The Dead Years (Volume 9) Read online

  The Dead Years

  Volume 9

  Jeff Olah

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2014 by Jeff Olah

  All Rights Reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, locations and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, events or locales is merely coincidental and not intended by the author.

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  Contents

  Contents

  Copyright

  Contents

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  What’s Next?

  1

  California Coastline… The Morning of the Infection.

  Twice the rain had begun to fall, if only to be halted by the ever so delicate slivers of sunlight as the new day forced its way into the world. She knew she needed to pry herself away from the television and wake him, as another tardy would land them both in the counselor’s office and the school year wasn’t yet half over. With this being his senior year and college on the horizon, she didn’t want her younger brother to have any excuses for not getting into the university of his choice and despised the thought of him using this as an excuse. Nearly seven thousand miles and an entire ocean away, the images from Southeast China pulled her from the burdens of the day.

  “What is this?” she said.

  Mass chaos filled the illuminated screen as street vendors were attacked by their customers and the outdoor market drifted into a fierce war zone as the Chinese military arrived. News reporters filed in behind the heavily armed men and captured the initial moments of the massacre. Those attacked by the carnivorous humans were caught off guard and made easy targets. Within minutes, those bitten also began to rise and became the second wave of infected that easily toppled the soldiers now running desperately low on ammunition. Originally appearing as a mass uprising of everyday citizens versus heavily armed opponents, the scene took on an entirely different perspective as the reporter and cameraperson were overrun. The footage was aired worldwide… and uncut.

  Three remarkably normal looking men quickly moved atop one of their victims and actually began tearing the flesh from her face and neck, devouring each handful they came away with. As the camera continued to capture the images, the bloodcurdling screams and cries for help tapered off before the station cut the feed. Moments later, the channel transitioned to a fixed image of the station call letters and finally to a grey static backdrop.

  Megan turned from the television and tried to shake the desperate feeling of helplessness from her core. She hated that she was left to be the sole protector and caregiver to her much younger, albeit extremely intelligent, brother. Living alone with him here in this six bedroom beach house was overwhelming. She never asked to be left with this house and its immense size had now become a burden. The tug of loneliness pushed her toward his bedroom. He was awake; at least he was a few minutes earlier and they needed to get moving regardless of how uneasy her choice of early morning programming made her.

  Moving between the shards of sunlight that transitioned through the evenly spaced windows that lined the hall facing the front courtyard, Megan announced her approach. “Hey, are you up yet? We need to be out the door in less than twenty minutes.”

  No response.

  She reached the door, pushed it open and leaned against the frame. “What are you doing? Take the headphones off and…”

  “Megan… have you… seen what’s going on?”

  Her brother, only sixteen, would one day follow in his father’s footsteps and most likely become one of the world’s top minds. He would graduate a full two years early and even though much younger than his classmates, he was well liked… even popular. He was friendly, pleasant and his boyish good looks often brought embarrassing attention from girls much older. Sean was a doppelganger for his father for more than just his intellect. They appeared to be twins separated by thirty-five years and in pictures many thought the pair were brothers. Just like his dad, emotions were something he could never hide from the world.

  His face pale and his lips quivering, he sat in bed, covers drawn and returned his gaze to the computer sitting atop his lap. “What is happening to those people? Why are they doing that?”

  Megan crossed the room, sat on the bed next to him and pulled the headphone plug from the side of the laptop, releasing the audio out into the room. The screams were much different from the overseas newscast she had watched via satellite feed only moments before and the voices speaking English told her it was altogether a different incident. “What are you watching?”

  “Just some videos… it’s all over the web. It’s hard to tell what’s happening?” Sean closed his laptop, set it on the bed and moved to the closet. “Pretty disturbing stuff, those protestors are serious.”

  “Yeah, it’s weird,” Megan said. “I hadn’t heard anything was even going on in China before I saw the news this morning.”

  “China?”

  “Yeah, that’s where all this is taking place,” Megan said.

  Pulling down a hooded sweatshirt, Sean stopped and turned to his sister, puzzled. “Not what I was watching. The videos posted were from here… California, only a few hundred miles away.”

  Reaching across the bed for her brother’s laptop, Megan motioned for him to continue getting ready and took it with her as she exited the room before stopping at the door. “Sean, what exactly did you see?”

  Sitting on the edge of the bed and lacing up his shoes he said, “There were tons of people getting out of their cars and running from each other on the freeway. They were weaving in and out of traffic on both sides and a few were even hit by cars. It happened near that military base up North. One of the cell phone videos made it look like they were eating each other. Ridiculous, I know… but that’s how it looked.”

  “Yeah… that is weird, although I’m sure the police already have it under control and we’ve got much bigger things to worry about. We cannot be late again. You’ve got fifteen minutes. I’ll be out on the deck.” Taking the laptop, Megan moved through the hall and into the living room. She stopped, glancing at the television remote, before shaking her head and moving out onto the balcony and down to the wooden deck below. She placed the computer on the small table and opened it up.

  The frame of the video Sean stopped on was three minutes and twelve seconds in. The image plastered along the screen was every bit as disturbing as the footage she watched minutes before from a completely different country. She clicked the play icon and covered her mouth as the last few seconds of the video ran to completion. The middle-aged balding gentleman was rightly stunned as one of his attackers shoved his own face and arms through the driver’s side window. Pulling him out onto the pavement, the ravenous aggressor was joined by three others who piled in and began tearing away the flesh
of the semi-coherent driver.

  Gasps and shrieks could be heard by those filming the events as the video came to an end.

  Megan closed the laptop and sat in silence. She peered out over the expansive ocean as the tide rolled in, one long whitecap after another. What was this? How was it happening in two completely separate parts of the world at the same time? There had to be a connection and she was sure her brother, although ten years younger, would figure it out well before she did.

  The phone startled her as she stood and started for the house. Through the open slider she could see Sean reach for the cordless and answer it on the second ring.

  2

  Megan waved at her neighbor, who sat two houses away playing in the sand with her three-year-old daughter. This morning ritual had begun within months of the little girl’s birth and never ceased to put a smile on Megan’s face. During the early days of her father’s departure, she’d sit out on the deck and watch the young family while sipping her morning brew, just long enough to ease the depression from her heart. Watching them interact without the benefit of being able to hear what was being said, she was in awe of their obvious bond. Megan paused at the slider a moment longer and smiled as the young mother continued building sand castles with her petite princess.

  At the door, Sean spoke quickly and nervously before handing the phone to her. “Megan, it’s Dad. He’s freaking out again. He needs to talk to you RIGHT AWAY!” He handed her the phone and made his way into the adjoining kitchen to pour a bowl of cereal, grabbing the milk as she looked down at the phone.

  Megan took in a long deliberate breath before answering. The conversations between the pair since he left two years ago had been disjointed and awkward to say the least. She often felt as though she knew nothing about this man and more anxious after each conversation. This would be no different… she was sure of it.

  “Hey Dad, we’re running really late and I need to get Sean to school.”

  “Slow down Dad, you’re not making any sense.”

  “What are you talking about… but yes, we’ve seen the news?”

  “No, I have no idea what you’ve been doing or where exactly you’ve been; you never told either of us.”

  “Of course I’m upset; I have no idea what you’re talking about. You call here every few months with some incoherent story of impending doom and then we don’t hear from you again until your next rambling phone call or message.”

  “No, I’m twenty-six years old and can handle myself, although it would have been nice for your son to have his father around. He’s becoming a man and you’re not even here to see it.”

  “I don’t care… Yes, whatever… I’ll look. Sean, can you check my phone for an email from Dad?”

  Finishing a mouthful of cereal, Sean set the half-eaten bowl in the sink and moved to the opposite counter, reaching for Megan’s phone. Unlocking and then calling up the mail app, he saw the message with two attachments. “Yep it’s here,” he said handing the phone to his sister and moving down the hall toward the bathroom.

  Opening the email, her father’s intent was still unclear. “What is this? There is no body to the message.”

  “OK… yes both attachments came through, but why’d you send two separate maps and why are they hand drawn.”

  “You’re insane; I don’t have time for this. I’m not printing these. They are both stored in my phone. I have them, alright… now I have to go. Sean needs to get to school and I do have some work to do today. My first client is meeting me in less than an hour.”

  Her father’s words through the receiver were less irrational than usual and almost in the form of a command. She’d often sensed a tone that must have been fueled by a lack of sleep and being overworked, although this conversation was different. He was calm and direct. The phrasing he used scared her and brought the images from the news station rushing back into her thoughts. She reached for the remote and depressed the power button.

  Flipping from one station to the next, the programming was the same across every channel. She couldn’t watch more than a few seconds and each time she landed on another station, the graphic images forced her to look away. Her father was right; this thing was everywhere and he finally had her full attention.

  Before reengaging her father on the other end of the line, Megan noticed Sean standing in the archway between the hall and the living room. He didn’t say a word and was frozen in place as she powered off the television and tossed the remote onto the sofa. “OK Dad, I’m listening… what do we need to do?”

  “Yes, but I’ve never driven your truck before.”

  Turning to her brother and attempting to appear somewhat in control of her emotions, she continued. “Sean, we’re not going to school today. Empty your backpack and grab as much food as you can from the pantry. Anything in a box or a can will do and remember to grab the manual can opener.”

  “Megan, what was that on the TV? What is Dad telling you? Where are we going?”

  “Sean, I’ll explain once we get on the road. After you fill your backpack, please grab my gym bag and fill it with the rest of the food, but leave room for the last of the water bottles that are in the fridge.”

  “Umm… this is bad isn’t it?”

  “We’re gonna be fine, fill the bags and put them in the rear cab of Dad’s truck. We are leaving in two minutes. I promise we’ll be okay.”

  Sean hurried away as Megan stared down at the phone knowing this may be her last conversation with her father. “Dad we are going to be okay… aren’t we?”

  “Yes, I have one in the safe in my room…. Yes, I understand… behind the driver’s seat as well.”

  Her heart doubled its pace within the last thirty seconds as her body temperature began to climb. “Dad I have to put the phone down for a moment so I can print them, I’ll be back in a second… Yes, I do remember him. He was a nice man, although it has been years, will he remember me?”

  “OK, I got it. Trust me I know how serious this is. I’ve seen things on the news this morning that I’ll never forgot. Hold on for one second while I print the maps out. I’ll be right back.”

  Setting the house phone on the kitchen counter, Megan fumbled around attempting to print the attachments her father sent. As Sean walked by, and without acknowledging her, he simply said, “Print icon, middle row on the right.”

  “Thanks,” Megan said as she jogged to the office behind the kitchen to retrieve the documents. She studied them for a few minutes to familiarize herself with the route they’d have to take out of the city and folded them neatly, shoving them into her back pocket. Returning to the kitchen, she almost tripped over Sean as he finished up in the pantry and headed for the garage.

  Switching phones and placing her cell on the counter, Megan walked toward her room as she continued with her father. “Dad, we are ready. What else?”

  “Dad… Hello?”

  Her father was gone. His line had gone dead.

  3

  Sean waited at her bedroom door and time was slipping away faster than she liked. Megan pulled open the walk-in closet door and moved inside. Without turning on the light, she fumbled for the last duffle bag and wadded up a few pairs of jeans and t-shirts into a ball and tossed them in the bag. As Sean followed her in, he hit the light switch just as she reached for the gun safe and put it under her arm.

  “Megan, what’s that for?”

  “Just a precaution,” she said.

  “Precaution for what? What did Dad tell you? Where are we going?”

  Moving around her brother, she motioned for him to follow as she quickened her pace and headed for the garage. “We don’t have time, but you remember those videos you saw this morning?”

  “Yes,” Sean answered.

  “It’s happening everywhere…”

  “You mean around here?”

  “I mean everywhere.” Megan paused for a moment to collect herself before entering the garage and opening her father’s workbench. Snatching the keys from the t
hird drawer, she continued, “We are getting out of the city right now and going somewhere safe.”

  “Where?”

  “I’m not exactly sure where this place is, although Dad said we’d be safe there. We have to go now; it’s almost a hundred miles away and…”

  Sean was just as confused as he was terrified. He loved his sister and even more than that he trusted her, although this didn’t sound like her. She was the skeptical one in the family and after their mother and father left, she was his constant. She made everything okay. This was different and not her at all. “And what Megan, what comes next?”

  “We have to make one stop first.”

  “Why doesn’t this sound like something Dad told you to do?”

  Megan turned and hugged her little brother, softly kissing his forehead. “Because it’s not, but we have to do it, I’d never forgive myself if…”