by A. R. Wise
There was nothing I could say, and I just looked down. Ben pulled me closer and I sighed with a mix of sadness and exhaustion as the coyote’s chorus continued outside.
We heard Harrison say, “All right, that’s it. I’m getting back in.” The Jeep’s dome light turned back on as Harry got back in the passenger seat. He whistled and said, “There’s a whole damn pack of coyotes out there, bickering back and forth. Chatting up a storm and giving me the willies. Sorry, but I ain’t staying out there with them no more.”
“It’s okay,” said Ben as he retreated to the back seat. “Since when are you scared of a few coyotes, Harrison? First time I met you, you were sitting on the hood of that truck eating beans, begging the dogs to come take a bite out of you.”
“Yeah, well, that was before there were zombie-dogs,” said Harry as he rolled up his window. “Who the hell knows what’s out there waiting for us now.”
We all looked out at the bleak, dark prairie.
* * *
Harrison had no trouble falling asleep. He’d leaned his seat back as far as it would go, or at least as far as Ben would let him, and within ten minutes he was snoring. Ben tossed and turned for a lot longer, but he eventually fell asleep as well after making me promise to wake him before dawn so that I could get some sleep.
I stared out at the waning moon as it sat amid the streaks of grey clouds. Coyotes continued to howl for an hour or so, giving me something to listen to as I counted the stars. There was no shortage of fears to keep my mind busy, but I tried to occupy myself with more pleasant thoughts. I’d taken Billy’s map back from Ben earlier, and was reviewing where my mother had said they’d be setting up New Vineyard. I tried to guess the reasons why she’d approved the spot. I often found myself trying to think like she did. I respected the way she considered a wealth of opinions before arriving on her own. It was a skill I lacked, though I was trying to get better at it.
That made me think about Kim, and despite how I tried to force her memory out of my thoughts, I dwelled on her idiosyncrasies. I thought of how she’d always been so resolute in her decision-making, and how hard it was to change her mind once it was made up. She was a born leader, whereas I was…
What the hell was I?
Kim and our mother both excelled at getting others to follow them. Kim did it by simply not accepting the idea that anyone would do anything but follow her, while Mom was far more democratic about it. I’d grown up quiet and withdrawn, far more comfortable by myself than in a group. I wasn’t ‘leader’ material.
I closed my eyes, and the image of Stubs being snatched away flashed in my mind. I grumbled a quiet curse and then rubbed my eyes. I decided to step out of the Jeep for a minute to get some fresh air, and cringed as the light came on when I opened the door. Neither Ben nor Harrison stirred as I got out, and I tried to quietly close the door behind me.
It felt good to stretch my legs. I lifted my arms high into the air and arched my back as I swayed left and then right. I swiftly turned my head to crack my neck before starting to explore the area.
Winter still held sway, although just barely enough to turn my breath to mist. The morning would bring frost, and I could see the beginnings already glistening on brown stalks all around me. Above, the stars twinkled like diamonds in the oily black, marred only by the wisps of clouds that drifted lazily through the moonlight.
It was close enough to morning that even the coyotes had stopped their singing, opting instead for the safety of their dens. Only the chirps of bats were there to greet me, and even they sounded far off.
I walked to the back of the Jeep and started to do pushups, and then a few lunges in an attempt to get my blood flowing. I only did enough to warm up but not start sweating, and then walked back over to the driver’s side door. I didn’t want to get in just yet, and stayed there to stare up at the moon.
That’s when I heard the rustle of weeds somewhere nearby.
I gripped the handle of the door, prepared to dash inside if needed.
I waited through the ensuing silence, not daring to breathe in fear of giving away my position. After a long, quiet pause, there was another rustle ahead, giving me a sense of direction as I searched for the intruder. I squinted as I peered out into the interminable dark.
A grey shape emerged from the black, and suddenly the creature was revealed as if it had been part of an illusion cast on me by the night. It was a buck, tall and thick, with antlers that looked like they might rival the branches of most of the trees in the area. Its head was down as it nosed through the brush off to my right, and when it lifted its head I could see grass hanging from its lips as it chewed.
The animal wasn’t more than ten yards from where I stood, and I marveled at how such a massive beast could sit so hidden to me in the night’s veil. That wasn’t a comforting thought, and I scanned the area in concern. What else might be hiding just out of sight?
I opened the Jeep’s door, causing the light inside to come on. The sound got the buck’s attention, and a plume of mist came from its nostrils as it snorted in response to my disturbance. His eyes flashed green as the light from inside of the Jeep caught them. I eased myself into the Jeep and then closed to door, curious if the buck would flee.
It didn’t. Instead, the majestic animal stayed where it was, and lowered its head to search the ground for food.
I was so focused on the male that I was startled when a doe pranced out onto the road just a few feet further on. She stopped, her head held high, and turned to peer at me. Her white tuft of a tail stood as straight as her neck, and she stood unmoving there for a long moment, as if uncertain how to react. We stared at one another until her curiosity waned and she darted off to the left. The buck followed at a more leisurely pace, crossing the street just as the blackness of night began to turn grey with the promise of a dawn that was yet far away.
There was a comfort in this moment that I needed, and I cherished it.
“That was something,” said Harrison.
“I didn’t know you were awake,” I said as the old man raised his temporary bed back into a seat again.
“It’s gonna be morning soon. You should sleep.” His voice sounded hoarse, and he grunted as he pinched at his throat. He coughed and shook his head. “I can stay up.”
“You feeling all right?” I asked.
“Yeah, yeah. Just morning, and lack of sleep. Makes my throat hurt.” He sniffled and wiped his nose.
He’d done the best he could to clean himself off from his battle with the zombies earlier, but there was still blood staining his wrinkles and drying in his hair.
“You sound like you’re getting a cold.”
“Nah, I’m fine,” he said. “Don’t worry about me. Get some sleep before the sun comes up.”
I shook my head as I looked out to the east, across the flat plains that hugged the suburbs behind us. “I won’t be able to. Once the sun starts to come up, I can never get back to sleep.”
“You a morning person?”
“I wouldn’t say that, exactly. It’s just like it flips a switch in my head. Know what I mean?”
“Sure, I guess. I don’t have that problem. I take my sleep anytime I can get it.”
We sat in silence for a while as the sun began to paint the sky a dark blue. The horizon had barely started to glow when Harrison said, “It’s good that you’re going to the new settlement. You should take Ben with you.”
“Why?” I asked.
“He shouldn’t go and try to fight. I know you and he both want to, but what good’s it going to do?”
“Someone’s got to fight them, Harry. If not us, then who?”
“Someone’s always willing to fight, kid. That’s part of what got us into this mess to begin with. Look, I’m not trying to argue with you or nothing. I know you want to get that fucker that killed Kim; I get that. But shoot, kid, look at you.” He reached over to touch my cheek and then said, “You’ve got your whole life ahead of you. What’s the point in throwing
it away for a little bit of pointless revenge?”
“I wouldn’t call it pointless, and I wouldn’t call it revenge. If we don’t stop this piece of shit, then no one out here will ever be safe.”
“We ain’t been safe in decades,” said Harrison as he crossed his arms and settled into his seat. “Not sure we ever were.”
“Besides, do you really think Ben’s ready to give up on whatever mission he’s on? The only reason he’s stuck around as long as he has is because he thinks the Rollers can help him get to Jerald.”
“You’re wrong about that,” said Harrison.
“Why else did he stay with us?” I asked, certain that he was the one that was wrong.
Harrison grunted, and then sniffled before wiping his nose again. “Come on, Annie. You’re not as blind as that, are you?”
I shook my head and said, “What are you talking about?”
Harrison glanced at Ben in the back seat, and then said, “I’m not the one you should be asking about why he’s stuck around as long as he has. Or why he wanted to go on this scouting mission with you.”
“Harry, if you’ve got something to say, then say it.”
“Nope,” he said as he crossed his arms again. “I’m just going to sit here and watch the sun rise on a brand new, beautiful day.”
“You’re a weird guy, Harry. You know that?”
He nodded in agreement, and then coughed before clearing his throat. He winced as he did, clearly suffering the beginnings of a cold.
15 – Echoes
Ben Watanabe
Despite my wishes, Annie and Harrison let me sleep through the night. By the time I got up, the sun had already cleared the fog, but hadn’t quite melted the frost that covered the scape. We ate fast, only delving into a fraction of the portions we’d brought along. The stink of our previous day clung to us, but there was nowhere to wash off, and we were forced to endure the grime for the time being.
Annie plotted a new course, and in the daylight it was easy to admonish ourselves for getting so lost the night before. Colorado seemed like a never-ending swathe of open-space when you could spy the horizon, but those clustered neighborhoods, with their twisting streets, were easy to get lost in.
We followed a route that kept us hugged up against the foothills, far from the travails that the big city offered travelers. By midday, we’d already come within an hour of the water tower where Harrison was hoping to be dropped off.
However, a growing concern had plagued us since setting out. Annie and I continued to glance worriedly at one another as Harrison lay in the back. He was clearly ill, and I hoped it was just a cold. After listening to another of a long series of coughing fits, I was forced to ask the difficult question that I’d hoped to avoid, “Harry, did you get bit?”
He answered without hesitating, “No, man. I swear.”
“You sound like shit,” said Annie.
“I feel worse,” said Harrison. His condition had been rapidly deteriorating. In the morning he said he was just tired, but now he wasn’t debating his illness any longer. “I didn’t get bit though, I promise.”
“What about all that blood?” asked Annie. “Did you get any in your mouth or in your eyes?”
“I don’t think so,” said Harrison. “I had plenty of it on me, but shit, I’ve been splashed with buckets full of zombie blood before and never had no problems. I think I’m just sick is all. I’m just sick. I’d better just be fucking sick.” His voice grew fainter, but the phrase tarried on, as if he were desperate to convince himself it were true. “I’m just sick.”
Shortly after that he fell asleep, and we drove on in silence except for his wet, rasping breaths. Annie pulled off the road and into the parking lot of what had once been a mall, but was now just a blackened shell, long ago scavenged and then burned by raiders or traders alike. She parked and then motioned for me to step out of the Jeep with her. I did, and we met at the front of the vehicle as the mid-day sun bore down on us.
“What do you think?” She didn’t have to explain what she was asking about.
“I think we need to keep an eye on him,” I said, not certain what else I could offer.
She shook her head and sighed, looking weary and pale. “He got sick so fast. I don’t know, Ben. I’m worried about him.”
“Me too,” I said as I glanced back at the Jeep. “But even if he is…” I hesitated even saying it for fear that might make it true. “You know, infected. Even if he is, it usually takes a week before…” Again, my hesitation was brought on by a reluctance to accept what might be happening.
“We might also be looking at a new disease,” said Annie. “There were always rumors that the military was experimenting on new diseases. At one point there was a strain of the disease that would infect unborn babies, and whatever strain they infected the people of Juniper and Hanger with hit them awfully fast. It was almost like they never even had the chance to get out of there. And now we’ve got zombie dogs running around.”
I knew she was right, but that didn’t make the situation any easier. “Well then what do you think? Are you saying we should just dump Harry out here somewhere?” My tone was accusatory, even though I hadn’t meant for it to be.
“No, of course not,” said Annie, understandably defensive. “I’m just saying that we need to be careful.”
“Of course,” I said.
She glanced down at the holster at my side. “We should both keep a gun handy, just in case.”
I set my palm against the handle of my pistol and meant to agree with her, but all I did was nod and grunt. She looked at me as if expecting a more definitive agreement, but I didn’t have one to give her.
“You drive,” she said. “I’ll keep an eye on Harry.”
Annie went to the back of the Jeep, opened the trunk, and searched the bag for a new pistol. I walked over to the driver’s side, still processing our discussion. The thought of losing Harrison and Stubs, one after the other in such quick succession, had sickened me.
My life had been set on a single path for so long, like a child going through life with the burden of a destiny carved by prophets. I was to kill my marks. That had been my mission for so long, and still was. Yet now, with Harry laying ill in the back of this Jeep, none of that mattered anymore. I just wanted him to be okay.
When I got back in the Jeep I glanced over at Annie and saw that she was holding her new pistol, her finger resting on the outside of the trigger guard, ready to do what might be necessary should Harrison reveal himself as yet another dead face lunging at our necks with teeth bared. I heard his shallow breath, and looked back at his shivering body beneath the thin, brown blanket he’d fished out of the back.
I started to say something, but the words were lost before they escaped. I just looked at the beautiful girl at my side and the gun in her hand, and I hated everything about the world we lived in. It was hard to find comfort or solace anywhere now.
Annie looked over at me and asked, “You all right?”
What other choice did I have? I nodded and drove out of the parking lot, back onto the road that would lead us north along the flatirons and eventually near the burned out wasteland that had once been known as Boulder. Our destination was somewhere south of there, closer to the trade routes that the Rollers had once tried to keep safe.
Harrison’s breathing worsened as we went. The phlegm in his throat caused him to choke, and instead of moving to help, Annie steadied her grip on the pistol. Finally, Harrison was beset with a cough strong enough to force him up. He hacked and wheezed as Annie held her gun tightly and watched.
“Fuck,” said Harrison once he was finally able to draw a breath. “Fuck me.”
“We’re almost there, big guy,” I said. He’d marked the location of the water tower on our map, and I knew we weren’t more than a mile or two away now. “We’ll get you to your friends. Okay? How you doing?”
Annie looked at me with wide eyes and shook her head.
I glanced into the r
ear view and saw that my friend’s skin had lost nearly all the color that had defined it earlier. If there was any tint to his skin now, it was a pale green.
“I’m dying,” said Harrison. “Fuck me, man. I’m fucking dying.” He coughed again and then nearly vomited.
Annie undid her buckle, causing the Jeep to chirp an alarm. She turned so that she could get a better angle on Harry. She was holding the gun with both hands, prepared to do what was needed.
“Harry, talk to me,” I shouted at him. “What’s going on?”
He whimpered, his voice revealing his broken heart, “They got me. I don’t even know how, man. I don’t even know how.” He panted and I watched through the rearview as he leaned back helplessly in his seat. “I never got bit, Ben. But the Devil still got me.”
“Just hold on,” I said. “We’ll get to the water tower and get you some help. Okay? We don’t know if you’re infected or just real sick.”
Harrison squirmed in his seat and Annie started to point the gun at him. I reached over and held her arm down, preventing her from showing Harry that she was armed. I didn’t want him to feel like we’d turned on him.
I stopped the Jeep as Harrison started to lift up his shirt. He pulled his coat and shirt off at the same time, revealing a midsection dotted with black spots. The boils had already begun to swell near his armpits, but they’d also spread out over his chest and stomach. The speed with which the infection had taken hold was unlike anything I’d seen in the past two decades.
“Oh shit,” said Annie.
“It ain’t good,” said Harrison before he pulled his shirt and coat back down. Then he opened his door and, before I could say anything to stop him, he charged out onto the street.
Annie and I got out as well to follow him, but he didn’t walk any further than the side of the road. He looked up and started to laugh.
I didn’t know what to do, and I took a few steps closer. Annie had walked around the front of the Jeep to stand beside me, and she grabbed my arm to keep me back as Harrison continued to laugh at the heavens.