The sound of rain pattering on the roof wakes me up. I roll over onto my back and stretch. Today is the day I'm going to go out and look for Eric. Yet feelings of uncertainty plague me. What if we don't find them? Then what? Do I assume they're alive and well?
The fact that they could be in another state by now somewhat relieves me, but there's also the possibility they could be dead or worse, inside a quarantine zone. If that's the case, then we'll never be reunited, and that's what hurts most. Knowing they're still alive but being held prisoner.
The other side of the bed creaks, and a huge lump causes the mattress to rattle. Kate is wrapped up in a blanket separate from the one I'm underneath. She must have spent the entire night because I wasn't aware she was here. The girl is practically silent when she sleeps. No snoring, no lip smacking. Nothing.
I ease out of the bed and walk over to the closet where the clothes are. The fabric is still cold, but it isn't wet anymore. I put the underwear on and slide into my blue jeans.
"Who would have guessed that the first thing I'd have the honor of seeing is your bare ass." Kate yawns.
"You should have kept your eyes shut then."
"I wish I would have."
The bed frame scratches the wooden floor as she sits up. I put the rest of the clothes on and cinch up my boots. A chilly, bitter feeling bites at the tips of my toes as my feet press into the cold socks. Kate puts her shoes back on and follows me out of the room. I rap my knuckles across Jamie's door and stand back.
The sound of approaching footsteps stop, and the door cracks open. Jamie peeks out and tries to determine what's going on. She runs her hand across the rumbled red hair and clears her eyes.
"What are you doing up this early?"
"Kate and I are going to go look for supplies. Do you need anything?"
"Some twelve-gauge shells would be nice. I only have seven in total." Jamie replies.
"Alright. We'll be back as soon as possible."
"Just make it back in one piece." She smiles.
The mattress' springs collapse under Jamie's weight as she falls onto the bed and covers her bare body up. I shut the door and let out a quiet sigh.
"What's wrong?" Kate asks.
"Do you think she'll be okay while we're gone?"
"Why are you asking?"
"I'm worried about her and Rebecca."
"They'll be fine. Jamie has a plan if something does happen."
Hearing that makes me feel a little better. Albeit, not much. Anything and everything can go wrong if a situation arises. Not to mention, Jamie also has a kid to protect if the house was to come under siege from contaminates, or worse, people.
Kate carefully opens the door to Rebecca's room and kneels down at her bedside. She picks up the little stuffed cat laying on the ground and puts it back in Rebecca's hands.
"Kate?"
"Morning sunshine."
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm going to help Matt find some of his friends."
"Are you coming back?"
"Of course."
"What about Matt?"
"Well, I may have to drag him back kicking and screaming." Kate teases.
"Whatever you say." I sigh.
Rebecca laughs as she holds the stuffed cat out, "Tell Doug goodbye."
"Goodbye Doug. Goodbye Rebecca. I'll see you in a little bit."
Kate leans over and kisses Rebecca on the top of her head. Rebecca holds the cat out in my direction like she's expecting me to say something.
"Goodbye Doug. Goodbye Rebecca." I state.
Rebecca giggles as Kate covers her back up with the blanket. Rebecca pulls the cat out from under the blanket and waves its paw to me. Almost like her, and the cat are waving goodbye. I return the gesture, and wave back. Rebecca smiles and disappears underneath the blanket.
Kate grabs the military rifle she found the other night and puts the spare magazine in her back pocket. As for me, I'll just stick with my revolver. The hunting rifle can stay here just in case Jamie needs something with a bit more kick. Kate checks to make sure her rifle and pistol are loaded as she follows me out the back door of the house.
Small droplets of water consistently fall and hit me with enough force to wet my hair. The sky is a light grey color, but a black band lingers off in the distance. Flashes of yellow light radiate within the massive storm cloud. This little shower is only the beginning of what's to come. Kate locks the house up and gets in the vehicle.
"Where are we headed?" I ask.
"Back to Coaltown. There's a big retail store that's in between Brookhaven and Coaltown. I'm positive your friends would have at least stopped by to look for supplies."
"Any gas stations along the way?"
"There's one right when you're leaving for Brookhaven. It's a little rest stop for truckers so we'll have access to both diesel and gas."
"Good, because we got a quarter tank of fuel left."
I shift up and ease the jeep into the woods. Kate keeps her rifle at the ready as we move in the direction we last seen the croakers. I swerve over the water-logged tracks the jeep made yesterday and alter the appearance of where they are heading. That way it will make it harder to tell what direction they are coming from. Up ahead stand a group of contaminates that haven't noticed us yet.
Some appear to be croakers. Which are probably the ones that were chasing us around yesterday. I bring the vehicle to a stop and check the surroundings to make sure it's okay. Kate pulls the charging handle on her rifle back halfway to make sure it's chambered.
The vehicle eases closer and closer towards the group. Something seems off though. Some wonder around like shamblers, but the ones with the glowing organs are crawling around on their hands and knees over the tire marks.
"What are they doing?" Kate asks.
"I don't know, and is it just me, or are there more today than there were yesterday?"
"Yeah, because I don't remember seeing any shamblers this far from the road."
One of the croakers buries his face into the tire tracks and licks the ground. His head shoots back up and his throat contracts. It's not auditable where we are, but he's croaking about something. The shamblers turn their heads towards the tracks and gather around.
I pull the hammer back on my revolver as Kate takes aim. The croaker stands up and walks in our direction. His body violently twitches in an unnatural way as he leads the group of contaminates towards us. They haven't noticed us yet, but it won't be long.
I shift up a gear and take off towards the group. The roar of the engine alerts the croakers and shamblers in front of us.
"What are you doing Matt!?" Kate yells at me.
"Something stupid!" I shout back.
No time to explain. I weave back and forth as the croakers leap at the vehicle and try to grab on. The moment they hit the ground, they're already back to their feet. The way the shamblers are stumbling towards us is going to make it impossible to avoid them.
"Seatbelt!" I yell as I click mine.
Kate sits back in her seat and buckles up. The entire front end of the vehicle bounces as a shambler disappears underneath. The jeep jerks left and right as the shambler catches all four tires on his way back.
"Come on lard ass, can't we go any faster!?"
"I'm trying Kate, but I don't want to park us up a fucking tree!"
Something slams into the back end of the jeep with enough force that it shatters the back glass. Kate braces her rifle up against the seat's head rest and fires two rounds. The weight on the back is lifted, and Kate returns her attention to the sides of the vehicle. A female croaker grabs the rear-view mirror on the driver's side and pounds her fist into the glass.
"Get the fuck off!" I yell as I press the barrel of my revolver into the croaker's mouth. The hammer slams forward and sends the round directly into the croaker's skull.
A shower of blood and bone explodes out the back of her head as she breaks the rearview mirror off and hits the ground. The jeep violently shakes as the tires roll over her legs. I look back and see that the thing is still alive. Despite the severe injuries, it rolls over onto its right side and crawls in our direction. The other croakers trample over her body and chase after us.
I veer off onto a gravel road and shift up another gear. The RPM gauge rapidly rises and forces me to shift again.
"They still following us?"
"Yeah, but they won't be able to catch us now."
"Good."
"Good!? How was that good!? You damn near got us killed!"
"Those bastards were tracking us Kate, and if I wouldn't have turned their attention back this way, Jamie and Rebecca would have been breakfast by the time we got back!" I yell back.
"What do you mean track!?"
"It's just a guess, but when that croaker was licking the ground, it could probably taste the residue from the droplets of fuel exhaust or oil dripping through a gasket."
"HOW!?"
"I don't know how Kate! It's just an observation! Maybe they got lucky and were heading in the same direction we did, or maybe we're underestimating these things!"
"They're contaminates Matt! There's no way something like that can happen!"
"It doesn't matter! They'll be heading back this way after that! Which means Jamie and Rebecca will actually be in one piece when we head back! So, I'd appreciate a 'thank you Matt' right about now!"
"Fuck you."
"Be that way then. Don't open your mouth unless you're telling me where to go." I reply as I pull up to the asphalt highway and turn left.
"Would you like directions to hell?"
"At this point, I'd rather be there than here with you." I snap back.
Kate turns her head and stares out of her window. That exchange really has me heated. Yeah, there was a chance we could have died, but we didn't. Luckily. Which means Jamie and Rebecca wouldn't be spread out all over the yard when we get back if my theory was actually true.
Normally in movies and video games, those that have been infected, or in our case, contaminated, they're portrayed as slow, lumbering oafs with nothing but sheer numbers as their only strength. Yet, this isn't a movie or a video game. If my theory happens to be correct about what was happening back there, that means croakers and similar contaminates can display a basic understanding of hunting.
A truly scary thought, but the more we pretend that it isn't possible, the more vulnerable we're making ourselves. How else could the military as well as regular survivors be losing? The military wouldn't be stealing from regular people, and regular people wouldn't be shooting back at the military if we were dealing with shamblers.
Kate holds up her finger and points at an upcoming sign, "Take this exit. The station will be on the right."
The ramp takes us up to a highway with some overhanging signs that mark which lane leads to what town. "Keep going towards Brookhaven, and try not to get us killed." Kate hisses.
Her constant stifling is really pissing me off, but I bite my tongue and press onward. All the debris and totaled vehicles have been swept off to the sides of the road. Which means the military still has control over this area. If that's the case, I'm grabbing the gas and hauling ass. I don't want to get into a firefight with them because Kate and I won't stand a chance.
A few shamblers stumble around here and there, but it's nothing too imposing. Up ahead is the gas station Kate was talking about. I shift down and cruise at a nice 45 miles per hour. Behind the station are multiple semi-trucks parked in the diesel lot. I shift down another gear and pull onto the road that leads up to the gas pumps.
The place has seen some use, which means we aren't the only ones that know about this place. I park at an empty pump and check the fuel gauge. Now it's at an eighth of a tank. Kate gets out of the vehicle and heads towards the entrance of the store.
I pull the key out of the ignition and put it in my pocket, "Where are you going?" Kate? KATE!"
She completely ignores me and heads through the entrance. Goddamnit. It's bad enough we're on the military's turf. Now Kate thinks she can walk off without telling me where she's going, or what she's doing. I check my surroundings and make sure it's clear.
There are some shamblers back around the semi-trucks, but there doesn't seem to be any signs of survivors. My guess is they come here, get their fuel and leave. Which is exactly what we'll be doing. I take my revolver out and replace the cartridge I spent earlier. Now I've only got three rounds left in reserve. There are the nickel-plated bullets, but that's strictly for a last resort.
I enter through the doors and keep my revolver ready. The cash registers sit in the middle of the store. Almost everything has been stripped clean. Food, medicine, the alcohol aisle. Of course, there wouldn't be any beer left over. Typical.
I walk over to the center desk and look for the switch to the pumps. In between the two registers is a lock box that's been dummy locked. I open it up and dig through the paper work from received shipments as well as upcoming shipments.
Well, upcoming before all this happened. There is a small coin pouch that's been carefully buried halfway between the paperwork. Whoever claims this station as their own certainly doesn't want anyone making off with their gas. Unfortunately, the ruse wasn't good enough to fool me. I pull out the pump key and stick it into the manual override. Alright, we're one step closer to getting out of here. I hit the switch for pump five and check around.
There's still no sign of Kate. I want to call out for her, but there's no telling where she is, or what is around. Son of a bitch. This was as easy as walking in and walking out, but no. Simple plans can never be simple.
I peek through the glass window on the door that leads to the very back of the station. There's nothing within my view. I keep my revolver ready and carefully ease into the room. Faded, crimson blots out huge parts of the floor and dried streaks of red stain the walls. The breakroom table has been turned over, and the chairs are scattered all over the place.
Bad thoughts force their way into my mind. Where the fuck is she? Surely, she wasn't stupid enough to wonder around back where the diesel pumps are. It's bad enough there were shamblers back there, but there could also be people staying in the sleeper cabs of those semi-trucks.
I open the back door and peek through the gap. Every truck cab looks empty, but there is still no sign of Kate. Worry causes my heart to swell up, and the ability to think clearly is being obstructed. Not knowing if she's okay is really stressing me out. I ease the door open the rest of the way and charge across the concrete pad.
A couple shamblers hear me, but because the sun isn't shining, they seem to be in a slowed state. I run behind a trailer and observe the surroundings. The shamblers stumble towards me from several directions. I press my foot into the metal frame of the trailer and climb up to the top.
A group of shamblers wonder to my last position and look around for me. I turn my attention to the front and carefully crawl across the soaking wet trailer. There is a flash of pink in the distance. Kate is searching a car that's resting in the ditch next to the station. At least she's okay.
I look back in the direction of the highway and see an armored vehicle patrolling the exit ramps and overpasses. Fear nearly drives me to yell for Kate to hide, but I keep myself calm and work my way down the front end of the truck. Kate is completely oblivious to what's coming our way. I jump down and break into a dead sprint towards her.
Kate leaps onto the hood and positions herself on the roof. She shoulders her rifle and takes aim towards me. I dive forward and take cover behind the car.
"Matt!? What the fuck are you doing? You almost got yourself shot!"
I grab Kate by her ankle and make a motion for her to get down. The military vehicle races across a bridge and turns onto the road that will bring them here. This must be the place they've been coming to for fuel.
"What's your problem Matt!?"
"Look!" I point.
Kate realizes what's going on. She jumps down and posts up on the front axle. I keep an eye on the back and make sure we've got our angles covered. The sound of a massive engine rumbles off in the distance. The vehicle rolls into the station and parks over by the gas pumps.
Five people in hazmat suits hop out and take up some kind of formation around the armored vehicle. The vehicle slowly drives forward as the men help escort it to the rear where the diesel is. The moment everyone disappears around the building, I take off running towards the jeep. It's safe to assume we've already overstayed our welcome.
I yank the nozzle out of the pump and shove it into the gas tank. Kate gets into the vehicle and takes aim at the front of the station. A series of muffled gunshots wrap around the sides of the station. They must be fighting with the shamblers around back.
I press up against the back of the jeep and keep an eye on the road. Shamblers are flinging themselves over the concrete barriers and are following the sounds of the gunshots. To my left is a croaker with a glowing head that is sprinting full speed towards the diesel pumps. There is a loud pop, and the croaker hits the ground. The thing spasms around as a cloud of yellowcake spews out of the entry and exit wounds of its head.
The shamblers immediately lock onto the yellowcake and head directly towards the cloud. A deep, throaty sounding bellow erupts from the overpass in the distance. Several more screeches rip through the atmosphere. It sounds almost like a group of women screaming in agony.
I ease over to the nozzle and check how much fuel we have. The electric counter rockets over seventeen and continues to climb, but there's only about four gallons that's been dispensed. There is another screeching cry, and the raging sound of a woman being strangled follows.
A croaker jumps down from the overpass and patiently crosses the road. It's now in the lot with us. Behind him are some more croakers that are sprinting to catch up. The croakers spread out and duck down within the groups of shamblers approaching the yellowcake. Rounds from all sorts of weapons rip through the shamblers as the croakers use them as shields to get closer.
My blood runs cold as a croaker sprints out from behind a group and lunges forward. The sound of a man screaming so loud through his mask fills my head with all kinds of horrible imagery. Despite being unable to see what's happening.
Another croaker shoves his shambler shield out of the way and disappears behind the station. A constant barrage of gunfire, men shouting obscenities, and the croakers howling chills every bone in my body to the point that it's almost impossible to walk without trembling.
"Fuck it! We're full!"
I yank the gas nozzle out and jump in the jeep. The tires squeal as rubber skids across the concrete pad and throws up a thick cloud of black smoke. I put it in reverse and plow over a shambler approaching us. The glass on the passenger door scatters all over the floorboard as a croaker reaches in and grabs Kate by her arm.
"Get off!" Kate screams as she struggles to break free. The croaker snaps his mouth as its bloody teeth come inches from biting her.
"Let her go asshole!" I press my revolver into the croaker's forehead and fire. The croaker falls back as I shift up and turn out onto the main road.
"You okay!?"
"Yeah…The fucker scared me more than anything." Kate replies as she checks her body for any injuries.
"Good."
Kate leans back in her seat and attempts to get her breathing under control. I look over my shoulder and watch for any signs of life. The only thing that's visible are the croakers chasing us, and the horde of shamblers surrounding the gas station. If we would have stayed any longer, Kate and I would be shambler scrapes.
Guilt and frustration erode my heart as I think about what just happened. Was there something I could have done for those men back there? The memory of the two soldiers from that one night come to mind. I was able to do something for them, why couldn't I do anything for those men back there?
No. They would have killed us if we got caught. It's okay. There's nothing to feel guilty about. I look out Kate's busted window to hide the fact I'm checking on her. Both of her arms are crossed, and she's staring out in the distance. A hopeful feeling fills my soul as I take a deep breath and faintly smile.
"What are you looking at?" Kate snaps.
"I was just making sure you…"
"Shut up and drive." She cuts me off.
Kate is still angry about earlier, and as mad as she made me, I'm grateful that I was able to save her before she got bit…