Fractured: Outbreak ZOM-813 (8 page)

“Well, I guess it’s a little comforting to think we may still have a Government.”

“Closer to the Wild West days though.” Dan winked at me.

Something hit the ceiling with a thump. It wasn’t loud, just a muffled thump, but it was enough to bring us all to our feet and perk up Mayhem’s ears.

“Did you check both levels of this house?” I whispered to Jaxon.

“Yes, every room.” Jaxon pulled out his handgun.

I looked over to Dan who was staring at the ceiling, holding his gun as well. And then another bump…

Jaxon and Dan walked to the base of the stairs without taking their eyes from the second floor. I was right behind them holding Ethan’s hand.  I figured that because the door to the garage was right next to the base of the stairs, I could get Ethan to safety quickly. I think the only reason Mayhem even got off the couch was because of us jumping to our feet. Otherwise, he didn’t seemed bothered a bit, showing no signs of a possible threat.

We sat and listened.

Another sound, something sliding almost, still, very muffled.

“That’s not coming from upstairs… It’s coming from the attic.” Dan kept his voice low and pointed to the ceiling of the second floor where a pull down door sat off to the side at the top of the stairs.

It cracked open, causing our bodies to naturally flinch back. Dan and Jaxon brought their guns up, aiming at the ceiling. They quickly and quietly bounded up the stairs to the landing below the door. I stayed behind on the first floor and moved Ethan behind me. Mayhem let out a bark, but I quickly hushed him, afraid the infected would hear.

“Show yourself, quickly, or I will shoot!” Jaxon ordered in a low but firm voice.

The door didn’t budge again. Whoever was up there was either scared or very well could have had guns aimed down on us. If that were the case, then we were sitting targets.

“You have three seconds. Make yourself known! One… two…”

“Please don’t shoot!” A young male voice shouted out. “We’re not sick. Just scared!”

Dan and Jaxon kept their guns raised.

“I’m Lieutenant Colonel Robert Jaxon with the US Army. There are two people with me along with my son. Come out, there’s nothing to be afraid of,” Jaxon demanded.

“Then why do you still have your gun pulled on us?” the male voice shouted back.

Dan and Jaxon gave each other a quick glance as if to say
well that was a good enough question.

“I’m protecting my people just like I’m sure you’re doing yours up there.”

There was a moment of hesitation, and then the door began to slowly fall down. We watched as a set of hands used a rope to lower the door until it stopped. Two boys who appeared to be older teenagers or possibly in their early twenties, poked their heads out.

“OK. OK, we’re coming down,” the male voice said.

The young man started down the ladder, glancing back at us with each step. I could tell he was extremely nervous, but I guess anyone would be with guns pointed to their back. He looked back briefly at the other guy in the attic, probably conferring with him about whether this was the right choice. The young man got to the bottom of the ladder and turned to face us.

“Don’t make any sudden movements, and keep your hands where I can see them,” Jaxon directed. “You in the attic, come down.”

The teen looked like he hadn’t had any food or water in days, pale and thin. He continued to do exactly what Jaxon told him. The other began to make his climb down the ladder.

“I’ll cover you.” Dan nodded as he stepped out from around Jaxon to get an unobstructed view of both kids.

Jaxon kept his gun locked on the first young man until he was close enough, then he placed his gun on his hip, expertly turned the boy to the wall, and patted him down.

“Stay here,” Jaxon ordered.

Dan kept his gun trained on the second teenager. He looked just as frail as the first. When Jaxon turned his attention to the second at the bottom of the ladder, Dan turned to the male on the landing, keeping his distance and focusing his gun on him.

“You’re next,” Jaxon said to the other young man standing at the top of the stairs.

Mayhem was becoming increasingly agitated as I kept a tight grip on him. I’m sure he didn’t understand why I wouldn’t let him meet a new friend.

The second young man turned himself to the wall with his hands up, surrendering completely to Jaxon. Jaxon patted him down, checking for weapons. When he was satisfied both the kids were unarmed, Jaxon motioned them downstairs to the living room.

“Sorry guys, hope you understand we can never be too careful,” Jaxon said.

“Yes, sir. Thanks for not shootin’ us,” the first teenager said.

“What are your names?”

“I’m Jesse, this is Carl.” He pointed to the other young man. “We’re brothers.” Now that they were side by side, Jesse definitely looked older than Carl but maybe only by a year or two.

“Well, I’m Jaxon. This is Dan, Harmony, and my son Ethan.”

“And this is Mayhem.” I rubbed Mayhem’s head and let go of his collar. He ran right for his new friends, wagging his tail the whole time.

Dan and Jaxon finally put their guns away.

“You guys hungry?” Dan asked.

“Yeah, starving,” Carl said.

“Please,” Dan directed them to the coffee table with food laid out behind them.

The tension didn’t take long to settle down. We all returned to our dinner with our new company. Dan assembled two more sandwiches and handed them to the young men. I pulled out two water bottles for them.

“Is this your house?” I hadn’t recognized them from the pictures that were left on the walls.

“Our Aunt and Uncle.” Carl took a bite of his sandwich.

“After our parents died, we came here. But they were dead when we got here,” Jesse said. “We hadn’t seen anyone since the outbreak got real bad. Holed ourselves up in the attic not knowing where else to go.”

“There are camps for survivors. We’re headed to one,” Jaxon said.

The boy’s eyes lit up. “Where? We have a car, we can drive there!” Carl talked with food in his mouth.

“The closest one is up north. You can follow us when we leave tomorrow.” Jaxon looked at Dan as he spoke, scanning his face for a sign of permission. 

Dan nodded as Jaxon spoke, giving the OK.

When the outbreak first happened, I was so sure about my feelings on not being heroes. I only wanted to worry about our families, and the rest of the world would be on their own. I didn’t want us risking our lives for strangers. Then we met Jaxon and his son, Ethan. Jaxon would risk his life for us. Now we’re sitting here with two brothers who have lost their entire family and have no clue how to survive in this new world.

These last few days I’ve come to realize we all had to be heroes. It wasn’t about ‘we’ as individuals anymore but the human race as one. We were together in this, whatever this was, and our only chance of survival was to stick together and help one another.

“Is your car the one in the garage?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Carl said.

“I say we pack your stuff tonight so we can leave first thing in the morning.”

“That’s a great idea,” Jaxon said. “You got enough to eat, bud?” Jaxon asked Ethan.

Ethan nodded.

Dan gathered the food left over from dinner and put it away in a paper bag.

“We just have some sleeping stuff in the attic. The rest is already in the car.” Carl looked to Jesse.

“We didn’t know when we’d have to run again,” Jesse continued for him.

I let out a big yawn and stretched as I stood up. “Well I don’t know about you guys, but I’m exhausted.”

Dan picked up the bag and got to his feet. “I hear you on that.” He walked to the garage to put the food away.

Jaxon took Ethan in his arms.

“The rooms upstairs haven’t been touched,” Jesse said as he and Carl got to their feet.

“But really, the attic is safer. And it’s big enough for all of us,” Carl suggested.

“We think it’s a good idea if we all sleep in the same room,” I said.

Dan walked back in with two sleeping bags in his hands. The sleeping bags were two person sleeping bags with simple stuff sacks, easy to set up and easy to put away. I wondered if I kept thinking we were just camping, if it would make it any easier.

“Alright, shall we?” Dan asked.

We were losing sunlight, and what we had was filtering through the covered windows and growing dimmer as it fell later into the evening.

We made our way up the stairs and climbed the ladder to the attic. It was a large space full of boxes and small pieces of furniture. The ceiling was just high enough for me to stand but Dan and Jaxon, being taller, had to duck their heads slightly. Jesse and Carl had two sleeping bags lying on the floor with flashlights, candles, and a matchbox. I didn’t see any signs of food or water. I wondered again how long these brothers had gone without something to eat. I was glad we were able to feed them.

Jesse lit the candles using the box of matches. Carl lifted the ladder and closed the door when we were all in.

Dan gave a sleeping bag to Jaxon for him and Ethan. Dan and I would take the other. There was a nice sense of security up here. A security we all needed and I hoped would help us rest.

Tonight we wouldn’t have to worry about the infected getting us in our sleep.

CHAPTER 7

The morning came too quickly.

When I opened my eyes I was facing Jesse and Carl who were still sound asleep. I could feel Dan against my back. I rolled over to meet his face, and his eyes were slowly opening. Mayhem was in his favorite place, cuddled between our legs.

“Hi,” I whispered.

“Hi.” Dan gave me a tired grin.

“Did you sleep OK?”

“Yeah, you?”

“I did.” I stretched my body out, giving my bones and muscles a good pull. Sleeping on the wood surface left them feeling a little numb.

Dan and I scooted out of our sleeping bag to sit up. I hadn’t noticed how chilly it had gotten in the attic overnight until we uncovered.

Jaxon was already awake but was still lying down, curled around Ethan. He silently acknowledged us. It wasn’t long until Carl and Jesse were both awake as well, and we were finally comfortable talking at a normal tone.

“Everyone sleep OK?” Jaxon asked.

“Yeah, it wasn’t bad,” Dan said.

“It’s been a while up here for us so we’re used to it.” Carl rubbed his eyes and yawned.

Mayhem moaned and nudged me with his nose. I was sure he had to pee given I hadn’t let him out before we climbed in this attic.

“I’m gonna have to get this guy outside before there’s an accident.” I rubbed Mayhem’s head.

“The backyard is completely fenced in,” Jesse said.

“I should have thought about asking last night. Poor guy, I can’t believe he held it for so long.”

“What do you say we get this show on the road?” Jaxon suggested and began climbing out of his sleeping bag.

“You mean leave? Now?” Jesse had worry in his voice.

I guess none of us had thought about just how long they had been in this attic and out of harm’s way from the outside world. Although we sort of got an idea over dinner last night, they didn’t go into much more detail, and I came to realize that is was longer than I had previously thought. They may have never even seen an infected or at least come in close contact with one.

“Are you guys OK with that?” I asked.

“We just uhh….” Carl lost his words.

“Look guys, we’ll be with you the entire way. But we have to get to Camp Glen,” Jaxon explained. “Harmony is hoping to find her family, and I need to join up with another unit.”

Every time Jaxon mentioned that he needed to get to a base to join another unit, I thought about Ethan.

What would happen to him if something happened to Jaxon? Who would take care of him with his mom dead? Was this what Jaxon’s loyalty was about? Serving others, and putting others before his own family?

“We’re fine with leaving now,” Jesse insisted.

“Good. Let’s pack up then,” Jaxon said.

“Babe, I’ll get everything here ready to go if you wanna let Mayhem out,” I suggested to Dan.

“Ready to go out buddy?” Dan scratched Mayhem’s ears, and they both stood up. Mayhem was very enthusiastic about getting outside and showed it by running around Dan in circles. Dan lowered the attic door and carefully climbed down a few steps before taking Mayhem in his arms to assist him down the ladder.

I began stuffing the sleeping bag back in its pouch while Jesse and Carl packed the few items they had. Jaxon woke Ethan up and packed away the sleeping bag they had used. It didn’t take long for us to gather our things and climb out of the attic.

Downstairs, Dan was standing at the backdoor watching Mayhem in the yard. There was a gray blanket of clouds covering the sky with the sun barely beaming through. The morning air was nice and cool.

“All set?” Dan asked.

“Yeah, the guys are just putting a few things in their car.” I watched Mayhem sniff around the fence. “Anything from him?”

“Nothing.” Dan sounded surprised.

“Well, that’s a good thing.”

Jaxon came back in the house from the garage. “Ready?”

Dan and I turned around to see him. I thought about the question,
‘Ready?’
and I didn’t think we would ever really be ready to leave the security of shelter while there were infected roaming outside. We put ourselves at risk every moment we stepped outside. Nothing would prepare us for what was down the road, and we would certainly never be truly ready.

“All set,” I said, avoiding the word ‘ready.’

Dan pursed his lips and made a kissing sound to call Mayhem. It immediately caught Mayhem’s attention, and he returned to the house.

Inside the garage, the guys were standing outside their car. Ethan was already sitting in the back seat of the truck, and Mayhem jumped in next to him.

“Stay close. If you need anything just flash your lights, don’t use the horn. The camp is about another hour from here depending on how many speed bumps we hit along the way.”

“That’s a nice way to put it,” I mumbled to Dan as Jaxon briefed Jesse and Carl.

Jaxon pulled down two shovels that were hanging from the garage wall and handed them to Jesse and Carl. “For protection.”

From the expression on their faces, it appeared everything was setting in.

“Yeah.” Jesse eyed the shovel. “We got this.” He and Carl put the shovels in the back seat of their car.

Dan and I climbed into the truck. Jaxon walked over to the door where the garage door opener hung on the wall.

“Everybody ready?” Jaxon asked.

Carl and Jesse nodded simultaneously.

“Let’s do this,” Dan said.

With that, Jaxon pressed the opener, bringing the echoing hum and squeak of the garage door for all to hear. Jaxon didn’t linger. He ran for the truck, hopping in the back seat next to Ethan and Mayhem.

I was certain the infected would hear the garage door from a mile away. Every noise we made seemed amplified in these moments of trying to be stealthy. When the doors opened, Dan pulled out first. It was clear of any danger. Carl and Jesse weren’t far behind us.

As we traveled out of the neighborhood, its residents started to show their ugly faces. They mingled about the roads with no particular direction until they heard our engines. It was always this way. They walked with odd limps, stiff joints, and their heads slumped, or they just stood still with a slight sway back and forth waiting to be revived by the living.

I watched Jesse and Carl through the side mirror as we maneuvered past the infected. They fell back for a few seconds, I’m sure in shock over what they were witnessing, but they quickly gained speed, catching up to us.

The infected crowded the streets through the town, but Dan was able to avoid hitting them or letting them get close enough to get to the truck.

The overcast slowly dissolved, revealing a perfect blue sky. The landscape began to flatten as we made it to the edge of town. Sprawling fields that were once produce or vineyards struggled to hang on. The highway we took was pretty clear, allowing us to drive at a normal speed.

For most of the drive we rode in silence; neither Dan nor I were good at small talk and I felt like everything I wanted to discuss with Jaxon was inappropriate for Ethan to hear. Ethan was mainly focused on petting Mayhem who rested his head on the little boys lap.

It felt like we had been on this highway for hours, maybe because we were sitting in silence. I stared at the world going by, watching the open fields, farmland, and rolling hills all pass by my eyes. There were no signs of living people or even animals.

Where’d the livestock go?

We passed by a sign that read, WELCOME TO THE CITY OF GLEN. I assumed this meant we were getting close to the mysterious Camp Glen that didn’t exist on any maps.

Soon after, Jaxon perked up and leaned in between the front seats. “In a few minutes you’re going to see an old abandoned farmhouse on a large property that includes some oil pumps. Pull down the driveway, and we’ll park behind the house.”

“I thought we….” I began to question, but was cut off.

“Trust me,” Jaxon said, giving me a pat on the shoulder and sitting back in his seat. “It’ll be to your left.”

Dan and I gave each other a quick glance, and looked back out on the road for the farmhouse. It wasn’t long until the property came into view. The open field was dead, with a wooden farm fence surrounding the land. Three yellow oil pumps, rusted from years of exposure, sat still in the middle of the field. About a hundred yards away an abandoned home and barn wasted away. This place didn’t look like it was abandoned when the outbreak occurred, this place looked like it had been sitting idle for decades.

Dan turned left into the driveway, and Jesse and Carl weren’t too far behind. We pulled around to the back of the house. The structure looked like it could collapse at any moment. There were no windows anymore, boards were hanging off the panels, and the roof had gaping holes. The barn behind the house was huge, like it could fit a small plane inside, and surprisingly looked a little better, though still weathered.

“Back into the barn, but let me out.” Jaxon began to open the door.

Dan stopped the truck long enough to allow Jaxon to jump out and run over to Jesse and Carl. Dan backed up into the barn. Jesse and Carl did the same. Jaxon had his gun out and scanned the property for infected. When he saw our cars were parked, Jaxon headed inside. He tugged on a large chain off to the side of the doors and pulled down as the doors slid closed. 

We all got out of the vehicles, and Mayhem immediately needed to sniff everything. I knew we were all on the same page, wondering where we were.

“Jaxon what is this place?” I asked.

“Camp Glen.” Jaxon walked past us towards the back of the barn. “The base is underground.” Jaxon began kicking a pile of straw off of a small hatch door in the back corner of the barn.

It was like we just stepped into a James Bond movie. Jaxon placed his hands on the wheel handle to the door, which was recessed into the floor, but didn’t spin it open at first. He took in a deep breath. He leaned in, pressing his ear against the metal door for a few seconds, then pulled back away from it. I was concerned about his hesitation.

“Is everything OK?” Dan asked.

“Let’s hope so…. Here goes nothing.” Jaxon turned the wheel. The door was obviously well maintained due to the lack of any squeak in the hinges whatsoever.

“They just keep it unlocked?” Dan voiced what we were both thinking.

“This is just the ‘get the fuck in fast’ room.” Jaxon smirked. “It would suck to be running from the infected and have to worry about a locked door wouldn’t it? Besides, the infected can’t open doors. And there was always a guard on duty before the outbreak.”

The hatch door clinked as Jaxon turned the wheel and pulled the door open. “After you.” Jaxon looked up at us and pointed his hand to the door.

Jesse and Carl climbed down first. Then I went down with Ethan behind me. Dan picked up Mayhem and carried him. Jaxon was last and closed the door behind him.

The room was lit with low, yellowish lights. It was a small room, maybe 10x10 feet. There was one other door that looked like it belonged on an aircraft carrier with the same style wheel hatch handle, but it also contained a window with a steel cover. This one was locked.

Jaxon went to press what looked like a doorbell or call button, but before he reached it the latch clinked from the other side, and the steel cover to the window slid open.

“Lieutenant Colonel Jaxon?” a voice from the other side asked.

“Yes, with my son and four survivors.”

Louder clicks rang through the door as the bolts were unlocked. The door was opened, and a breeze brushed past us as the seal was broken.

A young man who didn’t look more than twenty five years old stood in the doorway. He was dressed in full military camouflage and immediately saluted Jaxon.

“Sergeant Brooks.” Jaxon returned the salute.

We all followed Jaxon inside.

“The survivors of Fort Mesa arrived yesterday.” Sergeant Brooks briefed Jaxon as we made our way down a tunnel. “When we didn’t hear from your teams, we assumed you were all dead.”

“They are all dead,” Jaxon said plainly.

The tunnel was about fifty yards long and just wide enough for two people to walk side by side. At the end there was another door, but this one was barred like one you’d see for a jail cell. Sergeant Brooks opened the door, held it open for us, and closed it behind him once we had all entered.

The space was the size of a basketball gym. Tables and chairs were set up in the center piled with papers and computers. Soldiers were working and moving about the area, some sat in front of security monitors while others scoured maps. Maps and other graphs hung on rolling boards. More doors lined the walls with signs above each informing us of their destinations: ‘KITCHEN, MILITARY QUARTERS, MEDICAL’ and others which looked like street signs. Then my eyes ran across, ‘SURVIVORS.’ My ears were picking up words through the buzzing of voices. ‘HOW MANY SURVIVORS, HOW MANY DEAD, NO CURE, TESTS FAILED’.

“The base runs under the city. Those tunnels there with the street signs over them lead to entrances like the one we came through.” Jaxon pointed to the tunnels to show us what he was talking about.