Parish

by Nicole Murphy

  “Maybe you should turn that off, Jack.” Emily frowned as she spooned the soup into Jamie’s mouth.

  “No!” Jamie swallowed the mouthful. “Please.” Emily furrowed her brow and dipped the spoon back into the can.

  “I have been sitting here for hours, alone. I have had some time to think, people out there who are alive and listening. I have come to a conclusion. Maybe, we as a species deserve this, whatever the fuck that caused dead people to come back and pick at us like a rack of baby backs at a barbeque. Now before you get mad, hear me out. Humanity as a whole is like a cancerous tumor on the ass of the planet. Sure, maybe not all people are ass clowns, but sweet fuck, there sure are a lot of them. Right? I know I’m right. You know how I know I’m right? I was one of them, hell maybe I still am an ass clown. I don’t know, I’ll leave that judgment up to you fine people. But really think about how really shitty we are as a species. We’re the worst! Anyway, that’s just my two sense…hey folks, wait a second here. I think I may have another update here. Yeah, hey, yeah I sure do. Oh man, on top of some undead bastards trying to eat your face off there is a pretty bad storm coming. If you aren’t somewhere safe, man, get there, somewhere now.”

  “Artemis!” Emily yelled, as softly as she could. A few seconds later Artemis walked in.

  “You called, doc?” He put his hands on his hips.

  “I found a radio in here and got it working. They said there’s a really bad storm coming. You, me and Wade need to double check and then triple check everything to make sure we’re safe in here.” Jack stood up and sat the radio next to Jamie’s hip. Jamie put his hand on it, and smiled gratefully up at his father.

  “Alright. I think your daughter’ll want to help too.” Artemis motioned with his head back to where the twins were waiting.

  “Yeah, that’s fine.” Jack hiked his pants up a bit before turning around. “Jamie, you be a good boy and do as your mother says. I’ll be back after we make sure everything is secure before that storm hits. Okay?”

  “Okay.” Jamie nodded, opening his mouth for the spoonful of broth his mother was trying to give to him.

  CHAPTER NINE

  The lightning struck first. It illuminated the night sky making it appear as though the sun has risen for a moment before the sky bathed in darkness again. Over and over again this happened until the sky seemingly opened up and began to pour torrential rain down up the city. To a person of faith it may have appeared that a higher being was taking mercy upon those who managed to survive thus far by trying to drown the undead who wandered up and down the streets hunting like animals. Animals that ran on nothing but smell or sound. The thunder started last.

  Wren had moved over to sit next to Wade, his arm around his twin, she had her hands up over her ears. She had never liked storms, ever since she was a little girl. She jumped with every clap of thunder, squeaked at every blast of lightning. Wade had always taken it upon himself to make her feel safe during the storms. Emily sat watching them, smiling to herself. They may be sixteen years old, but it was obvious that some things didn’t change, even during the zombie apocalypse.

  Jack had demanded to sleep next to Jamie, and after everything that had unfolded between him and Emily she thought it best not to argue with him, and instead she was sitting watching her older children as the storm raged on. Artemis was sleeping atop his boxes. None of the noise caused by the storm seemed to bother him and he snored on.

  Doubt began to creep into her thoughts. Perhaps she and her team hadn’t created this problem. Maybe it was something else, and she had confessed for nothing. Emily closed her eyes and tilted her head back to lay against the wall. If they came out of this alright, she may not have a marriage anymore. Laughing internally, a clap of thunder pulled her back out of her thoughts. It seemed silly to be worrying about the state of her marriage.

  Another hour passed before the storm began to disperse. Wren and Wade and fallen asleep, her head on his shoulder. Emily finally closed her eyes, trying to clear out her mind so sleep could find her. When the sun poured over the horizon a few hours later, and lazily dripped through the dirty windows to dance upon her eyelids, she awoke. Grimacing, it felt like she had only just fallen asleep.

  As the situation they were in jumped back into her thoughts she sprung up. Bolting upright she looked around. The twins were still fast asleep. Artemis was standing on an overturned crate peering outside. He turned as he caught her movement from the corner of his eyes.

  “Mornin’, doc.” He gave a nod before returning his gaze outside. “Everyone’s good, checked on ‘em when I woke up. The little one back there is snoring and so’s your husband.”

  “Thank you for checking on them.” Emily tried to smooth out her bed ragged hair.

  “Ain’t nothing, we’re a team, remember?” He replied, his tone light.

  “I couldn’t forget if I tried.” She shook her head. “I’m going to go and see if Jamie is awake yet.”

  “Alright. I’m just keeping watch. I ain’t seen no one, well no one living I should say. Saw a few zombies, but they just shuffled on by. Didn’t even give this place a second look.” Artemis cleared his throat, causing Wade to jump in his sleep.

  “Well, thank god for small miracles I guess.” Emily had turned and was making her way back to the office. She turned the corner and saw Jack sprawled out on the floor, mouth agape. His snoring seemed to vibrate the floor, and she smiled. Shaking her head she wondered how Jamie managed to sleep through the racket. Stepping lightly over her husband’s sleeping form she made her way to her child.

  Emily pressed her hand to his forehead, he was no longer burning with fever but he still felt a bit too warm. She smiled as she watched his eyes fluttering beneath their lids. Stooping down she continued to watch his face. Emily hoped he was having a good dream. Maybe he was dreaming of playing on the playground with his friends, or running through the sprinkler on a hot summer day. Maybe he was simply dreaming of a few days ago, when everything was still normal.

  “Jamie?” Jack’s gruff morning voice startled her. She spun around and hushed him.

  “He’s still sleeping, hush your big mouth.”

  “Is he ok?” Jack scrambled on his hands and knees to come to her side and regard their youngest child.

  “He’s still a bit warm, but it’s not as bad as it was yesterday.” Emily replied.

  “Is this normal, you know, with the…shot?” A flash of anger flickered through Jacks eyes.

  “No, actually. But that’s a good thing.” Emily moved to put her back against the wall so she could face Jack but still keep her eyes on Jamie.

  “What’s normal?” Jack asked.

  “Normal would have been for the fever to get worse.” Emily looked down, brushing off her pant leg.

  “There’s still a chance though, right? Whatever caused this fever could have just been a bug and he could still get…the effects from…” Jack let his voice trail off.

  “No, I don’t think so. The timing isn’t right. I was up awhile last night thinking about everything. The virus had an activation time. I really think that if it were that it would be painfully obvious by now. He’s getting better, I think it was just some kind of bug.” Emily’s face pinched as she spoke.

  “Really? Or are you just saying that because you are trying to make me feel better?” Jack’s tone turned accusatory.

  “He’s my son too. I wouldn’t give you false hope, I wouldn’t give myself false hope.” Emily narrowed her eyes, before forcing herself to calm down. Jack had every right to be angry with her. She had hid her jobs purpose from him since day one. It didn’t matter that she was sworn to secrecy, she should have told him. Not just because he was her husband but for the safety of her children. “You haven’t asked about your other children.”

  “Is something wrong with one of them?” Panic washed over Jacks face.

  “No their fine, I just thought I should mention them to you.” Emily sighed.

  “Don’t do that to me. W
orrying about those things out there and Jamie, it’s enough to give me a stroke as it is.”

  “Artemis is keeping watch right now, and the twins are passed out. I think it would be wise to let all the kids try to get some rest. I hope they’re all having good dreams, escaping from this hell even if it’s just for a little while.” Emily stood up. “I’m going to go put some breakfast together for everyone. If he wakes up before I come back, make sure he drinks some water.”

  “Water. Got it.” Jack nodded. He didn’t look at her as she walked to the doorway, instead he turned his attention to Jamie. Emily rolled her eyes.

  “Doc! Doc!” Artemis was harshly whispering for her, trying to get her attention.

  “What?” She ran on tip toe towards him.

  “It’s another one of those groups we saw from that first day. They’re surrounding us. We need to be quiet.” He continued to whisper.

  “Okay.” Emily nodded.

  Wren stretched, letting out a loud groan. Emily dove at her, clamping her hand over mouth. Wrens eyes went wide and Wade jumped, his eyes flying open. Before he could mutter a word, Emily’s free hand reached up and clamped over his mouth too.

  “Shhh…there’s a mass of those things outside. Be very quiet.” Emily explained. Wren and Wade nodded their understanding of the situation.

  “I think we may have some trouble, doc.” Artemis stepped down from the crate and walked over to them. “There is a group of about seven outside, they’re picking off the zombies. I think they’re scavenging.”

  “If we’re quiet, they’ll leave us alone won’t they?” Wren asked.

  “We’re in a grocery store.” Wade interjected. Emily’s eyes went wide.

  “Do you think we could fight them off if we have to?” Emily asked.

  “It’s hard to say. I don’t know what they’re armed with.” Artemis answered truthfully.

  “Is Jamie better?” Wren looked to her mother, Wade’s eyes settled in on her as well.

  “Yeah. His fever is coming down. He’ll be fine.” Emily smiled reassuringly.

  “We may have to make a run for it out the back door. I can carry the little guy if we have to, but if we have to run it would be better if we could get in a car.” Artemis looked back to the front of the store.

  “I’m going to go tell Dad what’s going on.” Wade said as he stood up.

  “Mom?” Wren asked as she scooted closer to her mother’s body.

  “What is it baby?” Emily asked, a bit shocked as Wren reached out and put her arms around her.

  “I’m scared.” Wren suddenly sounded six years old again, and it caused Emily’s heart to wrench. She wrapped her arms around her daughter and kissed the top of her head.

  “I am too.” Emily closed her eyes and said a silent prayer that she wasn’t the one responsible for this. She couldn’t ask her children to live with her mistakes, especially if it ever got out to the survivors. They would want the whole family punished.

  Artemis climbed back atop the overturned crate and slowly lifted himself until his eyes barely crossed over the shelf that was blocking the view outside. His eyes scanned the parking lot.

  “I think they’re gone.” Artemis smiled. Emily and Wren both took a deep breath. A shotgun blast deafened them. He jumped down into a crouch. Emily put her body over Wren’s to protect her. Another blast echoed from outside, followed by three more. Silence fell, but no one moved. Afraid that at any moment there would be another. Artemis was the first one to move a muscle. Slowly he once again climbed the crate and looked out of the window.

  “What was that?” Emily asked.

  “Those survivors. One dude shot the rest, he’s sitting in the middle of the road by our vehicle. The zombies are coming for him. Oh god!” Artemis cringed and looked away. A few moments passed before Artemis rallied his nerves and decided to look back out at the carnage.

  “Is it over?” Wren asked, her voice full of hope. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the scene.

  “Everyone, start packing up whatever you can carry. Doc, go tell Jack to do the same and secure the boy. We’re gonna have to make a run for it.” Artemis replied slowly. His voice was strangely calm despite what he was saying.

  “What’s going on? Why do we have to pack up?” Emily asked as she grabbed one of the bags and began shoving items into it.

  “We’ve been spotted, those things out there are coming towards us. I don’t know how long the glass on this place will hold out, but the shelves won’t keep ‘em out indefinitely. We’re gonna have to run for it.” Artemis jumped down and grabbed another bag. In two strides he was at the shelves where they had stacked the supplies they had found.

  “Wren, go tell your Dad what’s going on. Tell Wade to help get everything together.” Her face was serious as she packed up. No sooner had Wren left the room than banging on the glass began. The throaty noises from the undead began to grow louder as more and more decided to join the few who had begun to pound. Emily froze, the sounds cutting to her core. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

  “Doc?” Emily pulled her gaze back to Artemis who was standing over her.

  “We have to go. There could be more of survivors around here. Them zombies are letting everything, dead or alive, know they found something. It would be better if we weren’t here in either case.” He straightened his back as he hoisted the over packed bag onto his shoulder. Emily closed the bag she had been packing and stood up, following him back to the office where the others were.

  “Won’t the glass hold?” Jack asked as he cast a worried glance down at Jamie.

  “It won’t hold forever.” Emily replied, defended Artemis’ judgment call.

  “Exactly.” Artemis affirmed her statement. “If it were only two or three of ‘em I’d say we’d be okay. There are at least twenty of them out there now. The more noise they make the more of ‘em that come and that spells bad news for that glass. How long would you say it would hold when it’s a hundred of them banging on it and throwing themselves against it?”

  Jack stood silently staring at Artemis for a few moments before he joined Wade who was packing up the few things in the office worth taking with them. They had their weapons in hand when Jack pulled on the backpack.

  “Jamie can’t run.” Jack said matter-of-factly.

  “We know.” Wren interjected.

  “I’ll carry him. I’m the only one in here with any type of military training. I can carry more than you think and run at the same time.” Artemis searched Jack’s worried face before continuing. “We need to go over the plan before he take off. Everyone here needs to know exactly what we’re gonna do once we get out there so no one gets lost or left or God forbid bit.”

  “What’s the plan?” Wade looked to him. A flash of jealousy was apparent in Jack’s eyes. It was obvious that he felt he should be the one leading and protecting his family, not this stranger.

  “We’re gonna make a break for it out the back door. There should be an ally back there. We need to keep quiet and see if we can’t find some wheels. I’d feel a lot better about everything if we had some metal between us and them, not to mention the ability to get away quickly.” Artemis shrugged his bag up higher onto his person.

  “Who takes the lead?” Emily asked.

  “Well I’ll have the boy so I need Jack with me.” Artemis looked to Jack. “You got this?”

  “Yeah.” Jack’s tone made him sound like he was offended at the implication he could not lead.

  “Wade and Emily you bring up the rear.” Artemis turned and looked at them. They both nodded their understanding.

  “Wait. What about me?” Wren asked. “I’m not some fragile flower. I can help.”

  “Ain’t no one said that.” Artemis smiled. “You gonna be on my left your Dad on my right. I need you to help keep an eye on the lookout and help protect your little brother.”

  “Oh.” Her anger faded. “I can do that.”

  “Good.” Artemis nodded. “Now everyone understand what we�
��re doing?”

  “Yes.” They replied in unison.

  “Okay.” He turned and looked down at Jamie. “Hey, doc, is he ok?” Emily pushed forward and looked down at her son. His skin had changed to a grayish green tone on his neck and appeared to be traveling up his jaw line onto his face.

  “Jamie?” Emily called his name. His eyes fluttered open revealing pigment that was slowly fading. “Oh god!” Her hands flew to her mouth.

  “What? What is it?” Jack asked pushing his way through and kneeling down before Jamie.

  “Jack! No, don’t get too close to him!” Emily reached down and took hold of his shoulder and attempted to pull him back. Jack violently pulled free of her grasp. Emily backed up, one hand each landing on the arm of a twin as she pulled them away alongside her.

  “Jamie? Hey buddy, are you alright? How are you feeling?” Jack asked, reaching up to press his hand to his forehead. Artemis turned and looked to Emily for an answer. She slowly shook her head causing Artemis to begin his retreat from the boys’ bedside.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Emily pulled Wade and Wren out into the hallway. Artemis was paused at the doorframe, watching as Jack tried to reach Jamie. Her mouth had grown dry, her heart pounding so hard it hurt her ears. She had pushed the twins behind her and had them pressed against the opposing walls stopping them from running back in to the office.