I tried to settle my nerves as we pulled out of the parking lot and onto the wrong side of the highway traveling East on Highway 20. The ride was silent for about the first fifteen minutes of the trip. The silence was killing me so I had to speak.
“So how long to do you think this trip will take?” I asked Jay.
“About thirty minutes or so to get into Canton.” Jay replied.
“What about the other roads leading into the city of White from Highway 20? Are those any good?” Randy asked.
“Familiar with the area are ya?” Jay asked.
“A little bit. I used to work in construction and I helped build an entire subdivision out that way.” Randy said.
“Well, the roads are not passable that way. Damned cars are backed up on the side road for miles. We would be traveling on foot.” Jay informed.
“What about the route you are planning for us to take? Is it clear the whole way?” I asked.
“Last I checked it was good all the way to the cut off road in Canton that takes us to Waleska. After that, I don’t know for sure.” Jay stated.
That didn’t make me feel very good. I wasn’t very familiar with the area, but I was aware that there was a lot of wooded terrain to travel if we had to travel on foot. That would mean on top of walking undead, we would have to worry about snakes as well, unless we could keep to the roads.
“Worst case scenario, we would have to leave the truck and travel on foot until we found a clearing in the road, then take one of the vehicles.” Jay informed.
“We could be alright. Maybe we won’t run into any problems along the way.” Tyler said.
I smiled at my son. He always was the optimistic one. He always saw the glass half full. I guess that was a healthy out look to have living in a world like this. That must be why Tyler has so much enjoyment for life, even though the world has gone to shit.
“I hope we can have a safe journey Son. That’s what we all are hoping for.” I said with a smile.
“Yeah, me too. The last thing I want to do is carry this heavy gear on my back for miles and miles on foot through God only knows what.” Tara said.
“Tara, quit being a baby. It wouldn’t have to be that bad. We could trade out. I could carry it for an hour, and then you could carry it for an hour. We would be fine.” Tyler said. I tried to hide the laughter under my breath.
“You think you know everything don’t you dork?” Tara retaliated.
“Since I am a dork, maybe you should just carry the gear.” Tyler fired back.
“Ok stop arguing you two. This will go a lot smoother if we all just get along.” I said sharply.
“Yeah, I ain’t no babysitter. I don’t want to hear no bickering.” Jay added. Randy shot him a look and Jay quickly shut his mouth.
CHAPTER TWENTY
We turned a curve on Highway 20 just before reaching the bridge.
“Oh My God!!” I said almost in a whisper. There, blocking our path was cars, trucks, and a horde of the undead making its way through the abandoned vehicles. This was the last thing we needed. There was no way we would make it through the horde and mess of cars and trucks.
“What are we going to do?” Tara asked.
“Looks like you need to get ready to carry that gear.” Randy stated.
“Ah man!” Tara exclaimed.
“I guess you should have made the deal with your brother, Chick.” Jay said. Tara rolled her eyes at him.
“Let’s go. We don’t have time for this.” I said. We all got out of the vehicle, each one of us grabbing one of the bags from the bed of the truck.
“Where are we gonna go?” Tyler asked.
“We have to hit the woods.” Jay said. It’s our only shot. The minute those things realize we are here, they will start running after us, and those sons of bitches are fast.” Jay stated matter of fact.
We all turned and made our way toward the side of the road. We carefully traveled down the embankment toward the wood line. Tara was trying to balance the heavy pack on her back. She lost her footing and slipped, rolling down the embankment and right into a zombie. Everything happened so fast, there was no time to stop it. Tara looked up and saw the zombie. She screamed, and fired an entire clip into the head of the walking dead body.
“Tara! No!” I yelled. It seemed as though the moment went in slow motion. I turned and looked back at the horde of the undead. They were coming right for us. I reached down for my daughter and helped her to her feet.
“Run Tara!” I yelled and I took off in the direction of the others. Tara left the back pack she was carrying and threw the gun down before she took off running. We were headed to the edge of the woods where the river came to meet the tree line.
“Quick! I see a house boat. Let’s go for it.” Jay called out. Without a moment’s hesitation we all changed our direction and made our way for the house boat. I could hear Tara’s footsteps pounding the ground behind me. I could also hear the growling and snarling of the undead quick on our heels.
We ran faster and faster. It seemed like the boat was a million miles away. I reached deep inside me for the will to run even faster, and I picked up the pace. I could still hear Tara behind me. We ran and we ran as fast as our feet could carry us. I watched ahead of me as first Jay, then Randy, and Tyler all jumped on the house boat.
“Come on!” Tyler called out, and I ran even faster. I was relieved when my feet hit the dock and I was running on the wood. I knew the house boat was close so I ran even faster. I called out to Tara.
“Tara come on! Run as fast as you can! Let’s go!” I didn’t stop or turn back to see her. I was sure she was right behind me.
Finally I reached the house boat and jumped on. I turned immediately to see where my daughter was. She was behind me, but farther back than I had realized.
“Wait! Don’t start the boat!” I called out.
“Tara run baby run!” I called to my daughter and I watched in horror as she tripped and fell flat on her face.
“No!” I yelled, and I started to take off after her. I saw that she was back on her feet quick, and I drew my gun. I fired a shot, striking one of the undead in the head. I fired another shot, taking another one down. I wasn’t worried about the noise attracting more. There was already a horde of nearly a hundred or more making its way toward the boat that was moving!
“No! Stop! Tara isn’t here yet!” I called out to Jay who I now realized was driving the boat.
“We have to go!” he called back to me.
“You son of a bitch, I said no!” I called out. Jay just ignored me, and continued to pull away from the dock.
I turned back, and Tara was running on the dock. I had to do something. There was no way I would leave my daughter behind. I looked around for something to tie around my waist. There, on the ground I saw rope coiled up next to my feet.
“Randy!” I called out. I reached down and grabbed the rope. I tied it as tightly as I could around my waist.
“What the hell are you doing?” Randy asked.
“I’m going in.” I answered.
“Are you crazy? There are swimmers in that damn water.” Randy said.
“I don’t care. I am not leaving Tara behind.” I stated. I secured one better knot in the rope and pulled.
“Hold the other end of the rope. You two pull us in when I have her.”
I turned back to look at Tara. She was safe, but not for long.
“Tara! Jump!” I said. I took a running leap, and jumped out as far as I possibly could into the water filled with God only knew what. I began to swim for the dock. I watched as Tara jumped as far as she could. I could almost reach her. I swam harder. I reached out my hand, and I felt hers. I swam a little closer until my hand held hers. I pulled her into me and held on to her for dear life. I pulled her into me as close as I could get her, and I drew my gun.
“Pull us in!” I called back to the boat, and I could feel the tension around my waist as Randy and Tyler began to pull. I looked up to see one o
f the undead spring up from the water. I fired a shot and hit the swimmer in the shoulder.
“Pull harder!” I called out. I held tightly to Tara as inch by inch we were being pulled to the boat. Another swimmer came up from the water, and I shot her in the head. I could feel the undead under the water at my feet. I could feel them grabbing trying to scratch, but my boots were still securely on my feet.
Finally, I could feel the boat as I hit my head on it. I tossed my gun on the deck of the boat and lifted Tara as high as I could lift her. I felt her as she was pulled away from me by Randy and her brother. Then, I felt them pulling me. I was out of breath as I lay on the deck of the boat, soaking wet.
“Tara? Where’s Tara?” I said. I scrambled around until I found my daughter, and I wrapped my arms around her. She was crying uncontrollably, and I held her as tightly as I could.
I waited for the beating in my chest to subside a bit. I pulled away and looked at my daughter. She was fine. No bites, and no scratches. She was scared to death, but she was fine. I kissed her on the forehead.
“You’re ok baby. You’re ok.” I said as I kissed her again. I looked down and saw my gun laying there. I picked it up and stood.
“Amber, are you alright?” Randy said as he reached out for me. I pushed him away and replied with a simple I’m fine.
“Where is he?” I asked. I could feel the rage burning within me, and I needed to release the fury before I erupted like a volcano.
I watched as Jay Blackburn came down from the top of the house boat.
“That was mighty impressive little lady. You went tomb raider out there.” Jay said with a smug smile.
“You son of a bitch. I told you not to start this fucking boat.” I said.
“Hey, hey, don’t get mad at me. I did what I had to do.” Jay said putting his hands up.
“No. I said don’t start the boat and that’s what I meant. My daughter could have died!”
“We all could have died!” Jay yelled back.
“You can die!” I yelled. Before I knew what I had done, I raised my gun, and put a bullet through the skull of Jay Blackburn.
I stood there standing over his dead body as he bled out all over the deck of the boat. His eyes were open, and I could see the fear in them as his life slipped away from him. I was breathing heavily, and the world seemed to spin a bit. Everything was silent.
I turned and saw the three people I loved most standing there holding each other.
“Let’s throw him over board.” I said as I holstered my side arm. Randy came over to where I stood. We stooped down to pick up Jay Blackburn’s dead body. I noticed Randy was giving me a peculiar look.
“What? Did it surprise you?” I asked as I gathered both of Jay’s legs in my arms.
“No, not at all. I didn’t like him anyway.” Randy said as he lifted the upper half of Jay’s body. We rested his body on the edge of the boat and pushed him over. The undead in the water began biting and grabbing at Jay immediately, and looked like a school of piranhas fighting for their meal.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
I ran my fingers gently through my daughter’s hair as I watched her sleep peacefully. In that moment, she didn’t’ look like the young teenager she was. Instead, she looked more like my little five year old princess after a long day at the pool. The memory was comforting to recall. So much better than the horrific images of what she had truly endured that day.
The scenes replayed in my mind over and over again from the moment I stood after being pulled back into the boat by my son and Randy. I saw the terrified look in my daughter’s eyes flash in my mind over and over again, and I much preferred the peaceful look on her face as she slept at that moment.
“I will never leave you behind.” I promised her in a whisper, careful not to wake her. “You did what I was about to do Amber. It was heroic to watch.” I turned my attention to Randy, and found him standing in the doorway of the bunkroom. I felt a tear in my eye as the rare sensitive side of me broke through the tough exterior I’d built of myself since this world of hell came to be. “I never thought I would have it in me to kill a man in cold blood.” I whispered as I looked back down at my sleeping Tara.
Randy came to stand closer to me. I know how scared you were. But she is fine now. Come on and let me get you some food. You’re going to need your strength tomorrow. We have a long journey still ahead of us.”
I knew he was right, but the last thing I wanted to do was leave Tara’s side. Randy took a knee on the floor beside me. He must have seen the tear that made its way down my cheek. He placed a hand on my knee. “Hey, she’s just fine. She needs her rest too. Come with me.” I looked into his eyes, and I was moved by the sincerity they held. I knew he meant well.
I thought for a moment that there was no way that Randy could know how I was feeling because he wasn’t a parent, but I knew that wasn’t a fair analogy. He was the closest thing to a father that Tara and Tyler had had since their father passed away. In fact, it was Randy that made possible the “normal” childhood events in their lives since this all began. He is the reason they can play baseball, and throw a Frisbee. I taught them how to make weapons. Randy taught them how to get the longevity out of each one by sharpening blades.
Yes, Randy was their father for all intents and purposes. He had stepped up to the plate when there was no one else to, except Alex of course. “Come on, let’s go into the kitchen. We have shells and cheese.” I lightly chuckled at Randy’s successful attempt to make me feel better. He knew I loved it, even though butter and milk didn’t really exist anymore.
He reached his hand out for me and I took it. I glanced back at Tara once more before leaving the room, closing the door behind me for her safety as I had always taught them to do. I followed Randy down the side of the deck to the doorway that led to a small kitchen area. Bigger than one would imagine for a houseboat, but still small.
I took a seat at the table, and watched as Randy moved around the kitchen as if he had been preparing meals in there for years. “You sure learned your way around this kitchen pretty fast.” I said, trying to focus on anything except nearly losing my daughter that day. Randy turned and smiled at me. “Well, I understand you and Tara experiencing a loss of appetite, but me and Tyler get really hungry when we crash from adrenaline rushes. So I found what resources we had available as soon as possible.”
I loved how quickly he tried to turn the night into any other night. I was even more surprised at the fact that it was working very well. For a brief moment, the horrors of earlier in the day seemed to fade away. Randy turned to me with a plate already loaded with the shells and cheese. He came over and sat beside me as he placed the plate of food and a fork down in front of me.
“Wow that was fast.” I said as I stabbed the seashell shaped pasta with a fork. Randy smiled. “Well, I have to admit, I may have already started cooking it before I came to get you.” Even in the dim lighting, I could see his cheeks turn a few shades of red as he blushed like a school boy. “Thank you Randy. This is just what I needed.” I was truly grateful. Granted pasta wasn’t the healthiest meal you could get in the apocalypse, but it was calories, and that’s all that mattered.
I ate quickly, not realizing how hungry I’d been until the contents of the plate was nearly gone. Randy just sat there watching me, the pleasure of seeing me eat evident on his face. I couldn’t help but to think about something Randy had said earlier. I did what he was about to do. I knew what he meant by that. He was about to jump into that water filled with swimmers to save my daughter. Granted, he probably would have done so without the rope. Randy could have careless moments when he was under pressure.
I quickly shook the thought from my mind. Randy wasn’t nearly as careless as my mind wanted to believe. There were moments when I would underestimate his abilities because he was slightly younger than me, but the truth was, he was wise for his years. Randy had a good head on his shoulders, and that is why he has managed to survive these past couple of years
as well as he had.
Looking back on all of the injuries I’d helped tend to, Randy always seemed to have the most minor of them all. A few abrasions from falling and busting his ass, or losing his footing after making a jump, and sliding down an embankment. He was a born survivor that was for sure.
I turned my attention back to him again. However, this time, looking at him in the dim light of the kerosene lantern, something was different about this man who had served as my right hand since day one. Not only did he look like a survivor, a badass you would want around in a tight spot, he also looked like safety and security. Not from a financial standpoint considering the finance ship had sailed years ago. No, this was a different safety and security; it was emotional safety, security, and stability.
I felt an alien flame build somewhere deep within me, that I had almost forgotten existed. I watched as he rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger, clearly exhausted from the day. He covered a yawn, but then must have felt me staring at him. “Something on your mind Commander?” he asked. I felt like I wanted to cry, but the warrior within wouldn’t allow it. “I just…I never tell you how much I appreciate all that you do for the kids, the village…for me.”
I hadn’t even noticed that my voice had trailed off, fell quieter as I spoke. The look in Randy’s eyes revealed the same as his words when he spoke. “I’m confused Amber. We are a team. I mean, isn’t that what I am supposed to do?” I could feel those walls beginning to crumble. They were going to come down tonight, whether I wanted them to or not. Still, a part of me wanted to continue to fight for them to stay in place, strong, unyielding.
“I know we are supposed to be able to depend on each other in the village. It’s what we do, and how we survive. But, what you do is so much more than just an obligation to the village. You put an extra effort in where my kids are concerned, where I am concerned.” My heart was racing like a school girl that had just professed her undying love to the captain of the football team, and was waiting for rejection. My mind, my emotions were in ten different places at once.
The Fall: The Apocalypse Diaries Page 13
