Death's Awakening (Eternal Sorrows, #1)

by Sarra Cannon

  Still, she missed her things.

  She got off the bed and went in to the bathroom. She took her time brushing her teeth with her own toothbrush and toothpaste. She washed her face with her favorite cleanser. Brushed through her hair. Yeah, this was nice. She glanced at the shower. Did she have time?

  If she was going to stay here, she could take all the time she wanted, but she at least needed to go back over there and tell them what she was doing. Plus, she couldn’t just leave Noah’s back door open.

  Maybe she’d just grab a few of her things and stay over at his place for another day or two. See where things went from there. It was possible the National Guard or someone would come after them before then, right? There was talk of it all over the television.

  The stations has started playing reruns on most channels, but every once in a while, a message or news bulletin would pop up. Survivor camps were being mapped out in strategic locations, they’d said. Soon, they would be sending helicopters and buses for all the survivors so that everyone could live in safety with plenty of food and water and other supplies.

  Parrish and Noah had been wrong about that. The government was still in control and as soon as they got things organized, they were coming for all of the survivors. When that happened, she might not have time to come back over here and get her things. She’d better grab what she needed now just in case.

  Karmen reached under her bed and hauled out her large pink suitcase. Nestled inside was a smaller suitcase and an overnight bag. She set the two bigger ones on her bed and carried the overnight bag into the bathroom. She emptied her entire makeup drawer into the bag, then collected all of her shampoo, shaving gel, razors, lotion and things on the counter. She was tempted to just dump it all in the bag and move on, but she knew from experience that all it would take is one bottle of shampoo to pop open and everything inside would be ruined.

  She couldn’t risk it. Not with these possibly being the last supplies she’d have for the next few months. There were big plastic storage bags in the kitchen that would help her keep things from leaking all over. She ran down the stairs to go get them, but the second she entered the kitchen, she knew something was off. Goose bumps prickled her skin despite the fact she was still wearing her coat.

  She flipped the switch on the wall and the room flooded with light. The floor beneath her feet was streaked with dirt and dark red blood. She followed the streaks to the back door, then covered her mouth as a scream caught in her throat.

  The back door stood open and she had a clear view of the backyard. Muddy footprints covered the walkway around the pool, coming from the back edge of the yard up onto the back porch.

  Karmen spun around, looking to see where the footsteps led inside the house. The mud streaked across the kitchen floor and into the hallway. How had she not seen this when she’d first walked in?

  With her hand still clamped tight over her mouth, she followed the trail.

  She stepped into the hallway and jumped as someone walked by the front door, blocking the light from the outside.

  Karmen stared at the figure, not prepared to face one of those things by herself.

  As the figure took a step toward her, the room began to spin.

  “Todd?” she whispered.

  Her brother stood at the end of the hall, his arm mangled and bloody. His eyes were milky-white. Karmen couldn’t even scream. All she could do was stare at him. He took a step toward her and she felt herself being to lose it.

  She willed herself to stay awake and alert, but she’d already lost control. She was going down.

  She fell to the floor, losing consciousness as the footsteps rushed toward her.

  Noah

  “Karmen?”

  Noah ran toward her as she fell to the floor. He’d seen the terror on her face just before she lost consciousness.

  What had she been thinking, coming here alone?

  He shook her gently by the shoulders and called her name again, but she was out.

  She’d probably seen him and thought he was one of the rotters. And she was lucky he wasn’t one of them. Here in the cool darkness of this empty house, it was the perfect place for a group of them to hide out. Hadn’t he and Parrish warned her several times about coming over here?

  Stupid.

  That’s when he noticed the streaks of blood and dirt on the carpet. Crap. Some of them had gotten inside for sure. He needed to get her out of here.

  “Karmen?” He shook her harder this time and her eyes fluttered open for a brief second, then closed again. “Come on,” he said. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

  She moaned, but didn’t open her eyes. He didn’t have time to wait for her to come-to. There was no telling if whoever had gotten in here was still hiding out somewhere in the shadows or not. He’d have to carry her.

  He took her arm and threw it over his shoulder, then put his other hand under her knees. He lifted her from the ground, noticing again how light and easy she was to carry.

  He brought her out into the warm sunlight, kicking the door closed with his boot.

  Overhead, the sound of helicopters. Lots of them.

  Noah squinted against the sun. At least half a dozen helicopters passed over him, dropping flyers that fluttered to the street of the neighborhood. Soldiers sat at the very edge, machine guns in hand. It looked like four or five in each one.

  Noah stood still, watching as they passed. Part of him was relieved to see enough people alive to still form some kind of army, but part of him was confused about why they were up in the air instead of on the ground helping them. Where were the soldiers come nightfall?

  He put most of Karmen’s weight against one hand, then bent down to pick up one of the flyers. He stuck it in his back pocket. He’d read it later. For now, he needed to get them both inside and out of danger. It was still hours from getting dark, but they were better safe than sorry.

  Quickly, he walked back across the street to his house and through the back door. He set Karmen down on the couch in the living room, then went to secure the door again. This time, he nailed on twice the number of boards.

  When he was done, Noah went back into the living room and sat down on the coffee table, staring at Karmen as she slept.

  He was pissed. How could she be so careless? What if she had gotten attacked over there? She’d be dead for sure. And if he hadn’t seen the back door open in time, the rotters could have just walked right in to his house and gotten him and Parrish too. They’d all be dead, just like that.

  He ran a hand through his hair. Of course, he was the hypocrite here. Wasn’t he the one putting them all in danger?

  Exhausted, he sat down in the large leather chair next to the couch. Somehow he’d ended up in this position where he was taking care of these two girls. He felt responsible for them, but he also needed to do what he could to take care of his dad.

  Remembering the helicopters, Noah reached into his back pocket and pulled out the piece of paper they’d dumped all over the area.

  MANDATORY EVACUATION

  This area has been contaminated by people infected with the super-flu. Survivors who are showing no signs of illness are required to report to McLean Memorial Hospital for transport to a designated safe zone. There will be food and shelter provided.

  Each citizen will be checked for fever, bites, festering wounds and other signs of infection. Anyone who does not pass the initial inspection will be denied transport.

  Everyone will be allowed to carry one small bag of belongings with them. Please think carefully when choosing items to bring with you. Bring only necessities. No weapons will be allowed in the safe zones unless you are a registered active duty military or decorated veteran of the US Military. This includes items such as scissors and knives.

  All survivors are required to report to their designation pick-up point before 3:00 P.M. on Thursday.

  This evacuation is mandatory.

  Noah’s hands trembled as he read the notice.

&nbs
p; He thought of his father in the basement, his stomach sick.

  They had four days to evacuate. Or what? He knew there had to be more to it. Would they be bombing the area? Coming in with guns and killing everything that moved? Surely they weren’t planning to just leave the world to the rotters without some kind of plan.

  The nightmare just kept getting darker. Noah stood, then placed a blanket over a sleeping Karmen. He needed to talk to her and to Parrish about the evacuation, but for now, he just wanted another few hours with his dad.

  He headed down to the basement, careful to lock the door behind him.

  Parrish

  Parrish brewed a pot of coffee and waited.

  He couldn’t stay down in that basement forever.

  She didn’t even bother sitting down at the table. She just poured herself a cup, fixed it up with cream and sugar, and planted herself at the island in the middle of the kitchen staring straight at the locked basement door.

  Noah had been acting strange ever since they first got here. Sneaking down to the basement at all hours. Always locking the door behind him. And when she’d asked him what he was doing down there, he’d fumbled over his words, saying he just needed some time to himself.

  Parrish wasn’t buying it. Seriously, who had a security system with a key code on their basement door? It was all very Batman. Or evil villain. She wanted to know which.

  So she waited.

  The evacuation notice lay on the countertop. Why hadn’t he come to her with this? She’d been upstairs sleeping, but this was too important to ignore. They only had a handful of days to come up with a plan.

  And what about her sister? She still hadn’t given up on her. If she’d kept her door locked, there was a chance she was still alive. But for how long?

  More than half an hour and two cups of coffee later, the basement door finally opened. At first Noah didn’t notice her. He locked the door and pulled it closed, then turned to the key pad to the left of the door.

  “Wait,” she said.

  His fingers froze over the lighted keys. He didn’t turn toward her, but she could tell by his tense shoulders that he wasn’t exactly happy to hear her voice.

  Parrish left her spot behind the island and came over to stand behind him. “I want to know what you’ve got hidden down in that basement.”

  Noah’s shoulders rose and fell as he took a deep breath. His fingers dropped from the keys and he turned. “I told you,” he said. “It’s just a bunch of family stuff like photo albums and stuff of my mom’s. I just like to go down there and be by myself for a while. Get my head on straight.”

  “Bullshit.” Parrish took a step closer to him. No one kept photo albums and old sweaters behind locked doors. “What’s really down there?”

  He swallowed hard, his eyes tensed. He shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  She raised an eyebrow. Her heart beat loud in her eardrums. “You have to. If I’m going to stay here with you, I have a right to know what’s in the basement,” she said. Her cheeks flushed. She was pushing him, but she needed to know.

  He looked away and her heart raced faster.

  “Noah?”

  He closed his eyes and turned back to the door. He balled his hand into a fist and pressed it against his forehead as if he’d suddenly gotten a terrible headache.

  “I can’t,” he said, his voice a whisper this time.

  Parrish leaned back against the island. Was she doing the right thing? Whatever was down there had him all turned around. Should she just let it go?

  She shook her head. She needed to know, even if it was hard for him to tell her. If they were going to make decisions as a group, they needed to be honest with each other.

  She stepped toward him, hesitating briefly before she wrapped her palm around his wrist and pulled his hand away from his face.

  He opened his eyes and looked at her. The tears in his eyes sent a jolt of fear through her veins. This was serious.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I know it’s really none of my business. You saved my life by letting me into your house, and I owe you big for that. But at the same time, the world around us is completely messed up. We’ve all lost everyone and everything we ever cared about in this world. Right now, all we have is each other, and if we can’t be honest with each other, then we might as well be alone.”

  She glanced toward the basement door.

  “Whatever it is, you might feel better if you show me.” She still hadn’t loosened her grip on Noah’s wrist and he hadn’t tried to move away. “I need to know what’s down there.”

  He stared at her, his eyes moving over her face, searching. Finally, he pulled his wrist away from her and turned around, entering the password into the keypad.

  With a click, the basement door opened.

  Part III: The Fifth

  The Boy

  The boy was hungry. It had been almost a week since he’d last gone out for food and water, and he’d been careful to make it last. He was dreading going back out into the streets.

  The screams in the night were so scary. Even when he closed himself in the back closet and pulled blankets over his head, he could still hear them.

  How many days had he been alone? At first, he’d tried to mark the passing of the days on an old calendar he found, but he got behind somewhere and lost track.

  Two weeks, maybe? Three?

  He was used to making due with little food. His mom hadn’t always had the money to buy much. But he was so hungry. He wasn’t sure how many more days he could go without eating. His favorite pair of shorts fell off when he put them on and he’d had to use a piece of rope to tie them on so they didn’t fall when he ran. In the mirror, his eyes looked sunken in and dark. He looked dead. Like them.

  He needed food.

  With trembling fingers, he pulled the heavy curtain back from the window. He peered down at the street below. The bright sunlight hurt his eyes. He’d gotten so used to the darkness. At night, he was too scared to turn on the lights, afraid they’d see him and come after him.

  A man staggered through the barren streets, not concerned with the sunlight. Every once in a while, the boy saw one that didn’t seem to mind the sun. One of the man’s legs was badly rotted, but he limped along anyway.

  One was not a problem. The boy was fast enough for one. It was the packs he was afraid of.

  As long as he stayed out of the shadows, he’d be okay. He just had to be back home before it got dark.

  The trick would be finding a grocery store that still had food and wasn’t infested with the walking dead.

  His head turned from side to side as he scanned the street below. Sometimes the infected packed together like bees in a hive. One loud noise and they were suddenly awake and coming for you. They walked slow, but if there were enough of them, they could block you in. He had to stay alert and be careful. One wrong step and he might become one of them.

  Or worse.

  The boy sucked in a ragged breath as he thought about the last time he had seen another uninfected human. He wasn’t sure how long ago that had been. Three or four days ago now.

  He was going to get her attention. To see if she needed a place to stay for the night. But before he could climb down, he saw a stirring of movement from the corner of his eye. The woman had been standing near a darkened doorway.

  Didn’t she know better than to stand so close to such a darkened doorway without a light or a weapon of some kind?

  The boy had chewed on his lip, desperate to call out to her, but unable to find his voice. It had been a long time since he’d had anyone to talk to. He’d held his breath tight in his chest, praying for her to move safely down the street. To be free of that dark doorway.

  But he’d only had to wait a breath. A single moment. Then they were on her. A pack of them descended on her like wolves. He’d heard her scream. It echoed through the deserted streets like the wail of a siren.

  The infected had swarmed her, lumbering up from
their sleeping place in the darkness. Her rummaging must have awakened them. The smell of her human flesh must have stirred them from their slumber.

  The boy had turned away as the infected sank their teeth into her sagging flesh. Her red blood spilled onto the sidewalk like a sacrificial lamb. A human sacrifice.

  He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Just the memory of it scared him. He wished he could just stay inside, away from the dark places.

  But he needed to eat. His stomach hurt so bad and he felt so very tired.

  He looked out again and weighed his options. He might be able to make it another day or two on the food and water he had left, but what if it rained tomorrow? Or for the next week? There was no way to tell when he might have another sunny day like this where there were so few of them about.

  He was going to have to go out today. He would get enough food to last for a month if he had to.

  There was a little red wagon on the corner. He’d been eyeing it for a couple of weeks. Some other kid had left it there when they were playing. He could carry a lot of food in that wagon.

  With careful packing, he put a bottle of water and a pack of peanut butter crackers into his small backpack. This was the last of his food, but if he got stuck somewhere and couldn’t make it home, at least he’d have something to eat.

  He looked around, then added a baseball bat he’d gotten when he played tee-ball last year. He slung the bag over his shoulders and took a deep breath. There were only a few out today. He would be okay. The sun would keep him safe.

  He pulled the curtain further back and secured it with a rope. He yanked the window open and climbed out onto the ledge. He didn’t like to go through the hallways, even during the day. It was way too dark in there. A hive could be lurking on the stairways or in one of the apartments. The infected didn’t seem to mind the lights inside. It was only the sun they hated.