by Poss, Bryant
“Sounds like a car,” Cillian stood up straight now, listening for the sound again.
“No car’s going to sound like that from in here. We’re too far away from the road to hear just any car,” she let go of the cabinet altogether and stood looking at him, thinking. “I’ll take the flashlight. Remember, we don’t want anything or anyone outside to see that we’re in here.”
The echoing of the hallways was something that neither of them had fully gotten used to. Too much space and even more concrete, it made for the best acoustics, but it was unnerving at night with just what little moonlight got through the door windows at the ends of the halls. Lo cupped the light in her hand, giving them just enough to see their way, but they could make it by counting their footsteps at this point. This building was home. A rumble came from the direction of the front of the building, around the area Lo had cut the box to get the keys so long ago, it seemed.
“Definitely not a car,” Cillian whispered, and she gave him a nod. “Do we really want to move the tarps to look out that door?”
“No, we don’t,” she said, covering the light completely.
“Roof?” He whispered what she was already thinking.
“Roof,” turning toward him, nearly touching her nose to his. “But you stay low and behind me.”
The roof access had been yet another find by Cillian, who was far more familiar with the layout of a school building than most kids. The majority of students see a locked door, or a constantly empty hallway, they ignore it, treat it as something useless to them. It blends into the wall or becomes the wall. Why bother with something you didn’t use or need? Or so you thought. Cillian paid attention. When the internet went down, which was often in school, he paid attention to where the maintenance people went to solve the issue. Fire alarm goes off and needs to be reset, he’s taking note. Air conditioner needs repairing from ceiling access, he was watching how they got to it. He paid attention to those locked doors and empty hallways. The Internet didn’t run on fairydust and the climate control wasn’t angels’ breath. These things had to be maintained weekly, daily usually, and he never let that slip far from his mind.
Lo was thinking about how uncharacteristic a boy—a person Cillian was for his age. She’d learned a lot by talking to him, such as how much she enjoyed an inquisitive mind to match her own, an open mind. He was a sponge to her. Perhaps they were for each other, and she realized how much his company meant to her, and the dependence that was developing with it. This latter part made her feel uneasy. In the world, the human world as it was before, she made a concerted effort to never depend on anyone. Never let anyone close enough that she needed them to function. But this world was different. She had not had someone who so much depended on her. House cats and daylilies didn’t qualify. Never had anyone needed her, at least not in such a serious situation. There had been lovers who’d offered to cut off fingers for her to stay with them. She assumed they’d been joking, but a couple of them . . . well. She’d had that sort of dependence but not this, and as a result she’d come to depend on him. Perhaps she needed him to need her. Could it be so basic? Was it selfishness or genuine humanity? Certainly, she didn’t think herself devoid of such a trait. She wasn’t heartless, just had never—”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, bud, just lost in thought for a moment,” she looked down at him from the top of the ladder and smiled, allowing the full light of the flashlight to shine in this windowless area.
“You want me to hold the .38?”
“Nah, you just stay behind me. There’s no way anyone will see us up here at night, but famous last words, you know?”
“Huh?”
“We’re gonna be careful.”
She lifted the access, grimacing at the squeaking from the hinges, then lifted herself up on the flat roof. They crouched down, making sure to stay low enough that they couldn’t see the street, and as they approached the raised section of the wall at the edge of the building, they opted to belly crawl until able to peek over the edge. She held her hand up for him to wait.
There was enough moon to display the scene below, but it wasn’t easy at first. The cold wind played with her hair, forcing her to pull it back, but it felt good on her face. She stared at the road for several minutes, waiting on movement, waiting on anything to give her some indication of what was going on. Just as patience reached its end, there was the turn of an engine, the sounds of doors opening and closing. Smoke billowed from the exhaust of the diesel engine, and it was then that Lo could see the armored truck. First the headlights came on then sidelights. After a moment, she saw the outline of two men dragging a third into the rear of the truck, but nothing more could be made out.
“Look over,” she said to Cillian mostly so he’d stop tapping her back. “Slowly.”
They both watched as the truck, a military vehicle was the only logical guess, sputtered and limped along the road, finally making it to the intersection then turning right. Other figures limped after them, pokies by the sound, and Lo watched carefully for any spazzos that may be among them. From what they could tell, they used scent to track their prey, and she wanted to keep this place a secret for as long as possible.
“What do you think they were doing?” he asked, still watching the road.
“I couldn’t tell, but it looked like they were dragging something to the back of the truck. Maybe somebody, maybe somebody they were chasing.”
“Or helping.”
“Looked like weird help to me,” she said, turning to get up then she stopped. “Hold on.”
There was movement on the other side of the road, too fast for poky and too calm for spazzo. It was the kind of movement that easily attracted attention these days, human movement. Two figures emerged, both small, both confused. First, they ran down the road a few yards then turned and ran up it.
“Those look like people,” Cillian hissed.
“Shhh!” she snapped at him.
“Children,” he hissed more forcefully, and she turned to look at him.
“It’s no coincidence they show up now. They probably jumped off that truck, or they were at least running from it. They’re most likely what was being searched for.”
“So what, Lo, I don’t care what their story is. We leave them out there, and they’re dead.”
“Hey, I’m not being the villain here. We’ve got to be careful. You know of another place as great as this to settle in? Because that’s what we’re going to have to do as soon as we’re discovered. That’s assuming we survive long enough to find something else.”
“Are we really having this discussion!”
Her jaws clenched as she gave a hard exhalation.
“No,” she said, and pushed his head down. “Get back to the access and wait for me at the bottom of the ladder. Don’t ask any questions.”
She duck-walked as fast as she could to the corner of the building, as close to the road as she could get then picked up a handful of gravel from the rooftop, tossing it in the general direction of the figures. Waving her hand back and forth in front of the light, she did the best she could to signal them. It worked, but the figures just stood facing her direction without moving. They were whispering.
“There’s no discussion,” she said as loudly as she dared. “You stay down there, you’re dead. There are spazzos and pokies all around here. Follow my light. You see that? Follow the way I’m waving it. I’ll take you around to the most concealed way into this place. Now go.”
“Cillian!” She stopped at the access on her way around, shining the light down at him. “Go to the book room, but don’t open the door yet. I’ll be there in a minute!”
She traced a path around the side of the building, occasionally telling them to stop and be quiet while she blocked the light whenever she thought she heard something. Eventually the method got them around the building to the trash bin.
“Climb up on that and crawl through the window. Be careful. Once you get in, just wait until
we open the door.”
“But Doug,” one of them, a golden-haired girl, said it just above a whisper.
“Who’s Doug!” Lo found herself yelling now, clenching her jaws with lack of patience.
“He helped us, but we couldn’t find him.”
“Get inside!” Lo yelled, gripping the edge of the wall as if trying to break it off. It was foolish to yell, and she knew it.
There wasn’t time to consider for too long. If someone was out there, he would need to be spotted soon, otherwise this man who helped these children could go in any number of directions. The road was the most logical place to look. Keeping low, she crept back around to the front facing the road, using her vantage point to see as best she could. Easing her eyes over the edge, she half stood up once she saw there was no movement. Her heartbeat was her timer at this point, and she wasn’t about to let it go too long out here staring into the darkness.
Seconds turned into minutes, and there was the sound of a shout on the wind, a man yelling. Feet dragged along the asphalt, and Lo saw what could only be a poky come onto the road. She turned to leave, but something stayed her, a silhouette came into view just behind the poky, one moving with a brain, with a purpose. The poky turned around and began moving toward the figure, confirming Lo’s suspicion, and she watched what appeared to be a man for a few more seconds. He began moving away from the poky, but he was obviously looking for something.
The situation was a sensitive one. If she yelled out to the man, she gave away her position, the sanctuary they’d found and secured gone in a matter seconds. He could very well be one of the men from the truck looking for the children. If she didn’t and let him go on looking, the very person who had helped the children would move on never knowing what happened to them and most likely die himself. Time passed, and she eventually decided to bring the flashlight up over the wall, cupping the beam with her hand. Flashing it on the ground in front of the building once, twice. The man finally paid attention and moved closer to the building, to confirm that what he saw was real. At least, that’s what Lotus hoped. As he approached she saw that he didn’t appear to be armed.
“Doug?” She hissed, unable to let this man go if he’d helped the children. There was no one else with him. He didn’t appear threatening, so she took the chance, the foolishness of it choking her.
“Yes, yes,” he hissed back, looking around. Lo let out a sigh of relief.
“I’ve got a gun on you,” she shone the light on him from above, and he looked up, a man scared and desperate. “If you try anything you’re dead.”
“Yes, of course. I’m looking for the children.”
“There are no children anymore, not in this world.” She said it before she could think, not realizing why it had even come out. “Follow the light. I’ll get you to them.”
Circling around like a playful kitten, Doug finally began following the light given to him, but Lo slowed down whenever she thought she heard a noise, much the same way she’d done with the others. The icy grass crunched underneath his feet while Lo’s own boots skittered across the gravel-covered roof, but there was something else, another sound that disrupted the rhythm of their own movement. Cupping the light, leaving Doug in the dark, breathing through her nose, Lotus looked down at her feet and focused on sound more than anything else. In the back of her mind, she was thankful at least that the man knew enough not to ask what was going on, not to make noise. Footsteps now, other footsteps. Once she was sure, she clicked on the light behind where she knew Doug to be.
“There are two pokies behind you,” she whispered. “It’s not a problem. Just don’t let them grab you.”
The pace quickened, and Lo led the man, once again thinking of him as a playful cat following a beam that can’t be caught, and that’s when she coughed out her next words.
“Doug, stop!” trying to get the poky to look at her, to not notice him, but it paid no attention. Ahead of Doug, with shoulder rubbing against the brick wall, came a different poky. This was what used to be a man, probably one the children had missed only by mere feet. The beam of the light only allowed so much for the eye. Doug stopped and stumbled back.
“No!” Lo shouted, placing the beam on the two behind him. That’s when the sweep of the light caught the other coming from a third direction, coming from the direction opposite the wall. This poky was small, no more than a child. Lo’s eyes darted back and forth along with the light, trying desperately to figure out what to do. There was nothing. Placing the beam on the smallest one now, the one approaching the building, she made her best guess.
“Run past that one!” She yelled desperately. “Knock it down and get away from them. I’ll wait here for you to circle back! Or try to get back to the building at first light!”
Her yelling had brought them. All she could think was how the situation had been handled. Her yelling at the children had attracted the pokies, but she’d fired no shots at least. There was nothing as loud as a gunshot to bring the other living around, the ones with brains. Those men were still out there, not far. If she used the pistol now, there was a small chance of putting down the pokies, but no chance at all that the living wouldn’t hear. They were all living. And they were all to be feared. The only thing left in the world that produced no fear was the dead. The dead lay where they fell from the infection, from where they took their last breath, but everything else lived, and those who lived were the ones to be afraid of whether they had coherent thoughts or not. Sadly, the ones who thought may be the worst of all. The immunes may be more dangerous than the rest of the world. Watching this man try to elude these mindless creatures now, these used-to-be people, Lo found herself more worried about drawing the attention of those who drove the truck by far. This thought was sadder than all else.
Doug crashed into the much smaller poky like a running back only yards from the end zone, and Lo allowed a brief smile, the briefest of smiles until she saw him go down, his screams bouncing off the brick wall as he tried to pry the hands off, as he tried to get out of its grip, but just the sheer strength of it seemed too much for him. He screamed as if he were stuck under a car, and he squirmed just as futilely. Lo kept the beam on him. Her yelling had brought them. His yelling would bring the others. She kept the beam on him as the other pokies fell on his body. His arm bent back and broke, the sound like a dry branch. A leg was next as if they were trying to dismember him before anything else. Gritting her teeth, Lo pointed the .38 at him. At least she could do that. At least she could take away his pain. But she dared not. His screams were loud, but nothing would match a gunshot, especially elevated from her position. In the moment it took her to consider, his silence answered for her. The pokies covered him now, and she clicked the light off, sinking onto the roof with her back against the wall.
The distant rumble of the diesel engine, like a sick animal in the woods, came to her ears on the wind, and she turned her head back toward the road. They were downwind of the truck. That at least would help with the noise. Her heart was in her throat, but there was no time for it now. Hearing the constant grunting of the pokies, she made her way back to the wall, keeping herself low. The gurgle of the engine became unmistakable as she neared the wall, the lights slowly growing visible.
“Stop here!” she heard someone yell from the truck, surprise filling her at the idea of a man being so bold as to yell in this world. Just as she had. “Kill the engine!”
Pokies that were never far from the truck began encircling the giant machine, pawing at it stupidly as if it would submit. The moon was uncovered now, and she watched closely to see what would happen. After a moment, a figure emerged from the top of the cab and looked about with hands to his eyes, perhaps with night vision goggles. She crouched lower. Several minutes passed before she felt comfortable enough to look over.
“I’m telling you they’re here!” It sounded like the voice came from the top of the truck. “They had to have jumped out where he did!”
“Well there’s nothing for
it now!” another voice, deeper. It sounded like it came from behind the truck, but she could only guess at this distance. “We’ll have to wait ‘till morning to check.”
“There’ll be nothing left in the morning!”
“We’ll have to settle for nothing then!” the deep voice yelled with little patience. Evidently he had the final word because the engine roared to life shortly afterward.
Lo sank back down to a seated position contemplating how she would proceed. Nothing was in her control. That’s all she could think. Whoever can control this place, this new world as it is, wins. The situation with Doug escalated quickly, just as quickly as with Ben, but they had been pokies this time, slow moving, brainless. But so strong, even the thing that used to be a child. Doug couldn’t get past it, but it was the only logical decision. It was his only chance. Except you brought them with your yelling. Enough of that. There was no way to anticipate what would happen. Now there were these others to worry about, the ones in the truck. How many of them were out there? This was a dangerous game indeed. It’s bad enough worrying about the infected, but at least they’re easily kept at bay. The normals, the Immunes were another matter entirely. It would take far more than a wrought iron fence and locks to keep them out. Good fences make good neighbors. But, as her father used to say, locks are for people you know. Strangers need something stronger. She placed her hand on the .38.
Shaking her head free of these thoughts, she made her way back to the access. Cillian would be waiting on her to let them in.
“The world’s been decimated by some ravaging plague, and the biggest worry is going to be opportunists?” she found herself talking out loud, thinking about the men in the truck. “People are just assholes.”
9
The room had gotten considerably warmer from the makeshift flower pot heaters, so Cillian blew two of them out, leaving three to heat the room. Once locked inside the shop class that was their home, Lo stood at the door, two battery-powered lamps rigged to a car battery lighting the room to a dull glow, and assessed the two new arrivals. A girl and boy, the latter younger than the former, stood shaking in the light. Lotus didn’t know whether to threaten them or comfort them. They looked like they’d been through all nine circles of hell. Absolutely filthy, their bodies seemed to be at odds with gravity every passing minute. The boy looked thin but not to the point of starvation. He had been eating, although probably not enough. The light was poor, but she could see the sunken eyes, darkness underneath, with skin that made the face like a veiled skull. The girl looked to have been fed better. They were shaking and scared, clinging to each other in desperation. It was Cillian who could stand it no longer.