The Dead Years (Volume 3) Read online

  The group filed into the stockroom one at a time, most taking the time to see how Mason was doing. William didn’t waste any time and got right to the point. “We can’t stay here. The building is not secure and we’ve already had a few Feeders get through. That’s what all the noise was about earlier. I would like to leave here within the hour so we can be on the road before dark. Is everyone ok with this?”

  Randy appeared in the doorway, but didn’t step through.

  Looking concerned, Adam asked, “Who’s taking watch?”

  “I can see the tops of the racks from here and if they move, I’ll get back over there quick.”

  William continued, “If everyone is ok with this plan, we need to get all the supplies we can and bring them to this room. Those of you who haven’t cleaned up, let’s get it done quickly and then help out the others.”

  “Will, where are we gonna go… If you don’t mind me asking?” Randy said.

  “My original plan was to head to the coast, so at least we have the ocean to our backs and hopefully don’t have to worry about those things coming at us from the water.”

  April smiled. This was perfect. “I’m not sure why I didn’t think of this earlier. My father has a house on the beach, only an hour from here and I know it has a basement that he said was some sort of safe room. Being in the military he was very protective.”

  “Your Dad was in the military? That makes two of us,” William said.

  “Three,” Randy said.

  April, looking rather uncomfortable, continued, “My father is still in the military. What’s left of it anyway? I have a key to the house and if we can get there soon, it might be safe.”

  Randy, still keeping a watchful eye on the other parts of the store, still had questions. “William, it looks like you got some medical training in the service?”

  “Yes sir, Army Combat Medic, although it’s been 15 years… You?”

  “Special Forces and a few side projects for the private sector, discharged just over 8 years ago.”

  Savannah smiled and pumped her fist in the air. “Looks like we’re in good hands. We even have the Sportmart employee of the month who appears very handy with a fire hose.” Everyone laughed as William directed his question at Adam. “Why does a sporting goods store have a fire hose on the inside of the building?”

  “I asked my manager that same question when I first started working here. It looked really out of place. All he told me was that whoever occupied the building before had some very expensive merchandise that was also highly flammable. He said it was required by the owners of the building for insurance.”

  “How on earth did you know the water would scare those Feeders away from the building?” April asked.

  “I didn’t. I was just trying to blast them out of the way, but they were too far and the hose didn’t have enough pressure. I figured they took off the other way because they saw your cars. Dumb luck, I guess.”

  “What about my Dad?” Justin said.

  “He’s fine,” William said. “He’s breathing normally and his pulse is strong. We’ll just have to carry him when we leave. He’ll be ok, I promise. He just needs to rest.”

  “Thank you,” April said.

  William stood and continued with the details of his plan. He ran down the items he thought they would need and asked the few that hadn’t had a chance to get cleaned up to do so and then help get the supplies back to the stockroom. He also asked Randy to watch over the store and for everyone to meet back here if anything went wrong.

  William was not comfortable with his new role as the leader of the group. He was always better at analyzing problems and finding a solution than giving out orders. He was happy that the others were accepting of the plan he had come up with and it appeared that Karen had even taken to viewing him as a person to look up to in this crisis.

  As the others began to head out into the store to carry out the plan, William knew he was the only one that had a problem with this. He also knew the man that should be their leader was lying at his feet, still unconscious.

  He looked down at Mason once again.

  “Wake up my friend... these people need you.”

  9

  Before the world went dark, media reports revealed that the infection now ravaging earth started out on four separate continents, each within days of one another. The other zones were already blacked out and it was speculated that the illness occurred in those regions first. Government officials tried feverishly to contact one another and were unaware of the potential danger before it showed up on their own doorstep.

  Military compounds were strangely silent throughout the chaos, although it was believed that they were on lockdown. Unfortunately, there were no planes, no tanks, no troops and no one coming to help. Everyone inside these four walls knew they were on their own if they hadn’t acknowledged it yet. The realization was starting to set in.

  The group finished getting cleaned up, each taking a turn in the showers, realizing it may be the last normal thing they do for some time. Once they vacated this building, the only certainty was that they would be fighting for their lives, each and every day.

  William and Randy traded off watching the store and keeping an eye on Mason from the doorway as the others paired up to grab the needed supplies. William finished first and helped section off the supplies as Randy was the last to use the facilities. He didn’t waste any time finishing up and heading straight back to the only unsafe area of the building to check on the progress the Feeders were making.

  As he turned the corner, Randy was shocked at what he saw and ran toward the door calling out for Adam. Somehow these things managed to slide the enormously heavy vending machine along with the shelving a few inches. He estimated together the load must be in excess of five hundred pounds. The small gap was not nearly enough for these creatures to enter the building… yet, although now that they had found the scent of human flesh these things would never stop.

  . . .

  Adam and Justin had paired up, with the use of a shopping cart, to grab the more than thirty first aid kits from the athletic training area of the store. These little kits carried the most basic of items and would be useful only for small bumps, bruises and cuts. Adam thought most of it would never get used, although it was better than having nothing at all.

  Upon hearing Randy calling from the other side of the store, Adam immediately turned and headed toward him with Justin only steps behind. As the duo got within twenty feet, they could already see a few gruesomely disfigured hands and arms pushing through the opening. Once they reached the area, Randy was already in place, struggling to push back and fighting a losing battle. They both jumped in next to him and began to help.

  It appeared to Justin as if everything was happening very slowly. Looking around Adam and Randy, he could see that one of the Feeders was trying to slide past the vending machine through the narrow opening. This thing appeared unaware that the flesh was being torn from its stomach, revealing muscle tissue and sending a steady stream of blood to the floor. There were no obvious signs that it felt any pain, as it continued clawing its way through the void.

  With tension mounting, Justin slowly began to withdraw the force with which he pushed. The fear he felt drifted into a sense of intrigue. The only thing troubling him was that he didn’t understand why. There was a part of him that wanted this thing to get through, for all of them to get through. He wanted to open the door himself and let them in. He wanted to hunt them down one by one and feel what it would be like to squeeze the trigger. He became excited at the thought of watching the bullet enter their skull and turn the back half of their head into shards of damp red flesh.

  As quickly as this sensation came over him, it also started to pass. Justin fought to stay focused. He needed to shake this feeling. He understood that if he didn’t escape it, it would put his family in harm’s way. He once again began to push.

  The combined weight of the barricade, coupled with the unbelievable force
pressing back against them proved to be more than Randy could handle, even with Adam and Justin assisting. The shelves dug in to the concrete below and the plastic panel on the vending machine buckled under the mounting pressure as it rocked backward.

  They didn’t have the strength necessary to move this monstrosity back into place until William, Karen and April moved in to help. Randy grinned as he looked toward the exit, noticing they had stopped any progress the Feeders had made.

  The group paused for a moment before giving all they had once again. They slowly began to make progress as the creature that had almost managed to work its way in was being forced back out the door.

  Randy counted backward. Three… Two… One… PUSH! The massive barrier they had built earlier moved with ease this time. As they slid it back into place against the wall the edge of the machine sheared off both of the Feeder’s arms just above the elbow.

  Karen immediately winced and turned her back on them. She was obviously shaken as she headed back out of the area with William close behind. The others gathered anything of substance from the floor and stacked it on the shelves, attempting to add even more weight to the structure that was holding their attackers back… if only temporarily.

  April embraced Justin as the two stood in disbelief over what just happened. She was drained and just wanted a few moments to reflect on what was happening. The world was now out of her control. She hated this feeling and wanted desperately to know why they were left in this hell. She dropped to her knees and began to cry. It was time to let go and she didn’t care who witnessed it.

  Randy and Adam also made their way back to the stockroom, as Justin sat on the floor with his mother and held her tight. Through her tears, April spoke. “Justin, I love you and will do absolutely anything to keep you and your father safe… anything! Do you understand how much you mean to me? Do you realize that I would…”

  “APRIL, COME QUICK!”

  She sensed from William’s tone that something was wrong. Both April and Justin jumped to their feet and ran toward the group now gathered around the doorway to the stockroom.

  As the others parted, they could see Mason awake and with William’s assistance, sitting up in obvious pain.

  He looked around the room, clearly still confused, and said, “Where the hell are we?”

  10

  He had been unresponsive for less than six hours, although to the group and primarily April, it felt like days. The uncertainty that came from having someone they cared about injured without any real signs of recovery added an extra layer of tension that fortunately now appeared to be fading away.

  The others shook hands and exchanged smiles, although it was all too much for April. She couldn’t hold back her excitement another second and ran to Mason’s side, sat on the ground and hugged him. As he recoiled in pain and let out a slight whimper, she backed off.

  “What’s going on?” he said.

  Mason had no memory of the events leading up to being shot and was also a little fuzzy on the details of what took place during their confrontation at the park. He remembered being introduced to Savannah and leaving Randy’s place, although the elevator ride and exiting the building were spotty. He kissed April on the cheek and nodded at William, thanking them both.

  “I didn’t do anything… other than drive the car and I didn’t even do that very well. The credit goes to William. He fixed you up.”

  William handed him a Vicodin for the pain and a bottle of water before standing and walking to the center of the room. “Mason, everyone played a huge part in getting us in here safe. If it wasn’t for Randy, we wouldn’t be here to greet you. None of us.”

  William explained how they came to be in the stockroom; the battle they faced just getting everyone from the cars into the building and introduced their new friend Adam. He briefly described the injury to his shoulder and what steps he took to stop the bleeding, without going into too much detail.

  Mason asked about Savannah’s brothers. She reminded him they weren’t blood-related and how Randy helped speed up their path to hell. As it all began to settle in, Mason could sense that there was something they hadn’t shared with him. “It looks like you all found a good place to ride this thing out, at least until we get a plan together… so why does everyone look like there’s more to this happy ending?”

  “We can’t stay,” William said.

  “Really… Not even for a few days?”

  “Not even through the night. One of the side entrances has been compromised. We have it patched up at the moment, although it won’t keep them out much longer. It’s already failed once. We need to pack up the cars and get out of here within the next hour.”

  Mason turned to William. “Help me stand; I need to see if I can at least walk out of here on my own. I refuse to be the injured guy.”

  “Not a good idea,” William said. “You’ve lost a lot of blood and need to rest a bit longer. We’ll get you up and around in a few minutes.”

  “How are we all getting out of here?” Mason asked.

  “We have your car and my truck, although with all the supplies it’s going to be tight… Hey kid, where’s your car?”

  Adam pulled the keys from his pocket and held them in the air. “Motorcycle,” he said. “But I have an idea.” They all waited as he looked back and forth as if trying to solve an equation.

  “My boss has an RV parked at the front of the store at the far end of the lot. He always keeps an extra set of keys in his office in case someone needs to move it.”

  “So, you know how to drive it?” Mason said.

  “Nope, he never let me.”

  Mason looked puzzled. “Wait, why does your boss drive an RV to work? How small is it?”

  “He only brings it to work on the day he’s leaving for a camping trip. His wife usually meets him here and they leave after our morning meeting. She never showed up and he was one of the first that were run down by those things. He didn’t even make it fifty feet from the door.”

  Randy stepped through the doorway, “I can drive it and you can come with me. We’ll go out to it in one of the cars and take as many of those things out as possible before we come back. Go get the keys and let’s do this. It’s the best chance for all of us to get the hell out of here.”

  Adam ran off and was back in under a minute with the keys. He threw them to Randy and said, “All yours.”

  “I’m coming too,” William said.

  “Doesn’t Mason need you to be here if something comes up?” Karen said, knowing he really didn’t. She knew what was beyond the doors of this building and wanted him here with her.

  Turning to William and agreeing with Karen, Randy said, “She’s right, Mason needs you here and I need someone at the door to cover us when we leave and also when we get back. I need someone here that knows how to use a weapon. Just be ready when we return, it’s probably not gonna be pretty.”

  Randy knew their chances of success would be much better if only a few of them went to retrieve the RV. He only needed one other person to go with him and Adam looked like he could hold his own. He was much younger than the others, and looked like he could run circles around everyone else. At five foot six and not more than a hundred and fifty five pounds, the kid was built for this type of thing.

  Adam didn’t like this. “I’m going with you?”

  “Yes you are. I need someone who can keep up with me,” Randy said reaching into the bag and handing Adam a nine millimeter pistol and two additional magazines. “Now don’t shoot yourself and definitely don’t shoot me… got it?”

  “Uh… Well… yeah, ok.”

  “It’s easy. The safety is off. Just point it at their heads and pull the trigger and try to remember to save some rounds for the ride back, we’ll need it.”

  “Are you sure you want me?” Adam asked.

  Everyone now stopped what they were doing and watched the odd exchange as Randy tried to convince Adam, who was apparently not ready for this, that going out into t
he Feeder-infested parking lot to retrieve their getaway RV was a good idea.

  “Kid, you have my word that not one of them will lay a hand on your pretty little head, but you need to stay with me and keep up. No Rambo stuff on your own. Watch me, do what I say and we’ll both get back here in one piece… literally.”

  “Alright, I’m in.” Adam said confidently as he loaded a round into the chamber.

  Randy watched the way Adam handled the weapon and a smile began to form at the corner of his mouth. “You’ve shot a gun before, haven’t you?”

  “Yeah, maybe once or twice.”

  William stepped to the exit door and the three of them quickly went through the plan. He asked if they were ready and both nodded. As the doors to the parking lot opened, the three men immediately knew this wasn’t going to be easy.