I lean back against Logan as he walks up behind me. "You look exhausted." He says softly, enfolding me in his arms.
"I could sleep." I say, turning to look him in the eyes. "What's changed, Logan? Why are they out during the day?" I ask, as I lean into his chest.
"We keep asking ourselves the same thing. The only answer we can come up with is the sun’s not as bright as it usually is. It's cooler out." He says brushing my hair away from my face.
"Oh my gawd, you're right." I cry, looking up at the sun.
The sun isn't blocked out by clouds or any such thing as that, but the air feels heavier, as if breathing was harder. I feel a moment of panic. I am too young to deal with all of this. Yes, most the time I feel capable of handling the weight of the world on my shoulders, but sometimes I have this overwhelming urge to curl into a ball and cry. I battle that out of my system each time it pops up because I know I have people depending on my abilities now.
"What do you think? Should we try one of those for the night?" I ask, pointing at the three small houses. Bending down Logan briefly brushes his lips over mine and I run my hand into his hair. Maybe one day soon we can have some time alone, but not today. Turning away, I get back in the truck and it roars to life under me.
The three small houses come into view and I see that they are all connected by an alleyway running between them. A small sign out front proclaims them to be Diehl's Home for Pregnant Women. I just hope all the women have left. I don't want to run into the gore of eaten or zombified pregnant women. The mere thought sends a shiver racing down my spine.
Coming to a stop in front of the farthest home, I turn to the kids and say, "Stay here. Gage, same rules apply as last time. Here's the gun, it's loaded so be careful." I know if a zombie comes at me with just my katana I won't be able to put up as much of a fight as I usually do, but I'll give them hell for as long as my shoulder holds out.
"Makayla, get back in the truck. Blu and I are going to check this place out. Besides, Lainey really needs to change that." Logan says, as he casts a glance at my shoulder.
"Lainey stays with the kids this time, but this whole place needs to be checked before nightfall. You and Blu can't do this alone." I say, stubbornly.
"Mak, you are too damn hard headed!" I hear Blu mutter behind me.
Shrugging my shoulders lightly, I turn toward the first house with Logan and Blu on my heels.
"Here, take this." Logan says, handing me a pistol.
"Thanks." I say, brushing my hand against his.
Once we reach the door of the first house, we all notice the door is already pushed in, the hinges bent forward. Brown blood covers one whole wall. The smell hits me and vomit rises into my throat. The bodies of the dead, nothing but bones now, lay in a pile by one wall; three broken skeletons picked clean by whatever had bent the hinges to get at them. I want to cry for them, but I push it to the back of my mind. This house can't be used for the night, but we still finish checking the rooms, not wanting to be surprised by anything in the night.
Walking from the first house to the second through the small alleyway, I freeze as I see a female freshie. She is standing in the side yard, her stomach a gapping hole and her intestines trailing behind her body. In her hands is the bloody remains of something quite small. The vomit I had held back earlier came rushing into my throat again and this time I can’t hold it back. Bending forward, I throw up what little contents there is in my stomach. She is too busy crunching on the small baby in her arms to even notice my presence. Without another thought, I raise the pistol I hold in my hand and shoot a hole through her ear. I hear the swish of the bullet as it hits in the yard on the other side, the freshie falling where she stood.
The second house is much like the first, blood covers most of the surfaces. I am beginning to think we will have to find a new place to stay the night. Being that these women were pregnant, it seems as if they couldn't put up much of a fight and were overrun. A sadness clutches at my heart for the ones that had died, but more so for the ones who now walk around as zombies or as freshies.
Standing at the door of the last house, Logan, Blu and I all look dejected. They hadn't seen the woman in the side yard, luckily they'd still been inside looking through cabinets for supplies. I thank God Blu wasn't subjected to the sight of the woman and baby. The world was too much for me sometimes and I didn't want it to be more so on him.
House three is locked tight, the windows boarded up from inside. This feels strange to me. How can one house be so much more prepared than the others? Looking the yard over once more, I don't see a car or truck anywhere, but I wasn’t really expecting anyone to be here.
Leaning forward I knock, my expectations of what is behind those doors growing by leaps and bounds. Maybe someone had indeed barricaded themselves within and was surviving. When the door opens and I see what is on the other side, I faint.
Waking sometime later, I don't remember much of what happened. I know darkness has descended over the land, but I’m not even sure where I am. I wipe a hand over my brow then jerk up, remembering. Running into the other room, I search for what could have been nothing but a mirage. Seeing my bestie sitting on the sofa surrounded by my new family, I feel overwhelmed. I've finally found her, or she found me. Falling into the seat beside her, I bury my head in her hair and bawl. I feel her arms encircle my shoulders.
"Mak, it's ok. I'm here and I'm fine. I knew you would come for me. I just knew it." She says as silent tears fall from her eyes.
Looking around the room, I see the faces of two other women, neither of whom are Beth. "Where's Beth?" I question, standing to go search the rest of the house.
"Umm, we were separated at school the day this all happened. I searched for her for over a month and finally found her the day we all left. She was one of those things. She'd been turned into a zombie." Clara says as tears roll down her face, a sob racking her body.
Chapter Twenty
Clara and I hold onto one another for hours as we cry over Beth. I tell her my horror stories about Mom and Dad and she tells me about escaping the hordes of undead at college. Her journey to find me as harrowing as my own to find her. I leave her asleep on the sofa to search out the arms of Logan. I find him standing by a window in one of the back rooms.
Drawing me to his chest, he kisses my forehead. "Are you ok?" He asks softly against my hair.
"I don't know how to feel. I'm sad over the loss of Beth, but happy to find Clara. I guess my brain is in a state of confusion." I whisper, honestly.
"It's natural to be confused. Hell, baby, anyone would feel the same." He says, turning me to face him.
Leaning his head down, he brushes his lips gently against mine and within seconds his tongue is prying my lips open. We deepen the kiss. For the first time we have just a moment alone.
He pushes me against the boarded up window, his hands roaming my body, my nails clawing at his back. I want a closer connection. I need nothing to separate our bodies. The dirty clothes we are wearing are too much and I want nothing more than to rid our bodies of them.
Sighing softly, Logan brings the kiss to end. "Damn, I shouldn't have done that." He says leaning away, his hands going to his mussed hair.
"Why not? I wanted it as much as you did. Maybe even more so."
Sliding a hand down my arm, he says, "I've wanted that for a long time now, but with your emotions all over the place I feel like a heel for taking advantage of you."
"Logan, you didn't take advantage of me. I came to you, remember?" I ask, with a quirked brow.
"You did, but you came for comfort, not for me to add to your burdens."
Pulling him into my arms, I cuddle against his chest. His heart beat is all the comfort I need at the moment. "Logan, I came to you for how you make me feel. With you I feel safe, secure, comforted, and loved. I needed to feel your arms around me, to ground me to this God awful world we are living in. Please don't feel like you took advantage, Hell, if we're being honest, I wanted more to h
appen." I say on a loud sigh.
Logan gently runs his thumb over my bottom lip, his eyes never leaving mine. The moment becomes erotic just from his touch. A bump against the window outside ends the moment before it has a chance to begin again.
"They're out there! They're out there!" One of the girls comes running into the room, burrowing herself into the lone mattress against wall, her whimpering louder than the noises outside. I know she will soon draw even more attention to this lone, boarded up window.
"Shhhhh, it's going to be ok." I say trying my best to calm her.
"It's not. They're here. They're going to get in and eat us all." She is beyond panicked. I don't know what she's been through, I only know I have to shut her up. Throwing out a punch, I knock her senseless. It wouldn't be for long, but maybe she'd be calmer when she came to.
Logan and I walk back into the front room. The door is barricaded by a wooden board nailed into place with the sofa sitting in front of it. "Amy got quiet fast, what did you do?" Clara asks, knowing full well what I was capable of.
"Oh, she just had a run in with a... umm...wall." I say laughing quietly, holding my stomach.
"Mak, I need to have a look at your shoulder. There's medical supplies here that we can use to rewrap it and you need another antibiotic, you're looking flushed." Lainey says as she walks toward me with white bandages in her hands.
I cut my eyes to Logan, only he and I know the reason I am flushed.
Steering me to the examination table in the side room, Lainey sits me down. She gently starts unwinding the dirty gauze on my shoulder.
"Mak, it honestly doesn't look good. We need to find a hospital with some powerful IV antibiotics." She says, tsking under her breath.
"It's just sore. I'll keep taking the meds you gave me, but I think it'll be ok." I say, moving my shoulder in slow circles. A small gasp of pain escapes me and I try to hide it, but I feel Logan's eyes glaring into my back.
"Lainey told us you were shot when I questioned the wound on your shoulder, but damn, Mak, we need to get you some meds." Clara says, walking into the room.
Holding out my hand to Clara, I step down from the table, "Please. I've lived through much worse. I'll be fine. Now come tell me how you came to be here."
The bumping against the outside of the small house is getting more insistent and moans can now be heard as the horde is passing by. "This is the first night it's been this bad. They usually just walk around once or twice and leave. This is strange." Clara says, biting on her bottom lip, fright clearly evident in her eyes.
Lifting my Glock, I walk over to the window and look out the small hole in the corner. I see nothing, but the pitch black of night beyond the window. "Where are the kids? We need to move everyone in here and close off the other rooms." I say walking from the room, going in search of Gage, Tessa, Ricky and Blu.
Waking Blu and the kids we head back up front, closing off each room as we leave. "It's those damn freshies. I swear they maintain some of their intelligence after being turned. They know we're in here." I say, walking to Logan's side.
Looking around the room, I notice both of Clara's friends are missing. "Where the hell did your friends go?" I ask.
"I'm not sure. They were just here." Clara says, searching the room.
"Damn, they should have stayed put." I say, irritation clearly evident in my voice.
"I'm not sure where they went." She says, biting her nails.
"I'll go look. It's not safe to be separated right now." I pat her back before walking out of the room. Using my flashlight, I push through each room, searching every nook and cranny as I go.
When I reach the last room I flash my light around and see the brunette standing in the corner, blood smeared her clothes. Something about her just wasn't right. "Hello." I say, causing her body to jerk in my direction. My light flashes over her eyes, but they are no longer the eyes of the living. Moans emit from her throat. She is now a member of the undead.
Lying at her feet is the body of the girl, Amy. "Damn!" I shout. She will turn now, too. Raising my Glock, I shoot the brunette through one of her undead eyes and she falls back on the blonde girl. I know I'll have to pull her off to shoot Clara's friend, Amy. I turn just as Logan runs into the room, gun raised.
"Are you ok?" He asks, looking for any dangers.
"I'm fine, but Clara's two friends aren't." I say, dragging the one girl off the blonde.
"Shit, how did this happen?" He asks, helping me move the body.
"I have no clue. Seriously, Logan, you know as much as I do!" I reply, looking him in the eyes.
The second shot rings out loud and true, ending what could have turned into a bad situation if Amy had turned. Returning to the front room, I look to Clara, tears already streaming down her face.
"What happened, Mak?" She asks on a sob.
Running a hand through her hair, I pull her into my arms, "I'm so sorry. Your brunette friend, ummm, turned into one of the undead. I guess she took Amy with her while we were all busy." I say, as she cries harder.
"We kinda kept each other sane along this trip, Nikki would make us laugh and Amy was the one who was always trying to keep us protected." Clara says on a sob.
Chapter Twenty-One
The night passes slowly, Clara finally crying herself to sleep on my shoulder. The zombies keep up the bumps all night, testing to see if they could find a way in. Logan and Blu stayed on guard, waking me once daylight streamed through the small holes in the boards.
Checking outside, I see a few freshies ambling around. I know we need to leave, but I wanted Logan and Blu to get some rest. Interrupting my thoughts, Clara walks up beside me and asks, "Can we make it out of here safely today?"
Turning around to face her I say, "You betcha. We're leaving this place. What's in this place for breakfast?" I ask, steering her away from the window.
"I think there's some trail mix and granola bars in the kitchen." She says, heading that way.
"Awesome, let's go." I say, walking behind her. Sooner or later, I'd have to go out and deal with the remaining freshies.
Logan and Blu sleep for another couple hours before waking. I am pulling the board off the door when Logan appears at my back and leans in to help me remove it all the way.
Kissing my forehead softly, he looks at me for a second before saying, "Morning. What do you think you're doing?"
"Dealing with the freshies so we can get the hell out of here." I answer, pulling my Glock from my side.
"Hold on, Mak, and I'll help you." He demands, walking over to grab his guns.
The sound of the door opening alerts the freshies to our presence and they all turn with jerky movements, heading toward us. Lifting my Glock, I unload it in five of the closest zombies, Logan doing the same. Reloading, I look up to see more heading our way. Damn I'd miscounted, there are at least thirty out here. Lifting my gun, I lay out more, but even more are creeping in.
"Logan, go back inside we're outnumbered!" I yell, fear clutching at my heart.
I hear gunshots coming from the house, someone else has walked out to help. Quickly glancing over my shoulder, I see Blu and Clara, both shooting the undead around us. Finally, we are making headway, I think just before one springs from the trees beside where I'm standing and grabs onto my leg, yanking me into the cover of the trees.
Struggling with the freshie, I break free and run from the tree line, the zombie on my tail. I see Logan take aim, the shot ringing in the air. Looking back, I see the freshie is down, writhing on the ground as if in pain. How is that possible? Bending over, I blow a hole through its head and the writhing stops immediately.
Arriving at my side Logan seems to have the same thought I did. "What the hell?"
"I don't know, but these things are getting scarier and scarier. It’s like they’re almost human." I say, running a hand through my ponytail. "Let's get out of here before more come." I tell everyone, as I walk into the house, my gun still cocked, ready to fire if needed.
&
nbsp; Two hours later we are loaded up in the two vehicles and heading down the road. Clara sits beside me in the front seat, her arm thrown across the seat and her head drooping as she sleeps. It was rough on her leaving behind the two women who'd helped her survive for two years, but we’d buried them both in shallow graves behind the buildings, placing a few rocks over the graves so the zombies couldn't get to them. Glancing down at the gas gauge, I know we will have to stop soon for fuel. Slowing down, I watch for any signs of a car or truck.
We passed the “Welcome to California” sign three miles back and ever since our surroundings have been sparse; no buildings, no cars, not even a freshie anywhere in sight. Pulling over to the side of the road, I get out of the truck to stretch. My shoulder is achy, but feeling better than it did two days prior. I hear doors slamming behind me, but don’t turn around.
Surviving Earth: Makayla's Journey Page 10