Desolation (13 page)

He holstered his weapon and backed out of the sally port and
bumped against Jerri, startling them both.

 

The air inside the building was frigid and made him shiver.
“Jesus! Stop that!” Jerri whispered, cradling the baby against her
chest. Despite the circumstances, the baby seemed to have calmed.

“Sorry,” Andrew muttered. “I almost had them until Cletus had a
coherent thought and saw through my bluff.” He paced in a tight circle
and shook his head. “Goddammit! It’s going to be next to impossible to
maneuver across this camp without a single weapon. This place is
festering.”

Jerri looked around her surroundings and tried to peer into the
all-encompassing darkness. The air smelled foul and had the coppery tang
of blood. Flies buzzed in the air.

She stifled a scream and kicked a roach off of her leg, stumbling
forward. Glass shards crackled underneath her feet and something wet
sloshed against her.

Jerri looked up and saw that the glass had fallen from above; all
of the skylights were shattered.

 

Even with the moon above, her eyes couldn’t adjust to the
darkness.

 

“I can’t see two foot in front of me, Andrew,” she whispered.
Andrew blindly snatched the flashlight off of his duty belt and
turned it on, scanning the beam across the room.

The room looked like a large refrigerated warehouse; thick air
vents ran the expanse of the ceiling alongside the skylights. Thousands of
chains hung from the ceiling with hooks attached to them. A handful of
human corpses hung from the hooks by their feet, dangling upside-down.
Their throats had been slit, allowing their blood to run down into the
mesh drains on the floor below them. Their half-frozen bodies were
riddled with arrows that had descended from above. The chains were all
attached to mechanical pulleys, allowing the bodies to be raised or
lowered as needed.

“Holy mother of God,” Andrew murmured, holding back his gag
reflex. He had no idea how bad it was.

Jerri bit her tongue to keep from screaming.
“This is…” she stammered.

“We have to keep moving. Don’t say anything and stay behind
me, okay? The sooner we get out of here, the better,” Andrew whispered.

He led the way through the strung-up cadavers, trying to keep his
eyes fixed on the ground so as not to look any of them in the face. The air
was a strange mixture of body odor, rot, and defecation. He snaked
through the swinging corpses as fast as he could, trying not to touch any
of them.

Jerri stayed close behind on Andrew’s heels. She kept Jacob close
to her. She was thankful that the child wouldn’t remember the horrors
and hoped that he would forget the pungent smell of death.

She looked up and almost crashed into a rather bloated corpse
with a tattoo on his chest of a snake wrapped around a sword. Multiple
arrows were stuck in the corpse’s body. She looked closer before her eyes
went wide with terrible recognition. She stumbled back in horror.

“Teddy,” she said aloud, one hand covering her mouth.
Teddy’s eyes shot open at the sound of her voice. They were
hazed and covered in a thin layer of frost.

Jerri screamed and the baby started crying.
All of the corpses in the room wriggled on their hooks and
moved their rigid frozen joints as they tried to get down, moaning. The
rattle of the chains became deafening.

Teddy snarled and reached his cold hands out towards Jerri. He
managed to grab the front of her shirt and tried to pull her towards him.
Jerri jerked back and bumped against an upside-down elderly
woman, hyperventilating –

The elderly woman wrapped her arms around Jerri from behind.
She tried to bite into Jerri’s shoulder but didn’t have a single tooth in her
mouth; they threw away the woman’s dentures when they stripped her
down.

Jerri elbowed the woman off of her and panicked as the child
screamed in her arms.

 

Andrew grabbed Jerri’s wrist and squeezed.

 

Jerri struggled to pull free but then settled as she locked her eyes
with his.

 

Despite the horrific circumstances, Andrew looked cool, calm,
and composed.

“Follow me,” he said in his calm voice.
Jerri nodded, struggling to catch her breath.

Andrew led her through the dangling infected cadavers,
navigating the path with his flashlight. Arrow shafts and glass crunched
underneath his boots with each step.

The cadavers reached towards the couple as they passed and held
out their icy hands, trying to snatch their prey.

Jerri let Andrew lead her, closing her eyes for time to time, tears
running down her face. She hated showing such weakness, such pathetic
weakness, but crying was the only thing that allowed her to keep some
semblance of sanity.

Jacob continued to scream against Jerri’s chest, opening and
closing his tiny fists, kicking.

They finally arrived at a set of double-doors at the end of the
freezer. The chain’s pulley control panel was next to the door; Andrew
would be sure not to touch it.

Andrew pushed the doors open and peeked inside.

The food preparation area was in complete disarray. Dry blood
streaked across the checkered floor and dirty pans lay scattered
everywhere. The overhead fluorescent lights flickered and the clogged
sinks overflowed. Mold blossomed on the walls and rust encrusted the
numerous stoves. Knives and other utensils were haphazardly jabbed into
the butcher blocks. Empty wooden barrels of provisions and stacks of
empty rat traps sat against the far wall of the kitchen.

A few rogue arrows lay strewn on the floor and stuck into the
cupboard doors.

 

The door in the corner of the room led into the dining hall.

“It looks clear,” Andrew said, cautiously scanning the room with
his light. He entered and quickly crossed the room towards the other
door.

Jerri bolted out from behind Andrew and kicked the door shut
behind her, frantically trying to catch her breath.

 

“Are you okay?” Andrew asked, stepping towards her. He
reached a hand out to comfort her.

Jerri slapped his hand away and looked at him sharply.
“You people are
sick
!” she spat. “How can
anything
justify
that
?!”
Andrew looked at her, stung, and shook his head.

“Look, I meant it when I said that I’m no saint,” he said. “I never
knew… well… I had an idea but I just chose not to think about it. Things
become too real when you see the man behind the curtain. I’m sorry you
had to see that. For what it’s worth, I never sacked a single soul. I didn’t
sign up for anything like this.”

Jerri looked over at him and then stared down at Jacob, petting
his small belly.

“I’m sorry,” she said, closing her eyes. “It’s not just your
people… we’re just as guilty. It’s one thing to cook the meal… and
another thing to eat it.”

Andrew looked at her and frowned.
Jerri looked up at him and shook her head.

“I didn’t,” she said. “I couldn’t… I couldn’t after I knew what it
was.”

 

“I’m glad,” Andrew said.

 

“Would it make me a complete ghoul if I told you that I
considered it for a moment though?” she asked, looking away.

“Just an honest one,” Andrew said with a smile.
A slight smile formed across Jerri’s lips.

Her eyes darted across the room towards a large butcher knife
that was tabbed in the center of a wooden cutting block in the center of
the table.

“Hold him,” she told Andrew, handing him Jacob.
Confused, Andrew held the child and Jerri hurried towards the
knife.

 

She pulled the sharp knife out of the board and admired it as it
glistened in the flickering light.

“Upgrading?” Andrew asked.
Jerri gave a sly smirk and weighted the blade in her hand.
“I have to defend myself,” she mused.

“Well, if you find some pistol ammo, share with me,” he said.
“Come on, let’s go check out the main mess hall and get out of here
before those two-bit cowboys find the front door.”

Jerri nodded and started walking back towards Andrew.
Something splashed behind her.
Jerri froze and turned towards the noise, gripping the knife.

A cook with his lower extremities gnawed off was scurrying
towards her across the kitchen floor. He had emerged out from
underneath the cutting table. He snarled and salivated as he got closer to
her.

Andrew started to bolt forward when Jerri held her hand up.

“I got this,” she said. She ran towards the cook and stabbed the
blade through the top of the man’s skull; it scraped across the bone and
did not go through. She screamed, and stabbed him again, harder, until
the blade cracked through the man’s skull and sliced through his gray
matter.

The cook let out a final gasp and collapsed face down into the
pool of water on the floor.

Jerri flung the gore off of the knife and spat on the cook’s corpse.
“That’s for Teddy,” she said.
Andrew said nothing. He simply watched.

Jerri walked towards him and he handed her the child. She slid
her knife under the edge of her pants and held the baby snug in her arms,
rocking him.

Andrew walked over to the barricaded door and rolled the table
aside. He swung the door open and was met with a gun barrel pressed
between his eyes.

21

T
he officer wearing riot gear quickly lowered his rifle away from
Andrew’s face and saluted once he recognized the uniform.
Andrew let out a sigh of relief and relaxed.
“I’m so sorry, sir,” the officer said. “I thought you were a
shambler.”
Andrew brushed past the officer and walked into the dining hall,
scanning the area cautiously. The long tables were overturned and the
food serving trays had been toppled. The room looked like it was vacated
in a hurry. It was completely empty with the exception of two FEMA
officers. One of them was covered with ash and armed with a pistol. The
other officer, the one who aimed the rifle at Andrew, glistened with flop
sweat.
“And I thought you were a pissed off civilian,” Andrew said. He
turned and narrowed his eyes at the nervous rifle-bearer. “What’s your
name?”
The officer shifted uncomfortably and slung his rifle over his
shoulder.
“Martinez,” the officer said. He pointed towards his companion.
“The one covered in shit is Jones.”
Jones nodded.
“We took shelter in here once it started popping off. We had no
idea that the back cooler was a goddamn shambler holding pen so we’ve
kind of been waiting for things to settle down outside,” Martinez said.
Andrew looked at Martinez in disbelief.
“Have you even bothered to look outside…? We’re losing this
fight. Things won’t be settling down for quite some time.” Andrew said.
“Pathetic,” Jerri said with a disgusted look on her face.
“What was that, girl?” Jones said with a strong southern accent.
“I said that you’re pathetic,” Jerri said, narrowing her eyes at him.
“You two hid while the people you swore to protect are getting
slaughtered outside.”
Jones hiked his BDU pants up and waved the pistol at her, one
hand on his hips.
“In case you didn’t notice, you ungrateful bastards are the ones
attacking us! I’ll teach you to show us some respect, you bitch!” Jones spat
as he neared Jerri.
Before Jerri could pull out her knife, Andrew pulled out his pistol
and pointed it at Jones.
Jones froze with his mouth open.
“You won’t do anything,” Andrew said. “This girl and the child is
under my personal protection.”
Jones holstered his pistol and held his hands up apologetically.
“Alright calm down, just calm the fuck down,” Jones said, not
catching the child part. “I was just messing around. Don’t get your panties
all in a bunch.”
“Her
child
?” Martinez said in disbelief.
Martinez crept forward to look at the small bundle of life Jerri
held in her arms.
Jerri, leery of the two men, stepped back.
“He’s resting,” Jerri said.
“Oh…” Martinez said, stepping back, looking over at Jones.
“Well since you have all the plans, what are we going to do,
chief?” Jones said to Andrew.
Andrew looked down at his pistol and dropped the empty clip to
the floor.
“Well,” Andrew said, “for starters do you have any extra 9mm
clips?”
Jones reluctantly reached down and took the last 9mm clip off of
his tactical vest and handed it to him.
Andrew slid the clip into his pistol and racked a round into the
chamber.
“Are we getting out of this building or are we opening up a
goddamn daycare center now?” Jones asked, his eyes rolled up towards
the ceiling.
“Fuck yeah we’re getting out of here! We have to fight back and
reclaim this camp!” Martinez shouted.
“No,” Andrew said as he examined his pistol, “I’m taking the girl
and the baby to Camp 7. You two are welcomed to join me if you can
fight.”
“You mean… a place that actually has supplies?” Jones said,
smiling. “I almost forgot what that was like.”
Martinez shook his head and held his hand up.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Martinez said, laughing. “Camp 7 is up in
North Dakota… That’s over a thousand miles away. You mean to tell me
that we’re going to walk cross-country in hostile territory with limited
ammunition and no backup?”
Andrew thought about the question and shrugged.
“Well, not exactly” Andrew said. “All we have to do is find a way
to the abandoned Air Force base up in Tucson and get a bird. Staying
here won’t work. Even if we get the shamblers under control and stop the
civil unrest, we still have no supplies and no support and there are
hundreds of marauders waiting outside our front door.”
“They aren’t exactly just letting people leave, either,” Jones said in
a disgusted tone. “They have that gate covered like flies on shit. How do
you propose on leaving?”
“There’s a secret way out at the back of the camp in medical,”
Andrew said, looking over at Jerri.
Martinez shrugged.
“Fuck it,” Martinez said, “I’m staying. I’ll get you to medical, but
I can’t turn tail like a coward. This camp is ours.”
“I’ll go,” Jones added.
Jerri forcefully poked Andrew in his back.
He spun towards her, taken by surprise.
“You’re just going to trust them?” she whispered.
“For now we could use the extra help to get out of here alive,”
Andrew whispered back.
The dining hall sally port’s motor sparked as the door controls
were short-circuited. The sally port powered down and the doors were
forced open by the small group of civilians who Andrew and Jerri met
earlier.
The man in the trucker cap led the group into the dining hall.
Jones and Martinez spun towards the group, reaching for their
weapons.
The trucker aimed his pistol at Andrew.
Andrew quickly pulled the trigger.
The trucker’s head snapped backwards and the back of his skull
erupted, splattering the other rioters standing behind him with a mist of
blood and bone fragments.
Before the other rioters could react, Andrew popped off four
more shots in rapid succession, hitting three in their chest and one in the
stomach.
The rioters collapsed onto the floor, three dead, two dying and
slithering away in pain.
Andrew slowly lowered his pistol.
Jerri uncovered Jacob’s ears and looked at Andrew in disbelief.
“I thought you sold televisions at Best Buy,” she muttered,
looking at the corpses.
Andrew looked back at her.
“I’ve had
lots
of practice when the creatures were clawing at our
wall a year ago,” he said. “I'd say I’ve become pretty proficient.”
Martinez whistled in admiration and threw Andrew his last 9mm
clip.
Andrew caught the clip and slid it into his empty ammo pouch.
“Lead the way, we’ll be right behind you,” Martinez said, gripping
his rifle.
Andrew looked at Jerri.
“You okay and ready to go?” he said softly to her.
Jerri nodded.
Andrew walked towards the sally port, gun ready, and stepped
over the corpse of the trucker. One of the men he shot had managed to
drag himself into the corner, grasping his wounded stomach with one
hand and the trucker’s dropped pistol with the other.
He shakily raised the pistol…
Jones fired a single shot through the dying man’s head and
speckled the wall with red mist.
Andrew nodded towards Jones and peered outside.
The encampment was burning. Fires had been set at a number of
dormitories, cooking the trapped tenants inside.
Small battalions of looters wielding various weapons marched
through the camp, executing infected and anybody else they came across.
They pillaged the fallen bodies, searching the corpses for anything of
value.
The control tower burned like a massive torch in the distance.
Four police officers hung on the gallows, stripped of their weapons and
badly beaten.
In front of the gallows, a large line of weaponless police officers
had been marched in formation by civilians wielding assault rifles. The
officers had burlap sacks covering their heads.
The civilians opened fire on the officers.
A group of officers emerged from the corner of one of the
burning buildings and opened fire on the civilians, taking them by
surprise.
A firefight quickly erupted as the two opposing groups took
cover.
The infected meandered amongst the two opposing groups,
taking down unsuspecting prey at their leisure.
The marauders watched the events unfold from outside the gate,
enshrouded by shadows.
Andrew ducked back inside the dining hall.
“We’ll have to move and we’ll have to do it fast,” Andrew told
the others. “They have our guns and they’re killing with impunity. We’ll
be spotted the second we step outside.”
“I have another idea,” Martinez said, expression lightening.
“By all means,” Andrew said, “Share.”