Burn Our Houses Down [Book One]

by Kelsey Garmendia

  Hayley spins it around her finger and smiles wider. “It’s really beautiful,” she whispers. “Thank you.”

  “Want to do dinner and a movie?” I ask holding up the bag.

  “I think I might’ve grabbed popcorn instead of pancake mix.” She laughs and pulls me into our room. Aisley lays on our beds separating the candy into piles. “These two are your piles and this one is mine,” she explains once we enter the room. Her pile clearly exceeds ours, but I let it slide.

  “Great, thank you Aisley,” Hayley says. “Now off to bed for you.”

  “Can I bring my candy with me,” she asks.

  “Yeah, go ahead,” I respond.

  Aisley gathers her candy and sprints into her room closing one of the double doors. Hayley closes the main door to our room, and I place some of the candy on our computer desk.

  “What happened out there,” she asks.

  I open a Twix and munch on it. “Nothing I couldn’t handle.”

  “Don’t bullshit me, Xavier.” I sigh and look over at her. “I saw your face when you came up those stairs. I can tell when you’re freaked.”

  “The good news or the bad news first?”

  Hayley sits down on the bed next to me. “Good news.”

  “There’s a lot of food at the store in town,” I respond. “The entire place is stocked. I think the town around the fort hasn’t been touched by whoever started this.”

  “Why do you think that’s the case? I mean, don’t get me wrong. I’ll take any good news at all at this point,” she responds.

  “I’m honestly not sure,” I say. “I grabbed everything I could because I didn’t want to have to make another run out there.”

  Hayley nods her head with furrowed brows. “Tell me the bad news.”

  I let out a long breath and run my fingers through my hair. “Some guys were at the store, and judging by how they reacted when they saw me, they wanted me dead.”

  “They didn’t follow you, did they?”

  I shake my head. I knew I lost them. I made sure of it. Then again, I didn’t look behind me one last time before I came in the hotel. The tiniest bits of panic begin to rise from gut. What if one of them did see me? I killed one of them. They would definitely have a price on my head. That I was sure of.

  And if they did follow us, then this place wouldn’t be safer much longer. It would mean we would have to run again. We wouldn’t be able to make it to Fort Ticonderoga because they would be hunting us. Sure, I could try picking them off as we ran to the car, but three against who knows how many of them? I highly doubt we would make it out of the parking lot of the hotel.

  “Xavier?” Hayley says pulling my chin up. I can see the uncertainty in her brown eyes and that flips a switch for me.

  “Yeah, I ran them in the opposite direction. They didn’t follow me.”

  She nods her head and releases my chin. “We should get some rest,” she says.

  I agree. I’m exhausted from the amount of running I had to do today. I pull off my jacket and my shirt. My jeans are filthy, but I lay in bed with them anyway. Hayley lays down next to me and lets down her hair. I run my fingers through it and take in the scent of lavender.

  Think of the other night, Xavier. Think of how perfect things were, how happy everyone was.

  But all I can hear is my gun shooting and that man’s body making a thud as he hit the pavement. I force my eyelids to stay closed. This is what Hayley suffered through for months after Cassie died.

  Except for me, it wasn’t an accident that took that man’s life. I think I’m starting to accept the darkness that’s eating at my insides desperately trying to get out. I think this world is starting to win.

  Day Two Of Safety

  It’s somewhere between dusk and dawn. I open my eyes and stare at the aged ceiling of our hotel bedroom. I think I’ve slept maybe three or four hours tops tonight.

  I can’t shake the feeling that we’re being watched. I slide my arm out from Hayley’s head and slip out of bed. I pull the curtain back just enough to see where we hid the Four Runner and the rest of our weapons—no one.

  A fresh blanket of snow has fallen in the time that I slept. Judging from the amount of snow precariously resting on the branches of the trees outside, it’s about two inches deep. Maybe I can teach both Hayley and Aisley how to cover their tracks tomorrow.

  What am I thinking? Someone could be watching us right now! You can’t risk exposure to teach them something that they’ll never need. We’re getting to the fort where we’ll all be safe. What we need to do is stay low for a couple more days and then make our move to the fort. That’s our only hope right now.

  “Xavier,” Hayley mumbles in her sleep. I turn to see her brown eyes halfway open. “What are you doing?”

  “Nothing, just looking at the snow,” I respond. “Go back to sleep.”

  She nods her head and turns towards the opposite wall. I returning to scanning the winter scene from our window. I don’t see any movement which is a good sign because things are much easier to spot in the snow. It means I’m not overlooking anything. I pull up the computer chair and sit in front of the window. The moon is still high in the night sky giving my skin a blueish hue.

  I hear something from down the hallway. I get up from my chair and grab my gun just to be safe. Fuck, I knew someone was watching us. I inch toward our door and open it. No one is outside our door, but I hear the footsteps getting closer. With all the lights off though, it’s much easier to move unnoticed.

  I leave the door open just enough for me to get out of our room. I can see white sneakers moving at a stuttered pace towards me. He’s whispering something, but I don’t see anyone behind him or near him at all. I let him walk past me, but he stops when sees the small green lights of the air conditioner from our open doorway. He turns back and steps towards our room. I get up behind him and press the muzzle of my gun at the base of his skull.

  “Move and I shoot,” I whisper. “What do you want?”

  “Oh fuck,” the man replies. “Listen, I didn’t mean no harm. I was just looking for food—”

  “Bullshit. Who were you talking to?”

  “No one—”

  “I heard you whispering! Now you’re on my turf and you’re a liar. I don’t like either of those if you want to know the truth.”

  “Listen man, I’m sorry. I–I–I was just—” he says, but he stops. I can hear a muffled crying—it’s coming from him. I pull the muzzle of my gun away from the back of his head and move away with it still pointed at him.

  “Listen man, I lost my entire family today. Please, if you’re going to kill me—just make it quick. I don’t want to suffer anymore,” he says.

  I let my gun fall to my side. “What happened,” I ask.

  “We were heading to Fort Ticonderoga from Fredonia. We hiked the last couple of miles, and we were stopped by a group of men saying they could get us to the fort safely,” he starts. He leans back against the wall and slides down to a sitting position. I do the same as him but still keep my gun in my hand. What he can’t see can’t hurt ‘im, right?

  “They looked just as beat up as we were. I had two little boys and we were expecting another one. I was at their mercy. We had never been to the fort before the apocalypse hit—”

  “What are you talking about? The apocalypse didn’t happen! We’re still here—”

  “What the hell else would you call this, man? People are starving and dying by the thousands each day now. The rest are either running or eating people just to get by!”

  I close my mouth into a thin line. There’s no denying what he said, but the end of the world? That’s way too much to take in. “What about the rest of the United States? Huh! I watched the news the other day and they were talking about the other places like normal—”

  “It’s lies. They’re trying to trick us. Right next door in Pennsylvania, rows of houses have been set on fire by fanatics that believe a zo
mbie outbreak has happened,” he says. “If only they knew they weren’t that far off.”

  I fiddle with the gun in my hand and then, decide to place it silently on the ground.

  “The group of men led us through the woods on what seemed like a ridiculous hike through the snow. I asked one of them if they were sure this was the way to the fort and all of them swore it was—just trust them, they worked with the soldiers at Fort Ticonderoga very closely,” he continues. He sniffles and swallows down a sob. “I should’ve known then something was wrong, but I didn’t care. I was worried for my wife, for my family. I needed to get them to safety. So I ignored everything my body was screaming at me to pay attention to.”

  He clears his throat. I can tell this guy saw something horrible, and I knew it in his voice that he is still scared. “What happened?”

  “Well, they took us to a brick house somewhere in the woods. Knocked me out first and when I came to, I heard my wife screaming from somewhere,” he says. “One of the guys came into the room I was locked in and told me that every one of them were going to be full for a week thanks to us. At first, I thought they meant the food and snacks we were carrying. I told him I didn’t care, just take them and let my family go. But he had—such a crooked smile on. Like how kids looked at you on the playground when they wanted to steal your lunch money or something.”

  I feel nauseous. He doesn’t have to say anymore, but I know he will. “They took me and showed me my son’s body hanging over a fire by one of the hooks they hang cattle from at the slaughterhouse. They were cutting into my wife’s stomach, and I just lost it,” he whispers. “I broke the guy’s neck who showed me them and ran out of there.”

  “You left your wife there to die? What about your other son?”

  “I don’t know,” he responds.

  How could he do that? I look past him into the open door of our bedroom and picture Hayley curled up in the blankets and then try to picture her tied down by some lunatics being cut into—like some Thanksgiving turkey. Hell no. I would never run away without her or Aisley attached to my hip.

  “Don’t judge me, guy. Until you see your loved ones cut up like their fuckin’ cattle, don’t act like you’re better than me.” I hear him stand, and I immediately reach for my gun. “You can stop reaching for your gun every time I move, ok? I’m not going to kill you,” he says.

  His white sneakers start shuffling towards the emergency exit. “You can stay with us!” I blurt out. He stops and turns to face me.

  “Yeah, that’s all right. The last person who said they would help me took away everything I care about,” he responds.

  “But what are you going to do? Where will you go?” The beginnings of sunrise seep through the window in the hallway finally illuminating his face.

  “I’ll let nature decide what it wants to do with me.” And then he was gone like a nightmare you forget the moment you wake up.

  The Apocalypse

  I spend most of the sunrise sitting by the window keeping watch. Hayley doesn’t wake up until I crawl back into bed and let my head sink into the pillow.

  “Morning,” she mumbles. She rolls into my arms, and I let a yawn escape.

  “Mornin’” I respond and kiss the back of her neck. A small knock at the double doors makes me twitch and Aisley stumbles in.

  “It snowed,” she says and then climbs into our bed cuddling into Hayley’s arms. They both fall asleep again, and I close my eyes to follow them.

  * * *

  “Wake up,” Aisley’s voice says too soon.

  “Five more minutes,” I say into the pillow in my attempt to cover my eyes from the world.

  “Come on! I wanna play in the snow!” Aisley yells jumping up and down on the bed.

  “We can’t do that today, Aisley,” I sigh. “We’ve gotta lay low while we’re here.”

  Aisley still jumps on the bed so I get up and move into her room and slam the door. I fall onto her bed amidst all the candy wrappers from the night before. I brush them away from me and let my head crash into the pillow.

  Hayley storms into the bedroom and stands at the edge of the bed with her hands on her hips. “What the hell was that in there?” she says. “Aisley is crying.”

  “She wants to go outside and play in the snow. I told her no,” I explain. “Please just let me sleep.”

  “Why can’t she?” Hayley yells.

  “‘Cause there’s fucking psychopaths out there Hayles! The ones I ran into at the store are out there. Another group is hunting people and eating them. Eating people, Hayles! What if they are working together? We need to lay low until they forget that I was out there ok!”

  I grind my teeth and slam my head back down into the pillow. Hayley slams the door on her way out, and I hear her talking to Aisley in our room. The television turns on and after a little while, I can hear laughter from Aisley. The door opens and closes.

  “Looks like she went a little ape shit on the candy, huh?” Hayley says. I nod my head and lie on my side. “Who were you talking to last night?”

  “A man came through here last night looking for food. His family was eaten by a group of men in the woods, and he ran,” I say leaning up against the headboard. “He says New York isn’t the only place like this.”

  Hayley’s face goes pale. I nod my head at her reaction and listen to Aisley laughing through the wall—good, she’s still there.

  “I don’t want to tell Aisley the exact story of what’s going on, Hayles. She’s nine and already knows how to handle any type of weapon I throw her way,” I say rubbing my temples. “I don’t want her to be going through what we’ve had to already. She’s just a kid, she doesn’t need to grow up any faster than she already has.”

  “Sounds like you’re speaking from your own experience,” she whispers. We sit in silence except for the occasional laugh from Aisley in the room next door. “Is it even safe for us to still be here,” Hayley asks looking at the window.

  “Yes, it’s been twenty-four hours and no one has come by. The man said he was taken to a brick house in the woods. I didn’t see any at all on our way to the hotel,” I answer.

  “But what if they did follow you? Or one of them saw you heading this way? There’s not much else except for this hotel in this direction other than the highway,” Hayley says. She paces in front of me while wringing her hands like a towel. “I mean for Christ’s Sake Xavier, we hid our giant ass Four Runner in a fucking bush about as tall as I am!”

  I take hold of Hayley’s hand and squeeze it. “You feel this,” I say nodding down to my grip. “Being able to hold your hand and keep you and Aisley safe is what keeps me going. I know what I’m doing, Hayles. We’re ok. Trust me—you think I didn’t take into account all the things you just said? I was freaked after I got back yesterday and stayed up all night looking out the window like a fucking creep.”

  Hayley laughs and bites her bottom lip. “Sorry, nervous laugh,” she mumbles.

  I start laughing at her reaction too. “I guess I was a bit of a creep to begin with anyway.”

  She smiles and kisses me on the head. “You should catch up on your sleep,” she says. “I’ll stay with Aisley for the rest of the day.”

  I thank her by burying my head into the pillow. I feel her weight lift from the bed and hear the door close. I try to stay up a little longer, but my eyes are just too—

  * * *

  I thought that I was going to get a noiseless sleep until Aisley yells, “Let’s go outside! It’s snowing.”

  “Aisley, I thought I told you that we can’t,” I mumble and sit up.

  A girl comes through the doorway and runs to the window—Aisley? This girl is much older though. Maybe 18 judging by how tall she is. Her dirty blond hair falls neatly down her back in loose waves.

  She runs back through an archway into another room. I follow her as quick as I can, but she’s still moving much faster than me.

  “Aisley, hold on,” Hayley�
��s voice says from another room. When she enters into the room, I nearly fall backward. She’s pregnant—like ready-to-pop pregnant.

  “Come on, Mom,” Aisley calls. Wow, Mom? When did things evolve to that level between Aisley and Hayley?

  “Hayles!” I call out. But she doesn’t turn around. She just keeps walking. Right, I forgot. I’m dreaming.

  I follow her through the halls of the house until I reach the front door. Aisley runs over to a boy which I can only assume is close to her age and kisses him on the cheek. Hayley waddles through the snow to a stone about 15 feet from the front door. Her face is red with tears by the time we reach it.

  “We miss you Xavier,” she whispers and pats the top of the headstone.

  I follow her gaze to the words engraved there:

  Xavier E. Rodriquez

  Born: August 1, 1990

  Died: December 31, 2012.

  May his soul rest in peace.

  The Future

  “Xavier!” Hayley yells. I wake up and look around—I’m on the floor.

  “What’s going on?”

  “You were sleep talking big time and thrashing around,” she responds. “So I let you fling yourself out of bed.”

  “Oh,” I respond. I let my head hit the floor, and I stay there for a couple more seconds.

  “It’s nighttime now, I figured we could let Aisley play outside for a little and then cover our tracks before the morning?” she adds.

  “Um yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Let’s go,” I say pushing myself from the floor.

  “Ok, we’re already dressed and ready to go,” she says.

  “You two go ahead, I’ll catch up.”

  She smiles and nods her head.

  I don’t know what my dreams are trying to tell me, but this one stuck pretty well. Hayley and Aisley were alive, things seemed normal, but I was gone. I was dead. I listen to laughter coming from next door and feel a sting of pain in the middle of my chest. What if I’m not going to make it out of this mess we’re in right now? I know we’re safe, but I can’t shake this feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. I wasn’t in their lives in my dream, but it seemed so true, so real—almost like a premonition.