Elixir (Red Plague #1) (Red Plague Trilogy)

by Abner, Anna

  “We’re not going to make it into downtown tonight,” he said, eyeballing the high rises in the distance. “And there will be more zombies in the city. We should find a place to sleep around here while we still can.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Are you sure?” Anxiety peaked inside me. I didn’t want to spend another night without meeting my goal. “Can’t we give it a try? We might make it downtown in the next couple hours, and then we could sleep in the lab.”

  Pollard shook his head. “It’ll take longer than a couple hours on foot pushing the bikes. What if a Red corners us after dark? It’s too dangerous. We’ll sleep there.” He pointed down the highway toward a shopping center at the next freeway exit.

  I wanted to argue, but he was right. Damn it. No matter how much I needed to get to my dad’s lab, we had to do it safely. What was the point of going through all this if I died before I found the cure?

  We walked the bikes along the edge of the I–40, no one saying much of anything anymore. It was too hot and depressing to play games.

  Pollard parked his Kawasaki on a strip of sandy earth between a thrift store and a car lot.

  The front doors of the re-sell shop were smashed and twisted open. I stepped inside, avoiding glass and forgotten knick-knacks. This store had been looted too, but a lot of things remained, symbols of everything that had once been important. Sofas, dining sets, and framed art. No guitars, though. Not that I could have carried one on Pollard’s dirt bike anyway.

  The whole place smelled of shoes and sour Chinese food.

  “Stay in sight and be quiet,” Pollard ordered, giving a military hand signal for us to move inside.

  Russell headed for the back wall, but I bee-lined for the clothes section. Scratching at my ribs, itchy with sweat, I searched for a pair of clean pants and a less constrictive tank top.

  Still carrying her Saddle Club doll on her chest, Hunny ran straight for the gently used toy area. She got real quiet as she studied each colorful, plastic plaything.

  “Pollard,” Russell said. “I found camping gear, but there’s only one tent. And it’s small.”

  “Good.” Pollard tested the weight of a cast iron skillet. “The ladies will have shelter tonight. You and I will rough it.”

  I chose a pair of dark blue jeans and held them to my hips. “Pick out new clothes,” I told Hunny. “It’s easier than doing laundry.” There wasn’t enough clean water to wash our bodies every day, let alone our clothes and bedding. “Shoes, too.”

  She ignored me, so I chose khakis and T-shirts for her. I picked out fresh blue jeans, a white top, plus clean socks and underwear for myself. I stared longingly at the shorts, but if I didn’t wear long pants my sword would cut my legs when I ran.

  And then I chose a second outfit to pack into my bag for later. I was like a kid in a candy store with daddy’s wallet. Though all the shopping should’ve made me happy, I couldn’t manage it. I only needed new clothes because my entire life, the whole world, was thoroughly screwed.

  “Cool, clothes.” Pollard rummaged through the menswear rack across from the shirts I was sorting.

  He picked up a pair of ski pants that had fallen on the ground. A giant rat cowered in fear at being discovered. I squealed, rising up on my tiptoes. The disgusting thing scurried for cover under a sofa bed.

  A scream bubbled up from my chest. I tossed away the clothes in my arms and hobbled for the entrance. No way was I messing with rats. Spiders I could handle. Wild dogs I could reason with. But freaking rats? No, no, no.

  I didn’t stop fleeing until I stood in the bed of an abandoned pickup truck, panting for air and covered in goose bumps.

  Pollard, Russell, and Hunny exited more calmly, each wearing new clothes and shoes.

  “I think these are safe,” Pollard said, dumping a load of clothing in the truck at my feet. Grinning, he asked, “You don’t like mice?”

  “That was a rat,” I corrected, folding my arms. “And I don’t know anyone who likes rats. They’re filthy. And they bite.” Plus their tails were creepy and they had black eyes.

  Still smiling, Pollard lifted a lacy pink cocktail dress, the most hideous, backwoods prom dress ever made, from the pile.

  “It’s for you,” he said.

  I tried really hard not to make a face. “Thanks, but it’s a little impractical.”

  “So?” He shook it out. “It’s pretty.”

  If you say so. “Did you pick up the tank tops I found?” I sifted through the pile, less worried about vermin outside.

  “Uh.” He pushed aside a parka and a lone leather sandal. “I think so.”

  I pulled out the clothes I wanted to keep, plus a pair of cotton pajama bottoms.

  Pollard glanced up the side of the thrift shop. “I think we can climb on the roof and spend the night. It’ll be safe up there.”

  It was maybe the securest place I’d been since I’d left my house. If I weren’t in such a hurry to get to Raleigh I wouldn’t have minded living on a roof permanently. Or in a high-rise apartment complex.

  It would be a lot of work, of course, clearing the infected out of a place like that and securing the ground floor to prevent future attacks. But if a multi-floor building could be controlled, it was the best possible shelter. And I could loot all the apartments for food, water, and toiletries. I got a warm, fuzzy feeling at the very idea of settling somewhere safe.

  “I’ll lift you girls up.” Pollard stepped onto the cab of the truck and scrambled onto the roof in a pull-up fashion. A moment later, he reappeared over the side, both arms outstretched. “Toss up the bedding first. And then the supplies.”

  I did as he asked, passing him everything we’d need to spend the night and the next morning on a roof. Plus my private possessions.

  I boosted Hunny up into his arms and then took both his hands in mine. He held firm, and I had no doubt he’d keep me from falling. Pollard was that kind of person. He’d protect and defend to his last breath. I used my feet to walk up, and he lifted me the rest of the way, but he wobbled off balance at the last second. We landed in a tangled heap on the gravel roof. I didn’t move right away, feeling the hard planes and sharp angles of his body against mine.

  His breath puffed against my cheek. “Did I hurt you?”

  I swallowed, not sure how to delicately disentangle myself. “I don’t think so.”

  With a slightly embarrassed look, and an arm locked around my ribs, he rose to his feet and steadied me. “I’ll work on dinner,” he said, snatching up two backpacks and marching away.

  “Do you need any help?” I called.

  Pollard didn’t answer and I took that as a yes. So, I left Hunny and Russell to make the beds and crossed the roof to where Pollard was sorting his cooking supplies.

  “Nothing fresh,” I observed. After only two hot meals I was already spoiled again.

  He gingerly set a sheathed knife atop a stainless steel frying pan. “There’s not enough time to go hunting. And I don’t want to risk it, anyway. I’m not familiar with this area.”

  “So, what’s your plan?” If it wasn’t eaten with a spoon from a tin can I didn’t know how to make it.

  “A stovetop casserole.” He showed me a can of chicken chunks. “I’ll mix a couple different things together.”

  I wasn’t sure I’d ever had it before, but it sounded delicious.

  “Will you open these and drain the liquid while I start the fire?” Pollard pushed a can opener and cans of chicken and black beans at me.

  “Okay.” I cranked off the lid of the can of black beans first. Careful not to spill anything, I carried it to the edge of the roof and tipped back my head, swallowing the sweet and salty fluid. After suffering a day and night from dehydration, it was too good to waste.

  Movement at the far side of the parking lot caught my eye.

  Ben had found me, and a thrill crackled along my nerve endings.

  “Don’t spill any,” Pollard warned.

  I startled, nearly dropping
the whole can onto the pavement below. But I saved it at the last second and, not sure what to say, returned it to Pollard.

  “Here you go.” I picked up the next two cans and carried them to the roof’s threshold.

  Ben was on the move now, edging closer to our position, but he didn’t seem to be in much of a hurry for a guy on the hunt. He must have run all day to keep up with us.

  “You got those cans drained?” Pollard asked. “The pot’s ready.”

  “Uh. One second.” I opened and then swallowed the fluid from the last two cans while keeping an eye on Ben. He wasn’t behaving aggressively. It was impossible for him to climb. And because he was harmless down there in the parking lot I didn’t tell Pollard about our zombie tagalong. He’d go off again about Ben hunting me and how dangerous he was.

  “I need those ingredients,” Pollard said.

  I scurried back across the roof.

  Chapter Fifteen

  We ate as a family would, as my family had before my mom died, gathered around Pollard’s one pot meal of chicken, black beans, stewed tomatoes, and white rice seasoned with garlic and cumin. It was very good, made even better because Pollard had created it out of practically nothing, and it reminded me why shared meals had been so special. Before the red plague.

  “Good food, man,” Russell declared, patting his stomach after finishing two servings. “I need a smoke.”

  “I’m glad you liked it, but you can’t disappear yet,” Pollard said, scooping a last bite straight from the pan. “You’re going to help me clean up.”

  The teen groaned and scrubbed at his stubbly red hair, but he picked up the dirty disposable plates and silverware, piled it onto the skillet, and followed Pollard to the makeshift kitchen.

  “I like them,” Hunny said, dropping her head into my lap for a cuddle.

  Finger-combing her delicate curls, I said, “Me too.” They’d proven their trustworthiness. “You’ll be happy living with them.”

  “We’ll be happy.” She glanced up at me. “Right, Maya?”

  No. But she’d found stability and security with Pollard’s group and I didn’t want to scare her by telling her I was leaving first chance I got.

  Though, who knew, would she even miss me when I left?

  The day before, I’d been thrilled to discover a new group for Hunny, but it hadn’t occurred to me then that she might bond to me. We’d only known each other for a day. The more time I spent with her, though, the more attached she became. We became.

  I’d miss her when I left.

  “Time to make camp.” I urged her onto her feet.

  The roof was flat and wide, broken only by air conditioning and heating ducts and some kind of electrical panel. I claimed a spot, as good as any, out in the open and prepared a bed.

  I’d never slept communally before. This felt exposed and vulnerable.

  I worried I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep unless I was hemmed in by four walls. But this isolated spot away from everyone else at least gave me the illusion of solitude. I spread a thin blanket over the gritty roofing.

  “Maya, sleep in the tent with Hunny.” Pollard shook his head at my handiwork. “We got it for you.”

  “I like sleeping by myself.” Being snuggled to death by Hunny for the next nine hours or so sounded like torture.

  He groaned something unintelligible under his breath, and then declared to the whole roof, “Maya, you are the most stubborn person I’ve ever met. I’m trying to take care of you.”

  My cheeks flushed hot, and I watched him march across to the opposite side of the roof. I didn’t get what the big deal was. Why did he care where I slept? I didn’t have to sleep at all, if that were my choice. None of this was his business.

  “Well,” I returned loudly, “I never asked you to!”

  “I want to,” he shouted back. With quick, abrupt movements he laid out his blue tarp and piled it with jackets and bedding.

  Hunny threw her arms around Pollard’s waist and held on tight. “Please don’t fight,” she whined.

  “Nobody’s fighting.” He massaged her narrow shoulders. “I’m just frustrated. Go make your bed in the tent.”

  I stared at Pollard’s back as I attempted to form logical thoughts. I’d been taking care of myself for so long I wasn’t sure why anyone would even want to worry about me anymore. I had things covered. But something had upset Pollard, which strangely upset me, too. Apart from the kissing snafu, he’d been generous and kind and I’d inadvertently irritated him.

  I glanced at the spot I’d chosen for my bed. Maybe I could try something new. Hunny was a good cuddler, sort of like a breathing teddy bear.

  “Come on, Hunny.” I picked up my bedding and led her inside the green polyester dome. “I’ll help you.”

  “Try to sleep.” Pollard said. “We’ll leave at first light.” His mattress made of coats rustled as he settled upon it. “Wake me if you hear anything.”

  I created a pallet inside the tent with sweaters and some extra clothes. It wasn’t so bad. It wasn’t anything like a real bed in an actual house, but it was more comfortable than the walk-in had been the night before.

  Hunny slid in beside me and wiggled around, catching me in the ribs with her elbow. Probably not on purpose.

  And then, just as I’d feared, she threw an arm and a leg over my midsection. The temperature in the dome tent ticked up a few degrees. I lay very still to counteract her body heat and listened to all the sounds around us.

  The birds must have settled down for the night, too, but several noisy cicadas buzzed in the trees below, reminding me not every living thing had been infected and gone mad. No footsteps, though. No doors opened or closed. No sound from the parking lot reached me at all.

  Without any streetlights or house lights to ease us into night it got dark fast. Soon after the sun passed behind the horizon it was full dark.

  I curled on my left, punched my jacket pillow, and then turned on my right side. Blowing hair from my eyes, I faced Hunny, who couldn’t sleep either, apparently, and put my finger to my lips.

  I signed, “M-e p-e-e.”

  She frowned, and then figured out what I was communicating and nodded.

  I dug the bag of beef jerky from my pack, attached my sword to my belt, and motioned for her to stay put. Where it was safe. She spread out onto my half of our pallet, essentially stealing my spot. I’d have to wrestle her out of it when I returned.

  Before I descended I checked that Pollard and Russell were at least trying to fall asleep. All I could see in the moonlight were two shapes beneath the AC vent. But neither shifted when I zipped the tent closed.

  I climbed down to ground level, falling the last five feet or so onto my rear end on the cab of the truck we’d used as a ladder.

  “Maya?” Pollard called out. “Is that you?”

  Crap. “I have to go pee,” I said, hoping he’d allow me some privacy and not follow me into the parking lot. It wasn’t that I was sneaking around, not exactly, but if Pollard saw Ben again he’d be pissed. He’d lecture me on carrying a gun. And I just wanted to get another look at Ben without making a big fuss about it.

  Pollard didn’t respond, and I pressed on with my plan.

  It was dark and silent on the ground, nothing but the wind whistling through the buildings making any noise at all. I must have startled the cicadas with my tumble off the roof.

  Before the virus, it had been a bright and busy shopping center. Now, it was another symbol of all the human race had achieved, and all we had lost.

  Something moved on the opposite edge of the building. A shape appeared. A Red. I did what I wasn’t supposed to. Alone and unarmed, I edged closer.

  I reached the end of the sidewalk and circled Ben, giving him about fifteen feet of space, until I crunched through a patch of dry grass.

  He plucked a small water bottle from his trouser pocket, showed it to me, and then rolled it across the grass. It bounced off my foot.

  “Is that for me?” I pick
ed it up. Still sealed. Clean and fresh. “That’s funny because I brought you something, too.” I tossed the packet of beef jerky like a Frisbee, and Ben caught it one-handed.

  “You must be hungry,” I whispered.

  He sniffed the bag, but didn’t open it.

  I, however, twisted the cap off the bottle and took a long drink. “Thanks,” I said, wiping water from my mouth with the back of my hand and then tucked the bottle under my arm for later.

  “Do you remember music, Ben?” I glanced at the name embroidered on the breast of his dark navy work shirt. “Is that even your name?” It was always possible the shirt belonged to someone else.

  But Reds didn’t seem to care about fashion. It was more likely I’d see one wear the same outfit until it rotted off. So, Ben probably wasn’t wearing found clothes. He’d been a mechanic once. Or a janitor, maybe. An appliance repairman?

  His red eyes bored into me as he shuffled to see me more fully, the jerky pouch dangling from his left hand.

  “I’ve been writing a new song. It’s a little sad,” I admitted. “But maybe it’s appropriate. Maybe that’s what I am. Depressed.” I cleared my throat. “Way down here,” I warbled, “I disappear. My heart hurts when you leave.” I closed my eyes briefly. “I don’t know. It needs work, obviously. But it’s starting to come together. I just need a good chorus.”

  Exhaustion settled over me like wet clothes. I hadn’t exactly been sleeping well the last couple nights and running from that toy store pack had drained me. I knelt in the grass, and then lay flat on my back.

  Above me an endless ocean of stars stretched to the horizon. There hadn’t been this many stars visible in the sky in a long, long time. It made me feel small and silly to worry so much about the virus when my whole world was a speck in a very big sky.

  I heard a rustle and flinched, grabbing the hilt of my sword, my heart kicking into panic mode. But, no. Ben laid down, still keeping three yards between us, and turned his face toward me.