EMP: Dangerous Decisions: A Post Apocalyptic Survival Story

by Mark Mathews

  “Okay, which way do we go?” Wade pointed, and made a quick movement in that direction.

  The wolves stayed frozen for a moment or two, and it was enough to get the rest of the party to follow Wade. They broke through some thick leaves, trying to move as quickly as possible. The sound of heavy panting told them they were being pursued. A wall of trees loomed up in front of them, and it made them all skid to a halt. Behind them the mangy wolves drew closer. Sarah thrust Emily behind her, Tom made a strangled cry in his throat, and the smell of fear permeated the air. Wade went for his gun, and that was the cue the animals had been waiting for. Either they knew what people could do, or they’d seen the power of firearms. Whichever it was, the large wolf that originally had blocked their path lunged at Wade. His sharp teeth closed on Wade’s shirt. Luckily, his sleeves were pretty loose, and the animal didn’t get any skin with it. Wade used the wolf’s momentum against it, throwing it up against the trunk of one of the trees that was hemming them in. Sarah couldn’t help but feel impressed with that. The obstacle that had made her crestfallen by blocking them in now was helping by fighting for them.

  The wolves snarled and began closing in. Wade knew there was no escape. He pulled out his pistol, looking down quickly to make sure the gun’s safety was off, and that was when the large, brindled gray launched himself into the air, snapping down right above the holster, taking a mouthful of Wade’s side. He let out a scream of pain that rattled the trees around them. Sarah’s head whipped around to look at Wade, and something happened to her. The fear that had shaken her when she’d seen that first wolf was gone. She forced her knees to stop shaking, and took out her own gun. Emily was crying, and Sarah didn’t want her to cry anymore. She had to do something. The wolf was still on Wade, and he now had his hands in the corners of its mouth, where there were no teeth, trying to push it back with all the strength that he had. Sarah aimed her pistol at the wolf and fired once.

  The bullet whizzed by right over the wolf’s back. It had rustled the hair on Wade’s head, and that made her think twice. If she fired again, she might miss, wasting the bullet, or she might hit Wade. That was much worse. She couldn’t bear the thought of hurting Wade, so she angrily stashed her pistol and looked around for another type of weapon. Curiosity made her look around to see what Tom was doing in all this commotion, and she saw him backed up against the tree wall, behind even Emily. His hope was that the wolves would be so busy tearing the three of them to shreds that he could get away. What a coward.

  Sarah didn’t have long to dwell on this, however, because Emily let out a shriek that instantly zeroed Sarah’s view on her. A wolf was slinking toward her, low, on its belly, almost crawling like a bug. Bugs were disgusting, that was a given, but when a wolf was going to get this low to hurt her little girl, then it was over. She felt like a Celtic warrior in ancient times, ready to do battle with a wild animal for complete dominance. She swung around, grabbing a thick branch that lay at her feet. Using it like a baseball bat, she swung down with all her might, connecting on the wolf’s head with a sickening crack. It reeled away from her, yowling, and goosebumps rose on her arms. The sound of the wolf’s cry of pain was so terrifying, she couldn’t stop her knees from shaking again. The howl stopped abruptly, and a furious growl escaped its throat. Looking at the branch, Sarah tightened her grip and wound up again. This time, the wolf was ready for her. It opened its jaws, snapping at the branch, and its teeth tore into the bark like grappling hooks. Sarah found the branch yanked from her grip, and she had just enough time to wonder if her arms had been pulled out of their sockets before the wolf advanced on her again.

  “Sarah!” Emily’s face was white, and her voice shook. Emily was terrified. She wasn’t just afraid for herself, though, she was afraid Sarah would get hurt. Emily wanted to help neutralize the threat, but she also knew she had no training in this sort of thing and would be more of a hindrance than a help. Frustrated, she stayed out of it.

  “It’s okay, honey! I got this.” Thankful that her own voice was steady, she took her own words to heart and demanded she pull herself together.

  She decided it was time to stop playing around. The pistol came out, and she aimed at the wolf who had taken her branch. The first bullet grazed its back, and she could see a shower of blood and fur flying through the air. It howled in pain and then turned to run. She fired another shot in the air, watching with satisfaction as it doubled its speed. Suddenly, three more blurs followed it, and she realized all of the wolves had run in fear. She stood there for a moment longer, letting the fact that they were safe now really sink in. Shaking herself out of her little trance she turned to Emily.

  “Are you okay?” Emily nodded, her teeth chattering too much for her actually to speak. Sarah turned toward Wade, who now was lying flat on his back, chest heaving from exertion. His hands were a little scraped up, and there were a few spots that were bleeding. His hands must have grazed the wolf’s teeth at some point while they were wrestling.

  “Good shooting, Rex.” He was trying to spin some humor into the situation. Sarah immediately fell to her knees and started pulling up Wade’s shirt up to look at his wound. The skin was mangled, hanging in loose strips, and everything was covered in blood. The muscles were ripped, too. They looked like hamburger meat that had been cut into chunks. Sarah hurriedly blocked Emily’s view of what she was seeing so the little girl wouldn’t have nightmares.

  “Tom, get over here, I need your help.” He came over on shaky legs, and his skin was a pasty white. He took one look at Wade’s injury, then promptly turned around and threw up. Sarah wasn’t just angry, she was embarrassed. More so for him, than for herself, but she saw quickly that he wasn’t going to be any help to her. She left him to his own devices and ripped off a strip of Wade’s shirt that already had been torn mostly off. She started hurriedly rubbing it against her own shirt, trying to clean off as much dirt and blood as she could so she could use it to clean out his wound.

  Suddenly, a bottle of water was in front of her face. She had a smart remark building for Tom, something along the lines of what a hero he was for taming his tummy. When she looked up, however, it was Emily who had brought it over. Her face was pale and she had sweat on her forehead, but she was staring holes through Sarah, doing her best not to look down at Wade’s wound. Sarah’s heart swelled with pride at her. She took the bottle of water, cupping Emily’s cheek for a second, letting her know she appreciated the help. She took the bottle and began squeezing it gently over the wound, watching with a sick feeling in her stomach as the pressure of the water gushed through the torn flesh, creating rivers of blood and dirt. She had to swallow her urge to vomit a few times, but she gritted her teeth and focused on what she was doing.

  Wade’s eyes closed, but no one noticed. Sarah still was hard at work, doing her best to clean the wound with what she had. She didn’t have any antiseptic, so she hoped she could keep it clean enough to prevent an infection. Without antibiotics, she didn’t know what she could do to help Wade except rinsing it over and over and over again. She knew it must be hurting him, but she also knew he would agree it was the best thing to do. She felt a little better about it because Wade was usually on the same wavelength as she was, doing what needed to get done, no matter what the cost.

  “Wade? I’m sorry, but you’ve got to try getting up. We have to get out of here. It’s not safe.” He nodded, gritting his teeth and climbing slowly to his feet.

  Sarah did her best to steady him. Emily appeared, like a little ghost, under his other arm. Tom still was vomiting into a bush, and Sarah had to repress a giggle. There was poison ivy interspersed in the bush. He was trying to hold the leaves apart so he had a straight shot to the ground, so his hands were going to itch like crazy later. It served him right. Wade needed his help and he couldn’t even hold himself together long enough to do that.

  They continued for about an hour, then Wade sank painfully to the ground. He was covered in a sheen of sweat, and his hands were tremblin
g. Sarah helped him over to a fallen tree. He sat down heavily, and it seemed more like he let himself fall rather than have any control over it. Sarah felt awful about it. He had protected them, and now he was hurt. She felt guilty there was nothing she could do to fix it. She didn’t want him to suffer because of her and Emily.

  “Maybe we should camp here for the night. Emily? Can you look for some firewood?” She nodded and disappeared before Sarah could say another word.

  “Be careful! And don’t go too far!” Sarah called after Emily, but she didn’t get an answer. Tom looked at her expectantly, but right now she was just disgusted with him.

  “Just watch over Wade.” She herself was going out to find them some fresh meat.

  It had been way too long since they had had something that didn’t come from a can. She didn’t want to get too far from the campsite, though, because she didn’t trust Tom to protect Wade. She trusted her own aim, and she wanted to make sure everyone was safe. While she was lost in thought, a rabbit scampered out from under a low fern, dashing out across her path. Quick on the draw, her pistol was out, the barrel following the target. She pulled the trigger and watched the little animal drop. It would be meager for the four of them, but meat was meat.

  When Sarah got back to the campsite, Emily was back with about three armloads of dry logs and a handful of dry twigs to get the fire going. Pulling out the matchbook she’d grabbed from the bar, Sarah lit the twigs, making sure they touched each of the logs that she’d built up into a pyramid. The smoke was billowing by the time she’d rigged a spit. Wade dragged himself over and insisted on cleaning the rabbit to pull his weight. To be honest, Sarah was glad because she couldn’t stomach gutting animals. Tom was no help in that respect, either, she was sure, but at least she had been able to help clean up Wade when he was hurt. It didn’t take long for the savory aroma to make everyone’s stomach growl.

  After dinner, Wade lay down, and Emily came to lay next to him. She wanted to do her best to watch over him because he had looked after her. Sarah’s eyes misted with pride. Emily was starting to turn out like a miniature Sarah. Sarah decided she would take the first watch. A full moon gave her some light, and she kept a stick or two in the embers, planning on using them as hot pokers if the wolves showed up again.

  The staccato sound of a gunshot echoed through the night, and Sarah jumped to her feet, hand on her pistol. At first, she thought Wade somehow had rolled over onto his own pistol, making it go off. The sound had come from in front of her, though, and Wade was off to her right. Another shot split the night, and this time, it was followed by a long howl. The wolves. Someone else was having trouble with them. Her hope was it was the family that they’d shared dinner with, but something in her gut told her that wasn’t the case. She went over to Wade and gently shook him. He was groggy, and his eyes were glazed with pain, but he sat up right away, wincing as his wound was stretched. Sarah quickly explained what was going on, and Wade opened his mouth to say something, but another shot rang out. The long, fearsome howl that followed sent shivers down both their spines.

  “We need to go. I know it’s the middle of the night, but we need to get going. Get Tom.” Sarah nodded, not having any issues taking his orders.

  She went over to Tom and put her hand over his mouth before she shook him awake…none too gently. His eyes were open wide and he was scrabbling at her hand before he realized who it was. Sarah quickly filled him in, and she didn’t think she’d ever seen him move so quickly. He packed up his own sleeping bag, then went for Wade’s and Emily’s. Emily was yawning widely, but Wade had woken her up, and she was ready to go. The little group didn’t know which way to escape, though. They were standing there, staring at each other, when yet another shot rang out. Wade and Sarah locked eyes, and he pointed.

  “We’re going this way.” He squared his shoulders and took the lead.

  Sarah found herself thinking that she would have loved to work under him back in the old days. He was a man after her own heart, and she was so proud of the way he was dealing with his injury. He set a brisk pace, too, even though it was dark. She was certain his wound had ripped open again, but she’d lecture him about it later. Emily came up to her, and slipped a hand into hers. Sarah loved that Emily was pretending they just were going on a midnight hike. Something told Sarah that there was no way she was getting any sleep tonight, and two nights without much sleep was going to affect her in ways she didn’t want. However, if they didn’t move now, there might not be a later to feel crappy in, because the wolves, or the people who’d been shooting at the wolves, would find them. That was a prospect that she hoped wasn’t going to come to fruition. For now, safety was the top priority. Gritting her teeth as she stumbled over something, she kept her balance and pushed on.

  Chapter Eighteen

  All through the night, Sarah kept an eye on Wade. Something wasn’t right. Wade started muttering to himself while he slept, and Sarah was worried he might have a fever. She’d checked his forehead a few times as he dozed, and it had been burning up. She’d hoped it was just her imagination, but she was worried. He’d had a few moments where he’d become violent and scared Emily. Sarah didn’t want to admit it, but she was afraid he was dying. Being delirious only came from a fever and a severe infection. Something was going on in his body, and she was sure it was killing him. He’d had a moment where he’d gone after Tom, pistol out and a crazed look in his eyes. It was at that moment that Sarah decided to relieve him of his weapon. She just couldn’t trust him right now. Part of her felt a little guilty that she’d had to do it, because he’d been the one to watch out for all of them, take care of them, and basically lead them all this way. She hated seeing him reduced to something less than himself. Tom was no help at all, and Emily was terrified of him, so she did what had to be done.

  Sarah had had the leadership role thrust on her, and she would have loved for Wade to get better so she could hand it right back. The wolves had been a distant memory for them, and nothing else had bothered them since they’d broken camp in the middle of the night. She was reminded it had been Wade’s idea to go the way they had, and so far it had been the right choice. She couldn’t do what he did. She knew nothing about the wilderness or the animals in it. She needed him. Fervently she prayed for Wade to recover, but until then, she knew the weight of responsibility was squarely on her shoulders. Sarah was on watch, and she couldn’t stop thinking about Wade. He shivered in the hottest part of the night, and though they were treating him according to his own advice, he didn’t seem to be improving. Part of her was starting to question the medical advice he was giving them, because he seemed less and less lucid as time went on. He was delirious about a quarter of the time, and when he was, he was violent and crazed, almost like an animal with rabies. She looked at him, resting fitfully, wishing she could do something to help him.

  “Sarah?” His voice sounded parched and she grabbed a bottle of water as she headed over to him. There had been a few times that he’d been delirious, and it had scared her. When he wasn’t the Wade that she knew, she didn’t know what was going to happen and it scared her more than she cared to admit.

  “Hey, Wade. How are you feeling?” As she got closer, she saw he was covered in sweat, and his pupils were dilated. She bit her lip. He was in a lot of pain, and it didn’t look like any of the care she was giving him was helping. She felt as though she was a mom of three, and she couldn’t get any relief from the job.

  “I’m okay, I think.” She saw his hand was creeping toward his waist, to where the pistol usually hung. When his hand felt nothing there, his eyes grew wide and he stared at her like he’d never seen her before.

  “Where’s my gun?” Sarah already could tell he was getting paranoid, and she was afraid he might freak out on her. She took his hand and held it, trying to reassure him that everything was fine.

  “I have it, Wade. You were scaring Emily, so I thought it might be better if I held on to it for a little while.” She’d been as gentl
e about it as she could, but she could tell he felt betrayed.

  “You took it from me? How am I supposed to protect myself? What am I going to do? I can’t defend myself! You did this on purpose! You took it from me so you could kill me. Admit it! I’m slowing you down and you’re all plotting to kill me, aren’t you? Aren’t you?!?” Wade lunged for Sarah, and she backed up quickly, almost tripping in her haste to get away from him. His eyes were glazed, and she could tell from the expression on his face that he was in a lot of pain.

  “Wade! Stop it! No one is trying to kill you.” He got to his feet and stumbled toward her drunkenly.

  “Yes, you are. I’m injured and slow, and I’m a liability. You all want to kill me so I don’t eat any more of your food and won’t slow you down anymore. Admit it!” He was starting to raise his voice, and Sarah could see Emily and Tom fidget in their sleep. If she didn’t keep Wade quiet, he would wake them up. And there was no telling what sort of dangerous animals were within earshot of them right now. She put her hand over his mouth, putting a finger to her lips to tell him to be quiet. Freaking out, he grabbed her hand and pulled her off balance. Sarah caught herself, just in the nick of time. She stopped herself from falling on his injury. The effort he exerted was enough to push him over his pain threshold, and he blacked out. Sarah got to her feet, ready to fight him if necessary. She saw his eyes were rolled back in his head, and his shirt stuck to him with more sweat than he’d had a few minutes ago. A quick look at the other two assured her they were fast asleep. With Wade resting again, she thought maybe she could sneak down to the little creek they were using for water before he gained consciousness.

  As she made her way back to camp the scene before her caught her off guard. Tom and Wade were locked tightly together, and it looked as though Wade was foaming at the mouth. The words he spat out were too quiet for her to hear, but she was sure it was more of the same things he’d told her when the two of them had been fighting earlier. Tom was holding his own for once, and she was pretty proud of him. Granted, she still had to do something. Dropping the bottles of water she’d filled at the creek, she threw herself between them, wrenching them apart. Tom fell to the ground gasping. Sarah still was wrestling with Wade when something whizzed by her head, landing in the base of Wade’s neck.