‘We need to scour some supplies and make sure that there’s enough food here for all of us. Dany, how much we got left?’ Shaun inquired.
‘Not enough to last us the month.’ Dany replied.
‘And water?’
‘Same. We can’t survive on it much longer.’
Shaun Mills put his dry mud covered hand on his jaw. He wasn’t much to look at from afar. A Canadian citizen who had happened to be in America during the incident. He was average heighted, just under 5’11. He had light brown eyes and a slightly crooked long nose. He had a rough outline of a beard. His hair was long and unkempt. From close up, though, he had the muscular posture of an athlete. He was well built and had a sense of purpose and determination about him. Not only was he confident in himself, he could also make important decisions. These were fitting qualities for a leader. He stared at his group with intent.
There were four people. He knew them all by name. They were his responsibility now, his family. They had been ever since the attack. There was Noah Wilson, stepson of Shaun. Richard Carrion was one of his most trusted companions. So were Dany Williams and Tennyson Jade. These were the four closest to him. He knew the others as well, but not like he knew the four of them. They had been there since the attack.
16 Months Ago: Right before the Attack
The roads were quiet. Nothing moved in the night. Not even the chirping of birds or the hooting of owls could be heard. The surrounding countryside was still. Suddenly, a massive explosion occurred to the north of the area. The fumes could be seen for many miles ahead. Noah Wilson suddenly got up from his bed a little far off from the event. His breathing was deep and rapid. He saw the fumes in front of him and gasped with surprise. He ran to his father’s room and pounded on the door.
‘Dad, it’s happening! Dad!’ He screamed.
Present
‘Shaun? What are you thinking?’ Dany asked. She was a beautiful brunette. Her nationality was American. She had light, caramel eyes and a small nose. Her previously long hair had been cut short roughly. She was 5’9 in height and had a charming nature. She was, by profession, a thief. After the attack her life depended on those skills in order to survive.
‘I say we go to the Willows and gather our supplies from there. I reckon there’d still be plenty of food left.’ Tennyson Jade chipped in. He was from Congo so he had that distinct African accent. He was a tall fellow whose height was well over six feet. He was built like an ox, courtesy of his father’s military training. He had dark brown hair in the traditional military crew cut style and light grey eyes. His face was menacing with scars on both cheeks. He also wore an army cap. Shaun had always suspected that it belonged to his father.
‘It’s too dangerous in the Willows. We already tried there, remember?’ Richard Carrion was the third to speak out. He used to be a farmer in Britain before the attack. No one actually knew how he had managed to come to America as he had joined the group after the attack. He had blond hair and green eyes. His hair was kept short. He was round bellied too and so, overweight. He, as a farmer, was a very handy man to have concerning food.
‘Yes, I agree with Carrion. We can’t risk it.’ Everyone turned to Noah Wilson, the stepson of Shaun. Noah didn’t talk often but when he did, people tended to listen. He was a wise young man and had a bright future as a leader. His hair was also long but unlike his father’s, it was jet black. He had blue eyes and his previously long nose had become crooked. It had been smashed in by someone in a previous offensive encounter. He was skinny and lacked the muscle that Tennyson and Shaun possessed. He did, although; possess the knowledge worthy of a mechanic so he worked with the group’s cars.
‘What do you suggest we do then?’ Tennyson questioned.
‘We don’t need urgent supplies so we don’t have to risk the Willows. There’s a storage facility north of here. It ain’t that far off. We get there, load up and head back. I’m tired of heading out again and again. So, we’re gonna make one trip and come back.’ Shaun’s answer was firm and final.
The group knew he had made up his mind. Still, Dany could not let go without confirming his decision.
‘Are you sure about that? What I mean is, the supermarket is close by. And we already cleared it out.’ Dany said.
She knew the supermarket didn’t hold nearly enough supplies to facilitate their needs but going in to unexplored territory could be dangerous.
‘I’m sure.’
‘Sounds good to me.’ Tennyson picked up his axe and heaved it over his back. He walked off to tell the rest that they had come to a decision.
After the four separated and went to the rest of the group, Shaun decided to stay back. Dany saw his hesitation to move and shot him an inquisitive look.
He shook his head and said, ’I’ll be right behind you.’
Dany shrugged and moved off. When Shaun had made sure that everyone had left, he made his way in the opposite direction. There was an old birch tree slightly off from their camp. Shaun went there and did a quick inspection. Then he sat down. He was wearing a regular brown shirt and jeans. He had also picked up an old army jacket along the way which he wore now. Shaun sighed. Then he reached in to the jacket pocket and produced a photo from it. He stared at it passionately. In the photo, there was a small beautiful girl smiling while leaning on her pink tricycle. Her hair was golden brown and her eyes were a light brown shade, much like Shaun’s. She was standing in what appeared to be a backyard. There were small plants and clay statues in the background.
Shaun started to cry.
’I’m-sorry, darling. I’m-so-sorry.’ He stammered.
After a while, he gathered back his wits and stowed the photograph away in his pocket again. Then he made his way towards the others.
16 Months Ago: One Hour after the Attack
New York City
There was chaos everywhere. Cars smashed in to each other. Buildings were on fire. People screamed and ran in all directions, some chanting that it was the end of the world. Thieves looted stores with no one to stop them. In the midst of all this, Shaun Mills tried to lead his fifteen year old son to safety. He had equipped his licensed six shooter and was wary of any danger.
‘Dad, where are we going?’ Noah asked.
Shaun seemed tense and afraid.
‘We’re going to your mother’s. It’s okay son, no one’s going to harm you.’
Just as Shaun said those words, a frightened bunch of travellers bumped in to the two of them and they got separated.
‘Dad! Dad! I can’t see you.’ Noah said in a panicky voice.
‘Noah! Where are you? Talk to me! Noah!’
Present
Noah Wilson sat quietly by himself, pondering over what he had just seen. His dad didn’t normally cry. He recalled once again what had happened. Dany, Tennyson and Richard moved off to join the rest of the group. Noah walked too but was cautious of where his father went. As soon as Shaun moved away, Noah followed suit. He pursued his father from far off. He saw his father take out the photograph.
What had it been of though? Noah thought. He could not see what his father was looking at but he recognized that it must have meant something to him. Noah had thought of getting in closer to his father’s stationary position but had discarded the thought immediately. He would have given his position away if he had done that. There was one thing that Noah did know of though. This habit of going off and crying had become more and more frequent in the recent days. Perhaps Noah had not really thought about it much till now so he had missed it happening before.
‘All right folks, let’s go!’ Shaun called out. ‘In case you missed it out before I’ll say it once more. Jackie, Tennyson, Richard and Noah are coming with me. The rest of you stay here. Look out for each other and make sure to send patrols out regularly. You don’t want to get caught up with the riote-, with them.’
Shaun had slipped up. He knew that word was not tolerated at camp. The twenty to thirty people here despised that word. Immediately, members of the group got up and moved off to join Shaun.
Jackie Baker was the first to rise. She was of Chinese origin but her father had been American. She had travelled to America to earn a better living. She had her black hair tied in a small pony. Her nose was so small it was barely noticeable. Her eyes were a dark brown shade. Jackie had been trained in the use of swords so she was an ideal person to have around the group. She did although have a short temper but not so much that it was intolerable.
She was followed by Richard and Tennyson. Shaun searched through the group for Noah. He saw him sitting a little far off from the others. Shaun frowned but signaled for Noah to join them. Reluctantly, Noah got up and headed towards them. Shaun thought of asking Noah what was wrong but he decided that he could do it later, somewhere more private.
The four headed off towards the cars. While Noah did a quick check up on the cars to make sure which one was in best shape for travelling, the rest accounted for guns and ammunition. Jackie left back her signature katana blade as its hilt needed repair work. Tennyson decided to bring his axe along. They were soon on their way. Noah had picked out a Chevrolet Silverado pickup and two large cargo trucks from the ten available cars. While Shaun and Noah led in the front, Tennyson and Jackie sat laden with guns in the cargo trucks. They would shoot on sight in case things went sideways.
As Shaun drove, he thought of bringing the topic up. ‘Anything you want to tell me son?’
‘No. Why?’ Noah replied.
‘Well, it’s just that you were sitting there alone. I was thinkin that there must be something bothering you. Else, hell, why would you be there on your own?’
‘Oh, that.’ Noah thought of asking his father what he had been staring at. Then he thought better of it. If his dad saw the picture in private without telling Noah, why would he tell him now? He could simply lie or make an excuse not to talk about it.
‘It was nothing dad, just, I feel sorry for what happened yesterday.’ He lied.
‘Yeah, I think we all did son. Mr. Sanders was a good man. He didn’t deserve to die like that.’ Shaun though it would be best to let Noah be. He did not want to make his son feel uncomfortable any further. After about thirty miles Shaun stopped the pickup.
‘What’s the holdup?’ Tennyson called from the back.
‘Road’s closed. It’s a traffic block. We’ll have to make a detour. Radio the group and tell them we may be late.’ Shaun replied.
Tennyson kept himself busy with his current task. Meanwhile, Jackie was reluctant to travel further in land than she had to.
‘Are you sure we can’t make a path forward?’ She said loudly.
‘Negative. It’s too dangerous.’
Jackie nodded and brought out an old bag. From it, she procured a map of the area. Meanwhile, Shaun and Noah got out of the truck. Shaun joined Jackie while Noah stayed next to the front door of the vehicle. He gripped his Beretta 92 semi-automatic pistol and took guard duty while the others made their plans. Jackie held out the map to Shaun. It read “State Of Kansas”.
‘I think we’re here.’ Shaun pointed to a spot on the map while Tennyson, having just contacted camp, moved off to secure the rear of the truck.
‘That’s about thirty miles from the camp at Wichita. Only fifteen miles left. Are you sure we can’t clear through here?’ Jackie pleaded once more.
‘No, too risky.’ Shaun said absentmindedly. ‘We can cut through here.’ He again pointed out a spot on the map. ‘It’ll be about ten miles extra to cover but it can be done.’
‘Well, I suppose you’re right.’ Jackie agreed, defeated.
Shaun rolled up the map, stowed it back in the bag and they were again on their way.
The next stop they took was when they reached the storage facility. It was a warehouse. Shaun, Tennyson, Jackie and Noah quietly strolled in. Jackie and Noah took out their flashlights but Shaun signaled them to put the flashlights away.
‘We can’t take the risk of exposing our positions without knowing how many of them are in here. The light could attract them in dozens.’ Shaun whispered.
‘Then what are we supposed to do?’ Noah asked.
Shaun seemed to think over that. Tennyson, though, already had the answer. ‘I have got a lighter. It’s just bright enough to find what we need and get out without being noticed. It’ll take a while but it’s capable of getting the job done.’ Tennyson said.
‘Brilliant.’ Noah replied.
So, the lighter was used to gather the supplies. Soon, though, they realized though that for an entire season’s supplies using just a lighter would require the legwork of at least their entire camp. So Shaun took the risk of using flash lights. Things progressed a lot quicker. Then came the final set of supplies, which were medicines. The four of them separated to find medicine. Jackie went down an aisle. Tennyson went down another and Shaun and Noah took separate ones as well. Jackie used her flashlight to read the labels on separate boxes. Suddenly, she heard movement behind her. She looked around but saw nothing.
‘Hello. Is somebody there?’ Jackie called out. There was no reply. ‘Tennyson, Shaun, guys you there?’ Again there was no reply. Just as Jackie was about to turn around she heard a loud grunt from behind her. It was closer to a growl. She started to run ahead without warning. As she ran she heard the sound getting louder and clearer. Then there were two grunts followed by three and then more. She didn’t dare look back but ran forward blindly.
‘Quick, Baker, in here.’ Tennyson yelled somewhere off to the side.
Jackie ran towards him and found herself in a small room. Tennyson quickly bolted the door behind her and used his axe to barricade it for good measure. They both breathed heavily. Next to them, Shaun and Noah were also present. Behind the door there were sounds of pounding. They were trying to break down the door.
‘There must have been at least ten of them. I didn’t see them but I sensed them. Cannibals!’ Jackie exclaimed wearily.
One Hour after the Attack
‘Dad! Dad! Where are you?’ Noah cried. He was afraid, afraid of what had happened and scared of what he saw. He could not find his father. He was alone, in the middle of strangers, unaware how to find his father. He heard glass breaking from behind him. Quickly he moved away from his position. There was a small side street up ahead. Noah thought of using it to his advantage. He tried breaking free from the crowd and eventually found himself in the side street.
From there he scanned the crowd thoroughly, searching for any sign of Shaun, any at all. After a minute or so, he heard a loud noise from behind him. It sounded like screaming.
‘No, please, let me go! Help! Save me! Help me! Aaaah!’ The voice seemed to say. Then it stopped completely.
Noah wondered what on earth that was. Then he took a deep breath and started to slowly advance towards the strange screaming noises. There was fog everywhere. It was very difficult to see where everything was. As Noah progressed onwards, he felt something was off. Actually, he smelled it. It smelled like something rotting. He neared the scene and saw what had made the noise, rather who had made the noise. Noah was shell-shocked.
He saw a mutilated body in front of him. The face had been half chewed off and the body was no better. Noah felt like puking and he quickly covered his mouth. He almost did puke but only then did he note something else there. Another man shrouded by the fog, stood to one side.
‘Hello.’ Noah said.
He heard a grumbling noise that much resembled the growl a dog would make before it struck an enemy. ’Who are you?’ Noah questioned in a frightened voice.
The anonymous person revealed himself from the fog, looking sideways at Noah. Except it wasn’t a person. The thing looked like a human being from far away. However, more closely observed, it was a gruesome specimen. Its face had dry blood on it and its body was chewed off in different areas. Its one arm was half torn off while the eyes were strange. There was no clear color in them. They were not brown, grey, green or any other shade. They were pure milky white.
‘St-stay back! Stay back!’ Noah whimpered. He had completely lost his nerve. In front of him stood something he had never seen before. Noah slowly backed up and the strange beast followed. Each time Noah took a step backwards the beast quickened its pace to catch up to him. He did not have the courage to stop the beast. His fear took control and he felt he couldn’t run anywhere either. He was stuck and the beast was gaining on him.
Present
The noise of thumping got louder from behind the door. It seemed the strange creatures were finally having some success in knocking the door down. Jackie gave Shaun a worrisome look.
‘We don’t have much time before they knock that door down. What should we do?’ She asked.
‘Fight to our deaths?’ Tennyson suggested. ‘Just like in “I Am Legend”. Pity we don’t have that grenade though.’
‘Grenade?’ Noah questioned.
‘Yeah, from the movie.’ Tennyson said, rolling his eyes.
‘This is no time for jokes, Jade.’ Jackie replied.
‘We have to find some way of getting back to those trucks. But the problem is that Noah and I threw our automatics down when we ran. It was too much load for us to handle. So we can’t kill ‘em all. We’re badly outnumbered too. It’s my fault. The flashlights were a bad idea.’ Shaun stated miserably.
Noah was worried. He had fought with the cannibals on multiple occasions but the odds had always been with the group whenever he did. Noah did not normally go out to find food and water because he needed to work with the cars. This was a rare exception and Noah did not even know why his father had asked him to come along. He never questioned Shaun’s decisions or his authority but that did not mean that he agreed with all his choices. Noah had always fought with the entire group so he had never been afraid. Now, however, was a different matter.
He was afraid because this time around, the others were dependent on his contribution. Of course, he never let his fear show.
‘Okay, guys listen up; I know what we have to do.’ Noah said in an upbeat voice.
Everyone looked at Noah with interest. They were hoping for a reasonable way out of their situation.
‘Look, there’s no easy way to say this. We have to blast our way through.’
‘No, no. We’re outnumbered. We don’t have the kind of heavy machinery to take them out.’ Shaun said.
‘No, we certainly don’t. But we do have Tennyson’s shotgun. And we have your revolver, dad. Jackie and I both have Berettas. We don’t have to clear ‘em all out but just create a wide enough space to make a run for it. We can get to the cars and go.’ Noah said.
They all nodded but Tennyson posed a question. ‘What about the medical supplies?’ He asked. Noah was quiet. The truth was he was thinking of a solution to that as well but there wasn’t one.
‘We’ll have to leave it behind. We can survive on the supermarket and come back for it another time when we have to.’ Shaun said.
They all nodded again. Then the sound of a crack was heard. The cannibals had finally found a weak spot in the door and put pressure on it till it ripped apart. The small group quickly checked its weapons and the ammunition for each. Then Tennyson took the lead. Jackie and Shaun took the sides in diamond formation. Noah took the rear. They all took deep breaths and then opened the door.
One Hour after the Attack
Noah quickly backed up. He saw no way out of his predicament. In the moment of sheer terror, his body had betrayed him. Now he stood glued to his spot like prey waiting for its predator to catch up; knowing that it would never be able to outrun the predator. The cannibal was only walking but that only enhanced his aura. It slowly advanced but then suddenly increased its pace. Perhaps it had just recognized fresh blood. It tackled Noah quickly and tried to bite him. It was hunting for any piece of meat that was available. On top of this, it kicked and scratched at Noah’s body. Only then did Noah try to hold off the creature. He tried to hold it off with his hands; using them to keep the creature at bay. It was a futile attempt. It was only a matter of time before the creature would devour him, he knew, but he desperately tried to cling on to his life.
He shoved and kicked at the cannibal. He tried to push it away so that he could run. The wild entanglement continued for what seemed like minutes. Noah’s arms were giving up on him. The force being exerted from the heavy creature was too much for Noah’s scrawny arms. He then tried to scream.
‘Help me! Anyone! Help! Please!’ He knew he was too late and closed his eyes.
Just then he felt his weight easing. His body relaxed and he no longer felt physically threatened. Someone had thrown the beast off of Noah. Noah looked up to see a big black man towering over him. He took aim at the creature and the sound of gunfire rung in the quiet street. The cannibal collapsed; shot in the head. The black man then offered Noah his hand and lifted him up.
‘Thank you. Really, thank you. I’m Noah, Noah Wilson. You are?’ Noah said, barely breathing.
‘Tennyson Jade.’
Present
The doors flew open as if relieved that the cannibals were no longer concentrated on them. The ten creatures now tried to take out the group. Tennyson opened fire with his Spas 12. Five of the beasts at the front staggered backwards and fell on their backs; startled by the force of the gun. This was the space the group was looking for. They rushed forward careful not to break formation. Tennyson cleared the path for the group while the rest took aim as precision shooters. Shaun, Jackie and Noah shot the cannibals in the head. Surely, the gunfire would attract more of them so they had to move fast.
One creature got the better of Jackie and scratched her on the arm but Noah instantaneously shot it down before it could do further damage. They were making good progress when Shaun noticed the automatics that he and Noah had left behind. His eyes gleamed with lust. He wanted to lunge for the guns but Noah’s shake of the head stopped him in his tracks. He realized that going for the machine guns was a suicidal move that would probably get them all killed.
With great reluctance he dismissed the prospect of fetching the guns. The formation was working greatly and more than half the creatures had been put down. Tennyson kicked open the warehouse door. From here they knew that in order to get to the trucks, they had to break formation.
‘Tennyson, hand me that shotgun! I’ll keep them at bay! Go start the cars guys!’ Noah yelled.
The others nodded. As experienced a mechanic as he may have been, he certainly did not know how to drive. Tennyson chucked the shotgun at Noah and the four broke their diamond formation. Noah put the shotgun down for the moment and used his Berretta to trim the number of the advancing party as much as he could. He would use the shotgun once they got closer. Meanwhile, Tennyson, Jackie and Shaun sprinted to the trucks. Noah was tensed. This was the crucial part of the plan. He had to fight the monsters off while his friends and his father started the cars. So they get the easy part? He thought with grim humor.
He then breathed deeply and took aim. Shaun got to the pickup first and fumbled in his pocket for the keys. With shaking hands (the result of adrenaline), he opened the door of the truck and started it quickly. Jackie was next and she was much faster with her duty. Sadly, what Tennyson had in brawn, he lacked in speed. He was the slowest of the bunch and it took him a while to get to his vehicle. He heard Noah reducing the cannibals. One shot, two, and then three and then the shots stopped. Tennyson feared for a second what he could not even imagine but then the firing started again; this time louder. Noah must have switched to the Spas now. Tennyson thought.
He breathed with relief but also understood the danger of the situation. It meant that the cannibals were gaining on them. He quickly sat in his truck and turned on the ignition. Only after that did he notice something odd. There was movement on the right side. He turned 180 degrees slowly only to see at least eighty cannibals advancing from the main road.
Noah fired off his last round. Both the shotgun and the Berretta were out and he felt that he hadn’t even made a dent in the opposition party. As he killed some of them, more appeared from behind and reinforced the ranks. Noah suddenly heard the sound of horning behind him. He turned around to see Shaun shouting at him to run. Noah picked up the empty guns, though he was not sure why, and ran to the pickup. Quickly getting in, Shaun gunned the acceleration and Tennyson and Jackie followed behind them. Tennyson turned on his radio.
‘That was close. How about next time we don’t do that?’ Tennyson said breathlessly.
‘We still have a problem. We can’t use the main road now. We’ll be swarmed by them.’ Jackie said.
‘Look, let’s just get out of here for now. We’ll find an alternative route once we’re safer.’ Shaun said firmly.
The others all murmured their agreement. They all silently rode away. The warehouse was left in ruins. Now that the four of them had opened fire, the entire place was flooded by the dead. Five hundred meters from the warehouse, there stood a military styled SUV. A man stood in front of it with binoculars in his hands. He had short red hair and menacing brown eyes. His nose was long and he had a white cloth wrapped around his right ear. He wore standard military uniform and a soldier’s cap.
‘I just saw them. They were attacked at the warehouse by Swarmers. Don’t worry; I’ll keep an eye on them.’ He said.
TO BE CONTINUED