Melissa snivels, and I instantly feel sorry for her. A group of people she doesn’t know are standing around making plans for what’s left of her life, and she doesn’t get a say. Add that to the fact that she’s most likely going to become a flesh-eating monster, and she’s got a reason to be terrified.
Is she already planning for her death? Has she accepted that she’s going to die?
The second we’re done figuring out a watch rotation, Reese turns to Melissa. Her eyes widen, and the second he touches her, she begins to scream and fight. It takes both Reese and Naomi to get Melissa up the stairs and to the bedroom and, when they do, she continues to kick and scratch at the locked door. Reese sits a chair right across from the door and takes a seat with his rifle.
Naomi gives us all angry looks before storming back downstairs. I’m not sure if she’s angrier at us, or at herself, but either way, she’s pissed off. She thinks we’re monsters for doing this to a fourteen year old girl, but she doesn’t seem to realize that young girl aside, she’s now a danger to the rest of our group. Naomi sees her as a child victim; the rest of us see her as a ticking time bomb.
She’s only been infected for about an hour, but she’s still dangerous. I’ve heard reports of people succumbing to the infection in as little as twelve hours, and as long as three days. So we might be leaving with one less person as early as tomorrow morning, or we might be here for a few days. There’s really no way to tell until the fever sets in. Then you can kind of judge based on how soon a person becomes delirious.
Ryder and I sit together on the floor with our backs up against the couch. He stretches his legs out, and wraps his good arm around my shoulder. Tobe cooks up two MRE’s, passes out lunch and, when she’s done, she takes some up to Reese and Melissa. When she comes back down, she looks troubled.
“What’s wrong?” I ask. “Is Melissa showing symptoms yet?”
“No, but she’s curled up in a ball in the corner of the room. She’s crying so hard she can barely breathe. When I went in there, I finally heard her speak, and she asked me why we were doing this to her. She doesn’t understand that she’s dangerous to us now.”
“She’s just a kid,” Naomi snaps. “Is she supposed to be ok with being locked up and told she’s gonna die?”
“Naomi, what is your problem?”
She looks away. “I’m sorry; I should have been there. If I hadn’t gone back to the car, I might have been able to save her. It’s my fault she’s infected now, and it’s my fault she’s going to die.”
“Naomi, even if you’d been there, you wouldn’t have been able to do anything. She wasn’t paying attention, and that zombie just came out of nowhere. All you would have been able to do is stand there and watch, kind of like me.”
She sighs. “I know, but that doesn’t make me feel any better. She couldn’t take care of herself, and I should have been there to do it for her.”
Tobe cleans up like she always does and I curl up tighter to Ryder’s side. He rests his head against mine, and I feel the scratch of his growing beard. He managed to shave before we left, but it’s already growing back. He kisses more temple, “You should try and get some rest before your watch.”
I close my eyes, trying to ignore the fact that a young girl is upstairs dying.
Tobe’s screams wake me in the morning. At first, I think it’s remnants of a dream I can’t remember, until I hear something clatter to the floor, and scrambling feet. Reese and I are downstairs near the couch, and we’re on our feet in an instant, and we’re racing for the stairs.
Tobe is trying to shut the bedroom door, and I can see Melissa’s fingers, which are curled into dangerous claws, digging at the wood. Tobe is still screaming, and is trying to slam the door shut again. I’m not sure why it’s open in the first place, but I when I reach the top of the stairs, I lunge for the still open door.
Before I can reach it, the door flies open, and a newly turned Melissa rushes out into the hallway. Of course, I was in too much of a hurry to grab my gun, and I’m completely weaponless. She doesn’t go for me though. Instead, she turns and leaps at Tobe, knocking her to the ground. Tobe has time for one scream before Melissa has her teeth embedded in Tobe’s throat.
She chews away at Tobe’s throat, and I scream when Tobe’s cries for help cut off with a choked gurgle. Blood begins to pour from her throat, and she starts to thrash around on the floor, trying desperately to throw Melissa off of her. Melissa doesn’t budge, and lowers her mouth back to Tobe’s throat.
There’s a shot, and the back of Melissa’s head explodes all over the beige walls, and I rush to Tobe’s side. There are tears in her eyes, and the floor is soaked in her blood. She’s trying to breathe, but she can’t because there’s a gaping hole in her throat that’s leaking blood and keeping her from filling her lungs.
She opens her mouth, but no sound comes out. Her eyes are wide and scared, but there’s something else there. She knows that she’s going to die, and she’s already accepted it. She isn’t going to fight, because she knows it’s no use. There isn’t anything that can save her now.
“Tobe, I’m so sorry.” I sniff and wipe my cheeks with the back of my hand. I grab her hand, ignoring the warm, tacky feel to her hand, and give it a tight squeeze. She doesn’t squeeze back, and I want to shake her to keep her with me. “Tobe?”
Her eyes slowly close, her head tilts to the side, and her hand goes limp in mine. Part of me knows she’s gone, but the rest of me just doesn’t want to admit it. I keep expecting her to open her eyes, smile, and laugh at something stupid. Over the last couple of weeks, she’s become such a different person than when we first met, and even though I didn’t know her long, right now I feel like I just lost a sister.
We saved her like back in Louisville. We helped her escape and come out of her shell. We helped each other survive, and we became friends, and we depended on each other. What was the point of anything? Even though we saved her before, she’s still dead. Is it even worth it? Delaying the inevitable for a short while?
Reese puts his hand on my shoulder. “Sam, she’s gone.”
“I know,” I say, wincing when my voice breaks. “I, uh, need some time.”
He nods. “Don’t take too long; she’s infected, and I don’t want you alone with her body when she comes back.” A shiver runs down my spine, and I bite my lip to keep from screaming. He pats my back, and then leaves me. I hear him talking to Ryder and Naomi at the bottom of the stairs. “Tobe’s dead. I think Sam’s taking it pretty hard.”
“You can’t leave her up there alone with Tobe. She’s gonna come back and, when she does, Sam’s gonna be up there alone with her!” Ryder says angrily. “We just lost two people in our group, and we’re not losing a third.”
“She wants some time,” Reese says. “We’re right here, and it’ll take a little bit for Tobe to come back.”
“It’s not Tobe,” Naomi says, surprising me. “Everything that was Tobe is gone now. When she comes back, she’s just going to be a soulless, lifeless, flesh-eating monster, and she’ll go after anyone in this house. We either need to take care of her now, before she comes back, or not be here when she does.”
“I agree,” Reese says. “We have to leave, but I’m not sure Sam is going to wanna leave Tobe here.”
“I’ll talk to her,” Ryder says.
“Can you make it up the stairs?”
“I’ll be fine,” Ryder says. He climbs the stairs one at a time, making sure to keep a grip on the banister for support. He has to stop twice to catch his breath and, even though I want to go help him, I can’t leave Tobe’s side.
When he reaches me, I don’t look up, I just shake my head. “I couldn’t save her.”
He kneels down next to me and, even though he has to be in a lot of pain, he puts his good arm around my shoulder. Strangely, it feels perfectly natural there after only a couple of days. It feels almost like his arm was meant to be the one comforting me.
I lean into him for support.
“What was the point of saving her in Louisville? All we did was prolong her existence by a couple of short weeks. It’s not like we made any difference. She’d have been dead if we left her, and she’s dead now.”
“We gave her hope. She didn’t die alone and surrounded by people that abused and hated her. She had friends, and she knew that even though the world was gone for the most part, there were still good people left.”
“You think so?”
He nods. “Now, come on. We have to go before…” He doesn’t finish, but I don’t need him too. In a little bit, Tobe is going to come back, she’s going to try and eat me, and I’m not sure if I’ll be able to shoot her and watch her die a second time. I have to get out of this house now, before that happens.
Ryder helps me to my feet, and I wrap my arms around his neck. “Thank you.”
He nuzzles my neck. “I’m just sorry I can’t do more for you right now than talk. I should have been the first one up the stairs. I should have been able to protect you from this.”
“Oh, Ryder, you’ve protected me from so much before now. You can’t protect me from everything, you know. I have to be strong enough to survive this, or I won’t last much longer. Before this, I was as sheltered as you could be, living alone in my apartment, only venturing out when it was safe. But you know something, I’m glad you found me.
“Even though we’re in constant danger out here on the road, I’m glad I got to meet you, Reese, and Tobe.”
He rubs my arms. “Let’s get you out of here. You don’t have to be here for this.”
I know what’s going to happen the second I leave the house, and he’s right. I don’t have to be here for this, and I don’t want to be here for this. So Ryder and I help each other down the stairs, I grab one of our bags of supplies, and the two of us go sit out in the jeep and wait for the others.
Even though we’re not in the house, I can still clearly hear the shot, and I cringe. That would be Reese, pulling the trigger, ending Tobe’s suffering before it can begin again. When Reese shuts the front door behind him, he looks at me, and I can see how badly this is affecting him. He liked Tobe too, and now she’s gone.
He slides into the front seat without a word, starts the car, and pulls away from the curb. Ryder doesn’t want to stay silent though. He turns around in the front seat and looks at me. “I’m sorry we couldn’t bury Tobe. There’s just not enough time, and we don’t have the…equipment…to do it.”
I sigh. “I know.”
“I pulled a bed sheet over her, and made sure all the other doors and windows were shut so nothing could, you know, get to her. I know that’s not much, but it’s the best we could do.”
“Thank you.”
We drive for another day, until we come to the eastern edge of Kansas. We drive through until we hit a thick patch of forest. Reese follows the road for about a mile, and we stop at a locked, metal gate. Reese turns off the car, and I look at him. “Why are we stopping?”
“I think we’ve just found our new home,” he says, pointing to a sign posted on a tree near the gate. “There’s a cabin about a half of a mile up the way. I’m gonna go see if I can’t pick the lock on the gate, and we can just drive right up. If not, we’ll have to carry our supplies.”
“You’re never gonna get that thing unlocked,” Ryder says, looking back at us. “Get ready to walk you guys.”
Reese exits the car, leaving the door open, and heads up to the gate. I can see the giant lock that’s keeping the gate closed, and I wonder if Reese has ever picked a lock before. I hope so, because I don’t think I have the strength to carry supplies all the way up to the cabin. Even though Reese said it was only a half of a mile, I just won’t make it.
It takes Reese almost ten minutes and a lot of swearing, but he finally manages to undo the lock. He swings the gate open, and gives us a triumphant look. “Ha! I knew I could do it,” he says, coming back to the jeep. “You thought I couldn’t do it. What now naysayer?”
Ryder just shakes his head, and Reese starts the jeep again. He drives slowly through the gate, careful not to scratch the jeep, and then follows a thin, winding dirt trail. When we reach the cabin, I’m speechless.
The cabin is two stories, with a wraparound porch, complete with cushioned swing. A large chimney juts out from the top, meaning that there’s a fireplace somewhere in the house, which will be great for the winter when we won’t have a heating system.
Reese looks at me. “Why don’t you take Ryder up to the house and get him comfortable, then you can help us unpack.”
I nod, and let Ryder brace himself on my shoulder. I help him up the steps to the cabin, and I push the door open. The inside of the cabin has wooden floors and walls, with beautiful rugs and brown leather furniture. A couch and a loveseat sit adjacent to a stone fireplace, and bookshelves line the walls on either side. The kitchen is tucked away in the back corner, with almost brand new appliances. It’s a shame they won’t work without power.
A set of stairs starts just behind the loveseat, and I lead Ryder over to it. The stairs contain twelve steps, and I have to help Ryder up each and every one of them. When we reach the top, we look over the wooden railing into the living room below while he catches his breath.
The hallway splits off into three different rooms up here, and all three of them are bedrooms. The first one has two full-sized beds, the second holds a queen-sized bed, and the final is a master bedroom with a king-sized bed and adjoining bathroom.
Ryder grins down at me. “What do you say you and I break in that king-sized bed?”
I elbow him, making sure to hit his good side, and shake my head. “You’re not anywhere near well enough to attempt that yet,” I say, looking away to hide my blush. “Plus, I’d like my first time to be a little more romantic than ‘hey, let’s break in that bed since we’ve got nothing better to do’.”
He looks at me as I push open the master bedroom door. “You’re a virgin?” he asks with a smile. He doesn’t look freaked out or angry, which I take as a good sign.
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. I decided when I was about thirteen that I was going to wait until I was sure I had the right guy. I didn’t wanna be that girl that had a bunch of men she regrets in her past. Guys that cause problems for her later on in life.”
“Cool,” he says. “I can be your first and only?”
“If you want,” I mumble, sitting down on the edge of the bed. I pat the spot next to me. “Take a seat, and I’ll be back after helping the others unpack. Then we’ll figure out how to divvy up the rooms and space.”
“What’s to divvy up? You and I can share this room, and Reese and Naomi can fight it out over who gets the queen-sized one. Personally, I think it’ll be Naomi. She seems like the kind of girl that always gets what she wants; I certainly wouldn’t wanna pick a fight with her.”
“Scared to fight a girl, Ryder?”
He shakes his head. “I might be a little scared of her.”
“She’s almost half your age.”
“She’s an ex-star athlete, and right now I’m not in the best fighting shape.”
I get to my feet. “Alright, I’m gonna go help them now.”
He catches my wrist and pulls me down for a quick kiss. When he pulls away, he smiles at me again. “You know, I don’t always have to be the one doing the kissing. You can kiss me too, if you want.” He winks, and shoos me out the door before plopping down on the bed.
Shaking my head, I take the stairs two at a time until I get to the living room. Reese tosses a bag of clothes on the couch, and heads back out for more. The jeep is almost empty, but I grab a bag of ammunition, and a bag of clothes.
Naomi grabs the last bag, and Reese takes the two cases of water bottles. I shut the hatch of the jeep, and the three of us head back inside. When Naomi kicks the door closed behind her, I feel safe. This place is not only beautiful, but it’s relatively safe and guarded.
There’s a river behind the back, and the house itself is on
a slight hill, giving us an advantage in a fight. Plus, Kansas is a lowly populated state, and I doubt a lot of the population resides in this particular stretch of woods. Few thieves, few zombies, few dangers.
This place is perfect…
Chapter Twenty-One
After lunch, I find Ryder and Reese both sitting on the couch in the living room, and I join them. Naomi is busy cleaning herself in the bathroom with a bucket of cold water, and the guys are both talking quietly. I take a seat on the couch next to Ryder, and he looks at me. “Hey.”
“Now that we’re here, what are we gonna do about protection?” I ask. “Are we gonna try and build a fence around this place? Are we gonna build a sniper’s nest or something?”
“There’s a tree house about a hundred yards downhill from here. There’s a rope ladder that can be pulled up in case of attack, and we can use that to shoot out of.”
“A tree house?”
“It’s pretty basic. It’s got four wooden walls, two of which have small openings for windows, and it’s pretty sturdy. I’d like something better, but it’ll do in case of an emergency.”
“Have either of you explored the area around the cabin yet?
“No, I was gonna wait and see if you or Naomi wanted to come with me. Someone has to stay here with Ryder and keep him company.”
“You mean keep me safe,” Ryder says angrily. “You know, I’m feeling better. I think I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself while the three of you are out exploring. Just leave me my rifle, and I’ll hold down the fort. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“I have an idea,” Naomi says, towel-drying her hair. “Why doesn’t Reese stay here with Ryder, and you and I can go exploring. It’ll give us a chance to talk and get to know one another. You already know Reese and Ryder a lot, but you don’t know me. And to be honest, I’d like to feel a little more comfortable with you guys.”
Zombie Island Page 20