She shakes her head, then calls out to the rest of us. "Everyone gather close! We need to see how many there are."
I rush to stand beside them. "We're exposed out here!"
Janice and Kelli duck behind Daniel, using him as a human shield; I hear Janice whimper. "We're going to die," she says.
"No, we're not. I've got you, dear," Billy reassures her, as he takes his place next to Daniel.
Lane cuts his eyes side to side, studying the treeline. "I still don't see them. Maybe they turned around?"
Just then, a cluster of five Revs emerge from the woods and onto the road. They immediately begin limping toward us, teeth gnashing. Four more stumble out of the woods just behind them. My heart is racing. I've never been this close to a Rev without a door or wall separating us. And since we've been traveling the open roads, we've gone to great lengths to avoid contact with them. When that hasn't worked, we've run to a nearby house and hidden until the Revs passed by or lost interest.
This time, running isn't an option. And there’s nowhere to hide.
I look at Daniel, scared. "What do we do?"
He reaches for the crowbar that hangs from his pack. "We fight. Whatever happens, don't let them bite you."
Lane advances on the nearest one, an old baseball bat raised high in the air and a war-cry on his lips. Kelli pulls out the piece of metal pipe she found on the side of the road yesterday. Meredith tosses a large flashlight at me then pulls a long knife from her pack. Once armed, we begin attacking the group of Revs with all the strength we can muster.
Nothing works.
We knock them down, they get back up.
"The head! Aim for the head!" Meredith shouts over the noise of the battle.
Daniel nods and swings the crowbar, connecting with the tall Revs' head. It lingers for a moment, then teeters and falls to the ground...dead for good. Once we know where to attack, we drop the remaining Revs in a matter of minutes. Exhausted, we half-walk, half-crawl to the next house we come to. Luckily, it's not very far.
Once inside, Daniel leans against the wall. "Well, at least we learned something else about them today."
I close my eyes, weak from the exertion of the fight. "Yeah. The head is the sweet spot."
* * *
Daniel
We're resting in the living room of a house a mile or so from the battle zone. It's small, and there's only one sofa and an overstuffed recliner, so Meredith is curled up in the recliner, Chloe is laying on the sofa, and I'm leaning against the wall nearest the front window. Kelli and Lane are propped up against the opposite wall, eyes closed. Billy and Janice excused themselves to one of the bedrooms as soon as we entered the house; there are two other empty bedrooms the rest of us could spread out to, but we don't want to be alone just yet.
We're afraid the boogeyman might come back.
"We got lucky today," I say once my breathing returns to normal.
Meredith lifts her head. "Yeah, there could have been a lot more."
Chloe sits up. "No kidding. But, we also learned how to put them down for good." She looks down at her soiled clothes. "As disgusting as it was."
"It wasn't the most enjoyable moment of my life, either. But I agree...it's nice to know how to fight them. And win. How did you know to aim for the head?" I ask Meredith.
She shrugs. "Seemed to make the most sense. The brain controls movement, right?"
Before I can say anything else, she turns in the recliner, leaving me staring at her back. Conversation over. It never ceases to amaze me...Meredith's uncanny ability to guide the group when it matters most. Like she has insider knowledge about the Revs. But how would a hairstylist know anything about this modern plague?
Lane stands.
"Where are you going?" I ask.
He points to the kitchen. "All that fighting made me hungry. Gonna see what's left in this house."
"I'll go with you," Kelli says, standing too.
They walk to the kitchen together. I should have already checked the food situation, but I'm not sure I even checked the house before we crashed through the front door. We only cared about finding shelter after the fight...but our need for shelter caused us to let our guard down in other important ways. I mentally chide myself for being so careless. I always insist on clearing a house before I let the group enter.
I didn't this time.
It could have gotten one of us killed.
Lane comes back into the living room. He's smiling. "I've got good news and bad news."
"Good news first," I answer, playing along.
Chloe sits up to see what he found.
He holds up a can of food. "The pantry is pretty full."
"Okay, so what's the bad news?"
He looks at Chloe and his smile widens. "It's mostly just different types of beans."
Chloe groans. "Beans again!" she says, falling back against the couch.
Meredith and I laugh as Lane returns to the kitchen. I hear him say something to Kelli and they both laugh before going back to whatever they were talking about when they found the stash of beans.
"Where's Billy and Janice?" Meredith asks, looking around the living room.
"I guess they're still in the bedroom."
"Yeah. Billy said Janice needed to rest after the fight," Chloe confirms.
I look down at my ripped shirt sleeve and bloody pants. "It's been a rough day. Especially for someone their age. I'm worn out, and I'm only 26."
Meredith stands. "You know. It's not a bad idea. We should all catch a quick nap before we feast on beans this evening."
Chloe makes a gagging sound as Meredith walks toward one of the open bedrooms. I just laugh. Beans aren't great, but we're alive to eat them, so they’re good enough for me.
* * *
Chloe
"I think something's wrong with Janice."
I stop stirring the bowl of black beans and look up at Kelli. "What do you mean?" I ask.
Kelli gestures toward the bedroom. "I just went to get them for dinner, but Billy said she didn't feel well enough to come eat...but...he was acting kinda strange."
"Strange how?" Meredith asks.
Kelli shrugs. "I don't know...kinda jumpy, I guess."
That doesn't sound right. Granted, I haven't known Billy long, but from what I've seen, he's a pretty solid guy. I wouldn't describe him as jumpy, in any case.
"Where's Billy now?" I ask, concerned.
"He stayed in the room, too."
I raise an eyebrow. "He not eating, either?"
"Guess not," Kelli says, then sits down at the table and starts eating her own bowl of beans.
"Maybe you should go check on them. Janice may be getting sick," I tell Daniel.
He takes another bite of beans, then nods. "Okay. I'll go check on them after I eat. When I do, I'll take Billy a couple of bowls for them to eat once they’re rested."
"We might need to stay put a couple of days," Meredith suggests.
I nod in agreement. If Janice is sick, she'll die out on the open road. The heat would kill her, if a Rev didn't first. Resting a few days might be our only option. I look down at the bowl of beans in front of me. At least there's plenty more where these came from. Sighing, I pick up the spoon and take a bite.
Bon appetit.
Chapter Thirty-One
Daniel
I just woke up.
I slept surprisingly well last night, considering my bed was the floor. An eager, early morning sun shines through the living room curtains, lighting the room. Chloe, Meredith, Lane and Kelli, are sitting around the kitchen table, chatting among themselves, but Billy and Janice are conspicuously absent. I'm worried about Janice. Between the heat and the fight yesterday, she's probably feeling pretty worn down.
At her age, it's understandable.
I took two bowls of beans to them last night, after I finished my own, but Billy never answered any of my knocks or calls. I assumed they had already fallen asleep, so I left the bowls sitting outside the bedr
oom door before going to bed myself. Hopefully they ate them during the night, or early this morning. Janice will need the fuel...Billy too.
"Has anyone seen Billy or Janice this morning?" I ask.
Chloe shakes her head. "They haven't come out of the bedroom."
I rise from the floor and stretch, trying to loosen the muscles in my back. It's almost impossible to not feel tight after sleeping on the floor. At least this house is carpeted...the padding underneath cushions it somewhat.
"I'll go check on them. Make sure Janice is okay," I say, walking down the hall.
I stop outside the door of their bedroom. The two bowls of beans are sitting on the floor, untouched.
I knock softly. "Billy?"
No answer.
I lift my hand to knock again when the door opens a crack. Billy blocks my view into the dark bedroom. "Yeah, what is it, chief?" he asks.
I try to peer into the room, but I can't see anything other than darkness beyond. I look at Billy. His white hair is disheveled, and his clothes are rumpled. He seems different. Worried, almost. Paranoid. Janice must be really sick.
"Everything okay, Billy?"
He looks at me as if seeing me for the first time. "What? Oh....yes, yes. Everything is fine. Right as rain, so they say."
"So, how's the bride?" I ask.
He smiles, but it seems forced. "Well, she's good. Be just fine in another day or so," he says.
"You....you mind if I check in on her real quick?"
A flash of worry passes over his face. "What? Why?" he asks. "She's fine, I told you!"
Now I'm concerned. He's hiding something. Something is wrong with Janice, and he doesn't want the group to know.
"Open the door the rest of the way, Billy," I demand.
He shakes his head and tries to shut the door in my face, but I put my foot in the jamb, so it can't close.
"Move your foot!" he yells, pushing the door harder.
I yell out in pain as the wooden door crushes my foot. It's wedged in there so tight now, I couldn't move it even if I wanted to.
"What's going on, Daniel?" Lane asks, walking up behind me.
"We need to get in there. Something's wrong with Janice," I say, motioning for him to help me open the door.
Billy puts up a fight, but in the end he's no match for two younger men. We push through the door, knocking him to the ground in the process.
"Lane, hold him back!" I say, pointing to the spot where Billy fell.
"What's going on?" Chloe asks from the hallway.
Ignoring her question, I gesture to the window. "Open the blinds, I need light."
Chloe walks to the window and yanks the blinds up, allowing light to spill into the room.
"Oh my god."
The tone of Meredith's voice causes a sick feeling to settle low in my stomach, like someone pulled back and punched me as hard as they could. I turn around and look at Janice. She's feverish. I can tell that without touching her skin. She's shivering, even though a sheen of sweat covers her wrinkled skin. She moans softly, obviously in pain.
I turn to Billy. "Why wouldn't you say something? She needs medicine.....pain reliever at the very least!" I yell.
Billy sobs into his hands, completely defeated. "I don't think there's any pain reliever gonna help her."
"What are you talking about?" I ask.
Lane loosens his grip on Billy's arm. "If I let you go, will it be a mistake?" he asks the older man.
Billy shakes him off. "I'm fine, youngin'," he says, wiping his wet eyes with the sleeve of his shirt.
"Billy, what's wrong with Janice?" Chloe asks softly.
"She was tired yesterday, after the fight. We noticed this just before bed," he says, pulling the sheet away from her frail body. "One of those monsters bit her," he says, and begins sobbing anew.
I walk closer to the bed to examine the bite. It looks awful. Like a death sentence. And it is. A bite or scratch from a Rev kills you. It's that simple.
Meredith stands behind me, looking at the older woman. "Did Janice happen to take the flu shot this year, Billy?" she asks, without taking her eyes off Janice.
"What?" Billy asks, confused.
I glance at her. "What's that got to do with anything? She's been bit...she’s not sick."
"Answer the question, Billy," Meredith says, ignoring me.
Billy rubs a trembling hand over his face. "Of course she did. At our age, we'd be crazy not to." He looks at Meredith. "Do you think that'll help her fight the virus?" he asks, a sliver of hope shining in his eyes.
Meredith shakes her head slowly, and fresh tears spring up in the old man's eyes.
"Please don't hurt her," Billy whimpers.
Meredith wraps her arms around the old man. "Of course we won't, Billy. We'll leave y'all to rest, okay? Come get us if you need us."
He nods, grateful. Chloe and I look at her like she's lost her mind. She shakes her head softly and motions for us to exit the room. I take one last look at Janice as we leave the room. The next time I see her I'll probably have to take her life.
For the second time.
* * *
Chloe
"We have to leave...now," Meredith says, as soon as we're back in the living room and out of earshot.
I look at her, confused. "Say what now?"
"We can't stay here. When she dies....and she could any moment....she'll come back."
"How do you know?" I ask at the same time Daniel says, "We can't just leave Billy alone with her."
She throws her hands up, frustrated. "Daniel, we've survived this long by avoiding them. Right? Well, we're about to have one in the house!"
Lane scratches a mosquito bite. "I agree with Meredith. We need to get a move on....before she dies."
"Are you listening to yourselves?" Daniel asks. He looks at Meredith. "Tell me you're not serious. We can't just leave someone behind. We're talking about Billy!"
Meredith refuses to meet his eye. "It's not safe to stay here, Daniel," she whispers.
"We'll make him leave with us, then."
"Do you really think he'll leave her?" she asks softly.
Daniel looks at Meredith, knowing she's right, but not wanting to believe it. This is why I love my brother. He's practical and bossy, but he has a heart of gold. The thought of leaving Billy behind is killing him. But not leaving him behind, could kill all of us.
Literally.
"We could wait till she turns, then you know...put her down," Kelli offers. "Then Billy could come with us."
I shake my head. "No. Way too dangerous. What if one of us gets bit trying to put her down?"
"It's pretty risky," Meredith agrees.
A loud sob from the bedroom interrupts our discussion. Fear rushes through my body like cold water. It's happened. Janice is dead. Now we have no choice but to fight our way out of this. And through a grieving husband on top of it.
This might be the hardest thing we've had to do since the dead came back to life.
* * *
Daniel
The time for talking has passed. It went out the window with Janice's soul five minutes ago.
"All right, here's the plan. Lane, you open the door and secure Billy. Once you do that, I'll hit Janice in the head with the crowbar. If we do it now, we can end it before she wakes up."
Lane nods. Behind him, Chloe asks, "What do you need us to do?"
"You and Meredith get our things together in case things go wrong and we have to bolt."
She and Meredith leave to go gather our things. Kelli follows behind them, a worried look on her face. I look at Lane. "Ready?"
"I guess as ready as I'm ever gonna be."
He's nervous, which makes me nervous because I need to be able to count on him to hold Billy back while I put an iron rod through his wife's head.
I put a hand on his shoulder. "Did you play football in high school?"
He nods.
"What position?"
"Offensive tackle."
&nb
sp; "Okay, so pretend I'm the QB. Billy's gonna come for me as soon as I burst through the door. We know he will. When he does, I need you to block him. Okay?"
He takes a deep breath, then lets it out slowly. "Okay, I can do that."
I slap him on the back. "Come on....Rev ain't gonna kill itself."
We walk down the hall and stand in front of the bedroom door. Billy's loud sobs rattle the thin door. I look at Lane and mouth the words, "Ready on three."
I hold up my hand to start counting to three.
Billy's cries suddenly stop. They're replaced with a sound like wonder or confusion. Maybe a little of both, I can't tell. Just as quickly they're replaced by screams and a low, growling sound.
"She's awake!" I yell.
Using my shoulder as a battering ram, I open the door. The first thing I see when we fall into the room is Janice latched onto Billy's throat. He's fighting her off...or trying to...but in her new state, she's too strong for him. Blood covers the room. I yell for Lane to back me up, then run toward the two elderly people...one dead, another about to be...and begin hitting them in the head with the crowbar.
After a moment, all sounds in the room go quiet except my labored breathing. Now that we know where to aim, killing them is easy, but it still wears you out. Meredith, Chloe, and Kelli are standing in the hallway, huddled together, waiting for us.
"What happened?" Chloe whispers.
I wipe the blood from my face. "Janice woke up before we got in there," I say. "She got Billy."
Chloe peers around me into the room. "Are they both....dead?"
I nod.
Chloe puts her hand over her mouth and begins to cry.
"Are you two okay?" Meredith asks.
I nod again. I know what she's really asking, so I add, "No bites, no scratches. This is all their blood."
She lets out a breath of air. "Good."
I lean over, hands on my knees, trying to settle my breathing. When I no longer feel like I'm going to pass out, I straighten. "Let's get out of here. I can't stay here another minute knowing I just killed them."
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