Kumbaya Much

by Bella Street

  Trent cut his engine and jumped out of the jeep, heading her way. When he was within earshot, she only managed to get out his name before anxiety choked off the rest of her words.

  “I know,” he said in a low voice. “I don't know what happened.”

  She looked at him but only saw her reflection in his sunglasses. It was probably for the best. If she saw his eyes, she'd get all loopy and someone would notice. Even now, she was pining for him and wanted to at least touch him while he talked.

  But there could be no touching.

  “Sef, did you hear me?”

  She tilted her head. “What?”

  “I said I think we should check the place out a little—at least make sure the phones don't work, before continuing on.”

  She nodded, unsure of how to respond. “That sounds good.”

  “We should stick together,” Malone said, suddenly behind her. “Stay in our teams and do a quick sweep for supplies, weapons, fuel.”

  “Okay.” When Malone turned his attention to the others, Trent lowered his voice. “Stick by him, Sef.”

  Seffy heard several things in his words and could only nod again. She watched him head back and inform Gareth and the girls.

  With Trent leading the way, they went to the grocery store first. The doors opened when they stepped on the rubber pads—and the sound seemed to echo for miles. More birds flew out of the opening, making everyone jump. Inside the store, fluorescent lighting flickered overhead while small birds swooped among the steel trusses.

  Seffy found herself scanning the floor for blood as she followed Malone, Lani, and Jared toward the frozen food section. Trent and the others went to the opposite side of the store. Lani had a small shopping basket over her arm that she filled with sealed snack foods as they came across them.

  As Seffy scanned aisle after aisle, nothing made sense. If something bad had happened, why weren't the shelves empty, the place looted? Did Montana survivalists already have bomb shelters stuffed to the gills with food, not needing to bother with one last pre-apocalyptic grocery trip? She had a terrible suspicion the cash registers still had money in them, too.

  A heavy flapping sound made everyone freeze.

  “Oh, my God.”

  It was Addison's voice from several aisles over. Then the sound of retching. Malone hustled around an end cap and down toward the meat department. They heard him skid to a stop. He hurried back and put up his hand to stop the rest of them.

  Jared muscled past and looked down the aisle where the others were. They heard his voice after a moment. “Is...was that human?”

  “Okay, we're leaving now.” Trent. “Gareth, help your friend.”

  Malone looked where Seffy and Lani stood pressed up against boxes of cereal. “I'm glad you didn't see that,” he said. “Let's go.”

  She wasn't sure if her imagination was more vivid than the real thing. Faintness assaulted her and she stumbled. Malone grabbed her arm to steady her. When she made it to the jeep, she sagged against the fender, and watched Gareth help Addison out of the store. She was crying, while the others girls had their hands pressed against their mouths.

  Lani put her basket of food in the back of the vehicle, then went to Addison to comfort her. Trent approached Malone, angling his body to include Seffy.

  “What did that?” Malone asked in his deep voice.

  “Looked like some kind of animal attack.”

  “What was the flapping sound?” Seffy ventured.

  Trent's mouth was a thin, white line. “Vultures.”

  “Oh,” she said faintly, sorry she'd asked.

  “Dirty birds,” Cynthia seethed. “Filthy dirty birds.”

  Seffy stared at the brunette in confusion, a deepening dizziness making her lose focus. She grabbed onto the side of the jeep to steady herself.

  “What I want to know is how bloodstains got on the floor in the disco while we were asleep.” Trent leaned against the jeep.

  “You're sure they weren't there before?” Malone said.

  Trent glanced at Seffy, his mirrored gaze inscrutable. “Positive. And the blood was fresh.”

  “So something was there...the same something that did that in the grocery store?”

  Seffy closed her eyes. “That was...fresh?”

  Malone cleared his throat. “You look a little green, princess. Better sit down.”

  Seffy didn't need any more encouragement. She sank to the ground against a tire and put her head between her knees. Images old and new filtered through her bewildered brain until she didn't know which end was sideways. Why was it no decision she made ever improved her life? She continually went from crap to craptastic. Maybe the compound would be safer than this.

  She heard Trent take a few steps away from the jeep.

  “Gareth and Jared, would you guys stay with the girls while Malone and I do a quick check of the mall?

  “We have to stay here?” Cynthia? “Maybe we could get free clothes if we come.”

  “They're 1980 clothes,” Eva snapped. “Don't be stupid.”

  Well, it was safe to say the mostly-happy gas had left everyone's systems. It was back to the usual grumbling, carping, and hostile behavior.

  Seffy heard Gareth argue with Trent about staying behind, but Malone was always armed and Trent had the other weapons. Gareth herded Addison and the girls over to where she sat.

  He plopped down next to her with a disgusted sigh. “Give a guy a gun and he thinks he rules the world.”

  Seffy wanted to keep it light. “Hey, don't be pouty about hanging with the chicks. That should be the dream job.”

  A smile tipped his lips. “That helps.”

  She looked up to see the girls clustered around her, Lani's arm around Addison. Jared stood a few feet off, his hands on his hips.

  “This sucks,” Cynthia said.

  No one said anything. There was no need, as her point was obvious. Seffy concentrated on not puking. Maybe she was hungry as she hadn't had breakfast or lunch. But how could she eat now...and she hadn't even seen what the vultures were...

  Don't go there.

  “Why don't you take those glasses off so I can see you?”

  Seffy looked up at Gareth and did as he asked. He studied her face for a few moments.

  “You're looking good lately.”

  She cast a nervous glance Addison's way, but the redhead seemed not to notice the comment. “Oh, thanks.”

  Gareth smiled. “I'm having a hard time remembering what's been going on at the compound. But you seem to be improving, so it couldn't have been that bad.”

  “They were doping the air, trying to control behavior. That's not an improvement.”

  “They were? How did you find out?”

  Seffy twisted her hands together. “I...overheard Eugene talking about it.”

  “So did it? Control behavior?”

  “It made people...drop their inhibitions, which I don't think was the outcome the compound was going for.”

  Gareth scrubbed his head. “I wish I could remember specifics. I just have images...and they're not so great.”

  “It's the reason Addison was cutting herself,” she whispered. “Trust me, it was bad.”

  He glanced at their friend, who now lay with her head in Lani's lap, her eyes closed. “So how were your...inhibitions dropped?”

  Seffy desperately wished she had the sunglasses on as her face burst into flame. “I'm...confused just like everyone else.”

  Gareth studied her for a moment. “I'm guessing there were negative side effects?”

  “Very negative. People were starting to kill each other.”

  “God.”

  “That's when we decided to go.”

  “You and Trent.”

  “And Malone, Lani and ultimately you and the others.”

  “So how were you able to make the judgment that things were bad enough to leave the compound in the first place?”

  Seffy stared at him. “I don't know...” she said slowly. “Maybe
the drug affected different people differently.”

  “Maybe your Frankenstein body chemistry made you able to fight it.”

  “Gee, thanks. But yeah, maybe.” So what accounted for Trent's awareness? Could he have been immune also? Was it possible that the last two weeks had been based on more than laughing gas? Seffy closed her eyes, sick with longing. When could she touch him again? Feel his arms around her?

  “GET IN THE JEEPS NOW!”

  Trent's loud voice made her jump, along with his tone. Gareth scrambled to his feet and hauled her up. Before she got her balance, people were piling in the vehicles.

  “Drive, Seffy!”

  She saw Trent burst past the broken mall door and race to the other jeep. Malone followed, heading for her. She clambered into the driver's seat and started the engine. Trent's jeep lurched forward, leaving her in a cloud of dust as she struggled with the gear shift. Suddenly, she was lifted up and over the seat. Landing hard on her backside in the back seat, she saw Malone climbing behind the wheel and gunning the gas pedal. Suddenly they were off. As they gained speed, she sucked in lungfuls of air, concentrating on looking straight ahead.

  No way in hell would she look back to see what was chasing after them.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  They drove until dark on a road that hadn't been traveled on in some time if the dried out ruts were any indication. Seffy was thankful she was no longer expected to wrestle with the gear shift. Malone obviously knew what he was doing. Now the question was, did anyone know where they were going? And what was this new thing they were running from?

  She leaned forward. “What did you and Trent see back there?”

  Malone didn't answer right away. “We didn't actually see it,” he yelled over the engine. “We heard it and saw the bloody carnage it caused. That was enough for us.”

  Seffy leaned back, more demoralized than ever. Why couldn't there be sparkly faeries? Fluffy bunnies or loose-skinned puppies? Why did things here have to be bitey and cause carnage?

  Lani passed out snacks to everyone at dusk but everyone only ate half-heartedly. Seffy nibbled on a pepperoni stick, which didn't ease the nausea of being tossed around in the back of the jeep. She looked out at the last wisps of green and pink edging behind the ridge line, mixed with her coiling breath. Where would they stop to get out of the elements? Away from things that went bite in the night? She had no choice but to snuggle against Gareth for warmth. He had his arms around her and Addison. Lani wore Malone's coat where she sat in the front seat next to him.

  “Are we there yet?” Addison grumbled.

  “Depends on where 'there' is,” Gareth answered.

  As the miles passed, Seffy squinted into the darkness and thought she saw lights.

  “Do you see that?” Gareth asked.

  “Yes. But the question is, is it a bad or good thing?”

  Trent turned his jeep toward the lights. As they neared, Seffy could see a row of four street lights shining down what looked like a new neighborhood under construction.

  “There must be a town nearby if there are houses all the way out here,” Gareth said, leaning forward.

  Hopefully it was a town with nice people and not...dirty...vulturey...chasing things.

  Trent and Malone turned down a bumpy road covered in reddish dirt obviously churned up by earth-movers. Three sprawling homes lined one side of the street in various stages of completion. One at the end had a Realtor sign in the front yard—a yard which mostly consisted of construction debris. The sign had a bold SOLD sticker over it. The houses were all dark, so apparently no buyer had moved in yet.

  Trent stopped the jeep, jumped out and jogged to Malone. “Let's try here for the night, at least until we can find where we are on the map.”

  Malone nodded and joined him on a quick recon of the property. A few minutes later, they were pulling up into the yard and unloading gear, moving quickly in the cold. Seffy looked up at the house—most of which was hidden by shadow. She didn't like how the front dormers reminded her of eyes staring down at her.

  Malone went inside with Trent's gun and flashlight and checked the house more thoroughly. Seffy could see the light bobbing from room to room from the curtain-less windows. For some reason she liked the idea of Malone's janky safe house better than this place. A few minutes later, he came out.

  “There's a basement with a locking door.”

  No one needed any more encouragement. Soon everyone was filing through the front door. Seffy was second to the last with Trent in the rear. She wasn't as excited to go inside and was grateful for Trent's presence nearby. The living room lay shrouded in shadows, lit only by the shine of the streetlight coming through the front window. Her heart began an abrupt palpitation as she walked further in. She frowned as she scanned the space. Bare sheet rock lined the walls and the exposed sub-flooring was beneath her feet. On one corner of the room was a giant roll of carpet and padding waiting to be installed.

  “Are you okay?” Trent whispered behind her.

  She made some incoherent reply as her steps took her to the kitchen. It was bare of appliances and boxes of tiles were stacked on top of the rough wood counters. Her unease increased as she saw the coved wall design over where the stove would go.

  “Sef.”

  A hand touched her arm, startling her. She turned and saw Trent, his eyes black in the shadows.

  “Seriously, are you okay?”

  “I...I don't like it here.”

  “It's just for the night, until we get our bearings.”

  Seffy forced one foot in front of the other as she followed the others down the bare concrete basement steps. A naked bulb illuminated the space, casting garish light, making everyone look demonic. Her steps slowed as a suffocating feeling of claustrophobia took over.

  “Hey, sweetie,” Lani said, taking her hand and drawing her over to where the other girls were sitting on a stack of sheet rock. “You look like a ghost.”

  Seffy perched on the edge of the cold boards and clenched her hands in her lap. She was vaguely aware of the guys pouring over a large map and Jared handing out snacks to everyone. Seffy closed her eyes, struggling to fight the sensation of a disjointed reality. A buzzing soon sounded in her ears.

  “Whoa, the buyer has already started moving his crap in.” Eva's voice. “How stupid is that? Someone could steal it.”

  “Try a little self-restraint,” Jared said.. “You shouldn't be pawing through other people's boxes.”

  “Like you even know what self-restraint is,” Cynthia snarled.

  “Oh well, it's just dumb kitchen stuff anyway.” Eva sounded bored.

  Cynthia laughed. “What a hideous clock! I don't even know if it's 70s. More like 60s kitsch.”

  “I hate owls,” Eva said with a shudder. “One attacked my hair when I was at my grandparent's farm. They're such nasty, dirty birds.”

  “Dirty birds,” Jared said with a guffaw. “Give a hoot! Don't pollute! Remember that stupid commercial?”

  Seffy's eyes snapped open and she twisted around to look at what they were talking about. Cynthia held up a clock decorated with a caricatured owl, complete with huge, staring eyes. She gazed at in disbelief as the room grew dim.

  ***

  Trent looked up from the map to see what the girls were chattering about and saw Seffy slump to the floor. Lani cried out in alarm and kneeled at her side. Trent saw Seffy's face and hands twitching slightly. What the hell?

  “Gareth!”

  Gareth turned and stared while Lani cradled Seffy's head in her lap, making soothing noises. “What the—?” His eyes widened when he saw the clock. He spun around, scanning the basement, then looked back at Lani. “We have to get her out of here!”

  Trent could only watch helplessly as Gareth scooped Seffy into his arms and headed for the stairs. “What's going on?”

  But Lani ignored him, rushing past to follow Gareth. He looked at the others.

  Cynthia lifted the apparent object of upset. “What
's her problem? It's just a clock.”

  Trent ran up the stairs and followed Lani outside. Gareth sat in the front yard dirt with Seffy, who's unfocused eyes and perceptible trembling shook Trent to the core. He stood watching, overwhelmed by helplessness.

  Lani approached him, sniffing back tears. “She'll be okay,” she said breathlessly. “It's not physiological. It's just stress-related. It'll be fine in a minute.”

  Trent wasn't sure if she was talking to him or herself.

  Gareth's pasty face and shimmering eyes almost alarmed him more. He was breathing like he'd run a marathon and cursing loudly while Lani wrung her hands together.

  “What can I do?” Trent said, barely keeping a leash on his own emotions.

  Gareth focused on him. “We can't stay here tonight.”

  “Oh, my God,” Lani said, staring up at the house in dismay.

  “I can't believe I didn't notice it before,” Gareth said.

  Notice what? Trent stared at Seffy's deathly white skin and at the heaving clouds of her condensed breath spilling into the cold night air. Finally, her movements slowed and she went limp in Gareth's lap, her head rolling to one side.

  The others trailed out of the house, Cynthia still holding the clock. When Gareth looked up and saw it, he lifted Seffy into Lani's lap and stood up. Stalking across the yard, he grabbed the clock out of Cynthia's hand and hurled it against the side of the house. The plastic cover shattered into slivered pieces, flying all over the driveway. Then he stomped on what was left of it.

  Trent watched in shock as Gareth braced himself against the side of the house then began banging his fists against the bricks. Trent ran up and shoved him away from the house.

  Gareth stumbled and collapsed onto the ground, clutching his head in his bloodied hands. “I didn't believe her. She thought she saw him, but I didn't believe her.”