Survive (Day 5)

by Wise, A. R.

  SURVIVE

  Day Five

  By: A.R. Wise

  Cover by A.R. Wise

  Photo sourced from istockphoto.com

  Kindle Edition, License Notes

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  SURVIVE

  Day Five – 4:11 am

  Day Five – 7:44 am

  Day Five – 8:19 am

  Day Five - 9:59 am

  Day Five – 11:08 am

  Day Five – 12:40 pm

  Day Five – 1:51 pm

  Day Five – 4:13 pm

  Day Five – 6:49 pm

  Day Five – 7:13pm

  Day Five – 7:28pm

  Day Five – 8:59 pm

  Day Five – 11:31 pm

  Author’s Note

  Day Five – 4:11 am

  June woke screaming.

  Red had drifted to sleep in the front seat of the squad car. He flailed in surprise and alarm. Adrenaline surged as he struggled to figure out where he was, why June was screaming, and if they were being attacked.

  “June, June,” he said as his wits came groggily back. He tried to reach into the back seat, momentarily forgetting there was a wire partition. She was up, reaching out wildly, and then ripping at the bandages on her face. “You’ve got to settle down. Stop it. Don’t pull those off…”

  He got out, looked around in vain for Allie, and then opened the back door. The dome light illuminated June’s quaking form.

  “I’m dying. I can’t breathe.” She panicked.

  “You’re not dying.”

  “I can’t breathe.” Her left eye was as wide as it could get, darting back and forth. Her right eye was covered, and swollen shut. The wound had devastated half her face. A purple bruise reached out across her upper lip, and over the bridge of her nose. The bandages were packed tightly over half her face, with strips of gauze wrapped around the circumference of her head to keep the bloody pads in place. She looked like a person rising in the midst of mummification.

  “Settle down. Take a deep breath.”

  “I can’t. I can’t, Red. I fucking can’t.” Her breathing was sharp and shallow. “It’s like something’s pressing here.” She put her hand over her heart. “It’s… suffocating. I can’t breathe. What’s happening? Where are we?”

  “We’re safe.”

  She shook her head. “No we’re not.”

  She was right, of course. They hadn’t been safe in nearly a week. He tried to calm her. “We’re out in the middle of nowhere. No one’s around. We’re fine.”

  “Where’s Allie?”

  “She’s keeping watch. She’s probably walking around out here somewhere.”

  June peered into the blackness outside of the car. “I don’t see her. Where is she?”

  “She’s out there,” said Red as he looked as well, but his uncertainty couldn’t be masked. He didn’t see Allie, and didn’t know where she was. He stood beside the opened back door, fearful that the light inside might attract unwanted attention.

  “Then where is she?” asked June as she spun, searching.

  “I’ll go look for her in a minute. First, I want you to calm down. Are you in pain?”

  “Are you kidding?” She pointed to the bandaged side of her face. Blood had seeped through the thick padding. “Yes I’m in pain. It feels like I’ve got half my head in a stove.”

  “I’ll give you some morphine.”

  “No,” she shook her head. “I don’t want that. It’s scary. It’s fucking with me. Get me something else.” Her panic attack was easing as she got her bearings.

  “I’ve got some Dilaudid.”

  “How many milligrams is it?”

  “I don’t know, hold on.” He closed the back door and then got back in the driver’s side. He found the bottle, and left the door open long enough to read the label. “Four.”

  “Is that a lot?”

  He shrugged. “Want me to split it in half?”

  “Sure.”

  “I don’t know how long it’ll take to work,” he said as he shook one of the tiny pills out into his palm. “You sure you don’t want some morphine too?”

  “I’m sure. Can you mix that stuff?”

  Red shrugged.

  “If the pain doesn’t stop, I’ll take the other half of the Dilaudid. If that doesn’t work, then maybe I’ll try the morphine again, but I’d rather not fuck with it.”

  He snapped the pill in half, and nearly lost part of it. He passed the pill through the wire partition. June took the tablet with a swig of bottled water.

  “I’ll go find Allie,” said Red. “Are you going to be okay?”

  “No, but go find her. Don’t worry about me.”

  “Try to relax. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  “Tell her not to wander away.”

  “Okay, I will,” he said as he got out.

  “Be careful.”

  They were parked on a hillside overlooking vast, empty plains. A highway stretched through the expanse somewhere to the west, but it was invisible in the black night. There was no sign of life down there, or anywhere else for that matter. The nearly-full moon was a haze of white behind the overcast sky, and nearly all the stars were hidden away, only a sparkle here and there peeked past the gathered clouds. Black shapes zipped through the air, like the phantoms of birds. They were bats, zipping past at such a velocity that they were nearly invisible.

  “Allie,” said Red, loud but cautious. He had his hand on the pistol tucked into the front of his pants. He’d found a fresh police uniform in the squad car, but no holster. He also didn’t have any underwear or undershirt on. The stiff cotton uniform scratched at his skin.

  “Allie, where are you?”

  No answer. Red dared a quick glance around with the help of a mag light, feeling as if he was poorly role-playing the part of an officer. The intense beam of white speared the black, revealing waves of swaying grass as tall as his waist, but no sign of the teenager they’d been saddled with. He cursed under his breath.

  Two green dots flashed in the dark, and then a creature scurried away, upsetting the grass as it fled. Red jumped, his nerves on edge. He cursed again, this time directing his anger at the innocent, unidentified creature.

  “I’m over here,” said Allie from behind Red.

  “Jesus Christ,” he exclaimed as he spun and shined the light directly in her face.

  She cringed as if pained. Her bloodshot eyes were rimmed with tears. Her cheeks streaked clean.

  Red drew his gun, and kept the light focused on her. “Stop.” She was about ten feet away, and unarmed. “Where were you? Why didn’t you come when I called you?”

  “I did.” She had her arm up over her eyes, protecting them from the intense beam of light. She didn’t know he was pointing his gun at her. “I was down there.”

  “Why?”

  “Because…”

  “Because why?”

  “What’s your problem? Stop shining that in my eyes.”

  He didn’t lower the light.

  “Are you okay? Why’re you crying?”

  “Why am I crying?” she asked, offended by the question. “Are you kidding me? I just left my dad and sister. I’m never going to see them again. Ever! Why am I crying? Seriously?”

  He lowered the light, as if shamed to stare at her tears. He let the beam focus on her feet, but kept the gun pointed at her. She saw the weapon, an
d her stance stiffened. She wasn’t angry, but recognized the dangerous situation for what it was. “I’m sorry,” she said. “The tears… the crying.” She wiped her eyes. “I didn’t think about it. I didn’t… I’m sorry.”

  “You’re not infected?”

  “No. At least I don’t think so. I didn’t get stabbed or anything out here. I’m not going nuts.”

  Allie stared down, wiped her eyes, and then backed away as if to return to wherever she’d been hiding. She paused, facing away from Red. He clicked off the flashlight, leaving them both as shadows in the dark.

  “Sorry, I had to be sure. Whenever I see someone crying, it freaks me out.”

  “It’s okay. Nothing to be sorry about. I wasn’t thinking. I should’ve warned you that I was a mess.” She forced an uncomfortable laugh, and then sniffled.

  They stood in silence, an audience to chirping bats.

  Eventually, Red offered what little comfort he could. “We’re going to be fine. We’ve made it this far. Stick with June and me, and you’ll be fine.”

  “How’s she doing?”

  “She feels like she got shot in the face.” He gave a pathetic chuckle.

  “Should we try to find her some help?”

  “From who?” he asked.

  “The cops, or the military. We could try to catch up to that caravan.”

  “I’d rather not if we don’t have to. It depends on how she does today. If she starts to go downhill, then maybe we’ll have to turn ourselves in.”

  Allie stuffed her hands in her pocket as a chilly breeze swept the plains. “You make it sound like we’re criminals.”

  “June and I got caught by some cops. It didn’t go so well for us. If we turn ourselves in, we’re never going to make it to the coast. They screen you, and basically lock you up. Or at least they did. At this point, I doubt they’re even taking in survivors.”

  “You don’t know that for sure.”

  “No. I don’t know anything for sure, except that I’m going to do everything I can to keep us alive. Beyond that,” he shrugged. “Who knows?”

  “Was that supposed to be comforting?”

  “It’s been five days since I’ve been comfortable about anything,” he said.

  “Five days,” she repeated as if ruminating on the fact. “It’s crazy how things got so bad so quick. It hasn’t even been a week, and everything’s gone to total shit.” She sounded as if she might start crying again.

  Red considered stepping closer to offer support, but chose to keep his distance. “My dad used to say the country was a skyscraper on a garbage dump, just waiting to fall down.”

  “I guess he was right.”

  “Maybe he was right about the government, but not the people. Whenever my dad would talk about how awful the government was, my mom would say that a country’s made up of more than just its capital buildings. It’s made up of people too. She said that the people made the difference.”

  “And here we are, getting stabbed by the people,” said Allie.

  “Sure, you could look at it that way. But you could also look at how June’s sitting in that car over there with a bullet in her face, and all she wanted was to know that you were okay. She sent me out here to look for you.”

  Allie looked at Red, but didn’t respond.

  He continued, “I know it feels like the world’s falling apart, but as long as we stick together we’ve got a shot. Right?”

  “Right,” she said, placating him. She wasn’t convinced.

  After a moment she asked, “How did you and June meet?”

  “I was dating her friend.”

  Allie scrunched her nose and asked, “Really?”

  “Yeah. It wasn’t supposed to happen, but it was one of those things. You know? Just sort of… happened. We were out one night drinking with some friends – camping. June and I ended up on a hill looking at the stars. We talked and talked until the sun came up, and eventually ended up holding hands. After that, we knew there was no going back. I broke up with my girlfriend, and we’ve been together since.”

  “How long?” asked Allie.

  Red laughed. “Not that long, but longer than the vast majority of my relationships.”

  “She’s a good catch.”

  “Yeah, I agree,” he said. “Come on, let’s go show her that you’re okay. She’s worried about you.”

  Allie agreed, and followed Red back to the car. June squirmed in the back seat when the dome light came on. She looked out at Red and asked, “Did you find her?”

  “Yep. She’s right here.”

  “She’s okay?” June sounded groggy, like a drunk on the verge of passing out.

  “I’m fine,” said Allie as she moved to stand beside Red at the back door of the squad car.

  “Oh thank goodness. Don’t run off like that, Allie. You had me so worried.” She put her hand over her heart and laid her head back down on the bunched-up towel she was using as a pillow. “So worried.”

  “Don’t worry about me,” said Allie. “Just focus on relaxing.”

  “Promise you’ll stick by Red. If anything happens, stick by him. He’s like… good luck.” Her words slurred as her eyelids fluttered. “Keep each other safe.”

  “We will,” said Red. “Get some sleep, Junie.” He pulled the blanket over her exposed toes, and gave them a gentle pinch.

  Day Five – 7:44 am

  Porter awoke as he slid across the metal floor of the trailer and banged into the back wall. Sunlight came in through the bullet hole on the ceiling, telling him he’d slept through a good portion of the night.

  His hands were shackled, as were his feet, and a mask covered his mouth. His eyes burned, as they had since the beginning of his infection, but the tears had begun to subside. A wound on his neck from where Jeff had injected him was burning. It pulsed and itched, but the chain connecting his wrists to his ankles wouldn’t let him scratch it no matter how much he contorted.

  The truck was coming to a stop, and the trailer began to shake as the brakes squealed. There was yelling, and then gunshots. An assault rifle fired off several shots, paused, and then followed with another quick burst.

  “Get out of the…” A soldier’s voice was cut off by more gunfire. A distant car alarm blared.

  Porter moved to the rear of the trailer. He stood beside the door and banged his shackled hands against the metal. “What’s going on out there?” he asked, but got no answer.

  The sounds of battle subsided. Porter banged on the door a few more times, but eventually gave up and sat down. He assumed the soldiers had callously murdered more helpers. The thought infuriated him.

  “We’re only trying to help.” He punched the wall of the trailer, and then banged his forehead against it. “Stop killing us! We’re only trying to help.”

  The caravan stayed parked for a while, and Porter laid down to stare up through his dime-sized window to the blue sky. He was drifting back to sleep when there was a knock at the back of the trailer.

  “Porter, are you awake? It’s me, Jeff. This is Jeff. Can you hear me in there?”

  Porter sat up and said, “Yes.”

  “Stay back from the door for a minute.”

  “Okay.”

  A moment later there was an awful squeal of metal grinding against metal. The trailer vibrated as a drill punched a half-dollar hole into the lower center of one of the two sides of the back door. Porter stayed where he was as the drill began grinding another hole. The trailer filled with the smell of hot metal as a second hole perforated the door.

  Jeff placed a flashlight against the higher of the two holes, revealing the interior of the trailer in harsh light. The scientist stared in through the lower hole.

  “Porter, you need to listen to me,” said the scientist. “You need to do exactly what I say.” He was nervous about something, and beckoned Porter closer.

  “Were you killing more helpers? Is that what the shooting was about?”

  “Be quiet and come here. Don’t be b
elligerent – not now. That’s the last thing we need.”

  Porter walked closer to the back of the trailer.

  The scientist continued, quieter than before, “Look at me, Porter. Can you see me?”

  Porter could see the man’s lower jaw. When he bent down, he could see a portion of the rest of his face. “Yes.”

  “Tell me who you’re looking at.”

  Porter peered through. “I’m looking at an old pain in the ass.”

  “Who am I?” he asked.

  Porter stared, uncertain why he was being asked such an odd question. “You’re Jeff. Why?”

  “And who is this?” asked Jeff as he produced a photograph. He held the picture up, close to the hole.

  “It’s my family,” said Porter when he recognized the picture he’d been carrying of his wife and children.

  “Their names are written on the back. Tell me what their names are.”

  “Why?” asked Porter.

  “Just do as I say!” It was an angry whisper.

  “Mary, Mark, and Anthony.”

  “Good, good. Listen to me, Porter, you need to do exactly what I say. Understand? You need to be passive, and do what you’re told. No more banging on the trailer and screaming. Every time you show aggression you’re giving Paulson more ammo. You remember Paulson, right? You remember who he is?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “And you know what he looks like?”

  “Yes,” said Porter impatiently. “Why do you keep asking me if I know what people look like?”

  “I won’t lie, Porter, everyone here wants you dead. I’m the only one pushing to keep you alive. Me, Jeff. But something’s coming… Something big. And if it does, when it does, I’m not going to be able to protect you. Especially not if you’re being combative.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “You want to survive, right?”

  “I’d prefer it that way,” said Porter.

  “Good. Listen, the virus is mutating inside you. I don’t know if it’s because of the immunotherapy drugs I’ve given you or not. I’d like to find out, and to do that I need you alive.”

  “You need me to cooperate,” said Porter, sensing opportunity.