by Max Lockwood
“Damn it,” Alec said under his breath, his pulse speeding up.
“What?” Bobby Dean asked, his eyes darting around.
“I saw someone peek out from behind that building,” Alec replied, his mouth going dry.
“Infected?”
Alec nodded. “I think so.”
“Give me the gun,” Bobby Dean said, reaching toward the hunting rifle.
“No,” Alec protested, moving away from him. “We don’t want to cause a disturbance.”
“I don’t want to be attacked,” Bobby Dean said, gripping the handlebars of the bike, ready to jump back on in a moment’s notice.
Alec scanned the ground, looking for something useful to arm himself with. He grabbed an old iron gas canister and quickly filled it with gas.
“What are you doing?” Bobby Dean asked as he bounced on the balls of his feet. “Let’s just get out of here or shoot it.”
“We can’t,” Alec replied. “We came here for a reason, but we have to kill it before we go to the store. We have to wait until it comes to us. Then, we attack first.”
The wait was agonizing, but there were no better options than to stand, completely exposed, and wait for the inevitable attack. Alec felt out of practice with his hand to hand combat. He even felt out of practice with his shooting. There just hadn’t been a need to use the gun on the farm.
It took a minute, but the Infected returned with blazing red eyes. It first went after Bobby Dean, who was only armed with a knife. He jabbed the blade toward the Infected’s chest, doing little to slow it down. Then, Alec swung the gas can at its head, but the Infected dodged it, knocking Alec off-balance.
It took three tries before Alec finally made contact with its skull, knocking it back a few feet. But it remained on its feet and returned for more. Bobby Dean swung the knife at its throat, slashing it. This was the perfect diversion Alec needed. He swung the can as hard as he could and delivered a fatal blow to the Infected’s head.
The two took a step back and waited before moving on. It seemed that there were always more Infected that came out of the woodwork after one was killed. But as far as Alec and Bobby Dean could tell, they had eliminated their only threat.
“Where are the others?” Bobby Dean asked, his eyes still searching for danger.
“Maybe there aren’t any others,” Alec whispered. “I mean, what’s the population of this town on a good day? This isn’t Seattle right after the virus hit. Maybe there aren’t very many left.”
“Then let’s go to the store and try to make it quick,” Bobby Dean said as he walked the motorcycle a few feet closer to the store. He slung one of the saddlebags over his shoulder and handed the other to Alec.
The stench inside the little grocery store was unbearable. Flies buzzed around the rotten produce and the smell of spoiled meat lingered in the air. Alec nearly choked on the thick air before he eventually became accustomed to the smell of decomposing food.
Alec and Bobby Dean systematically searched each aisle, each one taking a side of shelves to grab items from. Alec loaded up on a diverse mix of canned fruits and vegetables while Bobby Dean went for packaged cookies and crackers. He filled the pouches with the highest-calorie, most nutritionally-dense food he could find with hopes that it could last them long enough to forgo another trip into town.
When they reached the candy aisle, Alec walked to the end, but Bobby Dean snagged handfuls of different chocolate bars, making sure Melissa would be appeased for a long time to come. Alec thought it was funny how Bobby Dean’s tough exterior softened whenever he was around Melissa. He didn’t understand how two strong personalities could ever get along as well as they did, but he figured that some of their relationship came from the fact that there were so few people left. While Alec’s feelings for Elaina were as strong as ever, he didn’t doubt that they never would have gotten together if fate hadn’t placed them in the right place at the right time. Or, considering the fact that he rescued her from the Infected, they met at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Bobby Dean checked a freezer with hopes of finding something still preserved, but someone had failed to shut the doors completely, leaving the food to spoil. He slammed the door shut in frustration. It had been nice to have a steady source of food, but the memories of the meals served in Safe Haven danced in their heads as they ate creamed corn for the third day in a row.
“I can’t wait until we kill that damn cow,” Bobby Dean said. “Or maybe, someone in the area has a pig. I’d kill for some bacon right now.”
He broke open a bag of potato chips and started eating them as he looked for anything else to take back to the farm. Alec grabbed a bag, too, feeling a little guilty that they were stuffing their faces while the girls were at home, probably splitting the last can of soup for breakfast.
“My bag is full,” Alec called out to Bobby Dean, stuffing a few more small items in his pockets. Batteries and matches were the most valuable forms of energy they had.
“Same,” he replied, struggling to lift their supplies. “Should we put the bags on the bike?”
“Yeah, let’s head back,” Alec said. “I bet the girls are getting worried.”
“Nah, not Melissa,” he joked. “If she could, she’d probably go out into the wild and hunt bears and forage for berries. She’s only living in that house because it has good memories for her. She’s really getting into roughing it.”
“I think you’re right. The other day, I watched her try to knit a sweater, even though there are a bunch of them all over the house. She’s even been lighting fires by rubbing sticks together.”
“That’s my girl,” Bobby Dean cackled.
They hung the bursting saddlebags on the motorcycle and Alec sat down, ready to go back to the house and show the other two what they had collected. Bobby Dean seemed to have something else on his mind.
“You’re going the wrong way,” Alec pointed out.
“Um, I thought I’d make a quick stop at the pharmacy. It’s just down the block.”
“The pharmacy? What do you need from the pharmacy?”
“You know, like, medicine and stuff,” he muttered.
Alec lowered his eyebrows. He couldn’t think of any need for medicine of any kind. Melissa’s grandparents had the essentials in the medicine cabinet and there really wasn’t a need for an extensive first-aid kit. Besides a few minor burns from cooking and a stubbed toe or two from walking around in the dark, everyone had been in good health.
Never wanting to miss an opportunity to be prepared, Alec followed Bobby Dean into the tiny store and dropped some more essentials into a plastic sack. Pain relievers, bandages, and chemical ice packs went into the bag. Because they didn’t leave the house and never interacted with others, there was no need for cold and flu medicine. Besides, when a killer virus was spreading like wildfire, a little influenza was the least of their concerns.
Bobby Dean walked through the aisles, searching but not selecting any of the items. This put Alec on high alert. For all he knew, Bobby Dean was a straight-edge guy. But it roused his suspicions. After all, they were in a store filled with illicit drugs. Alec didn’t know if Bobby Dean was the kind of guy who was looking for a fix, but he didn’t want this kind of liability on his hands.
As a cop, Alec had seen plenty of drug use. Most of the time, it was harmless—teenagers smoking a joint in the park, or business executives snorting a line of cocaine at a strip club—that sort of thing. It wasn’t legal, but it didn’t necessarily hurt anyone. On the other hand, he had seen what an opioid addiction could do to a person. If he needed to get his fix, Bobby Dean would put himself and others in an incomprehensible amount of danger just to get the drugs his body craved. Alec hadn’t considered himself to be on the job in almost a year, but if he had to play the role of the cop to protect himself and the others, he would.
Quietly, Alec followed Bobby Dean, trying to appear inconspicuous. He figured Bobby Dean would hop behind the pharmacist’s counter and enter the s
tore room, but instead, he grabbed a box that sat just next to the register.
“What’s that?” Alec asked, confused by his selection.
“Nothing,” he replied casually. “Are you ready to go?”
Alec walked up to the display and noticed there was a missing box from the selection of condoms available.
“What do you plan on doing with those?” Alec asked.
“If you have to ask, then I don’t think you’re ready for it.” Bobby Dean sniggered.
Alec rolled his eyes. “I know what condoms are. I was just wondering what you planned on doing with them because there are two women in the house and I know you don’t plan on messing around with Elaina.”
“Good detective work, Sherlock,” he replied sarcastically. “Now, can we go before we get ambushed again?”
Alec frowned. “How old is Melissa? Wasn’t she close to Natalia’s age? I know for a fact that Natalia was still in high school.”
“She’s nineteen, if you must know. Perfectly legal, as if normal laws still existed. I don’t see what the problem is here.”
Alec wasn’t sure either, but it still didn’t seem right. Besides, there was a time not too long ago when Melissa and Thomas were close. Sure, she was an adult who was capable of making her own decisions, but Alec’s instinct to protect kicked in. Melissa was starting to feel like a younger sister to Alec, much like Natalia did. While Melissa often rejected any help or advice from anyone else, she was still less experienced in the ways of the world.
“I know we don’t have a lot of time for guy talk with the two girls around all the time,” Bobby Dean said, much to Alec’s disapproval. “You can’t tell me you don’t get the urge to get physical with Elaina. It’s hard to be cooped up in a house, especially when you have a particular appetite, you know?”
Alec cringed. “I don’t want to talk about this with you.”
“So, you and Elaina—”
“No,” Alec said quickly. “You know that Elaina has a unique situation going on. She doesn’t want to spread the infection.”
“That’s what these are for,” Bobby Dean said, shaking the box. “And preventing accidents that would make our difficult life so much harder.”
Alec didn’t want to think of either of the girls being pregnant. He just wanted to get back on the bike and go home. But when he got home, he would only be able to think about what Bobby Dean and Melissa were doing behind closed doors—something that he would never be able to do with Elaina, even if she wanted to.
“Relax,” Bobby Dean said. “We’re two consenting adults. She’s a bit younger than me, but she’s mature for her age.”
“Whatever,” Alec said, turning to leave. “I just don’t want to have this conversation anymore. I think it’s weird.”
“Fine,” Bobby Dean said, taking a second box from the register. “Then don’t expect me to share.”
Alec was about to say something he would have regretted when two figures came bursting out of the supply closet. Two old men in dress clothes and white lab coats snarled at Bobby Dean and Alec as they climbed over the counter, ready to attack.
“Go,” Bobby Dean yelled, pushing Alec forward. Alec tripped over a magazine display that Bobby Dean had tipped over upon their arrival, sending him sprawling. Bobby Dean, with his eyes locked on the infected pharmacists, didn’t notice that Alec was on the ground and fell on top of him.
“Get off me,” Alec roared, trying to get up. His feet were tangled in the metal rack and Bobby Dean’s full body weight on top of him didn’t help. Bobby Dean managed to roll off him by the time the Infected caught up with them, but Alec was still awkwardly tangled in the racks. He felt the hand of the pharmacist on his chest when he swung the rifle out from underneath his body and fired two quick shots at the Infected, killing them immediately.
Alec freed himself from the mess and hustled out of the store to find Bobby Dean on the bike, the engine already started.
“Thought you’d leave me to fend for myself?” Alec asked, frustration boiling over.
“I’m the getaway driver,” Bobby Dean answered sheepishly.
“Well, you’d better drive away before we have more on our tail. We certainly made enough noise to disrupt this whole town.”
Bobby Dean took off toward the dirt road, back to the old farmhouse. Alec’s mind was buzzing with all sorts of frustration, but he tried to calm himself by imagining Elaina’s relieved face once they returned. After all, it was the only thing that mattered. He kept promising that he’d return to her in one piece, and he’d be damned before he broke his word.
Chapter Three
Alec and Bobby Dean returned to the farmhouse before noon, exhausted from hauling heavy bags full of goods and running away from the few Infected they encountered along the way. It was the most work they had done since they arrived in Oklahoma and their well-conditioned bodies had softened considerably since the need to run and fight on a daily basis had become obsolete. After parking the motorcycle in the barn, the pair lifted the heavy bags and hauled them toward the house, panting as they walked.
Before they walked through the front door, Alec put his hand on Bobby Dean’s shoulder, prompting him to stop for a moment.
“I’ve been thinking about what we talked about at the pharmacy,” Alec said, still feeling uncomfortable. “Maybe I was being too harsh, but I just want you to be careful.”
“I will,” Bobby Dean replied, confused by Alec’s persistence on the topic.
“I know she’s been through a lot, but she’s still young. I don’t know how long we’re going to be at this house, but it’s easiest when everybody gets along. If things go bad, I don’t want you to have to go, but—”
“But you’ll kick me out of here first,” Bobby Dean finished. “Yeah, I understand. I don’t know what you think I’m trying to do, but believe it or not, she brought the topic up to me. I’m just trying to be smart about this. I don’t want to hurt her.”
“Oh,” Alec said, feeling slightly foolish. “Okay, well, just be careful.”
Bobby Dean grinned and patted Alec on the shoulder with a hard slap. “Good talk, buddy.”
Alec pursed his lips and followed Bobby Dean into the house, who dropped his bag on the ground with a loud thud. “We’re home!”
Elaina rushed into the living room from the upstairs bedroom with one of her notebooks in her hand. She looked relieved but still a little annoyed that Alec had to risk his life by leaving the farm. “Thank goodness. You’ve been gone for a long time.”
“Where’s Melissa?” Bobby Dean asked. “I got a little something for her.”
Alec scowled at what he thought was a crass statement, only to see him dump chocolate bars onto the area rug.
“She’s with the animals,” Elaina replied, pointing toward the back door. “What did you get?”
“The whole damn store,” Alec said, taking his bags into the kitchen to restock the cupboards. “I hope this lasts us for quite a while, because I don’t really want to go back to town.”
“Why?” Elaina asked, her face falling. “Did you see any Infected?”
“We did more than just see Infected,” Bobby Dean chimed in as he sat down at the kitchen table and pried open another bag of chips. “We killed a few.”
“Seriously?” Elaina said, looking horrified.
“Not a lot,” Alec said, trying to soothe her nerves. “To be perfectly honest, it wasn’t that hard to kill them, either. One went down with a blow to the head and the other two took a bullet to the brain, each.”
He didn’t mention the fact that Bobby Dean had nearly left him for dead. That would not be good for group unity.
“I really hoped that the town would be empty,” Elaina said. “That was just wishful thinking on my part. Nowhere is really free of Infected, is it?”
“This place was close to it,” Bobby Dean said through a mouthful of chewed potato chips.
“He’s right. The Infected looked different there. They are usually so
big and strong, but these people looked emaciated. It was like being chased by angry skeletons. You would think, if this was such a close-knit, tiny community that there would be more Infected roaming the streets, but there really weren’t. I guess we didn’t stick around long enough to find out, though.”
Elaina was quiet while she thought about what the men had seen. While it seemed good that the Infected were easier to kill, it still meant that the outbreak had reached their area. It was very possible that Melissa’s grandparents were even victims of it but died sooner because of their advanced age.
“Maybe they’re running on fumes,” Elaina said.
“Sounds scientific,” Bobby Dean joked.
“What I mean is, their compromised mental state might be willing their weakened bodies to do more than they’re physically capable of. They’re not able to get the nutrients they need and they’re working their bodies past the point of exhaustion. Their bodies will eventually shut down at some point. There’s no way their organs can survive that kind of illness.”
“Awesome,” Bobby Dean said, crumpling up the empty bag and tossing it toward the trashcan, just missing it. “We just stay here for a little bit, wait for the rest of the Infected to die off, then carry on with our lives. Hell, maybe things are like that out west now. We could all just go home because there are no survivors left.”
Elaina frowned. “I’m not so sure about that. There have got to be more survivors out there. People like Bretton have whole armies of people who are being infected against their will. I just don’t think it’s going to be over so soon.”
“Besides,” Alec added, “things are just starting to get bad on the East Coast. Who knows if it’s spread to other countries by now? I don’t know if we can really think we’re safe yet.”
Bobby Dean stood up and wiped his hands on his pants. “Then I suppose we should keep working on making a life for ourselves here. I’m going to find Melissa and help her with the chores.”