Sundown Series | Book 5 | Vengeance

by Konstantin, Courtney

  Rafe whistled to get Max’s attention as he twisted the handle on the door he had unlocked. Max jumped over a bush and was back behind Chell Lynn. The woman actually jumped and Max shook her head. Rafe pulled open the door and they all stood back, waiting. He knocked on the wood, waiting.

  The smell of the interior wafted out and Max knew immediately there was something dead inside. It was hard to know if it was a walking infected or decomposing corpse. A crash sounded from inside, answering her question almost immediately. Wherever the infected was, it couldn’t get to the door.

  Once Rafe was satisfied that nothing was coming to them, he pulled the door until it clicked on its stopper. They filed into the clinic in a single file. Max pulled her large flashlight from her backpack, illuminating the surrounding area. The clinic was in disarray. Blood and gore decorated almost every surface. Max broke off from the group and followed what looked like a trail of blood. When she rounded a set of chairs in the waiting room, she found a corpse with a pair of scissors sticking out of its head.

  Rafe pointed toward the door that led to the treatment area and Charlie nodded, indicating that was where she wanted to go. They could see into the area by looking over the reception desk. The area behind the counter was mostly in order, with neither living nor dead rummaging around in the supplies that were stored there. Max was willing to bet the area was missing a pair of scissors.

  A body threw itself against the opening between the reception area and the treatment area. Max looked at it mildly before jumping over the reception counter. The infected man wore what must have been a white coat before he was attacked. The pieces now hung haphazardly and were colored with red, brown, and black.

  Max used her tomahawk to push aside the arms of the infected. The body pivoted with the momentum just long enough for Max to slam her knife blade into its temple. The infected fell sideways, across the entrance into the reception area. Max stepped back as she sheathed her knife again. She jumped the reception counter again and took up her post once again.

  The story was one they had seen many times since the apocalypse had begun. Somehow the one infected got into the clinic. The doctor was probably working late or early, alone in the building. Maybe he opened the door for the person, thinking they were in distress. The infected then bit the doctor before he could get a weapon to defend himself.

  In a building like an urgent care, scissors were one of the best things he would have found. And after he was bit, not realizing he was going to die, he went into the treatment area. Only to die and turn and be locked in until the Duncans found him. Max did the best she could for him, just like all infected; end them so their bodies could finally rest.

  Rafe’s flashlight illuminated the treatment area. There were rooms with numbers along one wall. An office and a room that said storage was at one end of the hall. Charlie pointed and Rafe led the way to the storage area first. As they passed each door, Rafe slowed and pointed his flashlight inside. By the time they reached the storage area, it seemed the one infected was all they needed to worry about.

  The storage room had another locked door. Luckily, the urgent care was still using keys and not some sort of electronic system they couldn’t hack with no power. Rafe stooped with his kit and began to pick the lock. Charlie waited patiently. However, their new addition couldn’t seem to stand still. Chell Lynn paced the small hall, her hands in her hair, causing more disarray.

  “Calm down,” Max whispered.

  “How do you kill them so easily? Doesn’t it bother you?”

  “What? The infected? I just know how to fight. Why would it bother me?” Max replied.

  “They are people,” Chell Lynn replied.

  “They aren’t people anymore. Would people chase you and make you hide in a car? Do people eat other people?” Max said.

  “But, how do you know?”

  “We know. Trust me,” Max said with a roll of her eyes.

  Charlie turned and placed a light hand on Chell Lynn, stopping her pacing.

  “I’m a doctor, Chell Lynn. I can confirm what Max is saying. These are no longer living people. You need to relax. Being nervous will only make things dangerous for you.”

  Charlie tried to talk to her with a calm voice. But when Max looked into Chell Lynn’s eyes, she saw the eyes of a caged animal. She was panicking and she was going to bolt. Max hoped she held it together long enough for them to pack up whatever supplies they found.

  Inside the storage room, Max immediately homed in on a pair of adjustable crutches. Charlie inspected them and approved, so Max put them near the door to grab on the way out. Charlie went from shelf to shelf, pointing at the boxes, bags and packets she wanted. Rafe and Max followed, shoveling items into their backpacks, until they were bursting.

  The whole act of scavenging took very little time, but they were successful in getting many items to restock Charlie’s medical supplies. Max didn’t pay much attention to what she was shoving into her pack, but she caught names of medications and first aid supplies. Whatever Charlie wanted, she got as the resident doctor that took care of the group.

  Supplies strapped to their backs and crutches in Max’s hands, they left the clinic behind. Chell Lynn followed along, though she didn’t seem to know what she wanted from them. Charlie insisted she could trust them, but Max could clearly see the woman was damaged from everything she had witnessed.

  They crossed the street again, back toward the parking garage. Their plan of drawing out the infected had worked well. However, now they were facing wandering infected in the darkness. The last glow of twilight helped along with the light from the moon. Rafe, Charlie, and Max all continued to shine their flashlights around them to ensure nothing snuck up on them.

  As they approached the stairwell, a group of infected converged in front of Rafe. He skidded to a halt, holding back an arm to stop Charlie. Max shined her flashlight forward with her left hand and pulled her tomahawk with the other.

  The lights flashed off of the blades that Rafe pulled and as he attacked the infected, Chell Lynn screamed. Rafe looked back as he spun an infected out of his way. Charlie turned to try to quiet the woman. Just as Max was contemplating how to knock her out, she disappeared, streaking away from the Duncans.

  “Go after her,” Rafe called.

  “Seriously?” Max yelled.

  “Yes! We can’t just leave her like that!” Charlie exclaimed.

  With a number of expletives, Max dropped her pack and crutches and took off the way Chell Lynn had. As she ran, she swung her flashlight from side to side. Everywhere she looked, bodies moved toward her. Max had a sinking feeling about what she was running into. A shriek ahead told her she was going the right direction and she poured on more speed, chasing her own flashlight beam.

  Four bodies materialized in her light as Max slid to a halt. The scream of Chell Lynn ended in a gurgling bubble as an infected sunk its teeth into her throat. Her arms were each held tightly but two other infected as they tore pieces of her away. Max stepped back for a moment, sickened to the core by the scene. The infected stretched Chell Lynn wide, as if she were asking for a hug.

  Once the horror passed, Max felt anger rise to the surface, taking over her movements. She didn’t know the woman, but no one deserved to die in such a painful, horrible way. Additional flashlights came from behind Max, and she knew Charlie and Rafe were coming. Her eyes had adjusted just enough to drop her light in the grass as she attacked.

  She first slammed a blade into the infected at Chell Lynn’s throat. The infected fell forward, taking Chell Lynn with it. The two infected at her arms didn’t hesitate to just fall with their meal, making the process that much easier for Max. She stepped around the already dead corpse and ended one, then the other at her arms.

  Max panted as she stood there looking down at the mess of bodies. Charlie and Rafe stood with their lights pointed forward, and Max could see the sadness on Charlie’s face. Without preamble, Max took her knife and slammed it through Chell Lynn’s
temple. Silently Max hoped that she now was able to find the family she lost, if that was how things worked.

  “That poor woman,” Charlie whispered once they were making their way up the stairs in the garage.

  “She shouldn’t have run,” Max replied.

  “She was scared,” Charlie said.

  “Of the wrong thing. But I guess that’s what happens when you’re left alone in this mess,” Rafe said over his shoulder.

  They were met on the top level by their family. Alex was armed to the teeth, looking like she was headed down the stairs before they showed.

  “What was the screaming?” Alex asked.

  “It was Max, she saw a rat,” Charlie joked.

  All heads swiveled to the small doctor. She looked at them and shrugged, “You all are rubbing off on me.”

  Once the Duncan siblings could speak alone, Rafe and Max gave Alex the rundown of what had happened during their clinic trip. She also was saddened to hear about the woman, but controlling someone that didn’t want to be controlled was impossible. And it would have put them all in danger if she had joined them and then acted out at the worst time.

  Even understanding that Max had a hard time falling asleep that night in her tent. When she closed her eyes, she kept seeing dead green eyes staring back at her. No matter if they knew her or not, every loss was tragic. Max was learning that, with every person she watched die.

  Chapter Twenty

  It took two additional days to get within the California border. The caravan only drove during the day. Multiple times they had to divert from the main roads due to large vehicle accidents. The few they could move, they did to make the driving easier. When they were able to join the path, the military had cleared, it made the traveling much faster. However, Max was nervous with the idea of a military convoy coming upon them.

  The night they came into California they were surrounded by large trees, with no buildings in sight. Liam gave them directions to a rest stop that had been closed due to construction before the infection. He explained that the military hadn’t bothered with the area because they had other places to camp.

  Rafe jumped out of the truck and moved the barricade at the entrance of the rest stop. The parking lot was completely deserted, no left-over vehicles from before. After the RV pulled through, Rafe went back and replaced the barricade to leave the area looking deserted. He led the vehicles to a far corner, away from the freeway. They created a rectangle with their vehicles, closing in the center area for some safety.

  Max was antsy to get out of the car. The two days of driving and setting up hasty camps had been exhausting. She jumped from her driver’s side door and opened the back door for Jack to climb out. The little girl ran to join her cousins in the middle of the vehicles, where they were coming out of the RV. Max stretched her back and twisted side to side, hoping to relieve some tension.

  Griffin crutched his way over to her and laid a hand on her nape. He massaged and she groaned softly.

  “I’m sorry I can’t drive,” he said.

  “Well, you had to go fall off a cliff. So here we are,” Max replied.

  “It wasn’t a fun ride,” Griffin said with a grimace.

  “I know, sorry. I’m just feeling on edge,” Max said. She turned to hug him, happy that he could now give her a partial hug while using the crutches to stand.

  Alex found them like that when she approached. She cleared her throat to let them know they weren’t alone. Max wouldn’t let go. Instead she buried her face in Griffin’s chest.

  “If that’s one of my siblings, make them go away,” Max mumbled.

  “I don’t tell Alex what to do,” Griffin mock whispered.

  Max grunted and turned to face Alex. Her sister was grinning at her, seeming ready to tease her.

  “Nope, don’t say it, Alex. What do you need me to do?”

  “Need firewood collected. Thinking you and Cliff could do a perimeter sweep and pick up firewood on the way,” Alex said.

  Max nodded her agreement. She was exhausted, but she did better with a direction. Something Alex knew about her and probably chose the mundane task to give Max something to focus on. Alex moved back to see to other tasks and Max turned back to Griffin. He gave her a sweet kiss before she started strapping on additional weapons.

  Moments later Cliff appeared, a shotgun in his hand and knives on his belt. He inclined his head to Max, silently asking for her to join him walking. She fell in step with the big quiet man and flicked on her flashlight. She kept it pointed low, to ensure no one from the road could see the beam flashing around.

  The perimeter was clear of living or dead, something Max admitted she was glad for. She wasn’t in the mood to battle anything at the moment. The quiet walk was more what she needed. The chance to breathe fresh air and just be silent fed Max’s soul. Luckily, Cliff was the perfect partner for that type of walk.

  They found a few large fallen branches. Max hoisted the end of one over her shoulder to drag back to the cars, while Cliff had one over each shoulder. The walk back wasn’t long, but the additional weight was a workout and soon Max was sweating and breathing heavy. When they dropped the branches outside their caravan, Max was grinning with the rejuvenation she felt from the exertion.

  “Weirdest chick ever, ya know that?” Cliff commented. They were the only words he spoke the whole time.

  “Aww, it’s sweet of you to notice, Cliff,” Max laughed.

  Rafe joined them with an axe and saw. He and Cliff got to work on the branches, cutting pieces that would work for their campfire and a smaller cooking fire. The light would be a beacon, but they would try to keep the flames low and just enough for some warmth in the darkness. Margaret was moving around the small cooking area.

  Max joined Griffin and Jack near the fire. The decision had been made to sleep inside the vehicles as best as possible. Max was taking the first watch shift and they would rotate every two hours throughout the night. Jack would sleep with Griffin in their truck. The RV would house the most people with Alex, Billie, Henry, Candace, Easton, and Liam all sleeping inside.

  Thinking about this, Max eyed Liam across the small fire. He was sitting with Candace and Easton. The boy was almost back to normal. His arm was still bandaged, but according to the updates from Charlie, the healing was moving along normally and as she would expect. She had started to pump him full of antibiotics to be sure he didn’t catch any other infection. The only person acting any different around him was Margaret, who seemed to dote on him even more now that he had survived. The near loss was hard for them all.

  Eating around the fire was quiet and reserved. Max felt wound up from sitting in silence for so long. Once she finished eating, she walked back to her truck to make sure her weapons were ready for her watch. The silence was broken by whispered voices coming from Rafe’s truck. Curious, Max walked toward the conversation.

  She came around the back of Rafe’s pickup to find Charlie shining a small light in Easton’s mouth. She shook her head at whatever she saw and then pulled out a different device and looked up each of Easton’s nostrils. Alex stood with him, waiting patiently for whatever the examination was.

  “So, you can taste nothing? Smell nothing?” Charlie asked.

  “Nothing. I thought it was just because I was sick before. But I feel way better now, and I couldn’t taste anything at dinner,” Easton replied.

  “Honestly, Easton, this is way out of my knowledge base. We spoke to you about what we believe is going on. Your immunity prevented the illness from killing you. But side effects of that, I have no idea what they would be,” Charlie said. She was jotting notes in a notebook that Max assumed was full of the studies she was doing on Easton.

  “I bet the infected don’t smell or taste anything,” Max added. Their eyes all swung toward Max, suddenly realizing she was there.

  “That could be a good guess. They don’t smell us when we hide,” Alex said.

  Charlie kept taking notes, murmuring to herself, “Infect
ion attacks body and the nerve responses.”

  “Maybe a side effect of getting the infection and surviving it, beyond being bad ass, is a loss of some of those senses that are attacked first,” Max said as she nudged Easton with a smile.

  “That could track. Let’s just keep an eye on it, ok? I don’t see anything visibly wrong with your mouth or nose,” Charlie said. She patted Easton reassuringly on the arm.

  “Maybe not being able to taste during the apocalypse is a good thing. No matter what gets cooked, you’ll still eat it,” Max said.

  “That’s gross. I’m still not eating anything you cook,” Easton said. But he smiled at Max’s joke.

  “Alright. Enough joking around. Time to hunker down for the night. Max, you good on watch?” Alex asked.

  “Yes, captain,” Max said with a mock salute.

  Slowly, the camp broke back down, and everyone retreated to their sleeping areas. Sleeping in the vehicles wasn’t the most comfortable option, but they wanted to be able to move quickly if necessary. They were so close to their destination; everyone was feeling the stress. Max tucked Jack in to sleep in the passenger side seat. Leaned back, it gave her plenty of space to curl up. Griffin was left trying to find comfortable position in the backseat.

  “I’ll be back in a few hours. You guys sleep well,” Max said as she closed up the doors.

  She circled the camp once to make sure everyone had buttoned up and all the supplies were packed back in their appropriate places. As she walked by Rafe’s truck, Storm’s head popped up and his eyes watched her. The dog would join Rafe on his watch, since he didn’t like to keep quiet when left behind. Max didn’t mind being alone, but the early warning signal from the dog would have been appreciated.