August Burning (Book 1): Outbreak

by Lahey, Tyler

  Adira, a full head shorter, shoved her way in between the two peacocks. Her straight black hair shone as she pushed Jaxton backwards several steps. When the Lieutenant took a measured step closer, Adira turned her glittering dark eyes on him. For just a moment, the man faltered.

  “Your men. They ran. They tried to offload us like cattle, and they ran. They tried to storm the boats. I saw them bulldozing through kids, old women, just to have a chance to run. I’ve never been so ashamed in my life, and you should be too. I’m scared, we’re all scared, but I feel sick. I feel sick because I watched your men shriek like children instead of trying to give everyone a chance. Don’t lay a hand on me, or anyone who goes with me. You’re cowards.”

  The Lieutenant’s ramrod straight back wilted under the dark hair girl’s verbal assault. He looked to the boat driver without speaking, his eyes longing. The boat driver turned his trembling lips and red eyes to the murky waters. The Lieutenant stepped aside a hair, his eyes wandered frantically as he attempted to process her words.

  Adira quickly walked back and grabbed Harley, urging her forward. “Move, move!”

  As the soldiers stood silently, Adira led them all off the docks, and onto the asphalt, which was already beginning to heat under the morning sun.

  No one knew where to go, or how to go. Adira led the aimless group north as best she could, based on the single paper road-map they had brought. They didn’t talk, and they didn’t look up when they walked.

  At a loss, Adira guided her friends into a massive, naked, dirt field with a single mound of earth, piled in the center. They mounted the crest of plowed earth and sat apart as the sun sank beneath the horizon. In the beginning, they sat apart, looking out over the fields at the forests beyond, daring to hope they were safe for the night. Jaxton left the rifle in the dust, and lay on the earth. As night fell and temperature plummeted, they all drew close, pressing together against the night’s chill. Bennett placed Adira’s head on his chest, and ran his slender fingers through her long black hair. She could feel his chest rising and falling, but it gave her little solace as the horrors of the day smoldered inside her.

  Feeling the heat of two bodies on either side, Adira entered a restless limbo that barely resembled sleep. She could hear teeth chattering all around her, but somehow, someway, she found a desperate solace in that noise. It meant she was not alone.

  She awoke as a figure shifted beside her. Adira felt her limbs quaking against the chill, relentless on a May night. Rubbing her bleary eyes, she rose on one arm. A figure stumbled away on the hill, disappearing out of vision.

  For some reason, Adira rose to follow. She already knew who it was.

  His back shuddered and shook as he wept in the night. She wanted to be close.

  “Jax?”

  The figure grunted. Jaxton did not turn to look as Adira seated herself on a rock beside him, a stone’s throw from the group. Without looking, he rested his lightly bearded face on her slender shoulder. Adira found herself wrapping her arms around the broad figure, and she was overwhelmed how good it felt to make contact.

  They sat together, pressed close against the wind that swept across the floor of the earth, for a long while.

  “How will we ever make it?” He croaked, his voice muffled against her jacket.

  “Don’t say that,” she whispered. “I can’t listen to you say that, do you hear me?”

  “They weren’t humans, anymore. How can we survive? Against that? What about our families?”

  She ran her long finger along the shaved sides of his head, and then on top, to where it was much longer.

  “We’ll stick the back roads, we’ll stay away from the highways. Like you said. We can make it Jax.”

  “I don’t think so,” he muttered. “I don’t know what to do. How to do it. Whenever I want to close my eyes, I imagine them coming through the forest, hundreds of them.”

  “Can I tell you something?”

  He sniffled, and wiped his nose across his hands shamelessly.

  “Out of all of us, I find myself looking to you. When I’m scared or uncertain, I look to you. Liam’s a huge guy, looks fierce and everything, and Bennett’s might as well be in love with me, but I look to you.”

  “I don’t know if I can lead us home. I don’t know what I will be like tomorrow, when the dawn comes.”

  She heard her own stomach growl angrily.

  “For your friends, you need to be strong. And for me, too. Can you do that?”

  Jaxton pulled away slightly, but remained so their shoulders were touching.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” he said.

  She smiled wistfully in the darkness, with tears in her eyes. “So am I.”

  Chapter Eleven

  6 days after Outbreak. Pennsylvania

  The sun clung to the horizon, desperately. Every day it held on a little bit longer. As they left the strip malls and vast housing developments behind, the foliage began to swallow them. Four lane roads became two lane roads. Gas prices dropped. Chain-stores became single-town stores. There was more forest than cleared land, and the roads were mostly empty. A few solitary cars roared past them every day, laden with supplies. There was little sign of life in the dilapidated houses with rugged plots of land.

  “You ok?” Adira strode beside Bennett, at the rear of the column. Their worn tennis shoes scraped the gravel on the side of road. She could see the first hint of white pinpoints pushing through the darkness to the east. To the western sky, Adira turned her dark eyes to a heart-stirring collage of excited yellows and moody reds.

  Bennett’s eyes darted ahead, judging how quietly he would have to speak to avoid being overheard. He could see the bobbing heads rising and falling. “Are you?” His eyes burned bright. Normally they were bland.

  Adira felt her senses flare up.

  Bennett continued, “What the fuck are we doing? We should have stayed in the capital, or gone south like they ordered us to originally. Those things weren’t people anymore, they were animals. We should stick with the army. What hope do we have against them, alone? We’re making good time…we’re probably only another two days from Cold Spring…but what are we going to do when we get there? Are our families magically going to be waiting for us, as if nothing had ever happened?”

  The wind danced through the trees like a hushed whisper. It was darker under their boughs.

  “What do you miss the most about home?” Adira asked.

  After a while, she heard him chuckle behind her.

  “I have a bulldog. He’s probably grumbling around the house right now, wondering when my parents are coming home to feed him.”

  Adira felt the corners of her mouth being pulled up. “What’s his name?”

  Bennett snorted. “Don’t judge. Lugnut.”

  Adira laughed gaily, feeling some of the pain falling off her shoulders. “Lugnut. I already have an image of an overweight, grumpy bulldog that can’t fit his tongue inside his goofy mouth. I hope I’m not disappointed.”

  For several seconds Adira could only listen to the sounds of gravel crunching beneath their feet.

  “I’ve been trying not to think what it’s like there, at home. I don’t know if there will be anyone left.”

  “What’s it like?”

  She could imagine Bennett grinning as they passed under the leaves. “I have so many memories that come rushing at me, from every season. Sledding as a kid, waiting on the same block for the bus, getting so fucking nervous cause girls were the bane of my existence. And it all happened in that valley. That one little town.”

  She looked ahead to the trodding figure at the head of the column, and she remembered how soothing it had been to lean against him before they returned to sleep.

  In the next moment, she felt Bennett’s hands around her torso. Before she could speak his mouth was on hers, and he pulled her tight to him. Reflexively, she raised her long, slender fingers to explore the corded muscles of his upper body. When he pulled away, she could see t
he hunger that hung in his eyes.

  She felt a wave a lust, and was grateful for it. She jumped at anything that would push the fear away, even for a moment.

  “Just didn’t want you to think I couldn’t make an impulsive decision. You see? I’m learning.”

  She laughed lightly. “I don’t know how I feel about this new, cocky Bennett.”

  The night grew darker as they broke off the embrace.

  Bennett stopped smiling, and looked away. “I hope it’s a little warmer tonight.”

  They made camp that night in a little grove, just out of eyesight of the road. Cursing themselves, they swore never again to make a camp at night. It took them a full hour to set up the tents in the darkness. Somehow, only two flashlights had made it into their sacks. Originally they had discussed rationing, but in their frustration and exhaustion they gorged themselves on cans of food, and attacked the crushed loaves of bread. As they lay together in the glade to sleep, Adira could feel Jaxton’s eyes on her.

  Though they all slept close, she could feel Bennett’s hands moving greedily on her body under the worn jacket.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m sorry,” Bennett whispered, his voice hoarse with desire and shame.

  After a moment of indecision, she rose. She didn’t want Jaxton to see. “Follow me.”

  She led Bennett away from the others, deeper into the woods where the chill tickled their skin. She pressed herself against him and found him hard against her cool hand. He shuddered against her touch and kissed her clumsily. She tried to slow it down, but he was frantic. His rough hands tugged impatiently at her jacket and then forced her to her knees.

  She hesitated.

  “What? Is this not ok?” He asked, lording over her.

  “It’s fine,” she whispered.

  “Thank you, I need this,” he said huskily, as his hands pulled back her hair.

  When they stumbled back into camp, she thought she saw Jaxton close his eyes.

  By the time the dawn had broken, with spirited sunshine and equally spirited birdcalls, Liam was coughing relentlessly. His color had faded, until he was a mottled mix of white and red.

  Bennett took his duffel bag, and Liam popped a dose of painkillers for the growing torment in his throat. They all urged him to allow the group to break off their trail for the nearest town pharmacy to the east, but he refused. After a more carefully rationed meal of canned food, the group set off with a noticeable pall hanging over them. Liam’s relentless hacking followed them for the four miles they hiked. As the sun rose in the sky, the group’s track through the woodlands took them into more hilly terrain, with great rolling carpets of green stretching far to the east and west. Still, they pressed north.

  Bennett trudged alongside his oldest friend. “We need to get him medicine. It hurts to see such a powerful looking guy so frail.”

  Jaxton nodded, “I know, man.”

  “Remember how much time we used to waste wondering how we were guna spend our lives?”

  Jaxton laughed half-heartedly. “I used to pray for something like this. Did you know that?”

  Bennett frowned. “You jinxed us.”

  “I used to pray for anything to change the game. And now its here, and I hate it.”

  “There’s only one good thing that’s come out of it,” Bennett said ruefully, indicating Adira trekking up the trail two hundred feet behind them. Jaxton eyed her black hair and dark eyes jealously.

  “Oh? How’s that?”

  Bennett thought there was something more than genuine concern behind that voice. Bennett’s heart swelled with pride to imagine his friend jealous.

  “She doesn’t make me nervous anymore. Look at her. She’s perfect.”

  Jaxton chuckled darkly. “Sound a bit douchey, did you know that?”

  “Who gives a shit? After all, now we know what’s out there, chasing us. Those things, so fast, just-“

  “Shut the fuck up man,” Jaxton cut him off harshly. He wanted to hike alone.

  “Last night, I wanted her to blow me. So she did it.”

  “You better not let her hear you,” Jaxton warned, feeling an anger rising inside him.

  “I don’t think it really matters. I apologized for being rough or whatever, and she took it just fine. I’ve been trying to figure out how I can sleep with her again, with everyone around all the time.” Bennett looked eagerly to his friend, hoping there was some sort of reaction.

  “You got a fucking problem?” Jaxton asked, slowing their walk.

  Bennett drew closer. “What do you mean? You’re the one who’s always looking at her. Do you think I haven’t noticed?”

  Jaxton shook his head. “Look, I don’t know why you’re trying to get a rise out of me. We’re all fucking tired, and we’re all fucking scared. So just shut your mouth and keep moving.”

  Bennett felt his pulse quicken, excited by his recent exploits. “For once it feels great to have something and know you can’t have it.”

  “I don’t think I like the new Bennett much,” Jaxton spat.

  Bennett grinned savagely.

  Jaxton opened his mouth and closed it as Adira made eye contact with him down below, oblivious. He smiled back, and turned away.

  The heat of late spring baked their skin. Rolling beads of sweat itched their faces and little clouds of hungry gnats tormented their every step. Jaxton lost sight of the road, and driven to a feverish anxiety by Liam’s growing sickness, he led them up a rocky defile laden with huge granite boulders. By the time they had mounted the rocky challenge, Liam was still a hundred feet behind them, stumbling around in a haze with Harley attempting to guide.

  Bennett pointed down into the valley. “I know this town. I’ve been here before.” His eyes peered down into the valley, which was shouldered by two great hilly crests on either side. They could all make out a smattering of roofs clustered around a steeple nestled in the woods below. Little houses rose to the west and east, hugging the hillsides. Bennett pointed north-east. “There’s a river coming into the valley somewhere that way, and I think the main road crosses it a mile or two that way, before heading into the valley.”

  Adira wiped the sweat from her brow. “Do they have a pharmacy?”

  “Definitely,” Bennett said, looking at Liam struggling below them.

  “He needs antibiotics.” Jaxton wheezed, feeling the weight of the rifle on his back.

  Liam forced his legs to drive into the stony dirt, though he felt as if his lungs would give out. His head swam and the chills tickled around his limbs, making him feel weak.

  “Come on, just a bit more.” The auburn-haired girl beside him offered gentle encouragement, as she had been doing all day. The sight of her bright hazel eyes caught in the late May sunlight gave him spirit. She was sweating just as much as he, but she never faltered.

  As he crested the mound, Liam saw Jaxton had a map laid out on a rock. He pointed. “Here’s the town. And here’s….Cold Spring. About 25 miles. I have no idea how long that will take,” he looked to Liam, “two days? Three?”

  “Lets get in there, and find something we can give him,” Adira said quickly. Jaxton’s eyes met her own, and she watched them soften. Her lips were curved perfectly, he thought.

  “Aye, alright. Liam you stay here. Harley…”

  “-Ill go with you,” Harley asserted. Her auburn hair was matted and oily.

  “No, you stay with him. I’ll go,” Adira countered. “We shouldn’t be long.”

  “We’re pretty far out now. These people, they’re not what you’re used to in D.C or Boston. I don’t know what to expect,” Bennett said cautiously.

  “Coal mining?”

  Bennett nodded. “It was. And when they dug all of that up a lot of people stayed, and, well, you’ll see.”

  Jaxton urged them forward. “Let’s roll.”

  Adira’s legs were all fire by the time she cleared the bottom of the hill. The tendrils of dark hair that had escaped her ponytail were matted t
o her forehead with sweat. She heard a commotion behind her. Bennett’s leaner frame had beaten Jaxton’s own, more beefy frame.

  His face glistened when he drew close to her. “About last night, Adira. I don’t know what came over me,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

  Adira regarded him keenly. “It’s ok. I mean, I feel those things too. I don’t like the way you went about it though, I will say that.”

  Bennett drew up as Jaxton approached. “It won’t happen again.”

  Adira nodded, annoyed at the distraction. She didn’t want to think about it. They needed the medicine.

  “What are you guys talking about?”

  Bennett’s lip twitched. “I hope there’s something left in there. Maybe the panic hasn’t reached this far out yet.”

  “No sense worrying now. Let’s not let our minds run wild. C’mon, lead us,” Jaxton said.

  Within five minutes they had reached the road, a tiny two-lane track that wound through the dense deciduous forest, a wall of green that popped with vibrancy.

  The road wound deeper into the defile, and the three trekkers made sure to keep it within sight as they moved. They passed the first structure, a gas station that was deserted, its prices reflecting the backwoods they were entering. The first house, a one-story structure with a tiny wooden porch, had a rusted ATV that Jaxton eyed with envy. The town was not completely abandoned, however. As the houses began to appear around them in wooded plots of one or two acres, the trio could see movement. Several individuals were boarding up their houses, or shifting supplies from cars to the home. Adira spotted weapons in the hands of more than a few, proud owners of shotguns and hunting rifles, with handguns strapped to their hips.

  “City center isn’t far. There’s a pharmacy,” Bennett urged them forward. After another half-mile it became impossible to keep to the forest. The seemingly endless tracks of woodland gave way to more closely packed houses, all with flaking paint and sagging porches. The trio abandoned the trees and strutted boldly among them, finally arriving on the main street. They struggled to look casual under the threat of glaring eyes.