The Book of a Few (33 page)

(Sizzling tobacco, heavy exhale.)

CHESTER: They shot at us while we were still strapped in our seats. There were at least ten of them, so we had to make a run for it. I tried to reach in the back and grab the guns, but it happened so fast and the bullets felt so close that I had to leave them. Dana still has his handgun, but I’m sure the rifles that were in the car are gone by now. We’re sitting ducks two hours away from where we want to be.

Dana and I took watch in shifts. He got some sleep, but I just couldn’t fall under, so I stayed up with him on his shift. We didn’t speak at all through the night. It wasn’t until the sun began to light the sky that our first words were spoken.

“
We need to head back while we are still alive and before things out there get any worse,” I said.

“
We need food, Chester. And water,” Dana replied.

“
You can hotwire a car, and we can get out of here. What if we run into another giant? There’s no way we could hold it back. Our best bet is to get home where we know we won’t die.”

“
Well tell me how the hell we are supposed to get through Henderson a second time.”

“
We don’t; we’ll go around it. If you haven’t noticed, things are worse on this side of the world.”

“
You’re right about that,” Dana said.

“
Dr. Milaka was right, you know? This fucking disease is changing.”

I just woke up. I’m not sure what time it is, but it’s still dark outside. I heard footsteps clomping around in the other room. They were fast, too. I looked into it and five of the C.V.P.M. were rushing up the steps to the roof access. So I followed them.

Just outside the fencing surrounding the building, there are spotlights everywhere. We can hear men yelling and trucks running, a lot of trucks. But with the spotlights, we can’t see anything that’s going on out there. We have no idea what their intentions are.

I overheard the servicemen talking to one another. One of them said something about a ‘checkup’ squad that would be coming by the warehouse in about an hour. The C.V.P.M. has no idea what is going on, but they are going to try to make contact with the strangers. If they are hostile, we only have to make it an hour before reinforcements come. Something tells me this is going to be serious.

Sun’s up enough; we’re heading out for food. Good fucking luck to us.

——

We saw a few men as we were out sneaking around the block. They were a distance away, so there was no chance in us identifying them at all. But based on how they were loitering in the same place like they were on guard duty, these might have been the men that wrecked our car. Dana and I already guessed that it’s very likely that they would search the town for us, since they know that we don’t have a vehicle, and it’s only two of us.

We are sticking to melee, as it is much safer. Well, when it comes to staying hidden. We are trying to conserve what is left of Dana’s handgun ammunition, considering it’s our only firearm. For now, I’ve resorted to using a two-by-four plank until I find something else.

Dana just came and spoke to me while I was writing. He said, “I’m not going back to Iowa. Once we get to Newberry and find my wife, I’m done. You go on without me.”

The C.V.P.M. has tried a bunch of different things to contact them, and it’s not working. They’ve tried speaking to them through a megaphone, and even Morse code with flashlights. Nothing they’ve tried has produced any results. Everyone in the warehouse is up now, too.

I just heard doors open, not like wooden doors, but truck trailer doors. Thinking about how long it’s been without hearing anything, I don’t think the strangers are friendly.

There are figures on the lawn, coming closer to the building. C.V.P.M. are on their way down there to “greet” them.

——

They stepped outside for only a moment before they opened fire. Something roared. The C.V.P.M. are back inside. Some infected are rushing after them. Looks like we have a fight on our hands. I just called out to Casey. My God, I’ve never seen infected like this, and there’re so many. I’m running downstairs to help out. They are going to need to get us
all
our guns for this.

(Ruffling.)

CHESTER: (Whispering.) Here we go.

(Footsteps.)

CHESTER: Dana?

DANA: (Voice distant.) I’m in here.

CHESTER: What are you doing?

DANA: (Whispering.) Keep your voice down. Those fuckers are looking for us in the house next door.

CHESTER: (Whispering.) Where’s your journal?

DANA: Why?

CHESTER: I…I’m going to read it. You set me up. I know it.

They’re pouring in. We’ve pulled back into the building. Two of the servicemen were literally
hammered
by this big ass motherfucker. I couldn’t count how many there were. It all happened so fast. C.V.P.M. just got Casey’s men and Branden their guns, so we might have a better chance. Just heard a different noise coming from inside, something like a screech. Infected are getting further in, we need to push back. What the hell is going on?

(Ruffling through a bag.)

DANA: Go ahead. Here, take it.

(Long silence, broken occasionally by flipping pages.)

DANA: I wouldn’t write it down, you know. For this reason.

CHESTER: So you admit it?

DANA: No, you idiot.

CHESTER: That’s a lie.

DANA: Okay, once and for all, why do you think I would give the C.V.P.M. your journal?

CHESTER: You needed someone to come with you, and I was the easiest to manipulate. That’s why I’m here. To protect you, you selfish fuck. (Pause.) You
never
intended on going back to Iowa, did you?

DANA: Why would I want to throw away the warehouse? I’m not willing to make another trip like this, that’s it. Plain and simple.

CHESTER: So you’re going to either make me go it alone, or force me to stay with you ‘til the day that I die. Fuck that, and fuck you.

(Footsteps, grunting, un-holstering of handgun, single click.)

DANA: You gonna shoot me?

CHESTER: Sounds
much
better than living with you.

Three of Casey’s men are dead, and I’m pretty sure Casey has a broken…body. He took a swing from one of these big fuckers. We also lost another C.V.P.M., leaving us with Branden, me, Casey (injured), two of his men, and five of the C.V.P.M. So, ten people. We’ve got ourselves barricaded in an office room. Can’t decide what we are doing. A few want to stay and wait for them to find us and mow ‘em down as they enter the door. The rest of us think we should break out one of the boarded windows, come in another window somewhere else, and hit them from an angle. The C.V.P.M. is making the call: We’re going with the latter plan.

DANA: You won’t do it. You need me, too, Chester.

CHESTER: No, I don’t think I do. In fact, I don’t think
anyone
needs you. Why would anyone want to be on your team?

DANA: Because I get shit done, Chester. Put the fucking gun away and keep your goddamn voice down. Now.

CHESTER: (Laughs.) No, I don’t think I will. If I let you live, you’ll just go on. You’ve killed innocent people, Dana. You manipulate the odds in your own favor with no regard for anyone else. You’ll just move on from person to person. Once someone is no longer useful to you, you’ll probably kill him or her if they’re a problem. I won’t let you do what you’ve done to me to anyone else. You don’t deserve to see your family.

We flanked ‘em good! Probably shot nearly twenty. It was intense, the flashes from the gunfire illuminating their faces as they charged at us. But before we knew it, they were in our firing line. We had to leave Casey on the ground being eaten alive, and we lost two more of the C.V.P.M. to another new threat. This thing dropped from the ceiling, no shit. Had some kind of webbing between its arms and its torso. But I did get a good look at it. The webbing was cut, or clipped like a de-feathered bird. It had a hunched back and—get this—two faces. One where you would think it would be and a second almost sideways on its chest. Creepiest shit I’ve ever seen. Don’t have much time. The rest of us are holed up in the inventory management offices. I don’t know what we are going to do next.

We hear a chopper. Must be backup! Thank God! Now gunfire. Big gun, too. Smaller gunfire? It’s not us. C.V.P.M. chopper versus the strangers maybe?

FUCK! Big fucking ball of fire and metal just crashed through the roof, the fucking chopper is down already. Infected are getting through. I’m making a run for it.

——

This thing jumped on me and sprayed this black tar on me. It’s like sludge. It had these little mini-tentacles, or the end of a hose, just sticking out of the corners of its mouth. It grabbed the back of my head, had its feet on my stomach, and screamed as it pumped this shit on me. I don’t know where the others are, or if they even made it out of there.

As of right now, I’m inside a church a good half-mile away from the warehouse. I feel like I’m getting sick, and I’m just going to stay here for a while and try to calm my nerves. This is so horrible; I just can’t even begin to comprehend what has happened. All the hard work put into trying to find a new way to survive—gone. All of my new friends are probably dead, and I have nowhere else to go.

Ugh. I just need to calm down, relax, and come up with a plan of what to do now. But it’s so hard to find a reason to move on when you’ve lost everything. God, my head is just pounding.

DANA: You don’t have it in you to kill me. You don’t have the edge on you to survive, let alone kill anyone.

CHESTER: Maybe not, but I sure as shit would have done better without you. We shouldn’t have let you in the warehouse in the first place. It’s a mistake I constantly regret.

DANA: You would be dead already if it weren’t for me, you fucking punk.

(Pause.)