Nano Z (5 page)

Mack opened the wallet. He went through the pockets and found Bernard Pierce’s Galatea ID.
Now don’t you feel like an asshole?

“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell,” said Mack after sighing and closing the wallet.

He gave it back to Amber and she promptly put it in her pocket. There was a short quiet as they both looked upon the horror before them.

“What do you think it means?” asked Amber, sheepishly.

“Don’t know. I’m sure nothing good.”

Mack gently put his hand on Amber’s shoulder. “I need to look around and see if there’s anything we can use. Then we’ll get out of here. You wanna wait outside, stand watch?”

“No, not really.” Amber was lightning fast with her answer.

“You shouldn’t have to see this stuff. You’re just a …”

“Kid? I’ve seen worst stuff online before my tenth birthday.”

Wow…That’s disturbing. Is she kidding? She must be kidding, right?

“We need a lookout,” said Mack sternly.

“I agree. So why don’t you get out there and ‘stand watch’.”

“I swear to god kid, I don’t know if I should hug ya or throw you out those lovely stained glass windows.”

“Ah, that’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” Amber grabbed Mack’s shoulder and fluttered her eyelashes in an exaggerated sarcastic manner. He found it strangely adorable and nauseating at the same time.

Amber left the chapel and kept watch, just like Mack asked. While searching the chapel, Mack discovered a door behind the altar. With his shotgun raised again he opened it.

With my luck there will be a meat puppet waiting for me. Soon as I open, it’ll jump on me. Tear me to pieces. Stop it. You need to man up.

The door behind the altar slowly opened. It had the stereotypical creak. Mack took a deep breath and looked.

There was a small room beyond the door that housed supplies for the church. Candles were stacked on a shelf along with bibles, hymn books and extra religious garb. Nothing was of real worth to Mack or Amber. So he left and closed the door.

Amber walked back and forth in front of the Wydell Chapel. She’d kick some dirt and grass every once and awhile. Then she heard a gunshot. It came from Mama’s Place. Her natural reaction was to get down.

What was that?
Mack heard the gunshot too. He knew he couldn’t look out the stained glass windows. So he moved towards the front doors.

“Shhh, stay down,” whispered Amber. She was lying down on her stomach in the grass. Mack didn’t question it. He laid down as well. Both of them could hear voices beyond the white picket fence.

“Good thing we did another sweep. We had a straggler,” said one voice. It was slightly muffled by a ski mask but intelligible.

“Dump him in the chapel with the others. Then continue patrols. I want to be absolutely sure that there’s not a single living soul in this town before we leave. Understood?” A second voice sounded more authoritative.

“Yes sir. You heard the man, go get him!”

“Shit, they’re going to come this way. Crawl, now!” Mack was the first to take action. Amber followed him as he crawled on his belly towards the back of the chapel, and out the side.

Luckily by the time they heard the white picket fence open, Mack and Amber were out of sight. It was a close call. The task ahead of them would prove to be harder. They needed to get out of Wydell without being seen by the mystery hit squad.

Mack and Amber listened as they dragged Gustavo’s corpse into the chapel. They heard the men laugh and joke as they disposed of a body. Then, a couple minutes later, they heard them leave the little white house of worship.

“This way,” whispered Mack as he got up off the grass and dirt. He headed towards the white picket fence at the back. Once he got there, he climbed over. Amber followed.

There was an open field between downtown Wydell and the residential area. They had to cross it without being seen. Or they would likely face the same fate as Gustavo and the rest of the townsfolk.

“We’ll never make it across,” said Amber as she looked around. A road crossed through the open field and parked in the middle of it was a black unmarked SUV with tinted windows. Around the SUV were men dressed in all black swat gear holding automatic weapons.

The black SUV wasn’t alone. All over Wydell, teams of the tactically dressed men combed for survivors. Amber and Mack could hear screams followed by the echoes of gunshots every couple of minutes. Whoever they were and whatever they wanted didn’t matter. It was clear that they intended nothing in the small Texas town to survive that morning.

Okay, assess the situation. What are our options? We can stay downtown but every place is boarded up. The only places we can hide are the chapel and restaurant. And they’re crawling with those guys.

We can try and leave town. But there’s nothing but wide open space all around this god forsaken place. Since we don’t have a car, it would have to be by foot. That ain’t happening. We’d get maybe fifty yards before getting shot.

Those houses are our only hope. But first we have to cross that field. We need a miracle, some miraculous distraction.

“There’s no choice. Now try and stay low and move fast.”

Amber swallowed hard. She saw the length of exposed land that they had to cross. It was about the length of two football fields. As much faith as she had in Mack, she knew there was no way they’d make it. So as he was watching and waiting for the right time to run, she was preparing herself for the end.

“Ready?” asked Mack as he tried not to show his nerves. Amber didn’t reply. She just nodded and held back her fear.

Just as Mack and Amber were about to take their chances crossing the long field, they heard a familiar screeching noise. Only one thing they knew of made such a skin raising sound: meat puppets.

Maybe there is a god.
There was yelling and more gunshots. Amber and Mack watched as the men in the road got into their SUV and drove towards the residential area.

“C’mon, let’s go.” Mack headed towards the field. Amber reluctantly followed.

“Should we really be going towards the gunshots?”

“Like I said, no choice.”

Never in Mack’s life had time ever moved as slow as it did that morning while crossing the field. Every footfall was noticed. It was a strange mix of eagerness to reach their destination along with the nerves related to what they’d find there.

Getting closer and closer was a quaint two floor house that Mack aimed for. The home was a neutral beige color. If they could get there, he figured they’d be safe.

They were out of breath as they reached the beige house. Amber took a water bottle out of her backpack and took a couple of gulps. Then she handed it over to Mack. He finished it off.

“What now?” asked Amber. Her head was on a swivel, looking for danger.

“We keep moving.”

“Why not just go inside and hide?”

“Too dangerous. We need to find somewhere that even the meat puppets won’t find…”

One of the black clad men came running past Mack, Amber and the beige house. He didn’t even notice the two of them. All that mattered was escape. And it didn’t take long before what he was running from revealed itself. But it wasn’t what Mack or Amber expected.

Four dogs came running after the black clad man. He looked back and yelled some expletives. The canines were fast, but Mack saw enough of them to see their bullet hole ridden bodies and cloudy gray eyes. They were meat puppets.

I bet they weren’t expecting them to come back.
Mack grabbed one of Amber’s little hands. They made eye contact. No words were needed, they both knew they had to run.

The residential area of Wydell looked like a warzone. SWAT gear clad men fought meat puppets all over the place. A couple of fires consumed ancient houses. One home had a car in its living room. Most importantly, through all the chaos, no one paid any attention to Mack and Amber.

Mack stopped in front of what looked like cellar doors in the back yard of one of the houses. He opened them up. It was pitch black below, lit only by what little sunlight squeezed through the gray clouds above.

“We’re going down there?” Amber didn’t like what she saw.

“It’s a storm cellar, give me your phone. There’s a light on it right?”

“Yeah, hold on,” answered Amber as she took out her phone and looked for the flashlight app.

Mack and Amber heard a loud screech. It was close. When they looked to see what it was, they saw one of the meat puppet dogs. Blood and saliva dripped down from its mouth. For a second it just stared at them. Then it charged.

Amber and Mack quickly got into the storm cellar. The last thing Mack saw before closing the doors were a set of what looked like metal teeth coming at him. As scary as it was, they were safe. At least for the time being.

The storm cellar was cold and depressing. Every wall was gray concrete. There was very little space and a good portion of it was occupied by piles of canned and pickled goods. A lone light bulb hanging on a thin chain was the only light source. In one corner was a metal toilet that provided no privacy. Not that Mack or Amber cared. Outside there were more dangerous things than mild embarrassment.

Mack sat on the rickety wooden stairs right below the storm cellar doors. When they first went down into the shelter, he held them closed. It wasn’t from fear of the meat puppet dog but from their resurrected owners who had hands. If caught in the cellar, he and Amber would have no chance of escaping or surviving.

“This shit is gross,” complained Amber as she ate some of the paste from a MRE (made ready meal). She turned the brown wrapper over. “How is this Salisbury steak?”

“Gross or not, you need to eat, girlie. You need your strength. Who knows what’s waiting for us up there.”

“Here’s an idea, how about we don’t go outside? I mean we got all we need here. Food, water, hell there’s even a toilet.” Amber gave Mack another one of her fake smiles.

You have no idea how much I’d like that. There’s no meat puppets or kill squads. All I’d have to do deal with is you.
“Tempting as that is, we need to keep moving.”

“Why? Look around you. We can survive down here.” Amber motioned with her hands like she was presenting the storm shelter.

“Eventually someone or something will find us.”

“But they said on TV to…”

“Whenever someone tells you to stay calm and in your home, you should do the opposite.”

Amber pouted a bit. She obviously didn’t agree. But it had been nearly twenty four hours since she met Mack. And it was clear to her that she needed the big Viking. Whatever he decided to do or wherever he went, she’d follow. As sad as it was, he was all the family she had left.

No one spoke in the storm cellar for almost an hour. They sat in silence, Amber staring at the wall, Mack guarding the door. Both of them listened. Any little sound made their hearts race. Eventually the teenage girl got some sleep.

Mack gathered his courage and decided to take a look outside. He opened one of the heavy storm cellar doors just an inch or two. Night had fallen. From his limited perspective he didn’t see or hear anything. It seemed quite.

“I think it’s safe to move,” informed Mack as he slowly closed the storm cellar door. He was talking to himself. Amber was asleep. So he walked the handful of feet over to her.

How can you sleep at a time like this? Wish I could. I’m jealous.
With a gentleness that he rarely used, Mack tried to wake her.

“Wha…are they here?” asked Amber, groggy and half awake.

“I need you to get up. We got to move.”

“Can’t I just?” Amber started to lay back down on the storm shelter’s only cot.

“No, it’s time to leave.”

“Ugh, fine!” Amber managed to roust herself up to the edge of the cot. “Oh, hey look what I found before passing out,” she reached under the uncomfortable portable bed and grabbed an olive green backpack.

“It’s got a flashlight and some pill thingies inside. And a water bottle,” said Amber as she handed the green backpack to Mack.

“Thanks. I can really use this,” said Mack with a smile.

“Are we taking any of this stuff?”

“Definitely.”

Amber surveyed the stacks of canned food and MREs. Having tasted the foul ready-made meals, she chose to ignore those. Instead she loaded her bag with some corn, spam, corned beef and vegetable medley. Despite her advanced maturity, she also grabbed some of the hard candy and chocolate.

Mack filled his newly acquired backpack with gear. There were batteries, hand warmers, a utility knife, medicines, a crank radio and a couple first aid kits. Those were all things he knew would come in handy at some point.

“So, what’s the plan big guy?” asked Amber as she knelt on the bottom steps, below Mack who was at the storm cellar doors.

“We look for a car.”

“The minivan is probably still there.”

“I doubt it. At the very least they would’ve slashed the tires. And your dad’s ride was on its last legs. Anyway, we need something a little faster. When we get out there stay close to me.”

Amber nodded in agreement.

“Okay, let’s do it.” Mack opened the storm cellar doors.

Wydell’s residential area was dark. Street lights and the occasional motion activated lights provided some relief. But the vast majority of the small neighborhood was draped in the night.

There were still some meat puppets roaming around. From their attire it was clear that they were once part of the kill squad that massacred the town. Like every other puppet, they jerked around erratically and wandered. If any of them survived, they were nowhere to be seen.

“Stay low and stay quiet,” whispered Mack. He double checked the breach of his shotgun, then started to head deeper into the maze of houses and monsters.

The going was slow. Mack and Amber had to avoid detection. Getting seen or heard by the meat puppets would’ve been a disaster. And neither of them were sure they’d be as lucky as they were down in Dallas.

Amber pointed at one of the black SUV’s that was in the middle of the street. To get to it, she and Mack would have to go through the backyard and front yard of the house in front of them. Worse yet, the vehicle was parked right under a street lamp.

“You stay here. I’m going to go check and see if it works.”

Amber raised an eyebrow. “You’re kidding right?”

Thin Ice Mack, thin ice.
“Fine, but stay close.”

While knelt down and with guns raised, they slowly approached the SUV. There didn’t appear to be anything around. Still, they needed to be alert. Meat puppets may not have been fast but once one screeches, the others close in with frightening numbers. Plus there were those dogs. No one in their right mind would want to run into them.

Mack looked around before trying to open the driver’s side door. It was unlocked. He leaned in to check if there were keys in the ignition. Much to his delight and relief, the SUV had a push button start.
Thank god for modern cars.

“Get in,” whispered Mack.

Amber hurried over to the passenger side door of the black SUV. She was about to open it and get in when she saw something reflected in the window. Three meat puppet dogs were rushing straight at them. One let out what sounded like a high pitched howl.

“Shit, they’ve seen us!” said Mack before he opened the passenger side door from the inside. “What are you waiting for!?”

Amber jumped into the SUV. Seconds after slamming the door shut, the dogs collided with it. The loud thump of the collision made Amber scream. Then they tried to get in.

The dogs weren’t the same as the human meat puppets. Their teeth and claws changed into something metallic. Through the slobbery smears on the window, Amber could see the street lights shining off their chompers.

“What the hell is that?” Mack’s question referred to the sound in the sky. It almost sounded like planes, but there was no airport nearby.

That can’t be good. Something is off. I’m not going to stick around to find out what.
Mack pushed in the ignition button. The SUV roared to life. Mack and Amber sped through the Wydell residential area streets. They twisted and turned, as they tried to find a way out. The neighborhood was a labyrinth of rustic homes. Then the whole car shook.

“Faster,” said Amber quietly as she stuck her head out of the passenger side window and looked behind the SUV. In the distance she saw a brief flash of light accompanied by a loud boom. Another followed. And another. The explosions were getting closer, fast. “Faster!”

You got to be shitting me. Someone is bombing the town? The hits just keep on coming.
Mack pressed all the way down on the gas pedal. He ignored the road and cut through a backyard, in the opposite direction of the oncoming explosions.

The commandeered black SUV bucked up and down as the tires and suspension dealt with the off road conditions. But Mack didn’t care. It could all fall apart or break down as long as it delivered Amber and him from the bombs.

Amber and Mack both felt each explosion. Blast waves ran through their bodies. Their chests and heads registered the extreme pressure changes. Mack wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep driving. Only his desire to stay alive kept him going.

“Faster Mack!”

“I’m going as fast as this thing can.” Mack stayed calm. Yelling at a teenage girl wouldn’t do either of them favors.

As Mack drove, Amber watched the fireworks behind them. Each dropped explosive was closer than the last. When she looked the other way, out the front windshield, she saw that they were almost out of Wydell. Then she turned back as the loud roar of an airplane passed over them.

The last bomb landed on the last house Mack and Amber passed. It was close enough that the blast wave shattered the back windshield into thousands of nasty little projectiles. Amber’s face was peppered with the shards. One piece hit her in the left eye.

Immediately, she screamed out in pain. It wasn’t just the injury to her eye and face that caused her to cry out, but the vision in her left eye went black. All the meat puppets in the world could throw at her wouldn’t conjure up the same amount of fear she had while facing the real possibility of being partially blind and disfigured.

“My eye!” cried Amber as she slumped down in the passenger seat.

“Find something to put pressure on it,” suggested Mack. His words fell on deaf ears. Amber was too busy freaking out.

Mack let his foot off the accelerator a bit. Then he tried to scrummage around in the back seat. There was still reason to watch where he was going. Even though he was in the middle of a field, he couldn’t afford to hit or run over the wrong thing. They needed that SUV.

Blindly feeling around the back, Mack’s hand felt something that Amber could use. It was a black long sleeve tee shirt. He gave it to the injured girl in the seat next to him.

“Hold it on your eye. We’ll find somewhere to stop and I’ll take a look at it.” As soon as he handed off the shirt, Mack turned his attention back to what was in front of him.

Not too far in the distance, he spotted the highway. His vision adjusted to the dark, allowing him to spot the obvious gap in the seemingly endless fields of Northern Texas. He turned the stubborn steering wheel towards the road.

The bumpy uneven terrain beneath the SUV was detrimental to Amber’s injuries. Every little static wave of soil made her inadvertently push harder on her left eye. All the way to the highway, she winced and moaned. That made Mack feel horrible and guilty, even though he did nothing wrong.

“How you holding up girlie girl?” asked Mack after they reached the highway. They were heading north towards the Texas/Oklahoma border.

Amber didn’t answer. She just grumbled and looked out the window with her good eye.

“As soon as we find someplace safe, we’ll stop.” Mack didn’t want to stop until he put some distance between them and the flaming remains of Wydell, Texas.

***

Twenty minutes from Wydell was a gas station with a small convenience store. It was bigger than the one Amber and Mack fought their way out of back in Dallas. Difference was, the one off the highway was deserted and isolated. There were no buildings within sight, only cattle raising country.

The little bell above the front door dinged as Mack pushed it open with one arm. His other was around Amber helping her into the store. He had his backpack on with all the medical supplies he scrounged from the storm cellar.

Mack guided Amber to the front counter. She hopped up on top. While doing so she almost fell. Blood loss wasn’t the reason why she was out of sorts. Before reaching the gas station she took a couple of the oxycotin she stole from her dad’s pharmacy.

“Let me see it,” said Mack in a soft voice.

Amber hesitated at first. Then she took the long sleeve tee shirt away from her eye. Mack examined her wound under the fluorescent lights of the store. The glass cut through Amber’s eyelid. Mack could see the white of her eye through it, once he wiped away some of the blood. It was a gruesome wound. Luckily it looked much worse than it was.

“You want the good news or the bad news?” asked Mack as he took some gauze and soaked it in hydrogen peroxide.

Amber gave Mack a dirty look, then sighed. “The bad.”

“Well, the bad news is you have a really nasty cut on your eyelid. To be safe you’re going to have to wear something over it and I’m going to have to try and stitch it closed.” Mack started dabbing the gash.

Amber winced and sucked her teeth. The hydrogen peroxide stung, but she knew it was necessary. Back before the outbreak, she read a story online about a guy who left a simple cut on his face from shaving untreated. A month later, the man lost his bottom jaw. Antiseptics were important.

“You’re gonna bring a needle near my eyeball?”

“Indeed I am. I’d advise that you stay still,” said Mack with a slightly morbid smile.