Joe sat up so he could see better. “Call him softly so we don’t wake the others. It’s not quite morning yet. I want to see if he will come to you,” whispered Harper.
Tomas nodded. “Erik,” he said quietly. The dog labored to his feet and wobbled for a moment before taking a slow step toward them.
“Good dog,” said Harper in a low voice. “You can do it.” Erik’s floppy ears twitched and he took another tentative step toward them.
“Come on, Erik,” said Tomas. The boy smiled for the first time since they found him in the van. Harper grinned and put her arm around his narrow shoulders. He stiffened for a moment, before relaxing against her.
“He looks like he has a bit of a limp in his front leg, but he is doing really well,” whispered Joe. He was also smiling, the tension in his jaw gone. They all watched as Erik labored to close the distance between him and Tomas. He finally made it and flopped down at Tomas’ feet, rolling over to expose his belly for a scratch. Tomas happily obliged.
“Are you hungry?” asked Harper. Tomas nodded so Harper unzipped her bag and pulled out one of the last two chocolate bars, and the bottle of water. She unwrapped the bar and broke it in half, before giving one half to Tomas and putting the rest back in her bag. Erik looked at the chocolate bar with a ravenous look in his eyes. His nose twitched and strained toward the food.
“Sorry, boy. You can’t have chocolate. It’s no good for dogs. Let me get you some chips.” Harper went to Sara’s backpack and unzipped it quietly, before taking out a packet of crisps. She could see the Ruger at the bottom of the bag and she closed the backpack, looking over her shoulder to see if Lukas had woken. He was still asleep, his mouth open, snoring. She walked back to Tomas and opened the bag. It made a loud crackling sound and Sara shot up like a bolt. Her head whipped around as she searched for the source of the noise.
“I’m sorry, guys!” said Harper in a low voice. “Erik came around. I wanted to give him something to eat.”
“That’s okay,” replied Sara, yawning and rubbing her eyes. She reached for her glasses which had been folded carefully next to her head and slid them on. Even after surviving a devastating pandemic and spending the night on the concrete skeleton of a deserted hospital, Sara looked gorgeous.
“Is Lukas still asleep?” asked Joe, nodding his head at the bearded Slovak who continued to snore loudly. No one bothered to answer his question. “We’ll need to wake him up soon. It looks like the sun is almost up.”
Harper realized Joe was right. She was drawn instantly to the horizon where the silver had turned to gold and a bright, warming, life-giving light was bursting forth.
“It’s the first morning since Wolf died,” she said. “It’s the first day since this madness began. But here it is. Proof that the world is still turning, the earth still rotates around the sun…” her voice trailed off and her throat felt suddenly dry. She dropped to a crouch and pulled out her water bottle, taking a small sip. She offered the water to Tomas.
“Thank you,” he said softly, taking a sip.
Harper realized she still had the crisps in her hand. She took a handful and put them on the ground. Erik came over eagerly and gobbled them up. He raised his head and looked hopefully at the crisp packet.
“I’m sorry, boy. I think we should save some. We don’t have a lot of food left.”
“It’s okay,” said Sara. “Just give them to him. We’ll be at the processing center in a couple of hours.
“Are you sure? I feel like we should save our food, just in case,” replied Harper.
“I think it’s fine,” said Sara, shrugging.
Harper emptied the rest of the crisps onto the concrete roof and Erik made short work of them. “Tomas, will you come and cup your hands like before so we can give Erik a drink?” asked Harper.
Erik came eagerly and Harper poured a small amount of water which the dog lapped up, making the boy giggle. Harper tousled Tomas’ hair. “Thanks. Time to wake Lukas.”
She straightened and felt Joe and Sara staring at her as she walked purposefully over to Lukas. He was flat on his back and the smell of whiskey permeated the air around him. Harper moved closer, stepping around his heavy black boots, suddenly nervous, although she couldn’t explain why. She reached out her hand to shake him awake when his eyes suddenly pinged open. Harper startled and pulled her arm away.
Lukas was on his feet in an instant. He stared at Harper intently and she held his gaze. His mouth creased into a smile and he smoothed down his clothes. His eyes were bloodshot and she could see the heavy red rim of a hangover as he looked Harper up and down. “Good morning,” Lukas finally said.
He crossed over to the edge of the concrete roof and stared at the city. For a long time no one said anything. The morning birds were beginning to sing and crickets chirped in the forest nearby. A green oasis ringed them, but fires had gutted the rest of the city.
Lukas drew back his leg and kicked the empty glass whiskey bottle over the edge. It flew up in the air and then dropped in a wide arc. A few moments later they heard it smash on the ground below.
“The city is gone,” said Lukas, his back to them. “The city is burned. The people are dead. And I have the hangover from hell.”
Harper looked at Joe and Sara. None of them knew what to make of the reclusive teacher. Joe raised his shoulders in a shrug and Sara pursed her lips. “Lukas, we should go soon,” said Harper. “You said you got some food from the guard’s office, how about we eat it now and then we can go back to the scooters and get out of here?”
“Yes, sure,” replied Lukas. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small tin and something wrapped in foil. He spun around and passed the items wordlessly to Harper.
“Thanks,” she said, looking at the meager items. She unwrapped the foil package and found flatbread inside. The tin looked like tuna. “Any takers?” she asked, holding them out. The others shook their heads and, even though her stomach was growling, Harper passed the food back to Lukas.
“If I eat this I will be sick,” he said, the sweet smell of whiskey still strong. He belched and Harper turned away, her eyebrows knotting. From the corner of her eye she saw Lukas pulling his arm back to throw the food over the side.
“At least give it to Erik,” suggested Harper. Lukas passed the food back and she emptied the tin onto the bread, holding her breath to avoid the pungent aroma, and called the dog over. He ate it eagerly and licked her hand, leaving a fishy residue. “Erik, you goose. Go away,” said Harper with a smile, ruffling the dog’s fur.
“Right, let’s go,” said Joe. He inspected his arm before standing.
“How’s it feeling?” asked Harper.
“It’s not too bad,” he replied. “They cut me when we tried to get away from them, but they didn’t hurt me badly. It seems to be healing pretty well, all things considered.”
Harper slung her backpack over her shoulder. Her hair and face felt grimy and smelled of smoke. She was exhausted, hungry, and longing for a hot shower. She scraped her hair back from her face and twisted it in a knot at the bottom of her neck. Then she offered her hand to Tomas.
They walked carefully down the concrete stairs, the bright graffiti on the walls illuminated by the sun’s rays as it gained in intensity.
“There’s someone laying over there,” whispered Sara from behind. Harper looked toward the far wall. Broken glass littered the ground and low plants were creeping through the space. A pile of blankets and a roller bag on wheels were askew on the ground. A pitiful pair of scuffed, white sneakers were poking out from the end of the blanket. Harper watched for a moment, but the person didn’t move.
“They’re dead,” she whispered. “What a sad end to a sad life.”
They reached the ground floor and walked across filthy concrete before they stepped onto the scrubby grass outside. Once out of the enormous, cold concrete skeleton, the surrounding forest was vivid and loud with life. Harper took a moment to appreciate the sounds.
“I wi
ll show you the way back to the scooters,” offered Lukas, stepping to the front of the group.
“Let’s get some water quickly,” said Harper. “I’m almost out.”
Joe sighed loudly but nodded. Sara passed her bottle to Harper. “Can you fill mine up too, please?”
Lukas led the way through the overgrown forest to the guard’s office, while the others waited by the track. Erik barked as she walked away, and Harper looked over her shoulder and smiled at the sweet dog, catching Joe’s eye. As they clambered over a rusted, discarded steel beam, Harper asked, “Is it far?”
“No, not far.”
They walked on in silence for a few moments. “How are you…” she paused, searching for the right word. “How are you doing?”
Lukas laughed and turned his face to her. “Yesterday was probably the worst day of my life, but it can only get better, right?”
“I’m sorry,” Harper replied, staring at the ground.
After a beat, Lukas said, “Look, there is it. Let us hurry up so we can leave.”
The guard’s office was a small portable building and the front door creaked when Lukas pushed it open. Harper gasped as she stepped inside. A man in a pale blue shirt and well-fitting dark trousers was lying on the floor, frozen in the macabre scene of his death. He had dried blood under his nose and he was clutching his head with both hands.
“I feel like I’ll never get used to seeing all these dead people,” Lukas said. “You asked me how I am. How are you dealing with it all?” Their eyes locked across the dead guard’s body.
“I don’t really know,” said Harper, her throat suddenly hoarse. He stared at her intently and she suddenly wanted to change the subject. He was so hard to get a handle on. “You were a teacher, right?”
“Yes,” he said.
“What grade did you teach?”
“Just young kids,” he replied. “Little ones, like Tomas.”
She opened her mouth to ask him another question when the absurdity of the casual conversation, with a dead man lying between them, struck her. “Never mind,” she muttered. She made her way to the sink and filled up both bottles, then took a long drink from one before refilling it. “I’m sorry for everything you’ve lost,” she said, staring at the cracked sink.
There was silence behind her.
Finally, she heard Lukas’ voice, heavy with emotion. “Thank you.”
They made their way back to the others without talking, both lost in their own darkness.
Chapter Nineteen
Lukas led the way down a winding trail until they reached the scooters. The early morning sunlight filtered softly through the spruce trees, and the grass at their feet was long and waved in the cool, ash-tinged breeze. A metal fence, partially collapsed by thrill seekers and junkies traipsing over it to get to the hospital, bore a sprawl of graffiti. Harper leaned down and inspected a double cross that had been painted in bright blue paint.
“What is this symbol? It was tattooed on the woman’s wrist back at the shopping complex.” Harper pondered the fact she was referring to the woman as from the shopping complex, and not the sister of the man burned to death.
Lukas moved closer. “It is from the coat of arms and the flag. But nationalistic far-right groups like the Slovak Nation Brotherhood use it.”
“Do you think this was some kind of bioweapon?” asked Sara. She rubbed one eye with her finger, reaching behind the lens of her glasses before pushing them back up her nose. “That’s what those people said.”
Lukas looked at her, his eyebrows knotting above his eyes. “Who knows? It might be. All I know for certain is those people are looking for any excuse to spread their hate and recruit others to their ideology.”
Joe coughed. Harper looked up and he was already on his scooter. She couldn’t help but smile at him. “You want to get going?”
“I do.”
They got on their scooters, Tomas behind Joe and Erik in Sara’s arms again. “The track will be too bumpy for the dog to be able to keep balance at your feet,” Lukas had said to them. They rode through the forest over the uneven track and soon reached the main road. Yesterday, it had been lined by pretty cream-colored homes with neat front gardens. Today, isolated fires continued to smolder and the homes had been burned out. The horizon was blanketed with a thick layer of gray smoke.
Lukas led them about a mile down the road before turning right, away from the main highway and toward the green, spruce-lined forest. The burning homes became scarcer and finally they were riding on an unsealed back road surrounded by forest. The wheels bounced uncomfortably over the uneven surface, and Harper felt Sara’s grip tighten around her waist, Erik squashed between them. He let out an indignant yelp and Harper glimpsed his ears flapping in her rear-view mirror. The sight made her smile.
Up ahead, they saw a small, single story home with a tiny green letterbox atop a wooden stake. It was surrounded on three sides by forest and was untouched by the fires. The home flew past them in a blur and they had ridden about a hundred feet when Harper heard something faint over the sound of the engine. She looked in her mirror and noticed a woman in a pale yellow dress in the middle of the road. She was waving frantically, both arms raised about her head.
“Stop!” she yelled, before braking and bringing the pink scooter to a stop. She twisted around and looked over her shoulder. She hadn’t imagined it. There was a woman standing in the middle of the dirt road, staring at her. Harper turned the bike around and rode toward the woman. She could hear Joe shouting from behind them, “Stop, she could be dangerous!”
“Don’t stop,” yelled Sara over the sound of the engine. They were close enough to see the fear and anxiety on the woman’s face now. It was clear she wasn’t a threat. Harper braked and stopped a few feet from the woman. She climbed off the scooter and Sara slid off behind her, placing Erik gently on the ground. The beagle padded up to the woman and sniffed her feet, letting out a low bark in greeting.
The woman’s face was tear-stained, her eyes red. She started speaking rapidly in Slovak. “Slow down, please,” said Harper. She put her hands out in what she hoped what a calming gesture. “We don’t speak Slovak.”
“I speak English,” said the woman. Her dark brown hair, streaked with gray, was similar in color and texture to Harper’s own, and hung loose and greasy around her shoulders. She shook her head, flicking the strands from her face. “I need help. Please. My sister is inside… Please.” She looked at them with a hopeless, desolate expression.
“Show us,” Harper said, closing the distance between them and putting her hand gently on the woman’s arm. She could hear the other scooters approaching, and she turned and raised her arm, before continuing with the woman to the house. Sara and Erik hurried alongside her. They passed the green letterbox and reached the front door which had been left ajar.
“I came running when I heard the engines,” said the woman. “I thought we might be the last two people left alive in the world.” The woman moved inside and waited for them in the dim room beyond. “Quickly, please.”
It was dark inside, and cool air wrap itself around Harper. She took in the living room with one quick glance. Framed pictures lined the walls, which were covered in old-fashioned wallpaper; a collage of pale green and cream stripes and faded memories. A large ornate grandfather clock ticked loudly in the corner. The room smelled musty and there was something else, something she couldn’t place.
“She is in here, please.” They followed the woman down a wide hall with a soft, blue runner and reached another open door. Harper followed the woman into the room. There was a woman lying on the bed. Her face was deathly pale and a thin white sheet covered her. She didn’t look up when they entered the room.
“Is she sick?” asked Sara.
“She does not have what killed everyone else. She has… hurt herself.”
Sara pulled back the sheet and revealed the bloodstained bandages that had been tied to the woman’s wrists. “When did she do this?” asked
Sara.
“Last night. She is my sister. She watched her children die from this thing that has taken everyone. She called me and I rode my bicycle—I do not drive—only to find her barely alive…” the woman’s voice hitched and she sucked in a deep breath.
“Hello!” called Joe’s voice from the front door.
“I’ll let them know we’re back here,” said Harper quietly. Her heart was racing. She excused herself and walked back up the hall. Erik padded behind her and she petted him. “Good dog.” Harper reached the living room and found the others waiting by the front door.
“Come in, there’s a woman here who needs our help. Sara is just checking her out now,” she said to them, ignoring the gnawing feeling in her chest.
“We do not have time for this,” said Lukas. He rubbed his temples with one hand and glanced at the grandfather clock. “It is already six thirty in the morning.” Joe stood beside him, his face unreadable. Harper knew he was anxious to leave, but he had the tact to wait until he knew what was going on before he mentioned it.
Harper peered beyond Lukas out the open front door and searched for a car. There was no vehicle in the driveway. “We won’t be long. Take Tomas into the kitchen and give him a drink and some food. It looks like it’s through that way.” She pointed in the opposite direction down the hallway where wooden cabinets and the edge of a chipped, yellow laminate countertop were visible.
Harper got halfway up the hallway before she heard Joe curse and call her name. When she arrived at the kitchen, she found Joe with his arm around Tomas, pulling his face close to spare him from seeing something. Lukas was leaning against the countertop, a lit cigarette between his lips. He pulled deeply on the cigarette and blew a thin stream of smoke at the ceiling, watching Harper.
Death City: A Post-Apocalyptic Adventure (Dark Resistance Book 1) Page 13