“I think we should just bunk here for the night. Maybe we can find something edible around here. And in the morning, with light, we will find a way back to where the RV was,” Easton said, locking the door.
“Do you think Alex is still there?” Candace asked softly.
“She wouldn’t have left if it was safe to stay. That’s all I know,” Easton said, turning to look in the cabinets. He pulled out a box of crackers and handed them to Candace.
“I can’t eat right now, East, I’m too worried. Worried about Alex and the kids. Worried that we’ll be alone now. What will we do?” Candace’s voice shook. Tears gathered in her eyes, the prospect of being all alone in the infected riddled world felt insurmountable. She felt vulnerable and scared. Easton put his hand on her shoulder, pulling her gaze to his.
“I’ll take care of you, Candy,” he said.
“Don’t call me that,” Candace replied automatically. Easton smiled at her.
“We’ll see. I will still take care of you, no matter what I can call you,” he joked.
“How, East? We’ve never been on our own.”
“Alex taught me enough to get us through a few days. We’ll start with salvaging. We will pack that Hello Kitty pack full of everything we can possibly use. And then we will find them. We know they were going to Montana,” Easton replied, sitting across from her at the table.
Candace sighed, looking at the crackers. They had eaten well with Alex. If they could find enough supplies, Candace had the skills to cook for them. That would be her contribution to taking care of them as they fought to survive this new life. She knew she wasn’t going to be able to fight off any infected.
Candace stood again, and started moving the bedding that was thrown around. She moved from window to window to peer out into their surroundings. The sun was setting and the interior of the trailer was getting dark. She didn’t see any infected, which made her glad they were able to get away before being followed too closely. Thinking about the horde made her think about the infected that could move faster than the others. She didn’t understand the biology of the plague, and she worried it could be changing.
“I’m going to go outside, check around, see what supplies I can scavenge,” Easton said.
“Want me to help?” Candace asked. Though secretly she was hoping Easton would say no. Being outdoors scared her so badly.
“No, it’s easier for me if you stay here. Then I don’t have to worry about something getting you,” Easton replied. Candace released a breath, and sank into the kitchen bench once again.
“Lock the door behind me,” Easton said as he stepped out into the dusk.
Chapter 4
Before meeting Alex at the Walgreens in Pahrump, Nevada, Easton hadn’t seen what it was to be prepared for the apocalypse. Before his mother died, they were scavenging day to day to find food. They never had a clear set plan of where they were going. His mother wasn’t prepared, not many were. She did the best she could to protect Easton and Candace. And in her dying moment she gave them all she could. Alex Duncan.
Thoughts of Alex and her prepping entered his mind as he sorted through what the campers thought was important. The first camp he foraged through, had no food or drinks. He wondered if they had already been searched through. The next camp had enough firewood to light the entire campground on fire.
Moving camp to camp, he took anything useful. He found a working flashlight in one tent, and it came in handy as the sun disappeared. Once he was done, the Hello Kitty backpack was joined by a hiking backpack, and both were full of odds and ends. He knocked on the trailer door, and Candace pushed it open for him.
Dumping the packs on the kitchen table, he sat down heavily. It had been a very long day, and it was all catching up with him. Candace began to unpack the bags to see what he had. She sorted the camping gear from the food in neat piles. He looked around and realized she had straightened up the interior of the trailer too.
“Looks better in here,” he commented.
“Thanks. I couldn’t just sit still. I found that lantern, but I kept it super low, just in case,” she replied. “Also, the battery on the trailer works. And they have some propane, because the burners work. I’ll be able to cook while we’re here.”
“That’s great, Candy,” Easton replied.
Candace didn’t correct him that time. Secretly, Easton knew she didn’t really mind the nickname. The teasing had just been their thing for so long. The normalcy of it gave him some comfort. Easton watched as she chose two cans of chicken noodle soup and pulled out a pot to prepare the meal. She nodded to herself and mumbled as she moved around the small kitchen area.
Easton took the hiking backpack, and started packing the non-food items in. He put two pocket knives and a flashlight in the side pockets, making them easy to find. He was pleased to find a small first aid kit. It wasn’t much, but at least they had Band-Aids for now. Flares, he wasn’t sure what they would use them for, went into the bottom of the bag. He had chosen to pass up the gun he’d found that had ammo in it still. Alex hadn’t taught him to shoot, and he didn’t want to risk hurting himself or Candace.
They ate a meal of chicken noodle soup and crackers. Easton had pulled all the shades down tightly, and they left the lantern on the ground on the lowest setting. It was just enough light to eat. It was silent except their chewing. It was starting to grate on Easton’s nerves, but he didn’t know what to say to break the tension.
They decided to bunk together on the couch bed, though they could have made a bed on the kitchen table. Candace didn’t want to be alone, and Easton wanted to be close to protect her if need be. There was no knowing if they were safe where they were. Once before, they thought they were safe in an abandoned RV park. That time Alex was almost raped and worse. Easton couldn’t allow anything like that to happen to Candace. She was his responsibility.
Sleep was hard to come. Easton tossed and turned on the small bed, trying his best to not disturb Candace.
“I can’t sleep either,” Candace whispered, reading his mind.
“It’s hard to sleep with everything going on,” Easton replied.
“I can’t stop thinking about Billie. I hope they found her and got out before the horde caught anyone,” Candace said. Easton nodded his agreement in the dark.
“We’ll find them, Candy, I know it. Alex would have been prepared, or would have known what to do if this were to happen.”
“I know. It’s just, what if we don’t know how to do what she would want?” Candace asked.
“I’ll figure it out,” Easton replied, his voice full of confidence.
“Ok. I’m sure you will,” Candace said, yawning.
“Get some sleep Candy. Tomorrow we go and find the Duncans.”
Easton could hear his sister’s breathing change, as she sunk into slumber. He wasn’t sure he could sleep. He could not shake the feeling of being unsafe. Silently he got up and checked the door again. Then he checked each window covering again. They were all secured with velcro.
He sat near the windows in the kitchen area. He peered out from behind the covering. The night was dark, the moon not full enough to cast bright light. Easton could make out the humps of tents in the distance. The open area of the campground gave way to a pitch black forest. Easton shivered thinking of the dead wandering the trees, searching for their next banquet.
“Alex, where are you?” He murmured to the night.
Chapter 5
The morning light burned bright as the teens left the trailer cautiously. Easton had his bat at the ready as he scanned the campground. Nothing alive nor dead seemed to have wandered into the park during the night. Easton had sat up most of the night trying to decide which way to leave the park. He knew the route to the Duncans’ RV was through the woods. However, he had decided there was no way he was taking his sister back into that hell infested forest.
Instead, Easton led Candace toward the dirt road that seemed to be the entrance to the park. As they walke
d he explained in hushed tones, that he believed if they followed the dirt road, they should meet up with a main street, and then move back toward where the RV was last. Also he appreciated the more open space, giving him more of a chance of seeing what was coming toward them. Candace agreed with his assessment and stayed close, the Hello Kitty pack hanging off her shoulders.
Scavenging had resulted in granola bars, beef jerky, and chips that were portable. They brought cans of green beans they found as well, figuring that even if they couldn’t warm them they’d be safe to eat from the can. Candace insisted on taking utensils from the trailer they had spent the night in. “We aren’t savages,” was her comment when Easton scoffed at the need for utensils. Sometimes she acted much older than thirteen, and it drove Easton crazy.
They walked for about thirty minutes, the setting never changing much from the dirt road and closely clustered trees. Each bend they thought they would come around and find the main road, but instead it was more dirt and trees. They walked down the middle of the road, to avoid the darkness that seemed to cling to the edges of the forest.
The fourth curve came and Easton felt his hopes diminish again as there was nothing but dirt road again. Suddenly Candace grabbed his arm, and he froze at the ready.
“What?” He asked.
“Shhhh,” she held her finger to her lips.
As Easton stood quietly he waited. When he heard it he looked at Candace and her face lit up with a smile. An engine was revving, not far away.
“Could it be the RV?” Candace asked.
“I don’t know, but let’s find out,” Easton replied.
The two siblings began to run down the dirt road, coming to a fifth and final curve that brought them to an asphalt road. They heard the engine coming from their left so they sprinted that way, coming to a four way stop shortly after. They stood for a moment trying to figure out which way to go.
“I think the RV would be that direction,” he pointed left as he bent to catch his breath. “The road seems to curve back around the forest in the direction it would be.”
“The sounds though, they are coming from straight ahead,” Candace answered. She was right, they could clearly hear a vehicle ahead of them, though they couldn’t see over a small hill. Easton inclined his head, and they started running again.
Getting to the top of the hill, Easton skidded to a halt, and he grabbed Candace’s arm as she almost flew passed him. What was in front of them was a scene from nightmares. They found the source of the engine, a soft sided Jeep. The engine of the vehicle continued to rev because it was caught on infected, that it had tried to run down. Surrounding the Jeep, still standing, were infected, trying to rip into the soft sides of the Jeep.
“Candace, get back,” Easton said softly, for only her to hear. In her panic, she couldn’t move, gripping hard to Easton’s arm as she watched the scene in horror.
“Help us!” A voice rose from the Jeep. The people inside the vehicle had spotted the teens on the top of the hill. Easton watched, feeling fear for his sister, but also for the people trapped inside. As he stood there, rooted to his spot, one of the doors on the Jeep was yanked off by an infected. Easton wasn’t sure how they managed to get it off, blind luck, but it left the man in the driver's seat exposed.
The man screamed, a blood curdling sound, as the first infected sank its teeth into the arm he was trying to fend them off with. With its teeth embedded into the flesh and muscle, the infected pulled the man partially from the Jeep.
“Easton, we have to do something,” Candace said in her soft voice.
“I will. But you are to stay up here, out of sight, hear me? Take the extra knife from my backpack and hide. When you hear me call for you, it’s safe to come out,” Easton instructed, handing her his backpack. Candace just agreed, she was aware she was a liability when around the infected. Without another glance back, Easton took his bat from its sheath and twisted his wrist. A move Candace had seen him do when trying to look tough at baseball games. Now it was an indication that he was ready for the fight.
Easton started down the hill, his movement catching the attention of the nearby infected. Those that decided he was easier to get to than the can of human flesh they were ripping at, turned toward the boy. Easton took a batter’s stance at first, and swung for the stars on the first two infected to come near him. They both fell motionless after one blow. Easton swung the bat in an upward arc to catch the next infected under the chin, causing it to go flying back. He finished it off on the ground with one hard swing down.
Seeing Easton helping, the passenger of the Jeep jumped from the car and started stabbing the infected near him in the head. He wasn’t nearly as fluid as Easton was with the bat, and Easton saw him have one or two close calls. Easton kept swinging for the skulls of the infected. Men, women, old and young, he didn’t slow his swing. Bodies of infected seemed to pile at his feet.
The screaming from the driver’s side of the vehicle had stopped and Easton feared what he would see when he went around the car. His stomach clenched and almost revolted at the grotesque scene. Blood was sprayed across the asphalt, the body of the driver spread eagle on the ground. It seemed each infected took a limb and started feasting. At the neck was a woman in a bright blazer. Easton absently noted that it was probably yellow at some point, but now was stained red in so many places he couldn’t be sure.
Easton stepped up with his bat, and broke the woman away from the neck of the driver, denting in the side of her skull on his first blow. He knocked away three more infected from the body before he stopped short at the infected pulling apart the man’s leg. It was a small girl, reminding Easton of the Hello Kitty backpack from the campground. Was the pack hers? Did she suffer when she was killed?
“Oh god,” Easton murmured under his breath, taking a step back from the scene. A little girl. Could he end a little girl? It was the same feeling of frozen fear he’d had when he needed to end his mother. He couldn’t do that, Alex stepped in to save him from his own mother. Now this little girl was hissing at him, and watching him with black orbs for eyes.
The passenger from the Jeep came into view around the side of the vehicle, and without hesitation plunged his knife into the skull of the little girl. Easton felt like his own heart was being stabbed. The man pulled is knife from the child’s head, and leaned down to clean the blade on her shirt. Easton watched him warily, wondering who could just end a little child with no thought.
“Thanks,” the man said. He was breathing heavily from the exertion of the fight. Easton noted that he was also favoring his right foot, either a sprain or broken.
“Sure. You good from here?” Easton replied.
The man pointed down to his right foot, “I don’t think I can drive. Can you?”
Easton looked back to where Candace was hiding. Did he leave the guy to fend for himself, possibly die because he couldn’t be mobile enough? Or did he drive him to where he needed to go? This was a delay Easton didn’t want, but he also couldn’t condemn the guy to a horrible death if left without a way to get away.
“I can drive. Where are you going?” Easton finally asked.
“A storage building about twenty minutes from here. I’m staying there with a group of people,” the man replied.
“Twenty minutes? Which direction?” Easton asked.
The man pointed to the right, the opposite direction from where Easton believed to be where they lost the Duncans. He felt torn and tried to think of how Alex would handle the situation. He had watched Alex put herself in harm’s way for others more times than not. She had also tried to protect him. They were lost right now, but he didn’t doubt she wanted them to find her. A small detour wouldn’t change that, and he would have a clear conscience knowing they helped the man.
“Sure I can drive. I’m Easton,” he said and held out his hand to shake the other man’s.
“Declan,” the man said, grasping Easton’s offered hand. “Didn’t I see you with someone when you walked up?”
He motioned up the hill where Easton had left Candace to hide.
“My sister. I’ll go get her,” Easton said as he turned back up the hill, leaving the injured Declan waiting by the Jeep.
Candace walked out of the trees when Easton approached. She studied the bloody scene around the Jeep. Seeing her pale, Easton stepped into her view. She looked at him, her eyes full of tears. She was so innocent and pure, Easton wished he could protect her from ever being around the infected.
“The man is hurt, messed up ankle. He needs us to drive him back to his place,” Easton said.
Leaning slightly around Easton, Candace studied Declan, who was leaning against the Jeep. Her brow lifted when she looked back at Easton. He turned to look at the man again. Easton had to admit Declan was greasy looking, but in this day getting normal showers was about impossible. He had a hard look to him, with long hair tied tightly away from his face. He was tall and rail thin, looking as if he hadn’t eaten a decent meal long before the apocalypse.
Easton looked back at Candace, meeting her suspicious gaze.
“I can’t just leave him. We can’t. He can’t drive. We would be leaving him to die,” he said softly.
“Do you think it’s safe?” Candace asked.
“As safe as being out here on our own I think. We’ll take him, and then be on our way,” Easton said.
Candace nodded, though Easton could tell she was still reluctant. He took his pack from her, and led her to the Jeep. Declan tried to stand straighter as they came his way, but failed as he tried to put weight on his bad ankle. He tilted to the side against the Jeep again, hissing in pain. Candace had a grip on the back of Easton’s shirt, letting him feel how nervous she was.
“This is my sister Candace,” Easton said, indicating behind him, where Candace still stood. Declan tried to lean around to see her.
“Nice to meet you, Candace. I’m Declan,” he said.
Sundown Series (Novella): Alone Page 2
