I take the tube of toothpaste from him, finally noticing that Aaron’s hair is clean and he found time to shave his face. “Did you shower?”
“We took turns washing ourselves as best as we could in the fish pond out in the backyard. It’s fenced in so it’ll be safe, and even though the water isn’t that clean, it’s still better than nothing. After you take care of Todd, why don’t you slip out there and wash up? It’ll do wonders for your mood.”
I take the candy and the toothbrush back upstairs. Todd snatches the candy bar from me, unwraps it, and shoves as much of it into his mouth as he can. He practically inhales the food. He hasn’t eaten in like two days, and I’m sure after days of nothing but cold chicken and spam, a big chocolate bar probably tastes like a slice of heaven.
I drop the bag of skittles on the pillow beside him. “While you finish that, I’m gonna go brush my teeth and wash up. Just holler if you need anything.”
He tears into the bag of skittles with his teeth and pops a handful of the colorful candies into his mouth. He doesn’t say anything as I leave, and I shake my head as I head out into the backyard to brush my teeth and wash my hair. Todd and I had a tiny conversation about how we felt about one another, but I’m not sure if he’ll stick by his words. For all I know, he could be getting ready to blow me off once again.
He won’t do that. He said he felt the same way as me, and he wouldn’t lie about something like that. There’s something between the two of you, and you both know it. Stop worrying!
I refuse to think about anything depressing as I brush my teeth with a mixture of toothpaste and mouthwash. I haven’t been able to really brush my teeth like this for a long time, and the feeling of having a clean, fresh tasting mouth is so incredible I’m almost tempted to brush them again…just for the hell of it.
There’s a small metal pan sitting next to the fish pond. The water level looks like it should be higher, but then I remember that Michael took some back to the house to boil and hopefully purify it. The remaining water doesn’t look clean enough to drink, but it doesn’t have to necessarily be clean to wash myself with. Anything is better than the grease and dirt built up in my hair and on my body.
So I strip my shirt and pants off—making sure to leave my underwear on just in case anyone comes out back looking for me—and I use a clean washcloth to start scrubbing myself. Dirty water streams down my legs and arms, and I wince at how much filth I’m washing away. Even more dirt comes out of my hair as I scrub my scalp with my fingertips, dislodging clumps of grease, dried blood, and dirt.
After a few minutes of scrubbing, I realize that it isn’t going to get much better without shampoo and hot water. I wring out my hair, run my fingers through it in an attempt to straighten it all out, and then I tie it back into a loose ponytail. It still hangs to my shoulders, and I can feel the back of my shirt start to dampen, but I don’t care. I haven’t felt this clean in so long and it feels so wonderful.
As I make my way back into the house, I keep running my clean hands through my clean hair. Surprisingly, Janelle is standing guard at the front door with a shotgun in her hands, while Daisy and Felicia are busy carrying bundles of blankets and fresh clothes out to an SUV parked crooked by the curb of the street. Aaron is busy packing whatever the girls hand him behind the back row of seats and he doesn’t seem to notice me as I approach.
“Aaron? What’s going on?”
“We’re getting ready to leave, Maddy. We can’t linger here much longer. It just isn’t safe.”
“Todd isn’t fit to travel!” I say, shocked he would think so. “He’s still too weak, and he’ll just put us and himself in danger out there on the open road. It would be stupid to leave now.”
Aaron sighs. “I understand that you’re worried about him, but we really can’t afford to stay here any more. The area is getting too crowded for us to really be safe. We’ve had a little time to rest, and now we need to find that helicopter.”
“Todd—”
“Todd wants to leave,” Aaron interrupts firmly.
“You talked to him?”
“While you were in the backyard taking your time,” he says, taking a folded blanket from Felicia. She looks at him, then over at me, before scurrying away. “He says that he wants to get out of here. He’ll sleep in the car on the way there. Then, once we get closer to the city, we’ll ditch the car, carry our meager supplies, and we’ll hopefully find this helicopter. He can sleep some more once we’re in the air.”
“Aaron, I don’t like this.”
“I know you don’t,” he says, as if he isn’t the slightest bit surprised. “But we only have a couple of choices in front of us, and none of them are good. There are necessary risks that we have to take, and this is one of them. So, I understand you don’t want to do this, but it isn’t your call.”
“I’m sorry, Aaron. I can’t imagine how hard this is for you, and I must seem so ungrateful. I mean, you took care of us at the school. You took care of us when it was taken from us. And now you’re still taking care of us. None of us have really stopped to thank you for everything you’ve done for us. And for that, I’m sorry.”
“Why don’t you go and see if Todd needs help while I finish packing the rest of our supplies? I’m sure he could use a shoulder to lean on—especially if that shoulder is yours,” he says with a sly wink, effectively brushing off my praise as nothing.
“Oh, aren’t you funny?” I ask with a laugh.
“Apparently I am if you’re laughing right now!” Aaron chuckles as I head back inside and up the stairs.
I find Todd with his legs resting over the edge of the bed. His wiggles his toes, grips the edge of the bed, and tries to push himself to his feet. He only gets halfway up before he falls back against the bed. I can tell just by looking at his pale and sweaty face that he’s not ready to travel any long distances, but he’s determined to try.
“Need some help?”
He doesn’t say anything for a second, but finally he sighs. “Yeah. Come and help me up.”
I wrap my arm around his waist—which might be even thinner than mine—and I help drag him to his feet. He sways unsteadily for a second, and he tightens his grip around my shoulders to keep himself on his feet. When he regains his balance, I expect him to let go of me…but he doesn’t. We just stand there with our arms around each other, loving this brief moment to just be close and happy.
His face is inches from mine, and I can feel his breath on my face. “Your breath kinda stinks,” I say quietly.
He laughs. “Well, I haven’t really had an opportunity to brush my teeth in like three weeks, I think. I don’t know. It’s been awhile. I had a toothbrush for awhile, but I lost it and never found a replacement.”
“Well, we’re getting ready to leave, so if you wanna brush your teeth anytime soon, it’ll have to be now. Do you think you can make it to the bathroom down the hall without me or do you need help?”
“I think I can make it. If not, I’ll lean on the wall for support. Go help Aaron and the others.”
I hand him the tube of toothpaste along with a new toothbrush. He takes both and I watch him slowly make his way down the hall to the bathroom. He only stumbles once, but he catches himself on a table in the hallway, takes a deep breath, and keeps walking. I head back downstairs to help the others in any way that I can.
Aaron is loading up the rest of our supplies, and I finally notice how cramped the vehicle is going to be. There are too many of us to each have our own seat, so some people are probably going to have to sit on laps. “Aaron, how are we squeezing everyone in here?”
“Michael’s going to drive, but I’m sitting up front with him, and you’re going to be on my lap—if you don’t have a problem with that.”
“Of course I don’t.”
“Then we’ll squeeze Todd in beside me and Michael so he has someone stronger to lean against if he needs it. Then the girls will sit in the back. It’ll be a tight fit, but it’s only for a little bit. Once
we get to the helicopter, I think we’ll have plenty of room.”
“Madison?”
I look over my shoulder and smile slowly. “Hey, Felicia. Do you need something?” I ask her softly.
She shrugs. “Not really. I just wanted to be out here with you. You’re all I have left, and you’ve been too busy for me lately. I wanted to talk.”
Taking care of Todd over the last two days has taken up all of my time and while I was busy with him, Felicia was battling through her grief by herself. I feel bad that she had to go through that all by herself. I wrap my arm around her thin shoulders and she buries her face in my shoulder. Her quiet sobbing reminds me how young she is—only fourteen years old. Only fourteen years old, and she’s already lost everyone important to her, and she has to live in constant fear.
This isn’t the kind of life I want for her. I want her to be able to go outside for some fresh air without having to take a shotgun or a soldier with her. I want her to be able to find a nice boy who makes her happy—one that she doesn’t have to worry constantly about losing in a gruesome way. And most important of all, I want her to be able to live a fulfilling life with no more regrets.
But that’s all just wishful thinking. None of it will ever happen. Even if we manage to get to Colorado—which is still very unlikely—it’s not like the infection will ever just die out. We don’t know anything about this epidemic, and we don’t know if it will ever truly end or if we’ll go to our graves surrounded by hungry, flesh-eating freaks. Someday in the very near future, the world could belong entirely to the undead, and we’ll all become extinct.
That thought sends a shiver down my spine, and Felicia tightens her arms around me. “Don’t worry, Madison. Things will start looking up for us soon. As long as I have you to look out for me, I know I have nothing to worry about.”
I smile down at her cheerful face. “I’m gonna help Todd get ready to leave, but once we’re on the road, you and I are going to have a long talk about whatever you want.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
Felicia stays by the car, hoping to get some fresh air before the long drive ahead of us. Aaron and I head back inside to start rounding everyone up. My foot hits the first step just as the first shot rings out. The bullet hits the front of the house, exploding out one of the windows. Daisy and Janelle scream and duck for cover as Aaron and I run for the door.
Janelle leans against the wall, less than a foot from the exploded window. She’s breathing deeply and her eyes are wide and fearful as she clutches her shotgun to her chest. Shattered glass crunches under my boots as I run past, sliding to a stop on the opposite side of the door. “What’s going on?” I ask, taking my gun out of the back of my pants. I click off the safety and check to make sure the gun is loaded and ready to fire in case I need it.
“I don’t know,” Janelle whispers.
“You didn’t see anything?” Aaron asks.
She shakes her head. “No. I don’t know where that shot came from.”
Aaron looks at the bullet hole, and I can see him working something out in his head. Finally, he swears. “The shooter is on one of the roofs. We have to find him and take him out; he’s going to be our biggest threat.” He leans forward and peeks out the door, searching for the shooter.
“Aaron!” I grab his shoulder and yank him back inside as the doorframe explodes in a shower of splinters, coating us both with fragments of wood. Bullets riddle the front of the house for almost a full minute before they finally stop. “Are you crazy? You’re gonna get shot!”
Aaron shakes me off, and I sit back and try to calm my racing heart. “He’s on the roof of that blue house. It’s on the opposite side of the street, two houses down. If we can take him out, we’ll stand a better chance against his three buddies who are hiding out behind that red truck in the driveway.”
“How do we get a shot at him without making a target of ourselves?”
Michael crawls over to us. “I have an idea, but it’ll be risky.”
“Let me hear it,” Aaron orders.
“One of you stands near the door, making a target of yourself, and when he stands up to take the shot, I’ll take him out through the kitchen window. Like I said, it’ll be risky, but it should work.”
“I’ll do it,” Aaron and I say at the same time.
He looks at me. “I don’t think so, Maddy.”
“Aaron, you’re the leader; we can’t afford to lose you.” He opens his mouth, but I cut him off before he can speak. “I know you’re worried about me, but it makes more sense this way. I can be replaced, you can’t. Let me do this.”
“It’s better if she does it, Aaron.”
Aaron looks worried and helpless, but he nods his head in the end. He and I switch places so I’m closer to the door, and Michael slinks away. After a second, I hear broken glass crunch under Michael’s feet as he takes his place in front of the kitchen window. I slowly count to ten, giving Michael plenty of time to check his weapon and calm his nerves. Then I take a deep breath and step into the open doorway.
The man on the roof gets to his knees to shoot me. Before I can even blink, Michael takes his shot. It misses the man, but a section of roof next to him explodes in splinters. Startled, the man yowls once before falling off the roof to the ground below. He hits the driveway with a loud thud and he doesn’t move again. I twist back inside the house just as the next round of bullets riddle the side of the house, shattering two more windows and hitting the stairs behind me.
Daisy screams from inside the kitchen, and I hear Felicia scream from somewhere out near the car. I start to lean around the door to look for her, but I stop myself. If I get myself killed, I won’t be able to help Felicia. I back away from the door and look to Aaron for further instructions, trying to put Felicia’s predicament to the back of my mind for now.
“What do these people want from us?” Janelle asks.
“I didn’t get a good look at his face, but I think the guy that fell off the roof was the same guy who abducted Felicia. He got away but his friends didn’t. He must have had more friends waiting someplace else.”
“If they’re here for revenge, they’re not leaving until they spill some blood,” Aaron says, rubbing his face. He looks so tired and maybe even a little hopeless. “We’ll have to show them that our group isn’t an easy target, and hopefully they’ll leave before any of us get hurt.”
“Madison?” Todd stumbles to the top of the stairs, clutching the railing for support. “What’s going on?”
“Todd! Stay where you are.”
“But—”
“You’ll just be in the way down here,” Aaron says. “And I’m sorry, but we can’t afford to look after you right now. So just stay up there and stay out of sight.”
Todd looks ready to object, but he takes a deep breath. “Alright.”
“Daisy?” Aaron asks, looking into the kitchen. She’s huddled under the kitchen table. Her arms around the table leg for dear life and her eyes are closed tight. “Daisy!” Aaron snaps, quickly losing what’s left of his dwindling patience. When she finally opens her eyes, he continues. “I want you to go upstairs with Todd. He’ll look after you while we try to negotiate our way out of this mess. Do you understand?”
She nods her head meekly, and I see the fight going on in her mind. It takes all of her willpower to let go of the leg and slide out from under the table. When she’s free from the kitchen, she races to the stairs and up to Todd. He wraps an arm around her shoulder, guiding her up into one of the bedrooms for safekeeping.
“Now what?”
“I’m going to try and reason with them,” Aaron says. “Leader to leader.”
“Aaron, they are not going to talk to us. They want us dead, and if you give them a clear shot, they’ll take it. Don’t give them that shot.”
“I have no other options,” he says exasperatedly. “We’re pinned down right now, and I don’t know if we can win a gunfight. Let me just talk to them.�
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I sigh, but don’t argue any further. Aaron is the leader here, and he’s gotten us this far. If anyone can get us out of here alive, it will be him.
Aaron shifts closer to the door. Raising his voice, he shouts to the men two houses down. “We don’t want any trouble! Tell me what you want so we can resolve this before anyone else gets hurt!”
I can hear a bark of laughter in response, and I cringe. This is not going to end well, and I don’t know what Aaron hopes to accomplish by opening the lines of communication. These men are here for blood and they won’t leave until they get it.
“What we want are the people who killed our friends! We already got that little ass-wipe that chased us down, but we want that emo-punk-bitch and the cunt that was with him. Give them to us and the rest of you are free to go!”
I snort. “Do they think we’re stupid?”
“Apparently,” Aaron says flatly, checking the gun in his hands. He raises his voice again. “I won’t hand anyone over to be killed!”
“You’re gonna wish you had!”
“What now?” I ask, looking around. We each have a weapon, but we have limited ammunition, and we can’t afford to waste any in a gunfight. Strange as it sounds, armed gunmen aren’t actually the worst of our worries. Just the thought of being trapped by a group of zombies with no ammunition to kill them is even more frightening than our current predicament.
“Aaron?” Michael asks. “We need a plan of attack.”
“What if we just rush them?” Janelle asks, surprising me. “There are three of them and four of us. If we just run at them guns blazing, we could get them all before they know what’s happening. At the very least, we could run them off and leave before they regroup and come at us again.”
“I say we just sit tight and wait them out. When night falls, we sneak out to the car and take off without shedding anymore blood. We’ll be far from here by the time they gather their stuff and find a working vehicle.”
Aaron considers it for a minute. He looks at me. “What do you think, Maddy?”
Zombie Country (Zombie Apocalypse #2) Page 20