Walking Bodies

by Durman, Jason

  Theron unfolded the paper to its full and laid it on the ground. I leaned over so I could see it. It was mostly green and blue, with little red X's dotting multiple spots on the paper. This was a map.

  Theron pointed to one of the red X's. "Here. This is where we are now." He described. "And here," He traced his finger from our location on the map to another spot in the corner of it. "This is Paradise. The river separates the wilds from the safe zone. If your caught crossing it, you'll be killed on sight."

  "Then how do I avoid that?"

  Theron folded the hastily. "Only way for you to get inside is for you to go to the main entrance, to the west of the river but east of the city." I nodded, taking the information in. He held the paper out, and it was then I realized that his hands were shaking, making me feel like a tremendous asshole.

  "They'll never let you inside. You have no tattoo, and you're not wearing a uniform." He exclaimed, earning an annoyed look from me. "You'll be shot on sight."

  "…I'll figure out something."

  "Yeah," He coughed, looking away. "I'm sure you will. Now, where's my partner?"

  Inside the cabin, dead and rotting away. I had what I needed, and my priority was to take Aaron and get the hell out of here. But Theron's sniper rifle was somewhere in the cabin, I was sure, and once he finds Tanya as a lifeless corpse, we'll be hunted down like dogs.

  "She's in the house." It wasn't a lie. She was in the house, just not alive. Standing up, I shifted towards the door. Theron watched with careful precision, as I inched over and softly kicked the still upset Leaper, silently telling him that we're about to fucking bolt.

  I still had one more thing I needed. With the front door cracked open enough for me to stick my arm through and grab the straps of my backpack, swinging it over and putting it on, surprised by how light it had gotten, though I could still feel the weight of some cans still inside.

  Theron's mouth tSirened, itching to blurt out an insult, something along the lines of how this was just even more proof of how much of a kid I was. Aaron's lips were still curled back into a snarl, but he was standing to full height now, and backing away from us both, actually walking out into the rain.

  "Thanks for the help." I smiled, and the other human gave a confused stare. "Hope you don't mind, but I'm keeping the knife." My beloved crowbar was still somewhere out in the wilderness, and it just wasn't important enough to try and track down.

  Aaron suddenly growled, and lept away into the trees. I took this as my cue and scrammed, running past Theron and into the freezing rain, which had only gotten worse in the time that we were outside.

  Water dripped through my clothes and my ponytail, trailing down my neck and down my arms, but the grip on my guns didn't loosen. Aaron was behind me now, following my lead for once. He lept through the branches with such ease and needed little effort to keep himself from slipping.

  I imagine him digging his claws into the bark to act as a hold from slipping, but even if he did fall, he'd probably pull some sort of impossible cat maneuver and land on his feet, or catch his grip.

  A shot rang through the forest and I almost tripped when it reached my ears. Twisting around, I figured I was already out of sight, and hopefully range, but I was still nearby if he decided to come looking for me.

  Panting, I ran even faster, and the forest around me changed into a land full of stumps and dead grass. Running for a couple of minutes, I stopped to catch my breath. I heard Aaron land on a branch above me, knocking the leaves off and falling around me as I gasped for air.

  The rain was still falling as cold as it was before, and getting harder with every minute. I shivered. While Doug's sweater was usually nice and warm, it only weighed me down when I was wet, and the cold, soaking fabric stuck to my skin and caused my arms to feel frozen. If I wasn't wearing a Heavy top underneath, my middle section would have been painfully numb.

  I walked a bit further, and my hopes rose a tad when I finally found what I was searching for. Aaron landed beside me, and I could tell from the way he half groaned, half growled that he wasn't happy with this plan of action.

  Doug's truck sat parked, with gas cans still in the back. The thought of getting inside and turning the heat on was a very inviting option, and inside of my mind I apologized to Doug in advance for having to hotwire his truck. I know that most men didn't appreciate their vehicle's being tampered with. My dad sure didn't.

  I opened the door, a little surprised that it wasn't locked and pulled out my knife. Theron's knife, actually, but it didn't matter. Going far back in my memory, I tried to remember what Dad taught me. Him, standing in a parking lot, keys nowhere in sight and late for work.

  "First, you gotta take the cover off the steering column."

  Talking to me was a little weird, but speaking what I remembered from him helped me focus on what I was doing. Aaron tilted his head, knowing that I wasn't speaking to him, but baffled on why would I be speaking in the first place if there was no one to talk to?

  Usually, I need a screwdriver for this, but I'll have to make do with what I have. With a little effort, I put the tip of the knife into the clip and started twisting. One by one I removed them, and the cover loosened enough where I could put my hands inside.

  I was greeted by the sight of wires. Red wires, blue wires, yellow wires, and a few sSirenes. It felt a little intimidating, and for a brief second I lost my focus. Alright, Sara. What did dad say about which wire goes where?

  Wires leading to one side belonged to lights, cruise control and such. Wires leading into the other side belonged to the windshield wipers, AC, and seat warmers. Wires that leading straight up the steering column belonged to the battery, ignition, and starter. Those were the ones I needed.

  Using the knife, I cut them, stripped a little of the insulation of the battery wire off and twisted them together. I tore the ends of my sleeve off, just a small strip. The sleeves were too long anyway.

  I touched the ignition wire to the battery wire. The dashboard lit up and I heard the radio play at a very low volume.

  Aaron wrinkled his nose at the music, and I felt a shadow loom over me before he promptly climbed over me and into the truck. He played with different button and sSirenes, listening to the music change. Smiling, I felt pride in my first ever hotwire attempt, but a little confused on how music would be playing if radio stations haven't been working for quite some time now.

  Taking the starter wire, I stripped it to match the other and prepared myself. "Don't ever let me catch you doing this." I quoted, my dad's face plastered in my mind. "Your mother would kill me."

  I took a deep faith and put the wires together, creating a spark. The engine revved up and I let my breath out, thankful I wasn't electrocuted.

  The sudden noise, vibration of the truck starting and sight of the spark put Aaron on his edge. When the rumbling of the engine began, he screeched in surprised, scrambling to get out of the seat as fast as his reflexes could let him.

  He toppled me over, and I yelped in response. The ground was hard and my fresh, clean hair was now smothered with dirt. I cursed Aaron under my breath, and made an attempt to push him off. My strength however, was nothing compared to his. So we stayed like that for a moment, before he decided that the loud, mechanical thing wasn't going to swallow him us alive, and crawled off of me.

  Sitting up, I dusted myself off the best I could, the dirty mud in my hair washing out with the rain. Returning to the task at hand, I realized I still needed to break the steering lock. Without it, the car may drive, but it would only go in a single direction and I would have no control of it.

  I sat in the driver's seat and put both hands on the wheel. With a great heave, I twisted it side to side until I heard the sound of something breaking. The tested the wheel out, turning it from right to left to see how well It worked. I hereby deemed this mission a success.

  "Aaron"

  The Leaper snapped to attention, a good ten feet away from the car. I
rolled my eyes at his dramatics. I know he hates it, but there is no way in hell I can leave him here, even if he decided to follow me. Theron would attack on sight, and next time we run into him, if there is a next time, most likely he won't be alone.

  I patted the seat next to me, a clear sign to get inside. He sneered at the gestured, and ignored me. I sighed, knowing that there was really one way to get him inside.

  Shutting the doors, I started backing up, and was about to enter the trail when something landed on the roof of the truck. Grinning to myself, I leaned over and opened the passenger door for him. He dipped his head in upside down, and I stared at the already healing marks on his jaw, resisting the urge to pat them and see if they hurt. Infected healing abilities are strange, I concluded.

  Without touching the ground, he crawled inside, and I had to lean over him again and shut his door. His breath brushed the side of my face and ignored the fact that his breath smelled like he had just eaten something raw.

  One day, I'm going to have to teach him how to use a door. Because apparently, he can burst through windows, but using a handle is too much for him.

  Taking the map out, I unfolded it and charted my path. I needed to get inside the city first, so I would have to take the same trail that we had taken we I had first arrived. I turned the heat on, enjoying the feel of it, while Aaron slouched, gazing out the window.

  Chapter 15

  The truck bounced a little when I drove out of the dirt and onto concrete. I grunted at the motion, shifting in my seat to get comfortable again. Aaron snarled and I rolled my eyes.

  Using one hand to steer, and reached back behind the seats and felt around for my bag. I dug inside of it, pulling out can after can until I found one that contained some type of meat. "Here, eat up" Keeping my eyes on the road, I held it out to him.

  I felt it disappear from my grasp and heard the sound of tin meeting teeth. The lid was chucked to the floor boreds and the sound of slurping could be heard. I snorted.

  "You couldn't have been that hungry"

  The Leaper ignored me, and the sound of scraping indicated that he had eaten it all in one go. He would consume anything he could get, I guess, judging on how often he has to leap around and save my ass, his metabolism would be pretty high.

  Aaron tossed the can behind him, and slouched one again. I glanced at him using the rearview mirror, and this time he was staring at me instead of the rain. "Still hungry?" No answer. "Well, I need to eat too, so you'll just have to wait."

  It's not like we were running out of supplies or anything, I just realized that all of our good luck wasn't going to last forever. Judging by how recent events turned out, I already assumed that lady luck had flipped us off. It was nice while it lasted though.

  I turned a corner, and found myself in an unfamiliar place. Frowning, I parked and pulled out the map. The flowing heat coming out of the AC ruffled the paper and I tried to smooth it out as best as I could. Glancing up from the map and back down again, I discovered I had no idea where we were.

  I drove forward a little and spotted a street sign. It was bent and the sign was hanging off its hinges, like it had been ran over, and there was a bloody handprint painted over the text, but I squinted and made out the words the best I could. "1244 Bridge St."

  Glaring at the map, I noticed that it landed us quite near a red X. Not sure what those stood for, but that nagging feeling I had hinted that maybe I didn't need to know. Or wanted to, anyway. For all I know, they could be human camps, and I was so not in the mood for meeting anymore new faces today.

  Our location was inside of a blue area that looked like it had been colored in with crayon. Closer to Paradise the blue changed to green, and finally that little X at the corner of the paper was in a small yellow circle. I could be wrong, but the colors might have stood for how well they've scouted out the area.

  I swallowed. I might be walking into something I won't be able to walk back out of. Whoever ran Paradise seemed organized and prepared. Not to mention Theron and Tanya made quite the first impression for them. If everyone is like them when I arrive, then I'd be torn between stealing Doug and Olive and running away, or detonating a bomb there.

  Simply, I was outnumbered and outmatched, which is why stealth was going to be my best option. I glimpsed at Aaron. Being sneaky wouldn't be a problem for him, since he adapted into the very definition of it. No, it would be my own skill of stealth that would be an issue.

  Unless I figured out how to hide in plain sight. While unlikely, it was still a better chance than trying to sneak around a safe area filled with people that won't take nicely to the fact that I've killed one of their own.

  They had numbers, weapons, medicine, sleep, food, and an attitude. Not to mention that if I remember correctly, they had tamed infected. Special infected, to be exact, and tortured them. They had experience.

  If their doing as well as I think, then they'll all suited up with a decent supply of gear. Theron had a bullet proof vest, and a well maintained sniper rifle. Tanya only had a pistol, but she was cocky and way too confident. Confidence is a luxury nowadays and you can only have it if you were spoiled.

  Me? I have a Leaper that doesn't like green peas.

  I crumbled the map again and shoved it into my pocket. We were on the right track, no doubt, but I had two options: Head straight through downtown or take the highway. I steered left, and drove slowly. I may just be procrastinating, but it wouldn't hurt to take a look downtown and see if it had any loot.

  The rain was starting to lift and the sky began to clear. I sSirened the heat to low, and turned the windshield wipers off. The clouds parted and I looked high hoping to see the sun. No light or warmth came from the sky; however, it gave me a beautiful view of the sunset. Almost movie worthy.

  It was made out of oranges, yellows, reds, purples, and blues, all mixing together in one spot over the horizon. "Don't see much of that anymore." I commented to present company. Aaron didn't acknowledge my voice, but gazed at it too. "Pretty, huh?" I smiled.

  There was lots of little shops downtown that consisted of department store to daycares. I parked the car near a bakery, and an image of my mother's Thanksgiving rolls appeared in my head. It summoned an audible noise from my stomach and I ignored my hunger. Yes, I had food still in the truck, but I was only going to eat it when I needed to. Not when I felt like having a snack.

  The rain had stopped completely now, so I turned the heat off. I took a deep breath, letting the air rush into my lungs along with that fresh 'just rained' smell. Didn't they used to make candles for that?

  Aaron was no longer slouching, but instead practically ready to bust out of his seat. He tapped his claw rapidly on the window, a clear signal that he wanted out. Leaning over him, I reached for the door handle. He leaned back against his seat in response to this intrusion of space, emitting a small, but harmless snarl. But shut up when we both heard the car door's lock click.

  The door was pushed outwards and he was outside before I even had time to lean back. The Leaper crouched on top of the truck now, and I could hear him crawling all over, waiting for me to get out too. I stifled a laugh. Unbuckling my seatbelt, I opened my door.

  A wave of cold washed over me and I quickly wrapped m y arms around myself in response. My body was already shivering and my teeth were getting near to chatter. I had completely forgotten that I was indeed: still wearing wet clothes.

  The truck's heat had dried them up a bit, so it was damp instead of soaked, but it was still extremely foolish to stay in them and risk pneumonia.

  I shivered and my teeth began to shake. I shut the door, turning on the heat on full high and letting my blood circulate again. From outside the truck, I heard Aaron's confused whine. He crawled off the top and onto the hood where he could see me through the windshield. With my arms still wrapped around me, I feebly waved at him, smiling.

  I wanted to let him know I was fine, just cold. Very, very cold and these clothes weren't
helping a single bit. I shook my hands, and cracked my knuckles, rolling my wrist until my fingers felt normal. Focusing on my hands had always made me feel better, somehow.

  Taking the ends of Doug's shirt, I lifted it over my head. I coughed, noticing that while my Heavy top wasn't any protection against the cold, it wasn't as wet. Rolling the window down quickly, I wringed out the shirt. I went as fast as I could to prevent any more precious heat escaping the inside.

  Aaron suddenly appeared at the window, and seemed a bit rejected when I had rolled it up again. I held the shirt out in front of the heater, letting it dry slowly. Aaron tapped the glass, gaining my attention. "Don't you ever get cold?" I asked him. "How are you not sick yet?"

  Not that I wanted him to be sick, or anything. No one would want that, infected or not. Not to mention taking care of one would be a bitch, considering that they'd refused to swallow anything that isn't raw. Chicken soup would be out of the question. I wouldn't know how to care for a sick person anyway.

  Though the thought came to mind of whether or not the infect actually can get sick. You know, since their already…infected.

  I bit my tongue, holding back the sudden craving for soup. My thoughts went back to that night in the hotel room, where I had locked him outside for the night and he had to suffer in the rain.

  I remember looking through that window, watching as the rain pelted him mercilessly. Yeah, he still tried to get inside, but that could have been for many other reasons. Not once have I seen him shiver, sweat, or even show any signs of discomfort that wasn't caused by anything other than injuries or hunger.

  It was another five minutes before I felt like my shirt had dried enough. My Heavy top had dried a little more too, and layering the two pieces of clothing felt like I was wearing a winter coat. I did a little dance in the front seat, adjusting to the warmth. Smiling, I turned the heat on low and let it run as I hopped out of the truck.