Fractured: Outbreak ZOM-813 (7 page)

“Ethan, it’s Daddy,” Jaxon called out again.

“Daddy?” a tiny voice whispered through the door.

CHAPTER 6

The door handle clicked and slowly turned. Jaxon kneeled down, and Ethan wrapped his arms around his father’s neck. Ethan didn’t look over seven years old.

“Where’s Mommy?’ Ethan looked at us a little disappointed that we weren’t his mother.

“Mommy…” Jaxon was lost for words.

“She’s dead, isn’t she?” Ethan didn’t need an explanation. “Mommy told me to stay here when the alarms went off.”

“You did good, really good.” Jaxon gave his son another tight squeeze. He didn’t need to acknowledge Ethan was correct on her death.

The reunion was cut short by the sound of a shattering window from another room.

“Ethan, this is Harmony, Dan, and that’s Mayhem, their dog. Stay right here with them while Daddy checks on this.” Jaxon moved swiftly past us into another room but quickly reappeared.

“Is it bad?” I asked.

“They broke the windows in the front lobby. It’s a big group. We’ll retreat out the back the way we came in and make a run for the truck.” Jaxon kneeled down to Ethan. “Ethan, I want you to hold Harmony’s hand. Daddy needs to lead us out of here. OK?”

Ethan reached up for my hand, and I pulled him in close. I wasn’t sure how I felt about taking on this responsibility as I took his tiny hand into mine. But as I reflected on the situation, I knew that I’d hope someone would protect my niece if she needed it.

We moved fast. As we passed the door that led off to the front area we could see the infected banging the doors and breaking windows. It was obvious they heard the gunshot, and they were eager to get it. As we ran through the building, I think we were all thankful the infected didn’t seem to remember how to open doors.

We made it back to the storage room that would take us to the back alley. Jaxon took a quick look outside before diving through the window. We filed down the alley until we reached the parking lot. Jaxon paused at the building on the edge of the lot and looked around the corner, scanning the area.

“Clear.” Jaxon looked back at us.

We ran for wreckage of the main gate and headed for the truck. Running through the parking lot caught the attention of some of the infected on the outside of the medical ward. The infected began moving in our direction.

“They’re coming!” I shouted out.

“Keep moving!” Jaxon yelled over his shoulder.

Mayhem pulled towards the infected with a vicious growl.

“Leave it!” Dan yanked at his leash.

One by one, we wedged past the wrecked pickup and high tailed it to our own truck still parked against the security wall.

Dan opened the door for Mayhem, letting him hop in while Jaxon helped Ethan into the back. Dan fired up the engine and put the truck in drive.

“Wait!” I held my hands out like it would magically prevent the truck from moving. “What about the other building we were supposed to look in? What if my family’s in there?”

“I think we can agree that even if they were here, they aren’t anymore.” Dan brought my hand down and held it.

“Ethan, can you tell me if you saw any new groups of survivors come in the last few days?” Jaxon asked his son.

Ethan pursed his lips as he thought about it. “No. Mommy said no new people were allowed in.”

“That’s our answer. We need to get moving.” Dan cocked his head to the direction of the entrance.

Infected were piling out of the gate with their sights set on us. Dan didn’t think about it another second. He began to drive down the dirt road away from Fort Mesa.

“We’ll head towards Camp Glen. Turn right back onto 59,” Jaxon directed.

I watched the infected behind us following the truck and become smaller by the second as we sped down the dusty road. A part of me was feeling I didn’t get the closure I needed.  I couldn’t fully be satisfied that my family wasn’t in that place. I had to focus on getting to the next base and hope we would have better luck.

“How far to Camp Glen?” Dan brought his eyes up to the rear view mirror.

“About two hours northeast of here,” Jaxon said.

“I don’t see Camp Glen on this map. I see Lynn further east, and the only base north is Fort Coulee.” I held up the map to show Jaxon our highlighted route of the bases we planned on hitting.

“Camp Glen won’t be on any maps. And Lynn has been shut down for years,” Jaxon explained.

“I’m hungry Daddy.” Ethan’s little voice sounded exhausted.

“I’m sure you are, bud. It’s probably been awhile. Here…,” Jaxon reached in his pack and pulled out one of his MREs.

“Ethan, are you thirsty? There’s some bottled water just under your feet,” I pointed out.

“Can you say thank you?” Jaxon asked.

“Thank you.” Ethan reached for a bottle.

“You’re so welcome.” I found it heartening that Jaxon reminded his son to use manners in the middle of the end of the world.

“We should stop before dark and camp out for the night,” Jaxon suggested.

“That’s not a bad idea. I don’t remember the last time we even ate something.” Dan looked to me for my thoughts.

“Yeah. That sounds like a plan to me. What do you suggest?” I turned around in my seat to face Jaxon.

“We find a neighborhood and break into a home.” He looked to Ethan who was handing him the water bottle. “You done with that, buddy?”

Ethan nodded and leaned against his dad’s arm.

“We could all use some rest.” I smiled at Ethan.

As we drove north, the sun moved across the sky, darkening as it began to settle in the west. I thought I might fall asleep, but my body just wasn’t allowing me to rest. Even in the security of Dan and Jaxon’s company, my nerves were on edge. 

I watched the desert and mountainous scenery pass us by while thinking about the peace of mind these areas had always brought me. Before the outbreak, I loved getting away from civilization for a weekend with Dan. We’d call it our runaway weekends, packing up and getting out of town for even just one night. It was strange to think there was nothing left of the civilization we once knew.  

Ethan slept quite comfortably in Jaxon’s arms. He would jerk and occasionally moan, and I was afraid to think of what nightmares must hide away in his dreams. Who knows what he experienced during the breakdown of the base? I hoped for his sake that he didn’t see much, but was instead locked in that office for the entirety of the massacre.

I was a little surprised by how empty the road was. The larger highways were littered with cars, but if you didn’t know what had happened over the last few days, you could safely assume that this was just a desolate highway in the middle of the desert. I guess in a panic most people took the direct routes they knew when they fled the cities. But the traffic jams must have become death traps. Every once in a while we would pass by an infected; they looked more emaciated out here in the middle of nowhere, juxtaposed to the infected in the city.

We finally reached the outskirts of what was probably once a quaint, small town now just a far reminiscence. This community had a Western style feel to it, but now resembled a real ghost town. Its residents either fled or still roamed the streets in their new, ghostly decayed form. Almost like a kind of purgatory, these monsters were stuck where they became infected. Stuck to wander forever without a destination until they were reeled in by the lure of living flesh. Then, powerless to resist following the flesh, they mindlessly chased until it was lost or captured. A few infected roamed the streets. Some were drawn out of buildings by the sound of our truck and followed in our direction.

“This looks promising.” Dan turned into a neighborhood.

“I’m sure we’ll find something here,” Jaxon said, and studied our surroundings.

“Do you guys see that?” I pointed ahead.

There was a white makeshift flag made from what looked like a white under-shirt hanging from a second story window of a home located at the end of the street. Dan pulled up to the curb in front of the house.

It caught me off guard when I heard Jaxon release the safety on his beretta. Dan and I looked at each other and grabbed our weapons as well. It was so strange, always being armed, always prepared for a potential battle. It was nice to have someone helping us mold into these new roles, keeping us alert and on our toes.

“Daddy, are we stopping?” Ethan was groggy from his nap.

“Maybe, bud. We’re just gonna check this out for a second.” Jaxon scratched Ethan’s head.

We must have lost the infected through town as we hadn’t seen any since we began driving in this neighborhood.

“Here’s the deal, I’m going to quickly survey the area. You two stay here with Ethan. Looters are everywhere, and we can’t afford to have the truck stolen out from under us.” Jaxon finished preparing his weapons. “Hopefully, I can easily get into the house, and get that garage open.”

“Daddy, don’t leave me again.” Ethan tugged at Jaxon’s arm.

“I’ll be super-fast. I need you to be a big boy and stay here.” Jaxon kissed Ethan on the head and patted his knee.

“Are you sure you don’t want one of us to come along?” Dan asked.

“Even Mayhem? At least he can sense them,” I said.

“No. But thanks. I’ll move faster alone.” And with that, Jaxon jumped out of the truck and disappeared into the darkness on the side of the house.

Dan and I kept watch; he looked out ahead, and I looked out behind us. It was weird sitting in this truck, thinking about what this street may have been like just a week ago. Children outside playing, people working on their lawns, walking their dogs… Now it was all just completely vacant. We sat and waited for what seemed like an eternity in a silence that felt unnatural. All we could hear was the humming of the truck engine and Mayhem panting.

The garage door of the home began to open. I couldn’t believe how loud it seemed to be. I felt as though everything in the neighborhood would be alerted to the sound of the chain pulling up the heavy door. Jaxon dipped under the door and waved us in.

“Here we go.” Dan pulled into the driveway and parked in the garage next to a small Sedan. Jaxon closed the door behind us.

We were all ready for a calm evening protected by closed doors. I knew it was only a temporary, maybe false sense of security, but somehow I found it comforting.

Jaxon helped Ethan out of the car, and Dan grabbed Mayhem. We went inside the house to find a quaint family home. It appeared untouched from the ongoing disasters outside, although I noticed pictures were missing from the walls and mantel of the fireplace. Everything else seemed in order, down to the throw pillows on the couch in the living room. The kitchen was empty of food except for some fruit and a gallon of milk in the fridge that had gone bad.

“I think we should sleep upstairs.” Jaxon pointed to the stairs.

“Yeah, we should definitely sleep in the same room too,” I suggested.

Dan nodded in agreement. “I’ll get something for us to eat out of the truck.”

Ethan and Mayhem made themselves comfortable on the living room couch while Jaxon began closing curtains. Dan returned from the truck and began pulling food out of a bag for dinner.

It was strange watching us all together under this roof. I thought about the owners and where they may be now.
Did they flee and were somewhere safe?
Or, maybe they too were outside, roaming around in an endless search for flesh.

I sat down on the couch with Ethan and Mayhem while we waited for Dan to prepare food. “Ethan, how old are you?” It was the first thing that came to mind and seemed a perfectly normal conversation starter with a child. “I’m eight,” he said, petting Mayhem.

“Wow, you and Mayhem are the same age!”

He gave me a small smile.

“Ethan, can you tell Harmony how old your doggie was?” Jaxon made himself comfortable on the floor next to the couch by Ethan.

“She was sixteen,” Ethan said proudly.

“Oh my! What was her name?”

“Staci.”

Dan brought out some bread, cheese, and sandwich meat. “Alright, here we go. I figured we’d eat the fresh food first, and then we’ll break the good ‘ole canned stuff out down the road.” He placed everything on the coffee table and took a seat on the floor.

“Thanks, sweetie,” I said.

We all dug in.

“Yes, thanks man. Ethan and I both appreciate you guys giving us a ride and a meal that’s not an MRE.” Jaxon rubbed his son’s knee. He finished putting together a sandwich for Ethan and handed it to him.

“Besides getting to Camp Glen next, what are your plans?” I asked.

“The military has one goal. Protect the population. When we get to Camp Glen, I’ll join a unit and continue that goal.”

Jaxon was the definition of a soldier, disciplined, focused, loyal and dedicated. I wanted to ask about his wife, but it didn’t feel right talking about her in front of Ethan.

“What are the plans for survivors?” Dan asked.

“I hate to say this, but I think they’re planning as they go. The military bases are able to quickly assemble refugee camps, but eventually the Government will have to begin long-term establishments.”