Crimson Awakening

Chapter 7

Rey kept on driving with Eve next to him. To keep her entertained, he explained her the GPS screen and how she could follow where they were going. Eve took the job seriously and alerted Rey every time he was over the speed limit, which she did often.

The truck swallowed mile after mile, and Amarillo flew by at over ninety miles per hour. Albuquerque followed. Both times, thick smoke rose from tall office buildings, and the road started to get busy with frantic people trying to escape the urban death traps. Some succeeded. Most ended up dead, with brains and limbs splattered on sidewalks or front yards.

The infection didn't discriminate and rapidly engulfed entire city blocks. Chaos and madness screamed at every corner.

An ashen army of monsters roamed the streets, looking to feed on human blood and brains. The raw call for destruction and devastation was so persistent that entire hordes of zombies were caught under busses or cars fleeing the city. The zombies trampled on each other aimlessly and smashed everything in their path.

Unbeknownst to everyone, a few zombies stayed away from the mayhem and only hunted humans, precise, cold, and calculated. This was a new breed of zombies, ones that had just a few cells more than the others. In those few cells, instinct of survival rang louder than anything, and they behaved as such. Still aggressive but focused on their victims and determined. The blood pumping through their veins was slightly different than the rest, giving them a better chance of survival.

Leaving Amarillo behind, Rey saw a wave of hundreds of zombies crossing I-40 and wandering into traffic, oblivious to the b****y consequences. He was forced to take part in the c*****e himself.

A large group stopped just ahead of his truck and seemed to wait to take a bite out of it.

"Are those bad hitchhikers, Papa?"

"Yeah, kitten, they are, but today, we're not stopping for anyone. Mama is more important, right?"

Eve nodded.

"Eve, why don't you go back there and watch Ariel?"

She giggled. "Ha! Ariel ... It's called The Little Mermaid, Papa."

"Yes. That, too," Rey said, narrowing his eyes as he fast approached the zombies. "... And Eve, put your headphones on, baby."

"Okay, Papa."

As the door of the sleeper closed behind her, Rey pushed the gas pedal to the floor. The speed climbed to over one hundred and ten miles per hour.

I'm not stopping for any stinkin' hitchhikers.

The truck ran through the zombie horde like a hot knife through butter. Rey mowed down so many of them that the front of the truck drowned in dark blood and yellow puss.

He figured their brains had been so damaged by the infection that nothing from their former existence remained. Not even self-preservation.

His eyes darkened with thoughts of Gabi. What if she doesn't make it? What if Jenkins can't do a thing about it? He shivered at the thought and forced himself to focus on the road ahead.

The thought of stopping and checking on the creature that he had locked in the trailer gnawed at his mind. Of course, there was the danger of getting scratched or bitten, but he refused to worry about that.

After about half an hour, he heard the door of the sleeper opening then a little voice behind him said, "Papa, I'm bored. I know all the songs Ariel sings."

Rey looked ahead to make sure the road was clear of zombies then asked, "Want to help me out here, kitten?"

Eve's face radiated as she climbed back into the passenger seat and tucked her feet under her. She watched the GPS screen with a serious look in her eye.

"Papa, there are lots of cars by this city that start with an A," she announced then tried to spell it. "A-L-B-U ... um ... I forgot what this letter with the squiggly thing is."

"That's a Q, and the city is Albuquerque, kitten. Say Albuh, then kirk, and then e. Say it with Papa." Rey said it slowly so she could retain it, "Albu-querqu-e."

"That's a funny name." She gave a little laugh. Then she turned toward Rey. "Am I helping, Papa?"

"Of course, you are, kitten. I couldn't drive this big truck without you, baby. First, Mama, and now ... it's your turn."

He wanted to bite his tongue for the stupidity that had just escaped his mouth. Worried, he stole a quick glance at his daughter. She had her head down, and Rey saw a tear almost bubbling out of an eye.

"Hey, what do you want for dinner?" he tried to redirect her thoughts to something more enjoyable.

"Not hungry ..." she said slowly. Then she looked up at him with a defiant look. "Why do you change the subject?"

Rey's eyebrows went up, surprised at the adult term she had used. "I'm not ... Just wondering what you want."

"I want to stay here with you, Papa, and help."

Rey swallowed hard and thought of Gabi. What the hell do I know about taking care of a little girl? He had to stop and check on her. What if she's dead already? Oh God, no. His jaw tensed, and his face tightened.

On his phone, Rey pressed a communication app and entered a chatroom for truckers. He connected his headphones, not wanting to expose Eve to some of the "truck talk." Then Rey searched for truckers on the same path with him and found several traveling on I-40. He listened intently for any news of the infection. If something new had happened on the road, these guys were the first to report it and alert other fellow truckers. That was what you did when on the road in the middle of nowhere.

Rey listened to several conversations peppered with R-rated speech, but he got the general idea that everyone was in shock and on the run because of the events over the past twenty-four hours.

One truck driver shared the televised message from the White House and the madness that had followed. The president and his administration were hiding in an undisclosed location, trying to coordinate some kind of resistance. Another driver added that all Armed Forces were on high alert, and he was sure it would be a couple of days until the guys with guns restored order.

A Peterbilt driver was stuck in Oklahoma City and was calling for help, screaming from the top of his lungs, "Where is the f*****g police? Damn you! No, no!" His message died down, and the air flatlined in Rey's ears.

He wanted to turn on the TV but knew the imagery would throw Eve into shock, so he grabbed whatever news he could.

Another trucker came online and said, "These fuckers only die if you cut their heads off. Be aware, folks."

Or nail their tongues to their throat.

He continued to listen.

"They bite and scratch. Stay away and drive into the hills ..."

Sure, 'cause that's where safety is ...

"Haven't seen Smokey anywhere," said another. "I'm flying on boulevard 40. But hey, watch out! Querque town is full of zombies. Traffic is a mess," he tooted.

Although Rey spoke English fluently, besides his native Icelandic and Norwegian, he still had trouble remembering all the nicknames used on CB radios and transferred here into the new world of mobile phones and apps. He knew Smokey meant cops, Boulevard 40 was I-40, and Querque town must be Albuquerque. s**t. I don't need delays now.

He glanced at Eve, who had fallen asleep. Thank you, God.

Rey needed coffee. If he had to drive to Long Beach in one stretch, he had to stay alert.

He swiped the screen and searched for the first convenient store ahead of him. He found one two miles down the road and accelerated toward the exit ramp.

In less than two minutes, Rey was turning toward the convenient store and parked right up front, thinking he could keep an eye on the rig while getting his coffee. He kept the engine running, took his spare key, and climbed down from the cabin, locking the doors before striding inside.

The young man behind the glass screen kept a hand under the counter and stared at him in awe. It was not an everyday thing to see giants walk the earth, but Rey was already used to the curious looks he got wherever he went.

Rey ignored the guy and poured himself a large coffee. Then he picked up a KitKat bar—Eve's favorite. He saw a bunch of baseball bats sticking out of a barrel next to the counter and picked one up. He'd never played baseball in his life, but he was pretty sure he could handle one. He set it on the counter next to the other items and paid with cash.

While waiting for the store clerk to ring him up, Rey watched the troubling images rolling on the TV screen. Except for a few isolated pockets, the entire country was in disarray. Fires and smoke ... buildings and entire cities were collapsing with dead or missing people in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions. Rey doubted the numbers were even accurate. Who'd have the time or courage to even count?

The National Guard and the entire US military had been called in. Rey was amazed at the velocity of the events. The infection had moved throughout the country at an incredible clip. Soon, humans would run out of places to hide, and Rey had to start thinking of isolated places where he could bring his family.

He picked up his change, eyes still glued to the screen.

"That's something else, huh?" the store clerk asked, pointing toward the screen.

"What?" Rey jolted back to reality and looked at the guy. "Yeah ... it's a mess all right."

"You shouldn't be on the road. It's dangerous. Where you going?"

Aren't you a nosey fucker? Rey glared at him and said nothing.

The nosey clerk continued, "They've shown zombies coming out of the cities and walking on highways to nearby towns."

"Then you should get outta here, genius," Rey said then walked out.

Behind the counter, the guy was dumbfounded. He instantly realized he was in more danger than the giant he had just talked to. Holly crap, gotta get outta here, he thought, bolting toward the back room. He grabbed a change of clothes and his car keys before storming out of the store.

From the cabin, Rey watched the guy while sipping coffee. His lips curled in a smile when he saw the speed in which the nosey guy unlocked his car door, jumped in, and disappeared down the road.

He took another sip of coffee and thought maybe it was time to teach Eve how to boil water for the coffee French press. It would save time not having to pull over every time he needed it.

Besides the purring of the truck, there was no other sound. A car or two sped by, back on I-40, but other than that, he was all alone with Eve, a truck, a convenient store, and one zombie still in the back of his trailer. With Eve asleep, this was the perfect time to see what was going on with Gabi. Or whomever she had become.

He maneuvered the truck behind the convenient store, jumped out, and then walked back to the trailer. He listened for a minute and, sure enough, within seconds, scratches and snarls came through the solid metal door. Rey lowered his head. Now what? The moment he opened the doors, she would attack him, and Eve would end up with both parents as zombies. Think, Rey, think.

Rey looked around, searching for something that would hold Gabi in place without being able to bite or scratch him. He recalled seeing tires for sale advertised in front of the store. Rey was fairly sure the nosey guy had not pulled any of the merchandise inside before bolting. He walked to the front and returned with four tires.

He dropped three of them on the ground, keeping one in his right hand. With the left, he opened the trailer door just enough for the zombie to stick her head through the opening. She snapped her jaw at him. He then opened the door an inch more, like he was trapping trout back in Iceland. The zombie wiggled some more and squeezed her shoulders out of the trailer. With a quick move, Rey put the tire over her head, pushed it down past her shoulders, and then stopped it at her elbows, now tightly pressed against her hips.

Rey refused to look at her face but kept away from the clacking teeth and the snapping jaw. In amazement, he saw the brand-new tire stretching like a rubber band by the wiggling zombie. He quickly picked up the other tires and slid them down, running her body through each.

With the zombie still aggressive and still snarling at him, Rey had to put a stop to it. He tackled her to the ground then he stood up and looked at her. Satisfied with her inability to move, he jumped into the cargo area.

Rey worked intensely for about half an hour, moving boxes of paper around. Every so often, he glanced out to check on the zombie and was surprised to find her still wrestling to escape. Jesus, she's strong, thought Rey, turning back to admire his new creation.

Just like when he was a kid and built fortresses out of chunks of ice and snow, he had constructed a high wall enclosure made of paper boxes. It was three rows of boxes thick and had a small opening on the bottom. He secured the whole thing with ratchet tie-downs. Next to the opening, he stacked the remaining boxes. Then he walked out, grabbed the zombie wrapped in the tires, and hoisted her onto the trailer floor. He rolled her toward the paper fort and shoved her in through the opening. The zombie shrieked.

Rey chuckled at the effort then realized he was laughing at Gabi. Was anything remaining of Gabi in that demented mind?

Growls and gurgles erupted outside. Through the open doors of the trailer, Rey saw a large horde of zombies fast approaching his rig. Not again ...

He ran toward the open side of the trailer, but halfway through, his chances of making it out safely went to zero. s**t ... s**t ... s**t!

Quick on his feet, Rey jumped over the ashen waves at the lip of the trailer and grabbed onto the edge of the trailer door. The swinging motion and speed brought him in a half circle flight and up toward the top of the trailer. He landed on his face with a loud thud. Then Rey sprang up to his feet and looked below.

A forest of limbs reached out to him. Shrieks and grunts spiked the blanket of the humming crowd. Almost all of them were dressed in jail orange garb. Sprinkled here and there, several guards punctured the orange sea.

"You're all brothers now, huh?" he mocked them.

They mainly gathered at the back, but others surrounded the cabin and the trailer on all sides.

Eve ...

Rey ran toward the front of the trailer and jumped on top of the cabin. He patted his keys in his pocket, but the monsters were clumped by the cabin door and it was impossible for him to simply unlock it and slip inside.

As he pondered the problem, a sudden silence descended. He looked at the depraved faces surrounding the truck. They hummed and barely shuffled in place in slow motion, as if under a spell.

Rey jumped from the cabin and back onto the roof of the trailer. Then, right under his feet, through the thin roof of the trailer, he clearly heard the wailings and high-pitched shrieks of his zombie wife. The zombies outside seemed to perk their ears at her "message."

Rey walked the roof of the trailer to the other end to check if those zombies were behaving like the ones up front. They were not. In the meantime, the ones up front started the ruckus again. What's going on?

Rey walked back toward the cabin. But then, with only fifteen feet to go, the zombie mob fell silent again. For minutes, the shuffle of their disheveled clothing was the only sound around. That and the clamoring crowd at the back of the trailer, which now was trickling toward the front, following the human perched high up. One by one, as they joined the zombies up front, they, too, fell into a trance, c*****g their heads to the side as if listening to a new calling.

What in Thor's name is going on?