When Was?: The Day Will Come When You Won't Read online

  Copyright © 2020 Allison Krueger

  All Rights Reserved

  CONTENTS:

  Chapter 1: Are you Sick?

  Chapter 2: Sweet Home Pennsylvania!

  Chapter 3: Crashing

  Chapter 4: Tribu-Who?

  Chapter 5: The New World

  Chapter 6: It’s Dead Already!

  Chapter 7: Up the wolves

  Chapter 8: Be Acquainted with Me!

  Chapter 9: Welcome to Argentina

  Chapter 10: Crushing

  Chapter 11: Depressing

  Chapter 12: A Walking Venereal Disease

  Chapter 13: Babygirl

  Chapter 14: FEAR

  Chapter 15: STARVED

  Chapter 16: LEADERSHIP

  Chapter 17: Beside the Fire, Dying

  Chapter 18: Welcome to New Colombia

  Chapter 19: Promises Broken

  Chapter 20: Just being Neighborly

  Chapter 21: Don’t Cry for Me

  Chapter 22: A New Chapter

  Chapter 23: Prove Yourself

  Chapter 24: The Great Pretender

  Chapter 25: The Crash of New Colombia

  Chapter 26: No Water for The Harbor

  Chapter 27: Ain’t No Grave

  Chapter 28: Welcome to Cascadia

  Chapter 29: CARVER!

  Chapter 30: A Taste of The Acquainted

  Chapter 31: The Cascadia Fight Pit

  Chapter 32: It’s all over but the crying

  Chapter 33: The day will come, when you won’t

  Chapter 1:

  Are you Sick?

  Her bookbag bounced off her back as she dashed to the car. The school bell had rung, dismissing class, and seven-year-old Ellie Miller’s eyes lit up when she saw her father waiting for her beside the car. "Daddy!”

  “Happy Birthday, babygirl.” John pried open the back door, sending flakes of rust and chipped paint floating to the ground.

  Throwing her bookbag to the ground, she climbed into the back. The garbage crumbled under her feet as she plopped down on the sticky seat. “Where’s mom?” She knew her mother almost never missed pick up. Grinning from ear to ear, she pulled the seat belt around her and buckled in.

  “Home.” Grabbing Ellie’s pink bookbag off the ground, he took it to the trunk. Removing the bungee cords holding it shut, the trunk flew up, barely missing his jaw. I need to get this fixed.

  “Don’t get hit!” she giggled, looking back at her father.

  “Almost did.” He tossed the bag in and fixed the bungee cords, “Good thing it didn’t though ‘cause that woulda hurt worse than one of Xavier Adam’s punches,” he laughed, walking around and getting in.

  “Why did mommy stay home?”

  John exhaled and shook his head. “I don’t know.” Starting the car, the vibrating steering wheel shook under his grip. “Maybe it had somethin’ to do with...” he paused, glancing at Ellie. “Nah, probably not,” he said, pulling away from the curb and starting their drive into town.

  Ellie smirked as her father turned left. Home was in the other direction. “Where are we going?”

  “Home, why?”

  “Because home’s the other way,” she laughed.

  “Wait, so you’re tellin’ me I’m headed the wrong way? Same direction as the mall?”

  “You did it on purpose,” she giggled, watching her father in the mirror, fighting the urge to smile.

  “Well, darn it,” he sighed, “now what on earth are we gonna do at the mall?” Looking back at his daughter, he saw a huge smile spread across her face, the biggest smile he had ever seen on her.

  “The movies are at the mall!” she said, grabbing John’s seat and leaning ahead.

  “The movies?”

  Unbuckling her seat belt, Ellie climbed over the center console and got in the passenger seat. “Are we seeing the Xavier Adams movie?”

  “Ellie, what'd I tell you about climbin’ around in here?” Slowing down he buckled her in. He knew taking his attention off the road like that was dangerous, but the front seat belt was busted and she’d never be able to get the darn thing herself. John would never be able to forgive himself if something bad happened.

  Holding onto the arm rests and sitting up straight, she did her best to appear mature- as mature as a child her age could act anyway. “You said not to because if you hit the brakes when I do it, I could get hurt. See, I listen!”

  “You try anyway.” He playfully messed her hair. “Yeah we’re goin’ to the movies.”

  “Xavier Adams?”

  He shrugged. “I was thinkin’ that movie, Let's Play Doctor.”

  Her smile dropped. The night before, while watching Gunsmoke, they saw a trailer for that movie. A small boy was crushed alive, blood splattered against dark basement walls and into a girl's mouth. “Please not that one?” She looked as though she was about to cry.

  “Daddy's only teasin’.” John reached in his shirt pocket and pulled out two movie tickets. “I’d probably lose ‘em so I’m gonna trust you to hold onto ‘em,” he said, handing them to her.

  Just like that, her face brightened back up. “Okay, good.”

  "I love you, babygirl.” The smile on his daughter’s face warmed his heart. He loved her more than anything in the world, and as he looked away, a loud buzzing sounded.

  “Daddy, what’s that?” Ellie rolled down the squeaky window and popped her head out.

  “Oh, come on,” John muttered, leaning his head back as his vision began getting fuzzier. Stay focused, it’s fine. Glancing over at the passenger seat, Ellie was gone. John began pounding his fists on the steering wheel. “Please!” Tears ran down his face as his vision went black.

  Waking up in nothing but a pair of stained boxers and muddy work boots, John sat up and glared at the alarm clock. I don’t know what happened last night, but I know I didn’t set you! Swinging his leg up, he pulled one of his boots off and chucked it at the still buzzing clock, splattering mud all over the white shelf. Asshole.

  Climbing out of bed, he walked through his room littered in empty liquor bottles and food wrappers.

  Shuffling into the kitchen, the radio that was usually on and tuned to the country western station was playing nothing but static. He sighed, Can’t even start the mornin’ off with music, perfect!

  Heading to the counter to make himself some liquid breakfast, he noticed a small piece of paper stuck to the coffee maker. Grabbing it, he held it close to his face. “Passed out at Dunnagins, took you home, when you sober up get the hell out of there. I’m headed to Indiana, a safe zone the boys were talking about. Patrick.” Patrick going to a safe zone in Indiana was probably something important, but John was too tired and hungover to care. Thanks, Pat.

  Later that morning John took a shower and learned his long bushy beard was gone, whatever happened last night, he didn’t remember any of it.

  He enjoyed a nice cup of cold black coffee and relaxed in his reclining chair, hoping to catch a game of soccer. Trying to find the channel, he noticed the guide was replaced with a national alert message.

  What in the hell is up with this thing? Beating the remote against the chair, he tried to select a channel. “Damn thing.” Getting up, he walked over to the television to read the message. CDC says virus incurable. “Yeah well neither is AIDS and people live with that.” Tossing his remote to the floor, John got back in his chair and decided if he can’t watch a game, he’d spend time with his daughter in his dreams.

  About half an hour later, after dreaming of watching cartoons with Ellie, a phone call scared him awake.

  He jerked up in his chair. “Shit.” Spinning his head around, he looked
at his old rotary phone. “Fuck I miss you girls,” he mumbled as a single tear ran down the side of his face.

  Walking to the phone, he picked it up to hear his sister-in-law Kinsley breathing heavily.

  “Mornin’.”

  “Seriously? What are you still doing home?” She sounded like she had been screaming and crying for hours.

  You know this stuff. “The fall at work, I don’t go back till the 2nd.”

  “No, not work, what are you still doing HOME?” Her breathing got heavier.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Have you been living under a rock?”

  “A bar mostly.”

  “You still live alone, don’t you?”

  Looking around the house as though he was expecting to see someone, he sighed. “Yeah Kins, I’m alone, what about it?”

  “Do you have any plans?”

  What? “You mean like hookin’ up?”

  “No, for the fucking sickness!” her voice cracked.

  “What sickness?”

  “Maybe the one the Center of Disease Control’s been calling the Mad Disease? Ever heard of it, because everyone else has for the last two years!”

  Wait a second, is that why Pat went to Indiana? John started to laugh. “That bullshit again? You do know this whole thing is just gonna blow over, don’t ya? That shit ain’t even here.”

  “John, please!” She sounded like she was going to cry. “I want you to come stay with us, just until we know what’s going on.”

  “I don’t know...”

  “They said it’s gotten worse, these last two months- For fuck’s sake John, how can you be so ignorant to this whole thing!” Kinsley took a deep breath to calm down. “They don’t know what’s next... John, just please, even the government’s scared of this.”

  They sat in silence. He was about to say no, until he heard her muffled cries. It sounded like she was covering the phone so he wouldn’t hear her.

  “Kins?”

  “Please...”

  John rolled his eyes. “If I come all that way, I want gas money.”

  “I don’t care, just get here,” she cried.

  “You really are taking this seriously, huh?”

  “John, If the CDC is scared, why shouldn’t we?”

  “Yeah... Yeah okay,” he nodded. “If traffic’s good I should get there sometime tonight.”

  “Thank you, please hurry.”

  Hanging up the phone, John laughed. He couldn’t believe he was about to drive all the way from Illinois to Pennsylvania just because Kinsley asked him to. “When this all blows over, you’re gonna look pretty stupid,” he said, heading to the bedroom to pack some things.

  After leaving Illinois, long after the sun had gone down, John found himself on a Wisconsin highway full of abandoned and crashed cars, with only his dim headlights lighting the way.

  Some cars were covered in blood, others with luggage and clothes dumped on them. Windows were smashed, and it looked like some people were still sitting in some of them.

  Slowly driving between the cars, John spotted a small figure walking on the side of the road. He had seen many people along the way, a lot of them he thought were sick due to their strange movements and behavior. But this person was walking just fine and for some reason, maybe having to do with the fact this person was a child, he felt compelled to stop. What if that was my kid?

  Coming to a stop and quickly exiting his truck, John rushed over. “Excuse me?” he asked, slowly approaching the child. “Are you okay?”

  “Are you sick?” Turning around to face him, the headlights revealed the streaks of blood dried across her face and the mess it made staining her white top.

  Jumping back at the sight of her, he began backing toward the truck. “Are you sick? What happened to you?”

  “I’m not sick.” She lifted her trembling arms and rubbed her eyes. “Are you?”

  “Yeah,” he said, staring at the dried blood that ran down the girl's chalk white arms. Realizing what he said, he quickly corrected himself. “No! I mean no. I’m good. Are you? Good?” He was so distracted by the blood.

  Her tears made paths down the grime on her face. “Yes.”

  “Do you need help?"

  The girl looked to tense up, staring past him for a moment. “Mister?”

  “Yeah?”

  Her lip quivered. “There- There’s people!” She yelled, pointing at the figures emerging from behind the truck.

  “People?”

  Looking back, John’s heart raced. The dark made it difficult to see, and though he couldn’t tell for sure, one of them appeared to have a shovel lodged in their stomach. Some organs stuck out from the gash and a flower pot was jammed on their head. The other person had several slashes across their face like someone attacked them with a garden weasel.

  He didn’t know what to do, Can I help these people? Rushing back in the truck, he slammed the door shut and stared at the sick people shuffling around.

  “It’s locked!” The girl pulled on the door as one of the sick people stumbled toward her.

  “Here, get in!" Unlocking and opening it up, John grabbed the girl and pulled her in.

  “Go!” she screamed.

  Stepping on the gas, John sped off. The sick people appeared to be harmless, but the sight of them, the guts spilling out of one of them and the slashes disfiguring the other, truly frightened him. They moved like monsters and smelled like rotting corpses, and after remembering how serious Kinsley was taking things, he thought it would be best to try and avoid them whenever possible.

  A couple minutes later, after catching his breath and trying to calm down, John introduced himself. “My name’s John by the way.” He checked the rear view mirror to see if they were being followed. “I never been in this kinda situation before, findin’ a lost kid.” Glancing over at her, his skin crawled. “Especially one covered in whatever that is.”

  “It’s blood,” the girl sniffled, staring out the window.

  Of course it is. “Hey, is there somewhere I can take you?”

  “I don’t know,” she shrugged as blood mixed tears dripped off her face. “Mom said we were going to my aunt Sheryl's in Florida, but that’s a really long way away.” Wiping her nose, she got a mix of snot and blood smeared on her arm.

  “Do you know anybody who can get you there?”

  “No, nobody's left, the sick people got them all!”

  “The sick people got who?”

  “Everybody!”

  Of course they did...

  As they continued their drive, the girl rubbed away her tears, getting blood all over her hands. “My name’s Rachel,” she said, snorting the snot back up her nose.

  “Hey, I know them people back there were freaky lookin’, but how do we know we didn’t just leave good people behind? People I coulda helped?”

  “They were freaky, like you said. They walked funny, and who else would be on some random road at night with no car or gun?”

  “You. Actually. You ain’t sick, and you were on that road with no-” Stopping, John realized what she said. “Hey, what would they need guns for?”

  “Why do YOU need a gun?” she asked, looking down at his holstered Schofield revolver.

  “It was a gift...”

  “So where are we going?”

  “I’m goin’ to Pennsylvania.”

  “Can I come?”

  “I’d rather get you to somebody you know, someone who can help you.” Last thing I need is to get pulled over with a strange bloody kid in my truck.

  “I just told you nobody’s left, so can I come with you?”

  “Why do you wanna...” Glancing back at her, he shivered. “Hold that thought.”

  Stopping the truck, he grabbed a bottle off the dashboard and a cloth from between the seats. “Here,” he said, handing them to her. “Wash that gunk off your face.”

  Opening the bottle, Rachel took a drink.

  “So why would you wanna come? Why not find some family
like your aunt Sharon?”

  “I told you, the sick people got EVERYONE, and Aunt Sheryl's in Florida. I already told you this stuff. Besides, I know I can trust you, if you were bad then you wouldn’t have stopped and helped me.”

  Laughing, John stared at her. “How old are you?”

  “Ten.”

  “You can trust me, but not all strangers are nice. For all you know they might just be actin’ nice to trick you later.” You tellin’ me this kid never learned not to talk to strangers?

  “But you’re not gonna trick me, you’re nice,” she said, with her face still mostly covered in blood.

  “I try to be.”

  “So you’re a good guy.”

  “I’d like to think so.”

  “And you saved me from being eaten.”

  John opened his mouth, he was about to say something but instead shook his head. “Hey, what?” Where the hell did she learn to talk like that?

  “They would of ate me, like they would of bit me until I was all gone. Sick people eat people.”

  “Oh?” he asked, trying not to crack a smile. “They eat people, do they?” She was clearly taking this very seriously but John refused to buy it.

  “Yeah, the sick people are crazy and when they get you, they eat you, I watched it happen!”

  “Come on now kid, you never seen somebody get eaten.”

  “Yes I did!” She started to whimper. “It happened to my mom and dad and it’s gonna happen to you too if you don’t believe me!”

  Watching her sob for a minute, John felt bad. He didn’t believe he was wrong or said anything he shouldn’t have, but nonetheless he felt bad for making this little girl cry.

  “Hey?”

  “I’m not lying!” she told him, wiping her eyes.

  “Okay, maybe you’re not,” he said, taking the bottle and cloth from her. “But think about it for a second,” he said as he began washing the blood off her face. “I’ve never seen this stuff before, but you have,” Fuck. “It sounds crazy to me right now, but maybe one day it won't.” After he finished cleaning her face and arms, he tossed the cloth on the floor and handed her the bottle. “Drink it if you want it.”

  Chapter 2:

  Sweet Home Pennsylvania!

  Liam swiped all the dishes off the table. Flipping a chair, he threw a vase at the wall. “Where is he!” Running at his wife Kinsley, he pinned her against the wall by her throat.