“If it makes you feel better, there is one thing we have in common,” I began, deciding that I would try and cheer him up.
“What’s that?” He said.
“We’re both parentless!” I said, grinning up at him and realizing then that what I had said sounded far better in my head than out loud. “Arin? Can you do something for me?” Isaac asked his voice sweet.
“Depends, what is it?” I hoped it was something simple.
“Stuff a sock down your throat,” he said, batting his eyelids at me.
Good one, idiot, I thought and stared down at my feet, shuffling along beside him.
Silence succeeded our conversation, a good half hour of walking along the road with nothing but the wind and crunch of our footsteps against the gravel along the roadside. Every sound seemed amplified in the echoing silence around us. After a while, I couldn’t take it anymore.
“How do you know we're headed in the right direction?” I inquired, shocked at the sound of my own voice – it sounded, to me, like it could be heard for miles in every direction.
“I just do,” Isaac said his response not very reassuring.
“And how did you hear of this place?” I continued, hoping to get some information out of him. I didn’t just want to walk in to some place I had never heard of before with someone I had known for just over a thirty hour period.
“Word gets around,” he said and gave a slight shrug. “Dad used to have contacts all over.”
“Have you ever been to it?” I questioned, unable to contain my curiosity.
“No,” he replied with a sigh. “Trust me, we’ll get there.”
“Okay,” I murmured in response, chewing on my lip. He’s never seen it, but everything is riding on it being a safe place to stay. What if it doesn’t even exist?
“You have my word. Maybe I’ll take you over to one of the lakes on the way, show you some of the beauty left in this damn world.” He gave a little snort, shaking his head. “What very little there is, I mean.”
“There’s beauty everywhere, Isaac, you just have to look,” I assured, crossing my arms and glancing up at him.
“Well,” he laughed. “I don’t see it.”
“Look up,” I said, grabbing his arm and pointing up to the sky, where a large black bird soared above.
“I see the sky,” he said, looking up and yanking his arm from my grip.
“And there’s a bird,” I continued, moving my finger to point at the soaring creature.
“Oh boy, a bird,” he said, his tone full of sarcasm.
“Just look at it fly, look at how free and alive it is,” I commented, locking my gaze on the soaring black creature.
“It’s a vulture. It feeds off of death,” he said, looking at me with a condescending expression, eyebrow raised.
“Oh, you know what, you’re just impossible!” I said, throwing my hands up. “I am trying to make you a little happier and here you are -”
“Arin, shush,” interrupted Isaac, eyes wide as he scanned our immediate surroundings.
“Excuse me? I will not be shushed, not by you or by anyone!” I said, appalled that he would even think of telling me to be quiet.
“Arin, shut up and listen,” he growled, and I opened my mouth to protest, but he glared at me, and the look in his eyes kept me silent. For a long moment, the only sound I could catch was the soft wind blowing through the tree. It wasn’t until I opened my mouth again to complain that I caught the sound of distant voices.
“Did you see that guy back there? He'd just… Who could do that?”
“He was infected, you…”
“Yeah, but…” The voices trailed off before I could determine the gender of which they belonged to. Isaac and I stood silent, hands reaching for our weapons for a long few minutes afterward.
“I think we’re good,” Isaac said.
“Yeah?” I asked, glancing over at him.
“Yeah,” he reassured, nodding his head and relaxing his stance.
“Great, but I have a question,” I continued, taking a large step forwards and pivoting to look him in the eye, beginning to walk backwards. “Do you know what the infected are infected with?”
“Some mutated form of the common cold, that’s really all I know. Dad said it’s this weird disease that can only pass in two ways – bodily fluids or like what happens if you eat your food and it’s not cooked right... Through bacteria, I think it’s called,” he paused and ran his fingers through his hair, smacking his lips together before he continued, “he said there were these groups of people; they would use it to kill people, poor people or sick people, they thought of them as vermin, even though they were just normal people without money to support themselves or heal themselves. Then it just mutated and... It doesn’t even sound real, right? But it is, I mean, we saw what it can do to people.” Isaac stopped and shook his head, closing his eyes.
“They never did make or find a cure, did they?” I questioned, the understanding of my parents reasoning’s for why my mother and father always danced around my questions about the disease. It just seemed too horrible – like something out of the stories they used to tell me when I was a kid. Except that the disease was real and my books with tales of vampires and trolls were not.
“They tried, but nothing worked, as we already know. It just kills them and takes anyone else it can before then.”
“I was attacked once, got attacked by some dog,” I mentioned, holding out my arm and pointing to a scar near my forearm.
“Not everyone is going to get it the first time – are you sure the dog was infected?” Isaac said, holding my arm and inspecting the faded scar, eyebrows pulled together.
“Yeah, it attacked someone else and they wound up really sick too – Mum knew what it was before he went insane, though,” I said, a shiver running down my spine. I had never seen my mother kill before, but watching her kill the poor man…
“Let’s just hope I don’t get bitten again, I doubt I’ll be as lucky.”
“How did you guys not notice the dog was infected?” Isaac asked, letting my arm go.
“It wasn’t like your father, it didn’t seem sick, and next thing we knew it was attacking us.” I shrugged. “That was two years ago, anyway. I know better now.”
“I didn’t think you didn’t,” he said in an attempt to defend himself. I just smiled and began walking, shifting the bags on my back – they were heavy.
Again we walked in silence, shifting further from the forested side and over to the right side of the road, but for much longer this time, having nothing to say between the two of us. I had questions, of course, but I didn’t want to bother him, have him think of the past and make him even more upset than he already was. I knew I wouldn’t be too happy if he asked about my parents, too. It’d be nice to talk about them, but I just wasn’t ready. It was ironic; however, that I spent most of the silence dwelling on the horrors of the past and dreading a future I knew would forever be without the two people I had trusted the most.
Isaac came to a sudden stop, peering over the edge of the road we had been walking beside. I shuffled over to stand beside him and leaned forwards, gazing at a long stretch of blackened iron metal rods at the bottom – they looked like someone had laid a large, long and wide latter along the ground.
“What’s that?” I questioned, blinking. It seemed familiar, but I couldn’t quite recall the name belonging to the long ladder-like object.
“It’s a rail road track, or train track, trains ride it. Listen -” Isaac grabbed my head, moving it so that my head was tilted to the south of us. A low rumble echoed and I furrowed my eyebrows, the sound remaining as familiar as the strange bars stretched across the ground. “There’s a train coming, and it’s heading the way we’re going, I think. Want to take a chance and ride it? See if it’ll take us further north?” Isaac said a mischievous glint in his green gaze. I opened my mouth, but I had nothing to say against it.
“It couldn’t hurt, I guess,” I responde
d, looking down the hill,
“how long until it gets here?”
“I figure we have maybe two minutes at the most.”
“How are we getting on? Will it stop for us?” Isaac looked at me, holding back a laugh at my question.
“We’re going to jump on it,” he said, as if it was obvious.
“Oh.” I blinked, chewing on my lip.
“I’m real glad we didn’t bring the cart now,” Isaac said, a grin on his face as he ran down the hill. I watched him go, his legs moving so fast I was surprised he kept upright. I followed suit, closing my eyes and clamping my mouth shut, holding tight to Jumper, who had been quiet and snuggled against my chest the entire walk, I felt my body begin to soar.
The ground beneath us wasn’t level and my legs rocked with each step, struggling to keep my body upwards as we stepped on large humps within the ground, but I couldn’t control myself as I ran, plummeting downwards, and feet slamming hard and jarring my legs. I almost flung my arms out, trying to keep my balance as I held back a scream of terror and exhilaration, my heart roaring in my chest, the wind and the sound of my blood beating consuming my entire consciousness. I began to stumble forwards and opened my eyes to see the ground coming up fast – I was falling.
“Gotcha,” Isaac said as something hard slammed against my stomach. Jumper had long leaped out of my arms and was sitting beside me, staring up at me with round pupils, ears perked and head tilted. I laid against Isaac’s arm for a moment before I stumbled backwards, clutching onto his arm, panting and trying hard to steady my frantic breathing.
“T-thanks,” I stammered, a laugh bubbling out of my chest as I moved to stand up straight. My legs went numb and I swayed, stepping forwards as my vision blurred and the world seemed to tilt, but as soon as it had begun, everything returned to normal and I stood still in front of Isaac, wide-eyed and hair a mess with Jumper’s loud chirping purr rumbling up to me.
“That was fun, you have to admit it,” Isaac said, grinning and giving me a pat on the back. I smiled, holding back a strong burst of laughter.
“Yeah, it was,” I gasped, lips pulling into a wide grin. We stared at each other for a few minutes as I regained my breath, the train speeding ever closer. I turned to see it barreling towards us, a large red engine with countless black boxcars, like a long tail, coming up on its rear. A plume of smoke puffed out of a tall rod on the front.
“Get ready to jump,” said Isaac, grasping my arm and pulling my forwards.
“Is that a train?” I asked, but my words were overwhelmed by the echoing roar of the speeding beast, the vibrations rattling my bones and unsettling my stomach. Awe struck every inch of my body as I picked up Jumper, holding him tight against my chest as the train groaned and screeched, rocking on the tracks. I had never seen a train before, nor had I seen anything move at such high speeds; it was astonishing and I watched as it raced towards us, the ground rumbling beneath us, my legs quivering. I spun around to look at Isaac as the train began to head past us, the wind buffeting me and almost knocking me off my feet, but he was leaping towards the train, hands just closing around the iron bars of a ladder, his body slamming hard against it.
“Jump, Arin!” He called, his voice drowned out by the shaking and rattling – it was only by the movement of his lips that I even somewhat understood what he was saying, and even then it was a struggle to connect what his movements meant. I swung around with Jumper crawling into my shirt as if preparing for an event that brought my heart into my throat and pumped my blood so fast into my hands they felt as if they would combust in any second, all while I watched the train roar past. I inhaled a deep breath and jumped.
Pain shooting through my left hand as it clasped tight around a searing hot metal bar signified that I had connected with the train, but my right arm was pinned against my side by the harsh winds. Every other part of my body seemed to fly at me, slamming me against the bars, my chest and Jumper brushing the metal wall behind the ladder.
I could feel my mouth open, a scream ripping from my lips, but I couldn’t hear, couldn’t focus on any sound but the high pitched squealing of the wheels grinding against the metal and the wind howling as we sped onwards.
Something grabbed my hand hard, its grip tight as nails dug into my skin, and I cast my gaze downwards out of an instant reaction. The door to the boxcar had swung open and a man leaned out, tugging on me, his mouth moving and facial muscles strained as he screamed for my attention.
“Jump, I’ve got you!” I stared at his lips and focused hard, unable to understand his words with precision. I took a gander at what he was saying, however, and inhaled a deep breath. I gave a sharp nod and closed my eyes, releasing my grip from the ladder.
Panic swallowed me whole and the world turned into a seething, twisting mass of color and sounds that brought a throbbing, horrid pain into my head. I fell like a limp ragdoll as I flew through the air, plummeting towards the ground. I could still feel the man’s nails sinking into my flesh. I closed my eyes, shaking my head, tensing my muscles as I waited for my body to slam against the train once more or to fall against the ground.
I’m sorry, Mum.
Chapter 6 Thud!
I landed feet first on something soft and stood there, eyes screwed shut for a moment. My entire body was rigid with shock and I could hear a loud screeching sound echoing all around me. Then the howling wind was gone and the screech of the wheels was quieted, sounding as if it was further away than I had been just seconds prior. Jumper’s wailing ran in my ears and I felt him squirming beneath my shirt, but I didn’t move to free him – I didn’t move to comfort him even when he scurried out of my shirt, his claws scraping my face as he bolted away.
“What happened?” I whispered to myself, blinking open my eyes as I fell onto my rump, looking around the dark room and squinting, desperate to find something to focus on. It was long and wide, with a lantern flickering in the corner, the only light source in the area, a shadow of a cat dashing by. “Jumper?”
“I’m what happened and you’re in a box car. No need to thank me or nothin’!” A dark, hoarse voice said in reply, followed by a slight cough. It was deep, the voice, and a grunt succeeded the cough, along with a few disgruntled murmurs. “No manners, just no manners with kids these days! Well I tells ya!”
“T-Thank you,” I stammered, looking around for the owner of the voice. “Who – ah, where are you?”
“Names matter about as much as dust on this thing, but if you wanna know, it’s Andy; Andrew if you’re into the long fancy names that people only use when they want to sound rich. I don’t. So call me Andy,” Andrew said, coming out of the shadows and towards the corner of the boxcar, settling down beside the lantern. It didn’t cast a lot of light, but it was enough to get a good look at him, better than when he was in the shadows or my mind was too focused on clinging to the train for dear life. He was thin with graying, scraggy, ginger hair and a scruffy beard that came just to his shoulders.
“Thank you, Andy,” I said, looking down at the mishmash of pillows beneath me and prying the heavy load of supplies off my back, setting it down on the trembling floor.
“You?” Andy grunted, looking up from the flame.
“Me what?”
“Your name, you damn twit.” He rolled his eyes, shuffling backwards to lean against the wall, kicking his legs out in front of him and crossing them.
“Arin, my name is Arin,” I responded, glowering at him from the darkness. Jumper scuttled towards the man, nuzzling his leg.
“That boy you were with, wassis name?” Andy said, moving a hand to his beard and running his fingers through it, twirling the end. His free hand moved to pet Jumper, who leaped into his lap in an instant.
“Isaac, his name is Isaac,” I said, pausing as I spoke. My eyes snapped open and I struggled to my feet, wobbling at the numbness of my legs. I had landed far too hard. “I need to find him, oh God,” I mumbled, beginning to gnaw on my lip. “What would happen if he didn’t get i
n a…” What had he called it? “Whatever this thing is?”
“He’d uh, well, I don’t right know. Nothing good, at least, but I’m sure your boy is fine and isn’t a splatter underneath the wheels. Petey’s got ‘im, I wouldn’t doubt,” Andy said, putting his arms behind his head and sighing.
“Petey,” I said, realizing how sore my throat was. I rubbed my hand along my neck, cringing. “Who’s Petey?”
“He’s one of the other guys that hang out in these things,” he said, sounding calm as if there was nothing to worry about, as if there wasn’t a chance that Isaac was splattered against the train.
“Can we go see him?” I asked, crossing my fingers, watching the old man’s gaze.
“No can do, not until she stops at the next station, ‘less you wanna run alongside this big beauty?” Andy chuckled at himself and looked at Jumper, who was rubbing against the scruff of the man’s beard, his loud purr echoing throughout the car.
“When will it stop?” I said, wringing my hands. I need to see Isaac; I need to make sure he’s okay.
“’bout an hour till we get there, ‘kay kid? Calm down, sit back and wait, worrying won’t do you any good.” Andy closed his eyes, squirming and sighing with content as he stopped moving.
“An hour, okay,” I responded, nodding and looking down at my supplies. “I can do that. I can wait.”
Agonizing, drawn out silence followed within the next few minutes, the both of us doing nothing but staring at one another or some part of the car; even as Jumper padded between the two of us, unsure of who to cuddle with first.
I zipped open one of the supply bags, rummaging around until I found some water, tugging out a pop-open can of fruit – some old brand labeled Pineapple Chunks. My throat was parched, both from the trek and the screaming, and my stomach groaned, a slight pinching pain in my abdomen following each whine. I hoped Isaac had something to drink wherever he was. I popped off the lid of the can, picking out a piece of the fruit and throwing it at the cat before nibbling on a piece myself. Andy eyed it and I held it out to him, but he shook his head.
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