She stopped and stood on her tiptoes, looking for Chris in the sea of people.
“Jessica, you won’t see him if he’s in front.”
She turned to me, her face pale. “They took him, didn’t they?”
“Who?” I asked.
“The cut on his arm. He told me how he got it, but—they took him anyway.”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t know how to answer.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” She turned and ran toward Devlin.
“Jessica! Wait!” I called, jogging to catch up to her. He chuckledad you, Evaou
“Who?” she shouted at Devlin.
He didn’t answer right away. He stared at the ground before looking up at me through his eyelashes.
“I’m sorry. She figured it out.”
“It’s okay, Eva. I knew she would.” He looked at Jessica, his face filled with compassion. “Juan.”
“You should have told me,” she yelled. Other group members turned and stared. “It’s nothing. He scraped it on a tree when he was gathering wood for the fire. That’s all.”
“Then he’ll be back tomorrow.”
Jessica turned and walked away, her back straight, chin lifted in the air. She tried to look angry, but her fear showed through, even though she tried to hide it. I walked silently beside her for a few steps before she turned to me.
“Get away from me. You knew. You knew, and you didn’t tell me. Some friend you are.”
I stopped walking, watching her pull ahead of me.
“She’ll be fine.” David came up behind me and kissed the back of my neck. It sent a shiver down my spine. He took my hand and threaded his fingers through mine, pulling me gently along with him.
“I hope so,” I said. I didn’t think so.
Juan met us at the town around dinnertime. When I saw him walking toward us, my heart sank, and I couldn’t catch my breath. I dropped the bowl I was dishing stew into; it clanged loudly against the pavement. Gravy splattered on my jeans and vegetables scattered across the ground.
Chris wasn’t with him.
When Jessica saw him, tears filled her eyes. She ran into the little motel room, slamming and locking the door behind her. She stayed in the room the rest of the night and most of the morning. She didn’t come out until the group was ready to leave.
She looked from Devlin to me, turned, and moved back to walk behind another group. She didn’t speak.
We made camp at the end of the day. It was a beautiful evening—the sky was clear, just turning a purplish black. The stars were already emerging as bats fluttered in the sky.
The campsite was just a small clearing in a wooded area. A fire burned in the middle; people were setting up tents around it. I froze at the sound of Juan’s low voice from the tree line just beyond where I was setting up my tent. “Jessica, Devlin asked me to talk to you. Said you needed to hear it from me. The wound on Chris’s arm wasn’t from gathering wood. It was a bite.”
The light from the campfire barely touched their faces among the trees. The cool metal of the tent pole bit into the palms of my hands, and I said a silent prayer that what Juan was telling her would give her peace. I had to strain to hear him over the crickets and cicadas buzzing. Watching them out of the corner of my eye, I tried not to look like I was eavesdropping, which was exactly what I was doing.
When he didn’t get an answer, Juan continued. “He told me he knew it was a bite. He also knew what he was going to turn into.”
“You’re wrong,” Jessica bit out, her voice cold.
“He was already showing signs. The rash, the blue veins… elephant sitting in the middle of I It wasinpl f they were there.”
She shook her head. “No, you’re wrong.”
“Jessica, he asked me to do it. He knew what was happening and he didn’t want to become one of them. He asked me to do it before he could hurt anyone. He said to tell you he was sorry he didn’t say goodbye.”
Tears ran down Jessica’s face, catching the light from the fire. Mucus and saliva trickled from her nose and mouth. She didn’t care. She sobbed, repeating, “You were wrong,” at Juan, over and over.
I went over to her and took her hand. She turned and sagged against me, crying. I held her silently, smoothing the hair down her back, letting her cry. We sank down to the forest floor, our backs against the wide trunk of a tree.
“They’re wrong, right, Eva?”
“No, honey, they’re not. I’m sorry.”
I held her while she cried, my shirt damp with her tears. She sobbed until she was so exhausted that she fell asleep on my shoulder.
Devlin carried her to her tent and placed her blankets gently over her.
“She’ll be fine,” he said, almost to himself. “She’ll be fine.” He looked at me and I gave him a sad smile.
Will she? Will any of us?
The clinking of metal woke me. I listened. David’s breathing was quick and shallow in the tent next to me. Gone were his soft snores. From somewhere in the camp I heard the click of a gun being cocked.
It was beginning again and I braced myself. I heard the grunting first, followed by banshee screams as the infected descended on our campsite.
By dawn, we’d lost two more camp members. One had been mauled by one of the infected attackers. The other walked into the woods and took his own life when he realized he’d been bitten on the ankle.
We packed quickly when the attack was over. We didn’t even take the time needed to bury our dead. The infected were following too closely behind us, and we were still on foot. We needed to get some ground between us and them.
The afternoon was wet. Thunder rolled in the sky and cold, fat raindrops pelted us. We splashed through puddles and mud, going as fast as we were able in the horrible weather. Some of the group ditched their heavy, waterlogged packs so they could keep up with the rest.
The wind howled. It whipped through the trees, ripping the autumn leaves from the branches. The rain beat them into the muddy ground. I looked up, shielding my eyes from the rain. Gray clouds churned above us and lightning spread like jagged fingers across the sky. I prayed we’d come to a town so we could get out of the storm.
I dropped my head and wiped the rainwater from my eyes with my hands. My head facing to the side, I saw it—just a flash of color among the otherwise dark trees.
“David?”
“Yeah?” We were walking right next to each other but had to yell to be heard over the wind and rain.
“Do they only attack at night?”
He stopped abruptly. I skidded in the mud when I stopped and turned to face him. “Usually, but not to see each other.r little inpl f always,” he said slowly. “Why?”
I put my lips close to his ear. “I think they’re in the trees. I saw a flash of yellow.”
David whistled to Devlin. He didn’t look back at us. He nodded his head once and reached behind him for his shotgun. That created a domino effect. Everyone tensed. Without stopping, people grabbed their guns, and the unarmed group members made their way inside the formation. The men—and the few women who were armed—encircled them.
We walked faster. The cold rain made it almost impossible to see into the darkened forest. The roaring wind made it impossible to hear. We could only wait.
We walked another half-mile, maybe more, before it happened. A group emerged from the trees in front of us, another group behind us. Their white skin seemed to glow in the dim light, the blue veins even more visible. They stood silently, blocking our path. Seconds ticked by, and with each one the tension in our group rose.
Then it started.
The screaming came first. Then they ran toward us, weapons raised. The shotgun blasts echoed through the trees. I watched numbly as the infected in front fell in the mud. Their blood mixed with the rain and pooled on the ground. The other attackers jumped over the dead and continued running at us. Some tripped and fell over the bodies sprawled in the mud. That seemed to infuriate them and they screamed and snarled as they
advanced.
“Eva!” David shouted.
I turned to him and froze at the look on his face. He wasn’t looking at me. He was looking over my shoulder. I didn’t need to turn around to know what he saw. It seemed to happen in slow motion. David raised his gun. I whirled around. The infected man lurched toward me. David fired and the eerily white-skinned man fell, his club knocking my gun from my hands. The weapon landed yards away—in the middle of the oncoming attack.
I didn’t have time to think. Behind my attacker was another infected just as eager as the first to reach me. I was unarmed. I looked around frantically, searching for something I could use as a weapon. I grabbed the dead man’s club and swung it at the infected’s head, screaming with the effort. The club connected with her head with a sickening crunch. She crumpled to the ground. I stared at her for a beat, praying she was dead. I didn’t have time to defend myself from her again. There was already another taking her place.
He advanced slowly toward me with a guttural scream. I raised my club and readied myself. He lurched and I swung… missing him. I stumbled and fell. On my hands and knees in the cold mud, I looked to David. He was fighting off a group of infected behind us. The bulky man lurch toward me again. I screamed and braced myself for the impact of the tree branch he carried.
His body jerked and fell in front of me, spraying mud across my face. I raised my arm and wiped it over my eyes. I looked across the group and saw Devlin, his gun aimed in my direction. I nodded my thanks. He swung the tip of his shotgun toward the center of the group, where the unarmed group members huddled together. I scrambled off the muddy ground and grabbed the bat, making my way to the center of the circle.
Jessica ran to me. I held her close. I couldn’t hear her over the rain and vicious fight, but I felt her body shake with sobs. We huddled together until the fight was over.
I screamed when I felt big hands grab my arms. Someone swung me around and crushed me against him. “You scared the crap outta me!” elephant sitting in the middle of I It wasinpl f
“David.” I fisted my hand in the front of his jacket.
“What the hell were you thinking, swinging a bat around like a lunatic?” He pulled back and looked at me.
“That I’d better do something before one of them got me,” I snapped.
I heard a chuckle and looked to my side. Devlin was checking the fallen infected, making sure there were no survivors. I smiled at him as he passed by. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
“No, not anytime. No time. Because she’s not going to do that again. From now on, you stay inside the circle where it’s safe.”
“David, you are blowing—”
“You could’ve been killed!”
“You could’ve been, too,” I answered calmly.
“Inside the circle.”
“No.”
“Eva, so help me…”
“The inside of that circle isn’t safe. Their numbers are growing and ours are weakening. The only way for us to be safe is to teach each other how to fight, and then watch each other’s backs.”
“She’s right.” I jumped at the loud blast that followed Devlin’s words. He’d found a survivor and put a bullet through its head. We don’t leave survivors.
“Don’t encourage her.”
Devlin chuckled before he fired another shot. “I gotta say, Eva. You don’t fight like a girl. I saw you take one out with that club. Very badass.”
“What a sexist comment.” I grinned. “But I’m going to overlook it since you saved my life today.”
“Gee, thanks.” He laughed. I watched over my shoulder as he walked away.
Chapter 29:
The Vote
“How are you going to make it through the desert?” David asked.
“The same way we’ve made it this far,” Devlin answered.
“We’re only just into New Mexico, barely past the panhandle of Texas, and already the heat is horrid. The towns are further and further apart. You don’t know when, or if, you’ll find a town for supplies. Stay here. We have food and shelter.” He gestured at the people assembled in one of the greenhouses, which was large enough to hold the several hundred researchers and medical personnel who’d lived in the main POD for more than a year. “It’s a perfect set-up. We stay until another group moves through. They can join us, or whoever wants can leave with them.”
I looked around at the faces of the others we’d been travelling with. In the three days we’d been down in the POD, people had cleaned up and gotten some rest, but many still looked weary, exhausted from the constant travelling and fights with the infected. Others were shaking their heads—the ones who were convinced there was a safe compound in California and that’s where they wanted to be.
The greenhous My eyes never left David’s face.">1 understood favorite moviee was thick with humidity, making it hard to breathe. I felt sweat slide down my spine; our faces were slick with it. The thick, glass domes above looked foggy with condensation, giving the room a filtered look, like looking through a piece of opaque plastic.
The air smelled of ripe, lush fruit, but the vegetable gardens were overgrown and needed work. The smell of decaying plant life tickled our noses, blending with the sweet smell of the fruit trees.
Water dripped from rain chains into tanks, collecting the extra moisture for re-use.
We could live here indefinitely if we wanted to. The POD latched from the inside; the infected couldn’t get in. The gardens offered a constant supply of fruits and vegetables, and occasional hunting trips could supplement our diet. It seemed like the perfect set-up. David and I knew it could work. We’d even moved back into our old sub-POD. Jessica and Devlin had joined us there.
“We’ll vote on it,” Devlin decided. “Secret ballot, majority rules. Everyone go talk it over with your family or significant other. We’ll meet in the main POD for dinner and vote afterward.”
David and I headed back to our sub-POD after the discussion in the garden. Jessica ran ahead of us on the metal walkway. Her footsteps clanged loudly. We pulled back, letting her run ahead.
“They won’t stay,” I said.
“Probably not.”
“And you?” I bit my lip as I waited for his answer.
“Whatever you want, Eva.”
“That’s not fair. It’s not fair to put the decision on me.”
“I’m not.” When he saw the argument coming, he added, “I know where I want to be. With you. Whether that’s here or in California makes no difference to me. So whatever you want is what I want.”
“I don’t know what I want. We could make it work here. But if there’s a chance there is a compound in California it would be a much easier life. We may even have family or friends there. Crap, I don’t know.”
“What’s holding you back from California?” Devlin asked behind us.
The sound of his voice startled me and I jumped. “Don’t sneak up on people like that, Devlin. I don’t have anything against California. I’m just not sure what you’ve been told is entirely true. I lived in a compound. They didn’t let topsiders in. In fact, David is a POD survivor and they wouldn’t even let him back in once he’d left.”
“But the government compounds are in the east.”
“Yes, that’s what we’ve been told. Do you trust everything the government tells you?”
He didn’t answer. He nodded his head and brushed past David and me, following Jessica into the sub-POD.
We gathered for dinner that evening in the main POD’s cafeteria, where we found canned meats and vegetables. I helped the others open the cans, and the overpowering smell made my stomach turn. The little sausages felt spongy when I lifted them from the can. I put my hand over my mouth to keep from gagging.
I wasn’t hungry. I didn’t want to see or smell the food. I was worried about the vote after our meal to see each other.r little ’pl f. With people’s emotions running so high, it was probably going to get ugly.
After a strang
ely silent meal, Devlin stood up. “I couldn’t find enough pens to go around, so, one by one, everyone needs to walk to the front, write down your vote, and place the paper in the box.”
He went first. The pen scratching against the paper was the only sound in the room—no one even seemed to breathe. He ripped the paper from the tablet, folded it neatly, and placed it in the box.
Jessica stood to vote. “Sit down,” Devlin ordered. “My vote goes for you, too.”
“The hell it does!”
“Jessica, sit down. And don’t curse.”
“I’ll stop cursing when you stop being a horse’s ass,” she said through clenched teeth. She shoved her way past Devlin and wrote down her vote, tossing it in the box with a defiant stare.
I had to cover my mouth with my hand to keep from laughing out loud.
One by one, each member of the group silently walked to the front and cast a vote. Chairs squealed against the floor as each person stood, making me cringe. The pen scratching against the paper, and the sound when they ripped their page off the tablet, seemed too loud in the quiet room.
A knot twisted in my stomach. With each vote, it grew tighter and tighter until it became painful.
David and I were the last to vote. I stood and walked slowly to the front of the room. I still didn’t know what my vote was going to be. I was hoping I’d have some great epiphany on my way to the voting box. I didn’t.
“What’s your vote?” David had asked on our way to dinner.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know, or you won’t tell me?”
“I don’t know.”
And standing in front of the box filled with the other members’ votes, looking down at the pen placed neatly next to the tablet, I still didn’t know.
I picked up the pen. It felt heavy in my hand. I bent forward and wrote one word across the sheet. Laying the pen on the table, I ripped the page from the tablet, giving myself a paper cut. A drop of blood formed on the side of my index finger. “Damn. That’s never a good sign,” I murmured, placing my vote into the box.
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