Infected

by Justin Clay

  “Rian,” I hear June speak up for the first time in a while. I look over to her, where she sits across from Maia, who is talking to her brother, Mikael. “Do you see them yet?”

  I am looking through the pair of binoculars we had picked up at the last city we passed through. I am standing at the crest of a grassy hill, the city of Cheyenne laid out vastly beyond, like an intricately made board game. A board game of life and death. And the pieces are moving.

  I shake my head. “No,” I tell June flatly.

  There is no sign of them anywhere yet. Eli and Lena had left with Terek, accompanied by Mason, about twenty minutes ago — I would say — to see if the coast is clear. Their delayed return is beginning to worry me, but I don’t show it. I keep my face unreadable, my mouth creased in a flat line.

  Could they be captured…or worse? No…There’s no way. Eli and Lena are too smart for that. Too strong. Too much of survivors. Suddenly, I see movement: a flash of what looks like dark hair — and —

  “It’s them!” I shout to the rest of the group huddled about the hillock. My realization is causing commotion; people are standing, turning, and squinting their eyes to look ahead. Among them Mikael, Maia, and their mother, Sondra, seem the most intrigued. Sondra keeps an arm over Maia protectively, although there is no sign of danger…yet.

  I swallow, feeling something strange pull at my insides, as if foretelling but I ignore it. Lowering the binoculars, I give June a look. She looks at me with a blank expression, one that I’ve seen times before. Sighing, I drop my gaze and hold my attention elsewhere. I concentrate on their moving bodies, from being the size of my hand to standing right in front of us.

  “It’s clear,” Terek announces firmly. “We’re going to go in, look for what we need, and get out as soon as possible…

  “Although, what we have seen is clear of any Infected, or Ravagers, we can’t take chances…The longer we stay, the more likely we are to be in danger…But there’s a lot of ground to cover so we’ve decided that we’re going to split up in two teams and meet up back here…I will lead one team, and Eli the other — Mikael and Maia, you’re coming with me — ”

  “But dad,” Mikael contests, “I want to go with Rian — ”

  “No, you’re coming with us — we stay together as a family.”

  “Please — ”

  “There is no further argument here; you’re coming with us and that’s final.”

  “Terek, let the boy go with them, if he wants,” Sondra says softly to her husband, and this takes me by surprise. mothers don’t usually act this way. “He’s seventeen. Let him have some independence. He’ll be fine.”

  Terek’s mouth clenches as he’s his intense stare lingers from his son to his wife, who has her hand on his shoulder. They step away and whisper absorbedly to one another, before Terek steps forward and exhales heavily. His wife apparently won that battle, and I figure mainly because of this exchange of events.

  “Fine, you can choose Mikael who you want to go with, but Maia you’re coming with us, and Mason, and Eresa, you too — ” The thin, tan-skinned, blackish-grey-haired woman who is Sondra’s mother nods and moves herself closer to Sondra. Maia and Mikael call her Mami, so this is the first time I’ve heard her name. Eresa. It’s a pretty name. One I haven’t heard before.

  I supposed the other team would consist of myself, June, Eli, Lena, and now Mikael. Hopefully, he wouldn’t slow us down.

  I feel a nudge at my side and look down to see June. She has the look now of wanting something written all over her face.

  “What is it?” I ask her bluntly.

  “It’s…Um…Can I go with Maia’s group?”

  This definitely has thrown me for a loop. My brow furrows and I take a few moments to answer. “What? Why?” I question hurriedly.

  “She’s my friend,” June tells me, and I can see it in her big, blue eyes. She wants the one thing she hasn’t been given enough of lately. Or was blatantly robbed of by these unpredictable, harsh circumstances. A childhood. Sometimes, I forget she is a child, by how numb she has become to the violence happening all around us, all the time. My first inclination is to say no, as I am her older sister who wants the best for her. But my best for her isn’t her choice. That’s her own. So, who am I to refuse her that? On occasion, granted.

  “Fine,” I tell her dully. “But, you have to promise me to stay with the group; make sure Terek is near you at all times…And be safe…Promise?”

  “Promise,” she says, nodding her head.

  I smirk. “Good, we have a deal. See you later, kid.” I scrunch my hand through her golden hair and June smiles at me before running over to join Maia in bouts of giggling and whispering. I roll my eyes, and sigh internally. Young girls.

  I look to Eli, and Lena, who both seem not to be phased by the current goings-on, and seem to have other matters on their minds. What could they be thinking? Why is Eli’s look so intense?

  Something’s up, and whatever it is certainly doesn’t feel right. Am I right, then, to let my sister, who I have tried to protect all this way across the country, go and practically fend for herself during these few hours of searching for supplies? Then again, she won’t be alone. Terek and Mason seem equally intimidating. So there won’t be a problem there. But all it takes is one second of blissful ignorance and it’s all over.

  That’s all it ever takes.

  ...

  This place definitely has seen better days. Dust stirs in the air here with our movement, carrying a sour potency, tickling my nose. The smell of rotting meat.

  I sneeze, a bit startled, and both Eli and Lena look back at me, but they don’t seem bothered. It hadn’t been that loud.

  Sighing, my eyes glaze over the shabby, dirt-clobbered and blood-stained remnants of Cheyenne’s one and only armory; it’s been completely gutted and seemingly ripped clean of anything that could potentially be of use. Although Eli did stumble upon cases of ammunition that fell out of a blue jar. Someone must have hidden it there, hoping to return for it, but it by the looks of the jar, being covered in settled dust and grime, they didn’t.

  There has to be more in this old rutty place besides a few packs of ammo. There just has to be…We have only been searching for about twenty minutes after embarking into town, taking a ten minute walk or so to get here…Which by first glance didn’t look very promising at all, with its busted windows and blood-spattered wooden façade.

  Our mission is simple. Find ammo, and helpful gear and weapons of any sort. The others would look for food and medical supplies. Seemed easier that way. Hopefully, their search is turning out much more fruitful.

  “Hey, guys — you might want to come over here,” Mikael says from a distance away. “I think I found something.”

  I’m intrigued. Leaving shelves of picked-over gun pouches, I travel around a fallen metal fixture, glinting in the evening purplish light, over to where Mikael is standing in front of an opened cabinet. Lena does the same. But it’s not what’s in the torn apart cabinet Mikael has his attention directed to — it’s below.

  Near my feet is a dark hole about the width of my hand and forearm, the covering wooden plank lying beside it. When my eyes take in what he found, I’m a bit shocked at first. Stuffed inside is a black duffel bag that seems to be heavily loaded — with what, we don’t know. Yet.

  “How did you come across this?” Lena asks.

  Mikael shrugs. “It was strange,” he says, earnestly. “The plank felt oddly loose, so I lifted it…and found this…”

  “Let’s get it out, then,” Lena goes on. She bends down over to where the bag is tightly nestled. Lena makes a first attempt to lift it but seems to be surprised by its unprecedented weight. It’s definitely holding something important. With a strained grunt, Lena pulls and pops the bag, the floor shuttering by the expulsion. The black lumpy bag hits the ground with a dull thud, and there’s a following tinkling of what sounds like metal.

  “Okay, let’s see what in you,” she mutters, u
nzipping the duffel quickly.

  Please, be something good.

  Lena turns back to me, smiling, and she lifts her head, calling Eli. When Lena shifts, the bag’s contents become immediately clear. It’s chock-full of weaponry. We’ve struck gold.

  We’re now a distance away from the armory, having found what we needed — actually more than we were hoping for initially. The bag’s contents consisted of three loaded assault rifles, one sniper rifle, a black-handled machete, two grenades, two heavy pistols, ammo, and a few silencers. Eli actually smiled, even looked on the verge of laughing. More emotion from him than I’ve seen —probably ever. But even with such a good find, my mind is still troubled.

  Someone had to have hidden guns there. But why would they do that? Obviously, they had to have been coming back for them, especially since there were so many. What if that person is still alive? Would they come after us? What if something darker is at play here? Too many questions for my brain to handle at once. My heart is beating fast, and my mouth is drying. A surprisingly loud gurgle from my stomach alerts me to my hunger, which I have forgotten about for a while due to our mission.

  We’re at an intersection, beneath a row of dead traffic lights swaying back and forth in the gentle breeze, when we hear the unmistakable sounds. Sounds of firing guns and following horrified screams. The sounds are distant, but they are distinct enough to know they are screams.

  And something sickening tells me my sister’s is one of them.

  10

  TRAPPED

  “WHAT THE HELL WAS that?” Mikael blurts in front of me as we stop, turning our attention to the chaotic noises. My blood has become cold; I can’t think or move for the moment. I only feel my heart racing, sweat trickling down my palms, running against the handle of my bow, which I have drawn out in reaction. We know exactly what it was…but it’s just the realization of it actually happening that’s rattling.

  “We have to go help them!” I exclaim, feeling my face boil. “My sister is out there!”

  “So is mine! And the rest of my family! We have to go!” Mikael urges. Neither Lena nor Eli are paying us a bit of attention. Lena is staring off to where the gunfire had erupted. She then gazes at Eli who isn’t looking anywhere in particular; he only has an expression of deep thought etched in his crinkled features.

  My body feels heavy enough to drag me beneath ground; my blood has become lead, and I feel as if I’m suffocating. I turn my eyes to the sky and witness the darkness growing. The light is fading, and night is coming. What are we going to do? We just can’t let them die. I’m not going to let that happen.

  The gunfire has stopped. All there is now is an eerie silence. Wind blows dusts through my hair.

  Lena, holding her crossbow, finally turns to Eli.

  “Eli,” Lena says to and says his name to stir some response, but I’ve had it.

  “If you two can’t make up your mind about what’s right here, then I’m going by myself!!” I shout and begin to depart.

  “Don’t,” Eli demands, and the severity in his voice makes me stop, but I don’t look back. “Don’t go, unless you wish to die — you cannot do this alone…We cannot help that they may be in trouble, but we can be smart about this…Right now, we could be watched by the same danger they ran into — ”

  “What does that matter?” I bellow, fed up. “MY SISTER IS OUT THERE! SHE COULD BE DYING! RIGHT NOW!” My face is red and blistering hot.

  “And what exactly are you going to do about it?” Eli questions, cocking his head. “Storm into the ambush with your bow, kill maybe one or two Ravagers, if indeed that is the threat, before being shot to death…And what would that accomplish? Absolutely nothing…No…We must act differently.”

  “So what, then, are you going to do?”

  “We’re first going to get to higher ground, locate their whereabouts, and from there, figure out what we’re up against.”

  I sigh, obviously frustrated with this decision, even if it may be the logical one.

  “Eli is right,” Lena admits with chagrin, “ bursting into to save them now, not knowing what we’re truly up against would be a grave mistake…One that could cost all of our lives…He’s right; we have to be smart about this.”

  Now where to?

  Eli glances my way, and then to Lena. “We’re leaving; this way.”

  …

  We decide our destination to be a-long-since abandoned hotel, which looks more like a business firm with its dull concrete walls ascending into seamless multi-tiers. We’re going to its very top to see if we can spot the other group’s exact whereabouts.

  We’re only about a block away from reaching the building that’s the tallest around, so far — when we hear what sounds like feet pounding against sidewalk. No it is feet pounding against the sidewalk. And whoever it is coming around the corner of the intersection ahead.

  “Get ready,” Lena alerts, and we all raise our weapons; Lena and I nock our bows, Eli lifts the long pistol he found in the duffel he carries and Mikael has a smaller handgun he too found in the black bag of weapons. We’re ready to fire when the figure emerges, but none of us do. We’re all too in shock.

  It isn’t a Ravager. It’s Mason, and from the looks of it, he barely escaped.

  Aside from the familiar dirt and grime covering his body, there are deep stains of what is clearly blood on his shirt, and he’s bleeding from his forehead: not badly, but enough where it could be threatening. His golden hair is plastered to his skin, overlaid in sweat, and he’s the definition of exasperated. Breathing heavily. Beleaguered in every breadth of the word. His widened eyes tell of us of the nightmare he has seen, and for that reason I fear even more for June’s life.

  It looks as if he is going to speak, but before he can even get a word out, he collapses onto the ground — out cold. His short barrel shotgun rolls along the pavement, clinking as it does so.

  Well, shit. What are we supposed to do now?

  Lena reacts immediately. “Eli — help me get him up —we need to first get him somewhere safe, and stave the bleeding…He’s losing too much blood…Rian, go check to see if anyone was following him.”

  “Right,” I say, and I venture around from where he came.

  The street is lined with an assortment of usual businesses: a dilapidated beauty parlor, a jewelry store with busted windows and glinting glass shards everywhere, and a run-down department store are among the few. All of them are completely empty. No sign of anyone, anywhere. But what if they’re not on the ground? What if they’re watching from above?

  Lena calls my name, and I look, seeing that she and Eli need help carrying the man properly. I hurry back and tell them it’s clear. The three of us lift Mason and carry him as if on a stretcher, with Mikael watching out for us ahead by Eli’s orders.

  We don’t get too far until we hear a strange noise rumble in the distance. Whatever it is is coming toward us. Eli tells us to get into the cover of the alleyway near us. The shadows there are dark enough where we won’t be easily seen. Scuffling and breathing hard, we manage to get Mason into the clear, resting him up against the cement wall of the office building in front of us. The rumbling becomes noticeably louder, and grating metal against pavement is now distinguishable.

  “Stay quiet and absolutely still,” Eli warns us, and in those few painstaking moments, I hold my breath. Preparing myself for the worst possible outcome.

  I can feel the sweat collecting beneath the hair around my head, trickling down my neck. The roiling sound begins to the shake the ground and I can feel my bones vibrate as a rusted, battle-scarred tank rolls by, its projecting gun rotating slowly, searching for its next victim.

  A tank! What the hell!? Who are these people? And why the hell do they have a tank? Was this how the others were attacked? God, I hope not. They wouldn’t stand a chance. Maybe, it isn’t loaded; maybe, it’s just for scare tactics. For show. But would we be that lucky?

  Considering facts up until this point, I wouldn’t bet on
it.

  Once the tank is out of sight, its rumbling an echo, we release a collective sigh. Lena whispers something important to Eli. By the sounds of it, she’s just as shocked as I am.

  I squint my eyes, when I think I hear something else. It sounded…like a whistle? What now? Waiting, I can hear a distinct voice now: “Pssst…Pssst!” But where is it coming from?

  Turning cautiously, I gaze around, but there isn’t anyone. Am I seriously losing it?

  “Hey, up here!” someone calls, and all of us look up the metallic stairwell beside us to see a hooded figure staring down at us. He — she — whoever it is — is armed. They’re carrying an assault rifle, but they aren’t aiming at any us. In fact they seem to be gesturing at us to follow them. And in an instant the person disappears upward.