The Beginning of the End (Book2): Road to Damnation (21 page)

“I thought you would
have joined me for a little Windy. She was simply ravishing. Maybe
next time,” he said as he started the vehicle.

Cowboy held Sophie’s
hand and led her over to Chevy. He was back on his feet, and the
congratulations and hugs were beginning to dry up. Most of the group
had dispersed and were laughing while they watched Herman rolling
around on the ground with Charger.

They passed the group
and went right to Chevy.

Cowboy reached out with
one of his sizeable hands, and Chevy took it without hesitation.

“Congratulations,
Chevy,” Cowboy said smiling, “I’m not gonna lie, hoss. You
really had us nervous there for a minute. We were afraid we were
going to lose you.”

The smile disappeared
from Chevy’s face, “You don’t have to tell me, Cowboy. You
think you were worried? How do you think I felt? It was happening to
me. I would have died too if it wasn’t for Sophie.”

Sophie was no longer
angry and extended a forgiving hand. Chevy let go of Cowboy’s,
looked at Sophie’s, and threw both of his arms around her, “Thank
you so much, Sophie. You saved my life. I owe you everything. I’m
sorry for being rude before, I was afraid I was going to die.”

Sophie, uncomfortable
with the hug, patted his back a couple of times and politely pushed
away, “You don’t owe me anything, Chevy.”

“Sure I do. I owe you
my life. I don’t know when or where, but someday, I promise, I’ll
return the favor.”

“Chevy, really you
don’t owe me anything. I know what Bob’s death did to me. I
didn’t want your family to bare the same burden. If you really do
want to pay me back, you can do it by helping me get the ZMapp to
Atlanta. I don’t want anyone to have to go through what you almost
went through today.”

“It’s a promise,”
Chevy said as he locked onto Sophie’s shoulders and slapped a big
wet kiss right on her lips. Shocked, she opened her eyes wide and
blushed.

“All right, hoss!”
Cowboy cheered, clapping his hands.

Chevy released Sophie’s
lips and left her standing there astonished.

“I didn’t know you
like the younger guys,” Cowboy said poking fun at her.

Sophie turned to him,
“I… he… I…no...”

“Ha, ha, ha, looks
like the kid left ya speechless, doc.” Cowboy said as he pushed his
hat back on his head and strutted away.

* * *

After the big kiss,
Chevy joined Luther, Sidara, and me at the back of Sophie’s Jeep,
“What are you guys doing?” he asked.

I threw an arm around
him and gave him a half-ass hug, “Are you sure you should be up and
walking around? What did Sophie say?”

“Not much. Besides, I
feel great since she gave me the ZMapp. I feel strong like I could
lift up the back of this Jeep, or run a marathon. So what are you
guys doing?”

Sidara held onto to
both of Chevy’s hands and gave him a kiss, “Let’s not go
lifting anything, until we make sure you’re okay.”

Chevy blushed, “Wow,
two kisses, from two girls, in two minutes,” he cheered.

“What do you mean,
two kisses?” Sidara asked sternly.

“I gave Sophie a kiss
for saving my life.”

“Well, that’s okay,
but no more, cutie.”

I looked at Sidara and
back at Chevy, “Did I miss something between you two?”

Sidara gave him another
kiss on the cheek and spoke as she walked away, “I don’t know,
Two-gun. Did you?”

“What the hell is
going on?” I questioned Chevy.

He shrugged his
shoulders, “I don’t know. Now that I’ve been bitten, everyone
seems to love me, or something.”

“Or something,” I
teased.

“So for the second
time, what are you and Luther doing?” Chevy asked.

Luther knelt down
showing Chevy a map he had drawn in the dirt. It wasn’t much more
than a couple of straight lines and an X.

“What’s that?”
Chevy asked tilting his head.

Luther picked up a
pencil size stick that was on the ground next to the map. He pointed
to the X, “This is us. This dot here is New York City. That’s
where Ty’s dad is. This straight line is I-87, and this middle dot
is Albany.”

Chevy examined the map
for a second and used his finger connecting the I-87 line to the
Albany, “So the plan is to go to the hospital and meet up with the
survivors at the hospital? The ones from the T.V. transmission.”

I let out a deep sigh
and drew a second arching line bypassing the hospital, “Or, we hop
off I-87 and go around Albany altogether.”

Chevy looked confused,
“But I thought you said we were going to meet up with the hospital
people and have them help us get the cure to Atlanta?”

I could feel Chevy
giving me his disapproving stare, “That was before.”

“Before what,” he
asked.

“Before we saw the
serum work.”

Chevy looked confused,
“You didn’t think the serum was going to work before?”

I rubbed my temple and
was careful to pick the right words, “Sophie said the serum worked,
and I didn’t doubt her. But when she used it on you, it was then I
realized its power. The thought of making it to Atlanta, before
seemed like an almost impossible task, but now after seeing the
results, I’m afraid the danger has doubled. How do we know for
sure, when we get to the hospital and tell them we have the cure,
they won’t kill us and keep it for themselves?

The fate of humanity
rests in our hands, and I don’t think we can trust anyone else to
help us. At least not a group with numbers large enough to kill all
of us and steal it.”

“But I’m sure they
want to save the world as much as we do.” Chevy contested.

I put my hand on
Chevy’s shoulder and looked him straight in the eyes, “After you
were bitten, I would have done anything to save you. If I knew then,
what I know now, I would have killed Sophie for that serum. If anyone
realizes its power, they’ll kill for it too. That’s why Luther
and I both think it’s a good idea to avoid Albany altogether. We
just can’t risk it. By making it to Atlanta, we’ll be saving all
of them and the rest of the world.”

“But you said there’s
strength in numbers and the more people we have, the better our
chances of making it.”

“I did say that,
Chevy, but what happens if every time someone gets attacked, we give
them the serum. There’s not enough to go around, and it’s a risk
I don’t want to take.”

Chevy still didn’t
look convinced and knowing him, he wouldn’t be able to understand
by avoiding the people we actually are saving them. But he didn’t
respond. He wasn’t even looking at me now. He was staring off into
the distance.

“Hey, ADHD. What are
you looking at?”

He looked back at me
like something was wrong, “You’re mom. Look at her. She’s just
standing there, staring at something.”

I watched for a minute.
There was something wrong.

“Come on,” I said
to Chevy and Luther. We jogged over to where she was standing. She
was peering due north and didn’t turn when we called out to her.
She kept watching the horizon like something was wrong.

“What is it, Mom?
What do you see?”

Without looking away,
she said, “Something is coming, Ty. And it’s going to hurt us.
It’s going to hurt all of us.”

“What’s going to
hurt us, Mom?”

“I don’t know what
it is, but we need to leave now. Get the Humvees loaded. We need to
go, Ty, and we need to go now.”

“Are you sleeping
over there, dear brother? Wake up, Kane. Oh, there you are, welcome
back. I’ve been driving for almost an hour, and you’ve slept the
whole time. I had a thought. I’ve been going all day. What do you
say about us pulling over and finding a place to sleep? Do you think
it’s a good idea? Fabulous. I’m sorry, Kane. What was that you
just said? Yes, I see the exit sign. Gas, Food, Lodging, and
Amusement Park. Of course, I’ll take the exit. Ha, what do you say
ol’ boy? Fancy a ride on a rollercoaster?

What do you mean no?
I’d be more than happy to bring you to the park little brother.
Well, if you say no, then, no it is. Why don’t you quit being such
a stiff, and help me find a hotel? There must be one around here
somewhere.

What?…Where? Oh, I
see it now, thank you, Kane. Let’s see if they have a vacancy,
shall we?

The MRAP pulled into
the parking lot, only stopping after bumping the steel pole of the
drive thru carport. A thundering boom reverberated throughout the
building.

“Oops, see what I’ve
done now, Kane. Maybe if you weren't a Chatty Cathy all the time, I
could focus more on driving. No worries, though. This pig mobile is
practically unstoppable.”

Kane’s brother hopped
out of the vehicle and walked around to the front examining the
damage. He rubbed his finger against the white scuff mark of paint
left by the hotel’s steel pole. He scrubbed his thumb at it again,
this time with a little spit. It came off clean, not even leaving a
scratch.

“Good as new brother,
I’ve repaired the damage. You sit there, and I’ll check us in.”

He reached into the
back of his waistband and pulled out his revolver. With a quick look,
he confirmed it was loaded with six fresh .357 hollow points.

He peeked in the
hotel’s welcoming glass door and saw an older lady wearing a name
badge standing behind the counter. As he stepped in, the dead
employee's blue swirling irises caught his attention.

A step closer and he
was standing at the counter just out of her reach. He tapped the top
of the silver service bell giving off a piercing ring. The dead woman
behind the counter moaned and clawed at the stranger.

“Hello,” he moved
in a bit closer to read her name badge, (Hospitality Host Matilda).

“Hello, Matilda. My
brother and I are in need of a room. You see I’ve been driving and
killing people since this morning. To be quite honest, it's utterly
exhausting work. If you could tell me if you have a vacant room, I’d
be your best friend.”

The older dead woman,
locked behind the counter, moaned, clawed, and snapped her teeth at
the customer. He stood there smiling unfazed by her persona.

“Oh, you do. That’s
wonderful. What are the chances I could trouble you for a room with a
double bed? Non-Smoking if possible? It’s such a disgusting habit.
I’m sure you agree.”

He stood there
hypnotized by her eyes. Minutes had passed before he spoke again,
“Oh, you do. That’s wonderful. Room 7, you say, perfect that’s
my lucky number. Did you want to hand me the key? No? Just grab it
myself? Okay, no problem, Matilda. Thank you, and may I say your
service has been outstanding this afternoon.”

He lifted the revolver
and pointed it at the woman’s face. Sliding his finger down to the
trigger, he paused, watching her eyes again, “Very angelic,” he
said as he tucked the revolver back in his waistband. “Matilda,
it’s been a pleasure meeting you. I bid you farewell and adieu.”

Kane’s brother inched
out backward, refusing to turn his back on Matilda. He closed the
door and held up a swinging key toward the MRAP, “Look, brother,
they had a room available. I’ve gotten us checked in. We’ll be
sleeping good tonight. Matilda assures me.”

He paused and looked
off into the not too distance south, “What do you suppose that
black smoke is off in that direction, brother. I must admit it's
peculiar and leaves me perplexed. What do you say we check it out
before going to our room? Just maybe, if we’re lucky, we’ll run
into your friends there. Wouldn't it be nice to have a reunion before
dinner?”

Kane’s brother
climbed into the MRAP, stepped on the gas, and tossed the MAC-10 into
Kane’s lap, “You may need this, old sport. Judging from the scene
where I found you, my guess is you and your friends may not be on the
best of speaking terms right now.”

Kane’s brother
slammed on the brakes, bringing the vehicle to a sliding stop. He
snapped his head over to Kane, “They did what to you? My goodness.
Whatever did you do to deserve that?”

Kane’s brother sat
there staring at Kane’s open mouth and eyes. He felt his
temperature rising as he imagined Kane speaking to him. Telling him
all the gory details that had led to the demise of him and his crew.
In all actuality, Kane was unable to speak. He had been dead for
hours, already rotting and stinking. The mad man sitting next to him
was continuing to have delusional conversations with his brother’s
corpse.

“My dear brother. You
must be off your game if you let them leave you in a hole on the side
of the road like that. Well, do not fret. We are near. We will find
them, and we will kill them. And kill them all, we will.”

The vehicle’s
accelerator slammed back to the floor jerking both of the brother’s
heads. The insane man behind the wheel hopped curbs and sideswiped
cars racing for the plume of smoke, “It won’t be long now,
brother. It’s just over that hill.”

Kane’s brother let
off the gas as the MRAP neared the crest. They rolled to a stop and
surveyed the area from inside the vehicle, “That building is still
in flames. The fire can’t be more than an hour old. Oh, dear
brother. I spy a Jeep with the back open on the side of the
supermarket. Do you think those are your friends? Maybe I’ll take a
little walk down there and see if there’s anyone still around. You
wait here and guard the vehicle.”

Kane’s brother
reached over and grabbed the MAC-10 from his brother’s lap. He
checked the magazine and chambered a round. He was careful to place
it back on his brother’s lap, so the barrel was pointing toward the
windshield. He tried to put Kane’s finger on the trigger, but it
was stiff and had to be manipulated. After a couple of creeks and
cracks, the finger became a little more pliable. Now it easily fit in
the guard and rested against the trigger.

“There you go
brother, a perfect fit. If anyone comes up to you, shoot first and
ask questions later.