Chapter 10
Marcus reached the peaks of the Rocky Mountains by nightfall. As he passed over the majestic white peaks, he listened to the sweet silence that engulfed the bus behind him. It was so quiet, Marcus had to look over his shoulder every hour to ensure that they were still there. He passed over the first peaks and watched the sun fall behind another chain of mountains across the horizon. He noticed how the mountains were not a single wide chain, as he was lead to believe, but in fact a series of chains interconnected with each other. This caused large valleys to form, and Marcus had to fight the urge to drop into the valley below him. He crossed over the second set and felt a rush of wind as he flew into a large valley. This one was made up of the end of one chain and the beginning of another. Marcus dropped to a hundred feet above the tree tops.
To his left, right, and rear, the mountain peaks extended upward with small crevices in between. The small roadway beneath him extended into the forest beyond. Marcus looked ahead and saw darkness. When he reached the end of the valley, the sky started to lighten and Marcus could see the land beyond. The terrain was a mix of small farms, towns, and cities. Along the coast, he could see a large group of spires sticking a few inches out of the earth. He turned in that direction and the sun hit his back as he came out of the final stretches of the Rocky Mountains. The towers of San Francisco slowly grew larger and larger as he crossed the few remaining miles between his flock and the friends that they haven’t seen in a week. Marcus roared both to announce their arrival and to wake the sleeping humans on his back.
He flew to a nearby airport and landed next to the main lobby. From the time his feet cracked the weak cement, Marcus knew something was wrong. He looked around and saw no undead, no humans, no titanicus, and no planes. He did not feel them, but he could tell from the heightened scent that Liz and the others were standing right in front of him. Liz felt the same chill as when she was in the abandoned city in New York. Even with friends, she felt lonely. Marcus leaned his head down to their level and Liz said, “There aren’t any people here. Where are they, Marcus?”
“I don’t know, little one. I cannot seem to catch the scent of the undead. The humans are here; I can’t tell where, but they are here. Perhaps they have left on the planes; which would explain their absence. I think, however, that there are still some of them here. There is only one way to know for sure. We aren’t going anywhere else any time soon, so could you please take this wretched piece of rusted metal off my back?”
Liz and Mitch climbed onto his back and started to cut the ropes that held the bus in place. It started to slide toward Liz, and Marcus used his wing to let it gently slide off. Marcus said, “That feels much better. I hope we find a permanent home here, because I am never placing that thing on my back again.”
Liz asked, “Do you think the other’s even landed here?”
“We’ll find out soon enough. Let’s go into the city and check for any sign of life.”
They started to walk. Marcus kept his pace slow and he kept himself at least a hundred feet behind them so as to not have any accidents. As they approached the line of buildings, the scent of undead and human alike started to strengthen until it was so acute, Marcus could practically see them before they came into view. When they reached the city line, Marcus checked his wings so he did not scratch any of the buildings. Marcus did not know who was following who; the humans were ahead of his body, but his head was a few feet ahead of them.
As the minutes of walking turned to hours, Marcus observed Thomas’s frail movements. Thomas was an old man, and Marcus refused to allow him to walk past the point where he started to limp. He climbed onto Marcus’s head with his help and sat there for the rest of their short trip.
The buildings around them steadily grew in size until they were pillars of glass that seemed to touch the sky. Marcus had to close off his nose; he didn’t feel he could trust it anymore. They were near the middle of the city when they had their first encounter with humanity. A young woman, younger than Liz, ran around a corner with blood wounds across her chest and stomach. A white shirt far too large for her covered the wounds, but the blood soaked through. She screamed at the sight of Marcus and he could do nothing to help her as thirty of the larger breed of undead ran around the corner and ripped her apart. Marcus dropped his head to cover Liz’s eyes from the horror. He built up a flame within himself and let it burst fourth to consume what it wanted. When the flame died down a minute later, the road was black and the undead were ashes on the ground.
Marcus was satisfied, Liz, Mitch and Jason were shaken, and Thomas, who had seen all this before, yelled, “Do you have any idea how hot it gets up here when you do that? You nearly burned my balls off!”
“Sorry, would you like to go down now?”
“If it’ll save my manhood, then yes.”
Marcus lifted his claw as high as it would go and let Thomas use his fingers as steps. Mitch helped him the rest of the way down and they continued to walk. Liz sat on his front claw as his slow movements made it safer than it usually was. They passed another three blocks when another group of undead turned around the corner. Marcus breathed in the air, but another flame came around the corner and did his work for him. He could hear a human soldier yell, “One of these days, that thing is gonna blow your ass sky high, and I aint gonna be there to…” He trailed off as he walked around the corner and saw Marcus.
To his left, right, and rear, the mountain peaks extended upward with small crevices in between. The small roadway beneath him extended into the forest beyond. Marcus looked ahead and saw darkness. When he reached the end of the valley, the sky started to lighten and Marcus could see the land beyond. The terrain was a mix of small farms, towns, and cities. Along the coast, he could see a large group of spires sticking a few inches out of the earth. He turned in that direction and the sun hit his back as he came out of the final stretches of the Rocky Mountains. The towers of San Francisco slowly grew larger and larger as he crossed the few remaining miles between his flock and the friends that they haven’t seen in a week. Marcus roared both to announce their arrival and to wake the sleeping humans on his back.
He flew to a nearby airport and landed next to the main lobby. From the time his feet cracked the weak cement, Marcus knew something was wrong. He looked around and saw no undead, no humans, no titanicus, and no planes. He did not feel them, but he could tell from the heightened scent that Liz and the others were standing right in front of him. Liz felt the same chill as when she was in the abandoned city in New York. Even with friends, she felt lonely. Marcus leaned his head down to their level and Liz said, “There aren’t any people here. Where are they, Marcus?”
“I don’t know, little one. I cannot seem to catch the scent of the undead. The humans are here; I can’t tell where, but they are here. Perhaps they have left on the planes; which would explain their absence. I think, however, that there are still some of them here. There is only one way to know for sure. We aren’t going anywhere else any time soon, so could you please take this wretched piece of rusted metal off my back?”
Liz and Mitch climbed onto his back and started to cut the ropes that held the bus in place. It started to slide toward Liz, and Marcus used his wing to let it gently slide off. Marcus said, “That feels much better. I hope we find a permanent home here, because I am never placing that thing on my back again.”
Liz asked, “Do you think the other’s even landed here?”
“We’ll find out soon enough. Let’s go into the city and check for any sign of life.”
They started to walk. Marcus kept his pace slow and he kept himself at least a hundred feet behind them so as to not have any accidents. As they approached the line of buildings, the scent of undead and human alike started to strengthen until it was so acute, Marcus could practically see them before they came into view. When they reached the city line, Marcus checked his wings so he did not scratch any of the buildings. Marcus did not know who was following who; the humans were ahead of his body, but his head was a few feet ahead of them.
As the minutes of walking turned to hours, Marcus observed Thomas’s frail movements. Thomas was an old man, and Marcus refused to allow him to walk past the point where he started to limp. He climbed onto Marcus’s head with his help and sat there for the rest of their short trip.
The buildings around them steadily grew in size until they were pillars of glass that seemed to touch the sky. Marcus had to close off his nose; he didn’t feel he could trust it anymore. They were near the middle of the city when they had their first encounter with humanity. A young woman, younger than Liz, ran around a corner with blood wounds across her chest and stomach. A white shirt far too large for her covered the wounds, but the blood soaked through. She screamed at the sight of Marcus and he could do nothing to help her as thirty of the larger breed of undead ran around the corner and ripped her apart. Marcus dropped his head to cover Liz’s eyes from the horror. He built up a flame within himself and let it burst fourth to consume what it wanted. When the flame died down a minute later, the road was black and the undead were ashes on the ground.
Marcus was satisfied, Liz, Mitch and Jason were shaken, and Thomas, who had seen all this before, yelled, “Do you have any idea how hot it gets up here when you do that? You nearly burned my balls off!”
“Sorry, would you like to go down now?”
“If it’ll save my manhood, then yes.”
Marcus lifted his claw as high as it would go and let Thomas use his fingers as steps. Mitch helped him the rest of the way down and they continued to walk. Liz sat on his front claw as his slow movements made it safer than it usually was. They passed another three blocks when another group of undead turned around the corner. Marcus breathed in the air, but another flame came around the corner and did his work for him. He could hear a human soldier yell, “One of these days, that thing is gonna blow your ass sky high, and I aint gonna be there to…” He trailed off as he walked around the corner and saw Marcus.