The Infected, a PODs Novel

by Michelle K. Pickett

  “What are you doing here?” A man’s voice boomed behind us.

  We spun around and froze. A group of people, all armed, faced us. Their guns held casually, but ready.

  “Who are you?” one of the men called.

  “We’re from another village. Rosewood in Tennessee,” Devlin answered.

  “You’re a long way from home,” The man said, taking a few steps toward us.

  “Your village has something we need.”

  “Yeah? And what’s that?” another man yelled, his rifle aimed in the general direction of me and David.

  “Vaccine for the feed.”

  They didn’t answer, just stared at us. Finally, one of the women nodded once in acknowledgement.

  “Can you help us?”

  The woman stepped forward. “I know where the vaccine is kept.”

  A man placed his hand on her arm. “Cat, no! We don’t know these people. It’s not our problem.”

  She waved off his words. “What if it was us? Huh? Would you travel hundreds of miles to get the vaccine for us?”

  “You know I would.”

  “They’re no different. We help them. It’s only right. Why should our village have access to it when others don’t?”

  He nodded and put away his weapon. I let out the breath I was holding in a rush.

  “What are you doing out here?” Devlin asked the man.

  “Hunting.”

  “Aren’t you worried about infected animals?”

  “We don’t see many anymore. The hunts and feed have helped with that,” the man answered.

  Devlin pushed his hood off. “What hunts?”

  “The hunts for the infected animals. The government pays us for each infected animal we kill. They don’t do that in your village?”

  “No. I’m David.” He extended his hand to the man. “We aren’t allowed out of our village to hunt.”

  The man grasped David’s hand and gave a brisk handshake. “Jake. Nice to meet ya. This is my wife Cat, my brother Charlie and my cousin Tim and his wife Jewels.”

  David gestured toward us. “This is Seth, Eva and Devlin, Juan and Rebecca, Roy and Judy.”

  “Well, c’mon then. I’ll show you where you can set-up camp,” Tim said. He turned and walked quickly into the trees.

  We walked about a mile, circling the village. I could see the buildings through the trees, and faintly hear voices. Some were laughing. Others were shouting. I could hear the military barking orders.

  “Here we go. We live right there.” Tim pointed to a group of small houses. “You all stay here. It’s small, but functional. We used it for overnight hunts when we lived in the city, before we were herded to Aberdeen.” He opened the door.

  The cabin was just one large room. There were four bunk beds on one side, a kitchen along one wall and a couch and chair in the middle of the room. I saw a door in the corner and thought it probably led to the bathroom—I hoped it did and I hoped it worked. The walls were thin and the planks weren’t sealed. I could see light shining through the gaps, but it was much better than sleeping outside. There were beds and nice places to sit out of the wind and snow. Yeah, it was almost like the Ritz-Carlton if you’d asked me.

  “The village is closed to nonresidents so I can’t get you in. And the military doesn’t take to kindly to visitors, as I’m sure ya’ll can understand with the Infected running around and all. I’ll make sure you get some more blankets and supplies tomorrow. Until then, here’s some dinner.” Tim handed David a rope with the gutted bodies of four squirrel hanging from it. “Don’t light your fire until after dark so the smoke doesn’t show and put something over the windows to block the light. Be sure to douse it before daybreak. They shoot first and ask questions after around here.”

  Jake shifted from one foot to the other. “We need to go. They’ll be closing the gate soon. I’ll see you first thing tomorrow morning.” We watched the group double back, disappearing into the trees.

  “Think we can trust them?” Devlin asked.

  David shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t think we have a choice.”

  “Yeah. That’s my thought too.”

  I felt a shiver run down my spine, like someone’s nail moving lightly across my skin, and I shuddered. When David and Devlin looked at me, I just smiled. “Nice cabin, huh? Better than sleeping outside.”

  We were starving. We’d hiked for three long days in brutal conditions. Our bodies craved protein and rest. Even the gutted squirrels looked delicious. Devlin cleaned out the fireplace and Rebecca and I covered the windows. As soon as it was dark, we started a fire, quickly roasting the squirrels. When they were cooked through, we didn’t even take the time to use plates and forks, just pulled the meat apart with our fingers, licking the juices from the tips.

  “I never knew squirrel tasted so good,” Seth said around a mouth full of meat, licking his fingers with loud smacking noises.

  “I know. I was so hungry anything would have tasted good.” I shoved another bite into my mouth.

  “Even rattlesnake, Eva? Them’s good eatin’.”

  “No, I don’t think I was that hungry yet, Roy.” I shook my head with a smile.

  Roy shrugged. “It’s an acquired taste.”

  The night was cold, the temperature well below freezing. Everyone was asleep, except for me and Devlin. We sat together on the couch. A blanket pulled around us for extra warmth.

  “So what’s the plan?” I snuggled against Devlin.

  “See what they can do for us. Maybe they’ll help.”

  “And maybe they’ll bring the military with them in the morning. Did you see them all? They were everywhere, shouting orders to the residents. It’s like a prison camp.”

  “Yeah,” he said with a sigh.

  I woke the next morning to the sun glowing through the blanket-covered windows. I stretched in the sleeping bag and looked around. The cabin was empty except for Rebecca sitting on the bed next to mine braiding her long dark hair. It was so long, even in a braid it reached her lower back.

  “Good morning.” She looked at me and smiled. “Everyone’s outside.”

  “How long has everybody been awake?”

  Rebecca shrugged a shoulder. “Mm, not too long. Some of them, like Roy and Judy, have internal alarm clocks that are set to go off at horrid hours.”

  I laughed. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks that.”

  I grabbed my jeans and slipped into them. Pulling on my parka, I walked outside. The cold stole my breath. I shivered and blew into my cupped hands to warm them.

  Devlin stood next to the tree line talking to the man named Jake, and his wife Cat.

  Cat held a large stack of blankets. She smiled when she saw me. “These are for you,” she said holding out the blankets.

  “Thank you. The nights are so cold,” I said. Cat followed me inside the cabin to put the blankets away.

  “We’re gonna try to get you in,” Cat said.

  “Where?”

  “The village. We’re trying to get you papers. Hold still. I need to take your picture.” She snapped a photo of me with a small digital camera.

  I looked at my photo on the camera’s screen. “How are you getting the papers?”

  “We know a guy. He’s pretty good. Cheap, too,” she said.

  “We don’t have anything to barter with.” The villages still didn’t use money. People traded for things they wanted or needed.

  Cat looked at my hand, where I wore my mother’s wedding ring. The fingers of my other hand twisted it around.

  “Oh.”

  I guess she’s right. It is a cheap trade. Lives for a ring.

  I slipped it off and looked at it. It was the last thing I had of hers. I had a photo, but the ring was the only thing I had that I could touch, wear. I swallowed back the tears clogging my throat, and handed it to her.

  Cat put the ring in her pocket. “It might take a couple days. He doesn’t live in our district and we aren’t allowed in any distr
ict but our own. So you guys sit tight, okay? We’ll be back as soon as the papers are done.”

  I nodded. Papers to get into Area-One, where the vaccine was, we wouldn’t have to risk getting caught breaking in. We couldn’t have asked for better luck.

  We didn’t hear from Cat or her husband for days.

  “I don’t think they’re coming back, David.” I stared out the window. I could barely see Area-One from where I stood.

  David rubbed the stubble covering his cheek. “When Roy and I were looking around today, I think we found the hospital.”

  I turned and looked at him. “And?”

  “It sits close to the fence. Real close. I think we can be in and out before anyone noticed. But there’s a problem…”

  I rolled my eyes. “What?” I said when he didn’t elaborate. I hated when he gave me half answers.

  “We can get through the fence. We can get into the hospital—I think—but once we’re inside, we have no idea where to go to find the medication. It’s a big building. We can’t be wandering around inside. Someone would notice. We need a map.”

  “That would help,” I said, biting my lip.

  “When they bring the papers we’ll ask them to make us one.”

  I blew out a breath and ran my fingers through my ponytail. “Assuming they come back.”

  Tim and Jake showed up at our camp before dawn. “We were able to get your papers.” Jake handed what looked like a passport to me, and one to Devlin. “We could only get them for two of you. Bringing in a whole group would be too risky. We picked Devlin because he’s injured and has a reason to be in the hospital. It won’t raise any suspicion. Eva can get into the hospital with Devlin without any problem, and can snag the serum while he’s being examined.

  “I don’t like it.” David shook his head, his hand on his hip.

  “Sorry, my friend. It’s the best we could do. We have to be careful. If this goes bad it isn’t just your butts on the line. I’ve got a family to think about.”

  “I want to go in place of Devlin. He’s injured. If he needed to get out quick—”

  “His injury gives him access to the hospital. Access you wouldn’t have. Besides, the papers are already made. Eva and Devlin are a married couple giving both of them a reason to be at his appointment—”

  “Wait, they’re not married.” David knotted his eyebrows over his eyes.

  “The way you introduced them I thought they were. It doesn’t matter.” Jake waved the issue away with his hand. “While they’re in the compound they’re married.” He turned his attention to Devlin and me. “You’ll enter the compound just before dusk tomorrow. That’s shift change for the guards, and Saturdays are always chaos. It’ll be easier for you to slip through. They won’t be paying as much attention.”

  “We’ll try to get you into the hospital the same day,” Tim said.

  “I don’t like it,” David said again. He came up behind me and put his hands on my upper arms and squeezed a little too tightly.

  I didn’t like it either. I didn’t want to leave the group behind. Too many things could go wrong.

  “Don’t bring anything with you. We’ll get you clothes and the other things you’ll need once you’re in the compound. Carrying in a bag would be like a neon sign that you don’t belong.”

  “Okay.” I tried to keep my voice from shaking. “Where will we stay?”

  “The address on your papers is a house next to ours in the Gaming District. We’re all hunters. We stick together. There aren’t many houses in that area, and most of them are close friends or family. You’ll be safe there.”

  My thoughts strayed to a friend who I’d once thought had my back. Nona. She worked at the school with me. David was locked out of the village. It was forbidden for residents to have any contact with outsiders, but David and I met at the fence in the meadow down the street from my house every night. Nona found out about our meetings, and turned us in. Luckily, David was able to get away. As an outsider, he could have been shot. The military tended to assume everyone on the outside was Infected. I ended up in quarantine. I got off easy. I could have been kicked out of the village.

  I said a silent prayer that Jake and Tim’s friends could be trusted more than Nona. Everything was riding on it. I prayed Tim and Jake could be trusted.

  We know absolutely nothing about them. They seem friendly enough, and they act like they want to help, but we don’t know enough about them to know their motives. Although, I can’t figure out what they have to gain from turning us in—or for helping us.

  Day Eighteen.

  I helped Judy and Rebecca with the chores around camp. When we were done we played cards with a deck Roy brought with him. Time passed slowly, giving me time to think, and worry.

  “Look at it this way, Eva. You’ll be sleeping in a nice, warm bed tonight.” Judy rearranged her cards. “I’m jealous.” She smiled at me.

  “Yeah. I wish we all could go,” I said, discarding a card from my hand. “Rummy.”

  Roy threw down his cards. “I ain’t playing with you no more, Eva. You win every blasted hand. You must cheat or something,” he teased.

  I laughed. It died on my lips when I looked up and saw Jake and Cat walking toward the cabin.

  “It’s time to go.” Jake stood beside me with his hand resting on my shoulder.

  I stood and wiped my hands up and down my thighs. “Okay.” I looked around the camp and smiled at the people I counted not only as friends, but family. “I’ll see you all soon.”

  David took my hand and led me away from the others. “Don’t worry, Eva.”

  Don’t worry? My mind is spinning with worry. What if we can’t do it? What if we get caught? What if I screw up? What if Infected raid the camp while we’re gone—you’ll be two guns short.

  “Don’t worry” he said again. “As much as I don’t want you to go, I know you can do this.”

  From your lips to God’s ears.

  “We really need to go. Once they close the gates for the night, we’re stuck outside,” Jake said.

  “Okay.” I nodded. “Okay, I’m ready.”

  We walked into the trees and circled around the camp. The tall gate came into view. Armed guards milled around, checking everyone’s documentation as they entered and exited the compound. My heart skipped a beat, and sweat beaded on my forehead and the back of my neck.

  “Just walk up to the guard and offer him your papers. Don’t speak. He’ll look at them, then wave you through. We’ll be right behind you.”

  “Okay.” I was glad I didn’t have to say anything to the guard. My voice was shaking as badly as my insides.

  “Hold her hand or something. You’re supposed to be married. And try not to limp. They’ll wonder why you were out hunting with an injury,” Jake instructed Devlin.

  Devlin reached out and put his arm around my waist. I helped hold up his weight so he didn’t limp quite as much.

  “You need a shower,” he said with a chuckle.

  “Yeah, well your cologne wore off a long time ago, too.” I laughed.

  “A nice warm shower and a soft, comfy bed, I almost feel guilty.”

  “Me too.”

  We waited in line at the gate for our turn to enter, my stomach doing flip-flops. My hands were slick with sweat, despite the freezing cold.

  Devlin squeezed me closer, bending his mouth to my ear. “Relax.”

  “Yeah. Right.”

  He laughed. “The Eva I know isn’t scared of anything.”

  “No, I’m just pretty good at hiding it. I’m scared plenty.”

  When it was my turn, Devlin let go of my waist, and I walked to the guard. My knees shook, and the rabbit stew I’d eaten for dinner the night before roiled in my stomach. I handed the guard my little passport, and waited while he looked over the information. He held the paper up and compared the picture to my face. With a nod, he handed it back to me, waving me through. I was so relieved I nearly peed myself.

  I waited on the other
side of the gate for Devlin. The guard repeated the same process, waving Devlin through, but when he tried to walk by, the guard lowered his rifle in front of him.

  “What were you doing outside the compound?” the guard asked.

  Devlin looked down at the gun and then at the guard. “Hunting.”

  “You went hunting in the snow with a bum leg?”

  Devlin’s composure slipped for a fraction of a second. We hadn’t practiced what to say if questioned.

  “He tripped in a gulley while we were out,” I said. “I barely got him back before the gate closed.”

  The guard looked between me and Devlin before lifting his rifle. “Get that leg checked at the clinic tomorrow.”

  “Yes, sir,” Devlin murmured and walked past the guard booth, putting his arm around me.

  I turned to walk into the village when I saw movement in the trees over Devlin’s shoulder. I squinted and saw David watching. Turning, I followed Jake and Tim through the streets of Area-One toward the Gaming District, where I’d call home until we were able to get the vaccine and return to Rosewood.

  “Your house is on the left, the last on the street. It’s blue with white shutters. Here are the keys.” Tim dropped two keys in Devlin’s hand. “Just walk in like you belong. There’s a mandatory curfew beginning at nightfall, so don’t leave the house. Someone will be over later with supplies.”

  The house was small and rundown. In fact, all the houses in the Gaming District were. I was surprised. I thought Area-One would be much nicer than the other villages. But from what I’d seen walking through, it was actually the opposite. Houses had chipping paint, crumbling foundations, and the sidewalks were cracked and buckled.

  Jake and Tim veered off the sidewalk, walking to their own homes. I got a glimpse of Jewels when Tim opened the door to his house. She smiled and lifted her hand in a small wave.

  Devlin and I walked to the end of the street, and the blue house on the left. I couldn’t help but look out over the expanse of field between the compound and the tree line. I knew inside those trees David watched. I needed him to know everything was okay. I smiled so he’d see through his binoculars.