My ass hurts.
Gus rubbed at my back forcefully, and I vomited again.
I know, baby, just focus on breathing.
“Hold him down!” yelled Dayton.
Harris was screaming; the noise from the boat motor wasn’t enough to drown out his cries of agony.
“Gus, we need you over here!” called Hoot.
“I can’t leave her, brother,” he yelled back.
“God damnit, Hills! Hold his arms down! Adams, stop the boat!” ordered Dayton.
Hope continued to wail and her fear crept into my soul, where it took an icy hold. She was telling me, without using words, that danger was near, that she was with the pretty new woman, and that she was scared for me and the man who was yelling.
“Casper, we need you!” shouted Hoot.
“Hold his leg!”
Harris screamed shrilly as the boat slowed and came to a stop. I fought against the pain in my shoulder and my butt and sat up. Gus kept me close to him for warmth. I stared in horror as four men held Harris down. He fought back despite looking like he was near death. Blood pooled at his feet. His military cargo pants had been torn off, exposing his bitten ankle. Dayton knelt beside his injured leg with a hacksaw in hand. She struggled to tie a rubber tube around his leg, just below the knee. Autumn’s brother, Casper, held his leg down, pressing on his kneecap. Blood streaked Dayton’s face and arm.
I quickly looked toward the bow of the boat and was glad that Autumn was holding Hope’s head against her chest so that she would not see the horror that was about to happen.
Gus wrapped an arm around me and whispered into my ear. “Look away, darlin’.”
“It won’t help, Gus. He’s already one of them,” I choked out. “He’s about to change.”
“Fuck, they have to get away from him,” he muttered as he stood.
I wanted to call out to him, but my throat hurt too bad to speak above a whisper.
“He’s turning!” shouted Gus. “It’s too late! Get away from him!”
The group of four men and one woman looked up, their eyes wide. Dayton tilted her head to the side, almost as if asking him if he was sure. She held the saw mid-air for a lingering moment before deciding that Gus was right. She set the saw down and stood to address the others.
“He’s infected,” she said as she continued to look at Gus. I assumed she meant Harris, but when Adams and Hill looked at her I understood that she meant Gus. “He says Harris is turning. Only an infected could know that. We need to end this. We owe it to Harris.”
Adams, Hill, Hoot, and Casper continued to hold Harris down. He was thrashing more wildly than before and his screams were changing to something more primal. Dayton unsheathed a hunting knife from her belt, knelt again, whispered something close to Harris’ ear, and promptly drove the blade into one of his eyes. The signature of the undead Harris that was inside my mind faded.
***
“You’re tainted,” spat Dayton with a snarl. She was looking directly at Gus.
“Zoe and I both are,” he answered.
“You should have told us sooner.” Hill said, angrily.
“We’ve been infected for a long time. We’re not a danger to you,” answered Gus.
“We know,” said Dayton. “There’s others like you back home at the base. We’re trying to figure out what causes some to turn, and others, like you, don’t.”
“Your daughter’s infected too?” asked Hill.
“We’re not really sure. She’s pretty special though,” I said in a hoarse voice.
“What does she do?” asked Dayton. “They can all do something,” she added when I didn’t respond.
“They?” asked Gus.
“She’s not the only one. There’s three more back home. Two of them seem to be able to talk to each other without using any words and one can drop the dead to their knees when she cries. It’s pretty incredible.”
Gus and I looked at each other.
“She can kill them with her touch,” Gus said while still looking at me. I felt my stomach drop. I didn’t want them knowing too much about our little girl. What he said to only me, in my mind, worried me more.
Don’t let them know you were bit.
I kept my gaze on Gus, picking up on his fear.
“We need to get moving,” said Dayton in a disturbed tone.
“What about Harris?” asked Hill.
“He’d say to leave him here. You know that,” said Dayton.
When Adams and Hill picked up Harris’ body to throw it overboard, I looked away. The resulting splash from the body hitting the water was too much a reminder of when we said goodbye to Emilie.
“Is she okay?” asked Autumn, gesturing toward me.
“She’ll be fine,” said Gus. The look in his eyes was frightening me.
I watched Hope as I remained on the damp floor of the boat. I ignored my own shivering and waited to feel some sign of myself turning after being bit.
You’ll be okay, darlin. I’m here.
I’m cold.
You’ll be okay. He echoed his thought.
“Hoot, brother, can you find something to cover Zoe with? A tarp, or blanket?”
“There’s a solar blanket in the emergency kit under the bow. Adams, can you grab it?” asked Dayton. She looked a bit sick to her stomach. “Hill, get us the fuck out of here.”
Hill started the boat motor and we began moving away from the large horde that were spilling into the river.
Adams emerged from the bow, where he had ducked down to retrieve a plastic box from a small storage area under the dash. I cleared my throat and lungs again, the action sending a jolt of pain through my shoulder. Gus took the solar blanket from him and wrapped it around both of us. The boat ride lasted about twenty agonizingly long minutes. I wasn’t sure how much more I could take.
Hill decreased speed near a willow tree that covered a large portion of riverbank. The surrounding landscape was barren and I thought this must be what Hell looked like. The tree was grossly out of place and made for an excellent land mark.
“We’re here,” announced Dayton coldly as the boat glided ashore.
“Stay quiet. The Deadheads will be coming soon. They can sense infected like you, and we can’t afford to lose any more time. We need to get to base by dark. Do what you need to keep the little one quiet, too,” instructed Hill.
I looked to the west and realized the sun was low in the sky. Night would be upon us soon.
“Hoot, I need you to carry Hope,” said Gus.
“Sure,” he answered without hesitation. “C’mon, sweetie,” he said in his best ‘your uncle loves you’ voice. She reached out to him and appeared glad to be back in familiar arms. “You have to stay very quiet, princess, okay?”
She nodded and put one of her pudgy little fingers up to her mouth. Hoot smiled sweetly at this gesture.
“We’ll need to travel by foot for about two miles,” said Hill quietly. “There’s not much between here and there for cover, so be fast and stay quiet.”
“Rodger that,” said Gus.
Zoe, I need you to stand up and keep your butt turned away from everyone while I wrap the blanket around you.
I looked at Gus with knowing eyes. He held a hand out for me, which I gratefully held onto with my non-injured arm. I hoisted myself up, pain ripping through both my shoulder and my butt cheek. He wrapped the thin thermal sheet tightly around me and we waited for the others to step off the boat. No one had taken notice of my rear end since I had remained seated. Dayton waited onboard, and I knew then that she intended to be that last one to disembark.
She started at us as if waiting, but neither of us moved. She lowered her gaze to the floor of the boat where we had been huddled together for warmth. She adjusted her stance and her face took on a look of anger.
“What’s the blood from?” she demanded.
I felt the warmth leave my face.
“Nothing to worry about,” answered Gus.
“L
ike hell it’s not,” said Dayton.
Hoot stood on shore with Hope and I could tell he sensed that we were in danger by the look on his face.
Autumn and Casper stood back a few feet, clearly confused. Hill and Adams took defensive postures.
“She’s fine,” said Gus in a deepened voice.
“Is she bit?” demanded Dayton. Gus didn’t answer. “Is she bit?” she yelled this time.
“She’s already infected, and I’d know if she were turning,” he answered. His voice was almost feral and made my blood run cold.
“Fuck no, we can’t take that risk. No fucking way almighty,” said Dayton as she shook her head back and forth. “She stays behind. Period.”
“Then I stay with her.”
Hoot stepped sideways, away from the others, with Hope still in his arms.
“And we stay with them,” our friend quickly interjected.
“No,” I said angrily. “It’s not safe out here for Hope.”
“Zoe, we can’t just leave you here.”
I looked at Gus in desperation. You have to take her, Gus. You have to go with her and keep her safe.
“We can leave you with a day’s worth of water and your weapons,” said Dayton, still not backing down.
Gus cleared his throat.
“Give us twenty-four hours. Tell us where your base is and if we make it there un-turned, will you let us in?”
Dayton looked at her companions before looking back at us. “Forty-eight, and not sooner. And that’s if the others back home agree.”
“Done. Hoot, take Hope and go with them,” said Gus.
I looked at him angrily. “No, Gus! You have to go with her!”
He looked down at me. “I will not leave you out here alone, darlin’. Never. Hoot will watch over her like she’s his own and you know that.”
I was too angry, and too out of ideas, to argue.
“Let me hold her before you leave,” I demanded.
“No. We can’t risk her getting hurt,” said Dayton, which infuriated me.
“Zoe, it’s okay. We’ll see her in two days,” Gus said, trying to calm me.
I looked at Hoot. “You promise you’ll watch after her? With your life?”
He nodded.
Hill took a small spiral bound notebook from his right vest chest pocket, a pen from the left pocket, and scribbled a map. He set it on a bow seat and backed away.
Dayton went ashore and joined the others, leaving me and Gus in the half-beached boat. Hill secured one end of a rope to the willow tree and I watched as my heart was carried away. I took a deep shuddering breath, trying my hardest to not break down.
“Darlin’, we’ll get there. I promise.”
I turned around to face my husband, letting the solar blanket fall from me. I slapped Gus on his chest with my good hand, as hard as I could.
“Why! Why’d you let them take her?” I shouted. “She’s gone!”
He allowed me to slap his chest two more times before grabbing my arm, stilling me.
“It was the only way, Zo. Something about Adams told me to let it go. I couldn’t read his mind, nor he ours, but I sensed something. He’s infected too, I’m sure of it, and while Dayton appeared to be in charge, she wasn’t. That man was ready to kill you, Zoe.”
“You should have let him!” I spat angrily. “You should be with Hope now, not here with me!”
“I made a promise to someone a long time ago, to keep you safe, and I plan to honor my word. You’re half of me, woman. Half of me, and the most important and the best half.”
He wrapped his arms around me and held me close, despite my protesting.
“Zoe, we need to move. We have to find shelter for the night. Not only are the dead going to follow us, but we need to get inside and out of whatever fallout there’s going to be from the mountain.”
“Just leave me behind,” I mumbled into his chest. My muscles relaxed as I finally allowed him to hold me.
“Stop talking like that. Hope needs you, and so do I. Are you going to be able to walk?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“No.”
“Then yes. I can walk.”
“Take your pants off. I need to check that bite. They left the first aid kit, so I’ll clean and bandage it real quick. Then we need to get the fuck out of here.”
“Okay.”
I gently pushed away from him and slipped out of my jeans. I pulled my panties down and turned my backside to my husband.
“Does it hurt?’ he asked.
“Like a mother,” I grumbled.
“It got you pretty good. Lean over the back of the driver’s seat. This might sting.”
I took a painful step forward and leaned over the seat-back.
“Try to hold still, darlin’. That bastard got you pretty good. I know you heal fast but you’re still bleeding, so stitches may be a good idea. Hopefully this first aid kit has some.”
“Great,” I replied. “That’s gonna hurt.”
“Ayup.”
Gus began rifling through the first aid kit noisily. The dead began filling my head again and my bite and hip throbbed.
“I found a pack of sutures but no needles,” grumbled Gus.
“They’re getting closer,” I said.
“Yeah, I know. Take a deep breath, babe.”
I inhaled deeply and waited for whatever he was about to do. I felt something cold run down the back of my leg the same time that my wound began stinging.
“What the hell was that?” I asked through clenched teeth.
“Rubbing alcohol. To disinfect it.”
“God, that hurt like a son of a bitch!” I groaned through clenched teeth.
“Sorry. I had to.”
“I know. Just hurry and finish?”
“Hold still. I’m going to dry it off with a sterile gauze and bandage it. Hopefully that’ll be enough to slow the bleeding.”
It took Gus only a minute to slap a dressing on. It took him another minute to fashion a sling for my arm using an ACE wrap. Once he was done I leaned over the side of the boat and rinsed my panties out using the river water. They were badly stained with my blood. I wrung them out the best I could while using just one arm and slid them back on, but didn’t bother with my jeans. Gus folded the solar blanket into a small rectangle and shoved it into the pocket of his still-damp cargo pants. I quickly put my wet socks and shoes back on.
“How far off do they feel?” he asked me.
“Maybe half a mile.”
“Let’s get out of here then.”
I nodded.
“You going to be okay without pants?”
“I’ll manage,” I answered quickly.
The sun was low in the horizon and burning a bright red.
“The smoke’s working its way this direction,” I said.
“Yeah. You can tell it’s polluting the horizon. Out through the bow, babe.”
I followed him to the open bow. He picked up the paper that Hill left behind. He unfolded it and studied it before pointing to the west.
“Map says to head that way. He marked two X’s, so I’m hoping the closest is shelter.”
“Let’s go.”
My heart ached for my daughter. The pain of being separated from her was far worse than that of my shoulder, hip, or butt bite. We set off to the west, trying to keep ahead of the dead that followed.
CHAPTER 7
As the sun began to drop, so did the temperature. Our clothes were still damp from the river and while my injuries made walking difficult, I knew we had to keep moving to stay warm.
“Any idea how far the nearest city is?” I asked.
“Hoping very far away, darlin’.”
“But we need to get inside.”
“Ayup. But cities mean hordes. Hoping we come across a road soon, maybe find a remote house.”
Still no signs of old civilization, our pace quickened. Our shadows grew long in front of us. Gus took hold of my hand when I began to slow. My m
uscles burned from the exertion of walking after already being exhausted from my ordeal in the river. We walked another mile before finally happening upon a two-lane highway. Like most roads since the end of the world, it was littered with weeds and old trash. A few wrecked cars and an old pickup truck were left abandoned on the side of the road. A deer carcass lay in a heap not far from where we crossed, badly decayed, with bones from its limbs spread randomly nearby. The hide was shredded and tufts of fur remained in a few select patches.
“Fucking Roamers,” grumbled Gus.
“Yeah,” I said in agreeance.
I was out of breath and ready to stop. Sensing my weariness, Gus slowed our pace but kept hold of my hand.
***
We followed the curve of the highway to our right, always alert to the threat of the dead. Ash began to lazily fall from the sky. Gus silently told me to breathe through my nose to best filter the substance.
There. I pointed.
I see it.
In the distance, pink light from the setting sun reflected brightly, offering hope of respite. Gus squeezed my hand and looked at me intently.
You ready?
I nodded. I mustered together my remaining energy and we sprinted forward, desperate to find lodging.
The Columbia River loomed before us. A metal-and-concrete bridge with two lanes each direction was a welcome sight. At the far end, a stone tower stood as a beacon of hope. The dead surrounded us in the distance. While we couldn’t see them, my mind told me they were there.
“We don’t have much time. They’re getting closer,” I said quietly as we stopped long enough to decide which approach to the tower would be best.
“We’ll need to climb down the ridge, darlin’. It’ll be faster than following the bend in the road.”
The side of the highway dropped off by several yards. We straddled the metal barrier at the road’s edge and began to scale our way down the slope toward the bridge. The soil was dry and rocky, making for loose footing. I fell several times, and as painful as each landing was I refused to cry out. I could feel the dead close behind and I knew any extra noise would only hasten their approach. We reached the bottom of the drop-off as the moans of Roamers became audible. Out of breath and exhausted, I kept hold of Gus’ hand for dear life. We jogged until we got back to the highway. My old hip wound began to ache, signaling the dead were getting closer. As we reached the barrier alongside the road, Gus quickly lifted me over, back onto the highway.
State of Grace Page 4
