Chapter 54- In their site

I hopped down and pulled the tarp from the truck bed, looking for a chain or tow strap or anything I could use to move the cars from our path. A duffel bag full of climbing gear seemed promising, but the rope, while strong, would have too much stretch to be much use in this case. I looked back at the floral van behind us. A light commercial vehicle, perhaps they had an adequate roadside assistance kit. With my crowbar in one hand, I tried to open the driver's side door but found it locked. Cupping my free hand around my eyes I pressed my nose to the glass. The interior was dark and I could just make out the shelves of flowers stacked in back. I circled around to the rear and found the back doors locked as well. I contemplated just smashing the window but knew there was no guarantee I would find chains or straps inside. I tried the handle of a nearby hatchback, but found it empty with the exception of a few cigarette butts and an opened energy drink. The sun was beginning to peek through the buildings, raising high enough into the sky that some of the shadows were beginning to disappear. As it reflected off the windows of the various buildings I shielded my eyes, squinting to keep the bright sun from searing my retinas. As I turned my head away from the light I saw the familiar glint of yellow painted metal, and saw a construction site surrounded by chain link fencing. A large gate was locked securely with a short chain, and a temporary office lay just beyond the fence. Several different trucks sat quietly in the yard, waiting for their operators to arrive on the 8am train. Diamond plate tool boxes were mounted in the back of each truck, and the keys would undoubtedly be hanging on hooks or in a bin on the desk inside the office. Scaling the fence would be easy enough, and I hopped the guardrail and moved quickly toward the site. Grasping the fence firmly I pulled myself upward, wedging my toe in the fence as best as my shoe would allow. The fence rattled loudly as I pulled myself toward the top, wobbling back and forth in an ungainly fashion.


As I leapt towards the ground I made sure to keep my feet together so I wouldn't break an ankle, and dropped to one knee as I absorbed the impact. The fence rattled back and forth, echoing in the silent morning air. I looked back at the truck and saw Oliver watching me from the window. I turned toward the office and walked up the steps cautiously. As I approached the door I saw the handle move. A scuffling sound came from inside. I paused, immediately assuming the worst. Peeking through the window I could see a dark shape shuffling slowly inside. I stepped slowly backward, looking around the yard. While only a moment ago I felt safer inside the chain link perimeter I now suddenly felt trapped, contained. The door rattled again, as though something inside was trying to get out. I moved toward one of the trucks, keeping one eye on the office while I lifted the lid of the toolbox mounted in back. The rusty metal hinges creaked as I opened the diamond plated lid and searched its contents. As my fingers laid hold of a thick chain I smiled with success and pulled them from the box. The heavy links scraped loudly on the box and clanked together, creating more racket than I intended. As the sound echoed off the buildings above, I heard a distant moan coming from the shadows under the bridge. I heaved the thick chain over my shoulder, feeling its weight across my back. The cold metal sent a shiver down my spine and I looked nervously from the office door to the darkness under the freeway.

Oliver looked understandably nervous as I attempted to climb the fence. The extra weight made it much more challenging to climb, and I struggled to find footing in the chain link. I neared the top of the fence and stood on the latch while I tossed the chain over. It crashed to the ground, the loud ringing reverberating once more against the bridge above. The moans grew closer, and something began to throw its weight against the office door behind me. It buckled and bent, shaking the thin walls and threatening to rock off its cinderblock foundation. As I pulled myself over the top the door burst open, and two hulking construction workers filled the doorway, their thick yellow eyes pointed upward as they listened, searching for something or someone. As my smell his their noses they turned toward the fence, rushing toward it like berserking animals. The first one smacked into the fence, the grey pallor in his face pressing hard against the metallic net. As he arrived, the second stumbled into the first, smashing his face against the fence and causing a large gash to appear on its forehead. Thick black ooze seeped from the cut, congealing almost immediately as it hit the air. It pushed backward toward the other, and lunged back at the fence, rocking it dangerously toward me. Afraid it might topple under their collective effort, I backed up, lifting one end the chain and dragging it toward the truck.

"Come on!" Oliver called out to me, glancing nervously toward the tunnel. "They're coming!" He called out. I glanced down the road that ran underneath the tunnel and saw dozens of shapes lumbering out of the darkness. A wave of panic filled me with dread and I ran up the road past the stop sign. Squeezing between two of the cars blocking our path, I heaved the chain into the truck bed and climbed into the driver's side door. "What about the cars?" Oliver called out, panicking as he pointed at the blockade in front of us. I turned the key and pumped the gas, fruitlessly urging the truck to start. "We can come back later, or take a different ramp." I said, pausing a moment before trying the key again.

A large crash to our right made Oliver jump in his seat. The fence was down, and the two infected construction workers began moving rapidly toward us. They were still a hundred or so feet away, but were closing rapidly. On the left a pack of these hungry monsters emerged into the light, their pale skin making their faces appear colorless. They wedged between the cars in front of us, eagerly attempting to get to us at the same time. I tried the ignition again, failing once more. "Come on!" Oliver said, his voice raising by an octave and his hands shaking. One of the monsters broke free of the pinched horde and lunged toward the hood of the truck. He wore a torn suit, his tie hanging loosely from a ripped collar and one sleeve of his jacket missing. His face was full of blind fury and he tore at the hood with his scabby black hands, unwilling or unable to understand that the easier way to obtain his goal would be to walk around to the doors.

I twisted the key again, pumping the gas pedal. "Come on!" I called out, willing the engine to turn. Oliver looked at me desperately, gripping his hammer so tight his knuckles were turning white. Two more broke free of their entanglement and burst toward the truck as the engine roared to life. I pumped the pedal vigorously and tossed it into reverse. Looking behind us, I began driving backwards, pulling around the flower delivery van and past the smaller cars behind it. The beasts kept pace, clawing the hood like enraged animals. The cars were so tightly arranged it was impossible to build up any speed, and watched nervously as several more began advancing toward us. As we returned to the freeway I saw almost a dozen right on top of us. I swung around and slammed on the brakes hard, spinning the passenger's side away from the growing horde.

The glass on the driver's side door burst as one of the beasts heaved a large rock through the window. Angry hands reached through the glass, grasping my hair and the collar of my shirt. I could smell the putrid stench on their hands and felt the bony tips of their fingers as they struggled to pull me out. One managed to pull his face through the broken glass, his teeth snapping at me, desperately trying to bite me. I heard Oliver's screams and felt his small arms struggling to pull me back toward him. "No! No!" His little voice called out desperately. "Run Oliver!" I called to him. "Run, and don't stop!" I managed to turn my head enough to see the tears in his eyes. I could see his terror, his fear of the situation mingled with his fear of being alone. I struggled against the collective strength of my attackers but was unable to bak their grip. With every moment they pulled me closer and closer. I looked back at Oliver, feeling myself mo worried for him than myself. A tear ran down his dirty face and I saw him sob. "Not you too..."