by White, A. L.
Doc looked around at the other patients in the room, then reached for the crutches near Virginia, “Come on, then. I think it is time we have a talk.”
Leading them into a side room that had been used in years long passed for Saturday afternoon readings to the children, Doc motioned for everyone to sit. He helped Virginia into a chair and closed the door. Doc took in a deep breath while he searched for the words to say; as he had done so many times in the past to give bad news.
“Everyone here thinks Lori is a hero. In fact, they are having a celebration dinner with games for the kids this coming Saturday.”
“Then she should be allowed to be there; if it is a celebration in her honor,” Charlie replied.
“Well, it isn’t just in her honor, Charlie. A lot of people had a hand in the outcome of that day: Todd, Virginia, you, and countless others.”
“We all did our part, Doc, but if she didn’t block the viaduct or charge into the herd to save Virginia, nothing would be here now, and you know that. Or perhaps you don’t know that, because I don’t remember seeing you fight the creatures!” Charlie stated.
Doc tried to pat Charlie’s shoulder but was brushed away. He turned toward Lori, “I don’t know what happened to you out there. I don’t know if you’re turning into one of those creatures, or if, inside of you, you hold the secret to turning them back. I do know that other than the few who fought alongside of you, you scare a lot of the people here now. They think one night you will wake up as a creature and kill as many as you can. And you demonstrated you’d do a good job of it.” Looking over at Virginia, Doc continued, “You have scared the hell out of them since day one. How does a girl of fourteen or fifteen get so good at killing?”
Before either could reply, Charlie asked, “So they are doomed to live in the library forever? Or…?”
“Don’t be silly, Charlie. The library couldn’t hold or keep anyone in that didn’t want to stay here. Even now there would be no way for us to keep them in here. I wanted to move Lori over to the jail, but Beau said he would take down any man that tried to move either girl out of the library. Funny thing is, all you kids gave him the name Boo because he scared you, and now as an old man, he still does.”
“So what are our options?” Lori asked.
“The best I can come up with is for you two to leave. Follow that map of yours and try to find a safe place to hold out until the world decides to right itself.”
Charlie stood up and faced Doc, looking him squarely in the eyes, “What the hell are you talking about, Doc? That is not what you said this place would be!”
Not budging an inch, Doc replied, “Then maybe you should step up and lead, Charlie, because after that day these people feel they have something here worth protecting, and they will protect it. I can’t promise you how long I can hold them back, or even how long their fear of what Beau will do will stop them, but most of the ones that survived are not from Rivers Crossing; they don’t have the same feelings for what we set out to do. They are looking to survive and rebuild what we all had before this.”
“So to do that, we kill innocents? Boot them out of here and let them fend for themselves?”
Doc sat back down, “I think that these two could take care of themselves just like they did before getting here, Charlie.”
Charlie too sat back down, “Then it is settled, isn’t it? The three of us will leave as soon as I can get some supplies together.”
“Aww, come on, Charlie! No one says you have to go!” Doc exclaimed.
“Virginia and I will be fine by ourselves, Charlie. You don’t have to leave your home,” Lori added.
“Doc, I have said since the beginning that as soon as you got things going here, I was leaving. Well, you have things going somewhat, and I don’t much like what I see around here anymore!” Charlie added.
Doc knew the look on Charlie’s face well enough to know that no amount of reasoning would change his mind. “Charlie, we have tried hard to make the people here feel like they are part of the community. It is the only way we can start rebuilding normal life here.”
“Understood Doc, and I wish you the best of luck with that,” Charlie replied.
“Nothing will change your mind?”
Charlie took a long look at Virginia, and then into Lori’s eyes, “I don’t think so, Doc.”
Doc dug deep into his coat pocket and pulled out a worn out, old Chicago Bears key chain with two keys dangling from it. “Outside, you will find a black Chevy Suburban with a full tank of gas. Tim and Tom went over to your old house and went through it room by room. They have assured me that it is safe to stay in. Thought maybe the ladies here would be a little more comfortable there; if you’re all right with that, Charlie.”
Charlie smiled at Doc, “That would be fine, my old friend. Thank you, Doc.”
Doc stood up and walked over to Charlie, handing him the keys, and surprised Charlie by enveloping him in a bear hug, “You take care out there, Charles. I have always thought about you as if you were the son I never had.”
Breaking away, Charlie could see that Doc had a tear rolling down his cheek as he said good-bye to the girls and left.
Charlie looked over at Lori and said, “Well, are you two ready to get out of here?”
Out on the street they found the black suburban waiting for them, just as Doc said. Virginia was on edge; there was no way of knowing what kind of reception they would get from anyone they might run into. The first person they saw came up and gave Lori and Virginia a big hug and said thank you. Others watched with cautious eyes at the freaks, or at least Virginia thought that was what they were thinking. She had no way of really knowing, short of asking; but that didn’t seem like a good idea right now.
Once she was in the suburban with Zeus and Perseus sitting on the bench seat next to her, Virginia could see a thick smoke. Looking around she could see where the smoke was coming from. She vaguely remembered the houses exploding, but that wasn’t the source. There was a mound of bodies in the middle of the street. It was burning. The smoke was thick and black, carrying the stench of burning flesh with it. They drove past it as if it was some kind of road construction placed in their way to hinder the trip.
Reaching Charlie’s street, they drove down a few houses to where there were a few other cars and a new Winnebago. After pulling into the little room that was left in the driveway, they noticed waiting on the porch for them were Jermaine, Boo and Zoe.
“Everything is all loaded and ready for us to hit the road,” Jermaine said as he hugged Lori, and then Virginia.
“You are all coming?” Virginia asked.
“Everyone but me, child,” replied Zoe. “I am getting too old to go off wandering the open road, especially now that my nephew and great nephew are gone.”
“Boo, thank you for coming to say goodbye. I was planning on going back over to the school after we got settled in here later to find you,” Charlie said.
Boo shook his head and laughed at Charlie, “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to you. Someone has to come and keep you from going off on halfcocked missions to save damsels in distress.” Then turning to Lori, he added, “I have been looking over Bob’s map. I like the way he thinks; I agree with his route until you get down by Atlanta. We may want to avoid the bigger cities all together.”
“We can all talk about that on the road,” Lori replied. “When are we planning on leaving?”
“We have everything loaded and ready to go. Boo and I took everything out of the old RV and loaded it into the new one,” Jermaine replied.
“It’s nine-thirty, if we leave now we should be in Clarksville by two, two-thirty. There are a few places that I would like to pick up some more ammo, if they still have it,” Boo stated.
Zoe hugged Virginia and Lori goodbye, and then hugged Jermaine, “I am trusting you; make sure my girls are always safe.”
Jermaine nodded.
Charlie drove the suburban out, leading the new RV and
Boo in a Ford four-by-four. Virginia wasn’t sure where he had found it, nor did she know where they had found a new RV. Their brief stay at the school had taught Virginia that she could love and care for people again. Still, it was nice to be back on the road following Bob’s map. It made her feel as if Bob was still with them, and, in a way, he was still with her in the actions that she took every day. Zoe had given her a note from Doc, for Lori and her to read once they were on the road, far from Rivers Crossing. Along with the note Doc had given them meds for Virginia and Boo to take until they were finished healing. Having taken a few pain pills just before they said their final goodbyes, Virginia could feel sleep closing in on her fast. The doubts that she had over the new Lori were no longer as strong as before. Even the lads didn’t seem to act as if Lori could possibly be a danger to anyone. The last thing Virginia would see before drifting off to sleep was the vast, empty, white landscape.
“Looks like Virginia and the dogs are out like a light,” Jermaine said.
“Good, I think she needed it. She wasn’t sleeping very well in the library, at all,” Lori replied. After a few minutes of silence, she added, “Jermaine, can I ask why you would want to keep traveling with us after…”
“I think we all knew something was different about you all along. There is definitely something different about Virginia,” he replied, laughing.
“I know, but now that you know what the different part is about me… that doesn’t worry you?”
“Back there, that old Doctor said that you were the future of the human race; sort of a hybrid-human, or that you carried the cure. Either way, I am part of this group and not that one.” Jermaine replied, looking out over the white fields. “Besides, I think someone has a crush on you, and I would be remiss in my duties if I wasn’t here to chaperone”
“Crush on me? How old do you think I am?”
“You can have a crush at any age,” Jermaine replied. “I am going to catch some shut eye. Wake me up when you want me to drive.”
“I think I can make it into Clarksville; you can take it from there.”
The thought had never occurred to Lori that Charlie had a crush on her. He was nice, and even nicer to her, bringing those stupid, ugly, fake roses that he had picked for her. Okay, she admitted to herself, she didn’t think they were quite so ugly or so stupid when she thought more about it. It was a nice thought, and it made her feel special in a way that she had never known before. In a small way she could see herself with Charlie; even if you discounted the fact that pickings were slim in the world that they lived in now. Only time will tell, she thought to herself, as she proceeded to drive down the highway.
Hybrid Z
Chapter 1
The RV shifted to the right as the tires dug deep into the snow, finding the ice below. Walter behaved as though he didn’t notice while the others braced.
“Sorry, was picking up a little too much speed for the conditions.” Jermaine said looking into the rearview mirror at Lori and Walter. Sitting at the table they offered no reply.
After cleaning the blood off Walter and sitting him down at the table, Lori sat opposite and looked at him, lost in thought. What little talk there was between Virginia and Jermaine, Lori did not notice. There were changes going on inside of her and she felt Walter was the only person who could supply the answers she needed.
“Why were you covered in blood?” Lori asked. Crinkling his nose, Walter shifted his gaze from Lori to the table without answering.
“Walter, I need to know why you looked like you took a bath in blood when we found you walking alongside the road. How did you get so far outside of Rivers Crossing?”
Walter shifted his eyes to the window and then back down to the table. “Walter,” Lori repeated, “we need to know what is happening with you.”
“What is happening to me?” Walter asked as his eyes rose to meet Lori’s.
“Yes, what is happening? What are you going through?” Lori asked, prodding for more information.
“You want to know what is happening to you, Lori. You don’t care what is happening to me.” Walter replied.
Lori was speechless for a few minutes. Do I care what is happening to the boy or am I worrying about myself? She wondered.
“You don’t know what is going on with me but you sure have a good idea. You know because you are starting to feel it too.” Walter said.
“Feel what, Walter? Tell me what it is you are feeling.”
Lowering his voice to where he felt only Lori could hear him, Walter replied, “You don’t feel like we shouldn’t be here? That we are in this camper with our food?”
“Yes, there is plenty of food for the trip to Clarksville and I hope there is more food there.” Lori replied.
“That isn’t the food I am talking about. That food tastes bland or has no taste at all for me. I want fresh food…food that has been taken down recently…It’s becoming harder to turn away.”
Lori found it hard to believe that those words were coming from such a small boy; a boy they took in and saved at the drive-in theater only a few months ago. “You couldn’t possibly mean that….”
“You feel it too! You know you feel it so don’t lie.” Walter yelled at Lori, then lowered his eyes to the table.
“Maybe sometimes…but we have to fight that until we figure out how to cure ourselves or…find a middle ground. We don’t want to hurt our friends.” Lori replied.
“We are new and they are old, don’t you feel it?” Walter asked.
Lori shook her head, not wanting to believe anything like that. “Do you want to hurt our friends, Walter?”
Walter looked back out the window at the empty white fields passing by. “No, I do not want to hurt our friends…Sometimes it doesn’t matter what I want, Lori.”
Pushing back into cushion on the bench, Lori tried to become part of the fabric as her face went blank. She nervously tapped on the table as her eyelids became heavy and her breath involuntarily began to quicken. Her chest heaved and fell with shallow breaths. “We have talked enough for today. You look tired. Why don’t you go in the back and take a nap, get some rest? I think we are getting closer to Clarksville and we can talk more about this when we get there.”
Walter nodded in agreement, rose up from the table and gave Lori a hug, catching her off guard. She nearly jumped up defensively. Once he was in the back, looking down at the lads, Lori instructed Zeus, “Guard.” She pointed toward the back. Zeus walked down to the narrow corridor leading passed the bathroom and laid down staring towards the place where Walter was.
***
Moving up the center of the street as silently as she could, she maintained a watchful eye on every doorway and cross street. The heat had come early this year and Megan found it to be unbearable to say the least. The stench from the rotting corpses all over town just added to her misery. At the corner of Main and second street, Megan came to a stop and focused on her feet for a few minutes then lifted her head slowly toward the old laundromat. More specifically her eyes lingered on the windows of the apartment above. Megan didn’t think anyone would call the apartment nice by any stretch of the imagination. Affordable was about the only word that would describe the worn-out old place. Part of her wanted to go in one more time and look around. Not that she would ever miss it. The apartment was a means to an end, having left home on her eighteenth birthday without worrying about money or food. She wound up working part time jobs with up to five roommates in a one-bedroom apartment. Any of them would be a welcome sight right now if they hadn’t all turned soon after the outbreak. Looking down at the flaming red bite-mark on her arm, Megan could only wonder how long before she turned as well. The others seem to change within a day if memory served her correctly. Time had little meaning anymore; the days all ran together into one jumbled mess. They were all the same-looking for food or supplies during the day and hiding in an empty dumpster she found behind the Food Mart by night. It was the only one that had a medal lid which made it seem more
secure.
Kevin Wallace, her sometimes roommate, had bitten her when she dozed off. He was the last to turn and Megan barely got free of his grasp. Was he still in the apartment locked in the bathroom where she had left him? That was a week back, wasn’t it? The bite marks were still there, finally beginning to scab over. Her reflection in the old, small appliance shop window made it possible to see the bite on her cheek. It was deeper than the others but scabbing over just as well.
The sun was starting to set and Megan had spent far too much time standing in the same place. Heading down Second Street for the Food Mart and the safety of her dumpster, Megan could have sworn she sensed movement behind her. She stopped and surveyed but all was still aside from the swarms of flies feeding on the bodies in the street. Tomorrow morning, she would do a better search of that area, just to be safe. Tonight, she would button herself into the metal dumpster and endure the sweltering Georgia night.
Chapter 2
Six inches of snow covered a thin layer of ice, making forward progress hazardous and slow. The occasional drift crossing the road brought the trip to a near halt but slowly those too became visions in the rear-view mirror. Charlie kept the Suburban in the middle of the road, trying to judge by trees or signs lining the highway. Jermaine fought the RV to stay within the tracks Charlie left, while Boo brought up the rear.
Overwhelmed by the endless white surroundings, Charlie was becoming mesmerized by the snow glistening in afternoon sun. He reached down and turned on the radio, only to be greeted by static. Nine hours on a trip that should have taken three on dry roads was taking a toll. Fighting to stay awake while struggling to stay focused on the white path ahead caused him to sometimes see things that weren’t there; someone walking alongside the highway, a dog standing in the road or anything else his mind could dredge up from the past. Charlie knew that if they did not reach Clarksville soon, they would need to find a place to stop for the night. He was tired, and there was no way he wanted to deal with the surprises that the dark would bring. They still had Lori who could take a turn driving. But that gave only one of them a rest, leaving the others to suffer on as best as they could.