A Safe Place

by Frost, Scott

  From outside I could hear gunshots had replaced the sound of the horn. I picked up my rifle and took aim. Two infected fell, but another three came at us. I bent down and grabbed Katie. I slung her over my aching shoulder and ran, but with the added weight and my head pounding my running was slowed. I slowly ran in between register one and register two, passed an empty newspaper rack, and ran out the door. I didn’t see the Jeep. No Jeep. All I saw were infected. And they were walking toward the door.

  “Clyde!” I yelled. But it was pointless. He was gone. He was gone with Emma. But still I had to yell. He left us. The yell shot a wave of pain through my head. And as I rubbed my head, and looked around, I thought about giving up. We were surrounded. The thought about giving up was a short lived thought. All I had to do was think of Emma. I couldn’t give up and plus I didn’t just have my life to protect, I had to protect Katie. I couldn’t let anything happen to her.

  My only option was to turn around and run. The only chance we had was to find a back door, a delivery door, or something. And so that is what I did; I turned around and ran. And as I reached the first aisle, Katie started to gain consciences. I looked behind me and was relieved that they were still a safe distance behind us. I lowered Katie onto the floor and gently rubbed her hand until her eyes opened. She looked confused, but otherwise she was ok. She said her head hurt, but she could walk.

  “Okay good because we are in trouble. The infected got in and I don’t know where the others are. The Jeep isn’t in the parking lot. We need to get moving and find a back way out of here.”

  She panicked.

  “What do you mean the Jeep isn’t out there?” She screamed.

  I grabbed her and pulled her close to me, my hands on her shoulders. I looked her in the eyes and as tears streamed down her cheeks, I pulled her into me and we hugged each other.

  “Look I’m scared too, but we need to keep it together and get the fuck out of here. We don’t have much time. Look behind you.” She turned around and saw the severity of the situation.

  “Where’s my rifle?” She asked, frantically.

  “Shit. I didn’t even think about it. When we fell, I heard the horn, grabbed you and ran. I didn’t even see the rifle. But it’s too late; the infected are coming from that way.”

  The infected came closer. We let go of each other. I took aim and took down one infected with three shots. I cursed myself for missing the first two times. I didn’t know how much more ammunition I had, but I knew it wouldn’t be enough. I didn’t have any more ammunition on me and my clip was getting close to empty.

  I grabbed Katie’s hand and we ran toward the back of the store. The aisles were covered in trash, moldy food and dead bodies that would never rise again. Broken glass and blood stains were everywhere. The store looked like it had been through a terrible war. I held her hand tightly and we ran.

  When we reached the supply area I slowly opened the door. It was too dark to see anything more than a couple feet away. We walked into the darkness, bumping into empty boxes and shelves. The shelves were empty. We walked around a body that appeared to be missing a head. The smell of death was strong in the supply area. As we walked, trying to find a door, I waited for the bodies to rise. But they never did. I couldn’t see if they had all been shot in the head.

  We reached the back wall and quickly walked along the edge until we found the door. It was locked. I pushed, but it wouldn’t budge.

  “Back up. I’m going to shoot the lock out.”

  We backed away from the door and I fired one shot; the door still didn’t open. I kicked the door with all my might, and heard a snap, but it stayed shut. Behind us, we heard movement. We dropped to our knees, which was pointless. It was too dark for anyone to see us and for us to see anyone. But we didn’t have to see them, we knew who they were, we could smell them. They stumbled as they walked toward us. I turned back toward the door and fired another shot and ran at it and hit it level in the middle with my shoulder. It flew open, causing me to stumble outside. Katie followed behind me and helped me up. Our eyes slowly adjusted to the sunlight. I tried to shut the door behind us, but it wouldn’t stay closed.

  I looked around and was relieved that I didn’t see any infected. The movement from inside the store reminded us that we weren’t safe and that we had to find shelter.

  “Follow me. There is no way they would’ve left us here. They’re probably circling the parking lot or something. Clyde would not leave us!”

  I don’t think she believed me. She looked at me sadness in her eyes realizing that my daughter was still in the Jeep. She grabbed my hand and we ran around the back of the building and toward the front. We didn’t even make it half way. A group of infected was walking toward us coming from the parking lot. I fired one shot into the sky, hoping that Clyde would hear it and save us.

  “Alex!” Katie yelled, tugging at my arm.

  I turned around and saw why she yelled. The infected were coming from both directions. We only had one direction to go. We both ran and jumped the first fence. I landed in a pile of dog shit. And before I even had time to think, I heard a dog growling at us. I looked to our left and saw the dog. I didn’t have time to react. He ran at us and reached Katie first. She screamed in pain as the dog sank his teeth into her thigh. She started hitting the dog on the head with her hands, but it didn’t even faze the dog. I raised my rifle and fired one shot into his side. He made a loud yelping sound and released Katie. Katie’s screams continued. She held her thigh as the blood poured out in between her fingers. I took off my shirt and wrapped it around the wound. The blood slowed, but didn’t stop. The infected were almost to the fence. Katie tried to stand up, but couldn’t. I lifted her up and carried her like a baby, cradled in my arms. I slung my rifle over my shoulder, and tried to run, but all I could do was a fast walk. She wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her face into my shoulder. She cried and I could feel the sweat from her face.

  “You’ll be okay. Just keep your eyes open. Talk to me.”

  She didn’t reply. Her eyes were closed. I ran until my legs couldn’t run any more. I made it two blocks and finally had the nerve to look behind us. I didn’t see them. We had lost them but I knew it wouldn’t take them long to find us. They could smell us.

  I ran to the first house on the block. The door was closed but not locked. I opened it and ran in. I placed Katie on a couch, shut and locked the door. I stood at the door and listened for movement in the house. It was quiet. I looked out the huge bay window in the living room, and saw a group of infected slowly walking toward the house. I checked all the rooms on the first floor. They were clear. I ran upstairs and checked the three bedrooms. The house was empty. I kept searching upstairs until I found what I was looking for. The attic. I pulled the ladder down and lowered it to the ground. The plan was simple. Get Katie into the attic and then look for supplies. I knew I wouldn’t have much time, but I had to try and find supplies. We needed food and water.

  I ran downstairs and tried to wake Katie, but her eyes didn’t open. I lifted her up and walked upstairs, I had to rest against the wall several times. My legs had started to give out on me. I made it upstairs and looked at the attic stairs.

  I didn’t know how I would carry her up the stairs. I couldn’t carry her in my arms because I needed them to balance myself. I couldn’t carry her on my back. I decided that I would try and hug her, holding onto her with one arm, and use the other to help balance us. I was only up two steps when I heard the pounding on the downstairs door. I nearly lost my grip on Katie. I don’t know if it was pure adrenaline, but I held onto her and made it up the stairs. As I reached the last step I heard the door bust open. The infected had made it in the house. I quickly lowered Katie onto the floor and reached for the ladder. As I looked into the hallway, I saw the infected slowly walking up the stairs. I watched them and lost count as they neared the hallway. The infected man in front looked familiar but I couldn’t put a name on his face. He might have been an old friend
. I watched them come at us. I raised the ladder as the first few infected started to reach for me.

  The attic was humid and very hot. The only light we had was provided by a small window near the south end of the attic. I carefully moved Katie to the wall opposite of the window so that she would be in the light. I needed to check her wound, but didn’t know what the point would be. I had no medical supplies. I had nothing. I sat down and pulled her head onto my lap. I don’t remember how long I stayed awake, but it wasn’t long. I remember thinking about Emma right before my eyes closed. I wondered why Clyde had left and where they had gone. I didn’t believe he would leave us. I tried to stay awake, but I was weak and tired. My body ached, especially my legs. I don’t remember if I dreamed. All I remember is the pain and the pounding. The endless pounding.

  Chapter Twelve

  I woke up several times that day. The attic was dark and the dim moonlight didn’t offer much help. My eyes slowly adjusted. Katie was still asleep when I woke up, her head was still on my lap. I placed my hand against her cheek. She was running a fever and was sweating.

  I carefully lifted her head off my lap and moved. I checked her pulse. It seemed normal, maybe a little fast, but I wasn’t sure what the normal pulse rate was suppose to be. I removed my shirt from her leg and tried to look at her wound in the dark. The moonlight was not bright enough and her jeans made it impossible to see the wound clearly. My shirt and her jeans were soaked with blood, though the blood had crusted which I hoped was a good sign. I moved down to her feet and unlaced her shoes. She had on green Adidas running shoes and matching green socks. After I removed her shoes, I reached up and unbuttoned her jeans and slowly slid them down her legs. She moaned when the fabric moved across her wound, but she didn’t wake. With her jeans off I had a much better view of her wound. The dog took a chunk out of her leg, and his teeth made deep holes. It didn’t look infected.

  Her legs were thin and muscular, which was probably a side affect of keeping on the run since the outbreak. Her thighs had several bruises and cuts. I let my fingers slowly touch her thigh above her wound. I traced each bruise with my fingers.

  She feared that I wanted to touch her and now I knew why. She had been abused and most likely raped and tortured. I took my hand off her leg and laid her jeans on top of her. I should have put them back on, but I didn’t want to cause her any more pain.

  The infected were still pounding on the walls below us. I could hear them walking in the hallway. I listened as things fell and crashed to the floor. Even without having a shirt on I was still sweating. I was hungry. And I knew that we would need to find some water and food soon. Katie would need to eat to regain her strength. But I had no idea how we were going to get out of the attic. I had no idea how we would survive.

  I sat next to Katie and decided that there was no use in trying to develop a plan. We were stuck. Sleep didn’t come right away. The pounding kept my eyes open and my mind alert. As I sat there in the dark attic watching Katie’s chest slowly rise and fall, I prayed that she would be okay. I prayed that I would find Emma. And in the dark, sitting next to this new friend who was still a stranger, I cried until my eyes closed and I returned to dream world. I returned to Natasha. My dreams that night were short lived. I woke to hear Katie screaming. I quickly opened my eyes and reached for the rifle as I sat up. I turned around and saw Katie sitting against the wall. She kept yelling and I didn’t know why. It didn’t sound like screams of pain. It was something else.

  “Stop screaming. We need to be quiet. I know you must be in pain but please.” I pleaded with her and as I started to walk toward her, her screams got louder. I stopped and took a few steps back. I guessed why she was screaming. She was remembering the sexual abuse that she’d been through and when she woke up with her jeans off she assumed the worse.

  “Look. I only took your jeans off so that I could look at your wound and make sure it still wasn’t bleeding. I know you’ve been through a lot. But you have to believe me. I did not touch you like that. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  She kept her eyes on me and slowly calmed down. I didn’t dare go any closer, in fear that she would start screaming again. I stood there and waited for her to say something. I waited a long time. She sat against the wall and looked at her body, her bruised legs, and cried.

  “I’m sorry I should have put your jeans back on but when I took them off it looked like it caused you pain, so I knew putting them back on you would hurt you more. I’m sorry. But please believe me. I didn’t do anything. I just wanted…”

  “I believe you. And I’m sorry. It’s just with everything that’s happened to me. I’m sorry. I know you didn‘t do anything. Where are we?”

  Her voice was weak and tired. She moved her jeans off her and sat there in her panties and t-shirt.

  “Can I sit next to you?”

  “Sure.”

  I sat next to her against the hard attic wall and felt the heat from her body. I looked at her wound and it didn’t look as bad at it had.

  “I don’t know exactly where we are. After you got bite by the dog you passed out. I picked you up and carried you to this house. I think we are about two blocks away from the grocery store. The infected followed us. I thought I lost them, but they found us, as you can hear. I didn’t know what to do, so I got us up here. I knew they wouldn’t be able to reach us, but beyond that I didn’t know what else to do. But now we’re stuck with no food or water. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking about anything except for getting away from them and resting. I mean, I did carry you for a couple of blocks and even though you a stick, my legs turned to mush.”

  I turned toward her and gave her a grin and softly elbowed her on her side. She looked down at herself.

  “Yes I’m a stick. Before the virus spread I was never this skinny. Looks like I found the perfect diet.”

  We both laughed, which helped ease the tension. We knew we were stuck and didn’t have much chance of escaping and still we laughed. It was a good laugh.

  “Katie, how does your leg feel?”

  “How do you think it feels? It hurts like hell. I tried to stand up when I woke up, but the pain was too much.”

  “Okay.”

  I couldn’t think of anything else to say. It’s not like I could have said it would be okay. Or let me go get you some codeine and some medical supplies to clean and bandage the wound. I couldn’t say let me go get you some clean cloths and something to eat and drink. I couldn’t say anything. And so I sat there and all I said was okay. We sat together in silence. The infected were below us, walking aimlessly trying to reach us. The pounding was softer now. I hoped by nightfall the infected would move on and give up on us. But I didn’t think they understood the concept of giving up. As long as they could smell fresh blood they would stay. We sat in silence for a long time, but it was hard to tell how much time had passed. Katie fell asleep leaning against me. And after a while my eyes closed.

  I dreamed of days of old, before this new world of torment and survival. I watched Natasha hold Emma in her arms the night Emma was born. I watched Emma take her first step. My dreams turned into a slide show of images of both my daughter and wife. I didn’t want to wake up, but a noise from outside my dream started to pull me away from Natasha and Emma. I didn’t wake right away. I kept my eyes closed, but as the sound got louder, nearer, I opened my eyes and jumped up. I stood there and listened. It was the sound of a horn. I quickly looked out the attic window, but I could only see a small section of the road. It was empty, except for the broken down cars and dead bodies. I kept watching. It kept getting louder. And then a Jeep came into sight. It was driving very slow, honking every couple of seconds. It was Clyde. I grabbed my rifle and fired two shots into the window aiming toward the sky. The Jeep stopped. I couldn’t clearly see Clyde, but I could see that he was looking around. I fired another shot. The driver side door opened and Clyde stepped out and looked directly at me.

  “Can you hear me?” He yelled, glancing o
ver his shoulder for any sign of infected.

  “Yes. Man, I’m I glad to see you. There are infected in the house and I have no idea how many.”

  “Is it just you?”

  “No, Katie is with me, but she’s hurt and can’t walk that fast.”

  “How many of them do you think are in the house?”

  “I have no idea, but not as many as last night. I don’t know. What do you think we should do?”

  Clyde looked down the street and then toward the house, there was no sign of infected. I found out later that Clyde had drove through the town very slow causing the infected to follow him and he drove out of town trying to get as many infected out of the way as possible to make looking for Katie and I easier. It had worked.

  “I’m going to need to go in the house and get you out of the attic. When I’m in the house, I will yell when the coast is clear. As soon as you hear me yell come down from the attic. About yesterday….”

  “You kept Emma safe, thank you.”

  “Yes she is safe, but I didn’t want to leave…”

  He didn’t need to explain. All that mattered was that Emma was safe. I knew why he left, he had too, and I would’ve down the same thing. He promised he would keep Emma safe and that is what he did.

  “Don’t worry about it. I know why you left. Let’s just get this over with before more infected come.”

  He grabbed his rifle and walked toward the house. I ran to Katie and gently shook her until she woke. Her eyes slowly opened. I couldn’t believe she had slept through the gunshots but when I started to gently shake her to wake her up I could feel that she had a high fever.

  “I know you’re in pain but you need to wake up. Clyde is downstairs. He is here to save us.”

  Her eyes slowly opened.

  “What? How did he find us?” She asked.

  “I’ll explain later. He is coming in the house and is going to get us out of here. As soon as we hear him yell we need to go down the stairs. I know it’s going to be painful, but the quicker we do it the better.