EVOLVED

by Jessica Gomez

  “Do we have enough gas?” Luke looks to Mason.

  Mason nods slowly. “I think so. We can syphon the gas out of the wagon and put it in the explorer. We’ll need the four-wheel drive. We should bring the gas cans too and syphon a few cars along the way since we’re down to our last bit of gas. If we do this, we’ll have to walk a majority of the way to the lake, depending on how much gas we score.”

  We’re silent, contemplating the pros and cons. We require better gear. The stuff we have now is wearing down quick. I’m outside only a handful of hours before my feet begin to numb.

  “The town’s a bit of a distance without snow. It’ll take even longer with it. Is it worth driving there specifically? We could look along the way, make sure we don’t miss anything that could be of use,” Luke informs us.

  “The items that are sealed at the house are in excellent shape. Anything else outside of a seal has probably weather rotted by now. You’re welcome to stop along the way to look at other places, but you know this house has things that are sealed and in good condition.” Michael reasons out the longer travel time by the payoff of the quality of the items.

  “I think it’s worth the trip and gas. We’re going to need better clothes regardless of the snow. It’s fifty miles. If we’re going to use the rest of the gas going to the house, we’re also going to need better gear for traveling.” We can hopefully find more gas, but we need better supplies. First things first.

  ~~~~~

  Two days later, we’re ready to go.

  Sarah stayed up late the last couple nights baking us snacks and food to take. James agreed to stay, so he and Jen would help take care of Azami while I’m gone. We agreed that only three of us would go—Mason, Luke, and myself. We were the ones who went the first time and knew the layout of the area. Zack, Jere, and James would take turns walking the perimeter, with Sam and Tony relieving them randomly. The gardens are in-between harvesting and planting, only requiring water, which Jen agreed to do with Michael. Azami loves to help in the garden, as it gives her something fun to do while I’m away.

  I finished packing my bag a couple hours ago with Azami’s help. She made sure to get my warm clothes and throw them in a pile while I folded them and put them in my bag. I carried one extra pair of clothes, a thick blanket, and an extra coat.

  We make our way down to the main cavern, where Deagon builds a large fire. Several people are up early and chatting. I sit in one of the chairs surrounding the warm flames, and Azami grabs a stick and starts drawing in the dirt in front of me.

  She stops and turns to me, her eyes shining bright with hope. “Are you going to find Mommy?”

  “We’re going to get more supplies to help us find Mommy. This is the first part of our plan, and then we’re going to find her.” I hold my arms out and she climbs up on my lap. “How’re you doing, Pumpkin? You want to talk about Mommy today before I go?” I try to offer her an outlet, something I do every day. She’s more intuitive than most kids her age, but she’s young, and she knows exactly what happened to her mother.

  She touches my cheek and whispers, “I miss her too.” She’s reading my thoughts.

  I smile and place my hand over hers on my cheek and hold it there. “I know, Pumpkin. I’m working my hardest to find her.”

  She nods. “Uncle James says Mommy will come home when the flowers come back. Is that true?”

  James doesn’t hide anything from her. It’s a good thing, but false hope is not. “I hope so. He saw it in one of his dreams.”

  “Yes.” She knows about them too. “He’s almost always right,” she reminds me.

  “That he is,” I agree. “Let’s hope he is this time too.” I set her back to her feet. “I’m going to help them load the suburban. Bring your stick and you can draw. Stay close to me, okay?”

  “Okay!” She runs outside to where Mason and Luke are loading up the vehicle, beating me there. “I beat you!” she yells, pleased with herself.

  I smile. “You sure did. You’re getting too fast.”

  The guys chuckle while Luke loads the back, and Mason adds more gas to the tank. I toss my pack in the back of the car and pick up the last bag on the ground. The U-Haul is hooked to the back for extra storage. We’re almost ready to leave when Quinn marches over to us.

  “Hey,” he says, sounding grouchy. “I’m coming with you guys.”

  “Has Michael cleared you?” I ask, knowing he hasn’t.

  He glares at me. “I don’t give a shit. I can’t stand being in this cave any longer. If you tell me no, I’m going to follow you anyway. I can’t do heavy lifting here, but I can drive.”

  “What happens if we run into more infected like last time? Or run out of gas and have to walk? There are several things that can happen that would make the trip strenuous. If you come, I don’t know if it will help or hinder us,” Luke states.

  Quinn’s face is turning red with anger. “I’m not a fucking weakling.” This is more about his pride than the journey.

  “Let’s chat with Michael, see what he says. If he thinks it’s okay, then you can come.” Luke glares at me for a moment, then softens, seeming to understand what I’m doing.

  Quinn nods. “Fine.”

  Jen and Michael make their way toward us a few minutes later. Azami runs over to Jen, catapulting herself into her arms.

  “Hey,” hey says once they reach us.

  A chorus of hellos go around quickly before Quinn begins. “Michael, I want to go on this search. Ian says you have to clear me.” He doesn’t give Michael much of an option.

  Michael looks him up and down with concern. “How much can you do in the gardens now?” He already knows, he’s only pointing it out for Quinn to realize he’s still below his normal stamina.

  “Almost an entire day,” he replies.

  “Heavy lifting?”

  “Some. I’m sore at times, but nothing I can’t handle.” He’s downplaying the pain, trying to convince him.

  Michael watches Quinn closely. “You’ll be fine.”

  “Fuck yes!” Quinn hoots.

  “But listen, no heavy lifting. Anything over twenty pounds, let the others grab it. You’re almost there but not quite. Rest when you need it and you’ll be fine. Don’t exert yourself, you don’t want a hernia.”

  “Thanks.” Quinn’s grateful, even though Michael couldn’t hold him here if he really wanted to go. He respects his opinion. “Here’s my stuff.” He tosses the bag I hadn’t noticed into the back of the rig. “Driving’s going to be the easiest. I can take extra shifts since you guys are doing the heavy lifting.” His grin’s infectious.

  We’re all laughing, but I sober when I turn to kiss Azami. “Bye, Pumpkin. I’ll be back in a few days. You going to be good for Jen and James?”

  Her arms tighten around my neck. “I’m always good. I’ll miss you, Daddy.”

  “Me too, Pumpkin. Love you.” I snuggle her to me one more time before handing her to James. He looks half asleep, waking up to come see us off and to pick up his niece. “Hey, bro,” I chuckle.

  His smile tilts the side of his lips. “Hey. You about outta here?” He sets Azami down and takes her hand.

  “Yeah, all packed up. You going to be all right?” He’s much older than the little brother I had before the Flash. I only ask to reassure myself.

  “Of course.”

  “Of course,” Azami parrots.

  “You keep Uncle James on his toes.” I tap her nose.

  “Okay!” she hollers as she runs back inside. “Tome on, Uncle James!” She glances over her shoulder before disappearing around the corner.

  He chuckles. “I better keep up.” He leans in, giving me a tight hug. “Be safe.”

  “We will,” I assure him.

  “Bye, guys. Be safe,” he yells out, jogging inside.

  Mason hits the top of the rig. “Load up, assholes.”

  I turn away from my family, heart clenching, missing them already. Mason climbs in the driver’s seat, Luke in the pass
engers, leaving Quinn and me to sit in the back. This arrangement is fine with me. It gives me time to catch up on some sleep. Lucky for us, the heater in the rig works well, keeping us toasty the entire way down the mountain. Once we hit the flats, the snow lessens and my eyes drift closed.

  Warmth embraces me as I open my eyes. I’m standing on the front lawn of a light blue house with a white picket fence, the handle of a lawnmower in my hands. I’ve just cut the roar of the machine, getting ready to empty the bag when I hear laughter behind me. On the other side of the lawn, I turn to see Azami swinging on her wooden play structure, Lillie pushing her periodically. They’re both laughing with delight, the sun shimmering through their golden hair. Lillie looks over at me and smiles. She’s wearing a white sundress and her belly’s swollen. I drop the lawnmower bag and head in her direction. My steps eat up the grass between us quickly. When I reach her, I tug her into my arms with a growl and slam my lips to hers. Her startled squeak turns to a moan. I pull her little frame against me, her round belly touching my hard stomach. I kiss her until she’s all I’m breathing. Azami’s giggle catches my attention and I pull away.

  “What are you laughing at, Pumpkin?” I ask her.

  “You kissing Mommy.” She giggles again. “We get her back when the flowers come.”

  Her words confuse me for a moment, until I remember the truth. This dream is all a lie. I turn to her in panic. “Are you here? Like, really here?” We’ve done this before, pulled each other into our dreams and not realized it until the dream was over. But I think this is more Lillie’s talent, not mine. She remains happy and smiling up at me. This Lillie is a creation of my imagination, but I’ll be damned if I waste this opportunity to be with her. I lean in and kiss her like I’ve never kissed her before, with all the passion and love I have for her.

  “I love you,” I whisper against her lips.

  “Uh…dude.” The deep voice intrudes on my heaven. “Ian, man.” Hands push on my shoulder.

  I snap to, sitting up straight. The startled crazy look that plays on my face has everyone in the car laughing. “What the fuck?” I ask, because I’m not sure what’s going on.

  “You were sleeping on me,” Quinn chuckles.

  “My bad.” I wipe my mouth to make sure I’m not drooling.

  “I didn’t mind, not until you told me you loved me.” Mason and Luke try to stifle their laughter.

  “You’ve got some pretty intense dreams.” Mason glances at me, knowing who I was dreaming about. “Remind me not to sleep next to you on this trip.”

  His sarcasm works and I laugh, running a hand through my hair and over my face. “Fine with me, man. You’re really not my type.”

  Mason looks to Quinn and says, “Quinn, you’re so screwed.”

  The entire rig bursts out laughing.

  Several driver switches later, we pull up outside of the white house on Palomino Drive. We stopped periodically along the way, searching for gas, but came up empty. On our way home, we plan to check a parking lot with cars. Normally, we can find enough gas in the tanks, but we’ve tapped out most of the cars along this route.

  The shed out back is a small build-it-yourself you’d purchase from the home and garden store. Even years after the Flash, it seems in decent condition. If the owner could’ve vacuum sealed it, they probably would have.

  “All right, let’s get going,” I say, climbing from the back seat. The others exit the vehicle and walk to the house. “They have more snow than I expected.” There’s a few inches left on the ground, but it looks fresh. “Let’s check the perimeter before we go in, make sure it’s safe.”

  In pairs, we walk around the house. Not seeing any tracks in the snow, we decide to enter. After double checking each room, we notice nothing has changed. We were the last ones to leave this house, and everything is as we left it several months back. Our plan is to grab everything and leave, no overnight stays, especially since we have nowhere to start a fire out here without drawing unwanted attention. Our main goal is winter gear, warmer clothing, and anything else we may find that’s helpful.

  “Let’s each take a room. I’ll do the baby’s room. When Lil gets back, the baby will need warm clothes.” We each take a room and begin to shuffle through the closets.

  “We should consider loading these mattresses. They’re in plastic protectors, so basically, they’re vacuum sealed too.” Mason laughs. “Ian, check the baby mattress, I bet it’s the same.”

  I tug up the corner of a dusty blanket. Sure enough, there’s a plastic mattress protector on the bed. “Thank you, OCD.”

  I’m curious as to what everyone has found as I move from room to room. There are three rooms: two with queen size mattresses, and one with a baby bed, as well as several sets of sheets and comforters, clothing, boots, and shoes, all vacuum sealed. There’s an abundance of clothing, mostly warmer winter wear.

  “Let’s start piling this in the living room,” Luke suggests.

  We drag everything to the living room. I break down the crib, tuck the screws and screwdriver into my pocket and wheel the bed down the hall. The guys glance up at me, worry is clear on their faces. We all have our doubts.

  “The baby will need a bed. This will collapse flat, so it won’t take up much room.” Realistically, it’s not a necessity and we should leave it behind, but they don’t object.

  After a while, we plop down on the couch, tired. “This is more than I thought we’d find,” Quinn breathes out tiredly.

  “We haven’t looked in the shed outside yet. Anything vacuum sealed, bring it. They’re easier and smaller to pack. More than likely, it’ll be of use. We may have to leave the mattresses and come back for them at another time,” I tell the group, reminding them that we’re not done.

  “I brought rope. We can strap the mattresses on top of the rig and put the gas cans up there too. That’ll give us plenty of room,” Quinn declares.

  “That’ll work,” Luke agrees. “Before we load anything, we have to strategize packing.”

  “Let’s get to it.” Mason stands and moves to the side door, leading out to the shed. “Remember, let us do most of the loading, Quinn.”

  Quinn stands and heads in the same direction, grumbling.

  Luke laughs and slaps me on the back. “Do a last sweep through here. Double check that we didn’t miss anything.”

  I nod, but stay seated on the couch. My sixth sense is getting random surges of excitement, then moments of utter despair. Throughout the day, the guys have had their ups and downs thinking about our monumental search in the upcoming weeks. Not to mention, my emotions are all over the place, like the excitement that takes over when I think about seeing her again, but then doubt plagues me, dragging me down with the what ifs. What if we don’t find her? What if she’s sick or hurt? Or the worst one of all, what if we’re too late?

  There’s something else too, something I can’t place. The sensation bouncing off me is coming from outside, but it’s not connecting to the guys. It resembles a light switch, turning itself off and on, sending through glitches of emotion, which doesn’t make any sense. I can sense Mason, Luke, and Quinn specifically. I know where each of them are without looking. My talent is growing stronger, which makes this anomaly even more confusing.

  A spike of adrenaline from Quinn assaults my senses, right before I hear him shout out in pain. I spring to my feet and run in his direction. The door slaps against the wall as I kick it open. Quinn’s on the ground, grasping his chest and writhing in pain. An infected stands over him, growling, its upper lip curled back in malice. It snaps his head in my direction when he hears me, and it’s then that I realize these flickering emotions are coming from the creature in front of me. Despair, agony, and starvation are overriding every nerve ending. This infected is in a literal state of living hell. Luke and Mason startle the infected when they rush out of the shed. The infected flips around, a pack of them suddenly appearing around the yard, surrounding us.

  “Fuck,” I whisper, now understa
nding my flashing warning of emotions. My extra sense is cautioning me, telling me others are amongst us. There’s only one thing left to do at this point. We fight.

  Snagging the shovel that’s leaning next to the door, I launch myself toward Quinn, swinging with all my might. A battle cry echoes from my lips as the shovel connects with the infected, severing its head in one fail swoop. The head flies into the house’s white wall, leaving a giant splat of reddish black blood, before coming to a stop with its eyes wide open. The flickering of emotions ceases instantly, confirming my suspicion of the connection.

  I pull Quinn to his feet as he growls out in pain, and turn back to the other infected, readying myself for their attack.

  Luke shoves Quinn behind us. “I can fucking help,” he says breathlessly, and half doubled over.

  “Bullshit,” I counter without looking at him. He should realize by now that I can feel his pain. He’s lucky he’s on his feet.

  The strobing emotions are back, but not as strong. Scanning their pack, the sensation is coming from the infected in the front. He’s healthier than the six that flank his back. The frontrunner makes eye contact with each of us. “Go,” he orders, releasing four fledglings.

  Shock registers, realizing he spoke like Jeff, seconds before they’re on us. Teeth snapping, arms flailing, they’re coming for blood and death. Swinging the shovel, I land another blow, this time snapping the head to the side and breaking its neck and my shovel in half. The infected drops instantly. Luke pulls out the only gun and spends the three rounds we brought with us, nailing three infected in the head. Excitement begins to thicken the air. Searching the source, I find it coming from the infected that spoke. I can’t sense the decaying infected, but the smarter, healthier ones still exhibit an emotional essence, enough for me to pick up, like a beacon.

  The smart infected sends in his last two minions to distract us while he dashes to the side. He’s much quicker than the sickly infected, making it past me, attempting to get to Quinn.

  “Quinn!” I shout, warning him. He’s leaning against the shed, armed with a garden hoe, but I can feel the pain that’s etched on his features. He can barely lift the tool in his defense. “Dammit!” He won’t be able to defend himself.