I nod.
“Do you think we have enough time to say our good-byes before we leave?”
“Of course. Our car is back there. We tracked you the rest of the way on foot. The infected that attacked you, we believe confronted us as well, so the sooner we get moving the better.”
While they pack their belongings, I relay the day’s earlier events about how we found Lisa and Hugh, the trap we believe the infected set, and the white house with extra supplies. By the time I finish, both girls are in tears, Deagon and Quinn distressed.
Mason clears his throat. “I don’t mean to be rude, but we need to go. We still have to swing by the house and collect the rest of the supplies before we head to the car. There are infected out there. I want to make sure we have enough daylight.”
“He’s right.” I agree.
“We’re ready. We lost everything when we ran.”
“All right, let’s head out.” I turn to lead everyone out the door.
Quinn carries the bag that holds what little possessions they have. It’s a good thing we showed up when we did. With all their supplies gone, I don’t know how they would have survived the upcoming winter.
A short time later, we’re back at the Palomino Drive house. I show Naveen the babies room, which causes her to shed more tears while she packed items for Gage. Luke packed all the blankets and clothes that were sealed in vacuum packs, making them much easier to travel with. Once we finish, we head out to the hideaway. The dejection covering their faces explains exactly how they feel about returning.
~~~~~~
“Only about a mile to go,” Luke announces.
Everyone released a sigh of relief. Traveling back to the place they were attacked and lost part of their family isn’t easy for them. Deagon trades off with Naveen, carrying Gage in a strap-on baby pack. He’s almost too big for the thing.
We make it to the street that we found Lisa on. Mason glances at me, thinking the same thing. We didn’t need to tell them; they were already dealing with enough loss.
Stuck in my thoughts, I don’t hear the snarls until they’re almost on top of us. There are three of them again. Both Naveen and Sophie scream as they draw closer. Naveen ran toward Deagon to cover Gage by standing in front of him. Mason snags Sophia around the waist, turning her away from the incoming threat. Luke aims his gun and fires, as Mason slams his bat against another, leaving me with one to fend off. This one is female, but just as crazed as the others, leaving me no choice but to punch her in the face. My hand blossom in pain, the blow only pissing her off more. She snaps her jaws and snarls at me.
Luke has his gun trained on us. “Push her away from you! I can’t get a good shot off!”
The female infected is strong, definitely healthier than her comrades, making it difficult to push her away enough to give Luke his shot. Quinn approaches from the left, holding a large branch. He swings, breaking the stick on her back, sending her to the ground where I kick her in the face. Her hands fly out wide, no longer supporting her. Luke walks up and places his foot in the middle of her shoulders, pinning her down. A shot rings out, silencing her.
I survey our surroundings while unhooking my bat from my pack. It was stupid of me to strap it up in the first place. Mason and Deagon are blocking the girls in as much as possible. Sophia still clings to Mason, silently crying. He lowers his guard, quietly talking to her, attempting to calm her down.
“Is everyone all right?” I ask, visually looking over everyone.
Naveen nods. “Yes. Shook up, but we’re good.”
“Were these the infected that came after you?” Luke asks the group.
“The two males were part of that group, but the female wasn’t there. She wasn’t with the ones who attacked us,” Quinn replies.
Luke thinks about what he’s said, storing the information for later. “Let’s keep moving. They may have a den around here. We should get back as soon as possible.”
Once we make it back to the old hideout, we give the others some privacy to say good-bye to their fallen family, while the three of us stand watch. After they say a small prayer, we make our way to the car. Naveen looks quite tired, so I offer her the back of the station wagon. This way, she and the baby can take a nap.
We’re on the road for about ten minutes before I hear light snoring coming from the backseat.
Deagon chuckles. “Gage already snores. Can you imagine how loud he’ll get when he’s older?”
We laugh along with him. All that time, I’d thought it was Naveen creating all the noise. It’s funny to think that such a little guy can cause all that ruckus. Azami is going to get a kick out of him. As of now, she’s the youngest in our group. James, Tony, and Sam are the only other kids we have at the cave, and they’re practically adults now. Tony and Sam’s mother, Jane, lives in the caves as well, only coming out of her room for chores. I don’t know her entire story, but from the small bits and pieces I’ve heard, it wasn’t a good one.
I relax, knowing Luke is behind the wheel. In only a handful of days we’d return home, and I couldn’t wait to see my girls. Having already been away for a good portion of the year, I couldn’t stand this distance. Mason and Luke will have to head up the searches for a while. I want some quality time with my family. Winter supplies will be in high demand. We’ll have more people this year, and nowhere near enough clothing and blankets for us all. Stumbling upon the house on Palomino Drive was a blessing. We were able to find quite a few things for Gage to wear for the winter, including a snow suit, which would work perfect for most days.
The evening swallows the sun, casting us into darkness. The emotions floating around in the car are calm and relaxed. The hard part is over; we’d finally returned for them. Their lives would improve dramatically. Even though we lost Lisa and Hugh, we’d made it back for most of them. A few more days on their lack of supplies, who knows what condition we would have found them in.
I close my eyes, hoping to dream of my girl again.
~~~~
“Shit!” Mason roars, waking me up. “Get down!”
Instead, everyone in the car shoots up in their seats. The image that meets us is something I won’t soon forget. Still moving easily at forty miles an hour, we slam into the infected appearing in the middle of the road. We skid sideways, Mason trying to control the car from catching and flipping us. The panicked cries in the car are almost as loud as the pounding of my heart.
Finally, the car comes to a complete stop. Heavy breathing fills the silence around us, until a face slams into my window, teeth snapping against the glass. His skin looks like rubber, stretching and tearing apart, showing his teeth through his rotted cheek. His boney fingers join in his frantic pursuit as he tries to climb through the window.
“Let’s go!” I shout.
Through the darkness, I can make out at least six more infected, not including the one at my window. The ones we’d hit are regaining their senses and heading for the car, broken limbs hanging limp at their sides as they advance.
Mason turns the car over several times with no luck. “Fuck! It won’t start!” He looks through the rearview mirror, looking panicked. Even though we have a gun, our ammo is limited. We’d already fired most of the rounds we brought with us, not near enough to take out the group surrounding us. Exiting the vehicle was suicide, but was beginning to become our only option.
Luke pulls his gun out. “I have three rounds left.”
A fourth infected joins in, beating at the windows, painting the glass with its secretions. Gage begins to scream, enticing the monsters even more. The longer we wait, our chances of survival dwindle. Glancing at Luke and Mason, I find we’ve all come to the same conclusion. Luke starts rustling through the glove box and under the front seat. Pulling out a screwdriver from the dash and a crowbar from under the seat, he hands me the screwdriver.
“Mason, get this fucking car started!” Resigned to what we have to do, I prepare to exit the car. “Luke, let’s do this!”
�
��Ian! Don’t you dare!” Mason yells at me as I grab the handle. Luke moves to follow. Mason’s known me long enough to know that when my mind is made up, there is no changing it. What other choice do we have?
Ignoring Mason’s protests, I attempt to open my door. The rest of the group is just now figuring out our plan, kill or be killed, and start to shout all at once. Blocking them out, I move closer, until Naveen starts clawing onto my back.
“You can’t go out there!” she screams, heaving on my shirt, trying to keep me in the car.
“We have no other choice!” I yell back at her. Does she think I want to go out there and risk everything again?
“I’m coming too.” Quinn insists, moving to exit.
“No!” Luke and I say in unison.
“We don’t have enough weapons.” Luke informs, knowing he doesn’t have the experience either.
By this time, all the infected have now reached the car. The entire vehicle rocks, the windows covered with blood and slime from their fingers and mouths. I pump myself up, taking in a few quick breaths I count out loud, so Luke can follow my lead.
“One! Two! Three!”
I slam the door into the infected at my window, knocking it to the ground. Another larger infected takes its place, standing over six feet tall. This is by far the largest infected I’ve ever seen. Luke takes aim and blows the back of his head out. He goes down. Seconds later, two more shots ring through the air. Luke’s finished off his last rounds, and I can’t help the fear that crawls up my spine. We’re surrounded. As soon as the big guy fell, another stepped over his body. I waste no time and slam the screwdriver into his skull. The creature trips over the big guy’s body, catapulting himself to the ground, smashing his head so hard his jaw separates from his face. Turning around, I slam by bat into another’s head, blowing brains out of its skull. There’s no time for recovering, as the one I’d knocked down begins clawing at my leg. With a sickening suction sound, I drill the screwdriver into its eye socket. An animalistic cry bellows out of my mouth as I repeatedly stab the infected, blood and goo splashing onto my face.
Lost in my frenzy, I’d forgotten Luke. I whip around to find him battling off the last two. He smashes one in the head, leaving himself wide open to the other. Time moves like molasses, as the infected smashes into him, taking him to the ground.
“No!” I yell, giving the infected pause.
Instead of consuming him there, he grabs his foot and takes off running, dragging a half-unconscious Luke behind him.
“I don’t fucking think so!” I take chase.
“Ian!” Mason yells at me as I run in front of the car.
I’m not stopping. They weren’t taking another one of us. The infected may have lost all humanity and cognitive sense, but they gained in speed and strength. It’s fast, dragging Luke a good block before I tackle it from behind. It falls forward, letting Luke go, but turns mid-fall. Somehow, I’m able to get my screwdriver in-between its mouth and my neck, stopping it from taking a chunk out of me, but leaving me with no weapon. Luke’s still moaning on the ground next to us, no help to me. This infected is strong, but still unhealthy. Its skin practically drips off his body. All my anger surfaces. We’ve lost too much because of these creatures.
Growling out my frustrations, I smash my fist into its neck. A wet pop sounds as my fist enters its flesh. Wrapping my hands around the jagged bone, I pull hard. The infected screams, but goes silent seconds later as his esophagus is ripped out of his body, dripping sludge.
Breathing heavily, I stay motionless on top of the Infected, still hanging onto his throat bone.
“Ian?” Luke touches my shoulder, causing me to jump. “You all right, man?”
I drop the bloody body part on the grass and wipe my hands and face as best I can. “Yeah.” I reply, but don’t know how truthful my statement is. Who’d have thought our lives would turn out like this. I close my eyes and try to shake off the overwhelming sense of doom. How did I expect to raise my daughter in a world like this?
Luke pats my shoulder, understanding. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
Looking down, my clothing is covered in blood and grime.
Mason walks up and stands next to us. “Fuck,that was brutal. You okay?” He directs his question to the both of us.
I turn to Luke, more concerned about him. “You all right, bro?”
“Fine. Fucker got the jump on me,” he mutters, rubbing at his ankle.
“How’s everyone in the car?” I ask Mason. After witnessing the attack on their house, this is probably dredging up memories that are better left forgotten.
“Shaken up, but I think they’re fine.”
“Let’s work on the car. It’s the only way we’ll get all the supplies home. Mason, why don’t you two figure out what’s going on with the car, while I clean all this shit off me. Luke, you need to keep your weight off that ankle.”
They nod, and Mason helps Luke over to the front of the car, removing his boot. We need to get the hell out of here, and fast.
While I clean up, I keep an eye out for any other infected. We know now that they travel in packs; we’ve rarely stumbled across one alone. Opening the back of the car, I grab an extra set of clothes. Naveen stares at me in horror.
Closing the tailgate, I strip out of my sopping clothes, then soak a rag with some water from the back of the car and wipe myself down. Vanity is far from my mind, but I don’t want to scare the others like this for the rest of the trip.
Once I’m cleaned up, I round the front of the car, just as Mason pops the hood. Luke’s still sitting in the passenger seat, wrapping his ankle.
Quinn climbs out of the backseat, coming around to the front to help. “I used to work on cars. I can help.”
“Everyone needs to stay in the car.” Luke states. “There’s a possibility that there are more of them. It’s safer in the car.” He grunts as he ties off his ankle, then hobbles around to join us.
I make sure to keep an eye out while they inspect under the hood.
“Well, here’s your problem, right here.” Quinn reaches in and pulls an arm out. It releases with a sickening suction, then pop. He tosses it aside. “The fingers were shoved under the battery cables. Let me clean these off.” Quinn sets to wiping the cables clean before securing the battery again. “Go ahead, give her a try.”
Mason climbs in and turns the key. The car purrs to life, as if there hadn’t been a human hand stuck under the hood. Quinn finishes cleaning up the bits and pieces of human remains littering the engine.
Once he’s finished, he slams the hood down and wipes his hands together, attempting to clean them. When he’s satisfied, he climbs in the back with the rest of us. Luke takes his seat in the front.
I can’t wait until we make it home. Only a half a day’s drive remains.
Chapter 8
Lillie
“Do you mind if I take Azami to school today? Jen’s taking us to identify plants and berries before the test she put together,” James asks, already helping her with her shoes.
“Sure. It’s never too early for her to learn those kinds of things. In fact, I’m going join you.” I slip on my own shoes.
James and Azami’s faces light up. “That’d be great.”
“Yay, Momma’s coming!”
I smile at their enthusiasm. “This is something I think we will all benefit from learning.”
We gather a few bags for berry picking, then head toward Jen’s makeshift classroom. Sam and Tony are already there waiting, having the same idea to bring bags for the berries.
“Morning, boys.” I smile at them. They mostly keep to themselves, taking after their mother, but they’re sweet kids.
“Good morning, Lillie,” Tony replies, looking a little shy.
“Nice to see so many faces today,” Jen shouts, happily.
“We thought we would come get a lesson too,” I inform her.
“Well, all right! If everyone’s ready, let’s go!”
&nb
sp; She leads the way out of the swimming cave. We’d added extra reinforcements since the infected were spotted. Extra shifts are now pulled to add more logs to our fence, reinforcing its solidity. Jeff still lurks in the shadows, a silent threat against the life we’ve built. He has intimate knowledge of the cave and its surroundings. Before, the infected lost their sanity, but we still don’t know enough about them. He could still retain his memory. An infected that knew every inch of these caves intimately was a living nightmare. We’ve already lived through one of those with the flash, we definitely don’t want a repeat. Jeff was a gifted tracker and hunter. If he uses those skills against us, it would be a disaster.
The climate in Oregon allows many types of berries to grow. Most I can recognize easily: blueberries, blackberries, elderberries, salmonberries, and huckleberries. Most of these grow in abundance around us, blossoming toward the end of summer and into fall. The ferns, trees, and weeds are a little harder to decipher. These included fiddleheads, fern fronds, dandelions, nettles, cattails, chicory, and even the inner bark of certain trees, such as cottonwood, Douglas fir, and hemlock, which are all edible.
“How do you know so much about this stuff?” I ask Jen as the boys chip away at a Douglas fir to check out the bark underneath. Azami is right next to them, watching with curiosity.
Jen’s face saddens. “My brother was a scout. When he got older, the hobby seemed to stick, so he researched more on the edible plants in different areas.” She pauses. “He didn’t make it.”
“I’m sorry.” The words are meaningless in the world we live in.
“I spoke to him on the phone before we headed to the caves. He said to leave him, to not come looking for him. He’d been infected and had blisters on his neck. Our parents died a few years before the flash in a car accident. He was the only family I had left.”
Rarely do I hear Jen talk about her brother. I’d figured he hadn’t made it after the flash. I reach over and wrap my arm around her shoulder. This is our new family. We come from different cities and states, but found a bond that’s unbreakable.
Flash Series (Book 2): Immune Page 5
