“They are beautiful,” Angela complimented.
“I just hope we can get to my parent’s house before the virus catches up with us,” the woman said.
Paige noticed her mother clutching the bag again as if she was contemplating something. Everyone was silent apart from AJ and Dave who chose that moment to return.
“I don’t know what they did, but the car is completely useless,” Dave announced, destroying all Paige’s hope.
“Yeah, they really mean business,” AJ added, frowning. “It’s probably the same thing they did to the plane.”
“Great,” Paige mumbled, not looking forward to the long walk they had ahead of them.
Angela smiled at the woman as she took a small bag of dirt from the larger bag and handed it to the other mother. Paige hadn’t noticed before that it was packed in smaller portions.
“This will help keep your babies healthy,” her mother said.
Having a closer look, Paige noticed it wasn’t dirt at all. It was composed of dried herbs. She took one small bag for closer inspection. Even through the wrappings, it smelled kind of sweet, like honey. Paige could have sworn she remembered that smell from her childhood.
“Cook one teaspoon and mix it with water. If your babies are anything like mine, mix it with chocolate milk. They’ll drink it all up. Each teaspoon lasts six months. But if you or the boys already have the virus, then there isn’t anything you can do. There is no cure,” Paige’s mom explained in one breath.
The woman nodded and didn’t even question what Paige’s mother had just said. “Thank you,” she replied. She held it tight in her grip as she hurried off with the boys along the highway.
Paige wanted to stop her, ask her if she wanted to come with them, but she moved away too quickly. Dave looked at her, confused, nodding toward Angela and her magic dust, but Paige just shrugged. Everyone else in their little group stared at Angela in astonishment.
One of the pilots asked, “Does that really work?” He eyed the bag dubiously.
“Of course, it does,” Angela replied instantly, raising her chin. “My eldest daughter gave it to me.” She started handing out little bags to everyone in the group except AJ. “Of course, Paige and Willow don’t need it. I’ve been giving it to them all their lives.”
“Mom, give some to AJ,” Paige complained, thinking how her Mom was being beyond rude.
“No, his type is what brought the virus here. I’m not giving him anything. I’ll never give anything to a Shadow,” she snapped back.
“Take mine,” she offered, but he shook his head. “It’s fine,” Paige reassured him.
“But you need it,” AJ insisted in return.
“No, apparently, I don’t. She’s been giving this to me my whole life,” Paige countered. Eventually, he accepted her offering. Paige looked at all the people around her. “I think it’s probably best to keep moving. We don’t have a lot of time to get to Maryland.”
The gang slowly continued with their journey. There was a big curve in the road, and once they reached it, they started into the abyss of people.
So, this is where all the people from the abandoned cars ended up, Paige realized.
They were moving forward, toward the city just like Paige’s gang intended to.
“Be careful and stay close together,” Angela warned. “We can’t be sure what kind of crazy people we’ll encounter.”
Paige nodded in agreement since that was on her mind as well. Mixing with the rest of the people, Paige couldn’t help but observe them. Some looked scared, some were angry, and some were glum. Several people were even bloody and marked, looking like they’d gone through hell. But that doesn’t mean they’re infected, she reminded herself. She looked the exact same way.
“Let go!” Tilley suddenly screamed.
Paige turned just in time to see one of the secret service agents fighting a man who was trying to grab hold of Tilley. His face was bloody, and he was snapping with his teeth as if wanting to bite her. The other agent came at the man from the other side and shot him in the face point blank. The crazed infected man’s jaw stopped working—there was little of it left.
“The infected are among us,” the agent holstering his gun said. “Stay alert.”
Just as he said that, another man attacked him from the back. He charged into the agent so hard, he lost balance and fell head first to the ground with the infected on top of him. The other agent did what he must and dragged Tilley away. Without a thought, Paige reached for her sword and cursed loudly because she didn’t have it anymore.
So, she gripped her gun instead.
The infected man was just about to bite the agent, so she charged in. Using the butt of the gun as a weapon, she hit the infected man in the head before repeating the move. That certainly made him pause long enough for the agent to throw him off. With their positions switched, he was able to shoot his attacker in the head. But they didn’t have time to take the win as more infected came at them.
Several car doors squawked open, and suddenly, they were surrounded. Paige raised her gun right way, showing they weren’t such an easy pray, and that made them pause.
“Well, shit,” Dave grumbled, gripping a tire iron.
Where did he manage to get that? Paige wondered, remembering that he, too, had to leave his weapon at the base.
“I second that,” AJ drawled without humor. He reached inside a truck next to him with a bed full of lumber and grabbed a plank.
“Protect the children,” Paige said, but it wasn’t necessary. Everyone instinctively gravitated around younger ones in the group.
The agent who protected Tilley moved where Peter and Willow were.
“Here you go,” Dave said to one of the pilots as he threw his gun to him.
The pilot caught the gun and moved to protect the children. Once everyone was in place, Paige charged, and she could hear that the others following suit.
A real-life Barbie was closest, so Paige decided to deal with her first. The poor woman didn’t have a chance. She was more than likely crazed because of the virus, but it was obvious she had no fighting skills, allowing Paige to plow right through her. Though she was focused on her own fight, Paige saw Dave and AJ team up, trying to take down a guy who looked like a professional wrestler. The sounds of grunting, fighting, and the occasional gunshot filled the air. Paige was in the zone, and it took her a while to realize when it stopped. They’d killed every last one of them.
Paige quickly looked at her companions and was relieved to see everyone was still standing.
“That was fun,” Dave said, coming to her side. His hands were bloody, and he tried to wipe them off on his jeans.
“Is everyone ok?” Paige asked, and an echo of yeses came back to her.
“Thanks for your help,” the agent that was attacked said, offering her his hand.
A bit taken aback, Paige took it. “No problem,” she replied.
He smiled lightly. “I’m Conner, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Conner,” she replied politely. A strange camaraderie formed after that, and Paige was glad. “Come on, let’s go!” Paige yelled.
“What if there are more of them?” Willow asked. This was her first real brush with the infected, and she was understandably scared. Her eyes were big, and she was shaking.
“We’ll deal with them just like we did with this bunch,” Paige replied with a confidence she didn’t feel.
Like they needed another thing to worry about. They had to reach the NASA compound before the last spacecraft left the planet. That is stressful enough, thank you very much, Paige thought. She didn’t know how long her father could stall the launch, but she hoped it would be long enough.
And the people holding him hostage? Paige prayed he managed to get away from them as well. She couldn’t help but wonder who might have been holding him hostage, but she imagined they would find out soon enough.
Paige picked up the pace. “Come on. We have to hurry,” she urged. “We have to catch that s
pace shuttle.”
“And have a tea party later,” Dave added, giving everyone a laugh.
He hugged her as they started to walk, and Paige laughed, too, jabbing him in the ribs. He released an oomph sound and looked at her a bit shocked.
“What? Did I hurt you?” She didn’t intend for it to be that strong.
“Nah.” He waved his other hand. “It’s all good. You just surprised me,” he added, winking.
AJ approached from the other side. “You better watch out, man. If she’s throwing punches that easily when in high spirit, you don’t want to see her angry, trust me,” AJ teased.
“Oh, I know,” Dave replied in the same manner. “I especially wouldn’t want to stand between her and a Big Mac.”
She jabbed him again, only this time she intended it to be with a bit of sting. He winced, but she immediately felt guilty about it.
“I’m not that bad,” Paige said, defending herself.
“I was there when you hit Johanna Kawinski in the head,” AJ challenged.
Dave gasped in exaggerated shock, waiting for the punchline.
“It was in PE. I tried to pass her the ball. It was an accident!” she said, defending herself again.
“If you say so,” AJ replied with a massive grin.
Paige started to feel something she’d never experienced before. The impending doom of wondering what was going to happen temporarily left her. It felt as if everything was at peace while she had her family, Dave, and AJ by her side.
If only River could see me now, crossed Paige’s mind as they walked ahead, together, toward the unknown.
Chapter Ten
As they slowly approached the city, Paige realized that nearly the same scenes greeted them as in New York. Smashed and abandoned cars littered the roads, and the people were scared and avoiding one another.
Paige noticed a lot of bloody dead people, but at the moment, no one was running around trying to bite someone. No one was shouting Seedling either, so that was a bonus.
The only difference from New York was that here, all the lights were off. The city had been plunged into darkness. It became almost completely dark as they approached the city, and the only light came from random fires throughout the city, but mostly from the spaceship. Its edges were lit all the way around with a bluish white light.
They moved past a smoldering car, and Paige could see a whole building ablaze in the distance, its black smoke rising high above. Even with all the destruction about, none of it could tarnish the perfect, clean appearance of the mothership.
Paige wasn’t looking forward to experiencing her first night on the streets. Angela noticed Paige walking close by with AJ, their hands casually brushing. She walked over and quickly pulled her away from him. She scowled at her daughter. “Paige!” she snapped, making Paige jerk in return. “Stay away from that Shadow!” Paige had had enough with that nonsense. “He’s not a Shadow!” Paige said, trying to defend AJ.
“And you,” her mother turned toward Dave. He was watching their exchange with an amused expression. “You are no boyfriend at all if you can’t protect her!”
Dave momentarily sobered. He wanted to say something, but Paige beat him to the punch.
“He is not my boyfriend,” Paige practically yelled back. “And I can do whatever I want.”
The rest of their group gathered around, and Paige started to turn red, hating that she was the center of attention. “They’re coming. They’ll be here soon!” Angela insisted, digging in her heels. “And he’s one of them, Paige.” She gave her the look that made Paige want to stomp her foot and act like a stubborn child.
She hated when her Mom treated her like this.
I survived this far. I don’t need her telling me what to do or who I can be with!
The notion might have been silly since they were in the middle of an alien invasion, but Paige couldn’t stop herself. She was too angry suddenly. Their fight kept the other people passing by, which was a small miracle because in her state, Paige didn’t want to rub elbows with anybody.
After that first bunch, they didn’t encounter another infected person, at least, not one that was still breathing.
It was dark, and people were mostly scared. Paige and her little group were armed. She couldn’t blame the others for walking by and trying to put distance between them. She wouldn’t approach her group either.
“We have to hide as soon as possible before they get to us,” Angela implored.
Without another word, she grabbed a hold of Paige and Willow’s hands and started running, practically dragging them behind her. AJ, Dave, Peter, Tilley, and the rest of them followed closely behind.
How did my mother become the leader? she thought as she, looked at where her mother gripped her hand. She was freakishly strong for a woman of her stature. With the darkness and state of ruin, the city looked unwelcoming. Paige was getting tired of running so much. Though her stamina held up fine, it was her mind that grew weary of it. It didn’t help that her last meal was a candy bar several hours ago.
Paige first felt relieved they’d arrived, but that soon disappeared. She very much wished they weren’t. Apart from the fires and destruction, wild dogs were everywhere. And at the moment, Paige was more afraid of them than of the affected people.
Slowly moving toward the center, they could see a pack of dogs tearing apart a dead body. They snapped at one another while fighting over a bigger piece.
The animals weren’t the only scary part. Paige could see people looting the powerless stores.
Nice opportunity to get stuff for free, she huffed in disgust, hoping that Dave wouldn’t follow their suggestion, once again.
Luckily, he didn’t.
There were a few looters who were struggling to get goods out of the stores.
“That’s mine!” One fought with the other.
“No, it’s mine!” The other insisted.
Two of the men looked like the robber characters from the first two Home Alone movies. Paige wanted to yell at both idiots because they were fighting over a flat-screen TV in the middle of an alien invasion in a city with no power while a deadly virus was devouring the streets. A gunshot rang out, and they all ducked instinctively. Paige once again reached for her sword that wasn’t there. She was ready to defend her pack but kept forgetting her weapon had been left behind. Instead, she grabbed her gun. Dave had his tire iron while Angela scowled at them due to her being weaponless. That was just the way Paige preferred her since she clearly couldn’t be trusted with one. She always wanted to shoot AJ.
Suddenly, echoing boom came forward by a blinding light came down from the center of the spaceship, and everyone leaped out of the stores in a panic. The looters dashed like scurrying rats into apartment blocks. The looters had the right idea. The gang needed to get away from there, too, so Paige followed the looters. She looked over her shoulder and noticed with dread that they were missing some members. She couldn’t see the pilots anywhere.
“We need a hiding place!” Dave shouted.
Paige agreed, but she had no idea where.
Everyone was shouting with the new turn of events. “They’re coming!” A random man ran past them holding a desk lamp in both his hands.
The group entered the first building that came into view. As far as Paige could tell, it was a residential building that had stores on the ground level. The gang ran up the stairs with Paige in the back. She was coming in last, making sure not to lose anyone else.
Once she reached the second floor, an infected man came at her from the hallway. It happened so fast, and he hit her with such force that she lost her grip on the gun. It fell to the floor and tumbled down a couple of steps.
Feeling pissed off at herself for instantly becoming weaponless, Paige decided to channel her emotions. She gripped the banister with both hands and kicked the man in the gut as hard as she could manage. He stumbled a little farther than she expected, returning to the hallway, but she followed him there. She ran at him an
d delivered another kick followed by a punch straight to the face. The man tried to charge at her, grab hold of her around the abdomen, but she spun out of the way and, grabbing hold of his pants, threw him against the wall. He looked stunned but kept coming, so Paige let him come a bit closer than she would like before hitting him in the face repeatedly.
Once he started staggering to the back, she spun and kicked him again. The man stumbled several feet backward and crashed through a window.
Once she was safe, she caught her breath and realized the man had only landed a single successful hit on her. The rest of the fight had been all her, and she felt proud of that. “Paige?”
She could hear AJ calling out to her.
“Coming!” she yelled back.
She quickly jogged back to get her gun before joining AJ. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, but she shook her head.
“I’m fine,” she said instead of explaining what happened.
“Come on. We have to find a place to hide,” AJ said as they continued to climb.
Unfortunately, all their efforts were in vain. People had locked their doors, yelling at all of them to get away from the building.
“Get away!”
“You’re not welcome here!”
An elderly woman even threatened them with her cane.
“Please! We need a place to hide,” Paige pleaded in return but to no avail. The whole experience was making her feel pretty desperate and a bit useless.
She understood fear, but how about compassion? Unfortunately, they didn’t encounter it.
“You don’t belong here!”
“Go, or I’ll shoot you.”
Some of them even tried to run them out of the apartment building by force. So, their group dashed out. Once they were back outside, everyone except Paige and AJ was trying to catch their breath. Dave’s shirt was soaked, and sweat rolled down his face.
“I hate running,” Dave grumbled under his breath.
It wasn’t safe for them outside. The white light from the spaceship was still shining down. It seemed that a lot of people had experienced the same fate trying to take refuge in the buildings, so they ran aimlessly down the streets.
Inhabitable (Invasion Survivor Book 2) Page 11
