrashing about on the bed in an attempt to free itself from the straps. Tears ran down my face as I saw my wife was now gone. Before my vision blurred I aimed the pistol pulling the trigger which extinguished the creature that had taken my wife’s body.
This was another immensely long day. I dug a grave near were we had buried Will. I wrapped Carmen in one of the blankets placing her in the earth that would become her new home. I found a couple of large rocks to mark both of their graves. Using a battery powered engraver on a couple large blocks of wood that I place near the stones. For Will’s I engraved: Here lies Will beloved brother of Dan, Kurt, and Sam. On Carmen’s I engraved: Carmen Pendleton (White) beloved wife of Ryan died too young and will be missed. I planted some Lily bulbs (her favorite flower) around the large oak tree that stood watch over their graves. I mourned during the whole day while doing all these chores. When finished I said my goodbyes and shed my last tear for the day.
I loaded up everything I might need into a small recreational vehicle that I had hitched the fuel tank trailer to. Hopping in the driver seat I turned on the MP3 player that Carmen had always taken everywhere with her. As I drove down the driveway a rock song call
Grey Skies of Tomorrow
by the legendary band ‘Extracting Darkness’ blared to life. It was a song with a hidden meaning emphasizing that no life is promised a tomorrow and that we should live every moment to its fullest every single day like it were our last.
Chapter 2
The Fallen
Danny and his brothers traveled through the night into the following day. They switched off who was driving every few hours. Eventually they had to pull over to refuel. Pulling into a Talmark parking lot to refill from the tanker, two of the brothers kept watch. Back on the road again for a little while they came across a woman walking by herself. She had a sawed off shotgun strapped on one side and a large survival knife on the other. She carried a military grade assault rifle in a quick usable fashion. A camouflage backpack was slung over one shoulder. She was wearing camouflage pants with a black sleeveless shirt. Her long black hair fell to the middle of her back. She stood around six foot tall and had a dark tan on her naturally white complexion. Her figure was well toned while slender at the same time.
“Could be trouble. What if it’s another crazy psychopath?” Kurt was quick to judge being a bit paranoid from the ordeal with Will.
Dan began slowing down. “Then be prepared, but don’t shoot the young lass just because you’re worried. Not all of the living are insane or want to kill us. Take Rye for example.”
Dan pulled the van over to the side of the road next to the woman who had stopped and was cautiously watching them with bright green eyes.
“I’m sorry to bother you ma’am. My name is Danny and these are my brothers Kurt and Sam. I understand you being wary on regards to the circumstances of the world being as they are. We lost one of our brothers just yesterday, not to
Fallen
, but to an insane individual wielding a machete so we are also a bit wary.”
The woman calmed herself noticeably looking over the men with a scrutinizing glance. The men had no clue that she was in fact gauging if there was any potential threat. In mere seconds she analyzed all possible courses of action if there were an unforeseen danger.
“I’m Jessie. Kind of peculiar place to meet someone, but like you said the circumstances of the world are not what they used to be. Mind asking your brother in the back to lower his gun a bit as I have already done so?”
“Kurt just holster your damn pistol already before you shoot someone on accident!” Dan gave his brother an angry glare until he put his gun away. “Sorry about that he’s a little jumpy. As I said our run in yesterday has put us all a bit on edge. It’s nice to meet you Jessie. Might I ask how you came about walking in such a desolate place with
Fallen
about among other potential dangers? Not to imply you can’t take care of yourself of course. You appear more than capable of facing a horde of
Fallen
.”