Survive (Day 4)
Page 7
“She hid some morphine in our car. I gave her a good dose of it. I had to. I didn’t know what else to do. She was hurting so bad.”
“She saved our lives.” Allie corrected herself, “Or my life, anyways. If it wasn’t for her, I’d be dead or infected. If there’s anything I can do to help her, just let me know.”
“What she needs is rest,” said Red. “But I don’t know if she’s going to be able to get any. We can’t stay here for long. It’s not safe.”
“Why not?”
“Because something’s changed with the helpers. They’re different now. They attacked that school and slaughtered everyone. Before, they just ran at us, but now they’re starting to plan their attacks. I don’t know if it’s just this area, or if it’s like this everywhere, but I don’t want to stick around to find out. We need to get as far from this town as we can. And from what you told me about how they were burning houses, I don’t think anywhere around here is safe.”
“Where do you want to go?”
“Texas,” said Red. “I’ve got family out there.”
“Where at in Texas?”
“Gulf coast, near Louisiana.”
Allie grimaced. “That’s a long way, isn’t it?”
Red nodded.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to go all that way?”
“Yeah, for two reasons. First, because as far as we know the disease is only in Colorado. It could be safe in Texas. The further we get from here the better. Second, it’s better for us to be near the coast, and near the Mexican border. If we get to the Gulf, we could find a boat and head south to get out of the states.”
“I guess that makes sense.”
Red chuckled nervously. “I know it’s a shit plan, but it’s the only plan we’ve got.”
“How long should we let June sleep before we hit the road?”
“I don’t know. Maybe a couple hours. She lost a lot of blood. She was so cold and pale. Christ, she looked like she was dying when she fell asleep. I had to check if she was breathing. Last thing I want to do is wake her up, but we can’t stay here for long. We need to get moving.”
“How much morphine do you have?”
“Enough to keep her doped up for a good long time,” said Red. “And we’ve got other stuff as well – heavy opiates.”
“Where’d you guys get that?”
“Long story.” Red had no desire to rehash the painful truth.
A distant voice called out, “Hello. I’m here to help.”
“Fuck,” said Red as he drew his pistol and ran back into the showroom.
There was a helper near the squad car. He was middle-aged, with tear-streaked cheeks and bloodshot eyes, short brown hair that was thick on the sides and thin on top, and a beard stained with dried blood around his mouth.
“You need help.” He walked through broken glass on his way to Red, a knife in either hand.
Red didn’t hesitate to fire. Two quick shots hit the man in the chest, and he was knocked back a few steps. He staggered, and then fell face first into the broken glass.
Allie let out a yelp at the sight of Red’s murder.
He turned to her and said, “Find some rags to clean June’s blood off the car seat. I’ll start making a bed for her in the back. She can sleep while we drive. We’ve got to get the fuck out of here.”
Allie was dazed, and stared at the dead man in the showroom.
Red snapped his fingers in her face. “Hey, hey. Come on. No time for gawking.”
“Sorry, it’s just…”
“I know. Trust me, I get it.” He looked down at the man he’d just killed. “It’s not murder. They’re not people. You can’t let yourself think of them as people anymore.”
She stared at him in shock as she struggled to process the implications of what he said.
“Allie, come on. Go. Move!”
She snapped out of her daze, and ran off to search for something to clean the blood out of the passenger seat of the squad car. Red went to the broken window of the dealership, past the dead man and the parked squad car. He scanned the parking lot for signs of more helpers.
Dusk approached, and there was no sign of an aurora on the horizon. Grey clouds marred the blue, their undersides burned by the setting sun. It would be a dark, starless night.
“Allie, hurry up. I guarantee helpers heard that shot. We don’t have much time.”
“I found these,” she said as she returned with several promotional t-shirts bearing the dealership’s logo.
“That’ll work.”
She started the task of sopping up June’s blood from the seat. Red stood guard with Porter at his side.
A car passed on the nearby highway, but there was no way to tell if it was a helper or survivor swerving around the parked cars.
“There, I think that’s good,” said Allie.
“All right, here,” said Red as he handed the teen his pistol. She had no desire to take it. “Here. Cover me. I’ll get June.”
She shook her head. “I don’t… I’ve never held a gun. I don’t like them.”
He moved closer to her, and pressed the gun to her hand. “You do now.”
Red went into the office where June was sleeping. She was on a blanket he’d laid out on the floor for her. White bandages were wrapped around her head, covering most of the right side. Her purple, swelling bruise was getting worse.
“June, I’m going to lift you up. Can you hear me? June?”
She didn’t respond.
“June.” He gently held her chin and adjusted her head’s position so that she faced him, but her eyes wouldn’t open. “We’re leaving. I’m going to carry you to the car.”
She didn’t respond.
He struggled to lift her dead weight, and finally managed to stand up with her in his arms. He lumbered back into the showroom and told Allie to get the blanket. She did, and then laid it over the hard, plastic seats in the back of the squad car. She helped Red with the awkward task of laying June inside.
“All right, kid,” said Red once they were finished. “You ready to go?”
Allie shook her head and said, “Probably not.”
“You’re going to have to hold Porter on your lap.”
“Sure, that’s fine,” she said and picked the dog up. He let out a groan of disapproval, but didn’t fight back.
They got in the squad car, and then backed out of the broken window before heading onto the highway.
“There’s a flag in the back,” said Red. “If any military show up, you need to get it. Okay?”
“Why?”
“Because you’ll need to wave it out the window to show them we’re not infected.”
“That works?”
“It did,” said Red. “I don’t know if it does anymore, but it’s worth a shot.”
Red raced down the empty highway, avoiding wrecks along the way in a mad escape from the infected city. “Do you know this area well?”
“Yeah, I’ve lived here my whole life.”
“Do you know if there’re any good roads we could take that aren’t as open as this one. I don’t like driving on major roads.”
“Sure,” she said. “A little ways up you can get on an access road that goes around a quarry. It connects to a few county roads we could take. I don’t know how far they’ll take us though.”
“I guess we’re going to find out.”
Allie guided Red to the access road, and soon they were driving alongside a fenced quarry. The sun had already fallen behind the mountains, and the overcast sky was quickly losing its light. Red had to click on the headlights as he traversed the bumpy, unpaved road.
They continued to drive as dusk claimed the day, but neither of them knew where they were headed. The county road they chose seemed to lead south, but once the night stole the mountains from their view it was hard to tell which direction they were driving after taking multiple wide turns.
June never awoke, but she did begin to moan in pain at one point. She shi
fted on the uncomfortable seat, and then fell back asleep.
“Hey, look out that way,” said Allie as she pointed out her window, down the hill they were driving atop.
A helicopter was flying far away, a spotlight pointed at the ground. Behind it, a long line of faint lights crept along.
Red slowed to a stop and said, “There’s a pair of binoculars under your seat. Grab them for me.”
Allie did, and Red used the binoculars to look down the hill at the caravan in the distance. “It’s the military. They’re clearing a path. Wow, there are a hell of a lot of them. They’ve got a vehicle up front that’s like a plow, and it’s knocking the wrecks out of the way. Here, look.” He passed the binoculars to Allie. She adjusted the pair, and then used them to look out her window.
“Where do you think they’re going?” she asked while watching the rows of semis, troop transports, and Hummers moving across the barren plain.
“I don’t know where they’re headed, but it gives me an idea.”
“What?”
“Let’s wait here for a while, and then get down there and follow their path,” he said. “They can clear out the helpers, and we can ride along in their wake. Besides, it’s not a good idea to drive through here at night with our headlights on. Anyone within ten miles can see us.” He clicked off the headlights.
“If you think so,” said Allie. “I’ve been hiding in an attic ever since this started. I don’t know what’s going on.”
“We can camp here for now, and then head off when the sun comes up.”
June groaned, and shifted. This time she didn’t fall back asleep as easily as before. She reached for her bandaged face, and her light groan turned to a pained cry.
“Hey, June,” said Red. “It’s okay, babe. We’re going to be okay. I’ve got some pain killers if you need it.
“Red, what happened? Ow, ow, ow…”
“Don’t touch your face,” he said. “You’re going to be okay. Do you need a pain killer?”
“My face,” she said as she touched the bandages. “It hurts so bad. It feels like I’m bleeding.”
“Here, take one of these,” he handed back a bottle of prescription pills, and then took off his seat belt. “I’ll get you some water out of the trunk.”
Porter barked as Red left the car, and Allie let the dog out as well. She joined Porter at the back of the car as he searched through their supplies.
“Do you really think she’s going to make it all the way to Texas?”
Red looked at the teen and said, “I don’t know if any of us will, but we sure as fuck are going to give it a shot.”
Author’s Note
Phew! This was the most intense chapter of the series yet, and the journey to Texas has never looked so dire. Just as we start to learn more about June, a catastrophic event nearly steals her away. Will she survive? You’re going to have to wait to find out.
If there’s one good thing out of Day Four, at least they’re nearly out of Colorado – but it’s a long way to their destination.
Personally, this past month has been a bit of a roller coaster. First off, my wife and I announced that she was pregnant, which was a high point for sure. Unfortunately, her health took a nosedive recently. She was beset with crippling panic attacks that kept her up for several nights in a row. Her job had zero compassion for this, and fired her for missing work. No kidding. She was fired for missing work due to a severe medical issue. I was floored by that one! I didn’t even think it was legal, but Colorado is a right to work state, which means that an employer can fire you for basically anything.
That’s the reason Day Four came out a little later than expected. As I write this, my wife’s just now beginning to get better, but that’s after multiple trips to the doctor and hospital. I’ve never personally dealt with something like a panic attack. It’s been an educational couple of weeks!
We’ve all got our problems, and I never wanted to turn my Author’s Notes into a personal bitch session. That being said, these notes at the end of my books have always been an opportunity to mind-vomit a bit, and this is what’s been on my mind!
The past couple years have been a heck of a roller coaster, but that’s life. And we’ve all got to learn to throw our hands up and enjoy the ride – panic attacks and all!
As for Day Four, one of my favorite parts was the opportunity to get to know June a little better. At the beginning of the series, she felt more like a third wheel than a major character, but that’s changed as time has gone by. Now she’s at the epicenter of most of the action, and has become an integral part of the evolving plotline. Knowing that she’s got her own daddy issues adds a new twist to the battle between the Law children and their father – who we still have yet to even meet.
Day Four also began to hint at a possible resolution to the virus, referred to mysteriously as the Red Solution. I promise that’s going to become a more important aspect soon!
Finally, I’d like to invite everyone to visit the Facebook Fanpage to join in the conversation about this series and my other works. I frequently give away free, signed books to fans. Come get yours!
Table of Contents
SURVIVE
Day Four – 12:00 am
Day Four – 12:29 am
Day Four – 1:03 am
Day Four – 1:28 am
Day Four - 7:30 am
Day Four – 8:43 am
Day Four – 12:16 pm
Day Four – 2:33 pm
Day Four – 3:01 pm
Day Four – 3:32 pm
Day Four – 3:38 pm
Day Four – 6:42 pm
Author’s Note