The Awakened

by Sara Elizabeth Santana

  “It’s fine. Let’s just try and get some more rest before we head out again,” he said, settling back down. “Then maybe we can…” He fell silent, suddenly alert. He raised himself to his knees, slowly and quietly, staring around us.

  “Dad?” I asked, confused, my eyes darting around our surroundings. I was used to the well-lit city and couldn’t quite adjust to the permeating darkness.

  “Someone’s coming,” he said softly.

  “WHAT?” I WHISPERED, FEAR FILLING my body. I looked up at Ash, who looked equally as scared but determined. He stood up, his shoulders set.

  Dad lifted a finger to his lips and slowly raised himself into a standing position, his gun aimed in front of him. I strained my ears, listening for whatever had stopped him, but I couldn’t hear anything over the hammering of my heart. I reached for my gun, checking that it was fully loaded before clamoring out of the blanket that had tangled itself around my legs. Ash came to stand next to me, his own gun grasped in his hand. Together, the three of us stood, poised and ready.

  Then I heard it, a sound so small there was no way I would have heard it if I had not been waiting for it. There was a shuffling of feet, more than one pair, coming our way. They seemed to be moving at a decent pace, but there was no indication whether they were human or something more sinister. Every instinct in my body was telling me to run, to turn on my heel and go sprinting for the relatively safety of the car. I held my ground though, lifting my gun and aiming toward the darkness of the trees, where the footsteps seemed to be coming from.

  After what felt like an eternity, people came out into the clearing, looking worse for the wear. They were carrying heavy backpacks on their backs and looked exhausted but alert. They stopped almost the moment that they saw us, hands out, and empty of weapons. While they held no weapons, I spotted a knife hilt protruding from a pocket and a rifle slung over a shoulder.

  There were three of them, an older man and woman, and a younger man. The older man had to be in his late fifties, just a touch of gray touching his otherwise dark hair. He was bulky and wide but fit. He stood a couple feet in front of his companions, causing me to believe that he was in charge of the small group. The woman was around the same age as him. Though her hair was free of gray, her eyes showed wrinkles in the corners. The last man was not too much older than Ash and I, maybe in his early to mid-twenties. He looked very similar to the older man, despite his light hair, so perhaps he was his son. They didn’t look dangerous, but looks could be deceiving.

  “Evening,” my dad said, his voice casual but his grip on the gun still tight and aimed at the newcomers. “What can we do for you folks?”

  “We were passing through on a trail not too far from here when we heard someone screaming. We decided to check it out. We wanted to see if there was anyone out here who needed help.”

  My arms wavered a little, and I fought to keep them steady.

  “That was my daughter,” Dad explained. “We appreciate your concern, but she is okay. You folks can pass on now.”

  The three of them stood there, uneasy in the aim of three guns. The older man whispered something over his shoulder to the woman, presumably his wife, and she nodded. “Would you be so kind to share your fire tonight? We’ve been traveling a long way, and we have food we’d be more than willing to share.”

  Ash and I exchanged sideways glances before focusing on my dad. He studied them for a long moment. “I’m not sure that would be wise. I have two under my care; I’m sure you can understand my concern.”

  The man nodded. “I do. I have my own two to look after. The name’s Garrity. Memphis Garrity. This here is my life, Julia, and our son, Liam.”

  He whispered over his shoulder again, while grabbing the shotgun that was strung across his back. I tensed, my grip tighter, my finger poised over the trigger. He smiled slightly and tossed the gun in front of him, so that it landed a few feet in front of us, much closer to us than them. It was followed by a couple of knives and a lone handgun.

  “There. Now you’re armed, and we’re not,” Memphis said, his voice calm. “We are travelers, just like you. We came from down South, in Atlanta.”

  “Did they bomb there too?” I asked, quietly.

  Three pairs of eyes met mine in understanding and I felt a fresh wave of sorrow and regret and pain rush through me. This time it was the young man, Liam, who spoke up. “We were camping, ironically, when my fiancée called and told us about the Awakened. It was right before the phones went out. She told us to turn around and to not come back.” His voice shook a little and I could see the red rims of his eyes, eyes that hadn’t finished crying, not yet. “We’ve been headed away from there, ever since. We lost our car earlier.”

  I looked over at my dad again, who lowered his gun slightly. “Come share our fire. You’ll understand if I keep your weapons.”

  “Of course,” Memphis nodded. “We are very grateful.”

  Ash and I lowered our own weapons and walked back over to the fire, scooting over to make room for the three of them. My dad scooped up their weapons and stored them in the car, before locking it shut.

  “That’s a nice vehicle you got there,” Memphis said, indicating toward the looming black SUV.

  “I am…I was an officer for the NYPD,” my dad explained, seeming more relaxed around the newcomers. He had a good read on people, and it seemed that, for the moment, he was choosing to trust them. However, he wasn’t taking chances. He had Ash positioned next to Liam, who was much smaller than Ash, and he was next to Memphis. I was protected on either side.

  “You’re lucky then,” Liam spoke up, his hands held out toward the fire. Now that they were closer, I could see how cold they were. They were basking in the warmth of the fire, as it was the best thing they’d seen in days. “We had a few things with us, but you’re probably way more equipped than we are.”

  “We’ve been making it,” my dad, casually. “Have you seen any Awakened on your journey?”

  They nodded. “We saw a small pack of them earlier today, when we lost our car. They’re incredibly smart. I didn’t expect for them to be working together, but they did, and they had a plan of attack. Luckily the three of us are hunters, and we took them down, but not before they had made quick work of our car.” Memphis coughed slightly. “We’ve been walking all day.”

  “Have you seen any of them?” the woman, Julia, finally spoke up. Her voice was soft, in sharp contrast to her large figure. She was tall, definitely taller than me, maybe nearly as tall as my dad’s six-foot stature, and had large hands that were clasped in front of her.

  “Not since we left home,” Ash said. “I didn’t know they’d be out this far.”

  “We thought the bombs had taken care of them,” Memphis admitted. “But then I realized that there must have been Awakened released in the smaller cities as well.”

  “Released?” I asked, confused.

  He met my eyes, and there was something there in his eyes that made me feel comfortable. It felt good to see other people after two days on the road and days of near solitude back in New York. “Well, the way I figure it, the bodies of all these virus victims were stolen, right? And they all came back to life, as these Awakened, at the same time, right? Seems to make sense that it was done on purpose.”

  The three of us looked down taken aback at this statement but it actually sort of made sense to me. How likely was it that every single victim of the virus had magically awakened at the exact same moment, even though his or her times of death had been so drastically different?

  “But why would someone want to do that?” I asked, thinking of the viciousness of the Awakened. They were an abomination, even worse than the zombies we had portrayed in books and movies for years. They were smart, and frightening. They worked together, and they were incredibly fast and strong. “Why would someone create something like that?”

  “Think about it,” Liam said, catching my gaze and staring at me intently. I felt my heart slam a couple times in my ches
t. He was good looking, even under all the dirt and grime. He had an all American look to him, blond hair and blue eyes, and was very tall and lanky. He seemed to take after his mother in that respect. He smiled at me, slightly, and I ducked my head. “What does one gain by releasing millions of incredibly fast, intelligent and strong beings into the world?”

  Ash shrugged, but my father’s lips grew thin, in a grim line.

  “You’re assuming that there is someone actually behind these Awakened,” my dad said, sharply. “We don’t know enough to assume that.”

  “But say they did. Say there is someone behind it,” Liam insisted, passionately. “Why? What do they gain?”

  “An army,” I spoke up, softly. I shook my head. “None of this makes any sense.”

  “Well, whatever it is, we have to be sure to find someplace safe to be,” Memphis said, digging through his pack. He pulled out a bag of trail mix and offered it to the group before chowing down.

  “Where are you headed?” my dad asked carefully.

  “Colorado,” Memphis said, firmly. “To Sanctuary.”

  Ash and I exchanged bewildered looks, but my dad scoffed loudly.

  “You’re talking about the place near Mesa Verde. It’s not real,” my dad, a slight chuckle to his voice. “You won’t find anything there. It doesn’t exist.”

  “So says who?” Memphis asked, casually.

  “So says me,” my dad said, sounding irritated.

  “Well you’ll forgive me, sir, if I don’t take that as solid truth,” Memphis said, agreeably. “I think there’s a place for us, a sanctuary in Colorado. There’s been talk of it for years, and we’re determined to find it.”

  My dad opened his mouth to say something again, and I knew it wasn’t long before it turned into an argument. He was a practical, logical man, and he wouldn’t believe in something based on rumors and heresy.

  I started to interrupt, to intervene before it got further than it needed to, but Liam spoke first. “I’m parched. You folks wouldn’t have any water to spare, would you?”

  The two older men turned to look at him, almost surprised that he was even still there. My dad’s eyes met mine, and he said, “Will you get him some water?”

  I nodded, standing up and brushing the dirt off my jeans. I knew it would only be another day until I would look as dirty and careworn as these three. I walked over to the car, reached into the back and pulled out a water bottle. I turned around, and bumped right into Liam. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t see you there.”

  He smiled, a crooked grin that didn’t quite seem to fit the rugged good looks of the rest of his face. It was endearing though, charming. “I just wanted to make sure you were safe.”

  A small smile twitched at the corner of my lips. “I can take care of myself.”

  “I don’t doubt it.”

  I held the water bottle out to him. “Here you go.”

  He reached for it, his fingers brushing lightly against mine as he took it. “Thank you…?”

  “Zoey,” I supplied.

  “Zoey,” he repeated.

  I paused, when I heard my dad’s voice rise a bit, and I shook my head. I hoped they had moved on from the sanctuary talk, or it was going to be an extremely long night. “Yes.”

  “That’s beautiful,” he said, unscrewing the top of the bottle and taking a large swig. He offered the bottle out to me, and I shook my head. “So that’s your daddy, I assume. Who is the other guy? Your boyfriend?”

  “Oh, god no,” I said quickly. “Ash is…well, was my next door neighbor. He had nobody left, so he came along with us.”

  “Oh, I see,” Liam said, his voice soft as he glanced over his shoulder at Ash, whose eyes were flipping back and forth between my dad and Memphis and myself and Liam. “Well, good.”

  I blushed and ducked my head, embarrassed at my obvious pleasure in his interest. I immediately changed the subject. “So are you guys really headed for Colorado?”

  He nodded. “Yes, definitely. Sanctuary is there. I know it’s there.”

  “But how can you be sure?” I asked. His confidence was unnerving, while at the same time it was addicting. He had a plan, a solid plan. It sounded insane, but he believed in it and his confidence in it was solid. “It’s all just a rumor.”

  “Sometimes you have to have faith, you know?” he said, looking down at me. I leaned up against the car, and he leaned next to me, surveying the scene around us.

  “I guess,” I answered. “I’m not much one for faith.”

  He chuckled light. “So where are you headed, Miss Zoey?” I eyed him suspiciously for a moment, and he laughed again. “It’s okay to tell me.”

  “Nebraska,” I said, deliberately leaving out the specific town. “My mom lives there, on an inactive farm. It’s a safe place, or so we hope.”

  “Sounds like you have to have a little faith in something too,” he pointed out.

  “You could be right,” I admitted.

  “Z?” Ash was suddenly in front of us, looking at Liam with distaste on his face. “Come back to the fire. It’s cold over here.” He met my eyes, and I felt myself sucked into those baby blues. I found myself nodding.

  “Okay,” I agreed, looking up at Liam. “Are you coming?”

  He smiled stretched across his face again, and he pushed himself off the car and started walking toward the fire. Ash grabbed my arm and pulled me to him. I collided with his chest from the harsh, quick movement and stepped backward.

  “What?” I asked, looking back toward the fire, where the three strangers sat with my dad. He looked more relaxed, but he had shown no inclination to let go of his gun or to give them their weapons back.

  “What were you guys talking about?” Ash asked, his voice casual.

  I raised my eyebrow at him. “Nothing important,” I answered, trying to walk past him. He stepped to the side, blocking me again.

  “Zoey, just…just be careful, okay?” he said, under his breath. “You can’t just trust anyone that walks into our camp just because they have a pretty face.”

  “You think Liam has a pretty face?” I asked innocently, my eyes wide.

  “I’m serious,” he said sternly. “Just be careful.”

  I pushed past him. “I never pegged you as the jealous type, Ash Matthews.” I returned to the fire and sat down, exchanging a quick smile with Liam before turning my attention back to the conversation between my dad and Memphis.

  It wasn’t long before I was asleep again, sharing a blanket with my dad and my gun tucked under my chest. Ash volunteered to take the first watch and set himself up against a tree. He still seemed very suspicious Liam and his family.

  I had slept for a few hours before Ash woke me up, and we switched places. He smiled gratefully at me, and a rush of emotions went through me. It was getting harder and harder to ignore that I didn’t hate Ash as much as I pretended I did. I watched him for a moment, as he settled under the blanket on the hard ground and fell asleep almost immediately.

  Shaking my head, I sighed and refocused my attention of the area surrounding us. The sun was just beginning to peek through the crack in the trees. We had spent so many hours talking with Memphis, Julia and Liam that we had fallen asleep late. I knew that even though the sun would be shining on us in no time, they would stay asleep. Every face around me was the picture of exhaustion.

  I felt my eyelids get heavy after an hour or so and contemplated waking my dad up to take over. I pushed through it though; he hadn’t gotten nearly enough sleep, and I had to stay awake for at least a couple hours. It was only fair to the rest of them. I shifted, propping myself against a tree trunk and focused on the sounds of the forest. There was a light chirping from a group of birds, and the crackle of leaves being blown by the slight wind that had picked up through the night. Every once in awhile, there would be the sound of quick feet that would cause my heart to pound faster before a squirrel would dart out. I came to one conclusion: keeping watch, when you are really tired, is extremely boring.
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  I drifted off to sleep for a moment; that could have been a minute or maybe more because, next thing I knew, Liam had a concerned look on his face and was shaking me awake.

  “Well, this is embarrassing,” I said, rubbing my eyes, “falling asleep on the job.”

  “Shh,” he said, quietly, his eyes darting around the trees. “They’re out there.”

  “Who?” I whispered back, reaching for the gun in my lap and the knife tucked into my boot.

  “Awakened.”

  I sat up straighter, my own eyes scanning the surroundings. I strained my ears listening for it and felt my heart jump into my throat when I heard it. It was low, barely audible, but I could hear the hoarse breaths coming from a distance away. “Oh god,” I breathed.

  “Zoey. Zoey, my family needs their weapons,” Liam said urgently. I hesitated for a moment, casting a glance at my dad, asleep on the ground. “Please.”

  I handed him the keys to the car. “Get them quietly. You try to shoot me, I swear to god I will blow your brains out.”

  Despite the situation, Liam chuckled lightly. “Sounds about right. Wake everyone up.”

  I crept around the campsite, my ear cocked in the direction of the approaching Awakened. It sounded like they were moving slowly, which meant they were probably unaware that there were people in front of them. I woke my dad and Ash up first, whispering quickly. They woke immediately, grabbing their own weapons before waking Memphis and Julia. By this time, Liam had come back and was passing their weapons around.”

  The six of us stood poised, waiting in the silence for them to appear. My gun was clutched tight in my right hand and my knife in my left. I bounced from one foot to the other, anxious and ready.

  THEY CAME IN THROUGH THE trees, a pack of about a dozen. They stopped suddenly at the sight of us; I had been right when I had guessed about them not knowing we were there. Almost in unison, they crouched, prepared to fight.