She looked up at him, with an almost questioning glare, and then returned to her work. She took a strip of gauze and started to absorb the excess fluid when she finally spoke. “Cordelia.” She said, solemnly. Her British accent accentuating the name.
Alain was sincerely surprised at how the sound of her name touched him in that moment. It’s as if in hearing her name he finally saw her as a true human being. Having killed many people who carried the same symptoms, they had become expendable husks, walking corpses, unimportant facets of reality that simply existed as obstacles to their goals. But now, before him, one of them knelt, and carefully, gently washed his damaged limb. She was undoubtedly human, and for a very short moment that realization threatened to give consequence to all the others that he had killed in the past, but he knew he could not let that thought overtake him. He could not blame himself for ending the lives, of those who had fallen victim to the disease. He looked at her as she worked so diligently to make him better. He hated cliche’s but couldn’t help it. “That’s a beautiful name.” he said, as sincerely has he could.
“Thank you.” She said, smiling to herself for the first time in weeks. “There, that should be good, the swelling will go down in a few days, you’re lucky you didn’t get infected with anything.”
“Luck.” Alain thought to himself, “ Is that what this is?”
“What’re we doing Mack?” Tim said quietly, peering over his shoulder toward the ambulance as he leaned his back against a car. “How are we going to get picked up by these people in Medina if we’re suddenly siding with infected?”
“Look Tim.” Mack answered sternly. “By helping them out we honestly have a better chance at making it to the field”
“But once they know we plan on joining their enemies do you think that these people are going to just let us through?”
“Since we helped them out, yes, maybe they will.”
“And if they don’t?”
“Tim.” Mack said, putting his hand on his shoulder. “That’s when we start shooting.” he said as he began to walk toward the ambulance.
“Uh huh... you’re getting sloppy Mack, we have no idea what we’re getting into.” He said to him loudly, making sure that Mackenzie had heard him as he gained distance. He didn’t reply.
“So, Cordelia, how far is this blockade you were talking about?” Mackenzie asked.
“Hey, how did you already know her name?” Al asked.
“She told me?” Mackenzie answered in a quip.
“Well, the blockade exists within the outskirts of town at all entrances, this was only one of them.”
“So you mean we don’t have anything else to contend with on our way into Medina?”
“Well, not exactly.” She said. “There is still the fact of the people living within the city.”
“You mean the infected?”
“Yes, and I fear they will be difficult to negotiate with.”
“Well, we’ll see when we get there.”
Mathew sat up and slid the latex gloves off of his hands, turning them inside out as to avoid the blood that dripped from them. “Well, from what I can tell, none of the shrapnel hit anything particularly important. He should be fine, but I don’t have the tools necessary to be sure. Not to mention I’m not a doctor.”
“I was going to ask.” Said Cordelia, “How is it you know so much about these kinds of wounds?”
“Thanks mostly to these guys, and the internet, while it was still running.”
“Yeah.” Alain laughed, “We gave him the problems, the internet gave him the solutions.”
“Actually, I took out my first bullet in Sudbury, from a stranger that had stumbled into my apartment complex already bleeding. It didn’t take long for me to realize that this stuff wasn’t exactly as difficult as it seemed. Or maybe I just had a knack for it. I started doing more complex operations when we got our hands on some actual medical supplies at the hospital.”
“Well I’ve watched doctors and surgeons work, and I must say that you could have fooled me into thinking you had a Ph.D.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“I also heard you’re a pilot, a jack of all trades are we?” She said to Mathew.
“Some would call me that, I would say that I’m simply learning things by necessity. We needed to fly a plane, I happened to have a small bit of experience in doing so. As for the bullet, I had to do it to save the mans life and I figured that I couldn’t do too much more damage.”
“I didn’t complain when he took the shotgun pellets out of me.” Alain said, putting his foot back into his boot with care.
“Yeah, that was probably the most difficult one considering how deep some of them had gone, and how many times I had to make new incisions to get to them.”
“Well, I was too drunk to care. Mind you I’ve never thrown up so much in my life after that.” Alain remarked, looking up in nostalgia.
“I remember that.” Mackenzie said, we pumped you full of pain killers and Vodka, was a really dumb idea, but it seemed to have worked.”
“Painkillers and Vodka? Are you insane?” Cordelia said, “I can’t believe he didn’t have a heart attack.”
“Well, we had epinephrine nearby if he would have gone into arrest I think we could have gotten him out of it with a good shot of adrenaline.”
“Well, thank you for showing me the amateur side of your talent Mr. Dionne.”
“I’ll... take that as a compliment too.” Mathew said.
“We should get moving.” Mackenzie mentioned. “Where’s the other biker?”
“He left with the boy on the bike, his burns weren’t that bad.” Mathew said, sitting up and looking into the driver seat of the ambulance for keys.
Cordelia shook her head. “There’s no use, the roads are far too congested with abandoned vehicles to use this as a means of returning to Medina, we’ll have to roll him on the stretcher. It’s only six kilometers to the checkpoint in Ridgeway, and then another five or so to downtown Medina.”
“That’s not a bad idea.” Mathew said as he made his way out of the ambulance and started pulling the stretcher out. “Al, help me extend the legs.”
“How far is it from here?” Mackenzie asked.
“There will be a checkpoint near the entrance to town. Hopefully Trevor does not betray us in some way by convincing them to fight us. I somehow think he looked up to your efforts to help us though, we shouldn’t have a problem.”
“What should I do with the LMG Matt? We’re out of rounds for it.”
“I thought you said you still had a few left?”
“I did, but there were only twenty, so I unlinked them and gave them to Tim.
“Alright, hang on to it for now, we might be able to get some more from the people who want to pick us up.”
“About that.” Cordelia started, “I’m not sure how you’re going to get there without strong resistance from the group that took me in. They’re very serious about not letting anyone into this place, they’ve already killed dozens of uninfected. My word is not worth very much either, I may be able to get you into the city safely, but after that you’re on your own.”
“We understand.” Mathew said.
Mackenzie nodded. “Then let’s get a move on”
Alain press checked his pistol and holstered it, nodding to Tim who had done the same with his rifle, ensuring there was a round loaded into the chamber.
The group walked off, leaving the ambulance behind. Mackenzie walked with Cordelia in the rear, Alain and Mathew pushed the stretcher and Timothy led with his weapon resting on his chest.
It took about an hour to reach the checkpoint, and when they arrived it seemed that Trevor, the other biker, had said kind words. The small group of young men standing at the entrance to Ridgway were concerned, but not a threat. They were glad to see Cordelia, and apparently grateful for helping the biker. The young men pointed the way to a large farmhouse on the outskirts of Medina and told them to meet their leader there, and also mentioned it was there that they wanted their wounded friend to be brought. The group continued through the city. The outlying buildings were still abandoned, but in the next half hour of their trek, they began to encounter more and more people inhabiting the houses. The mood had changed drastically, and now the four knew they were not in friendly territory. The young men at the checkpoint obviously knew the biker well, and were grateful for that reason alone. The majority of the inhabitants of this town however, did not care for the work they had done on the biker and appeared to be leaning toward a hostile demeanor. On several occasions during their walk, vehicles drove by with groups of armed people in them, all occupants stared at them intently. The fact that their mouths were all covered seemed to intensify the stares they received from passers by.
After nearly an hour of walking, they arrived at their destination, without once being offered a ride by those who had working vehicles.
“I will come in with you.” Cordelia said.
“Well I hope so, shit you walked this whole way didn’t you?” Mackenzie said, slightly nervous about the situation they had gotten themselves into.
“Let’s get this over with.” Tim said, his mood bitter.
Mathew and Alain picked up the stretcher and lifted it up the set of stairs to the front doors of the large home and they made their way inside.
Once inside two men retrieved the wounded man from them and without a word, pointed them to a set of doors at the top of a staircase. One of them pointed toward a large rectangular bin to the right of the door. “Drop your firearms in there, you will be searched afterward.
Mackenzie and Mathew looked at each other for a moment and silently communicated their concerns.
As Mathew took his revolver and placed it in the bin he turned to Cordelia. “Cordelia, could you please introduce us, so that we don’t seem as invaders to this place?”
“Very well.” She said, making her way up the stairs.
“She talks weird.” Tim whispered to Al as he dropped his weapons in the bin as well.
“Shut up, this isn’t the time to joke.” He replied, as he looked around, noticing that there were several figures, hidden in the hallways that connected to the lobby-like room they occupied. “We’re being watched constantly.”
“I’d be afraid too... we’re badass.” Tim said, obviously trying to lighten the mood.
Alain couldn’t help but laugh a bit at the last comment.
“Alright, game faces on.” Mackenzie said as Cordelia opened the doors.
They stepped through into a short hall were they were frisked, afterward they entered the second set of doors which lead to a large dining room.
Several men walked toward them, all of them armed with swords. They wore black dress pants and black long sleeve turtle neck shirts.
“I count nine.” Tim said, leaning toward Alain so that only he heard.
“Same, all with horrible fashion sense.” Alain replied.
“We can do nine.” Mathew started.
“If we play this right we won’t have to.” Mackenzie followed.
Ahead of them, a man entered the room from a set of doors on the opposite side. He wore a robe with a priests collar. He walked briskly and wore a stern expression on his unmasked face. “I am Reverend Osbourne. Firstly I would like to thank you for helping my young soldier, actions such as this have won you a very short audience. Speak now, ask what you will of my people and then be on your way, but know this: You will not be allowed anywhere near the college campus.”
Cordelia stood forward and as she did so the nine men who surrounded them moved to compensate for her advance, their blades pointed at her.
“Hey! Mackenzie said, moving toward them quickly to protect her from what harm they may pose. He pulled her back softly with one arm and moved forward. “Don’t touch her.”
“Yes, of that.” Osbourne started, “Since you have decided to disobey Trevor in his attempt to have you come with him, you Cordelia Watts, are no longer part of this community and will go where they go when they leave. Of course that further strengthens the fact that you will not go near the campus, because they will shoot her on sight. As I can see you are already protective of her and therefore this will not be a problem. Nevertheless I owe you one small favor, now be quick of it and leave my sight before I change my mind and have you killed.”
The four were stunned, they weren’t in the slightest bit of control. The situation was completely in the Reverends hands and it seemed they could do nothing short of violence to win over the situation.
“Sir.” Mathew started. “I have good reason to believe that the people who requested us at the college can be negotiated with. I can tell from how you are living that all you want is to be left alone, and perhaps we can come to an understanding if we are capable of coming to some kind of mutual agreement with them.”
Tim moved forward. “Sir, you have no idea how much hope you’ve given me.” He turned and looked at the others. “Ever since the world fell to pieces we knew we’d have to be constantly on the move but we needed destinations, and so we decided that we’d attempt to find our parents first.” He fell silent for a moment, and when he continued, his voice was lower, laced with emotion. “But... all we found were empty, destroyed homes. It’s my turn out of the four of us. My parents lived in St-Catharines, it’s the first big city we’ve had to get into for some time and we need help. Before now we thought we’d only be going there to find out what happened to them, how they died. But now that I know some people can survive infection, I have hope to find my parents alive! Do you have any idea how much that changes things? We need the help of that faction, they have an aircraft that will make it a thousand times easier to get into the city, and if we can make it easier for you to live here, near them, then we all win.”
“Young man.” the Reverend started, stroking one of the cordyceps spines that grew near his chin. “Your plights are your own. I will not deal with the men from the prison. We have tried, and they’ve done nothing but fire on us. They’ve killed hundreds of us. I will not try to deal with them, and I will not allow you to meet them and strengthen their numbers.”
“Is it a war you want?” Alain started, “Because the way you’re talking it seems, you hope for armed conflict, and I can tell you that they’re far better equipped than you are. If you fight them, you’ll lose. If you let us talk, you don’t lose anything.”
“I don’t?” He replied. “I’ve already lost something, Cordelia was a great asset to us, and now she’s been condemned by your actions, into exile. You have taken her from me, and I will not allow her to be killed by those men if you attempt to meet them. My men will not hesitate to kill you if you go to that campus.”
Mackenzie shook his head in frustration. “You make no sense, we didn’t take her from you, you’re the one who made the decision to send her into exile, you could just as easily take that back.”
“No, you insolent fool. There are rules to be followed and they shall be followed. I must follow them just as she should have, I’ve already been kind enough to give you my time and now you’re wasting it by challenging my authority, I should have you shot for your transgressions.”
In that moment the left side of the reverends head exploded, the shot rang out so loudly within the room that the guards nearly fell to their knees holding their ears. The reverends body hit the floor and the contents of his head splattered across the hardwood as smoke rose from Mathew’s compact USP.
Mackenzie still had his mouth open and his arm up ready to gesture the words he meant to reply. He shut his mouth and lowered his hand. “Well... so much for diplomacy.”
Mathew walked forward, pistol whipping one man in the side of the head., “I was tired of his bullshit.” he said, picking up the sword.
Another one of the guards reached for his sword and attempted to get up but Mathews shot him in the top of the head. A sickening crack ensued as he fell to the floor, a corpse.
Mackenzie turned to the door behind them, the guard there was also stunned from the shot. He moved quickly in order to take advantage of the moment. He elbowed the man in the side of the head, and kneed him in the face as he fell sideways, sliding against the door. When he hit the ground Mackenzie had pulled the blade from its sheath and parried an attack from another nearby guard. He blocked the incoming blade at an angle that forced the overpowered blow to slide over him, opening the side of his enemy to attack. He stepped forward, adding his movement to the thrust as it entered just below the ribs.
The man attempted to scream, but his diaphragm had been punctured and rendered useless. He fell to the floor, the blade sliding painfully out of the wound. He was suffocating and drowning in his own blood.
Timothy turned quickly about, smashing his palm into one guards face before thrusting his knee into the other. They both fell to their knees.
“Here.” Mathew yelled, throwing Tim the sword he had.
Tim caught it and beheaded one of the men at his feet, the other ran backward on his hands and feet, horrified at the sight.
Alain had drawn the sword of the guard in front of him who raised his hands.
Unbeknownst to Alain, the guard behind him was recovering from the shock of the first shot and raised his sword.
Mathew put a bullet in the side of his head before he could do any damage.
Alain turned around with lightning speed but only to watch the body fall to the ground.
“No!” The other guard screamed and tackled him from behind.
Alain quickly grasped his forearm and threw the man over his shoulder, stabbing him in the neck as he lay on the floor.
When the only remaining sound was the blood gurgling from a slit throat; four of the guards were dead, one was unconscious, three held their hands up with no will to fight, and one wept uncontrollably in the corner. “Very well.” Cordelia said, obviously shaken from the ordeal. “Now what are we supposed to do?”
Tim looked around the room, realizing now that they had a small town filled with angry infected that knew how to wield weapons and drive vehicles. “This is the part where we run like hell.” he said.
Mackenzie turned around. “We need our weapons.”
Just as he said that a man burst into the room from behind him screaming. He held the M249 in his arms and bore a crazed expression on his face. “Ah! You’re all gonna die!”
“You’re kidding me.” Alain said.
The man pulled the trigger and heard nothing, not even a click.
“Nice try pal.” Mackenzie said.
He looked at the weapon and then back at them, his expression had changed, it was a mixture of embarrassment and terror.
Mackenzie pulled the machine gun out of his hands by the barrel and stuck his blade into the mans stomach.
He grunted in pain, falling over as blood coursed through his shirt and onto the hardwood floor.
The five of them walked out of the room and into the short hall. Mathew guarding those men who were still within the dining room until they closed the door and locked it.
“Obviously these people have no idea how guns work.” Mackenzie said as he opened the door to the lobby where their weapons were kept. “Don’t move!” He yelled to the people in the next room. “This is a big gun, which means it can do a lot of damage, let us be and you won’t end up dead like everyone in the room behind us.”
The men in the lobby stayed hidden in the hallways and doorwayd.
Mathew returned the compact USP to the hidden holster at the small of his back and then picked up the remainder of his weapons as the others did while Mackenzie covered them with the empty machine gun.
Mackenzie continued. “Is wear, I’ll blow a hole the size of a bowling ball into your chest if you so much as think about attacking us.”
Tim was picking up his pistol when he turned to Mackenzie. “Is that five, nine or ten pin bowling ball size?” he said mockingly.
“Shut up, you’ll blow my cover.” Mackenzie said, almost laughing.
“Not like it matters, we’ve got the working guns back now anyway.” Alain said.
“Alright folks, we have to run. And for that reason, I’ll be giving you this.” Mackenzie said, throwing the machine gun to the floor. “‘Cause it’s just too damn heavy.” he turned quickly and ran past the others, picking up his Kimber 1911 and rifle as he spoke. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
“Which way?” Alain asked.
Mackenzie had already entered the short hall with his gear. “Through the door that guy came from, hurry let’s go!”
The men in the room finally caught on to the ruse and began leaving the shadows.
“Come on, the creepy cult people are coming we don’t have much time!” Mackenzie continued, holding the door for the others. “Cordelia, do you know this house?”
“Yes.” She said as Mathew stepped up to her while Tim and Alain closed the doors to the short hall.
“Do you know how to use this?” Mathew said to her, drawing his compact USP.
“Yes.”
“Jee you don’t say much do you lady?” Tim said, walking past them heading toward the other door.
“Here.” Mathew gave her the pistol, “Hopefully you don’t have to shoot anyone you know, god knows I’ve done it.”
As Timothy and Alain unlocked the next door they hear screaming.
“Ah shit.” Alain said, “That’s never good.”
“They’ve changed” Cordelia whispered.
“Well, let’s change them again.” Tim said.
Alain shook his head. “That was really lame, I hope you know that.”
Tim sighed, “Just open the fucking door.”
Tim and Alain opened the door as Mathew and Mackenzie walked through, their weapons at the ready.
Since Mackenzie had a lot more 9mm rounds than 7.62 he drew his pistol for this short range encounter, the M14 remained slung on his back.
Mathew on the other hand had the perfect weapon for this range, and his shotgun was brought to bare. He turned the corner to see the three they had left in the room defending themselves against the corpse of Revrend Osbourne. “If I shoot I’ll hit them.” Mathew said.
Before Mackenzie could answer, Cordelia had fired her weapon and took off the other side of Reverend Osbournes head.
“Well, that takes care of that.” Mackenzie said. At his feet stirred one of the corpses. It was shaking as if having a seizure. When the convulsions stopped, it began to rise slowly. Mackenzie shot it in the head, killing the man for the second time in ten minutes.
“See, this is why we should just lob all their heads off, the one I killed isn’t coming back to life now is he?”
“The man has a point.” Alain said, turning around after having closed the door behind him. “This door doesn’t lock from this side, we should get moving.”
“Through there is the Reverends quarters.”
“I don’t want to know how you know that.” Tim said.
“He has concubines, I was one of them for a time.”
“I just told you lady, I didn’t want to know how you knew that!”
Mackenzie shook his head, “Tim, shut up!”
“Well shit, I mean I just told her.”
“Seriously, shut it.”
“Alright.”
Alain frowned, “Don’t you mean he had? Past tense?” he said as they made their way across the dining room.
“It’s strange to think of him as gone, only moments ago he was speaking to us.” She said, looking back at him as she continued walking. “ I suppose his death was long overdue, much like the most of us.”
“I second that.” Mathew said. “I only knew the guy for a few minutes and knew his death was long overdue.”
They opened the doors to Reverends chambers to find four half naked women huddled in a corner.
“Don’t worry, we’re not here to hurt you, we only need a way out.” Tim said,
One of them stood up, “You killed him didn’t you. Cordelia.”
“As a matter of fact I did.”
“You killed him!” She screamed, running toward the group with a crazed expression twisting her face.
Her expression didn’t last long as a loud shot rang out and her head flung backward followed by the rest of her body as she became airborne.
Mathew had drawn his revolver and fired it from the hip, striking her in the forehead and destroying the majority of her head. He stood with the shotgun in his left hand and the revolver in the right. “Anyone else care about the Reverend, because I killed him the first time.”
The other three women stayed huddled in the corner speechless as the rest of the group continued into another room.
The next room was filled with loot, objects that may have been worth something when the world still worked the way it used to, but now they were nothing but objects. Gold plated silverware, crystal chandeliers, useless artifacts of a world that had since died. The only valuable things in existence at this point were things that kept you alive.
They continued forward, not even stopping for a moment at the treasures the reverend had accumulated from his people. It only took them a few minutes through narrow halls to make their way out of the large house.
Cordelia pointed to the south. “From here it’s about an hour to walk to the campus, but there are a few obstacles. We have to cross the river, and there are other checkpoints around the city. Word will spread fast that the reverend is dead, which can be advantageous considering there were many who wanted his position.”
“We need a vehicle.” Mathew said.
Cordelia shook her head. “I don’t think that would be good.” We can avoid people much more easily on foot.”
“I agree with her.” Alain said, we should get away from this house as quickly as we can first.
“This way.” Cordelia said, breaking into a sprint to the east.
They crossed the street and entered a wooded area that they continued through for about five minutes before reaching a river.
Cordelia drew into the sand at their feet. “We can follow this to the dam, and then continue toward the bridge relatively unseen. There’s a large basin after the dam, if we follow it around we can get to one of the smaller bridges that crosses the canal and make it into town from there. It’s a few kilometers.”
“How many is a few?” Alain asked. “My foot is killing me.”
“It’s about four.” she replied. “If we stay against the shoreline the whole time.”
Mackenzie wondered, “How do you know all this?”
“The reason I’m not a concubine anymore is because I escaped too often. Instead of have me shot he put me on sentry, hoping I would be killed perhaps.”
Tim smiled. “Well obviously he didn’t expect us to come ruin his party.”
“Alright. Let’s get a move on we’ve got a while to walk, stay cautious and stay low.”
The group continued, hugging the side of the river. When they reached the Dam they waited for a few moments to make sure no one was searching in that area before they continued toward the campus. After two or so kilometers they stopped to take a break. Alain’s foot was swelling up and Cordelia insisted on looking at it.
“Come here.” she said, moving toward him. “Ugh!” she yelled, grasping her arm. She had scraped herself against a broken tree branch.
“Looks like it’ll be me taking a look at you.” He said, reaching to lift her sleeve.
“No. Stop.” she said. Moving away.
“What’s wrong?”
“I know this pain, a spine broke.”
The other three turned to her from their watch.
“What does that mean?” Tim asked.
“It means a spine broke dumb ass.” Mackenzie yelled, his insult sounding metallic from the mouthpiece of the gasmask.
“It’s nothing, I just can’t help you anymore, the spines carry spores. I can’t risk infecting you through the wounds on your feet.”
“Come here.” he said, taking her by the arm and pulling her closer. “Mathew, get me the first aid kit.”
Mathew took the bag off of his back and moved toward them. “Here.”
“Let me see.” Alain said.
“I’m not... comfortable with this.” she said.
“Hey look.” Alain replied. “I let you fix my foot earlier and I wasn’t comfortable with it so it’s time to repay the favor.”
She looked at him, her eyes were smiling. “Alright.” she said quietly, letting her arm limp in his grasp.
Alain lifted the sleeve slowly. The spines grew in a line, following the large veins a few centimeters apart. They were longer near her elbow and shoulder. It was one on her elbow that had ruptured. “Here it is, does it hurt?”
“Only when they break, now the pain is subsiding.”
“How do I clean it?”
“You should try and remove what’s left, at the base, and then it’s like any other wound.”
“That makes it easy.” Mathew said.
Alain looked at him. “Maybe you should do this considering it involves cutting.”
“Alright.” Mathew said, switching places with Alain. “Here we go, let me know if it hurts.”
“It shouldn’t hurt too much if you only get the fungus.” She said, watching him cut into the base of the spine.
“There, gone.” Mathew took the disinfectant and rinsed out the wound, then applied a aloe cream and wrapped her elbow in gauze. “Better?”
“Thank you.” She said.
“Wow Mathew, you were almost paternal there.” Mackenzie said.
“Almost.” Alain added.
Mathew laughed as he got up. “Whatever, pass me the black light.”
“Why?”
“I want to see how many spores came out of that spine.”
“You can see them with black light?” she asked.
“Yeah, it’s what we use when decontaminating each other or to check if a building is safe to take our gas masks off in. There’s always some, but if the air isn’t saturated it’s alright to breath.”
Alain passed him the black light and he turned it on.
Her sleeve was covered in it, some of it was still visible in the air, but the majority was caught in the sleeve when it ruptured.
“That’s what I expected, it’s all caught in the sleeve, they’re bigger than I thought.” Mathew commented.
“What do you mean?” She asked.
“Well, it seems like the more you’re affected by the disease, the smaller the spores you produce. The smaller the spores, the better chance they infect, because there’s more, and if they’re really small they’ll go through anything you’re covering yourself with.”
Mackenzie started, “Not to mention if they’re small enough they can get into your body through other means than just your lungs.”
“Yeah, you can get it through the ears, eyes, nose.” Alain said.
“Any orifice really.” Tim added.
Mackenzie shook his head. “That sounded wrong.”
“Of course it did, Tim said it.” Alain quipped.
“Alright. I’m clean so I’ll take a look at your foot and then we’ll be on our way.” Mathew stated as he made his way toward Alain. It only took him a few moments to replace the bandages, and before long they were on their way.
As they turned another bend in the river Mackenzie took up the rear guard, waiting for everyone to pass. Cordelia was the last and he began to walk with her once she came near.
“So, what’s your plan once you get to the campus?” She asked.
“Well right now it’s kind of in the air because I’m not sure how we’ll convince them that you’re with us and not a threat. But the idea is to ask them to use their aircraft to help us get to St-Catharines, like Tim said in the farm house earlier.” Mackenzie looked up, “Speak of the devil.” He said, as the thunderous sound of a planes engines echoed in the distance.
Cordelia looked up to the sky, searching for it. “I’ve never been in a plane before. I came here by boat when I was a little girl. I’ve always had a thing about the sky though, there’s just something about the clouds, makes me want to touch them.”
“Heh, if only you could. I know what you mean though. Where are you from?”
“Wales.”
“Ah, I’m from up north. Canada.”
“I know, you have a strange accent.”
Mackenzie laughed. “Heh, I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You should.” she said, “Because it was.” she walked on, passing Mathew and moving toward Alain.
Mackenzie smiled to himself, he enjoyed that conversation, it had been a long time since he had been attracted to a woman.
An hour passed when they finally reached a bend in the river that Cordelia identified as their destination.
Cordelia stopped and pointed. “The wall to our right belongs to a cement factory. On the other side of this factory is the bridge we need to cross the canal and get further into Medina. When we turn the corner of the wall you’ll see the bridge.”
“Alright, let’s get going.” Alain said, “hopefully no one’s waiting for us.”
“If they are, I can take them out from here and we’ll get across the bridge as quickly as possible and then try to disappear in some buildings or something.”
“I’ll go take a look” Tim said, moving up against the wall carefully.
The others watched him as he made his way to the end of the wall. He peered around the corner as slowly, and returned behind cover even more slowly.
“Someone’s there.” Mathew said.
“Yup.” Mackenzie replied, moving up past Alain who was nodding at Mathew’s statement. “Follow me.” he said.
The three followed Mackenzie as he made his way up to Tim and then dropped into the prone. He slowly crawled forward until he could see around the corner and set himself in a firing position. “Alright Tim, move up with them. I’ll shoot the first one who notices you guys, try and get the second one if you can. If not I’ll try and take him out.”
“And if he gets to cover?” Tim asked.
“Then you keep his head down and I’ll move up and try to flank.”
“Alright.” Tim looked around the corner slowly once again. “Here we go.” He signaled to the others and all four of them made their way across the street and toward the bridge.
The two men in question sat in a vehicle in the middle of a three way intersection on the other side of the bridge. Their vehicle pointed south east, away from the bridge, which was lucky for the group. This created the possibility of crossing the bridge unnoticed, although very unlikely. Surely enough, as Mackenzie watched the men in the truck, one of them cocked his head quickly toward one of the rear view mirrors and then leaned forward, turning the ignition of the truck.
Mackenzie waited until the driver put the truck in gear before he squeezed the trigger.
The shot was loud and echoed through the city as blood splattered on the inside of the windshield.
As soon as he fired, Mackenzie peered over the sight and watched the truck roll forward down a slight slope. He could see the passenger frantically trying to gain control of the vehicle. “That ought to do it for now.” he said as he got up and ran as quickly as he could to the bridge.
Tim was walking slowly along the bridge when the shot went off. He watched the passenger recoil away from the bloody mess Mackenzie had created in the truck, and then watched his confusion when the truck began to move. He smiled under his gasmask and turned to see Mackenzie running full tilt toward them. “Let’s go.” he said, and started running as well.
It didn’t take long for Mackenzie to catch up to them. He got to the far side of the bridge at the same time they did and continued running until he was halfway into the street. He knelt in the street and raised his weapon. He could see the passenger clearly against the backdrop of blood. The passenger had managed to step on the brakes and the truck stopped.
“Thanks.” Mackenzie said to the passenger, having made his shot that much easier. The trigger clicked and the firing pin struck the base of the round, sending a 7.62 hurtling through the air a hundred meters before crashing through the rear window and, ultimately, through the head of the trucks passenger.
Mackenzie got up just as Mathew passed by, he waited to watch the truck begin to roll forward again and then followed.
Tim opened the gate to a residential property and they made their way through the yard.
Cordelia pointed the way toward the campus as they continued.
They jumped another fence and turned into an alleyway that lead behind a business. Nearing the exit of the alleyway Tim stopped and slid to the side.
Soon afterward, the others knew why, the sound of a vehicle became audible.
“They must have heard the shot.” Alain said.
Mackenzie moved up, “I wouldn’t doubt it.”
Mathew came up beside him. “They’re not very close, we should keep moving.”
“Agreed.” Mackenzie said, signaling with his hand for Tim to keep moving.
They crossed an intersection and made their way through a funeral home parking lot and into more residential yards before finally reaching a set of houses across from a train station.
Cordelia moved up beside Mathew, “The train tracks signify the boundaries of the infected. We don’t cross them, the faction has armed personnel near the campus and they fire on people they recognize as infected.”
“Do they recognize you?” Alain asked.
“I think they would.” She replied.
“So what, we just leave her here?” Tim asked.
“No. I can’t do that.” Mackenzie said, peering across the street to the train station.
“Let’s go then.” Mathew said, standing up. “We have to be quick.”
They got up and started for the train station. As soon as they began to run across the street, a truck turned the corner and opened fire on them.
Mackenzie stopped in the street and knelt, firing one round before getting up and continuing as quickly as he could toward the train station.
Mathew fired his shotgun at the door several times as they ran toward it and struck it with his shoulder once they arrived, barreling into the room as the door broke into splinters. The others followed.
The truck squealed to a stop at the door and the man in the box opened fire with an automatic weapon.
Mackenzie rolled into the doorway, sliding on the dusty tiles as he fired back through the doorway. “Move!” He yelled, getting up and running the length of the station toward the western exit.
Cordelia ran in front of them, leading the way.
The wheels of the truck screamed as it began to move alongside the building. Rounds rained through the side of the wall and columns of light sprang forth from the holes.
Mackenzie dropped to the prone as did the others. He looked up to see Cordelia hit the ground as well. When the firing stopped he got up and continued running. “Come on Cordelia we’ve got to move.” He said, taking her arm.
“Leave me.” She said, forcing the words through clenched teeth.
“What?” Mackenzie looked at her more closely, blood began to pool beneath her. “No.” He said, “No, you’re not dying here.”
“Mackenzie, please.” she said, blood leaking from the canisters on her mask. “Don’t do this.”
Alain caught up. “What happened? Is she hit?”
Mathew reached them and slid to her on his knees, taking off his backpack as he slid. “Guy’s cover me.”
“Right.” Mackenzie said, getting his head back into the firefight.
Alain picked up the shotgun and moved toward a window while staying low. He peered over the sill to catch a glimpse of the truck. “They’re turning around.” He said. “I’m going to the door.” Alain ran while remaining crouched toward the western doorway.
The truck came alongside the building and slowed down, the occupants were trying to see through the windows.
Mackenzie was looking at them trough one of the bullet holes in the wall. “Al, shoot at them from that doorway when they turn that way Tim and I will open fire.”
“Got it.” Alain said, firing the shotgun and taking the handle off the door. He kicked it down walked outside and turned around the corner before firing at the truck.
Tim and Mackenzie stood in the window as they turned their attention to Al and opened fire.
Tim fired in semi-automatic, picking his shots as three of his rounds punctured the passenger side window and traveled across the cab, striking both the driver and passenger in the shoulders and head.
Mackenzie fired two shots at the man with the machine gun on the back of the truck. Both shots hit him in the chest as he fell backward off the truck which sped off, the drivers corpse having pressed harder on the peddle.
They watched as the truck flew down the road, smashing into a building at the end of the street just outside their view.
All three turned back to Mathew who had removed Cordelia’s shirt.
She lay bloodied on the concrete, with only her bra on they could see the extensive fungal growth on her chest and abdomen, there were small spines following every vein cluster on her body.
“How is she?” Alain asked.
Mathew turned her on her side and lifted her braw to get to the wound. A round had gone in just between her ribs. “She’s most likely got a punctured lung and is bleeding internally I’m sure of it.”
“Just leave me...” she said, taking the gasmask off her face and coughing blood onto the concrete.
Mackenzie saw her face for the first time, she was beautiful. “I can’t let you die here.” He said. He picked out a pack of quick clot from the backpack and poured it on the wound. “This will hurt but it’ll keep you alive.”
“That was a bad idea.” Mathew said, “If her lung’s punctured.”
“I know Matt.” Mackenzie answered, “She’s already lost too much blood I just need her awake.”
She grunted from the pain. “Mackenzie, my death too, has been long overdue. Just let me be.”
“I owe you something, and I’m sure you’ll last long enough to get there. Just hang in there.” He said as he picked her up. “Come on let’s go, we’ve got a plane to catch.”
They left from the west doorway that Alain had blown away and ran south toward the campus. A truck turned the corner as they made their way past the tracks, they fired a few rounds before a loud thud rang out from toward the campus.
“Sniper!” Tim yelled, as a second round whizzed by them. “It came from the school.”
“I think they’re on our side.” Mathew added as they continued to run.
The truck had stopped near the tracks and turned around with a flat tire and a broken windshield.
Mackenzie slowed to a walk, “Alright I have to slow down, I can’t keep this pace.”
“It’s alright we’re in the clear” Alain said.
“Until they notice her that is.” Mathew said in concern.
They continued walking for another block before Cordelia pointed to the right, they made their way down that street until they saw a baseball and football field.
“Cross through there, past that grey building is the track field.” she said.
Her breathing had increased and Mackenzie was worried. “Hang in there. We’re almost there.”
The snipers from the school were visible on the rooftop now, they waved at them, pointing in the direction Cordelia had told them to go in.
They continued to the grey building. As soon as the Osprey came into view Mackenzie got the energy to run again and broke into a jog. “Come on, stay awake. Talk to me.”
“You’re insane Mackenzie.” She said, as she held on to his neck her head resting on his right shoulder.
“Almost there... wait.” He stopped. Mathew, take the blanket out of the bag, we can wrap her up, there aren’t any spines on her face they won’t know she’s infected.”
“Alright.” Mathew said, stopping and pulling out the blanket.
Mackenzie got to a knee and wrapped her with it before getting back up and continuing on his way.
There were men on the ground near the Osprey, they were signaling for them to hurry, the Osprey had already been prepped and was ready for take off.
“Hang on Cordelia, just a few more moments.”
Cordelia smiled, but it quickly died away “I see it now.” she said, “I know what you’re trying to do now. You truly are insane. I could have just as well died in that train station.”
“You don’t know that yet.”
A man near the door to the Osprey hurried them in, “Get on quickly, we can get you to our medical facilities as quickly as possible. Welcome to the Faction.” he said, helping them on to the plane. There were others already inside, Mackenzie sat near the ledge, holding her in his arms. As Mathew held on to him to ensure they didn’t both topple over the edge as the Osprey took off.
“We made it.” Mackenzie said, smiling.
The Osprey took off quickly, the pull of the engines yanked the floor against them as they rose into the sky.
“Look at it.” He said to her.
She turned and looked out of toward the sky as they climbed higher. “It’s beautiful.” she said, reaching out with one hand. “But you know you have to do it.” She said, her arm still out of the aircraft, touching the sky.
“Do what?” Mackenzie asked as he held her.
“You have to let me go Mackenzie.” she said, turning back to him. “You can’t save me, and they’ll never help you if they know what I am.”
“You can take your masks off if you want.” Yelled one of the planes crewmen, “The cordyceps doesn’t come this far up.”
Cordelia pushed Mackenzies mask up off his face and let her hand glide down his cheek as it returned to his shoulder. “Thank you.” she said, as tears began to stream down her face, being pulled wildly in every direction from the gusts of wind entering the plane. “I’m glad you didn’t let me die in the station, but you have to let me die here, you have to let me go. My death is now truly...”
Mackenzie interrupted, “I know Cordelia. Long overdue. Look at me.” He said.
She stared into his eyes. “I’m ready.”
“I’m not.” He replied.
“Then I’m sorry.” She said as she came close and kissed him on the lips. “Goodbye.”
Mackenzie took in a deep breath and loosened his grip on her. She rolled herself away from him and fell from his grasp.
The crewman yelled something and grabbed Mackenzies shoulder, but his eyes were still closed and he heard nothing over his sobs as tears fell into the blanket that remained in his clutch.The Osprey flew on into the evening twilight over the landscape littered with abandoned vehicles and homes, abandoned hopes and dreams, abandoned lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment