Jessica Meigs - The Becoming

by Brothers in Arms

  “Honestly, we might have to make a run for it,” Theo admitted. “We’re almost out of water and getting there with the gasoline for the generators. The stove’s electric, so we can’t boil it, and I saw some of those…infected out near the end of the driveway a couple of days ago when I went out to check the house. I’m not sure it’ll be safe to stay here for very much longer. We should start to get our stuff together to move out of here. Do you know if Mom and Dad had any other guns?”

  Gray shook his head. “Nope. Just the hunting rifles Dad used to use, and I already checked on those. There’s no ammo for them. You know he pretty much stopped hunting about a year before…before he died.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Theo blew out a breath and sat down heavily on the couch beside him, reclining back against the cushions. “I don’t think it’d hurt to take one with us, though. We might come across some ammunition for it at some point, right?”

  “Exactly. I’ll take a look at them later on,” Gray promised.

  Theo sighed again and studied Gray’s profile for a moment as he continued his work on the revolver. Gray seemed to be very carefully, very pointedly not looking at him. It took everything in Theo to not reach over and slap him on the back of the head. Theo hated it when Gray got in those moods, where he acted like Theo had done something to affront him but wouldn’t talk to him or even tell him what it was he’d done. He didn’t do it often, but when he did do it, it made Theo want to inflict a little bodily harm on him.

  “Gray, seriously, what did I do?” Theo demanded, giving up on anything resembling subtlety. “You’re being a moody little shit, and while the world’s turned into a steaming pile of it, I don’t really appreciate you taking it out on me. We should be working together, not hiding from each other for weeks on end.”

  Gray was silent for a long moment, the only sound between them the soft click of metal against metal as he began to reassemble the revolver. When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet, almost sheepish. “You yelled at me. Talked to me like I was an idiot.” He rubbed a hand over his eyes and shook his head. “It’s stupid, I know. But damn it, The, you’re always talking to me like that. I don’t think you’ve even noticed you do it. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself under normal circumstances, you know.”

  “These aren’t exactly normal circumstances,” Theo started to protest, but Gray put up a hand to stop him.

  “Don’t even start with that,” he said. He didn’t raise his voice, but Theo still couldn’t help feeling chastised. “The situation is bad. I’m well aware of that. But that doesn’t mean you’re suddenly in charge just because you’re older, okay? Something like this, it requires teamwork. I can’t do a lot of stuff. I’m well aware of that too. Heavy lifting, extensive running, I can’t do it. I got that. But there’s a lot of stuff I can do. One of those things happens to be that.” He motioned toward the Bible and the journal. “I’m just asking you to treat me like an equal, not like your annoying little brother.”

  “Okay,” Theo said immediately. “Okay, fine. Why couldn’t you have told me all of this three weeks ago?”

  “Because I wasn’t sure you’d listen to me three weeks ago,” Gray replied. “God knows you barely paid me any attention the minute we got out of downtown Plantersville. It was like I’d exceeded my usefulness the minute I hotwired the fucking Camry.”

  “I just didn’t want you to get sick again,” Theo said. “I don’t have much in the way of medications. Especially considering I can’t exactly load you up and take you to the hospital if you stop breathing. I didn’t want you to do too much. You can hardly fault me for that.” He shook his head and dropped it back against the cushions again. “Look, enough of this. The last thing we need to be doing is bickering with each other when there’s more important shit going on outside. I apologize for unintentionally treating you like crap and not asking for your help like I should have. I was still trying to get a handle on everything going on, and I didn’t realize you were feeling touchy about it.”

  Gray looked like he wanted to snap back at him about the touchy comment, but instead, he just sighed. “Fine. Apology accepted. And I offer my own for being a hermit for three weeks.” When Theo nodded in acceptance, he continued. “So what do you propose we do, since we’re running out of water and gas?”

  Theo started to answer, but he closed his mouth before he said anything. He contemplated his brother’s face again as he continued to reassemble the revolver, considering everything he’d said in his lengthy-for-him speech a few minutes prior. He wanted to be more involved with their survival; Theo could deal with some of the weight and stress being taken off of his shoulders. Certainly, no one would hear him complain about it. So rather than answer Gray’s question, he put forward one of his own. “What do you think we should do?”

  Gray raised his eyebrows and glanced at Theo out of the corner of his eye. “You’re actually asking me?” he asked, the surprise evident in his voice.

  Theo looked pointedly around the room. “Well, I sure don’t see anybody else in here that I could be asking,” he said. “I want to know. What do you think we should do?”

  Gray stayed silent as he finished reassembling the revolver. When the gun was back in one piece, he gave it one final wipe-down with a cloth and set it on the coffee table before he spoke. “Tupelo,” he said. “We should go to Tupelo.”

  “Tupelo?” Theo repeated incredulously. “But…that’s way bigger than Plantersville. There’s bound to be more crap to wade through in Tupelo than here. And it was hell getting through here to begin with.”

  “Yeah, true,” Gray conceded. “But while there’s bound to be more infected, there’s bound to be more survivors too. Maybe some who’ll be willing to give us a hand. And we’d have more options for food and water and, well, pharmacies, if you’re wanting to break into another one of those. We don’t even have to go very far into the city. Just stick with the outskirts, you know? I think Tupelo would be our best bet, at least for now. We can hole up somewhere and regroup.”

  Theo hummed thoughtfully as he mulled Gray’s suggestion over. It wasn’t like they had very many options, save for going deeper into the country or hitting some back roads area. Their situation would probably get worse if they did that. Gray’s suggestion about food and water and other supplies was actually spot-on. “Assuming we can get into Tupelo,” he finally said, speaking slowly and carefully, “and assuming we don’t get killed in the process, we might be able to at least go into the city long enough for supplies. Then we could consider whether to stay or to head for some place more rural.” He nodded and pushed away from the couch as he stood. “Good suggestion. Better than anything I might have come up with. Let’s go with it. It’s at least a start.”

  “Really?” Gray asked, visibly surprised. “I wasn’t…” He trailed off, looking baffled, then said, “Okay. We’ll go with that. If you think it’s wise.”

  “Hell, your point about the pharmacies alone is reason enough to go. I want to collect as many inhalers as I can get my hands on. We don’t know how long this is going to last, and if it’s an extended period of time, we’re going to need to seriously back stock a lot of them for you.” He edged to the large picture window and lifted a corner of the plastic, squinting out into darkness. On the horizon, in the direction of the city, there was an ominous glow, and the faint scent of smoke hung on the air. He stood still, watching closely for movement. When he didn’t see any movement in their immediate vicinity, he stuck the plastic back down and stepped away. “I think we should leave soon. Very soon.”

  “When are you thinking?”

  “Maybe tomorrow? The day after?” Theo suggested. “I’m open to ideas.”

  Gray shrugged. “I have no complaints.” He grabbed the Smith & Wesson and snapped the cylinder open, then began to load it, the look on his face the very picture of determination. “Let’s get our shit together, shall we? I think I’m ready to get out of here.”

  Chapter 15


  Two days later, Gray slowed the stolen Camry to a stop and pushed the gearshift into park as he and Theo approached the city of Tupelo. As Gray eased the vehicle to a standstill, Theo sat up straighter beside him and let out a low groan of annoyance. “What the hell happened here?”

  “Probably the same thing that happened everywhere else,” Gray answered. He tapped his fingers along the steering wheel and studied the scene before them. “Total chaos.”

  The highway in front of them was completely blocked with cars, rows upon rows of them, as far as the eye could see. The ones at the very front of the crowd were crumpled, crushed, smashed together at haphazard angles; clearly, their occupants had attempted to flee Tupelo a little faster than their vehicles could handle. The unfortunate result was that Theo and Gray couldn’t get past the wrecks to head deeper into the city as they’d planned.

  Theo leaned forward in his seat, trying to get a better look, and heaved out a sigh, even as he adjusted the paramedic uniform shirt he’d put back on before they left their parents’ home. “You see any place we can squeeze through?”

  “Not really,” Gray admitted after a long, careful look of his own. “I can’t see anything promising. Nothing that wouldn’t put us at risk, anyway. Should I turn around, try to find another way in?”

  “Turning around might be a good idea,” Theo agreed. He grabbed for Gray’s bag on the floorboard and opened it, rooting around inside before he pulled out the family Bible Gray had brought along. He rifled through the pages tucked inside, freeing one and studying it closely for a different route. “Maybe we can come up at the city more from the south?” he suggested as he squinted at the paper.

  Gray leaned over in his seat to get a look at the paper for himself. “Maybe,” he started to agree. Before he could continue any further, or look at the map any more closely, a loud thud shook the car. Both of them sat up straight so quickly that their heads knocked together. Gray winced and put a hand to his head as he whirled in his seat, squinting into the early-morning sun. “What the shit was that?”

  “Definitely not anything good,” Theo said as the vehicle rocked again. Gray unfastened his seatbelt and twisted around more fully. And that was when he saw them.

  “Definitely not,” Gray agreed solemnly.

  There were infected everywhere behind them, dozens of them flooding the highway, pouring out and around cars pulled over on the side of the road, falling over each other, blocking the entire roadway. There were men, women, children, young, old, injured, uninjured, all stained with blood from their prior kills. And there were two of them at the trunk of the car, slamming against it, trying to make their ways around the sides of the car. Adrenaline flooded into Gray’s veins as he saw them, and he swallowed hard.

  “Punch the gas, throw us backward,” Theo urged. “We can mow ‘em over, right?”

  “Too many of them,” Gray told him with a quick shake of his head. “They’ll disable the car, and then we’ll be like sardines in a fucking can.” He took in a short breath of air as the adrenaline started pumping harder.

  “Forward?”

  “Not happening, Theo,” Gray warned. “We’re going to have to hoof it.”

  “Fuck,” Theo hissed under his breath. Gray glanced at him and then stretched into the back seat, grabbing the axe and crowbar they’d brought with them, holding both in one hand as he retrieved the ammunition-less hunting rifle he’d brought along for the ride.

  “Got to move fast,” Gray added. “Straight ahead into Tupelo.”

  “Can you handle it?” Theo asked. His eyes were wide as they met Gray’s. “Can you really run that far?”

  “Hey, I ran two miles earlier this month,” Gray said confidently.

  “Yeah, and nearly killed yourself in the process.”

  “Don’t remind me.” Gray punched him in the left bicep and grabbed for the door’s handle. “Get your shit.”

  Theo retrieved his trauma bag and picked up the revolver from the console between the seats. Then he glanced at Gray once more, nodded his head in a single quick motion, and threw his door open. Gray kicked his own door open and clambered out into the chilly morning air. He slung the rifle by its strap onto his shoulder, securing it there and pushing his car door shut before he followed Theo into the heart of the wreckage before them.

  Theo was on top of one of the crushed cars, climbing and scrambling over the crumpled hood, by the time Gray caught up with him. Theo reached for Gray, his hand closing around his wrist with a bruising grip as he helped him clamber onto the car with him. Then Theo swung him around and dumped him onto the ground on the other side of the car. When Gray struck the pavement, he fell against the side of another wrecked car and ripped his jacket, scraping his forearm on a sharp edge of metal jutting out from the vehicle. He jerked his arm back and regained his balance just as Theo’s hand pressed against his back and roughly pushed him forward.

  “Come on, move!” Theo ordered. He darted in front of Gray to lead the way, and Gray started to run again, weaving between the cars and trucks packing the street. Gray’s heart rattled in his chest, his lungs feeling like they were sticking to the insides of his ribs, and he managed to draw in a deep breath of the cold air as he kept his eyes on Theo’s back. How he was able to run so easily with that bag on his back, Gray had no idea. He shook off the thought and pushed ahead, even as Theo skidded to a halt at the sight of three people in front of them. Gray tensed as he saw the blood splattered on their faces and clothes. He tucked the crowbar into his belt and lifted the axe, ready to swing it if they got past Theo and his gun.

  “We’ve got to get around them, Theo!” Gray gasped out.

  “I know that!” Theo snapped. He leveled the gun, steadying it with both hands, and fired off a single shot. It struck one of the people in front of them in the shoulder, sending him lurching backward with the impact, but otherwise, he didn’t seem affected by the bullet. “Cut right, get over that car, onto the side of the road. I’ll catch up in just a second.”

  “Oh hell no. I’m not leaving you by yourself!” Gray protested.

  “I’m going to be right fucking behind you!” Theo said. He fired off another shot, and then another. Gray hesitated and then darted for the cars beside them. He used the front tire as a stepstool to push himself up onto the hood, skidding across it to the other side of the vehicle. He hit the soft dirt on the side of the road and started to sprint alongside the cars. Another gunshot rang out. Was that four total? Five?

  Gray slowed down and turned to search for Theo, but before he managed to spot him, something grabbed him from his blind side. He gasped and lost his balance, nearly falling into the dirt. The bloodied man who was hanging onto his jacket sleeve with the tenacious grip of a bulldog snarled at him as Gray whipped back around to face him, his teeth bared and his free hand grabbing for Gray’s face. Gray yelped, lifted his axe, and swung it wildly. The blade embedded itself in the man’s chest, knocking his hand loose from Gray’s arm. As the man fell back, the axe ripped free from Gray’s grasp. Gray didn’t bother to try to recover it as he started to flee, managing a few more steps before looking back once more. A gunshot rang out, and then Theo climbed over a car and joined him on the side of the road.

  “They’re not dead,” Theo warned him. “Let’s go.”

  “Why didn’t you kill them?” Gray demanded. He struggled to get the words out past the soreness settling into his lungs.

  “Because I’m not that good of a shot,” he said. “Are you okay?”

  “Fine,” Gray answered, though he didn’t really feel it. “Let’s just get the hell out of here.”

  Theo nodded and led the way again, pointing to a side street before taking it. Gray’s lungs were hurting as he followed, clenching his teeth as he tried to ignore the strain running was causing on his lungs. Then Theo fell back a few steps and grabbed his arm to pull him closer to him. “Stick close,” he ordered. “If we need to stop, you tell me first thing.” When Gray looked back at the small crowd of infe
cted trying to get past the cars, he added, “Don’t even worry about them.”

  “Honestly, I don’t know how much further I can go without you having to drug me up,” Gray warned. Theo pressed his lips together and slung Gray’s arm over his shoulders, looping an arm around his waist.

  “Lean on me,” he said. “I’ll try to take some of the effort off and help out.”

  Gray dug his fingers into Theo’s shoulder as he ran alongside him, matching him step for step, his own pace slowed enough for Gray to keep up with him. “How many bullets you got left?”

  “Stop talking,” Theo ordered. “Save your breath. And I’ve got one left in the cylinder.”

  “Shouldn’t you reload?” Gray asked.

  “I thought I told you to shut up,” Theo said, his voice harder, sterner. They limped down the street for a few more minutes in silence, the only sound between them Gray’s wheezing breaths and Theo’s own panting with the effort of running and keeping Gray upright. Then there was a shout somewhere behind them. Theo tensed against Gray’s side and grabbed him more firmly, swinging him around and shoving him behind him even as he turned to face the oncoming threat. He raised the revolver and pointed it at a man jogging across the street toward them.

  “Hey! Hey stop!” the man called after them. He had a crowbar in his hand, and his dark eyes darted around the street before locking onto them. As Theo aimed the revolver at the man, he stopped several feet away and put his hands up, palms out, nearly dropping the crowbar. Gray gripped the back of Theo’s jacket with a white-knuckled grip and struggled to breathe, hoping the short reprieve from running would give him enough time to catch his breath before they moved on.

  “Who are you?” Theo demanded. His voice was harsh, harder than Gray had ever heard him speak. “What do you want?”

  “I am so tired of having guns pointed at me,” the man said. His voice was scarily casual, as if he were used to being in situations that involved him being held at gunpoint. The thought made Gray uneasy, but he didn’t focus on it too much. He was already discreetly pawing at his pockets, searching for an inhaler and trying to remember if Theo had given him one before they left Plantersville. The man glanced back at one of the houses lining the street, and Gray followed his gaze. A woman hovered on the porch, a rifle in her hands, looking thoroughly militaristic, despite the flannel shirt and jeans she wore. Gray swallowed hard at the sight. “Look, I have a hideout over there,” the man said. “Me and two of my friends. We’re trying to offer you some shelter.”