Rise & Walk (Book 2): Pathogen (17 page)

Twenty-Seven

The shotgun blast, though some distance away, startled Margaret.  She rose from the bed and moved quickly to the balcony.  The speed of her standing left her lightheaded and she had to steady herself with a hand on the railing.  She looked down the driveway and saw Veronica alone, her head down, holding her gun.  The monster that she had seen earlier was no longer there.  The young lady must have killed it.  Margaret’s legs went weak at the thought that this sweet young girl had just shot someone.  She understood that the man outside the gate wanted to do them murderous harm but it was all too much to process.  She felt a flutter in her chest; another spasm to frighten her.  Her legs felt rubbery.  She looked to the bed; it seemed very far away. 
Be strong old girl
, she thought before stepping away from the rail.  She had to immediately brace herself on the doorjamb.  She took two quick breaths and looked at the bed with determination. 
It’s only a few more feet
.  Her legs were sore from last nights trek into the unknown but they shouldn’t be this wobbly.  She just needed some rest.  A frightening palpitation rocked her heart, causing her left arm to fall from the doorjamb.    She slipped forward but stayed on her feet.  Four quick steps and she flopped to the bed.  Breathing heavily, she crawled up onto the large mattress.  As she struggled to pull her whole body up, she collected an armful of bedding until she was almost hugging the clump of fabric.  She lay there; her heart pacing wildly, trying to breathe and force the spell to leave her.

She didn’t move for what seemed like hours.  Her heart had never gone on for this long before.  She broke out in a cold sweat, her left arm ached, and the blasted fluttering stayed with her.   She thought that her time might be at hand.  The world had become something very frightening overnight.  Why would she want to stay any longer?  There was no one left here.  If she just let go, she could see her family again.  Buy why did it have to hurt so damn much?  She didn’t want to be found like this; helpless clutching a stranger’s sheets, not even fully on the mattress.  She didn’t want that sweet girl to see her in this state.  She struggled to find the strength to at least climb the rest of the way into bed but hardly moved at all.

“Mrs. McCormack?”  Veronica said from the door.  Without even waiting for an answer, the young lady dropped her shotgun and rushed to her side to roll her on her back.  Deliberate hands speedily checked Margaret’s pulse, titled her head back to open her airway, and then scanned her pockets.  Veronica found her last pill in her sandwich bag.  Before Margaret could even speak or motion a protest that she was ready to leave this world, Veronica had opened her mouth and placed the pill underneath the old woman’s tongue.  The pill dissolved quickly as it was designed to do, and deposited its medicine into her bloodstream, opening up vessels, restoring blood flow to her heart.  Veronica held her head and gently spoke kind reassurances.

The pain subsided but Margaret still felt awful.  She had almost given in.  She knew she had the pill, her very last one, but somehow she had blocked it out of her mind.  Did she just lie to herself to speed her ending?  No, she honestly forgot.  But she was almost there…

“Are you okay ma’am?”

“Yes, I think so… Thank you.”

“What exactly are those pills?  Are they Nitroglycerine, or a beta-blocker?” Veronica asked shaking her head.

“I took Nitroglycerine for a time but it gave me terrible fainting spells.  My doctor switched me to something else last year.  I’m afraid I don’t recall.”

“Do you have some more at your home?”

“No, they have my prescription at the pharmacy but then all this happened.  People from my church were going to take me to pick it up today.”

“I see. Well, just try to stay calm.  I’ll be back in a moment.”

“Okay dear, thank you.”  Margaret failed to notice the look of concern on Veronica’s face as she hurried from the room.

*****

Nikki stayed within two car-lengths of the Chevy; just like Tony had told her; close but not too close.  Her hands gripped tightly on a steering wheel that was almost comically too large for her.  The Chevy before her accelerated as it made its approach parallel to the mass of corpses surrounding the entrance to the school.  Nikki let the distance between them grow.  Her knuckles went white when she saw the corpses as she began to recognize the faces of the dead.  On the corner edge of the perimeter stood Mr. Snyder; her Phys. Ed. teacher from high school.  He was unmistakable with his penchant for wearing athletic shorts, tube socks, and tennis shoes, no matter the temperature outside.  He must have been in his late sixties but still ran in front of each class during laps.  Five laps a day, for God knows how long, had kept the man fit.  Now he turned to look at the Chevy and dumbly swipe at it as it passed.  Nikki was sickened when she saw his silver hair stained with dried blood and the dark rip where his ear should have been.  She might have become fixated on the old ghoul if it were not for Tony’s honking of the Chevy’s horn to catch the attention of the living inside the high school.

“Don’t look at them” she said to herself.  But it was too late.  In the daylight, she recognized many faces, some horribly disfigured, others just a bit pale and slack of expression.  The non-damaged ones gave her greater chills.  She saw people from all over her small town, cashiers from stores, people she went to high school with, and parents of friends.  She swept her Bronco over into the oncoming lane to stay clear of the dead. She focused on Jack Mason in the back to the Chevy.  He had secured a line from two sides of the truck bed to his belt, giving him some support.  She almost cried out when she saw how close Tony swerved the truck into the group of undead.  Hands reached out and scraped against the truck’s side.  She saw Jack swing a duffle bag over his head twice and let it go.  The bag flew fifty feet, deep into the confines of the fence. She saw Mason bang on the top of the cab and Tony ceased honking.  Nikki smiled as she made the turn off Patton Avenue.  In her rear view mirror, she saw someone on the roof running.  The occupants of the school had seen the bag.

*****

Veronica left the bedroom as fast as she could without letting her urgency show.  She didn’t want to alarm the old woman and start her on another attack.  She dashed down the carpeted stairs, unclipped the radio from her jeans and went out the front door.   

“Homebase to whoever is out there, please respond.”  She said and started pacing intently. 
The old woman is dependant on vasodilators; she can’t just go without and hope that it will be okay
. 

“Homebase, Hello!”

“Hey Homebase, what’s up?” Tony responded.

“I need to talk to Jack; it’s important.”

“Uh, okay.  We’re kind of in the middle of something.  I’ll have him call as soon as possible.”

“It’s very important, okay?”

“Sure, right away.”

Damn it
! She thought. 
Just another thing to worry about; something more to add to the list of insurmountable issues to deal with
.  She asked herself if she had anything at hand that could help the woman.  Aspirin thins the blood making it flow easier, but it could also make her bleed internally; not a good idea. No, what she needed was something to open up the blood vessels.  Stimulants such as coffee would achieve that goal for a short time but also strain her heart.  She was pacing again without realizing it.  Her side was beginning to hurt once more.  She reached into her pocket and retrieved Wanda’s Vicodin.  Would one of these help Margaret? She rolled the bottle around her fingers.  It would relieve any pain but it could risk slowing her heart; also not good.  She opened the bottle and plopped one in her mouth. 
What are those boys up to?

Twenty-Eight

Tony estimated that there were around fifteen ghouls scraping around the front entrance to the bowling alley.  He stepped on the gas in the hopes that they wouldn’t follow.  He pulled over near the rear of the building.  Nikki followed and pulled forward until both vehicles’ windows were even.  Tony put the truck in PARK and leaned out the window.  Gabe and Billy poked their heads over the roof’s ledge.

“Man its good to see you guys!” Gabe shouted down.

“You too!” Tony returned. 

“What are you doing up there?” asked Mason while untying himself from the truck-bed.

“Travis got bitten by one of those things and… changed. There’s a girl here who knew about the attic, so we booked it up here.  He’s roaming around down there.”

“Travis?  God I’m sorry man.” Tony sympathized.

“You can’t leave him like that.” Mason said.  Billy disappeared from the ledge and returned to the roof.

“Is he the only one inside?” Mason asked jumping down from the bed.  He looked up and down the street, satisfied that the coast was clear.

“Travis and another one; the son-of-a-bitch that bit him.” Said Gabe.

Mason walked to the rear of the building and checked the back door.  It was locked.  He ran back to the truck.

“You think you can open another lock?” Mason asked Tony.

Tony turned off the Chevy and tossed Mason the keys. 

“Keep a look out for us.” Tony shouted to Gabe above.  He dashed in the Bronco’s passenger door and directed Nikki to pull around the rear of the building.  She had her Walkie-Talkie on her lap; its static sounded as she waited to hear any transmission from the school.

Tony worked fast, all the while listening for word on the radio.  He drilled the lock out, filled the empty area with a large flat-head screwdriver, and forced the lock open. 

“Someone’s coming; a black jeep” Gabe said down to Jack.  Alarms went off in Tony’s head.  He pulled the Colt and raced to the end of the alley where the Chevy was parked.  Mason stood in the open with his over-under shotgun in hand, like a big-game hunter while looking up the street.

“Where’s Billy?” Asked Mason, his gaze affixed towards the approaching vehicle.

“Here” Billy answered joining Gabe on the roof.

Up the street a black Jeep stopped with its engine revving low.  Mason walked out into the middle of the street and stared at the Jeep, observing its image distorted by distance and heat rising from the road.  It was an older model but the paint looked recent.  Something about the body shape was familiar but he couldn’t place it. Tony leaned against the bumper of the Chevy with his pistol in hand.

“Let them see you guys,” Mason said with his eyes trained on the vehicle, “Billy, reach behind your back like you have a gun.” 

The Jeep revved its engine twice then lurched forward and squealed as it took an immediate left turn.  They heard it shift gears and speed off into the distance.

“Why do I feel like a rival gang just visited out turf?” Tony quipped.  Mason turned and started down the back alley, Tony followed.

“Keep an eye out for them and the creeps.” Mason said upwards. 

“Veronica wants you to call her, said it was important.  Channel One.” Tony said handing him a radio. 

“Okay, lets get inside first.”

Nikki stood at the rear door holding the .380 at the ready. She was clad in her new makeshift combat gear; her twenty-two strapped over her back.  When Tony met the Bronco, he reached inside and produced both the pump shotgun and his twenty-two.  Looking up, he saw that Billy had followed them from above and was watching from the roof.  Tony nudged Mason and made a motion to offer him the shotgun, then pointed up to Billy. Mason didn’t understand.

“What?” Mason snapped.

“You throw better than me” admitted Tony.  Mason took the shotgun and handed Tony the over-under.  Mason checked the safety and tossed the shotgun straight up in the air.   Tony wrapped his arms around Nikki and scrambled to move her to the other side of the Bronco.

“It’s loaded!” Tony shouted.

The shotgun sailed upwards, and then seemed to stop for a moment, arrested by physics at just the right height.  Billy caught it easily.  It was the sort of maneuver that Tony would never have the confidence to pull off.  Tony relaxed and nodded an unspoken apology to Nikki.  He looked back up and saw a young woman with bright pink hair look down at him from the roof. 

“Whoa!” Tony said, “Somebody had trouble in tinting class.”

The pink-haired girl spoke.

“Picky?” She said towards Nikki.

“Hey Jinxy,” Nikki frowned slightly.  Tony looked to Nikki.

“Picky?” he inquired.

“It’s stupid, don’t ask.” Nikki dismissed.

Mason ignored the exchange and pulled the rear door open.  He spoke to Nikki.

“You’re gonna need to turn that radio off for a while.” He said.

They entered a narrow work area that spanned the back end of the bowling alley.  One wall was made up entirely of gears and pistons used in the pin setting machinery for each lane.  Tony clicked his flashlight on and shined it to the far end of the hall then to the closest corner; nothing was seen.  They were alone.  Mason moved to the nearest corner where a work bench area was built into the wall.  Opposite the bench was a small door.  He turned the knob and pulled.

They emerged at the rear of the bowling alley.  The wide open area was disorienting.  None of them had ever seen a bowling alley from this perspective.  A three foot wide carpeted path led alongside the lanes to the front area where the bowlers would launch their balls.  In the office area beyond, a shape was seen.  Its stance was more animal than human.  It looked upward towards the ceiling and hobbled from place to place.  Filthy torn strands of tissue hung from its throat matted now into the fabric of his shirt. Tony slumped at the sight.  Though he had only competed on the same team this past weekend, he had seen Travis around the Paintball circuit for three years.  Up until now, these monsters had always been unfamiliar to Tony; seeing Travis like this took the wind from his courage.  Mason noticed Tony’s posture.

“Why don’t you take him?” Mason said.  Tony went stiff.

“Why me?”

“Because I know I can; not so sure about you.” Mason said.

Tony turned mortified towards Mason.  Behind him, Travis noticed the trio and without a roar or a growl, started to approach the back of the bowling alley.

“What are you talking about?” Tony’s voice registered an unintended octave higher than usual.  Mason shrugged.

“I just don’t know that you’re ready for everything that’s going on.” Mason doubted.

Travis quickly closed the distance from the office to the player’s area, and now stepped foot onto the waxed hardwood flooring of the lanes.

“That’s Travis, our friend.  Who’s up here because YOU wanted to win this tournament. You invited them and you’re trying to turn this into something about me?”

Travis’ unsteady legs began to slip on the waxed wooden floor.  His momentum sent him leaning further and further to each side as his footing slipped.  Despite their arguing, the men seemed to know that he was still three lanes away.

“I know why they’re here, it’s the only reason we haven’t left yet. I’m gonna make sure Gabe and Billy are okay and then we’re outta here.” Mason said while jabbing a finger at Tony.

Travis lurched with a wet grunt.  A loud bang echoed off the polished wooden floors as Nikki’s pistol barked a round through Travis’ forehead.  The reanimated body, now as inanimate as a discarded puppet, crashed to the floor and slid with a squeak into the gutter of the last lane.  His face twisted into the curved edge of the lane and stopped with an inhuman contortion; thick dark fluid slowly dripped from its forehead, collecting in the gutter.   Tony stared at the body.  Mason started towards the front while speaking.

“And it doesn’t matter if they were here or at home; this shit’s happening everywhere.”

A pale man dressed in a blue jumpsuit, perhaps the uniform of an EMT or paramedic approached.  He could have easily been mistaken as alive but for his jerky motion.  The ghoul growled and lifted his hands.  Mason met him with a heavy boot to the chest, knocking him down.  He then stomped on its head three times with angry grunts until the head turned unnaturally away, beyond a human’s range of motion.  Mason ignored the twitching body and continued to the front of the lobby.

Nikki put her hand on Tony’s arm but wasn’t acknowledged.  Tony continued to look at Travis’ corpse.  The blood pooled and ran with the consistency of pancake syrup.  She waited until Mason was almost at the front of the building to speak.

“You okay?”

Tony shook off his trance and put a hand to hers.

“Yeah, thanks.  I could have done it; you know.”

She nodded.

“I just figured I might as well, since I didn’t know him.” She said looking at the body. 

“We’re doing them a favor by killing them, aren’t we?” She asked looking away from the body.  Tony looked to her.

“Yeah, we must be.” He whispered.  In the office area a door opened.  Gabe, Billy, and the pink-haired woman emerged.

Mason approached the group and began talking.  Nikki watched his posture and cocked her head to the side.

“Jack’s kind of a dick,” she said letting go of Tony’s arm.  Tony nodded.

Gabe showed Jack, Tony, and Nikki to the attic and then to the roof hatch where they could send a better signal.  Having gone without food for two days, Gabe excused himself to the cafeteria, which Jinxy apparently knew like the back of her hand.  He was clearly upset over Travis, but the process of staying alive took precedence.  When he left, Tony and Nikki moved to the north end of the roof where they could see the high school, Jack Mason moved to the south and pulled out his radio.  The groups didn’t speak to each other, but only into their hand radios.

“Blackjack to base, come in” the radio squawked, startling Veronica off the steps of the porch.  She stood and answered urgently.

“Jack?”

“Yeah, what’s going on?”

“Oh God, where have you been?”

“Busy, we ran into the rest of our team holed up in a bowling alley.  We had to see that they were okay.”

“I need your help.” Veronica urged.

“What’s up; are you okay?” He asked.

“It’s not me.” She said.

“Hello, is anyone there?”  Nikki almost begged into the radio.

Tony held his recently ‘liberated’ binoculars to his eyes, sweeping over the small area of the high school’s yard that was visible from his position. 

“Tell me they got the bag.” He said.  The radio hissed to life.

“Hello? Who is this?” it crackled.

“Nicole Howe? Are my parents there? Leon and Clara Howe?” Nikki was almost to tears.  Tony set down the binoculars and put his hand to her shoulder.  They were both staring intently at the radio when it received another transmission.

“Nicole? It’s your mother.  Your father and I are okay. Where are you?”

Nikki leapt into the air on hearing her mother’s voice.  She was in no danger of going over the edge of the roof but Tony caught her anyway to push her away from the edge.  She threw her arms around him and squeezed.  He set her down carefully and she continued.

“I’m at the bowling alley; we’re safe; hiding out on the roof’”

“Oh Lord, Nicole; we thought…” The radio went silent.  Nikki was in full blown tears but still managed to talk.

“I’m okay mom; I met some really good people.” She looked at Tony and smiled.

“Your father wants to talk to you.”

“Dad.” Nikki turned and walked away.  Tony watched her go figuring that she wanted to be alone.  He breathed deep, feeling a sense of accomplishment that everything had worked out.  His plan had been solid and executed well.  It was time for a cigarette, if he only had one.  Nikki remained well away from him on the radio so he decided to leave her be.  The thought occurred to him that he should go check out the television in the bar and see what the news had to say.  Didn’t bars sometimes have cigarettes for sale?  He was about ready to take a hit from a discarded butt if he could find one.

He moved to the roof hatch with renewed purpose.

Mason stopped him before he could exit the roof.

“We have a problem.” He said and handed Tony the radio.

Nikki stopped when she had made it to the far corner of the roof.  The men were quite far away but she still spoke in a hushed manner.

“Dad?”

“Nicole, Where are you?  Are you all right?”

“Yes Daddy, We’re on the roof of the bowling alley. We’re safe.”

“We?  Who are you with?”

“Some friends from the Lake; they helped me get down the mountain.”

“What friends?  Who are they?” He urged to Nikki’s disbelief.

“People I met at the lake, they had the idea to throw you the radio.”