The group was woken up the next norning by the sound of a horn blarring all through the building. Kaylee rushed to her window and looked down at the bright yellow school bus parked outside. Coach gave her a wave from the driver's seat and she waved back with a large grin spread across her cheeks. Alan hopped out of the back and jogged up the front steps into the building.
"What did you two do?" Nick asked as he walked outside.
"Me and Alan got up early and walked all the way to the little school up the hill. This town only has one bus and it's ours now!" Coach laughed.
"We have enough gas to get to Texas, I think." Alan smiled, proud of himself.
"I've never been so happy to see a bus in my whole life." Rochelle smirked, folding her arms.
"Don't just stand around, people." Coach called as he got out. "Let's load this up and get the hell away from here."
Ellis, Nick, and Zack went into the kitchen to begin the task of boxing up all the food that was left in the pantry. Rochelle carried out the jugs of filtered water and put them in the back of the bus while Morgan and Kaylee went upstairs to gather up pillows, blankets, and toilet paper. Alan and Coach walked over to a nearby hardware store. The bus was just what they needed, but it had to be more durable. The two of them gathered up some power tools, rolls of chicken wire, nails, sheets of thin metal, and four hard hats.
"Ellis, I've got work for you." Coach said, tossing the young man a drill.
"Whatcha need, Coach?" He smiled.
Alan took off Ellis' hat and replaced it with a bright yellow hard hat. "You said you were a mechanic, right?"
"Yeah."
"We need to make that bus a portable safehouse." Coach pointed.
"Shoot, here I thought you'd be askin' for something hard. C'mon, Zack!"
Zack joined him outside and put on a hardhat as well before picking up the tools Coach brought. Ellis quickly scribbled out a design plan on a sheet of lined paper with a black marker and the two of them got to work. Zack stood on a wooden crate and drilled chicken wire over the outside of the windows, not being trusted with fire. Ellis put on a welding mask and took on the task of making a makeshift plow on the front of the bus. It wasn't exactly pretty to look at, but it was big, sharp, and not something you'd want to meet the business end of. It was secured with a mixture of drilling and welding. A tank might be able to tear it off but hopefully there wouldn't be any crossing the roads any time soon. Once Zack finished applying a chicken wire barrier over the inside of the windshield (So the wipers would still function), the task was finally done. Judging by the position of the sun, it was some time around noon and they were finally ready to head out.
Alan sat in the seat behind Coach with their road map stretched out in his lap. He had taken a highlighter and traced the road they were on all the way to a small town in Texas called Fridge. It had been a unanimous decision among the group to stay strictly in small towns. If nobody had heard of it before, that was where they went.
Morgan was sitting with Nick at the moment, the two of them locked in on a game of Old Maid. Nick looked her right in the eye's trying to find her tell. There had to be something...a twitch, a nervous glance. She had the old maid and they were down to three cards, two in her hand and one in his.
"Going to pick any time soon?" She smirked.
"Don't rush me."
"Nick, just pick." She laughed.
"Just picking is how people lose this game. Like, Ellis for instance." Nick explained.
"I just had fun playing." Ellis shurgged, leaning over his seat to watch them.
"I know what your scheme is." Nick smiled. "You put the Old Maid on my right-hand side because you knew that if I picked randomly, I'd be more likely to pick the side of my dominant hand. But I am a con-man, Morgs, and I am not that foolish. So because I know that the Old Maid is on the right, I'm going to pick the left." He said confidently, drawing the left card. "Fuck."
"Something wrong?" Morgan laughed.
"Just pick." He replied, shuffling his two cards.
Morgan reached forward and took the card on her left. She laid down her final pair and left Nick with the Old maid. "I win again."
"Best eight out of nine." He replied bitterly, shuffling the cards.
"Oh, I love this song." Rochelle smiled, listening to Kaylee's Zune with her while they each took one ear bud to listen with.
"Me too. I am a sucker for love songs."
Ellis got up from his seat and moved over across from Zack. "Hey, man."
"Yo."
"You look bored."
Zack laughed, "Yeah, I've never been one for road trips."
"I know what you mean."
There was silence between them. Coach continued to drive at a steady pace of about fifty-five miles per hour. They drove past an old grave yard with a large wraught-iron fence.
"My buddy Keith lived in a graveyard once for a whole year." Ellis smiled as it faded behind them.
"Was it a dare?" Zack asked.
"Naw, he just got kicked out of his house. He said he never saw a ghost or nothing except for this one time when a ghost came up and stabbed him from behind and took all his money. He said it might of just been a homeless guy though because he was wearing a robe with two eyes cut out his face."
"He got kicked out of his for a whole year? If you were such good friends, why didn't you let him stay with you?" Zack asked.
"I offered once but he said he was having too much fun." Ellis shrugged. "He is such a crazy dude."
"Getting shanked by homeless men in robes...sounds like a hoot to me."
As night crept over the bus, they made a short stop to stretch their legs and relieve their bladders. After everyone had piled back inside, Nick took over driving so Coach could get some sleep. Morgan moved up to the front seat next to the door, eyes always watching outside for any signs of trouble. Alan was asleep in his own chair, as well as Rochelle and Kaylee. Both girls leaned against each other as they slept. Morgan didn't know if Ellis and Zack were awake back there, but the silence told her they must be.
"You okay?" Nick asked, glancing at her briefly.
"Yeah, I'm okay. I just have a bad feeling and I can't seem to shake it."
"What kind of bad feeling?"
"It's hard to explain." She replied, pushing up her window. "Like whatever it is we're driving toward isn't good."
"Do you think we should take the freeway?"
"Oh no, it would be better to stick to this route. I like not seeing infected hanging around and I want to keep it that way."
"I couldn't agree with you more." He smiled.
The hours crept by slowly on the endless road. If you watched the trees too long in the darkness, they had a way of hypnotizing you and making you sick. Watching the lines in the center of the road flick by wasn't much better, and Morgan finally settled on watching the stars. They never seemed to move up there in their world of dark silence. Coach would wake up in a few hours to switch off again, nobody comfortable with the idea of parking on the road for the night. Morgan would try and rest when Nick did, if the endless gentle vibrations of the bus didn't lull her to sleep first. She made the mistake of closing her eyes for a moment and was quickly overcome with sleep.
Ahead of me lies an endless hallway, filled with horrible bright lights. No matter how hard I squint, the pain in my eyes does not subside from the endless barrage of invasive light. Against my better judgement, I move forward down the hall that seems to stretch on for miles. I look down at my arms and see they are not as they were before. The skin is so pale I could lay in the snow and not be seen. My finger nails have faded down to a pale blue color and my palms feel clamy and wet. I keep my head down as I slowly move forward, eyeballs burning with pain.
Morgan snapped awake, whole body jerking up stiffly. She looked around and saw Alan still sound asleep in the next seat, Nick still driving with a bored look on his face. She eased back in her own seat and looked out of the window. It didn't seem like any time had passed at all though surely it must have.
The bus stopped again sometime later as Coach and Nick swapped places. It had been a very long night for those who were awake for it. Morgan laid down and curled up into the fetal position.
When Morgan awoke again it was because the harsh sun was beating against her eyelids. She sat up and looked out the window to see that the trees had thinned out almost entirely. The world around them was browner now and had more levels than the flat swampy terrain they'd left behind. It was hard to say exactly where they were just yet.
"Hey there, sleepy head." Ellis smiled, peeking around the seat.
She laughed and pulled on her hat. "I feel like I've been sleeping all day."
"Not that long." He shrugged. "Kaylee says it's only one."
"What did I miss?" She asked.
"We crossed into Texas but that's about it. Stopped to fuel up once and shot a couple infected. No more n' a handful."
"I slept through gun fire?" Morgan asked, a little surprised.
"You were tired." He laughed.
"I think I see trouble up ahead." Coach announced, slowing the bus down to about thirty.
There was a blinking sign announcing a mandatory stop ahead. They all recognized the sign. It was placed there by CEDA and as they all moved forward to look, they could see the little blue tents set up with workers moving around in haz-mat suits.
"We aren't stopping." Morgan said firmly.
Coach nodded and pressed down on the gas pedal. Whatever CEDA had been expecting on this road, it certainly wasn't an armored school bus rigged up like a bulldozer. Coach blasted through their barracade like it was a freshman defensive line. Workers scattered in chaos and even fired at the bus.
Everyone moved to the front of the bus in fear as Coach laid rubber between them and CEDA. When an armored white van roared up behind them, they knew trouble was hot on their heels.
"Defense!" Morgan barked, grabbing her shot gun and moving to the back of the bus. Ellis joined her with his hunting rifle and Zack followed as well with a pipe-bomb in hand. Morgan un-latched the back door and it swung open. She and Ellis opened fire. He aimed for the driver's side wind-shield while she did her best to try and take out the tires. But that van had been built to take a hit. After ten rounds, Morgan bent down against the back wall to reload as bullets bounced off the back of the bus from the oncoming van.
"Get back." Zack ordered, activating the pipe bomb and hurling it at the van. It rolled under and exploded, making the vehicle spin for a moment. They gained ground for a few brief seconds but once the driver behind the wheel regained control, it was right back on their ass. Morgan stood again and continued to fire with Ellis, both of them now aiming hopelessly at the bullet-proof windshield.
A masked worker leaned out of the passenger side of the van and fired at the bus, catching Morgan in the neck with a small silver dart. Her eyes rolled back in her head and before Ellis could catch her, she fell forward. The van sped up and turned abruptly as the side door slide open and she tumbled right in.
"Morgan!" Ellis screamed, leaping off toward her.
Zack grabbed on to the back of his shirt and shoulder, yanking him up just as the door to the van slid closed with Morgan inside. Ellis' boots skidded briefly on the asphalt as Zack hauled him up.
"What's happening?" Coach yelled.
"They got Morgan!" Zack yelled back.
"Close the damn door!" Nick braked, shoving his way to the back as the bus rocked at the high speed. Zack obeyed and swung the door shut as Ellis once more slammed himself against it. Kaylee ran after Nick, trying to shove past him. "Morgan! Morgan! No!"
The van slowed down to a hault as Coach continued to speed away.
"We have to go back!" Ellis yelled, trying to get to the front as Zack held onto his arms. "Coach, we have to go back and save her!"
"Don't be stupid, Ellis." Nick spoke harshly. "If we turn around we face an entire camp of heavily armed CEDA workers. We weren't supposed to make it past them, but we did because of her sacri-"
"Don't you say it!" Ellis growled harshly, tears in his eyes. "Don't you call her a sacrifice! She helped us in the woods and at the carnival! She risked her life once to save all of us and I won't let her death be the reason we live! We all live, damn it! Nobody gets left behind!"
Kaylee beat on the back of Nick's jacket with her fists. "Let me past! There is still time! We can go back!"
Nick turned around and grabbed her by the wrists and forced her down into the seat. "Don't let your emotions get you killed!" He turned back to Ellis who was still fuming in Zack's weakening grasp. "Both of you! Do you think Morgan would want this? To die for nothing? We go on as planned! We follow her orders because that is what she would've wanted!"
Zack let go and Ellis dropped to his knees, no more fight left in him. The brim of his hat sheilded his eyes but the tears rolling down his cheeks were unmistakable. "It should've been me..." He spoke quietly. "I should've grabbed her."
Rochelle cupped her hands over her mouth in horror, not wanting to believe that CEDA had so easily torn one of them away in a matter of seconds. "No no no..."
Alan just sat quietly, hands gripping his medical pack tightly. She can't be gone. Not that easy. CEDA...
"Everyone just sit down." Coach demanded firmly, hands locked on the steering wheel. "Zack, keep an eye behind us and tell me if you see that damn van coming back."
"Yeah, Coach." Zack replied. He took a seat and watched out the back wndow, white van already gone from sight.
"Ellis, c'mon. Get up." Nick spoke, reaching an arm down.
"Don't touch me." Ellis answered darkly. "You're a cold-hearted monster. Don't fucking touch me."
Kaylee pulled her knees up against her chest and began to cry. Morgan had been there for her for over four years, her best friend. She couldn't accept that she was gone. No, too many people had been torn away from her too soon already.
Nick looked at them both and gave up, moving to a seat by himself in the middle. He rested his elbows on his knees and rubbed the sides of his head with his fingers. This whole day had gone to hell in the worst way. But he refused to lose anyone else.
Morgan's head had a heartbeat all its own when she woke up only minutes later. Her hand instinctivly moved to the spot on her neck where it felt like a wasp had stung her, but she felt no dart. Suddenly, two hands were on her and she screamed. The unknown person forced her to the floor of the van and jerked her hands together, slapping on a pair of handcuffs.
"Are you immune?" The male voice asked.
"Yes." She choked, cheek sore from where it was pressed against the floor.
"She says she is immune." The voice spoke.
"Proceed as planned. Test sample C." Another voice, this time female, replied over what sounded like a speaker built into the wall of the van.
"Affirmitive." The man answered. He grabbed her by the neck and pulled her up into a sitting position. "Hold still."
Before she could ask questions, a needle was thrust into her arm. He had injected her with something. She yelled out again and he drew out the needle. He moved away, possibly toward the speaker. "Sample C injected."
"Wait for signs and reply to me then." She spoke firmly.
The van which had been dark before suddenly filled with harsh white light. She saw him now. He wasn't wearing a haz-mat suit like the others they had seen by the road. Instead he wore an all white outfit that she quickly realized was nothing more than a long white lab coat over white pants and a white shirt. Her whole body was shaking as she held his gaze with her own.
"Just hold still. It will only take a moment more if it works." He said, mouth covered up by a white doctor's mask like those she had seen in her old dentist's office. His eyes were cold and mean.
She felt the change coming that he must've been talking about. Her eyes began to feel sore as the light seemed to grow brighter around her. She squinted for a few seconds before closing her eyes all together in attempt to get the light out of her eyes.
His shoes echoed on the metal floor as he turned around to call the woman again. He pressed a button but there was only silence. The woman must have stepped away for a moment. Morgan worked her wrist from side to side in the cuffs, feeling her small wrist begin to slip free. As she folded her hand together, the left cuff fell off entirely.
Before he could press the button a second time, she wrapped the small chain of the cuffs around his neck and pulled tight with both ends until he went limp and fell to the floor. She opened her eyes again, tolerating the pain of the brightness as she felt his neck for a pulse. No pulse came.
The van slowled to a stop and she heard doors open outside as the two men in front got out. She crawled on her hands and knees into the corner as they approached. When they slid back the heavy door and looked inside, she took her chance and jumped at them, empty syringe in her hand. The first one she stabbed repeatidly in his exposed neck as he fell to the ground with her on top of him.
"Shit!" The other screamed, turning and running back toward the open passenger side door. Morgan jerked up her head and saw him with her sore eyes and pushed with all her might with her back legs, finding it very easy to spring on them now like a pouncing lion. He slammed against the door and she grabbed him by the back of his hair, beating his head into the ground until he stopped jerking beneath her.
She pulled herself up into the van from the open door and closed it behind her quietly. Morgan popped open the glove compartment and found a pair of sunglasses. She sighed in relief and slipped them on over eyes. With the pain subsiding, she continued to hunt around. The documents she removed were not the registration she had been expecting to find.
Test Sample C (Hunter Virus)
As she read through the thick folder of papers, she found out more than she wanted to know. Apparently, she had been injected with an experimental strain of the Hunter virus, one that they were trying to infect immune people with. Her hands began to shake so violently that she could no longer read the paper. She set the folder down on the seat next to her and looked through the glove box again. Taking out a pack of cigarettes, she lit one and sucked on it for a moment, coughing harshly for the first few drags. Eventually her shaking had mostly subsided and she left the cig hanging in her lips as she picked up the folder again.
The people who took her had been stopping everyone that passed and testing the new strain on them. All their notes pointed to the effects of it only being temporary with some people only suffering from a mild condition for about twenty minutes before signs of it were gone entirely.
She flipped a few pages. When those given the disease were blood tested several days later, they gave back negative results of having the disease at all. This put Morgan's heart at ease for the moment though it was hard to ignore the dull burning in her eyes.
After closing the glove box, she stuffed the cigarettes into her pocket along with a lighter and slid the thick folder under her arm. She left the van and began to walk in the direction she hopped the others had continued on, flicking an ash before continuing to drag on the smoke. The thought had never occured to her to drive the van after them but it was probably for the best that she didn't.
Morgan had no weapons, no food, and no hope for survival on her own in the increasingly more unbearable Texas heat. But she had her hat and her new sunglasses shielding her eyes from the sun and at the moment, that was all she cared about.