by Marie Lanza
Beck leaned back in his chair, not seeming totally defeated, but more accepting of his fate.
“You are our family now.” Jason began cleaning up the bloody towel and gauze they had used to pressure the bleeding on Beck’s hand. “Go get some rest.”
Beck didn’t argue, getting out of his chair and walked over to the living room where Aubrey was playing with Mike on the couch.
“Let me take a look at your back.”
Melody slid over to Beck’s chair, getting closer to Jason. “I’m fine. It’s like nothing ever happened.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
Melody turned her back to Jason and lifted her shirt revealing where the rusted nails had raked down her ribs. Her skin was still puffy and red around the wound area but nothing alarming.
“I’m just going to add more of this cream, but otherwise it looks good.” Jason squeezed antibiotic cream on his fingers and gently spread it over the wounds on Melody’s back.
“How’s he doing?” Melody nodded her head over to Beck who had sat on the couch.
“In pain and running a fever but nothing that’ll kill him yet.” Jason finished up applying the cream to Melody’s back and put it away.
Melody let her shirt fall back down and stood up. “You should get something to eat. Then we all could use some rest.”
“I won’t argue with that,” Jason said as he packed up the rest of the medical kit.
Melody made her way back to the living room to join Mike and Beck. She took a seat in a lounge-style chair, where Aubrey met her and crawled into her arms. Jason joined them, kneeling at the coffee table where Mike had spread out some food and made himself a plate of the leftover MRE Melody and Aubrey didn’t finish.
The sun was falling fast behind the hills that the neighborhood stood on. The living room turned dim tones of orange and pink.
Mike stood in the front window, just behind the curtains to where he could see out, but mostly hidden from anything outside seeing him.
Melody rocked Aubrey to sleep while Jason dozed sitting on the floor, leaning back against her chair.
Beck took up the couch, laying down with his eyes closed, holding his wounded arm against his chest. Melody didn’t know if he was sleeping or just resting. Either way, she didn’t want to bother him, figuring he needed to be with his own thoughts.
There was an eerie silence as the home grew darker. Melody’s senses were on high alert and she felt tense sitting in the living room. She focused on Beck’s breathing as it grew heavy and slowed in pace. Melody wondered about his transition into one of the infected. She wondered if he could feel his body dying as he lied there. Melody wanted to take her mind off Beck, but it was a hard task as he was laying there only a few feet away, and not knowing if or when he could transition.
Melody’s thoughts were broken as her attention was caught by Mike who left the window and walked over to Beck, standing over him, listening to his raspy breath.
“You have to stop worrying about me,” Beck spoke with his eyes closed, sensing Mike standing over him.
“Does it hurt?” Mike asked as he sat on the end of the couch.
“Like a bitch.” Beck opened his eyes to look at his comrade. “You have to stop worrying about the weak links. Remember, only the strong survive this.”
As Melody sat quietly rocking Aubrey, she thought to herself they argued more like brothers than anything else. A younger brother looking up to his older brother, only each teaching the other valuable lessons.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. You never did. Our mission is to protect the living, regardless of strength. As far as I’m concerned, you’re still alive, sir.”
“You’re gonna get your ass killed thinking that way. You can’t save them all. I should have left you in that canyon.” Beck gave himself a slight chuckle. “You should get some sleep,” Beck pointed out to change the subject.
“We all should.” Mike made himself comfortable on the end of the couch.
Melody’s mind wouldn’t let her rest, filtering through too many thoughts of what was next. They weren’t much farther from Summer Springs, but pushing past the infected seemed to feel like any distance they made was doubled.
As the house settled, Melody’s body began to relax. She slowed her breathing as she listened to their surroundings, hearing for anything that could be a threat. It seemed as though everyone had fallen asleep rather easily, which was also a surprise with everything that had happened between Beck and the gangs of the living violently running around. Still feeling off the grid, at the top of the neighborhood, in a cul-de-sac, Melody figured the guys weren’t that concerned about infected or the living.
Part of Melody didn’t want Beck to fall asleep. It crossed her mind sleeping could trigger the transition to happen faster. Afraid if his brain shut down, he would never come back, like the virus was just waiting until it would no longer fight to protect his body. Melody stressed over all the ‘what if’ possibilities, attempting to remind herself she needed to shut it all out and these thoughts were nothing more than her own mind under stress.
It wasn’t long until Melody’s body ached of exhaustion. She just needed a break from it all. Melody knew her mind needed to rest. She closed her eyes and let herself fall until everything went to darkness.
The sound of a mumbled conversation came to her before Melody was actually fully awake. She sat there, with her eyes closed, knowing full well it was Jason, Mike, and Beck talking amongst each other, but she hadn’t completely woke to understand what they were saying.
Melody opened her eyes to see Mike and Jason sitting with Beck, who still lay on the couch. She didn’t know how long she had slept, but the fact Aubrey was still sleeping in her arms, told her probably not long.
There was barely a hint of light coming in from outside. For all Melody knew it could have still be from the moon. Once her eyes adjusted and she was able to collect herself, Melody determined it was barely sunrise.
“Isn’t there anything we can do for him, Jason?” Mike was sitting at the end of the couch looking over Beck.
“We have plenty of pain pills. Beck?” Jason asked.
“No thanks, I’ll pass. I want to keep my wits about me while I still have them.” Beck’s words were tired. “So how long you think I got, Doc?” Beck’s physical appearance told anyone who looked at him he didn’t have long.
In just a few hours, Beck looked as if his body was wasting away right before their eyes. His skin was thin, almost transparent, and sweaty, his veins made racetracks up his arms, his lips were a light shade of blue, and from the look of it, he had another nosebleed.
Jason took in a deep breath before answering; Melody thought maybe because he didn’t really know or he just didn’t want to answer. “I’m still not sure.”
“Come on, indulge me a little. I could go to sleep again and wake up one of those things.”
“That’s quite possible. Or you could go to sleep for the next couple times and continue to wake up still the old bastard you are.”
Mike let out a surprising chuckle at a truth he knew well.
Even with the lighthearted, and much-needed banter, the heaviness of Beck’s dire situation still weighed on them.
“We all know I’m fucked. Do us a favor, give me the weapon or shoot me.”
“I’m not doing it, Beck,” Mike said.
“I’ll kill you when you’re dead,” Jason said.
Chapter 12
No one could imagine nor wanted to imagine the feeling of imminent death Beck was suffering. That moment your mind goes dark, only your body sticks around to continue walking the same earth, eating those you once loved. Beck looked bad. His eyes were glassy and his lips were blue, making his now very pale skin look like wax. He kept the wound wrapped and cradled his arm.
It was going to be uncomfortable and hard to travel with Beck, but they needed to get on the road.
They had only taken out the food they had for dinner f
rom the truck, so there wasn’t anything to pack up.
The morning air was chilly and crisp with the heavy usual fog laying over the land. Melody stood in the window with Aubrey, surprised how quiet the neighborhood had been. She thought the same thing about the mountains until they ran into the large horde. Melody wondered if maybe this neighborhood is where all those infected came from, seeking out Bill’s group.
Jason took Beck’s temperature one last time as he lay on the couch, and then monitored his heart rate. When Jason was finished, he cued Mike to assist Beck off the couch. Beck’s appearance had deteriorated within a matter of hours. Beck was a strong, hard-looking man not only in stature, but mentally, but it was clear the infection was ripping that slowly away from him. Melody couldn’t help but notice how physically weak he appeared.
Mike wrapped Beck’s arm around his neck and lifted him off the couch, to his feet. Melody followed them to the Humvee to load up and began their drive.
“Wait, give me a minute, I need to throw up.” Beck looked briefly around in an attempt to make sure he was clear before he leaned over to vomit. He barely had enough time to even finish his words.
Melody couldn’t help but cringe at the sound of fluid splattering over the cement. Jason’s facial muscles tensed and his expression soured, which instantly concerned Melody since vomit wasn’t something Jason would normally get stressed over. Melody wanted to avoid looking to give Beck whatever respect possible, letting him be sick in peace, but as Melody walked around the Humvee to get in the front passenger seat with Aubrey, there was no avoiding the scene. Melody quickly saw why Jason had such a great look of concern – Beck was throwing up blood.
Jason and Mike let Beck have a moment before he pushed himself along, climbing in the back seat with Jason assisting him. Mike went around to the front to drive and Jason went around to the other side once Beck was settled.
The drive was bittersweet for Melody. This was something she never felt she had time for but Harmony always wanted to do. Family road trips, Harmony would always insist, but Melody was great at finding excuses why they couldn’t. There was always something else that needed to get done. Now, here Melody was, driving down the roads Harmony loved, absorbing the beautiful landscapes, and wishing she was sharing it with her sister.
Golden yellow fields with the contrast of patches of dark green trees were as far as the eye could see. The road took them over rolling hills before the rooftops of a small town came into sight.
“You guys seeing this?” Mike asked.
“The wreckage? Think it’s a threat?” Jason leaned in between the front seats where he laid his eyes on a yellow truck in an open field area before hitting the town.
“No, look at the tree.” Mike pointed at the wrecks, two o’clock. He slowed the vehicle to give them time to survey the area, not wanting a second shootout.
Mike directed everyone’s eyes to a tree along the highway that had bodies crowded against its base.
“Is this the 40 we’re coming up on?” Melody asked Jason.
“Yeah. We should check it out.”
“With caution.” Mike turned left on the 40. Even if they wanted to avoid the wreckage, they couldn’t as it was in the direction of Summer Springs.
At a closer look, the yellow truck’s tires were blown out and, just off from that, bodies were lying piled up and burned. Infected that were at the tree raised their ugly faces from eating and began their attack towards the Humvee. As each stood and walked away from their meal, Melody counted four infected. They were slow in their steps, covered in the mixture of dirt, blood, and guts. These infected had lost all their living features, only holding on to everything that resembled a rotting corpse. As emaciated as they were, the infected still held their desperate urge to attack, to rip apart, to kill anything within their grasp.
Mike hadn’t even stopped the vehicle before Jason had jumped out the back seat, pulling his knife, and started taking on the nearest infected. It was a tall man, towering slightly over Jason, but barely bones were left holding up his body. Jason kicked it to the ground before descending into it and sinking his blade into the side of its head.
Beck seemed to have a sudden hit of adrenaline, as he was right behind Jason, taking on the next infected, another mostly skeletal walking corpse with its stomach ripped open from its first death wound.
Mike was not far when the last two infected, both women, had reached the group. The closer was a smaller woman with a fierce growl. Mike grabbed the infected by her shoulders, using her as a shield from the other infected. Beck came from behind and took out the infected Mike didn’t have his hands on. Mike threw down the infected woman and stomped down hard on her head. It was easier than stomping down on a watermelon, crushing instantly.
Melody hopped out of the car, leaving Aubrey sitting in the front seat. She stayed close by just in case more infected were in the area.
Jason looked around for more threats. “We’re clear,” he confirmed to Melody.
Melody stayed put with Aubrey.
“Big trucks came through here. Those tracks aren’t from that yellow truck.” Beck pointed out tire markings that had ripped open the golden field, leaving muddy tracks behind.
“You think it could be military?” Jason asked.
“Maybe. From the looks of those burned bodies, likely.” Beck pointed back over his shoulder to the pile of bodies.
Mike walked over to the tree where he found three bodies tied together.
One of the bodies was an infected, tied in purgatory to forever bite at the air trying to reach the dead next to it to feed, only just far enough to never be successful. In a leg lock laid a small infected child with its head flattened.
“Jesus Christ, what happened here?” Beck walked up from behind Mike.
“Looks like this guy almost won. He fought like hell.” Jason walked around the tree to the infected, pointed out the bite marks down his leg from the smaller infected under his feet.
“He didn’t stand a chance once big brothers came along,” Mike said plainly.
The other two bodies laid with their insides ripped open; one of the bodies was missing most of his face, from the infected feasting on them.
“I’m guessing these were some assholes, and they did something real bad.” The adrenaline flood Beck had experienced was wearing off quickly, coughing through his words.
“I don’t want to run into whoever did this,” Jason said looking down at the massacre.
“Beck, man, you’re bleeding.” Mike put his hand on Beck’s shoulder to give him some support.
Beck was bleeding from his nose.
“Let’s get you back to the truck,” Jason insisted.
Back at the truck, Melody waited patiently, with Aubrey still sitting in the front seat.
“Are you alright, Beck?” Melody gave him a concerned look over.
“He’s fine, just a little bloody nose,” Jason insisted.
Everyone climbed back in the Humvee, ready to continue moving forward.
“Let’s avoid this town at all costs,” Jason said as he climbed in the back seat.
Mike picked up the maps from the center console and handed it back to Jason. “I’ll let you navigate.”
Jason took the map and began scanning for routes. “Are we all in agreement we don’t need supplies right now?”
There was a short pause as Melody, Mike, and Beck looked at each other with head nods indicating they agreed about the supplies. Everyone knew they needed to limit their risks, unable to afford any wasteful battles with infected. With Beck’s health deteriorating by the hour, Jason and Mike were their main source of fighting power. Melody knew she could shoot a gun at best, but fighting an infected with a knife, holding Aubrey in her arms, wasn’t an option.
As Mike traveled down the highway at a reasonable 30mph, he and Jason talked through the details of the area. Jason guided Mike off the highway through neighborhoods that would weave a wide detour around the town.
W
hat Melody was sure were once pristine neighborhoods now looked like junk yards. It seemed nothing was left untouched when a military convoy went through. Spray-painted houses marked up with graffiti, homes burned, or doors and windows blasted out. Cars left in the streets, wrecked or run down suffered the same fate. Bodies weren’t buried, but burned and left in piles. There was no time to bury the dead.
“Why are some areas so destructed and others not?” Melody spoke as she continued to look at the devastation.
“They were following a grid. A sheet of fucking paper to tell them what areas were salvageable and what weren’t.” Mike held a resentment Melody had heard only one other time – the canyon when he tried to save the fallen man.
“Part of controlling the outbreak?” Melody asked. “How long had this been going on?”
“Small units were fighting this long before it was wide-spread, and were quite successful at keeping it covered up. Until the LA outbreak. That was a mess, and that’s when local authorities had to get involved. It’s like trying to swim upstream when the public knows too much. People are destructive and just do more harm than good. When the government went public asking for lock down, you should have seen the streets. Full of people making demands.”
“Jason locked us down in our home. He didn’t even open the blinds.” Melody turned around to give Jason a glance. “My sister, Harmony and her boyfriend, Dan, they were locked down too. We stayed that way for almost a week until… Harmony and Dan went to look for his parents on foot and they had their first run in with the infected. That’s when we all decided to leave town. Then you picked us up.”
“Your neighborhood was on the grid as having possible survivors. That’s why we were doing rounds there.” Beck’s voice was barely audible as he struggled to get out his words.
“And the neighborhoods with no survivors were burned.” Melody put the puzzle pieces together aloud. “What about the people who left their homes during the first days?”
“Many were rounded up.” Mike gave a side glance to Melody as he carefully chose his words. “Most though…they’re still walking the streets.”
