“Hey guys,” Greg said, returning from investigating a noise. “We have to get out of here. We have a small horde heading our way.”
“You good?” Jason asked, pulling away from me and readying his weapon.
I nodded, and we took off running. The horde wasn’t moving swiftly, but their numbers were big enough that if they could pin us down, they’d kill us.
We ran at a steady pace until we were well out of town. We rested in an empty strip mall building for a while to see if they’d followed us. They hadn’t.
“I’m so sorry,” I said after we’d caught our breath.
“What are you sorry for?” Jason asked.
“Crying. If the zombies hadn’t heard me, they wouldn’t have come after us.
“We hadn’t necessarily been quiet while searching the camp,” Jason said, trying to make me feel better.
“Maybe not, but my cries were so loud that I could have gotten us killed.” I started crying again, but I kept my cries quiet. Jason curled me into him and petted me. He tried convincing me that I hadn’t done anything wrong and that I shouldn’t cry over what might have been. The tears weren’t just over that. That was just an excuse to cry more over my parents.
Katrina and Greg kept busy building a fire and making us something to eat while I mourned. I didn’t eat much that night, and I fell asleep early from exhaustion.
The next morning, Katrina suggested that we rest for a day, but I swore to her that I was all right and that I really wanted to get back home. All three of them insisted that we could take the day if I needed it, but I didn’t. Walking, being on the move was what I needed more than sitting around a shell of a building twiddling my thumbs.
Reluctantly, the others began packing up breakfast when they saw me doing it. I wasn’t going to give them an option of staying around. I was leaving with or without them. Jason watched me leerily as if waiting for me to lose it again. I gave him a reassuring smile and stepped out into the day.
I said little that day, not because I didn’t want to talk but because talking meant slow walking, and slow walking meant we’d take longer to get home. Jason didn’t push me or try to slow me down.
We made good time that day and the next, and we weren’t the only ones. About two hours from Shore Haven, we ran into Russ and his people. They’d stopped to rest, eat, and check on Trevor’s bandage, and they were about to pack up and go to the island when we met up with them.
The small farm was one of the few designated meeting places within two or three hours from the island that we’d set up before splitting up in case a group got into trouble or just needed a break. Each group was to stop at the closest one to them to see if another group required assistance.
Our reason for stopping was that we needed a breather. We’d been walking for hours, and whereas we were close to the island, if we didn’t take a break we’d get too tired and stop paying attention. No one wanted to die by way of an accident that close to home.
“What the hell happened to you,” Jason demanded when we entered the farmhouse.
Russ met us by the road when he’d spotted us coming their way. He hadn’t said much more than that they’d wanted a rest as well before going on when Jason had asked why they were there. We’d known Russ wasn’t telling us something, but we hadn’t realized that what he wasn’t telling us was bad. He hadn’t seemed worried. None of them had, not even Trevor when we entered, but there he’d been sprawled out on the sofa while Dacey changed a bloody bandage from around his forearm.
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Russ said from behind us, trying to sound calm to settle Jason’s—all of ours really—panic.
“What happened?” Jason demanded for the second time.
“He was bitten,” Dacey said, not sounding scared over the fact.
“He was what?” Katrina asked, rushing to pull Dacey away from the boy. I backed away from them. Jason stepped in front of me but also poised himself to defend the others in the room if need be. Greg stood frozen.
“Don’t worry,” Dacey said, gently pushing Katrina away from her. “He isn’t going to turn. If he were going to, he would have two days ago. The damned wound would heal if he’d stop using the arm.”
“Two days ago? He was bitten two days ago?” Jason asked.
“Yep. The dumbass. Obviously, the bite didn’t turn him or anything, but he’s still a dumbass,” Russ said, shaking his head.
Relaxing his stance, Jason said, “I think someone needs to tell us what’s going on.”
“Shouldn’t we wait until we get to Shore Haven?” Trevor asked, sounding antsy and ready to get back on the road.
“Maybe, but we need to rest, and I want to hear this story. You can tell it again later, I promise,” Jason said, leading me over to the small kitchen table where we dug food from our packs and had lunch while the boy talked.
They’d met up with a small group of survivors the morning a zombie bit him. The group had been standoffish, and it had taken Russ and his people a few hours to get the group calmed down enough to listen.
“It took us making a fire right out in the open in front of where they were hiding and cooking some food to make them brave enough to come out to talk to us. The group didn’t believe us about any of it at first, especially not about Shore Haven or the vaccine,” Trevor said.
“They were a bunch of kids who’d been through hell. Of course, they didn’t believe us,” Russ said.
“How did you convince them,” I asked.
“We showed them pictures of Shore Haven, and I let a zombie bite me,” Trevor answered.
“Please tell me you didn’t willingly do that to yourself,” Jason asked, pointing to the boy’s arm.
“I did. They weren’t going to believe us, no matter what we said, so we let the leader of their group catch a zombie for us. It took me cutting my arm to convince the thing to even bite me. It would lunge for the others but acted as if we weren’t there. That should have been enough for the kids, but it wasn’t, so I bled, and the thing bit me.”
“The second its teeth sank into Trevor, I decapitated the creature, and the kids had their guns on him,” Russ said. “They’re too reactionary. We had to explain to them, that if they shot him, they wouldn’t know if the vaccine worked. Mind you, we were terrified that he’d turn too, but we were trying not to show it. We made the other group take a good look at his wound before Dacey began doctoring it. We didn’t need him dying of infection after all.”
“They kept me locked up for hours,” Trevor said.
“They should have quarantined you for three days,” Jason said.
“They didn’t know that,” Russ said, “and we weren’t about to tell them. We wanted to get back on the road. His arm is healing just fine if he’ll stop using it. There’s no sign of infection of any kind. He isn’t going to turn.”
I didn’t think he was entirely out of the woods, but he looked perfectly healthy. As much time as had gone by, he’d at least be looking sickly if he was going to turn.
“Did the group take the vaccine?” I asked.
“They did, but by the next morning, they were gone. They didn’t take any extra shots with them, so they weren’t going to meet with anyone, we don’t think,” Russ said.
“Do you think they went to Shore Haven?” Jason asked.
“Possibly or the boarding school. They were desperate for a safe place to go,” Russ said. “We decided to camp here for a bit before going straight to the island. Mostly because he started bleeding again but also because we wanted enough time to have passed that Jasper wouldn’t put us in quarantine.”
I could definitely understand that reasoning. Jason did as well and said as much by suggesting we stay the night at the farm and head to Shore Haven the next morning.
Chapter 29
~~~Jason~~~
We woke early and entered Shore Haven around eight the next morning. Having had the vaccines and having not encountered many zombies to have their blood all over our clothing
, we were able to reassure Jasper that Trevor was out of our presumed incubation period and that he was not turning. That allowed us to enter the compound without having to go through decontamination or quarantine. Even better, we were able to shuck off our gear and head straight to breakfast.
Upon our arrival, and in an attempt to keep us all from retiring to our rooms before they could hear our story, Kayla, Emily, and a few others who’d stayed behind decided to make us breakfast in the cafeteria. Kayla had given me a quick hug before rushing off to get started. The longer she remained inside Shore Haven, the more she acted like the child she was, which was both a good and bad thing.
I wanted her to be a child, a teenager to be more precise. I wanted her to keep that innocence she and Keisha had before the zombie outbreak, but I also wanted her older. I wanted her to understand that there would always be a danger. The more people we bring into Shore Haven, the more trouble we invite into our world. The end of civilization didn’t always bring people together, and it doesn’t change people for the good. In most cases, it brings out the worst in them.
Both of our groups were grateful for the meal, having lived off small rations and canned crap for days.
To our surprise, Jasper was standing in the middle of the cafeteria when we arrived. Everyone immediately went on alert, as the only reason Jasper would have come out of hiding was if something bad was about to happen.
Despite the tension, I approached the man and hugged him.
“It’s good to see you,” I said, pulling away.
“It’s good to see you as well,” Jasper said, sounding a bit awkward and sheepish. He assumed, and rightfully so, that most everyone in Shore Haven found his hiding a sign of cowardice.
I watched my uncle’s eyes widen a little when I felt Samantha come up beside me and take my hand.
“Thank you, Jasper, on behalf of all of us, for letting us stay here,” she said, nodding to the people standing behind her.
“You’re all very welcome. I apologize for being a ghost. I have no excuse other than fear,” Jasper said.
The group made similar remarks in thanking him before quickly moving around the room and taking seats at the tables nearest the buffet line where Kayla and the others would start putting the food as it cooked.
“Please, sit with us,” Samantha said to Jasper, motioning to a table.
“In a minute, I have something important I need to tell all of you. Kayla, honey, can you all hear me back there?” he called to the kitchen.
“We can,” she said after a moment’s pause.
“Good. I’m happy to see that all of you have returned safely…for the most part, but I’m afraid, I’m going to have to ask that some of you leave again in just a few days’ time. Tera and her group returned to Shore Haven a few days ago, but they went right back out to fetch one of the doctors from the C.D.C. lab.”
“Why?” Russ asked.
“I’ve been in contact with a German naval fleet that has taken residence in New Norfolk. They have a few frigates and subs set up along the east and south coast waiting for orders to begin bombing every harbor along the continent’s coastline, both the east, west, and southern. They were supposed to have started the bombings earlier in the week, but I along with the C.D.C. lab and others have been in contact with them trying to assure them that we have a vaccine and that the zombies are dying out on their own. We’re trying to assure them that we can contain the outbreak and destroy all of the zombies if given time. They’ve agreed to give us until next Friday to bring them proof of the vaccine. After that, they’ll begin. Once they’ve finished with the harbors, they will start bombing all major cities, starting with us.”
Jasper’s words sent everyone into a panic, which I felt but also thought was unwarranted. When the noise in the cafeteria continued to get louder, I stood and ordered everyone to shut up.
“We have plenty of time to stop this from happening. There is no need to lose our shit. Even if there was a need, there is no point. For the last few months, we’ve lived in a world that could have taken our lives at any moment. This is no different. How soon will Tera be back with the doctor?” I asked Jasper.
“Any day now,” he answered.
“All right. While we wait, Jasper, you and Russ try to talk to them. Tell them what happened with Trevor. See if that will hold them off a bit. The rest of us will prepare for the trip. Gas up the vehicles and make sure we have copies of all the information the doctor sent saved somewhere. We’ll take the originals with us. I think we’ll drive this time. We’ll take three of the largest vehicles we can find. Something that will move fast but that will also drive over bodies and through a horde.”
I went on making plans and didn’t notice that Jasper had backed away from the group until he interrupted me.
“We have company,” he announced, silencing the room.
“What?” someone asked. I didn’t recognize the voice.
“There are kids at the door,” Jasper said, turning his tablet over to show me the screen. I didn’t recognize them, but Russ, who’d moved to look over my shoulder, did.
“That’s them. The kids we ran into. The ones who wouldn’t take the vaccine without us proving it worked. They must have followed us or something,” Russ said, sounding proud of himself.
“Should we ready the quarantine rooms?” Katrina asked.
“Why?” Trevor asked.
“I don’t know,” I said at the same time, looking at Jasper questioningly.
“Are we sure they took the vaccine,” Jasper asked, surprising me. For so long, he’d been terrified of a possible outbreak inside Shore Haven. I couldn’t fathom him letting strangers into the compound without going through quarantine.
“We can look for injection sites. We know the vaccine works, so if they took it they should be fine,” Russ said, motioning to Trevor’s arm.
I looked at Jasper for an answer.
“What do you think?” he asked me.
“I think that I don’t know. I believe we should vote on it since we’ll all have to live with the group either way,” I said, turning to Samantha to see if she agreed with my decision.
She smiled and nodded.
Jasper cast the vote, and a majority of us agreed to let them in without holding them in quarantine if they had injection marks. Things were going to be tense for the next week or so, or if things went wrong with the military they would be bad until we went boom, so we might as well live life the best we could.
Most of the group stayed in the cafeteria to help prepare the meal while Russ, Jasper, Trevor, and I went to let the kids into Shore Haven. We decided that Trevor should be the first person they saw when the doors opened to help alleviate any fear they might have at entering.
The four teenagers stood on guard outside the door alternating between knocking on the door and scoping the grounds for signs of an attack by the zombies or us. The opening door scared them, and they immediately turned their guns on us.
We’d gone to the door unarmed like fools.
“Don’t shoot,” Trevor shouted, ducking low in case they started firing. Russ, Jasper, and I darted out of the doorway and their line of sight.
“Trevor,” one of the kids called out in a shaky voice.
“Yeah, man, what the hell? Lower your guns.” Trevor rose and glared at the group.
“Sorry,” the person said, motioning for his people to move forward. “We didn’t know who or how many were inside or what was coming out after us.”
“Did you think we were siccing the dead on you or something?” Trevor asked, laughing at the idea.
“You could have been. We’ve seen some messed up shit out here.” The speaker was standing right outside the door. “Are you going to let us in?”
“We will,” Jasper said, moving to stand behind Trevor. “But first we need to see your injection marks.”
“Our what?”
“We need proof you took the vaccine.”
“Oh.”
There was some grumbling, but each showed us where they’d injected themselves with the vaccine.
“Good. Now there are a few things you have to know about this place and some things you have to agree to before we allow you entrance,” Russ said, taking over the situation.
The kids looked dubious but listened as Russ spoke, and in the end, they nodded in agreement to his terms.
By that time, we were all hungry, so we quickly got them set up in their own apartments and introduced to the rest of the group so that we could eat. While we ate, we again swapped stories. The kids had been a part of a military quarantine camp in Oklahoma. Survivors from the surrounding states made up the camp.
None of the kids had known each other before they’d gotten to the camp, but there’d been so few kids there that they’d sort of congregated together. There’d been more of them, but along the way, the others had died. They’d just been trying to survive from day to day, looking for more survivors who hadn’t gone a bit insane when they’d met Russ and his group.
After getting the vaccine from Russ, the kids had run. They admitted that they should have stayed with his group, but they’d been frightened that Trevor would eventually turn. They hadn’t seen any harm in taking the vaccine, but despite seeing him get bit and not turning, they hadn’t truly trusted it to work.
In all honesty, Trevor hadn’t either, and still worried that he would turn. The bite was healing, and chances were he wouldn’t turn, but the fear was there.
Once the twenty-four-hour mark was up after they took the vaccine, they headed to the island to see if Shore Haven actually existed. At finding the compound, they then argued over whether or not to approach the place. Since Russ had told them that his group was heading back to Shore Haven, they decided to wait in a nearby building until we came through to see what we did.
Seeing our group added to Russ’ group made them worry that maybe we’d captured them or that something more sinister was going on, so they opted out of approaching us right away. They scouted the building, looking for any signs of life or ways in that we wouldn’t see. Giving up on a sneak arrival and growing tired and hungry, they agreed to knock on the door the way they had watched us do.
Shore Haven Page 26
