by Baker, LJ
I pulled my arm away from her and glared at her. I knew the chances were slim, but hearing her say it made me angry. "Why are you even here, then?"
"I came for you. So you wouldn't be alone out here. I care about you too, you know." Tears welled up in Janet's eyes. "Anyway, I promised Will I'd protect you. I know how hard this is for you. I care about him too." She took a step toward me but didn't try to touch me again.
"I'm not an idiot, Janet. No matter how much you might think I am. I know what the chances are of finding him. I’m just not willing to ignore even the remote possibility that he might be okay.”
“It’s not just finding him that I'm talking about. I have no doubt that if we look long enough, we will find him. It's a matter of whether or not he's alive when we do that you need to consider. You need to think about what we need to do if we do find him like that."
Will was always worried about protecting me, always thinking I couldn't take care of myself. I had given him plenty of reasons to think that way. Janet taught me how to defend myself. She trained me in hand to hand combat, and taught me to be proficient in any number of weapons. I was never going to be a super soldier, but I had come further than I ever would have imagined just a month earlier. She did all that for Will in the beginning, but after a while, I knew she was doing it for me too.
It wasn't me who needed saving anymore. It was Will, and I wasn't about to give up on him.
“Don’t you think I realize that?” I fought down the lump forming in my throat. “If he is … like that … I can’t just leave him like that. He wouldn’t want to be … one of them.”
Janet pulled me against her chest and squeezed me tight. She leaned her face against my hair and wet drops fell against my scalp. "We'll find him."
Light was fading fast, and we hadn't found anywhere to spend the night. I was starting to wish I'd picked another route. Maybe then we would have found a place to rest for a while. Every step was an effort. I wanted to drop to the ground and give my aching feet a rest, but Janet probably would have just dragged me along by my arm if I did.
"What if we don't find a place?" I dragged my feet along the ground. Even my knees didn't want to bend.
"We'll find some place. Don't worry about that." She turned and looked me over. "You gonna make it? I think the last three flesh eaters we passed had more life in them than you."
"Hey, cut me some slack. A month ago I would have fallen down dead hours ago."
“Well, that's true. Good thing I've been whipping your ass into shape." She pretended to crack a whip in the air.
"Slave driver. Hey, how is Derek supposed to find us. Shouldn't we have told him which direction we were going?"
"He left me one of the walkies. It won't work for communication until he's in range, but it has a GPS chip, so he will be able to locate where we are."
"Why the hell didn't Will have one of those?" That sure would have made it easier.
"He did. One of the guys found it … smashed.”
My heart sank in my chest. That couldn’t be good. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me that?”
“I should have, I know. I just didn’t wanna take your hope away.”
It wasn’t like I had a lot to begin with. I reached in my jacket to feel the ring hanging from my neck. It was a piece of Will that was still with me. It helped fuel me, drive me toward not giving up, no matter what I found. I wanted to believe there was still a chance that Will was still alive out there, but every time I turned around, there was one more reason to face the harsh reality of what was probably the truth. That Will was dead.
We walked on in silence for a while. I was afraid of finding Will undead. She was worried about Derek on his own with an unconscious Hadley. We were both trying not to acknowledge the dread that hung between us about what we could possibly face out there alone. It just made more sense to be quiet and pretend that things maybe weren’t as bad as they seemed.
After a while, the silence just became too much, and I needed something to break me from my thoughts. “Hey, you do think Derek is coming back for us, right?"
She swallowed hard. "Of course. He promised he would."
Janet didn't strike me as the type of person to put much stock into promises. She was different with Derek though, in a good way. More human, less evil cyborg.
We rounded a corner, and up ahead there was an old water tower with a small brick shed. There were no windows, and the door looked intact, so it was a possibility for shelter. Janet had me stay back a bit and cover her as she approached the shed, gun in hand. The bow may be preferred for the undead, but the living members of our society responded better to a 9mm pointed at their head.
After Janet made sure the shed was clear, she waved me over. The sky was already turning purple and red, and the sun was far enough down that we were sure to see the number of undead increase. We were lucky. Since Derek left us we only came across eight or so zombies, and we took them out easily. But, eight zombies in the daylight would probably mean at least three or four times that many at night.
The shed was about the size of a jail cell and had been stripped clean, except for a few empty soda cans and a bloody baby carrier. Janet tossed the items outside and pulled out a portable LED light from her bag before shutting the door tight. She propped her backpack up against it, because there was no latch or anything to actually keep it closed on its own. Without it, the door creaked open a few inches.
“Home, sweet home. Hey Janet, you ever been in jail?" As much time as I’d spent with the woman, I still didn't know that much about her.
Janet sat on the floor in front of the door with her bag and scrubbed her hands over her face a few times. "No. I have never been to jail. Before the whole world fell apart, I was a happily married, stay at home mom. My son was my life."
Almost everything I knew about Janet came from Will or Dan, and even they didn't know much.
"I bet you miss them a lot." I couldn't even imagine losing a child.
"Yes." She sighed and stretched her legs out in front of her. "Every single day of my life. If you want to call this a life. Sometimes I wish I died along with them."
That wasn't something I ever expected to hear from Janet. She came across as a fighter, a survivor. I knew what she went through was beyond horrible, but still, I never thought she would be so defeated.
"I'm glad you didn't. You have saved so many people and made such a difference in so many lives. Especially mine." I swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat thinking about Janet not being in my life. In just the past few weeks, she had gone from being someone I couldn't wait to get rid of to being someone I considered family. I didn't know what I would do without Janet.
"I haven't saved that many. I couldn't save Rose, and Will …” She thumped her head against the door and looked up at the dark ceiling. "I'm glad I met you, Andi. You remind me so much of my sister."
"I didn't know you had a sister."
"Yeah, her name was Patricia. She was the same age as you. We were pretty close, even though we fought like cats and dogs. I really loved the little goof."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I'm not. I treasure every minute of her life. When she was fifteen, she was diagnosed with leukemia. She only lived a year after that, but at least she didn't have to see any of this hell."
"Still, I can't imagine how difficult that must have been. Being an only child, it's hard to imagine that. I used to dream that someday a long lost brother or sister would show up at my door and I'd have this family I never knew existed. I guess that's just silly though."
"No, Andi, it's not. It's hard to be alone in the world. I mean, sure, you had your parents, but it's just not the same."
"Yeah." I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It had been a long time since I let myself think about that life.
“Ya know what though? You sort of got your wish."
"Huh?" I certainly never wished for everyone I knew to die and spend my life fighting off zombies in the
apocalypse.
"Family, I mean. Hadley is like your annoying little sister, and weird. Have I mentioned how weird that girl is?"
"Yes. Quite a few times, in fact."
"Well, it's true. She's kind of a freak. Then there's me. I know we didn't have a good start, but when you think about it, that's just how sisters are."
"Is it?"
Janet laughed. “Yes, dork, sisters quite often want to kill each other."
"Uh, yeah, I get that, but I am pretty sure you wanted to set me on fire a few times. If sisters hated each other that much, everyone would be an only child, eventually."
Janet pulled her boot off and tossed it at me. "Don't be a dork."
"Come on, deny it. I bet you can't." I poked my tongue out at her in the dim light. "You totally wanted to watch me burn."
"I will admit, a few times I actually fantasized about duct taping you to a chair, putting a thick silver strip right over your mouth, and just leaving you there. Permanently." She laughed, but I knew she was being serious. I couldn't blame her. The things I thought about were worse.
"You don't even wanna know what I thought about doing to you."
Before I knew it, we were both in hysterics, laughing so hard that it hurt. It was as if the whole awful world outside this tiny brick shed didn't even exist. We were just two girls, two sisters, laughing about stuff we did and not worrying about a single thing. No zombies, no missing friends, nothing bad at all.
When I thought I was about to stop breathing from laughing so hard, Janet took off her other boot and tossed it at me. "Okay, enough. I'm pretty sure I broke a rib. We need to get some rest. There's no way of knowing how long of a day we have facing us tomorrow, so it would be good if we can each get a few hours sleep. I'll take the first watch, then we can switch. Deal?"
"Sure." It wasn't like Janet to ask me if I was all right with her plans. Usually, she just told me how things were going to be.
I bunched my bag up under my head and tried to get comfortable on the hard cement floor. I was glad it was technically still summer and not terribly cold, even on the shed floor. The day was long and exhausting and I was grateful for the chance to sleep first. I knew it wouldn't take long for me to doze off.
Before sleep completely took over, I forced one eye open and peered up at Janet. "Hey Janet?"
"No, I've never been abducted by aliens, robbed a bank, or been addicted to crack. Any more ridiculous questions, or can you just go to sleep?"
"That's not what I was going to say, but now that you mention it, there's still time to do those things, you know?"
"I think I'll pass. What do you want?"
"I just wanted to say, you're the best new big sister I could ask for."
Janet smiled, probably more than she wanted to, and flipped off her light. "Go to sleep dork."
Chapter Thirteen
I woke with a start, disoriented, and confused. The room was pitch black, and it took me a few moments to realize where I even was. I felt around for the light. Something didn't feel right.
"Janet?"
No answer.
Janet would never have fallen asleep during her watch, and I couldn't even begin to imagine a reason why she would leave me there alone. I called her name again and again, but there was no answer. My heart pounded against my chest with such force, the vibrations ran up to my head and down to my feet.
I finally found the small led lantern and switched on the light. I was alone in the room. Janet's backpack was next to the door, which was slightly open, but she was gone. I pulled my sneakers onto my feet, grabbed a flashlight and crossbow from my bag, and inched the door open to peek out.
It was dark, but the light from the full moon was enough to make my way around. I scanned the area for any sign of unwelcome visitors and listened for unusual sounds. The first thing I noticed was a low moan that sounded much too close. I took a deep breath and briefly thought of all those old horror movies where the dumb blonde walks toward the creepy noise instead of getting the hell out of there. I was that dumb blonde.
I heard the sound again, this time louder and more of a groan. It sounded human, but that didn't mean it would be for long.
"Janet?" I whispered, hoping she was just out there checking on the same noise. She was probably going to give me crap for leaving the shed to check it out, but I just couldn't stop myself.
There was silence, then a whisper. "Andi …”
It sounded like Janet, but I couldn't tell where it was coming from. I tip-toed around the side of the shed and looked around. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. I took a few more steps, branches cracked under me, raising my pulse even further. Part of me wanted to run back inside and wait for her, but then I heard the whisper again.
"Andi …”
"Janet? Where are you?" I took a couple more steps and turned on the flashlight for more light.
A hand grabbed my ankle, and I tripped and fell to the ground, dropping the crossbow. I raised the flashlight over my head about to bring it down hard onto whatever it was that had a hold of me when it coughed and groaned once again. I stopped mid-air and shined the light down to see what it was.
Janet held one finger up to her lips. "There are at least two of them, but I'm pretty sure I hit one."
I shut off the light and looked around in the moonlight. I could hear the moaning, but it didn't sound like it was getting any closer.
I was confused. If there was only one of them left, why not just take care of it. "Why don't we just take it out. Why are we hiding?"
Janet pulled on my arm for support and lifted herself up to her feet, pulling me up with her. "No, Andi. Not flesh eater. Human."
It took me a moment to understand what she was saying. "Two...humans?"
She nodded. "I came out to take a leak and they ambushed me."
"I thought I heard a zombie too."
"Yeah, they have one with them. In shackles and on a leash."
I peeked around the side of the shed and scanned the area. I didn't see anything. "Are you sure they didn't just leave?"
"They weren't here for a social call. He's out there."
"What do we do?" Thoughts of being grabbed by the cousins flashed through my mind. I knew how lucky I got when Will showed up and saved me. That was not going to happen this time. We had to save ourselves. There was no way I was going to be anyone's hostage ever again. And I wouldn’t let anything happen to Janet either.
"Why don't we talk this out, ladies?" a gravelly voice called over. It was difficult to tell which direction the sound came from. Everything sort of bounced around and echoed off the trees. He could have been behind us and I wouldn't have known.
Janet gripped her stomach, leaned forward and winced.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, fine. Just got nicked. Listen, I'm pretty sure he's around the north side. His undead sidekick is right over there …” She pointed near a tree not far from us. "But I don't think he's getting up any time soon. I'm going to need you to take the lead on this one."
I looked down at her stomach, but couldn't see anything in the low light. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Focus, Andi."
"All I wanted to do was get to know you girls a little better. Why'd you have to go and get all feisty with us?" The voice was closer than before, and as he moved it was easier to get a sense of his general direction.
I pushed my fear aside and did as Janet asked. I focused. Inside I was trembling, but there was no margin for error. I had to be cool on the outside to do what was necessary for us to survive.
I took a deep breath and looked at Janet. "Tell me what to do."
I pushed everything out of my mind, except my training and what Janet told me to do.
"You know, since you went and killed my friend here, I'm only going to need one of you. If you come out now and save me some effort, I might be nice and kill the other one quickly," the voice called over again. This time even closer.
It sounded like he was near the door to t
he shed. My guess was, he didn't know exactly where we were hiding. I snuck around the side of the shed in one direction while Janet inched over toward the other side.
"Okay, you got us. I'll surrender," Janet called over, trying to get his attention away from my position. "But you have to promise to let my friend go."
Her plan was to lure him over to her while I came up from behind and planted an arrow in his skull. The last thing I wanted to do was kill humans, but it wasn't like we had much choice. It was kill or be killed. Or be worse than killed.
I heard his footsteps crunch the leaves under his feet. He was taking the bait and moving in Janet's direction. I tiptoed, inch by inch, around the side of the shed.
“Oh, now that's not really fair. You did kill my buddy. How can I just let your little friend go? In fact, it probably makes more sense for me to kill you and take her with me. After all, I can't just let you get away with murder, now can I? Besides, we both know you aren't going to last very long, now don't we?"
Janet took a few more steps and crunched leaves under her boots to make enough noise to mask my movements. “I’m really sorry about your friend. I didn’t mean to hurt him.”
He laughed out loud. “The arrow in his chest says otherwise, bitch.”
I couldn’t see Janet, but I imagined her smiling. Even in the dark, the girl could shoot.
“That’s too bad. But on the upside, you have me all to yourself now. I bet we could have a really good time,” Janet called out, louder than necessary.
I cleared the side of the shed and could make out the silhouette of the man about six feet ahead. The plan was working. I raised the bow and took aim. There was just enough light from the moon to have a shot at hitting him. My hands trembled just enough to make the shot difficult, but that wasn't the time to screw up. Our lives depended on it.
I released the trigger, and my arrow flew through the air in perfect line. There would have been no problem hitting him if he hadn't turned just in time and stepped a centimeter to the left.
He broke out laughing and jumped at me. "Nice try little girl."