E52

  Something heavy slams against the door.

  “Lets try it again,” One conveys. “This time let's get Paul up here to. With us three we should be able to get that door open.”

  The two men yell to the third man and inform him that they are going to all run into the door and knock it down.

  Without further thought I run over to Tommy and grab him away from the dead man. Tommy snarls and bites toward me.

  “Its me baby,” I whisper. “Look at mommy, it's me.”

  Tommy tilts his head to left and looks at me. He growls again, however this time his intentions are not as aggressive.

  “Keep looking at me Tommy,” I continue. “You need to listen to my voice and calm down. We need to leave now and I can't take the chance of you biting me.”

  He reaches out and with his bloody hand touches my cheek and then smiles.

  “Okay mommy,” He states. “I'm sorry.”

  Tommy lays his head on my shoulder and relaxes.

  “You just lay still,” I instruct him.

  The wooden door cracks as the men slam into it again.

  “We are going out the window and once we are on the ground mommy will have to run, so you hang on as tight as you can,” I continue.

  I rush over to the flashlight that the man was once holding, shut it off and tuck it inside my shirt, then scurry over to the window. With the gun in one hand and holding Tommy with the other I escape through the bedroom window. There is no time to find the trellis we had escaped from before so my only option is to jump from the roof and hope that I do not injure myself.

  Just as I take a step forward someone grabs my shirt. I have hesitated to long and the men have caught me. I take in a deep breath and accept defeat.

  “Please let us go,” I beg, afraid to turn around.

  The moment I turn around is the moment that they find out that my son is the one that killed their friend.

  The person holding my shirt growls and then pulls me closer. Startled I turn and look. It is the man that Tommy had killed. He is now as the Creetions. I pull forward. My shirt is release. I fall backwards and slide off the roof. To my relief tommy and I fall onto a bush. The greenery cushions our fall.

  “Run!” My mind screams.

  After setting Tommy down on the ground I try to get up. My clothing is captured by some of the dry limbs. I try to get up but they continue to keep me hostage. As I continue to pull on my clothing, the material rips. Just as I free myself I spot a truck. It is the truck that the men had came in.

  “Maybe they left the keys in it,” I think to myself.

  It would be stupid for me to take the chance and look but at the same time it would be stupid of me not to. The men will get into the bedroom any minute now and once they see what has happened to their friend they will come looking for the perpetrator.

  Keeping in a crouched position I make a game out of trying to stay unseen. Tommy plays along with me. It always amazes me how he can go from being like one of the other creatures to being a kind, loving boy.

  We make our way around the side of the house to the front where the truck waits. I peek through the bushes that lay against the wooden patio and peer into the living-room. From where I am it appears that no one is downstairs. I walk quietly to the truck door, all the while keeping hidden as best possible.

  “Its now or never,” I tell myself as I hear gunshots ring through the silent night air.

  The men have gotten into the room and now know that they are not alone.

  I grab the door handle and lift it up. Instantly the dome light comes on.

  “Look over there,” I hear a man yell.

  I look up. One of the men is on the roof and has spotted Tommy and I.

  “It is a woman and a child and they are at the truck,” He continues.

  In case they start shooting, I throw Tommy across the driver seat. His body slams against the door.

  “Get down!” I scream.

  I reach for the ignition, the keys are there! I start the truck, put it in reverse and stomp on the gas pedal. Dirt and gravel fling from the back tires as the wheels try to grab the road.

  I glance forward. The front door is open, allowing me to see that the men are running down the stairs. They all have their guns in their hands and they are all aimed toward me. Without hitting the brakes I slam the truck into first gear. The transmission slams into gear. Bullets hit the back-window and various parts of the truck as the men continue to shoot at me. I instruct Tommy to keep hidden on the floor board until I tell him it is safe to come out. He does as told as I continue to speed down the dirt road. Within seconds we reach the main road. They will not be able to chase me, as I have the only running car.

  “We made it!” I scream out in excitement.

  I make a right turn on the main road and never look back.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The road is dark and is illuminated only by the moonlight, but I continue to drive without turning on the headlights.

  With Tommy becoming progressively worse, I can not take the chance of coming around others. I will have to hunt on my own and bring the food back to him. I do not like the thought of killing others but I will.

  I glance over at him. He is sitting on the front seat beside me. His body is covered in blood, leaving very little of his own flesh to be seen. He appears to be normal again after his feeding and is not giving indication that I should not trust him.

  “Only a mother could understand why I am doing this,” I think to myself. “A mother's love is unconditional and if there is any hope of saving my son, I will take that chance.”

  I decide to stay on the dirt road. There are fewer abandoned cars on here than the highway. We will continue our path until I can find a safe place for us to sleep for the night. I prefer to drive during the day. It is easier to see who or what you are about to come in contact with.

  “Mommy,” he states. “I do not mean to hurt the people.”

  It is obvious by the solemn tone in his voice that he does not understand why he craves flesh nor why he cannot control his hunger.

  “I am becoming more like those other people,” He continues. “Aren’t I?”

  It is hard for me to explain to him that although he much like the others he is also like me… one of the living.

  He sits quietly to every word I have to say, then turns and looks out the window. He remains confused and does not want to listen to me anymore.

  “How about we stop somewhere and get you cleaned up,” I suggest.

  Tommy nods his head and continues to stare at the window.

  “There was a sign back there stating that there is a town up ahead. Maybe there will be a gas station or somewhere we can find water,” I continue.

  Never looking away from the window Tommy agrees with me. The ride is silent with only the sounds of the Blake Shelton CD playing in the background. I keep the music low to allow Tommy to remain calm.

  The ride to town should only take a few minutes. Once there I will locate a new car and then look for a place to wash up and possibly sleep for the night. I am tired but I want to make sure that I the men do find a way to come looking for me that I am far away from this truck.

  “I think that is it over there,” I state.

  Up ahead I see a sign that is barely illuminated by the moon. “Welcome to Arizona Village, population 946”, it reads.

  Instantly I become excited. I have been so worried about Tommy that I did not realize that we are so close to Mesquite creek; my old home town. The compound is only about twenty miles from there.

  “Tommy!,” I state loudly. “Tomorrow we can go get your medicine.”

  It has been years since the day I left the compound. I spent so long wasting my time going from one state to another in search for my other son. Bill had insisted that it would be impossible to retrieve the medicine and I had listened to him. Now I will have to find it on my own or find Mr. Marvin to help me. I am uncertain where to find the man and sometime I wonder
if I should. So more than likely I will be on my own.

  The town appears to be abandoned which surprises me, considering it is so close to where the plague all began. There are many of the dead that remain lying on the streets, in yards and in cars. Once the diseased took over no one bothered cleaning up the dead or bury them, so for years they remain rotting. For the first year or so the smell was horrific, but after all this time I have gotten use to it and by most part do not smell the rotting carcasses anymore. As for the Creetions, they can smell the difference between someone who is dead and someone who is alive from a mile away, it seems.

  I coast down the street, trying to make very little noise. If there are any of the Creetions around I do not want to arouse them. There are many cars, now just to find one that I can hot-wire and has gas in it. With the electricity being out in much of the towns it difficult to get gas so finding a car with a full tank is always a chore.

  “Should we get a car or truck?” I ask Tommy, trying to get his attention. “You chose.”

  For a moment he turns and looks at me. He is smiling.

  “Should we get a red one?” I ask.

  Tommy looks down at his body and looks back up at me. He now has a tear in his eye.

  “No mommy,” he states, “I don’t like the color red anymore.”

  Trying to console him I reach over and lightly tap his shoulder. “It is okay,” I state. “Once we get the medicine you will be just like me.”

  It is still nighttime so my search for a car will be tedious.

  “You wait here,” I instruct Tommy as I pull into a small carlot. “I am going to check in the office for some keys.”

  Assuring that I am safe from any lingering creatures I firmly grasp a gun I had found in the car and leave the truck on. If there was a need for me to get away quickly I want to make sure I am prepared.

  “If you see anyone but me coming toward the truck I want you to lock the doors and hide,” I continue. “All you have to do is push this button here.”

  I reach over and show Tommy how to lock the door.

  Tommy shakes his head indicating that he understands.

  I take a quick glance around the truck and then open the door. It makes a loud creaking sound. I pause and look around again. No one appears to be around.

  “I love you,” I tell Tommy as I blow him a kiss. “I will be right back to get you.”

  The office is only a few feet from where I park the truck. Continually looking in all directions I walk cautiously to the door. I peek in the windows, but it is to dark to see if anyone is around. I knock on the door in hopes that if someone is in there it will arouse them. I need to know in advance if I will need to protect myself.

  The area remains silent. I knock one more time.

  “I don’t think anyone is around,” I think to myself.

  I turn the knob slowly and push the door open. A breeze of stale air rushes my face. The pungent smell immediately attacks my senses. There is someone or something in here that has recently died.

  I take a step back and pull out my flashlight. I turn it on and scan the area. The building appears to be vacant, leaving no indication as to where the smell can be coming from.

  “Maybe there is decaying body in one of the back offices,” I think to myself.

  Knowing that in small car lots like this one they usually keep the keys hanging on a wall, I search every office until I come across a board. The board is empty. I sigh, then continue with my search.

  “Come on there has to be keys somewhere,” I think in my mind. “There are to many cars out there, for there not to be any keys.”

  My search continues until I have not left a inch of the building unsearched.

  “Well it looks like I am going to have to try my hotwiring skills,” I think in my mind.

  Bill had taught me how to hotwire a car and I have dont it a few times myself. However I am usually not very successful except on the older cars.

  After turning off the flashlight I make my way through the dark building and back outside. I take in a deep breath.

  “I guess I will look for a truck,” I state softly.

  The cars outside are in a darkened area, making it difficult to see them from where I stand. Aware of all that is around me I make my way to the first row of cars. There is no truck. I continue to the row of cars that are visible from the street. There is a truck three cars down from where I stand. It is the same model of truck I have hotwired before. I smile.

  “Let's hope this works and that it has gas in its tank,” I think in my head.

  The door is already unlocked so I get in and close the door behind me. As I lean down to reach the wires my hand grazes something.

  “No way!” I smile as I realize the keys are in the ignition.

  With a turn of the key,the truck starts right up. I look down at the gauge. There is a half of a tank of gas.

  “Tomorrow I will come back and check the others for gas,” I think in my mind. “It is to dark out here for that now.”

  While the truck warms up I sit and ponder. Should I find a safe place for Tommy to hide and have him stay here while I go tomorrow or should I take him? There are benefits to both. If I were to get in a predicament at the base it would be easier to escape if I did not have to worry about Tommy, but on the other hand if I am successful in finding the medicine I could administer to him immediately.

  I am tired and in no way in a state of mind to make a decision right now, so tomorrow I will decide.

  “We need to find a place to sleep and soon,” I think in my head.

  My eyes close for a brief second and then snap open.

  “Time to go,” I state, yawning.

  I drive the truck over to where I left Tommy and instruct him to get in this one.

  Most of the houses in town have either been burned down or have suffered substantial damage to the windows, leaving them unsafe to stay in. We continue to drive down desolate streets in search of a place to stay.

  “That could work,” I think in my mind.

  To the right of us is a police station. Although the building does have broken windows I feel that if it possess a jail that can still be locked it could be the safest place to sleep for the night.

  In case we need a quick escape, I park the truck up on the curb and as close to the front door as I possible can get. Tommy is instructed to stay in the truck while I check the building for any of the infected. The building is secure, feeding further into my curiosity as to how this town appears completely desolate.

  “Come with me Tommy,” I state, opening his door. “We are going to stay in here tonight.”

  The first place I take Tommy to is a locker room that I had found. The room is large and contains extra uniforms, towels and most importantly, running water and a shower. The water will be cold but Tommy will be able to get cleaned.

  “You wash off while I look through the lockers to see if there is any shampoo or soap,” I tell him. “I will be right over here.”

  I leave the flashlight on and facing the shower so that Tommy does not get frightened, then search for something that we might be able to cleanse ourselves with.

  Most the lockers are securely locked but from the ones that are open I am able to find some shampoo, soap and even a razor.

  “Can mommy join you?” I ask.

  I strip my clothing off, leaving my bra and underwear on. The water is frigid but feels good against my sore body.

  With Tommy being so young and unable to cleanse himself thoroughly I help him.

  Blood from the man that was recently victim to Tommy hunger streams down the drain. The water that cleanses him changes from a dark brown to pink as the water continues to run down his body. The blood is crusted in his hair so it take a couple of times washing it before the water runs clear. Once he is clean I help him out of the shower and wrap him in a towel. I then concentrate on cleaning myself. It is not till then that I realize how much blood I have on my skin. Sickened, I scrub my skin until I
feel that I have not a speck left on me.

  “There must be more on my clothes than I thought,” I think to myself.

  All our clothes were left in the other car at the farm, so if I want to wear something clean I will have to wear one of the uniforms that I had found in the lockers.

  There is not many uniform to choose from so I take the smallest pair of pants and two of the smallest shirts I can find. One of the shirts I put on Tommy the other I put on. The pants and shirt are loose on me. The shirt on Tommy covers him entirely.

  I rinse off our clothing using the remaining shampoo I found and hang them on a rod to dry. Tomorrow they should be dry and hopefully clean enough to wear again. Blood is one of the hardest thing to get out of clothing, especially if it is already dried.

  “Now it is time to take a nap,” I think in my head.

  I search in every desk I can find in search for keys to the jail-cell, but never find them. It would feel better if I knew there was no way of escape for Tommy.

  “I guess this will have to do,” I whisper, taking a piece of rope from a display on the wall.

  Tommy and I walk into the secure area and close the door behind us. I tie the rope around the bottom of the bars, securing the door to the bars beside it.

  The beds inside are old and raggedy and do not appear to have been updated for years. They are against the far back wall which is perfect for us. At first site we would be not be seen and if we are quiet there would be no reason for anyone to search for us in here.

  “Do you want to lay down?” I ask.

  “No,” He replies.

  Tommy is not tired and is restless in the small area that we are confined it. I give him a few pieces of paper and a pencil I found on one of the desks and tell him to draw some pictures. It is very dark in here so I set him up and area against the wall and turn on the flashlight. The light is brighter than I thought it would be so I cover it with one of the paper-towels I had gotten from the bathroom. The area is dimmer now but bright enough so that Tommy can see to draw. With the amount of paper I gave him he should have something to do for a few hours, allowing me to take a nap.