by Dawn, M. K.
“Goodnight.” Sloan offered Axel a small smile as she passed and closed herself inside the room.
Exhaustion and heartache had gotten the best of her, and she needed time alone to process the raw emotions flooding her mind.
***
“Get up!” Archer’s voice cut through her sleep like a sharp blade. “We have to go!”
Sloan bolted up, confusion swirling all around her. “What wrong? Britney?”
“The infested.” Archer tossed her the jeans she left on the counter. “Get dressed. They’re not close. Not yet, but we heard them in the distance. We need to get as far away from here as possible before they discover that we’re here.”
She slipped on her jeans, still not quite awake. “Could we not just wait them out in here?”
“For how long, Slash? A few hours, a couple of days? Remember the cabin? We have no idea what we’d be dealing with. Britney can’t...well, we can’t wait in here and find out.”
Sloan wiped the sleep from her eyes and followed Archer into the hall were the children and Axel waited—Axel with Britney held tightly in his arms.
“How is she?” Sloan asked as she followed them to the waiting room. The smell from the horses was enough to make her gag.
“Eww,” Molly whined. “It smells like poop in here.”
“Where else do you think the horses were going to go?” Blake asked with a huff.
“Don’t start,” Axel warned before Molly could argue. “I’ll put Britney in the wagon and come back and help you get the horses out. Sloan, you stand watch.”
Sloan did as she was asked. Outside, she could hear the cries of distant infested. There was no telling how close they were at this point, but she feared there was not enough distance between them and the predators that lurked in the shadows.
Archer and Axel had little trouble coaxing the horses out of the building. The animals were well trained and hooking them up to the wagon took no time at all.
Driving the wagon didn’t prove as easy. Archer and Axel had taken turns the day before with Britney’s guidance, but they still struggled at times.
“I’ll drive,” Axel said as he climbed in front. “Archer, you’re a better aim.”
“Are the infested coming?” Molly snuggled next to her near-unconscious mother.
Sloan ignored the question. “Stay in the middle of the wagon and away from the side. We’re all in, Axel.”
He snapped the reins, and the horses started to trot. “Should we go faster?”
Archer peered out the back of the wagon. “No. This thing is too damn loud as it is. Take it slow and maybe we’ll get out of here unnoticed.”
The infested grew louder the farther they got out of town. The kids cowered near their mother, and Sloan did her best to comfort them. Britney, on the other hand, hadn’t seemed to notice much of what was going on. Her eyes fluttered open from time to time, but Sloan couldn’t be sure that she had regained any sort of consciousness.
“They’re coming,” Archer raised his gun.
“Archer,” Sloan called out, “are you sure about this?”
He didn’t answer, only fired.
The horses picked up speed at the sound gunfire.
Axel swore. “Fuck! Damn things are gun shy.”
“Sorry,” Archer shouted. “Don’t have much a fucking choice.”
“How many are there?” Sloan shouted over the commotion.
Again, Archer refused to answer which could only mean one thing: They were in trouble.
Chapter fifteen
Axel
Axel struggled with the reins, the horses startled by not only the gunshots but the infested that had come out of nowhere.
He counted fifteen so far, but he couldn’t see past the wagon.
Behind him, he could hear his kids crying and Sloan doing what she could to comfort them.
“Lay down!” Sloan snapped. “What are you doing?”
Axel happened a glance behind him and saw that Britney had managed to sit up. Molly and Blake sat close to her as she whispered something in their ears and then spoke with Sloan.
Sloan jerked backward and shook her head. “No! Absolutely not.”
What the fuck was going on? “Sloan! Sloan! Talk to me!”
Axel did what he could to keep his eyes on the road ahead and also on his family who were clearly discussing something important.
An infested darted in front of them, startling the horses who lurched right. The wagon groaned under the sudden movement but managed to stay upright.
Archer fired off a couple more shots. The horses whinny in protest but keep running.
A tug on the back of his shirt made him jump. He whipped his head around and found Sloan climbing up beside him, eyes red and cheeks wet with tears.
“What’s wrong?”
She shook her head and took the reins. “Go.”
“Sloan?” Axel swallowed hard. “Do you know how to drive this thing?”
“I grew up around horses; I’ll figure it out.” She sniffled. “Go!”
Axel climbed into the back of the wagon and found the kids clinging to Britney sobbing. “What’s going on?”
“There’re too many,” Britney managed with a gasp. “I have to.”
“Have to what?” Axel took Britney’s hands as Archer fired another shot. “What the hell is going on?”
“They’re not going to stop until they have what they want.” Britney wheezed with each word. “I can give them that.”
Axel still couldn't figure out what the hell she was talking about. “Brit...what are you saying?”
Another shot fired, and the wagon jerked.
“There’s no time.” She hugged Molly and Blake close. “You protect them with your life. Love them with everything you have.”
Her words sucked all the air out of his lungs. “Brit…you are not...what are you saying?”
“I’m dying, Axel. There’s nothing that can stop that now. This way…this way I can save you all.” Tears rolled down her cheeks.
A thump shook the wagon with so much force that it threw them all to the floor.
Britney gasped and sobbed for a brief moment before regaining her composure. “I love you all so, so much. I’ll always be with you. Don’t you ever forget that. Take them, Axel. Please, take them.”
“Mommy, no!” Molly screamed as Britney shoved them into Axel’s arms.
Blake sobbed alongside his sister and held her in his arms as they rocked back and forth.
Britney stood on wobbly legs, her eyes rolling back in her head for a second before she found her footing. Her skin now took on a yellowish hue. Her erratic breathing was more noticeable now that she was standing. “Sloan, slow down. It’s time.”
Sloan’s body shook but she kept facing forward as she tugged on the reins. The horses slowed but not by much.
“Please don’t do this Britney,” Axel reached out for her, his voice strained, “…please, Jesus, there has to be another way. We’ll find another way. Britney…I love you so much. Don’t leave us like this. Please…don’t go.”
“I love you, too. So much.” She gave them each one more kiss, turned her back on them, and ambled toward the rear of the wagon.
Archer fired off a couple more rounds and moved aside as she approached.
She smiled down on him. “Don’t let me turn.”
And then, she was gone.
The roar of the infested drowned out everything else. The kids screamed in anguish and fought against Axel’s hold. His tears soaked the front of his shirt as he whispered over and over to his kids that everything was going to be all right.
Pain tormented Archer’s face as he tore open the back to see if Britney’s sacrifice had worked.
He said nothing, only lowered his head with a shake.
“What’s happening?” Axel managed. “Archer…”
“She saved us.” And with that, Archer lifted his gun and fired.
***
“Axel.” Archer’
s voice sounded distant, fuzzy. “Axel. Come on, you need to get out of the wagon, brother.”
He wanted to move and he tried, but his legs wouldn’t listen, so he stayed there and watched as the world around him passed by in a haze.
Sloan disappeared and reappeared in a matter of seconds or maybe it was longer.
She stared at him, her lips moving but there was no noise.
With a shake of her head, she crouched down by the kids and then they were gone. And he was alone. Like he would be now that Britney was gone.
He closed his eyes and saw her in front of him. Not like she was before her death—sick and pale—but how she looked when he first met her outside that small-town church a lifetime ago. She smiled at him and he at her and life was perfect.
What he wouldn’t give to live that life again.
“We need to get him inside,” Sloan said, breaking through his memory.
Axel opened his eyes and startled, now face to face with Sloan. “What…” His mouth felt dry making it difficult to speak. “Where are we?”
“Come on.” Archer slid his arm under Axel’s and lifted him to his feet. “Let’s get you in the house.”
Images flashed before Axel’s eyes as they approached the back of the wagon. Britney there and then gone, leaving behind only emptiness.
“What’s wrong with him?” Archer asked.
Sloan held open the back. “He’s in shock. It’ll take some time but he’ll recover.”
Recover? The word bounced around in Axel’s head. Who would recover? And how? Nothing they were saying made any sense. It was all jumbled and fuzzy and foreign.
“What do we do now?” Archer helped him up the wobbly steps and inside an old house.
“Is this the farm? Are we home?”
Sloan patted a couch, sending dust into the air. “Put him here. I’ll check him over. See if there’s anything in the kitchen.”
Axel’s head teetered from side to side.
“Axel,” Sloan snapped her fingers in front of him. “Look at me.”
He wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and never wake again. At least there, in his dreams, Britney would be waiting for him.
“Axel!” Sloan shouted. “You need to focus.”
“Here.” Archer shoved a cup in Axel’s hand. “Drink.”
Sloan took a whiff and narrowed her eyes. “Whiskey? Do you think that’s wise?”
“Hey, whatever works.” Archer took a seat next to Axel. “Come on, brother. Take a couple of drinks and clear your head.”
Axel stared at the glass in his hand, not sure what to do with it. He wanted a drink but he also didn’t remember how to move.
“Enough.” Sloan snatched the glass and shot back the amber liquid before storming away. “Just...let him be for a while.”
Archer followed, leaving Axel alone. Alone...that word meant so much more now.
He closed his eyes, determined to sleep or maybe he’d wake up and this would all be a bad dream. Across the room, through an empty door frame, Archer and Sloan talked quietly. Sloan began to cry almost instantly, and Archer wrapped his arms around her.
Axel squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block it all out. Last thing he needed were more reminders of what happened earlier today.
The kids didn’t—
He shot up off the couch, reality racing back to him. “Where are the kids?”
Sloan and Archer both snapped their heads toward him, eyes wide and mouths open.
“Where are Molly and Blake?”
“Upstairs.” Sloan crossed the room toward him and handed him the refilled glass. “Here. You don't remember me telling you in the wagon that there were children’s bedrooms upstairs?”
“No.” Axel shook his head and sat back on the couch. “God, my head is killing me.”
Sloan took a seat next to him and rubbed his back. “It’s been a difficult day. You’ve been in a state of shock since...well, for a while now.”
Axel took a long drink of the whiskey and grimaced. “And they say liquor ages well.”
“That bottle was open.” Archer squatted next to an old wood-burning fireplace. “Wonder how dirty this thing is?”
“Too dirty and you’ll kill us all with carbon monoxide.” Sloan returned her attention to Axel. “How are you feeling?”
“Like shit.” He rubbed at his temple. “I just can’t believe…”
Sloan sniffled. “I know. But…”
Axel’s eyes shifted to her. “What were you going to say? What did Brit tell you on the wagon?”
She stood and paced the room, tears running down her face. “Just what she planned on doing.”
“Would she…” he cleared his throat, “...would she have lived?”
Sloan wiped the tears for her cheeks. “Not without a heavy dose of medication which I’m unsure we would have been able to find in time, if ever.”
A lump formed in Axel’s throat as he bit back his own tears. “Could we have outrun the infested?”
Archer, who now sat on the floor near the fireplace, dropped his head. “No. There were too many. Her sacrifice saved us.”
Axel finished his drink. “How are the kids doing?”
“Scared and confused,” Sloan looked to the stairs, “and exhausted. I should go check on them...I just don’t know what to say. When our mother died, nothing anyone said brought me much comfort.”
“I’ll go.” Axel stood and stretched his arms high over his head. The fog clouding his brain seemed to have lifted for the moment.
He headed up the stairs and to the first room on the right. The old house reminded him of their house on the farm minus the layers of dust and spiderwebs. He peeked his head past the door and found both his kids on the floor, Molly playing with Barbies and Blake with Hotwheels.
“Hey.” Axel entered the room and took a seat between the two. “Cool room.”
Molly slowly lifted her head. “Auntie Sloan said the kids were probably twins like me and Blake.”
“Yeah.” Axel examined the room. “I can see that.”
“Do you think they died?” Molly asked. “Like Mommy.”
Blake choked on his tears but kept his eyes on his toys. Axel had gone through his fair share of grief, losing his daughter to cancer before all of this, and understood the importance of letting people, even kids, grieve the way they needed to.
“I don’t know what happened to the family that lived here.” Axel picked up one of the Barbies Molly had scattered on the floor. “Maybe they left to go live with other family members.”
Molly sat quietly for several minutes before speaking again. “Why did Mommy have to die like that? We were going to get her medicine. Auntie Sloan said that we were.”
Axel pulled her into his side and held her tight. “I know, baby, I know.”
“I miss her,” Molly sobbed. “I want her back.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” Axel continued to hold her, “we all miss and want her back.”
“It’s not fair.” Blake threw the car across the room in a justifiable fit of rage. “First Dad, then all our friends at the farm and Carson. Now Mom. Why do people keep dying?”
Axel hauled Blake into his free side, not sure how to answer that. “I know, buddy, it sucks, no doubt about it. You two have lost so much in your young life, and it's not fair that you don’t get to have a normal childhood, it really isn’t.”
“I just want things to go back the way they were.” Molly lifted her tear-soaked face. “I would even go to school without complaining and wake up on time and everything.”
Axel brushed away the unruly auburn hair from her face. “Maybe one day we’ll find a place that feels a bit more normal.”
“Well, I don’t miss school,” Blake said, nose crinkled. “But I do miss video games. Do you think we can find a place that has those?”
A small chuckle escaped Axel’s lips. “Try not to get your hopes up, kid. Now, it’s late and we all need to get some sleep. I see two beds in here that look pr
etty comfy.”
Molly’s eyes grow wide. “We’re going to sleep in here? Alone? But I don’t want to.”
“Me either,” Blake agreed.
It hadn’t even occurred to Axel that after so much time of them sleeping in such close quarters that when given the opportunity, they might not want to sleep without an adult. “Alone? No, of course not. I’m going to sleep in here, too. Do you guys think you can share a bed?”
The kids glared at one another and each shook their heads.
“All right.” Axel stood and took a look around. He had no idea how many bedrooms were in the house or how many beds there actually were, but he had hoped there would be enough for him to have one. Sleeping on blow up mattresses and the floor was not something he’d gotten used to. “Maybe there’s an extra bed or something I can move in here so we all have our own.”
“Wait!” Molly hopped up and ran to the girl’s side of the room. “Under the bed, there’s another bed. Look.” She threw up the comforter, sending dust everywhere and tugged on an old hideaway bed that was just as dirty. “Dad, you can sleep here.”
“Wait a minute.” Blake marched over the boy’s side of the room and found the same set-up under the second bed. “Why can’t he sleep here?”
Before they could argue, Axel intervened. “What if one of you sleep on the bottom beds and I take the top?”
“Which bed?” Molly glared.
God, this single parent thing was already turning out to be the hardest thing he’d done in his entire life.
“Flip a coin,” Archer suggested from the door.
Axel hadn’t even heard come up. “That’s a good idea, Uncle Archer. Kids, you good with that? And tomorrow, we’ll trade.”
“Are we staying here?” Blake asked.
Axel looked up to meet Archer’s eyes before answering. “No, not for long.”
“There’s hay in the barn,” Archer said. “And some canned food in the pantry. Sloan and I thought it might be best if we stay a couple of days and regroup before getting back on the road.”
“No argument here.” Axel had no desire to see that wagon ever again, let alone ride in, as impossible as that was. They had no choice with their limited modes of transportation. But a couple days away might help ease the pain a little bit. And burning it when they found a more permanent home. “First things first, we need to clean off the beds. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I prefer not to sleep in a pile of dust.”
