by Lee, S. G.
Emma begged to see her baby. A tiny wriggling body swaddled in a thick, soft blanket was placed in her waiting arms. Emma smoothed the blanket back from the baby’s face. Her newborn son turned his head and she looked into his lifeless eyes. His skin was rotted, sloughing off, and a terrible moan bubbled from his blood-filled mouth …
Emma jolted awake. It took a moment for her to remember where she was. Panicked, she clutched her flat, tight stomach. She exhaled and smiled at her own silliness. At ease again, Emma’s heavy eyelids drooped closed again and she drifted off to sleep.
***
The squeal of tires and the glare of headlights reflecting off of guardrails made her jump. At first Emma thought she was dreaming, but the truck was spinning out of control. The acrid smell of burning rubber stung her nostrils and made her eyes water. The front bumper clipped a road sign as the truck came to a screeching halt. There was only a split second of silence before the shouting began. Evan was furious.
“Seriously? I can’t even take a quick nap without everything falling apart” Evan growled, berating Matt for his driving. “Reckless driving is unacceptable!”
“I wasn’t driving recklessly,” Matt bellowed back. “Something ran out in front of the truck so I swerved to miss it.”
“Really? Something ran out, huh? Funny, I don’t see anything out there. You fell asleep at the wheel, didn’t you?”
Kate was trapped, sandwiched between the boys as they hurled insults back and forth. She tried to keep the peace but, in reality, she was merely the buffer preventing them from throwing punches. Frightened by the shouting, Lucy inched closer and closer to Emma. As the argument raged on, Emma noticed something stirring in the shadows. She hoped it was just the glare from the headlights playing tricks with her eyes. When a couple of flesh-eaters shuffled directly into the light, she could no longer hope. Placing a hand on Matt’s shoulder, Emma tried to get his attention. She needed the boys to quit bickering long enough to annihilate the monsters. Instead, Matt turned his attack on her, accusing Emma of taking Evan’s side. Astonished, she tried to get Evan’s help but he behaved just as badly.
Irritated by their irrational behavior, Emma decided she would need to handle it herself and snatched up the nearest rifle. She popped open the moon roof, released a stream of profanities, and opened fire. It was harder to aim in the dark and Emma wished she had paid more attention to Evan’s instructions for the night vision scope. After a few extra shots, she was able to hit the marks. As Emma slid back inside, she noticed an eerie silence. Her torrent of vulgarities had shocked everyone. Stunned, they were all staring at her.
“If the cat-fight is over, ladies, can we get the hell out of here?” Emma asked sarcastically.
Lucy gasped; her eyes were wide as saucers. “Emma said bad words.”
“Thank you, Lucy. I heard,” Kate replied calmly. Flicking on the interior light, Kate spun around to face Emma. “Emma Wexley, I am surprised at you! That kind of language is completely unacceptable. If I ever hear words like that coming out of your mouth again, you won’t be able to sit for a week!”
Evan tried to intercede but Kate cut him off.
“As for you two,” Kate said pointing to Evan and Matt. “You’re supposed to be friends, yet here you are, at each other’s throats. Neither of you shut up long enough to listen. Emma tried warning us that those things were out there. You should all be ashamed of yourselves,” Kate continued to rant, turning back to Emma, “and you, young lady, you should thank your lucky stars that you’re not spending the rest of this trip with a bar of soap wedged in that dirty mouth of yours! Now, Matthew, if you would … please get us back on the road.”
They rode in silence for several miles. Suddenly, Matt blurted out, “Jane.”
Startled, they all looked at him as if he had lost his mind.
“Emma’s middle name. It’s Jane. I just figured you should know if you ever need to bawl her out again,” Matt told Kate. “That’s standard parenting protocol right? The full name means you’re really in trouble.”
Kate laughed. Then everyone else joined in, except Emma. To her, having Kate disappointed or worse, angry, was the worst possible punishment.
“Aw, c’mon, Em,” Matt said. “Don’t pout. Jane isn’t a bad middle name.”
“So, does that mean I can call you Em Jay now?” Evan’s eyes lit up at the prospect.
“Well, if you ever want me to answer, True Believer, then I suggest not!” Emma replied.
“True Believer,” Evan repeated. “No way! I can’t believe you said that.”
“Yeah, I got your dorky comic book reference. Big deal. Everyone knows who M.J. is.”
With the mood noticeably lighter, their playful banter continued as Matt cautiously cruised down the dimly lit road. Up ahead, a huge vacancy sign flashed like a beacon. As they drew closer, the independently owned motel looked cozy and inviting. There were two small buildings; each had two floors and every room had its own outside entrance. Swallowing his pride, Evan suggested that maybe they should stop for the night. Relieved, Kate hastily agreed. It was too risky to drive through the night and they were all exhausted.
They stepped inside the main office, expecting to see a manager, but no one was there. They looked behind the desk and even shouted ”hello” multiple times to alert an employee to their presence. Too tired to wait any longer, Matt hopped over the counter and searched for keys.
“Okay, that’s one room, two queen beds, and one rollaway,” Matt said in an exaggeratedly professional voice as he reached for the closest key on the pegboard. “Here ya go, Room 110.”
“We’d be better off with a room upstairs, Matt,” Evan corrected.
Matt saluted and snatched up another key. “Okey-dokey, Room 210 then. Anything else you folks need?”
“We’re fine, thanks,” Kate answered while Emma shook her head at her brother’s silliness.
It didn’t take long to unpack the truck and cart everything upstairs. At Evan’s recommendation, they even lugged their bicycles up to the room. If they had to make a run for it, they would have adequate transportation. The snug room was clean and cheery but very crowded. Feeling claustrophobic, Emma hovered outside the door, looking up at the stars.
“The sky sure is clear tonight,” Kate said softly as she stepped outside.
Emma stammered feebly, attempting to agree. She still felt awkward knowing Kate had been displeased with her. Struggling to apologize, Emma could barely construct a coherent sentence. Kate pulled Emma into a strong embrace.
“If I didn’t love you like a daughter, I wouldn’t be so strict. Lucy idolizes you so I’m afraid you’re going to have to behave more like a role model.”
Emma promised to do a better job before they squeezed back inside their room. Calling dibs on the bathroom, Emma gathered her toothbrush and a pair of pajamas. Matt had volunteered to take the first watch so he situated himself in a chair by the window. Kate and Lucy were snuggled in one of the beds while Evan flopped onto the cot. He was too much of a gentleman to make Emma sleep on the small, lumpy rollaway. Emma’s head had barely touched the pillow before she was asleep.
When she finally woke, there was a faint hint of light creeping up from the eastern horizon. Emma sprang from the bed. She had slept straight through and missed her shift on guard duty. Kate was sitting by the window in the chair Matt had previously occupied.
“Go back to sleep, Emma,” Kate whispered.
Tiptoeing over to the chair, Emma whispered back, “I was supposed to be on watch but Evan never woke me.”
Kate smiled. “I know. I told him not to.”
Before Emma could reply, Kate pressed a finger against her lips. She motioned for Emma to follow her outside. Gently pulling the door closed behind them, Kate explained, “There. Hopefully we won’t wake anyone. I told Evan not to wake you. Now, don’t look at me like that, honey. It’s not because I don’t think you’re capable. This was the first time since the uprising that you slept soundly wit
hout being haunted by nightmares. You’ve been through so such and I just wanted you to have a good night’s sleep.”
Emma had to admit that Kate was right; she felt much better. To make up for her missed shift, Emma took over while Kate showered. She sat quietly and watched the sun rise until the bathroom was free. She had showered and dressed before the others woke. Captivated, Lucy watched as Emma pulled her hair into a tight braid. Wanting to be just like her idol, Lucy asked to have her hair braided too. Kate watched closely and realized that for safety reasons, she ought to learn how to do a French braid. It seemed odd to her that Emma knew how to braid hair because despite her brief foray into cheerleading, Emma was not exactly a ‘girly girl.’ When Kate asked about it, Emma chuckled.
“I had to learn because of gymnastics,” Emma explained. “One year, I had a really strict coach who insisted that the whole team needed the same hairstyle. All of the other girls had moms who could do their hair. I didn’t, so I had to learn to do it myself.”
Laughing, she continued, “One time, my dad tried to do it for me. It was a disaster. It was so bad that the coach told me if I ever showed up for a meet looking like that again, I’d be kicked off the team.”
Kate’s heart broke. She had been an adult when her own mother had passed and it had been devastating. She could not imagine how difficult it must have been for the Wexley twins to lose their mother so young. Emma and Matt had been Lucy’s age when their mother died.
It didn’t take long to pack up and get on the road again. To Evan’s relief, the streets were barren. Whether people were just hiding inside their homes or they had fled was unclear, but there was no sign of life. The radio signals were dead and even though he kept trying, there was nothing but static coming through the speakers. The television in their motel room had the same static snow storm on every channel. On a whim, Evan tried to use his cell phone but the call never connected.
“It’s the government!” Matt accused. “They’re keeping people in the dark to avoid widespread panic and mass hysteria.”
Kate listened patiently. She smiled, realizing that each generation has their own conspiracy theories. To a certain extent she understood Matt’s fears. It had been a shock for both him and Evan to find that all television and radio stations were completely gone even when they’d traveled so far away from Philadelphia. They had no way of knowing if the outbreak had spread nationwide, but the signs certainly pointed to a national pandemic. For all we know, Kate thought, it could be global. Frank could be anywhere fighting these things. Rather than give into the fear, it was easier to allow the kids to point a finger at the government than discuss the unlikelihood of actually reaching the cabin safely. Kate said a silent prayer that their venture would be successful as they continued on their trek.
They managed to reach Harrisburg without seeing another living soul. Evan drove cautiously through the state’s capital. Occasionally zombies wandered across their path, but other than that the streets were empty.
“The bridge will be our biggest challenge,” Evan explained. “There’s no way to avoid it. One way or another we have to cross the Susquehanna River.”
With trepidation he drove up to the Harvey Taylor Bridge. He wove cautiously through the abandoned vehicles but eventually the line of abandoned vehicles became too deep to push through.
“Well, it was nice while it lasted,” Matt sighed.
Reluctantly, they gave up their comfortable ride for the agility of their alternate mode of travel. Evan and Matt climbed into the back and began unloading their bicycles from the rack. Kate adjusted the seat of her husband’s bike and allowed Emma to continue using hers.
“Ok, I’ll take the lead,” Evan announced. “Lucy, you stay between Mom and Emma. Matt, you’ll bring up the rear.”
Matt and Emma exchanged knowing glances and laughed.
“What?” Evan asked suspiciously.
“That was awfully diplomatic of you,” Matt replied, still laughing. “It’s not like there’s much of a choice. You saw how badly I rode the other day. No matter what, I would definitely be bringing up the rear.”
Emma dug in her bag, pulled out a tube of aloe gel, and tossed it to Matt. Laughing, he kissed the bottle before tucking it safely into his pocket. Reaching his desired effect, the others laughed.
At least they’re in good spirits, Kate thought. She hoped it would last. If they couldn’t find another vehicle along the way, it would be a long, agonizing trek; especially when they reached the mountains of West Virginia where cycling would be arduous.
They pedaled cautiously, weaving around the abandoned cars on the bridge. Kate learned the hard way that not all cars had been abandoned. As she rode past one cluster of cars, hungry zombies hurled their bodies against the windows. Startled, she squealed and nearly jumped out of her skin as monsters lunged at the fresh meat coasting by.
When they finally made it across the bridge, the open expanse of unfettered streets allowed them to pick up speed. No longer restricted by roadways, they cut through parking lots, lawns, schoolyards, and playgrounds to make up for lost time. It seemed that everywhere they went the harsh, guttural moans of their predators reverberated through the alleys and floated on the breeze.
“I figured it out,” Emma laughed. “That moaning … it’s like the crappy elevator music in expensive department stores: loud, annoying, and impossible to turn off.”
Even Evan, who had been so serious since they’d left Littleville, laughed. As the moans grew louder their laugher ended. Hidden behind an abandoned garbage truck, a mob of undead teens lurched into their path. Under heavy, glittery makeup and black clothes, the undead teens were rotting.
“Oh great,” Matt grumbled. “Now zombies sparkle too!”
Emma rolled her eyes at her twin but he was too busy targeting the glimmering ghouls to notice. Within minutes, the corpses were left to rot on the sidewalk, shimmering in the mid-day sun. Emma felt guilty for not taking the time to properly dispose of their bodies, but with dark clouds looming on the horizon, they needed to keep moving.
Though no one stated the obvious, they all noticed a direct correlation between the number of zombies and their proximity to the city. Hours passed as they pedaled on, leaving Harrisburg behind to face the unknown without the benefit of a vehicle. Emma noticed Matt had slowed considerably and was lagging far behind. Kate and Lucy tried to endure Evan’s rigorous pace without complaining but they were struggling too. Thankful she couldn’t see herself, Emma assumed she looked just as exhausted, but it was the dark, ominous clouds rolling in behind them that worried her most. Drawing on what was left of her strength, she pedaled hard to catch up with Evan.
“Hey,” Emma panted, trying to catch her breath, “I think maybe we should look for a place to spend the night.”
“Do you have any idea how far behind we are? We’ve lost so much time. We have to push on, Em.”
Her appeals were cut off with patronizing words of encouragement and warnings about not wasting valuable daylight. Each time she tried to speak, Evan interrupted with another motivational cliché. Frustrated, Emma cut her wheel hard, darting in front of Evan and forcing him to stop. Ignoring his glare, she grabbed Evan’s face and turned his head to make him look behind them.
“Yes, Emma, I can see they’re tired. I’m tired too but we have to keep moving.”
“Not them, that!” Emma said, pointing to the sky. “We need to find shelter, and soon.”
Deflated, Evan agreed. He’d hoped to stay ahead of the storm clouds but they were rolling in fast and dark. Surrounded by cornfields as far as the eye could see, their options were slim. When he caught up, Matt pointed to a large, red barn in the distance.
“Maybe we could sleep in that barn. The hayloft would probably be pretty safe,” he suggested.
Hiding in a barn far from civilization seemed like the perfect solution until they saw a farmhouse not more than one hundred yards from the barn. Trees had blocked the house from their view until they had
nearly reached the front yard.
“So much for avoiding interaction with other people,” Matt sighed.
Emma insisted that they should just knock on the door. She saw no problem with asking if they could wait in the barn until the storm passed. A debate broke out over whether they should take their chances hiding out or if they should ask permission. As Evan and Matt argued over the finer points, Emma quietly slipped away. She climbed the steps to the porch and knocked on the front door.
“Whatever you’re selling, I’m not buying,” a gruff voice bellowed. An old man cracked the door and poked his head out. Eyeing Emma suspiciously, he asked, “Are you from Memorial Hospital?”
“Memorial Hospital? No, I’m not from any hospital. We’re looking for shelter. There’s some pretty nasty storm clouds rolling in and I don’t think it would be safe for us to keep riding.”
“Now what were they thinking, sending you on bicycles?” he wondered aloud. “Well, no matter, she’s staying put and that’s that. I told them that before; I wasn’t going to leave her there. I guess they don’t listen very well.”
The old man continued ranting about how no one respected the elderly, and how the government wanted to take away their benefits, as if medical care wasn’t already a joke. Emma listened patiently and waited for her chance to speak. As his monologue continued, Emma pieced together that he had taken his wife to the local hospital and he clearly didn’t care for the way they had been treated. Intrigued, she asked what happened at the hospital to make him so angry. No longer convinced that those ‘incompetent morons’ had sent Emma, he recounted the entire story. His wife, Iris, had gotten sick after spending a week watching their grandchildren. Their family doctor’s office was closed so they went to the emergency department at the nearest hospital.
“In walks this little Indian girl, looked about twelve, and says she’s the doctor! She looked even younger than you, little missy. She was all covered up from head to toe in that protective garb. Her accent was so thick you’d need a chainsaw to cut through it. She tells me I should leave my wife there because she has the flu. Ha! Why the hell would they want to admit her for the flu? I’ll tell you why, they’re after more money! Greedy bastards!”