Billy pushed April back towards me as he moved towards Michelle. She was crying hysterically on the ground. Beside her was the syringe that she had pulled from her chest. It was now empty, but you could still see the remnants of sticky blood inside it.
Billy stood up and looked at the syringe and then back towards Michelle and then towards me. He rushed up to me, knocking his brother out of my arms. “Did she get any on your skin?” He asked as he started pulling at my jacket. I could hear Jack yelling at his brother to let me go. “Did she get any in your eyes or mouth?” he asked in a panic. I shook my head frantically.
He released me and pushed me back towards Jack, who immediately wrapped his arms around me right again.
“What’s going on in here,” I heard Commander Tate say from the doorway. We all looked towards him.
He looked past us to his daughter lying on the ground. Would he even believe us if we said she attacked first? Before I could open my mouth to defend myself, Billy spoke first. He moved towards the commander and placed the syringe carefully in his hand.
“I believe Michelle attempted to inject Summer with one of our samples of the Infecteds’ blood.”
“She would have been successful if I hadn’t gotten here in time,” Jack piped in. “She lured Summer out here, pretending to leave a note from me. When I arrived, she had the syringe aimed at my wife’s throat. If it weren’t for the distraction, I gave Summer, Michelle would have succeeded. Instead, she landed on her own weapon.”
Jack pushed me towards my sister, who immediately took me in her arms. I was shaking so badly; I couldn’t calm down.
Jack whispered to the commander, but I was close enough to hear what he said. “You have let her get away with far more than anyone else here ever would. She attempted to infect one of our own. She’s now infected herself. She is a liability that this village can no longer afford. A liability that you can no longer afford.”
I watched as the commander looked over at Michelle once again and I saw as coldness seemed to seep into his soul. Motioning with his hand, he called forward two soldiers that I hadn’t even realized had been standing outside, waiting for instructions.
“Take her to the barracks,” he ordered them.
“Dad,” Michelle pleaded like a little child.
“I’ll deal with her in the morning,” he said and then he left without looking back.
Chapter Thirty-One
Nearly a month had passed since the incident with Michelle. You would think with the deadline looming over my head, that I’d be more concerned with what would happen next to me. But all I could think about was Michelle. I shouldn’t have felt bad for her. She tried to infect me, she got what she deserved. At least that was the way April saw it, and Billy and even Jack. Jack had always been more of the forgiving type, but he couldn’t forgive this.
Jack wanted me to let it go, to forget about her. He told me repeatedly that Michelle didn’t deserve my pity. Maybe she didn’t, but I couldn’t just shut that part of myself off. The aftermath of the attack had almost been as disconcerting as the attack itself. Even after all this time, I still felt the shock of it. I knew Michelle was unhinged, but I had no idea how warped her mind had gotten.
Jack had made me come to the infirmary that night, even though I had no injuries beyond a few scrapes and bruises. Billy was on his side with this. He said that I was in shock. He was right, of course. My body didn’t stop shaking until I’d been given a warm blanket and a sedative. Billy hadn’t even asked permission to give me the sedative. He said if the commander had anything to say about it, he’d just remind him that it was his own fault this happened.
Billy was equally as furious as April. I thought that maybe he’d been furious on Jack’s behalf. But then he’d sat with me for a full hour, while he made April and Jack deal with the commander and the Michelle problem. He’d talked to me more that night than any other. The way he talked to me reminded me a lot of Noah. That ache in my chest, that I constantly carried for my brother, lessened just a bit that night. I realized that, although his marriage to my sister was somewhat of a sham, he still saw me as his sister.
My sister had told me that, while they were having sex, it was only a physical thing, a way to burn off pent up energy. It surprised me seeing as she’d only ever slept with Andy, and she’d never seemed like the casual sex kind of person. But I wouldn’t judge her. If having sex with him, made her a little less cranky, and it did, then who was I to take that from her.
By the time Jack and April came back, I’d already passed out from the medication. Billy made April go home to their cabin with him, but Jack stayed by my side all night.
When the morning came, I was eager to get up and move on from everything. I’d tried to get out of bed to head to the dining hall, but Jack tried to stop me. It took a lot of prying but when I finally got the answer out of him, I insisted we go.
They were holding Michelle’s trial that morning. Justice moves swiftly in the apocalypse. After the trauma I’d experienced, I really shouldn’t have wanted to go. My body shook at the thought of being in the same room as Michelle, but it wasn’t for the reasons that Jack thought. He thought it would bring back the trauma of the attack. What I was more terrified of was seeing the beginning of the change in her. The change happened differently for everyone. There was no way for us to be able to predict just how much of her old self she’d still hold onto. That was the scariest part of the disease. You could think you had time to say goodbye to the ones you loved, but that could be the mistake that infected the rest of your family. It was why the virus spread so rapidly.
When we arrived at the dining hall, the place was packed. No one was eating, though the food was out, getting cold. Jack quickly spied Billy and April and brought me over towards them. April wasn’t at all pleased about my being there, but she didn’t look surprised either.
The whole place was eerily quiet, with only a few whispered conversations spreading out as I walked past people. I knew, despite my isolation from the other villagers, that they all knew what happened the night prior. It was another quirk of living in a small community, though I’m sure April also made sure to spread the news thoroughly. She had shouted as much before leaving me for the night in the hospital. She said everyone needed to know, that way the commander couldn’t try to cover it up.
The door to the dining hall opened once more and Jack instantly wrapped his arm around me as Michelle was led into the room. My body shook when I saw her. Not because I noticed the change happening, but because of how she was led into the room. She had short chains bound to her wrists. They were connected to her ankles. The chains were so short for her, that she had to hunch over just to walk. Around her face was what looked to be an old hockey helmet that had a complete cage over the front. The helmet was duct taped around her neck so that she couldn’t remove it, not that the chain had enough give for that anyway.
I felt sick. She saw me and I stiffened in Jack’s arms. She looked right into my eyes, and I saw her truly defeated for the first time. The hate she wore on her face yesterday was completely gone. Even when she saw Jack’s arm wrapped tightly around me, she didn’t react. The pain in her eyes was oh so human. She was still in there.
I wanted to tell Jack that I changed my mind, that I couldn’t be there, but I knew I couldn’t leave. The room temperature seemed to have dropped several degrees. As I looked around, I saw that the villagers were filled with rage. The commander, with a motion of his head, instructed the guards to chain her to a metal chair.
The way he looked at his own daughter, was with cold disinterest. For the first time, since meeting Michelle, I finally understood why she’d been so obsessed with Jack. Yes, Jack was easy on the eyes, and sweet and funny. But her obsession with him felt way over the top. But compared to her father and the way he treated her, even on a good day, how could she not want someone like Jack. Had she ever known love? My heart broke for her as a tear strolled down my cheek.
“You’re sa
fe,” Jack whispered in my ear as he wiped away my tear. I couldn’t bother telling him he didn’t understand. My emotions were too raw at the moment.
“As I’m sure you are now all well aware,” the commander began, glaring at my sister for only a moment, “Michelle Tate attacked one of our own last night,” he looked towards me with what felt like a forced look of compassion. “In attempting to infect Summer Evans…”
“Wilson,” Jack piped up with strained irritation in his voice. It took me a moment to realize why he was so upset. I was still getting used to having a new last name.
“My apologies,” the commander replied. “In attempting to infect Summer Wilson, she ended up with the vile of infected blood being injected into her own body. Not only has she attacked one of our own, she is now also in the transitional phase of becoming like one of the beasts we seek to defend ourselves from.”
“We can’t let her live,” one of the villagers blurted out as he stood up. “She’s a threat to us all.” Shouts of agreement rang through the hall.
“Well, hang on now Clay,” Commander Tate said. “I think, in your anger, you might be missing the golden opportunity we’ve been presented with.”
Prior to that statement, Michelle had been looking through the crowd with blatant disinterest. But now she was looking at her own father with fear.
“We have the rare opportunity to experiment with a newly infected. Think of the knowledge we could gain from her.”
“Are you kidding me,” April blurted out. Billy was right by her side, and I thought perhaps he was going to attempt to reign her in, but instead he held her hand for support. “Did you learn nothing from the infected you let into the community, from the two infected that were at the gate. If it weren’t for my sister,” she said pointing towards me. “The whole lot of you might be dead or infected. And now you want to let her would-be killer stay in the village and threaten the lives of everyone here.”
The commander’s jaw clenched, and I noticed the vein in his neck was pulsing. April’s little impassioned speech stirred up the crowd. They were now chanting and calling for Michelle’s death.
“Enough!” Commander Tate bellowed after nearly five minutes of listening to the shouting crowd. “This is not a democracy.”
“You’ve already made that abundantly clear,” April spat back angrily, from the seat she’d once again taken up. “You have made some pretty questionable choices as of late. Maybe you’re not the right one to be deciding what happens here.” April paused to give the crowd a chance to digest her words. There was a steady humming through the villagers. I heard some people beginning to question whether the commander was fit to lead at all. He heard it too. And he looked afraid.
“Maybe you should leave this decision to a vote,” April added.
“What are we to vote on then?” the commander asked. “Execution or experimentation?”
“Hell no,” April said. “That last option isn’t an option at all. “Execution or banishment.”
“We can’t let her leave…then she can infect others,” one of the other villagers argued.
The commander rubbed his forehead. I noticed that there were bags under his eyes, and they looked a little blood shot. He probably hadn’t slept all night. It was probably the closest he got to showing affection for his only daughter.
“There will be no vote,” the commander finally said above the crowd. His voice scratchy and worn. “I am the commander of this village. It falls on me to make this decision.” The fatigue in his voice was evident. “Summer is alive and well. Michelle failed in her attempt to turn her.” April went to shout again but the commander continued before she could speak. “But I will accept that we do not have the resources to maintain the security of our community and experiment on her…as precious an opportunity as this is. I have never ordered the death of one of our own and I’m not going to start now. She will be exiled…immediately.”
No more words were spoken as the commander looked to Michelle’s guards and motioned with his head for her to be removed.
I stood outside the gate, a month after Michelle’s trial, remembering the defeated look in Michelle’s eyes as her father tossed the key across the draw bridge and then motioned for the soldiers to raise the gate.
Michelle remained quiet for a long time as the gate slowly raised. A single tear rolled from her eyes before her whole demeanor changed. I watched a slow burning ember of rage built until she glared back at her father. “You will regret this,” she yelled out as loud as she could before the drawbridge closed.
A hand landed on my shoulder, and I jumped, stunned out of my memory. Jack was behind me, and he quickly pulled me into his arms. “Please, Summer,” he pleaded with me, just like he always did when he found me staring at the gate. “Just let it go. We’re safe,” he promised.
“No, we’re not,” I whispered. “The deadline is in one week. He tried to smile but even he could not hide his fear. My nightmares were now a constant again. I woke several times a night from them. I always wanted to love someone as much as I loved Jack, but now I was terrified I might lose him to this horrible world.
He ran his hands through my hair, in an attempt to calm me. “We will be okay. We’ve had time to plan and prepare. That’s far more than most people have ever had.” He was right about that. Most people were lucky if they had a few hours before they had to bug out of their safe location. We had been planning for months. Our supplies were fully stocked, our course laid out. Heck, Billy even managed to ‘lose’ a vehicle. He’d stashed it in safe location after declaring the motor broke down.
With the thaw, scavenge runs had begun again. They never strayed too far from the compound, not after losing two teams to the infected. It didn’t matter how far they ventured. Every time Jack was sent out, my heart felt like it was trapped in a vice waiting for his return.
Jack led me away from the gate, towards our favourite spot. He always brought me there when I needed a chance to breathe again. He sat me down on a blanket he’d brought with him. The snow had melted in this area, due mostly to the heat of the hot spring. He held me close as I rested my head on his chest. “Please don’t go back out there without me,” I pleaded. He was scheduled to go out scavenging again tomorrow.
“I don’t have a choice. The commander ordered me to go. You know I have to keep following his orders... at least until…”
“Next week,” I sighed.
While there were still grumblings about the commander’s fitness to lead, no massive coup had occurred, much to April’s disappointment.
“What if we didn’t wait? What if we left tomorrow morning at dawn? It’s only one week. Please Jack. You don’t understand what it feels like every time you go. I feel like I can’t breathe until you’re back,” I blew out an exhausted breath. “I never understood how scared April felt every time Andy left to scavenge…now I do. It’s the most helpless feeling in the world.”
He planted a soft kiss on my forehead and pulled me in closer. “You know I’d say yes in a heartbeat if I thought it was the right choice to make. The frost is still covering the ground and the nights are still freezing cold. I’m not willing to risk your health and safety. We will be better off giving spring an extra week to break through.”
“So, you’re a weatherman now?” I tried to tease, but I was too sad to even laugh at my poor joke. “You don’t know that it will be any warmer next week than it is today?”
“You’re right. But I want to keep you safe behind these walls for as long as I possibly can.”
“It doesn’t feel safe anymore,” I replied softly.
The last month had only increased my paranoia about the security of our village. I now saw the place as April first had. It was nearly as dangerous as being on the outside. Maybe even more so, given how complacent people were behind their tall walls and inky moat.
Jack stood up and offered me his hand. “Come on. We promised Sofia we’d bring the kids dinner.” I sighed as I let him help me up off th
e ground. He gathered up the now slightly damp blanket and we headed back towards the main part of the village.
Sofia was working in the kitchen’s tonight with April and poor Kaia had burned her hand while trying to start a fire the other night. Charlie had felt awful because he had been complaining that he was too cold to wait for their grandmother to come home to start the fire. He’d been so racked with guilt that he’d refused to leave his sister’s side in the clinic. Billy had to squish too beds into one curtained room so they could sleep side by side.
Thankfully, the burn appeared to be healing nicely but they were monitoring Kaia for any signs of infection before they would be comfortable releasing her. She probably still had another day in the clinic, though she’d told me she’d been dying of boredom there.
When we’d entered our special grove, the sky had been bright, almost warm, and now a thick layer of clouds had moved in overhead. When we emerged from the dining hall carrying two trays full of food for the four of us, a steady stream of rain was pouring down from the sky.
At least we didn’t have bowls of soup to balance tonight. We smiled at each other as we held firmly to our trays and made a mad dash for the clinic. By the time we arrived, the steady stream had turned into a torrential downpour. We were soaked to the bone when we finally managed to get the door open.
Billy just laughed at the sight of us as he took Jack’s tray and tossed two towels at him. He then took my tray and headed towards his patient’s room. Jack and I did the best we could to ring our coats out over the bathroom sink and then we found a space heater and set it up in hopes that our coats would be dry by the time we left for our cabin for the night.
We left our boots by the door to drip dry on the mat. My jeans were only slightly damp but still not exactly comfortable. Jack offered to get me a hospital gown and hang my pants up by the heater too, but I’d spent enough time in own of those embarrassing things, so I laughed the offer off.
Seeking Hope: Book 2 in the Seeking Saga Page 29