Death & Decay (Book 2): Divided Page 7

  “When you hold a gun like this, it’s easy enough to slip your finger around the trigger when you need to.” He curled his index finger in around the trigger then flexed it back out to rest along the barrel. “Easy stuff, right?” Nods.

  “Alright, do y’all see this little doohickey here?” He pointed to a small lever by his thumb as he slowly turned so everyone would get a good look at it. “That’s the safety. Right now, it’s on. I couldn’t fire even if I tried.” He flicked the lever with his thumb. “And just like that it’s off. It is just that freakin’ easy, but never forget about it. Your safety should always be on, except when you are ready to shoot. In the heat of the moment, it can be easy to forget it’s on and with times being what they are that could get you killed.”

  “Alright,” Ervin declared suddenly. “Now I’m going to give each of you the gun and I want you to show me what I’ve just taught you.”

  He walked up to Rotna and held the gun out to her. “It’s alright,” he coaxed when she hesitated. “It isn’t loaded right now. I checked before we came out.” He raised his voice and looked around at everyone. “Which is exactly what I’ll be teaching you next.”

  Tentatively, Rotna took the gun, holding it as Ervin had shown them. She switched the safety on and off a few times until he was satisfied. She handed the gun back, beaming. Then, Ervin moved on to Colin, slowly working his way around the small semicircle of people.

  “It feels good to be doing something,” Rotna whispered to Colin. “Just sitting around waiting to die was driving me mad.”

  “It definitely beats sitting around,” Colin agreed. “Next time we go out, I’d rather have something than the crowbar to defend myself with.”

  Rotna nodded. “Ya know, I don’t think I ever said thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For saving me, when everything went”—her smile wavered as she swallowed the lump in her throat—“well, when everything went to hell.” Colin opened his mouth to dismiss the gratitude, but Rotna cut him off. “I would be dead now or one of the freaks. I owe you guys my life. I know I haven’t been the most useful yet, and maybe I never will be, but that’s not who I usually am. I just didn’t know how to deal with what is going on.”

  Colin smiled at her. The distant stare was gone. Instead, her eyes were bright, excited. Her smile was genuine.

  “I guess I still don’t know how to deal with it.” Her smile faded for a second and the dark mood she had held for the last few days threatened to resurface before her smile came back. “Sitting around and stewing over it doesn’t change anything. I think it’s about time to make that change happen.”

  Over the next few hours, Ervin taught the group how to check the chamber and the magazine, how to remove and replace a magazine, how to reload a magazine, how to adjust sights, and other small tidbits that were needed to handle a gun easily. Each time Ervin taught them something new, he would expect them to repeat the task a few times.

  It didn’t take long for the small group to grasp the basics of gun handling. Most of it was common sense. When Ervin was satisfied that they all had the proper skills, the group dispersed to other tasks that needed doing.

  Colin dragged his feet through the pebbles at the river’s edge. The sounds of the river roared in his ears. The water that rushed by was cloudy and brown. Colin wrinkled his nose as he looked at the filthy water of the Missouri River.

  “It’s so close, yet so far.” Eric nodded to the opposite bank of the river as he stepped up next to Colin.

  Colin nodded. “The forty-five-minute drive to and from work was starting to get so tiresome.” He sighed, his eyes roving across the far side of the river. “Now, I would give anything for things to be that simple again.”

  “We’ll get across,” Eric said firmly.

  “What do you think is on the other side?”

  “More of the same I guess.” Eric shrugged.

  “How far do you think this reaches?” Colin’s gaze never left the far side of the river. The view wasn’t anything spectacular. A thin strip of rough, rocky beach bordered the water. Tall, leafy trees obscured everything else. But it was what Colin knew lay on the other side of the river that captivated him. Beyond the rocky shore and the tall trees, his family was out there somewhere.

  Eric was silent for a long time before he answered. “It’s only been four days since this all started, but it feels like that was a different life.” He rubbed at his face as he thought about what lay outside their secluded new home. “No one else has come to help. No one has come to rescue us. No one has come to clean up the mess. If no one is coming, I think it’s because there isn’t anyone left to come save us…anywhere.”

  Colin shifted uncomfortably as he thought about the empty world. No one was left. No one but them.

  “Look!” Colin was jerked away from the thoughts by Eric’s cry. Something moved on the water, though it was barely a speck.

  They watched as the speck grew, resolving itself into a small boat as it came nearer. Upriver, a small fishing boat drifted aimlessly down the river. The boat was a simple aluminum hull with nothing more than a few seats and a motor. A figure sat hunched over in the small craft.

  “Hey!” Colin shouted, waving his arms above his head. “Hey! Over here!”

  The figure in the boat stirred, rising to its feet. A loud shriek reverberated through the air.

  “Jesus,” Eric whispered. Colin’s heart sank.

  The red stains across the man’s face and down his shirt became visible as the boat crossed in front of them. The boat rock precariously as the freak shuffled back and forth in the small boat. He snarled, his eyes never leaving Colin and Eric.

  The freak set his foot on the lip of the boat. The weight was too much and the boat slid out from underneath him, sending the man tumbling into the water. The freak splashed in the water. His limbs were uncoordinated as he struggled to stay above the water. After a few moments of struggling, the man slipped below the surface and did not return.

  Colin and Eric watched silently as the overturned boat slid past them.

  “There’s nothing left out there anymore,” Colin said, his voice barely a whisper.

  With a deep breath, Collin tried to steady his racing heart. They were crazy. They were all crazy.

  His stomach rumbled, reminding him why they were about to do something so crazy. He was hungry. They were all hungry.

  They were so close to food, all the food they could ever need, and yet it was out of reach. For now. Thies Farm lay on the other side of a long field. The trees were laden with fruit waiting to be picked by happy families. The fields were full of vegetables ripe for the table. They needed that food. But Thies Farm was also packed with freaks.

  The place was entirely overrun. Only four days ago, Thies Farm had been busy. When the infection hit, the freaks had quickly eaten their way through the happy families that filled the small farm. If the group wanted the food that Thies Farm held, they were going to have to fight for it.

  Colin fidgeted with the crowbar in his hand. Their weapons weren’t very good. Ervin had his M4 and he had given his service pistol to a man named Oliver, a survivor who had found his way from Thies Farm. The rest of them were armed with whatever they could find. Mostly tools and knives and other blunt objects.

  Survivor.

  They were all survivors now. But survivors of what, exactly? An epidemic? A pandemic? The collapse of society? The apocalypse?

  “Is everyone ready?” Ervin called out, jerking Colin from his thoughts. He was leading the group heading into Thies Farm.

  No. Even as he thought it, Colin moved in closer to the group. Eric, Samuel, Rotna, and Oliver moved in closer as well. Oliver was a wiry little man with a head of untamed golden-brown hair and haunted brown eyes. He stared at the ground instead of looking to Ervin as the rest of the group did. He had kept to himself since he arrived. A few months back, he had taken a job at the farm to earn extra money over the summer to pay for his college tuiti
on in the fall.

  There were a few others who had joined them. People whose names Colin didn’t know.

  As Colin looked around the group, he couldn’t help but feel that more should have come. Their group had grown in the last few days to about a dozen. The six of them hardly felt sufficient to face the horde of freaks that had claimed Thies. Hell, their whole group hardly felt like enough people.

  The others had opted to stay behind and fortify the aircraft hangar they had been using for shelter. It was a job that needed doing, but at this moment Colin resented them for staying behind, where it was at least relatively safe.

  “Alright, guys,” Ervin called out. “Let’s do this.” Colin liked the man.

  Ervin had laid out the prospects of clearing out Thies Farm plainly. Dozens, if not hundreds, of freaks roamed around the farm like grotesque watchdogs. Their chances of successfully clearing out the farm were slim, and the chances of doing it without any casualties were almost nonexistent. But the food. All of the food just waiting to be eaten. And not just shelves of food but trees and plants that could keep producing more.

  Colin’s stomach rumbled again as they jogged silently across the open field toward the farm. Waist-high grass burnt golden by the sun spread out before them, swishing against their legs. The buildings of the farm and the tall fruit trees were just visible on the horizon.

  Standing in the middle of a barren field was a large green tractor. Right where Oliver had said it would be.

  Four days ago, Oliver had worked for Thies Farm. Four days ago, he had been tilling some of the fields and preparing them to be planted with watermelon.

  While working, Oliver had seen people suddenly storm into the field. He had shut off the monstrous vehicle and climbed down. People weren’t supposed to be in these fields. They were clearly marked.

  He cut the engine, jamming the keys angrily into his pocket. As the sound of the machinery died, he finally heard it.

  The screaming.

  Shill, terrified, pain-filled screams.

  A woman ran directly at him. Even at a distance he could tell she was hurt. Badly. Blood ran down the side of her face and soaked the front of her shirt, making it bright red.

  As Oliver neared the woman, her wounds became more apparent. Blood didn’t pour down her face from a wound. Half the woman’s face was gone. Just missing. Her cheek, an ear, a chunk of hair, and even an eye were missing from her face.

  When Oliver had rushed in to help, the woman snarled and lunged for him. Her fingers grabbed ahold of his shoulders, digging painfully into his flesh. As she pulled her against him, her snapping bloodied teeth came within inches of his face. After grappling with the woman, he had turned and run from the farm. He hadn’t stopped running until he reached the airfield.

  “Alright everyone, get down.” Ervin dropped to the ground, flattening himself against the soft ground.

  Colin followed Ervin’s example and flattened himself to the ground. There wasn’t anything to hide in, only dirt. But hopefully the low profile would help them go unnoticed until they reached the tractor.

  At least a dozen freaks marched through the barren field. Colin could feel his muscles tensing as the group steadily crept forward towards the tractor.

  In the last few yards, Oliver and Samuel leapt up and dashed for the behemoth vehicle. Oliver jammed his hand into his pocket and fished out a small pair of keys. The two didn’t slow down as they approached. Instead, they slammed into the tractor and immediately ascended the short ladder to the cab.

  Shrieks cut through the air as the two reached the top. Oliver took his place in the seat as Samuel clung to the ladder, pistol ready.

  “Jig’s up guys. Get ready!” Ervin pushed himself to standing and leveled his rifle at the freaks as they sprinted across the field. As Colin jumped up, more people poured out from between the buildings. Not people. Freaks. Dozens of them.

  Colin looked toward the tractor. “Come on guys! Get it going!”

  With a growl, Samuel leaned into the cab, snatching the keys from Oliver. He jammed the key into the ignition and the tractor roared to life.

  Even over the tractor, Colin could hear the howls and angry cries rising up as more of the freaks caught sight of their group. A chill ran down his spine.

  Some of the freaks were fast, quickly moving ahead of the others and closing the distance between themselves and the living.

  An arrow zipped through the air from behind Colin, slamming into one of the freaks and sending her toppling to the ground. Behind him, Eric cursed as he drew another arrow. The freak pushed herself back up, her scream echoing over the tractor’s massive engine, the arrow protruding from her neck like a porcupine quill.

  Another arrow flew past Colin, slamming into the woman’s face and laying her out flat.

  “Bitch,” Eric muttered.

  The field was full of freaks. Angry, bloody, teeth-gnashing freaks. All running straight for the tractor. Straight for them. The steady report of Ervin’s rifle rang out, punctuating the roar of the tractor’s engine.

  What the hell were we thinking? Colin gritted his teeth against the fear.

  A man, his hands and clothes crusted with dried reddish-brown blood, slammed into the tractor. Colin leapt forward. His crowbar connected squarely with the back of the man’s head, bouncing it off the tractor before he slumped to the ground.

  Fingers wrapped tightly around his left wrist. Without thinking, Colin spun around, lashing out with the crowbar. The weapon slammed into a man’s jaw, knocking it askew with a terrible crunch. His mouth hung open, his tongue lolling lazily out of the side as a gurgled moan rose in his throat. Despite the injury, the freak never let go.

  With a snarl, Colin raised the crowbar again. This time he brought it down on the freak’s face, caving in the monster’s eye socket.

  Why is it still here? Colin thought, glancing up at Samuel and Oliver on top of the tractor. They should have started moving when the hoard gathered. Instead, the tractor still sat at their backs idling as the freaks pressed forward. Samuel’s lips moved as he fired into the snarling crowd, though he couldn’t hear what he was saying over the deafening cacophony.

  The tractor couldn’t move anymore. Colin and the others had pressed in against the hulking machinery as the freak drew near, desperate to keep their backs covered. Now, they surrounded it on all sides, preventing it from moving, and the freaks were surrounding them. Instead of creating a distraction, the tractor was drawing the freaks right to them.

  Eric inched his way over until he was shoulder to shoulder with Colin, his bow slung across his back. In its place, he now brandished a baseball ball.

  “We need to get out of here!” Eric shouted, swinging at a freak and striking it squarely in the temple as it lunged towards him.

  “That would be nice.” Colin shoved a freak back when it got too close, before swinging his crowbar. “But I don’t think the freaks are just going to let us walk away.” Out of the corner of his eye, Colin could see another man, whose name he hadn’t learned, struggling with one of the freaks. Before Colin could react, the man’s feet flew out from underneath him and he fell on his back, the freak collapsing on top of him. The man’s screams were drowned out as the freak ripped in two.

  Eric looked around quickly. “Up!” He pointed to the wheel well covering the tractor’s large back wheels. “We’ve got to go up! Cover me!”

  Colin lunged forward to intercept a freak as it grabbed for Eric’s exposed back. Colin grabbed the man by the back of his tattered shirt and threw him to the ground. The man sneered back at Colin with a lipless mouth. As the man reach for Colin with a hand with only three fingers, Colin kicked out at him, catching the freak under the chin and snapping his head back. Colin slammed his foot down with a satisfying crunch on the freak’s temple.

  “Colin!”

  The warning was too late. A freak slammed full force into Colin, trapping him between the large wheel of the tractor and furiously snapping teeth. Colin wedged
his arm under the creature’s chin, holding it back inches from his face.

  The freak’s right ear was missing. It had been ripped off, taking with it a long jagged section of skin and hair and leaving a portion of the creature’s skull exposed. The man screamed in Colin’s face, the putrid stink of its breath making Colin’s gorge rise.

  An arrow suddenly sprouted from the top of the man’s head. A startled look crossed his face as the man’s eyes grew wide. The man suddenly wilted to the ground unceremoniously like a marionette whose strings had suddenly been cut, taking the ax with him.

  A hand took hold of Colin’s arm. As Colin whipped around to lash out at his next attacker, he realized the hand was pulling him up. Eric gripped his forearm tightly as Colin scrambled up the few short steps and over the large wheel well, clutching onto the roof to keep from falling.

  As Colin looked out from his vantage point, his heart sank. The freaks surrounded them on all sides. Their snarling faces and thrashing arms created a waving sea that screamed for their flesh.

  Colin looked over his shoulder. Ervin sat opposite them on the other tractor wheel, firing down into the mass of freaks below him. Rotna stood next to him, precariously clinging to the tractor.

  “What do we do now?” Eric had to scream to be heard over the cacophony of howls.

  “Can we move this thing?” Colon looked to Samuel and Oliver. Oliver nodded.

  Suddenly, Oliver’s face contorted in pain. Samuel spun around as a freak pulled itself up using the front of Oliver’s shirt. He pushed frantically against the creature as it grabbed at his face. It grabbed onto his ear, pulling Oliver close to its gaping mouth.

  With a wet tear, the ear ripped free from the side of Oliver’s head. Oliver wobbled in his seat, the weight of the freak dragging him down and over the side of the tractor. Samuel reached out, frantically grabbing for Oliver but coming up with nothing but air.