Age of Decay (Book 1): Contagion (16 page)

Trevor looked down again at the gas gauge. It was almost on empty, and they still had a long ways to go. They had managed to make this far without much trouble, but Trevor didn’t want to have to walk anywhere again with the dead everywhere he turned. Along the highway, he spotted a gas station with a convenience store and what looked like a small mechanics shop.

“We’re going to pull in here. It looks fairly quiet, but stay alert. Jason, check out that shop over there and look for a screwdriver or anything that will puncture and some pans or a bucket we need to get some gas.”

“Why not use a hose like the movies?” said Samantha.

“Well, we could do that with older model cars,” replied Trevor. “But newer cars have a prevention system which makes it impossible to get gas out using a hose. You have to puncture the gas tank or use another system to do it. We don’t have time to fiddle around, so puncturing the tank is a good option. We’ll have enough to get where we’re going.”

“Yah,” said Ian. “That’s what they do during storms when there’s shortages. Only way to get gas.”

“Be careful,” said Lauren

“I’ll stand watch,” said Erica. “Hey, maybe that car over there would be good. I’ll go check it out.”

“Alright. I’m going to check the store,” said Trevor.

Erica went over to the car and could see the driver slumped there. She opened the door carefully and the ghoul tried to lunge for her. She calmly stepped back and shoved her knife in the side of the thing’s head to silence it. She popped the trunk and rummaged around in the back for anything that would be of use to them.
Scavenger now. Wish I could have saved you, Jess
.
I’m so sorry.
She lifted her head for a moment and wiped away the tears swelling in her eyes.
Dammit, you have to stay strong. How can I with so much death around me
?
I miss your arms, Chris. I miss you
.

Trevor entered the gas station store and was immediately overcome by the stench of death and decay. He wrinkled his nose, and it took a supreme effort not to retch then and there. He pulled his pistol and scanned the store. Most of the shelves were empty, with the odd bag of chips on the floor. The cash register was open and all the money was gone.
Like you need cash now
. He went towards the back, near the chests were the pop and water were stored. It was then that he saw the body on the ground. The man’s stomach was ripped open and his guts were strewn all over the floor, leaving a red mess. A young woman was bent over him. She wore the typical faded blue jeans with the rips in them and her pink T-shirt was now stained with the man’s gory remains. Her once lovely brown hair was matted against her head. Around the corpse, flies buzzed relentlessly. She turned as Trevor moved and hissed at him as she tore another pieces off of the man’s liver and chewed on it. She stood up and began to move towards him. She held the liver in her hand, and it dripped blood all over the floor as she stumbled towards him. Her arm was torn down the left side, and Trevor could see the bone of her forearm. She opened her mouth and drooled out the side of it. The bloody saliva added to the grime already all over the floor. She reached out with her blood-soaked hand, but Trevor stepped back. He calmly took out his hunting blade and in one swift stroke, stuck it into her left eye socket. He twisted the blade and pushed hard on it. The thing twitched a bit before he withdrew his weapon. The young girl collapsed onto the ground and took a piece of shelving with her as she fell. Trevor wiped the blade on his jeans and collected a few chips bags, chocolate bars, and water that was left in the ruins of the store. He put a hand over his mouth as he stepped over the corpse to grab some more of the bottled water that was stacked there.

As Trevor dealt with his adversary, Jason went over to the mechanics shop to look around. Towards the back, he saw the mechanic, or what used to be one. The thing shuffled over by the bench, still clad in his work overalls. It turned its head to the side and turned towards him, gurgling sounds. On another bench near him, Jason spotted a ball peen hammer. He picked up the tool and approached the ghoul.
Man, I’m starting to love killing you fools
.
Come and get it!
It raised its arm and tried to swing at Jason, but he stepped out of the way of the slow moving creature. He raised the hammer and brought it down on the top of the skull several times. It toppled over, and Jason brought the hammer down again. It was unnecessary, but he savaged the head of the thing until there was nothing left. The hammer and his arms were covered in its remains. He looked around the shop and spotted an old bucket full of parts. He dumped those on the ground and retrieved the bucket. On the bench near where the ghoul had fallen, he picked up a rusty screwdriver.

Jason went over to the vehicle where Trevor and Erica were standing. “I hope this bucket will help.”

“Yeah it will,” said Trevor. “I didn’t find much in the store. Looks like it was ransacked. I got a few chocolate bars, a couple bottles of water. I ran into a friend, but I took care of it.” He patted his son on the shoulder. “Since you want more responsibility, you get to drain this car. I’m going to check on the others.” Trevor smiled at him. “Have fun.” Trevor went over to the vehicle and started checking over the weapons.

Erica helped Jason with the small bucket as he stabbed the gas tank with the screwdriver. “Your dad cares about you. He has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders.”

“His only responsibility is to us,” said Jason. “He takes too many risks. It’s like he is out to save the whole flippin’ world.”

“Maybe he is. We have to start again, try to make sense out of all of this.”

Jason turned to her. “What? So we are just supposed to start over. Look out there, there’s nothing left. These things roam everywhere. One false step and we’re all dead. Only way to survive is to be tough. I won’t become one of them.”

“At what expense? You want to drive away everyone you love?”

“I—”

“What about that girl you like? Do you want to drive her away from you?”

“I just want what’s best for her,” said Jason.

“Yeah, I get that, but you need to listen to your father more. He has more experience than you in this big old world, and he’s got us out of a lot of trouble. You can’t do it all, none of us can. You’re right, one false move and we’re all dead. So don’t go all Rambo on us, you’ll lose.”

Jason scoffed at her.
Like I need a life lesson from you
. “Yeah.” Jason picked up the full bucket. “Let’s get this gas over to the car so dear old Dad can save the world.”

Galen Blake sat at the table with his neighbor, Steven Lewis. The two men cleaned their guns and sipped whiskey. Galen lived away from Hope, and he only visited the town on occasion to go for supplies. He mostly stayed tot himself, as he loved the quite life of the country and his log cabin. He had lived in the cabin for a long time. He built it himself and was proud of his accomplishments. Galen had never married, but he was fine with that. It’s not like he didn’t have a lot of women in his life, he did. He just didn’t want to settle down. Galen wasn’t a man to listen to anyone. He did things his own way, and that was the end of it. Outside, he had a nice garden, which he loved tending to, and a well for water.

Galen was old school and tough. The woods and lakes around home were his stomping grounds. The forest was his home, and he had many friends, although now many of them were dead, missing, or trapped in the town. He spent most of his life as a fisherman on the Fraser River, and then as a fishing guide in his later years. He spent a lot of time hunting, and when he did go to town, he spent time hanging out and talking to the locals about the good old days when he was young. The sixty-two year old felt damn tired after all that had happened. Lucky for the two men, the remoteness of Galen’s cabin kept the dead out, as well as the new neighbors who now controlled Hope.

Galen paced in his cabin. He stretched next to the window and rubbed his white beard. He was lean and still in decent shape for sixty-two. Long hours of hunting and tending to his crops allowed him to stay in reasonable shape. His arms were still fairly muscular, although he had lost a lot of the size he had in his youth. His still had a thin layer of hair on his head, but it had receded way past his temples now and was thinning more on top. He sat down in the chair next to Steven, his neighbor and close friend. Since they didn’t venture into the town as often as other people did, they both managed to avoid the plague that swept through Hope and killed most of the residents. He sat down and poured a shot of whiskey “Need to get into town,” said Galen. “We can’t stay out here forever, and those bikers are patrolling all over now. Sooner or later, they’ll find us and the others.”

Steven scratched the white stubble on his chin and adjusted his cap. “Yeah, I know that. We need a plan to deal with them, but there are not a lot of us.”

Galen drained another shot. “I don’t know if we have enough ammo to take the town. Shit, it’s going to be risky.”

Steven leaned back in his chair. The fifty-six year old had put on a little weight over the years, but he was strong. Like Galen, he enjoyed fishing, hunting, and being out in nature. Like many that had suffered through the plague with a loss, Steven had buried his wife Mary and was now alone. “I know, and the outcome probably won’t be good, but we have to do something. People up here need medications and food.” Steven finished cleaning his Mossberg rifle. “What do you suggest we do?”

“I just don’t know. Need to wait for Billy to get back from scouting,” said Galen. “Got to know how many of them are in the town. We need more bodies, and above all, more firepower.”

“I guess we need to make a decision soon. The others need our help. We can’t stay up here forever. There are other survivors in the town that need us.” Steven drank down a shot.” I’d rather die helping people, than be a victim to those things out there.”

Galen stood up. “You hear that?”

“Yeah, it’s the whistle, Billy is back.”

They both heard the footsteps up to the door. “Hey, it’s me. Let me in.”

Galen went over to the door and let Billy in. He was about forty-two and fairly muscular. His face was covered in mud, and he wore a camouflage outfit. In his hand, he carried a hunting rifle with a scope. He sat down in a chair and caught his breath.

Steven pushed the whiskey bottle his way. “Here have a shot.”

Billy poured a glass. “Thanks.”

“So what did you find out?” said Galen.

Billy threw the alcohol back and slammed the glass back on the table before he wiped his lips. “Damn, needed that. Well, they have the outskirts of the town blocked off with overturned vehicles and other barriers, and there are a couple of guards there. The roads up here are still accessible.”

“Maybe they don’t see these areas as a threat?” said Steven.

“Oh, I bet they do. They are probably just going place to place, seeing who is up here.”

“We know how many there are?”

Billy scratched his chin. “Well, that’s hard to say. I counted about fifteen in the town, but there could be more of them. It looks like they are using a hotel and restaurant in the town as a main base of operations as I see a lot of bikes outside. People are moving around some.”

“That’s good. I don’t think they will be too bright with tactics or anything,” said Galen. “They are after women, weapons, and booze.”

“Well, we’re smarter,” said Steven. “If we start a shooting war—”

“I’m ready,” said Billy. “We can take them and get back our town.” Billy swallowed. “There’s something else though.”

“What?” said Galen.

“You know old man Nielsen, the retired cop?” said Billy.

“Yeah,” replied Steven. “I talk to him all the time at the hardware store. He’s a nice guy.”

“I saw him down there. Through my binoculars.”

“Where?” said Galen.

“Tied to a tree.”

“Then we need to rescue him,” said Steven, as he stood up.

“You don’t understand,” Billy continued. “He’s tied up, and he’s changed.”

Galen wiped sweat away from his temples. “Damn.”

“There’s more. I saw others down there, too. They were hung up in trees. All of them had turned. Whoever we are dealing with is a loose cannon, and there’s no telling what he’ll do to us or anyone else he encounters.”

Steven checked his rifle. “That’s why we can’t wait any longer.”

“We need more people.” Galen pounded back some more whiskey. “Not many of us up here. I’d hate to lose any of them.”

“Have to risk it, Galen. No choice,” said Billy.

“Can’t put if off. We have to gather everyone up and formulate a plan. We need those supplies, the sooner the better,” said Steven.

Galen sat back in his chair and put his arms out on the table. He put his hands together. “Alright. We owe the people down there. I for one don’t want to leave them to whoever these guys are.”

Steven went over to the window. “Good, I—”

Galen stood up. “What is it?”

“I can hear it. It’s coming down the road. Vehicle.”

“One of ours?” said Billy. “Told everyone to stay home for now.”

Steven readied his rifle. “Maybe, but we can’t be too careful.”

“Got a good view as they come into the yard from this window,” said Galen.

“Yeah we can ambush them before they even make it to the door,” said Billy.

“Pipe down.” Galen pointed his rifle to the SUV pulling into the gravel driveway. “Don’t know who they are yet.”

The SUV moved slowly into the yard then stopped. A man got out clad in black police armor. The passenger side door opened up, too, and a young man got out.

Galen put his rifle down. “Well shit. How in the hell did he make it all the way up here? Put the guns down boys, our luck has just changed.”

“Who is it?” said Billy.

Galen was smiling from ear to ear. “That’s my nephew.”