Omega Pathogen: Despair (14 page)

After a break for a quick lunch, Arzu and the others had one of the molds completed. The only thing that remained would be to add rebar to provide strength, and to line the inside of the mold with the plastic sheeting to keep the concrete adhering to the mold as it hardened.

Later, in the early evening, Kathy and the others in her scavenging team returned for the day. It would be dusk soon. They had returned with more plywood as well as sheet metal, rolls of chain-link, fence posts, and numerous other building supplies and materials.

Arzu and Jen had stopped their work on the molds to join the others and check out the supplies that had been collected.

Marlene approached them with news. She told them Jim, his sons, and the airplane crash survivor would be spending the night. Before anyone could ask, Marlene confirmed they were all okay.

Small talk began to break out again among the group until Marlene got their attention once more. Everyone stared at her with wide eyes and open mouths as she relayed what Jim said the crash survivor had told them about the SCAR virus.

Everyone, except for the few on guard duty, had gathered that evening for dinner; theirs was delivered to them before the others ate. The conversation at the Yates’ home during the meal centered on the latest news from the survivor Jim and his sons had found at the military base. Arzu, like the rest of those on the farm, found the news had left her with a more pessimistic view of their situation.

Arzu listened to everyone speak about the news. They talked over one another, but none talked of plans for their security and their survival. They only discussed the latest news. The unconstructive nature and direction of the conversations began to aggravate her until she couldn’t take it any longer.

Arzu rose from the table and stepped up on her chair. “Hey!” she yelled. No one seemed to hear. Arzu placed her index finger and thumb to her lips and produced a long ear-piercing whistle. The group immediately fell silent and turned to face her. There was no sound except for the tick-tock of Jen’s grandfather clock and the faint sounds of a few birds outside.

Arzu looked around the room and shook her head. She sighed and then spoke. “I know the news we got today is crazy. But let’s not forget we still have to protect what we have here. We have to protect each other and ourselves. We still have to scavenge for more supplies. This news just shows we need to increase our efforts. I suggest we keep our focus on our survival and less on whether the infected walking around are alive or dead. They can kill us either way,” Arzu finished her speech.

As she stepped down from the chair she overheard many, if not all, say she was right. She then focused her attention on making sure Berk and Kayra finished their meals.

“You tell them, Arzu,” Kathy said.

“Arzu, I think you scare me more than Jim does,” Royce said.

It was extremely quiet for a few minutes before conversations resumed. That time they were about improving their current security. Arzu smiled back at Kathy and Royce and hoped they hadn’t noticed the tear she wiped away.

Chapter 14

“Why did you shoot me? Why, Jimmy? I’m not a monster. I’m not like them,” Judith said and rolled onto her back. She lay on the floor of the schoolhouse and looked up at him. She touched his face with her hand and asked again why he had shot her.

Jim wept as he placed his hands on her chest wounds in an attempt to stem the flow of blood from his gunshots. “I’m sorry, Mom,” Jim cried out.  No matter what he did the blood still came.

“Dad, why did you shoot her?” Chris screamed behind him.

His eyes opened wide as he woke and sat upright. Jim looked around the MRAP.  He tried to slow his respirations as he wiped beads of sweat from his brow.  

He sat on the floor of the MRAP and checked his watch. The sun’s first light should have started to show by now. Jim stood and peeked out through the curtains. Although the numbers had shrunk, he could still see hundreds of infected nearby. Many of those he could see were the slow moving variety. They twitched and lumbered along.

Periodically one of the infected would bite another. The bites weren’t something that would have caused major injury or death — especially for those already dead — it seemed sometimes to be done out of anger.  Other times it seemed to be done with no emotion at all. It was like they just had to bite something. Anything.

“I think that may be something that contributes to the virus mutating,” George said.

Startled by the words since he thought only he was awake, Jim spun his head around to find George looking over his shoulder. “George, you scared the shit out of me,” Jim said and turned back to look outside.

Chris and Jeremy began to stir, yawning as they rolled up their sleeping bags and took turns at the toilet.

“George, how is it possible that the . . . the dead ones, the ones that come back, how do they survive?” Jim asked.

“We didn’t have enough time to prove every theory, but the SCAR virus attaches to nerves just like rabies. The difference is that the SCAR virus does it on a massive scale. Once the virus has had time to integrate with parts of the brain that it needs to survive and manipulate movement, then the death of the host doesn’t matter that much. The person infected is still a vector for the virus to spread,” George answered.

Jim inhaled deeply and then released the breath slowly as he moved away from the window. He sat in the driver seat and made sure the exterior lights were off before he turned on the battery switch. With the power to the Ham radio, he called the compound. He let them know they were still okay and they planned on checking more of the base before they returned that evening.

The men finished stowing sleeping bags and pillows, and started on coffee and breakfast. The sun was fully above the horizon and would be soon be bright enough to cause most of the infected to retreat to the shadows.

Inside the MRAP, the small talk turned to the plan of the day. “I’ve been watching them, the infected. It looks like only a few came from or went into the hospital,” Jim said.

“What about other entrances?” Chris asked.

“True. There’s other ways in. They could have come and gone through them,” Jim answered.

“We still need more medical supplies and equipment,” he added. Chris and Jeremy nodded in agreement as they ate.

Once the sun was high enough, Jim opened the turret and shot the slow moving infected that were still meandering around the area. He made sure to take headshots, but it made hitting them more difficult.

They drove the MRAP around the exterior of the hospital, looking for the best point of entry. They decided that they would go in through the main entrance. They hadn’t seen many infected use any of the entries, so they hoped it would be safe enough.

“Let’s go back to the garage first. I want to get us some protective pads from the clothes and uniforms we stacked on the trailer. We need to sight in these laser sights, too," Jim said.

“Okay,” Jeremy replied and headed to the vehicle garage.

The garage was still clear when they returned. Jim, Chris, and Jeremy zeroed the weapons' laser systems.

They would use the full-auto capable M4s. “The good thing about the M4 is that it can shoot fully automatic. That can also a bad thing. Don’t rely on volume and neglect accuracy,” Jim cautioned his sons.

Once the rifles were ready, Jim dug through the boxes they had stacked on the trailer that they planned on taking back when they left today. He found what he was looking for and tossed elbow, knee, shin, and forearm pads to the others.

On the way back to the hospital, they noticed they had attracted about ten of the slow moving infected. They walked and staggered toward the MRAP but were a few hundred yards away. Jeremy brought them to a stop in front of the main entrance. Jim, Chris, and Jeremy went over their gear and then checked over each other.

“What about me?” George asked.

“You’re going to come with us, George,” Jim replied. He took a step closer to George and handed him a radio and headset. “We’ll look after you, George. Just stay behind whichever of us is the second person in line,” Jim said.

“No gun?” George asked.

“No. No gun. Stay close,” Jim replied.

After Chris confirmed the area was clear from his vantage point in the turret, they exited the MRAP and walked toward the hospital entrance. They heard Jim mumble something.

“What, Dad?” Chris and Jeremy asked simultaneously.

“Nothing. I’m just sick of damn hospitals,” their father answered.

About twenty-five feet from the entrance they stopped. Jim and his sons took a knee and George copied them. Jim stared at the intact double glass doors of the main entrance. Chris and Jeremy couldn’t tell if their dad saw something or not.

“Wait here,” Jim said quietly. He rose from his knee in crouched position and approached with his M4 aimed at the door. When he reached the entrance, Jim took up a position on its right. He tried to look beyond the closed thick glass door, but could see nothing but darkness beyond five or six feet.

“I’m going to try to open it,” Jim said quietly over the radio. He received two clicks back over his headset that indicated his sons heard. He didn’t like it, but he had to move to an exposed position in front of the doors. Jim held a flashlight against the glass to look further inside. He saw a human figure move out of view down a hall or maybe into a room.

Jim let his M4 hang by the sling on his chest. He pulled the Halligan tool from its holster on his back and pried a gap between the doors. When he thought the gap in the door was big enough, he replaced the tool and readied his M4. He looked further into the darkness through the gap and beyond the doorway, but saw nothing. He held his breath for a few seconds and listened, but heard nothing.

He slid open the door on the right. Jim crept a few feet inside the entrance. He saw two infected about ten feet away. They seemed to notice him at the same time and shambled toward him. Unlike other infected he’d become used to, these two made no sound other than the noise from their feet that were dragged along. No growling. No rabid expression. Just blank faces.

Jim took aim at the one that was slightly closer. Not taking chances, he fired two shots at the woman’s head. The first shot missed and pierced her right ear. The second round struck her in the right eye. She dropped to the floor.

Jim moved the muzzle slightly and fired two rounds at what looked to have been a teenage boy that had been slightly behind the woman. This time both rounds were well placed. He checked the lobby again, but the four suppressed rifle shots seemed not to draw any attention. Jim called, “Clear,” over the radio and waited for his sons and George to join him inside.

Chris moved toward the entrance, followed by George, then Jeremy. The four gathered in the lobby. Jim had Chris and Jeremy spread out to cover the nearest hallways. Jim’s attention stayed on the two furthest and largest hallways that connected with the lobby and the entrance they had come in.

As they stood guard, Jim had George search the information desk for a map or schematics.

“Got it,” George said. His voice was enthusiastic and loud. George held up a pamphlet proudly.

Chris and Jeremy, startled by the volume of his voice, turned and looked behind them and looked at George.

Jim cursed quietly. He shushed George and motioned for him to come to him.

As George grew near he apologized and handed Jim the glossy form.

Jim studied the pages as George looked over his shoulder. George pointed to the words and schematic on the first page,
EMERGENCY ROOM
. “We could get stuff there,” George whispered in Jim’s ear.

Jim leaned close to George's ear, “All the people that were sick when this shit started went there. We’re staying the fuck away from the ER unless we have no choice,” he whispered.

George’s eyes grew wide. He nodded his head and looked in the direction of the ER. George kept looking toward the hallway as Jim looked over the pamphlet.

Jim and George moved toward the center of the lobby. Jim called for Chris and Jeremy to join them. He pointed to the pharmacy on the map. “We’ll go there first and see if anything is left,” Jim said. After nods from his sons, they headed toward the hall that led to the pharmacy. Jim led, followed by Chris, then George, and Jeremy last. They made a left turn at an intersecting hall and followed the signs.

They neared elevators as they approached the last intersection before they would reach the pharmacy. As they approached elevators, they could smell the stench of rot. Jim at first thought it was perhaps rotten food from the nearby cafeteria. However, they were moving away from that area and the smell increased.

As they grew closer to the first elevator, the smell intensified. Jim signaled for the rest to halt. He noticed the closest elevator’s doors were open about two inches. The ambient light didn’t reach inside. Jim lowered his NVGs and looked. He angled his head left and right; he still didn’t get a complete view of the interior.

He felt he was wasting time and decided to move on. As Jim flipped up his goggles and switched them off a mangled hand reached from the opening close to touching his nose. As it squeezed through the gap in the elevator doors skin from the hand and forearm scraped off onto the edges of the doors. Reflexively, Jim jumped back and aimed his rifle at the outstretched extremity.