by Crist, J. D.
Emily followed Shawn around the back of the building, and Marley followed right behind her. Emily gripped her crowbar, the same one that Joe had given her such a long time ago. As they rounded the corner, Emily saw three trailers were back here. She followed Shawn to each one and felt defeated as each one of them proved to be empty.
"So much for luck," Shawn breathed as he looked at the last empty trailer.
"There's tons of supplies back here. Let's load up one and get back on the road." Emily motioned to the rows of lumber in the yard.
"I'll get the truck so that we can back the trailer closer. No need to work harder than we have to."
With that, Shawn headed towards the front of the building. Emily was waiting for him by the trailer as Shawn pulled the truck around. Emily helped him back up the truck to the trailer as she had helped her father many times. Soon, they had the trailer backed up and were working together to load the trailer.
"We can't take everything, but at least we know where we can come for more," Shawn commented.
"We will just take what we can today and come back if we need to," Emily agreed. They continued to work for a few more hours until the trailer was nearly full.
"That is plenty for now," Shawn said after loading another two by four. "If we are going to get back before dark, we should get going."
Emily looked down at Marley, who sat next to the trailer watching for danger.
"Are you ready to go home, boy?" Emily asked. Marley began to wag his tail and jumped around excited.
"I'm sure he's exhausted from all the work he's done today," Shawn teased. Marley didn't seem to mind as he ran and jumped into the bed of the truck.
"I'm glad we found that one on the road," Emily replied as she looked around. "I expected there to be more dead here."
"I think someone was through here recently," Shawn replied. "The windows on the pawnshop were busted in when we drove by."
"We probably shouldn't stay here after dark then." Emily couldn't help but look around.
"They may still be around here, and Jeff seemed pretty comfortable here last time I saw him."
"Let's load up then. It will take us about an hour to get back." Emily nodded in agreement as she walked back to the truck. She heard Shawn close the trailer on the truck and watched as he climbed into the cab a few moments later. The truck roared to life, and soon they were back on the road.
Emily could feel her muscles already becoming sore from loading the lumber. She rubbed her arms as she leaned back against the seat.
"Feel free to close your eyes. I'll get you home safe and sound." Emily couldn't help herself as she allowed her eyes to close. Soon the sound of the road faded away, and Emily drifted off to sleep.
The sleep was not dreamless. Emily was back in her house and was watching Chad paint the nursery. Emily rubbed her bulging stomach where she knew a baby was growing. The scene changed fast, and Hope was lying in the crib in front of her. She looked down at Hope as Chad came in and put his arm around her shoulder. Emily screamed at herself not to fall for it, not to let him near Hope. Dream Emily did not listen and instead laid her head on Chad's should. Chad kissed her on top of the head.
"Until death does us part, babe," Chad whispered to her.
Emily shot awake with a gasp. She looked around to see that they were approaching the gate at Sanctuary.
"You alright?" Shawn asked her from the driver's seat as the truck came to a stop.
"Just a bad dream," Emily replied as she got out of the truck to enter the gate code.
The sun was nearly set, and they had barely made it back in time. Emily entered the code and watched as the gates began to move. Shawn pulled the truck closer, and Emily climbed back in. Once they were inside, Emily hurried out and up to the control room. She looked back to see Shawn driving towards the clinic. She hoped that they would be able to get the corpse in without anyone noticing.
Emily reached the control room and quickly entered the code to close the gate. She heard the gates close beneath her. Emily headed back downstairs and made her way to Julia's house. Marley joined her once again on her walk. She knocked on the door and waited for Julia to answer. She felt warmth in her heart as Julia answered the door with Hope in her arms. Emily pulled Hope close to her and thanked Julia for babysitting. Julia insisted that it was no trouble. Emily turned and headed home with Hope.
As she reached the house, she could see that the corpse had been unloaded, and Shawn was leaning against the front of the truck smoking a cigarette. Emily waved at him as she headed inside. She closed the door behind Marley and felt herself start to cry. She pushed the tears back as she carried Hope upstairs and put her to bed. Emily closed the door as Marley was lying down and went to take her shower. As the warm water ran over, Emily allowed the tears to flow freely. She kept hearing Chad's words over and over in her mind.
"Until death does us part." She had always taken her vows seriously, though Chad had not. Due to the flash, she was not able to end her marriage to Chad. She felt that her vows were still in place, and she was betraying herself and everything she stood for. She was doing it every time she took comfort in Shawn's touch. She did it every time she allowed herself to grow closer to him.
Emily finished washing and got dressed. She had slowed the tears by the time she opened Hope's door. She walked over to the crib and looked down at Hope. One day she would have to explain Chad to her. She would have to teach Hope that when she made a promise how important it was to keep it. How could she do those two things if she did not find a way to release herself from her wedding vows before moving on?
Emily kissed Hope on the forehead and walked out of the room with Marley. She closed the door softly behind her as she went. Once back inside her room, she climbed into bed with Marley. She thought back on the events of the past few days. She heard Shawn's heartbeat under her head as she laid on his chest. She felt the comfort in his touch as he held her hand in the truck.
Emily felt a few more tears roll down her cheek and hit the pillow below her head. She took a deep breath and steadied herself. She didn't know what was going to happen with Shawn. She only knew that she couldn't let it grow into anything serious right now. She was promised to Chad. She had made that promise. She would need to figure out how to let go of that before moving on and trying again. It wasn't fair to Shawn or Hope to let anything happen before she did. Emily laid in the dark a long time before sleep finally won out.
Chapter 4
"I need Emily, Shawn, Sam, and Doc to report to the control room."
Emily woke to Sarah's voice through the walkie on her nightstand. Emily opened her eyes to see that morning was already well underway. This was the first morning she had overslept since everyone came inside. Emily reached over and grabbed the walkie.
"I'll be there in ten," she replied.
"Can you make it faster?" Sarah asked in an anxious tone.
"I still have to get Hope dressed and make her breakfast. Is everything alright?"
"A group just made contact. They are about ten minutes out from the gate." Emily stared at the walkie, trying to process the words.
"I can come take care of Hope," Julia's voice rang out. She must have been with Sam and heard the conversation.
"That would be great. I don't want her with me when I greet the newcomers."
"I'm headed your way. I'll be there in just a minute." The line went dead, and Emily jumped out of bed and quickly dressed for the day. She had just finished putting her hair up when she heard the front door open and close.
"Emily?!" Julia's voice rang out.
"Upstairs!" Emily replied. She opened her door as Julia reached the top of the stairs. "She's still in bed. Thank you again for watching her."
"It's no problem. I'll get her dressed and take her to my place for the day." With that, Julia headed towards Hope's room, and Emily headed out with Marley. Marley was confused as Emily opened the front door and stopped in the front yard. Emily turned back to him as he looke
d at her with pleading eyes.
"Go ahead," Emily told him. "Just find me when you're done." Marley took off towards the backyard without hesitation. Emily turned and ran towards the COM building. She reached the door and found that everyone else had already arrived.
"Sorry, I'm late. How far out are they," Emily asked, slightly out of breath.
"We see the wall, but the gates are closed. Are you still there?"
Everyone looked to Emily as the voice cut out. Emily nodded to them all and began the run-up to the control building. She reached it and entered the code to open the gate. She watched as five vehicles drove through, and she shut the gate behind them. She then opened the inner gate just enough for them to walk around. Emily then ran back down the stairs and felt relief when she saw Marley waiting for her. Emily walked towards the opening in the gate and could hear that Shawn and the others were already inside.
"Our leader will be here in a minute,"
Shawn was explaining.
"You mean you're not in charge?" a man's voice asked in a shaky tone.
"No," Shawn replied.
Emily took a deep breath and entered through the opening with Marley by her side. She could see Shawn smile as she did and hoped that her entrance looked as strong as she intended.
"Welcome to Sanctuary," she said to a group of unfamiliar faces. "My name is Emily."
Emily looked at the group trying to take in the faces that stared back at her. There was a Hispanic-looking man with one arm around a woman and the other around a small boy, probably about Bobby's age. There was also an older couple who looked to be in their late sixties, early seventies. The woman was clinging to the man's arm. Emily could tell that she was having trouble standing on her own and needed him to stabilize her.
Emily looked to the next set of faces and saw a young red-headed woman standing next to a young teenage boy. The boy seemed to be trying extra hard to ensure that he looked braver than he felt at the moment. Emily moved her eyes to the next group. A dark woman stood there with a man, Emily assumed was her husband and a set of twin girls, maybe ten years old. Emily then turned to the last man and stared a moment to ensure that she saw right. He was on an older man with a white beard. Emily could not help but notice that he dressed like a priest.
"I'm sure you all have questions," Emily continued. "I will gladly answer them all once we can get you all inside."
"What's the price of admission?" the Hispanic man asked in a pointed tone.
"A physical exam," Emily replied and motioned for Doc to step forward. "Doc will examine each of you to ensure that none of you are at risk of infection."
"So, he will tell you which of us can work to your standards and which cannot," the Hispanic man continued. "Then he claims the unneeded ones are sick, and you stick a knife in their brains."
"We would never." Emily could not help but sound appalled at the suggestion of her motives. "Through that door, we have quarantine areas set up. If Doc sees anything suspicious, we will invite you to stay there. We will supply you with food and other needs. If you develop a fever, then Doc will discuss the next steps with you."
"You are trying to tell us that if you see an obvious bite, you will just put us up and not kill us," the red-headed woman asked.
"That's what I'm saying," Emily replied.
"We know that not everyone who gets a bite turns into one of the dead." Emily looked around at each of their faces.
"What do you mean," the Hispanic man asked.
"I know from personal experience that there are very few people that are immune to the bites and scratches."
"What personal experience?"
The man was not taking her broad answers to the questions. He was looking for specific examples. Emily looked back at her friends for some kind of guidance on how to handle the situation.
"We've seen it," Shawn spoke up. "That's the best we can tell you for now."
The man seemed not as willing to question Shawn and asked no further questions.
"I don't know how much longer I can stand," the older woman spoke up. "Would anyone mind if I went first?" Everyone stood in silence, and Emily watched as the gentleman helped the woman walk forward. Emily offered her help as they came near her, and the woman grabbed her arm.
"Thank you, dear," the woman said. "My name is Margaret, and this is my husband, Ben."
"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Emily replied.
She helped Ben walk Margaret into Doc's exam room and came back outside. It wasn't long before they came back out, each clutching a cold bottle of water.
"Next!" Doc called out.
Emily couldn't help but smile at how he acted like this was just a typical waiting room of patients. Emily turned to see Sam coming back through the gate with a chair. It looked like one out of the COM room. He set the chair near Margaret, who gladly sat down.
Emily watched as one at a time, the groups each went into the exam room and came back out with a bottle of water. After finishing with the priest, Doc joined them back by the gate.
"Everyone is cleared," Doc reported. "Nothing suspicious on any of them."
"If all of you would like to follow me, I'll show you our town, get you some clean clothes and fresh food."
Emily turned and walked back through the gate opening. She glanced back only once to ensure that the group was following. She knew that the walk would be challenging for Margaret and made sure to slow her pace so Margaret would not have to struggle to keep up.
"All of the shops are located here on main street," Emily began to explain. "We have a system here where everyone works, gets paid in credits and then uses the credits to buy the goods they want."
"I assume your wage is the highest," the Hispanic man spat at her.
"Everyone receives the same pay regardless of their job. Parents receive a set amount for each child. Extra payment is received for shifts taken on the wall, but everyone must take at least one a day. That may change as our numbers grow, but that is our current situation." Emily continued her way down the street.
"If you choose to stay, you will be given a house based on your family size and a job based on your skills and abilities. Until you make that decision, I will invite you all to stay with me." Emily motioned towards her home as they approached. "Jessica will see that you each get two changes of clothes. You will then be welcome to clean up. There is hot water, but you will need to take turns in the bathrooms." Emily listened to the murmurs about hot water and waited a few moments before she continued.
"Once you are all cleaned up, I will have lunch ready and answer any questions you may have." Emily reached her front door as she finished. "Jessica will be here in a moment to take each family one at a time to pick out some clothing. If you will, all please come in and relax until it is your turn."
Emily opened her door and watched as everyone walked into the air-conditioned home. She led them all into the living room and motioned for them to take a seat. Jessica arrived a few moments later. She took the Hispanic family first. Everyone waited in silence until they returned. Jessica took the next group. This process continued, and everyone began to work their way through the showers. Emily headed to the kitchen and prepared sandwiches and iced tea for everyone. Emily set everything in the dining room just as everyone started to file into the room.
"Is this bread real?" Margaret asked as she sat.
"It is," Emily smiled. "It's baked fresh every day by Sam's wife, Julia." Emily watched as they began to dig in, and their voices filled the room. Emily excused herself back to the living room, where Shawn and Sam waited.
"What do you think?" Sam asked as she entered.
"Trust issues, but who can blame them," Emily explained. "I think they could be a real asset to what we are trying to do here."
"Do you think you can get them to trust you enough to stay?" Shawn asked.
"I have an idea," Emily replied. "Would you two stay here while I run out for a moment?"
"Oh, I'm staying here as long as th
ey are."
The look on Shawn's face told Emily that there was no changing his mind. Emily nodded in understanding and headed out the door with Marley. It didn't take her long to find Julia to pick up Hope.
"So, what are you thinking of them?" Julia asked as Emily approached her.
"The older couple seems nice," Emily replied. "The others are still too scared to figure out."
"I would be surprised if they weren't scared." Julia handed Hope to Emily. "Plan on using this little angel to gain some trust?"
"She's good at getting people to open up," Emily smiled back.
"If you need anything, just let us know." Julia smiled at Emily as Emily turned to head back to the house.
"I will," Emily called back to her. It only took a few minutes for Emily to return home. She could hear the voices were still in the dining room and saw Shawn leaning against the wall. The look on his face told her that he wasn't happy about her decision to bring Hope in so soon. Emily continued past him and into the dining room. The voices all went silent as Emily entered.