E52

  “It is okay,” I say. “Don't keep trying if it hurts. Mommy will keep you safe.”

  Tommy smiles and looks out the window.

  “Look mommy,” He states. “They are gone.”

  The car that we had seen moments before has disappeared. At first I feel relieved but then start to wonder where they had gone. By all means they would have seen the dust coming from my tires.

  “Maybe they were after some walkers,” I think to myself, “And could care less about any passers coming through here.”

  Continuing to worry that someone will harm my child if they were to find us, I decide to look for a place that I can keep him safe while I search for the vile of medicine.

  There are many buildings on the compound but I not want to take the chance of leaving him in one of those.

  "When we get there, Mommy is going to find a place for you to hide," I tell Tommy.

  After driving a few more miles down the road I spot a dirt road that veers to the left. Taking a chance that I will find an abandoned house I turn down the road. It is like the other; narrow and with many of the dead blocking the path. I ignore the fact that I am running over so many victims and search the area for any possible building.

  The area we are in is a bit more wooded than that of our recent ventures. A house could be hidden anywhere beyond the overgrown vegetation that now covers any driveways.

  Convincing myself that whoever was driving this way has carried on with their business and have no interest in me I continue to drive, but keep glancing over to the right every few seconds.

  “There it is,” I state.

  The gates that once kept me hostage to this horrible place are no longer standing. It is evident by the the multitude of dead bodies laying around that there is no longer a threat of many of the Creetions here.

  Slowing the truck down to 5 miles an hour, I cautiously maneuver around the numerous piles of debris and bodies laying around. Most of the buildings have been burnt down, including the one that David was left in.

  “Son of a bitch,” I say in my mind.

  Concrete from the fallen building where I dropped the medicine is covering the area to where I had last seen the vile. Even if I can manage to move the pile of debris there is a good chance that the vile will be broken. I stop the car and look around. The compound indeed appears to be abandoned.

  “I am going to untie you but I want you to stay in the car while I look for the medicine,” I instruct Tommy. “If you see anyone coming I want you to sneak out of the truck and run. Find an empty building and hide. I will come for you once they leave.”

  After scanning the are another time I open the truck door, get out, and reenter the truck through the back door.

  “Mommy is going to untie you,” I state, looking Tommy directly in his eyes. “Do you feel that you are able to control your hunger and not attack Mommy?”

  “Yes, mommy,” Tommy smiles.

  The seat-belt around Tommy is tight. As soon as I undo it I hear a sigh of relief come from within him.

  “I'm sorry,” I state. “I did not know it was that tight.”

  “It is okay,” He says continuing to smile.

  Staying aware of his every movement I instruct him to turn and face the window so that the tie around his hands are facing me.

  “Is that better?” I ask, cutting the straps around his hands.

  Tommy turns toward me and reaches out. He wants a hug. A mothers first instinct is to love her child. I reach out and pull him toward. me. His skin is cool against my warm body.

  “I will be right over there,” I state pointing to the pile of rubble. “Remember what I said. If you see anyone I want you to run and hide.”

  Tommy agrees to do as told.

  Holding my knife tightly in my hand, I scoot out of the truck and close the truck door.

  Immediately my breath is stolen by a distinct stench of death. I have been in many place where there was much death, but none smell like here.

  In an effort to escape the smell I pull my shirt over my nose. The smell seeps through my shirt. I gag.

  “Think of something more pleasant,” I think in my mind.

  With the amount of debris that lies where I believe the vile to be it will take me hours to get reach it.

  “Please let it still be here,” I say aloud.

  Pulling the large pieces of concrete away from the pile is tiring so it does not take long for fatigue to set in.

  I ignore my distress and continue working.

  The further I dig in to the pile the more determined I become. The medicine will be here... It will cure my son.

  “Pretty soon you will be better and we will find your brother.” I state aloud.

  As I stand and turn toward the truck I get a whiff of something. It is not the dead nor the smell of burned flesh. The aroma is pleasant and reminds me of the way my husband smelled immediately after taking a shower. We are not alone!

  “Tommy!” I scream in my mind.

  Before I can take a step toward the truck I am greeted by two men and one woman. My heart skips a beat.

  “What are you doing out here?” The taller of the two men asks.

  “I am like you I suppose,” I stutter. “Just looking for anything that betters my chances at survival.”

  “How did you know this place was here?” He asks.

  I think fast.

  “I met someone during my travels that told me there was a compound out this way. I just happened to take the right turn and find it I guess,” I answer.

  “You look like you are looking for something particular. Do you know what this place is then?” he continues to question me.

  “No,” I answer. “I saw the rubble and thought that there might be something in the pile that I could use.”

  I look directly at him and never show him the fear that is dwelling inside me.

  “Well, this is where it all started,” He states.

  “What do you mean?” I ask; my heart continuing to beat at an unhealthy rate.

  I do not want to give these people any indication that I know everything about this place and that in fact that I was one of the women that were kept here and have came back to retrieve a cure. I continue to innocently act like I am here in hopes to possibly find food and other provisions.

  “This is where them assholes made what we now call “Creetions”, He continues. “None of this would be happening if it wasn't for the government trying to make an Army of the undead.”

  His rant continues It obvious that he is like most and has lost the ones that he loves, not to mention the safety and sanity that this new world has stolen from us.

  “So if you are looking for food, you won't find any here. This place has been gone through many times” He continues. “But you can come with us and we can help you. We have a safe place just a mile away. You can not see it from the road so it ensures our safety.”

  Nonchalantly I glance over at the truck and then over at the man. The man removes a gun from his holster and points it toward the truck.

  “Are you hiding something from us?” He asks. “Are there more of you? And if there is?,why are they hiding?”

  My heart continues to pound erratically. I glance down at the ground. My knife is lying on the ground next to my foot. There is no way to defend myself nor my son.

  “No one else is with me,” I lie.

  The man takes a step toward the truck.

  “Are you sure?” He asks. “We will help you but we do not want any trouble.”

  He takes a step closer to the truck; his gun tightly gripped in his hand.

  “If there is someone in there, come out,” He firmly states. “We will not hurt you or the girl.”

  There is no movement in the truck.

  “Did Tommy get away?” I wonder to myself.

  “You keep an eye on her and you keep your gun pointed toward the truck,” He instructs the other two people. “If anything happens, you know what to do.”

  Co
nfident that his friends will keep him safe, the man tightly keeps grip of his gun in one hand and grasps the door handle with the other. He quickly pulls it open and looks in.

  “No one up front,” He states and then walks to the back door.

  Repeating the same ritual he reaches for the back door handle.

  A sickening feel overtakes my stomach. I close my eyes.

  “All clear,” The man states as he lowers his gun. “She states the truth.

  I am relieved to see that Tommy has gotten away but I now fear what will happen to me and to him. If I refuse their help they may become suspicious again and search the grounds. But if I go with them will Tommy be safe until I can return?

  “Thank you for your offer,” I state graciously. “But I am in actually in search of my son. If there are no provisions here then I will be on my way.”

  “Your son?” He asks. “What makes you think he is out this way?”

  “I don't.” I answer. “The last time I heard he was with a group of people in Wyoming. But once I reached the area that I was told about all the people had left. Now I have no idea where he is, but I will keep searching until I find him, dead or alive. Like I said I just stopped here to find provisions.”

  All three of the strangers glare at me. It is obvious by the expressions on their face that they do not believe my story.

  “Well we have a group of people that recently came from that area,” The woman states. “They started off with a group of over thirty but by the time we found them they were down to fifteen people.”

  My heart skips a beat. Could it be the group of people that I have been searching for?

  “What is your son's name?” The woman asks.

  Without thinking I blurt out his name.

  “Jonathan Sanders,” I state.

  A lump gathers in my throat.

  “What have I done?” I question in my head.

  If they know everything about this place, then they now know who I am.

  Nervously I bite my lip.

  “Really?” The woman states, cocking her head to the side. “Then that must make you the wife of David Sanders... Myrna.... Right?”

  By the tone of her voice and the expression of the other two men, I am now their number one enemy. Before I can state my innocence I am struck in the head by the butt of a gun. My freedom is stolen, as is my consciousness.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The place I now find myself in is dark and desolate, with only a dim light coming from above to lighten the room.

  The smell of dirt and mold fill my senses.

  “Where am I?” I question in my head.

  As I stand to glance around, a pain shoots through my head. I sit back down and rub my forehead. My head continues to pound as the headache I am experiencing continues to get worse.

  “They didn’t have to hit me so hard,” I say in my mind.

  After rubbing my eyes, I glance around. It appears that I have been put in a makeshift cell that has been dug into the ground no deeper than about twelve feet and four foot wide.

  The narrow cave is cold causing me to shiver. I cross my arms and frantically move my hands up and down on my skin. The friction eases the coldness but only for a moment.

  “Is there anyone out there?” I scream. “Why are you keeping me in here?”

  A pain seers through my head once again. I reach up and immediately find a large lump where the butt of the gun had struck me.

  “Son of a bitch!” I scream to myself as another sharp pain shoots through my skull.

  “Will someone please talk to me,” I cry aloud. “I had nothing to do with what my husband done. I am as innocent as all of you.”

  My surrounds remain silent as the people above continue to ignore my plea.

  “How am I going to get out of here?” I question in my head. “Tommy is all alone at the compound. I don't know how far they have taken me nor what they will do if they captured him.”

  There have been many times since my escape that I have had to either fight my way out of a situation or find a way to escape. But, for the first time I feel helpless. There is no means of escape except to climb the dirt wall and with the recent rains that have soaked the dirt I fear that it will be impossible.

  “Please, someone talk to me.” I beg repeatedly.

  My throat become parched and I begin to cough.

  “I have came to far and tried to hard to die this way,” I think to myself. “And I refuse to let my son die alone.”

  I dig at the walls; each time my escape foiled as my hands slide down the muddy walls. Submitting to defeat is not an option; I continue to try.

  “You can do this,” I think in my head. “You have to do this.”

  Blood escapes from my fingertips as the flesh becomes raw and inflicted. Ignoring the pain, I continue to dig at the wall for hours.

  “This is useless,” I whisper.

  Resting, I lean against the wall, but as the cold continues to invade my skin, I need to find a way to warm myself. I lie on the ground and curl in a fetal position.

  “Wake up” Someone demands.

  As I open my eyes I see that nightfall has taken over the daylight.

  “Who's there?” I ask.

  A bright light overtakes the darkness, blinding me further. Shielding my eyes with my hands I scrunch my eyelids together in hopes that I can see the person standing at the top of the hole.

  “Let me out of here!” I demand.

  We are going to lower a ladder down to you, but only if you promise to remain calm,” The man states. “We have someone here that would like to see you and I am sure that you would like to see him.”

  My heart skips a beat. Did they find Tommy or could they be talking about Jonathan? Could it be that after all these years I have finally found my first born? A tear wells in my eyes.

  “I will be calm,” I state.

  The ladder the man lowers down is made from rope. My fingers are raw, making the journey to the top difficult.

  A man reaches down and offers to help me. In fear that I will offend him I graciously take his hand and allow him to help.

  As soon as I reach the top of the ladder, I scoot myself to solid ground. I stand.

  “My name is Phil. I am sorry that they hurt you as they did, but when they found out who you were they overreacted. All of their emotions that have damned up during the years escaped and at that moment you were the enemy. They didn't care that you had nothing to do with the virus, you are the wife of the man who caused them to lose so much in their lives.”

  Cocking my head to the side I continue to look up at him. He much taller than me and slim. His clothing is old and ragged and his blonde hair is layered with dirt. He, like most of us that have survived, is dirty and tired. He appears to be in his mid thirties although it is apparent that his constant battle to survive has aged the once young man.

  “Well I guess you already know who I am,” I snap.

  “You have to realize that your husband took away our families, our friends, and our lives,” The man states. “But like you said; you were just as much as a victim as us. Actually more so .”

  Placing his hand on his face the man rubs his fingers deep into his beard as if to be relieving an aching tooth.

  “They put you in the hole while we tested your blood,” He continues. “Knowing that you were one of the women they harvested the “Creetions” from, we had to make sure that you did not carry the virus in you.”

  The man continues to rub his beard, now using his hand to pull the sides of the hair together to form a point in front of his chin.

  “We could not take the chance of losing anymore than we already have, and if you were infected we would be doing just that,” He sighs.

  “You have the ability to do that here?” I ask.

  “Yes, some of us worked on the compound in the lab and we were able to salvage some of the necessities to do it,” He answers.

  “Does that mean you are looking for a cure?” I as
k.

  “No,” He answers. “There was a man named Donald Marvin that use to reside here. He said he knew of a cure. But he was killed last week by one of the Creetions trying to find it.”

  My heart plummets to my stomach. The man that I was told might be able to help my son, is now dead. The only hope I have left is to get that vile and hope that it is the cure. I stand silent.

  “We have something we believe you have been looking for,” He states.

  “Something or someone?” I ask.

  The man ignores my question and smiles.

  After placing his thumb and his middle finger in his mouth he lets out a whistle that pierces my ears. Soon after the sound disappears in the distance I see a group of people walking our way. In front of the crowd appears to be a child.

  My emotions take control of me. The woman that had helped capture me had asked who I was looking for. Could it be that my son “Johnathon” is with them and that is who is walking our way, or have found Tommy and they will now kill us both.

  Tears that once were that of joy are now that of terror and sadness. As I wipe the tears from my eyes dirt from my hands mix with the tears. I now find it difficult to see.

  “There is no need to cry,” He states.

  The man hands me a handkerchief from his pocket.

  “We are not going to harm you,” He states.

  He has seen my fearful expression.

  “You are welcome here and I have made it known that there is no harm to come to you.” He continues.

  As the group of people come closer it becomes obvious that the child that I believed to be Tommy is much taller than he.

  The closer the crowd walks toward us the more in focus they become. My question has been answered. The child being led my way is Jonathan.

  Unable to control my excitement I run toward the crowd. I drop to my knees in front of the my son. Unintentionally I stare at him. He is the spitting image of his father. I reach forward and grab him in my arms.

  Tear stream down my face as I hold Johnathon close to me. He has grown tremendously.