Age of Decay (Book 1): Contagion (20 page)

“They’re gonna overrun the town,” said Steven. “We can’t get to Galen even if we wanted to.” He fired his rifle towards one of the dead that had broken off from the main group and headed their way.

The dead made their way through the streets of Hope. Several of the residents had been unable to escape them and were now being torn to pieces in the streets. Others ran to the relative safety near Trevor and his group. A few residents had decided to fight and brandished shovels and pipes from a local hardware store. Trevor knew it would be no use. They couldn’t run and he wasn’t gonna abandon Billy and his uncle to the horde.

“Erica,” said Trevor. “Get these people back. Go down the highway. We’ll catch up to you as soon as we can. We have to save as many as possible.”

Erica put her hand on his shoulder. “You can’t save them, the building is surrounded. We can make our way through the mountains and double back to the cabin to get Ian and your wife.”

Trevor looked at her. “No, I’m not abandoning them, understand?” He turned and forced his rifle again the growing horde. “Now get them the hell out of here!”

The main horde had stopped and were concentrating on the building where Galen and Billy were. They slammed on the glass doors trying to the inside. The two men sent rifle rounds down upon them. Dropping several of the dead in the group, but there were too many of them to make much difference. Several began to break away from the building as they heard the gunshots coming from Trevor’s direction. They shambled down the street towards the park.

“Pull some of them away from the building,” said Trevor to his group. “Maybe we can get to them.”

The residents of Hope who had decided to stay behind and fight brandished whatever they could find from the hardware store. They began to fight with the dead that had moved away from the main building where the snipers were. One man swung a length of pipe at one of the dead, and it tore into the thing’s head. He used the end as a spear and thrust it into the left eye socket, dropping the ghoul in heap. A young woman brandished a crowbar and beat on the head of another one until it was a bloody mass of pulp. Another man screamed as several dead descended upon him when he missed one with a shovel. They tore into his arm and neck, sending hot blood rushing everywhere. Jason and Trevor stood their ground near Jake and his men, who were still tied up on the ground. Trevor dropped a magazine and loaded a fresh one into his rifle.
Uncle, how in the fuck am I gonna get you out of this?
He looked down the street
There are so many of them. This is it, Trev, you’re finished. Sorry, hon, I failed
. They all continued to fight. Another man, who reminded Trevor of Ian, swung an axe like a wildman and took the heads off several of the ghouls in quick strokes.
Dammit, I should have listened to Erica. There’s no hope, they keep coming
.

“Well shit. Looks like you’re in a whole heap of mess. Why don’t you untie me, so I can lend a hand?” said Jake.

Trevor looked over at Jake. “I don’t need your fucking help. You helped these people enough. Your buddy back there tied to the tree, remember?”

“The constable? Yeah, I did some bad things, I’ll grant you that, but ya need me now.”
What are ya doing, Jake, helping these people for? You going soft?

“Got a brilliant plan?” said Steven.

“Yeah. I do.”

Trevor fired his rifle at another one of the dead. “Alright, I’m listening.”

“Down the street, past the main group of them is a gas station. You passed it coming down here. We were hoarding gas from the vehicles around here. There’s a pickup-up truck there full of gas cans.” Jake pulled put a pair of keys put of his pocket. “It’s their only chance, bro.”

“Great,” said Trevor.

“More are coming this way!” hollered Jason

“That truck would make a good bomb,” said Jake.

“I’ll do it,” said Trevor.

“Thing is,” said Jake. “That’s a one-way trip. You’ll have to drive it into the main group and light the gas. Only way to clear that mass of dead.”

“With me inside,”” hollered Trevor. He fired his rifle again dropping another one of the dead.

“Stay here. Give me some cover. I’ll go,” said Steven.

“No ma—”

“Hey, I live here. I’ll make it. It’s the only way to save them.”

“You can’t.”

Steven put his hand on Trevor’s arm. “My mind’s made up. You gotta make a stand sometime in this life. My time is now.”

“Steven, no.”

“Hey, I can still move fast for an old man. I was on the track team in my youth. The fuckers will never even touch me.” He handed Trevor his rifle and extra ammunition. Then he checked his pistol. “Here take the rifle, it will only slow me down. Anyone got a lighter?”

Trevor reached into his pocket. “Yeah, this will do. What you’re doing, I—”

Steven smiled. “It’s alright, buddy. Now let’s go and give me some cover, will ya? It’s gonna get hairy out there.”

Trevor turned to Jason and the other men and women. “Let’s go send those motherfuckers back to hell where they came from!”

***
 

The group of survivors marched down the street brandishing whatever weapons they could carry. Trevor raised his rifle and sent a round towards another one of the dead. On the rooftop ahead of him, he could see Galen and Billy still firing their rifles at the massive horde of dead that had congregated by the building and were blocking the road. There was no way to get them out of there. Trevor had a couple of men stay behind to watch over Jake and his surviving bikers.

You’re still gonna pay for what you did. Don’t think you’re going to get way Scott free, you bastard
.

The group took cover by the side of another building, away from the main group of dead pounding on the glass, trying to get into the building where Galen and Billy were. They needed to clear a path so Steven could get around them and up the street to the truck.

Trevor yelled to the rooftop. “Uncle, just stay there, we have a plan to get you out!”

Galen aimed at one of the dead below him. “Not like we have much choice, do we? Get the hell out of here, before you bring them down upon you!”

Several dead broke away from the building and began to shuffle towards Trevor and his group.

“Let ‘em have it,” said Trevor. “Keep them occupied!”

Trevor and Jason fired into the horde of dead and dropped several of them. Others attacked with shovels, axes, tire irons, and whatever else they had on hand. The tide of dead forced the group to back up away from the building, which pulled several more dead towards them, but the main building was still surrounded by them.

A ghoul moved towards Jason. He slammed the butt of his rifle into the thing’s head and caved in its face. He shoved his pistol into the mouth of another one and blew its brains out the back of its head, which smeared the wall.

“Is it clear on any side around you?” hollered Trevor up to Galen.

“Yeah,” replied Billy. “On the right side, it’s almost clear, there aren’t many of them. They are concentrating on the doors.” Billy raised is rifle. “Look out!”

Trevor looked to his left as one of the dead had tried to move toward him. The head blew apart as Billy’s round exited through its skull.

“Thanks,” said Trevor.

Steven fired his pistol into the head of one of the dead, which exploded out the back and sprayed brains in all directions.

“It’s now or never,” hollered Steven. “I’ve got to get to that truck.” He fired again and dropped another ghoul onto the pavement.

One of Trevor’s men got too close to the main horde and this preoccupied them for a brief second. The man swung his shovel, but they surrounded him quickly. He screamed as the dead tore into his arm. Trevor cursed and dropped the two that had attacked him. The man tried to get away, but they pulled him into the crowd. The dead pulled away from the right side of the building for a moment and went over to feast on the unfortunate man. This gave Steven the chance he needed.

“Go!” Trevor yelled. “Get that truck, we can’t hold them forever!” Trevor cursed and swung his rifle at one that tried to clamp its jaws around him.

Jason sent streams of bullets towards the dead with his automatic rifle as more of them moved towards the group from the building. Another man slammed his tire iron into the eye socket of another one and pushed it back with his foot.

Steven wasted no time watching the group battle the dead as he raced around the right side of the building, he passed several of the dead and one of them reached out to him in a lazy fashion, but he ignored it. His old legs were slower than they were in high school, but he still had some speed. He ran as fast as he could around the building and saw an opening. The dead were still feasting on the man and weren’t paying much attention to anything else. Just ahead of him he could see the gas station and the white truck there with the back full of gas cans. Several dead were near it, and Steven knew it would be difficult to get into the truck without them getting near. He ran towards the station and fired his pistol at two of them. One round slammed into the shoulder of one, while the other round tore off the top of the other’s head. This attracted more of the dead from the main group near the building, as well as several shuffling around near the station.

“Shit,” said Steven as he dropped his magazine and loaded a fresh one into his gun. He fired again and dropped another one. He approached the truck and went to the back of it to grab a gas can. Several dead came around the front of the truck, and he fired his pistol until the magazine was empty, dropping them to the ground. As he tried to load the pistol again, he didn’t see the one coming up behind him. The thing reached out and clamped down on his shoulder. Steven screamed as hot blood rushed out of the wound, and he dropped his pistol. He managed to push the ghoul backwards as he slammed the thing with the back of his head, trying to pry it off of him. As it let go, he swung the gas can around and clubbed it over the head with it. He ignored the pain in his shoulder and reached for the door to the truck he slammed the truck door shut just as several more reached the window. They pounded hard on the on the glass and left streaks of grime across it as they fought to get in the truck. One of them jumped on the hood and tried to crawl up to the window, but Steven found the keys in his pocket and started the truck’s engine. He flung the gas can to the passenger side. He slammed it in reverse and hit several dead, toppling them over, then put it in drive. He smashed through several more dead and put the pedal to the metal as he drove the truck full speed towards the building and the horde there. At full speed, the truck barreled into the group of dead and his head slammed against the steering wheel as the truck stopped. Ahead of the truck, a mass of bodies were on the ground and blood flowed out of several of them. Even then, a few tried to get their mangled bodies up. One that was cut in half crawled along the ground and put a hand on one of the truck tires.

Trevor looked out at the truck in the horde as they tried to get in. “Get back, everyone get back!”

Steven lifted his head up and fought through the blackness. He laughed to himself.
So this is how it ends
. Blood poured from both his shoulder wound and the severe gash across his eyebrow. He coughed as the virus invaded his body. He pulled the lighter out of his pocket.
You fucks are gonna get a big surprise soon, I hope you know. It’s been nice knowin’ ya
. He put the lighter on the dashboard and grabbed the gas can. He opened it up and poured the gas throughout the cabin of the truck. The sick smell made him want to wretch. He grabbed the lighter, then lit the gas.
To hell with ya
.

Steven’s suffering ended in an instant as the gas ignited and along with it, the gas can in the cabin. The truck went up in a huge fireball as the rest of the gas cans, along with the gas tank, erupted in a geyser of flames, shattering several nearby windows.

The explosion tore the dead to pieces, ripping bodies apart and spraying blood and remains in all directions. Several dead staggered around on fire, but eventually fell over as their bodies were consumed. On the roof, Galen and Billy had taken cover on the ground once they had seen the truck. The front of the building was destroyed and there was a small fire raging.
   Trevor and his group came out from their position. They fought through the remainder of the dead that were still lingering near the building, but for the most part it as now clear.

Trevor hollered up to his uncle. “We’ll get a ladder and get you down, just hang on!”

The main group went back and picked up Erica before they headed back up to Galen’s cabin. Although they had lost Steven in the battle against the dead, they had managed to save both Galen and Billy from the horde. Now they would go and pickup Samantha, Lauren, and Ian. The town of Hope was theirs now, but how long they could stay here was a question no one could answer. The dead were out there, and it would only by a matter of time before another herd of them made their way to Hope. For the time being, there was a bit of safety there, as well as fresh supplies that everyone desperately needed. They proceeded in a pick-up truck up the mountain to Galen’s cabin. Along the way, they ran into several of the dead, but they ignored them as they walked along the side of the road and weren’t much of a threat.

Galen rubbed the stubble on his chin and sighed. “I can’t believe Steven is gone, he was a good man. I won’t forget his sacrifice, that’s for sure.”

Trevor turned hollered over the roar of the engine and the wind as he sat in the back of the cab along with Billy. “He did what he felt was right. There was no way to get the both of you out of that mess.”

Erica began to slow the truck down. She stuck her head out the window. “There are quite a few bodies up ahead.”

“Go around them the best you can,” said Galen. “We’re almost at my cabin.”

Billy pushed his cap down against his forehead. “Looks like your friends ran into some company, too.”

“Yeah,” said Trevor. “I hope everyone’s alright.”

Erica weaved her way around several corpses and made their way to Galen’s driveway. She stopped the truck there as the driveway and yard was littered with dozen upon dozen of bodies.

Trevor and the others got out of the truck. In the front on the steps leading up to the cabin he saw them. There sat Ian, Samantha, and Sue. The children sat on the ground next to them. Sue put her hand on Sarah’s head to try and ease the sobbing girl.

As the group approached them Ian looked up. He face was solemn, and he looked like hell. In fact all of them did. They were covered in gore and looked like they just got out of a slaughterhouse.

“Lad,” he said. The big man put his head down, and Sam rubbed his shoulders.

“Ian,” said Trevor. “What the hell happened?”

“They attacked the cabin,” said Sue. “There was a whole bunch of them. Ian saved us, but we lost Gail. Had to sacrifice her to save the children.”

“We fought them off,” said Sam. “We did our best.”

“Oh, Christ, lad.” Ian put his head down and the tears came. He couldn’t hold them in. “Bloody hell. I did all I could. You got to believe me. There were so many of those buggers.”

“Take it easy,” said Galen. “You did fine, by the looks of it.”

Sue spoke in a solemn tone. “We had another casualty besides Gail.”

Trevor took a step back as he didn’t see his wife. “Lauren?”

Before Trevor could go up the stairs, the door opened and Lauren stood there. She looked incredibly weak and her face was very pale. Sweat poured down her forehead and she coughed heavily. Her eyes were bloodshot and her cheeks were sunken in some. It had just been a small scratch, but it was enough. Lauren was changing.

“No,” breathed Trevor. “No.”

“It’s okay, Ian,” said Lauren.

Sue looked at Trevor. “She went back in the cabin after it happened and told us to leave her there. She was hoping you got back before it happened.”

Lauren staggered down the stairs towards Trevor and coughed again. “We need to go in the yard. It’s… almost time.”

Ian looked up. “I’m so sorry…”

Trevor let his rifle slide out of his hands and he backed up. “No, not you. Not my wife. After all we have been through. We made it here to start over again. No!”

Trevor backed up into the yard, and Lauren followed. The others followed behind them.

Erica put her hand on Jason’s shoulder, but Jason brushed her hand away. He stood there, not moving.

Lauren’s voice was ragged now. She sounded like she had a bad cough in her chest. “Got to do it, baby...”

“Lauren!” Trevor screamed he ran his hands through his hair. “How can I live without you?”

“I’ll always love you and Jason.” She coughed again gasping. “Always…”

Trevor sank to his knees and put his head down. He pulled the Glock out of its holster and looked at it.
Kill her. Just do it, Trevor. You know you have to.
He looked at his gun.
Hell, it would be so easy wouldn’t it?
What’s there to live for now? You tried to save everyone, but you forgot about what matters.
You stupid little fuck!
Trevor brought the gun up to his mouth.
Just pull the fucking trigg—

The shot made Trevor flinch as it shattered the silence. As he brought his head up Lauren was there at his feet, the back of her head now a red ruin. Her eyes were open, staring at him. He put his hand on her hair and touched it softly. As he raised his eyes a bit more, he saw Erica lowered her pistol. She came over to him.

“Back there on the highway, you saved me from those two men. They would have killed me. You saved me, so I’m saving you.”

Trevor sat there for a few moments on the grass looking at his wife before the tears came. They flooded out of him in a torrent of despair.

Anguish was his only friend.