As she stepped outside, she gasped. A zombie was looking right at her. It was a petite Asian woman whose lips had been torn off so that her lower face was all teeth. She lowered her head and charged.
Abby turned and ran back into the house. She slammed the door closed, but it didn’t close in time. It hit the zombie woman and slowed her, but didn’t stop her. Abby ran through the little cabin. Both her gun and her field hockey stick were inaccessible. The gun was in a pocket on her bag, and the stick was strapped to the side of it. She cursed herself for not putting the gun in a more accessible place when she switched from bag four to bag two.
She ran into a bedroom, the red one. She knew that this one was her best chance. She slammed the door behind her and the instant it closed, the zombie woman smashed into it. She started turning the knob, but Abby grabbed it and did her best to hold it still. Abby leaned all her weight against the door, pressing the cheap lock button on the handle.
She had picked this room because she knew that behind the door was a bookshelf. With the door locked, she quickly stopped leaning on it and went to the shelf. The zombie kept slamming herself into the door; the lock wouldn’t hold long. Abby grabbed the side of the shelf and pulled. It wasn’t as heavy as she had hoped, but at least it wasn’t so heavy that she herself couldn’t move it. The shelf toppled sideways and thumped into the door handle, which bent at a strange angle, but managed not to snap under the weight. Eventually though, it would, and the shelf barricade wouldn’t hold much longer than that.
Abby quickly shrugged out of her backpack again. If she had done up the front buckles before she walked out the door, she would have run out of time. Once the bag was off, she threw it at the window, the weight of the bag shattering it. She didn’t hesitate and followed her bag out the window, getting a nasty gash on her forearm in the process.
As she hit the ground, she heard the door to the bedroom burst open. She abandoned the bag and took off running toward the others. The zombie woman came flying out of the window behind her, running after her. Abby saw Cender and Tobias ahead.
“Help!” she screamed at them.
Needlessly. Tobias and Cender must have heard the glass shatter and had their guns out. They both raised them, pointed in Abby’s direction.
“Down!” Tobias yelled.
Abby dropped.
Tobias and Cender opened fire. Abby covered her head with her hands, although if their aim dropped to ground level, she doubted they could protect her. She counted the shots. There were five, three from one gun, two from the other, but she couldn’t tell which was which. There was a thump on the ground behind her, and something touched her leg. Abby kicked out and scrambled forward, unable even to scream from fright. She looked back to see the zombie woman was down. It just happened that when she had fallen, her hand had landed on Abby’s leg, but nothing was moving. Abby couldn’t see the head shot wound at the angle she had fallen, but she was fine with that.
“You okay?” Tobias ran over. He helped her stand and noticed the wound on her arm. “Go see Cender about that.”
Abby nodded and made her way over to the doctor. She flinched when there was another gunshot from behind her. Tobias had shot the zombie again, just to be certain.
* * *
“You all right?” Cender mirrored Tobias’s question just like Tobias had mirrored his, back in the cabin.
“Yeah, but I got this nasty cut on my arm.” She held it up so that Cender could see.
“Ouch. Come on, I’ll put you back together.” Cender led her over to a rock she could sit on while he patched her up.
As he put his gloves on and got out what he might need, Tobias walked over carrying Abby’s bag.
“I didn’t put a tear in it, did I?” Abby had worried the glass might have shredded it open, making the bag useless.
“Doesn’t look like it.” Tobias looked the bag over. “But if there was anything breakable in there, I can’t vouch for its safety.”
“The keys are in that side pouch there, jammed in with the water bottle.” Abby was surprised at how quickly she had moved on from the attack. When it came, she was instantly afraid, running on instinct alone. Now she felt completely normal again as if nothing had happened. She wondered if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Tobias found all the keys and tried each one in the lock. Abby’s arm suddenly stung and she drew in a sharp breath. Cender had put disinfectant on it without warning her.
“Do I need stitches?” she asked.
“I think you could get away without, but it might leave a nasty scar.” Cender looked closely at the wound. “You’re sort of in the grey area.”
“You would have to numb me up if I get stitches, right?”
“Yeah,” Cender nodded.
“Don’t bother then. Bandage away.” Abby wanted full use of her arm. Now she kind of understood where Cender was coming from about the painkiller thing.
“All right. There’s this kind of medical glue I’m going to use, just in case, and I’m going to keep a close eye on it.” Cender picked out what he needed. “If it keeps bleeding or I don’t like the look of how things are going, we’re resorting to needle and thread.”
“You’re the doctor,” Abby nodded. She then smiled to herself. She was wearing her doctor’s pants while she saw the doctor. Apparently, some things never changed, even when the zombie apocalypse occurred.
“Got the lock open.” Tobias held up the opened padlock triumphantly. He slid open the doors revealing the blue and white four-wheeler inside. “Anyone know how to drive this thing?”
“I can,” Abby told him.
“Seriously?” Cender looked up from his ministrations.
“Yeah. I can drive pretty much anything with wheels.” Abby shrugged the shoulder of the arm that wasn’t being bandaged. “I grew up on a farm; we all had to learn how to drive all sorts of things. A four-wheeler is easy. Heck, driving them around was a pastime. I could drive them on my own by the time I was seven.”
“Awesome.” Tobias disappeared into the shed to see what else was in there.
“All done.” Cender released Abby’s arm, now with a clean white bandage from wrist to elbow.
Abby hadn’t realized just how dirty her shirt was until she saw that bandage next to it. It was far from the white it had been when she put it on yesterday. It even had some colour added now from her own blood.
She got up off the rock and joined Tobias in the shed. “Anything interesting in here?”
“Actually, yes.” Tobias held up a machete and a small hand axe. “There’s also a trailer that I think goes with the four-wheeler.”
Abby walked around the side of the four-wheeler. Behind it was indeed an open trailer. It was an old metal thing of simple design, with a flat base and sides about a foot high all around. The back end was higher; it was a metal mesh that could be lowered to make a ramp. Abby guessed, by the bits of leftover debris, that it was used for hauling wood.
“If you don’t mind a bumpy ride, we can haul you and the bags along in this,” Abby told Tobias.
“That’s good, ’cause I have no idea how to drive a motorcycle,” Tobias admitted. “I was willing to try though.”
“Hand me the keys. I’ll see which one works with it.” Abby held her hand out.
Tobias handed her the clump of keys and walked out of the shed. Abby straddled the seat of the four-wheeler and started looking through them. She found it rather easily because it looked different from the others. She put it in the ignition and tried to start it up. The engine wouldn’t catch.
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Tobias’s voice came in from outside.
“It’s okay,” Abby called back. “Its tank just needs to be filled is all.” She got off the vehicle and looked around the shed. On the bottom shelf on the right, there was a whole line of gas jugs. She separated the empty ones from the full ones and got to work filling the tank.
“Tobias, do you feel a little emasculated right now?” Cende
r said loud enough for Abby to hear.
“Are you kidding me? We don’t have to do any work, just enjoy a good thing.” Tobias replied.
Abby couldn’t help but laugh. She found the boys to be very entertaining. Once the tank was full, she tried the ignition again. This time the engine worked fine. She rolled the four-wheeler out of the shed and turned off the engine again. It was bigger than the one she used to drive out west, but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle.
“You want to do some manly work, Cender? Help me attach the trailer then,” Abby quipped.
“Ah, you see I would, but my leg, you know,” Cender joked. “I’m all laid up, can’t do any serious work.”
“I’ll help,” Tobias offered.
The two of them walked back into the shed and grabbed the trailer. They pulled it out by the hitch and attached it to the four-wheeler. While Tobias put their bags into it, Abby walked back into the shed and collected the jugs that still had gas in them.
“Cender, I’m attaching this axe to the side of your bag,” Tobias told him.
“But I want the machete.” Cender put on an exaggerated pout.
“Too bad! I found them, so I get to pick which one I want. By the way, Abby, how long can this thing go without a refill?” Tobias wondered as he tried to organize all the stuff to fit into the trailer and still leave space for himself.
“I’m not sure. I’ve never driven this model before,” Abby told him. “And with the trailer, it’s hard to say.”
“I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.” Cender hobbled up next to the four-wheeler. “How do I sit on this thing?”
“Just sit on that back end and hold onto these side bars just under the seat.” Abby pointed them out. “Once I’m on, you can hold onto my waist if you want.”
“I like the sound of that.” Cender handed Tobias his crutches and got up on the four-wheeler.
Tobias climbed into the trailer and settled everything around him.
“You sure you’ll be okay back here?” Abby asked, helping to shift a few things. He was sitting partly cross-legged with a bag packing him in on each side. The third bag lay in front of him and the rest of the trailer contained the gas canisters. The thought of siphoning the gas out of the motorcycle and into one of the empty jugs had crossed Abby’s mind earlier, but without knowing the mixture in it, she decided not to risk it. They should have enough gas in the other jugs.
“I’ll be fine,” Tobias assured her. “Just don’t go doing any rally racing stuff.”
Abby laughed. “I’ll try not to.”
She checked the hitch one last time and then got on the four-wheeler. She was surprised that Cender didn’t immediately wrap his arms around her. He could actually be respectful at times.
She keyed the engine to life again and checked the mirrors out of habit. Then she drove across the little clearing, going carefully so as not to be too rough on Tobias. She had ridden in a trailer before; it could get really bumpy sometimes. Once on the road though, she opened up the throttle some. The smooth pavement allowed for a smoother ride.
“You okay?” Cender shouted back over his shoulder.
Abby used the mirrors to see Tobias’s thumbs up. He almost looked like he was enjoying himself.
She didn’t get up to full speed, but she picked up the pace even more. Tobias seemed fine with that. In fact, he lifted up his camera and starting filming again.
“Make sure you get my good side!” Cender shouted back at him over the sound of the engine.
“Face forward then!” Tobias called back.
* * *
They drove down the winding and hilly road, now completely out of farm country, and into the woods. Abby liked it better that way. The farms reminded her too much of home. Also, she didn’t want to run into any more pigs. Abby had never seen pigs like that. She guessed they must have somehow been infected. Zombie pigs, how strange.
Abby was enjoying their ride immensely. The day had been working up to a scorcher again and the walking had made her all sweaty. Riding was creating a comfortable breeze. The sky was blue, the air was fresh, the trees were in full green dress. Then they drove past a body face down at the side of the road.
Abby sighed to herself. Her wound was already getting itchy. She wanted desperately to scratch at it but she knew that would be the worst thing to do. She hoped the itching meant it was healing.
Cender suddenly tapped her on the shoulder, speaking in her ear, “Slow up a moment, stop.”
Abby stopped and checked her mirror, thinking it was Tobias. Tobias seemed fine though, other than confused.
“What is it?” Abby asked Cender.
“There.” Cender pointed. “There’s a little bit of smoke coming up from over there.”
Abby looked. Sure enough, some neat white puffs of smoke were rising up above the trees.
“It could be your white truck,” Cender suggested.
“I thought you were against the idea,” Tobias brought up.
Cender didn’t say anything.
“Let’s check it out then.” Abby started them forward again.
They came across a fork in the road, and Abby chose the one that led toward the smoke. She slowed as they neared it and rounded a corner. The smoke was coming from the chimney of another cabin, this one much nicer than the one before. The large, white truck sat parked in front of it, but none of the soldiers could be seen. Abby stopped the four-wheeler.
“I don’t like this,” Cender said.
“Me neither.” Abby went to turn them around, but halfway through the turn, two soldiers popped out of the brush on either side of the road, barring their retreat with rifles. Abby looked forward again to see two more soldiers with guns. They were trapped.
“Shit,” Cender said.
“Turn off the engine,” one of the soldiers ordered.
Abby obeyed. She was scared of the large rifles.
“Get off and collect your things,” was the next order.
“Do you mind lowering your weapons?” Tobias asked as he climbed out of the trailer. They acted as if they hadn’t heard him.
“Who the hell are you guys?” Cender asked the next question. Again, they made no move.
Abby climbed off the four-wheeler. She helped Cender off while Tobias got his crutches. They all put their packs on their backs. During this time, the soldiers all moved in closer.
“Is that everything?” one of them asked once they had their bags on their shoulders.
Abby nodded. They decided to leave the gas cans behind. She noticed Tobias was still filming but that they didn’t seem to care about it. She took that as a bad sign, although why would they care? The world order had changed in the last twenty-four hours.
“Head to the truck.” A soldier gestured with his gun.
They walked toward it, the soldiers keeping a box position around them. Their guns never wavered.
“Seriously guys, who the fuck are you?” Cender asked again angrily. “And where are you taking us?”
“Give it up,” Tobias told him when they didn’t answer again. “You can ask them questions until you’re blue in the face, and they won’t answer a single one of them. They look like they’re trained not to.”
Cender didn’t bother with any more questions, trusting Tobias’s judgement.
Once they reached the truck, the back door was opened.
“Get in,” they were ordered.
Abby climbed in first, followed by Tobias. Tobias helped Cender up. Once they were all in, the heavy doors were shut and locked behind them.
Inside the cramped back were a few other people, all looking very frightened. One of them was a young scrawny guy wearing a firefighter’s jacket. His nose was bleeding. He was also handcuffed to a handle on the side of the truck, a dog tied up and muzzled next to him.
The truck started moving with a jolt, and Abby nearly lost her feet. Tobias caught her though.
“Hey.” Cender went over and sat next to the guy in the handcuffs.
“You all right?”
The guy nodded but shifted as far away as he could.
“It’s all right,” Cender tried to comfort him. “I’m a doctor, just let me take a look.”
The guy didn’t have much of a choice and didn’t bother to fight.
“It’s not broken,” Cender assessed his face. “But you’re going to have some serious black eyes.”
“I saw them drag you in here,” Tobias told him. “Is that how the rest of you ended up here? Did they force you in here?” He looked at the others in the back of the truck.
There were two women and one young boy. The women nodded.
“They broke down the door and came charging in,” one woman told him. “They just grabbed us and started shoving us toward this truck.”
“That’s what they do,” the handcuffed kid said. “They take you whether you want to go or not. I saw them in the city. They shot a man that tried to run away.”
“Where are they taking us?” Abby asked, taking a seat.
The guy shrugged.
“Where did you get that jacket?” Tobias asked him.
He didn’t answer.
“Did you get it from a man? A man named Cillian?” Tobias pressed. “You don’t look like a firefighter but you’ve got their boots and jacket on.”
“Yeah,” the guy frowned, “you knew him?”
“He was a friend travelling with us. I’ll show you.” Tobias gestured to the camera around his neck.
While he showed the guy the film, Abby introduced herself to the others. “Hi, I’m Abby.”
“I’m Betty.” The one who had spoken earlier introduced herself, but no hands were shaken. No one knew if there was any infection in there. “This is Georgia and the boy is Jean-Marc.”
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