by Tara Brown
My eyebrows rise skeptically. “That’s it?"
“What else do you want it to be? Do you need for there to be more to the story?"
"What? No."
He plucks me like I'm a chicken and blows on each hole after the quill is out. “You seem bent on there being more to the story."
I pull my hand away. “There is more to the story. I can tell. She touches you with a familiarity only a girl who’s 'known' you would have. If you can't be honest with me then I guess I don’t really care what the answer is." I stand and walk to the far side of the forest, in the dancing light of the flames, and I pluck my own hand and chest. It is sharper and more painful without the warmth of his touch. The stomach hurts the most.
I know he's watching me, but I ignore him. I don't know why I care about him and Star, and I don't know why I can’t just let him leave my mind.
Leo stalks out of the woods, forcing momentary panicked looks until they realize it's my friend. He nestles in next to me and waits for the food.
I pluck and try to ignore the hollow feeling in my chest as I plot out how the next day is going to go. Mostly I try to envision how the ambush and the rescue will actually take place. My mind is scattered with images of horrible things, like people dying or being taken.
Maybe it’s better not to think about it, and instead just do it. My fear of what could happen isn’t going to get me any sleep.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Her name is Muriel. I've never heard the name before. I'm afraid she is going to die in the crossfire, and that I will never hear the name again.
She is twenty-three and has a sister in the breeder farms. She got taken on the way to the towns. Probably by the same jerks who stole me in the woods.
When I hear the truck coming a sickening panic overwhelms me. I want to tell her to abort and run like a wild woman into the woods. I don’t want to go back. It's fleeting but more powerful than any emotion I've ever felt.
Instead, I take a deep breath and run my fingers through his thick fur for a moment. It's cathartic and brings me peace.
I pull my arrow and line it up. Muriel sells it. She hugs herself and stumbles.
Her dark hair is ragged and dirty. She naturally has the face of a tortured soul. She is the perfect bait.
I see movement to the west, something I never expected to see. It's a group of them. Leo must be able to smell them or sense them. He licks his lips and makes a low growl. I turn my bow and gauge the distance. They walk with the gracefulness of a mummy. Their bodies are seizing up from the scurvy and diseases they are riddled with. How they live through it is beyond me.
It's the largest pack I've ever seen. I put my arrow in the quiver and slide the bow over my shoulder. I look at Leo and burst into a sprint. The bushes are flying past me. I see a colorful blur in my peripheral vision, suddenly remembering I’m not alone.
"The infected. To the west. They have to die silently.” I don’t shout but I speak loud enough that the other people in the bushes can spread the word. At the base of the hill I scramble up a tree. Leo hides in a bush at the base, as he always does.
My tree moves as if a windstorm has taken it, but when I look down all I see is Will climbing the same large tree as me.
I climb faster, looking for a fat enough branch to sit in and wrap my legs around it to steady myself.
"Where are they?"
I pull my arrow and bow and ready myself. Dust is starting to rise in the east. The truck is closing in on Muriel. They will see her soon.
I steady my shot and wait. The infected don't see her yet. She stops and then starts to walk toward the truck. “Stay calm, Emma,” Will whispers. I release the arrow when I think they are close enough.
The arrow lands a few feet in front of the one I was aiming at.
There is no breeze, thankfully. My aim was dead on. I give it a few more seconds and release the arrow I have at the ready. The arrow drops the taller one.
Nine left.
A scream fills the forest.
Muriel has spotted them. She is making her own bit of dust on the gravel road. She runs fast but the infected have heard her scream. Somehow they move faster than she does. They're gaining on her.
"Damn.” Will is shaking the tree and nearly knocking me out of it as he climbs down. He jumps when he's close enough to the ground and sprints through the forest. I release another arrow as soon as he is out of the tree. Another drops.
Eight.
They are running fast. My next arrow misses.
I climb down fast, but by the time I reach the ground, the gunfire has filled the forest. The truck has rounded the corner.
Leo and I run for the disaster the infected have created.
I want to run away. I've made the mess in front of me.
I push my legs. When I arrive, the truck is pulled over and Muriel is being dragged behind it. Guns are firing like mad. Bullets come from the truck and the forest. No one notices at first that the infected are running hard for the truck.
"Holy crap, Blake,” A man shouts and one of the others turns to the infected. He shoots his automatic weapon and drops them to their knees. They crawl and drag themselves. I pull an arrow. From the woods I hit the man in front of the truck in the eye. He drops a massive gun.
I fire another arrow, but I miss the man holding Muriel by the throat. He drags her to the far side of the truck.
Four men with guns surround the huge white truck. Bullets are being sprayed into the woods. I hear the bullets knocking on the trees around me. I duck and wait. My heart is pounding in my throat.
The truck door opens and Muriel screams for a second. The closing door cuts her screams short.
"Let's go,” one of the others shouts.
The truck drives away but the bullets still pelt the forest. When I glance up, I see the bullets come from the man standing on the side of the truck. He’s holding on to the mirror and shooting as the truck speeds away.
I cover my eyes and wait for the panic to subside.
I am tackled and thrown to the ground.
Fingers grip my skin and my throat as something hard hits me. A loud growl fills the forest followed by a scream. My back is against a stick. It's stabbing in. It hurts a lot.
I see something black flash across the canopy.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!"
Stars flash in front of my eyes like when my granny used to take pictures of me. I try to focus but my head hurts. Things go black. I can feel his fur and hear his growl, and I know he'll kill anything that comes for me but I can’t keep my eyes open.
Waking from a blackout is a bad experience. The pain is the first thing I feel. Then the alarming sense of confusion takes over. As the light hits my eyes I wince and lean to the side. I throw up and try not to notice the pain everywhere.
A cold nose is pressed against my cheek. The weak, sickening feeling is everywhere at once. I want to close my eyes again but her scream is locked in my memory. She was caught because of me.
I hear his voice. You are not responsible for everyone on the planet. It's us and them. You need to take care of you. That's survival, Em.
I can't make that my mantra anymore. I cost a life today and I am responsible. Like the women who were taken when I was in the town—Meg's mom and aunt, I am to blame.
"You know the rules.”
I hear talking and open my eyes. I can't see much, it's dark, but when I put a hand out I feel fur. Leo is sitting guarding me.
"A life for a life, Will. You made the damn rule."
"I made the rule for reckless loss of life. Muriel might not be dead, firstly. And secondly, Emma never cost Muriel her life on purpose."
"I want her back, damn it. I don’t care how you feel about that damned kid."
"Your vision is clouded, Will. This is just like Star. You're risking the good of everyone for a piece of meat. Now that a new piece of meat has come along, you're doing it again."
"I told you already once, you don’t bring Star up. She's of
f limits."
"Yeah, well, you always have had a thing for a pretty face and a tight behind. I vote we take her to Marshall and he chooses. It's fair."
"You guys want to kill her, you come through me.” Will's voice sounds frightening.
"Marshall is going to be the one to decide. We leave at dawn.” A scuffle starts up. I hear branches breaking and a man grunting.
The light of a fire flickers on the trees high up. I glance around nervously, seeing that I’m on my bedroll and my bow and quiver are next to me. They are leaning against my backpack. I drag them slowly to me and pull the backpack on. I need this backpack now more than ever.
Leo doesn’t move, but I sense his awareness of me. I put a hand on his back and whisper, “Shhh, Leo. Down low, buddy. Down low."
He knows the command. He stays put as I roll away from the bedroll and slither through the woods, making no noise. I might not have been born into this world, but I have mastered surviving it.
When I am on the lower part of the hillside they're camped on, I stand but maintain a crouch as I run.
My head hurts and I want to throw up again, but I hold my breath, only breathing short inhales and exhales.
I stumble and trip but I'm far enough away that they don’t hear me. If I can't hear their bickering I assume they can’t hear me.
There’s a crunch of twigs behind me but I sigh when I see the yellow eyes. I'm sprawled out on the ground when Leo nudges me and helps me stand and again we run.
I know we have reached the bottom of the hill where the road was when I feel the gravel beneath my feet. I don’t know if it’s the same road and I can't see anything because the moon isn’t out anymore.
I am lost until Leo growls. Then I stop and wait for him with my hand is out. My hand fills with his fur, gripping it lightly and letting him pull me. My eyes are still fuzzy from my knockout. I hear something—a scratch on the gravel and a high moan. Shivers tickle up and down my spine. We are on the same road as before. The infected are still here.
The gravel beneath my feet makes a thousand noises I wish could be silenced. I know they can hear me. If they have upper body strength, the infected are dragging themselves to me. Madness could overwhelm me if I had to listen to their scratches on the gravel for any longer than the seconds I am there. Instead, Leo drags me away.
My knees nearly buckle as the ground slants into the ditch on the other side. My eyes are clearing and I'm able to focus. I can see a log in front of me. I jump over it with Leo and we start to run again. My back is aching and my neck feels like it's been cracked the wrong way. My throat hurts to swallow. I'm sure I couldn’t scream if I had to.
I ignore it all and run into the woods. When we reach a place with a high canopy, I climb into a tree, hugging it and trying to piece together what I can.
The villagers no doubt blame me for the Muriel fiasco, which is entirely my fault. Will had sex with Star, and for whatever reason that makes me angrier than the guys trying to kill me. The rough bark of the tree reminds me of the last time I felt this alone. I was happier then. It was Leo and me, and no one else in the world mattered.
I wait for the night to feel less intimidating but it never does. I also wait for the feelings I have for Will to leave, but no matter what, I like him as deeply as I loathe him. It is a problem.
I fall asleep against the rough bark with the images of the things I cannot change and the things I can floating around in my head. I cannot seem to change my heart.
When I wake, I use the rising sun to navigate my way back to the breeder farm. The area is starting to feel familiar. That bothers me.
Leo and I hike through the woods like we did before, only now I barely notice the birds or the animals. I don’t feel the freedom of just the two of us. Now I feel the weight of other people in my life. I understand the word baggage and how it applies to people. Somehow I have gained baggage in the short time I have known them all. There is only so much room inside of people for things. I see that now. I used to have room for many things. Now those things seem unimportant, and the people have taken over the limited amount of space I have.
I hear trucks along the road and I grimace. The plan had been flawless, but I never accounted for the infected. It was a mistake. One I will never make again. As much as their numbers have dwindled, they still manage to destroy the things we love.
Through the light of the canopy, I can see the roof of the breeder farm. I don’t have a plan. I pull my backpack off my shoulders and grab the handgun I was given by Mary when we left the camp. It's her favorite. She said it was Australian. I smile and remember her favorite features were the seventeen rounds and silencer. Anna looked like she was going to pee her pants when Mary handed it to me. The cold polymer gun feels heavy in my hands. It’s similar to the one my dad trained me with when I turned nine. That was the year I started shooting. I guess it’s lucky it’s also the year everything ended. Had he waited till I was ten, I might not have had a clue about guns.
I grip the handle that was clearly fitted for a man and adjust my hand to compensate for the large grip. I promised Anna I would bring it back and that she could use it. I want to keep that promise.
I sling my bow over my arm so the quiver and it are easily accessible and put the extra clip of ammo in my pants pocket. Lastly, I stuff the card that opens the locks in my other pocket. I am so grateful I still have it from when we escaped.
I leave the backpack on the ground and take a deep breath, before taking my first step from the woods. I can feel the sickening fear inside of me subside as my instincts take over. Inside of me are animal instincts. They were born in a world I wasn’t. They take over when I need them to. They've taught me how to survive. I have learned it is the most important part of the world I live in.
My feet crunch on the short, dry brown grass. My eyes narrow and plan for the moment I am spotted. I move quickly and as silently as I can. I get close to the building and recognize the door in front of me instantly. It is the door I was brought to. I run along the side to the door where we had escaped. The huge bins are lined up and the still air stinks.
My feet move quickly along the large part of the garbage lot to the staircase that leads to the door I came out of. I never in a million years imagined I would be trying to get back in.
I pull on the door, hoping I don’t have to shoot the lock to open it. It opens with a hard pull. My heart pounds as I look in with my gun.
No one is inside. Whoever left there last never closed the door properly. Inside it looks as it did when I was last here. The hose with the nozzle like the one my grampy had is sitting as if no one has been by to touch it. Leo saunters in, sniffing and watching me as I close the door. The door inside has no weird scanning thing for the card. I just turn the handle and the lock clicks open.
I look both ways down the hall before I creep out. Leo and I leave the garbage room and walk down the hallway. It's only early in the morning. The staff tends to get to work at around nine. The clock on the wall says seven eleven. I smile and remember seven eleven from before—it was a store. I called it the slushy store. Granny snuck me there and let me eat them when my dad wasn’t around. He was all feisty when it came to eating too much junk. My stomach growls but my animal instincts kick in and push my smile and hunger away.
I hear a rustling of papers and take a breath. The footsteps inside of the room on my right sound heavy. I glance in nervously. A man in a white lab coat is looking for something frantically.
I look at Leo and wink. He drops to his belly against the wall and waits. I hold the gun up and round the corner.
When he looks up, I don’t recognize him.
"I'm one of you.” His words are fast.
I look him over. He looks like a doctor. He doesn’t look shiny, like a citizen of the city.
He pleads, “I worked with Marshall. I'm helping the rebels if that’s who you are."
I put my finger on the trigger and take his pass from his desk. I check his door. The pass m
ust be used to get out. I tear his phone out of the wall and rip the cord out of the back.
"Sit.” The large older man sits at his desk.
"Leo.” Leo stalks in and growls. I glare back at the doctor. “Push your chair back."
He does and Leo rests his growling face on the doctor's groin. “That’s a scary dog, lady."
"He's a wolf,” I mutter and tie his hands to the armrests of the chair. “If you are one of us, you'll need proof you tried to stop me. This looks convincing.” I finish the knot and smack him in the eye with my gun. He winces but doesn’t cry out. His eye is red and swelling instantly.
Holding his pass, I walk to the door and look both ways. Leo makes a grunt and leaves his groin.
"There is a destruction level in here."
I glance back. “What?"
"You have to come back and get me out before you detonate."
I nod.
He sighs. “In case the infection ever makes it in, they put in a destruction level. It's new. Every building has one now. The infection got into a building in the South. We have a way to wipe the building. All the breeding institutes have it. It's in the basement, in the far left corner when you come off the elevator. It's a time-release detonation bomb. The building implodes like how they demolished buildings before."
"How can I get the women out first?"
"Each wing has a pool. It's their best hope. It's where we were told to go in case of detonation. The building has an alarm. The minute you set the bomb, the alarm will go off.
"Like a fire alarm."
He nods. His eye is watering and swelling.
"I will come back for you.” I take one of his doctor’s coats off the back of his door and shrug it on. Leo and I walk out again and look around. I need to get the women out before I blow up the building. The pool sounds like a bad idea, but I don’t see any other hope. If I set the alarm with too much time, they could stop it from detonating.
I try to remember the way back, but I realize it doesn’t really matter. I need to get them all out. I have to go to every wing.
I see a nurse that I recognize ahead of me and follow. I assume she is on a night shift. She leads me through a doorway. I stay far enough behind that she doesn’t pay attention to me or the giant wolf behind me. We end up in the hallway that has the windows to the garden. The place I used to escape. “Hide, Leo."
