Demon Ember (Resurrection Chronicles Book 1)

by M. J. Haag

  “I don’t mind. It means more time with you.”

  I hooked my arm around his and leaned into him just a bit, guilt and pity welling up inside of me.

  “I know. And I don’t mind more time with you, either. But, I do worry that the longer it takes to find my family, the less likely it will be for me to find them uninfected.”

  He frowned but didn’t say anything.

  “I think I’m ready for you to carry me again if that’s okay.”

  “It is. Thank you.”

  Twenty

  He picked me up once more and started running south. I didn’t turn my face into his shirt this time. I couldn’t stop thinking about what reaching the city would mean for him.

  “What will you do after we reach Tinker, and I find my family?” I asked, looking up at him.

  He stared straight ahead, a muscle in his jaw twitching.

  “Tell me about your family,” he said, instead of answering.

  “I love them, and they’re fun to be around. My mom is a hobby jumper. She’ll try anything. Sometimes the hobbies stick. Sometimes she loses interest. There was one summer we tried noodling—that’s where you fish with just your hand. Ryan was really into it. He loved it. I wasn’t as into touching the fish as he was.”

  “What hobby do you enjoy?”

  I smiled at the memory the question brought up.

  “When Ryan turned thirteen, my mom decided we were both old enough to try Fire Poi. It’s kinda like dancing with fire on strings. It’s beautiful to watch and makes you feel so graceful. That was my favorite. I kept it up until I went to college.”

  We were quiet for a few more roads as I remembered the time before the world went to hell.

  “And your father? What did he think of your mother’s hobbies?”

  “He has stars in his eyes when it comes to her.”

  “How did his eyes not burn out if he had stars in them? Are stars not balls of gas in the sky?”

  “I didn’t mean it literally. It’s just a saying. It means to him, she couldn’t really do any wrong. He loves her exactly how she is.”

  He remained quiet, and I gave into the lash of the wind and turned my head into his shirt.

  It wasn’t long before Drav slowed, and I looked up. Spread before us were the sprawling lots signaling the outskirts of the city.

  “You can set me down,” I said quietly. He seemed more willing to listen this time and set me on my feet.

  Together, we started the hide and sprint method of working our way into the city. With each block, the number of infected wandering around increased. Although I wanted to avoid the densely infected areas, the fastest way to Tinker was to cut straight through them. I wasn’t willing to lose another day. I’d been too late too many times.

  Without speaking, I signaled the destination for the next mad dash to Drav. He shook his head and nodded down the road. I waited, watching the houses. A small group of infected suddenly ran from around the side of a house almost a block down. A chill raced down my spine as they slowed as a group and continued down the street toward us.

  Drav laid a hand on my back, the only thing that kept me from freaking out completely.

  Why were they moving as a group? They hadn’t done that before.

  In silence, we crouched in the shadows of a truck as the herd shambled past. We didn’t move until they suddenly sprinted across the yard two houses down. When they disappeared, I looked at Drav.

  He slowly shook his head. No talking. Got it. Then, he lifted me into his arms.

  After that, we began a different game of run and sprint. The infected’s hearing had grown more acute in just a few days. Most now moved in herds, about four to six in size. A few shambled individually, which I took as a sign of being newly infected. I spotted a single infected person dressed in military fatigues further away and swallowed past a lump of fear.

  Empty houses lined the streets. Sheets no longer hung out the windows but lay on lawns or bundled up on the curbs. A few cars still sat in driveways or on the side of the road, but the sight of cars grew a lot less frequent. That meant there’d been human movement since we’d left. That had to be a good sign. However, the continued presence of the herds dampened my hope.

  Oklahoma City was a shell of the city it once was. Dead.

  Halfway through the city, the herds of infected we encountered grew larger, making progress more difficult. Even with me in his arms, Drav made no sound as he moved. I gratefully clung to him, letting him navigate through the danger.

  We entered a neighborhood that must have been scheduled for garbage pickup on the day everything went to hell. Bins lay tipped over in driveways and on lawns. Litter cluttered the sides of the road and against the houses.

  Drav unexpectedly sprinted toward a car and put me down. Without needing to be told, I squatted beside him and watched the end of the street where he was staring.

  A herd of at least twenty infected shuffled into view on a cross road. Men and women. Even a child. They all moved the same…as if coordinated. They turned onto our road, and I tried to control my breathing and remain calm. It proved difficult, though. Only Drav’s presence next to me kept me from complete panic as they drew closer with every shuffling step.

  The car’s trunk obstructed my view of their progress, which was probably for the best. Each scrape of their approach made me flinch. Drav’s hand settled on my shoulder.

  One of the shamblers kicked a discarded bottle which rolled under the car and stopped by my foot. The shuffling stopped. My gaze locked with Drav’s. My eyes widened while my breath remained caught in my throat. I started to reach for him, ready for him to take off with me but the shuffling resumed down the road.

  I released a quiet breath and offered Drav a relieved smile. Tension lingered around his eyes as he gave me a tight smile in return. Neither of us moved.

  My need to find my family, to make sure they were safe, was putting both of us at risk. I wasn’t stupid enough to think I could make it to Tinker without Drav’s help. But, I was smart enough to know he wouldn’t be able to take me right to the front door.

  The other healthy humans at Tinker probably wouldn’t take too kindly to a shadow man. Especially if Charles had made it back. A shiver ran down my spine. The last time I saw Charles, he had shot at me. Yeah, in his own morbid way he had been trying to save me because he thought death favorable over being taken by a demon. That mindset just reinforced why I couldn’t take Drav with me to Tinker. I didn’t want to see him hurt. Yet, as I looked at him, I knew he would resist leaving my side when the time came.

  Once the herd of infected disappeared, I jerked my chin toward the fenced in, lit house across the street. After that close call, I needed a few minutes to calm down and let the shaking stop. Drav nodded and picked me up. In seconds, we stood by the back door. The lock had already been broken. Drav eased it open and moved inside. I waited until he came back and motioned for me to enter.

  “I need to use the bathroom,” I said softly after he closed the door.

  He followed me around the corner and stayed in the hall while I shut the door. With all the stealth we’d been using, the sound of me peeing made me cringe, and I hoped the house was well-insulated. I didn’t want to be trapped inside, surrounded by a pack of infected.

  Not daring to flush, I washed my hands and opened the door.

  “Are you hungry?” Drav asked quietly.

  “No. I just want to get to Tinker. We don’t have much time until the sun comes up.”

  I would feel better if he could at least get me to the edge of the compound, but I also didn’t want to leave him stranded in the sunlight.

  “Hang on a sec.”

  I went to the kitchen and rummaged through the drawers in the buffet to see if they had any sunglasses stashed there. I found a pair of reflective aviators…a much better fit than the sparkly, glammed up glasses I’d found him the first time in the city. I turned and discovered him right behind me.

  “Found y
ou a new pair of sunglasses.” I offered them up.

  Drav leaned down, and I placed the glasses on his face. My fingertips brushed against his cheeks. I swallowed. My reflection looked back at me. Wayward strands of my hair stuck out at odd ends.

  “They look good on you,” I said with a smile.

  He didn’t comment, just held his hand out for me.

  Taking Drav’s hand, I followed him to the door while an anxious excitement prickled over my skin. It felt strange not holing up somewhere for the approaching day. But we were so close. Even if my new night-time was slowly approaching, the stress and exhaustion that had pulled at me, melted away. Soon I’d be with my parents and Ryan. I wasn’t sure I would ever let them out of my sight again.

  The moment we stepped outside, Drav released my hand and caught me up in his arms. He looked down at me, his expression subdued, and some of my excitement faded as his words came back to me. He’d said he had been lonely but that he hadn’t known it until he’d met me. Yet, he would willingly let me go and return to that loneliness because I’d asked him to. My heart hurt for him.

  He leaned toward me. The gentle curve of his lips held my attention. A rush of hot and cold zipped through me the closer he came. The world narrowed to the feel of his warm breath caressing my skin. My heart beat wildly in anticipation, any fear or doubt completely forgotten. At the last moment, he tilted his head and briefly set his forehead on mine. Regret consumed me. Then, I gently cupped his cheek and returned his version of a hug.

  He exhaled heavily, lifted his head, then took a running start to jump the fence. He didn’t set me on my feet. Safe in his arms, we left the subdivision and made our way through the rest of the city, clearing the last of the houses well before sunrise.

  Beside the road that led to Tinker, he stopped and let me walk. The infected out here were scarce, and we reached the golf course near the military base without incident. As we stood in the shadows of the trees, a small, pessimistic part of my brain wondered if we would find the military base under attack by the infected. But that wasn’t the case.

  Tinker lay quietly before us, the area lit by so many utility lights that Drav squinted behind his sunglasses.

  The infected weren’t around but neither, it seemed, were the humans.

  “It looks empty,” I said softly.

  “It does.”

  Empty meant safe for me to go the rest of the way on my own. I studied his profile as he continued to watch the airstrip and the buildings beyond.

  “I would have never made it to the cabin or back to here without you,” I said, with an aching heart. “Thank you for looking out for me. I hope you find your friends.” I hugged him spontaneously. His arms immediately wrapped around me in return. How had a creature so alien and frightening become so comforting?

  When I moved to pull back, he was a little slower to release me.

  “I don’t want to wait anymore, Drav.” Dragging out leaving would only make it harder for him. For both of us.

  “It’s time for me to go.”

  Twenty-One

  “No, Mya. You will not go in there alone.” Drav reached up and gently smoothed back some of my escaping hair.

  “Drav, humans with guns will shoot at you if you go with me. What if you get shot again?”

  “Then I will remove the head from the one who shot me.”

  Yeah, that’s what I figured he’d do.

  “You’re a giant pain in my butt, you know that?”

  He tilted his head, a look of concern pulling at his features, and I rolled my eyes.

  “No, you are not literally causing me pain, you’re just annoying me.” I sighed. “I don’t want to see you hurt.”

  “Then you understand why I can’t leave you yet.”

  I shook my head at him. He was making this hard on both of us.

  “Please, Drav.”

  “I would do anything for you, but not this. I’ll leave you when you find your family. Not before.”

  I knew arguing would be useless and would only draw unwanted attention from humans and infected alike. So, I sighed and threaded my fingers through his.

  “Will you at least hang back a little and let me go first?”

  “No. We go together.”

  I glanced at the main gate again. My frustration built. As much as I wanted to see a living human to know that the base wasn’t as abandoned as it looked, I really hoped there wouldn’t be one popping up as soon as we approached.

  “You’re so stubborn. Fine. Let’s go.”

  I released his hand, in case he needed to run, and started forward. We walked silently over the dead greens and across the pavement toward the gate. No one stepped from the guard house or from behind the thick lane dividers as we approached. Nothing moved but the light breeze and a piece of paper taped to the window.

  I stepped closer to read the rain-smudged ink.

  “Proceed to the air strip,” I read softly for Drav’s benefit.

  Looking away from the note, I met his gaze.

  “Are you sure you won’t stay here?”

  “I’m not leaving you, Mya.”

  I looked beyond the gate. Although I had high school friends who’d joined the Air Force, I’d never been on the base before and wasn’t sure where to go. A large, empty parking lot stretched from the road to another building. I started walking toward the structure until I could read the sign. The Commissary. Someone had painted “Cleared of supplies” across the front of the building.

  Uncomfortable in the open, I picked up my pace and jogged toward the building then turned right and followed the store fronts. Drav kept up with me as we passed each business. All had the same message painted on their doors and windows as the Commissary, and I knew everything had been cleared and taken to the secured location Charles had mentioned.

  However, seeing inside the empty restaurants only fed my fears. The whole place felt too quiet. No men with guns to guard survivors waiting to be flown out. I thought of all the infected roaming the streets, the one I’d spotted dressed in fatigues, and the lack of houses with rescue needed signs, and picked up my pace as I jogged across an expanse of dried grass. We passed another fast food place, tagged with the word “clear,” then ran along another road parallel to more stores.

  Ahead, I spotted the airstrip.

  “Almost there,” I panted.

  I didn’t slow until we reached the edge of the field-like expanse of lawn. To our left, a sea of empty blacktop. To our right, the long airstrip. Straight ahead, a long length of chain-link fence. The dirt mounded around the posts indicated it was a new addition.

  The fence didn’t protect anything. Its straight line ran less than fifteen feet long and parallel to the air strip. Papers littered the surface of the fence and fluttered in the wind.

  With a sinking feeling in my stomach, I went to the fence and looked at the papers. Notes and letters to loved ones left behind. Pictures of people who were missing. All of it left behind by the survivors evacuated from the base.

  I pulled out the picture of my family that I had moved to my pocket.

  “Help me look for them. Or a picture of me,” I said, handing Drav the photo.

  He didn’t tell me the effort would be a waste of precious time or that the sun was less than an hour from rising. He took the photo, looked at my family, and then started looking at each photo on the fence. I went to the other end and did the same. I didn’t just look at the photos but examined the letters too. Minutes passed as I searched and read. So many families ripped apart. So many lost. Some of the notes were goodbyes to family already known to be infected. An ache grew in my chest with each foot of fence I inspected without anything from my family.

  “Mya,” Drav said, softly.

  I looked up as he pulled a photo from a place on the fence before him.

  “This is you,” he said.

  I rushed to his side and stared at the high school picture of me. Four years had changed me a lot. Yet, Drav had recognized the girl w
ith the shoulder-length haircut and heavy makeup job. Hope washed through me, and I looked at the fence. They’d made it here. How long ago? Had they actually gotten on a plane?

  “Where did you pull it from?” I asked.

  “Here.” He pointed to the empty space I’d been staring at. A space surrounded by images of other people. Letters to other families. Nothing from mine.

  I swallowed in an attempt to ease the tightness growing in my throat and took the photo from Drav. It was something. At least one of them had been here.

  “There is a mark on the back,” he said.

  I turned the photo over, and my eyes started to water.

  We haven’t lost hope. We will see you soon.

  “We. They’re still alive, Drav.” I sniffled and wiped at my eyes and nose before looking at the fence again then the buildings beyond. I needed to know where they’d gone.

  “How am I always just behind them?” I said, more to myself than Drav. He seemed to understand because he didn’t answer.

  I went back to reading the letters on the fence. Near the center, I found one with useful information.

  “Drav, look at this,” I said with quiet excitement.

  “What is it?”

  “A notice. The city’s been evacuated, but any survivors should wait here. It says they will do a noon fly over and pick up anyone they’ve missed.”

  “They want you to wait in the open, without protection?”

  “Well, once the sun is up—”

  “The infected are not bothered by the sun. It isn’t safe.”

  “What other choice do I have?”

  He didn’t say anything as he continued to look at me from behind his sunglasses.

  “It’ll be okay,” I said. “I’ll be with my family soon. You should go.”

  He looked away, the muscle in his jaw twitching again.

  Before he could say anything, a phone started to ring. Loudly. Another joined it. Then another. I turned a slow circle, hearing ringing coming from everywhere, and realized what it meant.

  “Communications are back. Drav, we need to get to the nearest phone,” I said.