Final Dawn: Season 1 (The Thrilling Post-Apocalyptic Series) (39 page)

Leonard McComb | Rachel Walsh | Marcus Warden | Nancy Sims

1:56 PM, April 5, 2038

Steadying herself against the shelves, Rachel braced her upper arm against the steel door of the armory and slowly pushed upward. The door was heavy and her chest ached in pain, but she kept applying pressure until the door finally began to give way. When it was just a few inches open, Rachel yelled at Leonard.

“Get me a can or something to jam in here, quick!” Leonard quickly looked around and found a metal baton and tossed it up to Rachel, who caught it in her spare hand. She stuck the baton in the space open on the door and relaxed, resting for a moment. She turned back again to thank Leonard when a clang sounded on the top of the armory and bright light poured in.

From the outside, a creature bounded onto the door of the armory and placed its fingers in the opening of the door created by the baton. It threw the door open with a roar, sending the metal clanging backwards and making the entire armory ring like a bell. The creature bellowed at Rachel, who was still blinded by the sudden introduction of sunlight.

As the creature screamed, it leaned forward into the armory’s interior, grabbing at Rachel’s clothing, trying to pull her out of the structure. Fighting back, Rachel tried to slip the rifle off her shoulder, but the creature’s grip on her arm and shirt was too strong, and her flailing did little to slow her ascent out of the armory.

The group’s ears rang again as a gunshot sounded out. Rachel felt the hands of the creature relax nearly instantaneously as it loosened its grip, sending her tumbling back into the waiting hands of Leonard. Bits of blood and metal fell from the gaping wound in the creature’s head as it slowly slid down through the door, bouncing off the shelves and landing in a heap at Leonard and Rachel’s feet. Nancy, Rachel and Leonard all turned and looked at Marcus, who was still looking up at the armory door, a rifle pressed firmly against his shoulder and cheek. Keeping a watchful eye out for any additional creatures, Marcus glanced at the group, giving them a quick shrug.

“What?”

Rachel smiled at Marcus as she quickly put on her backpack and retrieved her rifle from where it had fallen on the floor. “Nice shot.”

Marcus gave Rachel a wry grin and a curt nod, then returned to watching the armory entrance.

“Okay everyone, this is it. Those things are still out there, as we can tell, but they may leave us alone for a short while now that another one of them is dead. We should get out of here now while we still have the advantage. I’ll go first with my backpack, rifle and several extra guns. Leonard, you follow up with your gear, Marcus’s backpack and whatever ammunition you can carry. Nancy, you follow up with whatever ammo you can carry, too. Marcus, you’re in charge of getting Sam out of here.”

They all nodded and set about their tasks. Rachel ascended the stairs again, faster this time, and poked her head out from the door of the armory.  A light breeze blew her hair over her eyes and she blinked, startled by how refreshing the smoke-filled air smelled after their time in the armory. Rachel’s eyes barely showed over the edge of the doorway. She rotated her head and body quickly, scanning the area for movement.

“Looks like three of the creatures are heading out along the road. I think we scared them off for now.” Rachel pulled and kicked her way out of the armory, then crouched next to the entrance to help Leonard, Nancy, Marcus and Sam out as well.

Though they had been in the armory for only a short time, she had been so immersed in their discussions and their getting to know one other that Rachel practically forgot what the world was like. The sight of the ruined structures brought back her guilt, but another emotion stirred in Rachel’s heart: hope. With the help of her three companions – and David, if he was still alive – Rachel was starting to believe that they had a chance at stopping the swarms.

Leonard McComb | Rachel Walsh | Marcus Warden | Nancy Sims

2:11 PM, April 5, 2038

After several minutes of grunting, climbing and pushing, they all joined Rachel on the top of the armory, along with Sam. Instead of sticking next to Rachel, though, Sam had spent his first few minutes out of the armory next to Marcus, who didn’t seem to mind the dog’s attention.

Outside the armory, the group had a clear picture of what had occurred. The armory, little more than a large box with thick steel walls, was lying on its side in the middle of a side road next to the police station. A large hole was visible in the brick on the top floor of the police station, along with several smaller holes on the ground floor below. Rachel looked at the damage to the building as the group loaded up their backpacks and weapons, preparing to move to the nearby military base.

“I guess they must have spent their time tearing out the support beams from the sides and bottom of the armory,” Rachel said, walking toward the building to get a closer view. “Then they just pushed the whole thing straight out, sending us rolling along the ground.”

Rachel turned back to face the group. “It’s a good thing we landed like we did, and not with the door facing the ground.”

Leonard shook his head as he walked toward Rachel and eyed the damaged building along with her. “How could a person do this much damage? They must have ripped the bricks and mortar out with their bare hands, not to mention the supports.”

“They’re not people, Leonard. That’s how.”

A reminder that the creatures Rachel and Leonard were discussing were still around came with little warning. As Rachel and Leonard turned to walk back to the armory and finish gathering the supplies, a snarl came from the side of the police station. From the front, a creature rounded the station, running on its hands and feet as it skidded on the pavement, then transitioned into an upright stance.

Running at thirty miles an hour, the enhanced body of the creature charged toward the group, focusing on Rachel and Leonard, its closest targets. Caught off guard, Rachel had no time to bring up her rifle, while Leonard struggled with the safety on his shotgun. Standing a few feet apart from each other, not a dozen feet from the other two, Rachel and Leonard flinched when they heard the gunshot.

Passing between the two, the shot hit the creature square in its center of mass, dropping its speed and making it stumble as it charged along. Rachel and Leonard ducked out of the way as it tripped between them, clawing at empty space as it tried to reach them while falling to the ground. Taking advantage of the extra few seconds distraction, Rachel finally got her rifle up. She took aim at the creature, firing several shots into its back and head. With each shot the creature’s body writhed, but it did not stand again and soon lay still.

Rachel looked over at Leonard, who was pushing himself up from the ground where he had fallen when the creature charged. He stared at Nancy, who was standing in front of Marcus and Sam with a shotgun held at arm’s length. Her eyes were wide and her face contorted, the gun shaking very slightly in her arms. Marcus approached her slowly from behind, and carefully slid the gun out of her hands.

“Nice shot, Nancy.” At the sound of Marcus’s voice, Nancy’s body relaxed and her head dropped.

“I don’t know… I just saw it, and I was holding the gun and then….”

“It’s okay.” Rachel’s calm voice broke through Nancy’s rambling. “You did great. We’re all okay, but we need to get moving, and fast. There’s at least two more of these things out here, and they’re not going to leave us alone for long.”

“It’s probably best if we take a vehicle, don’t you think?” Leonard watched the buildings around them as he spoke, not wanting to be surprised a third time today.

“They tore our truck up pretty badly from what I saw.” Marcus snapped his backpack on as he spoke, adjusting the straps and making sure everything was tied down properly.

“Yeah, but my Jeep’s still fine, unless they ripped it apart after we got into the armory.”

Rachel nodded, making the decision for their next move. “The Jeep’s just out front. Let’s hustle over and check it. If it still works, we’ll take it down to the military base. If not, we’ll have to walk. Either way, it’s pretty close, but we need to move fast.”

After spending a moment collecting up the rest of their gear, the group headed around to the front of the police station, with Rachel leading the way to the Jeep parked nearby. Nancy followed behind her, with Leonard next to her, keeping an eye on her and making sure she was okay. Marcus brought up the rear with Sam running back and forth between him and Rachel, sniffing the ground and happy to be free of the cramped space of the armory.

Leonard McComb | Rachel Walsh | Marcus Warden | Nancy Sims

2:25 PM, April 5, 2038

Moving as quickly and quietly as possible, the group hugged the wall of the police station, circling around the wing and into the front courtyard. The front façade had been shattered by the car that the creatures had thrown through the front entrance, but Leonard’s Jeep was intact, sitting right where he had left it.

“Hurry, get everything in there now!” Rachel hissed at the others to move, and they quickly went forward, taking their backpacks off and loading their supplies, ammunition and spare weapons into the far back of the Jeep. By the time they got done loading everything, the Jeep was crammed so full that there was barely enough room to sit in the two front seats. The back seats were completely filled, and Leonard looked at Rachel, wondering what to do next.

Leonard offered up a suggestion. “How about you and Nancy ride in the front. Sam can sit in the back, on top of the supplies, and Marcus and I can stand on the back bumper and hold on to the top frame. If the base is close by, I’m sure we can manage to stay on for that long, eh Marcus?” Marcus grinned and slapped Leonard on the back as the two of them climbed onto the back of the Jeep and found good handholds and footholds to keep from being thrown off the bumper.

“I’ll try not to knock you guys off. No promises, though.” Rachel’s voice had a touch of humor to it despite her stress.

With the entire group loaded into the Jeep, Rachel started the ignition and took off through the parking lot, weaving slowly between the cars that had been dislodged by the activity of the creatures. Marcus and Leonard each held on to the Jeep with one hand while keeping a pistol in the other, scanning the area around them for any signs of trouble.

With the knowledge that there were still multiple creatures left alive, everyone in the group was on edge. Passing slowly enough through the city to keep from losing supplies – or one of the men hanging on the back of the Jeep – left the entire group vulnerable, a fact Rachel was keenly aware of. As she drove along, she tried to remember how she had gotten from the military base to the police station. The Jeep was on a different path than she took originally, but as she wound through side streets and highways, she eventually saw an open field in the distance with the tents and large camouflage netting nearby.

“There we go!” Rachel shouted at the group and pointed ahead to their destination.

Ten minutes later, Rachel pulled up next to the camouflage netting and cut off the engine. Marcus and Leonard hopped off the back and circled the netting, checking the area for recent foot traffic. Rachel looked up from helping Sam off and called out to Marcus, who was stepping inside each of the tents, pistol drawn, ensuring that the base was free of intruders.

“No, Marcus! Don’t go in th–" Rachel’s warning came too late, and Marcus backed out of the tent, holding his hand to his mouth and nearly stumbling as he tried to get away from the smell and sights he had just encountered.

“Is that… is that what I think it is?” Marcus choked back the vomit that threatened to bubble in the back of his throat and Rachel nodded grimly.

“Remains of people. I think they’re the ones that the swarms didn’t turn. They must have put up a fight.”

“Christ… that’s horrible.” Marcus swallowed deeply, fighting back the bile in his throat. He grabbed his backpack from the Jeep and ducked under the camouflage, desperate to forget the sight in the tent.

Inside the area covered by the netting, Rachel jogged up to each of the APCs, checking to make sure they still ran. Both of the vehicles roared to life at a flip of the switch, and Rachel hopped out after checking and turning off the second one, dusting her hands off as she approached the group.

“So, I’m thinking we should take both of these with us up to Washington. I know it means splitting up, but if one of them breaks down or gets into trouble, we’ll have a spare. I’ll drive one and someone else can drive the other, okay?”

Leonard stepped forward, tossing his shoulder bag and backpack next to the giant rear tire of the second APC. “I’ll take the second one. Who wants to ride with me?”

“I can go with Rachel, if she doesn’t mind.” Marcus patted Sam’s head as he talked, revealing his true motivation for wanting to ride with Rachel.

Nancy shook her head in response. “No problem here; I’ll go with Leonard.”

“Then it’s settled. Let’s divide up the gear, get loaded up into the APCs and get moving before those things decide to hunt us down again.”

Rachel turned back to the first APC, moving to close the door when she spotted a small unit attached to the underside of the dashboard. Rachel barely stifled a squeal as she leapt back into the vehicle and pulled out the unit, an ear to ear grin on her face.

“What’s up, Rachel?” Leonard walked next to her along with Nancy while Marcus hopped in the passenger seat of the APC.

“It’s a radio! Long range, from the looks of it.” Rachel looked up from the unit, smiling at her companions in joy. “Don’t you see what this means? We might be able to contact the lab with this! The transmitter is bound to be much stronger than those police radios!”

Rachel pushed the power button on the front of the unit, happy to see that it – like most of the other military equipment – had survived the EMPs thanks to its hardened state. As she turned the volume up, she began to scan through bands, trying to locate the transmission that David sent. After a moment of searching, Rachel heard David’s familiar voice break through with the repeating message.

Looking nervously at the others, Rachel depressed the button on the microphone of the radio, speaking as slowly and calmly as she could.

“David? Are you there? Please pick up.”

Rachel released the radio button and the repeating transmission came through again. She waited for several seconds, though it seemed like hours, wondering if David was still alive and whether or not he could respond. Disappointment was just starting to set in when the message stopped abruptly in the middle of a sentence, replaced by static and the sound of fumbling in the background.

“Hello? This is David Landry. Please identify yourself.”