by Maxey, Phil
Too risky.
“Let’s get this over with,” he shouted, then waved the bag. “The chocolate is in here.”
“Show us!” shouted Colm from the door.
Landon pulled out the two brightly colored pieces of candy, and held them between his fingers. “This is what you want. We don’t need them. Send her forward!” He placed them back in the bag, then tossed the bag forward a few feet.
The sound of scampering feet emerged from Landon’s right and left at the same time.
Ambush.
He pulled his gun and had it pointed at the first man, who was just tens of feet away, but sensed the other on the opposite side also aiming a gun at him. Jess screamed into her rag.
A hundred yards away, Meg’s finger hovered over the trigger, her mind trapped with indecision, the crosshair within the scope dancing between both men converging on Landon, their shotguns raised. She could get one, but both before one fired?
Colm emerged from the door. “Looks like we got you, your wife and this damn ca—” He fell forward, landing like a cat, his hands and knees buried in the snow. “I… I…” The back of his jacket bulged as he collapsed completely into the few inches of icy particles.
The two men who were aiming their guns at Landon looked at each other, then surged forward, stomping through the snow towards the plastic bag as Colm grunted and groaned.
Jess ran awkwardly forward, her head was throbbing throwing her balance off, and she staggered, then fell to one knee almost colliding with a small stone wall that bordered the path. Landon ran forward, but not before Daryl, who ran out from the open door with a young girl in tow, grabbed Jess beneath her shoulders, lifting her. Landon immediately raised his gun in Daryl’s direction. “Let her go!”
Jess shook her head, an effort which obviously brought with it pain. “No… no,” she screamed into the rag. Daryl quickly pulled it down. “It’s okay!,” she said to her husband. “He’s here to help!”
Landon looked at the frightened individuals in front of him and started to lower his gun, when a boom from a shotgun exploded to his right. He spun around with his gun raised, but there was only one of the men now standing, the other was on the red soaked ground, missing a part of his skull. Beyond, Colm was crawling through the snow, part of his face now something else.
Landon leaped forward, holding his wife with Daryl, and all scrambled over the slippery surface to the pickup. Pulling open the passenger’s door, Jess fell onto the seat as Landon quickly pushed her door closed, the others getting in the back and rushed around the hood, jumped in, turned the ignition key and drove, not even knowing if he was heading the right way. He threw an arm out to his wife, glancing at her while equally trying to not lose control on the icy surface and throwing a look into the rear mirror at what was happening back on the path. The man stood in victory, his hand raised to slip the candy into his mouth, when he was engulfed by a mass of tentacles, his scream lasting less than a second.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
9: 11 a.m. Outskirts of Rocky Pine. Highway 20.
The watery sun was not enough to make the early morning feel anything other than late afternoon. Two pickups climbed through a series of winding snow-covered roads, each surface steeper than the last and each one proving tougher to negotiate. At various points the wall of pines on their right fell away to reveal the town below, but nobody in either vehicle wanted to see the tainted beauty of the scene, instead choosing to stay within their own thoughts.
Landon drove Meg’s first pickup while she drove another behind. Jess sat behind her husband, her arms wrapped around her children, while Daryl was in the front passenger’s seat. The girl that had hitched a ride was seated next to Meg in the second vehicle.
“I’ve seen you around,” she said to Meg.
Meg steered left then right, following Landon best she could. She wasn’t going to survive the end of the world just to slip off the side of the mountain. “Is that so. Can’t say I’ve seen you. You go to the highschool here?”
The girl scoffed. “How young do you think I am?”
“I take that as a no, then.”
The girl looked back out to the ice covered branches and trunks. “Was never really interested in school. Left a few years back. Had plans to move to Denver this year. So much for that.”
“How you end up with Colm?”
Meg heard a faint intake of air. “If you don’t want to talk about it, it’s—”
“Was staying with an aunt, over on Grove lane. I was out with some friends. Drinking… lights went out. People died. Ended up running… didn’t even know where to, just running through the snow. Saw some people fighting something in the dark. More people died. Almost ran into Daryl. He was running too. The police chief, Matt, found us hiding, brought us to the apartment complex.”
“Did you manage to get back to your aunt?”
There was a pause before the girl answered. “She died.”
“I’m sorry about that.”
“Yeah well, I’m just pissed there’s no internet connection. Could have made a fortune videoing all this shit.”
“Right… You ever going to tell me your name.”
“Arlene…”
In the next pickup, Jess recognized how the road was leveling off. “Take the next left,” she said to Landon.
“We need to talk about the girl,” he said. “Before we get there.”
Darly looked at him. “What about her?”
Landon glanced at him, but Jess beat her husband to a response. “She’s the only one of us who hasn’t been vaccinated.”
“Yeah I know, but so what? If she was going to change, she would have by now, right?” He looked between the two adults, hoping one would provide assurance.
Landon kept quiet, but Jess met his eyes in the mirror. “We don’t know what triggers the change,” she said. “Or why it happens. You were with Jacob when it happened, did you get any warning?”
Daryl looked away.
“Until we know more. She’s going to have to stay away from the rest of us.”
“Good luck with that…”
Landon steered left as instructed and the pickup bumped over uneven ground, until it stopped in front of a metal gate. He took the key to the padlock from his wife, and handed it to Daryl who jumped out, quickly unlocking and pushing it back. Landon drove through, while Daryl looked up at the walls of bark and branches looming over the road. He briefly wondered if it would prove enough of a barrier for the things now roaming lower down. Closing and locking the gate he climbed back in, and they continued up another slope until finally the ground leveled off again, and everyone could see the Keller’s two-story wooden home.
“Made it…” said Jess, under her breath.
Sam and Josh both heard and emerged from her arms. Both had only seen the place the once and sat agape at how their new home somehow looked impressive and dilapidated at the same time. A series of planks were beginning to become loose, as were some of the roof tiles, and dark patches of damp sat beneath more than one window.
Jess and Landon didn’t see any of that, though. They just saw salvation.
“It’s older than I remember,” said Sam.
Landon smiled, an expression that came naturally and nodded to himself. “Been standing over a hundred years. It’s somewhere we can stay safe from what’s happening.”
Daryl looked at the forest which sat some yards back from the main residence, and the steep slopes and collections of rocky outcrops further within. Landon was right, this was the place to try to survive the end of the world.
The doors to the other pickup opened, and in the side mirror Landon spotted Meg pulling one of the many packs and sacks she had brought with her. “Right. Lets get everything inside.”
“Wait!” said Josh. Meg and Arlene had already started walking towards the weed covered stone steps and deck that wrapped around the front of the property.
Landon looked back at his son. “We should be safe…” He notice
d Jess also looking towards the house. He turned and saw what they did. He pushed his door open. “Meg! Hold on. There’s something moving inside!”
Meg and the girl froze mid-stride, then slowly walked backwards.
“Could the previous owner still be there?” said Landon as Meg walked past him.
She shook her head. “Kyle left months back. Should be no one in there.”
“There!” shouted Josh again. “Top left window. The drape moved again.”
“Could be squatters, maybe people who were hunting up here, and are using your place as shelter…” She walked back to her pickup. “I’ll get my gun.”
Landon got out. “Or it could be something else.”
“Whatever it is, my twelve gauge will take care of it.”
“Wow, she really likes guns, doesn’t she,” said Daryl from inside making Sam produce a nervous laugh.
Landon looked back inside to Jess. “Stay here.”
She reached out, but he had already turned and started to walk through the foot of snow, when his attention was caught by splatters of burgundy that led down from the front deck, across the opaque ground to a snow-covered mound about ten feet to his right. He walked to it slowly, trying to make out the shapes within, and when close enough, brushed away some of the ice to reveal…
He took a step back. A blue-purple hand, male by the looks of it was frozen. He immediately pulled his gun, making Meg raise her shotgun at the house.
“What is it!” she said.
“There’s a body… or…” He leaned a bit closer. The hand was not attached to a wrist, but to an amorphous mass of brown flesh and pink skin, equally ice encrusted. That was all he could see and he wasn’t going to remove anymore of the snow to find out what lay deeper. “It’s one of those things. I think it’s dead…”
He looked back at the house, and walked forward once more, stopping just ten yards from the old moss-covered steps.
“Is there anyone inside!” he shouted. “You’re trespassing…”
A latch then chain could be heard being released, then the door slowly creaked open. Out of the gloom stepped a young woman with a baseball cap.
“Abby?” said Landon, lowering his gun. The young woman looked older than when he had last seen her. He took a step forward. “How did you—”
“I heard Jess mention the mountain behind, and the old winding track up here. Wasn’t that hard to find…”
“Where’s Owen and Ray?”
Her eyes flicked to the snowy mound. “Ray… changed… got Owen real bad…”
Landon glanced again at what everyone was now looking at, and sighed. He shook his head to quickly rid him of any grief and looked back at her. “Is Owen…”
“He’s inside…”
The others were now gathered around Landon, Meg with her shotgun and a pack over her shoulder. “This Owen still alive?”
Abby nodded then sniffed, wiping away a tear. “Real bad…”
Landon turned to Meg. “We’re going to need to burn that.” He raised a hand to the mound, then marched up the steps. “Show us,” he said to Abby.
Meg looked at Daryl. “Help me carry some fuel.”
Jess with the kids, followed Landon inside. The interior was as she remembered. A moderate sized hallway, full of bundles of newspapers tied with string, which vied for space with chairs stacked against walls, which themselves were covered in chipped wallpaper. She had been told by the realtor that the inside hadn’t been changed by its owner for over forty years, and she believed them. Warmth came from the open door to her right, and they walked into one of a few large rooms, which was largely empty apart from a standup piano, and an old sofa. Owen was laid on it, Abby kneeling by his side. Jess looked at Landon, his face showed what he thought of Owen’s chances of survival.
“Hey kids,” croaked Owen, then forced a smile. In his hand was a bottle of liquor. “I hope you don’t mind me borrowing your sofa…” He began to laugh, which then became a cough and finally a groan.
Josh and Sam were too shocked to respond. Jess looked at her husband. “Can you take Sam and Josh outside to help bring some things in.”
Landon nodded and ferried the kids out of the room, then house.
“I did a surgery rotation at the local hospital when I was at university… it was a long time ago but—”
Hope came to the eyes of the young woman at her feet. “You can help him?”
“I don’t know,” she looked at Owen who looked three shades paler than when she last saw him. “Do you mind if I take a look?”
Owen nodded and pushed the blanket that was covering him down his chest, but it proved too much effort so Abby helped it be completely removed. A deep red rag sat across his stomach, which was covered in dried blood.
“I found some fishing stuff in one of the cupboards,” said Abby. “Used it to sew the skin together, but I ain’t no doctor…”
Jess nodded, then placed her hand gently on the rag. “This is going to hurt.”
Owen waved a finger, “Ain’t nothing.”
The sound of boots came from the hallway, along with bags and boxes being placed on the dusty floor.
Jess lifted the rag slowly, watching for Owen’s reaction, which was for him to remain with a half smile on his face. She did her best to keep down what little food there was in her stomach. A laceration, six-inches across, sat across his body, the fishing twine not doing a good job of keeping the wound closed as blood still seeped from it. She lowered the rag, then pulled the sheet further up.
“So how long I got doc?” said Owen, with another smile.
Abby looked at Jess with the same question but her expression was altogether different.
“You did well,” said Jess to Abby then looked between both. “But I’m not going to lie. That’s a serious injury. You probably have internal—”
“But you can fix it, right?” said Abby.
“I’m not a surgeon…”
“But you said—”
“I just studied it for half a semester. Sat in on some surgeries, but never actually did any myself.” She could see the hope starting to drain from the woman and placed her hand on Abby’s. “For now we need to make sure the wound is kept clean. Infection is as big a danger as anything else. I think…” She looked back at Owen. “He’s also going to need a blood transfusion… and lucky for you, I’m a universal donor. That’s the good news. Bad news is we need things we don’t have here.”
Meg, the girl and Daryl appeared.
“It’s Daryl!” said Owen, then with Abby looked confused. “I thought you turned into a monster?”
*****
11: 34 a.m. Keller’s home.
“Go back? Are you insane?” said Arlene.
“We still got plenty of light before it gets dark,” said Jess. “Thirty minutes there, thirty minutes finding what we need in the medical center and the same back.”
The girl rolled her eyes then folded her arms. “I’m not leaving.”
“No one’s asking you to,” said Landon.
They, along with the others were standing in the other large room on the left side of the house. The door to the hallway was closed, but nobody believed the thin walls would provide much privacy so kept their voices low.
Landon looked out at the fire burning in the front yard. Black smoke coiled its way skyward. He hoped the tall trees would provide at least some kind of cover for whatever might be looking in their direction. “We need two people to go. Jess has to be one—” He hid a sigh. “— And I need to be here.”
The others in the room looked awkwardly at each other. “I’ll go,” said Meg. “I can get some more supplies from the stores there. The fuel we got will only keep the generator going for a few days. We could do with some more of that.”
“There’s a fireplace in the other room,” said Daryl. “And I think I saw some logs already cut outside.”
Jess nodded. “We should get the fire started.”
“I want to go as well,”
said Abby, from the other side of the closed door which then opened. She came in and quietly closed it behind. “He’s sleeping.” She looked at Jess. “I can help.”
Meg nodded. “That’s settled then. We’ll leave now. Should be back by mid-afternoon at the latest…”
Landon held up his radio, looking at his wife. “Stay in contact with this for as long as you can.”
She nodded.
“I’ll find some more of those as well,” said Meg. “There are a few hunting supply shops in town. We’ll make a stop at them.”
“What about… the things?” said Daryl. “You don’t know how many are down there.”
Meg walked past him, patting him on the shoulder. “That’s why I got my guns.”
“Okay…”
The others filtered out of the room, leaving Jess and her husband. He shook his head. “I don’t like this, Jess. I’m trained.”
“To fight mutants?”
He couldn’t help but smile, as did she. She walked to him and held him close. “I know you’ll worry, and I know you want to go instead of me, but I need to do this and I’ll feel better, knowing you are with the kids.”
He nodded as they pulled apart. “Stay close to Meg.”
Jess smiled. “That’s exactly my plan.”
“And if you see any of those things, don’t try and fight. Just get out of there. Get back here. If you have the medical supplies or not.”
Jess smiled and nodded, but she had no intention of leaving the town without what she needed. Each of the deaths she had seen during the last twenty-four hours, were still with her. A film which she was forced to watch, replaying constantly in her mind. If she could save someone, she was going to do everything she could to make it happen. Especially if that someone was immune from the virus. As Landon walked back to the hallway, she hesitated, wondering when she should tell Abby and Owen about the chocolate.
