Roads Less Traveled: The Plan

by C. Dulaney

  “Hell man, you think something like a bullet is gonna do me in? I’ll be damned, I can’t believe it,” I said, going on and on until he finally grinned.

  “That’s better,” I said and smiled back. “What time is it anyway? Too early for coffee?”

  He hit the light on his watch and said it was 5:30. Yeah, too early for coffee.

  “Well, can you at least turn the lamp on and help me sit up. My back is killing me and I really have to piss,” I said very dramatically. Chuckling, he walked over and flipped it on, then came over to the left side of the bed and crawled over to me, gently scooting Gus out of the way. I raised my good left arm and wrapped it around his neck, while he slipped one arm behind my back and lifted me into a sitting position. I winced and inhaled sharply, the pull on the stitches by sitting up hurting my shoulder.

  “You okay?” he asked, his free hand moving around to support my useless right arm. I took a deep breath and nodded.

  “Yeah. I’m going to need a sling or something. Maybe Nancy has one, or we can make one,” I started saying before he held up a hand and hushed me.

  “One thing at a time, huh? How about we get you out of bed and into the bathroom for starters,” he said as he slipped off that side of the bed and hurried around to the other. Using my good arm, I twisted my legs around until they hung over the edge of the bed, then sat there bent over a few moments to catch my breath. Damn, pain really does take your breath away. I also realized I probably hadn’t had a shower since I’d been shot. Awesome.

  Zack held to my good arm, one hand on my elbow and the other firmly grasping mine, and slowly helped me to the bathroom. Once I felt like I had my sea-legs, I chuckled and let go of his hand.

  “I think I can handle it from here,” I said after stepping through the doorway. He smiled and nodded once, then pulled the door shut. I relieved myself, once again wondering about things I probably didn’t want to know, such as, how did I go to the bathroom while I was passed out? And after realizing that I was clean and didn’t stink, how did I get clean and bathed? I decided I would give Nancy the credit and ask no further questions. Then, after an amusing struggle with my pajama bottoms, I splashed some water on my face and rinsed my mouth with a little Listerine. I stepped back into my room and cautiously got back into bed.

  “Hey, there’s been something I’ve been wanting to ask you,” I said, grunting as Zack repositioned the pillows so I could lean against the headboard.

  “Sure,” he answered, sitting down slowly in the chair next to me. I rubbed my nose and my eyes, pretty much stalling for time. This was a sensitive topic, and I was afraid I’d ruin the friendly relationship developing between us with just a few words.

  He finally chuckled. “You had a question, Kase?” He was leaning forward on his elbows and smiling, so I dropped my good hand away from my face and sighed.

  “Yeah. And you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, or if it’s none of my business.” I waited for him to nod before continuing. “Where’s your family? Ben told me about Kyra’s after you guys first got here, but he didn’t say anything about yours.” I held my breath waiting. Waiting for an answer, waiting for a nice go-to-hell, waiting for something, anything. All Zack did in reply was drop his head and shake it once. My question had caught him off-guard, that much was obvious. But there was something else there, a grief so deep it made me ache.

  “Hey, you know what? Forget I asked. I’m sorry, I can be a real asshole sometimes.”

  “No, you’re not,” he said quietly. He looked up at me and I was surprised to see that his eyes were dry. We were both quiet for several minutes, long enough that I’d finally decided he wasn’t going to answer. But just as I was about to change the subject, and talk about what the hell Ben was thinking by hooking up with Kyra, Zack finally answered my question.

  “On the way here, we drove past the little community where I lived, or used to live. Where they lived. Whatever.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he rubbed his face. “They were all…everyone’s dead. Let’s leave it at that.” He shoved himself out of his chair before I could say anything and walked to the dresser to pour himself a glass of water. I watched his back for a moment, then looked over at Gus sleeping next to me. I reached out and rested my hand on his back, needing more than anything at the moment to just touch something living, to feel life, to feel his little heart beating, his little breath coming in and out. Because when it came right down to it, Zack was right: Everyone’s dead.

  * * *

  “You know, you made a better patient when you were unconscious,” Nancy was saying as she fussed over me. All I wanted was to go downstairs and have a cup of coffee. The sun had risen over an hour ago, everyone was up, and I wanted my coffee, dammit. She had helped me get dressed and was trying to fasten a sling around my arm when there was a knock on the door.

  “Come in,” I called out. Nancy shot me a look, but kept messing with the sling. Zack walked in with a cup of coffee and a smile. I grinned back of course, knowing it was for me, and made Nancy’s job harder by twisting around to take the cup from him.

  “Thank you,” I said, smiling sweetly as Nancy grumbled. “I love you, Nancy,” I whispered to the annoyed woman, which instantly broke that icy exterior and freed the sunshine underneath. She smacked me on the butt with one hand, and planted her other on her hip.

  “Hmm, I’ll show you love in a second if you don’t hold still.” And with that, I quieted down and she finished fitting the sling around my arm. She harrumphed, narrowed her eyes at my smiling face, and stomped off, pulling the door shut behind her. Chuckling and shaking my head, I walked over to the desk by the window, set my cup down, and pulled out the chair. Zack carried the chair he had sat in earlier over and we chatted while sipping coffee and watching outside.

  “Who’s on watch right now?” I asked.

  “Kyra,” he said. “Jake and Ben are out patrolling the woods, and Nancy is probably plotting her revenge against you,” he smiled as he informed me of all the tasks assigned for the day.

  “And Shannon?” I asked hesitantly.

  He nodded as he swallowed. “She was in the kitchen, sitting at the table, when I went down to get coffee. Was still sitting there when I left,” he said. “I’m not a doctor, but I don’t think she’ll ever come around.”

  I sighed, thought about the young girl, and sipped at my coffee. I wasn’t feeling a hundred percent yet, but I wanted to get out of my room today and at least move around the house a little, maybe spend some time with Shannon. She had known me, vaguely, before all this happened. Perhaps I could get through to her.

  “As soon as you’re well enough, we can head over to Gibson, check things out. Oh, and Ben has been monitoring the Internet. Apparently those survivor colonies are still out there,” Zack was telling me. “We haven’t heard any more about those escaped prisoners from Cedartown though.”

  I nodded along, half-listening and lost in my own thoughts. I looked out my window and saw Daisy picking grass in the barn lot.

  “Who’s been taking care of the horses?” I asked.

  “Nancy and Jake,” he replied and took another drink of coffee. I had the brim of the cup to my lips when a gunshot rang out, echoing through the entire house. We both jumped and I spilled coffee on my hand and all over the desk as I jerked from my chair. Zack was up and out the door before me, and I saw him burst into Ben’s room, where Kyra had been keeping watch. I heard her work the bolt of the rifle she was using, assumed she was preparing to fire again, just as I stepped inside and hurried to the window.

  Zack was tapping her on the shoulder and gesturing for her to shoot as I leaned around him and took a look outside. Kyra was leveling her sights at something towards the end of the driveway just as my eyes found her target.

  “Oh my God,” I whispered. I froze, couldn’t move. I was in total shock staring at the person lying on the ground. “Oh my God,” I said again, then my hand shout out and slammed the barrel of the rifle dow
n just as Kyra pulled the trigger. The shot went wild, striking the dirt a good thirty yards from her target. She spun on me, and Zack simply stared with his mouth slightly open and a confused look in his eyes.

  “What the hell, Kasey? You got a thing against killing zombies now?” Kyra asked. Nancy rushed into the bedroom about that time and was beside herself.

  “Was that a gunshot? What’s happening? Have they found us?” she asked, wringing her hands nervously. I continued to stare at the body on the ground, not believing what I was seeing.

  “Kasey, what is it?” Zack asked calmly. His voice snapped me out of my distress and instead of answering him, I grabbed Kyra with my good arm and flipped her backwards, out of the chair and onto the floor. She cried out more in alarm than pain, and Zack was throwing his arms around me to hold me back.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa, what the hell is going on here?” he asked frantically.

  My breathing had become erratic and I was starting to feel dizzy, my own gunshot wound screaming in protest. I struggled out of his embrace and rushed downstairs. Gus was right on my heels as I slammed the bars one by one away from the door and ran outside. I could hear Nancy and Zack yelling as they followed me, calling for me to wait, but I couldn’t. I had to see, had to prove my eyes wrong.

  Jake and Ben came running through the tree line just behind the barn as I closed in on the person lying in the grass. They had heard the shot and were already on their way back to the house.

  “Oh no, no, no, no, no,” I began pleading to myself as I knelt next to the still form. Using my good arm I rolled it over, and cried out when I saw her face. Zack fell to his knees beside me.

  “Oh shit, she’s still alive,” he said, then stepped over her, kneeled down, and quickly began checking for a pulse and listening to her breathing. Kyra’s first shot had struck her right shoulder (she had terrible aim). How ironic was that? We would have matching wounds. I fought to control my heart and my own breathing, panic and terror gripping me so tightly I feared I might pass out again. The others soon joined us, standing around in a loose circle, as Zack applied pressure to the bleeding shoulder.

  “Nancy, we got another one,” he said as the older woman kneeled down next to him. Nancy checked her breathing and listened to her heart, nodded, and told Kyra to run inside for her bag. Fury instantly replaced my terror at hearing Kyra’s name being spoken. Shaking and crying, I slowly rose to my feet and turned on Kyra just as she was about to run to the house.

  “You bitch… you fucking stupid bitch,” I hissed seconds before slamming my left fist into her mouth. She screamed and was knocked backwards, landing hard and rolling to her side. Ben and Jake immediately rushed between us, Ben crouching beside Kyra, and Jake grabbing my shoulders.

  “Easy now, just take it easy, Kase! What the hell has gotten into you?” he asked. I gritted my teeth and growled, then kicked him in the shin and shoved him away from me. I knocked Ben backwards with a knee to his chin and jerked Kyra to her feet again. Her mouth and nose were both bleeding, and she was starting to cry. I yanked her forward and screamed in her face.

  “That’s Mia! You fucking shot Mia, you goddamn worthless bitch!” I let go of her collar and hit her again, this time in the cheek, and she stumbled backward several steps. Ben was already on his feet and caught her before she could fall again. Jake grabbed me from behind and wrapped his arms around me, this time clenching his jaw and bearing it when I started kicking at his shins.

  I stopped struggling when it sunk in that Jake wasn’t letting go, no matter what sort of punishment I inflicted upon his legs. I ignored the pain in my shoulder and held his arm tight with my good hand. Sobs racked my body as I glared at Kyra, my breath hissing through my teeth.

  “I thought she was a zombie! I swear it! I thought she was a fucking deadhead!” she was crying, Ben holding her and returning my glare. A line had suddenly and inevitably been drawn between us. He was slowly choosing his new girlfriend over me.

  “Will someone please get my goddamn bag from the house?!” Nancy finally shouted. I turned around in Jake’s arms and saw the two struggling to stop the bleeding, just as they had with my own injury.

  “Go, Jake,” I whispered as I slipped from his hold and moved to Mia’s side. Jake turned and ran to the house, while Ben was whispering to Kyra and trying to comfort her.

  I knelt next to Mia’s head and talked to her while Zack kept pressure on her shoulder. Nancy had turned her attention to the wound on Mia’s upper thigh.

  “Kasey,” she whispered. I caught her eye and dropped my gaze. Still crying and red-faced, I shook my head violently.

  “No. We don’t know what caused that,” I said firmly. Zack was studying it as well, and soon Ben and Kyra gathered in to see. I looked around at all their faces while I stroked Mia’s cheek and brushed the hair from her face. What they were thinking was plain: she had been infected, so someone had to kill her. Jake came sliding to a halt next to Nancy about that time, Shannon slowly bringing up the rear. She stopped just behind Ben and stood quietly, her hands clasped primly in front of her with a serene look on her face.

  Nancy held my stare as she rummaged through her bag. Zack took the wad of gauze she thrust out to him without looking up, and I finally tore my eyes away from hers and focused on Mia. Her lips twitched slightly as Zack applied firm pressure to her bleeding shoulder. I leaned closer to her face and saw her eyes flutter. I wiped my face with the back of my good hand and smiled.

  “Mia, wake up. C’mon, open your eyes for me,” I said softly. Nancy tapped Zack’s shoulder and motioned to the house, then waved Ben and Jake over to help. She tossed her bag to Kyra and stepped back as the guys lifted Mia off the ground. I stayed at her head, talking and whispering to her. Tears still streaked my face and I desperately needed to blow my nose, but there was no way I was leaving her alone with the others. Not now, not knowing what they would do to her.

  Events from a few days before repeated themselves as Mia was placed on the dining room table; Nancy and Zack cutting clothing away, scrambling to stop the bleeding and cleaning the wound, the other three standing around looking concerned, blood pooling and dripping onto the floor. Except this time it wasn’t me on that table. And there was a quiet, strange girl sitting on the living room couch, hands still folded and her eyes focused on the opposite wall.

  “Shit,” Nancy whispered as she poked and prodded inside Mia’s wound. Zack was handing her things as she asked for them, and I had been so focused on Mia’s face I didn’t understand what had made Nancy curse.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked hesitantly. Nancy ignored me and continued rooting around in Mia’s shoulder.

  “I need more light, I can’t see a damn thing. Zack, do something about this blood,” she said, barking instructions and finally showing how deeply anxious she actually was. Jake and Ben scrambled around, finding and holding flashlights above Mia’s shoulder, while Zack did all he could to sponge away the blood that was still flowing out of the wound. I quietly watched Nancy work for a few moments, her brow furrowed and her lips set in a thin line, before I laid my hand on her shoulder and squeezed.

  “What is it?” I asked calmly. She stopped at the sound of my voice and looked up at me.

  “The bullet’s still in there, and I can’t get to it.” The bleakness in her eyes at that moment said Mia was a duster. And Nancy was holding all that responsibility on her own shoulders. I clenched my jaw and gritted my teeth, closed my eyes and took several long breaths. The room suddenly filled with the sounds of breathing; some harsh, some slow, some deep, some shallow.

  “Just do what you can, Nancy,” I told her, giving her shoulder one last squeeze before turning and briskly walking away and into my study. I fell into the chair behind the desk and listened as Nancy and Zack mumbled to each other as they worked. My shoulder was screaming in pain, but I ignored it and jerked open the top drawer. After throwing a pack of cigarettes onto the desk, I opened the second drawer and pulled out a bottle of Crown Royal.<
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  I sat there and stared at the two, misery and pain sweeping over me, but I didn’t cry. Even though I was filled with this agony, I felt empty. I felt like I had in the first few days of this - whatever we were calling this. End of the World, Armageddon, Zombie Uprising, the Apocalypse, they all amounted to the same thing. I grabbed the pack and lit one up, then stared at the whiskey bottle through the smoky haze. I could still hear Nancy barking orders, though they had started to sound a little less frantic.

  I didn’t let myself think that was good news; I was already preparing myself for the worst. And really, hadn’t I already accepted her death? Hadn’t we already said our goodbyes to one another on that first day?

  * * *

  “Kasey,” Zack was calling from the doorway. I wasn’t sure how many times he had said my name, but the look on his face said it had been several. I checked my watch and was surprised to see I had been staring at the whiskey bottle for half an hour, and the cap was still on it.

  “Kasey,” Zack said again.

  “What?” I mumbled. I turned my head slowly when he didn’t immediately answer me; he was leaning in the doorway, his shirt smeared with blood, and shock all over his face. My heart sank.

  “No,” I whispered and began shaking my head. He lifted his hand and motioned me over. I stood and walked to him, dreading what he was about to tell me. My eyes once again filled with tears when he took me by the arm and led me towards the dining room.

  “She’s asking for you,” he whispered. I gasped and jerked to a halt in the hallway.

  “What?” I asked skeptically. He smiled faintly and nodded, then gestured me ahead. I turned and staggered into the room; Nancy was still stitching, Jake was assisting, and Ben and Kyra were nowhere to be seen.

  “Hey you,” I said, smiling as I looked down at Mia. She struggled to open her eyes, and tried to speak.

  “They…” she croaked. Nancy and I shared a confused look, and then she shrugged.