Walking Bodies

by Durman, Jason

  I glared as he played with the weapon, the sunlight gleaming off of the steel. Through the window, the sky was showing the time's rate of passing. It wouldn't be much longer until sunset. The dark of the night would conceal us if we decided to keep moving, and there would be less attention if everyone was asleep.

  "So tell me, Sara." Philippe's voice drew me away from the window, and I stared at his observed the sharp tip of the knife. I reminded myself that both pistols were safely in my pockets, only a quick move away. "How do you know zis…man."

  He waited for an answer, with only Aaron's rumbles filling the silence. I thought for a moment, "It's a long story" I mumbled. "Listen, I'm here for one reason and that reason alone. Just let us leave and we'll be out of your hair." I urged, trying my best to where I didn't sound like I was begging. While we could probably just hit and run, the smart move would be to just leave with as little violence as possible.

  Aaron suddenly jolted, flinching a bit away from me and glaring hard at the bandages in my hands. He snarled, claws reaching up and scratching at the newly clean wound and its new bonds. I tried to swat his hands away. "Fuck, Aaron, you'll make it worse."

  The Leaper ignored my input, giving off some sort of noise of discomfort and began to tear off the wrappings. The white cloth fell to the carpet and I sighed. "Fine, it starts bleeding again, I won't help." I stuffed the unused cloth back inside the box and discarded the dirty wipes and wraps. The Leaper tore off the last piece and I watched as the last ten minutes of work I had just done reduced to shreds. "Ungrateful little bastard" I muttered. Aaron simply glanced in my direction, unamused.

  "Interesting."

  Philippe made himself known again, and Aaron seemed to respond to his remark with one of his own, a deep, threatening rumble erupting from his throat. My eyes darted back and forth between the two males. There was no forgiveness or understanding in that noise.

  Aaron's display of aggression did not go unnoticed, but Philippe's reaction was dull. He simply stared at the agitated Leaper, deep in thought. I placed a hand on Aaron's arm, attempting to get his attention. I was shaken off. "Calm down," I whispered, "Please." I was so close to negotiating our way out of here, that last thing we need was for him to crush that chance just for some short lived revenge.

  Surprisingly, he stopped fidgeting. Looking down, his hand was flexing inwards and outwards. I needed to get him out of here and away from Philippe before anything else happens. To be honest, I actually didn't expect for him to have this much self-control.

  "The library"

  The remark was soaked in his accent, but I understood it clear as day. "The library?" I repeated. I remembered seeing a large building off in the distance earlier. Why would he need me to go there? "What about the libra-?"

  Something whizzed threw the air and landed in the wall near my head. I froze, staring at my reflection in the knife embedded in the wall. Philippe spun around in his chair, facing the lights and buttons. I rose to my feet, bringing Aaron with me as he typed something down. He looked up, glaring.

  "Get out."

  He didn't have to tell me twice. With a strong tug, the knife glided out and I stuffed it back inside my boot, deciding to figure out how he even got it in the first place later. I flew for the door, swinging it open and motioning Aaron to follow.

  The Leaper was concentrating too hard in his staring contest with the French man to care. Quickly, I strode over and snatched him by his lowered jacket, doing my best to drag him out of the door. It wasn't until I had successfully slogged him out the door did I remember my mask still lying inside. I mentally face palmed. As long as stayed off the streets, we'll be fine.

  Aaron lept from the balcony, his recent injury having lost all effect on him. I slid down the metal ladder, reaching the end. There was no roof to hop onto without the risk of falling down the gap, and the distance to the concrete was making me a little sick. A few feet away, Aaron easily landed on the building with a thud.

  One more step down and my feet would be dangling. I clutched the bars for dear life, not wanting to fall but not wanting another confrontation with Philippe, so I hung from the tower. From behind me, I could Aaron's sound of impatience. My lips thinned. "Just give me a moment, alright?"

  I studied the gap. Not too wide, but defiantly something I should avoid if I have the option. One small slip and I plummet to my death. Or at least a couple broken limbs, which wasn't exactly on my wish list this year.

  Aaron watched me from the safety of the roof. Underneath my breath, I cursed him. "Hey, buddy." I drawled out, and his head piped up. "Mind giving me a hand here?" I murmured, keeping my voice down. Didn't matter if I was stories off the ground, for all I know there could be sleeping people in the building next to me? All it would take is a curious soul to peer out of their window and see me dangling before they would run to get their kitchen broom. Or guns, though I rather be attacked by a broom.

  The only answer I got was a scoff, complete with a smirk. Rolling my eyes, I carefully turned around to face the roof's edge, preparing for the jump. "Selfish"

  I was about to leap when Aaron suddenly moved forward. There was a tug on my shirt, and I fell frontwards to meet the concrete. For a split second, I saw myself splattered on the ground, neck broken and limbs bent backwards. And I would have let out a death worthy scream if not for sudden lurch stealing the breath from my lungs. My hands and knees flew in front of me by reflex, and I waited for the fall.

  But the ground never came. My head met with the solid rooftop and it took my heartbeat a moment to recover from the unexpected scare. Aaron still had his fingers clasped in the fabric of my shirt, and once the stinging sensation in my head had fading I realized I was pinned on my back. He had practically flung me five feet onto the floor.

  His claws were starting to prick through the fabric, slightly poking my skin. I worked to pry his fingers away from my shirt. "This was not what I meant by lending me a hand." He removed his arm, crawling away, snickering his common fashion. So he wasn't selfish, just a masochist.

  Sitting up, I patted myself down. Guns? Check. Knife? Check. Mask? Lost that. Courage? Lost that too.

  Sighing, I picked myself up and gave a look around. The large building, what I assumed was the 'library', was a few blocks away. It was surrounded by small ant like officers, or at least looked like that way from my point of view.

  The sun was disappearing over the town and I noted on how beautiful it looked before a shiver raced up my spine. It was cold, and dark clouds were looming in the purple sky. It didn't rain today, but I don't know what I can say about tonight. My breath fogged up in front of me, drifting off into the air.

  Swiveling around, I stared at the unaffected Leaper. Something was missing. "Where did your jacket go?" I asked, baffled. Aaron paused whatever he was doing before shrugging innocently. Strange, I could have sworn he had it on when I dragged him out.

  A cold breeze passed by and I wrapped my arms around myself. "You did feel that, right?" He tilted his head, eyes still hidden from view thanks to his new favorite hat. Clad in his cargo pants, sneakers and plain black T-shirt, it was hard to believe that the cold wasn't hurting him somehow.

  Staring at the infected's sickly tinted skin on his exposed arms, I sighed.

  I glanced up from my place to the radio tower. "Looks like we need a place to stay for the night." I mused, walking away to the other side of the roof. I zipped up both pockets in order to prevent both of my weapons from falling out, and lept the gap to the other roof in the opposite direction. "You wouldn't happen to have any ideas, would you?" No answer, just silence and the patter of footsteps. Of course he wouldn't.

  "Well, we can't stay near here for much longer." I trailed on, scanning the horizon. We could always just camp out on one of the rooftops, but it was risky, and there was a chance that the cold could get to us-or at least me- before we got caught.

  Going back into the forest was an option, but if we left, there woul
d be no safe way back in.

  I skipped over a few more houses, moving at a moderate pace. Once, I slipped and I feel forward with a grunt, my hands springing outwards to catch myself. Then it hit me, not the floor, but an idea.

  I remember the buildings I saw as we first snuck into Paradise, run-down, boarded up windows and graffiti on every brick. But as we moved closer to the center of the city, the buildings were in better living conditions, it was much more busy and populated. No one wanted to live on the outskirts of town, and I'll bet a damn if one of those outer buildings will provide a sufficient shelter for the night.

  I was ahead of Aaron for once, leading the way, every now and then I'd jump down a story until I was a safe enough distance to hop down onto the street.

  The clean streets and last of the day's light faded away as we neared the edge of town. I spotted a grey, run down building to my right. Its windows were bordered up and it looked like no one had even touched the front door handle in years. I gave it a try anyway. One hand, than both hands on the door knob and I gave it a twist. It didn't budge. Well, so much for walking into the front door.

  I was about to try another house when something rattled behind the door.

  Stepping back, I made a grab for the knife and held it as the door shook. I waited for anything. A citizen, soldier or infect to burst out. Holding the knife tightly, I debated running or attacking.

  An annoyed growl, muffled by the rotting wooden door broke me from my inner debate and I wasn't sure how to react. The door handle jiggled, stopped, and shook again, before whoever was on the other side simply began abusing it.

  Bewildered, I put my ear close to the wall as the door continued to suffer its abuse. I could hear stifled sounds of agitated snarls, claws scraping against solid surface, and what sounded like broken glass being stepped on.

  "Aaron?" I whispered, and for a moment the door's tremors stopped. Without thinking I reached over and turned the door knob again, this time it opened, and out came tumbling a Leaper, yelping in surprise and almost tripping down the porch stairs.

  I stopped myself from laughing out loud, but couldn't contain a few giggles now and then. Looks like he was getting the hang of opening doors now. The infected caught wind of my amusement and slouched in embarrassment.

  "First the car, and now this?" I kept my voice low, teasing. Aaron replied with his infamous stare, silent as usual. I peered around the door frame. Broken shards of glass were scattered across the ground, and I followed a ray of moonlight to find it shining through an empty window frame.

  I eyed the window, debating on whether or not it was broken before we had gotten here, or Aaron had kicked it in. I'm going with the latter, judging by how the edges curved. Now that I'm taking a closer look, it seemed as if he had just crashed through while I wasn't paying attention. I wouldn't be surprised.

  My eyes trailed to a staircase, and I wondered if it as furniture bare as the downstairs too. I jumped at the sound of a hastily shut door. Swiveling around in alarm, Aaron watched innocently as I recovered from the sudden noise. I sighed, "Ok, so you learned how to work a door. That's nice, quit showing off."

  The Leaper only tilted his head at the sarcasm, but I could tell he was hiding a smirk. The corner of his mouth tSirened as he bounded past me and up the stairs. I frowned, doing my best to follow. The glass crunched underneath my boots and I prayed that a piece wouldn't piece through.

  When I had finally climbed to the top, I thanked lady luck for smiling my way. It was a large, single room with another door closed shut. Most likely the bathroom. But what mattered the most was the sheet covered lumps against the walls. Aaron had already made himself comfortable on one pile.

  I walked over and grabbed the ends of one, pulling in off in one go. Underneath: a sofa. One of those ugly ones too, the kind that you'd find at your grandma's and you'd buy at a thrift shop for ten bucks. But it was soft as hell. I fell forward, ignoring how a storm of dust around as I made contact with the century old furniture.

  Aaron, whom had been upside down in what I assume is a sheet covered recliner, made coughing noises. I looked up, but buried my face again when I caught sight of a smug grin. "Oh, please" I snarked, talking into the couch. "Like you're any cleaner." The cushion smelled like dirt and grime, looked like it had been through hell. But it was better than the inside of a truck.

  I patted the keys in my pocket, sighing when I felt the metal press against my hand. I bet that little, cookie monster bag filled to the zipper with food and other goodies is still propped up against the fence, isn't it. My stomach gave a light rumble, and I seriously thought of the consequences if I decided to try and fetch it.

  Flipping over to my back, I stared up at the ceiling. I glanced to the side for a split second. "You're going to fall and hit your head if you keep sitting like that." Aaron ignored my comment, glaring at me from upside down. He wasn't too far away, so he should know that it wouldn't take much for me to just reached over and whack him on the forehead if I wanted to. And I kinda wanted to.

  He fiddled with his claws, flicking out the dried gore from underneath the nails. He was making a habit of that, I noted. Speaking of habits; I brought my hands together, popping each finger. Aaron looked up at the cracking noise, watching each finger get its deserved treatment. I noticed his staring. "What?" It was a bit creepy watching me and all. "Is your hat on too tight or something?"

  Dispite gravity, his cap had yet to fall to the floor. It stayed glued to his head, but I could still see his eyes from my point of view. The black and white orbs gazed blankly, and I had no choice but to stare back.

  A minute passed by before my belly interrupted us. This time however, it was not hunger. I clutched my lower torso, not happy on how my bladder decided to make its self-known. Hopping up, I made a beeline for the door, not once thinking if it was locked or not. Luckily for me, it wasn't.

  It was obvious that there was no running water, but it wasn't like I was going to stay here much longer. A night's sleep was all I needed. But some food and warmth sounded really good right about now. As quickly as I could manage, I flipped up the toilet seat, had my pee and pulled up my pants as fast as I could manage.

  As I walked out, I glanced at the mirror above the sink. The glass was cracked and dirty, but I could see my face well enough to know that my looks have definitely seen better days. My hair was sloppy, my skin pale and some dried blood was spread across my forehead in a thin line. I tried my best to remember where the blood had come from, but ended up licking my fingers and rubbing it off.

  Aaron was still in his recliner when I had walked back, only now he was sitting upright, legs crossed over each other. I stumbled past him, pushing the sofa where the ends of their sides met. Falling sideways, I used the most of the couch to stretch out my legs while using the recliner's arm rest as an elevated pillow. Aaron made an inaudible noise as I plopped down.

  I glimpsed up, eyelids halfway closed from exhaustion. "Are you allergic to sunlight or something?" I slurred. He made no large movements or makes any sound of acknowledgement. Instead, his eyes half closed and we shared a tired gaze before he fell onto his side, sprawled out with his head near mine.

  His hat lay on the floor a foot away as we slept.

  Chapter 19

  I slept peacefully, without interruption. The entire night my mind was filled with images of the past. I remember seeing Steve's face, smiling as he flicked his ashes away or hearing my dad's laughter as he watched me repeatedly hit the brakes the first time I drove a car. And the first time I nearly crashed it. Not a sweet memory, but one I thought fondly of.

  The night went on and it wasn't until I felt the morning sunlight run across my eyelids that I woke. Without opening them, I rolled over to my side where the back of the couch was covering my face. Now that no light was burning my eyelids, I could continue to sleep, a much needed reward I say I deserved.

  A few minutes passed before my luxury was disrupted. The sofa was tipp
ing.

  My eyes flew open and I had just enough time to brace myself before the back of the sofa hit the ground with a solid thud. Shaking my head from my rude awaking, I glared at the culprit.

  The Leaper was two feet away, a grin plastered across his face. His hat he had forgotten the night before sat slightly sideways atop his head. I sighed. "You could have just, I don't know, poked me or something." I groaned picking myself up. The couch was a better resting place than the floor, yeah, but I had gotten used to sleeping on hard surfaces. My body didn't recognize the foreign feeling of 'soft'.

  Standing up, I dusted myself off. An entire sandstorm erupted as the sofa hit the floor, covering in a blanket of it. I patted myself down, eyeing Aaron out of the corner of my eye. He grinned, and I made note to add another dose of 'revenge' to the to-do list, which was getting to long to keep up.

  I reached over and flicked his cap back into its correct position. The sudden movement caused him to flinch slightly. He snarled and I rolled my eyes. "Oh hush," I mumbled. "How long were you up, huh?" I questioned, not expecting an answer. The infected's snarl disappeared, and he gave a halfhearted shrug. So he just woke up and decided he needed company. Fantastic.

  I walked across the room and peered out of the window. The sky was a deep blue, the sunrise over the horizon shining through the glass. Rubbing my eyes as they adjusted to the light, I pondered on yesterday's events.

  Philippe had made it clear that the library was a place worth checking out. But he didn't state what I was going to find in there, not to mention I have no idea how I was going to break into such a heavily guarded place anyway. My cover had been blown, and as human as Aaron seemed a glance at his claws and hell would break loose. Not to mention my big mouth, smooth talking wasn't easy.

  It could be a trap as well, seeing as how I got this information from a total stranger who shoved a gun to my face the first time we met. I glimpsed at Aaron's shoulder, the spot where his shirt had torn. Yeah, let's not forget that either. But it was a lead. Until recently we've just been wondering the streets looking under rocks.