Age of Decay (Book 1): Contagion (10 page)

While other boats made their way across the Fraser River, Trevor had other ideas. He estimated they would have enough gas to make it as far as Abbotsford. They could hide out there before trying to make it from there up to Hope, where he hoped his uncle was still alive. As he moved the boat along the river, he could see the fires raging now in various parts of the city.

The man who he had given the pistol to held out his hand to Trevor. “Name’s Bill.”

Trevor shook his hand back. “Nice to meet you. That was some good shooting back there. I’m Trevor.” He introduced Bill to the rest of his group. Along with Bill, they had also picked up George and Gail Sampson.

Bill unbuttoned his light blue collared shirt a couple of buttons and rubbed the back of his neck. “Not going to cross the river?” asked Bill.

Trevor unbutton the chin strap on his helmet and rubbed his jaw. “We could do that, but it means making it through a lot of subdivisions. Whatever this virus is, it’s spreading too quickly. We don’t stand a chance against these things if we run into large groups. The bridge was hectic enough.”

“Yeah,” replied Bill. “I picked the wrong day to decide to go to work at the office. I thought this flu would blow over. Some guy went to work sick, just changed in front of our eyes. He killed two of my colleagues, just ripped their throats out, then starting eating them. Worst fucking thing I’ve seen in my life. I took off from there, then saw a bunch of people headed towards the bridge so I followed them. The entire city fell apart behind me.”

Erica bent down to examine George’s knee. He was about fifty, wearing blue jeans and a checkered shirt. “It’s alright. I’m a nurse. Looks like a bit of swelling, but you’ll be fine.”

“You leave my man alone,” said Gail. She brushed the dirt off of her white tattered blouse that was ripped along one arm.

“Now, hon you hush. This woman only tryin' to help.” He winced in pain and rubbed the top of his kneecap. “Thanks. I think I hurt it going down that hill. I don’t move like I used to be able to. I should’ve got out of the plumbing business long ago. What damn good it would do now with this madness.”

“You’ll be fine. Hopefully we can rest soon. Perhaps we can find some painkillers somewhere if you can’t manage.” Erica looked up at Gail.
Maybe you would like it better swimming, darling
.

“It’s good to meet you all,” said Lauren.

“Why are we not following the other boats?” said Gail.

“Like I said,” replied Trevor. "It’s too dangerous on the other side of the river. We are going up the river until we run out of gas.”

“I’m sure if we just followed the authorities we would be fine. Who put you in charge anyways? I’m sure they’ll have things under control soon enough.”

“Mr. Blake has got us this far,” said Samantha. "I would listen to him if I was you.”

“You just pipe down now,” said George. “After all, these people pulled us into the boat now didn’t they? Do you want to be back on the shore with those things?”

Gail folded her arms. “I suppose not.”

“Lass, you saw what happened there at the bridge. This is spreading, and it isn’t slowing down any. We we’re lucky to get out with our bloody lives.” Ian wiped the sweat off his forehead. “Handful, lad. That one,” he whispered to Trevor.

“Look we have all gone through hell. The way I figure, if we can reach Abbotsford, we will stand a chance as long as we stick to the farm areas. From there we can make out way up to Hope. My uncle lives there.”

“We’ll be further away from the main towns and cities. There’s lots of water, game, we can farm,” said Bill.

“Exactly,” replied Trevor.

“I’m in,” said George. "I just want to get as far away from this madness as possible. Can’t make sense of it.”

“It’s the flu,” said Erica. "For whatever reason, the people with it died and then changed. I saw it in the hospital. They just died, then woke up and started attacking people. I figure those that are already dead from the flu have changed, too. Anyone alive is food for them. We have all seen it happen, it’s a feeding frenzy. Whatever it is that they are afflicted with, the living feed them. I guess we can call them living dead.”

“Food?" said George. “Oh, come on, that is something out of a bad book, lady. There has got to be some other reason for all of this.”

“She’s right,” said Lauren. “They feed on the living and it’s spreading. Anyone that is bitten by them changes, too, so it’s contagious.”

“Oh, God,” said Bill. “What is going to happen?”

Jason replaced the magazine in his sidearm. “The end of days.” He pointed in out into the water. “Only the strong are going to survive. I intend to be one of them.”

Trevor looked over at his son. “We’ll all make it. We just have to avoid making stupid mistakes. Unless anyone else has have any bright ideas, getting away from the main cities and larger towns is our best bet for survival. If we need to, we can live in the mountains. Maybe we’ll find more survivors. We can’t go back into any major population centers until we know what in the hell is going on.”

“The country seems like a good option,” replied Erica. “The cities are going to be overrun soon enough. It happened fast at the hospital, all the flu patients just went crazy. I would hate to guess how many have it now. Think of how many were sick at home.”

“We live, or lived I would say, a few blocks from the bridge. One of our neighbors was sick. Saw him out in the yard in his pajamas. He attacked another one of our neighbors just like a wild animal,” said George. He rubbed his sore knee. "Saw the helicopters and headed towards the bridge. Had to stop back there and walk. It just fell apart all around us.”

“Sam,” said Trevor. “Can you get anything on your cellphone? Any updates on what is going on?”

“It’s really spotty reception and slow, too. I don’t even have any more messages from any of my friends." She tapped the phone. “Dammit.” Jason got close to her then put his arm around her shoulder. Samantha sank her head down into the comfort of his arm.

“We’re all with ya, lad,” said Ian. “Let’s head up the river and get as far as we can.”

“I hope the worst of this is behind us. Maybe they can get a handle on it,” said Bill.

A high-pitched scream echoed out across the water from the Vancouver side as they made their way up the River. They all turned their heads towards the shore, looking for the source of the scream. Overhead the sun had begun to set in the sky casting an orange glow. Sunsets in Vancouver were always beautiful. Tonight, it had an ominous glow as fires mixed with the fading sunlight.

“Yeah,” said Trevor. He gunned the boat to give it more power as they made their way up the river. Behind them, death and destruction reigned.

Jake Rawlings, Vance, and the rest of Rawlins Marauders headed up the highway towards Hope. They had left their Chilliwack clubhouse and three dead bikers behind them, victims of the flu, including Brad who would be by now finding his next meal. Only Brad wouldn’t be enjoying the burgers and ribs the big biker usually liked to eat, he would be devouring the flesh of the living. Like many others in the world now, the man that was once Brad was part of the chaos that was overwhelming the world and the ability of governments to keep it under control. Like a fast moving wildfire, it was engulfing entire nations, cities were falling, replaced by mayhem and murder.

The Marauders rested on the side of the road, which was eerily quiet and devoid of any cars at all. They had passed several traffic jams and even fought their way through a few of the dead, but on bikes they could maneuver faster and weave their way through so that the slow moving ghouls couldn’t catch them.

Jake leaned back on his bike and took a pull from the whiskey flask. “We’ll ride hard after this rest. We should get into the town by midnight or a bit later.”

“Hey, you never told me why we are even going there,” said Vance.

Jake wiped his mouth. “Answer’s simple, man. I grew up in that shit town. I gotta lot of scores I need to settle. I figure the town is gonna need a new boss.”

“What about those things?” Vance took the flask and took a good long pull.

“Hope is small, we can deal with whatever is there. Plus, it’s away from the major cities. We can set up operations there. Do whatever the fuck we want, no cops around now.”

“Yeah, fucking well-armed now, eh?” Vance adjusted the Glock in the holster he now carried.

“Damn straight. Nothing like robbin’ a gun shop when there’s no owner or heat on your tail.”

A tall, leggy blonde in jean shorts and a Harley T-shirt came out from the woods. She slid her legs over the back of Jake’s bike before kissing the back of his neck. “Ready, baby,” she said.

“Took ya long enough for a piss,” said Jake. He yelled back to the bikers behind him. “Hey finish off those joints, we need to move.”

“What the fuck!” screamed Nolan. He stepped back from Craig who was staggering around. On the ride from Chilliwack, Craig had been coughing, but no one heard him. Now spit was dripping from his mouth, and he was gurgling. His eyes had glazed over as he shuffled by his bike. Nolan stood there as the big biker opened his mouth, reaching for him.

Jake stepped off his bike and grabbed his shotgun. “Fucking get away from him.” Jake approached his buddy, but he was gone, replaced by a mindless eating machine. The ghoul staggered towards Jake. He put the barrels into the open mouth and pulled the trigger. Craig’s head exploded in a spray, then he toppled over in a heap of gore. Some of the spray hit Nolan, who wiped the gore away from his face, almost retching in the process.

“Shit,” said Nolan. His face was stark white.

Jake tuned to face his gang. “I’d advise anyone not to get sick or bitten by these things unless you want to end up like poor Craig there. Get on your bikes, let’s go.”

The thirty bikers started their engines and filled the stillness with a roar as they left for Hope.

***

For retired seventy-two-year-old police officer Andrew Nielsen, the day had been pure hell. He had woken up at around five o’clock with the intent to go fishing in the local streams and just relax. It was nice being retired from the Hope police force with a chance to do things he never had much time for before. He wanted to get his mind off the flu and the death of his brother, who recently passed away from the virus. Up until the outbreak of the virus, life had been good, but now things had changed. The day hadn’t gone as planned, much like the days of millions of others around the world who were locked in a death spiral towards oblivion.

The first reports came from his television from VGH hospital in Vancouver. It sounded crazy, but it was true. The flu victims had all died and come back to life, killing anyone they saw and consuming their living flesh. He had seen it firsthand at the Fraser Canyon Hospital in Hope. The RCMP detachment in Hope had called him, frantic for more bodies and manpower against the horror at the hospital. The scene had been one out of a living nightmare. The flu patients had died and inexplicably risen to attack the living. They had overrun the hospital within several hours, killing most of the other patients and hospital staff, along with dozens of police officers. In a small town like Hope, there simply wasn’t enough manpower to deal with that sort of crisis. Andrew had helped several people escape from the hospital, narrowing getting out with his own life. The town had erupted in chaos, with panicked people trying to get out as fast as they could. Hope was mostly deserted now, the town center a mess of wrecked cars, dead bodies, and debris. The sun had gone down, and the blackness hid the terrors that were out roaming the streets looking for their next meal.

The town of six thousand residents was down to a few dozen now, and they were trapped in the local diner along with Andrew. They had fought against the dead all afternoon, but had lost. The scattered survivors had barricaded themselves in the diner, pushing chairs and tables up against the glass and the doorway. Both sides of town were full of them now, and there was nowhere left to run. As the sun set, the survivors waited and prayed.

Andrew wiped the sweat way from his forehead and rubbed white whiskers on his chin. His blue collared shirt was soaked in sweat. His hand began to shake as he realized their situation. He wanted to take to the hills, but many of the survivors just wouldn’t make the climb, he didn’t even know if he would make it.

A woman screamed as one of the dead banged up against the window. “They’re gonna break through!”

“Pipe down Victoria,” said Andrew. “I still got some rounds for this shotgun. If they come through, I’ll let ‘em have it. Just be quiet, don’t wanna attract any more of them.” Andrew knew that his ammo wouldn’t be enough, and that this would be the end of all of them. He would fight until the end and maybe, just maybe a few of them could escape.

A small baby cradled by a woman began to wail loudly. She tried to comfort the infant, but child continued to wail.

“Jesus,” said the man next to her. “Shut that kid up, do you want to attract more of those things here?”

“How the hell are we getting out of here?” asked another woman.

Andrew strained to hear through the wail of the child. It sounded like motorcycles in the distance to his ears, but he wasn’t sure. “Everyone, be quiet. I hear something.” He flinched with reflex and brought his gun up as he heard the shots. They popped in rapid succession, growing louder. The shots continued for several minutes, then died down some. The sounds grew closer to the diner as another one of the dead began to beat on the window, leaving grime and blood smears on the glass. Behind the ghoul, bright lights shone against the glass. Andrew and the others hit the deck as the shots rang out. The thing’s head exploded in a spray of gore as the glass shattered inwards, sending shards in all directions.

A voice called out. “Hey, anyone alive in there?”

“Yeah,” said Andrew. “We’re alright.” Whoever it was, he was a welcome relief.

“Well shit, man, open the door.”

“Give us a sec, gotta remove the tables.” Andrew motioned over to two men. “You two, help me get this stuff out of the way.”

After they had cleared the door, a mean-looking bunch of bikers came through the door with an assortment of rifles and shotguns slung over their shoulders.

One of them spoke. “What in the fuck are you people doing in here? It’s not like there were that many of them out there, ya know. I guess we are your saviors. Who’s in charge here?”

Andrew had his shotgun raised and moved into the light so the man could see him. “I guess I am.”

The bikers raised their guns at the man. “Gramps, put the gun down. That any way to treat your rescue party?”

Andrew lowered his weapon. “I suppose not.”
I have heard that voice before
. “I know that voice.”
Dammit, why can’t I place the name
?

The biker got closer to Andrew, then he began to laugh. “Well shit, this always was a small town. Never thought I’d see you again, Constable Nielsen.”

Rawlings, it’s that dirtbag I arrested countless times before
. “Jake Rawlings.”

“Yeah, old man. Small world, ain’t it? Of course, I was younger then. You get into all sort of trouble when you’re young. Ah hell, I do now, too, but I don’t live in this shithole any longer. I left and made a name for myself my man.”

“You just switched one jail cell for another. Some never change, do they, Jake?”

“Sure we do, Constable, sure we do.”

“I retired
a
Superintendent, Jake. What did you do with your life?”

“Lots of things, lots of things. I started this gang, you see here.”

“You always were a thug,” said Andrew.

“Well, that may be, but we gotta work together if you want to survive.” Jake called out to the others. “I’m sure you folks are glad you got recused, ain’t ya?”

“Yeah,” said a man. “Grateful, thanks.”

“See, Nielsen. These people are thankful I’m even here.”

“Why should I trust you?”

“Look around, old man. Do you see anyone else here? Hey, forget the past, let’s work together.” Jake walked over to Andrew. He put his hand on his shoulder, then smiled. “Gotta beat these things, start over. These people need us.”

“Hey, Mr. Nelsen. Listen to him. We need protection,” said a man.

I don’t have much choice in the matter
. Andrew offered his hand. “Alright.”

Jake shook it enthusiastically. “Excellent, my man. We’ll make a great team.”

A few more shots rang out outside. A few moments later, another biker came into the diner. “That’s the last of ‘em, Jake. Town looks pretty clear,” said Vance.

“Good, good. Send a couple of guys out on patrol. Check the place out. If they find anyone, bring them here. We’ll set up operations at this location. We can use the motel next door to crash.” Jake walked back to the shattered window. He peered out into the night and slung his rifle over his shoulder “Meet your new boss and town mayor.”

“What the hell are you doing?” said Andrew. Before he could raise his shotgun to react, Jake whirled around to face him. He leveled the rifle, and shot the man in the leg. Andrew cried out and fell backwards as Jake moved to kick the shotgun far out of the way.

He yelled out to the survivors. “Anyone here want to live, you’ll do exactly what the fuck I say, when I say. The Marauders own this town now.”

The blood seeped out from his fingers as Andrew held onto the massive wound on his thigh. He dragged himself along the ground a couple of feet before collapsing.

“Never trust a biker, Nielsen. Shit, I thought you were smarter than that. I guess age has dulled your senses. Crying shame, that is. Oh, well it’s for the best, this new world has no use for old
ex-cops.” Jake put his boot on Andrew’s fingers until he cried out in pain. “Especially ones that threw me in jail. Glad you’re still alive, my man.”

“Let these people go,” said Andrew, as he winced in pain.

“Nah, Gramps, don’t think so. Hey, Vance, take this clown outside and tether his ass to that big tree out there. Way I figure, in several hours, he’ll bleed out. Once he turns, he can be my new pet.”

“You fucking bastard,” said Andrew.

Jake laughed. “Now, I like that name.” He motioned to the blonde that was riding with him. “Hey darlin’, come and sit on this fucking bastard’s lap. Jake has a present for ya.”