Trying to Survive (Part 2)

  Trying to Survive

  Part 2

  By C.J. Crowley

  Contents

  Chapters 1-14

  Chapter 1

  Spotlights fixed to the thick metal bars of the police-style grill on the van cut through the darkness like two small suns. As we approached with our hands in front of our faces, all I could see were the thousands of mosquitoes flocking to the light. The mass of them was swirling in synchronization as though they were all being drawn into a funneling vortex.

  I tried to look in at Jessie when I passed the driver’s side window, but his face was blurred out by the lasting glare. “Those are some serious lights.”

  “Never know – might get caught in a swamp.”

  The engine noise coming from the stainless-steel pipes hanging past the bumper was so loud that it caused Anthony and Clara to cover their ears. The smell of burnt fuel coming from the gutted exhaust was like a slap to the face.

  When Jenny leaned forward and put her hand out to help Anthony and Clara climb in, I noticed a bandage that was barely showing on her neck. Her collar was high, but the shirt was rather tight, so the glow of the tail-lights allowed me to see the outline of it continuing down to the left side of her chest.

  Brian systematically scanned the area one final time and then casually jogged back to the van. “Where’s the other guy? We need to leave.”

  Melanie replied “He went back inside to get the shotgun and whatever else he could carry.”

  Jessie turned back in his seat and said “He better hurry his ass up! I’d be surprised if that pack didn’t show up in the next two minutes.”

  I leaned into the van so my voice wouldn’t be drowned out by the roar coming from the tailpipes. “That building is full of medical supplies – trust me, it’s worth the wait.”

  Brian urged Melanie to follow Anthony and Clara into the van, then put his hand on my back and began trying to lead me in as well. “We gotta be ready to jet when those things show up.”

  I turned to him and sternly said “I’m not getting in that van until my brother gets back.”

  When Jenny reached up and grabbed onto the roof to help herself in, she suddenly tensed up, let go, said “Shit!” and switched hands. Brain rushed over to help, but she managed to easily pull herself in using her other arm.

  He turned back to me and said “Fuckin things, man… Looks like they got you too, huh?”

  Before I could answer, the front door to the building flew open, slammed against the outside wall and Walt came staggering outside. The duffle bag was bulging at the seams, his arms were full of assorted medical supplies and he was barely hanging on to the two gallons of water.

  When some pill bottles and a small white box fell from his hands, I started to limp toward him. Brian stopped me and said “You’re hurt, man. Just get in the van and relax – I’ll help your brother.”

  I struggled to swallow my pride and say “Thank you.”

  The van was particularly high off the ground due to the massive wheels and tires, so I couldn’t exactly “climb” in. My leg had already been pushed to the limit from having to make it down the ladder. Jenny tried to give me a hand, but I waved her off. “My leg is fucked – it won’t help.”

  All I could do was crawl inside on my stomach like a helpless infant. Once I got my legs past the doors, I rolled over and tried to pull myself up into one of the seats. Jenny and Melanie were kind enough to help me the rest of the way.

  When my ass hit the seat and I felt all the weight leave my leg, I leaned my head back and took several deep breaths.

  Jessie’s loud and forceful voice got my attention. I knew he must have witnessed how helpless I was when he remarked “Holy shit… you’re all tore up, aren’t you?”

  I chuckled derisively. “As soon as the first injury started to feel better, they got me again.”

  Jenny interjected. “Once we get somewhere safe, I’ll take a look at you. I’m a doctor.” She put her hand up. “Well, not a medical doctor – but I do have medical training.”

  Right as I began to thank her for the offer, Walt appeared at the back of the van and started carelessly hurling everything inside. Brian jumped in the passenger seat and yelled out “Come on, get in! I can see them coming, and we won’t need any of that shit if we get killed!”

  Walt practically dove in and Jenny slammed the doors behind him. The second they shut, Jessie excitably yelled out “Hang on!” and floored it. Instead of spinning, the massive tires grabbed like glue and it pinned me to the seat as if someone had just thrown a few hundred pounds on my chest.

  Walt was still on the floor, so the force of the acceleration sent him crashing into the back doors, along with everything he’d thrown in the van. All he could do was grab at the seats and hang on while Jessie cut the wheel and did a power-slide out of the parking lot.

  The sound of the van at full-throttle was nothing short of deafening. Melanie and the kids were struggling to hold on and cover their ears at the same time. I could see that Anthony was actually smiling, but Melanie and Clara didn’t look even the least bit amused.

  Once Jessie let off the gas, Walt collected himself and made it to one of the seats. “Holy shit! This thing is nuts!”

  Brian laughed as he turned back in his seat and started motioning at Jessie with his thumb. “This nut-job went to a junk yard and bought an engine from a wrecked Corvette ZR1… 600 horsepower under that hood.”

  Jessie put his finger in Brian’s face and said “Hey – 640 to be exact.”

  Jenny rolled her eyes and remarked “Stop driving like a maniac just because you can, Jessie. You didn’t really need to do all that – you’re just burning up fuel and your back tires!”

  Walt sarcastically yelled up front “Speaking of fuel – what does this thing get? Five miles to the gallon?”

  Jenny groaned out “Don’t even get me started on that.”

  Even though I felt like I could trust them – suddenly, being trapped in the back of a van with a bunch of strangers made me very nervous. When I looked over to Melanie, I could see that she was thoroughly examining Jessie. The corners of her eyes wrinkled with distrust as she looked him up and down… Hopefully, we’re just being paranoid…

  Brian looked to be around my age – probably a few years older. He was tall like Walt, but had more of a build. I could tell he was one of those guys who used to keep his head clean shaven because he was going bald. The week of growth revealed the patches of hair missing in the front and back.

  When I first saw Jessie from the rooftop, he seemed to be a lot older than Jenny. Now, that we were face to face, I could see that Jenny was probably closer to forty than thirty. From afar, her bright, blonde hair and athletic physique gave the appearance of a very young woman.

  When I looked at Jessie’s reflection in the rearview mirror, his lack of wrinkles suggested that his gray hair made him look substantially older than he actually was. If anything, his eyes and grin had the mischievous look of a teenager. He and Jenny seemed to be right around the same age.

  Jenny left on a small, dim light in the back of the van – I assume to help soothe Anthony and Clara. When Jessie’s right hand moved to the center of the steering wheel, his sleeve slightly slid down and revealed the start of a complex and colorful tattoo.

  I knew Jessie must have felt me studying him when he glanced at me in the mirror and asked “So, do you have an eye under there, or what?”

  Brian shifted in his seat so he was facing me. “They got at your leg too, right?”

  “Yeah… and my eye is there, but it’s ruined… It’s not as bad as you think though – I just have to turn my head a little more to see what’s to my left.”

  Brain smiled an
d said “Well, now you got three more people to watch your left for you. We won’t let any of those freaks sneak up on you.”

  When I heard Jenny ask Melanie if Anthony and Clara were hers, I clenched my teeth and closed my eye... I couldn’t even imagine the kind of pain that question must have caused her.

  Melanie paused for a few moments, and softly replied “They are now.”

  Jenny must have sensed the tragedy surrounding her, so she switched her attention to Anthony and Clara in order to quickly change the subject. “What are your names?”

  Anthony gladly answered her with a smile on his face. As usual, Clara was a little on the shy side, so Melanie answered for her. Jenny lightly roughed up Anthony’s hair and said “Well, I have to say… You are two brave kids. I don’t think I was anywhere near that brave when I was your age.”

  As the smiles spread across their little faces, Jessie turned back, just long enough to ask “You kids hungry? We have some snacks.”

  Anthony and Clara both looked to Melanie, nervously seeking her approval. Melanie replied pleadingly “Oh, that would be so great.”

  Jessie was still driving rather quickly – fearlessly swerving around everything in the road, and purposely mowing down “shredders” when he could have just avoided them. Like Jenny said earlier – it seemed like he was doing it for fun.

  When I felt the van start to slow down a little, I asked “So, are we gonna find a place to stop for the night?”

  Brian, who now had a map folded out on his lap, replied “We’re gonna keep goin until the sun comes up. If we stop anywhere while it’s still dark out the van will attract those things... We should also make it close to Georgia by then.”

  Walt interrupted him “Why the hell don’t you ditch this van? There are plenty of cars around that are fast, strong and quiet.”

  Brian mumbled “Here we go” as Jessie began defending the van. “You’re not wrong kid – this van does hurt us in some ways, but it’s invaluable in others. The noise makes it so we can actually get the shredders to clear out of large buildings. Otherwise, it would be near impossible to get more food or raid ammo stores… But most importantly, it can run these things down all day and not get jammed up.”

  Jessie stopped talking and reached in his chest pocket. When I saw a pack of cigarettes in his hand, my eye bulged and I’m pretty sure I felt myself begin to drool. After he lit one and then handed the pack and lighter to Brian, I had to ask “Hey, man… I ran out a few days ago. You don’t mind, do you?”

  Jenny scoffed “Oh, come on – not you too? Now there’re going to be three people smoking in the van?.. Great.”

  Jessie barked “Relax, Jenny, the van has windows” and Brian tossed me the pack. “We have a few cartons, so don’t worry about it.”

  I felt guilty for about half a second, then lit up. I looked back to Melanie and Jenny, sporting an apologetic smile. “Sorry, but I’m in need.”

  Jessie laughed and then looked at me in the rearview mirror as he said “It’s the end of damn world, so let the man smoke in peace! And now that I think about it – anyone who’s had their eye ripped up by a shredder deserves a drink too. It’ll help ease the pain.”

  These guys have booze? That sounds pretty good… but now’s not the time… “I’m good at the moment, but I’ll take you up on that offer once we find a safe place to hide… I already have painkillers and I wanna stay sharp in case anything happens.”

  Melanie nervously said “I’ll take a shot – if you don’t mind. My nerves are fried.” She held her right hand up to the light so we could all see how badly it was trembling. “I can’t make it stop.”

  Brain reached down in front of his seat and started rummaging around. He pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniels, poured a generous shot into a cone shaped, paper cup from an office water-cooler and then handed it to me.

  As I passed it over to Melanie, I thought to myself – I think I’m gonna like these guys.

  Chapter 2

  We spent the next hour or so exchanging small talk and getting to know one another. Interestingly enough, it turned out that they came from The Patrick Air Force Base, which was partnered with NASA and assisted in their launches and preparations. All three of them were part of a team of engineers and scientists who designed, built and assisted in deploying satellites for NASA and military use.

  We were all somewhat in awe. I didn’t even care to pay attention to what was happening outside the van. If anything, it was nice to not see any of it, or even have to think about it for a while.

  Needless to say, Anthony and Clara were extremely interested in hearing more about what they did for a living. Anthony even started talking about how he wanted to be an astronaut. Though it was saddening when he brought up a time his father took him to watch one of the launches… Whenever he mentioned his father, his voice would take on a depressing tone.

  To make Anthony feel better, Brian told him about his trip to the International Space Station. He was sent to help oversee the repair of some equipment that was malfunctioning. Anthony’s face instantly lit up, and he and Clara bombarded Brian with a long line of questioning. But, I could tell Brian was more than happy to help cheer them up by answering every single one.

  The paranoia brought about by our current situation still had me on edge, but I was starting to see that they were good natured people. My feeling of distrust was slowly diminishing and being overcome by a feeling of good fortune.

  Brian and Jessie had also spent some time in Afghanistan, so they were obviously more than qualified to help protect us. And I hoped it would give us the opportunity to learn from them and better our chances of survival.

  Jenny, on the other hand, had spent her career working as a military scientist, and later got a degree in engineering so she could assist in multiple aspects of NASA’s projects. Understandably, she seemed to showcase strong jealousy over the fact that Brian’s been to space.

  Walt attempted to engage them in a discussion about what was really going on, but Jenny quietly instructed him to wait until Anthony and Clara fell asleep. When she did, her face became so distraught that I could only assume we weren’t going to like what they had to say…

  After they were done telling us about their amazing lives, we gave our (what now seemed like) agonizingly boring and short life stories. It was rather intimidating to be around people like them, so we didn’t say much. Melanie didn’t bring up her children at all and barely mentioned her husband – I could tell that she just didn’t feel like talking about it.

  Once we all finished running off a few paragraphs about ourselves and explaining our situation, Walt glanced over and noticed that Anthony and Clara had finally fallen asleep. He leaned forward, hardened his face and proceeded to ask the question we’ve all been waiting to have answered “So, what do you know about what’s going on out there?”

  There was nothing but awkward silence… Brian looked over to Jessie and raised his brow. Jessie finally said “Jenny’s the one you want to talk to.”

  We all immediately adjusted ourselves in the seats so we were facing her. She watched Anthony and Clara for a few seconds to make sure they were really asleep, then put her hands together and transitioned her gaze to the floor of the van… And yet again, the deeply disturbed look on her face scared me.

  Brain had given me my own pack of smokes, so I opened my window about half-way and lit up in preparation for the bad news I already knew was coming. Jenny glanced at me and frowned, but it didn’t last long before she softened her expression and began to speak.

  “The reason I became a scientist is because of my father… Not that he forced me – he inspired me. I always loved the stories he’d tell me about his job… He spent several years at Patrick Air Force Base before I finally got myself assigned there, but before that, he worked on highly classified projects at a secret base that people like us don’t even know exists.”

  Walt blurted out “You mean like area 51?”

  Jenny shook her head. “A
place even more secretive than that. As I said – even with our clearance, none of us are allowed to know about most of the places where he worked.”

  She adjusted herself and undid another button near the top of her shirt to make the collar stop rubbing against the bandage on her neck. “About a year ago, he got a little drunk one night when I was there for dinner… He took me into his office and told me about this project he worked on over twenty years ago.”

  Walt interrupted her again. “So, it’s the government’s fault?”

  “No, not at all... I’ll explain the best I can.” Jenny cleared her throat and continued. “Apparently, this has happened before, but on a small island, hidden out in the middle of the Indian Ocean. He claimed that some fisherman discovered what had happened to the people of the island. Word got back to our government, so they were able to neutralize the problem before the public found out about it.”

  I asked “So, is it a virus?”

  Jenny began shaking her head again. “They spared a small group of the islanders who had turned so they could be shipped back to the States for study… My father was part of the research team. He said it took almost a year for them to finally figure out what it was.”

  She paused, grasped her jaw and looked up as if she was trying to figure out how to explain it. “It’s something that’s interwoven into around 70% of the population’s DNA… The best way to put it – is that it’s a natural defense mechanism within us that protects against over-population.”

  She stopped again, seemingly to allow us a chance to ask questions. We were all speechless, so she checked on the kids again and continued. “My father made the connection when he remembered a study he’d read about that showed rats would start to eat each other if they were purposely placed in an over-populated living space… The reason everyone on the island changed is because it didn’t have enough resources to support the population… Apparently, the body releases naturally created chemicals that almost immediately begin changing the brain and producing constant and massive amounts of adrenaline.”