Foamers

by Justin Kassab

  “Grab him,” Tiny said to John as they each snagged Kade under an arm. Kade refused to go easily and squirmed to free himself.

  “See you on the other side,” Mick said.

  He opened fire on the foamers blocking the door, causing them to scramble. John and Tiny dragged Kade out of the infirmary, leaving a red trail behind with Argos chasing after them.

  Mick knew his chances of making it through the doors were slim, but he had given Kade the opportunity he needed, and that was more than anyone had ever given him before. He spun around as the swarm descended on him. He didn’t waste his time counting them and went to work cutting their number down. Slamming the baton against the throat of an approaching foamer, he spun away to the next creature, crashing the handle down on its head. As he kept rotating, he swiped the leg of a charging beast and sent it crashing into the others. Continuing his tornado-like spinning, he popped off two more shots, dropping a foamer with each one. The third shot clicked empty.

  As his death seemed inevitable, Mick could at least make peace with burying the regret that he had never told Lucas how he truly felt. No one had ever known. And now no one ever would.

  But even as his mind was starting to give up, his body would not. Without losing momentum, he tossed the pistol away and grabbed the collar of the nearest foamer, ramming his knee into its chest. Shoving the foamer to the ground, he made a run for the door, but one of the foamers tackled him from behind. As he fell beneath a sea of bodies, he clung to the thought that the Primal Age wasn’t for people like him, it was for people like Kade.

  Outside, they were halfway back to the dorm when Kade finally broke free. He pushed his way onto his feet, but Tiny tackled him. He wanted to dislodge her and get back to the fight, to get back to Mick, but he knew that he couldn’t harm her even if his life depended on it.

  “Stop. You can’t go back,” she said gently, like a mother consoling a sick child.

  He couldn’t fathom why Mick would die for him, he who was already dead.

  “I’m going back. He’s not dying for me!” he shouted.

  John’s stomach turned as he realized this was his fault. If he hadn’t shot Kade, then Mick wouldn’t be in there right now. Mick was going to die because of him. Mick may already be dead because of him. He couldn’t let that happen. He would not let that happen.

  He took one lead-heavy step forward.

  “Kid, don’t think about it,” Kade hissed, still trying to wriggle out from under Tiny.

  She glared at him with dagger eyes that made him want to curl into the fetal position. “I’m not digging two holes.”

  “Tiny,” Kade pleaded.

  “Mick made the choice. I won’t let you waste that.”

  “Please.”

  “We need to get you back so I can patch you up.”

  “I won’t leave him.”

  “He’s gone, Kade. Honor his sacrifice.”

  The doors burst open, and Mick sprinted out with a Taser in one hand and his baton in the other. A flood of foamers poured out behind him in every direction, like a herd of spooked deer with their tails in the air. Kade tried to put himself in one of their minds. Mentally there were only a few days old and had spent those days trapped in a building. Their experiences couldn’t have been anything more than instincts.

  “He’s alive. Now get up.” Tiny lifted off of Kade and helped him to his feet.

  “They’re coming,” John said, watching a group of foamers bound toward them on all fours.

  “Give me your rifle. Run back. Drop the gurney and safety rope,” Tiny said as Mick caught up to them, sweating and panting.

  John passed off the rifle and ran for the dorm. Tiny and Mick took Kade under the shoulder, and the three hurried as best they could after John.

  Three foamers loped in a straight line, gaining on them. Their four-legged run was clumsy like a fawn.

  Gunshots reverberated off the buildings as one of the approaching foamers was hit, and then the next one, and the next. Kade looked toward the roof, where Grace was perched with a hunting rifle.

  At least he made one correct decision, Kade thought as they reached Lambian.

  * * *

  Kade wore only his boxers as he lay on one of the dorm beds, with Tiny hovering to repair his wounds. The bed was fitted with a white sheet, which reminded Kade of the school nurse’s office. Argos stretched on the floor, his head resting on his paws, while Mick and John stood by the door.

  Kade ignored whatever orders Tiny spouted at him and was just happy John didn’t have better aim. John had grazed his upper hip with one shot and had put a second one a little deeper through the meat of his quad. At this point, he would survive; it was just a matter of healing.

  “Mick, what were you thinking?” Kade asked.

  “I was thinking I should save your life. You’re welcome, by the way.”

  Kade was dimly aware that Tiny’s hand clamped him against the table. “You shouldn’t have come back for me.”

  “I don’t see you yelling at Tiny for staying with you.” Mick pushed away from the doorframe and stepped into the center of the room, where Argos watched his every move.

  Tiny laughed as she held Kade in place so he couldn’t undo the work she had done. “He knows better.”

  “Still, why shouldn’t I have saved you? Are you the only one who’s allowed to risk his life for the rest of us?” Mick said, closing the distance to the bed.

  “I’m already dead.”

  “You’re still breathing. The risk I took wasn’t for you, it was for the group. You’re our leader,” Mick said, keeping his voice level.

  “I never asked to be the leader,” Kade snarled in response.

  “That’s too bad, because we’re following you.” Mick backed away. “Tiny agrees with me, so does the Stray, and Grace, and I’m sure if Ashton and X were here, they would as well. I did what was best for the group.”

  At the mention of Ashton, Kade felt his strength falter.

  “Don’t do it again,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

  Mick gave him a nod. “For not being the leader, you sure like giving orders.”

  “I think you owe Grace an apology. She proved her loyalty today,” Kade said.

  “Yes, sir.” Mick’s face went blank, but he saluted and stormed out of the room.

  “You’re still here?” Kade snapped at John.

  John hurried to the bedside, but Tiny pressed him away.

  “I’m sorry, sir,” he said.

  “Don’t sweat it,” Kade said, his voice softening. “You don’t have to stay here, you know. Tiny tells me I’m going to be fine.”

  “I have nowhere else to go.”

  “I’m sure one of—”

  Kade fought for his next word, but couldn’t grasp it as Tiny injected him with painkillers. It felt like a good idea to close his eyes, so he did.

  * * *

  Kade lay on the bed, staring at the blackness of his eyelids. He felt a warm cloth run along his side. Lethargically, his eyes opened to reveal a mass of red hair
dangling over him.

  “Ash?” he whispered, still feeling groggy from the drugs.

  She gave him a coy, fishhook smirk.

  “You made it back?” He reached out to touch her, but his hand passed through her like a cloud.

  Languidly, her head shook side to side.

  Kade’s heart pounded against his rib cage as his anxiety gripped every nerve in his body.

  “You’re alive?”

  She gave one single nod, still wearing the same smirk.

  “Where are you?”

  Reaching down, she placed one of her small hands on his heart. He couldn’t feel her touch, but immediately felt the tension in his body release as a warm ball of energy grew with each pulse.

  Ashton’s shade moved away from the bed and began to dissipate as something rocked his body.

  “Find me,” she whispered and disappeared.

  Kade’s hand darted out and snatched her wrist in a vice-like grip.

  His eyes flew open and he found himself staring into the wide eyes of Grace. His fingers pressed to the bone until his brain synchronized with his body and he released her arm.

  “I didn’t mean to startle you,” Grace said.

  “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  Stretching to his left, Kade felt the pull of his stitches. They had the dull ache of healing, as opposed to the sharp pain of a fresh stitch. He wiped the grogginess from his eyes. Outside, night had settled and was accompanied by light flakes of snow. He had to find Ashton, but how could he convince everyone that he had to follow a drug-induced vision?

  Grace’s eyes stared at nothing as her face tensed. “You can’t do worse than my brothers … Mick was on his way to relieve Tiny from guard duty, and he asked me to see if you needed anything.”

  She’d had three brothers; he wanted to make sure he never had to refer to his sister in the past tense.

  “Why didn’t he come himself?”

  “He didn’t think you’d want to see him.”

  “I appreciate you looking in on me, but I have all I need. I haven’t asked you how you’re handling your brothers’ deaths,” he said.

  Grace stared at the wall. “I think it’s best to leave the past in the Old World. It’s time for a fresh start.”`

  CHAPTER XI

  VISION QUEST

  ___________

  Kade was thankful for the cloudy night as he made his way south. For once, he might be able to do something right and avoid detection. Soldiering on, he fought his way into the bitter cold. White flakes danced in the air and pelted him as he took each painful step into the first snow.

  The thought of not knowing if Ashton was alive had become unbearable. After encountering her shade, he knew what he already knew—she was still alive. He would find a way to her.

  Kade stuck his numb fingers under his armpits. The snow blew around him like thousands of little dancers. He was a mile south of campus on 19, but with how cold it was, he could not gather enough brainpower to figure out how far his trudge had taken him.

  Ducking his chin against the gust of wind, he wished he had gathered warmer clothes. His clothes were no match for winter, but he hadn’t wanted to take a chance of someone trying to stop him.

  Mick’s words were still bouncing around his mind. Kade had assumed he would be handing over the torch of leadership to Lucas when they arrived and then to Damian whenever, if ever, he arrived. He couldn’t grasp why they would want to follow him. His decision making skills cost Lucas his life, and Damian was a smarter version that wasn’t dying. When it all boiled down, Kade didn’t find himself worthy to lead this group of exceptional individuals. He found himself lesser to all of them in most ways. They would have trouble considering him leadership material after they learned of his vision quest to go find his sister. Even he thought he was crazy for embarking on the freezing endeavor.

  In the cold, time stretched into eternity and he felt as if he had walked a thousand miles. The giant tire of a rusted red tractor blocked the road ahead. His nose flared at the smell of exhaust. Circling around the tractor, he pressed his hand to the engine casing. The warmth forced a moan from his mouth. He wanted to hug the giant metal machine and never let go.

  While the heat permeated his body and his brain momentarily defrosted, Kade saw the futility of his plan. He shouldn’t have walked away from Lambian, or even driven away. His place was there with his cohort, not wandering the wild looking for a needle in a haystack, propagated by a drug-induced vision. Whether the mirage came from his hope or brother’s intuition, he knew Ashton was alive. She was smart and strong; she would come to him.

  The warm tractor did mean that someone had recently been here—someone who wasn’t a foamer. His fool’s quest could turn out to have a silver lining if he was able to return with another survivor, even if it wasn’t his sister.

  He noticed a set of footprints leading away from the road. He followed them across the open field, straight for a grove of trees. Through the pines, Kade could see what seemed to be a lighted window.

  He ducked his head again and followed the footprints, feeling the cold touch of the rubber knuckles Ashton had given him hanging around his neck. He doubted his sister was there, but footprints meant someone was there.

  Dragging his feet along as he fought his chattering teeth, Kade realized he was on a dirt driveway. There was a wooden barn behind an old, rickety farmhouse with a widow’s porch that looked as if a strong wind might flatten it.

  A chain rattled in the darkness, and he felt a stab as his stitches pulled against his flesh when he turned to see the source. Kade’s brain told him to step back, but his legs didn’t respond, and he fell on his butt. The frozen soil sent a wave of pain through his body, reminding him of the two bullet wounds the pain killers had let him forget.

  A deep growl was the first thing Kade heard out of the shape in front of him. Then he saw the snapping, white jaws of a large black dog at the full extension of a metal chain. When the jaws failed to reach flesh, the giant dog barked with such force, the sound was like someone beating him with a stick. A screen door on the house squeaked open as the sandpaper shuffle of the owner’s feet moved to the stairs.

  “Who the hell’s out there?” the old man shouted, his voice punctuated by the breach of a shotgun locking into place.

  “I’m unarmed. I’m just looking for help!” Kade replied.

  “Fenris, whoa, girl,” the old man commanded, and the dog sat back on its haunches. “Bring yourself to the light where I can get a look at you.”

  Kade pressed the palms of his hands against the snowy ground and struggled to his feet. As he made his way to the porch, the features of the old man became visible: he was bent in half, with straw-like arms and legs and a right shoulder that was higher than the left, as if he had broken a collarbone and never had it fixed.

  “Where’d ya come from, boy?” the old man said, drawing a bead on Kade.

  “Houghton College.”

  “Alone?”

  “No, sir. I’m actually looking for two friends of mine.”

  The old man set the butt of the s
hotgun on the ground and used it like a cane.

  “I ain’t see no one. But come on in and get warm.”

  Kade fought hard not to run toward the house at the offer. The old man led him to the kitchen, there was a small square table with four chairs around it; all had lost their finish long ago. The cold linoleum floor had yellowed with age, and the wooden counters carried their years in tallies of knife scratches.

  Kade stood by the basement door, letting his muscles defrost near the wood stove. The old man took a mug out of a squeaky cupboard, filled it from the whistler on the stove, and offered it to him. Kade held the mug in both hands, letting the heat from the warm clay seep into his tissues.

  “There’s venison steaks in the basement freezer. I don’t do so good on the stairs. If you’re starving, I can cook them.”

  Kade salivated at the thought. He was three steps down the basement stairs when the door slammed shut behind him. He grabbed the knob, but it was locked. He couldn’t believe how stupid he was; he had spent his whole life preparing for the Primal Age, and now he continually made the wrong decisions.

  Through the stairs, cold fingers curled around his ankles and yanked. Crashing down the wooden steps, his stitches broke. The wind rushed from his lungs as a half-starved boy leapt onto his chest. The small hands clawed at his throat as the yellowed teeth chomped, like an angry shark. Kade crossed his forearms against the child’s chest. Red foam dripped onto Kade’s face.

  This was just a child. The youth’s nails ripped at the weak skin of Kade’s throat. This was just a child.

  The child’s hands dug deeper into his throat. No, this was a foamer. A foamer that would happily kill him. That’s the only thing it knew to do.

  Kade brought a leg up and kicked the creature across the basement, then struggled to his feet, inch by painful inch. As the foamer scrambled to its feet, Kade slid his fingers into the brass rubber knuckles hanging around his neck, snapping them off the chain. The child slammed both palms off the ground and charged Kade, growling like he was possessed. The foamer’s arms spread, coming for the tackle. With one powerful swing, Kade connected the knuckles with the child’s head. Instantly, the child crumpled to the ground like a sack of potatoes.