Chapter 10:
The Last Mocha on Earth
Eric gripped the steering wheel as he scrunched his eyes shut. He tried forcing his mind to forget the image of the dark haired woman flailing and twitching as the life poured out of her in violent spasms. Her screaming died away quickly but the images that Eric had seen refused to dissipate. He could feel the painful stretch of the skin over his knuckles as fists turned white with pressure over the molded leather steering wheel. His stomach bubbled and roiled like an angry sea in the hurricane. In a flash he tasted bile on the back of his tongue and barely managed to keep himself from spewing the contents of his empty stomach all over the dashboard. He choked down his stomach acid wiping the back of his hand across his mouth to sweep away any trace of the bitter taste from his lips.
Eric swallowed again and felt the raw rivers of flesh that the acid had torn in his throat. Eric saw Sanchez pull the squad car around giving the body of the dark haired woman and the feasting zombie a wide breath. Eric felt the tunnel vision of a traumatic response closing in around his vision. The zombie was tearing into the stomach cavity of the dark haired woman like a buzzard, its face covered in dark purplish blood. Eric felt white hot rage bubbling up in his chest. He slammed his right foot against the gas pedal and jerked the wheel left. The truck roared like an angry lion and charged forward like a bull. Tires squealed and Eric saw Fred rock against his seat belt as Eric almost clipped the SUV in his anger fueled sprint.
Jerking the wheel back a little to the right Eric sited up the front tires with his target. At the sound of the screeching tires the zombie pulled his eyes away from its lunch but too slow. A dull thud against the grill guard told Eric that the front fender of the truck had clipped the zombie square in the face. Two quick bumps which sent the truck bouncing on its tight suspension and the squish of tires rolling through slush gave Eric a satisfying sense of accomplishment. He pressed hard on the breaks as he pulled up behind Sanchezs squad car. Through the rearview mirror Eric could just make out the two shapes over the trucks tailgate. The two lumps behind Eric wore heavy rutted tracks near where their waists had been. The bodies no longer had distinguishable heads. It was a gruesome way to kill but given the circumstances Eric felt that he had done the only human thing he could for the dark haired woman. She wouldnt be coming back as one of the dead things and that was better than the alternative.
Eric didnt have long to think about the nature of his mercy killing. Sanchezs squad car spit exhaust and the engine grumbled as it idled. They were all agreed they needed to get moving and find some sort of shelter before things crumbled farther into chaos but the heavy set Hispanic officer was just sitting waiting. He tried to piece together what the officer was waiting for but as the cloud of rage evaporated Eric could see what the problem was.
Over two dozen zombies were sauntering towards the gas station. Whether drawn by the sound of their gunfire or by the smell of fresh meat Eric didnt know. It didnt matter; the zombies were on a direct course towards them and with nine living people in front of them the zombies wouldnt ignore the buffet sitting in front of them. In different circumstances Sanchez would just ram the zombies breaking legs and hips and other body parts needed to pursue the survivors but this was too large a wave for Sanchez to break. The squad car with its P.I.T. maneuver grill was a perfect instrument for ramming a half dozen zombies but with over two dozen zombies between him and freedom Sanchez was more likely to get bogged down or high centered tried to plow through the bodies.
Cutting the wheel to the right and giving it just a little gas Eric pulled up next to Sanchezs squad car. He rolled down his window and Tommy, who was now in the passengers seat followed suit. Thought Eric couldnt see him he heard Sanchezs words as the lead officer barked through the open window, Kid, I need you to clear the way ahead. Well all follow close behind and get the hell out of here.
Whats the plan after that? Eric knew Sanchez had made a phone call or two while he and Fred had gone and cleared out the gym. He had seen the officer pulling out his cell phone as he worked the pump to fill up the squad car.
Were still going to Davis place out on the McClellan preserve. He said his old man had plenty of guns and ammo and probably food. Sanchezs voice held a little confidence and a lot of hope that what theyd find when they got to Davis place was what the older cop had promised.
Thank god for the doomsday nut jobs eh? Eric tried to smile but the corners of his mouth barely lifted at the corners before they fell back into a limp frown.
Hey kid. Honk if theres trouble in front of you. I know we said wed try to save everyone we could but its going to be dark soon and its at least an hour drive to the McClellan wildlife refuge and then were going to have to secure the place.
I get it; well do what we have to. Erics heart wasnt behind his words. He had gotten into social work years ago because of a pathological need to save people. It was a disaster in his personal life but had been a real boon professionally and after watching the dark haired woman get taken down by that zombie he felt more compelled than ever to try and save as many people as he could.
Jamming his foot against the gas pedal again Eric pushed the truck to the right and hopped the curb. The zombies had managed to cover almost fifteen yards in the few minutes that Eric and Sanchez had been working out their plan. The truck bounced as it hit the Asphalt of Grand Boulevard and Eric cut the wheel right as he caught the first zombie square in the chest with the front left corner of the trucks grill. The zombie toppled over backwards and the truck clawed right over the top of it. A black smear of tire imprints carving a line straight up the middle of the zombies torso and crushing its skull. A few of the zombies farther to Erics left turned their heads towards his fleeing truck, their necks grinding like rusted gears as they moved.
Another bump sent Eric jostling in his seat as another few zombies bounced off the trucks grill and were crushed under tires or crippled by the fender. There was no conceivable way that Eric could kill all of the zombies as he cleared a path for the car behind him. If he took a few of the bastards with him hed be happy. Less than two minutes after jumping the curb at the gas station there was a blood path of dead bodies scattered behind the bed of Erics truck. He tried to count how many of the cluster of zombies he had incapacitated or killed but three vehicles behind him obscured his path of carnage. Eric figured it didnt matter anyway. The more zombies that were maimed or killed by Erics truck the better the odds that the last of the living in the area had of surviving.
A handful of the zombies that were still standing were awkwardly turning themselves towards the fleeing trucks and cars trying to chase down the warm bodies that were escaping their hungry mouths. There was no way theyd catch the living in the cars but they couldnt abandon the food running away.
Eric pulled his eyes away from the quickly dwindling figures in the rearview mirror and turned his eyes back to the road. Everywhere he looked there were signs of the devastation that the zombies were wrecking on the world of the living. Eric could see bloody smears along the brick walls of the middle school to his left and he thought he spotted a few scraped and bloody hands pressing against the class of classroom windows as he drove past. He was glad that none of the zombies he had been force to mow down with his truck had been children.
He didnt think it would be any mystery why anyone would have a harder time killing the zombie children. Their lives had only just begun to open up to the wondrous world that life had to offer like flowers opening their faces towards the spring sun. Those lives had been cut down long before they had seen anything of the beauty this world had had to offer. Eric was thankful today wasnt the day he would have to swallow that bitter pill. He knew hed kill the zombie children when that time came but he also knew those would be visions that no amount of alcohol would be able to strangle.
He kept his eyes forward for a few short minutes letting his mind drift away from the immediate threats and the memories of the savagery this new world had forced him to commit. It was a pleasant couple of minutes.
Instinctively Erics eyes turned towards the local little coffee stand as he neared it on the right. He and Lindsey were frequent customers and the ladies working there had seen their faces so many times that they knew their drinks without even having to ask. The smiling faces of the beautiful girls working there didnt greet him today. He could see from the road that two zombies were trying to smash the sliding glass window facing the road.
The realization came quick and so did Erics decision. He jerked on the wheel and came flying towards the drive up window at roughly thirty-five MPH. The two zombies didnt seem him coming or they didnt care because Erics truck caught the two of them on their right side and sent the two bodies flying twenty feet away. Their limbs bent at unnatural angles and more than a little skin was left shredded on the asphalt but they kept moving. The two creatures were struggling to untangle themselves and Eric watched for a few quick seconds before he remembered why he had stopped in the first place.
Eric rolled down the passenger window and looked into the shocked faces of two of the women huddled inside the little hut. The third was on the other side of the small building fighting to keep the drive up window closed against at least one zombie that Eric could see. There were large bloody splatter marks against the glass and the beginnings of a crack were starting to extend their ravenous fingers towards the white frame of the window.
The slamming of a car door pulled Erics attention away from the scared women in the coffee stand for just a second. Sanchez had halted their little convoy and was now staring down the sites of his pistol over the hood of his squad car. Eric watched as the officer fired two quick shots. One shot tore into the side of the coffee stand; the second shot must have hit its target because Eric could see bare feet twitching behind the corner of the coffee stand.
The zombie on the other side disappeared from Erics view and he assumed the thing was moving around the side of the building. They didnt have long and they didnt have a lot of bullets left. Get in the bed Eric yelled to the stunned vacant faces of the two women staring at him. He pulled the truck forwards a few feet and while the two women mechanically started working their bodies through the drive up window he reached back and undid the latch on the back window of the truck.
The first woman, a red head pulled herself into the bed of the truck and turned to help the woman behind her navigate the uncomfortable transition from the coffee stand to the truck bed. The second woman into the truck bed was a bleached blond with large blue eyes and bleached white teeth. She scrambled desperately into the truck and took a seat behind Eric. Lucky for all of them the truck was one of those extended cabs.
Sanchez fired another shot and though Eric couldnt see the body was sure that Sanchez had put down his target. With the last zombie that Eric had seen since pulling up assumedly dead again the third woman came to the window and shimmed out. The red head grabbed her by the wrists and pulled the last woman into the truck bed. The third woman with dark brown hair and a petite frame lay on top of the red head in the truck bed both of them panting with exertion and an overwhelming sense of panic.
The double blare of a car horn brought Eric to reality. Sanchez was reaching into his squad car and honking the horn. Eric caught his eyes and then the lead officer pointed to Erics right. There was a small strip mall type shopping center and a grocery store to the right and zombies were starting to shamble out the back through the loading bays. The hair shot up on the back of Erics neck. They were in deep shit if they stuck around.
Get in the truck now! Eric barked over his shoulder at the two women in the truck bed. Eric didnt know if they could see what was storming towards them or were just scared of the tone of his voice but they two women dove towards the open window at the back of the truck cab and squeezed in. Once inside Eric turned back to the road and fell in behind Sanchezs patrol car. Hed use the truck to clear a path again if it was needed but Sanchez was the default leader of their little group and Eric was going to follow the mans lead as they escaped the hell erupting around them.
The Last Mocha on Earth
Eric gripped the steering wheel as he scrunched his eyes shut. He tried forcing his mind to forget the image of the dark haired woman flailing and twitching as the life poured out of her in violent spasms. Her screaming died away quickly but the images that Eric had seen refused to dissipate. He could feel the painful stretch of the skin over his knuckles as fists turned white with pressure over the molded leather steering wheel. His stomach bubbled and roiled like an angry sea in the hurricane. In a flash he tasted bile on the back of his tongue and barely managed to keep himself from spewing the contents of his empty stomach all over the dashboard. He choked down his stomach acid wiping the back of his hand across his mouth to sweep away any trace of the bitter taste from his lips.
Eric swallowed again and felt the raw rivers of flesh that the acid had torn in his throat. Eric saw Sanchez pull the squad car around giving the body of the dark haired woman and the feasting zombie a wide breath. Eric felt the tunnel vision of a traumatic response closing in around his vision. The zombie was tearing into the stomach cavity of the dark haired woman like a buzzard, its face covered in dark purplish blood. Eric felt white hot rage bubbling up in his chest. He slammed his right foot against the gas pedal and jerked the wheel left. The truck roared like an angry lion and charged forward like a bull. Tires squealed and Eric saw Fred rock against his seat belt as Eric almost clipped the SUV in his anger fueled sprint.
Jerking the wheel back a little to the right Eric sited up the front tires with his target. At the sound of the screeching tires the zombie pulled his eyes away from its lunch but too slow. A dull thud against the grill guard told Eric that the front fender of the truck had clipped the zombie square in the face. Two quick bumps which sent the truck bouncing on its tight suspension and the squish of tires rolling through slush gave Eric a satisfying sense of accomplishment. He pressed hard on the breaks as he pulled up behind Sanchezs squad car. Through the rearview mirror Eric could just make out the two shapes over the trucks tailgate. The two lumps behind Eric wore heavy rutted tracks near where their waists had been. The bodies no longer had distinguishable heads. It was a gruesome way to kill but given the circumstances Eric felt that he had done the only human thing he could for the dark haired woman. She wouldnt be coming back as one of the dead things and that was better than the alternative.
Eric didnt have long to think about the nature of his mercy killing. Sanchezs squad car spit exhaust and the engine grumbled as it idled. They were all agreed they needed to get moving and find some sort of shelter before things crumbled farther into chaos but the heavy set Hispanic officer was just sitting waiting. He tried to piece together what the officer was waiting for but as the cloud of rage evaporated Eric could see what the problem was.
Over two dozen zombies were sauntering towards the gas station. Whether drawn by the sound of their gunfire or by the smell of fresh meat Eric didnt know. It didnt matter; the zombies were on a direct course towards them and with nine living people in front of them the zombies wouldnt ignore the buffet sitting in front of them. In different circumstances Sanchez would just ram the zombies breaking legs and hips and other body parts needed to pursue the survivors but this was too large a wave for Sanchez to break. The squad car with its P.I.T. maneuver grill was a perfect instrument for ramming a half dozen zombies but with over two dozen zombies between him and freedom Sanchez was more likely to get bogged down or high centered tried to plow through the bodies.
Cutting the wheel to the right and giving it just a little gas Eric pulled up next to Sanchezs squad car. He rolled down his window and Tommy, who was now in the passengers seat followed suit. Thought Eric couldnt see him he heard Sanchezs words as the lead officer barked through the open window, Kid, I need you to clear the way ahead. Well all follow close behind and get the hell out of here.
Whats the plan after that? Eric knew Sanchez had made a phone call or two while he and Fred had gone and cleared out the gym. He had seen the officer pulling out his cell phone as he worked the pump to fill up the squad car.
Were still going to Davis place out on the McClellan preserve. He said his old man had plenty of guns and ammo and probably food. Sanchezs voice held a little confidence and a lot of hope that what theyd find when they got to Davis place was what the older cop had promised.
Thank god for the doomsday nut jobs eh? Eric tried to smile but the corners of his mouth barely lifted at the corners before they fell back into a limp frown.
Hey kid. Honk if theres trouble in front of you. I know we said wed try to save everyone we could but its going to be dark soon and its at least an hour drive to the McClellan wildlife refuge and then were going to have to secure the place.
I get it; well do what we have to. Erics heart wasnt behind his words. He had gotten into social work years ago because of a pathological need to save people. It was a disaster in his personal life but had been a real boon professionally and after watching the dark haired woman get taken down by that zombie he felt more compelled than ever to try and save as many people as he could.
Jamming his foot against the gas pedal again Eric pushed the truck to the right and hopped the curb. The zombies had managed to cover almost fifteen yards in the few minutes that Eric and Sanchez had been working out their plan. The truck bounced as it hit the Asphalt of Grand Boulevard and Eric cut the wheel right as he caught the first zombie square in the chest with the front left corner of the trucks grill. The zombie toppled over backwards and the truck clawed right over the top of it. A black smear of tire imprints carving a line straight up the middle of the zombies torso and crushing its skull. A few of the zombies farther to Erics left turned their heads towards his fleeing truck, their necks grinding like rusted gears as they moved.
Another bump sent Eric jostling in his seat as another few zombies bounced off the trucks grill and were crushed under tires or crippled by the fender. There was no conceivable way that Eric could kill all of the zombies as he cleared a path for the car behind him. If he took a few of the bastards with him hed be happy. Less than two minutes after jumping the curb at the gas station there was a blood path of dead bodies scattered behind the bed of Erics truck. He tried to count how many of the cluster of zombies he had incapacitated or killed but three vehicles behind him obscured his path of carnage. Eric figured it didnt matter anyway. The more zombies that were maimed or killed by Erics truck the better the odds that the last of the living in the area had of surviving.
A handful of the zombies that were still standing were awkwardly turning themselves towards the fleeing trucks and cars trying to chase down the warm bodies that were escaping their hungry mouths. There was no way theyd catch the living in the cars but they couldnt abandon the food running away.
Eric pulled his eyes away from the quickly dwindling figures in the rearview mirror and turned his eyes back to the road. Everywhere he looked there were signs of the devastation that the zombies were wrecking on the world of the living. Eric could see bloody smears along the brick walls of the middle school to his left and he thought he spotted a few scraped and bloody hands pressing against the class of classroom windows as he drove past. He was glad that none of the zombies he had been force to mow down with his truck had been children.
He didnt think it would be any mystery why anyone would have a harder time killing the zombie children. Their lives had only just begun to open up to the wondrous world that life had to offer like flowers opening their faces towards the spring sun. Those lives had been cut down long before they had seen anything of the beauty this world had had to offer. Eric was thankful today wasnt the day he would have to swallow that bitter pill. He knew hed kill the zombie children when that time came but he also knew those would be visions that no amount of alcohol would be able to strangle.
He kept his eyes forward for a few short minutes letting his mind drift away from the immediate threats and the memories of the savagery this new world had forced him to commit. It was a pleasant couple of minutes.
Instinctively Erics eyes turned towards the local little coffee stand as he neared it on the right. He and Lindsey were frequent customers and the ladies working there had seen their faces so many times that they knew their drinks without even having to ask. The smiling faces of the beautiful girls working there didnt greet him today. He could see from the road that two zombies were trying to smash the sliding glass window facing the road.
The realization came quick and so did Erics decision. He jerked on the wheel and came flying towards the drive up window at roughly thirty-five MPH. The two zombies didnt seem him coming or they didnt care because Erics truck caught the two of them on their right side and sent the two bodies flying twenty feet away. Their limbs bent at unnatural angles and more than a little skin was left shredded on the asphalt but they kept moving. The two creatures were struggling to untangle themselves and Eric watched for a few quick seconds before he remembered why he had stopped in the first place.
Eric rolled down the passenger window and looked into the shocked faces of two of the women huddled inside the little hut. The third was on the other side of the small building fighting to keep the drive up window closed against at least one zombie that Eric could see. There were large bloody splatter marks against the glass and the beginnings of a crack were starting to extend their ravenous fingers towards the white frame of the window.
The slamming of a car door pulled Erics attention away from the scared women in the coffee stand for just a second. Sanchez had halted their little convoy and was now staring down the sites of his pistol over the hood of his squad car. Eric watched as the officer fired two quick shots. One shot tore into the side of the coffee stand; the second shot must have hit its target because Eric could see bare feet twitching behind the corner of the coffee stand.
The zombie on the other side disappeared from Erics view and he assumed the thing was moving around the side of the building. They didnt have long and they didnt have a lot of bullets left. Get in the bed Eric yelled to the stunned vacant faces of the two women staring at him. He pulled the truck forwards a few feet and while the two women mechanically started working their bodies through the drive up window he reached back and undid the latch on the back window of the truck.
The first woman, a red head pulled herself into the bed of the truck and turned to help the woman behind her navigate the uncomfortable transition from the coffee stand to the truck bed. The second woman into the truck bed was a bleached blond with large blue eyes and bleached white teeth. She scrambled desperately into the truck and took a seat behind Eric. Lucky for all of them the truck was one of those extended cabs.
Sanchez fired another shot and though Eric couldnt see the body was sure that Sanchez had put down his target. With the last zombie that Eric had seen since pulling up assumedly dead again the third woman came to the window and shimmed out. The red head grabbed her by the wrists and pulled the last woman into the truck bed. The third woman with dark brown hair and a petite frame lay on top of the red head in the truck bed both of them panting with exertion and an overwhelming sense of panic.
The double blare of a car horn brought Eric to reality. Sanchez was reaching into his squad car and honking the horn. Eric caught his eyes and then the lead officer pointed to Erics right. There was a small strip mall type shopping center and a grocery store to the right and zombies were starting to shamble out the back through the loading bays. The hair shot up on the back of Erics neck. They were in deep shit if they stuck around.
Get in the truck now! Eric barked over his shoulder at the two women in the truck bed. Eric didnt know if they could see what was storming towards them or were just scared of the tone of his voice but they two women dove towards the open window at the back of the truck cab and squeezed in. Once inside Eric turned back to the road and fell in behind Sanchezs patrol car. Hed use the truck to clear a path again if it was needed but Sanchez was the default leader of their little group and Eric was going to follow the mans lead as they escaped the hell erupting around them.
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