by C. J. Boyle
Kera slid the pills back into the bottle, closed it tight, and then jammed it in her pants pocket. She splashed water on her face and quickly dried off with a towel. Grabbing her backpack, she ran out of the room and down the stairs. Just before she ran out the front door she paused at the table in the foyer. It had Julie’s keys to her mini-van on it. She grabbed them and ran to the burgundy mini-van parked in the driveway. She got in and quickly pulled out of the driveway heading down the road after the kids. They turned around as soon as she approached. They all looked at her in utter terror. She didn’t know what they expected her to do to them, but she pulled the van over to the side of the road and rolled down the window. “It’s okay.” She looked the older girl in the eye. “Come on, let’s get away from this place.” Kera got out of the van and opened the sliding door.
The children had dried tear trails on their little faces. The youngest one had a blank stare on his face. Kera knew they must have been through a lot the previous night. It was a miracle they even survived. They all sat in the backseat huddled together. When she looked at them through the rearview mirror they were always looking back at her. The poor things looked like they were concerned that she’d eventually eat them.
The older girl was around twelve or thirteen years old. She breathed in and swallowed hard. “Our stepdad…”
“That’s okay, sweetie. You don’t have to tell me what happened.” Kera gave her a halfhearted smile, “What’s your name?”
“Maxine. Most people call me Maxi, but I don’t like it because the kids at school call me, maxi pad.”
“Okay, then, Maxine it is.” Kera looked at her via the rearview mirror and smiled. They drove past a gas station that was being looted by frantic people.
“This is Tyrone,” she pointed to the little one, “and this is Marcus.” Her head turned as she watched the people at the store climb through a smashed window. “Our dad lives a few blocks from here.”
Kera didn’t want to stop anywhere unfamiliar, to her but she also didn’t want to take charge of three children for the rest of their lives if she didn’t have to. “Okay, I guess we’ll have to go check on him. Tell me where to go." She let the girl give her directions. The closer she got to their destination the more afraid she got. She suddenly wished that she had some muscle with her like Brody and Carl.
Maxine told her to pull over next to an apartment building. A feeling of dread built up inside of her as she looked at the building. “What floor does he live on?”
“He’s all the way on the eighth floor,” she pointed up. “Apartment 808.”
Kera turned around and looked Maxine in the eye. “You guys will have to stay here. Crouch down in the floor so no one can see you.” She got her keys. “What’s your dad’s name?”
“Richard Wade.”
“Okay. Okay.” Kera grabbed Maxine’s hand, “I know you guys are scared. Just sit tight. I’ll be back.” As she grabbed the shotgun, she winced in pain. Her broken rib was giving her hell every time she moved. She got out of the van and headed for the doors of the apartment building. It cast a shadow on her as she walked forward. ‘This should be fun,’ she thought.
Once she was inside the lobby she stood in front of the elevators wondering if she should risk the ride up to the eighth floor. The power was still on but no one knew for how long. The alternative was to take the stairs all the way up, but that posed a set of risks as well. If she went into the stairwell would she be able to get out again? Are there Link’s having naptime in there? She decided to press the ‘up’ button for the elevator and see what happens. She stood in front of it fidgeting with her gun. She didn’t know where to point it, but when the elevator DINGED, she jumped and aimed it at the opening doors.
It was empty.
She got inside and pressed eight. She anxiously watched the lit numbers increase and silently wondered how she ended up there. Every time she squeezed her gun her rib hurt. It seemed like she was in that elevator forever. She could feel each heartbeat thumping inside of her head. Seven. She felt the elevator slow and stop. Eight. She took a deep breath and readied herself, gripping her gun tightly. The doors opened revealing a dark hallway. One light flickered on and off down the hall. She took a step forward. The hallway had that now familiar smell of Link pee, blood, and vomit. The elevators slid shut behind her making her feel trapped and her heart beat faster. She made her way down the hall looking at each apartment number. The even numbers were on the right and the odd numbers were on the left. As she passed number 404 she also passed a sneaker on the floor. Upon closer scrutiny, she could see that a foot accompanied the shoe. Her stomach lurched. She hadn't eaten since the day before but knew throwing up at that point would be an unwelcomed event. She also passed a forgotten teddy bear which made her mind drift off to a happier time with Charlie when he was a baby. He was totally transfixed by a little yellow bear and couldn't take his eyes off of it. She loved to watch his big, curious blue eyes follow the bear around. She wished she knew what he had been thinking. It was probably as benign as 'look, a yellow blur with eyes.'
She found herself staring at the door of 808. It was closed and locked. She jiggled the handle and then banged on the door. "Mr. Wade?" She banged on the door again, "Mr. Wade! If you're in there, open the door! I have your kids. I'm going to bring them somewhere safe!" She banged on the door again before whispering to herself, "God damn it." She stepped back slightly and then stomped the door with the bottom of her foot near the knob. She heard the wood crack, so she did it again. It took a good four or five times but she finally kicked the door in. She burst into the room and pointed the shotgun to every corner. "Mr. Wade? Are you in here?" There was a sudden noise near the window and reflexively pulled the trigger, shooting a pigeon. It happened so quickly that the bird must have fallen out the window, leaving only feathers floating in the air. She was the only one in the room, yet she felt the rush of embarrassment.
Her face turned red and she started to sweat profusely. "Fuck."
"Ahem, excuse me?"
Kera quickly turned and pointed her gun towards the door. A woman was standing there. She was about forty and very scared. She held a child close to her.
Kera lowered her gun. "I'm looking for Mr. Wade. Do you know him?" The woman shook her head. She was clearly scared because of current events, but Kera had the feeling this woman was afraid of her too.
"He took off a couple of days ago. I don't know where he went." The woman looked down at the girl next to her, "You mentioned someplace safe?"
Kera nodded and then shrugged, "The more the merrier I guess."
What she didn't know, is that later she'd regret her words. She told the woman to get their things and meet her outside. The woman went into her apartment and Kera headed to the elevator but as she got close, a Link dropped from the ceiling and landed in front of her and growled. She screamed and ran for the stairwell. She jogged down the stairs as fast as she could only to stumble upon three sleeping Links. They were up instantly and rushing toward her. She aimed the shotgun as best she could and started firing until it was out of ammo. She hit two of them badly enough for them to retreat past her and up the stairs leaving one for her to contend with on her own. It blocked the exit out into the street. She fumbled in her jacket frantically looking for the pepper spray she knew she had. She watched the animal turn its head looking at her. It seemed to be trying to assess her. It sniffed the air and looked at the trail of blood that the injured Links left as they fled up the stairs. Although Kera was terrified and was practically frozen in place, she slowly moved to her right leaving enough room for the Link. It seemed to her that somewhere in that thing's mind it understood that Kera was dangerous and that she had just seriously injured the others. She hoped that it was reasoning out that the other two Links may be easier prey. She slowly pulled the pepper spray out of her pocket and pointed it at the Link. Pointing something at it was enough for it to run past her up the stairs. She watched it go, then ran to the door, pushed on the b
ar, and ran out into the fading sunlight.
It would be sunset soon. Which meant more of those bastards were going to be coming out. When she rounded the corner to find Julie's minivan, she was surprised to find about ten people of varying ages waiting for her. The woman that she had met upstairs smiled apologetically. "You said the more the merrier," she shrugged.
Kera looked at Julie's minivan. Maxine was peeking out the window at her. "Obviously, we need a better plan."
~ The Safe Haven ~
Dr. Wallace was worried about Kera. He tried to distract himself by helping the survivors clean up, but he couldn’t seem to stomach what that entailed. There were only about twenty guards and prisoners that stayed. Like Kera and Carl, some of them had to leave to check on family. He didn’t blame them. He couldn’t stop thinking about his ex-wife, Martha, and prayed that she was alive. Kera and Martha were all the family he had and he left one to take care of the other. He shook his head thinking about how foolish he had been. He watched as two of the guards dragged Links outside. He wasn’t sure what they were going to do with them once they were outside, but he presumed they would burn them. The Links could be identified by their serial number tattoo. He was certain that a few of them were people he knew and cared about. The thought of making a pile of them, pouring gasoline over them, and setting them ablaze sickened him. It wasn’t their fault that they turned into those creatures. It wasn’t as if they chose that life. They didn’t choose to kill their family. Alligators don’t think about the two-year-old human as anything but food. The alligator is just a hungry animal. Yet we as humans hunt it down and string it up to have our revenge. So, we as humans are going to burn the bodies of the Links as if they were nothing more than an alligator who dared to eat a human child. The Links used to be someone’s human child. As the doctor headed to his infirmary, he finally understood. If Kera laid eyes on her son as the full monster that he must be, would she see her child? Or the monster that took him from her?
When he walked into the infirmary, he was pleasantly surprised. It was mostly undamaged. Sure, he’d have to tidy things up, but it was still a usable clinic. He walked over to the medicine cabinet and found that it was still locked. He swiped his badge and used his finger on the keypad and it opened. Everything was undisturbed. He nodded to himself. Suddenly from behind him was a loud RING! He practically jumped out of his skin and almost fell over. He swung around to see where the ringing was coming from. He suddenly remembered the sat-phone that Martha sent him. He ran over to the counter and grabbed it. He looked at the caller ID and smiled. He pressed answer and put it up to his ear as his sat down on his stool.
“Martha, thank God.” He put his hand on his bald head and started to tear up. “Listen, I need to tell you, I’m stupid. And I love you.” He was surprised when he heard her laugh and repeat his words back to him. “I’m stupid. And I love you.”
Martha had a lot to fill him in on and none of it was anything he wanted to hear. She started with the fact that Colonel Cochran was going to bomb the five biggest cities in a matter of days. New York, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. Dr. Wallace didn’t like the idea but he knew that something drastic had to be done. He knew his wife had more of a bleeding heart than he did so it was no surprise that her position was that it was too soon to do anything that you can’t come back from. She told him that the Links were changing so rapidly that they may not be as harmful in a few weeks.
The one thing she told him scared him the most was that all humans were infected with the virus. She was certain the ‘normals’ were changed too but she wasn’t sure how.
~ The Bloods ~
Carl noticed someone familiar in the crowd. It was one of his brothers. Joseph was nineteen, very opinionated, and never listened to anyone except maybe their Grandmother. Carl walked toward him and Archie followed close. Brody watched the Links burning in the bonfire for a moment before noticing that his pal and his canine friend had walked off. He quickly scanned the area and found them. He watched as Carl approached a young man.
"Yo, Joseph!" The two grabbed hands and went in for a man hug. "Glad to see you, man! I've been worried."
Joseph was only a year and a half younger than Carl but easily looked older. He was barely twenty but looked thirty, haggard, and worn. Carl looked around expecting to see his younger brothers, Jamal and Raymond. They were surprise twins for his mother and were only fifteen years old.
"Where is Jam and Ray? Grandma?" Carl prepared himself for bad news. He couldn't help the frown that pulled at his face.
Joseph's arms floated up into a shrug, "I'm not sure where Jam and Ray are, but Grandma's gone. She couldn't take it. Didn't want to be a burden."
When Brody approached he immediately noticed how upset his pal was. "Everything okay, Carl?"
Carl didn't seem to notice. He looked at his brother, confused. “What do you mean? Grams is the strongest person I know.”
Joseph looked away as if he was trying to read the words off the building next to him. “She didn’t want to be a burden.”
Carl grimaced and took a step toward Joseph, “What the hell do you mean? I know you aren’t about to tell me that you put our Grandma down like a dog.”
Brody could tell from Carl’s body language that he was about to throw punches, so he stepped between the brothers. Joseph stepped forward too. “Yo, you weren’t here, Car. We could hear those things right outside the door! We could hear our friends and neighbors screaming as they were killed!” His voice softened a little, "I couldn't take the look in her eyes, man. She was terrified. She begged me."
Carl turned away from them trying to hold back anger and tears. He put his hands on his head and paced back and forth. He wanted to beat Joseph till he was bloody. He ran at him but Brody was ready. He kept the brothers apart as best he could.
“I can’t believe you killed our Grams! We have a safe place! We coulda taken her there!” Carl screamed. By now Josephs friends were attracted to the commotion. They closed in around the three of them. Archie started barking at them. That deterred a few of them but not all of them.
“Eh, Seph! You need us, man?” One of the guys called to him.
Joseph put his palm up at them, “Nah, fellas, give us a minute.”
Carl blinked tears down his face. “WHERE ARE LAMAR AND RAYMOND?!”
“I don’t know. They ran. But even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you. The Bloods and I can take care of them just fine. Promise.” Joseph looked Carl in the eye and tried to look as tough as he could.
Carl’s mouth dropped open, “No fuckin way!” This time Carl got around Brody and started punching Joseph. His fists connected in Joseph’s face and head several times before Joseph even thought to fight back. Archie barked and went on the attack. He bit at Joseph’s lower leg latching onto his jeans and started pulling.
Brody yelled at the dog. “Archie! NO! Down!” But the dog wouldn’t listen. His loyalty was obviously with Carl.
A young girl around the age of twelve ran up to them. Her face was full of fear, “They can smell blood! They’ll come! Stop!”
Carl immediately stopped pummeling Joseph and looked at her. Her long blonde hair was as wild as her face was red. She locked eyes with Carl. “They’ll come.”
Carl looked down at his brother on the ground. Archie was trying his best to drag the man away from his friend Carl. “AR-CHIE! Heel!” The dog immediately complied with Carl’s orders. He let Joseph go and took his place next to Carl. “Where is Grams?”
Joseph stood up wiping blood from his lip. He motioned behind him, “Cemetery. I buried her on top of Grandpa.”
“I’m going to find the twins. And when I do, I’m going to take them to New Hope with me.” Carl turned and walked toward the jeep with Archie close on his heels. Brody watched Carl go. He looked at Joseph and then back to Carl. Above Carl, Brody noticed how close the sun was to the mountains. It would be dark soon.
The blonde girl walked up to Brody. She whispered, “Ca
n I go with you guys?”
Brody nodded and motioned for her to walk ahead of him. He scanned the crowd of youths to see if any of them planned on stopping them. They had their weapons resting at their sides and just walked toward their leader Joseph. Brody hurried the girl along. “Let’s go.”
Less than twenty minutes later they were standing in front of Carl's grandfather's grave. He stood there staring at the mound of loose dirt in front of him. Archie sensed his friend's sorrow and sat down next to his foot and whined. Carl's face displayed a mixture of sadness and utter disgust. He took a black permanent marker out of his pocket and bent down next to the headstone. Brody stood behind him and watched him carefully write Pattie Whitacre underneath his grandfather's name. Then he carefully wrote her birthday and her day of death. Brody knew how much his friend was hurting but all he could think about was Kera and the fact that it was going to be dark soon. He knew it had already gone past the point of searching for her. They needed to get back to safety and they needed to do it soon.
