The Loki Variation

by James Riley, Sabrina

  They also counted and sorted ammunition, and Hud explained how to load and use some of the weapons he had. Travis seemed to be in his element, he was receptive and alert to anything Hud told him that gave him more chance of survival.

  Derek was finally sleeping, but it wasn’t very restful. Sasha kept seeing him out of the corner of her eye, he was twitching and moaning. Nightmares. She wanted to help him, to wake him up and comfort him, but every time the feeling overwhelmed her, she heard his words in her mind again. Just friends.

  Chapter 26.

  “Just outside of Raleigh.” Hud announced. He was pulling the Mauler off of the highway again, he hadn’t stopped since earlier when he and Travis had refueled courtesy of an abandoned semi-trailer truck, and everyone was antsy and needed to get out of the vehicle.

  They stopped on the side of the road near a wide field with a shallow row of trees. Sasha and Nora headed for the trees first, and trying as hard as he could to be a gentlemen, Hud kept an eye on them. The trees were the only area he couldn’t see clearly and it made him uneasy. It was just beginning to darken outside, dusk was falling. Derek was still wearing the sunglasses; his dilated eyes still couldn’t handle the brightness. He felt handicapped and weak, useless, so he stayed in the Mauler and did something that was not really in his character. He sulked.

  Chewing on a granola bar that tasted like artificially sweetened cardboard, he was dismayed to realize that his somber mood from last night had not been alleviated by almost an entire day’s worth of sleep. He didn’t feel rested at all. He was thinking about Sasha. He felt like he was mourning. Of all the reasons for mourning! His Aunt Cheryl, mauled by his own dog. His missing parents, he hadn’t dared think about his mother since he realized he would probably never speak to her again when he had failed to find a way to contact her from the base. The loss of hundreds, thousands, maybe more lives, people who he didn’t even remember yet but who would surface to his memory later, and he would realize they were gone. Instead of all these, the one thing that had put him over the edge was being so close to Sasha, and then knowing that it was futile. Better to have loved and lost? He shook his head.

  Outside, Hud was pacing. It was taking Sasha and Nora a while, and they were hidden across the field. He wanted to head over to them, but kept his distance. It wasn’t so much manners, it was more that he had learned how Sasha reacted when she felt anyone was being overprotective. She took it as an insult, stubborn thing.

  Adam and Travis had given up waiting for the girls and had headed to the opposite side of the Mauler to relieve themselves. They were just heading back around the corner when a shrill scream ripped through the still late evening air. Hud was running before the scream ended, and Adam and Travis were right behind him.

  Hud crashed into the woods, his gun ready to fire, and yelled for Sasha. His call was met with another scream, deeper into the woods than he wanted to go. Travis and Adam were frozen, they were unarmed and Hud put his arm up, silently telling them to wait right where they were.

  Heading in the direction the shriek had come from, Hud raced through the juvenile trees and into the denser woods. He could hear rustling, and Sasha yelling for Nora.

  Finally, he saw her. Sasha was on the ground, kneeling beside Nora, who was lying on her side, her dark hair covering her face. Several other bodies were scattered, a few even piled on one another. Hud ran to Sasha and dropped down beside her.

  Sasha was frantically searching Nora for any marks. Nora was awake, eyes hugely wide, completely limp, letting Sasha do her work. When Sasha was unable to find so much as a scratch on Nora’s body, she began to breathe again. Nora sat up, bewildered but relieved.

  “What the hell happened, Sasha?” Hud bellowed. He was furious with her for coming this far into the woods, out of his sight. He heard footsteps, and Travis was approaching. He saw what was happening and came forward.

  “I heard a girl crying, Hud! I thought I saw her run!” Sasha’s eyes were brimming. Nora was looking at Hud, silent as always, but the look on her face was a plea to believe Sasha.

  “Before I could get to her, they jumped out of the woods! They almost got Nora!” Sasha was trying to stifle her panic. “I don’t know where the girl is now.”

  Hud was in disbelief. He moved his eyes from Nora, back to Sasha, then up at Travis. Travis was looking astonished, focused on something behind Hud. Sasha noticed, too.

  They both turned around to follow Travis’ gaze, and to Sasha’s surprise and Hud’s horror, one of the bodies that had been piled on the others was standing. It was a girl, young, maybe Travis’ age. She had bleach blond hair, and in any other situation, she may have been a young version of any swimsuit model. Now, though, she looked haggard and weak, and terrifying with her mouth stained red from the others’ blood.

  “There she is.” Sasha whispered, as if the girl was too far away to hear her. Hud was standing, the hand carrying the pistol was itching to aim it at her. She was not crouched like these monsters usually were, she had pulled herself to a full stand, and looked vulnerable in her stance. She shifted her weight, and the sudden movement was too much for Hud. His pistol rose.

  “No! Please!” The girl cried, putting her hands up in front of her as if they would stop bullets.

  Sasha gasped and Nora began trembling. Hud didn’t move. He left the gun pointed at her, but was willing to give her a chance.

  “Are you one of them?” He asked.

  The girl looked down to where he had pointed with the end of his gun. The bodies.

  “I don’t think so.” The girl said, on the verge of crying. Hud put his gun down, he had yet to come across any of the mindless monsters that could answer questions. She didn’t seem like a threat.

  Sasha rose and took a few apprehensive steps towards the girl. Travis stepped right behind her, curiosity getting the best of him. The girl kept her black eyes on Sasha until she got close enough to touch her, but instead, Sasha just leaned in and spoke to her in a soothing tone.

  “Thank you for saving us.” It became clear to Hud what had happened. When Sasha and Nora had been ambushed, the girl had attacked the others, saving Sasha and Nora in the process. Hearing Sasha say these words sent the girl over the edge, she collapsed to the ground, sobbing deeply.

  Sasha crouched down with her, comforting her carefully, her hand running over the girl’s trembling back. Hud watched, nervously. He knew he was not going to convince Sasha to leave the girl, and the girl was in no condition to walk happily back to the safety of the Mauler. He just stood there instead, completely out of his element.

  When the girl could control her breathing again, Sasha began to talk to her.

  “It’s okay now, you’re okay. What is your name?” It was barely a whisper.

  “Lily.” The girl almost exhaled the name. She hadn’t looked up yet, her face was still buried in her hands, but when Sasha went to stand up, Lily moved to watch her.

  “Come on, Lily, you need water, and food. You’re okay now.” Sasha had her hand extended to help the girl up. Just as the girl was standing, more footsteps came crashing through the woods.

  Derek and Adam burst through the trees and came to an abrupt stop when they were able to view the scene laid out in front of them. Derek’s eyes, although it was still light enough to hinder his vision, could see well enough to know that there were several dead people laying on the ground. For a split second, he couldn’t catch his breath, but realized that Nora and Hud were fine, they were standing not too far away. A few paces more, he could see Sasha. He exhaled.

  Sasha had found a survivor way out here in the woods, not very close to any civilization and with no shelter or place to hide. He watched as Sasha began to lead the girl towards him and back to the Mauler. As she approached, he realized that her face was covered in blood, and pieces of a puzzle rearranged themselves in his mind.

  The girl had saved Sasha and Nora. Derek had heard Sasha’s scream. Adam had met him on the line of trees, yelling about Hud and Travi
s hearing an attack. The bodies that Derek was looking at were the infected, the monsters, and they had tried to kill Nora and Sasha, but this girl had saved them. By attacking them herself. As she got closer, he confirmed the idea when he saw her black eyes. She flinched when she saw his black eyes too, but it was fleeting, she went right back into letting Sasha lead her out of the woods.

  The only ones talking as the entire group headed back to the Mauler were Sasha and Lily. Lily was 15 and alone. She had been trying to escape the area with her father and little brother. She was only here for the summer, to visit her dad, and was supposed to have been back in Northern California by now with her mom, starting school. When it had all broken out, her dad packed her and her brother in his van and before they even made it out of the city limits, traffic had become so bad that they were barely moving. After getting off the exit ramp and onto the highway, they had been attacked by the monsters. Somebody had busted out the windows next to Lily’s seat on the passenger side and dragged her out, it all happened so fast she didn’t have time to react.

  She had woken up later, lying on the concrete. Her hands were covered in deep gashes; she vaguely remembered using her hands to protect herself from teeth. The van was empty. She had not seen her brother and father since that had happened, she thought it must have been over a week ago. She had survived off of eating whatever she could find in the cars to eat and drink. The monsters didn’t chase her, she seemed invisible to them. She figured it was because she was like they were.

  Almost every symptom that Derek had described was repeated as Lily explained how she felt when she woke up. Racing, pounding heartbeat, the energy waves, greatly improved hearing and sight. Instead of the inhuman strength, although she was stronger, she had gained a speed that she hadn’t thought was possible for a person. When Lily saw the look on Sasha’s face, she stopped.

  “You don’t believe me, do you?” She asked. Lily seemed to be prepared to be thought of as insane once she started talking about being able to hear so well and moving faster than possible.

  “Yes, I do.” Sasha said, looking back at Derek. Lily remembered his black eyes and was intrigued. So was Derek.

  Lily turned back to face the Mauler, and then started running. It was only a short distance, maybe 15 yards, but Lily was suddenly at the vehicle. Sasha stood in total shock. She had seen Lily running, but she moved so fast that Sasha’s brain didn’t want to comprehend it. That was also exactly what she had seen in the woods, the blurry blue of the girl’s dirty shirt, the hay-colored flash of her hair.

  Dumbfounded and happy to have found another living soul, Sasha climbed back into the Mauler, followed by the equally relieved group. The only one whose face still showed worry and unrest was Derek’s as he got in the vehicle and closed the door behind him.

  Chapter 27.

  Derek was mentally berating himself. He had been so absorbed in feeling sorry for himself that Sasha and Nora had been jumped in the woods and he hadn’t been there. He knew Hud was pretty good protection, but if anything happened to either of them, Derek would hold himself personally responsible, so what had he been thinking sitting in the Mauler like a spoiled little boy? In fact, he was so completely absorbed in these thoughts that it took him a few moments to realize that someone was addressing him.

  Lily had a hundred questions for him, and had no problem rattling them off to him. They were alike, each of them bitten by an infected person, but not transforming into one of them. They did, however, attain some of the characteristics and abilities of the monsters.

  While everyone except Hud and Nora discussed the possible ramifications, Sasha was watching the group with surprise and wonder at the capacity of human emotions. Everyone in this small space had been through enough, had seen enough, to warrant lifelong debilitating scars. And, although, there were definitely scars showing, especially with Nora and her silence, right now it was as if they were all friends, talking and feeling comfortable in the company.

  The sun had gone down, and Derek and Lily were comparing eyesight. They seemed equally matched on that, as well as the added hearing ability and being able to recognize a scent that most humans couldn’t sense. Lily was more at ease with the changes; she had had quite a bit longer than Derek to get used to them. She also was enthralled with Ripley and Nora, and was trying her best to make good friends out of both of them.

  Lily ate with fervor, and then fell asleep almost immediately. Sasha helped her to lie on a palette on the floor in the back of the Mauler, and Nora and Ripley were settling down themselves. Sasha, Derek, Adam, and Travis headed towards the front with Hud.

  Sasha was worried about how many other survivors could still be out there, she couldn’t stand the idea that they could be passing right by anyone who needed help.

  “We found four people in one day, Hud.” She was arguing, preparing to make her argument for staying around the Raleigh area for a few days just to be sure. She expected the newfound survivors, Adam and Travis, to back her up, but they stayed absolutely quiet.

  “Yes, and one of them could have killed us all. That was risky. And we have no more room now anyway. Are we going to start strapping survivors to the roof?”

  Sasha did not appreciate his sarcasm, but knew he was right. They were seven people and a dog now, the food and water was being consumed much quicker than they had planned for, and they had no idea if the cabin was going to even be able to accommodate them. Her instinct was fighting her but she was stubborn, she would just have to fight back. She sat up straighter.

  “Fine. We won’t go looking for anyone. But if we see anyone else, on our way, we have to help them. That’s how we found Adam and Travis and Lily anyway.” She said, ready for Hud to argue back.

  “Fine.”

  She was unprepared for his acquiescence and sat there for a moment with her mouth open. Then she snapped it shut, fully aware of Derek’s eyes on her and made a gesture with her hand that said carry on.

  Derek had come to the conclusion that he was not going to let Sasha out of his sight. Nora either. There might not be a chance of the happy ending he wanted, but that didn’t mean he had to steer it towards the worst possible case by having something happen to them because of his negligence.

  He had never felt responsible for another person before, but he had managed to keep Ripley alive and happy for a few years. He would have to rely on that, and the fact that he had abilities they didn’t have, to keep them safe. He did his best to continue acting normally, but he could not help but notice the fact that Sasha was deliberately avoiding his eyes, and hadn’t spoken directly to him in an uncomfortably long time.

  She was probably disappointed in him, not for failing to protect her; she was way too proud for that. But she would ferociously protective of Nora, and had come to expect the same degree of it from Derek, and he knew he had let her down. Even though Nora was okay, if it hadn’t been for the tiny blond girl who was now sleeping in the back of the Mauler, it might be Nora whose body he was lying on the shoulder of the road to stare up at the sky. He shivered, picturing Nora’s frail body that way. He also was reminded of how exactly Lily had stopped the monsters from attacking Sasha and Nora.

  Lily had immediately cleaned up once she got into the Mauler. Sasha helped her wash blood off of her face and hands with a bottle of water and then had given her some clean clothes to wear. The clothes were huge and saggy on her, but she was so glad to be alive, with others around her, that she had thanked everyone, profusely for everything they gave her.

  It was obvious to everyone that she had used her speed, strength, and teeth to bring down the handful of infected. She had actually torn their throats out, it seemed, and while she didn’t show any pleasure in it, it was still shocking.

  Derek realized that he wasn’t even sure if he would be able to kill one of them in that manner. He recoiled at the idea of blood in his mouth, blood that didn’t belong to him. He was reassured that he was in fact not like the others since they obviously relished and l
ived for the sole purpose of feasting on a healthy person’s blood and flesh. Although now that he thought about it, they didn’t seem to always kill their victims. That would have been counterproductive to the reproduction of the virus or whatever this was, if the only means of transferring it was killed too quickly. He was wishing again that he had paid more attention in biology, he had no idea how these things normally worked.

  But if he was so disgusted by the idea of using his teeth to quickly kill one of them, even to save Sasha or Nora, then he was more cowardly than a little girl who did not even know Sasha, or had never seen Nora before. That was a rude awakening. Even if he could have a happy ending with Sasha, he didn’t even really deserve it. She knew it now, and so did he.

  Sasha was equally lost in thought, although she was better at pretending to be involved in the conversation between Adam and Travis. She had noticed Derek’s detachment, even to Nora now, and was becoming more and more hurt and mad. She wasn’t surprised that she was mad about him abandoning Nora, but she was surprised that the hurt was getting worse.

  As the Mauler moved along the highway and the night grew darker, the conversations ranged from hoping about the cabin to solemn stories of people lost. Hud eventually let Derek drive, although he made Derek promise to wake him up as soon as they were on the other side of Raleigh so he could follow the directions he had planned on the map. Adam, Travis and Hud slept lightly, leaving only Sasha and Derek awake, sitting in the front seats awkwardly and quietly. They managed to say a few inconsequential words to each other over the next few hours, but it was mostly just both of them staring numbly out of the front windshield, hoping for something to give.