Breathless Bodies

by Brigit Levois

  "Well, that was dramatic." Malcolm said from behind us. I turned to see him, relief flooding through me. He cradled his left arm and had blood in various places, but was otherwise unharmed. The others seemed to start coming to life around us. Only Liz remained lying down.

  "Well, we all seem to be relatively unharmed. It could have been a lot worse. Does anyone need band aids?" My mom asked. Most everyone had only minor scrapes but Malcolm's wrist was badly sprained. I wanted to go through the RV to see what was salvageable, but Samuel stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.

  "Your leg needs to be stitched. Come on, sit down." We walked back over to the rock and I sat, stretching my right leg in front of me. My jeans had become soaked in blood from mid-thigh down. Malcolm walked over with a knife in his hand.

  "You're going to need this." He said, handing the hilt to Samuel. He looked at Malcolm in confusion.

  "Why would I need this?" Samuel asked curiously, looking at my leg. Malcolm gave a small laugh and pointed to my jeans.

  "You're going to have to cut off the leg of her pants to sew up that gash. Might as well cut off the other one while you're at it, turn them into shorts." I tried to hold back the giggle, I really did. But once it escaped I couldn't stop. It turned into a full blown laugh with tears running down my face. The men looked at me as if I were crazy but I didn't care. I don't remember how long I sat there laughing, but by the time I was able to pull myself together, Samuel had finished cutting my jeans. Wiping my eyes, I looked around at the others. Bea and Ernest were salvaging food from the camper with my mom's help. Liz and Ragnar had gone up to my truck to clear out the bed. Without the RV, we were reduced to only my truck.

  "This is going to make things much harder." Said Samuel, threading the needle as he spoke. "With this many people, we're going to need to find another truck. We could go back to the camp and get your in-laws truck and tow behind." I gave the idea some thought.

  "It would be too dangerous. Besides, I don't think any of us are in any shape to go zombie hunting." He grabbed my leg, gently pinching the tear together. He glanced up at me and our eyes locked. Then it clicked.

  "Samuel, who was Niobe talking about?" He immediately looked back at my leg and mumbled a quick response.

  "I have no idea. Must have been Ragnar or Darius." He placed the first stitch, I assumed in an attempt to shut me up. Okay, I can take a hint. He deftly sewed my leg and as he cut the final thread, I made my point known.

  "We're going to be traveling together for a while here and I really hate secrets. You don't have to tell me now, but I do want an answer." With that made clear, I tried to stand up. Samuel pulled my arm over his shoulder to help me hobble about.

  "We need to make a plan. Do you want me to gather everyone?" Malcolm asked. I nodded and off he went. I spotted a sturdy looking stick on the ground and reached for it, letting go of Samuel. Having a walking stick would help me until my leg healed a bit.

  "Can we get this over with? I really want to sleep." Liz looked like she was going to fall over on the spot. I tilted my head at Ragnar, motioning to support her. I was never any good at speeches but my emotions took control and the words came pouring out.

  "I don't know why Niobe hated me. She said I took away the only man she had ever loved. Who that is, I don't know. But what's done is done and it's too late to ask her. Now, I don't know about you guys, but I'm sick of sitting around waiting for Sean to call or come back with our kids. I'm tired of waiting to be attacked by the next raiding party. I'm furious about what happened to Michael and that Demo got away. Now that man, who is single handedly responsible for the destruction of everything and everyone we have ever loved, is a thousand miles away. I'm done running, I'm done hiding. It's time we took the fight to him. I don't expect you guys to follow me. I'm surprised you've followed me for this long. I'm going to gather the weapons I can and go to Iowa to find my kids. If anyone wants to be dropped off somewhere, let me know and I'll take you there, no hard feelings. But if you come, I can guarantee that Demo will suffer twice as much as Michael did, and Darius will be begging for death." My heart beat fast in my chest as I waited for them to answer. Samuel was the first to step forward.

  "I'll follow you." He stood tall with a determined expression.

  "So will I." Said Malcolm.

  "And I." chimed Kato.

  "We're in." My in-laws echoed.

  "You know I can't miss this." My mom muttered.

  "You know me little sis, I can't ever pass up an opportunity for torture." Ragnar chuckled. We all looked at Liz who was leaning on Ragnar. She lifted her empty eyes to me.

  "For Steven." She said, then turned back into Ragnar's chest. It's settled. We salvaged what we could and headed for Darius. When I find him, his cries for mercy will never be heard.

  About the Author

  Growing up on a small town ranch, Brigit Levois spent her time daydreaming on horseback. In her earlier years, she was dedicated to drag racing and modeling, going so far as to appear in a few magazines. Now as a mother and wife, she spends her time creating thrilling stories between bouts of laundry. Residing in New Mexico, the material seems to fall from the sky.