by Greene, Dane
Alexis is yelling something, but I can’t hear it. She isn’t looking at me, and I continue to crawl. Sarah comes into my view, and when she sees her mother, she cries. When she looks at me, it’s even worse. Alexis grabs her shoulders and yells something at her.
She nods and runs over to me. Seeing Sarah saps my remaining strength, and my crawling comes to a halt. As I cough, blood comes out of my mouth. Pain screams at me from all over my body, but I ignore it. The soft touch of my daughter’s hand in mine is the only thing I focus on. She looks at me with tears in her eyes, and even though I know she’s here for me, I want to hold her in my arms and comfort her.
My wife is still on my mind, and when I look toward her, I see Alexis moving around her. She leaves and comes back with a medical kit I’ve seen Stephanie using. It’s then that I remember that Alexis has been learning about medicine from Stephanie.
The fact that she’s working on her tells me that she’s still alive. A smile comes to my face, and I look at my daughter. Her eyes are full of tears, and she’s mouthing incomprehensible words.
“Honey, come here,” I mutter, unable to raise my voice. For a second, I’m worried that I was too quiet for her to hear me, but luckily, Sarah comes closer. “Honey, I love you so much. You’re the joy of my life, and what you have given me is beyond anything I ever could’ve known existed before we had you.”
My words come out slow and painful, but I force myself to speak, stopping only when I need to spit the blood from my mouth. As I speak, a hatred boils inside me, and I know it’s the infection from my bite spreading and taking over my mind.
“Listen, honey, I’m dying, and I need you to be strong. Your mother is going to need you to help her move on. She’ll be angry and she won’t understand. It’ll be hard, but you need to be there for her, okay?” Sarah cries, and I see her nod. Relieved, I sigh, which turns into a coughing fit. More blood comes from my mouth, and I realize that my time is soon.
“I love you, Dad,” Sarah says, and I try my best to smile.
“I love you too, honey. Can you get Alexis for me, honey?” Sarah looks at me, confused for a second, but goes over to Alexis. I can’t hear them, but I see Alexis nod, and together, the girls come over to me.
“Your wife is going to be okay. I was able to stabilize her. Luckily, the bullet passed through and missed her organs. She’s in shock now, so I don’t have long, but you deserved to have peace before the end.” I smile and try to thank Alexis, but she hushes me.
“Your eyes are red, and we are out of time. Save your words, unless there’s something that has to be said.” As Alexis finishes her sentence, she pulls out her gun. “Sarah, you might want to leave now.” Sarah’s crying but she shakes her head.
“No, I should be here.” In this moment, I’m prouder of my daughter than I’ve ever been. Alexis looks me in the eyes, and a tear escapes as I nod.
I’m not afraid of death. In fact, I’m looking forward to joining God. Soon, I’ll be watching over my family and awaiting the day they join me. As the cold steel of the gun rests against my head, I smile and say my goodbyes to the world. A loud pop slams into my head, and the world goes black.
Chapter 14: Aaron
July 27th
A blanket of darkness surrounds my consciousness. It feels like I’m floating in a lake, but I’m not cold. My body feels numb, and my mind is sluggish. Worries are gone, stress is gone, and here, I’m all alone.
When the fog starts to fade and my mind starts to clear, I become afraid. I feel pain as my mind clears, and worries and responsibilities return. My will tries to fight to stay in the abyss, but it’s hopeless.
When my last memories start to surface and I remember where I am, I stop fighting. At first, I’m afraid that I was bitten and have changed into a Paleman. It isn’t until my eyes open and I see a dirty ceiling in what looks like an abandoned office that I know I made it through the battle uninfected.
When I try to take in my surroundings, I see someone unfamiliar sitting in a nearby chair. Alarmed, I freeze. She catches my gaze and stands up.
The first thing I notice about the woman is a deep scar on her face. The second thing I noticed is that she’s attractive. If it weren’t for the scar on her face, I would say she’s one of the most attractive women I’ve ever seen.
When I notice her getting closer, I try to speak, but the words lock up in my mouth. As she reaches her hand over and puts it on my forehead, I tense up.
“It looks like your fever broke. You’re lucky. I didn’t think you were going to wake up. How do you feel?” Her questions confuse me. Trying to sit up, I’m stopped when I become dizzy and have to lie back down. The last thing I remember was the awful pain and pressure from the Palemen at the battle. My weakness tells me I’ve been asleep for more than a few hours.
“Not so good. How long was I out?”
“Almost twenty-four hours. You’re lucky you weren’t bitten. Your friend Brian found you unconscious.” At the mention of Brian, I remember the others and am struck by a slight panic.
“Are my friends okay?”
The woman looks at me and nods. “Look, I know you have quite a few questions for me, but we don’t have much time. Ted is getting close to breaking down and trying to kill you and your friends. If you want to live, I’d suggest getting out of here.”
As the woman speaks, I find myself looking at her face. Her eyes are a beautiful purple color, and her brown hair’s cut short. She looks like she’s in her mid-twenties, and she holds herself in an educated manner. The scars on her face go from the upper left side of her forehead all the way down to the right side of her jaw. The scars are ragged, and they look like something scratched or tore across her face.
“You can stop staring at my face now.” Embarrassed, I look away, and I can feel myself blushing. The woman continues to speak as if nothing happened. “If you want an explanation, I can tell you while you eat something. After that, you need to get your friends and leave.”
At the mention of food, my stomach rumbles, and I realize that I’m famished. The woman grabs a tray from behind her. There are some canned goods on it.
She opens the cans and sets them on a nearby table. I try to sit up but find I need the woman’s help to steady myself. She gives me the tray of food and a water bottle. Opening the water, I take a sip. The water rehydrates my mouth and gives me strength. This whole situation reminds me of when I woke up in the car after the power went out. The memory is equal parts bitter and sweet.
If I could go back to that day with the knowledge I have now, I would. My thoughts halt when I take my first bite of food. The canned goods are normally flavorless, but right now, they’re the best food I’ve ever tasted. I eat the rest of the food and finish the water.
When I’m done, my spirits improve, and I’m even able to stand. After I’m standing, I look to the woman and smile. She smiles back, and I’m about to ask her name when I hear the door crash open behind me.
“You’re one lucky son of a bitch to still be alive!” Before I turn around, I recognize the voice as Ted’s. When I see Ted, I can tell he isn’t a sane person. His pupils are small, and his eyes dart around.
“Why hello, Ted. What can I do for you?”
Ted gives the woman a look of utter hatred. “Shut your mouth, whore. I told you to kill this bastard, and how do you thank me? You nurse him back to health. Before I’m done, you’re going to wish you—” As Ted screams at the woman, he gets closer and closer. When he’s within my reach, I decide I’ve heard enough. His sentence is cut off when I throw a punch and hit him square in the jaw.
His reaction is immediate. He drops into a fighting position and looks straight at me. His form is steady and calm, and I can tell this isn’t his first fight. My first punch would have knocked him out had I been at full strength.
Ted lunges at me and feigns a left punch, following with a right swing. Even though I catch it in time with an arm guard, the blow still makes me dizzy. From there, the blows
start hitting me fast. Each hit bounces off my guard, but they’re coming in too fast to attack back.
My head starts to swim from the pain. I’m losing. When I see the nurse woman standing behind us, she moves so fast that my eyes have a hard time following. The side of her hand slams into Ted’s arm, and I see a syringe sticking out. He looks at his arm, confused for a second, and I see my chance.
Jumping forward, I wrap my hands around the back of Ted’s neck and pull him down toward me. My knee shoots up and connects with a powerful thud to his diaphragm. Ted falls to the floor, gasping for air. Before he can catch his breath, I see him starting to lose consciousness. Whatever the woman put into that syringe must have knocked him out.
She looks at me, and I see that she’s one of Ted’s captives. Now that she’s attacked him, I doubt she’ll stay here long.
“Well, I think it’s about time we left. How long would it take you to pack up some supplies?”
The woman looks at me, and I can tell she’s confused. “You want me to come with you?”
“Only if you want. I know I haven’t known you for very long. Anyone who can take care of a total stranger is trustworthy enough for me. Besides, you can’t stay here after what you did to Ted. It would be safer for you to come with us.”
The woman smiles and grabs a bag she has behind her. “I’m already packed and ready to go. I was going to leave when your group did, but I’m glad you asked me to join. My chances of making it on my own were slim.”
We exchange smiles, and then I turn around and walk into what looks like a hallway. When Melany sees me, she runs up and gives me a hug. I explain what happened. Jason and Melany tell me where Dawn and Brian went and where we’re supposed to meet them.
With a plan in place, we start our travels. It takes around an hour of walking to reach the meeting place. Melany tries to convince me to stay on the bottom floor of the building, but I refuse, and we end up climbing up to the top floor.
The stairs are particularly taxing on me, but I refuse to show weakness or admit that I’m tired. When we finally do reach the top of the building, I find an old office chair and collapse into it. The others follow my lead and take a minute to rest. After we catch our breath, we do a quick check for supplies and Palemen.
We’re lucky, and we find a five-gallon plastic water jug and an untouched vending machine. As we feast on chips and candy bars, the woman introduces herself as Sophia and tells us her story. In exchange, we tell her our stories.
Jason and Melany look a little hesitant about Sophia, and I can tell they’re wary of her. To be honest, I don’t blame them. Trusting a person you just met can be very dangerous. Something tells me that Sophia is trustworthy.
It’s hard to understand why. There’s something that draws me to her. I feel like I can trust her with anything. Of course, I’m hesitant to follow those feelings, but I give her more trust than I typically would.
After we finish eating, Melany and Jason start a patrol, hoping to find Brian and Dawn. Seeing this as a good opportunity to learn more about Sophia, I decide to question her.
“There’s something that doesn’t make sense to me, and if you don’t mind, I’d like an explanation.” Sophia nods her approval, and I continue. “You told us about what happened in Georgia, but you failed to mention anything before that.”
Sophia sighs and looks at me. “Look, I left out some things because I didn’t want the others to know. You should know everything. It’ll make what I tell you next easier to understand.”
I’m a little confused about what she means, but I keep my silence as she tells me her story. This time, though, she tells me about her captivity in the CDC building and how she’s immune to infections. She tells me about how she’s been bitten twice and weathered it, infection-free. She also tells me about how the bites changed her, made her able to sense the Palemen, and made her stronger. When she tells me this, I wonder if I experienced the same thing. Before I can think too long, though, she asks me, “Are you the same? I noticed something different about you. Can you feel the Palemen?”
Realizing there’s no point in lying, I nod and say, “Yeah, I can hear them and feel them in my mind. It first happened a few weeks ago, but it’s gotten much worse lately.” Sophia looks a little concerned. Memories of Chris come to me, and I decide to tell Sophia about him as well. She doesn’t seem surprised by what I tell her.
“I was afraid you might say something like that was happening. The research I found on the Palemen told me that there’s a small percentage of people like you. There’s some chemical released by the disease that has no effect on most people. The people who were afflicted were shown to have increased adrenal output, hallucinations, mania, and insanity.” My heart drops as I realize that there’s no escaping what’s happening to me. Sophia looks at me, and she senses my despair.
“There’s one way to avoid what’s going to happen to you. We can get far away from any Palemen, and you should be okay. My condition is similar to yours, so I’d be willing to go anywhere with you if it meant an end to hearing the Palemen’s voices.”
Hearing her say this gives me hope. Maybe we can make it to the island and things will be okay. I tell Sophia about our plans. She seems somewhat excited—or at least less stoic—when I tell her where we are going.
Before we can talk any more, I hear a commotion. When I stand up and investigate, Sophia follows me. We find Dawn and Brian. Dawn is in pretty rough shape. Blood drips down her right arm, and she’s sickly pale. Her eyes are clear of any red, so I figure she is infection-free.
Sophia takes commands and starts shouting orders. To my surprise, the others follow her direction without hesitation. Even if the others don’t trust her, they understand that she’s a capable medical technician. Jason and I keep watch while Brian and Melany make a stretcher. Evelyn keeps close by my side, staying silent. She’s been so quiet lately that I’m starting to worry. She’s been spending more time with Melany than me. It’s not that I’m jealous; I’m happy that the two are bonding. I only miss her a little.
Sophia pulls some supplies out of her backpack and starts cleaning Dawn’s arm. The blood makes me a little dizzy, and I look away, focusing instead on making sure nothing comes into the building and surprises us.
After a few minutes, Sophia has us help set Dawn onto the stretcher. Still feeling weak, I let Jason and Brian man the stretcher and watch the rear of the party as we climb the stairs. My demands to be on the top floor seem like a poor decision now. Despite this, we make it up the stairs and manage to get Dawn set down.
“Don’t worry. Your friend is stabilized. She’s lucky the gunshot did very little damage on its way through. She should be at full strength in a few days. As long as she stays free of infection, she should make a full recovery.”
We all sigh in relief, and I’m thankful we were lucky enough to find someone who can take care of our medical needs. After everyone calms a bit, Sophia pulls me, Jason, Brian, and Melany to the side.
“Aaron filled me in on the plan and invited me to join. From what I observed of your group, though, I wanted to make sure it was okay with all you that I join.” Melany and Jason look at Sophia, and I can tell they’re still cautious of her. Brian seems to be trusting.
“You saved Dawn’s life,” he says. “We’re all in your debt for that. I can’t speak for the others, but I’d be glad if you joined us. Having someone who can patch up wounds would be very valuable.”
After Brian’s comments, the others agree that it would be a good idea. Like that, our group accepts Sophia. They may not trust her as well as they trust the others, and I can’t blame them. At least they accept her as part of the group.
“Okay, I’m glad everyone’s okay with me joining. Now, I wanted to talk to you about your plan. I know I’m new to the group, but something bothers me that I wanted to bring up. The island idea is brilliant, and I know it could work. My only concern is the local population. Think about your own town when the disaster struck. I
imagine it became very tightly knit. As I traveled through the country, I saw plenty of towns like it. Luckily, I had enough skills and medical knowledge that I could earn some food from them, but I don’t think I would have lasted long at all without those skills. My worry is that the Beaver Islanders won’t be as accepting as you hope.”
Looking around, I see that the others aren’t that surprised by her concern. The worry that we would be rejected from the island has crossed my mind, as I’m sure it’s crossed theirs. Of course, I already have a backup plan for the group.
“Luckily, I have a plan, Sophia. Even if the people on Beaver Island reject us, there’s an uninhabited island right next to it. The island is about five hundred square miles large. It’s unsettled land, or at least should be, and there’s even an old forester’s lodge we can winter in. To be completely honest with you, I want to work on making it livable, even if the Beaver Islanders do accept our group.”
Jason and Brian look at me, perplexed. After a second, Jason speaks up. “The town might not be welcoming, but checking it out is worth the risk for me. We could live in the wild, but I don’t want to. When it comes down to it, living in the wild could be harder than surviving among the Palemen. If this town is open to healthy newcomers, I’m ready for a return to society. Aaron, I respect you, but why would you isolate yourself?”
“Even if we are welcomed on Beaver Island, having a backup plan isn’t a bad idea. If I made the island livable, it would always be a second option for us. It’s not like I wouldn’t visit and take advantage of food and supplies there. It’s simple; I would enjoy having the peace and quiet for a while. If others want to join me, I won’t argue. You may want to be immersed in civilization again, but as for me, I want silence, and others might want the same.”
“Okay, you’re going to do what you want, and I can respect that. Don’t expect this to be the last you hear about it from me.”