Painted Red

by Kelsey D. Garmendia

  Recently, a handful of our safe zones have gone rogue. Fort Ticonderoga, we have just learned, has been destroyed. No survivors have yet been reported. We urge all citizens to stay where they are. Do not attempt to venture out. The National Guard along with the assistance of other military branches will be combing through the areas surrounding Fort Ticonderoga. We will make America safe again. We will keepyou safe again.”

  There’s applause and then the first man returns. “Please stayed tuned to this radio station for further information. God bless and stay safe.”

  “They know about the fort,” Doc says looking up at me. “Do we stay?”

  No survivors. Was Fort Ticonderoga one of the rouge forts? Does this mean it’s over?

  “I think we should,” Two says. “They’re coming. Either way. They’ll be able to help us.”

  “Do we stop medical runs?” Joshua says.

  “What about hunting trips?”

  The chatter doesn’t drown out my racing heart or screaming thoughts. I have to find my family—and I have to find them now.

  Breathe Again

  I trudge through the frigid winter air looking for movement anywhere. Hayley and Aisley have got to be out here somewhere. It’s been two weeks since the explosion. I never saw that group of fort dwellers again.

  “Hayles, come on,” I whisper. “Please—”

  “Freeze.”

  I feel the small round tip of a muzzle poke into the back of my head.

  “Ok, all right,” I say putting my hands up. “I can already tell you’re not a wendigo—”

  “A what?”

  “A cannibal—whatever you call them.”

  “You mean those things in the wild?” the voice says.

  “Yeah,” I respond. “You wouldn’t carry a pistol around if you were—not now anyway—and you can put a sentence together.” The muzzle depresses from my head. I turn to see a soiled white t-shirt and army fatigues on his lower half. My heart sputters in my chest.

  “You’re from the fort?”

  “Tristan!” a voice calls from somewhere in the woods.

  “I’m going to leave you here alive. Don’t make me regret it.”

  “No please,” I say grabbing his arm. “Answer my question first!” He swings his pistol into my cheekbone leaving a fresh cut in my flesh. I hold my hand up to my face and feel the wetness of blood. Shit.

  He takes off in the opposite direction. After I regain my composure, I follow him. The tree branches whip against my face as I sprint after him. The gap between us grows as he gets closer to the highway. “Please! Wait!”

  An arm shoots out in front of my throat. It catches me in the windpipe and sends me on my back in an instant. The sharp tip of a blade presses into my neck. I close my eyes, expecting that death has finally caught up to me. I shouldn’t have followed that kid. I should’ve let him run off—

  “Oh my god,” a girl’s voice says. A voice that brings back a flood of memories. Memories that I stuffed under layers and layers of walls just so I could survive. I force my eyes open. “Oh my god.”

  “Hayles?”

  “This isn’t real,” she says squeezing her eyes shut. “Don’t look at him. Don’t let yourself fall for this.”

  “Hayles,” I say pushing the blade from my neck. She’s almost unrecognizable; her body swims in the clothes she wears, her face is littered in bruises and raw wounds, but her eyes—those two brown eyes staring back at me only confirm that she’s real. “I never thought I would see you again.” I grip her hand letting the roughness of my palm warm her skin.

  She flinches and draws her machete out again. “Don’t touch me,” she yells. “I still don’t know if I even believe you are who I think you are.”

  “I-I’m sorry,” I respond letting my hand fall limply against my side.

  “What did you say to me?”

  “I said I was sorry—”

  “No,” she says holding the tip of the blade against my chest. “What did you say to me when you left me at the fort?”

  “You have to go here,” I start. The only memory I thought would’ve disappeared by now fills my head in a wave of guilt. “I’ll be back for you soon. I love you, Hayles. Always have, always will.” The machete falls from my throat. I hear it clatter to the forest’s floor.

  “Xavier?” Her chest rises and falls rapidly. She collapses into my arms and squeezes around my shoulders. “You’re not dead. I knew you weren’t dead.”

  I close my arms around her and feel her heart thump against my chest. Something feels off though. My heartbeat matches hers. I push her behind me and draw my bow. “Run.”

  That’s when the growling starts.

  Blood Thirst

  “Shit,” the boy called Tristan says. “Your cheekbone!”

  “Every wendigo in the area probably smells the blood,” I say. I cover my ears to prevent the roaring growl from disorienting me. “I have a place we can go, but it’s pretty far from here,” I say picking up Hayley’s machete from the ground. “Where’s Aisley?”

  “In a car on the highway,” she responds. “Follow me.” She takes off up the hill towards the road with Tristan close on her heels. I follow them trying to smother the growling by digging my palms into my ears.

  Hayley scales the hill followed by Tristan. I look over my shoulder and catch a glimpse of movement in the trees. “Go!” I yell, clawing my way up the frozen dirt. Something grabs my leg and pulls me back. I kick my foot several times, but the wendigo won’t let go.

  Hayley leaps from the top of the hill and tackles it off of me. She slams her machete deep into its skull and pulls it out. The wendigo’s body jolts and then collapses.

  “Hayley!” Tristan’s voice yells from the top of the hill. I watch him aim towards her and release an arrow directly into the head of another wendigo lunging at her.

  I run to her and pull her by the arm until we’re over the hill and on the pavement. A car speeds up along side of us. Hayley pulls open the door and shoves me into the back. Tristan jumps into the passenger side door and slams it behind him.

  “Mom!” a voice yells from the car.

  “Keep your head down, Nolan!”

  The growling fills the cabin of the car. Hayley struggles against the wendigos hands. One grips onto her backpack and pulls her from the car. “No!”

  I grip the handle of her machete and swing down on it’s wrist. It lets out a howling screech and sprints off. I pull Hayley into the car and close the door behind her. She rolls onto her back. “Drive!”

  The car jerks forwards and speeds off away from the group of wendigos pouring out from the forest. It’s silent for a moment aside from everyone’s heavy breathing.

  “God dammit, Mom!” the girl’s voice screams. “Why do you have to keep taking these ridiculous risks?”

  “Aisley—”

  “You never find any trace of him! The only sign he’s alive is a stupid tree carving!”

  “Aisley—”

  “You could’ve gotten killed—”

  “Aisley?” I say. She looks in the rearview mirror at me. She squints at first and then, her eyes go wide. The car squeals to a stop in the middle of the highway.

  “Tristan,” she whispers. “Is there someone else in the backseat of this car?”

  “Yes,” he responds.

  “Who is it?”

  “I think his name is Xavier.”

  Aisley lets out a half whimper and tightens her grip on the steering wheel. Before I can get a word out, she unbuckles her seatbelt and flings herself from the car. “Aisley!” I say, following her outside.

  She paces in front of the car mumbling the entire time. I reach out and graze her shoulder. She turns and slaps me across the face. “Do you have any idea how long we’ve waited for you!”

  “Yes I do,” I respond holding my cheek. “Five years and twenty-six days.”

  “How could you leave us there!” She flails punches in my direction. I hold my hands up blocking her shots. />
  “Aisley, stop it!” I grip both of her wrists. Tristan comes from behind her and pins her arms to her side. She shoots her legs out and kicks me in the stomach.

  “Aisley, chill out!” Tristan yells squeezing her tighter.

  “You’re the reason Mom is so fucked up!” she screams. “It was because you left us there!”

  “Aisley!” I shout. She flinches at the loudness of my voice. “I’m sorry. It was the only thing I could do to save your’s and Hayley’s lives.” Her bottom lip starts to tremble. She lets her head sink to her chest and sobs.

  “Do you want me to take you somewhere safe?” She nods her head and goes limp in Tristan’s arms. She swipes tears from her face and pushes her dirty blonde hair from her forehead.

  I turn back to the car and hear footsteps barrel toward me. Arms tighten around my midsection and a wave of Aisley’s hair brushes against my skin. “I never thought I would see you again. Thank you for sticking around.”

  “We’re still not safe yet.” I look up at Hayley and see her talking to someone in the back part of the car. “Who’s Hayley talking to?”

  “I’m gonna let her explain that one to you.”

  “I can drive,” Tristan says walking past us. He climbs into the driver’s seat and Aisley walks around the other side of the car to sit next to him. I climb into the backseat and close the door behind me.

  “Keep heading north,” I respond. “There’s a bare strip of land where you’ll get off. I’ll tell you when.”

  Tristan nods his head and puts the car in drive. Aisley turns around in the front seat and clears her throat. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be crying, and I shouldn’t have kicked you—or punched you—or slapped you—”

  “Don’t worry about it Aisley.”

  “Xavier, there’s something else you should know about.” She leans over the backseat and whispers something. A body wiggles out from under blankets in the far back of the SUV. A boy with dark hair and blue eyes pops up.

  “Hi, what’s your name little man?” I stretch out my hand for a handshake.

  The boy cowers away from me and whispers into Hayley’s ear. “It’s all right,” she responds. “He’s one of the good guys.”

  “Nolan,” he responds in a tiny voice.

  “Nolan, this is your father.”

  My heart pings around in my chest. I stare at the little boy in front of me and watch a smile spread across his face. “Dad!” he squeals and throws his arms around me.

  “How—” I wrap an arm around him.

  “The hotel,” she says.

  “I wasn’t even thinking—”

  “You think I was? The fort kept us both alive.”

  “You’ve been through a lot more than you could imagine, Nolan,” I whisper. Nolan pulls away and smiles a grin with two missing teeth. “Where’d your teeth go?”

  “They fell out!” he says. “Mom says that’s what happens when you get older.”

  “Your teeth!” Hayley says grabbing my face and opening my mouth. “You were missing teeth—”

  “I’ll explain everything once we get back to the house,” I respond pulling her hands away. “Just let me get you all safe first. Please.”

  Family Portrait

  “Two, I’m coming in with a car and four individuals,” I say into the radio. Tristan’s eyes dart around the forest as we turn onto a dirt driveway.

  “Copy that.”

  The gates open up in front of us as Tristan inches towards them. “This is where you’ve been staying?” Hayley says. She looks out the front window at the white pillars of the house.

  “Yes, but I’ve been gone for a good part of a month looking for you. Only came back here to sleep.”

  “This place reminds me of homes fromThe Stepford Wives,” Aisley says.

  Two walks down from the front steps with a rifle strapped to his chest. Hayley pulls out her machete and pushes herself in front of Nolan.

  “Woah, woah,” I say pushing her back. “What are you doing?”

  “He has a gun!”

  “Trust me, he won’t hurt us,” I say pushing the blade away. I roll down the window and stick my head out. “Hey Two.”

  “Four people?” he says shaking his head. “She ain’t gonna be happy about this.”

  “It’s my family, Two.”

  His eyes go wide taking in everyone in the car. “Holy shit,” he says putting his hands on his hips. “You found them.”

  “Found me is more like it,” I respond. “Listen, I’ve got a fresh cut from a pistol whip. I need to go in last.”

  “Ok,” he responds holding his rifle. “The rest of your family needs to go through medical screening followed by yourself.”

  “No.” Two and myself look to Hayley and frown. “Xavier is not staying back. We do this together.”

  “It’s just our procedure—”

  “I don’t give a damn, Xavier. I’ve been separated from everyone long enough.”

  “Hayles,” I say taking her face in my palms. “I promise. They won’t hurt you or take you away.”

  “I’m sorry Xavier, but that’s not good enough anymore.” She looks past me at Two with a different light in her eyes. I can see years flash by in one huge blur. Something horrible happened to her time and time again inside those walls. Whatever it was, it changed her into a twisted version of her old self.

  * * *

  “They’re all clean,” Doc says coming from the back room. He dabs a cotton ball into peroxide and presses it against my cheekbone. “Your girl is in need of some care. She’s pretty banged up.”

  “How bad?” The door to the bathroom opens and Hayley comes out of the doorway. I catch a glimpse of a blackened bruises and deep-red scabs alongside her ribs. She looks to me and throws on a smile.

  “You gonna watch me shower too?” Aisley’s voice echoes through the foyer. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Perv.” Joshua walks out with red cheeks.

  Tristan comes out from the bathroom at the opposite end of the hall with clothes two sizes too big for him. He clears his throat and tucks in his shirt. “Nolan,” he calls. The boy shuffles his feet behind him and follows him into the foyer. He waves in my direction and trots over to me.

  “Can I hang out with you the rest of the day?” he asks.

  “Uh,” I look up at Hayley. She nods toward us. “Sure. Want to go play on the swing set?”

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s—it’s fun. Come on.” He takes my hand in his, and my whole arm tenses. He looks up at me and pulls his hand away.

  “I’m sorry,” he says turning his head down.

  “No, no,” I respond. “It’s ok—”

  “You had the look that Mom gets,” he whispers. “The one she gets when we’re in the wild.”

  “The wild?”

  “It’s what the fort called anything outside of its walls,” Hayley says wrapping her arm around Nolan’s shoulders. She squats down to his height and whispers into his ear.

  Nolan looks and smiles at me. “Can you show me where the swing set is?”

  “Of course.: He runs around me and takes Hayley’s hand. It stings a little that I can’t even do that for him. “Follow me.”

  We walk through the main hall past the giant staircase. Nolan looks up at the sparkling lights reflecting off the chandelier coming from above him. “What’s that called?” he asks.

  “It’s a chandelier,” I respond.

  “Wow,” he whispers. “I always knew we’d have one of those!”

  Hayley laughs quietly and tousles the hair on his head. The door to Nikia’s room opens, and the smile I had wipes off my face in an instant.

  “Xavier,” she says nodding. She eyes Nolan and Hayley and then looks back to me. “I don’t believe we met.”

  I clear my throat and say, “This is—.”

  “I’m Nolan!” He sticks out a stiff arm toward Nikia. “Please to make your acquaintances.”

  “Nolan,” she says looking Hayley over. “N
ice to meet a new friend.”

  “I’m five,” he responds. “That’s why you don’t know much about me. We lived in the fort!”

  Nikia’s eyes widen when she shifts her gaze towards mine. “This is my family,” I respond. “I found them. All of them.”

  “Oh,” she whispers. “That’s great.”

  “Don’t sound too enthused,” Hayley responds.

  “It’s just that we’re low on supplies. Otherwise, I’d be thrilled.”

  “Oh,” Hayley says. “Well, we can help—”

  “That’s all right,” Nikia responds. “I’ve gotta go. It was nice meeting you.” Nikia blows past us with her head down.

  “Wait,” Hayley says. “I didn’t get your name!”

  “It’s Nikia!” she says over her shoulder and disappears into the kitchen.

  “Oh my god,” Hayley says. “She thought she was dead.”

  “What?”

  “Keturah,” she responds. “A girl I met at the fort. She was pregnant too—”

  “She’s dead. I found her slumped against a wall inside the fort’s ruins. She had shrapnel embedded in her stomach.”

  “Shit,” Hayley mutters. She pushes her wet hair from her face and lets out a long sigh. “I want to talk with her later, but after you though. There’s a lot that happened inside those walls that you need to know about.”

  I nod my head and twist my fingers in between hers. She looks down at our hands, and the muscles in her jaw tense. “I’m sorry,” I say pulling my hand away.

  “It’s not you—”

  “Believe me,” I respond. “I get it. I really do.”

  “Let’s talk outside. Nolan wants to see the playground.”

  * * *

  The brisk winter air whips around Hayley and I as we sit on the bench just outside of the playground’s boundaries. Nolan stands awkwardly at the top of the fireman’s pole watching kids slide down with ease. He looks over at us and shrugs his shoulders.