"Don't, don't do this, Max. Let's just go," Griffin said, trying to pull her away.
Max ignored him. She walked to the other side of the wrecked car. It had gunshots along the hood, that had risen to the windshield, and struck the woman that had been driving. Her body was turned as if to shield or grab her baby. But she died reaching back. Coming around the side of the car, Max noted the lack of gunshots on that side of the car. When she got to where the car seat was, the door was open. She took a deep breath, before stepping around the door to see inside. A gasp escaped her as she was relieved to see that the car seat was empty.
"Where's the baby," Max said softly. She hunched slightly to look closer at the seat. The buckle was still secured. But the actual straps had been cut. She touched the cuts, trying to make sense of the situation. The mother wasn't shielding the baby, she was trying to get the baby before whoever was there did.
"Who would cut the straps and take the baby?” Griffin asked, coming up next to Max.
"Well at least we know it couldn't have been infected," Max replied. "They don't use knives."
"Yeah. But why take the baby and kill the mother?"
"I don't know. The whole situation doesn't make sense, does it," Max said.
The sounds of the infected seemed to intensify behind them. Turning back to see what was happening, they found some of the infected were flipping over the jersey barriers and were slowly working their way to their feet. Max and Griffin looked at each other and together they ran to the other side of the bridge, dodging cars, and hopping over debris. Max could see Griffin looking at her often, keeping her in his line of sight. He would touch her or push her encouragingly when they were moving. Max wasn't sure how to react to the behavior. She was too used to being alone, that she wasn't sure how to even accept companionship.
Reaching the end of the bridge, Jack came running for Max, hefting her heavy pack as she ran. Max caught her daughter with one arm and hugged her for a moment, before turning them both toward the road and continuing at a quick pace. Turner and Cliff fell into step with them. Max reached for her pack from Cliff, who handed it back to her without looking her in the eye. Max figured they would have to have a conversation later about him shutting down and her slapping him.
"They are making it over the barrier, so we have to keep going," Griffin was telling Turner.
"I hate being out in the open like this, maybe we can find a car that can be wired," Max was saying. And as if Mother Nature just needed to be heard, the sky opened and rain began to pour down on them.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
"You have got to be kidding," Max said, holding out her arms and looking up at as rain cascaded over her face.
"We need shelter, and quick," Griffin said, his words punctuated by the first bright strike of lightning.
The group decided that there had to be farms on the opposite side of the river as well. Max knew there was a larger town coming on their route, but it wasn't for another twenty or thirty miles. They couldn't walk that in the downpour and lightning. They began trudging up the road, staying in the center on the chance of any infected in the trees on this side of the river. Max found herself imagining the infected falling off of the embankment into the river as they tried to cross. She figured they couldn't swim but doubted drowning would kill them.
Thirty minutes into their walk, the trees opened up and a field surrounded by a small barbwire fence appeared. In the distance, a large structure could be seen, but with the rain, it was difficult to pinpoint what it was. It had a roof and that was all they really needed at the moment. One by one they hopped the barbwire fence, being careful to not cause injury that would need to be handled. Once in the field, the five of them ran for the building, involuntarily hunching down when lightning would light up the sky. Being struck by lightning was not something Max could fix with a first aid kit.
When they got to the building, they realized it was an old barn. Griffin pulled the door open and shined a flashlight inside first. Nothing moved in the dark building. The clouds above them were black as night as they rained down, causing the afternoon to feel like twilight. They all rushed into the barn for protection. Inside, they all took a moment to breathe and drip on the dusty ground.
Max, Griffin, and Turner did a full assessment of the building. The only entrance was the large door they came in through. There were large windows that had probably been for animals, but they were all shuttered and latched closed. There was some hay in the building, maybe stored there for the farm to use as needed. But beyond that, it seemed safe enough.
"We need to dry out," Max said, wringing her T-shirt at the bottom.
"Last thing we need is someone coming down with trench foot," Turner commented. Max glanced at him impressed. "Served in more than just the desert, ya know," he said defensively. Max just smiled.
Jack was Max's first priority. She took her behind some hay and had her strip out of all her wet clothing. She dressed in dry clothes from her pack, lucking out that not all of it was soaked in her pack as well. Her boots stayed off and she walked around in socks until everything dried out. Max pulled out a semi-dry shirt from her bag. It was better than what she had been wearing, so she pulled off the sopping wet shirt. As she laid it next to Jack's on a wood divider she heard a throat clear behind her.
Spinning, Max found Griffin standing behind the hay she was using as cover. He was shirtless and clearly watching her change. Instantly self-conscience, Max grabbed her dry shirt and pulled it over her head quickly.
"Eight years turned you into a perv, huh?" Max said, sidestepping him to grab dry socks.
"Eight years ago, you wouldn't have acted like it was a big deal," Griffin remarked back. "Did you have someone in South Carolina?"
"What? No! Why are you asking me that?" Max asked in disbelief. Why did he continue to want to have these awkward conversations?
"You're skittish, Max."
"Uh, no I'm not," Max replied in a voice that didn't even convince her. He stepped forward and she took a step back.
"You're always running. That's not the Max I knew," he said in a low voice.
"Well the Griffin I knew wasn't always acting like he was hunting me," Max shot back.
"I'm not the one that waltzed in and upended your life, Max. You showed up in mine," he said as he crossed his arms over his bare chest. She couldn't help but notice how he'd changed over the years. He was obviously an adult now, but the same things she found attractive then he still had. His smile was the same, his eyes still looked like the eighteen-year-old boy that said goodbye on his way to boot camp. But he had filled out. Now he was impressive with no shirt on, thicker with defined muscles.
He grinned at her as she stood silent and she realized she'd been caught checking him out. She huffed out an indignant sigh and turned back to her go bag to sort through dry clothes. He closed the distance and crouched down next to her.
"I was only coming to ask if you had any shirts that would fit me. All of mine got wet in the rain," he whispered near her ear. His breath caused the hair on her neck to stand up and goosebumps to raise down her arms. Noticing, he wrapped his arms around her from behind and rubbed his hands up and down her arms.
"Cold?" He asked.
"Yes, no, I mean yeah but I'm fine," Max stuttered. What is happening to me? She thought. She was acting like a stupid school girl, falling head over heels for the popular boy in class. Well, they were no longer high school students. They were adults. And Max was holding a gigantic secret from him that would blow up in her face eventually. She stiffened as she thought about Griffin rejecting her when he found out that Jack was his daughter. All of the flirty advances would stop, he would never be able to forgive her for keeping his daughter for him for eight years.
"So, a shirt?" Griffin asked.
"I don't have any more shirts your size. But here, take this blanket," Max handed him a microfleece blanket over her shoulder. "What about Turner? He need something?" Max asked, avoiding any additional un
comfortable conversation.
"Nah, somehow his stuff stayed dry. Cliff is insisting on not changing, though we convinced him to take off his boots and put on dry socks. We'll need to get more clothes for him eventually," Griffin said and stood up as he wrapped the blanket around his shoulders. Max stood as well and turned to face him.
"Listen, I'm sorry," Max said.
"Wait, what? Max Duncan is sorry? For what, may I ask?" Griffin said, giving her his boyish grin that she could barely resist.
"Shut it, or I will take it back," Max said. Griffin held up a hand to indicate she should continue. "I should have asked about Cliff joining us. I'm not used to this," she said motioning between them.
"This? You'll need to be more specific."
"You're a jackass, ya know? I'm not used to having a group, people around that might have an opinion on things. I've been on my own for a long time now," Max explained. Griffin grew serious and nodded, understanding.
"I get it."
"My gut is telling me this guy isn't dangerous. And after what he went through. I knew leaving him would be like killing him," Max continued softly.
"You're all heart, Max Duncan," Griffin replied, as he stepped closer to her again. This time she didn't back away, refused to seem like she was running.
"Momma?" Jack called from the other side of the hay pile. Griffin chuckled quietly as his pursuit was effectively cut off by an eight-year-old.
"Yeah, Jack?" Max called back, smiling slyly at Griffin as they stood close together.
"We were going to turn on a lantern in the center where we could set up a sleeping area. Turner is going to go outside and see how much light you can see. Is that alright?" Jack called.
"If Turner wants to do it, you don't have to ask, sweetie," Max replied. Jack was also not used to anyone else being in charge of what was happening with her. She solely knew to rely on her mother's judgment and none other. Though the little girl loved being around people, she also referred back to her mother always.
She could be heard speaking to Turner, their voices floating over to Max and Griffin in their private corner. They just watched each other, at a bypass. A much deeper conversation was needed, but privacy behind a stack of hay wasn't going to work. They still hadn't addressed the situation of the letters. Did she believe him? All these years later, why would he concoct such a lie? And it was a story he had told Turner before she ever came to North Carolina to find him.
"I believe you," Max said suddenly. Damn me and my big mouth, she thought to herself. She didn't have much of a filter, and it seemed to be obliterated with Griffin around. He didn't say anything, just raised an eyebrow.
"I believe you about the letters. I don't know why Mitch did what he did, but I believe you wrote and called."
Griffin's stance seemed to relax as if he had been holding on to that for eight long years. Carrying the burden of wondering whatever happened to them. That was something Max could definitely relate to. For the first time, she reached out to him first. She touched his face softly before raising up on her toes to press a kiss to his lips. She made it quick, but it was clearly a sign that she was feeling whatever he was too. But she pulled back quickly, remembering there was a lot of baggage to clear up still.
"But, Griffin, there are things. We have things to discuss when it all calms down a bit," she said. Thinking, she then added, "I never loved anyone else either."
After some checks and balances, the lantern was finally on its medium setting, and couldn't be seen from the outside. Max pulled the sleeping bags she and Jack had from their water coverings, thankful they hadn't unpacked from their camping trip before the plague hit. Max always wrapped their sleeping gear in waterproof bags to keep them from sleeping soggy. Turner and Griffin used the small fleece blankets Max and Jack carried. Jack and Max huddled beneath a sleeping bag with hay at their backs. Cliff laid further away, under the other sleeping bag, his back to the group.
They had eaten a dinner of MREs and pickles. Cliff had finally eaten like he was actually hungry, but he didn't say much. Max kept looking at him over their meals, hoping he'd say something. But he kept his eyes on his meal and only conversed with Jack about the food. Max looked at his back now and wished she knew what to say to the man. He'd lost everything and Max was trying to force him into caring enough to keep going on.
Griffin turned the lantern down once they all decided they were ready for sleep. The sound of the rain pelted the wood of the barn and Max found it hard to shut out the noise and fall asleep. Jack curled warmly against her side and was like her own personal heater. Her breathing fell deep and regular as she fell asleep quickly, exhausted from the running and chaos of the day. Max soon found her own eyes growing heavy, her body functions letting her know she had pushed too far and hard.
Gunshots were their alarm before the sun fully rose from the horizon. Max sat up straight from her hay bed, the cool morning air a shock to her warm body. Griffin was by her side in a moment, hand on her shoulder to stop her from reacting. She looked at him and nodded, she was awake and knew to stay quiet. She pulled on a jacket before standing and walking to a wall where she could peer through the cracks of the wood.
The adults all peered through different areas of the barn walls, trying to detect where the shooting was coming from. Max whistled low and motioned toward her wall as another volley of gunfire could be heard. She couldn't see anyone in the low light of dawn, but the sounds were definitely coming from her viewpoint. They all gathered on that side of the barn, waiting to see if the shooter would reveal themselves.
"There," Turner whispered, pointing. Max squinted seeing a few dark shadows and tried to distinguish which were infected and which were healthy.
"I count two, maybe three non-infected," Griffin whispered.
"Do we help?" Cliff said the first words he had spoken since Max had slapped him.
"No, we know what's out there. We would all end up dead," Max said matter-of-factly. She continued to watch, to see how the situation would unfold. Her first concern was if these shots would draw the infected to their barn
"I wonder how many made it over the barrier," Turner said.
"Not all of them were figuring it out, but plenty were," Griffin replied.
They waited another fifteen minutes, listening for any sign of infected or living coming their way. When nothing happened they all slowly moved back into the center of the barn where they had made their makeshift camp. The sun was starting to brighten the interior, giving them some time to prepare breakfast. They sat together to eat granola bars and fruit cups. In the silence they could hear the breeze through the wood panels, giving the indication of a cool day. However, the clouds and rain had disappeared for the time being.
Damp boots were strapped back on, and partially dry clothing was packed away. As they strapped on their packs, Max reviewed the map trying to determine where they were. She thought she knew where the bridge was they crossed. From there she estimated where the farm was. Her best guess was they were fifteen miles from the nearest town. With Jack that could take a day, if not longer. Walking at night would be a death trap, so they would have to find somewhere to sleep on their way.
The countryside was quiet as they walked through the fields back to the road they had come from. The group was tense, wondering where the infected went that were in pursuit that morning. They walked along the barbwire fence for a while, keeping their eyes out for anything out of sorts. The light glinted off of the shell casings that had fallen in the road. There were no other signs of a fight, no infected bodies, no large amounts of blood to indicate a healthy person was caught. Both parties seemed to be on their feet and ready for another fight somewhere.
Midday came with little talk among the members of the group. Jack stuck with her mother for most of the walk. When she started to get really weary, they decided stopping for lunch was a decent idea. A meal of beef jerky and chips was lunch, with bottled water. Max could see their supply of water wouldn't last more than a day,
maybe two.
"We need to get back over to the river at some point, we need to fill up on water," Max said out loud. She didn't really expect an answer, but she couldn't handle the uncomfortable silence any longer. Typically she was one to avoid conversation when they came along. But when you were the only living humans in the area, it felt strange to not hear each other's voices.
"Going into the trees again could be a risk," Griffin replied.
"Worth it, we can't run out of water," Max said around a mouthful of jerky. Griffin just nodded and looked down at his own half-full bottle of water. They hadn't been able to take all of the water they had in the SUV before fleeing. Each bag only had four regular sized bottles. With Cliff, that amount stretched thin for four adults and one small child.
Getting to the river was easy. The road they walked seemed to follow the river's path for the most part. The five of them quietly entered the sparse tree line, looking around for anything that moved. Reaching the water line, Max quickly collected water to boil. She started a small fire on a dry spot near the water and set up to watch for any attack. Everyone sat with their backs to the water, knowing an attack couldn't come from that direction.
Snapping branches and the fall of rock against rock pulled Max's attention to the other side of the river. Standing directly across from them was a wild looking woman, her long hair flew in all directions. It was hard to tell her skin color from their distance due to the muck that seemed to cover her face. She stood watching Max and her group quietly. Max slowly raised her hand in greeting, but the woman just looked back the way she came and took off in the opposite direction.
"Strange," Max murmured.
"People are going to react differently to things I guess," Turner replied, shrugging his shoulders while he watched in the direction the woman ran.
A few moments later the moans of the infected could be heard. Max and Griffin stood quickly, looking around to find the sound. As the sounds grew louder, the infected appeared on the opposite side of the river exactly where the woman had been standing. The infected seemed confused about where their prey went. Max stood stock still and everyone on their side of the river was silent, waiting for something to happen.
Survive (Sundown Series Book 2) Page 20
