The Beginning of the End (Book2): Road to Damnation (25 page)

Twenty minutes later,
all the rooms were cleared. They’d all been empty, except for
Cowboy’s. Even the manager’s office was empty. The vehicle on the
far side of the lot must have belonged to the male and female zombies
Cowboy had encountered. They probably parked on the far side of the
lot so their spouses wouldn’t have discovered them, while they were
alive. Now they were a pile of rotting meat, and no one cared.

The sun had set, and it
was pitch black around the motel. The power was still on, and most of
the rooms were lit up.

“You think we should
go through and turn off all the lights?” Chevy asked.

“If the lights on
haven’t attracted any dead by now, it’s probably not going to.
Look around at all the buildings in this city. The place is lit up
like a Christmas tree. If zombies like light, I’m sure they’re
well on their way to the center of town. Just to be safe, we’ll
double up in each room and pull the blinds closed. We’ll be turning
the lights out soon, right after we get some food in our bellies.
Everyone double up. We’ll take the rooms on the far side. They were
all empty. Grab weapons and ammo from the Humvees. Chevy and I will
take one of the boxes of ZMapp, Sophie you and Sidara team up and
take the second box. Everyone eat, and get some shuteye we’re out
of here at 0600.”

“Did you just say,
‘Oh, six-hundred?’ Chevy chuckled.

“Yeah, why?”

“Because it makes you
sound, oh-stupid.”

“Oh, shut up.”

I couldn’t help but
snicker, “Oh, you’re such a dick, Chevy.”

Daniels pulled his
phone out and checked the messages. There was nothing from Ty. He was
about to put it back in his pocket and paused, taking a second look
just to make sure. He opened up the message app. There was no way to
tell if Ty or Jennifer had received it. He put the phone back in his
pocket, wishing for a reply.

“Do you have any
family, Master Chief?”

“I do, Daniels. I’ve
got a wife and a three-year-old daughter back in Norfolk.”

“Do you know if
they’re okay?” Daniels prodded.

“I don’t know. I
left them on the base and haven’t heard from them since.”

“It must be so hard
to leave them when your country calls. With things as bad as they
are, why didn’t you just leave? I’m sure plenty of other guys did
to save their families.”

“I’m sure they did
too, but the way I look at it is, if I could find those doctors, they
could save everyone, including my family.”

“I guess you’re
right, but it’s still an incredible sacrifice.” Daniels sighed.

Destiny pulled herself
forward from the back seat, “Bunker baby. What street was that we
just crossed?”

“It was 11th Avenue.”

“Well, honey. We
should see the river any minute.”

Everyone sat up in the
Tahoe and started scanning the horizon. Beck was the first to see it,
“There it is Master Chief. We made it,” he cheered.

“We haven’t made it
until we arm that bomb and get out of the city. We’re only half way
through this, Beck.”

“Look at all the
airplanes on that boat. What’s that big black one?” Kaden asked,
eyes wide open.

The Master Chief looked
back and smiled, “That, my boy, is the SR-71 Blackbird.”

“Is it fast?” Kaden
asked, quizzing Sawyer.

“Oh, it’s fast. I
remember a story from when I was young. I was out golfing with my
father and one of his friends who had come home to visit. They were
both retired jet fighter pilots. My father’s friend got promoted to
Lt. Colonel a few years earlier and transferred to Edwards Air Force
Base to fly one of the 32 SR-71s.

At the time, everything
about the Blackbird was still classified. My father’s curiosity got
the best of him, and he asked his buddy how fast the plane really
was. He smiled and used his two hands to demonstrate like he was
describing the length of a fish. He said ‘When you go supersonic in
your fighter, you pull your throttle back about this far.’ He held
his hands about six inches apart. ‘If you had to, you could move
your throttle back another inch. Then there’s nothing left. On my
Blackbird, supersonic is about here,’ he said holding his hands
about three inches apart. Then he said something, and I’ll never
forget it. ‘Once I hit that three-inch mark, I can still go back
another foot.”

My father stood there
in disbelief, “Have you ever throttled all the way back?” he
asked.

His friend laughed and
said, “I couldn’t do that, the front of the plane would melt
away.” The plane would go so fast, it would just melt away. So to
answer the question, how fast is the SR-71? The answer is, about as
fast as you can go. If you were to put a number on it, that number
would be about 2200 mph. Let me put it in perspective for you. That’s
more than a half a mile a second.”

Kaden sat there with
his mouth wide open, “Do you think we can check it out?”

“It’s getting
pretty dark now, but I’m sure we’ll be able to check it out in
the morning. How’s that sound, pal?”

“You know what sounds
good to me, Mister Chef?” Destiny teased.

“That’s Master
Chief, ma’am.”

“Oh, whatever.
Potatoes, tomatoes. What sounds good to me, is us gettin’ in that
helicopter parked on top of the boat, and you flying us out of this
mess.”

Bunker laughed, but
asked, “Is that really such a bad idea?”

“Guys, I wish I
could, but there are two problems with your suggestion. First, those
aircraft are all decommissioned. Second, I don’t know how to fly.”

“That does propose a
problem,” Daniels chuckled, as they pulled up next to the aircraft
carrier. “What exactly is the plan, Sawyer?”

“I’m sure this
boat's locked up as tight as a drum, which means the place is
probably free of threats. Beck will blast the lock, and we'll head to
the crew quarters and get some sleep. In the morning, Beck and I will
arm the weapon, and we’ll get the hell out of Dodge in case someone
down in Atlanta has an itchy trigger finger. How’s that sound?”

“Sounds good to me,”
Bunker agreed.

Everyone else nodded
and agreed.

“Why doesn’t
everyone hang out in the car while Beck and I blast the door. It can
be pretty loud and may draw some unwanted visitors.”

Daniels reached for his
M4 and a couple of extra mags, “I’ll get out with you guys.
You’re going to need someone to watch your back.”

“I’d really
appreciate that,” Sawyer said, before stepping out.

Beck reached over his
left shoulder and fished around the cache of weapons. It didn’t
take long to find what he was looking for. He set it on his lap, as
he reached back again for an ammo bag.

“What do you need the
rope for?” Cecilia asked as she reached for the items in Beck’s
lap.

“Whoa, little lady.
That’s not rope. It's Det-cord.”

Beck held up the
eight-foot piece of cord that was rolled up like a strand of rope, “I
know it looks like rope, but it’s actually C4 explosive rolled out.
You see, I take it and stick it to the outside of the door. Then, I
use a blasting cap with a fuse to set it off. It will blow that steel
door wide open.”

Cecilia was intrigued,
“I wanna light the fuse.”

He thought about for a
second and said, “You’ll have to ask the Master Chief. He’s the
one who likes to blow shit up.”

Cecilia didn’t
hesitate to hop out of the vehicle and ask Master Chief Sawyer.
Bunker watched the two through the windshield. Sawyer kept shaking
his head no, and it looked like he was giving her a hundred reasons
why she couldn't light it, with his palms turned up and his shaking
head. She moved back to a safe distance while Sawyer pushed the
Det-cord along the steel doorframe. Bunker felt a little sorry that
Cecilia couldn’t light the fuse. She watched carefully as Sawyer
pushed the cap and fuse into the cord. He searched his pockets and
came out with a lighter.

“Here we go.”
Bunker said preparing Kaden for the blast, but he was well aware, he
was staring out the windshield the whole time, “Looks like Cecilia
couldn’t convince Sawyer to let her…” he paused, “would you
look at that? I’ll be a son of a bitch. That little shit did it.”

Bunker watched as
Sawyer waved Cecilia over and handed her the lighter. It looked like
he was demonstrating how to do it. He held onto the back of her
shoulders and mouthed something Bunker couldn’t make out. She lit
the lighter and yelled, “Fire in the hole!” When Cecilia touched
the flame to the fuse, sparks started to fly. The two took off
running beyond the back of the Tahoe. Bunker suddenly wondered if he
was too close to the blast area, since they were now standing behind
his vehicle. As he went to duck in the driver's seat, the blast went
off. It wasn’t as big as he expected, but it was enough to blow the
ship door open. It now moved freely on its hinges.

Beck gave a few wraps
on Bunker’s window, startling him, “Spin this rig around and back
it right up to the door. We’ll grab some of the weapons and use it
to block the entrance.”

Bunker gave him a
thumbs up and started moving the vehicle. He backed up slowly until
he heard Daniels give the rear door a few wraps, “You’re good
right there, buddy.”

Bunker sat and watched
out the front, as everyone unloaded some gear. Daniels took an extra
M4 for Bunker and met him at the window, “Okay, let’s kill the
engine and put this buggy in neutral. We’ll roll it back against
the door and use a rope to secure it. If any of those dead walk by,
they won’t see the open door, just the vehicle.”

“Good plan.” Bunker
agreed, as he hopped out with Kaden.

With Daniels and Beck
pulling on the rope, the Tahoe moved easily. Master Chief had the
opposite end of the rope ready and looped some fancy looking knot
around one of the ships water pipes, “That should do it,” he
said. “Now let’s hit the cafeteria and get some food in our
bellies.”

It was dark out by the
time Kane and his brother pulled back into the hotel parking lot.
Kane’s brother turned off the engine and sat thinking for a few
minutes, without saying a word. He reached over and put his hand on
Kane’s cold arm, “My goodness, brother. You’ll catch your death
if we don’t get you inside and warmed up. How about a nice hot
bath? Let me get that door for you.”

Kane’s brother
reached across, pulled the latch, and gave the door a push. He
unfastened Kane’s safety harness and gently eased him out of the
vehicle. Kane’s body tumbled out of the truck, landing on his head.

Kane’s brother
chuckled, “Oh, it looks like you took quite a spill there, brother.
You’re such a klutz. Let me help you.”

He jumped out of the
MRAP ran around the back of the MRAP where he stopped dead, “How
curious, Kane. We appear to have half of a mountain man tied to the
back of our vehicle. I guess he didn’t fare too well against the
zombie attack, or did you leave him tied to the back of the truck?
Oh, you dirty dog. Kane, you’re crazy as ever, my fiendish friend.”

When he got to his
brother, he was still giggling over the mountain man. His laughing
heightened when he saw Kane.

“My goodness. You did
take quite the spill there, didn’t you? Is it me, or is your head a
bit crooked now?”

He reached under Kane’s
arms and sat him up, placing a hand on each side of his head, “Yes,
your head is crooked now, and it’s all soft and squishy. You’ll
have to be a little more careful brother, you’re not as young as
you use to be.

Let’s get you inside
and into a nice hot bath, shall we? You’re still covered in dirt
from being buried in that shallow grave. Don’t worry dear brother.
I will take good care of you.”

When he let go of Kane,
he fell back to the pavement striking his head a second time. The
hollow sound of his skull resembled that of a pumpkin being smashed
on Hell Night. Kane's brother latched onto Kane's ankle and dragged
the body to the hotel room bathtub feet first.

After stripping the
clothes off the corpse and drawing a warm bath, he spent the next
hour having an in depth conversation while he washed Kane from head
to toes. When the bath was over, Kane’s brother dressed him and
placed him in bed. The conversation continued until he imagined Kane
falling asleep. He sang his brother a lullaby, gave him a kiss on the
forehead, and turned out the light for him, “Good night, dear
brother. You’ll have your vengeance tomorrow. Sweet dreams.”

Kane’s brother
tiptoed out of the hotel room and returned to the manager’s office.
He peeked through the window and gave a few light taps on the glass.
He raised a welcoming hand as he walked in and said, “Hello,
Matilda.”

The dead office clerk,
Matilda, was still trapped behind the counter.

“Do you remember me?
I checked in a couple of hours ago with my brother Kane? I wanted to
come back sooner and speak with you, but we met a friend on the side
of the road, and well... we got tied up. I guess a better way to put
it is, he got tied up, but then he had to split. Anyway, I thought we
kind of had a connection and wondered if maybe you’d join me for a
cup of coffee?”

Matilda waved her dead
arms in the air, clawing at Kane’s brother. She moaned and charged
forward bouncing off the counter, craving his sweet living flesh. The
more she crashed against the counter, the more black ooze was forced
up from her lungs and out her mouth.

“You do remember me?
That’s wonderful, Matilda. I have a thousand stories I could tell
you.”

Kane’s brother
talked, told stories, and watched her beautiful blue swirling eyes
throughout the night. A connection was made between the dead woman
and the homicidal maniac. He talked and fell in love while she clawed
and moaned, trying to devour him.

Their time together was
over when the sun began to rise over the Green Mountains to the east.
A mournful feeling surged through his body, knowing their time was
ending. He stood up from his chair and took hold of one of Matilda’s
hands. She yanked and pulled, but he was too strong for her to pull
it away. He leaned in and kissed the back of her hand, “I shall
never forget this time we’ve spent together. I must leave now, to
fulfill an oath I swore to my brother, but when our quest is
complete, I promise you, I will return. Until we meet again, my lady.
I must bid you farewell and adieu.