by Dawn, M. K.
“Sorry, Maria,” Axel hadn’t meant to offend her. “What I meant was Britney is better at long-distant shots. If we didn’t think you could handle yourself when up against the infested, we never would have suggested you protect the kids.”
She straightened her shoulders and looked to Britney. “I’ll protect them with my life, you know that, right?”
Britney’s nostrils flared. “I’m not agreein’ to this.”
Archer cocked his chin to Axel, who knew exactly what needed to be done. “Brit, let’s have a little chat in the bathroom.”
It took her a second, but she finally gave up and followed Axel inside the small space. “If you think you’re gonna to talk me into lettin’ her, of all people, protect my kids, you’ve lost your damn mind.”
Axel placed his hands on her shoulders. “Listen to me for a second, will you?”
Britney huffed but kept her mouth closed.
“Thank you. We need you outside. And I get it. I love those kids, too, and it terrifies me to have them out of my sight even for a second. But sitting inside is not protecting them. Not when you send someone less equipped to handle the situation in your place.”
“How am I supposed to concentrate when they’re inside without me? It’ll just be a distraction.”
Axel starred in her eyes for a few seconds before answering. “If we don’t do something, we’re all going to die. By the infested or dehydration. We have to fight, Brit. You have to fight.”
Tears burst from her eyes as she broke down and sobbed. “It’s my fault Carson’s dead. If I would have stayed with them instead of confrontin’ David…”
He wrapped her in his arms. It’s the first time she’d ever said those words out loud, though Axel figured she’d held herself responsible. “No. What happened to Carson is not your fault. He saved us, Brit. We’d all be dead and the kids part of David’s cult if Carson hadn’t driven the Humvee to rescue us. He’s a hero. Don’t you ever forget that.”
Her crying slowed, and she raised her head. “I’m scared all the time. And the nightmares and flashbacks...I don't know how to move past it. Every day, the image of me stabbing him in the heart with that needle and filling his body with poison haunts me. I killed my son.”
“No, the infested killed your son. He was already gone, Brit. You saved him and God knows how many others by not allowing the infested to take over.”
She choked back more tears. “What if he was still in there?”
A fear all of us carried. “He wasn’t. I promise you, Brit, he wasn’t. He was gone, only the infested was left.”
“I can’t lose Molly or Blake or anyone else for that matter. I just can’t.”
Axel knew the feeling well. “I know, babe, I know. And that’s why we have to do everything we can to protect the ones we love. Even if it means putting ourselves in uncomfortable situations.”
“Uncomfortable?” Britney ran her fingers across her face, wiping away the tears. “Try deadly.”
“Fine, deadly situation.” Axel planted a small kiss on her forehead. “We should get back. Are you ready?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I guess.”
They returned to the main room. The kids were now awake, and Molly rushed toward her mom and threw her arms around her waist. “Good morning, Mommy. Are you okay?”
Britney knelt down so they were face to face. “I’m okay. How are you?”
“Really, really hungry and thirsty.”
“I’m sorry, baby. We all are.”
Molly’s face brightened. “But Uncle Archer said we’re going to get food and water today. Is that true?”
Britney glanced up at Axel, who forced a smile.
He could tell Britney didn’t have it in her to answer so he did. “We sure as hell are going to try.”
***
A few hours later and a plan formulated, Axel began to remove the boards from the doors.
They had gone back and forth on whether or not to open the windows and have a couple of people shoot from there. But after much debate, they decided it would cause more issues than help.
“Let’s go over this one more time,” Archer said while Axel continued to unboard the door. “Axel and I will be the first ones out. He and I will assess the situation, him from the right and me from the left. Britney will stay at the door. Behind her, Angie, Sam, and Slash will play backup. It’s crucial that the three of you are ready to go, guns loaded. If the three of us have to do a lot of firing, we’ll need you guys to back us up when we reload. If the situation grows dire, there is enough space for five of us to stand in front of the house. As the doctor, Slash will hang back if it comes to that. Is everyone clear? Questions?”
No one spoke, only responded with a shake of the head.
“Good.” Archer removed his pistol from the holster on his belt. “Everyone, take a couple of minutes to check their firearms, and then, we’ll be ready to go.”
Axel hung around the door, ready to pull the last board off when it was time. Britney spoke with Maria and kissed each of her children, including Tyler on the cheek. If the kids were freaking out, they all hid it well. With the boys, Axel expected as much. They tended to hold back their fear, but not Molly. She wasn’t shy when it came to expressing herself, so to see her so calm surprised Axel.
A minute later, Britney joined Axel at the door with a heavy sigh.
“You hanging in there?”
Britney fiddled with her nails. “I guess. I’m ready to get this over with.”
Axel felt the same way. “The kids are taking it pretty well, Molly especially.”
“Yeah, well, they don’t know the extent of what’s goin’ on. We decided to tell them that there's only one infested outside and all of us are gonna take care of it.”
“And they bought that?”
Britney shrugged. “Molly, yes. The boys...it’s hard to tell with them. They put on a brave face. It’s like their childhood has been stripped away and they’re mini-adults. I hate it.”
Axel ran a hand down the middle of her back. “So do I. Hopefully, when we get to Hollywood and find a safe place to hole up, they can be kids again.”
She scrunched up her face. “Do you really believe that?”
“Believe what?”
“That there’s such a thing as a safe place in this God-forsaken world?”
Axel had to believe that or he’d lose his mind. “Yes, because we had that once. On the farm. And it lasted a couple of years. We’ve learned a lot since then, and I truly believe we can find that again. A place even better.”
Britney looked up at him with wonder in her eyes. “What happened to the tough biker guy I first met?”
“Tough?” Axel laughed. “I’m not sure I was ever considered a tough guy, but I have to say you and the kids did soften me a bit.”
Britney frowned. “I’m not sure that’s a good thin’.”
He gave her a quick kiss. “I am.”
In the corner, Archer shared a couple of quick words with Sloan before addressing the group again. “Okay. Guns loaded and everyone ready? Problems? Concerns?”
No one answered.
“Good.” Archer glanced over his shoulder. “Axel. If you would remove the last board over the door?”
“Got it.” Axel pried the board loose and tossed it aside. He took hold of the door handle but waited to pull it open until Archer moved into place.
With Archer to the left of the door, he gave Axel a little nod. Axel eased the door toward him, ready to slam it closed at the first sign of danger.
Archer peered outside and gave Axel another nod to open the door farther.
Britney watched Archer’s back as he stuck his head outside. After confirming the front to be clear, Axel opened the door as far as it would go and made his way outside and to the right while Axel took the left.
There wasn’t much in the way of a clearing around the house. Whoever had built this cabin must have wanted to stay hidden. Axel wasn’t even sure where they would ha
ve parked their trucks.
Fresh fallen snow blanketed the ground, making it difficult to see with the sun glaring off of it. Next store they came to, Axel was finding a pair of sunglasses. A random thought considering the situation, but the mind did strange things when faced with danger.
Axel scanned the area in search of any sort of movement but saw nothing. This only added to his anxiety. It hadn’t been that long since they heard the infested moving around outside. He doubted they’d given up so easily.
A flash of movement from the left caught his eye and Archer’s too, as he held his gun that direction. The direction they thought it came from.
The crunch of snow had Axel jerking his head but still he saw nothing. What the hell was going on? The infested didn’t act this way, didn’t play with their prey. His mind tried to rationalize the behavior, even tried to convince him that maybe they weren’t dealing with the infested at all.
But that theory soon came to an end with an infested stepped out from behind a tree. He couldn’t be sure, but considering the small stature of the infested, it might have been the same one they encountered during their hike to the cabin. The one that stood there watching them before the others attacked. The one Archer had shot in the chest but it hadn’t died.
Axel raised his gun, not wanting to wait around and find out. Archer must have had the same idea, because he shot seconds before Axel pulled the trigger. This time, he’d aimed for the head but missed, hitting the tree instead.
The infested startled and crouched. It’s ashy-white skin blended in with the snow too well, making it difficult to see. It lifted its head and let out a ferocious growl that raised the hairs on Axel’s arms.
Other infested joined, their growls echoing off the trees, piercing Axel’s ears. He wanted nothing more than to block out the sound that rang in his head, but he knew this was beginning. Their war cry. Any second, they’d come out from hiding and attack.
Seconds ticked by that felt like hours. Waiting only upped the panic settling in his chest. He wanted to move, strike first but that would be foolish. To step out into the open would leave him vulnerable.
Movement from his right startled him and he pulled the trigger of his gun out of fear. The bullet struck a tree, throwing him off guard.
That was when the attack began.
Dozens of infested leapt from the trees, racing toward them at unimaginable speeds. They open fire, dropping some and wounding others. Sam and Angie joined them in front of the house, but there were too many coming at them from every angle.
“Back inside,” Archer screamed over the chaos.
No one argued, or hesitated. They had very few bullets left, and there was no point in wasting them on a herd of infested that hid within the thick trees.
They rushed inside, slamming the door.
“We have to board it up.” Archer dropped his weapon on the ground while Axel held the door closed with his back.
Infested slammed against the already weak wood, splintering it in several places.
Molly screamed as Britney held the kids tightly against her side. The terror etched on the faces of each of their friends only strengthened Axel’s resolve. He would not let the infested inside, no matter the cost.
“Half the door is barricaded.” Archer knelt beside Axel. “Can you move without them breaking down the door?”
Axel wasn’t sure but what choice did they have? “You’ll have to hammer fast. I’ll hold the boards in place.”
“Ready?”
“Yep.” Axel jumped out of the way, spun around, and pressed the entirety of his weight against the board while Archer nailed it into the frame.
The infested slammed against the door a couple more times; then, it went silent.
Axel stomach dropped. “Where did they go?”
“Who knows.” Archer tossed the hammer aside and dropped to the floor, sweat dripping down his face. “Door’s secure.”
Axel sat beside him, and they both kept a close eye on the door. “I don’t like these new, smarter infested. They scare the shit out of me.”
“They do seem to plan things a bit more, don’t they?” Archer had not admitted yet what they all feared. “Could be some kind of survival thing. Maybe they aren’t getting smarter, just have developed different instincts.”
If they were only so lucky. “We have bigger problems at the moment. What the hell are we going to do now? If we can’t get out and don’t have food and water—”
“We’ll have both soon,” Sloan called from the other side of the room.
Axel and Archer both jerked their heads to face her, but Archer was the one to ask the question. “How?”
Sloan slid a pot full of snow over the fire. Beside her were two more pots filled to the brim with their fluffy white salvation. “I saw we were outnumbered so while the five of you were fighting the infested, I snuck out and scooped up some snow.”
Archer rushed to Sloan and hugged her tightly. “Oh, thank God.”
“God had nothing to do with it.” Sloan rubbed his back for a second before returning the fire. “I did what I knew needed to be done.”
“How long will this water give us?” Sam asked.
Sloan pulled the dry rice and beans from the bag. “A day. If we use the water conservatively.”
“A day?” Sam threw his hands in the air. “Then what? Those things haven’t left since we got here. And they sure as hell aren’t going to leave when they know we’re still in here.”
Angie patted Sam’s knee. “We don’t know that. Maybe something will come along and distract them.”
“And then what?” Sam jumped to his feet clearly agitated. “We head outside and go where? Back the truck that doesn’t work and the car that won’t hold all of us? Or perhaps we head in the opposite direction in search of a new place to hole up until the next attack.”
The fear on the kids’ faces brought Axel to his feet. “Sam, enough. You’re scaring the kids.”
“The kids? Fuck! We’re all scared! If you’re not scared, you’re out of your damn mind!”
Archer reached out and grabbed Sam by the arm. “Take a seat, man. Calm down. This isn’t helping.”
Sam dropped back on the bed and covered his face with his hands. “Sorry...I’m just...it all feels so hopeless.”
It did but Axel refused to say those words out loud. “We can’t give up hope. We’ve gotten out of tight spots before and we’ll do it again.”
“How?” Maria asked, her voice barely audible. “We tried and got our butts kicked.”
Britney hugged her kids close. “It all feels a bit hopeless at this point.”
Axel hated their despair. “You just want to roll over and die?” As soon as the words left his mouth, he instantly regretted them. The terror in the kids’ eyes alone broke his heart. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that, but we can’t give up. We have water, and soon, we’ll have some food.”
“Then what?” There was no anger in Sam’s voice, no judgement.
Axel wished he had an answer to that. “We’ll figure something out. We always do.”
Chapter six
Sloan
Sleep tugged at Sloan’s eyes. She and Archer were on hour four of night watch. Most shifts, she could handle, but tonight seemed to drag on for longer than normal. The stress of their failed attempt to defeat the infested had drained her more than she was willing to admit.
Archer ran a hand down her arm. “Why don’t you go to bed? Our shift’s almost up anyways, and it’s been quiet.”
“I’m fine,” Sloan lied. “I can make it until Axel and Britney take over.”
After the years they’d spent together, Archer rarely argued with her over matters such as this. He leaned his head back against the wall near the door. “Do you ever think about The Bunker?”
Sloan spent a significant amount of time trying to forget the horrors they’d experienced there. “Not often. Why?”
“Sometimes, I miss the simplicity of it all.” The
corner of Archer’s mouth curled up into a half smile when she frowned. “Not the time when the infested got in, but before that. The year when we were unaware of what was really going on in the world. The biggest thing we had to worry about was the lack of sunlight and fresh air.”
“And let’s not forget about the arranged intimate relationships— “
Archer grinned. “Which ended up working out quite nice for us.”
Sloan continued, “Or the trackers forced in our arms, and the lies, and—”
“I get your point. It wasn’t ideal, but at least we weren’t fighting for our lives every second of every day.”
Her eyes drifted to Britney and the children snuggled into her arms. “At times, I feel guilty for living in such luxury especially after knowing the terror my family endured.”
Archer squeezed her knee. “We went through a lot, too, you know. How many times did we nearly die? You more than anyone else.”
“I consider myself lucky. Too many people died down there. And for what, to die at the farm by the hands of some radical religious group?”
Archer sighed. “I miss our friends, too.”
“Evelyn was just starting to overcome her depression.” The women had been roommates and close friends during their time at The Bunker. It pained Sloan that she didn’t survive the attack on the farm. That so many people died there. “And Rainy…”
“There’s nothing you or any of us could have done for them without sacrificing ourselves. If we tried to save everyone, we would be dead along with them. I hate to say it but their deaths...it beats the alternative.”
“You mean playing host to the infested.” Sloan shuttered at the thought. “I would like to say that wasn’t their fate, but look what happened to Carson.” Even the thought of her nephew brought tears to her eyes.
Archer took her hand in his. “I know you’re not religious, but for me, it helps to think that the ones who’ve died are in a better place. One without fear or pain. And that they’re looking down on us acting as our guardian angels.”
After everything they’ve seen, Sloan couldn’t imagine how people still believed in a higher power. “If that’s so, then where are they now? We’re stuck in this cabin, short on supplies. A day ago, we were on the brink of death. And we will be again if we don’t find a way to escape this prison.”
