Lily realized that Sasha was watching her, and began to make a face, as if the taste was horrible, using the backs of her hands to wipe the rest of the blood from around her mouth. But there was no hiding the few minutes prior. Sasha tried to ignore the fact that she now knew that Lily, whether it was because of the change that had taken place within her, or if it was because of the psychological damage she was still suffering from witnessing her father and brother devoured, she had developed a taste for blood. Just like the monsters.
Derek had witnessed this, although he had remained silent, and he preemptively wanted to defend himself to Sasha. He did not crave the taste of blood, and he didn’t want her to make an assumption that because Lily did, that he would too. But there was no way to approach it right now, reasonably, and he let the moment pass. Sasha had already shaken off the discomfort of the idea, and had forced herself to think about something else anyway.
“Hud! Where are Hud and Travis?” Adam suddenly blurted out, as if he was just realizing that they were absent. Derek realized that he knew in the back of his mind that something was missing, but it took him this long to pinpoint that it was Hud and Travis. He could still smell them.
“Listen. We are going to be okay. We found the Army, or something like an army, in town. Hud and Travis went with them to help, and there is a refugee camp set up pretty close to here. There are others!” Sasha gave it a moment to let the idea sink into everyone’s heads.
“It’s in Virginia, so we have to drive there. I have a map.”
The Mauler was silent for about a half a minute, until Derek spoke up, almost laughing.
“There are others? A military?” He was ecstatic as she nodded. Adam whooped and Lily was smiling. As Sasha turned again to check on Nora, she saw a hopeful look on the girl’s dark eyes, the glaze of a few minutes ago gone.
“Did you hear that Nora? We are going to make it!” Sasha said, grinning. Nora didn’t smile, but her face softened and she let out a sigh.
“How is it set up?” Adam was asking about the camp. Derek was already imagining an organized, secure area filled with trained military personnel, survivors, children, and a plan for the future. The plan is what he was most concerned with. If there was military, surely there had to be medical resources, and if there were medical resources, maybe they could cure him of whatever it was that had made him a danger to Sasha. His heart pounded even more ferociously than it normally did.
“I don’t know, really.” Sasha was answering. She realized that she didn’t know much about where they were heading, there hadn’t been a lot of time to ask questions when Hud and Travis had so eagerly left her to join them.
“They had jeeps and guns, though. This wasn’t just a couple of guys playing war, that’s for sure.”
Sasha was far enough from the cabin that she wanted to check the map before she went too far in the wrong direction. Lily remained quiet, she seemed a little apprehensive about being around new people, but not scared. Adam was gleefully petting Ripley, and was smiling at Nora. Sasha checked to make sure she was going the right way, and began to head to the Interstate that would take them to their new home.
The atmosphere was different in the Mauler than any of them had felt in a long time, at least since they had first found the cabin. Derek tried to pinpoint it, the best word he could come up with was hope. Although his logic had told him for the past few weeks that there was no hope for the future, he had been proven wrong on two counts. One was Sasha. Her feelings for him, since they reciprocated his, meant that they would be always near each other. The other was learning there were survivors. There was a chance to rebuild, to get their world on track back to a semblance of what it had been before. Maybe even better. He was careful not to let himself get carried away with the possibilities, but his mind was still reeling.
The group continued to speculate on the camp, the military presence, and the prospects for the future. Even Lily, who still seemed a bit less enthusiastic than everyone else, was contributing to the conversation. But it was her question that sent chills through both Sasha and Derek.
“I wonder if there are others like me and Derek. And can they cure us?”
Although Derek had already thought about a cure, he didn’t stop to wonder if there were more like Lily and him. A cross-breed between human and monster. He had learned to live with its effects; the racing heartbeat, the trembling, the sensitivity to light, the abnormal hearing and smelling senses. The superhuman strength. And Lily had learned to live with them too, although she was less strong and much faster than Derek. If there were more like them, who knew what their capabilities and effects might be. There could be others who were on par with the superheroes of his childhood. What would their new role be in humanity’s new future if they could not be cured? He couldn’t imagine having to stay like this forever, he wanted to just be a human. Like Sasha.
“I don’t want to be cured.” Lily suddenly said, bringing Derek out of his deep thoughts. He looked up at her and saw that her face was determined. She was going out on a limb, and instantly he could feel tension in the Mauler.
“I don’t want to go back to being a normal girl.” She said these words as if being a normal girl was the disease. “I like moving faster and being stronger than girls like Sasha, I like hearing so much better. I want to stay like Derek.”
The obviousness of what she had just said hit Sasha like a ton of bricks. Not only was Adam going to try and be another obstacle between Derek and her, like they hadn’t had enough, it looked like Lily was trying to create another wedge between them as well. Sasha had already been aware of the young girl’s crush on Derek. Who wouldn’t feel that way, given the situation. But she hadn’t expected Lily to exert herself in such a way that sounded like a challenge to Sasha.
Sasha shifted her attention to her peripheral vision, where Derek was. She couldn’t focus on him completely, but she could feel that his eyes were on her, in a surprised look. Adam snorted in the back seat, quietly but loud enough for Derek to pick up on it. Derek snapped his head back at Adam, and Adam looked down to the floor. He didn’t trust Derek fully still.
Sasha put her hands up as if to stop the conversation from the direction it was heading in. She reminded herself that Adam and Lily were young, and this was to be expected. Each of them had developed feelings for someone else in the group, that was normal. That it had to be Sasha and Derek, and that both of them were perfectly comfortable with voicing their opinions about Sasha and Derek’s feelings towards each other was just another ratchet in the gears that would be worked out. They had all survived so far, this was not going to be the thing that brought them down now. Sasha repeated this in her mind a few times, reassuring herself. She was just about to change the subject to more pressing issues, like where food and water would be found until they made it to Virginia, but she didn’t get a chance to.
The Mauler’s engine just stopped. No warning, no sputtering, no gurgling noises. It just died. Multiple attempts to restart it were not successful. It would try to restart, but there was simply not enough fuel. There was no diesel fuel available to them, given their location on an abandoned Interstate, miles before the next and last exits. Sasha cursed herself for not paying better attention to the gas gauge. It hadn’t even occurred to her. Now they were trapped, sitting in a partially destroyed, immobile cage with nowhere to run to if they were surrounded again. Sasha’s chest felt thick and hot, air was having a hard time making it to her lungs.
Before she started hyperventilating, Sasha looked at Derek, who was as stunned as Sasha was. Outside the windows, it was obvious that there were still infected monsters were foraging for food among the few deserted car that had stopped on the Interstate while their owners searched for a better means of escape. Fresh red blood was smeared on the windshield of the nearest car to them. They were totally and completely helpless. No weapons, no way to run, if they were attacked. The hope for the future suddenly plummeted again.
Chapter 42.
“We have to walk.”
Sasha’s voice sounded hollow and strange, even to herself. Walking was suicide. They couldn’t even carry anything with them, and they had quite a way to go still. Everyone was completely silent, Derek could hear everyone’s heartbeat racing.
Sasha was surveying their surroundings. One car was parked backwards on the shoulder of the highway, empty. Even if it were possible to start the car, it was too small to carry all of them. Ahead, the road curved so that Sasha couldn’t see past a mile or so, and there were no other cars around.
To their left was the oncoming lane, empty as well, then a thick curtain of forest. To the right, there was a small fence, and more forest.
“We aren’t walking.” Derek said. He had already realized that the five of them plus Ripley walking down this road with so many places for the monsters to hide would have guaranteed their deaths if there were any around. He was not going to let it happen.
“Me and Lily will go find another vehicle. Sasha, you and Adam and Nora are staying here, inside the Mauler.”
Sasha was taken aback by his demanding tone. She fought the urge to argue back, simply because she knew he was right. Lily’s eyes had lit up when he had announced that she and Derek would be traveling together. Derek ignored it, and willed Sasha to do the same thing.
She tried to. She kept her mouth shut while Derek was instructing Adam to keep a weapon always at the ready for the busted out window on the passenger side. That was the only weak spot in the vehicle. Adam’s hands were shaking as he picked up the shotgun.
Derek whispered something in Nora’s ear, something he had never done before. As Sasha watched curiously, Nora nodded, then looked at Derek directly in the eyes, something she had always avoided. Although she wasn’t afraid of Derek, his eyes reminded her too much of her mother, the night the girl’s life had changed forever. At least this is what Sasha had surmised. She was a little surprised that Nora had made eye contact, and wondered what Derek could have said to make her do so. Derek just looked at Sasha and smiled.
“Okay, here is the plan. Lily and I are going to head up the road, around that curve. The last sign we passed showed that there was an exit a few miles up. There has to be something there, a vehicle we can use to come back and get everyone. Then we are back on the road to the camp.” He tried to make a reassuring face, but Sasha was frowning. She hated splitting up, it seemed something bad always happened when they did.
But she also knew that there was no other way. No one else had a better chance of surviving out there long enough than Derek and Lily. She had a thought, it seemed to pop into her head of its own will.
“Why don’t you take that little car out there?” She asked, pointing to the economy car that was on the side of the road. “It will probably still have the keys in it. It would be safer!”
Derek’s eyes revealed that he had already thought about it.
“I’m leaving that car here for you if, for some reason, Lily and I don’t come back.”
Sasha inhaled, realizing that if Derek and Lily took the car, and didn’t make it back, there would be absolutely no escape for her, Nora, and Adam. Derek had already thought this through. She wouldn’t let herself think about Derek not coming back, at least not until she had to.
“How long should we wait?” She asked.
“Give me until tomorrow at dawn. If we are not back by then, take the car and head to the next exit. If Lily and I aren’t there, gas it up and head toward the camp. If she and I are still alive, we will make it to the camp as well.” He said this all as one long sentence, slowly, so Sasha would absorb it. It was important. He made sure Adam heard every word as well. He knew Sasha would do what was best for Nora, however, if her emotions got in the way, Adam may have to be the one to convince her to leave Derek behind to survive. Adam looked resolute. Good.
Within a few moments, Lily and Derek were running down the middle of the street, away from Sasha. The lump in Sasha’s throat was making it hard to breathe, but she pushed it way down, not allowing her fear for Derek to show. She worried about Lily, as well. She was just a girl, after all.
Adam had set up in the passenger seat, shotgun propped up on the dash. He was preparing for a long wait. Nora was sitting quietly in the backseat, Ripley standing guard on the seat next to her. Sasha knew they had a long night ahead of them. It was only early afternoon now, although it was overcast, the sun was still bright enough that Derek and Sasha had both worn sunglasses, and were still shading the sun with their eyes. Sasha concentrated on their gait as they walked away. Derek’s long strides were not as animalistic as the crouching infected, resembling lions on a hunt. Lily seemed more deliberate, she was lowered a little, her head lifting every few steps to catch any scent of danger. Sasha knew she could run much faster than she was, but if she went to her full speed, Derek would not be able to keep up.
Sasha stared in silence until the two figures disappeared around the curve. Derek had never looked back. Sasha realized that was a good thing. If he had, there would have been no way she would have been able to hold back the flood of tears that were threatening to come at any second.
Chapter 43.
Derek could still smell Sasha, but he wasn’t sure if it wasn’t just in his head. Even with his enhanced senses, it would be a miracle to be able to detect a person’s scent at this distance. It had been about an hour since they had left them. He and Lily hadn’t said many words, but it wasn’t for her lack of trying. Although she seemed very aware that they were in a dangerous situation, she still tried to start a conversation with him every few minutes. He wasn’t trying to be rude, but he wanted to concentrate fully on their surroundings, and get to the exit as soon as possible. They had made really good time; although Derek couldn’t move as quickly as Lily, he was still able to maintain a fast pace with little exertion.
The sunlight was still pushing through the thick layer of clouds overhead, making it difficult to see very far in the distance, even with the dark shades. He didn’t see any more informational road signs, and just kept pushing forward.
Suddenly Lily stopped and lowered. At the same instant, Derek’s nostrils became flooded with a new scent. It wasn’t a monster, but a human, although the smell was slightly off. And blood. Looking around, Derek couldn’t fathom where this person would be; there was almost nothing around them. But he followed Lily, who was following the scent. It took them to the edge of the woods.
“I don’t think we should go in there, Lily.” Derek said, although he knew the shade would make it easier to see, and he didn’t smell danger.
“It’s someone’s house! They probably have a car, we wouldn’t have to walk all the way to the next exit.” She said, taking a step into the forest.
Derek concluded that she was right. If they could find other people, and vehicles, they had a better chance of getting back to Sasha and the others much sooner. He stepped in behind her.
Just a hundred yards or so into the woods, they came to a rusty chain link fence, which was embarrassingly easy for Derek and Lily to jump over. They landed in the yard of a mobile home, the lights were all off and it seemed abandoned. But the scent of human was strong.
Lily looked back questioningly at Derek, and he nodded for her to move forward. They approached the back side of the home, where a flimsy metal door was hanging open. Lily opened the door and stepped into the dark room within.
An elderly couple seemed to be lying in bed. The man was motionless, and the woman was staring at the door. As soon as she saw Derek and Lily, her facial expression went from anguish to joy, and she began to shout about God and Angels.
“Ma’am,” Derek said, cautiously stepping inside the room, “ma’am, are you hurt?”
Approaching the bed, Derek realized that the smell of blood was coming from them. The blankets on the bed were saturated in blood, and without thinking, Derek pulled back the covers. The man’s entire body was mutilated. Most of his muscles and organs were gone, his skeleton was visible t
hroughout most of his body. There was no way he was alive. The woman was bleeding too, several lacerations covered her body, but she wasn’t mortally wounded.
“Please, please take me to Heaven!” She cried, clinging to Derek’s arms. Lily was already searching the rest of the room, and Derek knelt down on the side of the bed to speak to the woman. He left his shades on to keep from alarming her with his black eyes.
“Ma’am, I’m not an angel. You are alive, and we are going to help you get out of here.” He tried to put an arm under her head, but she flinched back.
“No! I don’t want to leave! Don’t save me, kill me!” She began wailing.
Derek tried to piece this situation together as the woman sobbed. Her husband was dead, brutally attacked by the monsters, and eaten. Probably while he was still alive. His wife had been spared, but he didn’t know why. She didn’t want to live, she wanted to die here, with her husband. As noble as Derek thought that was, he couldn’t allow her to just give up without at least trying to argue with her.
“Please, ma’am,” he began. She interrupted him.
“I’m dying anyway, please!” She cried.
“You’re not dying, we can save you!” Derek argued, “I’m sorry about your husband, but we can’t help him now. We have to get you out of here.” He ignored Lily trying to get his attention from the other side of the bed.
“No! No, please, I am dying. Kill me!” She broke into uncontrollable crying, and covered her face with frail, bony hands.
Not knowing what to do, Derek looked at Lily. Lily was looking at a bouquet of flowers on the dresser. She was holding the card in her hand.
“She has cancer, Derek.”
Suddenly, it all came together for Derek. She actually was dying, cancer destroying her from the inside. Her pale face and skeletal hands should have given him a clue that she wasn’t healthy. As soon as that thought crossed his mind, he realized that he could also smell the cancer. That’s what had made the scent seem so odd to him, a hint of decay, not strong enough to overpower her natural scent, but there nonetheless. And, ironically, it was this cancer that had saved her from the fate of the monsters. They were not interested in cancerous meat. Now she was stranded here in her home, next to her husband who had died an unimaginable horrific death, and she just wanted to die. Derek’s heart was breaking. Even the usually aloof Lily seemed somber as she handed the card to Derek.
The Loki Variation Page 24