The First 400 Days (Book 1): We Are What Remain

by Taja Kartio

  Kale nodded, "And here I thought he did really good. Took the whole thing like a man."

  Hayden giggled to himself and peered over Alex's head, poking his small finger into his cheek.

  "Poor guy," I muttered in amusement.

  Beckett dropped the bullet in a small bowl and set the pliers on the table, "Hard part is over. Hopefully, my tools are clean enough that it won't taint and smolder."

  I glanced at Hayden, "Okay, show's over. Time for bed."

  Hayden frowned, "Will he be okay?"

  "Yes," Beckett answered, "He'll be awake when you get up. Then you guys can play games again."

  That got the boy's attention. He grinned and waved goodnight. After he left, I removed my gloves and watched as Beckett began the suturing process, "So, I still don't know what happened to you guys out there."

  Kale slumped himself in one of the kitchen table chairs, "We left here and combed through a few more neighborhoods. Whatever. Then we started looking for more food and supplies around town and we decided to head to that armory. We get there and we take out a few Infected and this place is still near to god fully stocked. Alex was looking out by the front door and I don't know if he just had really bad aim or if he did it on purpose, but Scott, one of the guys in this group, shot Alex."

  "Why would he do that?"

  "He must have thought Alex was an Infected or something. We don't really know," Beckett said, "He isn't exactly the most level-headed guy."

  Kale nodded and continued, "Ya, I don't really know, but Alex was bleeding out and that gunshot brought out a few more Infected than we could all handle. Everett and the four people he had with him helped us get Alex to the suburban but then some Infected had a big rock and threw it at the windshield and all this crap happened so long story short, we ended up hitching a ride with Everett to where his people have been staying. We got Alex patched up enough to last him until we got back here and eventually found out that they were Hayden's original group."

  The poor suburban. I couldn't imagine how pissed Kale was probably still feeling. That car was basically his greatest possession. He took care of it like it was a baby.

  "If not for the destruction of the suburban, we would have come back a lot sooner," Beckett added, "That Scott guy had doubts about us. Said he 'didn't like the looks of us'. We told Everett where we were staying and he decided that a cul-de-sac would be a good place for a bigger group."

  "And they're okay people?" I asked.

  Kale dipped his head to the side like he was unsure, "We still don't know much about them but I think they're pretty good."

  "Except Scott?"

  Kale and Beckett nodded exceptionally, "Except Scott."

  "What's his deal?"

  Both brothers shrugged and Kale was the one who answered, "He's a douche."

  I sighed, "Perfect."

  There was a low moan on the table. Alex was stirring.

  Kale immediately got to his feet and stood over Alex with a loose grin, "Hi princess. Did you have a graceful slumber?"

  "What happened?" Alex muttered groggily. His head slowly lifted off the table.

  "You fainted," I had a growing grin.

  "I what?"

  "You have perfect timing Alex," Beckett snipped the ends of the sutures, "I just finished stitching you up."

  "You did awesomely," I said.

  Another groan and Alex's head was back on the table, "I feel awesome."

  I helped Beckett out with the final touches. More anti-infectant to hopefully make our procedure as sterile as possible and then finishing off with bandages and gauze.

  Behind us, Kale had wandered into the kitchen and suddenly made a very high pitched cry.

  "Hey! You guys made cookies?" He held up one of the biscuits in a joyous manner.

  Hayden suddenly bursted back into the kitchen, "We made them for you guys yesterday!"

  "I thought you went to bed!" I stared at him incredibly. He only shrugged with a sly smile. I'd put money on that he was eavesdropping. Sneaky little punk.

  "Thanks, buddy," Kale grinned and took a large bite, "They're really good!"

  I surprised to see Hayden laugh when my brother ruffled his hair. Kale wasn't exactly the boy's favorite person based on past, brief experiences so the interaction I was seeing before me was kind of throwing me off. Hayden wasn't avoiding eye contact, mumbling his words, or clutching his lion tightly to his chest. I hoped the positive energy would stay between the two of them.

  When I managed to nudge Hayden upstairs, for the second time, Kale grinned excessively, "He laughed at me."

  I held onto the kitchen entryway with a smirk, "Keep complimenting his baking and I'm sure he'll do it more often."

  I was more than sure I was going to be able to sleep tonight.

  Thirty Three

  "Well, it's... kind of a wall," I couldn't help but stare, "But uh, it doesn't look incredibly... erm... stable."

  I knew it was only the beginning of a barrier, but it just looked so pathetic right now. Cars had been pushed and now sat stationary across the road that led into the cul-de-sac itself. A chain link fence that had been in one of the backyards of the neighbor's houses had been uprooted and placed behind the line of cars. That was really about it so far. The wall was eventually supposed to wrap around the cul-de-sac and end at the river behind all the houses but construction had a long ways to go and with so few people actually able to work on it at a time, it was going to take longer. More people ended up on watch, looking out for Infected while only two or three people worked.

  "It's a wall of cars and part of a chain-link fence. Of course it's not sturdy," Alex offered me a chip, which I took gratefully, "We have to go out and get more supplies."

  I turned my eyes to him, "When?"

  "I heard that people might want to try and head out today."

  "You're right," Kale spoke up behind us as he opened the front door, "But I think we're going out on a regular supply run today. We're all running low on some things. Wall materials are tomorrow."

  I rose my hand, "Can I come?"

  There wasn't even a second wasted on that one, "Absolutely not."

  "Come on! Please? I need to find some more clothes! I only have a couple pairs of pants and tops that actually fit me."

  My brother leaned his shoulder against the porch seam by the steps where Alex and I sat, "We can find you clothes without you coming along."

  My nose shriveled, "I do not want to see what you would pick out for me."

  "Who said I would do it?" Kale laughed, "Alex knew your jean size, he can shop for you."

  Alex almost choked on the chip he was chewing, "I want to shop for myself for once, not for your little sister!"

  "You can shop for the both of you!"

  "What are you all bickering about now?" Beckett had an expression that looked amused but borderline a bit annoyed too. He walked down the path to the front door with a rifle slung over his shoulder. He'd been on watch all morning.

  "Can I please go with you guys on the supply run today?" I asked, trying for a puppy dog look. It may not have been necessary. Beckett was already nodding.

  "I have no problem with it. Val and Dayna are staying behind so Hayden can stay with them."

  Kale looked stupefied, "Are you insane?"

  Beckett shrugged, "What?"

  "She can't come with us! She could get hurt!"

  "So could we?"

  "I know that! But-"

  Beckett's eyes rolled, "We've had this argument before, man. She can take good care of herself, and we'll have more people with this time when we go out. She needs to find her own things anyway."

  "Like what?" Kale asked.

  "Like tampons," I butted.

  "I can find you tampons. That's not hard," Kale scoffed.

  "How about underwear? Or a couple of bras?" I eyed Alex for a second, "You gonna have him guess my boob size too?"

  "Am I going to...." He stopped himself and glanced at Alex, then turned a dark glare
on me, "Fine."

  Beckett smirked and we all watched as Kale muttered his way back into the house, "Come on. Everybody is packing up to get going so we probably should too. Grab a backpack and find Hayden."

  I pointed to the house next door, "Hayden is currently occupied with Ben and Toby right now."

  "Probably should tell him to stay there for a while then since you'll be leaving soon."

  I did and figured that since I was going to go look out for clothes, I should find him some extras as well. I peeked at the sizes he wore and took a mental note. He didn't even have spare clothes on him. He'd been wearing the same sweatpants and orange shirt he'd had on the day I first met him. He obviously didn't seem to care but I sure did. Val promised to take care of him and I believed her. Val was a sweet lady, even on minimal conversation, I knew that.

  "Why do we get the mini-van?" Alex cried, hanging on the passenger door handle. He stared at Everett's red truck longingly.

  "At least we get to drive our own car instead of cramming into another vehicle with more people," I threw my backpack into the backseat, "You sure you can go too, Alex? I mean, you did get shot a week ago."

  Alex looked down and lightly shook his leg. He had a slight limp but I didn't think it would all be healed enough to go out and do a lot of walking, "It's fine. I want to give it some exercise."

  I wasn't in a position to argue. If he was fine, he was fine, "Whatever you say, man."

  Looking around, I wasn't the only girl going on this supply run. Scott's daughter, Hollie, was gearing up too. She looked like she was only a year or two younger than me and she was the only person in this whole new group that I hadn't really met yet. She kept to herself and I didn't know if it was because she was shy or because she didn't like me. Based on the constant bitch-face she had, I mean it could just be her face but I was guessing that she did it purposefully. She always seemed like she was glaring. The one time I'd come within a five-foot radius of her, she had taken a good look at me. Her shoulders rolled back and her eyes drew on all my features. She'd been judging me and after staring for several moments she huffed, almost scoffing. Her sneering smirk was everything of the wrong sort. She left me behind with a toss of her pale hair and I couldn't help but laugh a little. High school had been the epitome of mean girls, I knew a bitch when I saw one.

  I exhaled exaggerated. It was awesome that she was going on this supply run too.

  "Actually," Beckett had a small grin like he knew something we didn't. I hadn't even noticed him until now, "We don't get to have our own car."

  Alex dropped his hand off the door handle, "What?"

  "This is the backup car for Val and Dayna in case something goes wrong while we're gone. We get to hitch with Everett." Beckett pointed with his thumb at the red truck. Alex's world seemed to glow.

  "But there isn't enough room for everyone in there?" I countered.

  "Nope. Not inside the truck," Beckett's grin grew a bit more, "We get to ride in the back."

  I shut the door to the backseat of the mini-van, "Alright."

  Kale ended up riding shotgun with Everett. Riley joined Beckett, Alex, and I in the back of the truck. It took a few minutes, but after everyone was situated, Beckett hit the side of the truck and Everett accelerated. Even with Scott and Hollie trailing behind us with frowns and bitter stares, I managed to enjoy the whole experience. This was something my brothers probably would have never let me do, not sure why it would have been such a big deal but it was their big brotherly savvy kind of thing I guessed though I noted that Beckett enjoyed the scenery around us while Kale kept periodically looking back through the small back window at me like he feared me jumping off or something. I had to admit it was kind of irritating. At one point I finally made a face in an effort to make it known that I wanted him to stop. He didn't, now trying to look when he thought I wasn't looking. I tried turning around, giving him my back but the white van with Hollie and Scott was no better. Scott seemed to be minding his own business by just watching the truck in front of him since he was driving but Hollie stared.

  "You notice her too?" Alex leaned over to say to me.

  I leaned back, now facing Alex in front of me. His arms were swung over and dangling over the side of the truck, "How can you not?"

  "She's kind of always like that," Riley spoke up. He was a quiet one. At least now he was. Val said his brother, Gage, was killed by the same Infected attack that took Hayden's mom. She had said that Kale and Beckett reminded her of them. I could see both brothers in a real quiet and lonely state of mind if they were one without the other, "Takes after her father."

  I hadn't really been on one on one basis with Scott yet. I didn't know what he was like first-hand but by what my brothers have told me about him and by the fact that he shot Alex for God knows what reason, I knew he wasn't the most joyous man to be around.

  "That's awful," Alex glanced at his leg.

  I couldn't help but chuckle, "Maybe she'll shoot you in the other leg?"

  "Have either of you even met her?" Beckett butted in sternly towards Alex and I. He sounded like a mother about to give a lecture.

  "No, but I know she's a bitch."

  "How can you say that if you haven’t met her yet?" I rose a brow and he rolled his eyes, "Right. I shouldn't even bother since you did it all the time during your senior year."

  "More like all of my high school career," I corrected.

  "Well for both of your information," Alex said, "I have met her. Once."

  "How'd that go?" I asked.

  He laughed as he seemed to be recalling the memory like it was incredibly amusing, "Well... she actually came up to me and asked how my leg was. I said it was fine, it still kind of hurt but it was fine. Healing well," He laughed again, "She said I should stop acting like a bitch because apparently, her daddy had taken some big injuries in the past and he didn't complain even once. A gunshot to the leg is absolutely nothing compared to a nail gun to the head or a two broken legs."

  I turned back to Beckett, "Told you."

  Beckett nodded in agreement, "Alright, so she's a bitch but that doesn't mean you can't play nice."

  "Kale would probably tell me otherwise," I grinned lopsidedly.

  "Ya, and you know how many times you got in trouble at school for doing what he said?"

  We both knew Kale was more of smack first, ask questions later attitude. It wasn't new but most of his advice concerning the mean girls at school were things that would probably result in some kind of timeout in detention or a week suspension. I never got suspended but I had been in detention a few times for throwing one too many clocks to the jaw. I was old enough to make my own choices. I knew it was wrong to pick fights and my brother really shouldn't be encouraging me but I had to say that most of the time, those girls never messed with me or any of my friends again.

  I shrugged and tried to downplay the whole idea, rather horribly but I tried, "It's not like I killed anybody or anything."

  Beckett frowned, almost contentiously, "Can you just take my advice for once and not try to purposefully get on her bad side?"

  "I'm already on her bad side and I've never even spoken to her before."

  "Alright. How about you don't try to be as snotty to her?" It sounded more like a command than a suggestion, "Don't start throwing your fists around because she's being the mean girl."

  "Well, that's kind of lame," I stated blatantly.

  "It's kind of safe."

  "Okay but what if she like..."

  "If she calls you a mean name, be a grown up about it. Not by violence, but by ignoring it and walking away," I opened my mouth to ask a similar question but he stopped me quickly, "Now, if she throws the first punch, then you can too. Only when you're defending yourself will I allow it."

  I gave in, "Fine."

  "Not like I haven't told you that before," He mumbled, probably more to himself than directly to me.

  "Well, I can always throw the first punch Dani if you really need me to." Alex winked an
d earned a tired glare from my brother.

  "You're not helping, man."

  Everett pulled into a Wal-mart parking lot and parked on the curb by the front doors. All but two of the front windows had been smashed, littering the ground with glass. Both the enter and the exit sliding doors were non-functional and open, the exit being more half-open. It was a disaster and I wasn't sure what to expect from the inside.

  All the grownups had a handgun on them and Scott passed out a few bigger, machine looking guns from the back of the van to everyone except his daughter. I noticed, however, that she had a handgun on her too and even though he grimaced, Scott tried to give me one too. I would have taken it, but Kale stopped the exchange.

  "I don't think so."

  Scott looked a little confused, "You don't want her to have a gun?"

  Kale shook his head firmly, "No. She'll be okay."

  "Does she know how to fire one?"

  My brother shook his head again but this time it was out of a bit of guilt. It was said that I would one day learn how to shoot but we'd never really gotten to it, "No."

  Scott dropped his hand, "I don't want to have to question your judgments but what the hell kind of use is she gonna be if we get into a hussle? Can't shoot? She'll be the first one to die."

  That got under Kales skin and I could see his expression sour. Beckett however, stepped in and stretched his hand out, an indication for the gun. Scott gave it to him, a little skeptical as he watched him give it to me.

  "She's a fast learner," Beckett glanced at the stunned eldest before turning back to the gruff man, "Besides, a survivor doesn't have to be trigger-happy to get out of a tight spot. In fact, nowadays, trigger-happy could get you killed faster than not knowing how to shoot at all so let's all try to play it safe and not waste precious bullets unless we absolutely have to."

  The rest of us, even Kale seemed to be in an agreement with that. Scott almost did, but still pressed to challenge that statement, "The hell would you know about surviving?"

  "Well," Beckett started cooly. I admired how well he could keep his patience sometimes, "We are technically survivors of the current apocalypse if you hadn't cared to notice yet. And spending a few years overseas in the Army doesn't do a lot of harm on the subject either."