by Tahnee Fritz
A woman is coming at me now. She calmly approaches me with her hair in dreadlocks and her dark skin glistening in the sunlight. A spear is in her grip and she twirls it in some choreographed pattern I can’t begin to keep track of. She seems pretty proud of her ability to maneuver a stick in a way I’d never want to. It spins over her head and along the side of her body. The blade of the spear sparks against the concrete with every rotation. In one final movement, she swings the spear at my head and is so surprised when I catch it mid swing. She pulls at it, trying to get her toy away from me. I’m just a little stronger.
I pull the thing out of her grip and break the stick in half over my knee, “Oops. You’ll have to find a new party trick.”
She shrieks at me, then starts clawing her fingers at my face and neck like a deranged zombie or vampire. If it weren’t for the whites of her eyes, I’d almost think she was one of those things. I back up a few paces, getting away from her, but she still claws at the air. I take one half of the spear, the side with the blade and swing it through the air, ending the clawing and the shrieking.
I hit the side of her head and the blade is stuck in her skull. Blood drips from the wound and her fingers twitch rapidly as her body slowly dies and falls limp to the ground. I stare down at her, the blood pouring on the concrete. The smell of it drifts up my nose and the passion for it grows. The redness of her blood is so inviting, it’s begging me to try some. I can’t let this go on forever. I can’t always shove my hunger aside whenever I feel the need to keep my human self alive. I grab the spear sticking out of her head and yank it from her skull. A cracking sound comes from her head when the blade is freed.
One more man has dared to challenge me. He’s older, maybe my dad’s age. His hair is grey and so is his beard. For some, unknown reason, this man felt the need to show off his gut by only wearing a denim vest and jeans. His hairy chest isn’t very attractive and it completely takes my eyes away from the blood. The knife in his hand is small and unintimidating. He growls at me as he moves closer.
“I think you’ve had just about enough fun for one day.” He says through gritted teeth.
I raise an eyebrow and look to the others in his gang that are standing nearby. A few of them have roamed away from the scene, afraid to die next. I’m not sure why these people thought it was a good idea to get an overweight, old guy to do the grunt of their work, but if he thinks he has a shot at taking me down, who am I to stop him from trying?
I hold onto the spear and let this man take another step toward me. He waves the knife through the air, like he’s spreading butter on invisible toast. He licks his lips and winks at me. A sight that is only adding to his disgusting appearance. He takes another step and reaches out with his knifed hand, attempted to stab me or something. By his movement, I can’t really tell what he’s trying to do. He lunges at me again and I latch onto his arm. Another, lower growl escapes his throat and he reaches for me with his free hand.
With every ounce of strength I have wrapped up in this cute form, I grab his other arm, while I still hold onto the spear, and amaze myself with how strong I’ve become. I heave him into the air and toss him over my head. He screams for help and lands flat on his face a few feet behind me. The screaming stops the second that loud thud hits the ground. I don’t have to turn around to see that he’s not with us anymore. I threw him pretty hard and I’m positive his head cracked the concrete when he landed.
The people around me have stopped moving. Their eyes stay glued to my every twitch. Some of them appear to be frightened of me. I have taken out four of them all by myself now and I left a pretty good dent in their leader’s face. I want them to be afraid of me. I want them to see me as the monster I can feel burning inside of me. There’s just one more thing I want to do to add even more fear into their hearts.
I raise the spear and stare at the blood dripping from its blade. The human smell of it still taunts my nose and I want it even more than ever. One taste and my demons will win the fight in my head. I bring it closer to my lips and open my mouth, forgetting the war I’m having with myself on this topic. The blood is much more intoxicating when it’s this close to my lips. There’s no point in trying to stop myself from trying it.
“God dammit, somebody stop her!” Trevor’s voice catches my attention and I stop focusing on the blood.
He stands amid his group, the only one of them who isn’t afraid of me. I can smell the anger rising from the pores of his body and it’s enough to mask the smell of the blood. He has the blood I really want to taste.
There’s stomping coming from behind me and I can feel the warmth of the human standing there. His breath blows against the back of my neck. I hear the metal of the gun rising through the air and I can feel it not far from the back of my head. I close my eyes and take a deep, calming breath.
There comes a split second of time where your body is able to do something so amazing, it could never be done again. Even as a person who’s not entirely human anymore, I really don’t think I could make this move ever again. The man behind me pulls the trigger and in that tiny, iota of a second, I spin out of the way, letting the bullet graze through my hair and I ram the spear right through his chest. The bullet from the gun lands in the shoulder of a young woman standing across from us and she screams out in pain. I twist the spear in the man’s chest and watch the life flee from his eyes. He falls to the ground and his head cracks against the concrete when it hits.
I turn back to Trevor and his gang. The girl who was shot is being looked after by a couple of them and the others I managed to disable are still lying on the ground. Trevor stares daggers at me and shoves his way through his men. I let him come close to me. I let him get within an arm’s length away. It’s more meaningful to me if I let him think he’s going to win. I jump up one last time and give him a swift roundhouse kick to the face. He spins around and topples to the ground on top of the woman with dreadlocks.
That feels even better hitting him the second time.
“Anyone else?” I say, staring at the few crowding around me.
They back away. I guess these big guys are afraid of a little girl like me. It doesn’t seem like I’ve made much of a dent in their numbers. As long as none of them want a fight, I’ve won this thing here today. I can run away with that on my mind and let the monster go back into its pit in the darkest corner of my stomach.
I back away from them, stepping over the man with the spear sticking out of his chest, then move a little more quickly. I turn around and let my legs run as fast as they can to get away from this hellhole. The world is blurry as I move, almost like tunnel vision, but I’m still able to see exactly where I’m going.
I push myself to run faster. The sooner I get to my destination, the sooner I can find an end to this day.
Part Three
I can see the truck stop and I’m coming up to it fast. The fields on either side of me are still in tunnel vision mode as I run. I just want to get there quickly so we can finally be on our way to the city. I know we are supposed to find Adam and George and a few others from the village, but I have no idea where they are and we don’t have a lot of time to search for them. Trevor and his men will keep coming after me so long as I am out here where they can find me. The faster we get to Des Moines, the faster I can try to convince the city of my gift, and the faster I’ll be able to breathe again. All this running and constant danger really takes a toll on someone. Even when that someone is me.
I get to the highway and stop running. I think that’s about the farthest I’ve ran with this new body of mine. I didn’t even break a sweat. I brush the hair out of my face and approach the building. The grey minivan is still sitting up close to it, not like I expected it to move or anything. I inhale deeply through my nose, taking in the familiar scent of humans. This aroma seems much more appealing to me now. It probably has something to do with all the blood I came in contact with while fighting against those people.
Then again, I could be getting hung
ry. There was a lot of blood and I was really close to trying some of it.
No.
That monster can’t come back right now.
My feet carry me to the middle of the street and I hear a crunching sound echo through the air. It didn’t come from me. There’s nothing in the street for me to have stepped on. I turn my head to the left and see nothing. No zombies and the sun is too bright for vamps to come out. I look to the right and focus my eyes. There are three figures coming this way. From here I can tell they aren’t zombies. One of them is wielding a rifle and the middle one is helping the third one walk. I take a few steps toward them and squint my eyes a little.
“Bridget?” the voice comes from the gas station.
I don’t need to turn my head to know that it’s Ryder. His smell gives his presence away. I’m glad to know they got here without a problem. He runs to the street, worry and relief cover his face. He stops right in front of me and I can feel his eyes checking me over. Probably making sure I’m not hurt or anything.
I turn to him and smile, “I told you you’d forget something.”
He sighs, “Like I’d really go too far without you. You’ll have to tell me what happened, you know.”
I nod, “I will later on.”
The three strangers get closer to us and we turn to them. The one walking alone is a woman. I can see her long, black hair blowing in the wind. The other two are men and their faces are starting to come into view. Katie will be happy to see that her father is still alive and well. He’s limping and hanging onto George with all of his might, but he’s alive and that’s all that matters. They are the only people walking this way and I’m beginning to wonder what happened to the rest from the village. That place was teeming with people and this is all that’s left. It can’t be possible.
“Dad!” Katie shouts from the doorway of the gas station, then I hear her running toward her father.
I watch her wrap her arms around him and relieve George from carrying him any further. They head for the truck stop with the woman right behind them. George sees me and walks my way instead of going with the others. There’s a cut on his forehead and a scratch down the length of his arm. Blood drips from his fingertips and onto the concrete. The smell sends shivers down my spine and I force myself to fight the hunger.
“Are you alright?” Ryder asks as George stops in front of us.
He shakes his head, “Not really.”
“What happened?” I ask.
“After you left, that gang stayed behind for hours. They stopped fighting with us but they wouldn’t let us leave. Night fell and a few vampires showed up. We took care of them and the noise drew in about a dozen zombies.” George wipes his eyes and continues, “Most of us were able to make a run for it and they’re scattered all over the place. Not sure if we’ll ever see them again. We stayed as long as we could to fight them off, but they just wouldn’t go down. They got my dad and he made me leave with Adam and Alix, the girl who is with us. I have no idea what happened to my sister.”
I nod and say, “Yeah, we saw your dad back there.”
His eyes light up and he says, “You did?”
“I was going to save him. There were five others with him and I was going to cure them all. Trevor and that damn gang of his were there waiting for us. It was a trap and he shot them all down before I had the chance.” I glance to my feet, “I’m sorry, George.”
He shrugs, “I was ready to accept that he was gone. He was one of them and I was positive I’d never find him if we ever ran into you again. How’d you get away from Trevor?”
I smile, “I kicked his ass a little. Then he tried to kill me, so I killed a few of his guys.”
“But he’s still alive?” George asks.
I nod, “Unfortunately.”
“Then we need to get the hell out of here. He’ll be coming for you and he won’t let you get away next time.”
George walks past us and heads for the glass doors of the truck stop. Ryder and I stay in the middle of the road and he looks at me. He’s worried, a look that’s been on his face since we found each other after I left him at the overpass. He shouldn’t have to wear that look.
I shrug, “I’m sorry.”
He shakes his head, “You have nothing to be sorry for, Bridge.”
“I do.” I say. “I could’ve told Dwayne to find another group of people to search for that village. Instead, I got you involved and risked your life while destroying my own. Now, there are crazy people after me and I’m just risking your life all over again. There’s no saying what would happen if they find us before we make it home.”
“They’re not going to find us. We’re going to make it to Des Moines and you’re going to save the world from there.” He forces a smile.
I force one as well and take his hand, “I guess we should go inside then, huh?”
He nods and we begin the short walk to the door of the truck stop. Katie is already inside with her dad and that woman, Alix. George is just now walking through the door and we aren’t too far behind him. Before we get inside, I stare at the van again. It is in decent shape for sitting in the same spot for a few years. The tires are still aired up and all of the windows are intact. I wonder if it would run or if there’s even gas in the tank. It would make a nice getaway vehicle for all of us. It’s big enough and it would mean we’d get to the city much faster.
I look away from the van and walk inside with Ryder. We let the door close behind us and Jason is there to lock it. Adam is sitting at the small table with Katie kneeling on the floor beside him. Her head resting against his shoulder with his arm draped around her. Rose is in the middle of giving George a warm embrace, welcoming him back to the our small group. Annah stands alone with Jason, Joshua, and Alix in front of the counter. All of their eyes turn to us as we approach them. I guess they must be waiting for another master plan of mine.
“Glad you made it back okay.” Jason states, passing me a smile. “You really are great at making plans.”
I nod, “I do my best.”
“What’s our plan at getting out of here?” Annah asks. “How far is the city?”
“A couple days.” Adam answers with a groggy voice. “Longer if we get stopped.”
“If that gang comes after us again, we won’t make it there at all.” George chimes in.
“We’ll just have to try. We’ve lost too many people already and I’m not willing to lose anymore. We can’t lose anymore.” Adam says. “If Trevor finds us, we’ll have to fight him off. We’ll do whatever it takes to stay alive and make it to the city to spread the word about Bridget. Losing isn’t an option anymore.”
They have lost too many people because of this. Because of me. I shouldn’t have gone with George to his village or even stayed as long as I did. I should have packed it up the second I woke up yesterday morning and hit the road with Ryder and Carter. No one should have died because of me.
I listen to Adam talk some more, explaining to everyone how they need to survive and keep me safe until we get to the city. That’s not their responsibility. I don’t need to rely on anyone to keep me safe. I think I’ve done an okay job at it so far. As long as I don’t count the whole getting bit by a vamp and a zombie thing. That’s beside the point.
I step away from them and walk to the door and stare through the window. Everyone’s right. If we stay here, Trevor will find us and kill them just to take me away as his prisoner. It’s only a matter of time before I see his men walking through that field to get here. We need a plan. We need a way out of this mess. And I need my dad here to tell me what to do. He’s the perfect man to come up with a plan for this sort of thing. He’d know exactly what to do and how to get out in order to stay alive. It would be really nice if my brain would shut down for a few minutes, like it has done before, so I can talk to him.
My eyes stay glued to the gas pump across the parking lot. The hose from the nozzle sways back and forth in the breeze and the sun bounces off the chrome frame. The glas
s where the digital numbers used to be is shattered and a hole has been punched into the machine. Dad could materialize right beside it and that would be great. He could come to me and tell me what I need to do, give me some sort of advice on how to keep all of these people alive. I need him to be here.
I focus all of my energy and stare at the gas pump. I try to get my mind to shut down like it did when I saw my brother. I sort of died during those short, few minutes, but my mind still shut down. I was conscious when I saw Maggie, but I was so wrapped up in things, she appeared to me anyway. I thought I was dead when Mom came along and I’m grateful I wasn’t. It shouldn’t be so hard to get out of my head so my dad can come here and tell me what to do.
That just isn’t happening. No matter how long I stare at the gas pump, he’s not going to pop out of thin air and stand right next to it. That’s not how my life works. I don’t get what I want anymore. I don’t get help from someone who’s been dead for over a year. Instead, I get help from people who shouldn’t feel the need to help me at all. They should just go on with their lives and forget about me.
“I don’t think walking to the city will be safe. We can’t hide in the woods or the vamps will get us and walking on the street in broad daylight will get us caught. If we had some other kind of transportation, we’d be fine.” Jason’s voice breaks my concentration. “I just don’t see us getting to the city at all without some form of cover.”
The wind outside picks up and the hose on the gas pump sways a little more in the wind. It hits against the machine, bounces away from it, and makes it looks like it’s pointing to something. It stands in the wind for a fraction of a second, but I can still see what it’s trying to show me. I press my head against the window and look outside. The grey of the van sticks out and I find myself wondering about it again.
“There’s a van outside.” I say, turning around to face the others. “We could see if it runs and take it to the city.”
