Pandora: A Novel of the Zombie Apocalypse (16 page)

“What’s happening today, Sergeant?” Jake asked Tommy.

“Well,” Tommy explained, “I have Sergeant Ortega, Jamal, Travis, and Walt doing supply runs northeast along Route 1, and Rich, Luis, James, and Mario heading northwest toward 95 to do the same. Boca’s been picked clean, and I’m leery of heading too far south.”

“Why is that?”

“There’s a very large concentration of Zs around the Fort Lauderdale area, and I don’t want to draw any unwanted attention this way.”

“I see you have the situation well in hand, young man,” said Jake with a smile.

“As well in hand as a zombie apocalypse can be,” Tommy replied.

Sergeant Ortega went as far as Boynton Beach then headed back. This part of the coast was heavily looted in the more depressed areas.
They were able to pick up a few supplies, but they had to fight rival gangs over others. When the inevitable zombies came in force, the soldiers were able to drive the Humvees away, leaving the remaining gang to try to fight it out with them.

Corporal Richard Foley and his group were much more successful. The majority of the population west of I-95 were elderly, and those who remained didn’t fare well in trying to forage at the supermarkets and stores. As slow as some of the older zombies had become, they were still faster and, more important, more persistent than their prey. They never got tired, and they never felt pain.

22

I
t was four o’clock in the afternoon. A torrential rain had started a half hour before and hadn’t let up. If anything it seemed to have gotten worse. It was difficult for the windshield wipers to keep up with the sheets of water coming down. The three SUVs, winding their way slowly through the abandoned cars and trucks, came to an overpass. Mike stopped, opened his window, and yelled back, “Let’s stop under the bridge.” Sean gave a thumbs-up, and they headed for the shoulder to reach the overpass. Suddenly Mike stopped.

Underneath the concrete arch was a mass of zombies. It looked as if they’d all gathered under the bridge purposely.

“Shit,” Mike said disgustedly. “As dumb as they are, they’re smart enough to get out of the rain.”

“Maybe the rain makes them rot faster,” suggested Naomi.

“Maybe,” replied Mike, “but it doesn’t help us out here.”

Mike sped up and headed for a sudden hole in the zombies’ ranks. The three SUVs got through with minimal damage to them and not-so-minimal damage to the undead.

The wind had picked up, and the teeming downpour was coming in at an angle. Mike pulled alongside a large tractor-trailer; partially shielded from the rain, he got out and ran back to Sean’s car. Sean opened the window.

“We’re getting off at the next exit to see if we can find a place to ride this out,” Mike said. “I can’t see shit out here.”

They drove another three miles and got off the highway. About a mile up the road was a motel. They pulled into the parking lot. Sean broke into the manager’s office and grabbed a bunch of keys. There were no other cars in the lot, so Sean figured there would be no surprises. He had pulled under the large roof of the car park connected to the office. He motioned for Mike and Jack to do the same.

Protected from the rain, which had let up some, they got out and stretched. Sean came over and said, “We have five keys here. Let’s split up into pairs. Linda and I in one room, then Mike and Sue, Naomi and Carol, Jack and Malik, and Mariam and Jenny. We might as well stay the night in comfortable beds.”

“I hope this ain’t one of those places that rents by the hour,” Naomi drawled with distaste.

“You’d better pull the comforter all the way down,” joked Malik. “You wouldn’t want to stick to it.”

The women all said, “Eww,” and made faces while the guys laughed.

As everyone was taking their belongings, Sean walked over to Jenny. “Are you okay?” he asked. “You really don’t look so hot.”

She smiled what seemed a sad smile to him. “Not so hot? I thought I was as cute as a button.”

“No, really,” he replied, “you’re very pale.”

“I’m okay. Really I am,” Jenny insisted. “Justin and I caught bad colds sleeping outside, and I think it’s coming back again. A good night’s sleep, and I’ll be fine. Really.”

Sean stared hard at her. He squinted up his eyes and said, “Are you sure? You don’t look good. You sure you weren’t bitten?”

“I’m fine!” she said angrily, then spun on her heel and walked off.

As they were splitting up to retire to their rooms for the night, Sean pulled Mariam aside and whispered, “Jenny doesn’t look good.”

“Yes, I noticed.”

“Keep an eye on her,” he continued. “If you suspect trouble, come get us.”

With that they said good night and went to their rooms.

In the middle of the night, Jenny lay in bed, unable to sleep. Looking at Mariam in the next bed, she saw that the young Latina was sound asleep.

Suddenly another round of cramps forced her to curl up in a fetal position. Her body and joints ached. She had a terrible headache and felt nauseous. Worse was the horrible throbbing coming from her leg. After getting up slowly, she sat on the edge of the bed. Another bout of shakes traveled up and down her body. Wobbling to the bathroom, she went in and closed the door.

Turning on the light, the formerly pretty young girl looked at herself in the mirror. She couldn’t believe what was looking back at her. It was as if another, older, hideous person were staring back.

Jenny’s skin was so pale it almost seemed translucent. Her cheekbones seemed more pronounced and her eyes sunken into her head. And oh, those eyes! The dark purplish skin around them heightened the milky color of the irises.

Unnerved, she sat on the edge of the tub and rolled up her pant leg. The bite mark looked ugly. The mark itself was bright red, but the skin around it was a dark purple with long dark veins snaking away from it.

Suddenly overcome, she quickly lifted the toilet lid and vomited violently. When she was done and left gasping, she stood up shakily and, pulling the shower curtain back, stepped into the white tub. She pulled the curtain closed and lay down in the cold tub.
I’m so hot
, she thought.
This tub is nice and cool
.

Two hours later Mariam awoke. She really had to go to the bathroom. As she was about to get up, she saw that Jenny’s bed was empty.
Figures
,
she thought. Waiting a long ten minutes and not being able to hold it any longer, she got up and knocked softly on the bathroom door.

“Jenny?” She waited then knocked a little harder. “Jenny? You okay?”

Not hearing any response, she tried the doorknob, which opened easily. Mariam stepped in, not knowing what to expect. The light was on, but no one seemed to be in the room.

Puzzled, she hesitated, but not being able to wait a second longer, she strode to the toilet bowl and lifted the lid. Luckily she glanced down before sitting and shot back up again. The contents of the bowel were bright red. Strands of something fleshy streaked the sides.

“What the hell is this?” she gasped.

Hearing a low guttural sound coming from behind the shower curtain, she unwisely pulled it back.

The last thing she saw was sharp teeth in a yawning mouth shooting at her throat.

Sean stretched in bed in next morning. Linda was still asleep, so he quietly got up and relieved himself. He dressed and walked to the door.

Linda stirred. “You up, Sean?”

“Yeah, hon. Take your time. I’m just going to have a look outside.”

Walking out into the fresh morning sun, he saw Mike and Sue walk out of their room.

“Hey, guys,” he called over.

“Did you have a good night’s sleep?” asked Sue.

“You betcha!” exclaimed Sean.

Malik wandered out of his room. “Jack’s coming,” he said, scratching his belly and yawning. “Staying here was a great idea. Man, did I sleep.”

Linda walked out, brushing her hair, just as Carol and Naomi exited.

Jack came out, and they all gathered together and exchanged morning salutations. Everyone felt rested for once. Standing there in the
morning sun, with the birds chirping, they almost felt as if nothing bad had ever happened.

With a big grin, Malik turned to Naomi. “Did you get to use the vibrating bed?”

She tried to look annoyed but snorted out a laugh. “I’ll vibrate your head.”

Next to the motel was a large field. At the edge of the wooded border, about a quarter of a mile away, Jack saw several figures emerge. Turning to the group, he said, “I guess we’d better get our shit together and get moving.” He pointed his thumb in the far-off figures’ direction.

Naomi and Carol went back to get their stuff. Linda and Sue did the same. As Jack walked into his room, Malik started opening up the back hatches. “Who’s going to wake up the sleeping beauties?” he joked to Sean.

“I guess I will,” Sean replied.

While the others were busy, Sean walked over to the last door. He knocked and called, “Come on, girls. Daylight is burning.”

Then he walked back and helped load the cars. As they finished, he walked back to the still-closed door.

“Mariam, Jenny!” he called, knocking. “Let’s go.”

As he stood there, arms akimbo, looking at the door, he got a very bad feeling. He went back to the cars, reached in, and came back with one of the shotguns. By now everyone was watching him, looking very worried. As he stood at the door, checking to make sure the shells were in, Malik came over.

“What’s up?” he said.

“I don’t know,” remarked Sean. “Jenny wasn’t looking good last night.”

“I noticed that,” Malik said thoughtfully. “I just thought it was the rough time she’d had.”

“Yeah, me too,” Sean replied, reaching for the knob and pausing. “You know, I asked her if she’d been bitten, and she told me no. Now I’m not too sure.”

Sean looked back at Malik and saw that he was holding the Glock at his side. He twisted the knob, and the door clicked open. Pushing it farther open with the barrel of the shotgun, Sean called in, “Mariam? Jenny?”

He pushed the door open all the way and stepped in. At the foot of the far bed and standing in the morning light was Jenny. In the instant he saw her, he saw the blood down the front of her yellow blouse and her left pant leg rolled up.

A purplish-black bite mark was on her ankle.

Jenny curled her top lip and growled at Sean. Malik stepped in, and her milky eyes swung to him. Her snarling increased, and she raised her hands up, bloody fingers curling into deadly claws. She took two jerky steps toward them. Sean raised the shotgun and fired. Jennifer’s head exploded, coating the room behind her with blood and brain matter. Malik stepped forward. “Jesus Christ,” he whispered.

A low gurgling sound was coming from the bathroom.

“Mariam?” he called. He looked back at Sean, who just gave him a sad shake of his head.

A soft shuffling of bare feet on tile sounded, and Mariam appeared at the bathroom door. The gurgling noise was coming from her throat. It was completely ripped out, the end of her larynx sticking out. Every time she made that noise, red bubbles spewed out.

“Oh, God, I’m so sorry, Mariam,” Sean pleaded. “I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t.”

Her milky eyes wandered back and forth between Malik and Sean as if she couldn’t make up her mind.

Malik raised his Glock to her head and, with a wince, shot her in the forehead. She fell backward, bouncing off the sink with a wet clunk, and lay still on the floor.

Sean and Malik slowly walked out of the motel room. The women all had their hands across their mouths, the men grim looks on their faces, all hoping not to hear the brutal truth.

When they locked eyes with the two reluctant executioners, Sean and Malik looked down. Sue and Naomi sobbed, while Linda had a stricken
look on her face. They all came together and held tightly to one another as Sean explained the cause and outcome.

The fact that one of their core group had died—and died by their doing a good deed—hit them hard. They knew now that no one was safe.

23

A
s soon as the caravan crossed the Florida state line, they pulled to the side at the next safe spot. Jack called his brother.

“Hello, Jack?” Tommy said when he answered.