by Lee, Raymond
“Feel better?” Cruz asked, drying her face with the hand towel.
“Yes.” She opened her eyes to meet his concerned gaze. “Thanks.”
“No problem. It’s the least I can do after hurting your shoulder. I’m really sorry about that.”
“You didn’t mean to.”
“Yeah, well, thanks for not telling Damian. I don’t think he’d be as understanding.” He stepped back and looked her over. “You can’t go around dressed like that.”
Raven looked down at her sports bra. Some blood had soaked through her T-shirt and stained the white cotton material but it was a lot less gross than the T-shirt. Her jeans were streaked with blood but she couldn’t feel it. “I’m not indecent. Women wear sport bras in public all the time.”
“Yes, but that’s a lot of exposed skin. Even a flimsy T-shirt is some form of a barrier between you and zombie claws.” He took off his T-shirt and handed it to her. “Wear mine. I can handle the gunk on yours.”
“What the hell?” Damian came around the back of the SUV, eying them quizzically.
“I was just helping Raven clean up,” Cruz explained, his tone suggesting Damian not make any smart comments before he turned back to the trunk and found the tools he’d been looking for. “I’m going to see if I can get this thing running but you all might want to start thinking about a Plan B in case I don’t get lucky.”
Raven pulled on his offered shirt, which was also bloody but not in nearly as bad of a condition hers had been in and shot Damian a warning glare as he leaned against the Escalade with his arms crossed, one eyebrow raised.
“It’s not like that.”
“Mmhmmmm,” he responded. “Guess it’s a good thing you got all those birth control pills at the pharmacy.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
“I told you it’s not like that.” Raven drank what little water was left in the jug she’d used to clean up so she could toss it aside. The world was already destroyed so she didn’t feel any guilt over not recycling it, or littering for that matter. They’d already littered the road with zombies.
“Yeah, it may not be like that for you but what about him?” Damian stepped away. “That guy’s already got a few screws loose. Don’t get him all infatuated with you if you’re not interested. The last thing we need is for him to get even crazier on us.”
Raven bit her tongue as Damian left to circle the area and looked over the seats again to where Jeremy still sat curled into a ball. She grabbed a jug of water and a bag of beef jerky before making her way around the Escalade.
Cruz fiddled with things beneath the hood as Damian kept a watchful eye out for danger.
Raven opened the passenger side door and climbed into the SUV, not wanting to use the rear side door and step through blood to reach Jeremy. She turned in the seat so she faced the girl, worrying as she noticed how Jeremy’s arms still trembled.
“Hey, Jer. It’s all good now, sweetie. The zombies are all dead. None of us were hurt.” She waited for a response but Jeremy didn’t acknowledge her. “I have some water and some jerky. You want some?”
Jeremy still didn’t acknowledge her.
“Talk to me. It’s over now. You’re safe.”
“It’s not over.” Jeremy raised her head and met Raven’s gaze with tear-filled eyes. “This is just the beginning. We haven’t seen a single soldier or cop. The power’s gone. And those things are multiplying. They’re going to keep coming after us until eventually we become them.”
“We aren’t going to become them,” Raven assured her. “We look out for each other just like we did today.”
“I almost got bit.”
“I know.” Raven swallowed hard. “I almost got bit too but we made it because we are together. We’re going to stay together and there may be close calls but we’re going to make it.”
“Can you promise me that? Can you promise that you’ll always save me?”
Sky’s sweet, innocent face appeared in Raven’s mind, stabbing her in the heart, and she heard Cruz’s voice telling her how he couldn’t be a hero, that people had to save themselves.
“I can only promise that we will stick together and protect each other at all costs. Jeremy, I know you’re scared and you have every reason to be, but we need you to help us. I want to curl up into a ball and pretend this is just a nightmare at least twice a day but I can’t do that. You can’t do that. We aren’t allowed to anymore. We have to be brave. We’re all soldiers now. Soldiers, hunters … survivors. We are going to help each other to live so we can see the day this virus is destroyed.”
“Even if a cure is found and we somehow manage to kill off all who are already infected, our memories won’t be destroyed. I’m going to spend the rest of my life knowing I killed Miley Cyrus and that woman who almost bit me today. What if she was someone’s mom?”
“She wasn’t anybody when you killed her. Neither was the zombie who may or may not have been Miley Cyrus. You didn’t kill anyone. Those women were already dead. All you did was destroy the monsters wearing their dead bodies.”
Damian opened the driver’s side door and slid inside.
“Did Cruz get it going?”
“We’ll see.”
Raven held her breath as Damian turned the key in the ignition. Nothing happened. He muttered a curse before turning to her. “So what’s Plan B?”
“We can’t just stay here in the middle of nowhere camped out in a vehicle that doesn’t run.”
“I was afraid you’d say that.”
“What are you talking about?” Jeremy asked, her voice an octave higher than normal. “What’s going on?”
“The Escalade broke down,” Raven explained. “If Cruz can’t get it running we’ll need to pack up and travel by foot until we find another mode of transportation.”
“By foot? You mean just walking around without any protection against the zombies?”
“We’re sitting ducks here, Jeremy, and our supplies will run out if we stay in one place using them up.”
“Somebody could come by and help us.”
“When? The only people we’ve seen in days aren’t people anymore. Most people were smart enough to go to the military camps as soon as this happened. Stragglers like us are on our own.”
“You don’t know that. Before we met Damian and Cruz you thought we were all alone too.”
“Jeremy, I hadn’t seen another human being for two weeks before I saw you that day. We’ve been on the road for a long while now and haven’t encountered anyone else. We were lucky to find these guys when we did. I’m not sure our luck is going to get any better.”
“She’s right,” Damian agreed. “I was on my own for a while before I ran into Cruz and y’all were a surprise that happened at the best time possible but I don’t expect many more good surprises. If anything, I expect bad.”
“Oh that helps,” Raven commented.
“What I mean is that if we do run into anyone, they might not be the kind of people we want to run into. We got lucky with each other.”
Raven nodded her head in agreement, understanding the direction of his thoughts. Being in a world gone mad had a bad effect on the mind and if there was a word to describe the state the world was in now, mad fit pretty well.
“Bottom line, we don’t have the luxury of waiting on help that may never come. We could starve or die of thirst before that happens. We’d planned on driving this thing straight to Kansas, then going on to Nebraska. We had enough supplies to get us there with minimal stops. Camping out here for however many days it would take for help to come through, if it even does, wasn’t in the plan, neither was getting off the expressway and having to take back roads. We’re strong, healthy and armed. We need to move now while we are in the best shape to do so.”
“Then you all go. I’ll stay here for help. I’d rather die of hunger in this thing than walk right up to those things and be their dinner.” Jeremy turned around, giving them her back as she burrowed her way as deep into the corner of the seat as
she could.
Raven and Damian exchanged a sigh.
“We gotta move,” Damian said. “As much as I hate the idea, we’re making the right call.”
Raven looked at Jeremy and felt a pain in her chest as her words echoed through her brain. She didn’t want to walk right out to those monsters’ arms like Raven was telling her to do, just as she’d told Sky to do. She’d thought she’d made the right decision then and it had been wrong. Was she making the wrong decision now?
“I’m going to see if Cruz needs help.”
“I’ll guard the perimeter. I think she just needs some time.”
Agreeing, Raven emerged from the SUV and walked to the front where a frustrated Cruz fiddled with things under the hood.
“That bad?”
“That bad.” He slammed the hood down, wincing at the sound before glancing around.
Raven scanned the area as well. “Nothing out there for now.”
“Good thing since we should leave as soon as possible. Better chance at finding shelter before dark. We’re not going anywhere in this thing.”
“So you think our best option is to travel on foot?”
“Don’t you? We haven’t seen anyone else in how long? I can’t remember.”
“Jeremy doesn’t want to go. She said we should just leave her here, she’d rather stay in the SUV hoping for someone to pass by in a vehicle.”
“Yeah, pass by and do who knows what to her. Not every stranger is a good one.”
“We told her as much. I don’t know what to do. We can’t drag her out kicking and screaming. She’ll draw those monsters from who knows how far, and we can’t leave her behind all alone.” Raven put her hands on her hips and surveyed the area. All she could see was the road and a bunch of trees, for miles. “Maybe two of us should scout ahead, maybe find a car and come back for the other two?”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Damian said, joining them, his rock hammer resting over his shoulder.
“What if there’s nothing for miles?” Cruz asked before shaking his head. “No. we’d waste time traveling one way then doubling back all for nothing. And what if we got attacked? Four of us are better than two, especially when one of us is just a scared kid. We all go and we go now.”
He separated from them and walked to the back of the vehicle to retrieve Raven’s soiled Metallica T-shirt.
She and Damian approached him as he shook it out and pulled it over his head. “Let’s pack what we need first, then deal with Jeremy. If we’re going to be dragging her with us, we might as well save the hard part for last.”
“You two pack what we need to get by. We’re only taking what we can carry and she can’t carry much so focus on food and water. String some gallons together with cord to make them easy to carry. I think we can each take about three or four, right?” He asked Damian, getting a nod in reply. “Use your pockets. I’ve been keeping mine full of matches, bullets, essentials. Four packs, those two fanny packs, and at least six gallons of water. I’ll take care of Jeremy.”
He left them at the trunk.
Damian frowned. “What’s he think he’s gonna say that we didn’t already? Hell, if she doesn’t trust you, she’s not gonna trust anybody. She’s known you longer.”
“Not by much,” Raven advised, “and it’s not so much what he’s going to say as what he’s going to do.”
“What’s that?”
Raven sighed, remembering their conversation the first night they started to get along. “He’s going to do what he does best. His job. He’s going to play the part of the hero and save the damsel in distress.” Even if he hated it. Even if he would feel the weight of Jeremy’s life on his shoulders for the rest of his days. Raven knew all too well how heavy that weight could grow. “He’s a good guy, Damian. Yeah, he’s a little crazy right now. Who the hell isn’t, really? We just slaughtered a bunch of dead people. We get to be crazy. Cut him some slack on his moods and just be happy he’s one of us. Even in his worst mood, he’s got our backs. We need to have his.”
Damian raised his hands. “My apologies, Miss Raven,” he joked. “I didn’t mean to talk about your honey man.”
“My honey man?” Raven couldn’t help cracking a smile. “Even if I was interested in him, he wouldn’t be my honey man, whatever that is.”
“Surrrrre. Let’s just get this stuff together so we can get moving. I may have grabbed a tent for emergencies but I sure as hell don’t intend to use it if at all possible. We need to find a building before dark.”
Raven grabbed a pack and started filling it with food. “I’m going to make this the lightest pack and Jeremy can carry it. We’ll distribute everything else evenly between the three of us.”
“Yes, Mrs. Thomas.”
“Damian?”
“Yes?”
“Go to hell.”
He laughed before serenading her with a surprisingly good rendition of Stand By Your Man.
“How long does this freaking road go on?” Damian whined.
“We’re all tired,” Raven snapped. “Reminding us that we’re on the world’s longest road every five minutes isn’t going to make our situation any better.”
“Yeah, well, it makes me feel better.”
“Does it?”
“No,” he mumbled.
“Well then, shut up.”
“Look at you all snippy now that your man has another chick.”
“I swear I’m going to slice your head off before we find shelter,” Raven growled, the jokes having grown more irritating by the mile.
“See, that’s why I don’t date women. You’re always talking about cutting somebody.”
“I thought you didn’t date us because we were nasty.”
“Well, that too, but I’m trying to be nice.”
“How kind of you.”
“I try. So are we there yet?”
“Ugh. Shut up.”
Damian laughed, having succeeded in his mission of thoroughly getting on Raven’s last nerve, a game he seemed to enjoy. The laughter didn’t last long.
“Our boy seems a bit jumpy again,” he murmured, keeping his voice low enough not to be overheard. “What happened out there in the woods?”
Raven looked up ahead , observing Cruz walking with Jeremy’s hand in his. The little girl was beyond tired, as they all were, but determined to walk on her own two feet. He periodically jerked his head to the right and sneered.
“Nothing,” she replied, wondering what figment of his imagination currently walked alongside Cruz and what it was telling him.
“So he just went for a stroll without bothering to tell us?”
“Sometimes people just need some time alone.”
“That a hint?”
She smiled at Damian. “You know I adore you,” she said before smacking a kiss on his dirty cheek.
“Ew! Girl cooties.”
“Don’t worry, I hear there’s a shot for that.”
Jeremy stumbled and Cruz swept her up without a word, carrying her and the added weight of her backpack as they continued on.
“Cruz, do you think we’ll find a building soon?”
He looked over at her as she approached his side. She silently wished that she was stomping whatever imaginary person he’d been looking at earlier in that same spot.
“According to the map, we should within the next couple of miles.”
“I don’t know if we have a couple miles left in us,” Damian commented, coming up along Cruz’s other side. “Jeremy’s done tapped out and I’m right behind her. My feet are screaming.”
“Maybe we should stop and rest,” Raven suggested. “Damian has a tent for shelter.”
“That’s for emergencies only,” he said.
“Damian, you said it yourself. We’re spent. Walking all day has taken too much out of us. We don’t know when the next building is going to pop up and we need to recharge now. We haven’t eaten and we’ve drank very little. We need to set up camp.”
“We’re e
xposed out here,” Cruz interjected.
“A tent isn’t the same as a building,” Damian added.
“We haven’t seen anyone, infected or not, since we left the SUV this morning. It’s going to be dark soon and it’ll be hard to see where we’re going. We’re tired, sore, and hungry. If we stop and rest now, we can be moving again by morning. Come on guys. We’re dragging right now, and you can’t carry Jeremy the rest of the way. You’re already packing heavy.”
“I can walk.” Jeremy raised her head from where it had been resting on Cruz’s shoulder. “I just need a little break.”
“No, you need a good rest, and better shoes,” Raven adding, looking at the girl’s flats. “Your feet are probably covered in blisters now.”
“We haven’t seen any zombies,” Damian said, almost to himself, and Raven wondered if he was trying to convince them or himself. “Raven’s right about that. And it makes sense they would stay in more populated areas since they want to eat people. We’re probably safer out here than anywhere. I’d just feel a lot safer in an actual building, something we can defend, and keep them out of.”
“On Walking Dead, they camped out,” Jeremy advised.
“Sweetheart, this ain’t no television show.” Damian tried not to sound annoyed but Raven still picked it up in his voice.
“No, but we can still learn from it,” the younger girl said. “They always had someone on watch and they would set traps, kind of like alarms.”
“I remember that,” Raven added. “We have cord and we’ll have empty cans after we eat. We can set up an alarm system by stringing the cans on the cord, then wrapping the cord around the trees around our tent. If anything hits the cord, the cans will make noise. We’ll know we’re about to have company and be ready for them.”
“What if it’s a lot of company?”