Five Roads To Texas (Book 10): Salvation Read online

  What the ravenous mobs left behind in the Petco cages was nightmarishly horrible. Feathers, fur, blood, guts, damned place looked like a Jackson Pollock painting if it was created in hell. That made Ram think about when the Mercenary Ian McCollister had offered him a dog from that shelter they’d found. Ram was already in a pissed off mood about everything that had happened and snapped at the mercenary telling him he ‘was a cat guy.’ Ram had lied, he didn’t much care for cats either. The old guard chuckled at the childishness of the two grown men’s last conversation. Bullshit like that seemed all but meaningless now. Ram wished he had handled that whole situation differently now, McCollister wasn’t really that bad of a guy. After all, the mercenary and his crew did save both Jesse and Ram from whatever evil shit that Doctor Snowjob, or Sanjay, or whatever the fuck his name was had been doing to him. The sinister fuck told him on multiple occasions that Ram was immune to whatever virus was turning folks into flesh eating assholes and that his blood may be the answer to an antivirus.

  Ram had spent weeks in the clinic strapped to a bed being poked and prodded by the ‘medical’ staff. He was even injected with shit that looked like Mountain Dew and burned worse than a fucking bucketful of ghost peppers in his veins. During this time of being deluged with dozens of different ‘medicines’ Ram didn’t know what to believe. After a horribly painful liver biopsy was performed on him, he figured Sanjay was just a sadistic fuck. Ram would have gone nuts inside that supposed Military clinic if it wasn’t for the constant hope of eventually escaping and finding his family. The thought of locating his loved ones was the only thing that gave him the faith and desire to go on living.

  Now, months after being severely scratched by an infected in Eureka California and suffering no apparent adverse effects, Ram was starting to think that maybe that dick head Doc Spamjay or Sanjay had been right. The thought of being immune was something that both intrigued and terrified him. Ram needed to make sure his wife and daughter were safe and not turned into one of those flesh gobblers, and what if his kid was immune too? He just didn’t want to think about it but he had to know one way or the other. However, the thought of having all the blood drained from his body by some mad doctor looking for a cure, before he even could find his family, well, that really had pissed him off. Ram knew that was probably selfish of him, but his family’s safety came first.

  “Ram, Ram.” Jesse said slowly as she rolled onto her back, still holding the monocular. “Sorry.” He said glancing over at his partner. “I was just thinking.”

  “That’s a first.” She smiled. “Those flesh gobblers are busy diving into that Korean buffet. They’re making so much noise that they probably won't hear us siphoning gas.”

  “You’re right.” Ram could barely hear the awful sounds of feasting from below. “Just keep a look out and I’ll see if I can suck some juice outta this puppy.”

  “That sounds so wrong Ram.”

  “You have a dirty mind Jesse. Come on.” He tapped her on the boot then slid out from beneath the big truck. Ram quickly glanced around to make sure all was clear before he crawled over to where he left the 5-gallon gas can and the siphon hose.

  “Hurry up, Ram. We still have a fifty-mile drive to that safe house of Ian’s.” Jesse whispered as she knelt down behind the rear fender of the Silverado.

  Ram gave her a thumbs up as he shoved the rest of the Baby Ruth into his mouth before crawling over to Jesse. He pulled open the fuel cover and found the gas cap still intact. This was possibly a good sign. Unless the truck had ran out of gas and been abandoned, there still might be a good amount of juice in it. Still chewing on the remains of the candy bar, he unscrewed the gas cap and shoved an end of tubing down into the tank. The harsh smell of gasoline greeted him.

  “I hate this part.” Ram said after he’d finished eating the rest of the candy bar. “Remember not to swallow.” Jesse smirked as she watched the area around them for the infected.

  “Once…” Ram shook his head as he put the end of the tube in his mouth and sucked in on it. After a few seconds the gasoline started rushing up through the tubing. Spitting out the fuel that he’d almost swallowed, Ram stuck the end of the tube into the five gallon can. The familiar sound of the gasoline draining from the truck into the plastic container was quite satisfying. “Looks like we have some joy.” Ram wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Hate the taste of that. We really need to find us a siphon kit.”

  “I’ll put it on the wish list.”

  “Please do.” Ram said as he watched the fuel quickly snaking through the tube. Hopefully they’d get more than a couple of gallons to feed the motorcycles gas tanks.

  “Ram!” Jesse shouted as a group of infected ran over the side of the berm, practically falling on the two siphoners.

  “Shit!” Ram dove for the Mini-14 that lay next to the gas can. Two of the fast moving infected were on him before he could reach his weapon.

  Chapter Three

  HOT .223 DEATH

  Arizona

  Before Jesse could get off a shot with her rifle, two of the ravenous infected fell upon Ram, knocking him over and sending all three of them rolling down the berm toward the group of crazies that were feasting on the UN soldiers' remains.

  “Crap!” Jesse cursed as the newly arrived infected, a mob of about seven, charged in her direction. Slobbering and hungrily snapping broken, sharp teeth violently up and down. The mad group sprinted toward the hot meal in front of them.

  “Come on you meat sacks!” Jesse shouted as she began opening fire on the incoming crazies. The only sure way of stopping them was a direct headshot. Anywhere else, unless you could take out the legs, just pissed them off. Jesse’s first shot missed going wide, the second and third hit two of the approaching infected in the forehead and left eye. Both went down tripping up a couple of the others sending them sprawling. Jesse fired again hitting an infected in the center of its chest. The round knocked the ravenous woman back into one of the advancing groups causing her to shove another diseased female aside, steadying himself, he continued to bolt directly at Jesse. Without hesitation, she fired two more rounds blowing the sprinting man’s face through the back of his head. Another infected tried to get to its feet as the faceless man fell back onto it, causing the crawler to collapse into a face plant. Jesse quickly put an end to its insufferable hunger with a single tap to the top of its skull. In an attempt to put some distance and cover between her and the three remaining infected, Jesse stepped back behind the front fender of the Silverado. Taking a breath she raised the Mini-14 up to her shoulder and fired.

  Hot .223 death ripped into the throat of the first of the three crazies. Momentum still carrying it, the infected man slammed face first into the fender of the Silverado, causing the big truck to rock a little . Blood splashed the vehicles primer as the dead man slid heavily to the ground. Jesse moved away from the truck and fired two more rounds. This time a speeding infected teenage girl took a hit to the right shoulder sending her backwards. The second shot grazed the girls chin as her head flipped back from the impact of the first round. The starving teenager crashed to the ground but immediately got back to her feet, her chin a bloody mess of exposed bone and torn flesh.

  “Shit!” Jesse fired again. This time she struck the girl right between her eyes. The force of the round from the Mini-14 drove the teenager backwards and down into the thick weeds. Quickly counting six dead infected, Jesse turned to see that the last one of the group had crawled from the rear of the truck and was now struggling to stand. Taking another breath, she moved over to the side of the Silverado as the infected man let out a rage filled growl and started to charge, she gave the mini’s trigger an easy pull and blew a hole in his forehead. While the dead man dropped hard into the dirt, Jesse swiftly turned and glanced toward the spot where her partner had been jumped by the two infected.

  “Ram!”

  Chapter Four

  OUTHOUSE AT A GRATEFUL DEAD CONCERT

  Arizona

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sp; Cursing and tumbling toward the pool of ravenous crazies, Ram angrily beat and shoved at the dirty hands that tried to rip him apart. Pissed that he had let them get surprised like that, Ram pushed one of the infected off of him and down below into the others that had been momentarily sidetracked by the allure of the UN soldiers' warm remains. Now between the sounds of Ram struggling with two of their own and the discharge of Jesse's rifle, the group below stopped eating and focused their attention on the fresh meat that had dropped down in the middle of them.

  The smell of the infected that continued to be tangled up with Ram was overpowering. The virus ridden crazies, their unwashed bodies odor, and self defecation, allowed you to smell them coming but up close it overwhelmed. The fumes from the siphoned gas must have hidden the mobs rank odors.

  Smashing the clingy infected man in the face, Ram tried to shove him off, but his insatiable attacker gripped him tightly as they both rolled toward the bottom of the berm. Before they reached the nasty feeding ground, Ram, using all his remaining strength, pushed with arms and legs, throwing the infected free from him and down into the feeding frenzy a few feet away.

  The feeders pounced on the infected man as soon as he had landed. Tearing and ripping, the crowd voraciously attacked the thrown diseased man that had been thrust into their midst. Any attention that Ram had from the hungry mob had swiftly vanished as the group quickly devoured a couple of their own. A little dizzy and tired from his rolling, grappling match with the two infected men, Ram lay on his back for a quick second before it dawned on him that he needed to move. Seeing the crowds attention was on lunch before them, Ram glanced back up the berm to see Jesse kneeling down near the front end of the old Silverado. He noticed the barrel of her Mini-14 was pointed in the direction of the feeding crowd. Jesse leaned out and impatiently waved a hand for him to get a move on, which is just what he did. Giving the feasting infected a quick look over his shoulder, he was confident they were too involved with devouring their diseased brothers to notice him. On all fours Ram swiftly scrambled up the berm and dove for cover behind the truck.

  “Always fucking off Ram.” Jesse said quietly as she moved out of the infected’s sight. The mob were too preoccupied with their meal to care about Rams escape.

  “Thought I was a goner.” He said almost out of breath. “Those shit bags stink to high heaven.” He said as he wiped some goo off his clothes. “Fucking, just swell. Got their nasty shit all over me.”

  “Those assholes definitely got the jump on us.” Jesse scooted closer to Ram, still keeping an eye on the crowd below.

  “Gas must’ve hid their odor or we would have known they were close.”

  “Doesn’t now.” Jesse moved a little bit back away from him as she covered her nose with a gloved hand. “You smell like someone pulled a train on your asshole with another asshole.”

  “Yeah.” He took a breath then rolled to his knees. “Not the first time I’ve been told that. You see those fuckers tear apart those other infected?”

  “I’ve never seen them act like that before.” Jesse nodded. “That’s a new one for me.” “Maybe they are running out of food around here, getting desperate.”

  “Maybe.”

  “I mean we’ve seen them eat animals too. What’s to keep them from eating each other? They’re not zombies.”

  “True, that is really strange but hell, it did work out in your favor.” Jesse nodded toward the gas can. “We can figure this out later. We need to get a move on, it’ll be dark soon and if you’re right, Ram, we’re still more appealing to those fucks then they are to each other. Hopefully we can find that safe house before we run into any more problems.”

  “Problems.” Ram quietly crawled over to the nearly full gas can. “I remember when not getting the guide to work on my cable TV was a problem.”

  “I think those days are long gone Ram.” Jesse said in a hushed tone as she carefully moved away from the front of the truck and over to where her partner crouched.

  “Yep.” He sighed. “Always thought that doomsday prepper shit was crap. Guess I should have paid attention.”

  “Too late for regrets, time to act. We’re the lucky ones though... we still have a list of safe houses.” Jesse tapped him sympathetically on the shoulder. “Let’s go before those fuck heads remember that we’re up here. Plus we need to get you some new clothes. You really do smell like an outhouse at a Grateful Dead concert.”

  “Swell.”

  Chapter Five

  ALL KINDS OF SHIT

  Peach Springs, AZ

  “Mohave County water district. Your tax dollars at work.” Ram read the words off the metal sign that was hanging on the left side of a big chain link gate. Jesse noticed the aluminum marker was in great shape and couldn’t have been more than a year old. A thick padlock and chain kept the gate and what was behind it safe and secure. Heat came off the asphalt in waves distorting the image of the Quonset hut that appeared to be dug into a small hill. There wasn’t much parking, maybe four or five slots, so the idea of the others was slim.

  “Looks like a county water or road crew building.”

  “It might be, but then again it might be much more.” Jesse shrugged adding, “I’m sure it’s some kind of county maintenance building.” She said, pointing at the new looking marker. “At least according to the sign.”

  “And signs never lie. We sure this is it?” Ram asked as he stepped out from the driver side of the Dodge Durango.

  “Gotta be.” Jesse said as she climbed down from the passenger seat of the primer black SUV, happy to be away from the rancid smell of the infected that covered Ram, and walked over to the pad locked gate. They had found the old 1998 Durango locked up in an abandoned auto repair shop. A new engine and transmission had been recently installed in the SUV. It looked like the owner was also going to have it repainted but then the world, as everyone knew it, suddenly ended. When that happened, the refurbished Durango was probably the last of the owners worries. The SUV was a godsend to Ram and Jesse, especially after the loss of the HEMTT. Jesse had scrounged up a trailer from a nearby U-Haul dealership so they could carry the two motorcycles, a Yamaha Seca 650 and a Honda Rebel 250, they’d also found abandoned when they were traveling on foot.

  Jesse pulled on the big Security Pro Master Lock then let it drop heavily against the chain link fence. Instantly she was aware of her carelessness and quickly glanced around for any infected that might have heard the slamming of the lock.

  “It’s okay Jesse.” Ram unslung the Mini-14 and took a quick look at the area around them. The two were surrounded by nothing but flat desert and scrub brush. No sign of people, infected or not, and for Ram that was a good thing. “We’re clear.”

  “Good.” She gave him a tight smile. “That was careless of me. Must be getting tired. Sorry.” “Been a long day, nothing to apologize about. I’m just concerned about how we’re going to get through this gate?”

  “Climb.”

  “I knew you were going to say that. I’m too old for this shit.”

  “Yeah, you are. I’ll do it. Once I get inside I’ll let you in.” Jesse said, grabbing a hold of the chain link gate.

  “Aw, fuck it!” Ram grumbled as he slung his rifle over his back. “I got it. Louise wouldn’t forgive me if I made you climb it. She’d call me a pussy.”

  “You’re only as old as you feel Ram.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” The fifty-year-old former prison guard shook his head as he proceeded to pull himself up and over the ten-foot gate. Grunting and groaning, he slowly climbed down the other side and jumped down to the asphalt driveway.

  “I knew you could do it.” Jesse chuckled.

  “Whatever.” Ram said a little red faced and slightly out of breath. He then made a come-on motion with the fingers of his right hand. “Give me the code.”

  “ ‘31470 SANJAY.’ All caps” She said looking at the small notebook she’d used to scribble down the safe house door lock codes in.

  “Gimme a second.
” He quickly drew the Beretta and walked over to the steel Quonset hut that actually was built as part of the hill. Ram ran his hand along the face of the building until he found the hidden keypad cover. He tapped the aluminum lid with a finger then pulled it open. A small light illuminated the keypad that had obviously only been used once or twice before.

  “Got it!” Ram shouted back to Jesse, who was nervously scanning the area behind them for any movement.

  “Hurry up, it's getting dark out here.” “You have a big gun, right?”

  “Come on pops, just get the damned gate open.” Jesse said as she watched for the infected or any other things that could cause them problems.

  “Pops?” Ram grumbled as he shook his head, he’d never felt better in his life. All that shit they’d injected him with had done something to his testosterone levels. Ram had lost weight and grown a little more muscle in the past few months. Louise would definitely dig that if he ever made it to that FEMA camp Sergeant Duckett, had told him about. Ram let out a breath trying to focus on the task that was at hand, he glanced down at the asphalt drive that was spread out in front of him. Ram saw that a fine layer of undisturbed dirt had been blown out across the entranceway and showed no prior activity. Rams boot prints being the only markings visible in the dirt was a good sign. No one had been here in a while.