by D. K Lake
“Every man likes to relax after a hard day's work.” he said, getting up and walking over to me. “Here, try this.”
He held out a stick with a cooked piece of rabbit meat on the end.
“Um... no, I'm good, thanks.”
“Just take it.” he insisted. “It's got more protein in than that packet stuff you people eat.”
“You people? You say it like we're a different breed or something.”
“You are, you're an insider, I'm an outsider.”
I gingerly took the stick and inspected the meat while he walked back to his spot and settled down again.
“Actually, I was on my own for a really long time, and I lived outside for most of it. But no, I didn't kill my own dinner if that's what you mean.”
I had watched him skin, gut, and dissect the rabbit, using Luke's knife that I had claimed as my own. I had never seen anyone skin anything before, I felt as though we were on one of those survival shows.
I looked at the rabbit meat and sniffed it. I had no idea why I sniffed it. Drew rolled his eyes and flicked something off his pants. I nibbled at the edge but soon had to tug at the meat with my teeth to get a piece. Within five seconds, the whole lot was in my mouth.
“Well?” he said, waiting for a response.
“It sort of tastes chicken-ish, it's a bit chewy, though.”
“So... do you like it?”
“Well, I'm not gagging yet.” I smiled with a mouthful, he watched me and leaned over to grab his crossbow that was resting by his feet, then he held it up and pointed it at me.
What the...?
I squealed and ducked, and when I sat back up he had already put his crossbow down again. I looked over my shoulder and saw a deadbie on the ground. I quickly swallowed my mouthful and wiped my mouth.
“So you're sort of an expert with that thing? A real, Robin Hood, huh,”
“Well, this Robin Hood has lost all his merry men.” Drew said, then he picked up an arrow and twirled it between his fingers.
“I taught myself, but I've been using the bow since I was fifteen so I've kinda got the hang of it.” he smirked. “It was the first thing I bought when I made enough money from delivering newspapers. Then as I got older I upgraded to a better bow when I had the money.”
“A paperboy, huh? You must have delivered quite a few papers to be able to afford one?”
“My grampy chipped in.”
I hadn't asked him about his parents since the last time I asked him about them and he went all silent and ignored me.
“My mom and dad died when I was little, car crash.”
“I'm sorry.” I murmured, feeling awkward, I never knew how to act when people talked about dead people or losing someone.
“Any siblings?” I asked, quickly changing the subject. I remembered he had mentioned a sister before.
“One older sister, Ellie.”
“Do you get on well?”
He grinned. “I've been living in her spare room since I was eighteen.”
“So what was it like growing up in-in... err, Lena told me the name of the place, I forgot. Was it something beginning with D?”
“Dodge Lake.” he finished for me.
“And what did you do in Dodge Lake? You know, before, I'm guessing you didn't deliver newspapers the whole time.”
“No.” he chuckled. “I worked in a gun store.”
I smiled to myself, thinking of my dad.
“Something funny?” he asked.
“No, it's just my dad owned and ran a gun range.”
Drew nodded his head in approval.
“So did you eat rabbit a lot while you were living in Dodge Lake?”
“Yeah.” He nodded, smiling as though he was remembering an old memory. “When I was living with my grandparents, me and my grampy would go out hunting or fishing and grandma would cook whatever we brought back. But now... then... you know... I just ate microwave meals and my sister cooked for me a couple times a week.”
“I would kill for a McDonald's right about now.” I said.
Drew pulled a face.
“What?” I said.
“Nothing, I've just never had one.”
“What do you mean you've never had one?”
“I mean, I've never had one.”
“You've never had a McDonald's?”
“Nope, our town didn't have anything like that, we had a few take-out places but no McDonald's. I mean, I've seen one before, I saw one when I was in Seattle but I've never had a Big Mac or whatever it's called.”
“Wow, a real country boy,”
“You could say that. Do you want some?” Drew asked, sloshing a bottle of liquor around that he had found in the cabin.
I shook my head and he took a swig.
“So you gonna tell me what happened back there in the barn?” he asked catching me off guard.
I knew he was talking about the photo but I was hoping he would have forgotten about it.
“Back where?” I said, playing innocent.
“Oh, c'mon, back at the barn, with the photo? You know what I'm talkin' 'bout. You looked like you'd seen a ghost.”
“Oh.. that,”
I looked up at him to find he was staring back at me, waiting for an answer. Maybe I could ignore him, like the way he ignores me most of the time. But he continued to stare and didn't look as though he was about to give up.
“Do you remember when I told you about, Ozma, the little girl Lane and I were looking after?”
“Um... yeah, her parents got killed... you shot one of them, right?”
“Right. Well... turns out the guy I shot, Thom....well, he um, he's..uh, he's Josh's brother.”
Drew looked just as shocked as me.
“What are the odds of that.” he said, taking another swig. “And Josh doesn't know?”
“No, no one does, only Lane knows I killed Thom, I just told everyone Ozma's dad got attacked the same as her mom.”
“Has Josh ever mentioned a brother?”
“No, we weren't that close.”
Drew gave me a look that suggested I was lying.
“We weren't, I mean, we're not. Josh has a crush on me.. or whatever.”
“And you're in love with Lance?”
I glared at him. “Lane! His name is Lane, not Lance.” He already knew that, was he trying to wind me up?
“I forget,” he said, playing dumb. “I'm not good with names... So you and Lane are together-together?
“What does that mean, together-together?”
“In love, soul mates, whatever you want it to mean.”
“I wouldn't go as far as saying we're soul mates. I don't believe in that crap.”
The side of Drew's lips curved up.
“What? Oh, please tell me you don't believe in all that stuff?”
He didn't reply but the strange smirk on his face said it all.
“You? Really? The southern, crossbow boy believes in fate and destiny?”
“I've seen it happen.”
“Really!” I said, standing up and brushing myself off. “Okay, mountain man, I'm going inside, it's getting a bit dark for my liking.”
“Mountain man?” He chuckled to himself and I left him to finish off his dinner, and picked up the bag and walked back up the steps and into the cabin.
I sat on the bed trying to figure out the gas lamp for a good ten minutes before Drew came into the cabin and made sure the door was securely latched shut. He came over to me and fiddled around with it and then he picked up a camping lighter from a shelf in the kitchen and not too long after the lamp glowed and lit up the room, it was still dim but it was light nonetheless.
I crawled over the bed and pulled the curtains shut and Drew did the same to the kitchen window.
“Do you think we'll be safe here?” I asked, worrying.
The thought that we could wake up surrounded by another group of deadbies was freaking me out.
“Safer than out there. But there aren't that many deadbie
s outside, I think there's mainly stragglers out there now.”
“I want a tree.” I murmured to myself.
Even though the cabin was cozy and the bed was comfortable, I still wanted to climb up a tree for the night.
“What?” Drew asked not hearing me properly.
“Uh, nothing.”
I sat on the edge of the bouncy bed wondering how we were going to do this. I lifted my legs up on the bed and laid back on the pillow, oh how I had missed a bed.
“How ya feelin'?” he asked, moving around the cabin, picking things up and looking in the cupboards.
“Okay, my legs ache, but that's only 'cause I'm not used to all this walking.”
“You don't feel sick or anything?”
“Um, no... why?”
“Just wondering, I found a bucket if you do feel sick.”
“Nice.” I said as he placed the bucket beside the bed.
Then he dived over the top of me and landed on the bed beside me, the whole bed wobbled and I bounced around on the mattress. I waited until the tidal-bed-wave had passed and turned to look at him.
“What? We're both adults here. You can have that side, that way if any of 'em get in they'll get you first.” he joked, resting his arm behind his head trying to get comfortable.
“You're not worried about catching rabies from me?”
“Nah, just don't bite me in your sleep.”
“No promises.” I said, slipping off my boots and rearranging the blankets and covers, but Drew was on most of them and I had to yank them out from under him while he lazily watched me struggle.
He didn't bother to remove his boots, and he stayed on top of the covers.
“If we're going to be sharing a bed you can at least tell me your full name.” I said.
“Why?”
I shrugged, not really knowing myself why I wanted to know, eventually, I muttered, “I dunno, you might be the last person I ever speak to so...”
After a few moments silence, he said “Drew Joseph Caraway. And yours?”
“Alexia Lynette James.”
“Alexia, that's a nice name.” he said, the compliment lingered in the air and we both shifted around until we were comfortable.
I finally got comfortable on my side, facing Drew. He stayed on his back, staring up at the ceiling, he wasn't asleep, though, he was just staring vacantly. Most likely thinking up ways to get rid of me. He was probably planning his escape, waiting for me to drift off to sleep. I knew he had only stayed with me thinking we might meet up with the others, but that hadn't happened, and I didn't think he really wanted to be stuck with me. I wouldn't be surprised if I woke up and he was gone, or I wouldn't ever wake up again and he'd finish me off.
Or he wouldn't be able to finish me off and he'd just vanish into the night. Maybe this was how it ended for me, left alone in the dark to die alone.
I watched him for a few thoughtful minutes before I reluctantly closed my eyes. But I didn't go to sleep straight away, every time he moved my eyes sprang open to see what he was doing. After a while, my eyelids got too heavy and I fell asleep for the night.
Chapter 11
Day 5
Itchy throat and the sun's playing havoc with my sensitive eyes.
I woke up to the sound of clattering pots and pans. I squinted my eyes open, the curtains were open and the sunlight was streaming through the windows, blinding me. I squinted and turned away from the sun rays that were hurting my eyes. I rolled onto my back and looked over at what was making the noise. Thankfully it was only Drew, he'd already filled the empty rucksack he had found yesterday with supplies.
“Thought you'd be long gone.” I said, slowly sitting up.
If he had heard me he didn't bother to answer me.
My back was full of knots and there was a major ache in my lower back. Was it the virus spreading or was it the bed? I sat there for a few minutes, reaching around and rubbing my back the best I could.
“Back problems?” he asked, picking up the lighter beside the gas lamp and dropping it into the bag.
I nodded while stretching my back out.
“Same here, that bed is now my worst enemy. I ended up in the rocking chair, it was surprisingly comfy compared to this wooden contraption.”
“Great, I'll just add sore back to my list of problems.”
Drew looked to be in a hurry and was already packed and waiting to go and I had only just woken up. Before I did anything I found Josh's bag and dug out the water bottle and used a plastic cup to have a drink. I gulped it down like I was in the Sahara desert dying of dehydration.
“Feeling thirsty?”
“No shit.” I muttered. “And my throat feels even worse this morning.” I rubbed my throat and felt both my glands that still felt a little swollen.
“We need to start moving, the sun's up, and it's a beautiful day.” he said, looking at his pocket watch.
“Care to share some of those happy pills you're on?”
“The warm weather puts me in a good mood, I hate the cold.”
He was right, it did look hot outside today. I grabbed a few things I thought would be handy, including a pair of aviator sunglasses, and met him outside on the decking. He was sitting in the rocking chair having a smoke, waiting for me.
“We had some late night trick-or-treaters.” Drew said.
I looked at the bottom of the steps and saw two deadbies on top of each other.
“I hope you dished out the candy equally.”
“Of course,” he replied, loading his crossbow. “If we keep movin' I think we can make it over those hills in a couple of days.”
“Don't you mean mountain?”
“It's not that big.” he said, looking up at me and squinting from the sun.
“What's on the other side?” I asked.
“Desert and not much else, it's going to be a hard journey but it's doable.”
“Did you miss the part where I'm dying, I don't think I can cross a desert as well-”
“I'm starvin', you hungry this mornin'?” he asked talking over me.
“Um.. a bit, I don't really know how I feel?”
He brushed past me, hopped down the steps, slung the rucksack over his shoulder and picked up a fishing rod that was leaning against the steps.
“What's that for?”
“It's a fishing rod. What do you think it's for?”
“I know what it's for, why do you want it?” I asked as he handed it to me to carry.
“Come on.”
“Why, where are we going?” I asked, watching Drew veer off to the right, which was the opposite way to the road.
“Where are you going? The road's this way, I don't want to get lost.” I said, trying to juggle the pitchfork and the fishing rod.
“I don't get lost.” was all he said with his back to me.
I followed him deeper into the trees. I really hoped he meant it when he said he didn't get lost because the trees all looked identical and the hilly landscape was throwing me off course. If he disappeared on me I would be lost for sure.
So it turned out Drew knew exactly where the river was, it took us around thirty minutes to find it. I was so excited to see water, I probably looked like a child seeing Disneyland for the first time. I desperately wanted a wash. I tried to drop a few subtle hints but Drew was more interested in fishing, which is what we ended up doing.
Apparently heading for Colorado wasn't the most important thing at present, breakfast was. I only hoped he would let me have five minutes privacy after we had finished fishing so I could freshen up.
“Isn't fishing on your list of things to do before you die?” Drew asked, hooking a worm on the end of the hook.
“No, I never got around to making a list.”
“It's never too late.”
“I have about three-four weeks left, not really enough time to swim with dolphins or go skydiving.”
“How about first kiss?” he asked with a cheeky smile.
“Yep, first
kiss all done and dusted.”
“What about-”
“I covered that already.” I said quickly cutting him off, knowing where he was going.
He laughed and handed me the fishing rod. I'd never held one before. Obviously, I'd held it on the way from the cabin, but I'd never held one otherwise. I didn't know the first thing about fishing.
“Whoa! You're gonna hook me if you do it like that.” Drew said, holding his hands up.
“What? That's how they do it on TV.”
“Yes but you're a beginner and I don't want you to hook yourself in the head or me. Hold it to the side.”
I held the rod up and turned it to the side. Drew laughed.
“Okay, we're meant to be learning how to fish, not baton twirling.”
He reached around me and held onto the rod with me. I was very aware of how close he was, and I think he was as well.
He tried to speak but had to clear his throat first.
“So we're gonna do a side arm cast to start with. You need to hold onto it here to keep it balanced,”
He gently moved my hand. My hands were still wrapped in bandages from the cuts, and the dressings went halfway up my arms, I probably looked like an Egyptian mummy.
“Like this?”
“Yep you got it, now move it to the side, and release,” he said, moving the rod with me at the same time.
The line flew out over the water and the worm plopped into the water, and we both realized he still had his arms around me.
“This just got weird, didn't it?” he said.
“Yeah, it did.” I laughed, and Drew let go of me.
We both had a chuckle and then he sat down next to a tree with his back to it.
“So what, I have to stand here all day and you get to sit over there having a cigarette?”
“Yes but when you've caught a fish I'm gonna gut it and cook it for you and all you have to do is stand there for a little while.”
“I thought we weren't meant to eat anything from the rivers?”
Drew yawned and looked around. “I think it's all right, we're pretty far out here, I don't think many deadbies have gone swimming in this particular river. Anyway, you're already infected, I don't think a bit of fish will cause you to keel over. I'm the one that should be worried about getting infected, and I'm not worried about eatin' a few fish, so you worry 'bout catching breakfast.”
