When they reached the main road, the soldier timed their strike for the perfect moment. Cliff took the turn to get back onto the main road and the Hummer solidly connected with the rear of the car, sending them sliding across the asphalt. The car went off the other side of the road, and into the trees.
"HOLD ON," Cliff shouted.
The momentum from the Hummer's assault threw the car into the woods, with incredible force. Max threw her arms around Jack, bracing them both as she watched the car head straight for a large tree. The squeal of tires and brakes could be heard as Cliff tried to control the car and stop the inevitable impact they were heading toward. The last noise before the crunch of the car against wood was Jack screaming.
As the car finally came to a halt, they all flew forward in their seats. Seatbelts saved them from any major injuries, but the car was wrecked beyond driving. The pain in Max's already abused body caused her to see stars as she tried to unwrap her arms from around Jack and check her daughter for injuries. Griffin was also reaching across, touching Jack's face and head, making sure she didn't have any major wounds.
"I'm ok," Jack sniffed, tears rolling down her face.
"Are you sure?" Griffin asked. Jack nodded.
"You're bleeding," Max said. She reached over to touch a cut on Griffin's forehead. "It's not bad."
"I think I hit my head on the window when we spun."
"Where are the soldiers?" Turner asked suddenly from the front seat.
Panic flared in Max. They were sitting ducks in the car, crashed in the woods. She turned to look out the back window and realized she couldn't clearly see the road. The embankment they went down was steep, and the Hummer hadn't followed. Where were they? Max thought to herself, knowing whatever the orders were, the soldiers wouldn't stop until they had completed their mission.
"We need to get out of this car. Maybe go into the woods to hide," Max said. Griffin agreed and popped open his door slowly. He got out and crouched with his rifle at the ready, waiting to see if an attack was imminent. When nothing seemed to be coming from the road, Turner and Cliff also exited. Cliff ran to the back of the car and lifted the trunk, pulling out their packs. It was then that they heard the yells from the soldiers.
Max slid from the car and reached in to pull Jack behind her. Once out, Jack grabbed her pack and Turner led the group into the woods. Max carefully strapped her tomahawk to her waist, not feeling comfortable without a weapon and followed her daughter into the trees. The pop, pop, pop sound of gunfire sounded behind her, and she bent slightly and started to run. The hollow sound of bullets striking trees nearby made her move faster, despite her body protesting.
Griffin was behind her returning fire as Cliff ran by them to get to Jack and Turner. With Turner in the lead, they wove through the trees, trying to put something between them and soldiers. They had come down the embankment after them and were pursuing them into the woods. In total there were five soldiers, more than Max guessed. They were all in dark fatigues, carrying rifles pressed to their shoulders. Every few trees, Griffin would press himself behind a trunk and return fire to slow the group down.
A surprised bellow caught Max's attention and she whirled to look back at the soldiers. She had assumed that Griffin's shots had found their mark, but instead, she watched as an infected fell upon the soldier, biting into his exposed neck, spilling blood down his fatigues. Griffin turned to Max, his eyes wide with surprise and they both surveyed the woods. Together in sick realization, they found they had missed one thing in the woods as they ran in. It was full of the infected. And they were drawn by the noise of the gunfire.
Max pulled her tomahawk with her uninjured hand and spun to catch up with Jack. Griffin easily passed her as they ran, both wanting to get to Jack and protect her. Max slid to a stop, breathing heavily when she caught up. Jack was tucked against Cliff protectively and Turner was moving slower now through the trees, picking off infected as he could while they moved forward.
The cracking of brush had Max turning to look behind them to find a group of five infected lumbering toward them. Griffin stepped up with his rifle and began to take single shots, he quickly took care of those following and Max fell into step with him as they followed the group deeper into the trees.
"Where did the soldiers go?" Max asked suddenly, realizing it didn't seem like they were pursuing them any longer.
"I think they decided facing the infected wasn't worth it," Griffin replied.
"Probably figure the infected will finish the job on me."
"Execution by infected."
They walked as quietly as they could, trying to not draw attention to themselves if possible. Infected would stumble into their path and they would be quickly dispatched. When it felt safe from the soldiers, they turned back toward the road and what would lead them to town. They walked a large arc, hoping that if the soldiers were still looking for them, they wouldn't be looking so far from where they started.
Abruptly Turner stopped and pulled his rifle back to his shoulder. Cliff pulled Jack closer into the middle of the group. When Max and Griffin caught up, they realized they were walking directly into a horde of infected. And if their path was any indication, they knew the living were in the woods. Turner began to shoot at the nearest ones, trying to make a path, with Griffin shooting off to one side and Max standing guard on the other.
"I'm out!" Turner's shout came from the front of the group. He slung the rifle across his back and pulled a knife from his hip. Griffin soon had to do the same, running out of ammo and having no safe time to reload.
"We have to run for the road," Griffin yelled.
With Jack between the adults, they began to jog toward the nearest exit of the trees. As they ran, Max struggled to keep up, her breathing labored. When the group of them burst onto the road, the Hummer could be seen down the road. The doors all stood open, none of the soldiers nearby. Max turned to look back at the road and found the infected rambling out of the shadows, chasing the living group. She stepped toward the trees and chopped down the first one with her tomahawk. The handle was ripped from her hand, her strength not able to hold tight.
"Damn it," she muttered.
"I'll get it," Griffin said as he walked by her to the infected body on the ground. He yanked the tomahawk free and used it on the next infected that was within reach. He then cleaned the blade on the infected's clothing and brought it back to Max.
"You should only fight when it's absolutely necessary," Griffin said to her quietly.
"Does that sound like me?"
"No. But you aren't at one hundred percent. That's not a bad thing, Max. Just means you're mortal like the rest of us."
Max didn't answer, just jogged to catch up to Turner, Jack, and Cliff. They were making their way back toward the small town. Finding a vehicle was their top priority. Then put as much distance between them and the soldiers as possible. They reached the first building that looked like a small log house but was really a real estate office. The signs outside boasted they sold land and pre-made wood houses to put on them. The group ducked behind the building quickly, concealing themselves from any nearby eyes.
They made their way through small alleys that split old red brick walls. The areas were littered with debris, from the lack of trash pick-up and people fleeing the plague. The town felt like a ghost town, with no living moving except the group of five looking for a car. They came to an old pickup and decided it would be decent even if two adults had to camp out in the bed of the truck. It was only until they got to Montana, which Max only thought would take another day at most.
Max took the job of hot-wiring the truck since she was feeling woozy and sick from all the movement. Turner took Cliff and Jack and decided to scavenge a nearby store. Max settled into the driver's seat of the truck for a moment, and let her head fall back against the glass window behind her.
"Are you alright?" Griffin asked, watching her with concern on his face.
"Just in pain, ya know, every time I bre
athe." She shifted a little, trying to give her ribs a rest but then another part of her body would hurt. She got back out of the truck, to find her tools for the hot-wire. Two pills and a bottle of water were shoved into her face. She looked up at Griffin, one eyebrow raised in question.
"Tylenol with Codeine. It was the only pain reliever they didn't take when they went through our stuff I guess. We'll try to find something stronger for you before we go. But take this. It should take the edge off."
Max didn't want to feel foggy in the environment they were in. Living in the plague-filled world meant being top of your game at all times. You didn't have time for mistakes or laziness. On the other hand, Max couldn't keep functioning with the pain she was feeling in her side. Her hip was also a nasty shade of black and purple from the constant kicking. After much internal debate, she finally took the pills from Griffin's hand and swallowed them with water.
She was just going back to find her tools when a scream ripped through the small town. Max froze, listening for the direction of the scream. However, she was in motion a moment later, following a sprinting Griffin. Max's brain felt frozen, thinking of Jack and feeling dread. The scream, it couldn't be her. She had let Jack out of her sight. Since she was going with Turner, Max hadn't questioned it. She had actually relaxed a bit having other adults around to help keep her safe. Now she found herself wondering if she had been wrong for letting her go.
Griffin found the store Turner had entered with Jack and Cliff. He ran inside, without slowing. Max surveyed the outside, before tentatively stepping into the darker interior. She found herself in a small grocery store. Products and trash were strewn around the room. Shopping carts were piled against the sliding doors, but Turner had broken out a wall of windows to enter the building instead.
"Momma!" Jack shrieked and ran straight for Max. Her daughter was covered in blood and Max fell to her knees when she got close.
"What happened? Oh my god, Jack, are you hurt? Where?" Max was spitting out the questions while running her hands over Jack's body. Not finding any wounds showing, Max looked up at her face.
"It's not me, the blood isn't from me," Jack stuttered.
"Who's?"
"Turner." Jack began to sob and wrapped herself around Max. Carefully without making them both fall, Max stood with Jack in her arms. She walked deeper into the store, looking for Griffin. When she found a trail of blood on the ground, she followed it. First, she found two truly dead infected, collapsed onto each other in the row. The large one had once been a man, an employee of the store, judging by the red apron he was wearing over a polo shirt. His face was stained with fresh blood, giving Max a sick feeling in her stomach. The other was a smaller man and a knife handle was sticking out of his temple. Putting Jack down, Max reached down and pulled out the knife.
"Griffin?" Max called quietly.
"Here." His muffled voice came from further into the store.
Max picked Jack back up and followed where she though Griffin was. When they got close, Cliff came out of the darkness, startling Max. She stepped back and began to raise the knife in her hand before she realized he wasn't infected.
"I'll take her," he said solemnly. Leaning closer to Max's ear he whispered, "She doesn't need to see this any more than she already has."
Max nodded and let Jack go into Cliff's arms. She sniffled into his neck. Max realized for Jack to be covered in Turner's blood, she must have seen what had happened to him. Her heart broke a little thinking about what her daughter had to endure in this world. Max came upon Griffin, on his knees next to Turner who was laying on his back. Max immediately went to Griffin's side and gasped at what she saw. Turner's shoulder had a large bite, blood pooling beneath his body.
"Oh god, what happened?" Max asked.
"The infected were in the row over from us. I don't know why I didn't hear them, smell them," Turner said in a small voice. He winced in his pain. "When we started moving around, it caught their attention. We got to the end of this row and they came around at the same time. Jack....Jack was too close. I pushed her back, but the big one got me."
"You saved Jack. She's alive because of you," Griffin said. His voice cracked, and Max laid her hand on his back, wishing she had the strength to give him.
"Good. That's good. You're a dad now, Griff. That's just crazy."
"Right. Who would have guessed," Griffin said with a sad smile.
"So you gotta make the right choice here. You need to go and get your daughter to safety."
"We will."
"I mean now. Leave me here, Griff. We know my trip is over."
"We'll stay with you. I can't just leave you like this, Turner. You’re my brother,” Griffin said, his voice almost pleading.
"You can, you will. You have your family to take care of now. Get away from here, before more men show up to take them back to the facility." Turner pushed Griffin's hand away from his wound. He had been doing what he could to slow the bleeding, but as Max knew, the wound would never heal. The blood began to flow with more force. Turner reached for his hip and pulled his gun from its holster.
"I will take care of this on my own. You will not carry that burden, do you hear me, brother?" Turner said, his voice coming with more force and certainty now. Griffin just looked at him stricken, unable to speak. Turner instead turned to look at Max.
"You'll take care of him, right?"
"Of course, I will," she answered immediately.
"Get him out of here. I would have loved to see your beautiful Montana," he paused, his face contorting in pain. "It's strange. I know it's done, but my brain wants to fight it. You guys need to go. Max, get him out of here!"
Max leaned down quickly and placed a soft kiss on Turner's forehead.
"Thank you, for saving my baby."
She stood then, grabbing Griffin's hand in hers. He didn't respond but she yanked at him until he stood woodenly next to her.
"Damn it, go, Griffin," Turner pleaded from the ground. He pushed his pack toward Max and she picked it up, now heavy with the foods they had packed from the store.
"Thank you, Turner," Griffin said quietly. Turner nodded slightly and gave him a mock salute.
"Come on, Griffin, let's go. We need to get Jack away from here," Max spoke quietly, trying to soothe him and reach him with her words.
Griffin didn't speak as they walked back through the store. His hand squeezed Max's tightly and it was that lifeline she held onto as she led him through the broken window into the sunlight. Cliff had taken Jack back to the truck they were taking, both of them closed inside the cab for safety.
Max slung the bag of food into the bed of the truck, just as a gunshot rang out from behind them. Griffin's body tensed, and Max could see he was going to bolt back to the store. She jumped in front of him and put her hands on his chest. His face was full of agony, the pain of losing his brother in arms. He pushed against her, his eyes not focused on her, but on where she knew he was picturing Turner's dead body.
"Griffin, there's nothing to do for him. He knew that. He sent you away to save us all."
"I left him."
"You didn't leave him, he made you go." She pushed him harder, to get him to look at her. "Honey, look at me."
He finally looked down at Max, his hands came up and covered hers, squeezing. Max held in the squeak of pain she wanted to let out from the pressure on her broken hand. Griffin needed her strength right then, not her broken pieces.
"I know, it has to hurt like hell. I didn't know Turner long, and it's hurting me. There was nothing to be done. And now we need to protect Jack, just like Turner did."
Sitting in the running truck, Griffin's knuckles were white on the steering wheel. Max sat in the middle and Cliff was crammed into the passenger side. Jack sat half on Max and half on Cliff. Losing Turner made the group want to stay close together. Max put her hand on Griffin's shoulder, squeezing reassuringly.
"Let's get home."
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The beaut
y of Montana was unbeatable for Max. As they crossed into the state, still driving their single cab pick up, Max soaked in the breathtaking sights of mountains and green trees. They drove the last road to the turnoff for the compound, a winding road that climbed into the forest. The turnoff was hidden by the growth of trees, but Max knew it well and found it without thinking.
They bumped down the road, noting what looked like piles of burned infected in one of the clearings off to the side. Max's heart gave a little jump. If there was someone cleaning up the infected outside of the walls, then someone was inside. She slowed the truck to round a corner that she knew would lead them to the gate. Looking into the woods, she didn't see any infected nearby.
She immediately jumped out of the truck when they reached the large metal rolling gate. Punching the code into the keypad the door moved back, allowing the truck to be driven in by Griffin. Once the truck cleared the tracks, Max stepped in and closed the door. Once secure, she turned and took in her home.
The stone fence was intact all the way around from what she could see and the gate already proved it worked and was secure. The house was over the first hill on the property, and part of Max was afraid to climb the hill and find the house burned to the ground. Gazing that direction, she noticed people emerging at the top of the hill. The woman, in the middle, holding a hammer in one hand and a Bowie knife in the other was all Max needed to see.
Leaving her group in the truck, Max ran for the people on the hill. As soon as she ran, the woman from the top came running down to meet her. The two collided at the bottom, hugging each other tightly.
"Maxy," Alex, Max's older sister said. "I was losing faith, I thought you would never make it."
"Alex, oh god, Alex."
In that moment, being home, the closest thing to safe since the plague started, Max began to cry. Her tears fell onto her sister's shirt, and she gripped her harder. When Alex squeezed Max tighter against her, Max let out a little yelp of pain. Alex released her and stepped back to look at her. She took in the tear-streaked face, the filthy clothes, the bandages.
Survive (Sundown Series Book 2) Page 30