Emperor of a Dead World (7 page)

“My name is Brad and this is Ty.”

“Short for Tyrone,” the big man added.

“Pleased to meet you both,” Rudy replied.

“Hop in the bed of the truck,” Brad said as he got behind the wheel.

Rudy jumped in without another word.

When they got to the house, Tyrone made fried spam, fried potatoes and canned corn. It was his house and he insisted on doing all the cooking. While they ate, Brad gave Rudy a brief rundown of their situation.

After this Tyrone turned to Rudy, “So what’s your story?”

Rudy shrugged. “Not quite as impressive as yours but to me it was very traumatic. Like you Ty, we sat in front of the TV in shock. I still remember the first time I saw it on the news. I was watching some movie, I do not even remember what it was and the test pattern interrupted the show. A minute later a newsgirl came on and showed footage of crazy people running around attacking everyone in some big city. The next day this was the only thing on TV. First, it was only cities but then it became a problem in small towns. Of course, it was not until the trouble came to our neighborhood that it became real. I mean between people getting sick and going crazy and all the looting and crime it just was not safe to go outside anymore. I am sure you know what I am talking about.” He looked at Tyrone and realized this man probably did not suffer from the same anxiety. “Anyway, when it started on my street I watched my neighbors and no one ever fought back. Crazy people would walk up and hit or scratch them as they passed and everyone just took it. No one would ever dream of killing anyone. Why would you kill someone just for scratching you?”

Brad shrugged and asked, “You never got scratched?”

“No. By the time things got bad, we had supplies and stayed inside as much as we could. The problem is, it was a small three-bedroom house and the kids were climbing the walls. It was only about one thousand square feet.”

“That’s not so bad,” interjected Tyrone to console him. Tyrone’s four-bedroom was almost three times that size.

Rudy smiled. “In this house I lived with my parents, my brother, his wife and his three kids.

“Oh,” Tyrone uncontrollably shot out. “How old the kids?”

“Twelve, seven and 2 months,” Rudy replied.

Tyrone made a face but this time kept quiet.

“I don’t think I really knew how bad it was until all the TV channels went dead,” Rudy continued. “It seems like they all went off within a few hours of each other. That is when I really got scared.”

“I remember that,” Tyrone said thoughtfully.

“Anyway,” Rudy resumed after glancing at Tyrone, “after a while food got tight. The baby needed formula and my brother was determined to go out. I offered to go with him but he wanted me to stay and protect his family. He made it to the street and he was overwhelmed. First, I thought they were robbing him but then I realized the people attacking him were crazy. He fought them off as best he could. He was a big man, not like you Ty, but for my family he was big.”

Rudy was five four. Tyrone stood over a foot above his head.

“They finally forced him back into the house,” Rudy sighed. “He was scratched up pretty bad.”

Brad and Tyrone exchanged glances. They were sure they knew the story from here. At least as far as Rudy’s brother was concerned.

“His wife cleaned him up and took care of him but that night he got really sick. Now things were bad. The kids were hungry and the baby needed to eat. I had no choice but to go out. I waited until it was late and quiet then I ran to the truck. As soon as I started it, they came from everywhere. I took off but I was so scared that I crashed into a parked car. They were instantly on me so I got out and rolled under the truck. Somehow, I got away from them. I ran to the neighbor’s house and hid under the porch. I felt safe and I was exhausted so I fell asleep. In the morning, there was a lot of commotion but I did not dare to look out. When it finally got quiet, I snuck out and headed to my house. My nephew was out front. I called to him and told him to go back inside but he had this crazy look in his eyes and he came at me. I had no choice, I had to hit him.” Rudy broke down upon saying this and it took a few seconds for him to regain his composure. “He just kept coming and I just kept hitting him back. I’m so sorry, Jaime I am so sorry,” he wept. “I finally knocked him down and ran. The door was wide open so I rushed in and slammed it shut behind me. No one was there except for the baby. He was not crying even though he had cuts and scratches all over him. When I looked in his eyes…” Rudy had to stop again. “I’m sorry. When I looked in his eyes, he looked crazy like the others. I tried to pick him up and when I did, he tried to bite me so I threw him back into the crib. Then the most horrifying thing happened. My nephew got in the house somehow and he attacked me again. He was crazy. I pushed him off but he kept coming at me. I ran to the kitchen and grabbed the closest thing. This knife,” he said as he showed it to them. “I do not know what happened next or how I got away. I just ran. I think I killed him.” Once again, he started crying.

“That’s enough for now,” Brad said. “Come on, I will show you the quarantine house.” He led the way with Tyrone behind Rudy watching him closely. At the front door, he turned to Rudy. “Tyrone and I prepared this house and two others to use as secure quarantine houses. Any new people we find will have to stay in these houses at night until we know they are not infected.”

“I get it man and I don’t blame you,” Rudy shrugged. “It is the only way to stay safe. You are trying to help people and you do not want them to kill you in return.”

“That about sums it up,” Tyrone agreed.

“I will wake you for breakfast,” Brad said as he motioned for Rudy to go inside.

The next day all three went on patrol. The truck was a crew cab and Rudy sat in the back seat. Having found Rudy or actually having had Rudy find them, gave them an idea. They would stop at each intersection the same time of day and blow the horn three times. If anyone was around they would hopefully learn the routine and be waiting for them.

After a week, they released Rudy from quarantine but he remained in the house and called it his own. In return, he prepared a new quarantine house.

Chapter 7

Other than having Rudy with them, their routine remained the same. They would drive through town searching for food, supplies and people. In hopes of acquiring weapons, they went to hardware stores, home improvement centers and gun shops. Of course, the shelves were always bare. The best luck they had of finding weapons was on the street next to dead bodies. The sad part is that someone had killed these people to take what he or she had. Next to these bodies, they often found weapons but no ammo. Given a choice between carrying guns or ammo, people always took the ammo. They only needed a few guns but they could never have enough ammunition.

Along with feeling depressed from finding so many dead bodies, the destruction and devastation of the city horrified the three friends. Everywhere they went they saw ransacked and burned building. Of course, the most distressing part is that the so-called sane had caused more damage than the crazed. These people had looted and destroyed everything they came across. They even killed one another in their quest to survive. If only they had realized by banding together they could improve their odds of survival, they may have had a chance. Unfortunately, greed and stupidity rule the human race. Where wisdom should prevail, foolishness overrides. In search of light, many only discover darkness. Just as a strong cotton fiber is required to hold a shirt together, a strong moral fiber is required to hold humanity together. If that fiber becomes weak, a hole will envelop and chaos and mayhem are soon to follow. During this dark time, people should have remembered the immortal words of Darwin. He said that those who are able to adapt are best suited to survive. However, instead of using a superior brain to adapt, the survivors quickly spiraled toward idiocracy.

Perhaps Brad, Tyrone and Rudy were living in a time when a great cleansing was taking place. Though all they saw was death, destruction and carnage they were witnessing a purification that was long overdue. In their horror, they could not see the forest through the trees or the good that would arise from the bad. Watching in disbelief, they did not realize they would be the defining voice of future generations nor did they realize they were three wise men who would build a new world where others had only succeeded in destroying the old one.

As they traveled down streets and boulevards destitute of anyone but the infected they all hoped that since Rudy had survived, others may have survived as well. Without a thought for their own safety, they searched places where only the bravest or most foolish of men would dare tread. Though their quest always proved fruitless, they did not give up hope and day after day, they continued a relentless search that only bore sour disappointment.

At the conclusion of another long day of futile wanderings in which they found only hapless creatures, they stopped at a mini-mart. Upon entering the store, they saw that little remained so they walked around looking for anything of value. Finding nothing to eat, Rudy headed over to get a magazine. Just as he stepped behind the counter, a creature jumped up and grabbed him. He immediately fell back with the thing on top of him dropping his gun as he landed on the floor. Before he could even scream, Tyrone drove a railroad spike through the creature’s head, causing puss to ooze out into Rudy’s face. After pulling out his spike, Tyrone turned and walked off leaving the creature on top of Rudy.

“Thanks for the help,” Rudy coughed as he pushed the thing off then wiped his face trying not to vomit, “but that was a little rude.”

Tyrone laughed then headed outside with the others behind him. Just as they got to the truck, gunshots rang out and all three dropped to the ground.

“Who the hell is firing and where are they,” Tyrone demanded.

Three more shots echoed down the street.

“It is coming from somewhere over there,” Rudy said as he pointed.

Tyrone stood up. “At least they are not shooting at us.”

“Someone may be in trouble,” Brad said. “We better check it out.”

Tyrone shook his head. “You are determined to get me killed.”

“I am determined to help anyone in distress.”

“What if they are bad people?” Rudy asked.

“Whether these people are good or bad, I did not know. All I know is we have found other survivors, other human beings.”

“Okay superman. Let’s have a look,” Tyrone relented.

Half a block down, they noticed a big red monster-truck parked at a gas station.

“Damn, I got to get me one of them,” Tyrone laughed.

When they pulled up, they saw a large crowd of creatures gathered in front of the station.

Brad looked around and said, “Someone has got to be in there.”

“You may be right,” Tyrone agreed. “Something’s got them riled up.”

Suddenly Rudy yelled, “Look up on the roof.”

A man was standing on top waving and yelling.

“We have got to help him,” Brad exclaimed.

“How,” Tyrone replied. “There must be over a hundred of them.”

Brad rolled down his window and yelled, “Hey, you up there. Stop yelling and get out of sight.”

“What?”

“Shut up and get out of sight.”

“You shut up.”

Brad rolled up his window and shook his head. “This guy is an idiot.”

He revved up the truck and started honking his horn. As soon as he did this, the creatures in the back turned and came toward him.

“That’s the ticket,” Tyrone smiled.

Brad pulled a little further away and honked again.

Finally, the idiot on the roof caught on and hid.

As the creatures came after the truck, others came from nearby due to the noise and joined them.

“Man you better stop,” Rudy warned. “You’re going to have the whole town down on us.”

Brad glanced at him then looked back at the gas station. There were about 20 diehards still hanging out in front. He punched the gas and headed for the building.

“What are you doing?” Rudy yelled.

Tyrone knew right away and he started laughing.

Brad swept close by the front of the station and the remaining 20 went flying.

“Yeah, get um,” roared Tyrone.

Brad made another pass to get any stragglers then swung back to make sure the path to the monster-truck was clear. If it did not belong to the person on the roof, Tyrone planned to take it. Before Brad could make another pass, someone ran out from behind the gas station and headed for the monster-truck.

“Hold on,” Tyrone yelled and Brad hit the brakes. “Look at him go.”

The man was about five ten, one hundred ninety pounds with long brown hair and a cowboy hat. He gave it everything he had and soon disappeared behind the truck. A few seconds later, he got in the truck and fired it up. Once it started, he headed for the crowd.