Searing screams and moans exited the zombies’ mouths; their pace became faster than what they had started with. Some of them didn’t find the strength of a faster walk considering their legs were deteriorating from underneath them. One of my boots pressed against a shredded metal plate until it broke free. It rested on the grass beneath the car out of my hands reach. I averted my eyes to the walking hoard, and they were mere feet away from the car. My hands were sweating, and my heart was racing as I stretched my legs to the grass for my boots to clamp on to the broken metal shard. My breathing overpowered the moaning and screeching that came with the hungry flesh eaters.
The toes of my boots held firm to my request. The yoga position I had twisted my body into, for my hands to grip the shard, wasn’t anything you would have seen in a physical health book. Back and forth my fingers moved the rusted metal piece against the zip tie, and then I felt a tug on my sleeve.
Chapter 7
When I was a kid, storms used to terrify me. Just the slightest bit of thunder would send me running to my parents’ room and the safe haven was between my mother and father underneath the covers. My eyes would be closed so tight believing that if I couldn’t see the evil, the evil wasn’t there. As a kid, you always depended on your parents to be the ones to keep you safe from danger. As a child becomes older, they become less dependent on the safety from their parents and more on their own doings. While trapped inside the car, I ventured back to the storms when I was a kid. I wanted to close my eyes tight and just picture that if I didn’t see the evil, the evil wasn’t there. I wished I could escape back to being a child and I was in my safe haven, hiding between my parents under the covers rather than in this car.
The metal shard fell to the ground as fingernails implanted into my shoulder. I looked up from my restraints and saw the safe haven. He brought the knife through the busted window and cut the zip ties from my wrists.
“Dad,” I said with a sigh of relief.
“Come on. Let’s get you out of here,” he said while bringing me closer to him.
I looked towards the barn and saw Aurora standing with Laura, Jackson, Brock, Shaun, and Damian. Mara and Mark appeared from the side of the barn. My dad placed a gun in my hand, and I began shooting the cannibals roaming towards us as the rest fired as well. My arm was placed around my dad’s neck as he guided me towards the barn. Bullets whizzed by our heads and each zombie kept falling. Each step I took the pain became unbearable. My father tried to hold me up, but the pressure on my ribs was too much. I collapsed to the ground. Aurora and Shaun raced to help my dad pick me back up. Laura, Jackson, Damian, and Brock stood next to my dad and kept firing towards the hoard.
“Get up Atlas. You’re stronger than this,” Shaun said as he kneeled to me.
Shaun gripped my arm as did Aurora and they helped me to my feet. They walked me to the barn and placed me against the wall. The wood was pressed against my back and I slid down to the grass. Shaun ran back to the group as Aurora stayed next to me.
“What did he do to you,” Aurora asked as she held my hand.
“This wasn’t Chase. The car part was, but this beat down wasn’t.”
“Who was it?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said while I could see the fury in Aurora’s eyes. A fainted red tint cascaded across them. “Aurora, are you okay?”
“Tell me who it was,” Aurora demanded as she gripped my hand tighter.
More gun fire appeared next to us, but it wasn’t towards the hoard. The guns were facing the air. The last zombie fell, and the group turned around. Chase stood there with a small number of his people along with the two that escorted me to the car.
“What is going on out here,” Chase yelled.
Aurora stood from my side and charged towards Chase.
“Aurora! No,” I yelled as she pulled her gun from her holster.
She stopped in front of Chase, gripping her gun tightly. “Which one of these assholes did this to Atlas?”
“We don’t answer to you princess,” one of the men said while standing proud.
Aurora turned to him and with a resentful stare she rose her gun swiftly to his head and pulled the trigger. Blood splattered across another survivor’s face as the bullet exited the man’s skull. I couldn’t raise myself to my feet as I saw the other guns rise towards Aurora. I aimed my weapon towards them as my group done the same while running towards Chase and his followers. The one who broke his hand against my skull charged towards Aurora. I pulled my trigger and fired a shot grazing his leg. Aurora stood there watching him fall to the ground in pain. Chase began to lunge towards Aurora but halted as her gun was placed against his forehead. The others aimed their guns towards Aurora and my group aimed towards them. Aurora didn’t blink. She didn’t move. Her gaze was fierce towards Chase’s eyes and the gun held true.
“I wouldn’t think about trying anything Chase.” Aurora demanded while keeping a steady hand on the gun. “Now answer me. Besides the asshole here to my right bleeding on the grass, who else was responsible for doing that to Atlas?”
All guns were aimed at one another. Chase held his hands up and didn’t move. “You can lower the gun Aurora. I’m not going to do anything. I just came out to see what was going on because I heard gun fire,” Chase said as he stared at Aurora. “What happened to Atlas?”
Chase turned and saw me beaten and bruised trying to raise myself from the ground. He then turned to the guy on the ground with a bullet wound in his leg. “Barton. Did you and Stafford do that to Atlas,” Chase questioned.
“Yea. We had to because he fought back. Don’t you remember in the barn…” Barton said before being interrupted.
“Now Barton. The only thing that happened in the barn was a disagreement between Atlas and me. My specific orders were for you to restrain him in the car for temporary punishment. If he wanted to escape, he would have done it earlier and trust me, you wouldn’t have been able to come back in that barn.”
“He shouldn’t disrespect you the way that he did,” Barton said.
Chase kneeled and Aurora’s gun followed him. He began squeezing the bullet wound on Barton’s leg and Barton screamed in pain.
“I didn’t authorize you to do that. I told you and Stafford to just put him in the car. But you felt like you had to do more. Making up rules against me is worse than disobeying them. Technically you did both.” Chase’s voice was calm. It was eerie. “We have rules for a reason Barton.” He turned to the ones standing around him. “Put your guns down.”
After a slight hesitation, they lowered their weapons, but my group did not.
“Atlas, tell your family to lower their weapons before I change my mind about this,” Chase ordered.
They all looked at me and I nodded in agreement. Shaun and my dad walked over to me and stood me from the ground. Aurora still had her gun aimed at Chase, following him from the ground as he stood.
“Aurora, I’m going to need you to lower your gun as well,” Chase said.
“So, he was the other one that hurt Atlas,” Aurora asked.
She moved her gun swiftly to Barton.
“Aurora,” I yelled as she pulled the trigger once more.
Barton became motionless as the bullet entered his head. Chase stood there and watched as Barton bled.
He turned his focus back to Aurora and said, “If you are done, I need you to give me your weapon and take Atlas to Amelia to get patched up.”
Aurora stood in front of Chase for a moment and behind a faint whisper she said, “Your time is coming.”
Aurora handed Chase her weapon and walked over to me. Chase began demanding his group to move the bodies to a different location as we passed him. “I need all of your weapons as well,” Chase said to my people. Aurora looked at me while I struggled to walk, and I saw the red tint in her eyes becoming darker. It sent shivers down my spine as I remembered that Chase also had the same coloring of his retinas.
Chapter 8
Looking up at the concrete
ceiling with Aurora laying at my side, I couldn’t help but think about her eyes. They were transforming. I couldn’t ask Amelia about it because Aurora didn’t leave my side the entire time I was being examined. She was resting heavily as I was able to quietly remove myself from her arm and sneak to Mark and Amelia’s room. Everyone but my dad and brothers were asleep. They stood in the common room watching over everyone.
My brothers found out what Chase and his men had done to me and conjured a vengeance. My dad and I had to calm them down before they sought out Chase. Our explanation of everything didn’t seem to be convincing, but it kept them from reacting the way they wanted to. My brothers have always been the protective type. It was always if you mess with one of us, you answer to all of us. It had always been us against the world.
The times we all had together were stuff of legends. We would sit in Emmitt’s house after his daughters went to sleep. Sloan, Emmitt, and Seth would pull out their guitars and begin singing songs that their voices automatically matched. My favorite has always been the “Never Ending Song.” They would pick different lyrics from artists and mash them together as one long song. The only time it ever ended was if they decided to grab another beer or play some Pitch with a deck of cards on the kitchen table. My brothers were some of the best Pitch players you would ever see. It was remarkable how they would trust in each other during the game. “Always trust your partner.” That’s what they would tell me. They trusted each other to the point where they never lost a hand unless it was too each other. If I ever find a deck of cards somewhere in the wasteland, I’m definitely going to sit them down and have a couple of matches.
I slightly knocked on Mark and Amelia’s door. Amelia greeted me wrapped in her bed sheets as Mark just stayed in the bed with a pillow blocking the sight of his naked body.
“Oh, I’m sorry guys, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” I apologized while turning away from the door.
“No, you’re fine,” Amelia said as she chuckled. “We knew it was you, so we just wanted to disturb your mind for a minute.”
Mark began laughing and he tossed the pillow away from his body.
“I’m all-natural bro. Embrace it,” Mark said while throwing his hands in the air.
Amelia turned to Mark and said, “Okay Mark. Put some clothes on.” Amelia then turned to me and said, “I am actually fully dressed.”
She threw the sheet over to Mark and he covered himself up while sitting on the bed. “Come in.”
I closed the door behind me and sat next to the bed. “Did you notice Aurora’s eyes when you were helping me,” I asked Amelia.
“Do you mean that red discoloration of her optics,” Amelia replied.
I nodded my head. “What would cause that?”
Amelia looked at me and said, “Well it could mean a number of things. She could be fatigued; it could be her allergies, possible Conjunctivitis. She didn’t say it bothered her, so I didn’t ask. Does she wear contact lenses?”
“No. It isn’t any of that. I have only noticed it in one other person and that is Chase. His didn’t change that color until recently and now it is affecting Aurora. Could it be some possible virus spreading,” I asked worriedly.
“I’m not sure,” Amelia answered. “If I still had my lab, I could test her blood for infections and narrow it down. Does she have any symptoms of being sick besides her red eyes?”
“Aurora doesn’t seem sick. She has changed,” I informed. “She seems more willing to act on impulse. She killed those two guys without even hesitating. As you guys know, Chase is acting the same way and I don’t know what is causing it.”
Amelia placed her hand under her chin. I could tell she was in deep thought. “If you could find me a facility with some decent lab equipment, I will try to figure out what is going on. We will just need a sample of blood from Aurora and Chase to compare the two. Can you get me some blood samples and locate a facility?”
“I will gather a team in the morning, and we will look.”
“Count me in,” Mark said while walking over to me and placing his hand on my shoulder.
“But first Atlas, you need to rest a bit before we do it,” Amelia demanded. “That eye is pretty rough, and those ribs will take a while to heal. We know that whatever this is it isn’t deadly because they haven’t begun vomiting, convulsing, no headaches, or any sharp pains regarding their neurological state. A couple of days won’t hurt. You will just need to find a way to convince Chase to agree to it.”
“We could always force him into letting us. It wouldn’t take much,” Mark said.
“I’ll take care of it,” I replied.
A couple days passed as I rested my bruises and broken ribs. Aurora seemed to further change as the days went on. She stuck to my side and threatened to kill all of Chase’s men as she passed them. Piper was one that was harassed the most. I knew Aurora was already angry with her, but with the antagonizing and constant gestures of murder towards her wasn’t what Aurora would do. As strong as Aurora is, she has more love in her heart than anger. Aurora forced Kiere to not even converse with the other children that were descendants of Chase’s followers which caused Kiere to rebel more often. Selest attempted to talk to Aurora about what she was doing, but the words seemed to go in one ear and out of the other. I was becoming frightened as the days went on, and I couldn’t wait any longer.
I walked to Chase in the meeting room and began trying to convince him of this needed trip.
“So, you are telling me that, you want to take one of our generators over to the old T.J. Sampson hospital, that may not even be standing anymore, to do blood results of the community,” Chase asked very sarcastically. “Tell me why again.”
“With all of these dead bodies roaming around and the constant bug bites as well as possible tainted air and water, we need to be sure that no one is carrying a disease that could possibly kill them,” I explained. “I want to help you keep our people safe so that we can survive this.”
Chase stood from his chair and paced around the room. “How many people do you need?”
“I need my crew,” I replied. “We just need a sample of everyone’s blood to take to be tested. Amelia will do it there and we can come back with the results to make sure everyone is fine.”
“Why do you need all of your crew exactly,” Chase asked.
“They are to protect Amelia and me while we do the testing. You know the hospital is a huge building with many doors. We need all of the protection we can get while doing these tests,” I explained.
“Why don’t you want to take any of my crew,” he asked as if I was lying to him.
“As you can tell Chase, I can’t trust them,” I replied.
“How do I know you aren’t just trying to take away our members and never come back,” Chase asked as he placed his hand on his gun.
“You of all people know how much this place means to us,” I replied. “Brian built this with his bare hands, and we don’t want to abandon it. We are also not going to leave survivors here with limited people. We protect them. This is the main reason for this mission.”
Chase paced around the room again with more determined footsteps to circle around me. He talked to his self for moments until he reached his conclusion.
“Okay, I will allow it. But I am sending Cortez and Piper with you as well. Just to keep an eye on things,” Chase demanded.
“Fine. We just have to do this now,” I replied. “I need a sample of your blood.”
Chase stopped pacing and turned to me. “Why do you need my blood?”
“I told you, we are testing everyone’s blood. We want to make sure everything and everyone is fine,” I replied.
“Okay. Tell Amelia to come in here and take a sample before I change my mind,” Chase demanded.
I turned to walk out of the room when Chase interrupted me. “Aurora isn’t going with you.”
“Excuse me,” I said while presenting a harsh look.
“I want to make sure you actually c
ome back. Aurora and Kiere will stay with me while you go on your run,” Chase demanded.
“No. They are coming with me,” I demanded.
“Either they stay, and you go, or no one goes. Do you understand,” Chase said as a smirk came across his face.
My fists clinched as I stared at his smile. “Fine. But if anything should happen to them while I’m gone, you won’t ever see the sun again. Do you understand that?”
“What do you think I will do Atlas,” Chase asked. “I’m not this person you are making me out to be. I’m here to protect everyone.”
“Then prove it Chase,” I demanded. “Tell your people to stay away from them. Don’t talk to them. Don’t look at them. Tell them if they step one foot towards them, I will kill them.”
Chase smiled once again and said, “You know, you are one more threat away from being exiled. This is your only warning.”
I walked out of the door and told Amelia to take his blood. Ophelia was standing near the door and I asked her to follow me to an empty room. “Ophelia, I know you love Chase. You don’t want to see what is going on, but I need you to do me a favor.”
“What is it Atlas,” she asked.
“I need you to watch over Kiere and Aurora while we are gone. Everyone I trust is going with me and I don’t trust any other person but you,” I replied.
“Chase won’t do anything to them,” she explained.
“I’m not talking about Chase. I’m talking about the ones who follow Chase. Just please. Do it for me.”
Ophelia nodded her head and walked away. I walked over to Aurora and wrapped my arms around her. “You and Kiere are going to stay here to keep an eye on things.”
“Why are we not going with you,” Aurora asked.
“I need someone to watch over Laura, Jackson and the other survivors while we are gone. I don’t trust anyone else but you,” I said while I grabbed her hand.
I felt bad lying to Aurora, but if she knew the real reason then there wouldn’t be anything to come back to. Her temper is out of control and her instincts aren’t what they usually appear to be.
Z.E.D.S. Series (Book 2): Z.E.D.S. Wayward Son Page 5
