Seeds Of Hunger

Chapter 7: Dead End

Carter slowed the cruiser down as he turned down 72nd Street. Him nor Casey had seen anyone since they left the station and hour ago. It was starting to worry him.

"There isn't even a whisper outside, Mirado. What the hell; maybe everyone just packed up and moved...?" Casey had his shotgun in between his legs, holding onto it as they made the turn.

"Reminds me of the snow we used to get when I was a kid. When it started coming down, you could hear your own heart beat it was so quiet." Carter enjoyed the distraction, it seemed like he had been going on auto pilot for weeks. Time flies in a crisis.

"Lots of lights at that truck stop. Think anyone might have holed up in there?" Carter looked and saw multiple trucks in the parking lot over half of them still running and lights on. It's worth a shot, Carter thought, as he flicked on the sirens and made a bee line for the stop. Carter jumped the curb and parked in the lot a few feet away from the trucks. He turned the car off and stepped out holding the Glock in his hands; he left the shotgun and other pistol in the car. Casey grabbed his shotgun as he shut the car door.

"Police! Anyone here?!" Casey called. Silence. Carter got a chill going up his spine. He didn't know what these things, these zombies, were capable of and he wasn't really wanting to find out. He stepped forward, Glock leveled in front of him in case they ran into one.

"Let's go, Casey. Keep your eyes open. We're gonna do this in pairs. We'll look through the area and if we find nothing, we head out to somewhere else. If we find anyone alive we take em back to the station." Carter stepped up to the side of the nearest truck, peering inside.

Casey swallowed, "And if we find anyone dead?" Casey was starting to turn pale again.

Carter pressed his face against the glass before answering, "We hope they don't get back up again." Nothing, Carter saw. He hopped down from the truck and went to the one next to it. Nothing as well.

Two hours pass as they examine every truck for signs of life. Finding blood and pieces of flesh, Carter believes that it might already be too late. Carter finishes the last of the trucks before jumping back down. He raises his hand to wipe off the sweat above his brow. Casey wasn't liking this either; they hadn't found anyone or anything. If everyone just vanished then why is there blood everywhere? Carter thought to himself.

"Well the owner of this truck is a D. Lee. Doesn't explain anything though." Carter walked to the back of the truck and saw that it had yellow splotches in some places. "What do you think that is?"

"Looks like a kid got finger paint happy." Casey look at the truck. Some spots here and there looked like it had tried to be washed but they were still remnants of what was once there. "I think its about time we check out the gas station itself." Casey pointed toward the still lit store.

Carter nodded and walked over to the store thinking that its possible someone may have locked themselves in the bathroom. Carter grabbed the handle and pulled the door open and his instincts instantly told him something was wrong. He leveled his Glock and started sweeping; nothing, no movement. Casey caught Carter's uneasiness and shouldered his shotgun, ready to blow a hole in something if need be. Carter walked up and down the aisles careful not to step in any of the blood that made a dragging mark toward the back of the counter. That's when he heard a soft swishing sound and started towards the counter, his stomach contracting. He pointed his two fingers towards his eyes and back outwards again, signaling for Casey to keep an eye on him. Casey nodded and sighted in his shotgun.

Carter pushed the display away giving both of them a clearer view of hell. Four infected were crouched over someone, probably the attendant.  They were digging into his body, pulling intestines, gristle, and muscle and bringing it them they're blood crusted mouths. One of them turned towards Carter and Casey, smelling new meat. It rose towards them hands outstretched, hungering for their flesh. Carter looked closer and saw that the name tag on the uniform read D. LEE. The owner of the truck. Well at least they knew what happened to him. Casey flicked the safety off the shotgun and aimed it towards Lee's head.

Carter held his hand up, "Hold on Casey, while dangerous they're slow. They can't harm us if they can't get to us. Let's head out before more start showing up." Carter started walking towards the other door when he heard glass shatter behind him and Casey. They turned and there was another ten zombies coming through the shattered windows. Many of them freshly dead, some still bleeding from bite marks and exposed skin.

"Oh shit! Back to the car!" Carter shouted, Casey already running past him. Casey got to the car first and started it, turning off the damned sirens.

"Mirado! There's more!" Carter saw more coming out of hiding now; some were hidden behind cars, some came out of the garage, one of them was smoldering, obnoxious to the flames that enveloped it. The smell nearly alone nearly blinded Carter but he threw himself into the vehicle and turned to Casey.

"GO!" Casey put the car in reverse, running over one of the infect, something in of itself fatal to anyone living but the infected just staggered itself back up clawing at the truck trying to get in. Casey shifted gears and sped towards the road, knocking over a STOP sign and away from the dead.

"That was close." Casey said, as he kept to the road.

"Too close. We should have heard them all. Let's keep looking." Carter said, looking at the horizon. The sun was setting, along with it their chances of finding anyone alive in this nightmare.