Survive

by Ashley Shannon

  Rounding the corner was an army hummer. Five young guys dressed in fatigues were inside. The driver of the hummer didn’t bother to click off his brights when he pulled up next to Drew’s Tahoe. Rion watched as Drew rolled down her window just as the driver of the hummer had.

  “There is a curfew, no one is to be on the streets. You must return to your house.”

  “That’s where we’re headed,” Drew said. “We were trapped in the school. We’re just trying to get somewhere safe.”

  The driver nodded understandingly.

  “How far do you have to go?”

  “Just a few blocks up the street.” She was lying. They had no intention of staying off the road. After they picked up Emmy, the group was heading to Dubuque. From what Kimber had seen, it wasn’t safe to say in Dyersville. They had no intention of locking themselves in one place where they were easy prey, like sitting ducks.

  “Stay inside until someone comes to see you.” The driver said and they pulled away, continuing down the road.

  The encounter set Rion on edge and she started to cry. She was emotional before she got pregnant, but the pregnancy had made it worse. At any point of stress, Rion began to cry, only to get mad at herself, causing her to cry even harder. She reminded herself that she needed to be strong for herself and her baby, but there was nothing she could do when hormones took over control.

  The next car they saw moving across the road was a local police car. Officer Tripp was behind the wheel and he flashed his lights at them to get them to pull over. He left his car running as he walked up to Drew’s window.

  “What are you guys doing out? You're all supposed to be at home.” Officer Tripp glimpsed Nolan in the back and assumed they were out searching for his father. “Nolan, I said we would look for your dad.”

  “Have you found him?” Nolan asked, hopefully.

  “No, but you should let us handle it. You guys and gals need to head home.”

  “We’re not looking for him,” Drew said. “We were in the school. They left us locked up in a room for detention.”

  “They didn’t even think to let us out before they all left,” Kimber added.

  Officer Tripp shook his head. He had seen things like this a lot throughout the day. In a time of crisis, you hope that your town will come together and help their neighbors. Dyersville was doing the opposite. Each person was looking out for their own, without a second thought of how they could help those who needed it.

  “People have been panicking all day. It’s been rough.”

  “What is going on Tripp?” Drew asked.

  “Honestly, I don’t know. They’re not telling us much. It's an infection of some sort. They think a Professor from the college brought it back from South America.” He grew quiet, pondering. He had seen the carnage at the college. Tripp didn’t have the heart to tell these kids that many of their fellow students had been lost in the attack. They estimated that half the college had been wiped out before the police had even arrived.

  “We saw one, a zombie. I know that’s what it is.” Kimber wasn’t about to let it go.

  “A zombie? These things-“ Tripp stopped, “People are not zombies.”

  “They are, its just like in the movies.“

  “Let it go, Kimber,” Eli said from the backseat with an eye roll.

  “Whatever is happening, it’s not looking good for the town. You all need to head home and stay safe. Keep a weapon of some sort close. Army head personnel are trying to figure out a way to evacuate the town. Until then, your homes are the best place to be.”

  They thanked Tripp and watched as he made his way down the street back towards town. Everyone was quiet as they continued driving toward the trailer Rion called home.

  Meadow Grove looked no worse than it had when Rion had left it this morning. All the trailers were dark, but none were smeared in blood or had dead people in the tiny front yards. She never thought she would be thankful to see the trailer park in its normal run down state, but at that moment, she was feeling pretty grateful. The lights to her trailer were off. She directed Drew to park in front and then opened the door.

  “Wait a minute,” Eli said, exiting the car right after Rion. “You can’t go in there.”

  “I have to. Emmy is in there.”

  “Let us,” Eli said, motioning to him and Nolan. Rion looked from one to the other. “You don’t know what is in there and if it's anything like what we saw back at the school, you shouldn’t go in alone.”

  “She shouldn’t be going in at all.” Nolan chimed in. He wasn’t one for chivalry, but this was just common sense. He wasn’t about to let a girl go in there, let alone a pregnant one. Rion thought it over. She wasn’t sure her timid little sister was going to go with two boys she didn’t know, but Eli and Nolan were right. Going into the trailer was possibly putting her and her unborn child in danger.

  “Emmy hides in the bathroom when she’s scared. In the space between the tub and the toilet. She always has, ever since she was little.” Rion said, giving in to what she knew was a smarter choice. She hoped that the sight of two large teenage boys wouldn’t be too off-putting to her sister and that she would believe that they were there to help.

  “There’s a flashlight in the back. It doesn’t look like they have power here,” Drew said, thankful for the time her dad had put into making sure there was a small survival kit in the back of her Tahoe. They had blankets, a flashlight, first aid supplies, and even a flare gun. The fact that her dad was a little bit of a survivalist nut job was actually working in her favor.

  Eli retrieved the flashlight and then he and Nolan headed up the short flight of stairs to the trailer door. He didn’t want to scare Rion’s little sister, but if they knocked it might bring attention to them from something they didn’t want attention from. He carefully opened the screen door. It creaked at first but then opened silently. Eli clicked on the flashlight and Nolan readied his knife. Opening the second door, they peered in.

  The main living area of the trailer included a small living room and a smaller kitchen. Both appeared to be empty. The two boys stepped inside, guided by the beam of light from the flashlight. Eli moved his wrist around, guiding the light, looking for any sign of movement. Neither of them saw anything.

  “Emmy?” Eli called in a hushed voice. He didn’t want to yell. They didn’t know what was waiting for them in the other parts of the trailer. For all either of the boys knew, Emmy could have been turned into one of those creatures and was lurking behind some corner waiting for lunch. The darkness created an eerie feeling. Rion’s home seemed comfortable enough, but shroud in darkness and unfamiliar to Eli, it made him feel on edge. Something could come at him at any moment, from any direction and he wasn’t exactly wielding a weapon.

  Nolan followed Eli down the hall. The first door came up on their right. Eli tried the knob and it opened to show a room painted pink. There were dolls and stuff animals strewed across the floor. The curtains were pink, just like the bedspread, and every other piece of decoration in the room.

  “Emmy?” Eli called again, a little more urgency in his voice. The feeling in this room was off. Something didn’t seem right. He just wanted to find Rion’s little sister and get out of that trailer. Quickly he got to his knees and shined a light under the bed, but saw no one. The closet door was wide open and also empty. If Emmy was in the trailer, she wasn’t in this room.

  Moving on to the next door, Eli turned the knob again. The second room clearly belonged to Rion. There were a few baby clothes sitting on the bed. Next to the bed was a small bassinet with a fluffy blue blanket in it. The name Cash was stitched into the blanket in pretty white cursive letters. That must be what she planned to name the baby. They quickly looked around the room for Emmy but found it was also empty. Eli grabbed the blanket that was laying on the bed. He wasn’t sure why he bothered, they didn’t exactly have time to spare, but he was sure it probably meant a lot to Rion and she would be grateful to have it.

  The boys
knew from talking to Rion that the next room was the bathroom. Emmy was more than likely hiding inside. Eli knocked tenderly on the door.

  “Emmy? Are you in there?”

  A second or two passed in silence. Then they heard a faint, small voice.

  “Yes.”

  Nolan and Eli both exhaled and looked at each other happily. They had found her.

  “I’m a friend of your sister’s. She is outside in a car waiting for you. Can I come in?”

  “Yes.”

  Eli opened the door and found Emmy exactly where Rion had said she would be. The little girl appeared to be unharmed. He stretched out his hand and Emmy slipped her tiny one in his. He gave the flashlight to Nolan and let him lead the way. The group of three made their way quickly down the hall.

  “What about momma?” Emmy asked when they got to the living room. Eli was confused. “Your mom is here?”

  “Yes.”

  Eli looked from Nolan to the girl and back again. Rion said her mom was at work, but maybe she had come back.

  “Where is your mom?”

  “In her room, all the way at the back.”

  “Okay, I’ll go get your mom. Nolan is going to help you put your shoes on.”

  “I don’t need help.” Eli smiled. Emmy’s independence reminded him of Kimber when she was little. Kimber hadn’t needed his help since she was three, or at least that’s what she said.

  “Okay. He’ll just watch over you then.”

  Nolan handed the flashlight back to Eli. Making his way back down the hall, Eli could hear nothing but the sound of Emmy and Nolan talking about her velcro, light up sneakers. He didn’t hear the sound of another person, but that didn’t mean no one else was home. Maybe their mother was asleep.

  The door opened with a loud creak and instantly Eli had wished he never opened it. Crouched low by the edge of the bed was a woman he assumed was Emmy’s mother. Her head twisted to an odd angle to look at him. Her eyes seemed to glow in the darkness of the room, their irises a wicked color of neon yellow. She growled in a feral way, sounding like a mythical beast.

  Eli slammed the door shut and ran, without thinking about how the noise would cause what was left of Rion’s mom to react. He didn’t want to yell in case that led the infected woman to them, though he supposed that in the trailer there was really only one way to go. The sound of pounding came from the bedroom door, which wasn’t likely to hold off anyone stronger than a toddler for very long.

  “Get out!” He yelled against his better judgment, and ran down the hall. He heard the screen door slam and hoped Nolan was getting Emmy safely to the car. The door at the end of the hall that led to the master bedroom began to split. Fists punched through the cheap wood. Pieces splintered off and landed on the ancient shag carpet that covered ever inch of floor space in the trailer. Eli chanced a look behind him. Blood stained arms were jutting from a hole about two feet wide and two feet tall in the door. With a guttural moan, a head came through the door. A sense of relief came over Eli when he noticed that this thing couldn’t open the door. But when the creature pushed its way through the hole, unaware that it was breaking bones to get out of the door, Eli thought it was best not to stick around. Within seconds she landed on the hallway floor. Down on all fours, just like the school secretary had been, Rion’s mom lunged down the hall. One wouldn’t think a human walking awkwardly on their hands and feet wouldn’t be able to move so quickly, but the infected was approaching Eli at a much faster rate than he was moving to escape her. He reached the living room and pulled open the door. He shut one door then the other and leap down the stairs.

  “Start the car!” He screamed, no longer worried about who heard them. Drew did as she was told. Rion pushed open the door in the backseat for Eli to jump in. Kimber had moved to the front seat, something Eli noted, but couldn’t think about in that moment. He jumped in the car and slid in the back seat. The door slammed shut behind him.

  “Go!” He yelled.

  Drew pressed down on the pedal so hard the wheels spun out at first. She corrected the mistake and pulled down the gravel road that connected all the low rent trailers of Meadow Grove.

  “What happened?” Rion asked, holding Emmy close to her chest. “Emmy said that my mom-“

  “Where’s momma?”

  Eli looked at Rion. His dark brown eyes fell, unable to meet her own. She placed her hand on his arm and looked at her again. His face told her everything she needed to know. She squeezed his hand, hoping that he didn’t blame himself. It his fault. It probably wasn’t anyone’s fault. Whatever infection this was, it was spreading at a rapid rate. Her mom could have caught it at the diner or from one of the neighbors. It was probably someone she saw everyday. Every day until her last day.

  “She’s not coming, Emmy,” Rion said, holding her sister and petting her hair.

  “Okay.” Was all the little girl said. Eli expected more from Emmy. There should be tears and tantrums, yelling, screaming, and kicking even. But instead, the girl closed her eyes and rested her head on her sister’s swollen belly. Rion continued to pet her sister’s head after kissing her on the cheek.

  “Is she going to be okay?”

  “I think so. Momma’s left us before. This time will be more permanent, but she was always coming and going. Sometimes she would be gone for a couple of months or more. We’ve always worked it out. As long as we have each other.”

  Eli was impressed. His own self-motto was family first and he admired anyone who believed that their family came before anyone else. With a mother that was coming and going, Rion probably had to take care of Emmy, and instead of resenting the fact, she made the best of the situation.

  “Where are we going?” Drew called back. Eli leaned up toward the front seat to talk easier to his sister and Drew.

  “Tripp said they had closed off the exits to town.”

  “They did, I tried to leave,” said Kimber.

  Eli tried to think of an exit that might not be blocked or of a place they would have barricaded but wouldn’t be guarding.

  “What about Dyers Road?” Drew suggested. Dyers road was a low maintenance, level B road. It was a level lower than a gravel road and could only be used during dry conditions because it consisted of pure dirt.

  “That could work. They might not even know about it.”

  “Tripp does, but he wasn’t helping with the barricades.”

  Eli nodded in response to Drew’s statement, then leaned back and took his place back in the backseat. Emmy was asleep on Rion’s stomach. Nolan’s head was pressed against the window. Rion and Eli were the only two awake in the backseat.

  “Rion, right?” He said, remembering that he still wasn’t the sure of her name.

  “Yeah, that’s me.”

  “R-y-a-n?”

  “No, R-i-o-n. Kind of like Orion, but I don’t have a fancy belt made of stars.” She smiled, which made Eli smile. He noticed that her eyes lit up when she smiled. It was like she was a completely different person. She glowed. He had heard that pregnant women did that, but Eli didn’t think it had anything to do with her condition. Rion would have glowed even if she wasn’t having a baby.

  “Did your mom name you after the constellation?”

  “I don’t know. I never asked.” Rion had asked, but she didn’t want to relay what her mother had said to her. The thought of her mother made her sad. Tears welled up in her eyes and began to fall uncontrollably.

  “Sorry,” She said, smiling through the tears. “I cry at diaper commercials and puppy dogs these days, it's not you.”

  Eli took a finger and wiped a tear away. It felt very cliche, but it needed to be done. Two more fell in that one’s place. He smiled too.

  “I’m sorry I brought up your mom.”

  Rion reached over and touched his hand. It wasn’t his fault that she was gone. If her momma looked anything like that high school secretary, it couldn’t have been easy for Eli either.

  “It’s okay. I’m just glad I know, yo
u know? Like she’s not out there wandering somewhere and I’m here holding out hope that she’s gonna come back.”

  Eli nodded, knowing exactly what she was talking about. Kimber hadn’t been able to get ahold of their mother all day. She had talked to her this morning but a lot could happen in a day. Watching Rion look fondly down at her sleeping sister, Eli decided not to bring up his mom. It was better to just let them have this moment. Who knew how many quiet moments any of them would get going forward.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  This time when they drove through the streets of their hometown, no one was on the road. Snow had begun to fall, floating down from an ink blue sky. The very first snow of the year, but the magnificence of it was lost on the six of them. Nolan and Emmy slept, while they made their way towards Dyers Road. The low maintenance road was the only one any of them could think of that might not be barricaded. Drew turned off the pavement highway onto Dyers Road to see no blocks in the way.

  “Looks like we’re in business,” Drew said to Kimber, who was sitting next to her in the passenger seat. When Kimber moved to the front so Rion could sit in the back with her sister, Drew was surprised. Maybe things weren’t as bad between them as she had thought. Before Kimber had changed seats, Drew thought things between them were completely lost. Now she wasn’t so sure.

  “Guess so,” Kimber said.

  “Well, at least now you’re talking to me.” Kimber turned and looked at the group in the back. Everyone was either fast asleep or on their way there. She couldn’t blame them, it had been a long day, but that left her and Drew the only ones awake. Struggling through small talk with her ex-girlfriend wasn’t exactly what Kimber wanted to do in that moment. Taking on a horde of zombies seemed like a more delightful way to spend her evening. Unfortunately for Kimber, there wasn’t a horde of the undead anywhere in sight.