The Beginning of the End (Book2): Road to Damnation (6 page)

Target was just beyond
the food court, and still out of our sight. On any normal day it
would only take two or three minutes to walk there. But I wasn’t
about to take any chances enjoying a Sunday stroll down the middle
off the mall. Luther and I stayed low using the numerous alcoves and
planters for cover. More than halfway to Target things were going
well. I turned back to Luther, “I think we’re going to get lucky.
It seems quiet.” I stepped out from the alcove and was staring at
the back of a zombie. Of course, I had to say the Q word.

The zombie had no idea
I was behind him. He was too fixated on the lock to the frozen yogurt
shop. Holding a set of keys in his hand, he kept slamming them
against the locking mechanism. Judging from the white button shirt
and black striped law enforcement pants, it was safe to assume he was
mall security before he died.

I didn’t want to take
a chance he’d hear us and attack when we didn’t expect it. So my
only other choice was to end his misery. I reached behind my head and
pulled one of the Ronin swords from its sheath. I went slow making
sure the metal rubbing against the sheath was silent.

In my best baseball
stance, I pulled back cocking my arms, and swung the blade. With a
single swipe, I had taken off everything above the zombie’s ears.
For a brief second, I didn’t think it worked. The creature just
stood there. I drew my sword back a second time, and before I could
swing he collapsed.

“What the hell was
that about, Luther.”

Luther shrugged his
shoulders, “I don’t know. I thought maybe he forgot to die or
something.”

We didn’t have time
to discuss it now, we had to get our supplies, and we only had
thirteen minutes left.

“Screw it, Luther.
We’re running out of time. Let’s just go for it.”

I sheathed my sword,
lifted my M4, and took off running; Luther’s footsteps let me know
he followed close behind.

Thirty seconds later,
we were standing in front of Target. I couldn’t believe it. No
metal gate, no glass doors, and no closed signs. The place was wide
open. Go figure. There’s nothing better than being stuck in the
middle of a zombie apocalypse, and somebody forgot to lock the door.

I positioned myself
against the cinderblock wall beyond the entrance, and sized up the
interior while Luther caught his breath, “Luther do you know your
way around this place?”

“Yeah, pretty much,”
he said looking over my shoulder into the store.

“You grab a few
shopping carts and fill them with blankets, jackets, and warm
clothes. Remember bigger is better. I’m going to fill up as many
carts as I can with food. After you fill a couple carts, park them by
the doors leading to the parking lot,” I said pointing to the wall
of sliding glass doors. “Cowboy should be there in about eleven
minutes.”

I grabbed two carts
from the cart bay and headed in the direction of the food isle as
fast as I could. My jog turned into a walk as I neared the food
aisles. The deeper I got in the store, the stronger the smell of
rotting flesh. I needed to be on high alert.

My M4 was slung from
earlier when I grabbed the carts, so I pulled one of my swords out
and laid it across the top of the shopping cart for faster access.
The food aisle was a few feet away, and the smell of festering flesh
became overpowering.

I turned the final
corner into the aisle and was standing face to face with the smell.
The rotting meat didn’t attack because it was in the form of
spoiled steaks and decaying burgers resting in the warm incubating
coolers. I covered my nose and stared at the open refrigerated cases
full of maggot-infested beef.

This was turning out to
be my lucky day. First, I found my mom. Then after being caught by
Kane, I escaped the clutches of death, and now the zombie filled
world was zombie-less, at least for the time being. I couldn’t help
but smile, even if the smell was turning my stomach.

This meat aisle was a
waste of my time, I would not be foraging any maggot-infested
abominations.

I moved over a few
aisles and stuffed my carts full with non-perishables. I took
everything from cereal and chocolate bars to instant potatoes and
beans. In less than five minutes I had filled six carts. I realized
using my arms to scoop the food forward and let it fall into the cart
was the most efficient way of loading.

Now the problem was
getting the carts to the exit. What I didn’t realize was how heavy
a cart full of more than two hundred cans of beans, soup, and
vegetables was. I could only take two carts at a time, and that was a
struggle with the weight. I’d have to make a few trips. It took
about three minutes to get two carts to the exit, and another minute
to get back to the loaded carts. If my math was right, I was going to
be a little late. Not a problem, I’d have Cowboy load the food into
the jeep while I got the last two carts.

On the second trip, I
saw Cowboy pulling up. He was right on time. It took me by surprise
when he put the jeep in reverse and jumped the curb backwards coming
to a sliding stop. It’s not every day you see a vehicle come so
close to driving through the glass door of Target.

I went outside and
opened the jeep hatchback, amazed by the amount of ammo. The cargo
area of the jeep was lined with green ammo boxes each one labeled in
yellow stencil with the corresponding caliber. The backseat had some
rifles, but not as many as I had expected. There were a few hunting
rifles and a shotgun.

“Great job with the
ammo, but where are all the guns?”

“Sorry, hoss. Those
things were locked up tighter than a cucumber in a woman’s prison.”

I didn’t have time to
laugh. Well, maybe I did a little. “Here comes Luther,” I said
hearing a squeaky cart racing up from behind me, “you guys load the
supplies up, I’m gonna head back and grab the last two carts of
food.”

“I don’t think
there’s gonna be enough room, hoss.”

“Pack it in as tight
as you can. If it doesn’t fit, then I guess Luther will have to
ride on the roof.”

I left Luther and
Cowboy to load up the carts. We needed to get out of here before our
luck ran out. I turned the corner and the last two carts were in
sight just as I had left them.

I reached for the first
cart when I felt something twisting the top of my ear.

“Ouch!” I screamed.

Whatever had my ear,
pulled so hard it spun me around, taking my feet out from under me,
putting me on my ass. I landed hard enough to roll backwards slamming
my head off the second cart.

“Double ouch!”

My luck had run out.
Above me, a dead woman was toppling onto me. I reached for my Glock,
but I couldn’t get it out of the holster fast enough. I raised my
arm up, trying to protect my face, but she still tried to take a bite
out of my wrist. Using my other arm, I latched onto her neck and
tried pushing her mouth away. She was relentless, she kept coming
toward me, and I was having a tough time holding her off. If I got
out of this I’d have to start doing some push-ups. Pushing zombies
off my body was becoming a habit.

I screamed for help and
prayed the boys weren’t too far away to hear me because this zombie
girl was kicking my ass. No matter what I tried I couldn’t get a
free hand to grab my weapon.

Less than a minute
passed and my arms were already giving out. I screamed as loud as I
could, but no one came. Beads of sweat were rolling off my forehead,
stinging my eyes. The hypnotic blue swirling eyes took away the fear
and gave me a sense of peace. I looked deep into her beautiful eyes
as she neared for the bite. I had nothing left and felt my weakened
body giving up the fight. Her nose pushed against my chin and her
vile breath nauseated me. It wouldn’t be long now. I waited for the
pain of the bite, but instead, I felt the weight of her body
disappear. Cowboy picked the attacking zombie up and threw her a few
feet down the aisle. He stood looking bewildered and asked, “Are
you going to lie there all day, or are you going to get up and give
me a hand?”

The zombie was back on
her feet now and charging toward us. I yanked the SOG tomahawk out of
my belt loop and tossed it up to Cowboy, “I forgot to give this
back to you,” I said as it flew through the air.

In one swift motion,
Cowboy caught the tomahawk and swung it, striking her on the bridge
of her nose. She fell dead between us with the tomahawk protruding
from her face.

Cowboy bent over and
yanked the SOG out of the zombie’s face, black ooze dripped from
the cutting edge, “Thanks, hoss. I forgot I had given that to you.
Are you okay? That looked too close for comfort. Did she bite you?”

I ran my hands across
my chin, shoulder, and chest, “I think I’m okay. I don’t feel
anything,” I lifted my head, “do you see anything on my neck?”
Cowboy did a quick once over, “Nope, it looks like she didn’t
even leave a scratch, you lucky son of a bitch.”

Cowboy was right; I was
lucky. How many times could a person almost die in one day? I wasn’t
sure the answer, but I was damn sure I would not let it happen again.
It was time to get out of Plattsburgh.

Cowboy grabbed the last
cart and took off running, “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Destiny and Bunker
prepared to head off in search of the national guardswoman’s weapon
while Daniels gave the plan to his partner.

“Coop, you’re on
guard. You watch Kaden and Cecilia while we go find the guns. If
we’re not back in a few hours, it’s safe for you to assume, we’re
dead, and you guys are on your own.”

Cecilia pulled a ribbon
from her hair and gave it to Daniels, “It’s for good luck,” she
said.

Daniels admired the
pink ribbon for a second and placed it in his shirt pocket, “Thank
you, Cecilia. We’re gonna need all the luck we can get.”

“You know you don’t
have to call me Cecilia all the time, you can call me Ceci. It’s
pronounced, See-See. It’s what the rest of my family calls me.”

Daniels smiled and
looked back at Coop, “Okay, you keep an eye on Kaden and Ceci,”
he said, giving her a wink, “we’ll be back in as soon as
possible.”

“You can count on me,
Corp.”

Daniels moved over to
the door and peered through the fist hole, “Okay, it looks clear.
Cooper you get the desk back on this door as soon as we leave. Which
way are we going, Destiny?”

“Move over and let me
take a look there, baby,” Destiny said as she pushed Daniels aside.

“We need to hang a
right and head toward Mr. Sutherland’s office. While we’re there,
I’ll grab my purse.”

Bunker squinted his
eyes at the hooker, “Listen, Destiny. I’m not risking my life so
you can grab your make-up bag.”

“Oh, honey. Don’t
be such a drag. It’s on the way, and besides I cried all my mascara
off. I must look like one of them uptown girls on coke.”

“We’re going to get
weapons. We are not stopping for a purse.” Daniels reiterated.

“Someone didn’t get
their morning coffee,” Destiny remarked, “well Mr. Grouchy,
you’re gonna want to take a right, and then a quick left.”

Daniels peered out
through the hole in the door. When he was sure it was clear, he
opened it making another quick scan of the hallway.

They traveled down the
long corridor, making the right and then a left per Destiny’s
instructions. It brought them to the end of a long hall that came to
a T.

“Right or left up
here, Destiny?” Daniels asked.

“Destiny? What the
hell,” Daniels said spinning around looking behind him, “she’s
gone. Where the hell did she go, Bunker?”

Bunker spun around in a
circle looking, “I don’t know, she was back there a second ago.”

“Bunker, head back.
We’ve got to find her. One of those things might have taken her.
You check the doors on the right, and I’ll check the left.”

Before they got to the
first door, Destiny stepped out of an office, halfway down the hall.
She was applying bright red lipstick and had her purse in hand. She
stopped walking when she realized both men were staring at her with
their mouths wide open.

“Come on, boys. I
know I look good but y’all look like you’re trying to catch
flies.”

Daniels charged at her,
“I thought I said no purse?”

Destiny was not even
the least bit intimidated by Daniels’s action. She placed the cap
on the lipstick and pulled out her mascara, “I know you did, honey
but I said I needed it, and Sugar, no man tells me what to do. So
back up, unless you’re pulling your wallet out because I don’t
need you all up on me like that.”

Daniels stepped back
and took a deep breath, “Maybe, if it’s not too much trouble,
ma’am, could you please tell us which way to go next.”

“Honey, you know I
can. That’s why I’m here. The Northwest Passage stairs are left
and at the end of the hall. You can’t miss ‘em. Would you like me
to lead the way?”

Daniels gave her a
defeated look, “No, Destiny. I’d just like you to stay in between
Bunker and me so we don’t lose you again. Can you please do that
for us?”

“For you, Corporal,
anything.”

A large heavy wooden
fire door was the only thing standing between them and the Northwest
Passage stairs. Daniels pulled it open and smelled death coming from
beyond.

“Let’s take this
slow and easy. We don’t know what to expect, and for God’s sake,
let’s try to be quiet. Destiny that means you.”

She sneered at the
remark.

Daniels led the way,
down the first flight of stairs as they traveled in silence. Around
the next landing, the dead female soldier lay halfway down the
stairs. Her body was twisted and contorted as though it tumbled down
the flight of stairs. The fall caused her slung M4 strap to tangle
around her arm and neck. There was a small hole in the center of her
forehead with a single trickle of dried black blood that came from
the void.