by Radke, K. E.
“Right,” Heather said with a straight face. “Nothing to do with the fact that the man obviously loves you like a brother.”
“My offer stands,” Lincoln said quickly changing the subject. He turned and exited the room cursing Wyatt’s name.
Gloria woke up in a better mood. She believed the simple lies they fed her, and Lincoln hid in Noah’s room fearing he’d set off an awful memory from her past. Heather kept him updated as he checked the supplies in everyone’s pack. He made sure he put a walkie-talkie in each pack excepts Wyatt’s, since he’d be stuck with someone at all times on the journey home.
The door creaked and his head shot up anxiously. Jule crept inside but kept her eyes on the ground. She swung herself on the bed Lincoln was using as a table. To get his attention she said mischievously, “I heard a rumor.”
Somehow the girl figured out that he coveted information in the few days he’d been with them. Slowing his progress, Lincoln chose a stopping point and gave his undivided attention to her because she’d proven to be resourceful if you didn’t.
Every time he looked at her, he saw the terrified little girl trying to survive. It was the same concern he felt with Charlotte, and it irritated him that the emotion nagged at him constantly. The difference between the two girls was Jule didn’t want someone to look after her.
Right before his eyes she started to shed the thick layer she needed to keep everyone under control. The scared teenage girl refused to make eye contact and picked at a loose thread.
“You gonna tell me or should I keep packing?” Lincoln asked nonchalantly and raised an eyebrow.
Barely above a whisper she said, “I heard you’re leaving.”
Lincoln gave a sarcastic, surprised expression and said, “What gave it away? Me packing? Or the time I actually said everyone pack up we’re leaving?”
A nervous giggle bubbled out of her, and the sound startled him. He waited for a cynical remark that never came and did a double take of her. Trying to hide the glimpse of anger and frustration she couldn’t control, her eyes fell to the ground and burned holes in the floor.
“Jule,” the word was filled with anxious concern. He cleared his throat trying to get rid of it. She peered at him but shifted her eyes elsewhere when she saw his serious expression.
“Jule, are you okay?” Lincoln lowered his voice bending slightly to try and catch her gaze.
“If I said no . . . would you let me come with you?” she mumbled quietly and took a quick peek at him before shifting her eyes away again.
His mouth dropped open in shock before he realized what happened. Composing himself quickly, the corner of his mouth lifted before she had a chance to taunt him for getting the better of him.
Ever since they’d had their little talk, she’d been painfully sarcastic, and anything said sincerely was a joke. He waited for her to sardonically negate the question, but she didn’t say another word. Never in all his time at the hospital did he think Jule would willingly go with them, but he also didn’t give it much thought. He never planned to take any extra people home—in fact, only three of them were supposed to make it back out of the original four.
A knock interrupted his thoughts and Heather’s voice filled the room saving him from the awkward moment, “Can I talk to Lincoln alone for a few minutes?”
Jule’s shoulders drooped and she slipped out of the room without a word. Lincoln figured out she was upset by the way she slammed the door shut to give them some privacy.
“I think she knows I asked if you wanted to come—,” Lincoln began, his eyes wandering after Jule. His gaze shifted to Heather and he shut up when she tugged him down to her by the front of his shirt. Her lips lightly brushed against his at the same time Noah bound through the door startling them. His eyes bounced between the two of them before he silently took several steps back and quietly closed the door.
Heather took a few embarrassed steps away from Lincoln.
“You change your mind?” Lincoln questioned rubbing the back of his head and tried to remember what to do with his hands.
“No. I came to give you these. They’re for Wyatt, I thought it’d be better for you to hold them just in case he becomes addicted,” she held out a pill bottle. Lincoln shoved them in his pocket and she continued, “I just overheard you with Jule and it was so sweet... ,” Heather admitted not finishing her sentence.
He didn’t know how much she heard, so he brought up the most important point. “I’m pretty sure she only wants to come because she thinks you’re leaving. This,” he pointed out they were alone, “probably didn’t help.” Lincoln lingered next to Heather for a few more seconds before he decided to focus on packing his bag again.
With his back to her he said, “Maybe you should talk to her. Tell her you’re staying here.”
He waited for the inevitable question. The solution she worked out in order to bring everyone with her. He waited for the hopeful, convincing tone that wouldn’t let him utter a word until she was finished explaining. The answer to all their problems. A speech made for someone with an ounce of compassion left in their soul. A speech for someone who still had hope—but hope does not keep him alive. Hope can turn even the most docile animal into a savage beast when it’s crushed.
“You think I’m stupid for staying. For not taking your offer when it’s so obvious I should. Because at the end of the day we were starving to death before you saved us. But we’re still strangers and wherever I end up, I’m stuck there forever. With you. Someone I’ve just met,” she explained in a faraway voice.
“No one thinks you’re stupid,” Lincoln replied turning around. “You’re allowed to say no.” He slipped a piece of paper in her front pocket along with the GPS locator he confiscated from the tech shop, and then slowly tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. Their eyes locked when he lifted her chin with a gentle finger and his voice rumbled softly, “Now you have directions on how to find me if you change your mind.”
“I get lost with the simplest directions,” she whispered.
Putting a walkie-talkie in her hand he grinned roguishly. “Put the coordinates in the GPS locator and when you get to that spot just turn this on. I’ll find you.”
“You don’t want to keep this?” Heather questioned gazing down at her hand.
“I think I’d rather let you keep it,” he said wrapping her fingers around it. He was about to kiss her when Wyatt threw the door open.
“Jule is missing—,” he stopped talking and glanced from Lincoln to Heather. “I’ll go look for her now.” Wyatt turned beet red trying to maneuver himself as fast as he could on crutches.
“She’s not missing,” Heather announced with a sigh. “She’ll turn up again and if you see her just let her know I’m not going anywhere.”
“Ouch,” Wyatt blurted out and peered at Lincoln for his reaction.
“Wyatt go away before I break your other leg,” Lincoln growled. Heather gave Lincoln a weak smile and left the room in a hurry.
TWENTY ONE
C onfined to Noah’s room so his mother could walk around freely, Lincoln was itching to leave as soon as possible. They agreed to give Wyatt one more night before setting off for their hometown, Dessarillo.
Between looking after his mother the first night, and being locked in Noah’s room, he managed to avoid the crowd taking refuge on the fourth floor. It was the greatest benefit to being restricted.
After Noah and Wyatt barged in on him all day, they finally left him alone long enough for him to fall asleep.
The next morning Russell, the vet greeted him. Noah’s escape plan rested in his hands since he maintained the building. Floors three through six were evacuated before all hell broke loose. The second floor was in the middle of clearing everyone out when they lost control of the situation.
Noah opted for safety and chose the third floor escape route, not bothering with the second floor. He personally checked every room, shut the doors behind him and made sure nothing wa
s lurking down there.
Russell had a pack swung over his shoulder jabbering away as they made their way down, “We had an escape artist in the hospital. Confined to his room,” Russell said sadly. “He always used to say he had everything to run away. Except the right body.” In front of the door, he cautiously pushed it open and grinned, “Everyone’s wondering where you’ve been hiding. Guess you got a head start on us.”
Jule leaned against the bed twisting thick ropes in her hand. The hospital room had been transformed into something cozy—from inside, it appeared to be a normal child’s bedroom. With stuffed animals, posters and knick knacks that gave it a personal touch.
Jule showed off the rope escape ladder in her hand, “There’s not much activity out there. Just a few loners moseying around. Everyone ready?”
She seemed happier to Lincoln, and the fact she was willing to help made him relax. Heather probably told her she was staying. He stepped up to the window to get a glimpse of the lay of the land.
Sweating and breathing haggardly, Wyatt rolled inside the room with Noah on his trail and rasped, “I’m going to need a minute before you haul me out a window.”
The corner of Jule’s mouth tilted up and she turned to open the window. “Your wheelchair has to go down before you.”
“We’ve got company,” Noah muttered loud enough for Lincoln to hear.
Footsteps echoed down the empty hall and Heath filled the doorway dropping a wheelchair and a pack on the ground. Haley appeared a few second later dropping the last of their supplies to haul down. Out of breath, she wheezed, “Do you mind giving us a ride?”
Lincoln’s body tensed but he kept his face neutral and wondered what Heath had promised her. He tried to sound careless, “To where?”
“Around the lot,” Haley said anxiously. She dangled car keys in the air showing everyone she never planned to impose. Lincoln nodded in relief.
The only thing Haley talked about was her four boys and husband. Noah put two and two together and stared at Heath with a skeptical expression. In a cynical tone he inquired, “You’re going with her to check and see if her family is still alive?”
Wyatt whacked Noah on the arm and furrowed his eyebrows at the rude question.
“It’s the fucking apocalypse! But hey you wanna waste it checking on her family. Let’s meet the husband of the woman I’m fucking,” Noah mumbled and walked to the window joining Lincoln and Jule. Heath and Haley didn’t say a word but they both stared daggers at the back of Noah’s head.
“We take the three loiterers out from up here,” Lincoln told Noah. “I’ll go down first—.”
Jule cut in, “And I’ll go down to catch all the supplies while you shoot any other stragglers, so Noah can stay up here and help everyone down.”
Both men stared at her, and Noah admitted to Lincoln, “That’s actually a lot easier for you.”
“We can help too,” Haley said eagerly behind them.
“Haley can help send down supplies and Heath can come down after me to help guard,” Jule interjected without giving it another thought. She pushed everyone out of the way in order to attach the escape ladder to the window.
Lincoln straddled the windowsill checking his holsters and securing the AK on his shoulder. He tried to ignore the long way down. Before he descended, Lincoln said, “Let’s do this as quickly as possible. Make sure you tie off Wyatt and my mom. Just in case they miss a rung.” Hanging onto the wobbly ladder, he slowly descended listening to Noah’s three shots over his head. The three loiters were dead by the time Lincoln safely landed on solid ground.
Noah tied the rappelling harness to put around Jule for safety, but she was already out the window by the time he finished it.
The second Jule safely landed beside Lincoln, Heath’s head stared down at them and shoved one massive leg out the window. Lincoln apprehensively said, “Maybe he should go last.”
“Think of it as the ultimate test,” Jule said shading her eyes from the sun with her hand. “If it can hold his weight, everyone else should be fine.”
She had a small bag on her back and Lincoln tugged on it, “What’s in here?”
“I brought some blankets for you just in case you have to camp somewhere on your way home.”
Heath jumped down the last two feet and took his position on the opposite side of Lincoln. Noah efficiently started lowering the first pack and when it reached the halfway point the second pack was shoved out the window. Jule quickly untied each one and tugged on the ropes to be pulled up for the next ones. Two ghouls meandered around a corner, they shuffled forward excited to see lunch before Lincoln shot them.
“How are we doing Jule?” Lincoln muttered.
“Third and fourth packs on their way,” she replied.
“Once Noah gets down here, Heath and I can go get the SUV around front,” Lincoln announced to everyone. “With Haley’s help they can handle everything over here.”
“If we all go, we can take the packs with us so they don’t have to worry about leaving supplies behind if something happens,” Jule suggested while setting up a wheelchair.
“If I carry two, then they only have to worry about Wyatt and Gloria,” Heath agreed.
Noah joined them on the ground and the group of three set off as Wyatt dangled from above. Cautiously retracing the path they took days ago, they finally made it to the front of the hospital. Ten cannibals milled around as they peered from behind a brick wall. The Jeep was right where they left it and Lincoln had the keys ready in his pocket.
“We’re low on ammo, so I’d like to get to the vehicle without using a single shot. Which means they are going to follow us so everyone needs to move fast. When we get back to Noah, Heath and I will get everyone situated. Jule, you just worry about going back up the ladder. Everyone ready?” Lincoln questioned peeking around the building.
Both nodded. Lincoln leaned against the wall and closed his eyes counting down. As soon as he took off they were right behind him. Their feet slapped against the pavement and the ghoul’s heads turned in the direction of the noise. Earsplitting shrieks, grunts and hisses pierced their ears.
Swarms of flies shot up from being disturbed as Lincoln ran past rotting flesh. His arms flailed automatically trying to swat them out of the way. Chompers snapped their teeth and treaded over the toppled chained link fence and decaying bodies.
He sprinted around the SUV, beeping it open at the last second. The back door swung open and he shoved his pack inside. Jule climbed in after it and slammed the door at the same time Lincoln sat in the driver’s seat.
Lincoln yelled, “We all here?”
“Go!” Heath and Jule shouted simultaneously.
The first set of fingers traced along the SUV as Lincoln peeled out of the roundabout driveway. He turned toward the waiting group when Jule screamed, “U-turn! Turn around.”
Lincoln came to a squealing halt and asked, “Why?”
“If you go the long way around, the rotters will too. It’ll give you more time to pack up,” she said anxiously twisting her head to glance out the back window. Their devoted followers weren’t far behind. Lincoln flipped the vehicle around and slowly rolled forward to make sure everyone changed direction. After crawling along the road for three minutes, Lincoln sped up and followed the road until he caught sight of the group. Jumping the curb, he mowed over a stray chomper hearing bones crack against the fender.
He barely put the Jeep in park before Heath threw the door open and started shoving people inside. The wheelchairs were tied to the roof rack and Lincoln started checking off his mental checklist, circling the SUV searching for anything left behind. A hand fell on a pair of crutches and each pack as he counted everything for the third time before closing the trunk. Gloria, Wyatt and Haley were squished in the backseat and Noah was on Haley’s lap. Heath was in the front seat, and Russell gave a thumbs up from above.
In the driver’s seat Lincoln gripped the steering wheel and tried to convince himself he wasn’t forge
tting anything. In the back, his mother was complaining about the transport to the next hospital, completely oblivious to his existence. A flesh eater appeared in his side mirror, followed by another. It was time to go whether he was ready or not.
Shifting the gear to drive, Lincoln glanced up at Russell one last time and found Heather beside him. She waved goodbye and stood there until he drove out of sight leaving the horde of parasites behind.
Back on the little road circling the hospital, Haley directed Lincoln to the emergency room parking lot. The chompers scattered in the area weren’t a threat when Haley jumped out of the SUV. Her eyes were brimmed with tears as she said goodbye and thanked them for their help. She tucked the small bag of supplies in her car before settling in the driver’s seat.
No one turned to face Heath when he pulled the handle to get out the Jeep except for Wyatt. Heath was halfway out of the vehicle when Wyatt softly said, “It was nice meeting you Heath. Maybe we’ll meet up again.”
Noah murmured, “Just had to make it weird.”
Pretending to clear his throat, Heath answered, “I doubt it. That’s probably why no one can look me in the eye right now.” He was also never invited to go with them—the invitation wouldn’t come—not after he almost left Lincoln’s mother. His only options were to stay at the hospital or leave with Haley.
Heath stood outside the vehicle for few seconds for any last words. “You fellas take care now.”
Lincoln held out his hand. Heath shook it before shutting the door.
Noah climbed up front and took Heath’s spot. “It’s fucking time to go home.”
“I feel like we’re leaving something behind,” Lincoln admitted.
“Heather,” Noah teased. “You left Heather behind.”
“She refused to come, it would have been ideal to have a doctor in the group,” Lincoln said indifferently and shrugged his shoulders.
“Is that the story you’re sticking to?” Wyatt asked.
“Why do I feel like we’ve met before?” Gloria interrupted staring in the rear-view mirror to catch a glimpse of Lincoln. His eyes settled on hers as she scrutinized him.