Keep Going (Book 1): The Beginning Read online

  Looking ahead they saw not the base but a shimmer of light. The sun was reflecting off something from the distance. Petey looked around for a guard or an entrance; something that indicated that this was the place they needed to be.

  “It’s the base!” Maggie’s sudden voice startled the two others out of their thoughts.

  Petey and Alex kept staring at the glimmer trying to confirm her statement but at last they couldn’t make that call. Before they could get a word in Maggie rand down the fence looking for a way in. There had to be agate or post, something where they could get in. In her rush she didn’t hear the footsteps that followed her pace. It wasn’t until she felt a hand clamp over her mouth and an arm wrap around her waist pulling her hard against a flat chest.

  “Don’t move and don’t say a word. There are still those things near by and you don’t really want to draw attention do?” Petey hissed in her ear.

  She shook her head or as much as she could with his hand weighing down on her.

  “We need to keep quiet until we know for a fact that we’re safe or that this is the base. So no yelling and no running off. Understood?”

  he let her go after she made an agreeing sound. He turned back to Alex to figure out to do next but he noticed she had move from leaning on the fence to them. He was never able to read Alex’s face before, always closed off or held back. But this time everything she was feeling was clearly on display. Hope, pain, happiness and hate all mixed together with an underling of surrender.

  “Alex?” He stepped towards her.

  His hand stretched out as to not startle her. Her focus shifted and just like that her mask was back on. However she couldn’t rid her face of that underlining emotion. It had found its home on her face and he didn’t understand why surrender. They had made it. Didn’t they?

  “Alex.” He tried again. “What’re you thinking?”

  Alex blinked slowly and raised her machete. He stopped his reach for her and instinctively took a step back away from the blood tip. But he realized that the point was not aimed at him.

  He followed the direction of the point and saw what caused such a sense of surrender. He didn’t noticed it when he chased Maggie but there it t was, a hole in the fence. It had been ripped open in haste. Alex packed her machete and walked over to the opening. She ran her fingers over the jagged edges the scratches on her arm burning at the memory of how those things tore Charlie apart and how they probably tore this apart as well.

  She tapped the sharp edges that pointed at her. Which meant that something wasn’t fighting to get in but fighting to get out.

  “It’s torn from the inside out.” She muttered.

  “What do we do?” He asked despondently.

  She hummed continuing to trace the edges as if she was touching a fine piece of art. Removing her fingers she took a knee and ripped open her bag. Pulling out a small black gun, she motioned for Maggie to come over. She explained the mechanics of it and how to use it and the all the rules of safety. Maggie took it with great doubt but it calmed her uneasiness a little know she could protect herself now. Alex jerked towards the opening they followed her without a word. She packed away her machete and held out the shotgun. She didn’t know what they were walking into but she was going to be prepared. Petey fell into step next to her.

  “Really think it’s a good idea for her to have that gun?” He whispered.

  “Trust me.” She whispered back.

  He did but he still had some serious doubts. They got closer and closer the grass below them slowed turned into grave.

  “It’s too quiet.” Petey said.

  Alex hummed her agreement as they reached another fence this time it surrounded what they figured was the base but it looked like a small camp. There stood multiple green tents scattered around but circling a large metal shed; it looked like an airplane hanger. But that’s all there was; no people or any sign that there once was. They walked along the fence looking for another opening but praying they didn’t find one.

  Papers littered the ground, barrels knocked over and things were tossed in a very erratic manner. It very much looked like someone left in a hurry. A sudden breeze floated past shaking the tents. The opening to of the green tents fluttered open and just for second Alex could see it. See the red that stained the tent making it darker. She dropped her eyes ‘there was still a chance’ she kept repeating like a broken record.

  They came upon a post sitting at what looked like a gate; it had a flimsy board that had once guarded the entrance but now sat broken on the ground. Alex held her hand out stopping the two in their tracks. She raised her gun has she crept towards the post. She leaned inward to see her fears confirmed. There lied the poor soldier who was unfortunate enough to be working outside. He snarled, reaching out his half eaten arm towards her but not being able to reach. He was trying to stand but taking closer look at his body, she could see it was spilt in half. His legs were next to him, she doubted he could get her. Realizing there could be more around she settled her gun down on the edge of the post and reached for her machete. Her fingers wrapped around the handle but she didn’t pull it out. Instead she let go. They didn’t need to see this; they didn’t need to know that this was a lost cause. She gave him a quiet apology for the fallen soldier before turning away.

  “Anything?” He asked.

  She swallowed hard and shook her head. Only one noticed the action but he didn’t say anything as they moved on. they slid against Humvees, Alex let out a snort. Looks like he was right after all. The scratches burned yet again as if he was speaking to her, mocking her. She stepped faster to the large shed as noise began to form around them.

  Only a few more feet and they were there. If only life was that easy. Mucky hands grabbed her but they were in slime she was able to break free. The cold blue eyes bore into her as they reached for her again. Petey raised his gun to fire but Alex stopped him with the raise of her hand. She motioned for them to look around to see what she saw.

  The hoard that wandered aimlessly apparently not paying any attention to their presences. Understanding, Petey lowered his gun and swing his crowbar instead. The blood splattered on to Alex but she took no notice. They moved as quick as they could dodging the grasping hands of monsters. Alex sliced off a few heads as Petey bashed in a couple of his own before they reached the large metal doors.

  Alex wanted to bang on them and scream for anyone but there was no reason to. They were open.

  She squeezed in between the opening of the doors to find nothing. The airplane hanger was empty, completely empty of people at least. Petey stepped in next his mind becoming dizzy at the pitiful sight. Grayish metal lunch tables went up and down the center but they were empty. Maggie came in and held her breath as looked at the boxes that lined the walls of the empty building.

  Maggie put her hand to her mouth trying to keep her sobs quiet but she took a step too far back, her foot hit the metal doors causing it to open a little more. It was not very loud but it was enough to draw attention. Alex and Petey turned towards the woman, her eyes wide in horror at the knowledge at what she had done. She moved away as the snarls came closer. The pair racing past her towards the doors. They jabbed their weapons through the opening killing or pushing anything that tried to sneak in. With the path clear, they each grabbed one of the large doors and forced it closed.

  Their fingers straining to hold the doors close as they squeezed the handles. Their knuckles turned white and their knees ached. They were losing as their feet started to slide across the floor.

  “Here!” Maggie rushed over with a large metal rod.

  “Put it through the handles!” Alex clenched her teeth.

  Maggie pushed it through the rod scraping their fingers. The sudden pain made them let go in shock. Luckily the bar was in place and it held the door close, at least for now. Both stepped back and listened to the sounds of scratching, of snarling and pounding. Two doors of metal separated them from those things but it didn’t feel like it was enou
gh.

  “Where did you get that?” Petey asked.

  Maggie pointed to where some boxes were tipped over. Metal rods littered the floor. Alex walked over and examined the pieces closely. The boxes looked like they had been kicked repeatedly. Picking up a U-shaped one and turned it over in her hands.

  “They’re pipes; like for plumbing or something.” She snickered “Guess we can rule out indoor bathrooms.”

  She dropped the pipe and picked up two straighter pipes. Looking at Maggie she bit her tongue, she wanted to hit her. She drew the attention of those monsters, she almost killed them instead she swallowed the blood she drew.

  “Here” Shoving a pipe into Maggie’s hand.

  Alex gripped her machete in one hand as she carelessly carried it on her shoulder. She walked between the metal tables stopping in the center of it all. She raised the metal rod and slammed it hard on the table. When nothing happened she did it again and again. The fourth time Petey called for her, she stopped midway.

  “What the hell are you doing?” He asked anxiously.

  “If there are any monsters in here we draw them pout and kill them before they sneak up on us.” She explained.

  She slammed the rod down again and left no room for discussion as she continued ten more times. Nothing came from the shadows nothing moved in the distance. The only noise was the horrors of the outside and a small ringing sound now nestled in their ears. Alex tossed the piece of metal to the floor. She was ready to pack her machete back into her side when a loud clank came from the far end of the long shed. The three raised their weapons and inched towards the end to remove the threat. They came upon a half opened door. Alex pushed the door open to reveal a small room. It was quite cramped compared to the largeness of the rest of the shed. However it was big enough to hold what looked to be a radio and a few tables.

  “This must be where they called us from.” Petey said.

  Alex couldn’t do anything or say anything. Only two days ago here sister was right here and she had spoken to her. God she wanted to scream and break something like she had done before but it wasn’t time for that.

  A groan struck their ears and spun towards the sound. Against the wall say a soldier no more then twenty-nine. His head was shaven but bits of black hair had begun to poke out already. In his hands he gripped a bottle of whiskey half filled as if it was his saving grace. Kicking his shoe none to gently the soldier groaned again and his head rolled in annoyance. Alex lowered her machete and leaned down. She took a deep breath in and chocked on the smell.

  “He’s alive, just drunk.” She said pissed.

  The only person they’ve come across that’s alive and he was drunk off his ass. Yeah, this was going to end well.

  12

  “Should we wake him?” Maggie sniffed the air.

  The smell of whiskey was suffocating and disgusting. Alex searched his camouflage jacket for his name or something. She could see silver chains peaking out from under the collar of his shirt. She figured they were dog tags. Reaching out to grab them she stopped half way, something didn’t feel right about touching them. It felt too personal of an item to grab without permission.

  Alex moved closer to his body, the smell of sorrow made her stomach twist. She took the bottle from his grip and settled it on the floor before it could spill over. She reached around his waist, patting him down carefully and found a gun. She yanked it from his holster; dropped the clip from the semi-automatic, popped the bullet from the chamber before passing it back to Petey. Alex continued to look for any other weapons.

  Gently she tapped the soldier’s face trying to wake him. He groaned and swatted her offending hand away. The action nearly made her fall on her ass. Alex let out a quiet growl and tapped his face again, none too gently this time.

  “Hey buddy, wake up.” She gave a hard smack on the last word.

  His eyes opened with much protest his. His eyes were a pale green. She let out a breath; she didn’t know she was holding in, at the color of his eyes. His gaze was unsteady but he tried hard to focus on the woman kneeling in front of him. Her tan skin meshed with her black hair causing nothing more then a dark blurred figure to him.

  “Who are you?” He grunted out.

  His voice raspy as if he hadn’t used it in a while. Although from the smell of his breath it may have been the after effects of the whiskey’s burn. Alex rolled her eyes and clenched her fist to herself from smacking him again.

  “An angel.” She spat out. “Are you the only one left?”

  “I thought angels were supposed to be nice.” His lips curved into what he assumed was a smile. He scratched the top of his head.

  “I’m on sabbatical.” She replied sarcastically. “Are you the only one left?”

  “Everyone…yeah, I’m the only one left.” He sounded heartbroken.

  On the verge of tears his gaze lost focus. Alex’s anger dimmed at the look. Her body relaxed, she wanted to place a hand on his shoulder but she didn’t. They were so close and she needed to find what happened.

  “What about the civilians? Did they make it out?” She spoke, almost begging.

  He answered with a scoff as he reached for the bottle to finish. Her empathy faded as quickly as it came. She snatched the bottle from his lips and smashed it hard on the ground. A lake of whiskey and glass formed by their side. The soldier sat up to shout at this insane person but all that came was a pained howl.

  He looked at the source of his pain. It was the neck of the bottle; its jagged edges were resting in his leg. Gripping the mouth was the dark haired women’s hand. She pulled it out and he groaned in agony. His hands moved over it to keep the blood from gushing out. Luckily no stray pieces stayed behind.

  “Oh good, you’re sober.” She snarled.

  “What the hell?” The redhead behind her screeched.

  The soldier’s eyes widen in fury and pain as he could clearly see her face now and that of her two companions behind her. The look of horror and fear on their faced differed greatly to that of the person kneeling in front him. Her face mirror more his then their’s.

  “You’re fucking insane.” He gritted out.

  Not satisfied with the comment Alex raised her broken glass again fully intending to give his other leg a matching wound. Halfway through her descent a hand wrapped around her wrist and another pulled her collar knocking her off balance.

  She scrambled up the adrenaline coursing through her veins; she was ready to attack anybody who dare touch her. She gripped the neck of the broken bottle painfully until her eyes connect with Petey’s. His hands were raised in defense even though he believed Alex wouldn’t hurt him. She just needed to be reminded of her surroundings. Alex lowered her head and stopped out of the way allowing him to take control. Petey leaned down towards the soldier not bothering to kneel.

  The soldier grunted in pain as he examined the small wound. It wasn’t really that bad or bleeding that much even with jagged edges, the glass had made a clean cut. His pride was more injured than anything. He kept heated eyes on the angry woman; her body was tense like a cat ready to pounce. Petey snapped his fingers bringing the attention to him.

  The soldier examined the ginger in front of him. He pondered how hair could be so red and a face, have so many freckles. His eyes appeared to be more understanding then the brunettes’. He shook his head and leaned away from them, letting the wound on his let bleed freely.

  “It’s been difficult to get here. We’re tired and just want to know what happened.” Petey’s voice was leveled. “This was supposed to be a safe place.”

  The soldier dropped his eyes and mentally scolded himself. These were just kids looking for some safety or at least two of them were. He rubbed his chin and tried to clear up his thoughts to better explain what had happened to the base. Even though he wasn’t entirely sure either.

  “An infected got in and we tried to control the situation. People panicked and started running around not listening.” He looked pleadingly at the three.
“Plan was for everyone to come in here and we’d protect them but instead they took off in different directions. Nobody bothered to follow protocol, not even some of our own men. We never even saw the infected coming.”

  “Why are you in here then?” Petey asked.

  “After everything…everyone had fallen I was the only one left. Came in here to call for help from other bases but no answers. Figured I’d have myself a drink before I joined them.” He answered.

  Petey stepped away, the air thinned. They all knew something like this was possible but to this extreme. Not another soul. No other bases.

  “You said they ran, right?” He nodded to Alex’s question. “So there’s a chance that some got away.”

  The soldier narrowed his eyes not from anger but from recognition. He suddenly knew this person but how? What was so familiar about her voice that all of sudden he felt his heart twist. Then from the depth of his mind it came to him.

  “I recognize your voice.” He grinned sadistically. “Fuck chances, right?”

  Alex stiffened at the words. She raised her weapon again and stomped towards the soldier, ready to gut the man. She would have shed more blood if Petey had not intervened. He used body to block her and pried the glass out of her hand.

  “Give me that.” He scolded. “You, sociopath.”

  Petey rubbed his head in frustration. People needed to stop attacking people. He turned back to the soldier who was mindlessly making circles in the spilled whiskey. A somber look at his fallen drink.

  “How did this happen?” Petey asked.

  “Does it matter?” The soldier asked indifferently.

  Petey leaned down closer to the soldier forcing him to make eye contact. Their eyes meshed into swirls of green. Alex watched with concern at how Petey was acting. It appeared that he had reached the end of his rope too.

  “Answer the question or I give her back the glass.” Petey threatened.

  The soldier searched for any tell in the man’s eyes but find none. He glanced past him to the woman, she was standing with her arms crossed and smirked. He believed bother of them and nodded. Petey moved away as the soldier stood up, using the wall to support himself. He hissed as pain shot through his leg.