by Gouge, W. B.
David followed behind her, “Yeah, me too.” She said.
Owen took his pants off and laid the on the couch before he sat back down. He winced in pain while he stood. Sarah examined the wound, “Its deep, but not too bad. I’ll have to suture it.”
Owen didn’t react. He simply laid back and stared painfully at his wound. Sarah was surprised, “No joke? No penis references? Now I know you must be coming down with something.” She laughed.
Owen looked at her with a serious look, “I’m happy that none of us got hurt, it could have been much worse.”
Owen seemed different to her somehow, usually when he said anything at all it was sort of sarcastic, as if he were never really serious. But now he was being genuine and thoughtful. She liked him better this way, “Yeah, it could have been worse. But it wasn’t.” she said as she cleaned the wound.
Owen watched for a while and said nothing. Sarah did a good job cleaning the wound and was able to stitch it without causing him too much discomfort. When she was almost done Owen took a deep breath, “Do you have a boyfriend?” he asked.
She smirked, “I did…” she trailed off, the memories once repressed sneaking back.
“Before all this started?” he asked.
“Well, a few months ago. After three years I caught him with another girl at a bar.” She shrugged, the memory still hurt a little.
“I thought you didn’t date dumb guys?” Owen said.
Sarah smiled, she definitely liked this Owen better than the usual. She finished his leg and told him to rest while she went to wash her hands.
Meanwhile David and Liz sat at the table. They had raided the refrigerator and the cabinets searching for food. They had found a jar of peanut butter, bread, milk, and several jars of pickles. It wasn’t a feast but they were happy to have anything at all since their supplies had gone into the river. They sat across from each other eating sandwiches, drinking milk and snacking on pickles.
They ate happily and sat quietly at the table. David watched Liz eat, she seemed to be very hungry. He realized just how close they came to losing her. “At the river, I thought I would never see you again.” he started.
Liz stopped chewing and looked David in the eye. Her eyes turned slightly red and she looked like she might cry. David wanted to say more, but every time he started to speak he just exhaled sharply. After a few attempts Liz broke the silence, “Me too, when the boat flipped I thought I had lost you guys.”
David half smiled, “We all got lucky, this time.”
Liz nodded, then looked down at her plate with a solemn look, “How many people do you think died back there?”
David swallowed hard. It must have been hundreds? Or Thousands? He couldn’t say. The reality of the situation hadn’t hit him yet. But he had seen too many people die already, and apparently so had Liz. “There was nothing we could do, if we would have stayed there we would probably be dead right now.” David said.
Liz nodded, but she didn’t touch anymore of her food. Instead she got up and walked out of the room. David followed her, they went into the living room and found Owen resting. David winced when he saw the red, puffy flesh around the stitches. It looked really painful, but he had to admit that Sarah had done a good job.
David sat on the couch and stared at the TV not really listening, just collecting his thoughts. He didn’t really have a plan about what they should do next, so he put it to the group. “Well, there is some food here, and as long as we keep quiet those things don’t seem to know we are here. Should we talk about what we are going to do next?”
Owen spoke up first, and as he talked David noticed he seemed more reserved than before, “Maybe we should rest up here for a few days. Keep an eye of the T.V. and then when things die down head for the safe zone.”
The rest of the group exchanged accepting nods and the plan was set. For now, they would rest up and keep an eye on the news. David walked over to the window next to the front door and peered out between the curtains. A pair of dark silhouettes moved away from the house at the edge of the woods. They were staggering along in no particular direction, they seemed to have no idea David and the group were in the house. He watched as they moved on and eventually disappeared into the woods. David wondered how long they would be able to hide out, and he wondered what it would be like at the safe zone.
Eleven
The sun began to set over the woods. The orange horizon gave way to pink and purple clouds. David sat on the couch switching from the T.V. reports and the yard outside. He had seen at least twenty infected roam into and out of the yard as if they were slowly headed to some unknown destination. David had watched them since the group had decided someone should stand watch while the others slept. In case there was an attack by the infected, or if by chance the owner of the house returned.
David had volunteered to take the first watch. He had camped out on the couch with some water and food on the table. The news reports were being repeated over and over again. There was nothing new from the time a report began until it began again apparently. David was bored with all of it, so he kept glancing out the window. He would lift the curtain just a crack, enough to see the pitch-black outside.
He had been in the living room or almost an hour when he decided to check his bag. The cold medicine was still there. He removed the plastic packaging from the boxes since they had been soaked in the river. The pills were still intact in their airtight cases. He stared at them for a while, he couldn’t believe that after all this that he still wanted to take them. The pills were non-habit forming, so why did he want to use them so badly. “It was an escape” he thought.
He had used the pills to escape from reality, from responsibility, that’s why he had started to take them in the first place. It was the freedom they provided. He had been at school for several months and was under a lot of pressure. His grades weren’t terrible, but they weren’t great either. He wanted to quit and head home but he couldn’t bear to let his grandparents down. He had taken them one night at a party and spent the whole next day tripping in the park. It was such a carefree and awesome high that he went back to it over and over again. It wasn’t long before he had started to ditch class to get high, his grades became worse, he had to go to counseling for his poor results. His grades had continued to decline for a few months, and when he didn’t show up for a counseling session over it, he was expelled.
He had gone back to Dry Creek to start over, to come clean to his grandparents and begin again. But then all this happened. And now he was staring at the pills trying hard not to rip the package open and swallow a whole box of them. That’s when he heard a creak coming from the hall. He stuffed the pills back into his bag, he stared into the dark and asked if anyone was there. “Hello?” he whispered.
“Its me!” another whispering voice replied.
It was Liz, she came out of the dark like a tip toeing thief and sat next to him on the couch. He sighed and sat back in the comfortable couch. “You scared the hell out of me.” he said.
“Sorry, I thought you might need some company.” She whispered.
He did need some company. Anything to keep his mind off the pills for a while would help. They both sat there looking at the TV and not talking for a few minutes when Liz looked at him, he could see out of the corner of his eye but was nervous and didn’t look back at her. “David?” she said.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for saving my brother today.” She whispered.
David smiled and looked back at the TV, “It was mostly Sarah who saved him, she saved me too I think.”
Liz leaned forward and David turned to meet her gazing at him with her green eyes locked on his. Then she kissed him. David held his breath and kissed her back feeling relieved and excited. He had thought about kissing her too since he had come back from school but probably would never had gained the courage to do it himself.
Liz leaned back and looked at him for a second and then smiled. Neither one of them knew what to say
or do at that moment, but the ice was officially broken. “I better get some sleep.” She said and hurried back down the hall.
David couldn’t believe what had happened, there was no way he was going to be able to sleep now. For a second he thought about following her but wondered what would happen if Owen had caught him. They had enough troubles to worry about for now, and he was happy enough for that brief moment already. It seemed like nothing good had happened to them in a while, except for surviving the boat disaster. He sat back and smiled. And then, he remembered the pills.
Things were on a high note suddenly, and they were going to be here for a few days to rest up. He took a pack of them out, “maybe just tonight and then Ill be done with them after that.”
He didn’t have to think about it very long. He buried the wet boxes under some trash in the can and poured a glass of water. Then he hurried back to the couch and swallowed the pills a few at a time until he had eaten a whole box. David sat back and waited, in no time at all he would be flying high again. He would have one last taste of the freedom he used to enjoy so much. For the first time in a while, he was excited to see what the next day would bring.
Twelve
Sarah stretched and rolled over in the comfy old bed with the sun shining through the dingy curtains. Her eyes were tired and struggled to remain closed as she stretched. She looked around and was surprised, she had nearly forgotten how she got there the night before. She saw the picture on the night stand of the older woman and older man, suddenly she remembered everything. She was content to stay there for a while and stared at the picture. The faces were genuine, they had character. There was something about them, the way they leaned toward each other and seemed excited. Sarah thought they must have loved each other deeply.
Then she looked at the urn and felt a weight in her chest. She could only imagine what had happened and how the old woman had dealt with his loss. It made her think of her boyfriend, how hard it had been after she left him. He had cheated and she knew not to give him another chance but it was still hard to leave. She remembered how she would find his things at her apartment, every few days there would be some piece of clothing or something in the fridge of his or a picture of them together. She remembered how every time it felt like salt on a wound and she would have to find the strength to get up and move forward.
After a while she rose from the bed and crept into the hallway. Owen was snoring in the extra bedroom and she smiled. She walked past the living room on the way to the kitchen, David was sleeping on the couch, “So much for keeping watch” she thought. She grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water, she took a few sips and stared out of the window. There were several rose bushed under the kitchen window, Sarah recognized them from the picture. “That’s it, this is where the photo was taken!” she thought. She felt like she was standing in a place she had been before suddenly.
Her eyes had been unfocused until she saw something move. She squinted past the rose bushes into the distant wood line and saw an apple tree. Under the tree was what looked like an old chair on its side, she turned and counter chairs at the table. One was missing, Sarah looked back to the chair under the tree just in time to see something move again. Her mouth fell open as she saw it and she gasped. It was a pair of feet dangling from under the leaves.
She grabbed a kitchen knife and threw open the door leading from the kitchen to the back yard. She raced toward the tree as fast as she could, tears welling up as she wondered what she would find when she got there. She reached the tree and moved toward the legs, her eyes locked on them. They were a woman’s legs, the skin dirty and pale. The bare feet swung back and forth in rhythm with the creaking sound of what could only be a rope. Sarah was tense, her hands covered her mouth as she looked up and saw the same face from the picture, it was the older woman. Her eyes bulged with a look of desperation that told Sarah that she wanted help, she reached her frail hands outward toward Sarah and squeaked out a single yelp.
Sarah immediately took the woman’s hand and with her other hand she raised the knife up and dragged the edge against the rope. It snapped right away dropping the woman’s tiny frame to the ground hard. Sarah had hoped to cradle her but the rope had given way too easily. Sarah dropped down next to her and began to fan the woman and whisper for her to breath. Sarah was so overcome by the events that she didn’t notice the slack look on the woman’s face.
She heard a snap behind them and turned to look into the woods. That’s when the old woman opened her mouth and lunged forward clamping down on Sarah’s shoulder with her discolored teeth. Sarah cried out and tried to pull away but a pain shot down her back and her right leg refused to move. Sarah tried to reach up and push her away but the burning pain was too intense and she could only cry out for help. The woman pulled her head away tearing flesh from Sarah’s shoulder. Blood ran down Sarah’s back and chest as she knocked the woman back and crawled away frantically. She screamed for help and struggled to get up as the old woman crept up behind her. The seconds seemed to slow and she felt dizzy, she was about to vomit when she felt cold, boney hands reach her leg and trying to grab her.
Sarah turned to face her attacker and saw the old woman chewing the chunk of meat from her shoulder, blood had run down her chin and covered the front of her shirt. Her eyes were wild and were locked on Sarah. Sarah put her hands up, her left arm weak from the pain and shock of her wound. She felt weak suddenly and knew she would not be able to fight back for very long.
The old woman fell on her grasping and clawing at her with her boney hands. She tried to pull her pale, sunken face toward Sarah snapping her mouth open and closed. Sarah pushed her away but she kept pulling herself closer. Her nasty teeth were only a few inches away when Sarah’s hand found the kitchen knife at her side. She grabbed the handle and swung it hard plunging it into the woman’s neck. Thick, dark fluid poured form the wound even though she didn’t seem to notice the injury. The knife had gone through the side of the woman’s neck and had come out on the other side, Sarah began to push and pull the blade in and out of the wound sawing the woman’s neck. After a few tense seconds the knife finally cut its way free and the old woman’s head hung to the side, her body went limp and she collapsed next to Sarah.
Sarah cried uncontrollably for a few seconds, the she heard Owen yelling her name. She rolled over and looked back toward the house. Owen was running toward her, a panic stricken look on his face. She cried and looked over at the old woman, the mostly severed head was still looking at her and its mouth was still chomping. She lifted the knife and drove the tip of the blade through its skull, its eyes trailed off and its mouth froze in time.
Thirteen
David groaned as he lifted his head up and looked around the room. He wasn’t sure where he was at first, the old farmhouse was similar to his grand parents’ house. Still coming down from the high, tracers floated around in his periphery, distant sounds echoed all around him. This was the worst part of the drugs. The echoing “zoom” that had him questioning everything he heard and saw for a few hours. He had sweated through his shirt and needed some water badly. He stood up and headed toward the kitchen when he heard the screams. David sat up straight and tried to determine if it was real or just a hallucination. Then he heard it again and he was sure it was real.
David darted for the door but he stumbled and his shoulder fell against the wall with a thump. Liz came in and knelt beside him, “David are you okay?” she gasped.
He didn’t look at her, afraid she might notice his dilated pupils and realize he was stoned. “Yeah, I tripped on the blanket.” He said.
She sighed with relief, “I thought I heard a scream…” she stopped talking as they both heard another scream coming from outside.
They both jumped up and headed for the front door. David grabbed his rifle as Liz searched frantically for Owen and Sarah, “They’re not here!” she shouted.
David felt a knot in his stomach. They went to the front door and looked out, there
was no sign of the infected anywhere. That’s when someone crashed through the door leading from the side yard into the kitchen. Owen yelled for help over Sarah crying hysterically. David and Liz hurried into the kitchen, the knot in his stomach getting worse, “Oh no, I said I wouldn’t let them get hurt!” he thought.
In the kitchen Owen sat Sarah at the table and grabbed a dish towel that he used to apply pressure to the wound. It was a red, swollen tear in her skin that oozed blood down her back and arm. Sarah was crying and holding her hands over her face, Liz and David stood in the doorway too stunned to move. Owen pressed the wet towel on the bite wound and Sarah groaned.
“Help Me damn it, please you guys!” Owen yelled at them.
Liz walked over and knelt in front of Sarah, “Oh god, Sarah I’m sorry…” Liz began crying.
David stood in the doorway, it was a death sentence to be bitten. There wasn’t anything they could do to help her. He had failed again, he said none of them would get killed through this and he failed again. “I shouldn’t have taken the pills, I could have stopped this.” he thought as tears ran down his face. Owen looked up at him, “David! Help us, please man!”
David went to the Livingroom and grabbed the bottle of iodine from the table, then he brought it to the kitchen. Liz was still trying to comfort Sarah, “Sarah? Honey, just tell us what we can do to fix this. Just tell us how to help you…”
Sarah suddenly pushed Liz back, then she slapped away the towel Owen had. “Leave me alone!” she screamed and stood from the table.
Sarah’s face and eyes were red, tears streamed down her face, “I have to call my dad.” She said calmly and headed for the bedroom.