Dawnland (Book 2): Hella Kills

by Karen Carr

“There’s a tiger rescue a few miles east of Pittsboro,” Stan said. “Someone must have let them out.” He tried to roll up his window, but stopped when he remembered there wasn’t one. “We went there once, Hella. Remember?”

  “Yea,” I said. “You bought me a stuffed tiger and a sweatshirt, I remember.”

  The tigers watched us drive by, and then started walking behind the car. One roared, the other one snarled and then two more appeared. Now there were four tigers following us.

  “They look hungry,” Zora said. She bit her lip.

  Suddenly one of the tigers dashed up next to the vehicle and swatted the door. Like it was a signal, the others dashed forward and started pouncing and prancing around us, trying to get at us through the windows. Zeke raised his gun and aimed it at the one nearest his side.

  “No,” I said.

  He lowered his gun. “Talk fast, or we’re going to be breakfast.”

  “You can’t kill them. They’ve been rescued.” I thumped the back of his seat for emphasis.

  The tigers were now all pacing the car, like they were trying to figure out how to get in. One lunged at Huck, and he hit it with the butt of his shotgun.

  Zora reached over to the steering wheel and pressed on the horn, but no sound came out. “Damnit,” she muttered.

  “May I suggest driving faster,” the Professor said.

  “Tigers or zombies, that’s our choice?” Stan said. His teeth were chattering.

  “I’ll take a flesh doll over those teeth anytime,” Zeke said and punched the gas.

  We sped away from the tigers in a few short seconds. We drove past a body shop, a tire place, and a paint company without seeing signs of life, not even a dog came out to greet us. Zeke slowed down again to give my virus a chance to catch up with us. We drove past a deserted middle school and over a creek before I realized that downtown Pittsboro was a few short blocks away. Pittsboro was one of those towns that you didn’t know you were in it before you were out of it again.

  The next street we crossed was blocked by several abandoned vehicles on each side. The vehicles formed a line of defense, like someone didn’t want anyone to go in either direction. Everyone examined the odd arrangements of cars, most likely put there on purpose and after the apocalypse, but nobody said anything.

  We entered the traffic circle in the middle of town, with the Chatham County Courthouse in the center of it. Each direction was blocked by more cars, with the only exit the entrance we had just driven through. It was dead quiet, not a living or nonliving soul around. There was no sign of anyone who would have moved the cars and blocked the road. The few buildings around the circle looked empty, even the Courthouse showed signs of abandonment with its open doors and broken windows. Where had all the people gone? Where had all the zeroes gone?

  “We’ll have to find another way,” Zeke said. He drove around the traffic circle so that we were once again facing the direction we had come.

  “No,” Zora screamed an uneven reaction to Zeke’s statement. She then scrambled across Huck’s lap, maneuvered out of the open window and pulled out her gun.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Stan asked.

  “I don’t know.” I followed Zora’s path with my eyes.

  “Holy shit.” Huck opened the door to the sedan and ran after Zora with his shotgun ready for use.

  Fear filled my lungs when I saw what they were running toward. The monster truck was behind one of the vehicles blocking the road to Haverlyn Village. They had made it here, but where were they and did they all survive? I pushed against Stan who opened the door and we both piled out of the sedan. Zora searched the monster truck and then Huck did the same. The Professor and Zeke exited the other side of the sedan and we all ran to the truck.

  “Boa,” Zora screamed. She kept repeating the name of her sister over and over again, calling out to her but never receiving an answer. Trevan and Lily and Boa, the Reverend and his wife, the children, Harper and Mikey, could have all reached the truck and driven here. They were all together the last time we saw them.

  Out of the corner of my eye I saw the rush and swish of fabric. Turning around, I saw a figure staggering toward us. It was Shelly Mac, the Reverend’s wife. She still wore her gardening hat and clasped a small trowel, but no longer had the gaze of a human. I staggered backwards. The others gasped and murmured in surprise and sorrow.

  Shelly Mac glared at each of us separately like she was deciding who was the tastiest. We stared at her not knowing what to do. My virus had not yet caught up to us. Huck and Zeke both raised their guns, but they didn’t shoot. Shelly Mac had to die, but who would do the deed? Finally, Zora rushed forward and grabbed her by the blouse.

  “Where is she?” Zora asked. “What are you doing here?” Shelly Mac opened her mouth to bite Zora, but Zora pushed her down on the ground and kicked her in the ribs before she could get up. “Where is Boa?” She kicked her again.

  I rushed to Zora’s side and pulled out my gun. “Zora, stop.”

  I wedged myself between Zora and the zombified version of Shelly, aimed my gun at Shelly’s head and pulled the trigger. She dropped to the ground in a whoosh of fabric, dead. Seeing Shelly’s body face down at my feet made me feel like throwing up.

  I was a murderer. A friend rested at my feet, one that had grown with our new community, and I was responsible for her death. I bit my lip, hoping that the others wouldn’t meet the same fate as Shelly Mac. If I faced the undead Trevan or Lily, I wouldn't be able to kill them. My virus had to do the job for me.

  The Professor covered Shelly Mac’s face with her hat and placed her hands across her chest.

  Huck regarded the body at my feet with an expression of sorrow and disbelief. “They made it this far,” he said in a tone that was not hopeful.

  “But who else and where are they?” I surveyed the town. White tents were set up down West Street, the ones I had seen from the hind. Most of them were destroyed, tattered and torn from countless storms, but some remained standing. “If Trevan and Lily and the others are here, then we need this town doused,” I said. “We have to wait for my virus to kick in.”

  “Let’s look for them now,” Zora headed around the courthouse.

  I followed her. “Zora, we’ll find them. No matter what.”

  Suddenly I heard a pop and a drawn out crack like a giant can of tuna was being opened. Zora stopped in her tracks and turned around slowly. The others looked around and up at the courthouse like they had heard it too.

  “Your virus?” the Professor asked.

  “I think so,” I said.

  “It sounded like it came from up there.” Huck shaded his eyes and looked up at the broken courthouse windows.

  “Then that’s where I’m going,” Zora said. “I have to find out if it was Boa.” She raced across the street to the open door of the courthouse.

  “Zora, wait.” I followed her through the stone arches, the others close on my heels.

  The building was dank and dark. The floor was covered with dirt washed in from the open doors. In the dirt were multiple footprints, some paths looked human, like they were walking with a purpose, while others steps, the fresher ones, looked random and undead. The dust covered the stairs, but it, too, was displaced by footprints in parts.

  Zora didn’t waste any time examining the entrance, she bolted straight up the stairs. I followed, my legs still in pain from jogging the night before. Huck was faster than I was and Zeke managed to scramble past me even though he was still limping. The Professor and Stan ascended the staircase with me.

  “It’s not her,” Zora shouted as we reached the top of the stairs. She jogged out of a room at the far end of the long corridor of the courthouse and into another one. Zeke and Huck appeared in and out of other doorways.

  “It looks like someone has been living here.” Huck said as he crossed the hall to the other side. I followed him.

  We entered a large corner room with several wooden benches pushed together by the door, like they ha
d once been used as barricades. The light shone in from the large windows in the front. Against the wall stood several glass display cases, above them framed photos and papers pinned to the wall. The room was divided into section with bannisters and against the other wall stood a platform with a large desk on it.

  Stacked under the glass cabinet were full water bottles, canned and boxed food containers, along with an ample supply of toilet paper. Spread on the floor behind a section of bannister that was shaped like a rectangle were several sleeping bags, blankets, pillows, and clothes. Soon Zora, the Professor, Stan and Zeke joined us in the room.

  “There are two bodies, both women, in one of the rooms, that’s it,” Zeke reported.

  “Strangers,” Zora added with a slight smile. “One was shot through the head,” she continued, looking apprehensive.

  “Water.” Zeke grabbed a couple bottles of water and handed them out.

  Ignoring Zeke’s offer of water, I walked over to the sleeping quarters to examine the area. “There must be more people here somewhere. There are more than two sleeping bags. Look at how they are setup, in personal sections. A group of people must have been camping here.” I walked around the banister and began to examine their things. There were women’s clothes, but there were men’s too, larger sizes. In one section there was a crate that held zip locked bags of toiletries, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, deodorant. I counted five separate bags.

  “Where do you think they are?” Zora stared out of one of the big windows.

  I joined her. The view was down West Street, of the fair, a church with a graveyard, a roadhouse, beauty salon and a general store. I almost could imagine people strolling about the fair, happy and laughing, the only sign of the apocalypse the destroyed tents and downed trees.

  “What’s that?” Stan asked. I didn’t even realize he had been peering over my shoulder.

  “Where?” I asked.

  He guided my shoulders toward the tents. “Watch. I thought I saw someone.”

  Zora and I watched intently. The wind caused the tents to blow like flags. It was strong like a storm was coming, but the sky was clear. Another movement in between the tents caught my eye, one that was going in the opposite direction of the wind.

  “Someone’s down there,” Zora said. Zora dashed away from the window. I kept my eyes on the strange movement. I wanted to be sure before I followed.

  “What’s going on down there?” Huck asked. He had taken Zora’s place.

  “I don’t know,” I said. This time I saw shadows on the white walls of a tent that was still standing. There looked to be a figure behind it. “But I’m going to find out.”

  I turned and jogged out of the room, my boots making too much noise on the wooden planked floor. It was hard to be quiet in combat boots. Huck and Stan followed, but Zeke and the Professor weren’t with us. I didn’t know where Zeke and the Professor had gone, but I didn’t want to spend time looking for them. Most likely Zora had already scared the person away, unless it was someone we knew. I hoped against hope that she was reuniting with her sister.

  The stairs seemed darker than when I went up them, maybe from staring at the daylight outside. I felt dizzy and blind at the same time and had to sturdy myself with the banister. I sensed my way down the remaining stairs and focused on the bright light coming through the door. Once out in the daylight, I jogged around the building to West Street while my eyes adjusted to the light.

  I didn’t see Zora anywhere, but was too nervous to call out for her in case I scared or altered anyone else. Huck and Stan were on either side of me a few steps back, between us we formed a triangle. Huck, with his gun drawn, surveyed the area. It was quiet and we dared not speak. We approached the tents with cautions, the two men moving with me like mirrors.

  Hula hoops were scattered on the ground mixed in with wooden bird houses. Piles of unblown-up balloons and knocked-down easels with fallen paintings littered the ground. I moved with a thrilling quickness, anticipating a reunion with Lily or Trevan, always conscious that I might meet a stranger who might not be a friend.

  A shadow crossed a few feet in front of us, a sketchy version of a person behind a tent. I ducked and Huck pulled me back at the same time. We listened and watched. The shadow vanished, but the crunch of footfalls filled the air. The colors all around me seemed brighter as we dashed around the tent and looked for the survivor.

  A flash of blue jeans proved it wasn’t Zora, she was wearing khaki chinos. The wearer of the jeans was fast, and we lost sight of him again. It wasn’t clear if he knew we were following him, or if he was out for a morning reconnaissance mission.

  Huck caught my attention, nodded and tapped my shoulder, pointing with his head farther into the tent-mess. We walked over dirty clothes and broke hidden treasure from the art fair. We passed a knocked-over booth, a white cloth covering forms that resembled music instruments, a guitar, a cello, a violin. Their music filled my imagination, taking me back to my young sister’s violin lessons. The sound of her ill-found notes entering my mind as I crept along the path of the mysterious person.

  The bright light of the sun mixing in with the wavering fabric of the tents and the movement of the leaves of the trees made everything seem alive and haunting us with its presence. I saw a haunted version of my sister, a teenager in white, her hair flowing around her head, shimmering with color like feathers on a proud peacock.

  We kept pace with the stranger, glimpsing a boot in movement, an arm swinging forward, a short-cropped head of hair, but we were never able to catch him. By his size and shape I determined that he was young, a teenaged boy, and no one from our party.

  CHAPTER 6

  The boy’s trail led us right to the front of long and wide graveyard next to a church. A downed power line had smashed through the iron fence surrounding the graveyard. The electric lines were tangled in an uprooted oak tree that left a crater in the ground from where it once stood.

  “Where did he go?” Huck touched the small of my back as we surveyed the area.

  The graveyard still looked tidy, although the grass was high it looked green and healthy. Many of the tomb stones had plastic flowers resting in front or on top of them, making the inhabitants of the yard seem both at once loved and lost. Loved because someone had placed those flowers there, lost because the person who placed the flowers was most likely no longer alive.

  We strode through the grass toward a large Magnolia tree, the dew from the blades touching my calves and making my socks wet. The wind howled through the stones and sent Goosebumps up my arms. There was no sign of Zora and I worried that we would never see her again. She left before we could plan a rendezvous or make any kind of a plan. Was it that easy to lose part of our group? Without communication devices, cell phones and texting, we would need to devise another way to stay in contact.

  Huck clasped my hand as we walked through the graveyard, sending a much needed bit of warmth through my body. Mounds of fire ants dotted the ground and I did my best to avoid them. Fire ant stings were painful.

  “The church,” Stan said.

  The church was a quaint red brick building with two story spires on either side of the main entrance and shuttered lancet windows on each spire, one of the first floor and two on the second. We looked to where Huck pointed and saw the main door, also shaped like a lancet, move closed. It could have been the wind, but it was worth checking out.

  Huck raised his gun as we strode to the steps of the church, being careful to move swiftly and quietly. He pointed to me and then the door and I guessed that he wanted me to open it. I pressed it open slowly and Huck went inside with his gun drawn.

  “Stay here,” he whispered before he disappeared.

  I was taken back to the time when we first met, when he went into Purefoy Church in Haverlyn Village. There, he had not believed the strength of my virus or even that it had existed at all. Here, we were all aware of my power and it made me feel incredibly vulnerable, like my super hero disguise was out in the open
for everyone to see and to take advantage of. What would happen if we met more people?

  “It’s empty,” Huck said as he emerged from the church. The smell of burnt wood reached my nose as I moved closer to peek inside.

  It was not that I didn’t believe him, more that I wanted to look around. I entered the building through the double wide doors and the cool dark air hit me in the face along with a stronger smell of freshly burned wood, like someone had made a fire somewhere inside, only there were no chimneys on the outside. It didn’t smell dark and musty like the courthouse, fit smelled fresh and lived in. My heart twisted at the sound of a flutter and a tinny ding, but it was only a bird flying from the vaulted ceiling.

  The long side walls of the church held long glass windows, still intact but dirty on the outside like they were bathed in mud. The mud on the lower panes was swirled, like it had been put there by a hand. I spent an unreasonable amount of time examining the swirls, imagining the hands that put them there. They were different sizes and shapes, like they had been put there by multiple people. It was as if someone was covering up the glass, like they didn’t want others, the zeroes, to see inside.

  It was Stan this time that took my hand, but only my middle two fingers. There was a distant feeling to his touch, caring yet not committed. He was trying to pull me toward the door.

  “Let’s go,” he whispered and dropped my fingers.

  We turned around and exited through the long narrow doors of the entrance. The sunlight struck my eyes, so I immediately used my hands to shade them in order for me to track Huck. He was a few yards down the street making his way back to West Street. He turned his head quickly toward us and motioned for us to follow before he picked up his pace.

  More jogging. My feet weren’t up for it, but I pressed my body forward. Stan and I caught up to Huck and saw the figure duck into a beauty salon with a missing front door.

  “You go around the front, I’ll take the back.” Huck disappeared around the back side of the building and I was left alone with Stan.