'I'm sorry Dom, I didn't mean to hurt you,' Violet cried.
He knelt down to her and looked her straight in the eyes.
'Don't ever be sorry, you did well and before you know it you'll be able to take on the corpses,' he smiled at her proudly.
Violet smiled brightly at Dom then took off one of the bobbles that she'd been wearing on her wrist.
'I want you to put this on, that way even when you're out I'll be with you.'
Her level of emotional understanding astounded me, she was so bright and caring for such a little girl.
'Come on, let's get back. I think that's enough for today,' Dom said as he put the pink butterfly bobble on his wrist.
As Violet walked back to the lab with the others, I stayed to talk with Dom. The sun was shining brightly, there was a subtle breeze but it did nothing to cool the air.
'You're a good teacher,' I told him smiling.
'Thanks, but I'm just winging it you know,' he replied. 'No one would ever guess,' I laughed.
'What's on your mind?' He asked.
'I was just thinking, when we leave I think Violet should stay here,' I told him kindly.
'I've been thinking the same, but I don't want to leave her alone. I'm all she's got now,' he answered sadly.
I put my arm on his shoulders and smiled gently at him.
'She's not alone, she has all of us. Morgan, Faye and Finn will take good care of her,' I replied softly.
'I'll think about it,' was all he said. I knew how he felt about her, despite Violet not having been here for long, Dom really had become her father. I wondered if maybe Dom should stay behind as well, better for him to be with her, than to be on the road constantly worrying.
'Is everyone ready to go?' Frankie asked.
'Yeah, just a minute. You lot get the cars, I'll be right there,' Dom replied.
'Before you go, just do me a favour and don't use all the petrol. It took Finn a good while to get those cars,' Morgan told us.
'Yes ma'am,' Delilah joked.
'Go on, get, the lot of you,' Morgan laughed. We all piled out, Dom stayed behind a few minutes to talk to Violet. We stood outside waiting for Dom to catch up, I felt nervous about the mission but knew we needed to go. Rowena, Frankie, Jensen, Dom and I would go in one car while Tessa, Delilah and Finn would go in the other. I wasn't overly familiar with the different types of cars, but when Dom came out and saw the black Jaguar his face lit up.
'Sorry to sound like a kid, but dibs on the Jaguar,' he smiled.
'Ha, I figured the old man would want that car,' Finn replied jokingly.
'Cheeky shit,' Dom laughed.
Finn tossed Dom the keys and we all climbed in the cars.
'You sure you know how to drive stick kid?' I heard Delilah ask Finn.
'Yeah I'm good, don't worry I'm not going to crash.'
'Our first stop is the shopping centre, you'll need to park on Berry lane near the minster,' I said as we set off.
'Got it, I assume Finn knows this?' Frankie asked.
'Yes he does, we need to be careful not run into anything we can't handle,' Rowena's voice was soft with a hint of worry.
'It does strike me as odd that we have been so close to this city yet we've never had any trouble with the dead,' Jensen replied sounding more worried than I had intended to.
Dom thoroughly enjoyed driving the Jag, I not seen him smile like that before. It was as though all his fears and worries had disappeared, he looked like a normal, carefree man. It didn't take us long to get to Halifax, I was glad to find that there was not a walker in sight. It made me feel optimistic about our mission, though I would remain cautious. We all got out the cars and stood for a moment taking in our surroundings, it seemed quiet here, too quiet.
'I think for now we need to stick together, I'd rather us be safe and take longer than try to rush back home and get into trouble,' I informed them.
'Seems like a reasonable plan,' Delilah agreed. We walked vigilantly towards the shopping centre in silence, I had noticed that lately the others had been quieter than usual. I knew that we all had a lot on our minds, it would not be too long before we began the journey of a lifetime. I realized that we wouldn't all make it back, I looked around at everyone wondering if I could figure out who would survive such a mission.
I knew that Finn would, he was too resourceful and fast to get himself into something he couldn't get out of. Frankie and Jensen would survive no problem. I wasn't sure about Brooke, she'd never been on her own and I worried what would happen if we ever got separated. She was smart enough but I felt that her neurotic mind would let her down, she was often too fretful and could become quite panicked about things.
When I first met her I would have said that Tessa could make it through, but since her dad died she hadn't been the same. It was like she had lost the will to live, she didn't speak often but when she did her voice was flat and lifeless.
I honestly didn't know if she would survive such a harrowing journey, looking at her as we walked she seemed deep in thought. Her face showed no trace of emotion. I had tried to talk to her numerous times but she said she was fine, and no amount of pushing her would help. All I could do was hope that she would be alright in the end.
Finn and Delilah walked ahead scouring the area, they'd just gone round the corner in the car park we were walking through, when they ran back and gestured for us to stop.
'There's a whole herd of them in the streets,' Delilah said panicked.
'How many?' Frankie asked fearfully.
'Eighty, maybe more, it's too many for us to take on,' Finn replied.
'Take another look around, to see if there's a way in without being seen,' I told them. 'No problem,' Delilah replied.
'But be careful, for goodness sake,' I said worryingly.
'Yes ma'am,' Fin replied smiling. I waited patiently for them to come back, I hoped that they'd be alright. I promised Morgan I wouldn't let anything happen to him, and Delilah had become one of us, I thought of her the same way I thought of Frankie and Jensen. I had spoken to her a few days ago, I made sure she knew how much she meant to all of us. She was one of my kids, and if anything happened to her I'd be devastated.
'You think their alright?' Frankie asked.
'I'm sure their fine, Finn can take care of himself and Delilah seems more than capable,' Rowena smiled.
'Oh she's capable alright, I'm pretty sure she could even best me in a fight, just don't tell her I said that,' Frankie laughed.
'Your secrets safe with me,' Rowena replied smiling.
It felt like hours for Finn and Delilah to return, though it was only ten minutes or so.
'We've found a way in, there's ropes hanging down. We can climb up them to get in, without the dead seeing us,' Finn informed us.
'We have no idea how long those ropes have been there, the people who used them could have picked this place clean or they could still be inside,' Frankie said looking thoughtful.
'That's true, but we came here to find supplies, it would be a waste if we didn't check,' I responded politely. We stood for a few moments to discuss our options, most of us were happy to carry on with the plan, it was only Rowena and Tessa that disagreed. Though they still went along with my plan without complaint, Finn and Frankie climbed the ropes first.
The rest of us stood nervously as we waited for them to give us the signal that it was safe. As each moment went by, we became more anxious, Tessa stood biting her nails I could tell she just wanted to bolt. Jensen started pacing as he got increasingly worried, I was calm. Something inside told me that they were alright. After what felt like forever, they peered over the wall and ushered for us to climb. Once we had reached the top, they gestured for us to be quiet.
'The people who put the ropes up are still here,' Frankie said in a hushed voice.
'We checked the doors and make sure there weren't any biters and we heard them,' Finn told us.
'How many?' I asked.
'We could only hear a few,
three or four,' Frankie replied quietly. 'There could be some more people in the other buildings though,' Tessa suddenly piped up.
'You're right, this isn't a decision that I'm willing to make alone. What do you think we should do?' I asked them all. I could see how nervous the others were, even Finn who was normally quite sure of himself looked worried. I waited patiently for them to decide, I wasn't going to make them do something they didn't want to do. I did hope that they would choose to go ahead with the plan, we'd come this far after all.
'I think we need to look elsewhere for now, the last thing we need is running into trouble or have them follow us back to the lab,' Rowena told us. The others felt the same, we looked on the map for places nearby. There was a retail park not too far from here, that had some places we could check. We crept back down the ropes and back to the cars. It only took a few minutes to get to the retail park, I had never been to the city of Halifax before and while I'd never been a fan of cities I had to admit that Halifax was a nice place. Some of the buildings were quite old and beautiful, I could see the appeal for those who had once lived here.
I was thankful that the rest of our mission was uneventful, there was a few corpses in the shops we visited but nothing we couldn't handle. We gathered what food and weapons we could, the hardware store had been particularly fruitful.
On the way back we stopped at a few petrol stations to get some diesel for the generator, Morgan would have enough fuel to last over a year at this rate. The sun was just starting to set as we arrived back at the lab, I was relieved to be back and knew Dom felt the same.
'Finn sure is driving fast,' I said smiling.
'He's enjoying himself, and so he should. This world is far harsher on kids, they need some time to relax and have some fun,' Dom replied.
'You're very right, it's good to see him happy,' I told him. As we unloaded the cars, Violet came running out with Brooke by her side. The smile on her face warmed my heart, how rare it was to see such joy and happiness on a little girls face. It was for little children like Violet, that we were going on our mission in the first place. I wanted the children of this world to have a chance, a chance to be happy and live some kind of normal life. I knew in my heart, I would never give up on our mission. I'd fight until my last breath, to rid the world of this plague that had cost us all so much.
Chapter 11
Frankie
There wasn't much time for resting or relaxing, we were all busy doing our part to prepare for our mission. We had told Violet that she wouldn't be coming with us. She wasn't happy about being away from Dom, but she accepted it without making a fuss. Morgan and Faye had been working tirelessly to make more of the vaccine, Finn was usually out scouting the little villages nearby for anything we could use in our journey.
Tessa didn't really speak much, not even to Dom. We asked her if she wanted to stay behind but she simply said no, I was growing increasingly more concerned about her. None of us could figure out how to help her, so we left her to it. Dom was still training Violet everyday, I had to admit she was getting good. Jade and Rowena spent most of their time together, it was strange, after being her daughter for this last year, you'd think I'd feel jealous about Rowena being back. Yet all I felt was happiness, I was glad Jade had her blood daughter back, though I had not had a chance to really talk to Rowena yet. If anyone deserved a miracle, it was Jade. Delilah was the same as always, cheerful, kind. She had also taken to helping train Violet, when Dom wasn't up to it.
As for Jensen and I, we'd been arguing a lot lately. For some reason he'd become all protective of me. He didn't want me going out on runs, and would insist that I eat more than everyone else. He was driving me nuts, I felt like I wanted to slap him one. I hadn't told anyone, but the last little town we went to before we lived in the bunker, I found some contraceptive pills and had started taking them. Luckily there was enough to last me a good few months, though I was starting to run low. When we went back to Halifax, I'd be sure to get some more.
It felt strange looking at the calender, it was Monday the 25thApril.
'You lot all ready to go?' I asked after breakfast.
'Yup, I'm ready,' Delilah chirped.
'Me too,' Rowena replied.
'Alright then, lets head out,' I told them.
'Do be careful,' Morgan said to Finn.
'Don't worry mum,' he smiled.
We headed out to the cars, we'd used some of the petrol to refuel the cars so we had plenty.
'You want the Jag again, Dom?' Finn asked him.
'Definitely,' he smiled. We all piled in the cars again, Brooke had stayed behind again. To be honest I was glad she did, Brooke was much better suited to looking after Violet than she was in combat. I hoped that the people who were at the shopping centre before, weren't there now.
'Do you think it'll be clear this time?' Jensen asked, as if reading my thoughts.
'I hope so,' was all I could say. It didn't take us long to get there, the weather was warm and the streets appeared to be quiet. Then again it seemed quiet last time, until we got to there. As we did before, we got out the cars and walked to the shopping centre. Nothing much had changed, the corpses still littered the front entrance and the ropes still hung down the side of the building.
Much to Jensen's annoyance I climbed up first with Finn and Delilah, we needed to know if the people were still there. As I climbed on to the roof, I sat down as I waited for the others to catch up.
'You think it'll be clear this time?' Delilah asked.
'I don't know, I hope so,' I replied.
We opened the door on the roof, and walked down a flight of stairs to listen in. We heard nothing as we went down, we stood for a few more minutes before deciding to get the others.
'I think it's clear, Finn you should get the others while we stay here to keep a look out,' I told him.
'No problem, be back in a few minutes,' he answered.
As Finn walked back up the stairs, Delilah and I kept a listen out.
'You alright?' She asked suddenly.
'Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?'
'You and Jensen, its hard not to notice how different you two have been lately,' she said worryingly.
I sighed, I hadn't had a chance to talk to anyone about our problems. Mostly because I didn't see how anyone could help.
'I don't know what's gotten into him, he's just being all overprotective for some reason,' I told her sadly.
'Any idea why he's being like this?'
'Nope, and he's driving me crazy.'
'Want me to talk to him?' She asked kindly. 'No, he'll just get pissed off. Hopefully he'll calm down soon, it's probably just something he's going through. I can't blame him, he's lost a lot in the last year, and he's just worried about losing me as well,' I replied.
'Alright, but you need to talk I'm here,' she said concernedly. 'Thanks, I appreciate it.' A few minutes later we heard the others coming down the stairs, Jensen was first to reach where we were.
'You alright?' He asked worryingly.
'I'm fine,' I told him annoyed.
'I think we should split up, I want us to be in and out, fast. Just in case there are any people here,' Jade said.
'I'll take Finn, Delilah and Rowena,' I replied.
Jensen looked hurt that I didn't ask him along, but I didn't want his unnecessary worrying to get in the way.
'Alright then, everyone else, you're with me,' Jade told them. We set off in different directions, my group took the left side of the shopping centre while Jade's group took the right side. Our first stop, the pharmacy. We still had some medicine, but for a journey as big as ours, we needed a lot more. Not only that, I needed some more of the pill. Not that Jensen and I were likely to be doing anything any time soon.
'Rowena, can you take the aisle on the left.'
'Sure,' she smiled.
'Finn, middle one if you don't mind,' I said.
'Okie dokie,' he replied.
'And Delilah, I'd like you to take the far
right one.' She nodded, we all went down our aisles. I headed straight for where they kept all the strong medication. I pulled my knife out, keeping an eye out for walkers. I climbed over the counter, some of the medicine had been taken but there was still plenty here for us. I took all the leftover contraceptive pills there were, I had enough to last a few years. While sex was never high on the priority list, I certainly wanted to be responsible. Last thing we needed was a baby.
I put my pills in the small pocket of my backpack, I grabbed everything from laxatives to painkillers, to antibiotics and even some morphine. I opened the door to a small office to find a biter trapped underneath the desk, I quickly stabbed it before looking round. There was nothing in here of any use so I went back to find the others, I checked down Rowena's aisle first. I could see two corpses dead on the floor, she was at the very end of it looking at the cough medicine.
'Hey, I grabbed all the medication. There was still plenty,' I said happily.
'I'm just getting a few minor things,' she replied.
'You need any help?' I asked kindly. 'No I'm good, I'll meet you back at the entrance,' she told me. I went to find Finn next, Morgan was always fretful about him so I wanted to make sure he was alright. I saw three walkers he'd taken out on the floor, he too was at the end of the aisle. He was looking at some hair dye, I smiled guessing that it was for Faye.
'Did Faye ask you to get her some hair dye?' I asked smiling.
'Yeah, mum will be furious but Faye wanted a change,' he replied cheerfully.
'Is it still weird, being with your mum?'
'It is, but I'm still happy. I just wish I could've seen my dad again, before he died,' he said a little sadly.
'At least you've got your mum and sister.'
'That's true, I just know my mums going to go mad when I tell her I'm leaving with you,' he answered.
'Oh god, I can't wait to see her reaction,' I laughed.
'Ha, me neither. I picked up some toothpaste and toothbrushes, I know dental hygiene isn't a big importance to us, but I thought it would make a nice change,' he smiled.
'Good thinking kiddo.'
'Hey, I'm not a kid,' he whined.
Dead World Rising (Book 3): The Cure Page 11