Sarah stared into Noah's blue eyes and it was like looking out onto a sparkling ocean. She had been afraid lately to admit any feelings she might have had for him, but she knew that he felt something for her, too. They were both silent for a long time, and finally she opened her mouth to say something. She struggled and didn't know what she wanted to say, but she was sure that she wanted to say it.
"There he is," Noah said abruptly.
She followed his gaze and realized that he was looking out the window again at Zed's camp.
Seven men came out the front gate. There were three of them on either side with one man in the middle. They were all heavily-armed and wearing vests, much like the men from Noah's Ark had when they attacked the bandits.
"Zed?" Sarah asked.
"Yeah," Noah replied, pointing. "Right there in the middle."
The man in the middle wasn't much to look at; he was a little shorter than average, only slightly muscled, and his face was rather thin, but Noah assured her that he was far more dangerous than he looked, and she could see it in the way he moved; he carried his assault rifle like he was carrying a pillow, and he strode with determination and intense direction in every step, even though he appeared completely casual and confident at the same time.
At first Sarah was terrified that they were going to come down the alley to head for Noah's Ark, but they immediately turned out of the gate and headed west.
"Isn't that where you said Delroy's camp was?" she asked.
He slowly nodded as he watched them go, his eyes narrow. "It looks like it."
She was confused. "They're not going to attack Delroy, are they?"
"I don't think so," he said. "I think he's going to meet Delroy."
He stood at the window for a few moments longer and watched them disappear out of sight, then he backed away and headed for the door leading outside.
"Come on," he said, "we need to get back to camp."
6
Cornered
They walked briskly back toward Noah's Ark. Sarah tried to keep pace with Noah, but he was moving very quickly. He seemed uneasy and she knew he was worried about what they saw at Zed's camp, but he avoided her questions about it and claimed that everything would be fine.
They were heading back up North Street just as the first signs of sunset painted the sky. They would get back in time before dark, and that put Sarah at ease. She felt fairly safe going on the bandit raid at night because she was surrounded by armed men, but now it was just her and Noah, and he seemed flustered.
North Street intersected with Trinity Avenue and they turned the corner. They made it halfway up the street when Sarah heard a noise from a row of trees across the street. Noah's thoughts were so preoccupied that he hadn't even noticed, but her eyes shot to the trees as she struggled to keep up with him.
"Noah?" she said.
He kept moving, not even hearing her.
The sun had started to set just behind the tops of the bushy deciduous trees, casting them and the ground beneath in shadow. There was a fair wind blowing across the area, and it made them sway in hypnotic fashion. Eyes and arms and rotting teeth emerged from behind the tall trunks, like murderous convicts being released from behind their prison bars.
"Noah?" she said again.
"Hmm?" he said cursorily, giving half a glance behind him toward her as he continued to motor down the street.
"Noah!" she screamed.
She began to run in the opposite direction, yanking on his shirt and pulling him with her. He finally realized what was happening and his eyes went wide at the dozen zombies that had already crossed the street and were in a full sprint.
He almost tripped over his own feet and scrambled across the parking lot as they cut through an alley back toward the downtown area. They'd almost made it back to camp, but there were too many zombies to fight through.
As they ran through the alley between two strip malls, Noah's foot landed in a pothole and his toe caught the edge of it, sending him crashing to the ground.
Sarah pulled him back up to his feet, glancing over her shoulder.
The zombies bounced up and down the alley after them, their arms reaching out for them and their jaws gnashing.
Sarah and Noah reached the end of the alley and darted across the street, heading for Rigsbee Avenue. Noah kept up the rear while Sarah ran ahead, and she rounded the corner of an old bank and slammed right into the waiting arms of another zombie.
Her momentum almost lifted the zombie off its feet as they both fell to the ground. The zombie wrapped its arms around her and wrestled her, chomping at her neck with its sickly grayish-yellow teeth. She rolled onto her back, trying to buck it off, but it was too heavy, and it wasn't letting her go. She reached up and drove her forearm against its throat, trying to keep its teeth away from her flesh. It twisted and squirmed madly as its rank saliva splashed all over her neck and face. Her arm was getting tired and the zombie pressed down with all its weight, opening its mouth to sink its teeth into her, then it's brains exploded out the side of its head and stained the road with a loud bang.
Noah reached down and pulled it off of her with one hand as he held his smoking assault rifle with the other.
"Come on!" he said, lifting her up to her feet. He sprayed a volley of bullets at the chasing zombies that were only a few yards away, then he turned and ran down Rigsbee with her.
A couple of the zombies were struck in the brain and dropped to the ground, dead, but most of them carried on, unfazed by the bullet wounds that uselessly sunk into their flesh.
Sarah and Noah tried to lose them by winding their way around streets and buildings, but he had twisted his ankle a little when he stepped into the pothole, and intense pain was starting to ripple up his leg that was becoming too much to bear.
"This way!" he yelled to Sarah. He led her to a small shopping mall across the street and practically dove through the opening in one of the doors where a sheet of glass used to be. He slid across tiny shards of glass on the tile floor in the entrance and Sarah crawled in behind him.
She helped him back to his feet, but she could tell there was something wrong. "What is it?" she asked.
"My ankle," he said. "I have to rest for a minute."
She wrapped an arm around him and led him past the first two stores, which had been locked up tight with metal gates, and they came to a broken window display in front of one of the stores. The glass had been shattered, but it still housed long-forgotten mannequins dressed in the fashions of years gone by. Some furniture lined the display next to the mannequins and there was a tall dresser in the nearest corner.
"In here," she said. She helped him into the display and they huddled up behind the dresser, leaning against the back corner.
They sat and waited silently as Noah massaged his ankle, listening for the sounds of the zombies outside. They could hear their wailing moans and frustrated cries in the street, and then came the sound of twinkling glass tumbling across the tile. Soft fleshy slaps echoed through the mall as their moans got louder and closer. Their footsteps pattered across the floor as more and more crawled through the glass.
Sarah and Noah tried to pull their feet up behind the dresser as much as possible to stay out of sight, and Noah aimed his assault rifle past the side of it, waiting. But if the zombies found them and piled into the display, he knew he wouldn't have enough time or bullets to stop them.
Their footsteps slapped across the tile in slow and erratic fashion, almost teasing them. Their groans were angry, highlighting their unending hunger. They drew closer and Noah's finger brushed across the trigger.
A female zombie came into view, searching for them. It was naked from the waist up, and what appeared to be formerly plump breasts had shriveled up along with the rest of its body, and the extra skin hung sadly against the cold flesh of its midsection like a pair of deflated balloons.
The next zombie followed behind her: a short male with one of its pant legs and shoes torn off, the front half
of its foot split down the middle, almost resembling the webbed foot of a duck. It hobbled along after the first zombie, looking around for the two of them.
Sarah and Noah peeked out from the edge of the dresser and watched them pass. They carried on through the mall until they were out of sight, then more zombies stumbled by the window display. None of them spotted the two of them, but a few lingered in the area.
Noah's arms got tired and he lowered his rifle, letting it hang from its strap against his chest as he quietly leaned his head against the wall.
After a few minutes, the zombies that had lingered in the area finally moved on.
"How's your ankle?" she asked him quietly once the zombies were well out of earshot. "Did you sprain it?"
"Nah, it should be okay," he said. "Just tweaked it a little. I should be good to go, but I don't think I can do anymore running today. We should wait a bit longer to make sure they're gone first."
"I think that's a good idea," she said. "We're safe and we should probably keep it that way."
She crawled out from behind the dresser and leaned her head out the display, looking in both directions. She could see one zombie stumbling around at the far end of the mall, but the door where they had come through looked clear, and she didn't hear any sounds coming from the street. She crawled back behind the dresser and squeezed next to him, only now realizing how close they had been squished together in the tight space.
She glanced at him, his face not even a foot away from hers, and he glanced back and smiled. Even in the midst of all this chaos, just being in his presence made her so comfortable.
"What is it?" he asked, curious about the look she was giving him.
"What?" she asked.
"You just look like there's something you want to say."
Her eyes fell from his and she traced the outline and contours of his face, down his chin, down his neck, to his chest and back up. It wasn't sexual, but just casual, like she was curiously taking the measure of him.
"I don't know," she said, "it's nothing really. I just feel really comfortable around you. I don't know why."
"Well I am absurdly charming," he said.
Their eyes met and they both laughed.
"I just feel safe when I'm around you," she said, becoming serious again. "I feel like I don't have to worry about things when I'm with you—like I know that everything's going to be okay. I haven't felt that way in a long time."
His eyes traced her features as well. "I feel really good when I'm around you, too. You make me feel like a teenager again."
An inquisitive smile fell across her face. "Why's that?"
"I guess you remind me of being in high school, chasing girls."
Her smile turned devilish. "Do you like me?"
"I do."
"I like you too."
Her arm began to tingle and she looked down to see his fingers gently brushing across her forearm. Pleasure rippled through her from his touch, like he was giving her a warm electric current.
"That feels really good," she said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. She twisted her upper body to face him as she looked at him expectantly.
He turned to her as well, staring deeply into her eyes. Without any more words, he leaned into her, closing his eyes, and she felt herself lean into him slightly. She parted her lips just a little and waited for him.
A thud echoed from the mall entrance, followed by the sound of sprinkling glass, and their heads jerked apart. They both perched up, alert like a nervous rabbit standing on its hind legs.
He lifted his rifle again and aimed it just beyond the dresser as the sound of something dragging itself across the floor came closer to them. She held her hand on the grip of her pistol, fear swelling through her again.
A groan came from the slithering thing as a thin squeal echoed, like rubber being dragged over tile.
Noah was calm and patient, and finally the zombie came into view. It dragged itself across the floor, one of its legs dangling lifelessly behind as the rest of its limbs worked. It was looking forward toward the end of the mall as it carried on, not even seeming to pay attention to anything but the path ahead.
Noah squeezed past Sarah and pulled out his knife, silently creeping over the broken glass in the bottom of the display frame. He let his weight down on his bad ankle, and it already felt much better than it had before. He closed the gap between him and the zombie and silently stepped over it, then reached down to grab hold of it so he could slide the knife into its brain without any trouble.
But as soon as he grabbed it, it yelled and shot over onto its back, holding an arm up in front of its face in defense.
Noah recoiled in surprise, staying hunched over the figure for a moment in confusion.
"Please don't!" it yelled. "Please!"
"Keep your voice down!" Noah said sharply as he looked around the mall for signs of zombies.
"Please don't hurt me," the man pleaded.
"I'm not going to hurt you," Noah said. "Just keep it down."
Sarah crawled out from behind the dresser and joined the two of them.
Noah crouched down on one knee and looked over his condition. He was young and couldn't have been any older than his early twenties, and he was terrified, like he was expecting Noah to execute him at any moment.
"Who are you?" Noah asked.
The man stayed silent, like he was afraid to say anything.
"You've got a hell of an injury there," Noah said, nodding toward his leg. "What happened to you?"
His right leg was mangled just above the knee, and dried and fresh blood covered his torn jeans.
"I was running from some zombies and I tripped and fell on a piece of glass," the man said. "I got it out of me, but I can't feel my leg no more. It feels really cold." There was fear in his voice, and judging from his sickly appearance, Noah knew he had been through the wringer for a while.
"You're Randy, aren't you?" Noah asked him. "From Zed's camp?"
The man's eyes lit up in fear, but he stayed quiet.
"Zed's camp?" Sarah asked disbelievingly.
"He is," Noah said to her, "aren't you?" he asked, turning his attention to him.
The man just shook his head, refusing to say anything, but his eyes said it all.
"I'm not going to kill you," Noah said. "I don't care what you've heard from Zed, but I don't do that to wounded soldiers."
Sarah watched the whole exchange in shock. She never would have guessed that he was from Zed's group; he seemed like such a scared kid, still naïve and not quite hardened to the harsh world around him. She already had the impression that every last person from Zed's camp was a stone-cold killer, but he was still young and maybe they hadn't molded him into one yet. In fact, he reminded her of the man that David might have one day grown up to be if he were still here.
"What do we do with him?" Sarah asked Noah.
Randy's eyes darted between them and he stayed hunched on his hip and elbow with his other arm still hovering loosely in front of him, ready for an attack.
"We're going to take him back to camp and get him patched up," Noah said.
Randy shook his head with wide eyes. "I can't go back with you," he said.
"I don't think you have much of a choice," Noah said.
"I want to go back to Zed," he said. "If you're really going to help me, take me back there."
"Not a chance," Noah said. "It's going to get dark soon, and your camp is a couple miles away. We've already been through enough today, and there's no way I'm sticking my neck out to do that for you when my camp's half a mile away."
"I'm not coming with you," Randy said. "You'll kill me."
"We don't do that," Noah shot back angrily.
Randy shook his head stubbornly. "I can't go with you," he said again.
Noah stood up and took a few steps away from him toward the mall entrance. "I'll put it this way," he said. "Her and I are going back to my camp now. I can guarantee you that's the only thing that's
going to happen. So if you want help, we'll take you back and patch your leg up, and we can help you back to Zed tomorrow, or we can leave you here to die right now. It's your choice."
"My guys will come look for me," he said defiantly.
Noah shook his head. "They came and went."
Randy looked at him suspiciously. "What do you mean?"
"We saw them today," Noah said, "hours ago. They were looking for you, but they gave up. I think they figured you were dead, so they went back to camp. No one's coming for you." Before Randy could say anything, Noah added, "You know what? I don't have time for this; we have to get going. Come on, Sarah," he said, leading her by the arm toward the entrance.
"Wait!" Randy said. "I'll come with you! I'll come with you! Don't leave me here!"
Noah stopped and turned, looking Randy up and down with pity. He looked back at the entrance for a moment as if he were considering, then he finally walked back to Randy and helped him up to his feet.
Sarah knew what he was doing and she constantly found herself surprised at the robust skill set he possessed, now adding negotiator to that. His tone with Randy seemed harsh, but she knew he was doing it to persuade him to come with them.
She helped Noah get him up and they each slung one of his arms around their shoulders and walked him toward the mall's entrance. There were no zombies in sight, and Sarah went through the door first and helped Randy crawl through, then Noah came out and they propped him up again and headed back for camp.
The streets were all quiet and there was no sign of trouble as the last rays of the day's sun swept across Durham.
Between his grunts from hopping on one leg, Randy piped up: "You kept calling it your camp," he said. "Are you... Noah?"
"The very same," Noah replied.
A Rising Tide (Zombie Apocalypse Series Book 2) Page 6
