The Beginning of the End (Book2): Road to Damnation (2 page)

I twisted my head
trying not to lift it from the radiating coolness. My mom was
standing there. She pushed the hair from my eyes and gave me a
reassuring smile.

I tried to smile back
but couldn’t seem to do it, “How did all this happen, Mom?”

I could feel a tear
running down my cheek. The anxiety of almost losing mom, the lack of
contact with dad, and avoiding death had taken its toll, and finally
released.

She rubbed the tear
away with the back of her finger as she answered me, “I don’t
know, honey. But it will be all right. You need to stay strong. These
people are looking to you for answers. It’s up to you and Chevy
now, to help keep us all alive, and get us to your father. What did
he say in his message? Is he okay?”

I pulled the phone from
my back pocket and replayed the message for her. She listened, taking
in a deep breath, and trying to keep her composure, “Well, it
sounds like we’re going to New York.”

I stuffed the phone
back in my pocket and worked up the courage to pull my head off the
Humvee, not sure if it was the cool metal or Mom’s words that made
my head feel better.

Rubbing my finger
across one of the bullet holes in the jagged steel of the wrecked
Humvee, I pulled it away examining the black gunpowder residue left
on my skin, “This thing is in tatters. Kane made sure of that. How
are we supposed to get there?” My head dropped as that hopeless
feeling surged through me. I felt sorry for myself again.

She lifted my chin,
forcing me to make eye contact with her, “Ty, now you listen, and
listen well. This little band of misfits you’ve put together looks
up to you. You’re their leader now. They’d follow you to hell and
back if you asked. If we’re heading to New York City where there
are all those dead people, then they may have to do that. Now you get
your shit together, walk over there, and give them the plan. They’re
waiting for you.”

She was right. Somehow
I became their leader, and now I had to go over there and beg them
for their help.

Mom put her hands on my
cheeks and gave me a kiss on my forehead, “It’s time, honey. Now
wipe the puke off your shirt and go over there and talk to your
friends.”

I watched as my mom
walked away smiling. Apparently, even with everything going on, she
still managed to keep her sense of humor.

After a few deep
breaths, I collected myself and wiped my shirt off on the side of the
Humvee. Moving around to the edge of the wrecked vehicle, I watched
as my newly acquired friends stood there, waiting for my return.

Across the median,
Cowboy was tending to the man on the ground, one of Kane’s
henchmen, who was regaining consciousness. I headed in his direction
wondering what we were going to do with him.

“So what’s the
story with him?” I asked, pointing at the bleeding man on the
ground.

Cowboy looked beaten
and bruised, even more so than the man on the ground. It seemed funny
he’d be helping him after the beating Kane and Tommy had just
inflicted on him.

While watching blood
drip from Cowboy’s face, a thought passed through my mind; he might
be one of the toughest men I had ever met.

Cowboy took the man’s
chin in his hand and turned his face up toward mine as he spoke, “Ty,
this is Luther. One of the assholes who followed that psychotic
bastard Kane around town like a little puppy. Luther, this is, Ty.
He’s the man in charge of us good guys. He decides if you’re
going to live or die, and if it were up to me…. it’d be the
latter.”

Cowboy twisted Luther’s
head back toward his, so they were staring face-to-face, “Do you
want to know what I think, Luther? I think we should tie you to the
side of that wrecked Humvee and let all those dead eat you alive.
What do you think about that?”

Luther yanked his head
away from Cowboy’s hand, screaming and pleading with me, “Please,
no! I promise I’ll never hurt anyone again. I want to be a good guy
too.”

I squinted at Cowboy
and thought to myself, is that what we were, good guys? This whole
time I was under the impression we were just survivors.

By now everyone had
gathered around behind me. They were watching, curious what my next
move would be. I turned to address the group; unsure of what I was
going to say, then it sort of came out.

“This man is Luther,
he tried to kill all of us. With everything going on in this screwed
up world, he felt the need to kidnap women, torture them, and kill
them. He killed my neighbor’s friend, Sarah, and would have killed
my mother too, if we hadn’t saved her.”

“I never killed
anyone,” Luther interrupted, “I had nowhere else to go. I was
alone and afraid and did what I was told, to stay alive.”

My misfits, men and
women alike, all wanted him dead, but something resonated with what
he said, “No place else to go, and afraid to be alone.”

We were all lost and
afraid now, and none of us wanted to be alone either. The comforts of
life we use to take advantage of didn’t exist any longer.

I looked into each of
their somber faces as I spoke, “This world has changed. Death is
around every corner now. You each have a decision to make, and it’s
your decision alone. I don’t want to influence you in any way. We
can stick together, and help each other, or you can go your own way.
My mom and I are going to find my father, and that’s a burden I
cannot ask any of you to undertake. He’s in New York City. There
are eight million people in that place, and I’m willing to bet most
of them have turned into those dead things. After I save him, I plan
on helping Sophie get her cure to Atlanta. The three of us are
leaving today. If anyone wants to join us, we’d love to have you,
but because of the danger, I’m not going to ask you to come.”

Before I finished my
speech, Chevy walked up and threw his arms around me, “I’m in,
buddy. We’ll save your dad together. You know I wouldn’t miss
that shit.” I smiled and hugged him back.

My eyes followed the
group as each one of my friends devoted their undying loyalty to me.

I felt a smack on my
back that almost knocked me off balance. “I’m in too, hoss.”
Cowboy said as he tilted his hat to my mom, “We’ll find your
husband, Ma’am.”

Everyone in the group
was smiling, even our new addition, Sophie. I answered them all with
a sincere look and a single head nod.

Luther was mumbling
behind me again, “I’ll help you find your pop too, buddy. Please
just don’t let those things eat me.”

Cowboy whispered in my
ear, “He’s harmless, hoss. I’m gonna scare the shit out of him
for a few more minutes, and then I’ll cut him loose.”

A chuckle came out of
my mouth, and with that we were a team… a family.

With the team now
intact it was time to make a plan.

After a few minutes of
hugs, and pledges of loyalty, the attractive blonde doctor caught my
attention as she crossed the median. Moving toward her Jeep, I
wondered if our new friend decided to part ways and take on the
challenge of getting to Atlanta herself. I chased after and caught up
with her as she made it to her vehicle, “Hey, are you leaving us?”

Sophie didn’t say
anything as she reached for the door handle. I lay my hand on the
back of hers, waiting for her to look at me, “Sophie, I can help
you. You have to trust me.” She paused taking an extraordinarily
long exaggerated breath, and released it slowly, “Listen, kid. I’m
sure you have every intention of helping me, but I can’t risk going
to New York City. You said it yourself. There are eight million
people in that city, and a majority of them have turned by now. There
are six of you. With all due respect, you don’t have a chance in
hell of getting out of there alive, and I can’t afford to take any
unnecessary risks. I wish you and your friends the best of luck, but
I’ll have to go on alone.”

I was a little pissed
off, but at the same time, I knew she was right. I didn’t want her
to leave us; I wanted to make sure the cure got to Atlanta. Maybe I
was being a little selfish, but I felt like it was my responsibility,
and in my mind she needed us as much as we needed her. There was no
way she could make it alone. No one could make it alone anymore. I
wanted the world to go back to the way it was, and without the cure,
that wasn’t possible. I didn’t want to put the fate of the world
in one person’s hands. I’d give my life to save my family. What
better way to make sure the serum got there then all of us, as a
group?

I slid between Sophie
and the jeep still trying to convince her, “Listen, Sophie. We need
you as much as you need us. You have to trust me. I promise you, I
want that serum to get to Atlanta as much as you do. You don’t have
to come into the city with us. We’ll split up and set you and a
couple of us up in a safe house with plenty of weapons just outside
of the city limits. We’ll go in and find my dad, and then there
will be more of us, and we will get the cure to Atlanta. You can’t
make it alone.”

Sophie moved around to
the back of the jeep and popped it open. She laid her hand on the box
of ZMapp, closed her eyes, and looked up at the approaching storm, “I
don’t know, Bob. What do I do?” she asked herself.

I overheard her praying
to the sky and wondered who Bob was.

Sophie squatted down
and sat on the bumper covering her face with her hands like she was
crying, “Can these kids fight the dead and get me to Atlanta, Bob?
Please, give me some kind of sign. I don’t know what to do.”

Sophie slid her hands
down her face and looked back up into the darkening October sky.

After leaving the
message on Ty’s phone, it went dead. The Corporal swore under his
breath and slammed his fist against the wall.

“Daniels, is
everything all right? I mean, Corporal.” Cooper asked.

Daniels stashed the
phone in his pocket and used his free hand to rub the pain from his
fist, “Listen, Coop. I don’t know what the fuck is going on here,
but I don’t like it. This was supposed to be an overtime gig to
bring this douchebag to NYPD processing,” he said pointing his
thumb at the convict.

“Hey,” the convict
interrupted, “I’ve got a name, and it’s not Convict or
Douchebag. It’s Bunker, and if we’re going to be helping each
other, you better stop insulting me and use my name, or you’ll piss
me off.

Cooper stepped up onto
his tiptoes and tried to square off with the man. The mismatch in
size was humorous, “Listen, Convict. If you think for one second
you’re not going to jail and we will chum up with you, then you’ve
got another think coming.”

Daniels stepped between
the two men to relieve the tension, “Take it easy, Coop. This isn’t
going to do us any good. I hate to say it, but he’s right. Until we
figure out what the hell is going on here, we need his help.”

Daniels paused, glaring
into Bunker’s eyes, “But I promise you, my friend, if you try any
funny shit with me, or you try to get away, I won’t hesitate to put
a bullet in your skull. Savvy?”

Bunker swallowed hard,
intimidated by the Corporal’s persona, “You’ve got my word,
Daniels. The way I see it, we’re stuck in the same situation. I
don’t think it’s a matter of staying out of jail; I think it’s
a matter of staying alive.”

“As much as I hate to
agree with you, I think you might be right, Bunker,” Daniels said.

Cooper stepped over the
remnants of dead zombies and peeked out the doorway. He scanned up
and down the hall, “The hallway’s clear, Corp, but there are a
lot of doors between us and the stairwell.”

Daniels pulled on
Cooper’s shoulder moving him out of the way and checked for
himself. If there was one thing he had learned in law enforcement, it
was never take the word of a rookie.

Once he established it
was clear, he glanced back in the room, “Cooper, you keep an eye on
these people while Bunker and I leave for a quick recon mission. We
need to find out where we are, and maybe we can find some weapons.
Cooper, after we leave, you secure the door the best you can. Maybe
you can wedge that desk against it.”

Under the desk, a
teenage girl sat trembling. Her eyes were red and swollen with tears.
She had her knees pulled into her chest, petrified after witnessing
the massacre. She had never even seen a dead body before, now this
horrific bloodbath happened inches away from her.

Daniels knelt down
peeking under the desk, “What’s your name, honey?”

The girl wiped her
tears away with a dry shirtsleeve, “I’m Cecilia.”

Daniels gave his head a
light shake wondering if he had heard the name right, “Excuse me?”

“Yes, you heard me
right. My name is Cecilia. Named after my grandmother. She was a
proud woman, it’s an honor.”

Daniels, caught off
guard a bit by her tenacity recovered by saying, “Well, it’s a
beautiful name. It reminds me of a song from when I was a kid. I’m
sure you’ve heard it.”

Daniels’ connection
with the song made Cecilia feel safer. She thought of him as more of
a person and not her first impression of a psychotic skull crushing
zombie murderer. She reached her hand out, and Daniels took it,
helping lift her to her feet.

“Can you help Cooper
move the desk and secure the door when we leave?” Daniels asked,
“Let no one into this room except for Bunker or me. Can you do
that, Cecilia?”

Cecilia responded by
wiping away the last of her tears and nodding, “Yes.”

Daniels smiled as he
moved toward the office door, then checked again to make sure the
hall was still clear. He moved swiftly with Bunker right behind him
while Cooper and Cecilia secured the door with the antique wooden
desk.

Halfway down the hall,
Daniels stopped and listened for any sounds of the dead as Bunker
watched his back.

Daniels lack of
movement made Bunker nervous, and he was getting antsy, “Dude,
which way are we going?” he asked.