For a few minutes, all Abby could do was hold Tomas close and listen to the sound of growling outside as she kept her eyes shut. She felt numb. She could see tiny stars in her head flickering around darkness. She did not want to breathe or move or open her eyes. She had never felt so scared in her life.
When Abby finally opened her eyes, she saw cold dead eyes staring back at her. An undead was standing at the door with a bloody hand on the glass. Half of its face had been torn off, and it was missing an arm. He had been a young man once, but now he was just a monster. The undead looked away and joined the crowd that was walking in the same direction. She watched the crowd for a while as the numbness in her heart spread throughout her body. Shadows started to appear in her vision along with bright swirls. She blinked.
Abby moved Tomas’s body to the side and laid him next to her. She dared not to look at him. She put her hands into her lap and started to rock back and forth. She was not crying anymore, just stunned and dazed. She felt very confused and out of place. As if she had no idea where she was or who she was. Waves of this feeling kept washing over her, until she vomited to her side. She rubbed her busted lip and moved farther down the aisle away from the puke and Tomas.
Abby struggled to crawl as she shook. The feeling in her head was taking over her, and darkness was filling her eyes. She lay there on the ground, wrapping her fingers around her necklace, gasping for air. She was sure this was it. The moment she would turn. Her throat tightened, lungs burned, and her eyes turned dull and red. Her skin felt cold, but her body burned inside. Her skin was crawling. Her legs felt like pins and needles were swimming through them.
For a moment, all Abby could do was lay there in her pain and agony, sobbing silently to herself. Sweat dripped down her nose and landed on the cold tile under her face. She could hear the growling fading into the distance, and it was starting to be replaced by silence and heavy breathing. She rolled onto her side and blinked looking at the aisle in front of her. It was empty. Her stomach started to growl, and it filled the silence. She sat up moaning in pain as her leg throbbed.
Abby took her backpack off slowly trying to avoid the sight of Tomas’s body at the edge of her vision. Her mind felt empty and numb. She opened her pack and pulled out the sports drink she had opened before and drank a little. She struggled to swallow. Her eyes were small, body tensed, heart beating slowly. She placed the sports drink down and took out the cheese crackers and started to eat them. Each bite made her feel guiltier by the moment. She sniffled and stopped eating and put the crackers back into her bag. She moved very carefully and slowly.
Abby’s eyes moved slowly to her side; and at the edge of her vision, she could see Tomas’s body. She turned away in pain and cupped her hands together. She started to rock and rub her arms nervously. She kept sniffling, until she broke out into a sob. Leaning forward, she made herself small as she sobbed into her lap. She started to gag, so she sat up covering her mouth and closing her eyes. She took in deep gasps of air as she started to panic. Tomas was dead, because she was trying to save him. She sobbed, until she had nothing left inside of her.
Abby collected herself after a few moments. She still would not look at Tomas. She pulled herself upward onto her right foot and leaned on the aisle behind her. She pulled down her sweatpants and looked at her bandages. Her left leg had become more bruised. It was swelling and she could see the muscle in her leg throbbing under her skin. The blue color in her left leg had made its way between her thighs now. Her nose crunched up at the smell of urine. Her face turned red even though she knew there was no reason to be embarrassed. No one was around. It reminded her of Tomas as she opened her bag and undid her wound dressing.
The wound was crusted with blood and goo and it smelt rotten. The flesh was black and blue with hardly any pink. She sat back down and cleaned it with the peroxide and then the alcohol. She cried as it burned. Next she put the ointment on it and then bandaged it back up. It was all she could do not to think of Tomas. When she was done she changed her pad again and then pulled her sweatpants back up. The hoard outside was gone now but Abby knew it probably was not safe to go out yet. However, she did not want to spend another second next to the dead boy.
Abby put her backpack on and stood up wobbling as she balanced on one foot. She pushed herself to the other side of the aisle and used the shelf to walk. She felt the breath go out of her when she moved past Tomas. She moved around the aisle and saw her hockey stick on the ground near the cash registers. She bounced to it and picked it up. She stood there looking at the door with the bloody handprint. She wanted to look back so badly at Tomas, say she was sorry, and bury his body. If she looked back she would be acknowledging the truth and she could not handle that.
Abby shuffled to the door and took in a deep breath before leaving the store. She looked around and saw the hoard was long gone now. They had left streaks of blood and rotting flesh behind. It smelt like sewage. Cold wind hissed in the air and reminded Abby that she needed to redo her ponytail. Ragged auburn hair had fallen in front of her face and around her ears. She looked towards the red car that she wanted to use before and then felt tightness in her chest. She wanted to go get Tomas and bring him with her.
She limped with her hockey stick towards the car and glanced around. The roads were dead. The sky a milky gray and the sun now hiding. Abby wished she could hear anything but silence. And when she got into the little red car and picked up the keys from the floorboard she looked out of the window. There was a singing bird on a yellow car in front of her. It seemed to be staring at Abby with accusing eyes.
It took a few tries before the car would start. And when she did she just sat there for a moment not knowing what to do or where to go. Abby was scared of the waves of agony taking her and causing her to crash. She looked at herself in the mirror and at her darkening eyes. She looked half-dead and felt ashamed. She just wanted everything to stop.
Chapter Six
Abby felt as if she had been on the road all day without seeing a single sign of life. She drove until the pain in her leg and chest were too much to bear. She pulled over before her vision blurred and her arms locked up. After a few minutes, Abby leaned forward gasping for air and crying. She grabbed her sweatpants with her hands and squeezed them. Her lungs felt heavy, and her eyes were burning. Her skin was crawling, and her bones felt cold.
Abby opened the door awkwardly, so she could vomit on the side of the road. Her vomit was dark and very thin. She started to gag and cough. Her lungs felt like they were closing. Her body began to shake violently. It felt as if something was cutting her in half with a very dull knife. The pain was unbearable. She leaned back into the car and covered her face crying as she shook. She could taste blood.
Abby lay in a ball crying until the painful attack started to fade. She sniffled and rubbed her red eyes. She was still alive. She cursed. She rubbed her face as she slowly sat up trying to compose herself. When she opened her eyes, she saw Tomas looking at her with a grin, holding his stuffed animal in the rearview mirror.
Abby screamed and pushed herself out of the car and fell onto the cold grass outside. She regretted the foolish reaction. She turned onto her back and stared at the back of the car with her mouth gaping open. Had he not been dead after all? She stared at the back of the car window. Nothing was inside.
The sky was starting to turn dark as she pulled herself back up into the car. Abby gritted her teeth at the pain in her leg. She looked in the back of the car and still there was nothing. Her stomach dropped. She had imagined Tomas. She turned and leaned on the car, rubbing her eyes. She grabbed her necklace as a tear rolled down her face.
“I’m okay… I’m okay… I’m okay…” Abby whispered through tears. She was not okay. She knew that. She had no doubt she would die. She was mad at herself for even trying to live. She just wanted to survive in case she ever saw Aaron again, even though she knew that was impossible. Her wishful thinking always got the best of her and hurt her the most.
Abby sat back and undid her ponytail and then fixed her hair. She stared straight ahead at the space the car’s headlights lit up. She listened to the sound of the wind outside and the beat of her own heart. She felt very tired and weak and cold. She eyed her mirror again and then the backseat. Nothing was there. After a few minutes, Abby reached over into the other seat and opened her backpack. She grabbed the opened sports drink and drank all of it slowly. It was hot and felt very good going down her dry throat.
Abby cleared her throat and took in a long deep breath. She needed to find somewhere safe and get off the road. She started the car and began to drive down the highway. She passed up many bodies and undead wobbling around. Hunger was getting to her, and she needed to take more pain medicine. More importantly, she knew she had to pull over soon to sleep. She could feel sleep at the edge of her mind, but the nearest town was at least twenty minutes away. She did not have that much time. She decided she would pull over now.
Abby put the car in park and turned the lights off and looked around. It was pitch black out, and the moon was nowhere to be found. The wind was howling, and Abby could hear the soft ring of metal hitting something somewhere. She was terrified. Every part of her being was scared. However, she could barely keep her eyes open or her mind focused on anything. She gripped the steering wheel and pressed her lips tightly together. She was tearing up again.
Abby moved her seat backward then grabbed her necklace, staring at the roof of the car. She was so afraid to close her eyes. She swallowed hard, and it took everything she had to finally close her eyes. She tried to not think about the fact she was alone in the middle of nowhere. Paranoia filled her mind as she lay down, sobbing herself to sleep.
“Japan has shut down all airports and is monitoring its shores after rumors of a cure began circulating. It is said that some infected people in Japan have taken a vaccine and now are fine. Now these are just rumors, and there is no proof, however with Japan closing down there is only one thing we can think. Is there a cure, and is Japan keeping it from the world?” The news woman said with her eyebrows arched. Abby eyed the TV screen from a small black kitchen table while sipping on tea from a super hero mug.
Her bright blue eyes moved back and forth trying to figure out if what she was hearing was true. If Japan really did have a cure, why would they keep it to themselves? And more importantly if they did not, why would they close down? There were a lot of questions no one was answering. Yet in the last four months there had been many countries saying they had a vaccine for the virus and all of those claims were just propaganda. Even so, Abby’s mom had told her that taking double vitamin C pills helped from catching the virus. Aaron did not believe it, though Abby found herself taking an extra one daily for the last few months. She was not sure if it would help or if she was just kidding herself, but it made her feel better.
Abby brushed long thick strands of auburn hair behind round ears as she leaned forward towards her mug. She glanced down into her mug at the tea inside. She tightened her fingers around the mug and sighed heavily. Watching the news always made her feel hollow inside and sad. She looked away from the tv that played in the living room that was across from the kitchen. Then she looked out the window above the stainless steel stink. The sky was bright blue, and birds were flying around singing. Abby could hear children outside laughing and playing.
She turned back towards her mug and felt her gut tighten. There were so many people who were not taking this virus seriously. So many people living in a lie and saying that the virus was just a cover-up for something the government was doing. Abby knew the truth and did not deny it, even though she wanted to live in bliss. She knew about the smaller countries that had already been taken over and bombed by surrounding larger countries. The towns and cities that went through liquation, and she knew about the hundreds of holes around the US that bodies had been buried alive in.
Abby hated all the information she got from Aaron. She did not want to believe any of it. But, his words only confirmed the rumors everyone was hearing. It made her feel sick and scared inside. The government was telling people that even though the virus had reached thirty six states already that they were working hard and controlling everything. It was clear they were not. It had not gotten into Texas yet, but Abby knew it was only a matter of time. It was in Louisiana; and even though they shut down the roads, people were finding their way into the surrounding states.
A chill ran down her back, and she swallowed hard with her next sip. Her necklace laid flat on her chest, and her breathing was uneven. Abby felt very helpless to what was happening and wish she could do more. Wish she had some kind of power or money to help those who were suffering or stuck in infected states. She wanted to let others know that people did care and wanted to save them. Nevertheless, she could not do anything but relay messages from Aaron to her family and friends and warn them of what the Government was doing. She was not even sure if all of the information Aaron was being told was even true, and that left a damper on her.
“How is the writing?” Aaron asked softly, his voice coming from behind her. Abby jumped and eyed him with wide eyes. He had a towel wrapped around his waist, and one in his hands that he was using to dry his dark locks with. Water dripped down the muscles on his stomach, and Abby eyed them. It was strange how easily she could forget life’s worries when Aaron was around. He made her feel as if there were no worries in the world when he smiled at her. He moved the towel from his face, and his dark eyes glimmered at her. He looked at the laptop in front of her mug and at the empty page on her screen and frowned. He could hear the news and walked over to her then looked into the living room and shook his head.
“I told you to stop watching that. You need to relax and write dear.” He said kindly. His voice was soft and smooth and caring, but there was a hint of frustration in his tone. He took the remote from the table and turned the tv off. Abby sighed and moved her laptop away and lowered her head in disappointment.
“How can I write when all this is going on?” She asked frowning as she looked down at her empty mug now. She heard him take in a deep breath, then he placed a warm hand on her shoulder and squeezed.
“Because you have to stay strong and not let it ruin who you are.” He put his other hand on her other shoulder and started to massage her. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the strength in his hands.
“No matter what you have to keep trying and not let the bad control you and take your happiness.” He told her kissing her head. Abby opened her eyes and looked up at him and curled her lip then said, “But why? People are dying, and it could be us next.” She felt suddenly ashamed at how weak she sounded. She looked away from him and closed her eyes again.
Aaron lowered himself down next to her and wrapped his warm wet arms around her chest and kissed her neck. She could feel his hot breath on her back, and it made her feel bubbly inside. She could feel the negativity flowing out of her.
“We may die, Aaron. A horrible death and we could turn into those things! What is life if all of this is gone?” Abby waved her hands around as tears filled her eyes. Her emotions had come back, and an ugly sorrow entered her. Aaron looked away from her, annoyance in his eyes. He always hated when she was negative, and any little negative comment would put him on edge. However, Abby was scared; and she could not stop herself from talking.
“Why write if everything is gonna be gone? This could be it Aaron… you see all those people dying.” She paused and rubbed her face and then said, “Coming back and killing people. This is actually happening. How am I supposed to relax?” Her voice was sharp, but
she was not meaning to hurt him.
He pressed his lips together and crossed his arms. She could tell he was tense now and even annoyed. He opened his mouth then shut it at the sound of an ambulance speeding down the road outside. Abby looked out of the window with her eyes dilated, and she felt hopeless again. Then she felt her body being pulled, and she was in Aaron’s embrace. She already felt bad for being negative when he was trying to lift her up. She knew he was right that they had to stay strong if they wanted to survive. She just felt so scared.
“Even if you have nothing left and everything is gone, you still have your life. That is always worth fighting for.” He whispered sweetly into her ear before turning her around and giving her a deep passionate kiss. She wrapped her arms around him, and he did the same. She still felt afraid; however in his arms, she felt safe and protected. She felt hot tears in her eyes as she wished he was like this more.
Abby woke to something hitting the side of the car; and when she opened her eyes, she knew what it was. It was an undead banging on the side of the car. The blinding light of the sun almost made him invisible to Abby’s waking eyes. Her body was stiff. and she felt very wet from head to toe. She had been sweating in her sleep, and she could tell she had urinated on herself again. The undead outside growled and hissed as it slammed its body into the door. It was very thin and almost all of its clothes were gone. Bones were sticking out of its chest and arms.
The undead looked as if it had been dead for a very long time. It could not even lift its arms up. It only slammed its thin body into the door and growled loudly. She lay there, unmoving, watching it, and noticed it was not looking at her. It seemed to not even notice she was there. It moved around the car flopping around looking for something. It rolled over the hood and pathetically lifted itself up as its gray dead eyes looked into the sky at some birds flying past. Abby made herself sit upwards and move the seat up. It heard the sound and looked back at the car, and it seemed to be looking inside.
The Amour series (Book 1): The Embers of Amour Page 7
