"Nothing," she muttered."
Liar."
"What?"
"Oh please! You are filthy, and there's a huge gash on your elbow."
"I just fell down." She avoided eye contact.
A tell-tale Meaghan sign that she was lying.
"You left the city border, didn't you? Alone!"
"I saw a patch of berries," she mumbled."
"So, berries were worth risking being bitten? You know we don't leave alone!"
"I wasn't."
"Not this time," I yelled, smacking her arm.
"I don't need lectured, Emma." She sighed.
"Obviously you do if you're sneaking past the border. What if one of the guards saw you? They could have shot you! Or what if one of the undead followed you back?"
"They aren't that smart."
"Don't put it past those things."
"I wasn't talking about the zombies," she mumbled, a sly smile playing at her lips.
I shook my head at her. "Don't do that again. Please? I've lost enough people already."
"Speaking of that, how are you today?"
"Fine," I whispered, the sadness welling in my chest.
"You sure? It is the four-year anniversary."
"Yeah, I know that. She was my sister," I said, a solitary tear sliding down my cheek.
"Did you ever think your sister would be the start of the zombie apocalypse?"
"I can say that was definitely not on my list of things Becca would do in her lifetime."
"Do you think things will ever go back to normal?" she asked.
"I guess if we can find and kill all the undead and maybe find a vaccine or something for everyone else."
"Do you think such a thing exists?" A faraway look shone in her eyes. She was such a dreamer.
"I don't know, Meaghan. I really don't know."
"I wish it could go back to before."
"It can never be the same way it was. It will be different no matter what. So many people are gone. Maybe when the next generation is born they might have a normal life. We never will. We will always remember about the before times."
She sighed heavily. I hated being so blunt, but that was life. Things were harder now than what they had to be. Our lives would never be the same again. The fortified city was where we lived now. Our homes were overrun by the undead years ago and I'm sure after four years they were looted by travelers. I cringed at the thought of some strange person in my room, going through my things, and sleeping in my bed. Would they have taken anything? Are they wearing my undies? What about my bras? Did they like my bed? You know I'd give anything to hug Becca again. I just want my sister back. We continued along in silence. I hoped that somewhere out there somebody was working on a vaccine or cure to this plague.
"At least you have Nathan," Meaghan said suddenly breaking the wonderful peace.
"What?"
"Nathan. I mean he's hot. He's a doctor. And you know he has it bad for you right?"
"Meaghan, for the millionth time I don't like Nathan like that," I groaned.
"Yes, you do. He's your love muffin."
"You're so ridiculous. The last thing I need to worry about now is a guy." I shook my head.
"Why not? What's so wrong with falling in love?"
"What if one of us is bit?" I asked.
"Well, that would suck," she muttered.
"Yeah, it would suck and that would be another person I lose. No boyfriends during the zombiepocalypse."
"He likes you," she said casually.
I couldn't stop my cheeks from flushing. It's ridiculous, of course, to think that a relationship can start and survive when the world was ending.
"He's polite."
"He's not that polite to anyone else." She nudged me.
"We're friends. That's all," I stated with finality in my voice.
"You two need to just admit it and get on with it."
I shook my head again and looked at the large skyscraper a few blocks ahead of us. Nathan had lived there before the outbreak and just stayed. He managed to set up a small clinic inside for the residents of our fine fortified city. The city was lucky to have at least one doctor survive. When the initial outbreak happened, those who weren't turned fled. Most everyone fled. It was a terrifying time at the beginning. It still was, but at least now we have a system set in place. An Undead hadn't breached out defenses in over three years.
"What about you?" I asked my friend.
"What about me?"
"Why don't you go after him?" I asked.
"Because it's so obvious he loves you."
"Hmm," I muttered.
I watched Meaghan as she pulled her gun from the holster. She held it in her hands not doing much with it. Her fingers traced the barrel up and down. She bit lightly at her lip and stared out over the horizon. I knew she was hurting as much as I was. Granted it wasn't her sister who caused the end of the world, but she lost people she loved like I did. Sometimes Imad to remind myself I wasn't the only one affected by this.
Chapter Four
Finding Nathan
Eerie silence filled the air. Years ago, you would see children skipping in front of their parents as they headed for dinner and a show in the city. Now the kids didn't go out to play. There were no more dinners or shows for them to venture to. It was nothing but death and misery. Many people boarded themselves up in their homes. Those who braved the darkness had some sort of weapon. We all carried weapons now. A handgun in the shoulder holster my dad bought for me years ago, a bow and quiver slung on my back, and a few well-placed knives replaced necklaces and rings as my accessories.
Even though the city was better protected than Fort Knox, you never knew what might happen. When we first took up refuge in the remains of downtown our city was breeched. In the early days, the siren used as a warning system went off all the time. Mother's grabbed their children and barricaded the doors. The old jail cells were converted into holding tanks for those feared infected. When they turned the cells became an executioners' playground. As time went on, the border was fortified with the massive logs. Invasions of the undead kind were less and less frequent. It had been at least a year since one found a weak spot. Meaghan and I headed for Nathan's apartment. The beautiful 151 First Side Condos nestled in the Golden Triangle. It offered a beautiful view of the city, the rivers, and the destruction on the other side of our safe haven. The view from his apartment put things into perspective and let you know just how close death was. At one point it was one of the sought-after places to live in downtown. Now, it was just another run-down building. The owner long abandoned it for either a safer city or he was turned. Nobody really knows. Nathan lived there before zombiepocalypse and just stayed.
"Where is he?" Meaghan asked.
She looked around the nearly deserted streets. She hated letting other people get to the docks before we did. She always managed to snag most of the chocolate we occasionally got in the shipment.
"He might still be upstairs. Come on, let's go get him," I said, ducking under the metal bar of the broken door.
"That's ten floors!" Meaghan whined.
"So?" I trudged through the dirty lobby.
"Ugh, fine, let's go." She never liked standing around by herself for long.
I glanced at her as we pushed through the rusty door leading to the stairwell. Her frustration was very apparent under her attempt at a stony glare. I shook my head and headed up. The walk got easier every time I did it; which was quite often. If I wasn't with Mom and Dad, I was with Nathan. Or Meaghan. It was two-hundred and fifty steps to his floor. I counted every time I climbed. If things had turned out differently I would have just listened to music or taken the elevator. But seeing as how we no longer had electricity, counting each daunting step was all I had to keep my mind occupied while I climbed. I pulled a small flashlight from my back pocket and clicked it on. The stairwell was pitch-black at night. Even during the day, it was pretty dark. The tiny, dirty windows did little to let in light
.
"Alright, here we go. Just count to two-hundred and fifty, and it won't seem so bad." I smiled at my friend.
She rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath. The tenth floor was quiet. Nathan's apartment was last on the left. It had the perfect view of the docking area. Our monthly shipment of supplies always came by river. It was too dangerous any other way. Truckers tried to cross the infested terrain first, but they were killed by zombies or the occasional band of rogues, who didn't want to live in the city, rather quickly.
Have you ever heard of the phrase too many chiefs in a village? Well, that happened here. Eventually the chief of Pittsburgh Police took control and she's been doing an awesome job since. I could be biased though, I worked with before the Turning. She'd promoted me from a beat cop to a detective rather quickly.
The few people who caused problems were given an ultimatum; live by the rules or leave. Most of them chose to leave. Those who survived the first night out of the fort became murderous rogues. I knocked on Nathan's door and waited.
"White!" I yelled.
Silence answered.
"He's not here?" Meaghan groaned loudly.
"You don't know that. Just wait a minute." I grabbed his doorknob and turned it. "Nathan? “His door opened with ease. "Nathan?"
I walked into the apartment glancing around for him. Things were tidy and neat like always.
"Hey, Nathan! We're heading to the docks." I waited, listening for anything that might indicate he was there.
"Does he always leave his door unlocked?" Meaghan pushed the adjoining door open and stepped onto the plush carpet.
She pressed her back to the beige wall trying not to make a sound. When Nathan moved in the carpet was a beautiful cream color. Now it was spotted. I pursed my lips into a thin, tight line and thought for a moment.
"No, he doesn't. He never does. He keeps all of the medications and narcotics in his apartment," I mumbled.
"What if he's turned or something."
"Inside his apartment?" I looked at her skeptically.
"You never know." She shrugged her shoulders and peeked around me.
I glared at the girl. That was the last thing I wanted to hear. I walked around the tidy apartment looking for any sign that he was in there. Things looked normal. It was like he had just gone out and forgot to lock the doors. I checked the shelves in his kitchen where he kept the medication locked up, they were empty. In a frenzy, I threw open the rest of the cupboards. They were all bare. I couldn't even find a bottle of aspirin.
"There are no supplies," I gasped not wanting to believe what I saw.
"What?"
"He's empty!"
"How is that possible?" Meaghan slumped onto the fading black, leather sofa.
"I don't know. He told me they were giving us fewer supplies, but he didn't say it was this bad." I walked to one of the walls of windows and stared out past the fence.
They were always there. Every day they pawed at the tall wooden posts that kept them out. Their fingers rubbed to the bone. Flesh hung off the splinters and occasionally a finger would break off from the decaying bodies. Those who were further along in decomposition had grayish-green skin that sloshed off. Occasionally they would just fall over. Not dead but broken apart. I helped those who acted as guards clear the perimeter of the bodies they shot.
The stench of death always hung in the air.
"What are we going to do?" She bit her bottom lip and looked terrified.
"Let's go." I turned and ran out of the apartment.
"Where are we going?" she asked, trying to keep up with me.
"The docks." I slammed into the metal door and took the steps down two at a time.
"Good," she said a bit relieved.
I'm finding Nathan. After I get the supplies for Mom and Dad I'm going back out until I find him. You can go home."
"Are you serious?" she asked, pausing briefly at floor six. "You just bitched at me for being out alone and you think you are going out alone?"
"Yes, it's not like him to just leave his apartment unlocked. He would say something if he was leaving."
"I'm sure he's fine," she said breathlessly.
"I'm not sure," I mumbled, ducking under the broken front door.
"How do you plan on finding anything out?"
"I'll ask around." I jogged down the street to the small dock.
"What if he's beyond the border?" She finally matched my pace and jogged alongside me.
"Then I go out after him." I stared straight ahead.
She didn't have to say anything. I knew leaving the city meant death.
"That's a suicide mission, Emma!"
"I'm going to find Nathan."
We arrived just as the old steamship was pulling up to the dock. There weren't many people; not nearly as many as the previous months. The dock master tied off the ship and stepped back to let the others help unload. A weary looking captain removed his cap to wipe his brow and looked at our bare dock. He shook his head. His long, solemn face spoke a thousand words.
"Hey, Jerry!" I waved, jogging toward the old seaman.
"Evening, Emma. Meaghan." He tipped his worn hat to us.
"Where is everyone?" I whispered despite knowing the answer already.
He looked at me sorrowfully.
"Please tell me they're sick," Meaghan pleaded with the old man.
He shook his head. "'Fraid not, miss."
"How did it happen?" My stomach felt like someone had punched me in the gut.
"Ah, a group of folks decided to try hunting last week." He shook his head.
"What? Why?" I asked as Meaghan's hand shot up to her mouth.
"Running low on food I s'pose," he muttered not making eye contact with either of us
. Meaghan removed her hand from her mouth. "How many this time?"
"I dunno. 'Bout twenty or so from what I was told."
"Shit."
"Say, where's your udder buddy?" Jerry asked.
"I was about to ask you that." It was disheartening to hear he hadn't been around.
I couldn't understand why he would leave the city without telling someone.
"I haven't seen him."
"He hasn't been here at all?" I asked.
"Nope. I haven't seen him in a few days."
"A few days?" I furrowed my brow at the man and rubbed my chin.
"Yup."
"What now?" Meaghan watched as I paced the dock.
I stopped in front of her before pacing again thinking back to the last time I had seen Nathan. It had been a few days
The Last Alive Page 4
